Goodbye to the dirt dog.

Trot Nixon signed a one year, $3 million contract with the Indians, marking the end of his tenure with the Red Sox. Trot was the Sox right fielder for eight years after being drafted in the first round by them in 1993 and breaking into the starting lineup in 1999.

Trot never quite lived up to the potential projected for him in that draft, but he was a very good player for the Sox for a lot of years. What I liked about him is that he always gave maximum effort, played hurt and seemed to take great pride in being a member of the Boston Red Sox.

His greatest moment was probably his 11th inning home run to beat the A's in game 3 of the 2003 ALDS and prevent the Red Sox from being eliminated. I'll never forget that night since I was watching the game at Chan's Chinese Restaurant in Woonsocket, RI at The Hey's 40th birthday party.

Thanks, Trot, for all your years with the Red Sox and for never letting us down. Good luck in Cleveland.