Redemption Time

The bums of summer are back.

The Red Sox and new manager Bobby V have reported to Jet Blue Park, the Sox new spring training facility which is a beautiful, brand spanking new replica of the team’s true home on Yawkey Way.

The top priorities for this year’s Sox squad are to begin a brand new era, avoid replicating last year’s Hindenburg of a season, and have the type of season they are capable of.

No need to dwell on the season from hell; we all are well acquainted with what happened. But I have to say; seeing the faces of those involved with the September massacre is like ripping a band-aid off a not yet fully healed wound.

Not a good sign that we are only a week or two removed from Truck Day (thrilling as always) and there already seems to be trouble brewing. Carl Crawford has expressed his frustration with John Henry for going public with the statement that he was against signing him to the behemoth contract offered by the now departed Theo; a contract that now appears to be starkly disproportionate to Crawford’s production level.

After a horrid first year in which he was clearly overwhelmed by the palpable pressure of being under the microscope of Sox nation; the 25 million dollar man is already off to a bad start this year. He is apparently out until late April with a wrist injury that required surgery (a bad injury for a slash hitting aging corner outfielder). His excuse, which we heard the other day when he first spoke to the media, is perhaps even more disturbing than the injury itself.

Crawford said he waited so long to have the surgery because didn’t even realize there was a problem until he first picked up a bat in JANUARY. If you ask me, Carl should have been aware of the problem the day after the Sox were eliminated at Camden Yards. Because he should have been in the cage that day working his ass off to live up to the money he is getting paid and make sure what happened last year doesn’t repeat itself. Oh well. I guess we will hope for the best when he does come back.

And that isn’t even the most garbage worthy excuse to come out of Sox camp thus far. When asked about last year’s collapse (both team and individual), Josh Beckett offered up this gem: “I put on some weight there and played poorly. Don’t really know why.”

Hey Cowboy, maybe you should rephrase that. I think something along these lines would be appropriate: “I sucked because I was fat and out of shape. I think it was because I scarfed fried chicken and chased it with Bud Light while playing X-Box with my boys on days I wasn’t giving up bombs over the Monster.”

I’ve been a diehard Sox fan since I was a kid. I remember getting sent to bed in the sixth inning and listening to the rest of the game under my covers. I had a borderline life crisis when Boone clanged one of Wake’s floaters off the foul pole in the Bronx; and our two World Series wins are some of my best memories.

But I have to be honest. I’ve grown disenchanted with the collective persona of this team. And I top of that; I have little confidence they are going to be any good. This team is riddled with more question marks than a midseason episode of lost. To name a few:

· - Will Crawford step up? How bad is his injury?

· - Can Lester and Beckett return to form and be the pitchers they are capable of being and anchor the rotation?

· - Will Bucholz recover from his back problems and be the pitcher we need him to be, for the long haul?

· Is he really the fastest player on the team?

· - Who’s our shortstop? No seriously… who?

· - Can Bobby V manage this group? Or will we see another situation like his bong hitting Mets squad of the early 2000’s?

· - Will our weirdo owner devote more attention to his soccer squad across the pond than our boys at Fenway?

· - Is Dice-K going to come back? Will he be good? Has he remembered how to throw a gyro ball? Is a gyro ball real? Will his games still consistently be at hour 3 at the start of inning 5?

· - Why is John Lackey still on the team?

· - Is Adrian Gonzalez a robot trained impeccably to hit baseballs but totally incapable of expressing emotion?

· - Who weighs more- Bobby Jenks or Vince Wilfork?

· - Can Papi replace replicate last year’s unexpected production?

· Can Youk stay healthy?

· Will Jacoby return to earth or have another MVP caliber season?

· Will Pedroia get a hair transplant?

· Will the new NESN reporter be as hot as Heidi Watney?

And I could go on for a while longer. All teams have questions going into a new season. But what allows good teams to overcome these inevitable issues that arise during the arduous MLB season is the team’s ability to be a TEAM. To come together, work as one, support each other, and play hard when it counts to get through the rough patches.

And if last season is any indication of this year’s; this team’s makeup is the polar opposite of that. These are guys (millionaires) who had to be appeased by management with $300 Dr. Dre Beats headphones when they were unhappy with the clubhouse situation. This group seems to be inherently divided in several ways- creating a totally combustible situation ripe with potential for a cataclysmic meltdown. I have a bad feeling were going to be watching a soap opera on the diamond and in the clubhouse.

The hardest part is that this team just really isn’t likeable. Everything suggests that with a few exceptions this team is a collection of overpaid, underachieving, lazy spoiled malcontents. Bobby V is left with a situation about as enviable as the cleanup crew for the BP oil spill.Can our cartoon character of a manger fix this clubhouse and create an atmosphere conducive to winning?

It’s a tall task, but who knows… he did invent the wrap sandwich.