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Well, we’ve got just 12 weeks to go before Opening Day in Texas for the Sox. Manny Ramirez has apparently decided to remain with Boston, though he changes his mind so often that it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he reversed course next week. The only significant news in recent days is that the Sox signed J.T. Snow to a one-year deal to platoon with Kevin Youkilis at first base. It’s a wise move by the Sox, as he brings proven veteran leadership to the club and should be a valuable mentor to Youk as he moves to a new position.

The Sox still have neither a proven shortstop nor a center fielder; Alex Cora and Adam Stern, respectively, are penciled in those positions for the moment. Supposedly, the Sox are interested in a young outfielder by the name of Jeremy Reed from Seattle, but the Mariners want Bronson Arroyo in exchange and that may not be a price that Boston wants to pay. As for the shortstop position, now that Miguel Tejada says that he will stay in Baltimore, the Sox might now look to Tampa Bay infielder Julio Lugo, though his numbers aren’t that much better than recently-departed Edgar Renteria‘s.

Well, it’s been some time since our last post – in fact, this is officially the first post of the New Year! Unfortunately, the whole family was under the weather for some time and there wasn’t much to write about unless you wanted to hear about all the sniffling, sneezing, coughing, and aching. Lea recovered very nicely from her scare with RSV but has lately been dealing with the teething issue, meaning that she’s been awake for part of the night, usually for at least a couple hours at a time. So it goes with an infant.

Meanwhile, Jakob is doing well. He recovered first and was back to bouncing off the walls, the ceiling, and everything else. Yesterday we took him outside to play in the snow and he had a blast, of course. He really enjoyed having Daddy pull him around the yard on the new sled that he got for Christmas from his grandparents. He also helped Jeff clear some of the driveway, or at least a small portion of it (a couple of scoops counts).

In other news, the basement is still a work in progress. Jeff got back down there this weekend and installed more insulation. Hopefully, very soon we should be able to start putting up the sheet rock. We actually bought a new television – a nice flat screen that we got for next to nothing at a post-Christmas sale – and that will be going down there eventually.

The Patriots also live another week. After winning the division and seeding fourth, they manhandled Jacksonville at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night during Wild Card weekend, so it’s off to Denver this coming Saturday for a rematch with the Broncos (who clobbered the Pats back in October, 28-20). If they get past them, then it will be either a trip to Indianapolis to face the Colts or a home game against Pittsburgh for the AFC championship, but it’s one week at a time with this team.

Time to say goodbye to 2005 and ring in 2006. No Red Sox World Series title this year, but we did celebrate the birth of our daughter, Lea, which is worth an infinite number of championship titles. Here’s to another year of life and what comes with it…

Well, it’s been almost a week since our last post but more for reasons beyond our control. While in New York this weekend, Jakob was still battling that cold and Lea eventually caught it from him on Monday. After coming home Tuesday evening, she was still coughing and sputtering but doing okay until she suddenly threw up as we prepared for bed. All though the night, it became routine where she’d sleep for no longer than 45 minutes or so before waking up crying and then throwing up everything.

So, knowing what she knows, Tiffany took her to the emergency room yesterday morning, where the doctors determined that she had RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), which is extremely contagious and can be fatal if not treated properly. Luckily, it was caught well before anything serious could take place so, besides the congestion and the misfortune of having to be in the hospital, Lea is doing as well as would be expected of a three-month old. Tiffany is also handling herself well, despite the lack of sleep this week and being under the weather herself.

Meanwhile, Jeff and Jakob are home holding down the fort until Lea and Tiffany can return home and restore order. Jake is nearly in the clear, still coughing occassionally but not suffering from runny noses and sleeping straight through the night. As for Jeff, he is in the midst of his dealings with this cold but is managing just fine. Not exactly what everyone hoped to be doing during his week off from work, but at least the Patriots are still flying high (four straight wins after dismantling the Jets on MNF).

Well, here it is, Christmas Eve 2005 and Santa will be hitching up his sleigh in a few hours to deliver toys to all the good little girls and boys. We’re out here in upstate NY at Tiffany’s mother’s home and tomorrow we will get to enjoy dinner with all the trimmings and exchange gifts with loved ones. Most importantly, we get to say thanks for everything that we do have, knowing that there are those of us out there that do not share our good fortunes. If you haven’t already done so, please consider donating your money and/or your time for a good cause, whether it’s putting a few dollars in the Salvation Army kettle, collecting sweaters and jackets to donate to those who feel the cold, or serving hot meals to those who truly feel hunger, and not just this season, but throughout the year.

… and to our Jewish friends, we send you Happy Hanukkah wishes for joy and blessings during Hanukkah and throughout the year.

Love, The Moons

Well, it’s more like that cough that makes you sound like a barking dog, but that’s what Jakob had today. We’re not sure who or where he got it from but it had him down most of today. Luckily, Children’s Tylenol works quick. He was back to his usual self in no time, i.e., he was awaking Lea from her naps. Hopefully, he will be feeling better soon, especially with us heading to upstate New York this weekend to visit with Tiffany’s family.

Did I read that right? Have my eyes deceived me? Johnny Damon in pinstripes? Someone wake us up, this can’t be happening…

So rather than stay and maintain that aura which had made him the toast of the town, Damon has decided that the difference of $3 million per season over four years makes it worth jumping ship and joining Boston’s archrival. A year ago, we were all celebrating the return of Varitek to the fold; now our faces hang not like the stockings from the chimney with care.

Two observations:

1. Damon’s loss will hurt more on offense than defense. As one of the premier lead-off hitters in baseball, the Red Sox will need to find someone of his caliber to get on base and cross the plate more than 100 times per season, as he did every year that he was wearing a Boston uni. In the outfield, however, it became apparent this past season that he had lost a step or two, and the fact that his throwing motion looks like he’s participating in a shot put contest doesn’t help, either. Runners coming from second on a hit up the middle were rarely concerned about testing his arm and getting thrown out at the plate.
2. For all that he did here, we say thanks. Along with the other Idiots, he made it fun to be a Red Sox fan again. That grand slam in Game Seven of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees pretty much assured the long-suffering fans of Boston that we were returning to the World Series and, more importantly, finally getting the last laugh on New York. Just don’t do that to us, okay?

Even though Christmas is still four days away, we got to celebrate early as Jeff’s brother Greg, his wife Becca, and the two boys, Austin and Ethan, came up from Virginia for a quick visit! After a nice dinner Tuesday evening, we exchanged gifts and watched as each kid’s toy closet get a little more packed. Then, this morning, we got together for breakfast at Denny’s and followed that with some play time in the backyard, where Jakob and his two cousins got to work on a snowman and test our their new sleds (Lea, in reviewing her options, chose to take a nap).

Unfortunately, they are only up for the week and, after a brief stay at Jeff’s parents down on the Cape tonight, head back tomorrow so that they can enjoy Christmas together at home. Still, it was great that they are willing to make the 14-hour(!) trip from Norfolk, VA every year and visit with us. Hopefully, we will have the opportunity very soon to reciprocate and visit with them in Virginia Beach.

Well, it looks like we will be dropping off the kitten at a vet’s place in Dunstable tomorrow morning. The woman from Kitty Angels will be out of town for the next few days, but we’ll be heading out of town ourselves at the end of the week and he needs attention. We’ve come to the conclusion that, as cute as he is, we just don’t have the time or energy to take on another cat right now.

If you are interested in him, he should be available soon for adoption. We don’t know procedure the organization follows before they start to advertise him as available, but feel free to go to the web site, look for the phone number, and tell them that you want the orange tiger kitten that just changed hands.

So Nomar is now playing first base for the Dodgers, having signed a one-year deal with incentives to play in Los Angeles. It’s not that surprising when you consider that Garciaparra is a California boy. It makes you wonder if he’s going to be another Fred Lynn: a player whose career started with so much promise but fizzled due to injuries. The comparisons are almost staggering… nevertheless we wish him nothing but the best.

So now that’s four former Boston player in Dodger Blue with Grady Little managing and former teammates Derek Lowe and Billy Mueller taking the field with him. We’re going have to start calling them the West Coast Sox.