The Offseason

The first days of the offseason are always the tough. As fans, we go from April through October, spending our evenings with the Red Sox, reading the morning paper to check box scores, checking our favorite on-line sites to see if their is any late breaking news .Then, suddenly, it's over and we have to break off our addiction cold turkey.

I must say, however, that since the arrival of John Henry and co., the offseason has become quite interesting and fun to follow. Who of us will ever forget the winter between the '03 and '04 seasons? The ARod trade controversy, firing Grady Little, the waiving of Manny Ramirez (amazingly, noone claimed him), Thanksgiving with the Schillings, and the Jose Contreras courtship....I'm sure there was more! Then, from 04-05, we had a winter long celebration, along with Pedro leaving, the signing of Edgar Renteria, Matt Clement, and Jason Varitek. Plus, Curt Schilling's ankle problem. Then, the 05-06 offseason brought the Theo Epstein drama, the Beckett/Lowell acquisition, Renteria jettisoned to the Braves, Johnny Damon to the Yankees, and Millar to the Orioles. '06-'07 brought Dice K, and all the drama that entailed, including flying to LA to meet with Scott Boras to MAKE him negotiate, the unheralded signing of Okajima, JD Drew came aboard in a controversial manner, all of the johan Santana talk....the list goes on and on.

We just have to get through November 15th, and the fun will begin again as the Red Sox make decisions regarding Varitek, Teixeira, and CC Sabathia. Of course, it's the moves we don't expect or that are not headliners that are often the biggest, like the signing of Bill Mueller and Kevin Millar (which is ANOTHER great story), or Dave Roberts and the aforementioned Okajima. So, take a month off and get ready for the Hot Stove Season, which begins in earnest the day AJ Burnett decides whether he will opt out of his contract, and prepare for another fascinating 3-4 months as the Red Sox build the team that will begin the season as strong contenders (dare I say favorites?) to play in their 3rd World Series in 6 years. Go Red Sox!