According to the New York Times, the Yankees may be interested in signing Aaron Boone to play second base. Tyler Kepner reports:

General Manager Brian Cashman expressed interest to Boone's agent, Adam Katz, when Katz called last week. Cashman said his interest in Boone is primarily for next season, and that if the Yankees signed him, it would be to a two-year deal.

"It's nothing extensive at this point, but just a recognition that he's going to be back," Cashman said. "I don't know if he's going to be back this year. Any thoughts I would have are more toward next year."

Meanwhile, the Yankee season resumes tonight in Tampa Bay. Opening Day starters, Mike Mussina and Carlos Zambrano will face off again, and Bernie Williams returns to the Yankee line up as the DH (yay!).

I can't wait to watch the game.

Trouble in Mind

There is a long, but wonderfully entertaining interview with historian Glenn Stout over at RedSoxNation.net (kudos to the guys at Red Sox Nation, they did a terrific job). I like Stout because he's a good writer, and a straight-shooter. For starters, he isn't one of the dreamers pining for a Cubs-Sox World Serious this year:

GS: I think a Cubs/Sox World Series would be over-hyped to the point it would almost be unendurable -- definitely a Series to watch only with the sound off and with the newspapers left piling up in the driveway. But I don’t think losing to the Cubs would be worse than what happened last year -- let’s face it, the ALCS was the World Series last year, the Red Sox and Yankees were the two best teams in baseball and that series was one of the most compelling in the history of the game.

Further, here is Stout's take on the current Red Sox team:

RSN: The 1967 “Impossible Dream” team was as beloved and storybook as any in team history. How do they compare to the 2003 squad in terms of team chemistry and the adoration of the fans?

GS: I don’t think the 2003 team compares at all, really. I think much of the vaunted “chemistry” was marketing BS, the result of a protective press and the club’s ability to keep problems below the radar. 1967 was real and genuine and happened all on its own. 1967 will never be forgotten; 2003 will just be another year in the larger view, albeit a painful one.

RSN: What is your opinion of the 2003 Red Sox?

GS: Personally, I never bought into last years’ team. I never saw they were all that different from dozens of Sox clubs’ over much of the last century -- they were a slow, poor defensive team built around hitting and self-obsessed stars with not enough pitching. I didn’t see anything new in any of that.

On that note, the Red Sox are making headlines today for all the wrong reasons. Evidentally, Pedro Martinez left the ballpark in the middle of the game on Sunday night. Dan Shaughnessy asks: "Why does this stuff always happen with the Red Sox? Why can't it just be about the baseball? Even for one day." Does new manager Terry Francona really have a situation on his hands? Nick Cafardo reports in the Globe:

Now the public is waiting to see how Francona handles this, just as it waited to see how Grady Little handled Manny Ramirez's situation last season. A couple of Sox players were also interested in how their new manager would handle the situation, one indicating, "I don't think it's a big deal, but right off the bat Terry has to handle a situation. I know he'll handle it and be fair because that's the way he's been so far."

Sox fans should feel better by tonight, when Curt Schilling makes his first start for the old towne team.

Oh yeah, it didn't take Barry Bonds long to pick up where he left off last season, huh?