Dougie's Going Soft in His Retirement.

When Doug Mirabelli was forced into retirement last spring it was a sad day; not because it was a shame to lose him as a catcher but because of his folk hero status. Mirabelli inspired so much brilliance in someone that the rest of us were left, at least, thinking "Dougie's going deep!" every time he stepped up to the plate. The rock star like reception that he received when he emerged from the dugout to get his ring last April is proof enough of the affection that people had for him.

So what has retirement held for Dougie? He's been quietly spending time with his family in Traverse City, Michigan. Yesterday, however, Mirabelli emerged from his fortress of solitude to hold a baseball clinic at the local YMCA. Dougie spent the day teaching thirty kids between the ages of eight and twelve how to pitch and catch. Apparently considering a position change, Curtis Granderson shrunk, changed his race, and then fully kitted himself out to get lessons from Dougie.

And if you have a former Red Sox player on hand why resist the urge to ask said player about the Yankees? No need to be creative--it's expected. So when the intrepid reporter asked Dougie about the Yankees spending he replied thusly:

"It doesn't surprise me, it's the Yankees. Has that ever been different for them to do? There's such a fear factor between the Yankees and Red Sox of what the other guy is going to do. I think the Yankees have really fallen into a trap of worrying about what the other people are doing, as compared to what's most important to their team sometimes. I think the Red Sox over the course of the last eight years or so have really proven they can pass up on guys. It seems like their plan for the future is a little more in depth than the Yankees."

But it's not all 'no work and all play' for our Dougie. He still followed baseball last season (though if memory serves, he was back in Boston during the summer and said that he hadn't seen any of Wake's starts.)

"I like to take a look at it and it's interesting to me. I had a good time when I was doing it, but I can separate myself from it now."

Good for Doug.