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Bring on the Heat

There will be an exciting presence in the Boston bullpen tonight, as reports have circulated that Daniel Bard, he of the fastball that touches 100, will be activated before tonights game.

Excellent to hear! I hope he does bring the heat, if not tonight (hopefully that also!), certainly for our FINAL West Coast trip! GO SOX!
Ian, Happy Mother’s Day to your family, and the other beat writers’ mothers and wives!

Ian happy Mothers Day to your wife and all the “Moms” in your family.
I posed a question to you on Insider. I don’t know if youve seen it yet, but let me know please.
New Blood for the pen.. Cant be a bad thing. Good Luck To Daniels Bard.
I thought of something that could be an intresting topic for Ian, He could do a piece on our Rythymic BullPenBand!!! They show them on a couple of pass by’s everygame. Looks like they get into their “music”. What do you think???

YES!!! That will add some excitement to the game! GO RED SOX!!! Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms!

Who are we sending down for Bard, Hunter Jones I assume? probably have the most flexibility with him?

We really have to answer tonight (well not really, but would be nice) — else we are getting a dose of our own medicine — a taste of what it must be like to be an Angel fan — or Devil Ray fan of old, always getting beat by the same team — not so fun :) . Josh needs to be lights out to give us a chance.

Too bad it wont be Senor Ez riding the Pawtucket Express today….

Geez, seems I’m all full of questions (among other things!!)lately. Here’s what I think is a very good one. But 1st let me say this.
yesterday on Fox Sports Game of the Week, they asked the question: Should Zazu be allowed to play in the All Star Game?? (his suspension is up July 3, the game is July 10). 82 percent of the respondees said “NO”.
Part 1 of my question is, is there a minimum number of games you need to play in in order to be eligible for the ballot, and
Part 2 is, will there be enough AllStar voters who will not cast a vote for him to keep him out??

So long Lopez….AMEN!! Exciting news to here that Daniel Bard will join the team. I hope he is here to stay. Damon leaves Boston and that compensation is Daniel Bard, another solid pick by Theo and the front office. Great to here Bard is with the Red Sox, other good news after tonight, the Sox don’t play the Rays for a while. No Pena for the Rays tonight so that middle of the order is a little softer. Not much protection for Boston killer Evan Longoria. Longoria has feasted on Boston pitching. I’m hoping Beckett will zing one inside on Longoria, Longoria is very comfortable in that box.

I am not sure what Boston’s record is on Sunday Night baseball but it seems Boston wins alot on those nights. Also Ortiz on Sunday Night’s have come up big over the years.

Celtics in a must win situation tonight, they can’t lose tonight. Allen, Pierce among others need to show up!!! Bring the “D” to Orlando!

Zazu will not be selected by the fans, no way! How is that for your answer??? LOL…..

Lopez gone, now they need to dump Lugo but that is alot of money too eat. I’m guessing that will be late July. They did it with Renteria, they need to do the same with Lugo. I always thought Andrew Toney was the Boston strangler not Lugo. LOL….

Hey Lugo hits HR in blow-out games!!!

Ortiz doesn’t hit H.R.’s in games he plays!! Is Ortiz Giambi right in front of our eyes???? Longballs and then all of a sudden nothing. Things that make me go hmmmmmmmm….

Oh by the way–Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms on here–Julia—Ellen and also to Ian’s wife and everyone else on here who is married with children.

Is this the first time the Rays have been on Sunday Night baseball??? I’m guessing it is. If it is…. good for them, they deserve the national spotlight on them. They are showing baseball it doesn’t matter how much your payroll is.

Any way we could get Michael Young? Didn’t he just a big contract with Rangers last year?

Seems like if you want a steal, you go shopping in Minnesota? First they give up Ortiz, now Garza? why didn’t we pick up this guy?

Young makes too much $$$$$. Let him stay in Texas or go elsewhere.

Not only did they get Garza, they also got Bartlett there starting s.s. I really like Bartlett, steady with the glove and bat. He is very under-rated on that T.B. team. Nobody talks about him but he is a good little player.

I’m with you about the Twins. Why did they ever give up Garza??? Not one of there better moves. They got malcontent Delmon Young in return. Ouch!! Young will be on 5 or 6 different teams in his career….. nothing but a headache. Just like his brother Dmitri.

Have you ever sent a pic. to Garry?? What is your name?? Just wondering. Get on the phone with the Twins and ask them about Mourneau?? Tell them the Sox will give them Lugo and Saito. LOL….

BoSoxBrian — yea, the last interview I saw with Ortiz about Ramirez, he looked really guilty (or to my perception anyway) — to me he looked like — no way everyone does not connect the dots now — I should just blurt it all out now. But I am going to hold out judgment for now, he definitely has way more scruples than Manny, and I would not want others pinning on me the poor decisions my friends or colleagues might make, should they make bad choices (and vice versa).

Also, you mentioned Giambi — it seemed like it took him more than a full season to (a) get over the guilt, and/or (b) figure out that he could hit without roids, and/or (c) grow that mustache to contain whatever advantage he thought he needed. But he did start hitting again. Not following him this year, so I don’t know how he is doing now.

Ortiz’s slump is so prolonged and so bad (power-wise) it seems unexplainable as just a slump, it seems like there has to be other stuff going on in his head. The possible explanations would seem to be some combination of (a) slump (b) health (c) age, (d) PED withdrawel (e) mental jinx/pressure from book (earlier).

Problem is, to me his production has been off for at least two years now, its just more exaggerated now — but his clutch hits started disappearing right after his book came out — the numbers may have stayed for while, but I started noticing the clutch hits diminishing noticably and immediately at that time.

Whether that point in time coincided with a withdrawal from PEDs we may never know. And I don’t think its age — RedSox are too paranoid about that. Still, bottom line — whether there were PEDs involved or not — he is big enough and strong enough to hit the ball out of the park — and should have the bat-speed he needs as well — his battle right now is probably 99% mental — my read a combination of slump, guilt?, and taking on the big hits/bit dream proclamation.

Of course, what do I know? — I think he can conquer any of the above — unless it was roids all along — and he doesn’t think he has the speed or strength without them that he needs — which I don’t think is true — but of course it doesn’t matter what I/we think — it is what he thinks.

BoSoxBrian — my name is Dave — so Ellen suggested I go by DGN (we should come up with something better) to avoid confusion with author Dave. Is Garry collecting pictures? — I assure you when I look in the mirror, I see an incredibly handsome, good-looking, athletic man? Do I have to prove that? I could also manage and play for the SOX and fix all their problems if they would let me, LOL!

If you see my earlier post you know it sisnt think it would be him… YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!

that is I didn’t instead of it sisnt

I’m with you on the 99% mental part of it. When he walks to the plate, I’m guessing his confidence is at zero and thinking on the negative side. I’m sure he is pressing for sure. Also his wrist is hurting as well but only he would know that. As long as Boston is winning, Ortiz will remain in the 3 hole. We all know how Francona is to his vets. Francona has 2 titles and job security because of Ortiz’s big hits. Francona owes it to him but for how long??? If Boston ever goes into a tailspin ( assuming Ortiz is still not hitting ) I think Francona yanks him out of the 3 hole and down to about 7. Until then, his name will be on the lineup card in his familar 3 spot. Personally I think the time is coming for Oritz to be dropped in the order. You can’t have an automatic out in the middle of the order. Then again if he is dropped down in the lineup, the bottom part of the order will be nothing but outs. Varitek and Ortiz, that will make easy innings for the opposing pitcher. I guess that is why Francona makes the big $$$$$.

I just wrote, what I thought was a great post, and this site just lost it..
Let me try again…
I think we need to rally around the guys BIG tomorrow!!!
I also think that its time (really really time) for Big Papi to be moved lower in the order. He has to realize, if not in his head, then in his heart, that he’s not doing the team any good being there in the 3rd spot. If Tito is not going to make the move, then I really think that Papi should be “BIG” enough to give one up for the team and ask to be moved down. Its not unheard of, I’m sure.
It might be a temporary thing, and that would be JUST GREAT AND WONDERFUL with me!!! If it happens that its not temporary then, well, I’m sorry but maybe its time to let someone take their shot at being the “big” guy
in the order. Everything happens for a reason, I believe.. “To everything, there is a reason, to everything, there is a season….” Its getting to be not “too early” to react to decrease in power. I know that this maybe an unpopular opinion with some, and maybe Papi will read this… With all that he has done for the RedSox, I feel a good amount of disloyalty writing this but…….

I know that the Rays are good.. but why are they only good against us.. but have much trouble be the same level of good against anyone else… ??????????? Please break that down for me.

Why not just flip Drew and Ortiz for now — last time Drew held the #3 spot — we all know the numbers he put up.

Ellen, the Rays are going to start beating other teams — they are a great team — they just need to mature — and keep their discipline — they play a full nine innings against us and the Yanks — and then obviously don’t maintain their potential or concentration for other teams as much — that will change throughout this season and as the mature. Why they tanked in the WS last year I still don’t understand. But if you can play lights out consisently against what are considered the #1 and #2 teams in baseball, you can play lights out against any team — I just hope they don’t figure this out, or figure it out too late.

Those were from the last thread.. I just wanted some more opinion from the rest that didnt see them yeaterday..

I think the Rays will start playing well against everyone else. Obviously they have had a problem with motivation against weaker teams.

T.B. has had problems with lefties but don’t tell Lester that. The Rays have pounded Lester in 2009.

Beckett needs to pitch like Beckett. He needs to match Garza tonight. No Pena in the lineup, Boston needs to take advantage of that.

Dave(dgn): When I look in the mirror some days I swear THAT I could play for the Sox !!!!!(especially if Lugo is in the lineup lol )

I know how to beat Garza — either (a) steal his iPOD or (b) replace his headbanger music with Enya or Yanee — either one should do the trick.

Come on Joshua!!!!! Smoke em if you got em!!! Go get em!!!

Does anyone else feel like this has become a “true rivalry”?
I know the BIGGEST will ALWAYS be the Sox v Yanks, but I think this one is growing rapidly!!!
GO JOSH!!!!!! DO IT SOX!!!!

LOPEZ IS GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOO HOOOO!! What a Mother’s Day gift!!!!

GO RED SOX!!!! Let’s WIN TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pls dont let him steal!

You know guys I’m gonna defend Lopez here. Here’s why — I hate Lugo. No player has ever driven me more insane than Lugo. I hate the player and the fact he puts it out there and the Sox keep letting him back in. Get rid of Lugo and keep Lopez — he’s cheaper.
In fairness Lopez got a lot of humilation and frankly to be dumped like that is NOT fun. I feel bad for him. I really do.

Ortiz’ book came out in 2007… if he’s having trouble due to pressure from the book, then its a delayed reaction!!

In fairness to the Sox Lopez had a very limited role. He really did. Doing something like that doesn’t leave a lot of options for you. You either get out left handers or nothing. I hope he can figure it all out. He’s had a very tough year.
Now…let’s send Lugo away because I HATE LUGO!!!!

I HATE LUGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I HATE LUGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nuff said!

Wow Beckett sucks again.

Ellen – I think there is a rivalry starting between the Rays & Red Sox – it will never be at Red Sox-Yankees level but there is one.

I really don’t like the announcers on ESPN!!!!!

This is going to be a long game. Ug!!!
I HATE LUGO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Julia…personally I don’t see this as a rivalry. I see this simply as a situation where the Red Sox can’t out duel the Rays. Eventually the tides will turn. They always do.

Dave – I’m not sure I understand how you feel about Lugo ;-D LOL!

And yes – Beckett is not stellar ONCE again! What happened to all our starting pitchers? I wrote about this problem today.

Hey Daaaave…. Lugo is not in the game…. its okay now…

NO…he’s in the dugout….THAT’s ENOUGH. I HATE HIM. I HATE HIM…whew…glad I don’t take this personally!

Well – that was better.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out between our teams over the season Dave. They certainly had our number last season.

Bruins up 2-0!! GO B’s!!

Ellen — that is my point — Ortiz’s clutch hits diminished since then (numbers not so much) — Lowell was the MVP of the WS, got the clutch hits, Drew too — not so much Ortiz.

More of the same tonight — Rays hitting us good already — with Garza pitching….. doesn’t look good, but its only 1/2 inning.

Want to say that I saw Star Trek. I have been a Star Trek fan all my life and had to be dragged kicking and SCREAMING into this film. I don’t like ‘reboots!’ However…I am happy to say that this reboot is quite successful and feels right. There are some minor complaints but a really nice job reinventing Star Trek without offending the core crew.

C’s up by 3!

What I meant about this being a rivalry is that the excitement level for the fans seems to be elevated alot more than it used to be.. and Until we’re ahead of them in the season series I think of it as a rivalry… and probably beyond that.. PLUS I HATE THAT FREAKIN TEAM FROM ACROSS MY STATE!!!

Also want to say that the villain in Star trek was LUGO. I swear it. I just knew… You could tell — losing his mind Dave.

I am a Trekkie also! A friend saw it today and he LOVED it!! I’m hoping to see it on the I-Max screen near me next weekend.

We all miss the Rem-Dawg!

Though I am enjoying Eckersley in the booth!

We need some hits guys!!

I smell a no-hitter. Oh well…Tuesday is another day.
Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

NO DAVE!! Shhhh…we shall not say that! ;-) Thanks for the Mother’s Day wishes.

Ortiz, we love you, but something needs to be done!

No Trekkie here, guys, sorry. Not the sci-fi type. But if the villain had been named “LugNuts” we’d really have been in good shape!
Happy Mother’s Day!

Greg — the evil villain was in bad shape indeed. In the first scene he tried to blow up the ship but when he gave the order he swung his fist in the air and knocked himself out (LOL)

HUGE sci-fi fan here Greg! Thanks for the Mother’s Day wishes! I hope all the moms had a great day!

Okay – I love the pink bats!!

We do love you David. You can do it!

DAVE….NO MORE NEGATIVITY!!! Come on Man!! It’s the top of the 2nd.. GO-OOOOOOOOOOOOREDSOX..

DAVE!!!! No spoilers!!!! I’m going to see the movie!!!

NICE K Beckett! Keep it up!

JBay & Lowell coming up!! Let’s go boys!!

B’s up 3-0!!!

Good try Mikey! Bay on third! Let’s bring him home!!

Let’s go Drew!! You can do it!

I think I’m talking to myself! lol!!!

Never get tired seeing Ellsbury steal home!

YES!!!!! BAY!!! Nice throw!!!!

Keep it going guys!

Let’s go Tek!!!! PLEASE!!!!

Good Job Guys.. nice (un)intentional sac fly Mikey!!!
JD good job!!! Let’s go Tek!!

Okay – Pena’s not playing – GET OVER IT!!

60 Minutes tonight had a segment on Bill James and the Red Sox.

TEK!!!! Not good!

So much on Pena — Youk is playing either.

Bummer Lowell!

Oh great Crawford is up! GET HIM OUT BECKETT!!

Nice job TEK!!

No kidding! Youk is playing pretty well also!

Great throw Tek!!!!!

Good job keeping Crawford off the bases.

Lets see if Josh can hold, there is a cinch in the Rays armor tonight — Garza is not lights out tonight — and we are running his pitch count up — which has its down side beause the most hittable pitch seems to be his first — which looks like it goes right down the middle of the plate often — like the Rays know — we almost never swing at first pitches (except for Bay) — wish we would change that tonight — might have more success.

Lets see if Josh can hold, there is a cinch in the Rays armor tonight — Garza is not lights out tonight — and we are running his pitch count up — which has its down side beause the most hittable pitch seems to be his first — which looks like it goes right down the middle of the plate often — like the Rays know — we almost never swing at first pitches (except for Bay) — wish we would change that tonight — might have more success.

Lets see if Josh can hold, there is a cinch in the Rays armor tonight — Garza is not lights out tonight — and we are running his pitch count up — which has its down side beause the most hittable pitch seems to be his first — which looks like it goes right down the middle of the plate often — like the Rays know — we almost never swing at first pitches (except for Bay) — wish we would change that tonight — might have more success.

Good Job!!! Okay Come on NIC NIC NIC NIC NICKY!!!!!

that Bill James segment was a repeat.. I saw it last time around.. Good segment.

GO GREEN!!!! WHAT????? NO!!! Waste of a hit!

What was he thinking???? oops he wasnt

I hadn’t seen the segment before Ellen.

Okay – enough about Manny!

Good one Obey Wan Jacoby!!!

Great – and Green would have been on 2nd/3rd.

Could we please talk about THIS game and NOT steroids!!!

I’m with you Whooooooooo HOOOOOOOOOOOOO sister.

NASCAR is not equal to Baseball! Stop trying to compare them!

Do you think they remember that there is a game being played in Fenway right now Ellen??

Papi has to drop in the order!! COME ON PAPI DO IT FOR THE TEAM!

They need pink hats to go with the pink bats!

Good Patience David!!!

LET”S GO BAY!!!! You can do it!!!!!

NO!!!!!! Darn it!!

Not so good. Papi gets a BB, and Garza makes J-Bay look bad on the SO pitch. SIGH–back to the LOB crunch. Hmmm… GO SOX!

Not talk about steroids? Wouldn’t that be nice? Good luck.

They brought Lugo in and took Dusty out??????? Is he hurt??? OH NO!!!

JBay had two pitches right down the middle of the plate that he didn’t swing at — I know its looks so simple on TV — don’t know why hitters don’t swing at good pitches early — then they put themselves in a bind….

Garza does look vulnerable tonight — we just need to keep pressing.

Man, when I asaw Pedey take that swing and he fouled into the 3rd base seats, I wondered how hw could do that with his body… now I know he cant…. Out of the game

Pedroia out of the game? Just came in from a run with the dogs. Please tell me lugnuts not going in…PLEASE….

Pedroia NEEDED a day off but doesn’t get one…WELL NOW HE DOES

These guys on ESPN are really bad about it! They will not SHUT UP!

Well it’s good that Youk can’t play until Tuesday – we don’t play on Monday!

Great our record STINKS with Lugo in since he has been back!

Sorry Dave!!!! Guess who is in!!!

Beckett is bleeding pitches. He won’t last the fifth inning. Lugnuts in the game. I knew it — the end times are here! (LOL)

Mikey!!! Bailey!!! Great job!

PLEASE some one shoot these announcers! UGH!!!

I can see it now…
“Ground ball to shortstop, Lugo grabs it and throw it into right field…and now he’s running to right field to recover it! He slams into J.D. Drew. Drew looks in pain. Lugo throws to…left field? Now he’s recovering it…a now Ellsbury is screaming in center field after Lugo ran into him too. This guys a maniac.”
“I agree Joe but the Red Sox keep sticking with him so there must be something good…as now Jason Bay is crying out in left field as Lugo keeps throwing the ball all over the park. ”

Come on JD>>>>> BANG IT

PLEASE talk about THIS game!!! I want NESN!!! No more games on ESPN – PLEASEEEEEE!!!!!

hehehehe – Very funny Dave – but lord help us!!!!

This might sound a little racial.. but Does Joe Morgan like any ballplayer who isnt American-African?? White?? I cant recall him singing the praises of ANY caucasian players recently… or ever actually!

Great – Dusty has a strained groin.

WHAT??? Okay – run scored also! NICE FIELDING!!!!

Man I guess Green needs some drills running the bases!

Josh has to keep the lid on now.

2 R scored on back-to-back 2B by Bailey and Tek! GREAT JOB! Now, if Green can stop trying to stretch hits into 2B… Hmmm!…:/
Nice fielding by Iwamura! :)
I hope Dustin’s muscle strain won’t keep him off the West Coast roster! GO SOX! (And it’s not the 6th yet!)…

I’ve been trying to shut Joe Morgan out Ellen! The lot of them is annoying!

Nice K!! Yeah Greg – it’s a long night for such a low scoring game.

Okay – Beckett threw the ball – don’t have a heart attack!

Dustin with a strained groin. That’s going to be a long one. Ya…LUGNUTS IS GOING TO #$%#$ US OVER #$@#$#A$ LUGNUTS #W$#$#$ LUGNUTS@@#$#$
HELP ME EVERYONE. I have Lugnut flu

Things are looking up..
Hey Dave, I’m sorry if I mad you mad earlier!!! You know if anyone wants you happy its me (and Tracy)!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bruins up 4-0!!!!

What hu? You never make me mad Ellen. No worries and Tracy says her hellos. She’s still a White Sox fan unfortunately but we all can’t help liking AA teams.

Ellen you are a good friend…let me say that again…you are a good friend…no worries…now if you can KILL LUGO

NO!! Darn it! COME ON BECKETT!!! Keep it together!!!!

Nice fielding, JD. Not. GO SOX!

Let’s go guys! We need some runs!!!!

Can we put a sock (red) in Phillips while we’re at it? PLEASE?! SNARL!

We need something for them Greg! Please don’t let us be on ESPN anytime soon!

Enough with the home runs! We just need a single right now!!

Great! Just Great….

YES! We finally called up Bard and moved Lopez out! Now, if we can do the same with LugNuts!… Dave, I am with you on LugNuts, but I don’t feel bad that Loopy is out! I call that “progress”. I hope Lugo is next, though! GO SOX!

Lugo and Papi in the 2nd and 3rd spot — not good — I sure hope a 1 run lead can hold us for the night — looks like we are letting Garza back into this game.

Oh great – Joe Morgan is giving Big Papi advice???

I think Ortiz might need to sit to get his head back in the game

A lot of tough field and look – Lugo was there!

Bruins won 4-0!!!

Tito… Terry… Mr. Francona..Skipper… THIS IS A FREAKIN ORDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DROP PAPI OUT OF THE 3 SPOT.. DO IT AS OF TUESDAYS LINEUP…. DO IT!!!!

Come on!! WARM UP BARD!!!

Get your head out of your butt Josh…. Pull it quickly!!! Now!!

UGH!!!!! DO WE NOT WANT TO WIN GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beckett is really struggling. He’s consistently behind in the count and goes to 3-2 on almost every batter. Not good.

How does a pop up drop between the left fielder and the shortstop in Fenway Park? That should never happen. Bay got a very bad jump on the ball, and we all know about Lugo’s defensive prowess. A lot of balls have gone of Bay’s glove this year and he has not gotten to some fly balls I think he should have gotten to. I rate him as an adequate, but certainly not a great defensive outfielder.

Oh goody…the game is tied…..can we have a new pitcher please!!!

Here go again — starting pitching, starting pitching, starting pitching!

POP!!!! Head isn’t quite out of butt yet!!! 1 more try Josh!

ENOUGH about the Rays stealing!

Amazing! He struck him out!

Well, tied now after 5 1/2. 6th inning rally, anyone? GO SOX!

Good, the Bruins won! Last I looked, the Celtics were winning (and the Lakers lost! YAY!). Maybe we can go 3 for 3 tonight! GO SOX!

The C’s are still up!

Bay did not get to that ball in LF, you are certainly right. But Bay has been a better OF than you are giving him credit for. He is not JD Drew! And he has made some above-average plays, let alone great plays. Tonight has not been his night, however. (Neither has it been Drew’s!) GO SOX!

Good eye Bailey!

Great, I was just going to contradict myself to make sure we ran the pitch-count up now — and Jason swings at the first pitch and makes an out.

Garza may have two more innings in — at least one.

He has made a couple of nice catches, but he has not made some plays he should have made. He has average range, and a very average arm. That being said, he’s better than Zazu.

Great — tied up. I knew it. Beckett is allowing 3 runs per game and you can’t do that with Tampa bay — especially not with a lead. Ortiz is going to rot in the third spot. Face it guys. Lugo we’re stuck with until Lowrie comes back. We’re #$#$ .

I have got to call it a night! GO RED SOX!!! WIN THIS GAME!!!! Celtics are up by 6 with 5 minutes left.

Night all!

Sure would great if Lugo and/or Ortiz could get off the snide and win this game for us tonite.

COME BACK JERRY REMY!!!!!!!!! PLlease save us from these GAS BAG BLOWHARDS!!!!

Nice job, OKI! 1-2-3 inning! (And LugNuts made a throw?!) ;) GO SOX!

Garry, Are you talking about Jason Bay??

Hey, Julia, how’s our “dual citizen”, Ginny, doing? I haven’t heard from her in a while!

Nite Julia!! happy Moms day!

Good night to you all. Getting late for me as well. Happy Mother’s day.

Yes Ellen, Jason Bay!

Drat – I wanted to us to beat Garza tonight — now he can still beat us or no decision.

Celtics beat Magic 95-94 on a buzzer beater by Glenn “Baby” Davis.

Man oh Man…… Okajima is really painting the black on the outside of the plate. Good job.

Solid 5 outs from Oki! Great job! Keep it going, Ramon!
Celtics edged Orlando, I see. 2 out of 3 ain’t bad, but we want the third! GO SOX!

I thought that one from Papi was gone…..

Wow, do we dare pinch run for Ortiz?

I thought that one from Papi was gone…..

I don’t know about anyone else, but I have a hunch this game is going into extras. I hope we win it in 9 innings, though! GO SOX!

We are sitting pretty now — we have to bring this home now!

Way to GO JBAY BABAY!!!!

I’ll chastise Bay’s defense, but the guy can hit and he, despite what he’s done with the bat this year, still receives very little notoriety as a hitter. Sox should lock him up, soon.

Ortiz did his part too — I should stop my commentary on him — well done David — way to go Bay.

Huge run here. Bailey needs to get the ball to the outfield.

Okay.. now youre pissing off Jeff Bailey………
Can he make him pay for that diss??? I SAY YES!!!!!!!

Okay.. now youre pissing off Jeff Bailey………
Can he make him pay for that diss??? I SAY YES!!!!!!!

I say I was WRONG!!!!!!

Bad at bat for Bailey. He swings at ball 2 then lets an 88 mph fast ball go right down the middle.

Nite all!!! I’m heading for the comforter!! Happy Moms day again!
See y’all tomorrow!!!!!
COME ON JON-BON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Way to go, Papi and J-Bay! Back-to-back 2B! Nice job!
Come on, Pap! Now that we have the lead, let’s HOLD IT! GO SOX!

Sox have been doing that all night — irks me.

Pap has a “real” save opportunity now — bottom of the order (that is good) — barring substitutions.

I’m glad I also was wrong! Let’s hold the lead! GO SOX!

Leadoff runner reaches against Papelbon… what else is new?

We should have left Ramon in — Pap is definitely blowing this save — if not the game

I can’t believe he salvaged his own mess — pheeeewwww!

Well, Pap did not make it easy this time, either, but got the save. We got the series win, 2-out-of-3–Mission Accomplished! Nice job, guys! Let’s keep it up on the West Coast swing! GO SOX!

Papelbon was bailed out by the Rays impatience at the plate. He threw one strike to Upton and none to Crawford and struck them both out. That’s what happens when guys want to be heroes. I’d say most of the Sox hitters would have taken the walk in that situation. Good win for the Sox though.

I wish we’d left Ramon Ramirez in also–the 9th might not have been such an adventure! But Ramon was the winner. Oki did a great job, also! GO SOX!

Well, I’m out. Here’s to dreaming about a winning West Coast trip! GO SOX! Night all–Happy Mother’s Day!

I am glad to see Lopez go. A nice guy who couldn’t hack it in Boston. Hopfully some team will pick him up. Lopez may do well in a NL team. Now let’s pray our other wish that moves Ortiz down the order comes true.
Dave & Greg: Lugo won’t go even if Lowrie returns. Live with the fact that Lugo will stay until he is dealt away (not likely) or he is on DL.

We (the fans) have been so fixated now on Tampa and New York — now our first series with Toronto (who has had our number for a few years as well) is on the horizon — and we all know who has been in 1st place most of the year so far. Will be interesting — not sure you can classify Toronto as a dark horse, but there doesn’t seem to be much consideration that they could be more trouble than the Rays or the Yanks this year — so in that respect, they are (the dark horse this year).

Toronto is unknown (regardless Toronto historically play tough against the Sox) until they play AL East teams starting tomorrow. It would be a great matchup between AJ Burnett and Halladay. The Sox will face the Jays 6 times in May. Unless there is a dramatic turnaround, I will hate to see an automatic out at no. 3 hole in the Sox Jays series.

Hey! Guys and Girls!

I just caught the comments Johnny Damon made about the Sox and their willingness to let go of unproductive players which in Johnny’s mind made them disreputable when compared with the Yanks. I really don’t care that Johnny left the Sox for more money, but I do get annoyed every time he acts like a shill spokesman for a team he’s been with for what now? 4 years?

As examples of the Yanks’ faithfulness, Johnny offered up Derek Jeter (like any team is going to sacrifice the face of its franchise), Mariano Rivera (until recently, the unquestioned best closer in the business) and Jorge Posada (how many Yanks fans do you think would like to have that contract back that Jorge signed just after his bust out season two years ago?) Does someone want to re-introduce Yankee Johnny to Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu, or Carl Pavano?

Johnny’s comments apparently came with regard to the manner in which the Sox handled the contract negotiation with Jason Varitek. Apparently, Johnny found the Sox handling of that situation a bit hard-hearted considering the length of time and commitment Tek has given the Sox. Someone might want to explain to Yankee Johnny how the Yanks conducted themselves in their contract renewal discussions with Andy Pettite.

Johnny’s blinders must be pinstriped. It will be humorous to see him patrolling the outfield next year for the Washington Nationals, as the Yanks go after Coco Crisp, Jason Bay, Carl Crawford, Matt Holliday, Magglio Ordonez, or, should we say it, Zazu or any number of others who may be available by trade.

If Johnny’s hanging his hopes on Yankees’ loyalty for achieving the contract he wants, he is in for a rude awakening. As a Yankee, I don’t think anyone has ever confused Johnny with Jeter, Mariano Rivera or Jorge Posada, and never will, and will find him as expendable as many other former Yankees have become.

On a related topic, it was great to see the interview of Carlton Fisk during the Saturday game against the Rays. As I remember their split, Fisk was livid about the way he felt the Sox had treated him, causing him to leave town for Chicago. His heat-warming comments, as a native New Englander, about how great it was to play for the Sox at Fenway, were another reminder of the many accomplishments current ownership has made. (I still get teary-eyed thinking about the fuss they made over Billy Buckner!) Maybe someday Johnny will realize how good he had it as the formerly adored centerfielder of the Sox.

Agreed — I can’t wait to see where Johnny winds up next year — I could see the Yanks resigning him, but only 20% odds — all of the sudden his numbers are way up — hmmm — maybe Damon is showing what truly motivates him — as if we didn’t already know (oh yea, and that one other influence in his life :).

Papelbon will surely want to save the picture of him on our web-site today — and show it to his kids and grand-kids. “Hey sweet kids, want to see daddy at work? — this was just one day at the office for me, come sit on my lap, I will read you a nice story — don’t worry – I am a perfectly normal papa.”

BTW — I just realized what most of you already have — but our win last night was definitely a Fenway win — both of the eventual winning hits (at least Ortiz’s, maybe Bay’s were sure outs in any other ball park) — but hey it was Fenway, so why not play wall-ball.

Finally, the Sox unloaded Loopy. Let’s hope they don’t get desparate enough to call him back up later in the season. The only remaining member of the Deadly Duo– Lugnuts, will probably hang around for a while, since Pedroia is ailing. Once Pedroia gets back in shape– maybe Loopy can request that Lugnuts join him.
Papi should drop down in the order- but Tito obviously feels some loyalty- and may feel that it is embarrassing. The only other solution is for Papi to come alive again. Let’s hope he doesn’t wait too long.

Phil, what is more embarassing for all concerned?? Papi being asked to move down or Papi continuing to be a shell of the hitter that he used to be????

Ortiz did have a clutch hit last night — and scored the winning run.

Angel pitchers we are going to face this next series all seem on a roll, with good ERAs and better winning records that our conterparts — tough series coming — like there are any easy ones.

Yes, I know he got the hit that helped us win but, the 3 spot needs consistant power and for this moment Papi isnt providing that power. As I said in a prior post, I feel a huge amount of disloyalty for suggesting that Papi step out of the 3 spot on his own if Tito doesnt make the move. And no one wants his power outage to be temporary more than ME. But the Sox need to think in terms of post season, even at this point in the season. I think that by moving JD or JBay into that spot that gives the team a plus…

Hey! Ellenc!

I hope we can cut Papi some slack for a while. I think all of those clutch hits over the years, and particularly in 2004 through 2007, entitles him to that. I know this is where the Tito-detractors on this blog will begin to scream about his inability to pull the trigger on a player, but that’s one of the things I most respect about my birthday buddy. I maintain his players-first attitude gets the most out of the 25 who suit up each game. We only have to go back 2 years when most voices on this blog were yelling for Alex Cora to permanently replace DP. Tito hit a managerial walk off grand slam with his refusal to take DP out of the line-up.

While I know many of you also don’t care for Joe Morgan, I respect his baseball knowledge, and put stock in his observations during the broadcast last evening that Papi is getting close. You’ve got to count his 8th inning double as clutch hit Numero Uno!!! Face it — the Sox took 2 of 3 from their nemisis the Rays despite Youk not playing at all, DP getting hurt, the Sox fielders making 3 errors between Saturday and Sunday, and the three starting pitching ending their starts with season ERA’s each over 6.00!!! And yet the train keeps rolling along. They’re already 8 games over .500 for the season, and still have 19 games to play in May (granted, the majority of those are road games, but I think they’ll be able to handle the road games vs. the Angels, the M’s, and Minnesota, and I believe they’ll at least split the 6 games they have with the Blue Jays.

The thing that keeps becoming more and more apparent is the need to get Jason Bay committed long-term. The reports that there are no ongoing negotiation conversations is bothersome to me. I would hate to see the Yanks go after him the way they went after Johnny D. Bay appears to want a premium contract, and will not accept any discount to play in Boston. With what he continually does, both at the plate and in the field, he doesn’t have to accept any discount.

By the way Ellenc, do you have the website so I can post my photos from my birthday trip to Fenway?

Hey! Pangelotti!

I think I’ll bide my time before congratulating the Sox on shedding Javier Lopez. Certainly Daniel Bard looked lights out in ST, and I hope he is the real deal. While Lopez couldn’t find the plate with regularity this year, he did pretty much all that was asked of him the last 2. I would be terribly surprised if he clears waivers — I don’t know what the Yanks are doing signing Casey Fossum, but its a clear indication how pitching thin many teams are…believe me, you see it out here in Cleveburg, not to mention the Natinals. Its comforting that the Sox have options like Bard in reserve, not to mention Dice-K currently being on the shelf, Bowden, Buchholz and Smoltzie, along with Jose Vacquedano and Fernando Cabrera who are pitching well in the minors.

Hopefully, the Sox can ride this “injury tide” out, and get on top of circumstances. It certainly would be great if they could come out of the month of May 12 or more games on top of .500. With their schedule, they could really get on a roll in June and July.

Ellen, A while ago I suggested that Tito either give Papi a few games off or drop him down in the batting order to try and releive some pressure. I think even Papi thought that a drop in the batting order might be in order. Tito is thought by some to be a “players manager”. If I were manager I wouldn’t be as loyal as Tito seems to be. I may not be have been as successful as Tito- but then again I might have been even more successful. Who knows??
As far as Joe Morgan is concerned– I don’t listen to any of the announcer pundits- I turn the volume off. I’d rather watch in silence rather than hear some of their ridiculous comments.

dbenj: Hope you and yours are well!!! I think that the f/o’s position is that they do not talk contract during the season. I seem to remember Theo saying that in a press conference last season regarding Zazu. It would be unfortunate if they let that stance get in the way of signing Jbay… Before you know it someone will be offering him the world!!
oh and Dbenj: I miss seeing your briefs!!!

How many teams actually have a designated DH — come to think of it — Big Papi may be a rarer breed than I realized before thinking about it — a lot of AL team’s rotate their DH amonst position players, including the Yanks and Rays. I can’t think of too many offhand at all — I think Vlad is moving to a DH role for the Angels — who else plays virtually every game as their team’s everyday DH?

Did you mean the brownie Brigade website??? its . My husband and I were playing around with the idea of flying to Boston for my 50th in June. That to me would be THEEEEEEE BEST brthday present I could get.

dgneubert: As I think across the league, the other real pure DH that comes to mind is Jim Thome ….. or at least one that does something other than take up a spot in the batting order. I think you’re right and Vlad is moving more toward that, and I also thing Matsui in NY is as well.

I think Joe Morgan gets far more credit for his baseball knowledge than he deserves. He was a great ball player, however, he’s less and a good analyst and he’s very opinionated about things, especially those thing racial in nature. That little comparison he did on quickness vs. fast last night was a joke. The bottom line is how fast can you get from point A to point B. Will, like Carl Crawford, generally got a very good jump on pitchers which is what made him successful. It’s like getting a head start in a foot race. Brock, like Jacoby Ellsbury, relied more on pure speed rather than a jump. If you ran Ellsbury vs. Crawford, Ellsbury would like beat him every time. However, it’s not just spped that makes a good base stealer (although it certainly helps). Ellsbury is going to get better as he learns to read pitchers. Within a year or so, he’ll be unstoppable.

Another of Joe Morgan’s favorite illustrations is pitching comparisons. He’ll take film of Beckett in 2007 and compare ti to film of today, and from that be able to explain exactly why he was so good then and not so good now. That is such crap…….. you can do that from one pitch to another in the same game. Pitchers mechanics and delivery change from pitch to pitch. Some of it’s voluntary, and some of it isn’t. In either case, that’s why they don’t throw the same pitch, the same speed and location. Most analysts sling more crap than fact because things like why a hiter or pitcher is doing well or not is mostly more crap than it is fact.

Last night, Papelbon was throwing upwards of 96-97 mph. We haven’t seen that in a while. Why not? Sometimes you come out and you’ve just got it. Sometimes you don’t, or you can’t find the plate. Most times, pitchers don’t even know why. Hitters are no different. Sometimes they are seeing the ball very well, other times a pitch looks like a golf ball. Mostly, when they are hitting well, they are guessing well. There’s a lot of luck in hitting. When the dribblers, tweeners, bloopers, and sun in the outfielder’s eyes hits are going your way, you’re hitting .320. When they aren’t, you’re hitting .265. That’s baseball!

Oh My!! what do I do with a night off and the husband is out>>?? Wow… Not quite sure how to act…. and the games this week are going to be at 10:00… so except for the 1st inning I’ll be watching from under the covers!! Guess I’ll be doing the majority of my blogging in the EARLY pm hours… I hope that Pedey is good to go on Wednesday. I don’t think that we’ll see him tomorrow night.. When he swung on that ball, I felt it…. feel better RatBoy!!

You are so right about announcers and there ability to supposedly tell you why this at bat was different than that at bat and why this arm slot was different from that arm slot etc. during different times in a guy’s career is mostly rubbish. I suspect, as in golf, as your body changes, so does your approach. Look at a young golfer’s swing compared to the same golfer’s swing when he is older and less flexible. Doesn’t mean he’ll play any worse….he just finds a new way to hit the ball solidly and score. Those MLB players who adjust through the years to their body changes will be the successful ones with longer careers. BTW….the difference between hitting .360 and .400 with 500 At Bats is only 20 hits. As you said, sometimes you’ll hit line shots right at someone and sometimes the bloop falls in. Over 162 games it all evens out in the wash….no matter how the announcers try to over analyze every pitch and at bat…that’s how it all pans out. Go Sox!!!!

BTW….I am getting weary of watching the ball being handed over to Papelbon. He scares the crap out of me almost every time he pitches….and he’s perfect so far!!!!!! Wish I could say I had confidence in the guy but for some reason he doesn’t go right after the first guy anymore. God I hope I am wrong but it is right now that I’m glad Theo went out and got a couple options for Francona in case things go sour. This bullpen has depth and Theo did the right thing this winter. Go Sox.

Garry, did you hear Buck Martinez’s commentary those few games he substituted in TB on NESN? I’ve mentioned it a couple of times, no one else chimed in, so maybe I was the only one impressed. I really thought his commentary was great, fact-oriented, incredibly detailed, but yet not so opinionated. I really enjoyed it. From someone who has been in the trenches — were his comments a load of bunk too? just curious, no need to sugar coat your answer?

60 minutes ran their story on Bill James again last night (and his Sabemetrics, or whatever it is called). I think the piece was updated a bit, but probably no new information in it, over the last time they aired it. Fairly good piece — lots of Red Sox stuff in it — so you gotta enjoy that.

I would sure love to know what influence (statistics or gut) lead to the good trades and the stinkers. Ok, I admit — I am more interested in the stinkers… (a) letting Cabrera go and starting the whole short stop parade, although we got Elsbury as a result of that (b) trading for Gagne, (c) going after Lugo.

Unfortunately, the Sox are smart enough to never divulge that information, but not smart enough to not make bogus transactions…. when all they need to do is follow Mark Twain’s simple advice on buying and selling stock, which is reputed to be along this line — if it is going to go up, buy it, if it is going to go down, sell it :) !!!

I did not see Buck Martinez, but I have seen him before and he is pretty good. Another guy I like pretty well is Jim Palmer. He knows enough about pitching to know he can’t sit up there and diagnose a pitcher’s problems. Still, maybe I’m a homer, but my favorite is Jerry Remy. The Rem-dawg has the uncanny ability to analyze a play without analyzing a guy’s whole career. I also find him to be very candid in his commentary, whether it’s about a Sox player, or an opposing player. He doesn’t come across as a real knowledgeable guy because he and Orsillo together are sort of a couple of clowns, but he has great insigt in games and situations.

Here’s another Morgan Misfit Commentary on the situation in the 9th inning last night. He’s talking like Papelbon is being really careful with Carl Crawford because he’d rather pitch to Evan Longoria…….. Are you kidding me? If you aske 100 major league pitchers whether they’d rather pitch to Crawfor or Longoria in that situation, how many do you think would say Crawford??? Longoria has killed the Sox this year. I can just about guarantee you Pap wasn’t thinking about anything except blowing Crawford away if he could…….and he did.

DBen, good to see you posting again. I will be interested to see a photo of you on Brownie’s Brigade, esp. if it shows how gracefully you’ve aged as Poet Laureate (“How Shakespeare would have looked had he reached his elder years”)! ;) Good to hear from you again–I hope you are well. Have you filed suit against Brian by now? ;)
DGN, it is interesting that you reference Bill James, esp. with the press he got in the book “Moneyball”. Billy Beane credits a lot of his philosophy to James’ thinking, but I recall reading, toward the end of the book, that he was going to take the GM job for the Red Sox instead of Theo. Boy, am I glad that did not happen! For one, Youk would not have been with the team–he would have gone to the A’s.
The Red Sox took a lot of hits in “Moneyball”, not the least of which was Jim Rice (who took a beating!). Rice reiterated his disagreement with Beane when he was elected to the HOF, by essentially saying, “What good is OBP if you don’t get the guys home?” (It would be interesting to hear Rice and Bill James’ debates!)
DBen, while I will reserve judgement on Bard (I do like what I’ve seen from him), I will take the move out of Lopez any day. I hope Lopez does get picked up by someone, and I genuinely hope that he does well with his new team (whoever it be). He just was not going to cut it here, and it was time to pull someone from the minors (if not Bard, any of our other talents could have been called up, like Buch). I wish Lopez well–on another team.
Ellen, I think the only thing that dropping Papi in the lineup (if not FROM the lineup) means is that Tito (and the FO) is acknowledging what we have been saying–that he is an empty spot in the lineup. That might be a wake-up call for Papi, or it could mean the end of the road is approaching for him, at least with us.
Craig, I hope you are well! I am getting tired of Pap making the 9th innings adventurous also. I am not sold that Saito would help though–he could make it worse! (At least Pap has closed the games out!) It might mean that Ramon Ramirez, or even (as I suggested before!) John Smoltz might get slotted in as the closer. As long as the rotation is falling short, and Smoltz has to be considered more strongly for the starting rotation, Pap had better be more solid if we are going to close down those games! Get it done, Pap, or Ramon might be taking your spot! GO SOX!

Also, to be fair to “Moneyball” (and put it in context a little), the book was written before we had broken the Curse! It would be a different Red Sox history, however, had Beane taken over the Red Sox! Heck, one of his favorite players is the Yankees’ stud pitcher, Nick Swisher! Hmmm…;)

Hi everybody,
May is a crazy month for me, I’m pretty tired and I’ve missed a lot of commentary here. But it’s almost half over. Cinco de Mayo—Done!! Mother’s Day—in the books!! Now I’ve got graduations and Memorial Day to go. May is the month we simultaneously look forward to and dread. It fattens the checkbook and nearly kills us.

Great to see the Sox take a series from the Rays. They need to do that for their well-being. They’ve done well against the Yanks and I hope they have turned the corner against the Rays.

As far as announcers: I prefer the ones who talk less about baseball and spend more time entertaining. Like Jerry Remy and Orsillo. Also, I listened to so many games done by Phil Rizzuto, Bill White and Frank Messer — on old channel 11 out of New York when I was young, that I came to prefer it if the announcers were talking about their great aunt’s canolis and Fritz Peterson’s next door neighbor’s dog. I can see the game for myself, I just need some back ground chatter to fill the empty spaces.

Greg, I agree with Jim Rice. OBP is like a batting average, useful in some ways, but what counts is RBI and runs scored. Just like ERA. It’s a great stat, but I would rather have a pitcher with a big ERA who somehow gets his team a “W” than somebody with an ERA under 3 who manages to get beat more often than not. And yes, I know you can’t drive in a lot of runs when there are not a lot of guys on base, and I also know your team has to score some runs for a pitcher to win, but my point is: give me a pitcher who makes the crucial pitch when he has to and the hitter who makes the most of his opportunities with runners on.

Arnie, I also agree with Rice compared to Beane. I think OBP and OPS, ERA, etc. are useful, but if you are going to get guys on base, you’d better get em home! Beane’s supposition was that if you had 9 guys with high OBP, who are getting on base in succession, by whatever means, the runs will come–even if it’s only the pitcher walkng in every guy on the roster! True enough, but it doesn’t work out that way, more often than not–esp. when a guy who has a 70% “failure rate”, hitting .300, is considered a success! (12-run innings, before the first out, don’t happen that often!) But Cliff Lee demonstrated how tricky ERA can be also–last night, he lost 1-0, and threw (I believe) a CG in that loss. He did great–but still lost, Johan Santana did similarly tonight–no offensive support. So one can still pitch a great game, and have a low ERA, and still lose. But he gives you the CHANCE to win the game. I agree with you, though, give me the pitcher who will make that clutch pitch, and the hitter who gets the runners in. (JD Drew, who is otherwise much maligned, has done that very well in those clutch situations)! GO SOX!

I’m not sure as to whether announcers are paid by the number of words they use or the amount of time they talk, but many of them just like to hear themselves talk hoping that they are recognized as the self- proclaimed “expert” on what happens or should have happened. As I mentioned previously, I just watch the game and turn the volume off.
As far as announcers go, I think the best that I have heard, growing up in the NY area, were Mel Allen and Red Barber. I know I am dating myself. Not only were they knowledgeable, and obviously biased, but they were entertaining as well.

moanin all….ok its our last west coast trip of the yr…thank the lord…1 am baseball just isnt my thing and to tell u the truth they normally are pretty boring…injury bug which always happens this time of the yr is in the house….what team will show up…hmmmm…..oh ya before i hit the sox id like to wallup the schedulers……how sad is it to have to flip or use PIP durin 2 play off games and the sox who to me are a playoff game everyday….celts im thinkin blow out the magic….and bruins with a must win will rise to the occasion and manage a win….recchi and lucic will be heros tonight i think….now on to our beloved sox……..yuke…down…pedey…down…..papi….missing…………sorta….with bard the flame throwin phenom up……i wonder if paps will still be sayin he deserves the highest pay check of all closers….hes added to a bp that is already amazing….i still think masterful is more important in the bp…let buch or bowden get a shot….im thinkin tonight is his last shot to shine….maybe….so tonight…..JASON AND THE SOX ALOTS go to battle in the west….time to make hay…im predictin in 3 weeks the sox will have a 7 game lead over second place in the east….and rumors of a bopper commin to boston will be in the air…..judge…..(smoltzy will be close to pitchin by then also,just him going out every 5th day will fire up the other starters,he oozes pride,and desire to excel)

Dave and all – the link to – Red Sox Humor is up on my blog! It is listed under “Some of my favorite Websites to visit” Also – I have started a link list for any members of the military who blog. If you know any – send them to me and I’ll be happy to include them. I have one up now – and to let you know – my blog today WILL keep you laughing!

GO RED SOX!!! I am so glad this is our last west coast swing!

I just saw an interview on Mike and Mike on ESPN with Roger Clemens. Clemens was very candid and still maintains he did nothing wrong. He was very upbeat and positive. He also said he was asked to provide a DNA sample and did so willingly. It’s all very interesting and I think it’s also interesting that after all this time there still has not been proof positive that he did anything. Wins, losses and other stats to me are all circumstantial and prove nothing. In fact, I did a pretty detailed research on the Clemens pitching numbers other than wins and losses and ERA, his numbers are not that far out of line during the times he was accused of using the stuff. I’m not saying he did, or didn’t do it. All I’m saying is that if someone has proof, then bring it out for everyone to see because the way all of this has been handled with Clemens, Bonds is crap. What’s the big mystery? Is there proof or isn’t there?

I will say one more thing about the announcers. Although Joe Morgan tries to explain the reason for every little thing that happens during a gme…..he is not as bad as Johnny Miller doing golf. Joe Morgan was a great ball player but never acts like he was better than he was. Johnny Miller acts like he never hit a bad shot or made a bad decision on the golf course his whole life. When someone makes a mistake he tears into the guy. I hate his commetating!!!!! At least Joe Morgan never brags or says….”I would not have done that”. I think it would be easy for him to fall in that trap but he does not make that mistake.

Tim McCarver does — ALOT !!!

Interesting comments on announcers — the obvious solution (though not affordable) — is a menu of options (using names I know, but you can substitute your own):

(1) A Buck Martinez type option — for those who want a lot of good informative goodies on the game either because they enjoy it or because they are new or both
(2) A Jerry Remy type — for those who already know it all, want minimal dialog, not to serious, sometimes clowning around dialog
(3) Fox type announcers for those who… well you can fill in the blanks
(4) Eck type announcers for those who enjoy hearing cheese, paint, jack, brick, yard, johnson ALOT — and a unabashed bias!

Maybe with net — someone will start broadcasting games independently on their own and develop a web-following — why can’t we do that — Garry can do the commentary!! — we need a play-by-play person. I can full the McCarver role since I always know what we should or should not have done :)

On the national level, I think Joe Buck is the best, not only in baseball but football as well. I think he is very entertaining. It is always great to here Dick Stockton doing a game, baseball football or basketball. He does a solid job.

Sunday Night’s crew is horrible. Morgan talks but he doesn’t think, he talks to talk. Phillips is another talker…again to here himself talk. They bring nothing to the telecast. Tell me what Morgan or Phillips said on Sunday night that was insightful???? Absolutely nothing!! I think Hershiser and Sutcliffe are the best analysts in baseball on the national level. McCarver is like Dan Dierdorf, they have been around so long after a while I just accept them!

Vin Scully is the best play by play the game of baseball has ever heard and will ever hear!

Locally over the years we have been very fortuanate to have Ned Martin, Ken Coleman and Bob Starr. Sean McDonough was excellent as well!!! I miss all the local guys!! Orsillo is a wanna be Sean McDonough!

I forgot to mention Remy and how is that possible??? Shame on me! Remy is entertaining and I love that about him. He is very funny and he is the only guy on t.v. when doing a game that makes me laugh!! Get well quick Jerry Remy!!

The following announcers suck………baseball only.

Joe Migrane
Dewayne Staats
Kevin Kennedy
Michael Kay
Joe Morgan
Steve Phillips
The guys that do the Blue Jays games on t.v.
Suzie Waldman
John Sterling

I’m too tired and also I am to nice to go on!

For the “older” crowd here, the ones that remember when there was only one game on per week (pre-cable), I humbly submit Kurt Gowdy, Joe Garagiola and Tony Kubek. and later when ABC got baseball, Al Michaels.. I think those are some pretty good ones. But like alot of you, I too, am partial to the NESN guys, especially Rem-Dawg… and I like Tina Cervasio ALOT better than Heidi Watney.

Ellen, I’m with you. I remember very well all three–Gowdy, Joe G, and Kubek. I remember the latter two teaming up for many years, and I still consider them one of my favorite broadcast teams of all time. Al Michaels I remember, but I still associate him with MNF than with baseball (but he did a fine job with baseball).

I LOVED Vin Scully also, Brian! I liked that he did not have a cohort with him. I saw him, after he went off the national air, in my 5 years in LA. Great announcer, even better man.

Ellen, Tina had incredible appeal — for some reason I thought it was mostly to guys, who were crazy about her, but I see she must have had a broader appeal. That said, Heidi is doing a very good job — and I have noticed that she really asks (in my opinion) noticeably better questions than Tina did — really. I got to the point where I could almost predict Tina’s questions, and to be honest, they got to be sound bites and a bit disappointing, but I easily overlooked that because of her incredible smile and appeal. Looks like she had one of those smiles/personality that drew anyone in. But Heide puts more thought into her questions, and actually asks a question or two that I would like to hear the answer to.

I think Cervasio did a good job but a sideline reporter is worthless!

Garry, in regards to Clemens, I don’t know whether he in fact did or did not do anything illegal. But THEORETICALLY, if there is something of an illicit nature against him, it was already submitted to the Feds, and they are not likely to be the ones talking about it until the evidence is deemed credible or not–anything else is just going to be hearsay. What Clemens talked about in the book and on “Mike and Mike”, true or not, will be weighed against what the Feds have (and/or might gather down the road). I hope he is telling the truth, but like anyone else from this era, I am skeptical. I hope he is telling the truth, though.

Please remember that Roger Clemens gave a dna sample and that it may NOT test positive for PED’s, but that there IS NO TEST FOR HGH. Listening to him this morning he danced around that a little bit..

Phil, I admired Mel Allen also. I knew him best from when he did TWIB–only later did I learn of his connection to the Yankees.
I like Hershiser a lot, and I also like Joe Morgan. Joe Buck is, I agree, probably the best of the modern announcers. However, I CAN’T STAND Tim McCarver, nor Steve Phillips. Those two detract a lot from what I like about the others I’ve mentioned.
I suppose the reason I like some of the ones like Morgan, like Hershiser, like Scully, etc., is because they do talk about baseball itself–facts and figures, sure, but also some of the history behind it (I respect Morgan’s historical take on the game). I suppose that’s because I have never lived close to a baseball team, and so took a broader interest in the game itself. (That carried over to football, also). I soaked up anything and everything having to do with the history of the game, the personalities behind the game, who was who in what era, the way players think about the game (and how that has changed!), etc.. That gave me the means, also, to figure out what made certain postition players, certain teams, certain managers, etc., tick–I found that fascinating. It is part of the reason I know what I do about the game (and, later on, to sort out fact from BS!), since I played for such a short time. I like the Remys and others like him (the Braves announcers I grew up with were somewhat similar to Rem-Dawg and Orsillo; from the short time I have watched Rem-Dawg, that is my impression, anyway!). I like the personality Rem-Dawg brings to the game. But I suppose that is what I liked best about Garagiola and Kubek, and Vin Scully–they were somewhat a blend of those two perspectives–historical and how-to, versus the personality behind the games. Anyway, my thoughts from the RSN diaspora (i.e., exile)! GO SOX!

How you could negate Ned Martin and Jim Woods as well as Bob Montgomery. Bob was a delight. He wasn’t the smartest but he was the humblest and the funniest (IMHO). Ned Martin was a smart man well versed in literature. I miss him greatly. Jim Woods lived the Red Sox and I felt the excitement.
Thanks…the Red Sox blog that I started with Arnie needs all the publicity it can get. I have an ego too! (LOL)
A suggestion. Considering that David Ortiz said the nasty (G.D.) word into his helmet at missing a good pitch, let’s give him a break. he’s literally suffering and he needs our support. Tito is simply looking for David to fight off his struggles and be ready for the crunch months (e.g. post all star break). Let’s hope David can figure it out by then.

One final comment.
Have you noticed our schedule. The Red Sox have gotten a battery of Yankees, Rays and LAA. Where are Baltimore and Texas and Seattle? The Sox are playing the toughest teams while Toronto (with all due respect) are playing the bunny teams. Not fair.

I almost forgot about Mel Allen. One of the greats!

As far as PED’s go: I was listening to Johnny Bench on the radio a month or so ago and he was talking about that. He said, all the players have personal trainers and the players work with these guys to get in better shape, stronger , etc. He said that if your trainer gives you some pills and says, these will make you stronger and faster, you take them and don’t ask what’s in there. If it’s vitamin b-12, DHEA, whatever, you just take it. Now that’s changed but the sentiment of the players is the same, they are looking for an edge to make them better. At first I was glad he was so candid and a little disappointed in him because I have been taught to despise PED’s by all the bad press. But when I thought about the era he played, when there were no PED’s other than vitamins and maybe some white crosses. I realized how the culture of steroids could have gotten started. At first they were just some miracle supplement that made you go faster and stronger. What’s not to like???!! I can understand how the huge desire and motivation to improve would make steroids and all that stuff part of the locker room culture in a hurry. And how would you know what was a legit supplement and what was a drug? All the rules came later. Go to a health food store and peruse the shelves and see all the miracle herbs and supplements for any and all things. It’s mind boggling.
Johnny Bench changed my mind. I’m not as down on the players because I can see a little more from their perspective now. And I would not be surprised no matter who turns out to have used.

Oh, one more thing. They say the HGH helps you recover faster from an injury. If I could get something that would heal the cuts and burns faster, I’d be all over that in a heartbeat!! If I could find something to take away the ache in my feet and knees after an 18 hour double shift??!! I’d be chugging it. I can’t say I blame those guys too much anymore.

Hi Dave!!!

I don’t know about FAIR, Dave, but our schedule has been front-loaded. (It struck me, with our two early-season West Coast trips, as “Japan Lite”). My thought, though, is that that stuff evens out–sooner or later, Toronto has to reckon with those teams, the same way we have, so they’ll get theirs also! If they prevail over the likes of Tampa and NY, etc. they’ll have earned it; if not, they’ll come back to the pack. It will even out, though!

As far as announcers go….I remember Curt Gowdy very well. But back then I did not really care who was announcing because I was watching with my dad and my brother and with us 3 yacking away and watching the game we probably did not need one. Those are the days I truly miss. I will say for some reason my dad had it in his head that Gowdy was an Orioles fan. Took me a while to figure it out but I think it was because they were always on TV and poor Curt Gowdy was calling them most of the time. I think he was a Sox announcer when he started though. With Boog Powell, Mark belanger, Brooksie and that unbelieveable pitcthing staff they always were in the play-offs and Gowdy was there announcing. Awesome stuff. Now as far as Big Papi is concerned…..I think Tito has left him in the 3 hole because the Sox are playing consistent ball and they have the luxury of leaving him there….for now. If things start going a tad sour I think that will be one of the first moves they make. As everyone on here has stated in the past….the reason he was able to stay with Pedroia a couple years ago was because everyone around him was performing well enough where they could be patient with him. Now he is entending that courtesy to Big Papi and hopefully he’ll break out of this funk. Go Sox!!!!!

As far as the schedule goes — you never know until Sep/Oct rolls around, but MLB may been kinder this year (for the last three/four games) to the SOX than either the Yanks or the Rays, which have to play each other, while we host 4 games at home against Cleveland. So unless the Yanks and the Rays have already locked up the division and wildcard at that time — one of those two teams may be ousting the other from the playoffs.

Evenin’ everyone… I’ve got lite ceasar marninated chicken breast on the grill, and skewered grilled grape tomatoes… little side salad, and a nice cold MGD 64 to go with it.
I’m looking forward to seeing Justin become “Masterful” again. I think this wil be his night. The last time we played the Angels they had emotion as their momentum (with the death of Nick Adenheart). I’m sure they still think of him often and dedicate games to him, but I think that the momentum now shifts to the RedSox. Pedroia out tonight Youk back, my money is on the Boys from Bean Town !!!
Wil we see the projected next “phenom” tonight?? I would like to.
GO-OOOOOOOOOOOO SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

craig.. That’s areally good point about papi and the 3 spot.. never thought of it in those terms…. Touche’

I had thought about that factor, Craig, about why Tito has left Papi in the lineup, and what you said about Pedroia catching fire after the first month of the season. That, and the loyalty factor that Tito has expressed (about rewarding him for being clutch before), I’m sure are the reasons that Papi is still hitting third. While I commend Tito for that loyalty, I do hope that someone is working with Papi on some mechanical issues, so he is not fooled by certain pitches as he has been until now. We’ll see.
I’ve seen that perspective on the players for a while now, Arnie, that Bench described. While I don’t necessarily LIKE it, I have seen it as pretty much “par for the course”; so revelations of players’ use, while I may not LIKE it, do not surprise me.

You all bring up a lot of great announcing names from the past. Curt Gowdy is an all time favorite ……. “Hi Nabah, have a Gansett”. He could do it all, not just baseball. Mel Allen, Vin Scully, Joe Buck are among the other greats mentioned here. Please note, none of the best of the best are former players.

I’m watching the Toronto/Yankee game……. the Blue Jays look pretty formidable. We’ll see how their pitching holds up. Roy Halladay is a beast. He might be the best in the game right now along with Johann Santana. He’s straight from the 60’s.

Saw the new Star Trek movie today. It’s a must see, even if you’re not the Trekkie that I am. I saw it in IMAX ……. spectacular.

Bruins win, 4-2! I got to see some of the game, and the Bruins looked solid. GO BRUINS! Win Game 7!
Say what we want about Carolina not being a hockey haven. The RBC Centre was not the most raucous crowd you’d ever hear, but the place was packed! I hope it continues for the Canes! (Just not this series!) ;)

Bruins evened up their series tonight with a 4-2 win over Carolina. Celts are getting beat by 9 in the 3rd quarter and they don’t look very good.

Halladay and Santana are beasts, you’re right Garry. Regardless of how the Jays or Mets do in the course of the year, those two have always been solid!

I have always stated on here that there are only 2 pitchers in baseball I would give a 5 yr. contract to and they are Santana and Halladay. For some crazy reason the Red Sox have hit Halladay hard the last few seasons.

Boston goes to there house of horror this weekend and that is Seattle. For some crazy reason Boston has gotten smoked in Seattle the last 3 years or so. That being said, Boston has had alot of success in Anaheim. Including big playoff wins in 2004, 2007 and 2008 and of course 1986.

Surfer boy Weaver on the hill tonight! Sean Penn played him in that movie ” Fast Times At Ridgemont High”. LOL…Jeff Spicoli…

I agree with Garry regarding the play of the Celtics but I’m guessing the final quarter the Celtics will come alive! Orlando isn’t tough enough mentally to close out the Celtics tonight. The Magic are soft!

Where is the Celtics “D” in the 4th??? Reggie Miller said it best, the Celtics need stops!!

Youk on the 15 day DL…. Man that’s not good by any means!! Feel better Bubba, come back healthy!!!

Hey guys…bad lineup. Lugnuts has the precious number 2 spot and Bailey is in — he tries his darnest but he’s not hitting. In addition Green is doing second so once again without Dustin, Youk and sadly without Ortiz’s bat.
I take little solace in Joe Morgan’s comments. David has hit the wall before and isn’t getting the job done but man David is trying hard isn’t he. I respect that sweat. It’s why Lugo drives me insane. All he ever says is “I make mistakes’ How about “I’m sorry I let the team down. I know I’m not doing well. I’ll try harder. ” I know those are just words and I know Lugo does try hard but it’s not helping the team — add to the fact he’s just not that talented. Man…do I have issues with Lugo.
New one about Lugo cooking turkey. Arnie you are a major player in this!

Not looking good for the Celtics right now, unless they can pull a rabbit out of the hat.
Hey, boys and girls, another steal of home! Jayson Werth stole home against the Dodgers, on the catcher’s throw back to the pitcher!

Who is this broadcasting with Orsillo tonight?? The voice is familiar, but I cant place it positively.. Is it Kevin Kennedy??

Speaking of beasts, Halladay just got another CG win. Go figure!

The legend A.K.A. Gil Velasquez takes Youk’s spot. I’m guessing Gil Santos wasn’t available. LOL….

Ortiz H.R. tonight??? Takes surfer boy deep into the Cali. night.

Who is this broadcasting with Orsillo tonight?? The voice is familiar, but I cant place it positively.. Is it Kevin Kennedy??

no, its not Kennedy.. cant place the voice

I’m not watching the game on N.E.S.N. but I read that Dave Roberts will be doing the games on the left coast.

C’s down 4 with roughly 3:00 minutes left in the 4th.

Lugnut walks to first base. Gonna be a long one.

It is Kevin Kennedy… not bad, I’ve definitely heard worse

Your given up on the C’s too early. The Magic aren’t tough enough mentally……. soft as a pretzel! The Celtics “D” is the difference!

Brian, I hadn’t given up on the Celtics, but I wasn’t sure how much time was left for them to pull that rabbit out of the hat!

Ellen…….Is Kennedy doing the Sox game on N.E.S.N.??? Thank heaven I am not watching the game. I read in the Boston Globe that Dave Roberts was going to do the games on the left coast.

Great play by Rondo. Throwing it off Howard’s leg. Celtics with a bad possession. Allen was credited with a 3 pointer earlier in the game and he shouldn’t have….his foot was clearly on the line. The game should be tied. Red is watching!!

The rabbit hasn’t been pulled yet but yet is the “key” word. Orlando as I said earlier is a soft team, not mentally tough. The Magic have crumbled in the last 4 minutes or so. Where is Nick Anderson??? Penny Hardaway??? 11 straight points for the green!

Toronto beats the Yankees, Baltimore beats the Rays. Looks good–let’s take advantage of it! GO SOX!

The Celtics last 2 possessions were pretty bad but offensive rebounding is there friend. Marv Albert said it best…..maybe the Celtics just want to graze the rim. Funny line by Marv Albert. We nail announcers here all the time, Albert does a great job. His off the court antics…..another story for another time.

13 straight by Boston, wow!

I think Dave Stapelton should play first base tonight and Jack Brohammer should play second base. What do you folks think???

Nice job JDDREW!!! thank you!

A GREAT WIN by the Celtics!!

Drew goes deep!! Nice to here and read about.

I’ll take Dave Stapleton, Brian! Rem-Dawg at 2B would be fine also!

Jeff Frey???? Not Jose Offerman though, LOL…

Come on, Nick! GO SOX!

Great that the Celtics won, Brian! What was the final score? GO CELTICS!

Way to tie the score, JD! 1-2-3 inning for Masterful, please! We need the real Masterful to show up! GO SOX!

Okay.. time for Trixie to head for the hills!!
See y’all tomorrow.
GO SAWX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KICK ANGELS BUTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dave, I don’t know Woods, Montgomery, or Martin. I assume they were NESN announcers? If so, that would explain why I don’t know them!

I think this is a matter of time for Masterson. He is clueless with his location out there. He either can’t throw strikes or is laying the ball right down the middle of the plate. Angels are having real good swings at every strike he throws.

Masterson is very lucky to be through the first two innings having only given up one run. I think the Sox should think about Buchholz and put Masterson back in the pen where he has proven to be most effective.

Well, damage contained again. Can’t keep putting guys on base (esp. loading the bases!) and expect to be in the game long! Could be a short night for Justin. Get em out, Masterful! GO SOX!

Come on, Jacoby! GO SOX! Get some RUNS!

It would be a good idea right now, Garry, to put Masterson back in the pen for long relief, and bring up Buch! I’d like to see the FO pull that string! GO SOX!

The worst part about that pitch behind Hunter is that Masterson had no clue where that pitch was going. He’s liable to get thrown out of this game and not even know why.

Hey Greg. I see the Bruins evened their series. Carolina is surprising me. Masterson likes living on the edge! He sure has thrown a lot pitches already. Looks like Tampa can’t beat anyone but Boston! Go Sox.

Classic case of “hit em where they ain’t”. One more out, Masterson! GO SOX!

Carolina is tougher than people give them credit for, Paul. Can’t blame em much–Raleigh, NC is not exactly Hockeytown, USA (or Canada!), but Carolina has recently won a Stanley Cup, so they should not be a total unknown!

Nice job finishing the inning, Masterful! GO SOX!
It suits me fine, Paul, if the Rays don’t beat anyone else! (Of course, if they beat up on the Yankees, I’m not going to be disappointed!) ;) GO SOX!

Third baseman catches it on the pitcher’s mound! That looked a little comic! Hmmm!…

This game is getting very difficult to watch. Masterson is taking up where Dice-K left off. Nothing like a west coast game that goes 4 hours or so.

Masterson is asking for trouble again. Get it done, Sox!

Damage contained. Again, one run. Get some runs, guys! GO SOX!

Since we are obviously going to have a little time, here’s baseball rules quiz. Angels had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. A line drive was hit to J. D. Drew. The runner on third tags and scores. The runner on second tagged and advanced to third. Let’s say the Sox appeal that the runner on third left second base too early and calls him out. Does thr run count. Why or why not?

Just as in the last game, hit batsmen and walks will always come back to haunt you. The Sox seem to be out of it–no spark. They have to wake up or it’s going to be a long road trip. Luckily both Tampa Bay and the Yanks lost today.
Going back in time, Curt Gowdy came up and worked a couple of years alongside Mel Allen with the Yankees before he came over to the Sox. Red Barber was the voice of the Brooklyn Dodgers before they moved out to the West.

Good job Sox, good throwout! GO SOX!

One more, Justin! GO SOX!

I hope they do put Bard in tonight, let’s see how he does!
Good job finishing the inning, Justin! Get some runs, guys! GO SOX!

Buenas noches, amigos!

Nice job, Jacoby, on the bunt single! Get him home, guys! GO SOX!

Hellorio Gregorio!

Ned Martin,etc were actually radio announcers before they went to NESN. They were local but I always liked local over national.

?Que’ tal, Carlitos? ?Que’ haces?

Ned Martin,etc were actually radio announcers before they went to NESN. They were local but I always liked local over national.
Incidentally, Bob Montgomery played for the Red Sox as a backup catcher for many a year.

Lugo batting 2nd not a shocker after seeing him DH last week!

Thanks, Dave. Not living in that market, I would not have known!
Nice running, Jacoby! Nice steal, and advancing to 3B! Get him home! GO SOX!

Double entries on posts. Man this blog has a few bugs in it,

Thought I’d pop in and say hi.
Wow, that play at the plate was closer than I thought it’d be.

Saw that coming. Good hustle by Ellsbury to force the accurate throw. Nice play, though.

Gary…I would assume the run would count since the runner on second is an unrelated issue. The most that would happen would be for the runner on third to be out. Did I get, as Stan Lee used to say growing up a ‘no prize’ ?

Hello Carlos. Man it’s almost 11:00 pm my time.

I see Bruins and Celtics both won tonight. Man, those Celtics do play hard, huh?

Nice play, Mike, and Jeff Bailey. Good catch. Two more, Justin! GO SOX!

11pm here also. And we’re probably looking at at least another hour of play.

Good inning, Masterful! Get some runs, guys! GO SOX!

Sadly Carlos I fear the bats are not going to give us that 7th inning miracle.

Nice inning! Now let’s get some runs!!

Masterson is done. He’s already at 105 pitches. It’s been a great game for him but if the Sox don’t find a way to poke in two runs, he’ll have to eat this loss. Ug.

You are correct Dave. Many think that because the runner didn’t properly tag at second base that he is forced to go back to second which is interpreted at a force out. However, it is not. It is an appeal play and since the run scored before the appeal, it would count.

I thought Ellsbury was safe at the plate. The tag seemed late and awfully high. However, it’s tough to tell how far up the line he was when he was tagged. I’d like to see it again in slow motion.

It is late for you folks back east but the Red Sox bats seem to have already gone to sleep!

Masterson is done. He’s already at 105 pitches. It’s been a great game for him but if the Sox don’t find a way to poke in two runs, he’ll have to eat this loss. Ug.

Hey, Carlos, have you checked out the Red Sox Humor page that Dave started up? If so, have you read my entry about some Spanish/English plays on words/ slip-ups, etc.? I think you especially would enjoy them! ;)
Nice hit, Mike! Gotta get him home, guys! GO SOX!

Not many bats you can count on tonight! I agree Dave, but with these guys you can never be sure. All it takes is one good inning!

Hey Gary…I got a no-prize. Whew…going to bed soon. Had an all day migrane. Been very stressful for the last few weeks but should ease up.

Just on the replay I saw, it looked like a good call on the tag. I’d want to see the replay again, though!

The page is:
check it out.!

The rule makes sense, Garry. Thanks.

Enjoy your no-prize, Dave! ;)

Thanks for the humor website Dave! And thanks for recommending it Greg!
Now I know for sure I won’t be getting much work done this week! ;)

Come on, DelCarmen, we need you to be Dr. FeelGood! GO SOX!

Did you see my entry, Carlos?

Nice job, guys. One more out! Then we need some RUNS! GO SOX!

Ya Carlos…check it all out. It’s a labor of love because we sure ain’t getting paid for it!

Oh dear another run. Game over…going to bed. Night all!

Come on DelC! Don’t let another one in! Let’s end this inning now!

Well, that didn’t help. Still need one more out. Let’s go, guys!

All right, guys, now we need the 2+-run rally. GO SOX!

Good night Dave! Hope you have a better day tomorrow!

It’s a good thing Lugo is a good sport and has a sense of humor! I hear he is a real pleasure to have in the clubhouse.
Especially BEFORE the games.

Better! Nice hit, Nick! GO SOX! Get him home!

Great hit, Jacoby, and great running, Nick! GO SOX! Get them HOME!

Yesss nice hit Jacoby! And good hustle, Nick! LET’S GET SOME RUNS!!

!Espero que si’, Carlos! Julio does take a lot of grief, including from us. I hope he has a more productive year this year. My main complaint with him is that he is, in my opinion, anyway, overpaid.

!Caminando voy…! ;) Nice BB, Lugo, now let’s get them HOME!

Way to go, Lugo! lol
When I played in little league there alwas was one player on each team who was told to NEVER swing at a pitch, and half the time he’d end up getting walked.
Hey Tito! Hint! Hint!

Come on Papi!!! Vamo’ que tu puedes!!

Oh no… did you see the pain in Papi’s face? Not good. Hope he’s ok.

3-2 now, bases loaded! Let’s GO, SOX! Get em home!

Yesssss tie game!!

Good! Game tied! Nice job, J-Bay! Get some more runs, guys! !VA’MONOS SOX! GO SOX!

!MEJOR! Now let’s hold the game tied, 1-2-3 inning, guys! We need some more runs! GO SOX!

So Greg, how long have you Brownie Pointer founding fathers and mothers known each other?

Come on, Ramon! GO SOX!

Good stuff. We are in the game anyway. I’m not happy to see the those runners LOB. That could be critical. Go Sox.

Ah, nothing like Lugo being Lugo to make the game interesting.

Lugnuts does it again!!! An easy ground ball!!!

Ramon has an evil stare! Kind of like a ferocious Chihuahua dog! Come on Ramon!! Let’s get out of this unharmed!

Lugo being LugNuts again, indeed! AY! GO SOX!

Well Carlos, some here, like Ellen, have been blogging here almost since Ian established the blog in the first place. I have only been blogging here since around Christmastime, during the Tex/ Lowell debacle. I instantly felt at home here, because of the humor here, Ian’s good writing, and the fact that people on here know what they’re talking about. So I’ve been a frequent contributor. But I am FAR from a “founding father/member”! :) GO SOX!

Let’s go Sox. Get some runs. Break the game open!!!!

Nice inning boys, no thanks to Jugo. But at least he can roast a killer turkey ;)

Ramon did a great job getting out of that inning, and around the LugNuts error. Great work Ramon!
You’re right, Carlos, Ramon does have that “Stare Glare”, and I love that about him! It’s something that Pap used to have, and has not shown as readily as he used to–it’s what I really liked about Pap originally, in 06 and 07! Ramon has it!! GO SOX!

Come on, guys, get the runner home! We need the RUNS! GO SOX!

Jugo, Carlos? Is he the Juice? ;)

I agree Greg, the people here do seem to know their stuff. I think there’s a lot I can learn here.

OK, Tek, get the run home! GO SOX!

!Vamos, Capita’n! GO SOX! Get em home!

WAY TO GO TEK! 4-3! YES!!!
MAN, my connection SUCKS tonight!

I’ve been on JD Drew’s case a lot, but he really showed me something tonight. Leading off, he takes the ball to left field when they have that stupid shift on for him. That’s a guy who’s thinking about winning a game. Great job by Tek hanging in there on a breaking ball and hammering it.

Pap’s stare has been toned down, huh? I thought I saw it different. And we haven’t seen him doing the riverdance either.

Tek comes through! Just try and keep it going. Go Sox.

Pap used to have a genuine killer stare, Carlos. Now he just looks dorky half the time. And his stuff has shown it.

All night long Ellsbury has been letting first pitch fast balls go right down the middle of the plate. This time, he swings at ball one. Tito ought to take a piece of his rear end for that one.

Pap needs to throw strikes, Lowell needs to move in for Figgins……

Finish the game off, Pap! Shut em down tonight, don’t make such an adventure of it! GO SOX!

Let’s go Paps. Put them away. Pls, no walks!!!

Let’s go Paps. Put them away. Pls, no walks!!!

Lugo couldn’t possibly atone for his error. Another RISP stranded. I hope Pap doesn’t give me an ulcer tonight. Go Sox.

My wife thinks Pap has put on some weight too. She says he used to look slim and now he looks squeezable. Kind of like the Pilsbury Doughboy.

Yeah, we’ve noticed!

Quit throwing those beach balls, Pap! Blow em away, if you can anymore!

Yesss just one more out, Pap! Let us go to bed!

One more. Be careful and put him away!!!

The other night, Pap was throwing 95-97, tonight he’s at 91-92. I’d sure like to see him shelf the splitter too.

JD may not be much in the field Garry, but he knows how to win a game with the bat!

A freaking walk……. unbelievable.

PAP! Are we trying to make life hard again??! Geez, GET THE OUT!

!AY, DIOS, MI’O! Pap, get real! Get an OUT!

Right field doesn’t worry me at all. I think Drew is solid on the field and at the plate, and Baldelli is a fine backup.

I don’t get it. Why let him steal and get into scoring position?

“He got him with the fastball!”
Awesome win, Sox!!

Nice job Pap. We might have stolen a game tonight considering all the problems Masterson had early. Go Sox.

The Sox find a way to win with some missing parts. A good win.

Nothing comes easy!!!!! Let’s keep it going tomorrow!!!

Why let him steal, Phil? Because with 2 outs, if Pap does his job and blows away the hitter, LIKE HE’S SUPPOSED TO (!), the runner can’t score, unless he wants to try and steal home! Get the SO, etc., the runner doesn’t matter.

Nice chatting with all of you. Rest up, and hope to see you again tomorrow.
Go Sox!

Do you guys realize that Ramon Ramirez is now 4-0? And he lowered his below 1.00 ERA, also! Way to go, Ramon! Nice win, Sox! Win the series! GO SOX!
Take care, all!

Get well, Youk! We’re gonna need ya! GO SOX!

Hey! Garry!

How much do you really know about the Bosox and beer, at least old time. Do you know the rest of the “Gansett” jingle? I’ve written it out on this blog before, but lets see if you know it.

Also, back then, the Sox were also sponsored by the Carling brewery. According to the Sox announcers, Carling Black Label beer (Hey! Mabel! Black Label!) was brewed on the shores of what lake in Greater Boston? Ironically, Black Label got much of its US start in Cleveburg.

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text:
Ohio State men's basketball | Aaron Craft: 'On a whole 'nother level'

By The Columbus Dispatch  •

Two weeks ago, a 7-year-old from Orlando, Fla., and his Ohio-born parents who have raised him to love the Buckeyes flew into town to see the Ohio State men’s basketball team play Minnesota.

Make-A-Wish made it happen. A.J. Weyant’s leukemia, which was diagnosed before he was 2, is in remission, and he wanted to meet Aaron Craft “because he steals the ball,” A.J. said.

A.J.’s mom thinks the attraction is a little deeper than that.

>> Follow BuckeyeXtra.com on Twitter at @buckeyextra for Ohio State updates, facts, snarkisms, links, etc.

“He had a tough introduction to this world, and he’s had certain struggles,” Hope Weyant said. “Whatever he does, he has to work extra hard. When he sees Aaron Craft always giving 110 percent, I think that resonates with him.”

It has resonated with a lot of people in the past four years.

Craft plays his final home game for the Buckeyes on Sunday. He and fellow senior Lenzelle Smith Jr. will be recognized before the game against Michigan State in Value City Arena. It will be a moment to capture for posterity.

In the long history of Ohio State basketball, there have been few like Craft. He shares the Big Ten record for career steals. He holds the school career record for assists. He is the first player in the history of the program to be named a first-team Academic All-American three times.

He has done as much community service — visiting hospital patients, speaking to schoolchildren, even taking a mission trip to Haiti — as his schedule has allowed.

All of it has resonated.

“It’s a really unique dynamic,” said Clark Kellogg, the Big Ten’s most valuable player at Ohio State in 1982. “He’ll go down as one of the most-popular and accomplished student-athletes in the history of the program.”

Another former player, Mel Nowell, said he has not seen another player since he wore the uniform more than 50 years ago “who has gathered the amount of admiration that this young man has at our university.”

Nowell, an East High School graduate, was a member of what is still the most-revered class of Ohio State basketball players in history. He started with Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek on teams that won the NCAA tournament in 1960 and reached the title game again in ’61 and ’62.

The only player who would rival Craft’s mass appeal was Havlicek, Nowell said, and for the same reason: their mentality.

“He hardly ever gave up on a play,” Nowell said. “Not that others gave up, but John went that extra mile, just as you see Craft do.

“He’s relentless. The kid can be tired, you know he’s tired, and he still will find something inside himself that will give you an effort that is extremely difficult to give. That reminds me of John.”

Craft and Havlicek have not met — “That’s on my bucket list,” Craft said — but they made similar first impressions at Ohio State.

Havlicek did not start his first game but started every one after that.

“Our recruiting class all averaged about 30 points a game in high school, and I knew we weren’t going to get 150 points a game,” Havlicek said, “so I figured I would do something a little different that would allow me to get more time on the starting five.”

Craft came off the bench in all but one game as a freshman, but his defensive chops got him on the court for an average of nearly 30 minutes per game for a 2010-11 team that ended the regular reason ranked No. 1 nationally and finished 34-3. He was voted the Big Ten’s sixth man of the year.

“I have watched him on TV,” Havlicek said, “and he certainly gives a lot of energy to the team. When you have a player like that, it sort of rubs off on the other players to want to play harder because you don’t want to feel like you’re the weak link out there.”

Craft’s appeal, though, goes beyond his floor burns and the sweat dripping from his chin. The same was true of Havlicek, whom former Columbus newspaper columnist Kaye Kessler described as a “fresh-faced, Tom-Sawyer-sort-of kid from down on the (Ohio) river.” Havlicek grew up in Bridgeport, Ohio.

Craft, from Findlay, Ohio, stands just under 6 foot 2 and wasn’t a much-sought prospect out of tiny Liberty-Benton High School. “I can put on a pair of jeans and a non-Ohio State T-shirt and look pretty normal,” he said.

But he can’t hide. Not after four years of his rosy cheeks and head-first leaps over courtside seats being broadcast nationwide.

One of Craft’s former roommates told ESPN.com that a team of seventh-grade girls volleyball players who were on campus last summer ran down Craft from four blocks away so they could get pictures and autographs.

“A couple years ago,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said, “they were having freshman orientation downtown, 8,000 freshmen in Nationwide Arena, and they asked Aaron and I to come down and say a couple words. They introduced me, and it was like two claps. They introduced him, and the place erupted. I remember looking at him and saying, ‘Maybe they got our names confused?’  ”

Last month, a 70-something woman who has attended Ohio State games for 30 years asked to come to practice so she could meet Craft before he graduates in May.

After Craft got engaged last year — he will marry his high-school sweetheart in August — assistant coach Jeff Boals told some Rotarians that Craft “broke the hearts of every 8- to 68-year-old in the country.”

Weyant’s was the third Make-A-Wish request for Craft this season. Last fall, he videotaped a speech for an Ohio high-school leadership conference because a lab class prevented him from attending. He had missed a lab once and gotten a B-plus in the course and wasn’t going to risk that again. Craft has a 3.93 cumulative grade-point average in a pre-med curriculum.

“We can’t physically do all the things that people request, so we try to manage those by what we deem the most important, the most beneficial,” said Dave Egelhoff, who screens requests for Craft’s time as the Buckeyes’ director of basketball operations. “It’s tough on him because he knows he can make a difference, but it’s just physically impossible to do them all.”

Craft-worship is not universal, of course. He has his detractors, especially this season, with the Buckeyes having lost nearly as many Big Ten games as they’ve won and Craft sometimes prone to costly late-game turnovers because he is trying too hard to make a difference for a team that lacks a clutch scorer.

And as the menace on defense he has been for four years, opposing fans hate him. Iowa students booed and jeered him every time he touched the ball on Feb. 4. He never acknowledges such noise during or after a game because he doesn’t want any opponent to know that they entered his head. That night, he let his 17 points, six assists and six steals do his talking in Ohio State’s upset win.

Egelhoff said that when 7-foot Greg Oden, the future No. 1 NBA draft pick, played at Ohio State during the 2006-07 season, he was the eighth wonder of the world wherever the Buckeyes went on the road. “Everyone wanted to see him, talk to him,” Egelhoff said.

“With Aaron, they just want him to graduate and be done.”

At home, though, Craft’s supporters make up a decided majority. The only other Ohio State basketball player who might have come close to Craft’s mass appeal in a four-year career on campus might have been Katie Smith, another small-town (Logan, Ohio) product who went on to become one of the greatest players in WNBA history.

But “Aaron’s on a whole ’nother level,” Smith said with a laugh. “Nobody chased after me on campus.”

It’s possible that, in the past 50 years, maybe only a handful of Ohio State football players have been bigger men on campus than Craft, none more so than two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

“Archie’s like the flag at Ohio State,” joked former basketball standout Bill Hosket.

But if that’s the case, Kellogg added, “Aaron’s one of the stars on the flag.”

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text:
Inside Children's Blog

Putting the You in NICU

Jordan and I attended the mock-up of Akron Children’s new neonatal intensive care unit. To be honest I wasn’t sure what to expect. In fact I should have prepared ourselves for a longer stay with more snacks and distractions for the little man.


text:
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