Pap Scare

Laugher Turns Serious

Sox Control Towers Early, Hang On for 7-4 Win

Some Bats for Matt: Offense Explodes for 5 in 1st
Walk Don't Run: Clement Throws Two Hitter, But Walks Four
Double Mint: Lowell Connects Again and Again
Wily Mo Must Stay in the Lineup if Coco Comes Back
Youk Adds Insurance with Long Ball; Loretta Comes Alive
Too Close for Comfort: Pap Gets the Call, Sox Get Scare, Save No. 11
A Little Help Please? Seanez, Tavarez Can't Finish the Job and Save Jon

Nixon Gives Jays the Slip

'I Was Pretty Much Let Go'
More Revisionist History from the Disingenuous Diva

"Does he expect to be booed? 'I hope not, but there are some people... I don't know how they feel,' Martinez told Newsday yesterday. 'Knowing my fans and the relationship I had and how much I expressed how I wanted to stay... it wasn't my choice. I wasn't given the choice to actually think about, I was pretty much let go.' " -- 5.3.06, Pedro Martinez: New York Newsday

Pedro Could Feel the
Heat in Boston

Some Nuggets from Gammons:

Comments from ESPN's Peter Gammons on WEEI's Big Show Today (Audio Here):

On the Damon reaction at Fenway:

“I thought it went a little bit over the top. I don’t understand the mentality of someone spending hours at home making up some obscene sign. It wasn’t like he was an electric personality here… he was very popular here but it wasn’t like Pedro or Clemens, he didn’t depart simply because of money. It was a prolonged kind of a mixed-up negotiation. And the one thing about him, he always played hard, he played hurt, and he was always accountable. I don’t know, I just didn’t think it needed to be quite so insane.

"I sit down there and I listen to people stand up there with their kids on either side of them scream obscenities at Derek Jeter like their big people because they’ve got a fence in between them and the field so, I guess if that’s what makes people happy… I think sports can be fun too. There are a lot of people that don’t think it’s fun… I just thought that, in Damon’s case, one thing about him… I like Roger a lot, but he did say that, he did complain about things like carrying his bags, and he did go to Toronto and say that he loved it because it was so much like Houston, and Pedro left town with guns blazing because of his relationship with Schilling. But I just thought that the way Damon was always very respectful of the fans… I did not think taking out that ad in the Globe was phony in the least, I think Johnny’s pretty genuine, but that’s it, he’s moved on and I’ll say this, I found this really interesting, Don Mattingly made, and this surprised me, he said to me ‘you know, Damon has really changed our team’… this team had become so businesslike, and so uptight the last three years, Damon is sort of goofy, he comes in everyday with a big smile on his face, he’s up to something, he’s always accountable to the media. He said ‘he’s really changed our personality for the better.’ And if that’s true, and I believe Mattingly’s got a pretty good finger on that team as hitting coach and future manager, then I think that’s pretty interesting. I think the Yankees got more than they thought they got when they signed him."

On Pedro coming back to Fenway:

"I think there’s more hostility towards Pedro [than Damon]. And it’s partly because he’s an electric personality. I think that Pedro will get a pretty rough [reception]. Now he’s not pitching for the Yankees, and that’s a big difference. They won’t have people standing there with their kids and screaming obscenities at Jose Reyes, but I think Pedro will take a lot of heat here. I’ll be interested to see how he is. I think he’s gonna be a little testy when he comes back here."

Gammons also said the Red Sox are worried about the double play combination's offense. If Alex Gonzalez continues to struggle, Gammons thinks the Sox will call up Dustin Pedroia to play some second base and shortstop, and give them a little offense.

Extra Bases: Wells, Riske, Kapler, and Coco Making Progress

Shaughnessy Spanks $ox, Globe

Dan Slams Henry and Co. for Soaking Fans,
Travel Infomercial, and Ubiquitous Signage

"Speaking of no-win propositions, we've got a problem here at Daddy Globe. Those of you not living in caves know by now that the New York Times Co. owns us, and also owns 17 percent of the Red Sox. This conflict of interest taints everything we do on these pages and the Globe looks especially compromised on days like yesterday when we ran a Page 1 story entitled, ''Hit the road with the Sox and get . . ."

"Yesterday's journalistic wet kiss included a nifty graphic detailing exactly what Sox fans get if they purchase an official team VIP road trip package. The story contained no inside info that couldn't be gleaned by a fan with access to the Internet, but the timing was abysmal and the packaging worse. By any measurement, this was a Red Sox infomercial, a front-page story guaranteed to embolden those who believe the Globe is part of a Red Sox Cartel and certain to make life more difficult for Messrs. Snow, Edes, and all others who toil tirelessly to bring balanced coverage to our readers.

"...But it never stops with these guys and Henry's NASCAR-ization of Fenway has crossed the line. Everything is sponsored. Everything is for sale.

"...Then again, can anything be a surprise after the $ox sold the sacred sod of 2004 or sanctioned gambling by getting their own Mass. Lottery scratch card? Yeesh.

"The $ox have been appropriately applauded for all they have done in the community and for the amazing improvements at ancient Fenway, but the ballpark has officially morphed into a haven for the rich." -- 5.4.06, Dan Shaughnessy, The Boston Globe

Gallery Survey: With Damon Gone, Who's the Next Sox Sweetheart?
Eric Wilbur: In-Clement Forecast | TC's Mailbag: Grind It Out
Tom Verducci: Sox Get What They Asked For: Weaker Offense

Verducci Mailbag: "In your Red Sox column, I couldn't help but stutter when I got to the part about Jason Varitek and Trot Nixon ("noticeably trimmer and with less pop"). Short of saying "Jason and Trot sure miss that flaxseed oil and the clear," what are you insinuating? I'm not from Egypt, and don't know about da' Nile. -- John, Windsor, Conn."

"Ah, yes, this is the shadowy age we live in, the one owners and players created by giving us the Steroid Era. Scouts take note all the time of players who look smaller and show less pop. They use the line "Congress got him" to explain some guys' declines. If you've been watching the past two seasons, you know what I mean. That said, I do think both players got very big, and at their age, and in Nixon's case, with his injury history, they're probably better off being a bit lighter. The question is not what happened -- everybody deserves the benefit of the doubt -- but will they suffer any decline? Pudge Rodriguez, Bobby Higginson, Scott Spiezio, Ryan Klesko, Nomar Garciaparra ... all suffered declines when they weren't as bulked." -- 5.3.06, Tom Verducci's Mailbag