Sox Blog

It’s a shame about the Rays

2008-07-03T11:39:00-04:00

Any way you look at it.

Also a shame that Dustin Pedroia, try though he might, cannot win a game for us single-handedly.

And that our bullpen is — not to put too fine a point on it — completely and utterly useless.

(But, hey, at least Timlin is coming back!)

Wow, that was bad.

Just.....really, really bad. I don’t quite know what else to say.

Maybe we can win a game in New York ? Maybe.

At this point our best bet is if Madge is in the three-hole, right in front of A-Rod.

Fighting!

2008-06-30T16:25:00-04:00

Death threats!

Beefed-up security!

FBI protection!

Boy, a trip to the Trop sure ain’t what it used to be!

But this is why baseball is so much fun. No, not the lurking danger of creepy racist psychopaths; we got knocked out of first place yesterday. And the only way to crawl our way back up there is to go mano-a-mano with a divisional rival that, for most of its existence, has been abysmally bad.

Well, now they’re good. But we’ve got to make sure they don’t get too good. And there’s a better than average chance things could get rough out there as we undertake the task.

Good thing we’ve got our enforcer, Manhandlin’ Manny Ramirez ready to step in and throw some guys around if it should come to that.

In the mean time, all joking aside, let’s hope this is nowhere near as serious as it potentially could be. Yikes.

Fighting!

2008-06-30T14:22:00-04:00

Death threats!

Beefed-up security!

FBI protection!

Boy, a trip to the Trop sure ain’t what it used to be!

Well, now they’re good. But we’ve got to make sure they don’t get too good. And there’s a better than average chance things could get rough out there as we undertake the task.

Good thing we’ve got our enforcer, Manhandlin’ Manny Ramirez ready to step in and throw some guys around if it should come to that.

In the mean time, all joking aside, let’s hope this is nowhere near as serious as it potentially could be. Yikes.

Position players

2008-06-25T12:23:00-04:00

Here’s a little trick I’ve discovered, which works more often than you might expect.

When you’re at a Red Sox game and the team is losing — the offense is anemic, say, and/or the pitching is mediocre — simply move. Get up from your seat and relocate to another part of the park. (If standing-room is the best you can do, big deal; consider it taking one for the team.)

It’s a stratagem that’s paid off for me more than once in the past — most recently last night.

Round about the middle of the seventh, with the score frozen at 4-1, the sole offensive production having come from Pedroia’s homer in the first, my buddy Ben and I departed our sopping wet bleacher seats and headed into the bowels of Fenway. Our plan was to grab a standing-room spot along the third baseline. But as luck would have it, some box-seat swells had vacated the premises — we duly took our place not far behind home plate. As it happened, this would prove an advantageous vantage point for what was about to unfold.

(The less said about the yuppie couple in front of us, who arrived at their seats at the top of the eighth and proceeded to sip wine — red for him, white for her — and poke away at their Blackberries while generally ignoring the on-field goings-on, the better.)

The game had been pretty boring up till now, of course, and I was despairing that our fourth loss in five was on its way. But as soon as we sat down, things started getting good.

Lugo singled to right.

Ellsbury did the same.

Pedroia laced one into center, scoring Lugo .

After Drew struck out, Manny grounded to third, advancing Ellsbury and Pedroia. And then Lowell doubled to left, scoring the both of ‘em.

The crowd, I can tell you, was rather enjoying this turn of events. Even the yuppies in front of me seemed to notice that something big was going down.

Then our captain Jason Varitek — who was mired in the 1-31 doldrums, who was being mercilessly razzed by the two high-school dopes to my left, who was wondering whether he should ever try to be a switch-hitter again — stepped to the plate ... to bat as a lefty.

And then he singled to right and pushed Lowell across the plate for the lead.

Bedlam.

And so, with Yooooooooook — and his shiner — inserted defensively at first base, “Wild Thing” boomed and Papelbon walked with affected deliberation to the edge of the grass, and then onto the mound. Two Ks, a walk, and a ground-out later, a win was on the boards where a certain loss had been before.

See? It’s all a matter of Positioning Yourself for Success.

George Carlin, RIP

2008-06-23T16:11:00-04:00

Schilling to get surgery

2008-06-20T15:00:00-04:00

And that’s that.

There will be no post-season heroics this year. No shot at salvaging a lost season.

Just lots and lots of time to call into WEEI, blog, and develop video games.

Weird that he was just throwing off a mound less than 10 days ago, but I guess the guy’s in pain, and there’s no use chasing after something he knows isn’t gonna happen.

Can’t say I’m too surprised.

Am I disappointed? Can’t really say that either.

Luckily our general manager has seen to it that we’re well-stocked with live arms. If Masterson can keep pitching like he has, and if Colon returns from the DL with anything close to what he’s shown so far — and is smart enough to stop swinging for the fences, should we make it to the next round of interleague play in October — we’ll be fine.

But we could be seeing the end of a brilliant career here. And that’s a little sad, no matter how you slice it. Luckily, the guy seems to be taking it in stride.

The game was here for well over a hundred years before I came along, and will be for that and more after I am gone, it owes Curt Schilling absolutely nothing, it gave me far more than I ever gave it.

Good luck, Gehrig38. And thanks for what you’ve given us.