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!" 

Bob Lobel: The Annual Spring Pivot of Red Sox Fans

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

It's time for the annual spring pivot. You must know what I'm talking about, Red Sox die-hards.  

Spring training began six weeks ago, and the optimism was abundant! Oh yeah, the usual stuff about chubby players, rich players that should be able to play better, or at least show they want to win. And, of course, the annual "will the manager get past memorial day?" 

It was all totally harmless back then. The pitching staff will be ready, the team will be ready, blah, blah, blah!

So here comes the the annual spring pivot. 

Bob Lobel: The Red Sox and Republicans are Giving us Plenty to Talk About

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

In a lifetime of hanging around sports venues and being fortunate enough to be there for some of the most exciting moments, it all pales by comparison to the debates on TV staged by the Republicans. 

Send the kids to bed for the 9 pm start. 

They rate it R, and it doesn’t stand for Republican. 

For people to get in and watch in person, be prepared to be carded. The most frequently asked question has been, “have you ever seen anything like this?” The answer, from just about everybody in the know, is a resounding "no!" 

Of course not, you couldn’t make this stuff up! It is a little difficult to see how America will be great again after watching the arguing of these three children and their adult chaperone from Ohio. 

The only bad thing is, we are running out of debates!

Bob Lobel: Red Sox Problems Run Deeper than Farrell and Cherington

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Here is my evaluation of the 2015 Boston Red Sox, a quarter of the way through the season: They have been awful.

When you can’t pitch and don’t hit, you could have a problem. Is that problem solvable? Who the hell knows. 

Fire Ben and John, our cerebral GM and manager? Don’t think so. I say there's a 4th of July deadline, or at most, the trading deadline at the end of July. If there is any good news that you can get from the bad, it's that the rest of the division sucks too. 

We just suck a little more right now.  

Just What Happened to the Red Sox? From Worst to First and Back Again

Manager John Farrell transformed the Red Sox from a last place team to a World Series champion in his first season at the helm, but year two hasn't been nearly as magical.

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

Heading into Wednesday night, the Red Sox had lost four games in a row, and seven of their last eight, to drop to a season-worst 12-games below .500. The last-place team in the American League East avoided their 52nd loss of the season in yet another one-run game Wednesday when Brock Holt delivered his first walk-off hit of his young career.

Mike Carp would follow those heroics with a 10th-inning walk off Thursday night against Chicago, but the Red Sox are still sitting in last place, 9.5 games out in the American League East, and eight games out of the Wild Card, heading into this weekend's All Star break.

Bob Lobel: Spring Brings New Expectations for the Sox

 By Bob Lobel  @boblobel

After endless days and nights filled with snow, cold and frozen pipes, I can only offer the following: When you walk into a room and it is full of horse s—t and smells like horse s—t, look long and hard for the pony. 

A simple remedy to keep in mind until spring shows up. And it will. Always has. Just like the Red Sox showing up for spring training. A year makes quite a difference. Last year, the spring training Sox walked into that room and smelled all the horse s—t that was left behind, then found the pony. 

Clearly, the best things are surprises that you least expect. Thank you Boston Red Sox for that surprise last year. Now, go do it again! Not such an easy task when there are expectations complicating matters. Expectations always complicate things for the simple reason they inevitably out pace reality. Don’t expect a full blow race horse when all you need is a pony.