Halloween!

First, the Red Sox stuff:
Mark Loretta and my beloved Alex "the Gonz" Gonzalez have filed for free agency.
In addition to Mike Timlin, Tim Wakefield will also return in 2007.
I want the Gonz back! Keep Trot and Gonz!!

Now....it's Halloween and things are getting fun! Please excuse the childlike excitedness of this post, I just love this day.

The Patriots just finished mowing over the Vikings, with a final score of 31-7. NE is now 6-1. The best part of the game wasn't Laurence Maroney's long punt return, or Tom Brady's Brady-ness, or the ripped sleeves of Bill Belichick's sweatshirt. No, it was the race at halftime that featured such folks as TONY KORNHEISER, Chris Berman, and Steve Young. Except it wasn't actually them -- it was costumes of them! I wanted Kornheiser to win because I love him, but he didn't, and he was really slow, and I'm sure the real Tony was slightly embarrassed at the poor showing of Costume Tony (Tony shared a story about his man-love for Brady that included him seeing glitter on Tom's shirt and thinking he was the only one that saw it and that he was falling in love with him. How can you not love Tony?!).

In honor of Halloween, I thought I would dedicate this post to the awesomeness that is October 31st. I will begin with the best part of Halloween -- the candy.

When I was trick-or-treating, my favorite candy to get was the peanut butter cup. It's just about the best candy ever, and don't try to tell me otherwise. If you are allergic to peanuts, I am sorry that you will never get to taste this delicious combination of PB and chocolate. Tonight, I will save the PBCs until the end and only give them out if I run out of everything else, then I'll freeze them and life will be good.

Another favorite of mine is the Mellowcreme Pumpkin. The best day of autumn is the first day you see candy corn and mellowcreme pumpkins in the drugstore. The worst day? I'm sure you can reason it out.

And now, I present photos of some cool looking jack-o-lanterns:

I'm a cat person, what can I say.

Red Sox pumpkins! Best pumpkins ever!

These poor suckers are the Lame Pumpkins (with apologies if you are the carver of one):


And, um, people like this kind of ruin Halloween.

Enjoy your Halloween (and I hope you kids just get candy in your pillowcases and not notes telling you about Jesus)!

Things Keep Rolling

Maybe Blogger will work now?

Trot Nixon and Gabe Kapler, two of my favorite players, filed for free agency yesterday. That doesn't mean they won't return, but they are examining their options.

The Sox mailbag is up (my favorite feature on redsox.com) and one fan asked about bringing Dave Roberts back. I'd rather keep him in my memory as the man who saved us in 2004, and not tarnish it by having him play for us again. I don't think they'll trade for him, anyway.

And with all the lengths the Yankees are going to to keep Gary Sheffield away from Boston (like we want him anyway!), I seriously doubt they'd even consider trading A-Rod to Boston (pointed out to me in the Mailbag). I guess I'll need to think of a new highly improbable trade to ponder.

Patriots tonight on MNF! Be there or be square.

It Starts

Mirabelli filed for free agency.

The offseason saga begins...

A New Champion

There you have it, your 2006 World Series Champions - the St. Louis Cardinals. Who in the hell would have guessed that?

Detroit is the only team to ever commit errors in each of the first 5 games of the WS. That is not a good stat, and is partially why they lost. They should have never started Verlander when they had a ready Kenny Rogers, and the defense was pretty much awful. The Tigers fell apart, and it wasn't very exciting when you knew after the first inning (when Verlander loaded the bases) who would win.

Well...congrats to the Cards, even though I was cheering against them and I don't like Suppan (I just saw his political stand in the response to Michael J. Fox ad!). On to next year!

Detroit's in Trouble

The Tigers were up 3-0 and still managed to lose this one. They have the distinct honor of being the only team to ever have a pitcher make an error in each of their first 4 World Series games. But hey! That's not as bad as being up 3 games to none and losing the next 4 in a row!

The Cards have a chance to win it all tonight. I'll probably tune in, but I hope they don't go past 11, because that's Bill Maher time. I hope the Tigers can mount a very huge comeback..

Finally, Red Sox News!

Red Sox news! Not the best news ever, but it's still news. Mike Timlin is back for one more year, having signed a $2.8 million deal. He is getting up there in age, and he wasn't always reliable this year (how many games did he blow?), so I don't really want to see him too much unless he has one hell of an offseason and really gets back in form. Francona has this habit of leaving pitchers in too long and I'm afraid it'll happen with Timlin and another game will be lost. I hope he proves me wrong in '07.

Here's something: RedSox.com says the Sox will certainly bring back Tim Wakefield, but there's uncertainty as to whether or not Doug Mirabelli will return. Like...didn't we do this earlier this season and it went terribly wrong? Remember losing a prospect to bring back Mirabelli in a rather hasty move, then we saw said prospect blossom in San Diego? Did management really forget already? Please don't make that mistake again, foos.

More Red Sox stuff (exciting!): RemDawg and Dave Roberts will be inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame this November. Roberts will be honored for his "Steal of the Century," which is the best award ever! He said this about the play: "..As I look back at the highlight over and over, I didn't realize how close the play actually was. It seems like the more I watch it, the closer and closer it gets. So hopefully, [in] the next 10 or 20 years, I don't get called out at that point in time. It's just amazing how close the play was and I get chills every time I think about it."

The Cards Go Up Again

As soon as the Cardinals scored one run, it was over. The Tigers got blanked last night, 5-0. Zumaya, the Tigers pitcher I wanted for Boston, had a rough night. It was 2-0 Cards when the ball was hit back to him and instead of throwing to second to start the double play, he threw it to 3rd to a third baseman who wasn't there. 2 more runs scored. Bad. Tim McCarver kindly told us that the 1-5-3 DP has not been done since 1923. That makes it Really Bad.

Game 4 goes down tonight with St. Louis up 2-1.

Man, I wish there was news coming out of Boston.

No Japan for Tito

Looks like Terry Francona won't be making the trip to Japan after all - a foot infection has forced him to give up the role of All-Star team manager. That's a strange ailment.

Game 3 tonight between the Tigers and Cardinals in St. Louis. Chris Carpenter pitches for the Cards, so it won't be easy for Detroit. But don't worry, they'll still win.

As much as I hate the offseason, I kind of can't wait for baseball to be over. Then we'll start to get more Red Sox news, and hopefully have something to be excited about.

Mostly Good

Mostly good news today!

1. The Tigers tied the series up at 1 each (despite a rather boring "controversy" over something brown on Kenny Rogers' hand. Probably dirt. But the Cards needed something to explain their lack of hitting, I guess).

2. The Patriots easily took down the Bills to improve their record to 5-1.

3. Roger Federer won the Madrid Masters.

And the bad:

The Eagles lost at the last second AGAIN this week! They lost on a 62-yard field goal made by some stupid Buc. This makes two weeks in a row that Philadelphia lost as a result of a last second FG. DAMMIT!

Who are the Cardinals Again?

The Cardinals had fun tonight tearing apart Verlander, and it was sad to watch. So I didn't. There's always tomorrow.

So Terry Francona is coaching the MLB All-Star team in Japan, and Dave Magadan is the new hitting coach. I don't really know anything about Magadan, but I'm told he's big on videos and spending a lot of time with the players. And since he was always patient at the plate, that was a big factor in the FO's decision. So on paper, he appears to be a good fit -- but we all know how the on paper things work out (on paper, the Yankees will win it all!...).

And I still haven't found my license. I guess I'll be going to the DMV on Monday. There's a waste of 3 hours.

Why?

I'm still sort of in shock over the Mets loss last night. If only they had scored when they had the bases loaded with one out! Then that 2-run HR by Molina in the 9th wouldn't have mattered. Or maybe it would have tied the game. Man, last night was depressing. Well, the part after the new Office, because that part was good.

Let's see what's happened recently with the Sox. Theo signed an official contract and David Ortiz threw some pitches to kids for charity. Because he's the man.

The good news about the Mets losing? Now I can cheer for Detroit 100% instead of being torn between two teams.

Do or Die Time

Dear New York Mets,

Please win tonight.

Love,
Laura

The Mets need to win tonight or they will be eliminated, and nobody wants that. Right, except the Cardinals.

People are talking about the Japanese player Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was the MVP of the World Baseball Classic earlier this year. Theo Epstein refuses to comment on him, and word is the Yankees or Mariners will probably land him. That may just be conjecture, but it would really annoy me if he went to NY. Boston needs good pitching, and if this guy is as good as they say he is....at least make an effort, okay?

Farrell and Pena

The Mets tied their series last night at 2 games apiece with a resounding 12-5 win. They'll go again tonight at 8:19 and hopefully NY will have a 3-2 lead when it's over.

John Farrell is officially Boston's new pitching coach.

From Ian Browne, in the Mailbag: My personal opinion is that Pena needs to take some more strides defensively before he can be considered an everyday player, particularly in right field.

I've been saying that almost verbatim for months now. Ahh, validation.

Get it Together, Mets

The Mets lost tonight, which puts them down 2 games to 1. They better win, because they are screwing up my Mets vs. Tigers championship!

The Tigers continued their dominance by completing a sweep of the A's this evening. Could the Tigers really win the whole thing for the first time since 1984? It's looking more and more likely with every game.

Man, I wish the Sox were in it. All those fans in Detroit celebrating their team's win...I'm jealous.

In old news, John Farrell (currently part of Cleveland's farm system) just might be Boston's new pitching coach. Whoever the new pitching coach turns out to be, I just hope Theo manages to get him some talent to work with. Because Schilling and Beckett alone are not enough to carry the team. And I have a whole season's worth of evidence to back that up.

Jason Always Beats Freddy

It's 1:30 on Saturday morning. The Mets lost and I am about to enjoy Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. You have no idea how much I love FtT movies, I watch them over and over and look forward to these Fridays immensely.

And Jason Takes Manhattan just may be my favorite movie of the series, just for this line:

Man (to Jason): Go ahead..take your best shot, motherf**ker!
Jason punches his head off.

They will never learn, will they? Jason ALWAYS wins!

Questions

The Tigers are up 2-0 and the Mets are up 1-0. Things are working out nicely.

So the Red Sox Play of the Year. I'm having trouble picking which play to vote for, because they're all pretty good. I'm tempted to vote for the Gonz' fantastic double play, but that might just be because I like him so much. I love Mike Lowell falling into the stands, and Coco Crisp and Adam Stern both have some fantastic diving catches. I'm so conflicted!

The Globe has 20 Questions for the Sox to answer, and I am onboard with many of them. Most notably:

1. How should the Red Sox handle the Manny Ramirez situation this offseason? (Most say trade only if we get someone equal or better)
2. What should the Red Sox do about right field in ’07? (53% say Keep Trot!)
3. Are you comfortable with Coco as your center fielder next season? (75% think he will be great when healthy)
4. What should the Red Sox do about shortstop in '07? (70% say Keep Gonz)
5. [Foulke]'ll likely be back with the Red Sox, but in what role?
6. What should the Sox do with Matt Clement? (Most say trade...I think I agree)

And my favorite question: Which of the following should be the Sox’ top offseason priority for the rotation?
a) Signing a big-name pitching free agent (Zito or Clemens, perhaps.)
b) Filling the roster with quality starters to ensure there’s no way what happened this season can happen again.
c) Penciling in Jonathan Papelbon as the No. 2 starter.
d) Staying away from signing National League pitchers.
e) Re-acquiring Bronson Arroyo.

Yeah, you know I picked (e).

Don't Rule it Out Yet, Men

Brian Cashman and Joe Torre are effectively murdering my dream of an A-Rod/Manny trade, but anything is possible and it's a long offseason. If we have to lose Ramirez (and I'd rather not), I want someone good in return. Other possibilities:
Torii Hunter is a name that gets mentioned a lot, but the Twins just picked up his 2007 option. I'd like Jermaine Dye, but I don't think Chicago wants to part with him. Travis Hafner is a young(er) guy with a lot of power, but he's a DH. I think all our problems would be solved if we got Vlad Guerrero in return for Manny! And a few other players, because Manny is better than Vlad.

I'm not sure if finding another slugger or getting reliable pitching is the more pressing matter at this point. If Manny does indeed leave, then it's imperative that someone bat behind Ortiz, but.. pitching beats offense. The bullpen has been a problem all year, and I just hope Theo doesn't have to trade some hitters in order to build up a good bullpen.

Detroit won last night, and they will continue to win until they reach the Mets in the World Series. There they will lose, but it'll go 6 or 7 games and they'll put up a good fight.

Manny for....A-Rod?!

You know what, I think I would accept a Manny for Rodriguez trade. This statement might get my RSN membership card revoked, but I think it's the best possible situation.

A-Rod has managed to evoke my pity. Those fans are pretty awful to him (not all of them, I know). It's clear to the entire world that he can't handle the pressures of NY; namely, the entire organization and city expecting him and only him to win them the World Series. That is a hell of a lot of pressure and it's no surprise he hasn't lived up to it (and most likely, won't).

Manny Ramirez is wearing the patience of every Red Sox fan. One day he's happy in Boston and loves it, the next day he wants a trade because he's miserable. It was cute the first time, but now it's just old. If he wants out that badly, maybe it's time they let him go.

So Manny isn't happy in Boston, and A-Rod isn't happy in New York. They are both excellent players and put up big numbers. Boston can put A-Rod back in the shortstop position, which I guarantee he would appreciate (since he is still pathetic as a 3rd baseman 3 years later). Ramirez has been outstanding in the pressure zone of Boston, something that NY must be looking for in a player.

Why not trade Manny for Alex? It would be pretty upsetting seeing Manny hitting home runs in pinstripes, but it would be nice to see A-Rod perform up to his abilities in Boston. At least think about it, Theo and Brian. It might work out in the end for everyone.

There are Some Things Money Can't Buy...

Like a ticket out of the first round for the Yankees.

Yes, NY is out, and it only goes to show that all that money cannot and will not buy you a World Series ring. I can only imagine George Steinbrenner's speech following this game.

The best part of the game was when the not-as-bad-as-McCarver FOX commentator said this: "And the bat, like the psyche of Alex Rodriguez, lying shattered out there." Yeah.

Another error for A-Rod this time, which let another run score and took Jaret Wright out of the game. Now, I know that Jaret Wright sucks, so I can only assume that NY fans know that Wright sucks, which means they couldn't have been too optimistic about this one. Rightfully so, too, because the New York Yankees are officially out at the hands of the Detroit Tigers. Another standing ovation from me for a Detroit pitcher, this time Jeremy Bonderman, who went 8 1/3 innings and only gave up one run. Wow.

Detroit has won my respect and I hope they go far. I'm betting on Detroit vs. NYM in the championship. I'm still hoping the Dodgers can overcome the 2-0 deficit, but I think the Mets will close it out tonight. And I am from New York, so I would like to see a New York team win, just not those awful Yankees!

One More Game...

A Detroit win!

Best part of the game: Jeter misplays the ball for what would have been the 3rd out of the 6th inning. 2 Detroit runs go on to score.

I gave Kenny Rogers a standing ovation of my own after he went 7 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out Damon and Abreu in the 8th. He pitched so so so fantastically and it made me so happy! Kenny, I never cared about you before but you totally made my day today.

Basically, Detroit was on and NY was off. And that's the way I like it.

I Miss Them Already

And the hits just keep on coming.

The Dodgers are now behind 2-0, as are the Padres and the Twins.

But there was one bright spot today, and that was the Yankees losing to Detroit. That series is tied at 1 as they head to Detroit for what will hopefully be the end of NY's season. I don't want to say too much about it because I fear NY will win this series, but I still have the hope that the Tigers will pull it off in 4. Because you know if they go back to NY...

And in Red Sox news, Adam Stern was sent to the Orioles a couple days ago to finalize the Javy Lopez deal that worked out so well.

A question: Why did Ian Browne suggest Gary Sheffield as a replacement/backup for Manny Ramirez? Umm...when did we stop hating him? I must have missed that one, because I despise that man and if he is ever ever ever in a Boston jersey..oh, please don't make me consider that situation. He is vile. NO SHEFFIELD.

KEEP TROT.

Imagine That

Every team I've wanted to win so far has lost.

Twins lost twice.
Padres lost.
Tigers lost.
Dodgers lost.

WHAT'S GOING ON?!

Go Detroit!

The playoffs begin today. Breaking it down:
Oakland vs. Minnesota 1 pm
St. Louis vs. San Diego 4 pm
Detroit vs. New York Yankees 8 pm
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets (Wed.) 4 pm

I will be sending positive thoughts to the Tigers. I'm rooting for the Twins, the Padres, the Tigers, and the Dodgers. I want to cheer for the Mets, but the Dodgers have all the former Sox, including the lovely and still injured Bill Mueller.

The Eagles won last night! Big help from Brett Favre, who threw a lot of interceptions in a short time period. I love Green Bay, but I love the Eagles and McNabb more. Never fear, the Patriots are of course my #1 team. Philadelphia was actually playing pretty pathetically until the second half, when they broke away and the Eagles offense actually decided to run the ball instead of making McNabb do it all.

Story of the Day:
My brother was watching MNF with my mom and when ESPN showed the commentators, he asked who the guy in the middle was. My mom replied, "That's Tony Kornheiser. Laura's in love with him."

What?

Pitching coach Dave Wallace and hitting coach Ron Jackson will not be back in the '07 season.

What? Everything went wrong without Wallace and now they're getting rid of him? I question this and hope they make some stupendous substitutions or else.

I got the greatest news ever today -- I looked at the tentative 2007 schedule and immediately zeroed in on my birthday. I got the best surprise; the Red Sox will be in Baltimore on my birthday and that is going to be the best birthday I have ever had because I will definitely be there.

It's Over

Trot Nixon got a standing ovation and I didn't get to see it because the opponent was Baltimore and MLB.TV blacked it out. Stupid MLB.TV. He took his helmet off and waved to the crowd and I MISSED IT. He then proceeded to get a hit. Loretta got HBP in the ribs, which, ouch. But Lowell hit his 20th HR to make it 3-0 in the first. A great way to start the final game of the season.

Carlos Pena was walked with the bases loaded, then Gabe Kapler doubled to score 3 runs. A Mark Loretta solo HR (his last ab of the year, too) made it 8-0 by the 5th.

Through 5 innings, Devern Hansack had a no-hitter going. Do I smell a starting pitcher for next year? Or is that just the stench of pathetic wishful thinking?

Trot received another standing ovation when he left the game, and I had to give him my own little one in my house. I love Trot. Ortiz got a much-deserved ovation, too.

Eric Hinske hit his first HR in a Red Sox uniform in the 5th. Seemed like Boston really wanted some home runs in this game.

The game was called after 5 due to rain, so Hansack ended up with a no-hitter*. A nice 9-0 win to close out this season.

So Boston finished in third place this year. That is... a) depressing, b) silly, and c) WTF-ish.

The Patriots also won today, another game I didn't get on TV. Listening to the GameCenter thing on NFL was interesting, because I had WEEI on and I'd randomly hear "Touchdown!" "Fumble!" and then I was usually celebrating. Especially the fumble, that was an unexpected shout.

Anyway, postseason stuff will occupy my time now, and then I'm sure I will feel the need to write a season reflection once that's out of the way. Since Pedro Martinez is out for the next 8 months, I have no real reason to cheer for the Mets. I guess it's up to the Padres, Dodgers, and Twins now.

Screwed by Timlin Again

It's 3 pm on the east coast and today's game is in a rain delay. So why don't I complain about last night's game?

Mike Timlin had a 4-3 lead going into the 9th, but Kevin Millar got to him for a 2-run single. Millar tried to make him feel better afterwards by saying he threw some great pitches, but we all know he only said it because they're friends. So there went another chance for Wakefield to get a win. That poor man. Seems like they hate him or something, no one ever lets him win!

Ortiz almost hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th, and if he had hit it anywhere else in the park other than where he did hit it, it would have been gone. Not their day, I guess.

It was a good outing for Manny, though! He came back with a solo HR (he is just way too good) to get within one, then Trot Nixon (KEEP TROT) hit one off the wall to tie it. Actually, I don't know why I'm even writing this because we all know Timlin blew it.

Stuff:
* Papelbon's officially healthy and is up throwing.
* Trot's leading off today, and he will be coming out of the game so he can get his well-deserved ovation.
* What's that? Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Miguel Tejada, Brian Roberts, and Jay Gibbons are being accused by Jason Grimsley of taking performance-enhancing drugs? We're still talking about this? I don't buy this one. I'll believe it if someone like Giambi gets accused, but not this lot. Moving on.