Major League Baseball

RED SOX BEAT;Latest Fenway fix comes up short

Published Oct. 20, 2010 10:14 p.m. ET

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After 10 years of unveiling one beautiful, seamless and totally necessary upgrade after another at Fenway Park, the Red Sox are on the verge of committing their first error.

Hopefully they can avoid the bungle altogether.

On a day when plans were unveiled for three high-definition video boards, the Red Sox spoke (when asked) about another idea they are ''actively exploring'' - shortening the distance from home plate to the right field fences by 6-9 feet.

From the team's perspective, shrinkage in one area leads to a gain somewhere else, and in this case, relief pitchers would gain some breathing room. The cramped bullpens would become 6 feet wider and meet MLB guidelines. The team says this will increase the safety and competitiveness of the relief staffs, with bathrooms and workout facilities being added.

Hmmm.

Does helping a reliever feel safer and more comfortable make him a better pitcher when he steps on the mound and begins to pitch with the right field wall about one Shaquille O'Neal-length closer to him?

Another question, slightly more cynical, comes to mind. Is there some kind of old or new Yankee Stadium envy, or plain old offensive envy, going on here, with the idea that a shorter right field porch and more home runs will give a jolt to sagging NESN ratings and help dissipate the overall ennui that surrounds the team?

In the spirit of New Coke, the Spruce Goose and sending Doug Mirabelli the steal sign, let's hope not.

It is hard to say what will sway the Boston Landmarks Commission and the Preservation Massachusetts organization, who must sign off on the plan. Unlike so many of the truly bright ideas the club has had, this one treads in an area they have never dared to tinker with before, which is the dimensions of the fair territory of the field of play at Fenway. Previous upgrades, like the dugout-to-dugout seats behind home plate, reduced the already sparse foul territory. Those moves did pitchers no favors and this one obviously will not, either.

With the 37-foot Green Monster 310 feet away from home plate, left field at Fenway has always been small enough for hobbits or even Manny Ramirez to manage OK. Right field, 380 feet away, was always a different story. It's where teams put their best outfielder and pitchers try to induce hitters to loft fly balls. The space is massive, and the distorted dimensions give the ballpark a misshapen but oddly balanced look that only a mother could love. Taking away space from right field messes with that balance. I understand these dimensions have been altered in the past. When the bullpens were added in 1940, they obviously carved a huge swath out of right field. I do not get real dewy-eyed when it comes to change, especially when it comes to old ballparks and the need to renovate or even replace them. This one is different.

Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino cautioned yesterday ''not to get ahead of yourself'' on this issue.

''Getting a more competitive and safer bullpen is something everybody wants but when you translate into greater width and the impacts that has on home run dimensions, people will start saying, `What's the trade-off?' so we haven't answered that question but we are `actively exploring' it is the best way to explain it,'' said Lucchino.

If this decision winds up in the Red Sox' hands, the exploration process hopefully will end with a glance out onto the playing field of Fenway Park that reminds the team that some things are best left untouched.

- msilverman@bostonherald.com

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