It Is Set

From the Great Globe:

The Red Sox have set their 25-man roster for Opening Day in Kansas City. The Sox are going with 12 pitchers and 13 position players.

PITCHERS (12): Daisuke Matsuzaka, Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Jonathan Papelbon, Julian Tavarez, Brendan Donnelly, Josh Beckett, Hideki Okajima, Joel Pineiro, J.C. Romero, Kyle Snyder, and Javier Lopez.

CATCHERS (2): Jason Varitek and Doug Mirabelli.

INFIELDERS (6): David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Julio Lugo, Mike Lowell, Alex Cora, and Kevin Youkilis.

OUTFIELDERS (5): Manny Ramirez, Coco Crisp, J.D. Drew, Eric Hinske, and Wily Mo Pena.

Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarman were optioned to Pawtucket today.

So there you have it. No Timlin! Disabled list.

I do hope Hansen gets a lot of work in Pawtucket. I will just keep waiting until he breaks out because one day, it will happen.

Oh, and I have a minor situation here in my life that might cause me to kill someone, so if you all don't hear from me for a while, please feel free to assume I went and did that!

Some Thoughts on This Sunday

I am going to start today with the most important news of all: yesterday was my USTA tennis team's final match, and we won, which makes us undefeated this season! My first time captaining and I put out an undefeated team. I'm very excited, and next week we will be in the playoffs. Yay!!

So, baseball. A week and a day until the first game in Kansas City. It will just fly by, I hope.

The recent announcement of Papelbon as closer and Tavarez as starting pitcher has really elevated my hopes for this season. Papelbon has really found his niche as closer, and as long as he can keep his shoulder healthy, he will be one of the best. Ever, I believe. He knows his shoulder had problems keeping up last year, and now he and Boston's excellent doctors can prevent the same thing from happening this year. And Tavarez as a starter is the ONLY job he should have - he was amazing as a starter at the end of last season. It's like he's a different person when he's starting versus when he's relieving/closing and I like Starter Julian a hell of a lot more.

Coco Crisp has been feeling kind of defensive lately: “I don’t care if people think I suck or they think I’m good,” Crisp said. “I just go out there and have fun, and hopefully the ball falls. . . . If the people think I’m good, then thank you. And if they think I suck, then thank you anyway. I don’t really care, you know?” That kind of tells me that he does care, but for me, I like him either way. He got injured last year early, and unfortunately he didn't have the best season. But really, he was probably the most upset of all about the way his season went. I know I sometimes mock players when they screw up (SEANEZ), but I know that they try their best and sometimes it doesn't work out. I love Coco, I hope he has a great season this year.

Quote of the Day:
Papelbon, showing his fantastic attitude about his game: "This is something that I've decided that I want to do for the rest of my career and chase records, and, hopefully, make the Hall of Fame and do [some] special things in the game that maybe no other closer has ever done before."

And He's Back!

So after all the closer talk, Papelbon will return as closer after all!?

Papelbon, despite his public declarations of embracing the role of starter, said he hasn't been able to sleep this spring because he wanted to close and finally told Francona of his desire on the field prior to Tuesday night's exhibition game.

"I walked into Tito's office and said, 'If you want to give me the ball in the ninth, I want it,'" Papelbon said today.

What about his body not handling the closing responsibilities well? Huh?! I mean, this is BY FAR the best possible outcome, but I do worry about Paps. Can his shoulder handle it? I hope so! He says his shoulder is fine (“My shoulder issue is not really an issue at this point”) and I have to trust him I guess. Of course I am happy we have Papelbon as a closer rather than Tavarez or someone equally bad...I hope he can close and be healthy for many, many years!

I'm starting to believe Manny is mentally challenged:

How is his new Japanese teammate fitting in with the team?

"Who? I don't know," Ramirez said, saying he has not yet spoken to pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.

YEAH.

Good News and Bad News

I can't decide if this news is good or bad, so - Mike Timlin will start the season on the disabled list, but he is expected to be ready to pitch after Boston's first regular-season road trip, which ends April 8. Now, Timlin not blowing games is a good thing, but him already having an injury and the very real likelihood that he will not be 100% when he comes back (well, he hasn't been 100% in 3 years) is quite bad.

Bad News - Coco Crisp's shoulder hurts (hey mine too!) and he's been sitting out. My shoulder probably hurts more than his but I still suffered through it playing tennis last night! I suppose spring training doesn't matter and he should sit out as long as he needs.

Good News - Matsuzaka was pretty awesome today. Can't get too excited because it was just the Pirates, but it's better than doing bad against them!

Could be Good, Could be Bad News: With Mike Timlin all but certain to start the season on the disabled list, the role appears destined to go to Julian Tavarez, Joel Pineiro or Brendan Donnelly.

Eek!

Annoying Quote of the Day: "I got two years left, and that's it," Ramirez said. "That's the end of the story. I'm going to move on. I'm going to play, probably somewhere else. But don't worry, I'm going to be fine here. I'm not going to leave $35 million on the table."

Keep endearing yourself to us Manny, you're doing a fine job!

Good Pitching!?

Here's something you won't believe: Julian Tavarez threw three scoreless innings today in the win against Baltimore. I wish he would just do bad all the time, because I worry that when he pitches well, people forget just how terrible he was last year. My efforts to Keep Trot! may have failed, but I hope the new Tavarez Starts or Nothing! campaign will be considered.

Another guy who threw three scoreless today was Kason Gabbard, and he said afterwards, "My confidence right now is through the roof." Confidence is good, but don't get too cocky now. That never ends well.

But, uhh, he's looking pretty good there...

And because I miss and love Kevin Millar...
Terry Francona was chiding him from the bench, but Kevin Millar was too busy with Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis to notice. Then all of a sudden, "Hey Tito!"

Francona yelled back "You have a lot of (expletive) nerve having tendinitis. You can't throw 90 feet."

"Schilling ate your second baseman," Millar shot back. "That's unbelievable. When I looked at the picture (of Schilling's stomach), I couldn't find Dustin."

I miss Millar :(

Here are Manny and Papelbon sporting the green uniform I want so much:


Oooh those look good!

2 weeks left until Opening Day!

I'll Say More than That

I just want to say one thing (though I'll probably say more): What the hell is with the name Jacoby? Every time I see 'Jacoby Ellsbury' I immediately want to get rid of that extra Y. And you know what? When I refer to him on my site, I will drop that y. Because JacobY is NOT a name. I actually think I already did that, just because I refuse to accept that as a real name.

And what's up with Alex Cora making 2 errors against the Mets? You know who wouldn't have made 2 errors? Mark Bellhorn.

Ahh...Mark. Before the trade, he was a very handsome and good-looking fella:

And then after, when he became a dumb Yankee, he was just another guy with a bad haircut:


Memories.

And today I read that "Eric Hinske is a crucial piece of the Red Sox bench." Uhh...that doesn't bode well.

Hey! Green uniforms tomorrow! I LOVE the green uniforms!! I ordered one on MLB.com (an Ortiz jersey) but it never went through and I never got one. I will have to search eBay like mad to find one for this season. It will go great with my green hat!

Didn't Miss Much

Monday-Wednesday are the days I have to stay late at work, so I'm a bit behind here on all the news. But all I needed to read was this, from yesterday:

Potential Red Sox closer candidate Julian Tavarez didn't boost anyone's confidence that he can handle that role after his performance today against the Pirates in Fort Myers.

Tavarez, in his second inning of relief, had some control problems and gave up two runs in the fifth. After a walk and two singles, Tavarez hit right fielder Luis Matos with a pitch with the bases loaded to force in a run. The Pirates scored another run on a fielder's choice to tie the score at 2-2.

Joel Pineiro, who is also a candidate for the closer position, had a solid outing with two strikeouts in one inning of work in relief of Tavarez.

And yeah, I guess I didn't miss much. Especially since apparently Theo isn't worried at all about finding a closer. Why be worried? We have Tavarez! And Timlin! Ohhh yeah, with guys like that, we so don't need to be looking for a closer.

I need the regular season games to start, I want to be able to actually see the games instead of just read about what went down after. Soon...

WHY??

Okay, look at what I found:

Who do you think has the best shot at being the Red Sox's closer on Opening Day?
-- John H., Norwalk, Conn.

You can pretty much scratch Mike Timlin off the list for Opening Day closer because of his oblique injury. To me, Joel Pineiro has been inconsistent enough with his new arm slot -- he lowered his release point after making the transition from starter to reliever -- where it has probably raised a bit of a red flag. That leaves Julian Tavarez and Brendan Donnelly. I'd give Donnelly an edge because of the way he has thrown the ball and his fiery makeup. Also, I think Tavarez is more valuable being used in various roles. The other thing not to rule out is general manager Theo Epstein making a trade for a closer between now and April 2.

One question: WHY ARE THEY STILL DISCUSSING TAVAREZ AS A CLOSER?!???!

I don't get it! We all know he sucks at the end of the game, and in the middle of the game. The only time he's ever shown any consistency is when he starts games. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG HERE?!??

Sorry. I just had to get that out.

Sadness and Happiness

Well, I think the thrill of liking Tom Brady is gone. He gets two women pregnant in the same time period, and I think that's the kiss of death. He's still hot and his calendar will still remain on my wall, but...oh, Tom. I'm sighing deep sighs of disappointment.

In less stupid news, Mike Timlin is still having problems, and has been sidelined for the time being because of his strained side muscle. And the Sox won today 11-10, despite a 4-run 9th inning by Philly. Kason Gabbard allowed three runs (two earned) in two innings, and Ortiz, Lugo, and Mirabelli contributed offensively.

23 days until Opening Day! Man, I so cannot wait. The Sox will be on national TV on Wednesday, March 21st at 1 on ESPN; I will have to DVR that since I have a stupid job now.

I miss Baseball Tonight.

No Real Horror Stories

I haven't heard anything terribly negative about the starters - in fact, I've heard all good things! Like Wakefield and Papelbon both pitched three scoreless innings in a win over the Mets. Beckett's been good, Schilling too, and Matsuzaka...well, we all know how he's been! From the Herald: "Two Marlins - Jason Stokes and Jeremy Hermida - said they saw a pitch that had movement and action unlike any other pitch they had ever seen before...The ball spun in a clock-wise direction, or reverse to what they are used to. It had a screwball-like rotation that left them shaking their heads."

Nice.

Oh, and Johnny Damon is STILL talking, but I just ignore it. I think everyone else does, too.

And the win today? Courtesy of a walk-off grand slam by Ed Rogers. Love those!

Lester!

Jon Lester pitched for the first time since he had his cancer treatments today, and he was in great form - he retired all three men he saw. His six fastballs, all strikes, were clocked at between 88-90 mph. Good for him! I'm very glad he's back.

Umm..Josh Beckett has eczema. Hence his finger problems. Moving on..

Curt Schilling is a good pitcher, but he's also a little full of himself: “I believe I can be the best pitcher in the league this year.” But you know what? If he thinks that, then it's more likely he will be a great pitcher this year, and we surely need that!

And Alex Rodriguez' teammates continue to be the best teammates EVER, by not putting him under any pressure and just letting him be: "Alex is going to have the best year he's had since he's been here," Gary Sheffield said. Ahh, Sheffield. What a guy! A-Rod should play just fine now, since he knows he is expected to have his best year ever, and we all know how well he handles pressure. Oh well, good news for Sox fans!

It Happened

Matsuzaka made his debut and everyone's talking about it. He gave up a leadoff double (wha?) but retired the next 6 men he saw. In his 2 innings of work, he threw 25 pitches, 19 being strikes, and allowed only that one hit. I don't know how much a win over Boston College means, and it is of course still very early, but we got a preview of what he's all about, and it was a good one!

Our other Japanese acquisition, Hideki Okajima, made his debut yesterday as well. He had a perfect inning in the loss to the Jays, getting his outs on curveballs and a fastball. I hope he doesn't get lost in the mix, I think he will surely help the bullpen out this year.

And then there was Manny, who fouled out to the catcher and got walked in his two plate appearances yesterday. After he took a huge rip for his first swing, Tito had this to say: "I don't know how a guy can come out of winter and, first at-bat, have your head be so still. I just don't know how you do it. I'm glad he's with us because he's special. Even David [Ortiz] is laughing. He says, 'I don't know how the guy does it.'"

So today, Tim Wakefield and Jonathan Papelbon will both be pitching against the Phillies. They'll each go two innings, and the game starts in about 15 minutes, at 1:05.

And the Patriots apparently picked up a coveted linebacker by the name of Adalius Thomas. I know very little about non-Patriots players, so if they tell me this is a good thing, I'll go with it.

And hey, I just realized I won't have to say Henin-Hardenne anymore, since Justine is separated from her husband. I was wondering why people were just saying Henin...yay! It's a small stupid thing but really, it was annoying having to add that Hardenne!