SOX OFFENDERS

Okay. So. The 2006 season has long been over for the Boston Red Sox. But that doesn't mean we can't kick the corpse just a few more times before moving on to 2007. And that's precisely what we plan to do here; basically trudge through any last thoughts and remaining ill will, before chucking it all to start anew in Fort Myers. So with that, allow us one final indulgence, a closing reflection on the 2006 Red Sox.

Mirabelli Madness: One of the worst moves of the 2006 season -- even more glaring than surrendering David Wells to San Diego for what was essentially peanuts -- was giving up Cla Meredith and Josh Bard to get Mirabelli back in Boston. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, and neither of these players did much to support the idea of keeping them around. But in retrospect, seeing how Bard and Meredith blossomed on the west coast, they seemed a heavy price to pay for Tim Wakefield's personal caddy. My concern is that this trade will be remembered as one of those knee-jerk manuevers that evolved into a presposterously bad move of Duquette-like proportions.

The Manny Factor: OK, I've been on the "keep Manny" bandwagon for a while, hell, I drove the friggin' thing for a while. But what he did at the end of 2006 was not cool. Sure, the team was pretty much toast, hanging by the most tenuous of thread to any hope for the post-season. But our number one guy Big Papi was still playing for something. I'm not real big on playing for individual stats, but for Ortiz I make an exception. And, yes, I think he had a shot at 60. Are you telling me Manny couldn't have at least pinch hit a few games to give his bud some protection and let him see some pitches to drive? I don't know. Then I remember John Valentin trying to "play through" Patellar Tendonitis, and I wonder if Manny wasn't just being smarter than people give him credit for. If he's back next year healthy, we'll see another 35 home runs and 130+ RBI, not to mention another monster season from Ortiz, and his end of season antics will all fade into the cobwebs with the rest of 2006.

Boomer Escapes: We knew we weren't gonna get a lot out of David Wells this year. Hell, the fact that the guy was even walking upright made us feel money ahead. But when he returned and actually put in a few respectable performances, the feeling was that we might be able to swing some sort of deal with a contender to cut our losses and make up for the calvalcade of talent we'd given up that went on to bigger and better things (Sanchez, Bard, Meredith, etc.) Then, when the Sox finally cut a deal with San Diego, we didn't squeeze their nuts at all. We simply sent them Boomer and shuffled off with George Kottaras, a Double-A-level catcher. Of course, unless Boomer has all of his internal organs replaced with copper parts in the offseason, there's little chance of him pulling a 20-win season in 2007. Still, we should have squeezed a bit more out of a contending team desperate for pitching.

Wallace vs. Nipper: Everyone blames Varitek's injury for the pitching staff suddenly swirling around towards the bottom of the toilet. But think about it, wasn't it just about the time Dave Wallace came back? Could there have been any disagreements about how to handle the young guys? One wanting to spank them when they screwed up, the other wanting to wrap them up in a nice warm blankie and rock them to sleep? Maybe? Regardless, why bring the guy back only to fire him at the end of the year? I gotta think it was more than Tek getting hurt that sent the entire staff into a tailspin.

I guess we're ready to close the books on 2006. There were some good times, but they took a back seat to the crapfest that was the 5-game Yankee sweep and everything after. After Detroit kicks the snot out of some forgettable NL team, we begin the Hot Stove season. And keep the Julio Lugo nonsense to yourselves. I'm on the A-Gon train.

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