I don't really know what to post right now

I'm starting to feel like the schoolyard bully picking on the weakest kid when it comes to the Yankees...I even WANTED them to win on Saturday cause I would have felt too awful if the Yankees had lost because of Karstens' broken leg. So, I'll try to focus on the Red Sox and temporarily IGNORE the rivalry.

The good news:

Starting May with the best record in baseball - not too shabby.

The bad news:

Still 5 more months to play. Plenty of time for a spectacular flop.

The good news:

Tim Wakefield and Josh Beckett both have ERAs under 3.00.

The bad news:

Beckett gets a ridiculous amount of run support and Wakefield gets none. We can't count on Beckett having such good luck in the future, but based on past seasons, I don't really expect Wake's luck to improve. Makes me SO mad cause he's such a great pitcher!

The good news:

Papelbon carried a 0.0 ERA through April for the second straight year.

The bad news:

Okay, there's no downside here!


And now for the Goofy Face Made While Throwing a Ball Photo of the Week (yes, I think I'll make it a weekly feature). The honor goes to Julio Lugo:




On a related note, Freaky Arm Angle Photo of the Week goes to Julian Tavarez (also runner-up for Goofy Face honor):

Ahem...

That was a good series... Everyone played great...

That will hopefully start some discussion.

Betsy, I found the perfect shirt for you! (Okay, for us.)

Is NOTHING sacred?!?

I saw this on Yahoo Sports today: "Schilling's famous red sock called into question."

Blasphemy!



I hope people will start blogging again when the big rematch begins tomorrow night...

Apparently I wasn't the only one thinking it was drama worthy of the postseason!

"Sunday night's game between the Yankees and Red Sox was the highest-rated regular-season baseball game on ESPN since Mark McGwire hit his 61st homer to tie Roger Maris, on Sept. 7, 1998."

Chin up, boys

Wii Yankees and Playstation Red Sox Sing Dirty Dancing Theme

So I tried to post this video the otherday, you know, when Papelbon didn't close. And I included the comment, "Nobody puts Papelbon in the corner." Not as applicable after yesterday's game, but still amusing to me.

One, two, three, four get your homer outta here...

...gotta gotta get up, get out
gotta gotta get up, get out

A-Rod's not the only one that can hit home runs

OH MY I want a photo of that catch by Pedroia! Okay, I guess I should take back ALL of my beefs (beef?) from that earlier post cause this series has proved them all wrong - Manny's hitting homers, Pedroia's making great plays, Coco Crisp is clutch.

Ooh, Papelbon is warming up!

How quickly they forget...

During the "nor'easter" last week, and while waiting for a run-in with Noah and his shipbuilders, I happened across an article in the Boston Globe. The article outlined how the rain delays were going to help out the Sox in their upcoming series with the Yanks. The premise was that Schilling was now set to start Friday's game, and that was going to be in our favor. Now, keep in mind that what I'm about to write I was actually going to post the day I read the article, but, being the ever-supersticious fan, I was worried I might jinx Friday's game. Although I'm now thinking that the journalist did enough jinxing on his own.

DOES NO ONE REMEMBER THE SEASON OPENER!?!?!?!?! Don't get me wrong. I'm a fan of Curt Schilling. I have been ever since he used to play on the Phillies and practiced in the gym in my high school. (There are those who will fight me on this fact...but it's true, I saw him.) The guy's only human, as we saw on day 1 and again on Friday night. A-Rod took him to town, or some other more applicable cliche. This is apparently the current trend though for A-Rod, according to the other more-knowledgable bloggers here. Schilling pitching didn't really do anything for us, as was predicted, except give Coco a reason to fall into the bullpen and then redeem himself with some runs. You go Coco!

And because I like to spice things up with some pictures...for those of you who missed it...

Finally, the day we've all been waiting for!!

First Red Sox-Yankees game of the year ought to be a national holiday or something. At least it's not a day game!! I gotta admit, I'm a little scared of Andy Petitte. He's doing very well this year. But Manny's bat is finally heating up and he's done well against Petitte in the past so maybe he'll start thinking "Why is A-Rod getting all the attention? It's not Alex Being Alex...it's Manny Being Manny!" and then he'll start BEING Manny again and hit a bunch of home runs! Yeah! Go Sox!

Edited - 4th Inning:

Jason Varitek is seriously the man. I mean, we're talking men want him, women want to BE him. No wait, that's not quite right. You know what I mean.

Edited - 5th Inning:

Okay, A-Rod is obviously on the juice. That's alright. I'd rather have Mr. October than Mr. April on my team, you know what I'm saying?

Edited - 8th Inning:

Ouch, Papi, that was a pretty clumsy attempt at a slide. Don't risk hurting yourself. Did anybody else get the feeling that the ESPN commentator had to stop himself from saying "Ortiz knows that Damon throws like a girl"?

Edited - Later in the 8th Inning:

Looooove the rally caps. Yes! I take back everything bad I ever said about Coco Crisp!

There are certain inevitable truths...

A funny thing happened today, the Red Sox won. And figuring that nothing could ruin my day after the sox put another tick in the win column, I took a look at the other scores around the major leagues. Much to my dismay the Yankees were losing 5-2 in the 7th inning. At this point I was about to pat myself on the back for going to church on Sunday. But then it struck me. Honest to God I thought, "the Yankees aren't going to lose this game." At this point I went for a run and left it to fate (and apparently A-rod) to decide the outcome. Well low and behold not two minutes ago I just sat back down at my computer and of course I was right...the Yankees won. I am not even surprised, more upset I didn't go buy a lottery ticket (Saturday's drawing is worth $47 million). Seriously, I am about to put A-rod on my fantasy team, and it is really hard for a Yankee to get on my fantasy team. Also, now I really am glad I went to church because it would have ruined my day if I had just written off the Yankees only to come back to them winning. At least this way I was prepared...

Some Interesting Insights into the Mind of an Ace

Curt Schilling's thoughts on Roger coming back to the Sox, why he doesn't regret campaigning for Bush, and many, many other topics, most of which aren't as interesting as those two...

Is it too early in the season to start complaining?

I know it's still early but I think I wouldn't be a real Red Sox fan if I didn't second-guess the management, right? Right.

1. I don't get the whole Coco Crisp thing. Wily Mo Pena is so much better! He's like a little Papi in the making! The kid can hit!

2. Manny, I loved your newfound affinity for drawing walks last season but come on - only ONE extra base hit yet this season? You're supposed to be a slugger. Hit home runs. If Manny's going to continue with all the walks, let him bat BEFORE Ortiz so he's on base when Papi goes yard! Duh!

3. Who is Dustin Pedroia?

4. Why does Tim Wakefield NEVER seem to get run support? (I guess the management really doesn't have control over that, I just feel bad for the guy cause he's such a workhorse but his record never seems to reflect his talent.)

Okay, I guess I don't really have that many beefs with the Sox management right now. Just felt like ranting a little bit. Overall I'm quite happy with the way the team has been playing! And one person that I want to especially commend: Julian Tavarez, for not being a prima donna who gets all bent out of shape if his start is pushed back or eliminated for a week. It's a team sport, boys.

So, what's going on with the Yankees, pinstripe fans? Any complaints or too giddy with the excitement of A-Rod's returned offensive prowess?

Papi and Jorge

http://sports.espn.go.com/espntv/espnShow?showID=SRDA

Play Video 1...amusing for Sox fans and Yankee fans. Who knew?

Communicating....keeping up foreign relations...

Do you think Wakefield knows that Dice-K doesn't speak English?

A confession...

I wonder if people would be more willing to comment if they knew this little fact about me...


I know very little about baseball. Blogging I get. Blogging is fun. Deep down inside, I'm a computer nerd (with minimal knowledge of computers too, I do however know a lot about other things, I swear!). Baseball...all I know is the game. 3 strikes, 4 balls, 3 outs, 9 innings, infielders, outfielders, catcher, pitcher, most runs wins. That's about it, and most people know that too. Ok, I know about pinch hitting and running and stuff too. I know that my favorite team was inherited...but most people's is. I know player's names, but I don't always know what position they play. I'm getting better about this though. I don't read stats, I don't really even know what half the stats are that are listed in a game write up (do you even call it a write up??). But I like baseball. And I like my family. And I like that we have different opinions. And I like that we can banter back and forth about our opinions and have fun doing it. And that's why I Blog about baseball.

Who cares about the Rocket?

I miss the Rockette...


Okay, that was totally blasphemous. I still love the Rocket. I just wanted to make a play on words...

I wish I was a Little Leaguer in Maine...check this out.

It's about time...

No, I'm not talking about this...

(I feel fulfilled now that I finally got it in here as I said I would in one of my first posts...if ya don't know, now ya know!)

What I was really referring to was....HOME-OPENER! And what an opener it was too. 14-3 my friends...now that's a win.

When asked what was going wrong, Mariners Starting Pitcher Jeff Weaver could only answer, "And the hits just keep on coming!" (tee-hee!)

In the only game downer...flippin Donnelly. You're up 14-1, and you can't control yourself? Honestly...

More bloggers please

Links...

You may have noticed that I've added a few links to this blog. I just spent some time looking for some good Yankee blogs to link...I'm trying to play fair. I had some trouble finding any that weren't just news-related. So, to those Yankee supporters out there, I'm willing to make the link, but you need to find the blogs. Plus, I just don't know what you would like anyway!

Some Limitations I Think We Should Agree To

I was very excited about last night's game. I mean three of the most integral parts of the Red Sox organization got the job done: Schilling, W, 7IP, 1ER, 6Ks; Ortiz, 2HR; Papelbon; S, 1.2 IP. And in my excitement I felt I would come onto this blog and express it to the whole world (aka the other three people on the blog). I just ask that we be cognizant of the fact that we are all very informed people on this blog. We don't need to tell each other about every thing that our teams do because most everybody probably already knows. I am not trying to limit your freedom of speech, merely trying to limit a post for every single game that occurs for each team. I also want to mention that this plea is more for myself as I typically want to express my joy to the world after every good thing that happens to my team. I also don't want this to turn into a complete bashing of the other side when they do poorly (especially when the Red Sox are doing bad...and particularly when they blow the division lead after the all star break). If you agree with this great, if not be prepared for my posts...there would have been at least five last night (2 for Ortiz's homers, 1 for the double play, 1 for Schill, 1 for Papel, and probably even more).

PS-This picture was going to make it up eventually so I figured I'd just save us the anticipation and do it now.

It feels good to have a closer we can count on! It would have been such a shame to waste a great outing by Schilling and TWO homers from Ortiz, if the bullpen hadn't been able to hold on.

In other news...

I promised Sarah I would make sure I reminded everyone about another MLB event coming up! Remember Judy is in the process of getting tickets for the Padres game, in San Diego, on August 15. I believe it's a 7:05 start time. Those interested should let Judy know ASAP if you want to go!

Betsy the control freak

In the spirit of family love I want to mention two things. The first is that I would hope none of us would ever say anything that would offend "the dark/other side." Therefore, I see no need for Betsy to "reserve the right" to do anything. If she takes this to extremes I will have no problem creating my own blog, no holds barred, where we could all continue the Footer tradition.

In an attempt to promote family unity I think we should all take a moment to mention who our favorite player is on "the dark/other side." For me personally it is Hideki Matsui. He is an extremely proficient baseball player and never gets caught up in the media or anything of the likes. He is the one Yankee who I literally fear when he is at the plate. He is the one Yankee who I actually felt bad for when he was injured in the post season last year. Speaking of which, I was more upset about him leaving the game today than A-rod's walk-off grand salomi.

On a different note, I think we must all realize, as Aunt Cindy mentioned earlier, that without Grampy the Yankee camp is missing their loudest fan. And just when we Sox fans think we have the upper hand we need to remember those nights when none of use could get a word in because Grampy had more than two cents worth of input. Those were the days...

The Good News: Starting Pitching

So, Ajitator, perhaps none of the Yankees fans in the fam are blogging cause they already know their boys can't compete with the Red Sox this year, not with our starting rotation? Just a theory...

Okay, I know that we lost today, but you certainly can't fault Wake for losing a game in which he only gave up three singles in six innings! After the performances by Beckett (2 hits in five), Matsuzaka (6 hits in 7 with 10 Ks), and Wakefield (Schilling's performance was obviously an aberration!), I can't help but think that Tavarez will earn his spot in the rotation tomorrow with a stellar performance...I just hope he gets some support from the offense.

Also, in all the excitement over Dice-K yesterday, did anybody even bother to mention that Papelbon easily picked up his first save ?!?!

Aunt Jane, glad that you bring this up. In my humble existence as a human being I have visited several countries (3) in Central America. In that small period of time (about four weeks total in three different countries) I have been able to pick up Spanish pretty quickly and know enough to converse with the "locals." In the military you get $600 a month for being conversant in a language like Arabic, Japanese, or Chinese. You get a pat on the back if you are fluent in French, Spanish, German, etc. For these reasons I think I overlooked the fact that several of our prolific players speak the well known Spanish language. I would also liken it to the way that we speak. For instance, just the other day I learned how to get the variance of a data set on microsoft excel. I exclaimed, "Wow it makes life easy now that I know how to use excel." Really I knew how to use excel before I learned how to get the variance, but I still said that now I know how to use excel. I could have probably counted up every language that every player on the team speaks and said, "now that our team is sixlingual(sp???)" but that just wouldn't have been as effective.

In any event, I am glad about 1 thing here and have 2 complaints. The first complaint: I was looking for a lot of controversy and inner-family rivalry on this blog. More between the Yankee and Sox fans than people just calling me out on my mannerisms and figures of speech. Which brings me to my second complaint: can we not get more people on this blog? I thought we had like 50 people at thanksgiving dinner, so we have less than 10% of them in this blog...The one thing I am glad about, was that I was able to stir up some controversy and get us all to look more closely at our team and where they come from.

I think lastly, and most important was the win yesterday afternoon. I think that Dice-K is pretty legit and is already carving a special place for himself in my heart.

The prediction for today: we have the veteran Wakefield on the mound against the 2nd year Tejada. Humidity is around 60%. The Rangers have lost 3 straight. After 3 straight losses you'd think they are about due, but with favorable humidity for the vet I'd have to go with the Sox, 5-2.

Let's Start the Season Off Right

As a good old fashioned Red Sox fan, I thought I'd start the season off the way that every Red Sox fan starts off every season. We need to discuss that like every year, barring any injuries, we have the best Red Sox team ever known to mankind. Putting our team's athleticism and pure talent aside, we now have a bilingual team (and I mean they actually speak a second language...Damon's lisp didn't count), have no Jesus look-alike cavemen, and still have Theo. What more could you ask for? I guess maybe if Castro died we could have a trilingual team and we could smoke some very nice cigars as well, but let's not get greedy like those pin striped dough boys that throw like girls.

So, I think it is only fair and perfectly fitting to make a couple of predictions for the 2007 season. First, we are goin for 100 wins. We came two games short back in 2004 and only five games short in 03 and 05. I think it is safe assume that our cheap imported new laborers can make up those five or so games for us. Second, we will clinch the wild card and not the AL East. This might make some of you angry, but it is our destiny. The wild card was created for the Red Sox in order to create a more perfect union. Third prediction, Roger Clemens will be back. I have wondered what it would take to get him back. Clearly winning the series back in 04 wasn't enough for him, but I think he might just be looking for one last ring. And we all know there is only one place to go for that...

I think it is only fitting to mention one last thing as I watch Matsuzaka dominate the Royals. And that is no matter what happens this season, we must remember the five or maybe ten year rule. (See attached link...)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/050721

Thank you for reading, have a nice day.

Gyroball: Urban Legend or Secret Weapon Ready to be Unveiled in the Big Leagues?

This afternoon, the Red Sox's $100 million plus off-season acquisition (who, despite the language used to describe him, is a human being) will make his big league debut in possibly the most anticipated sporting event of the year! Super Bowl? Who cares! Tour de France? Without Lance, it's pretty much just men in spandex. Final Four? A snooze fest. The sports fans of the world are focused entirely on what goes down in Kansas City this afternoon. Will Dice-K live up to expectations?!?


And how about that Josh Beckett? Even if he does make a funny face when he pitches, you gotta love his performance last night. And how about Yooooooooouuuuuuuuuk's first homer of the season? All told, definitely NO cause for panic. Yet.

"Don't panic," said Sox third baseman Mike Lowell. "We'll be fine."

Panic?? One game into the season?? If it's already time to panic no wonder it's so stressful being a Sox fan. That's some pressure on Beckett tonight with Lowell already talking panic. Call me optimistic, but I think one game behind after only one game is a perfect way to show growth this season. Winning game one...now that's stress...setting such a high standard right off the bat (no pun intended). Of course, losing game one could kind of be equated to being the first one kicked off American Idol. Maybe Curt should get the mohawk...oh you all know what I'm talking about.

NO! Not that mohawk....

That's the one! It worked for him...maybe all of the pitchers should go for it. Who knows?

But thanks Mikey...I feel better already!

Ok, I worked in Sanjaya, hot topic number one...next blog: Anna Nicole...we just may know who her baby daddy is by then. (Collective groans...I can hear you!)

In the spirit of bipartisanship...

I will attempt to begin this blogging adventure by showing that despite my diehard love for the Red Sox (my dog's name is Fenway, after all), I can admit that there are a few things that I like about the Yankees:

1. I think it's cool when they have the throwback uniforms day when all the teams wear their uniforms from way back in the day (I think usually the 30's and 40's), and the only team who doesn't need to change uniforms because they're still wearing basically the original design is the Yankees. That respect for tradition really speaks to me.


2. Wait, I have to have MULTIPLE things? Baby steps, people. It took a lot to admit that I liked even ONE thing about the Yankees! Go Sox!

A legend began...

Our Grampy was born in 1916. Like most boys at the time, he grew up loving baseball. His love of baseball was naturally passed down to his children, and then grandchildren. Now, like most good baseball stories, this one involves The Babe/The Great Bambino/The Sultan of Swat. Gramp was naturally a fan of The Babe, and growing up in post-1918 baseball, this made him a die-hard Yankee fan, a devoltion which lasted for the rest of his life. But somehow, the family splintered, and a rivalry was born. This rivalry is none-other than the most intense of rivalries in baseball - the Red Sox vs. the Yankees. So, this blog is devoted to that rivalry, in honor of our Grampy. We love you...