Catching up with former Sox

Please excuse the staleness of what follows. I'll be at work late today, so I pre-wrote a bit.

Anyhoo, a couple former Red Sox have signed contracts recently: Orlando Cabrera signed with the Reds; Kevin Millar signed a minor league deal with the Cubs; and, in a surprise, Byung-Hyun Kim (who's still only 31 despite not pitching in the majors since 2007) signed a minor league deal with the Giants.

For those keeping track of former Red Sox, the Globe has a scorecard.

There's another former Red Sox in the news, but not in the transaction listings. Bill Buckner had some fun with fans at an old-timers dinner in Illinois when asked what his first thought was after the ball rolled through his legs:

"My first thought when it happened was, 'Wow, I get to play in a seventh game of a World Series. How cool is that?' And my other thought was how bad the people in Chicago must feel, Boston being here and their team not."

Finally, one guy who probably won't ever be a Red Sox is Joe Mauer, who seems to be close to signing a long-term deal with the Twins. I'd love to have him on the Red Sox, but it's better for the game to keep him in Minnesota. (I am not a gluttonous Yankees fan.) My only concern is whether this complicates matters with re-signing Victor Martinez, who would become the top catcher on the free-agent market next winter.

Antiquated Red Sox garb I

The other day I posted a picture of my Mo Vaughn T-shirt. To Christine's embarrassment, I still wear it and others of former Sox. {The embarrassment is not just over the players, but also the conditions of the shirts.}

I don't care that many, like this guy, criticize people like me who continue to wear outdated garb. Why should I black out a portion of history just because a player moved on?

Though I must admit, I do chuckle when I spot someone wearing an old Jim Eisenreich or Ricky Bottalico shirt in the park.

In this light, I will occasionally highlight a shirt that I still wear featuring a former Sox.

The first one is Nomar. It's amazing how ambivalent I have become to Mr. Hamm. He was the guy during his years in Boston. Some had argued he was reaching Ted Williams, Larry Bird or Bobby Orr status. He was amazing to watch, underrated in the discussions of the big three shortstops (Nomar/Slappy/Jeter), and although he couldn't lift the team over the hump in the playoffs, he truly seemed to care.

Until 2004.

His moping and declining defense were a drag on the team, and Nomar became an impediment for a championship. When he was dealt, I was in shock. Mostly because all we got for him was Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz. And we even had to kick in a mid-grade prospect.

But in the end, Theo was right, and the deal was about trading for a championship, not getting value equal to what Nomar used to be.

Funny, Christine and I used to argue about who was better: Nomar or Scotty Rolen - the 1997 Rookies of the Year who seemed to have a shot at the Hall of Fame. Funny, we were both wrong.

Beat writer update:

Phillies' writer
Q I hear that the Daily News is looking for a Phillies writer. What's going on?
Bill , Secane 01/22/08

A The paper just hired Dave Murphy out of the St. Pete Times. He lived as a teen in Doylestown and went to La Salle. The People Paper was in a pickle. At the end of last season, Marcus Hayes begged off the beat after six years. Then, Steve King got the job. But King is leaving the paper for personal reasons and is moving away. I hear that Murphy will not even come north before spring training.
Michael Klein