Theo Stuns Sox -- Declines Offer, Leaves Club

Oh, fuck.

In a stunning development, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein has declined the club's offer of a three-year extension of his contract, and will leave the organization.

Theo speaks:

My decision not to return as general manager of the Red Sox is an extremely difficult one. ... In my time as general manager, I gave my entire heart and soul to the organization. During the process leading up to today's decision, I came to the conclusion that I can no longer do so. In the end, my choice is the right one not only for me but for the Red Sox.

My affection for the Red Sox did not begin four years ago when I started working here, and it does not end today. I will remain on the job for several days as we finalize preparation for next week’s general managers meetings. Thereafter, I will make myself available to the organization to ensure a smooth and stable transition.

MLB, Herald.

The Herald story makes it clear that this had nothing whatsoever to do with money. ... Epstein was apparently pissed off at CHB's piece of shit Sunday column, with Larry Lucchino as the likely source of info.

FUCK YOU, Lucky!

The Joy Of Sox - 2004

"The Joy of Sox 2004" book -- consisting of my blog posts from October 16, 2003 to October 27, 2004 and a few extras -- is now available. Finally. ... One obvious fact: If I don't have a deadline, I can't (won't) get a damn thing done.

The book is being published through Cafe Press. The cover was done with the help of Leigh Hyland (aka Sibko), who runs the excellent REM Cover Studio.

A word about the price: It's $21.10 -- which honestly is way too much to pay. I'd love to make it $10 or so, but at 469 pages, it costs Cafe Press $21.07 to print the damn thing, so my "profit" will be three cents per sale.

I put this book together for myself, because I wanted something tangible from the 2004 season. ... However, if anyone out there wants a copy, you can order it here.

In Theo We (will continue to) Trust

Theo Epstein and the Red Sox have agreed on a three-year contract extension (through the 2008 season).

Item #1 on the Red Sox Winter To-Do List can be checked off.

Theo Deal Close; Cabin, Pro File

Snow/Edes in the Globe:

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and president/CEO Larry Lucchino met multiple times yesterday, and by last night there was every indication an agreement will be reached that will keep Epstein as GM for the next three years. A formal announcement could come today. ...

Epstein and the Sox were believed to be only $300,000 apart earlier in the week. On Tuesday, Lucchino offered Epstein $1.2 million per year for three years, upping the club's initial offer of $850,000 per season. Epstein, whose contract expires Monday, is believed to have made $350,000 this season and desires a bump to $1.5 million per year.

Also, Kevin Millar and Bill Mueller filed for free agency.

Theo Decision Expected Today

Earlier this week, Theo Epstein rejected the Red Sox's contract offer of at least three years at $1.2 million per. Globe:

While money is a major factor in the negotiations, it is growing increasingly apparent that there are other issues, namely a personality clash in management styles between [Larry] Lucchino and Epstein that transcends chain-of-command questions.

Until a decision is announced (today?), Bob Ryan offers his thoughts, as does Tony Massarotti (here).

Greg Genske, Manny Ramirez's agent, says Manny does not want to play for the Mets. "As long as he's under contract, his loyalty is to the Red Sox. But if the Red Sox do want to trade him, the Angels are the most attractive option. Manny has a lot of respect for Orlando Cabrera and Vladimir Guerrero and for that organization." ... Genske also mentioned Cleveland.

Richard Chacón, the Globe's Ombudsman, examines the paper's relationship with the Red Sox. The first of two articles looks at "the Globe's corporate ties to the Red Sox. The second column will address readers' questions on the newspaper's coverage."

The Sox also dismissed assistant trainer and rehabilitation coordinator Chris Correnti.

It was one year ago today.

WS4: White Sox 1, Astros 0

Another World Series sweep -- and another team erases a multi-generational drought.

Congratulations to all White Sox fans!

WS3: White Sox 7, Astros 5 (14)

Damn! Now that's a baseball game! ... Thousands of words could be written about the longest (by time; 5:41) World Series game in history (Jayson Stark is always fun with games like this), but I'll mention only a few things (being tired at work after not getting to bed until 2:45):

Houston's offense is pathetic. ... After Jason Lane led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run (which actually hit off the in-play side of the yellow line in left center), the Astros sent 47 batters to the plate (over 11 innings) and managed only one hit.

Thanks to a 11 walks, two errors and a HBP, the Astros left two men on in the 8th (when they tied the game 5-5, after blowing a 4-0 lead), three on in the 9th (man on 3rd with one out), 2 on in the 10th, 2 on in the 11th (they had 1st/2nd with 1 out), and 2 on in the 14th.

I was surprised Roy Oswalt was left in to face a WS-record 11 batters (and throw a career-high 46 pitches) in the 5th inning. In fact, Phil Garner didn't have anyone warming up until the 11th batter was stepping in. Oswalt's implosion meant his team was trailing by only one run, but still ...

Why did Ozzie Guillen call on Dustin "I haven't pitched in 25 days" Hermanson in the 8th? That couldn't have been his best option. Hermanson gave up the only hit Houston recorded after the 4th inning, a game-tying double to Lane.

I continue to be amazed that no World Series game has ever gone 15 (or more) innings. Game 2 in 1916 (Red Sox 2, Dodgers 1; Babe Ruth CG) is the only other contest to last fourteen innings.

In the bottom of the 7th, with Chicago up 5-4, this was put on the screen:

1 team has come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a post. series

I expect (nay, demand) to see several Red Sox montages before and during Game 4 tonight.

Bloggers: White Sox and Astros.

WS2: White Sox 7, Astros 6

A great game, some amazing swings of momentum, but all the way through, right up to Podsednik's game-ending home run, I felt nothing. No tension, no release. I know there were fans of both sides in agony and ecstasy, like we were last year, yet there I am, dutifully keeping score and feeling as though I'm watching through several layers of gauze (or something).

Update to Rooting Interest: I cast my lot with Chicago in the last post, but I do not like the White Sox. Simple as that. Most of it stems from the media's infatuation with their (often counterproductive, imo) style of play -- which isn't actually one thing or the other, despite the talk -- their manager, and several of their players. And with no Clemens in the picture for Game 2, I found myself sort of rooting for Houston.

Sign of the Night: "Rut-Roh Rastros"

Obligatory Idiotic Sutcliffe Quote: "I didn't think anyone would make as much money as Alex Rodriguez, but Konerko, if he keeps this up, might top it."

The grand slam was huge, no doubt about it (taking full advantage of the non-HBP to Dye), but does Sutcliffe really think some team will offer Konerko $30 million a year or a $300,000,000 contract?

WS1: White Sox 5, Astros 3

The White Sox took Game 1 easily, touching Roger Clemens for three early runs and relying on the strong pitching of Jose Contreras, Neil Cotts and fireballing Bobby Jenks. The Chicago offense was balanced, with eight of the nine batters hitting safely, and five different Sox driving in runs.

Clemens was the second-oldest pitcher to start a World Series game, behind only 46-year-old Jack Quinn of the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics. Fat Billy was not sharp at all, touching only 92 with his fastball, throwing 25 and 29 pitches in his two innings of work. With the game tied 3-3, he did not come out for the third inning, citing hamstring problems.

Holding a 4-3 lead, Jose Contreras allowed a leadoff double to Willy Taveras to start the top of the eighth. Neil Cotts came on and allowed a single to Lance Berkman, moving Taveras to third with no outs. Cotts came back to strike out Morgan Ensberg and Mike Lamb. The TV gun showed Cotts at 88-90, but it seemed he was throwing harder than that.

With Jeff Bagwell up, Ozzie Guillen called Jenks in. Pinch-runner Chris Burke stole second, putting runners at second and third, but Bagwell struck out, unable to catch up to Jenks's 98 mph heat.

The White Sox added an insurance run in their eighth before Jenks finished off the Astros on eight pitches (all strikes) in the ninth:

Jason Lane: called, foul, swing/miss.
Brad Ausmus: called, groundout to shortstop.
Adam Everett: called, swing/miss, swing/miss.

It turns out that I'm not listening to Buck/McCarver. It appears that anyone outside the US gets to hear Dave O'Brien and Rick Sutcliffe. There is no Fox logo on-screen (only the MLB logo) and the lineups also featured the player's country's flag.

Sadly, it didn't take long before I was wishing I could hear McCarver. Because even though he's drifting into senility before our ears, he will say some smart stuff every so often. Not so with Sutcliffe.

Sut's main problem is that he feels he must praise everyone, all the time. He gives the unmistakable impression that every baseball player is the greatest of all-time at something. And he has the insight to tell us exactly what that is. The gushing usually occurs when a player is hitting, but it can also be in the field. After Joe Crede's two run-saving plays at third base in the sixth and seventh innings -- admittedly, damn good stops -- I thought Sutcliffe might pass out from excitement.

But in his attempts to put every player in a good light, Sutcliffe ends up gushing over the silliest things. When Bagwell was hit by a pitch in the second inning, Sutcliffe told us to "look how fundamentally sound he turns away from that pitch." It doesn't take long before his praise becomes meaningless fluff -- because if everyone is great, then no one is great.

Rooting Interest: I will always root for the Clemens-less team, so go White Sox! Make your longtime fans as happy as we were last October.

And speaking of happy Red Sox fans: We have a new third base coach! Woo-hoo! DeMarlo Hale takes over for Dale Sveum, who will be responsible for a lot of outs at home plate for the Brewers.

David Wells wants a trade back to the west coast. I was surprised Wells's ERA+ this season was only 99, just a hair below league average. Next year, he'll be fat, 43, and recovering from knee surgery, so I don't think he'll be missed.

World Series Repeats

The White Sox and Astros begin the World Series tomorrow night. Obviously , both clubs did not play in last years's series. I wondered how often the same two teams have met in consecutive fall classics (winners in bold).

Year AL        NL

1907 Tigers    Cubs
1908 Tigers    Cubs

1921 Yankees   Giants
1922 Yankees   Giants
1923 Yankees   Giants

1930 Athletics Cardinals
1931 Athletics Cardinals

1936 Yankees   Giants
1937 Yankees   Giants

1942 Yankees   Cardinals
1943 Yankees   Cardinals

1952 Yankees   Dodgers
1953 Yankees   Dodgers

1955 Yankees   Dodgers
1956 Yankees   Dodgers

1957 Yankees   Milwaukee
1958 Yankees   Milwaukee

1977 Yankees   Dodgers
1978 Yankees   Dodgers

Bill James

In mid-2004, Rich Lederer at Baseball Analysts posted some highlights from all of the Bill James Abstracts. His 12-part series begins here with 1977. I have copies of the 1982-1988 books -- but not the homemade 1977-1981 editions -- so it's great to read at least some of the earlier books (tables of contents for the abstracts (and links to other James writings) are here).

Here are some quotes from James about what he does (and doesn't do).

From 1979:

I am a mechanic with numbers, tinkering with the records of baseball games to see how the machinery of the baseball offense works. I do not start with the numbers any more than a mechanic starts with a monkey wrench. I start with the game, with the things that I see and the things that people say there. And I ask, "Is it true? Can you validate it? Can you measure it? How does it fit in with the rest of the machinery?" And for those answers, I go to the record books.

What is remarkable to me is that I have so little company. Baseball keeps copious records, and people talk about them and argue about them and think about them a great deal. Why doesn't anybody use them? Why doesn't anybody say, in the face of this contention or that one, "Prove it. Baseball's got a million records and if that is true you can prove it, so prove it." Why do people argue about which catcher throws best, rather than figure the catchers' records against base-stealers? I really don't know.

From 1980:

A year ago I wrote in this letter that what I do does not have a name and cannot be explained in a sentence or two. Well, now I have given it a name: Sabermetrics, the first part to honor the acronym of the Society for American Baseball Research, the second part to indicate measurement. Sabermetrics is the mathematical and statistical analysis of baseball records.

From 1981:

1) Sportswriting draws on the available evidence, and forces conclusions by selecting and arranging that evidence so that it points in the direction desired. Sabermetrics introduces new evidence, previously unknown data derived from original source material.

2) Sportswriting designs its analysis to fit the situation being discussed; sabermetrics designs methods which would be applicable not only in the present case but in any other comparable situation. The sportswriter say this player is better than that one because this player had 20 more home runs, 10 more doubles, and 40 more walks and those things are more important than that players 60 extra base hits and 31 extra stolen bases, and besides, there is always defense and if all else fails team leadership. If player C is introduced into this discussion, he is a whole new article. Sabermetrics puts into place formulas, schematic designs, or theories of relationship which could compare not only this player to that one, but to any player who might be introduced into the discussion.

3) Sportswriters characteristically begin their analysis with a position on an issue; sabermetrics begins with the issue itself. The most over-used form in journalism is the diatribe, the endless impassioned and quasi-logical pitches for the cause of the day--Mike Norris for the Cy Young Award, Rickey Henderson for MVP, Gil Hodges for the Hall of Fame, everybody for lower salaries and let's all line up against the DH. Sportswriting "analysis" is largely an adversary process, with the most successful sportswriter being the one who is the most effective advocate of his position. I personally, of course, have positions which I advocate occasionally, but sabermetrics by its nature is unemotional, non-committal. The sportswriter attempts to be a good lawyer; the sabermetrician, a fair judge.

For that reason, good sabermetrics respects the validity of all types of evidence, including that which is beyond the scope of statistical validation.

And:

Bad sabermetrics attempts to end the discussion by saying that I have studied the issue and this is the answer. Good sabermetrics attempts to contribute to the discussion in such a way as to enable it to move forward on a ground of common understanding.

James published one collection of his writings -- This Time, Let's Not Eat The Bones (1989) -- but I think that a reprint of the first five abstracts would find a decent-sized audience. (Reading the comments at Rich's posts, you can see that this is by no means an original thought.) The stats and discussions would be between 25 and 30 years old, but it would be dirt cheap to put together and there are many seamheads who would snap it up at first sight.

Nixon Has Knee Surgery

Not a whole lot of news ...

Trot Nixon underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery Friday.

Tony Massarotti writes that there "have been recent indications" that Mike Timlin could sign a deal for 2006, but fails to tell us what any of those indications are. ... Adam Hyzdu was released, and Jeremi Gonzalez, Chad Harville, and Mike Stanton were designated for assignment. Pitcher Edgar Martinez was added to the 40-man roster.

ESPN's Jayson Stark notes that David Wells (who lost a 4-0 lead in ALCS 2) has never lost a regular-season game in which he had a lead of four runs. Over his 19-year career, Wells is 135-0, with 16 no-decisions. ... Of course, Orson could have blown a four-run lead and received a no-decision or been lucky enough to have his team rally. Still ...

More Manny

According to "a source close to Ramirez who was authorized by the player to speak for him" and someone "who's been in daily contact" with Manny since the Red Sox were bounced from the ALDS, the slugger wants to sit down with management for a discussion about the club's future.

I get the feeling that he wants to stay in Boston, but I also get the feeling that he wants to know what the direction of the team is going to be. ... Manny wants the team to get better, and he is concerned. ...

They may have already made conscious decisions to let some players go, they may say that they're trying to bring somebody back. Manny just wants to be able to give his opinion on certain things. He's an important part of the team, and like any star player on the team, he at least wants to know what they're planning. ...

He's given me every indication he's happy where he is. He's upset that the Red Sox lost in the playoffs and he's upset that everyone's been talking about him when they shouldn't be focused on him."

The source also said that the story of Manny switching agents was a "crock".

Here's some silliness from Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record, headlined "Yankee Doodle Manny?"

Can you envision Manny Ramirez, the American League's most dangerous, late-inning threat from the right side, wearing pinstripes in 2006? None other than Ramirez himself has ... [telling] friends in the final weeks of the regular season he would accept, if not welcome, a trade to either New York team ...

Ramirez is "definitely ready to come to New York," said the friend, who dined with the left fielder during the Sox' road series against the Yankees. "He likes the Yankees, the Mets, either one, he just wants to be here."

Please. Theo is not trading Manny to his team's main rival.

Thank You, Howard Bryant

From his Wednesday Herald column (my emphasis):

I don't believe players should ever be booed for failing to produce. It's not like they are TRYING to strike out with the bases loaded ...

The problem is that so much of a player's persona is cosmetic. Trot Nixon quietly produced nothing in the crucial month of September, and he earns twice as much as Millar, is a platoon player, hit .223 with five homers and 30 RBI at Fenway, and .233 with a home run in September. Yet he is perceived as the consummate competitor and has never faced the anger of the nation.

But does Nixon play the game any harder than Millar, Renteria or Bellhorn? When Nixon hits a two-hop, automatic out to second base, he jogs to first in the exact same manner as Ramirez and 99 percent of baseball players at the major league level.

And nobody says a word.

Well, almost nobody. :>)

Pedro's Evil Plan

Gerry Callahan (Herald) says Pedro Martinez is hellbent on causing

the complete and utter demise of the Red Sox organization [and] the next phase of his diabolical plan [is] Making Manny a Met. ...

If Manny wanted to go back to Cleveland or down to Miami, that would be one thing. But we're talking about a perennial .500 team in Queens.

Someone must have convinced him that he would he happy in Metland, and that someone must have been a person Manny respects. It would help if that someone were smart and persuasive, perhaps even bilingual. And I'm guessing it's someone who not only would like to add a big bat to the Mets lineup, but also would love to mess with the Red Sox.

Call me rash, but I'm going to rule out Doug Mientkiewicz and Brian Daubach. ...

While his new club finished seven games out in the NL East, Pedro insisted he was happy in New York ... He even went so far as to hand out business cards with his cell phone number to the Mets beat writers at the end of the season.

"Call me when we get Manny," he told the scribes.

In his Monday column, Steve Buckley (Herald) wrote:

Talk to pretty much anyone connected with the Red Sox, and you'll be told that Epstein was on the cusp of trading superstar Manny Ramirez at the trading deadline in July, only to have Lucchino step in and crow that the Sox weren't getting enough in return.

So Theo is open to trading Manny and Ramirez apparently wouldn't mind leaving (though the seriousness of his requests, however many of them have been made (and to whom), has been in some doubt), and though Manny has only three seasons left on his contract, it seems as though the front office will once again entertain offers for the team's best (or second best?) hitter over the winter.

Boston obviously will not be able to replace Ramirez's production at the plate -- no matter who they get in return. The question is: Could they get several other solid players or some excellent pitchers in exchange? It seems unlikely.

Trading Manny for players of less value is stupid. And paying part of his salary so he can beat up on pitchers in another uniform is equally dumb. If the front office gets bowled over by an offer, then I suppose they will (should) take it. But I can't see any team capable of paying Manny's salary presenting the Red Sox with a huge package of talent for a player who allegedly wants out of his current situation and someone the Sox are at least semi-eager to get rid of. Boston is not in a favorable position.

In 2005, Ramirez was 4th in the American League in slugging, 4th in OPS, 4th in Adjusted OPS, 3rd in HR, 2nd in RBI, and 5th in Runs Created. And this was in a season he supposedly was slumping. ... When I look at the MVP numbers for David Ortiz and A-Dog, I should also include Manny.

And Ramirez led all major leaguer outfielders with 17 assists. Mediots say that's because so many runners test Manny's arm. Well, they run all day long on Damon's noodle, and he finished with only five assists. Damon also made six errors, one fewer than Manny.

(I present the Pedro story more for entertainment than news. I question how much power one player could have over a GM.)

Mind Game

Next on my reading list -- I hope, after my birthday this weekend -- should be "Mind Game: How the Boston Red Sox Got Smart, Won a World Series, and Created a New Blueprint for Winning" by the folks at Baseball Prospectus.

At SoSH, Rough Carrigan writes: "If Moneyball was sabremetrics 101 or perhaps just a seminar, this book is sabremetrics 201."

RedSoxNation has interviews with some of the authors, including Steven Goldman (Parts One and Two) and Jay Jaffe (here), and they promise interviews with Chris Kahrl and Jonah Keri very soon.

The Questions Begin

What will the 2006 roster look like?

Johnny Damon, Bill Mueller, Tony Graffanino, Kevin Millar, Mike Timlin, Mike Myers, John Olerud, and Matt Mantei are all free agents. (So is GM Theo Epstein.) David Wells will have knee surgery and is considering retirement.

Who will play third: Bill Mueller or Kevin Youkilis? Who will play first base? Which of the promising youngsters -- Jonathan Papelbon, Craig Hansen, Manny Delcarmen, Hanley Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, Lenny DiNardo -- should be brought into the mix?

Can Keith Foulke, Curt Schilling, Edgar Renteria, and Trot Nixon overcome the various injuries that plagued them this season?

And then there is the Manny Question. The Red Sox will listen to trade offers for Ramirez (no harm in listening), but as Gordon Edes points out, "with only three years and roughly $60 million left on his contract, moving him would not create as much financial flexibility as it would have in the past, making a trade less likely."

The front office is also apparently not convinced that Manny is unhappy in Boston. And when I checked a poll at the Globe's site, out of 14,386 votes, 70.5% want Manny to stay. (So do I; how will we replace those 17 assists in left field!)

Alan Embree:

I have friends over there and you don't want to see them go through bad times. But for management to get rid of me the way they did, [the loss] was kind of satisfying to watch.

It's a start: Matt Clement has shaved his ugly goatee.

Manny Wants To Play For White Sox?

Doug Padilla, Chicago Sun-Times:

If seeing high-priced Manny Ramirez in a White Sox uniform next season sounds far-fetched, consider that the Boston Red Sox outfielder has said he would like it to happen.

According to a source, Ramirez told multiple White Sox players earlier this season that he wanted to play on the South Side and suit up for manager Ozzie Guillen.

Sketchy, but we'll see if the Boston papers pick up on it.

No Pitching? No Hitting.

Trolling through the papers:

Bob Ryan (Globe):

It's over. The Sawx are the champions once removed. And what sane person thought it would turn out any differently? The 2005 Red Sox were a team good enough to win 95 games and get to the playoffs, but they were simply not constructed to win it all once they got there. Stop me when I start telling you something you don't already know.

Mike Bauman (MLB.com) wrote the same thing:

[Boston] had no shot to repeat this epic performance with the current crew. Not enough pitching. Not nearly enough pitching. The Red Sox were fortunate even to be the postseason, and they wouldn't have been here without a 1-5 final homestand from the Cleveland Indians ... The Red Sox lived by the bat this season. In the American League, you can do that -- in the regular season. But when you get to October, you are going to run into teams that can pitch with the best of them.

Well, Bob and Mike, I think you are wrong. (And thanks for calling tens of thousands of Sox fans insane.) If someone on the team not named Ortiz or Ramirez had hit, they'd likely be up 2-1, looking to Schilling to clinch the series today.

The Red Sox may not have had a big, scary marquee name in the rotation, but that's not what you need. You need solid performances -- and Boston had enough pitching to go the distance. Even in the sweep, they showed that. Wells and Wakefield pitched very well, Papelbon was rock solid in relief.

(I got a kick out of all the mediots pointing to how much we missed Derek Lowe (!), who pitched so badly during the 2004 season that he was relagated to the back of the bullpen.)

Boston lost the ALDS because of hitting, hitting, hitting. The Red Sox hit .240 and scored nine runs. The White Sox hit .289 and scored 24 runs. Tony Graffanino had it right: "If we hit the ball the way we did that stretch at home, it's a different story in these ball games."

Tony Massarotti (Herald) notes that while the Red Sox were outpitched, they "did not score a run after the sixth inning of any game."

Orlando Hernandez's relief performance in the sixth inning was crucial.

Varitek:

I chased a ball up and got a little under it and popped it up.

Graffanino:

My approach against him was like I had two strikes from the get-go. He can throw some slow at 63 miles an hour or throw a fastball. He surprised me with a first-pitch 93-mile-an-hour sidearm fastball. I didn't think he could throw that hard anymore. ... You have no idea what that guy's going to throw. The only pitch he didn't throw me that was hard was the last pitch. You never expect that.

Damon:

The first pitch in the at-bat was up, so that kind of makes you expand your zone. Then he throws a 3-and-2 slider. You don't expect that in that situation. He had a lot of tilt on that slider. He made the right pitch at the right time.

Afterwards, Damon talked a little about his status:

You play the whole season with these guys, you enjoy every single moment. I hope I'm back. Hopefully we'll get a pretty good offer. I fell in love with Boston, so hopefully I'll be here for a long time.

But a lot of what he said sounded like a long goodbye:

I hope to play again with some of these guys, and that could be with another team. I feel privileged to be in this clubhouse ... I felt we could leave a special mark on this game again, but we just weren't healthy enough, or good enough. ...

It's a sinking feeling right now. I'll come back here tomorrow and pack, and what my offseason holds, I'll leave that on the Red Sox. ... It's been amazing. The players, the city, how the city loves us. It was different from the moment I became a Red Sox. The joy of the game and the way it's respected. You're proud to wear a Red Sox uniform, you play hard and the fans like that.

David Wells is considering retirement. ...
Ortiz and Ramirez were the first Red Sox players to hit back-to-back homers in the postseason since Dwight Evans and Rich Gedman did it in the 1986 World Series against Ron Darling.

I'm pretty sure (and glad) that the Kevin Millar Era is over:

We had three great years together, and we could be back, but you're probably going to see some new faces. We had some good times, and we brought a lot of joy to this city. We can hold our heads high. We didn't lose because of lack of effort.

Tony Graffanino on the huge ovation he received before the game:

I was moved beyond belief. I was definitely touched. And if I allowed it to happen, I could have cried because I wasn't really sure what was going to happen. Those kind of things mean so much. I don't think people can really describe it. That was a huge moment for me. That's something I'll never forget. ... I'd love to [return in 2006]. This is by far the most fun I've had in my baseball career. I think part of it is I'm playing in this environment with that kind of crowd. This is just a blast.

Damon, Millar, Varitek and Ron Jackson all spoke about how important Manny Ramirez is to the Red Sox. ... Wells: "I've never seen a 1-2 punch like [Ortiz and Ramirez], ever. To see that, God, it was just stupid. Do whatever it takes to make them happy. Wine and dine the [expletive] out of them."

Wakefield: "That's the shocking part. Waking up tomorrow, knowing you don't have to go to work but wanting to."

Finally, why is Chicago Tribune columnist Ed Sherman so happy?

So long to hearing endless stories about the Boston Red Sox. Goodbye to Babe Ruth, breaking the curse and blah, blah, blah.

And most of all, see you later, Chris Berman.

The White Sox spared their fans from hearing Berman call another one of their games on ESPN. Thank you, El Duque.

Berman was tolerable during the first two games, giving each side a fair shake. But Friday, he walked into Fenway Park, sniffed the Boston air and began to overdose on the Red Sox. ...

The final two innings were excruciating as Berman started to eulogize the end of Boston's reign. He rhapsodized about how wonderful it has been in New England. ...

The White Sox, though, put viewers in a Berman-free zone for the rest of the postseason. Winning is sweet, isn't it?

First, it's funny hearing a White Sox guy complain about a biased announcer. Second, while Berman was indeed saying moronic things all series (he knows no other way), to my ears that eulogy singing was anti-Boston. Berman seemed to think -- even after last season -- that the Red Sox could not score one measly run. And while he praised players on both sides, but I didn't hear any excessive Soxcentric gushing.

ALDS 3: White Sox 5, Red Sox 3

The baseball season ended today, on a day of "rain and broken branches and leaf-clogged drains and slick streets." There are a few more games left on the schedule, a couple of weeks to tie up some loose ends, but they are of lesser importance.

When Edgar Renteria ended the second consecutive Red Sox season with a infield grounder, I went out to walk my dogs, and I was somewhat surprised at how I felt. ... I didn't mind all that much. Sure, winning is better than losing. I'd rather be anxious and pacing, waiting for Game 4 to start. But it seems that within my baseball heart, the glow of 2004 has failed to dim.

Dropping the first two games in Chicago certainly helped cushion the final blow. Being unable to score the tying run with the bases loaded and no outs in the sixth sent a final signal a few innings early, so it was hard to initially grasp its message – that Boston would not be repeating as World Series champions. (Despite the best intentions of Manny Ramirez.)

The short series was frustrating – the White Sox outplayed our boys in every facet of the game: pitching, hitting, fielding, baserunning – but there was no real angst over the final result, certainly no weight of history on the shoulders. Later on in the evening, I actually said: "Hey, you can't win them all."

Which is pretty funny, coming from a lifelong Red Sox fan. And yet: Do you know how good it feels to say that? The Red Sox will be one of 28 other teams that will be watching the World Series later this month. I don't like that, I wish it wasn't so, but deep down, I'm content.

I think about that and I think about what happened to bring me to this place, and I have to smile. Soon, some other group of fans will be celebrating, but ... I'll be damned. The ripple effects of 2004 – and the promise of 2006, now a mere dot of light on the horizon, but soon to come into clearer view – will keep me quite warm through another winter.

I love baseball.