Red Sox May Have Interest in Prince Fielder

See what I just did there? I just learned from the professionals how to drag people in with junk headlines. You see things like that all over the place these days as rumor mills keep churning. When people are desperate for the latest hot tips, things like that can really draw attention.

The best part? It’s true enough that I can defend it if things get really sticky and someone calls me on it. First of all, I threw in the word “may” just as a catchall. I don’t need it to make the headline true, but it’s a nice safety valve. After all, of course the rest of it is true. The Red Sox have interest in Prince Fielder. Why wouldn’t they? They guy can hit a ton. What team wouldn’t want a guy with 50 home run power? Are they interested in paying him the amount of money he’ll be looking for? Of course not. Although, I guess I don’t that for sure. They “may.” But, if Fielder came to them tomorrow and said, “I love Boston. I’ve always wanted to play here. I’ll sign for a three-year contract at $3 million a year. I don’t care if I’m just the back-up DH.” The Sox have interest.

It’s also nice because I don’t need to do any real research to write a story about how the Red Sox may have interest in Prince Fielder. That’s a real time-saver when it comes to cranking out a post. It’s just opinion, written to look like new information. I bet Ben Cherington has said something in the past about Fielder that I could quote now, pretending it was a recent quote. Something like, “We’re exploring many options at this point.” If I put that into an article about the Sox wanting Fielder, it’s practically confirmation. The jackpot would, of course, be if Ben ever used Fielder’s name. Maybe he mentioned something during the home-run derby last year. Something like, “Ortiz’s team looks strong but a team with Fielder on it would be tough to beat.” Just truncate that, and it practically confirms that Ben made an offer. That was easy. Plus, if by some freak of the cosmos the Sox sign Fielder, I look like a genius. It’s a compete win for me and my scoop.

Which is what drives me nuts about reading about the Sox this time of year. Almost all of the “articles” are this nonsense. The Red Sox have contacted the agent for Francisco Cordero. No kidding. A team in need of a closer called the agent for an available closer? Color me surprised. The Red Sox have Roy Oswalt in their radar. Really? A team in need of a couple starters is aware of a free agent starter? You must be joking.

It means very little. But, it fills column inches.

Just like it did for me.