Away Team

Yeah, I'm upset about Manny, but this is more important

2009-05-08T11:47:00.000-05:00

Everybody sing!

Better than his brother, Joe!
Dominic Dimaggio!

Childhood ... fulfilled

2009-01-12T14:08:00.000-05:00

Manny a New Day

2008-08-01T23:06:00.000-05:00

Dear Los Angeles Dodgers,

So you guys have Manny Ramirez now. I wish you and him well and I'll miss very much having him on the Red Sox. I've followed Manny for seven and a half years, so I wanted to offer some tips on dealing with him:

• Manny will be delighted to learn that celebrities often attend Dodgers games. But he will be deeply saddened to learn that SpongeBob Squarepants isn’t one of them.

• Every July, Manny gets cranky and says he wants to be traded. While it was apparently true this year, most years it wasn’t. Just weather the storm – today he says he wants to be traded, tomorrow he’ll say he wants to be … say … a helicopter.

• When he sees the THINK BLUE sign in the hills, he will probably be very confused and ask “Aren’t those supposed to spell ‘Hollywood’?”

• Don’t tell him how close he is to Disneyland. He’ll want to see if he can zip down for a ride on Space Mountain during the seventh inning stretch.

• Apparently Manny wanted to wear number 34 and was saddened to learn he couldn’t because it was Fernando Valenzuela’s number. I’m sure he’s very confused about how an entire South American country was ever a pitcher for the Dodgers.

• Now that he’s been given the number 99, make sure his jersey never gets hung upside down in his locker or he’ll complain that you changed his number to 66 without telling him.

• He’s going to be really, REALLY excited when he learns who his new governor is.

• Don’t make him lose the dreads. He’s like Samson.

• If he assumes Vin Scully’s broadcasting partner is an FBI agent named Mulder … just go with it.

• Above all, take good care of him, feed him a steady diet of Frosted Flakes and inside fastballs. He may have left Boston with something less than grace, but we’ll always love the big lug.

Thanks,

Noah

Why I love this time of year ...

2008-04-01T06:45:00.001-05:00

Technically, the Tampa Bay (Non-Devil) Rays are in first place.

When we named this blog "Away Team" ...

2008-03-14T09:09:00.003-05:00

... it was because we were all Sox fans living outside of New England.

But if you're curious about just HOW far away I am at the moment ...

Perhaps the main problem with baseball in the 21st Century ...

2007-12-05T15:49:00.000-05:00

Is that I feel like I'm seeing a lot more baseball headlines now, in the off-season, than I ever did during the real season.

MVP, MVP

2007-11-13T23:04:00.001-05:00

If Lowell signed with the Yanks, would you boo him?

I don't think I could. Why is that?

deja vu all over again

2007-10-29T00:16:00.000-05:00

There is so much to say about the glory of tonight. But for now I want to let some pictures tell the story.

In 2004, I was living in Boston. Abe, my brother, was in New York and my parents were in Kansas. None of us has the know how to work a real three-way phone call, so we just had Abe call my cell and Dad call my land line and we watched the final out together.

Tonight, that officially became a tradition. We have done it two times in four years and hope to do it many more times. We would gladly stop doing it if we could be watching together, of course, but with me in LA, Abe still in New York and my parents temporarily back in Mass, we had to settle for the phone shrub.

There I am, on two phones, translating things from Abe to Dad and vice versa.

Abe was a few second behind, due to the DVR in the house where he was watching. So I had to hold it in for a few seconds after Papelbon got that final out.

Before exploding into dance.

I'm a happy man, Nation. How are you feeling?

When the Red Sox win, America wins a free Taco!

2007-10-27T17:00:00.000-05:00

This was sent to me by a certain organist for a certain team that plays for a certain hub of a certain universe. And I had to share, because it is beautiful and commemorates what is possibly the weirdest cross-promotional event in World Series history.

Also, it gives me an opportunity to mention that I was present at Fenway Park when young Jacoby Ellsbury won America a free taco.

I'll report more on that, later. But for now, let's see what the Red Sox can win for our nation tonight!

I'm so full of love right now ...

2007-10-25T23:10:00.000-05:00

... I even kinda like Tim McCarver

That was a pretty good start to the Series

2007-10-25T09:54:00.000-05:00

Let's not get cocky.

...but, um, wow. That was a tad lopsided last night. Beckett pitched himself right into the hallowed halls of legend as the Red Sox offense slaughtered the Rockies' starting pitching, relief pitching, pitch calling, coaching, managing...

The Red Sox made a statement last night and that statement was: "Welcome to Fenwway."

It's a new era for Red Sox fans. Call it what you will (are they the New Yankees? The Boston Bombers, perhaps?), but this team is quickly establishing the already legendary Fenway as THE ballpark with unprecedented home field advantage. It's as if Teddy Baseball himself has pushed balls over the Monster with ghostly ease for the All-Star sluggers and then swatted opponents' pop-ups right down into the waiting gloves of the beloved BoSox.

Is there any team in baseball right now that could possibly want to play the Red Sox in Fenway Park? I think you could hear blood vessels burst when the Indians realized that yes, they were heading back to Yawkey way.

And the Rockies? Yeah, they get to play in their mile-high park and pray Manny gets the bends...but they looked completely unprepared for last night's opening stint in Boston.

How else do you explain a 13-1 win in Game 1 of the World Series against the hottest Post Season team in recent history? Aside from the fact that it's a) a National League team and b) a team that hadn't played in 8 days, I think everyone expected a little more fight.

But tonight's a new night. And this Red Sox team has already given us some of the best emotional and historical baseball this year. Since '04, we have been blessed to watch these guys. And I have to echo Noah and Dan's sentiments: I love THIS team. Well, except for Lugo, of course. But everyone else: LOVE 'EM. Since I don't really want to dwell on the prospect of losing some of our Fenway favorites next year (more on that later), every extra game we get to see with THESE specific guys is a gift. A gift I will enjoy for as long as it lasts.

And if that happens to also mean they win another World Series ring...even better.

May the light of Ol' Lady Yawkey shine down once again on her beloved boys tonight and may the frozen head of Teddy Baseball crack a smile. And let us say: Amen.

I cherish you people

2007-10-24T18:13:00.000-05:00

As we prepare for tonight, I want to echo Dan’s statement – I love these guys.

And this is key, and somewhat new. Being in LA, I feel very far removed from the action. Compare this with 2004, when I was living a few blocks away from Fenway. This is why, while I followed the team closely all year, I didn’t feel the same connection, the same sense of ownership I did with the ’03 or ’04 teams. To be honest, I’m not sure I could have told you what JD Drew or Dustin Pedroia looked like beyond basic descriptions like “he looks like a waste of money” or “he looks like they let the batboy play.”

But now, I love those two deeply and passionately.

Those last three games of the ALCS played out, like ’04, like a cheesy but enjoyable action movie, where every character has a specific skill set and everyone gets to shine. 2004 was like the ending of the first Harry Potter book, when they have to get through a series of challenges that happen to match up perfectly to what each of them was good at – Millar walks, Roberts steals, Papi hits a home run. It was elegant and if it were a movie, it would seem hacky.

We got back a lot of that blissful hackiness this year. I mean, when your last two must-win home games start with a $14 million disaster hitting a grand slam and end with your hopeless centerfielder going full bore into a wall to catch a fly, you feel like you’re in Hollywoodland.

And it generates a lot of love, not just for the uniform, but for the men inside. You love that Papelbon can go from shooting lasers out of his eyes on the mound to dancing a jig in his underpants in fifteen minutes. You love that Papi had his jersey off and his champagne goggles on before the first out was recorded in the ninth. You love that our star outfielder of tomorrow has a name that sounds more like an accounting firm.

Look, nothing’s ever going to top 2004, nor should it. But this is a team of passion and fun and I haven’t felt a connection like this since that incredible year.

THOUGHTS ON THE ALCS: I was a definitely in the “well, if we have to lose to somebody, let it be the Indians” mood. I always felt Cleveland is a good sports town that has had so little luck, but doesn’t get nearly the media sympathy that Boston only semi-deservingly got (yeah, it was a tough 16 years between the 86 Celts and the ’01-’02 Pats, but those 16 NBA championship banners can dry a lot of tears). But then those fans were there with those idiotic towels and with their faces painted with that grotesque Chief Wahoo and I lost any sympathy for them.

Can we PLEASE start talking about “The Curse of Chief Wahoo” now? I don’t care if there’s no historical basis for linking the Chief to the losing streak; having that disgusting racist caricature as your team’s symbol seems much more likely to enrage my understanding of God that anything you could do with a goat or to a fat guy. Seriously, why not just have Al Jolson in blackface as your team symbol (I won’t try to come up with a suitably racist team name, but I’m sure you could think of some)? If you HAVE to remain “The Indians” I guess that’s okay, but please dump the freaking chief.

THOUGHTS ON THE WORLD SERIES: Talk all you want about a nine-day layoff and about ho lousy the NL is, but 21 wins in 22 games scares me.

Good gravy, I do not want the Sox to lose to the Rockies. As you may recall, I was suggesting they should move to Lowell last year. What a ridiculous, non-team.

But, even with the Rockies’ win streak I think the Sox have the momentum advantage. Beckett and Schilling at home, then facing their three and four starters in homer-happy Coors … Well, I know who my money’s on.

But I’m not uncrossing my fingers yet.

These Sox, Our Sox

2007-10-22T00:04:00.000-05:00

I love these guys.

The '07 Sox are a considerably less colorful group than the '04 squad, but if it's possible I love them almost as much. Theo and the Sox brass have let this team age and grow in an absolutely pitch-perfect way. They didn't keep anyone on the team out of blind loyalty, and they refused to try to freeze time in '04. Instead, they've changed and improved, but in a way that didn't cost us the heart and soul of the franchise.

They retained the core of the championship squad: Papi, Manny, Schill, Tek, Wake, and Timlin. Keeping these guys wasn't an emotional move (they had all earned their keeps and their contracts), but their continued presence gave fans continuity and comfort as the years went by. Theo supplemented this core with home-grown farm-team talent that had been Sox nearly all the way and were now ready to be big-time contributors: Paps, Youk, Pedroia and Ellsbury. We'd been following their careers avidly, some of us eagerly anticipating them through the minors, so they were immediately part of the Sox family even though they weren't around the last time champagne was passed out in October. And then the Sox filled in the last missing links with one fantastic trade, which landed us Beckett and Lowell.

There's some free agents in there, of course (Dice-K, Oki, Drew, Coco, Lugo, etc.), all of whom, except Oki, have struggled both to succeed and to fit in. But on the whole, this team feels utterly Red Sox, legitimately Bostonian, and -- of course -- clutch when it counts.

And the proof of that is what they pulled off tonight. No comeback will ever be as great as '04 against the Yankees, but this year was not too far off. Down 3-1, they had the idiotic, stubborn confidence of a team that felt like they could win on any given day, and I have to be honest, I never lost faith that they could pull it off. This team isn't burdenedby trying to undo 86 years of misery, they are just trying to be the best team in baseball, again. And it just might turn out that the Sox' sweetest win will not be the one that proved we could win at all, but the one that proved we could do it again and again.

There's lots to look forward to in the World Series, with a not-to-be-underestimated Rockies team waiting, and and a lot to figure out -- for one thing, when the series hits Colorado, we have to bench Papi, Youk, or Lowell, and we may have to see if Ortiz has any gloves that fit his giant poweful hands. But that can wait. For now, we can savor a pennant that is worthy of the Sox' great history, and forged in the fire of their greatest triumphs.

And the Red Sox are going to the World Series. Again.

2007-10-21T23:04:00.000-05:00

DREEEEEEEEEEEEEW!

2007-10-20T21:34:00.001-05:00

On October 3rd, I wrote this about J. D. Drew:

Let me just say this: After blazing his way through a September hot streak, Drew has either set us up for a heart-warming "Comeback Kid" tale or a heart-wrenching "Heartbreak Kid" disaster. With young Padowan Jacoby breathing down his overpaid neck, I think Drew might just find the inner-strength needed to earn his massive paycheck and become a postseason hero. If he comes through in the clutch, consider the slate wiped clean and get used to seeing Drew T-Shirts proudly clogging Fenway Park next year and the inevitable "DREEEEEEEEEEEEEW" chants that will echo loudly down Yawkey Way.

On October 20th - with 2 outs and the bases loaded - J.D. Drew swings his mighty bat and knocks in a towering GRAND SLAM to put the Red Sox on top in the first inning of the must-win Game 6 against the Indians.

A $14 million home run. Worth every penny.

Welcome to Red Sox Nation

Things you do not want to hear Jonathan Papelbon say ...

2007-10-20T10:36:00.001-05:00

when he is standing sixty feet, six inches away from you with this look on his face

So I hear you don't like my dancing.

Remember when I told you I'd kill you last?

You took my Fruity Pebbles.

Yes, it is very funny that I don't have to shave, yet.

Tek told me to let you live ... but ...

I hope your orthodonture wasn't too expensive.

You ever try parting your hair on the other side?

Hello, Clarise.

Tick, tick, tick ...

Are you psyched for tonight? I'm pretty freakin' psyched for tonight.

Rally caps on

2007-10-18T18:39:00.001-05:00

A few thoughts heading into tonight's game.

There's been a lot of talk about the great work of the Indians General Manager, Mark Shapiro.

Yet when they talk about him, they pronounce his name Sha-PIE-ro. Apparently, his name is Sha-PIE-ro.

This is Mark Shapiro:

Um, Mark? Your name is Shapiro. SHA-PEER-O.

I know it, you know it, our Rabbi knows it.

See you in schul on Saturday.

...............

With Joe Torre officially leaving the Yankees, I hope this leads to the Empire throwing aircraft carriers filled with money and broads at A-Fraud. Let me be clear: I don't want The Rod anywhere near my beloved Sox line-up. I would rather endure an entire decade of J.D. Drew grounding into double plays than have to root for a team that would employ that smug, pursed-lipped, bitch-slapping choke artist. THAT is how much I loathe him. He is a cancer to any team he is on, a stat-padding glory hound who CANNOT come through in the clutch. We've seen it time and time again.

Dear Yankees,

Please get rid of Joe Torre and KEEP A-Rod.

Thank you,

A Red Sox Fan

..................

Things I would like to see in tonight's game:

Beckett pitching well into the 7th.

Red Sox batters - other than Youk, Ortiz, and Manny - HITTING THE BALL.

More back to back to back homers.

C.C.Sabathia sobbing uncontrollably on the mound as he loads the bases. With Big Papi strolling to the plate. And Manny on deck, stretching his arms. With no outs and no one warming in the bullpen. And unicorns and rainbows....look, I'm just telling you what I want to see.

Jonathan Papelbon river dancing after a victory.

Things I DO NOT want to see in tonight's game:

Youk dropping the ball.

Our pitcher batting down an easy double-play ball, allowing more runs to score.

Julio Lugo forgetting how a double play ball works.

Dane Cook pretending he knows what baseball is.

Eric Gagne.

Things I DO NOT want to hear tonight:

Tim McCarver uttering the phrase: "This is exciting. It's like watching a Yankees game." Seriously, how did these guys get to announce the Play-Offs?!

.......

Their backs to the ball, one game away from elimination...can they rally? I say yes.

Let's Go Sox!!

Even if the Sox lose tonight ...

2007-10-18T16:00:00.001-05:00

I will mark October 18 as a happy day ... the end of the Joe Torre era in New York.

Maybe it will turn out he's overrated. Maybe his replacement will be brilliant. But I truly feel joy at the unhappy ending of the story that started so joyfully for the Yankees.

Schadenfreude ... you gotta love it.

Um ... guys?

2007-10-16T22:50:00.000-05:00

Obviously, I’m freaking out.

Pretty awful stretch of days for Red Sox nation. And the thing is, the Sox aren’t playing that badly. Youk, Papi, and Manny are amazing. The non-Beckett starters have been weak, but the bullpen has been about a B.

A lot of breaks have been going Cleveland’s way. Yes, I think if Wake hadn’t touched that ball, the inning would have been over and the game would have looked very different. Meanwhile, come on TWO leaping line drive catches?

But, credit where blah blah blah, the Indians have outplayed Boston consistently for three games. Hitting in bunches, hitting situationally, they’re playing championship level baseball and the Sox are … so … not.

I still have hope, Beckett and then two at home is as much as you could ask for at this point. But the hopes aren’t high.

Look, I’m semi, sorta, a little bit okay with this. Three years ago on this day, I was snapping at friends and ruining a non-baseball party during the 19-8 drubbing the Yankees delivered in game three of the ALCS. Today … I’m really just wishing I had some ice cream.

On to happier thoughts, we never did properly celebrate beating the Angels … though saying the Sox beat the Angels was a little like saying a guy who knocks out Bruce Banner defeated the Hulk. Yeah, they were kinda the same guys, but not really. Still, it was a good feeling.

I did happen to be in Orange County the day of game three of the ALDS and made a quick visit to (I know, this is repetitive) Disneyland shortly after the game.

And it was SWIMMING with Sox fans. I avoided wearing any Sox gear because I didn’t want to rub salt in any wounds. But clearly a ton of people had come from the game to the park with their kids. I wonder if they were tourists or just OC fans. Either way, it was inspiring.

I could use a little of that now.

God hates the Yankees

2007-10-06T16:59:00.000-05:00

That is why the Lord did send a plague of pestilence down upon them.

Either that, or Joba Chamberlain is a Mitchum Man.

One down, ten to go

2007-10-04T10:17:00.000-05:00

Well, you don’t start a playoff series much better than that.

Dear sweet lord, I love David Ortiz so much. I want to buy him a ham.

Presumably Youk would decline the ham, but lunch is definitely on me for him and, of course, Mr. Beckett as well.

Am I stupid for feeling quite optimistic here? The Sox are healthy, eager, and focused. They have to face a banged-up Angels and then either an erratically-offensed Indians or a Yankee team which is still using Chien Ming Wang as its number one starter.

See, I’m actually liking the position the Sox are in. Look at our last two World Series winners. The White Sox started strong, but only barely hung on to their division lead in September and wound up cruising through the postseason. Sound like anyone we know? And the Cardinals were barely over 500 and no on thought they could do it … ta-da. The way the postseason is arranged, a team like the Sox has a serious advantage.

Too early to dust off the shelf? Of course. But I’m not steeling myself for heartbreak, either.

As for being in LA while the We’re Sorta Kinda Near Los Angeles Angels battle the Sox, well, I wore my Ortiz jersey to walk my dog on the campus of Occidental College last night and the only reaction I got was “Dammit, I forgot to watch the Rockies game!” Of course, Oxy gets students from all over. I have 17 in the class I teach and only two are from LA. And around here we’ll run into more Dodgers fans.

I don’t know if I’ll be in Orange County anytime soon. Very likely the series will be decided before I hit Disneyland again. I doubt I would wear a Sox shirt there, though that’s what I usually do were when I teacup it up. If the Sox win, it seems a little rude – I’m pretty sure a healthy Angels team would destroy all competition. And if the Angels win, I might be inviting mockery. Halos fans aren’t the obnoxious yahoos Yankees fans are … unless you ding their Hummers … but why bring that on myself.

In general, I don’t feel a ton of Angels fever out here. P’raps I’ll check in on local sports radio and see who’s panicking …

YOUK!

2007-10-03T18:02:00.000-05:00

First postseason At-Bat and Youk hits a home run.

Of course.

The REAL Season

2007-10-03T13:10:00.000-05:00

Here are a few things I'll be looking at tonight.

Josh Beckett. His last start was less than impressive and may have blown his shot at the Cy Young. He looked tired. Never a good sign when your Ace looks exhausted heading into the postseason. Maybe it'll be good for him and give him back that eye-of-tiger, I-got-something-to-prove look he had for most of the 2007 season. Or maybe he'll break our hearts. Here's why I'm not too worried: Beckett's been here before. Moreover, he has shut down the Yankees when it has counted the most. In fact, of the last six times the Sox played the Bombers this season, only Beckett notched a win. I'm pretty confident that Beckett will come through tonight, leaving the Angels wondering why they even thought they had a chance.

J. D. Drew. Let me just say this: After blazing his way through a September hot streak, Drew has either set us up for a heart-warming "Comeback Kid" tale or a heart-wrenching "Heartbreak Kid" disaster. With young Padowan Jacoby breathing down his overpaid neck, I think Drew might just find the inner-strength needed to earn his massive paycheck and become a postseason hero. If he comes through in the clutch, consider the slate wiped clean and get used to seeing Drew T-Shirts proudly clogging Fenway Park next year and the inevitable "DREEEEEEEEEEEEEW" chants that will echo loudly down Yawkey Way.

If he chokes...eh. We never really liked him anyway. Just like we never liked...

Julio Lugo. He leads the League in stolen bases. That's awesome. He also leads the League in sucking. Maybe I'm being unfair, but I'll never get over the Cabrera trade and I'll never feel safe with Lugo at bat. Or playing Short. Or making a routine catch. Or standing on base, waiting to get thrown out. Or...

Look. Anything can happen. Lugo has had his fair share of game-winning heroics this season. But really, when it comes down to it, this is not really Lugo's team. And Lugo is not really our Short Stop. No. That honor really belongs to the guy who will be batting second for the Angels tonight, the one-time Golden Glover who batted .301 with 86 RBIs this season, the one who we never should have let get away...Orlando Cabrera. The Sox did it to themselves. And that's why it really hurts.

Okay. The season was just a warm-up. Now it's time to play baseball. May the gods of Baseball look upon our team with favor and may the light of Old Lady Yawkey shine down upon her boys tonight. And let us say: Amen.

Play ball!

Orange County Sox-Watching

2007-09-30T17:38:00.000-05:00

Nothing like celebrating a Division championship and a playoff berth like another roadtrip report from Sid. This time it the reporters were on the road, but the Sox were home. Sid will be boldly representing Red Sox Nation West at The Big A (hey, do they still call it that?) next week to witness the Sox finishing the sweep over the Angels next week ...

Let's Go Sox!!!!

Sweet Caroline
(aka The Comeback Kids; aka The Return of the Jedi)

Our two day visit to Fenway was great. The games mattered (it looked like the Sox might have already clinched the AL East when I bought the tickets), the weather was nice, and by lucky coincidence we managed to connect with Smith College Professor Andy Zimbalist. He was taking his sports economics class to Fenway for their annual trip and invited us to meet them. We were escorted into the corporate office suite and spent an hour with Chairman Tom Werner as he explained the economics of club operations to the class. He was patient and graciously answered lots of questions ranging from very insightful to sort of dumb. Tom showed lots of info about the revenue enhancements derived from Fenway upgrades and did talk a little about player personnel costs and factors that influence club thinking. In deference to the fact that this was a private meeting, I will not divulge anything he said about specific players. Then he ended with a video of his high point as an owner (the last out of the 2004 Series of course) and his low point (the Roseanne Barr national anthem when he owned the Padres). We ended with a tour of Fenway including the Monster seats and an opportunity to actually go down to the field. It was as much fun as one can have and not get arrested.

The two game series against the A’s was also terrific. Among the highlights:

· Manny and Youk returned to the lineup. The welcome from the Fenway crowd was deafening. Manny stroked several singles and looked very comfortable.

· Schilling pitched beautifully on Tuesday, spotting his fastball and using a
surprisingly effective curve. He looked ready for the playoffs.

· Papi went deep and was constantly on base and knocking in runs. The decrease in home runs has masked what has been a tremendous 2007 season for Ortiz. Best of all, he is hot now.

· Lowell continues to produce at almost every rbi opportunity. His steady and
dependable play has stabilized this team. Unfortunately, I don’t think he fits the Sox management philosophy regarding veterans.

· Ellsbury shirts started popping up with noticeable frequency among the faithful. This is a very impressive young talent. He and Pedroia play with confidence that they belong in the big leagues. The Sox have the core of a great young team for the future in Beckett, Matsusaka, Buchholz, Papelbon, Youkilis, Pedroia, and Ellsbury.

· Singing “Sweet Caroline” in the 8th inning is a beautiful thing. The Sox fans finish the chorus even if play has resumed and the music has stopped. Nothing says
that the Sox fans are a true community like this shared experience.

· Papelbon threw one pitch to get Gagne out of trouble. Despite the “Gagne is a Yankee Spy” bumper stickers on Yawkey Way, the fans remained supportive of Gagne and hopeful that he will help. They are less patient with Drew even though he has been a steady producer in September and in this series.

· Wearing a Sonny McLean Red Sox Nation West t-shirt at Fenway generates lots of comments. The best was from a young woman by the name of McLean who wanted to know where to buy one.

· The scoreboard and big screen are done right. Sox management understands that the Sox fans are knowledgeable and serious. All important plays are replayed no matter who got the hit or made the error. The second scoreboard provides lots of statistical info. Having seen games across the country, the screens and replays at Fenway are far and away the best and show a respect for the fans. The opposite side of the coin is that lack of phony devices to get the fans cheering. Instead of, “Make Noise” scoreboard signs the fans initiate the rhythmic clapping. Sox fans know what to do and when to do it. While they may do the wave occasionally, they generally eschew beach balls and other nonsense.

· Scoreboard watching can also be fun. The biggest cheers of the night were
for Papi’s homerun, Manny’s return, and the posting of a 6-5 lead for the D-rays
over the Yankees.

· And of course, a couple of days later the Sox clinched the East as Dice-K pitched a gem and Rivera blew a three run lead vs. the pathetic Orioles.
· We have our tickets for the first home game against the Angels. We will wear our (now) lucky Red Sox shirts.
Life is “so good, so good, so good.”

AL Division East: OWNED!

2007-09-29T10:33:00.000-05:00

Thank you, Baltimore Orioles!

(and thank you Boston Red Sox)

So that's what a berth looks like.

Hope of Deliverance

2007-09-28T13:40:00.000-05:00

"As crazy as that game was early, we could have faded and just fallen asleep and faded out, being down two runs. But we didn't."

-Jason Varitek

That's called putting on a brave face.

Especially after Cy Young candidate Josh Beckett got smacked around for 10 hits and 5 runs last night, dropping his ERA from 3.12 to 3.27 to end his sweet season on a sour note.

Eh. It happens. Better it happens now than in the Post Season, says I.

And as the only pitcher with 20 wins this season, last night's shaky performance shouldn't hurt Beckett too much. Yes, Sabathia has pitched more innings than Beckett this season, but Beckett is the best pitcher on what is considered the strongest bullpen in the American League. Added to that, he pitches in hitter-friendly Fenway in what is arguably the toughest League AND he's the first American League pitcher with 20 wins since 2005, as well as the only pitcher with 20 wins in Major League Baseball right now...that's gotta count for something. In fact, if he hadn't dropped his ERA last night, I think he would have walked away with the award; I still think he'll win, it's just more of a fight now.

Also - and maybe this is just me putting on my brave face - but I feel like the weirdly inconsistent offensive line-up will be fired up tonight after falling just short. Especially when you add up all those stranded base runners and realize that one or two more base hits last night would have broken the game wide open for the Sox. Especially when the bullpen showed that, yes, they can go a night without giving up runs.

Let's see if the Sox sluggers can come up big behind Dice-K tonight and give him a respectable 15th win.

Perhaps, with a little luck, maybe they can come up with a win as the Yankees drop another game and finally lock up the Division.

And yes, that makes the third Paul McCartney reference in this post.

think good thoughts

2007-09-25T09:19:00.001-05:00

Things that should make Sox fans happy:

The Sox have clinched a play-off spot.

Terry Francona is now the first Red Sox manager in team history to lead the Sox to THREE play-off spots in four years. Way to go, Tito!

Dustin Pedroia looks like he should easily snag the Rookie of the Year award for the American League.

Josh Beckett should clearly win the Cy Young this year, after a brilliant season.

The Yankees lost yesterday.

1.5...

2007-09-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

...

Okay.

We can panic now.

2.5?!

2007-09-18T21:34:00.001-05:00

Dear Boston Red Sox,

Okay.

Panic isn't the right word.

How about...concerned?

We in Red Sox Nation are concerned.

We are concerned that Eric Gagne cannot manage to get three outs without giving up three runs.

We are concerned that the normally reliable bullpen - a bullpen with the uncanny ability to shut down batters and which managed to maintain a solid consistency for the entire summer - has suddenly decided that NOW would be a good time to completely melt down.

We are concerned when Red Sox starters like Dice-K and Jon Lester pitch gems...only to watch their hard-earned win dissolve into the cool night air with a swing of the bat.

We are concerned when Red Sox sluggers start slumping...as the Bronx Bombers continue to surge.

We are concerned when All-Star players sit on the bench with injuries. We know that's not your fault. We're just concerned.

We are concerned that a beautiful, dream-like season is about to become a bitter nightmare filled with broken bats, broken bones, and broken dreams.

In this past week, we have seen the Yankees take two of three in Fenway thanks to impossible rallies in the EIGHTH-INNING. We have seen PapelBomb blow a save and Big Papi pop up with two outs and the bases loaded in the 9th. We have seen the Red Sox lose four games in five nights. We have seen the Red Sox American League East lead shrink from 5 1/2 games to 2 1/2 games...and the Yankees show no sign of losing anymore.

With the Holy Williams number of 9 being the magic number. And only ten games left to play.

Only the rookie Buchholtz remains untarnished this season, with his 1.50 ERA, his 3-0 record, and his astounding second-major-league-baseball-game-of-his-career-no-hitter.

He takes the mound tomorrow night.

Please. By the grace of Old Lady Yawkey. Don't take that away from us, too. Let us have that. Let us have Buchholz.

Finish this season in style, from high atop the standings with nary a pinstripe in sight.

We know you can do it. We still have faith.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Fan.

The view from Fenway last night...

2007-09-16T10:09:00.001-05:00

...was awesome.

And I mean that in the "holy, awe-inspiring" way.

What a way to bounce back. After giving up a solo homerun to Jeter in the 1st inning, Beckett went on to practically clinch the Cy Young Award, silencing the Bronx bombers over the next 6 shut-out innings.

And boy, did the offensive line-up respond to Friday's devastating loss. Even J.D. Drew made things happen at the plate, as he battles for his post-season starting position thanks to red hot rookie Jacoby Ellsbury, who has managed to make a pretty strong case for himself as a major post-season threat.

Drama, pathos, A-Fraud choking in the clutch, Torre burning through pitchers like 'roids through Giambi's veins, and a 10-1 Red Sox win over the Yankees at Fenway. Near perfect.

It was certainly enough to get me to start posting again!

The only thing missing from last night's game (aside from Manny) was the Captain, who went hitless...what the--?! Is he using Julio Lugo's bat? What's going with Varitek? Let's hope the Captain gets his swing back in time so we as a proud Red Sox Nation can fully enjoy this team's ongoing march to (hopeful) victory in October.

Oh, and a note to Yankees' pitchers: it's probably not a good idea to throw at Youk right before Big Papi comes to the plate. He usually offers swift payback with one swing of the bat.

ouch.

2007-09-14T22:55:00.000-05:00

That one hurt.

A lot.

When the usually stellar bullpen blows a 5 run lead...against the Yankees?

Yeah. That's gonna leave a mark.

Do we need to worry ...

2007-09-07T19:53:00.000-05:00

About A-Rod hitting 62 homeruns this year?

Update

2007-09-02T11:24:00.000-05:00

The current number of Google hits for "'feat of clay' buchholz" is 270.

Well, now it's 271 ...

Nothing in the Globe or Herald, as far as I can see. I guess Dan wins the million Internet funbucks.

Feat of Clay!

2007-09-01T21:40:00.000-05:00

I bet Dan that that would be the headline in either the Globe or Herald. Either way, I want to call dibs so I can sue later.

(UPDATE: It's already the headline on RedSox.com)

AMAZING work, Mr. Buchholz. Bravo three ways from Sunday.

I was lucky enough to be at Fenway for Lowe's no-hitter in 2002. But, as great as that was, it was April. This masterpiece came at exactly the right time. Let's keep it rolling, fellas.

Goodbye, Scooter!

2007-08-14T12:49:00.001-05:00

That's right, I'm memorializing a Yankee, partly to show my open mindedness and partly because I live in abject fear of them.

Phil Rizzutto was a great player and a pretty classy guy. Way before my time, of course, so my first encounter with him was through those ads he did for The Money Store, which comedian Leo T. Baldwin called "a cross between the bank and the mob." Far too many a Junior High afternoon was spent prank calling the poor operators at their 800 number and asking if Scooter was there.

Roadtrip Report from Home

2007-08-11T10:02:00.000-05:00

Sid's report from the Angels series:

Baseball Indecision 2007: Clusterf@#k to the Playoffs

Things I hate about Angels Stadium while losing two games to the Angels:

• The asinine Angels policy that prohibits fans from going down to thefront of the stands to watch batting practice unless you have a ticket for that section. Judy was so outraged by this that she went immediately to the Customer Relations office and filed a complaint. Itis typical of the dopey decision making that pervades this venue.
The LA Times reported this week that the stadium has a major rat infestation problem because they do not clean it immediately after a game but wait until just before the next game! D’oh!
• A natural segue to the food; the bratwurst Monday was tasteless and the
burrito Tuesday was poisonous and should be fed to the rats.
• The refusal to replay big hits by the visitors on the big screen. I can
understand why they will not show close plays for fear of embarrassing the
umpires, but why not show a replay of Mirabelli’s homerun? Provincialism
at its worst.
• The fireworks after an Angel homer. The field is bathed in so much smoke you can hardly see the game for an inning afterwards. It looks like baseball in Fallouja.
• The umpiring. The home plate umpire Monday was a total jerk. While Manny clearly showed him up by complaining about two check swing calls (neither of which looked like swings) tossing a star in the 4th inning just cheats the fans. Then he
proceeded to call everything around the ankles as a strike. This was a serious disadvantage to the Sox, who are a disciplined bunch of hitters and no disadvantage at all to Vlad Guerrero. Finally, he missed the call on a foul third strike to Mike Lowell.
• The starting pitching. G38 looked more like Schilling the Old than the old
Schilling. There was little life to his fastball after the 3rd inning. Wakefield had his usual single inning meltdown, and Lester again struggled with his command despite good offensive support.
• The punks. Angels fans used to be very polite and friendly and most still are. But there are more and more people who want to jeer the opponent rather than cheer the home team. “Red Sux” t-shirts and taunts about the surging Yankees abounded and several folks were ejected for fighting in the section next to us. Coldest response from a Boston fan, as the Sox took the lead late in the third game, “Let’s give it up
now for Donnie Moore.”
• Red Sox defense. Outfielders who threw to the wrong base: Brandon Moss,
Coco Crisp (who also literally kicked a ball), and JD Drew. Wily Mo did not throw to the wrong base although he did play a line drive that might have been caught into a double. Infielders who bobbled possible outs, and maybe even double plays: Julio Lugo, Kevin Youkilis, and Manny Delcarmen. Just not a good showing of the D except for several sterling plays by Pedroia.
• Base running (yet again!) DeMarlo Hale channeling Dale Sveum?!? Lugo getting picked off.
• The beach balls. The incessant, annoying, distracting beach balls which the ushers do nothing to stop.

Things I loved at Angels Stadium after salvaging Game 3:
• The bullpen, with good work in game 3 by Tavares, Timlin, Okajima,Gagne, Papelbon. Okajima was especially noteworthy as his work was done when the score was tied and against the heart of an Angels lineup that had been hitting well.
• Dustin Pedroia.
• Meeting nice folks from all across New England who now live in SoCal.
• The perfect weather.
• Seeing highlights on the big screen of the Toronto 15 NYY 4 game and hearing
the entire stadium, Sox and Angels fans alike, chanting “Yankees Suck.”
• Rare and ineffective appearances of the silly Rally Monkey.
• Catching a beach ball and stomping on it.

Next in person event for us will be two games in Fenway on Sept. 24-25.

Tales of Fenway Past

2007-07-23T20:33:00.000-05:00

From the depths of time immemorial, I relay to you hazy memories of those halcyon days of yester ... week.

I don't see much point in apologizing for the delay, since relying on this blog for timely news and analysis is like listening to Paul Harvey for the breaking story. So I'll just tell you I have finally gotten around to showing you some pictures of my trip to Fenway a week ago Friday.

It was the third game back from the break, in the midst of the four-game set the Sox split with the Jays while experimenting with all of The Four Great Cardinal Directions of Baseball Results: get good pitching and win (Wake), get bad pitching but win (Dice-K), get good pitching but lose (Beckett), and, of course, in our game, get bad pitching and lose (who but Tavarez?).

The World's Best Girlfriend got me Fenway tickets for our anniversary. And, oh baby, these were some great seats. Far and away the best I've ever had at Fenway. Probably the best I've ever had anywhere. I don't know how well you can see it from the picture, but that it is close. Mike Lowell sweat all over me.

The game got off to a bang in the first, with Manny hitting a line-drive rocket over the Monster for his 482nd homer, plating Tiz. The World's Best Girlfriend (I call her WBG for short), whose photography is featured almost exclusively in this post (which is why there aren't nearly enough pictures of her), got this shot of Manny heading for home.

Tavarez's wildness was matched only by his hittability, as he ran up a four-run, four-hit, wild-pitch fourth to give the Jays a lead. The Canucks gave it right back in the bottom of the inning when Manny singled in Drew and Mike Lowell tripled -- yes, tripled -- in two unearned runs after Troy Glaus booted the third out on Youk's grounder.

Julian stumbled along unimpressively, running up a high pitch count, and since he couldn't get through the fifth it fell to Kyle Snyder, who surrendered the lead again in the sixth on a walk and a pair of doubles. The Jays have a nameless but very effective bullpen, which lulled the Sox to sleep the rest of the way, taking a 6-5 lead to the ninth.

But of course, with a distinctly unfashionable rally cap bravely bared, a last stand was inveitable. It was a pretty tame Fenway crowd most of the way (or maybe I am just used to the relative ferality of the bleachers), but you forget what True Baseball Fans are like until every last fan stands up and yells in unison just to begin the ninth inning, willing the Sox to get out there and show us something. Against closer Jeremy Accardo, Lugo singled and Wily Mo struck out. Dusty had one of those at-bats that makes me and the rest of the Nation love him so damn much, falling behind 1-2, battling back, still taking pitches so Lugo could steal second and then ekeing out an eight-pitch walk.

So here we are, down by one, two on and one out for Papi and Manny. Couldn't be set up any better for a walk-0ff win. The place is going nuts with hypertempo Let's-Go-Papi chants. Ortiz takes a strike and then swings (nice shot, WBG!) .... flying harmlessly to center. Manny runs the count 2-1 and then sends a hard shot the other way, but it dies short of the wall and the Sox lose 6-5.

Still, it was a great game and it has been far too long since I visited that park and soaked up a gameday atomsphere that I've never found anywhere else.

Oh, and as it happens, if you look hard enough, you can even find some other things to do with a weekend in New England besides the Red Sox. Our wonderful hosts, Alison and Scott took us to visit Rockport on the North Shore, we saw the new Harry Potter and then dined in Salem at a nice place called Strega (Italian for "Witch," because if you're in Salem it's, like, the law), and, of course, being the irrepressible NPR dweebs that we are, we had to swing by the offices of DC&H.

Thanks, WBG!!!

Things I'm worried about

2007-07-20T17:26:00.000-05:00

Well, there's a bunch, like, say, the Yankees getting hot just as the Sox decide that winning was, like, SO two months ago.

I'm also worried about who's going to die in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but that's a matter for another blog.

But I'm REALLY concerned about this Bill Simmons/Jerry Remy feud. Seriously, these are, like, two of my favorite dudes out there. In a pinch, I'd take Remdog, because Simmons sometimes seems like the type of guy who would have harassed me about still using a lunch box in fourth grade. But this is tearing me apart!

Of course, it's probably all staged, but I've spent the past week devoting vast portions of my brain to worrying about the fate of a fictional teenage wizard, so I'm kinda vulnerable to this stuff ...

Correspondence from San Diego: Finale

2007-06-26T21:42:00.000-05:00

The finale from Sid from the Padres finale Sunday:

Who’s Your Padre?

Despite the big ballpark and the pretty impressive pitching staff, it is hard to take the Padres seriously. I mean, what kind of team in conservative God-fearing Navy base San Diego has a Friar Tuck type character as its mascot? And when they need a late inning rally, they show a graphic of a California Mission and start ringing a bell as if any Divine Being cares about baseball (for proof of God’s disdain for this sport see the Boston Red Sox of 1919-2003 or the NY Yankees anytime.) Compounding the absurdity, they have relief pitchers named Ring and Bell. Really.
To top it off, their third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff is a sort of Filene’s basement version of the beloved Sox infielder. The PA announcer, and a few of the fans, try to get a “Koooouuuuuzzzz” thing going, but despite the shared first names not much happens. I know Kevin Youkilis, Kevin Youkilis is a friend of mine, and Kouzmanoff, you’re no Yoooooouuuuuk.
This was the rubber game of the series, the heavyweight match of the year, and the real test of who is a contender and who is a pretender. Game time Sunday afternoon was bright and clear and not too hot and Red Sox Nation showed up in droves. Even the ticket taker commented to me that there were more Sox fans than he had ever seen. The three Sox games set a record for a series at PETCO and the fans of both teams were enthusiastic and optimistic. There was playoff tension mixed into a sunny California beach weekend.
The Sox did what they do best on offense – they made Jake Peavy throw a lot of pitches. Every at bat seemed to go 6 pitches or more and he had made about 100 pitches through the fifth inning. The Sox bunched a group of not very hard hit singles for three runs. In the meantime, Beckett was dealing. He did have one lapse against the bottom of the order, giving up a walk, a single and a pinch two rbi double to the wondrously named but marginally talented Termell Sledge. But Beckett regained his command and the Padres left the tying run on base. Beckett continued to dominate and Tek added an insurance run with a solo shot to deep center, the only Red Sox home run of the series.

The 9th inning was an experience to savor. Trevor Hoffman set down the Sox on five pitches (Cora and Manny on first pitch fly balls sandwiched around a three pitch strikeout of Papi with all pitches looking.) Papelbon responded with two Ks and a ground out against some overmatched hitters. We had witnessed two great closers showing their best stuff and it was exciting. It was also very nice that the Sox had won the game, 4-2. The streets of San Diego filled with jubilant Sox fans, chanting “Let’s Go Red Sox” and high-fiving strangers. One fellow paraded around with a sign that said, “Hey San Diego, Who’s Your Padre? Big Papi!” The tavern owners of the Gaslamp District were the only San Diegans sad to see RSN leave.

Correspondence: San Diego Game 2

2007-06-25T22:04:00.000-05:00

More tape-delayed transmissions from Sid at the Padres series:

Tonsures Trounce Tito’s Troops

That was the last time I will ever wear my Mirabelli T-shirt in San Diego. Not only did I have to endure multiple jibes from San Diego fans (who apparently believe that an unbalanced trade of back up catchers compares to selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees), but I had to watch a lousy game in which Dougie was embarrassingly futile and Wake (Judy’s shirt) was worse. Chris Young was sharp and nearly unhittable (tell that to Derrick Lee). We even had to endure two plays overturned by the officials to the benefit of the opposition and listen to the local fans celebrate as if the overruling of the third base umpire’s incompetence was some kind of divine justice. Yuck. On the first disputed play, Manny made a nice running/sliding effort and gave a great selling job that he caught it. We were on the left field side of the field, fairly close to the play, and we were sure he caught it, but the review was a mistake even if Manny trapped the ball. How did the umpire know the batter should be awarded first base? Maybe he would have gotten to second, or maybe Manny would have been thrown him out trying to stretch it. Besides, the third base ump had the best view and he made the call. There was no question of the interpretation of the rules and the ball was not dead, so I cannot understand the rationale for a review. Missed calls like that should be and usually are just part of the game. The second disputed play (Khalil Greene’s second homer) was clearly the right call and I have no argument with the review.

So, were there any redeeming aspects of this ugly 6-1 loss? Only a few:

I got a good picture of Mike Cameron’s steal in the second inning. How did I know he was stealing on that pitch so I had the camera focused on second base? Because everyone knew it, including the Red Sox who called a pitchout, and he still stole the base. It was that kind of night.

Francona got tossed and was as angry as I have ever seen him. The umps deserved it.

David Murphy hit a triple in the 9th and Mike Lowell followed with a double so we spoiled the Padres shutout.

There are lots of good Irish pubs in the Gaslamp District near PETCO and they were filled with Sox fans.

Tomorrow will be better. I know that since tomorrow is already yesterday.

Correspondence from San Diego: Part 1

2007-06-24T09:50:00.000-05:00

Sid's take on Game One of the San Diego series:

“Oh God, you are so strict.”

One of the fun things about seeing the Sox on the road is comparing ballparks and baseball fans in different cities. PETCO Park is sort of like a discount version of Baltimore’s Camden Yards. It has one old warehouse building behind the left field wall, but that brick antique just looks out of place rather than an organic part of the park. It is a spacious park, beloved by pitchers, but the spaciousness does not extend to the exit paths which were uncomfortably crowded between innings and were hopelessly crammed at the game’s conclusion, or to the rest rooms which had long lines much of the time. It felt like the architect had never actually attended a game before designing it. But in its defense, it has uncluttered view lines and lacks extraneous glitz. To the Padres credit, the replay monitor shows hits by both teams.

The Padres fans were involved and excited by their team. They were not like the surly and antagonistic fans of Oakland or the stunned by the heat into passivity D-Back fans. They did not have the air of fatalism of Baltimore or KC and were not surprised and a little intimidated by chants of “Let’s Go Red Sox” as were the Seattle fans. Instead, they seemed hopeful about their collection of great pitchers and mediocre hitters. They even showed some inside baseball humor, as one fan held up a sign thanking the Sox for Bard and Meredith. Still, the San Diego Union-Tribune commented the next day on the power of RSN on the road and the even division of cheering between Sox and Padre fans. The San Diego reporter has apparently not seen the Sox fans overwhelm hometowners elsewhere.

It was ‘80s retro night as manifested in uniforms and funny wigs on park personnel. The big screen showed pictures of the players as they might have looked in the ‘80s. Best of all was Big Papi as Mr. T (see attached) and the Padres mascot (an oversized monk) wearing a leisure suit and sunglasses. Speaking of Big Papi – see how big he really is in the attached picture of him holding Marcus Giles on.

The game itself was as advertised – a pitching duel. The dimensions of the park had little effect as most hitters struck out, walked, or hit the ball on the ground. It started out badly as Dice-K walked the first three batters. But he held the Pads to one run that inning and no runs through six. His control was inconsistent and he walked five but his stuff got better as the game progressed and he struck out nine. His strength and competitiveness showed as he came out for the sixth having already thrown over 100 pitches. He finished with a pitch count of 126. The highest praise came from future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux who said simply, “I got outpitched.”

Maddux remains a mystery. I don’t understand how he gets so many outs with a fastball that peaked at 87 mph and a 79 mph change-up. Still, he baffled most of the Sox hitters, throwing a first pitch strike to almost every batter, until the 4^th when Pedroia, Manny, Youk, and Tek all singled for a two run rally. It was all they got and it was enough. The Red Sox bullpen was amazing once more, with excellent work from Manny Delcarmen and a brilliant 10 pitch 2K inning from Okajima. Then on came Papelbon. The attached picture shows his drop and drive motion. He got the first two batters with less velocity than usual but an excellent splitter. His fastball heated up to its usual 96mph by the third batter but Jose Cruz Jr. lined a single to right (remember what a bust he was with the Sox? How is he starting for a team contending for a Division title?). We were sitting on the right field side and we, and most of the crowd, thought that David Murphy should have caught that ball instead of backing off. His caution meant that Papelbon had to deal with the Padres’ only serious offensive player, Adrian Gonzalez. An easy fly ball ended the tension and the Sox fans whooped it up. In a tense battle with a team that honors some pious monks, the Padre prayers were answered – but the answer was NO.

Tonight – Wakefield v. Chris Young. I predict lots of soft fly balls.

Return of the Far-Flung Correspondent

2007-06-18T22:30:00.000-05:00

Hey, Soxoblogosphere. Sorry I haven't posted since the Bowie Kuhn Administration. I'm afraid I'm not in a position to make any promises about restoring regularity to my contributions, but I did want to:

a) Take credit for having scouted Carlos Perez, the Mets new left fielder, back when he was a AA-ball last summer, when I said of him "he has the potential to develop into a tough out at the top of the order, with occasional gap power, speed to burn and a good glove." In his first 70 at-bats he already has seven steals and a .268 average, and he helped beat Fatty on Friday by making a great leaping-catch-and-strong-throw double play to go with two bunt singles, a stolen base and a run scored. More games like that against the right competition, Carlos ...

2) Pass along the latest road-trip dispatch from my Uncle Sid, who saw the Sox take on the Diamondbacks in Arizona.

Yeah, it's delayed. But so what, it'll fit in with the general temporal theme around these parts. Take it away, Sid!

*****

Mom Always Liked JD Best

Chase Field in Phoenix is a nice place to see a ballgame. The retractable roof serves to keep out the intolerable desert heat during the day and they open it at game time for most night games so that it feels like a normal ballpark. The place is a bit garish with a sort of a Las Vegas hotel look, but the good sightlines and the plentiful Red Sox fans made up for it. RSN contributed to record crowds and were far more vocal than the heat stunned D-Backs fans. So the loud rattlesnake hissing and rattles and the scoreboard animated clapping went mostly unnoticed. The vocal Sox fans, of
course, chanted away.
Friday’s game was a rarity -- a laugher against the kind of soft tossing lefty that usually drives the Sox hitters nuts. Julio Lugo’s leadoff homer was proof of how atypical the game was. JD Drew came to life with two homers and a double for 7 rbi’s and Josh Beckett was dealing. His curve was a bit erratic in the first several innings but his fastball was very live and he worked effectively against a weak offensive lineup. The D-Backs are a sort of National League version of the A’s with some good pitching, a good bullpen, and a mostly young and generally power deprived group of hitters.
I missed the best moment of the game (I was getting the beer) when Lugo just stood behind a runner who had safely slid into second base and waited for him to get
up and leave the bag before applying the tag. The final was 10-3 but it was
never that close.

Saturday night’s game was much more exciting, and the sellout crowd of over 49,000 was louder and more engaged. Micah Owings is an impressive young pitcher with a lively fastball and good command. JD’s younger brother Stephen got into the act with a homerun and Arizona had a 3-0 lead over Julian Tavarez. But Captain Tek took things into his hands with a two run homer and an rbi double scoring JD who had one of his three singles. Julian generally pitched quite well for six innings but left trailing 3-2. Then the bullpen showed why we have come to love them with a superb inning by Donnelly and two excellent innings by Okajima. The Sox loaded the bases in the tenth (Ortiz walk, singles by Youk and JD) but Tek struck out before Lowell lifted a fly to right that was deep enough to score a lumbering Papi. Papelbon closed it out although a hit batsman and an infield single wracked a few nerves. It was a great game.
Three fun moments worth mention: Julian Tavarez bunted for a single on a 1-2 count with two out and two on in the second (unfortunately, Lugo failed to cash it in); thousands of giveaway Randy Johnson bobblehead dolls were all over the park (we have one – suggestions for its use are welcome); thousands of Sox fans sang Sweet Caroline in the open air bar next to Chase Field after the game. Today the Big Unit is scheduled to face Dice-K. Should be fun. More later.

*****

Snakes and a plane

Well the final game in the series was a drag. Dice-K pitched well enough to win (6 innings, 4 hits, 2 ER, 9K) but once again walks were a problem. As usual, the 4th inning caused him tsuris (a Japanese word for walking the leadoff hitter) and a leadoff walk in the 6th was also cashed in for all the scoring the reptiles needed. His fastball was quick, registering 100 mph a few times on the Chase Field scoreboard and his other pitches looked good too, but the Sox were doing little with the slider of the biggest snake. Lowell knocked in a run for a brief lead in the 4th but otherwise the Sox managed few threats. Both pitchers worked slowly and it made for a dull and uninvolving game. I found myself exceedingly annoyed by little annoying things such as the execrable Eric Byrnes who had three hits and Mike Timlin’s determination to find new ways to let inherited runners score. This time Timlin decided that since the
D-Backs wanted to give us an out he would have to throw away the bunted ball. So
far, I want JC Romero back.

One local told me that they conventional wisdom is that the ball travels better when the roof is open and that Shilling always demanded that they close the roof when he pitched. It was closed today and there were no homeruns.

In summary, this game just sucked, especially when coupled with a Yankee humiliation of the pathetic Pirates. Still two out of three on the road in an unfamiliar ballpark is not bad and some factors were real positives like JD Drew’s reawakening and the continuing good pitching. And Coco’s getting a base on interference call after having been picked off was a hoot.I think Terry Francona has done a great job of managing this year with one notable exception. His managing of the pitching and the bench has been superb. But his lineup construction is still all wrong. Youk clearly does better in the number 2 slot and giving away outs at the top of the lineup with Lugo and Crisp makes no sense. Pedroia should lead off, followed by Youks and then the boppers. So, now we will sample some southwestern cuisine and fly home tomorrow morning. Next report will be from San Diego.
One last bit of good news. UC Irvine, home of the NCAA Volleyball champs, is on a roll in baseball too. We beat Texas (take that Roger Clemens) and Wichita State (take that…..Roger Clemens) to gain entrance into the College World Series for the first time in our history. Go Anteaters! So, here is the trivia question -- what UCI baseball star played for the Red Sox?

Now that's a way to stop a swoon!

2007-06-08T10:54:00.001-05:00

Technically, it was an even hundred, but whatever.

I don't particularly mind that he missed the no-hitter, though I would have if I had been watching the game. Sorry ... my cable package is pretty no-frills. But I'll happily take a one-hitter as an announcement that the old tank still has some gas in the ... tank. The team needed a decisive way to end its three-game slide and this was more than enough.

Bravo, Curt. Let's keep it coming.

Maybe I don't miss living in Boston ...

2007-06-05T12:36:00.000-05:00

Oh, as for actual commentary on the season ... well, it's way too early to worry about June Swoon, though three of the last four games have been a little ... worrisome. But I was glad I got to see two games, at least, even if I did have to suffer through Tim McCarver and a rain delay on Saturday. I followed last night's game online and still got to bed before midnight. Sucks to be you guys.

Dustin Pedroia needs a nickname

2007-06-02T15:29:00.000-05:00

"Pee Wee" would be ideal, but that's a little derivative. I'm currently thinking "Half Pint" might be good. You?

if rubbing it brings good luck, then keep on rubbin'!

2007-05-09T15:27:00.000-05:00

In honor of Beckett picking up his SEVENTH(?!) straight win, I share with you all what is perhaps the secret to the recent Red Sox winning streak:

Red Sox Love
Uploaded by beisbolct

with love and thanks to Kyria for sharing.

Lugo No Go

2007-05-07T09:43:00.000-05:00

Those were some close wins this weekend. Also, I'm starting to get why Tavarez is a tad bit crazy. He keeps getting thrown up against the best pitchers in the league. Why is the schedule working out that our number 5 is going up against everyone else's number 1? Tavarez vs. Santana? It's like Francona is running some kind of experiment to see if he can make Tavarez snap. The Tavarezanian Devil threw 7 strikeouts and gave up only 2 runs in over 6 innings. And he still couldn't get the win. Poor fella. Nobody sell that man a gun. At least, not before the All Star break.

Clearly, pitching is what's winning games. And thank the Yawkeys, that's what the Sox have right now. There are games when I'm actively rooting for Francona to turn it over to the bullpen. How crazy is THAT?

This season has come together nicely for the Sox so far. So nicely, I only have one complaint: Julio Lugo.

Look, I'm STILL not over the whole Cabrera trade. Nothing seems to heal that wound.

But over-paying the erratic Lugo over keeping the reliable Alex Gonzalez? Come on! It's like they don't want us to like our short stops! They replace Cabrera with a better-on-paper guy who's better off in the National League and surprise, the guy's a bust for us. They then stumble into a new favorite short stop in the unassuming form of one golden-gloved Alex Gonzalez and what do they do? They get rid of him for a barely-better-on-paper offensive hitter who is nowhere near as nimble in the field.

I know I should have warmed to Lugo by now. I know he's a solid lead-off hitter, I know he'll end up leading the League in stolen bases, I know by the end of the season his stats will somehow justify his being here, I know I'm being unfair, but I just hate him. I want Gonzalez back.

Not only that, I feel like Lugo's infecting the rest of the team with errors. How many errors has Lowell made already this season? I blame Lugo.

And if the argument is that he's a better bat in the line-up, I have only this to say:

As of today, Lugo is batting .221 with a .302 OBP.

Just for the sake of comparison, Gonzalez is batting .298 with a .351 OBP.

That's just what it looks like today. Until those numbers reverse themselves, I will hold strong to my anti-Lugo feelings. Because really, with this year's Red Sox team, what else do I have to complain about?!

Oh, and yeah, I know the Rocket's returning to the Bombers.

Eh. The move reeks of desperation on both their parts. Look, Clemens will go down in history as one of the best pitchers of all time. ALL TIME. But in the last few years, he's hardly been a huge threat to the Red Sox...

Yes, I do think he'll help the Yankees crawl out of their hellish slump. But will he bring them a pennant? Well...

It's a long way to September.

April Caught

2007-05-01T13:18:00.000-05:00

The thing about spring is, the wind can change at any minute.

Take, for example, how swiftly the “Hey, it’s only April” winds shifted during the first Sox/Yanks series. When it began, Sox fans were looking at A-Rod’s absurd numbers and comforting themselves that the moon was still in Aries (A-ries … A-Rod … coincidence? Yes.). Then suddenly it was Yanks fans assuring us all that the games at Fenway barely counted, barely more important than spring training games.

Stop, you’re both wrong!

As Jayson Stark points out here, teams with records like the Yankees have, historically, a 5.6 percent chance of making the playoffs. All the games count. You don’t get a Mulligan because you were worried if your tulips would come in.

And, anyway, for a week or so there, A-Rod was probably playing better baseball than anyone ever had. Yes, he’s still a dipshit, but talk to me again in a few years when we’re all cheering for him to beat Barry Bonds’ all-time homerun record. (He’ll probably be playing for the Braves or Dodgers or something, so it’ll be okay)

But please don’t think that I’m declaring the Yankees dead in the water. They still terrify me and we’ve all seen variations on this story before … it’s just like any other movie sequel. The hero’s comeback gets bigger and more ridiculous every time.

Still, let’s enjoy it while we can … Sox with the best record in baseball, Yankees doing better than only KC, DC, and Colorado.

What will May bring, other than lots of sales of Alex Cora t-shirts? Hell if I know. It would be almost impossible for it to be as good as April.

But, have a look at what Stark says is also almost impossible …

Your Out of Context Post Game Quote of the Day

2007-04-29T16:10:00.000-05:00

"He's got a lot of movement on his balls."

-Doug Mientkiewicz, on Julian Tavarez's balls. 4/29/07

Letters From Okajima

2007-04-29T15:11:00.000-05:00

Or, more appropriately numbers from Okajima.

Stats going into today's game:

11 games. 10.2 innings. 4 hits. 3 balls. 13 strikeouts. 0.84 ERA.

Stats from today's game:

2 innings. NO hits. 4 strikeouts. 6 beautiful outs.

Hideki Okajima needs a nickname. H-Bomb? Too insensitive? Screw 'em, we didn't start that war.

And as always, I still heart Papelbon.

So, the Sox take 5 of the first 6 games from the Yanks. When you face a team so many times in the season, every single game counts. The Bombers could come screaming back at any point; I'll take the 5 wins over them so far. The farther behind the Yankees fall, the less crucial those August-September games become. Keep the gap wide this year.

So many great moments from today's game, but I think my favorite moment was in the 8th. A-Rod grounding into a Double Play to end the inning. Now, there's the A-Fraud we all know and loathe.

The real story out of these games has been, unsurprisingly, pitching. The hitters are all doing their jobs, on both teams. The difference comes down to the pitching staff. Even our resident loose cannon Tavarez took his meds today and managed to squeek out a win. As long as the Sox starters can go 5 innings or more, the bullpen has proven they can protect a lead. This bullpen has just dominated opposing batters so far. And they haven't been overworked, like they were last year.

Contrast that with the Yankees, where their relievers have pitched more innings than their starters. They're ragged, they're tired, they're overworked. In any given game, Joe Torre burns through his pitchers like Giambi burns through the juice.

I'm enjoying it while it lasts. By July, Steinbrenner will have bought Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and the rest of Japan to shore up their pitching staff. And if that doesn't work, there's always the failsafe: Robots.

Not so much the part about Bush and Reeve ...

2007-04-26T01:07:00.000-05:00

Are we all in agreement that this was the best moment on TV in all of 2006?

Now, if Ben had played it for another minute and Jack had seen Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore on the field, he would have known it was all fake ...

Yank'd

2007-04-23T01:52:00.000-05:00

Now THAT'S a three-game series.

No lead too big, no play too small. And it ended with Papelbon on the mound vs. A-Rod at the plate. Of course.

Oh, yeah. Not only did Manny and the Captain break out of their respective slumps in this series, but tonight they took part in an historic mini-homerun derby. FOUR back-to-back homers?! Ol' Lady Yawkey was shining down on her boys this good evening.

If the Bombers weren't so damn scary, I may have almost felt bad for them, burning through their pitching staff tonight. I expected Joe Torre himself to pitch an inning by the end.

TURNING JAPANESE

Let's talk hype. Dice-K's win wasn't pretty, but it was a win. We've seen some pretty intense stuff from him, but so far, he just looks decent. Which is not really what one would typically spend 51 million dollars for. If one were to spend that kind of cash. He's kind of like what Beckett was last year. Commanding but inconsistent. But can we talk about the other fella from Japan?

Hideki Okajima might just be the surprise pitching star of the season. Sure he had a rocky time in the eighth tonight, but this was his third night of relief in a row. Plus, he did get a big first out and after his heroics over the previous two nights - including a monumental save - I'd say the guy deserves some credit. Okajima is the guy to watch this year - he might just become the perfect set-up guy for the rockstar closer himself.

And, as always:

I heart Papelbon.

Isn't it fascinating how the same woman in the same photo can vary with just a little photoshop

2007-04-12T16:15:00.000-05:00

Here's Alyssa Milano looking like the sexiest woman on earth...

And here she is as a repulsive skank.

Oh, and what the hell was that, yesterday?

Sorry, in Los Angeles, we're never there in time for the first pitch

2007-04-11T13:56:00.000-05:00

Okay, now we’re cooking.

Well, after we all vanished before the season was over last year, it’s nice to be back.

The short version is that we all got busy. I moved. Abe and Benari started school again. Dan saved the world on a regular basis.

I do feel very far away from everything out here in Los Angeles. The point of this blog, when it began, was to tell the story of Sox fans in New York. Here I go, ruining everything by leaving the city that hates me.

Sox fandom in LA is different. Even the most hardcore Angels fan won’t tell you you suck for wearing a B cap.

The nice part of this is you don’t feel hated. The bad part is, nobody cares. As much as Yankee fans frequently pissed me off, I loved the passion. The competition got too nasty at times, but it was energetic and real. I hope to attend a game or two in Anaheim when the Sox come to town. I’m sure there will be nearly as many Sox fans as Angels fans in attendance. Will it get nasty? Um … no. This is LA. We don’t do nasty.

Of course there are Sox fans out here, and if I had any interpersonal skills, I could probably meet some (Bill Simmons keeps finding excuses not to come to my dinner parties).

Hey, y’know where I see a lot of Sox gear? Disneyland. Yes, my wife and I got annual passes for Christmas and have made several visits already this year. Invariably, I see people in caps and shirts. This amazes me not so much because of the location, but because I operate on two faulty assumptions …

A) All Sox fans are like me and are liberals
B) All people at Disneyland, other than me and my wife, are conservatives

So it’s nice to see that my deeply flawed logic is … deeply flawed.

I was actually in Anaheim yesterday, working as an extra in a AAMCO commercial with a country band called Whiskey Falls and an IndyCar driver named Sarah Fisher, neither of whom I had ever heard of before. I got the final score on my cell phone as I was heading into, you guessed it, Disneyland (hey, my wife was working late and I was in the neighborhood ... though it's a little creepy being a 30-year-old man strolling around Disneyland by himself).

But I was damn glad to see the Sox were totally pounding the bejesus out of Seattle. An excellent home opener and very nice to see the bats come alive. Even a little phony macho posturing for good measure (“Hold me back! It’s a good thing you’re holding me back, or I’d totally be punching that guy! You heard me! Punching!”).

Because of my feelings of disconnect, I’m not as knowledgeable about this team or the league this year as in years past. I routinely forget Julio Lugo is on the team. So I may take a while to get up to speed. But I am VERY jazzed about Dice-K and after two starts, I’m in love with Josh Beckett all over again.

Soon, lemme tell you the story about how I got to play a Red Sox fan on the teevee.

I heart Papelbon

2007-04-09T12:40:00.000-05:00

Wow. Not that's what a closer does.

Pretty much a three-man team last night. Four, if you count Varitek's pitch calling. Of course, 'Tek needs to be hitting more than a .125 right now. Come on, Cap!

Schilling looked good, Big Papi provided ALL the run support, and Papelbon...

Not to be all sacrilegious, but it was appropriate the game was played on Easter because it looked like Jesus himself pitched those last five outs.

Imagine what the Sox will look when the rest of the team starts playing.

Homestar says ...

2006-12-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

"Um, Strong Bad ... that might be the worst 51.1 million dollars I ever spent."

On the other hand ... it might be the best.

Welcome to Boston, Matsuzaka-san!

Everybody back on the bandwagon!

2006-09-01T15:52:00.000-05:00

See, we knew Papi didn’t have a heart condition! His muscles were just too mighty!

Sox finally won one, last night. Of course, it had to happen in bizarre style ...

But hey, a win is a win. And if the Sox can win starting Julian Tavarez against Roy Halladay, anything is possible.

Anyway, September couldn’t possibly be worse than August. I’m not saying the Sox will pull back into contention ... but at least they might be watchable again.

Oh, and adios Boomer. You had some fine moments. Thanks for everything, sorry it didn’t work out. Let us know if you ever need tickets or anything.

Things that are worse than the Red Sox middle relief

2006-08-29T17:55:00.000-05:00

The song "A Moment Like This" by Kelly Clarkson
Robert Blake's performance in the film Money Train
Racism

um ... that's it. Nothing else is worse than the Red Sox bullpen (with the exception of Snappleblend, who is like the one kid in the high school musical who can actually sing). Even Mike Timlin, who will always have a special place in my heart, has looked like his mind was on bowhunting lately.

Frankly, I'm not sure how Julian Tavarez hasn't had an "accident" in the North End and mysteriously vanished. Craig Hansen shouldn't just have been sent back to Pawtucket, he should be send back to the recording studio with his brothers to record "Let' Mmbop Again Like We Did Last Summer."

Of course it is not entirely the bullpen's fault that this month has been the nightmare that it has been. How exactly did this month start with "I hope they can catch the Yankees" and end with "I hope Ortiz doesn't have a heart attack."

The offense has been so sluggish, I think one shaker of salt would land everyone on the DL. But how many times are these guys going to take a lead into the seventh or eighth, try desperately to find that Bridge to Teripaplebethia and cough up a disaster?

In some ways, this is worse than 2001, which was a similarly injury-riddled season where the team stretched its luck WAY too far before collapsing. At least then we kinda all saw it coming -- thinking "there is no way we can keep this up when Hideo Nomo is the default ace of our staff." But this year we deluded ourselves, thinking "okay, we'll miss Trot and Tim and Tek, but we'll soldier through. None of them were having terriffic seasons, but they are the heart, soul, and renal system of the team. No wonder it all went to hell without them.

But, y'know, it's not as bad as 2001. You know why?

Because the Sox won the f'ing World Series two years ago, okay. Now a bad season can just be sucked up.

As you may notice, this is now the blog of two NY Sox fans and one in LA. Um, that's me. Yeah, I've closed the shop, sold the house and bought a ticket to the West Coast. Kinda dilutes the purpose of the blog, but whaddya gonna do?

Anyway, on my drive across the country, we passed through Kansas City, where I saw a billboard for the Royals that said "Number One in Fun."

Silly? Desperate? Yeah, maybe, but, y'know ... so what? We do watch this game for fun, right? So this probably won't be a year with a postseason. It happens. In fact, it happens to 22 out of 30 teams every year. But let's try to enjoy this. Let's see how prospects do during September call-ups. Let's try giving Papelbon a start. Why the hell not?

What have they got to lose?

Big Love

2006-08-29T09:02:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to send some love the Big Man's way:

Ortiz to return to Boston for medical tests

By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer
August 29, 2006

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was scheduled to leave the team Tuesday and return to Boston to be examined again for an irregular heartbeat.

Big Papi was a late scratch for Boston's game at Oakland at Monday night for what was first thought to be the flu. Ortiz, who on Sunday hit his major league-leading 47th home run at Seattle, already spent time in a Boston hospital earlier this month for the condition.

Also, I'd like to take a moment to address the Powers That Be:

I'm not sure which Baseball gods we pissed off, but please do not take it out on our beloved players. Should the opportunity arise, I'm sure Youk and Gabe Kaplar will agree to not play on Yom Kippur. If that's what it takes.

ouch.

2006-08-22T16:33:00.000-05:00

Still hurts.

This was not how I wanted to find out.

I have always, for whatever reason, adored Jason Varitek. And, despite his meager batting average this season, I have long held that he is the most essential player on the team. He's great at bat...even when he's not doing so hot, he can still smoke an essential home run or knock out a clutch hit. And behind the plate...he's invaluable.

How invaluable?

Since his injury, the Sox are 6-14.

6 Wins. 14 Losses. They've lost 70% of their last 20 games.

We all love and admire Big Papi. But maybe it's time we recognize that unsung hero, that guy who clearly is the glue that kept this team together: our beloved Captain, Jason Vartitek.

GET WELL SOON!

Please, for the love of Yawkey, get well soon!

Long Night's Journey Into Death

2006-08-21T00:27:00.000-05:00

You know, if we had to be put through this torture, did it really have to rob us of several complete days of our lives? The longest nine-inning game in major league history as the nightcap of a doubleheader? A ten-inning game wrapping up at 1:30am after a rain delay? And we're not even done yet?!? I mean, seriously.

This fourth game was make-or-break, where the Sox would either make their stand and start the month-and-a-half-long comeback, or go gently into that good night. So of course, the loss had to occur in about the most agonizing manner possible. Instead of just getting clobbered, which was frankly less painful, the Sox decided to toy with us one last time by seeming to get things under control numerous times before impossibly fumbling the game away.

In fact, I can't remember a recent game that was quite so see-saw. I went into it with only a faintly burning ember of hope for the season, doing my best to avoid giving in to it, and here is a rough synopisis of my internal monologue of how the Sox managed to sucker me into getting kicked in the head again and again:

"HEY maybe this season isn’t over after all! The Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead, and Schilling looks sharp, throwing hard and making Yankees miss his splitter.

OH CRAP the Sox are done. Rain delay. Schilling was our only hope, and there’s no way he’ll be coming back out to pitch after a fifty-minute delay, which means things get turned over to our bullpen and that’s the end of that.

HEY! Schill came back out! He’s gonna heroically play through pain and discomfort, just like 2004, and put this team on his back when their backs were against the
wall!

OH CRAP it’s over. He gave up a three-run jack to Giambi.

HEY! The Sox came roaring back with RBI from Tiz, Belli and Youk, and Schill settled down! We’ve got a 5-3 lead with only two innings to go! What could go wrong?

OH CRAP it’s over now for sure. Timlin and Lopez loaded the bases with no out in the eighth.

HEY! Papelbon came in and did the near-impossible, getting out of the inning with only one run scoring!
OH CRAP we’re being put out of misery at last. Paps gave up a leadoff double to Melky Cabrera and wild-pitched him to third. Tying run is ninety feet away with
no out.

HEY! Papelbon struck out Bernie Williams and Johnny Damon (who is a very solid contact hitter)! He’s going to get out of it! We’re just one out away!

OH CRAP the stake through our heart. Derek Bleeping Jeter with a completely-accidential-don’t-even-pretend-you-were-trying-to-do-that bloop single to right. Figures it would be him. Now it’s tied, the whole team is deflated, and Rivera’s coming in.

HEY! Ortiz got on base to lead off the ninth!

OH CRAP he insanely tried to stretch a gift single into a double.

HEY! He made it in safely!

OH CRAP Tito blew it by taking the bat out of the hands of Youkilis, who leads the team in batting average with runners on AND with runners in scoring position, by having him bunt with no out and two extremely slow runners on base. Of course Rivera threw Ortiz out at third.

HEY passed ball! Bases loaded with one out!

OH CRAP forget it, just forget it. Hinske struck out and Belli grounded out.

HEY Coco Crisp made an amazing catch to rob Giambi (or so it sounded into on radio at least) …

OH CRAP Crisp ran into the fence and the ball glanced off his glove into the bullpen for a home run. And that rattled Craig Hansen, who lost all concentration and ended up giving up a two-run shot to Posada. They don’t have a prayer of scoring three off of Rivera in the bottom of the tenth.

OH CRAP I was right about that."

Look, anything can happen. It's not impossible to make up five and a half games (or four games and two teams) in six weeks. But the way this team failed to rise to the occasion could hardly have been more demoralizing. Right-thinking men and women would abandon any exercise so obviously doomed to futility.

The thing about baseball fans is, we don't exactly think rightly. We can be beyond disgusted and hurt, and we still turn on the game the next day. I buried my face in my pillow for literally five straight minutes when Jeter hit that blooper. We had been so close and I had really believed we were gonna pull it off and win a game that mattered. And as agonizing as that moment was, like a true masochist, I still hope that before the end of the season, I'm in the position to have that kind of hope again.

Necessary Distractions

2006-08-19T15:39:00.000-05:00

Well, we are three games into the big five-game series with the Yankees that was supposed to show what this team is made of. And, needless to say, there's a gloom hanging over New England at the moment. I'll wait until the series is over to share my detailed, penetrating analysis of exactly why the team the Sox have on the field right now is not playoff-caliber (as a sneak preview, I'll just say that the answer rhymes with "itching").

Rather than wallowing in this misery, why don't we think of other things? Let me just offer three recommended distractions:

Go here and watch Denis Leary's recent hijacking of the NESN broadcast booth. Upon learning that Kevin Youkilis is Jewish, he provides a succinct encapsulation of my two ethnic heritages ("[being Jewish] is just one bottle of whiskey away from being Irish Catholic ... it's the same guilt, the same bad food") and interprets every nice play Youk makes as a personal stick-in-the-eye to Mel Gibson ("Where's Mel Gibson now? Where's Mel Gibson now? He's in rehab, and Youkilis is at first base! ... I hope in rehab they're showing replays of that").
Go here and read the Times' enjoyable, if less than scientific, efforts to answer a question I've often posed: where exactly is the border between Red Sox Nation and Yankee Country? The Times concludes that a couple New York towns near New England borders are actually Sox towns, and that Connecticut, the obvious border state, divides roughly along the Connecticut River, with Sox incursions into the northwest and Yankee extensions along the Sound. My father and his brothers grew up at a few different spots along this border, and I wonder what they think of the line. Apparently, the exact geographic midpoint between Fenway and Yankee Stadium is Rocky Hill, which is just next to Wethersfield, where my Uncle Grant lives. Lulled by the sounds of Mel Allen on his radio as a boy, he is the defector in the family. According to the map, he's in enemy territory.
Peter Gammons made his first return to Fenway yesterday, and seems to be recovering well from his brian aneurysm. Plus, the Jimmy Fund telethon raised a few million bucks for kids with cancer. There are -- thankfully for Sox fans -- more important things out there than a ballgame.

4 Days. 5 Games.

2006-08-17T14:16:00.001-05:00

As we gear up for this weekend's showdown, I thought I'd share some interesting stats from a trusted inside source:

The last time the Red Sox hosted a five-game series against the Yankees was July 9th-13th, 1959. In that series, the Sox won all five games, by a combined score of 50-18.

During the series, 27-year-old Mickey Mantle batted .176 with 0 RBI for the Yankees.

The Red Sox' Ted Williams, at age 40, batted .471 with a .526 OBA, .824 SLG, 1.350 OPS, and 7 RBI.

Something to think about.

Thank you, Orioles!

2006-08-12T11:52:00.000-05:00

Thank you for your sucky, sucky ways.

I'm actually living in downstate Pennsylvania for the moment (hence the change in the blog's description), in Orioles territory. My mother-in-law, with whom I am, again, temporarily staying, is a big O's fan. So when Dan and I took our now legendary trip to Cooperstown, he snapped this photo of me in front of a display about the great O's squads of the late 60s/early 70s ... Earl Weaver's uniform would be tight on Teddy Ruxpin --

And now, thanks to the O's, I'm smiling again.

Nicely done, Mike and company, let's get into a groove before the forces of evil hit town next weekend.

Final Exit (Before Toll)

2006-08-10T10:03:00.000-05:00

We occasionally forget that part of the purpose of this blog is to reflect the lives of Sox fans living in New York.

Well, technically, I don't live in New York anymore, and I will soon be moving quite far away from it, though not back into Sox territory, but that can't stop me.

Anyway, let's imagine you're a Sox fan in New York and you're despondent about the fact that your favorite team, with its four All-Stars and its 120 million dollar payroll, has fallen behind in both the AL East and Wild Card race, because of four straight losses to ... The Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Kansas City Royals, two teams so bad they don't just ask fans to throw back foul balls they've caught, they ask them for tips on how to improve their fielding.

So what do you do? You're in New York, the Sox have once again ruined your summah, but you're too far from the Tobin Bridge for a suicide trip there to be practical.

Well, luckily, New York offers a number of bridges that will do just fine. Your options ...

The Queensboro Bridge, AKA The 59th St. Bridge: A fine bridge, if you find yourself that far north on the East Side, but it's far too associated with that Simon and Garfunkel song, and, well, if we were "Feelin' Groovy" we wouldn't be doing this.

The Brooklyn Bridge: Beautiful, with a lot of history, and you can get some Grimaldi's pizza before you do it. But it may be a little touristy and cliche.

Whitestone Bridge: Connects Queens to the Bronx, so the irony might a little thick for Sox fans looking up at both Yankees and Mets this year.

George Washington Bridge: Huge and two-tiered, offering dual suicide options for those who want it over quickly and those who want more time to think about Papelbon's blown saves before the splat. (For nerds like myself, another nice connection would be that this is the bridge where the Green Goblin killed Gwen Stacy in Amazing Spider-Man #121, though the artwork showed the Brooklyn Bridge and the adaption for the first movie used Queensboro)

Throg's Neck: Probably too far outside the city to be practical, but, on the other hand, it has the word "Throg" in its name.

The Williamsburg Bridge: Certainly a nice bridge, but the hipster scene is SO 2002. It's all people with babies in strollers now.

Triborough Bridge: This is actually three connected bridges, making it perfect for those who want a "Choose Your Own Adventure" approach to suicide.

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge: About as far away from Yankee Stadium as you can be in a bridge within the New York City limits, so that's a plus. But the tolls are a bitch.

Road Trip Report #3: What's Next?

2006-08-07T01:58:00.000-05:00

After spending a day with the game’s past, what could be better than spending some time scoping out its future? We made our way home via Binghamton, to catch the AA Binghamton Mets playing Giants affiliate the Connecticut Defenders. Before leaving Cooperstown, we fueled up at Stagecoach Coffee, a friendly spot that pours good joe while cranking out Pink Floyd and Dylan, and then we stopped in the Doubleday Field batting cage, just to remind ourselves that we're only going to be Hall of Famers if they create a new one for some considerably more bookish pursuits. Here’s Noah taking one of the better cuts either of us would get.

The matchup turned out to feature a pair of Red Sox veterans. John Valentin (on the left) is the hitting coach and first base coach for the B-Mets, and Bob Stanley is the pitching coach for the Defenders. Former Dodger/Phillie/Expo/etc./etc./etc. Juan Samuel manages for Binghamton (and he plays the infield in too much).

NYSEG Stadium in Binghamton doesn’t have much more charm than the name suggests. It is set amongst parking lots and old rail lines, and all the seats are arrayed uncreatively behind home. About the only distinctive spot is Lupo’s Dugout down the right-field line, where you can grab a local microbrew and a spiedie, a delicacy exclusive to Broome County that consists of cubed pork or chicken marinated in Italian spices and stuffed into a long roll. (Mine was overcooked and dry, but I understand that well-prepared versions have passionate devotees. We happened upon Binghamton during their weekend-long “Spiedie Fest,” in fact, but the downtown streets we drove through had definitely not gotten swept up in the fever.)

Of course, whatever the park’s deficiencies, it has the undeniable charm of minor league ball itself. We walked right up to our seats directly – and I do mean directly – behind home plate. We were ten feet at the most from the batter, with nothing between us but a (hopefully) sturdy foul net. Fans were saying hi to the vendors by name, and engaging in a friendly back-and-forth with Defenders manager Dave Machemer whenever he’d stick his head out of the dugout. Only in minor league towns does the game take on the atmosphere of a neighborhood hangout, with folks running into each other and asking after the wife and kids.

Binghamton entered to the game tied for the lead in their division, but they don’t have all that many top prospects. It’s not exactly their fault -- it seems like Mike Pelfrey, Lastings Milledge, Jose Reyes and David Wright were all playing there something like a week ago. The Defenders fielded a couple of the best prospects in the Giants organization – tall, strong first baseman Travis Ishikawa, power-hitting right fielder John Schierholtz, and slugging centerfielder Dan Ortmeier, who has had a cup of coffee in the bigs already. But for Binghamton, the main projected major leaguer on the roster (besides starter Philip Humber, who must first bounce back from Tommy John surgery) is Carlos Gomez, a skinny 20-year-old Dominican outfielder the Mets signed at 16 in the hopes that he could blossom into their future leadoff hitter.

Gomez certainly put on a show. The knock on him is that he needs to develop plate discipline, but in his first time up he laid off a couple of pitches his teammates had missed, and then knocked an outside pitch the other way to drive in a couple runs. In his next at-bat, he turned on a pitch to drive in another two with a smoking line drive. After both singles, he stole second easily. He also showed off a cannon arm in center, firing off a strong throw to the plate that might have nabbed a Defender at home had it not been cut off by first baseman Michel “No Relation” Abreu. Gomez doesn’t have the polish that earned Milledge such a rapid promotion to The Show, but if today is any indication he has the potential to develop into a tough out at the top of the order, with occasional gap power, speed to burn and a good glove.

None of the fifteen (yeah, fifteen) pitchers we saw were overly impressive, although Matt Lindstrom threw legitimately hard fastballs and sliders for the Mets in the eighth, striking out two in a 1-2-3 inning. On the strength of Gomez’ four RBI, the B-Mets took a 7-5 lead to the top of the ninth, where they turned the ball over to closer Henry Owens, who has also been with the big-time Mets this year and who came into the game sporting a 0.67 WHIP and having converted 18 of 18 save opportunities. He threw much harder than anyone else out there except Lindstrom, and he changed speeds well, getting out in front of Ortmeier on fastballs and then getting him to tap an off-speed pitch weakly to second. Unfortunately, second baseman Wilson Batista took a lazy route to the ball and his hurried throw was off the bag. Two batters later, Ishikawa had crushed a pitch over the right field wall to pick up his second and third RBI of the game, Owens had blown his first save, and we headed to extra innings.

The game dragged into the thirteenth. The dwindling crowd got pretty slap-happy and we started striking up conversations with our neighbors about proper heckling technique. In the top of the thirteenth, Samuel was pretty much out of relievers and he sent infielder/outfielder Alex Rios out there to pitch. Rios’ 80mph fastball didn’t fool many people, and the bases were quickly loaded with none out. But after striking out the #8 batter, he had an opportunity to get out of it, since the Defenders were out of pitch-hitters and the pitcher, Oscar Montero, had to hit for himself. Pitcher faced batter in the inverse of the usual configuration. Montero grounded into a forceout, beating out the attempted double-play relay throw and driving in Ishikawa with the winning run.

While Henry Owens was blowing a rare save opportunity, Jonathan Papelbon was doing the same against the D-Rays, dropping the Sox two back of the Yankees. But we’ve had too good a weekend to return to the grind of real fandom just yet. There will be plenty of time to return to the day-to-day life of work, and the day-to-day strife of being a Red Sox fan. This weekend was just about enjoying baseball in some of the purest and most painless ways imaginable.

Road Trip Report #2: Immortality

2006-08-06T09:46:00.000-05:00

We spent yesterday undergoing total immersion therapy in the game of the baseball. With the exception of lunch (at the pretty darned adorable Cooperstown Diner, acclaimed by one patron as the home of the world’s best milkshake), we spent ten solid hours in the Baseball Hall of Fame. It’s hard to imagine how we could have spent any less time there.

The Hall is pretty unimposing from the outside, which seems at little incongruous, given the monumentality of even the average major league ballpark. However, from the inside, its physical and emotional magnitude is much greater (Noah was heard mentioning how “dusty” certain parts of the Hall are, whenever he seemed to be wiping at his eyes for some reason).

When you enter, the two guardians you meet first are the Babe and the Kid. From there it’s on to the second floor to start with Taking the Field, which takes you through the nineteenth century. Disappointingly, the presentation sidesteps the details of the actual origin of the game, perhaps out of a misplaced concern that it would dispel some of Cooperstown’s legend to directly acknowledge the flaws of the Doubleday theory.

The Baseball Time Line displays original balls, bats and jerseys from just about every dynastic squad, great moment or star player from the twentieth century. It is a sort of “Great Teams” guide to the game, which means it suffers from the same deficiencies as the “Great Men” method of teaching history. But it’s still a fun, familiar trip. One highlight is a handwritten 1951 letter from Ty Cobb to Bobby Doerr, which accompanied a signed bat. Cobb was effusive about how much he and Eddie Collins thought of Doerr and Ted Williams as players, said he should probably the one asking Doerr for a souvenir, and signed off with “I feel you boys should really win this year.” Wow. About the first time I’ve had warm feelings in my heart for Ty Cobb.

“Pride and Passion,” the Negro League exhibit, is terrific. I don’t think I realized that pro baseball had been integrated before it was segregated. It wasn’t until the International League decided to ban blacks in 1887 that the other leagues began to follow suit and the great black players were forced to their own clubs to barnstorm the country and, in the 20’s, to start their own leagues.

There’s appropriate emphasis on Jackie Robinson -- his uniform is displayed next to the death threats he had received, and, as a reminder that not everything changed when the barrier was broken, the death threats Hank Aaron would receive thirty years later. But it’s especially important to learn about the lives of the less heralded Negro Leaguers and the vibrant African-American culture that the Leagues helped sustain. The Negro League stars both shaped and were shaped by the social trends that eventually brought them the recognition they were due. Of course, the honor they had earned could only be granted posthumously to many. For me, Josh Gibson is the most tragic case. Of all the players who spent their entire career in the Negro Leagues, he’s probably the one with a legitimate claim to being the best who ever played his position. Toyed with by major league clubs, he was never signed to a contract, and died far too young at age thirty-six.

In the Today’s Game section, every team has its own locker. The Sox’ is stuffed with precious artifacts of the Holy Grail season, including the uniform Derek Lowe was wearing to start Game 4 of the Series, the bat Damon used to hit the leadoff homer that put them up for good, and Orlando Cabrera’s glove.

(In the Tigers’ locker, there is a jersey worn by Gabe Kapler in the team’s final game at Tiger Stadium. Every player wore a throwback jersey that day to commemorate a great Tiger of the past, and Kapler’s numberless outfit represented Ty Cobb. As Noah wondered, how do you think the Georgia Peach would feel to find out he was commemorated by the Hebrew Hammer? Heh heh heh …)

On the third floor is Sacred Ground, an exhibition of ballparks, including a 3-D digital tour of the Boston Common Grounds, where the Braves played until the place burned to the ground in 1894, and the original cornerstone from Ebbets Field. There’s also the Records Room, where a (remarkably up-to-date) tally is kept of the big records and who is chasing them today, and Autumn Glory, which takes you through all the Fall Classics, beginning, of course, with the inaugural series in which the Boston nine first established their dominance over both leagues. I took particular note of the jersey Orel Hershiser wore in Game 5 of the 1988 series, the first series of which I have strong (and fond!) memory: as a fifth grader, I watched Gibson's shot from my Bubbie and Zaydie's Laguna Hills living room, just after, I'm sure, my father had declared with certainty that the Dodgers were done.

Things wind up with the main event back on the ground floor, the Hall of Fame itself. Only some 15,500 men have ever played major league ball, and the top one percent of those excel enough to earn immortality here. Despite some understandable recent concern about the standards for Hall admission being watered down, this is still some pretty elite company.

1936 was the first class: Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Cobb, Honus Wagner, and Christy Mathewson. It was a very good year.

Noah and I spent time with our friends Ted, Cy, Yaz, Pudge, Bobby and Wade. As a former Los Angeleno and current Brooklyite, I also made a point of visiting Jackie, Pee Wee, Sandy, Don, Walter, Tommy and The Duke. I also visited Maz, because he’s always been kind of a favorite of mine (anyone who breaks down in tears before he can get through two sentences of his Hall acceptance speech is my kinda guy), but also because it was also about the best way I can think of to visit with my late Pittsburghian grandfather. When we visit these great men we never actually knew, we are visiting our past – the time we spent with great men we knew well and with whom we shared our love of the game.

After the Hall itself, there is a small section devoted to Scribes and Mikemen that fails to do justice to the importance of broadcasters to the game. Baseball, as the exhibit notes, is the “only game you can watch on the radio,” and the folks who bring us the action provide us with our most direct point of contact with the game, as well as the single greatest source of the emotional memory. The display lists Frick Award winners by year, but the broadcasters are not given their own bronze plaques in the Hall. What a crime. Umpires and executives are honored alongside baseball gods, so why can’t Vin Scully? There is no visage I was more hoping to have my picture taken next to than his.

In all, we saw every inch of the place, with the exception of the A. Bartlett Giamatti Research Center, which had closed by the time we got to it, and where, no doubt, I could have spent another ten hours. We emerged from the Hall at dusk, and had good (if overpriced) food and drink at the Hoffman Lane Bistro a few steps off Main Street. Then we wrapped up the night by strolling lakeward to The Otesaga, the town’s manorlike resort hotel, and peeked in on its Hawkeye Bar and Grill, named – of course – for the Mohicans character.

I’m having a little trouble finding words to capture the day as a whole, so I’m going to quote from Hall of Fame umpire William Klem (introducer of the “strike” arm signal) who said “baseball is more than a game to me – it’s a religion.” Amen, blue. Yesterday, we made a pilgrimage to its holiest site. And, with thanks for how it sustains us, and with awe at the way it transcends us, we paid homage.

Road Trip Report #1: Cooperstown

2006-08-05T08:33:00.000-05:00

Road trip! Executing a plot generously hatched by Amanda, Noah and I have traveled to Cooperstown to celebrate Noah’s birthday by making both of our first visits ever to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Sox-only blogging will return soon, but for now please excuse a couple not-entirely-off-topic tangents about Cooperstown.

The Cooper whose Town it is Judge William Cooper, the frontier developer who founded the town in 1768 and later served as a Congressman and a County Judge. But the town’s most famous resident was Willam’s eleventh child, James Fenimore Cooper, who used in the area as the setting for novels like The Last of the Mohichans and The Leatherstocking Tales, where he essentially defined the concept of the self-sufficient, hardy pioneering American. JFC’s name and likeness is all over town, and practically every street, restaurant or mailbox that doesn’t have anything to do with baseball has a Cooperian literary allusion for a name.

William Cooper had a good eye for location. Cooperstown is in the middle of some beautiful country, tucked up against the south shore of the nine-mile-long Lake Otsego. In his novels, Cooper called the lake “the Glimmerglass” because it seemed to reflect its surroundings like glass. It didn’t exactly seem mirrorlike to me, but it is certainly pictureseque and striking, coming up on you suddenly as you’re walking along Cooperstown’s tidy little streets and homes. And there’s nothing to lower a city guy’s blood pressure like spending some time by a nice-sized body of water.

Lake Otsego is where the Susquehanna River – the longest river east of the Mississippi -- begins its 444-mile journey all the way down to the Chesapeake Bay. The mouth of the river is the site of Council Rock, formerly an American Indian meeting place. A few centuries later, the site wasn’t quite as fortuitous a locale for the home team. In July and August of 1779, Continental Army General James Clinton and a couple hundred of his men dammed up the lake for a few weeks and then busted it loose so they could ride the resultant slip-and-slide down to Fort Tioga, rampaging all the way against Indian nations who had allied with the British.

We got in too late to visit the Hall of Fame today, but you can absorb plenty of baseball just by wandering around town (note: more Sox fans noted than partisans of any other team). I walked by former Yankee third baseman Clete Boyer on Main Street, who was smoking a cigarette towards the end of what seemed to have been a pretty exhausting day of signing cards and baseballs. We passed “Clete Boyer’s Hall of Fame Hamburgers” on the way into town, so he may be a local.

Cooperstown has a lot of work to do to avoid coming across as an overly previous theme park of Americana. For the most part, it does a pretty good job of it. It’s obviously a tourist destination but it still retains the charm of small-town America, which makes it a great place to embody the essential spirit of the national pastime.

But, of course, there are still plenty of shops around to pay through the nose for baseball memorabilia, personalized bats and assorted bric-a-brac.

And a good thing, too. Thanks a lot, Mom!

On Cooper Ground just next to the Hall of Fame, there are a couple of neat bronze sculptures by Stanley Bleifield: “The Pitcher” and “The Catcher,” in the person of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ 1955 World Series Game 7 battery, Johnny Podres and Roy Campanella.

A little earlier this year, they added two more Bleifield sculptures to the grounds to represent some of those who have long been underrepresented in the history of the game: Satchel Paige, mid-windup, on behalf Negro League players, and an anonymous representative of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball league, who looked a little more Lori Petty than Madonna.

Just a short walk from the Hall of Fame is Doubleday Field, where legend (but little fact) has it that the first baseball game was played. Cooperstownian Abner Graves started the fuss by claiming -- and convincing a distinguished commission of league executives and U.S. Senators -- that Civil War hero Abner Doubleday had created the game on printer Elihu Phinney's cow pasture in 1838. Doubleday Field was built on the site in the 20’s and 30’s and has hosted the annual Hall of Fame game and numerous other special events over the years.

It’s a nice park, with an old-fashioned grandstand and a church spire rising, Rockwell-like, off of left field. It’s smaller than even any minor league park I’ve ever visited, and it is really something to imagine Jackie Robinson and Joe DiMaggio having trod those bases, in spaces more intimate than even those they had inhabited in their farm team days.

To our surprise, there doesn’t seem to be any spot in town with MLB All-Access (you’d think you could watch any game you want when you’re in the Capital of Baseball Nation), so we missed Schill’s nice outing and Papi’s two blasts against the Rays, which kept the Sox within a game of the Yankees. But we’ll be overdosing on baseball tomorrow to be sure.

The Hall of Fame itself is situated fairly inobtrusively in the center of this exemplary American small town. And it is in the middle of some beautiful rural territory, complete with green rolling hills and hay bales aplenty. This seems appropriate, since the games’s field and its pace are often described as pastoral. But of course, baseball is in many ways a game of America’s big cities, where it was (probably really) invented, where it is played on sandlots and side streets, and where its greatest cathedrals have been constructed and its biggest stars ply their trade.

In reality, the game reconciles both extremes, just like America does. And Cooperstown does too: a small town, in the middle of rural America, just a few hours’ drive from the nation’s greatest metropolis.

Later today, the Hall!

Maaaaaaaaahk!

2006-08-03T10:48:00.000-05:00

Here's what it's like rooting for the Sox: Just when you think it's all over, someone who never blows it... blows it. Last night, it was Timlin, Jesus bless him.

But here's what it's like rooting for the Sox recently: After someone who never blows it blows it, someone else steps up and wins the whole damn thing at the last possible second. Usually, it's Big Papi. Last night, it was Mark "I also had a walk-off hit in April, by the way" Loretta. Just faaaaantastic.

This team just keeps finding ways to win. The Sox keep clinging to that top spot, clawing and kicking and punching at those blasted Bombers who just brought in two new big guns to muscle their way to number one. But the Sox ain't giving in without a fight, it seems. Looks like we'll all just have to keep watching, right up until the last swing. It ain't easy...but it sure makes those victories just a little sweeter.

A simple request, though. Next year, can we just jump out to a nice 5-game lead and keep it? All this exciting drama is wreaking havoc on my stomach. Thanks.

...............................

In other terrible news, The Captain will be out for the next FOUR to SIX WEEKS!! Ack. May the light of Old Lady Yawkey shine down upon her favorite catcher in this, his time of recovery.

Never Forget.

The View From the House That Ruth Built

2006-08-01T15:43:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, my father and I went to Yankees Stadium for the first time. And I have to say...not really impressed. It's a nice stadium, it's big, it's pretty comfy and user friendly...but there isn't really that sense of history that Fenway has.

Also, I don't know why there's all this hoopla over A-Fraud. Derek Jeter is so clearly that team's MVP. And he's hitting something insane like .359.

Yeah, the Yankees won...but it was thanks to TWO Johnny Damon homers, so I took some small amount of residual pride in that. I'll admit it, I still like the dude and wish he were wearing red instead of pinstripes.

Also, it was nice to see that The Rod contributed absolutely nothing to his team's victory, going 0-4 with THREE strikeouts and a pop-up.

Inevitably, our conversation turned to the MVP race. I won't bore you with the details, but it came down to this: THIS year, who's been more valuable - Big Papi or Papelbomb? Which led me to start envisioning the perfect hybrid of a clutch player:

Big Papibon*?

* I also liked the name Ortizlebon. It sounds street. Fo' shizzle.

Walk-Off Hero

2006-08-01T14:47:00.000-05:00

It's like these pitchers never learn. And I hope they never do.

There are few things that are certain in this world, but as Lex Luthor's father once told him:

"Son, stocks may rise and fall, utilities and transportation systems may collapse. People are no damn good, but they will always need land and they'll pay through the nose to get it.

...and if Big Papi's batting in the 9th or later, he will win the game with one swing of the bat."

I might be paraphrasing a little.

................................

So the trade deadline passed and we got nothing. More importantly, we didn't lose anything.

We have a great team right now. Sure, the pitching staff is a tad shaky (like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake), but they have still managed to cobble together an impressive number of wins, despite some pretty memorable meltdowns.

Overall, I really dig this particular team. And I want to see this particular team pull it off.

Our defense has been outstanding, our offense has been legendary, and our pitching has been...pretty exciting. And by exciting, I mean I have developed several ulcers whenever I see a pitcher who's first name doesn't begin with Jon*.

But this quote from Saint Theo has me pretty confident that the Little Jew Who Could knows what he's doing:

"We have a long-term plan and as much as we desperately wanted to do something to help our big league team it would have been shortsighted to sacrifice that long-term plan in order to incrementally increase our chances this year," said Epstein.

"We were asked over and over again for a lot of good young players, good young players at the major league level who are part of our long-term plan and it just wasn't worth it."

I think the future looks pretty bright for our crimson stocking'd boys.

*And hopefully we'll have both of them pitching for a long, long time!

Sticking to the script

2006-07-29T18:14:00.000-05:00

Didn't get to actually see today's game, but I got the next best thing: having Ross tell me all about it over the phone.

Here are actual excerpts (transcribed from memory) from our cellphone conversation during the game.

There is a message on my voicemail.

ROSS: Bottom of the 9th, Big Papi is third. Walk-Off Homer. I'm calling it.

I return the call minutes later.

ME: Did they walk him?

ROSS: Yeah.

ME: Of course they did. Bottom of the 9th, you walk Big Papi.

ROSS: And Manny grounded into a double play. I said if Big Papi doesn't get a walk-off run right here, it's the end of the season.

ME: Doesn't count. They walked him. If he strikes out or pops up, fine. But if they walk him, it doesn't count.

ROSS: Still, if they lose this game - a game they should win now - it's going to be a long August.

ME: If it gets back around to him, Ortiz will come through.

ROSS: It started off so well. Youk hit a monster double, like 2 feet short of being out of the park.

ME: Youk could come up with the big hit if the Sox hold strong. Or Gonzalez will make something happen.

Later, my phone rings again.

ROSS: Big Papi. Walk-off single!!!!

ME: Told ya.

ROSS: I called a walk-off win, just in the wrong inning.

ME: We're both right!

ROSS: The Sox should have won it and they did!

ME: This is good. They're playing like they should. Shows they're sticking to the script. This is how they're supposed to win.

ROSS: Eh. Nothing wrong with a blowout.

Rodenfreude

2006-07-27T11:09:00.000-05:00

Main Entry: rod·den·freu·de
Pronunciation: 'roh-den-"froi-de
Function: noun
Usage: often capitalized

The taking of pleasure in the ongoing travails of Alex Rodriguez.

Look, I can't possibly be the first person to come up with this word, but, man, is it useful. Today is Slappy's 31st birthday and it comes during the middle of, by far, his worst season. And the media is falling all over itself to say how awful it is that people are booing him, how he'll turn it around, etc.

I say, enjoy it while we can.

Look, when all is said and done about MLB in the 00's, the decade will belong to two men, Albert Pujols and A-Rod. Both are probably going to finish their careers with over 700 homeruns, very possibly 800, and they're doing it drug free. Both are supremely skilled athletes and in may ways we're priveledged to get to see them playing in their prime.

That doesn't mean we can't smile like maniacal toddlers in an ice cream and precious fragile antiques store when Rodriguez eats it for a month. It's a pleasure and almost a responsibility to boo him, to delight in his failure. A few things come with a $25 million paycheck: a huge tax bite, lots of letters from charities, and absurd expectations.

Plus, he plays for the Yankees and has, at times, acted like an enormous douchebag.

But here's the real reason why we should enjoy every shit-eating minute of this stuff: it's not going to last. In fact, it may already be over. He went 2-5 with a homerun last night.

But while it lasts, or lasted, fans of any team other than the Yankees should savor every precious minute of it. Because the bastard is just too good.

I'm well aware that the stats show that A-Rod is not nearly as anti-clutch as we think he is, how often his contributions actually have been the difference-makers. But that doesn't change our perception, nor should it. We, as fans, follow this sport for entertainment, and a little self-delusion always helps.

There is nothing shameful in Rodenfreude. Eat drink and be merry, my Rodenfreundes, for tomorrow ... well, who knows?

Inexplicable Items

2006-07-26T23:00:00.000-05:00

The final word from the road trip. Thanks, Sid!

Well, our road trip is over with a 3-3 record. It is said that playing .500 on the road and winning at home is the formula for success in baseball, so let’s hope it’s true. Not much to say about today’s game as it was a pretty boring affair. Two Frank Thomas homeruns were far more than the Sox offense could counter. So, instead of a description of a forgettable game, here are a few items from the long list of things I do not understand.

The Sox lost the three day games we saw and won the three night games. They seemed listless and unable to mount much offense in two of those day games. But their overall record in day games is just about the same as their night game record. So, what gives? Are they just trying to make me feel bad about not being at work?

Why isn’t Kyle Snyder more effective? His differential between fastball (91-93) and breaking ball (66-69) was huge and should really fool batters. It did some of the time, but not when the Big Hurt was up.

Why couldn’t anyone hit Haren? His so-so fastball and so-so breaking ball resulted in lots of pop ups. Except for Dougie Mirabelli who struck out a lot.

What does Tito have against pinch hitters? The seventh inning, two out, two on, one run in and Doug Mirabelli gets to bat for himself? Just because Trot got a bases loaded walk against a left-hander yesterday when Wily Mo should have been batting is no explanation.

Why, after the 7th inning was over, did some guy offer me $20 for an old, sweat-stained Boston hat that was uncomfortable, sometimes lucky and sometimes not, unofficial (I bought it from a street vendor outside Camden Yards for a few bucks) and made in Macao? I took the money and saw the same hat for $5 as we were leaving. I think I know the answer to this one and it is spelled B-E-E-R.

One easily explained phenomenon. A’s and Sox fans agreed that, “Yankees Suck” and chanted so on several occasions.

That’s all folks. Thanks for letting me post in your blog. Next reports – late August from Anaheim.

East is East

2006-07-26T12:19:00.000-05:00

The penultimate dispatch from our far-flung correspondents:

The San Francisco Chronicle sports page quoted A’s first baseman Nick Swisher as saying about Monday’s game, “It didn’t feel like a home game at all. When you come home from a road trip, you want to hear your fans. I heard more Red Sox fans.”

Tonight was much the same. It was a sold out game, mostly because of the influx of New Englanders. It is an interesting phenomenon. We met folks from Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and the Boston area. Others were from various parts of the country but had New England roots. Most were young, in their 20s or 30s, and most had included a Red Sox game in vacation travel. A few were dedicated roadies who travel around the country to see the Sox. Mary and Sue, Bostonians we met in Seattle, had been to games in almost every venue the Sox have played. We looked for them in Oakland too, but the crush of Sox fans made finding them impossible.

So why the willingness to travel? I would be interested in what makes the Red Sox Nation so willing to spend lots of money to see the Sox away from Fenway. Although this trend started well before 2004, I am sure the championship run reinforced the phenomenon. My favorite t-shirt was a woman from Vermont of about my age wearing a bright red shirt that said, “We will always have last year.” I wonder if this is just a fad and if it would survive an off year? Opinions?

Regarding tonight’s game, it was great fun. The Sox jumped out in front with homers from Manny (who is hitting a ton right now) and Trot. Schilling pitched well (I got some good photos that I will forward once I get home) with more velocity than usual. But he did get touched up for 4 runs and let a 6-0 lead shrink. It got quite tense when Manny Delcarmen allowed another run to score but he then shut the door and the Sox exploded for a big 8th inning. Varitek’s bases-loaded triple sent the Sox fans into ecstatic fits of screaming and high-fiving while sending the A’s fans home. It made the game safe for Tavarez and Seanez.

One other thing that tonight’s game proved: the American league East is a lot better than the other two divisions. The Sox, Yanks, and Jays are all better than anyone in the West, and probably better than the Central too. All the ESPN dopes were saying that the Wild Card will come out of the Central this year. Nonsense. The East rules.

But the dim sum here in SF is great.

Fenway West

2006-07-25T22:08:00.000-05:00

The road trip continues down the left coast:

If Camden Yards is Fenway South, then surely the Oakland Coliseum is Fenway West. The Sox fans at tonight’s game outcheered and probably outnumbered the typically surly A’s fans. Our row was all Sox fans except for two morose folks with A’s caps. Why are the A’s fans so surly despite having an always a competitive team? Is it because their stadium is a dump? Is it because the food there is inedible or that beer sellers vastly outnumber hot dog vendors? Or perhaps it’s a Zen thing – bad karma and all that. That idea was reinforced by the guy hawking frozen lemonade with the line, “Frozen Lemonade! It’s your destiny. You know you want it.” We expected the Church of Scientology to be the stadium sponsor. We wore our Mirabelli (me) and Wakefield (Judy) shirts and received a non-stop stream of comments from Sox fans who got it. When we wore them in Anaheim, the Angel fans did not.

Having gotten there a bit early (BART trains are a great way to get to a game) we decided to see what the view was from the bleachers. But the usher would not let us in, politely explaining that the bleachers were sold out for big games, “You know, the popular teams – the Yankees, the Red Sox and of course the Giants.” No mention of the Division rivals including the Angels.

The game was entertaining. Beckett followed his usual pattern. He started the game with almost all fastballs and gradually included more and more curves as the game went on. Initially, he was having some difficulty getting the curve over, but as he used it more he commanded it better. His fastball was quick and had the A’s off balance except for the obligatory home run. At least Swisher’s was a solo shot. The Sox offense looked alive from the start, getting hard hit outs off Zito and then breaking through with homers from AGon, a three run opposite field shot by Manny (who blithely put the previous day’s fielding misadventures behind him) and of course, Papi. RBIs by Coco and Youk built a nice 7 run lead and three Sox double plays helped the pitching. The most tense moment came in the seventh with the score 7-3 when Craig Hansen loaded the bases with two outs. The A’s fans came out of their beer induced haze and cheered loudly and Timlin was hurrying to get ready. But Tito stuck with Hansen and a routine ground ball ended the threat.

The ninth was interesting as we got to see Huston Street and Jon Papelbon back to back, both needing work despite non-save situations. Both were pretty impressive. Street’s breaking ball was nasty and BonBon’s fastball could not be hit.

Tuesday night we have our best seats, so I will take the camera and try to get some good action shots of G38. But first, dim sum in Chinatown.

Sweepless in Seattle

2006-07-23T23:20:00.000-05:00

I got pretty excited watching the Captain on TV tying things up when the Sox were an out away from losing, so it was pretty disappointing to watch them lost in the bottom of the ninth. Here's how it looked from Seattle from Sid:

Okay, what can one say after a thrilling, exhausting, exciting but ultimately disappointing 9-8 game? Not much so I will confine myself to a list of random observations:

The Mariners average about 33,000 fans per game but had more than 45,000 at each of these games. The difference – Red Sox Nation. The newspapers, the tv interviews, the people on the street all commented on how the Sox fans turn out in force. It made for very friendly competitive cheering in a seesaw game.

Things happened in this game that reinforce managerial dopiness. Beltre, Sexson, and Varitek all got key hits but none of them should be batting in the middle of a lineup. It is hard to explain why Mike Hargrove is giving extra at bats to his overpaid under-achievers or why he had the woeful Willie Bloomquist hitting behind Ichiro while letting Betancourt batter away in the eight hole.

Jon Lester got a ton of press out here as he is a local kid from the Tacoma area. He is also for real, with a live fastball and a sharp breaking ball. He got hurt when he got behind in the count, but looked great when he got ahead. In Lester and King Felix we got to see two very impressive young stars on the rise.

The local spokesman of the Mariners players for tv interviews and pr is not Ichiro but Eduardo Perez. He is very articulate and personable. Look for him in broadcasting soon. He also hit a key home run off Lester.

Tek’s blast was a monster, but Papi hit one even farther in batting practice. Home runs to right in Safeco tend to be much longer than those to left.

Why was Wily Mo on the bench and Kapler in right? I would also have liked to see Papelbon in this series, but I can’t argue with Tito’s bullpen management. It looked good, except Delcarmen and Timlin just did not hold up their parts of the script.

Manny’s recent defensive improvements seem to have been lost with the luggage on the cross-country trip. He looked lost out there today. Two days off and he forgot how to field.

This is the second year in a row that we have seen the Sox lose two out of three in Seattle. We may not come back here, although I really like this town. But the last time we saw the Sox in Oakland they swept three, so hopefully our patterns will continue as we move south tomorrow.

Sid, what did it look like happened on that crazy inside-the-parker? Why was Coco so far from the ball? Why didn't one or the other of them pick up the ball?!?

Seattle Surprises

2006-07-23T14:05:00.000-05:00

Our West Coast correspondent, my uncle Sid, has chimed in from his road trip to the Pacific Northwest where he is taking in the series at Safeco. Take it away, Sid:

I thought the Sox had everything stacked against them going into Friday night’s game. After all, they had traveled all night while Seattle had a travel
day, they were facing a veteran lefty junkballer, Mike Lowell had been food
poisoned (he took batting practice with a towel around his neck and obviously
looked very uncomfortable), and they were starting Kyle Snyder, the very
definition of a marginal pitcher.

So, of course the Sox launched five homers and cruised to an easy 9-4 win. While a first inning blast from Papi was no surprise, homers from Gonzalez, Varitek and Youkilis were. The capstone blast from Manny did not qualify as a surprise but Crisp’s sharply hit outs and rbi single did.

Snyder was a pleasant surprise, looking and pitching very much like Bronson Arroyo. The sloppy defense that led to two unearned runs was a surprise, as was Papi playing first. Seeing Ichiro stand next to Papi after a single and chat with him
in an animated fashion is very amusing – the size differential is amazing. One wonders what these two guys talk about and in what language? They are two of the most watchable baseball players active today and Mariner –Sox games are a delight because of them. Ichiro brings incredible energy to his at bats and to the field as well, and all eyes are on Ortiz when he is at bat. The fact that they deliver big hits with such regularity makes them even more compelling.

Safeco is a beautiful park and Seattle fans are generally friendly, quiet and polite. It is a bit different than other stadiums but no surprise that one can get good sushi (an
“ichiroll” of spicy tuna and avocado was my choice) and Starbucks lattes as
refreshments at Safeco. Seattle is really a very civilized place. We came back to our hotel late, tired, and elated by the strong Sox performance and the Yankee’s second loss to Toronto.

I decided we needed special mojo for Saturday’s game as Kason Gabbard was making his debut facing “King” Felix Hernandez. So I wore my new Red Sox shirt with Theo 04 on the back to show our trust in the front office and its long supply of young pitchers. Judy’s new Youkilis t-shirt had obviously worked well the night before so I thought it was my turn. Alas, a day game after a night game after transcontinental travel showed its effects. The Sox were listless, the offense minimal (a homer by Lowell, a nicely created run of a Crisp walk, a stolen base, and a Papi single), and the defense was sloppy. Alex Gonzalez made a bad play leading to the Mariner go ahead run and the spectacular defense we have come to expect just failed to show up. But Gabbard pitched reasonably well, looking like Lenny DiNardo with slightly more command. Hopefully, he exposed a Mariner weakness for lefthanders. Let’s hope so as we see Jon Lester for the first time tomorrow.

Get to know your pitcher

2006-07-22T12:21:00.000-05:00

Kason Gabbard

Gabbard went 9-2 with a 2.57 ERA for Double-A Portland before moving to Triple-A Pawtucket on June 27, where he posted a 1-3 record and a 4.97 ERA in five starts.

The lucky lefty brings the grand total of Red Sox starting pitchers to ELEVEN(!) this season.

Gabbard will be the ninth(!) rookie to pitch for the Red Sox this season, joing fellow rooks Abe Alvarez, Craig Breslow, Manny Delcarmen, Craig Hansen, Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, David Pauley, and Jermaine Van Buren.

Where his name fits in on the official list of "The Greatest Baseball Names for Red Sox Pitchers This Season" has yet to be determined...I need to figure out how you pronounce it first.

We now open the floor to nickname nominations.

Kason "Kiss 'em Goodbye" Gabbard?

Kissin' Kason?

Kick Ass Kason?

Goodnight Gabbard?

Gabba Gabba Hey?

Of course, a proper nickname depends upon Gabbard's performance, but what nicknames spring to mind for the rest of Red Sox Nation? Let's make sure the rookie southpaw gets a proper nickname!

UPDATED!

Sigh. I guess, right now his nickname is "Can't Catch a Break" Kason.

Still, a decent enough first outing for the rookie. 8 hits and 2 earned runs over 5 and 1/3 innings ain't bad. It ain't hot, but it ain't bad.

It wasn't the planes that killed the Sox today. It was a handful of defensive errors - and some late-inning silent bats - that killed the beast.

Wahoo!

2006-07-19T10:44:00.000-05:00

A hit! And a run scored! YES!

Oh, and congrats on 991 games with the Red Sox....

Other things to make Red Sox Nation happy:

Alex Gonzalez. Who'dathunkit?

The farm team.

Jon Lester threw a 1-hitter for 8 shut-out innings. He's 5-0.

That other rookie, Jonathan PebblesandBamBam, just made his 28th save last night.

And while we're lookin' at our home-grown heroes, I think we should also give a shout-out to Youk, who went 2-4 last night. YOUK!

Let's keep thinking good thoughts for The Captain. Every day's a club record-setting day for him now....

I can be useful in rounding up slaves to toil in their underground sugar mines

2006-07-17T13:27:00.000-05:00

Well, the good news, for me at least, is that the Sox won on my birthday. They’ve had pretty good luck on that day in general, of late. Last year they beat the Yankees 17-1.

The bad news is … well, everything else. The A’s, the worst-hitting team in the AL rang up 28 runs in the other three games of the series.

So, that leaves us with one question. Kent?

"Would you say it's time for our viewers to crack each other's heads open and feast on the goo inside?"

Well, Kent, I would say yes.

Yes, the Sox rolled into the break on a hot streak, ending with a solid 2-3 against the World Champs. But I am genuinely concerned that the luck may be up and the karmic balance of the universe is going to be restored with a weak July.

Or maybe I’ve been watching too much “My Name is Earl.”

Look, would it be July if we weren’t in a state of panic? And why shouldn’t we panic. Look at the Yankees – beaten up, not especially cohesive as a unit, basically, they’re like the 2001 Sox, except Torre probably isn’t going to be fired. But look again -- they’re only half a game out of first. What happens when they cohere, when injured players return, etc.?

So I say, let’s enjoy our panic. It’s our god-given right as Sox fans to have our summers ruined by the men we love.

OTHER STUFF – I made my first trip of the year to Fenway yesterday. Okay, not INSIDE Fenway, but near it, while the game was going on, and people were pouring out, trying to escape the heat. I, of course, went immediately to my favorite Thai restaurant (which used to have autographed Johnny Damon pictures in the window, before his tragic death) and ordered a hot soup … they could have shot another Poseidon Adventure remake on my face.

I may not get to see any games this year. A sad thought … I haven’t gone a whole season without a visit since 2000, but it may not be in the offing.

Sigh.

Robert Manners 1913-1996

2006-07-12T14:25:00.000-05:00

Sorry to jump in here and bump Benari's Paul Harvey impression down.

Today happens to be the tenth anniversary of the death of Abe's and my grandfather, Robert Manners.

Grandpa was born Emanuel Rosen in New York in 1913. He changed his name to something less Jewish sounding to succeed in academia. Ironically, he spent most of his career teaching at Brandeis, where not having a Jewish name was unusual.

It was Brandeis that brought him to the Boston area. There he became a Red Sox fan. The team of his youth had been the Giants, but with they were awfully far away by, say, 1967, and there was a pretty interesting story going on in Boston that year.

So, for the rest of his life, Grandpa was a dyed-in-the-wool Sox fan.

As I said, Grandpa died 10 years ago today, of prostate cancer. At his memorial service a friend of his spoke about his love of the Red Sox and about how, after Game Six in 1986, he was so distraught that he was prostrate on the floor, wailing with grief.

Except he didn't say "prostrate." Accidentally, he said "prostate." Whoops.

Nobody laughed at the time, it was hardly the place. But I'll always remember that, a weird moment of almost-comedy at a solemn occasion. The Red Sox tend to bring moments like that.

So, eight years later, when the Sox were a game away from winning the World Series, I promised myself that Grandpa would get to see it. Right next to me, as I was watching, just a few blocks from Fenway Park, was that photo of Grandpa. He was there to watch Renteria ground out to Foulke, and he was in my jacket pocket when I got as close to Kenmore as I could to enjoy the baccannal.

A lot of people who deserved to see the Sox win a World Series never got to. Let's remember how lucky we are.

But me, for today, I'm going to remember how lucky I was to have Robert Manners for a grandfather.

All Star Highlight

2006-07-11T21:35:00.000-05:00

It was an all-too familiar scene.

Bottom of the 5th. National League at bat, the American League in the field.

A routine grounder to third.

The Rod swoops in to scoop up the ball and...

...he bobbles it! He misses the ball and then bobbles it! He can't get his hamburger helper hands on the thing!

With the American League down by a run, the 2005 MVP threatens to add to the misery by blowing an easy play!

He stumbles, groping, finally knuckling the ball. Has he made a costly error, as he has done so many, many times before?

Sweat pours down his brow. Looking like a rookie, The Rod tries to salvage his dignity but makes a horribly sloppy throw to 1st Base.

The ball is headed for the dirt far, far in front of the bag.

But wait!

A glimmer of hope.

Standing astride the baseline like a colossus, The First Baseman stretches. His foot firmly on the bag, he elongates himself, stretching for it, stretching....

...and with an effortless scoop, he snags the errant ball, makes the out, and saves The Rod from complete humiliation. All around, a masterful play at 1st Base.

And the name of that first baseman?

David Ortiz.

The Designated Hitter, the Sox slugger who rarely plays 1st, the man who came in second to The Rod for the 2005 MVP award.

The Yankee-Slayer himself.

David Ortiz.

And now you know...the rest of the story.

Good DAY!

How do you spell MVP?

2006-07-08T16:47:00.000-05:00

D-A-V-I-D

O-R-T-I-Z.

Natch.

C'mon. The man hit his 31st dinger of the season today. He's singlehandly responsible for winning at least half-a-dozen games this season. He just smashes out homeruns and RBIs like its his job. Because it is.

Never before has a player worked so hard to prove last year's MVP voters wrong. Sure, A-Fraud's numbers are impressive, but you have to consider timing. How many times has The Rod's numbers actually WON the Yankees a game? Once? Twice? Who knows. I can name a few games where some sloppy Rod errors cost the Yanks a win...

But Ortiz. The man knows how to earn his paycheck. He's one of a kind and will probably go down as the best clutch hitter to ever play the game. And this year, he should be recognized as being what every Red-blooded Dirt Dog knows he's always been:

MVP.

Nice to see the Sox back in championship form, taking the first two games from the White Sox. Let's hope they keep those bats swinging into the break.

sweep the leg

2006-07-06T22:08:00.000-05:00

Of course it came down to grizzled veteran Tim Wakefield to stop the bleeding.

Just when you think the old war horse is down for the count, he turns up the heat and delivers a win. Even the young'uns provided some nice middle relief and Timlin proved that that other game was just an off-day.

Oh, and of course Big Papi, Manny, and the Red Sox offense - including Dashin' Dougie Mirabelli - came through big time, slugging their way to a powerhouse victory and avoiding the sweep.

Avoiding the sweep. By the D-Rays. After crushing every National League team they faced, the Sox nearly got swept by the Devil Rays.

I'm just gonna chalk that up to fatigue. How else can you explain Schilling's confusing and downright erratic performance the other day? I mean, he didn't just give up hits, he was practically throwing the ball into the stands on routine throws.

And maybe the Devil Rays really had something to prove. An aggressive desire to win can drive any team to victory over the most powerful opponent. So, Tampa Bay got some good licks in, but the Sox roared back tonight and head to Chicago with a solid win. The Sox needed this win like Giambi needs juice and now that they've gotten their proverbial shot in the arm (as opposed to ... well, you know), maybe the Sox will be back in top form as they head into the All-Star Break.

And despite the ups and downs, the beloved BoSox still maintain a 3-game lead over the Bombers in the American League East.

May the light of Old Lady Yawkey shine down upon her boys and light their way to victory. Amen.

Voke-alize for Pedro

2006-06-29T15:52:00.000-05:00

Huh … what a weird night.

There have been several of those during this win streak. By the way … how about the freakin’ win streak? Best in 11 years, baby! Let us just reflect at the swoon with which June commenced and bask in the glory with which it ends.

But yeah, it’s been a weird month (or did you all predict that a Chien-Ming Wang/David Pauley matchup would be a pitching duel?).

And what’s weirder than Pedro eating it like that? I mean, I knew this wasn’t the Pedro of old. In fact, this is what I said when Pedro first went to the Mets:

“I rather doubt you'll be getting the Pedro of 1999, the Teri-Hatcher-in-the-first-season-of-"Lois and Clark"-Pedro. With luck you'll avoid Teri-Hatcher-in-those-Radio-Shack-commercials-Pedro, and get some sort of "Desperate-Housewives"-esque resurgence.”

But last night was … I dunno … Teri-Hatcher-in-the-second-season-of-“Desperate Housewives” Pedro?

Yeah, the Met defense let him down a few times, but he just looked snakebit, and believe me, nobody wanted that. Honestly.

Of course, it is possible that the Red Sox are just really really good.

Anyway, bravo to the Fenway Faithford for giving Petey the love he deserves. I kinda wish they hadn’t done the “Ped-ro, Ped-ro” hypno-chanting when he was tanking, but, as Curt said, the fans had every right and debatably the responsibility to rattle the guy.

I always love you Pedro.

(some of my thoughts on the man can be found here … here … and here)

10 and counting

2006-06-28T08:52:00.000-05:00

So, throwing 116 pitches, loading the bases, and walking five in 5 innings isn't so great.

But only giving up 2 runs and getting out of TWO bases-loaded jams in two different innings...THAT'S faaaan-tastic. It's how Lester deals with pressure that impresses me. Give the kid another year or two, he's gonna be dangerous.

Pedro's on the mound tonight. The greatest pitcher I've ever seen in my lifetime.

I'm not saying who I'm rooting for tonight...I'm just saying, he's gotta come off that mound sometime. I hope Pedro throws for 12 strikeouts in 7 innings and then the Red Sox win it in the 9th. That's the game I want to see.

Welcome back, Pedro. Somehow, it's just not quite the same without ya.

Also, while we're sending good mojo toward the ever-lovin' Sox, send some good thoughts to Peter Gammons. I know he's in the thoughts and prayers of a lot fans right now and we're all looking forward to him pulling through.

it was twenty years ago...

2006-06-27T11:43:00.000-05:00

Bill Buckner got a raw deal. And the way the Fenway Faithful treated him is unforgivable.

There. I said it.

Did watching the ball slowly roll up the first base line and between his legs break my 9-year old heart? Absolutely. Did it lose the Series? No. Was it any worse than Stanley throwing a wild pitch and walking in the tying run? Certainly not. Was it any worse than the Red Sox blowing a three run lead to lose Game 7? You tell me.

Maybe we hated Buckner because more than any other player on that team, he represented us. The average guy. The guy with a career year who was playing in the World Series, despite the fact that he was sick. The guy with heart. The guy who wanted to win more than anything but somehow screwed it up. Buckner was us and we hated ourselves.

He deserved better.

And I say this: if it weren't for Bill Buckner, I probably wouldn't be a Red Sox fan. Because Buckner taught me how to endure defeat.

Why did we enjoy the '04 win? Because we know what it's like to lose. The Red Sox didn't just win in '04, they earned that victory. With 85 years of heartache and hurt on their shoulders, they weren't just fighting for themselves, they were swinging those bats for every player to wear a Sox uniform, for every kid who wathced as a high-fly homer shattered yet another season's hopes, for every parent who had to explain to their kid why loving the Red Sox wasn't abusive.

And that team knew from loss. They endured a crushing defeat in '03. And when they bounced back against the Bombers from an 0-3 deficit in the '04 ALCS, it felt like finally we had a team who learned from their mistakes. After that, winning the World Series seemed inevitable. They had learned from defeat, grown stronger from defeat, and the win was all the sweeter.

And because of that bittersweet '86 loss, the '04 championship win felt like a reward for sticking by my team, through thick and thin, in good times and bad times.

Just like we should have stuck by Buckner.

So.

On the twentieth anniversary of that fateful '86 World Series, the Mets return to Fenway. The Sox sitting atop a nine game win streak (#9, perhaps the holiest of Sox numbers) and holding strong to the top spot in the American League East. The Mets, not only in first place for their division, but currently holding the best record in the National League.

And now that the '04 heroics of our beloved BoSox have finally exorcised the ghosts of '86 (at least, they have for me), I'm looking forward to these two teams going head-to-head.

And I can now fondly look back at "my" first Red Sox team, that rag-tag collection o' some of the greatest players to ever wear a Red Sox jersey. The 1986 team, who first taught me what it was truly like to be a Sox fan. For it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. And I loved those guys.

As I watch these games, I'll be thinking of those players, players like:

Roger "the Rocket" Clemens
Wade Boggs
Jim Rice
Oil Can Boyd
Dwight Evans
Bruce Hurst
Marty Barrett
Al Nipper
Rich Gedman

and most of all,

Bill Buckner.

Wordlessness Redux

2006-06-26T19:18:00.000-05:00

I mean, this is almost getting ridiculous ...

Seeking Words For Tiz

2006-06-24T17:54:00.000-05:00

The division of the labor in the sporting world is pretty clear-cut. The athlete's job is to go out on the field and perform heroic acts and avoid embarassing failures. The fan's job is to enjoy the athletes' successes and agonize over their failures. The job of the sportswriters and bloggers (note: in the latter case, the world job is very loosely defined as something that can be done in pajamas at 4:30pm and for no appreciable compensation of any kind) is to come up with new and interesting ways to describe the athlete's feats and failures, and to contextualize the acts in a way that enhances the fans' ability to do their job, and constantly annoys the athletes as they try to do theirs.

Trouble is, the way David Ortiz goes about his job utterly confounds the writers' ability to do theirs.

How do you keep coming up with different words to describe this man's ridiculous ability to come through with a hit (almost always a home run) when the game is on the line? How do you describe the one-in-a-million quality of the accomplishment, when he did the same thing just the other day? How do you convey how difficult and unlikely it is to win a game with a walkoff hit, when he makes it seem effortless and nearly automatic?

Well, I have no idea. I'm out of adjectives, so I'll just stick with plain old nouns and verbs: he did it again today at Fenway, sending a 2-2 pitch in the tenth inning into the centerfield bleachers to give the Sox a 5-3 win over the Phillies. He was lovin' Tom Gordon like a Steven King heroine.

The Globe has a nice collection of Ortiz' jaw-droppingly high total of 12 walkoffs in a little more than three seasons, which I highly recommend perusing (sure, you remember the three game-winners in the AL playoffs, but do you remember some of those divisionally important comeback wins he sparked over the years against the Jays and Orioles, amongst others?). But what's amazing is they had put up the same collection just two weeks ago, when Ortiz hit a walkoff jack against the Rangers that brought the Sox from being one strike away from two-run losers and turned them into one-run winners with one stroke of the bat.

In other news of the day, Schilling struck out ten in a strong six innings, Papelbon (he of the ERA now down to 0.24) went long for the win, getting himself into a couple of jams but striking his way out of them, Lowell homered, and I Want You To Call Me went 3-for-3 to run his average to .313 before leaving with a neck strain. The Sox are riding high on a season-high eight-game winning streak, two and a half games up on the Stankees, who were washed away by a stormy day here in New York.

But as for you, David, I got nuthin'. What is there to say about you that hasn't already been better said by Extreme?

Senior short circuit

2006-06-22T14:03:00.000-05:00

Okay, folks, I am tha-rilled about the Sox winning six in a row. I am over THA moon about how well the new pitchers are doing. So I worry that I’m looking a gift horse in the mouth but …

Is this really a gift horse?

In other words, does the National League really, really suck?

Yeah, sure the Braves and Nats weren’t exactly tearing it up when they were playing other NL teams. But the Sox utterly throttled them. And look at some of these other interleague games ..

White Sox 13, Cardinals 5

White Sox 20, Cardinals 6

White Sox 8, Reds 1

White Sox 12, Reds 4

Devil Rays 10, Phillies 4

Devil Rays 7, Phillies 2

Mariners 8, Giants 1

Tigers 10, Brewers 1

And many more. Now, obviously, the White Sox are the reigning champs, but it’s not like St. Louis are basement dwellers. The Phillies are in the thick of the race and they lose decisively to the D-Rays?

The NL hasn’t won an All-Star Game since 1996. And the AL has won seven out ten World Series.

Are we in an age of disparity akin to the NFC’s dominance of the 80s and 90s?

Look, there’s a ton of great players in the NL – Albert Pujols is headed for legendary status. But am I crazy here?

Is the Mets’ dominance just because they’re beating up on weak competition? Is Bronson Arroyo’s transformation actually not all that miraculous?

Eh, who knows? I mean, the Rockies just threw a one-hitter at home against an AL team – the pretty-good Oakland A’s. But when a team one-year removed from a league championship is reduced to an utterly futile bean war when they’re losing by double digits, as the Cards were in that 20-6 game, well something smells a little funny.

You?

okay. I guess they know what they're doing.

2006-06-20T13:06:00.000-05:00

Fine.

Trust in Theo.

I get it.

Sox win, 6-3; Snyder picks up his first win since 2003!

I guess the winning formula is:

impossible odds + potential disaster - solid, dependable pitching + hitting streaks - any sort of predictability = thrilling victory.

swept up

2006-06-19T13:37:00.000-05:00

Soooo...I guess it could be worse. We could have Atlanta's bullpen. Jebus H. Yastrzemski, a six-run 8th inning where the entire line-up bats? And all 6 runs are scored with 2 outs? Maybe the Great Spirit doesn't like that Tomahawk Chop so much...

Anyone find it oddly disconcerting that of the 3 outs in that inning, TWO of them were Manny's?

Back on top, a game ahead of the Yanks...looks like the Sox may have gotten our pitching woes neatly wrapped - hm? Who's on the mound tonight? Kyle Snyder? New guy starting? Hm. Let's take a look at his -

The fug?! He's played one game this season and he has a 22.50 ERA?!?! Wow. how'd we manage to snap this guy up?

Okay, okay. Time to put on the Sox Spin cap on. Down on his luck pitcher, looking for that big break, a second chance, a moment to shine, a fresh start, a new...

Seriously? We gave up Arroyo for this? We have a new starter every other night. If we weren't in First Place for the American League East...

I mean, with the slightest of leads in mid-June, why in the name of Ol' Lady Yawkey are we tempting fate this way? Fer chrissakes, the Nationals just whipped Bronx Bomber butt. So we're gonna throw a fresh-off waivers, 22.50 right-hander at them?

Fine. Fine. I believe in miracles. I believe in miracles.

Argh. Typical Red Sox. Even when they're in first place, it feels like the season is disastrously over.

A win!!!

2006-06-17T09:38:00.000-05:00

Yay! The Red Sox won last night!

The offense sprung to life! Varitek came through with a huuuuuge 3-run double!

Newbie pitcher John Lester pitched an unbelievable game last night and brought a glimmer of hope back to the struggling Sox pitching staff!

Could this be the shot in the arm from the yung'uns that we've been waiting to see? Will the team's young turks put the vets to shame and show 'em how it's done? Will this be the spark that lights a fire under their crimson stockings? Will Batman and Robin escape the dastardly destruction of their boistrous bullpen?

So what that we just beat up on the Braves, who are now on a 5-game losing streak and struggling just as badly as the beloved BoSox? A win's a win. Besides, Braves' fans still do the Tomahawk Chop, so screw 'em.

2006-06-15T18:39:00.001-05:00

Well, I've been in the Army...

That's where I've been.

So.

Javier Lopez.

That's a good step toward stopping the bleeding. Javier Lopez, welcome to Red Sox Nation. Try not to suck.

At this point, with the shape the Sox pitching is in, I wouldn't be surprised if they brought Bill Lee back to pitch a few innings. Or maybe they'll just start pulling fans out of the Monster seats to help with the relief pitching.

But Javier Lopez. This could be huge. Huge.

Since I definitely don't want to talk about last night's game ...

2006-06-15T14:40:00.000-05:00

I want to ask about this.

I had never seen this before this year. You?

Apparently it was used from 1950-1961. It wasn't actually on the caps, was it?

Situations Under Which Julian Tavarez Should Be Allowed to Pitch

2006-06-14T10:18:00.000-05:00

When the Red Sox are up by at least 6 runs in the eighth or later.

When it’s late September and the Sox are in first place by five games or more.

When the other team consists of three little leaguers, some amputees, and Richard from “Beauty and the Geek.”

When a nuclear holocaust has rendered him and Jeremy Giambi the only people left alive on Earth.

When a genie has granted his wish to become marginally competent.

But he should NOT be pitching in the bottom of the 12th with a one run lead!!!!!!

Okay, I know Tito had limited options, but seeing as he did the worst thing possible in that situation (okay, I suppose he could have let them tie the game and THEN give up the walk-off grand slam …), he was not the right one.

My level of wrath at this man is so high right now … words fail.

Scattered Thoughts: We are still alive

2006-06-03T08:13:00.000-05:00

Whoops ... don't know how that happened ... well, I was out of town (and I am again), but I don't know what everybody else's excuse is ...

Anyway, what have we missed.

LOSING TWO OUT OF THREE FROM THE YANKEES AT HOME: Yeah, that sucked. There's something nicely symmetrical about the Sox taking two at the Stadium and then getting hoisted on their own JP Pitards at home, but with the Bombers looking more banged up than a Battle Damage Skeletor, the guys really need to take advantage. Come on, guys, the Yankees are minus Sheffield, Matsui, and now, freakin' Rivera and they're only a half game out, and currently everybody's pick for the division. They are really flipping good.

SWEEPING THE D-RAYS: Man, I love those guys.

LOSING TWO OUT OF THREE IN TORONTO: Really, really blows. But I was pretty pleased with David Pauley. Four pretty decent innings ... then near disaster, after which he smashed up a Rocky pinball machine. (get it?)

DETROIT: I was worried about this series and I still am. But, dude ... Youk ... YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUKKKKKK!!!!!

Seriously, remember when playing the Tigers was like a vacation? When do they play Kansas City?

CURT's 200th: Yay! ... Now please win 10-15 more by September. See, living in New York, I hear more about Glavine's upcoming 300th, and how he might be the last pitcher ever to reach that milestone. Interesting point. Oh, plus, he should be playing for Boston.

CLEMENS SCREWS US ONCE AGAIN: Oh ... now I get it. See, I wanted him back. Unlike most people I know, I never came to hate this guy. He still gave us the best years of his career, he's still eternally a Sok. But the tease wasn't cool. And, as many people have pointed out, this really does tell you a lot about him. He could have ended his career with huge adulation, propelling a team to a championship (yes, I think a Schilling, Clemens, Beckett, Wells, Wakefield rotation is pretty much unbeatable), getting revenge on Steinbrenner and redeeming himself in the minds of millions of New Englanders. How could anyone pass up on that? Getting drunk with Andy Pettitte cannot possibly be that fun! I feel like a woman who almost got back together with her abusive ex-husband, but he got arrested on the way to the chapel. A combination of sorrow, self-loathing (for believing again), and relief.

foulked

2006-05-23T10:45:00.000-05:00

Beautiful game. A little scary at the end there, though.

Maybe that's the secret to Keith Foulke these days: give him a healthy 5 - 8 run lead and then when he gives up 4 runs in the 9th inning, it won't seem too bad.

I like Foulke. I think he was a great closer for us and he's certainly a valuable part of our 1-2-3 punch bullpen, along with ice cold Timlin and Papabonbon.

But he's not the same old Foulke of two years ago. He's pitched just over 24 innings in 21 games and he's got a 4.81 ERA. Not exactly the fearsome warrior you wanna bring to the mound to close out the game.

And in my completely uninformed and unprofessional opinion, it's a matter of being stubborn. From what I can tell, when pitchers get injured and then return, the biggest mistake they make is that they try to throw exactly like they did before. What they really need to do is adjust and learn to throw all over again.

Just ask last night's winning pitcher, Curt "Mach Schnell!" Schilling.

Prior to last night's game, Schilling struggled with overthrowing his fastball. Stubbornly, he tried in vain to throw like the vintage, pre-bloody-sock Schilling. But then, illumination:

"When you're struggling, you make a lot out of nothing sometimes and you tend to not really focus on what you need to focus on. I said last start I need to make adjustments. We did that."

- Curt Schilling, Boston Globe, 4/23/06

Six strikeouts, five-scattered hits, zero walks, and one measly run later, Herr Schilling baffled the Bombers and racked up win number 199.

I think there's a lesson in here for Foulke, as well. As Yoda once said, "You must unlearn what you have learned." I know, I know. Easier said than done. But I have faith in Foulke. He's a great pitcher who's pitched brilliantly for us in the past. And he will rise to the challenge again. As the guy who threw the final pitch that snapped the Curse once and for all, he deserves a better fate than a slow, season-long melt-down. I'd hate for Foulke to fall victim to the ferocious fury of the fickle Fenway fans.

A re-adjustment here, a minor tweak there is all he needs, I think. Because I don't want the opposing team seeing Foulke as an opportunity for late-inning theatrics. There's only one thing that should go through a batter's mind when he takes the mound:

"Oh, Foulke."

Immodest Proposal

2006-05-22T10:08:00.000-05:00

So, all in all a pretty interesting rivalries weekend.

Oddly, the gang here at Away Team didn't get to see much baseball this weekend. Dan had family visiting, Abe and I were watching friends perform, and Benari was performing himself. So we can't give you much in-depth analysis of the games themselves. I'll take two out of three from a pretty solid team like the Sillies (I say that with no prejudice, since my friend Tom Reing is a Philly Phan and uses that name). Meanwhile, Mets fans should be pretty happy with their twofer as well, even though that epic Billy Wagner meltdown was heartbreaking. Sometimes I wonder if Pedro signed with the Mets out of a deepset feeling of insecurity. Like, he got so used to seeing his leads blown by weak bullpens in Boston that he somehow came to believe he deserved it and wanted be sure he wound up someplace where things like Saturday night would happen?

I'm a fan of interleague play. Yes the bloom is off the rose and the novelty is gone, but that was going to happen, gang. I hear a lot of Sox fans saying it should end, and I can't get behind it. If the Sox had a clear NL rival, we wouldn't be hearing this. I don't think we hear this in the places where there is a genuine rivalry.

Just to get on the same page, those places are:

New York Yankees/New York Mets
Chicago Cubs/Chicago White Sox
San Francisco Giants/Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Dodgers/ Los Angeles Angels
St. Louis Cardinals/Kansas City Royals
Houston Astros/Texas Rangers
Florida Marlins/Tampa Bay Devil Rays

And now we can add:

Baltimore Orioles/Washington Nationals

I don't see why Cincinnati/Cleveland isn't played up. Anyone?

Of course, there are some shrugs there (the Sunshine State Series), but otherwise those are some engaging regional battles with some interesting histories and subplots.

But who gets left out in the cold? ...

Boston
Toronto (who lost theirs)
Philly
Atlanta
Pittsburgh
Milwaukee
Detroit
Minnesota
Seattle
Arizona
Colorado
San Diego

Now ... let's look at those teams. How many of them have truly loyal fans who would benefit from a legitimate regional rival? Maybe five -- Boston, Philly, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota (I guess you could make a point for Milwaukee and Detroit). How many are any good this year? Four -- Boston, Philly, Atlanta (well, you can't ever count them out), and Detroit (and I don't think that will last).

The big three -- Boston, Philly, Atlanta -- always seem to get paired up on these rivalry weekends. I assume the logic is that Celtics/76ers and Bruins/Flyers have history so Philly KINDA works, and the Braves USED to be in Boston, but it's all pretty flimsy.

The solution?

Move the Colorado Rockies to Lowell.

Come on people, Lowell's a great town. Spinners games regularly sell out, it's tough to get Sox tickets ... of course they could support a major league team! And think of the rivalry! The 495 series would be a killah! Can the upstate Lowell Rockies beat the recent World Champs? Where will Chelmsford side?

I should really be made the new commissioner.