Red Sox Reality Check

Nomar Garciaparra toiled honestly for most of nine seasons for the Red Sox. He won batting titles and the hearts of many Sox fans, but ironically the Red Sox didn't win a world series until his departure, in favor of more defense and pitching. Nomar seemed like a sure fire Hall of Famer, hitting both line drives and shots over the Monster, and making that cross-body play from the hole. But a career is the sum of the body of work, and where are we now? Garciaparra finished in the top ten in the MVP voting five times, and even in 2006, having departed for the Dodgers, he finished 13th in the MVP voting. He won the Rookie of the Year in 1997 and his career batting average of .315 is just one point higher than his postseason average of .314. Among the "Hall of Fame Monitor" he has accumulated a score of 114, with a likely Hall of Famer at 100. Pretty impressive overall. Conversely, we tend to think of Derek Jeter first as a winner (four WS titles) and second as a statistical...

With Spring Training less than a month away, where does Johan Santana stand? Trade rumors ping-pong around, with Santana a candidate to go to Seattle, New York (Yankees or Mets), and of course, Boston. Santana's a terrific pitcher, and no doubt soon to cause more inflation than Central Bankers on speed, as he negotiates a long-term contract of staggering proportions...approaching the GDP of Lower Slobovia. As for our friendly neighbors to the south, the Yankees, they're in, they're out, then in, then out, and now in again. Phil Hughes (talent), Melky Cabrera (OR - overrated), and ABK (any body but Ian Kennedy). Hughes has shown flashes, and Kennedy an undersized right-hander with one major league win. You'd think that the Bombers were offering the sun, the moon, and the stars for their Cy Young winner. More like one of Jupiter's moons, and some comets to be named later. I don't think that either the Red Sox or the Yankees want Santana as much as they don't w...