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..

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!

Good News on the Pitching Front

John Farrell, the man who led the best group of pitchers the Red Sox have seen in years, has agreed to return next year: The highly respected pitching coach will return to the World Series champions in 2008. This, after Farrell turned down an opportunity to meet with the Pittsburgh Pirates regarding their managerial vacancy.

This is really great news, when you consider that for once, our pitching is a strength instead of a weakness.

Hope you all got to see Papelbon on Letterman a couple nights ago--just reaffirmed my belief that he would be a lot of fun to hang out with!

What else? Mirabelli filed for free agency, which presents a problem for Wakefield. Of course, he wasn't that great this year with the bat, but we've seen what happens when a catcher not named Doug tries to catch Wakefield. Maybe we could just replace Tim? Now begins the Waiting Game, I guess.

I would like to mention that Eric Gagne filed for free agency as well. But I'm not too concerned about that, strangely enough...

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!

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?

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!

I Approve of that Game

Today was a much, much better performance by our team. Beckett almost went all the way, he just couldn't get the last out. So instead of 6-0 it was 6-2 but a win is a win. The offense was pretty good, I remember a lot of doubles specifically from Lugo, Lowell (of course!), and Drew. I also remember David Ortiz striking out 3 times, but that is something I'd rather forget.

So Beckett went 8 and 2/3 innings, and Delcarmen came in to get the final out but he ended up walking the guy. So Papelbon had to come in and save the day, as usual. Again I ask, where would we be without him?

The Yanks are up 10-2, looks like we will stay 5 games up.

And Djokovic just took the first set from Nadal (well, on the tape he did anyway). Go Joky!!!! Juan Carlos Ferrero better start winning because he is facing some serious competition from Novak for the title of my favorite player!

No Extras!

I hate it when games I assume are won turn out not to be sure things after all.

Here we are, in extra innings, after having a 6-4 lead going into the 9th inning. The worst part is Papelbon is the one who gave up a 2-run shot to put us into this 11th inning. It's so rare when he does stuff like this that it's kind of hard to believe it even happened. But everyone is human, or so they say.

So Julio Lugo has doubled, which is quite good. Youkilis is having a lengthy at-bat, he finally got to a full count after 8 pitches. And he walked! All those pitches he fouled off were worth it (TB manager Joe Maddon got ejected for that one). So now we have David Ortiz at the plate. Extra innings and we need some runs, this is where he loves to shine. Unfortunately, he just struck out.

One last chance in Manny Ramirez. On a side note, I'm listening to this Fray album and it's pretty good. But back to the game. What will Manny do? Ball one..foul..foul..(getting nervous)..ball two..OUT. To the bottom of 11 we go.

Nothing happened. 12th inning: ooooh! SIX runs! They totally doubled their score in one inning. TB did nothing in their half and we ended up winning 12-6 in 12.

They can be so good sometimes!

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!).

Someone's Mad

9th inning - Jon Papelbon got really mad when he rushed to cover first and lost the race with a Ranger. MAN he was mad. I hate to tell him, but the dude looked safe. Gotta learn to pick your battles, yo.

But he recovered and walked away with a save and finally, a win for Boston! Surprisingly it came when Wakefield pitched against Texas. Of course, it was tense for a while: Manny Delcarmen got the nod in relief of Wakefield, and immediately walked Michael Young to load the bases, bringing up Sammy Sosa. Six fastballs later, Delcarmen pumped a 96-mph heater past a swinging Sosa to escape the jam. It's never easy.

Matt Clement has been rehabbing his shoulder since he had surgery in September of 2006. I would LOVE to have surgery on my shoulder and get it over with but Clement's looong rehab is making me reconsider that plan..

The Right Way

Things are looking right again. Boston's winning, NY's losing, just how it's supposed to be. Beckett is leading the Majors with 11 wins, Ortiz and Manny are producing RBIs, and Papelbon is saving games. Oh, and Wakefield is being bad, but that just means things are normal (kidding -- he does sometimes throw good games. And of course, we know that when he's good, he's very good, and when he's bad...6-1 losses happen).

And here come the trade rumors: The Chicago Sun-Times reported on Sunday that the Red Sox have become the front-runner in the crowded derby of teams trying to acquire left-handed starter Mark Buehrle.

The newspaper also reported that Allard Baird, who is assistant to the general manager for the Red Sox, was on hand for Buehrle's most recent start.

The White Sox have reportedly targeted Red Sox prospects Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jed Lowrie.

The past couple of years, Epstein has been reluctant to trade top prospects. However, as deep as Boston's farm system has become, there's a chance the Red Sox might be more open to dealing a highly rated Minor Leaguer this year.

That would be a great pick up, but there's so much talk about how good the prospects are, it makes me pretty hesitant; we may just be dealing 'em out only to watch 'em get really good.

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.

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.

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.

Who Had a Good Night?

All the Red Sox players did! Schilling, Ortiz, Papelbon...they all had great nights. Ortiz had a 2-home run evening (contributing all 3 RBI), Schilling gave up one earned run in 7 strong innings, and Papelbon got the final 5 outs in dominant fashion.

Who had a bad night? The Rangers. Too bad.
The Yankees had a bad day courtesy of Baltimore, which was cool with me.

Timlin also had a good day, since he might be ready to pitch by Tuesday. What that means for us is yet to be determined, because who knows what kind of outings he will have.

Off day tomorrow, with Opening Day on Tuesday. Beckett vs. Seattle. Be there or be square. I, of course, will be working till forever, so I am very, very square.

Oh yeah, and congrats to Zach Johnson for winning the golf thing. I was watching it while I was cleaning, and while I wanted Rory Sabbatini to win, I was happy for Johnson. I kind of like watching golf. But only like 2 or 3 times a year, any more than that I can't do.