* If nothing else, the recently concluded Red Sox Winter Weekend was an interesting case study in marketing.
Among the players on the active roster, the Red Sox were without their best player (Rafael Devers) and their biggest offseason acquisition (Lucas Giolito). Maybe there were good reasons for both to miss the event, but their absence was certainly conspicuous.
But if you wanted a look at the possible Red Sox stars of tomorrow, the trio of Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel was seemingly everywhere. And if you were feeling at all nostalgic, well, the MassMutual Center in Springfield was the place for you.
You could take your pick of Red Sox stars from yesteryear, like Hall of Famers Jim Rice, Wade Boggs and Dennis Eckersley. There were also some legends of a more recent vintage, led by Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz.
The whole event felt like something of a distraction from the current roster, which, beyond Devers, lacks much in the way of star power.
Yes, of course, it makes sense that the Red Sox want to celebrate their former stars. And it’s equally understandable that they would be promoting their best prospects, especially since any one or all three could be at Fenway by September. It’s a fan festival, after all, and fans want to see their favorites from the past while dreaming of the stars of tomorrow.
Here’s the problem: both the past and future are more interesting than the present, and this past weekend seemed to confirm even the Red Sox are acknowledging that. It was especially evident when chairman Tom Werner said: “We spend a lot of time talking about the experience of going to Fenway.”
In short, the Red Sox are looking at alternate ways to attract you to the ballpark, including the ballpark itself. They’re ready to remind you of yesterday and promise you tomorrow, because, frankly, today isn’t all that compelling.
There will be more of this, too, since the upcoming season is the 20th anniversary of the 2004 World Series championship. Bet on seeing Pedro, Papi, and Johnny Damon an awful lot this summer.
That Red Sox team will be rightly honored for its historic postseason comeback and curse-busting title. And two decades later, they’ll attract more interest and affection than their modern-day counterparts.
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* The Red Sox have been properly roasted in the past for sliming people on the way out the door, but this past week showed the Patriots can be guilty of the same thing. I expect we’ll he hearing and reading selectively aimed leaks about how awful it was with Bill Belichick for the next few months, if not years.
Psst…you heard about Davis Mills, right?
By summer, the narrative will be that it was actually Jonathan Kraft who designed half the playbook from the glory years.
* People uncomfortable with Jerod Mayo’s comments about the justifiable pride he felt in becoming the Patriots’ first Black coach need to put a sock in it. It mattered to Mayo, which is all that matters.
* So much for the Celtics going undefeated at home this season. (There, fixed it this time.) And of course, no shame in losing to the defending world champs by a bucket.
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* The news that Sports Illustrated laid off its entire editorial staff Friday was both unbearably sad and entirely predictable. In truth, the magazine hasn’t been the same for years and when, in reaction to downward trends in the publishing business, it became a monthly, its impact was greatly reduced. Poor (and greedy) management was a significant factor.
But there was a time when its arrival in my mailbox was An Event. Don’t ask my why, but I still have a vivid memory of arriving home from school one snowy December day in junior high and devouring the issue, with the Cowboys’ Lee Roy Jordan on the cover, from front to back. The writing — by masters like Gary Smith, Frank Deford, Paul Zimmerman, William Nack and so many others — was always captivating and the photography unmatched. It was a great, 70-year ride, and SI will be missed.
* Hockey season is always more interesting around here when the Montreal Canadiens matter. Currently, they do not.
* Jeremy Swayman has been superb in goal this year, but his obsession with last summer’s salary arbitration hearing is getting tiresome. It’s an ugly process at times and lots of players come away embittered by the experience. But Swayman’s too young and too good to dwell on it. Using it as motivation is one thing; making it into a campaign is something else entirely.
* It’s become common for people to suggest that you don’t need to get your quarterback in the first round, and that just maybe, the Patriots would be better off taking either a wide receiver or a tackle with their third overall pick, and drafting a QB in the second round. Maybe. All I know is that, this weekend, eight quarterbacks are playing in the Divisional Round and seven were taken in the first round.
* When it’s all said and done, the best signings made by Craig Breslow this winter may all be non-players. Pitching coach Andrew Bailey, director of pitching Justin Willard and consultant Kyle Boddy could impact the major league staff, and the organization’s pitching results for years to come. Boddy s particularly interesting, given his background at Driveline Baseball. Anti-analytics types can scoff all they want, but Boddy is innovative and has proven results.
* Pavel Zacha is a valuable Bruin, but when the guy who’s been either your No. 1 or No. 2 center just scored his second goal in the span of 19 games, it highlights the team’s deficiencies. down the middle of the ice.
* For a guy regarded as a certified offensive savant, Bill O’Brien sure moves around a lot.
* Some city’s fan base is going to have to really extend itself to top the classlessness in Chicago recently when Bulls fans thought it would be a good idea to boo the late GM Jerry Krause so loudly that his widow broke down in tears. Sadly, I fear that display won’t be rock bottom.
