Fenway Flashback: Couldn't Have Happened To A Nicer Guy

July 21, 2007

Fox gushed on and on about Tito, including a little photo montage of TIto with hair!

Dancing with Adam Carolla

Last season of Dancing With The Stars -- Let's call it "The Marie Osmond Love Fest" -- was, well, hard to watch. I swore off the show. I adored in the Apolo Anton Ono days, but chocked it up to Apolo Anton One. Well, I peeked at the list for this season, nonetheless, and here it is -- and look who's on top!

Adam Carolla - The hilarious radio host and best bud of Kimmel. I can't imagine him dancing, but I can't imagine it not being funny!

Cristián de la Fuente - I have no idea...

Shannon Elizabeth - she was in "American Pie"... I think she maybe the one who was also on That 70s Show..

Steve Guttenberg - more laughs! can you visualize it?

Mario - no last name, must be a pop star?

Marlee Matlin - whoa, deaf is a good twist...

Penn Jillette - That's Penn from Penn and Teller! Holy crap, he's like 8ft tall -- maybe he can make the judges disappear?

Priscilla Presley - Presley is 62.. wonder if she's got the king's moves...

Monica Seles - tennis champ..

Jason Taylor - i'm told he's a football player

Marissa Jaret Winokur - i don't know..

Kristi Yamaguchi - the figure skater -- that's gotta be an advantage. i believe she started skating pairs too...

Gagne "Apologizes"

In an AP article, Gagne was quoted about the Mitchell Report:

"I'm here to let you know I feel bad for my family, what they had to go through, and all my friends, especially my teammates here with Milwaukee," Gagne said a statement. "That's a distraction that shouldn't be taking place. I'm just here to help the Milwaukee Brewers get to the World Series and playoffs, and that's all I really care about."

Is that an apology? I can't tell... He called the Mitchell Report a "distraction that shouldn't be taking place"! Wow! That's some serious blame shifting. It's not his past behavior that the distraction -- it's the Report. Nowhere in there does he acknowledge that he did anything wrong or that he is sorry for... errrrrrr... Never been happier to see the Sox let a player go...

Fenway Flashback: Gabbard's Complete Game

July 16, 2007Shortly before being traded away Kason Gabbard threw a complete game shut out. Here is his fantastic 9th innning...

The sweetness of his moment was sullied by the knowledge that the Sox will soon give him up for Gag-me....

Fenway Flashback: Roll With It, Manny

July 15, 2007

In a miserable 2-1 loss to Toronto, during which the Sox left runner after runner on base, Manny gave us an early moment of levity in this clip. I love it because it shows Manny making a great defensive play while playing shallow (gasp!), and then clowning around afterwards, and Josh Beckett smiling...

Baseball today: The good, the bad, and the ugly

I've been listening to Clemens testify in congress for the past hour or so. I have a little time of my hands since I got my YANKEES tickets in 10 minutes! Clemens claims he doesn't know what a vegan is. This time I believe he's telling the truth... anyhoo, I took a break and came upon these -- the first pictures from spring training!!
there are more here thanks to boston.com
Of course, you've undoubtedly heard the big news about Dice-K's mullet. The herald has a nice shot of it:

Almost as big a news story, is Buchholz's shirt:

And even bigger news is Beckett's belly. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what vegan means either... =)

The Herald has lots more pictures here...

i LOVE the VIRTUAL WAITING ROOM!!

I never win anything. When I was a little girl I once won a Ms. PacMan pin. I remember it clearly because it's the only thing I ever won by chance. UNTIL NOW! I was chosen in the second chance lottery for Yankees tickets and with 40 browser windows and 7 minutes I GOT THEM! In the infield, too! :):):):) Maybe not close enough to throw something at A-Rod but definitely close enough to yell at him! :):):):) Lovelovelove the VWR! And I'm sorry for talking smack about it in the past.....

PETA rocks

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are always extreme, but always fighting for what is best for animals. They've got a great new ad campaign to coincide with that fancy dog show. If you have a dark sense of humor, check 'em out:


This one might go a little far, but it is the truth. Who wants to hear the truth, though?

Learn more about PETA's ABC campaign at PETA.org.

On a brighter note

The boys are throwing in Florida. Here's the proof:

Courtesy of Extra Bases @ boston.com

Clemens throws his wife under the bus

Just when you thought it couldn't get uglier -- Andy Pettitte, former bff of Roger Clemens admitted Clemens told him he used HGH. According to Extra Bases, Clemens, still clinging desperately to his original denials, claimed that Pettitte must have misunderstood him in the first conversation, that his wife, Debbie had used HGH. . I have no words....

The Matsuzaka Mullet

Dice-K has been spotted in Fort Meyers with a new do -- a mullet, of sorts... Noah Pranksy has a little interview...

I won the lottery!

Well, in a way it's the opposite of the lottery. I won the opportunity to spend money -- I won a chance to buy Yankees tickets in the second chance lottery! I have no idea what tickets are left, but I'm excited to spend tomorrow in the VWR from hell. I'm hoping that it'll be slightly less hellish since it's not open to the general public and is in the middle of a weekday. I way over my baseball budget already and clearly can't afford another trip east, but hey, George W says he's gonna send $600 my way and it's simply unpatriotic not to at least try to buy yankees tickets!

Screw the Groundhog, Truck Day Says Spring is in the Air!

The Red Sox Truck, hauling all their equipment, has made it's annual trek from Boston to Fort Meyers, Florida, signaling the dawn of spring -- well, spring training, at least. And better yet, Beckett, Buchholz, Dice-K, and Oki have also made the trek. Spring is in the air, folks! Lots more Truck Day photos at boston.com.

The Grammy Awards

1. Alicia Keys. I saw that horrible superbowl pre-game performance and Alicia Keys has a long long long way to go before she earns respect. Her silly little duet with cartoon Frank was embarrassing at best. And her faux-hawk is as silly as her superbowl dancing. I hope this is not indicative of how this grammy show will go.

2. Carrie Underwood + Stomp = Crap. It might have been an interesting performance if they had left out the Carrie Underwood part. Girlfriend still dances like she's on a horse, despite the zillions of dollars she has spent on a stylist and makeup artist. I hate American Idol. But I do like her boots. Wish I could pull them off..

3. Prince. Never say die. Boyfriend hasn't aged in 20 years...I wish he were performing! But he presents to Alicia Keys and she proves she is the dullest artist at the award show...

4. The Time. Holy flashback, Batman! Ooo-eeeee-oooo-eee-ooooo! Fantastic right up until they brought out that Rhianna chick. She proves that talent is necessary for success in the music industry-ella-ella. Is she wearing a hula skirt? Rhianna and Prince have the same hairstyle, but it looks much better on Prince.

5. Tom Hanks. Hello? Aren't these the Grammy's not the Oscar's??? He honors the Beatles. Yoko sits with Ringo and they seem to be enjoying themselves. I like Cirque Du Soleil and I like the Beatles. Together they are surprisingly dark and twisty. Was Let It Be used in a movie or something? I have no idea what the video clips are from, but the gospel version of let it be is the highlight of the show so far.

6. Cyndi Lauper and Miley Cyrus. Weirdest combo ever to present an award together. Amy Winehouse wins for best new artist because she's the only one on the list I've ever hear of and honestly I've only heard of her because of her nutty drug-enduced behavior.

7. Jason Bateman. I've had a crush on him since I was like 10 so I'm glad he's on my tv, but I am wondering why, considering these are the Grammys and not the Emmys... He claims the Foo Fighters are going to be playing outside in his venue. Jason announces the reality star for the night, proving even the Grammy Awards are a reality television show. The winner gets to play with the foo fighters, which makes me kinda mad because the foo fighters already have an awesome violinist. And why the heck do they have to play outside? I guess I should just be happy that they don't have to play with Rhianna.

8. You know you suck when your glow in the dark technology shows up the rest of your performance. Glow boy is now singing about mama so I am gonna guess that this is Kayne West.

9. Before each commercial break, some unreadable crap rolls across the screen and seems to list award winners, but on my non-hd broadcast tv I can't read it. As fergie sings with John Legend, I realize two things. One, I only like a teeny fraction (what? 5%? maybe 2%?) of music and two, that they are not actually handing out awards in this award show and I had better start trying to read that little cnn ticker. Fergie looks incredibly uncomfortable trying to actually sing.

10. Cher. She's wearing 1000 times more fabric than she used to but she still looks hella crazy -- like she's the bride of Frankenstein. Beyonce forgot her pants. Power, sista! She's trying to make it okay for thick thighed women everywhere to show their legs. Tina Turner must be 100 years old and her legs still rock. She looks a little dazed and confused and her face work has made it difficult for her mouth open enough to scream, but girlfriend is still rockin'...in stilettos!

11. Song of the Year. Amy Winehouse. Seriously? That's the best song of the year? Maybe the academy or whoever is trying to be ironic...

12. FOO. Jason Bateman explains that the Foo Fighters are outside because they are simply too big for Staples Center. Awesome. They do not disappoint. No show, just serious rock and roll. Love that they gave the same performance here in Reno a week ago that they are giving to the Grammy crowd. Boys give 110% whenever they take the stage. The backup orchestra was a little trippy. The reality star violinist played with the orchestra and not the band. Dave Grohl is officially my rockstar boyfriend of the day. May he never cut his hair or pull it behind his ears and God bless the editor who put in all the clips of Taylor singing. Thank you, Foo. One Grammy down (although they failed to mention what exactly the grammy was for). Four to go...

13. Brad Paisley. I hate country music so I might be a little biased here. But seriously, did he just sing I'd like to check you for ticks? And just because your last name is Paisley doesn't make it okay that your guitar is glitter paisley.

14. Kayne. Best Rap something. His head is carved MAMA. I'm trying to believe he's not exploiting his mother's death, but is a tribute to her. He waxes on incoherently (to me, but I'm old) and then bitches that they start playing music. The music persists and he drones on. Then he starts talking about his mother. I'm sure he's not exploiting her death. And then he bitches some more about the music and guilts them into to stopping it, which they do. And now I'm sure he's exploiting her death.

15. Aretha. Gone gospel. I dare not make light of gospel...

16. Fiest. Balls to get up there all alone. Very quirky and interesting...

17. Kid Rock and old lady. Laughs. I love Kid Rock and he almost sounds like he can sing as he does his best Frank Sinatra inpersonation. Whoever put this together has excellent sense of humor... They present rock album and FOO Win! Echoes is easily the best album that I've heard in years so I'm stoked they won. Would have understood if Bruce won, though... Grohl dedicates the award to his daughter Violet and secures his place as Rockstar Boyfriend of the Day ;)

18. Alicia Keys Take Two. She sheds her piano to show she also forgot to put on pants. It seems like on such a grand occassion as Grammys, one would double check to see if they finished getting dressed. john Mayer, for reasons beyond my imagination, tries to save Alicia Keys to no avail. Girlfriend should go back to Disney songs.

19. Ringo and Dave Stewart are definitely separated at birth.

20. Amy Winehouse. This is the first song I've heard that isn't that rehab song and it pretty much sucks. Winehouse doesn't really sing either song she more speaks the words and drones on a bit. I'm not sure what the big appeal is, other than the fodder she provides for the paparazzi. I think Fergie is a better vocalist. Yet Winehouse wins record of the year (beating my Foo Fighters) and I'm started to get irritated. Winehouse didn't appear to have a clue what was happening. Foo 1/2

21. Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and John Fogerty. What a trip to see a million year old Jerry Lee Lewis rock out. Little Richard hasn't aged a day and Fogerty can still rock.

22. Album of the Year. Of course, I was rooting for the Foo Fighters but I'm just glad that Winehouse didn't win... Herbie Hancock took the award home. He said it had been 43 years since a jazz artist won Album of the Year, so I guess it was overdue... Foo 1/3

23. Wrap it up. Overall the show SUCKED! I'm off to read the list of winners because I have no clue who won 99% of the awards... Things that should have been on the show and weren't:

Bruce Springsteen "Radio Nowhere": Best Rock Song and Best Rock Solo Performance
Foo Fighters "The Pretender": Best Hard Rock Performance 2/4

Fenway Flashback: Hey Now, You're an All-Star

I'm not a huge All-Star game fan. This year, I tried hard to be a good American League fan and root for the team even if that meant rooting for A-Rod. It's been awhile since I've watched a Yankees game, so I thought I could do it. I tried to do it, but then this happened:

I know it's just me. I really wanted to see Beckett throw a perfect 2 innings in the All-Star game. I know. I didn't want to see him give up any hits, so I just imagined A-Rod standing still as a ball rolled by him and was called a "hit". I'm sure it was a hard hit ball and A-Rod had no chance at it and that he was playing a perfect position for 3rd base and not chatting distance from short stop. I vowed to be a better fan. I would root for the American League team -- the whole team. And then this happened:

What the heck? I've seen better base running at Little League games... Try as I might. I really hate A-Rod...

Obama: Dancing Queen

Barack Obama proves he's half white on Ellen:

i heart jon lester

how cute is it that the over-zealous, Jon Lester, showed up to training camp TEN days early and 35lbs bigger? This is gonna be a fun year! =)

Foo Freaking Fighters

The Foo Fighters were in Reno last Friday! I don't know why but look here's proof:
pictures courtesy of foofighters.com
Holy heck! I've seen enough live footage to know I was in for a real rock show and they certainly did not disappoint. The band played a wide selection of songs, old and new, hard and soft. Dave Groh, who suffered from the flu earlier in the week and had to cancel shows, seemed to be fully recovered considering how hard he rocked.

What I didn't expect was Grohl to be so entertaining when he wasn't making music. Grohl was light-hearted and funny. Throughout the show, he wore a childlike smile, which seemed a sharp contrast to the often biting lyrics and intense guitar. He joked with band members and genuinely seemed to like them. And he genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself. He interacted with the audience and called attention to a couple members. One was playing drums on the barrier. Grohl stopped the show to point out this "overzealous fan" and brought down a camera and a mic to capture the moment. He also called attention to Mustache Man, a middle aged man, high in the stands, who waved goodbye to Grohl when he said he had one more song. Grohl easily convinced Mustache Man to stay, putting the spotlight on him and teasing him relentlessly. Despite the intensity with which he plays, Grohl didn't take the band too seriously. He joke about the growing number of musicians. (The was an extra guitarist, keyboardist, violinist, and a guy who plays bells and whistles). Grohl called out the bells and whistles guy, much to his dismay, and coaxed the audience into demanding a triangle solo.


The band continued to tease the audience right up through the encore. When they went backstage, they appeared on camera, teasing the audience with peeks of the setlist. Overall the show was fantastic. They sounded great -- just like they do on the albums, which is always nice to hear in this day and age. The addition of a head banging violinist was awesome and the combination of lightheartedness and intensity is not matched by any band today. The foo fighters are clearly one of the best live bands around.

It was the first show that I've been to at the recently built Reno Event Center. Parking in downtown is obviously a bitch, but the acoustics in the venue are unmatched by any venue in town. I was able to hear all the lyrics and the banter despite the heavy guitars. The crowd was quite young and quite violent. While Against Me played, the crowd around me turned into a violent and scary mosh pit. The conservative gentleman next to me got beat up for pushing the flying bodies away from us. Nice. The crowd settle during the Foo Fighters set, right up until the end and it got a little edgy. It put a damper on the show for sure. On the upside, most bands who play in Reno are faced with an audience in which only a small fraction are actually interested in the show. That was not at all the case on this night. The place was packed and everyone was singing, screaming, head-banging, and fist pumping along. Grohl claims they won't wait another 15 years to come back to Reno. Let's hope he's not just teasing. =)

Go, Stewie!

I had much more fun cheering on Stewie as he went head to head with Underdog than I did trying to cheer for the Patriots.
Coca Cola Super BOwl Commercial: Parade Balloon

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Fenway Flashback: I've Never Been More Cuckooo for Coco Crisp

July 5, 2007
Nothing pleases me more than Beckett and Wally in the same picture...
Poor Tampa Bay. They are a terrible team. I feel bad for them and they are kinda hard to watch. They loaded bases in the first inning and even walked in a run. When bases are loaded for the Sox, I'm always hoping for a GRANDSLAM. And there are several Sox players who make that expectation almost realistic. One of the last people I'd expect it from is my man Coco Crisp, yet he did just that in the first inning. Check it:

His next at bat was also with bases loaded and he was met with a LET'S GO COCO chant. Very cool... There were tons 'o hits. Beckett had tons 'o strikeouts. But the highlight of the game was clearly Wally getting the best of Raymond. Check it:

Why I Left New England

A student brought this in for me today. It's about Connecticut, but it pretty much applies to the whole northeast...

Dear Diary

Aug. 12 Moved to our new home in Connecticut. It is so beautiful here. The mountians are so majestic. I can hardly wait to see the snow covering them.

Oct. 14 Connecticut is the most beautiful place on earth. The leaves have turned all the colors and shades of red and orange. Went for a ride through the beautiful mountians and saw some deer. They are so graceful. Certianly they are the most wonderful animal on earth. This must be paradise. I love it here.

Nov. 11 Deer season will start soon. I can't imagine any one wanting to kill such a gorgeous creature. Hope it will snow soon. I love it so much here.

Dec. 2 It snowed last night. I woke to find everything blanketed with white. It looks like a postcard. We went outside and cleaned the snow off the steps and shoveled the driveway. We had a snowball fight ( I won ), and when the plow came by, we had to shovel the driveway again. What a beautiful place. I love connecticut.

Dec. 12 More snow last night. I love it. The snow plow did his trick again to the driveway. I love it here.

Dec. 19 More snow last night. Couldn't get out of the driveway to get to work. I'm exhausted from shoveling. F*#*ing snow plow.

Dec. 22 More of that white shit fell last night. I've got blisters on my hands from shoveling. I think the snow plow hides up around the corner and waits until I'm done shoveling the driveway. Asshole.

Dec. 25 Merry f@#$ing christmas. More friggin snow. If I ever get my hands on that son-of-a-bitch who drives the snow plow, I swear I'll kill the bastard. I don't know why they don't use more salt on the roads to melt the f#@%ing ice.

Dec. 27 More white shit last night. Been inside for three days except for shoveling out the driveway after the snow plow goes through every time. Can't go anywhere, cars stuck in a mountian of white shit. The weatherman says to expect another 10" of the shit again tonight.

Dec. 28 The f*#$ing weatherman was wrong. We got 24" of that white shit this time. At this rate it wont melt before the summer. The snow plow got stuck up the street and that bastard came to the door and asked to borrow my shovel. After I explained how I had broken 6 shovels already shoveling all the shit he pushed into the driveway, I broke my last one over his f(@*ing head.

Jan. 4 Finally got out of the house today. Went to the store to get food and on the way home a damned deer ran in front of the car and I hit it. Did about $3,000 damage to the car. Those f@*#ing beasts should be killed. I wish the hunters had killed them all last november.

May 3 Took the car to the garage in town. Would you believe the thing is rusting out from all that f*@#ing salt they put all over the roads.

May 10 Moved to Georgia. I can't imagine why anyone in their right mind would ever live in that God-forsaken state of Connecticut.

Random musings

stupid groundhog

Just when I have reached the breaking point of winter -- that point where I can't take one more cold day -- when the depression of winter turns to anger -- I need a target for that anger -- and suddenly that damn groundhog sees his damn shadow and silently declares SIX more weeks of winter. The image of Bill Murray frantically driving off a ledge with that stupid groundhog in tow....

I've never wanted a new laptop so badly

Yesterday, I saw the new apple commerical. They pull a laptop computer out of a manilla envelope. Holy crap!
Britney

Britney Spears suddenly has a dad. His name is Jamie. Her mom's name is Lynn and her sister's name is, obviously, Jamie Lynn. Creative, huh?

Kimmel's Unnecessary Censorship

I work at 6am, so I never watch late night tv. I did however, accidently tape Kimmel last night and just watched it. It was his anniversary show, so he did an anniversary version of Unnecessary Censorship in which they censor things that don't need censoring. The result is the funniest bit of tv I've seen in a long time:

Fenway Flashback: Send the Man to San Fran, Closer to Japan

July 2, 2007

The All-Star voting results were announced and FIVE Sox were celebrated -- Ortiz, Ramirez, Beckett, Lowell, and Papelbon. Furthermore, Hideki Okajima was named to an online ballot and Red Sox Nation was called to action to vote.
all the hot pitchers either come from or end up in texas
The game gave Gabbard his second win and Jacoby a few more firsts -- he got his first outfield hit, his first walk, his first stolen base, and his first time crossing homeplate. Here's a bunch of those firsts in one clip!


In other news, a fan's sign got Don wondering how many games Jerry had attended. Remy admitted that he took the announcing job in 1988. Holy heck -- that's 20 years! At 150 games a year, that 3,000 games! And that's just announcing -- not playing or coaching. I think it's fair to say that Jerry Remy knows baseball! A new camera up in the announcing booth, brought Jerry and Don's bickering to a new level...

Phewwwww! The family is intact...

So the Mets are gonna get Santana. Yes, it would have been nice to have another established Cy Young caliber starter, but Santana going to the Mets is best case scenario in my mind because (A) we get to keep our kids -- Ellsbury and Lester, (B) the Yankees didn't get Santana either and (C) Santana now plays for the National League, so who cares!

I would be the most cautious trader if I were in power. I can't even begin to count the number of times that the Sox trades have come back to bite us in the ass -- For instance, last night I watched cutie Kason (like Jason with a K because he gets a lot of them ;)) Gabbard get his second win of the season against his future team, the Texas Rangers. And the day before that and the day before that I watched Eric Gag-me, still a Texas Ranger, throw 2 well pitched saves. It makes steam build between my ears to watch him pitch so well against us, knowing how shitty he pitched for us. Errrrr.... And to think we gave up a decent prospect like Gabbard to get him..errrrrrrr.... So no, I don't really like trades all that much. (Except the one that brought us Beckett and Lowell. That was a good one =))

Fenway Flashback: Baby's First Steps

June 30, 2007

Ahhhhh... Francona must have been thinking the same thing as me when he started Wily Mo in centerfield. The following day, he called up little Jacoby Ellsbury. Yeah! And here's the boy's first major league catch:

And his first major league at-bat was a little embarrassing:

But an inning later, he had his first major league hit and proved he's fast!

4 8 15 16 23 42

In Anthony Breznican's USA Today's Sundance Blog The Edge explains the mystery of the number 42:

I said, "Isn't it weird how certain numbers seem to turn up in our lives? It seems like this kind of thing is especially common kind of game with musical people, who must make numbers and patterns a part of their art." "Yeah, we like numbers," Bono says...

For a moment I think he's going to dismiss the phenomenon. Then he jerks his head toward the guitarist and says knowingly: "Edge's is 42."

"I discovered recently that it is actually the secret number of the universe," The Edge says.

"What is it?" Bono asks, and The Edge repeats himself. Bono feigns concern and says, "Steady on, The Edge..."

"Why is that funny? Quite honestly..." The Edge replies. He's so stoic it's hard to tell if he's joking -- but he's joking. "It was in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...But scientists have recently discovered that it's actually true..."

The Edge's voice is then drowned out as Bono blasts the volume on his jangling guitar intro, just in time for the "six o'clock" lyric. Bono sings along with himself for a moment, then turns the sound down again and looks back at the guitarist and smiles sarcastically: "Say it again...Sorry, Edge, for interrupting you, oh master of the universe."

The Edge is undaunted by his friend's teasing and describes a mathematical study about 42 recurring in formulas relating to mass, energy, speed and other physical properties. It's clear he's the scientist, and Bono is the poet -- but both see a mysticism in numbers from different directions.

I bet The Edge can explain what the hell is going on on that island, too...

And, yes, i am still cuuuckooooo for Coco Crisp

On June 27th, Coco Crisp dove for a ball and missed. I can't remember ever seeing him dive and miss before this.. He sprained his thumb. He managed to finish the game but he sat out the next game. Two days later, in his place, Wily Mo Pena started. Yup, so the outfield was JD Drew, Wily Mo Pena, and Manny Ramirez. It gave me chills. I mean, there are sooooo many times -- countless times -- that Coco saved his pitchers. So many hits, spared by Coco's diving catches. Catches that clearly (no offense) that Wily Mo would have never caught. So I started thinking that noone gets through a season without a rest. Without a little injury. Without a few days off -- and so what if the Sox trade away my little Coco.. Sure. Jacoby will do a nice job, right up until he sprains a thumb or whatever. Then we are back to, ahem, Wily Mo. Wouldn't it be nice to have a utility outfield who can really really field? Who can make the clutch play -- like coco did in the playoffs?? So yeah, it'd be nice to have another Cy Young candidate in the starting rotation. But on a team that already has one too many starters, wouldn't it be nice to have a backup outfielder that the pitchers can trust to make the play behind them? ...I think so!

Fenway Flashback: Someone's Got a Temper!

June 29, 2007

It's good to be back home and good to be back on NESN. I thought the bats would start flying once the boys got back to Fenway. Not so, but they did manage to eek out a win against Texas. The only weakness I've been able to see in the Sox bullpen, up until now, has been a long relief guy. We've got a setup guy and a closer, but if the starter doesn't make it through 7, then what? Well, we do have Manny DelCarmen and in this clip he proved that he's got the stuff we need against Sammy Sosa. Look what the babyfaced, DelCarmen does with the bases loaded...

Wow! I really thought Manny was out of his league up there against Sosa, but he totally rocked! Love love love that MannyD.

Then in the 9th, Pabelbon is on to save and ends up in a foot race with the uber fast Kenny Lofton. It's a virtual tie that goes to the runner and Papelbon loses it. The boy's got a temper! And it's little teeny Dustin Pedroia who risks his life and gets between the evil ump and Pap. Someone has to keep him in the game...

Pap was able to chill enough to get the final out -- after hitting the next guy, that is -- and the Sox won 2-1...

Fenway Flashback: The Giant and The Dwarf

June 25, 2007
Safeco Park, Seattle
Giant Richie Sexson and Mini Dustin Pedroia

Hawaii Chair

Well, birthday ended with chills and a fever followed by the next two days on the couch in delirious fever state, watching loads of daytime tv. The gem was a clip of an infomercial featured on the Ellen show for a hoola chair.

You can view the rest of the infomercial and order yours at hawaiichair.com!

Birthday Blog

4am
Woke to puking dog. Had to chase him outside to avoid cleaning puke at 4am on my freaking birthday. Dog is obviously not going to celebrate my birthday. Also, found everything coated in snow. Of course it's snowing, because I hate snow and it's only my freaking birthday!

4:05am-4:55am
Lay in bed unable to get back to sleep.

4:55am
Fall asleep

5:00am
Alarm goes off

5:27
Got up and watch tv news to find out when snow will end. Instead find out that Martin Luther King Jr has upstaged my birthday this year and it's not even his birthday. Get very generous ebay gift card from very nice brother.

6am
Cramps come back. Day 5 of cramps... Cramps are mocking me. I am now sure that I will have 25 years of horrible cramps only to end up childless and alone. The irony is not funny.

6:20am
Get to work 20 minutes late. Greet the only student and realize I have on 45% of my voice. That'll come in handy later when I have to teach classes.

7:45am
Work on the final 2 tax forms. Stiff neck gets even worse. Sun comes out, but snow starts again.

9am
Birthday greetings from staff member, followed by the news that the snow will continue all week.

10am
Snow is heavy and steady. Go home and work on taxes.

2pm
Still snowing. Decide to hibernate

3pm
Still snowing. Head to work

3:30pm
Get to work. Snow stops.

5:30pm
Cupcake girl is a no show for class.

7:00pm
Home. Try to make popcorn, but only have enough for 1/2 cup popped. Plate breaks in microwave.

7:30pm
Get Happy Birthday email from ex about how happy and not alone he is.

7:49pm
Snow starts again...

Fenway Flashback: The Other Side of the Story

June 23, 2007
Petco Park, San Diego

Thanks to some terrible umpiring and some outstanding pitching, the Padres (back in their blues) beat the Sox 6-1. It was a Wakefield game, which brought Doug Mirabelli back to San Diego. San Diego was the team that Dougie was traded to and then traded back when Bard couldn't catch a knuckleball. We all know that Dougie came home to a hero's welcome with a police escort and all, but there are two sides to the story. That's the only benefit of these non-NESN games. I do get to hear the other side of the story. Apparently, Dougie talked smack about San Diego when he was there. He asked to be traded back to Boston again and again and complained about the San Diego fans and the role the team played in the community. So the Padres fans didn't much like him and we're as glad to see him go as we were to see him come home again. So poor Dougie didn't get a warm welcome from the southern California fans. And much to their pleasure, he didn't deliver offensively.... here is his first at-bat...

Don't worry, Dougie, Boston fans heart you! And we're glad to have you on board for 2008! =)

Fenway Flashback: Retro Day

June 22, 2007
Petco Park, San Diego

Apparently it's retro uniform day --at least in San Diego. The lousy announcers haven't explained a thing, so I have no idea why, but our Sox have shown up in San Diego wearing their old school grey and blues:

Tek looks a little weird with the tall red socks but they look pretty good overall. Well the Padres seem to have chosen the strategy of distracting the Sox with the ugliest uniforms in club history. Hell, these have to be the ugliest uniforms in MLB history:

And it looked like it might work. Dice-K walked the first 3 batters! He eventually got used to the uniforms and pitched a pretty decent 6 innings, holding them to only one run. Even though their socks looked like this:
And their batting helmets looked like this:
Like I said earlier, the announcers were rubbish. They didn't even mention that JD Drew was out of the line-up, let alone why. Then when Pena was removed from the game and replaced by Dave Murphy, they made the announcement, but didn't bat an eye.. or explain who the hell is Dave Murphy??

Thanks to good bullpen work by Lopez, DelCarmen, Oki, and Pap, the Sox won 2-1. The Padres had lots of opportunities but failed to capitalize. The highlight? Papi's picture on the scoreboard, done Mr. T style:

Nevada Votes Mormon

Wow! I knew there were a lot of Mormons here in Nevada. I know a few. Well, the ones I know aren't mormons anymore, but they were born that way and they all have a LOT of siblings. And I know the power of the Mormon vote. Hell, I watched Dancing with the Stars. The Mormon vote kept Marie Osmond in that game months longer then she should have been. So maybe it was naive of me to be surprised that Romney stole the show her in Nevada, winning the GOP caucus by a landslide. The Republicans sent so many folks to caucus, it caused logjams in many precincts here in Northern Nevada and set the whole day back almost an hour. And they were apparently all there to vote Mormon! Who knew!

Fenway Flashback: And I'm Still Cuuuckooooo for Coco Crisp!

June 20, 2007
Turner Field, Atlanta

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I LOVE LEAD OFF HOMERUNS! JD Drew hit one against the Braves to start a little first inning homerun derby... Drews run was quickly followed by none other than my new favorite Red Sox, Coco Crisp! The Braves intentionally walked Tek (huh?) to pitch to my little Coco Crisp. Did they forget he hit two homeruns against them just 2 games earlier? Well, they must have thought it was a fluke, but they were wrong. Coco is hotter than hot... Check it:

Not to be outdone, Big Papi hit a homer in the second and the homerun dancing began:

A couple of innings later, Manny joined in the homerun fun. And then even Hinske got in on the action. Here's a little clip of all those big swings.

And here's even more dancing. This clip is a little long as the announcers are just fascinated by Manny being Manny...

That said, the weirdest part of the night. Tavarez threw a 7 inning shutout.. i might be starting to like interleague play =)

Fenway Flashback: I'm Still Cuuuckooooo for Coco Crisp

June 19, 2007
Turner Field, Atlanta

Ok, there is ONE thing I do like about interleague play. I like watching Josh Beckett bat. It's really funny. He stands up there really stiff like he's not even going to swing, but then when he does swing, he can hit! Here he hits an RBI double to help his cause...

Look how smug he looks out there on second base. =) But the real highlight of this game was another amazing play by little Coco Crisp. Another unbelievable diving catch:

About the catch, Becket has this to say:
Yeah, those are my thoughts exactly! Lovelovelove me that Coco Crisp. I also love how Cora puts his fist up prematurely because he knows that if anything is in the same zip code as Coco, he's got it...Lastly, here's a cute little Manny being Manny moment that entertained the announcers:

Fenway Flashback: I'm Cuuuckooooo for Coco Crisp

June 18, 2007
Turner Field, Atlanta

It was the Coco Crisp show. Coco, of all people tried to save Schilling's ass in this game against the Braves, hitting TWO homeruns. Yes, you read that right, Coco Crisp hit TWO homeruns! But for me the highlight was this missed catch. I think Coco has got to be the most talented outfielder in baseball. I mean, really, he's a freaking ball magnet. He can catch anything. But he did miss this one, but in missing, he almost jumped over the centerfield wall, spiderman style. Check it...

I really love Coco Crisp. I love Ellsbury too, but I will really hate to see Coco go..

RIP

Sad news! I just found at that Worthington Foods (aka Kellogg) has discontinued my beloved TUNO =( =( It was the best (and only) fake tuna around. It will be missed....

Fenway Flashback: Father's Day

Have I mentioned that I hate interleague play? Well, the June series against the Colorado Rockies cemented my opinion. The only thing that made the series slightly watchable was the knowledge that the Sox will kick the crap out the Rockies in a few short months -- when it matters. Every Holliday hit had me thinking, 'whatever, he gets picked off in the world series' ;)... Then there was Beckett's first loss decorated with a grand slam. Bad bats and bad times at Fenway.

Then the strangest thing happened... JD Drew led off. I know, weird, huh? But it worked! The jolly green Giant came to town. It was the Drew-Pedroia one-two show. It was fantastic! The two went head to head to see who could get more hits and RBIs and Dustin won, going 5-5, including a homerun! The Sox won 10-2. Night 2 was a little tighter -- Manny hit a homerun for the only run of the night for either team. Who needs Barry Bonds when you have Manny! And finally it was Father's Day and the Bonds finally hit a homerun off Wakey. No matter, the Sox still won... The highlight for me was Donnelly getting dumped onto the DL and MANNY DELCARMEN getting the call. He didn't throw particularly well, but I know it's the start of good times in that Sox bullpen.

The other highlight was this tiny little clip of Little Papi taking BP...He's the cutest little guy ever!

A new twist on the steroid controversy...

look at those biceps!

When I read the New York Times headline "Prominent Entertainers Cited in Steroids Inquiry" I thought it was a joke -- a spoof of the Mitchell Report. Then I read the first paragraph and I was sure it was a joke.

Entertainers including the singer Mary J. Blige and the rapper 50 Cent are among thousands of people whose names are turning up in an investigation into obtaining steroids or human growth hormones, an Albany newspaper reported on Sunday.

But it's no joke. Mary J. Blige is now Mary J. Blige*. Yup, she gets an asterisk on her grammy award... Will she ever be voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? I wonder if Arnold is on that list?

Back By Popular Demand

Fenway Flashback: Jason Vartiek Messes with Andy Pettitte (4/27/07)

Now I'm definitely "sneaky" promiscuous

According to barstool sports, girls who wear Papelbon jersey's are the sluttiest. They are as crazy as the man himself. Girls who wear Beckett jerseys are "sneaky" promiscuous, especially in October...

I Want To Believe

I feel the need to chime in on this whole Roger Clemens fiasco....

First, on the 60 Minutes interview, I felt like Roger was pretty well-rehearsed and coached by his legal team. I have no doubt that they wrote the questions. It was a press conference with Mike Wallace's wrinkled face for decoration. Now despite seeming rehearsed, Clemens still came off defensive and a little smug. He has chosen to play the victim card here. He was wronged, yet nothing about his answers or his demeanor cried victim. He didn't elicit any sympathy from me and I WANT TO BELIEVE. I actually felt like A-Rod elicited more sympathy in his interview a few weeks ago. I felt like he was honest and human. I don't know what to think about Roger. I do think that his answers to the most important questions -- about taking a lie dectector test and about McNamee's reasons -- were not even close to adequate -- heck, those questions were not even close to answered. And Pettitte! Clemens and Pettitte were best buds and training partners forever and Clemens never knew Pettitte used. Seriously? That never came up in a conversation? Seems unlikely, huh? And why would McNamee tell the truth about Pettitte but lie about Clemens? BTW, major props to Pettitte for taking responsibility for his actions, though...

It was B-12. Yeah right. I think he could have pulled this one off if he had acknowledged the joke in Canseco's book. Canseco said that when talking about steroids in the clubhouse, they called them B-12 shots. But without acknowledging that yes that was a joke, but in my case it's real, Clemen's credibility is lost. He could have also said that he took B-12 shots. If there was something else in there then he certainly didn't know it. Play dumb, Roger. You'll be good at that ;)

The phone call.. Why?? Why did they release this? How does it lend any credibility to Clemen's statements?

Clemens telling mac that no one was on his line, yet he was taping it.. Tell me what you want me to do? and yet Clemens didn't say TELL THE TRUTH. At the same time, McNamee doesn't say BUT YOU DID IT! I don't know what to think of it. I really don't get why Roger didn't have an answer to McNamee's incessant WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO? I thought the answer was pretty obvious. hmmm.. maybe tell them that you lied about me.

I don't know know whether Clemens is telling the truth or not. I doubt it, but who am I to judge? I do know that that I'm not impressed with the man that I've been watching on tv. I'm really really not impressed by his legal team, who are undoubtedly being paid a fortune and doing such a crappy job. And I don't think we'll ever really know the truth. But I know I'd feel much more satisfied if Clemens had fessed up rather than done such a bad job denying it.

Fenway Flashback: Julian Hits -- sorta...

June 9, 2007
Chase Field

I hate interleague play. I don't get why they do it and I despise the NL's lack of a DH. However, I was very interested to see Julian Tavarez bat. And the man did not disappoint. As entertaining as ever, this is Tavarez batting against the D-Backs...

Jason Varitek Might Kill Julian Tavarez, Yet Again

06/09/07

Here's another entertaining interaction between Varitek and Tavarez....

Fenway Flashback: Drew Who?

June 8, 2007
Chase Field (That's in Arizona)

Lugo hit a lead off homerun in the first inning against the D-Backs. Nothing says 'We're gonna kick your ass' quite like a lead off homerun. Love me the lead off homerun!

But this interleague game belonged entirely to JD Drew. I knew he had it in him! ;) JD's little brother plays shortstop for Arizona and I don't know if it was the sibling rivalry or the return to the National League but JD came out of his slump in a serious way. He hit TWO (yes TWO) 3-run homeruns and had another RBI to top it off. JD handed Beckett his 9th win (9-0) on a silver platter.

So here are the two homeruns, some gushing about the Sox (I love it when the opposing announcers gush about the Sox), and a little Drew brothers comparison AND if you watch closely you'll even see a little victory dance by Drew and the boys in the dugout! Sorry about the choppy editing. I haven't figured out how to smooth it out yet. That might be a good project of the snowy weekend...

Fenway Flashback: There Goes My Hero

June 07, 2007
McAfee Coliseum

I cried when I read the Mitchell Report. To be honest, I couldn't finish it. I had skipped to the part about Roger Clemens and part way through the detailed description of the injections to his ass, I had to stop. I loved Roger Clemens. I think I was born a Red Sox fan. I think it had something to do with my mother crossing state lines for an emergency C-section, just for me to be born in Massachusetts. I was meant to be a Red Sox fan. But Roger Clemens sealed the deal. Those years in the 80s and 90s when he threw dozens of Ks per game were the years when I was old enough to get it. I was playing ball and pitching and I couldn't have possibly had a more inspirational role model. I wore the number 21 for my entire pitching career.

I read Curt Schilling's blog about the Mitchell Report and I felt his words when he wrote about how the accusations against Clemens affected him -- how Clemens had inspired him and how it broke his heart to learn that Clemens wasn't quite the man Schilling had believed he was. It broke my heart too, Schill...

And that is why this lovely moment brought me to tears.

Curt threw 8 shut-out innings. No hits... At 40 years old... And after the Sox lost the first 3 games of the series and after Schilling had had several less than stellar outings... Here is the ninth inning. ..

Red Sox win 1-0 in a complete, one-hit game, by Curt Schilling.

Curt Schilling, unlike many who have come before, is a true hero. A great athlete and a great man... A great role model... He makes me proud to be a Red Sox fan and I am so proud he will retire as a Boston Red Sox. Thank you, #38...

Fenway Flashback: Double Trouble

June 4-6, 2007
McAfee Colliseum

I don't have cable and I live on the left coast. So before I figured out mlb.com, the only Red Sox regular season games I ever saw were against the As. There is a broadcast station out of the Bay Area that airs a mix of As and Giants games several nights a week. So I caught a bunch of these As vs Sox games last summer and while I was told that the Sox were great, I have to admit it was hard to see. What I did see, which I'm seeing again right now, is double play after double play after double play. It seems like everytime the Sox get a runner on, they end up hitting into a double play. So either the Sox suck or the As are a fantastic defensive team. It is nice to see these games from the hometown (NESN) point of view and in doing so, I came across this funny clip of Big Papi accidentally spitting on little Pedroia.

BTW, I have to admit that these As have to be about the best looking team in the AL... despite their nerdy white shoes. It took me some games to see past the glare of the white shoes -- but seriously -- Travis Buck, Dan Haren, Bobby Crosby, Eric Chavez, and that Swisher guy... i think i might pay more attention next year when those As games are on...

The highlight, by far, of the series (thus far) is Tito getting kicked out. Once he realized he was gone, he got rid of the gum and chew and really let 'em have it! I've never seen Francona quite like this:

Fenway Flashback: On and on and on and on

June 4, 2007
McAfee Colliseum

The Sox finished losing to the Yankees on Sunday night after a 4 hour game and hopped on a flight to Oakland. They got in around 5am for a night game against the As. Tito attempted to rest a bunch of regulars and put forth a line-up that looked like he expected an easy win. Varitek, Lowell, Lugo, and Crisp were all on the bench. But four hours and 11 innings later, everyone had played... Papi got bored and was caught reading in the dugout:

The game ended in the 11th with a walk-off homerun for the A's 3rd baseman. While I would have liked to see a Sox win, I was grateful that the game ended before Beckett had to pinch hit ;)

A Little OCD?

Watch how perfectly Beckett aligns his stuff in the dugout. =)

Fenway Flashback: Yankees Win, Manny Dives, Pigs Fly

June 3, 2007

Beckett's perfect (8-0) record was looking like it might come to and end, until this sweet bases clearing double by Dustin Pedroia. I just love love love this clip, because it has (1) Dustin's giant swing, (2) Coco Crisp has to slow down to keep from running over Willy Mo on the basepaths, (3) Big Papi hobbling all the way into a triple, and best of all (4) Josh Beckett cheering from the dug out!

And then there was this super fun, kinda surprising slide, I mean, dive, by Manny.

Then shocking things happened -- Oki gave up the tying run to blow the save and Papelbon gave up the winning run to A-Rod to get the L.... in the darkest moments, the Fenway Faithful chanting WHERE IS ROGER? Clemens postponed his middle-aged, drug-enhanced comeback yet again.

Good game ruined, not by the final score, but the horrible announcing of ESPN. If you want to get wasted, drink everytime they mention Manny playing shallow in left field.....