Thanks for the Memories, Mookie,

It is inconceivable to lifelong Red Sox fans such as ourselves that the Sox’ management decided to trade away Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for a few random players.

Mookie not only was an amazing talent who gave the Sox an ability to compete with the best teams in the league, but he also brought a joy and exuberance to the game that was infectious both on the field and throughout every nook and cranny of Fenway Park. 

The Red Sox management apparently feels the need to cut payroll because of the luxury tax, whatever that is (and you need to be an accountant to figure out the byzantine structure of salary caps in pro sports these days). 

Maybe that’s so, but what is not beyond dispute is that our summer evenings, whether at Fenway or in front of our big-screen televisions, will be a lot less exciting without Mookie Betts either at the plate, on the basespaths, or in right field.