No Red Sox News = No News

I know I'm annoyingly, even obsessively Red Sox-centric in my view of baseball, but I don't think it's exaggerating to say that an large portion of the Hot Stove Season has had the Sox as a major pivot point. If it wasn't happening for the Cubs, it was all about the Red Sox. From Matsuzaka to J.D. Drew to talks about Eric Gagne to the Manny speculation, it's been a very Soxy offseason. So when there's not much going on in Red Sox Nation, there seems to be very little going on in the rest of baseball. Let's take a look at some of the main stories in baseball:

-Barry Zito is either going to pitch for the Rangers for a boatload of money or for the Mets for a slightly smaller boatload of money. The big question on everyone's mind is: who cares? Actually, the big question is how much does Barry value pitching in New York. He doesn't want to pitch for Texas. Let's face it- if there was anyone that Elton John's "Texan Love Song" was written for, it was Barry Zito. Omar Minaya knows this. What's it going to cost Barry? I refer you to my first question.

-Brad Radke announced his retirement after 12 years with the Twins. Brad was a good, servicable pitcher for a good while- lifetime 148-139 with an ERA+ of 113. A control-pitching soft-tosser, he once could have been the poor-man's Greg Maddux, but instead was more like the poverty-stricken man's Maddux, or maybe the poor man's Mike Maddux. No, Radke was better than Mike, but was probably 8 years and 75 wins short of any remote HOF consideration.

-Rod Barajas may be joining the Phillies. (yawning)

-Marcus Giles is about to join his brother with the Padres. (crickets)

-Daryl Strawberry thinks that Derek Jeter should give A-Rod a hug. (raised eyebrow)

-Pete Rose thinks Mark McGwire belongs in the Hall of Fame. (feel even worse for McGwire)

Ian Browne over on his MLB Blog is doing a Christmas list for the Sox, which is a nice idea, and hopefully that won't degenerate into flaming name-calling like most of his comment chains. You know, in the spirit of the season and whatnot. Tim Daloisio at Red Sox Times has resorted to photoshopping sneakers. In short, it's a slow news day. Enjoy the quiet. It can't possibly last long.