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.

California Dreamin.

The Sox left for California this afternoon and what better send off could there be than to make fun of their outfits?



Would you check out those gams? That boy has a very shapely leg. And really nice shoes. Someone ought to tell him how to wear a French cuff, though. Puffy sleeves are not attractive.



I suppose that we can give Victor the benefit of the doubt and pretend that the stripes on his suit are brown. And while his belt and his shoes do not match (and it appears that he's wearing black socks, too boot) at least he seems to have his priorities straight, making an all important stop at Build-A-Bear before he made his way to the bus.




Besides the fact that Theo is carrying both a backpack and a briefcase (making him look like a young-ish college professor), the only thing moderately interesting about the photo is that apparently his choice of airplane reading material is Harper's Magazine. Although as far as I can tell from looking at their website, not the latest issue.



Even though the pocket square doesn't match and he probably should have resisted the urge to button his suit old man cardigan style (just doing the top button), David Ortiz is able to rock the suit. It's a beautiful jacket.



And Francona. I'll just say that the difference in quality between Ortiz's jacket and Francona's jacket is stunning.

Sox on the Town.

The other night (Thursday to be precise) Theo Epstein delivered the key note address at Enterprise Bank's Celebration of Excellence. As part of his speech, Epstein issued five points to a better business. They are: 1. Setting a clear standard. 2. Build a clear process. 3. Surround yourself with good people. 4. Focus on the big picture. And 5. Embrace your values. So there you have it, you too can run a business like Theo Epstein.

If you're willing to head down to the wilds of Worcester (I have a cousin who lives in Worcester and the street he lives on is not paved) tonight, you could catch a glimpse of Jason Varitek. Varitek will be appearing at the Y.O.U. ball at the DCU center. Y.O.U. is an organization that provides services and programs for at-risk youths.

That Old Familiar Pang.

There seems to be a sense of satiety regarding the outcome of the ALCS. It was alright. I was alright. Almost everybody seemed to be alright. Turns out, I may just be good at lying to myself.

Yesterday the players returned to Fenway to pick up their belongings. Theo gave a press conference and dropped this little nugget:

"Epstein met with reporters for about a half-hour at Fenway on Monday before Blake called the final question.

But with the free agent filing period at least a week away, the GM was in no hurry to leave.

"If they have more, I can answer," Epstein said. "I've got nothing to do today, unfortunately."

Heart in vise.

Although, I'm not entirely sure what he would have had to do if they had continued on.

Wakefield and Mirabelli: Hand-in-hand?

First, I just thought it was important to point out how much Theo looks like George Clooney in the above picture.

More Importantly: I wasn't going to post anything about potential trade rumors. They're just rumors and by the awesome power of my mind I might make a seemingly bad deal come true, so it would be better to just shut up about it. That being said: Since Wakefield is in, does that mean that Mirabelli is in as well?

There must be someone better out there. Someone who could put up some offense would be the way to go. In the words of David Ortiz, "Theo, do it!"

How hard can catching a ball be, anyway? This, coming from the gal who if a ninety-mile-an-hour baseball was hurled at her head would probably let out an "Eep!" and get the hell out of the way. And if, by some miracle, I did manage to hold my ground and catch it, I would probably end up knocked over by the impact of the ball. We are, of course, ignoring the fact that, due to my lack of height, I probably wouldn't be anywhere near any major leaguer's strike zone (T-ball might be a possibility, if they had a need for catchers) and the only pitches that wouldn't go soaring over my head (and into the umpire) would be breaking balls in the dirt.

I decided long ago that I wasn't tough enough for baseball. True story: When my brother was in Little League, we (my brother, my mother, and myself) used to go out to the backyard and practice fielding. My mother would pitch, I would bat, and my brother would field. I was pretty good, I could pull the ball in different directions and such; it was my mom pitching though, so they weren't difficult pitches to hit. Anyway, one day she hit me with a pitch (I think she thought I was crowding the plate) and I was done. Haven't played since.

Just for reference and who couldn't use a little George to brighten their day?