I've been busy lately, but I'm still going to throw down some random thoughts I have. It's hard to remember all these random thoughts though, so I really need to write all this stuff down...:
- I'm happy Jason Varitek is back. He bit the bullet and let his pride take a hit. Good for him.
- The Varitek signing was even better for Theo Epstein and crew. They put their foot down and weren't going to let Varitek or Scott Boras push them around. Theo knew what he wanted (and probably still bent a tad) and didn't change his goal from the getgo.
- Manny Ramirez still doesn't have a uniform to wear in April. Did anyone think that in February that Varitek would be signed but Manny would still be without a job?
- With that said, I hope Manny goes to the Giants. That'd just be funny.
- Back to Varitek: we have a captain for two more seasons. But if he's gone after that, what's going to happen with the 'C'? Maybe the letter will go back into retirement or some suitable replacement may be: David Ortiz (if he's still around), Dustin Pedroia, Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon or Kevin Youkilis -- just to name a few.
- The World Baseball Classic is coming up and that gets me excited. I know most of you just say "ehh" to the WBC, but I for one will be watching as many games as possible.
- My WBC teams? Well, of course it's the United States and ... Cuba? For some reason I love Cuban baseball. It's just so pure and there are some amazing athletes.
- A good book on Cuban baseball and sports in general: Pitching Around Fidel.
- Speaking of good books (and now I'm REALLY getting off on a tangent), I'm currently reading Gary Smith's "Going Deep: 20 Classic Sports Stories." If you have any interest in sports features, then read this. It's just Smith's 20 greatest stories from his career with Sports Illustrated, but it's still worth buying it and reading the whole thing.
- Back to baseball: our backup catcher will either be Josh Bard, George Kottaras or Dusty Brown. I wouldn't be surprised if Bard isn't on the team in 2009, though. His contract isn't guaranteed so if Kottaras or Brown has a good spring training they could earn the backup job. I'm rooting for Brown.
- I like Jason Bay. I don't care what you all say about him or Ramirez.
- And ... I'm spent and need to get back to other, non-baseball related work. Do you have some random thoughts? Go for it in the comments or tell me how much of an idiot I am.