Good Times, Bad Times

Monday brings many mixed emotions for this Red Sox fan, with great news and an unfortunate turn of events weighing heavy on my mind.

First, the bad. Coco Crisp, the Red Sox new centerfielder who’s been making a big splash with the team so far this season, managed to break his finger when he got caught trying to nab third base against the Orioles. He knew he was dead to rights, tried to slide and pull up at the same time, and ended up tumbling over a few feet away from third. That tumble snapped his left index finger, and will land him a 15-day stint on the DL.

Is this why Sox teams of past never valued speed much? Is it because it comes back to bite you in the ass in the end? Was management on to something with their less-than-fleet-of-foot squads of the 80s?

I hope not. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen anyone round the bases as fast as Crisp has this season for the Sox. Tito better not yank Coco’s perpetual green light on the basepath, ‘cause this guy is greased lightening. In the five games he’s played, Crisp has crossed home six times already. That means he’s getting on base at a damn fine clip, and that kind of production doesn’t come very often.

Coco’s trip to the DL will give Sox fans a better look at Wily Mo Pena, the part-time right fielder from Cincinnati who hasn’t hit much more than the bench in the few plate appearances he’s had so far. A notorious free-swinger with more K’s than Kris Kristofferson’s monogrammed luggage, Wily Mo has hardly seen a pitch he didn’t like, and frankly, hasn’t missed.

Perhaps Wily Mo has been pushing too hard, trying to make the best of limited playing time to impress Sox brass in the short-term. With Crisp out, Wily Mo is sure to get more platoon time in the outfield with Adam Stern. Hopefully Wily Mo’s increased roster presence will ease him at the plate, give him the time and confidence he needs to become a productive full-time player.

If not, there’s gonna be one helluva stiff breeze blowing around Fenway for the next two weeks.

But today wasn’t a total bust for the Sox. In fact, today may have set the stage for great Sox teams for years to come. In a signing that parallels the Varitek deal last year, the Sox tied up slugger David Ortiz to a four-year deal that will keep him in Boston’s laundry through 2010 (with an option for 2011). Its nice to see a big-name star actually get along with management for a change, isn’t it?

The man who’s being hailed as the best clutch hitter in baseball today made the decision to forgo the free agency that awaited him at the end of the 2006 season, not to mention some big dollar signs to match the stats he’s been putting up. Not necessarily taking a hometown discount, Ortiz inked the deal moreso to stay, and hopefully finish his career, here in Boston.

“I feel like this is my house. I want to protect my house;” said Ortiz at the press conference in an Under Armor-esque way. If that statement doesn't give every Sox fan out there the chills, you're simply not alive. Ortiz has thrown down the gauntlet and taken up his position at the gates of Fenway. He's here for the long haul, ready to stand tall for the city of Boston, a city he loves to play in.

And with a guard dog like Big Papi at the front door to Fenway, ain’t nobody coming in and pushing the Sox around.