Must transcribe...in the meantime, here's the Metro GameDay story from yesterday on Todd Helton -- a guy who was saying all the right things but, to me, looked like a baseball player who wanted to sprint across the field as quickly as possible and switch uniforms. Given the sparse crowds and relatively minimal support for the Rox, a trip to Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park has to be eye-opening for a lot of those players.

Also, good friend and fellow Fenway Press Boxer Lenny Megliola made a good point yesterday: how quickly or slowly would you make that deal now? Manny Delcaremen is a guy that's sitting down at Pawtucket, Julian Tavarez is a number five starter and Mike Lowell has been excellent but I'd be very surprised if he keeps it up in the second-half.  Couldn't help but think when I watched him smack that bases-loaded double that Helton and that swing would look very good in the middle the Sox lineup...

Anyway, here's the Helton. Back to the transcribing I go.

Todd Helton still has a very good friend and hunting buddy on the Sox roster in Josh Beckett, but he’s long since turned the page on donning the Red Stockings at the Fens anytime soon.

“We’re both kind of rednecks so we like to talk about all the same stuff,” said Helton, who shares the same agent, Mike Moye, with the Sox right-hander. “I think the first time I talked to him was even before he was drafted [by the Marlins]. I talked with [Beckett] about coming to Boston, but we talk about hunting a lot more than we talk about that kind of stuff.

“[Boston] is a wonderful franchise and there are a lot of players that would want to be here,” added Helton, owner of a lifetime .333 batting average and three Gold Gloves at first base.

The 33-year-old Rockies first baseman was the subject of rampant off-season rumors that had him ticketed for Boston in exchange for righty Julian Tavarez, third baseman Mike Lowell and right-hander Manny Delcarmen.

Colorado was presumably looking to clear some money off their books with Helton commanding roughly $90.1 million over the next five years of a contract extension signed by Helton and the Rox in 2001. The Rockies were reportedly willing to pay $36.6 million of the greenbacks due Helton, but the two squads couldn’t harmonize on player compensation.

“It seems like there’s always speculation about [trades] around here,” said Sox left-hander Javier Lopez, Helton’s teammate in Colorado for a pair of seasons. “Obviously he’s a tremendous player and I don’t think there’s anybody that wouldn’t want to add him to their lineup.

“You never want to see players go and I love this team, but if he wanted to come and play in the AL East, as long as it wasn’t the Yankees then this would be the place,” added Lopez.

The near Helton trade to Boston raised enough interest that it led to an impromptu press conference between the reticent first sacker and the Boston media prior to last night’s game.

“I enjoy playing in a ballpark with this much history, and the atmosphere is a pretty big deal every night when you come here to play,” said Helton, when asked his thoughts about Boston. “It’s hard to talk about something that almost happened. There are a lot of things in life that almost happen, but really don’t amount to much.”

The Rockies are glad to have Helton back in the Colorado fold this season, as he’s rebounded from an injury and slump-filled 2006 to hit .329 with the Rockies this season along with six home runs and 29 RBI’s. Helton would seem like a great fit with the Sox given his sweet left-handed stroke and the patient batting eye that’s allowed him to rank second in the NL with 46 walks this season.

“Everybody seems to have an opinion about how close it got to happening or how far away it was,” said Rockies Manager Clint Hurdle. “All I know is there was some discussions and conversations but nothing ended up materializing.

“He’s stated publicly that he wants to play [in Colorado], but that if there were an opportunity somewhere else then this is one place he would entertain going,” added Hurdle. “I can’t take that as a slap in the face. This is a pretty good baseball town.”