Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Final Score
Red Sox 5
Angels 4

Break out the Bubbly: The streak is over!

While you were sleeping, Boston’s Boys of Summer put an end to their losing ways with a gutsy victory over the Angels. Funny thing though. Listening to the radio and talking to people today, it seems nobody cares anymore. Is this true? Have you all become me? Or are there a few believers still out there?

For me, the rest of 2006 is about individual honors. I hope David Ortiz can maintain his pace and clinch the MVP. However, if the Sox fall too far out of it, don’t be surprised if Jermaine Dye, Derek Jeter or Vladimir Guerrero sneaks up and steals it from him. I also think Jonathan Papelbon has a slight edge on Justin Verlander for Rookie of the Year, but that could change in a hurry if the Tigers righty gets close to 20-wins and pitches a few September gems in key situations. Right now, Big Papi and Little Papi have my respective votes.

I’ll use the rest of this space to answer a question from Legend Killer, who in a comment to Another Winter of Discontent listed the moves he thinks the Red Sox must make to get back in contention next year. LK then asks; “Ted what would be on your to do list.�

I agree with all of your points Killer, except for picking up Manny’s option. If I thought it would make him happy, I’d say yes. However, I think he still wants out and as soon as things turn sour, he’s going to pout and be disruptive. That’s always been the case and I don’t see it changing in the future.

What you left out is the #1 change Theo “Inept�-stein needs to make this offseason. He needs to change this “go with youth/play for the future� philosophy he succeeded in getting John Henry to agree to. Unless that happens, we’re doomed to another year of close but no cigar.

Listen, youth is wonderful and building the farm system is a great idea. What you can’t lose sight of, and what I think Theo did lose sight of, is that youth generally doesn’t prevail when the pressure is on. In fact, when young players go through the normal growing pains of becoming a major leaguer in a high-strung environment like Boston or New York, they not only fail, they tend to regress.

Young players improve when surrounded by star veterans who take the pressure off them and teach them to play the right way. For all the propaganda we’ve been fed over the years about the Yankees system being bone dry and how it will cripple them at the trade deadline, it’s the Evil Empire that was able to go get Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle, not the Red Sox. They were the ones able to trade Alfonso Soriano, yet still produce Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera and Chien-Ming Wang. They’re young and they’re good. Other than Papelbon, where’s our heralded farm system been?

And it’s not just young players. Look at Edgar Renteria and Coco Crisp. It takes a special kind of player to make his living here. For all their faults, Pedro Martinez, Johnny Damon, Derek Lowe and even Kevin Millar, not only thrived in this environment, they welcomed it. You think D-Lowe would ever disappear into the witness protection program, a la Matt Clement?

This is not Atlanta where Braves fans tolerated Tom Glavine’s 17-losses in 1988 so they could finally see some reward in 1991. Here, a guy like that gets chewed up and spit out. Unfair? Maybe, but that’s what happens when you charge people $100 to sit in a bleacher seat. (Yes, the Monster Seats are considered bleachers in any other ballpark known to mankind!) If you want to act like the Braves, start charging Braves prices. Then you’ll end up with a half-empty stadium and a fan base that doesn’t give a damn. Is that what you really want?

What Theo and John Henry need to do first and foremost is admit this new philosophy is flawed and change it, just like they did with that stupid bullpen by committee crap they tried feeding us in 2003. Then they need to search for players, young or old, that can handle this town and the rivalry with the Yankees. If it means you pay the luxury tax, so be it. Trust me, they’re making enough money from all their other ventures.

For Theo to say we don’t worry about New York until October is an amazingly ignorant statement by a very intelligent man. You’d better worry about them my friend, because they’re in your division and you’re going to see them 19-times a year. If you can’t beat them, your playoff chances become a crapshoot, and we’ve gotten the crap end of the shoot every year but 2004.

Finally, Epstein needs to get off his high horse. I can understand why rival execs might not like him and why there might be a sense of jealousy there. That’s the nature of doing business. However, a very wise person with some know-how about the front office told me there’s an ever-growing belief within the Sox organization that Theo has become quite arrogant since 2004 and that a lot of people, not just Larry Lucchino, resent it. I believe you know this person, too, Legend Killer.

Theo needs to get back to being the brilliant GM of 2004, the guy not afraid to take risks and the guy who wanted to win at any cost…the future be damned! Just because they won a World Series doesn’t give them a right to fall back into a comfort zone where they can sit back and watch the team fall apart while printing money. When you have a chance to win, GO FOR IT!

There…I feel better now! Your thoughts?