The Beginning of the Daniel Bard era

Last night we lost 8-4 to the Angels but the best thing to come out of the game was Daniel Bard and his 100 mph fastball. He came in with runners on 2nd and 3rd and nobody out. That is how he made his major league debut. He promply came in and threw 3 pitches, 96 mph, 95 mph, and 98 mph and struck out Napoli. He ended up going 2 innings and did not give up a run. I will be keeping an eye on Bard and hopefully Theo won't "send him back down until he is ready". Ready is ready, right? He is ready.

Also, JBay hit another home run to help us out to another eary lead, only Wake couldn't hold it for us. Bay is on fire right now, and we should be getting Mighty Dustin back today. I expect a W coming out of Anaheim today!

Another Sweep of Yanks

We swept the Yanks in a short 2 game series in the new Yankee stadium (the House that Steroids Built) and then split another 2 game set with the Indians. And just this weekend we took 2 of three from the Rays. One thing over this last week that I have noticed is that Jason Bay is clutch. I am now expecting that game winning home run or base hit every time he comes to the plate. I hope he continues his hitting as Youk is stuck somewhere between the bench and the DL, although he says he will be playing soon. He says he has been hurting for a while and I can only imagine what he will be like when he comes back healthy. I mean he hit over .400 while injured - he could very well bat over .700 if he is feeling well. Another possible injury is little Dustin. He came out of last nights game hobbling after a ground out to third. He said he will sit out a game but expects to be back by Wednesday's game. I hope that is the case.

The news of Manny came as a shock to me. I am just glad that we have JBay now and that Manny is the Dodgers problem now. It is hard to think that I once cheered for him. The Yankee fans are already popping up saying things too. A judge I know that is a Yankee fan told me that the 2004 championship should have an asterisk next to it because we won it by cheaters. I guess the Yankee fans will always be like that even though I am sure half of their team was on the roids then.

Also, happy mothers day to my mom and birthday too! I still remember the mothers day miracle game a couple of years ago against the Orioles.

Anyway, off day today then off on a west coast trip - the last one of the season. Should have no problem with the Angels this week.

Sox Sweep Away the Yanks

We swept the hated Yankees over the weekend and every game was a typical Sox-Yankee game. On Friday night, down 4-2 in the ninth and Mari OH-No Rivera on the mound, I thought we were were pretty well done for. But it seems Rivera just has trouble closing out games against us doesn't it? With two outs, JBay hit a 2 run home run to tie it up and Youk hit the game winning home run to win it in extra innings. This is the type of game that takes years off my life, but it was worth it. An opening game win against the Yankees is always worth it.

The Saturday game was a slugfest. Before I knew what was going on, we were down 6-0 and it looked like AJ Burnett was pitching too well for our hitters. But in the 4th, Tek hits a grand slam and then we were just down 1 run. We battled back and forth and after over 4 hours of baseball, we won 16-11. The Yankees just don't have any pitching do they?

The Sunday night game we won 4-1, but the biggest play was Jacoby and his steal of home plate. It was the prettiest steal I have ever seen, but the ugliest slide too. It looked like he just fell on the plate. Anyway, we have now won 10 games in a row and knocking on first place on the Blue Jays door, but probably more importantly, we have knocked the Yankees further down the division.

I can only imagine what the Yankee papers are talking about this week. Here is a sample of some of the headlines. Let the good times roll!!! HA HA!!!

A Twin Killing at Fenway

The Sox swept the Twinkies in a doubleheader today 10-1 and 7-3. The first game was a makeup from yesterday which was rained out. Wakefield pitched another complete game (7 innings - called due to rain) and Penny pitched a good game in game 2. Our bats are coming together and just in time too, the Yanks are coming to town for a 3 game series over the weekend.

I don't understand NESN and their rain delays. On Tuesday, during the rain delay, NESN ran a replay of their beatdown of the Orioles on Patriots day. Now I enjoy watching a good replay of a good game, but I think NESN is missing the boat on this. Instead, I would have loved to see NESN cover about a half hour of Remy running his hot dog booth outside Fenway. Then they could go into the clubhouse and show Youk trying to wash raw meat and nickel beer out of his beard as Pedroia whacks him with a towel and the Big Papi laughing uncontrollably on the floor. And then to settle things down, wouldn't it have been nice to see about an hour of Heidi and Amalie Benjamin roaming the seats asking fans what their favorite Red Sox memory was while handing them a towel in order to dry off with? Now that would have been a great rain delay!



They did do a good job of covering the Dave Roberts return to Fenway though. He threw out the first pitch of game 2 and everytime I see him, I remember The Steal and how that one moment changed everything for us. I am sure not a day goes by that a Sox fan doesn't come up to him and tell him thank you for that 2004 season. Of all the Sox memories I have, that one will always stand out the most. They should put a statue out front of Fenway beside the Ted Williams statue of Roberts stealing the base - it was that big.

Now we have to get ready for the weekend series with the Yanks. Now I get really fired up when we play the Yanks (The Empire Formerly Known as Evil) which is probably why my wife will never allow me to go to a Yankee game. I would need a good bondsman or a good doctor, or maybe both after the game. Friday night they have Joba the Hutt Chamberlain pitching against Lester. I expect to see some fireworks especially when Joba starts throwing again at the head of Youk. I really dislike Joba the Hutt. Burnett is pitching game 2 against Beckett which will probably be the best game of the weekend. Game 3 has Pettitte against Masterson. Do you think Teixeira will get booed?? He only strung us along all offseason, and then signed with the Yanks. It is alright though, the 180 million dollar man is batting his weight - around .220! I only wish we could have CC SoBADthia pitch over the weekend against us. I would like us to put another 20 spot on the board.



Anyway, a big series coming up this weekend. It will be full of drama and tension, a lot booing of Yankee players and possibly a bench clearing incident, but in the end, I hope we are closer to the Jays and we push the Yanks further down the division. GO SOX !!!

Nothing But W's Against the O's

We just came off a 4 game sweep of the Orioles over the weekend to move from last place into second place. That game Friday night was crazy, coming back from down 7 runs to win 10-8 was unbelievable. It seems like we always have this type of game at least once per year against the Orioles. Remember the Mothers Day Miracle a couple of years back?

Monday was the annual Patriots Day game so the game started at 10 am at our house. Since I had to work, I had the game on the computer and had to watch dots move around the screen. From what I was able to interpret, Masterson pitched well giving up just one run over 5.1 innings and our bullpen continues to shut down the opposition. It looks like Papi is starting to hit (he even had a triple) and Tek hit another home run. Little Pedroia had a 4 hit day and finally Jacoby is starting to hit too. It looks like things are starting to come together - and just in time too - the Yankees are coming to town this weekend.

Beckett had his suspension knocked down to 5 games so it looks like he will be ready to pitch Saturday against the Yanks, and speaking of the Yanks series, I would be surprised if the Yanks throw out Wang against us on Friday. We very well could score 20 runs that night.

On Saturday, we had a Porsche Club rally and we had a lot of fun driving around but the highlight was after the rally, we stopped for pizza and on the TV was the Indians-Yankees game. It was 22-4 Indians! What a perfect way to end the day!

Also, what is it with the Washington Nationals? Did you see where some of the players were wearing their jersey and the team name was misspelled? Now how in the world does something like that happen? Doesn't even the players look at their jersey before putting it on? The equipment guy, seamstress, somebody should lose their job over that one. What an embarrassment! So whenever I think things couldn't get any worse, I guess I could be a "Natinals" fan.

Now a short 2 game series against the Twins, then the Yanks!

WakeField of Dreams - Almost

I left work early in order to catch the afternoon game against the A's today and what a game it was. Tim Wakefield took a no hitter into the 8th inning, saving our bullpen which was greatly needed, and took the win 8-2. I don't know what to think about Wakefield. There are days when I can't stand to watch a single pitch because he is walking every batter in sight, the catcher is running around trying to stop the knuckler from rolling to the backstop, and hitters are peppering the wall with every pitch that does land in the strike zone. And then there are days like today. One where he is almost perfect.

He knew going into the game he had to stay in past at least 6 or 7 innings to save our bullpen because of them pitching 11 innings the night before. I sat down and quickly saw Lowell hit a two run home run in the second to put us up 2-0. Then, slowly, Wakefield was like a machine going through their lineup. It was going into the 4th inning when I realized that he had the no-no going and this time I was not going to blow it for him. In the past, I have been known to blow the no hitter for the Sox pitchers by calling everyone I know about the game, and usually, by the time I hang up the phone, they give up the base hit and the no-no is gone. I did that for Schilling 2 years ago and I know it was my fault he didn't get the no hitter. So this time I refused to say a single word about it, not even to my kids who were watching the game with me.

In my mind, I kept thinking, "This is going to happen." Usually, with any no hitter, you can point to several key defensive plays that kept the no hitter alive and in this game the first one was the off-target throw by shortstop Nick Green that was handled by Youkilis, who tagged Mark Ellis, in the second inning. Then there was the warning track catch by Ellsbury in right-center in the sixth. After that catch, I just knew Timmy had the no hitter going. Then in the seventh, I saw a defensive play that confirmed the fact I was going to see a no hitter. There was that brilliant leaping, twisting, tumbling play behind second base by Green which prompted Wakefield to raise his arms and point to the Sox shortstop. He was smiling and pointing and down deep I knew it was going to happen and I was not going to say anything about the no hitter to anyone until the game was over.

Then I blew it. I knew the score going into the top of the 8th was still just 2-0 so I opened my mouth and knowing not to say anything about the no-hitter said, "It sure would be nice if we could get just a couple of runs." And sure enough, we batted around and scored 6 runs to take a 8-0 lead. The bad thing was, it took us nearly 30 minutes to score the runs and throughout the inning Wake was sitting there, trying to stay loose and surely thinking about the no hitter. When he came out to pitch the bottom of the 8th, he walked the first batter. Then got an out and then he gave up the base hit to ruin his no hitter. He eventually pitched a complete game and gave up 2 runs on just 4 hits.

So sorry Sox fans, this one was on me again. Just like the Schilling almost no hitter, I blew it for them again. Next time we are having a no hit bid, I think I will turn off the TV and check back in a couple of hours. Then we will get another no hitter.

Another Loss

We lost again last night this time to the Oakland A's 8-3. It is bad enough I have to stay up until past midnite hoping to see our bats get going only to see us continue to struggle at the plate. Lester was horrible, leaving pitches high in the strike zone and giving up home runs. It was good to see Nomar again even if he does now play for the other team. Tonight we have Dice so we will see how that goes.

I heard on the news that one of my favorite players as a child died today. He was Mark Fidrych and he played for the Detroit Tigers. I remember that he would actually talk to the baseball before throwing it and would pile mounds of dirt on the pitchers mound, or all of a sudden would start digging a hole. I remember one game where he stood behind the mound and took off his shoes, banged the dirt out of them and then took his time putting them back on. When he was done, he would motion to the crowd and to his teammates as if saying "sorry for taking too long, I just had to do it." The best thing about him was all of his antics were not for show, it was really how he was. He was like a 12 year old kid playing in the Majors. I remember the Monday Night game against the Yanks in 76, when he ran back onto the field after the game because the fans refused to leave until they saw him again. He ran onto the field in his socks and started to shake the fans hands, he hugged a policeman, and then he broke down and started to tear up. During the interview, he looked around the stadium with his "big bird" eyes in astonishment, and stated "I dont know how I feel, I have never pitched in front of this many people before."



He was a breath of fresh air for all of baseball for the short 5 seasons he played. I mostly remember the Sports Illustrated issue with him on the cover with Big Bird. Hey I was a kid, just like he was! Thanks for making baseball fun for me when I was young, I will always remember Mark "The Bird" Fidrych.

Too Manny Holes in Our Offense

We were only able to take one game from the Angels over the weekend as our offense continues to struggle and with Manny no longer in our lineup, we are continually leaving too many men on base. On Friday, we lost 6-3 and about the only thing I could see good about this game was that Wake pitched well, considering he throws a knuckleball, and I sort of liked our new "special" jerseys. The "Hanging Sox" hat looked a lot like a Christmas Tree ornament, but I did like the blue jerseys.

On Saturday, the Red Sox played a national televised game. Well, I guess it was nationally televised, I guess everywhere but here in the beef jerkey triangle. Here we had to watch the Cardinals play the Astros and watch a complete blow out game while having to watch dots on a computer screen to keep up to date on the Sox game. We won 5-4 on Bay's 2 home runs and although Papelbon gave up a run in the ninth and also loaded the bases, we hung on for the win. Paps probably won't be cleared to pitch again until July after throwing 35+ pitches in the game, but hey, a win is a win.

On Easter Sunday, we sat down with all the Easter chocolate and candy and started to watch the rubber game and immediately a semi-fight broke out between the Angels and Sox. Evidently, Abreu thought Josh was throwing at him after Abreu called a late time out and the benches cleared. Of course, the umps knew he did nothing wrong and then kicked out 4 Angels including their manager. Now when this happened, I knew that Josh, being the Josh we all know, was going to get fired up and not only were the Angels going to get beat, but there were going to get demolished. Instead, Josh just never got it going and instead took the loss in another 5-4 game. Oki now scares me when he comes in, it seems he always gives up at least one run, and this time it hurt us as we came back to make it close in the ninth, but again, we just came up a little short.

Now onto Oakland and it will be fun to see Nomar again play against us. We need to start stringing together some wins and pretty soon too. With the A's and Orioles on the horizon, I can see some "W's" coming our way.

Rays Shake the Dice

Our 9th inning rally came up a run short and we lost again to the Rays 4-3. DiceK gave up 3 home runs which does not look good considering he has the tendency to give up the long ball (see 2007). He seemed to settle down last year, but maybe the old Dice is back?

Some positives to get out of this series is that Tek has hit 2 home runs which is about 2 more than I thought he would have at this time and Beckett is still our ace. I can't wait to get Lowrie out of there and get back Julio Lugo and each passing day brings him one day closer to coming back. Also, Youk is batting a solid .667 after 3 games and his stats look like he is playing against little leagers. Hopefully, his hitting continues.

On another note, I heard last night on MLB channel that Nick Adenhart, pitcher for the Angels died in a car crash last night after his start against the A's. He was 22 years old and just starting to live out his dream in the big leagues. I guess we never know when we have it coming. What bothered me was Scott Boras, his agent, getting up there and crying as if trying to show all of us he does actually have one ounce of heart in his body. I watched the video several times and he comes across as a fake. I really hope I am wrong, but I don't think that guy was sincere about anything that came out of his mouth.

Anyway, it will be a different type of series this weekend against the Angels. I read that someone left a ball at the stadium that said that Adenhart plays for another team of Angels now. Hope we can win a few in Anaheim over the weekend and hoping the Angels (team and family) get through this devestating news ok.

Lester gets banged around

Game 2 of the season started off well but ended around the 5th inning. I sat down expecting to see a nice pitchers duel and it looked that way with Lester striking out 5 batters the first 2 innings. But with our offense not able to muster up near enough runs and with the home plate umpire calling strikes that were over a foot outside, we didn't have a chance, we lost 7-2. I guess this is what they meant by our offense being "Mannyless". It was nice though to see Rocco in our lineup, I think he will be a good addition to our lineup and he made a real nice catch in the outfield to rob the Rays of a base hit. Jacoby will need to get on base more, and Tek looked lost once again at the plate. We will have to see what DiceK brings to mound our next game.

We will going to the west coast on Friday so it will be a late game for us here. I like the late games on the west coast on the weekend.

Fun to see the Yanks keep losing to the "slugging" Orioles. Will the Yanks win one this year?

BecKKKKKKKKKKett is Back

First Pitch

Opening day just like we all dreamed it would be. Josh Beckett went 7 innings, giving up just 2 hits and striking out 10 while getting the win 5-3 over the Rays. I think we should see great things from Josh this year - much better than last year anyway. And how about little Dustin hitting a home run in his first at bat this year? Even Tek got a home run, which hopefully is a sign of things to come from him this year. Paps came in and got the save striking out 2 batters in the ninth to close it out. All in all a great way to start the new season.


Dutin hits a monster shot.

Every opening day I like to think back of some of the other memorable opening day games that I have watched. Remember the 1986 opening day game where Dewey Evans hit the very first pitch of the season for a home run? This was after a horrible 1985 season and after that home run, I knew we were in for great things that year. Who would have known that the season would end with Wade Boggs crying in the dugout? Also that unbelievable comeback in 1998 when we were down 7-2 in the ninth and scored 7 runs in the bottom of the ninth capped by Mo Vaughn's grand slam to win it.

Anyway, the season is back on. It's like welcoming home an old friend who will be at your side throughout the long, lazy summer and into the early fall. It is now NESN 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, hot dogs on the grill, the sound of Remy and Orsillo in the background, Sullivan Tire commercials every 10 minutes, and the occasional report from Heidi. April is here!


Papelbon closes it out.

Opening Day Washed Away

The real games began today, well except for us. Our game was rained out and rescheduled for tomorrow. So instead of watching the Red Sox, we had our fun watching the Orioles beat up on the Yankees. CC Sabathia was wild and was walking people left and right and even threw some wild pitches. It was also nice to see Teixeira being booed by the fans in Baltimore.

I wonder why whoever does the scheduling didn't schedule us to open the season in Tampa instead of Boston. The weather is still cold in Boston in April and Tampa plays in a dome. Doesn't make sense to me. Anyway, the games are beginning to count now and for the next six months it will be nothing but us, Heidi, Remy and Orsillo every day. This is the best time of the year!

So Long Curt

Yesterday, it was announced that Curt Schilling retired. When it was announced, ESPN classic started to play a program focusing on Schilling's career and then they played game 6 of the 2004 ALCS game against the Yankees. You know, the bloody sock game. At first, I was going to just watch a couple of innings and get on with doing other stuff, but the game and the emotion of those several hours back in 2004 brought me back and I sat there and watched the entire game.

Unlike the first time back in '04, this time I sat there with my 5 year old son on my lap and we had the advantage of knowing the outcome. My son Austin would ask questions every now and then, not about the game but where we were standing when a certain play happened and what I was thinking when Bellhorn hit the 3 run home run in the fourth inning. I was amazed that he still remembered a lot of the players from back then, he remembered Trot (the one with the dirty hat), Bronson (his favorite pitcher), Manny (who had short hair back then), and even Johnny Damon (back when he was nice and played for us).

I felt so glad to be able to share that game with him. I told him that we are watching this because Curt Schilling retired and he won't ever pitch again. I told him that one day, whether it is 20 years from now or 50 years from now, you can sit and watch this same game with your children/grandchildren and let them know that you saw this, the game that changed everything.

This was the game that changed everything for me. I would like to be able to say that I always believed that we would win but I would have to say it was more of a hope than a belief. Watching this game again last night, I remembered feeling hope that we would win, but not really believing it. When Schilling took the mound with blood seeping through his sock, I remember I choked up a little and said that this guy is giving up his career for us to win. He is giving it all so he can "silence the 55,000 fans from New York". I remembered the feeling I had when Bellhorn hit the three run home run which was originally ruled a base hit and then later overturned. I told my wife that we would never in the past have gotten that call reversed. I sat there and watched in disbelief as I looked upon everything I hoped to happen slowly materialize.

Even in the later innings, I hoped but didn't believe. I was continually waiting for the "other shoe to fall". I thought that that had happened when Arod slapped the ball from Bronson which scored Jeter from first. I remember thinking, "here it is", but then even that call got reversed and we got out of the inning. In the ninth, with Tony Clark up with 2 men on, I hoped for a strike out, but believed that Clark would hit a 3 run home run to beat us. I got the strike out.

It is amazing how different things are now. For my son, I don't think watching that game even made sense to him. He saw things during that game that he doesn't see at games anymore. He would ask, "Why is that Yankee fan dressed like a ghost and wearing Babe Ruth on his back?" I told him, "back then, the Yankee ghosts of October would always show up and we would lose." He replied, "But now, we win." He asked about the 1918 chant and I explained that to him and then he saw a sign from a Yankee fan that read, "God is a Yankee fan." Austin simply said, "No He isn't" and I replied, "He answered our prayers that night." Sox fans lived in a different world than the one we live in today.

While watching the game with my son, he realized something that he learned from watching this game. He said that Schilling, on one hand, was hurt and still tried hard and did well, and on the other hand, the Yankees, especially ARod, had to cheat and hit the ball from Bronson to try to win. He said that is why God let the Red Sox win, He didn't like cheaters.

My biggest enjoyment from watching that game was the total look of shock on the Yankee fans near the end of the game and the smiles on the few Sox fans that were there at Yankee Stadium. It was like I was through the looking glass, where white is black and black is white.

Schilling did what he said when he first came to us back in November 2003. He silenced the Yankee crowd and he ended an 86 year old curse - just like what he said in the truck commercial. Thanks Curt for changing the way us Sox fans watch the games and for giving us something to remember 80 years down the road.

Opening day is less than 2 weeks away... it is getting close!

Happy Valentines Day

It may be Friday the 13th, but in our house it is just one day closer to baseball season. With Valentines Day coming up tomorrow, I would like to say Happy Valentines Day to my wife Debbie, my son Austin and daughter Aubrey. I would like to thank them for sharing their love of the Sox with me and it makes the seasons so much better having them to share it with.

For my wife - for knowing the Red Sox before what they are now. For understanding my years of heartbreak and watching all those hours of baseball with me knowing down deep in your heart that one day, they would win it all. For raising our kids and the compassion you give. Thanks for always being there with me, through the Boone home run, to the "underhand to first", to Papelbon's strike out. Thanks for sharing those memories with me.

For my daughter Aubrey - although you are not quite 2 years old, we already know deep in your heart that you are going to be a Sox fan one day. In your first October, we won the world series. I am looking forward to many years of sharing the sox with you. Your love of the Red Sox and Rocky make me smile. Just please don't ever bring home a boy who is a Yankee fan!!

For my son Austin - who cried that night Boone beat us with a home run. That picture of me holding you in front of the tv immediately before Faulke underhanded to first is my favorite picture of us. It was a picture I had seen in my mind for many years, and now I have it. You are a sox fan through and through - you know all the players and their jersey numbers better than me. I am so glad I got to share a couple world series wins with you.

And also to my mom - who was there with me in '86 when Buckner missed the grounder. Who absolutely hated the woman behind home plate at Shea Stadium waving her arms whenever Clemens took the mound. For never giving up on the sox, or with me. They finally did it!

Happy Valentines Day!

Also, the Steelers have won their 6th super bowl so now both of my kids have also witnessed a Steeler championship as well. Curt Schilling (big Steeler fan) posted an excellent blog about his trip to the super bowl with his kids. He put this picture in his blog and I thought it was appropriate here as well. It reminds me of me and my son, one generation of fan and another generation of fan, together going into the future with another championship. Congrats to the Steelers on winning number 6!

Winter is Over

Friday was Truck Day! You know, the day Winter officially ends and Spring begins. Truck day is so much better than that other day we have that determines the end of winter - Groundhog day. All I can say is no one saw a shadow around the truck as the truck left for Florida holding all the Red Sox equipment so Spring officially begins for us on Thursday when Pitchers and Catchers report to spring training. I read that John Lester has already reported (a week early) and soon Wake and DiceK and Paps will be there as well.

The only downside to Truck Day this year was this picture taken by a Boston Globe reporter after covering the truck leaving for Florida. He said the truck left Fenway Park and got behind this Porsche as it was getting on the highway. Check out the plates on the Porsche. Hope this is not a sign of things to come this year...



Also, as news came out that we had wrapped up Veritek to a one year deal, Sports Illustrated came out with news that A-Rod* tested positive to steroids back in 2003. He hasn't made any public statements about the allegations, but I heard that on Monday the 9th, he plans on talking to Peter Gammons of ESPN about the issue. We always knew A-roid*, A-rod*, or Slappy*, whatever you want to call him, is a cheater. Remember the 2004 playoffs slapping the ball from Bronson and looking around like "what did I do?" His numbers should forever have an asterisk next to it like Bonds and Clemens and all the other cheaters who have attempted to ruin baseball. I said it a long time ago, and I will say it again, "I am so glad we never got A-rod*." He is a mess and I hope he continues to tear down and ruin the Yankees again this year. And I am sure that he knows that us Boston fans will remember this the first time he walks into Fenway this summer. The "A-roid*" chants will shake the 97 year old ballpark like no other chant that stadium has held. Good luck on this one A-Fraud* !

Yankees Keep Spending

Well the Yankees keep spending money as if they have no end to it. During this offseason, the Yankees have committed to spending almost one half of a billion dollars on free agent signings. That is Billion, yes with a "B"!

They signed CC Sabathia to a 7 year, 161 million dollar contract and then later signed AJ Burnett to a 5 year, 82.5 million dollars. And then, out of the blue, they snagged Teixeira away from the Red Sox in a 180 million dollar deal.



Now I know the Yanks are upset at not making the playoffs last year (for the first time in 13 years - ha!) but this spending money and stacking their team with all-stars and hall of famers is getting out of hand. This is the reason everyone hates the Yankees. With these new signings, the Yankees final payroll will be 223 million dollars which is more than double the average teams salary of 96 million. And do you know that the Yankees payroll is more than eight times the salary of the Florida Marlins team of 27 million? The Yanks paid 26.9 million in luxury tax, so the Yanks luxury tax could field the entire Marlins team! Also, did you know that just the Yankee infielders make more than 14 other entire team payrolls?

Now I know the Red Sox throw money around too, but they have to just to compete with the Yanks, but if I were a Royal fan or Marlins fan, something would have to be done with the Yanks. The only hope they would have against a team like this would be for the Yanks to suffer numerous injuries and go through another collapse like they did last year. I really hope they collapse and although I usually don't root for injuries, I will this year. Watching the Yankees collapse is like driving your Honda to work each day and passing the millionaire in his Ferrari which is broken down alongside the road. Lets all hope for a breakdown!

In Red Sox news, we signed Youk to another 4 years and added Smoltz and Baldelli to our lineup. The deadline to sign Tek is coming up - it is not looking good on resigning our captain. Did you see Pedroia at the dinner the other night? They asked Tampa Rays player Fernando Perez what it was like beating the Red Sox in the ALCS last year. Perez told them how great it was and then little Pedroia looked over to him and leaned into the microphone and said, "Yeah, don't get used to it." I tell you, I would take 25 little Pedroia's over the stacked 25 players on the Yankees any time!

I would like to say congrats to Jim Rice for finally making it into the Hall of Fame. Speaking of Jim Rice reminds me of a story from when I was a child living in Florida. My dad had taken me to the store to get a new glove for little league and the first glove we picked out was signed by Reggie Jackson. I told him I didn't want that one because Reggie was a Yankee. So we went through about 20 gloves until I found one that was signed by a Red Sox player. When we get home, my dad got out a pen and wrote in the pocket of the glove under the name, "and Brian Miller". That glove is now in my sons closet and he loves how "old" it is and that it has his Dad's signature on it.

After my dad signed my glove, my dad then got out a new ball and still with pen in hand asked me who my favorite player was. He was going to make me an "autographed" ball. I still remember his face when I told him my favorite player was Carl Yastrzemski. I think he stood there for about a minute, probably thinking, "how in the world do you spell that" and then probably thought "even if I did know how to spell it, how would it all fit on the ball". After about a minute or so and some quick thinking on his part, he asked if there were any other players that I liked. I told him Jim Rice. I am sure after I told him that he took a deep breath and thought, "I can handle that!" So he quickly jotted down "Jim Rice" on the ball and tossed it to me. I loved that ball and I told everyone I had a ball signed by Jim Rice. No one knew it wasn't real, it was just my dad and I's secret. So today, somewhere in a box, I have a ball that is "signed" by a Hall of Famer. One day, when I pass it on to my son, I think I will keep our little secret.



Congrats Jim Rice !!