YAY xInfinity

I got into med school yesterday!

How does this relate to the Red Sox: I will not be able to go to the game I have tickets for in September :(

BUT OH WELL I GOT IN!!!!

Oops

Apparently we are still in preseason mode. Clearly I don't know what the hell is going on. :)

Next week?! I think I am correct in saying the next real game is April 1st. For the Sox, anyway--I think other teams play real games 3/30 and 3/31. But who cares about other teams?

Timlin is already on the disabled list and we are 2 games into the season. Of course.

On an unrelated note, all of my NCAA teams are losing. In the order of who I like the most, let's see:
1. Georgetown (lost in the 2nd round after they were winning)
2. Villanova (went out last night in bad form)
3. Texas A&M (out in round 2, lost to UCLA by 2 MF points)
4. West Virginia (lost by FOUR points)
5. Georgia (the little team that could, but really couldn't)
6. Texas (hey, one of my teams won!)
7. Oklahoma (again, 2nd round and out)
8. Tennessee (they made it to the Sweet 16, at least)

And Syracuse didn't even make it, but they blew a 22 point lead (NIT).
If I pick you, you will lose. My apologies.

Monday, August 18

Monday, August 18: Red Sox vs. Baltimore for me! I think I have some good seats to catch a foul ball this year. Monday is not such a hot day for a baseball game but that was the day with the best seats left. And Lord knows I am not making the mistake of going to an early-season game again and freezing to death!

This is the only Sox news I have. There is NOTHING doing.

Well, except for the NFL greatness. If I had bet on the 4 games this weekend, I would have cleaned up. I am (obviously) a Patriots fan, so I would have bet on that. Giants over Cowboys, EASILY (hate Dallas, am from NY). I've always liked the Chargers, so I would have picked them (oh yeah, and am not a Colts fan). And I love Green Bay simply because "Green Bay" is such a fantastic name. So I could be rich right now! It never works out that all the teams I want to win actually win...next year, I must bet!!

2008 Has Arrived

First off, Happy New Year everyone! 2007 was a pretty good year for the Red Sox, so now we can just hope that 2008 holds another Championship for them.

This is what the official Sox site has as far as the lineup on Opening Day:

2B	Dustin Pedroia
1B	Kevin Youkilis
DH	David Ortiz
LF	Manny Ramirez
3B	Mike Lowell
RF	J.D. Drew
C	Jason Varitek
CF	Jacoby Ellsbury
SS	Julio Lugo
SP	Josh Beckett
SP	Daisuke Matsuzaka
SP	Curt Schilling
SP	Tim Wakefield
SP	Jon Lester
SP	Clay Buchholz
CL	Jonathan Papelbon

One too many starting pitchers, I see. But that is a roster I love, we can so win it again.

Last night I was flipping through the channels, waiting for the Ball to drop, and I was watching NBC for a couple seconds. All of a sudden Carson Daly is freaking out because Alex Rodriguez has decided to stop by and screw up the New Year's Eve celebration. Needless to say, I watched CBS for the drop.

A Sad Day for Me

News: Timlin will be back for another year, and Gagne declined the club's offer of salary arbitration. Aww.

But more importantly, this is one of the worst days ever. It's been 27 years since John Lennon died, and every year I think about how much better the world would be if he was still here. The ritual: mourn the pointlessness of his murder, cry for a while, think about what he would be doing if he was alive to witness...the state of this country and its leaders. He would not be silent. He would be making a difference.

So many people miss him. Wishing he is happy wherever he is...

Go Pete

This is just a cute story that is nice to read on a lazy Sunday: Jacoby goes home
Lots of new Sox fans in Oregon for sure.

And because it deserves a mention, Pete Sampras beat Federer the other day in an exhibition match. I only post this because Pete was my favorite player from the time I started paying attention to tour tennis (probably when I was about 8) until the day he retired. Then came Ferrero. But the point is, I love this man and I don't care if it was only an exhibition, and Federer just came off a tournament win, it doesn't matter because there is a 10 year age difference and Pete is "old." Yay Sampras! He kept getting closer to winning, as you can see from the scores from the 3 matches they played: He lost the first 6-4, 6-3, almost won the second 7-6, 7-6, then won the final 7-6, 6-4. Good scores for the old man!

Mikey Lowell Stuff

I had another one of those Red Sox nightmares last night: Mike Lowell was a Yankee.

Thankfully, I have more faith in Lowell than I did in Damon, and I don't think Mike would do that. He seems a little less...umm...stupid, than Damon (can't think of a better word?). Plus, my dreams never mean anything (the night before last, I dreamt I was about to be killed by Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th before I convinced him we would make a good team, I'd break into houses and he would do his thing. I'm a weird bird).

So there's not much to tell, just Theo meeting with people and attempting to get some deals done. Every day I come home and hope Lowell has agreed to stay with us another year or so, and so far I've been disappointed. It will happen though. Maybe on the same day he is announced MVP!

Off to Baltimore!

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

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

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

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

Returning Now

Okay, I'm back. My vacation is over and I have to go back to work. Life is not fun anymore!

And you know what makes it worse? Staying up until after 12 so I can watch a Red Sox game when I have to get up at 5:30, and then they lose because of A-Rod. I was messed up the whole next day, and for nothing! And now the games don't start until 10, and I cannot possibly stay up to watch the end of these games. And even if I had last night, losing in the 11th inning is no way to go.

So...NY won today so Boston needs to get back on track and start winning again, and it has to begin tonight. It's not time to fall apart!

But I have been thoroughly enjoying the Women's College World Series. I think I mentioned it last year, actually, but I love love love watching college softball. I even picked Tennessee this year and now they are in the finals. Could even win the whole thing tonight. Go Lady Vols!

Rain Delay and a Week Off

The Sox are in a rain delay, and it looks like it might be a while before they start up..if they start at all.

And I will not be around too much over the next week...it's vacation time! I just hope Boston keeps winning and they are all boring games so I won't miss too much. Because I know where I'm going is NOT Sox Nation!

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!

Yes Sir

Damn. Josh Beckett is ON.

Of course, he had a lot of help from his seriously Hot offense, who scored SIX runs in the first inning alone!

Getting back to Beckett, he allowed one earned run over 6 innings, which is fantastic. He has been really, really good thus far.

Ortiz hit a HR, his 4th of the year. Wily Mo Pena got in there today (he was 0-for-3, but had an outfield assist), Cora had a hit, and a lot of folks had RBI.

And on a more personal note.... I was trying to find the game on the radio at work this afternoon and came across the Virginia Tech tragedy. Almost all of the people that live where I live have Tech signs, flags, shirts, bumper stickers....I am incredibly saddened by this news and my thoughts are with everyone who has been affected, in any way. Very sad day.

Some Thoughts on This Sunday

I am going to start today with the most important news of all: yesterday was my USTA tennis team's final match, and we won, which makes us undefeated this season! My first time captaining and I put out an undefeated team. I'm very excited, and next week we will be in the playoffs. Yay!!

So, baseball. A week and a day until the first game in Kansas City. It will just fly by, I hope.

The recent announcement of Papelbon as closer and Tavarez as starting pitcher has really elevated my hopes for this season. Papelbon has really found his niche as closer, and as long as he can keep his shoulder healthy, he will be one of the best. Ever, I believe. He knows his shoulder had problems keeping up last year, and now he and Boston's excellent doctors can prevent the same thing from happening this year. And Tavarez as a starter is the ONLY job he should have - he was amazing as a starter at the end of last season. It's like he's a different person when he's starting versus when he's relieving/closing and I like Starter Julian a hell of a lot more.

Coco Crisp has been feeling kind of defensive lately: “I don’t care if people think I suck or they think I’m good,” Crisp said. “I just go out there and have fun, and hopefully the ball falls. . . . If the people think I’m good, then thank you. And if they think I suck, then thank you anyway. I don’t really care, you know?” That kind of tells me that he does care, but for me, I like him either way. He got injured last year early, and unfortunately he didn't have the best season. But really, he was probably the most upset of all about the way his season went. I know I sometimes mock players when they screw up (SEANEZ), but I know that they try their best and sometimes it doesn't work out. I love Coco, I hope he has a great season this year.

Quote of the Day:
Papelbon, showing his fantastic attitude about his game: "This is something that I've decided that I want to do for the rest of my career and chase records, and, hopefully, make the Hall of Fame and do [some] special things in the game that maybe no other closer has ever done before."

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!

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?

Good Luck

I'll start off this evening by wishing all those people who will be trying to buy Sox tickets on Saturday morning good luck. I've tried for hours and hours and ended up with nothing, so I understand how frustrating it can be. So good luck!

I actually got tickets to a Baltimore/Sox game on my birthday :) There's no place I'd rather be on my birthday than at a Red Sox game! I only got tickets to one game this year, since I don't yet know what I'll be doing later this year. I am very tempted to get them anyway, but...

Now that Brendan Donnelly has officially been signed, Wily Mo is the only one left to deal with. "Outfielder Wily Mo Pena is the lone Sox arbitration case left, and that looks like some time will pass before a resolution. Pena has asked for $2.2 million; the Sox countered with $1.725 million." Take it buddy, you probably won't get more until you get better...and I so think you will soon. I know I'm the odd man out, but I really have faith in this guy and hope Ortiz and Manny can teach him a lot. He has potential, I swear.

Phew!

I've had a busy past couple of days and haven't have any time to update - I went to an interview a couple hours away and spent a lot of time preparing for it. But now.. back to the Red Sox!

My wonderful, fantastic, beautiful Trot Nixon is now a Cleveland Indian...and that SUCKS. I kept holding out hope that somehow he could come back, but the deal is done. He's an Indian for at least the next year.


He's going to wear #33. That's just wrong.

"Obviously you know how much the [Red Sox] organization meant to me. I’ll always love that city. I’m going to bring that same attitude, that same intensity, to Cleveland," Trot said. I guess now I have another team to like!

Tough Days

Not much going on with the Red Sox these days (the Drew talks continue), but there's been a lot going on here. My dad had surgery yesterday, which was the bad news I had a few weeks ago. Everything went okay, but he was supposed to come home today and has to stay overnight again. I have to go back to work tomorrow, which is upsetting because I did want to be home when he was settling in. And I gave blood today and passed out while doing that, which never happened before. I'm telling you, I can't wait for this week to be over!

Maybe some big Sox news will be coming soon. I need something good (like...Bronson coming back!).

It Keeps Coming

The bad news/bad luck train is cruising this week. Juan Rivera of the Angels broke his leg yesterday, and the Yankees got slammed with a $26 million luxury tax. AND it rained here yesterday, and as I went to brake my tires locked and I rear ended someone. That was fun. But there was no visible damage to either car...a Festivus miracle!!

So the Sox signed pitcher Runelvys Hernandez, whose name I will not even attempt to pronouce. He was 6-10 with a 6.48 ERA in 21 starts with the Royals. Sounds like another Seanez to me, but hopefully he will prove me wrong.

Patriots vs. Jaguars tomorrow at 1 p.m. Be there or be square, we're gonna clinch!

Bad News

I got some really bad news tonight and I wanted to let everyone know I might not be around too much. Hopefully everything will turn out okay, but at the moment, I don't know how often I'll feel like posting. I hope Manny decides to stay and the Sox apologize to Trot and sign Matsuzaka while I'm away.

But before I leave, I must say that J.D. Drew is now with us for the next 5 years at the cost of $70 million. This is good, definitely, he's a good player. But Trot Nixon....I love you, man! I knew saying you were my favorite player would mean you wouldn't be in Boston next year, and I deeply regret saying it. But it's true. That's 3 now. Bronson Arroyo, Mark Bellhorn, Trot Nixon. Who will suffer the Laura Curse next?

A Very Black Friday

I hope everyone had a great holiday. I decided to venture out to do some shopping at Best Buy this morning, and did not have a pleasant experience. It was my third time sitting outside Best Buy to buy something on Black Friday, but this year was different. I got there at 11:20 pm and was 87th in line! A couple years ago I arrived around 1 am and was one of the first people, so I was not at all expecting so many people. The first person in line got there at 4:30 pm. That is INSANE! So needless to say, I didn't get the laptop I wanted. Guess I'm stuck with this one (until I find another sale, that is).

No news on the Red Sox front, with the holiday and all. The Patriots take on the Chicago Bears Sunday, who currently have a record of 9-1. It should be 9-2 at the end of the weekend.

Want to hear something depressing? ESPN.com has Boston's closer for 2007 projected as Mike Timlin. We all know what happens when Timlin is left to finish the game..