Boston Globe sports section guts self, limps into uncertain future.

Here at UmpBump, he have something of a love-hate relationship with the “MSM.” (I even feel conflicted about using that acronym, hence the quotes.) It goes something like this:

Joe Posanski: love.

Jay Mariotti: hate.

You get the idea.

But a few weeks ago, when Murray Chass was pushed out by the New York Times, we here at UmpBump decided to say nothing. We actually [gulp] felt kinda sorta bad for the guy, almost. (Then he went and said how he hated bloggers because we had no qualifications, and in fact, “our wives could go on and do it if they wanted to.” I would pay good money to know what Mrs. Chass had to say about that quip.)

But now, a journalist I truly admire is being bought out by his ever-contracting newspaper. Gordon Edes is leaving the Boston Globe. For a good while now, Edes has been the best baseball writer at said paper. Edes’ byline always stopped me cold: “READ ME,” it commanded, and I willingly and happily obeyed. So upon hearing the news that Gordon was leaving, I promptly lost all hope for the Globe’s sports section, which, whatever else you may say about it now, inspired me to get into the baseball writing business when I was just a young lass reading the work of Edes, Peter Gammons, Will McDonough, pre-TV Bob Ryan, and pre-bitterness Dan Shaughnessy. Fellow Globie Jackie MacMullan, whose great interviews made her sports column a must-read, also took the buyout earlier this month, as did senior basketball writer Peter May (who is leaving in the middle of the Celtics playoff run, no less), making this an especially low time for the once-vaunted sports page. (The only good that could possibly come of this: a promotion for the talented and deserving Amalie Benjamin. Will this happen? Maybe. That is, if the Globe can’t find some other white-haired Irish-American dude to promote over her.)

But at least readers of Edes will not be totally forsaken; rumor has it that he’ll be joining Yahoo! Sports, which has been gaining ground on ESPN.com and is clearly looking to sustain that trend.

Welcome to the series of tubes, Gordon! We are glad to have you. As for the Globe…well, I suppose the good men of Gloucester need something to wrap their fish in.