Red Sox Ramblings

Thinking about the Old Towne Team while getting ready for three games with the Yankees... With the Red Sox and Yankees in a virtual tie for first place in the middle of June, this summer is shaping up as a Boston-New York classic. Us fans can only hope it will end like 1949, 1978, 2003, and 2004 -- with the two ancient rivals squaring off for the right to go to the World Series... When Sox owner John Henry decided that Mark Teixeira was just a little bit too expensive for his tastes, he allowed the Yankees to swoop in and sign the switch-hitting slugger. Teixeira's presence in the Bronx threatens to haunt the Red Sox for the better part of the next decade and with David Ortiz declining on a rate that Jim Rice and Mo Vaughn can only recognize, the pain is already beginning to be felt in New England... The combination of Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez in the New York lineup has to remind all Sox fans of the domination of Ortiz and Manny Ramirez from 2003 - 2008... The sagging production of Ortiz and Mike Lowell's increasing age make it necessary for Theo Epstein to re-sign Jason Bay before he hits the open market this winter. Bay has proven he can be a star on the big stage of Fenway Park and he provides valuable protection in the lineup for Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis... Today is the annual amateur baseball draft and Red Sox Nation can only dream that this edition will be as successful as 2003 (Jonathan Papelbon), 2004 (Pedroia), 2005 (Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, Jed Lowrie, Michael Bowden), and 2006 (Daniel Bard, Justin Masterson, Lars Anderson)... Enjoy Josh Beckett tonight...