Mixed Blessings

Coco goes down. Red Sox centerfielder Coco Crisp broke his finger and will miss up to ten days. His finger will be placed in a splint and when it's taken off it will be reevaluated. If it's just ten days then the Red Sox will be lucky. This morning reports had it at possibly a month. It's not known how it will effect his hitting.

In the big picture though the Red Sox did a good thing today signing David Ortiz to a four year contract with a club option for a fifth. Dollar figures haven't been announced. Since coming over to the Red Sox in 2003 Ortiz has become the face of the franchise. He's put up three MVP worthy seasons for the Red Sox and is great in the clubhouse and the public. Big Papi's heroics down the stretch last season and in the 2004 postseason are the stuff that makes legends. The fact that Ortiz doesn't play the field could help him stay healthy towards the back end of this contract so that's a good thing. One thing to scare Red Sox is that among Baseball Prospectus' most comparable players to Ortiz is Boston's former MVP Mo Vaughn, who I'm sure you remember the Red Sox refused to sign to a long term contract due to injury concerns. Those concerns proved to be correct after Vaughn got hurt in his first game with the Angels and was never the player he was in Boston. Don't get me wrong it was important for the Red Sox to sign Ortiz because sooner or later the Red Sox are going to find a taker for Manny Ramirez and his contract. Ramirez and Ortiz may be the best hitting duo since Ruth and Gehrig and while they could survive the loss of one of these players the loss of both would kill them. So keep the player who likes Boston and the team.

One thing that I don't like was Ortiz' recent attack against umpires. The Boston Globe reported on Sunday that Ortiz said:

"With the help of Red Sox video coordinator Billy Broadbent, Ortiz put together a video of all the pitches he took for strikes last season, and he said he was stunned by some of the pitches umpires called strikes, some of which the designated hitter claims were way out of the zone."

This is just a bad idea attacking the Umps. It's not even a specific ump and he's talking about last year. What is Ortiz expecting the umpires to do? To try harder when he's at the plate? That's not the way it works and Ortiz is only hurting himself.

Not to be outdone the Cubs just announced that they have signed slugger Derek Lee to a five year $65 million dollar contract. I imagine Ortiz' money will be roughly the same. This is a good deal for the Cubs because like Ortiz Lee has become the face of the franchise. Although he may not top his statistics from a year ago he is still their best player. Lee would have been a free agent after this season and would have gotten offers from the Yankees and Red Sox that would have exceeded what the Cubs gave him. Good deals for both Ortiz and Lee.

In case you've missed it the TV show the West Wing is coming to an end. After getting tired of the show two years ago I'm finally watching again. The sad cause of my renewed interest in the show was the tragic death of actor John Spencer, who played Leo McGarry, the former White House Chief of Staff and the current vice president canididate in the shows ongoing current presidential election. The show had been cancelled before Spencer's unfornuate death but that was officially the nail in the coffin. The show is airing new episodes which they are dealing with the death. Spencer had been on the show since it started and I've found that the loss of this actor and character is particularly sad. The preview for Leo McGarry's funeral next week particularly has me scared that for the first time since the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that I may cry at a TV show. Cry at Buffy you ask? It was just, when vampire-with-a-soul, Spike's body was engulfed in flame and he died it was like a little piece of me died with him. Luckily Spike was brought back to life on Angel. (Don't mock me Buffy ruled!!!) It's proving to be one of the most interesting finial runs of show in recent history. TV will be worse off without this show unlike the other big NBC show that's coming down to it's final episodes; the terrible, horrible and awful Will & Grace which has sucked big time since first airing. I don't have a problem with the homosexual slant of the show I have a problem with it mocks and represents homosexuals. And besides that it just has never been funny. They can't cancel that show quick enough. But that's just my opinion.