Three thoughts on this oppressive morning . . .

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There are times when it's impossible to be dispassionate, times when your biases just get so overwhelmingly strong that your objectivity is lost. I'm afraid I've reached that point with Jose Offerman. It's almost to the point where everything the guy does irritates me.

It started last night in the first, when he was thrown out at the plate by Terrence Long to end the inning. FACT: The ball was hit hard, and hit almost right at Long. FACT: Long has a good arm. FACT: Long made a strong throw. FACT: I was furious anyway, under the "Any Leadoff Hitter Worth His Salt Should Be Able To Score On A Two-Out Single, No Matter What" justification defense.

Then, in the second, he -- once again -- was called out on strikes in a crucial spot, this one with the bases loaded and one out and the Sox trailing, 2-1. I engaged in a bit of hyperbole a few weeks back, asking rhetorically if anyone could remember "the last time Jose Offerman didn't take a called third strike with men on base in the late innings of a close game". Most of you could -- July 5, game-winning hit against John Rocker in Cleveland -- and many of you reminded me of it. Chastened, I vowed to henceforth look before I leaped . . . and then he did it again last night. It wasn't the late innings, but it was a big moment, since the Sox had Tim Hudson on the ropes and were looking at a real chance to break into the Oakland bullpen early in the game. Needless to say, it didn't have me looking for my "I (heart) Jose!" button.

But I think I truly realized the depth of my prejudice in the first inning. Johnny Damon had singled, leading off, and Jeremy Giambi then popped up to second. As the ball was in the air, one name leaped to mind: Marty Barrett. During his days as the Sox' second baseman, Barrett would face this situation -- fast runner on first, slow runner at the plate, pop to the infield, no infield-fly rule in effect -- once or twice a season. And he would always, always, a) let the ball drop, b) pick it up, and c) flip to second for the force on the lead runner. The batter would reach first, of course, but the Sox would trade a fast runner for a slow runner at absolutely no cost. I always loved when he did that, and wondered why no one else ever did.

Well, as soon as Giambi hit the ball last night, I screamed at my TV: "Let it drop!" But Barrett's the only second baseman I remember doing this, and, sure enough, Offerman caught the ball for the out. The slow runner, Giambi, returned to the dugout and the fast runner, Damon, remained on first.

And I was livid. Why I was livid, I don't know. Chris Stynes would have done the same thing. So would Mike Lansing. For that matter, so would Nomar. With those guys, I might have been a little irritated. But I got irrationally angry at Offerman. I stayed that way even though it didn't make a damn bit of difference; the next batter, Jason Giambi, homered.

My real dissatisfaction with Jose Offerman isn't rooted in any of that. It's rooted in his two-year offensive decline, which, according to Clay Davenport's Equivalent Average, currently has him ranked as 2/100ths of a percentage point worse than a replacement-level second baseman. I blamed last season on his knee injury, but we're now two-thirds of the way through the season and he's worse than ever. Yet he's still in the lineup more often than not, he's still batting leadoff more often than not (and when he's not he's batting second), and he's still dragging down the offense more often than not. All that, coupled with his weakness at turning the double play and his $6.25 million salary (and, more importantly, his guaranteed 2002 roster spot), has curdled my affection for Jose Offerman.

To the point where I'm mad at him for virtually everything he does out there. Even things like the infield pop, which no infielder other than Barrett had the presence of mind to let drop.

Man, I have to chill out. Like Bret Saberhagen says, it's just baseball. It's not life and death.

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Speaking of Saberhagen, yesterday's speculation about a six-man rotation seems moot, at least for the time being. It's amazing how quickly things change; if you recall, he was pumping his fist in triumph after striking out the side in the first inning Tuesday night. Now it's a question if he'll ever pitch again.

It's a shame, and it's sad. But one thing's for certain: As he heads off into the sunset, he won't have any "If only I'd tried harder" regrets. No one could have done more, or endured more, to pitch again than Bret Saberhagen.

That should count for something.

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On the Your Turn board, there's speculation about the identity of the Red Sox' next manager, since it seems certain Jimy Williams -- by both his choice and the team's -- won't be here next year. To all the names I've heard mentioned, how about one more:

Joe Torre.

I'm not saying it's going to happen and I'm not even saying it should happen, but it's certainly plausible. Think about it. Even if the Yankees do beat out the Sox for the A.L. East title, the odds certainly have to be against their winning the World Series again . . . and "failure" is listed as the one thing that could prompt George Steinbrenner, whom Mike Lupica says is resentful of the credit his manager has received for the Yanks' recent run of success, to drive Torre from the Bronx. If the Sox aren't the team to dethrone them as Series champs, wouldn't a high-profile manager top their wish list? And who's more high-profile than Joe Torre?

Besides, if the Yanks should get rid of Torre -- a move that would be incomprehensible to me, but Steinbrenner is Steinbrenner -- don't you think Torre might take it personally? Don't you think he'd be driven for revenge? What better revenge could there be than leading the Red Sox to the World Series championship? The Sox have all their best players (Martinez, Lowe, Varitek, Garciaparra, Ramirez, Nixon, Everett) either under contract for 2002 or ineligible for free agency, so the core of a very good team is returning. In addition, a lot of money will open up with the expiration of contracts to Lansing, O'Leary, Valentin, Bichette and a few others. The Sox could be a handful in 2002, even better than they are now, and Torre knows that.

I'm telling you, it makes sense.

As near as I can remember, there's only been two migrations of high-profile managers/coaches from New York to Boston. One of them (Bill Parcells) worked; the other (Joe McCarthy) is perceived as a failure, even though McCarthy actually did a terrific job with the Red Sox. Torre might just be the most interesting of the bunch.

Again, I'm not saying it's going to happen. I'm not even saying it should happen. I think that when push comes to shove, the Yankees will come to their senses and keep Torre right where he is.

But if they don't . . .