David Ortiz and steroids

Heard about David Ortiz flunking a 2003 test for steroids while driving around a little while ago. Very sad. What we don't know is whether Ortiz stopped using after he got caught. Still, with Manny Ramírez already outed, the '04 and '07 championships seem just a bit tainted now.

The reason I say "just a bit" is that it's really starting to look as though it would be easier to compile a list of players who didn't use performance-enhancing drugs during the recently concluded (I hope) Steroid Era.

Given the disproportionate amount of heat they've come under, maybe Roger Clemens' and Barry Bonds' biggest offenses were being too good — and, of course, being first-class jerks who may have lied under oath.

Is the end at hand for David Ortiz?

I know I should be all fired up about the Celtics and the Bruins tonight, so my apologies. (I will never be fired up about the Bruins.) Instead, I'm wondering if today will prove to be a turning point for David Ortiz, who went 0 for 7, left 12 runners on base (including the bases loaded — twice), and struck out three times. If he'd had even a mediocre day, the Red Sox would have won.

Radio announcers Joe Castiglione and Dave O'Brien are virtual extensions of the team. So I thought it was interesting that O'Brien, especially, was pointing out that Angels pitchers weren't even bothering to nibble at the corners when Ortiz was up, and was suggesting that there may be changes coming soon.

Ortiz was a great player and is a class act. It's sad that it's come to this, but he's hardly the first player whose skills have eroded rapidly. As it is, it's hard to picture him adjusting and settling in as, say, a .260-25-80 guy. It looks like the show's over for Big Papi.

Dom DiMaggio

The great Red Sox centerfielder has died at the age of 92. DiMaggio was well before my time, but a few years ago I learned quite a bit about his remarkable life and career in David Halberstam's book "The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship." Highly recommended.

When did Manny start juicing?

Since we already know that Manny Ramírez was using steroids, let's engage in a little open and gross speculation. For all we know, Ramírez had been juicing for years. But there is circumstantial evidence to suggest that he began sometime around the end of the 2007 season.

You may recall that he put up some rather un-Manny-like numbers that year. He hit just 20 homers and drove in a mere 88 runs in 133 games. In 2006, by contrast, he hit 35 homers with 102 RBIs, despite playing in three fewer games. Moreover, in '07 Ramírez occasionally looked as though his bat was slowing down. Yes, he came alive in the post-season, and he was a key to the Red Sox' winning the World Series. But he was no longer the Manny of 1998-2005, when he averaged nearly 41 homers and 130 RBIs.

Then came the '08 season. We were told that he was happier than he'd been in years. The power was back. But his once-harmless antics took a nasty turn. He assaulted Kevin Youkilis. (Yes, Youk can be pretty annoying, but his other 23 teammates somehow manage to restrain themselves.) He assaulted a 64-year-old clubhouse guy. And he sulked his way out of Boston. As Gerry Callahan writes in the Boston Herald, perhaps we were looking at "'roid rage."

I am not sure why the Boston Globe's Bob Ryan wants to give Ramírez any benefit of the doubt.

In one sense, I disagree with both Callahan and Ryan. Ramírez is not stupid. Rather, he is supremely self-centered. The rules have never applied to him, and he knows it. When you consider what he's gotten away with over the years, why would he think it would be any different this time?

Photo (cc) by Jeff Wheeler and republished here under a Creative Commons license. Some rights reserved.

Manny being Manny

How can you not love this?

Best wishes to Jerry Remy

Media Nation extends its best wishes to NESN's Jerry Remy, who has taken a leave of absence in order to recover from complications arising from surgery for lung cancer.

If A-Rod tipped pitches, he should be banned

Nick Cafardo's blasé take on the latest Alex Rodriguez controversy has me scratching my head.

In her forthcoming book on A-Rod, Selena Roberts alleges that, when he was with the Texas Rangers, he would sometimes deliberately tip pitches to opposing hitters. It's nice to know that David Ortiz would "beat the crap out of him" if he were the pitcher and the allegations were true. But why are we not talking about an immediate investigation, followed by a possible lifetime ban?

Cafardo writes in today's Boston Globe:

This is New York, a city and a team built to handle controversy. So A-Rod took steroids in high school, the book alleges ... so A-Rod went to strip clubs ... so A-Rod allegedly tipped pitches to opposing hitters ... so A-Rod had the Texas clubhouse guy put toothpaste on his toothbrush every day.

Beyond the entertainment value, who cares?

Who cares? Other than the apparent absence of a gambling angle, what A-Rod is alleged to have done is akin to throwing games.

Roberts is no hack — it was she who flushed out the first round of A-Rod allegations, which turned out to be true. Yet no one seems to be all that upset about the possibility that Rose — er, Rodriguez — was stabbing his Texas teammates and fans in the back.

David Ortiz and baseball mortality

Tony Massarotti asks the question that's on everyone's mind: Is the end at hand for David Ortiz? I think it's still too early to tell. It may be that he can't catch up with a good fastball because his mechanics are screwed up; it's not necessarily age and injuries.

But if he's not hitting by Memorial Day, then it may be time to face the likelihood that he's through. What a shame that would be. Still, I think the Sox could survive Ortiz's departure. What they can't survive is a prolonged slump by Josh Beckett, Jon Lester or both.

The latest on the Globe

Not sure why I can't find this on Boston.com, so I'll give you the link to Joe Strupp's report in Editor & Publisher that management and union officials may be making progress at the Boston Globe.

Also New England Cable News has an interesting report (above) in which former Globe reporter Peter Howe interviews former Globe reporter Kimberly Blanton. Nothing startlingly new, but good insights from two people who clearly know their way around 135 Morrissey Boulevard.

Finally, you must have seen this elsewhere already, but John Henry denies he has any interest in buying the Globe.

It's all over but the waiting

Not much to say about the ongoing drama at the Boston Globe, and I don't imagine there will be until some actual news is announced. It's now pretty clear that this is going to go down to midnight on Thursday, something I hadn't expected when the New York Times Co. first issued its demand for $20 million in concessions from the Globe unions.

Reuters gives a boost to the John Henry angle, first reported by the Boston Herald. I'm intrigued. I don't really see any synergistic possibilities between the Red Sox and the Globe (it hasn't exactly worked out to this point, has it?), but Henry's obviously a very smart guy. If he thinks he can make a go of it, then that's pretty encouraging.

Coincidentally (or not), the Globe's Names column today has some fun with a frothy feature in the new Boston Magazine on Henry's romance with a much younger woman.

Meanwhile, the Herald reports on tensions between the newsroom and the union leadership. The best quote is from Globe reporter Scott Allen, who tells the Herald, "The union says we need to control leaks. It strikes some of us as Nixonian."

Not the worst idea we've heard

The Boston Herald's Jessica Heslam reports that Red Sox principal owner John Henry has broached the idea of taking the Boston Globe off the New York Times Co.'s hands. The Times Co. is attempting to unload its 17.75 percent stake in the Red Sox.

Henry has a proven track record of building value. Any new owner for the Globe is likely to begin with deep cost-cutting. I'd rather see Henry wielding the scalpel than some other prospective owners doing it with a chainsaw.

On second thought: Given the state of the Globe's finances, maybe I should say I'd rather see Henry do it with a chainsaw than someone else use tactical nuclear weapons.

Can Globe readers get a refund?

A few quick observations on a Saturday morning.

• Someone at the Boston Globe had a good idea for selling a few more copies of the Saturday edition: plug a Joan Vennochi column on page one. But that's a trick you can only pull once unless you actually run a Vennochi column inside. (Apologies for the unreadable page-one teaser, but trust me. It says "Point of View: Joan Vennochi.")

• New York Times columnist Gail Collins makes some semi-amusing fun of folks who can't handle the switchover to digital TV. It would have been more amusing, though, if she could figure it out herself. "How could the Republicans not be worried about this?" she writes. "A disproportionate number of the endangered TV viewers are senior citizens. Bill O'Reilly's entire audience is in danger!" Uh, Gail? O'Reilly's entire audience has cable and won't be affected by this — a fact you seemed to grasp earlier in the column, but I guess not.

• Bob Ryan's got a great lede this morning: "Jason Varitek wanted to test the waters. He's lucky he didn't drown." Personally, I'm glad Varitek is coming back, though I'm more than a little puzzled by the games-started incentive his contract calls for in 2010. If Tek starts more than 80 games in 2010, then the Red Sox will have a serious problem. Secondarily, it puts Terry Francona in the position of costing Varitek money. Not good.

The day Jim Rice made my Hall of Fame

It was the incident that should have defined Jim Rice's career. On Aug. 7, 1982, a 4-year-old boy from New Hampshire named Jonathan Keane was seriously injured when he was hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Dave Stapleton. The boy's skull was fractured, and he was bleeding heavily.

Everyone at Fenway Park paused — except Jim Rice. Rice jumped into the stands, took the boy in his arms and carried him to the clubhouse, where he was examined by the team doctor, Arthur Pappas, before being transported to Children's Hospital.

Rice played the rest of the game with a blood-stained uniform, according to Boston Globe reporter Dan Shaughnessy's account of the incident. "If it was your kid, what would you do?" he quoted Rice as saying afterwards. "The baby was crying and there was a lot of blood. I think he was more in shock than anything."

The following day, the great Peter Gammons wrote in the Globe: "If only every cynic in America could have 1) observed Jim Rice's reaction to crisis and 2) seen how concerned players from both teams were."

Rice's selection to the Hall of Fame was long overdue, though I understand his was a marginal case. He had a great career that didn't last quite long enough to make his induction an easy call.

But I was a big Rice fan for many years, and that day in Fenway was a major reason why. For a long time we had an illustration of Rice by noted sports artist Dave Olsen in our living room (Dave and I worked together at the Daily Times Chronicle in Woburn during the 1980s). Incongruously enough, Dave chose to portray Rice patrolling left field rather than terrorizing a pitcher.

I wasn't sure I'd be able to find anything on the Jonathan Keane incident this morning. But the Boston Herald's Web site includes a photo of Rice holding young Jonathan to accompany a Steve Buckley column. It was one of those random things, I guess, as neither the Herald nor the Globe makes any other mention of it.

But given that I didn't know the boy's name or what year the incident occurred, the Herald photo, by Ted Gartland, was enough to get me searching. Those old Globe stores are not on the open Web, but I found a wonderful follow-up by Jeff Goldberg of the Hartford Courant published 15 years later. By then, Keane was a healthy 19-year-old. Goldberg wrote:

Tom Keane [Jonathan's father] said it could have been much worse, and that Rice's quick thinking may have saved his son's life.

"Time is very much a factor once you have that kind of a head injury and the subsequent swelling of the brain," Pappas said. "That's why it's so important to get him to care so it can be dealt with. [Rice] certainly helped him very considerably."

Today, Rice is the Red Sox's hitting instructor. He was happy to learn that Keane is doing well, and is attending college not far from Rice's home state, South Carolina. "It's a good feeling," Rice said. "At least he knows that we have southern hospitality."

Congratulations to Jim Rice, a great player and a class act.

Photo (cc) by Paul Keleher and republished here under a Creative Commons license. Some rights reserved.

What happens to the Globe and NESN?

No doubt many folks at the Boston Globe are breathing a sigh of relief at the news that its corporate parent, the New York Times Co., plans to unload its 17.5 percent stake in the Red Sox. The conflicts of interest have been many — not over game stories, but over various Red Sox business ventures the Globe has had to cover over the years.

But hold on. I thought the main reason the Times Co. made this investment was because of the Sox' 80 percent ownership of New England Sports Network. Globe sportswriters have been all over NESN, and some — especially Bob Ryan — have been quite good.

I imagine NESN would still want Globe people on the air. But doesn't this mean the end of Globe exclusivity? I suppose NESN and the Globe could sign some sort of agreement, but that's not the same as ownership.

Among other things, it strikes me that Sean McAdam, formerly of the Providence Journal and now of the Boston Herald, is an accomplished on-air performer, and would fit right in at NESN.

More: Adam Reilly wonders the same thing that I did when I first read the story: Is the Globe really worth just $20 million? I think it's a typo. This suggests the Globe is worth $120 million. Of course, that's shocking enough, given that the Times Co. bought the Globe for $1.1 billion back in 1993.

So the Yankees get Teixeira, too

I'm not going to panic, but it would be nice if the Yankees didn't sign every free agent on the market — especially Mark Teixeira, the one guy the Red Sox really wanted.

What this comes down to is Teixeira versus Mike Lowell. Teixeira will be more productive than Lowell even if Lowell is completely healthy. More important, Teixeira is just entering what should be his prime years, whereas Lowell's best seasons are probably behind him.

One good thing to come out of this is that Kevin Youkilis stays at first base. Youk is a terrific first baseman, and he plays with such maniacal intensity that, if he moved to third permanently, he might burn himself out.

Another good thing? Everybody hates the Yankees again.

Not worried about the Yankees

I don't want to sound like a total Red Sox groupie here. But the Yankees, having signed CC Sabathia, now seem to be on the verge of landing A.J. Burnett as well. And wouldn't you say both are pretty good bets to be injury-riddled busts?

Burnett's injury history is well-known. Sabathia pitched 252 innings last year, and 240 the year before. He pitched well down the stretch before fading in his only post-season game, but that there's a lot of innings.

Sabathia and Burnett could lead the Yankees back to the World Series. Right now, though, I'm not too worried about these signings.

When I'm (one of) 64

Michael Prager singles out Media Nation as one of 64 notable Boston Web sites in this Sunday's Boston Globe Magazine. There are a lot of terrific local bloggers in his roundup, and a few I don't know about, so I've got some checking out to do.

Prager somehow finds the space to poke fun at my prediction that the Red Sox would fall short in the postseason this year, in large measure because of Josh Beckett's injury. Even though they, uh, fell short, in large measure because of Beckett's injury.

An improbably good post-season

Congratulations to the Red Sox, whose incredible comeback in Game 5 capped an improbable post-season. Somehow they glided into the playoffs without ever really getting hot. Then they knocked off the Angels, and nearly knocked off the Rays, despite injuries and glaring weaknesses.

Not that the Rays haven't had injuries. But they are a young and resilient bunch, aren't they?

The Sox have a lot of holes right now — holes that weren't at all apparent when the season began. Of course, the biggest hole is the loss of Manny Ramírez's bat. Jason Bay was a great pickup given the impossible situation Ramírez put the Sox in. But he's no Manny.

Will Lowell ever be the same player? No. Ortiz? He'll be better than he was this year, but he's not going to hit 50 homers again. Probably not 40, either. Will Drew ever play a full season? No. How'd you like to play with a herniated disc? Is Youkilis now the third baseman? I hope not. He plays with such maniacal intensity that I'd rather seem him stay at first, where he's less likely to burn himself out. Will Lowrie and Ellsbury hit consistently enough to stay in the line-up? Who knows?

Two things I'd like to see next year: (1) Beckett's showing up in shape. This year he hurt his back, and then it was one thing after another for the rest of the season. (2) Schilling's rejoining the team after the All-Star break. He might just be better than he was in late 2007. And he was pretty good then.

Go Rays!

Photo of Fenway Park copyright © 2008 by Michaela Stanelun. All rights reserved.

Not dead yet

I hang my head in shame today, as I confess that I went to bed shortly after 10 last night, with the score 5-0.

I do have an excuse — I was at my desk at 6:30 a.m. yesterday so I could start working on this. I was pretty fried. Still, I missed the greatest comeback since 1929.

And yes, I would start Beckett tomorrow, as long as he says he's healthy.

Update: I just joined the Facebook group Fair Weather Red Sox Fans. Which I'm really not. I swear.

The Sox are playing? Uh, not really.

How did I not know the Red Sox were playing tonight? I thought it was tomorrow. Anyway, I haven't watched one moment of this game, and it's just as well, seeing they're down 11-1 after six.

I will not count these guys out until they lose four games. But the fact is that this is the thinnest team the Sox have field in quite some time, mainly because of injuries. If you've only got three guys hitting, Beckett isn't Beckett and Lester isn't Lester, well, the results aren't going to be good.

Besides, the Rays are a better team than the Sox, or better, at least, than the Sox without Mike Lowell, a healthy David Ortiz, a healthy J.D. Drew ... you get the picture. And unlike the Angels, the Rays are tough as nails.