i know i'll often stop and think about them

on the heels of the utterly shocking news that the Sox have cut Dougie, i am prompted to recall some other friends who are no longer with us in home whites.

Trot Nixon - if you've been here, oh say longer than ten minutes, you know of my affection for the Original Dirt Dog, whose Sox jersey i still wear with pride. my favorite Boston non-pitching player formerly occupying the slot now filled by our third baseman.


Alex Gonzalez - quite possibly the most beautifully playing short stop evah. he is at short, what Lowell is at third. a work of art.


Kevin Millar - from his lips during a Spring Training game, when asked how he feels about the fact that Sox fans still swarm him: "It's like the mob -- once you're in, you can't get out." is there really anything more i can say?


Bronson Arroyo - how many times did we kick ourselves for that WMP trade?


Carlos Pena - i remember when his name appeared on the injury-depleted 2006 roster before a game on the west coast, i believe. things had gotten so grim, the Curse of the Gimpy Crow making Sox drop like flies, that i was convinced we were just pulling random guys off the street & handing them any uniform that would fit. i liked what i saw of him right away, but with Youk making a name for himself at first, he stood very little chance. after the offensive season he just had in Tampa though, i am wishing we could have somehow taught him to play short stop...


Pedro Martinez - if you're not a band wagon Sox fan, i don't need to explain his presence on this list. (what i *would* like an explanation for, though, is why on earth his head looks about four sizes too big for his body in this photo!)


Mark Loretta - ah yes. the other missing member from the 2006 Perfect Infield. don't get me wrong. i love our scrappy little Wii, with all his rolling in the dirt & jawing & trash talk. but i also thoroughly enjoyed the way Mark Loretta played. solid offense. almost flawless defense. he barely spoke a word the whole season, but he never went unnoticed by me.


Orlando Cabrera - oh if only we had kept him after the 2004 season, we would have avoided suffering through Rent-a-wreck and JFL...


Nomah - i wonder if he still fiddles around, adjusting & readjusting his batting gloves, between every.single.pitch. it used to make me a little crazy to watch him do that, but that was nothing compared to the frustrations i have felt at various times since his departure began the revolving door at short stop.


Keith Foulke - forevah & evah immortalized in my mind: "Swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He underhands to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions. For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball's world championship. Can you believe it??" (Joe Castiglione)


Eric Hinske - so newly departed, the only photos i can dig up of him are those from his time here with us. he didn't bring much of a bat with him, i know. but what he *did* bring was an undeniable joy to play in Boston, body-sacrificing defense at whatever position we asked him to cover, and an ear-to-ear grin that made *my* cheeks hurt just looking at him. that kind of enthusiasm wins me over.


sadly, i think Dougie's partner in crime may have inadvertently sealed the deal on his demise. last season when Dougie was sidelined, Wake declared that he was very comfortable pitching to Kevin Cash, a great concern to many, considering the horribly unsuccessful Bard Experiment in 2006 that left us scrambling to reacquire Mirabelli from the Padres, followed by his now infamous police escort to the field just in time to catch the first pitch. it did not go unnoticed that later that same season, a formerly stressed Wakefield was later shut down with stress-fractured ribs. but to have a young up-and-coming catcher who caught Wake's flutterball with decent success, that Wakefield himself trusts? this is a much safer route to take in replacing the backstop half of The Wakabelli Show, and to understudy the Cap'n himself. i know it's been a long time since we saw Dougie as The Stud Who Hits Bombs, but my adoration of Wake makes me sad to see Dougie go.

i can't help but wonder if Coco will soon join these ranks of Players We Cheer when they return to the hallowed walls of Fenway Park.

and subsequently, when will JFL be shown the door in favor of Jed Lowrie? not that i would shed a tear over *that* in any way. The Human Void would find himself on the *other* list, joining the likes of Matt Clement (admittedly not his fault, other than the denial he suffers from that his problem is shoulder-related, as opposed to (justifiably) north of there in his noggin, i am relieved never to feel the nervous churning in the pit of my stomach at the thought of another start by ol' Matty), Edgar Renteria (can we get Lugo on this revolving door plan as well?) & Rog-ah (no further explanation necessary).

the pages on the calendar keep turning though. sometimes we have to say goodbye to faces we hoped could somehow defy the passage of time, allowing them to remain ageless. but the sands in the hourglass pause for no one, not even our most beloved. new faces appear on our benches and new names are etched alongside the old on our loyal hearts. i wish Kevin Cash all the luck in the world, because i liked the guy almost immediately upon his arrival in Boston to cover for the injured Mirabelli last season. i still can't believe Dougie is... gone, though.

::moment of silence for The Wakabelli Show::