RSVP.

Terry Francona will not be coming to Fenway Park's 100th birthday party.

I like Francona. I get that his feelings were hurt and I understand why he wouldn't want to show up at Fenway ever again. I'm not a particular fan of Larry Lucchino but I also understand why he'd be pissed at Francona for refusing to come. Meanwhile, the whole thing has turned into a soap opera with a level of drama that your average middle-school girl would be proud of.

Justified or not, Francona was shown the door after the team's piss-poor performance last September. Knowing how poorly Larry takes criticism, Francona took a parting shot on his way out of town. If we operate under the assumption that nothing goes on at 4 Yawkey Way that Larry doesn't know about, Larry got his best thirteen-year-old girl on and responded ten-fold by engineering the smear campaign of Francona. And then things went silent.

Spring training rolls around, Francona pops up in Fort Myers, and thirteen-year-old girl style, randomly announces that nobody is returning his calls and nobody has invited him to the party but he wouldn't want to go anyway. So there. The first is just weird because who besides, apparently, Terry Francona has ever expected their old boss (who has just fired them) to call and chat.

Now Francona's got the masses behind him and feeling himself on a roll, tells the world that John Henry finally did return his call. But that it was too little, too late. Henry should have called months ago and Francona didn't really want to talk to him. Why he whined about it then in the first place, I don't know. And silence again.

Today Francona runs to Shaughnessy, of all people, and announces that he was invited to the party but that he will decline the invitation. Fine. I get that. I really do. The response by the Red Sox to his comment that the Front Office didn't have his back was way over the top, hurtful, ugly, unnecessary, and hideous. He is perfectly within the right to stay home and not bother with these people ever again. But he also can't resist sniping that Larry had the gall to call and yell at him about being unfair.

Well, Terry. You are being unfair. You've said that you don't believe the the Front Office was behind the smear campaign but you're the one who keeps taking potshots at the team and then rejecting the olive branch when it is extended.

Never forget that Larry is smarter than you and more conniving than you. Larry is a queen bee and has the role of mean girl down pat. You can't beat him at his own game and you'll only end up looking bad if you try.