With Fronds Like These, Who Needs Anemones?

Photo of our closer taken by Jim Davis for the Boston Globe 

Okay, so Papelbon might be a ball-grabbing, jokester who can’t pronounce his own teammate’s name correctly (shout out to Jere!), but at least he isn’t weird.   And by weird, I mean this (Thanks to Opie for the heads up!):

The news that Jeter and Rodriguez had lunch, believed to be at P.F. Chang’s before Wednesday’s first full-squad workout, surprised those who believe the relationship between the superstars is as cold as ice.   "You all assume things you shouldn’t assume," Jeter said when asked about the lunch being something of a surprise. "I have lunch with a lot of people."   When asked about the lunch, Rodriguez said, "Where did you get that [information] from?"   Told Jeter voluntarily offered it, Rodriguez grinned.

I love that they, obviously, didn’t tell ARod that Jeter also told them not to assume the lunch meant anything.  I mean, that probably would have turned ARod’s grin upside down, no?

It fascinates me that someone so rich and so talented and so famous is also so very freaking needy.

You’re a better player than Jeter, ARod (did I just compliment Slappy?), get over the man-crush and move on.

Speaking of the Yankees, Steve Buckley has an uncharacteristically good (and interesting) piece about my man Mike Timlin being on the cusp of becoming only the second player in MLB history to have five World Series rings without ever having played on the Yankees (thanks to Red for the heads up on this one!).   The other player is Stuffy McInnis, who we all remember as the first baseman for the 1918 Boston Red Sox.  (Well, really all most of us will remember him for his his errorless, consecutive game streak at first that Kevin Youkilis broke last year.)

If Timlin gets a fifth ring, does that make him better than Jeter since, as I already pointed out this week, many Yankees fans look to Captain Fistpump’s four World Series rings as proof of his fabulousness?

And if Timlin is better than Jeter, does that make him better than ARod since ARod already seems to think Jeter is better than him?

Have I mentioned lately how insanely fun it is to be a Red Sox fan in this century?