Larry the K's Lineup

Today (Jan. 28, 2023) marks 37 years since the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Since that disaster, which was caused by a failure of the O-rings that held the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters bolted to the shuttle, we learned that many engineers with Morton-Thiokol, which made the boosters, warned their superiors and those at NASA against launching on a very cold morning in Florida, but those warnings were sadly --- and tragically --- ignored, leading directly to the explosion, according to investigations and books that came out in the months and years following the Challenger disaster. To mark that tragedy --- which occurred 19 years after the Apollo 1 launch pad fire killed three astronauts during a test of the Apollo moon capsule on Friday, Jan. 27, 1967 ---   I’m posting this column that I wrote for The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA, on Feb. 1, 2006. That column follows: ***** ( Note to readers: This column is...

The late Lou Gorman used to take a lot of grief from Boston Red Sox fans for some of his moves when he was the general manager of the Sox, and for his classic quotes. For instance, when he was asked by the press why he didn’t pursue outfielder Willie McGee during the trade deadline, he replied, “But where would we play Willie McGee?” (The longtime St. Louis Cardinals outfielder, a speedster, did play one season, 1995, with the Red Sox, but that was when Dan Duquette was the GM.) Gorman’s most famous quote came from spring training in 1987, when, in response to Roger Clemens leaving spring training because he was unhappy about his contract, Gorman cracked: “The sun will rise, the sun will set and I'll have lunch." Gorman also took a lot of grief for trading away then-third base prospect Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros in exchange for relief pitcher Larry Andersen. The latter helped the Sox clinch the 1990 AL East title, but he became a free agent after the season and never ...

Truck Day --- when the Boston Red Sox equipment van leaves Fenway Park for the annual mid-winter trip to Jet Blue Park in Fort Myers, Fla., for spring training --- is Friday, Feb. 3 and pitchers and catchers will report shortly after, with their first workout on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Normally, that’s exciting news for fans who have been freezing all winter long, but this year, that will be no cause for celebration due to all of the question marks on the Red Sox roster. The truth is that even the 10-year extension of third baseman Rafael Devers for $331-plus million didn’t improve the 2023 club. The signing only kept someone the Sox couldn’t afford to lose. (Devers was already signed for this year.) The high number of Red Sox question marks is on Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom, whose failure to first extend shortstop and homegrown hero Xander Bogaerts and then to sign him once he became a free agent could spell doom for the Sox in 2023 unless a miracle happens. Bloom --- except fo...

Larry, their older daughter Arianna and Lynne at a wedding Oct. 29, 2022 on the  34th anniversary of Larry and Lynne's wedding. In this column, published in the January edition of Jewish Rhode Island of Providence, R.I., I look ahead to 2023 by listing five things that I’d like to see less of and five other things that I’d like to do more of, after feeling restricted the last three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's the link to the column on the publication’s website: https://www.jewishrhody.com/stories/my-2023-wish-list,25834? ***** With another year in the rear-view mirror, I thought I’d take an unconventional look at 2022 by discussing five things I want to see much less of in 2023 and five activities I’d like to resume or increase after nearly three years of still limiting what I do because of the forever virus. It’s painfully clear that COVID-19 is never going away, which is a severe disappointment to people like myself who are not only fully vaccinated, but wh...