As Expected!

As I expected, it was a very close game last night between the Sox and Rays. What was not expected was just how many times Matsuzaka scared the crap out of me! He got himself into a bunch of tight places and yet, as you know, he worked out of every one. He even had a no-hitter going throughout most of the game (which my mother jinxed!). Boston won the game 2-0 and that puts us up 1-0 in the ALCS.

If I could, for a brief moment, discuss the NLCS (I know, who cares). Philadelphia is up 2-0 over the Dodgers. This is good news and also bad news.
Good: Don't really want to see Manny do well. SORRY I am....bitter? That's not the right word but the very season he leaves Boston he cannot win the World Series!!
Bad: I want Joe Torre to do well now that he isn't with the Yankees. Not because I like him but because I want NYY to see the mistake they made (like they don't already, right!)

So I don't know about that one.

But the ALCS is going according to plan. They play again tonight, with Beckett going against Kazmir. Kazmir went 12-8 this season (3.49 ERA), which doesn't sound too great but then again, Beckett was 12-10 (4.03 ERA). So who knows. Be there and find out!!

I Have Accepted It

Okay, how much fun was Jason Bay's first AB yesterday with Boston?

(I've come to see the light with the Manny trade. Bay's performance yesterday helped.)

Everyone was cheering, signs were everywhere (how about that 'Thanks Manny but it's a new Bay' sign?!)....I wonder how Manny took that.

I will always miss Manny, but I guess this is just part of baseball. Like when Bronson Arroyo left, and Mark Bellhorn left, and way back when my former-favorite-Sox Shea Hillenbrand left. Whatever happened to him, by the way?

But anyway, the show must go on. I'm okay with it now. Manny wanted to go and we got a good young guy to take his place. A good young guy that will most likely be holding a nice trophy come October.

P.S. Looks like Youkilis and Bay have become fast friends! Loved Youk's reaction when Bay came home in the 12th.

Oh I Just Cannot Understand

I'll be out of commission for a while. Trying to understand the WHY of the Manny trade. Head hurts.

I miss Manny!!!!!!!!

Seriously, the Angels?!

What is this thing with the Angels and so many, many losses to them? Do the Red Sox not remember that they have owned them in the postseason? Remember the 2 sweeps in '04 and '07? Try harder, gents!

I am thoroughly disgusted with yet another sweeping loss to this LA team. What hurts the most is the Angels are in fact my second favorite team in the league. I mostly like them because I love me some Vlad but also because WE ALWAYS USED TO BEAT THEM. Sickening. Ugh.

Okay, on a more positive note, I have some excellent news to pass along. I received an email from a nice lady telling me about the 7th annual WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, which will be held August 14th and 15th. All money raised goes directly to cancer research and patient care at the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Get together with your friends (or hey, even people you meet at bars and stuff) to watch the games and raise some money for what you all know is a fantastic cause. They want to raise $4 million, so let's help them along :)

And seriously, Sox men, let's start to win again. And forget about sending Manny to Florida, I don't like that talk. I can't imagine getting anything in return that is worth Manny's bat, even though it comes with quite a mouth.

Oh They Were Just So Close

Bases loaded in the 9th with no outs and they didn't score any runs?! It still hurts now, the morning after.

Masterson pitched a good game, getting into trouble a few times but only letting NY score twice. Too bad for us that Mussina was just plain better yesterday, allowing zero runs in 6 innings. It was Rivera who let us get that lone run, then shaped himself up and got three outs in a row. It SUCKED.

D.P. kept his hitting streak alive and also made a very pretty play in the 3rd inning to get the 3rd out and leave the bases loaded with Yanks. But I think the biggest story of the day (other than being THISCLOSE to winning) was Manny Ramirez getting hit three times! Those NY pitchers must either really hate him, or be really intimidated by him, no?

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.

I Love a Good Fight

We had a bit of an incident at Fenway tonight! Retaliation from James Shields after Coco Crisp mistakenly tried to take out a Ray last night instead of just making his out. Shields threw at Coco, so Coco starts walking to first to take his base when he changes his mind and runs right at him! So Shields takes a swing, Coco ducks and hits Shields, and then it's like a gang fight with like 5 Rays on Coco all punching him. Not so pretty! Benches clear, fight ensues, Coco and Shields are gone. Fun over!

Good news: Manny had 5 RBIs

Horrible news: My boy Ellsbury left the game after a painful-looking wrist rollover mishap. I hear it looks negative on x-ray, I hope he will be back soon. We need him!

3 in a Row

Three wins in a row have put me in a good mood. Eh, I probably just jinxed it...but I think with Wakefield pitching it was risky anyway.

So I have been out of town since Friday and made a point to catch a glimpse of ESPN Friday night to see if we won....a grand slam from Ortiz? With 2 outs? All right! I love how everyone in the dugout waited...and waited...and then mobbed him. Awesome. And then Saturday, being down 3-2 in the 8th and seeing Ortiz tie it with a single and having Manny continue his absolute fantasticness (yes, a new word) by hitting a long home run to put us up by 2 (but man, how sad, that Texas pitcher looked like he was about to cry)? What a great couple of games.

Let's continue it at 1:35 today...

Beckett's Hot

Josh Beckett pitched 8 excellent innings last night, Manny hit 2 home runs, and Mussina only lasted 3 innings. It was a fantastic game!

Except for that whole Farnsworth-almost-took-out-Manny incident (though we did hit A-Rod the other night, after all), everything went well. Even Papelbon giving up 2 runs was acceptable, with a 7-3 lead you are allowed. Ortiz still has an unexpectedly low average at .111, but remember how Pedroia started last year and he ended up Rookie of the Year. No worries yet about The Man.

What's up with Ellsbury getting HBP twice? He must never be injured, we need him too much. Mussina must have something against him..

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 :(

I Miss Good News!

There really needs to be some interesting news soon, because I miss posting!

Let's see what I have here that is somewhat interesting...well, here's one that's bad: Manny switched his agent to the devil, Scott Boras. Why? I don't know...contract's almost up?

Too bad for the Sox....they're going to the White House on Wednesday.

What else? The Red Sox held their first official full-squad workout of the spring Friday. A spring-high of 1,906 fans attended. "Real" play starts soon, as they will open exhibition play Thursday at City of Palms Park with a day-night doubleheader against Boston College and Northeastern.

The battle between Coco and Jacoby for starting center fielder continues...with quotes from Ellsbury: "I'm just looking to get better as a player in spring training, and the competition is going to make us both better. Competition doesn't bother me at all." But....."I prepared the whole off-season to be a starter," he said yesterday. We'll see.

I miss baseball.

My Favorite Part of the Week

From my beloved Mailbag:

What is with Manny Ramirez? Is he actually wanting to stay in Boston this year or when will trade rumors come up again?
-- Thomas S., St. David, Ariz.

Knock on wood, but it seems that Ramirez has finally found true happiness in Boston. It is a strange thing this time of year not to hear Ramirez's name in trade rumors. I think the team has never been on better footing with Ramirez than it is right now. It will be fascinating to see if they pick up his options for 2009 and '10. That once seemed like such big money, but not anymore the way the market has jumped.

Can we have an update on Big Papi? Haven't heard about his surgery in a while.
-- Annalesa A., Louisville, Ohio

No news is good news on this front. Ortiz is doing very well in his recovery and should be ready to go at full throttle in 2008.

Good news with both Manny and Ortiz! EVEN BETTER NEWS COMING UP:

Fenway Sports Group, an arm of the company that owns the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park, said today it is buying a controlling stake of the minor league Salem Avalanche baseball franchise, based in Salem, Va.

PEOPLE! A Red Sox ANYTHING in Virginia would be so fantastic! We are so deprived down here...

Manny and David

Yeah, okay, so I'm a little behind. I just watched Ramirez on Leno and Ortiz on Conan (never realized what a huge Sox fan Conan is) and Live, and it pretty much doesn't get any better when Steve Carell and Jerry Seinfeld are the other guests! I love seeing the players in non-baseball situations, and getting Manny, Papi, and Papelbon is great fun.

Funny=
Manny: "Are you related to Kevin Youkilis? You guys have the same chin."
Jay: "My dad got around, I'll check."

Also funny=
Ortiz showing off his bedazzled jacket, just for Papelbon.

You cannot dislike these men!

Only 2 More to Go

That game made me a lot more nervous than Wednesday's game, but I do have to admit to something: I kind of fell asleep.

It was either the 7th or 8th inning (I was so tired I can't even remember!) and Schilling had pitched a good one, Okajima was doing his usual awesomeness, and then...I couldn't keep my eyes open! There is no excuse for falling asleep during a Red Sox World Series game, so I will not offer any. But I did wake up in the 9th. And I saw Papelbon was in, I knew we'd win, and....I fell back asleep. I KNOW IT IS WRONG but I have to get up early yo!

Okay, but what I did see was pretty funny. They showed the Holliday pick off (great article detailing the Rockies' suckiness here) on replay and that was some pretty good stuff. Not too many hits from Boston last night, but apparently we had enough: usually 2 runs on 6 hits isn't enough to win a ballgame, but it is when you play against a very disheveled Colorado Rockies team.

Let the dominance continue as they head to Colorado. Actually, it might be nice to lose a game so Fenway can celebrate Boston winning. Yes, that might be nice. The way they're playing though...we'll be celebrating in Colorado for sure.

Pics time!Looks like my advice to Mrs. Papelbon was taken! Much, much better.

That is just way too cute not to post!

AL MVP, right here.

I never need a reason for putting up a Dustin Pedroia picture!

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...

It is Done

That's it, we are going to the ALCS!

The Red Sox just completed a 3-game sweep of the Angels, quite easily, to the tune of 9-1. A 7-run 8th inning sealed the deal for us. Those other 2 runs came early in the game from 2 solo home runs from Mr. Ortiz and Mr. Ramirez.

The Player of the Game was the starting pitcher, Mr. Curt Schilling, who went 7 innings and allowed absolutely nothing. Well, 6 hits, but nothing of meaning on the scoreboard. It was a really great outing from him, and with his postseason performances of past, it was expected!

Do you feel a ring??

A Perfect Friday

Don't expect the Angels to walk Ortiz to get to Manny again!

The walk-off 3-run home run from Ramirez was a perfect way to end the night, after Ortiz was IBB'd twice in the game. Manny was having none of that and this picture says it all:

Matsuzaka was not perfect, but he only gave up 3 runs; to Boston's offense, not that much of a threat. The bullpen, however, was perfect: they didn't allow a single run. Papelbon was so excited to get out of the 8th and 9th innings:

A special thanks to this kid, who saved an out by taking the ball from the Angels catcher and allowing the Sox to keep their inning going:

And without J.D. Drew, who singled in the first with bases loaded, the game might not have ended in our favor.

Also, the Yankees losing was fantastic.

Nothing Good to Say

Strained oblique for Manny, that's what they told us yesterday. He didn't play last night, and he probably won't for a week or more...I miss Manny. I miss pitchers walking Ortiz to get to Manny and then Manny hitting an RBI double or something (and probably laughing inside, as we all do). I guess I will just have to wait.

So I had a bad feeling about last night's game all day, but that never really means anything. Except, of course, that I was proven right, and we lost another one. And right now? We are losing again.

NO SWEEP. I will not accept that!

Schilling gave up a solo shot to Cano and we are down by one, but it's still early. Still plenty of time for Wang to stop being good. We don't even have a hit yet though. At least I have Giambi swinging at the first pitch and flying out to brighten my day.

Please don't lose.

On another note, John Isner is playing some great tennis and has made it into the 3rd round of the U.S. Open. Juan Carlos lost in the first round, which sucked, but Novak Djokovic is still in it, even though it seems like forever in between his matches (and they didn't even show his first match! So mad about that). Donald Young moved into the 3rd round after Richard Gasquet, my French guy, pulled out with a fever or something -- but hey, Young in the 3rd round! That's still awesome. Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic are both in the 3rd round as well, but unfortunately they are both in the same quarter of the draw and therefore will have to meet in the quarters. I'd want Jankovic to win because she's my favorite female but Ivanovic is my second favorite (or third, I can't decide) and I'd like to see her do well. Of course, she has to get through Venus first before she'd meet Jankovic, and that's a tough thing to do.

Not Good Enough

Well, last night's game didn't exactly go according to plan. Not to worry though, because Josh Beckett is pitching tonight and he will not lose. I don't want to jinx anything, but as long as we win one out of the three games, we'll be in good shape.

The real question is how are Manny and Kielty holding up? Ramirez left early last night due to back spasms and Kielty also left with a back injury. Kielty's x-rays came back okay, and we're still waiting on Manny's status. Hopefully they are both fine!!

And just in case you were questioning why we let Damon go after he hit that HR last night, please be reminded: "It's taken a number of players to replace me," Damon said of the Red Sox. "I'm Johnny [Bleeping] Damon." That is all I think I have to mention on the subject.

A Fantastic Game and Some Good Kids

Julio Lugo just came through with a 2-run single in the 5th. It's getting good up in here...Youk just singled with 2 on to reload the bases with no outs and yes, that means Ortiz is up. First pitch, Gameday says In play, run(s) and it's a GRAND SLAM OH MY GOD!!

(Is it bad that I'm thinking please don't blow this one Gagne)

Man, I am so happy he did that. I think David Ortiz needed that since maybe he hasn't been as clutch as usual with his injury and all. This is awesome. We're up 6-5 now with no outs! Thank you to the In Game Highlights on Gameday, because I watched that grand slam and noticed one key moment -- Manny's arms raised in excitement. Is he finally getting into this season?!

Fast forward to the bottom of the 8th. Cora started off with a single, Lugo was out on a bunt, Youkilis lined out, they put Ortiz on, and Manny doubled! Two runs in (Manny does not like to be insulted like that), and WOW he is having a great game. Drew walked, and Varitek RBI-singled to put the Sox up 9-5. Then Drew scored on a wild pitch...things were going well. And Papelbon is coming in to pitch the 9th, so we will win.

P.S. Manny made a really great catch at his feet to end the 4th inning. That is the effort I've been waiting for! Excitement, RBIs, great D...oh Manny, where have you been all season? I love it when you show that you really do care :)

So the Little League World Series...you all know I am into this. Unfortunately, my 2 teams are in the same pool so they will be playing each other soon. I'm going with the Massachusetts team (of course!) and Lake Oswego, Oregon, because I always pick the teams from Oregon (and I got that college team 2 wins, didn't I?). So I am cheering for Ohio right now to beat Georgia because GA beat Oswego and I need GA to lose so Oswego can go 2-1 and Mass can go 3-0. That's my plan here, hopefully these kids will work it out for me. And Ohio is helping me out big time, they are up 10-2 with 2 more outs to go. I won't lie, I have some favorites, and I usually pick which team I want to win based on which one has the most kids who like the Sox. Or whoever has the cutest kids, fine! But the kids I like the best so far are...Connor Shockley out of Maryland, Levi Rudolph from Lake Oswego (how goddamn cute is that kid!?), Reid Penney also from Oregon (he likes Ortiz!), Calvin Hermanson from Oregon (I call him Stilts), and some kid from Curacao who looked scared out of his mind when he got up to the plate and I automatically liked him. If you're not watching the LLWS, watch it, you will enjoy it!

A Loss is Never Good

Another loss. After the extra innings mess that went down yesterday, a win would have been nice -- but now they all have a few days to recover, as they don't play again until Thursday to start a series against Toronto. But not everyone...

"Following the game, Ramirez boarded principal owner John W. Henry's private plane, along with David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima, on a flight to the West Coast."

Look at all those Sox players! Doing us proud.

P.S. My other tennis team won today and we are going to the playoffs. So at least one good thing happened today (in addition to Federer beating Nadal, of course. Too bad about that Djokovic kid, I really wanted to see him in the finals!).

That's What I Like

J.D. Drew just hit his second three-run home run of the game. PLEASE keep it up Mr. Drew!

Scary moment: Manny Ramirez was hit by a pitch on the wrist and was down for a while. He got up though and took his base, then Drew retaliated with his second HR. Nice team spirit!

9-1 lead, looks like Josh Beckett will be 9-0 after tonight. Niiice.

P.S. What the hell South Carolina baseball team? You all had a 6-0 lead with a grand slam in there and you lost 9-6? WHAT is that?!?

A Better Outcome

Much better.

RBIs all over the place, Manny hitting a 3-run HR, and Tavarez pitching pretty decently (5.2, 2 ER). All good things that add up to equal a win.

Most shocking part of the night: Okajima gave up a run! Could it be he's not perfect after all?

Mussina gave up 7 runs, all earned. Didn't see that coming, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it!

But Papelbon--what's up? First 2 men he sees he walks? Then he got a K and a ground out, and Jeter was up to be the "hero" and he took 3 pitches and struck out looking! Perfect ending.

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.

The Less I Write...

I've noticed something. The less I update my site, the more the Red Sox win. Let's hope I don't jinx them for tonight's game.

But seriously, they've been pretty awesome over the last few days. I'm still excited about Manny's bottom of the 8th home run to win Matsuzaka's game (what is up with him, by the way?) a couple days ago. Wakefield was damn near perfect last night, allowing no runs and only 3 hits over 7 innings. I bet he was awfully frustrated with the lack of run support, until the 6th when Ortiz launched a solo shot to put the Sox ahead. Romero, Donnelly, Papelbon - the bullpen is NOT blowing games. Truly amazing, considering last year.

So Boston needs no help winning right now, they are 7-3 in their last 10 games and are sitting pretty on top of the AL East. They have a 6.5 game lead over everyone!

I guess now I need to address the serious matter of Tom Brady's latest faux pas. All the non-Sox fans say Sox fans shouldn't care. But...it's a big deal! Right?! How do you not know that people are going to think that's pretty crappy? I think he must be a little nutty, and that's my final conclusion.

5 Out of 6

MAN David Ortiz can hit the ball! He killed one in the first inning to give us an early lead. Then that lead increased when Coco Crisp tripled and went home on a Cora RBI.

Then a 3-run Yankee HR, blah.

But then Alex Cora came through with a two-run shot! He sent Coco home in the process, he was on base because he got hit by a pitch :( Cora showed his skills again later in the 7th with a triple, and he did score on a sac fly to make it 5-3.

But that wasn't all the offense Boston had in store. Manny hit his 3rd home run of the year to put the Sox up 7-3 (Ortiz had singled earlier). So at this point I was relieved that despite NY's win yesterday, we would still win the series.

But Mike Timlin would not feel right if he didn't give up some runs. Jeter hit a solo HR off him, and really, who didn't know that was coming? He even let ABREU get a hit, who was 0-for-19 up until he faced Old Reliable. Of course, then the other Old Reliable grounded into a double play (who? A-Rod of course).

Papelbon came in to pitch the 9th and protect a 7-4 lead. Giambi led off with a double, which was most shocking. In more normal fashion, Matsui struck out, Posada grounded out, and Cano ended the game with another ground out. THAT is how Papelbon works. Minor mistake to Steroidface.

Another day, another beat-the-Yankees-fiesta. Tomorrow is an off day, and a series against Oakland begins Tuesday.

They Must End

I so wanted 8 losses in a row, but I guess all things that are fantastic must end eventually. But it would have been nice if NY's losing streak had ended after the Boston series.

Of course, after I mentioned the fact that NY had no saves yesterday, they had to get one today. I should keep my mouth shut about those things!

Even though Boston's offense was quite bad (so many, MANY chances to score all blown), there's always tomorrow. And those bats better be on fire tomorrow, since Julian Tavarez will take the mound against Wang. And we are still in first place, and NY is still in last. Things are as they should be.

And what was with Mike Lowell's errors today? Both when Jeter hit the ball right to him! Time to fix whatever the problem was there.

Today I saw a picture and suddenly realized what all the Yankee fans are truly thinking when they see Manny. I thought, since I am so enlightened now, I shall share with my wonderful readers:

Mistake of the (Yester)Day: Mentioning Coco's bad hair. Because now it's even worse!

Just My Luck

This is a perfect example of my luck: The very first Baltimore/Boston game of the season, the first time we have MASN and MASN2 in my area and I'm all excited about watching the game tonight - AND THEN

the power goes off today at 1 pm.

ONLY in my neighborhood, and then ONLY on my SIDE of the road.

It didn't come back on till almost 10.

So I missed the game, except for the 9th inning so I know they won and quite easily. I know Schilling was great, and Youkilis, Ortiz, Ramirez, and Cora all had good nights...and you know what else I know?

The Yankees are in last place in the AL East!

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.

It Happened Again

Tim Wakefield got 4 more runs of support than he usually gets - which is, of course, zero. Three solo shots by Lowell, Mirabelli, and (of course) Ortiz contributed 75% of the runs, with a RBI-single by Mirabelli adding the final blow. Wakefield pitched brilliantly, going 7 innings and only giving up one run. Only 4 hits, too. His ERA? 1.35! With my track record, I'll probably be seeing him when I go to the game in September, but if this keeps up I won't mind so much.

Coco's struggles continued - he went 0-for-4 and his average dropped to .136. At least he's not alone with his problems: Manny is batting .191 and Pedroia is only .188. Eh, no biggie. They'll get in their respective grooves soon.

I Was Duped

Hey! The game was on FOX! I was Gameday-ing it until the bottom of the 2nd inning when my mom informed me of the great news. Of course I still had GD up because it does provide some good stats. Like how Schilling only threw 14 pitches through the first 2 innings.

Mike Lowell made a really nice diving catch in the 3rd, then in the bottom half of the same inning Hinske started things off with a triple off the wall. It was pretty, especially because Ortiz and Manny were right behind him in the lineup. But...they did nothing. Drew walked, and then Lowell was walked but the umpire was drunk and called the 4th ball a strike, but he did walk eventually. So they had bases loaded in the 2nd and nothing happened, now the bases were loaded again (remember last season how many, MANY times they loaded the bases and did nothing?)..Varitek hit a hard ball to Matthews in center field, and it looked like Matthews might have it but the ball went right off his glove and 2 runs scored!

Another run scored in the 4th on a wild pitch. LA's 3rd pitcher of the day and he'd only thrown like 2 pitches.

The 6th inning was a pretty good one for the Sox - the first 2 men in the order made outs, so it didn't look like it would be very special. Then came the magic: 2 walks readied things for Big Papi, who RBI-singled to Vlad. Not to be outdone, Ramirez also RBI-singled in a run to make it 5-0. J.D. Drew couldn't keep it going, but at the end of the inning, things were looking pretty good for another Boston victory.

And it was David Ortiz who made the day with an 8th inning 3-run home run to make it a little worse for the Angels.

Schilling pitched a fabulous 8 innings and allowed no runs at all. I was hoping he'd come out for the 9th, but it was not to be. Donnelly closed out the game by pitching a scoreless one.

Another huge win for Boston. Man, what has gotten into them lately? Whatever it is, I like it. And they should most definitely keep it up.

Bad Night

Javier Lopez came in after Julian Tavarez had a good inning (and he only ended up pitching 4) and gave up a triple with no outs. Tavarez had a great first inning, an okay second, a bad third, a good fourth, and then he was gone. Of course he did have 87 pitches, so that was probably why. He gave up 4 runs, all earned, all in one inning. If only that third inning hadn't happened, he would have had a pretty good outing.

So what happened after Lopez gave up the leadoff triple? Ground out x2, walk, fly out. He worked his way out of a pretty big jam. Nice work from Javier.

The Sox put together another run in the 6th inning, with Varitek RBI-doubling Drew home. That made it 4-3 in favor of Texas.

So in came Kyle Snyder, who gave up a double and got an out before he was replaced by J.C. Romero. Mistake? I'd say. He threw 3 balls and one strike before giving up a run, then let Sosa hit one out of the park to make it 7-3. Then a single, another single, maybe time to take him out??! Nope. Just a visit to the mound. Another single, this one an RBI. 8-3. FINALLY he came out and Brendan Donnelly came in. A little too late, if you ask me. It took Donnelly 22 pitches to get 2 outs, but hey, he got the outs and didn't give up any runs. I'm looking at you, ROMERO.

So Boston's offense was fed up with the bad pitching and decided they had to do something. Lugo started it off with a single, (Youk flied out), Ortiz walked, and Manny singled in Julio. Okay, down by 4 now. J.D. Drew popped out and made me miss Trot Nixon some more, Lowell did nothing, and I was wrong -- seems that only Lugo, Papi, and Ramirez wanted to do something about that awful score.

Okajima was 1-2-3. The one good thing.

Even though he had a perfect inning, Okajima was replaced by Pineiro in the 8th. But I'm not complaining, because he had a pretty good inning himself.

You know, it's really hard to get excited about games when you know there's a really good chance the bullpen will blow it in the end. This time, even though the relievers did give up a lot of runs, it didn't matter since the Sox offense didn't make up for Tavarez' earned runs. All in all, a very bad, forgettable game.

Oh yeah, and Youkilis hurt his ankle. Swell. Though, he should be ready to play again tomorrow. When Curt Schilling gets his first win of the season.

Funny Quote of the Day: Headline on redsox.com: Bullpen source of strength

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!

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!

Oh My God

Oh my God the Red Sox are playing!

A 1,2,3 first for Schilling, with 8/9 pitches for strikes. He pitched 2 innings, then Joel Pineiro came in. And Julio Lugo already made an error on a routine play, but I'm not saying anything because it's his very first game as a Bostonian.

Ortiz drove in a run, Ellsbury had a 2-run single, and Donnelly was impressive in his debut.

And the game ended in a 4-4 tie after 10, because (get this) Julian Tavarez gave up a 3-run homerun to blow the lead. Yes, I'll be saying that A LOT this season. HE IS A STARTER NOT A RELIEVER!!!!

I thought Spring Training games were free on MLB.TV? What the hell, I want to watch my team!

Manny Ramirez apparently now wants to finish his career in Boston. This means that we will definitely not be hearing anymore trade requests out of Camp Manny.

Ha! Yeah, right.

Roger Clemens' agent said this about where he will play this season: "Let me repeat. Houston, Boston, New York. Only three teams will be picked from if he plays. And he hasn't decided."

Interesting.

But most importantly, baseball was played tonight. It's time for the best months of the year!

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?

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.

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.

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!

Life Without Manny

We may just have to get used to life without Manny Ramirez -- and soon. "[One big league official] wouldn't be shocked if the Red Sox traded him by Saturday." Of course, that's assuming we get J.D. Drew by Saturday; trading Manny hinges on the completion of the Drew deal.

The most important thing to consider was said well by a scout: "[David Ortiz] will draw about 200 walks next year without Manny hitting behind him. I don't care who it is who bats fourth instead of Manny -- J.D. Drew, or Wily Mo Pena, whoever -- he won't be as dangerous as Manny was, because Manny can hit good pitching."

They HAVE to find a bat to replace Manny's... and if they can't, don't deal him. Ortiz needs some protection and Manny does it perfectly. Can you imagine what it will be like for Ortiz without Manny behind him? A very scary thought.

Suzakinator?

Seriously, Suzakinator is a nominee in the nickname game. The sad part is I like it more than the others, but I can't be typing Suzakinator every time I refer to the man. Still need something...Matsuzaka does seem excited to come to Boston: “I have a feeling I want to come (to Boston) next season and I hope I can be (in Boston) in a good environment.” Hey, sounds good to me!

So Manny is on his way out. Not officially, but he gave a list to the FO of at least 10 teams that he would accept being traded to. Let's just hope he left the Yankees off that list, because...well, the FO would never trade him to NY, but it would be nice to know Manny would never pull a Johnny Damon.

Dan Shaughnessy didn't hide his feelings about Manny in his Globe piece: Face facts, fans: This is not us "running Manny out of town." Manny has run himself out of town. He did not return your love. He wants out. He quit on the Red Sox. He quit on you.

The truth hurts! Manny doesn't want us anymore. Thanks for your years of service, Manny, but not for the last couple months of this season because we all know you didn't really try.

I maintain that we better get one hell of a deal for losing Manny. He is not only great with the bat, but he plays left field really well. Remember all those outfield assists? He knows what he's doing out there, and he will be hard to replace.

More Matsuzaka

Yes, the Matsuzaka news will not stop coming until he retires. Actually, I just have some quotes that I thought were really nice and show that he is excited about coming here.

Q: How would you react to Red Sox fans "booing"?
Matsuzaka: If you can't perform, you deserve it. I want to get good numbers and hope to get booed at away games.

Q: What is your impression of Boston?
M: Never been there, but it has famous universities, museums and hospitals. I'll like it.

M: Boston is a prestigious team and has produced many great players in the past. The price is higher than expected, and was surprising, but I am glad that they value me that much. I also feel some pressure.

Seibu Lions president Hidekazu Ohta: "It was [Matsuzaka's] dream since he was 10 years old to play in the major leagues. I am glad to help make his dream come true."

In non-Sox news, if Frank Thomas signs with Toronto, the Jays will be even better than this year. Bad news for us in the AL East.

Manny's agent refuses to comment on the trade request, saying only, "There's nothing to say. There's no news." All I can say is if we do trade Manny, we better get a whole lot of awesomeness in return.

A-Rod said again last night that he wants to stay in NY. Why, I don't know, because he gets treated like crap there, but to each his own.

Who's Jealous?

This is today's cover of Daily Sports News:

You can't tell me they aren't the slightest bit disappointed that the (potentially) best available pitcher can now sign with the Sox. Nice try, though!

The NY Post is slightly better:

Theo Epstein is working on getting some bullpen help. He has been talking to Houston about Brad Lidge, Brad Qualls and Dan Wheeler. Apparently, he is considering trading Wily Mo, which is bad news for us (because he has MAJOR potential with David Ortiz as his mentor) but good news for Trot Nixon! Epstein is also talking to the Padres about acquiring some pitchers.

Trading Manny Ramirez may be difficult due to his own actions. Phillies GM Pat Gillick said this yesterday, "I don't know if he's a headache we want to deal with." Ouch.

And by the way, D-Mats as a nickname for Matsuzaka is not okay. Someone think of something better!