Salty

I think Drew's injury problems were overstated a lot of the time. Obviously he had a rundown, horrible 2011 and he missed a decent amount of games in '08, but 140 in '07, 137 in '09 and 139 in '10 isn't exactly being injury plagued. Basically the guy had injuries derail one season in a Sox uni. The '11 campaign almost doesn't even count as he pretty much lost his job to Reddick and got written off. Who knows if he was even hurt all that time.

I'm glad Wake came to this decision. It would have been brutal to see him anywhere else to finish out his career. The greatest testament I've come to of Wake's career for me personally is just how used to seeing him I got. I don't know if I'm alone on this, but whenever I managed to get my hands on some Sox tickets, I always hoped and hoped that I wouldn't get stuck with a game Wake started. I like to spin that into a positive. It speaks to his longevity and how he was under-appreciated throughout the years. It'll be weird watching the Sox without him there. I wish him and his family the best.

How would you fairly assess his 4 years here? Personally, I never understood all the hate he received. Did he under-perform for his price? Sure. But with the guys around him he was never supposed to be THE guy, especially when it came to driving in runs. He got on base for the guys around him and played an excellent right field. That's one area in which I'll miss Drew... I have worries about Sweeney/Ross stepping into right. It can be an adventure out there with the wrong guy. We've been fortunate to have had Nixon and Drew out there for years. Last year was scary with Reddick, who I thought was just awful defensively. I know people had gripes about his personality, how he was too quiet and such. Didn't really bother me. What did bother me was how he always seemed to get on base when all hope was lost, yet when they needed him on, he failed to. Certainly not in the postseason, but regular season definitely. I don't think we'll necessary miss Drew (and definitely not his contract), but part of me thinks his OBP and OPS, 2011 aside, went under-valued.

I ordered my Jon Lester jersey from DHGate. Lucked out big time. Made the mistake of trying to go 2-for-2 and order and Buchholz jersey. Never showed up.

I was browsing around for a new Sox forum and found this place. What's up, everyone. Been a tough stretch with the collapse and the Super Bowl loss. Here's to Spring Training starting and Roy Oswalt hopefully having a change of heart about pitching in Boston.