The Red Sox' knockout punch?

The Boston Herald is speculating that fans might quickly get over their hatred of Alex Rodriguez if Boston were to pursue the most aggressive strategy possible this offseason and move to re-sign World Series MVP third baseman Mike Lowell AND sign A-Rod.

Rodriguez has made it known that he's willing to switch back to his natural position of shortstop.
Julio Lugo, acquired last offseason by the Red Sox to bolster their offense from that position, has been a disappointment at the plate.

Boston would shop Lugo around in a heartbeat, perhaps to further bolster its pitching staff or pick up a catcher to eventually succeed the aging Jason Varitek.

Imagine, Yankees fans and Yankee haters, Josh Beckett on the mound and a Red Sox lineup of Ellsbury, Pedroia, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, A-Rod and Mike Lowell. And it wouldn't be too shabby to have Kevin Youkilis and Varitek as your #8 and #9 hitters.

With Ellsbury's emergence as an offensive power who has unbelievable speed in center field and on the base paths, the Sox also have the luxury of trading Coco Crisp this offseason for further pitching help or prospects.

The balance of power may have shifted for a long, long time in the AL East.

Why A-Rod won't land in Boston

Alex Rodriguez' announcement yesterday was a big slap in the face to the Yankees, but that by no stretch of the imagination means, as some in the media have portrayed, that he will be running into the waiting arms of Theo Epstein.
The timing of A-Rod's public announcement that he won't be rejoining the Yankees was as big a slap at the Red Sox as it was the Yankees.
How dare the most selfish player in Major League Baseball try to steal headlines from the Red Sox as they were only 10 outs away from winning the 2007 World Series?
Even Peter Gammons, about as courteous and conservative of a broadcaster you can get, and an elder statesman of baseball knowledge, took time out of his reporting on the field in Colorado last night to blast Rodriguez, paint him as selfish and suggest, in exactly these words, that "maybe that's why he's never won a World Series."
That, combined with the incredible stats and World Series MVP trophy 3rd baseman free agent Mike Lowell pulled down this year, mean there's slim to no chance that A-Rod will become a member of the Red Sox.
The Nation don't want him.

Red Sox rooting for the Yankees

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The Red Sox are rooting for the Yankees, if only for one game.
Boston has four days off before the start of the AL championship series, having swept the Angels in the first round of the playoffs. Though none of the Red Sox would express a preference in the lone remaining division matchup, they wouldn't mind if New York and Cleveland wear each other out before it's over.
"I guess my preference would be that they play for about another eight days and go 20 innings every game," Boston manager Terry Francona said after beating the Angels 9-1 on Sunday to earn the extra time off. "We'll get guys throwing. We'll get guys hitting, and we'll stay ready."
The Yankees and Indians were scheduled to play Game 4 on Monday night, with Cleveland holding a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. If New York wins they will play a deciding fifth game on Wednesday.
"My preference is they play five games, try to use their guys up, so we can be more rested than them," third baseman Mike Lowell said. "But either team is going to be a challenge for us and it's going to be a tough series, and hopefully we can be ready for it."
Josh Beckett, who pitched a four-hit shutout over the Angels in Game 1, his second consecutive playoff shutout, will have eight days of rest before the opener of the AL championship series. Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched the second game in the first round, but Curt Schilling could get the Game 2 start in Round 2 and he would have five days of rest.
"It's certainly better than playing a 17-inning Game 5 and heading straight to Cleveland," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said.

Yankees narrowly miss upgrading offense at first base

CLEVELAND (AP) - The Yankees' 13th straight trip to the postseason started with a stumble.
First baseman Doug Mientkiewicz got tangled up with a cameraman and injured his left ankle in an accident, but was in the starting lineup Thursday night for the Yankees' playoff opener against theIndians.
Mientkiewicz was walking up a ramp at Jacobs Field when a YES cameraman was recording while backpedaling.
"My left foot was up, and he fell kind of right on the back of my heel. My ankle rolled," Mientkiewicz said. "It's going to deter (me) from stealing like 15 bases.
"I rolled it pretty good, but it's all right."
Yankees manager Joe Torre had Mientkiewicz work out on the ankle a few hours before game time.
"We tested him every which way, up and down," Torre said. "He ran in the outfield and he looked fine during batting practice. It's not going to hurt his speed, we know that."
Mientkiewicz had to have a screw inserted into the ankle after he broke it years ago. Initially, he was worried after the accident.
"I thought I was dead (as far as playing)," he said. "I've had a lot of damage to that left foot."
The cameraman, a freelance hired from the Cleveland area, was fired by YES. The network did not reveal his name.
YES spokesman Eric Handler said the cameraman had completed his shoot and had been told to shut down.
"Unbeknownst to us he continue to shoot," Handler said. "Because he did not follow instructions, and because it was his not following instructions that caused the accident, he was relieved of his duties."
In the lineup primarily for his defense, Mientkiewicz has the second-highest fielding percentage (.996) among first basemen with 500 or more career games and won a Gold Glove in 2001.
He said he felt bad for the cameraman.
"I don't want him to get fired. Accidents happen, especially for me. Everything happens to me," Mientkiewicz said.
Mientkiewicz injured his wrist June 2 in a collision with Boston's Mike Lowell. He had surgery and returned to the Yankees Sept. 1 and hit .429 (18-for-42) with a home run and eight RBIs in 22 games during the season's final month.

A-Rod in Boston? Not if Red Sox fans can help it

It's increasingly apparent that Alex Rodriguez won't be a Yankee next year.

He's having an incredible season, and even though the fans now love him, he surely remembers being booed on his way to the MVP Award. He's getting ready to say, as he heads out the door, "Screw you, New York, how you like me now?"

Many have speculated that A-Rod is bound for Boston.

Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell is a free agent after this season, and the Sox have made no overt public moves toward re-signing him. Hell, A-Rod could probably move back to his old shortstop position if he went to the Sox or pretty much any other team without a Derek Jeter.

The problem with Alex Rodriguez in a Boston uniform is that Red Sox fans HATE HIM.

Affectionately referred to as "Gay-Rod" and much worse, he's the antithesis of what makes the Red Sox special and what won them a World Series in 2004.

Sox fans have come to love hard-working, humble, working-class players like Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield and the likes of Kevin Millar and Trot Nixon from seasons past.

To them, A-Rod in a Red Sox uniform would be like Justin Timberlake taking over as lead singer of Aerosmith.

And WHY NOT just re-sign Lowell? He's easily the MVP of the Red Sox this year, and has put up numbers that rival A-Rod. Plus, he's not a friggin' wussy attention whore.