Wrapping up pre-season

Finally, the real season is upon us - again. Never put too much credence in exhibition/practice games, but once again the Sox looked far less than stellar. The only hit they managed in last night's game was from Bobby Kielty in the 8th inning. Jet lag? Hmm. As for pitching, we are seeing how difficult it can be to crack the majors. Clay Bucholz struggled last night getting pulled after walking the first two batters of the 4th. His line was not good. A couple of observations. First, he probably had less pressure last year in his couple of starts. He knew he was just up for a spot start, and just let loose. It is different when your mentality is to earn a permanent job and be impressive day in and day out. Second, there is now a scouting report on Clay - one that did not exist last year. As he says himself, batters are not swinging at his setup pitches like they did last year. He has good stuff, but needs to take that step up to the next level.

Speaking of Bobby Kielty, he should be making a decision today on whether he'll accept a trip to Pawtucket, or ask for his release. He does not have a problem staying, but I think his agent is trying to get him a good offer elsewhere. Can't blame him for taking a regular major league job rather than play in the minors. I think he is a nice addition though. With JD Drew/Jacoby Ellsbury both left handed batters, Bobby gives them a right handed option that they'll miss.

Speaking of JD Drew, I hear people getting on his case again on the radio today. Come on people, back off. He's injured, let him work through it. It amazes me how people love to assume players dog it. Not easy with the level of scrutiny they get from trainers every day. Beckett is out with back troubles, so is Drew. They are both on our side, give them the same respect. JD Drew is a terrific outfielder, and has a lot of talent at the plate. Last year was an off year for him, but he had a lot going on at home juggling a pregnant wife, and a son going through some serious medical problems. He stepped up in the playoffs when we needed him the most, and he looked great this spring until he got hurt. His second season should be better (ala Josh Beckett last year).

Speaking of Japan (well I started the other paragraphs that way), the Sox signed a 26 year old talent from Japan. Terumasa Matsuo (why does that name remind me of my favorite Italian dessert) was the MVP of his league last season going 15-3 with 159 strikeouts and a 1.72 era. Of course, that does not translate into MLB numbers, but he clearly has some talent. He's reporting to extended spring training this week, but keep an eye on him. He could be interesting.

Memorial Coliseum Wrapup

I managed to stay awake long enough to watch about half the game. Here are my thoughts...

To open the game, they had the most boring flyover I ever saw. Three helicopters slowly passed overhead. Not Blackhawks or anything, just three basic helicopters like news copters.

It was a testament to how ridiculous the field dimensions were when the Dodgers took the field with NO left fielder. The left fielder played behind second base, and the shortstop took a step or two back to cover left field. Very entertaining. In the first inning, a Dodger player laced a shot down the left field line and off the wall in the corner, and Lugo fielded the ball off the wall. Very strange, but fun to watch. Big Papi, in his first at bat, toyed with the short left field wall going that way foul twice, and then changing strategy and ripping a single to right field. After Japan, it was good to see Papi have a good at bat. Another odd moment took place when Jacoby Ellsbury stole second base and the left fielder (Andruw Jones) fielded the throw from the catcher. I wonder if they worked on that one in practice.

Cash and Youk both took advantage of the short field dimensions and earned the Sox 5 runs with their two homers. Somewhat surprisingly, Wakefield kept the Dodgers in the park and did a nice job going 5 innings allowing only one run on 5 hits, two strikeouts, and a walk.

The worst news for Sox fans (other than Ellsbury actually being thrown out stealing) was that Papelbon again looked very human. He allowed 3 hits and 2 runs (thanks to a Dewitt home run with two outs) in the ninth inning. Not good. But, this is still spring training. Well sort of. Hopefully, Paps can bring out the good stuff Tuesday night.

Good Pitching - No Hitting

Last night's game against the Dodgers had some good news and bad news. The game itself was really another way to get in some good work as far as the jet lagged Sox were concerned. The good news is that Bartolo Colon was very solid. He went 4 innings, threw 60 pitches, while only allowing 3 hits and 1 run to go with 4 strikeouts and a walk. He comfortably threw his fastball in the low 90's and did a nice job mixing in his curve ball. The only thing holding him back seems to be another week or two of conditioning. They want to stretch him out to somewhere between 80 and 90 pitches before bringing him up. Word is that he will be the opening day starter for Pawtucket and will probably pitch 3 or four games with the PawSox before the big call up.

The bad news is all about the jet lagged offense. The Sox managed just 3 hits and one run all night. But, Terry Francona made 9 substitutions during the game, so clearly this is not a game to stress about. But, over the next week, I'd love to see the bats coming a bit more to life. Too bad JD Drew got injured when he did, he was the hottest hitter at the time. Big Papi has yet to break out, among others.

Maybe tonight when the Sox play in the tiny Memorial Coliseum. Any chance Papi has been working on going the other way? A little pop up will be off the wall.

Two down, 160 to go

Again, this trip to Japan is definitely odd. The season has started and the Sox are 1-1, but now we go back to playing exhibition games? I'm sorry, but I just don't like that. But, I do like the fact that the Sox are getting a chance to recover a bit from the travel before jumping into the next game.

What happened in game 2? Well, bottom line is the Sox ran into a very good pitcher having a very good day. Rich Harden looked terrific in his 2008 debut, and A's fans should be very happy about that. He more or less mowed down a good hitting lineup. He went 6 innings, striking out 9 batters while only allowing 3 hits. Very impressive. The downside for Harden was the home run to Manny, along with 3 walks. The Sox bats were cooled off enough that they managed only 2 more hits and 4 more strike outs after Harden's exit from the game following the 6th inning. Thirteen strikeouts in one game for the Sox? Not a proud offensive showing.

Lester looked decent and kept the Sox in the game. His control was off enough that batters were able to work the count on him and get his pitch count up, leading to an earlier than desired exit. I like Lester, and I expect he'll be a reasonably reliable 4th or 5th man in the rotation. I don't see him going much beyond that yet, unless he can consistently lock his command down, which he has only shown glimpses of so far.

What to watch for next...

Bartolo Colon will be getting the start in the first exhibition game against the Dodgers. He's still looking good, and a good start in that game may accelerate his time table. As a Sox fan, your biggest worry right now should be who will fill Schilling's spot in the rotation. You have heard that last year's Championship team is nearly untouched, so why not will it all again? Well, without Schilling, the all-important starting rotation has a hole. Last year we had Schilling, Beckett, Dice-K, and Wakefield as the core of the rotation (granted Schilling was injured for a period of time, but follow along for a minute). The 5th spot was filled admirably by Tavares and then Lester in September. Without Schilling, we need to rely on someone like Clay Bucholz to step up. But, as a rookie, I'd look for him to be a 4th or 5th man in the rotation. That bumps Wakefield up to 3rd in the rotation.

So, to me, Colon could turn the season around. If he gets back to even close to his potential, he clearly fits in as either the number 2 or 3 man, leaving Wake in the 4th slot, and allowing more flexibility for Francona to work the hot hand into the 5th slot. With an effective Colon added to the rotation, the Sox would have the nod over the Yankees on pitching. Without him, it's a draw.

I never thought I'd be cheering for Colon. Times change.

Game On!

It is here at last - opening day! By the time you read this, the game may very well be over. But heading into the game, let me give you something to chew on.

The batting order that has been communicated at this point is as follows:

Pedroia
Youk
Papi
Manny
Lowell
JD Drew
Varitek
Ellsbury
Lugo

If it does not jump out at you, let me give you a hint. Look at the top of the order. Wouldn't you expect Jacoby Ellsbury to lead off? He did a great job of getting on base last season, and when he gets on base he creates all kinds of trouble for the defense. With his speed he can practically score from first on a sacrifice fly! While that is an exaggeration, he DID score from second base on a wild pitch last year.

So, what gives? Pedroia is a fine batter, but a s...l...o...w runner. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure exactly why the order is the way it is. You may hear that they don't want to put Ellsbury right in the spotlight to start off his "official" rookie season. Well, I would not give that theory much credit. They put Jacoby in the lead off spot as a replacement for the injured Coco Crisp in the World Series! There is no bigger stage than that. If they are willing to bat him lead off in the World Series, then opening day is not a big deal.

Here the real (most likely) reason. Jacoby has not had a great spring offensively. He is not their regular lead off batter (ala Johnny Damon for a few years). So, they are playing him relative to how he is playing right now. I guarantee he will not spend much time batting 8th this season. Terry Francona is simply putting him in a low pressure part of the order while he is looking for his groove at the plate and letting him get his stroke back with less urgency than if he was batting lead off.

Look for Dice-K to have a great game. He is at home, in comfortable surroundings, playing in front of an adoring home crowd. This should be a great game for him. The one thing to watch there is removing a starter during a game is a bigger deal than in the US. I'm sure that won't sway Francona, but I wonder how the Japanese fans will react to it. This time of year, I don't expect starters to go more than 6 innings.

Game On!

Sox almost boycott Japan

Interesting story developing today about the Sox almost boycotting the trip to Japan. Apparently, during negotiations leading up to the players agreeing to the trip, it was agreed that the coaches and staff would receive a stipend of roughly $40,000 for making the trip. However, yesterday Terry Francona found out that the stipend was being given to the players, but it was not being extended to the coaches and staff. The coaches and staff are not part of the players union and have very little leverage in negotiating these types of issues.

You should be proud, Sox fans, that our players stepped up. They took a vote, and it was unanimously agreed that they would sit out today's spring training game against the Blue Jays, and would boycott tonight's flight unless MLB stepped up and paid the stipend as originally promised. This was confirmed, and most likely instigated, by our very own Captain, Jason Varitek. Well, it seems to have worked - the game got played, and the flight is on.

All I can say is, way to go Sox! Most of the players' salaries are high enough where the stipend will not make a huge difference for them. But, to the coaches and staff, this stipend is significant, and was promised. Past team trips to Japan have provided this stipend, so I'm not sure where MLB missed this.

To me, this is a good sign of a unified team who are all looking out for each other - no 25 players and 25 cabs these days. I can tell you, a tight, unified team will always have more success. We are off on a good foot. Next stop....Tokyo.

Surprised by Mirabelli's Release?

You should be. This is not earth shattering news, but if you are intrigued, then you are paying attention. Doug Mirabelli has been the Sox primary backup catcher since 2002. He is very competent defensively, and is better than most at handling the knuckle ball, which allows the Sox to get the most out of Tim Wakefield, while providing regular rest for Jason Varitek. Mirabelli has never been a great hitter, but has been occasionally clutch and does reasonably well for a part time player. He became a free agent after 2007, but was re-signed this winter to a one year $550,000 contract. So, what changed since they signed the new contract?

Well, Doug's batting has been slowly declining since 2004, but he batted a reasonable .273 in six games this spring. Also, his age has been slowly increasing. Doug is 37 years old this year. That is not ancient, but it makes sense that the Sox would want to get younger at catcher. With Varitek turning 36 next month, they clearly need to be grooming the catchers of the future. My guess is that is exactly what is happening, but I do wonder why they signed Mirabelli to a new contract - wouldn't that have already been apparent? Well, perhaps they wanted to make sure someone could catch Wakefield, and Doug was their guy until someone else stepped up. So, who's stepping up? Who is the guy that has proven to them that they no longer need Mirabelli? Tim Wakefield has started 3 games so far this spring. For every inning of those three starts, his catcher has been Doug Mirabelli. If someone is taking his place, wouldn't you want to see that person handle Wakefield in at least one game this spring?

You may have read and heard that his successor is apparently Kevin Cash. If that is true, that is nothing more than a short term fix. Kevin Cash is not the catcher of the future for the Sox. I like the guy, but he is 30 years old, and only occasionally has he shown big league potential. He failed to stick with the Blue Jays, playing with them from 2002 to 2004 when he went to Tampa Bay. He had one spotty year with the D-Rays in 2005 and spent all of 2006 in the minors. When you can't make it with the Devil Rays, you've got to wonder. He was a decent fill-in last year for the Sox when Mirabelli was injured. But, how many catchers suddenly become big league material starting in their 30's? So, if Kevin Cash starts the season in Boston, it will be purely to be a backup catcher for this year, and the Sox must feel that he'll give them a little more than Mirabelli would have.

But, look further. There are two other young catchers coming along in the Sox system, Dusty Brown and George Kottaras. These guys are young, 25 and 24 years old respectively, and are looking pretty good, both of then batting over .400 this spring. So, do the Sox have hopes that one of these guys will take Mirabelli's place? Not sure, especially since neither of them has caught Wakefield in a game this spring. More likely, these guys are potential guys to take over for Varitek as the starter in a couple years. If that's what they hope, they won't waste their playing time sitting on the bench and solely catching the knuckle ball. So, the more they like these guys, the more likely they'll be in Pawtucket this year.

So, like I said, if you are intrigued, you are paying attention. I think the most likely situation is that they simply felt Mirabelli's skills, mostly due to age, have declined, and they want to break the mold of having a knuckle ball specialist as a catcher. They want more flexibility than that, and are willing to sacrifice a few extra passed balls to get a younger, hotter catcher as a backup, and Kevin Cash may be able to provide that. There is one other possibility that would not surprise me. It is conceivable that there is a trade pending that could being a new catcher into the picture. But, you would think they'd hang on to Mirabelli until the ink was dry first.

Red Sox Pitching Progress

You've heard it a million times now - pitching wins championships. The point being that solid pitching is the foundation a team needs to start from. So, how does the pitching situation look for the Red Sox so far? Very promising!

Bad news - Schilling is out for a significant period of time. A healthy Schilling eats up innings, provides a solid veteran presence, can handle pressure, and is a proven post-season star. He will be missed, but that is nearly all the bad news!

Positives:

It was very confusing last year why Dice-K looked so good earlier in games, and earlier in the season. For a while, hitters were incredibly off balance, than later they were not. Well, according to pitching coach John Farrell, they discovered Dice-K was tipping his change-up. Not a good thing. The change-up is a fairly easy pitch to hit - IF you know it is coming. The change-up is a stealth pitch. To the batter, the pitcher looks like he is throwing a fast ball. However, due to a different way of gripping the ball, the pitch comes in roughly 10 miles per hour slower. It will either confuse the batter long enough to force him to take the pitch, or get him swinging too early. Anyway (you know all that already), if the batter knows it is coming, watch out! So, they've worked with Dice-K on perfecting the change-up and early indications are that the adjustments are working! This can make a huge difference!

Bartolo Colon looks like a steal so far. Throwing very well, mechanics are solid, and arm strength is great! If he keeps this up, don't be surprised he works his way into the #3 spot in the rotation! But, coming off of injuries the past two years, my concern is whether the elbow will last an entire season, or get sore again?

Tim Wakefield seems to be over his back issues and throwing well. Beckett is in better shape than last year and looks poised to dominate again! John Lester looked good in his last outing, and got some important post season experience last year.

As of today, my starting 5 for the Sox:
1) Josh Beckett (obviously)
2) Daisuke Matsuzaka (look for at least as good of a year as last year)
3) Bartolo Colon (presuming the elbow stays strong - may start in AAA for the first game or two)
4) Tim Wakefield (an effective knuckler keeps batters uncomfortable)
5) John Lester (nice to have a left starter)

Bullpen:
Julian Tavarez - long relief - spot starter
Karl Snyder - long relief - spot starter
Mike Timlin - middle relief - occasional setup man - spot closer
Manny Delcarmen - middle relief
Javier Lopez - need a lefty in the 'pen
Hideki Okajima - setup man - occasional closer
Jonathan Papelbon - Closer

Buchholz or Hansack may start the season with Boston if Colon is not ready. They'll probably spend most of their time in Pawtucket, and get called up as needed. If there is a significant injury, or they simply shine, they may stick longer. Gronkiewicz, Corey, Tejera and Masterson are all potential call ups as needed, but expect them to play mostly in the minors. They would be available to replace Tavarez, Snyder or Lopez if they aren't getting the job done.

That leaves Craig Hansen. So far, he still looks disappointing. He hit the Sox with such promise, but has shown very little since then. He throw very well, has a strong arm, but just can't get guys out. Not sure if it is mental, or perhaps predictability. Hopefully he can turn it around this year and start moving up!

Where are the young pitchers?

It is VERY early still, and spring training is going very smoothly for the Red Sox. Everyone is healthy, progressing well, and getting the work in.

But, have you noticed how the veteran pitchers are outshining the youngsters so far? The Red Sox have terrific depth in their young pitchers, and with the success we saw from guys like Lester and Buchholz last fall, I think we all are looking for the young guys to make a big splash this year. Alternatively, I usually see the veteran pitchers easing through spring training, not looking so good early on, but trying to peak for opening day.

Well, so far that has been backward in Fort Myers. The youth are starting the slowest (Lester 36.0 ERA, Hansen 18.0 ERA, Buchholz 18.0 ERA, Jackson 27.0 ERA, Gronkiewicz 10.12 ERA). These stats are based on no more than 2.2 innings of work, but it is interesting seeing the young guys starting out so slow.

The "veterans" (some of whom are pretty young too) are looking pretty strong out of the gates. Dice-K 1.80 ERA, Snyder 0.00 ERA, Wakefield 0.00 ERA, Timlin 0.00 ERA, Papelbon 0.00 ERA, and Okajima 0.00 ERA. Beckett has not pitched in an "official" game yet (pitching once to Boston College and once in a 'B' game) but he also has a 0.00 ERA and his only complaint is that he's too strong (overthrowing the fastball and getting too much elevation on it early in the game).

So, the older guys look good - Sox fans need to be happy about that. The young guys? Well, give them more work - plenty of time left.

A Rational Look at Center Field

This is actually a tricky subject. We have a very talented 28 year old veteran gold glove caliber center fielder in Coco Crisp. But, we also have Jacoby Ellsbury - a terrific looking 24 year old rookie center fielder who played a key part in winning the World Series last year. What do irrational fans scream about this? Well, they scream about the last thing that happened of course. The last thing that happened is that we saw Coco having some struggles at the plate, but playing some tremendous outfield. When he got banged up, Jacoby Ellsbury went in and lit a spark under the team. He hit, he ran, he fielded, he looked great. So, the irrational fan says, "Dump that bum Coco Crisp. Put that amazing kid Ellsbury in there!".

So, what does a rational fan think? I think we are in great shape. From where I sat, Coco Crisp deserved to win a gold glove last year, and he saved quite a number of hits, and runs, with some amazing defense. I would expect we'd see a repeat of that great defense this year too. His defensive weakness is a mediocre throwing arm. But, if you make the catch, you may not need the throw! His arm is average, but that won't cost the Sox too much. On the base paths Crisp is a stolen base threat who can be counted on for about 20 or more thefts per year. But, at the plate, we should not expect too much. He hit .300 once with the Indians, and you probably should not expect him to be more than a .285 hitter on average. That said, he did hit below .285 the past 2 seasons. He is not a real power hitter, but managed to hit 15 and 16 HR's in his last two seasons with Cleveland. That is probably his upper end. So, where does that leave us? Well, he would be a very valuable center fielder on any team. You want him in there for solid defense, which is critical. Offensively, you might want to bat him leadoff to take advantage of his speed, but his on base percentage doesn't look like a leadoff hitter's. So, you'll probably use him toward the bottom of the order unless he's on a hot streak, but keep in mind there is value in his being a switch hitter too.

What about Ellsbury? I loved watching him last year. Young, fast and fearless are three words that come to mind. He is just as fast, if not a step faster, than Coco. He showed he can steal bases, and will only get better at that with good coaching. He looked good in the outfield, but I have to be honest, he is not as good as Coco yet. He has speed, which gives him the range Coco has, but last summer you could see Coco's glove was more of a vacuum - the ball just stuck better on diving and reaching plays. This is a small difference, but the biggest difference was playing fly balls that scrape or hit low off the wall. Jacoby missed at least 3 balls off the wall last summer that Crisp would have reeled in. I honestly think this is just a matter of practice and coaching, but Jacoby was very hesitant going up the wall for a fly and did not judge it well.

Offensively, he looks intriguing. He is still young, and I think he's still feeling his way around to a final batting stroke. Right now he's primarily focused on reading the pitch and getting the bat on it any way he can. He has a nice level swing to maximize the opportunity for contact, but it gives him a tendency towards being a slap hitter - ala Ichiro or Johnny Damon. Nothing wrong with that! As a speedy left handed batter, he (like Ichiro and Damon) will be able to fight off tough pitchers by just getting a piece of the ball and beating out the throw. Then, he can create havoc on the bases. He's strong enough to hit for power on occassion, but won't pull out that swing unless he sees a meatball coming. Probably good for 10-15 HR's a year. Hard to tell how he'll compare to Crisp yet - there's simply not enough evidence - but I think he has a terrific upside and lots of potential.

Okay, enough of all that. Who plays center field this year?

The answer... Too early to tell. Francona is saying the right things. Crisp is the incumbent. He is, at the moment, the Red Sox center fielder. If the season started today, it would be Crisp in center. If Crisp struggles (like Duston Pedroia did for a spell last spring) Francona can always give him a rest with Jacoby going to center. If Jacoby is hot, he may stay until he cools off. Crisp, like last year, would realize that was the best thing for the team. But, the season does not start today. The Sox coaching staff will follow this closely. The player who looks the best to them will get the nod by the end of Spring Training. A tie will go to Coco.

Coco has indicated he wants to start, he wants to play. So do all players. He says he'd rather start for another team than sit on the bench for the Sox. I can't blame him for that. He's only been here 2 seasons. He is not a lifetime Sox guy (yet). He's also at the age where he needs to play or get rusty and settle to finish the rest of his career as a bench player.

Theo Epstein should be thinking about this for only one reason. If Jacoby truly stands out in Spring Training, and the Sox are willing to hand the job to him, it would be a smart strategy to leverage Coco in a trade to help fill other needs, keep Coco happy, and retain a happy locker room. But that is putting the cart before the horse right now. Remember how we always worry about having too many starting pitchers, and then find ourselves short on pitching due to injuries? Same thing can go for outfield. Right now, we have a terrific groups of outfielders. Let them play themselves into or out of a starting role, and take it from there.

Besides, if JD drew got injured or was simply having another bad year (which I do not expect), how would we like to see Manny in left, Coco in center, and Ellsbury in right?

So, this one is not worth the stress right now, and it won't be for a while. Odds are, unless Theo sees a trade out there that involves Coco that he can't refuse, we'll open the season with Crisp in center, and Jacoby on the roster ready to fill in. Jacoby will get plenty of playing time giving guys a rest, filling in for an injury, spelling guys who are in a slump, and pinch running. But, once he gets in, we may find he sticks there!

Oldie - but worth looking at

This is a reflection I wrote as we headed into Spring Training 2005. The Sox had just won it all, and a new season was beginning...

A New Beginning

Hey Red Sox fans, can you feel it? Something is different in the air, something different indeed. Of course, we are about to enter another fresh new baseball season, full of hope and excitement. Yet, that’s not it, not really. We spent our winter months, as always, scanning the news for trade rumors and debating the merits of honest to goodness trades. We went through spells where we were emotional fans and prayed that our favorite players would be back for another year. We cheered when they re-signed (thank you Jason!), and cursed when they left (why Pedro, why?). We spent hours in Theo Epstein’s shoes identifying our weakest areas and strategizing ways to get stronger. We can now admit that some of the trades we concocted were far fetched, and that is why we ultimately leave the job to Theo. We watch spring training and keep an eye on those players recovering from injuries, the young kids fighting for a roster spot, and the returning stars to see if they look ready. This is all as it has always been, and yet something has indeed changed this year - enough so that you can feel it, like a subtle change in the weather when, even though there are no obvious signs, you turn and say to a companion that “it feels like it is about to snow”.

In the end, it is no wonder the new strange thing is so elusive. The difference is not that anything new has been added, but that something old and persistent is no longer there. That something is a question - a simple, short, question. A question that has grown old with us and had become part of our standard vernacular, like saying “nothing” whenever anyone asks “what’s up?”, or “fine” whenever anyone asks how you are. You never really notice it, but it is always there…until this year. For nostalgia sake, let’s look at "the question" one last time. The question is “so, do you think this will be the year?”. Ah yes, that was the question and the question had a life of its own. It shaped who we were, what we believed, and how we reacted to every little aspect, every little nuance of our beloved Red Sox.

The question was much, much larger than the few words on paper. It was a deep question. Asking it showed hope and desire to see the Red Sox win a championship. But, being a question, it implied doubt and uncertainty. The way it was phrased was focused on “the year”, not “another year”, not a repeat performance, but one single year of success. In that, the question demonstrated that there had not been a year, a year the asker is waiting for, in a very long time. It implied doubt as to the ability of this year’s team to be the one to finally deliver, but at the same instant, implied that there was some hope it could be “the team”. And beneath the question, there were so many other questions that tried to make sense of how this team could come so close, so very close, so many times, and yet never be able to, even accidentally, reach the ultimate goal. Each time they came within reach, and lost, the question got heavier and heavier.

That question is gone now. That is what is new. The question was heavy; it weighed on us like a wet backpack on a two day hike. That backpack is no longer there, and that is what we feel. The weight is lifted. Sure, we want another championship, and sure we want to end a season in first place, above the dreaded Yankees. But we are no longer wondering why we can only come close and not reach that ever elusive goal. The 2004 Boston Red Sox were our long awaited saviors. They exorcised the question in dramatic fashion. They freed us to become honest to goodness baseball fans, and allowed us to shed that painful desperation. We can see the games clearly now. We can truly say, and believe, that it is a long season and there is time. We can forgive the occasional error, bad decision, and off day. In the past, every mistake, even the small ones in early April, were sure signs that fate had it in for us again. Last year, hopefully, taught us that mistakes will happen. Winning streaks will be offset by losing streaks, home runs by strikeouts, stunning defense plays by sloppy errors. Hopefully we saw that, in the end, it is the drive, determination and teamwork that really count. Now, we can watch our beloved team, cheer them on, give them encouragement, and really enjoy the games. But this time, without the dread in our hearts. We have won a championship, and this is a new era, one where we no longer wonder if a championship is possible. To preserve that memory, nearly every fan in all of New England has had a chance to pose with the Championship Trophy to prove it happened and that each of us was there. Now we can start of this new and exciting season with a whole new attitude. Red Sox fans embark on the 2005 season, for the first time in generations, no longer in fear of losing, but rather with determination and hope for winning. Isn’t this what we have all been waiting for?