Doctor, We Have A Pulse

The Red Sox agreed to a one-year contract with outfielder Cody Ross today. I am going to tell you why this might be one of the most important moves of the offseason.

What does Red Sox nation want more than anything (world titles notwithstanding)? We want guts. We want to see hearts bleeding on the baseball field. We want to believe our guys wont quit no matter the odds. Basically everything we did NOT get last season. Cody Ross is a World Series winner. He is an NLCS MVP. Statistically 2011 wasn't good to Ross, who batted .241 with only 14 home runs, but I believe he can recapture the post-season power he displayed on the historic San Francisco Giants' run to the championship in 2010.

The Sox will label Ross as a utility guy. Someone they can use in various situations. But more importantly, Ross can bring a spark this team needs. We have Gonzo and Big Papi to provide the power. We have Ellsbury and Pedi to set the table. And if Youkilis and Crawford come back with a vengeance, this team is going to bat like a buzzsaw. At least, that is what we tell ourselves every night before bed.

Red Sox nation wants to believe that the team that trots out on the field every day wants to win and will get dirty in the process. We're not the Yankees. We're the frickin' Red Sox for pete's sake -- let's show some grit! have 2 championships made us soft? Cody Ross is part of that re-invention. He can help inject life.

Oh yeah, welcome aboard, Cody. See, we're tight like that already.

Go Red Sox.

Red "Yawn" Sox Nation

Yawn, nation. Our beloved Red Sox don't need to make nine-figure splashes every off-season. They don't need to be on Sportscenter every night. But, man, why do I feel like I am stuck in a horribly long and awful dream?

Did you know that we re-signed Jacoby Ellsbury to a one-year $8.05 million dollar deal? That's great news, right? It's not a multi-year contract but if the Red Sox are smart, they'll get that done.

Can you tell me who the new Red Sox are? How about at least one name? Anyone?

Did you know that 6' 5" Japanese pitching sensation Yu Darvish just signed a $60 million dollar, 6-year contract with the Texas Rangers? Coupled with the $51.7 million dollar posting fee, the Rangers spent some hefty cash, but what would Darvish look like in a rotation with Lester, Beckett and Buchholz? I shutter to think. And what is an additional $110 mill to John Henry anyway?

So the Red Sox can't spend and spend and spend. I get it. But why am I....excuse me.....yawnnnnnn...just so damned anxious!

2012 Cherington Campaign: Puzzle Piece #3

Andrew Bailey is coming to the Red Sox, y'all! What are you doing right now? Have you high-fived someone about this yet? This is huge news for us, Red Sox nation. First of all, Bailey is locked up for 3 seasons, so we have a young, proven back-of-the-rotation stud who can close games for us for years to come. Secondly, this means that Mark Melancon can set the table for Bailey and help close games when we need a spot closer. And lastly, this means Daniel Bard is assured a chance in the Red Sox rotation. He wont have to look over his shoulder anymore. We have a closer, Daniel. You go win games now as a starter. Bard joins Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz in the Sox rotation with fellow converted reliever Alfredo Aceves. These guys can count on a couple of gems at the end of the bench in Mark Melancon and now Andrew Bailey. I look at those names and I feel pretty good about our chances winning games next season.

Ben Cherington gets his man. We've been reading for weeks how the Red Sox were in line for this player or that. Gio Gonzalez was supposed to be ours, but I guess the Oakland A's liked what the Washington Nationals had to offer better. But Cherington got this Bailey trade done and that brings a smile back to our faces. It makes me wonder if the Sox are done dealing. The Boston media have been reporting that the Sox are still in on Matt Garza from the Cubs. I'll believe we get anything from Theo when I see it.

Andrew Bailey is a Red Sox! Are you kidding me? The first person I see at work tomorrow I am going to high-five. They'll ask me why and I'll reply with two words, Andrew...Bailey.

Great Expectations

What do we expect from the Red Sox closer? I was thinking about this today. Just save games, right? Seems simple enough. But under the surface, our needs are slightly more complicated. Let me explain.

We want our closer to be serious. Jonathan Papelbon got away with being a clown because for the most part, he got the job done. But Pap was Pap - we need someone who takes the job more serious than life itself. When our closer comes out of the bullpen, we don't want smiles -- we want Dirty Harry.

We want our closer to be durable. No rest for the injured here. If our closer can get out of bed, he will be closing, every night.

We want our closer to be Mariano Rivera-esque. You would be lying if you said you wouldn't have paid cash money to have had Rivera as the Red Sox closer. The guy is everything any organization would want to represent them in the 9th inning. The guy does a lot off the field too. Rivera is money. Our closer has to have that staying power (or at least fool us into thinking he can).

We want our closer to be electrifying. If you close for the Red Sox, you have to believe in the culture, understand the tradition and basically geek out like the rest of us that you are indeed the closer for the Boston Red Sox! Bring it, every night, brother.

Is this too much to ask? I say not.

Mark Melancon (pictured above), welcome to the party. Are you ready to be our save-yor? If you didn't know, we expect a lot.

2012 Cherington Campaign: Puzzle Piece #2

I don't care who made the final decision to bring on Bobby Valentine. It could be Lucchino and Henry or martians for all I care. I am just relieved that we finally got a manager worth his salt. And I was smiling all day when I saw that Valentine had gone to the Domincan Republic the day after he was announced to visit David Ortiz and play in his charity golf tourney. You gotta love this guy, right? Spitfire comes to mind.

So we have a manager. Cherington might like it, he might not -- like I said, I don't care. In all of this, I realize that the most important compoent in Red Sox nation is just that -- the nation itself. That's you. That's me. We DO matter because our love is what fuels the engine, puts butts in the seats and buys the jerseys and hats. "Someone" approved of Bobby Valentine and for that I am extremely grateful.

I read and watched everything I could about Valentine the day he was announced. The thing that stuck out the most to me was how much he wanted this. He was so nervous during the final interview process and you could feel the excitement just oozing off of him at the press conference. I love that. I don't want pretense and false assurances. I want honest, passionate leadership. People tell me all the time it's not good to wear your heart on your sleeve. Why not? What's wrong with showing people how you feel? We live in the status update age. People are dying to tell us that they just ate a rotten apple and feel like puking. Bobby IS the right guy, right now.

Welcome aboard, Mr. Valentine. You haven't managed a single game yet, but thanks....for caring.

What About Us?

I have been waiting and watching -- hoping that the Red Sox would hire a worthy manager, get the off-season in gear and satisfy all of us diehard Sox fans who are attempting to put 2011 in the rearview mirror. But every time I think I am over it, the Sox organization's inactivity just *Pacino voice* pulls me back in!

What in the world is going on? Today in the Boston Globe, Dan Shaughnessy speculates that GM Ben Cherington wants Gene Lamont (Tigers' third base coach) and CEO Larry Lucchino wants Bobby Valentine to be the next Sox manager -- and that rift in power is causing this painstaking delay in decision making. Honestly, let's just hire Valentine and be done with it. Lucchino should just make the decision. What is Cherington going to do about it? Quit? They can sort out their differences later. We all know Bobby V. is more than capable of managing the Sox. I think his baseball tenure and experience will instantly draw the respect of the players. And after weeks of interviewing no-names, did we really think Red Sox brass would let our team be run by an unknown?

I throw my hands in the air and pray this gets resolved soon. Not for them, but for us. Have they forgotten so soon they they let US down this past September? And so far, nothing has changed.

The First Pap Goes

The Philadelphia Phillies have made a 4-year, $50 million dollar offer to Bo-Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. And his agents are not contacting the Sox for a chance to match or counter (not that they would anyway). And so with that, the dancing closer is gone. I wish him well. I think in the end, he always cared about the Sox. I never felt like he stopped caring. I think his arm and his focus failed him at key moments over the past couple of seasons, but his heart always seemed to be in the right place.

I think Pap will thrive in the National League East, where competition pales in comparison to its American League counterpart. The Phillies always win tons of games, so he'll be fine.

I think we'll be fine too. I honestly do. Whether Bard gets promoted (which is highly likely now) or we sign a free agent, you know the Red Sox will move swiftly to fill the vacancy. Whomever it ends up being, I just hope he is not as polarizing as Papelbon was. When the Red Sox won in 2007, Papelbon was right there, pumping his fists, screaming and looking like an inmate from the local asylum. That was his charm, right? And he was consistent too. He saved 41, 38, 37 and 31 games in the years since '07. Can't complain. But those games he lost or blew, especially in 2010 when he went 5-7 with a 3.90 ERA, were maddening. It was those times, his antics made a guy feel like Pap wasn't focused. And let's not even discuss the end of this past season. His final inning as a Red Sox was not a shining moment for anyone.

I remember when Pap stared in from the mound in the 2007 post-season. The camera would zoom in on his eyes as they stared in for the sign. He was a ferocious animal -- a gamer you know was going to get the job done. Well, the ferocity has since waned. At any rate, I am happy for Papelbon that he got a good deal from the Phillies. Although it may not seem like it now, I feel like the Red Sox did too.