My Red Sox Addiction

The Beginning of the Daniel Bard era

2009-05-14T15:39:00.003-05:00

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

2009-05-11T12:26:00.003-05:00

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

2009-04-28T16:23:00.002-05:00

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

2009-04-24T12:58:00.003-05:00

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

2009-04-21T10:41:00.002-05:00

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

2009-04-17T10:50:00.004-05:00

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

2009-04-14T14:54:00.003-05:00

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

2009-04-13T14:19:00.002-05:00

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

2009-04-10T13:02:00.003-05:00

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

2009-04-09T11:43:00.003-05:00

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

2009-04-08T09:57:00.004-05:00

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

2009-04-07T09:09:00.004-05:00

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

2009-03-24T11:09:00.003-05:00

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

2009-02-13T11:08:00.004-06:00

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

2009-02-09T13:50:00.003-06:00

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

2009-01-30T09:46:00.005-06:00

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 !!

Most Valuable Pedroia

2008-12-04T14:30:00.005-06:00

Little Dustin won the AL MVP. He is probably the best 2nd baseman we have had since Jerry "the RemDawg" Remy covered 2nd base for us so many years ago. I am happy he won and that we have signed him to a 6 year extension too.

Coco has gone to Kansas City and we have brought in Ramirez to help out in our bullpen. Timlin has retired and Schilling wants to pitch just partial seasons like Clemens did a couple of seasons ago. If he can keep his weight down, he should be ok - I will never say that Schilling couldn't do something.

We are still working on Tek and I think we will probably sign him in the next couple of weeks.

Congrats to our MVPedroia!!

The Offseason

2008-10-30T14:14:00.003-05:00

Well we lost to the Rays in 7 games. My son keeps telling me that there are no more games until April and that sure feels a long time away. I am glad that the Rays lost to the Phillies in the World Series - I am beginning to really dislike the Rays (almost as much as my dislike for the Yankees).

Now we have to work on keeping Tek and it will be interesting to find out what Schilling will do. Timlin will probably retire and we will see what Wake does too.

At the end of every season, I am reminded what A. Bartlett Giamatti wrote about baseball and the Red Sox. He wrote, "Baseball breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as the chill rains come, and when you need it the most, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone."

I can't wait for April...

Sweeeeeep!

2008-09-04T10:12:00.002-05:00

We have just swept the Baltimore Orioles and the Yankees have taken the first 2 games against the Rays. We are now just 3 games in back of the the Rays and if the Yanks take care of business tonight, we will be just 2.5 games back going into our series with the Rangers.

Game 1 against the Orioles we won 7-4. Pedroia again had 2 hits and 2 rbi's and scored a run. I still think Pedroia should be MVP. Byrd pitched well by keeping us in the game until we could take the lead in the 6th. Byrd allowed 4 runs (3 off of solo home runs) in 7 innings and got the win.

Game 2 we won 14-2. Lester pitched like... well, John Lester and got the win going 5 innings and allowing just 1 run. Offensively, Papi and Pedroia led the pack. Papi came up twice with the bases loaded and each time delivered a 2 rbi double. Pedroia hit a 3 run home run in the 4th and ended the night with 5 rbi's. Pedroia batted clean up again tonight and he is now hitting .330 !

Game 3 was a day game and luckily for me, I was home to pick up my son from school. When I left to pick him up we were down 4-0. When I came back we were down 4-2 going into the 8th inning. Kotsay then came up with a big 2 run triple to tie it up and I thought for sure he would score from 3rd, but we left him stranded at 3rd to end the inning. In the ninth, Alex Cora led off with a single, then Coco bunted a ball that looked like it would end up foul, but the ball hit a pebble and bounced back into fair territory and he wound up with an infield single moving Cora to second. Then Jacoby bunted a ball back to the pitcher and he threw wildly to third and Cora scored the game winning run on the throwing error. We were running around the house jumping up and down. It seems like whenever we play the Orioles, something like this always happens. Tampa lost later that night to the Yanks so we are just 3 games in back of Tampa, but probably even more important is we are 5 UP in the wildcard standings now.

We now have an off day and then off to Texas for a 3 game series. We will be travelling down to Texas to watch our team hopefully sweep up the Rangers. It would be nice if we could came back home in first place. Beckett is set to pitch Friday and it also looks like Lowell will be back too. Wake is set to pitch Saturday and Byrd on Sunday. We are looking forward to a fun trip down to Texas to watch our team. I will put pics up when I get back...

Go Sox!

Playoff Preview?

2008-09-01T09:53:00.002-05:00

We took 2 of 3 from the White Sox over the weekend. At the beginning of the game on Friday, the interviewed Ozzie, the head coach of the White Sox, and he said that he is expecting them to come in here and win some games against he Red Sox because the Red Sox had just left Yankee Stadium and they are going to be soft after the Yankee series and all the hype that follows that. It was nice to see his words shoved back into his mouth. I hope the Twins win the division and the White Sox miss the playoffs entirely. I never have liked the White Sox much. Probably has to do with seeing Fisk wearing that jersey for so long...

Game 1 we won 8-0 on the 2 hitter of DiceK. Dice was almost unhittable and we scored our runs on the performance of our #2-4 hitters, Pedroia, Papi and Youk. Combined they went 9 for 12 with 6 runs and 4 rbi's. Pedroia had a 4 hit game and Youk and Bay each had 3 rbi's. I am really starting to think that Pedroia could be a strong candidate for MVP this year. Everyone has been talking Youk, but my vote would go to Pedroia. I just love watching him play.

Game 2 we won 8-2. I couldn't believe the lineup when I first saw it - it had Pedroia batting clean up! And he got another 4 hits tonight. The last 2 games he is 8 for 8! Ellsbury set the table for Pedroia by getting 3 hits and scoring 3 times and Kotsay came up big with 3 hits and 3 rbi's himself. Bowden made his major league debut by going 5 inning and giving up just 2 runs and getting the win. We are really starting to come together now - if only Tampa would start losing!

Game 3 we lost 4-2. Ellsbury had another 3 hits, but with Lowrie going 0-5 after him Ellsbury was left stranded many times. Wake took the loss going 6 innings and giving up 3 earned runs. We are now 5.5 back of Tampa who won again today and extended their winning streak to 5 games. Tampa now has the Yankees coming up and we have the Orioles. I hate to say it, but I will be rooting for the Yankees this week to get a sweep of Tampa. I hope lightning doesn't strike me down for saying that, but we really need Tampa to start losing. Go Yankees !?!?

Goodbye Yankee Stadium

2008-08-29T09:34:00.002-05:00

We took 2 of 3 from the Bombers in the Bronx to close up Yankee Stadium. I was hoping for a sweep, but it is nice to know that the Yanks won't be making the playoffs in the last year at the Stadium.

Game 1 we won 7-3 in a game where just about everyone was involved in the production. Seven of our starters scored a run and everyone got at least 1 hit except for Pedroia. Even Minny Manny needs a day off every now and then. Wake pitched well and got the win and we crushed Pettite for 6 runs in 4.2 innings. The biggest thing I most happy about was Arod. He went 0-5 and struck out twice and left 7 men on base. The fans were booing him after every at bat and everytime a grounder was hit to him they would start to boo too. I hope he goes hitless the rest of the series.

Game 2 we won 11-3 and even though the score doesn't sound like it, it was actually a pretty close game, at least up until the 8th inning when we scored 7 runs. Pedroia had another great game going 3-5 with 4 rbi's and Bay also had 4 rbi's in the game. Watching this game, the Yankees just have no pitching. They are no longer the team they had in the past. Even if we are down some runs, with their pitching, I think we will always have a chance to come back.

Game 3 I couldn't watch because it was a day game and we lost 3-2 when Paps gave up a base hit in the ninth. Masterson took the loss. Lester pitched a strong game, but we just couldn't get any runs across against Mussina. Arod went 0-4 and struck out 3 times. Other than the outcome of the game, it was a perfect ending to Yankee stadium.

In other news, Beckett has been scratched from his next start against the White Sox and hopefully will be able to make the series coming up against the Rangers. Now we have a 6 game homestand against the Sox and Orioles. I think we can start to make a move on the Rays if we can win at least 4 or 5 of these games.

Taking 2 of 3 in Canada

2008-08-25T13:25:00.006-05:00

We took 2 of 3 from the Blue Jays in Toronto over the weekend. I find myself watching the Tampa scores more often now, and occasionally skipping over to find the White Sox or the Twins and checking to see how they are doing. I even skip down to check out the Yanks every now and then even though we all know they are out of it. It must be getting close to September, which is the most fun month of all especially when we are in a playoff chase. I think we have good chance this year and I still think Tampa is going to fall sooner or later and we will catch them. I am hoping...

We won game 1 8-4 over the Blue Jays as Pedroia and Tek each hit homers. I am really impressed with Pedroia. I just love watching him swing the bat. For a little guy, he has a lot of power and he is always so intense while he is playing. He is a lot like me if would have ever made it as far as he did.

Game 2 we lost 11-0 and surprisingly, Lester was on the hill today. He only lasted 2.1 innings and allowed 7 earned runs. It was his shortest outing of the season. Hopefully he can bounce back from this against the Yanks coming up.

Game 3, we won 6-5 in 11 innings on Lowries home run in the 11th. Pedroia hit another home run, a 3 run shot in the third. DiceK was shaky through his 6 innings giving up 5 runs but our bullpen looked sharp going 5 innings and giving up just 1 hit. Papelbon got the win going 2 innings and Manny Delcarmen picked up his first save of the season.

Now there is an off day then off to the Bronx for a 3 game series there. This will be our last series there in the old Yankee stadium. I have a lot of memories in that stadium, most of them bad, but there was that one great one back in 2004. Remember when Pokey Reese fielded a slow roller to second and tossed it to first? Up to then, that was the biggest out I had ever seen. Of course, Foulke's out a week later topped that one but at the time, it was the best out ever. I remember Slappy hitting the ball from Bronson and the fans throwing stuff on the field and the police lining the field dressed in their riot gear. Those will be the memories that I will take with me of Yankee stadium. I despise the Yankees and I am loving it that they are wallowing around 4th place with the Blue Jays this year. I hope that we sweep them away this week and they (the Yankee fans) will always know what we did to them the last time we played in old Yankee stadium. Lets make it "Yankee Stadium - the House the Big Papi crushed." And end it on that note.

On another note, my son said something to me that made me smile. Sometimes he asks me to tell him about when the Sox would always lose when I was little and why they win today. He tells me that they waited until he was born until they won and they won't lose anymore because he says they don't want to make him cry. He was telling me this while we were fielding grounders in the house (very carefully) when he all of a sudden broke off into doing the play by play from the Buckner play in 1986. He said, "A little roller up along first, behind the bag", then he picked up the ball that I rolled him. Then he continued, "Buckner has it, he steps on first, and the Boston Red Sox are the world champions!" He tossed the ball back to me and stood there for a moment. I smiled at him and he looked back at me. I could tell he was thinking of something and then in the most sincerest tone, he looked at me and said "Daddy, I wish that would have happened for you" and he ran up and gave me a hug. I hope the Sox never make him cry.

Jason Bay is for Real

2008-08-21T13:03:00.002-05:00

After coming off 2 losses to the Blue Jays at home, Jason Bay came up big for us in game 1 against the O's. He hit 2 home runs and had 4 rbi's to lead us to a 6-3 win. He is hitting .348 since we picked him up in the Manny trade and it looks like he is fitting in well with us. Lester went 7 innings and gave up just 1 run. I really like him. Everytime he or Beckett is on the mound, we have a great chance of turning in a win.

Game 2 we won 7-2 on DiceK's pitching and the homers of Tek and Youk. Youk and Pedroia are both hitting .320 on the year and I have to agree with the RemDawg in that Youk is a strong candidate for mvp this year. If we can hang in there, make the playoffs and get somewhere in the postseason, I think Youk has an excellent chance.

Game 3 we lost 11-6 as Clay once again did nothing on the mound. He gave up 5 runs in 2.1 innings and I am sure he will be sent down after this game. In other news, Beckett is experiencing tingling in his fingers so his next start has been pushed back to next week against the Yanks. Wake is still out with his back/shoulder and Colon hopefully will working his way back soon. Also, Yaz had triple bypass heart surgery and is now doing well. I have always loved Yaz. He has been my favorite throughout the years. I start to realize that I am getting old when my favorite players when I was young are now getting old too. Get well soon Yaz!

A Sweep of the Rangers

2008-08-15T12:48:00.002-05:00

What a crazy series it was against the Rangers! The first game was the most amazing game I had seen in quite a long time. We scored 10 runs in the first inning and 2 more in the third. We were up 12-2 to start the 5th inning and I even made a comment to my wife that this game is over. Then, Texas started to come back. They scored 8 runs in the 5th to make it 12-10, but then we added 2 more in the bottom of the frame to make it 14-10. I then told my wife this is like a little league game and we watched the Rangers take the lead by scoring 5 runs in the 6th inning. They then lead 16-14 after they scored another run in the 7th to which we responded with another run of our own making it 16-15. Then the bottom of the 8th happened and it was unbelievable. Youk hit a monster shot over the monster to give us a 19-16 lead and although they scored another run in the 9th, it wasn't enough and we won 19-17. The top of our lineup was crazy - combined, the top 4 men in our lineup went 12 for 19, scored 14 runs and had 14 rbi's. David Ortiz had 2 home runs just in the first inning, each of them 3 run shots. It was a crazy game!

Game 2 we won 8-4 on the pitching of Lester. He had a shutout going until the 8th when he allowed a home run and then Timlin came in and gave up a three run homer as well. Offensively, we are hitting on all cylinders. We need to keep it up.

Game 3 we won 10-0 as DiceK went 7 innings without giving up a run. Almost all of our offense came in the 2nd inning as we scored 9 runs that inning. Papi hit another 3 run homer and Dustin went 3 for 5 and scored twice.

Now a three game set with Toronto and then Baltimore. We need to win these divisional games.

Splitting the Sox

2008-08-12T12:35:00.003-05:00

We had a 4 game split over the weekend against the White Sox in Chicago.

The first game, we lost 5-3. We were down 4-0 when Dustin hit a three run home run to get us to within 1 but we just simply ran out of innings. Lester took the loss going 7 innings and allowing 4 runs.

The second game, we won 6-2 as Ellsbury hit another home run and Big Papi had 3 rbi's and went 3 for 5. DiceK looked about as good as I had ever seen him and he went 8 innings only giving up 4 hits and 1 run.

The third game, we lost 6-5 even after we scored 3 runs in the first inning off of a Mike Lowell 3 run home run. Buchholz just looked horrible and he went just 3 innings and gave up 5 runs. I think he is done. He needs to go back to AAA or AA and work on things some. Hopefully, we will have Colon back soon and he can fill in Clay's spot in the rotation.

The final game of the series, we won 5-1. We didn't get our first hit until the 7th inning but then we started to pile them on. Beckett allowed just one run over 8 innings to get the win. We now have a three game set with Texas at home.

Back in KC

2008-08-07T12:26:00.002-05:00

We took 2 of 3 from KC and we easily could have won all three.

In game one, we lost 4-3, but left the bases loaded in the ninth. Pedroia had a big day going 3 for 4 but Clay gave up 4 runs in his 6 innings and took the loss.

In game two, we won 8-2 on Beckett's pitching and Bay's hitting. Bay went 4-5, scored twice and had 2 rbi's and Beckett pitched 6.2 innings, struck out 7 and only allowed 2 runs. Our bullpen continued to not allow a run.

In game three, we won 8-2 again, this time off the bat of Ellsbury and the pitching of Wake. Jacoby went 3 for 4 including a 3 run home run to put us out on top for good and Wake went 6 innings giving up just one earned run. Once again, our bullpen went 3 innings and didn't give up a run.

Things are starting to look good...

Back On Track

2008-08-04T11:58:00.003-05:00

We swept the A's in our first series in the Post-Manny era.

Our pitching kept us in the game in game 1 as we won 2-1 in 12 innings. Jason Bay, our Manny replacement scored both runs. Our bullpen was the story as they went 5.2 innings, gave up just 3 hits and 1 run. If our pitching continues like this we should have no problems.

Game 2 we won 12-2 as we jumped out to an early lead scoring 5 runs in the first and 4 more in the third. Bay hit a three run home run in the first and Lester went 7 innings giving up only 2 runs, both of which came in the first inning. Youk and Lowrie both came up big in fact Youk had 2 home runs, both 2 run shots.

Game 3 we won 5-2 as Bay again scored 2 runs. Our bullpen went 3 innings of one hit ball and DiceK went 6 innings striking out 8 and giving up just 2 runs.

Now, what should be an easy series against Kansas City...

So Long Manny

2008-08-01T11:39:00.001-05:00

Well it has happened. Manny is gone. I don't really know how to feel about it yet, maybe it was something that needed to be done. It looked like he was ready to go. I still remember his first at bat for us him hitting a home run. That was the beginning of the Manny Era. He helped us to 2 world series wins which is 2 more than I ever dreamed of witnessing. With him in the lineup, I always felt we always had a chance.

But anymore, it seemed he didn't like being around. Over the last couple of weeks, I guess I could see it coming, but down deep I wished it wouldn't. Manny's number 24 was the first 'real' jersey I ever bought my son. He was one at the time and as much as my wife doesn't believe me, his first word was actually "Manny" and not "Mommy" as she had wanted. My son learned the "Manny wave" before he could talk and we even learned the "Manny-Papi" handshake as our own personal handshake. He learned to swing the bat by watching Manny in the batters box. I don't think he understands that Manny is gone yet. This is the part of baseball that I wish I could keep him away from.

The saddest part for me is my daughter who just turned one will never know who Manny was. Like my son who will be five next month, has no idea who Nomar is. He doesn't even know Nomar used to play for us. I am sad that in five years, she will have no memory of Manny.

Thanks Manny for all your goofy moments over the years, and for all your great ones too. I will always remember your home run against the Angels last year in the playoffs where you just stood in the batters box and raised your arms after the ball left the yard. Thanks for being a big part of my family, even though you don't even know me. Maybe it was all of our "destination". So long...

This Time, Swept at Home

2008-07-31T11:26:00.003-05:00

We were swept by the Angels and really, none of the games were even that close. We are in a big time slump and need to do something quick or we could miss the playoffs entirely.

The first game we lost 7-5 and DiceK got ripped for 6 runs in 5+ innings. He pitched to 5 batters in the 6th and couldn't get anyone out. It always seems he runs into one trouble inning per game. Only this time he couldn't get out of it. Manny did hit a solo home run with 2 out in the ninth but it wasn't enough.

The second game we lost 6-2. Lackey had a no hitter going into the 9th until little Dustin came up and got a base hit. Then Youk hit a home run to put us on the board. Buchholz didn't have it tonight as he went 6.1 innings and gave up 5 earned runs.

We lost the last game of the series 9-2 as Beckett looks horrible only going 5.1 innings and giving up 7 earned runs. Manny went 0-3 in what could be his last game in a sox jersey. I watched his final at bat and told everyone this could be his last time with us. The trade deadline is tomorrow, we will see how it unfolds...

Return of Papi

2008-07-28T10:44:00.005-05:00

We were only able to take 1 game from the Yanks over the weekend.

We lost the first game 1-0. Beckett pitched all he could but our bats could do nothing against Joba and Manny sat the game out with a sore knee for the second straight game. The biggest news of the game though was the return of Big Papi. He went 1-4 but is was nice to see him back in the lineup. What is up with Joba (the Hutt) and Youk? Joba (the Hutt) threw another one at Youk that was right at his head and Youk had to be restrained by the home plate umpire and both sides received warnings. Now normally, that is not a big deal, but last August at Yankee Stadium, Joba threw back-to-back pitches that went behind Youkilis. Joba was suspended for two games. Three weeks ago at Yankee Stadium, Chamberlain threw one up and in on Youkilis. There is clearly a history here of Joba going after Youk. Varitek said after the game that Joba's pitches to Youk bothered the team. You know the Yanks are always talking about the type of command Chamberlain has, isn't strange that all of his overly inside pitches against Boston seem to occur with Youkilis at the plate. Even Francona stated, "He has great command until Youk gets in there. I don't know [if there was intent]. I would not have that answer." Something needs to be done to Joba the Hutt. We need to bring in a pitcher for the sole purpose of hitting Jeter and Arod. It is getting hard to put up with Joba anymore. I can't stand him.

On Saturday we lost 10-3 and Wakefield got shelled for 6 runs in 5.1 innings. It was good to see Papi and Manny in the same lineup again even though Manny went 0-4. From what the reports are saying, something is going on with Manny - they are calling it "some kind of disconnect between the player and the club". Evidently, his injured knee wasn't injured and he has been unhappy about the ownership not doing something about his contract. The part that mad me sad was that in the first inning when they announced Manny to the crowd, there were more boos than cheers. I heard that if Manny made himself unavailable for this game, he would be disciplined or even suspended. Something is going on with Manny and I sure hope they can work out whatever it is. Maybe the Manny era is coming to an end. Oh - and about the game, the only thing good I can see from this game was Arod getting hit. It was about time.

Game 3 we won 9-2 as both Papi and Manny had big games. Combined, they went 5-9 with 4 runs and 5 rbi's. The big news though was the comments Manny made about wanting to be traded and that he would waive his no trade clause. He said, "I am tired of them and they are tired of me". Manny said he doesn't think we will trade him because, "they know what they have in me." It was almost like he was daring us to trade him. I have now done a 180 and will have to say that Manny has to go. Once he thinks he is bigger than the team, he's got to go. I will miss him if he does, but I am now beginning to think it will be better for the team.

Now three at home against the Angels and then the trade deadline. Something might be brewing...

Sweeping the Mariners

2008-07-24T10:31:00.003-05:00

Coming off our 3 game losing streak to the Angels, it was nice to finally get back on track against the Mariners. We swept the M's in Seattle and kept pace with Tampa.

The first game we won 4-0 on the strong pitching of Lester and Paps got his 29th save. Manny got 3 hits and Tek is coming back with 2 rbi's as well.

The second game we won 4-2 on the pitching of DiceK and Paps got his 30th save. JD Drew hit a home run and had 2 rbi's as he continues to fill in for Papi. I can't wait for Papi to come back and from what the reports are saying, he should be back in a week or so.

The third game we won 6-3 in 12 innings. Manny sat this one out with a sore knee so Youk had to step up and bat clean up. He did just that going 2-6 and scoring twice with an rbi. Papelbon ran into trouble in the 11th but got out of the jam and got the win. Now an off day then a three game homestand against the Yankees. We can really put them out of this thing if we take care of business over the weekend.

Swept again on the Road

2008-07-21T10:43:00.002-05:00

After the all star break, we were on the road in Anaheim and got swept again. We just can't find a way to win on the road.

Game 1 we lost 11-3 as none of our pitchers could find a way to stop the Angels from hitting. Clay went 4.2 innings and gave up 8 runs. Our relievers came in and gave up more runs and we could never come back to even make it close. With this loss, we fell back out of first place behind Tampa.

Game 2 we lost 4-2 as Beckett pitched a complete game loss. He gave up all four runs in the 8th inning. I think Francona is now a little gun shy to bring in any of our relievers in a close game. Beckett went the full game striking out 6 but fell to 9-6 on the season with the loss.

Game 3 we lost 5-3 allowing 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th once again. Leading 3-2 in the bottom of the 8th, I was shocked to still see Wake coming out to pitch. By the time Delcarmen came in, I just knew he was going to allow the inherited runners to score which he did and Wake took the loss. We have got to find a way to start winning on the road. Maybe what we need is a series against Seattle on the road to get us back on track which is exactly what we have coming up. The Yankees are now winning every game and are catching us and Tampa, it is just not looking good. Coming up this weekend, we have a three game set against the Yanks too. We need to sweep Seattle and then do some damage this weekend against the Yanks.

Also, it was nice to see JD Drew be the All Star game MVP. Wasn't it nice to see a Red Sox manager and 7 Red Sox players in the All Star game being played at Yankee Stadium? If we can make it to the world series this year, we will have home field advantage again. I would like to see us win one in Fenway which would mean we would have to win the series in 6 or 7 games. I don't think I could handle a 7th game of a world series so hopefully we could be up 3-2 and win it in 6. We need to celebrate one in Fenway.

Back in First Place

2008-07-14T10:21:00.002-05:00

We took 2 of 3 from the O's and regained the lead in the AL East at the break. Tampa Bay is starting their fall but I still think they will make it close at the end of the year. The Yanks will also be there so it is shaping up to be a three team race this year. But at least for now, we are on top.

Game 1 we lost 7-3 but it was nice to see Clay back on the mound. The walks killed us as he allowed 5 walks in 5 innings. Delcarmen and Timlin came in and gave 3 runs over the 2 innings they pitched. I still think Timlin is done. Hopefully, Masterson will be back up soon and pitching out of the bullpen to help out in the middle innings.

Game 2 we won 12-1. The game was basically over by the 3rd inning. Youk hit his first ever grand slam and we scored 7 runs in the 3rd inning. Wake again pitched extremely well going 7 innings and giving up only 2 hits.

Game 3 we won 2-1 on DiceK's strong performance. He went 6 innings of shut out baseball, only allowing 4 hits but once again he walked another 5 batters. Papelbon came in and got the save but once again he gave up another 3 hits and allowed a run in getting his save. We were lucky in this win but with Tampa losing, we now have a 1/2 game lead at the break. We are back in first!

No Problems at Home

2008-07-10T10:04:00.002-05:00

Home Sweet Home! We swept the Twins at Fenway and continue winning ways at home. We just can't seem to win many games on the road. To win in the playoffs, we have to solve this problem away from home. Anyway, it was a good series and we have another one coming up at home against Baltimore so hopefully we can wrap up the first half back in first.

Game 1 we won 1-0 on Manny's rbi single in the 8th. DiceK pitched well and only walked 3 batters and he lasted until the 8th inning going 7.1 innings. Papelbon came in and got the save easily. We are just a different team at home. Things just seem to always go our way at Fenway.

Game 2 we won 6-5 scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th. Manny tied the game up with a 2 run home run in the bottom of the 8th and we later scored the go ahead run on a Brandon Moss base hit. I love watching this type of game. Come from behind in the late innings and get the win. Watching this game, I just seemed to know what was going to happen. Even down 5-2 in the bottom of the 8th, something just felt right about it. It was a good win.

Game 3 we won 18-5. Of all the games I couldn't watch, it had to be this one. Unfortunately, this was a day game and I was busy at work and didn't even have time to check on the computer to get an update until after the game was over. Beckett started off shaky again giving up another 3 first inning runs. But our offense came alive with 23 hits including 7 doubles, a triple and 2 home runs.

Now it is an off day then three at home against the O's.

A Split in the Bronx

2008-07-07T09:43:00.002-05:00

We were able to scrape away a split in the Bronx over the weekend in a big 4 game series with the hated Yankees. The Yanks are still hanging in there which makes me nervous. It seems they are always just lurking over our shoulders just waiting for their chance to jump out ahead.

The first game we won 7-0 to end our 5 game losing streak. Lester pitched well pitching a complete game, 5 hit shutout. Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 11 games. I really like him, can't wait to see him in the all star game coming up.

The second game we won 6-4. Beckett started off a little shaky giving up 3 runs in the first inning, but we came back with 3 in the third and then Lowell put us on top for good with a three run home run in the 5th. Okajima loaded the bases in the 7th and caused me to lose another couple years off my life expectancy but Delcarman came in and shut the door. Paps gave up a run in the ninth but he still got the save. Hopefully we can keep winning and maybe take at least 3 of 4 from them.

Game 3 we lost 2-1. We had the bases loaded in the ninth against Mariano but couldn't push another run across. This is a game we should have won. Pedroia again had 2 hits, it seems that every day he raises hit batting average another point or two. Masterson pitched well for us, but it looks like he is going to be sent down and he will be back as a middle reliever, which is probably good as we need bullpen help. Clay will be back soon and hopefully Colon will be with us again quickly. Big Papi should be back by the end of the month too, so things are still looking good.

Game 4 we lost 5-4 in 10 innings. Once again our bullpen couldn't hold a lead. We were up 4-2 in the bottom of the 7th and gave up 2 runs. Then, in the 10th, Paps came in and gave up the winning run on a single. Pedroia hit a 2 run single off of Joba in the 5th to put us up at the time as he continues his hitting streak. Wake pitched well once again, but as it always seems to happen with him, we can't get him the win as our bullpen seems to always lose it for us when Wake makes a start.

Now back home where we can start on another winning streak. Now its the Twins.

Swept Away at the Trop

2008-07-03T11:07:00.002-05:00

After watching these three games against Tampa Bay, I have realized Tampa Bay is for real this year. They have the pitching to really contend to be a playoff team. I don't know if they can manage it for the rest of the season and the fact that they are in the AL East doesn't help them but I think they will be right there when the season ends. If they were in any other division, they would be a lock to win the division. They remind me of the White Sox a couple of years ago. Coco was serving his suspension so he sat this series out and Tek continues to do nothing at the plate. Our bullpen is starting to look shaky, maybe Theo will make a move for some bullpen help before the trade deadline. I hope so.

Game 1 we lost 5-4 in a game where our pitchers walked a total of 8 batters. We came back to make the game close in the ninth scoring 2 runs but came up a little short. Tek went 0-3 tonight and dropped his average to .222.

Game 2 we lost 3-1. Wakefield went 7 innings giving up just one earned run, but his two wild pitches cost him as they both lead to runs. We had no offense and could only get 6 hits all night. Tek went 0-2 and both at bats were strike outs.

Game 3 we lost again as this time our bullpen blew the lead in the 7th. We gave up 6 runs in the 7th inning and lost 7-6. Pedroia had a huge night and went 4-5 including a home run, triple and two doubles. On the other hand, Tek went 0-4 and struck out 3 times. His average is now down to .216. Okajima came in and pitched the 6th which I think is a sign that we have lost our confidence in him pitching the 8th setting up for Paps. He pitched well, but that left us Delcarmen and Hansen to pitch the 7th and 8th. They never got that far as neither one of them could get anyone out. Between the two of them, they allowed 4 hits, 6 runs and 2 walks and not getting a single out. Aardsma then came in and walked in a run too. We made it close scoring a run in the 8th and 9th, but we lost the game when they had Lowell in a hit and run play with Tek at the plate. Tek, who swung and missed, left Lowell running between first and second and he was out by 10 feet. Then Tek struck out to end the game.

We are now 3.5 games out of first place behind Tampa and only 4 games ahead of third place New York. This is our biggest deficit of the year. We now have 4 games in the Bronx against the Yankees. Our bullpen is shaky and our offense has fallen apart. Maybe we just need a dose of Yankee pitching to get our bats in order again. This is probably the biggest series of the year for us. We can get back into the division race with Tampa and at the same time put New York further behind, or we could let the Yankees catch us and make it a three team race for the East. Huge series over the weekend - a lot of fireworks - and I hope at the end of it, we find ourselves closer to the Rays and further in front of the Yanks. I really hate the Yankees, but the Rays are climbing up my hate list too.

Just Beat the Yankees

Slappy showing his true colors.

The End of Interleague Play - Finally

2008-06-30T10:37:00.000-05:00

We were only able to take 1 of 3 from the lowly Houston Astros over the weekend. Our first game had DiceK going his usual 5 innings and getting the win. This time, he only walked three batters but he raised his record to 9-1. It is amazing to me that he has 9 wins. He rarely goes beyond 5 or 6 innings, it seems he walks more than he strikes out and he is always pitching out of trouble almost every inning. The thing is, he pitches out of the jams almost every time. His pitch count is huge early on, usually 60 to 70 pitches after 3 innings. I know he seems to always get the win, but I feel that he needs to get his control down, minimize his pitch count and throw more fastballs and less off speed stuff. Recently he is pitching off speed stuff and nibbling around the plate, giving up walks and only then focusing on getting people out.

Game 2 we lost 11-10. I thought I was watching a Yankee game. You know, we score a lot of runs but have no pitching and still lose the game - like the Yankees do. Lester was on pace to get the win even though he allowed 6 runs over 5 innings, but our bullpen couldn't hold the lead. Delcarmen couldn't get anyone out in the 8th and he gave up 3 runs and took the loss. It was nice to see our offense coming together though. Lowell had 4 hits including a home run and everyone on the team either had a hit, scored a run or had an rbi. Oh everyone except Tek again. He went 0-4 and his batting average is now .228. I like Tek and we need him as our catcher, but he really needs to get something going offensively soon.

Game 3 we wrapped up interleague play with a 3-2 loss. Beckett pitched well, went 7 innings and gave up 2 runs, but our bullpen blew it again in the 8th. Okajima allowed an inherited runner to score the winning run again. Jima is going to lose his set up role soon. He just isn't the same pitcher he was last year. Manny and Pedroia hit home runs to wrap up our only scoring. And Tek went 0-4 again tonight. Not looking good considering we are now going to Tampa Bay to face 3 tough pitchers, hopefully we can score a couple of runs and win at least a couple off of them.

In other news, we had to say goodbye to Hazel Mae. She will no longer be hosting sportsdesk on NESN. First Tina and now Hazel. I don't know how NESN allowed her to leave. They never cleared this move with me. Maybe Katheryn Tappen will now be the host which is fine, but we will still miss Hazel.

Snakebitten by the Diamondbacks

2008-06-26T10:11:00.003-05:00

We took 2 of 3 from the Diamondbacks while our pitching still looks good but our offense is still a little problematic. We lost game one 2-1 in a game where we lost Youkilis to a black eye after he got hit warming up the infield between innings. Beckett pitched a strong 8 innings and took the loss while striking out 8. Our offense could only produce 4 hits and our only run came with a Drew sacrifice fly. Tek looks lost at the plate, hope he turns it around soon. We need to get Papi back soon. Our offense needs him.

Game two of the series we won 5-4 scoring 4 runs in the 8th inning. Youk sat out the game only coming into the game in the ninth for defensive purposes after we had the lead. Our offense was shut down all night until our outburst in the 8th. Pedroia and Lowell came up big when we needed them. I am always amazed at Pedroia. He is becoming my new favorite on the team. He seems to always get the clutch hit when we need him to and he seems to always be giving everything he has out there. I hope he makes the allstar team this year. Paps came in and got the save to close the door on the Backs tonight.

Game three we won 5-0 on the pitching performance of Wakefield. He went 7 innings and gave up only 2 hits. Our offense was still sputtering along until the 8th inning again when we scored 3 runs on Cash's 3-run home run to put us up by 5. Youk was back playing first and Pedroia had another 3 hit game. Our bullpen almost blew it in the ninth and we actually had to have Papelbon come in to save the game for us even though we were up by 5 runs.

Now an off day then we start a big road trip to Houston, Tampa Bay and New York. These upcoming games are very important. We can increase our lead in the division or possibly fall into third place if we don't win at least half of them. Hope our bats come around soon.

Not Quite Like in '04

2008-06-23T09:50:00.001-05:00

St. Louis took 2 of 3 from us over the weekend in a weekend where our only win came in extra innings after Paps blew a save. On Friday night we lost 5-4. Wake pitched well but we just could not ever get the lead. Everytime we got close, the Cards would score and add to their lead. Wake went 7 innings giving up 3 earned runs and took the loss.

On Saturday we were excited to see DiceK back on the mound. That didn't last long as he went just one inning and gave up 7 runs toward our 9-3 loss. We learned that Timlin is going on the DL now but it looks like Papi will be coming back soon as they have cleared him to start taking swings again while his wrist heals.

On Sunday, our game was blacked out here so I had to watch the game on the computer. We came back down 2-0 to take a 3-2 lead in the eighth. Paps came in and blew the save in the ninth and allowed the Cards to tie the game up. We went extra innings until the bottom of the 13th when Youk hit his second home run of the day to win it for us.

Tampa Bay lost so our lead in the East is back up to 1.5 games. The Yanks have now won 8 of their last 10 and are only 5 games back now. Next week is going to be very important as we have 7 games all on the road against Tampa Bay and New York. If we don't do well over those two series, we could be in third place by the end of next weekend. Hopefully, we will get Papi back by then, DiceK will find his groove, and all will be well.

Over the weekend we also learned that Schilling will have surgery and probably won't be back. He hinted that it looks like he may have thrown the last pitch of his career. If Schilling never pitches again, his last start will wind up being Game 2 of the 2007 World Series, when he led us to a 2-1 victory over the Rockies. He left open the possibility that if he recovers well enough, and there is no pain in his shoulder, he would like to pitch in 2009. He is a free agent this year and I don't see the Sox signing him for another season even if he does recover fully so I think his days with us are over.

I will always remember that night he was in the bullpen in New York getting ready for game 6 and the camera showed the blood coming through his sock. I looked over to my wife and told her, "We have to win this thing now...". With each inning, as he hobbled off the mound, I told her that he is giving up his career for us to win. I remember what he said the day we signed him in 2003. He said, "There is nothing he would like more than to make 55,000 fans from New York shut up." On that night, in game 6, he did just that. And those Yankee fans haven't said much since. I remember the blood coming through his sock again in the World Series, and in his post game interview talked about his drive to the ballpark, where he saw signs on every street corner from his house to the stadium telling him that he could do it. How he started to tear up in the interview because I think he knew that what was happening to him and to all of us who are Red Sox fans, will be remembered forever.

He was never as effective after that World Series game. He pitched well but he was never the old Curt Schilling he used to be. He really did give something of himself that he never quite regained. There was more than just blood on that sock. It was his heart. And it was the heart and tears of every Sox fan that ever cheered and dreamed of a World Series win. So, to Curt, I would like to say that with each pitch, I felt your pain, just like I imagine you felt the pain of all of us who were yearning so much to see just one championship in our lifetime. Because of what you did, you made that happen. I would like to say that you have no idea how important that win was for us, but I think though that you really do. You taught us to say, "Why Not Us" instead of, "Why Us" and if in fact you have thrown your last pitch in baseball, or at least your last pitch for us, I want to say thank you for what you have done for all of us in Red Sox Nation. We never could have done it without you. You will forever be the ultimate Red Sock.

In The Land of Rocky

2008-06-19T09:19:00.001-05:00

We took 2 of 3 from the Phillies in Philadelphia during the week. We left Philly with Colon on the DL, Coco has hurt his wrist, Schilling looks like he might not be back, and Manny is in the lineup then out of the lineup. JD Drew is still hitting though and he has filled in nicely for the Big Papi who got his cast removed during the week.

On Monday, we lost 8-2 and Colon got hammered with 2 first inning home runs and left after giving up 4 runs over 4 innings with a sore back. Our bullpen held them - other than Timlin who once again gave up 4 runs in 2/3 of an inning. Pedroia and Drew went back to back in the 5th inning to make the score 4-2, but after Timlin came in and gave up 4 runs, we were out of it.

On Tuesday, we won 3-0 on the pitching of Lester and the 2 run home run of Coco Crisp. Lester had another excellent outing going 7 innings of shutout baseball and gave up just 6 hits while striking out 5 over those 7 innings. Papelbon came in and struck out the side in the 9th to close it out.

On Wednesday, we won 7-4. JD Drew went 4-5 and had a home run in the first inning to give us the early lead. He went on to have 4 rbi's in the game and Brandon Moss had 2 rbi's with 2 outs to add to our lead. We jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the 1st and lead 7-1 after 4 inning. Hanson had some trouble in the 7th but we held on and Paps got another save coming in the 9th. Manny was out of the lineup with a tight hamstring and Coco injured his wrist.

As a team, we are getting banged up pretty bad, but it seems we keep on winning and somebody is always stepping up to fill the void of an injured player. We are pretty deep all around and hopefully we can make it through all these injuries. Tampa Bay is still hanging in there with us which really surprises me. New York is starting to come on as they always seem to do. This year it might be a three team race for the East. Now an off day then 3 against the Cards in Boston. I am sure there will be a lot of talk about the 2004 team this weekend - which is always fine with me.

Back in Cincinnati

2008-06-16T11:58:00.005-05:00

Friday nights game against the Reds didn't go as planned. Masterson pitched really well and as I was watching the game, it seemed like he was striking out everyone. He pitched 6.2 innings and struck out 9, but we didn't give him the run support he needed and we lost 3-1. I really like watching Masterson pitch, he reminds me a little of Dennis Eckersly the way he slings the ball to home. Saturdays game I won't be able to watch because Fox is showing the Cardinals here where I live and Fox has exclusive rights on Saturday afternoon. It is just as well though. I can't stand to listen to the Fox guys anyway. If it can't be the Remdawg and Orsillo and Heidi, there is no need to watch!

Saturday's game we won 6-4 in 10 innings. Once again, our bullpen couldn't hold the lead and this time, Paps gave up the tying home run in the bottom of the ninth. Okajima gave up a run again - I am now really starting to worry about him. Wakefield did well giving up just 2 runs in 7 innings. Our starting pitchers always seem to get the job done - I am happy with our rotation and we will be getting DiceK back soon. Youk and Crisp hit home runs in the 10th to give us the win.

Sundays game we won 9-0 on the pitching of Beckett and the offensive performances of Coco, Jacoby, Drew and Pedroia. Manny sat out again with his sore hamstring, but I think he should be back for our series in Philly. Beckett went 6 innings striking out 6 so once again, our starters are doing a great job.

Today was fathers day and over the last week or so we have been moving things around to get my son his own room. We bought a new bed for him and he now has his own "Red Sox Room" full of pennants and plaques and baseball cards and signed baseballs. As we were moving things around, I came across a poem I had written to him back in October 2003. He was just a couple of months old and evidently, I had written it soon after Boone beat us. I remember thinking to myself, especially after that game, that I should keep him away from the Red Sox and not let him get involved with all this Red Sox stuff. That it always turns out bad and I didn't want him to have to hurt like I did after the end of each season.

I remember his first jersey he got for Xmas. Now most parents love the day they get to put their favorite teams jersey on their newborn, but for me, I remember it wasn't that fun. I remember I put the jersey over his head and onto his shoulders and then I stopped. I started to have second thoughts. I knew that once I put it on him, there was no going back. I whispered into his ear, "I'm sorry Austin", and slipped his body into the jersey. I wanted him to like the Sox like I did, I just didn't want him to cry like I have had to after each heartbreak. I held on to the belief that maybe one day the Sox would win it and he would thank me for giving him his own Red Sox addiction.

And now today, I see the championship pennants in his room, his baseball cards are stacked up in the order of his favorite players, and his Sox hat hanging on the corner of the bed. We have come a long way. The Red Sox and us. He loves the Red Sox and even at 4 years old, knows the lineups and positions of every player. He likes his red glove because it is like DiceK's and he gives "mean eyes like Papelbon" when he throws the ball. He swings and strikes a pose like Manny when he swings the bat, and when I tell him not to throw a ball in the house, he always asks, "Can I just underhand to first like Faulke"? How can you say no to that?

I am so glad that I put that jersey on him almost 5 years ago. It really was all about faith. I lost faith every now and then, but I had it when I needed it the most, that minute I put his jersey on him. Sometimes he asks me to tell him about when the Red Sox would always lose, back when I was a little boy. I say no, why don't you tell me about when they won. And he can. I look forward to him telling his little sister about when the Sox won too.

Here is the poem I wrote back in October 2003. I must have had that song "Never Been to Me" in my mind because it kind of goes along like that song...

Hey Austin, you Austin, just starting out your life,
You were brought into this world, another Boston Red Sox fan,
Now I have no doubt what you have seen, had surely broken your heart,
But I wish someone would've talked to me about this right from the start.

We cheered for Manny and the Big Papi, and cowboyed up with Millar,
We took the hand of the Pedro man, with him we went so far,
But we ran out of pitches in that evil place - Grady kept him in too long,
We were five outs away, but we didn't win it all.

Please Austin, please Austin, don't just walk away,
Because I have this need to tell you why I'm still waiting today,
I don't want the pain in me to go on living in your eyes,
You shouldn't share a part of this Boston heart that's been broke a million times.

I cheered for Yaz and Dewey and Lynn, and I waved it fair like Fisk,
I moved like Boggs and threw like Clemens, that summer of '86.
I cheered for Bob Stanley, and I have seen some things that a young fan shouldn't have to see,
I was one strike away, but I didn't win it all.

Sometimes I have been to crying for game seven losses that might have made me complete,
But I cheer for the Red Sox, I'll never know what it's like to win the series.
I spent my life waiting in anticipation of something that still eludes me.
Hey Austin, we were 5 outs away, but we didn't win it all.
I was one strike away, but I'll never win it all.

Happy Father's Day to both of my children - thanks for liking the Sox as much as I do and sharing them with me everyday.

Wrapping up the homestand 7-2.

2008-06-13T11:32:00.001-05:00

Our first game against Baltimore, Beckett allowed 4 runs in one inning but we came back to take 6-4 lead in the 7th. Okajima then quickly came in, gave up 3 runs and walked 2 in only 1/3 of an inning. I am not sure what is wrong. Sometimes he is like the Oky from last year and then he is like how he was today. I am starting to think we should have held on to Tavarez. Drew has filled in nicely though since Papi has been out of the lineup and I hope he continues to hit well in Papi's place at least for another couple weeks.

Game 2 of our series with Baltimore continued Colon's strong efforts and he went to 4-1 on the season. He allowed just 1 run in 6 innings and struck out 7. We scored all the runs we needed in the first inning scoring 5 runs including three off of Teks first inning homer. I still get nervous about our bullpen. Yesterday in was Okajima, today it was Timlin. With a 5-1 lead, I thought we were ok, but before I knew it, Timlin had allowed 2 runs and Paps had to come in to get the last out. It worked out ok but it sure raises my stress level.

We won the rubber match 9-2 on the home runs by Youk, Drew and a grand slam by Lowell. Lester pitched a great game giving up just 2 runs in 7 innings. We finished off our homestand with a record of 7-2. We now are on the road with more interleague play against Cinci and Philly. This will be our first trip into Cincinnati since the 1975 world series. The series that started it all off for me. I think we will do well, Cinci has a lot of problems, if we can just win 2 of 3 from them, I will be alright with that. - Go Sox!

2 of 3 at Home

2008-06-09T13:22:00.004-05:00

On Friday we lost 8-0 to Seattle. Colon took his first loss of the season and didn't help himself out much by committing two throwing errors. Outside of Sean Casey, our offense went to sleep. The aftermath of the fight yesterday is now coming out. Eight players are going to be suspended, three of which are Sox players. Coco will be suspended 7 games (he is appealing.) John Lester was given a 5 game suspension for intentionally throwing at batters. I don't understand this one at all. If the umpires thought he was throwing at people, they would have ejected him from the game while he was in there pitching. Sean Casey was suspended for 3 games for fighting as well.

The Rays suspensions are a little stiffer. Shields, who hit Crisp on the right leg, received a six-game suspension. Johnny Gomes, one of the biggest aggressors during the fight, got a five-game punishment. Crawford, who Crisp accused of pulling his hair, got a four-game suspension. Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura received three games for fighting. And the whole team has to live with the fact that they are still the Tampa Bay Rays which should be punishment enough for most of the players.

On Saturday we won 11-3 and Wake pitched very well giving up just 2 runs in 7 innings. Manny was back in the linuep and quickly hit a home run that cleared the monster in his first at bat. Kevin Youkilis committed an error at first base which ended his errorless streak. The number was 238 games, stretching 2,002 fielding attempts dating back to July 4, 2006 -- both Major League records. In the ninth, a dropped throw from second baseman Alex Cora ended the record errorless streak.

On Sunday, we won again 2-1 on the pitching of Justin Masterson. He went 6 innings giving up just 3 hits and 1 run. Paps got another save and Okajima pitched well which was good to see.

Now an off day and then three with the O's again, this time at home.

Let's Get Ready To Rumble!

2008-06-06T12:36:00.004-05:00

On Thursday night, I was getting the family together to take my son to his first Tee Ball practice and as we were getting everyone together, my son said, "Daddy, Coco is fighting", and he pointed to the TV. Although we knew Coco was going to get hit, I thought it would happen later in the game, but it came in the second inning. I hit record and left for the practice, and came home to finish watching the game. We ended with a sweep of Tampa Bay and a lead in the AL East.

On Tuesday we won 7-4 scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the 6th. With this win, we moved to a half game of first place Tampa. Masterson got the win and we got clutch hits by Coco and Varitek in our 4 run 6th. Lowell and Drew homered as well and Paps got save number 17.

On Wednesday, we won 5-1 and never trailed in the game. Beckett went 6 innings giving up only 1 run and picked up his 6th win of the year. With this win, we have now moved back into first place over Tampa. We are now 23-5 at home. We love to play in Fenway.

Round one.

On Thursday, we won 7-1 but the big story was the fight between Coco and the Rays. On Wednesday, Coco slid hard into second and the Rays took exception to it and there was a shouting match between Coco and the Rays. That carried over to todays game and in the second inning Coco got hit in the leg by Shields and Coco charged the mound. Coco, Shields, and Jonny Gomes were all ejected. Talking about Gomes, he was in there throwing some wild punches at Coco while he was down. I am sure there will be suspensions and fines but I think Tampa will get the worst of that. I don't understand why they hit Coco so early in the game. They were down 3-1 at the time in the second inning. Why didn't they wait until later in the game, on Coco's last at bat or something to do it. This in effect took their starter out of the game and put 8 innings of work to their bullpen. Coco was saying after the game that they had him down and was pulling his hair and scratching like a bunch of little girls. It is times like now I wish we still had Pedro. I can just see him now, standing on the dugout steps yelling at every Ray player and pointing to his head letting them know he saw what just happened. There were 5 hit batters in the game so I am sure this thing is not over with yet. We play them again June 30-July 2 in Tampa. I am sure the fireworks will come early this year.

In the background of the fight, Ellsbury had to leave the game early when he injured his wrist on a diving catch in the outfield and Manny had to leave the game also with an injury. Now is not the time to start getting everyone injured.

Jonny Gomes hitting Coco like a girl while Coco is being held to the ground.

Manny gets 500!

2008-06-03T12:11:00.000-05:00

Manny finally got number 500 on Saturday night. We were at a friends house playing baseball in their backyard and watching the game through the window of the house. Everytime Manny batted, we stopped and watched. He did it and now he can start working on 600!

On Friday night, we had to go 13 innings to finish the O's off. Losing 5 of our last 6 games, it was nice to get back on the winning track. And it took some luck. Manny got on in the 13th on an error, and Lowell followed it up with an RBI single to break the tie. Then another error later in the inning allowed two more insurance runs and we won 5-2. Our bullpen pitched 7 innings without giving up a run and Beckett was lights out once again. He went 6 innings and struck out 10. Timlin got the win although he scares me to no end when he comes in in the later innings in a close game. Paps got his 15th save and we set a team record with 6 stolen bases in the game (Ellsbury with 3 of them). We now have speed, I never thought I would say that about my Sox.

On Saturday, it was all about Manny getting number 500 but under the radar should be Ellsbury who once again stole 3 bases. He has 6 stolen bases in the first two games of the series and he led off the 7th with a triple and later scored the go ahead run on Papi's sac fly. After Papi's sac fly, it set the stage for Manny to be Manny once again. He hit number 500 to put us up by two. Paps got his 16th save as he pitched the ninth to shut the door. The only blemish was that Papi hurt his wrist in the ninth and had to have Casey pinch hit for him. Hope the injury is OK.

On Sunday we won again 9-4 to take the first 3 games of the 4 game series against the O's. Manny hit number 501 and Colon went to 3-0 on the season. We strung together 16 hits and the O's were never really in it. One more game and we will get the sweep. I love playing the Orioles!

On Monday, the sweep was denied and we lost 6-3. We had a one run lead in the 8th but Okajima pitched horribly and gave up 4 runs to take the loss. Manny did hit number 502 so he continues to hit well. Papi has been out of the lineup, I hope his injury won't keep him out long, we need him and Manny hitting together!

Sleepless in Seattle

2008-05-29T11:56:00.000-05:00

I really hate it when we play on the west coast. The games don't get over until after midnight and it forces me to take an afternoon nap in just to get to see the entire game.

We won 5-3 on Monday on the pitching of Bartolo Colon. He is really looking good. I was afraid he was going to be another Gagne but he has really pitched well. The game was 1-1 in the 8th until Pedroia hit a ground rule double with two outs. We scored 4 runs that inning and needed every one of them as Paps came in in the 9th and allowed two unearned runs.

On Tuesday, Manny hit number 499 and was our only scoring of the game. We lost 4-3 as Timlin allowed one run in the bottom of the ninth to take the loss. It looks like DiceK is hurt and he may miss a start or two with shoulder fatigue.

On Wednesday, now the third night without any sleep, I had to endure an excellent pitching performance by Wakefield only to take the loss 1-0. We were completely shut down by Bedard who went 7 innings of 2 hit ball and struck out 8. Wakefield went the complete game, gave up only 5 hits and struck out 8 himself. We had no offense at all and really never got anything going on the bases. We will have to wait for Manny to hit number 500.... maybe in Baltimore.

Now back to the East coast where the games are played at regular times and I can get some sleep!

Swept on the Road

2008-05-26T10:03:00.002-05:00

Our road woes continue as we were swept over the weekend against the Oakland A's. On Friday, we lost 8-3 as Wakefield was hammered for 8 runs over 5 innings. Manny is suddenly in a slump and Cash, who is in to catch for Wake, can't seem to hit anything. I don't know what it is about us not able to win on the road, but we will have to start to figure it out soon. In other news, Schilling is working his road to coming back. He is expected to throw a bullpen session in a couple of weeks and today he threw from 140 feet without any pain. We need him back on the mound, if anything, just as a member of our team again. Just having him back will be a lift to our players.

On Saturday, our bats turned cold again and we were shutout 3-0. Beckett went 7 strong innings, giving up just 2 earned runs and striking out 9, but the story was the pitching of Oakland A's Duchscherer. He pitched a one hitter through 8 innings and the only hit he allowed was a single to Papi. Beckett had what it took to get the win, only our offense let him down. Sometimes we get outpitched. With this loss, we fell to second place behind Tampa.

On Sunday, we lost again 6-3 as Lester made his first start since his no hitter. The first batter he faced, he gave up a hit. I think he pitched well, especially knowing that his nerves must have been working against him coming off his no hitter. Manny got back on track and went 3 for 4 with 2 rbi's and Papi hit a solo home run to wrap up our scoring. Lugo made his 12th error of the season. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts to get replaced in the late innings for defensive purposes. We have now lost our last 7 games on the road and we are now 10-17 on the road, compared to 20-5 at Fenway Park. Now it is off to Seattle hopefully for some wins.

A Royal Sweep

2008-05-23T09:43:00.001-05:00

We completed a 4 game sweep of the Royals and are now in first place overtaking the Rays. The Yankees now have sole possession of last place. On Tuesday, Masterson, making his 2nd big league start, went 6.1 innings and gave up just one run on just 3 hits. Our bullpen held them in check and Paps came in to wrap up the 8th and 9th and got his 13th save of the year. After the game, Masterson was sent back down to AAA.

Wednesday's game, I was interested in seeing how Bartolo Colon was going to perform. He did not disappoint. He went 5 strong innings, giving up 6 hits and got the win as we won 6-3. It is strange seeing the former Cy Young Award winner in our jersey, but if he continues to pitch like that, I will be looking forward to seeing him pitch every 5 days. I would imagine that since Colon looks like he is going to be doing well, Bucholz will probably remain in AAA, at least for a while. What will be interesting is what we are going to do when Schilling comes back. Maybe Wake will go to the pen although the thought of that scares me to no end. But it is good that we have a problem such as this. Too much quality starting pitching.

On Thursday, we completed the sweep by beating the Royals 11-8. DiceK got his 8th win of the year and is now 8-0. He continued though to walk players and his pitch count skyrocketed early. He only went 5.2 innings and gave up 3 earned runs but he walked 6 batters. I still don't know about him, but if he can continue to go out there and win, that is what we have him out there to do. Just the walks scare me and I hope that this doesn't come back to hurt us in the postseason. Drew and Lowell both hit grand slams and we took an 11-3 lead. Our bullpen let them back in the game, but we held on and won and Paps had to come in to shut the door on them in the 9th.

No-No for Lester

2008-05-20T09:30:00.000-05:00

John Lester pitched a no hitter against the Royals to start off a four game set with the Royals. He seemed to get stronger and stronger as the game progressed and he wrapped up the game with a 94 mph heater to end the game with a strikeout. It was the 4th no hitter for the Red Sox in the 21st century and Varitek has caught all 4 of them. After the game, Tek stated he didn't even know Lester had a no hitter until the 7th inning. He stated "I didn't even really know we had a no-hitter until after the seventh," Varitek said. "I kind of looked up in the seventh and saw he was around 100 pitches and thought, he did his job. And I kind of glanced in the bullpen and saw nobody warming up and thought, 'That's kind of weird.' Then I looked back and saw [the zero]. It was good."

It was a great way to start off the series against the Royals. Congrats Lester!

Sweeping Up Interleague Play

2008-05-19T09:57:00.005-05:00

We swept the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend and regained sole possession of first place in the East. Tampa couldn't keep up with St. Louis and fell to second place and the Mets swept the Yanks as well. The Yankees are now in last place and are the only team in our division under .500.

David Ortiz looks like he is snapping out of his slump as he hit two home runs Sunday to help us to a 11-7 win. He went 3-4 with 4 rbi's and scored twice. Youk also hit one and so did Minny Manny (Pedroia). Beckett started off a little shaky allowing 2 first inning runs and he eventually gave up 4 home runs on the day, but he did strike out 9 in his 7 innings and picked up the win.

We swept the Saturday double header 5-3 and 7-6 over the Brewers as well. We almost blew the nightcap giving up 3 unearned runs in the 7th but in the bottom of the frame, Youk drove in Pedroia with the go ahead run. Timlin came in to get the save, his first of the year. The teams combined for 7 errors in the game. It looked like we were watching the Bad News Bears out there.

The early game we won 5-3 on the strong pitching performance of DiceK. He didn't give up an earned run and only walked 2. Paps came in to get the save and Papi hit a home run to give us an early lead.

Coming up, we have a four game set with Kansas City, then we will be off to the west coast for a 6 game set with Oakland and Seattle. It means the games won't be starting until 9 o'clock my time so I will have to try to get an afternoon nap in somewhere next week.

Bartolo Colon is set to make his Red Sox debut Wednesday against the Royals. He is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in three starts for the PawSox. In his last start on Thursday in Buffalo, he went six scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out four. I hope he does well, it will be nice to see him in the rotation at least until Schilling comes back.

With all the injuries we have had along with the slow start of Ortiz, I am glad we are in first coming up to the end of May. In fact, we have the best record in the American League. I would like to see the Yankees be double digits behind us by the end of the month. We all know, that somehow, someway, they will be there, hanging around at the end of the season. We just know it. The bigger the lead, the more comfortable I will be.

In other tidbits, Arod has apparently taped a congratulations to Manny and it will be played when Manny hits his 500th home run. What is the deal with Arod even being involved here? I can just see it, Manny hits his 500th, the Fenway crowd is going crazy, then a chorus of boos will fill the park when Arods purple lips start talking about good luck and hope you hit many more. It will ruin the moment. Why is he always getting involved with our big moments? Is he sorry he didn't become a Sox player back in 04 and this is his only way to feel part of the team? Remember when we were winning the world series and he had to interrupt the game and announce he wasn't going to stay with the Yankees? Of course, a couple weeks later, he changed his mind and stayed, but he still got himself on there during our world series. My message for Slappy would be to worry about his last place team and leave us alone. We don't need your congratulations, in fact we don't care to see you at all except when they show replays of Varitek giving you a catchers mitt sandwich or maybe that play you made in 04 when you slapped the ball like a little girl from Bronson Arroyo. Do you remember those? Now leave us alone.

Deja Lose

2008-05-15T10:36:00.004-05:00

We lost again to Baltimore 6-3 on a grand slam in the bottom of the 7th off of Okajima. We jumped up early again with an early 3-0 lead but once again couldn't hold the lead. Lester pitched well, but as soon as our bullpen came in, we allowed them to load the bases then Jima gave up the home run.

Manny performed another Manny moment for us by making a catch in left field by the wall. He then jumped up, gave a fan a high five, then turned around and threw the ball back to the infield for a double play. After the play, the players were in the dugout watching the play on a monitor on one of the cameras set up in the dugout. They were all laughing at the antics of Manny. Even when we lose, it seems we have a good time.

We have Milwaukee in interleague play this weekend after an off day (which we sorely need), and the return of Gagne to Fenway. I think we have a good chance of taking all three over the weekend. We start it out Friday night with the 6-0 DiceK on the mound. Hope we get DiceK and not DiceWalk on Friday!

Other news in the division is that the Yankees beat Tampa Bay so we remain a half game in back of Tampa for the division. I never thought I would ever type that last sentence - stating that the Yankees won so we remain a 1/2 game back, I have typed before because we were behind the Yanks. Instead, we remain a 1/2 back because Tampa lost.

Concerning the Yankees, don't you just love it when there is turmoil in the Empire. Their pitching is awful. Remember earlier in the season when they wouldn't trade Phil Hughes for Santana? And Ian Kennedy haven't lived up to their expectations either, and Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina have been merely okay. I bet now, if given the chance, they would pick up Santana for Kennedy and Hughes in a New York Minute!

Their offense is horrible too. Sure they have Arod (Slappy) out with an injury and Posada is out for another month or two but Jason Giambi hasn't been producing. He has a batting average of .188. Apparently, his $23.4 million isn't paying off. If I was Cashman, and wanted to keep my job and continue working for Steinbrenner, (which I never would want to anyway), they should trade Giambi for some pitching, sign Barry Bonds as a DH (typical Yankee move there), move Johnny Damon to first base, and shift Hideki Matsui to left field. Only then would they be able to battle Tampa for the wild card.

Steinbrenner (Hank) is sounding a lot like his dad lately. This is what he said about the Yankees recently. "The bottom line is that the team is not playing the way it is capable of playing. These players are being paid a lot of money and they had better decide for themselves to earn that money." He went on to say, "This is going to get turned around. If it's not turned around this year, then it will be turned around next year, by force if we have too."

Just makes me smile reading that. Good luck turning it around Yankees! You guys have the Mets coming up this weekend and Santana is scheduled to start Friday. I hope Steinbrenner is watching! Hope Santana shows them what they missed out on!

So Long Tavarez...

2008-05-13T12:38:00.007-05:00

We lost again last night 7-3. Clay just never had it together. We got up early but just couldn't hold the lead. The biggest news of the day was that Julian Tavarez was designated for assignment meaning that we have 10 days to either trade him or release him. I will miss him, and although he looks like a serial killer and is pretty crazy, he came up big for us last year. We never knew what to expect from him. He could punch someone, hit a phone, step on a baserunner, or even wear shoes with the Big Papi's face on them. But he would start a game on a moments notice and really filled in nicely in the starting rotation. This year, it seemed he just wasn't getting enough work in and we needed a roster spot for Sean Casey.

The biggest thing I will remember of Tavarez, other than all the crazy moments mentioned above and the incident of Manny rubbing down his hair in the dugout, is on at least 2 occasions, he fielded a ball and rolled it to first. This first video, I was at the game and saw it happen. We couldn't believe what we saw. The people we were with asked me, "Did he just roll it to first?" Here is the video against the Rangers. Here is another time he did it later in the season, this time against the Giants. I just love the part where Francona is sitting in the dugout shaking his head after the play.I always wondered what would have happened if we had Tavarez on the mound back in 04 when we won it. The play by play would have sounded like this..."Swing and a ground ball. Tavarez has it. He rolls it to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the world champions." I like Faulke's better.

I hope he finds a spot, maybe with Colorado, where he can pitch in the rotation and get some work in. So long Tavarez...

Next is Baltimore and Beckett on the mound. My money is on Beckett to stop the losing streak tonight...

No Mother's Day Miracle This Year

2008-05-12T14:31:00.003-05:00

We came up a run short this year on Mother's Day losing to the Twins 9-8. I remember last year, playing the Orioles, I had given up on them and went outside to mow the yard. 30 minutes later, my wife came out and told me they had come back and won it. I rushed inside and rewound the game and watched the final half inning. I couldn't believe it.

I really truly believed this year we were going to do the same thing. I watched Manny coming off the bench, knowing he was going to pinch hit somewhere in the ninth if we could get at least the tying runs to the plate. Sure enough, we scored 2 runs and Manny strolled to the plate as the go ahead run. I could just see it, him swinging his bat, belting a home run and him just standing there with his arms in the air like he did last year against the Angels in the playoffs. But it was not to be, instead he grounded out to short to end the game. I think I am getting used to these "movie" endings to these games and sometimes forget they are real life.

Anyway, we are still in first place in spite of the fact Papelbon has blown 2 consecutive saves. I think he is struck by the "Curse of Heidi". Ever since Heidi has been walking around the bullpen and dugouts making her comments for NESN, Paps hasn't been the same. They need to take Heidi out of there and keep her in the pressbox with Orsillo and Rem Dawg - I think then, Paps will get back on track.

Nice to see the Yanks still hovering around the .500 mark and in 4th place. What is this about David Wells wanting to come back to New York to help them out. Sounds alot like what Clemens did last year and see how far that got them? I say go ahead Wells, go back to New York. It won't help. The Yanks will be battling with Tampa Bay for the wild card. Serious though, Tampa Bay continues to amaze me. I wonder if this is the year they will finish above .500 and really start to shake things up in the East. The real surprise team is Toronto. Weren't they supposed to be giving us and the Yanks fits this year? They are in last place and I don't see them making many waves this year in the division.

One more game against the twins then a short 2 game set with the Orioles.

Since it is Mother's Day, I would like to say Happy Mothers Day to my wife for raising 2 wonderful kids (and me) and for putting up with all this Red Sox stuff 24 hours a day. I think she realizes that our son is almost passing me up on his own personal Red Sox addiction. There is no escape for her now...

Also to my own mom whose birthday is also on Mother's Day. Although we can't be together this year, it is fun to know that you are watching the Sox and over the miles, this baseball team brings us closer together. Remember the fun we had throughout that 1986 season and how you rooted for Boggs and Rice and Evans. Not sure I ever said it, but thanks for recording those ALCS games against the Angels on the nights I had to work. Even though you knew the outcome, you wouldn't tell me what happened and you would watch the games with me again. We both cheered for Clemens and just knew that he was going to take us to the championship. I am sorry you had to watch game 6 and watch that wild pitch by Stanley and then that "little roller up along first". I am sorry you got to see Boggs crying in the dugout after game 7. I knew he was your favorite player. Sorry again you had to type an email to me after the Aaron Boone game where you just typed two words - "Never Again". I am glad though that we got to share that 2004 playoff run even if it was only by emails after each game. I still have that last email sent 10/27/04 around midnight. It simply said, "Finally!" Anyway, thanks for sharing this Red Sox Ride with me for my entire life. You have been a part of this Red Sox Addiction since the beginning and always encouraged me to hang there with them. Thanks for hanging in there with me too.

Happy Mothers Day!

Eye of the Tiger

2008-05-09T11:55:00.008-05:00

We took 3 of 4 from Detroit this week and very easily could have taken all 4. Our only loss came on a bloop broken bat single in the bottom of the ninth off of Papelbon. We have now won 6 of our last 7 and we are now going to Minnesota for a 4 game set with the first place Twins.

Mondays game we won 6-3 even though DiceK allowed 8 walks. He stated afterwards that he is suffering from an illness that has bothered him for a week. He allowed one earned on two hits over 5 innings to get the win. His record is now 5-0 and we have won every game this year that he has pitched (7-0).

Lowell and Youk both had 2 run home runs to help out as well and Big Papi hit his sixth home too. Okajima pitched a perfect eighth, and Papelbon earned his 10th save of the year to wrap up the victory.

Tuesday's game we won 5-0 on the knuckler of Wakefield. He allowed two hits and three base runners, striking out a season-high six. It is the third straight year that Wakefield has had a shutout after eight innings. Timlin pitched the ninth, making his 1,022nd career appearance, tying him for ninth all-time with Jose Mesa and Lee Smith. It was the first time since 1900 a shutout was pitched by multiple pitchers over 40.

Manny Ramirez got his 497th homer following one by David Ortiz. Manny got his home run off of Freddy Dolsi who was making his major league debut. Manny hit his first pitch 427 feet to center for the home run. Can you imagine making your major league debut and having the first player you face be Manny Ramirez? His very first pitch in the major leagues was a home run!

Wednesday's game was heart wrenching. It was one of those games where you can't go to sleep afterwards thinking about how we had just lost. We lost 10-9 on a bloop single in the bottom of the ninth. We battled back down 5-2 and 8-4 to actually take a 9-8 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. Paps gave up 2 unearned runs to take the loss and get his first blown save of the season. Actually this loss really lies with the Lugo error. Lowell got a 3 run home run and Pedroia continues to come up big with a pinch hit go ahead rbi.

Thursday's game we won 5-1 on the pitching of Josh Beckett. Beckett got eight strikeouts, including the 1,000th of his career and Kevin Youkilis hit another home run to lead us to the win. Beckett (4-2) gave up six hits and a run in seven innings and Youkilis hit his third home run in two games.

It is a sad day as we can officially say our goodbye's to Tina Cervasio.

In other news, Heidi Watney made her debut as the first lady of Red Sox Nation. Now I remember back in January hearing that Tina Cervasio was leaving and going to New York to spend more time with her family. Tina knew baseball and I always looked forward to her postgame interviews and comments. I wondered who they could get to ever replace her. I thought Kathryn Tappen would do well and then I heard they had hired a former Miss San Diego / sports anchor - Heidi Watney.

Heidi made her debut and although she appeared nervous I think she did OK. I still don't know if she will remove Tina out of our minds completely, but it will be interesting to see how Heidi does throughout the year. She needs to know this is not San Diego. It will take more than a little pretty face to keep the hearts of Red Sox Nation beating. She will have to know the Red Sox, baseball and be able to keep up with Don and the RemDawg. Simply smiling at the camera won't work, she will have to give us stats, injury updates and maybe a smile here and there too just for fun. Good Luck Heidi and welcome to the Red Sox!

Revenge of the Sox

2008-05-05T13:35:00.004-05:00

We completed a 3 game sweep of the Rays over the weekend to settle the score for their sweep of us last weekend. Finally, our bats are coming around and we are scoring some runs.

On Friday we won 7-3 after a lengthy rain delay. Buchholz pitched well allowing just one run in 5.1 innings. Our bullpen kept the Rays at bay with Lopez, Delcarmen, Okajima and Paps all going without an earned run, although Lopez allowed two unearned. Pedroia continues to come up big with 3 rbi's. Moss hit a home run to help out our cold bats.

On Saturday, we won 12-4 with Beckett going 8 solid innings striking out 5. We scored 12 runs on 15 hits with Pedroia again getting 3 hits himself. The biggest stat of the game is none of our runs came by way of the home run. We did have 7 doubles and it was nice to Papi getting into it as well with 3 hits.

On Sunday, our starting pitching continued to pitch well as Lester went 6 innings giving up just one run. Paps got his 9th save of the year and we are beginning to hit again. Papi sat this one out with a sore knee, but Youk came up big in his place in the lineup with a career tying 4 rbi's going 3 for 4 with a home run. We went up against Scott Kazmir, who is coming off the DL and making his first start of the season. He has always pitched well against us posting an impressive 2.66 ERA in 17 career starts against Boston.

We have now won 5 of our last 6 and we have our biggest lead in the division so far at 3 games. I think the biggest story of the game from Sunday is our 5 stolen bases. I can't believe we now have a team with speed. We now have as many stolen bases on the season as we do home runs (26 in the first 33 games). That is something I thought I would never see. We always had a team with power, but the speed is something new. Our starting rotation it seems always goes at least 6 or 7 innings and at least for the last week or so is keeping the scoring down. I think we have a good chance this year!

One strange bit of news coming out of New Hampshire is the story of a female Yankee fan who is being held without bail on the charge of murder. She evidently got into an argument with a Sox fan and when the argument spilled outside, the Yankee fan decided to run the Sox fan over in her car to settle the argument. Can you imagine her trial in New Hampshire. I hope the entire jury shows up in Red Sox hats!

Since mothers day is coming up in about a week, I thought I would put this story in here today. Now I routinely ask my son if he likes the Yankees and he always shakes his head "no!". When I ask him if he likes the Red Sox he always grins and says "Yes!". I found this news story about a small boy in Greece who was asked the same questions that I ask my son. Only for this boy, it was to determine if his brain was still functioning... Go ahead and read it - it has a happy ending!

Watching Cameron Knowles chase after the family cat and noisily play video games with little brother Zachary, it's hard to imagine that just a month ago the whirlwind 7-year-old lay dead on his bedroom floor for at least 12 minutes.

Around 7 a.m. on March 26, Mark Knowles came home from an overnight shift at his part-time emergency medical technician job with the North Greece Fire Department. Coming in the door, he inadvertently set off the burglar alarm.

He stopped at the bathroom to chat with his wife as she dressed for her job as a medical assistant at a Brighton cardiology office.

They both wondered why Cameron, a first-grader at Greece's Holmes Road Elementary School, hadn't bounded out of his room when the alarm shrieked.

"I thought I'd better go check on him, and it was time for him to get up for school anyway," said Mark Knowles, 33. "When I got there, he wasn't moving. At first I thought he was playing possum, 'cause he's that kind of kid, but I checked for a pulse and didn't find one."

He cried out to his wife, Rebecca, who ran in and probed Cameron's neck and wrist for signs of life.

"I said, "He's gone, Mark, he's gone,'" said Rebecca.

She pulled her son's lifeless, pajama-clad body from his bed and started CPR. Mark dialed the Greece Ridge Fire Department, where he works full time as a dispatcher and emergency medical technician.

"I said 10 words: 'My son is unconscious, get a squad to my house,'" he said.

Firefighter Mark Quill and EMT Kevin Clarke pulled their rig up to 1296 Weiland Road just minutes later. "Every call you go on is important, but when it's someone you work with and a kid you see all the time at the firehouse visiting his dad, it's different," said Quill, a four-year member of the Fire Department.

He's been on dozens of cardiac arrest calls. There are few happy endings.

"In this business, usually the worst calls are pediatric cardiac arrest," said Clarke.

Once inside the Knowles' house, Quill hunkered down to deliver Cameron oxygen. Clarke hooked up an automated external defibrillator, or AED. Battalion Chief Andrew Paradiso assisted.

It was the first time anyone from Greece Ridge ever used an AED on a child.

"We gave him one shock, and kept up CPR, then a crew from Monroe Ambulance came," said Quill. "They shocked him two more times and started pushing meds."

Cameron's heart started to beat again. But, his father said, he'd been down at least 12 minutes, more than twice the five it can take to cause severe, irreversible brain damage.

As medical professionals all their lives, both Mark and Rebecca — both certified EMTs — knew Cameron's chances for full recovery were slim.

"Everyone kept telling me at the hospital that I was a hero," said Rebecca, 32. "But I didn't know what kind of hero I was. We didn't know if we'd saved his brain. I didn't know what kind of life he would have, what decisions we would have to make."

With Cameron's heart pumping again, EMTs whisked him to Unity Hospital at Park Ridge, where doctors slipped a breathing tube down his throat while a pediatric intensive care unit team from Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong rushed from Rochester to Greece to retrieve him.

Dr. Andrea Hinkle, a pediatric critical care fellow at Golisano, was part of that team.

At first look, Cameron's prognosis was grim. According to the American Heart Association, less than 7 percent of all children who suffer cardiac arrest outside a hospital survive long enough to ever be discharged from a hospital. When there is significant time without a heartbeat, fewer still ever regain normal brain function.

"We were worried," said Hinkle. Although Cameron's heart was beating and he was breathing with assistance by the time he got to Park Ridge, she said, he was displaying some of the classic, jerky movements associated with brain trauma.

"It is very rare for a child with cardiac arrest to survive intact."

Blood tests given later at Golisano, however, showed Cameron had enough circulation from the CPR and defibrillation to keep his kidneys and liver working. Like the brain, those organs also fail if deprived of oxygen too long during cardiac arrest.

"Although the tests weren't absolutely predictive, we didn't see anything with his kidneys and liver," said Hinkle. "That's where we were beginning to become hopeful."

To help save Cameron's brain, Golisano doctors sedated him heavily and slowed his metabolism by lowering his body temperature to 34 degrees Celsius (about 93 degrees Fahrenheit) for a day. Over an additional 14 hours, they slowly brought his body temperature back to a normal 37 degrees Celsius (about 99 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Warmed up, on March 29 Cameron started fighting against his breathing tube.

Mark returned from errands that afternoon to find his wife sobbing in Cameron's room.

"I was crying because I was happy," said Rebecca.

Watching Cameron awaken, nurse Staci Goldstein had asked two questions that left his parents no doubt their boy's brain was OK.

"She said, 'Cameron, do you like the New York Yankees?' and he shook his head no," said Rebecca. "Then, she asked, 'Do you like the Boston Red Sox?' and he nodded yes."
Hinkle said Cameron's quick-acting parents and the first responders apparently kept the boy's blood flowing well enough to prevent serious damage.

"He had a really excellent resuscitation by the first responders, and we have to give everybody a lot of credit," Hinkle said, adding that she and Cameron bonded during his stay over their mutual love of the Red Sox. "But we deliver the same level of care even to Yankees fans."

A thoughtful, caring boy

Cameron, who returned full time to Holmes Road Elementary School this week, has a heart condition called long QT syndrome. The illness is a hereditary disorder of the heart's electrical rhythm that affects the time it takes for beating heart muscle to contract and then recover to beat again.

The disorder, which usually affects children and young adults, can occur in otherwise healthy people and often shows no symptoms until sudden cardiac death.

That's what happened to Cameron on the day now known as his "second birthday."

The Knowles family wants to get the word out about long QT syndrome and the importance of being screened. After Cameron's cardiac arrest, they all got tested. As it turns out, Mark has the ailment too but is controlling it now with medications.

"For a lot of kids, long QT is discovered far too late," said Rebecca. "You can't diagnose it post-mortem."

The family is selling bracelets to benefit the Cardiac Arrhythmias Research and Education Foundation. Cameron has his own American Heart Association Web page to raise funds for heart research. His classmates are jumping rope today to raise money in his honor.

Teacher LuAnn Principe said her class was "devastated" to learn Cameron was ill.

"When you mention his name, the first thing you do is smile because that's the first thing you see on his face," she said. "He's an intelligent, thoughtful, caring young boy."

She said today's planned Jump-A-Thon is a way for the kids to turn feelings into action.

"Writing him cards and letters helped, but this is something else they can put their energies in," she said. "They want to help with cures and research so some other 7-year-old won't have to go through what Cameron went through."

Cameron doesn't remember much of his ordeal, not even how he called the first doctor he saw after waking "an idiot" for sticking a needle in his arm or how he later asked for a chocolate doughnut.

Because of long QT, he'll never be able to participate in competitive or contact sports. He'll always need an implanted defibrillator. His family keeps a red-boxed AED tucked in a corner of their living room.

He came home on April 11, brother Zachary's 5th birthday.

Despite getting a television set and a skateboard, Zachary says his best present that day "was having my brother Cameron come home."

Cameron giggled, throwing himself on the couch cushions, pulling up his red Boston Red Sox No. 24 Manny Ramirez shirt to show off the zipper scar bisecting his chest.

Surgeons told him to call it his "chick magnet."

He does.

Then, giving a gap-toothed grin, he turns serious.

"Mommy," he said. "You do so many nice things for me. Thank you for giving me CPR."

Happy Mothers Day!

Still No Offense

2008-05-02T15:02:00.003-05:00

We lost to the Blue Jays 3-0 and failed to get the three game sweep. Our bats have just turn ice cold and it seems we can't string together any base hits. We very easily could have been swept by the Jays this series if it wasn't for those few base hits in the 9th inning.

Wake was solid, giving up only 3 runs over 7 innings. We could only muster up 4 hits on the night, failed to score anything even though we had 6 walks in addition to our hits.

Tampa Bay is coming to town so now is the time to get our bats going. We have only scored 4 runs in the last 5 games! Our rotation this weekend is Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett and left-hander Jon Lester. Let's take at least 2 of 3! Go Sox!

History Repeats Itself

2008-05-01T10:32:00.003-05:00

The Red Sox won again on another walk-off base hit, this time by our captain Veritek. This was our 8th game where we have won on our last at bat. The stress of these close games and people being called out at the plate only minutes later to have another base hit to win it is surely taking the years off my life expectancy. I have always said that on my death certificate, it will say, "Cause of Death - Boston Red Sox". I can feel my blood pressure rise and sometimes it hard to catch my breath during those last minutes of these tied games in the ninth. Before 2004, it seemed we always lost these type of games, but no more. We are the Cardiac Kids. I should probably relax more, I mean these aren't playoff games, but as we all know, it could very easily come down to just one win to get us into the playoffs, and we need each one. My wife says that if I ever have a heart attack during the Sox game, she is not allowing me to watch anymore, so I should probably learn to sit and relax rather than stand and pace, bang the sofa with my hands and yell out, "Manny" in unison with the fans at Fenway.

We beat Toronto on a base hit by Tek in the bottom of the ninth again to win 2-1. Papi got on with a base hit, Manny walked, then Lowrie came in to pinch run for Ortiz. It was like reading the same book all over again, it was like a script where we all know the ending. We knew the pinch runner would score off of a Moss base hit. Sure enough, Moss gets a base hit up the middle, I jump into the air in celebration, then before I hit the ground, Lowrie was called out at the plate. So I went from jubilation back to my high blood pressure medication and started fanning my face hoping that Tek could score Manny from second. Within a minute, Manny hit one up the middle, almost the exact hit from a minute before, but this time Manny came home safely and we had won! Manny tossed his helmet to the ground and the celebration was on its way.

After I had settled down from the stress of the walk off win, I flipped over to YES and watched the Yankees lose to the Tigers. It was a perfect bed time story - listening to them talk about another loss, how Arod and Posada are on the DL and how horrible their young pitchers are. I went to bed with a smile.

DiceK pitched well (7 innings, 2 hits and 0 runs) and Papelbon came in the ninth and got the win. Okajima allowed an inherited runner to score in the 8th and got the Blown Save, but I don't really blame him. He pitched well. It was actually Manny Delcarmen's run.

Our pitching is really looking good now, but our bats are as cold as ice. I think we are just running into some really good pitching by the opposition lately. One more with the Jays then three with the Rays over the weekend. Back in first place by ourselves, Yanks are in 4th place 3 back. Times are good.

End of Our Losing Streak

2008-04-30T21:51:00.003-05:00

Lester pitched about as good of a game as you could want him to, 8 innings of 1 hit ball, Youk came up big with a game winning single in the bottom of the ninth with 2 outs and we win 1-0 ending our five game losing streak. I don't know about anyone else, but I really enjoy a good pitchers duel. I much prefer a 1-0 game to a 13-12 game anytime.

Lester pitched 8 innings and didn't give up a run. The problem was Halladay also didn't give up a run. Papelbon came in to pitch the ninth and I think the biggest play of the game was the Pedroia stop at second. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Toronto had the go ahead run at 2nd with 2 outs. Pedroia, who later said he didn't even see the ball because he was blocked out by the umpire, stabbed a hard hit grounder up the middle and threw to first for the final out.

In the bottom of the ninth, our rally started with 2 outs and nobody on. Papi walked after nearly ending it with a home run that turned out to be foul. After Ortiz walked, Manny lined a single which brought up Youk. I sort of thought they would pinch run for Ortiz but the switch didn't happen. Youk got a base hit up the middle, Ortiz rounded third and scored the game winning run.

It was our 7th win on our last at bat. These kind of games are the type of games that take years off my life. Next Dice-K is on the mound. Lets hope our bats come to life and give him some run support!

Bring Back The Devil Rays

2008-04-28T13:54:00.002-05:00

I like the old Devil Rays team a lot better. When they changed their name to just the Rays, I think they got a whole new team. Their pitchers turned into Cy Young, Catfish Hunter, and Bob Gibson. At least that what it seemed like. We couldn't get our offense going in any of the games.

On Friday's game, we lost 5-4 in 11 innings. Wake brought his 19-3 record in Tampa to the mound but got hit for 3 earned runs in 6 innings. Our bullpen held them until the 11th when Timlin allowed the winning run. It was good to see Tek back even if he did just come in for Crisp who pinch ran for Cash. Papi went a horrible 0-6 but it was nice to see him try to beat out that infield hit at first. He went head first and maybe he messed up his knee. Hopefully he will be OK.

On Saturday's game, we lost 2-1 and Clay pitched a terrific game. He allowed just one hit into the 8th inning, but our bats could only give him one run to play with. In the 8th, he allowed a base hit and then a 2 run home run to put us behind. He pitched a complete game loss, three hitter. We really need to get our bats going soon. Now that Tek is back in the lineup, we now have Papi out of the lineup with a bruised knee. Manny, Youk and Tek went a combined 0-10. We won't score many runs that way. Beckett is on the mound tomorrow, we should be alright if we can score some runs.

Sunday's game was just more of the same. We lost 3-0 and was shutout by Shields who looked like Cy Young out there. We could only muster out 2 hits. Beckett did all he could, went 7 innings and struck out 13, but he gave up 2 runs (1 earned) and took the loss. If our bats don't come around soon, we won't be winning any games. Papi took the day off to nurse his knee - he needs to get back in the lineup and start hitting like he used to.

Tampa Bay really looks like a good young team. I wouldn't be surprised if in the next couple years, they start to make a run on the Yanks and us in the division. They have excellent pitching and good speed on the bases. We will see how they do next weekend in Boston.

We have now lost 5 straight and we have a day off on Monday. We have a 3 game set at home against Toronto coming up this week. We need to take at least 2 of 3 from them over the next couple of days. Speaking of coming home to play, Tuesday nights game is a sellout which is the 402nd consecutive sellout of Fenway Park. There hasn't been an empty seat at Fenway for a game since May 15th, 2003. We are expected to break the home consecutive sellout streak, which the fans will, on September 3 against the Orioles. That will be the 456th consecutive sell out, breaking the Indians record of 455 set from 1995-2001. One day, it sure would be nice to see a game there at home in Fenway. Until then, we will continue to root for them here and watch them when we can when they come to Texas.

Lowell should be back in the lineup come Tuesday which is good news. Now let's win some games !

Wash Your Hands !

2008-04-25T09:09:00.004-05:00

Doesn't anybody on our team wash their hands? It seems everyone on our team is out sick with the flu. First there was Tek, then Manny Delcarmen, Beckett, and then he got a sore neck, Dice-K, Lowell is on the 15 day DL, Youk and Coco had to miss a game, and because of all that, the Angels took 2 of 3 from us in Fenway.

On Tuesdays game, we came back from behind 5-1 to win 7-6. It seems like we always find a way to come from behind to win. I kind of like this type of baseball. Beckett was scratched from his start because of a sore neck and the flu. Tek was still out with the flu as well so Cash had to start at catcher. When Francona was asked if we have another backup catcher, he said Pedroia had some catching experience in Little League or something and Pedroia actually tried on Teks catchers equipment but everything was too big on him. Let's just hope it doesn't come to having Pedroia catch for us, even for an inning. Jacoby hit two home runs for the first time in his career and Okajima blew a save opportunity for us which is rare for him. Papelbon came in to close out the ninth though pushing our winning streak to 6 games.

Wednesday's game didn't turn out like we planned. First, Flu-K (Dice) was out with the flu so Lester chose to pitch on 3 days rest for the first time ever. He was effective and kept us in the game, but we lost 6-4 stopping our winning streak at 6 games. Good news is Lowell is expected back in a couple days, Tek is taking his flu medicine and should be back by this weekend and we have Tampa Bay coming up on the schedule.

Thursday's game we lost 7-5 but the big story was Masterson and how he pitched today. A late call up to fill in for ailing pitchers, he came in and pitched 6 innings of 1 run baseball on only 2 hits. He left with a 3-1 lead going into the 7th inning. Before Masterson could finish washing his hands (did he remember) and put in a cough drop our bullpen had blown up and given the Angels the lead. It took 3 pitchers to get us through the 7th - Lopez, Delcarmen (who took the loss) and even Okajima (who got his 2nd blown save) were all ineffective. Aardsma and Tavarez pitched the 8th and 9th and even they gave up a run in each of those innings. We tried to come back again in the 9th but we came up short.

Now we are off to Florida, for the warm sunny weather and hopefully we can all get rid of this flu that is taking over this team. What we really need is a shot of Tampa Bay baseball to get us back on the winning track again.

In other news, that Ortiz jersey that was buried in Yankee stadium got $175,100 at auction. All the money went to the Jimmy Fund which the winner of the shirt said was what he wanted as his father had died of cancer. He also got 2 tickets to a Sox home game and an authentic Ortiz jersey to wear to the game.

Now off the Tampa to where we can get back on some type of winning streak!

Patriots Day Sweep

2008-04-22T10:38:00.004-05:00

The Red Sox won on Patriots Day 8-3 to complete a 4 game sweep of the hapless Texas Rangers. The Sox won without Manny who took a day off to rest and Tek was out sick as well. Lowell and Coco sat out too as the both of them are nursing injuries. Even without all these starters, we still scored runs. Buchholz went 6 strong innings and didn't give up a run. Ortiz and Pedroia remain to come up big and had 5 rbi's between them.

The Big Papi seems to coming out of his slump. Ortiz, hitting only .111 coming into the series, went 6-for-16 with 11 RBI in four games against the Rangers. The Rangers looked horrible and I am looking forward to seeing the Sox play them in Texas in September - should be a lot of fun.

The Sox have won 5 in a row and 9 of the last 10. Hopefully we can keep this streak rolling. Next we have the Angels coming to town and Josh Beckett is on the mound for game 1. My money will be on Beckett to shut down the Angels but it should be a great game and great series.

Texas Ranger Announcers Are Horrible !

2008-04-21T10:24:00.006-05:00

The Red Sox took the first three games of the four game set over the weekend against the Texas Rangers and look for the sweep Monday morning as the play the Patriots Day Game. On Friday night, Big Papi broke out of his silence and hit a grand slam to help us to a 11-3 win. Pedroia (Minny Manny) hit his first home run of the season as well and DiceK took advantage of the offensive onslought and got his third win of the season. Dice worked behind the count a lot during the game and his pitch count was over 100 by the 6th inning. He lasted just 5.1 innings and gave up 3 runs. Even up by 8 in the 9th, I was worried when Timlin came in, but he shut down the Rangers to close out the win.

Saturdays game we had to come from behind to win scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th to win 5-3. Pedroia got it started with a double off the monster, Papi scored him on a single through the shifted defense and then Manny hit a monster shot over the left field wall to put us on top. Papelbon came in and closed out the game to get his 6th save. I thought Lester pitched well although he struggled early, he kept us in the game and only allowed 3 runs in 6.1 innings.

Sundays game seemed like a replay of Saturday's game except this time we were down 5-0 in the 7th. We scored two runs in the seventh, then erupted for four more in the bottom of the 8th to take the lead. Papi, who usually lets his bat do his talking, this time relied on his legs. In the bottom of the 8th, he legged out an infield single on a ground ball to the second baseman who was playing in the shift. Then, Pedroia came up and hit one almost into the triangle in center and big David Ortiz rumbled and stumbled around the basepath and scored all the way from first to tie the score. We then loaded the bases and Sean Casey walked in the winning run when the Ranger pitcher ran out of strikes and could no longer find the strike zone. We played without Manny for most of the game as he was ejected in the second inning for arguing balls and strikes. In the early innings, we were leaving men on base and had plenty of opportunities to score but always came up short. Eventually though, we broke through and finally began to score some runs.

Manny gets ejected in the 2nd inning.

Sundays game was the most frustrating game to watch mostly because of the absolute horrible announcers the Rangers have. The Ranger announcers have just jumped to second place in the worst announcer category for me. Michael Kay (Yankees) is still number one and always will be, number two used to be the White Sox announcers, but as of Sundays game, the Ranger announcers have taken over second. Oh, and the Fox guys are horrible too and I hate that we have to listen to them for the playoff games.

Here are some examples of the Ranger announcers being frustrating to listen to. On Saturdays game, when they were going to a commercial break after the 8th inning, the inning that we scored 3 runs to take the lead, the camera showed a Red Sox fan standing and cheering on our team. The announcer said, "Look at this Red Sox fan, he needs to sit down before he falls down." I couldn't believe I heard that and had to rewind it to hear it again. Even my wife shook her head in disgust at the Ranger announcers. But I guess, we have to understand where the Ranger announcers come from. In Texas, most of the fans still at the ballpark in Arlington after the 6th inning are the visiting teams fans anyway and the only Ranger fans still at the stadium after the 6th inning are probably too drunk to stand up. So I give them that. They were surprised to see so many home team fans still at the game after the 6th inning.

On Sunday's game they got even worse. After Manny was ejected, they were commenting on how that could change the game on how they pitch to Big Papi. They said, "We don't have to worry about the Big Papi without the Big Pop Off batting after him." They said several times that our batters continually whine and complain after every pitch and that is why we are able to work the count and get so many walks and eventually good pitches to hit. My anger started to boil as we were leaving so many men on base and I really wanted us to beat them - it almost felt like a Yankee game. They were actually rooting on the air for a ground ball so we could hit into a double play, we hit into the double play and they would say, "The Red Sox hitters can't complain to the umps on that one."

Then, before the bottom of the 8th, we all know Fenway does the Sweet Caroline song. The announcers actually said, "These fans don't even know their team is losing. They turn into Neil Diamond lyric lovers." Hey Ranger announcer boy, we were singing and dancing and being happy because your relief pitchers were coming in and we knew it was batting practice time. I actually had to turn the volume off after that and my son would do the play by play for me and would root for a base hit. After we took the lead, on a bases loaded walk (and no, we had nothing to complain about to the umps on that pitch), I had to turn the volume back on to see what the poor Ranger announcers were talking about now. As expected, they were silent. If only they would stay that way.

OK - lets win the Monday morning game and finish off this four game sweep and send the Rangers out of Boston in last place where they belong.

Moose Hunting in New York

2008-04-18T09:28:00.006-05:00

Don't you just love pictures of Yankee players looking lost and beaten? Head hung low, just looking for someway to get out of the game? Take a look at Mussina! The Red Sox won today 7-5 over the Mussina and the Yankees to get a split in New York. We jumped up to an early 7-0 lead and hit Mussina around the stadium. Mussina was only able to last 3 inning and gave up 5 runs. Slowly the Yankees worked their way back into the game but ran into Papelbon in the ninth and lost.

Josh Beckett went a solid 8 innings and Paps came in to pitch the ninth. He wasn't as effective as usual giving up 2 runs in the ninth but we still came out on top. Manny hit 2 home runs and is now standing at 495 career home runs only 5 short of 500. 13 of our next 16 games are at home so it looks like we have a good chance of him getting number 500 at Fenway. That will be fun to see.

What was Farnsworth doing throwing at Manny? The ball sailed near his head and Farnsworth can throw in the upper 90mph range. Immediately the umpire came out and warned both teams but I just knew Beckett wasn't going to allow that type of Yankee behavior without some type of retribution. In the 8th, I was fully expecting Jeter or Arod to get plunked with a good 95mph fastball but it never came. I guess it was a good thing as Beckett would then have been suspended and would have had to miss a start, Francona would have been ejected, it would have been a mess. And our bullpen needed a rest, we couldn't have Beckett getting kicked out. But keep in mind, we will play them again July 4th weekend in the Bronx. These teams have long memories. We will remember Manny getting thrown at. Something is coming Arod's way - count on it!

Now back home to play the Rangers in a long four game series. DiceK gets game 1. Go Sox!

Manny is now just 5 short of 500.

New York Marathon

2008-04-17T16:20:00.005-05:00

The Yankees took the first game of the short two game set 15-9 in a game that took just over 4 hours to complete. Buchholtz couldn't get through the 4th inning and he gave up 7 runs. We did battle back and got on Wang which even Yankee fans couldn't think we could do. We took a lead in the 5th but Tavarez, who looked completely spent gave up 4 runs and took the loss. Aardsma looked good but Timlin just can't seem to pitch against the Yankees anymore. His ERA is now 27.00 as he gave up another 4 runs in 1 inning of work.

Our offense came up big and I am really starting to like Sean Casey. Youk is still hitting although he hit one off his foot that really looked bad, but hopefully he will be ok. In a game where we score 9 runs, it is surprising that Jacoby went 0-5 in the leadoff spot. On the bright side, I like that we got to Wang and our bats came up big. Our middle relief scares me a little and we need to get more innings from our starters.

In game 2, we should be just fine with Josh Beckett on the mound. A split in the Bronx isn't bad and we will still be in first place.

Indians, Meet Our Captain

2008-04-16T16:19:00.003-05:00

The Red Sox beat Cleveland 5-3 to complete a mini-sweep of the Indians. Veritek came in as a pinch hitter in the top of the ninth and belted a go ahead solo home run. Red hot Youkilis added an insurance run as well later in the ninth to put us up by two.

The big story of the night though was Lowrie who played in his first big league game going in for Lowell who is injured. He ended up the night with 3 rbi's and played a solid 3rd base. Wakefield had his knuckler working and kept us in the game as the score went back and forth. Papelbon took the night off so the save went to Okajima who filled in nicely with 2 strikeouts in the ninth to finish them off.

Now off to New York to take care of the Yankees. I'm sure the fans there will welcome us well especially with all the talk about the jersey that was planted in concrete at the new stadium. Should be a fun game to watch.

Oh, and the Red Sox have the dash by their name in the standings - we are back in first!

Nothin's over till it's over

2008-04-15T11:14:00.008-05:00

Manny came up big for us in the 9th inning and he hit a two run home run to beat Cleveland 6-4. We entered the ninth down one 4-3 when Lugo hit a double down the third base line. After being sacrificed to third, it only took a deep fly ball to left by Dustin (Minny Manny) Pedroia to score him from third to tie the score. Big Papi finally got out of his slump and had two hits tonight, one of which came in the ninth. When Manny came up, we just knew something good was going to happen. And it did.

I have to admit though that in the middle innings, when we were down 4-1, I flipped over to the Yankee game and watched Tampa Bay come back to tie the score against the Yanks. Flipping back and forth between the games, I watched us come back and watched the Yanks blow it. Even though the Yanks won the game on a pinch hit home run, it was nice to see their bullpen blow a 5 run lead.

Although everyone will be talking about Manny's home run, the true MVP of the game would have to go to Julian Tavarez. He came in with us down 4-1, the bases loaded with one out in the 5th and struck out the next two batters to get us out of the inning. With those two outs, we were able to stay close and inch our way back into the game. Mike Timlin got the win as he came in and pitched well in the 8th and held Cleveland scoreless. Although he still scares me when I see him coming in from the bullpen, it was nice to see him pitching well again. I hope he keeps it up. Papelbon came in in the ninth and pitched a perfect inning to close it out. He is really looking unhittable. He is averaging 2 strikeouts per inning this year. It sure is nice to have a good closer, isn't that right Cleveland?

One more game against the Indians, then it is off to the Bronx for two against the Yanks. Joba Chamberlain won't be with the team as his father is in critical condition. Although I strongly dislike Joba and would like to see him with 20 blown saves this year, I hope his father makes it out ok. You can tell he and his father are really close and his father loves watching his son play - even if it is for the Yankees! Get well so I can get back to rooting against you!

Manny hits the game winner.

Two Out of Three Aint Bad

2008-04-14T12:24:00.008-05:00

The Red Sox took two out of three against the Yankees over the weekend to put the Yanks back in last place. Friday night, Wang completely shut us down, pitched a two hitter and beat us 4-1. Papi went 0-3 and right now looks completely lost at the plate. JD Drew hit another home run and it seems he and Youk are the only two really doing anything offensively.

Saturdays afternoon game went a lot better as we beat them 4-3. Manny hit a home run and Okajima and Paps were lights out. I loved the rain delay right when Arod came up and Paps was still warming up. Paps came back 2 hours later and struck out Arod then struck out the first two batters in the ninth. On another note, Papi went 0-4 and lowered his batting average to .070.

On Sunday night, we got up early on Hughes and were up 7-1 before the game really got going. Dice-K was shaky again as he allowed 6 walks over 5 innings. I think when he plays these big games, he tries to paint the corners and nibble for strikes instead of playing his usual game. Anyway, he still got the win and we held on for a 8-5 win. Timlin looks absolutely horrible, he couldn't get anyone out, and almost allowed the Yanks to come back to take the lead. Timlins era is now 81.00. I don't think I have ever seen an ERA that high this far into the season. Lucky for us though, Arod went 0-5 and couldn't get anything done in any clutch situations. Yankee fans should come to expect that though.

Papi sat this game out to hopefully get back on track against the Indians tonight. We have a short 2 game series in Cleveland, then it is to the Bronx for another short 2 game series against the Yanks.

One interesting bit of news over the weekend was the Red Sox fan who was working on building the new Yankee stadium. He supposedly buried a Papi jersey in concrete under Yankee stadium to jinx the Yankees for the next 30 years. When the Yanks heard about this, they spent an entire day and a bunch of workers took jackhammers to where they thought this fan buried the jersey. Sure enough, after about 8 hours of digging, they uncovered the Papi jersey. Hank Steinbrenner said afterwards that he hopes his coworkers beat the (stuffing) out of him. In reply, the sox fan said that he invites Steinbrenner to try to do it and he hopes he brings Posada to help out as he hates Posada the most. I guess if I was a Sox fan living in the Bronx, it would cause me to lose my mind too. Actually, I probably would've done the same thing.

Lord of the Rings: The End of an Error

2008-04-09T11:26:00.009-05:00

Yesterday was opening day in Boston. We got our championship rings in what turned out to be another big opening day ceremony. I can't believe that I have now seen two of these. It opened up with a string of people holding flags of the many countries that have fans of the Red Sox. Fans that have either wrote letters to the Red Sox claiming their love for the team, or have emailed their thoughts to the club.

The Boston Pops played the theme from Jurassic Park and then slowly the players came out to receive their rings. It was nice to see Doug Mirabelli there to get his ring too. Without him, we would never have had anyone catch Tim's knuckler. I hope he is still sitting by the phone in case we need him again!

The music turned to "Shipping off to Boston" and we knew that Papelbon was making his way out. He got his ring and then we waited for the Big Papi.

He then lead the team to centerfield where he and Johnny Pesky raised the 2007 flag. Then the Boston Pops played the National Anthem and they announced that there was going to be a special Red Sox to throw out the first pitch. From behind the huge American flag that draped over the green monster, out stepped Bill Buckner.

As he walked slowly from the outfield, he began to wipe away tears. The crowd cheered him. It was a cleansing, a forgiveness - warranted or not. It had been over 10 years since he had last been inside Fenway and then he was wearing a White Sox jersey and he was the hitting coach. This time, he was returning as one of us. He wore his old number 6 jersey and as he stood on the mound he wiped away more tears. He threw the ball to our former right fielder Dwight Evans. It was a perfect strike.
And at least for today, Stanley beat Mookie to the bag. And that little roller up along first, was fielded cleanly by our banged up first baseman. It was the way it should have been.

He talked about the ceremony after the game and he broke down a couple of times then too. The ceremony was for the fans to welcome back a great ball player who never deserved the treatment the fans and the media gave him. I think for the most part, the fans, at least the real ones, knew he was never the reason we lost. I think he knew that too.

The Boston Globe reported the story like this: "The pause lasted a full 13 seconds. Bill Buckner sat at a table in the Fenway Park interview room, a microphone in front of him, and pondered the question. Had he had second thoughts about throwing out the first pitch at yesterday's home opener and celebration of the 2007 World Series win?

His eyes grew wet and red. Dwight Evans, seated next to him, reached out and put his arm around Buckner.

"I really had to forgive, not the fans of Boston, per se, but I would have to say in my heart I had to forgive the media," Buckner said, after apologizing for taking so long to answer. "For what they put me and my family through. So, you know, I've done that and I'm over that."
But that hardly stopped the emotions. Not on the mound. Not in the interview room.
After all the ceremony, the handing out of rings and hoisting of the championship banner and introducing of Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics legends, there was Buckner walking out from left field to the mound. He walked slowly, perhaps a remnant of those aching ankles and knees that marred his career. And as he walked, the fans cheered.

They stood, their ovation carrying him from the outfield through the infield to the mound, where he acknowledged them and clapped. They stood after that, still cheering, as he looked around, as he readied himself, as he threw a strike to Evans at home plate.
"Just seeing him walk out, I couldn't have been happier for him," Evans said. "This guy had tremendous numbers, total stats, and I don't even know if he got a couple votes for the Hall of Fame, which I really think is a shame.
"No one played harder than Bill. No one prepared themselves as well as Bill Buckner did, and no one wanted to win as much as Bill Buckner.
"It was kind of neat. I know he was emotional on the mound. You know, it was emotional for me, too."

And Buckner almost didn't come. "I just didn't think I was going to do it," said Buckner, who was called about a month and a half ago by Dick Bresciani, now a vice president emeritus with the Sox. "I told Dick I'd think about it, but I made up my mind. I wasn't going to come. Then I prayed about it a little, and here I am. Glad I came."

This was not the first time Buckner had faced Fenway and the fans since his infamous 1986 moment. Not only did he play for the Red Sox for 75 games in 1987, he returned to the team for 22 games in 1990. But since that time, there has been healing in Red Sox Nation. His name might still evoke a picture of the ball heading between his legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, but with two championships in the meantime, the hurt has subsided.

More than affecting him, the blame affected his family, especially his kids.
He was affected again yesterday, but this time the emotion was positive. Buckner said he'd like to return, take part in reunions, see his old friends. He would have earlier, but other commitments prevented him. Until yesterday.

"I've probably never almost been in tears for somebody else on the baseball field," said Kevin Youkilis, who made a point to shake Buckner's hand. "I think that was just the most unbelievable thing. It shows how great of a man Bill Buckner is.
"There's not too many people that can do what he did today and face thousands of people that booed him, threatened his life. For a man to step out there on the field, it shows how much of a man he is.
"I tip my cap. I just wanted to shake his hand. Because that's a true man in life."

This ceremony was about putting the past behind us, starting fresh, with new and greater expectations. It was about forgiveness and the accepting of apologies. If only our lives were like this... and people say this is just a game?? Oh yeah, there was a game, we won 5-0.

We love you Buckner, although we never said it.

The Wonder of it All...

2008-04-04T15:29:00.003-05:00

The Sox had an off day so we had to watch some of the Yankee game and root for the Jays. What is it with Joba's hat? Does he have it ironed and starched that way or does someone sit on the thing before he comes in? I was really rooting for him to blow the game in the 8th, but they won but still are a half game in back of us.

While watching the Yankee game, I remembered the old Foxwoods commercials. You know the one, "Take a chance, make it happen, pop the cork, fingers snapping, ..." I remember that commercial being on 30 times per game. I was humming that song at work, while showering, and would even sing along with it when it came on the TV. I could never get it out of my head. I remember Austin not being 1 year old yet and the only way we could get him to go to sleep was by one of us singing him the Foxwoods song. Now some parents would choose a snappy lullaby, but not us. We chose the Foxwoods jingle. We would sing the song and he would get a smile on his face, close his eyes, and slowly drift off to sleep. Probably dreaming of a Red Sox championship.

Remember the Foxwoods commercial where the leprechauns were jumping around? And the one with the chip that got knocked off the table and flew around the casino until finally landing back on the table for the girl to take with her? There was one that was a Wizard of Oz spin on it and the other one I remember where a couple goes to reconnect but spends all their time apart. Now they have the one where the guy is shuffling the cards and makes a mess of things and the one where the guy is eating the cookies that were being used for the 10 dollar chips.

I also like the Sullivan tire guy. His hair is always a complete mess, but at least he is "always here to get you there". Another one is the USRV guy who would walk around on top of the RV's or on one commercial he was riding a horse singing. The games are definitely not same when they are not on NESN!

In other news, two Yankee fans were arrested for trying to steal some souvenirs from Yankee stadium the other day. Just another example of typical Yankee fans.

And then the story of the 13 year old school girl who was on a class trip to Fenway. Evidently, they were on a school field trip to tour Fenway on the Sox off day and she wandered too close to a Red Tailed Hawk nest. The hawk attacked her and she was sent to the hospital with minor cuts but she will be ok. The real reason the hawk attacked though was not because she got too close to the nest, it was because of her name -- Alexis Rodriguez. Even the birds at Fenway don't like people whose name is too similar to Yankee players.

All right, now lets take care of the Blue Jays!

Papi's Back

2008-04-03T10:00:00.004-05:00

David Ortiz went 2 for 4 including a run home run to beat the Oakland A's 5-0. After starting off the season 0-11, I knew he would finally start to back on track. Varitek hit a home run in the 9th and this time it counted - no need for instant replay on that one!

Nice to see JD Drew back in the lineup. Hopefully, he can stay healthy long enough to contribute some. Coco got the start in center over Jacoby. Eventually, something will be done about the centerfield position. I think Coco will be dealt around the trade deadline for some pitching depending on how Schilling is looking then. Speaking of pitching, it looks like Beckett will be back soon and is scheduled to make his first start of the season Sunday against the Jays.

Lester pitched a gem going 6.2 innings of three hit, shutout ball striking out 3 as well. So far our pitching has been excellent. If our pitching keeps it up, we are going to win a lot of games this year.

The biggest story of the game though is Kevin Youkilis. Today he broke the record for consecutive games without an error by a first baseman breaking the record of Steve Garvey. He has now gone 194 games without an error, his last error being July 4, 2006. That is 1,628 defensive chances and he has made them all. That number is 72 shy of the record held by Stuffy McInnis of the Red Sox/Indians from 1921-1922. If things go well, he could have that record in the next week or so. It sure is nice to have a great defensive first baseman - especially when we were known for so long as the team with the first baseman who gave up the biggest error.

After the game, the Oakland A's gave Youk the bag to take with him and Youk had all his teamates autograph the base.

Now it is an off day, then off to Toronto. Oh and speaking of Toronto - they beat the Yankees! Theeeeeeeee Yankeees Looooose!

Red Sox: Opening Day Part II

2008-04-02T10:03:00.005-05:00

Red Sox won their Inside the US opening day game 2-1. Dice K threw 6.2 innings, struck out 9 and gave up 1 earned run on only 2 hits. The most important stat is he didn't allow a walk. I think we can expect big things from the Dice man this year. Papelbon came in in the 8th and got a 4 out save. He struck out the side in the 9th. It is so nice to have a quality closer.

Veritek got out of his strike out slump as well as he hit the game winning rbi in the 6th. Although we all know he hit a home run, the umpires ruled the ball bounced off the wall and he was only awarded a double. You know, in the old days, that type of a call by the umps would always come back to kill us. That one run would come back to be the deciding run that would lose the game for us. But not any more. I am still not use to these New Red Sox Rules.

Big Papi still looks a little lost at the plate but hopefully he will start getting hits and coming up big when we need him to.

I watched some of the Yankee home opener as well. I don't understand this Chamberlain guy - he gets out of an inning and starts jumping up and down, throwing his fists in the air like he just won a world series or something. I can see if he just closed out the game, but c'mon, he's a middle relief guy, only in there so he can hand the ball to Rivera. You don't see Timlin or Okajima acting like that. And why do they have to show Chamberlains dad after every pitch? We all know he is there, just show the game. I hope he gets 20 blown saves this year.

Day game coming up next, hopefully we can take 3 of 4 from the A's to start the season...

A Tokyo Split

2008-03-26T22:54:00.003-05:00

We lost this morning 5-1 to the Oakland A's to get a split in the opening series. Actually, we are pretty lucky to be coming home with a split, when we very easily could have lost game 1. I have only had about 7 hours sleep total the last 2 days - I am glad we don't play in Japan again, I would never be able to keep up with watching all the games. Lester looked lost this morning and what is it with Tek? He has struck out 6 times in 8 plate appearances. Manny had a home run today. He was named the MVP for yesterdays game and given a check for 10000 dollars. When asked what he is going to do with the money, he said he was using the check for gas money. Next game is tuesday night against Oakland. So we will have to do it all now - get up at 4 am for a game and now we will have to stay up until 1 am to watch a west coast game!

This morning, my son got up to go to school and came out and saw me watching the Sox. He asked if we were winning and I told him we were down 4-1. He said, "Don't worry, the Red Sox always win", and he sat down beside me. After he said that, I realized that he is growing up in a different world than I did. I grew up knowing that no matter how big the lead, we will blow it. No matter how hard we try, we will always lose in the end. He will never know that part of being a Sox fan, he expects us to win. That is all he knows.

I told him, "It wasn't always that way" and he replied curiously, "The Red Sox used to lose?"
I said, "Yeah, but that was a long time ago", and we sat together and watched the end of the game. Even though we didn't come back to win today, we both knew it would be alright. Hey, the Red Sox always win in the end - at least to my son.

A Breakfast With Champions

2008-03-25T10:04:00.004-05:00

The Red Sox won the opening day game in Japan this morning by the score 6-5. Manny came up big when we needed him to and Brandon Moss hit his first major league home run to tie the game up in the 9th inning.

Good points of the game: Our bullpen kept us in the game. Lopez came in while we were down 1 and held the A's scoreless, then Corey and Okajima shut them down too. Manny came up big with 4 rbis's in the game as well and Brandon Moss tied it up with a solo shot in the ninth. Moss was a late write in and wasn't even going to play the game until JD Drew came up with a sore back and Moss was penciled in. If I had a vote, Moss would be todays MVP.

Troubling areas: Dice-K started off shaky and walked a total of 5 batters. He settled down nicely though and gave up only 2 hits in 5 innings and struck out 6. Papelbon certainly wasn't lights out this morning. In fact, if not for a baserunning mistake by the A's in the 10th, we probably would have lost the game. Veritek struck out 3 times in his 4 at bats but I am sure he will still be productive at the plate.

Other notes: Why do the other teams intentionally walk Papi to get to Manny? I love it when Manny burns them by getting a base hit and scoring Papi from first! All in all, it was a great season opener. Also, isn't it a little weird to see Alan Embree and Keith Foulke in another teams jersey?

For some reason, our Directv satellite couldn't pick up Nesn or Espn2 for much of the game. I got up around 4 am to watch some pregame on Nesn and the satellite couldn't find the signal. I thought no big deal, I will switch over the Espn2 at game time and watch the game there. At 5am, the satellite couldn't pick up Espn2 either. I then checked to see if I had paid the Directv bill. Then, my wife called them and there was trouble with the satellite so I had to watch the first 7 innings on the computer. Eventually though, by the time the sun was coming up in the 8th inning, Nesn came back and I was able to watch the end of the game. When I left to go to work, Espn2 was still out. It was a frustrating way to watch opening day, but hopefully tomorrow morning it will go a little smoother.

Red Sox are in first ...
half game up on everyone in the AL East (including the Yanks.)

Opening Day

2008-03-24T17:38:00.003-05:00

Well it is finally here!! The baseball season is upon us. We will be setting our alarm clocks at 4am so we can catch some pregame on NESN and then the game starts up at 5am. Usually, for opening day we have a big bowl of New England Clam Chowder. I am tempted to have a bowl for breakfast just to keep our good luck going. Dice-K should do well in front of his home crowd and hopefully when they get back to the states we will be one game up on the rest of the AL East, especially the Yanks.

So to get the ball rolling on the season, here is a video from Nike that they played during the 2004 playoffs and world series. This one always makes you smile!

Lets Go Red Sox !!!

Manny's a Bad Man

2008-03-18T22:11:00.003-05:00

There is just one week until the start of the 2008 season. The game will be on espn starting at 5am so I will have to set the alarm clock that morning. Also, the Sox have announced that DiceK will be starting the game. Now if we can just get Beckett back healthy again we will be ok.

What happened to the Sox against the Yankees yesterday? By the time I made it home to watch the game, we were already down 7-0. I don't think Colon is ready yet to take the mound for us. I hope he is not going to be another Gagne!
Anyway, with only a week left until opening day, I was thinking about Manny's walkoff to beat the Angels last year in the playoffs. I love his press conference afterward where he says, "Even when you don't feel good, and you still get hits, thats when you know you are a bad man." And he says it like 2 or 3 times in the interview! Another week to go until it is Red Sox games every day!!! Bring on the season!

Pizza Anyone?

2008-03-12T13:54:00.006-05:00

One of the best RemDawg/Orsillo moments came last year during the Sox game against the Angels. During a routine foul ball, a fan throws his pizza at another fan and then the RemDawg and Orsillo take over. It is great just listening to them go on about the pizza. They are laughing about how the guy is covered in dirt and then they realize through slow motion, that someone threw a pizza at him. "What was that that came flying in?" Here is the first part of the clip and then here is the second part. I like the part when the Dawg says the fan probably left his house for the game and told his wife if he sees anyone at the game I will throw my pizza at him. The way they laugh about it just makes you laugh too. They make the games so fun to watch! I can't wait for the season to start!

Oh and I can't wait for Arod to come see us too! Did I mention we don't like the Yankees?

Yankee Hating

2008-03-10T22:56:00.008-05:00

Yankee hating is another inherited trait that rears its head early on in our family. This picture was taken the end of May 2007 at the Rangers - Sox game. My wife was seven months pregnant at the time and she wore this shirt to the game to let everyone know how we were planning to raise the new member of the family. There were literally hundreds of fans at the game who stopped my wife to read her shirt and take pictures and the ones that didn't stop her were pointing and commenting about her shirt as she walked by. She later said she felt like a celebrity.

It was also fun to watch some of the Ranger fans look in astonishment when she walked by. Some just shook their head in disapproval as if we were embarrassing them by wearing the shirt. But what do they know? There are Ranger fans. They definitely don't understand.

My son learned early on to hate the Yankees too. He was a little over one year old when he learned that the Yankees choke. I would ask him what the Yankees do and he would grab his throat and cough and choke. He couldn't say more than 3 or 4 words yet and he didn't know his colors or his alphabet, but he knew what the Yankees do, and that is the most important thing.

The problem with teaching a one year old the choke symbol is he doesn't know when it is appropriate. I remember we were at a Wal-Mart when he grabbed my hand and lead me down an aisle. I thought he was going to show me a toy or something he wanted me to buy. Instead, he lead me down the aisle and then stood next to some guy wearing a hat. Austin then pointed up to the man, said out loud, "Look daddy, yankees!", and then started the throat grab and the choking. Then this 6' 5" monster with a Yankee hat looked down at me and my son. I was calculating how fast it would take for me to grab my son and run for the door without the Yankee fan seeing us when the Yankee fan simply smiled and nodded. Luckily he was a nice Yankee fan!

I also remember I took my wife and her parents to Red Lobster and while we were waiting in line my son asked if I remembered the last time we ate there, he had seen a Yankee fan. I told him that I did remember and I was shocked that he had remembered something like that. Soon the hostess came to seat us and as she was leading us back to the table, my son spotted a Yankee fan from across the restaurant and yelled out at the top of his lungs, "Look daddy, a Yankee fan Again!" and stood there pointing at the guy. Needless to say the entire restaurant turned to see what was happening and I had to apologize to my wife's parents for their only grandchilds behavior. I simply said, he is a Red Sox fan, enough said.

Also when my wife was pregnant with Aubrey, we went in to get an ultrasound. Austin stood there in amazement as the doctor pointed to her little fingers and arms and legs. Then the doctor, seeing our Red Sox hats and jerseys, stated jokingly, "and if you look here you can see her Yankee hat." Upon hearing that, my son lost the smile he had. He looked up at me and had tears forming in his eyes. He said, "but Daddy, I thought you said she was one of us" and he started to cry. The doctor quickly realized what was going on and stated that she was mistaken, it was actually a Red Sox hat and that calmed Austin down. I guess the doctor didn't understand, in our family, there are some things you just don't joke about.

My wife has got into it as well. During the 2004 playoffs against the Yankees, after one of the games we won in extra innings, we went to the grocery store. We were still in entire sox jerseys and hats and as we were leaving the store, an older couple in Yankee jerseys and hats were just getting out of their car and was walking toward the door. It was funny that every one of us just stopped in our tracks when we noticed each other. Then we began walking toward each other, it was like something from an old western movie. None of us said anything to the other, but my wife gave a disapproving "mmm" and slowly shook her head as she walked by the Yankee fans. She also likes to tell of the time we saw Bobby Murcer in a parade. He was wearing his Yankee hat and was riding in the back of a car and when the car got in front of us, my wife jumped into the street, pulled her sox hat off, lifted it in the air and pointed to her hat. Of course, this got Murcer's attention and all he could do was point to his hat and yell back to us "26 championships boys!" Typical yankee, always living in the past.

I will have to say that most Yankee fans I know are very nice. In fact, in school, my best friend was a Yankee fan. But man do I hate the team. I hate Jeters little fist pump when he stretches a single into a double. I hate Arod and his smug look on his face. (My son thinks he wears purple chap stick). Of course, I dont have to say anything about Johnny Damon or Clemens other than I hate them too. Did I mention I hate Jeter's fist pump. Needless to say, I am not allowed to attend any Yankee games. I would end up in jail or in the morgue. And that would be hard to explain to my son.
I don't allow my son to say he hates the Yankees or any of the players, that just doesn't seem right for a small child to say. But he does say "I strongly dislike" them. People ask me if I would wear a Yankee hat if my son ever played for the Yankees. I tell them no because if I raise him right, he would never play for the Yankees. They then ask, but what if he did? I tell them, if he ever played for the Yankees I should be forced to wear a Yankee hat. It would serve as a symbol as my failure to be a good father. That is how much I hate the Yankees.

Remembering Millar

2008-03-03T20:50:00.003-06:00

I read over the weekend of Mike Lowell's charity fundraising event to raise money to help children with cancer. The event was a "Dancing with the All-Stars" event and of course, wouldn't you know it, Papelbon stole the show. Papelbon showed up in a black lacey shirt that really no male should ever be seen wearing. Pedroia supposedly ripped off his own shirt and threw it into the crowd. You can read about the story here. After reading about the dance-off charity event, I was thinking about how Kevin Millar would have fit in with this group. Could you imagine him and Papelbon together at anything? It would be a sure bet someone would be getting arrested for something crazy. Paps would get arrested for dancing pantless down the street and Millar would be arrested for inciting a riot encouraging the crowd to join Paps in his dancing.

My favorite Millar moment, besides the whole cowboy up thing from 2003 (wasn't it fun to see Pedro coming to the park in his cowboy hat?), was his video he made last year during the playoffs. We were down 3-1 to the Indians and game 5 started with the Millar pep talk. After seeing that, I looked over to my wife, and said, "We're going to win this thing!" It was like at the end of Smokey and the Bandit when the truck passes the transam and Burt Reynolds suddenly realizes they are going to make it. Here is the video of Millar doing his pep talk.

The Joy of the RemDawg

2008-02-27T21:40:00.005-06:00

I can't think of any announcers I would rather listen to than Jerry and Don. Whether the game is a blowout or coming down to the final out, they always make it interesting. Wouldn't it have been nice to have had them calling the world series games instead of that dreadful Fox group?

The best part of listening to Jerry and Don is that you never really know when either one of them will start laughing uncontrollably. It could happen at any time. Sometimes even before a game. The link I have here is when Jerry fell off his table while pretending to play a guitar. My son was watching the pregame with me when this came on the air, and now, everytime he sees the Rem Dawg, he says, "that's the guy that fell off the table."

Over the next couple days I will be posting some of my favorite Remy/Don moments from over the years.

Tickets go on sale for us in 5 days, I will be calling in late for work Monday...

How Things Have Changed

2008-02-25T22:32:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we went out and got my 4 year son Austin a new Red Sox hat. It was something I didn't want to do. His old one he had worn nearly every day for the last 2 years. It was no longer a dark blue, but a sun-faded purple. There were some mud stains here and there and even a little oil on the brim from when he helped me change the oil in the cars. In other words, his old one was just perfect.

In picking out the new hat from the nearly 200 sox hats on the shelf, I realized that of all the great things that have changed since the Red Sox won the series in 2004, there is one thing that I miss about the old days. It is the camaraderie between the fans. Maybe it is just me but doesn't it seem that Red Sox fans are everywhere now a days? Growing up in Florida, and Nevada and Wyoming and even here in Oklahoma, before we won in 2004, I rarely saw anyone wearing a red sox jersey, shirt or hat. On that rare occasion when I did spot another "B" hat, there was that moment of happiness and recognition and sometimes the other fan would give a nod, or a little wave and I would always nod back. Sometimes they would stop and we would talk about Mo Vaughn's hitting or even about where we were when a certain game happened.

I still have the hat I wore in 1986, but my wife absolutely refuses to go anywhere with me if I wear it so it stays in the closet. I bought that hat in the summer of 1986 to replace an older Sox hat and when I was entering the store to buy the hat, an older gentleman was leaving the store and he was wearing an old B hat as well. I remember he asked me if this was going to be our year and if I thought Clemens was the best pitcher we ever had. We stood outside in the parking lot talking about the Red Sox in the middle of Wyoming for at least 20 minutes. A 17 year old and 70+ year old with only the Red Sox in common. I remember how he shook my hand and how old and frail his hand was. I remember how he smiled at me and pulled on the brim of my hat and told me 'this is the year' before we said goodbye. I thought of him when we lost later that year to the Mets. And I thought of him again in 2004 and again last year. I wonder if he made it long enough to see our team win it.

However, after 10-27-04, all that is gone. Now, when you go to the mall you can count at least 10-20 people wearing red sox hats. Not one of them gives a nod or even a moment of recognition. And what is sad is that most of the hats look brand new, unlike my current hat that I have had for the last 10 years. It has turned a light blue color and the white around the "B" is now black, and the crud that has built up around the rim is probably either giving me a brain tumor or causing all my hair to fall out. So anymore, unless they have some old school jersey on or a hat that looks like it had been trampled on the floor of a movie theater, I don't waste my time giving the nod. They don't understand.

Strange thing is my son does understand it already. About a year ago I took my son to work and a Judge who is a Yankee fan asked my son "What is that on your hat?" Expecting my son to say "a 'B'", I was shocked by what he did. He took off his hat and looked at it. He looked at the stains and dirt and the overall wear on the hat and he looks up at the Yankee Judge and said, "Tears". And yesterday, when I placed his new hat on his head and asked him if he liked it, he said, "This one doesn't have any tears".

And he was right.

Living on Red Sox time

2008-02-16T22:00:00.004-06:00

Today marked the day we print out the Red Sox schedule and start to make plans for the upcoming season. Although we reside in the Central Time Zone, we live on Red Sox time. What this means is we look at the schedule and mark down when we can go on our annual trip to Texas to see the Red Sox, we mark out spaces on our calendar for the Red Sox day games so we can be sure to be home from work, and we have marked down the date to set our alarm clock for the opening day game in Japan. In essence, from April to October, we set our lives on the Red Sox clock.

We do our grocery shopping on Saturday morning to be sure to be home by the Saturday afternoon day game. The grass gets mowed on Sunday afternoons if the Sox have a night game then, but if they have a day game, the grass gets mowed afterwards. On Red Sox off days we schedule the housework and the maintenance on the cars.

Even the smaller routine things are measured on Red Sox time. For example, if my wife asks when was the last time I changed the oil in her car, I can tell her, "It was between the Twins series and the series with the Orioles", and she knows instantly when it was done. My son has learned that it is bath time right after they sing God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch(unless the Sox are playing on the west coast). The time he spends in the bath is measured in outs. He has the choice of 3, 6, or 9 outs. He says, "I want nine outs tonight", that would mean he gets out of the bath at the start of the ninth inning. He also knows that he should have his PJ's on before Papelbon takes the mound. He routinely yells out from his room while trying to put on his pajamas, "Is Papelbon out yet?" And he knows that immediately after Papelbon gets the last out, that it is nighttime. It is like clockwork, as soon as the game ends, he says goodnight to us and gives us kisses and he knows to go to bed.

The trouble is when we are losing and Papelbon doesn't come in. We have to get creative and say that Papelbon is sick so tonight we get Tavarez or Donnelly. I think that he knows though that on the games Papelbon doesn't pitch, we end up losing. Sometimes I hear him say, "I sure hope Papelbon is not sick so we can win!"

If, for whatever reason, we are stuck out somewhere and are missing the game, my wife never asks what time it is. She just asks me, "What inning do you think they are in?" and then she says we should make it home in an inning or two.

Even on a grander scale, we still live on Red Sox time. Anything before 2004 is called BC (before championship). So if she holds up a picture and asks me when it was taken, I immediately check to see if it is BC, and I say, "that was taken before we won, around 2BC", and she knows instantly that I am talking about 2002.

During the game, my wife and I also live on Red Sox time. When my wife asks when I am going to take out the trash, I tell her, "In three more strikes" and she knows that if Wakefield is pitching she might as well take it out.

She even lives on Red Sox time as well. During the game, if she has to run out to get some snacks, she says, "I'll be back in 2 innings" and I know that she'll be back in about 30-45 minutes.

This is the best time of the year. We set our clocks to Red Sox time!

The Rainbow Connection

2008-02-14T22:14:00.004-06:00

With spring training just around the corner and talk of the pitchers and catchers reporting, I can't think of a better time to post this video I made right after the 2004 world series to get us ready for the 2008 season. The reason I chose this song is because when I was a child, when I heard this song, I thought of the Red Sox. In my mind I would see images of us winning the world series.

One Christmas, many years ago, I was given a snowglobe with Fenway Park inside. But instead of snow, it sprinkled confetti. When you turned the dial, it would play "take me out to the ballgame" I remember back in the late 90's telling my wife, "this is what it will look like when we win", and would shake the globe and watch the confetti fly over Fenway. She thought I was crazy, but I hung in there knowing that one day we would find it - the Rainbow Connection. And on 10/27/04, we finally found it - the lovers, the dreamers, and me.

It Was Our Destination

2008-02-13T11:34:00.008-06:00

With the Clemens hearings going strong, I like to focus on the fun aspects of baseball. Maybe our most fun player is Manny Ramirez. It is so fun to watch Manny wander around in left field, going into the green monster in the middle of an inning to do whatever, and doing his finger pointing/wave to fans and other players. We call it the "Manny Wave". All of these antics is what we call "Manny being Manny".

My favorite Manny being Manny moment was immediately after we won the 2004 world series. He was given the MVP trophy and the whole time he was smiling and giving over emphasized 'Manny waves' to everyone in the club house. Now this was someone who earlier in the year was put on waivers, then almost traded to the Rangers for Arod, and now he was getting the MVP trophy for the world series. Then Jeanne Zelasko asked him, "Sir, do you believe in curses?" and his reply was truly another Manny moment. He said, "No, I don't believe in curse, I think we all make our own destination." I think that wrapped up the 2004 team in one sentence.

I found another Manny moment on youtube and I will post it here. It was from last year and Manny and Julian was sitting in the dugout and Manny was rubbing Julian's hair. The best part of the clip is the commentary between Don and Jerry. Don saying that sometimes he gets the urge to tidy up Jerry's hair and Jerry tells him to control his urges and stay on his side of the booth. Don saying, "Make him stop !" and the both of them laughing out loud is just great.

Someday, the Manny era with the Sox will end and that will be a sad day. I know that he sometimes drives us crazy with his fielding, but his Manny moments and his bat makes it all worthwhile.

Here's hoping to many more Manny moments this upcoming year!

What a Wonderful World

2008-02-11T23:17:00.002-06:00

When the time came to buy tickets for the 2005 Red Sox games, the biggest thing I remember was when I called the ticket office and the voice on the other line began talking about tickets for sale and the dates that certain teams are playing. The voice said, "Tickets are now available for games against the World Champion Boston Red Sox" and I got that feeling in your stomach when your teacher would call on you in class and you hadn't done your homework. "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?"

After I bought the tickets, I had to call back just to hear the recording. "The World Champion Boston Red Sox..." It had been over 4 months, and I still couldn't believe it. I told my wife to call and listen to the message and said, "Is that what you wanted me to hear?"

I told her, "They said World Champion Boston Red Sox, did you hear them?" She just shook her head and asked if I had bought the tickets yet. I guess she didn't realize how unbelievable that message was. She was still a fairly new Sox fan then. You know, even today it is still hard to believe that we had won it.

This is a video I made during the 2005 season about our championsip team.

It's Truck Day

2008-02-10T22:23:00.001-06:00

I have always loved Truck Day. It is much better than Groundhog Day in that Truck Day is a sure sign that Summer is on its way and Winter will soon be behind us. Every year Red Sox fans gather outside Fenway to watch a truck get loaded with gear and head down to Florida for the start of Spring Training. Why do so many fans come out on a cold February morning to watch a truck get loaded with boxes? Probably because we all know that the boxes are not just filled with wooden bats and new jerseys and other baseball equipment.

Inside those boxes are the promise of summer. A promise that soon our days will be filled with the smell of hot dogs being cooked on a grill and the sound of Don and the RemDawg filling the living room every night with their play by play.
Inside each box holds hope that this summer will be filled with memories spent with family watching the Red Sox, holding our breath with each pitch, and the hope that maybe our prayers this year will be answered once again.

Inside each box is the dreams of a new Red Sox fan possibly falling in love with our team this summer. The dream that perhaps one of the bats sitting in one of those boxes will hit a game winning home run some summer night, maybe even against the Yankees!

Pitchers and catchers report and 3 days and opening day is only 44 days away. It can't come soon enough.

Finally ! A Look Back at 10-27-04

2008-02-09T23:56:00.000-06:00

When October 27th, 2004 finally ended, I had to sit down and write down exactly what was going on in my head. My Sox had just won the world series. I was dizzy from lack of sleep, yet so excited I couldn't think of sleeping. So I sat down and wrote this down. I wrote so 10 years from now, or 50 years from now, I can sit down and read what I was thinking when the impossible happened. It was something I had always dreamed of. And it was better than I ever imagined. Here is the story with the picture I had waited an entire lifetime to take.

My wife nodded her head and told me to go get him. I had been asking her if it was time for me to go get our one year old son and wake him up. We planned to wake him when the Red Sox won the world series so he wouldn't miss it. I had been asking her for the last two innings, but she had said no, so as to not jinx our team. She had seen us lose too many games in the late innings. So now with one out in the bottom of the ninth, I was going into the nursery to wake him up.

He stirred when I picked him up and I whispered into his ear, 'Come see something no one's seen in 86 years'. I began to walk back into the living room and I remembered all the times I had thought 'this was the year' and it never happened. But right now at this very minute, it is actually possible. It is not just wishful thinking. It can actually happen.

As I held him in front of the TV I remembered many years ago, as a child, the hours I spent in the backyard of our house swinging an old wooden bat and dancing like Carlton Fisk waving the ball fair. Except when I did it, the home run was to win the championship.

I remembered for my birthday, every year as a child, I would close my eyes, cross my fingers and wish for my Red Sox to win the world series as I blew out the candles. My birthday was in September and by October, they had always let me down. I couldn't understand why my birthday wishes never came true.

My mind continues to spin as I remembered 1986 when we were one strike away from winning the world series and yet lost. I remembered my mom, who used to think baseball as dull and boring. She got hooked on the Red Sox that year but after their collapse in game six she refused to watch game seven with me stating that the game is too emotional and takes too much out of you. She left me alone to watch game seven and to this day we haven't seen a game together since. She told me she would never get hooked on them again. 'Never more,' she had told me, but it was funny she called earlier tonight to wish us luck. She still followed them, but I guess at a safe distance, one where they would not hurt her again.

As I stand in front of the TV, I continue to hold Austin and we watch the Red Sox get the second out in the ninth. I think back to last year. My wife was pregnant with Austin and all summer long, every day we watched every Red Sox game. When she gave birth to Austin, in the baby book, she wrote, 'You were born August 27th, and on your first weekend, the Red Sox beat the Yankees.'

I remember standing at this same place last year and watching Aaron Boone hit the home run to beat us in the playoffs. I was holding Austin then too and I remembered he had cried at that very moment. Debbie thought it was because I had yelled, but I think it was because he knew what had just happened. I had felt like I had done the worst thing a father could do to his son. I was supposed to protect him and keep him from harm, but I was allowing the Red Sox to do to him what I wouldn't allow anyone else and that was break his heart. After that game, my wife, with pain in her eyes, told me she wasn't going to watch them any more and she left me alone to watch the Yankees celebrate on the field.

I remember when April came, my wife, forgetting the pain the Sox inflicted on her, was the first to get tickets to the Red Sox games in Texas. She explained to me that the Red Sox are like being in a dysfunctional relationship. One where they treat you so badly but you love them so much, you always come back. We went to Texas and got swept by the Rangers and lost every game. I guess they were testing her love again. In one of the games, during the seventh inning stretch, all the Ranger fans were dancing and singing and having a good time. Then on the big screen at the stadium, after showing several Ranger fans having fun, a Red Sox fan came on the screen. He wasn't dancing, he wasn't singing. With a worried look on his face, he simply pointed to his left arm indicating it was time to go the bullpen. Upon seeing that, Debbie knew what it was like to be a Sox fan. Being a Red Sox fan is not fun. The games are work, we always have to be thinking of our next move. There is no time for fun, not until we win it all.

I turn up the volume on the TV and I turn around to tell Debbie we need three more strikes. She is pouring the champaign in preparation for the final out. As I turn back to the TV, I remember just a little over a week ago thinking we were done. I remember the excitement of the upcoming series with the Yankees. I remember us losing game 1 and hearing that Schilling, our best pitcher was injured and out for the year. I remember losing game 2 and how the Yankee fans had tormented Pedro Martinez. I remember my wife telling me she had seen enough in game 3 and she told me she felt betrayed for believing in them again. And while we were losing 19-8 we heard that no team had ever come back to win being down 3 games to none in a best of seven series.

Game 4 was a Sunday night and I remember not making it to sleep until 3 am. We hit a home run to win it in the 12th inning. That game was the longest playoff game ever, finishing in just over 5 hours and I had paced the floor for every minute.

I remember being dead tired for game 5 but I paced the floor for all 14 innings of this game. My nerves kept me from sitting. We won it in the bottom of the 14th and this one broke the record as the longest game ever breaking the record from the night before. I didn't sleep that night at all catching as much post game as possible and there was talk that Schilling was going to pitch game 6!

My wife had said that this was part of the curse. That they make us think they have a chance and then they will lose. We started to watch game 6 and noticed that Schilling had blood seeping through his sock from his ankle. It was like something from a movie. He gritted it out and left the game in the 8th with the lead. Immediately, our relief pitcher came in and gave up a run and the Yankees had the winning runs coming up to bat.

I thought we had lost it when A-rod caused our pitcher, Bronson Arroyo to drop the ball on a tag, but the umpires ruled that A-rod had slapped at the ball causing interference and he was called out. The Yankee fans then started throwing things on the field and the police had to line the field in riot gear. My wife and I looked at each other, both out of breath, all of this was unbelievable, could we actually beat the Yankees?

In the ninth inning, our closer came in and walked the first batter. The tying run was at the plate. Debbie started fanning her face and stated that she couldn't bear to watch anymore, that the Red Sox were making her angry and she stood up. She said she couldn't watch us blow this game after Schilling pitched so well on a bloody ankle, and she just walked away. She left me to watch the game by myself.

I watched our closer get the next two Yankees out, but then he walked the next batter which meant the winning run was at the plate. I had to tell Debbie we were one out away. I walked into the bedroom and all the lights were out. I then looked over to the corner of the room and there she was leaning against the wall. Her hands were on her knees and her head was bowed. Struggling through the darkness was the low sound of the radio play by play. The darkness provided a comfort and a sense of safety and it hid the pain the Red Sox was about to inflict. She looked up at me and there was uncertainty on her face. I didn't tell her we needed one more out, she knew.

I went back out to watch the final out and when it came, from the back room I heard a scream. She came running out of the bedroom jumping up and down. The Red Sox didn't let her down, and we were getting ready for game 7 tomorrow!

In typical Yankee arrogance, they had Bucky Dent throw out the first pitch, but it didn't help, game 7 wasn't even close and we beat them 10-3. The Red Sox celebrated in Yankee Stadium, it was something I thought I would never see. Players were taking pictures and saving clumps of dirt from the field. It was unbelievable!

And now, as I hold Austin here in the ninth inning of game 4 of the world series, I feel my legs are weak from lack of sleep. I haven't shaved in two weeks, not wanting to jinx my team. The carpet is actually worn thin where I have paced back and forth the last couple of weeks. Now just one out away, but I have been this close before. And then there is a ground ball to our pitcher, ... he has it, ... he tosses it to first. It is over! My wife snaps a picture to prove we saw it. Eighty Six years of losing is now past. I can't believe it. I collapse to the ground.

As the Red Sox players run onto the field to celebrate, I notice that our center fielder, number 18, runs over and embraces our right fielder, number 19. As they jump up and down in celebration, their shoulders touch and their jersey numbers come together. It forms the date '1918', the last year we had won the world series. It serves as one final reminder of how long we have all waited for this one moment. We don't have to wait any longer. We can finally sing and dance during the seventh inning stretch. We can finally have fun.

The Red Sox - MY Red Sox, are World Champions. - at last !

Curt's Last Stand?

2008-02-08T09:24:00.000-06:00

There are reports that Curt Schilling has a torn rotator cuff and he may be out for the year. There are other reports that say he may be back some time after the all-star break and I would bet that Curt will be back some time around then. Even if he pitches only in September for the home stretch, I would bet he will be back. We have to remember this is the guy who had his ankle sewn together so he could pitch in 2004.

Do you remember when we first picked him up around thanksgiving 2003? When he said, "I guess I hate the Yankees now too" and "I can't think of anything more enjoyable than making 55,000 fans from New York shut up." He was one of us and we loved him for it. Then there were those commercials he did. Remember the dunkin donut one where he was walking around the locker room trying to speak like a Bostonian, something about "Pahking his cah when he gets to the pahk." And my favorite, the one where he is hitchiking out of Arizona. He gets picked up and the driver asks him where he is going and he says, "Boston, I have to go erase an 86 year curse." And he did.

I hope that this isn't the last image we have of Curt in a Red Sox jersey and I would bet it won't be. If we have learned one thing, he will do whatever it takes to make it back on the mound. Hoping you a speedy recovery Curt... hurry up back.

Win It For ...

2008-02-07T10:00:00.000-06:00

Those last two weeks of October 2004 went by so fast. After sweeping the Angels, and then losing the first 3 games to the Yankees, it looked like once again, we were going to have to wait another year. But then, we all know what happened. Millar walked, Roberts stole second and Mueller tied it up with a base hit. All of this in the bottom of the ninth. Then Big Papi was Big Papi once again, and we won it in extra innings. We won again in extra innings the next night and from that point, I don't think the Yankees had a chance. Game 6 showed the Yankees desperation and revealed A-rods true colors as he was caught cheating by slapping the ball out of Arroyo's glove and my favorite part was the look on A-rod's face after he was caught. He had the look my son has when he is caught eating chocolate before dinner - like "what did I do?" I am so glad we never got him!

Before game 7, I stumbled across a thread on the Son of Sam Horn web site titled "Win it for ...". It told hundreds and hundreds of stories of people who were asking the Sox to win it for certain people in their family who were not around to witness what was happening. By the time game 4 of the world series came around, there were thousands of entries and I spent hours reading each one. On October 27, 2004, in the morning I added my entry. The entries were eventually made into a book, and mine didn't make, but I thought I would include it here. Little did I know that within 24 hours of writing it, my Red Sox were going to change my life. We were going to win the world series! Here it is...

Win it for....

My Wife - win it because although she remained strong and didn't give in to my obsession for several years, they eventually sucked her in. Win it because she remained at that game years ago for the entire 18 innings, being told by security to sit down twice, never once asking to leave, and cheering to the end of that 18 inning loss at two in the morning. Win it because she watched the games even after her favorite player, Todd Walker was traded, then Shea Hillenbrand, then Nomar and she always came back. Win it because she wears Red Sox earrings to all the games, the ones she picked out because they would bring us luck. Win it because her Sox hat had been worn enough to have sweat stains around the rim. Win it because she wrote in the wedding book "The Sox swept the Yankees" the weekend of her wedding. Win it because she can hold her own in any argument with a Yankee fan. Win it because she cried when Boone beat us last year. Win it because she knows this is much more than "just a game."

Win it for ...

My son Austin - Win it because he leans toward the tv and mumbles, "C'mon Manny" every time any Red Sox player steps up to bat. Win it because he can imitate his favorite pitcher "Bronson Ayo-yo", leg kick and all. Win it because he celebrates every Red Sox win by throwing his hat in the air and jumping up and down. Win it because after we ran the bases at the Texas Rangers AAA team's ballpark, I set him down on home plate, he touched his heart and pointed to the sky, just like Big Papi. Win it because he can't go anywhere without wearing his "B" hat on his head. Win it because instead of waving hello, he simply points and gives a "Manny wave". Win it because he thinks the last two words of the National Anthem is "Play Ball !" Win it because his first word he ever said was "Go!" and that was during a Sox game when we needed a stolen base. Win it because the next word he ever spoke was "Manny" even though his mom would like to think he actually said "Mommy", but that will be our secret. Win it so he will never have to hear Yankee fans chant "1918!" Most of all, win it because like his father 30 years ago, he is falling in love with the Red Sox for the first time. Win it so his first love never breaks his heart.

And they won it !!

Opening Day 2004

2008-02-06T23:05:00.000-06:00

My son Austin was born in August 2003, and not even being 2 months old, the Red Sox welcomed him to the family by breaking his heart. We had purchased the MLB Extra Innings package and we watched every game that year. My wife was pregnant throughout the season and we dreamed how nice it would be to have the Sox win it on the year he was born.

We "cowboyed up" with Millar and hung on every pitch Pedro made, but it all ended so quickly when Aaron Boone hit Wakefield's knuckler into the crowd. I felt horrible. I remember handing Austin back to my wife, and through tears told her, "Thank you for watching them with me this year." She said, "It is sad," and she had tears in her eyes too. I felt bad because not only did the Sox lose, but as I looked around my family I saw what the Red Sox were doing to it. My wife was in tears, I was heartbroken for a thousandth time, and now I was willingly and encouragely pushing my infant son to be one of us too. At that point I began to wonder if I was doing the right thing. I felt it was my fault, that I had told them, "look how fun the Red Sox are," but I had lied. I felt it was like a defective gene that must be passed on to the next generation and I couldn't do anything about it. As always though, we hung in there, we survived and it only made 2004 that much better.

I came across this article I wrote on opening day 2004 and this picture of my son which was posted on The Remy Report on opening day 2004 as well. I like to think that maybe, it began something that year that lead to us winning it all. Little did I know, that "Wait till next year!" was this year! -Anyway here is the article...

Spring is finally here!! For many of us, spring means the beginning of something new. Spring is the time we start the new project on the Porsche and spring is when we begin the new Porsche racing season. In my house, spring is both of those things, but also something more. Spring is the start of the baseball season. Despite knowing my Red Sox haven't won it all since 1918, this is the time of year when I begin to say, 'maybe this is the year'. I have said that every year and every year they keep me waiting.

I remember as a child in 1975, crying myself to sleep after a game 7 loss in the world series. The collapse of 1978 still makes me mad even today, and in 1986, we were 1 strike away from winning it all, but yet we lost. In 1988 I bought a bottle of wine when we made the playoffs, waiting to open it until when we had won the world series. After 4 quick games, the bottle went back into the cupboard. In 1990, the bottle came out again, only to remain unopened. In 1995, my future wife didn't understand why I dragged out a dusty bottle of wine when the Sox made the playoffs again. She and I watched the Sox lose to the Indians and I placed the bottle back on the shelf. My wife became a fan in 1999 and she watched us lose to the Yankees in the playoffs and the bottle remained unopened. By 2003, she was addicted, and when she told me we were going to have a son, she added, 'and he will be born right before the playoffs.'

By midseason, my wife could recite the batting order by memory and she knew every player by number. Our son Austin was born in August and in October, we had made the playoffs. That same dusty, old bottle of wine made its entrance and sat on top of the TV. We had it all planned out, I was to hold Austin in front of the TV and my wife was to take the picture when the Sox won it all. It would be proof when he got older that he saw it with his own eyes. All of us cheered throughout the playoffs until the 11th inning of game 7 when the Yankees hit a home run to beat us. At that very minute, he began to cry. I think it was because he knew we had just lost, but my wife thinks it was because I had scared him when I let out a muffled scream. My wife, still holding the camera, and with tears in her eyes, told me to turn off the TV, she didn't want to see the Yankees celebrating on the field. As I was securing the wine back in its resting place I realized I had just welcomed Austin into the world of being a Red Sox fan and another heartbreak.

When Christmas came, Santa brought Austin a Red Sox jersey. I couldn't wait to see him in it. I started to pull it over his head, but then I stopped. It hurt me to think it, but maybe I should keep him away from the Red Sox. When the season ends, I don't want him to shed a tear or lose sleep over a game like I have had to. I plan on protecting him and keeping him from harm, but I was going to allow the Red Sox to do to him what I wouldn't allow anyone else, I was going to allow them to break his heart. I pulled the jersey over his head and onto his shoulders and he smiled. I told him I was sorry. He didn't understand.

So for me, this spring, I will once again start a few new projects, but I would really like to finish one old one. This spring, everyone in my house will be rooting for the Red Sox and I will once again be hesitantly optimistic. I know that being a Red Sox fan costs too much, and the weight of the jersey is sometimes a lot to bear, but it will all be worth it if we could only see them win it once. My wife now realizes it has been 86 years since the last Red Sox championship, and a lot of other Red Sox fans never lived long enough to see them win it all. Every once in a while she jokes that I should probably add the bottle of wine to my will. This spring, I think I will do just that, while I continue to hope 'this is the year'.

I introduce the sox to my wife

2008-02-05T22:42:00.001-06:00

I met my wife in the summer of 1995 and the Red Sox were having a playoff year. Her birthday fell on game one of the division playoff against Cleveland, and although I had kept her from the Red Sox all summer, the pictures from her birthday party show the Red Sox game in the background and me wearing my 1986 Red Sox AL Champions shirt. We lost that game in extra innings and went on to get swept in the series. It was our 13th straight postseason loss.

By 1998, we were living over 1000 miles apart from each other, but on her birthday, she came to visit. As it appeared our relationship was ready to go to the next level, I told her about 1986 and 1988, 1990, and 1995 and how we had lost 13 straight playoff games. She asked a lot about the rules of the game and by the time game 4 came around she had a decent grip on the game. Down 2 games to 1, game 4 fell on her birthday. In the 8th inning, with the Red Sox in the lead, Tom Gordon came in to pitch and the TV showed something like Gordon had not blown a save in something like 40 consecutive attempts and had only 1 blown save the entire year. She was standing and cheering, (she didn't know better), but I remained seated and I looked over to Debbie and said, "just watch, he will blow this one."

She didn't understand how I could be so negative, but within 2 minutes, he had blown the game and the Red Sox were done for another year. That was when I told her about 1918 and how long it had been since we won.

By the time the Red Sox made the playoffs in 99, we were married and now she couldn't escape the pull of the Sox. Down 2-0 in the Indian series we came back to win 3 in a row and we both cheered when Pedro came in (in relief) and pitched 6 innings of no hit ball. During our series with the Yankees, I properly introduced her to my "summer family", the Red Sox. I brought out old VHS tapes of old games and showed her Fisk and Yaz, and I even replayed the Buckner game for her. During this time, I was nervous, sort of like a kid when you take your girlfriend home to meet the parents. You hope they like each other or your life can really be miserable. Then in game 4 of the Yankee series, when the game started to get out of hand, my "summer family" embarrassed me. After Offerman was called out on a phantom tag by Chuck Knoblauch of the Yankees, the Red Sox fans started throwing trash on the field and the game was placed on hold. I told her it was just 81 years of frustration boiling over and that we are all not like that. I don't think it bothered her, but at the time, I thought she may not like the Sox because of that one incident. But I didn't need to worry, the Red Sox were just starting to pull her in.

Starting in 2000, we have made nearly every game in Texas when the Sox play the Rangers, and through the years, we have witnessed the longest game in Ranger history (18 innings and one where my wife was yelled at by security to quit standing on her seat - twice) and we have witnessed the coldest game in Ranger history (opening series 2007). She cried when Aaron Boone beat us in 2003 and she cheered and cried again when that ball was "underhanded to first" in 2004. She is a Red Sox fan. They got her too.

The Beginning

2008-02-04T11:52:00.003-06:00

I suppose all Red Sox fans fall into two categories. The first category is the Red Sox fan who was born into it. This would be the category my two children would fall in. It is in their blood, much like high blood pressure or the color of their eyes, it is in their DNA. The other category of Red Sox fan, is the fan that chose to be a member of Fenway Faithful. That is the category I would fall into.

I guess it really all started in October 1975 when living in Ohio, I was allowed to stay up to watch the World Series. The family was going for the Reds since we were in Ohio and I watched the games not following any team. I have no memories of any of the games, I don't even remember Carlton Fisks home run in Game 6. The only memory I have is of Fenway Park. Even in the days long before high definiton TV's, I thought Fenway Park was the most beautiful park I had ever seen. In particular, I loved the Green Monster. I was amazed that people could hit the ball over a wall that tall.
The memory of Fenway lingered and I remember in 1977, watching as many baseball games as I could in order to find that ballpark again not knowing even which team played there. Then one day in the summer of 77, I found a Red Sox home game on TV and I was pulled back in again. I remember saying to myself that is my favorite team and I began collecting as many Red Sox baseball cards as I could find.

1978 was the season I followed them on a daily basis. We lived in Florida at the time and I could only watch them when they appeared on Saturday afternoons and even then it was only 3 or 4 times per year. I did though get the newspaper every morning and without looking at the final score, try to find the boxscore of the Red Sox game. I placed my thumb over the boxscore and slowly slid my thumb to the right revealing one inning at a time. In my mind, I would play out the entire game. I would then spend at least an hour reading over the scorecard seeing how my favorite player Yaz did, or see if Jerry Remy stole any bases, or if Rice or Lynn or Fisk hit any home runs.

Then the Bucky Dent game happened. I faked a cold so my mom let me stay home from school and I watched the game on TV. I suppose it was that game where my dislike for the Yankees began. When Yaz came to bat in the bottom of the ninth, I just knew he was going to pull it off for us. When he instead popped out to third, I don't remember being upset or crying but I do remember I felt bad for Yaz.

From that day on, I was addicted. I was 10, and I never gave any thought, that almost 30 years later, they would be such a big part of my life. I have followed them daily ever since and it was a choice. A choice that through it all, the good, the bad, the heartbreak and the joy, I am glad I made. Pitchers and catchers report in 11 days !