The Baseball Highlight of My Spring Break

Truthfully, the highlights of my spring break all involve time spent with family. But the highlight of the baseball side of things has to be the procurement of Rocco Baldelli's St. Patrick's Day baseball cap.

Shortly before game time, while waiting for autograph opportunities (none whatsoever this year) and watching the players stretch and relax on the field, Sox outfielder Baldelli walked toward the third base box seats, pulled off his cap, and threw it into the crowd. Coming right toward me, I reached up my left arm and hauled it in. There is no great story here. I simply caught the hat with no fanfare whatsoever. It was a cool moment.

The surprising moment came when I examined the hat. The hat was ripped badly in the back and had been cut on the inside. No wonder Baldelli did not want the hat anymore. He was the cleanup hitter in Boston's lineup that day, and had a great new cap the next time I saw him in right field. Baldelli went on to have a horrendous game at the plate.

What makes this interesting is that Baldelli grew up about five miles from my home, but this won't make it any easier to get him to autograph the hat.

What I Did on My Spring Break

The annual pilgrimage to beautiful City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, spring home of the Boston Red Sox, was a resounding success. Not only was the weather outstanding and the seats terrific, but the Red Sox won a nice game against the Twins.

The game began with an exciting matchup of Scott Baker and Josh Beckett. I was left being impressed by some powerful Boston bats. Jason Varitek, David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jason Bay all homered to put the game out of reach. In case you're wondering, it was the St. Patrick's Day game, and the crowd was a sea of green that matched the bases and the writing on the home team's jerseys.

Photos: The starting lineups of the Twins and Red Sox on Tuesday, March 17; NESN reporter Heidi Watney; Sox Mascot Wally the Green Monster; and Sox ace Josh Beckett pitching in the second inning.

Lamenting the World Baseball Classic

I really do hate to be a poor loser, and it's really not about that at all. I'm a baseball fan, but I can't really warm up to the Classic. Not that it can't be good baseball. Not that it can't be exciting. What bothers me is that it can be so dangerous to major league players and so difficult to manage.

Six major injuries to players on Team USA is probably not even the worst story to come out of the American side of things. So much second guessing is heard about Davey Johnson's managerial decisions; in reality, Johnson may not be as guilty as we might think, upon closer scrutiny. Of course, we can ask why he stayed with Roy Oswalt so long in the final, loser-go-home game? We can even ask a team with two shortstops named Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins would choose to start Jeter in such an important game, relegating Rollins to the DH role?

Could any person manage a team of major leaguers under the constant scrutiny of 30 major league clubs? I'm not sure this is possible or even fair to ask.

Rob Dibble, on MLB Home Plate (XM Radio), said that MLB looks silly sponsoring a tournament in which Team USA cannot in two attempts make the final game. Dibble, as always, has a real point. For Team USA, it has to be about winning, but getting the formula just right is proving to be very difficult.

Commissioner Bud Selig will put a positive spin on the entire Classic, and maybe rightfully so for the overall worldwide good of the game. Many MLB players and certainly MLB managers and general managers must curse the entire event.

A Salute But Not a Goodbye to Curt Schilling

Well, we no longer will have Curt Schilling to kick around anymore ... or will we? Would Curt ever go away completely? I sure hope not. What we now have is the beginning of the Schilling Hall of Fame debate. Today is the day that debate officially begins. My call is that he will indeed make the Hall, though probably not on the first ballot.

What makes Schilling a Hall of Famer? We have about 216 career wins (I think, but I'm not looking at his stats) which is impressive, but that's not the best story. Without a doubt, it's his 11-2 postseason record accompanied by a microscopic ERA. Simply put, he was the big-game pitcher of his generation and led two ballclubs to World Championships: the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Boston Red Sox. Heck, his last appearance was winning a game in the 2007 postseason. I see Schill entering the Hall as a Diamondback and delivering a long, elegant, and heartfelt speech.

Hats off and future celebrations for the great Curt Schilling.

Spring Thoughts

Oh, so much has happened since I last blogged, much of it encouraging, some of it frustrating, but all of it fascinating.

First and foremost, the A-Rod saga keeps getting more interesting, and I'm not talking about his ailing hip. Has there ever been a human being -- other than maybe John Wilkes Booth -- who has been so successful at creating a never-ending factory of negativity. Seems like just yesterday that I was snickering about his infamous mirror kiss. Literally, today, I am rolling on the floor laughing at his involvement in New York's famous prostitution ring. Apparently, it's all true, not just because the Daily News says so, but because text messages offer proof.

Second, and relating to the hometown team, many things have occurred that are worth mentioning. We have the Julio Lugo surgery, which opens the door for Jed Lowrie to open the season at shortstop. We have minor World Baseball Classic injuries to Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis. We have the continued healing of outfielder-first baseman Mark Kotsay. We have the occasional homerun being hit by Captain Jason Varitek this spring. We have the release of backup catcher Josh Bard and the anointing of new backup receiver George Kottaras, who just happens to be out of options (I read where some MLB executives feel that another shoe will drop, and the Sox may be on the verge of acquiring someone like Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Miguel Montero). We have, perhaps, the return to health (and shape) of very important starter Brad Penny. We have the continued spring success of starter Clay Buchholz. We have the steady health progress of third baseman Mike Lowell. We have a little competition for the temporary position of backup utility infielder (will Nick Green keep the seat warm for Lowrie?). And we wonder if veteran outfielder Brad Wilkerson will make the opening day roster or be shown the door in lieu of his astounding spring strikeout total.

We have seen the beginning of Lars Anderson and Junichi Tazawa, and see why Tazawa will surely be welcomed to the major leagues.

Other topics will be covered in upcoming postings, like some thoughts on the World Baseball Classic, the retirement of Curt Schilling, and my own spring training visit to Fort Myers. The MLB Network continues to provide outstanding coverage of spring games, and I can hardly wait for the nightly show when the season finally begins. It has been a long spring training, but apparently not long enough for the great Pedro Martinez, a man who is still unemployed.

Photo: Future Sox first baseman Lars Anderson in the on deck circle at the Red Sox Player Development Complex in Fort Myers.

Disharmony in the Bronx

I try to think of myself as a person that does not enjoy the pain visited upon other people, but I confess that I enjoy the developing drama that Joe Torre's pen has begun. Certain controversial quotes that were released yesterday made great talk show fodder all day long. The New York Post questioned the integrity and loyalty of Torre. Torre questioned the loyalty of GM Brian Cashman. Apparently the Yankee clubhouse has questioned the genuineness of star infielder Alex Rodriguez, otherwise known as the best player in baseball. And everyone is now questioning the parenting skills of Bernie Williams?

One can question why Torre felt the need to embark on a public finger-pointing expedition against his former club. As the Post said, isn't it time for Torre to move on, as the Yankees did when Torre did not accept the team's one-year invitation to return as manager for 2008?

The brilliant MLB Home Plate on XM Radio (I don't know which show or host) stated that chants of "A-Fraud" would be heard all summer long in MLB cities visited by the Yankees.

Other books may follow, but the intriguing aspect of this one is that we likely will see how the Yankee clubhouse changed from the championship years under Torre (1996-2000) to the less than successful years (2001-present). How much of the blame will be laid at the feet of the glamorous A-Rod, supposedly portrayed by Torre as a jealous Derek Jeter wannabe?

The 2009 Yankees will survive this latest embarrassing episode, and Torre will probably survive his New York City book tour and his one day Hall of Fame induction with a Yankee cap.

A new stadium deserves a new soap opera, and the Yankees deserve a new controversy to kick around. Now, if we can only be assured that Mark Teixeira will get off to his usual slow start and that C. C. Sabathia will crash and burn early in postseason.

A Word or Two About Jason Varitek

Believe me, I am hoping that the Red Sox and Scott Boras/Jason Varitek (they are one and the same, right) can work out a new contract that will bring Varitek back to Boston for another season. And that's about as nice as I can say it. Now for some detail on my real feelings.

The Varitek situation (although the catcher might be tempted to call it a "fiasco" before all is said and done) has reminded me of a few things that never really left my mind. First, superagent Boras hugely misread the market for his client. Second, the client and the Red Sox spent the better part of the winter engaged in a pointless staring contest that will ultimately be won by the Red Sox, who will save a few million dollars. Third, the catcher will likely head to Fort Myers looking like a financial loser in this whole situation. Fourth, the Red Sox will likely have to put together a contract with a second year attached (easily achieved through reachable incentives) that will allow their captain to save face next month. And fifth, the Red Sox --so far -- have not seriously entertained the notion of going outside the organization to deal for our catcher of the future, you know, the one that our esteemed captain is supposed to tutor in 2009.

There is plenty of blame to go around on this one. And there will be a winner (hopefully, the team) and a couple of losers (the agent and the catcher). If the Red Sox don't locate and acquire the receiver who will fill Varitek's big shoes for years to come, the team could also be considered a loser in the long run.

You might not be able to tell, but I do want Varitek to return ... for one year at reasonable dollars. The Sox must identify a successor ASAP and get the show on the road. Wouldn't it be nice to have the catcher be part of the Sox system from Day One of spring training?

Neither side needed the drama that has played out this winter. Varitek himself may pay a heavy price in the eyes of fans for these protracted negotiations and the feeling that he overvalued himself.

Experts say that there is nothing harder than managing an aging player with fading skills. I think Theo Epstein would agree that serving as General Manager is no picnic either.