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December 08, 2006^12:46am
Jeff7168^383
Closing the Winter Meetings Without a Closer
www.bosoxbanter.mlblogs.com
Red Sox
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I think that, in Boston, the media is even more cynical and negative than in New York City. If the Sox have a three-game losing streak, cries of doom and gloom appear in the Globe, Herald and surrounding publications. If the GM makes a trade that doesn't work out, reporters call for his head on a platter. When a manager guides a team to an exceptional regular season, but makes the mistake of leaving Pedro in too long, there are demands for his dismissal. In the off season, regardless of the moves that are made, they are accompanied with criticism - only to justify the media's existence, in my opinion.


I can say this with credibility because I have been a reporter and editor for newspapers and magazines, and now I make my living as a full-time freelance features writer for magazines. As a freelance writer, I pick and choose the subjects that I write, and the publications for which I write. As a sports beat writer or a sports columnist for a major metro daily newspaper, you have the pressure of filing stories on a regular basis. You have space to fill, and often when there is little news to fill that space, you create your own. Thus the lunacy of stories filed by reporters like Eric Wilbur and Dan Shaughnessy of the Globe and Tony Massarotti of the Herald.


Simply put, if you know the game of baseball, you know that - just because your team does not have a closer in place on Dec. 7 - the sky is not falling. There is plenty of time to make a trade. And when your team enters that inevitable slump during the season, there is no need to panic. Every team has ups and downs. As a fan, it is best to realize that many sports columnists write what they write just to evoke a reaction and create entertainment. They should not be taken seriously - especially columnists at the Globe and the Herald.