Dante's son, Ferno

In the Comments section of a post earlier today, I brought up Dante Bichette, as a sad reminder of who the Sox spokesmen were before Millar, Damon, Schilling, etc. came to town. I guess he was one of the only players on the Sox in 2000-2001 who was neither boring nor batshit crazy. Anyway, GR and X discussed his "dropping the bat" when he thought he hit a HR, and Andrew mentioned his hatred of the guy (such a hater).

I went searching for photos of Dante (I was looking for this awesome photo in particular), and came across this photo of his son Dante Bichette Jr., the star pitcher and hitter for the Maitland (FL) Little League team. They represented the Southeast in the Little League World Series last year. Setting aside the disturbing father-son resemblance , Dante Sr. is a coach for the team (his coach photo, complete with superwhite teeth, can be found here). What's even cooler is that one of Dante Jr.'s teammates is Tanner Stanley, son of former Boston first baseman Mike Stanley (whom we also mentioned in the same Comments section). He's also a coach for Maitland (his photo is here). Pretty cool.

I don't recall this getting any attention in the Boston papers. Maybe that's because I don't read the Boston papers. But I do read the blogs of people who read the Boston papers. So that, you know, is sort of the same thing.

Classic

Over at Anna Benson.net she has a news item:

Congratulations to my husband for his recent move to the Baltimore Orioles... wishing him a successful year at Camden yards. Go O's.

I guess she has to stay positive.

Damon: Club house Saviour or Cancer?

On my drive home last night some EEI guy pointed out that Johnny Damon, after joining the sox, became a catalyst in the clubhouse for bringing people together. I don't disagree with this statement at all. I think the "idiots" had several leaders and Millar and Damon were among the more obvious ones. Naturally, I began to think about what life is going to be like in the Yankee club house for dear old Johnny. My guess is that bragadicio and general egoism that's prevelant on the Yankees might get to Johnny. I doubt he'll actually become a "cancer" so to speak, but it will be interesting to see if it affects his game.

Its that time again

No, not book reivew. I have a few in the pipeline. But this is a TV review. Spike TV aired Viva Baseball back in September. And it sat on my TIVO until Saturday. It is the story of latinos in baseball. Very informative and gave lots of neat history and old videos. But the mst classic moment was "A-Rod." He gave a very brief interview in which he said in latin accent, "My name is Alex Rodriguez." and then went on about how proud he is to be a latin ballplayer and he is especially glad that players like Clemente and Vic Power paved the way for him to make it more easily in today's game.

Dude - you were born in NY and lived in the DR for four years (4yo to 8yo) and you went to High School in Miami. Its sad. He really wants everyone to love him.

What's Next For Our Sox?

Ok, the kaybash (sp?) was put on this thread earlier, but as it turns out the Sox GOT Coco Crisp, as expected...So it doesn't look like a bad thing to speculate. Just try thinking of this:

You're sitting a table in a bar with some buddies discussing possibilities...

CF and leadoff solved...

Ok, do you need a SS? Gonzalez hasn't been taken by anyone else, yet...Does that lower his price? Or, maybe a better question, why hasn't he been taken yet? Let me revive what I posted before...Our lineup looks something like this if the Sox do nothing else before opening day...

CF Crisp
2b Loretta
DH Ortiz
LF Manny
3b Lowell
C Varitek
RF Nixon
1B Youk
SS Cora

(Feel free to move from Manny on in the lineup around however you see fit...) Of all the infielders, most of them play numerous positions, and you have Graffanino ready to play, as well...Dustin Mohr is the 4th outfielder...

So...

Do we now have a bargaining chip with Wells? We no longer need Jay Payton or Dave Roberts, so those teams can't hold the CF position over the Sox's heads in negotiations. In other words, the Sox are now going to be dealing from a position of power in any further negotiations this off-season. That is why this Crisp deal had to get done. It puts the Sox in the driver's seat now...

Now that Mota is not in the pen, would the Dodgers take Wells for Baez? We have some pitching to deal, here...However, I am thinking Arroyo heads to the pen ready to start if Schill or Beckett go to the DL...and we keep Clement hoping his late woes last year came as a result of the line drive off the old noggin'...

Of course, what about a deal for a SS?

Cuckoo for Coco Crisp-related headlines

GYS Network...we read all the punny headlines so you don't have to.

Cleveland Got Enough of that Coco Crisp - BlogCritics, 1/30/06
Crispy Critter - Red Sox Reality Check, 1/28/06
Crisp Day in Boston - Baseball Musings, 1/28/06
Crisp Day - Baseball Desert, 1/28/06
Done to a Crisp - Empyreal Environs, 1/28/06
A Nice, Crisp Sox Uniform - Hartford Courant, 1/28/06
Coco B Ware! - Sawxblog, 1/28/06
Cuckoo For... - Cursed to First, 1/28/06
Cuckoo for...Well, Something - Just a Bit Outside, 1/27/06
More Coco for You? - Over the Monster, 1/27/06
Coco Nuts - 12eight, 1/27/06
A Crispy Era has Begun - Boston Blogger, 1/27/06
Hold the Coco? - SportsLogs.com, 1/26/06
Coco Milked for More - Eric Wilbur, 1/25/06
Sox Keeping Lid on Coco - Herald, 1/25/06
Are We Cuckoo for Coco or Just Plan Cuckoo? - Firebrand of the AL, 1/24/06
Crispy - Witch City Sox Girl, 1/23/06
A right Crispy Treat - Eric Wilbur, 1/23/06
Coco & Co - Baseball Desert, 1/22/06
Red Sox hot to add Coco to the mix - Union Leader, 1/22/06
Cuckoo for Coco Crisp - Joy of Sox, 1/22/06

Simmons/Schilling

Okay, so I'm normally a huge fan of Bill Simmons, but his extended interview with Curt Schilling has to be one of the most worthless Red Sox pieces I've read in a while. It's really, really long, so to save you some time, here's the condensed version:

Simmons: You are awesome. Amazingly awesome. Do you agree that you are incredibly, undeniably awesome?

Schilling: No. I am more than awesome. I am super-awesome.

Okay, there's a bit more than that, some stuff on the media, and on Damon going to the Yanks, but it's not really that insightful.

Shufflin'

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Super Bowl XX, in which the Chicago Bears utterly crushed the New England Patriots, 46-10. In recognition of the only good thing to come out of that game (for Pats fans at least), I just received my copy of this in the mail. That’s right, the Super Bowl Shuffle, 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition. I guess that makes me a collector. A collector of awesome stuff. I have to say, this is truly one of the greatest DVD’s ever made. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to watch all 2290 minutes of my Red Sox 2004 World Series DVD collection. But now I’m thinking that all that time I’ve set aside might be better spent watching the Super Bowl Shuffle…416 times. Two down, 414 to go. Anyway, for those of you too young, or too stupid, to remember the Super Bowl Shuffle, below is a handy list of Super Bowl Shuffle links and information.

To watch the Super Bowl Shuffle video, click here. It's in low-res though - you really want to order the DVD, which is chock-full of (two) special features, from Amazon or eBay. Additional (grotesquely overpriced) Super Bowl Shuffle merchandise can be purchased at the Super Bowl Shuffle Official Site. The full lyrics can be found here, and step-by-step instructions on how to do the Super Bowl Shuffle here. Click here to read the Onion article on their follow-up album.

I can see no reason why the GYS Network should not be the World Wide Web's Number One Source for Super Bowl Shuffle Information. If you have any questions/comments/trivia regarding the Super Bowl Shuffle, feel free to use the Comments section below.

Benson t(i)rade

All the great quotes we were looking for by Anna and Kris Benson regarding their inevitable post-Santa trade from New York can be found in this video (warning: possibly not safe for work, given it's the FHM photo shoot: she's in a bra with baseball stitching, and spends much of her time, uh, straddling a bat). We hear how the trade is great because "it's good publicity for her", and the Orioles get some serious damning-with-faint-praise: "we got good fans, we got a good team, we got, uh, real good fans...Great management!" But the best is definitely Anna's discussion of their charity work:

"...we, uh, factored in one million dollars to give to the city of New York out of the contract, to help fight terrorism, to help fight, um, you know, children's issues, and animal issues, and women's rights ..."

3 letters (and one punctuation mark), which sum up this offseason pretty well

W T F ?

Top Ten List, Part 2

As promised last week, the Sox are such a soap opera, they deserve their own top ten list. Plus since things are coming together pretty quickly and some of my questions are getting answered, I better get this up soon.

- Continued in Comments

Coco in CF

Well, that sounds nice...And Riske for Mota? I'll take it...I guess.

Anyway, the lineup (now that Gonzalez also looks like a done deal) is rounding out nicely. I am still not sure why we went out and picked up Gonzalez with Cora, Graf, Loretta already here, and Pedroia in the wings.

So opening day looks a little like this...

CF Crisp
2B Loretta
DH Ortiz
LF Manny
C Varitek
RF Nixon
3B Lowell
1B Youkilis
SS Gonzalez

And look at the infield..
Lowell
Gonzalez
Loretta
Youk/Snow...

With Snow in there, it might be the best in the AL.

Crisp covers a ton of ground in CF...Tek behind the plate. Strong defense up the middle is huge.

Pitching looks very good.

I am also thinking with the departure of Mota, that we still might be talking about a Wells for Baez (in LA) deal...

WBC Part XL

I guess one of the things that should have been on my list of things to look forward to in the 2006 season was - no more WBC talk. Sure I will pay attention to it when it happens, but the media are obsessed with it. And, of course, that is what MLB wants from it - greater exposure.

On the WBC, from Joel Sherman, probably the most sane voice in NY (or Boston for that matter), "I just fear they are risking the integrity of the 162-game season for an event that plays better as a concept. " A bit drastic, don't you say?

Of course many people like to always talk about the integrity and history, blah, blah, blah. fFirst it was the DH, or maybe even divisional play before that, then it was the wild card, interleague play, etc, etc.

So add that to my list. I know Earl had it as a comment - what impact it has on it. But it really is no different than any other spring. Its highly unlikely that anyone is going to get hurt. Or if they do, that it wouldn't have happened in camp. In just the past, what, three, four years the Sox have lost/aggravated injuries to Nomar, Nixon, Schilling in spring training. Griffey used to make an annual event of his spring training injuries. And now this year if ANY player in the WBC, gets ANY injury, however minor, it will be this HUGE story.

This should be fun

Kris Benson was traded to Baltimore. Can’t wait to hear Anna’s quotes. I’m sure by the time he throws his first pitch, she will have pissed off the whole city by saying she doesn’t want to go there (before she then takes it back and says she was misquoted and then slams Minaya and calls him some racial slurs…..)

Everyone gets a turn

Okay so that was a phrase used in college to describe a woman with loose moral fiber. actually the term was "she's a doorknob" becasue everyone gets a turn.

Now the subject is actually everyone gets to weigh in on Theo. Know its the usually reasonable Jackie McMullan. So she is saying that Theo needs to explain himself. Please. I know it is the nature of the media - pump them up when they are down and smack them down when they are up.

Over at Andrew's site, I half heartedly did a refution (is that a word?) of the CHB article and I am tempted to do one for this article. I'll pass on the paragraph by paragraph analysis. But really. Its funny that she said about three or four times that Theo resigned or quit. (And she made about three other references to it). Which as we know is not quite true. Then she makes it seem as if Ben and Jed were duped and made to look ridiculous. Again, please. Those guys knew damn well that the chances of Theo coming back were very high. And they were announced with any reference to "B&J were signed to 3 year contracts as Co-GMs." When was the last time you saw anyone in baseball signed and the terms of the contract were not released.

The only valid point she made was that on Oct 31, they should not have treated that date as a hard deadline.

Oh well, as a columnist she can say whatever she wants. A lesson we already learned from the CHB.

Yipee

Theo returns. Although my guess is that he never really left.

Not to toot my own horn, but I did predict this even when he was first "leaving." And even in my We will survive post, had not completely given up hope.

Well, this knocks one of my top ten items off the Sox list.

The 2006 Season. Two Top Ten Lists.

A look ahead at the 2006 Season. Two Top Ten Lists.

This offseason has seemed to drag on and on like none other. Last year seemed incredibly short. Of course this year’s was also about a month longer (from a Sox – Crimson, not Pale) than last year. And there has been no shortage of controversy. With one month to go until P&C report, I have put together two top ten lists. One today. One next week.

-continued in comments

Bronson: A Death Wish?

Ok, bad play on some good old vigilante movies...but it is 8 in the a.m...

Anyway, Arroyo is set to resign for 3 years at 11-13 million. I'll take it. While X and I have gone back and forth many times on this guy, I guess (even though I think he's a dope) I am happy to have this guy back. He's a guy who'll win you 13 or 14 games with an ERA in the mid 4's. They also have the flexibility to move him to the pen, if needed. And that is not big money. Not a bad move.

The down side (death wish?) is: Did teams figure him out last year? Well, he threw more innings (a plus with a bad bullpen), but teams that loaded their lineups with lefties hit him well. Hopefully, this is not a continuing trend. Tek better get to work on figuring out how Arroyo can be effective against lefties or Bronson will be the right-handed specialist out of the pen...

Pat Rosenberg

Great article in the Onion about the HOF. Despite being about Pete Rose, there's a pretty awesome dig at the BBWAA.

WBC Thoughts

Well the rosters have been announced. And in listening to Buck Martinez talk, I wonder about the US teams chances. Or more specifically about his ability to lead the team.

Some of the gems Martinez has said (all quotes are paraphrases, but I swear he has said all of these):

"We are still looking to fill some spots. This is going to be a difficult tournament and the difference may come down to speed and defense." - Um, yeah. A team with a lineup of Damon, Jeter, Derek Lee, Bonds, Tex, Chipper Jones, Varitek, Lance Berkman and a pitching staff of Halladay, Hudson, etc etc sure is likely to need to play some small ball to win. NOT.

On Leiter being on the roster: "Leiter has a lot of experience and is a nice contrast to some of the power arms we have on the roster. He is doing a lot of things similar to what Dontrelle Willis is doing." Are you kidding me.

On playing time: "Everyone knows major league (position) players are not able to play 9 innings on or around March 7."

Yes, he is our leader.

Dontrelle strikes it Rich

A one year (record breaking, sort of) deal for $4.35 million. I have to wonder why the Marlins did this so soon. The figures were to be exchanged tomorrow. Why not wait it out and see what he was going to ask for? You can ALWAYS pay a guy the most ever for a 2 year SP. They must have been worried they would end up in the $5 million category.

Indians GM Mark Shapiro on the Red Sox

(...as reported by Murray Chass!)

"Boston is positioned extremely well for the future. They have a good farm system with upper-level players and a depth of pitching talent. They've rebuilt the farm system from a dilapidated system to a productive one. If they take a small step backward this year, at some point they will go on a run that will be an impressive run. They're a short period away."

Ugh

I'm pretty sure I will never get used to articles like this, which begins, "Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra..."

Interesting

The Dodgers got Baez from TB and for (former) number one prospect Edwin Jackson and another young pitcher. Interesting move - if you believe the rumor mill, they insisted on getting Heilman from the Mets even though the Mets may had made a few reasonable offers.

While Jackson's stock has slid, he had the tools to make him the number 4 prospect in BB just two years ago.

Colleti continues the remake of the Dodgers - and with SF getting Morris and hopefully Schmidt, Benitez and Bonds back from injury, there could be some good ball out here on the West Coast this summer.

NFL Playoffs, week 2

Back in the day, when GR, IBiD, and I were roommates, one of our drunken Sunday-afternoon jokes was making fun of that one ridiculously buff NFL referee, who looked like he was competing in a bodybuilding contest every time he spotted the ball, gave the facemask sign, or pointed to offense or defense. His name is Ed Hochuli, and he now has a writeup in Sports Illustrated. Bonus: they include his workout routine, so you can look just like him! (via TaTB.)

Predictions anyone? I say: Pats over Broncos (by 3), Colts over Steelers (by 10), Bears over Panthers (by the who the hell cares), and Seahawks over Redskins (by 91).

Its already begun

Kevin Kernan in yesterdays post:

Which brings us to the big name on the next ballot – Mark McGwire. Until Big Mac comes clean and let's the world know exactly how did he get so big, and stay so big, he’s not a Hall of Famer in my book.

And The Bullpen Gets Deeper

Wow...I'll say this...The front office sure has shortened the games for the starters...If Foulke is healthy and effective, our starters only have to get in to the 6th before we hand it to the pen...This will greatly aid the likes of Arroyo (unless he becomes the long guy in the pen), and Papelbon (as he hasn't thrown a billion innings), and Beckett...

Timlin
Foulke
Mota
Tavarez
Seanez
Van Buren

(with DiNardo, Delcarmen, Hansen, Lester, and others waiting in the wings)...

They built this without really giving anything up. You could argue that Mota was in the Hanley trade, but we got Beckett, too...

Newsflash

Kevin Millar actually signed with a team. As in, a Major League Baseball team. Sort of.

Update: a great tribute to Millar can be found at Bullshit Memorial Stadium; pretty much spot-on.

A couple of thoughts

CF - Andrew has pointed out that no one has really mentioned Griffey as potential CF option. I think Cincy would be a potential trading partner - with Kearns, Pena, Junior and Dunn they have 4 OF. And the Sox have extra pitching. So on paper it matches up. Another potential team to deal with is Houston, now that they have signed Preston Wilson. They have Berkman (who may play 1B if Bags retires), but also have Wilson, Jason Lane, Taveras and Chris Burke - so there would appear to be some wiggle room there. Of course HOU does not have any real glaring need. And of course TB have an excess, but I don't see anything there as long as they continue to ask for the moon - which of course is what I would do if I were them. They are a few years away from competing and thus don't really have any pressing needs, so why not ask for a teams best prospect?

Marte - a lot has been written about him lately. And while I agree that Marte for Lugo is probably not a smart move, I do wonder about his status as uber-prospect. As Andrew points out, he has been on the top prospects list for a number of years. Which is exactly why I worry. I hope he does not turn into Josh Hamilton, Sean Burroughs, or Drew Henson. And with ATL handing out opportunities to every rookie East the Rockies last year, Marte certainly could not capitalize (and I know it is a small sample size.) I hope I'm wrong, I'm just wondering. Out loud. Plus there is always the risk of overvaluing one's own prospects a la these blasts from the past - Seung Song, Dernell Stenson (tragically), Michael Colemen, Donnie Sadler and Frankie Rodriguez....

Youk - Interesting insight given by Francona on Red Sox Now last night - he said "Youk can play in the majors every day. I just don't know if he can play everyday in Boston. " He went on to say that there is a lot of pressure and the Sox are trying to win another WS, but still I thought it was pretty telling.

Payton's Place

The latest swirling rumor has Wells going to the West Coast in a three-way trade that would bring Jay Payton back to Boston.

The guy can play. He'd solve our CF and leadoff woes, but he did go ballistic last year to get what he wanted. Is that the sort of team guy for which the Sox are looking? It probably doesn't matter in the short term...

And another thing...I don't want to give up Marte for Julio Lugo...Let Cora play short...We have all sorts of infielders that can play all over the infield. Cora's bat isn't going to kill us. Heck, the Mets won it all with Rafael Santana playing short.

Payton
Loretta
Ortiz
Manny
Lowell
Varitek
Nixon
Youkilis
Cora

That's a damn good lineup and a very good defensive infield. It becomes an excellent fielding infield (the best in the AL?) when you put Snow in there.

Payton covers a lot of ground. I haven't seen enough of him to know whether or not he covers as much ground as Damon, but he has a much better arm ...So, at the very least, we are the same on defense in the outfield.

I'll go to battle with this team...Especially with the young arms waiting in the wings...

Speaking of which...just think...in '07 this is a legit possibility
3B Marte
SS Pedroia
Closer Hansen
Delcarmen
Papelbon
Lester

Nice.......

Only Sutter.

HoF results announced, with only one inductee. Honestly I didn't see that coming - weird how the voters have all of a sudden become stingy. Rice and Gossage with just shy of 65%.

Since becoming eligible in 1994, Sutter's percentages were 23.9, 29.8, 29.2, 27.5, 31.1, 24.1, 38.5, 47.6, 50.4, 53.6, 59.5 66.7, 75.6.
Since becoming eligible in 1995, Rice's percentages were 29.8, 35.3, 37.6, 42.3, 29.3, 51.5, 57.9, 55.1, 53.6, 54.6, 59.5, 64.8.
Since becoming eligible in 2000, Gossage's percentages were 33.3, 44.3, 43.0, 42.1, 40.7, 55.2, 64.7.

So it looks like Gossage is a shoo-in, but for Rice it'll be tough; only 3 more years to get another 10%. And the class of 2007 includes Gwynn and Ripken. (Also, between 1999 and 2000, nearly 1 in 4 writers changed their mind about Rice. Weird.)

Nice graphs of recent voting (not counting today's results) here. Also, according to the NYT, "Since 1968, of the 28 other players who finished with the highest percentage of the vote without being elected, 21 have been elected eventually, most the next year, and 4 who were in their last year on the ballot were later chosen by the veterans committee." Good news for Rice, I guess?

Miggy being Miggy

Tejada now apparently does not want to be traded. This is after he demanded a trade, which is after he denied demanding a trade, which is after he demanded a trade. Really, and Manny's the biggest flake in the AL East?

Sam Perlozzo on the situation: "I totally believe we're not getting the whole picture from Miggy....I can't believe the faucet went from on to off just like that....Sometimes Miggy gets into situations where he says something he doesn't mean and doesn't know how to get out of it. I'm hoping this is that kind of situation."

Or, more concisely, Andrew on the situation: "Sounds like Tejada could get a job with the Bush administration with little to no difficulty."

WBC Weirdness, Part II

So I always thought it was weird (and typical) that A-Rod wanted to play for the Dominican in the World Baseball Classic, given he was born in New York City. But then I looked at the other players' eligibilities. Right now, fourteen current or recent MLB players are eligible to play for Italy: Frank Catalanotto, David Delucci, Mark DeRosa, Mike DiFelice, Tony Fiore, Mike Gallo, Jason Grilli, Matt Mantei, Frank Menechino, Doug Mirabelli, Val Pascucci, Mike Piazza, Joe Vitiello, and Pete Zoccolillo. None were born in Italy. Instead, each is eligible because he has a parent who was born in or is (or was, if deceased) a citizen of the country. (Click here for a FAQ with the elgibility rules.)

So maybe everyone else knew this rule but me, but I find it interesting for a couple reasons. (1) I have to say, I'm surprised that so many MLB players of Italian descent are (on one side of the family at least) first-generation. In fact, I'm hard-pressed to come up with many MLBers with obviously Italian surnames who aren't on the list - only Giambi, Fasano, and Graffanino come to mind. (2) I wonder how many of these 14 guys speak Italian (I imagine some, but not all); I also wonder how many of the other 46 players on the team speak English. Again, probably many but not all of them - so it could be an interesting team dynamic. (3) I just thought of another guy not on the list - Jason Simontacchi. But he played for Italy in the Olympics. So...huh? (4) Valentino Pascucci is an awesome name, and if he ever returns to the majors deserves consideration for the Arquimedez Pozo Award.

Update: Okay, so I'm stupid. Thanks to X (in the comments), other non-elgible players with obviously Italian last names include: Rocco Baldelli, John Franco, Barry Zito, Jeff Fassero, Ricky Bottalico, Craig Biggio, Lenny DiNardo, Lou Merloni, Carl Pavano (?), Mike Mussina, Rich Aurilia (?), Ron Villone...

Curse of CHB

Just finished the morning Globe as a prep heading into the Pats game. And CHB is at it again. Basically predicting a Pats victory - not as blatant as the Secretariat and his prediction the Pats would roll over Indy earlier this year, but things are not looking good for the Pats now.

Snow Patrol

Snow Falls in Boston - Calgary Sun, 1/7/6
It's Snowing in Boston - SportsNewtwork, 1/7/6
Snow is in Sox' Forecast - Providence Journal, 1/7/6
Snow is in the Fenway Forecast - Brattleboro Reformer, 1/7/6
Sox have Snow Day - Boston Herald, 1/7/6
Snow Ball!!! - SawxBlog, 1/6/6
Snow in the Forecast - Sox1Fan, 1/6/6
Expect Snow this Summer - Over the Monster, 1/6/6
Snow Blankets Hub - Fenway Nation, 1/6/6
Let it Snow - 12eight, 1/6/6
There Will Be Snow in Boston - Boston Blood Sox, 1/6/6
Snow in Boston - Firebrand of the AL, 1/6/6
Could there be Snow in Boston? - Fresno Bee, 1/3/6
Snow in Forecast for Sox? - Boston Globe, 1/1/6
A forecast of Snow for Sox, Fenway - Boston Herald, 12/31/5
Holiday Snow wanted - Boston Herald, 12/29/5

More on the way...

Woo-hoo!...?

"There will be no trade, I'm staying in Boston, where I'm familiar with the system and where I have a lot of friends, especially David Ortiz."

Manny Ramirez, January 5

(...good thing he's not some sort of flake, so we know there's no chance he'll change his mind, huh?)

Update: Manny's agent is denying he ever said that. That didn't take long. Once again, we at GYS nail another incredibly easy prediction!

Call me a traitor....

But I don't think I will be able to cheer for the US team in the WBC. Seriously. Especially now that A-Rod says he now will play for the US (after I'm sure, Team Boras calculating that this is the best possible situation for his image.) For starters, even if the team had like a zillion players (all of whom I like) and the game was on the line, I could not root for A-Rod to come through with the winning hit. I really do not want to listen to him and his canned perfect quotes about how its an honor to play for the US and he's just trying to help his team blah, blah, blah.

But seriously - the US team is going to likely have Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Jeter, A-rod, new enemy Johnny Damon, and possibly Gary Sheffield and old enemy Andy Pettite. Can you seriouly root for this team? Especially since the first 6 guys in that list will likely be front an center when it comes to the spotlight. Sure there will be feel good stories of "kids" - Texeria, D-Train, Huston Street, Jake Peavy to name a few. And Varitek should see the bulk of the meaningful playing time (hey A-Rod and Tek will be teammates - very cool). I'm sorry, but its just not a likeable bunch.

I may cheer for the DR or just all around good baseball. Heck the DR team will have Manny, Papi, a still likeable Pedro, Vladi and Pujols. At least they will be serious about playing for their country.

Judgement in the Off-Season

This front office has taken a ton of heat. I am starting to think it is mostly because Damon went to the YANKEES and for really no other reason, yet...They will get a CF and a SS (if you don't like Graf and Cora there)...To support my argument here is the list of arrivals and departures.

Arrivals: RHP Beckett (trade), 3B Lowell (trade), 2B Loretta (trade), 3B Marte (trade), RHP Guillermo Mota (trade) and RHP Jamie Vermilyea (trade).

Departures: CF Damon, 3B Bill Mueller, SS Renteria, 1B Millar, 1B John Olerud, LHP Mike Myers, C Doug Mirabelli.

Call me crazy, but I like the "arrivals" list overall more than the "departures". Figure that Youk and JT Snow take over for Millar and Olerud and I am feeling pretty good about things.

The Rumor

Anyone else hearing anything on this about Manny's wife being the real reason for the trade request? And supposedly b/c Manny cheated on her.

Hall of Fame to be announced in one week

My ballot:

Goose Gossage, Jim Rice, Andre Dawson and Albert Belle.

See comments for debate:

Manny being Manny

Well, as I had predicted before it was made public, the speculation of Manny wanting more money has now been made public. This is, in my opinion, actually a good thing.

I had this sneaking suspicion all along - and I'm glad I finally put it down in black and white. Not that any of us should be surprised, but Manny is full of crap and agents are (generally) money grubbing slime.

I have said a number of times that the Sox should keep Manny. Period. They are a better team with him and even getting Tejada (while filling holes) is NOT equal value. Now, I say they can call his bluff in one of two ways.

1. Make a deal with Baltimore. Hell make it a sweetheart deal for the O's - Manny, Clement and Lester or Marte (don't have a hear attack, let me finish). Even agree to pay some of the $57 MM. The O's get their 72 hours to "negotiate" with Manny, who will ultimately say he won't wave his no trade unless they give him $40 MM more (i.e., more than 33% more than market value. Baltimore will/may ask the Sox for even more $$. And then the Sox say NO. Baltimore certainly won't exercise the options. Trade off. And Manny can't whine. The tried to trade him. They did trade him. But then Manny will turn it down not because he wants to play for a winner. Not because he won't get privacy in Balt. Not because of location. But because of money. And this from the guy who said he would retire after 2008. And whose agents said he would not report to camp (and leave $20MM on the table). Yeah right. The same guy who five years ago went to the highest bidder.

2. The other option. Straight up call his bluff. No trade. They tried. Tell him tough. Let him threaten to sit out. He'll go to camp for the Dominican in the WBC. He'll get his ABs and his work in. Come April 1 he will come to his senses (and cents). And come back to Boston.

Either way - call his bluff. They are a better team with him. And frankly, even if he is gone the Boston Red Sox will always be a soap opera. We all thought it might be different after winning it all, but if anything it has gotten worse.

What Do the Sox Really Need?

Ok...let's not think about "other teams" and how they got better or whatever...What do the Sox really need?

If healthy, their starting rotation looks good. Currently, they even have guys they can trade (Wells, Clement, Arroyo (after his comments about Johnny leaving, I would guess he is gone))...

Their bullpen, again, if healthy, looks good.

Catcher? Good

Ok, so let's look at the infield.
Youk at first (also looks like JT Snow will be added to the mix for platooning)...
Loretta at second
Lowell at third.
Shortstop? I think, honestly they can get away with Cora there. He's a very good fielder but not a great hitter. He does hit, though, and at the very least he can work the count. Stick him in the nine hole and he'd be fine...
Also, we have Graffanino...he can play 2b, ss, or 3b...
So do we have to trade for Tejada?

Well, that brings us to the outfield...
RF Trot Nixon...He's the only definite. But, he gets hurt way too much.
CF We do not have a CF...
LF Currently Manny, but HE WANTS TO LEAVE...Therefore, Tejada...Which leaves the Sox with a good-when-healthy RF in Nixon, and nothing else.

Of course the O's would give us an outfielder in the trade, either (my guess from a previous post) Matos or Gibbons.

Then Wells for Roberts?

Our outfield would then be
RF Nixon
CF Matos or Roberts
LF Gibbons or Matos or Roberts

In Roberts, you get a leadoff guy...So in typical Grieve fashion I conclude this post with the new Red Sox lineup.

CF Dave Roberts
2B Mark Loretta/Graffanino
DH David Ortiz
SS Miguel Tejada
LF Jay Gibbons
3B Mike Lowell
C Jason Varitek
RF Trot Nixon
1B Kevin Youkilis/Snow

Bench
Stern
Flaherty
Cora