The debate, if you really want to call it that, over whether the Red Sox should pick up Manny Ramirez’s options for the next two seasons, seems to have heated up recently. Manny has been in the press for all kinds of “problems” and “issues” lately, from the spat with Youkilis in the dugout, the pushing incident with the Traveling Secretary, and the irrelevant story about him jaywalking in Seattle. Combine that with absurd comments made by the usually reputable Bob Lobel that Manny intentionally struck out in Yankee Stadium weeks after he was fined (I don’t buy it for a second) and Eck’s ridiculous rant on how horrible Manny is for talking about his contract (I mean, who cares, really? Manny didn’t even say anything other than if the Sox don’t sign him, he’ll play somewhere else) and you’re getting a lot of Manny bashing going around.

Oh yeah, he also fell down fielding a ball he should have caught and laughed about it, which I’m sure isn’t the worst fielding play he’s ever made.

So basically, with all this so-called news on Manny, many are calling for the Sox to finally get rid of him. Typical views are that he’s lazy, doesn’t care about winning, is a problem in the clubhouse, isn’t worth the money anymore, his production is in decline, and of course, a lot of people just plain don’t like him. Replace the word Manny up there and you’d have a pretty good description of Barry Bonds in the last few years too. But even the biggest Manny-haters I don’t think would compare him with Bonds! Yes, I am saying that anyone who really thinks that the Red Sox will somehow be better off in 2009 and 2010 without Manny Ramirez than with him are just plain wrong.

First things first - personal opinions of Manny shouldn’t be relevant. Would I be upset if someone in my family tried to blow off a visit to a hospital and skip practice to appear at a car show? Of course. Does this affect his ability to produce and prevent runs on a baseball field? Of course not. And trust me, there are a lot of guys in baseball who we all love who are much bigger jackasses than Manny (Arod anyone?).

There is also this stigma with Manny that he is lazy and doesn’t try hard. But ask anyone close to the team who works the hardest, takes the most BP, and has the craziest off season workout schedule, and you’ll hear about Manny Ramirez. Does he give 100% every time out, Youkilis style? No, but his perceived laziness is more about his ability being so far above everyone else around him than it is about actual effort. Manny is like that kid in little league who thought (knew?) he was better than everyone and didn’t have to hustle. Not a great quality, but also not a reason to get rid of one of your best, most consistent players.

Plus, his production is still positive. I’m not going to get in to any crazy stats, mostly becuase if you know what they all mean, you know all of this already. But Manny makes every team he is on better, and that’s the bottom line. Basically, advanced baseball stats are going to tell you that your lineup with Manny Ramirez in it will score about 1 run more per game, on average over the course of a season, than your typical, average outfielder. His defense on the other hand, is quite below average and there is no denying that. But at worst, his poor defense will yield the other team about .3 or .4 runs per game, on average, over the course of a season. Some simple math will tell you that with Manny in the lineup, you are scoring an extra half run every game. This is a lot! Especially when playing good teams, you know, like you see in the playoffs and World Series. I’ll take his amazing home runs in the playoffs any day, even if it means we have to deal with some random crap during the season.

But even the people who are completely convinced of all these facts will still point to Manny’s salary as a point of contention. For $20 million next year and the year after, you can buy a whole lot of baseball player. And although this is true, nobody thus far has told me exactly who we’re getting to replace him. Keep in mind that saying JD Drew will take his place in the lineup doesn’t really count, because, well, he already is. We’re talking about who will play left field. Do you really want Manny’s production replaced by Coco Crisp’s .251 batting average with little to no power? The next thought that usually gets thrown out is that we can get a free agent to replace him, and they don’t cost more than $20 million. Yes, true, but its 20 million per year. Players of Manny’s caliber don’t typically sign 2 year contracts (which makes this Manny contract look like genius in retrospect - thanks Duquette). Anyone who is going to even come close to his production out of the free agent market is going to want a contract the size of Soriano’s - or $136 million for 8 years. There is no way anyone can argue that an 8 year contract for someone else is better than 2 for Manny.

In the end, this year will come and go the same as any other. People will come up with all kinds of crazy ideas to get Matt Holliday somehow with Manny (why would the Rockies want him? Where would he play unless you cut Manny? How many pitchers will we have to give up for him?) or trade him to the Mets who are in desperate need of another outfielder (Aaron Heillman is NOT the answer for this bullpen, and the Mets are out of good prospects after getting Santana).

Simply put, there is just no plausible scenario that I, or anyone else I’ve talked to about this, can come up with that would make the Sox better without Manny Ramirez. If you can think of one, call Theo, but otherwise, I suggest letting all of the issues go and stop Manny-hating already. The guy is having a great year, and in case you didn’t notice, is already hitting .471 with a homer and two doubles since the All Star break. He may not be playing in today’s game, but he’ll be back soon enough, just in time to start winning games for the team we all love.

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I got a chance to check out the new, nearly 100% unadvertised bar in center field called the Bleacher Bar. And let me tell you, its pretty awesome! The bar is actually in Fenway Park though you enter it from Landsdowne St. As you can see from the picture, it actually does open up into Fenway so if you are there when there is no game going on, you can see the field. Its open before games and during batting practice. And, of course, its the cheapest beer in Fenway Park! Not that $4 for 12 ounces of Budweiser is much of a deal, but hey, it beats $7.25 on the inside.

The bar itself is decorated with quite a bit of nostalgic Fenway/Red Sox stuff. Even the bathrooms recycle the old, back-lit signs from before the current renovations took place. And of course, there are quite a few pictures of the World Champion Celtics partying back there during the rain delay from the game where they threw out the first pitch.

If you’re spending a day at or around Fenway, you should definitely stop in. They have a full kitchen, full bar and plenty of Red Sox memorabilia to keep you busy even if there is no BP going on at the time.

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I don’t know about anyone else, but the last 2 nights have been pretty boring. With a day game on Wednesday that I had to listen to at work, and then NO game yesterday, I’ve been stuck watching reruns of Dog the Bounty Hunter and South Park the last couple nights.

It was then that I realized that I am pretty much addicted to the Red Sox. When they aren’t on, I don’t know what to do with myself! Sure, there are plenty of things to do, like watching the Phillies game that was in rain delay for most of the night, or reading…

But no, I want my Red Sox! So, is it 7:05 yet? Clay Buchholtz comes back tonight, which I am very much looking forward to. I think this is a great move, especially since Clay has been tearing it up in the minor leagues. His peripherals on the year are actually pretty good as well - he’s struck out more than a batter per inning so far and only walked 20. Not great, but not that bad either. The ERA is a bit high at 5.53, but if you take away his last 2 starts when he was not 100% healthy and couldn’t get out of the 5th inning, it was only 3.73. Expect the second half to be a lot closer to 3.73 than 5.53.

Justin Masterson did a good job filling in while he was up here. He threw 53 innings as a starter in the pros, and about the same in the minors before being called up. I’m not sure exactly how many, but he is on a definite innings limit on the year which, if he remained a starter, would definitely come and go well before the playoffs. Since they do essentially have 6 (or even 7 with Colon) starters, it makes sense to transition him to the bullpen and give them some extra help out there. I really don’t like relying on Craig Hansen, and hopefully Masterson can step in and be more of a 7th inning guy.

It also appear that the Red Sox bats have awakened a bit after putting up over 20 runs in the series against the Twins. It’s going to be hot again this weekend and the Sox are facing some fairly weak pitching from the Orioles, so I’m looking forward to the team staying hot right in to the All Star Break.

And then, we can all start talking about when Big Papi should be back. I can’t wait for that debate!

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It’s currently 4:34 on game day. You want a ticket to the Sox game so you are about to head down to Fenway and wait in line. Today is a nice day, so you should probably wait in the Box Office line instead of scalp free, because as we all know, there won’t be many people with extra tickets down there on a night like tonight.

Yes, this is probably your best bet for getting day-of tickets. But I’ve found a new trick that’s worked for me a couple times this year already - and that is going online late in the day to search for singles and standing room tickets.

You see, the Red Sox have a pretty good idea of how many people are going to be lined up for a game, and they have a pretty good idea of how many tickets are going to end up available. Sometimes, these numbers don’t match up.

Today seems as though it was one of those days. It’s a random Monday night, against a bad team, when the Sox just plain aren’t playing well. This means that they are going to drop some tickets on the site before the line down on Landsdowne begins.

Right now, it’s about 4:30 and I’m finding a few single RF box seats available on the site that definitely were not there earlier today. My guess is that the Sox think that they will have more tickets left over than people in line, and they are dropping them online now. Or, maybe they do this for every game. But either way, before you commit to standing in line for 3 hours, check the site before leaving. The service fee just might be worth it so you can spend time drinking (water?) before the game.

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In spite of losing two consecutive 1-run games to the pitching-poor Houston Astros over the weekend and dropping into second place, there have still been quite a few encouraging signs in recent days.

Josh Beckett seems to have regained at least most of the form that made him a 20 game winner last year, going 2-2 and giving up just 13 runs in his last 54 IP (2.16 ERA).
Dustin Pedroia was hitting .260 on June 13 and has since raised his average to .304 by getting 31 hits in the 14 games since. Mike Lowell is hitting his stride as well, and we all know how great JD Drew has been playing this month.

In addition, the pitching problems seem to have subsided and once again, its looking like the Red Sox just might have “too many starters” even without Curt Schilling. After all, Justin Masterson has proven himself to be a (6′ 6″) major league pitcher who can hold his own in a rotation, and Daisuke seems to be throwing well in spite of that 1 inning 7 run hiccup on his initial return from the DL. Combine that with Lester looking like an All Star and Wakefield eating innings, and you start to wonder if we’ll be seeing Clay Buccholtz or Bartolo Colon before September.

Oh yeah, and they also kicked ass in Interleague play again this year going 11-7.

So why is this team in second place? It was very trendy before the season started to pick the Rays to finish third for the first time ever, but everyone who was seriously trying to make a prediction always said the same thing - they’re good but they aren’t the Yankees. Well here we are, past the half way point of the season (Friday night’s game in Houston was game 81, the official half way marker) and the Rays are ahead of both of the teams that they are never supposed to beat.

Its also looking like this team is a legit contender, with a great young roster (I’d take Longoria, Crawford, Kazmir and Upton on my all-decade team in a second) and some actual bullpen strength and leadership (Wheeler-Percival). But are they really a first place team, and a team that is exptected to continue to have the highest winning percentage in Baseball (Yes, today they are at .605 - the only team that has won at least 60% of its games)?

That may seem like somewhat of a rhetorical question, but I assure you it is not, and yes, they really are that good. If this lineup were playing in the Bronx with Yankees uniforms on, everyone would be talking about how great this team is and about how the Yankee dynasty is back. But instead, they are playing in Tampa Bay (St. Petersburg actually) in front of 5,000 Rays fans and 10,000 visiting team fans every night, and just because they are the Rays (of Sunshine; remember, there are no Devils in Florida, he went down to Georgia instead) everyone is writing them off.

But the real question here is, should we be worried? And although the Rays are playing great, I’m not quite picking them as a playoff team yet. They have a lot of young arms that are bound to regress, at least a little, as the season goes on. And the fact of the matter is that they have been somewhat lucky to get into first place by themselves. Its often said in baseball, that current run differentials are a much better predictor of future success than past win-loss records. So if we look at the run differential, the Rays aren’t quite the best team anymore (that in fact goes to the Cubs, who should be the only team with 50 wins at this point).

You can see the X W-L in the MLB standings page so you can examine this yourself. Based on this differential, the Red Sox should have won 49 games to Tampas 46, good for a 1.5 game lead since the Sox have played 3 more times than the Rays (of Sunshine).

So when all is said and done, should we worry about the Rays? Well, yes, at least more than the team that is giving Giese, Ponson, Rasner, Moeller, Betemit, Hawkings, Veras, Christian and Gonzalez regular playing time (hint, they wear pinstripes).

But is this really going to be the year of the Ray in the American League East? I say no, but seeing how they play against each other (and who wins the inevitable fight) in the next 3 days will give us a much better indication than expected wins-losses. After all, they do still have to play the games.

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Buy your raffle tickets today to meet Josh Beckett, hang out with him, and of course, go bowling! The only other person I think I’d ever want to go bowling with is Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski, and he’s not even real.

GRAND PRIZE:

• Winner will receive One (1) Bowling lane with Winner’s family name or corporate logo over the lane at Beckett Bowl 2008, which will be held on Thursday July 10, 2008 at Twin Lanes, Malden, MA

• Winner and 3 guests will receive Four (4) Bowler Credentials to participate in the Tournament with a celebrity guest

• Winner and 3 guests will be personally coached for One (1) frame by Josh Beckett

• Winner will receive Four (4) Guest Credentials for relatives and friends to attend the Bowling Tournament

• Winner will receive Two (2) additional After Party tickets (access is already included with Bowler and Guest Credentials

• Winner will receive Four (4) parking passes

• Winner will receive Four (4) Beckett Bowl Reebok Team T-Shirts and (4) Tournament Gift Bags

• Winner will be recognized on the official Beckett Bowl web site

• Winner and a Guest will attend a (mutually agreed to) Red Sox Game as Josh Beckett’s special guest (Two (2) Tickets)

• Winner and Guest will have special access to watch batting practice

• Winner and Guest will meet Josh Beckett at Fenway Park and have photo taken with Josh Beckett (Photo will later be autographed by Josh Beckett)

• Winner will receive Two (2) autographed Josh Beckett Jerseys

• Winner will also receive a cash prize in the amount of $565.00 to mitigate the Winner\’s tax liability that results from winning the raffle. This prize is withheld and paid, on behalf of the Winner, directly to the IRS ($467.00) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ($98.00)

Tickets can be purchased at www.netraffle.org and start at only $2.00 with a min. purchase of 5. The price of the tickets decreases the more you purchase.

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After reading Daniel Rubin’s column entitled Enough Already! A fan defects, the only thing I could really think is how much of an idiot this guy is and after reading the comments section of other Philly fans agreeing with and defending him, there is only 1 conclusion I can come to. Philly fans just plain suck, and are jealous of not only New York, but now Boston as well. Their inferiority complex has reached a new high (or is it a low?)

Let’s dissect this idiot’s arguments one by one and see if he is really making any sense at all.

…some clown in a backward Boston ball cap and an over-stuffed Big Papi jersey chanting on the subway: World Series champs! World Series champs! “This isn’t the Green Line, pal,” I found myself muttering, advising him he was about to arrive in South Philly, not Kenmore Square.

OK, so we open by pretty much saying, the entire basis of this column is based on one drunk guy in an Ortiz jersey on the Subway. Way to pick some concrete evidence here! And you know which fans are way more obnoxious at road games? Phillies fans at Fenway.

A Phillies fan next to me tried to be helpful as well: “If you guys win, you be careful on the subway ride back.”

So you’re annoyed by a fan on the T, and are happy when someone threatens to start a fight? Not too responsible I’d say.

Later, he goes on to talk about how he wants out.

Now I want out. I sensed something had happened to me on the subway Tuesday and then in the stands when Boston bandwagoneers started chanting “Beat L.A.” as if neither baseball nor Philadelphia - championshipless since 1983 - mattered.

How many times have I heard chants of “Let’s go Eagles” in the middle of June at a Phillies-Sox game in Fenway? The answer is All of Them. Like I said, aside from Yankees fans, Phillies fans are by far the worst out of town crowd who know more about the alcohol content of the beer they drank than the starting pitchers. That is neither timely (football chants in June?) nor even meaningful, since the Eagles lost to the Pats the year they actually made the Super Bowl. If we are still saying Beat LA when we meet up in the World Series (Cole Hamels said that, not me), then we can talk. But until then, the Celtics are awesome and I’ll stop saying Beat LA when the Celtics aren’t in the SportsCenter headlines anymore.

I watched them stand and cheer when the Sox did something well, then I started to enjoy it as the Phillies fans booed them down, like dogs spraying their turf.

Again, you are blaming Sox fans for cheering when their team does well? When should they cheer? Or is the rule no cheering unless you’re cheering for the home team? Are we to take the lyrics of Take Me Out to the Ballgame literally? (root for the home team, if they don’t win its a shame?)

Winning has made Red Sox fans losers.

To this statement, I will simply laugh. A total oxymoron is not evidence of anything and only hurts your arguments.

Add the three Super Bowl victories by the Patriots and this week’s Celtics championship, and enough already. It’s not title town. It’s entitled town. And smug is a hard sell.

Smug, or confident? This is not smug, its what happens when you win. You are even saying this in your article. Smug would be thinking we’re better simply becuase we’re from Boston - but that isn’t it. We’re better becuase WE ARE better. Our team won, yours lost. Thats how sports work - winners talk trash to losers. The fan base’s willingness to go to games, wait in line and buy $300 jerseys is how you build a winning franchise. Without the fan base, there is no team. Fans are as much of a part of the team as any other aspect, and to portray the passion of Red Sox fandom as a negative is just plain silly.

“Are we in the Red Sox section?” my son asked as the whole row in front of us erupted. So did those to our left and behind us. We sat quietly, alone. And I had the feeling that I was without a country.

But who’s fault is that? You couldn’t actually buy Philly tickets without buying a package or winning a lottery. Most of those fans that were cheering bought their tickets from Philly fans. So if Sox fans are so passionate that they will actually travel and pay extra money just to see a team that their own fans have no interest in, how can you hold that against us?

Me, I’ll have to move to Cleveland. They haven’t won a championship since 1964.

So in the end, all you are really saying is that you want to sit in a quiet stadium where nobody is winning so that way fans are more subdued. You know, when you get old and cranky like this there is this great alternative to going to the park to see a game. Its called television. If all you want to do is sit quietly and watch a game, try watching it on TV.

As far as berating fans for traveling with and watching their team, you have no argument. And don’t judge me, as a Sox fan, becuase of some drunk on a train in Philadelphia. He doesn’t speak for all of us. And to answer his ultimate question - How do I renounce my Red Sox Nation citizenship, well Dan, I’m pretty sure that with this column, you just did.

Make sure you never cheer for Papelbon, Pedroia, Buchholtz, Lester, Youkilis or Ellsbury again, becuase like you said, we just bought a winning team like the Yankees, right?

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Yes, Cumberland Posey is a hall of famer. And yes, according to his hall of fame plaque, his name is Cum. Please be sure to finish the sophomoric giggling spell before continuing to read this article. It may seem as though he has nothing to do with Curt Schilling, but I was browsing the list of hall of famers, looking for someone who is comparable, and he is who I came up with. It does make sense, as you’ll read below.

So as we all know (and pretty much knew since March), Curt Schilling isn’t going to pitch anymore this year. This means that I got to see him throw his last pitch as a Red Sox in the world series last year, which I think is pretty cool. It also means that he is probably not going to pitch ever again, especially since he was supposed to retire last year anyway.

So the real question is, will Curt Schilling go into the Hall of Fame?

The first thing anyone will want to talk about with Schilling is going to be his numbers, so for those of you who don’t have his career stats memorized, here they are:
20 years in the bigs (1988-2007) with 216 wins (.597 winning percentage), a 3.46 ERA, and 3,116 strikeouts. Compare that to the fact that he only walked 711 batters and you get a K/BB ratio of 4.38, which is pretty amazing (typically 2-3 is considered very good). He also has a career K/9IP ratio of 8.6, also incredible. But are these really hall of fame numbers? Probably not, if taken on their own. One of the problems is that Schilling was on a lot of terrible Phillies teams in the 90s and never won 20 games with them. But wins are probably the most random stat to acquire, as they have almost nothing to do with the actual pitchers performance. Yes, better pitchers win more, but better teams win more too, so when you look at his lack of 20 win years and overall lack of wins in Philadelphia, its a bit misleading. Take for example, 1996. Schilling only had 9 wins in spite of pitching with a 3.19 ERA for 183 innings. Basically, he should have had way more wins, but with the team only winning 67 games that year, it just wasn’t going to happen. Now many would argue, yes, he was shorted out of some wins, but even if he wasn’t, he still wouldn’t have hit 300. This may be true, but there are plenty of hall of famers, even guys recently elected, that fell short. Non 300-game winners inducted include Don Drysdale, Catfish Hunter, Fergie Jenkins and most notably, Jim Palmer.

So maybe his career numbers don’t scream hall of fame, but I would say they don’t preclude him either. But remember, these numbers also don’t count any post-season stats, which is where Schilling made his real impact. In the postseason, he has started 19 times and won 11 of those games compared to only 2 losses. His overall ERA is 2.23, and if it weren’t for that one game against the Yankees in 2003 where he was pitching on 1 ankle, it would have been quite a bit lower. He won games with 3 different teams (Philly, Arizona and Boston) and has 3 World Series rings. He was even a co-MVP of the World Series in 2001 when he and Randy Johnson essentially beat the Yankees single (or double?) handedly. Add in his impact on post-season success for the teams he played for, and we’re starting to see a Hall-of-Famer.

The kicker in Schilling’s case, I believe, has to be the fact that he won with the Red Sox his first year. Numbers aside, there are very few more memorable moments in the history of baseball than the 2004 Red Sox comeback against the Yankees and eventual sweep of the Cardinals, and of course, Curt’s bloody sock. It’s more than just that though - Schilling essentially ended the curse and made the Red Sox the team they are today. Breaking an 86-year drought and changing the attitudes of fans all over New England cannot be overlooked.

And that is where we get back to Cum Posey. He is one of many inductees to be in the hall based on their contribution to baseball overall and not necessarily in-game performance. Cum Posey was elected to the hall of fame a couple years ago (2006) as a player, manager and owner of the Homestead Grays, one of the Negro League teams. He was a pioneer and one of the driving forces behind the success of the league, and if it weren’t for him, baseball today would probably look much different.

The same holds true for Schilling. What he did in 2004 cannot be overlooked. He changed the personalities of millions of Red Sox fans in New England. Because of Schilling, we are all winners today. We look at the world differently. We no longer think that the sky is falling every year. We actually expect an August surge rather than a collapse. And most of all, we expect to make and actually WIN the World Series this year. Curt Schilling was as much responsible for all of this as anyone else and for this contribution - for putting the Red Sox back in the winners column and expanding baseball to a whole new fanbase who love routing for a winner, is what should seal the deal on his hall of fame entrance.

The numbers could go either way, but what he did for me, and for all of Boston and New England in general, gets him my (fake) vote.

He’s also a 6 time All-Star and finished runner up in Cy Young voting twice

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Personally, I like this time of year. No, not just becuase the Celtics won a championship last night, but because of interleague play. You see, I consider myself a fan of baseball, not just a fan of the Red Sox. But the problem is, I rarely get to see any teams play aside from those appearing on the Red Sox schedule. Yes, there are some non-Sox games on Saturday afternoon and Sunday night, but lately most of those have been Sox games with crappy announcers (though I’m not getting in to how bad McCarver/Morgan are). Sometimes there will be a game on here or there on a random Monday or Wednesday night. But the Red Sox play pretty much every day so I don’t typically watch 2 games.

But I WANT to see other teams. Yes, the Rays of Sunshine are fun to watch this year, and the Orioles aren’t quite as bad as everyone thought. But 19 times is plenty. The other AL teams get kind of old as well - take a guess at how many American League teams the Sox have yet to play? Believe it or not, they’ve seen every team in the AL except the White Sox and we don’t get to see them until we go to Chicago in August.

So this brings us to Inter-League play. I think its exciting. I want to see the Sox playing a game in Cincinatti. I want to see how Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard can hit against Jon Lester (they can’t!). I mean, how cool would it be if we played the Dodgers during the regular season and we could all see Nomar playing short in Fenway again! Sure, this isn’t happening this year but it still could thanks to interleague.

And that brings us to the controversy that, mostly becuase of Hank Steinbrenner, is rising up this year. Chien Ming Wang hurt himself running the bases, which I’m sure you’ve heard about. If you haven’t, well, you must be deaf or not own a TV or something. Basically, his tirade revolved around the fact that pitchers don’t usually hit in the AL and therefore don’t practice running the bases and therefore it’s the MLBs fault that his only consistent pitcher is out for most of the season. Yeah, OK. Maybe if they weren’t hanging their entire season on one pitcher who can’t strike anyone out it wouldn’t be such an issue. It was easy for us Sox fans to laugh at poor Hank crying about his pitcher going down.

But then… Bartolo Colon had a similar incident. Fat Boy won’t be pitching for at least a couple weeks.

Yes, Bartolo, since he’s had all of 10 at-bats since 2004, wasn’t very good at swinging. But he tried hard - a little too hard - and now he’s on the DL with back issues. So now the Red Sox can start complaining about pitchers hitting, right?

NO! I say wrong. Some will argue that pitchers hitting is an old and outdated baseball legacy. Pitchers today are much more focused on pitching than in the past and it makes sense, much in the same way your quarterback would never play defense, to never have pitchers hit. Fine. That is probably true and if we were writing the rules of baseball today, that is probably one of them we would change. But the thing is, pitchers DO hit! They do it every game in the national league. We can’t just change the rules becuase pitchers for both the Red Sox and Yankees were injured. That is just plain stupid.

The other potential solution is to simply do away with Interleague play, which would be a horrible idea because I’m sure I’m not the only one who loves seeing the NL teams. Plus, you still have the World Series, where at least some AL pitchers are going to have to hit. What do you do then?

In the end, the only point I’m really trying to make is that Hank Steinbrenner and everyone else complaining needs to settle down. Maybe pitchers shouldn’t hit. Yes, maybe. But the thing is, they do. That is baseball, that is the rules of the game. Batters get hit with pitches more often in the AL than the NL because there is no retaliation against the pitchers, but you don’t see anyone complaining on that front. Only when the Yankees are a safe bet not to catch the Red Sox does this controversy begin.

I think the Colon injury may even help the Red Sox long term, so we really have no reason to complain. Masterson gets to stay and pitch more, where he would have otherwise gone to AAA for Matsuzaka to come back. And Colon gets to be saved for later in the year when the innings will be much more pressured.

And hey, if nothing else, don’t be too upset because these funny rules screwed the Yankees a lot worse than the Red Sox!

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From June 1 - Sept. 15, the Museum of Science is hosting the traveling exhibition, Baseball As America. Produced by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, this exhibit features more than 500 artifacts, including photos, letters, and historical objects. Among the memorabilia: Hank Aaron’s jersey, Shoeless Joe Jackson’s shoes, Babe Ruth’s record-breaking bat, and Curt Schilling’s 2004 World Series sock.

The Museum is offering a number of exciting special programs in conjunction with this exhibit. Details are as follows:

Saturday, July 12, 1:00 p.m.
Voices of the Game
Joe Castiglione, Red Sox radio broadcaster and author, and Curt Smith, author, columnist, and television/radio host
Cahners Theater, Blue Wing, Level 2, free with exhibit hall admission

Joe Castiglione is in his 26th season as the voice of the Boston Red Sox and previously handled play-by-play on television for the Cleveland Indians and the Milwaukee Brewers. Curt Smith, former Presidential speechwriter, GateHouse Media columnist, and author of Voices of the Game and other acclaimed books on baseball, is the renowned authority on baseball broadcasting. Join us as Smith interviews Castiglione about dramatic moments behind the microphone, the changes in baseball broadcasting, and how great radio announcers create an “interior stadium” in listeners’ minds. Book signing to follow.

Seating is limited. First come, first served. Free-seating tickets are available to the general public in the Museum lobby beginning at 11:45 am the day of the program. Museum members may reserve a limited number of free-seating tickets the week of the program by calling: 617-589-3169.

Tuesday, July 22, 6:30 p.m.
Fenway and the New Generation of Ballparks
Janet Marie Smith, Senior Vice President of Planning and Development, Boston Red Sox
Cahners Theater, Blue Wing, Level 2, free

Fans have a magical connection to ballparks, and no venue is more beloved than Fenway, the oldest park in the major leagues. Janet Marie Smith is directing the revitalization of Fenway Park and was involved in the planning and development of Atlanta’s Turner Field and Baltimore’s Camden Yards, hailed as the gold standard of modern ballparks. Smith will take us through the evolution of ballpark design from the early 1900s through the late 1990s, and talk about the Red Sox’s success in bringing modern improvements to Fenway while preserving its historic charm. Don’t miss this chance to hear how Fenway Park, first constructed in 1912, has been made current once again after decades of uncertainty.

Seating is limited. Free-seating tickets are available to the general public in the Museum lobby beginning at 5:45 p.m. on the evening of the lecture. First come, first served. Museum members may reserve a limited number of free-seating tickets the week of the program by calling: 617-589-3169.

Saturday, August 2, 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Babe Ruth and Ted Williams: Behind the Legends
Leigh Montville, former Boston Globe columnist, former senior writer at Sports Illustrated, and author of The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth and Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero
Shapiro Science Live! Stage, free with exhibit hall admission

Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat. The Wizard of Whack. The Bambino. And simply, to his teammates, the Big Bam. He was more than baseball’s original superstar. For 85 years, he has remained baseball’s reigning titan. Ted Williams was The Kid. The Splendid Splinter. Teddy Ballgame. One of the greatest figures of his generation, and arguably the greatest baseball hitter of all time. But who were these legends, really? New York Times bestselling biographer Leigh Montville will talk about the extraordinary lives of these colorful, larger-than-life personalities, providing a rare look at the men behind the myths. Seating is limited. First come, first served.

Babe Ruth: 1:00 p.m. | Ted Williams: 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, August 9 at 1:00 p.m.
The Spaceman on the Art and Science of Pitching
Bill “Spaceman” Lee, former Red Sox pitcher (1969-1978), author, and star of the 2006 documentary film, “Spaceman in Cuba”
Cahners Theater, Blue Wing, Level 2, free with exhibit hall admission

Nicknamed the Spaceman for his free-spirited personality, Bill Lee is one of the best left-handed pitchers ever to don a Boston Red Sox uniform – and one of the most unforgettable characters ever to play the game. On November 7, 2008, Lee will be inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame as the team record holder for the most games pitched by a lefty (321) and as the southpaw with the third-highest win total (94). Since leaving the major leagues, he has continued playing the game he loves, traveling in the U.S., Canada, Russia, and Venezuela with amateur and semi-pro baseball and softball teams. Come hear the exceptionally smart and entertaining Lee talk about pitching mechanics; pitch grips, selection, and sequence; and the importance of timing, location, control, and mental toughness. Book signing to follow

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