Now, We Just Need Captain Crunch and the Trix Rabbit

Well, the Sox got their centerfielder, finally, and it seems like a decent trade. I'm not complaining.

From today's Globe:

Six days after reaching an agreement in principle, three days after Guillermo Mota's underwhelming physical, and one day after the deal teetered on the precipice of collapse, the Red Sox added cash considerations, and a player to be named or further cash considerations, to their offer and got their man: Cleveland's Coco Crisp.

The deal, announced by Red Sox executive vice president/general manager Theo Epstein last night, was expanded to seven players, including the six in the initial agreement.

Crisp, 26, who will succeed Johnny Damon in center field and atop the lineup, 29-year-old righthander David Riske, and 27-year-old switch-hitting catcher Josh Bard are coming to Boston. The Sox' top prospect, 22-year-old Andy Marte, is headed to the Indians, along with Mota, 25-year-old catcher Kelly Shoppach, a player to be named, and cash.

Over at Baseball Musings, David Pinto doesn't seem to think that highly of the deal:

The Indians appear to come out the best in this deal. The replaced their outfielder with a better OBA, picked up a hot prospect who's likely to replace Aaron Boone before 2006 is out, and made an even swap on relievers and catchers. The Red Sox plugged their hole in centerfield with a player who still has some room to improve offensively, and they control for four years. It's not a bad deal for the Red Sox, given their needs. However, if you look at this as Renteria for Crisp, the Sox just plugged one hole by creating another.

I'm not sure I look at this 'plugging' one hole by creating another. With the money they offered, Damon was going to the bastards anyway, and no way Renteria survives another brutal year in Boston. If the Sox sign Gonzalez for short, they come out ahead, even with a lesser bat in the lineup. We REALLY need defense.

The Boston Media: Enemies of the Nation?

That's Red Sox Nation. Eric Wilbur, in his Globe sports blog, prints letters from his mailbag today. One them, from a William Sperling, had this to say:

Becket's arm falling off
Mota unable to pitch ever again
Mike Lowell hitting .123 for the rest of his life
Adam Stern in center
No one playing SS
Manny sitting out the year

You are one depressing guy. Do they let you in the clubhouse with your black cape and sickle? I understand the need to not swallow the Kool-Aid, but couldn't you write one positive thing once in a while?
William Sperling

Sperling has a point, I think. The media back home in Boston has been unremittingly negative this off season, even though the deals the Sox have made have not been that bad! Putting aside the Theo fiasco, I think it actually has been a pretty productive off-season, actually. I am kind of optimistic for 2006! Of course, I say this in the afterglow of having just viewed the 2004 ALCS from start to finish for the second time. :)

A Wasted Effort?

The Democrats are looking at a filibuster of Judge Sam 'TYMPMIHA'* Alito. Kos, over at that little-known blog 'Daily Kos,' has a good piece up about the reality of the situation. It can be summed up this way:

So you are pissed at the situation, you should be. But don't be pissed at a bare-thin caucus. Okay, be a little pissed. But really, the real culprit is the Democratic establishment has done such a piss-poor job of runnning elections that we only have 44 of them.
We need more Dems, and we need more good Dems.

At the end of the piece, he finishes with a flourish.

So be pissed. But realize that things won't change until we can grow our Senate caucus. To the electoral victors go the spoils, and it's time we stop their looting of America. And that'll happen when our congressional Dems get some reinforcements. Let's work to make that happen.

Kos is right. My biggest fear, though, is that if the Dems filibuster, the Republicans will, once again, spin it as though the Dems are out of touch with the 'mainstream' of society. My issue with Alito is not the whole 'choice' thing; abortion has become such a part of our society that at worst, it will kick back to the states if 'Roe' is overturned. No, my biggest fear is that we will get a justice less-than-willing to confront abuses of executive authority. But...damn it, the Dems can't win this one, and I'm not sure if it is worth it to spend what little political capital they have in a futile last stand.
*'Thank You Mr. President, May I Have Another?'

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To Dance With the Devil, or to Dance Alone

So my school just had a 2 and a half hour faculty meeting on Wednesday, to go over the School Improvement Plan prior to the visit of the accreditation committee. What a waste of time and effort, and once again, Social Studies is nowher to be found in the plan. Why? Because it is not tested. And that leads to a sort of Sophie's Choice: do Social Studies educators push for inclusion of the field on the standardized tests, or do we take comfort in the fact that we are not on the test, and thus able to cover what we want, how we want, when we want, the way we want---but also neglected when considering curriculum development and resources.

The National Council of the Social Studies has developed a number of themes or 'strands' that it suggests as the foundation of a strong curriculum. Few of them are actually testable, and they emphasize broad, critically evaluative, and general themes. That does not even consider if we test the field as 'Social Studies,' or we break it down into specific subject areas (History, Geography, Government, etc.). Again, what standards do we test? Hell, we couldn't even agree on just what standards to create for History in the 1990's!!!

I want more attention, more resources, more recognition of the importance of the Social Studies in developing future citizens. I fear that we will need testing to get it done.

Silly Boy, School is for Girls!

This kid in Milton, Mass. has got to win the award of Stupidest Lawsuit of the Month. He argues that as a white, middle class boy, he is dimscriminated against in school? How? Well, let's turn to his own comments, as recorded by the Boston Globe:

''The system is designed to the disadvantage of males," Anglin said. ''From the elementary level, they establish a philosophy that if you sit down, follow orders, and listen to what they say, you'll do well and get good grades. Men
naturally rebel against this."

And his suggested solution?

For example, he proposes that the high school give students credit for playing sports, not just for art and drama courses. He also urges that students be allowed to take classes on a pass/fail basis to encourage more boys to enroll in advanced classes without risking their grade point average. He also wants the school to abolish its community service requirement, saying it's another burden that will just set off resistance from boys, who may skip it and fail to graduate as a result.

Now, over the past twenty years or so, there has certainly been a shift towards a curriculum and pedagogy that has favored girls to some degree, and certainly we have neglected the needs of the boys. However, I would argue that much of this problem can also be tied to the increased emphasis on reading and writing, linguistic based skills that boys often struggle with in adolescence, while girls thrive.
That being said, this kid's nuts. Elsewhere in the Globe piece, he mentions that his GPA is a 2.88. Gee, ya don't think that THAT could be a reason for the lawsuit? I somehow suspect that SOMEBODY was a lazy student, or, well, maybe he was just 'naturally rebelling,' being a boy soooooooo disserviced by the school.

Dreaming of the Future, Hoping I Can Make It

Well, I'm going to try to start blogging again. I used to blog at Bostondreams, but kind of got caught up in, you know, life. Let's see if I can make this one last.