Johan

Looks like Ellsbury and Pedroia are safe--Johan Santana is going to the Mets. Which is cool. I like the Mets. I'm just glad D.P. and Jacoby still have homes in Boston.

Novak Won!

This is not Sox-related at all, but you all know I have to post this:

Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open last night (and I was up starting at 3:30 am to watch the whole thing, even though it really screwed up my day today!) in 4 sets over a very good Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It was definitely worth it to stay up and watch it all--a very good match that ended just they way I wanted it to. He lost the first set, but that was all nerves, and he corrected himself as he went along. He was so on later on in the match that it wasn't even a question that he'd win (at least not to me!).


And you know during the press conferences they ask all these dumb questions, but I particularly liked this one:

Q. Would you like to play the whole year‑round on hard court without having to having to also play on clay?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Probably, yes. I'll speak with the ATP chairman about it to make all the tournaments hard courts (smiling).

And this one, too:

Q. Can you relive the match point?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't know. I really don't know. I can't remember. I just remember that I fell down and I was relieved and so happy. I even couldn't show my emotions because of the momentum, so it's very difficult to say what I felt.

So happy for him!! I think having the Red Sox win in October, Djokovic win in January, and the Patriots win in February would be pretty awesome!!

Get Out!

NO WAY it has been 11 days since I updated. NO WAY! I am stunned. I need some good news!

Realistically though, I probably wouldn't have updated anyway--I have been super busy and out of town and all that stuff. I see Kyle Snyder will be back, which is good, I like him.

If you look at the Red Sox website, they are so desperate to report something, they have an article about hoping to repeat as WS champs. Not interesting! And an ad on the logos! Not interesting!

Here's something interesting: my man Novak Djokovic took out Roger Federer in straight sets at the Australian Open! Holy mofo! That's freaking awesome. 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). Yes, they were close scores, but HEY! He won!!

Fed, who hasn't in the past had the nicest things to say about Joky, said this:

"There's no doubt I've played better in my life. I've not been really serving like the way I wanted to, maybe the last few matches. Look, it happens. But he covered the court well. He didn't give me much. So that obviously played a role in the way I played tonight. But … I wasn't completely satisfied. He's come through the draw convincingly. He's been playing very solid. He had a tough draw, you know, if I compare it to maybe Rafa's (Rafael Nadal's). So he absolutely deserves to be in the final."

Truer words never spoken. GO NOVAK!!

P.S. He is playing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final. This kid beat Nadal so he is pretty good....but no match for Djokovic, I say.

Also, the women's final is in 3 minutes. I like Sharapova and Ivanovic, so whoever wins will be cool with me. I am just hoping for a good match.

Final note: the look of a champion (or serial killer, I'm going with champion):

Monday, August 18

Monday, August 18: Red Sox vs. Baltimore for me! I think I have some good seats to catch a foul ball this year. Monday is not such a hot day for a baseball game but that was the day with the best seats left. And Lord knows I am not making the mistake of going to an early-season game again and freezing to death!

This is the only Sox news I have. There is NOTHING doing.

Well, except for the NFL greatness. If I had bet on the 4 games this weekend, I would have cleaned up. I am (obviously) a Patriots fan, so I would have bet on that. Giants over Cowboys, EASILY (hate Dallas, am from NY). I've always liked the Chargers, so I would have picked them (oh yeah, and am not a Colts fan). And I love Green Bay simply because "Green Bay" is such a fantastic name. So I could be rich right now! It never works out that all the teams I want to win actually win...next year, I must bet!!

Common Sense Prevails

The Boston Globe and Boston Herald both reported on Thursday that the Red Sox are on the verge of finalizing a one-year deal with Mirabelli, who was a free agent for the second winter in a row.

Finally! If we have to keep Wakefield, we better damn well have Mirabelli!

More Good News in NE

As expected, New England's Tom Brady was named the NFL's MVP after he led the team to a 16-0 season. I have been out of town and therefore with very little news so I just found this out today, but it comes as no surprise! Just look at his records this year:

Most touchdown passes in a single season (50).
Most games with three or more touchdown passes in a single season (12).
Highest touchdown-interception differential in a single season (+42)
Most consecutive games with three or more touchdown passes (10).
Most touchdown passes in a single month (20, October).
Most consecutive games with completion pct. of 75% or higher in a single season (4 games from 9/9/07 to 10/1/07).
Most completions in first 100 passes of a season (79).
Most touchdown passes in a game since 1970 AFL-NFL Merger (6 on 10/21/07; tied with 11 others).
Highest single-game passer rating (perfect 158.3 rating, 10/21/07; 17th time since 1970)

Pretty good! If only Mike Lowell could have been the AL MVP to complete the NE Goodness.

No Red Sox news to report...except the Mailbag, which answered a question I have always wondered about...

I've always wondered about how lockers are assigned in the clubhouse. Who does the assigning? Who is next to whom? Where are the "best" locations in the room, and who has lockers there? Do veterans get to pick their own locker location? Do players change their locker location? Is it possible to get a layout of who is where or is that private information?
-- Abbe B., Vineyard Haven, Mass.

Red Sox equipment manager Joe Cochran is mainly in charge of aligning the lockers in the clubhouse. Cochran has been with the Red Sox for a long time, and he has a good understanding of the dynamic of the team and how to make everyone most comfortable. I'm sure that in certain cases, Cochran asks Francona or Epstein where to put certain players.

When you walk in to the clubhouse and look to your left, it's a long row of most of your position players. In that row, you will find Pedroia, Lowell, Alex Cora, Julio Lugo, Youkilis and others. Off in their own little corner are Ortiz and Ramirez. To the right is another little corner tucked away where you'll find Varitek, Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield. To the right of that is "pitchers' row," where you'll find relievers such as Mike Timlin, Javy Lopez, Manny Delcarmen, etc.

At the end of that row is one more corner, where you'll find Hideki Okajima, Matsuzaka, Beckett and Papelbon. Papelbon's space has always gone to a player with some clout on the team. It once belonged to Carl Yastrzemski, and it has been passed on to others such as Dwight Evans, Bret Saberhagen, Pedro Martinez and Keith Foulke through the years.

2008 Has Arrived

First off, Happy New Year everyone! 2007 was a pretty good year for the Red Sox, so now we can just hope that 2008 holds another Championship for them.

This is what the official Sox site has as far as the lineup on Opening Day:

2B	Dustin Pedroia
1B	Kevin Youkilis
DH	David Ortiz
LF	Manny Ramirez
3B	Mike Lowell
RF	J.D. Drew
C	Jason Varitek
CF	Jacoby Ellsbury
SS	Julio Lugo
SP	Josh Beckett
SP	Daisuke Matsuzaka
SP	Curt Schilling
SP	Tim Wakefield
SP	Jon Lester
SP	Clay Buchholz
CL	Jonathan Papelbon

One too many starting pitchers, I see. But that is a roster I love, we can so win it again.

Last night I was flipping through the channels, waiting for the Ball to drop, and I was watching NBC for a couple seconds. All of a sudden Carson Daly is freaking out because Alex Rodriguez has decided to stop by and screw up the New Year's Eve celebration. Needless to say, I watched CBS for the drop.