A Question Nobody Was Asking

With the retirement of David Ortiz's number last week, Shank assembles the all-time Red Sox lineup.

Take a look at the right-field facade at Fenway Park. With the unnecessary rush to take care of David Ortiz (after making all their other greats wait an average of more than 20 years), the Red Sox now have a perfect 10-man starting lineup of retired numbers.

There are three outfielders, 9, 8, and 14 (Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice), one pitcher, 45 (Pedro Martinez), one catcher, 27 (Carlton Fisk), a third baseman, 26 (Wade Boggs), a second baseman, 1 (Bobby Doerr), and a designated hitter, 34 (Big Papi). The Sox also have two shortstops, 4 and 6 (Joe Cronin, Johnny Pesky).

Hollow Man

The CHB has long since perfected the ability to pen piece together a column with zero effort. Today's mail-job work is one such example.

To wit, only Shaughnessy could write a 994-word obituary on Johnny Pesky and have it come across as completely sterile. But here, and only here, does The CHB truly excel. He works in all the obligatory nostalgia -- Carlton Fisk, the 1975 World Series, Jim Rice, Nomar Garciaparra, Dominic DiMaggio, Tony Conigliaro, Carl Yastrzemski, Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx., Roger Clemens, Mo Vaughn. It's as if The CHB just read a piece on search engine optimization and stuffed all those names hoping for some cheap traffic.

And yes, The CHB rehashes the (incorrect) account of how Duquette kicked Pesky out of the dugout, an act which all parties agree was done on behalf of then-manager Jimy Williams.