Good karma:

Apparently the funny pictures of the Red Sox worked yesterday (not that I got to watch, due to work - darn you, real world!), so I decided to court good karma once again today. Enjoy the following pictures:
There you go, a full day's dose of smiling Sox! Hope everyone has a good Thursday, even though it's an offday...

So that sucked...

I had to go to bed right about when play resumed last night due to a wake up time of 6:00am. Normally, the game would be over at that point, but due to the rain delay, it was only the middle of the fourth inning. Needless to say, I figured the Red Sox lead would be safe. Not so. I woke up this morning to a text message relaying the bad news, and I couldn't believe it. I immediately got online to check the game recaps, and was forced to accept that the so-far almost infallible bullpen had absolutely imploded. Ugh. So I decided that today deserved a funny "Photo of the Day," because, in addition to that disgusting FAIL by the Sox last night, it's STILL raining in New Hampshire. Really, really, hard. And somehow, I need to figure out how to entertain around 50 4-8th graders inside for eight hours. I stumbled upon this gem, and just had to post it: it obviously is a paid endorsement for the wine pictured, but the photo(s) are priceless!From old friend Bobby Kielty with a double serving to JD Drew showing some emotion (even if it is awkward and obviously contrived), this grouping is all kinds of awesome. Manny and Papi are reunited in their former glory, which just has to put a smile on your face... I know I would be lying if I claimed that I didn't enjoy Manny's antics in the glory days. However, the best part, hands-down, is Youk "drinking" the product in question, with serious gusto. Or, in reality, pretending to drink it, since close inspection of the picture reveals that the seal is still firmly in place.

Yesterday's debacle convinced me that the players were ... erm... indulging... during the rain delay. At least, I would rather believe that than find an alternate explanation for why the bullben was an epic bucket of SUCK last night.

That's it for now, but here's hoping the game this afternoon is better, and also that I'll find some way to watch it, as I'm supposed to be watching the kids until at least five...

Photo of the Day

After yesterday's loss where the bats couldn't seem to wake up, coupled with a Yankees win (and Rivera's 500th career save - why is it impossible to hate him?), the Red Sox are now three games up on the Yankees in the AL East. They boast the best record in the AL (46-29), and the second best in baseball, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers (48-28). So why do I feel so... lackluster... today? The only explanation I can come up with is the fact that the Sox ended the road trip with a loss, coupled with the seemingly never-ending rain that keeps falling from the sky here in North Conway, New Hampshire. Honestly, the rain has more to do with it: I almost feel like I should be building an ark.

Now, on to the photo of the day, which needs no introduction:As you can see from the timestamp on the picture, this was taken on a team flight during the summer of 2007. My favorite part of this is that Paps - the young stud, has a Budweiser, while Mikey Lowell - the elder statesman, if you will, has a Bud Light... Mikey knows that you need to watch those calories as you get older. Paps also has that "I can finally be photographed with alcohol because I'm 21 now" look, even though he would have been 26 at the time, and it's just priceless. I would pay SO MUCH money to be allowed to witness the shenanigans that go down during team flights.

I Love New England

There are lots of very good reason to love this region of the country, and today was a lesson in appreciation. I work at a day camp, and today we went on a field trip to Storyland in Glenn, New Hampshire (which I highly recommend if you have children between the ages of 3-12).Of course, I live in the area, so I know how big of a tourist attraction it is, with families from all over New England. Today, more than I've noticed before, Red Sox Nation was out in force. Obviously, living in New Hampshire, I can't go anywhere without seeing some sort of Sox paraphernalia, which is great, since I basically never leave the house without something with the "B" or Sox logo on, and the company makes me feel slightly less insane (for reference, below is a picture of my Red Sox collection [the fraction that fit in my dorm room], circa October 2007).Anyway, today it just seemed like everyone in the theme park was wearing a Red Sox shirt. I only saw one Yankees hat all day. The kids at my camp had to wear their camp shirts, or at least half of them would have inevitably been representing the home town team. Hands down, the highlight of my day was an interaction I had with a little boy - around 5 years old - who was not on the field trip, but with his own family. While standing in line for a ride behind him, I noticed that his Sox shirt said "Lowe" on the back, complete with #32.I asked him about his shirt, since I suspected he was too young to recall the pitcher's Boston days. He looked up at me and said (in his squeaky little-kid voice) "D-Lowe is a hero!" I wanted to hug his parents. That, dear readers, is how you raise your child. That little boy would have been an infant in 2004, if he was born at all, but, as I discovered during the long wait in line, he knew his Red Sox. He rattled off the 2004 saga and then went on to tell me all about Ted Williams, Yaz, and even good old Bill Buckner.
This child gave me hope for the future of the United States, and more importantly, the future of Red Sox Nation. Though the next generation of fans will not remember the long drought and myriad of heartbreaking moments firsthand, I for one can take comfort in the fact that they will appreciate them at least for their historical importance to the fanbase. (To be fair, the only heartache I experienced first hand was the 2003 ALCS and Aaron Boone, as I was born too late for any of the others.)
(I feel sorry for this child, though I admire his parents' enthusiasm for the team.) My eventual children, if I have them, will be dressed to the nines in Sox gear from the womb:
But, they won't just talk the talk. I plan to teach them about Sox history before instructing them that 2+2=4. With all the casual fans out there (resisting Jacoby Ellsbury dig), the world needs more Sox kids like the boy I met today: ready to exult the heroics of Derek Lowe, and knowledgeable about the game.

Shirts?

So as I was Tweeting the Sox game, I had this thought for a T-shirt design. I'm not sure if I'll be making any of these, but PLEASE let me know if you would buy them, because the more I get, the cheaper they would be. Without further ado:

Photo Booth

Too lazy to write a real post, so I Google image searched some of the Sox players, and captioned them with what I like to think was going through their minds when the photos were taken:

JD Drew: "NO! Don't touch me! Awwww, Pedey... now I'll be on the sixty-day DL with an aggravated hangnail and a slipped disk."

DP: "...Seriously, dude?"

Nick Green: "Yeah, I booked the dugout for this Tuesday.. So it should be a great time. No, of course Lugo's not invited, do you think I'm an idiot? ...Oh, hey Julio...*awkward silence*"


Rocco Baldelli: "Are those... fans?!? Wow, I guess I'm not in Tampa anymore. I do sort of wish they didn't follow me to my house every day. Especially that one guy with my name tattooed on his forehead..."


David Ortiz: "What kind of a name is Coco Crisp, anyway? At least he's not uptight about it."

Coco: "Who does this guy think he is, pouring milk on me? This is NOT in my contract."


George Kottaras: "Does he HAVE to touch my butt all the time? The knuckleball is the LEAST of my worries in this clubhouse..."


Mark Kotsay: "Stop hitting on my wife! Yes, you in the hat and the ugly shirt. STOP! I'm serious.... SECURITY!"


Jacoby Ellsbury: "I can't believe Boras thinks this will be good for my image... It's humiliating."


Mike Lowell: "What part of 'Don't hit on Kotsay's wife' don't you people understand? Because I've got his back."


Julio Lugo: "Maybe if I carry my kid around, the fans will love me... Or at least it might get me invited to Greenie's party... as if I WANTED to go, anyway." *cries*


Jason Varitek: "Ahoy! I am CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow... Yeah, this is a real sword, I'm going to threaten opposing pitchers with it... Selig said it would boost merchandise sales, so it was okay."



Dustin Pedroia: "BUT WHY IS THE RUN GONE?!!?"

Jason Bay: "Aren't we taking this 'Pirate' thing a little too far? No? Alright then, but no matter how long you keep me on this beach, I'll never get any tanner."

Kevin Youkilis: "That Lugo is such a primadonna... Does he really need TWO giant suitcases? It's not like he'll play, anyway, so they could leave his uniforms behind..."

Papel-duh

Well, I hate to say "I told you so..."

Actually, I don't. But after all, anyone who has been paying attention knew long before last week's "Sox Superlatives" post and his comments since that odds are Papelbon will be Shipping Up to New York before long. Here's what Paps had to say about the whole thing, when asked directly if he would ever play for the Bronx Bombers:

"Oh, of course. I mean, I think if we can’t come to an agreement on terms here in a Red Sox uniform, I mean, I think that’s pretty much the writing on the wall. If they can’t come to terms with you they’re letting you know that, ‘Hey you know what? We can go somewhere else.’ And I think it’s the same way on the other side, ‘Hey if ya’ll can’t come to an agreement with me then I can go somewhere else.’ Not only in the Bronx, but anywhere. I think anywhere is a possibility. You always have to keep that in the back of your mind because you can’t just be one-sided and think that, ‘Oh I’m going to be in a Red Sox uniform my entire career.’ Because nowadays that is very, very rare and hopefully we can because there’s no question I would love to stay in a Boston Red Sox uniform but I have to do what’s best for me and play in an atmosphere where I’m wanted and play on a team where I’m wanted and that’s all I can really say about that, you know?"

He then backtracked a bit after realizing that his words could have serious repercussions for him down the road, claiming, "I don't want to play for the [expletive] Yankees." I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the "expletive" was one of those words we often see Youkilis and Pedroia use when they strike out.

However, even if Papelbon was a little more skilled in diplomacy (which, of course, would be most unlike him) and hadn't spilled his guts to the whole world, the writing was on the wall.

The Red Sox have demonstrated that they have worries about his longevity. Paps began his career as a starter, and after he made the switch to closer, the Sox wanted him to switch back, in order to protect his (already troublesome) arm. Remember Spring Training 2007? A little, maybe? Well, we were all excited to see Paps as a starter, but wondered who would be the closer. Luckily (?), Jonathan decided that he preferred the closer's role, the Sox went on to win the World Series, and the rest is history.

The Red Sox have demonstrated time and time again that they will not overpay to retain their talent, and it takes compromise on both sides to get a long term deal. The Pedroia/Youkilis/Lester deals of the offseason are case in point: club policy requires that the player forfeit at least one year of free agency and agree to a club option for a deal to get done that gives the player some long-term security. We all know how Papelbon feels about sacrificing a single year or dollar, having heard him spout off again and again about "setting the standard" for those at his position.

We know that New York has no qualms about overpaying for other teams' home grown talent: CC Sabathia, Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, Alex Rodriguez (thanks!)... You get the picture. The Steinbrenners are like small children in a candy store with Daddy's credit card, they'll buy anything that catches their fancy. With Mariano Rivera closing in on 40 (40!), and his contract due to expire after 2010, the Yanks will be looking for a viable replacement, and be willing to pay him top dollar.

To be honest, I'm pretty much okay with it. With his history, Papelbon will not have the longevity that Mo has enjoyed (is the guy even HUMAN?), and I think it's a safe bet that most of Papelbon's productive years will be spent pre-free-agency. Let him go, I say, and bring on Daniel Bard. Or, you know, whoever is next in line from the player development machine.

I wonder if the Yankees' fans will remember this?