Sox Nation on its heels

I know I have a Red Sox blog, but I thought I'd post this here, too.

Six weeks into the 2010 season I can say it now: I don't get it. I just don't understand this Red Sox team.

I've been following the Sox all of my life and this is the first time I have absolutely no read on the team. "Enigma" doesn't even begin to cover it. It's not just that this team seems to lack personality (where's Kevin Millar when you need him?!?) ... it's that they have no identity. It almost feels like we've gone back to the "25 guys, 25 cabs" era where it was every player for themselves. They just don't feel like a team.

The Sox are currently sitting in next-to-last place in the AL-East with a 15 - 15 record, 7 1/2 games out of first (frankly, I think they're lucky to be at .500).

They're supposed to be better than this. During the Hot Stove season last year, we kept hearing about how this team was built for run prevention, how the pitching staff was going to keep the opposition off of the scoreboard and the offense would score just enough runs to win games.

Hmmmm, how's that working out so far?

Look, I'm not pushing the panic button here and I don't expect they're going to roll right over everyone and dominate night after night. What I'm saying is that this team's flashes of brilliance are too far and too few between to foster any sense that things are going to right themselves in time to compete consistently this season.

I mean, they got swept in Baltimore last weekend ... Baltimore! ... the worst team in the majors (well, Houston in the NL-Central is almost as bad ... as of this morning, they have one more win that the Birds).

Ye gods.

Red Sox Nation has been fed a steady diet of "In Theo We Trust" over the past few years but I'm not sure the Sox brass is firing on all cylinders lately. It still astounds me that they didn't try to get a bat for the lineup, especially when David Ortiz' last season and a half decline is so obviously not a fluke. As much as I want Big Papi to succeed, I think the team and fans need to acknowledge that, for whatever reason(s), he's done. Seems to me that he's either hurt and isn't telling anyone or he's just simply lost his ability to hit (it happens). And I don't buy the argument that he's not seeing good pitches anymore because he doesn't have Manny Ramirez in the line-up to protect him. Ortiz could find some place in the order to hit.

I'm beginning to think that Ortiz has been struggling for so long that he's now too far down the rabbit hole to crawl back out. I would love to be wrong about this, but I honestly don't think I am.

And then there's the pitching ... virtually the entire rotation is like a roller coaster right now, up and down (forget about Dice-K ... I think we all need to accept the fact that he is a major bust and will never live up to expectations).

I was at the game last night vs. the Yankees. Sox lost 9-3. Beckett was brilliant in the first three innings with six strikeouts and pinpoint control but he absolutely imploded over the next 2 2/3 innings and gave up nine earned runs. He was a completely different pitcher, like someone threw a switch in his head between the third and fourth innings.

And for me, that stat alone from last night's game perfectly sums up this team ... it just doesn't make sense.

Sporting some completely random thoughts

Bunch of things going on in the world of sports, to which:

• Former Boston Red Sox gunslinger Pedro Martinez is penciled in to start Game 2 of the World Series for the Phillies. Nice. Would love to see Petey light up the Spankees and get a W for his team. Martinez has said that he would probably retire should Philly win their second consecutive title. While I'd be disappointed to see him go, it'd be sweet if the Phills could beat down the team from Gotham.
  
• Speaking of which ... like I need any more reason to not root for the NYY in this series but I came to the sudden realization that if the Spankees do win, that means Johnny Demon-I mean-Damon will get another WS ring. Ye gods.
  
• The New England Patriots had better pay Brandon Meriweather this off-season.
  
• Speaking of the Pats ... the Patriots have scored 94 points and only given up 7 over their last two games. Granted, they scored against two of the worst teams in the league but still. I would like to think the Pats used these two games to finally get their Offense going, the Defense as well. They're on a bye week this week and then face a rough November, to which: vs. Miami, @ Indy, vs. Jets, @ Saints, @ Dolphins. Not too worried about the Fish, but Indy, Jets and Saints are going to be huge if the Pats plan on playing in February.
  
• Still on football ... with the Pats and Buccaneers playing in London last week, there's renewed talk of the NFL not only expanding the number of regular season games per season but actually getting a NFL team established in Europe. Dumb, dumb, dumb idea as this would likely stretch the regular season to 17 or 18 games and expose players to more potential injuries. American football isn't known as one (if not the) most violent sport for nothing.
  
• Red Sox have a lot of off-season issues to deal with if they even want to think about contending next year.
  
• Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo and the team can't agree on a contract and it looks like he's headed for free agency at the end of the season ... not good.
  
• Bill Simmons has lost his edge. He just doesn't make me laugh like he used to.
  
• The Boston Bruins came sooooo close last season. I like their chances this year.

Breaking out the brooms

An excellent weekend at the friendly confines of Fenway Park as the Red Sox swept the NY Yankees in three games.

In Friday's game, at which your humble blogger was seated, Jason Bay hit a two-run dinger to tie the game then Kevin "Yooooooouk" Youkilis hits a walk-off home run in the 11th.

Saturday's game was an old-fashioned slug-fest with the Sox prevailing in 16-11, four hour, 21 minute game that featured 12 pitchers and 385 pitches.

But the Sox saved the best for last on Sunday night's nationally televised game, which featured Sox Centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury stealing home plate.

Sweet.

My fave quote from the NY Post about Ellsbury's steal:

"It hasn't taken the 25-year-old Ellsbury long to establish a reputation as a dare devil on the bases, and last night he became Evel Knievel clearing a row of dump trucks."

I heart Jerry Remy

Jerry Remy is a former second baseman for the Boston Red Sox has been a Sox broadcaster for the past 20 years.

This is, without a doubt, one of the funniest things that's ever happened to him on live TV ...

Red Sox batting stances

I posted this on my Red Sox blog, too ...

This is a classic example of someone with too much time on their hands but damn it's funny:

Red Sox- NY Yankees "rivalry"

A cross-mojonation thing here, baby ... I posted this first on my Red Sox blog ...

With three of the 19(!) games between the Sox and Yankees behind us and two in the Bronx tonight, I thought it a good time to comment on this "rivalry".

First of all, it's not a rivalry ... 26 WS titles to 2 does not a rivalry make. It's more of a jealousy on the part of Red Sox Nation. At least until 2004 and then 2007 and the fact that NY hasn't appeared in the October Classic since 2000, let alone win one since then.

Besides the obvious reason, I'm so glad the Sox won the WS hardware twice in the past four years because it's really taken the edge off of this rivalry talk. You can see the difference in the media already, like Fox when they cover these games. Don't get me wrong, Fox is completely obnoxious, but not quite as bad with the events of the past few years.

(Speaking of Fox and all things obnoxious, is there anyone more annoying than Jeanne Zelasko? Good lord ... every time I see her on TV and hear that grating voice, I want to shove hot pokers in my eyes. She knows absolutely nothing about baseball. But I digress ...)

I still think it's ridiculous that the MLB schedule makers pit Boston and NY against each other 19 times a season. That is, until you consider the fact it's all about the money and god forbid MLB doesn't get even more revenue, right? Yeesh.

I haven't been to a Sox-Yankees game in years and the last one I went to, Kell and I swore we'd never go another one because of how obnoxious the fans were ... especially, I'm sad to say, the Boston fans. There was noting worse than seeing pre-teens and teenage girls wearing t-shirts that said "Jeter Swallows" ... disgusting.

Anyway, here's hoping this toning down of the "rivalry" continues ... we'd all be better off for it.

The most random list you'll ever read

I'm not ashamed to say I got the idea for this post from a fellow blogger. To me, that's a compliment when fellow bloggers borrow each other's ideas. Disagree? Well, it's my blog, so there.

The following is a completely random list about ... me.

1. I was born July 22, 1969 … the story goes that my mom went into labor as Neil Armstrong was walking on the moon. She wanted to go to the hospital but my dad couldn’t take his eyes off of the TV. She won.
   
2. My son, Joey, is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. Seeing the world through his eyes is indescribable.
   
3. When I worked in Boston, I used to commute 20 hours a week. Fun.
   
4. I’ve never been sued.
   
5. If there's one person in my life that I trust more than anyone else, it's my mom. She absolutely would never BS me.
   
6. I am a huge golf nut and love playing. Well, if you call having a handicap over 20 "playing".
   
7. My favorite color is navy blue.
   
8. One of my most favorite things in the world is the way Joey prefaces almost every sentence he says to me with, "Dah-dee".
   
9. Nothing beats walking in the door and Joey comes running up to me saying, "Dah-dee, Dah-dee, you're home! I missed you!" I fall in love with him every day.
   
10. I’m not a fan of sodas like Coke or Pepsi … I can’t stand the way it feels like your teeth are covered in sugar after you drink them.
    
11. If I drink soda, it’s soda water (lemon and orange are the favorite flavors).
12. That being said, Jack + Coke = always good.
    
13. I’m proud to be a Jack Daniel’s Squire.
    
14. My favorite beer is Cape Ann Brewery's "Boston Tea Part Ale", followed closely by Boddington's and just about anything Sam Adams makes, especially Sammy Light.
    
15. I have one sibling, a younger sister, Beckie.
    
16. My all-time favorite book is “To Kill A Mockingbird” … I’ve read it over a dozen times.
    
17. I try not to use the word "hate", but I have to say that I really hate being late for anything. As far as I'm concerned, if you're ten mintues early for something, that's being on time.
    
18. I’ve only owned five cars in my life (in order): metallic blue 1980 Pontiac Sunbird, black 1991 Nissan NX 1600, 2001 green Dodge Stratus coupe (man, I loved that car), a 2004 Subaru Impreza RS sedan, and my current car, a 2010 Subaru Impreza.
    
19. I graduated from Fitchburg State College in 1993 with a degree in Journalism and a double minor of Political Science and U.S. History. I had a GPA of 3.1.
    
20. My first job out of college was as a newspaper reporter for the Concord (MA) Journal.
    
21. I worked in the Public Affairs office of Brigham & Women’s Hospital and then at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
    
22. My two favorite expressions (and I use them all of the time) are: "Not for nothing, but ..." and "It'll look good from my house!"
    
23. To put myself through college, I was a chef at a restaurant.
    
24. All told, between high school, college and post-college (when I had to work two jobs to support myself), I was a chef for almost 16 years.
    
25. My favorite type of food is steak, followed closely by Italian cuisine.
    
26. I am a great cook and can make almost anything, but I’ve never tried making soup.
    
27. I used to own and wear a black leather motorcycle jacket. I thought I was cool. I was wrong.
    
28. I'm so not a fan of gore in movies. I like being scared as much as the next person, but I don't like being grossed out. And no, the sight of blood doesn't bother me. There's just no need to see people's entrails in movies.
    
29. I hate seafood. Lobsters look like giant cockroaches and I just can't see how anyone can eat them. Nasty .... just, nasty.
    
30. When it comes to creamy vs. super chunk, I'd have to go with super chunk.
    
31. I think the greatest condiment ever created is Frank's Red Hot sauce.
    
32. I like white wine and red wine (although red doesn’t like me as much … it’s the nitrates).
    
33. I’m a card-carrying member of Red Sox Nation and a hard-core fan of the New England Patriots.
    
34. I love watching baseball and football in HD.
    
35. I’ve known my best friend for 26 years and I’ve known he’s gay for 20 of those years.
    
36. I'm very good at figuring out who the actor is doing voice overs for commercials and movies. If I can't figure it out, it drives me nuts.
    
37. When I was a pre-teen, Star Wars was my life. I’m still a tremendous fan and have loads of collectibles in the attic to prove it.
    
38. I used to collect and read comic books, but can't really afford the 12+ titles I used to regularly read a month now that I'm an adult (sort of). If I could afford it, I'd still read them.
    
39. I don’t believe in god.
    
40. I absolutely bombed my SATs but was accepted to all five colleges to which I applied.
    
41. I’m an editor by profession but am one of the worst spellers you’ll ever meet.
    
42. I used to smoke cigarettes but quit after a few years. Nasty.
    
43. I love smoking a good cigar now and then, especially in the summer.
    
44. I used to speed, but since my son was born, not so much.
    
45. I could give up cigars and Jack Daniel’s in a heart beat … but never coffee … especially Starbucks.
    
46. I finally have all speeding tickets off of my record and am paying the lowest insurance rates available.
    
47. It doesn't bother me to chew on tin foil.
    
48. My favorite place to take a summer vacation is Martha's Vineyard, MA.
    
49. To me, driving in Boston is fun, not scary.
    
50. I absolutely abhor roller coasters.
    
51. Almost as much as roller coasters, I hate being in the water, like a pool, lake or ocean.
    
52. I can drive a manual transmission car (my Subaru is 5 on the floor).
    
53. I’m a registered Democrat.
    
54. I’m pro-choice.
    
55. I can’t cross my eyes.
    
56. For me, the "Big Three" was Larry, Kevin and The Chief.
    
57. I have little to no patience for people who cannot drive. The idiotic things people do on the road never ceases to amaze me.
    
58. I’m obsessed with getting achievements on Xbox 360 games.
    
59. I believe gay people have as much right to marry as straight couples do.
    
60. I’m not a fan of country music.
    
61. I love hard rock/heavy metal music … the harder, the better (if I can air guitar to it, I’m in!)
    
62. Sometimes I get the heebies and the geebies.
    
63. I played Little League baseball as a kid (short stop).
    
64. I'm a very sarcastic person.
    
65. I’m an amateur photographer … digital photography is great.
    
66. I once had a photo published in USA Today.
    
67. I had a hernia operation when I was 11 years old.
    
68. I’ve only ever broken one bone in my body … a bone in my left foot in karate class.
    
69. Speaking of which, I studied Kempo karate for a few years and was three belts away from black when I stopped (I had to get a job to make money and it left me with no time for anything else). I was even an instructor for a while.
    
70. My favorite number is 7.
    
71. I have a pair of "hospital green" scrub pants that are one of, if not the, most comfortable pieces of clothing I own. If I could, I'd wear them every day, all day.
    
72. My driver’s license says I’m 6 feet tall, but I’m more in the 5’ 11” and ½ to ¾ range.
    
73. I've never flown in a helicopter but would really like to some day.
    
74. I can see why women think Tom Brady is good looking ... not that there's anything wrong with that.
    
75. I can’t swim and have absolutely no desire to learn.
    
76. I can whistle … not well, but I can.
    
77. I've never skydived before and have absolutely no plans of ever doing so.
    
78. I’ve never traveled outside of the US.
    
79. I love gmail and wish I could have bought Google stock when it was first offered.
    
80. If I could vote again for Bill Clinton, I would.
    
81. The farthest west I’ve ever been was Anaheim, CA for my ex-brother-in-law’s wedding in 2005. Awesome time.
    
82. My blood type is O+ and I try to donate whenever I'm eligible (every eight weeks).
    
83. I've never been arrested and I've never been in the back of a police car. (Front of the car, yes, but not in the back).
    
84. Aside from Fenway Park, the only other MLB ballparks I’ve ever been to are Wrigley Field in Chicago and Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
    
85. I think George Dubbya did more harm to this country than any other president in our nation's history.
    
86. I don’t gamble, but I’ve been to Mohegan Sun just to see it … bizarre, but fun.
    
87. I have used a laser radar gun to clock people speeding on a highway.
    
88. In 1986, I was the only person I knew that had a CD player.
    
89. Mean people suck. I agree.
    
90. I don't care who beats the NY Yankees, the Indianapolis Colts or the NY Jets ... as long as they lose.
    
91. If I could, I would live in the Back Bay area of Boston.
    
92. My favorite Harry Potter book is the last one, “The Deathly Hallows”.
    
93. I listen to a tremendous amount of music, but if I had to pick one all-time favorite band, it would have to be Van Halen (David Lee Roth era).
    
94. I like Jazz and Classical music.
    
95. I have met John Glenn and actually declined to have my picture taken with him. I really regret that decision.
    
96. I listen to Howard Stern every morning on Sirius Satellite Radio.
    
97. Since I installed Sirius in my car in November, 2005, I haven’t listened to broadcast radio.
    
98. My all-time favorite TV show is The Sopranos.
    
99. I’m lactose intolerant.
    
100. My favorite ice cream flavor is Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
     
101. I’ve never stolen something from a store.
     
102. My current favorite show is The Daily Show with Jon Stewart...brilliant!.
     
103. Best Buy is my favorite store.
     
104. I used to be on MySpace and Facebook but deleted my accounts because the whole thing just got too obnoxious.
     
105. For as much as I love playing first-person-shooter games on Xbox like Call of Duty, I really suck at them.
     
106. I’m anal retentive about a lot of things.
     
107. I love Eddie Bauer clothes.
     
108. My favorite sneakers are Under Armour.
     
109. I used to be painfully shy.
     
110. I have acid reflux disease and can’t eat roughage (iceberg lettuce and popcorn are the worst for me).
     
111. I love Gulden’s spicy brown mustard.
     
112. I think OJ is guilty.
     
113. Aside from medical procedures, I’ve only been unconscious once … when I was 12, I tripped at the top of a flight of stairs and landed on my chin on the concrete platform at the bottom of the stairs. I still have the scar underneath my chin.
     
114. I have a birthmark on my left bicep.
     
115. The most I’ve even bench pressed is 190 pounds.
     
116. If I could do it all over again, I’d get a degree in something that has to do with fixing/building things, like an electrician or construction.
     
117. My favorite adult cereal is Wheaties … kid’s cereal is Capt’n Crunch.
     
118. I never missed an episode of Pee Wee’s Playhouse on Saturday mornings.
     
119. I think Dane Cook is way overrated.
     
120. When I vote, I try not to vote party lines, but I just can’t bring myself to vote for a Republican given the GOP’s intolerant, ultra-Christian conservative platform.
     
121. I’ve never listened to an entire “book-on-tape”.
     
122. I’m not much of an amusement park person … they just don’t amuse me.
     
123. I’ve been to Disney World twice and Disney Land once.
     
124. Edward Hopper is my favorite American artist.
     
125. I think full-figured women are more attractive than thinner women.
     
126. I once cut off the tip of my left index finger. It grew back.
     
127. I can recite word-for-word many skits from Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

No Hall of Fame for Rice

Former Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice failed to make the MLB Hall of Fame for the 14th year in a row ... he's got one more year before his (potential) election goes to the Veteran's Committee.

This year was the closest Rice has gotten to being elected to the HOF ... a player needs 75% of the vote and Rice received 72.2%.

MLB's steroids era

So, the Mitchell report on steroid use in Major League Baseball is out ... now baseball fans need to figure out what to make of it. If you want to read all 417 pages of the report, you can view it here.

The numbers are staggering: 88 players named in the report, 62 of which were named by one former NY Mets clubhouse attendant; of those on the list, 32 players were active in 2007; 32 players on the list are All-Stars; 29 are pitchers; 16 players bought steroids even after the Feds raided offices in Florida and New York, and nine of the players were named in the BALCO investigation. Amazing.

If you're following this story at all, then you doubt have seen the media frenzy about those players listed in the report as steroid users, two of the biggest names being NY Yankees' pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.

Before I go any further, I should note that espn.com's Jayson Stark wrote an excellent piece that puts the report and its conclusions in perspective when he says that many of the allegations against the players are based on circumstantial evidence, especially the "evidence" against Clemens.

Even before I read Stark's piece this morning, I was thinking about this report while driving into work and I wondered what evidence exactly Mitchell and his investigators dug up when compiling their list. After reading more about the report this morning, it appears that at least some of his information is based on circumstantial evidence. Hoo boy.

Look, I'm not naive enough to think MLB players didn't "juice" in the past, there's written evidence in the form of orders and canceled checks to show that players did try to gain an advantage through steroids. And, frankly, I'm not the biggest fan of Roger Clemens, either. I admire his accomplishments as a pitcher and I don't think this report should in any way impact his chances of getting into the MLB Hall of Fame ... I just wish he conducted himself differently and didn't act like a prima donna. I mean, demanding a huge contract for only a few months work?!? He didn't even play a full season last year ... c'mon!

All that being said, I wonder how MLB is going to move on from this. In his press conference yesterday, MLB Comish Bud Selig said they are going to deal with punishing active players "on a case-by-case basis." What?!? Seriously, MLB isn't going to have a uniform way of dealing with players? Yeah, that'll work. You can just hear Major League Baseball Players Association union chief Donald Fehr lining up his lawyers from here. If Selig, et. al., really do go through with their "case-by-case" plan, this is going to get a lot worse before it even begins to get better.

The question is, will it ever get better? Clemens is already vehemently denying the charges, and why shouldn't he? Even if he is found to not have actually juiced at all, will anyone look at him or his accomplishments the same way? If he does get a plaque in Cooperstown, will any true fan ever be able to look at it the same way they would have had Clemens not been accused of using steroids?

And, my feelings about the NY Yankees aside, can you really look at their streak of World Series titles in the late 1990s in the same way? If you look at the list, you'll see it includes 22 current or former Yankees. Wow. Should those WS titles have an asterisk next to them? I don't think so ... too many other players were juicing during that time in baseball, so why should the Yankees be singled out?

Still, it's amazing that that many players were named from one organization. Does that mean that the NY Yankees as an organization sanctioned and/or condoned using steriods? Who knows.

And, of course, there are those on message boards (especially in NY markets) howling that there is a notable lack of Red Sox players named in the report and that Mitchell sits on the Red Sox Board of Directors. Coincidence? Well, take this for what it's worth because I'm a card-carrying member of Red Sox Nation, but I really don't think there's a link ... I think it would be incredibly stupid of Mitchell to leave Red Sox players out of his report because of his affiliation with the team. Maybe I'm giving him too much credit, but that's my opinion.

And it's not as if the Red Sox aren't represented in the list, there are former Red Sox players named, too ... most notably Mo Vaughn and, of course, Clemens (Vaughn alledgedly took steriods when he was with the Mets).

It's going to be an interesting remainder of the off season and I think we're going to hear about this report for a very long time. MLB baseball, "the national pastime" ...

Good lord, what a mess.

Ellsbury signs with the anti-Christ

Apropos of nothing ... Red Sox rookie sensation Jacoby Ellsbury has signed Scott Boras as his agent.

Oy vey ...

Black Thursday for MLB

Well, former Senator George Mitchell has released his report on steroid use in Major League Baseball.

Thus far, no current Red Sox players have been listed as active users in the report. Former players Greg Gagne (who just signed a one year, $10 million deal with the Brewers ... LOL), Roger Clemens and Mo Vaugh have been listed, however.

One gets the feeling this is going to get a lot more ugly before it gets better.

Here's hoping, though, that this report leads to better testing and an overall cleaner and more honest MLB playing field.

Ellsbury, Johan and the Sox

OMG, please tell me this isn't true ...

Just saw this story on espn.com that quotes "sources" as saying that the Red Sox are willing to deal Jacoby Ellsbury to the Twins as part of a package for Johan Santana.

WHAT?!?

It's not as if the Sox are desperate for pitching. They've got John Lester and Clay Buckholz are potential starters for next season and therefore are trade fodder for any deal with the Twins and Santana.

As my wife said, "The Red Sox need a center fielder and Coco Crisp isn't it."

Couldn't agree more.

Ellsbury is a fan favorite and a definite star in the making. He was amazing in the World Series ... the kid is a future All Star.

IMO, the Sox would be making a huge mistake in trading Ellsbury ... Santana, as good a pitcher he is, isn't worth trading Ellsbury for.

Meanwhile (according to the story) the NY Spankees are about to pull their trade offer for Santan off of the table, which means a deal with the Sox is even more of a possibility (altho the Angles, Dodgers. Mets and Mariners are supposedly in the mix). Out of that list, which team would you think Santana would want to go to?

Oy vey.

Yeesh.

"It's not what you think!"

Let the Hot Stove games begin!

So Twins pitcher Johan Santana is on the trading block and the Sox are going after him ... hard.

Giddy up!

Mix Santana, he who has won the AL Cy Young award twice in the past four years, in with Beckett, Schill, Dice-K and Wake and you've got one hell of a starting rotation.

Wowzers ...

I'd make a comment about even if the Sox don't land Santana and are just doing this to make him more expensive for the Spankees but as we've seen in the past, money doesn't matter in NY.

Speaking of which, if I were Santana, which team would I more want to go to ... the Sox, who have a proven track record in the post season now and appear to poised to make a serious run at the World Series for a few years, or the Spankees which seem to be a rudderless ship without someone to steer.

Mike Lowell, according to Schill

Interesting comment from Sox pitcher Curt Schilling on his blog about Mike Lowell ... he makes a good point:

"I can assure you that Mike Lowell knows exactly how I, and all his teammates feel about him. He’s invaluable on and OFF the field. What some don’t understand is that this is a business decision for both sides. We all get that. Mike is negotiating what might be his last long and large contract, he has every right and obligation to do the right thing for he and his family. You cannot begrudge him that. I honestly think it will work out and he’ll be back here, if that doesn’t happen I, like everyone else on this team, will HATE to see him leave.

"At the same time we understand, as you need to, that what Mike Lowell signs for and negotiates is no ones business but his and his families (sic), and he’s earned that right. I know he loved being here, he appreciated and acknowledged this team, these fans, often.

"Seeing as he came from being ‘the throw in’ and a guy who fans everywhere complained about ’slow hands’ and ’salary added to get Beckett’ to pretty much the MVP or Co-MVP of this team speaks volumes about who and what Mike Lowell is. I want him back here, I think he wants to be back here, and I think the Sox want him back here. The only opinions that matter are his and the teams and if both sides want it badly enough it will happen."

I gotta agree.

Mike Lowell

Word around the campfire today is that the NY Spankees are no longer interested in trying to sign Mike Lowelll to play first base ... they're going to go with a two-player rotation of Shelly Duncan and Jason Giambi at #3.

Also, the Phillies, Dodgers and Toronto (three teams thought to mulling offers for Lowell) apparently are saying they're not interested.

So, that would seem to leave Lowell with the option of signing the three-year offer he has from the Sox or signing with another team that has kept very quite during the Hot Stove season thus far.

Here's hoping Lowell signs with the Sox. Even if he had a career year at the dish last season, he'll still be an above-average third baseman and he's a great presence in the Sox clubhouse.

Stay tuned ...