Felger, Bob and Shaughny Archives Part 5

This is the second column criticism I wrote in 2008 about the Sox's Spring Training problems (or lackthereof).
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Callahan Cranky for some Controversy?
http://bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1075995&srvc=sports&position=0

Another day, another Red Sox column. I can't wait for the games to start. It seems like Gerry Callahan of the Boston Herald and Dennis & Callahan on WEEI can't either. He's begging for something new to happen in camp, and nothing newsworthy really is at this point. He suggests that the team bring Pedro Martinez back to complain, although he didn't always do that. He explains that Manny, Schilling, and the rest of the usual suspects aren't making noise, which he sees as a bad thing. It's hard to tell if Gerry is serious, or if he just wanted to write a story about not having a story. It seems to be the former, if only because that's the kind of person he is. I have met him myself, thanks to my internship at WEEI, and comparing the language from his speech, which is certainly genuine, to this article, it appears that he means what he says. However, I don't agree with that sentiment.

The fact that nothing out of the ordinary is happening at Red Sox camp may be boring for beat writers and other journalists, but it's a great sign for the team's wellbeing. That's what Callahan eventually hints at in the end of his story, but doesn't explain much. The fact that there is no complaining means that the team has no visible problems. There could potentially be ones behind the scenes, but Terry Francona has done an outstanding job at keeping those out of the limelight in his time as Red Sox manager.

With no problems in camp, it will be a lot easier for the team to focus on preparing for the season, avoid injuries (so Curt Schilling is hopefully the only one to suffer), and (eight months down the road) defending its World Series crown. Sorry to play the Devil's Advocate here Gerry, but I'm glad there's nothing extreme going on in Fort Myers. B