Veterans Day

The not-quite-announcement about Tek's return is now official: The Captain returneth.

They saved the announcement for veterans day.  Kind of fitting, I think.

The question now being raised (at least in the article I read on the Red Sox page) is, will he keep the "C" or won't he?   If I had a say, the answer would be, "of course."   

I hope I'm right. 

All the reasons they put it on his jersey in the first place still hold: he's still the ultimate team player, still a leader and practically a coach, still gritty as they come, and still gives his all and more, every single day.  Of course he should keep the "C."

Right now, though?  I'm just awfully glad the Captain's coming back. 

49 and 33, Sticking Around!

So it looks like a couple of long, long time teammates will be teammates at least a little longer still.

The Red Sox didn't just pick up Tim Wakefield's option for 2010, (which would have been for 4 million), they turned it into a two year deal, giving him a first year at 3.5 and a second at 1.5 mil, plus incentives.  We needn't bid adieu to Boston's elder statesmen for a while yet.  

This is a nice setup all around: a great deal for the Sox, particularly when we remember that before heading to the DL, Wake's 2009 season was the strongest he'd had in years.  (Anyone else remember the near no-hitter that put the brakes on a nasty, early season losing streak?)  2009 marked Wake's first time selected as an All-Star, an honor he'd more than earned, many times over.  And, for Wake, this means a little extra stability on the road ahead, with at least two more years guaranteed with the team he's been a part of since 1995.  

And the other longest-standing veteran on the roster?

This one isn't official, as of this writing, but NESN reports that yes, Jason Varitek will also be back.   There was no surprise whatever when the team turned down their five million dollar option on the Captain: the move was a no-brainer, largely because the Captain has an option of his own for three million, and accepting that one is pretty much a no-brainer too.  Yet there was always a chance Tek would prefer more playing time elsewhere over a reduced role with Boston.  But word is, yes, Tek is using his option and sticking around.   The deal is expected to be made official some time tomorrow.

Again, this a win for both sides.  Boston gets a much needed backup for Martinez -- definitively not an everyday catcher -- in the form of a player who goes far, far beyond what 'backup' usually implies.  They get to hang on to a mind that knows their pitching staff as well as anyone alive, and last year kept up a leadership role even when wear and tear had pushed him to the bench.  And Varitek? He gets to keep on playing baseball, with his team. (At a good salary too, but I suspect that's almost secondary. With Tek, the key point was always playing baseball.)

That's two icons, right there, who will still be a part of the picture in the coming year.  Two guys who have been a part of their team longer than anyone else on Boston's roster, who have played together longer than almost any other pair of teammates in the sport.  And two guys who, as far as this writer is concerned, should absolutely see their numbers someday posted high over Fenway Park's right field.

Now on with the rest of the Hot Stove!

"Peter Sagal's Revenge," or, "Yankees Win, but NPR Strikes Back"

(Also posted at Bleacher Report, here)

After a World Series like this last one, we Red Sox fans take a lot of consoling. It's never been fun watching one's sworn enemies' jubilation.

Where, oh where, can a Boston loyalist turn for some trace of comfort?

Try National Public Radio.

I've just been listening to the latest podcast from "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," the NPR weekly news quiz. It's always a fun listen, finding the humor in current events, and makes a great cure for the more typical and depressing tone of ordinary newscasts.

Also, those of you who listen will know that the show's host, Peter Sagal, makes no secret of his Sox fan identity. He tends to report on anti-Yankees news tidbits with special relish.

This week, the World Series was news, and there was no ignoring it. There was no carefull failure to mention how things ended for the Major Leagues, not on a news show (of sorts).

The solution?

What follows is my transcript of the conversation that made this week's edition of "Wait Wait" one of my all time favorites. Speaking here are host Peter Sagal, judge/scorekeeper Carl Kassel, panelist Mo Rocca, and the caller. Read and enjoy, fellow Sox fans.

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Peter Sagal: All right, Lauren, here is your last quote.

Carl Kassel: "Call us anything you want, but you also have to call us world champions."

Peter Sagal: Now that was a man named Brian Cashman. He was laughing off criticism of the team he runs. What is the team?

Caller: That would be the New York Yankees.

Peter Sagal: It would be the New York Yankees. The Yankees won their . . .

[Pause for extensive booing for a clearly intelligent Pasadena crowd, and from panelist Mo Rocca, who also knows what he's talking about.]

Peter Sagal: The Yankees won their 27th World Series, but that news pales next to the fact that the team's general manager just gave us permission to call them anything we want. So. We worked on this. How about . . .

Carl Kassel: "A Group of Wildly Overpaid Egotistical Mercenaries Whose Penstripes Are Actually Artfully Lined-up Steroid Needles Sewn into Their Uniforms."

[Additional pause, as the crowd emphatically approves.]

Peter Sagal: That's one!

Mo Rocca: Sounds very practical.

Peter Sagal: Don't you think? Or . . .

Carl Kassel: "Those Bastards."

[Here, more hearty approval. Just slightly later in the show... ]

Peter Sagal: Now the World Series was seen as a redemption for Alex Rodriguez. He is the highest paid athlete in the history of U.S. sports, and he historically has choked on the Big Stage. Not this time. But, because of the attention on him this last week or so, we have learned some great things about him. For example, an ex-girlfriend told US Weekly that he has not one, but two, paintings of himself as a centaur in his bedroom. This is true - she says this. Why do you need two paintings of yourself as a centaur? Well, because in one of them, he is the horse's front...
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Well played, Mr. Sagal. Well played.

Nah, we didn't get a trophy this year. We didn't get a reprieve from a new influx of oppressive and cloying Yankee fan cockiness. But at least we got this.

Yeah, it was a lousy week for us Sox fans, in the baseball world. But public radio just gave us a big home run.

Game 5: the Philies Live!

See there, Yankees? Thought you were gonna' have it easy, did ya'?

Chase Utley, Cliff Lee, and Raul Ibanez say otherwise.

Yes, there were moments late in the game when I was worried, as the Yankees seemed to be climbing back. I admit that in the ninth, seeing the tying run at the plate put me just a bit on edge...

No need to worry. New York's attempted rally was squashed in short order, and all was well.

Best part of this game? In a lovely repeat of game 1, Utley backed Lee by homering twice, bringing his total to 5 for the series and tying him with Reggie Jackson for most by any one player in one World Series.

I missed that second homer entirely, and when I asked, "Hey, where'd that extra run come from?" I was told, "Oh, that? Chase Utley just homered. ... Again." And that pretty much sums it up.

To borrow from Todd Zolecki, "Does this make Utley Mr. November?"

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Footnote: Also from this game, an additional entry for the Museum of Bad Puns: "Phillies Chase Series Back to New York."

A bit more on Game 1: too much fun for one post

Really, Game 1 of this World Series was too fun for just one quick blog post, and frankly, too enjoyable for mere print. This morning, I found myself joking with the cashier at a medical center of Cliff Lee's nonchalant catch of a popup, made without taking a step and with a, "meh, I've got better things to do" expression on his face, with both of us re-enacting that, and the behind-the-back catch shortly after, while waiting for my credit card to go through.

When you come down to it, this stuff was the sort that deserves video.

From the mlb.com video highlights page, here :

Also watch more highlights from Lee's complete game start, and read the phillies.com write-up, here . Plus, more video of Lee talking about his game, here, or have look at some of the other clips on that page, including highlights of Utley's two home runs (here, or here). It still has me grinning.

The epitome of cool, my friends. The epitome of cool.

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Post Script:

A headline, also from mlb.com, for addition to the Museum of Bad Puns:

"Ut-Lee Show Too Much for Yanks in Game 1."

Well, can't argue with that.

World Series Game One: Thank You Cliff Lee!

I'll keep this short.

Cliff Lee = Awesomeness incarnate

Chase Utley = Also Awesome. Awesomeness in a Phillies hat.

And regarding the Yankees: it isn't every day that something about A-Rod causes me to smile, but three strikeouts in four hitless at bats, in game 1 of the World Series? That, it turns out, will do the trick. Once again, thank you Cliff Lee!

Next up: we Sox fans try something familiar, rooting for Pedro Martinez to flatten the Yankees.

Dear Phils: Onward and Upward!

A few quick thoughts about the series starting tonight, and more specifically about my newly deepened loyalty to a certain National League team that got me through last October too: posted at Bleacher Report, here. Because suddenly, everyone in Boston loves the Philadelphia Phillies.