THE RED SOX SAGA PART I: GM

So many questions to answer. Who will be the GM? Will Manny be traded and if so, for who? What other moves will the Sox make to improve their team? What about Johnny Damon's situation? The bullpen? The rotation? Will Keith Foulke be the closer, or will Timlin or someone from outside the organization?

The first priority has to be the vacancy at General Manager. At the moment, the Red Sox are looking at Jim Beattie and Jim Bowden.

Beattie was the GM for the Expos a few years ago and got alot out of a small payroll. He was given more money but had to share power in Baltimore in that strange co-consul ship reminiscent of the sharing of power between Julius Caesar and Pompey Magnus. He was interviewed for the Sox GM job in 2002. Beattie is scheduled for an interview in Boston on Friday.

Jim Bowden was the Reds GM from 1993 to 2003. He was then signed by the Washington Nationals who did pretty well last season, all things considered.

Two other unnamed candidates will be revealed later in the week. In the meantime, the remaining staff left behind by Theo are running things for the Red Sox. GM by Committee, if you will.

For all the bad news that has come out of the New England sports world recently, the only bright spot has been the New England Revolution. They beat the Chicago Fire 1-0 in Gillette on Saturday to win the Eastern Conference title. They play the LA Galaxy in Texas on Sunday for the MLS Cup. The Revolution have never won the MLS Cup. However, they appear to be the New England sports team best poised to win a championship.