In Boston, John Tomase wrote if you can "divorce yourself from the disappointment of the last two seasons ... it’s hard to objectively find fault with the way" Red Sox Owner John Henry has run the team. His "biggest mistake -- and it was a doozy, in retrospect -- was spending too much money on players who either didn’t fit in Boston or were past their primes" (BOSTON HERALD, 2/17). Former BOSTON HERALD editorial page deputy editor Virginia Buckingham asked, "How are we criticizing ownership that after 86 years of heartbreak brought us two World Series Championships in four years?" Buckingham: "I want to thank this ownership team for maintaining and fostering the great Red Sox tradition and doing its best to bring us another championship" (BOSTON HERALD, 2/17).
TWIN BILLS: In Minneapolis, Phil Miller noted Twins single-game tickets "went on sale to the general public" last weekend, but team President Dave St. Peter said the demand was "a bit muted compared to the first few years at Target Field." For instance, "plenty of tickets for Opening Day against" the Tigers and a July 4 series with the Yankees "remained on sale on the team's website as of Sunday." Similar games "sold out quickly in the first three seasons of Target Field." But St. Peter noted that the Twins still "sold 50,000 tickets on Saturday" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/18).
FEELING ROYAL: The Royals this offseason added Ps James Shields and Ervin Santana, and 1B Eric Hosmer praised the team for the moves. He said, "The front office has gone out and done the moves they feel they’ve needed to do and strengthen our ball club. … The fans in Kansas City have been hearing all about it for many years now and I think the way to build that excitement back at (Kauffman Stadium) is to get out and show them, ‘Hey, we’re here and we’re ready to play for you guys this year’” (“MLB Tonight,” MLB Network, 2/18).
