The Only Good Thing About Lazy Media

The media is lazy. I get that. I’m not entirely sure I blame them. If they sell papers taking one minute to slap together some half true story, I guess it’s our fault. But, their laziness has created one benefit. In order to hopefully get some relevant facts into articles, the Red Sox produce a media guide. I love the fact that it’s called a “media guide.” It’s not a handbook, or a prospectus, or an information packet. It’s not a fan guide. It’s a guide strictly for the media. They’re apparently the only ones the club feels need guidance. Isn’t that telling?

But, it does make for a great book. All the information you could ask for about the Red Sox is listen in one handy place. Naturally, this season’s guide is an ode to the 100^th birthday of Fenway Park. I’m guessing that may be a common occurrence this year. Of course, I’m in favor of that. I love history and tradition. I collect Topps baseball cards. I drink Coca-Cola. I watch games at Fenway Park. It’s the perfect carryover. So, I like the historic touches in the media guide.

The player section looks to be bigger this year than last year. That’s also fine with me. I can’t get enough of the little tid-bits they throw into the player profiles. Where else would I find out that Mark Melancon has a daughter named Brooklyn? I also like the career transactions that are listed. So, I can see that Melancon has been traded for both Lance Berkman, and Jed Lowrie. Some of the players have long lists of moves over their career. It’s always fun to go back in time like that.

The other big section of any media guide is, of course, the obscure statistics. The last time the Sox swept a three-game series on the road. The pair of teammates that have homered in the same game the most. It’s all just wonderful.

I say it every year, but if you’re a Sox fan, you need to read the media guide.

It’s too much fun.