Tuesday. Former Red Sox shortstop Glenn Hoffman was interviewed yesterday by the Red Sox. Afterwards he spoke with the media, but didn't say all that much (though he was there when Pedro first saw snow). Bruce Allen reads Tony Massarotti (and maybe Bob Ryan) and asks: "Is it just me, or is this the media making themselves the story again? It's like Massarotti is taking pride in the fact that he perceives that the Red Sox are putting their candidates in front of the microphones to assess how they deal with the vaunted Boston Press." No Bruce, it isn't just you. Who really cares what Hoffman said to the media yesterday? I'm far more curious about what went on behind closed doors for nearly 8 hours. P.S. The media never seemed to care much when Grady spouted cliches.

Red Sox team doctor William J. Morgan was arrested for drunken driving over the weekend after state police spotted his swerving Mercedes Benz on a Worcester highway and found bottles of red wine in his car. Morgan, 50, operated on Nomar's right wrist in 2001. ... Aaron Gleeman takes a long look at the free agent market. ... Redbird Nation muses on misery: "Each year 29 teams go home unhappy and one gets to enjoy it all for about five minutes before the speculation begins about whether they can do it again. Misery? Fans need misery. Misery begets hope. Hope generates interest, interest turns to obsession, and obsession turns to ecstasy on those rare moments when it all goes your way. Here's hoping we'll know what that is again, next year." ... Houston traded closer Billy Wagner to Philadelphia, which means (in the eyes of many people) the Astros are planning to make a bid for Yankee free agent Andy Pettitte. As much as I can't see Pettitte pitching for any other team, the bidding war, if there is one, could be interesting, especially if it drains cash away from other Yankee pursuits (like Vlad). ... Discussions about Red Sox 2004 payroll and the managerial search. ... And while there is no such thing as curses, if there was, it would be the Yankees who are cursed, not the Red Sox.

IYI*: I'm currently reading Neal Stephenson's "Cryptonomicon" and wishing (at page 330) that there was much more about code-making and -breaking. Other new books in my house: Stephenson's "Quicksilver," Daniel Ellsberg's "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers" and David Foster Wallace's "Everything & More: A Compact History of Infinity" (more here and here).

* - if you're interested.