This Super Bowl is Not Red Sox -Yankees

As much as the press wants to make the matchup of the New York Giants against the New England Patriots as a continuation of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry it does not fit. The Patriots and Giants do not have a long history of playing against each other in the same division, there is no Babe Ruth, no amazing comebacks, no Munson-Fisk brawls at home plate. There are many old time Giants fans in New England left over from the pre Patriots days when the Giants were the closest team to Boston. There are even may Bostonians on the Giants staff. You will not see any Patriots Suck shirts at the Meadowlands and in Foxborough and you will not hear any 19-90 chants in Foxborough . Enjoy the game no matter what team you root for and understand that after Sunday people in Boston and New York will not care who won the game for long....after all, its almost time for spring training.

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Old Man Manny

"I want to be like Julio Franco and play until I'm 48."

A recent quote by Manny Ramirez, which would give him 13 more seasons in the Bigs.

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Sox-Dodgers Exhibition Game Sells Out in 1 Hour

80,000 tickets for the exhibition game between the Red Sox and Dodgers on March 29 were sold in 1 hour this morning. The game is in high demand because it will be played at the L.A. Coliseum and because of the large number of Red Sox fans in southern California. This will be the first game the Red Sox play after their trip to Japan. Two of the games against the A's in Japan will count as regular season games and then Boston will return to the U.S. to play an exhibition game against the Dodgers. The Red Sox will resume their regular season series with Oakland on April 1.

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Sox Skipper Happy With Rotation, Glad Santana Will be in NL

Terry Francona shared his views about the Santana trade and the Sox rotation with an Associated Press reporter on Friday.

"That ain't bad. I wish every pitcher would go to the National League. I can't lie about it. You don't want to face him five times."

"I'm happy with our roster. Our youth is exciting to me. To come through our organization, they know how we feel about things. Every kid that comes through, they know how to play and they know how to act, and that's important. They integrate themselves in the clubhouse and at work and there's a lot of people in player development that need a pat on the back for that."

When asked to discuss the Yankees rotation, Francona said, "I don't want to rate the Yankees. I've got a tough enough time worrying about us. I don't know. I hope every team we play struggles."

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Santana Deal Done

The Mets and Johan Santana have reached an agreement after a 2 hour extension to the 72 hour deadline. Santana will become the highest paid pitcher in baseball after signing a 6 year $137 million deal with an option for a 7th season.

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Goodbye Hinske, Hello Casey

The Red Sox signed veteran first baseman Sean Casey to a one year $800,000 deal today. Casey is the left handed hitter and bench corner infielder the Sox have been looking for. This means Hinske will not be returning and Trot Nixon will not be coming back. Casey has often been called the nicest player in baseball so he should fit in well in the clubhouse and be well liked by fans. Casey hit .296 with 4 HR's and 54 RBI's in 143 games with Detroit last season.

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Curt Schilling and McCain Involved in $ Controversey

Everyone knows Curt Schilling is an outspoken Republican who often talks about politics on his blog. Last month Schilling went to New Hampshire and campaigned for McCain helping him win the primary in the northern part of Red Sox Nation. A controversy has developed because McCain donated $4,600 to Schilling's SHADE Foundation with campaign funds shortly after the appearence. There is nothing wrong with McCain giving money to Schilling's charity, the problem with the donation is that it came from campaing contributions not from McCain's personal bank account. This is legal but makes it look like Schilling was paid for his performance. Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington had this to say:"In general it is inappropriate for members to be giving away campaign dollars for charities. It's not why people made their contributions, if John McCain personally believed in Curt Schilling's charity it is one thing. It is another to ask people to give money to his candidacy and have it go to Curt Schilling's charity. The only way that makes sense is that he is paying for the endorsement, although they are apparently long time friends."

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Red Sox in L.A.

Tickets for the Red Sox-Dodgers exhibition game at the L.A. Coliseum go on sale this Saturday at 10 am Pacific. They are expecting to sell all 92,000 seats very quickly for this one. The left field wall of the Coliseum is only 192 feet from home but there will be a 40 foot high screen that will be in play. You can purchase tickets on the Dodger's website or by calling 866- DODGERS.

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Alex Cora Arrested

Alex Cora was arrested yesterday and put in jail in Florida for failing to appear in court for a probation violation tied to a 1999 DUI charge. Cora had turned himself in yesterday and was released after he posted $20,000.

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Fenway Improvements

When Henry, Lucchino and Werner purchased the Red Sox their plan was to keep Fenway Park but find a way to improve revenue. Each off season they have added seats and made significant changes like roping of Yawkey Way on game days, adding the Monster Seats, and expanding the press box. This year they are at it again, watch what is happening this winter:

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The Benefit From Losing the Santana Sweepstakes

As great as it would have been to have Johan on the Sox, there is more upside to not having him. If Lester and Ellsbury play as well as most fans think they will and Boston adds a few more banners to Fenway the joy Sox fans feel will be far better than if they had won a few World Series with Santana. With Santana the Red Sox would look like they went out and bought a championship to fans in other parts of the country, they would look like the Yankees. I remember my reaction when A-Rod signed with New York; everyone else was saying they would be unbeatable but all I could think about is how much greater it would be when Boston beats them, and it was. When Boston beats the Mets in the 2008 World Series and it will be that much better because it will have been won with home grown talent.

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Fallout From the Santana Trade

Several Red Sox players and fans emerged from the limbo they were in when Santana was traded to the Mets yesterday. For Lester and Ellsbury it had to be great news; both of them have played in the World Series and both seem very happy to be staying in Boston. As soon as the trade was announced Jacoby had this to say: "I'm happy with what happened. I'm happy to be a Red Sock. I'm happy that I wasn't traded at his expense, and it's nice to know where I'm going heading into the season." Lester has overcome cancer while being a member of the Red Sox and looks to be a major part of the organization for years to come. For the fans it was both good and bad new; they get to keep the young players who have such great potential but they also missed out on having the most dominant rotation in baseball in recent memory. Boston can now decide what to do with Coco Crisp. There has been talk of keeping him as a 4th outfielder but do they really want to pay $4 million a year for a backup, all the while watching his trade value decline? Bobby Kielty will not know his fate until the Sox make a choice on Coco but the Sox could have him at half of the price of Coco. The Red Sox will be over the luxury tax line next season so they may want to unload Coco for that reason alone. The Santana trade has opened the door for Boston to make the few remaining moves they need to do before spring training. They enter the 2008 season with the best rotation in the American League and they know that Santana is not on the Yankees. Things could be much worse for the Red Sox.

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Pettitte to Confirm Roger's HGH Use?

The Associated Press is reporting that a lawyer for Andy Pettitte's former personal trainer believes that Pettitte will confirm that he discussed HGH use with Clemens* between the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Pettitte will testify before a Congressional committee in February.

The lawyer, Earl Ward, said Pettitte talked about HGH with trainer Brian McNamee following a conversation with Clemens.

“We’re hopeful based on Andy’s reputation that he will corroborate Brian’s statements with regard to Roger,” Ward said in an interview.

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Santana Traded to Mets

The Twins have traded Johan Santana to the Mets for Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. If the Mets can sign Santana in 72 hours the deal will be done but this is not a given because the Mets don't want to go beyond a 5 year contract. If the deal is completed the Red Sox will start to seriously look to trade Coco in the next few weeks.

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Tina Cervasio Is Leaving NESN

NESN reporter Tina Cervasio who covered the Red Sox and travelled with the team last season will leave the network in March. Cervasio reported from the stands at Fenway and on the road for the broadcasts with Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo. She said she was leaving so she could spend more time at home with her family. No word yet on who will replace her.....maybe Hazel Mae?

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Santana Talks Heat Up Again

There is a building sense that Santana will be traded very soon and the two teams that seem most likely to be in the running are the Mets and Red Sox. The New York Post had this to say this morning : "The Red Sox essentially have sat on their offers since the early December winter meetings. There were reports in recent days that they had pulled Jon Lester from an offer, but officials involved in these discussions deny that. Executives surveyed feel an offer of Lester, Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson is superior to what the Mets can assemble, especially because even yesterday Met officials were saying they were still refusing to include outfield prospects Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez in the same deal." That would make Boston's offer as the best one on the table. Theo has been playing this very well and has refused to move from his offer knowing the Yankees would have to pay more than they wanted to beat it. If the Mets sell the farm to get Johan that would be fine with Boston; it is still a great situation for the Red Sox to be in.


As for other Sox news, it looks like Wilkerson is going to sign with Seattle so the Sox still need a backup corner infielder if they do not re sign Hinske.

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Roger's* Agent Issues Report Defending His Career

Roger Clemens* has released a report showing why his great pitching career was legit and not from using PED's.

Methinks Thou Dost Protest Too Much

you can read the report here.

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Red Sox Trade Pitchers with White Sox

The Red Sox traded pitchers Willy Mota and Miguel Socolovich to the White Sox for pitcher David Aardsma. Last year Aadsma pitched in 25 games with an ERA of 6.40. He was a great prospect that did not work out in Chicago but is still only 26 years old. The addition brings the Sox up to 39 on the 40 man roster. Much like Miceli and Kolb, Aardsma will come to spring training looking for a permanent spot in the pen. He is another roll of the dice for Boston but if any of the 3 recent signings work out it will be all they need to have a solid bullpen in '08.

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Some News On Santana

Charlie Waters of the Pioneer Press has reported that Santana will be traded in the next 10 days. He also brought up Ryan Kalish as a part of a deal; we have not heard his name thrown in the mix since the Winter Meetings. If you are keeping score at home, Santana has now been close to being traded 532 times in the last 2 months.

Buster Olney of ESPN said the following today: "Heard from a couple of sources that Boston has taken Jon Lester off the table, for good, in the Santana trade discussions."

That could mean the Red Sox are no longer seriously going after Santana....or the Twins really like Ellsbury. I tend to believe the first is more likely. There is also a chance that they are still willing to deal Lester and are just trying to force the Twins to feel a little pressure.

The New York Post is reporting the Mets are concerned the Twins are saying they are the front runners just to get the Yankees, or Red Sox, to up their offers.

More speculation....nothing concrete. The Mets and Twins and Yankees might be starting to feel a little pressure but Boston can sit back and ride this one out.

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Is Trot Coming Back to Boston?

The Boston Globe has reported that Trot Nixon has been working on his defensive skills at first base to be a more valuable free agent. The Red Sox are looking for a left handed hitter and backup corner infielder. If the Wilkerson deal does not work out there is a chance the Red Sox may sign the original Dirt Dog Trot Nixon as a backup. When J.D. starts out batting .167. you can be sure to hear the following from the Fenway faithful....we want Trot!!...we want Trot!!...we want Trot!! He would be great to have back on the team but it may be a long shot.

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