All Tied Up: Offense Eliminates Yankee Division Lead

That's better. Sure, we may have been out of first place for a few hours, but the universe righted itself in a timely manner. I'll take a tie for first over a one game deficit any time, thank you. As much as it pains me to do this, I have to give Pretzels the majority of the credit for this win. Our snacky little centerfielder essentially destroyed Fatass all on his own, going 2-for-4 with six RBIs. Saturday marks the fourth time Fatass has lost to the Sox this season. Have we officially gotten into his head yet, or is it going to take another start?

Do I have to give Mudpie credit here? I really don't want to. In all honesty, saying anything nice about him makes me feel a little dirty. You know no matter well he may have pitched this time around, he's not deserving of the praise. So if I have to give Pretzels credit in this one, I'm going to withhold the Mudpie credit. I can't say nice things about both of them in the same entry. The universe would swallow itself. True story.

It took Fatass two innings to remember he was pitching to the Red Sox, but sure enough, he started handing over runs in the third. It started innocently enough. A sac fly from Pretzels. An RBI 2B from Munchkin. Suddenly, the Sox had a 2-0 lead. A sloppy inning, a double play, and a single in the fourth tied the game at 2 each, but the Sox weren't done with Fatass yet. The bottom of the fourth found a double from Youkilis, a single from new Red Sox that I haven't mentioned yet (welcome to Boston, Mike Aviles!), an RBI single from Crawfish, an RBI single from Scutaro, and to top it off, a 3-run home run from Pretzels. In case you lost count, that was five runs. Suddenly, it was 7-2 Sox, and the Yankees would never come close to matching the Sox offensive output... I mean, if you don't consider four to be close to seven.

Daniel Bard gave up an uncharacteristic home run in the 8th, making it 7-4 at the time, but the Sox poured on three more runs (big surprise, Pretzels was credited with two of those three) in the bottom half of said inning.

How exactly did we lose the sure-thing game on Friday and win the no-chance game on Saturday? Baseball is funny. Next up, Josh Beckett takes on Freddy "The Rock" Garcia. If you don't think he looks like The Rock, you're wrong. Gee, I can't imagine how this one will end. I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.

"Clean" Sweep: Beckett A Hit In New York

Oh wait... no, I meant "Beckett Hits A Bunch in New York." I am absolutely angry that I fell asleep last night and missed him plunking Granderson. I've been waiting to see him exact just a tiny bit of revenge since the moment Granderson broke up his no-hitter on June 3rd, 2009. I know, you're thinking I'm bitter and vindictive. In this case, you are correct. I saw him hit Jeter, and I missed the plunking of A-Rod and didn't care.... but man, if I had only stayed awake till the fifth. That's my punishment for being exhausted.

The result of the game was infinitely more pleasant than I had anticipated when I went to check the score this morning. Beckett settled down and got through seven innings with no more runs allowed. He hit almost as many as he allowed hits to (3 to 4) and he walked two. Granted, it's not the kind of dominant performance against the Yankees that we've seen twice already this year, but I figured they would score off him eventually. It was almost like pity runs to apologize for all the hit batters. Hah... right, like Josh Beckett has pity for any of his enemies.

In what I assume was retaliation, Papi got hit by Fatass in the fourth. I guess it's only fair, and I'm not going to act shocked and appalled. We hit their guys, they hit our hottest hitter. Are we square now? Probably not, but I could care less as long as no one gets seriously injured.

I'll have to watch the 2-hour replay that I Tivo'd so I can see that glorious 7th inning (or you could just watch the highlight video here). Looks like Fatass just fell apart. Ortiz singled (guess the hit didn't kill him, huh?), Lowrider tripled, Cam doubled, Tek singled, CRW singled, Ernie singled, and Fatass came out. His replacement, David Robertson, kept the rally going with a single to Youkilis and a double to Papi (two hits in an inning. NY really showed him!). When it was over and the dust had cleared, the Sox put seven on the board and handed Fatass his THIRD loss against Josh this year. I love that Josh keeps winning the rematch. It makes me feel vindicated. Who doesn't love a good Friday vindication?

All of our active sports teams are in Canada right this very minute. The Sox are preparing to face the Jays while the Bruins are lacing up to hopefully gain a series lead in Vancouver. Do us proud, guys.

Opening Day: Success For Everyone Except Pitchers!

I mean, wow, did Beckett look like garbage or what? 4.2 IP, 5 ER, and I believe only 1 K. What was that? Does he remember that this is a contract year and he's supposed to care? For goodness sake, that was probably the worst pitching performace I've seen out of him since God only knows when. But you know what? I loved it. Oh man, I savored (and yelled at) every pitch. And the fact that once the 6th inning hit, and Sabathia ended up being just as bad, made me feel so much better. Then we got to Rambo, and I felt a little sad again. But, Chan Ho Park made the smile return! Listen, when your final score is 9-7, you know that it wasn't a pitcher's duel. Yeah, I was expecting better from a Beckett-Sabathia match up, but we didn't get it. We'll get it somewhere further along the line, and maybe in the next match up, the two can actually act like they remember how to pitch.

Though, I'm not about to go all crazy, praising the Sox up and down for their incredible offense. Nine runs was fantastic, but I'm trying to be a little tempered in my expectations. I liked a lot of what I saw. There was a lot of working the count, and a lot of swinging at good pitches. Then, of course, there was plenty of staring at strike 3 (Drew! Jacoby! Damnit, you two should know better!) But, over all, I don't think I'm going to mind the offense as much as I thought I would.

And I promise, I will try to minimize the number of times I watch Scutaro miss a ball and say "Gonzo would have had it." Because, even though Gonzo WOULD have had it, Gonzo is gone again (for now) and I really am trying very hard to embrace the new guys.

Though it did give me a sense of complete satisfaction hearing the ovation for Mikey last night. Do the people of Boston love that man, or what? I know the way we cheer for him doesn't change his situation as a ball player, but in the end, it's got to make him feel sort of good, right? Goodness, I love that man. I really do. I hope he appreciates that we care so much. Hell, not even Pedro got the same kind of love... unless the audio on my TV was being warped for some reason. Pedro got the love. He absolutely did. I just think Mikey got more love.

Granted, I was far more giddy seeing Pedro, because my Pedro spottings are few and far between. I always love the look on his face when he comes back to Boston. You know that he really, truly loves the place. I don't know if it's because we treat him like a king, or because he just enjoys the scenery, but Pedro looks like he's home here. Hear that, Sox? PEDRO should be HOME in BOSTON. Perhaps in the second half. Just throwing that out there. Plus, the Pedro/Pesky hug? Adorable. Then again, who doesn't want to hug Johnny Pesky? I know I do.

And not for nothing... I have NO idea who that kid was, but that speech that he memorized? Loved it! Dr. Charles sure knows how to put on an opening day show. Neil Diamond... Steven Tyler... fireworks.... Pedro. Man, that was a variety show for the ages. But, Neil... it's time to let go. The Dodgers haven't been in Brooklyn for a good, long time and they're not going back. Move on with your life.

Pedro. Still happy about that one. There was no way they didn't win while Pedro was in the park. Perhaps Pedro could find our current ace and give him a stern talking to about how to pitch better. Perhaps.

Two more days until the next baseball game. Seems so unfair. But, we've got Jon to look forward to, and there's nothing wrong with that. Welcome to the 2010 season, everyone! We finally made it!

Josh Beckett: Making Me Daydream Since '06

A letter to Mother Nature.

Dear Mother Nature, after a long, cold, awful winter, we finally get to Opening Day... and it rains. Ha ha, Mother Nature. Very funny. But for real this time, don't pull that crap again, please. I've been daydreaming about opening day for months. I've been good this year, I deserve sunshine and green grass and a big angry Texan screaming obscenities from the mound.

Now, it may be nothing to you. Perhaps you don't care about baseball? I will refrain from accusing you of being completely un-American, because I'm pretty sure a character such as yourself is loyal to no country, never mind my country. Yes, in the same way I curse your name here in America, I'm sure there are plenty of Australians, and Guatemalans, and Japanese folks swearing you down every now and then. Since your allegiances, if any, are ambiguous, I want to let you in on a very poorly kept secret. Here in Boston, we live baseball... usually Red Sox baseball, but I have seen a few Yankee fans floating around, as well as the occasional A's fan. But to deprive us of baseball for even one more day? Well that's just not nice . It really made me sad. I mean, there I was... minding my own busines, straightening out the Red Sox pictures on my cubicle wall and eyeing the clock anxiously when I got the word that the game was postponed. And just for the record, that rain yesterday? That was a bitch to drive in, and I definitely did not appreciate it. Why is it that when it's pouring, trucks feel the need to speed up just enough to cut me off and spew road water all over my windshield, making it even HARDER to see? Anyway. Back to my point... where was I? Oh yeah.

Mother Nature, I beg you... look into that Red Sox dugout. Look straight at Munchkin. He's been waiting MONTHS to show someone up. Look at the way Jacoby is pacing around... those legs are dying to steal a base. Check out the look in Mikey and Papi's eyes. They're beyond anxious to get their bounce-back year into action already. They're both tired of the rumors that they can't cut it any more. Look at Varitek, flipping through his personal scouting reports on the Rays. His pride is still hurt, and nothing cures that better than a high batting average and a ton of runs batted in. Look at Rocco, who wants nothing more than to get his promising career on track now that he's got a new diagnosis and a little more hope for himself. He's home here in Boston. We want to welcome him right. Can you imagine the butterflies in poor George Kottaras' stomach? He's got to handle the knuckleball in front of 36,000 people. I know the rain delay doesn't really affect him, but the sooner we get the season started, the sooner he can get that first start out of the way. And JayBay! Despite that calm, cool exterior, he is itching to get his first full season with this team and city that embraced him so thoroughly just months ago underway. Check out Johnny Lester. He went from being a question mark to an ace, and he can't further solidify that status unless the season gets started. Now look at Joshua. That fire in his eyes is raging again. He's healthy, he's strong, and he's ready. Let them get it rolling again.

So, Mother Nature, please have a serious talk with your buddy Bud Selig, and plan Red Sox opening day a little bit better next year. As for this year, I am beyond ready for a rain-free game and those two magical words that make an entire cold off-season feel like a dream: play ball!

Thank you.

-

On a completely related side note, I'll be starting the season off right by getting to see Jon in my first game of '09. It's only proper, considering that he was practically the only pitcher I saw in '08. Good luck this afternoon, Joshua. You KNOW I'm rushing home after work to see the game (I TiVo'ed it just in case of traffic). I'll be cheering for you tomorrow, Johnny. Hopefully I'll have pictures.

Oh, and isn't it wonderful to see Sabathia lose? I don't know how many more times we'll be seeing that this season, but I'll cherish it now.

Me: As Lazy as the Day is Long

And lately the days have been quite long, trust me. Ok, so I haven't kept up with pretty much anything on here in a week. Let me do a quick recap:

-After losing that third game to the Yankees, we went on to win 2-3 from the CWS. Ozzie Guillen fell in love with our little Munchkin, and tried to make Michael Bowden feel bad about himself. Don't worry, folks, Bowden cares as much about Ozzie's opinions as the rest of us do. You hear them, giggle, and move on with your life.

-Munchkin has been moved to the cleanup spot, where he's been starring in his very own TV series - the Pedroia Power Hour. Granted, it's a three hour show, airing whenever the Red Sox play, but the Pedroia Power Three Hours didn't sound quite right. The little guy is just destroying everything he sees, and it's so much fun to watch. The next episode airs Friday night at 8:05 PM EST. Tune in!

-I got to see my beloved Ducky again... and for once he didn't hit everything in sight off of our pitching staff. Being around the Red Sox makes Millar a better person, I just know it does. So when does the campaign to get Millar into the announcer booth at Fenway start? Do we really have to leave him with the O's? They don't need him anyhow. Besides, when Kevin Millar smiles, the whole world smiles with him.

-Yesterday's game ended in a very Mothers' Day Miracle sort of way, with the exception being that we weren't down by five runs, and Ducky had nothing to do with the win. Maybe Orioles pitching just can't field. Really though, we would have won that game even if the pitcher hadn't thrown the ball into left.

-I was driving home from "job" when the Red Sox started their comeback yesterday. As I was driving on the Mass Pike, heading for home, those old, familiar light towers of my beloved ballpark came into view. The very goddamned second that I passed Fenway, Kotsay (from here on known as C+) hit the game tying triple. Magic happens... and it happens when I'm near Fenway. I just have really good timing, and the O's have a really bad pitching staff.

-The Commander is slated to come off the DL tomorrow, and to bring his buddy Mr. Awesome with him. If this happens, it will make me very happy, although I have my doubts about Beckett. We'll see what actually ends up happening. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

-Speaking of injuries, maybe I missed them but I haven't really heard any updates on Frankie. Is he ok? Is he coming back? I was so disheartened in Toronto when he wasn't playing any of the games... and then I found out he was hurt, and it just made me so sad. Glassman is also on the DL, and while I wish him a speedy recovery, we don't really need him that badly. The subs are filling in just fine. POS may not play again this season, and, well... who cares, really?

-Mumbles of "MVPetey" have sprung up. Nation, or Sox fans, or whatever the hell you people want to call yourselves... don't get your hopes up. Aren't the people who vote for MVP the same ones that vote for Cy Young? They'll give it to someone... anyone as long as they can avoid giving it to a Sox player. You tell me that Sabbathia really deserved the Cy Young over Beckett? Their stats were so similiar, but Beckett had that extra win... the only 20 game winner in baseball in two seasons and he didn't get the Cy? Bullshit. Pure bullshit. I don't want to hear "well Fatass pitched 40 more innings!" My response will always be - And look what that got him. Post-season sucktitude, and a Cy Young that deep down, he knows he didn't really deserve. Expect someone like Carlos Quentin in Chicago to win it. Honestly, I'd love Munchkin to win it, but I just don't see it happening.

-This entire post is turning into a Pedroia-love-fest. Can't help it, I guess. The kid is so hot right now I can't even make it into a joke of some kind. Awesome. Just awesome.