Morning Briefing : Red Sox’s Dan Is Not the Man for Off-Seasons

For Boston Red Sox fans still haunted by the sale of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, it has been another one of those winters.

Mo Vaughn left. Albert Belle and Bernie Williams snubbed them.

“This should be one of baseball’s three prime regional franchises, New England’s team,” writes Peter Gammons in the Boston Globe, “and in the last 30 years, who are the three best position players developed in that region? Carlton Fisk, Jeff Bagwell and Mo Vaughn, all exiled . . .

“The Sox believe that they, not the fans, determine which players are to be liked . . . so it was deemed not only that Fisk, Fred Lynn, Rick Burleson, Bruce Hurst, Roger Clemens and Vaughn were unworthy of enjoyment but that Reggie Jefferson is what the fans really want . . .

“When [General Manager Dan] Duquette agreed to go on WEEI . . . no calls, please--he said the two best ways for the public to follow the Red Sox were 1. redsox.com and 2. Duquette’s pregame show.

“Oh boy, and 10 years ago Boris Yeltsin probably believed the best way for the people in Russia and Latvia to find out what’s best for them was by reading Pravda.”

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More haunted: The Boston Herald’s Steve Buckley, on reports Duquette wants 32-year-old John Jaha:

“John Jaha? Why doesn’t Duquette just go for broke and bring Don Mattingly out of retirement?

“[I can see it now: Duquette and Mattingly have three days of spirited talks. . . . Duquette returns to Boston believing he has Donnie Baseball all locked up. The next day, Mattingly announces he is coming out of retirement to play for . . . the Yankees.]”

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Trivia question: Since the Lakers moved here in 1960, they have missed the playoffs three times. Who were the coaches?

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Die-hards: A symbolic protest, asking Cincinnati fans to walk out at halftime to urge Bengal owner Mike Brown to step down as general manager, fizzled when only about 100 left.

“I’ve been a fan since my grandparents used to zip me up in that little Bengals baby suit,” Henry Glaspie told the Cincinnati Enquirer on his way out with his wife and brother. “I want to be heard, definitely.”

Most fans, however, stayed.

“The man’s already got my money,” said Ernie Fail, a season-ticket holder for 15 years. “If they’re gonna do something constructive, just wear a bag over your head, you know.”

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President Who? As a Knick, Charles Oakley spoke his mind. Getting traded to Toronto, locked out and watching Patrick Ewing in his role as union president hasn’t proved soothing.

“That’s why we’re in this situation,” Oakley told the New York Times, “ ‘cause you have all these so-called franchise players who aren’t leaders, who don’t make anyone better and don’t even make the playoffs. This league has become all about fake superstars, about hype.”

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Trivia answer: Bill Sharman in 1975 and 1976; Randy Pfund and Magic Johnson in 1994.

And finally: Portland’s Damon Stoudamire, on the lockout: “I’m itching to play. I mean, why did James Naismith invent this game? Because it’s boring in the winter.”