They're Cuckoo For Coco

It looks as if the rival Red Sox have filled 2 big holes by landing Coco Crisp in a deal with Cleveland, and with the free agent signing of Alex Gonzalez, assuming of course that it all becomes official. As a Yankee fan, these acquisitions still don't make me feel that the Sox have a shot at winning the East. You'd be a fool to the think that the Sox were going to plug in a couple of no names. The Sox lineup is still much worse in my opinion than it was a year ago. Would you rather have Damon and Renteria in your line-up over Gonzalez and Crisp? No-brainer. I had the pleasure of seeing Crisp play when he did his time in AAA, with the Buffalo Bisons. No doubt the kid has talent and a very promising future. He can get to the ball like it's nobody's business and he's good with the stick and he's only getting better. He's definitely a suitable replacement for Damon. But even with the additions of Snow, Lowell and Loretta, they are still sub-par in comparison to the 2004 Sox lineup. Renteria turned out to be a bust and many feel he just couldn't handle the Fenway infield. What makes anyone think Gonzalez will do any better? They're pretty much the same defensively. Gonzalez though is a career .245 hitter with a horrible .OBP. I don't see why the Sox dropped the $$ on him when they already have the same player in Alex Cora.
One major area of concern for the Sox in 2005 was the performance of their bullpen. When they were able to land Mota in the Beckett deal, they acquired a pretty solid reliever. He's been flipped to Cleveland so the Sox pen is minimally better than it was last year, even with Tavarez and Saenz. Andy Marte is highly regarded in the world of baseball as the best prospect in the game and he's gone now. Are the Sox suffering from the same disease as the Yankees? Selling off the farm to try and win now?? Marte=gone. Hanley Ramirez=gone. Anibal Sanchez=gone. They have some prospects left I'm sure, but so did the Yankees at one point. As all Yankee fans know, our farm system is, or was, pretty depleted. I'm glad Cashman decided not to trade Wang and/or Cano. Smart move.
The Sox have lost something that you can't measure and is hard to replace, and that's heart and team chemistry. Mueller, Millar and Damon are gone. Those three were a pretty integral part of the Sox make up. They brought something to their team that is a hard thing to come by. The Yankees have been trying to find that magic from the 96-00 squads, and have yet to duplicate it. It's like capturing lightning in a bottle. So don't worry Yankee fans! As of now, the Blue Jays are still our biggest threat.
Now for something you might not expect.....
I love the game of baseball. I love the Yankees. The love and respect for the game will always outweigh anything else. I was able to attend game 7 of the 2004 ALCS and got to witness first hand the culmination of the great collapse. It was hard to watch the Yankees become the first team ever to blow a 3-0 series lead, and then lose the ALCS in such an embarrassing fashion in game 7, to your most hated rival no less. Then to have to watch that hated rival run right through the Cardinals and win their first World Series championship in 86 years. As you probably now, it was real tough. Gone are the chants of "1918." The curse is over. But, you have to tip your hat to the Sox for that accomplishment. As a Yankee fan, was I happy to see them win it all? Of course not. How could I? As a fan of the game, was I happy? Absolutely! It was great for the game, and like it or not, it was a pretty exciting thing to watch. So my hat's off to you Boston. Just don't do it again.
Nothing could beat being at game 7. As a Yankee fan, that is probably the most meaningful sporting event I ever could attend. That was my Super Bowl. If only there was a repeat of 2003. I was so hoping for another Aaron "Freakin'" Boone moment. But as we all know, it wasn't meant to be. As mentioned in my inaugural post, I'm from Buffalo. I'm used to seeing my team lose the big one.
Later.
J