Since the re-signing of Mike Lowell sometime around Thanksgiving of 2007, I knew that the Red Sox would make the post-season in 2008. I didn't, however, think it'd be so damn hard. And never, did I imagine we'd be in second place to the Devil-less Rays. Oftentimes, I've felt this season was a disappointment -- the lack of run support for Beckett, the failure for Buchholz to adapt to the bigs, the struggles of the bullpen, Mike Timlin. The list could go on and on. It hasn't really felt like a season to celebrate. But now that I'm celebrating along with the rest of Red Sox Nation, I've realized what an achievement this season has really been. Yes, the Sox looked hard to beat going into spring training, but the current team is a completely different team than the one they started the season with -- no Manny, no Schilling, no Buchholz, no Lugo, no Drew, no Lowell. And many more spent time on the DL -- Big Papi, Josh Beckett, Sean Casey, David Aardsma, among others. With so many veteran's down and out, the young guys had to pick up the slack. With the pressure on, the young Sox put together amazing seasons-- Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jon Lester, Jed Lowrie, and Jacoby Ellsbury. And consider the phenomenal season of Mike Timlin, the perfectly timed comeback of Okajima's arm and Big Papi's bat. Yes, there is definitely reason to celebrate... It's been a rollercoaster over the past couple of weeks. Just when I would get my hopes up that the Sox can win the division, they were quickly dashed (with runners left on). I've come to realize that the Sox can indeed win without Manny Ramirez, but I'm not sure they can win without both Mike Lowell and JD Drew. David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis just simply don't come up often enough in the batting order to make that happen. Well, Mikey Lowell seemed to be feeling much better trotting around Fenway with his champagne bottles in hand. And JD Drew looked and felt good in batting practice. Whew. That teeny clip of Drew in BP was about as sweet an image as I'd seen in sometime and then I saw Big Papi with his party hat and goggles on. Good times.
A long, long time ago, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays swept the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. It was mid-season, but you wouldn't know it from the frenzy inside the often empty circus tent of a ballpark. Fans relished the win, waving brooms and ringing cowbells. Such celebrations are understood when major milestones are met -- when a team clinches a playoff berth, a division title, or wins a playoff series. But such celebrations midseason, during an ordinary series, are obnoxious and unsportsmanlike. But the icing on the cake in this one, was that the Rays' played "Sweet Caroline" after the final game of the sweep. They took it way too far. And with that bad karma, I was sure they had sealed their own fate. So I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for karma to come around and kick the Devil Rays in the ass. Finally, the day came... After dropping 2 games to the flailing New York Yankees last weekend, the Rays pitching staff melted under the pressure when the Sox arrived at the Trop last night. The Sox hit more homeruns than I could count and made it clear that they are THE team to beat. In the end, the Sox finally moved into a tie for first place. Look, isn't that pretty??
Congratulations to Don Orsillo, who not only got himself a nice, new contract, but announced his 1,000 game. Holy crap! That's a LOT of games.
Further congratulations to Dustin Pedroia who hit his 200th hit. Last week, Tim Wakefield threw his 500th game, but waited until he was home on Friday night to really celebrate with another 8 inning shutout. And congratulations to George Kottaras for scoring his first major league run, even though he struck out, and ran into a double play. Kottaras got to first on a 3rd strike that went to the back stop. Then Coco Crisp hit into an easy double play, but the ball was dropped as Kottaras arrived at the bag. Everyone was safe. Then George moved to third on a ground ball and scored on a pop fly.
Although that sounds a little crazy, it wasn't as crazy as the Sox defense at the time: It looked a lot like a PawSox lineup, with a few exceptions, including Kevin Cash at third. YES, you read that right, Kevin Cash played third base. Luckily Devern Hansack felt mighty at home at Fenway, surrounding by all his PawSox boys and threw an outstanding 3 innings. Hansack managed to keep everyone from hitting down the third baseline, so we didn't really get to see Cash play third. It was probably for the best.
Nothing is better than watching Dustin Pedroia hitting in the clean-up spot. As if the guy doesn't play hard enough -- the pressure is really on to live up to his mouth when he's batting clean-up. So what does that little guy do -- he gets on base every single at bat and plays an extraordinary second base. He is phenomenal. The only thing that is more fun to watch is Terry Francona running out to argue a safe call on Pedoria's behalf. Here's the play
and Don and Jerry awarded Tito the "Twisted but True" award for the play:
Big Papi was nominated for the Best Virgin Relly Award on Regis and Kelly. The Best Virgin Award goes to the best first time guest. You can vote for Papi until midnight tonight Vote often, because Papi's up against Brad Pitt! Good luck, Papi! Here's the clip from his award nominated performance:
My dog has an infected anal sac. Yup, it's as nasty as it sounds. It pretty much sums up life these days. Nothing life threatening, but definitely not pretty. Sums up last night's game too. The Sox are supposed to be a favorite to win the World Series, yet they have their utility infielder in the bullpen... Not pretty, but it is kinda funny. It really had Jim Palmer perplexed. In later innings, when the Sox didn't use Cora, thanks to a surprisingly great outing by Hideki Okajimi, Palmer decided that Cora must have just been goofing around out there. I wish that were the case!
Thanks to his five walk outing last night, Daisuke Matsuzaka now leads the American League in walks. Somehow, he's also fourth in wins... has the lowest opponent batting average with runners in scoring position and.... hasn't given up a run in the 14 times that he's loaded the bases. That's really amazing. And really, really, REALLY stressful.
First of all, let me just say that I'm a big fan. I think you bring a great energy to the Red Sox and have really helped out the Sox this season. I think you are hilarious and fun and I love watching you laugh and smile. You hit like Ichiro-- knocking in everything thrown at you for a bloop hit. However, you do not run like Ichiro. You run more like an elephant..... with his feet tied together... You make Mike Lowell look speedy. It's okay. You are awesome and you do not need to run. Let the rookie do the running. Accept the fact that you cannot run and be okay with that. Please please please stop trying to stretch out hits for an extra base. You will be called out. Every time. Even if you are safe, because it'll be impossible for the umpire to believe that you beat the throw. Yeah, you really do look that slow. Sorry... peace, love, and double-plays, lynne
I've always hated vest jerseys, but then again baseball fashion is, well, not exactly fashionable. And it's not like the guys aren't wearing t-shirts under the vests. I'd really be worked up if the boys were bearing armpits. I just pretend that they are wearing different colored sleeves. But last night, poor Tommy Hunter proved that vests are not okay. Oh the screen cap barely does it justice.... Hunter had a tight tee on under his vest. I think the tight sleeves are probably far more functional than the lose sleeves, especially for a pitcher. You don't want all sorts of extra fabric bunching up around your shoulder and tighter is definitely warmer. However tight shirt + vest = fashion disaster. It's worse than high socks. It's worse than stirrups! I think that Jason Bay is happy to be a Red Sox not because of the chance to be on winning team, but he's happy to escape the god-awful VEST!
I've been worrying that Jason Varitek's recent batting slump is a sign that his career is nearing the end. However, boston.com reports that it's not his career, but his marriage that is ending. Apparently Tek filed for divorce at the end of July. Tek was married for 11 years with 3 kids, so I am sure it's a sad and stressful time for the captain. Undoubtedly, it's had an effect at the plate as well. I'm sure that once the dust settles, Tek's swing will be back in fine form.
Alright, the boys did a good job of trying to distract me last night -- the baby-faced knuckler and the nearly 40 runs. What a wild ride it was. But it's morning and I'm still mad. Surely Sox fans remember the ALCS last year against the Cleveland Indians and we remember that Paul Byrd was busted for HGH use during that series, missing his start. Are we supposed to have forgiven and forgotten?? Come on -- we're Red Sox fans. Red Sox fans never forget... I know the Sox need a starter as they make a playoff bid, I really do get it. I want the Red Sox to win. But I'm not convinced I want an admitted HGH user in the clubhouse. But I didn't want to be quick to judge, so I looked around. Byrd claims to have a tumor on his pituitary gland which causes him to be deficient in HGH, so his doctor prescribed it for him. . Ah that sounds convincing enough. But just to be sure, I looked him up in the Mitchell Report. Here's what George had to say:
On October 21, 2007, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd had bought nearly $25,000 worth of human growth hormone and syringes from the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center, one of the anti-aging clinics implicated in the Signature Pharmacy investigation, in thirteen transactions between August 2002 and January 2005. According to the story, Byrd used his credit card to purchase the substance and received more than 1,000 vials of human growth hormone in the transactions, which were sent to his home in Georgia, to the spring training facility of the Atlanta Braves, where he was playing at the time, and in one instance to a New York hotel.
In public comments in response to the article, Byrd admitted that he had been taking human growth hormone but said that he had been using it to treat a tumor on his pituitary gland. Byrd reportedly said that he had never taken “any hormone or drug that was not prescribed” to him by a doctor. The Chronicle reported that two of Byrd’s prescriptions had been written by a Florida dentist whose license was suspended in 2003. Byrd also reportedly said that “[t]he Indians, my coaches and MLB have known that I have had a pituitary gland issue for some time,” but Rob Manfred in the Commissioner’s Office denied that Major League Baseball had given Byrd or any other player a therapeutic use exemption for human growth hormone.
A dentist? The same dentist that prescribed HGH to other ballplayers, like Jose Guillen. Oh brother. If you want to really clear your name, you clear it. You show the MRIs of your tumor. He show your medical charts. You show your prescriptions. Your doctor speaks on your behalf.... Byrd knew that HGH was a banned substance in baseball, but has yet to present documentation that he was indeed a medical exception to the rule. If you know you are breaking the rules, you'd better document your excuses. I don't know if Byrd is telling the truth or not, but I can't find anything to convince me he's not guilty, that he didn't cheat. Yet, I'm supposed to cheer him on and hope he helps the Red Sox on the way to a championship. Maybe after his first win, I'll be able to put the past in the past. I'll forgive and forget. Who am I kidding? I'm a Red Sox fan...
There's a teeny little wall in the outfield in Kansas City that is getting the best of Jason Bay. When you are used to seeing the Green Monster out there, the Royals' little fence looks like a little league fence. It looks like it'd be easy to hit a ball over it. But somehow Jason Bay managed to hit 2 balls off the wall rather than over it. Just when I started cursing the little wall, this happened:
Video courtesy of FSN KC
It was reminiscent of Johnny Damon's near catch at Yankee Stadium early this year. Then a Kevin Youkilis would-be homer was knocked out of Damon's glove and perch on the top of the wall. This play was even more unlikely as the ball, while rolling along the top of the wall, was knocked down by the left fielder and put back into play, robbing Jason Bay of a homerun. The Sox went on to score all those runs on a Jed Lowrie base clearing triple, so no damage done!
Last night I made a discovery -- the only thing harder to watch than a Dice-K walk-fest is a Clay Buccholz' walk-fest. In a disaster of a game, there was a light moment. The FSN announcers noticed gum stuck to Dustin Pedroia's helmet. It's good to know that at least the guys are having some fun in the dugout. =)
Manny in a dodgers uniform. Messed up... It'll look even more messed up when he cuts his hair! No wonder Manny had last minute second thoughts ;) BTW, while Jason Bay hit a clutch triple last night, Manny hit into a clutch double play....
Jason Bay was greeted with a standing O in his first at bat in Fenway park. The way the Sox fans treated the left field replacement makes me proud to call myself a sox fan....
Bay walked and went on to score the Sox first run of the game.
Last night was, unimpressively, Manny's last night as a Boston Red Sox. If you had told me a month ago that the Sox would trade the slugger by the trade deadline, I would have undoubtedly been angry and horrified. But considering how ugly things have become over the past week, I find myself relieved and excited by the new guy, Jason Bay. I don't know a thing about him, other than this season's numbers are comparable to Manny's but I'm willing to go out on a limb and guess that he's probably easier to deal with than Manny. I mean, he looks like a guy that might even run down the first base line. I came across this nice blog about the fellow. Apparently he's Canadian and he's getting to big for the Pirates who won't be able to afford him next year. I also came across this and freaked out a little because he looks like Canadian version of Manny. I wonder if he has hair? Will he grow dreads? And then I came across a quote in which he's less than kind about the Pirates management and I started to freak out again. But then I saw this:
"Whether you're playing chess, checkers or major league baseball, no one likes to lose," Bay said. "When you lose over and over, it's very frustrating. You want to win, but there's a lot of ways that people can help you do that."
Aha!! The man wants to win. Halle-freaking-lujah! I like him already even if he isn't the polar opposite of Manny Ramirez, but then again, we already have JD Drew ;)
On a sad and surprising note, we do say goodbye to Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss. It sure did take a lot to trade Manny, huh? Both Moss and Hansen have had moments of bright promise. But I've never really seen an upcoming hole in the Sox lineup that would create room for Moss, and I never really thought poor Hansen would learn to deal with the pressure of the pen. I hope each find much more success elsewhere, just like Eric Hinske did.
Questionable umpiring, Manny's questionable absence from the line-up, Joba's questionable sanity, and questionable shift with runners aboard, all combined for a 1-0 loss to the Yankees. The one highlight was the incorporation of Justin Masterson into the bullpen band. Welcome to the pen, Rookie!
"Him and [Josh] Beckett talk about getting a Gold Glove," Gold Glove third baseman Mike Lowell said. "They stink. Pap whiffed at the ball twice and if he let it go, it would have gone foul. Then he kicked it, or spit on it or kneed it, I don't know. He got there quick, but I want to see a replay of it, because that was terrible. Pitchers always say they can hit and they can field and they get their chance and they screw it up. It's like me saying I can go on the mound and start getting guys out, although I went 9-0 in high school with a 1.74 ERA."
If you haven't seen the play, do check the video below. Many laughs..
It wasn't long ago that the Sox decided that Justin Masterson would be a great reliever. They sent him to Pawtucket to make the transition just a little bit ago. Suddenly, tonight he was in the pen, warming early, in just the 6th inning. He ended up coming in in that 6th inning, gathering the last 2 outs and stayed in for the next 2 innings. Masterson was nearly perfect in his 2 and 2/3 inning. It was amazing. The bullpen had been so hard to watch all season, but tonight, it was awesome, powerful, impressive. The Sox front office folks are geniuses. Masterson is not a power pitcher and why someone there thought he'd work out of the pen, I can't imagine, but if tonight is any indication, it was a brillant move. And now with the trade deadline approaching, I can safely say 'We don't need no stinking Gagne'. Please Front Office, do not make any desperate disaster trades like last year. We have what it takes.
The rest of the pen must have sensed the turn of the tides, as Oki and Delcarmen also went hitless. In fact, there were no hits given up by relievers for FIVE innings, when Papelbon tripped over himself trying to get to a little bloop down the first base line. Clearly, tripping over yourself is an error, but the generous scorer called it a hit, just to mess up the relief no-hitter the Sox had in motion. Pap was undoubtedly trying to show up Buchholz, who also fell on his ass fielding a ball...
Not only is it prettier, but it also goes full screen and has a menu to embed! And even better, youtube can't delete it!
The player is FlowPlayer. It's free and pretty easy to use. It requires javascript which doesn't work in a blogger blog post, but if you post it elsewhere, you can embed a nice little embed tag that gets the job done.
BTW, I'm still having trouble with the flash player. It's playing the videos twice, still, so if you bother to watch them, hit pause at the midpoint. I spent most of today trying out other players but haven't been able to get any to cooperate with blogger.
Still mad at the youtube and aol conspiracy and all those kind folks who go around reporting copyright violators, I spent much of the day test driving different flash converters. The results of my experimenting is this little clip of manny losing the ball under his ass. It gets funnier each time I see it. Which is good because I can't seem to stop the video from looping through twice.
Silly me. When I heard that David Ortiz was not going to be able to play in the All-Star game, I didn't think he'd be there. At all. Not only was he there, but he was the center of attention at much of batting practice and he made the media rounds. Here he is on Regis and Kelly, but again Regis was not there. Why is this always the case? Is Regis afraid of the power of the Papi? His loving charm might convert him to the dark side -- the Red Sox side??
Have you heard the buzz about the new JJ Abram's show on Fox? It sounds a lot like the X-Files with an FBI agent investigating the paranormal with a woman who looks a tad like Sydney Bristow who seriously kicks ass just like Sydney Bristow.
It starts out with a plane crash just like LOST. I'm sure we'll see an elevator crash too! I can't wait =)
The relationship between the Sox ace and the [Trinity University] players progressed to the point where they'd hang out together off the field. In the evening, Beckett would pick up some of the older guys in his truck and take them out to dinner or for a beer. (Fregosi: "I would offer to split the check. He said, 'When you're making more money then me you can start buying.") And this past November, Beckett took 22 Trinity players to a Spurs game. "It was awesome," Bronson says of the time with Beckett. "There was no separation. He basically acted like one of us, like one of our good friends."
Innings 1-5 prove my theory that all-star games are boring as hell. Inning 6, I realize that we might actually lose home field advantage in the world series. Inning 7, I start to get stressed out that we will lose home field advantage. What the heck? Doesn't the AL always win??? Inning 7, JD Freaking Drew, I love you! I pray for you to get a base hit and what do you do, in your first all-star appearance? You hit a 2-run homerun!! In Yankee stadium!!! Lovelovelove drew! Tied game... Inning 8, reliving all the papelbon bum controvery and realize that Navarro and the DEVIL Rays from which he hails SUCK. Papelbon proves that with a decent catcher, he rules the MLB. I begin to regret the pinch hit for the slumping Tek and begin to rethink the logic in making the all-star game count... Inning 8, I, in my head, challenge Eva, I mean, Evan, Longoria to prove the the Rays aren't flukey crap. He does. I am temporarily grateful as the game is again tied. Inning 9, Tito goes to Riveria as he suspects his boys will score in the 9th. Tito is wrong. It is too good to be true that JD Drew might hit two out of the park... Inning 10, Mo's a go. I'm starting to think this is a freaking good game. Starting to rethink Tito's little league strategy of everyone plays. He's out of bench players. But it's not like the boys he has in suck or anything,,, . ... .... 15th inning, I awake covered in mosquito bites. Am I camping? The game is still on. holy crap. Jeter is showered and wearing a golf shirt and mocking Tito, who is wearing a uniform shirt. Youk is seen drinking a red bullnot a slumpbuster.. It's 1:30am EST and it's all up to Drew. He walks. Bases loaded. Corey Hart (who doesn't wear his sunglasses at night) hits a walk off sac fly and Tito is happier than he was when the Sox won the series. Whew! and JD Freaking Drew rocks the MVP in his first All-Star game! I have to take this opportunity to say I've loved JD since he was better known as Nancy Drew!
That's funny! In case you couldn't hear him, he said "Boo? F@#$ You." Gotta love live tv! I don't know much about Chase Utley, but if the Yankee fans hate him so much to boo him at the All-Star game, he must be cool! ;) And Big Papi received a chorus of boos during batting practice, to whichhe flexed his muscles. Also booed was poor Wally and the Mets' mascot too... Gotta love Yankee Stadium =)
I like it when the Orioles come to town because you can always count on Kevin Millar to be entertaining even in the dullest of games. Last night was a perfect example. I spent the first half of the game trying to figure out if Millar had orange pom poms on his shoes. From a distance pom poms was my best guess. Equally entertained by Millar's feet, Don and Jerry gave us a close up, revealing the heavy orange laces. Perfect! Those also revealed Millar's new do, which they called bright yellow. I think it was just bleached, actually, but it's entertaining nonetheless! Lovelovelove Kevin Millar!
It's too smokey to go outside today, so I thought I'd get some computer work done. First though, I just had to post my 10 second copyright violating clip of Manny hurdling little Ellsbury, but I remembered that both my youtube and aol accounts were deleted. I check on redlasso (who are kind enough to fight the copyright fight for me) but of course they don't have nesn, so they don't have the footage for me to clip. So I search on for a new video server. I come across a few that might work for a while, until the inevitable happens... more importantly though, I came across a site called hulu where you can watch tv shows and movies for free. It's so cool. They stream almost instantly and go full screen -- real full screen without headers even! The choices are clearly limited, but I don't have cable and so this hulu thing is the coolest thing I've seen in sometime =)
Alhtough I did enjoy the hit parade that was last night's game, I got the best laugh from this Manny moment when he hurdled little Ellsbury to avoid a collison out there in left center. Here's the copy that is totally owned by nesn and illegally posted by me:
Extra Bases reported that Manny was seen in the scoreboard, escaping the sweltering sun at Fenway yesterday during a pitching change. I know it's not unusual for Manny to be seen in the scoreboard. What was unusual this time, is that he was seen making a phone call. Lol. Manny got his bat back and his sense of humor =) In more cellphone news, Extra Bases also reported that Mike Lowell was caught stealing -- a cellphone, not a base! When asked about it, Lowell said he only stole the phone because there were no peanuts or nachos to steal. He said he's always on the look out for peanuts and nachos. Would have been even funnier if he stole a beer! There are video clips of the snatch on the Extra Bases blog.
And most importantly, the batting gods smiled upon the struggling sox lineup last night and gave every slumping sock his swing back. Even long after the game was one and everyone, especially Jerry Remy, wanted to go home and kick back a cold beer, they kept on hitting and hitting and hitting. This game will definitely be used as an argument in favor of allowing to teams to forfeit their at-bats.... Here's hoping the boys can keep the hitting going right through the weekend as the Orioles come to town.
Personally, I've been buying into all the all-star hype, getting all psyched up for another all-star game, forgetting that I hate all-star snooze-fests. I've been a little bit stressed about what exactly I'm going to do with myself over the 3 off days, though. And then I remembered that the All-Star break isn't a national holiday and I don't actually have any days off! Still don't know what I'm going to do without ballgames to watch!
Unfortunately redlasso doesn't cover all networks (like NESN, for instance). But here's hoping. In the meanwhile it does cover FOX and as always there are laughs when Francona does a live dugout interview:
I've been kicked off both youtube and uncutvideo for copyright infringement. How the heck am I supposed to blog about baseball without video clips?? It's just not right. Well, the folks at redlasso.com must have had the same problem because they've created a system in which you can clip from tv and embed it in your blogs. I'm test-driving it right now (with today's game). It's not exactly intuitive but I'm sure I'll figure it out. Sooner or later...
I had heard the rumors, but I hadn't actually seen it for myself. But there it was, Jason Giambi's porn star mustache:. I love the slew of fans mocking it, I mean, showing their support, I think. I like Yankee fans so much better than those (Devil) Ray fans....
This is not a catch, although I was thoroughly convinced at the time: Damon was really convincing. He even convinced himself, but look closer: See? The ball was definitely not in the glove. (I really like this picture because you can see Damon's foot in the air. It's too bad he got hurt, otherwise the whole thing would have been really funny!)
Now, this, on the other hand, is a catch, although Wally Bell was thoroughly convinced that it was not: See? The ball was definitely in the glove. I'm sure once instant replay is a part of the game I will have a long list of complaints, but I do believe it's time has come...
I have no idea how Beckett could concentrate looking at that ridiculous chest protector. Maybe he was trying to throw at it instead of the glove. But it's all good because it's being auctioned off for charity.
I love you, A-Rod. You are so stinking funny... really... now news (I use the term lightly, as this story came from tmz) is reporting that Madonna has brain-washed the batter. tmz.com reports:
"I don't recognize the man he's become," Cynthia Rodriguez told a pal, according to the New York Daily News. "I feel like Madonna is using mind control over him. ... Today he's very cold and calculating." Still, say pals, Cynthia is still in love with the slugger.
Maybe she'll brain-wash him into not choking in the post-season ;)
I just wanted to thank A-Rod for his off-the-field antics. Madonna divorcing her husband. A-Rod visiting Madonna late at night. A-Rod visiting Madonna the day after his baby was born. A-Rod's wife shacking up with Lenny Kravitz. Laughs. I really felt sorry for A-Rod's wife there for a minute. I mean, he went to Madonna's the day after the baby was born. Not cool. But if she's really shacking up with Lenny Kravitz, clearly, she's won!
It's been a long painful road-trip for the sox and the pessimism of those long 86 years is starting to come back, in my mind, at least. So thank you A-Rod for a moment or two of levity!
In Sunday's game in Cincinnati, little Jacoby Ellsbury quietly broke the Red Sox record for steals in a rookie season. And yes, it's only June. In his first at bat, Ellsbury hit a single to left, landing himself on first base. The Reds young pitcher is apparently slow to throw home, so Jacoby stole second on the first pitch for his 32nd steal of the season, breaking the club record of 31 which was set in 1908. And almost immediately after, he took off for third with another successful steal. I often think he's getting cocky when I see him take off almost immediately, but at 33 for 36, he deserves to be cocky. The boy can run.
Decorated with blue eye black for fathers' day, the Sox were obviously told that money would go to save their daddies from prostate cancer for each home run hit. So the boys stepped up and JD Drew (of course) delivered. Surprisingly, so did almost all of the little guys, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, and Coco Crisp. As a result, $84,000 was donated to prostate cancer research.
aol hates me, as they have locked me out of my account and deleted most of my videos :( so I'm taking a break from videos. I'd love to make a video of this damn Lakers intro which is currently making me a little nauseous and flashing back to Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson. I haven't watched basketball in years, but I'm going to watch this one, just to cheer against Kobe Bryant. Bryant, when asked to comment about Schilling's comments about him, replied GO YANKEES. Haha. BEAT LA BEAT LA BEAT LA. I swore I could hear the Sox fans chanting it in Cin city.....
Pap made it clear that there will be more drama to come in the days ahead for the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays. The Sox go to Tampa at the end of the month... seatbelts fastened... I'm having trouble keeping the rotation straight, but it looks like it'll be 4, 5, 1, or Wakey, Dice, and BECKETT. =)
I have to admit I was really worried about Coco when the whole of the Rays dugout landed on top of him. And the big guys thowing punches. I was surprised when he came out of the pack not bleeding. And afterwards he had this to say:
“I charged the mound. I feigned it like I was going to go to first base, just to get Navarro off me a little bit, and just charged the mound,” Crisp said. “He tried to hit me with a haymaker. He missed. I threw a punch. I pretty much missed. And the rest, went down to the ground… like the scratches on my face were people trying to scratch like we were playing football or something, like little girls, trying to scratch out my eyes. I move one hand down, scratch me right here [points to scratch to the right of his nose].“
“After that, people were trying to pull my hair like little girls. Instead of throwing some real punches or something like that… I’m down on the ground, I mean the fight’s pretty much over baseball-term wise. You wanna come in late, and throw some extra blows and get your little blows in, that’s cool. I’ll cover up. It’s all good, trying to pull some hair. It’s all right. It was between me and Shields that time and everybody tried to get their little blows in I think even more… he was unsure if he really wanted to hit me or not it seemed like, but ‘cause he didn’t really hit me hard."
I couldn't figure out what to title this blog....Kevin Youkilis plays right field. Again.... The only team I hate more than the Yankees. .. In this corner, wearing the red socks: Cocovelli Crisp...The Sox turn on themselves. .. Manny not being Manny... A little toooo much testosterone at Fenway park.... The craziest game I've ever seen.... It's not even a full moon.... I heart both Chris Carters... What the H$@@??!?!? .... THe Red Sox steal back the limelight from the Celtics.... Cash plays DH while Youk plays RF... Lowell makes an error!!.. Timlin Rules!... Hell freezes over...
What an adrenaline rush. JD Drew still rocking the #3 spot. A 3-run homer for Manny. A bench clearing brawl. The starting pitcher tossed in the 2nd. Our centerfielder tossed...A game ending injury for Ellsbury (the back up center fielder). Kevin Youkilis in right field. Again. A first major league hit for another Chris Carter.... a whole bunch of catches for Chris Carter... A fight between Manny and Youk?!?! ... Whew!!
I often fall asleep during the last few innings of games and have to watch them the next morning. It's not that the games are dull. It's that I get up at 5am. Nonetheless, I fear I might not sleep at all tonight. The Sox-Rays game is an adrenaline roller-coaster. The best and worst of baseball all rolled into one never-ending game that's conflicting with the Celtics game, even though it was moved up in order to not conflict. Woah, I can't remember such a wild game as this. It really started Wednesday night when Coco Crisp was blocked diving into second on a steal and hurt his thumb. He retaliated a few innings later by taking out Iwamura who was covering the bag.
So the first innning, Dustin Pedroia gets hit and takes his base. It has no meaning to me. Yet... JD Drew is loving life at number 3 and gets a hit. 2 are on. Manny hits 503. A 3-run homerun. He hit it right over the monster. In fact, some guys in the parking lot retrieve it. I launch off the couch. Life is good!
Then the 2nd inning, Coco Crisp leads off. I ran to the bedroom during the commercial break to get some laundry. I heard a lot of cheering and no announcing. I run back in. HOLY CRAP!!! Huge pile of players. I rewind... 2nd pitch to Coco, Shields throws directly at his thigh. Coco shakes his head like he knew it was coming. Then he charges the mound. Shields winds and throws a punch but Coco dodges and gets a punch in to the shoulder. Complete choas ensues. It may well be the best brawl I've seen. It'll be way funnier when I stop being mad...
I gotta say that I can't not believe the nastiness from Carl Crawford and Johnny Gomes. They were not at all involved in the original issue, yet they come in and start punching a pinned Coco Crisp in the head. Gomes got caught and tossed. Crawford will sure share in the suspension. The suspension concerns me because we are short one maybe two outfielders... but we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. The beautiful moment of the brawl: Coco popping out of the pile between someone's legs and not bleeding. That and that dodge of the first punch, his boxer dad must be proud. It had to be done. This fight was going to happen and it was genius for Crisp to get it over with in the first inning -- before Lugo and/or Pedroia got hit -- before Shields got deep into the game. So the Rays lose their starter and the Sox lose their centerfielder. No worries... Our left fielder (Ellsbury) is also a centerfielder and we've just called up a rookie left-fielder, so Manny can DH. So I'm reeling. I'm so excited to witness the stupidity of the Rays that they'd throw at Crisp in his first at bat. I've seen times when our starters wanted to throw at someone but refrain because of the threat of suspension or the threat of losing the games. But the Rays don't have this sense. I'm prepared for a huge blowout ballgame. Bring it!!
And it goes well. Not super-well, but well enough until. gASP! Ellsbury makes a superlative catch but rolls his wrist ala JD Drew in the process. CRAP. Francona is out to check. CRAP. He takes Ellsbury out of the game. On any other day this would be not the biggest deal. A bummer for sure, but today... Coco Crisp is already ejected and Manny is the DH so he can't move to left. The Sox are, once again, forced to put Kevin Youkilis in right field. Oh brother. This is quickly becoming a nightmare. Ladies and gentlemen, announcing, from left to right, your Boston Red Sox outfield... CHRIS CARTER, JD Drew, and KEVIN YOUKILIS. Oh, God, help us!
Okay, it all seems okay. Lester is pitching really well, so that helps the Sox make it through the next few inning then WHAT THE ??@?$?@$ A brawl in the dugout??? In our dugout?? What?? between Youk and and and MANNY???? Don't be ridiculous! What did Youk say he was a better outfielder than Manny?? Check it, Manny full on, has to be restrained:
Unbelievable. Rendered speechless, Don and Jerry have no choice but to turn on one another:
It reminds me of an X-Files episode where the moons and stars and birthdates aligned to turn friends to enemies. It was probably written by the other Chris Carter...
I remember reading about Chris Carter during spring training. I liked him immediately since he shared a name with the X-files creator. The article set him up as the guy who had nothing going for him but worked harder than anyone. He was on the field at first light still there well after the sun had set. I liked him. And here he is.. and lucky for Youk, the Rays hit ball after ball to left and Chris Carter proved he is awesome and Youk didn't have to prove anything. Eventually Youk had to catch a few and did so just fine. He's a dirtdog, afterall.. And after all sorts of more mild drama, Timlin pitched an inning and 2/3rd (i think) of shut out ball. Manny out with his hamstring. Cash in to pinch run... Youk got hit by a pitch but all really was well (enough) and the Sox won 7-1. I was hoping for 20-1 but I'll take whatever I can get. The Tampa Bay Rays have officially moved to the top of my most hated team list thanks to the unpunished, Carl Crawford. Watch out, Crawford. The Sox never forget...
The real highlight of the game: Coco Crisp got a standing O from the Fenway Faithful when he got kicked out of the game for fighting. God bless you, Coco Crisp....
I've wanted to believe that there would be an X-Files movie for years now and it's finally on the way!! Xfiles.com now has a trailer up and some photos. The premiere is schedule for July 25th!
I feel for catchers. I can't imagine squatting for 3 or more hours a day for a 100 days or more of the year. But I've noticed that Tek actually squats down to rest when he's on base! It's like he's more comfortable in a squat than he is standing up! I wonder if he squats to watch tv in the off-season ;)
so MLB.tv has started sprinkling the commercial breaks with their own ads. Yes, I pay to see the games on MLB.tv and StiLL get commercials for MLB.tv. Messed up. The commercials are mostly a smattering of MLB players saying keep watching MLB.tv. They've been adding lots of players lately which, I suppose, is supposed to make the words MLB.tv less boring. And honestly, hearly A-Rod struggle with the pronunciation, is less boring. However, Coco Crisp is the latest and greatest addition. Listen to how he adds the line with style. I've heard it 100 times and it still makes me laugh. I'm cuckoo for Coco Crisp.
I remember finishing my Master's degree. I remember sitting in that meeting, answering question after question. I remember walking out into an empty office knowing I'd done it-- that i had finished. I remember the lack of event. No fireworks. The world didn't stop. The lack of fanfare was shocking and disappointing. Years of study went into that lack of fanfare. Many many more years went into Manny's lack of fanfare at Camden Yard.
I hate MASN. I watch all the Sox games on MLB.tv (more on that later) and I see all the other networks. Obviously I find NESN the most entertaining. And in a close second I dig YES. And Way way way in last are the biased boys of MASN. They are the ones who reported that Shill's sock was a fake. So yes, if Manny were to hit his 500 with the absolutely least appreciative network, it would surely be MASN. They never miss an opportunity to insult Manny. And they didn't even after Manny inducted himself unceremoniously into the hall of fame. I feel blessed to have witness this, Manny's 500th homerun, the 24th such homerun to be hit in major league baseball. Clearly, we are all blessed to have witnessed such a hitter as they clearly do not come along every day.
"I believe in the Church of Baseball. I've tried all the major religions, and most of the minor ones. I've worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I heard that I gave Jesus a chace. But it just didn't work out between us. The Lord laid too much guilt on me. I prefer metaphysics to theology. You see, there's no guilt in baseball, and it's never boring, which makes it like sex... it's a long season and you gotta trust. I've tried 'em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball." -Bull Durham
