dgalehouse

Farmer Brown : " Dear , the farm is barren . There will be no harvest . We are doomed. I hope I'm wrong . " Farmer Brown's wife : " It's okay sweetie. You're always wrong. There's always takeout and delivery. "

There seems to be some question about whether Verlander is really done for the year.

No doubt there will be folks checking the box scores daily and gleefully reporting any time Mookie goes hitless. That's just the way folks are .

Some of these pitching acquisitions should at least come with a BOGO offer.

There have a lot of good days in the past four years . Let's hope there are a few in the next four.

We take you now to a conversation between long time Sox fan , Tommy Lykitis and young rising star in the Sox analytics department , Ferdie Nerdwell . Ferdie : " Hey Tommy . Long time no see ." Tommy : " Hi Ferdie . A lot has happened since we last talked to each other . " Ferdie: " Yeah . Things are looking good ." Tommy : " How so ? We got rid of a G.M. who won three straight division titles and one World Series , and replaced him with a small market upstart who has never won anything ." Ferdie : " It's not about winning . Like I told Mr. Kennedy , Dombrowski had to go . He literally decimated the farm . Not only that , but he didn't work well with the rest of us in management . Why , he didn't even return my e-mails . Mr. Bloom cares about the farm . And he is a much better communicator . And he can work magic . I call him " The Magic Man " . I think he likes that ." Tommy : The magic man ? That sounds like ass kissing . The only thing he has done so far is trade the best player we have produced in years . " Ferdie : " Like I told Mr. Bloom , Mookie is too expensive . He needs to be dealt . It's not about great players . It's about the farm . And the reset . And youth . Youth is our future ." Tommy : " If it's about youth , why did we fire a young , successful manager like Cora , and replace with a tired veteran war horse like Roenicke ?" Ferdie : " I like Alex , but like I told Mr. Werner , Alex got jammed up , so he had to go . And the manager doesn't matter anyway . Me and my brother Harold will give Ron the same instructions , er I mean suggestions , that we gave Alex . It's all good ." Tommy : " Good luck with this season , Ferdie . " Ferdie : " It's not about luck . It's not about this season . It's about the farm . And the reset . And the future . " Tommy : " Right . And magic , right Ferdie ?" Ferdie : " Right Tommy. Now you are starting to get it ." Tommy: " See you later, Ferdie . "

Closing ain't easy. Especially with the juiced ball . You think you made a good pitch , and the guy hits an opposite field homer . It's tough.

Who is next ? Anthony Fauci ? That was the most pathetic first pitch attempt in the history of first pitches .

Re-signing Mookie was a pipe dream . We would never top the Dodger's offer . And we all love Boston, but let's face it, Hollywood has a lot more to offer . The glitz , the glamor , the dames and the fame . There is an allure that Boston cannot match . Mookie is rich and happy. Good for him. Thanks for the memories. Move on .

There is no crying in baseball. And no loyalty either . And that goes both ways .

It all seems kind of weird . Not at all like opening day. It will take some effort to really get into this .

I think the fact that the Dodgers have come so close , but have failed to win a championship in recent years makes them a little more hungry and aggressive in spending than they otherwise might be . No doubt Mookie increases their chances .

If true , this at least will squelch the pipe dream about trading Mookie , and then re-signing him . That was never very realistic anyway .

I like to start a debate and then walk away . Let others fight it out .

That jury has been out for a long time . A lot of good things have happened in the meantime. But I have no intention of doing this debate again .

Bottom line : Ben in four years :One championship and three last place finishes.. Dombrowski in four years :One championship, an unprecedented three straight A.L. East titles and one third place finish. As for the farm ; other than Moncada , which traded prospects were really any good ?

One of the differences between baseball and most other team sports is that in baseball , no matter how good you are , you still can only hit when your turn comes . Tom Brady can handle the ball on every play , Michael Jordan could always take the big shot , but Mookie Betts has to bat in order . And no pitcher , starter or reliever , can pitch every game . It is very difficult for any one player to keep a team in contention.

There is something to be said for the motto " Never give up " . Well , maybe not . I wish him well . I'm a little crazy , but I tend to pull for all former Sox players . ( Except when they play us of course )

My hatred of the Yankees had a lot to do with the obnoxiousness of their fans back in the day . They not only bragged about having the best team ( which was usually true ) , they boasted of having the best fans ( this was never true ) , the best ballpark ( arguable , but doubtful ) , the best announcers ( not true ) and even the best grounds crew ( they actually claimed their crew got the tarp on and off the quickest) . With the Sox success starting in 2004 , the hatred has abated somewhat ( " A little bit " , as Aaron Boone constantly says. ).

It's kind of odd how a team that has had so much success in the last 16 years ( 4 championships ) , has now had four G.M.s and four managers in that time.

On paper , the Sox surely look like also rans. I do think that the abbreviated schedule will give them ( and others ) a better chance to pull off an upset. Don't abandon the ship before it even sets sail.

When the robot ump dusts off the plate , he / it misses half of the mess . Just like the robot vacuums .

At least when Speier is talking , O 'Brien is not . Be thankful for that .

We need a national listing of all nicknames that are acceptable. You would have to choose one from that list . It would be subject to change . As of now , all animal names are allowed , but PETA is looking into that .

A lot of it is just flat out trolling . They know exactly what they are doing . They are trying to agitate . The very definition of trolling . I don't know why it is being permitted .