With Major League Baseball’s winter meetings coming to a close, the free agent talks will heat up. With the exception of the offer to Pedro and Scott Boras’ line in the sand for Varitek, there has been painfully little talk at all of the fate of the Red Sox free agents.
Cabrera, Varitek and Pokey are all looking for new contracts. Manny, Trot, Damon and Millar have all been mentioned in trade talks. The sad reality is that the 2005 Red Sox may bear very little resemblance to the beloved World Champion team. Theo will do what’s right to put a contending team on the field. It just might not be the same contending team. And this might not sit well with the fans who have come to love this team.
Speaking of which, word is that Theo and Francona both want to “bring more professionalism” to the 2005 team. The feeling seems to be that a good example is not being set for the prospects coming up through the ranks. Does that mean the Sox will be turned into the Stepford Men (aka Yankees) wearing military style haircuts and removing all facial hair? Absolutely not. But it does mean you might not see Manny with a Walkman on or talking on his cell phone during warm-ups. And maybe there won’t be any giant bobbleheads or red bats in the dugout. Most definitely, there will be no more talk of shots before games. What ever happened to “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?
For those who haven’t yet seen this, Jason Stark somehow got his hands on pictures of Schilling’s ankle. If you have a weak stomach, don’t look. Any of those ass-monkeys who thought Schilling was faking an injury or that the red on his sock wasn’t really blood, F-off.
And this will never get old…World Champion Boston Red Sox.
