Three Cheers For V-Mart: Or At Least One Standing O

Reading the preview for the game tonight, it seems like V-Mart is questioning what the response to him will be. I do need to say that I completely forgot that he'll be returning tonight, and that I'm insanely excited to see him again. You know you miss him every time Salty (or... even Tek) comes up to bat. But I read the preview and it made me wonder if everyone else feels the way I do.

"You know what? To be honest with you, I don't think I did anything bad, anything wrong when my time was up there. I'm just hoping that the fans know that it's part of baseball," said Martinez, who was named AL Player of the Week for May 9-15, after hitting .579 with two home runs and 11 RBIs during the week.

"I'm just hoping they understand that, but we'll see what happens. Either way, nothing against them. There's no hard feelings against anybody. I have nothing but great things to say about the organization, the city, the fans. It was one of my great experiences in my big league career."

Is there anyone who blames V-Mart for leaving? The general consensus was that the Sox didn't plan on re-signing him anyway, so what was he going to do? I hope that everyone else in the park joins me welcoming him back.

After receiving confirmation that the Sox ARE skipping Timmy in the rotation this time around because of the rainout, I feel better knowing that the Verlander-Beckett matchup for Thursday will remain intact. I also wonder how Dahmer is going to feel pitching to V-Mart, his former favorite catcher. It'll be interesting. My hope for V-Mart is the same for every other non-Yankee former Sox player who returns to Fenway for the first time: standing O in the first at-bat, and an 0-4 night in the books. I say this sincerely, with as much love as possible.... welcome back, Victor. I hope you don't get on base at all during your stay here.