Top 5 Living Red Sox Players

Here's who I consider the Top 5 living Red Sox players.

1. Carl Yastrzemski

2. Pedro Martinez

3. Jim Rice

4. David Ortiz

5. Tie: Dustin Pedroia, Dwight Evans, and Freddy Lynn

Missing the list - Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs. Clemens misses the list because of steroids and playing for the Yankees. Boggs misses the list because he's a douche (why do you think you never see him around Fenway Park - the team doesn't want him around).

Wade Boggs

Wade Boggs wants the Red Sox to retire his number. The Red Sox won't do that for a very simple reason. It's not because Boggs went on to play for the Yankees. It's not because Boggs already had his number retired by Tampa Bay. It's because Wade Boggs is a douchebag.

Major league douchebag.

There's a good reason why his contemporary Don Mattingly is still actively involved in MLB while Boggs is lucky to be working with high school teams. There's a reason why Boston never has him back as a favorite prodigal son like Freddy Lynn. There's a reason why Roger Clemens invited tons of his old teammate to his 300th win game but did not invite Boggs.

The man compares himself to Ted Williams as a hitter and wants to be the next Johnny Pesky to the organization. The latter comparison is perhaps more insulting given the saint that was Johnny Pesky. The man wants his number retired while the Red Sox want to give it to scrubs.

The man is a douchebag.

Player Comparison

Here's a mind blowing player comparison:

Player A .331 BA/ .556 SLG/ .967 OPS/ 103 R/ 25 HR/ 105 RBI
Player B .347 BA/ .603 SLG/ 1.012 OPS/ 84 R/ 19 HR/ 57 RBI

Player A is Freddy Lynn from 1975 - the year he won both the AL ROY and MVP awards. Player B is Mike Trout from this season. With two months left in the season - Trout is on track to blow away Lynn's numbers (in everything but RBI). What's really mind blowing is that Trout is three years younger than what Lynn was in 1975.

Incredible.

Player Comparison

I've been thinking about this comparison for some time:

Player A 103 R/ 21 HR/ 105 RBI/ .331 BA/ .967 OPS

Player B 109 R/ 27 HR/ 94 RBI/ .320 BA/ .923 OPS

Player A is Freddy Lynn in 1975 - the year he won both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards. Player B is Jacoby Ellsbury this season. I'd also note that Lynn won a Gold Glove in 1975 - here's hoping that Ellsbury also gets that recognition for his 2011 work.

Pretty damn good.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Liquid glass. Sounds very interesting. If I still wore ties - I'd coat all of my ties in this stuff to end the pain of coffee stains just before a big meeting... Polyamory is Wrong!... Pass rush specialist Charles Haley may have had more of an impact for the teams he played for than Deion Sanders but Sanders had a better publicist which is why Deion is considered a slam dunk by many for the Hall of Fame while Haley will need help. Haley has as many rings in football as Derek Jeter does in baseball... Diet Coke is unhealthy!... I don't know anything about Audubon High School in NJ but it seems they must have a head football coach who is good at grooming QB's. First he had Joe Flacco who starred at Delaware ad then in the NFL with the Ravens, then Steve Rizzo who is a QB for Colgate and now Brandon Hill who looks like a top incoming QB prospect for UMass... Happy 58th birthday to Red Sox great (and Angels average) Freddy Lynn... Awesome - Leonardo da Vinci's Resume from 1482...

All USC Baseball Team

I have no idea why I do these things but here’s my all-USC baseball team made up of current and former big-leaguers who went to USC.

C – Jeff Clement
1st – Mark McGwire
2nd – Brett Boone
SS – Roy Smalley
3rd – Aaron Boone
OF – Freddy Lynn
OF – Jacque Jones
OF – Geoff Jenkins
DH – Dave Kingman

Starter – Tom Seaver
Starter – Randy Johnson
Starter – Bill Lee
Starter – Mark Prior
Starter – Barry Zito

Closer – Tom House

Just missing the cut: Jeff Cirillo, Brian Bannister, Steve Kemp