This is why it's alternatingly frustrating, depressing and gut-wrenching to be a Red Sox fan. Every so often, the brass makes a personnel decision that leaves you scratching your head and wondering what the very point is of caring for a team that so blatantly doesn't love you back.
The Red Sox of the past few years (all right, the past 75 years) have carried on their roster a collection of prima donnas, headcases and ne'er-do-wells. In the last few seasons, though, they've been blessed with some legit "character guys" or "gamers" -- guys who will play through pain, disappointment and general screwiness at the hands of management. They've had 3 of those guys the last couple of seasons; now it seems they've done right by one, continued the farce with another, and sent the other one packing.
The Good: Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield's been a starter, a closer, a mopup guy, a setup man, a stopper -- sometimes all in the same week. He's griped a little but always been there for whatever they needed. But now it finally looks like they've put him in the rotation for good. At least until something better comes along and Wake goes back to the bullpen until they need him for a spot start and the whole wacky roller coaster ride begins anew.
The Bad: Lou Merloni. Local kid, dependable infielder, has a knack for clutch hitting. He'll never have the tools to be a superstar but the Framingham kid can play, and everyone in town loves him. So why do the Sox continually make him prove himself worthy of a roster spot? He's spent the past four years burning a rut in I-95 between Boston and Pawtucket; now they've brought in 2B Todd Walker as the designated starter and brought in infielders Cesar Crespo and Damian Jackson to fight Lou for the backup role. What does any of these guys bring to the table that Lou couldn't provide, given regular playing time and a simple vote of confidence from the top? I'd love to find that out.
The Ugly: Brian Daubach. Man, this one hurts. Sure, Daubs was capable of some seemingly-endless, unfathomable slumps, but no one gave more of himself to the team than him. And now he's a free agent; the Sox let him walk rather than submit to a salary arbitration that would possibly end up costing too much. And it stinks. Sure, they just nabbed Jeremy Giambi from the Phils. And they'll bring in some stopgap 1B like Travis Lee or Brad Fullmer (I have a gut feeling it'll be Lee) to try to match Tony Clark's production, if that's the right word (it's not). But you don't replace someone with the fire and the soul of Brian Daubach just anywhere.
Much has been made of new GM Theo Esptein's question marks - his age, his youth, his inexperience - but the moves seem almost Duquettian in their search for trees while neglecting the forest. And that's why every offseason brings the heartache and anxiety that all Red Sox fans must feel.
Posted by michaelf at December 21, 2002 12:58 AMI agree. It's moves like this that have kept the Red Sox from winning anything for 84 years. It's not that these guys will win the pennant, but every good championship team has role players who will do whatever to help you win. You surround those guys with talent and then go from there. Daubach would be a good backup to have for Giambi, and when he has his summer hot streak, play him. The Red Sox mentality always seems to be "we just got a goy who can plan position x; let's get rid of the one that we have" instead of the Yankee philosophy of "well he's OK, but let's go get somebody better too". It's 84 years and counting ... no end in sight.
Posted by: Vin on December 26, 2002 12:39 PMDaubach was given a raw deal. They should still
sign him. His heart and soul was red sox.
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