Red Sox still have holes to fill

Idle chatter while waiting for the hammer to come down on Julio Lugo ?It was interesting watching the MLB channel Thursday and listening to the experts n en masse n picking the Red Sox to win the pennant and, for the most part, the World Series as well.I only wish I felt as good about them as these guys do.I still feel the Red Sox need another bat somewhere in the lineup. With both David Ortiz and Jason Bay having experienced major slumps thus far this season, it boggles the mind to think about what?ll happen if they both pick the same time to go into a dip.They also could use a lefty specialist. The bullpen is suffering from “once-around-the-circuit” syndrome, and these righties who were eating up left-handed hitters back when nobody knew anything about them have suddenly run into trouble against them.Maybe it?s a lifetime of watching the Red Sox have the Midas touch in reverse, but whenever things start looking too good with them, start looking up, and get ready to duck. The other shoe will drop somewhere along the line.uNot that Antoine Walker was ever the second coming of Dr. J., but when he was first with the Celtics, there were times when he was fun to watch. He had a swagger, he wasn?t afraid to put it up from anywhere, and he was generally entertaining in the quote department too.So to hear he was led away from a Las Vegas casino in handcuffs Thursday for failing to pay more than $1 million in gambling debts is more than just a little sad. And it gives you a reason to pause and contemplate all the different ways people who aren?t used to having a lot of money can become victims of their own excesses if they?re not careful.He was never the player he thought he was, but I don?t think anyone ever expected things to get this bad.uWhat would possess anyone to walk into a lockerroom at a football game that celebrates everything good about kids and pilfer belongings from the players? That actually happened at the Agganis game Wednesday night.Just put that down on my list of things I?ll never understand as long as I walk this mortal coil.uSpeaking of the Agganis Game, the Northeastern Conference certainly made a case for itself in this clash of all-stars. Melikke VanAlstyne and Chris Berangar both ran for more than 100 yards, with VanAlstyne, from Salem, scoring twice And Beranger, of Winthrop, once (and almost twice).Furthermore, Cam Smith of Classical picked off two passes n one of them late in the game when the North looked as if it might drive down and score the game-tying touchdown.Jesse Fowler of Lynn English also played well at quarterback in what had to be one of the best Agganis Classics in the last decade.Not to do too much bragging here, but sometimes n as they say in baseball n you get lucky and put the right finger down. All four of the aforementioned players were Item Football All-Stars; and two of them (VanAlstyne and Beranger) were major award winners.uWe would be remiss if we didn?t give a tip of the cap and a thank you to all the officials in the various sports who donated their time for the Agganis games. But a special thank you goes out to John “Soup” Campbell (apparently, anyone with that last name eventually becomes a “Soup”).When fellow umpire Lenny Myslinski found out that n through an oversight n the Agganis softball crew was a person short, he prevailed upon Campbell to pinch-hit with very little advance notice.Campbell was more than happy to do so, and come noon this past Sunday, he joined Myslinski and Diane Prouty on the diamond at Fraser Field.