Jello Biafra called one of his spoken-word albums "Become the Media." He just meant that we the proverbial people should think for ourselves, and spread the word of truth, instead of just blindly believing what's shoved down our throats.

In the sports world, I believe it should be no different. And with the internet, it really is like having a "new media," made by the fans. I'm happy about this, but as with everything else, we need to make sure the new boss isn't just the old boss in different bunny slippers. Let's take, for example, Boston Dirt Dogs. There are some very good things about this site. One of them being that when you're there, you're one click away from so many baseball and Red Sox related sites. I am grateful for that. But the opinions on that site drive me crazy. I'm so sick of reading negative things about Pedro and Manny. And when he/she/they tell Johnny Damon to cut his hair, I'm reminded of my mongoloid JV baseball coach in high school who would repeatedly mock me about my long hair. That macho a-hole is why I quit playing baseball. You know, after the A-Rod deal, I had a sneaking suspicion that Dirt Dog was really Steinbrenner, but now that he's telling Red Sox players to cut their hair, I'm sure it's him.

I understand there's a certain tongue-in-cheek-ness that goes along with these Dirt Dog headlines, but I think they make it pretty clear that they are seriously concerned with the fact that there is or are a player or players on the team who don't look exactly like them. Funny, there's all this talk about the curse, and how "none of us really believe it, the media made it up!" Well, it's not comforting to know that what we're REALLY worried about is the length of the players' hair.

I say "we" because Dirt Dogs is now representing Red Sox fans. And this is what I'm worried about.

You see, as much as I disagree with the some of the opinions on that site, I believe they've got every right to have and post them. But as it's gotten more popular, we've seen how the "real" media has consulted it to find out what the "real" fans are thinking. And since Dirt Dogs just wants to run all the free spirits off the team (the very players who make this team such a joy to watch), that's what the media will end up reporting. How is that different from all the "real" media morons, who've always just wanted to see the team fail anyway, and tick off the stars so they'll leave and sign with the yankees?

We have a pitcher on our team who might be the best of all time. And he's pissed off. Why should he be? We all buy shirts with his name on the back; we pay more money than some small countries have just to see him perform; we love his wacky antics. The people who I know--in real life--who are Red Sox fans, love Pedro Martinez. The reason why he's pissed is because of what stupid, old white dudes write in the newspaper. We have a chance to change what he thinks by replacing those dinosaurs. But instead, we leave it in the hands of basically ONE website---which repeatedly refers to Curt Schilling as the ace. (which has nothing to do with respect for Schilling) What are these people trying to do? What do they stand to gain by helping to make Pedro skip town? Unless, of course, they're actually Steinbrenner. Besides, do they think that if Pedro leaves, we can just replace him with someone who's as good, but looks and thinks like "us?" I'm really freakin' worried that Pedro's reading this stuff online! All he has to do is look at Schilling's Dirt Dogs T-shirt to get the address!

I love that Schill has this special connection with the fans. But if he sees that he's being called the ace on a website that he's promoting on his shirt, why doesn't he write to that website and tell them that Pedro's the "ace" as it stands right now and if you don't stop calling me the ace, I'll never make another internet post. (Again, none of this would matter if Dirt Dogs was simply a fan site, but he and they and everyone knows it's basically another Boston newspaper. Well, y'know, minus the actual story that normally follows a headline.)

I wish everyone who posted at SoSH and RedSoxNation would start their own site. There should be multiple sites that have the kind of "clout" that Dirt Dogs has. Or maybe I'm just not looking hard enough. But it's not how hard I look that matters, it's how hard those media creeps do, if they look at all...