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And where were Fisk and Yaz, anyway?

E-mail|Link|Comments () July 15, 2008 10:12 PM

Ten free minutes for me, 10 free throwaway lines for you . . .

(MLB.com Photo)

1. I'm not saying the Yankees' pregame ceremony was a transparent attempt to duplicate the Red Sox's transcendent and still-unmatched festivities from the '99 All-Star Game, but the only thing missing from making it a complete ripoff was a hitter.net hat atop George Steinbrenner's head.

2. James Posey wants four years? As far as I'm concerned, James Posey gets four years. I won't fault him if he ends up taking more money to join the Hornets, though. Byron Scott's smart, tough team would be an ideal fit for him.

3. Well, I think it's obvious now why few questioned Tampa Bay's decision to take Josh Hamilton over Spring, Texas phenom Josh Beckett in the 1999 MLB Draft. You know a kid has uncommon gifts when he takes off nearly four years to smoke crack, gets his life together, and somehow returns with his immense talent intact. His is a story even ESPN can't overdramatize, though bloviating Chris Berman sure tried his best.

4. With each new Melrose Place-style antic in the A-Rod divorce saga - seriously, he was spying on his wife? - I catch myself wondering how history would be different if he had ended up coming to the Red Sox in the winter of '03. For starters, there's a pretty good chance we'd be whining about a 93-year curse right about now, and it's also worth remembering that the admirable Jon Lester was the Single A pitcher the Sox were sending to Texas along with Manny in exchange for A-Rod. Sometimes the best deals . . .

5. Old friend Steve Solloway paid appropriate tribute to the Official Defunct Minor League Team of TATB with this well-written and melancholy piece on the Maine Guides. Hard to believe they've been gone 20 years. I'd also love to read Steve Buckley's take on the Guides at some point. Back in the day, he was the must-read beat writer for the Press Herald, and some of his best work still occupies a place in my keeper file.

6. I was intrigued by one reader's suggestion that the Sox should pursue San Diego's Khalil Greene - a smooth fielder who drove in 97 runs last season - if Jed Lowrie doesn't cut it as Julio Lugo's replacement. But there are two negatives to Greene, beyond that he's signed though next season: he's having truly brutal season at the plate (63 OPS+), and his most similar player through age 27 is this guy. Upon further review, I'll pass.

7. This week's must-read from the life-altering SI Vault: Leigh Montville's pitch-perfect farewell to Teddy Ballgame. I loved this description of Williams while he was an instructor at Red Sox spring training in the late-'70s.

He would argue with anyone about politics, sports, detergents, anything. He would question. He would tell stories. He would interact, hour after hour. There was a liveliness about him that was different from the ordinary. He was larger than larger-than-life, if that makes any sense. He was Ted Williams, and he knew who he was. He played his own role. Himself.

8. C'mon, I know you had the same thought I did when you heard Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman are splitting up: Who gets custody of Simmons?

9. I like the Celtics' signing of 7-footer Patrick O'Bryant for no reason other than that he must have done something right to be the ninth pick in the draft just two years ago.

10. As for today's Completely Random Baseball Card:

I know, you expect me to make a joke about 80-something-year-old Yogi Berra having better bat-speed than 'Tek during batting practice last night, but nope . . . I just wanted to point out that this is a damn cool card. No snark required for this one.

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ABOUT TOUCHING ALL THE BASES
Irreverence and insight from Chad Finn, a Globe/Boston.com sports writer and lifelong and incurable sports nut. Yes, he realizes how lucky he is. You can e-mail him at chadfinn4@yahoo.com .

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contributor Chad is the founder and sole writer of the TATB blog, which launched in December 2004. Before joining the Globe in 2003, he was the assistant sports editor at the Concord (N.H.) Monitor for nine years, where he won several state, regional and national writing awards, including an Associated Press Sports Editors award for column writing in 2000. He lives in Wells, Maine, with his wife Jennifer, children Leah and Alex, and a cat named after Otis Nixon.

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