Bobby Valentine Is Not Your Most Likable Man, Last Chance In Boston

So what if he was ejected from a game by home plate umpire Randy Marsh for arguing and later returned to the dugout in a silly disguise, hiding in a corner wearing a fake mustache and glasses. So what if New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon fired Bobby Valentine two days after the hopeless Mets finished in last place, dismissed in the season of a 12-game losing streak that sabotaged the Mets season. So what if he had a feud with Chiba Lotte Marines GM Tatsuro Hirooka, during his first stint in Japan and couldn’t even get along with team president Ryuzo Setoyama, who forced out Valentine albeit the general support from Marines’ fans.


Years ago, despite the ego trip he had that engulfed every ballclub he ever managed, which cost him his managerial job in Texas, the Red Sox targeted him to fill the role replacing ex-manager Terry Francona. Knowingly so, he pride himself as Rangers’ manager, and scheduled his own emotional news conferences to tell the folks in Texas goodbye. After nine years away from the majors, Valentine has returned for another opportunity in the managerial role at his first Red Sox camp.

When he was named Red Sox manager last winter – which he’s not the most likable man in baseball – critics had their doubts about Valentine, who was widely regarded as a manager with the biggest ego in baseball. It caught the population by surprise that Larry Lucchino, the Boston Red Sox president, whispered in newly hired GM Ben Cherington’s ear, asking him to meet Valentine when Lucchino had already hired him.

The foreseeable future of the major franchise in New England centers the newcomer Bobby V, as some see this to be a risky hiring because of his bombastic psyche and arrogance, while few envision a new era that the Red Sox can now rejuvenate following a monumental collapse and blowing a 9-game wild card lead late last season. As the folks in Boston awaits to witness what Bobby V can bring to the Red Sox, in a community where baseball is adored heavily, he needs to realize that he accepted a ballclub’s contract offer with demands for winning the pennant.

It’s a rotten shame if Valentine derails during his tenure for a high-market club that inherits largely a filled-capacity fan base which usually crowds Fenway Park, a venue where the masses come out as a family of four to witness the Red Sox. It’s been barely a few days since we’ve seen the new-look Bobby V and players are grumbling, not accustomed to the demanding style in the midst of spring training. It’s not telling whether he’s changed as a person in the time spent away from the majors, but the front office is simply overlooking his murky reputation.

In talking about Valentine, Red Sox owner John Henry trust in him to focus on the task at hand. He is, however, not the most despised man in baseball, after all, but a skipper that Red Sox executives are more less comfortable with to pioneer the club with potentially the deepest talent in the AL East. Not right now, not at the beginning of training camp is he under scrutiny or sitting on the hot seat. He has forced non-supporters to realize that he’s fittingly the suitor to serve as the manager for a team with high standards, angling to return to those triumphant days and procure a World Series title under Valentine’s watch, a man who is entering at a time when the Red Sox are overcoming the bitter taste of last season’s meltdown.

Through the episodes of a chaotic clubhouse that was fractured by the lack of effort and limited urgency that publicly revealed late last fall of players drinking beer, eating fast-food and playing video games in the clubhouse during the game, according to reports, the people in the front office felt it was time for a change. This is what happens when a manager replaces an ex-skipper, willing to take on a stiff challenge in keeping one’s eye on a team that separated as a whole and became disjointed in a matter of weeks.

The starting pitchers for the Red Sox – which included Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and John Lackey, the top three pitchers in the rotation, were wavering down the stretch and truly became largely a disappointment. If there ever was an excuse for a change in a fragile culture, it’s now after those specific pitchers began drinking beer and fondling with the joysticks in the clubhouse, disrespecting and humiliating Francona. The 61-year-old Valentine is hired to take control and purge the troubles that has been a distraction inside the Red Sox clubhouse, and might just be the right choice.


The real issue here is that he creates a ruckus by always staying in the news, publicly hijacking everyone’s full attention in the universe with his self-serving and pompous character, a man who is constantly mired in the middle of tumult. But if you are in love with Valentines, well, then there is Mr. Valentine himself, garnering more recognition than Cupid’s wings and bow and arrow. It’s contentious of the Red Sox front office to allow Bobby V to manage their baseball team, and bold of them to trust in him after picking him following an exhausted managerial search.

Only a fool think he’s fittingly a descent hire, and because he’s in Boston now, this might give fans something to worry about. But then again, maybe he’s the right hire, even if he might dominate front-page headlines in local Boston newspapers and amass plenty of interest on radio stations in the community as callers will dial in to vent their displeasure for Bobby V. Because of him, Red Sox players are upset. Because of him, he has created a distraction. Because of him, he’s lowered the spirits at training camp.

This is a man criticized for a miserable 15-year major league managerial career in which he fled to Japan. This is a man loathed wholeheartedly by his peers, including some of his players. Why oh why is Valentine hated so much when he’s allowed another chance to clean up his act and redeem himself from the infamy in his past? Sometimes in life, people do grow up. Maybe Valentine learned the hard way when he had unbearably made a bad name for himself, acted like a clown and couldn’t find a managerial job because of his nonsense.

On a positive note, to say the least, he has twice made it to the playoffs and advanced to the World Series as the Mets manager in 2000, where they lost to Subway rivals the Yankees. Then, later, he eventually was canned when he clashed with Mets general manager Steve Phillips. Weigh the pros and cons to the hiring. Choosing Valentine could be good or bad. The best-case scenario is that he captures a World Series, but the worst-case is that Boston faithful runs him out of town only if he commits to failures. The reasonably well-qualified Valentine must have impressed Cherington and Lucchino, but on further note, the Red Sox have always had a reputation for bringing in low-key, controversial personalities to manage their club. It’s not surprising that he’s a manager again, nor surprising that he represents the Red Sox.

If there’s good in Valentine, it’s his experience, know-how and self-assurance, but he can even be arrogant and egotistical. He knows baseball, he’s very savvy -- just another trait that separates him from the typical baseball expert. Ask him anything about baseball, and he’ll break down the concept of the game. Even better than an expert, he’s a charity worker and visits homes of the less fortunate, he’s a miracle worker donating funds for impoverished families and cooks gourmet meals for those he never met. In his hometown of Stamford, Conn., he is the director of Public Safety and Public Health, helping those in need.

But what was really touching was when Valentine, who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks, raised money to help families after 9/11. So he is, clearly, a modest, generous man, but just come with too much baggage. He is, however, the right choice. He owns a .510 winning percentage and won a championship managing in Japan. He is having a good time with a few of his players, and was seen joking with Carl Crawford during workouts.

And so with Daisuke Matsuzaka rehabbing, Valentine might be able to shape him into pitching form as the new general manager is influenced by pitching coach Bob McClure’s idea of changing the rotation order. The words of Cherington is that Valentine was hired to “increase the level of accountability in certain areas.”

If you don’t have much hope in Bobby V, he certainly does.

Terry Francona Takes the Blame In the End of His Regime

He was an hour earlier than expected for his meeting with the Red Sox, which was absolutely acceptable by the franchise.

When Terry Francona drove his 2005 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class SL65 AMG to Fenway Park for a lengthy meeting with general manager Theo Epstein and team executives, he probably felt the tension, given the September orgy of 20 losses as the Red Sox floundered with a nine-game hold on a playoff spot.

The reality is that Boston blew its chance and became the first ever team in baseball history to enter September with a nine-game lead for the AL wild card and miss the postseason. The truth of the matter is Boston's season was squandered, with complacency, arrogance and the lack of chemistry.

The recent allegations surfaced through the night, revealing that the Red Sox players were, with the disrespect shown toward Francona, drinking alcohol in the clubhouse during games they weren't on the mound as a starter. There is much suspicion in Beantown, as clubhouse chemistry and the shortage of discipline evoked the greatest collapse in baseball history, that an unbridled relationship is broken between Francona and the Red Sox.

Shortly before Friday afternoon, he left the meeting and his job status remained still in limbo, even when he reportedly told the Boston staff members Thursday that he'll not return. There's a sense he was burned out with his role and had become detached, not committed or driven to be the voice in the Red Sox clubhouse, a few days removed from a historic collapse.

It's not hard to assume that Francona was frustrated with the chemistry issues and the poor leadership, worn down by a divided clubhouse and ballclub in tremendous turmoil since the abysmal meltdown at the worst possible time. The pitching staff may seem relatively blameworthy -- for a starting rotation that finished 28th in the majors in consistent starts, but something else was wrong with this team and unfortunately it is the end of the Francona regime.

In the end, he is the fallen and most scrutinized guy in the Red Sox drastic collapse. He was the man blamed intensely on Yawkey Way, and he decided what was best for him by stepping down as manager. The well-accomplished manager in modern Red Sox history will be relieved of after eight seasons of success with eight wins, five playoff berths and two World Series titles.

These days, as we all know, Tito is blameworthy for the heartbreaker at the end of the season, missing the postseason after a horrifying collapse scripted a horror movie in Beantown. Bearing a dire transition, one that seems surreal in a town that admired Tito, he was an ideal suitor for the Red Sox managerial role with his capabilities to protect his players from criticism.

Before his team was blew the wild-card chase was eliminated from contention, Francona supposedly had a bond with his players. The culpability has not disappeared, and much talk has been fixated on the latest debacle that sort of tarnished the Red Sox, a club taunted for its epic failure. This was the team that needed a change in its fragile culture when it spent an estimate $200 million last offseason to revamp the lineup and contend with the Yankees for the AL East.

But it wasn't enough. It was embarrassing and painful to watch the Red Sox in September. Sadly and clearly, the Red Sox couldn't even manage an 8.5-game lead in less than a month and finished a staggering 7-20. And remember, this came after Boston was considered to be the greatest baseball club for the ages. But what did the Red Sox do with the chance to win the pennant? Blew it. They simply blew it and were badly ridiculed.

He might not deserve it, but 90 percent of the time the manager is hit with the blame -- and Francona happened to be the manager of an unbalanced and perplexed franchise. It was built with talent and arguably had the deepest depth in the majors, until the last game of the season when Jonathan Papelbon delivered the ill-advised pitch to Robert Andino.

It's easy to blame the closer for blowing a one-lead save with one strike left, but many are to blame for Boston's failures. There are, though, many who could take a burden of the blame or slightly some of the responsibility for the saddest ending during one of the captivating nights in baseball, all while the Red Sox mastered history in a negative fashion, no doubt. This time, a lot of people will blame Epstein for the horrible brand of baseball played in the last month.

By now, he feels plenty of the blame for signing incompetent free agents to his $161 million roster and destroying chemistry as the players never blended in together as an effective ballclub. The strategy of the blame game was in full force when designated hitter David Ortiz acted like he was the team's pitching coach and suggested that Alfredo Aceves should have been in the rotation, frustrated with the struggles of rookie starter Kyle Weiland and even Francona.

Since he likes to play the blame game, then why don't we compete with Ortiz, who hasn't played like Big Papi, but Big Slumpi? He tried to race into second base and knew damn well he couldn't run fast enough to beat it, and as a result, he was thrown out. There is definitely something terribly wrong with this team, and Epstein should be held accountable to some degree as well, not only Francona, who ended the franchise's 86-year drought in 2004.

Though he is to blame for stabilizing a clubhouse of a disoriented culture with the lack of consistency and decorum, Epstein -- in his ninth season as Boston GM -- has foolishly invested in futile players and failed to masterfully develop a sturdy pitching rotation. In all, he overspent for John Lackey, who is worth shopping around but no team is interested in accepting his $45.75 million he is owed over the next three seasons.

There are two problems here. The first, which the unworthy outfielder Carl Crawford is set to earn $19.5 million next season, is wastefully spending too much on unproven names. The second is letting the pitchers drink beer at the workplace during games they didn't pitch, one way players can lose respect for their manager and feel they could get away with almost anything. So in every sense, Francona had to leave.

It calls for a change of scenery in Boston and there comes a point typically when a franchise makes changes, which would serve for a brighter purpose in the future. It's simply understood that Francona never earned the fair share of credit he truly deserved. But under his tenure, the organization lived through adversity and stumbled by the instability of his players and ineffectiveness.

It was simply the smartest thing he could have done -- and he stepped down to his own ability reluctant in bearing the circumstances of the scrutiny and unnecessary stress. The bad relationship between Francona and Epstein had been in shambles for a long time, a disconnect nobody ever imagined.

It's too bad he hired Francona, but the only way to restore pride was to part ways with his manager. It's a business, after all.

An Epic Collapse Will Haunt Red Sox Eternally

It is well established that the Boston Red Sox, in the year the ballclub was supposed to win the pennant, had the greatest collapse in baseball history. When you think about it, maybe it’s the return of the Curse of the Bambino that doomed the Red Sox.

A person who is superstition can’t help but to think a curse has effectively brought torture to the third-highest market in baseball, a ballclub that ended its season in a nightmare, gagging on a night of steep ramifications. It’s incredible -- a painfully feeling to leave Red Sox fans in the dark, and a sense of optimism diminished on a night that watching the Red Sox turned into a horror movie.

It ended all so miserably, and it felt like demons and ghost were back to haunt Boston, a town suddenly punished by the underachievers, wearing a Red Sox uniform clearly disappointing an organization that trusted in each player. Because since the Red Sox had a nine-game lead in the wild-card chase on Sept. 3, and now eliminated from contention, they are judged as the biggest disgrace in baseball.

This team also now qualifies as the most persistently overhyped franchise in sports, gushing over the massive amount of money spent on the $142 million Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. The owner of Boston is John Henry, which means he’s probably irate for overly spending on underperformers -- writing paychecks for his players, even after they all failed and disappointed him.

The thought is now that this will go down as one of the craziest, biggest collapses in baseball history, and it was downright ridiculous for a team that was apparently supposed to be good. It’s an agonizing case of epic failure, and because of it, the Red Sox will miss the postseason. This was a collapse, a heartbreaking collapse – something that can make a person shed tears. Not me, mind you.

The vast majority should be laughing at the Red Sox for allowing themselves to break down in the last game of the season, after blowing an 8.5-game lead in less than a month, finishing a mere 7-20 September. You're kidding, right?? This is how terrible the Red Sox were in the last month of a 162-game season, and back in spring training Boston was projected to be one for the ages, perhaps the greatest ballclub of this era.

The reality is that the Red Sox couldn't control the leverage in the AL East, after evidently spending an estimate $200 million last offseason to upgrade the lineup and contend with the archrival Yankees. The aftermath of the latest collapse -- in retrospect -- is a feeling of pain and sadness for a franchise that wastefully spent to assemble the deepest club in baseball until last night -- a horror night that had Red Sox Nation a nervous wreck and petrified.

There is, though, much chatter about last night's spectacle that was a series of debacles, especially fans raving about the greatest collapse in sports history and talking about the worst Red Sox team of the ages. There's been lots of captivating and spectacular baseball, especially by Tampa Bay and St. Louis, two teams who pulled off the comeback to clinch wild-card berths and advance into the postseason as the Red Sox and Braves collapsed.

The worst feeling is that the Red Sox are eliminated, staring at much familiarity from the past. The aftermath of two World Series championships has faded into the darkness of the ghastly meltdown in which the Red Sox will miss the postseason for the second straight season. The worst feeling of the breakdown is that the Red Sox has fallen in love with the blame game -- now pointing fingers. In short, Boston is terrible as a whole.

The collapse in Boston's performance could be the sign of the curse, and the worst feeling is hearing about the traces of evil spirits again, an apparent trend that brought the Red Sox misery for 86 years. This wasn't an illusion of failure, which prompted tabloids and local radio talk shows to make the Red Sox the priority on their lists early Thursday morning. This was Boston blowing it when it counted the most, when they could've kept postseason hopes alive.

When Boston lost, the mood shifted into reverse, and because of it Red Sox Nation is angry, sad, depressed and embarrassed. The spending, as a result, proved risky for the Red Sox, once the favorites to win the World Series back in the offseason when Boston damn near signed every big-name free agent of the Hot Stove sweepstakes.

What drove us to believe the Red Sox would win the World Series?? It was only fitting that the Red Sox, for having evidently the greatest team in franchise history that stumbled, would reach history but just in a negative fashion by becoming the first team to ever enter September with a nine-game hold on a postseason spot. In short, they failed to advance to the playoffs. They blew it. The dream is over for the Red Sox.

The general public was stupid to believe in Boston, and we shamed ourselves for foolishly predicting the Red Sox as the favorites to win the pennant this fall. Shame on you -- shame on me -- for honestly arguing that the Red Sox were going to win the AL East. Wrong. This is way it's usually a mistake to sign every big-name free agent on the market, and offer every player the richest deal.

The truth is, as we know it, sports teams with the most productive and top-notch players normally tends to fall short of a championship, simply because teams draw national spotlight while under heavy pressure to perform at an all-time high. As far as we can tell, the Red Sox are a team of shame, brutally floundering at the worst possible time. There are, though, plenty of people within the Red Sox organization to blame for the failures, burying themselves and staging a funeral, one strike away from keeping their season alive.

This until Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon couldn't even close it out and blew the save, his second in September both against the Orioles. The pitching staff, more importantly, is to blame for the disappearance with a staggering 5.84 earned run average, and the starters alone had a 7.08 ERA. It amazes me that we praised this team more than our troops fighting for our confused nation.

For once, it is fair to blame manager Terry Francona for developing a club that lacks chemistry, which might have been a factor in Boston's collapse. It also falls on the ineffectiveness of John Lackey, who pitched like a clown on the mound -- just missing the red nose, the goofy shoes and the colorful wig. And lastly, general manager Theo Epstein is highly responsible and shares the blame for obtaining inconsistent players for the $161 million roster.

The medical staff was unaware and took forever to diagnose the stress fracture that Clay Buchholz had suffered. From there, he was inactive for the rest of the season. For right now, everyone is blameworthy for the way the season ended. But in reality, the Red Sox need to address some flaws during the offseason, and in the meantime, mending woes are difficult. There is no promise or ambition, after all.

Nobody really knows how the Red Sox will react next season or whether there'll be upgrades for the current roster. It's too bad that Boston lacks depth in its farm system as the team is only getting older, tied down by long-term deals the front office unwisely bestowed.

It's too bad that Lackey is owed $45.75 million over the next three years, and it's even more unfortunate when Crawford is set to earn $19.5 million next year. Money isn't everything. And for the Red Sox, I personally believe it means zilch.

For whatever reason, the Red Sox flunked the wild-card test.

Mandate for Red Sox: Win for Survival... Or Else

The swarms of Red Sox critics are downgrading the franchise located in Boston, a town that prides itself on baseball and crowds one of the oldest ballparks in the majors, Fenway Park. The front office rarely gets much sleep, reacting to the tension that hovers aggressively over the Red Sox, a franchise still in a pennant race for the wild card.

It defines common reasoning to believe in the Red Sox not to discount them from reaching the postseason, peaking through the Green Monster in autumn, and it's almost implausible to neglect Boston, flirting and staying in the race to expectedly clinch a postseason berth. If so, as we all know, the Red Sox will have to qualify for the fall classic only by winning the wild card, but if not then Boston is unworthy.

The uncertainty of baseball lies in the American League, with a tight, tense, crazy and unpredictable wild-card race that has the people in New England nervous, panicking over Boston's horrible pitching and injuries. This is about a team that has faltered and debilitated at the worst possible time, and where it stands now with the sudden meltdown, the Red Sox are doomed against the Yankees if they lose in a three-game series this weekend.

The way things are happening for the Red Sox, a World Series favorite have plummeted in prior weeks and have no longer been relevant or intimidating. As if owning the third-highest payroll in baseball is not enough, the Red Sox are 5-16 in September, unraveling and falling apart before our very eyes. As the archrival Yankees clinched a playoff berth and won the divisional title, the Red Sox are barely in survival with less than a week left to play, and as of now, Boston is inevitably marred in much trouble in September.

The more the Red Sox struggles pitching and aiming toward clinching the wild-card, the more Boston declines in chase for a postseason spot that could renew the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry if the franchise can succeed and rid the travails for one of the enticing clashes in sports.

This team was supposed to win 100 games as one player said he was highly optimistic at the start of training camp, but as it turns out the Red Sox weren't ever worthy of masterfully reaching triple-digit victories in the win column, not as much as Boston has been hit with injuries or withered, not as much as Terry Francona has cascaded as the voice of the Red Sox in the managerial role.

One of the problems here is Carl Crawford, a high-profile outfielder who merely has 18 stolen bases and has been a disappointment when people begin to wonder whether he's worthy or overpaid. Based on that, since he's not flawless or productive, he's partly the blame for the Red Sox failures this season, a bust for earning $20 million a year.

For weeks now John Lackey has been the buffeted starter in the pitching rotation, a component in arguably the deepest starting lineup in the history of the franchise, but more astonishingly he has played worse than a little leaguer. In fact, a little league pitcher at the moment could toss better than him and probably could win more games. That's just how bad Lackey is pitching of late.

With the struggles -- and as the bullpen has been heavily used lately -- it's about survival and keeping composure. It's about performing efficiently with all potential and balance in one of the deepest pitching rotations, not underperforming and financially wasting profit from its payroll. So meanwhile, the Red Sox can't take comfort in that they'll win the wild-card race and clinch a playoff berth, putting all kinds of burdens and scares on themselves, only leading by a game.

The losses to Lackey’s career aren’t so friendly, but more than ever, it is horrifying for a big-game pitcher winning in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series to roughly disappoint. He's allowing runs to score, he's getting bullied on the mound, he's yielding hits, and he's becoming an unwitting scapegoat of all the team's fiascoes. Through it all, he has not earned a win in five straight starts since Aug. 23, finishing 0-3 in that stretch.

The reality -- if you've had not noticed by now -- is the foolishness of Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, who has been described as a masterminded architect. The concept of spending immeasurable millions for one player was unwise, since the Red Sox are losing games, which is the reason he is blamed for the underachievement of Crawford and for even bringing aboard an injury-prone Erik Bedard.

The point is, Bedard has won one game since joining the Red Sox late in July from a trade, and again he's injured in September in which he's a non-factor in chase for the pennant. This isn't about Bedard, because it takes a total team effort to win in baseball. It's about the Red Sox as a whole, but what is unacceptable is the amount of losses, especially in September.

There's nothing spectacular about Adrian Gonzalez either, the first baseman who has swung poorly against the Yankees and Rays and owns a hideous batting average. It's a sign of weakness Gonzalez has shown ever since his arrival in Beantown and nowadays fans are deprived of greatness, whether the Red Sox faithful overlooks the field from the Green Monster view or sit in cozy seats behind home plate with a sellout crowd on hand.

This isn't really worth it, if your hometown team is underperforming or not exceeding all standards in what was supposed to be the best ballclub in baseball when it turns out to be irrational. Maybe it's because the Red Sox are considered a high-market franchise in which Boston was projected to win the World Series?

Those are the facts, and one can argue that this is maybe why the Red Sox are over hyped in a sense? Given the notion that Boston was in first place on Sept. 1, it was probable and believable, but not three weeks later. There's only a full week remaining and they were dispatched from the top spot in the division by the Yankees, a team the Red Sox truly disdain and has antipathy towards being that pinstripes and Sox just don't blend in together.

At the very least, it is now imperative for the Red Sox to survive a terrifying collapse and dismiss the dismal meltdowns in recent weeks. It almost means that Jonathan Papelbon can't afford to blow another save as he did Tuesday night against the Orioles, a night that turned into a dreadful nightmare. It's good to hope he doesn't have to take full responsibility for another loss this season.

For almost a decade, if not an entire decade, Josh Beckett has been known as a big-game pitcher, but not now on decline and slightly accountable for the Red Sox enlarged 6.77 ERA in September of their starters. The 23 errors in the past 21 games will come back to haunt Boston, all of which is daunting for a city that culturally think highly of baseball, and comes together inside Fenway Park and sings "Sweet Caroline."

But even Neil Diamond knows it's not so sweet in Beantown, just as much as Red Sox fans grasp similar vibes. As it stands right now, Dustin Pedroia is distraught and incensed and David Ortiz is Old Papi, not Big Papi and has witnessed his first real collapse with the Red Sox. He also has a confused state of mind, and so does team captain Jason Varitek. Now would be a good time to erase the outrage. As of quickly, the Red Sox are submerging into quicksand, unless they turn it around. Again, it's call survival.

Bye-bye, Boston. Unless the Red Sox avoids further misery, then they'll not have to wave farewell. It's all about winning for survival.

Red Sox Controls Leverage With Blockbuster Maneuvers In Shopping Spree

The scene is outrageous in a town that charmingly adores the tasteful smell of delicious hot dogs sold at Fenway Park, one of the oldest venues in sports for which a fan intensely desires to bite into a frankfurter and then to drop the wrapper on the ground as it blows.

I don’t care that the owner of the Boston Red Sox, John Henry, is disliked greatly by a whiny town in an urban community known as New York in which the population uses the lamest excuse and believes the Red Sox purchase their talent.

It’s one thing for a prominent franchise to squander money foolishly in these fragile economic times, especially if the franchise wasn’t successful in addressing its prerequisites or assembling a deluxe makeover that benefits the team’s fortune in the future.

It is simply a matter of overhauling a premier business to elevate the show business in Boston and keep the obsessed crowd appeased after each Red Sox devotee has been a financial advantage to a loyal ownership.

Much of this is a matter of competing with its nemesis the New York Yankees in every hostile meeting come next spring, of attaining the nod in arguably one of the most competitive divisions and of investing in hope that prosperity fosters.

This time, the Red Sox were blockbuster buyers and transformed into the smartest team of the offseason, stringing together valuable pieces to assemble a multitalented team.

In hindsight, consider it a shopping spree in the most convincing offseason in franchise history that the Red Sox, a team with architect Theo Epstein and intellectual team president Larry Lucchino, earned early Christmas presents.

It makes a better story, thus the franchise failed so badly in pulling off colossal deals in the previous winters, to identify the Red Sox as the masterminds of baseball, finally escaping the lampoonery era of being ridiculed for missing out on solidifying their stagnant roster.

While the Red Sox stunningly entertained a trade with the dynamic Adrian Gonzalez, acquired in a deal from the San Diego Padres over the weekend, the undaunted Boston ownership stole the top hitter on the market Carl Crawford and gave the star outfielder a seven-year deal, $142 million deal, the 10th largest in baseball history with an annual average of $20.3 million.


The timing was absolutely perfect for the Red Sox to express interest in the availability of Crawford, and as much as it sounds eccentric signing a precarious left fielder to the richest contract for an outfielder in history, it’s just unveils that the Red Sox know the importance of snatching integral stars as a way for ballooning ticket sales and, most of all, delivering multiple championships in a town that traditionally is accustomed to otherworldly talent.

Not all towns are baseball towns, but as we know, baseball is a proverbial trait and gratifies an entire culture, as the Red Sox are seen as the fabric of a championship-starved environment.

All of which Epstein, as we teased him for one of the weirdest Halloween stunts when he walked away from the team’s office wearing an expensive gorilla suit, is now a genius for pulling off the unthinkable.

In essence, he is the face of the franchise, not a laughingstock or a silly buffoon. By the time he returned, he was adored and welcomed back in a city while taking on his toughest task and regaining power for personnel decisions.

So far, his latest maneuver is accessible in the Red Sox revamping period and could have been the ingenious suggestion for renovating Boston as a way to match the intensity of the hated Yankees.

And he is, spending wisely and collectively, although he took a vast risk and spent an estimated $300 million on two players, each whom earned a seven-year deal.

He’s not a rare species from the Planet of the Apes, but an astute general manager with the art of structuring talent, persuading players by awarding the mega millions and sacrificing his sharp legacy as Boston’s master builder.

Rarely, if ever, do the Red Sox blend together a strong core of depth in their lineup, such a plot that better yet seems like a shopping spree.

In this, there was no need to walk into a Macy’s department store or Kay Jewelers to catch a bargain on a low-priced sale and find the suitable gift for this holiday season.

For weeks, there had been much speculation that Crawford was signing with the Yankees, and then reports swirled of him potentially signing with the Los Angeles Angels. In fact, at one point, he was close to accepting a contract offer from the Angels.

Upon hearing the gossip that the Yankees were bidding for the availability of Crawford, aiming towards stealing the top players on the market, he would have clearly settled in well wearing pinstripes.

It came as a shock to fans when his presence would have helped tremendously. For once, the Yankees failed miserably in getting Crawford and allowed the enemies within the division to declare him as a local resident in a town that gives much adoration.

Even if he had signed a long-term deal with the Yankees, the Steinbrenners and Brian Cashman were ready to trade one of its other outfielders, either Brett Gardner or Curtis Granderson.


There’s nothing new, however, that the Red Sox and Yankees are disdained and face much envy for intimidating the league by signing every available star. Logic is, as Major League Baseball is an unbalanced league with a deadbeat, worthless commissioner by the name of Bud Selig, that they share the highest payroll in baseball.

The slight difference is, with the profit owners pocket in order to pacify their star sluggers or perennial aces, the Yanks and Sox are separated by an estimate $64 million, a value that transcended beyond nine ballclubs’ entire budget.

But now, since the Red Sox has relieved $40 million off its payroll this season, losing Adrian Beltre, Mike Lowell, Victor Martinez and lastly Julio Lugo, Boston had cleared enough salary cap space to please Crawford, a four-time All-Star and speedy base runner with a .299 batting average and a 3.40 on-base percentage.

In that span, he averaged 13 homers and had stolen 50 bases per year, but he comes to Boston with blemishes as Gonzalez, a first baseman slugger likely to sign a seven-year extension within the $20 million range, can fortified a batting order instantly with his powerful hits.

Crawford, a member of the much-improved Red Sox, has been criticized already and has accepted a wealthy contract many believe he’s not worth, given that he has never drilled as many as 20 home runs in a season.

As it stands, this was a courageous choice, but more than anything, a sassy move by one of the finest organizations.

The state of the Red Sox is that the team is relentless and steadfast with a left-handed lineup, comprised of a hittable lineup with enough ooze to stand as the superior franchise in the American League East, owners of five projected starters who are left-handed batters, which include Crawford, Gonzalez, J.D. Drew, David Ortiz and Jacob Ellsbury.

Rationality is that the Yankees, whom ironically aren’t centralized in all the free-agency bidding, are losing greatly for a variety of mistakes. That’s a good thing, because now it’s an annex to one of the greatest rivalries in sports.

Red Sox vs. Yankees.

And as it seems, the Red Sox have the leverage.

This is projected to be the best team, coming into next season, I believe.

Johnny Damon Needs To Return Home: Boston Is Where The Heart Is

If you’ve wondered why a former baseball team is calling and begging, why the large-market Red Sox franchise is finally targeting the hitting specialist in a return that seems very valuable and useful in the friendly confines of Boston, it’s because he had been classified as a hero in a place where the enthusiastic fans idolize and worship baseball.

Suddenly, Johnny Damon knows he needs the Red Sox, but he is rebuffing interest where he ripened as a savior in a town that is accustomed to winning and, more than anything, snapping one of the more dreadful curses in recent memory.

Suddenly, the Red Sox need Damon, a bygone caveman who once resembled the Geico creatures from its commercial ads.

But Damon is leaning towards remaining a member of the Detroit Tigers. He has no desire to return to Fenway Park, arguably the friendliest and oldest ballpark in America, a structure that sells out a capacity crowd nearly in every game. It would be a return to the team he called home, the team with the wildest celebration of the last decade. It was a decade when the Red Sox cured lapses of hopelessness and snapped an unpleasant curse.

Damon helped the team’s cause and infatuated a fervid baseball town.

If he can return to his former locale, this is a precept of considerably good fortune, welcomed back to aid his former team in pursuit of a postseason chase. Never mind that he left the town behind for its bitter rival the New York Yankees, abruptly departing a population that adored and empowered him. Never mind that he was viewed as an enemy for representing pinstripes and sadly erasing all the indelible moments of 2004, the historic moment in sports when the Red Sox trailed 3-0, but came back to defeat its nemesis the Yankees in the ALCS.

In the end, however, it didn't matter. The Red Sox had captured their first World Series title in 86 years.

These days, the fans are willing to forgive the past betrayal and welcome Damon back to Beantown with loud cheers and warm receptions. The most recent news is that the Red Sox placed a waiver claim on Damon, the famous savior that once relived the dinosaur age, and caused vital damage in a mesmerizing postseason in the last decade.


It’s telling that he has a no-trade cause that specifically reveals the Red Sox as potential contenders of claiming sole possession of the outfielder. What seems plausible is that Damon, once known as the villainous icon, unfavorably for the heartbreaking departure that angered the Green Monster devotees in Boston, is that he will return in a Red Sox uniform.

All he would need to electrify the crowd sitting in the Monster seats or the coziest ballpark seats is productivity.

What we do know is that Damon’s recent comments on how the Yankees organization and fans treat players respectively is inanely insulting to Red Sox Nation, filled with animosity and disgust.

His penchant for neglecting the Red Sox is surely creating much buzz and drama these days, comfortably abandoning his former club when they are trying to amiably welcome him back.

As confusing as it seems, the Red Sox' strategy is to lure the temperamental outfielder back into the organization where he can elevate his legacy, all while catering to Boston’s postseason surge.

Thus far, Beantown's team is devoid of a World Series title and robust outfielders, and can fittingly add some depth on a depleted roster by snatching Damon from the inferior Detroit Tigers, a team that is under .500 and 10 games out of the AL Central picture. It’s time for everyone to realize that in a depressed town, where the auto industry has taken a drastic plunge, where unemployment rates have increasingly risen, and where the Tigers aren’t close to contending, Damon shouldn’t be hesitant on opting to leave Motown.

The thing is, he represented Boston as the renaissance man for his timely hitting and presence in the outfield and was resilient as a clutch performer in arguably the greatest series in baseball history, an event that epically cemented the beauty of the game. Damon’s accomplishments should have never been overshadowed, subsequently by his uncivil departure, leaving a beloved town in anguish for an archenemy.

Whatever else is on his mind, he’s leery about putting on a Red Sox uniform and distraught by the way he was treated in his return to Boston when the boorish fans serenaded unpleasantly. With all apologies, a large cult would be amped because of his return and once again applaud the savior of a classic rebirth, one that has become indicative of a cultural standpoint that baseball is the realm of all humanity.

He who was once known as Johnny Demon can now be characterized as Johnny Damon, only if he accepts the offer and erases the images of pinstripes by pleasing the citizens of Red Sox Nation.

An American trait is to view sports teams as a brand, with iconic symbols. Damon was such an icon as he refined his style and game, produced wins and fueled the hearts of fans. He benefited the Red Sox with aggressive base running and solid hitting.

The elements that define the culture of Boston baseball are Curt Schillings’ bloody sock and Damon’s fluffy beard and wild hairstyle, a stylish fad at the time.

Those days are gone when Damon was superstitious, and wouldn’t shave off his hair or beard, which resulted in a breakable curse and a title many believe should be asterisked for the recent revelations of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz steroid scandals.

Either way, the Red Sox won it all that year and now are prepared to embrace the return of Damon.

What is obvious, of course, is that Boston is hindered by defensive flaws and uncontrollable injuries. Without the explosiveness of Jacoby Ellsbury, the Red Sox are degenerating in the outfield. Mike Cameron isn’t as effective, but signed with Boston to qualify for an outfielder’s position.

If Damon comes back to home sweet home, it’s a smart move. If he comes back, the Red Sox benefit by adding a veteran bat to solidify the batting order and enhance the productivity of each at-bat. If he comes back, it cures all the outfield woes and installs a sense of belief.

If he mends an awful relationship and comes back by accepting the fans that endeared him, then Damon will be greatly forgiven.

Big Papi Resurrected in Mesmerizing Slugfest: Red Sox in Chase for Pennant

ANAHEIM--Every time he walked near the dugout finishing his home run round on the nice, breezy summer night at Angel Stadium, the crowds were as wild and terrifying as the craziest attractions at Disneyland.

Parts of the site cheered as others booed David Ortiz, the once-sleazy and deceitful slugger who addressed at length during a press conference his bewilderment of how he tested positive during the league’s 2003 drug testing survey. In truth, given the massive homers that sailed over the walls in Southern California, he’s now steroid-free and authentic in every at-bat by lofting surging shots out of the ballpark with the Steroid Era gradually fading.


All I know is he’s ultimately a charismatic and adorable superstar in Boston, wildly cheered in front of a desirous crowd that sells out at the cozy and traditional confines of Fenway Park, the oldest ballpark currently active. However, much of last season he was a fallen star, disdained when caught for dragging down purity and deceiving the game using performance-enhancing drugs.

Few, if any, trusted the fraudulent so-called Big Papi, though supportive fans at home applauded Ortiz as if he hadn’t committed a shameful crime. But as of recently, he’s no longer the careless saboteur that sadly stained Boston’s World Series pennants, he’s no longer the criminal of baseball, and he’s no longer accused for tainting the Red Sox triumphant moments.

In the beginning of his revelations, he was disliked and ripped heavily for buying supplements and vitamins over the counter, smudging his reputation and spotless batting averages that vastly declined when the accusations developed. Maybe he wasn’t the Big Papi we were familiar with months ago. Maybe he was Big Slumpi, right?

Back then, we saw a disillusioned slugger gripe frequently at the press for criticizing his inefficient batting average and lowly performance. Back then, we saw the bitterness of a poisonous designated hitter with limiting struggles, after he finished the month of April with a .143 batting average, .238 on-base percentage, and only one homer and four RBIs. If you ever wondered about the implications of his languishing capacities, he was propagated as a stigma in baseball.

This is a game of momentum and parity, a game that requires much patience and self-discipline during at-bats. The biggest story in baseball is obviously the sudden improvement and reproduction of Ortiz, who had the befitting mechanics in the annual All-Star Home Run Derby Monday night. He blasted 11 homers in the final round for a total of 32 in the festivities.

In the end, he pulled off a vital comeback with a 13-homer second round to ultimately defeat runner-up Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins. It all started with Milwaukee’s Corey Hart, whose blazing long ball soared over the left-center field wall as he compiled 13 homers in the early rounds to lead all participants.

But usually, if you haven’t noticed, participants lose mechanics, a groove, and hits lacking power following the Derby. All this could obviously lift the assurance of Ortiz, and then, he could uplift the Red Sox to potentially a surge in the second-half of the regular season as they aggressively chase for the pennant.

With all the hyperbolic tension, he has acted like a prima donna, he has cried like a baby for his porous swinging, and he has stuck out more than any other batter to hear all the ridiculing and criticism. The outrage easily led Big Papi to believe that fans had personally betrayed and scorned him, devastated by his fraud and phoniness. Here we are a year later, and he’s one again an admirable slugger in the game, forgetting about the erratic or pseudo home runs and clutch shots in the late innings.

Maybe he was a sham no one trusted and lost all credibility while remaining vague about his substance use, but he represented the Red Sox by capping the honors in the Derby and possibly increased the chances of starting the second half on a hitting streak. Maybe he was the biggest disappointment in the game, but he was the biggest star in the All-Star event and remorseful of his diabolical sins.


This time, he validates all the intangibles it takes to polish as a productive hitter at nearly every at-bat and has amassed hits in a resurrection. In contrast, he once ranked 45th among AL players in OPS, but he now currently stands at sixth and has been a factor in Boston’s overall progress. Most obviously, the Red Sox have greatly outplayed their most hated rivals, the Yankees.

That is, of course, when Big Papi has competent appearances at the plate. And rightfully, he lofted the trophy featuring two crossed bats, dedicating a wondrous moment to former Major League pitcher Jose Lima, a Dominican Republic native who died when paramedics discovered him in cardiac arrest at his Southern California home in May.

“This is my fourth time, so I'm just kind of used to the experience,” Ortiz said. “I wanted to come here and make sure the fans enjoy what we do.”

“I’ve been dealing with so many things the past few years,” Ortiz said. “Coming back here (to another All-Star game), I want to thank the players for giving me the opportunity to be here. This is a job that we have, but it’s called a game. That’s what I try to do during the season—have fun with my teammates and make sure everything goes the right way.”

There’s no need for us to feel disappointed or bitter of Big Papi. The fallacies unquestionably were unexpected from a player who once said that he was tired of a sport sullied by performance-enhancers and had a solution for more severe punishment. He clearly believed that all players in the majors should have been tested three or four times a year, and banned for testing positive of substances.

Unfortunately, he was one of those wicked drug users, but he was also one of those beloved and premier sluggers in the game. With the horrible beginning to the regular season, Red Sox manager Terry Francona had options of juggling his batting lineup and benching Ortiz against lefties or even summon him to pinch hit in late-inning situations.

For a short moment, he had continued his struggles by hitting three-for-33 in June. In other words, he was worse than a Little Leaguer and swung desperately at anything thrown in the strike zone. But then, he batted .480 with seven extra-base hits and 10 RBIs in a seven-game stint to finish off the dreadful start. And he’s currently seeing the ball superbly. It was convincing evidence in the slugfest. You saw it with your own two eyes.

Once again, he’s the most dangerous designated hitter in the American League.

If I were you, I'd encourage your team to walk him.

Big Papi's Vague Explanation Does Little To Clear Doubts of His Drug Usage

Maybe it’s the biggest scandal in baseball.

Maybe the union is hiding important information. And maybe baseball is to embarrass of unveiling the truth.

All of us as citizens shouldn’t believe a word coming out of the mouth of David Ortiz, the latest name leaked to the 2003 list of the 104 players involved in the Steroid Era, or a mystical union.

None of them can be trusted, after lying directly to us as there are still myriads of tainted players living a lie. Wow. Let’s just say this is a crisis the union and Ortiz has twisted, making it difficult to muster truthful evidence.

I’m befuddled, disappointed and hopeless of a sport that is suffering from a wretched era of poison syringes, disgusting pills and more perplexing drugs out there.

But the latest criminal is Big Papi, of revelations yet again setting a destructive image on the majors. It has reached a point of fatigue, shame and stupidity on certain levels.

Like Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, and Manny Ramirez, he uses the excuse method to escape from the criticism and frenzied queries.

When Big Papi’s name was leaked to a report 10 days ago, the story has developed a BIG MESS and remains to put a freeze on the game. Disgracefully, baseball scandals continue to highlight a demoralizing season, and now reduce the moods of many passionate fans.

For a while, I considered boycotting the game, but realized there are more positive perceptions, still existing. In the meantime, a mysterious list of anonymous players is lingering and uncovering names. Unfortunately, the guilty sham is a likable guy who has amassed homers and RBIs, establishing a home in Boston to emerge into a primary source.

With Ortiz’s heroics and brilliant swings, he’s the favorable player and praised mightily, helping the Red Sox prevail in two World Series titles this decade. But their titles have generated lasting questions on if the triumphant effort was actually tainted of Manny Ramirez’s and Ortiz’s unlawful supplements.

Aside from the apparent supplements Ortiz pumped into his massive body, wasn’t he the so-called slugger who insisted that every player should be tested on a regular and if a player tested positive to serve a harsh punishment? Yes, it was him.

Now that his name is portrayed as a cheater, Ortiz denies any relations to the other frauds. Judging Ortiz’s popularity among major league players and his development into a well-beloved fan favorite in Boston, fans will still brace him after he was caught cheating.

The least Ortiz can give to fans is an explanation on how he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Now, it seems like a good time to release guilt and humiliation off his back with a truthful answer.

But as usual, like the others, Ortiz’s credibility diminished as he refused to provide specifics. Same goes for the union, doing everything they can to keep the truth hidden, saying it’s prohibited to reveal what he tested positive for because of court orders. It is bad enough they’re concealing the list from us, and now they’re not giving us details on Ortiz’s fraudulent intakes.

Well, less information doesn’t restore an excusable cause, nor does it revamp credibility. It is hard to believe anything, as Ortiz and the union sugarcoat all the facts and continue to allow the biggest scandal to ruin an unknown season, now with a list of players to surface anytime soon.

Instead of giving us useful answers, they gave us more perplexing nonsense. This forces disappointed fans to ponder and try to grasp a sense of what Ortiz really took.

In other words, we’re stuck playing guessing games, and we’re attempting to make a hard swing and understand the puzzling infamy. It is swirling around baseball faster than a 99mph fastball, and it has literally revealed more drama. By now people are tired of revelations that lack certainty, which makes it hard to believe anyone in this devastating era.

If you tell the world Ortiz tested positive for performance-enhancer, then you should come clean and tell us what he stored into his body. It’s just that simple. So, Ortiz informed us Saturday he never used steroids, and that it was vitamins and over-the-counter supplements.

And he expects us to believe that. We should be accustomed of player’s convenient excuses. We should’ve seen this protocol coming again. And we should’ve known Ortiz would classify himself as an innocent man. Don’t they all?

What we saw and heard from Ortiz were similar scenarios from others. So once again, major league baseball caught another suspect in a foolish lie. Then again, maybe the government is goons and prefers not to dwell on the infamous past.

The truth might never be revealed, with the stubborn-minded government seizing the survey list of positive test during the BALCO investigation. That was a perfect moment to remove headaches of drug issues away from a sport that was cherished for its tradition.

Meanwhile, there is some suspicion to Ortiz’s elusive story. Remember when he played for the Twins, where his name was hardly mentioned and then went to Boston and emerged into a big star? Yes!

Remember when everyone was convinced that Ortiz’s surreal power had levitated to baseball’s best? Well it has being anything but excellent, as the numbers have dropped. Those are your hints that something unfathomable created more issues, relating to the benefits of performance-enhancers.

Denying he ever used or purchased steroids is difficult to accept. No time to feel sympathy, nor time to trust a player. By giving out limited details, Michael Weiner, who is waiting to replace Donald Fehr as the next union chief, allowed Ortiz a free ride.

At least it’s what we should take from a vague conference, when Weiner touched on some points of the players who tested positive, of course reactions nobody was anxious to hear.

One of the players on the list could be one of the eight who tested positive for an illegal dietary supplement. There are allegedly 96 names included on the ’03 list and have tested dirty, but 13 of the 96 positive tests are being disputed.

The union informed Ortiz in ’04 that his name was on the list, but that he might hadn’t tested dirty. From all this confusion, we’ll never know.

From an unspecific union and Ortiz, we’ll never know.

But, each makes a brilliant cover up.

Ortiz's Juice Taints Red Sox as Scandal is Limbo

We can just image how a nation of Red Sox devotees feels hearing about the latest steroid fraud. Pathetically, it is sicken and confounded of a player's name to be linked to a list of juicers. And it is misleading to a town that pledges most of its time to cherish Fenway Park, one of the world’s finest venues, where a multitude of fans crowds the Monster Seats to witness a wonderful overlook onto the field from above the well-known Green Monster.

They are inspired to arrive and crowd the place in a streak that is everlasting. Even on frigid nights, the proud fans are full of joy and spirit, most of them wearing red jerseys and cheers for the Red Sox.

For now, there’s nothing to cheer or be proud about the beloved team, in a town that has always been committed to baseball. Although, the Boston Celtics and the Boston Three Party brought triumph to a motionless town a year ago, and a robust Tom Brady is set to return to New England in the upcoming season, pursuing to strive and amass another title. But there’s not one professional team that can top the likable Red Sox.

But if a player test positive for using any banned substances, fans will became disappointed and speechless. They will become perturbed to grasp an understanding on conquests in recent years. Faced with dismay is Red Sox Nation, observing a dispirited nation unfortunately plunge into a downfall, which arrived unexpectedly and molded a tainted nature among a slight dynasty. David Ortiz was the last purist hitter standing in the game, a cure of all humanity, a cure on integrity and a cure on the game, until it crumpled in the latest name unveiled from the list.

Yes, Big Papi is now a Big Fraud. His name uncovered by testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, and is now considered the biggest scandal in baseball. So like the rest of the juicers who have joined the Juicer Club, have tarnished their Hall of Fame legacies. Failing to realize the jeopardy of dismissing natural capabilities to fuel a system with trickery juice, proves lack of optimism and integrity on a game they are supposed to play with a zealous attitude, not an impersonal demeanor.

Ortiz has disappointed his family, a game that has already relapsed into a darken shadow of poisonous uproars as a steroid crisis has exposed a stain that will probably never be removed. But in the Steroid Era, amid a series of steroid scandals, Big Papi isn’t a nickname, disappointing, upsetting, misleading and shattering the hearts in Boston, where he was the most likable slugger to illustrate tremendous joy.

And he flourished into the primary slugger in the Red Sox championship runs, hard driven and batted with productive power. But none of that matters at all, and we can assume Boston’s 2004 and 2007 World Series titles were a con, tainted of juicing calamity.

Maybe the Red Sox were cursed after all in ’04, the year they snapped a curse that never ended. The curse of the Bambino still exists, haunted spirits that propelled 86 years of misery. But there is mind-blowing sorrow creating a national disturbance and formulating disgruntled fans.

At the very least, they reckoned the two miracle races were legitimate, not another trick that caught Major League Baseball by surprise. Oh, but it shouldn’t. Often this year, the wonderful season is interrupted and partly dismantled with the steroid trilogy revealed. Thus far, the ‘09 season has revolved around nothing but juicing the system and violating baseball’s law. This has overshadowed players with successful seasons.

For instance, St. Louis’ slugging first baseman Albert Pujols can make history books with perfect numbers, on pace to conquer a remarkable milestone. Good citizens are well aware and have followed Pujols’ Triple Crown status. Well, a possible Crown watch is an outcast of performance-enhancing drug debacles that have lasted longer than a decade, brainwashing our positive morale.

In this era, performance-enhancers have reduced our trust level, which has condensed spirit and initiative among the game. If you have brain cells and are rational about the infamous scandals that have sabotaged the 09 season, you are resentful, dreary and forlorn. It is deceptiveness and betrayal whenever players settle to pump bodies with juice, revealing a loss of confidence, of which they espouse drug use. So, average players decline to showcase their natural capabilities of swinging without a banned substance.

This year has focused in on steroid busts, interrupting the glorious game with hazy clouds covering baseball’s beautiful landscape. In a year that has produce more revelations than RBIs, homers, triples, doubles and singles, Alex Rodriguez unveiled from the list, Manny Ramirez’s name unmasked from a drug prevention policy and Sammy Sosa failed the test as well, following the so-called Big Papi, who cheated just like the rest.

For more than a decade, he fooled us with a phenomenal slugging percentage, belting power shots and was recently the dangerous hitter in baseball that most pitchers walked and never took a risk of allowing him to knock one out. In what seems to be a fraud, pitchers should now be more lustful throwing a hard pitch down the middle.

No longer can Ortiz intimidate anyone, nor can he hit as potent, obviously needing juice to drive his mighty shots over the Green Monster or even onto the streets behind the hideous wall in left field. Ortiz and Ramirez are the latest names from the list, so we can assume the Red Sox were tainted. They sabotaged the glorious and extraordinary moments of Curt Schilling’s heroics in Game Six of the ALCS, when he pitched with a bloody sock to bolster the Red Sox to historical comeback in major league history, after trailing 3-0 against the New York Yankees in major league history.

Now all the home runs are called into question, including the walk-off shots Ortiz and Ramirez belted to shatter the hearts of fans across the nation, but exhilarating the hearts of Red Sox Nation, who are now stunned of the revelations, convinced it was done legitimately. They are obligated to an explanation, of which Ortiz should address the media and give a sincere apology to fans that trusted in his game.

They were convinced it was artistically done as well as owner John Henry and general manager Theo Epstein. That is why they shipped off Ramirez to avoid distraction and psychological disturbance, as chemistry gradually dwindled. Basically, Ramirez was a cancer and abandoned the Red Sox in each game by switching into an indolent outfielder, refusing to retrieve groundballs or give chase to ones that rolled to the wall in left field. But in Ortiz’s ordeal, getting busted for steroids is a distraction that will form media frenzies, questioning the Big Fraud to deliver specifics. In mere moments, Ortiz’s legacy is battered and will never be the same, failing to realize a drug bust diminish credibility and the way fans brace his game.

Fact is that his legacy is tainted, but some fans will support the guy they refer to as Big Papi, when they really shouldn’t after a bust just changed the entire season for the Red Sox. Let’s assume the Red Sox were on the verge of entering a World Series showdown against the Los Angeles Dodgers. And let’s assume Ramirez will be able to seek vengeance against his former club in a championship series that will produce much hype.

Point to the matter is that it will consist of Ramirez and Ortiz, MANNY BEING A DOPE IN MANNYWOOD vs. BIG FRAUD OF BEATOWN. What a series that should be, right? Yes, a series of frauds who disappointed us all, by taking advantage of the game in their foolish acts. One good thing is that both helped the Red Sox win a World Series in an erroneously of course, two big criminals who ruined Boston’s prosperous pursuit.

Now the town is stuck in a tainted crisis, and is identified as baseball’s most tainted team in major league history, all because of two dense and wannabe sluggers. Now it is appealing to see if Ortiz receives as much adulation as Manny in a naïve town called Mannywood. Normally, Ortiz receives cheers from fans before every at-bat and if he drills a homer to delight ecstatic fans at a night at Fenway.

I’m not sure if the Red Sox are convinced their titles are tainted with juice stains.

And I’m not sure, if the Red Sox are cursed or not. But their titles are tainted with poisonous syringes from the biggest dopes, Ortiz and Ramirez.

That’s just pathetic.

LaRoche Is Gone, But Pittsburgh Still Have Promising Stars

By Josh Dhani

On July 22, 2009, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded one of their promising stars in Adam LaRoche to the Boston Red Sox. What did Pittsburgh get out of this deal? A minor-leaguer named Argenis Diaz.

The Pirates were looking for some “young” talent, and I believe a minor-leaguer was what they were looking for. But come on, trading a star for a player of skills we don’t how good they are.

But although LaRoche is gone, the Pirates still have some promising young stars on the squad. Yes yes, I absolutely know that the Pirates record isn’t promising, not at all, but hey, although we are looking at another losing season for like the 20th time in a row, there is a bright side looking into next year.

Pittsburgh recently brought Andrew McCutchen, their 2005 MLB first round draft pick, to the majors. And on eveybody’s face when they see McCutchen, there isn’t a frown, but a smile of a clown (okay, no, that’s scary). McCutchen has proved he can hit, has the speed, and he is a good outfielder.

But besides those three things where he masters at, there are many other categories he literally just pwns. For those of you who have not heard of this word “pwn,” as always, let Nigahiga explain to all of you:

McCutchen has proved he will be a promising young star for years to come on the Pirates. Hopefully, Pittsburgh won’t ship him off, because if they do, a fanbase will be rotting. As of right now, he is the future.

We then have Andy LaRoche. LaRoche is improving. After, in what I would call a not so good year for LaRoche in 2008, 2009 is an improving year. LaRoche, so far, has been hitting .264 with four homers, and 37 RBI. Although he probably is going to miss his brother, he’s going to have to step it up a notch these next couple of years.

And right now, he kind of is. He’s improving as well and you may need to watch out for him.

Now here is Garrett Jones. I swear, this kid is a stud. He has a lot of criminal records…on pitchers. He’s truly just an amazing athlete after he had a four-game streak of homers. He hit five of them in his last four games. The streak ended on July 19, 2009.

But although the streak has ended, Jones has proved that he can be a star. He has been getting featured in a lot of waiver wires lately, and I already got him on my fantasy baseball team. Even ESPN is looking out for him now. Jones, right now, hasn’t let anyone down and when he is playing, surely there will never be a frown.

Yes, although the Pirates have lost Adam LaRoche, it doesn’t mean they are screwed, because trust me, they aren’t. With three promising young athletes on the squad, the Pirates can have a winning season before you know it. This season may have already been over, and there were many downs in the path with Nate McLouth and Adam LaRoche gone.

But it brings a new dynasty for the Pirates, with Garrett Jones, Andrew McCutchen, and Andy LaRoche still on the team, there was light in that 2009 season. There was a spark that lit up that year.

And coming in 2010, the Pirates may be a team to look out for.

So, yeah, I admit, LaRoche leaving Pittsburgh isn’t that big of a deal. We have three athletes who are going to shine. So watch out Pittsburgh, prepare to be entertained soon.