The Year That Was.

I'm not sure why but I wasn't going to do an end of the year post. But then it occurred to me that I had this goofy little oddball musical theatre theme going for this season and there was a perfect song in RENT. [Aside: I know that there are a lot of RENT fans out there but the show has not aged well. It's odd because La Boheme hasn't suffered the same fate. It's probably because RENT set out to be super-edgy and now it's not--it's just super full of itself.] So how could I resist?

So Year in Review:

April: There were a couple of excellent games in April; Wakefield's near no-hitter (April 15) and subsequent eleven game winning streak, Jason Bay tying it up off Mariano Rivera in the ninth and Youkilis walking off with the win on April 24, Varitek's grand slam off AJ Burnett (April 25), and on April 27 at Cleveland the teams traded zeros for nine innings until Jason Bay hit a three-run home run off of Kerry Wood. But the winner for best game has to be Ellsbury's steal of home on April 26.

The worst game in April had to be the twelve inning disaster in Oakland on April 14. The game was almost four and a half hours long--not the best thing for a game that started at ten. Matsuzaka lasted only one inning, giving up five runs on five hits and two walks. The bullpen mostly held it together after that though. Happy went four innings, no runs; Manny Del went one and two-thirds, no runs; Ramon Ramirez went one and a third, no hits, no runs; Okajima went two innings, no hits, no runs; Papelbon went one inning, no hits, no runs; Javier Lopez struggled though--a walk, a ground out, a walk, a walk to load the bases, a strike out, and a single that brought in the tying run but was a really close play at first. The other choice would be Matt Garza's almost no-hitter (April 30). Featuring: Seven earned runs from Josh Beckett, five from Javier Lopez and his right-field debut, and two-thirds of an inning pitching from Jonathan Van Every.

May: The good: Not so much a great Red Sox moment as a Yankees Suck moment but on May 5, pugly Joba Chamberlain performed beautifully in relief of himself--he still got the loss after giving up four runs in the first inning and Beckett was able to hold them to a Damon three-run home run. And on Thursday May 7, the Red Sox scored 12 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning against Cleveland.

The bad: Papelbon blew a save against the Mets on May 23; he gave up a home run to Omir Santos that scrapped it's way over the wall. And on May 3, Carl Crawford stole six bases in one game.

The ugly: I would nominate May 28 in Minnesota. In the seventh inning, Jeff Bailey looks like he misses homeplate as he tries to score on a Dustin Pedroia sacrifice fly. Mike Redmond argues and is tossed. Ron Gardenhire argues and is tossed. In the next half inning, Josh Beckett says something to the umpire, Varitek jumps up to defend him and gets tossed. Terry Francona tries to defend Varitek and he gets tossed. Very strange.

June: On June 3, Josh Beckett had a no-hitter through seven and two-thirds. On June 4, the Sox continued to not swing at bad pitches as Dontrelle Willis fell apart before their eyes (he couldn't make it out of the third inning.) On June 6, Lester was perfect through six and one-third. On June 21, Nick Green hit a walk-off home run against the Braves.

The worst game of June would have to be June 30 at Baltimore. John Smoltz looked to be on his way to his first win; he went four innings and gave up only one run. Then the skies opened up. When the game resumed the bullpen coughed up a nine run lead and gave up ten runs in two innings.

July: Conversely, one of the best games on July was on July 1st. The Orioles had Bergesen going and the Sox came up with only one run in eight innings. But after he was pulled from the game in the ninth inning, the Oriole bullpen did their best Red Sox from the night before impersonation: Jim Johnson walked Pedroia and gave up a home run to Youkilis; George Sherrill got two strike outs (Jason Bay and David Ortiz), Ellsbury got a single, Bailey walked, Varitek walked to load the bases, Rocco Baldelli hit a single and tied the game, then Drew walked; Danys Baez got them out of the inning. To the top of the eleventh--Ellsbury hit a double, took third on a Baldelli fly ball, and scored the winning run on a Julio Lugo single.

In terms of bad days on July 30 the David Ortiz PEDs scandal broke; he did hit a three-run home run to win the game that day, though. That was a pretty bad day.

August: August brought Victor Martinez and that wasn't a bad thing. On August 14 in Texas, the Rangers had a four to two lead heading into the ninth inning and then all hell broke loose against Frank Francisco. David Ortiz doubled. Varitek singled, Ortiz went to third. Ellsbury singled, Varitek went to second, and Ortiz went home. Chris Woodward struck out. Clay Buchholz was put in to run for Varitek but, you see, he was thrown out at home trying to score on a double. From second base. Rally killer? You might think so but not with Victor Martinez in the lineup. Martinez hit a double; knocked himself on the helmet and knocked in two runs to put the Sox up by one. But they weren't done yet. Jason Bay singled and Martinez scored. Then JD Drew topped it off with a home run. Other games? Paul Byrd beat Roy Halladay on August 30.

I'd have to pick the fifteen inning affair at New York on August 7 as the bad game for August. Five and a half hours and fourteen innings of nothing before a two-run home run by Alex Rodriguez to end it.

September: September 16 against the Angels was possibly the game of the year. Paul Byrd pitched five and one-third of an inning and gave up three runs, when he was pulled the Sox were behind nothing to three. In the bottom of the sixth they pulled ahead 5-3. In the top of the seventh, Ramon Ramirez was pitching after Saito got the first out and then hit Vlad Guerrero with a pitch. Torii Hunter popped out. Two out. Kendry Morales struck out. Three out. Except, Varitek didn't catch the ball and Morales hustled down to first. Ramon may have been rattled. Kendrick singled, Guerrero scored. Rivera doubled, both Morales and Kendrick scored. Napoli doubled, Rivera scored. Okajima came in and got the fourth out by striking out Figgins. The damage at the end of the inning was that the Angels were once again leading, this time 7-5. The Sox didn't respond in the seventh and Oki/Manny Del were able to get through the eighth. Bottom of the eighth, Kevin Jepsen pitching. David Ortiz singles. JD Drew pinch hits for Brian Anderson and walks. Josh Reddick pinch hits for Jason Varitek and grounds into a force out, Ortiz takes third. Darren Oliver replaces Jepsen as the pitcher. A wild pitch to Casey Kotchman moves Reddick to second. Kotchman grounds out, Ortiz scores, and Reddick moves to third. Alex Gonzalez walks. Ellsbury singles and Reddick scores to tie the game. Pedroia flies out to end inning. Daniel Bard is brought in for the ninth inning. He got two outs (both ground outs) but then gave up three singles in a row to again put the Angels up by one. The Angels went to their closer, Brian Fuentes. Jason Bay popped out. One out. Mike Lowell flied out to deep center. Two outs. David Ortiz walked and was pinch run for by Joey Gathright. JD Drew singled and Gathright took second. Jed Lowrie singled to load the bases. Nick Green seemed to strike out twice (once swinging and once looking) but drew a walk and re-tied the game. And then Alex Gonzalez blooped one to left and the Red Sox won.

They didn't win the worst game of September but it wasn't a particularly badly played game. On September 25 in New York, Jon Lester took a line drive off the quadriceps muscle and as he lie on the ground rolling around in pain it didn't look good.

October: They played four games against Cleveland in October and won all of them so they were all pretty good. On October 1, though, Lester was perfect for five and one third of an inning in his first game back from being hit in New York.

As for a bad game, Clay Buchholz didn't look good in his last start on October 4. He went three innings and gave up six runs (including walking in a run).

And the play-offs aren't particularly worth talking about. The starting pitching wasn't all that bad but the bullpen and the lack of hitting was pathetic.

Hopefully, there are bigger and better things awaiting the Red Sox in 2010.

Number Forty-Nine: Ernie Shore.

(From L-R: Ernie Shore, Babe Ruth, Carl Mays and Dutch Leo

Ernie Shore only pitched six full seasons in the big leagues and four of them were with Boston (1914-1917). In Boston he went 58-33 in 125 games. Dead ball era aside, he was a solid pitcher in a rotation that featured Smokey Joe Wood and Babe Ruth. But Ernie Shore's claim to fame is a single game in 1917.

On June 23, 1917 Babe Ruth started the first game of a double header at Fenway against the Washington Senators. Ruth walked the first batter of the game and then proceeded to get himself thrown out of the game for arguing with the umpire. Shore came in in relief, the runner got caught stealing, and Shore sat down the next twenty-six Senators he faced. In short, a nearly perfect game.

Optimism.

A disturbingly hairless Kevin Youkilis was at the Lowell Spinners' Alumni Awards Dinner last night to receive the Dick Berardino Distinguished Alumni Award. Asked how the Red Sox will survive without the bat of Jason Bay in the lineup, Youk replied:

"We have a great team. Signing John Lackey is huge. If we don't allow as many runs, then we don't have to score as many runs. Mike Cameron is a good addition to the team, and this team has some guys who can improve on their numbers from last year. You never know: Someone who hit fifteen homers last year might hit twenty-five."

So there you go. Youkie says relax.

Fifty Days.

There are fifty days until spring training. It may be frigid outside but there are only fifty days until pitchers and catchers. When you say it like that it doesn't seem so bad. (I may have to work harder on the John Lackey liking, though.)

So I came up with a task for myself for those fifty days. But unlike other assignments I've given myself for this space which I've either done half-heartedly or grown bored with and abandoned, I've come prepared. I have a list. It started off as a list of Fifty Reasons to Love the Red Sox but then morphed into something closer to Fifty Things to Know About the Red Sox. But there were things to know that were not reasons to love and so I suppose that it's best title at the moment would be Fifty Good Things About the Red Sox.

And so I present:

Number Fifty: Fred Lynn.



A graceful, athletic, fearless centerfielder--was there any doubt that he would make my list? It also doesn't hurt that the man could hit. He was Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in 1975 but in his sixteen (and a piece) seasons in baseball he put up more good years than bad. Injuries and being traded out of Fenway to the California Angels hampered a potentially spectacular career. But men who leap into walls after a small leather ball will always have a little piece of my heart.

Choked Up.

I'm not sure I could ever get enough of Billy Mueller knocking Mariano Rivera ass over tea kettle.

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish.

Mike Francesa had it on his show (and Heyman confirmed) that Jason Bay is a physical shy of spending the next four years in Queens. Poor Jason. I'm glad he got his money but to have to play for the Mets is just tragic. I am glad that he didn't end up with the Yankees, though. That would have sucked.

Meanwhile, Josh Bard has signed a minor-league deal with Bay's supposed dream destination, the Seattle Mariners. With their catching situation the way it is (Johjima has gone back to Japan; Rob Johnson has had four surgeries this off-season, and has a below average bat and is, at best, an average defensive catcher; and baby catcher Adam Moore has a grand total of six major league games) maybe he gets a chance out there. Seattle is building an interesting team.

Go West.

Jeff Bailey has decided to give up on beautiful Pawtucket and head for, at least, the high desert in Reno, NV signing a minor-league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. At least it's not Japan. And, hey! If Jeffy ends up making the major-league roster, then he'd be around in June when the Diamondbacks come to town. Absolute best of luck to him.

The Diamondbacks also signed Bob Howry. Bob's time in Boston was short--half of 2002 and four games in 2003--and it wasn't particularly good. To be fair he did have an elbow problem in 2003 and he bounced right back in 2004 with Cleveland. But I guess good luck to him too.

Cold Winter Fun.

A bit of information that may only be of interest to myself:

Former best beloved Craig Breslow [Aside: He really needn't worry about me stalking him. Honestly. I'm not the stalking type--well, except for that weatherman but that was quite awhile ago.] is scheduled to appear at the World Baseball Coaches' Convention at the Mohegan Sun, January 21-23. He doesn't actually appear on the schedule of events, though.

And to make it more relevant to anyone else: Strength and conditioning coach, Dave Page will be giving a talk entitled "The Facts About Baseball Fitness Training: Getting Your Player Ready for the Season" on January 22.

S-M-R-T.

List season. It starts with Christmas lists. Then there are shopping lists. And lastly, top ten lists; top ten people, top ten news stories, top ten sports stories, top ten status updates on Facebook. This year, list makers--generally, journalists with nothing real to write about--get the added bonus of making Top Ten ________ of the Decade. It fell to one writer (Karen Hawthorne of Canada's National Post) to compile a list of the Top Ten Smartest People of the Decade. I don't necessarily agree with most of her choices (But, truthfully, I didn't really read it. I only looked at the pictures.) coming in as the tenth smartest person of the decade was Theo Epstein. So there's that.

Ninety.

"Wake up the damn Bambino. Have him face me. Maybe I'll drill him in the ass." --Pedro Martinez

My mother's uncle was a war photographer during World War II. At the beginning of the war he was stationed in England but by 1944 he had been transferred to Hawaii. I have no idea how it happened (short of my great uncle and my grandmother being a pair of spies--they were from the German part of Poland, after all) but somehow my grandmother ended up with copies of a lot of photographs that her brother took. There are eight books filled with photographs and a cigar box with overflow pictures. Going back to the spy thing, my mother never knew any of those pictures existed. They were stored in my grandmother's closet and only when she died did they come to light.

The pictures from England are hard to look at. They show a lot of rubble and charred buildings. But the photos from Hawaii are less emotional. They show lots of guns and cannon and airplanes and battleships and cannon going off and barracks and military parades. There are some pictures of scenery but they mostly seemed to be taken to experiment with colorization.

So you're flipping through these books and the pages are crumbling under your fingers. There are pages and pages and pages of guns. And then suddenly, without any sort of context around it, staring grumpily out at you from the facing page is Babe Ruth. It's very shocking the first time you see the picture. He's so instantly recognizable and so out of place that it prompts a response of "Wait! Is that..?" from everyone.

It would be interesting to know how my great uncle felt about taking that picture. On one hand, it's Babe Ruth but on the other ninety years ago today Ruth was sold to the Yankees. I assume that Ruth was in Hawaii as a morale booster/USO type thing. And since there are no other photographs in any of the other books of even a remotely similar nature, I think that it's safe to assume that the mystique of Babe Ruth overtook any sense of bitterness or resentment or cursed-ness that my mother's uncle might have felt.

But whether the Curse of the Bambino was a figment of Dan Shaughnessy's imagination or an actual sentiment that existed before he put a title to it, it deserves to be acknowledged--if only because it became such a large part of our collective conscience. Who doesn't know "No, No, Nannette"? And while this is almost certainly a severe case of hindsight, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. 2007 was great but it was no 2004. 2004 was an amazing ride. Mind you, 2003 sucked.

A Second Career.

After 2007, Matt Clement went to St. Louis but he wasn't able to make a start for them. Last year he tried out for Toronto but when he didn't make the team out of spring training, he decided to call it quits. And so what's a guy to do when he's thirty-five, has already made a considerable amount of money, and suddenly has a lot of free time on his hands? Matt Clement is filling his days coaching basketball at his old high school. I won't make any snarky comments about Clement or contemplate his psyche. I will say that he is a very fortunate individual and good for him for finding something he likes to do.

Merry Christmas.

Perhaps I'm not a very good host but I do appreciate the people who willing partake of my oddness. Thank you and just a very merry (but safe) Christmas (Hanukkah/Winter Solstice) to anyone who should happen by.

Also, happy birthday Okie!

The Baby and the Bath Water.

Don Orsillo's mailbag. What can I say? The man watches a lot of baseball and he probably knows this team as well as anybody. Like most people, he sometimes has interesting things to say and he sometimes has bone-headed things to say. Like today's answer about Ellsbury's defense:

"I am not a fan of this method of evaluating a player. I realize agents and some scouting departments are searching for ways to quantify a player's defense; I just don’t think it tells you enough of the story. I am guessing most baseball people agree, based on how people view your two great examples, Ellsbury and Jeter. I think a scout's eye can more accurately determine whether a player is a good defender and can cover ground. Again, this is a way to quantify an area that, with the exception of fielding percentage, has been tough to quantify. Still not a fan though."

Oh, Donny O. Fielding percentage? Really? Come out of the dark ages. How many times have you and Jerry sat there and disagreed with the official scorers call on whether something was an error or not? How then can you rely on a statistic that has errors as an integral part of it's formula?

Look, I agree with you that Ellsbury was treated unfairly by UZR this season. And I agree that you should rely on what you can see. What I've seen is Jacoby making plays much more difficult than they need to be. How many times have you called something to the effect of: "Jacoby started in and now he's headed back to leap and make the play." or "Jacoby started back and now he's headed in but he has the speed to make up for it." And that's all I'll say about that because it's all been said before.

Also, I'm not sure what it says about me but in the photo included with the mailbag, I recognized the dugout at Angels Stadium (at least, I hope it's Angels Stadium after I called Don Orsillo's opinions bone-headed) before I recognized Varitek.

Tacoma Bound.

David Pauley has moved on from the Orioles and signed a minor league deal with Seattle. I always liked Pauley. They're building quite a team out there in Seattle and if he should get a chance to break through out there, that would be great. And here's hoping his little girl is doing well.

From the Halls of Montezuma.

to trying to get a thirty-six year-old-man to get on a bus in Los Angeles.

Edes has a piece about Terry Francona's son, Nick, who graduated from Quantico last summer as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps and is likely to be deployed to Afghanistan soon enough. I don't do politics here but the best of luck to him.

The reason to bring it up is Nick's quote about the difference between managing a baseball team and managing a Marine platoon:

"There's a difference, though, between $10 million ballplayers and Marines making $10,000 a year, they don't have Manny Ramirezes in the Marine Corps. They just don't exist. In baseball, you can't just tell them what to do. In the Marine Corps, you say jump, they say, 'How high?"'

Do you think Francona did some complaining about his job over the breakfast table?

Also, the picture is fabulous.

MVP.

Choosing an MVP for the 2009 Boston Red Sox was probably a fairly easy decision for the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. This wasn't a club that had an easy go of it from April to October; there were plenty of injuries to and disappointing starts for players who were being counted on for big things. I suppose a case could have been made for Jason Bay but he seemed to lead the team-wide slump in early August. And so they selected Kevin Youkilis for the Thomas A. Yawkey Memorial Award. Congratulations to him.

Tip of the Cap.

Jason Bay was awarded the Tip O'Neill Award by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. The award is given to the best Canadian playing the game of baseball. It's Bay's third go-round, as he won in 2004 and 2005. So congratulations to him.

A Well Kept Secret.

I had heard awhile ago that Manny Delcarmen's wife might be pregnant but since it seemed to be only a one-off rumor I dismissed it. Turns out, my teller-of-tales was right. Last month she gave birth to a little girl whom they are calling Miley. (Forgive me for linking the Inside Track.) I am being non-judgmental about her name. Congratulations to the family. Given how adorable the son is, it probably won't be too long until the girl is breaking hearts.

It's a Small World.

With two little kids a vacation to Disney World makes a lot of sense for Daisuke Matsuzaka. What doesn't make a lot of sense? The truly awful jacket he chose to wear.

Trading Barbs.

Mike Lowell and Rob Bradford are total BFFs. So, it would make sense that when Lowell decided to make his side of the "Great Thumb Controversy" known he went right to Bradford. Sounding slightly bitter, defensive and like he's giving a deposition, Mikey says:

“I was in constant contact with the training staff and I told them at the two-week (mark) I didn’t feel a difference with my thumb and at the four-week mark it was the same thing and then at the seven-week mark Mike Reinold flew down to Miami to check it out and that’s when they decided to put me in the splint and keep it immobilized for a month. That’s when the thinking was that it might be something more than it was originally thought to be. The first day of the winter meetings was when I was ordered to get an MRI."

I don't really understand what the point of this was as I'm sure it doesn't help things with the front office if they do end up stuck with each other. Mike certainly doesn't seem too happy with them.

Of Cabbages and Kings.

Word is Covelli is a physical shy of signing to play, presumably, center field for Oakland next season. While it's a move that keeps Coco, at least, a little closer to home, it's not a move that really seems to make much sense for the Athletics. They already have Rajai Davis and Ryan Sweeney who are very similar to Coco in that they're defensive assets and about average with the bat. And they also have Scott Hairston who was only acquired half way through last season. And they just got prospect Michael Taylor from Toronto (after Toronto received him in the Halladay trade.) Admittedly, Taylor needs more time in triple AAA but it's a crowded outfield. They might consider platooning Hairston and Davis but one of them might just as likely be available for a trade.

Also, might Pedro be thinking about a return to Queens? Given the way things seem to be going for Minaya this off season, I wouldn't put it past him.

Also, the Padres who were looking to trade for a catcher (which might have made some sense of the Max Ramirez for Mike Lowell trade) have filled that need by trading for the Tiger's Dusty Ryan.

And this is what happens when there is anything interesting to write about.

Thumbs Down.

Mike Lowell seems to have the worst luck when it comes to injuries. Damage to the radial collateral ligament of the thumb, while not unheard of, is rare.

It's a short little ligament that originates at the styloid process of the radius (the little point of bone on the end of the radius) and connects to the scaphoid bone in the wrist (the lower of the two wrist bones in the picture) and the trapezium (the other wrist bone in the picture). You should be able to easily feel it in your own wrist. It's in the space between the end of the radius and the metacarpal of the thumb. The purpose of the RCL is to stabilize the wrist and to limit how far the hand will move in the direction of the pinkie finger. If you hold your right hand straight out in front of you with the wrist flat and try to move just your hand to the right, it won't go very far because of the RCL. Mikey Lowell's probably moves alarmingly further because his RCL is torn.

As to why nobody bothered to get this checked out sooner: The prescribed treatment for the injury is to splint the thumb for four or five weeks in the hope that it will heal itself before attempting surgery; so they very well may have done this. The surgery itself is fairly simple, depending on the quality of the ligament. You open up the hand and reattach the ligament. In severe cases the ligament may be too damaged to use and you'd have to do a tendon graft. Then you reset the bones and pin the joint in place.

Recovery is probably three or four weeks until you take the pin out and then an additional three weeks or so until the ligament is healed. I'd say it would probably be the beginning of March before he'd be ready to get back into the swing of things.

Hold the Phone.

Rob Bradford has it that Mike Lowell is staying due to a torn radial collateral ligament in his thumb. Obviously not for Mikey himself but this may be the best outcome to occur from this whole fiasco.

Old Pen Pals.

Javier Lopez has landed with the Pirates. I always liked Javier. And I think that a lot of the crap he got last year was, if not undeserved, at least overwrought. He was relatively reliable a few years ago. And if Daisuke Matsuzaka gets to blame the WBC for his poor 2009, then why shouldn't Javier? So good for him.

And Bryan Corey, remember him? He played the water bottles in the band and had a sad story about buying a house in Boston in 2008 thinking that he was going to make the team for real only to be claimed off waivers by the Padres. And there was a daughter who was going to miss Wally. Well, he's headed to Japan to join the Chiba Lotte Marines.

The Natives Are Restless.

Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this son of York;
And all the clouds that low'r'd upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

Richard the Third, Act 1, scene 1, 1-4

So said Richard the Third meaning the "winter of our discontent" is now over thanks to his brother Edward being made king and the result of which is that all their troubles have gone away. Theo fits nicely into the role of Edward. He wrests control and makes all our lives better. But he is not above reproach as Richard promptly starts complaining about the way his brother rules the kingdom. Mike Lowell (and possibly others, if this report of clubhouse grousing is to be believed) might be cast as our Richard.

The complaint is against the treatment of Mike Lowell and Jason Bay. I adore Mike Lowell and I'm ready to bust out the black crepe for him. I am. And I'd absolutely agree that he has a reason to be annoyed or disappointed or even angry over the way Theo's treated him. And it may be hard for him to accept but the stark reality is that he is not nearly the defender that he once was and that he can barely move. If he can't play the position and he can't DH (because we've already got one of those with similar issues), then what does he expect them to do? Especially if he's going to complain about sitting on the bench.

I don't know that you can make a case for Jason Bay, though. Maybe I'm just blindly toeing the party line but my understanding of the July breakdown in talks was that it was mutual. (Or maybe it was just Theo saying they were going to table it and to stop bugging Bay about it.) I don't seem him being mistreated by the front office.

But if Bronson Arroyo is right when he says:

"As players we don't care if (owner) John Henry loses money on the year. Players care about winning the World Series. Dollars and cents don't mean (anything) except for your own individual contract. So, you never want to see a good teammate, a player who you think can help the club, leave. But that's the way it is."

it seems like a little bit of a double standard, no? He seems to be saying: I don't care about management's end of it. As long as you can pay me my $12 million, I just want to win. But when management says: I just want to win. And if I have to pay $9 million for you to go away so that I can win, I'm willing to do that. It becomes a problem.

And lastly the quote by the anonymous player upbraiding the front office:

"I was almost taken aback by some of the stuff that has gone on here. They'll play the card to get the player here, but as soon as they get here, they'll cast him away."

My inner Harriot the Spy is abuzz with trying to figure out who might have said it. "...stuff that has gone on here." seems to indicate to me that it's from someone who is currently on the team but who has played somewhere else. So, Youkilis, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, Buchholz, Papelbon, and Delcarmen are out. I would disqualify Okajima and Matsuzaka simply because it's unlikely that Joe McDonald speaks Japanese well enough to bother with either of them. As a mercenary himself, JD Drew wouldn't have anything to say about loyalty. Jason Bay and Mike Lowell can be scratched as the source of the quote. Victor Martinez wasn't around long enough to be aware of the Jason Bay situation. So that leaves Varitek, David Ortiz, Josh Beckett and Tim Wakefield. Varitek can't string three words together into a coherent sentence, so he's out. In English David Ortiz tends to introduce each sentence (e.g. I'm telling you man). It might have been Beckett as he seems fiercely loyal but I don't know if he'd insist on anonymity. It might have been Wakefield because he does have something to complain about and he may be out of a job. But if I was going to venture a guess (and he probably doesn't qualify because he's not on the roster anymore) I would go with Rocco Baldelli; fairly intelligent, played somewhere else fairly recently. Or it might just be because I've decided that Rocco is a very Shakespearean character.

Thin Ice.

Jason Varitek was back at Fenway earlier today along with some old Bruins to test out the ice before the Winter Classic. WBZ has video. Oddly, and it might just be the giant coat but his legs look really skinny.

He also spoke with the media while he was there. Edes has the full transcript but Varitek speaks with such strange syntax that it's sometimes difficult to figure out what he's trying to say when it's written down. Plus, he has a weird issue with tenses.

So, I knew that being a catcher was hard on the joints in your legs but I didn't realize just how difficult it must be. Says Varitek on the last time the season ended without him being in pain:

"I don't know. But one good thing, at the end of the season I didn't play as much, so my sea legs came back a lot quicker. Usually the determining point of ... when I can start training is if I can go down the stairs straight. I don't have to sidestep to get down the steps. Then my body is feeling pretty good. You can't play that position. Once you're down and the adrenaline leaves the system, something's going to hurt.''

Geez, man.

We Will Rebuild Him.

Daisuke Matsuzaka's 2009 season left quite a bit to be desired. He started off poorly, went on the DL, came back but continued to suck before he was banished to Florida for three months. The Florida stint seemed to work well for him, though, as when he came back he showed more of what had come to be expected of him in his two years here.

In a seeming effort to build on that progress, Matsuzaka is spending time at Athletes' Performance (which has apparently changed it's name from Athletes' Performance Institute) both last week and for five weeks starting in January. During the past week he was working on core strength and aerobic efficiency. With a VO2 Max of 50, he does seem to be relatively fit aerobically. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I am more aerobically fit than Daisuke Matsuzaka--a girl has got to take her props where she can get them. [Aside: V02 Max is a way of measuring how effectively the body uses oxygen when it's working at it's maximum capacity. The higher the better. The idea is the more oxygen you can use, the more energy you can produce. If you're interested, there's an easy home test to estimate your VO2 Max here.]

He also got a glowing review from his trainer:

"After that he'll get in good shape. He'll get better strength on the core, and he doesn't have any worry for hip conditioning or anything. So, I think he's probably pretty much ready to go. He gets everything right. Once I coach him, he gets it. He's a great athlete."

So that's good.

A Major Turn Around.

After a terrible April and May in 2009, Jon Lester got himself straightened out and never looked back once the calendar turned to June/May 31. Except for the night he took a liner off the quadriceps in NY he never allowed more than four runs an outing from then on. He also started striking batters out like it was going out of style. And so for the second year in a row, Jon Lester has been selected as the Red Sox Pitcher of the Year by the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Going Home.

Not all that long ago, Dustin Pedroia didn't get along with the town of Woodland, CA. Last year, after his brother's arrest, Pedroia had a problem with the way the local newspaper connected him with the crime. Then, during spring training, he called the town a dump (or something of that nature) and said that nobody wanted to live there. At the time, reports out of northern California seemed to indicate that for some of the local populace Dustin was persona non grata.

It would seem that Pedroia and the town have now reached a sort of peace. On January 30, Pedroia will be speaking at a benefit to raise money for the renovation of the town's ballfields.

Now, I realize that Woodland is a good-sized town and that Dustin has only been in the league for a few years but down in Hahira, GA J.D. Drew has a ballfield named after him (and his brothers) while Dustin, who seems much more outgoing, is raising money for a field named after somebody called Clark. Fair?

Personal Reference.

I can't imagine who you would have to be or what you would have had to have done for Sean Casey to dislike you. He seems like the type of person who could find the good in anyone. So it comes as no surprise that Casey provides a glowing recommendation of Mike Cameron:

"Cam has a great personality. He brings energy to the park every day. He's real loose. Guys gravitate toward him. He plays hard every night, just like (Dustin) Pedroia and (Kevin) Youkilis. He is a perfect fit with that team and that city."

Sold.

The Award Goes To...

There is a certain segment of the population that realized a few days ago that the acquisition of Mike Cameron would potentially free up Theo to move Ellsbury to San Diego in order to get his paws on Adrian Gonzalez. They're vocal about their belief that Ellsbury has serious defensive deficiencies and on top of that he doesn't get on base enough to make up for that. He doesn't walk enough and he doesn't seem to be able to bunt. His only positive attribute is his speed and speed may be fleeting.

Now, I'm not the biggest Jacoby Ellsbury fan but I do think that that's a very dour take on him as a player. I agree that he could get on base more but I also think that if he would take fewer pitches he'd have a better chance of doing that. He seems to be looking for a walk and falling behind because of it. I do think that if he could bunt for a base hit, then he'd be golden. I also think that his defensive issues are over blown. He goes side-to-side beautifully but seems to have depth perception issues. I'm inclined to think that experience or maybe a new glasses prescription might help that out.

But I would guess that the Ellsbury-detractors are the in the minority as Ellsbury won the Defensive Player of the Year for the This Year in Baseball Awards. So congratulations to him. May he prove me wrong.

Getting to Know You. Or, Old Habits Die Hard.

Getting to like John Lackey may be more difficult than I anticipated. Just a few seconds into his presser I ended up snarling "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you." at the television screen. I hate his stupid little beady eyes and his pointy teeth and his mole and his under-bite and his mouth-breathing. He might as well be called John Hapsburg. And to top it all off, that voice. Oy.

The prima donna thing may be overplayed because he is reportedly a good teammate (but, of course, I can't find the article) just extremely passionate. And he's a ballplayer not a politician, so the lack of eloquence may be forgiven.

See? Little by little I'll probably come around.





But Mike Cameron and I? While in terms of the ability to cast off the cliches he's not Justin Masterson (whom I am convinced has a preacher inside him), Mike Cameron and I are cool. He seems genuinely happy to be here. He and Francona go back a long way. And he plays a mean centerfield.

What's the Sound of Two Mittens Clapping?

Baseball in April in Boston is always a crap-shoot; the weather doesn't always cooperate. Of course, it doesn't help when opening day is scheduled for 8:00 on a Sunday night. I suppose that most people won't end up having to call in sick from work. Luckily, the game will still be on NESN. It would be tragic to begin a season with Joe Morgan.

But Which Is Theo?

Busy Day.

I like John Lackey. I like John Lackey. I like John Lackey. I figure that if I start repeating it to myself now, I'll be able to convince myself of it by spring training. If Manny and Papelbon can be charming, then so can Lackey, his ugly mug, and his hissy fit throwing ways.

It's a good move, though. (Even if it is, seemingly, superfluous.) Dependent on the health of his elbow, he's a good pitcher; easily a top of the rotation starter on most teams. He's a fierce competitor, if the past ALCS is any indication. And it frees up Theo to move Buchholz for a bat, if necessary. I like Clay but if he becomes all that he can become, how much better than Lackey will he really be? Plus, it keeps him away from the Yankees--which, while it should never be the main motivation of making a move--is always a nice bonus. And it's a kick in the teeth to the Angels.

All that money on Lackey (and five years does seem like a long time) almost assuredly means that the Sox have moved on from Bay. But this Mike Cameron rumor, coupled with my love of slick fielding centerfielders almost makes up for it. Maybe.

A Different Sort of Christmas.

Tonight in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic David Ortiz will be co-hosting an event called The Millionaire's Night Party--link in Spanish. The event is a fundraiser with the idea of being able to provide Christmas dinner (gifts and toys included) to the children in ten orphanages in the the Dominican Republic.

Say it with me: Awwww.

I Was Not Sleeping.

Perhaps because I split a toenail and haven't run in more than a week and the ennui and general sluggishness that that entails overran my normal life, I haven't felt like writing anything. It's not that there wasn't anything to write about: the doubling of the Ramon Ramirezes (Ramirezi?) amused me greatly and I could have decorated this place with black bunting for Curtis Granderson and Mike Lowell. I, however, just didn't feel like it. But the say when you don't feel like writing, that's the time you should be writing (or something like that), so...

Jerry Remy put a plea up on his Facebook page that made me snicker (and it seemed like a good way to break the silence) copied verbatim:

Ok - it's panic time again, and it has nothing to do with the Red Sox. There's 2 weeks until Christmas and as usual, I have absolutely no idea what to get my wife. Last year I gave her a Wally and a scorecard. Even though I took the time to autograph them, she didn't appreciate it! So this year I am reaching out - is there anyone out there that has any ideas?

By the way ... did I mention that if possible, I would like to order it without leaving the house and have it arrive already wrapped?

Ha!

Marco It Is Then.

That certainly happened quickly. I was still kicking around ideas for my Marco Scutaro post when Edes has it that they're thisclose to signing him. And Ian Browne has it at two years. I suppose that he was the best option available but mostly it's just uninspiring. Welcome to Boston though.

I Heard a Man in Reno.

If Reno was even a little bit closer, I might seriously consider attending a fundraiser for Western Nevada College's baseball and softball programs on January 16. The reason? Dustin Pedroia will be the featured speaker. There's very little that amuses me as much as a Dustin Pedroia quote; his combination of humor and braggadocio is an absolute hoot. And I can't imagine that he'd have a difficult time speaking on the topic of: The Dustin Pedroia Story. You do have to wonder if he came up with the title himself.

Billy the Brave.

Billy Wagner didn't want to come to Boston unless the Sox agreed to not pick up his option and to not offer him arbitration. His wife convinced him that it might be worth it to go even if they did offer him arbitration and so he went. Then the season ended and his agent started making noise about accepting arbitration should it be offered but Theo was unfazed: We'd love to have him back, he claimed. Yesterday an offer of arbitration was extended and before the ink had even had a chance to dry, Wagner was reportedly accepting a deal to become the closer for the Atlanta Braves. Sometimes everything works out in the end. Theo loves his draft picks and (as of right now) he ended up with the twentieth pick overall in June. Not a bad deal.

Re: Just an Old Baseball Club in Search of a Shortstop.

Username: StatBustinDustin
Vitals: Male; 26 years old; Boston, MA

Introduction: 'Sup? The name's Dustin but people call me DP or Pedey or whatever. I saw your ad about looking for a new shortstop and think that I'd be awesome at it. I gotta say: I know where you're coming from. I was also disappointed in the way 2009 turned out for me and am hoping for better things in 2010.

What I Bring to the Table: I may not be the biggest guy who responds to your ad but I've got heart and I've got hustle. And I would literally be a shortstop <--- Punny, right? I really don't harp on my height and hope that you'd be able to see past it. I love a challenge (and since I've already accomplished everything that could ever be accomplished at second, moving to short and doing it all again would be a challenge). But I did play short in college and in the minors, so it wouldn't be completely new. Plus, since we already know each other there wouldn't be any getting to know you period. Lastly, my, like, personal theme song:



Hit me back. Let's talk.