Quote of the Day

"That's baseball.  It's Easter.  I guess the guys just wanted to get together."

Today's quote of the day is technically from yesterday, but whatever.  This was in reference to the benches clearing almost-brawl that Badass Beckett started yesterday.  So who said it? JD Drew:

This picture represents the closest JD has been to fighting anyone, ever:

Pedroia: "Nice hit, dude! We #$#%* won!!"

Drew: "Ouchie, I broke a nail... 15 day DL!"

Pedroia: "Seriously?! i barely touched you."

Drew: *cries*

Tito: *facepalm*

Josh Beckett is a BAMF

"I have yet to hit someone in the head and it's not on my list of fuckin' things to do."

The umpires said that resident badass Joshua Patrick Beckett was allowed to stay in the game yesterday after igniting a bench clearing confrontation with a wild pitch because "The Angels were the aggressors."  While that might be true, we all know the real reason Beckett wasn't tossed was that the umpiring crew was scared of the Texan's famous wrath.

I mean, a man who is unintimidated by Angels manager Mike Scioscia - even threatening to fight him, at one point in the scramble - is unlikely to think twice about waiting out an umpire in the parking lot to, ahem, give him a piece of his mind. Or, barring rational behavior from the fiery pitcher, Beckett might choose to call up his old hunting buddy Mike Timlin and challenge the crew chief, Joe West, to a good old fashioned Texas duel.  So, for all the posturing about Beckett not being to blame, it's obvious that the umpires were just too scared to offend the Sox ace.

But can you blame them?  I wouldn't put it past Beckett to have thrown near Abreu intentionally after he had the gall to call time so far into his delivery.  But does anyone for a second believe that if Josh Beckett really wanted to hit Bobby Abreu, he would have missed?  The only surprising thing about the whole scenario was that Boston's favorite badass didn't go on to win the game by whiffing every remaining Angel and celebrating with a fist pump, an f-bomb, and a tin.

"Come on Mikey, we can totally take him... Stop being such an f-ing wimp."

Game Reaction/Mini Ellsbury Rant

Wow.  Seriously.  Just wow.

I think i may have shaved 2-8 months off of my life watching that last half-inning.  Where was the crazy closer we know and love?  Was he trying to pull a Matsuzaka? I know he's often said he wants to be the best in all pitching categories, but if it's all the same, I'd rather he didn't try to top Daisuke's .000 batting average against with the bases loaded.  Please Papelbon, for the sake of the collective heart health of Red Sox Nation, find your command, and hold onto it.

On a lighter note, Jason Varitek celebrated his 37th birthday today with a single and a double, his first right handed hits of the season.  The Captain is currently hitting .267... hopefully he can keep up some semblance of this production over the next 158 games.

The reigning American League MVP is doing his best to prove that he inevitably will start off slowly every spring, regardless of level of preparation.  Pedroia is hitting .167, including an 0-for-4 performance this afternoon.  The Fox cameras didn't zoom in on him at the plate today, but I imagine that he would have provided us with some colorful language if they had.  Pedroia's partner in crime, Kevin Youkilis, went hitless today, although he got on base via a walk.

The biggest moments of the day went to Mike Lowell and Jason Bay[X2], as both men went yard during the course of the game.  Lowell's came in the fifth inning and tied the score 2-2.  Bay hit his pair in the seventh and the ninth, collecting a total of three RBIs.

Ellsbury's day wasn't nearly so productive, and the more I watch him, the more skeptical I become about his potential to be a leadoff hitter in the major leagues.  He had one good at bat today, in the first inning: he didn't swing at the first pitch, and got on base [single].  His next at bats saw him flailing at the first offering like a 4-year-old at a pinata, and he didn't manage to get to first base again.  It's getting to the point where I literally cringe when he comes up to bat.  

Maybe I'm too hard on Ellsbury because I feel that he gets easy fan adoration for being the resident pretty-boy.  My favorite players have always been those who work as hard as they can every day to make up for some shortcoming: bad body, limited agility, wrong stature, etc.  I love that Youk has matured from the Greek God of Walks into the premier hitter in the AL; I can't wait for Chris Carter to get some playing time; and don't get me started on Pedroia [I'll wax poetic for days - just ask my friends].  Ellsbury's been that presumptive professional athlete all his life, and as excited as everyone is about him, I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon until he proves that October 2007 was more than a fluke.  I also refuse to buy an Ellsbury jersey on principal, as every obnoxiously drunk female fan I've run into at Fenway in recent years has been sporting one [I know not every girl in a #46 shirt is obnoxious, but I can't be lumped in with those who do fit that stereotype].

So that post turned from a game reaction into a mini-Ellsbury rant... my bad.  I'll try to be more organized in the future, but I just had to get this one out.

Enough Already...!

OK, after the last loss, I tried to be rational, and even optimistic.  Since that didn't work, I'm going to go off on my first Official Rant of the 2009 season.

First of all, even though Ellsbury managed to get on base twice last night (a new season high!), he really needs to stop flailing at the first pitch every time he comes to the plate.  Really.  This is way beyond impatience, it's as if he's trying to prove all his doubters wrong with a single swing.  Here's a tip for the leadoff man: leave the whole "wounded pride" thing to Pedroia, he does it better than you.

Speaking of Pedroia, how on earth did Figgins snag that "laser" down the line that Pedroia hit in the sixth?  Number fifteen didn't look pleased (though the NESN camera people have finally figured out not to close in on his face after disappointments)... 

Tim Wakefield, by the grace of God (and some great defense behind him), managed to grind out a quality start, and the game was within reach until the bullpen gave up three runs.  I thought pitching (and especially relief pitching) was supposed to be the backbone of this team?!?  I guess I can deal with a bad outing from Masterson, I just wish it could have come while we weren't mired in a losing streak and in last place in the division.

So ends the (abbreviated) melodramatic rant.  I know this is an overreaction, and that we're four games into the season and that there's no reason to panic, but sometimes acting absolutely ridiculous and ignorant makes me feel better (hmmm, I wonder why Rush Limbaugh isn't happier?).

Oh, and for a more personal note, my friends SO don't get the extent of my devotion to this team... one of them actually asked if he could put in a movie near the end of the game last night!  Seriously?!? I've been waiting for this since last October, and you want to watch something previously recorded instead?!

I like to picture Youk saying something like "Nice job getting on base... you DO know you're supposed to do that more than once a week, right?"

Looking on the bright side...?

Six good, or at least vaguely humorous, notes related to the Sox loss today:

1.) I could easily become a fan of new Sox reliever Ramon Ramirez.  You know, the guy we got from Kansas City in return for the center fielder who hits them game winning home runs.  Though Ramirez didn't win us the game, he kept that outcome within the realm of possibility by bailing out Delcarmen with a 1-6-3 double play in the eighth.  Ramirez pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed one hit and no runs.

2.) NESN needs to be careful about its cameras following Dustin Pedroia after he makes an out at the plate.  Yesterday, the home viewers clearly watched him mouth, "Fuck you, ump! Piece of shit! What the fuck?!" directly after he struck out in the eighth.  Perhaps thinking they might avoid such antics today, the cameraman decided to avoid the close up directly after the out, and waited to show the feisty second baseman until he was safely back in the dugout.  Fail.  Pedroia dropped the most vehement f-bomb I've ever [not] heard, as soon as the camera closed in on him.  Watch out Red Sox Nation, or the FCC might be closing down our game feed.

3.) How ridiculous is Kevin Youkilis?  The Goatee went 3-for-4 with a walk today, improving to 8-for-11 in three games.  That is a .727 average.  I know that Youk has to come back to earth eventually, but he sure is fun to watch in the meantime.  The only bad thing about Youk's day was the timing of his hits... if he could have moved one to the ninth-the only time he was retired all game-the outcome might have been different.

4.) Jason Bay hit an RBI triple.  Any triple is rare, and I was thrilled for Bay, but to be honest, my favorite three-bagger of all time had to be David Ortiz chugging around the bases near the end of last season.

5.) In sort-of related news, I was watching the first half of the game on ESPN Gamecast in my Constitutional Law class, and when Matsuzaka gave up the first homerun, the guy next to me looked over and sighed.  When he gave up the second, I swore.  My Sox fan neighbor looked over and pulled a Pedroia, only the sound wasn't muted in class.  I'm pretty sure the Professor thought we were upset about the case we were briefing.

6.) This video.

Around the Horn; Opening Day Edition

My favorite moments from yesterday's game, in [batting] order:

1.) Ellsbury, CF: Not a great place to start, as Pink-Hatted Nation's favorite poster boy was the only Sox starter to go hitless.  Nevertheless, I read over at Toeing the Rubber that a fan actually tried to hug Ellsbury as he made his way to the field during introductions... Three guesses as to the color of the besotted fan's headwear.

2.) Pedroia, 2B: Boston's biggest mouth took the second offering from Ray's starter James Shields over the Green Monster to put the Sox up, 1-0.  To all those who wondered how much the MVP would regress this year: he heard you, and he begs to differ.

3.) Ortiz, DH: One of the question marks heading into the season, Papi followed Pedroia's homer with a hit of his own, albeit a less dramatic one.  Still, an Ortiz who looks comfortable at the plate is something we can all look forward to.

4.) Youkilis, 1B: Youk was the only Sox player to notch two hits yesterday, with a single and a double.  That guy down in the Bronx we were all so anxious to sign four months ago?  Still hitless on the season... against the Orioles.  I'm trying to contain my glee.  On a related note, Youk was offended that the home town writers had picked the Sox to fall to the Cubs in the Fall Classic.  Now that's confidence.

5.) Drew, RF: Our good [and fragile] friend JD, beyond a single and an RBI, safely made it down to the field.  According to boston.com, #7 felt "like a gorilla at the zoo."  Personally, I'm just happy he didn't manage to get a splinter on the way down and end up on the 15-day disabled list.

6.) Bay, LF: In the first Opening Day since 2001 with someone not named Ramirez manning left field, the resident Canadian had a productive game: a hit, an RBI, and a run scored.  And he didn't even trip Jack McCormick during pregame introductions.  I don't know about anyone else, but I'll take it.

7.) Lowell, 3B:  The worry with Lowell coming in was that he might not have the necessary speed on the basepaths (apparently that's part of the reason he's batting seventh, the other being that Tito likes to alternate left/right).  However, Lowell hit a stand up double out towards left-center field yesterday: he doesn't need to be Jacoby Ellsbury (in fact, Ellsbury doesn't need to be Ellsbury, the way he played yesterday) if he keeps hitting "rockets." [term trademarked by Dustin Pedroia]

8.) Lowrie, SS: The newest farm system product to start an Opening Day, Lowrie only went 1-for-4, but he did make a nice pick on a tricky play and get the ball over to Youk for the out, a maneuver I'll believe Lugo can make only if I see it.

9.) Varitek, C:  El Capitan started his ninth straight Opening Day in a Sox uniform, a team record for a catcher.  Tek did his best to silence those who have been predicting another abysmal offensive season by going deep in the sixth.  To the catcher's credit, when asked about the homerun after the game, he declined to comment, saying that "three-fourths" of his job is behind the plate.  If there's one thing we can count on Varitek for, it's class.

SP: Beckett:  Facing off against "Big Game" James, Josh Beckett showed the Rays what a real gamer pitches like.  Beckett struck out ten while pitching seven innings of two-hit ball, and dropped at least one F-bomb that was visible on NESN's camera's.

RP: Okajima: Oki hit a batsman and walked another before striking out the third batter he faced.  Apparently, Francona put him in for the righty-lefty-lefty trio coming up, as he can be affective against both... just not yesterday, but that's alright because...

RP: Masterson: The 6'6" sinkerballer came in and allowed a double steal on his very first pitch, then surrendered a hit that allowed both inherited runners to score.  However, he emerged from the inning without further damage, preserving a 5-3 Sox lead for Paps in the ninth.

Save: Papelbon: After an offseason during which he set a record for arbitration eligible closers and made several questionable comments during interviews, Paps settled right back in to his actual job, striking out two of the three batters he faced and earning the save.  And as for the questionable quotes he offers? Well, that's just Paps being Paps.

Why I love my Yankee fans:

I know, I know... blasphemy.  But let me set one thing straight: I don't love ALL Yankee fans, just mine.  And what do I mean by my Yankee fans?  Those friends that we all have whose only flaw is loving the Bronx Bombers.  If such a problem can be accepted, there has to be a good reason: for instance, my friend and pseudo-roommate, Becca, is from Manhattan.  She loves the Yankees like I love the Red Sox... that's a lot.

So how are we such good friends?  It's because we both love baseball.  The love for the game, for players who play right, whether they are named Dustin Pedroia or Derek Jeter, brings us together.  In fact, we're leaving tomorrow for New York, to watch the Yankees play the Cubs in the new Yankee Stadium, or, if the weather doesn't cooperate, to watch the Mets play the Red Sox at the new CitiField.  Of course, I would rather we watch the Sox while she would rather see the Yankees, but whichever happens, we will both be happy, because we will finally be watching [exhibition] baseball again.

She knows what I'm talking about when I mention the shortstop logjam, and I can follow her excitement over the NYY pitching staff.  Almost no one in my life will even pretend to listen when I start quoting Dustin Pedroia's newest interview, but Becca does... sometimes reluctantly (this is a multiple-times daily occurrence).  We can talk about the Steroid Era, uniform changes, and obscure statistics, and our only conflict is about which team we want to win in the end, and while that may seem like the biggest problem possible, we deal.

Wanna know the best part?  She thinks A*rod is a dork, too.