My Red Sox Rant....

I need to get something off my chest here.. And I know The Boss already had his rant on the Sox but I need mine too. Our Boston Red Sox are in the midst of their off-season, so far we have seen Nick Punto and Mark Melancon join the Sox. Before I go on my rant here real quick, I kind of like the trade for Melancon, in my eyes we gave up next nothing for a guy who seems to have above average stuff and a set between his legs which is required to pitch in late innings for the Boston Red Sox. Now off I go..

As Red Sox fans, Pink Hats or non-Pink Hats, we just witnessed the worst, end of the season playoff push collapse of any team in ANY sport. So far, we have signed a mediocre util guy in Nick Punto and a "let's wait and see what we have" bullpen guy in Melancon. Oh and we have replaced Terry Franconca with the most interesting man on earth in Bobby Valentine. AWESOME!! That should do it Larry, Mo (Tom Warner) and Curly (John Henry), you have fixed our issues now. I am so glad you marched into Felger and Mazz's afternoon talk show on 98.5 the Sports Hub to show us how much you care, John Henry. It's funny though, we haven't seen you or heard from you since, unless you want to include that horrific dog and pony show of a press conference to announce Bobby V as new manager. To me, all I see is a group of guys looking to turn the most profit they can without causing a complete boycott by Red Sox fans. The other thing, is why are we tap dancing around this luxury tax limit all of a sudden if, its never been a real issue before but now all of sudden we cant go over it? We can sign John Lackey for 5 years at 80 million or JD Drew to a similar deal but we have no interest in CJ Wilson at 5 years for 77 Million? If you ask me I wouldn't mind slotting CJ WIlson into our 4 spot for the next 5 years. He may not have a great track record in the playoffs but he is dynamite in the regular season and in an ideal world he wont be pitching much in the playoffs anyways with Fried Chicken, Jon Lester and Clay in front of him. Let me stop myself there though, I don't want to turn this into a "We are the Boston Red Sox, we can out spend everyone and build an All-Star team" rant. That's not my style and I don't like that strategy. All I want is change..

I want a team that is going to go out there and grind it out every night, I want 3 Kevin Youkilis's, 3 Dustin Pedrioas and 3 Trot Nixons in my lineup and I want 5 Curt Schllings in my rotation and 7 Alfredo Aceves in my bullpen. I know that those guys will give me all they have every night, they wont sit cause they rolled out of bed and their hammy felt the slightest bit tight or because they have a blister on their finger or their favorite catcher isn't behind the plate. They will strap on their jock's, lace up the spikes, rub a little dirt on themselves and play ball. Obviously what you just read the last couple seconds was a pipe dream but you get my point now. But why can't we at least try? Why can't we send Beckett packing for a younger less proven pitcher who may not have the same stats or identical stuff to Beckett but at least someone who has the potential and the determination to become the best? Let's be honest would it really be hard to find someone to replace Becketts production from last year? So what, maybe we need to eat a little money or include a prospect or two to get someone worth while back but at least it's change, at least it will help to wash ourselves of the mediocrity our Boston Red Sox have become. See ya Timmy Crazyballs, its been fun watching your knuckleball flutter but it's time to step aside, see ya Tek love ya but it's time to spend more time with your new wife. We need to wash ourselves of the old and wash ourselves of the feeling of contentment, that we are the Boston we can just show up fat and slow and still win championships.

If you are serious about caring what the team looks like on the field John Henry then why aren't we doing anything? I am not asking to spend more money or field a full roster of All-Stars I am asking for change and not just the manager, I want new faces, I want a whole team of guys who care, guys with something to prove. Not fat pitchers who have already earned their millions and I use the term earned lightly, John Lackey, but players who are just content showing up doing their thing and being overpaid. The biggest shake up we have had is letting Papelbon walk, financial reason's or not he was not the change we need. I was just as sick of his attitude as the next guy but at least he put his attitude toward his performance, at least he took accountability when he sucked and at least he wanted the ball in his hand when it mattered. The way I look at it, we now have a team with less talent more holes and the same damn fat cat personality.

Thank you John Henry I am really glad you are showing us how much you care. Is Liverpool on tonight?

-The Truth

Posted in: DD,MLB