Back in a Big Way

Big Papi is, that is. He is definitely looking like he is getting his groove back, and man, is it a welcome sight.

Who is doing just the opposite? As in, not grooving. That would be Matsuzaka, who has been pretty much a disappointment this season. After being moved to the 15-day DL yesterday, Francona had this to say: "This is not going to be a two-week DL. We have to figure this out. We have a lot of work ahead of us to get him back to being Daisuke."

Sounds bad. Shoulder weakness, they are saying. So that opens the door for John Smoltz to come waltzing in, right? And conveniently, "Topping out the radar gun around 91 mph, slightly slower than he's known for, Smoltz threw six innings of one-hit, one-run ball as the Pawtucket Red Sox edged the visiting Durham Bulls, 2-1, at McCoy Stadium." He threw 74 pitches, 51 for strikes. It's like it was all planned. As long as he does good, right.

What else is going on? Nick Green hit a walk off HR last night, and it was awesome. One pitch in the bottom of the 9th was all he needed, and after a pretty interesting game, with Bobby Cox and Chipper Jones getting thrown out after J.D. Drew RBI'd after taking what was clearly strike 3 and the ump called it a ball; and Ortiz getting on (and then scoring later) after a little pop up landed between the miscommunicating Jones and shortstop. You kinda felt bad for the Braves, really...never enough to want them to win, but you know. Sucks to play like that.

That's about it for now. I haven't been updating (why is summer never as relaxing as it should be?) but I have been watching the Sox, never fear :) And now Wimbledon is starting, and Nadal isn't playing...and life should be good for the next couple weeks.

Very Nice

I would just like to point out that Dustin Pedroia has gone 4-for-4 for the last 2 games and that is pretty freaking awesome. Have I mentioned lately that he's my favorite?

Also, Boston scored 8 runs in both games. Kotsay and Bay are fitting in perfectly, ground rule doubles and RBIs galore. They are in a very good place right now, as a team.

QotD (because, as you surely noticed, DP was batting cleanup tonight): During his briefing with the media, Francona said, "I'll never hear the end of this from Pedroia or Ortiz. Pedroia said it's long overdue, and Ortiz said he's retiring."

The Parade

Today was the day when thousands of Red Sox fans waited along the streets of Boston to catch a glimpse of their favorite team as they rolled on by to thank the fans and celebrate with them. As always, I have many pictures to document the parade (there are way too many but I couldn't stop, they were all too good):

Something tells me Papelbon is a really fun guy to hang out with:

I was going to caption this one with something about how cool it would be to be on one of these flights, but I'm so distracted by the size of Varitek's arms...huge!

Love this kid:And I want his jersey!

More Papelbon being awesome:

Who doesn't love Don?

Gotta have a picture of the man, David Ortiz:

And the man that gave America free tacos eats his!

Love the Pedroia:

Our fearless leader:

Some pitchers for your viewing pleasure:

More Papelbon (never enough!):

And the best of them all, Varitek holding the "Resign Lowell" sign:

As far as actual news goes, there's Schilling writing goodbye letters to his teammates and filing for free agency. "There's a very realistic chance I won't ever play with them again."

It's too soon to think about all that. Can we just think about winning the World Series for the next few weeks? Slow it down, the game was only a couple days ago and they're already talking about next year!

Oh, Gagne

I am sure Eric Gagne is a very nice man.

I bet he is a lot of things, actually: maybe he can cook, maybe he's a really good dad, maybe he does a lot of charity work..

But I know one thing he can't do: close games. Wait, close games in a GOOD way.

It's a 6-6 game. Each team has played really well, actually, clawing their way back whenever they've been down. Papelbon has pitched more than he's pitched at any one time the whole season. Who is left in the bullpen? Eric Gagne, Javier Lopez, and Jon Lester. Who is the one man you don't pick in a 6-6 game in the 11th inning? Gagne. Who did Francona pick? Gagne.

He got one out, and I was thinking maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on him. Then Grady Sizemore swung his bat and from there, everything came crashing down. By the time Lopez came in to relieve Gagne, it was way, WAY too late.

I don't know. I feel bad for him, since he knows that every time the fans see him come in, we know we're gonna lose. He must feel like crap right now, I'm sure it isn't easy being called on in the 11th, knowing you haven't been throwing your best stuff for months now. But something has to happen to make him the way he used to be. He's like the Alex Rodriguez of Boston: get in a must-win situation for a major team in the playoffs and he chokes.

One thing I did NOT like last night: the booing. People, I know he sucked and he blew the game but you must not boo! That is certainly not how fans react to struggling players (and yes, I realize he's been struggling since he came to Boston), and the booing DOES NOT HELP.

By the way, Curt Schilling was so not great last night. A better outing from him would have gone a long way. The 3-run HR, that we could have done without. And I don't want to overlook Ortiz' hustle to get to 1st, followed by a Manny home run and a Lowell home run that without, we wouldn't have even gone to extra innings. So kudos to them, sorry it ended the way it did. And they were all so happy until the end...

Beckett's 20th Win

May I start off by asking what the hell the Sox did to make opposing pitchers want to hit them so much? We all know about Youkilis (and the Yankees) but tonight Hinske and Varitek got hit in the same inning! Then Ellsbury almost got hit in the 9th, and Pedroia did get hit! This is getting suspicious. We don't need anymore Youk-type injuries.

So Jacoby Ellsbury is definitely a new favorite. He ran into Boston's bullpen and over a chair, all to make a catch in foul territory that yes, he held on to. The Toronto commentators even said it was impressive, one of the best they've seen! Ellsbury and Pedroia, my two favorite players (remember the last 4 players I said that about were Bronson Arroyo, Mark Bellhorn, Alex Gonzalez aka The Gonz, and Trot Nixon...hopefully DP and JE will break the curse).

This is going to sound strange, but...the bullpen held a lead! Josh Beckett left after 6 fantastic innings, then Manny Delcarmen came in and pitched a 1-2-3 7th (2 strikeouts even).

Okay. 8th inning. Our new nemesis. A good start though, a solo Jason Varitek homer. But nothing else good for us. So who would guide us through the potential disaster known as the 8th inning? Delcarmen actually stayed in this time, unlike last time when he came out and Gagne killed it (in a bad, bad way). He got his first out, then as I'm witnessing Toronto's meltdown, they take him out! UHH, okay. Not what I would have done, but okay. Javier Lopez came in, got the second out, got the third out. Nice pitching, actually. You went against me, Francona, and it worked this time. Hopefully it will continue working.

3-run shot in the 9th from David Ortiz! He is "more dangerous than dynamite," said the Tampa Bay guy. Follow that up with a Lowell solo shot, 8-1, this one was over (even with Gagne pitching the 9th). Ortiz and Lugo gave Mike an excited hug in the dugout, how nice :) Brandon Moss hit the first triple of his career, which is very awesome.

And yeah, Toronto? I HATE YOU. Up 4-0 going into the 9th against the Yankees and the next thing I see, it's 4-4. HATE HATE HATE. It was single after single after single, and those add up. It wasn't bad enough you swept Boston, NOOO, you had to blow a 4-run lead against NY in the bottom of the 9th! Extra innings--at least they won. Took 'em 14 freaking innings and a large percentage of my sanity though!

Rant of the Day:
Many fans are saying "as long as we get the Wild Card..." To them, I say: Not good enough! Had we been in second place all year, yes, the WC would be fine. But getting it now, after we've basically been in first place all season...hell no, I do not accept the WC. Plus, the Wild Card is just not as legitimate, really. I want to win. I want first place in the AL East, and settling for the Wild Card is not in the gameplan.

WHAT IS GOING ON

What the hell is wrong with our team? ANOTHER 8th inning loss? I need to go over a few things:

Terry Francona, what the hell. PLEASE hire me or somebody else as your pitching consultant, because obviously you and the people around you suck. Gagne should have been taken out after he gave up the single. At that point, he had 2 outs, walked a guy, then the single happened. After that all went down, I would have said to you, "Francona, I think it's time Gagne comes out."
TF: "But I want to show him I have confidence in him."
L: "But it's the 8th inning of a 2-1 game."
TF: "He can do it."
L: "The Yankees already won today."
TF: "I know...but I think he can do it, it's only one more out."
L: "IT'S THE MIDDLE OF SEPTEMBER AND WE ARE ONLY UP 3.5 GAMES YOU DON'T SCREW AROUND!!!"

So, as expected, Gagne walked another man to load the bases. I look away (okay closed my eyes I was tired) and when I look again, it's a 3-0 count! WHY WAS HE STILL IN?? And he walked in a run! And he gave up a 2-run single that ended the inning, but only because Toronto got greedy and stupid and tried to score another run.

Can anyone tell me why he was still in the game after the first single? Goddamn Tavarez would have done a better job!

The E# is still 9. We are only up 2.5 games. Red Sox fans all over are resigning themselves to the fate of another Wild Card year.

And life is bad for us fans.

Keep it Up

What's this I see? Another Boston victory? And it was a beatdown as well? 9-3! And the best part is it was Matsuzaka pitching - 7 innings, 5 hits, 1 run. MUCH better!! Maybe he is finally getting in a groove.

A lot of HRs from our team tonight: Ortiz, Lugo, Manny, Lowell. I love it when the HR Bug bites these guys. Papi was 4-for-5 tonight, Pedroia was 2-for-4, and Lowell was 3-for-4. I hope it's like this forever and no one gets hurt to screw it up.

The Curt Schilling comments and subsequent apology? He says things all the time, you have to learn when to ignore and when to pay attention. Francona thought it was important, but me? I just ignore, ignore, ignore until I hear Bronson's name, or Trot's. I miss them.

Happy Birthday Tito, From Manny, J.D., Mike, & Jason

First inning - uh-oh. Matsuzaka got his first 2 outs, then struck out Abreu twice but he was walked because the crazy umpire called those strikes balls. So it ended up being 2-0 and things really didn't look good.

But um, WOW we were down 3-0 then Manny hit a home run, followed by J.D. Drew, then Lowell, then Varitek ALL IN A ROW! In 5 minutes we went from 3-0 to 4-3. When Varitek was up my mom said, "Aww, he won't get one," and I replied, "He got one the other night!" then he proceeded to kill one way over left field. Then I started to feel a little bad for the pitcher kid but... oh well. That was pretty damn exciting. First time in team history that 4 home runs in a row were hit. WOW. My mom and I were just laughing. Man, I wish that happened more often. It's too bad I can't get a picture of Manny's reaction - he was smiling and laughing and hugging people :)

But then Matsuzaka killed the mood by giving up a double to Mient-traitor-kiewicz. And I checked to see if I spelled his name right and I cannot believe I still remember how to spell that craziness. But hey, I did win a bunch of spelling bees in elementary school :) By the way, Matsuzaka did get out of that jam. But in the 5th, he gave up a solo shot to Take-a-Seater and it was 4-4. He also struck out A-Rod for the second time. But later on he did give up another run and we were down by one.

Things got interesting in the 7th when Manny led off with a single and Drew doubled off the wall. Then they got more than just interesting when Mike Lowell hit his 2nd HR of the game, off the top of the wall, to make it 7-5!

Daisuke went 7+ innings before Hideki Okajima came in to try and continue his Yankee dominance. Matsuzaka wasn't spectacular, but he wasn't bad either. I imagine he was pretty nervous, actually. H.O. got one out then gave up a single to get men on 1st and 2nd. And then he walked the bases loaded with only one out. I think maybe he had been used too much. In came Donnelly, and it looked like he might get a double play but Cairo screwed up Lugo's throw and we only got one out and a run scored. 7-6. And then Dustin Pedroia displayed his sweet defense and made a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL diving catch. It was so nice. And just to say, Pedroia had a pretty good night tonight, offense and defense. I like what I'm seeing. <--- I had actually typed that even BEFORE he made the freaking awesome catch to get out of the 8th. Yeah, he should have a good year.

Mr. Papelbon pitched the 9th. Got Damon to fly out, Jeter struck out (ha!), and Abreu walked. Eek. So Rodriguez was up, but he was no trouble at all. Another spectacular performance by Papelbon.

First time in 17 years the Sox swept the Yanks at home.

Get out the brooms!

Is Rivera on NY's Payroll....Or Boston's?

Because that man has given us so many wins, I've lost count.

But let's start from the beginning. Varitek got off to a good start, hitting his first home run of the season. Of course, Rodriguez had to hit two HRs tonight, both off Schilling. Schilling actually wasn't too great today, but he didn't do too terribly. Just really not his best.

Now I'll skip everything else and get to the good stuff. Down 6-2 in the 8th. Ortiz gets on with a double. Manny went from an 0-2 count to get walked (patience pays!). Then Drew made an out but moved both players up a base (Drew had a pretty good night, actually, except for some bad attempt at base stealing). Lowell hit one through the hole to make it 6-3, then in came our good friend Mariano Rivera. Tek hit an RBI and then...the best moment of the night. COCO CRISP TRIPLED and in came 2 runs to make it 6-6. You all have no idea how happy I am for him...and you know, I told you he was coming! Just don't prove me wrong and go back to being bad, Coco.

Then Cora even got in on the action and hit an RBI single. 7-6. And Mariano, we thank you deeply.

I thought Papelbon would close it out, but Francona went with Okajima. He got his three outs and I tell you, the smile on his face could not be contained. Everyone was so happy, and why shouldn't they be? They had one hell of a comeback and man, was it enjoyable to watch.

And they wore the great green jerseys with the Virginia Tech logo on the sleeves and also on their hats. It was really nice to see.

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!

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!

BASEBALL!

Baseball starts tomorrow night! Here are the expected pitchers that we will probably see Wednesday evening: Curt Schilling, Joel Pineiro, Brendan Donnelly, Julian Tavarez, Manny Delcarmen, J.C. Romero, Bryan Corey, and Renelvys Hernandez. BASEBALL IS BACK! And the lineup will be:

1. Julio Lugo, SS
2. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Jason Varitek, C
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. Wily Mo Pena, RF
7. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
8. David Murphy, LF
9. Jacob Ellsbury, CF

I cannot freaking wait.

I wouldn't be a true Red Sox blogger if I neglected Manny's return, which people say was early but it was later than everyone else, so...make of that what you will. His agent said he is healthy "and very, very excited to start the season." We shall see.

At least Coco won't be the only one on the team with bad hair. Though I have to give him credit for going with red hair and not gray or pinstripes...hey, you never know!

In "What?" news, Sox reliever Craig Hansen underwent a precautionary MRI on his back and Francona said, “everything was normal.” I guess that's good but I don't like hearing about MRIs and Sox players. Usually means bad news.

And this picture of Ortiz, Pena, and Manny just makes me smile. Everyone is back together and baseball will be here in less than a day. FINALLY!

Quote of the Month

Francona on how he spent his sick day: "I actually spent the day watching -- I hate to admit this -- the Anna Nicole Smith trial. I was looking to see if Manny showed up."

'Nuff said.

Ohhhh Snap

Looks like Tom Brady's got some trouble - his ex, Bridget Moynahan, is apparently with child. And we all know he's got a new girlfriend...oooh! As long as it doesn't interfere with football, I do not care.

And um, in real news, we have this: Some Boston players have decided to (or were told to) lose weight over the offseason. Dustin Pedroia will look better, as will a certain Mr. Ortiz: from Francona, "He's in very good shape. He lost some weight and got firmer." Perhaps the weight loss will be the equivalent of Manny's new hair from last year?

Speaking of Manny, what will the deal be with him this year? The Globe reports:

There's been no word from Camp Manny since he curiously quit in the middle of the crucial Yankees series at Fenway in late August. Nothing from agent Greg Genske. Nothing from Red Sox management. Nothing from Manny's teammates who loathe his attitude but bite their tongues and say nothing in the hope that Manny will return and post his customary .320, 35, 110. Certainly, there has been nothing from Manny. And please remember that we're all OK with that...Everyone assumes Manny is going to show up this week and act as if nothing happened last year.

I guess we find out this week just what's going on with Manny. Hopefully, we can avoid any drama and just get back to baseball.

Oh, and we'll get our first real look at Matsuzaka March 2nd, when he will be pitching against Boston College. 6:05 pm. Not too far away at all!

In closer news, John Farrell said this the other day, "We haven't actually anointed a closer, as we sit here today. Certainly, there are candidates with Mike Timlin, Joel Pineiro, Brendan Donnelly or Julian Tavarez." To which I say, HOLD UP. Where's Hansen? Why are Timlin and Tavarez options? Do they not remember what happened last year when Mike Timlin and Julian Tavarez tried to end games? WHY?

More Time!

I need more time to do stuff! Red Sox news keeps coming and I don't have enough hours in the day to do everything. I mean, I had to go to traffic court today...how dumb is that?

Anyway, these are the non-roster invitees to spring training:

Pitchers
Abe Alvarez
Adam Bernero
Mike Burns
Bryan Corey
Runelvys Hernandez
Travis Hughes

Catchers
Dusty Brown
Kevin Cash
Alberto Castillo

Infielders
Jeff Bailey
Luis Jimenez
Joe McEwing
Ed Rogers
Bobby Scales
Chad Spann

Outfielders
Jacoby Ellsbury
Alex Ochoa
Kerry Robinson

Some familiar names in there, right? On the topic of finding a closer, the Globe reports: Francona made a point that young reliever Craig Hansen hasn't pitched a lot of minor league innings. "This kid needs to pitch a little," Francona said. However, he added, "If we were convinced he could do it [close] -- and I hope we do reach that decision -- that we would have a heck of a decision to make. I hope that happens."

Hansen as a closer...it's getting closer and closer! I've said I would like to see him pitch well and take the job, now he needs to do his part.

In weird news...Francona hasn't spoken with Manny Ramirez since December. That's weird, correct?

Francona States the Obvious

Now, I love Tito, but when he says things like this: "I think our bullpen will dictate our success," it's like....yeah. We know. Pitching is basically what's been holding us back in the recent past, and the only way we'll be champs again is if the pitching (and yes, mainly the bullpen) stops being so bad.

About finding a closer during Spring Training, he said, "It won't happen early. We'll tell the pitchers that. If they try to compete the first week of camp, that's not what they need to do. We need them to establish arm strength, work on mechanics and throw strikes, and then there will be the time to kick it into gear and we'll talk to them about that." We'll see what happens with all of that.

And Matsuzaka has continued endearing himself to fans (though he doesn't have to try hard with his record) by trying to learn all his teammates' names and generally showing a lot of enthusiasm for playing for the Red Sox. "I picked up a lot of major league magazines in Japan and I'm doing my best to memorize a bunch of names and faces. I'm very excited to meet my Red Sox teammates, and I can't wait until I report for spring training on February the 12th." Seems like a really nice guy, and he's always smiling! I don't think it will be too difficult to like him.

It's getting so close! We are almost at baseball, people!