ANOTHER Missing World Series Ball??

Well, it might have happened again. The last time we saw the ball Jonathon Papelbon threw to end the World Series in game number four, Jason Varitek had stuffed it into his right rear pocket on his way to hug Paps near the mound. And now? Here's what Tek has to say.....

"I already gave it to Pap," Varitek said, not aware the ball was missing. "He has the first two [final outs] from the first two clinching series, and he wanted the third one. No question, I gave it right to him, right away. It's out of my hands. I held it for a little while."

Peter here. By no means is this a serious problem, but the club has said that they'll look into the matter when this World Series furor dies down a bit. It's nothing to lose sleep over. And in other Boston Red Sox news, Eric Gagne has filed for free agency. I'm surprised he waited so long (snicker, snicker). Hey Eric, thank for the draft picks.

And this from Jason Varitek, yet again, on the prospect that Mike Lowell will sign with another team when or if he files for free agency, and his AROD opinion, taken from the Hartford Courant......

"You guys are putting me in a tough spot," Varitek said. "I don't know. I can answer that by, I know Mike [fits in]. That's all I can answer to. I mean, the guy is a great player. Alex is a great player, and he was even better this year than he's ever been. I can say that."
And the fans of Boston have spoken, prompting Varitek himself to hold up a fans' sign calling for Lowell's return along the parade route.
"It turned from a World Series parade to a Mike Lowell parade," Varitek said. "He's such a special teammate to play with. Mike was in the boat behind me and every 10 feet there was a re-sign Lowell sign, so we had fun with it.
"Would I'd like to have Mikey back? Yes. Would I like to see 99 percent of this whole team back? Yes. Mikey's fit well here. It would be a hard guy to replace."

I feel the same way. And we WILL have most of the '07 team back with us for another go around in 2008. Mike Lowell is 34, so a two year deal with an option for a third seems eminently fair to both sides, at least to me. Or just a straight three year deal, because Mike will probably be looking for a four year contract. We all know he wants to stay with his team, and we all know that the powers that be are also aware of this important fact. The makeup of the 2008 Boston Red Sox is vitally important, and having Mike at the "hot corner" is, and will be, a key.

Thanks for being here, my Constant Readers. It looks like Schill is gone. He submitted a list of 12 teams he would play for next year. Conspicously but not surprisingly absent were the New York Yankees. After all, Curt would NEVER pull a "JOHNNY DAMON' on us. NEVER! And that's why we love him, and will continue to love him, no matter what uniform he dons in 2008. And good luck to him....I hope he wins 20 games, but none against us.

Click on the title of this post for the FULL transcript of Jonathon Papelbon on the Dave Letterman Show. It's a very funny four minute interview, and takes about a minute less than that to read. But your smiles are guaranteed, as are your outloud laughs. You see, "we aim to please," as Richard Pryor said in the funny and clever movie about a runaway train, SILVER STREAK. He and Gene Wilder were a classic comic pairing, and I recommend that you rent the DVD. Thanks for being here, I'll answer and respond to any of your comments, and have a wonderful Thursday, day four of the offseason that we all have to endure. Hey, Colt/Patriots should make this weekend very interesting, so let's look on the bright side. Pats by 10, by the way. Be well! Always!