Bambino's Curse

The James Gang Rides Into Town

Let the Bill James Era begin.

This is just the kind of sound bite we've been hoping to hear regarding Bill James who was formally introduced yesterday as the team's senior baseball operations adviser.

[Henry] announced that James already had filed a 70-page report with the team, one in which he rated major league free agents and six-year minor league free agents. Henry called the report ''a tour de force.''

''The report included some very controversial issues that he addressed squarely and directly,'' Henry said. ''It was a great starting point for conversation. He doesn't seem to have the ability to do anything that isn't in-depth" (Edes, Globe).

Wouldn't you like to get your hands on that 70-page report? What are the "controversial issues" to which Henry refers?

"We are ready for any unseen event that may or may not occur."*

Yep. That's the way it feels as we wait for a decision on the new GM and words of FA signings and/or trades.

Theo Epstein is now the front-runner for GM according to the rumor mill.

As for FAs, ESPN predicts these are the pickings the Sox will get:

• Cliff Floyd
• Fred McGriff
• Rey Sanchez

Rob Neyer doesn't like the Sanchez idea. Regarding the predicted Sanchez signing Neyer wonders:

"For what purpose, exactly?" The Sox paid Sanchez $700,000 last season, which is reasonable sum for a backup middle infielder who can play defense like Sanchez can. The problem, though, is that if Sanchez is on the roster, Grady Little will be tempted to actually to play Sanchez; last season, he got into 107 games and wasted a few hundred plate appearances.

There are, of course, a number of teams that could use a slick-fielding shortstop. The Red Sox just don't happen to be one of them (Neyer, ESPN).

Seems like Neyer is on to something.

Finally, here's something to brighten your day.

[* Quote attributed to George W. Bush ]

"I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled."*

Let us go then you and I,
where Alderson will give the dress code a try:

Alderson dedicated part of the GM meetings to advising teams to prepare for strict enforcement of the dress code. The prohibitions include pants that bunch on shoetops, a la Manny Ramirez. ''I suspect Manny will get a letter from someone [at MLB],'' Alderson said (Hohler, Globe).

I must admit to kind of liking this look. I know it goes against tradition, and at first I didn't like it but … over time the long trousers look has taken hold of me. Well, at least in Manny's case. I'm not sure other guys could pull it off quite the way he does. Manny has a certain panache.

And just to show that I haven't completely grown out of my boyhood baseball player idolatry phase, I'll tell you that because of Manny I've started to wear my own trousers quite long, far longer than I ever have before. I'm wearing some now: DKNY Washingtons with my Kenneth Cole "Knott´s Landing" Boots. Very Mannyesque I tell you.

Meanwhile,

Ramirez also has drawn attention from the commissioner's office for stepping away from the plate after virtually every pitch, which MLB has seen as an obstacle to shortening the length of games.

''While he's fixing his pants,'' Alderson said, ''he can stay in the batter's box.''

That's funny. I'm all for speeding up the game, but if they're going to bust on Manny lets not forget Nomar's little step out to adjust the batting gloves incessant routine.

[* From Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."]

Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa

According to Larry Lucchino on WEEI:

Everybody is on our radar screen, people that you mentioned (Glavine, Clemens) not necessarily at the highest level on radar screen in part b/c of age and stage of career. Keep open possibility of signing FA or two. Minor league and major league free agents. Angels had 6 minor league FA on their 25 man roster. Alan Embree never had to formerly file (transcript via DirtDogs).

Every time I see that "FA" abbreviation for free agent I get the Talking Heads song in my brain:

Psycho killer, qu' est-ce que c'est?
Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Better
Run Run Run Run Run Run awaaaaaaaaay
Psycho killer, qu' est-ce que c'est?

In the same song David Byrne sings "I'm tense and nervous and I can't relax," which is more or less how I feel regarding this upcoming HBO interview, now tentatively scheduled for Tuesday in DC.

Yeah, as we used to say back in the day, "I'm shitting bricks" over this one.

It's one thing to post my daily Red Sox ramblings here on this site, here on the web, where I need not worry about proper context, fitting in, making sense … I mean I try to do all those things here with the writing but if I miss it on a particular day or on a string of days, there is always the next day to get it right. No pressure really. (Not to mention that I can always go back in and edit. Not to mention that I have Google and the entire web in front of me to help fill in the holes, cover up the nincompoopitidy. )

And it's just words on a screen. No face to connect me with the words.

Speaking of faces, what if I look like an idiot on film? Hell, what do I wear?

You know Denis Leary is in this movie? I know he doesn't worry about what to wear. He's Denis effin' Leary. And that's why he's the celebrity Sox fan and I'm the nut job with a website.

Oh, and you know what else? I know how friggin' tough Red Sox fans can be. If I say something stupid every one of you will know it. All over New England people will be going, "Fer chrissakes, who the hell is that re-TAHD? He's a wicked dink."

My whole schtick here on the Bambino's blog is … wait a second … what is my schtick? Do I have schtick or am I schtickless? And if I do have a schtick, can the schtick transfer to the visual medium of TV?

I can't sleep, cause my bed's on fire
Don't touch me I'm a real live wire

OK. Time for me to go buy a clue.

Wake Up and Smell the Contract

Tim Wakefield gets his just rewards:

[A] three-year contract that will take him through the 2005 season. …

The package is worth $13.02 million; Wakefield will make $4 million next season, $4.35 million in 2004, and $4.67 million in 2005. The club is expected to announce the signing today (Edes, Globe).

In my opinion, Wakefield is the keystone of upon which all of the Red Sox good fortune spans. It's fantastic to have him locked up through 2005.

Hopefully, we won't have to bear to many more days of discussing Billy Beane.

Long after midnight Sunday, in the crucible of his career, Billy Beane trudged about his home in his pajamas, his hair disheveled, his nerves jangled by several restless nights. He was a 21st-century Hamlet, a portrait of inner conflict (Hohler, Globe).

Boo hoo. Poor lil' Billy.

"With devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar o'e …"

Can the Boston media just say goodnight sweet prince and move on, please? I don't want to read any more about Billy effin' punk Beane.

Beane Baby Stuffs Sox Deal

That's the end of that:

Beane agreed in principle early yesterday morning to a pact that would have made him the highest-paid GM in baseball at more than $2 million a year. …

But the deal hit a snag when Beane developed reservations, according to sources who spoke with him. He apparently grew increasingly remorseful about the prospect of putting so much distance between himself and his 12-year-old daughter, the Oakland team he built, and the staff he assembled (Hohler, Globe).

On the one hand, I think that's admirable. Not only is it good form to follow your gut feelings, it's also noble to sacrifice for the sake of family bonds.

On the other hand, speaking as someone who moved a wife and at the time a 12-year old stepdaughter halfway across the country in order to pursue a more lucrative and promising career opportunity, I shrug my shoulders and think there is more to Beane's reneging on the agreement than what is being spun.

After all,

[t]here are serious drawbacks to the Red Sox GM job. The Sox are still strapped with some of Dan Duquette's Offerman-esque contracts and are trying to whittle payroll while remaining competitive with the Yankees. Henry and Co. are cash-strapped and paralyzed by the prospect of renovating and/or building a new ballpark. The farm system is bare and much fat still needs to be trimmed from the organization. And let's not forget that working for Lucchino is no day at Newport Beach (Shaughnessy, Globe).

No point in dwelling on it. Let's get someone else for the job and move on.

L. L. Beanes Oakland

Must admit I thought the persistence in going after Beane as a GM candidate despite Oakland's flat out refusal to grant permission for any such negotiations was beginning to look silly.

Shows you how much I know. Seems Larry Luchinno's persistence paid off:

Oakland officials confirmed that Beane had been cleared to meet with the Sox and arranged a conference call to address the matter. Two hours after the Oakland disclosure, Red Sox spokesman Kevin Shea broke the club's day-long silence to confirm that the Sox had received permission to speak to Beane and that discussions had begun (Massarotti, Herald).

The door really was ajar after all.

In other news, the HBO documentary on the Red Sox is becoming a reality. I talked with the assistant producer late Friday afternoon who called about trying to schedule my on camera interview session while the same production team in relatively close by in College Park, MD working on another project. I'll find out for certain tomorrow whether I have to drive up to Maryland or wait 'til later in the month to go up to NYC.

I'm still pretty much in awe of the whole thing, especially when I hear the producer casually say things like, "We were interviewing Denis Leary for the film the other day and …" It'll be pretty amazing if I actually manage to say something worth keeping in the movie and not some jumbled, incoherent mess that ends up on the cutting room floor.

Hope I don't turn out like the Eminem character in the move 8 Mile who throws up on himself before taking the mic and then can't get a word out.

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy …
He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out
He's chokin, how everybody's jokin now …

Speaking of, whether you're an Eminem fan or not, go see the movie 8 Mile. It's superb.