Two days before we all ring in the New Year with our friends and family, Mike Lowell had surgery on his torn liagment in his thumb. According to ESPN, the surgery was successful and Lowell is expected to be healed and ready to go when hitters report to Fort Myers in just over 2 months. When doing the surgery, the Boston Globe reported that Dr. Donald Sheridan discovered the ligament 95% torn.

Throughout the off-season, there has been a buzz surrounding who would fill the third base slot  for the Sox in 2010. First, there was an attempt to trade Mike Lowell to Texas to free up some salary, but it fell through following the discovery of his thumb injury. Then, rumors about Adrian Beltre’s interest in coming to the East coast and playing for Tito and the gang gained some steam and after dying down for a bit, they have reemerged this week. Ignoring other options and money for the sake of this debate, would Lowell or Beltre be the best [...]

This afternoon, the Met’s reached an agreement with Jason Bay, affirming what has been speculated for the past few weeks. With the larger market teams unwilling to offer Bay the 5th year and extra money he was asking for, the potential landing spots for the left fielder shrunk considerably and resulted in only one serious offer on the table. Now that Bay is taken, all the attention is on Matt Holliday.

For any die-hard Red Sox fan, the next 65 days will be the most difficult to fight through. The roster is mostly set, barring any unforeseen surprises, and besides Lowell’s thumb surgery, there are no other news stories to follow. What is an anxious Sox fan to do until February 18th when pitchers and catchers report to sunny Fort Myers, FL? Here are a few suggestions…

A once highly-tauted shortstop and second baseman, Lowrie has struggled to make a name for himself in the big leagues. Between not getting enough playing time and injuries, Lowrie has posted a terrible .235 average in 328 at-bats in the majors and has had more strikeouts (88) than hits (77). Given recent history with the revolving door at shortstop, Lowrie still may have a chance to prove his worth and be the Sox shortstop of the future.

Thanks to the trade for Victor Martinez at the trade deadline last season and the resigning of Jason Varitek, the Sox have a fairly strong catching core in the major leagues, but developing young catchers is crucial to an organization’s continued success. Last season, the Sox had Dusty Brown and George Kottaras waiting in the wings at Pawtucket and used Kottaras on several occasions as a backup in the major’s. In mid-November, the Sox released Kottaras and added an underrated catcher, Mark Wagner, to their 40-man active roster.

Throughout Red Sox nation there has been constant chatter about Jason Bay since the end of the 2009 season. Whether you believe the Sox should have thrown in an extra year and a bit more money to bring Bay back to Fenway or you feel he is overated and are glad he is gone, everyone has an opinion. Despite earlier reports, it appears as though Bay and his agent Joe Urbon are having a difficult time finding a home for the slugger as we approach the new year.

Frank Costanza: Many Christmas’ ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon, I realized there had to be another way.
Cosmo Kramer: What happened to the doll?
Frank Costanza: It was destroyed. But out of that, a new holiday was born. A FESTIVUS FOR THE REST-OF-US.
Every year on December 23rd, I take the time to celebrate the best holiday of them all: Festivus. It is a non-denominational, all inclusive ceremony of airing grievances that uses a pole as decoration, and doesn’t end [...]

The AP reported last night that MLB and it’s umpires are having successful negotiations and are close to agreeing upon a new contract. My question for both sides relates to the absolutely abysmal inconsistency that has emerged in umpiring over the last few years. It has become more commonplace to see missed calls that greatly effect the outcome of a game. Players get frustrated and then the situations have a tendency to escalate. The entire purpose of having umpires on the field is to enforce rules and keep the game controlled, and most of the time, neither are being accomplished. [...]

As the trade and free agent markets begin to slow and 2009 comes to a close, I can’t help but reminisce about the past several years in Red Sox baseball. In lieu of talking about my favorite moments, here are a few videos that still make me smile every time I watch them. Enjoy!