Moving

For those of you that still occasionally poke around here, I'm doing a bit of consolodating with my sports blogs. I'm going to combine KC Bean Boy and The Scarlett Letter into one blog on WordPress here.

Someday all the entries will be on the new blog, however until that time I'll keep all previous posts in this blog.

Kings of the Castle

From 2-6 to 12-6 in a week and a half. Even with some of the pitching that's been on display since coming home to Fenway. The Sox still found a way to bat their way out of losses, pushing for extra innings and hitting walk-off homers.

Last night I saw one of the more incredible plays I've seen in quite some time, a strait steal of home plate from Jacoby Ellsbury. Andy Pettitte didn't have a clue, which was shocking juxtaposed against him picking off a couple Sox earlier in the night trying to steal second.

Now comes the part where they need to find their game on the road. The next nine will start with Cleveland tonight. This weekend will be the first trip down to Tampa with a short two gamer to follow against the Yankees next Monday and Tuesday in King George's billion dollar palace.

Looks like Big Papi may have found his stroke, Youkilis-Bay-Lowell are hot, and if the Sox can figure their pitching out they should come back to Boston with a winning record from this trip. They still sit one game behind division leading Toronto, however it's a long ways from ESPN pundits entertaining the idea of the Sox being done for the year already.

Tim Wakefield will take the mound for the Sox this evening at Progressive, and the Sox lineup will lock horns with '08 Cy Young winner Cliff Lee who comes in 1-3.

Showtime

You know what time it is.

It's Red Sox, Yankees time. Lots of intrigue and drama at the Fens tonight. Will Teixeira make it from the dugout to the plate with his head in tact? I'm sure he'll be asking Johnny Damon for a few pointers. Will the Nebraska fan in me cheer for Joba Chamberlain if he has a good outing, or will my inner Sox fan curse the day he was born and wish ill upon his door? How the Hell will Jon Lester respond to the Friday night pressure of the opening Yankee game under the lights? So many questions, so many hours before the first pitch.

Boston fans are the girl you didn't call to go out with in high school like you promised. The only difference is most Boston fans on Landsdowne Street will be fully popped and have no regard for such trivialities as a classy vocabulary or a demure disposition. There will be gnashing of teeth, and seething hatred for Tex in town tonight.

I haven't checked the schedule, but if the game isn't on ESPN you can be sure I'll be squarely positioned in front of my laptop.

"Hi, I'm Doug. Would you like to see my property?"

Hey everyone. This is former Red Sox catcher, Tim Wakefield personal assistant and World Series champion Doug Mirabelli. He would like to sell you a home as part of the Coldwell Banker team, fresh from spring training. For Realtors.

I'm not bagging on the guy, because as everyone knows when you retire, you can get a legitimate job or become John Kruk or John Salley. It's just sort of weird when a player leaves the game and turns to a job your uncool uncle does or used to do. He looks about as comfortable as an unarmed and pantsless Zack Efron in a Turkish bathhouse doesn't he?

Yet another loss on the Pac coast tonight. It's nice to see people who hate Boston and who have an axe to grind get frothy at the mouth while they are in the cellar with 95 percent still left on the year. It's sort of an odd dichotomy, I want to see Boston fade from from heads of frat boys with cargo shorts and flip flops who wear pink polo shirts on ladies night. But I also want them to win another World Series. Life is pain, brother.

I never thought I would be caught dead putting this on the record either, but part of me is glad to see Beckett get suspended for trying to give Bobby Abreu a labotomy on Sunday. Good thing he's still not pitching in the National League, or he probably wouldn't be pulling shit like this.

The other part of me thinks you're fucking retarded for thinking if Beckett wanted to nail Bobby he missed his mellon because his location was a little off.

Brutality

Basically what is the Red Sox schedule in the first two months of the season. Nothing is going to come easy, and by the looks of the last few games they're going to need to get better. Fast.

Just a quick note, heartfelt pregame for the Halo's late Nick Adenhart. Classy. Surprised MLB.TV played it since they usually cut out while there is a break in the action.

West Coast road trips have been a killer for AL East teams for awhile. Boston has two stretches in the next two months. The Sox will play no one but division contenders and pre-season favorites until their trip to Detroit June 1st. Well, maybe not so much with Baltimore coming to town in a week.

I'm just disappointed in the pitching thus far, sans Beckett who was on fire and almost pitching in another galaxy Tuesday. Dice-K looks like his control is still a major issue. Wakefield looks another year older. I'm sure it will come around, it always does. It just sucks to start out this way and be 1-3 in the middle of a Pacific Coast swing.

For now I'll take my mind off by watching the Nationals trying to get back into the game against the Braves. Mike Gonzalez just had a grounder bounce off his glove and Washington tied it up in the top of the ninth. Good God, I'm glad it's April.

Not like they drew it up...

Well, the opener with the Rays opened with a bang and landed with a limp thud. While watching Dice-K toss more meat than a butcher on a Saturday morning, it was hard to contain my discontent while I was in class. Did I say that out loud? Of course I didn't watch baseball in class...how is that even possible? McKay doesn't even have air conditioning, let alone cable.

The Rays took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth when Boston remembered they were in the middle of an actual game. Watching them sleepwalk through the first two-thirds of the game was about all I could stand. It felt like we were picking up right where we left off last year, being out hustled and even outhit by the young bucks from Florida.

The middle of the lineup woke up with Jason Bay driving in Kevin Youkilis on a shot to dead center on a Manny double. For those of you that don't know, a Manny double is a triple, or a play that 99% of all major league hitters should get to third on, while Manny would have "hustled" for a stand up double. I don't hate Manny, if it weren't for him this team wouldn't have rings. It's just something fans have done with a half joking, half sick sort of sense of humor. Anyway...

The Sox made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth with Jason Varitek blasting a dinger to right field, but were unable to muster up enough to pull into a tie or even pull out some late inning heroics.

Boston takes their 1-2 record to L.A. to play an Angles team reeling from the tragic loss of 22-year-old pitcher Nick Adenhart. It's always sad to see someone who has their life stolen from them with everything still yet to come. Truly a sad day for the Angles, baseball, and well, pretty much everyone.

Opening Day Blahs

I've always been quick to jump on the Yankees for bad performances in April. Most of my Red Sox loving career it comes back to bite me in the ass in September, or earlier this decade, October. So, this is me not piling on.

Today, as the Sox make up their game from yesterday against the Rays, I will not point out that C.C. Sabathia pitched four and a third and gave up eight hits with six earned. I won't fan the flames on Mark Teixeira going o-fer his first day, or Xavier Nady leaving three on base and being yanked for Nick Swisher.

The only thing that makes me happy is that the subpar performance was in the new Yankee Stadium. What? It was in Baltimore? Shit, I was hoping that would make up for the ho-hum Opening Day.

Sox on at 3:05 against the newly hated Rayvals. That's a good one, copyright on the way. Hope MLB.TV has all the bugs out today.

Not wasting any time

The Sox will pick up where they left off last season, playing the American League Pennant winning Tampa Rays. Or is it Tampa Bay Rays? Just don't say "Devil." A few of the sports publications that find their way into my mailbox are predicting that both these teams will battle it out for the top spot in the East. Looks like ESPN thinks the Yankees will pull a Detroit Tigers from 2008. Remember that? Cabrera. Willis. I fell for it. Hook, line and sinker.

Number one for things that will have to work for the season to come together for the Sox will be remaining healthy. There are a couple ways this season will go, and without checking, I'm pretty sure this is the exact same prediction that I made last season.

If Boston keeps their training staff busy, it could be a long year. At least by recent standards set since around 2002 when John Henry and company took over. If the team and players like David Ortiz, not getting any younger at 33, Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell keep the injuries to a minimum the sky is the limit for this team like it was in '07.

If we have issues and have to raid Pawtuckett and call up players a bit too early, then the season could turn into '06 very quickly. Let's hope for the former. Nothing would make me more pleased than seeing the Yankees miss the playoffs. Again. I will be intregued to see if the Rays can duplicate the same success they had last year. Naturally, they can wait until next Thursday or Friday to start winning.

Around the Bend

Only a few days until Opening Day, with MLB TV subscription in hand, I'll be able to get back to work on this blog this season, just like you came to love in 2007. Beware that AT&T U-verse does not have the MLB Extra Innings package. Jerks.