Explaining "the business" of baseball to my daughter

One of the joys I have had over the past couple of seasons is sharing my passion for the Red Sox with my 7-year-old daughter (she would correct me here and say "I'm almost 8, daddy!"). She always picks the Red Sox when we play MVP Baseball on the computer, and she knows the members of the team by heart. But that joy is tempered by the difficulty of events this week spent explaining the 'business' of baseball to her, as the Red Sox say goodbye to several of her favorite players. Even though he was only with the Sox for 1 year, Edgard Renteria was one of her favorites, she adored Doug Mirabelli (the knuckle-ball catcher), and she's crazy about Kevin Millar. Renteria is now on the Atlanta Braves, Mirabelli is in San Diego, and Millar will soon be gone, as the Sox have not offered him salary arbitration. Sure, she will learn new names like Mark Loretta and others, but it's tough to say goodbye to these players. I know the days of Yaz, Cal Ripken, and other players staying with one team for their whole careers are long gone, but try explaining that to a 7, or 8-year-old.

All that being said, I *really* don't want to have to explain to her that we have a new centerfielder, which makes the signing of Johnny Damon a pretty important priority. I hope they get it done. Trying to explain why the Red Sox have a completely new infield in 2006 is going to be tough enough.