Toeing the Rubber

Welcome back, Torey (Photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor and used with permission)

Okay, so where are we?

The Red Sox end the 2012 season in last place in the AL East with a 69-93 record. (Take heart. The Marlins ended the season with the same record and the Twins, Indians, Cubs, Astros and Rockies all had worse records than the Sox.) Then Bobby Valentine gets his walking papers a couple of days after the season ends and before the World Series is over the Red Sox not only have a new manager, but the guy they wanted all along (who actually REALLY wants to be in Boston).  See? Things are already looking up.

I caught Bobby V’s interview with Bob Costas the other night and, really, it was pretty uninteresting except for where he tossed David Ortiz under the bus when he said he stopped playing after the big trade and everyone realized the team wasn’t going anywhere. Of course, once everyone jumped on him for saying that, he backed off and blamed the media for twisting his words. In any event, after listening to Papi defend his manager all year and then seeing that manager take the first opportunity to slam him publicly, I’d say the right guy left and the right guy is, hopefully, going to be staying.

Yes, I’m a big proponent of signing Papi to another contract. Two years, three years, $25-$27 million…I don’t care. I won’t speak for you all, just for myself: I need Big Papi around as long as humanly possible. Don’t tell me he costs too much (he doesn’t) and don’t tell me he’s taking the spot of someone else more deserving (he isn’t). I don’t care if it’s rational or not, I want him around and I hope the rumors of the Red Sox and Papi being close to a deal are true and they get this ironed out soon.

This week we learned that Tim Bogar won’t be back with the team and Torey Lovullo will be John Farrell’s bench coach. I like Torey and I’m glad he’s back with the Red Sox organization but there is a small part of me that will miss Tim Bogar. He might not be the best third base coach the team ever had (come back, DeMarlo Hale!) but I think he’s a good coach in general…and I dig his not being afraid to get into a scrap to back up his team.

Given that the team I’d like to see win this World Series is currently down 0-2, I can’t say that I’ve been enjoying the Fall Classic too much so far…but I still have hope that this could turn into more than just a total beat down on the Tigers by the Giants. I’m not ready to give up MLB over the next two games.