Striking makeover for Sox

It was a vivid example of how far the organization has come in terms of inclusion and tolerance since those days just two decades ago.

It might have been an R-rated day, one fraught with much sexual innuendo by the Fab Five, but it was something that comes with a World Series championship. It has been a whirlwind of activity for the Sox since they won it all for the first time in 86 years. There are 20 books about the championship on the market. There is a movie, "Fever Pitch," a love story about a Red Sox-crazed fan. There have been photo shoots and magazine covers and interviews by the dozen. Appearances on Jay Leno, David Letterman, MTV's "Cribs."

Some Sox fans have expressed concern that the Red Sox may be too caught up in their celebrity. That they are stretching themselves too thin. It's understandable. Yesterday's taping went all day and will continue into tomorrow.

Tim Wakefield, Kevin Millar, Johnny Damon, and Doug Mirabelli all gave a lot of their time to the program, which will air June 7. Later in the day, Jason Varitek joined in, making a dramatic entrance in a helicopter that touched down in center field at City of Palms Park after he had played against the Orioles in Fort Lauderdale.

Is there any reason to be concerned about all these actvities.

"I don't think so," said Sox CEO and president Larry Lucchino. "It's confined to the offseason and spring training, so everybody is keeping it in perspective. And everyone will be focused when the time comes to be focused."

Lucchino is right. It is only spring training. Many players believe that it's two or three weeks too long anyway. And the players involved are mostly veterans, who performed at a very high level last season.

"Most of it will stop when the season begins," Lucchino said. "There's been a tremendous focus on the club this offseason, but Tito [Francona] and Theo [Epstein] and all of us recognize the clock is ticking down on this period for celebration for 2004 and ends in large part by Opening Day. So we have a few weeks to have some fun with it all."