John Henry: You Are Now Worthy

Remember the spectacle of John Henry questioning his fitness to serve as the Red Sox principal owner because of his inability to resolve the Grand Canyon-sized rift between Theo and Larry? At the time my gut reaction was, "No kidding, Einstein!" It was his duty to get the disparate parties together in the best interests of the overall organization. He failed. He deserved scorn.

Now, with the announcement that Theo will return in a "full-time" capacity, John Henry has righted that wrong. We should all give him the credit he deserves—as quickly as we had doled out the criticism. He has stepped up and done his job. The organization, the team, the fan base—all will be better for what he has done.

The Halloween Nightmare is over. It's not quite Valentine's Day, but it's the next best thing. Now, let's get to work and fill the holes so that the 2006 season can be worthy of us all.

Return Of The Jeddy

So, are we to assume from the interplay at the Boston Baseball Writer's Association Annual Dinner that Jed Hoyer is the guy in charge at The Olde Towne Team? He certainly was holding forth with the media on the Manny, David Wells, no center fielder, no shortstop debacles. And considering the fact that Larry Lucchino has apparently entered the baseball version of the Witness Protection Program, we have to assume that Hoyer is our man.

Is it just me, or do the Sox still seem to be spinning out of control? A signing here, a signing there, but NO REAL DISCERNABLE PLAN. And worst of all, no single-guy GM to articulate this lack of a plan. This is troublesome, as we are barely over a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Ft. Myers. We need someone who can concisely convey to us how screwed up this team is. As fans, we sense it, but we need confirmation from above!

Jed, step forward and state the obvious theme for 2006: "THIRD PLACE...IT'S NOT SO BAD!"

Three To Remember

The Dodgers have signed Bill Mueller to a 2-year deal, the Padres have re-inked Dave Roberts (ending the chance that he'll be patrolling Fenway again), and Kevin Millar is headed to, oh, I don't know, the Nippon Ham Fighters. But, the greater significance of these events is that three individuals who were involved in "The Greatest Moment In Red Sox History" are now gone forever. Please don't forget the sequence: Millar works a walk off Mariano Rivera in the 9th inning of Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. Roberts pinch runs and, after nearly being picked off, steals second under the tag of Derek Jeter. Bill Mueller, after showing bunt, singles through Rivera's wickets, and we are miraculously tied. Papi awaits. But these three combined to give us that wispy thread of hope that was later woven into a World Championship banner. Thank you, Kevin, Billy and Dave. We won't forget you.

Can "Faith" Play Shortstop?

I'm trying real hard to cut the New Ownership Group some slack. I know I've been critical, some would say hyper-critical, of them in the past. But, it's hard for me to contain the outrage I feel over the complete and utter ineptitude of whatever it is that's running your Boston Red Sox. It's not just the Damon debacle—when they were clearly out-witted by Brian Cashman. It's also the Theo Debacle, the Manny Debacle-In -Progress, and the mixed signals inherent in trading away the shortstops of the present AND future in the same off-season. How about their justification for letting Mike Myers go to New York? Only one "specialist" allowed in our bullpen—and that guy was Chad Bradford. So why (as WEEI's Glen Ordway points out) did we let Bradford go as well? Does the left-hand know what the right is doing? Not bloody likely!

And then, at the press conference to wipe the "Damon egg" off their collective faces, Larry Lucchino tells the startled Nation, "Keep The Faith". KEEP THE FAITH! If we ever needed evidence that this out-of-towner does not "get it", here it is, my friends. I wonder if "Faith " can play short?