Ball will make rounds

Is the ball game finally over?

Well, yes. Doug Mientkiewicz, who closed his glove around the ball tossed to him by Keith Foulke for the final out of last October's World Series and didn't let go, has finally parted with it.

In an announcement made with the Red Sox, Mientkiewicz, traded three days ago to the New York Mets, said the ball will now accompany the World Series trophy as it makes its way through the cities, towns, and other assorted burgs of New England during its yearlong tour.

The ball will be displayed as part of a special plaque.

Is the ball game finally over?

Well, no. What is clear from the announcement is that the ownership of the ball remains unresolved -- "deferred," in the word of Sox CEO Larry Lucchino -- while giving fans the chance to see the ball. The Sox want the ball back, Mientkiewicz isn't ready to surrender possession of it, and for now, this is the compromise that has been struck.

Lucchino made nice with Mientkiewicz in the statement. "We truly appreciate the cooperative spirit with which Doug and his wife, Jodi, have approached this matter and their willingness to make the ball available to Red Sox fans," Lucchino said. "Doug was a key part of our stretch run and postseason victories and he won over our fans in a very short period of time. We thank him for his many contributions and are pleased that our fans will be able to get close to the ball. We wish him the best of luck in the other league in 2005."

In a conference call with reporters on the night he was traded, Mientkiewicz said he never anticipated the furor created over the ball. He mentioned how, after Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees, he gave pitcher Derek Lowe the ball used to record the final out.

"It was never an argument," Mientkiewicz said of the World Series ball. "There was never a fight. There were never words exchanged. We worked something out. Pretty much the whole gist of the whole thing was I wanted fans to see it, and that's what the Red Sox and I agreed on . . . I didn't expect all of this with the ball. Sometimes in life you think you're doing the right thing and it doesn't turn out that way. That's kind of what happened here."