Red Sox Fan in a Foreign Land [Part 2]

Back in 2008, an bitter Hank Steinbrenner took a shot at Red Sox Nation: "What a bunch of bullshit that is.  Go anywhere... and you won't see Red Sox hats and jackets, you'll see Yankee hats and jackets."  As much as I hate to say this, old Hank was right.  To a certain extent in Delhi, and to a much larger degree in Dakar, you see Yankees hats everywhere.

This wasn't completely unexpected, but I was curious as to why and how all of these people became Yankees fans (and why all of the people wearing Red Sox, Marlins, Cardinals, Mets, White Sox, A's, Braves, Rockies, and other hats came to have them).  Very few people here speak English or Spanish (French and Wolof are the official and most common languages), and to the best of my knowledge there has not been a single Senegalese Major Leaguer.

This man dd not understand why I wanted a photo with him. Then, he told me he loved me.

So when I had access to a translator for a class project (yes, I actually have to do work on this program), I decided to ask a few people.  Not a single one of the men I asked knew that the interlocked NY on their caps meant New York Yankees, all five of them thought it simply stood for New York, and, by extension, the United States.  The one man I asked with a Red Sox hat owned it because his surname started with a "B," so this phenomenon is hardly unique to the Yankees.

Some people wearing such hats wear them to look like American rap stars Jay-Z and 50 Cent, contemporaries of Senegalese cult-hero Akon, who was born in the US to Senegalese parents but spent his formative years in Dakar.  All in all, I would hazard a guess that 99% of the people in Dakar wearing MLB paraphernalia have no idea that it's a team logo, and they don't care.

However, that doesn't mean I don't get excited when I see a Boston hat (all the Yankees caps are enough to drive you insane).  Yesterday, we went to a wrestling match, and when one of the famous wrestler emerged from his car to cheers, a member of his entourage had a shiny, new, flat-brimmed Red Sox hat on (backwards, of course).  I immediately started jumping up and down in excitement (I was hardly alone - wrestling is a BIG DEAL here - people were literally fainting from excitement all over the stadium).

The sight of the Sox hat was enough to make my day, even though the match was anticlimactic (it actually ended in a tie) and I was rushed to the hospital late at night because I am apparently allergic to mangoes.  Hopefully, the Red Sox will soon start playing well enough for this kind of excitement to be justified... I think a series at Cleveland is JUST what the doctor ordered.

Everyone CALM DOWN.

So here we are, one series and three games into the 2011 season, and 3 games behind the first-place Orioles (yes, the Orioles), and people are starting to panic.

Why did we drop so much money and so many prospects for a splash in the offseason only to see the 2011 version of the Sox immediately fall into a tailspin in Texas? First of all, there are a lot of factors that go into these three losses.

(1) The Rangers are not to be taken lightly. These are not your father’s Texas Rangers: they’re under new ownership (hello, Nolan Ryan), and, lest you forget, they are the defending American League champions. Yes, they’ve lost Cliff Lee, but one player does not make or break a team.

(2) The Red Sox had a terrible spring. I understand that Spring Training is essentially meaningless, but the lackluster record and laissez faire attitude from that period seems to have carried over. Hopefully, they snap out of this funk sooner rather than later.

(3) It’s only April 4^th! I know, I know, these losses count just as much as losses in July or September, and if we lose out on the playoffs by less than three games, I will go back and eat my words, but while a three-game sweep to Texas, IN Texas, would be a cause for concern in mid-June and are the reason for outright panic at the start of the season. Say it with me, folks: SMALL. SAMPLE. SIZE.

Look, I understand the panic. I get it, the start of a new season is a rebirth in many ways, and no one wants their personal time of renewal to be sullied by bad experiences (and three losing scores of 12-5, 5-1, and 9-5 certainly fall into the realm of bad experiences).

But just like the triumphant graduating senior who can look back at his botched freshman year with nostalgia, I am confident that we will be able to look back on these three days and laugh, for they will not shape the entire season. Baseball is a marathon, there are 160 games still left to be played, and it’s unlikely (practically impossible, in fact), that the Red Sox will go 0-162 – though that would certainly be a memorable season, for all the wrong reasons.

It’s going to be okay, I promise… there’s a lot to look forward to: David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez are already RAKING; Matt Albers, Bobby Jenks, and Dennys Reyes have a collective ERA of 0.00; no one is injured yet; AND WE GO TO CLEVELAND NEXT. Things are going to look up – our starting pitching can hardly get worse, and the return to friendly Fenway on Friday should do us a world of good (even if we’re returning to play the Yanks).

It's not the 2010 Parade of Carnage, so everything will be okay.

So back away from the edge of the Tobin Bridge, Red Sox Nation… this should still be a season for the ages, and you would hate to miss out because you jumped ship in April after one lost series.

I'm missing everything!

This photo almost made me cry.

This is harder than I had initially imagined… Before I embarked on this semester abroad, I calculated just how many Red Sox games would be played during my absence, and while I understood on some level that I would really be missing a lot of baseball, I had it in my head that I would be able to keep up somehow, and maybe even watch a game here and there.

At this point, that seems pretty unlikely. My homestay here in Dakar, Senegal, does not have internet, and the games are broadcast at times when I am certainly expected to be home. Next week, I leave for Spring Break, and the resort presumably has WiFi, but most likely not enough to stream games. The one light at the end of the tunnel might be Buenos Aires. We arrive in Argentina April 17^th, and because the time difference there is just one hour (!), it’s possible that I might be able to watch the occasional Red Sox game, whether or not my Argentinian homestay has internet.

When I’m at home, the only times I wake up without knowing how he Sox did the night before are when I fall asleep watching them on the West Coast… and I just missed Opening Day (which, apparently, was not the triumphant return we had all imagined) and Game #2. Every morning when I get to someplace with internet, I immediately check the scores, but it’s not the same.

I feel like there’s a physical hole in my life: Opening Day is about renewal and new beginnings, and I missed out completely. My own personal Opening Day will be May 23^rd, when I return stateside, and you better believe the first thing I’m going to do is watch the Sox.

Let's Burst his Bubble: CJ Wilson and Opening day

Despite the fact that Texas starter CJ Wilson is seemingly unimpressed with the 2011 Boston Red Sox, I have a good feeling about today (plus, I have Wilson and Neftali Feliz on my fantasy team, so if all goes awry for the Sox, at least I'll get something out of it).

I'm a pretty big Wilson fan, but with all due respect, his comments sounded like overcompensation - perhaps for nerves? Obviously, the lefthander is an elite talent, and he's only saying what any pitcher would say. You can't expect him to publicly cower from the almighty Red Sox - that would hardly inspire his teammates to give him much run support. The fact is, the Red Sox did only make 2 additions to their lineup, but they're two of the best players in the game. Sure, the fact that both Crawford and Gonzalez are lefthanded, and Wilson has been absolute DEATH on lefties, but I still think the Sox will pull this one out.

And even if they don't? There are 161 games coming after today, and these Red Sox are built for the long haul. Assuming they can avoid another Parade of Carnage like last year, it's easy to imagine baseball in Boston well into October. It's hard not to look at the first few games of the season under a microscope: if the team goes 0-2 or 1-3, well, there goes the season. Likewise, if the team starts off hot, it's tempting to start designing those World Series rings in April.

But it's just so pretty.

The checked-in fan does neither. Yes, the games happening in April count for exactly as much as the games that will happen in late September, but they also count only as much as those lazy June afternoon games that so many of us miss while we're at work. A little perspective goes a long way in baseball.

CJ Wilson's perspective is that he needn't worry about the Sox this Opening Day - I say we give him a reality check.

We made it!

It's here! Finally, Opening Day 2011 is upon us, and though the Red Sox don't actually play until tomorrow, THERE'S BASEBALL AGAIN! Despite the fact that I will struggle mightily to keep up with MLB in the coming months (though the internet situation in Argentina is unknown - maybe that will be easier), I cannot remember ever being this excited to start a season.

Sure, we say something to this effect every year, but I honestly think this is different, at least for me. Like every year, Opening Day is a clean slate (let's forget the 89 wins of yesteryear right now, ok?), but this year it means even more, for some reason.

I think partially because I've been hitting a wall lately on my study abroad program, but I really need baseball to keep my sanity intact, now more than ever. I absolutely cannot wait to throw all of my energy and my free time into repeatedly checking and rechecking stats and standings and replays, and if I ever have enough bandwidth, I will hopefully be able to stream a game or two.

I'll put up a more Sox specific post later, but I really needed to get this out there first thing in the morning: Happy New Year, Red Sox Nation - we made it!

Fantasy Baseball 2011: I have no idea what I'm doing

Despite the fact that I will be missing a large chunk of the baseball season while in Senegal and Argentina, I've decided to try my hand at fantasy baseball for the first time. One of the kids on my abroad program decided to organize things, and we did our live draft on the 6-hour bus ride to a rural African village. We're an 11-person league, and a few of the participants were tuned out/uninformed during the draft (there was one girl who chose her team based on physical attractiveness and interesting names, and a guy who only drafted from the bottom fifty from our top-300 list), so even though I had the ninth pick I think I ended up with a pretty solid team.

If this is totally uninteresting to you, feel free to check back later in the week for a Red Sox post (OPENING DAY WAHHH!!!), but for now I'll just run down my 2011 fantasy baseball roster - feel free to leave comments or criticisms for me.

LINEUP:

1B Adrian Gonzalez: This was my first pick, and I'm excited for obvious reasons. I think Gonzalez will have a monster season at fenway Park, and unlike some of my competition, I don't think the shoulder surgery from last year will be an issue.

2B Brandon Phillips: The guy with the number 1 pick took Pedey in the second round, and then Robbie Cano and Ian Kinsler went before I picked, so I ended up with Phillips. I don't know too much about him, but his ranking on ESPN's top 300 list (51; 4th out of second basemen) along with his stat line from 2010 make me pretty excited about him.

3B Kevin Youkilis: Unsurprisingly, quite a few players ranked lower than Youk went before him in our draft (he was #19), and I capitalized. At this point, I don't think people will ever truly appreciate what a quality ballplayer Youkilis is: he's constantly turning in killer seasons, but he doesn't have the "look" of a star, and so he'll forever be underestimated. In terms of this fantasy baseball draft, I'm okay with that.

SS Troy Tulowitski: Somehow, Derek Jeter was taken before Tulowitski in our draft, despite the fact that Jeter is ranked 45 slots LOWER than Troy on our ranking sheet. There were a few Yankees homers in the draft, and I exploited that fact. Also, the fact that Tulowitski plays for the Rockies in the NL West meant that only 4 of 11 people participating had even heard of him. Yes, please.

C Matt Wieters: The would-be phenom hasn't lived up to his enormous hype in the last few years, but I have a good feeling about 2011. His power numbers went up last year from his rookie season, and he will be turning 25 at the beginning of the season, so he still has time to come into his own. I think this is the year he realizes his potential and becomes a star.

OF Colby Rasmus, BJ Upton, Aubrey Huff: Not a trio with too much star power, but they pack a good amount of punch between them. I'm pretty sure they were mostly overlooked due to the fact that they play for St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and San Francisco, respectively, and very few people in the draft are hard core fans, so the big names went fast - though these three names should be bigger, in my humble opinion.

Starting Pitchers:

LHP CC Sabathia: Obviously excited about this. CC turns in nearly 20 wins every year, and is a reliable workhorse. I'm confident that he'll be a fantastic pick for me. Though it will be hard to root for a Yankee to win. Speaking of which...

RHP Phil Hughes: Someone please explain to me why Hughes isn't the number two guy in the Yankees rotation? Anyway, I think 2011 will be a big year for him, and, by extension, a big year for me. He was one of their two reliable starters last year, and he's heading into his age 25 season - fortunately for my fantasy team, and unfortunately for the Red Sox, I see big things in Hughes' future.

RHP Clay Buchholz: So Clay was only ranked at #140, and I took him before we had even gotten all the way through the top 100. I was judged by my fellows, but I absolutely do not regret this pick. Despite all the speculation about his luck last year with BABIP, but I don't foresee too much of a downslide. Bill James might not be too optimistic about Buch's 2011 (13-9, 3.54 ERA), but I am.

RHP Ubaldo Jimenez: I'm pretty sure 80% of the people participating in the draft had no idea who Jimenez is, which certainly worked in my favor. After winning 19 games in 2010 (while pitching in the thin air of Coors Field), I see him being a pretty consistent contributor to my squad.

LHP CJ Wilson: After being moved into the Rangers rotation last season, Wilson really came into his own, going 15-8 with a 3.35 ERA. In addition to on-field contributions, Wilson is quite the clubhouse character. I know this doesn't actually help with the whole fantasy baseball thing, but I find Wilson endlessly amusing (follow him on Twitter), so I'm glad he's on my roster.

Relief Pitchers:

RHP Neftali Feliz: Since Feliz is actually going to remain the Rangers' closer, I'm pretty pumped to see his stats rack up. Feliz, the AL Rookie of the Year in 2010, saved 40 games last season, and struck out 71 batters in 69.1 innings - and he's only heading into his age 23 season.

RHP Brad Lidge: This one is a gamble on my part, given Lidge's age (and that he's starting 2011 on the disabled list), but I think he still has something left in the tank - it was only 2 years ago that he was perfect, saving 41 games in the process. Last year he saved 27 games, so if he can do that again - and the Phils should give him plenty of opportunity - I'll be happy.

RHP Daniel Bard: This one was a no-brainer for me - even though he was ranked pretty low, and even though he won't get many save opportunities with Paps and Jenks ahead of him, I'm confident he'll once again be racking up the strikeouts.

RHP Rafael Soriano: Yes, another Yankee. Soriano signed his three-year, $35 million contract this offseason with New York - to be the set-up man to closer Mariano Rivera. He should get a lot of innings this season with all the question marks in the Yankees' rotation, so hopefully he can continue the excellence he displayed in 2010 (45 saves for the Rays) in his new role and under new pressure in the Bronx.

Bench Players:

OF Vernon Wells: The former Blue Jay had 31 home runs last year - if healthy, he should perform well for the Angels.

OF/DH Manny Ramirez: This was mostly a nostalgia pick. After last year's injury fiasco and taking a bargain-basement deal (in Manny-terms, that is) to come to Tampa Bay, it would be easy to write off the aging slugger. However, I think that with the chance to DH more often to rest his ever-ailing knees, and with the presence of old friend Johnny Damon to keep him grounded, Manny might actually have a chance at a productive season.

LHP Mark Buehrle: Not the best pitcher out there, but he's pretty consistently turned in a dozen or so wins for the last decade or so, which makes me feel okay about having him as my backup. Plus, he shows flashes of brilliance now and then, so he has the potential to be totally domination at times.

So what do you guys think? I'm sure many of you are avid fantasy baseball players, and know what kinds of things I should have looked at. We're playing through Yahoo!, so I don't exactly know how points are calculated, but it's just for fun - and bragging rights - so let me have it in the comments if you think I made any major miscalculations.

More tweaking for Matsuzaka

Opening Day is getting closer and closer every day, and things are starting to solidify for the already-pretty-solid Sox. We've got a relatively set lineup (though Tito is hesitant to say as much), and an eviable rotation (Lester, Lackey, Buchholz, Beckett, and Matsuzaka) - the only thing in any state of flux seems to be the bullpen, but that's a topic for another day.

Today, I would like to discuss a man who is a bonafide legend not just in his hometown (most major-leaguers are) but all across his nation. Yes, this is going to be a post about Daisuke Matsuzaka, the pride of Tokyo. [I'll try to make it easier to read than he is to watch.] We'll skip over the usual hyperbole about his enigma status and jump right into the reason for this post: Sox pitching coach Curt Young thinks he may have a solution.

So what is this "solution?" Is it voodoo? Magic? Icy-Hot? According to Young (via the Boston Globe online), the secret might just be shuffling Matsuzaka's off-day workouts. In MLB, starting pitchers are on a five-man rotation, meaning they usually get four days off between starts. Matsuzaka operated with a six-man rotation back in Japan, meaning that he did his long-toss and bullpen sessions on the same day. [This seems strange at first: why do everything on one day if you have extra time? The theory seems to be that you can do a more intense workout because you have the extra day to recover.]

Since coming to the Red Sox in 2007, Matsuzaka has been doing his workouts his way, and Young thinks switching things up, with long-toss and bullpen on the second and third day after his start, respectively, could make a positive difference.

On behalf of Red Sox Nation, I have one thought to sum up the whole Matsuzaka predicament: whatever the change is, JUST DO IT [apologies to Nike]. Hopefully this change will cure him of that horrible tendency to nibble the corners instead of challenging hitters, as well as allowing him to pitch well past the fifth inning - both skills that have thus far mostly eluded Matsuzaka in Boston.

For me [and I'm guessing for many of you] the most frustrating thing about Daisuke is that he HAS been the dominating guy we thought we were getting... for Japan in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, where he went 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA and was awarded the WBC MVP Award. Great. And as I'm sure you all remember, he played in only 12 games for the red Sox that season, going 4-6 with an ERA well over 5.

Hopefully this is the year that we'll finally see that guy playing in a Red Sox uniform. Will we see the mythical gyroball? Probably not, but I'll settle for a quality season from a player who certainly has the talent.