As new era dawns, old dream remains

Changes came everywhere, from the general manager's office to the owner's box, from the clubhouse to the manager's post. Now, going on 84 years without a World Series championship, the Red Sox are still faced with the task of changing something else.

Six months removed from a 2001 season characterized by dysfunction and disarray, the Sox today are scheduled to open the 2002 campaign against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Since their last appearance in Boston, the Red Sox have been sold, stripped and largely rebuilt, the ill will of last season junked as if it were someone else's old car.

``I don't know if it's a fresh start, but it's definitely different,'' shortstop Nomar Garciaparra said as the Sox transition from old to new was completed during spring training. ``We have a new owner, new general manager, new manager - different things all over. It's probably more of a fresh start because of the way things ended last year. Now we have people coming back and it just helps the whole atmosphere in general.

``It's like we're back to the way we're supposed to be,'' Garciaparra said. ``Almost like the way we expected it to be last year before everyone got hurt.''

Indeed, at times it seemed like everyone was injured during the Sox' 2001 season - including the paying customers. In the final year of longtime patriarch Tom Yawkey's legacy, the Red Sox established a single-season attendance record by drawing greater than 2.6 million fans to Fenway Park. Rarely, however, have more of those spectators gone home disappointed.

Playoff contenders when manager Jimy Williams was fired in mid-August, the Sox played themselves out of contention by going 6-23 during one gruesome stretch under replacement Joe Kerrigan. In the time since, Kerrigan, too, was replaced, his banishment coming during the spring purge that took place under the new ownership triumvirate of John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino.

Within two weeks of the formal exchange of club ownership, in fact, both Kerrigan and general manager Dan Duquette were unceremoniously dismissed, traded for the respective new-age tandem of Grady Little and Mike Port, the latter on an interim basis.

``I believe all of the changes are positive on and off the field,'' Henry said. ``New ownership, a new GM, a new manager and several new key players make for quite a different feeling.''

Soured by the experience that was the 2001 season, even Duquette and Kerrigan set out to change the makeup of the Red Sox before being relieved of their duties. Turned off by an overpaid, underachieving club that did more whining than winning (Duquette's words), the former GM and manager orchestrated their own purge, ridding the clubhouse of the many malcontents that derailed the team's 2001 hopes.

And so, while a group headed by Carl Everett, Dante Bichette and Mike Lansing was eagerly shown the door, the Red Sox welcomed in leadoff hitter Johnny Damon, starting pitcher John Burkett and first baseman Tony Clark, among others. The goal was to build a Red Sox team that was comfortable in the clubhouse and versatile on the field, two truths that were strikingly absent a year ago.

``Now that we have new people, new experience, better players and a different attitude, we should be OK - if we stay healthy, of course,'' Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez said. ``That was the biggest reason last year we didn't achieve what we wanted to achieve.''

Said Garciaparra: ``Everyone thinks we had a clubhouse that was in disarray, that we were fighting all the time and that's not the case at all. I think it was just frustration from guys being hurt and other guys coming to the ballpark, not really knowing where you're going to hit and whether you're going to play.''

Along with catcher Jason Varitek, Garciaparra and Martinez were chief among those absentees, leaving the Red Sox without the centerpieces around which their playoff seasons of 1998 and 1999 were built. In Garciaparra, the Red Sox lost a perennial Most Valuable Player candidate who won consecutive batting titles in 1999 and 2000. In Martinez, they lost arguably the best pitcher of this era, someone who was the possessor of a 60-17 record during his first three years in Boston and, entering last season, winner of consecutive American League Cy Young Awards.

And in Varitek, the Sox lost their anchor, a steadying presence who was having an All-Star caliber year when his season was prematurely ended by a fractured right elbow during a June game against the Detroit Tigers.

Slightly more than a year ago at this time, of course, the Red Sox were coming off a winter during which they signed outfielder Manny Ramirez, easily the most significant free agent acquisition in club history. They entered spring training with the prospect of having Garciaparra and Ramirez batting side by side in a lineup sprinkled around Martinez, their inimitable ace. It was a vision that never materialized, the three players never playing in a game together at the same time.

This spring, with great concern being paid to the health of Martinez, Garciaparra and Varitek, that dream, too, was reborn. Unlike their spring of a year ago, Red Sox players methodically went about their business, conducted themselves professional, prepared for the coming season. They remained largely healthy - physically, mentally and emotionally - and neatly fell into line behind their new owners, new leaders and new philosophies.

``We're trying to win a World Series,'' Garciaparra said matter-of-factly when asked about the swirl of changes.

In the past, present and future, after all, it has always remained the next logical step.

FYI hobbsie ... I would think you couls easily apply these to football hookey days ...

Ten Excuses for Missing Work
by Michele Marrinan
Monster Contributing Writer

We’ve all been there. It’s a beautiful day, and you can’t bear the thought of going into work. So you call in with some excuse about feeling ill. But you know in your bones that your boss doesn’t buy it.

The feeling ill excuse is a short-term solution that won’t win you any fans at the office -- someone else will have to pick up the slack or you’ll miss deadlines. And it won’t help your career any. Here are 10 "excuses" -- five smart and five not-so-smart -- to help you save face and your sanity.

Smart Excuses

I’ve Earned It

No one can argue with performance. Come in two or three hours early -- or stay late -- for a week or two. Then negotiate a day off in advance. "Really work when you’re there, so you’ll be able to feel good about taking time off," says Andrea Nierenberg, president of The Nierenberg Group, a management consulting and personal marketing practice in New York City.

I’m Playing Golf with a Client

For this one to work, you’ve got to have a job that requires you to meet and court current and prospective clients. Neil Simpkins, an account executive at Oxford Communications in Lambertville, New Jersey, has used this one successfully. One note of caution: Meet the client; don’t just say you did.

I Have a Doctor’s Appointment

This excuse will get you half a day or so off. Make the appointment first thing in the morning or late in the day, say around 3 p.m. You can leave the office by 2:30 p.m. and get home (hopefully) by 4 p.m. The shortened day will help you recharge, especially if you schedule it on a Friday afternoon.

I Have Cramps

Before you dismiss this one, think about it: Who can argue? "It’s such an embarrassing topic that nobody will ever challenge it," says Jennifer Newman, vice president of Lippe Taylor Public Relations. She has used this excuse -- and had it used on her -- successfully. "It’s one of those things that men honestly have no clue about, and women can sympathize with." One important point: Don’t use this one if you’re a man. It’ll never work.

I’m Working from Home

This is an excellent way to give yourself a break if your company allows it. Although you’ll need to do some work, you can generally get away with a shortened day. And you’ll cut out your commuting time.

Not-So-Smart Excuses

I’ve Had a Death in the Family

Don’t ever use this excuse if it’s not true. You’re employer will lose all trust in you. "I had an employee whose mother died -- twice," says David Wear, a PR executive in Virginia. "He also had the misfortune of losing all his grandparents (12 of them) during a two-year period."

I’m too Sleepy

When she was a manager at IBM, Marilynn Mobley heard it all. This one still makes her laugh. The employee apparently took Tylenol 3 with codeine instead of a vitamin, because the bottles looked alike.

I Can’t Get My Car Out of the Garage

This is another one that Mobley didn’t buy. An employee said that a power failure was preventing him from opening his power-operated garage door. "I reminded him that there’s a pull chain on it for just such cases," she says.

I Can’t Find My Polling Place.

Mary Dale Walters, a communications specialist at CCH Incorporated, couldn’t believe this one. A former employee needed an entire day to figure out where she had to go to vote in the 1996 presidential election.

I Have a Personal Emergency.

This one is so vague that it rarely works. It could mean anything from fatigue to an appointment with your hairdresser, and your boss knows it.

Don't lie, no matter which excuse you use. "I’m not a believer in playing hooky, because it always comes back to you," Nierenberg says. "Don’t lie to your boss or your supervisor or your clients. You're guaranteed they will be the ones you’ll run into while you’re walking down the street in your jeans."

Find a job that makes you look forward to work. Create a My Monster account and start searching today.

From: Ten Excuses for Missing Work

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