Happy Mondays

In response to Whit's response to my inquiry below:

The past week notwithstanding, my answer to your question is an unequivocal "yes". It seems to be the consensus of the Sox blogosphere and beat media (that's the day-to-day writers, not something I'd like to do with a bat) that this Sox team has terrific chemistry and that they enjoy coming to the yard.

My own decidedly unscientific research comports directly with that viewpoint. Terry Francona had a great moment during last weekend's Sox/Yanks series that illustrates the issue for me. As Tito was being interviewed by the broadcast team during the game (I can't remember if it was Saturday or Sunday), David Ortiz stood behind the skipper rolling his eyes and making blahblahblah hand gestures. As the broadcasters informed Francona of Papi's insubordination, Francona smirked and said (on national television, mind you), "I'll knock him on his ass". The cutaway shot revealed Ortiz and Francona in joint giggles.

Add to that the recent reports about Dustin Pedroia's team-first attitude, Eric Hinske's blissful relief upon being bailed out by JC Romero after making a potential game-losing error, the Papi hug ritual for nearly all run-scorers, and the singular lack of grousing in the media, and I think you get a powerful argument that this team's got a very positive mindset.

In a complete non-sequitur, I note that Sunday's Sox/Yanks telecast was the highest-rated game in the history of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. I'm wholly ambivalent on that, as I'm increasingly fatigued by Sox/Yanks overkill - to the point where I'm glad that they don't meet again until August. If I'm tired of it, it stands to reason that regular baseball fans must be at head-in-the-oven levels. But if that's the case, why did nearly 4 million people tune in even while the Sopranos penultimate episode aired?