Oh. My. God.

Cutest. Cute. Ever.

Five Minute Musings

What a game last night! Instead of repeating what I'm sure everyone has already read (a game recap), I've decided to go with five quick points that are somewhat related.

1.) Who's ready for October?These guys are ready for October. I'll admit it. I thought our cause was lost at several junctures last night. However, I did not turn off the television, and sure enough, the Home Town Team did not disappoint. Paul Byrd started that game, in case you forgot (and I can't say that I would blame you). He gave up three runs in 5.1 innings, which is essentially all we can expect of him, and the bats did the rest. Once again, this was a game that lacked both V-Mart and Youk, and Drew made his first appearance in the late innings. I don't know about you, but I feel pretty good right now.

2.) Most of you know that I spend most of each game on Twitter (LoveSox15), conversing with my fellow Sox Nation members about the game. Yesterday's discussion between myself and Gabs10272004 led to a Postseason poster plan to end all Postseason poster plans. If either of us can get tickets (fingers crossed), we're making a sign that says: "Hey, @John_W_Henry: #signjasonbay" ... Hopefully the Twitterspeak will get us a mention from MLBonFOX (as much as I hate them) and the ownership group will get the picture. [If you're not into Twitter, disregard this, you won't get it.]

3.) My favorite Tweet from last night surrounds the Heidi Watney/Nick Green controversy... after Nick Green's game tying walk, and Gonzo's game winning blooper, Don Orsillo was seen on the field interviewing players postgame... in other words, doing Heidi's job. Someone wondered where Ms. Watney was, so I shared my prediction: "LoveSox15 RT @BoSoxMas Where's Heidi at? --> Taking off Nick Green's clothes."

...Awkward...

4.) I'm beginning to be a little worried about the State of the Youk. "I don't like to ice," he reportedly told Adam Kilgore of the Globe. He also says he has these back spasms about once a season, and they only sideline him for one series or so. While I would have picked the upcoming series against Kansas City, or perhaps the one against Baltimore, I figure if the boys can beat the offensively dangerous Angels with Youk on the bench, no one can stop us. Here's hoping #20 feels better, and soon.

5.) Josh Beckett is on the hill for us tonight. This is a HUGE start. He went out last time and threw a CG... however, it was a rain-shortened game, so his line went something like this: 5 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4K, all in 78 pitches. How he goes about this start will tell us if that was him getting back to his Ass-Kicking October self, or simply a fluke. As for me? I leaning toward the former. I mean, how could he have been watching that game last night and not be fired up? [Here's another theory about Heidi Watney's absence: in a fit of excitement, Beckett punched her in the face - accidentally-on-purpose, of course - and she's still recovering.]

Let's see THIS guy tonight. Captain Badass, your skills are needed.

Obligatory Over-Reaction

I didn't think I would get to say it this season, but I would like to thank Daisuke Matsuzaka. Seriously, after all the drama in the Spring about the WBC, I'm simply thrilled he was able to contribute at all, let alone deliver a performance like that. I was one of those people calling for blood after our resident Japanese enigma started off 1-5... and to be honest, I wasn't too particular whose blood it was: Bud Selig's, Team Japan's, Daisuke's himself? Didn't matter, I just wanted retribution. I recall demanding (in my usual delusional manner) that the nation of Japan pay Matsuzaka's salary, since he quite clearly cared more about them than the team that gave him an opportunity to fulfill his dream of playing in the major leagues.

That all changed last night. I don't have the exact quote, but Matsuzaka acknowledged that he had been a "burden" on his teammates this season, and he wanted to make it up to them. Ummm, thanks? Obviously, I'm not about to absolve anyone of blame - I will be shocked if any significant Sox stars participate in the next WBC - but if #18 can go on throwing the ball with any semblance of the authority he was last night, I don't think anyone can stop our starting rotation.

Last night was a legitimate playoff preview, and, lest you forget, we were playing sans V-Mart and Youk, yet still managed to score enough runs to win despite the presence of Captain GIDP in the lineup. As Martinez was taking care of personal matters in Cleveland, Tito had no choice at the catching position, but I for one have no doubt that Tek would have been behind the plate regardless. After a three month hiatus, it's in the team's best interest to have a familiar face catching Daisuke (we all know Becks turns into jelly when his security blanket is taken away).

Looking past the impressive performance last night (small sample size, I know... but let me be excited!), I don't think any team in baseball can beat our playoff rotation, 1-4. Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, Matsuzaka. Even if two of them perform at an average level, the other two have the potential to be so dominant that a five game series against us begins to look like an exercise in futility. I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but as a Red Sox fan, it is my god-given right to overreact several times during the season, and I've resisted (for the most part) thus far. That wasn't the hapless Royals we just shut down, it was the American League West leading Angels, who are still sitting pretty with an 86-58 record, six games up on the second-place Texas Rangers. However, from where I stand, the Red Sox are the team to beat right now.

Curtain Number One, Please.

Just a quick plea to Daisuke before he takes the mound tonight... I want to see this guy:Matsuzaka posted a 3-0 record with a 2.45 ERA in the World Baseball Classic, earning the tournament's MVP award for the second time (meaning, of course, that he is the only MVP that the WBC has seen thus far). Since then, Daisuke has morphed from the triumphant figure above into this guy:Since the end of the WBC, #18 has gone 1-5 with an 8.23 ERA... not to mention all of the strain he put on our bullpen early on (35 innings in 8 games).

He's back tonight, folks. And here's hoping he's more like the man behind curtain number one. I for one would be happy to wave the Japanese flag at Fenway if it means a win for the team enigma...

Monday One-Liners

First let me apologize for my extreme delinquency in posting for the entire month of August; I was dealing with some very serious family issues, and then had to immediately be ready to return to school. In short, I had some good reasons, but I'm sorry in any case.

Now, on to the post. Like many of you, I have a rather large collection of baseball books, and each of them has its own share of classic one-liners. Because I need some laughs (and who doesn't on a Monday?), here's a compilation of "greatest quotes" from certain of my books:


"Since Dan Shaughnessy is the guy who invented this curse nonsense in the first place, I find it kind of odd that he keeps talking about it. He's a bright guy. I can't believe he actually believes in it. I guess the Curse of the Bambino has a better ring to it than the Curse of Dan Shaughnessy." (Page 102).

I know this book as a whole is sort of crappy, but this line is too good to overlook... I mean, the Curse of Dan Shaughnessy? Gold. As a side note, I realized that only crazy Red Sox fans like myself would bother to learn to spell a name as difficult as Shaughnessy when he's not even a player. Yastrzemski was one thing, but really...





"Every time I go someplace where the people have never met me before, they all tell me the same thing: I look fatter on TV... I always joke with them: 'Who do you think I am, Kevin Millar?' (Trust me, bro. Millar would say the same thing about me.)"

This just captures the carefree AWESOME of the magical 2004 team. Shots before the game? Fine. Calling a teammate fat in a national bestseller? Whatever. Honestly, Millar would undoubtedly say the same, and he has.







"'I began to think about the pinstripes?' The allure of the tradition?' 'Set my legacy?' Who spoke like that? You could have polished the entire fleet of New York City cabs for a year with all that polish."

And we all know about Clemens and the liniment, so I'll spare you that particular mental image once again, but I just can't resist a good shot at A*Rod's dignity.









"I kept teasing him [Pedroia]: 'They told me you were a second-rounder. I didn't know they drafted short, fat people that early. If I knew that, I would have just not grown and eat a lot of cheeseburgers.'" Also about Pedey: "Simmer down, Napoleon."

That one needs no explanation: this next one, however, means a lot to me on a personal level.

"Surviving cancer is, and will always be, my toughest battle. I laugh when people talk about how tough it is to deal with the boos of the fans or the high expectations of big market baseball. Hah! You want to know what tough is. John Kruk knows. Andres Galarraga knows. And Jon Lester has come to find out. When cancer comes calling, baseball takes a backseat. Having forty thousand people at Yankee Stadium tell me I suck is a nice diversion."


"What happened in player meetings, was supposed to stay in player meetings - sort of like the first rule of Fight Club."

Now, this book was not especially informative, or even well-written, and I definitely don't recommend buying it, but that line just made me picture a drunken Josh Beckett brandishing his fist in the face of someone like Josh Reddick, while the rookie pees his pants and the rest of the veterans look intimidating in the background. Red Sox Fight Club? Sign me up!







"Forget about A-Rod. We've got Mike Lowell in the house."

While that quote was attributed to the much maligned Manny Ramirez, its sentiment rings true. when it comes to championships, character, team spirit, resemblance to George Clooney,or just general awesomeness, Mikey wins. Every single time.





"Once, Francona was so frustrated with Ramirez that he told Ortiz, 'I'm going to kill him.' Ortiz listened and told the manager that he'd check on Ramirez. After a while, Ortiz returned with a smile and a statement: 'It's all right for you to kill him now.'"

Oh, the days of Manny and Papi... It's like good cop/bad cop. Don't get me wrong, I don't miss Manny (especially the way he's been hitting lately), but those were some good times.








"I came up next. And put a line drive over the Monster. With that bomb, I was only 742 home runs behind Barry Bonds on the all-time list."

"I always wanted to be a miniature badass."

Only Dustin Pedroia can deliver these two gems without a trace of irony. If you haven't read his book, do it now. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200, just read it.







I'll try to be better about posting, and if I'm being honest with myself, it's likely that this blog will come before homework (a girl's got to have her priorities - this is a pennant race!).

Monster Disappointment

Am I surprised? No. Disappointed? Absolutely.

I heard the news yesterday morning at work: my boss, knowing what a fan I am, asked me what I would think if Papi turned out to be a juicer. I shrugged, and honestly told him it would upset me, but no one is safe from suspicion. Of course, I was immediately tested on this claim, as he informed me of the New York Times report (that he had first heard on ESPN).

I was a little bit blindsided, but the reaction I had predicted to my employer was impressively accurate. I am absolutely not surprised. I don't think there is a name in the game that would shock me anymore, and that, more than anything, speaks volumes about the integrity that baseball has lost. I'm a politics major, and the very basis of the American legal system is that you are innocent until proven guilty. This is no longer the case in America's pastime. If you played anytime in the last twenty years, you're a suspect, and that's just sad.

I realized today that I have never experienced the game of baseball free from juicers. I was born in January of 1990, and by the time I was an engaged and cognizant fan the Steroid Era was well underway. As much as Bud Selig and MLB would like us to believe that era is coming to a close, we know better. Until they have some sort of proven test for HGH, we'll always wonder who's using. Is the batter who hit that walk off doing it clean? What about the pitching prospect who's throwing 100mph? Or the veteran who has a bounce back season?

Mike Lowell said it best when he cited the pure numbers from the 2003 "anonymous" testing: 104 players are on that list, out of over 1000 who were tested. Less than 10% of players tested positive, this at the so-called "height" of the Steroid Era, and yet all we hear about are those who used. Part of this is due to the way the names keep coming out... As one or two names trickle out every three months or so, we have to wonder: "Is my guy next?" If the names are going to come out, let's see them all and be done with it; no more of this slow hemorrhaging of [former] heroes.

The Papi news hurts a lot, if only because he was such a great story: the poor boy from the Dominican, shut out of the Twins organization, then becomes a hero in the baseball mecca of Boston. Ortiz regularly lambasted steroid users, demanding a full-season suspension of those who are caught. There's nothing to say Papi didn't stop using after 2003, when the mandatory testing regimen was instated: I'm guessing a lot of guys did, whether from fear of suspension or humiliation. Until we know more, I can't say anything else about it... Papi seemed blindsided by the news, but that doesn't mean anything.

And to those who think this taints the '04 and '07 World Championships: do you honestly believe that even a single team was devoid of cheaters? We KNOW New York had a few of their own, and anyone who believes the other playoff participants were completely clean is either stupid or lying to themselves. I'm not excusing anyone - cheating is cheating - but the Series' wins mean as much to me now as they ever did, and NO ONE can take that away.

The fan gets what the fan wants...

While watching the intro to the ESPY's (hey, it's an off-day), host Samuel L. Jackson said something intriguing, namely, "This is all about the fans. The fan gets what the fan wants." How often do we hear owners/managers/athletes say something to that effect, and how often does it actually happen? Of course, Jackson is talking about the winners in his awards show, which are actually voted on by fans, but even within the ESPY's, if the fans got what they truly wanted, there would be more highlights and fewer commercials. Of course, there's no way that every fan could physically get what they want, as everyone has their own opinions about what would make their team better. Below are the events that would take place if the sports world oriented itself around THIS fan's fancy (most are Red Sox related - there's a shocker!).

• JP Ricciardi decides that what he really needs to do is trade Roy Halladay and Marco Scutaro to Boston for Julio Lugo and a packet of grape flavored Big League Chew. Merci!
• Brian Cashman decides that instead of overpaying for yet another free agent, he'll donate the money to a small yet overwhelmingly deserving charity. The Yankees fall out of first place when CC Sabathia eats himself into a coma at one of New York's fine restaurants.
• Ticket prices at Fenway Park suddenly find themselves within the realm of possibility for a college student with a limited income. Trinity College consequently decides that Major League Baseball games qualify as excused absences.
• Dustin Pedroia realizes his love for me. We live happily ever after.
• NESN releases the footage of the beatings Josh Beckett handed down to the Sox offense following the epic FAIL on Tuesday night. Special attention is given to the post-game swirly awarded to Lowrie, and the atomic wedgie suffered by JD "I don't care that my underwear is up my ass" Drew.
• Heidi Watney gets a clue, or, failing that, NESN hires someone with tact and passion to do her job.
  
• Jacoby Ellsbury learns to take a walk, and produces in the leadoff spot. Actually, I won't even wish for that. It's impossible.

Feel free to add your wildest sports wishes in the comments!