Baseball

The Red Sox suffered a plethora of injuries last season and missed the playoffs. Attendance slumped and advertising dollars dried up. Meanwhile, the Patriots are poised to make a run deep into the postseason, the Celtics added Shaquille O’Neal and appear ready to challenge the Lakers for the NBA crown and the Bruins look like a Stanley Cup contender. Some pundits started saying the Pats had surpassed the Sox in popularity and conjectured The Olde Towne Team’s sellout streak could be on the line.

Just moments ago it was announced Theo Epstein pulled another fast one on Red Sox Nation by signing Carl Crawford to a seven year, $142 million deal.  The deal comes as a relative surprise since, even though the Red Sox loved what Crawford brings to the table, they already acquired the big time left handed bat (Adrian Gonzalez) and historically do not go on these Yankee-like spending sprees.

Gold glove left fielder with five-tool ability?  Check.  Gold glove First Baseman who is also one of the five best bats in MLB?  Check.

Anything else?

Theo Epstein got to dream big at Disney, and he turned his dreams into a mighty fine reality.

Signing Carl Crawford and trading for Adrian Gonzalez has infused life into a Boston offense that it hasn't seen since the Manny Ramirez hay day.  Have you honestly thought about this lineup?

The Phillies made some progress in their offseason crusade to revamp their bullpen today by signing left-hander Dennys Reyes to a one year contract worth $1.1 million, with a mutual option for 2012 worth $1.35 million, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes.

The Boston Red Sox are making up for their poor 2010 season by making a big splash this offseason.

After trading for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez last week from the San Diego Padres, the Red Sox have reportedly signed free agent outfielder Carl Crawford to a 7 year, $142 million contract, according to the Boston Globe's Peter Abraham.

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal has confirmed the deal as well.

The Boston Red Sox have reportedly signed free agent outfielder Carl Crawford to a seven-year, $142 million contract, which not only drastically improves their lineup and defense, but also puts an immense amount of pressure on the New York Yankees to lock up Cliff Lee.

Wednesday evening, Cleveland Indians vice president of public relations Bob DiBiasio announced that Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller has been transferred from the Cleveland Clinic to a hospice care center for the terminally ill. 

The 92-year-old Feller recently entered the Clinic suffering from pneumonia.  The illness was the most recent health issue for the Hall of Famer.  In August, Feller was diagnosed with leukemia, a month later a pacemaker was installed.

According to ESPN Boston, the Boston Red Sox are ready to sign free agent Carl Crawford to a seven-year $142 million contract on Thursday night.

Until just now, Crawford was expected to be leaning toward signing with the Los Angeles Angels, but it appears that the Red Sox have made the sweeter offer.

Another free agent outfielder, Jayson Werth (formerly of the Philadelphia Phillies), just signed with the Washington Nationals on Sunday for a seven-year $126 million deal.

The late George Steinbrenner and the late Billy Martin did not receive much votes by the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee. This sounds just right. They didn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame at their first try.

In fact, they shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame period. Neither did anything special to earn that honor. It's hard to believe either of them will be there.

It looks as though I might have finally found my favorite National League team. As a huge Boston Red Sox fan I find it difficult to root for another team, especially one in the American League, but as a baseball fan the more knowledge I have of the sport the more I respect other teams.

For instance, one cannot over look the Minnesota Twins. Unless you are a Chicago White Sox fan, a Detroit Tigers fan or just plain hate the Twin cities it is hard not to appreciate, like and respect that organization.