Road Warriors

That's Manny Ramirez hitting a home run. A much needed two-run home run in the bottom of the 8th to provide a couple of insurance runs to put the game and the weekend series against the New York Yankees away. The Sox finished with 16 wins and 8 losses in the month of April despite the fact that Manny has the 3rd lowest batting average on the team. This places him slightly above the likes of rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia and outfield utility Wily Mo Pena. Boston right now is enjoying a 4 game lead over second place Toronto and a 6.5 game lead over the Yankees and hold a five game to one advantage over them for the season. Also noteworthy is the fact that Boston made it out of April on the road with a 9 and 5 record which is first in the American League. Talk to me after their killer month in August on the road though.

There is much adieu about Yanks skipper Joe Torre's job being in danger. I'm not sure if I buy into that even as they finish up their worst April in recent memory. Even though Yanks GM Brian Cashman (can you think of a more ironic name?) is no doubt sweating bullets. However they always seem to come around before the All-Star Break, so I'm not cheering just yet. Also, once their starting rotation gets into a rhythm don't expect them to be setting up camp in the American League East cellar. The worst case scenario however, would be if Boston stayed consistent to how they played this month and stay healthy to win their first division crown in 12 seasons. That may not be the end of it either. Consider the fact that the Blue Jays could very well improve on last season's mild success and continue their upward trend. It may be slightly less possible but the Baltimore Oriole's may even not completely derail this season now that they've beefed up the bullpen a bit. However, I'm not betting my life savings on the fact that the Yankees will finish in anything less than second once the dust settles in the East.

Back to some things that I think Boston will need to continue doing or would need to change...

-The big three of the starting ro' need to 1) stay healthy and 2) stay consistent over the course of the months that have plagued the Sox. July, August, and even September have not been kind in past several seasons. Schilling needs to pitch like he wants to return in a Boston uniform next year, Beckett needs to keep on keepin on and hopefully not be bitten by the injury bug from all that heat he has been throwing, and Dice-K needs to learn to relax with runners on the bags. When Jon Lester comes back from his rehab assignment in AAA Pawtucket he should bump Julian Tavarez from the five spot. Tavarez was already quoted after today's win that he'd be happy with any position on the roster. Good attitude to have provided how well your performances have gone this month. Fucker. Anyway, Lester threw a gem down in Rhode Island last Friday throwing five scoreless giving up only three hits, no walks and 6 K's. If he makes an impact in the Sox lineup this summer, look for the storyline that he survived lymphoma cancer and successfully completed chemotherapy treatments last December to be played on ESPN every time he starts. Not that I'm downplaying the man beating the odds and making a comeback, I just know how much the World Wide Leader likes to capitalize on stories like this.

-The bullpen needs to keep rolling on the success they've sparked up this month. Simple as that. They've been playing shutdown ball when called upon so far and it's a very welcome change considering the questions surrounding the right field residence at Fenway for the relievers last year at this time. Kyle Snyder was able to rescue Schilling the first night against the Yanks this season, the ageless Mike Timlin is still a solid set up man, and Jonathan Papelbon is making the art of closing look easy.

-The bats. It's no secret that everyone gets on the Yankees to win considering how much they spend on their roster, however it's not like Boston is a distant second place behind them. So with all the dough GM Theo Epstein has spent to acquire and retain talent the past few years and undo some of the wrongs of the Danny Duquette era, there is tremendous pressure on the lineup to get cracking and stay cracking. I'm basically writing to Manny with this one here. On a positive note, Alex Cora keeps making a strong case to make his visits to second base permanent while remaining a spark plug in the lineup while auditioning for said spot. Also for your consideration regarding Cora, he is making $1.6 million more than current starter Dustin Pedroia. I'm pretty sure they aren't paying Cora two mil a year to collect splinters in his ass. He's a safety valve in case Pedroia isn't 100% ready for the bigs and they have to assign him to Pawtucket for some work, which may be coming.

Up next for the boys from Bean Town is a three game home stand against two AL West opponents. Oakland comes to town to open a two game series Tuesday. Thursday the Sox play a make up game from April 12th against the Seattle Mariners. The Seattle game will be a second opportunity for Matsuzaka to nab a win from them after losing out to an extremely impressive Felix Hernandez earlier in the month. Lucky for us he's on the 15 day DL and will be no where near Fenway. On the mound will be two game winner Horacio Ramirez. We'll see how adjusted he is to the American League coming over from the Atlanta Braves and pitching in one of the most batter friendly parks east of Coors Field.

The 2nd Lamest Gary

Probably the crudest mock up ever in the digital era, but I’m at work with only Microsoft Paint to use so sorry, that’s what you get. The little bundle of joy that our Commander and Chief is holding is Mid-Atlantic Sports Net/ESPN employee, Baltimore Oriole’s announcer on MASN, and all around fuckstick Gary Thorne. I actually watched MASN’s broadcast of the O’s versus the Red Sox last night with Mr. Thorne and Oriole’s Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer. So what’s the big deal you ask? Well, normally there wouldn’t be anything special about watching a game on my MLB Extra Innings Package, but last night was special. I guess.

Thorne called into question the validity of Curt Schilling’s bloody sock from Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series. This of course was the night where Shil’ went for seven innings, gave up only one homer to Bernie Williams in the bottom of the 7^th and sent the Sox into the history books as the only team in MLB playoff history to force a Game 7 after starting the series down three games to none. Not only that (and most important in this case) but the guy pitched with a hatchet job of a repaired tendon in his right ankle held down by three sutures. Yes, the infamous “bloody sock” incident.

To make a long story short, I was sitting on my couch watching the game when Gar’ told Palmer and the rest of the world watching the game that Doug Mirabelli (Sox backup catcher and Tim Wakefield personal slave) told him that Schilling’s sock was painted to give the appearance of blood and that it was just a PR stunt. What? Huh? Did I just hear what I thought I did? Why the fuck would Mirabelli talk to Thorne anyway? On the other hand, if he did tell Thorne this he’s a bigger douche than I thought. Of course Palmer didn’t really feed the flame at all and just sort of passed it off as nothing. It wasn’t a huge discussion and Thorne went back to what was actually in his job description and went back to calling the game. I didn’t think twice about it and dismissed Thorne as having a momentary lapse of intelligence. Then, today, I read the Boston Globe and Herald headlines for the Sox like I always do in the morning with breakfast and it’s all over. I go to ESPN, CBS Sportsline, FOX Sports and it’s really all over the goddamn place. Really? Come on. Really? Are we suddenly revisiting middle school?

Now look, sports announcers fuck things up on a regular basis and no one bats an eye. It’s usually just getting little things wrong, like where a guy played college ball, what round he was drafted in. Shit like that. Not making outrageous claims about moments in baseball history. I understand my team’s want to clear Schilling’s name in light of Thorne’s Clue!-like accusations, and I’m not going to blast my team for sticking up for him and giving a shred of attention and legitimacy to Thorne’s claim. That’s not where I’m going. Schilling pulled off a hell of a feat that night and toughing it out to pitch seven complete innings of playoff baseball in front of 56,000+ strong of the opponent’s fans. In fucking Yankee’s Stadium no less! He even did it again to less fanfare in Game 2 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, however I’m straying from my point. The point is I’m not sure what the hell was going through Thorne’s brain (that resides in a rather abnormally large mellon) and why he would make something like that up. Of course after the game Mirabelli denied it and Schilling and Francona basically told the reporters to go pound sand and that Thorne’s a moron, blah blah blah.

The whole thing is pretty gay. I’m sure the Hall of Fame would accept a painted sock posing as a bloody sock. Right. The damn thing has turned brownish now as all blood stained clothing items will eventually do. Is Thorne mad that the Oriole’s started the season series off with a thud against a team that beat them 15 out of 18 times last year? He kept making references to how much Boston went out and spent on JD Drew and Dice-K last off season. That may be a small clue that Mr. Thorne isn’t happy that the Oriole’s are consistently sucking on the tailpipe of the Red Sox (and Yankees) every year.

Hopefully this whole thing gets squashed and Thorne just shuts the fuck up tonight and calls the game without starting stupid rumors about things that have nothing to do with him, the organization he works for, or the Baltimore Orioles. Speaking of which the second and final game of the series is just getting underway between these two teams with Josh Beckett on the mound going for his 5^th with of the season already. I’ll be out of town this weekend so I won’t be able to update until after the second series between the Sox and Yanks is in the books on Sunday night. I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say.

Who is the lamest Gary you ask? Well, that would be former Extreme/Van Halen and all around lame-ass Gary Sharone. Seriously, look him up. He's really really fucking lame.

Goddamnit

From sweepers to sweepies. Not the best way for the Sox to enter into their end of week and weekend getaway touring half of the AL East. The Sox had no answer for Vernon Wells. Again. Manny Ramirez came back down to where he was before the Yankee’s series going 0 for 9 with 2 strikeouts and leaving 4 on base. Jason Veritek also had issues tonight with his bat. Tek sat out last night since Tim Wakefield was on the mound with catcher/man-slave Doug Mirabelli in toe. It was looking positive after taking two of three on the road in Toronto. Now the season series is 3-2 in favor of the blue birds, eh. If the Sox want to get back to the post season they can’t suffer post-Yankee letdowns like this. Not when you play them in 15 more times.

Baltimore may be an interesting trip since it will be in question on which Orioles team shows up for work on Wednesday and Thursday and if Boston will be looking past the O’s and up I-95 for the rematch with the Yanks. The Orioles get the front half of the rotation in Schilling and Beckett while the Yankees are going to get Matsuzaka for his and for the Sox first game in Yankee’s Stadium in ‘07. That game is going to be feast or famine and I expect no middle ground for Dice-K. Even though the Yankee faithful are a fickle bunch, losing two of three (or maybe three of three) to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the atmosphere should be nothing short of electric. Wakefield is no stranger to Yankee’s stadium so I’m less worried about this game than any of the three. The Sunday game is the game that scares me the most. Hopefully Francona (an Aberdeen, South Dakota native (just thought I’d throw that in)) and pitching coach John Farrell have figured out what the fuck is wrong with Tavarez and if they haven’t I hope they do before staring him again Sunday. Even though Wily Mo Pena didn’t give him any help in center field tonight. Wily Mo was giving the usual number eight Coco Crisp a little rest, but whatever. What ever happened to Matt Clement after having surgery in September? The Alabama doctor who repaired the tears in his shoulder is the same dude who repaired Drew Brees’s shoulder, so what the fuck? He had a solid ’05 and helped the Sox quite a bit winning 13 of six and holding down a respectable ERA of 4.57 in his first season in the American League. Not that he was a certifiable ace in his 12 starts last year, but he is better than Tavarez as a possible fifth or even fourth starter. Tavarez should be a reliever. On a positive note for the Dominican hatchet face, I still maintain he told Dice-K last Friday to put a fastball through A-Rod’s ear hole on his first pitch to him on Sunday night. That may be JT’s only highlight of the season.

Here are a few things that need to happen if Boston is going to get off the road trip with a winning record.

-Boston’s bats need to get on young Adam Loewen early and often just like they did last year when he was a rookie. Loewen saw the Sox two times in the second half of the season (the same time the Sox were sucking eggs after the Yankees raped them repeatedly in August and tossed them aside in a ditch on the road to the playoffs with nothing but socks on) and gave up a loss and a no decision while surrendering nine earned with a combined ERA of 5.86. Hopefully this hypothetic situation will give some lost momentum back to the line up and trickle down to the next four games.

-They need to find a way to stop spotting teams runs in the first inning. In the last five games the starters have given up eight runs. It’s not a huge margin and only comes out to about 1.6 a game but it’s not the way you want to start out at home, much less on the road. The amount isn’t the point, it’s the momentum the opposing lineup gets to start off. The line up isn’t always going to be able to bail you out, Josh Beckett. I know you’re 4 and 0, but it’s somewhat because you’ve been on the beneficial end of a lot run support.

-Speaking of pitching, the bullpen needs to find a way to bridge the gap between XYZ reliever and Jonathan Papelbon. Along with this the starters need to put the bullpen in a better position to get to him in the first place. Give him a three run or less lead and he’ll get your win and a save. He’s not going to save everything of course, but chances are he’ll come up saving it rather than blowing it. Hell, even Hideki Okajima proved Friday he could be a second option to Papelbon.

-Manny, Manny, Manny. What the fuck dude? I’m not the biggest fan in the world and I never really have been. I like your ‘do even less. Despite all that I love counting on your bat behind Big Papi to get things rolling after he bats in a few ribbies. Now that you’re protected even more by having a potent hitter in JD Drew right behind you the excuses need to stop. Don’t tell John Miller and Joe Morgan you’re going to show up for Sunday Night Baseball against the Yankees and then go back to staring blankly at pitches the next day. That’s why a lot of people don’t like you. Well, besides the fielding. And the hair. And you just being you. I’m usually the first to stick up for you when someone really rags on you. Please please please, I’m begging you, don’t sell me up with river with shitty batting. You’ve been in the league what, for almost 15 years? Timing? Come on. Maybe you should show up to camp on time once in awhile rather than collect cars. Leave that shit to Reggie Jackson.

Like the last few seasons, the Sox don’t need to fix or patch up that much. Just a few mental issues that need tinkering. So hopefully they figure it out and come out on the winning end after Sunday night is in the books and are ready for a two game home stand against the Oakland Athletics, because after that match up they have another six game jaunt.

In local news, the Royals and Pale Sox game was on rain delay tonight. Not that this is something to bat an eye at but I was at work late and a buddy of mine and I were thinking about going after we were off. The game started around 8:45 and we were off at 9. Turns out he had to go home since his almost wife was going out and he needed to watch his son. I’m at home watching this game in the background while typing this up. It’s the top of the 6^th and it’s tied 4-4 so it’s a decent game. I should have gone by myself. I’ve never been to a ballgame alone and I don’t see much shame in it. It’s like that first time you go to a movie by yourself. You’re not sure if it’s cool or not, but once the movie gets going you know it’s ok. Maybe next time.

Even though I’m a Red Sox fan and will be until I die, I’m really pulling for the Royals to turn it around. There is something about your hometown team doing well that I’ve heard about but never experienced. I want there to be a buzz in this town come September. I want those last games of the season against the Twins, Tigers, White Sox, or Indians to be exciting. I want it to be hard to get tickets. Last Friday against the Twins Kauffman Stadium had 9,000 walkups and a total of about 32,000 people, which is almost unheard of here outside of Opening Day and the series against the St. Louis Cardinals. People are dying for a reason to go back out to “The K.” This team used to be the crown jewel of Kansas City and people want it to return because it was a model for small markets to pattern themselves after. Before John Schuerholz (pronounced Share-holts) turned the Braves from “worst to first” back in the early nineties and made them winners he did it here in Kansas City with the Blue Crew in the 80’s, building on the success of the late 70’s and building around George Brett. Speaking of Brett, I've noticed people in this town love that man. They love him like a stalker loves their favorite celebrity. Like he is Elvis. They named a highway after him, he has his own restaurant. At 5 o’clock all born in KC must bow down, face towards Kauffman and pray for five minutes and then go about their business. It’s really weird. Anyway, the people in this city are hungry for that feeling again, and if you ask me I think they (and me too) deserve it.

In closing I’d like to mention something a friend of mine brought up to me about the red hot Alex Rodriguez. “Sports Guy” and fellow Red Sox fan Bill Simmons made a good point that said friend noticed. “A-Rod is like pollen, you can always count on him to make an impact in April and May.” Remember that in September and October kids.

Three Down, 15 to Go

For awhile tonight I was convinced that I was going to be using the same unoriginal headline 6,038 other publications across the globe would be using. "No Dice" is what I had in my head because I was convinced that somehow the Red Sox bats would come up a little short just like they have in the last two Matsuzaka sightings. However, in the bottom of the third the four guys shown above set a new Boston Red Sox record by hitting back to back to back to back home runs off of Yankee's rookie starter Chase Wright.

I was over at my fiance's apartment losing my ever loving mind as this was going on. I haven't had that much fun (or as surprised) while watching a baseball game on TV since the Sox came back and beat the Yankee's in Game 4 of the ALCS in '04. Anyway, I was growing a little tired and impatient with the Sox having to play come from behind ball all weekend. Spotting the Yankee's a two run lead three games in a row is probably not your best option as they are arguably the most potent current lineup in all of baseball. Somehow Boston found a way to come back and win to take the first series against the Bronx Bombers in a sweep at Fenway. Tonight, on manager Terry Francona's 48th birthday, Manny Ramirez, JD Drew, Mike Lowell, and Jason Veritek each hit solo home runs. The last time one pitcher gave up four straight was in 1963 when Paul Foytack of the Los Angeles (California) Angles gave up the goods against the Cleveland Indians. As you can see, it doesn't happen all that often. Credit to the middle of the line up and partial credit to Yankee's skipper Joe Torre for not pulling Wright. Tonight wasn't the only time the bats of Boston abused the Pinstriper's. Over the course of the weekend series Boston went through 16 Yankee pitching changes. The big concern I have amid all the excitement of sweeping the Yanks at home for the first time since I was 10, is the fact that the Sox only outscored them by four runs (21-17) while 80% of New York's starting ro' is sidelined with injury. Adding to this point, the Sox threw everything they could at that vaunted line up in Schilling, Beckett, and Matsuzaka and still narrowly escaped with three straight. The bullpen had to stop most of the bleeding and Jonathan Papelbon looked amazing yesterday afternoon and tonight. Hopefully when they travel down to the house of pain next weekend they don't show this fault and can correct some of the mistakes that were concealed for the most part the past three days.

Speaking of Papleban, so far in the month of April he has looked absolutely brilliant and is quickly establishing himself as a premier closer in the bigs. If he keeps this up over the course of the next couple of seasons I'll have no problem tagging him as the best closer in the game. Yes, ahead of K-Rod and ahead of Joe Nathan. Of course I'm biased and I think the other two pitchers I've mentioned are absolutely magnificent, but JP's velocity is so out of this world when he throws his splitter (his splitter, folks) so Goddamn hard that the bottom completely falls out from under it. Not that he is the first to accomplish this with scary results, but the mark of a true great closer is when you have a lead and when the 9th rolls around you KNOW it's over for the other team. He brings it to the table in spades when the game is on the line. Even against the heart of the Yankee's lineup. Back to his pitching, tracking his fastball is about as hard as finding a needle in a baseball stadium blindfolded. When you average 97 miles an hour on your fastball, have complete control over it, and move it that's all you can ask for. Batters eventually will catch up with a guy's stuff they've seen over and over again, but fast is fast and when timing is everything for hitters, having the ability to mix it up and control it like he can? I'll just say this, look for Papelbon to dominate throughout his career. Above everything he brings to the mound in raw pitching ability and pure pitching mechanics, is the intangible. This guy fucking fears no one. A-Rod? The guy is batting .370 something with 12 dingers and 31 batted in and off to one of the best starts in history. I should know, I only heard about it 722 times this weekend. Most pitchers in their right mind would not come at him. What did Papelbon do with A-Rod at the plate as the go ahead run? He pitched right at him, got up 0-2 in the count and forced him into a fielder's choice to end the game. Not only that final out today but he also pitched right at clutch hitters Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, and Bobby Abreu (even though he walked him tonight) and got them out. Two days in a row.

Now that I'm done with all the pub on the team's closer, I'll end with this. Boston is off to a hot start, that much is obvious, but they always kinda do that anyway. Their starting pitching looks solid, the bullpen is rock solid, and if the bats stay hot and injuries are minimal (I'm looking at you JD Drew) it should be a great season (and please God, a great 2nd half too) and hopefully an even better post season. April is fun and full of optimism, but it's encouraging when your team looks as good as this.

Doubleheader

You know what? I hate the Yankees. I'm at work and I've always got the RealTime Scores updating off of ESPN and the Cleveland Indians are up 6-2 going into the bottom of the 9th. I'm fairly confident that the Tribe are going to close it out and steal one from the Yanks on the road and my Sox would be able to put a little distance between themselves and the rest of the AL East. I check back 20 minutes later and the final is 8-6 Yankees. Are you fucking kidding me? I hate the Yankees, a lot. Mostly I hate these two clowns above and to the right. Fuck you guys, you're gay.

Spooge and a Live One

I'm sure if ESPN knew about my page, they might ask me to take this picture down that depicts Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Mark Buehrle getting "bathed" down. But since they don't, fuck them I'm posting it anyway. It's just a screen shot off my desktop at work because I wanted to not only include the picture, but the headline as well. I laughed myself off my chair when I saw this today. If you don't get the humor, show your dirty uncle this page and he'll be sure to explain it to you. And hopefully a few other things.

Right now as I type this the Red Sox are down 3-1 in the top of the 7^th in Toronto. Right now, I hate Canada. They’re not even a real country any-way eh. I’m starting to dislike the Blue Jays quite a bit. But I don’t want to talk about how Tavarez had issues with control again and fell apart in the 6^th. I do like the fact that he did last longer than 4 innings however, and looked much improved over the debacle that he shat out against the Rangers. I don’t like the idea of Francona announcing the fact that a starting pitcher who got bumped from his last two starts (albeit because of inclement weather) and coming off an awful season opener is going to be backed up by reliever Kyle Snyder for long relief “just in case.” Snyder was supposed to pitch longer on Monday’s 7-2 win against the Angels but didn’t because “we wanted to have him behind Tavarez, in case there is a problem.” I know Francona is a “player’s manager” and I’m not sure if it was supposed to conjure up some motivation to pitch well for JT but it obviously didn’t work.

JC Romero just got through the 7^th with only a hit and a walk, no runs thankfully. Hopefully the Sox can get the bats going in the last two innings to try and win this series, which even this early in the season I feel to be extremely important so they can re-establish themselves as the number two team (or #1) in the division. I almost suffered a stroke typing out that last sentence.

Tim Wakefield had a great night which is always cool. As the most seasoned of Red Sox players on the current roster Wakefield went for seven innings, gave up only one earned, and dropped his already low ERA to 1.35. Way to go Wake. I know I ragged on him in a previous post a little bit but come on, they guy has his own personal catcher. Word is Doug Mirabelli even does his laundry when they are on the road and Mrs. Wakefield isn’t around. Fuckin’ A.

Manny continues to struggle at the plate. Last night he went o’fer and his average dropped to .192 (now down to .184). I’m sure he’s not even aware of his less than intimidating performance so far in April, but I’m very confident he’ll come around just like he did last April. Although it kind of sucks when the guys last extra base hit came against the Royals two weeks ago. Right now he’s walking up to the plate in the 8^th with Coco Crisp on 2^nd, a home run right now or a double would be a nice way to shake the April blues. He’s usually good for some good at bats in the stadium formerly known as Skydome.

God bless America he fucking came through!!!!

Now that it’s tied and I feel a little better about the world maybe this post will turn a little more positive. How can you live and die on every game like this when they have 148 more games to play after today, you ask? I’d like to say I’m tough as nails, but really it’s caused me to gain weight and lose my hair at a rapid rate. Which may lead you to another question, how did you nab a hot girlfriend and convince her to marry you? Let’s just say my sparkling personality and knowledge of fine wines goes a long way*.

Mike Timlin has proceeded to get runners on first and third. Of course Lyle Overbay was walked on purpose so we can (hopefully) get a double play to end the inning and prevent Vernon Wells from scoring.

Thanks are in order for Aaron Hill because he grounded out into that double play I am currently sacrificing a bucket of the colonel’s extra tasty crispy for. I think I could eat just the fried batter they make this stuff out of and completely eliminate the chicken**.

This entry has massively derailed from a joke about DNA on Mark Buehrle’s mug to a live blog from today’s game, I’m going to cut it short before this thing goes into extra innings or something and I wind up with a mile long blog.

Ok, so I lied. Alex Cora hit a triple to center and Julio Lugo scored and then Crisp sacrificed to center and bam, it is a 5-3 Sox lead going into the bottom of the 9^th. You know now that they will no doubt bring in Jonathan Papelbon and will most likely win.

So far so good, Papelbon has only walked Greg Zaun to start off the inning. He struck out the next two batters and is currently facing Alex Rios who is 2 for 3 on the day with a solo home run in the 6^th. Zaun made it to second on a called fielder’s indifference. There’s something you won’t see everyday. Ah finally, after about 735 foul balls, Rios finally flew out to right.

There you have it folks. An expert (eh) account of what happened today in the 5-3 Boston Red Sox victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Now that the Sox won the series two games to three I can get back to work now.

*I don’t know shit about wine, other than its fine trickery affect on the lady folk.
**I’m not really eating any KFC right now, although it does sound tempting.

Happy Patriot Day

That’s the Boston Marathon. Running for 26 miles is stupid. Running for 26 miles in cold, windy weather is retarded.

This weekend was pretty damn cool. It saw the Red Sox out score the Angles 25 to 3 in a three out of four game sweep. Sunday’s game and “Jackie Robinson Day” was postponed due to rain. So no Big Papi or Coco Crisp wearing #42. Anyway, to say that the offensive production was anything less than impressive, you either hate Boston or you think that from only playing your xyz MLB video game that 25 runs in a three game series is normal. Despite the money shot of runs on the Angles’ collective face, I don’t get too excited this time of the year because Boston has had a habit the past several seasons of being on fire up until the All-Star break and then flaming out somewhere in August or September. It’s still fun to watch pitchers get lit up for six or seven runs in an inning that aren’t wearing a Red Sox uniform. Especially when the pitchers are named Ervin. I always hated that name. So kudos to Ervin “Magic” Johnson for being known by his nickname.

Josh Beckett had yet another strong outing and has rushed to a 3-0 record in his first three starts within two weeks of Opening Day. I’m excited to see if he can keep up the pace and pan out to become a stud in the rotation. The only thing that I’m waiting to see is if he can hold up for six or seven innings and be just as strong when the score is 1-0 or 3-2 and he isn’t on the positive end of massive run support from his offense. Out of the 17 1^st inning runs the Sox have scored this year (second only to the Arizona Diamondbacks), 12 have come on the three games Beckett has pitched in. Of course you can’t blame him for pitching well during a streak where the Red Sox bats have been, well, red hot. Just like you can’t blame Dice-K’s first loss square on his shoulders when the lineup couldn't buy a hit or manufacture a run. Credit has to be given to Felix Hernandez’s outstanding performance that night at Fenway amid all the international media hype. Hopefully said media circus will die down a bit on the road in Canada, eh?

Speaking of the blue birds, this is the same team that had their way with Boston at the Rogers Center in 2006. The Sox lost 7 of 9 north of the border and 11 out of 18 overall. I almost fear playing Toronto more than the New York Yankees based on the fact that they face the same match up problems that they encountered last season. Also, it’s not like the Sox will be throwing their aces at Toronto for this midweek road trip before the Yanks come to town. Dice-K, in my opinion is still an unproven entity despite two quality outings against Kansas City and Seattle, and has looked um, a little dicey at times? (Ok, that last comment was pretty stupid). Tim Wakefield only had one decision, a loss, against them last year so he’s a bit of a question mark too. Julian Tavarez, who pitched in 98 and 2/3’s of an inning last year as a Red Sock seeing most of that time as a starter spent his time between looking sharp and just mildly sucking (yes, even though he had a stretch in '06 of eight unbeaten starts), gave up 4 earned in 4 innings last Saturday and really sucked in Arlington against the Rangers. What the hell happened? I wanted to throw my Southwest Steak sandwich at the TV at the local 54^th Street Bar and grill my fiancé and I were at. The last time I threw food at a TV in a bar I got kicked out for a very long time, so the new mature me decided to do what the good Lord intended for my sandwich. However, I digress (which I do a lot). Not to be outdone by some of the world’s ugliest athletes, JT is one scary looking dude. He looks like a Dominican Freddy Kruger. He looks like a bad guy extra from that Dick Tracy movie with Madonna and Warren Beatty. Maybe he can scare the Blue Jay lineup into submission on Thursday. Then it’s back to Fenway for a three game series against the big, bad, Yankees. It’s also Boston’s first set of games against American League East opponents, not that it’s too noteworthy but they are always my favorite to watch.

Here is a Red Sox extra for you. It's ESPN doing a photo journal of a day in the life of a major league baseball player "in his own words." Portly and jovial David "Big Papi" Ortiz would be a good subject, right? Good idea, since this guy sounds like he just learned English 10 minutes ago. Don't get me wrong, I like Ortiz, a lot. Just not the guy I'd pick for this type of thing. This is a good example of why I hate ESPN. Check out the random Payton Manning picture with a guy who looks like Dr. Phil with hair. They threw him in because he's a fellow Reebok sponsored athlete. I don't care if he was on hand for the game or not, it's fucking stupid. And don't show me photos of what he does on the field before the game, I could see that from my seat. It basically turns out to just be an advertisement posing as a "Behind the Scenes Exclusive" for his new "Big Papi 2M cleat" by Reebok, coming soon to a Dick's Sporting Goods Store near you. Great job ESPN. Maybe next week you can run an A-Rod and Derek Jeter retrospective on how their gay man love relationship went sour posing as an Astroglide ad. What? You already did that? Damn it, back to the drawing board.

Finally, in my last post I added that I would be going to Lincoln, Nebraska weather permitting. Turns out it was nice Saturday morning, so Stephanie and I hopped in the car and set out for Memorial Stadium for the annual Spring Game. It was a decent enough day and the attendance shook out to about 55,000. Sam Keller looked sharp, the offense play calling and execution was very surgical, and looked like it was hitting on all cylinders. Which is what the West Coast offense is supposed to look like when Bill Callahan isn't bungling game play management. When I worked at Gateway I sold Callahan a computer when he was still the offensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders. Anyway, the Black Shirts looked pretty damn tough as well, holding the 2^nd and 3^rd stringers to negative rushing yards and about 9 total yards the entire 1^st half. Then again, that’s almost like being the smart kid in a Special Ed class. I’m hoping to make it up to at least one game this fall (maybe two). I also got my picture taken with the National Championship trophies and I’ll be putting that picture up someday, in case you were interested in checking out my royal fatness.

Lincoln and a Four Game Home Stand

This was what it looked like at Fenway yesterday. Cold and rainy. Rain outs, snow outs, and freeze outs have littered the '07 season so far and I won't be the first to say this, but they suck. It's to be expected in April I guess. So the Sox will make up the deciding game of the Seattle series on May 3rd which was supposed to be an extra day off between road trips to Baltimore and New York with a 2 game home stand against the A's before heading out on the road again to face the Twins.

On to this weekend...the Sawx will open up a 4 game series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim presented by Disney who were previously 5-2 and off to a fast start before traveling to Milwaukee and losing 2 of 3 to the Cleveland Indians. I'm not reading too much into the Halo's losing that series considering they were in each game to the bitter end, and the fact that the inconsistent (and sometimes impotent) Sox lineup will have to stare down John Lackey tonight who has looked uncharacteristically good for the beginning of the season. Historically this guys sucks until after the first several starts of the year are over with, as he has the emotional consistency of a 13 year old girl. Everyone that follows Boston says the good news is that veteran knuckle baller Tim Wakefield got an extra day of rest. I'm not sure why exactly this is good news, maybe it's because of the heat he brings with 72 mph knuckle balls and the occasional "fast" ball. I won't be watching this game live tonight, although I'm setting my DVR to rifle through the commercials later on. I'll be watching "Blades of Glory" with my fiance' while the game is on. Maybe I'll be clever enough and dupe her into a romantic dinner at the 810 Zone, Kansas City's version of the ESPN Zone. We're very creative down here in Missouri.

In other news, if the weather holds up we'll be traveling up to Lincoln, Nebraska tomorrow to catch the Huskers in action against themselves in their annual spring game. I was really looking forward to the new season, but now that Zack Bowman may miss a significant part of the season with another knee injury and the fact that Sam Keller is bringing his head case act on the road to the mid-west, I'm approaching the '07 season with a lot of cautious optimism. Anyway, any day at Memorial Stadium is better than most days so I'll be sure to enjoy myself as a resident amateur scout for the Huskers as they showcase their talents.

Sweet, Chilly Fenway Park

I have to start out this entry with an apology. My debut for my Red Sox blog was a little sub par to say the least. I had the flu bug for the previous 24 hours and I think I was a little delirious. I can recall writing about being a Sox fan, and then writing something about Jonathan Papelbon and that’s about it. So hopefully today’s work will be a little easier to comprehend.

Before we get started on today’s game with the Seattle Mariners I’ll start with a brief 2007 regular season retrospective. Boston started off on Opening Day with a sputter against the Kansas City Royals only managing one run in the first inning against the $55 million man, Gil Meche. Coupled with Curt Shilling giving up more runs than I would care to count, it was a pretty awful way to begin the season. But Schil showed up a little, um, overweight for camp so we’ll let that one slide after redeeming himself against the Texas Rangers on Sunday Night Baseball. I was on hand for the Sox 2^nd victory of the year over said Royals and witnessed the debut of “Dice-K.” He didn’t throw the super fun time happy gyro ball like I expected, but it was great outing none the less. Dice threw over 60% of his pitches for strikes, fanned 10 and only gave up one earned run on a home run to David DeJesus in the bottom of the 6^th which turned out to be Kansas City’s only run on the day. I froze my ass off but it’s a rare deal to see my team so I’ll take what I can get. Boston would go on to Arlington, Texas to lose 2 of 3 but rebounded nicely today against the above mentioned Mariners.

Second year Red Sox starter Josh Beckett earned his second win on the year by only giving up one run, two hits and striking out eight as Boston (finally) poured on the offense scoring 14 runs in their Fenway Park home opener. I know it’s only one week in to the season but I was a little worried that the most runs the Red Sox could muster up in one game was seven against the lowly Royals. I’m thinking it’s just the cold weather and the offense will pick up a little bit and get a much needed increase in production by adding the likes of JD Drew and lead off short stop Julio Lugo, who is a career .277 hitter. While that isn’t great, it is certainly solid and it’s probably going to pan out the same way if Johnny Damon was still leading off at the top line up. Fuckin’ Yankees. However, I digress.

The big bats in the Red Sox line up had a stand out day and either hit, batted in runs, or scored runs to help the overall 14 run effort. It was also nice to see manager Terry Francona recognize the fact that the Mariners were not going to catch the Red Sox after the 5^th inning and gave David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Drew the rest of the day off and save them for when they’ll be needed. Tomorrow’s contest features the much anticipated (not by me, however) Dice-K vs. Ichiro match up staring at 7:05 Eastern Time. Expected on the mound for the Mariner’s will be Felix Hernandez who had a strong eight inning outing and subsequent victory against the Oakland A’s on Opening Day.

Other notes: Middle reliever Javier Lopez, who the Sox gave a fresh contract renewal to in March, was optioned to AAA Pawtucket to make room for returning set-up man Mike Timlin coming off the DL. Timlin would come into the Red Sox-Mariner’s game today in the 9^th to give up 2 runs, which was excusable considering the Sox were up by 13 at the time. Hopefully the oblique holds up and doesn’t cost us when the games are a little tighter. Thanks for showing your age today, Mike!

Where the Hell Am I?

I will take the time to explain that question a little bit. Last October, I moved to Kansas City, Missouri to be closer to my girlfriend. It's a very heartwarming story and I'd love to explain it to you, however this blog machine will be used for the purposes of chronicling the 2007 season for the Boston Red Sox. I am aping the idea from a friend of mine in my hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota who publishes a blog by the name of Twins Town which by the name you should figure out what it pertains to. It's much better written than this blog will be as the guy did actually go to school for journalism. Even though I'm not sure how much of that education is being taken advantage of. I on the other hand, am just a lowly banker. As a matter of fact, you should be able to see my office building in the skyline in the picture posted above.

All introductions aside, I had said this blog will be devoted to my favorite Major League Baseball team and that's how I'd like to keep it. How does one from South Dakota escape the clutches of being a Twins fan you ask? I can tell you briefly that my love for this team came from hating my Dad's team, the New York Yankees. I've followed them since about 1997 and closely followed not only the big league team, but all the farm teams affiliated with the entire organization since about 1999. I fell in love with the team after my first (and hopefully not last) trip to Boston and Fenway Park in 2002 and as I have said elsewhere it is something that every true baseball fan, Red Sox fan or otherwise, needs to experience in their life. After the high of winning the 2004 World Series the team has hit a bit of a lull the past two seasons completely dropping out of the playoff picture late last season after being swept by the Yankees at home in late August. This started a downward sputter to the end of the season which was not without it's share of rays. Jonathan Papelbon emerged as a more than capable rookie closer for Boston earning 4 wins and losing 2 as a closer and finishing the season with an impressive 0.92 ERA despite a pitching arm shoulder injury in early September.

Since this is a little late into the new season I figured that Papelbon would be a good segue into last nights game against the Texas Rangers. Papelbon entered in the 8th inning with runners on 1st and 3rd after the Rangers closed into Boston's slim lead making the score 3-2. Papelbon came on in the 8th to pitch to the meat of the Rangers line up. He blazed three strikes past Micheal Young and jammed Mark Tiexeria to pop out to end the inning. No thanks to offseason aquisition Joel Pinera picked up from the Seattle Mariners who walked the first two batters and gave up a hit to bring the Rangers within one and put the go ahead run on base. It almost looked like Curt Shilling's first productive outing of the young season was about to be washed away by Boston's questionable bullpen. However Papelbon would go on to take care of the first three batters the Rangers threw at him in the bottom of the 9th and the Sox managed to hold on for the win and salvage the series and avoid the sweep in Arlington.

Tomorrow it's back home for a three game set with the Seattle Mariners, and while the world will be discussing the first meeting in the U.S. between Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki and Boston's new ace Daisuke "Dice K" Matsuzaka from the Seibu Lions. I'll be more interested to see if Josh Beckett will have a better outing even though he did earn his first victory against my hometown Kansas City Royals, but hey, it's still the Royals and you can get a win off them even if you do have a bit of a sloppy opening.

This first entry will not be memorable since I've spent most of the day puking my guts up from some bad food yesterday (Happy Easter!!) so I can promise that next entries will be a little more in depth, detailed, and splashed with some of my award winning personality. Until that time, this is KC Bean Boy signing off.