The Joy is Most Definitely Gone from Mudville

Sadly, it seems that '04 might just turn out to be an aberration. The Sox are returning to the franchise that, in the words of Emperor PalpatineGeorge Steinbrenner, refuses "to go the extra mile for their fans." Begging to Differ and the Sports Guy have takes on young Theo's departure. Simmons is roughly equivalent to mine, but BtD's in depth look at the behind the scenes stuff is pretty tough to take. Money quote:

As a contrast, the Yankees quietly signed their GM, Brain Cashman, to a new three year deal, and also got Joe Torri (ed: SIC)to return as manager, without much fanfare, just as they quietly completed the ARod deal without daily stories in the media. That level of professionalism so evident in the Yankees organization is sorely lacking in the Red Sox organization. It's not enough to make me a Yankees fan, but I sure wish we had their management.

Welcome back to second-class citizenship, Red Sox Nation.