All the little things

It's been a long, long time, my friends and fellow readers.

What was that?

Hey, what are you looking at me like that for? You don't think I have a big following here?

Okay, okay -- it's been a long time, my FRIEND and fellow READER.

Beantown was such a tranquil community when we last left one another. Boston reminded me of an old age home -- it was absolute serenity. Well, minus the Metamucil, hot blankets, and pungent odor of mothballs. People were so laid back and content with life.

Then something changed. Not like pleasantry dissipating around New England is a "Usual Suspects" ending of any sort -- in a city with this many skeletons in the closet, there is only so much optimism to go around.

Suddenly I'm reminded of a sinister Ben Stiller in "Happy Gilmore" offering the old granny a refreshing glass of shut the hell up. So much for old age home serenity.

Ah those Red Sox -- they're like the Sunday comic strip -- they'll do it to you every time. Last year the clubhouse was more like a barroom. At the end of the day, manager Jimy Williams paid the price for player quarrels and mismanagement. Nowadays that's baseball -- a measly million-dollar manager that holds the reins for hundred million-dollar players. Do the math and tell me who wins that one every time.

So much has happened since we last parted ways. When we last left one another, the Red Sox were -- well, they were good. Then Grady Little got his mask ripped off and it became another episode of Scooby Doo. Little was revealed to be none other than Williams and he would have gotten away with it if it weren't for us lousy kids and that miserable dog too.

Scores of irate Red Sox fans feel that Little is showing more and more of Williams every time a head-scratching managerial maneuver is pulled. All the drones came to fruition after the heart-breaking, 11th inning, 9-8 loss to the rival New York Yankees in the Bronx on July 20th. Glimpses of Little's "Jimy Williams school of management" degree were revealed and left many to ponder what in the wide, wide world of sports was going on:

* In the fifth inning, in a relief appearance for starter Rolando Arrojo, knuckleballer Tim Wakefield seemed to flummox the Yankee lineup. Many Yankees, when they did get the wood on the bat, could barely drop a ball beyond the shallow outfield. Strikeouts, shallow pop-ups, double play ground balls. Wakefield was walking on water for his three inning stint. He was in complete control of the Yankees and showed no signs of letting up. Still, for some reason Little felt compelled to remove his durable pitcher for a player coming back from a prolonged period on the D.L.

* A day after revealing he wouldn't use pitcher Dustin Hermanson in the role of a setup man in his first action back from the disabled list, what does Little do? He brings in Hermanson in the role of the setup man in his first action back from the disabled list. In a crucial eighth inning appearance with the Sox holding on to a two-run lead, Hermanson came in for his first action in three months. After getting Jorge Posada to fly out to center, he promptly gave up an infield single, a double to Nick Johnson, and a single to Alfonso Soriano. 8-8, tie game.

Many may have been nit-picking, but the next day in the series finale at Yankee Stadium, a few more fans were left wondering which manager was calling the shots in the Sox dugout:

* In the rubber game against New York, Little inexplicably decided to sit CF Johnny Damon. After the game Damon seemed perplexed as to why he was held out of the starting lineup but didn't follow-up the matter.

* In the ninth inning, after a Trot Nixon error left the game tied, 8-8, Little wanted closer Ugueth Urbina to intentionally walk Robin Ventura and Raul Mondesi in hopes for a double play ball in a no-out situation. Suddenly, Little pulled RF Nixon for utility man Lou Merloni, and played five infielders, while shifting LF Manny Ramirez over to shallow center. The shift resembled an ensemble piece out of Cirque De Soleil. Needless to say it was all for naught -- Urbina walked Posada for the winning run.

That sideshow shift proved harmless yet many of the moves over the weekend left fans with that restless feeling. The Sox lost two-of-three and yet they could have easily have swept New York. Maybe a prolonged stint by Wakefield would have helped shut down New York? What if Damon started the whole game?

Could've, should've, would've.

Those moves were made in July and scores of fans have been chiming in with the subtle anti-Little slogans ever since. The Red Sox have three bonafide superstars, seven all-stars, the lowest ERA in the AL (3.83), the lowest combined ERA of starting pitchers in the A.L. (3.20), the highest team batting average in baseball (.281), and the second highest total of runs scored in baseball (613).

Somehow, someway, they are still on the outside looking in. Currently, the Sox are five games behind divisional rival New York in the A.L. East, and tied at two games with the Oakland Athletics behind the wild card leading Anaheim Angels. If the regular season ended today, so too would the Boston Red Sox.

With a team that has such great starting pitching and a potent lineup, why are they in their current position? Fans have been left grasping for answers, walking through the streets with perplexed looks on their faces, struggling to discover why their beloved team is currently a fistful of games shy of postseason contention. As always the case, people need to blame someone and just like every baseball town in all of America, this piece of blame pie falls on the manager's plate.

Maybe? Perhaps? What-if? Could've, should've, would've.

Welcome to Boston, folks. Same as it ever was.