Friday, March 30, 2007

One week from right now I will be running through the Newark airport trying to catch my connecting flight to Dallas, TX with the hopes of arriving with time to go to the hotel, check in, change, chug a White Russian (or 8) and be on my way to the Ballpark at Arlington for my first in person Boston Red Sox Experience of the season. One week and one day from now, I hope to be lying by the hotel pool with a giant hangover talking about how great it was hanging out with David Ortiz after the game. Also, I bought two Mega Millions tickets today, so when I win my 80 million dollars tonight, all of my loyal blog readers can come to Texas with me. (I already paid for my room at the Holiday Inn Express and millionaires don't stay there).

*From http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/. "FSN announced today that they has signed Jonathan Papelbon to be Mohegan Sun Sports Tonight's weekly featured baseball interview for the 2007 season. Papelbon follows in the shoes of Kevin Millar (2004 & 2005) and Coco Crisp (2006) as the weekly player guest." That sounds like it will be a good time. Also, if anyone saw the back of the Herald today Jonathan looked VERY handsome.


*Gordon Edes has observations from Theo. ^
*Jeff Horrigan has Jonathan Papelbon's ankle fine after rolling it yesterday in an exhibition game and giving New England a panic attack. (oh, that was just me? never mind)
*Boston.com has a giant section today on Japanese baseball today if you're interested. Just go to www.boston.com. Too much to link to.
*Tony Mazz has a giant section on the Sox payroll. Some thoughts:
J.D. Drew makes a million more than Papi = bullshit.
Josh Beckett best earn his 10 million this year.
9 million for Lugo, ugh. I'm going to miss Alex, I know it already.
Only 8 Red Sox make more than Matt Clement. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.
Is there a bigger bargin in baseball than Papelbon for 475,000? Prob. not.
*Alright, that is all for now, I'll check back in later if anything exciting happens.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

I have a sinking suspicion A-Rod himself made this site.

And I almost forgot! Nomar and Mia had their twin girls! No words yet on the names, but I'm guessing Ramona and Aim.
Well, I'm actually going to Texas 8 days from today, rather than yesterday. I got a little excited thinking it was Thursday yesterday. Anyways, here are the links. (ps. this is the 91st post since I started the blog in February. I'm hoping to work it out so that my 100th will be a surely entertaining Texas recap).

*The Red Sox organized a lunch yesterday for 10 members of the media and Dice-K and Okajima. Everyone, obviously had a recap. Sean McAdam, Michael Silverman, Tony Mazz, Rob Bradford, Jeff Goldberg, and Dan Shaughnessy, who writes, "Made me wish I knew the Japanese translation of "curly-haired boyfriend." Also made me glad that Curt Schilling isn't yet fluent in Japanese."

*Rob Bradford has Mike Lowell answer questions for the blog. Things I didn't know before, his favorite movie is Wedding Crashers and he's a great ping pong ball player. I can't wait to see him next week.

*Stan Grossfeld talks superstitions with the Sox. I personally like that Mike Lowell never chews gum when batting because he struck out chewing gum when batting when he was 8. Actually I just personally like Mike Lowell.

*Uggie Urbina was sentenced to 14 years in a prison for his role in an attack on workers at his work in Venezuela. Jeff Horrigan had this to say, "Anyone who ever met former Red Sox reliever Ugueth Urbina probably didn’t need much convincing to believe he would attack five workers on his Venezuelan ranch with a machete and douse them with gasoline after believing one of them had stolen a gun. He’s one of the meanest, nastiest human beings to pass through the Red Sox clubhouse." I imagine 14 years in a Venezuelan jail is going to be a pretty bad time.

*The Celts won in double OT last night. They really don't get this whole lottery thing do they? Paul Pierce is talking about shutting it down for the season. Um, yes please.

*One week from today is Dice-K's first start in a Sox uni!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Texas in 8 freaking days...



I am sorry for the delay this morning, I was booking a car for Texas! I just need to get out of this state in a hurry. And see the Red Sox play real life games that count. I cannot wait.

Anyways, here are some thoughts while wondering when I can find a weekend to go visit Gabe and Jon.
*Craig Hansen was demoted to AAA. And here I was thinking I was going to have a MLB facebook friend. Damn it. Manny Delcarmen went with him.

*Jeff Horrigan has some more on Dice-K's "struggles".

*Bryan Corey and his 1.50 ERA couldn't fit on the Red Sox roster.

*Lester's going to hang out with Gabe in South Carolina for a bit. Also, he was placed on the DL with Timlin and Clement.

*The current roster looks like this:

PITCHERS (12): Daisuke Matsuzaka, Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Jonathan Papelbon, Julian Tavarez, Brendan Donnelly, Josh Beckett, Hideki Okajima, Joel Pineiro, J.C. Romero, Kyle Snyder, and Javier Lopez.

CATCHERS (2): Jason Varitek and Doug Mirabelli.

INFIELDERS (6): David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Julio Lugo, Mike Lowell, Alex Cora, and Kevin Youkilis.

*Mike Reiss has some goodies.

*Brian Billick loves AD.

*Marvin Lewis doesn't think AD is that great at safety.
*A nice story about Matt Greinke, pitcher for the Royals.

*The MLBPA is going to file a grievence on behalf of old friend Todd Walker who was cut by the Padres.

*A Mariner's minor leaguer Chris Minaker studied Stanford athletes for steriods and got some pretty interesting results for his thesis paper.

*Are Harvard Athletics racist?

*Juan Pierre is buying Grady Little a motorcyle in exchange for his #9.

*Carl Pavano is the Yankee's Opening Day starter.



hehe

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Even more unbelievable. You can hide booze in your shoe? It's like they invented it just for me!
Un-freaking-believeable
*Dice-K gave up 0 hits yesterday but was unhappy with is 5 walks, and was unwilling to speak with the media after the game. I personally, always got mad when I gave up no hits and runs when I pitched. (okay, I never pitched, but you get the point). Shaughnessy says Matsuzaka was seen stretching out during the game and icing after it. (he never ices) Let the massive panic attack begin. Dan does point out, "Only in Boston. Only here could there be a crisis after a guy throws a five-inning no-hitter."

*Papelbon looked good yesterday. Craig Hansen did not.

*The Ritz-Carlton is making a new Dice-K Tini which has, “includes three parts vodka, one part passion fruit puree and one part sake. It is garnished with a glowing red ice cube made to like dice and pickled ginger.”

*Jo-EL Pineiro may be on the market. The mostly likely trade partner is the Reds according to Jeff Horrigan.

*Colts President Bill Polian praises the Patriots off season moves. You think Bill? They did a good job? Are you sure they didn't nudge you or anything? You don't want to complain to the commissioners office?

*The NFL approved a new revenue-sharing system.

*The Celtics played great against the Raptors last night, I actually watched some of this. Great time of the year to elevate your game guys. C's came away with the 95-87 W.

*No criminal negligence found in the death of Pat Tillman.

*Freddy Sanchez knee is still screwed up. Glad he isn't on my fantasy team.

*Pacman Jones is um, screwed.

*The UNC Student Mascott died after being struck by an SUV. (so sad).

*Philadelphia Eagles traded DT Darwin Walker and a 2008 pick to the Buffalo Bills for Takeo Spikes and Kelly Holcomb. Personally I think this is a great deal for the Eagles, who, take Spikes out of the AFC East. Thanks guys.

SG has an article on how great the NCAA tourney has been, and that is where I found this link...

Monday, March 26, 2007

What to do, what to do?

Went to NH for the weekend. I don't know anything that is going on with any of our teams except that Papelbon is the closer of the Boston Red Sox! (hehe). Anyway, I have been trying to decide what to do with my "I hate Peyton Manning" shirt. It is now 0-2. It lost the regular season game when the Colts came to Foxboro (which, had we won, the AFC Championship would have been at Foxboro, things may have gone differently, my cube could be decorated with freaking Super Bowl newspaper clippings, ect). It also lost the Super Bowl. I have a terrible feeling that my shirt might be curseed. So I need everyones advice. You can leave your answer in the comments section. Do I...

1. Wash the shirt, put it in my drawer, and give it another chance next season?
2. Burn it?
3. Donate it to Goodwill?
4. Perform some kind of sayonce to rid the shirt of its evil powers?
5. Ask a priest (actually, we might need someone higher up than that?) to perform some kind of exorcism on it?
6. Bury it in a cemetary?
7. Mail it to Peyton Manning?

Also, any other ideas would be helpful. Thanks.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Q: I find myself actively HATING the new Red Sox. Since winning it all in 2004, it has been a complete nightmare for me -- from the out of control bandwagon of Pink Hat wearers, etc., to the Chavez Ravine-esque feel of games at Fenway now (arrive in the third, leave in the seventh!), to the well-moneyed cabal of front office carpetbaggers with a "hometown boy" dangling at the forefront like a Tammany Hall vote wrangler at the docks of old Manhattan, to the string of bad personnel moves -- we are mirroring EVERY SINGLE bad aspect of the post-2000 Yankees. Everything that every fiber of my being loathes. Their obsession with catching up to the Yankees has made them forget about what got us the title in the first place: a TEAM.--C. Fleming, Boston, Mass.

SG: You know, I felt twinges of this reader's anger this winter, because the truth is, I never wanted to root for a team that bought championships like the Yankees, even though our 2004 payroll was easily nine figures and we landed Schilling, Pedro and Manny mainly because we were one of the only teams that could afford them. Even so, it was always more fun believing that the Red Sox were the "underdogs" in the ongoing blood feud because we didn't spend as much money as the Yanks. But when they have similar payrolls? Not as much fun. So I was bummed out. For instance, the Dice-K signing seemed excessive to me at the time, and I would have much rather seen them go the "Moneyball" route with right field and try to get lucky there (like they did with the Mueller-Ortiz-Millar signings in 2003) over just saying, "Screw it!" and throwing $70 million at J.D. Drew. There was no art to the way they slapped together the 2007 team; they started writing big, fat checks and that was that.
And then spring training rolled around and I watched a couple of Dice-K starts. That's all I needed. The guy's great. If you're a Red Sox fan, you'll be checking the paper every day just to make sure you don't miss one of his starts this year -- he's not as overpowering as vintage Pedro, but he has a similar arsenal of pitches (including a ridiculous collection of off-speed pitches) and a real swagger on the mound. You always feel like you're in good hands with him. Same with Papi and Manny. And Papelbon. Lugo and Drew are enormous upgrades over Gonzalez and Nixon. Beckett looks ready for a comeback year. Schilling looks like he has one last good year in him. And so on. And so on. And now that the one question (closer) has been resolved with Papelbon's willingness to take the job back, it feels like we're headed for a monster season. It's the best team that money can buy. Literally. And you know what? It's not my money. So screw it. I'm on board. Even if there's absolutely no difference between the Red Sox and Yankees anymore.
(Well, except for the fans. We have jobs.)


You know what? I'm with SG. I don't want to be that team that overpays for mediocre talent. I hate people who bought their Red Sox shirt because it was trendy. I hate that only rich people can get good seats at Fenway. I hate the pink hats and everything they don't bring to the game. I hate girls that cut Red Sox shirts. I hate how the media tries to make themselves the story. I hate people who scream on EEI. I hate that we couldn't find 3 million dollars for Trot but that we found 103 million for Matsuzaka. I hate boys that wear Red Sox hats but don't know what WHIP and VORP and who the numbers on the wall in right are. I hate that the 2004 Red Sox were dismantled. But you know what?

I love David. I love Jason. I love that every 5th day we are going to get to watch Matsuzaka. I love Fenway. I love road trips. I love Joshua, and I think he's going 18-6 this year. I love that Papelbon is going to be going for the save all season. I love Mike Lowell. I love Youuuuuuuukk. I love the Red Sox, even if we do overpay for players. I love that 19 and 18 now mean Beckett and Dice-K and not 1918. I love them.

Also, who wants to go to Cambridge with me this afternoon and kick C.Fleming right out of Red Sox Nation? I'm confiscating his hat and his Pedro jersey.

Friday, March 23, 2007

from the Remy Report...


Jonathan Papelbon, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

First off, I went to the B's last night. Let me tell you about the game. They lost 6-3 and sucked in the 3rd period...Onto the Red Sox.

I woke up this morning thinking happy Papelbon thoughts. Then I went outside, and it was warm. Then, I didn't miss the bus. Then, I got a perfectly made ice coffe with cream and sugar and chocolate stick from Dunkins. Then, I got my free Herald from my good friend at State Street, and it was filled with happy Papelbon thoughts. Then, I got to work, and well, the happiness kind of ends there. But, then I close my eyes, and I think happy Papelbon thoughts, and it all comes back.

All kinds of Papelbon greatness today. I'm really not sure what the best part of this story is. That Curt put the story on his blog before it was official. That Papelbon couldn't sleep at night. That he just had to tell "his captain Tek". That he wants to be the Mariano Rivera of the Red Sox (his words not mine, I would have compared him to Trevor Hoffman or something) and close for the next 10 years.

"For me, it just kept getting at me and getting at me until finally I went to our captain one day and I said, 'Tek, I'm not sleeping good at night. I've got to do something about it. Basically I told him, 'Man, I think I want to close, that's what I want to do.' Tito happened to be walking by. We came in and I told Tito, 'If you want to give me the ball in the ninth inning, I want it,' and that's basically it." #58 (how great is he?)

*The second cartoon down here is my favorite. The best part is definitely, "Bill: Hey, Mahty, have you heard the news? We've got a mofo closah. His name is Jonathan Papelbon. Perhaps you've heard of him? Now whose ass is sweatin'? Heh heh."

Thursday, March 22, 2007

A Nation exhales...

Papelbon is heading back to the bullpen! Woohoo! (special thanks to corespondent KP for bringing this to my attention)

Um, I'm a little speechless here...


So, let me get this straight here. ESPN decides to put a graphic together, picks the Celtics as the lucky winners in the Durant sweepstakes, and then puts the 35 jersey on him, and no one thinks to check and see who wore #35 last? Good work World-Wide Leader!



One freaking home run Jason Kendell? ONE?

Good Morning Everyone! Today we have a special installment of "Amanda should have researched more before her fantasy draft". Last night was my draft for the Sox Stalkers. Turns out I missed my one for Papi's Posse (which, I didn't get David on my team so I'm going to change my name to the Big Misnomers, rather than Papi's Posse. I hate that. Someone could have called and reminded me! Steve? Conor? Chris? Thanks guys). Anyway, here's my lineup. (not that anyone cares). (We're partying here like it's 2004).

The Sox Stalkers

C - Jason Kendall (who, I realized this morning had 1 home run last year! ONE! )
1B - Gary Sheffield (I try to only have one ass on my team. So here he is)
2B - Freddy Sanchez (I try to have 80% of my team have some kind of Red Sox connection)
3B - Mike Lowell ("I think I love you, but what am I so afraid of" (bat speed my friends).
SS - Hanley Ramirez (because ROY didn't hurt enough last year - he did hit 1/2 as many HR as Josh let up, oh, and I'm 9 months older than him. Super!)
OF - Manny Ramirez (I'm pretty happy with this pick. Until he needs the month of July off)
OF - Carlos Beltran (My dad forced me into this one. He thought he was Peter Gammons last night).
OF - Trot Nixon (aww, hey buddy, miss you already!)
Util - Nomar Garciaparra (even though he never answered my letter, I still love him)
Bench - Orlando Cabrera (ORLANDOOOOOOO)
Bench - WilyMO Pena (I hope K's don't count against me).
Bench - Sean Casey (and his 8 home runs. great pick Amanda).
SP - Barry Zito (don't ask me, ask Barry!)
SP - Curt Schilling (probably picked him 3 rounds too high)
RP - Jon Papelbon (they have him as a RP. I hope that is true. I'm going to loan him my labrum if things don't go well. If I win the league I'm going to mail him a duck)
RP - Joe Nathan (love to see him in a Sox uni)
P - Joel Zumaya (no guitar hero for you Sir. he threw something like 236 pitches over 100 last year. Sick.)
P - Derek Lowe (haha, Hi Derek!)
P - Adam Wainwright (I think he's pretty good. But I actually have no idea)
P - Tim Wakefield (Timmayyyyyyy)
P - Mark Mulder (my team wasn't nearly good looking enough, but Mark is helping in that dept)

*Color Codes -
Red = current Sox
Bold = member of the 2004 World Championship Red Sox.
Italics = picked because I have a crush on them. And yes, that italics on Mike Lowell is not a mistake.
Blue = Players who have at one time been a member of the Red Sox organization.
Purple = One time a member of the Yankee organization, sadly, there is no pink on blogspot.
Orange = Lost the 2004 World Series to the World Champion Boston Red Sox
Teal = Most likely to spend time on the DL due to a surfing accident
Brown = Catchers who hit one HR last year
Weird Yellow = Player who I thought played for the Tigers or White Sox and who actually plays for the Pirates and who was probably a great pick 4 years ago.

As for links today, not a whole hell of a lot going on...but, I had to recommend a few...

Tom Verducci has a great article on Dice-K in SI the Mag that I cannot find on the website. I guess they wait a few days to post them to the web?

Speaking of Matsuzaka-san, he kicked ass and took names yesterday. (my dad's saying).

Papelbon is willing to close.

Tony LaRussa should have called a cab.

No new contract for Moraneau. Get on the phone Theo.

Hopefully today flies by. I'm missing Grey's Anatomy tonight to see the B's take on the Canadians. Can you feel my excitement?

Wednesday, March 21, 2007


Would you like to buy Manny's neighbor's grill? Click here.


*Manny talked yesterday to Karen Guregian and Amalie Benjamin. I usually don't like KG but I liked her piece on Lester yesterday and I liked this effort today.


*Tedy Bruschi was on WEEI yesterday and talked about a few things. Mike Reiss has a partial transcript here.


*Bill Simmons is going to save Holy Cross basketball.
Finally, Happy first day of Spring! Also, Eileen turns 47 today, so a Happy Birthday to her as well.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007


*Karen Guregian has an article on Lester and him wanting to rush to come back, but still having cancer in the back of his mind.

*Jackie MacMullan has a real good story on Mike Pressler, the former Duke lacrosse coach who is now the coach at Bryant University in Rhode Island.

*The Celtics lost to the Hornets 106-88. Kevin Durant!

*Asante Samuel did not come ot the offseason work out program yesterday, but a lot of players, including Samuel choose to work out at home, or with their alma mater.

*I guess on WEEI yesterday, Michael Holley said he is 75% sure that Greg Oden will stay in school. I can't blame him, I would have stayed in school too.

*And, last but not least, Mike Reiss's football notes Sunday had this story:
The act was so selfless by Troy Brown that the McGowan family of Attleboro wanted to share the story, even though Brown requested that there be no publicity.

Eight-year-old Matthew McGowan had been admitted to Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence last year with an inoperable brain tumor. Because Matthew was a big sports fan, his parents, Richard and Linda, and uncle, John Rijo, contacted Brown through a mutual friend to see if Brown could autograph a jersey.

The response stunned them.

"The next day, we got the word that it was no problem, but that Troy didn't want to send it, he wanted to deliver it in person," said Rijo.

The visit was arranged, and while young Matthew was unconscious and unresponsive, the family knew he was aware of Brown's presence when his heart rate increased as Brown held his hand. Brown told the family he hoped to score a touchdown for Matthew in the team's next game, Oct. 8 against the Dolphins.

As the family watched that Sunday from the hospital, Brown hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady. They could hardly believe it. Then Brown sent the ball, with an autograph, as a surprise to the McGowans. Later, the family had Brown autograph a framed photo that ran in the Globe the day after the victory over the Dolphins.

Unfortunately, young Matthew lost the fight for his life yesterday, but his family didn't want Brown's generosity to go unrecognized, despite his wishes to keep the visit quiet. At a most difficult time in their lives, Brown's gesture meant more than they could express.

"The fact he doesn't want any recognition is more reason why we wanted to tell people about this," Rijo said.

Rijo said the autographed picture included the words, "To Matthew, a true champion, your friend forever, Troy Brown."

Said Matthew's father, Richard: "Troy is right, Matthew is and always will be a true champion. And to us, Troy will always be more than just a sports champion, but our friend forever."

I really hope the Patriots find a place for Troy on the roster.

Monday, March 19, 2007

David

Hey everyone. I hope everyone had a great weekend and a better showing than I did on St. Patrick's Day. I'm afraid I killed too many brain cells this weekend to write anything even remotely witty, so instead, here is another David video. I was at this game, about 5 rows back from the Sox on deck circle with Steve. Probably my favorite live Sox game experience. Say it with me now...PAPI, PAPI, PAPI.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Hehe, Hi David!

Finally Friday!

Thoughts while wondering how I went wrong picking Oral Roberts over Washington State...

*Tank Johnson was sentenced yesterday to 120 days in jail for violating his probation. He was also sentenced to 80 days house arrest, which, he has already served. What exactly do you have to do to get house arrest? Because, quite frankly, I'm down. I have been meaning to organize my closet, there are a ton of netflix on my list that I haven't had time to watch, some books I'd like to read. I'd also like to learn a language. I'd also probably take up video games and rent the a few seasons of 24.

*Sports Guy kept a running diary of yesterdays games. I know a lot of people get down on SG, but I still love him. Just want to let that be known.

*"Hey Kids, Do Drugs" How do people get to be so stupid? Honestly.

*Curt has a post, Why the Media Sucks. I have often said that I wish Curt would stop talking and just play, ect. That being said, his blog helps me get through the long day in the world of Customer Service.

*Some English guy bought a 4 dollar ticket for a horse race and won 1.4 million dollars. To the track we go!

*Sammy Sosa made the 40 man roster.

*I had VCU on my bracket. I feel pretty good about myself.

*BC won. Had them too. I think I should let everyone know that when I was the assistant coach of Paul's basketball team, we were none other than the BC Eagles. I was mainly in charge of calling players to remind them about practice, buying pizza, and cleaning skinned knees. Very important job.

*Holy Cross takes on Southern Illinois tonight. I obviously have to root for the kids that might love Worcester like I do. (actually, no one loves Worcester like I do).

*Phil Kessel won another shoot out for the B's last night. Kid's nasty.

*The Patriots are getting ready for the draft by working out some college kids.

*From Buster Olney's blog, "Brad Lidge was banged up. The Red Sox are closely tracking Lidge, among other relievers this spring, because of concerns about their own bullpen. Heard that the Astros have indicated they have no interest in trading Lidge. If they ever did change their minds, however, you know this: The Red Sox would have to seriously overpay to get him, because the cost of good relief pitching has skyrocketed.

What's a fair price for Lidge? You could assume that the Astros might start by demanding top outfield prospect Jacoby Ellsbury, insisting on someone like Craig Hansen, and wanting even more than that."


First of all, they are my two Red Sox facebook friends, so that is just okay. Second, Lidge? Are we thinking about the same guy here? Third, Theo trades Jacoby and he is dead to me.

Fourth, well, for my fourth reason I'll turn it over to John Tomase's blog post from yesterday, "Just got two of the latest media guides off the presses and both are amusing for obvious reasons. The Reds media guide features a giant photo of Bronson Arroyo – looks like there’s life after Boston after all — while the Pirates guide has a color photo of Freddy Sanchez, the former Red Sox farmhand who won the 2006 National League batting title.

Looking at the respective covers, it’s hard not to recall Theo Epstein’s line from last July — “I traded half of the National League All-Star team.”

Don't forget a young kid with nasty stuff who pitched a no hitter and the NL Rookie of the Year! Good work!

(maybe I'm still bitter because I was "removed" from standing next to Theo by a giant man wearing a Cecil Fielder shirt.)

Eh, let's hope today goes by quick!

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Still not Friday...amazing

Okay, I'm bored with spring training and no nothing about basketball, so I'm going to let the Red Sox post for me today. Here are some of my favorite quotes from Spring Training...

"In the East baseball and the teams are a way of life. In New England you have Catholicism and Red Sox Baseball, and not necessarily in that order." Curt

"I live for that kind of challenge. I love for the fans to expect a lot from me, because I expect a lot from myself. That gets me going, when they expect a lot from you. I set my goals real high. I figure if I set my goals real high and don't reach them, then you're still going to accomplish a lot." Jonathan

"Josh Beckett told me I'm a natural hitter . . . I was born to hit," Dice-K

"I said to Matsui-san, 'I'm sorry to bother you right before your game.' He said, 'Don't worry about it. Thanks for coming over to say hello.' He wished me good luck so I wished him the same and said thanks." Dice-K

"Far and away the most underappreciated and overlooked post season performance I’ve ever been around. I know Foulkie took alot of heat for things he said in the 2005 season, right or wrong it had an enormous impact on how fans have treated him. Keith Foulke, in my opinion, was so far and away the MVP of the 2004 season that the runner up was not even in sight. Manny and David had phenomenal post seasons, DLowe was magic, but when all was said and done Keith Foulke was the reason, beyond any other player, play or game, that we won. Keith didn’t like the media, and there were things he said that if you didn’t hear them in person, but got them second hand, could sound a lot worse than they were intended. I am not sticking up for him, he doesn’t need me for that, but the guy was as money as anyone I’ve ever played with in the biggest games of his life." Curt

"It’s hard to find a player like Manny. When you go out there, Manny’s got to be one of the best hitters in the game, no doubt about it. It’s hard to trade Manny because of his salary. It’s hard to get somebody when you trade Manny. That’s what’s been the problem…get what you deserve. Manny is still crazy I’m still babysitting him. Same thing,” David

That's all for now kids, I finally got my youtube account working, so I might have some youtube favorites up later. If I missed a quote, put it in the comments section.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Just another reason we love Papi...

Warning: Read with tissues.

Is it Friday yet?



Ever wake up in the morning and think, I would really like a white Russian right now? (no? me neither.)


This has already been a super long week. Maybe it is because I know the awesomeness known as St. Patrick's Day is almost upon us. I'm tearing my room apart to find my shamrock earrings tonight.


Anyway, I'm getting bored with Spring Training and while I watch March Madness, I don't know anything basketball or the players playing the tourney. I am doing four pools this year, one with school friends, a facebook one, a work one, and a family one. I picked Texas as the National Champ in the first two, but I might pick a different one in the other two, just to keep my interest incase Texas gets bounced in the first round.


*Anyway, onto the links...


*Jordan's furniture will refund your money if the Red Sox win the World Series. I feel like this is bad karma, I mean, the Red Sox winning the WS and a free couch that I bought in March!


*Jonathan Papelbon killed 4,402 ducks this off season. Papel-blog said it well, so I'll let her take it from here, "Okay, let's go back to this duck hunting thing for a second. The PM points out, 4,402 ducks, 145 days in the off-season, so that's what, 30 ducks a DAY? Does he think he's going to need to feed himself for the long New England summer? Does he tear off their heads with his teeth before starts? If he does, I'm totally fine with that, I'm just curious."


I don't really understand how one finds enough time to kill 142 ducks a day, or what you would possibly do with that much duck.


Anyway, that article has all kinds of quality quotes, including these beauties,


"There are a couple of places in Mississippi we hunt that are big flurries for ducks," Papelbon says. "It's my happy spot."


"I live for that kind of challenge," Papelbon says. "I love for the fans to expect a lot from me, because I expect a lot from myself. That gets me going, when they expect a lot from you. I set my goals real high. I figure if I set my goals real high and don't reach them, then you're still going to accomplish a lot."


"As for the ducks, Papelbon says he grills them, gives some away to friends and stocks his freezer with the rest.
Says it takes him two minutes to clean a duck, "if that."
Says it takes another two minutes to dress the duck for the freezer.
Or, about the same time it takes him to undress a hitter."
*A bunch of Sox including Papelbon, Lester, Delcarmen, Gabbard, Hansack, Kyle Jackson (I have a crush on him), Edgar Martinez, David Pauley, Kottaras, Pedroia, Brandon Moss and David Murphy got new contracts.


*A-Rod wants to finish a Yankee, but he's going to let the fans decide. Apparently he thought they were saying, "Moooovveerr" this whole time.


*O's upped Brian Roberts for another two years.

*Rob Bradford's blog (aka, my favorite) says that the Red Sox are talking to the Giants about Armando Benenitez, who, we all know was very good when we were grade school. I don't know how I'm going to be able to take not having Papelbon in the pen. I had gotten used to having the 9th go smoothly and I'm not ready to go back. As for Julian "Manny's Best Friend" Tavarez, I feel like you need a certian badass Foulkeish demeanor to close, and while he thinks he's a bad ass, I don't think he is actually a bad ass, who knows? maybe that will be enough. That being said, I'll leave you today with a story. Last August in Tampa, my fellow SoxStalkers and I had found our way into the lobby of the hotel. We sat down and noticed a lanky gentleman standing at the front desk saying things like, and room 202, they want an 8 A.M. wake up call, and room 203, they want a 9 A.M. wake up call, and room 204, they want a 9:30 A.M. wake up call, AND then this gentleman turned around, and it was none other than Julian Tavarez. (aka, the guy his teammates made go down to the lobby to set up their wake up calls).

Monday, March 12, 2007

Monday, Monday...

I did not do a running diary of the Orioles and Red Sox yesterday for three reasons.

#1. I made a gourmet dinner yesterday during the game. Goat cheese mashed potatoes, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, and breaded chicken. It was quite delicous if I do say so myself.

#2. Was anyone elses sound all messed up yesterday? I couldn't hear a thing Jerry and Don were saying, but I could hear some fans like they were sitting next to me. Way to be NESN, please, keep screwing up the 3 Spring Training games that you do show.

#3. My cousin Kerry came over to watch the game with me / talk about our Texas Ranger trip (3 weeks!).

Anyway, some thoughts from the game:

*When they had on Tom Werner and John Henry in the bottom of the 1st, it was painfully uncomfortable to watch JWH on TV. You can tell he hates every minute of it. As the Sox batted Steve Traschel around, JWH called him, "painfully deliberate". I'm pretty sure that is how he feels about all his on camera appearances as well.

*When they showed #7 on deck, I actually thought, Trot's batting behind Manny? For 2.3 seconds and almost started crying. This is going to take some getting used to.

*Hi David, I've missed you all winter.

*I'm not freaking out about Dice-K's outing. Poor spring training outings happen. Not a big deal. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.

*Youk is batting .405 this spring...YOUUUUKKKK.

*Lugo looks good at the plate, not so good fielding. I liked having a team where defense rarely hurt you last year. Although, that team finished 3rd, so I guess you need to change things up.

*Drew's batting .438. Personally I'd feel a whole lot better if his hat was a little dirty.

*Jason is batting my checking account, which, for the record is .118. Michael (Lowell) is batting a full point higher than him, so we got that going for us. (119).

*Only spring training game with the Yanks is tonight at 7:05. Deeerrr-EK Jeeetttt-ER. (hate is a very strong word, but it fits in this situation). Timmy is pitching for us against Carl (we were really able to trade for Pedro using you?) Pavano on the hill for NY.

*Roger Clemens wants 4 million dollars a month. It has always been about the money hasn't it Rog?

Ramblings this morning while wondering what it feels like to watch $103 million dollars get tagged by some no name Orioles. (you could probably ask JWH).

The truth and rumors section on SI.com had all kinds of goodies today:

"Gary Sheffield desperately wanted to cross enemy lines. The former Yankees slugger had only one team on his wish list as last season wound to a close, though he dared not disclose it. Assuming the Yankees failed to pick up his $13 million contract option, Sheffield had every intention of playing for the Red Sox this year." -- Boston Herald

Apparently Mr. Sheffield has a death wish upon his next return to Yankee Stadium. He's a Tiger, this may have been something he should have just kept to himself.

"An official who was involved in the discussions that led to the 2001 deal that sent Roberto Alomar to the Mets said one of the players New York made available to Cleveland was a Low-A shortstop named Jose Reyes. The official said the Indians liked Reyes, but simply did not have enough information from their South Atlantic League scouts." -- New York Post

That is the kind of thing to keep Indians fans up at night.

"No less than five scouts have inquired about Boston's Kyle Snyder. Look for a team needing an end-of-the-rotation starter to pursue him before the end of the month." -- Boston Globe

I think we should hang on to all our pitching until we are absolutely sure we don't need it. Otherwise, they could go off and end up being the best pitcher in the NL. You know, hypothetically speaking.

"Daisuke Matsuzaka has been expressing concern to Japanese reporters about the high mound in the bullpen at City of Palms Park." -- Boston Globe

Yeah, I bet that if he asked, they'd lower the mound for him.

Some other goodies:

*Lester will open the minor league game this Friday, throwing 3 innings.

*Gordon talks about Jacoby.

*NCAA announced its field of 65. (Bob Ryan says debating the bracket is almost as much fun as the games). Watched the Big 12 Championship yesterday. Awesome game. Texas lost to Kansas in overtime. Kevin Durant had 37. In an unrelated / completely related note, Celts lost to the Bulls yesterday. Thank you Chicago.

Dear Lottery Gods,

1st or 2nd pick please. Please.

Thanks.

Love,
Amanda

*Pats sign Donte Stallworth. I'm pretty excited about this. I'm sick of everyone saying that all these moves have been unsual for the Patriots and whanot. The Patriots don't overpay and don't sign players that don't fill a role in their team. However, they are willing to pay for top level talent like Tom, Matt Light, Richard Seymour, ect.

*Speaking of the Patriots, Bill and Scott sat in the dugout yesterday.

*Rob Bradford talks about judging spring training.

*In 1 second of NHL news, Chris Simon is suspended 25 games for his stick attack on Ryan Hollweg. Simon, meanwhile, is saying the reason he made that hit was a result of a concussion. Now, I'm not saying that that is too light of a suspension, but Todd "I'm a scumbag" Bertuzzi BROKE Steve Moore's NECK. Moore has now been out of the league for 3 years and no doctor will clear him to play because he risks paralysis if he injures his neck again. Simon cut the guys chin open and gets 3 more games? Neither play is acceptable, but giving three more games for Simon's play is ridiculous.

Friday, March 9, 2007

trip down memory lane...

Not much going on, too early for March Madness, NESN doesn't put enough Spring Training on TV, so instead, I'm going to post something that I randomly came across today and thoroughly enjoyed.

(promise I'll have a good post Monday morning!)

A Nation's destination: Destiny

By Bill Simmons Page 2

I woke up thinking about the Red Sox. Answered e-mails, read the paper, showered, shaved, never stopped thinking about the Red Sox. Found that I was so excited, I could barely keep a thought in my head. Skipped through the day's routine doing ordinary things, thinking the entire time, "Holy crap, my life could be completely different in eight hours."

Now it's time to join the ranks of the normal baseball fans. Thank God.

Is this how parents feel when they're about to have a baby? Like nothing has changed, but everything's about to change? That's how I felt yesterday. The Red Sox were about to win the World Series. And I was about to become Just Another Baseball Fan again.

Because that's all we ever wanted. Nobody understood that. Outsiders made up fake curses, called us losers, pointed to a legacy of failure, questioned our sanity. We kept hoping. We kept the faith. We kept passing this team down from generation to generation, hoping it would be worth it. And it was. The last 11 days were the greatest sports ride of our lives: Eight games, eight wins, one championship, a boatload of memories. We crawled through 500 yards of (expletive)-smelling foulness and came out smelling like roses on the other side.

Anyway, I have very few rules in life, but this is one: Any time the Red Sox can win the World Series on the same night of a lunar eclipse, I have to keep a running diary. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for me. I want to read it in 50 years, show my kids, frame this baby and stick it on a wall. Here's how Dad was feeling on the night the Red Sox won the championship. I like that idea.

Of course, the Red Sox had to actually come through. Here's what transpired.

5:15 p.m PST -- We're coming to you live from the Sports Guy Mansion! I'm sitting here with my dog Dooze, the Sports Gal and a bottle of Veuve Cliquot on ice. Two pregame notes:
Instead of showing a Boston bar, Fox planted cameras inside Red Sox-friendly bars in Los Angeles and New York. Apparently the Neverland Ranch cancelled at the last minute.
Fox showed a sequence of breaks that the Sox have gotten over the past two weeks, followed by the obligatory Curse of the Bambino montage with 348 different photos and video images of Babe Ruth. Thanks, guys. You've made this a blast from start to finish.

5:20 -- Our announcers for tonight: Joe Buck (son of the famous Cards announcer) and Tim McCarver (longtime Cardinals catcher). Why not just go the whole way and have Ozzie Smith, Whitey Herzog and Dizzy Dean as sideline reporters? And where's Al Leiter? Did McCarver have him liquidated?

5:25 -- Buck throws it to Chris Myers in the stands: "For the Sox fans who travelled here, they're still kinda numb, they don't know how to act." Yup, pretty much. That's us.

5:27 -- According to Buck, we have two groundball pitchers tonight: Derek Lowe and Jason Biggs-lookalike Jason Marquis. Nobody epitomizes the Sox experience like D-Lowe, who wore every hat possible during the Pedro Era -- superb set-up man, quality closer, embattled closer, 20-game winner, guy who threw a no-hitter, major disappointment, hero of the Oakland series, head case who tanked his contract year, money pitcher who came through against the Yankees.
I can't accentuate this strongly enough -- I gave up on this guy at least 25 times over the past six years. You never knew what to expect with him. Just like rooting for the Red Sox.

5:28 - Leadoff home run, Johnny D! The power of Christ compels you! The power of Christ compels you! It's 1-0, Sox. They're 8-0 when scoring first in the playoffs. That leads to this exchange:
-- McCarver: "One thing about groundballs, they go out of the ballpark."-- Sports Gal (after a beat): "I don't get it."
The Cards were in a hairy situation after Damon took Marquis deep.

5:32 -- Following a walk to Manny, we get our first prolonged closeup of a homicidal Tony La Russa. You should know that my Mom called La Russa "brooding and VERY sexy" this week, but added that he looks just enough like Robert Evans where she could never be "totally attracted" to him. And you wonder why I'm a lunatic. Meanwhile, Marquis gets out of the first.

5:40 -- After Womack's leadoff hit over Cabrera's head, McCarver claimed that Cabrera "jumped too soon," was proven wrong by the replay, then continued to discuss the dangers of "jumping too soon." I love when announcers refuse to admit they were wrong despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. This is exactly how I would announce games. You can't let little things like facts and indisputable evidence get in the way of your points. You just can't.

5:45 -- Thank God for Scott Rolen -- he just stranded Womack on third to end the first. Even Ben Affleck isn't in this big of a slump.

5:51 -- Just had this exchange:
-- Me: "Hey, you're talking a little too much, I'm trying to type."
-- Sports Gal: "I'm gonna go on the treadmill."
-- Me (a little too soon): "Okay, yeah, do that."

(Uh-oh ... it's a little chilly in here right now ... )

5:58 -- The Sox just stranded two in the second. Marquis couldn't look any shakier. It's not possible. More importantly, there's been a Woody Harrelson sighting! He's in that new Pierce Brosnan movie. Maybe he got bored of writing Op-Ed columns for High Times Magazine.

6:01 -- One thing about this Cards team: Very detached group of guys. If you get one fist-pump out of them over a nine-inning game, you're lucky. I'm not even sure if they know each other. You think Jim Edmonds and Larry Walker have ever been formally introduced?

6:03 -- Following a Hank Aaron sighting, McCarver tells about Hammerin' Hank's 756th home run that didn't count. Curt Simmons was pitching, Chris Pelekoudas was the home plate umpire, and I can't believe I'm writing this down. Meanwhile, three up, three down for D-Lowe in the second.

6:06 -- All right, I'll ask: Is "Nanny 911" premiering on Fox or the Spice Channel?

6:10 - Following a Ramirez single, Fox shows Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore wearing Red Sox sweatshirts and clapping excitedly. I wish I was actually driving the Red Sox Bandwagon right now, just so I could screech to a halt, whirl around, point to them and scream, "Get off! RIGHT NOW! I mean it! Get off! Move it! Gather your things and GET OFF!"

6:15 -- Ortiz doubles, then Manny gets thrown out at home on a Varitek grounder. Third and first, two outs. For whatever reason, Buck and McCarver effusively praise Pujols for throwing out Manny on a routine play (he was out by 10 feet). I think he's in their fantasy football league or something.

6:18 -- Mueller walks on four pitches. Bases loaded for Trot. "This is an accident waiting to happen," McCarver says. "You wonder how long Marquis can keep walking through the raindrops." Actually, I wasn't wondering that. But Trot ends up CRUSHING a 3-0 pitch to right field, just missing a grand slam by about five feet. 3-0, Red Sox.

(Note: Nothing sums up this Sox team like Trot getting the green light on 3-0. Get busy living, or get busy dying.)

6:20 -- The Sports Gal sums up everyone else's feelings: "Why the hell are they showing Red Sox fans celebrating at a bar in New York City????"

6:38 -- After a hurried trip to Starbucks, we made it back for the top of the fourth -- nobody scored or anything -- just in time to see Manny argue with the black sheep Molina brother, Francona running out to cool things down ... and then the game continuing like nothing ever happened. See, this is where my idea for networks hiring lip readers during games comes in handy. Let's go to Marlee Matlin, who knows exactly what the argument was about.

6:42 -- What's sadder, that Fox keeps showing these "House MD" promos, or that I was just bummed out that the "You're risking a patient's life!" line wasn't included in the last one?

6:44 -- Chris Myers reports that La Russa argued to the home plate ump between innings, complaining that Marquis wasn't getting the same calls as D-Lowe. We don't like our hotel room in Boston, we don't like the food at the hotel, we aren't getting the same calls. Hey Tony, you want some cheese with that whine? Get a haircut.
(Sorry I just turned into my stepfather there ... my apologies.)

6:47 -- After Womack's leadoff single, D-Lowe has retired 12 straight guys, as well as any chance of the Derek Lowe Face for the night. When that sinker starts cutting away from lefthanded hitters, you know he's got it going. I'm officially counting outs. 15 to go.
The 2003 Derek Lowe apparently showed up a little late this season.

6:49 -- Well, we had the lunar eclipse. I think this is a good sign. More importantly, Bonnie Tyler gets to fill out a 1090-form this year -- Fox just replayed the moon with "Total Eclipse of the Heart" playing in the background. Plus, the Red Sox are trying to complete a World Series sweep. This is officially the weirdest night of all-time. I keep expecting Dooze to hop next to me on the sofa and ask, "Hey, who's winning?"

6:58 -- Marquis becomes the first Cards starter to get through the fifth inning this week. Of course, it took him 110 pitches. But he did it. This Cards rotation reminds me of the SNL cast this year -- seems nice enough on paper, but nobody can carry the show when it matters.
Time for a quick story: At the Pats game two Sundays ago, I didn't dress warmly enough and ended up buying a hooded Pats sweatshirt and matching old-school ski cap with Pat Patriot on it, which I wore at Game 4 against the Yanks later that night. Needless to say, the combo returned for Game 5 ... and nine days later, I'm still wearing the sweatshirt (with the cap as a late-inning closer). Also, I have a T-shirt covered in bird poop hidden in my bedroom. Other than that, I'm totally normal about this Red Sox thing. Just wanted to get that on the record.

7:04 -- One-out double for Renteria, one of those Latin guys who's listed at 29 but probably went to high school with Roberto Clemente. That's followed by a wild pitch from Lowe. "If you're looking for the local and you get the express, you're in trouble," McCarver explains. You're waiting for me to make a "I just threw up in my mouth" joke. Nope. I feel pretty good.

7:07 -- Yep. Mabry strikes out, followed by Black Sheep Molina grounding out to end the inning. You know what? It's not happening for the Cards. It's just not. They should just put on Finland's 1980 hockey uniforms and get it over with. At the rate they're going, they may not even get 10 minutes in the Red Sox World Series DVD.

7:14 -- Just called my Dad: "Twelve outs to go."

7:16 -- Desperate to jinx the Sox, Fox sends Chris Myers into the stands to interview Boston fans, including a 12 year-old kid who says, "I can't wait to come back and brag that I got to see the Red Sox win the World Series."

(You know, in the old days, I'd be cringing right now and awaiting the inevitable Pujols grand slam. Not anymore. Okay, maybe a little.)

7:18 -- Top three places where I wish Fox had planted cameras tonight: 3.) Steinbrenner's house; 2.) Buckner's house; 1.) Nomar's house. I just picture a sullen Nomar watching the game in the dark, as Mia brings him a glass of water and he says, "Thanks, beautiful."

7:19 -- After a Damon two-out triple, Cabrera strands him at third. Marquis has gotten out of more trouble tonight than Bobby Brown. By the way, you know when you spend a weekend in Vegas drinking and smoking and playing cards for all hours, then you come back home, and there's that weird Sunday night where you feel disoriented, your head hurts and your heart is pounding from the nicotine/liquor withdrawal? That's how I'm starting to feel. I think this is fun. I think.

7:26 -- Good question from the Sports Gal: "Why wouldn't the Red Sox want to keep this team together if they win?" Because we're not the ones who would have to pay Lowe and Pedro a combined $90 million over the next four years. That's why.

7:31 -- With Walker on first, D-Lowe gets a Pujols pop-out to end the sixth. When Lowe got squeezed on the 2-2 pitch, there was at least a 40-percent chance for the self-destructive hanging sinker next. Didn't happen. And yes, I went to the lucky ski cap for that one.

7:36 -- Just went online to find D-Lowe's pitch count (71). Normally, the network provides these things, but ... well ...

7:38 -- Boston goes quietly in the seventh, leading to That Guy from Creed singing "God Bless America" between innings. Somehow, they found the one singer who sucks more than the Cardinals offense.

7:44 -- Classic shot of the nervous Red Sox owners, including Tom Werner looking like he's about to start puking up pea soup like Linda Blair in "The Exorcist." Sadly, they don't show bachelor GM Theo Epstein, who could become the next JFK Jr. in Boston if the Sox pull this off.

7:47 -- Fox runs the always-entertaining "How life was different the last time the Sox won the World Series" graphic. Not only had penicillin not been discovered in 1918, but the NBA didn't exist yet. I think there's a VD joke here somewhere. Whatever.

7:49 -- D-Lowe strikes out Mabry to end the seventh. At the rate we're going, I'll be driving down "Derek Lowe Avenue" in Back Bay in five years. Six outs to go.

(Final line on Lowe: Seven innings, no runs, three hits. A win gives him the decision in all three clinchers this month. Not a bad month. All he's missing is Billy Zabka handing him a trophy and crying, "You're alright, D-Lowe, you're alright.")

7:51 -- My favorite part of the "My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss" promo: When the contestant finds out it's a hoax and screams, "We just took six weeks out of our life to make jackasses out of ourselves?" I mean, if you can't trust the producers of a reality-TV show, who CAN you trust?
Down 0-3 in the series, 0-3 in the game -- it's a little late to start managing.

7:53 -- Just got an e-mail from my buddy Chipper in Milwaukee: "Just in case, I'm moving the family down into the basement for the next few hours." Probably the right move.

7:54 -- Nixon singles, Mueller doubles. Second and third, nobody out. Trot's third double of the night, by the way. Has there ever been a World Series team that juggled more heroes from game to game? Meanwhile, La Russa puts down his Wall Street Journal, takes off his smoking jacket, puts down his pipe and tabs his closer (Isringhausen). The right move. For once.

8:04 -- Somehow, Isringhausen gets out of the jam: Strikeout, groundout, strikeout. Still 3-0. Notice the complete lack of panic on my part. It's by design.

8:11 -- You know, Francona has been so on fire this series, I'm not even questioning Bronson Arroyo pitching the eighth. It's like playing blackjack with someone who wins 15 grand in chips, then inexplicably wants to split 10s against a 6. Whatever, dude. Do what you need to do. If you want to bring in a white guy with cornrows to get two of the last six outs, by all means, do it.

8:17 -- Arroyo gets Cedeno, then walks Sanders (33 BBs all year) on a full count. Terrific. Now they're bringing in Embree. That leads to the classic La Russa over-managing move -- pinch-hitting young Hector Luna for Womack (one of the few Cards who seems to be aware that it's the World Series). Of course, Luna strikes out. It was a Luna eclipse. Thank you, thank you very much. By the way, I'm starting to see three laptop screens right now.

8:21 -- Just had this exchange with the Sports Gal:

-- Me: "If I have a heart attack and die, copy the text in this document, paste it into an e-mail and send it to Kevin Jackson at ESPN."--
Her: "You serious?" --
Me: "Actually, yeah."

8:22 -- Embree gets a pop-up from Walker to end the eighth. Exhale. I immediately call my Dad, who beats me to my first sentence: "Three outs to go!"

8:28 -- Boston's at-bats are starting to take on a "The sooner we get this over, the sooner we can start pouring champagne on each other" vibe. Meanwhile, having run out of Babe Ruth pictures, Fox skips the middleman and shows the author of "The Curse of the Bambino" -- Dan Shaughnessy -- who's feverishly shoving pins into a Keith Foulke voodoo doll in the Busch Stadium press box. Then Fox shows the Buckner-Mookie clip, followed by the clip of the Boone homer. Keep trying, guys. You're not getting us this time.

8:31 -- To the bottom of the ninth.

(Things I won't be doing right now: Calling my Mom and telling her to press record on the VCR because I want to have it on tape when the Red Sox win the World Series. That happened in '86. Went poorly. That was the one time in my life as a sports fan where I never saw it coming -- like Joe Pesci getting made at the end of "Goodfellas," then taking that bullet to the back of the head. Never happened again. Why are we talking about this?)

8:33 -- Here comes Foulke, who's been lights-out all month, prompting McCarver to gush, "It has been a post-season ... where ordinary Foulke ... has become extraordinary Foulke." Somewhere, Jim Nantz is nodding in approval.

8:36 -- Pujols singles up the middle. One on, no outs. Just put the lucky ski cap back on.

8:38 -- Rolen flies out to right, then gets taken in a hearse to the local morgue. One out. I'm having trouble typing.

8:39 -- Edmonds strikes out. Two outs. "Should I go get the bottle of champagne?" the Sports Gal asks. Um, no. Let's hold that thought.

8:40 -- I'm staring at Edgar Renteria right now wondering, "Does this look like the guy who will make the last out when the Red Sox win the World Series?"
(You know what? Yes. Yes he does.)

8:41 -- One-hopper back to Foulke, underhand scoop to first...
HEE-YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8:41 -- HOLY $%#%@%@ #^%#$@#$!!!!!!

8:42 -- All right ...

Forget about ending the curse and having 86 years of baggage erased in one fell swoop. If you don't get emotional watching a group of guys celebrating and hugging when you feel like you know them, when you suffered all the same highs and lows, when you spent the last seven months with them ... I mean, why even follow sports at all?
(Translation: It's getting a little dusty in here.)

8:43 -- Best glass of champagne in my life.

8:44 -- Just called my Dad. Been waiting to make that call my whole life. "It happened in my lifetime!" he keeps saying. As an added bonus, the apocalypse didn't happen.

8:47 -- Standing on a podium, Bud Selig announces that Manny won the MVP as Manny makes exaggerated pointing gestures at his teammates. Couldn't be more fitting. They placed him on waivers, tried to trade him to Texas for A-Rod ... and he ends up winning the World Series MVP 10 months later. Just like Team Lucchino drew it up.
Plus, Manny gave us this exchange:
-- Jeanne Zelasko: "Do you believe in curses?"
-- Manny: "I don't believe in curse, I believe you make your own destination."

Keith Foulke's 438th consecutive appearance this postseason ended it for the Cards.
(Not only a strangely appropriate response for the moment, but Mike Tyson must have been delighted.)

8:50 -- Time for the round of phone calls with my Sox fan friends. My favorite reaction comes from a stunned J-Bug, who says, "I'm in shock, I'm just in shock ... I feel like this won't hit me until March, then I'll be walking on the street and I'll start doing the Fred Flintstone skip out of nowhere."

That's a little how I feel. Reminds me of a story. Sometimes we bring home doggie bags for the Dooze. This one time, we brought her home a pork chop, which she picked up and slinked over to the living room, then dropped it on the ground. Then she kept glancing at the pork chop, then back at us. Really? This is for me? You serious? That's how I feel right now. Like Dooze staring at that pork chop. A World Series championship? Red Sox players celebrating? Really? For me?

8:56 -- Highlights from the past five minutes: Every replay of the celebration; poor John Henry trying to get his interview over as fast as possible (he's not exactly an extrovert); Pedro stealing the trophy from Henry, then standing in front of the camera with a huge smile on his face; Theo pouring champagne on Lucchino, who pretended to be cool but was fighting off the urge to scream, "You're messing up my hair!"; a fan holding a sign that said "86 YEARS SWEPT AWAY"; and Fox heading to commercial as Schilling (how have I not mentioned Schilling in this column yet???) gave a toast to a huddled group of teammates -- "To the best Red Sox team ever assembled!" -- followed by everyone lifting champagne bottles and screaming "Yeah!" in delight.

(I'm not sure if that was the best 15 minutes of my life, but it's definitely up there.)

9:03 -- One more phone call to Dad. "We must have watched thousands of hours of games together over the years," he says. "I never knew if it would happen. Plus, we were there for the Yankee games! We were a part of this!" He's babbling. I'm babbling. Everyone's babbling. You tend to babble after the impossible happens.

9:33 -- I'd like to announce that Game 4 just received coveted "Save Until I Delete" status on my TiVO, joining "Fast Break" and the first episode of "Battle of the Network Stars." Lofty company. I just watched the Red Sox win the World Series. It happened. I have proof.

10:15 -- After an hour of phone calls and e-mails, my friends Hench and Dave show up with a bottle of champagne. We spend the next 90 minutes in my kitchen, drinking bubbly and talking about the season. Everyone agrees that our lives have somehow been changed by this, as crazy as that sounds. It's like removing a decaying tooth that pained you every time you ate something. The curse? That was the tooth. Just a nagging, annoying thing that never went away.

Now the 1918 jokes are done. Now TV networks can't ruin our playoff games anymore. Now we can watch Red Sox games without waiting for the Other Shoe. Now we don't have to deal with manipulative books and documentaries, or hear about Buckner, Zimmer, Grady, Pesky, Torrez, Stanley and Schiraldi ever again. It's a clean slate. We're like those ugly contestants who show up on "The Swan," get fifty grand worth of plastic surgery, then start sobbing in front of a full-length mirror when they see themselves. That's every Red Sox fan right now.

Eighty-six years wiped away. Just like that. It was destination.

(And destiny, too.)
The best Red Sox post of Spring Training by far. This almost killed me I was laughing so hard.

http://www.survivinggrady.com/

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Hey everyone, sorry I've been slacking, I'll make it up to you when real Red Sox games begin. As for now, here are a few links...

Tom Brady is going to have a baby...with Giselle? The Boston Globe thinks so. Personally, I don't think it is true.

Bob Ryan has a nice article on Tim Wakefield.

Honestly, nothing going on. Glenn Murray has a lower body injury, the Celtics lost (way to get back on track guys)...

This is just not okay...

This honestly made me a little nauseous this morning. There are just some things that are not okay. Christopher Trottman Nixon in an Indians uniform is just not okay. At least the Red Sox won't give 7 to anyone for a while. Oh, wait...

I can't wait to go hoarse cheering for him May 28th and 29th.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Somebody's got a case of the Wednesdays.


I'm starting off the morning with some complaints, both sports and non sports related...


*Somehow, the first day this week that 1. the bus was on time, 2. we got to Boston on time, coincided with the first time I left my purse, cell phone, and work ID on the counter this week. This meant that I arrived with plenty of time to get a coffee from Dunkin Donuts, but no money to go there. This also meant I had to wait till someone else got to work early, at 7:45 or so, so they could let me onto my floor.


*Could it be a little colder? Please? I'm not quite frozen yet.


*I'm getting a cold.


*I went through all the trouble of blowdrying my hair this morning, then I put a scarf on and now it's all frizzy.


*I have been having bizarre dreams where I think the TV is on upstairs really loud, and it isn't. Paul told me this morning that last night I was screaming at him to turn down the TV in the living room, and he was in the kitchen doing his homework and the TV wasn't on. It may be the raw teas I have drank each of the past two nights.


*How come NESN can't broadcast all of the Spring Training games? Are they that busy?


*How come the Boston Globe only takes pictures of freaking Matsuzaka. Would it kill them to throw in some other players?


*I had my 370 million dollars spent last night, and well, it didn't quite work out.


*My skin is so dry I look like a freakin' alligator.


*I need a vacation. A serious vacation, 10 days-foreign country-all inclusive-sun-sand-umbrella drinks vacation.


I'll post a sports update later. For now, I'm going to sit here and return all the things I bought in my head with my 370 million last night.



Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Afternoon fun:

*Deadspin has an email defending / but not really Ron Borges. I'm not introducing it well, but its worth the read.

*Tom Brady will not wear T. Brady because Kyle Brady is joining the team. And Tully Banta-Cain is a 49er, says Mike Reiss. (hopefully no more TBC means that we are going to get Patrick Willis first)

*Matsuzaka pitched again today.

*I enjoyed this story from Peter Gammon's blog:

No one is looking forward to the May 20 Braves series at Fenway Park more than Jeff Francoeur is. Look, he loves being a Brave. He grew up in Atlanta. But says, "I really always wanted to play for the Red Sox because of my family. I still use the Red Sox credit card my father gave me when I was 17. It's going to be great."

In 2002, Francoeur was considered unsignable because he was signed to play football and baseball at Clemson. However, before the draft, he reached a deal with the Red Sox, who were picking 57th. Atlanta scouting director Roy Clark found out, was able to get the money to sign Francoeur and took him at No. 23, ahead of Boston, which then took Jon Lester.

"My father [Dave] used to take the train from Springfield to Boston to see the Red Sox," says Francoeur. "He went to Chicopee Commerce. All the family's out there. My brother and sister were born up there, then my parents moved to Atlanta."

Talk about a perfect personality for Fenway Park… Team USA players like to tell the story of Francoeur confronting Alex Rodriguez during the WBC for trashing a clubhouse kid who brought him the wrong sandwich.

"It's going to be wild because of all the family I'll have there," he says. "Problem is, they'll all be rooting for the Red Sox."

*Also, Rob Bradford is coming home from spring training today, personally, I'm pretty sad about this. His blog has been unbelieveable.

Dress Tom Brady...

It is as ridiculous as you would think, but fun none the less.

Paperdoll Heaven!

For 200,000, Peyton can come to your birthday too!

This girl, the one wearing the couch fabric, celebrated her Sweet 16 with none other than your Super Bowl MVP and Cedric the Entertainer. For some more pictures, click here, and make sure you read the comments. My famous is, "Petyon's akward stage is between birth and death"- Cake or death.



*I don't want to be suspended for two months without pay. Just so you know, these are from Deadspin.com.

Patriots making moves, Borges suspended and other comings and goings...

*Boston Globe football writer Ron Borges was suspended for two months without pay while the Globe looks into allegations he plagarized this weeks football notes. To read the differences, or lack there of the two articles, click here. To read the Globe's response, click here. I have a sneaking suspicion that Bill Belichick is dancing around Gillette this morning, seeing him and Ron don't always see eye to eye (or, ever for that matter). The Herald also is covering this obviously.

*Nick Cafardo has a cute (sorry to use that word, but it is) article on Jon Lester. My favorite part of this however is the interview with him at the top. Steve Buckley has more on Lester. (I liked this one too). Jeff Goldberg has Lester no longer feeling the ill effects of chemo. Sean McAdam also weighed in on Lester. I am tired of hearing about Manny and how freaking bizarre he is, I'm even tired of hearing about Matsuzaka and his translators and massuse and whatnot, but I could read about a cancer-free Lester all day long. So great!

*Mike Reiss has a good one on the Patriots' off season moves so far. Michael Felger reports that the Pats have their eye on Donte Stallworth incase Troy Brown decides to retire.

*Josh Hamilton, drafted out of HS is attempting a comeback with the Reds after years out of baseball battling drug addiction, and is off to a 8-15 start. He never carries cash / credit cards on him and has teammates hold his meal money to avoid the temptation. My favorite part of this article, however is at the bottom in the notes section which reads, "Pitcher Bronson Arroyo missed his "B" game starting assignment Sunday with flu-like symptoms and maybe a touch of the 10 a.m. blues. He is expected to throw on the side today." Bronson would have the 10 a.m. blues. I miss him.

*Interesting story about Rob Bell, a pitcher now with the Orioles who had anxiety attacks derail his career in Tampa Bay. I'd have anxiety attacks if I had to play 82 games in Tampa too.

*Here's a story about Cooper Brannan, the Marine signed by the Padres.

*A good one from the Baltimore Sun on Aubrey Huff, who, absolutely destroyed my fantasy team a few years back, but seems like a nice guy.

Monday, March 5, 2007

Patriots making moves....


Also the Patriots traded for Wes Welker. I'd feel more confident about this if he wasn't name Wes Welker.

Randy in a Pat's Uni?

The Boston Herald is reporting that the Patriots are interested in Randy Moss. I don't know how I feel about that, but I do know that Rodney, Richard, and Tedy won't take shit from anyone. Also, In Bill I Trust. (Scott too)

(I used to trust Tom too, then I found out he kisses with his eyes open. (see below) )

Lester takes the mound...


Jon Lester returned to the mound today and threw 8 pitches in one inning of work, retiring all three batters he faced in the "B" league game this morning. Lester had this to say after the game. "Command was great. I went away when I wanted to go away and went in when I wanted to go in. I was in the general vicinity [with] all my pitches. I don't know what the velocity was. It felt good. We'll just build from here and hopefully get stronger as camp goes on, and if the velocity isn't there, hopefully it will build back up to normal ... I don't think the treatments are a factor right now. I'm still building it back up from the offseason, but I think I'm right about at 85 or 90 percent, getting close and starting to feel a little more comfortable with my body and how things are flowing."


So great!
*The Celtics won again! 4 in a row now. According to Paul though, (as in, my brother), even if they win the rest of their games, they will still be one of the three worst teams, and therefore get two ping pong balls in the lottery thingy. (1. Kevin Durant please). Tony Massarotti says that is not the case. He's probably right.

*The Bruins beat the Canadians and Devils this weekend, and are now 4 points out of the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.

*The Patriots had a VERY busy weekend, signing Adalius Thomas, Kyle Brady, and Sammy Morris. I am very excited. The Patriots also have Wes Welker coming to Gillette today. The NFL network was saying last night the Pats are going to offer him a 7 year 38 million dollar deal. Not that the length really matters in the NFL b/c you can cut a player at any time. John Tomase says that the Patriots will put a "poison pill" in the contract. And, we already knew this but, Tedy will be back. (which is good, b/c I love driving by his house on the way to Amy's). Tedy said, "“I feel great. I’m ready to play. I’m more hungry now than I’ve ever been. I want to win another championship.” I love him. (I don't usually like Karen Guregian but this one has some good Tedy quotes).

*In Red Sox land, Papelbon retired all 6 batters he faced, striking out 4 against the Twins. That is great news. Jon Lester is starting for the first time this spring against the Twins in the "B" game (mostly minor leaguers), while Joshua is starting the "A" game against the Dodgers. (Hi Nomar!).

*Forbes ranked the GM's in the 4 major sports. For the locals, Scott Pioli was 20th, Theo 30th, Mike O'Connell (formerly of the B's) 73rd, and Danny Ainge was 92nd.

Now, obviously they aren't going to get a list everyone agrees on, but Kevin McHale is first? When is the last time the T-Wolves won a championship? Have they ever won one? I'm not sure.

Billy King is 3rd. When was the last time the 76er's won a championship? I'm pretty sure Dr. J was still on the team. And, he should have gotten a ring out of the the Allen Iverson era.

And, everyone's favorite a-hole, Bill Polian is 9th. How do you put him 11 spots ahead of Scott? Where are his other two rings? I don't see them...Nope, not there at all. Just one. Actually, in the time it took me to write this post, Polian called up the league to complain he wasn't higher than 9th, and that he got nudged by the 1-8 people on the list.

Some other notes from the list, Joe Dumars is 15th...didn't the Pistons just go back to back? Terry Ryan of the Minnesota Twins is 53rd! 53rd and his team consistantly makes the playoffs and has talent with a payroll subtantianlly lower than the big spenders in the MLB. The GM of the Denver Nuggets name is Kiki. (just thought you should know). Also, I'm sick of hearing how much of a "genius" Billy Beane is. Again, show me the freaking rings. Oh, and Brian Sabean of the Giants paid Barry Bonds 18 million dollars this year when most teams didn't want him, 31. Isiah Thomas is 82 (I know SG will hate that one).

*UNC completed a season sweep of Duke. Tyler Hansbrough took an elbow to the nose and bled all over the place with 14.5 seconds left.

*The Patriots of George Mason are a win away from making the tourney again this year.