Glad for those who are happy the Giants won, feel bad for those who are sad the Pats lost…but the best part of the Super Bowl being over is the fact the way is clear to focus on baseball!

And then there was 1: Ben Cherington’s chances of actually being able to hold onto Theo’s arbitration hearing-less record of 9 years just got better by 50%, as the ballclub has reached a deal with Alfredo Aceves for $1.2 million dollars–and a 1-year non-guaranteed deal. Also included are incentives that could bump him up another 100K. The deal is just about in the middle between what the club offered ($950K), and what Aceves asked for ($1.6 million). He made $ 650K in 2011…

So, the only one left is David Ortiz, whose hearing will be held in the next 2 weeks if a compromise is not made. Supposedly both sides are hard at work trying to get it done before the hearing happens–I really don’t think Big Papi is going to want to hear the team’s “justifications” for offering him “only” $12.65 million for 2012…He thinks $16.5 is more appropriate, more “respectful” I suppose…

You know you’re in trouble when Scott Boras drops you as a client, as he has apparently done with Manny Ramirez. Guess there is no money to made there–or maybe, even Satan has his limits…

Speaking of limits, it looks like if Tim Wakefield does not get an offer from the Sox (which is looking more and more likely these days), he is strongly leaning towards retirement. While that would sadden me not to see Tim to be able to try for the 200 wins, it would suck more to see him pitch for another team…Let’s hope that Jason Varitek makes the same decision as well–for the same reasons…

But I would like to see the Sox sign both, have them each play 1 game, so that they could be thanked properly by the fans…

Finally, Check out Brian Evans’ new commerical on his song “At Fenway”, starring him and Jim Ed–Good stuff–and a great song!

Coming up:  59 Days until Opening Day–Holy Buckets, the end (or beginning, depending on how you look at is) is near!

That is sort of how I feel about how the Red Sox off-season is going. We are all expecting this really big splash (or at least a wading pool) with at least SOME improvement of the pitching staff—but no, manager Bobby Valentine was apparently the big signing for this off-season.

Not only has Ben Cherington went on record to say that its “unlikely” the Sox will add another starter before Spring Training begins this month, but the “best of the rest”, namely Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt appear to be bound for other teams…

Apparently, Jackson is all but signed to pitch for the Nationals for the 2012 campaign, opting to do the “Scott Boras Trial Marriage” contract, of 1 year, in hopes that next year’s market will be more conducive to a bigger contract (and have a shot at improving his numbers as well). So $10 million is the number that will get him to the Nationals. Apparently, that was too much money for the Sox.

$10 million for a pitcher who could give you 200 innings, 12 wins, and an ERA under 4? And they paid HOW much for John Lackey?

So, I guess my question is: Why EXACTLY did the Sox dump the $6 million in payroll by getting rid of their starting shortstop in Marco Scutaro? My friend Paul from Boston is of the opinion that this trade was Bobby’s Valentine’s doing, as he didn’t want to have to deal with Marco after the whole Mets thing. I guess it’s possible, and we certainly know Valentine has that much of an ego…But it just seems SO “cutting off your nose to spite your face”…

So instead we get to deal with pitchers with legal issues, like Vicente Padilla, who cannot leave his home country of Nicaragua until he resolves the issue of his allegedly unpaid child support–for this TENTH child. And the kicker is? It’s less than 5 THOUSAND dollars–and he made $2 million last year. Lovely.

Registered for my “chance” to buy Monster and Right Field Roof Deck tickets. I don’t know why they bother doing this. All you do is get a CHANCE–I got the “chance” 2 years ago, and there were no tickets for me…Why not just offer them when you offer everything else? You could also register for the chance to win Red Sox/Skanks tickets, as well as tickets for Opening Day…

So Josh Beckett has decided that “what goes on in the clubhouse should stay in the clubhouse”. How convenient. It seems like when its bad stuff, everyone wants to “keep it in the clubhouse”. And I agree 100% with fellow Sox Blogger Cyn from Toeing the Rubber with regard to his alcohol comparison of 2011 to the 2004 Jack Daniels’ shots: Please don’t compare the 2. EVER.

Finally, I am sad to hear that Josh Hamilton was seen drinking in a bar in the Dallas area recently. His battle with drugs and alcohol is both legendary and inspiring, and I am hopeful this will be a small blip on the radar….

Coming up: A number of players, including Kevin Youkilis and Jon Lester, are expected to start truckling into Spring Training Camp this weekend…a little more than 2 weeks!

And yes, I should be all excited about the thoughts of a brand new season, and being able to turn the page on what was a thoroughly disappointing 2011 campaign.

But I’m not. Not Really…

We all know the facts: The Boston Red Sox, known for the greatest comeback in all of sports history, is also known for the far less dubious honor: The worst collapse in all of sports history…or, if not the worst in ALL sports, it’s pretty damn close.

September was horrible, OK, we’ll all move on, the Sox will get some good and deep pitching, make some tweaks here and there, and they will be locked and loaded for the 2012 campaign, which coincidently is also the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park…

Instead, we get every bargain barrel, bottom of the heap pitcher out there, in the hopes that one will rise to the surface, as they all battle it out in spring training.

And the Sox trade the best option for shortstop, ostensibly to “free up payroll”–and it appears that freed up payroll isn’t to get a legitimate #3-4 starter, but MORE bargain basement pitchers…

Maybe the Sox will do something splashy yet, but I have the sad and sneaking suspicion that the “big and splashy” portion of the program was the signing of Bobby Valentine–maybe Sox management think they can distract us with the larger than life personality, and the new ticket stuff, and the 100 year anniversary, that none of us will notice that the Sox have absolutely NO PITCHING DEPTH–the same thing that KILLED them last September…

I reallyREALLY hope I am wrong…

Arbitration hearing dates have been scheduled for the last 2 holdout from the Sox, Big Papi and Alfredo Aceves. I really REALLY hope they get these done before the hearings. Because my understanding of the hearings is the ballclub pretty much goes in and tries to minimize the player to get the best deal possible, while the player tries to maximize themselves. How do you think Big Papi will take that? This is a man with a huge ego, who is all about respect–for himself anyway. I can’t see that ending well, even if he gets the money he wants out of the hearing. So, c’mon Ben, get it done, because the couple of dollars you save will not outweigh the damage it will do…

Daisuke is still working hard on his rehab from the Tommy John surgery he had early last year, throwing off the mound for the first time yesterday in Fort Myers. He threw 21 pitches, and if all goes well, he will continue his progress, and could potentially be ready sometime in July/August…

Coming up: We wait and we hope…

These are the Boston Red Sox people! Can we please stop acting like the $30 million payroll Marlins already? Hell, even THEY have stuff going on these days…

And what do the Sox have? Another bargain basement pitcher. This time its former Met John Maine, who pitched an oh so impressive 1-3 record with a 7.43 ERA in 2011-IN THE MINORS–for COLORADO–and he left there in JUNE and didn’t play for the rest of 2011!…and his best season? FIVE YEARS ago….And the kicker is there is no invite to Spring Training–just a minor league contract–what’s THAT about?

Hey, Ben, I hear John Wasdin would be open to a minor league contract, with an invitation to Spring training…UGH…

And, they are signing this dreck, but cannot find a place for Tim Wakefield? Really?

So Kevin Youkilis weighed in this weekend on the wonky team vibe that helped contribute to the crappiness that was September 2011: “…It’s just playing the game and not worrying about other stuff and the media hype and things that are going on. Because if you’re going crazy with that stuff, it’s going to eat you all up….If you just play the game, not worry, not read what’s put out there, everything that’s said, it handles itself.” C’mon Kevin, REALLY? Last year was not your first day at the rodeo–you have been part of TWO World Series teams–and I don’t think there could have been anymore media hype than there was in 2004–and Josh Beckett was MVP of the 2003 World Series at 23, after mowing down the Skanks. So please don’t tell me the MEDIA pressure got to the players…

So Cody Ross will wear #7, which was last worn by JD Drew, and before him, Trot Nixon. Cody is MUCH more worthy to wear Dirt Dog Trot’s # than JD ever was…To make room for Ross on the 40-man, Scott Atchison was designed for assignment–can’t say I am too broken up about that…

Oh, and Bud Selig is going to resolve the Theo compensation deal–and he REALLY means it this time…Feh…

So Red Sox ticket o’rama happened on Saturday. And, because I had some other things going on, I didn’t get to sit in front of my computer until mid afternoon–and I was pleasant surprised at the changes the Sox has made to the ticketing system. Instead of the horrible virtual waiting room they used to have, where you would sit in limbo, never knowing where you were in line, or if you even were in line, only to find that once you actually got past the virtual waiting room, there were no more tickets available for the date I chose, and it was hit or miss if you could get to another date.

But this year, they actually gave you am indicator as to where you were in line, as well as how tickets were selling, and the page refreshed every 45 seconds or so. And the nice thing is that once you made it to the head of the “ticket line”, music started to play, so you didn’t have to sit glued to the screen, fearing that if you stepped away for a beverage or bathroom break that you would miss your window of opportunity.

Surprisingly, I only had to wait about 45 minutes to get the chance to buy tickets, and there were still some decent seats to be had. I didn’t buy any, as I have some things coming up in the summer and I am not sure when they are going to happen, so I didn’t want to commit a bunch of money and not be able to use the tickets…So I am hoping that when my schedule settles, there are still some tickets to be had.

Apparently, there is some other new stuff as far as tickets this year. Called “Digital Ticket Initiative”, this is supposed to help prevent the lowest priced seats at Fenway Park (the $12 Upper Bleacher Seats) from being sold on the secondary market for more than that–sometimes A LOT more…And basically what it means is that these tickets are non-transferable. The person who bought them needs to bring the same credit card they bought them with to Fenway and have it swiped to gain admittance…

And while Fenway is one of the 1st parks to do this, it will be implemented in all MLB parks in the near future…The 1st round of digital tickets for Fenway go on sale tomorrow for the following home games: Opening Day April 13, April 20-22, June 8-10, June 22-24, July 6-8, July 16-19, July 20-22, August 3-5, August 24-26, and September 11-13.

Finally, ESPN’s Jenny Dell with replace Heidi Watney as NESN’s roving reporter teaming with DO and Rem Dawg–and former player Matt Stairs, who played with the Sox in 95, will join the trifecta of baseball eliteness Eck, Jim Ed, and Peter Gammon, as an analyst.

Coming up: 19 More Days to Pitcher and Catchers! 65 Day to Opening Day! And it’s 55 Degrees on the Eve of February in NE Pennsylvania…Whoo Hoo!

But can I just tell you how incredibly stupid I think it was for the Sox to trade Marco Scutaro, who would have made a measly $6 million dollars in 2012 to “free up payroll” Not only was he one of the most productive players in the horribleness that was last September, he stepped up and played hurt…and he is also, very quietly, one of the better shortstops in the game…But at least he won’t have to deal with Bobby Valentine…

Because, really, is $6 million dollars matter in a payroll of nearly $200 million? And I reallyREALLY hope that “all this savings” goes somewhere USEFUL, like a starter, cause the Sox kinda need one of those…

And what I find pretty amusing (and more than a little sad) are the folks that think that, now that Scutaro is gone, the Sox are going to go out and get Hanley Ramirez. Not only does me make almost twice was Marco made at $11 million a year, he is an immature malcontent. Thanks, but the Sox could do without any of THAT nonsense…

Oh, and in case you were wondering: Since 2004, the Red Sox have had 24 different shortstops, with Alex Cora playing the most games at the position with 301….Thanks to Billy-Ball.com for the info…

I love all the positive spin folks are trying to put on this team for 2012, like how signing all the bargain bin guys worked for the Skanks last year, so it’ll work for the Sox this year. Or how competition is good, keeps people from getting complacent…blah. blah. blah…

And what is also troubling is that none of our Top 3 starters have thrown 200 innings in a while. Jon Lester and Josh Beckett came close in 2011 with 191.2 and 193, respectively, But Jon hasn’t hit 200 since 2010, and Josh hasn’t since 2009–and Clay Buchholz never has, the closet he got was in 2010 with 173…

That’s could be a problem–a big one…

So the Tiger, reeling from the loss of Victor Martinez, who blew out his knee, signed former Milwaukee Brewer Prince Fielder to a 9-year $ 214 million dollar contract. Everyone is talking about this is destiny, because Prince’s father, Cecil, played for the ballclub. So now the club has 2 heavyweights (in more ways than one) 1st basemen, in Fielder, and Miguel Cabrera–interesting to see how THAT all works out…

Speaking of working out–pitcher Jamie Moyer, who will be turning 50 this year, as been offered a spring training invite by the Rockies. No word on whether or not he will accept…but pitching at 50 for a non-knuckleballer? Holy Buckets!

And speaking of knuckleballers, there is still NOTHING on Tim Wakefield–anywhere…

Jorge Posada officially retired yesterday at a presser at The Stadium, after 17 seasons with the Skanks. He was a 5-Time all-Star, a career .273 hitter, and Jason Varitek had this to say about him: “After hundreds of head-to-head games during the regular season and the postseason, I can’t say I respect and admire anyone at our position more than I do Jorge. The hard work and preparation he put into catching is a huge reason he has five championships on his resume. He is a true grinder.” As for me, I will not miss him. At all…

Also retiring is Davis Eckstein. Despite offers to spring training, the fireplug shortstop, who did not play at all in 2011, has decided to call it a career after 10 seasons…

And then there were 2: Only Alfredo Aceves and David Ortiz remain in the arbitration sweepstakes, as the Sox have agreed with Daniel Bard on a 1-Year non-guaranteed (!) contract for $1.6 and change, which is just about in the middle of the 1.4 the Sox offered, and the 1.825 he asked for.

The Sox also agreed with Andrew Bailey today to a (surprise surprise) 1 year contract worth $3.9 million, which is a bit higher than the arbitration $’s of 3.35, and lower than the $4.7 he asked for…But the contract also includes up to $100K in incentives, so that doesn’t hurt as well

Could you imagine having a hundred thousand dollars in incentives at your job?? Me either…

Coming up: 25 Days to Pitchers and Catchers, and 3 Days to the Ticket Vigil…and who know how many days until the Sox do something REALLY special…

And to think, in 30 Days, the battery mates of the Boston Red Sox will be in their new spring training home in sunny and WARM Florida–and that means spring (and summer) will be here before we know it! Whoo hoo!

In a weird coincidence, Josh Reddick had the same surgery Carl Crawford has this week, but he had it 8 weeks ago, prior to his being traded to Oakland for closer Andrew Bailey. He weighs in on the recovery: ” It’s not that tough of a rehab process as long as you’re there working out – and we know Carl always works out – he’ll be just fine…From what I’ve read he’ll be missing opening day and at most he’s gonna miss maybe a week. You don’t want to come back too quick from it, but he’ll be fine.”

From the wholly and utterly embarrassing department: Remember how Used Car Sales Bud said that if the Sox and the Cubs didn’t work out Theo’s compensation package by November 1st, that he was going to step in and work it out for them? Well, it’s now the 20th of JANUARY–almost 3 months later, and the Sox and the Cubs STILL haven’t worked anything out. So now, apparently the teams have asked him to intervene. This has gotten so far out of hand–the Sox allowed him to go quietly, without a fuss, pretty much giving up any bargaining chip they had, and Theo knows that. So it will be interesting to see if Selig tells the Cubs to give the Sox something/someone “substantial”, which is what the Sox want, like maybe, I don’t know, Matt Garza. And ya know what? Because the Sox are not unreasonable, the Cubs can keep his weird chin hair, Elmo…

Of the 4 arbitration players left, Big Papi’s divide is the greatest at $3.85 million dollars (he wants 16.5, the Sox offered 12.65) 2nd is Andrew Bailey with a $1.35 million difference (he asked for $4.7, the Sox offered $3.35–which is HUGE since he made 465K last year!), Alfredo Aceves is looking for $1.6 million, about a million more than he made in 2011, but Sox only want to pay him $950K, finally, possible starter/closer/reliever Daniel Bard was looking for a bump of about a million, 3, to $1.825, with the Sox offering $1.4…Can you imagine asking for a MILLION dollar raise?

Orlando Cabrera, or “The OC” as I used to call him, has decided to retire after 15 years in the bigs. Always liked him, especially his contributions as part of THE team. Never understood why Theo didn’t resign him after 2004, opting to go with Edgar Renteria (UGH). Cabrera, who is 27, played for 9 teams in his career, most recently San Fran. Enjoy your retirement!

Finally, fellow BBA’er Graham Womack of Baseball Past and Present has made it his mission to have the Baseball Hall of Fame honor founding Sports Illustrated writer and baseball author Robert Creamer as part of their 2012 festivities. Graham feels that other forms of media, other than broadcasting and newsprint should be celebrated for their contributions to the sport. You can read all about it here…