Scarlet Fever

Boston is Spoiled

2007-12-13T16:33:00.000-05:00

Boston is the absolute luckiest town in all of sports. We've become the hub of the hated, the feared, the dreaded. Most towns are known for one sport. Indianapolis has football. Ottawa has hockey. San Antonio has basketball.
And then there's Boston. It seems like Boston has always had one good team at a time. The Red Sox have had their years. The Celtics have had their years. The Bruins have had their years... and then came 2007. The Red Sox won the World Series, and we thought it was baseball's year. But then the Patriots started winning... and winning. And not losing. And the Celtics got two new superstars and started winning. And the Bruins started winning.
And that leaves us here. With one championship already under our city's belt, the Pats are undefeated. The Celtics are first in their division and 18-2. The Bruins, formerly the laughingstock of Boston, have quietly gone to 17-10 and crept to second in their division, fourth overall in the Eastern Conference.
With so many options, what's a city to do? People dream of monopolies like this. We are truly the sports capital of the world. Nearly every night there's a game to watch with a dominating Boston team playing. We are so, so spoiled. Remember when we were always told to wait until next year?
Well, I think next year has finally arrived. For every sport. For every fan. This is the year where one city will achieve incredible things. Boston fans, we have been truly blessed.
Just remember to be careful. Be thankful for the gifts our sports teams have given us. Be thankful, cheer them on, but be careful. Conceit and arrogance come easily. We are lucky, but domination is temporary. Humility is instilled in the Patriots by Bill Belichick, and we should follow his example. We will be able to impress the world with our talent, rendering our words useless. We don't need to tell people how awesome Boston is--they're already being shown.
(Except New York. Shove it in their faces all you want.)

Pride

2007-11-04T14:53:00.000-05:00

Once the exhilaration of winning the World Series wore off, the high of being on top of the world, the rewarding feeling of months and months of never giving up--I was left with pride. Pride in a sports team is a funny thing. In some ways, it feels as though the Sox are my child, whom I've watched grow up and mature through the vicissitudes of a season, and eventually succeed in life. Yet in another way, the Sox are this huge force I cannot touch, yet I admire and respect, and I dream of being like them. After all, the Sox is a historic organization made up of grown men playing their hearts out, day after day. And I'm proud at what they were able to accomplish. On a third level, I'm proud of the Sox because they are role models, and they are good, humble people who deserved every minute of their accomplishment. They worked hard all season, all offseason, every minute of their lives so that they could give the fans a victory. And I'm so grateful.
When we first won, I didn't even know what to do with myself. I kept repeating, "We just won the World Series." Before, every victory was merely a stepping point to a greater stage. Finally, there was nothing to wait for. We had to live in the moment, bathe in the warmth of our satisfaction. Even though it was after midnight, I stayed up to watch all the postgame celebration the FOX televised. My heart was beating so rapidly, I was afraid it would jump out of my chest. There was no greater gift the Red Sox could have given us than this. When I woke up the next morning, I was sleep-deprived, torpid, and sluggish. It was one of the greatest feelings I have ever experienced. My entire school seemed to be wearing Red Sox gear, and I was walking on air.
The offseason is going to be a long one. Some key players might be involved in trades (cross your fingers that it's not Mike Lowell!), but the core of this team will remain. We are going to be great. We are going to be champions.
We're already off to a very good start.

I'm Still Alive

2007-09-29T16:25:00.000-04:00

I know, you probably all assumed that I'd abandoned my blog, and it's somewhat true that I did, but I had no intention of never writing again. Summer was impossibly busy and school is busier, and the only free time I have goes to watching games, with none left over to write about them. However, I figured that this tough first post after such a long hiatus should finally be tackled today, the day after we clinched the AL East in an absolutely thrilling fashion. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise that I'm grounded this weekend, because last night I stayed up to watch the game in its entirety, followed by the postgame coverage with Yankees updates, and finally the celebration after the Orioles' amazing comeback. Never have the O's had so many fans before! The pure exhilaration when Melvin Mora bunted home the winning run was unequivocal. I think I smiled for the next hour straight as Jonathan Papebon stole the show, running around in his tighty-whities with a Bud Light box on his head, eye holes poked out. As other players were interviewed by Tina Cervasio, Pap was always in the background doing an irish jig or dousing teammates in champagne. He was absolutely hilarious and the entire celebration was pure ecstacy.
Sorry to cut this post short, but I have to go out to dinner.
Let's win these last two and get home field advantage!
And one more thing: Pedroia the Destroyah for ROY!!

First Half

2007-07-12T07:24:00.000-04:00

I could give excuses upon excuses for my lack of posting this summer, but I don't know that that really makes a difference anyways. The truth is that it's almost halfway through summer and I have yet to make a post. The reasons really aren't important, and I know that last summer I posted every day. However, I used to write my posts at my old job and nobody really cared what I did there. This summer I'm working 10 or 11-hour days at my dad's office and I have something to do at all times. I also can't look like a slacker. So posting daily is a lot harder now, but anyways that's besides the point. I'll try and post as often as I have an idea for something to write.
Suddenly the season has come to its halfway point. It seems like days ago I was just waiting for the season to start, just marveling at how good we looked in Spring Training, just making predictions on how well we'd play. At the beginning of the season hopes are always through the roof. Rarely does a team succeed at making those dreams true, yet this team has. I wonder how I would have reacted if somebody had told me during Spring Training that at the All-Star Break we would have a double-digit lead in our division, and six Sox representatives at the game (with a seventh, in Kevin Youkilis, deserving a spot on the team).
It can be very easy to begin to feel comfortable with our spot at the top, and indeed, we have the best record in the majors. Yet we had the same record last year at the ASB, and that year ended in a catastrophic debacle. We cannot relax; we must keep performing at the level we have been. The Yankees always will give us a hard time, regardless of their record. The minute we start to pity them, they will come back and usurp the division title. We do not have such a large lead because of our own play, but rather because of the rest of our division's sub-.500 play. It's risky to depend on another team to keep your lead alive.
Here's to a second half that rivals the first in its thrill and dominance!

A Real Deal

2007-06-07T18:29:00.000-04:00

Other than a recent four-game skid (which is, thankfully, over), the Red Sox have been incredibly consistent thus far in the 2007 season. Even with the $70 million JD Drew hitting in the .220s, $8 million-a-year Julio Lugo becoming an automatic out as leadoff man, and $100 million Daisuke Matsuzaka carrying around a 4.63 ERA, this team is winning. Winning like Patriots. Winning as though they weren't human. And it's not the guys with the hefty salaries who are carrying most of the weight.
Kevin Youkilis recently ended a 23-game hitting streak, but still has a live 28-game on-base streak. He ranks fourth in the AL with a .341 batting average, despite a tough series in Oakland. He ranks 6th in runs with 43, 7th in hits with 75, and is errorless at first base. And his humble attitude has endeared him to the fans. Upon ending his streak with a three-walk night, Youkilis responded that "We just won a ballgame. Who [cares] about a streak. Streaks are streaks. They're gonna happen. You can't be mad about ending a hitting streak." Said Terry Francona about his blossoming first baseman, "What impressed me more than anything was seeing Youkilis mature right in front of our eyes. I mean, he never left the strike zone. I got a kick out of that more than almost anything today. He plays the game right." Youk's salary is $424,500.
Dustin Pedroia has been blisteringly hot since he broke out of his April slump. He earned AL Rookie of the Month honors for May, batting .415 with a .600 slugging percentage over that period. He has only two errors at second base, and had a 13-game hitting streak. According to Francona, "When he was struggling, he didn't put his head down, he's got that fighter mentality. He goes to the cage every day. He had a lot of long sessions with [hitting coach Dave Magadan]." Though many fans were quick to dismiss him as unprepared for the majors, and Francona was forced to platoon Pedroia with Alex Cora throughout April, Cora has seen a lot less playing time as of late. "Pedroia got himself to a point where he's a key member of our team and he's not looking over his shoulder," said Francona. Pedroia makes the major league minimum, $380,000.
If you compare Jonathan Papelbon's stats from this season with last year's, it almost appears that he has been struggling. And when a 2.11 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 21.1 innings is struggling, you're almost inhuman. Papelbon has gone from unknown to household name in just a year. His explosive pitches have confuddled batters all year long, and his energy is insane. He's one of the elite closers in all of baseball. He makes $425,500.
Hideki Okajima came over much like Mike Lowell did, as a forgettable side dish to an expensive, expensive meal. Nobody even mentioned him during Spring Training when the team was searching for a closer, yet he has become Jonathan Papelbon's setup man and occasional partner in crime. Okajima's miniscule ERA of 1.21 earned him AL Rookie of the Month honors for April. He has emerged as the workhorse of an incredible bullpen and captured the fans' hearts. His salary is $1,225,000.
Jon Lester will soon return from the DL after a bout with cancer. He has been phenomenal in Triple A Pawtucket, boasting an 0.87 ERA in four starts. He's dying to get back and round out an already-stacked rotation. Lester has been the Sox' farm system's prize posession, and last year he joined the rotation when the entire pitching staff was struck with a case of horrible luck. Lester will make $384,000.
Everyone seems to focus on the salaries of veterans like Manny, Papi, Drew, and Schilling, yet the great deals the team has seem to be going unnoticed. Although the Red Sox have the second-largest payroll in baseball, they clearly have some of baseball's best bargains as well.

Trot's Return

2007-05-28T16:02:00.000-04:00

I will be at tonight's game. Trot's return to Fenway, our first game in a while against a great team, and of course GRADY SIZEMORE! I'm so excited. It's going to be a thrilling game. I'm wearing my blue Lester jersey but I doubt I'll be on TV or anything. The only way I'll be mentioned is if I'm a crazy fan who jumps on the field and runs over to Grady. Just kidding... sort of.
The Sox are almost unhumanly good right now. I'm soaking in every minute of it. Even with our ace on the DL we have the best record in baseball and are first in our division by 12.5 games. It's unreal. Let's make it 13.5, shall we?

My Vocab Essay

2007-05-12T20:10:00.000-04:00

The following is a 100-vocab-word essay I wrote for my English class. The vocab words are numbered because my teacher insisted that we do that and I didn't feel like going back and changing them all.

The Boston Red Sox appear to be on the advent (1) of a stellar (2) season. After a disconcerting (3) Opening Day loss to the penurious (4) Kansas City Royals (who, owners of baseball’s lowest payroll, are notoriously (5) impecunious (6)), many fans postulated (7) prematurely that the Sox were in the throes (8) of an evil, Yankee-enamored (9) god. Eventually, though, these innately (10) pessimistic fans were forced to have a revelation (11) and realize that one loss does not besmirch (12) a record. After their unemphatic (13) Opening Day performance, the Red Sox regained their composure (14) and turned April into a month for the archives (15), never again appearing vulnerable (16). On April 22, the Sox sluggers completed the seemingly ludicrous (17) feat of hitting four consecutive home runs against their anathema (18), the heinous (19) New York Yankees. As Sox fans watched the debacle (20) of Yankees pitching unfold, they felt payback for all the years the repulsive (21) Evil Empire had usurped (22) the division title. When the vain, egotistical Roger Clemens signed with the Yankees several weeks later, some Red Sox fans felt jaundiced (23) and made caustic (24) comments, but the truth is that Roger is washed-up and self-centered, with a propensity (25) for infantile (26) histrionics (27) due to the cavalier (28) belief that the entire baseball world glorifies (29) and exalts (30) him as its pinnacle (31).
The Red Sox’ once-ramshackle (32) pitching rotation underwent an upheaval (33) during the busy offseason, and now exudes (34) talent. The BoSox boast as co-aces the iconic (35) Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett, the latter no longer tentative (36) in his sophomore season in Boston. Japanese phenomenon Daisuke Matsuzaka, entrenched (37) in his position as the third starter, is master of eight baffling pitches, the fastest of which careens (38) by at 96 mph and the most dilatory (39) of which is a duplicitous (40) changeup with screwball-like movement. The venerable (41) knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, entering his twelfth season in a Red Sox uniform, returns to his fourth spot in the rotation, while interim (42) starter Julian Tavarez rounds out the rotation until Jon Lester returns from a perilous (43) bout of cancer (luckily, the cancer was found in its nascent (44) stages). The formidable (45) starting five will certainly prove inimical (46) to opposing batters’ averages. The Red Sox also boast Major League Baseball’s best current bullpen, able to withstand daily travail (47) while being parsimonious (48) in the number of combined runs it allows. The repercussions (49) of facing any one Red Sox reliever include strikeouts and bellicose (50) glares at the mound.
The Red Sox also have a lineup capable of turning pitches into projectiles (51), and their hitters are currently hot enough to be the genesis (52) of a conflagration (53). Leadoff man Julio Lugo, despite a propensity (54) to overthrow first base from his position at shortstop, is an upgrade offensively from Alex Gonzalez. His vibrant (55) personality is a huge change from Gonzo’s stoicism (56), even though he appears attenuated (57) and atrophied (58) because he is thin. Kevin Youkilis is in line for another solid season, if last season presages (59) anything; his biggest flaw is his tendency to hold himself to strict criteria (60) and feel mortified (61) after striking out. The avuncular (62), altruistic (63) behemoth (64) David Ortiz bats third, a huge man with a huger smile who appears constantly at charity events; he is known for being extremely munificent (65) with his opulence (66) (being a mogul (67), of course, he is a multi-millionaire). Last season, the man known as Big Papi sullied (68) records with his fifty-four prodigious (69) home runs, many of which were walkoffs hit with bravado (70) and marked by a pious (71) finger-point towards the sky. Hitting after Ortiz is Manny Ramirez, the dreadlocked slugger with a phlegmatic (72) brain but a bat so redoubtable (73) that, despite his nebulous (74) thoughts, many sequester (75) him into a coterie (76) of hitters so talented that they are considered sacrosanct (77). Red Sox fans have become inured (78) to Manny’s “Manny-isms”, which brought about the epigram (79) “Manny being Manny.” J.D. Drew offers Manny protection and snags fly balls about to cross the short façade (80) in right field, and has been producing in Boston, despite an oft-aggrieved (81) shoulder and a reputation of listlessness (82) and a blasé (83) attitude. Mike Lowell, given the sobriquet (84) “Mr. Doubles” for self-explanatory reasons, has become a team leader and a dependable hitter, known for his probity (85) and his fantastic defense at third base, in addition to his ability to hit the ball at and over the Green Monster. The team’s captain Jason Varitek is the ultimate “dirt dog”, free from grandeur (86); as catcher, calling games is his métier (87) – he spends hours studying video of hitters and memorizing arcane (88) statistics, trying to pick up on abstruse (89) details so he can lead a foray (90) against opposing hitters. The ambidextrous (91) switch-hitter Coco Crisp follows ‘Tek; last season, Coco was sidelined by a broken finger and was never the same player after his convalescence (92). This season, however, Coco’s productive at-bats have seemed to presage (93) a better year, and his fidgety batting stance (94) is always entertaining. Rounding out the batting order is the diminutive (95) Dustin Pedroia, in his rookie season as a major leaguer. At 5’7”, Pedroia appears lilliputian (96), yet his tiny body is able to produce grandiloquent (97) home runs, and he is believed to be in the incipient (98) stages of an impressive career.
The Red Sox call the felicitous (99) environs (100) of Fenway Park home, and they are lucky to have one of baseball’s most historic venues (101) as a ballpark. They are famous for pulverizing (102) opponents on their home turf, yet this year they have been sensational on the road as well. The vicissitudes (103) of the season are bound to take their toll, but this team is buttressed (104) by an excellent farm system. Should injuries and various forms of malaise (105) take their toll, replacements are waiting; thus, the world should remain in equilibrium and the Red Sox should remain in their rightful spot: ensconced (106) in first place.

Billion-Dollar Band Aid

2007-05-10T17:07:00.000-04:00

First, let me just remind those of you who have forgotten my opinion of Roger Clemens of how I feel. He's an arrogant, vain, self-absorbed has-been who thinks the entire baseball world waits around crossing their fingers that he'll choose their team to "save." If it's not about the money, Roger, then play for free. If you wanted to go with a team who knew how to win, it obvously would not have been the Yankees (okay, that's a hair biased... just like us, they've won seven of their last ten.) He proudly told the fans at Yankee stadium that "They came and got me out of Texas and I can tell you it's a pleasure to be back." He just loves to feel like the entire baseball world is eating out of his hand. As though he wasn't planning to pitch this season. He needs every eye on him; strives to be the center of attention at all times. He was just tickled pink that the Yankees were trying so hard to get him.
Roger went to the Yankees for the following reasons:
Money.
Money.
Andy Pettitte.
Derek Jeter.
Money.
Having baseball's best lineup (you have to admit) behind him so he won't be as embarassed when he SUCKS.
Money.
Hatred for Boston.
Oh, and, um, money.
I would be embarassed if my team had spent $28 million for half a season from a pitcher who practically needs dentures. He's forty-five. Arguably the best pitcher ever, but he's past his prime. By, oh, maybe a century or two. It's like my dad pretending to still be in top form and pretending to be able to pitch. He's not immortal. And, um, Randy Johnson worked out really great, huh? I can see why the Yanks are so eager to try that again. The most expensive guy won't necessarily get the job done, as you can clearly see from Jonathan Papelbon, who's not even earning $1 million this season. Rivera's earning a ton and his ERA is over 8. So if Roger does actually pitch well, his friend Mariano will just blow it for him.
I'm not bitter that we didn't get Clemens; quite the contrary, as a matter of fact. Our starting rotation is the best in baseball. Josh Beckett's gonna be Cy Young (I called it way back in Spring Training! I'm pretty sure I wrote it in a post but if I didn't I just wanted everyone to know that I predicted an amazing season from him.) Schill is still Schill. Wake has the best ERA on our team, Dice-K leads us in strikeouts, and even Julian Tavarez has been holding his own for the most part. When Jon Lester resumes his spot, we'll have a formidable rotation one through five. I'm thrilled that we didn't throw away money for a pitcher we don't need, who has an ego even bigger than his ERA will be. I love our team the way it is.
In English class we have to write an essay on whatever topic we like using 100 vocab words. Mine's on the Red Sox. The fact that I'm actually enjoying an assignment in that class (I like writing, but I HATE that class because of the teacher) proves that I really am destined to write about sports. I'll post the paper when it's written.

Back for the Bronx Boys

2007-04-22T10:06:00.000-04:00

So once again I'm forced to plead forgiveness for my lack of posting. Last week I was on spring break in Cancun, without a computer in sight, and only a little blurb in the Miami Herald to update me on the Sox. From what I read, though, my boys are doing really well! They are 8-2 over their last ten games, with only the LA Angels having a better record by one win. We are on the verge of sweeping the Yankees, in a game that my father and sister are attending but I am not, thanks to my bad luck drawing cards from a deck. I told them to bring brooms.
In Cancun I met some Yankee fans. Several Yankee bashes into our conversation, they told me I was a little pisser. I explained that once ARod cools down, which he inevitably will, the Yankees will have nothing. Their starters belong in Little League, Mariano Rivera's washed up, and Jeter has how many errors again? Six, was it? I'd be pretty embarrassed.
And finally, Coco Crisp is finally heating up, hitting a critical triple two days ago in an amazing blown save by Mariano Rivera, and going 2-4 yesterday with a stolen base. I was absolutely thrilled when I found out. It had been so long that I had forgotten what it looked like for him to make solid contact.

EDITED TO ADD: Jacoby Ellsbury went 4-for-5 with two triples, a double and three RBI Friday for Double-A Portland.
Ellsbury is 18-for-36 with seven doubles and three steals in three attempts. He also had plenty of success after moving up to Double-A last year, so he should be in Triple-A right now. However, the Red Sox already have David Murphy there and they're not eager to move either player to a corner. (stolen from bostondirtdogs.com)

Just Forget It

2007-04-02T19:50:00.000-04:00

All the hype leading up to this game, an entire offseason of anticipation, all the pressure of unanswered questions, and we get a 7-1 beating by, of all teams, the Kansas City Royals. That's what everyone's going to be saying. Not me. Sure, it was painful, but it was one game. One game does not decide the outcome of an entire season. I wish I could find some stats somewhere to see the percentage of World Series champs who won their first game, just out of curiosity. It probably is completely unrelated. Seriously, though, relax. We'll be just fine. Once we get the nerves out, some hitters get hot, our pitchers get in a groove... we'll be everything we anticipated.
So instead of focusing on the disappointing score, let's focus on the bright spots. Our bullpen, though nothing spectacular, let up only 2 runs in 5 innings. Pedroia and Youk had two hits apiece, and Ortiz and Lowell each had a double. And my Indians beat the White Sox 12-5, with the lovely Grady Sizemore himself (who shaved his gorgeous curls, sadly) setting the tone with a homer on the game's second pitch. Trot Nixon went 3-3 with three runs scored in his Indians debut, prompting White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen to say, "Thank God this only counts as one game." Paul Konerko chimed in, "The good news is it was only one loss. It felt like it should have counted for more."
But my point was, don't get all flustered. Don't start asking what's wrong with Schilling, don't start insulting our offense. There is no problem. It's Opening Day. We have months before we need to start worrying. Right now is the time to enjoy baseball for the sake of enjoying baseball.
Oh, and a random question: Does anybody know what a pitcher's ERA would be if he gave up a run but didn't get any outs, in his first outing of the year?

Opening Day

2007-04-01T14:02:00.000-04:00

It seems somewhat surreal to me that real baseball starts tomorrow. I braced myself for the long offseason as though baseball would never come back, and when Spring Training started I was so busy, and there were so few games shown on TV, that the real season still seemed lightyears away. Yet here it is.
I don't have any real point to this post. I feel pretty guilty when I don't post in a while, though, and I figured I should write something on the eve of Opening Day.
I just wanted to point out that Coco Crisp has caught on fire, riding a five-game hitting streak including two multi-hit games. His average is up to a respectable .271. Yet people are still questioning his authenticity. Mike Lowell's batting .156, Papi's batting .226, and nobody's worried about them. 'Tek and Pedroia have both been looking more comfortable as of late, too. As long as our lower batting order clicks, we're golden. The top 5 in the lineup look great and our pitching, well, barring injury, I'd say we could have multiple Cy Young candidates.
Opening Day versus the Kansas City Royals isn't quite on the level of our first game against the Yankees, but I'm still excited like you wouldn't believe. Baseball is back!

Roger, Part III

2007-03-18T10:21:00.000-04:00

Forgive me for my amplitude of Roger posts, but he just keeps feeding me lines to enforce my negativity towards him. He's basically pleading with me to bash him. In an attempt to rationalize his narcisism, Clemens explained that "From what I understand, all three teams want to see where they are as far as their rotation ... and how their pitching lines up." Because, you know, it's easier to do that when you're not sure whether or not Roger will be part of your rotation. That simplifies the process a ton, right, Roger? But, as he reiterates, "Not a one of them wanted an April or May [deal] anyways." How ludacris. That would actually allow them to get a grasp on their ENTIRE pitching rotation rather than four starters and a question mark. Newsflash, Rog. Despite what goes on in that vain little head of yours, not everyone's just going to wait around for you. There ARE other pitchers out there, pitchers who start the season on time, pitchers who have to battle for a spot in the rotation, pitchers who work their butts off during the winter to be in great shape when the season starts. But maybe I'm forgetting how hard Roger's life really is. How hard he works. How much he has to endure. Suddenly on a woe-is-me tangent, he explains that "the thing that's been misconstrued quite a bit is that I have a deal in Houston where I pitch and then don't show up." Where would anyone get that crazy idea? Huh? Maybe from, um, evidence that it's true? Honestly, you play a game for a living and you make millions for a fraction of a season. You only play every five days, and you aren't even with the team when you're not pitching. I couldn't think of a more ideal lifestyle. And you're just SO beloved that you "ended up with some 50 odd-some people outside my gate begging me to play." Isn't that lovely. He really does think that the whole world is ready to bow down to him.
Roger Clemens makes me sick. He gets pleasure out of it. I could practically prove that everything he says is designed to disgust me personally.

Hot Coco

2007-03-11T20:37:00.000-04:00

You may or may not be aware that I love Coco Crisp. Despite his having a disappointing season last year, I'm still finding myself optimistic about this season. I feel like this year is somewhat his first year here, because last year really wasn't a fair chance. He explains that, "It's hard enough to play this game being 100 percent with 10 fingers, let alone minus one. So hopefully, I'll be able to stay healthy for once, a whole season. That would be a good feat for me this year." Spring Training numbers don't really faze me, either. His current average is only .190, but preseason stats mean nothing. I always start off my softball season a little slow, and I think that helps me empathize with struggling players. With a season in Boston under his belt and a different group of newcomers getting all the attention, "This year [I feel like] I've been there before and I know that role, so I just go in there and let [Lugo] do his thing, and maybe move him over so the big guys can get him in," Crisp said, referring to his new, lower place in the lineup. "It's the exact opposite of last year, where I was trying to get to second base. But I'm going to try and be the same way and try to get to second base, too."
I think that he's getting more used to the the pressure that comes with a Red Sox uniform. Asked if he feels the need to prove his ability to the fans, he responded, "Nah, I'll just go out there and play my game," Crisp said. "I was injured last year. This year, [I want to] stay healthy and hopefully put up better numbers." And that's good. He's more relaxed. Feeling the need to prove yourself every at-bat is a recipe for failure. Rehabbing for the majority of last year was "frustrating, and it was frustrating the year before that trying to bounce back from an injury."
This year, promise me you'll give him a clean slate. He had a rough year, and it wasn't his fault. The least he deserves is a second chance, and I know that he can prove himself.

Also, I just wanted to point out, Jacoby Ellsbury and I would have the fastest kids ever. 'Cause he's a rocket, and I led my team in stolen bases last year. Our kids would be amazing.

Yo Ped Lu Lo Va?

2007-03-05T18:50:00.000-05:00

On Saturday the thermometer in my kitchen read 55 degrees, and the sun was shining. It seemed that spring was in the air as my mom and I headed outdoors to work on my fielding for softball on the muddy ground, still covered with patches of snow. After a few minutes of warm-up tosses, my mom started rolling me hard grounders. On one of them, I charged the ball well and quickly got rid of it. Hearing the smack of my well-placed throw in her glove, my mom said happily, "Yay, Mike Lowell." The next grounder I scooped up and, in a failing effort to make an even quicker throw, I airmailed it over my mom's head. "Yay, Julio Lugo," I cracked.
I love Lugo's energy, speed, hitting, and attitude towards the game. I'm happy we got him and I think his hitting is certainly an upgrade to Gonzo's. Terry Francona shares my excitement that "He has a lot of energy, a lot of good energy. When he is sitting on the bench, it can get a little bit infectious, which is good.” But I'm still feeling a bit of postpartum depression after letting the Reds claim our human vaccuum. I loved having the Major League's best defense last year and I loved the confidence it gave our pitchers. The spectacular Mike Lowell will still patrol third base, the athletic Youk will remain the ball-picker at first, and Pedroia in his short stint in the bigs has shown some solid defense as well. It's no understatement to call Lugo the weak link, and when shortstop is the position that gets the most balls, that's kind of a problem. Not that I don't think Lugo's offense can make up for it, but I just miss watching the phenominal athletics of Gonzalez on a daily basis.
The good news is that Lugo's working hard at improvement. The bad news is that it's going to take a loooong time for the changes to become instinct. His inconsistencies can be partially attributed to his lack of balance while throwing. Lugo acknowledges that "It’s got to be where I’m automatic, where I just react, but it’s going to take me a little while . . . It takes a little time because I’ve been throwing a different way my whole career."
Well, however long it takes, I guess.

On another note, aren't these just the cutest pictures of Ortiz' son D'Angelo playing with his dad and Youk?

Bend it Like Beckett

2007-03-02T22:51:00.000-05:00

So I'm sitting here in my Red Sox PJ pants, wearing my Papelbon tee shirt, and hugging my Sox pillow. Basically I'm the happiest little thing alive. Baseball is back. Even if it's only in annoying one-hour blocks, it's back on my TV and Scarlet Fever has taken me over once again. A new season, a clean slate -- anything could happen.
I figured I'd write something about someone other than Dice-K. Because seriously, love the guy to death, but there are other players on our team. And I love them to death too. So today's topic is Josh Beckett.
Now, I'm naturally an optimistic person anyways, but I'm predicting a spectacular season from Beckett. The season we all expected last year. I mean, he has a World Series MVP under his belt; we all know the story. Someone that good doesn't just implode. Last year was a struggle for him, and he's the first to admit it, but it was a learning experience too. He notes that "there's things that you want to work on every spring. For me, it starts with throwing offspeed pitches for strikes, which I did pretty well today. I've been throwing curveballs for probably a little over a month now, even though it was all [on] flat ground. It was something I really wanted to work on this spring, and so far, mission accomplished."
We cannot forget that he's only 26; he has several years to go until he even reaches his prime. In his first start of Spring Training, he dominated. Of his 18 pitches, 21 were strikes, and of the six outs he enduced, five were by way of the K. Pitching BP went well too; according to Francona, Beckett looked "phenomenal"; the skipper noted that "his fastball was down, exploding through the zone. He threw the ball very wall." And though Beckett's main goal this spring is to vary his pitches, don't worry about him forgetting his fastball: "He's a fastball pitcher," assures Francona. "If he commands his fastball down and up when he wants to, it will be amazing how that breaking ball will be more effective also."
After last year's mediocrity (I think I made that word up), Beckett has been all but forgotten. With all the buzz surrounding Matsuzaka it has been easy for the rest of the team to avoid the limelight. I'll be very surprised if Beckett doesn't bounce back. Without the added pressure he faced last year, he'll excel. He's a competitor, and competition runs in the veins of Red Sox Nation.

Introducing My New Crush

2007-03-01T18:29:00.000-05:00

Jacoby Ellsbury! I've heard his name tossed around for a while now, but I have to admit, I decided to do my research on him because I saw him in last night's game and I thought he was cute.
Nonetheless, what I found out really impressed me. My girl instincts have really worked out for me. Last time it was Grady (who, by the way, is amazing) that I researched because of his cuteness. I'm thinking maybe there's some kind of connection. (Just kidding, of course, I know looks have nothing to do with it and plenty of my baseball loves are not quite so genetically gifted).

So anyways, Ellsbury was born in Oregon in 1983, which makes him 23 (hey, only 8 years older than me... it could work.) In high school he lettered and excelled in five sports (How is that even possible? There's only three seasons. He's amazing.) He went to Oregon State University and was drafted 23rd overall by Boston in 2005. He has frequently been compared to Johnny Damon, baseball-wise (As a player that's great. As a traitor, not so much.) He's an extremely fast runner with great baserunning ability, and is projected to be a leadoff hitter because he's very good at getting himself on base. Though he has the arm and ability to play any outfield position, the Sox are planning to use him in center, as early as 2008. And according to soxprospects.com, he lives to play baseball.
He's still learning. I don't expect to see him this season. But when he does break into the big leagues, expect him to make an impact. And expect me to be very, very happy.
Isn't baseball great?

And We Wonder Why Manny's Mum

2007-02-26T19:10:00.000-05:00

Manny Ramirez' refusal to speak to the Boston media has bothered reporters and fans alike. The aloof and often immature Ramirez has gotten a reputation of being a tremendous slugger with an arrogant distaste for his adoring fans. Frazzled reporters like Dan Shaughnessy, desperate for some news from the tight-lipped star, create this image in an attempt to "get back" at Ramirez for (gasp) wanting a little privacy. Sure, Manny's a lucky guy. But he's also a human, just trying to get by in a fishbowl called Boston.
One angry media member asked Ramirez' agent, "Manny is 34 now. Do you think it’s time for him to be more accountable instead of being babied like a 12-year-old?" Another came up with, "Do you think since he’s your meal ticket, you should try to help him grow up?" And the reporters kept prying when it came to Manny's mother's offseason surgery. The Globe's Jackie MacMullan leaned in so close to Manny as he unpacked his locker that he had to demand "Can you give me a little space please?”.
I'm not naive enough to believe that Manny is a poor, innocent victim--the guy makes millions for playing a game, and his childish antics (such as coming out late for an inning because he was chillaxing in the Monster) have caused the coining of the phrase "Manny being Manny"; however, when reporters have such blatant disregard for his privacy, I can hardly blame him for his refusal to talk.
The limelight isn't for everybody, and if Ramirez prefers to be known for his play rather than his words, that should be respected. If he weren't such a superstar, it wouldn't be such a problem anyway. Though I would love to hear what Manny has to say, I don't want it to be at the cost of his dignity. We all deserve our privacy, and if the media ever wants another quote from Manny, they need to learn to respect his.

Edited to add: A few hours after posting I visited Red Sox Chick's blog and noticed she had a similar post to this one. Just wanted to clarify that I wasn't copying. And I'm glad to see that Cyn and I share an opinion on the matter.

Not Worth a Schilling

2007-02-25T19:55:00.001-05:00

The warm sun shines in a cloudless sky, warming the baseball players working out in Fort Myers, Florida. The men in red stretch on the springy grass, their faces upturned toward the endless blue. Yet though it is midmorning in the Sunshine State, the sun is a setting sun for Curt Schilling. There is a good chance that this is his last Spring Training with the Red Sox, and as he nears his forty-first birthday, the reality of his age has set in.
Curt is a fan favorite, forever frozen in their memories as the pitcher with the bloody sock in that amazing 2004 postseason. But a fan base's affection doesn't stop time. The fact is that Schilling isn't a rookie anymore and "there's a bit of a sliding scale based on age," for Theo Epstein. "The deeper you go into your career, I think the more hesitant the club might be to guarantee salary years in advance. Curt is going to be 41. At that age, we get a little more conservative."
Though disappointing for both Schilling and many fans, Epstein's decision was a smart one. Schilling has the pitching ability of an ace and the attitude of a Ford, "built tough," but he's not ageless. It is impossibile to foretell how Big Schill's body will hold up. Pitching every five days puts a lot of stress on a pitcher's arm and body, and so many seasons of hard work tire one out quickly, even a man as tough as Curt. Should he remain healthy and effective throughout 2007, Epstein promises that "we'll find a way to keep him in a Red Sox uniform." For now, however, "It doesn't make sense from a business standpoint... to guarantee that kind of money a year in advance for a 41-year-old." Sox chairman Tom Werner echoes that "Curt Schilling will end his career as a Red Sox player... If he pitches as well as he expects to pitch this year, of course we'll make a deal for him for next year."
And Schill's thoughts on all this? "It's disappointing, but I said earlier, that's the way it works sometimes. It's a business, and I get that." Don't worry about his uncertain future affecting his performance this year, either, because "I don't pitch for contracts. I pitch for the reasons that I love playing the game."
Spoken like a true Sox.

Guess Who's Back

2007-02-24T19:19:00.000-05:00

Sadly, I was without Internet and any Boston newspapers for my entire vacation, so my Sox news was extremely limited. So forgive me for not having anything interesting to say. The one newspaper we got focused on mostly local high school teams and the only articles were stupid non-news articles like "Subpar 2006 Season Motivates Sox". It was painful, trust me.
So, after spending some time catching up rather than unpacking, much to my parents' dismay, I feel a little more caught up with the Sox world again. Everything I read/saw made me happy. Except Manny's Manny-isms, but even that doesn't bother me a lot. If he's gonna hit, who cares what else he does?
Hopefully I'll be able to post something more interesting soon. Until then, go Sox.

Let's Compare

2007-02-18T22:06:00.000-05:00

So while Roger Clemens basks in his own awesomeness back at his sprawling estate in Texas, Curt Schilling, barely younger than Clemens and just as talented, is in Fort Meyers, on time for Spring Training, working his butt off. Even though he's a seasoned veteran and still an ace at that. Somehow, he's even managing to enjoy himself. Because, you know (cough*Roger*cough), some people actually DO want to play baseball.
Let's compare the attitudes of two guys nearing the ends of two very similar careers. Schilling is humble enough to realize he can still learn at this stage in his career. "I'm trying to learn a little conversational Japanese," he said. "[Matsuzaka]'s got a whole different gig going. There are 200 people here just for him. He gives off the impression that he doesn't want it to be an inconvenience to other people, which is, I think, a pretty neat thing." He admires humility in others as well, and accepts the fact that other exceptional pitchers exist, too. He's still making adjustments, and he cares about his teammates; he realizes that a championship is a team effort, saying, "I'll be ready to go Opening Day. This is absolutely a World Series-caliber ballclub. We need to be ready right out of the chute, and I feel like I am. The preparation changes more on time [demands] than it does anything else. It takes more time to do things now than it did in the past. Warming up is just one of them. It takes me a little bit longer to get it cranked up and going, but it'll evolve over the spring. I'll tweak it as we go." He admits that he has dreams of another World Series ring or two, but "as far as that stuff goes, I really do not think about it." Because there are more important things to worry about right now. Like getting ready for a season, meeting new teammates, and getting in tip-top shape. Unless, of course, you're Roger Clemens and nobody's interested in seeing you before May, and you don't even want to play baseball. I'm not going to repeat my Roger quotes. You can reread my earlier I-hate-Roger post if you would like.
Anywho, now that I'm finally getting back into the swing (no pun intended) of baseball stuff, I have to leave for a few days. It's February vacation and I'm headed for Vermont for some skiing and snowboarding. I probably won't have any Internet access there, but I look forward to returning to a ton of comments and Sox news. Don't disappoint me :)

Shady JD

2007-02-18T17:01:00.000-05:00

I'm having a hard time forcing myself to like JD Drew. I find it necessary to like all the players on my team, because if I don't, it makes for one long, painful season. All the struggling players, I always believe they're about to break out of their slump. All the hot (hitting-streak-hot, people) players, I love because their success is so fun to watch. The players with a genuine love for the game, I find the easiest to become enamored of. The Julio Lugos and David Ortizes, the guys with spunk and personality. The Jason Variteks and Trot Nixons, the quiet, gritty guys. The Tim Wakefields and Curt Schillings, the veterans, and the Jonathan Papelbons and Dustin Pedroias, the enthusiastic young guys. JD Drew falls into none of these categories. I have little faith that the passion of Red Sox Nation will be mirrored by Drew. I get the feeling that he will be bothered by it rather than soak it up, causing a mutually distasteful relationship. Then his shoulder will disintegrate, he'll go on the DL for a month or two, Wily Mo Pena will have a breakout season, and the 70 million we spent on Drew will go down the tubes. There's really nothing to like about him. He's a liability, because he's almost guaranteed to get hurt. I'm sure that for the three or four games per season that he's healthy, he'll hit well and defend well and all that. But as you can see from my last post, personality is what makes me endeared to a player -- or despise him. JD Drew will choke in a town like Boston. I'll start off the season fresh and give him a chance, but in the pit of my stomach I'll know that his blase attitude will never get him invited into the hearts of these fans.

Seriously, Roger

2007-02-17T09:56:00.000-05:00

According to Dante's Inferno, hipocrisy is punished in Level 8 of Hell. Should such be the case, Roger Clemens has a secured himself a place deep within the gates of Lucifer (he has made a case for himself in the zones punishing avarice, prodigality, and pride as well). The aging pitcher shared several weeks ago that "I'm failing at retirement. Let's just face it. I'm failing miserably at it." Yet one must question his true motives when he makes comments like, "You put your body through a lot of punishment and then you come up one game short, like we did last year, for me it was a waste of time." Oh, Roger. So many young guys are killing themselves, working their butts off, and many will never see a major league game. But I understand. When you're as amazing as Roger Clemens you don't have to care. You don't even have to like playing. It's perfectly acceptable to not care about the regular season. To consider it a waste of your precious time. To put the baseball world on hold, year after year, for several months while you ponder a return. After all, you're Roger Clemens. You're a legend.
But you went beyond that. Beyond your typical arrogance. Now you claim that, "We get little notes at my foundation about people saying they wish I would make up [my] mind and decide because I am leaving people hanging. I'm not leaving anybody hanging. I don't want to play." Gosh, Roger. You could have fooled me. "Failing miserably at retirement" doesn't suggest at all that you are considering pitching another season. Of course you're not leaving anybody hanging. Just the Astros, Red Sox and Yankees. But no biggie. Take your time. Soak up the media attention. Immerse yourself in the prospect of several more millions to roll around in. "None of the teams are interested in seeing me before May, and that's great," you claim. "I don't have an interest in playing right now in May." God forbid you humble yourself to actually showing up at the beginning of the season, let alone Spring Training. Who would ever want you before May? What crazy team would want some quality pitching for an entire season rather than just half of one?
Roger, you disgust me. Many Sox fans are thrilled at the prospect of Clemens coming back to Boston, but you can count me out. If he does come here, I'll cheer for him. I always cheer for my boys. But I won't like him. And I won't have any respect for him.
In other news, my dad is a doctor and one of his patients knows Dr. Gill, the Red Sox physician. Apparently JD Drew's shoulder is in really bad shape. Ugh. Gotta love those injuries.

Happy Truck Day!

2007-02-12T18:10:00.000-05:00

It seems almost too early for truck day. The winter was so late in coming that a sign of spring seems like cheating. Yet, I am most certainly not complaining! When the season ends I brace myself for the longest, most painful wait imaginable. Now that the wait is almost over, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Football helped. School. I've been so busy that I doubt I would have been able to watch much baseball if it had been going on. That's the good thing about baseball in the summer. So much more time.
Anyways, Truck Day! I've been devouring all the information I can get from The Boston Globe's Extra Bases site, which has Spring Training updates. Many of the young players are already there, working their butts off. I was especially thrilled that Jon Lester is there, apparently in perfect health and only three pounds shy of his target weight. I have so much respect for him. He is truly an incredible young man. He refuses to be treated differently from any of the other pitchers.
Well, with Spring Training my posts will likely become less sporatic. I can't wait until the preseason games begin!

There Goes Another One

2007-01-19T17:31:00.000-05:00

Trot Nixon epitomizes the soul of Red Sox Nation; he forever will. Even though he signed a one-year deal with the Indians (my second-favorite team; could have been way worse), he will always be a Red Sox. With that dirt dog mentality and gritty attitude, he was a leader of the team for twelve wonderful years. And although his departure hurts, I will always remember him as he was, a Sox for life.
JD Drew had better be good.

Amazing

2007-01-14T20:44:00.000-05:00

What a wild game. Oh wow. I'm still living solely off the euphoria I was just infused with. Throughout the game there were times where it seemed like we had no chance--in fact, nearly the entire game I felt like the worse team. And I think there's a good possibility that we were, in fact, less talented, but one position, quarterback, is all it takes. And that one position stepped up in the fourth quarter and delivered a win. And did we miss Adam Vinatieri? Not a bit. Gostkowski nailed three FG's, including a 50-yarder... and a game-winner.
What a game. I love football.

On to Round Two

2007-01-07T17:04:00.000-05:00

I did my best not to expect a Patriots win for this game. The Jets are a good team. They looked good today. However, we dominated, especially at the end. We were clearly the better team. How about that Asante interception and TD, huh? Or Belichick slugging the cameraman and hugging Mangini, and actually showing emotion when Asante got that touchdown?
But the celebration will be short-lived. We need a win next week. We need to be dominant. San Diego is an excellent team. We need to be prepared. We need to work hard. This is playoffs. All or nothing; go big or go home.

Ew

2007-01-04T20:25:00.000-05:00

Doug Mientkiewitcz reached a preliminary agreement with the Yankees.

Playoffs, Here We Come

2006-12-31T16:40:00.000-05:00

Of course, we knew last week that we were headed for the playoffs, but the win this week just made it sweeter. 12-4. That's a good record. Not outstanding, I suppose, but pretty darn good. A 75% win rate with so many injuries is impressive. (Speaking of injuries, Rodney Harrison had BETTER not be seriously hurt! We just got him back, and it was such a morale booster.)
A great game, all in all. And the win didn't feel ruthless at all, ruining another team's playoff hopes while we were already headed for the postseason, because of all the fighting and animosity during the game. All those fifteen-yard penalties just made me want the win more.
It was an interesting game, too, despite the fact that the final outcome didn't matter for us. Asante Samuel came up with two more spectacular interceptions, to add to his eight; his ten now lead the league (as I write this post). Vinny Testaverde came in and threw a touchdown pass, making it 20 consecutive seasons for him with at least one TD pass. Twenty! Another record--that's a staggering number. Matt Cassel got to come in too, and he did really well after his first unsucessful drive (although, I admit, I might be slightly biased because he's cute). Lawrence Maroney and Corey Dillon both had some great TD runs, most impressively the latter with two touchdowns, one of them being a 52-yard run.
A great end to the season, and a great mindset in which to begin the postseason--as if we needed help.

An Early Christmas Gift

2006-12-22T17:25:00.000-05:00

The Patriots signed a new punter!
Thank you soo much.
Ken Walters endangered my health every time he stepped on the field.

I <3 Pats

2006-12-18T18:43:00.000-05:00

So, in a much better mood than last week...
Yeah Pats!
I just finished watching my recording of the game, and basically, we had everything.
Despite injuries. New guys, hoping to make their mark, brought their A game. Veteran guys, even those switched to different positions, did what they do best.
And it showed. Forty beautiful, well earned points. Everything was working for us. Offense was excellent. Defense was great. Interceptions were awesome. Punt return was terif. (-fic. I like to shorten words.)
It all came together for this game. Two more wins and we'll have been 4-1 in our last five. The best we could be is 12-4, the worst 10-6.
We're headed for a fun postseason.
And, the deeper we go in the postseason, the shorter the wait for Spring Training with my Sox!

Bad Luck

2006-12-10T22:12:00.000-05:00

I hate when you write an entire post and your browser crashes and you lose it. I hate turnovers. I hate penalties, especially stupid ones that obviously never existed before today. I HATE stupid announcers who talk for 23405973456897 years about the other team's awesomeness.
And if there's anything I hate more than all that, it's injuries. And clearly somebody annoying figured that out, because everywhere I turn, they stalk me. Every sport I follow, they're there. Like, what do you want from me?? It's the most obnoxious thing ever.
The 2006 Red Sox' catastrophic downfall can be credited to the loss of Jason Varitek, Trot Nixon, Tim Wakefield, Jonathan Papelbon, and basically everyone else on their forty-man roster. So when the Sox' season was over, it was time for football. Brand new sport. Brand new season. And we looked so good; warriors, men of steel -- until the injury train hit. Rodney Harrison. Junior Seau. Josh Miller (we replace him with Ken Walters? Seriously? Every time the guy kicks the ball it goes a maximum of two feet. They might as well just add seven points to the other team's score the second he walks on the field). And the average key player loss is about two a week. Last week, most importantly, was Lawrence Maroney. Whom I love. This week it was the rather portly Vince Wilfork -- you just can't duplicate the effect of him smashing into someone with his 325 pounds of, ahem, muscle -- and Ben Watson, who's pretty much just awesome. And even the guys playing out there are playing through pain, fighting nagging injuries.
I hate injuries. I hate hate hate injuries. Especially because there's no one to blame for them. You can blame stupid calls on the refs. You can blame penalties on guys. You can blame turnovers and stupid announcers and virus-infected computers, but injuries are just bad luck. And if anyone has been given an overdose of bad luck, it's me.

Jon and JD

2006-12-05T22:25:00.000-05:00

Here on a Tuesday night when I should be in bed. Here I am. Reading up on baseball.
The Sox signed JD Drew. What a surprise. Honestly, I can see both sides of the argument over Drew. On the one hand, he's a productive #5 batter with good speed, defense, power, protection for Ortiz and maybe Manny, etc. But on the other hand, he seems to have no passion for the game, and in passion-soaked city like Boston, that's not gonna fly. The choice is performance or passion. Personally, I want to win another championship. So I'm gonna err on the side of being happy we signed him. But at the same time, I hate the fact that he doesn't seem to care at all, while I spend hours and hours of my life learning every detail possible about the Red Sox. This fan base won't tolerate Drew's attitude very long.
In other news, JON LESTER IS CANCER FREE! I prayed for him every night, and now my prayers have been answered. He plans to report to Spring Training on Feb. 16! He'd better recieve the loudest standing ovation baseball has ever seen. My reaction to the amazing news was total euphoria. I'm so happy.

A Sloppy Win

2006-12-03T20:25:00.000-05:00

MATT CASSEL

STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI

And now that my girly moment is done...

We can't keep on living like this. Giving away games. Kicking ourselves with penalties. Underestimating teams. Handing the other teams fumbles and interceptions. Hurting core players.
Sure, it worked these past two weeks. We won because our quarterback is a veteran and our guys finally woke up in the fourth quarter.
We should have won today by a huge lead. We should have won last week without playing volleyball.
We're winning, but at what cost? Junior Seau (Matsui memories, anyone? It was excruciating just to watch). Rodney Harrison. Ryan O'Callaghan. Now possibly Mike Vrabel and my homie, Lawrence Maroney. And even the guys on the active roster are so banged up. What is with my teams being plagued with injuries?
I'm not suggesting a direct connection between our poor play and our injuries, but merely noting that because of our injuries we need to work even harder.
And I'm so tough on my team because I know they're champions.
The Colts are 10-2. (Yayyy! They lost!)
The Bears are 10-2.
And we're 9-3. We're not so far behind.
We are in the heat of the race. We are going to the Super Bowl.
We just need to keep our focus.
And stop getting hurt.

I leave you with a question I was debating with some Pats friends.
Asante Samuel's contract is over after this year.
He's awesome. But he's gonna demand a whole lotta cash.
With the payroll cap, should we sign him again?
I think yes. But then again, I would have said a thousand times yes to re-signing Vinatieri. And I don't miss him a bit.

Vote!

2006-11-25T11:40:00.000-05:00

I just voted for the TYIB awards, and I urge you all to do the same. This is where YOU can have an affect on the outcome. One person's vote doesn't change a lot, but all of Red Sox Nation's votes -- we can change everything! You can vote as many times as you want, too.
Here are my picks:
Closer: Papelbon
Starter: Johan Santana
Defense: Mike Lowell
Setup: Joel Zumaya
Hitter: PAPI (all of the hitters had some REALLY good numbers though... my vote was pretty biased)
Play: Mike Lowell and Grady Sizemore (gave 'em 20 votes each)
Blooper: Jeter & Arod and Alex Rios (both plays made me reeeeeeally happy)
Rookie: Papelbon
Performance: Dontrelle Willis (for a pitcher to hit 2 homers in a game he also pitched great is incredible!)
Manager: Jim Layland (he totally turned the Tigers team around)

Soo... go show some love and vote!

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-23T16:24:00.000-05:00

That's all. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! =]

Matsuzaka!

2006-11-13T18:51:00.000-05:00

The title of the article reads "Red Sox apparently win Matsuzaka bid." Go read it on redsox.com. Then come back here and celebrate with me! I know it's not finalized and everything, but I'm SO EXCITED! He's supposed to be amazing. I remember reading about him a month or two ago, reading that he was basically the only good pitcher on the market, and thinking we'd never get him. We'd refuse to cough up the cash, somebody (ahem.. Yankees) would outbid us... something would happen. I didn't even let myself dream it.
We'll know for sure at 8 PM tomorrow.
But if we do get you, be prepared for the best fan base in baseball. Be prepared for some great teammates. Be prepared for the adoration of millions.
And whatever happens, please don't turn out like Matt Clement and Edgar Renteria did. For the money we're paying for you, you'd better DOMINATE.

Yuck.

2006-11-12T16:13:00.000-05:00

That was disgusting. Unacceptable. We should have won that game.
Corey Dillon had a good day.
But everyone else sucked.
6-3.
What happened?
The streak was blown.
Three games from breaking the record.
What happened to this team? We were 6-1. We were warriors. Formidable defense, powerful offense.
We can't give away games like this.

Football in the Rain

2006-11-12T12:31:00.000-05:00

Football players make baseball players look like sissies. No offense. Football players play in the rain, in the snow, and in subzero temperatures. Baseball players play in the summer and they cancel their games if the weather looks bad.
Pats game at Gillete today. The rain is pouring. I'm ready. I'm wearing my new Maroney jersey (!!) inside my warm, dry house. The Pats are ready. Ready to go out in the rain and get soaked and clobbered.
I love football.
The Pats haven't lost back-to-back games in 57 games. We definately won't stop that awesome run today. 7-2 is a whole lot better than 6-3.
The Jets are only 4-4.
No prob. We got this.

I Miss Baseball

2006-11-11T12:27:00.000-05:00

It's only been six weeks since the Red Sox' season was over. Only two weeks since baseball ended. Yet I'm baseball starved. I need Spring Training. The offseason feels like it should be over. I love football nearly as much as I do baseball, and of course I don't want the football season to be over, but football's only once a week. It's not the same.
So Foulke decided not to sign with us again. Honestly, I couldn't care less. Half the season he was on the DL, and the other half he sucked. The last few weeks he picked it up a little but by then it was too late anyways.
This morning in the Globe there was an article on Daisuke Matsuzaka, saying that the Red Sox may have been the top bidder. I want to get him soooo badly. Imagine a starting rotation of three 26-year old phenomena and two forty-year-old veterans! Schilling, Papelbon, Matsuzaka, Beckett, Wake. In any order. That's one scary rotation. If the Yanks take this one away from us and make a huge bid, I'll be so mad. It's not fair. They have so many expensive guys already, and we have... Manny. I think there should be a payroll cap in baseball like there is in football.
We have a lot of moves to make, but I would say this one is the most important. We need to make it, and I think we should make a high bid, because we have so many good deals on our team already--Ortiz, Papelbon, Lowell--that we can afford a splurge.

Seriously?

2006-11-02T18:38:00.000-05:00

Two posts in one day :]
But this one's a mad one. Because i'm disgusted.
Jeter beat Gonzalez out for Gold Glove at shortstop. Despite the fact that Jeter (15) had more than double Gonzo's errors (7). And Gonzalez was absolutely spectacular all season.
No love for Mike Lowell at third either.
This was obviously just a popularity contest.
Not a single player from baseball's best defensive team won the award.

Here are the other winners:
P Kenny Rogers (5)
C Ivan Rodriguez (12)
1B Mark Teixeira (2)
2B Mark Grudzielanek (1)
SS Derek Jeter (3)
3B Eric Chavez (6)
OF Torii Hunter (6)
OF Ichiro Suzuki (6)
OF Vernon Wells (3)

Just Some Opinions

2006-11-02T17:12:00.000-05:00

So... what's with all this fuss over Julio Lugo and Alfonso Soriano? I'm confused. WE DON'T NEED EITHER! Hello? Pedroia and Gonzalez or Loretta! Why do we need another middle infielder? We have three of them, three talented ones. And at this point, even though I had once argued that we should keep Gonzo rather than Loretta, my mind's starting to change. Much as I love Gonzo's defense, we can't have both Gonzo and Pedroia in the same lineup. Gonzo I expect to hit somewhere around .250 again, and who knows what will happen with Pedroia? It's much safer to keep Loretta, a solid, prototypical number-two hitter. That said, I don't have any really strong opinions. Except that we don't need any other middle infielders. Instead of getting some overpriced superstar, save the money for pitching. With good pitching and the good defense we're bound to have no matter which infielder we keep, we won't need to score as many runs anyways. Save the power hitting for Manny and Papi, and everyone else just needs to get on base.
My writing is pretty bad right now.
Sorry.
I'm getting rusty.

Interesting...

2006-10-15T11:35:00.000-04:00

So I read this morning in the Boston Globe a little tidbit saying that the Front Office is very interested in bringing back Kevin Millar for a bat off the bench and to help energize the clubhouse. I would love that! Millar's clubhouse presence was such a big part of the 2004 and 2005 seasons. His bat isn't that great, but he's pretty cheap, and he could be a late-innings replacement. And his personality would be so important to help keep guys relaxed and joking around. He was sorely missed this year, and he seemed to miss Boston as much as we missed him.
Bring him back, Theo! Bring him back!

Rest In Peace Cory Lidle

2006-10-12T18:34:00.000-04:00

I'm in absolute disbelief at the news that Cory Lidle was killed yesterday. I'm in shock. The man who I saw standing on the mound just six days ago is now gone, incinerated save for a passport revealing his identity which tumbled to the ground. That he was a Yankee at the time of his death has absolutely no effect on me. He was a human being first, a baseball player second, and a Yankees player third. He shared with me a passion for baseball, a passion for adrenaline and a passion for life. I pray for his wife, his young son, and the rest of his family, as well as all those touched by his death. The entire Yankees orginization has felt a tremendous blow, and I pray for them. Sometimes things happen that you can't explain. Sometimes things happen that make you forget instantly the silly rivalries that once seemed so important. Cory Lidle will now leave unfinished his baseball career, one that will always be remembered not for his accomplishments in sport but for its tragic ending. I pray to the Lord to help us find a meaning for his death. Rest in peace Cory. Never forget.

The Best Song Ever

2006-10-10T21:40:00.000-04:00

Okay, first of all, I just want everyone to know that I haven't forgotten about you or my Red Sox. Far from it. And I really miss the summer when I could post every single day. I promise that I haven't forgotten you guys. And I do go to redsox.com every day. I just don't have the time to post about it too. I wish I did.
Anywho, I just wanted to let everyone know about the best song ever. It's called "Merry Frickin Christmas" by Frickin A, and if you haven't heard it, you need to. It's all about the 2004 Red Sox and Yankee bashing, and if you want to listen I'll email it to you. I already emailed it to Kaylee and she loved it.
So yeah. Let me know.

The End is Only a Beginning

2006-10-02T07:37:00.000-04:00

So ends a season ridden with injuries and demolished hope, a season highlighted by David Ortiz' record-breaking 54 homers, a season to be remembered by a catastrophic downfall, yet it ends with a win. And that single win is a beacon of hope. Next season. There's always next season. Hinske, Lowell and Loretta homer. Hansack pitches his heart out. Nine runs score in five innings. This wasn't such a bad team. Just an unlucky one. The long offseason begins now. The World Series isn't of that much interest to me. I'm probably too busy to watch it anyways. It's time for football, which can help assuage the sting of no baseball. And boy, did the Pats look good yesterday. Lawrence Maroney is freaking amazing. He is so so so good! Rookie of the Year, anyone? Two touchdowns and like a million yards. And Caldwell taking that hit was so scary. I was freaking out. I thought he snapped his neck. My mom, a doctor, was enlightening us on what could have happened as we awaited news on his condition. Which didn't help calm me down much. But then he went out and played again! Which was pretty cool. I'd rather he hadn't, but it showed how much guts he had.
So the Patriots look great, and the Sox have a whole offseason to rebuild this team into champions. I'm optimistic for the futures of both teams.

Looking To 2007

2006-09-24T11:30:00.000-04:00

And so the playoff race ends. I should be so disappointed, but I knew it was coming. A team this thin on starting pitching could not have swept the rest of our games. And now that we know we're out of the postseason, it's an oddly settling feeling. An abysmal August crushed the season that could have been. We were destroyed by injury. There is no one to blame. There is no scapegoat, try as people might to blame it on Theo, Tito, or any of the players.
And now Red Sox Nation turns its eyes toward the postseason. What moves should be made to make 2007 a legitimate year for contention?
The following is what I believe should take place. Arguments are welcome.

FIRST BASE
Kevin Youkilis. Hands down. A solid defender, very cheap, bats well anywhere in the lineup, occasional power.

SECOND BASE
Dustin Pedroia. He is looking more and more comfortable every day. I love Loretta, but I think he could be excellent trade bait for some pitching. Pedroia's hitting is getting better and better and his defense has shown signs of much potential. He is learning every day.

SHORTSTOP
Alex Gonzalez. Cheap, absolutely amazing on defense, and way above expectations hitting-wise. At one point he was hitting .292, though he has had a recent decline in production which I attribute largely to a DL stint.

THIRD BASE
Mike Lowell. He is awesome. The end.

CATCHER
Jason Varitek. Next year his hitting numbers should be closer to what we've seen in past seasons, and he is irreplaceable behind the plate. Doug Mirabelli for backup.

LEFT FIELD
Manny Ramirez, barring trade. Manny's defense this year was surprisingly solid, and occasionaly impressive. And his hitting... need I say more? If Manny is traded, which I doubt will happen, David Murphy perhaps?

CENTER FIELD
Coco Crisp. I completely believe that he never got a fair chance. His finger now requires surgery, and it has become apparent that it has been a huge problem for him all year, much more than he has been letting on. I'd give him another year to prove himself. He's cheap, young, spectacular defensively, fast, and should bat around .300.

LEFT FIELD
Wily Mo Pena. Trot Nixon will be traded. That's a fact. I love Trot more than life itself, but he's gone. Hopefully we'll get some pitching for him too. Wily Mo's glove is an adventure, but we have seen him improve offensively before our eyes this season. The more playing time he got, the better he did. Plus, being around Manny and Ortiz is surely a huge help for him. He seems to be a great clubhouse presence too.

DESIGNATED HITTER
Um, David Ortiz, thankyouverymuch.

STARTING PITCHING
1. Curt Schilling. Ace. His last season should be a memorable one. He'll want to go out with a bang.
2. Josh Beckett. He's been looking more comfortable in the AL, and we all know that he DOES have good stuff. His home run totals should plummet, and he should be a 15-plus-game winner.
3. Jonathan Papelbon. He's lights out. Being a closer he's gotten the opportunity to face pretty much every team in the AL and a little bit of the NL too. He should be amazing.
4. Tim Wakefield. I sure hope he gets healthy, because he's obviously not right now. A healthy Wake will be a very solid addition to our pitching staff. He can go deep in games, and when his knuckleball is on, nobody will be able to hit it.
5. Julian Tavarez/Somebody we trade for. Matt Clement is a has-been. He's getting surgery, he sucks, and he sat around all season with no real injury except to his confidence. I don't know if the FO will want to keep Tavarez for '07, but in his past 5 starts he's shown us that starting is where he belongs. He seems to love it, and he's been incredible. I would have no qualms about having him in the rotation. If we want someone else in the starting 5, Tavarez will make good trade bait.

BULLPEN
1. Someone new.
2. Someone new.
3. Someone new.
4. Manny Delcarmen. He's matured before our eyes. He's still learning, but I think he eventualy will be a very good pitcher.
5. A lefty.
6. Mike Timlin? Maybe?
7. Keith Foulke. He's been lights out for the past few weeks. Don't know where that came from, but I like it. It would be awesome if he could be the closer from '04, but if not, he could be a setup guy.
8. A closer.

LINEUP
1. Kevin Youkilis 1B
2. Coco Crisp CF
3. David Ortiz DH
4. Manny Ramirez LF
5. Wily Mo Pena RF
6. Mike Lowell 3B
7. Jason Varitek C
8. Dustin Pedroia 2B
9. Alex Gonzalez SS

A great lineup 1 through 9. Youk leads off, Wily Mo gives Manny some protection, Gonzo hitting 9th gives us a 9-hitter who isn't an automatic out.
2007 will be fun.

Julian Tavarez Rocks My Sox

2006-09-23T09:03:00.000-04:00

So apparently the combination of extremely good starting pitching and home run hitting will win you a ballgame. Who would have thought? Tavarez last night was outstanding. A complete game with only one run allowed. He has been way, way above and beyond expectations as a starter. He was given one or two starts because we were running out of options, and he took the opportunity and ran with it. He seems to be having so much fun out there starting. And he helped his team stay in the playoff race for one more day. In the past two games, our starting pitching has given up only one run in 17 innings pitched. Incredible. We are hanging by a thread, but we are still in it. And Tavarez clearly realized this.

David Ortiz is Freaking Amazing

2006-09-21T22:16:00.000-04:00

Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell aren't too bad either. Beckett shuts out the Twins for 8 beautiful innings, Foulkie closes it up like he's been doing for the past month-ish, Lowell homers, and Ortiz creates an instant classic with homers no. 51 and 52 off of no other than Johan Santana, who will probably win the AL Cy Young award.
I love it.
Please pardon my lack of posts. My baseball time has become greatly diminished thanks to a very hectic schedule, and my blogging time has shrunk even more. But I'll do my best.

Joe Morgan and the ESPN Guys Need to Hang Themselves ASAP

2006-09-17T21:55:00.000-04:00

I had to turn off the TV after the sixth because my thoughts were getting increasingly violent towards the ESPN announcers. If anyone reads an article about them getting murdered in their sleep tonight, yeah, that was me. Honestly. They don't even care about what's going on in the game. Coco Crisp got a single, and they didn't acknowledge it a single freaking time. Not once did they mention it. They totally weren't paying attention. And it's so obvious that they are Yankees fans. They don't even try and hide it. They blabbered on and on about how the Yankees have had so many injuries this year and last, but did they ever mention the rediculous amount of injuries the Sox have been plagued with this season? Again, not a single freaking time. They do so much more commentary when the Yankees are batting, but even so, they talk way too much about absolutely nothing and they say the most retarted things that make me want to repeatedly punch them. In the second Mike Lowell doubled and then Trot homered and Joe Morgan goes "Three run homer! Mike Lowell!" and it takes him like a year to realize that it wasn't a three run homer. Because, of course, he wasn't paying attention. And the little "trivia" he gives are all so obvious. Like Ortiz' being hospitalized for heart problems. He said that as though it was brand new information that none of the viewers had heard before. At least three fourths of the people watching knew that, Joe. You. Are. Retarted.
I couldn't watch anymore. I tried to mute it but my family got mad. So I gave up. A Sox win and a Pats win is enough to make me happy. I can read about this game tomorrow.

Hurled into Obscurity

2006-09-17T11:04:00.000-04:00

This morning I found the Boston Globe sports section sitting in between my brother's and my seat at the kitchen table, as it is every morning. As I poured syrup over my waffles, I scoured the front page for news on the Sox. There was none. Not a single baseball article was worthy of the front page. So I flipped to the second page. Again, nothing related to baseball. I checked the front page again just to make sure, and I saw at the very bottom, in tiny print, "Red Sox, C12." Page 12? Is that how insignificant the Red Sox have become? That, to me, was more of a heads-up that this season is over than any of Dan Shaughnessy's incredibly annoying "this team sucks and I'm doing my best to make Julie hate me" articles. Have we really fallen to page-12 obscurity? Eleven freaking pages of other sports are really of more interest to the public? I'm disappointed in the public then. We won a game against the Yankees. We lost one, too, but beating the Evil Empire felt so good. Apparently nobody else thought so.
Pats today at 4:30 with Nick. Two Sox games. It's going to be a fun day of sports... if I finish my To Kill a Mockingbird essay in time.

Rainout

2006-09-15T23:13:00.000-04:00

The rain washed away the game tonight. I was pretty disappointed. Tonight's game was the game I had the greatest chance of watching in its entirety all week. Tomorrow I might be with Nick all day and Sunday I have homework and Patriots.
But I'll get through it. With a daily starting rotation consisting of school, volleyball, dinner, homework, and bed, my Sox are having a tough time getting any playing time in my life. And it's strange. I'm finding how easy it is to completely cut the Sox out of my life. Which is not something I want to or plan on doing. It's just a realization. Baseball's a summer love. A quote from my favorite movie, The Notebook, goes something like this: "Summer romances all have this in common: they are shooting stars. A burst, a fleeting glimpse of eternity, and then they are gone." Baseball is similar. In the long, lazy days of summer one has plenty of time to absorb all the baseball there is. And suddenly the season that seemed so long back in April is gone. The Patriots are more suited for fall and winter. Their once-a-week games ensure that I am there for every minute.
But I miss baseball. I miss my family rushing to finish our barbequed dinner to get on the couch at 7. I miss my mom and I throwing Peanut M&M's at each other, and going out to ice cream while listening to games on the radio. It's only been three weeks, and it seems like a lifetime ago. Once school starts it's never the same. The magic of the season is over when you watch a maximum of two innings a night, and get all your information from the Boston Globe the next morning.
It seems as if the offseason has already begun.

=]

2006-09-14T22:54:00.000-04:00

I just tuned in to the game for the 9th. The rest I missed due to a volleyball game that went very late, followed by a boatload of homework. But before I went to bed I had to see the outcome of the game. Now I know. Mike Timlin, an abysmal 4 for 11 in save opportunities going in to the night, left the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on first with a double play, and the result made my heart sing. Even if Mr. Wild Thing Papelbon wasn't the one to do it. I miss him, but today we got along without him. Barely, but we did. Mark Loretta had an awesome night, driving in the tying run and the go-ahead run in successive innings. Yay. Now time for bed.

Hot Coco on a Cold Night

2006-09-12T22:47:00.000-04:00

Coco Crisp contributed with 3 of our 6 RBI of the night, and Kason Gabbard gave us a scoreless 4.2 innings. It's too late for me to write out a good post, but I just wanted to share that Coco is great and I have always loved him despite his subpar season.
And Bobby Abreu is freaking awesome. I'm sorry that I have to say this. Really, really sorry because it sucks for us. But that deal turned out wicked well for the Yankees, way better than I expected. And I knew he was really good, so that's saying a lot. And thanks to him and his freaking six-RBI first, the Yanks won too.

Good Day Sunshine

2006-09-10T18:36:00.000-04:00

A good day all around. The Patriots won, thanks to a second-half revival and a 2-point safety. The Sox won, thanks to the cureall of good pitching, good hitting and good defense. My Indians beat the White Sox, Wild Card competition.
We managed to salvage the series versus the Royals. Thank God for that. Tavarez pitched well, and our bullpen didn't allow any runs. Ortiz blasted his 48th and our offense combined for 13 total hits. This was a fun game to watch. Even if we aren't headed for the postseason. It makes it less nerveracking. It's just plain fun.

Reflections

2006-09-10T11:56:00.000-04:00

There is a really big chance that this season is over for the Boston Red Sox. Barring miracles or another 12-game winning streak, we won't be making a postseason run. But, guys, the postseason only lasts a few weeks. The regular season lasts six months. The regular season is why we watch games. The regular season is the real baseball. So we lost to Kansas City. Take it all in stride. Even if we don't make it to the postseason, this was a great season.
I was with my boy yesterday and we walked around Boston for like four hours. Suddenly I realized I could see the Citgo sign. So I freaked out and started walking in the direction of Fenway. We went to Yawkey Way and I just kind of stood there and stared at the lights at Fenway for a minute. The Coke bottles. The retired numbers. The radio booths. I could see all that. I asked a guy at a nearby bar what the score was, and he said 4-4 in the eighth.
My boy is from Connecticut, and he just moved here to go to Bentley College. He's a Sox fan, but nothing like Bostonian ones. He asked me why I love the Sox so much. He said some people like it because they can bet on them, but why would anyone else care so much?
I had to think for a minute. I told him I want to be a sportswriter. I told him the passion of the Sox draws me in. And I told him that they make me happy. They make me so happy. I told him I could think of nothing that would make me happier than a walkoff win. Nothing.
And this is why I sit down in front of the TV every day at 7. This is why I do my homework the second I get home from volleyball practice rather than procrastinate. I don't want to miss a minute of this dwindling season. The postseason is a long, lonely one. Football games are only once a week. I miss baseball so much during the winter.
Soak it in now. Forget about wins and losses. Just watch. There's not much left.

Senseless Wandering

2006-09-09T15:13:00.000-04:00

Never give up. Never never never. That's what we're told.
My dad remarked when we were at Fenway how strange it was not to see us in the pennant race.
We just lost to Kansas freaking City, despite scoring 9 runs, including a Tek 2-run shot and Papi's being a homer shy of the cycle.
I don't give up on anything this important to me. Ever. But this is as close to it as I've been all season.
I know anything could happen. But every day when I hear that, there's less and less of a time frame for that anything to take place. Something about being a true Sox fan commands faith. I'm getting sick of seeing "keep the faith" posts though. If we don't make it to the postseason, this season will have been a heartbreaking one. Because this team could have been so good.
I don't really even know what I think anymore. My life is so confusing right now. I'm lost and my mind seems to be spinning out of control. My thoughts are unattached and senseless and the one person who can usually bring me back to earth is the one causing this.
So bear with me. I'll be normal again in a few days. Hopefully the Sox will too. The news has been getting better. Schill and Wake should be coming back soon. That will be huge.
I do believe in miracles. I do believe in the magic of late summer baseball. I do believe that, no matter what the odds, this team is capable of taking an entire Nation by surprise and giving them the hugest feeling of happiness it could possible imagine.
I do. Because it does that every day. Every base hit, every strikeout, every slick double play is why I watch the game. That is the joy of baseball.

Me Being In A Really Good Mood

2006-09-05T22:21:00.000-04:00

We are looking like a Major League team again. Our pitching has been lights-out, bullpen and starting; our defense has been dazzling; and our offense has given us enough runs to win in a dramatic fashion. We have our starting lineup back. And so far, it's showing.
Congradulations to Kason Gabbard on his first major league win. And a well deserved one! He was phenominal today.
Welcome back to Papi. Even though he had a quiet offensive night, we didn't need his homers today. I'd rather he save them for a night when our pitching isn't as good.
Nixon has reminded us of his importance by doubling and scoring the winning run.
Coco Crisp knocked him in. I really think we should give him another chance next year. This year was a total fluke with the injury and all. What do you guys think?
Mike Timlin got a 2-shutout-inning save, and he looked like the old Mike again.
So pretty much I love this team again. I mean, I always have and always will love the Boston Red Sox, but I'm loving the players again. Love love love them. Because now I can go to bed happy.

Awesomeness

2006-09-05T17:43:00.000-04:00

Last night's game was amazing. After Pena's walkoff I was in shock. Absolute shock. It was probably the single best baseball moment I've ever been present for. His first major league home run, and it comes as a walkoff in the bottom of the 10th. I was the happiest person alive. Okay, maybe Pena was the first happiest, but I was a close second. That euphoria, that eruption in the stands, that dogpile at home plate, it was all amazing. I can't even believe I was actually there.
And Tavarez pitched way better than anyone would have predicted. Six scoreless innings and one run in a third of the 7th. I was there for his last start, too, and I was expecting another 3-inning, 3-run job. Schilling couldn't have done better; it seems everybody forgot who had to miss a start for Tavarez because he was absolutely fantastic.
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd I got to spend the day with my boy! I'm not going to talk about him here because it's really not the place, but he was really lucky and he got a ticket to the game with me and we found some seats together. He's a Sox fan, but not a Soxaholic like me, and the only time I shut up the entire game he asked me where my commentary was. I guess I talk a lot :)

Pictures... Really This Time

2006-09-03T21:30:00.000-04:00

Ok here are all my pictures! Sorry they had to be split up into a bunch of posts but if I put them all in the same one and something went wrong I would lose them all. That already happened yesterday and I didn't really want it to again.
And just so you know, none of the pictures are of me because my parents won't let me post pictures of myself on the Internet. For obvious reasons.

Carlos Pena and Tavarez:
Again:
Hinske, I believe:
Paps, Pena and Catalonotto:
Hinkse:

Tavarez:

Papelbon:

2006-09-03T17:13:00.000-04:00

Hinske:
Hinske and Coco:
Tavarez warming:
Blurry Hinske:
Gabe Kapler:
I am planning to marry him:

2006-09-03T16:56:00.000-04:00

Youk Hinske and Coco:
Belli and maybe Kapler:
Hinske Coco Lowell and Youkie:
Belli and Hinkse:
Hottie McHottson:
Dougie:

2006-09-03T16:41:00.000-04:00

Youk works a full count walk, as usual:
the hottie in front of me!!! he got up to get a drink or something so i went and sat in the empty seat next to him and he never came back cause i guess he went home. i was sad.
Maybe I'll marry him instead:
Okay, maybe this does qualify as stalking:
Pena and Tavarez and Catalonotto:
Pedroia, Cora and Lowell:
YOUUUUUUUUUK:

2006-09-03T16:30:00.000-04:00

Lowell:
Lowell Pena and I think Catalonotto again (guess he was on base a lot!):
Pesky Pole! We were that close!
Pena Catalonotto Tavarez:
Javy Lopez:
Dustin Pedroia (his Fenway debut!):
Coco running in from CF:

2006-09-03T16:16:00.000-04:00

Coco:
Papelbon!
Paps again:
Carlos Pena:
Papelbon with his glove on his head! He is so freaking cute! Changed my mind I will marry him:
Hinske:
Paps:

2006-09-03T16:10:00.000-04:00

Timlin:
Hinkse batting:
Coke bottles:
Youuuuk batting:
The Monstah:
Mikey Lowell, just before hitting a 3-run homer!

2006-09-03T15:54:00.000-04:00

Youk bats:
Vernon Wells:
Mr Youkilis:
Kevin again: Mark Loretta:

2006-09-03T15:25:00.000-04:00

Coco after stealing second!
Coco being told to steal by Hasselman:
Coco beats out a bunt (clearly these are in reverse order):
AL-ex RI-os:
Overbay:

2006-09-03T15:19:00.000-04:00

Carlos Pena:
Hinkse being all ready:
Our excellent defense juxtaposed with Tavarez' atrocious statistics:
Tavarez on the mound:
Youk and Coco:

2006-09-03T15:13:00.000-04:00

Hinske (I was closest to him so obviously I had the most pics of him):
Hinske:
Wally!
Coco and Youk:
Green Monster:

Quick Notes

2006-09-03T14:09:00.000-04:00

Those of you who are interested in seeing my pictures from Thursday night, just leave me a comment with your email and I'll send them to you. Hopefully that will work.
And I just wanted out to point out that my Indians have been on a roll, even though my Sox have not. The Tribe has won 5 straight, 9 of its last 10 and has been 20-10 since August 1. I think the Indians' hot streak has helped me through the Sox' dry spell a little bit.

Pictures!

2006-09-03T11:18:00.000-04:00

Finally! Click here to see them! I put them on webshots because I tried to post them and it didn't work. It took me forever because my computer has a virus and keeps closing my internet window or shutting down... so I hope you like them!

Don't Give Up Yet

2006-09-03T08:58:00.000-04:00

The season is not over. In fact, it's just about to get better. Today we are expected to get Gonzalez back at shortstop, Tek and Trot back on the bench, and possibly Papi back in the DH spot. Lester's cancer is treatable, albeit not cureable, and Paps thinks he could be back in a week. Things are looking up.
And I have renewed faith that this team wants to win. That they are not at all satisfied with the way they have been playing. To quote a loveable, fashionable Dominican with the famous gap-toothed smile,
"I've been stressing out [about] the way things are going with us trying to make it to the playoffs and things not going well on the field. I'm pretty sure everybody on this ballclub is having nightmares about it, because our team is built up around winners -- around guys that get prepared to compete every day. And [if] you don't get back what you expect personally, you're going to stress out.
"So, I guarantee you that I am not the only player stressing out at this. There are other things in the game that you can control and everybody is aware of it, but I'm pretty sure the only way out is to keep on trying."(redsox.com)
They haven't given up. They never will. What more can we give them than the same undying faith? Even if we don't make the playoffs or the World Series, this was a great season. Schilling got his 200th win and his 3000th strikeout. Papi gave us that overwhelming euphoria with a clutch hit every single time he was asked for one, and he is on his way to making a club record with 51 homers. David Wells battled back from injury against all odds and actually pitched well. Jonathan Papelbon has made a great case for AL Rookie of the Year, and if he can come back healthy soon enough, he could make a club record for saves and a league record for saves for a rookie. Plus, he's a legitimate Cy Young candidate.
And so much more happened this season, but it's not over yet. There's a whole month. Is it likely that we make the playoffs? No. But this team can create miracles. We've already seen that.

Wicked Mad

2006-09-02T17:57:00.000-04:00

I just spent two hours posting my pictures from Thursday and when I hit post it said an error occurred and it deleted everything. I can't believe it. I just like wasted my afternoon.

Terrified

2006-09-02T11:56:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to think of the last time something this awful happened to a player. Matsui's flapping wrist, Kapler being carted away on the trainer's cart, Tony C's eye come to mind, but even they were not on the same scale as Lester's diagnosis. My parents, both doctors, explained lymphoma to me. It made me sick to realize that Lester has to deal with that. I'm disgusted that a 22-year-old phenomenon-in-the-making had such devastating luck. Cancer. The word's repeating over and over in my mind. Cancer. Cancer. Somebody make it stop.
Broken wrists, torn Achilles and even broken faces heal. Cancer kills. Maybe that car accident was a blessing in disguise. Had Lester not gone to the hospital for that, who knows how long Lester would have waited until the cancer was discovered?
This team is cursed. The win yesterday was totally overshadowed by Lester's diagnosis, and then Papelbon's shoulder strain. Even the young guys aren't dismissed by the injury train. There's no other explanation for this team's downfall. The curse of... Damon? Who knows? A team with so much potential, and a young pitcher with so much potential... destroyed by injury.
Lester has to go through freaking chemotherapy now. Both my grandmothers had breast cancer. Chemo is terrible. Absolutely terrible. It kills cancer but in the process it kills everything else too. It racks the body. Lester could be left so weak he can never pick up a baseball again. The chemo could ruin him. I think I might be sick. Whatever gods are toying with our Sox have gone too far. They're messing with our guys' lives now. I just wish there was something I could do.

The Real Deal

2006-09-01T17:20:00.000-04:00

I had an amazing time last night. It kind of revamped my dwindling interest in the Sox. My seats were sooo good -- they were by right field, in foul territory, and three rows from the front! I actually took pictures this time too, and I will post them as soon as I can. Just to warn you though, they aren't that good because my camera's zoom is terrible.
Anyways, I got to see a spectacular catch by the beautiful Gabe Kapler (I had such a great view of him too!), and a terrific diving double play by Dustin Pedroia in his Fenway debut.
But you saw all that too. I have something better to tell you. I know the real story behind why we won.
I was sitting next to two drunk college guys all game. One of them decided he hated Alex Rios, so the entire game he was heckling him (remember, right field, third row, so we were really close to him!). Mostly just bellowing mockingly "AL-ex RI-os" and some obscene comments and mother insults thrown in every few minutes. Everyone in our section got pretty annoyed with his yelling (though I was actually talking to him and his friend most of the game), and I'm positive Alex Rios heard every word he yelled. We were that close. I'd say twenty feet.
About the fifth inning, Alex Rios started glancing over. This just pumped up our drunk friend even more, and he would start jabbing his finger towards him and yelling "Hey, why are you looking over here? The game's that way!" followed by several slurred "AL-ex RI-os"es. By the seventh inning Rios must have been wicked frustrated. Dustin Pedroia got on base and Alex Cora came up to bat. The drunk guy, having drunk more than a few beers, was getting louder and more obnoxious and more obscene by the inning, and Alex Rios' glances toward our seats were becoming more and more frequent. He looked pissed, too. Right in the middle of one of Drunky's chants, Alex Cora hit a fly ball to right field. I KNOW Alex Rios wasn't concentrating 100% on the game. He couldn't have been. He ran for the ball, and to our whole section's utter delight, he bounced it into the stands for a 2-run homer! Our section went insane. Those who had been yelling at the drunk guy were high-fiving him. Everyone knew that he was totally the one who just got us 2 runs. We all joined in in the guy's chants and I yelled "Thank you Alex!"
I think the drunk guy definately ruined Alex's concentration, but I also think when that ball was hit he wanted to make a spectacular catch and shut the heckler up. Maybe he was trying too hard to show the guy that he didn't care and wasn't listening.
I think what was so awesome about that was, if only a little, maybe we just helped our team out. Maybe we, the fans, actually had something to do with the game. Maybe we just won a game for Red Sox Nation. The fans -- WE won the game! And that was amazing. Because people always say "Why do you care so much? You're only watching, you're not playing. It's not going to make a difference if you turn off the TV."
Well, we did just make a difference.
Here's what Rios said about the play:
"The ball jumped off my glove, and when I tried to catch it with my bare hand I just pushed it away," Rios said. "I mean, I don't know. I don't know what to say. It felt like -- I don't know. It was kind of a reaction play. When I dropped it, I just tried to catch it so quickly with my bare hand that I pushed it away."
Well, he didn't admit that the fan got to him, but what major leaguer would admit that a fan got in the way of their concentration? He totally wasn't concentrating at that moment.
I'm assuming that Mike Lowell was named player of the game.
But the real player of the game was the drunk guy next to me. And I bet he doesn't remember a thing.

2006-08-31T17:23:00.000-04:00

I'm off to Fenway! Wearing my Youk shirt again because of my three player shirts (Youk, Manny and Paps) he's probably the only one I'll see. Tavarez is pitching so we will probably lose but I can't wait still.

Sliding

2006-08-30T17:33:00.000-04:00

This season is looking worse and worse. I'm sorry to be so pessimistic. But this season has been trying. I remember how at the beginning I had a whole argument ready for how this team was better than 2004's, if anybody asked. How our offense was just as good, our pitching staff was led by 2 aces and a great closer like '04's, and our defense was even better. Yeah, about that.
How can you plan for this many injuries? I don't blame the players. I don't blame the manager. I don't blame the front office. But how can we expect an offense without Manny, Ortiz and Pena to slug the heck out of other teams? How can we expect a pitching staff missing Tim Wakefield, recently Jon Lester, and Jason Varitek behind the plate, to shut out every team? How can we expect a defense without Vaccuum Cleaner Gonzalez, and with Youk forced to play outfield, and with Mr. I Can Play Every Position Hinske somewhere new every day, to create the same spectacular defense we saw earlier this season?
We can't.
These 10:00 games are over, and I couldn't watch many of them anyways. And frankly, I didn't mind missing last night's one bit.

School :(

2006-08-29T21:23:00.000-04:00

I didn't post this morning because I was doing summer homework ALL DAY. Because tomorrow I have school. I want to cry. So I will only be able to do morning posts on weekends, and my Sox time will become very limited with volleyball six days a week and 4 grueling honors courses. My only good news is that I am going to two -- yes, TWO -- games this weekend: Thursday night and Monday night. I'm thrilled. Can't wait.
That's all. Thanks for listening to me and my depression.

Stirring the Pot

2006-08-28T13:18:00.000-04:00

Peter just wrote a post on Papi and his quest for 51 homers. With a whole month and just 4 homers to go, it seems almost certain that he will do it, barring injury. And though I'm rooting for Papi every at-bat he gets, something occurred to me. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if Papi gets 51 homers or MVP. It doesn't matter if Manny leads the league in batting average. It doesn't matter if Coco Crisp leads the league in stolen bases, if Curt Schilling leads the league in wins, if Jonathan Papelbon leads the league in saves and ERA, if Gonzo or Mike Lowell or our entire infield wins a Gold Glove... it doesn't matter. What matters is that we win. Because in a few seasons we will have forgotten most of the other stuff. We won't have forgotten if we made a postseason run. These other things are nice because they help us win, but we aren't winning right now despite them. And the postseason isn't looking so reachable right now. So looking to the offseason, I give you this question:
Dustin Pedroia will almost certainly be a starter next year at either second base or shortstop. This means that either Mark Loretta or Alex Gonzalez will go. Which one do you think it should be?
I say trade Loretta. I love him, and I think he's awesome. But he's older than Gonzo, and will get us more money or a better pitcher. His hitting has been great, and his defense has been solid. But I would rather keep Gonzalez. He's still in his twenties, so he still has yet to reach his peak. His hitting this year has been far above what was expected, and his defense is absolutely phenominal. I think he could continue his upward trend with his hitting, and his glove is irreplaceable. Plus, he's cheap.
My mom says trade Gonzo. She says Loretta's hitting is much better than Gonzo's and his defense has been great.
It seems the FO might agree with me. They tried to trade Loretta a few weeks ago, but it fell through. I would love to see what everyone else thinks about this.

The Walking Wounded

2006-08-28T10:42:00.000-04:00

That's what we are. The Walking Wounded. I don't see how it's possible to be this beat up. And it's a fact. The injuries ARE killing us. Yesterday we had absolutely nothing. We had the same number of errors (2) as we did hits, for crying out loud. As NESN showed us during the game, only three of our guys are in the same spot in the batting order as they were opening day. Our pitching was bad -- um, Snyder gave up a freaking grand slam! Our hitting was bad -- two hits the entire game! Our defense was bad -- two errors, and two missed catches by Youk in left field that could have been errors as well; plus, no one was playing their correct position. Our baserunning was bad -- Hinske being tagged out between second and third, ending what could have been a big inning.
We are left with nothing. And it's not fair. This team was never given a chance. We were never healthy. We never showed what we really could do. I can't think of one time during the season when our entire team was on the active roster. Not one time the entire season. Not even Opening Day -- David Wells wasn't ready yet.
So it's really nobody's fault we're doing so bad. Nobody's really underperforming. It's just that we have a AAA team, a bench team, instead of a Major League team. And it sucks.

Avoiding Talking About Last Night...

2006-08-27T10:49:00.002-04:00

Let's not talk about the Red Sox. I watched the Patriots game instead, then when that was over I watched the Sox but only until 11:30. I don't know how many of you readers are football fans, but I'm starting to think more and more about football season. Our Patriots look absolutely dominating. We won 41-0 last night, and we looked every bit as good as the score would suggest. As the announcers said about eighty billion times, this definately looks like a championship team. We are plowing down everyone in our path, and I know this is preseason, but the Pats are looking a whole heck of a lot better than the Sox right now.
If you wanna talk baseball, let's talk about my Indians. They are on a roll, though I know it's waaaaaaay too late in the season and they are definately not in contention, but they have won their last 4, and seven of the last 10, and did I mention they are playing the Tigers right now? They are finally looking like the team everyone expected them to be, led by my two favorite Indians, Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner.
And if you're gonna force me to talk Red Sox, I'm not even going to talk about our bullpen/Mike Timlin/how much we suck right now. I'll talk about Manny. It really ticks me off how no one believes he is really hurt. I know he has an IQ in the single digits to go along with the maturity level of a six-year-old, but do you really think he would miss this much playing time because he was robbed of a single base-hit ruling? He's a major league baseball player, so clearly he must have worked his butt off to get where he is today, as did all MLB players. Would he have gone through all that if he didn't love the game? And if he loved the game so much, would he really want to miss this much playing time? I know what it's like when you're hurt and nobody believes you. Last year around this time I started feeling pain in my lower back, to the side. I kept telling my parents there was something wrong, I knew there was, but they assumed it would go away. After several weeks, I finally convinced them (they're both doctors) to bring home some test strips. As it turned out, I had a UTI, and had I left it untreated much longer, it would have been a serious, and possibly even fatal, problem. Luckily, my dad wrote me a prescription for some antibiotics, and I was fine. Another time, when I was in about first grade, I fell out of a tree and my wrists really, really hurt. My mom gave me some ice and just figured I was trying to play up my injury. That night I spent in agony, unable to sleep. In the morning I was forced to go to school, but my mom pulled me out towards the end of the day to take me in to the hospital just in case. Turns out both of my wrists were broken. Perhaps this is why it bugs me so much that nobody believes Manny. I know the MRI showed no structural damage, but it's obvious to me that Manny's hurting. It's a long, grueling season, and if he says he's hurt, he's freaking hurt!
Snyder on the mound tonight, to try and right the ship. (Haha, ship, Mariners, get it? No? Okay, sorry, that wasn't funny.) At least the Yankees have lost the past two also. Here's to a Yankees sweep and a Red Sox win!

Back to Our Old Ways

2006-08-26T10:38:00.000-04:00

Maybe those two wins were a fluke. Our one reliable starter was on the mound and we still managed a loss. I only saw about the first hour of the game, because I had to go to bed early so I could get up in time for volleyball practice at 8 am, but I saw the Mariners take the lead and it turned out that they never gave it back. Good pitching is not enough. It is not possible to win a game without scoring runs. We need hitting, timely hitting. We have been without it all season, and a team cannot rely on a single man to get every run for them. Without Ortiz, without Manny, we have nobody.
And without our defense, as we were last night, we have no strengths. We don't have great pitching. We don't have great offense. But we did have great defense. Last night is an example of how much worse off we'd be without that.

Nice to Win Again

2006-08-25T10:31:00.000-04:00

A Big Papi homer and a botched double play that scored a run turned out to be the only runs we needed. Our pitching was actually effective last night. Becket was on fire. He gave us six scoreless innings, and the one run he did allow, was an inherited runner that Mike Timlin let score. Entering the 7th inning, Beckett's pitch count was a miniscule 62, averaging roughly 10 pitches per inning. In the back of my mind, with the dominatant nature of his pitching performance and his low pitch count, I was thinking complete-game shutout. However, he was forced to leave after six-plus with a small cut on his finger.
Still, it was one of his best performances of the year.
This is the guy we traded Hanley Ramirez for.
This is the guy we were willing to take the "extra baggage" of Mike Lowell for.
This is the guy who just got a three-year contract extension.
This is the guy we expect to be at the top of our rotation when we lose Curt Schilling.
This guy was lights-out.
And for once, our bullpen kept the lead.
We won the series, and we won back our pride.
My faith is back, and with Schill on the mound, it is stronger than ever.

How Sweet It Is

2006-08-24T09:30:00.000-04:00

It feels so good to win. I'd almost forgotten. A sense of relief, of satisfaction. Finally. We found a Band-Aid. We stopped the bleeding.
Lester's pitching was okay. Not terrible, not good. An improvement from his last start, but he's still using up way too many pitches, and as Don and Remy mentioned last night, he seems to have lost the ability to get out of every jam unscathed. But after we gave him a lead, he kept it, so he pitched effectively enough to win.
Big Papi and Little Papi both blasted two-run shots, getting the game off to a good start, and Coco Crisp hit an RBI single. That proved to be all the runs we got, and that proved to be enough. Though all our competition won too, I was happy, and I got to go to bed satisfied for the first time since last Wednesday.

Six Straight

2006-08-23T09:01:00.000-04:00

Somehow it didn't bother me much that we lost last night. I was content at the fact that we played a pretty good game. Snyder was decent. Our offense was decent, save for all the runners left in scoring position, but we've had that problem all season. I'm used to it by now. Pedroia had a pretty good game for his MLB debut, playing solid defense and racking up his first major league hit. He was robbed of a bases-loaded RBI single his first at-bat by Orlando Cabrera.
We lost our sixth straight, we decreased to only 13 games above .500, and with a Yankees loss, a win would have allowed us to gain ground. But the good news is, at least we didn't lost any.
We can still salvage this series. Jon Lester's past few starts have been mediocre. Perhaps tonight he'll find a way to get to 7 innings with a reasonable pitch count. I think he can.
Come on, boys. Let's start winning again.

Another Name for the DL

2006-08-22T21:23:00.000-04:00

Now Alex Gonzalez has joined the neverending list of players on the DL. I don't understand. How is it possible for this many players to be hurt in a single season, on a single team? How? I mean, what are the chances of this? So far this season, all of the following important players have made the trip to the DL (in order): David Wells, Coco Crisp, David Riske, Lenny DiNardo, Mike Timlin, Keith Foulke, Matt Clement, Wily Mo Pena, Trot Nixon, Jason Varitek, and now Alex Gonzalez. This is absolutely absurd. Rediculous. I can't even imagine where we would be right now sans injuries. Wells could have had a solid season. Coco too. Clearly his injury had some effect on his bat. Lenny could have given our bullpen some much-needed help. Same for Foulkie. Wily Mo could have been a powerful bat off the bench all season. Trot and Tek are clearly missed. And Gonzo's defense is the best of our entire spectacular infield.
I'm excited to see Dustin Pedroia. Another member of the future Boston Red Sox. But I'd rather see the Red Sox of the present. And not screw up another kid because our team somehow continues to be wiped out by various injuries.

Low Fives

2006-08-22T09:32:00.000-04:00

I didn't even really care that we lost yesterday. We were already so deep in a hole, it didn't even seem to matter that we dug it a little deeper. I never would have expected that we would be swept, four days ago when I was so full of hope. This is clearly the lowest point thus far this season, and somehow I'm emotionless.
We can get it back. We can always get it back.
That's how a Red Sox fan thinks.
My parents are ready for football season. Me, not quite. I always have faith. Maybe it's optimism, maybe it's just pure naivete. A devastating five-game sweep by our archrivals, and I still think we could win it all.
There were promising signs yesterday. We can just focus on those.
David Wells looked fantastic yesterday. He has for his past few starts, and when I see his name on the schedule, rather than feeling sick to my stomach, I feel a small sense of relief.
Keith Foulke, after allowing a runner to score on a wild pitch, also showed promise yesterday, pitching an inning and 2/3 of no-hit baseball.
Wily Mo Pena provided some good offense yesterday (though he was the only one), going 2 for 3 with a homer that gave us our only run. Remind me how many homers Trot has? Four? Though Trot is a much better fielder and a bit more consistent, hitting-wise, he hasn't been missed too much with Wily Mo doing a great job.
In the course of a weekend we got rid of our worst pitchers and called up some of our better (hopefully?) ones. Rudy Seanez and Jason Johnson were FINALLY designated for assignment, and Craig Hansen was sent down to AAA. Craig is going to be great. But he isn't now. I'd much rather that he was down in AAA working on his pitching than up here losing games for us. Keith Foulke came off the DL and so far has yet to give up an earned run. Javier Lopez was called up and we now have a lefty in the pen.
Things are looking a little better for this trip. All the teams we are playing are tough, but we can handle them.
We can do this.

Another Heartwrenching Loss

2006-08-21T09:16:00.000-04:00

I cried during the 10th inning yesterday. Because that inning was the straw that broke the camel's back. Last night was a game that we should have, could have, needed to win. And with 7 solid innings from Curt Schilling, who left in line for his 15th win, it seemed that that was going to happen. The bullpen was only asked for two innings with one or less runs allowed. And since Papelbon was all but certain to pitch the ninth, and a scoreless ninth, the rest of the pen only needed to pitch one inning with one earned run. They couldn't handle it. Timlin put two guys on base without recording an out. Then Lopez put a guy on base without recording an out. Terry Francona then had no choice but to bring in Papelbon for two innings, starting with the bases loaded and nobody out. Papelbon did a tremendous job, allowing only a single inherited runner to score on a sac fly, and recording strikeouts for two of the three outs he made that inning. In the 9th, Paps gave up a run to tie the game, but I don't fault him at all. He deserved neither a blown save nor an earned run, because the run would never have scored had it not been for a passed ball by Mirabelli, allowing the runner on second to move to third and then score on a single.
But we failed to score any runs in the bottom of the 9th, despite loading the bases with one out, and Mr. Clutch coming up with a bizarre leadoff double. And then I saw Hansen warming in the pen.
I knew it was over.
I knew it as soon as they said his name.
I knew it as soon as he gave up a homer.
I knew it as I went to bed, disgusted, after he gave up another, 2-run homer.
We need Tek. We need Wake. We are going nowhere but down in the standings without them. Their impact on this team is enormous.
We are in danger of being swept by the Yankees. After all the hype about the series. After our team was so good the first half. I am absolutely humiliated by what has happened to our team.
And I think that the heartbreaking loss last night was more than just that. I saw our bullpen collapse like a deck of cards. Even with Rudy Seanez and Jason Johnson, who I consitered our two very worst pitchers, designated for assignment, we have no one. Schilling and Paps. But if no one can hold the lead between those two guys, we can't even win those games.
This is not a championship team. Not at all.

Agony

2006-08-20T16:57:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted since before my game Friday. Couldn't bring myself to. I had fun Friday, but it seems that this is the beginning of the end for the 2006 Red Sox. Our offense was spectacular. We rallied back so many times, had so many timely hits. On most days, 11 runs will win you a ball game. But with this pitching staff, it was not the case. Our pitching has become abysmal. Utterly atrocious. Yesterday I didn't even watch the game. Some friends and I went to the beach and shopping, and then we watched the Patriots preseason game and I slept over. The Patriots game was much better than the Sox one, as it turned out. The Pats won, 30-3, and played an all-around great game. Matt Cassel, who I love (okay, I love both quarterbacks), showed huge improvement, and he got his first two touchdown passes of the year.
At least one of our teams knows how to win.

Go Sox.

Off to the Fens

2006-08-18T17:20:00.000-04:00

I'm off to Fenway, and I'm excited out of my mind. I'll be wearing jeans, a red Youkilis shirt and a blue Sox hat, but I probably won't be on TV or anything. Anyways, go Sox!!!

A Guest Post

2006-08-18T11:11:00.000-04:00

Good morning, and today I have a guest post by a very talented guy named Peter! Basically, everything I was planning to write, he had already written, and written well, so with his permission I decided to paste it here as well:

Today's dawn was partly cloudy, with temperatures to rise from 60 degrees into the upper 70s. Not humid. Not hot, but comfortable. And it will be just so for the sixty thousand plus fans that will settle into their seats at the old ballpark in the city of Boston, the city we love. But while the weather will be calm, the mood, the atmosphere at the Fens will be anything but. Ya see, the Yankees are in town. Arod, Jeter, Torre, and the rest of the cast that we know so well. Five games in four days. First place on the line. And Jason Johnson will be the first of five pitchers whose job it is to shut down the Yankees as best they can. And their best is what we, Red Sox fans all, will need. Setting the tone, and not just for tonight's game but the entire series, will be Jason Johnson, the diabetic who will take the mound shortly after 1pm. He's looking to not rely on his off speed pitches. And Wang, the opening starter for the pinstipers, will rely on his heavy ground ball inducing sinker. Uneffective in his last start, we hope that trend continues, if only until dinnertime. We hope to wear him down by being patient at the plate, making him throw a ton of pitches. If it's not too far down in the strike zone, swing for the base hit, the line drive. Stay away from the ground ball. That's the key. That and the hope that JJ does not put us in an early hole. The key to JJ? Get out of the first inning unscathed!! No looking forward to game number two, for the mood and the air itself will become charged, lightning like, with a game one victory. And the city, Red Sox Nation itself, sits and waits, maybe nervous, certainly confident, for that first pitch. Enjoy everyone, and think of how much fun game number two will be on the heels of a Sox win this afternoon. For these games are big. The last appearance at Fenway for the Yankees at our home will be a memorable time. Let's hope we can look back at this next month with smiles, and be able to say THIS is when we started our push, our shove, to October greatness. Push. Shove. TODAY.

All Was Wells

2006-08-17T10:10:00.000-04:00

When David Ortiz's 42nd homer gave us a 2-run lead and David Wells gave the lead right back, it seemed that we were in for another devastating loss in which our shaky pitching staff blew a lead. Then Coco Crisp came up big with his second hit of the night, a 2-run double off the Monster, and following that, the young arms of Hansen and Papelbon managed to close this one out and avoid the sweep. Paired with a Yankees loss, we moved up a game in the standings just in time for a five-game weekend series against the Evil Empire.
David Wells pitched well last night (pardon the way-overused pun). He didn't pitch a gem, with 6.2 innings and 4 earned runs, but he pitched effectively enough to get his second straight win. If Wells remains this reliable, and pitching against the league-leading Tigers should have been a good test, it will be a huge addition to our injury-laden starting pitching staff. Imagine, following the return of a healthy Tim Wakefield, a starting pitching rotation of Beckett, Schilling, Wakefield, Lester and Wells. All five are very capable of winning. No more question marks. That would be amazing.
And finally, I think (hope?) that Coco Crisp is finally, finally heating up. A hot Coco (another humorless pun... excuse my good mood) would boost our offense tremendously. He has been doing well as a leadoff hitter, squaring to bunt several times last night (though only succeeding once, in a sacrifice bunt), going 2 for 3, and even working a walk. In addition, he made a fantastic catch out in center field. For me, Coco is just one of those guys you just really want to see do well. I think his injury threw him way off, thus his subpar hitting. I really would like to see him make an impression at the end of the season, so our front office will sign him for another season or two instead of trade him like they tried to earlier this season. I think he could blossom in Boston. The fans (er, I) love him, he's spectacular defensively, and we know that he can be a solid leadoff guy. Plus, he's fast... and way cheaper/younger than Damon.
Today's an offday, the calm before the storm. Tomorrow begins a huge series against the Yankees... including a night game which I will be watching from VIP seats! Thank God they switched the schedule so I get to see Lester and not Johnson.

On the Wrong End of a Duel

2006-08-16T09:06:00.000-04:00

Heading into the sixth inning, it seemed that we might be in line for another 1-0 victory. Schilling had been shutting out the Tigers, his opponent having given up only one run on a solo shot to Coco Crisp, one of my personal favorite Red Sox. Then in the seventh, Schill gave up 2 runs to give the Tigers the lead, and you can't do that to the best team in baseball. Though on most nights Schill's pitching line of 7 innings with 2 earned runs would equal a win, the best pitching staff in the major leagues would let our hitters tie the game, but never regain the lead. When Wily Mo Pena suffered a mental lapse while catching a fly ball, the winning run scored for the Tigers and our night was over.
We can't be giving away any games. We could have won last night. The team that led the AL East for nearly the entire first half doesn't seem so great anymore. I will always have faith that my team can win in the postseason. But right now, it doesn't seem too likely.

VIP TICKETS!!!

2006-08-15T16:23:00.000-04:00

I just heard just about the best news of my life!!! My dad, a dermatologist, has a patient who's a part owner of the Yankees, and the patient got him 5 VIP tickets to the Red Sox game Friday! I can't even believe it! VIP tickets, folks!
I can't even remember the last time I was this excited. Oh my God. This is amazing!

Rainy Tuesday

2006-08-15T09:28:00.000-04:00

The first pitch Josh Beckett threw was hit for a leadoff triple, and it was all downhill from there. The Tigers got three runs in the first, and two in the third, and though Beckett didn't give up any more runs for the rest of his night, Terry Francona must have already kissed the game good-bye by the time Beckett was done, because he put in Rudy Seanez. Seanez helped the Tigers put the game out of reach by giving up two runs, and though Craig Breslow relieved Seanez in an impressive fashion, it was too late for the Sox hitters, battling the best pitching staff in the majors. Paired with a Yankees win, our loss put us another game out of first. But with Schilling on the mound tonight I have confidence that we can win this one. After all, the Tigers haven't been quite as dominant since the All-Star break.

Home Again

2006-08-13T20:34:00.000-04:00

I missed two exciting games this weekend: a walkoff win thanks to Manny Ramirez and a win in which Mike Lowell hit a grand slam. It could be a little premature, but I think that our 7-run rally in the third on Friday was the spark that lit us up. A sweep of the O's takes away the sting of being swept by the Royals a little. Hopefully we can keep it up and go on a winning tear. It amuses me how much better spirits I am in when my Sox are winning.

Red Sox Nation Breathes a Collective Sigh of Relief

2006-08-12T08:20:00.000-04:00

So nothing IS wrong with our team after all. Funny how a win will change your feelings for a team so quickly. Yesterday we were ready to give up our RSN memberships and we thought the Sox had no chance at all at making the postseason. One win later, this is the best team in baseball again.
Mike Lowell was by far the star of the game. He was beaned with a laser in the first inning -- in the head, no less -- yet he stayed in the game, only to prove to us multiple times that he was just fine. He hit a teriffic RBI single, stole third base (THIRD base! Do you even realize how much harder that is then second?), and made what I consider his most fantastic catch of the season. And there's a lot of competition for his best catch. Just a side note: um, why was there a Yankee fan and a Mets fan in the front row of a Red Sox-Orioles game? Seriously. Those were nice seats. Save them for someone whose team is actually playing.
Mark Loretta had a great game as well, going 3 for 4 with some solid defense. Our entire lineup had at least one hit apiece. And David Wells was terrific. He pitched seven solid innings giving up only a lone earned run.
We put it all together yesterday: solid offense, solid defense and solid pitching. That 7-run third could very well be the spark that set us on fire again. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could go on another double-digits winning tear again?
All is right in the world. The Red Sox won, the Yankees lost. And just for good measure, Cleveland won too, with Grady knocking in 3 of the 4 runs they got.
In a few minutes I'm leaving to spend the weekend at my lake house. It's just my brother and I this time, and for only one night, but I'm sure it will be amazing. Plus, I will only miss one game (unless Sunday's is a day game. I don't really feel like checking).
And finally, I have some great news. For me anyways. My dad might be able to get tickets from work to Friday's Red Sox-Yankees game! That would be unbelievable. I'm really psyched.

This Isn't Cool, Guys

2006-08-11T08:40:00.000-04:00

This five-game skid is absolutely unacceptable. I have no idea what is happening with our team. I thought maybe Mirabelli's return would help end it. I thought maybe Schilling would help end it. And they did... until the 8th inning when Schilling suddenly couldn't hold his own against the lowly Kansas City Royals. I feel like slapping the guys in the face and reminding them that we needed to sweep the Royals. We needed to. The Royals and Devil Rays were the break we were given in our schedule.
What happened to the adoration I felt for this team during the first half? During our 12-game winning streak and our 17-game errorless streak? I tried to think of the last 5 days as I do when my softball team loses. It's just one game. It's not that important. We're only human. We can't win them all. But the Sox are not the same as my softball team at all. We're a bunch of fifteen- and fourteen-year-old girls, and it's not even our regular season right now. The Red Sox are professional athletes being paid millions to perform for one of the most passionate fan bases in sports. And you know what? It IS okay to demand that they win most of their games. That's their job, and they should know that if they don't win, they probably won't be back here next year.
My patience has evaporated. And I feel no comfort in the fact that the Red Sox' fate lies in the bloated hands of David Wells tonight. Especially when neither Schilling or Beckett could come through. But at 7:05, all this pessimism will be gone and again I will have faith that we can come back, that a resurgence is in the cards.

Oh My God

2006-08-10T23:12:00.000-04:00

I thought it couldn't get any worse. Well, it just did. We got swept by the worst team in baseball. I have nothing else to say. It's been a while since I was embarrassed to say I'm a Red Sox fan. Thanks, guys. Was a win for my birthday against MLB's worst team really that much to ask?

I'm going to bed. I still can't believe what just happened. Our team is imploding.

Happy Birthday to Me

2006-08-10T08:49:00.000-04:00

Well, I had a great title and opening sentence for this post when I went to bed at 11 last night. Finally a win, I was thinking. But then I woke up on my birthday to see that the unstoppable gave up 2 runs, causing his tiny ERA to swell to almost 1. I don't even know what to say. We're falling apart. It could be the absence of Tek, or Nixon, or anything else right now, but we're feeling it to the extreme, especially our pitchers. It's good to see Dave Wallace back to his duties, but let's hope he finds the missing link, fast.
So far my birthday kind of sucks. The gifts I got were good and everything. My parents let me redo my room and get a cell phone, my sister gave me a Coach wristlet and a lip gloss, and my grandparents gave me some cute clothes from Abercrombie and Hollister. But someone really special was supposed to drive down from Connecticut and be with me for my birthday and now he can't because something happened between him and his parents. I think we can all guess what kind of person it is. So excuse my pessimism but I'm really disappointed right now. Anyways, this isn't really the place to be talking about that stuff.

So please, guys. Stop the bleeding for me. Give me a win on my birthday.