Strange But True Happenings

Jayson Stark over at ESPN.com has a funny article detailing all the strange things that happened over the 2006 season, and it's a good read on a Saturday morning. Here's what pertained to the Red Sox:

"Mike Piazza, Alex Rodriguez, Garret Anderson and Manny Ramirez all got their 2,000th hit last season. Naturally, Piazza and A-Rod both got their hit on the same day (July 21) -- and Anderson and Manny got their 2,000th hit on the same day, too (July 1)."

Wait till you read the last one. It's pretty awesome.

And it appears that the Drew Situation might finally be resolved - next week, that is. Apparently, Drew's shoulder has been seen by more than one doctor (including Boston's own Thomas Gill) in an effort to figure out if he'll be okay to play. Both the Drew and Boston camps say it's not a deal-breaker, but with all the drama, it sure seems like it could be.

And finally..this looks good, doesn't it? It's from an ad that will be airing in Japan, and it's just getting me even more excited about the 2007 season.

David Ortiz is a Gentleman

Barry Zito is signing with the Giants, which means he isn't going to the Yanks. Good news. Big Stein must not be too happy.

I have to post these pictures because they are proof that David Ortiz is a fantastic and loving human being - and I've felt the need to prove that ever since I overheard those horrible NYers say they'd shoot him in an alley. But anyway, Ortiz gave $200,000 to the Heart Care Dominica, which provides heart surgery to indigent children.


How can you not love him?

Tough Days

Not much going on with the Red Sox these days (the Drew talks continue), but there's been a lot going on here. My dad had surgery yesterday, which was the bad news I had a few weeks ago. Everything went okay, but he was supposed to come home today and has to stay overnight again. I have to go back to work tomorrow, which is upsetting because I did want to be home when he was settling in. And I gave blood today and passed out while doing that, which never happened before. I'm telling you, I can't wait for this week to be over!

Maybe some big Sox news will be coming soon. I need something good (like...Bronson coming back!).

Watch Out for the Pats

An early Christmas present!

The game: Some Jaguar named Clint Ingram decided to go head-first into Tom Brady's back, and he was down for a few seconds when I pretty much didn't breathe due to fear of him being hurt. Matt Cassel came in for one play, then Tommy came back and threw right to a white jersey with 3 green jerseys surrounding. Then Laurence Maroney went 27 yards for a touchdown and what was at one point a very scary portion of the game turned into a great part. But Brady might have a bruise tomorrow.

With less than 2 minutes to go and only a 3 point lead, the Patriots punted the ball to midfield. Jacksonville's QB, Garrard, had the ball knocked away and NE recovered..and that was the game! Fantastic finish.

The Patriots are into the postseason! I feel a Super Bowl win...then a World Series victory by the Sox 8 months later.

It Keeps Coming

The bad news/bad luck train is cruising this week. Juan Rivera of the Angels broke his leg yesterday, and the Yankees got slammed with a $26 million luxury tax. AND it rained here yesterday, and as I went to brake my tires locked and I rear ended someone. That was fun. But there was no visible damage to either car...a Festivus miracle!!

So the Sox signed pitcher Runelvys Hernandez, whose name I will not even attempt to pronouce. He was 6-10 with a 6.48 ERA in 21 starts with the Royals. Sounds like another Seanez to me, but hopefully he will prove me wrong.

Patriots vs. Jaguars tomorrow at 1 p.m. Be there or be square, we're gonna clinch!

Bad News Around the League

Boston isn't the only team dealing with problems (namely J.D. Drew's shoulder); there are plenty to go around:

The Reds: Ken Griffey Jr. broke his left hand "in an accident at home." I wonder how he did it?

The Marlins: Pitcher Dontrelle Willis was arrested for drunk driving Friday morning. That's trouble.

Teams all over: A man was caught stealing the identities of almost 90 baseball players, including Jim Thome of the White Sox and Moises Alou of the Mets. That's just foolish.

With all that bad news, there is one piece of good news: I finished my Christmas shopping today!

The Latest

The latest speculation has the Yankees interested in Mark Loretta as a first baseman, which is a possibility since the Sox have Dustin Pedroia to fill the spot at second base.

My take? No no no a million times no! No more Red Sox to Yankees moves! I cannot say that enough. I like Loretta a lot, and not just because he looks good (I'm sure Christine has something to say about that!), but because he is good. And because a sign of evilness is going from Boston to NY.

Seibu should be happy - they got the $51.1 million for Matsuzaka. And they shall spend it on...well, who cares? We got Matsuzaka!

Matsuzaka Again!

Nothing but Matsuzaka news lately. Here's a few choice pieces of his contract:

- Once he spends one day on the Red Sox' roster, he has a no-trade provision.
- The Red Sox will pay the airfare for eight round trips a year between Boston and Japan.
- The Red Sox will not assign him to the minor leagues.
- His salary of $8 million in the third and fourth years, and $10 million in the fifth and sixth years, could escalate to $10 million and $12 million based on his finish in the voting for Most Valuable Player and the Cy Young award.

Nice deal that Boras made for him, huh?

This last bit comes directly from redsox.con (the Mailbag...I LOVE Mailbag Day!)

Is Pokey Reese still in the league? I was looking him up the other day and found nothing. -- Steve S., Ashaway, R.I.

Reese was in camp with the Marlins last year and basically went AWOL. He then let it be known that injuries had robbed him of his love for the game, and he considered himself retired. That's the last I've heard. It's a shame. When Reese showed up to Red Sox Spring Training in 2004, he had boundless energy. I'm not sure what happened between then and now, but he definitely seemed to lose his enthusiasm for the game.

I miss Pokey!

40-7

40-7! The Patriots had their way with the Texans, who did not stand a chance. They didn't even score until the 3rd quarter. The Patriots' defense was just too good for Houston's offense.

If New England beats Jacksonville next week, they will clinch their division and be on their way to another SuperBowl.

Obviously, Tom Brady's ended relationship did not affect his performance this week. Maybe that's why he was messed up a few weeks ago; but he seems to be over it now!

The Philadelphia Eagles are up by 4 in the 3rd quarter. Here's some interesting trivia: every week since McNabb has been injured, the Eagles have been on TV locally. That figures, since the reason why we like the Eagles is because of McNabb!

And in Red Sox news: J.D. Drew's shoulder is the reason why there's been no official announcement of his pending Red Sox-ness. I hope Boston is making sure they have some sort of Get Out of Jail Free card with this guy and his many, many injuries. More than that though, I hope he has an injury-free season next year!

An Actual Trade AND THE BEST NEWS EVER

Boston traded Phil Seibel (played with farm clubs) to the Angels for reliever Brendan Donnelly. A pitcher who doesn't suck (I hope)! Donnelly was 6-0 with a 3.94 ERA in 62 games last season. He had a 5-0 record and a 3.52 ERA in 29 games after the All-Star break, and held the opposition scoreless in 19 of his last 21 appearances.

I'm still pretty giddy over the Matsuzaka signing. He's really on our team! He said he really wants to meet Curt Schilling, which is cool because Schill has been learning Japanese to be able to speak with him. Ahh, I love this team.


I do, however, have sad news. Listening to the games on WEEI just won't be the same anymore -- Jerry Trupiano officially retired and is being replaced by Dave O'Brien and Glenn Geffner. Joe Castiglione will stick around, but it just won't be as good.

Quote of the Day:
Matsuzaka - "Right now, I'm just very happy and excited to have become a member of the Red Sox."

EDIT: And the best news ever part? Yeah, Tom Brady is single again. Haha, I know. But I think it's just terrific.

Because It's Awesome

Matsuzaka took #18!!

It's Official!!

Matsuzaka is definitely coming to Boston (as soon as some tests come back from the Massachusetts General Hospital), and he'll be there for 6 years making $52 million. It will probably be announced in a press conference today at 5 p.m.

HUGE sigh of relief.

Welcome to Boston, mate!

Ohhh Yeah

It's happening! Matsuzaka is flying back to Boston with Red Sox officials, signaling that a preliminary deal has been made. Nothing was said at the press conference today that announced the signing of Lugo, but that's to be expected. Matsuzaka hasn't even had his physical yet. John Henry said a couple hours ago that there was no deal...but I'm choosing to be optimistic and think that they are just REALLY close to making one.

Some folks are saying a deal worth $52 million over 6 years has been made, but those reports are unsubstantiated. The Herald is reporting something similar to that.

In other news, Mirabelli will be back -- and sighs of relief go out as we all realize the passed ball count will indeed remain low.

"No Progess"

NO PROGRESS?!??

If we don't sign Matsuzaka...anger, embarrassment, outrage, windows through glass signs, eggs thrown at Boras' house, toilet paper in his trees, and most importantly, a huge hole in the rotation.

They'll be talking all night, and who knows when we will find out.

This is getting way too frustrating.

Surprise, Surprise

Scott Boras said last night that his client is worth over $100 million, and Epstein has said he will increase his offer. In Evil's words: "In Japan, he's known as the national treasure. Here, he will be known as Fort Knox."

Yeah. They're all going to meet today, maybe we will hear something later tonight.

The most important thing to remember: "...signing Matsuzaka is extremely important to the Boston Red Sox and we're very committed to making sure that happens," Epstein said.

Oh, Evil

Evil Incarnate will be giving a press conference tonight. Maybe it already started, I'm sure Evil doesn't care about time. Matsuzaka may or may not be there with Boras...Evil will probably say something along the lines of not getting the $3982080938902 million dollars he wants, so he won't consider a deal.

We have until Thursday. The clock keeps ticking...

J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo are in Boston today, having their physicals to complete the deals. Official signings will probably come down tomorrow.

And back to Boras...didn't he learn in high school, like everyone else, that playing hard to get is just frustrating and NOT cool? This is ridiculous that they can't come to some sort of agreement.

Bits and Pieces

1. Manny - With teams around the league complaining that Boston was asking too much for Ramirez, it appears that maybe Theo never really had any intention of trading him at all. And who can blame him? He did talk with the Dodgers, Angels, Mariners, Giants and Indians, after all. Manny should know that he did try, but this should also make him happy: though the front office did consider (and try) it, he is just far too valuable to get away easily. And he's worth too much to consider the deals on the table. I just wonder how he will play next season.

2. Matsuzaka - What's the hold up? We have until December 14th to make a deal, and Matsuzaka is supposed to be coming to the U.S. today. Apparently Boras will update him on the state of the negotiations and he'll tell Boras what he feels about it all. I don't think he'll care too much about the money, it seems like he just wants to play in the Majors. Well, I hope.

3. J.D. Drew - He said this after everything that's been said about him: "People will just have to get to know me and my game. People think I don't care enough, which couldn't be farther from the truth. I care very deeply about the game and what ever team I've been on and how to help that team win games. I'm just quiet. I'm the type of person who keeps things inside."
I don't really care what he does or says off the field, but when he comes to Boston, he better play his heart out. And if he does that, I'll be happy. Especially since he is the replacement for my favorite Red Sox player (guess I better find a new one now!).

Better quotes from Drew: "I'm looking forward to being [Schilling's] teammate and getting to know him better along with all the guys up there like Big Papi and Manny and Mike Lowell. It seems like a true family atmosphere up there and when we were trying to decide about coming to Boston, we took those things into consideration."
"I discussed the Boston situation with my agents and my family and it's just fans being passionate about their team. People love baseball in Boston. They expect excellence from the players and if you do your job and leave everything on the field, I suspect people will accept you."
I don't think we'll have any problems with him.

Post #300

First off, thanks to everyone who has said such kind words to me. You know who you are and I appreciate it.

Secondly, Red Sox - the Offseason Thus Far:

Julio Lugo
- Trot Nixon
+ J.D. Drew
- The Gonz
+? Matsuzaka
+ Manny is staying
- Keith Foulke
___________
2007 World Series Champions

Well, I hope! Although I wish I could turn the -s into +s next to Gonzalez and Trot.

Bad News

I got some really bad news tonight and I wanted to let everyone know I might not be around too much. Hopefully everything will turn out okay, but at the moment, I don't know how often I'll feel like posting. I hope Manny decides to stay and the Sox apologize to Trot and sign Matsuzaka while I'm away.

But before I leave, I must say that J.D. Drew is now with us for the next 5 years at the cost of $70 million. This is good, definitely, he's a good player. But Trot Nixon....I love you, man! I knew saying you were my favorite player would mean you wouldn't be in Boston next year, and I deeply regret saying it. But it's true. That's 3 now. Bronson Arroyo, Mark Bellhorn, Trot Nixon. Who will suffer the Laura Curse next?

So Much Talk

...and all we can do is wait! There's so much being talked about, and the worst part is guessing at what will happen. And there's always getting excited about something, then having it not happen. Maybe that's the worst.

Anyway, sounds like the Dodgers don't want to pay for Manny. Yesterday they were our best bet, today the chances are, at best, 5 percent. Things change on a dime during the offseason.

Next up, the Dodgers and Angels are meeting with the Sox to discuss Manny tonight. This is from the Globe: the Sox want either closer Francisco Rodriguez or Scot Shields. Rodriguez isn't going anywhere, and the Angels have consistently maintained they have little interest in moving Shields, either. Sox also asked about SS Orlando Cabrera, and the Angels' prized two young starters, Ervin Santana and Jered Weaver. Make the Angels a longshot in this one. The Giants also had a meeting scheduled with the Sox, and according to the lobby buzz, they wonder how serious the Sox are in wanting to move him. The rumor sweeping the lobby is that the Washington Nats might be part of a three-way with the Sox and Giants, offering closer Chad Cordero as part of the deal, with a pitcher like Noah Lowry headed toward D.C. Seattle also appears to be in the picture--they have two top bullpen arms in closer JJ Putz and setup man Rafael Soriano, who has closer stuff.

And with that...we wait some more!

The Topic of the Moment

The Topic of the Moment = trading Manny Ramirez. Everyone seems to be talking about it, there's the question of getting equal value (which is almost impossible) and who we could get in return. Let's discuss.

Manny is an elite hitter. If he leaves, and we end up with pitchers (which we need), that is BAD. Of course, we need relievers (since ours are quite bad at the moment). But to screw Ortiz like that is just wrong. If he has no one formidable to hit behind him...I don't even want to think about it.

On the other hand, who can we get that's a power hitter? To trade one for the other seems odd and not likely. We'd have to take prospects, which wouldn't do the job. We can't just get pitchers in return. Could Drew fill the hole with a .283 average and 20 HRs? The answer is, of course, NO.

Simply put, without Manny, we lose a lot. A whole lot. And it's going to be really hard to replace him...oh wait, you can't replace him, you just try to make do.

FYI, Kevin Millar re-signed with the O's for another year, and the Patriots are currently in the 2nd quarter, down 7-3 to the Detroit Lions. But they'll come back!

Not Good

The Red Sox did not offer arbitration to Nixon. However, (from redsox.com) "the Sox are still eligible to negotiate with Nixon and the other free agents who weren't offered arbitration on Friday, a list that includes second baseman Mark Loretta, catcher Doug Mirabelli and outfielder Gabe Kapler."

If we keep Wakefield and lose Mirabelli, then we know the FO has the shortest of all possible memory spans. Everyone loves Kapler and he's incredibly reliable. Loretta is a fantastic second baseman, and while I know Pedroia will be too one day...is 2007 that "day?" And I really don't think I need to repeat my thoughts on Trot Nixon again.

Depressing. So it goes.

Quickly -- Trot!!

Quickly or else I'll be late for work..from the Globe:

In a decision that would lend further credence to the possibility of Manny Ramírez being traded, the Sox are likely to offer salary arbitration to free agent outfielder Trot Nixon by today's deadline, according to a source with ties to the team.
If the Sox offer arbitration today -- and one club source cautioned it wasn't definite -- and Nixon accepts by the Dec. 7 deadline, that would make him the equivalent of a signed player for 2007, and probably place him squarely in the team's plans.

Please let there be good news when I get home...!!