Lester: Let's Not Start This Again, Kay?

Don't get me wrong.... I don't think in ANY way at all that his first spring outing is an indication of how he's going to start the season, but it did remind me that I wanted to write this. So here it is. Hey Jon, you know I adore you. I watch all of your starts carefully and have managed to be in attendance for quite a few games that you've started since you joined the rotation full time. Here's my problem. I'm not a fan of the slow starts. They're not cute or entertaining. Now, I'm sure you don't do that on purpose, but just for fun, how about this year you start the season doing really well. Last year took you what felt like forever to find your rhythm, but really it was closer to two months. Truth is, we could have REALLY used some quality starts in those two months because, as you know, Joshua was stinking up the place something awful, too, for the first month. Oh you silly wonder twins snapped into it, for sure, but next time you're sitting around shooting whiskey and talking about which necklaces to wear this season and how many times to throw around the phrase 'executing pitches', why don't you make a game out of getting off to a strong start. The rules are up to the two of you, just get it done. If you do, I'll promise to stop calling you the wonder twins. Can you handle that? Thanks!

Oh, no, believe me... all the letters that I address to people who don't care about my opinion in this blog don't say anything about me. I just love the game, and I love pitching. I am unabashed in my love of both of those, so I am allowed to address the objects of my affection in whatever way I see fit. How can you not love pitching, and therefore, pitchers? 96 mph fastball, outside corner. High or low, I don't care, so long as it hits the corners. I've been waiting patiently, but it's getting close to the regular season and I think about the things like slow starts and pitching mechanics and rain delays. I'm expecting rain delays, of course, for every game I go to this year, but I don't care. I love Fenway in the rain.

According to my tracking, we're up on the Twins 2-1 for the Mayor's cup. It doesn't mean anything to win it, but the competitive side of me always wants to see us come away from Florida with it. Though, the Twins have JJ Hardy now, so.... I don't know. I want him as OUR shortstop. It's not fair. I can't have Gonzo and I can't have Hardy. Oh, Marco, you better impress me, my friend. I have a phobia of horrible shortstops. Even if you're good, it'll still take me a while to warm up to you, because I know what it's like to be in love with a shortstop and to have him taken away. Twice. It's painful. I'm always hesitant to jump right back in love with the next one who comes along, but I'll try. I'll try for the sake of the family. And because I'm getting rambly again, I'll stop myself.

All reports say that Lackey looked great on Saturday, but Dahmer wasn't so sharp on Sunday. It's cool, because our 'pen guys seem to be starting spring off right. Like I said about Binky, a bad start for your first game of the spring is no indication of anything. A good start isn't an indication of anything, so Commander, Timmy, and Lackey, I'm keeping my eye on you three. I demand more good starts. I also demand some spring training baseball on my TV. Not an adorable trick, having the game blacked out yesterday, MLBTV. Not adorable at all.

Oh well. The sun is shining, it's not 30 below zero, and my Sox are 3-2 for spring thus far. If you don't think the world is a good place, I'm worried about you

Thank You, Spring Training: I Needed That

Oh my GOD, did that feel good or what?! I needed that. I needed it bad, and now I feel good again. Spring training baseball against college kids may not be what most people find thrilling, but I was glued to my seat, basking in the voices of DO and Remy, cherishing the visuals of Munchkin sauntering up to the plate, and oh.... oh, there was Tek. Yeah, he may have struck out against a college kid, (but you didn't expect any better and you know it) but still, just seeing him in uniform makes me euphoric. Holy hell. Welcome back, baseball. You'll never have any idea how much I miss you when you're gone.

15-0 against Northeastern and 6-1 against BC. You know, I almost feel bad for the college kids because they usually lose pretty soundly. But at the same time, they get to be in Florida, playing baseball against the Red Sox, so I really don't feel THAT bad for them. And I'll say, seven innings might be enough for them, but it's never enough for me. Baseball gets taken away so abruptly at the end of the season, and then they ease you back in. In a perfect world, it would be completely the opposite. Or not. I don't know. That's why I don't make these decisions. I mean, it would be NICE to have a few meaningless exhibition games after the world series, just for the sake of my baseball fandom, but you know the teams wouldn't have their hearts in it. So, I guess we'll leave things the way they are.

The first televised spring training game of the year, and I already feel this good. Just a glimpse of baseball, and the world is right again. I can't wait to see more! Bring on the season!.... or at the very least, a few more games! Please?

Josh Beckett and an assortment of other pitchers are scheduled to toe the rubber tonight, but to my knowledge, the game will be untelevised. I don't care. It's just really great to say that Beckett's taking the ball for us tonight. Go on, Josh, start this Mayor's Cup tournament off right and give those Twins spring-training-level hell!

Pitchers and Catchers: Officially Reported!

I'm going to go out on a limb here and just assume that everyone who is supposed to be in Ft. Myers today is IN Ft. Myers today. The mere thought of this makes me smile. You can't see it, but believe me, I am smiling!

Yesterday, I was perusing stories about who had already shown up to camp early. Paps? Check. Binky? Check. Beckett? Um.... no. Maybe I missed it, but the Commander hadn't made an appearance yet. He probably wanted to cherish one last day of sitting on the couch, drinking beer, and nom'ing on the bodies of animals he proudly killed. That's right. Beckett noms. On animals. At least, that's the story I'm sticking with. But hey, the mental image amuses me, and that's what it's all about, right? Keeping myself amused? The answer here is yes.

I imagine a room with huge cathedral ceilings. Animal parts hanging from every wall. Brick fireplace. Bear skin rug (from an actual bear, that Josh pulled to pieces with his own two hands), a few 24 packs of beer, and just a plate full of meat. He would be sitting on his leather sofa, with a cowboy hat and some badass boots, just enjoying his free time. I like this image. And no, I don't hate animals, and I would never kill one myself, but I know for a fact that Josh likes hunting, so don't tell me he wouldn't have dead animals on his wall.

Man, I got SO far off track on that one. Anyway, here's hoping that the Commander trades in his cowboy boots for his cleats and enjoys a wonderful spring so he can have a terrific season, and maybe we can actually keep him at the end of it all. Because I love Josh, and I don't want to have to lose Josh and Mikey in the same year.

Happy reporting day, pitchers and catchers (and Red Sox fans!)

Update: Ok, so Josh WAS there early. Doesn't mean I don't still have the mental image. Don't try to ruin my day dreams!

Happy Truck Day

Nothing interesting to report today.... except this one thing.

It's truck day! Hooray!

And for those wondering why truck day is such an exciting day, keep this in mind... it's 10 degrees where I am right now. Truck day means baseball is coming soon. Baseball means warm is coming soon. You're damn right I'm gonna celebrate!

My Tribute to Someone Who Hated Baseball

No one seemed to hate baseball any more than my dad. He never watched sports, didn't care about any of them, scoffed at people who followed them. He watched war movies. The history channel. Documentaries.

He spent his time reading books. Lots and lots of books. When he wasn't reading, he was working, or down in his workshop making swords and leather goods, and whatever we needed. He had no tolerance or time for anything sport related.

And yet.... he always let me ramble on to him about what was going on in baseball. Or pro-wrestling (technically sports entertainment, I know. shut up), or whatever else. But he hated baseball, and still he knew almost all the starters, because I wouldn't shut up about them. He'd humor me and listen, even though he probably wanted to rip his own ears off.

My dad cared enough about me to share in something that he hated, just because it gave him time to spend with his youngest daughter. He always wanted me, my mom, and my sister to be happy, and I can honestly say that he would have done anything for us. So now three years have passed since he's been gone, and though I find it unbelievable that it's been so long, I remember my dad on my baseball blog because well... it's what he'd expect me to do.

And where ever he is, I have to believe he still cares enough to listen. I love you, dad.

Virtual Waiting Hell: Now With Improved Hell-Bagels

Part of the fun of being a Sox fan is to disprove the theory that it's impossible to get tickets. It's not impossible. Not at all! But it is hard.

I will not go to scalper sites. Can't afford to do that. I won't buy from scalpers at all, actually. Not even the dirty ones at Kenmore Square asking everyone if they're buying or selling tickets. I get all of my yearly tickets through the virtual waiting hell. That's why it's hard. No, waiting around on the internet isn't hard. It's not any harder than what I do during the week. The hard part is strategizing. The average fan isn't thinking about baseball in December or January. They don't sign up for the mailing lists. They don't know when tickets go on sale. You know who knows when tickets go on sale? Diehards and scalpers. I fall into one of those categories, I guess.

I know. For some people, trying to figure out when you can go to a game is hard. You don't know what you'll be doing in June, or even September. How can you buy tickets now and expect to be free? Especially for parents, I hear this is hard to do. People get sick. Things come up. So picking games in January? Ridiculous. That's where I have an advantage. I don't care if I'm sick. I'll go to the game anyway. If something comes up, I put off taking care of it until after the the teams walk off the for the night. If I can't do that, well, guess what? I know plenty of casual fans who are usually willing to buy the tickets off of me for face value... and plenty of people that I don't mind just giving tickets to. Hey, I try to spread the love of baseball.

So anyway, I've had to cut my ticket fund a little this year due to some upcoming expenses that I'm looking forward to, but I still managed to secure tickets for seven games in Boston and one game in Baltimore. Granted, I didn't get the exact dates that I wanted, but I won't complain. I get to be at Fenway.

But, I will complain about the process. I HATE the virtual waiting room more than I've ever hated any virtual thing ever. There have been years where I've waited in that thing all day and never got through. Usually in those situations, I get through on the phone, but I hate calling in because the busy signal frays my nerves. Don't know why.... it's just one of those sounds that I despise. Why does that shit have to be random? I click in at ten AM. How come, theoretically, someone who comes into the VWH at 2 PM has an equal chance to be the next person chosen by the ticket Gods? Logically, I know the answer. They do it to prevent the scalpers (one of the groups of people who are aware of ticket sale dates) from getting all the tickets before the average person can. Still don't like it.

My second item to whine about is obstructed view seats. I know, I know. My complaints are neither interesting nor original. I bitch about the same thing other people bitch about. I just don't get how they can justify charging the same price for a seat where you can see everything as they do for a seat where you are literally right behind a pole. I got obstructed view once. It, for a lack of a better description, sucked. Flat out sucked. I had absolutely no view of the catcher, the pitcher, the second baseman, and the occassional outfielder. If I can't see half of the team, the half that is actually in motion the most frequently, why am I paying full price? Not this year, though. It wasn't worth it. And considering that I didn't actually see a single game sell out this year (granted, I may have just missed seeing it. Perhaps there were sell outs), I think more and more people are starting to realize that they actually want to see what is going on in the game.

Well, either way, I am out of virtual waiting hell for at least another year. Another successful trip to the underworld, if I do say so myself.

Blame It On the.... Snow: Sox Avoid Arbitration With Paps

According to the latest rumors, the Red Sox and Jonathan Patmybum have agreed to a one-year 9.something million dollar deal for 2010, avoiding arbitration and keeping that Milli Vanilli cover of "Blame It On The Rain" on the big screen at Fenway.

Yeah, I just wanted to mention that video. I enjoy that video. So now that we've got Vanilli locked down for a year, time to figure out what to do with Milli. Yup, that's right. Strike out king looks to be headed for arbitration, too.

And honestly, the only reason I'm saying anything about this is because that song popped up on my iPod just now, and it made me think of spring at Fenway, where every day has the potential to be one big, rainy, Milli Vanilli love fest. Because it rains a lot in April. That is, if it's not snowing. Inching slowly closer to baseball! Can you feel it? I can feel it. It feels sort of like a nice, cozy sweater.

Oh wait, that's just my nice cozy sweater. I guess I can't feel it yet, but I yearn to.... much like Theo yearns to avoid salary arbitration with everyone on Earth. See how I pulled it back and brought this topic full circle? Awesome. I know.