Amen re the Sox losing Xander and Mookie. The latter reminds me of Willie Mays and to this day I can't understand the logic of the Sox letting him go. What the hell were they thinking? Certainly not about the fans. Mookie is special, not just because he can do it all -- hit, run, and field -- but he also has an appealing personality that make him a fan favorite. Boston fans appreciated the talents of less charismatic players like Jacoby Ellsbury or David Price, but they loved Mookie.
I remember listening to Terry Francona on a talk radio show when he was managing the Sox. He got very indignant when a caller referred to the Sox as "entertainers." "We're not entertainers, we're ball players!" he snapped. Well, sorry, but like every other professional sports team that's exactly what they are. If it weren't for the millions of fan followers who are entertained by their play -- and support the advertisers who fund the multimillion dollar salaries -- they wouldn't exist. If I were the owner of a sports team I'd consider the entertainment value of a player like Mookie to be just about as important as his skill on the field. The Sox owners don't seem to think that way, and I suspect the result will be that a lot of people like you and me will be looking elsewhere for our entertainment.
They easily could have gotten a deal done in spring training for half of what Xander signed for with the Padres. The same thing was true of Jon Lester back in the day. Then they over spend on free agents from outside (remember Pablo Sandoval?). Now they'll over pay and sign another free agent to pretend they actually care in the hopes we forget.
Francona is another they let walk. They think we just root for laundry but it's not true - we root for the team when we think they're trying and not trying to play us as suckers. And now many are rooting for the Indians (Francona), Padres (Bogaerts and Don Orsillo) and Dodgers.
Cut the cord and get rid of NESN because they only care about that revenue.
Amen re the Sox losing Xander and Mookie. The latter reminds me of Willie Mays and to this day I can't understand the logic of the Sox letting him go. What the hell were they thinking? Certainly not about the fans. Mookie is special, not just because he can do it all -- hit, run, and field -- but he also has an appealing personality that make him a fan favorite. Boston fans appreciated the talents of less charismatic players like Jacoby Ellsbury or David Price, but they loved Mookie.
I remember listening to Terry Francona on a talk radio show when he was managing the Sox. He got very indignant when a caller referred to the Sox as "entertainers." "We're not entertainers, we're ball players!" he snapped. Well, sorry, but like every other professional sports team that's exactly what they are. If it weren't for the millions of fan followers who are entertained by their play -- and support the advertisers who fund the multimillion dollar salaries -- they wouldn't exist. If I were the owner of a sports team I'd consider the entertainment value of a player like Mookie to be just about as important as his skill on the field. The Sox owners don't seem to think that way, and I suspect the result will be that a lot of people like you and me will be looking elsewhere for our entertainment.
They easily could have gotten a deal done in spring training for half of what Xander signed for with the Padres. The same thing was true of Jon Lester back in the day. Then they over spend on free agents from outside (remember Pablo Sandoval?). Now they'll over pay and sign another free agent to pretend they actually care in the hopes we forget.
Francona is another they let walk. They think we just root for laundry but it's not true - we root for the team when we think they're trying and not trying to play us as suckers. And now many are rooting for the Indians (Francona), Padres (Bogaerts and Don Orsillo) and Dodgers.
Cut the cord and get rid of NESN because they only care about that revenue.