Bob Lobel: You Can't Always Get What You Want (in Boston Sports)

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Knowing what you want is easy. Asking for it is much more difficult, so it stands to reason that getting what you want is really tough, since you pretty much always have to ask for it.  

So, every once in a while it's probably good to figure out what you want and then ask for it. Let's begin to ask: I want the Boston Red Sox to figure it out, because they are driving me crazy. What if they figure out that David Ortiz is struggling, and they need to get him out of the lineup in a year where his celebrity has never been higher? I think that’s probably not going to happen. 

I want the fans to give Alex Rodriguez a standing ovation at some point tonight, and them give him a boo beyond boo. It would kinda recognize the conflict within for those of us who really wanted the Red Sox to get him when that opportunity was there. Count that group. 

I remember the  phone call I got at 8 am from Peter Brown, our news director. I said “hello” and he said “we got him!" 

I was thrilled, however he was talking about SADDAM HUSSEIN and I'm thinking Alex Rodriguez.

Not that the Saddam news wasn’t welcomed, because it was, but I wasn’t on that mental track at the moment. So, I want to recognize him for the truly great player he was, not for the pain in the ass player he was.

I want David Price to give all that money back and work out a "per win" deal. What are the chances of that? There's a better chance of Ted Williams walking through that door. 

I want something to do with John Farrell. I'm not sure what, but he doesn’t make the same personnel decisions I would make. Yeah, he is the manager and he has vast baseball knowledge that most of us could only dream about, but he doesn’t seem to fit here. Can't explain it, but I want him to somehow define this team, and he can't.

It's not that he won't, he can't. 

That disturbs my fan sensibilities. Why can't he, and why is it so important to me? I want the Red Sox to stay viable in this year's race, yet after the first Patriots exhibition game, the interest will shift to the never ending analysis of Jimmy G and Tom. 

Plus, I find myself gasping whenever I hear players like Edelman limp off the field. It would be an even greater sport if those injuries weren't such a common thing.

I don’t know what to want when it comes to the Celtics or Bruins. I think there is a tendency to want what you might be able to get. Only the Red Sox and Patriots offer that possibility as far as I can see. There is no end game with the Celtics and Bruins right now, at least when it comes to winning the last game of the year. 

Oh, I also want Tiger Woods to come back full force and get it on with the young and exciting new guns of the PGA tour. I want the LPGA tour to get healthy again. What does that mean? I don’t know, but I'll know it when I see it.

Summer is closing fast. It usually means more traffic, but that seems impossible in a land where there are too many people and too many cars. Over and out.