I've finally caught up on my sleep. And although the snow has yet to fall, it seemingly has been a long winter. I pine for the arrival of Opening Day (April 4), but will settle to see the pitchers and catchers report in February. Still a long way off.

The warmth I felt from the sight of the trophy on Dec. 16 is beginning to fade although the memory lingers, imprinted on my mind for perhaps an eternity. Standing in line - thousands strong - waiting for the sun to push the shade, as we inched our way toward the entrance. What fun. Friendly Fenway somehow had crept its way north. There is something truly special about Red Sox fans, especially in December.

The muffled clapping met the first sighting of the World Series trophy.

Never has an inanimate object received such applause, I am sure. While small in numbers, the collective heart of the group was large - larger than anything I could put into words. These were strangers no longer. A new found kinship had emerged.

The moment is frozen forever in my mind and in photographs.

My wife, daughter and I even made the newscast on WMTW, proudly displaying our smiles with the trophy as Burt Ives sang "Silver and Gold" in my head.
You can see all the fans who had their photo taken on the brisk day at redsox.com (We're in December 17's Gallery 4)

The Patriots too are doing their part to keep the championship feeling alive. And I've followed them faithfully this year. Looking forward to the three playoff games. The Super Bowl will bring us into February, still a long way from spring training.

Besides, the gridiron is not the field of dreams. You can't smell the grass at Gillette. You certainly can't feel the warmth of the sun. Heck on some Sundays, numb from the cold, you can't feel a thing.

There's been little Red Sox news. Yes, the team has made some big acquisitions (Edgar Renteria, Wade Miller, Matt Clement and David Wells). But unless a surprise signing of Carlos Delgado stops the presses, the organization is most certainly done manuevering. Okay, perhaps Kevin Millar or Doug Mientkiewicz will get traded. Other than that the Red Sox are frozen. Waiting for the thaw as I am.

Yes, its already been a long winter with many weeks to go. So what is there to do?

I've started to read about days gone by. I'm a little bit of a history buff and during these long winters, when I'm not snowshoeing, I'm sitting on a comfortable chair, falling deeper in to the pages of a good book. I've already completed two and working on two more.

This year of course I decided to read about the past season a little. In fact, very little. I recently got Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan's "Faithful." It's perhaps a decent chronicle of two diehard fans, but I was rather disappointed. I found little difference between their e-mails and my Weblog. Well, they may have been a tad more eloquent. I got the distinct impression that the book would have been much better had the Red Sox lost, believe it or not. Let's not forget King writes horror.

Don't get me wrong, I believe Mr. King is one of the most important writers of our time. With that in mind, I will recommend another one of his books that was recently published in children's pop-up form, "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon."

"Faithful" I had to put down. Perhaps its too soon to reminisce. It will probably be better in 10 years.

So I went to the shelves and discovered another book which I had not, up to this point, had the chance to read. "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cooperstown" is truly a fun read. The autobiography of Mickey McDermott, the one-time Red Sox phenom, lefty starter, turned reliever, turned drunken failure, is funny and brutally honest. McDermott is also weirdly connected to some of the greatest players of all time. He apparently could sing too.

He pitched with the Red Sox, Yankees, Cardinals and a number of other teams of the '40s and '50s with the likes of Williams, Pesky, Mantle and Musial. He drank with Whitey Ford, Ellis Kinder and the infamous Billy Martin. Sometimes he jumps from place to place on the timeline, but he tells some fantastic stories.

But my great find next to Roger Angell's "Game Time" is Roger Angell's "Five Seasons" which covers 1972 through 1976, including the 1975 World Series between the Red Sox and Cardinals. In fact, I recommend any of Roger Angell's books. He has a wonderful way of sitting you in the stands. Reliving games like they happened yesterday. Truly one of if not the best baseball writers I've had the pleasure of reading. "Game Time" has interviews with some of the greats of the game including Bob Gibson, who never granted anyone an interview, or almost anyone anyway. He like me is a true baseball fan. I'm sure he too is anxiously waiting for the robins to return.

There are two other books that I would highly recommend, "Teammates" by David Halberstam. This book takes us on a road trip back to the 1940s and 50s with Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, and Johnny Pesky. The three (actually two) head south on a road trip down Memory Lane to see Ted Williams, shortly before his death. Mr. Halberstam captures the bond these four men shared. A bond that most resembled a brotherhood. Whenever I think of Williams, I get a little choked up and wish I had seen him in action. The other book, also by Halberstam, retells one of the best and worst Red Sox seasons, "The Summer of '49." I have read this book more than once most recently last winter. I cried at the end. While I didn't live during that season, it was much like 2003.

So pick up a book and dream about a World Series repeat. Remember it's only 40 days until pitchers and catchers report!

Reader comments: What are you doing while waiting for baseball season to begin?

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