What the Hell is Going on in Boston?

Obviously this is a New York Yankees site. I try to make this place as Yankee-centric as I possibly can, but recent news and events coming out of Boston has got me with Red Sox on the brain. I'm not going to be overly detailed, but I feel I am familiar enough with that club, it's fans, and their expectation to approach their 2008-2009 off season activities.

September

• First things first, make sure all key decision makers are on board. Theo gets his extension. Look out Baseball!!

October

• Nothing, but you can't really do much until 10 days after the World Series ends, so not a big deal.

November

• In a surprising move, the Boston Red Sox sign a young pitcher from one of the 4,000 teams in the Japanese Industrial league -- whatever the hell that is. In doing so, the Red Sox break a gentleman's agreement with the Japanese Nippon Baseball League by not acquiring him the proper and traditional channels. Essentially, the Sox found a clever loop hole to claim a marginal player who will spend the majority of the 2009 season and possibly his career in Class A ball. 3 years 6 mill. Nice. I guess Japan needs more hats.

December

• Winter Meeting in Vegas come and go with little movements from the Red Sox organization. Grumblings about Teixeira, Varitek, Lowe, and a rumored meet and greet with Andy Pettite prove fruitless. Tex emerges as the big off season target.
  
• This is embarrassing. New uniforms? Alternate road and home jerseys? What are you guys, the Mets or something? Anything to make a buck I guess.
• Knowing that catcher is a priority, the Sox fail to offer any contract to back-up Kevin Cash. I guess the fashion show was too important. This is a key move as he's the only guy with experience catching Tim Wakefield.
• Sox do get some pitching help though by signing 3 to minor league deals --- Yeah, I guess you're right, Enrique Gonzalez (7-5 - 4.44 ERA in triple A, or 4-7 - 5.96 ERA with Padres and Diamondbacks '07-'08), Marcus McBeth (2-1 - 4.38 ERA combined in AAA, or 3-2 - 5.95 ERA with Reds in '07), and Billy Traber (We know who you are Mr. 0-0 - 7.02 ERA) aren't much help, are they?
• Yankees sign #1 target Teixeira. Multi-year deal for Youkilis falls through. Yankees sign Kevin Cash. Derek Lowe closing in on a deal with the Mets. Catching problem now multiplied. Big offensive acquistion goes to rival club. No big deal. Really. I mean it. I'm serious. Why doesn't anyone believe me?!?!
• Sox sign pitcher Brad Penny and catcher Josh Bard. See, nothing to worry about. Pay no attention to the fact that Penny has been a NL pitcher his whole career and is coming off a pretty poor 2008 campaign making just 17 starts, missing all of September, and posting a 6.27 ERA. Josh Bard should sound familiar to some. He's the back-up backstop the Red Sox shipped off to San Diego with Cla Meredith in 2005 for Doug Mirrabelli, right before a big May day game with the Yankees. We all know how key those May games are. It seems Bard had trouble handling, finding, seeing, and catching Wakefield's knuckler... which is the same pitch he'll have to adjust to this year. Oh yeah, that's a good signing.
• And just as recently as today, the Red Sox again tried to turn the clock back to 2005 by failing to make a deal with the Florida Marlins for Hanley Ramirez. Don't get me wrong, if they got Hanley, this post would have an entirely different tone, but it's straight desperation time in Beantown right now. They still need a starting catcher and either have little faith in the SS tandem of Julio Lugo and Jed Lowrie or have no faith in CF Jacoby Ellsbury as he was a rumored trade chip and CF was the rumored destination for Hanley. The same lack of offense that stymied them in the playoffs may very well haunt them for the duration of the 2009 season.

I do apologize to any Sox fans who find this post brash, but I am truly puzzled by these decisions or complete lack thereof. Ten million dollars more (4 mill in some reports) would have gotten Mark Teixeira. Penny could work out as a starter, but most NL pitchers fail at making the transition to the AL. Kevin Cash may not hit, but he's a better option over Josh Bard. Pitchers and catchers report in like 2 months. They desperately need another catcher. Hanley Ramirez? Trying to get him back is a good idea, but failing at it in this off season of errors and blunders is just sad at this point.

I don't know Boston. It seems the Yankees have closed the 2 game gap between 2nd and 3rd place and then some. When are you going to try and make that distance up again? Or are you? Do you even think you need to?