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Today’s the day

April 3rd, 2006

After a long, cold winter — being forced to watch the Red Sox Management make its decisions for better or worse — we’re now set to begin a whole new season.

It’s like stepping into a roller coast that slowly begins cranking its way up to the very first hill. We’re now at the apex and ready for our first decent into what will surely be an exciting season. It’s going to be a whole new team stepping out onto the field today, but a team we’ll be very familiar with a few weeks down the road. A

You could see it around The Boken yesterday. Everyone wearing their Yankees hats, excited about what today would bring. Even wearing my Red Sox hat, the Yankees fans smiled — as we knew the rivalry was about to start back up in a few short hours. Let the games begin, and get ready for an exciting ride!

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Posted in Baseball, Red Sox, Yankees

So Long, Mr. Spoilsport

December 21st, 2005

While I do agree with Captain Larby’s Diatribe about the Red Sox being run as a business, they are also a team in a very competitive market. While Baseball is a very complex game with a number of rules, the business-side of the game has very few. I know that the Red Sox are high up on the list in terms of player salary, but the Yankees are sitting atop the list as the team spending the most for their players.

Johnny Damon and his agent Scott Boras are in the business as well — trying to vie for the most lucrative deal they could find, and play with whichever team is willing to pay the most. This would inevitably be the Yankees, assuming that they have their eye on a particular player.

It’s a damn shame that the Red Sox would not pony up the dough to sign Johnny, although a seven year contract deal would never fly. Johnny proved to be an extremely clutch player for the Sox last year (the Sox were much more likely to win a game if Johnny Damon had a base hit).

If Johnny left the sox to sign with any other team, it would’ve been a sad day for the Nation. But to sign with the Evil Empire? C’mon. I abhor every single player on the Yankees. Just the smug look on their face makes me want to smack them silly. The fact that such a loved Red Sox player is going over to a team which I have so much hate for, makes it very difficult to swallow. Pedro? No problem. Nomar? Yeah, it would’ve been tough, but we would’ve gotten over it. Manny? Please. But JD? Who’s next? Jason Varitek?

See you in the Bronx, Mr. Damon. I hope you enjoyed your last standing ovation at Fenway Park, as you will never hear the Boston Crowd cheer your name again.

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Posted in Boston, Red Sox, Yankees

Baseball, it’s a business.

December 21st, 2005

This sport will kill you. As a fan, you pledge allegiance to a team and it’s players. Over 162+ games, you ride the tide up a down. Some players you loathe, others you adore. Others come and go and you hardly knew they were there. In 2002, the Boston Red Sox acquired a wily center fielder from the Oakland A’s, a man that, admittedly, I was not familiar with beforehand. But in 4 gritty seasons, he became larger than life. And now, as a result of the mergers-and-acquisitions-style of sports today, Johnny Damon is gone. And not only is he gone, he’s gone to the enemy.

Blame the players? Sure, if that would make you feel better. But not me. Let’s face it, the day and age of the true “franchise player” is long gone. Are they overpaid, money-grubbing babies? Sure. But we still eat it up and idolize them. Blame the agents? Some are referred to as the Antichrist, and they should be faulted for driving contract prices through the roof. But you know what? I can’t do that either. For better or for worse, the old cliché is true: Baseball is run like a business. Dollars and cents. Contract negotiations. Sales pitches. Presentations. Conferences. Wining and dining. You get it, the whole nine yards. Not too long ago I changed careers, effectively joining the rat race of Corporate America. I live it and I get it. Business is cold, a place reserved only for the thick-skinned. So whom do I blame? My finger is pointed at the top of the heap, the Brass. Who holds the President/CEO title? Ludicrous Larry Lucchino.

The Red Sox team is like a company, and when companies fail to live up to expectations you have to look at the leader. This winter, Lucchino has failed time and time again. I only wish Donald Trump could sit across from him at the Yawkey Way boardroom, stab the air with that hand motion he does, and utter those now infamous words, “You’re fired”. Sorry Larry, but you suck. Your company is in turmoil. Make no mistake about it: It is your fault. You have to answer for you failures, and the time is now. I’m reminded of Michael Corleone, confronting Carlo in Part I, “You have to answer for Sonny, Carlo…Don’t tell me you’re innocent”. You’re not innocent Larry. You had a nice run, but these failures are inexcusable. Theo and Johnny, Bill Mueller, gaping holes in the infield and outfield, a clubhouse in confusion, and now a bolstered NY lineup.

Merry Christmas Laughable Larry. Rot in hell.

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Posted in Boston, Business, Red Sox, Yankees