What a Great Start

Comeback win to beat the Yankees?

Why yes, that IS the perfect way to start the 2010 season.

That WAS what I was Hoping For!

Boston was really pissed yesterday, and they showed it with a frickin awesome 14-1 win over the Yanks. Youkilis, Pedroia, Martinez, Ortiz, Bay--they all had an awesome game and Youk even hit 2 home runs. They scored 13 out of their 14 runs with 2 outs!

And Tazawa? After complaining about Red Sox pitching yesterday, this guy made me unbelievably happy by throwing 6 shutout innings and even though he let some NYers get on, he never let them cross home plate. It was a great outing indeed.

And....this dude is my new favorite Yankee :)

So, let's talk negatives for a moment. The game was on FOX. So Tim McCarver talked (and went on for a good 10 minutes about his poorly hidden Derek Jeter love) nonsense, including these gems: "Tazawa's stuff is nowhere NEAR as good as A.J. Burnett's"--as Boston is up 7-0 against Burnett. He also tried to sound smart by saying the Food and Drug Act was passed in, what, 1906? Umm...I don't know where he was going with that, actually. But my favorite idiot saying came from his partner, Kenny Albert (what, no Joe Buck? What a shame...), when he said this, IN THE FIRST INNING: "Red Sox scoring all three of their runs in this inning."

I hate FOX!

REMY

Wow it is so good to see Remy back on my TV (okay, computer).

Welcome back RemDawg! It is going to be a good night now!

...definitely from the booth. Hopefully, from the field too.

Congratulations!

Congratulations go out to Dustin Pedroia and his wife Kelli, for it is my understanding that they now own a child.

Also, congratulations to the Red Sox, as it looks like they might win a game tonight. Yay!

OH MY GOD

THE GONZ IS BACK!!!!

YAY!!!!

THE GONZ IS BACK IN BOSTON!!!

Oh I have missed Alex Gonzalez!!

P.S. May I direct you to this post from July 31, where I talked about missing the Gonz. I think I am having another psychic moment (or was having, I suppose, since the last time I talked about him was September 2007).

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.

Who Steals Home?

What a series! I have been out of town (but watching the games of course!) and then my Internet was all sorts of messed up when I got back today, but now here I am, in the middle of a new game, to discuss Red Sox v. Yankees Part 1 '09.

What was the highlight of the 3-game series that Boston swept? Was it Jason Bay's 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th on Friday to tie the game (off Mariano Rivera, no less)? Or was it Youkilis' walkoff HR in the bottom of the 11th to win it? How about Jason Varitek's grand slam on Saturday to make it a 6-5 ballgame? Ellsbury's solo shot to tie it at 6 apiece? No, no, it was none of those amazing moments. It was in yesterday's game, when Jacoby Ellsbury STOLE HOME out of nowhere! So awesome. It was, as ESPN pointed out, the first time a Boston player stole home in 10 years. Definitely something you don't see everyday.

So the Red Sox have swept 3 teams in a row, won 10 games in a row, and they're still 1 game out of first place? Hopefully after they sweep Cleveland, first place will be ours.

2 Sweeps in a Row

So the Red Sox suddenly decided to open a can of whoop ass (how do you like that '90s phrase?) and pretty much destroyed the Orioles and Twins in their last 2 series. Seems to me that whenever the Red Sox have a doubleheader they usually split games, but not today--10-1 in the first one (and that was even shortened by rain) and 7-3 in the second one (and the second game featured my new favorite jerseys--I am loving the green on white!).

People were getting doubles all over the place (Pedroia, Ortiz, Drew, Lowell, Green--who also HR'd and had 2 awesome games), Ortiz came alive, Ellsbury was hitting the ball....it was great. And Wakefield threw his second complete game in a row, which is pretty cool (even though it was only 7 innings). Let's hope they keep this up....because the Yankees are coming to Fenway this weekend! I want 3 sweeps in a row...

From Way Down to Feeling Great

Because I can actually watch this game, I might just do a streaming post:

7:12: The TV is on mute (as I am studying, blah) and I look up and see these new sharp red home jerseys. I wonder out loud to myself if these are new (because I am a little slow at times), unmute the TV and the Orioles announcers are discussing the debut of the new red jerseys. I think I am psychic (clearly).

7:14: First Oriole is a strikeout. This is a good sign!

7:15: And the next dude gets a hit. Strike that last comment.

7:27: I just noticed Youkilis's stupid chin-eating beard is back. Yuck.

7:40: Brad Penny just walked the last 2 guys and successfully walked in a run to put the O's up 1-0 WITH NO OUTS. UGH. It is not good when your starting pitcher already sucks in the 2nd inning. At least Mike Lowell can make awesome plays. 1 out. Brian Roberts just got a hit, 2-0. This is Crap. B.P. (interesting initials, considering he is making my BP rise) pitched well last time, what gives.

7:46: Walked in another run! You can hear the Fenway boos from miles away. I feel bad for him, actually, but I am still frustrated nonetheless.

7:47: GRAND SLAM SON OF A BITCH

7:55: Hey, something good! Jason Bay hit a 2-run HR! It's something, people, gotta dig away at this huge lead. 7-2.

8:02. Ellsbury hits a "single" in between 3 Orioles, RBI! 7-3.

8:09: Pedroia hauled ass to get a single, bases loaded with 1 out. Ortiz RBIs, 2 outs though. 7-4.

8:26: HR J.D. Drew! 7-5!

8:53: I left the room to make dinner, somehow the O's have 8. F.

9:06: J.D. Drew hit a triple to center, I love it. What will Jason Bay do? Walk! Mike Lowell? Walk! Jason Varitek? Lucky error for him, run in! Nick Green? Hits one waaaay back, 2 runs in, tie game!! Woo hoo!!!

9:40: Youkilis just got nailed in the head. The pitcher looked very concerned so I can't be mad...and he's up walking to first base. Guess he's okay, but I'm sure we'll hear more about it tomorrow. Maybe it shook Baez (O's pitcher) up because he just walked Drew to load the bases with one out!

9:46: Sac fly! We are winning!

9:48: Lowell-RBI single! 10-8!

10:24: Boston is really having to work the bullpen tonight, but they are doing a great job. We've seen Delcarmen, Lopez (who walked a guy and gave up a single and was promptly yanked, haha. Guess they learned their lesson with him), Ramirez, and Okajima just got the last 2 O's of the 8th inning.

10:45: There's the Papelbon we love! I cannot believe they just came back from 7-0 down to win 10-8. Amazing.

My guess is they won because I wore my Sox visor all day. Just a theory. I'll be wearing it all day tomorrow too, though!

Hey, Look at That!

The Red Sox are capable of winning some more games! And Tim Wakefield was the main reason why.

Wakefield, a man whom I have often complained about in the past, really came through yesterday. He threw a complete game, giving the bullpen a much-needed rest after Matsuzaka's catastrophe (and oh great, he's on the DL). As a matter of fact, Tim didn't even allow a hit until the 8th inning....so very close to a no-hitter. I am quite pleased with Mr. Wakefield at the moment.

Boston's bats also woke up, gathering 8 runs over the game to Oakland's 2. Lowell hit a home run, as did J.D. Drew (a 3-run HR at that!). Everyone had at least one or two hits (except the AL MVP, but that's okay).

And take a look at Jacoby Ellsbury's catch--that's pretty nice. What was even better? Nick Green's catch! I believe right now, when you open the links it will take you to Mike Lowell's HR, but you know how to get to the other videos.

All in all a terrific game. Still sitting in last place, but it's early.

That's Right People

Major League Baseball(-associated people) continues to freak me out by doing things that I love. Dustin Pedroia is the AL MVP! He received 16 of 28 first-place votes (the other 12 people are stupid I guess) and Youkilis finished 3rd.

"It's unbelievable," said Pedroia. "When I first got called up to the Major Leagues in 2006, I really didn't know what to expect. I really didn't set any expectations or goals on myself. My biggest thing was, if I'm in the lineup that day, I'm going to play as hard as I can and try to help our team. That's been my mentality ever since I got called up to the big leagues. That's how I'm going to be successful. I have to keep that mind-set every season. This year, I was very successful. Hopefully, I can continue that."

Man, I would be so excited if I won. Of course, being a female it is impossible (and also the minor fact that I SUCK), but I would be cheering and saying dumb things like, "Yeah, that's right. And I knew it would happen because I am AWESOME and better than everyone else."

I am usually so disappointed this time of year because Ortiz lost out to A-Rod again, but this time I am so happy. Happy because my favorite player is being recognized like crazy this year, and happy because I don't have any hard tests for like 2 weeks. Life is good!

More Love for DP

Well look at this right here: Dustin Pedroia was awarded with a Silver Slugger!

(kind of diminishes it when you see Jeter and A-Rod won it too)

but hey! What am I talking about, that is really awesome. I'm beginning to wonder if my streak of favorite-player-bad-luck has ended? As you may know, as soon as I pick a favorite player, they either get traded or find some other way to leave the team. Most recently was Trot Nixon, before that Bronson Arroyo, before that Mark Bellhorn, and way back when, it was Shea Hillenbrand. Of course my first real favorite was Mo Vaughn, and he just got into the Red Sox Hall of Fame!

So anyway, my point now is, Dustin Pedroia has been my favorite for a couple years now, and in that time he has won Rookie of the Year, a Golden Glove, a Silver Slugger, and he WILL win AL MVP next week. And that is usually how things work for me: after I decided my favorite tennis player was Juan Carlos Ferrero, he won the French Open. I picked Djokovic, he got good. I picked Bronson and he got good (of course then he got bad again, so...). Maybe it's not always 100%. But as long as DP keeps up his excellent baseball playing, it'll be okay.

Goodness is Everywhere Now

Obama is the new president and Dustin Pedroia won a Gold Glove for his fan-freaking-tastic 2nd base-ness!

I love the world right now.

Rookie of the Year last year, Gold Glove this year...what will he win next year? MVP? Or will he just get to that this year too?

What a nice couple days it has been!!

I CAN Believe My Eyes!

WOW! Was that not one of the best games you have ever watched? I feel really bad for everyone who went to bed when the Sox were down 7-0, only to have them come back to win in the bottom of the 9th!

INCREDIBLE.

THAT was the team we have watched and loved all year. Now I want to see them again for the next 2 games.

We did not even score until the 7th inning. 8 runs in 3 innings. You know the Rays are stunned. Yay!

All I seem to be able to say is Wow. That was SO awesome. Absolute joy right there. And the fact that everyone contributed...Pedroia, Ortiz, Crisp (WHAT an at bat!!), Drew (what a way to end it, for real), Papelbon, Masterson keeping us in the lead and getting that double play ball...what an amazing game.

I feel like I could run 20 miles after that game, I am so excited and pumped up. I really need to get some studying done, but all I can think about is how much I freaking ADORE this team!!

All Tied Up

It is 13-5 in the top of the 8th. 6 different Red Sox batters have hit home runs (Ortiz, Lowell, Bay, Varitek, Youkilis, and Ellsbury).

They will not lose this game.

Not even me writing this post before the final out can screw up this one.

TIED FOR FIRST PLACE!!!!!

What a Nice Surprise!

I looked away for 5 minutes and Boston went from being down 3-2 to being up 4-3!

If this score stays the same (only one more inning), first place will be ours again.

Jason Bay, you are so awesome!

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."

Where's Waldo

So I've been a little MIA lately. I moved (back to school now!) and didn't have Internet access for a week. Which was horrendous, but now all is good.

I didn't get to comment on the whole Boston/Texas series as it was happening, which makes me sad. Because that was a pretty awesome series for us, what with the run scoring fiesta (not so much the almost losing thing). If only they could all be like that!

We get a game tonight at 7, and since Paul Byrd's start was rained out yesterday, tonight will be the first time we see him in Red Sox action. The good news is he threw a complete game in a 4-2 win against the Jays in his last start with the Indians a week ago. Let's hope he can re-create the goodness.

School starts on Monday, so I might be forced to continue my MIA ways for the foreseeable future. I will make every effort to keep posting, because one thing I refuse to lose is the Red Sox!!

Important Bits and Pieces

Updates That I Deem Important:

a) No significant damage to Jacoby's wrist and the boy may be back this weekend! Absolutely my favorite news of the day.

b) Crisp was given a 7-game suspension for his fighting action the other night. Jon Lester got 5 games and Sean Casey got 3. All for defending a teammate. Hmph.

c) Things are cool with Manny and Youkilis. "It was a misunderstanding," said Ramirez. "Even in the best family, you fight and stuff like that. But it's done. It's over with. We got everything straightened out."

d) We're losing 7-0 right now. That is pretty bad news, guess we can't win 'em all.

Djokovic lost to stupid Nadal. And that was the worst news of the day.

How Great!

That was a really great game last night, and I even stayed up to watch the whole thing! Glad I did, because that 9th inning was awesome. When we scored one run in the 9th to tie it at 4 apiece, and Ortiz got on with that bloop single, you just KNEW Manny was gonna hit a HR. And he did, and we won, all that 9th inning heroics is so much fun to watch.

7:05 tonight, the final game against Cleveland. Of course it is on NESN, but no TV game for me :(

It Has Returned

Baseball has begun!

Yesterday the Sox played their first game of the season, in Japan, against the A's. And they won! Today, they again played the A's. But they lost. But that's okay because baseball is being played!

No games tomorrow but they will take on the Dodgers on Friday. Everyone else starts their seasons on Friday, I believe....the Sox are just so great they got to start early.

I still can't believe it's baseball time. That means summer is just around the corner!

P.S. I know I should have posted yesterday, but....I've got this test to study for, and it took forever, and...David Cook was on! Ahh! :)

Japan

So our team is in Japan now, getting ready to play--wait for it--the first game of the 2008 season!! AHH! There's also an exhibition game against the Hanshin Tigers that gets underway in a few hours, with Buchholz throwing.

But more importantly....wow, the season is about to begin! It seemed so far away when I put up 3/25 as the first game on the homepage, and now it is just about here. Unfortunately the 2 games in Japan are being played at 6:05 in the freaking AM. They are on ESPN2 though, so they will be taped and enjoyed later in the evening.

Baseball is like, so back. Life is about to get interesting again!

Does it Get Any Better?

It's still true the next day -- the Boston Red Sox totally won the World Series last night.

I know anything I say right now can't capture the moment we all experienced last night when our team won their 2nd title in 4 years, but I'll try! My favorite part about the postseason, and really the whole year, was that this was such a team effort. Of course, we have the big names, Ortiz, Ramirez, Beckett...but even when they weren't awesome (well, Beckett was always awesome), the rest of the team came through and got hits and RBIs. Even trying to figure out who the MVP was, I couldn't really decide on anyone because they all contributed in their own way. But hearing it was Lowell, well, it made sense (especially since he should be the AL MVP and won't get it).

I think the Globe front page says it all--they are the best, and they certainly proved it these past few weeks. Down but never out, that's who they are. Man, am I going to miss this season...and this team, because you know it won't look the same come spring training. So let's enjoy it while we can....and bask in the knowledge that WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!

Yo Drew

J.D. Drew just hit a grand slam!!

Yo, it could not have been better scripted! He needed that in a big way for his confidence...and we needed it too! What a great way to start the game!

Hopefully when it ends we'll be as excited as we were when it began!

EDIT #1: 9:02: SCHILLING GIVES UP HR, NO SURPRISE THERE

EDIT #2: 10:01: 10-1 lead this is awesome!!

EDIT #3: 12:58: Game over! Huge 12-2 win. Schilling was so much better than I had even hoped for (7 strong); everyone was hitting, especially the bottom of the order (Lugo hit a beauty down the 3rd base line)..it was such a great game to watch. Funniest moment: Youkilis getting plunked on the head in a rundown (and he ended up safe!).

Game 7 time. Be there or be--wait, where else are you gonna be?!

THEY DID IT!!!

THE BOSTON RED SOX WON THE AL EAST

MATSUZAKA WAS AWESOME

YANKEES BLEW A 3-RUN LEAD IN THE NINTH WITH RIVERA PITCHING

MELVIN MORA, MY SECOND FAVORITE ORIOLE, WON THE GAME ON A BUNT

FENWAY IS CELEBRATING

ANGELS (UNFORTUNATELY, MY SECOND FAVORITE TEAM) IN THE DIVISION SERIES

AND LIFE IS GOOOOOD

Happy Days

NY lost and we won! 3 game lead with 5 games to go! THEY CANNOT BLOW THIS CAN THEY?!

We win 3 out of 5 and we are the AL East winners. Oh how long have we waited? Too many years.

I'm so excited! I know all the Sox fans are, too...but you know what all this means?

Baseball season is almost over :(

Enjoy it while it lasts!

Off to Baltimore!

Look for me at the Sox game tonight, for I will be there!

Who was the one pitcher I didn't want to pitch tonight because I've already seen him twice? Wakefield! Who is pitching tonight? Wakefield!

If only I had been born a week ago and could have gone to see the no hitter from Buchholz.

Oh well! I'm off to Baltimore right now and hopefully when I come back I will be happy because they won!!!

Nice Stuff Going On Around Here

I thought I'd leave that no-hitter post up for a few days, but now I must talk about other (good) things...

Like the Sox' latest win streak (the best kind of streak). They made me stay up late last night to watch them win, but they gave me the night off tonight and won quickly. Unfortunately, Ferrer and Nadal are not being as nice (just started their match at 10:30!).

Why such a late start? Partly because the only player left that I care about, Novak Djokovic, took 3 long sets and 1 quick one to finish off Monaco. I had to space the match out over the whole day with all the stuff I had to do, and I finally finished watching it around 9:30. Now he plays Carlos Moya, which is a bit of a problem. You see, Moya is my mom's long-time favorite player. But they should be playing on my birthday, so of course Djokovic has the edge going in.

I won't be able to watch it live unless it's early....because I'll be in Baltimore at the Sox/O's game! It will be a GREAT birthday if Boston AND Novak win!!



P.S. I guess there is one other player I like -- Jankovic. She plays Venus tomorrow, MAN I HOPE JELENA WINS!

That's a No Hitter!

Congratulations Clay Buchholz! His second major league start and he throws a no hitter! That is something to be proud of :) That was quite an exciting game to watch, with all the runs and great defensive plays (I'm looking at you, Pedroia!) and of course, the wonderful pitching from the 23 year old.

The best part had to be the end when the entire team mobbed him and every single one of those players hugged him, congratulated him, rubbed his head. David Ortiz had the biggest smile on his face! Varitek ran up to him and picked him up, like when he picked up Foulke after winning the World Series...So yes, a really great performance by what looks to be a really great pitcher.

Not to mention those 10 runs we got.

Thank you Clay for stopping the 4-game losing streak!

Funny note: MASN wanted to know who we thought the player of the game was. Our choices?
A: Buchholz
B: Youkilis
C: Oritz

But...who the hell is Oritz?!

What a Show

WOW.

The Red Sox are so hot right now....WOW.

They just won 11-1. That's 10+ runs every game over the last 4 games. And the best part about it is it's not just one or two people contributing, it's the whole team. Starting pitchers, the bullpen, the position players, everyone has been helping. I love it.

The Chicago announcer just said it all -- the White Sox have been outscored in this series 46-7.

That is pretty embarrassing for the ChiSox...but pretty awesome for us. And since NY lost 5-4, we are now up 7.5 games! And hopefully the goodness will carry over into the NY series and we will sweep that one too (oh God I can't even imagine how great that would be)!

Holy Cow

I swear when I left the room in the 8th inning it was 5-0. Now I come back and see they won FOURTEEN to 2?! Okay, hold up a minute.

That is 11 + 10 + 14 = 35 runs for Boston
3 + 1 + 2 = 6 runs for Chicago

YEAH THAT'S RIGHT

Seriously, that is some amazing offensive production from a team that isn't even known for its offense. What a statement! The series with the White Sox isn't even over yet, but....this is a great way to enter a series with the Yankees. Hopefully they won't slow us down!

You are Welcome, Men

Man, am I good luck. I start watching the game today and immediately Mike Lowell RBI doubles, Manny scores on a Kielty sac fly, Varitek hits a home run, Youkilis doubles, and Cora singles. They didn't actually need those runs but HEY it always looks better when you score in the double digits!

Since they are playing the ChiSox, I get to watch the game tonight on WGN. I wonder how much MLB.TV is now. I'll have to buy it in September and pay $15 to watch the final month of the season. Though I won't have to watch it on September 6, because I will be in B'more for the annual Boston-O's game. And I will turn 23. Big day!

Good luck tonight men, do not disappoint me. We can go up 1.5 more if things go our way!

P.S. My Lake Oswego, Oregon team lost yesterday. It sucked. I went 1-for-4 that day, I got crushed. It's all up to Curacao now..

Keep Up the Winning

Things have been going quite well lately, haven't they? Boston has won 2 days in a row whereas NY has lost 2 days in a row, and the Lake Oswego Little League team is moving on to the next round. If only things could stay this good...

Because the Angels are my second favorite AL team, I must quote this: Garret Anderson of the Angels turned in a performance for the ages, driving in a team-record 10 RBIs with two homers (a grand slam and three-run homer) as the Angels poured in 18 runs on the Yankees. Anderson isn't my favorite Angel (that is, of course, Vlad Guerrero), but I must throw out some congratulations to the man because he did a great thing while playing the right team.

Wily Mo Pena is doing pretty good in Washington, and the deal for him was finalized yesterday when we got Chris Carter. Carter is a left-handed-hitting first baseman who comes from Triple-A Tucson to Boston. He hit .324 there with 18 homers and 84 RBIs in 126 games this season. Prior to the trade, he led the Pacific Coast League in hits (163), was tied for second in doubles (39), ranked fifth in batting and ninth in RBIs.

We'll see.

It Finally Happened

The day had to come when NY lost and we won, and that day is today. We won 2-1 and the O's killed the Yanks 12-0 (ha). I hear Coco had a game-winning single, which is great. I was out watching a tennis match but this is how I imagine the game went:

Boring...boring...boring...9th inning heroics

(No, a Sox game is never boring)

But yeah, 2 runs in the 9th after nothing for the 1st 8 makes for an exciting game. "Lowell's solo homer over the Green Monster with one out in the ninth tied the game, and Coco Crisp's single to right later in the inning scored Jason Varitek with the winning run, leading the Red Sox to a dramatic 2-1 victory over the Devil Rays on Tuesday night."

Good deal.