It Took 13

It took 13 innings and a lucky error to beat the Orioles last night, and I of course fell asleep during the bottom of the 12th inning. It never fails.

What was I lucky enough to catch? Timlin loading the bases. Good thing he got out of that, because I was beginning to think they had resigned themselves to a loss by putting him in there.

Falling asleep also meant I missed that awesome barehanded catch/throw from Mike Lowell, meaning he really was the man of the hour. Though our bullpen did put on a great show as well! It was a good night all around for the city of Boston, with the Celtics pulling out a win to move to the Finals to (hopefully, please!) destroy the Lakers. Man, I hate those Lakers.

And hey, Ellsbury stole 3 bases last night! That is quite impressive.

Bad news is Matsuzaka is on the DL now. Made even worse when you look at his 8-0 record. We need that dude. No structural damage, thankfully!

French Open Update: Jelena Jankovic is safely through to the 4th round, as is Novak Djokovic. My main man Juan Carlos Ferrero exited early due to leg pain, I suppose. That is too bad, because he is one of like 2 men who beat Nadal this year on clay. Now it all hinges on Novak to win his second Major in a row...

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!

World Series Game 3 (Emotional Rollercoaster)

12:56 am: Let me preface this by saying the following paragraphs were written at exactly the times/innings listed. So what I'm really saying is, I'm kind of psychic...

Pre-game: Jacoby Ellsbury (see, now that he has proven himself, I will bestow upon him the honor of calling him by his real name instead of Jacob) does the cutest starting lineup ever. Had to say that, because it's the truth. I think I've mentioned that I've decided he will be my second favorite player on the team, behind Pedroia of course. Love those rookies!

8:30 pm: Josh Fogg, in the regular season, was 10-9 with a 4.94 ERA. This should be good.

3rd inning: Same thing as the first: Ellsbury and Pedroia got on (JE with a double and DP with a bunt). In the 1st, the next 3 batters were out. This time, Ortiz hit an RBI double, Manny was IBB'd, Lowell hit a 2-RBI single, Drew was out, & Varitek hit a single that Manny tried to score on, but was called out at the plate. Boo. Anyway, Lugo walked and then Matsuzaka got a hit! Scored Lowell and Varitek to put us up 5-0. Ellsbury got ANOTHER double and that made it 6-0!

6th inning: Not so great. After 5 good innings, Matsuzaka got the boot after allowing 2 walks, then Javier Lopez came in and gave up an RBI single. He then proceeded to give up another RBI single. Lopez=not good. Timlin came in and Spilborghs hit one that Ellsbury caught at the very, very end of the field. So close and so good for us. Then Lugo caught a ball at the very top of his jump, it was pretty. Kept the lead safe.

11:40 pm: Timlin has started to suck. 2 batters faced, 2 men on. Perhaps it is time for him to make his exit? Yes! Okajima is coming in to stop the pain. FOX tried to jinx it by saying Okajima has allowed 0 runs in 9 2/3 innings and Papelbon has also allowed 0 runs in 7 2/3. Would it work? AHH YES IT WORKED HE GAVE UP A 3-RUN HR ON THE FIRST PITCH DAMN YOU FOX!!

12:12 am: ELLSBURY YOU WONDERFUL MAN! 4th hit of the night=another run to put it at 7-5! Pedroia!! Another hit for him to make it 9-5! Man, can I pick 'em or can I pick 'em?

9th inning: Lowell just stole 3rd base. How awesomely unexpected.
Bottom of 9th: 3 outs to go for a 3-0 lead..a deficit I don't think Colorado has a chance at overcoming. Easy out, easy out, triple (which one doesn't belong), easy out. So funny to see the depressed Rockies fans after they were cheering like crazy when it was 6-5.

12:58 am: So what did I mean by the psychic thing? Ellsbury and Pedroia had amazing games, Ellsbury especially, and I'm pretty sure I had everything to do with that by calling them out in the pre-game :)

LOVED the post-game interviews with JE and DP!

Let us all remember this day for what it really is: in 2004, Boston won the World Series on this day. So it was fantastic 3 years ago and pretty damn good in '07.

See you all tomorrow, on a night that could hold a World Series championship for the Sox..

The AL Pennant is Back Home

Five minutes ago, the only thing I remembered about winning the AL pennant last night was I was sick for the majority of the game.

With a little prodding though, I now recall Pedroia being incredibly awesome; Beckett getting the most deserved MVP award ever; 3 people holding up MVP signs when Lowell was up, thus proving I am not the only one who thinks Lowell is the AL MVP; Papelbon's excited/exuberant/a little scary face when Crisp caught that last ball; Matsuzaka doing better than I'd expected/hoped.

What a night.

That game literally had me ill for the most part, even though we always had the lead and I felt the whole day that we would win, it was still very uncomfortable to watch. Anything can happen in baseball. And when Okajima stayed in 2 batters longer than I wanted, I started feeling the sickness hard...and then Papelbon came in and I was 100% better. Where would we be without him?!

Actually, where would we be without everyone on this team? Ortiz and Manny were hot the first few games and when their production decreased a bit, the bottom half stepped it up and played great. This is a well-rounded team that totally deserves to be where they are now.

Next up, a World Series win. I don't think those Rockies stand a chance.

Now for the pictures!

Oh yeah, Millar was there in the beginning! What a great way to start the game.

I'm so glad to have this picture--we saw this sign last night and thought it was great. So many clever Boston fans!

A great one for those dumb towel-waving Cleveland people. The man holding the sign had a great line: "We're not a bunch of towel waving geeks..Don't wave a white towel unless you are surrendering."

I'm throwing this one in here just because Harold Reynolds is in it and I miss him!!

What the hell kind of Red Sox wife doesn't wear a Red Sox shirt?


See ya Wednesday!!

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.

I Can't Believe that Just Happened

I don't even know what to call the catastrophe that went down last night. One minute we're up by 5, the next we're losing by one. I swear this all took place in about 10 minutes.

I have NEVER been so disappointed.

Plus the game took like 5 hours and I was supposed to get up early this morning and you know I couldn't go to bed until the game ended.

And PAPELBON got the loss! He and Okajima gave up the 6 runs the Yankees needed to beat us. Our most reliable people. Still the most reliable, just not last night! Okajima gave up 2 solo shots as soon as the 8th inning began, and STILL Francona didn't take him out. He let him stay in for 2 more batters, who were at 2nd and 3rd by the time he finally got yanked. Then Papelbon came in and Jeter hit a single off the first pitch. Abreu got his first hit of the night, which happened to be a 2-run double. A-Rod put them on top with a single.

It was like everything that could have gone wrong did. You kept hoping Papelbon would right himself, and it didn't happen.

Sad, because Matsuzaka was in line to get his win.

Maybe today will be better?

5

5 wins in a row! Matsuzaka came out on top in a 1-0 win tonight, pitching 7 scoreless in a clearly tight game. We don't usually win those close ones, but the winning streak must go on!

Last night, the game was on TV, and Lester made his triumphant return, and we went up early and stayed up, and me? Well, I totally fell asleep in the middle of the game. And it sucked, greatly. I woke up around midnight and heard baseball on my TV, turned around to check the score and of course it wasn't the Boston game! It was the second game of the doubleheader, and I missed a great chance to see a Sox win, but...I did get a lot of sleep last night...

There's the Good and then There's the Bad

The Red Sox won tonight, and many good things happened: A two-run single that snapped an 0-for-33 hitless streak for Julio Lugo; Matsuzaka earned his 10th win of the season; and Juan Carlos Ferrero won his 4th round Wimbledon match. Oh, was that not baseball-related? I gotta show some love for my favorite tennis player, and I may not have much longer to do it -- he's playing Federer in the quarters :(

I know the Boston winning news is great, but there is something really, truly bad going on at the moment. If you've got 10 little minutes to spare, watch this video of a man who loves baseball and also happens to be 100% amazing in this clip.

How Different

What a difference a few hours makes.

We won the first game today 13-3, with a Mike Lowell grand slam (!) and a fantastic pitching performance by Matsuzaka (8 IP, 3 ER). Over his last three starts, Matsuzaka is 3-0 with a 1.87 ERA. Oh yeah, and Lugo, Wily Mo, and Youkilis also had HRs in the game.

And then came the second game. Hansack started and gave up 4 over 4 innings. Not that bad. Then Pineiro came in and gave up 4 in 2. And Lopez allowed 3 in only one measly inning of work. Romero tried to end the bleeding, and he did, for one inning. But Donnelly came in after that to pitch the 9th, and totally gave up 3 runs. BULLPEN '06 RETURNS. We lost, embarrassingly, 14-0.

Those Yankees lost again - in awesome fashion. Johnny Damon pushed a non-HR ball into HR territory. Cano made 3 errors (though I kinda like that kid and do feel bad for him - he actually threw one ball off his foot after making a really good stop). Jeter was very un-clutch. Another one of their pitchers didn't make it through the first inning, though I can't be too happy about this one because Rasner ended up with a fractured finger. They have some BAD luck lately, somewhat reminiscent of a certain team from Boston late last season.

Matsuzaka Gives it All

Well, Matsuzaka wowed me tonight. He pitched a complete game and only allowed one run as Boston's offense put on another show and scored 7 runs. A bases loaded triple by Lugo was the highlight of the game, at least offensively.

I guess Matsuzaka didn't enjoy Detroit manager Jim Leyland's comments: "I don't give a (expletive) about him," Leyland said. "I'm not getting into all that. I could give a (expletive) less. It's another pitcher." NOW maybe he'll care?

Leyland was complimentary about other parts of the Sox' game: "I think they're loaded. They're real good. I don't think there's any question about that. They've got a lot of nice pieces, and I think the biggest piece was when they put (Jonathan) Papelbon back in the bullpen." About Beckett: "He's been the best pitcher in the league, to this point."

Seems like a nice guy. Too bad his team is about to get swept.

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.

That's Right

4 hour game, lots to say:

4th inning - Matsuzaka loaded the bases on 3 walks with no outs. Stupid bloop single cut our lead to one run. Manny made a pretty cool-looking catch on it though. But then D.M. got Cano to strike out, Mientkiewicz to pop one up on the infield, but.... then stupid Johnny Damon got a stupid half-swing 2-run single to grab the lead. Then more Yankees scored.

Then some good stuff happened again, with a David Ortiz RBI to make it 4-3. Then it was a tie game when Pettitte threw a bases loaded walk. And it got better - we got the lead on a wild pitch! Then another walk to make the bases loaded again with 2 outs, and out came Andy. But, nothing.

Julio Lugo HR! 6-4!

Another RBI from Mr. Lugo to get the Sox up by 3. Lugo had a good night, indeed.

Timlin, Okajima, and Pineiro all had great outings, allowing zero runs. Okajima's ERA is 0.84. NICE.

Rivera came in to pitch the 9th and he got one out, then Boston had consecutive singles from Lowell, Varitek, and Crisp (Coco's was an RBI). Then he walked Pedroia to load the bases and out came Mariano for Mike Myers. And he proceeded to walk in a run. Hehe. Then Youkilis grounded out but a run scored on the play to make it 10-4, and then Ortiz hit an RBI single and man! They really wanted Matsuzaka to get a win or something.

A nice factoid from YES - the Yankees are the only team in baseball that does not have a save.

And I did have to buy the monthly subscription to MLB.TV. But only because it's free for 5 days and then I will cancel it. I CANNOT miss Sox/Yanks games!

Imploration of the Day: Coco, please. Stop the hair madness. Just cut it!

Pena Makes Me Happy

I am still recovering from Wily Mo Pena's grand slam last night. That is a sign of what's to come from that man, I am sure.

Matsuzaka in NY tonight, and of course it's not on TV. Uhh...what? It's only one of the most exciting games of the year (in theory). I might have to cave and buy the MLB.TV monthly subscription. This is a can't-miss game, after all.

And just because it's awesome...the Yankees are on a 6-game losing streak. About to be 7.

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!

Can They Keep it Going?

I've been away and the Sox have been destroying. Except for that Matsuzaka start, that wasn't such a great one. But since then, they've only had to play one game because of the rain, and they just pummeled the Angels in a 10-1 victory yesterday. The most surprising part of that win wasn't the huge offensive production (that's to be expected, right?), it was the huge offensive production in a game pitched by Tim Wakefield. I was amazed. Tim was pretty awesome himself, pitching 7 innings and only allowing that one run on 5 hits. Please note though, that 6 of the 10 runs were scored in the 8th, after Wakefield came out!

I had kind of given up on good old Tim, but if he keeps pitching the way he's pitched his 2 games...ooh man, we might have an ace. Not to get too far ahead of myself, though.

The game today starts in just over 30 minutes, and I do not think it is on TV. Which sucks. If only the stupid baseball channels on Comcast didn't cost a million dollars! Thankfully, the new and improved Gameday will keep me in the game.

So I'm watching tennis now, and my favorite player Jelena Jankovic is playing Venus Williams in this marathon match. They are in the 3rd set tiebreak, and man, they're playing some good tennis out there today. Venus is back, man. Of course, I'm cheering against her, but...J.J. won! AWESOME match.

He Didn't Disappoint

Matsuzaka, I learned today, does not like to let his fans down. He was pretty superb in his first start, allowing only six hits and recording 10 strikeouts while throwing 108 pitches in the Red Sox's 4-1 victory. He gave up one run and walked one. "The fourth inning was his most dominant, as Matsuzaka struck out the side on 14 pitches. He finished the frame with a flourish, blowing a high fastball by Brown." He did give up a solo shot, but that was the only run KC got all day and I am cool with that.

So if Matsuzaka pitched 7 innings and gave up one run, and the final score was 4-1, that means....the bullpen didn't give up any runs! Romero and Papelbon did their jobs, with Papelbon getting his first (of many) saves of the season. He only had to throw 13 pitches (11 strikes) to end his inning.

Video recap here - watch it just for the strike out-throw out!

So now we're 2-1. Is it bad that I'm already thinking about standings after only 3 games?

Gameday

HOLY COW Gameday is freaking awesome now! They totally retooled it and it looks really, really fantastic. Almost makes not having the games on TV okay.

Not. I'd much rather see Youkilis hit a HR than read about it on Gameday, but I have to say how great it is now. I love it.

So Boston got out of their funk and gave Kansas City hell tonight. Beckett worked 5 innings and only gave up one run, and the bullpen (Lopez, Snyder, Romero, Pineiro) was pretty snappy too. They didn't give up a single run, if you can believe that.

As I mentioned, Youkilis contributed a HR to the winning effort; that along with offensive production by Drew, Lowell, Varitek, and Lugo sealed the deal for Boston. Glad to report a win tonight, I'm feeling a lot better about this season than I was a couple days ago!

See y'all tomorrow night, when we finish up the KC series with a pitching performance by Matsuzaka. Ooh, I can't wait!

Here's a pic of HR Youk - but an older one, without the crazy hair thing:

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!

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!

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?

Ahh, Valentine's Day

I may not have had a conventional V-Day, but it was pretty much perfect. So I'm in a state of extreme happiness here, and I will pretend like I care about anything else in the world...

...like J.D. Drew officially being on the roster. And Lenny DiNardo leaving. Or something to do with someone buying something about racing or something.

But one thing I do care about? Craig Hansen in trade rumors! What?! No! He's our future closer! Though he doesn't seem too enthusiastic about it ("My goal is just to make the team, be on the team and help out the team as much as I can," he said. "I'm just trying to earn any spot. I'm not going for a certain role on the team. I'm just looking for a role in any key situation to help out the team"), he is a key guy for the future and I want him to stay.

Wait! Maybe he does care: "If I had the choice I would like to close but that's basically not in my hands." He can do it...just has to try!

And one more thing...

This looks good, doesn't it?


He's here!

Baseball is About to Start, Kind Of

At this time tomorrow, Matsuzaka will have had his first spring training workout as a member of the Red Sox. Now, the workouts are closed to the media until Thursday, but I will try to be positive here and say somehow something will leak. Of course, the first day of spring training (and really...all of spring training) really means nothing, but it's SOMETHING! Finally, some baseball!

In Yankee news, Bernie Williams rejected NY's offer of a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training. Instead, Williams revealed his preference to stay at home, stay in shape, spend time with his family and wait to see if the Yankees change their minds and offer him a guaranteed roster spot.

Yeah. Bernie should just retire while he's still decent.

The United States won the first round of the Davis Cup! They beat the Czech Republic with Roddick and the Bryan brothers winning, including a singles win for Bob Bryan! His first ever singles win on clay, which is pretty cool. Next up is Spain, with Nadal, Robredo, Verdasco, Ferrer, and Lopez. It'll be tough bu they're playing in the U.S. so that is a huge advantage...no clay! Now we wait until April.

You Knew I Was Going to Say Something About...

Bronson! So this is old news but I have to mention it at least once. Arroyo will be making a lot of money now: a two-year extension will pay him an additional $25 million and keep him under contract through at least 2010, plus an option for the next year. “I honestly didn’t think they were going to even talk to me about a contract this offseason,” said Arroyo, who had two years left on his current deal. “But they were serious.” I like that Cincy is so interested in keeping him, it's good to see a team be committed to him and not jerk him around (...what?). But this is kind of sad: “Last year in the beginning of the season, I was still watching a lot of Sox games and I was kind of still caught up in the middle emotionally about being traded,” Arroyo said. “I’m a Red through and through now.” :( I still want him on the Sox.

Let's see....we also have Don Orsillo news! Don Orsillo agreed to a multi-year contract extension to remain the voice of the Red Sox on NESN, the network announced in a press release. I love RemDawg and Don, they are perfect together. Can you imagine a NESN without them?

And last but not least, it's almost Truck Day! The Sox equipment truck will leave Fenway Monday at approximately 1:00 p.m. to begin the 1,480-mile journey to the team's spring training facility in Fort Myers. And you know who else will be there Monday? Matsuzaka, of course! Can you feel the baseball in the air?

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!

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.

Matsuzaka Again!

Nothing but Matsuzaka news lately. Here's a few choice pieces of his contract:

- Once he spends one day on the Red Sox' roster, he has a no-trade provision.
- The Red Sox will pay the airfare for eight round trips a year between Boston and Japan.
- The Red Sox will not assign him to the minor leagues.
- His salary of $8 million in the third and fourth years, and $10 million in the fifth and sixth years, could escalate to $10 million and $12 million based on his finish in the voting for Most Valuable Player and the Cy Young award.

Nice deal that Boras made for him, huh?

This last bit comes directly from redsox.con (the Mailbag...I LOVE Mailbag Day!)

Is Pokey Reese still in the league? I was looking him up the other day and found nothing. -- Steve S., Ashaway, R.I.

Reese was in camp with the Marlins last year and basically went AWOL. He then let it be known that injuries had robbed him of his love for the game, and he considered himself retired. That's the last I've heard. It's a shame. When Reese showed up to Red Sox Spring Training in 2004, he had boundless energy. I'm not sure what happened between then and now, but he definitely seemed to lose his enthusiasm for the game.

I miss Pokey!

An Actual Trade AND THE BEST NEWS EVER

Boston traded Phil Seibel (played with farm clubs) to the Angels for reliever Brendan Donnelly. A pitcher who doesn't suck (I hope)! Donnelly was 6-0 with a 3.94 ERA in 62 games last season. He had a 5-0 record and a 3.52 ERA in 29 games after the All-Star break, and held the opposition scoreless in 19 of his last 21 appearances.

I'm still pretty giddy over the Matsuzaka signing. He's really on our team! He said he really wants to meet Curt Schilling, which is cool because Schill has been learning Japanese to be able to speak with him. Ahh, I love this team.


I do, however, have sad news. Listening to the games on WEEI just won't be the same anymore -- Jerry Trupiano officially retired and is being replaced by Dave O'Brien and Glenn Geffner. Joe Castiglione will stick around, but it just won't be as good.

Quote of the Day:
Matsuzaka - "Right now, I'm just very happy and excited to have become a member of the Red Sox."

EDIT: And the best news ever part? Yeah, Tom Brady is single again. Haha, I know. But I think it's just terrific.

Because It's Awesome

Matsuzaka took #18!!

It's Official!!

Matsuzaka is definitely coming to Boston (as soon as some tests come back from the Massachusetts General Hospital), and he'll be there for 6 years making $52 million. It will probably be announced in a press conference today at 5 p.m.

HUGE sigh of relief.

Welcome to Boston, mate!

Ohhh Yeah

It's happening! Matsuzaka is flying back to Boston with Red Sox officials, signaling that a preliminary deal has been made. Nothing was said at the press conference today that announced the signing of Lugo, but that's to be expected. Matsuzaka hasn't even had his physical yet. John Henry said a couple hours ago that there was no deal...but I'm choosing to be optimistic and think that they are just REALLY close to making one.

Some folks are saying a deal worth $52 million over 6 years has been made, but those reports are unsubstantiated. The Herald is reporting something similar to that.

In other news, Mirabelli will be back -- and sighs of relief go out as we all realize the passed ball count will indeed remain low.

"No Progess"

NO PROGRESS?!??

If we don't sign Matsuzaka...anger, embarrassment, outrage, windows through glass signs, eggs thrown at Boras' house, toilet paper in his trees, and most importantly, a huge hole in the rotation.

They'll be talking all night, and who knows when we will find out.

This is getting way too frustrating.

Surprise, Surprise

Scott Boras said last night that his client is worth over $100 million, and Epstein has said he will increase his offer. In Evil's words: "In Japan, he's known as the national treasure. Here, he will be known as Fort Knox."

Yeah. They're all going to meet today, maybe we will hear something later tonight.

The most important thing to remember: "...signing Matsuzaka is extremely important to the Boston Red Sox and we're very committed to making sure that happens," Epstein said.

Oh, Evil

Evil Incarnate will be giving a press conference tonight. Maybe it already started, I'm sure Evil doesn't care about time. Matsuzaka may or may not be there with Boras...Evil will probably say something along the lines of not getting the $3982080938902 million dollars he wants, so he won't consider a deal.

We have until Thursday. The clock keeps ticking...

J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo are in Boston today, having their physicals to complete the deals. Official signings will probably come down tomorrow.

And back to Boras...didn't he learn in high school, like everyone else, that playing hard to get is just frustrating and NOT cool? This is ridiculous that they can't come to some sort of agreement.

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.

Late Post

This is what happens when I get a new job. I can't post until I get home (which is usually late) and then I find a million other things to do before I get online. Well, here it is..better late than never, I guess!

Larry Lucchino decided to take a trip to Japan to show Matsuzaka how serious the Sox are about getting him. He said he made a reasonable offer, and man I just hope Boras takes it.

From ESPN: Hideki Okajima is in serious discussions with the Red Sox about a two-year deal, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reports. The 30-year-old left-handed reliever, who was 2-2 with a 2.14 ERA and four saves last season for the Nippon Ham Fighters, is a free agent.

I have a feeling this is only the beginning of the interest in Japanese players. It's only going to get bigger from here on out..

The Yankees also got themselves a Japanese player, a pitcher by the name of Kei Igawa. Well, technically, they won the rights to him. But they'll make a deal.

And lastly, what is so wrong with Jessica Biel that she feels the need to date Derek Jeter?