seeing red

i couldn't be sure, but this morning, i *thought* i remembered seeing the Sox wearing red socks with their new road uniforms last night. of course, i considered that i could be suffering from exhaustion-induced delusions after it took two hours to complete just four innings of play. (point of reference for you: the Rays-Twins game started an hour after the Sox-Indians. at 9pm, when the Sox-Indians were wrapping up the fourth, the Rays-Twins were heading into the sixth.) couple that with the infuriating ending of the game and the fact that i could not find one iota of pictorial evidence of the "phantom" red socks, i was truly becoming convinced that i had wished for it so much that i actually dreamt it. or suffered a hallucination.

i turned to Twitter. oh how i love Twitter & all the information you could ever need right there at your fingertips! ask a question you cannot discover the answer to despite valiant efforts at research and inevitably *someone* can provide you with the elusive nugget of resolution! in this case, ChadNorthrup came to my rescue by pointing me to an article on the Globe's website that confirmed i was indeed not losing my marbles (yet) (at least in regard to this topic).

i, in turn, shared it with Nichole and the rest of RSN-West (her husband Daniel and her brother Steven) which led to a little discussion on the new versions of the Sox uniforms that debuted this year. i composed my reply to Nichole (who had shared that she liked the new road uniforms but was against the navy socks being worn with them, and the reasoning that the sock color didn't matter because you can't see them anyway with the way most players wear their uniforms was lost on her since she feels that the socks *should* be worn The Right Way and visible--a topic we both feel quite passionately about!) and then thought... hmmm... that came out rather well-phrased (in my own humble opinion). so after having allowed some time to pass, to see if i would adjust to the changes, i think i am ready to share my firm opinion:

i don't mind the road uniform--except that they had no red other than the Sox logo on the sleeve. turned the wrong way, the first thing i thought of was "Yankees" which i just couldn't get used to--especially when the guys wore the navy socks and the grey/navy shirts underneath. i mean RED Sox to me implies that red *socks* should always be there and that there should be some presence of red on the uniform that is visible. i like that they are wearing red undershirts & red socks now and i hope they do it more often than not. i liked the old-school look of the road uniforms overall, other than the obvious lack of red. now i am happy.

i also don't at all mind the alternate red home jerseys & navy road jerseys for Friday nights. but i *abhor* that hanging socks alternate cap. i want the traditional "Red B" cap that is undeniably the Red Sox. you can only push me so far with change for a team built on tradition & history.

and there you have it: alternate road uniforms have been accepted *when* the players wear red undershirts & red socks. and i never had a problem with the red and navy "Friday night alternates" (though i have never been a fan of the occasionally used green ones).

see? after my initial foot-stomping & resistance, i am ok with change. to a degree.

but that alternate cap? has *got* to go.