Red Sox Reality Check

The Red $ox are constantly looking for ways to exploit their marketability. And why not, with a hungry fan base demanding $ox merchandise, broadcasting, and information? Can we help them out in their unending search for dollahs? How long can it be before the NASCAR logo (above) is plastered on the Green Monster? Is it already there? And it doesn't take much of a stretch to imagine the Red Sox home uniforms going eighties 'Astro-esque' with the NASCAR colors. Individual players can be 'tagged' too. Jason 'Voorhees' Varitek with a catcher's mask/goalie mask, a promo for the latest horror flick? Daisuke Matsuzaka is all too natural as a branding aid for Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun, or some Wampanoag casino in southeastern Mass. Tell me that you haven't thought about that? Down by the Ballyard ? _____________________________________________________ Everybody's gotta eat. A man's gotta feed his family. So let's get Cuckoo for Coco . There are no e...

Red Sox management elected to freeze out 40 year-old ace Curt Schilling from a one-year extension as GM Theo Epstein adopted an "I'm from Missouri" position. The onus is now on the big righthander to have a healthy and productive season and earn the opportunity to cash in again. On the Boston Globe website, their poll is running 5 to 4 in favor of Sox management over Schilling and a hypothetical one-year 13 million dollar extension. The Sox have rolled the dice a few times, winning with Mo Vaughn, losing with Roger Clemens and Johnny Damon so far. The Manny Ramirez saga continues with the righthanded slugger absent with authorization, with the usual variety of possible excuses. I guess that falls into the 'from each according to his ability and to each according to his need' rule. Or is it the Golden Rule? "He who has the gold makes the rules." I always liked baseball practice...AND for the professionals, Spring Training happens in tropical climates, no...

Not all the news is either 'new' or 'news', but Red Sox and area sports fans get a few earfuls today. The Sunday Boston Globe had almost three pages of NASCAR information. NASCAR has a lot of fans throughout the US, but the unholy alliance between the Red Sox and the news media seldom gets overexposed. If I'm not mistaken, the New York Times , owner of the Globe is also part owner of the Red Sox. The Red Sox have developed an alliance with NASCAR, and all of a sudden NASCAR has become the fifth sport in town. We can argue about the numbers with the implosion of the Bruins and the Celtics, and the Revolution, but since when did NASCAR get three pages of sports coverage. Watch for this one. Expect a Dan Shaughnessy column on this one - after he reads this rant. Tom Brady completed another pass, but was he hoping to connect? Fooled by randomness? Erstwhile girlfriend and former FOB (friend of Brady) announces that she is expecting his child. First, it's not news ...

Let's just imagine what it must be like to be a major league ballplayer at spring training. Try to map out your average day, before the games begin at least. Let's be real. We'll use pitchers as our example, and obviously the AA wannabe has a little different outlook than the grizzled veteran. 7:25 AM Wakeup call 7:30 -8:00 Check out Sportscenter while dressing. Anybody traded? Down some vitamins, supplements, 2 cups of coffee. 8:00-8:30 Read Wall Street Journal, Section C. How long do I have to play this game before I can buy an island anyway? 8:30:8:45 Japanese lessons (just kidding)...Xbox 8:45-9:00 Travel to City of Palms 9:00-9:30 Dress, shoot the breeze, blow off reporters (unless atractive women in tow) 9:30 On the field 9:35 Manager's pep talk, plan for the day 9:35-9:45 Stretch, tell jokes, discuss sports news, Tim Hardaway and so on 9:45 - 9:50 Lap around field (optional) 9:50-10:00 Game of catch (before fielding practice) 10:00 - 10:30 Pitchers fielding prac...

Well, it has begun, the 2007 baseball season. You know, "it's a marathon, not a sprint." And 'a game in April means as much as one in September." But overshadowing the Red Sox current edition is Keith Foulke's retirement announcement. Foulke deserved the World Series MVP. Not that Manny Ramirez was undeserving, just that Foulke merited it more. Foulke's rise wasn't meteoric, as the dart-delivery closer had excelled for years before 2004. But his spearing the Edgar Renteria grounder to end 86 years of frustration and defeatism became THE Red Sox moment of the modern era. Foulke erased memories of Bill Buckner, Jim Burton, and Grady Little. Sure, Foulke had clay feet, with Johnny Burger King, the WEEI truck, and his personal struggles. And a panoply of injuries ended his major league career. But Sox fans owe Foulke more than a footnote in Sox history. So give it up for Foulke. Fair winds and following seas. Meanwhile, Fort Myers won't lack for subpl...

Preplaying the 2007 has special hazards today, with a tremendous amount of unpredictability for computer baseball enthusiasts. Last year's prediction using Diamond Mind were pretty good. Fan Graphs has individual projections with Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz among the majors' top 5 leading offensive players (by OPS), and disappointingly, J.D. Drew is not among the top 50. Okay, so it's only a computer projection. And another computer projection ranks Drew in the top 20 , Of course, the reliability of projections is more than suspect. Pedro Martinez projects to win 15 games, and isn't likely to get 15 starts coming off shoulder surgery. Daisuke Matsuzaka projects to a 15-8 season with 3.44 ERA. For baseball starved readers, the Hardball Times always provokes some interest, and Baseball Prospectus (subscription) never stops giving. Aside from the Matsuzaka circus (and it will be one), I'm watching for the Lugo Effect and the Schilling 'shilling' impact on Spr...

Terry Francona expressed reservation about having to use Jonathan Papelbon as a closer because of stress on his arm. A career in baseball sometimes generates interesting medical opinions, and four years in medical school formulated little 'inside baseball'. By the way, Francona does a great job with these nitwits, tramps, and thieves - the media. The Bears give coordinator Ron Rivera the go-ahead to talk to the Dallas Cowboys. Maybe they oughta give Rex Grossman the okay, too. The Celtics lose their 16th game in a row, and Beantown exults. It's all about the ping pong balls. Is Paul Pierce the MVP? Two and twenty-one without the captain. And that Rondo kid can motor, huh? Curt Schilling has gone back incognito about contracts and politics. I'm sure he'll remind everyone, "it's not about me." He gets a lifetime pass for the bloody sock and the World Series victory. You gotta love Alex Cora, the manager on the field. And how long will it take Gabe Kapler...

What will Sox fans watch for this Spring Training? We can hope for Tranquility Base with the biggest issues the selection of golf balls as players sharpen their golf games. Unfortunately, most of these questions won't be answered during the spring . Catcher. Will Jason Varitek return to form after last year's subnormal performance, partially injury-driven? First base. Is the Todd Helton deal really dead ? Can Kevin Youkilis have a breakout season? Last year Youkilis seemed to wear down over the second half. His July, August, September OPS included .651, .806., .646. Second base. Will the real Dustin Pedroia be able to turn the double play, go to his right, and actually use the backhand? Will he figure out that contact hitting can keep him in the majors ? Shortstop. Can Julio Lugo provide the offensive production to offset his historical defensive limitations? Third base. Will Mike Lowell open at the Hot Corner for the Red Sox? Outfield. The outfield looks set with Manny Ramirez...