You'd think that a day on which we learned that the Pope would rather celebrate mass at Yankee Stadium than anywhere near Boston would be a grim one. Let's face it, that's kind of like George Steinbrenner holding a press conference to announce that Yankees fans are guaranteed eternal salvation, but Red Sox fans will be hitting the highway to hell when their times come.

But hey - let the Pope do what he will. His visit to Washington and New York falls from April 15-20 - that's prime Home Opener time, so we'd be busy anyway. We'll have rings to hand out, ceremonies to enjoy, and a Rookie of the Year Award to celebrate.

Dustin Pedroia was named 2007's AL Rookie of the Year on Monday, having dominated in the voting across the board. Pedroia became the first Sox rook to take home the award since Nomar Garciaparra earned the award in 1997. Huzzah!

We're just hoping that Mike Lowell is around to celebrate in April with his teammates. The Red Sox lost their exclusive rights to Lowell at midnight, after reaching a standstill in discussions. Lowell wants four years, the Red Sox are offering three. Now other teams will be able to offer Lowell everything under the sun - hopefully he'll remember that they can offer him much, but the Sox can offer another run at the championship (yes, it was just as weird to write that as it was to read it).

-- Will Josh Beckett be awarded the Cy Young Award? We learn at 2 p.m.

Image by flickr user JawkneeP