The recent Red Sox lineup shuffle is a window into the psyche and personality of a baseball player. It can be a very sensitive topic. In a competitive and transparent business, what the guys can’t say or reveal in an interview, is plain to see otherwise in their performance on the field. Despite the brave faces, some players have the makeup for the bullseye expectation of the leadoff spot, and others like Ellsbury are comfortable in a more unassuming part of the lineup. Batting fifth & sixth, Papi doesn’t seem to have the weight of the world on his shoulders, just a freer bat. Pedroia was perhaps a Most Valuable sur(P)prise at #2, but hitting #1 isn’t quite the right fit.
All kidding aside, it’s great to have Big Papi back. Whew! The nattering nabobs of negativity would have shipped him off to the Nationals weeks ago, if only to keep the Nation conversation moving along to the next commercial break. Winning breeds a certain boorishness mostly found in New York, but now increasingly on display in and around Boston, and in particular Fenway Park. Fans, too, walk a fine line between “I hope we win” & “they better win”. It’s the wanting and desiring that should continue to define the Red Sox in this new era of championships, not entitlement and expectation.
…every time the Yankees hit Jason Bay with a beanball it decreases their chances of signing him as a free agent in the off-season, good job Joba!…Fenway Park is much ritzier but quieter during games, will they have to pipe in musical applause at some point?…This weekend in Philadelphia is the World Series that almost was in 2008 :-(…PLEASE, no more potentially season-ending headfirst slides from Ellsbury, Lowell, Big Papi, etc….ahem, Yankees? Who’s your Daddy, now? P.S. In the booth, Dennis “You’re so Vain” Eckersley thinks every reference from Don Orsillo is about him, still love the hair, though…
Of all of the great players from the recent Red Sox championship teams, David Ortiz was the biggest star. Big Papi was the most important player, and certainly the most popular and iconic figure. He is the imbodiment of the glory from the spectacular and exorcising 2004 season, and the pride from the reaffirming and reassuring 2007 victory. Big Papi, more than any other Red Sox player, reversed the curse, and finally made winners of millions of New England baseball fans. Despite all of this, the end may be near for David Ortiz in the form of a trade or a demotion. No Red Sox fan wants to see him go, but the boo’s won’t stop either.
Tom Brady is no Joe Montana... Tom Brady is not the greatest quarterback of all time, or even of his generation. The nagging doubts about Brady over the last seven years fully blossomed in Indianapolis, as he failed yet again to seize the big win. The Patriot Super Bowl winners of 2001, ‘03 & ‘04 were built around defense, and the defensive minded Belichick. But Brady eventually got the credit, fame, money, Giselle, Uggs etc. etc.. Now the team is built around him, his salary, his good looks, and too much passing. When the game was on the line and he had it in his hands, he couldn’t make it happen. Unlike the 2008 Super Bowl, last night the Patriots were the better team. The NY defense didn’t control this game, but Tom Brady gave the ball away at the end to a quarterback that was able to close out the big win. Congratulations Eli. (0)
Listen to the Ghost of Johnny Most discuss the Celt's 2008 Season
