Can You Feel the Red Sox Love?

It was only a few short months ago that Boston washed its hands of center fielder Johnny Damon and his decision to move to the Yankees. Did he think the city was going to throw him a roast at the .406 Club or something? This is the city that declares oh so eloquently that “Yankees Suck” and when Johnny was photographed wearing the pinstripes and that spic and span haircut, Bostonians definitely gave him a roasting over some hot coals. Well, it seems that Johnny has decided to be a gentleman and poured his heart out in a full-page advertisement in the Globe yesterday. Bostonist thinks that all that bad press after he left town got through to the cave man months later and he felt this ad would help ease the pain. Or perhaps he’s scared of the obligatory “boos” when he’ll take the plate this spring. Either way, we do admit it was a smooth move on his part. But the Herald wants Damon to know that they’re not bitter he didn’t place an ad in their paper. They think it might have something to do with his ex-wife perhaps?

And on a side note, does anyone else find the image of himself screened in the background a bit narcissistic or is Bostonist being too sensitive this afternoon?

While Damon is saying his good-byes, the Sox clubhouse is acting like a sorority girl that is dirty rushing a potential player this season. It was announced this week that Sox management is creating a video montage to lure Roger Clemens away from Texas to finish up his career here in Boston. Clemens is a free agent this year and hasn’t even decided if he’s going to play, but that’s not stopping the Sox from trying to pull at his heart strings and make him nostalgic for the good ol’ days. Everyone is expecting him to stay in Texas since that’s where his family is, so we’ll be surprised if he makes a move based upon a videotape. Of course, if they use some cool video techniques like fade outs with “Eye of the Tiger” playing, he might be won over.

And on a final Sox note, Bostonist read this story in Monday’s Herald and was kind of freaked out at it, but in a touching, we-love-the-Sox sort of way. A new billboard announcing tickets on sale was recently hung over Yawkey Way. The sign has three young guys celebrating with Trot Nixon after hitting a home run and winning Game 3 against the Yankees in 2003. While anyone on the street would look at the sign and keep on walking, it turns out there’s more to the poster. It just so happens that one of the fans is 20-year-old Joseph Fitzgerald of Quincy, who was killed by an alleged drunk driver the day of the World Series parade in October 2004. He was a huge Sox fan, so when his parents discovered the sign last week when they were in the area, they were shocked.

“After he died I prayed, God give me a sign that he’s OK. Well, we got a sign all right,” said Thomas, a 39-year BPD veteran who retired last week. “I feel like that’s my kid up there saying, ‘It’s all right, Dad. Don’t worry about me, Dad.’ ”