I held this article off for a couple of extra weeks hoping the boys would pick up someone off waivers or made a last minute trade to hit the front pages and set everyone’s mind at ease. I kept waiting, crossed my fingers, and then BAM……..nothing.

I love trades. I love them because I have always loved a good trade. Out with the old, in with the new. All my life, a chicken salad for a PB & J, a fire truck for a couple of matchbox cars, you name it, if you had something I wanted, I would find a way. A trade is not a good trade unless all participants feel like they won. A good salesman will always make you feel like you are getting the better end of the deal. Ever seen a Ginsu commercial? How many times do you hear “but wait there’s more.” That is the key here.

I want to try and figure out how the bosses of the Sox figure out what deals to cut? I am slightly creative so…. picture this: I like to imagine Jimy and Dan sitting out back of one of their houses with a couple of beers, over there is Mr. Kim with a big chef’s hat taking care of the grill (sprinting inside the house to get the BBQ sauce, sprinting back out to the grill, sprinting inside to get the relish, sprinting outside to the table,) and a pile of 2000 Topps baseball cards sitting in front of them. Dan sees one he likes and flips it to Jimy for approval. Jimy turns it over to check last year’s stats and they put it aside to check for availability. I am wondering if one of the little kids in town hadn’t snuck in between rounds of baby backs and stole all the big hitter cards.

If you read my last article you know I am a recently obsessed fan of baseball, so I was excited that the trade deadline was coming. Here’s a chance to fix a couple things. Like I said, the trade deadline came and went with out the Red sox doing anything earth shattering. I kept waiting for the “but wait there’s more.” There was the seven-player deal with Colorado, but I was uninspired. I was also left wondering who had the feeling like they had the best deal. Ok sure, it was fun to watch sports center and see Wasdin get punished on his first outing, but other than that I was not terribly excited.

What I realized was that Red Sox fans will have to accept the players we have. What’s that song “ If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one your with?” Seems to apply here. The reason that we go to games is because of the team we have, sure it would have been cool to see Sammy knocking at the Coke bottles, but really, in the clutch, there are a few other guys already wearing a B on their hat that I would want swinging for us.

We won the first game of the ten game home stand with a lot of high fives and cheers. Imagine the Red Sox with a walk off Granny! We are doing stuff like that more and more this year. Last year, if I saw two outs and we were at the plate swinging for the game, I didn’t have a lot of hope. This year, I stay a little closer to the edge of my seat. I leave the remote sitting a little longer. There are more chances for us to knock down the one that would usually squeeze through, or get that two out double to drive in a friendly. I like that.

So maybe there actually is a “but wait there’s more.” More than the wildcard shot, more than winning the A.L. There is a master plan that involves: the guys we have, some luck and a big one that we are due for. I am glad for the trades we did and didn’t do. I am ready to sit back and enjoy September and October.

Next week… my new glove.

sgoodling@virtual-ink.com