[Myrtle]

[ QUOTE ]
"So now your Boston Red Sox have no center fielder, no shortstop, and no first baseman, to go along with no Theo Epstein and no clue," he wrote. "The Red Sox found themselves looking at the 2006 season with huge holes at the top of their batting order and in the middle of their outfield."

[/ QUOTE ]

....This short paragraph sums the whole thing up, even though it was written by the self-serving jackass Shaughnessy.

There is no "Curse of the Bambino".......It has ALWAYS been the "Curse of the Ownerino's".

From the dour, mean-spirited, let-em-eat-cake, racist and classist stewardship of Tom & Jean Yawkey, carried on in fine traditon by the Laurel & Hardy of baseball Haywood Sullivan & Budddy Larue; & then the arrogant, anti-social duo of John Harrington & Dan Duquette.

It didn't take long after John Henry et al bought the team for both subtle and profound things to change....Ask anyone who goes to Fenway on a regular basis to compare and contrast a night at the park now vs. 10 years ago.

It has been transformed and it finally appeared as if we had ownership that "Got It".

They did things, big & little, that really mattered to the fans....cleaned the park up, got rid of the bad ushers & help, improved the concessions significantly, created a wonderful carnival-like gathering aread by closing down Yawkey Way during the games, Green Monster seats, right field roof seats......etc. etc.

All of this led a fan to believe.....Holy Geezez, finally an ownership that REALLY cares about US....the fans.

However........what message has that ownership, directed by Lucchino sent to the Red Sox players since the 2004 World Series?

Actions speak louder than words.........

Now, for those cynics out there (and I am one of them)...One could easily make the case that all that ownership has been doing is to provide amenities that should have been there all along so that they might further increase their profits. So what? At least they DID it, so even if they truly don't care, and it's all about the $$, the fans have gotten a better bang-for-their-buck!

However, for all their apparent enlightenment and customer-centric improvements, their policies towards their own players sure seems to be a different story.

At this moment, Red Sox ownership is taking a PR beating....Lets look past the PR aspects of it amd examine whether or not the beating is justified.

I'm a baseball guy....Played it, taught it, coached it for the last 40+ years. In the end, all I care about is what happens on the field & in the club house.

What has been happening since 2004 disturbs me on a number of levels.

Danger, Will Robinson....Danger.