The Red Sox have begun their ten game road trip with two excruiating losses to the Blue Jays.  That’s the bad news.

The good news is the team’s best relievers – Keith Foulke and Jonathan Papelbon – are rested.  And I mean well rested.

Would someone please explain to me why exactly we are seeing Martin Van Buren, David (don’t call me Risky) Riske and all the others in the last innings of these big division games, and not Foulke or Papelbon? 

Oh, I get it.  You cannot bring those guys in unless the team is ahead. 

See where this leads?  In about 40% of your games, the team is going to be behind late in the game.  If you stick to the silly, outdated idea that your best pitchers only see the light of day when the game is tied or your club is in the lead, you will live to regret it.  Take Monday night, for example.  The Sox battled back from a 6-0 deficit to tie the game in the eighth inning.  However, instead of bringing in Foulke or Papelbon to keep the Jays at bay the Sox went with Riske.  Boom – a double and a single later the game is lost.

More of the same last night.  The Sox battle back to make the game close – 7-5.  But instead of bringing in Foulke, at least, the Sox go with Riske and he allows an insurance home run.

I continue to believe Papelbon is being seriously misused, not to mention underused, in the role of relief pitcher.  But I suppose that battle has been lost.  Seeing him hardly used at all (fewer than 15 innings in May) is just in excusable.  There is no reason why he has to assume the Dennis Eckersley role – that is, the role whereby he never sees the light of day unless its a closing situation or he needs mop-up time to stay sharp.  Tie game, eighth inning against a division foe?  USE HIM!

OK – no one cares. No one is watching. Especially in Boston. Stipulated. But the NBA playoffs have been UNBELIEVABLE!!! Among the highlights:

1) Dallas-San Antonio Game 4 was one of the best games I’ve seen in a long time. Overtime, great shots, ex-Mav Michael Finley hitting two huge threes in Dallas. Avery Johnson’s two point guard offense against his ex-coach George Popovich who has switched his starting lineup in response – and two questionable calls in Dallas’ favor. Followed up by Game 5 where Tim Duncan hits his first twelve shots. SA wins by one. Dallas had a chance but missed, Dirk tries to tap the rebound in two-handed but misses. The champs are still one game from elimination but the Mavs will play Game 6 without Jason Terry whose huge mistake punching Finley may cost the Mavs dearly.

2) Game 5 in Phoenix – Double OT. Nicholson in the front row – how does he do that? Phoenix winning despite a ton of mistakes by two tired teams near the end. In the series Mike Dunleavy has done an incredible job devising a scheme to stop Steve Nash. Reminds me of the 1979 Michigan State "ball defense" which was so effective against Larry Bird and others. Not enough is made of Amare Stoudimire being out – in the Nets series they mentioned Clifford Robinson’s 5 game suspension every other minute. Here they rarely do – a tribute to Nash, Mike D’Antoni and everyone else. Without him though, the Clippers are clearly the better team. Question is their effectiveness in closing out games.

3) Cleveland beats Detroit in Detroit in Game 5 despite a huge mental lapse by Tony Snow who grabbed a rebound/loose ball after Detroit’s seemingly final shot and inexplicably throws it down court where a Detroit player runs it down, calls time and the Pistons get it at halfcourt with 1.9 seconds left. Now Detroit faces a Game 6 on the road and LeBron James looks at making history.

4) Miami winning Game 5 despite a great effort by NJ – who double-teamed Dwayne Wade at the top of the key down the stretch – as KC Jones did against Michael Jordan in Game 3 of the 1986 Celtics-Bulls series.

A few more observations:

The coaching has been excellent. Dunleavy’s scheme on Nash, Avery Johnson’s starting two point guards, D’Antoni somehow keeping Phoenix competitive without Stoudimire, Eddie Jordan’s adjustment on Wade and Pat Riley’s effective use of the Heat personnel.

Bill Walton and Snapper Jones remain the greatest color team in basketball. Walton was great last night in a largely one-sided game. Talks like fans do when we’re kidding around about sports – "biggest game in the history of Clipper Nation." "The crowd rising to its feet as one" – "biggest game in the history of the Maverick franchise." "Steve Nash and Bill Russell are the same person.”

One more thing – for pure basketball – there can be no debate – these games blow away any game in this year’s NCAA tournament. It’s a no-brainer.

As the glow of 2004’s epic title begins to fade, more and more fans are ripping manager Terry Francona.  Its comical to listen to sports radio, as even in the face of victories fans strain to find things to fault.

They obviously forget the old days, when the Red Sox were managed by old geezers who took pride in managing by hunch, filling their staffs with old drinking buddies instead of qualified coaches, and ignoring statisical data regarding their own players as well as opponents.  As recently as 2003, when Grady Little was at the helm, the club was still mostly in the Stone Age when it came to decision-making during games.

Last night, Francona made a nice little move, or should I say non-move, one many managers would make – to be sure – but one that many fans, if given the chance to manage for a night, would not have.  With two outs in the eighth inning, and a man in scoring position with two outs, Francona declined to pinch hit for his weak-hitting shortstop, Gonzalez, and instead let him hit against the hard-throwing Orioles reliever, Chris Ray.  Francona, naturally, was thinking ahead to the ninth inning and he wanted to keep his best defensive infielder in the game.  Of course, he popped out, and a valuable opportunity to drive in an insurance run was off the board.

The following inning, with Papelbon on the hill trying to earn the save, Terry’s non-move was vindicated when, with one out, Gonzalez made a truly great play – not a spectacular play – a great play – against Nick Markakis.  He fielded a grounder in the hole to his right and immediately, against the momentum of his body moving toward the outfield, made an almost perfect throw to first base for the out.  Almost any Red Sox shortstop since Rick Burleson would not have made the play – it would have been a chore for any current backup.  The second out thus was made, and when Papelbon induced another grounder to short you knew it was over.

The decision to leave Gonzalez in will not go in any scorebook.  But it was wise, and Francona deserves credit for having made it.

Now about his decision not to use Papelbon as a starter ….

Watching the Sox these days is not fun.  For one, the lack of depth at starting pitching has caught up with the club – fast.  Right now, its basically Beckett and Schilling and pray for a chilling.  (Sorry, that’s the best imitation of "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" I could think of.)  And even then, as we’ve seen now in two straight starts, Beckett is no guarantee either.

I like TIm Wakefield.  I have always said it makes sense to start him.  He’s like the stock market – better to keep investing in him on a regular basis because eventually, he’ll get hot and you’ll make more than you lose over time.  But this passed ball thing is as much his problem as it is the catcher’s.  Yes, Mirabelli eventually got used to it, but most catchers throughout history have struggled with knuckleballs.  I remember an otherwise very steady Mike McPharlane have fits with Wakefield.  Something has to be done, as the passed balls are coming at really bad times.  Criticizing Bard won’t help.

Jonathan Papelbon must be moved into the rotation now.  I don’t care how many talk show hosts and pundits contend that "moving him would weaken the bullpen."  Its a dumb argument.   If a guy can pitch well it makes sense to put him in there as much as possible.  The Sox have lost two straight series.  Throwing Papelbon out there every fifth day would significantly decrease the likelihood of that happening very often.

The hitting has been fair at best.  The Sox rank 17th in the all of MLB in runs scored; 22nd in slugging percentage and just 16th in OPS (combined slugging plus on base percentage).  Those are pretty bad numbers for a team that plays in Fenway Park and has a $100 million plus payroll. 

The problems at the bottom of the order have drawn much attention.  Old friend Bill Mueller (who I pointed out had totals almost identical to Johnny Damon) is off to a great start with the Dodgers – in 22 games he’s got an on base percentage of .435 and a slugging percentage of .493, making his OPS a nifty .928 (27th in the National League).  But to lay all the blame at the lower end of the order would be a mistake.  Several Sox players haven’t done much.  Varitek looks pretty bad – his OPS is just .693 (67th in the league).  Loretta has been worse – his OPS is .601 (87th in the league).  Gonzalez has been horrific, compiling an OPS of just .540 (93rd in the league).  These guys are not all at the bottom of the order, they are spread throughout, so rallies are getting killed throughout the game.

I remain optimistic that with the return of Coco Crisp, the offense eventually will be good enough.  And there is always a chance that the team might seek help via trade.  Yes, this is a flawed team, certainly no juggernaut.  But there is time to do the right things to make it better.  Putting Papelbon in the rotation would be a good start.

1)      Would you at least concede the Arroyo/Pena trade makes you a weaker team this year? If you agree, what does this say about your opinion of the team’s chances this year?

2)      Is Adam Stern better than Willie Harris? If he is why isn’t he on the team – at least until Coco Crisp returns?

3)      Do you honestly believe Rudy Seanez, Julian Tavares and David Riske are appreciably better than Manny Delcarmen?  If not, why did you commit valuable financial resources to average relievers?

4)      Do you ever foresee a time when the Sox start the season with an under 25 position player from your farm system in the Opening Day lineup? Or are the days of Yaz, Fisk, Lynn, Rice, Greenwell, Burks, Nomar etc., gone forever?

5)      Craig Hansen is older than Houston Street. Why is he in Double A?

6)      Jonathan Papelbon is older than Josh Beckett. If we concede he has to be a closer for now, do you feel any regret at all for not starting him from the outset this year?

7)      Does Kevin Youkilis’ early season success make you wish the Sox had played him earlier? Or are you satisfied that he could not have played regularly before his 27th birthday?

8)      Can a rookie beat out a veteran? Can the Red Sox say a rookie is better than the player we have at the position and he’s going to play? As an example see Nomar/John Valentin.

9)      Since the new Sox ownership took over and you became GM, the Sox seem to have had more success signing hitters than pitchers – other than the obvious choices of Schilling and Foulke. Is this unique to the Sox or common in MLB?

10)  In hockey they call a game against a division rival a 4-point game – 2 your team can get and 2 the other team can’t if you win. Why don’t the Sox treat Yankee games this way? It appears to be simple math but there is a huge disconnect between the Sox and the fans on this one.

WEEI.  If you live in the area and are a sports fan, you know what I’m talking about; it’s a sports radio station.  Most listeners know it by the nickname, “EEI,” much in the way an old-timer from Beantown would refer to the A.M. station WBZ by the shorthand, “BZ.” 

WEEI’s ratings are high among its target demographic – guys that follow the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins and major local college teams.  And judging from the number of calls that come in from other parts of the globe, many people listen to WEEI internationally on the internet.  In short, the station is a hit.

I am not here to slam WEEI.  The listeners, by and large, seem pleased with its content.  The owners of the station are making money.  People that do not care for the station’s style have alternatives – there is satellite radio, as well as a sports radio station forty miles to the south that has decent hosts, guests, the whole bit. 

No, I am here today to discuss business.  The baseball business that is.  In particular, does it make sense for the Red Sox, a privately held team with no ownership ties to the station, to be so cozy with WEEI? 

For a moment we will put aside the fact that the team has given WEEI the right to serve as its flagship station for play-by-play radio broadcasts of Red Sox games.  No doubt the contract, which is quite lucrative from the team’s perspective, contains obligations on the club’s part to provide the station access to various players and club personnel, all of whom become in essence part of the station’s programming offering to listeners.

No, I am talking instead about all the other stuff.  If you listen to the station, you know what I mean.  General Manager Theo Epstein and President Larry Lucchino each have a weekly interview segment during the busy morning rush hour.  Principal owner John Henry appears on air during evening drive time a few times a year, usually when something pretty big happens.  Players like Curt Schilling and the manager, Terry Francona, have weekly gigs with various hosts.  Other players appear for occasional interviews.  I assume that most of these appearances are voluntary, even if the interviewees are being compensated, and they are undertaken as part of the team’s perceived need to publicize its activities.

Indeed, there is no question that radio appearances feed the fans’ need to hear Red Sox brass and players talk, as regularly and frequently as possible, about the team, its prospects, goals, etc.  The gigs, in essence, are part of the product.

But sometimes WEEI takes a position that fans the flames of discontent in Red Sox Nation.  Take one story that had legs during spring training.  One day, I turned the station on at least ten times, and on at least eight of those occasions I stumbled upon an endless discussion about whether Manny Ramirez’ failure to arrive prior to March 1 is a major problem for the ball club, its psyche, whatever.  No matter how many players insisted it was no big deal, the station’s on air personalities almost to a man disagreed.  When Sox GM Theo Epstein was rumored to be returning from his temporary “retirement”, it was the same thing – “his return will make the team look ridiculous,” said one host – over and over and over.  (Both stories, in the wake of the team’s fine start, are long forgotten.)

And the owners are not spared.  To the credit, I suppose, of the station and its personalities, Henry’s hat, voice and strange mannerisms all have been the subject of ridicule, despite the team’s apparent cooperation with WEEI management.

This type of thing – letting the public in on the back story – obviously has its supporters among programming gurus.  Take American Idol, for example.  The show has sky-high ratings.  Even during the audition phase, millions watch in rapt attention.  Still, of the thousands of hours of footage shot at the auditions, evaluation sessions, etc., featuring attractive and talented young people from every corner of the country, the producers generally choose to spend about half of the allotted time showing hideously bad performances, petty comments from losing contestants, infighting between the judges – even bits about the criminal records of various participants.  In other words, people who know a lot about these things seem to believe that there is an audience for this kind of stuff; that the product alone – talented young amateur singers strutting their stuff – is simply not enough to draw a big audience.  Is it possible that a similar conclusion has been drawn by the Red Sox and their PR advisors?  Has some sort of bizarre, devil’s bargain been struck between the team and WEEI?

Whatever a PR guru might think about all this, I question whether these soap opera stories really are a valuable part of the publicity machine of a baseball team.  Of course, intelligent fans are always going to want to hear club officials discuss the team’s plans for the future, proposed trades, etc.  But is the whining and complaining and questioning that fills the hours on WEEI really good for the Red Sox?  Does it make people respect the team more, dig deeper into their pockets for tickets or gear, or watch more games on the club-owned television channel?

I don’t really have the answers to these questions, but a few comments made recently by Epstein and Lucchino, combined with some new policies they have adopted, suggest to me that they have their doubts.  First, there was the vague announcement by the club that hence forth, public discussion of trades, negotiations, etc., will be subject to tighter controls.  Second, when asked a few weeks back whether there was anything he could learn from the Patriots success, Epstein said “of course,” and then he proceeded to talk mainly about the football team’s ability to “deliver a consistent message from the top of the organization down through the coaches and players.”

Not long after I started this piece, I saw a note on the Globe business pages suggesting that the team is looking at the possibility of creating its own radio station.  To that story, I offer the following – well, duh?  Sounds like a pretty good idea.  A Red Sox radio station, operated with some independence to maintain integrity but nonetheless ultimately subject to club control, could serve as the flagship station for play-by-play coverage as well as a forum for talk shows, club interviews and the like.  It would probably be a smashing success and a cash cow for sponsors eager to align themselves with a team that could offer access to Fenway Park, meet-and-greets with players and coaches, etc. 

Oh sure, the Sox are not stupid.  They would hire sports talk show hosts and give them some authority to question and criticize.  That’s baseball.  I listen to NFL radio on Sirius all the time and they have plenty of guys that talk about all sorts of negative things about the teams.  BUT, and it’s a big but, there is a line they do not cross.  They do not ridicule, and they do not speculate about sensitive issues.  And they sure as heck wouldn’t beat to death some story about some player showing up three days late for spring training.

A Red Sox radio station would be a blow to WEEI, but the station would simply go forward and turn the heat up even higher.  In the end, it might be good for the fans.  An end to the sports radio monopoly and an even freer reign on the part of the unaffiliated radio station to continue slamming the club at every opportunity.