Magic words: Pitchers and catchers (& Sox bloggers) report

After a winter of celebrating the title, contemplating the new season and recuperating from the championship run, it's time for the me & the boys to get back to work

It's been a long offseason, but after three months of rest and following the Patriots painful finish to what was shaping up to be an historic season, I think it's safe to say that I am ready for baseball season to start.

I know I haven't been very timely with my posts since the Sox tasted the champagne from winning its second World Series in four years, but after what seemed like perpetual blogging at all hours of the day and night from March to November, I was on the verge of blogger burnout out before my blog's 1st birthday.

So I took a few months off, started a new job, coached my son's Little League team (yup, we play baseball all year 'round down here in FLA, suckers) and generally steered clear of the blogosphere for a while.

But the Pats chase for perfection brought me back to my other blog, and the sour ending to their sweet season dovetailed nicely into the day that baseball lovers yearn for: the start of spring training.

Now I'm back and ready to post my ass off, and what better way to start than with a recap of everything I've missed, Sox-wise, since my last champagne-soaked post on November 14th:

-MLB announced the Sox would open the regular season in Japan with a 2-game series against the A's. This money grab, errr baseball goodwill gesture, means that spring training will be shorter, angering scalpers in Florida who will lose thousands of dollars in revenue charging World Series prices for Grapefruit League seats

-Boston agreed to terms with hotly contested free agent Mike Lowell, keeping the WS MVP from the clutches of the archrival Stankees. Granted they probably overpaid (3 years, 36 million) for a 34-year old whose skills could erode at any time, but with the Stanks reportedly offering more money and years, and with the potential fan backlash letting the team's most beloved player this side of Papi leave, Boston had no choice but to bring him back.

-The hot stove nearly scalded Sox fans as rumors of a deal with Minnesota for ace Johan Santana alternated between simmering and boiling for a couple of weeks. The names mentioned brought groans from the Nation as young studs Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury were floated in various scenarios, but the thought of 2-time Cy-tana alongside (shoulda been Cy) Beckett, Dice K, Wake and whichever young hurler didn't get traded had others frothing at the mouth. In the end the worrying/hoping was all for naught, as Santana signaled the end of his dominance by inking a record deal with the Mets

-Aging reliever Mike Timlin resigned for another season of topsy-turvy relief, but uber goat Eric Gagne refused arbitration and became a free agent. Milwaukee would later ink the stinky pen man, who was linked to HGH use in the infamous Mitchell report, to a one-year, $10 million dollar deal, prompting Senator Mitchell to call for an doping investigation into the Brewers' front office

-Speaking of the Mitchell report, the only recent Sox players named were Gagne & Brendan Donnelly, both when they were with other teams; but much to the Nation's delight, the roster of users was chock full o' Stankees, including Chuck Knoblach, Andy Pettitte, Garry Sheffield, Jason Giambi, and Hub pariah Roidger Clemens.

-Jim Rice fell 16 votes shy of getting into the HOF, proving that Red Sox hating has officially become a national past time

-C Doug Mirabelli resigned for another year. There was no police escort, but he did immediately give half his salary to Tim Wakefield, the man single-handedly responsible for him still being employed

-Shoring up the mediocre middle relief corps, Boston resigned Kyle Snyder and Javier Lopez, then inked Julian Tavarez, failed former closer Dan Kolb and 57-year-old Dan Miceli to deals. Righty David Aardsma also signed. And the Nation prays Hanson, Manny D and Breslow mature very quickly

-Boston also signed veteran 1B Sean "The Mayor" Casey to a 1-year deal to back up Youk and Lowell and replace the departed Eric "Big Hit" Hinske, who made some memorable contributions to the Championship season. The Sox clubhouse guys reportedly threw a fiesta in honor of the arrival of one of the game's best tippers

-In what could be the biggest news of the offseason, Curt Schilling, who agreed to a 1-year, $8 million dollar deal after the season, came up with a shoulder injury right before the start of spring training--you're right, that's not news from a 40+ pitcher with a history of shoulder trouble. What is surprising is that Schill's doctors and the team's doctors disagree over the severity of the injury and the best course of treatment in order to get him back to the rotation as soon as possible.

Schill's doctor believes the tendon is torn and recommends surgery, which would sideline the aging righty for most of the season, while the Sox doc says the tendon is damaged, not torn, and with rest & rehab the vocal vet should be back by mid-season. Big disagreement, big questions, like whether or not Schill deceived the club by signing the deal and then coming up with an injury that could have been diagnosed earlier, and which doctor is right, seeing as each as a different best interest at stake.

Right now Schill is taking cortisone shots and not saying much, but should this thing linger and not go the way the Sox planned, look for the situation to get very ugly by the time the All Star Break rolls around.

Lots of changes, lots of drama, a season opening across the globe, and the difficulty of repeating will be front and center on everyone's mind...

..ah baseball is back in Beantown, and I am ready for it.

Play Ball!

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