For Crying Out Loud

Wow! It's like the perfect union....Shaughnessy invokes a Larry Bird comparison to set the stage for his column about Daisuke's Matsuzaka's spring training game debut. This is the third in a series - we have already been treated to stories about Matsuzaka's arrival to camp; his first live batting practice; and his first game with college umpires. Next will be his first game with MLB umpires and then of course we will be treated to his first regular season game. Has Shaughnessy created this media monster? No. Yet he continues to contribute to it in a way to make it so painstakingly miserable

I wish Shaughnessy would make up his freaking mind. On the one hand, he is obviously consumed by the mania because he keeps writing and writing. Yet, I get the image of Shaughnessy 17 years ago holding young Sam's dirty diaper with an outstretched arm and then tightly pinching his nose with the other. He obviously thinks the attention is laughable... He compares two events that he truly holds sacred (landing on the moon and Larry Bird's first game as a Celtic) to this event where deep down you know he is truly waiting for the Daisuke phenomenon to fail so he can hang it like an albatross across the necks of Theo and the minions. Only then will Shank find true happiness in this signing.

At some point, Shaughnessy may be forced to recognize the brilliance of it all. Part of the Red Sox business case for signing Matsuzaka was the international interest (and hence business revenue) it would generate. So far, so good. Shaughnessy would probably choke on a gyro ball sandwich (with a little gray poupon of course) however, before acknowledging any brilliance on the part of young Theo.

One final comment - Shaughnessy does use the column to make a Planet Manny reference but it is more after thought than anything. A small blessing in disguise, I suppose.