These guys are athletically charmed, they are paid very very well to be in the best groupings of hitters, pitchers & position players. They're not rocket scientists or brain surgeons or even 2nd grade math teachers.

Coaches are paid to coach (in their particular area & to seamlessly mesh with the other team coaches). Managers are paid to manage, and team owners are the ones who get to pull the plug on anyone, at any time.....because they hold the checkbook. (Power is money)

In the 2011 offseason, pretty-much all that COULD change in a baseball team's infastructure, did change. As spectators, we were left to observe with our mouths hanging open, and our ears to the ground (or eyes on Twitter).

Everyone was an "armchair quarterback" on the subject of the everchanging Boston Red Sox. With so many changes made, why are we so surprised that so much could...and may go wrong? The team we knew in 2007 & 2008 was gone. The only "Dirt Dogs" or "Cowboys" left of the original miracle team that brought greatness back to Boston were Kevin Youkilis & David Ortiz. 

Boston treats it's professional sports players (past & present) like royalty. This is a big giant mistake. It makes these boys think that they can do no wrong, and that they can sit back on their laurels & bask in the sunshine of our admiration. They are just guys who get to play ball for a living....they are not "Heroes" or rock stars, they are guys that arrive at the ballpark, workout & do their drills, play their positions (usually to the best of their ability) and go out for at least 162 regular season games + spring training + possible postseason series to play baseball.

Imagine if you walked out onto that pristine bright green field in the Back Bay and everyone stood up and applauded, whistled, hooted & yelled for you each night. Imagine if wherever you went, no one let you pay for your meals, drinks, cars, etc....

...then imagine that no one ever left you alone. You can't even go out to dinner with your wife without being interrupted for autographs every 5 minutes. Having your children be asked to step out of the picture while a pushy fan snaps a photo & posts it "as a close friend" online. Opening the newspaper and seeing them tear you and your teammates apart in black & white, after you give them so much of your time after games in the clubhouse after games when you are tired and all banged-up.

Imagine that crowd turning on you like dogs...booing you if you don't play at 100% perfection. Imagine going home for the season, exhausted and sad not to have made the postseason...again, only to see on tv, or read in a cellphone text by a teammate that your coach & general manager are both gone....oh, and so are about 1/2 of your teammates.

These guys started out human, WE turned them into Princes and Monsters. They arrived at Spring Training, to a new ballpark, and a new team. Keep that in mind, 1/2 these guys don't even really know eachother. Stop treating them like royalty, and have a bit of patience...they will get better. They will likely not make the post season, but I am sure that they will improve as a team unit.

That's the truth....in Black & White.

- fenway fruitgirl 2012

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