rules of the week

we may well be immersed in the lamest week of the most boring month on the sporting calendar, but finding something about which to write under such circumstances is easy pickin'... log onto to any site (espn, fox, SI) or go to any major metro paper and you'll find dozens upon dozens of pieces that guys in my chosen profession keep in their top desk drawers all year, every year, only to pull them out this week, do a bit of polishing, and voila! - instant column... i'm talking about the old standby, the mid-season awards/report card column, in which the writer gives every player on the team he/she covers a letter grade, or, on the national scale, guys like jayson stark and ken rosenthal and jon heyman hand out awards for performances given so far... it's so easy, so effortless, so time-efficient... it would be that simple for me to sit here and write that so far this year, j.d. drew gets a C-, youk and okajeemer get straight A's and lugo gets an F... easy, easy, easy... so bearing that in mind, i'm going to buck the trend and write a traditional rules column, consequences be damned... so without further ado, here are the rules of the week...

Rule No. 1 - if you're whining/bitching/complaining/calling the radio to whine, bitch or complain about the red sox, please stop, like now... today i actually heard someone call WEEI and rip terry francona for not using the same lineup every day... his logic, though he wouldn't confirm this when pressed by the hosts, was that even though lugo sucks and needed to be moved from the leadoff spot, coco needed to be hitting near the bottom for the first two months and being moved to the top appeared to at least slightly invigorate the seemingly pulseless drew, it didn't matter and they'd all have come around and been fine and be ahead by 30 games instead of 10 if they'd been left alone and subsequently not had to worry about where they'd be hitting on any given day... when dale arnold correctly informed this astrophysicist that thus far, francona is the manager of the year in the AL (hands down, i might add), the guy laughed out loud and wondered how anyone could make such a claim regarding a guy who is "laughed at by other baseball people," for not providing consistency in the lineup (i'll ignore almost all of the ludicrousness of such a statement except for the part about these so-called laughing baseball people - does this guy know a lot of current or former ballplayers? do they hang out drinking bud light drafts with him at fitzy's tap in lynn on a monday afternoon at 1?)... look, the point is not to trash this moron, who can't seem to grasp the fact that the baseball season lasts six months and every decision/action/reaction is exponentially less important than would be during, say, a 16-week football season, but to state as clearly as possible that things are ok with the sox, they really are... in fact, things are better than ok, things are pretty damn good... for a team with their apparent problems (little punch from the middle of the lineup, a horrible leadoff hitter, lousy free agent signings on offense, no discernible trustworthy guys in the bullpen after papelbon and okajima - though manny delcarmen seems to be coming along nicely), they sure have played pretty well... a piece - or two - may well need to be added in the coming weeks, and even though they can likely play .500 the rest of the year and still make the playoffs, it would be nice, not to mention confidence inspiring, to see them perform a little better and with some more consistency... that being said, who's going to challenge them? the yankees and their woeful pitching/comatose manager (it was excellent to see joe torre use scott proctor, currently on pace for about 752 appearances, for an inning yesterday in the midst of a 12-0 win...)? the blue jays and their ongoing inferiority complex? the orioles and their complete and total lack of the slightest idea how to build and maintain a team? the devil rays and their recent 11-game losing streak? no, no, no and no... so sit back and relax, sox nation... don't get complacent, don't lose your fire and don't stop caring... but please, please stop complaining - it's embarrassing...

Rule No. 2 - because this wouldn't be the world famous RTLB site if i didn't get just a bit cynical, i will say that even though he's better now than he was a couple months ago, i have absolutely no confidence that drew will do something when at the plate in a key situation... when he fouled out with the tying run 90 feet away yesterday, my initial reaction was that i would have been shocked if he had gotten a hit... even sox broadcaster joe castiglione, whose despair when sox hitters don't come through in the clutch is palpable ("swing and a pop-up), sounded less saddened than he did outraged when drew's weak swing ended the game, and that's saying something for the even-keeled joe... so what do the sox do? well, they continue to wait him out... nothing, with the exception of figuring out why david ortiz is suddenly no longer a power hitter, is truly urgent at this stage (see above)... but just the same, the sox better hope he soon starts doing a little better than .225 with runners in scoring position... they can't use him in the leadoff spot too much, a) because coco and/or lugo if/when he gets right has to hit there and b) they are paying him his, ahem, exorbitant salary to hit fifth and protect manny and papi... i'm not going to give up on drew at this point and not just because we're stuck with him for five more years (unless his arm magically separates from his shoulder socket)... i think that sooner or later this year and during other, more regular intervals over the course of his contract, he will produce big-time and help the team win... i can, however, see what got people going about his demeanor in the other cities in which he's played... the guy's so smooth, both at the plate (even when he's grounding out to second) and in the field (the play he made to hold tampa's carl crawford to a single at the game i went to on the fourth was an outstanding defensive play), that it's understandable to assume he isn't busting it the way he should be... everything looks so easy for him that he appears the same when he's crushing a double into the right-center field gap as when he's fouling out to third to end a game... still, i wonder whether or not his immense talent has hindered him at all throughout his career... i'm sure he knows better than anyone how talented he is and how easily the game comes to him... and bearing that in mind, who's to say that such knowledge hasn't kept him from working as hard as he possibly can to become great? for such a skilled player, drew is as far from a great player as it gets... i'm not saying he sucks or that he doesn't work hard... i'm just surmising that perhaps he's done a little bit of coasting from time to time when breaking his ass would have been the more prudent course of action... regardless, it would sure be sweet if the sox could get more than .258/6/33/.759 out of him, wouldn't it?

Rule No. 3 - look, the all-star break sucks... we don't have to deal with one in football, basketball's is a relief and really, who gives a shit about hockey? but in baseball, it's a huge bummer... baseball is the only sport that is played every single day, thus making the attachment/withdrawal factors for nerds like me infinitely higher (side note: this probably applies even more to fantasy baseball players - a group to which i belong - particularly the ones willing to buy a blackberry if for no other reason than to be able to check his team's stats anywhere, anytime, like my buddy scotty) ... and the counter programming - the home run derby, the all-star game, the best of remy and orsillo's giggle fits - just adds weight to the symptoms... by thursday afternoon, hours before the sox resume the schedule at fenway against the blue jays, i'll be practically gouging my eyes out to see some real baseball that actually means something (and no, the all-star game with it's ham handed, "this time it counts," slogan, is not real)... anyway, it would be a waste of time for me to call for the elimination of the all-star break... so i guess there's no rule here really - just pray that i and those of my ilk make it through the next couple of days in one piece...

Rule No. 4 - today is July 9... patriots training camp starts july 27... i'm not a math major or anything like that, but i think that means that in 18 days it will - at least sort of - be football season... football season - HALLELUJAH.

Rule No. 5 - anyone read anything into the photo above? it's pretty simple, actually - papi is the man...