I Come To Bury Them

... not to praise them:

OAKLAND, Calif. — A lot of stuff has happened to the Red Sox here over the years.

Nearly all of them negative, naturally...

This is where Tom Yawkey sipped champagne when the 1975 Sox clinched the American League pennant, completing a three-game sweep of the three-time world champion A’s.

It’s where Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers briefly wore Red Sox uniforms when Charlie Finley held a fire sale in 1976.

It’s where Jim Rice ripped the shirt off the back of future Pulitzer Prize winner Steve Fainaru in the visitors clubhouse.

It’s where Roger Clemens set himself on fire, wearing eye- black and Ninja Turtle shoelaces while getting ejected from a playoff game.

It’s where Johnny Damon collided with Damian Jackson when the soon-to-be-doomed Sox won the first round of the playoffs in 2003.

It seems but a mere ten days ago that Shank was dumping on the Sox, in part, for not changing the lineup, and now it's a source of contention.

Who’s at shortstop today? Who’s behind the plate? Where’s Waldo Crawford (Waldo Crawford? - Ed.) hitting? Who is leadoff man du jour? It’s a New England parlor game, from Eastport to Block Island.

Yesterday, Marco “Wally Pipp’’ Scutaro was back at short and banged out a couple of hits. Jed Lowrie played third base and hit his third homer in five games. No. 7 hitter Crawford actually knocked in a run. Leadoff man of the hour J.D. Drew homered. Jason Varitek caught Clay Buchholz while Jarrod Saltalamacchia sat.

Using the whole roster is great. It makes sense for Terry Francona to exploit righty-lefty matchups and keep his subs fresh. But some of the fluidity owes to underperformance more than flexibility.

Another lame Wally Pipp reference and Shank's done until the next Bruins loss...