He is one of the few Manny defenders left, and he brings up really good arguments that put most of the new pink hats in Red Sox Nation to shame. He is one of the few the rightly criticizes the bum moves the Red Sox make, and a lot of what he said when he mentioned losing Manny and losing Texiera would hurt this team for a long time to come is finally coming to fruition.

Danny From Quincy, I hope ou get your own show someday. You put a lot of WEEI hosts to shame, and you call them out when they are wrong. They hate it, and always say so, but forget that people like us waste our days listening to them. So its good to see someone who tells it right for a change.

There was an earlier article on CSN talking about Rondo working on his shot with Mark Price last year. One of the things we all have to remember; Rajon works really hard at his game. It seems he comes off as standoff-ish and he has had some fisticuffs with his own teammates during games, but you can’t doubt his heart.

You have Nike give you possibly one of the best commercial campaigns of the 21st century, you have the Cleveland Cavaliers get you the best center of all-time ( and an amazing supporting cast ), you have people ambivalent about your Big Apple attire amidst controversy that the Knicks are positioning their cap to bring you in, and somehow you find a way to sew another red flag in your great legacy.

Apparently, during a scrimmage at Lebron’s skills academy in Ohio:

” …There were at least two cameras rolling Monday night when Crawford dunked on James during a pick-up game here at the LeBron James Skills Academy. It was a two-handed jam, the kind that would’ve circulated quickly on YouTube. But Nike officials eliminated that possibility shortly after the dunk happened by allegedly confiscating tapes from various cameramen.”

- Gary Parrish, CBS Sports

I am becoming more concerned about James every day. None of these incidences are in themselves bad, but representative of bad and continuous personality traits that don’t reflect well on his good image.

If he keeps this up, I don’t know of any Make-a-Wish campaign or Habitat for Humanity house-building that will save his deteriorating reputation.

U n t i l   N e x t   T i m e   O l d   F r i e n d . . .

It was to come to pass. Coco Crisp, having the gold glove talent with two slow-pokes on each side of a big outfield, having the pesky bat to get key base hits and a little bit of pop, having the speed to keep the pitcher’s left eye occupied, needs to be a starter.

He made incredible plays in the outfield, he handled the bat and the bags well when healthy, and he put his best out for the Red Sox Nation. He asked that for his accolades, he should be the primary center fielder. And the Red Sox couldn’t do it, with their young stud Jacoby Ellsbury in the wings.

And so another great piece of the Red Sox dynasty moves on to different pastures, freeing the spot for ( hopefully ) a greater piece to get us back to the promise land. Along with Manny Ramirez, Alan Embree, Julian Tavarez, Bartolo Colon, and Dave Roberts, Crisp is the last of the remnants of the dominant late-90′s early 21st century Cleveland Indian teams. Those were the days…

Covelli Loyce Crisp, have fun in Kansas City, and make Red Sox Nation proud. Get healthy, and get some more pop in your bat. Make us feel sorry that we let you go. Because many of us Red Sox fans are going to bed tonight with a little bit of something in our eyes. Many of us will go to sleep knowing that there will be something missing when spring trainings begins anew. It won’t be Manny Ramirez, although his departure has been highly detailed by the media.

Many of us Red Sox fans will be rooting for you. Our eyes and minds will deceive us as we go into a confused daze seeing you on an opposing team. We will give you a standing ovation when you return to Fenway Park. You will smile, and probably gesture to the crowd. We will forget, just for a few seconds, that you are no longer hitting the homeruns for the Nation, and dream that your timely hit will start-up our sluggish offense.

As we sit back down from the frenzied welcome, we will remember where the lines are drawn, and we will hope that you don’t beat us with a slice in the left-center gap. Okay, maybe just one. But we have the Yankees, The Rays, and The Blue Jays to confront in the coming weeks. Try not to be hard on us on your heroic return to Landsdowne St.

Red Sox fans tonight will dream of the past, and the future will come soon enough. Baseball always seems to come around early. So let us celebrate now in the cold dark Massachusetts winter, and give tribute to one hell of a baseball player. Coco, we wish you the best. The morning of November 20th, 2008, I give this time for you. Paz.

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