Christmas Tree

My Christmas Tree is up. Plopped right in front, near the top, at eye level, is my brand spanking new, brightly shining, 2004 Boston Red Sox World Series Championship Holiday Ornament.

I Am One of SI's Sportsmen of the Year!

Well I am. Along with the rest of Red Sox Nation and, of course, the team. Sports Illustrated managing editor Terry McDonell said so. Here's the quote, taken right from RedSox.com, "The Red Sox are the Sportsmen of the Year, but every Red Sox fan everywhere shares in that with them".

That's me right? I'm a member of Sox Nation, a die hard fan, in case you didn't already know, and somehow weren't able to figure it out.

So, on behalf of all my fellow members, as well as the Boston Red Sox, I accept this honor. This is a well earned and well deserved honor and I am proud to be a part of it.

I would like to thank Sports Illustrated, but most of all, I would like to thank the 2004 Boston Red Sox. That happy band of idiots who showed the world what a group of guys can do when they're all in it together, and whom without, I would NEVER have been able to achieve such an honor.

Mirabelli Deal Almost Done

So it looks like we're close to wrapping up a 1 year, 1.5 million dollar deal with Doug Mirabelli. I thought it was a done deal already, but apparently it's not completely finalized yet. Hopefully I'm not jumping the gun here, but I needed something to write about so I'm gonna take a chance and hope I don't have to amend it later.

This is a good move. Mirabelli is a great backup catcher who has been tagged with the dubious honor of being the "best backup catcher in the game". You would think a guy with that kind of title would be able to find more playing time somewhere. Fortunately for us, that didn't happen and I'm surprised.

Like Kapler, this guy loves playing in this city for this team. Also like Kapler, he wants to play more and I suspected he would get that offer from some team somewhere. I don't know, maybe he didn't, or maybe it wasn't enough to lure him out of here. Either way, that's good for us.

I admit, he's one of the few players I didn't know much about when we picked him up from Texas during the "01" season, to help fill in the void left by Varitek's spectacular diving catch of a foul ball in the on deck circle, that cost him the rest of the season and caused the Sox to redo the entire area afterward.

I've gotten to know the kind of player he is over the last 3 1/2 seasons, and I like it. He's a gamer, always plays hard, is well prepared for calling his games, works well with the pitching staff, and can hit a little. He didn't play a lot, but it seems like whenever he was in there he always came up with a big hit for us. From everything I've read and seen, he's also a good clubhouse guy, who likes to do a lot of talking, but it's the kind of talking that makes everyone laugh and keeps them loose.

He was a key part of the "o4" Championship and should continue to be a key part of this team next season. Once Tek is signed (and that WILL happen), I suspect we may see Mirabelli's playing time increase slightly as he spells Tek a little more often to help keep him fresh. This is a good thing, if there's one guy I want to see in the game while Tek's getting the day off, it's Doug Mirabelli. Of course, when I say that, I mean as far as backup catchers go, because obviously we can't have Pudge Rodriguez or Javey Lopez backing up Tek.

Anyway, welcome back Doug, and thanks for coming back. Looking forward to watching you help bring us another one.

Speaking of catchers, what the hell is the deal with the Sox firing bullpen catcher Dana Levangie? This is a local guy from Brockton whose been doing the job for 8 years, and according to The Globe, the move caught him by surprise. I don't get it. What happened here? I'd like to know. Tough break Dana. That had to be a great job, I'd take in a heartbeat.

Thanksgiving

I would like to give thanks for the 2004 World Series Championship.

I wonder where Theo is spending this Thanksgiving. Probably with family, but we all remember where he was at this time last year and what ended up coming from it.

World Series DVD Review

The World Series DVD came out yesterday, and like most good members of Red Sox Nation I picked it up and watched it last night. Here’s a quick review after one viewing.

First I want to say that I watched the first 45 minutes while doing my workout on my elliptical machine. I usually get to right around 7 miles, give or take a tenth or 2, in that time. While watching the DVD, I actually got up to eight. Hmm…. Nothing like a little World Series title to get your adrenaline pumping a little harder.

Anyway, despite the adrenaline thing, I was a little disappointed overall. I realize it was a World Series video but I wanted to see more. More of the season highlights, more of the ALCS highlights, more of the rivalry highlights, more of the victory celebration and rolling rally highlights, hell even more of the World Series highlights. For 90 minutes there sure didn’t seem to be enough of any of that.

I was left trying to figure out what the heck I just spent 90 minutes watching, because it seemed like they skimped on some of the good stuff. What I saw I liked, I just wanted to see more.

Dennis Leary did a fine job narrating. I read somewhere that he was honored to do it, but he told MLB up front not to expect him to be his crazy self because he didn’t want to take anything away from the team and what they accomplished. He was true to his word and was excellent. And of course, there were a few Leary moments, but they worked and only added to the experience. My favorite quote: just before Ortiz deposited one into the bullpen to end game 4 of the ALCS, “The game went on for close to 5 hours, and you can only face Big Papi so many times, without getting a spanking”.

There was some great additional footage. My favorite part was the “Post Season Pre-Game Sound”. It starts off with Timlin and Embree shagging fly balls in Yankee Stadium before Game One. It was great stuff.

Timlin telling Embree that he enjoys playing these guys and how he went up to Mattingly and said, “you know what’s the best thing about this lineup? You’re not in it”.

Then as Burks comes to the plate Timlin says “that’s one of the reasons I wanna win it right there”. Embree says, “I wanna see him cry”.

Millar on the field at Fenway before game 4 of the ALCS telling Francona as he’s worrying about Schilling’s ankle, “screw the ankle, we gotta get to the ankle game”.

Then running around the field telling anyone, everyone, and no one, “don’t count us out”.

Finally, standing in front of the dugout telling all the fans, “we’ll be all right. We just don’t make it easy on ourselves. This is the way we like it, down and out and then, POW! Sox Nation’ll take over.

There were a couple of good stories in “The Storytellers and a few other good highlights.

One of my favorite moments was seeing Schilling and Wakefield at different times during the DVD, hugging Pesky during the WS victory celebration, Schilling planting a big wet one right on his cheek.

The DVD was certainly enjoyable but there was something missing. It just wasn’t as climactic as it could have been. Nothing will ever be as climactic as witnessing it for the first time, but I wanted to get close to that feeling again while watching this and it just didn’t happen. I think it was possible.

We needed more of the storied history, more of the regular season heroics, more of the post-season grit and guts (particularly in the ALCS with their backs against the wall), more of “The Nation”, and more of what this city was like afterward.

I’ll certainly watch it again, and probably again and again. It looks as though NESN now has it’s own version out. Hopefully they’ll do a better job with it, although it’s actually shorter by about 10 minutes.

Maybe one of these days someone will come out with the one that really captures it all. I gotta hope for something right? I no longer have to hope for the Red Sox to finally win a World Series.

Kapler to Japan

Gabe Kapler is heading to Japan, for at least a year anyway. He loved this city and this team, which is why he stuck around this last year knowing he was only gonna be a part time player.

As I noted in an earlier post, I suspected that this time his desire for more playing time might out weigh his love for the city, and there was a good chance he would get offered that opportunity by another team and take it.

But, the Yomiuri Giants? Holy Crap! Where the hell did that come from? That took me completely by surprise. He couldn't get enough interest from a Major League team?

I read that his agent said something like, he has won a world championship in the U.S., now he wants to become a champion in Japan. I'm not buying it. Sorry. I would think that anyone who has won a world championship in the U.S. would want to stick around and win another one. I think it all comes down to playing time. The guy just wants to play, and apparently there were no suiters here in the states. Hopefully there will be some more details tomorrow.

I really like Kapler, always have, even before he played for us. He's the kind of ballplayer I like. Always plays hard, gives it everything he has on the field, never causes trouble off the field. I thought it was a great move by Theo when he picked him up off the wire. He certainly played his part in bringing this championship to this town.

I really didn't expect him to stick around this time though, with our outfield set the way it was. I also sure as hell didn't see this coming either.

Good luck Gabe. Thanks for the World Series title. You'll always have a special place in this city. Maybe we'll see you back here again sometime.

Significant Dates

Just some dates off the top of my head that are forever etched in my memory for their significance.

October 19th 1781- Cornwallis surrenders to Washington at Yorktown

April 9th 1865- Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Court House

December 7th 1941- Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor

November 22nd 1963- JFK is assassinated

July 24th 2004- Varitek sticks his glove in A-rod's face

October 27th 2004- Boston Red Sox become World Champions for first time in 86 years

Schilling Trade

So, I was recently thinking about how Schilling has come full circle and is back with, and hopefully will finish his career with, the same organization he started with. It got me thinking about “the trade” that sent him out of here.

I still remember it clearly. It was at the trading deadline in “88”. The Sox were in the middle of a playoff hunt and we needed a starting pitcher badly. We had this rookie up from Pawtucket named Brady Anderson who was getting a good amount of playing time, but not really doing much with it. Then Gorman makes the trade, Anderson and some pitcher in the minors named Schilling, to the Orioles for Mike Boddicker.

I remember thinking damn Lou, nice trade. We just got a pretty solid starter for 2 guys who haven’t done much and probably won’t. If I recall correctly, I don’t think Schilling was projected to be more than an average pitcher in the ML.

Boddicker on the other hand, went on to put up the best numbers of his career during the second half and helped get the Sox into the ALCS where they were, unfortunately, swept by that God damn A’s team that everyone hated. He then went on to have 2 more good seasons for us before he left as a free agent at the end of the “90” season to sign with KC.

Meanwhile over in Baltimore during that same time, Anderson was still struggling and trying to find a groove, and Schilling was bouncing up and down and getting crushed during his few innings as a middle reliever with the Birds. Anderson finally found that groove and ended up having a pretty decent career for himself in Baltimore (although he was done in “01” and the Birds knew it, but he refused to admit it and tried to hang on in Cleveland which didn’t really work out for him).

Baltimore finally gave up on Schilling and traded him to Houston in a package deal for slugger Glen Davis, which didn’t work out very well for them. Davis was hurt a lot of the time he spent in Baltimore. Schilling had now been included as part of a package deal twice in 3 years. The Astros used him as a reliever for a year where he finally started pitching well, but then they traded him to Philly for Jason Grimsley. Jason Grimsley? Damn Curt. Anyway, it wasn’t until Philly got him and started using him as a starter that he started really putting up big numbers and making a name for himself.

So, what’s my point? Don’t really have one. I’m just reminiscing and showing off my baseball knowledge. If only I knew as much about things that really mattered as I do about baseball.

Is anybody reading this?

Besides TomatoMan I mean, who obviously is reading it. Just wondering. It would be nice if there was some sort of hit counter for the web site, or even better, each individual entry. The only way I know if anyone is reading is if they leave comments.

Not that I'm gonna stop writing, but it would be nice to know who's reading. If you don't wanna comment on the site, maybe you could at least drop me an email to let me know. Or maybe not.

Where's the DVD?

All right, as of tonight it's now been 3 weeks since we won it all. Where the hell is the DVD? I don't want to wait until "just in time for Christmas", I want it now dammit.

More Stuff

So Pedro’s talking to King George, despite the fact that he has made a promise to never sign with the Yankees. I stopped listening to what Pedro says a long time ago so that promise meant nothing to me anyway. I’m not surprised and I’m sure no one else is either.

And to tell you the truth, I really don’t even care. I’ve already said that I don’t want to see the Sox overpay to keep him here. If the Yankees (or I should say, Steinbrenner since the rest of management isn’t really that interested in signing him) want him, they’re gonna have to overpay him and give him a longer contract to do it.

If that’s what ends up happening than fine with me. We’ve already seen what’s happened with the last couple of pitchers the Yankees overpaid.

He has trouble with the Yankees lineup, but he’s never faced our lineup. It would be interesting to see how he handles it since it’s similar in the fact that there are no easy outs and it’s relentless 1-9 (depending on who we end up with at SS and catcher). I have a feeling we’d give him just as much trouble as they do, especially now that he’s getting older.

If he’s not happy with the contract we offered him, then let him go. We’ll sign Pavano and I still think Hudson can be had from the A’s. If that were to happen we’d still have the best rotation in the league with Schilling, Hudson, Pavano, and Wakefield. Number 5 would depend on whether we have to use Arroyo and/or Kim to get Hudson. I’m not worried about that as there are still options such as Billy Traber (see below).

Apparently Varitek is listening in on the discussions between his agent and the team. That’s a good sign. It tells me that he’s really interested in staying here and wants to make sure his agent isn’t gonna go too far.

It seems as though the biggest sticking point for him is the long-term deal with the no trade clause, because he wants to be able to have his family settle in one place and not have to worry about being uprooted during that time. I don’t blame him for that.

I don’t think Theo is gonna give him the no-trade, but he will probably end up going 4 years and giving him the no-trade stipulation he’s given other players, which states that if anyone else is given a no-trade clause, he will automatically get one. Hopefully that will be enough, and I think it should be, because I don’t think anyone else will offer him a 4-year deal with a no-trade clause. Let’s get this one done.

I wonder how many votes Theo would get if he ran for mayor of Boston. I wouldn’t vote for him. But the only reason why is because if he was running the city he wouldn’t be running the Sox. Now, if he could find a way to do both, then he would definitely get my vote.

Who I would have voted for... and some other stuff

Oki-no-Chichi is how you say "Big Papi" in Japanese.

Curt Schilling is not only the ultimate pitcher, but he’s also the ultimate pitchman. This guy is constantly marketing or lobbying for something. Among many things are his message to help fight ALS written on his cleat just below the bloody sock that he knew the camera would be focused on a lot during his WS start, his public backing of Bush and using his new status as WS hero to help get some votes (I hope no one is dumb enough to vote for anyone just because an athlete tells them too, but I suspect it probably happened quite a few times here), trying to persuade Sox management that they need to sign Varitek, and now the most recent, Carl Pavano is coming to town to speak with Sox management and he’s coming now because, while he’s here, he wants to also speak with Schilling who’s heading back home in a few days. Wouldn’t it be great if we could re-sign Pedro and sign Pavano? And of course, Varitek.

Speaking of Varitek, I’m fucking tired of Scott Boras and his act. How many times is this guy gonna lie about one of his clients? He’s built up a reputation as being a liar and no one listens to him anymore. It’s gotten to a point where some GM’s don’t even want to deal with him and won’t even make an attempt at any of his players.

Does he actually think that reciting stats to GM’s is gonna make a difference? As if he’s gonna tell these people something they don’t already know and that’s gonna convince them to sign his player? No one is gonna offer Varitek the deal Boras is trying to get for him, and if someone does, it’s gonna come back and bite them in the ass.

I don’t’ understand how so many players can let this guy represent them and then let him do some of the shit he does. The Sox have already made him a fair offer and I really hope he realizes this and takes it.

We want you back Tek. Please come back.

My opinion on the awards:

NL Cy Young

I would have voted for Johnson. He pretty much outpitched everyone else in the league in almost every category. It’s not his fault he played for a team that couldn’t score any runs, especially when he was on the mound.

Having said that, I will not argue against Clemens winning it. The guy is awesome. What a year he had after retirement. I’d love to see him come back next year and do it again. He might be a jackass sometimes but I still love the guy, except of course, when he was pitching in NY.

AL Cy Young

I said it before and I’ll say it again. Anyone who doesn’t put Santana down first on their ballot doesn’t deserve a vote. And apparently they’ll all get to vote again next year as they all agreed with me.

Schilling had a great year and his heroics in the post season are already legendary, but what Santana did this year was about as good a year as you’ll ever see a pitcher have. After a rough April and May the guy buckled down and hitters didn’t have a chance against him the rest of the way.

Those final 4 months were a match for Pedro’s best, especially down the stretch, in the heat of a pennant race where no one got anything off him. His first 4 starts in September he went 7 innings 3 times and 8 innings once, and DID NOT GIVE UP AN EARNED RUN to help the Twins clinch the division. Talk about clutch.

NL MVP

GRRR… I suppose I would have reluctantly voted for Bonds as well, but fuck him. The MVP award in my opinion should go to the player who has the most affect on the outcome of his team. In other words, if the guy wasn’t there, would they still have done as well as they did?

Even though the Giants didn’t make the playoffs, they fought LA for the East title and Houston for the WC right to the end and still won 91 games. If you take Bonds away from that team they’re out of it in July. There is no other player in the NL who had that kind of affect on his team.

I really hope they somehow prove that the guy was on steroids so we can at least call him a fucking cheater and tarnish all of his records and awards.

AL MVP

Using the same definition, I would also vote for Guerrero. If you take Sheffield from the Yanks and either Manny or Big Papi away from the Sox, they still have a shot at making the playoffs. You take Guerrero away from the Angels and they’re all done.

All of those guys were clutch down the stretch while their teams were fighting for playoff spots, so I don’t agree with the argument that he gets the vote because of his clutch performance down the stretch. Like I said, simply put, you take him out of the mix and the Halos are history.

And dammit, it’s fun to watch that guy hit, he swings at anything, and still hits it.

BTW, have I mentioned lately that THE BOSTON RED SOX ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!?

The Rest of'em

You may want to read "Tek" before you read this.

As I mentioned below, with the exception of Tek, all of the other free agents are replaceable, even Pedro. Sure Pedro is the best free agent starting pitcher on the market, but he's not the best pitcher available. There are still a few out there that can be had in a trade, most notably Tim Hudson, who I wouldn't mind seeing in a Sox uniform.

Sure Beane says he wants to sign him and would probably rather deal Zito (I'd take him too, he may have had an off year, but he's 3 years younger than Hudson and he's a lefty), but I think he would make the move if the right offer came along. Hudson (or Zito for that matter) would fit right in with this team. He's another wacko who gets along with all his teammates.

Anyway, as far as Pedro goes, he's still a very good pitcher and I would love to see him stay, but I don't think the Sox should overpay him and I doubt they will. He claims he wants to stay here and the Sox have already offered him a fair deal, we'll have to see what else he gets and then see if he stays true to his word. He'll probably get a better offer somewhere else but I think, as with Varitek, the Sox will be willing to come close to whatever it is.

Cabrera's probably gone. Too bad cuz I would have liked to see him stick around. He's worth a 3 or 4 year deal and someone will give it to him, but with Hanley Ramirez being ready in the next year or 2, the Sox probably won't go more than 2 for him.

I don't think Lowe will be back either. Another one who would like to stay but I think he'll end up getting a better offer somewhere else. This guy is an enigma anyway. You just don't know what you're gonna get from him. He was unbelievable in the playoffs but just terrible in the regular season. I will say this though, all the guys love him which goes a long way with this team, and it wouldn't bother me at all if he stayed.

Gabe Kapler loves being here so much that he signed last year knowing he would only be a part time player and didn't even bother looking for a starting job anywhere. It seems like he still feels that way but I think he's gonna see what kind of offers he gets and if someone garauntees him a starting spot he might take it. I think it would depend on who it was and what they offered compared to what we offer. With Nixon back, he's still only a 4th outfielder here, but he's a nice 4th outfielder to have and I'd love to see him stick around.

Dave Roberts is a factor here as well. I thought he was a free agent but he's not listed on any of the lists I've looked at. He must have at least another year left. I can see them keeping him as a 4th outfielder, but not both him and Kapler. Both of these guys could start on another team. Roberts is nice because of the speed he can provide off the bench when he's not starting, as we saw in the playoffs. I'd be happy with either one of these guys as the 4th outfielder and hopefully one of them will be around.

Doug Mirabelli's in a similar situation. Another one who really likes it here but could get more playing time somewhere else. I have a feeling he'll get that offer and this time he'll take it. He deserves it too. I'd like to see him stick around but I don't see it happening and I'm sure we'll find someone to fill in for him and do as good a job as any other backup catcher, except for him.

I'm sure they'll offer Leskanic and Adams contracts and maybe Reese depending on what happens with Cabrera. Nothing against any of these guys, they can all be helpful if they stick around, but they can all also be replaced.

We know Ellis Burks is retiring. I hope they keep him around as a coach somewhere. I was happy to be a part of the standing ovation we gave him during the last regular season home game, and it was great to see him holding the World Series Trophy on "the Duck". He never got the chance to contribute with his bat the way I thought he would, but he was still a contributing force in the clubhouse all year. He's been nothing but class for his entire career and it would be nice to keep him around in some capacity.

Dough Mientkiewicz and Kevin Millar are both under contract for next year but I don't see both of them sticking around. They should both be everyday players but that won't happen in Boston. Something's gonna have to give here. Minky is my favorite kind of player. He's a gamer, he always plays hard and always gives it everything he's got. If he gets 500 AB's he'll put up a decent average and drive in some runs, plus he's a gold glover at first. I like Millar too. He's got more power than Minky and he's always got something to say, although it gets him into trouble occasionally. I'm happy with whichever one they keep, but one of them is gonna go.

Tek

Today is the first day that free agents are allowed to start talking to other teams. We obviously can't keep all of them, but we can't afford to lose all of them either. And when I say that, I mean Jason Varitek.

The rest of them are all replaceable, even Pedro. We can't afford to lose Tek though. There's no question we would not have made it to, and won, the WS without him. I'm not talking about the fact that he's a good hitting catcher, or that he's one of the top defensive catchers in the game. Of course those are big factors, but even bigger is everything else he brings to this team. The way he handles the pitching staff. The amount of work he puts into learning the pitchers he catches and the hitters they throw against. Most importantly, his leadership. To a man, the entire team admitted that Tek was their leader.

This stuff cannot be replaced. Yes they've got Shoppach in the minors and they think he'll be ready to take over in another year or 2, but they will not replace all of the intangibles Tek brings to this team. Schilling knows it, that's why he's pleading with management to get this guy signed.

I'm not sure anyone is going to be willing to give him the contract his agent wants for him (5 years, 50 million, no trade). There aren't very many teams who would be interested in giving that kind of contract to any player, let alone a 33 year old catcher. I suspect when it's all said and done he will end up getting a good enough offer from the Sox to keep him here. Hopefully it will work out that way, because he's the one player on this team that we can't replace.

Billy Traber

Originally written on 11/2/04

This was a very good pickup by the Sox today. Frankly I'm surprised that, 1) The Indians let him go and, 2) No one else grabbed him before Epstein did.

He's a 25 year old left-handed pitcher who was making improvements with each start in Cleveland in "03" before his season was cut short by an elbow injury that required "Tommy John Surgery".

He was originally projected to be a solid 3 or 4 starter. Even though he suffered a few set backs during his recovery, this surgery is not the crap shoot it used to be and most pitchers are still very effective a couple years removed from it. And he wasn't a hard thrower to begin with so he doesn't have to worry about not being as effective because of a loss of velocity.

He might not be ready for spring training but he could be a factor at some point in "05". Even if it doesn't pan out, it cost nothing but 20 grand to give it a shot. Personally I think this will end up being a significant move. Nice pick up Theo.

More Sox Stuff

Originally written on 11/2/04

Just a jumble of stuff I've seen, read, heard, or thought of over the last few days.

I woke up Thursday morning and the Boston Red Sox were World Champions. Uh, I did wake up, right?

Next Year's Now!

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine - REM

Where the hell was Derek Lowe during the regular season? Actually, who the hell cares? He picked the right time to come back.

"Don't let us win tonight. This is a big game. They've got to win because if we win, we've got Pedro coming back and then Schilling will pitch Game 6 and then you can take that fraud stuff and put it to bed. Don't let the Red Sox win this game." - Kevin Millar before game 4 of the ALCS.

To all the "other" baseball fans who just wanted to see a good World Series, and to the networks who wanted more than 4 games, sorry it didn't happen, but here in the Nation we really don't care. After 86 years, we just wanted it done and over with. We've had enough drama, thank you.

I'm still not tired of hearing "Tessie".

CURSE CLOSED - Bradenton Herald (Fla) front page headline

Kudos to the City of Boston, the Red Sox, and the 3.2 million members of Red Sox Nation for keeping it all under control during the largest celebration in the history of the city.

I realized when I got home on Saturday that I had just spent 5 hours outside on a raw, wet, and miserable day, and not once did it occur to me while I was out there that it was a raw, wet, and miserable day.

Congrats. Now shut the fuck up. - e-mail to ESPN columnist and Sox fan Bill Simmons (and I believe addressed to all of Red Sox Nation) from a guy in Washington D.C.

When I'm 85 years old I hope I look as dapper and dignified as Johnny Pesky.

I think it's very difficult to give the World Series MVP to one guy on that team. Since it had to be done, Manny was certainly a good choice, but my vote would have gone to Keith Foulke. He finished all 4 games, with a win in game 1 and a save in game 4. He basically turned each game into an 8 inning affair for the Cards. That puts a lot of pressure on them to put some runs on the board the later it got. They knew if they didn't get that lead by the eighth they were done. Not quite Mo Rivera in his prime, but not very far off.

I love winning man, I fuckin' love winning. Ya hear what I'm sayin', it's like better than losin'? - Nuke Laloosh, Bull Durham.

Hats off to the Cardinals and their fans. That's a great baseball team, a great baseball city, and the fans are first class.

Wait `til This Year. - Sign at Fenway

The Red Sox winning the World Series was on the front page of many national and local publications, and the lead story in many national and local news shows in the entire country Thursday morning. This, despite the fact that Kerry and Bush were locked in a dead heat with only 5 days left until the election.

Theo Epstein is brilliant.

Francona was right to stick with Bellhorn (as I had been saying all along), despite the cries of Red Sox Nation for Pokey. Had he given in, there's a good chance I would not have been running around the city screaming my head off at "duckboats" on Saturday.

With his breakthrough procedure on Schilling's ankle, Sox Medical Director Bill Morgan played as big a role in this as any of the players.

Congrats guys! Now what do we talk about? - MCM

In a Framingham coffee shop yesterday morning, an elderly man softly asked a customer if he could see her newspaper. When the woman held up the front page, emblazoned with news of the Red Sox victory, the man stared in silence, touched his eyes, and began to cry. - From Friday's Globe

`BOUT TIME - New York Post back page headline (a bit of grudging respect)

A lot of people are saying that we've lost our identity now. We're no longer members of a tragic nation. Now we're just regular fans and eventually we're going to resent it. I say bah. I compare it to when I used to be a fat man. That was an identity that I wanted to get rid of so I could just be a regular guy, and when I finally did, I didn't miss it at all and I never want to experience it again. Good riddance.

John Henry fucking rocks!

Red Sox Aftershock Syndrome (RSAS)- A spontaneous act of celebration, which occurs after the sudden realization that the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series. It can happen anywhere at anytime, and will usually involve an otherwise seemingly normal human being, most likely alone, bursting out into celebratory screaming and possible acts of insanity.

Expect to see instances of RSAS in New England for the next several months.

Example
Tourist: "What's up with that guy?"
Bostonian: "Oh, he's just celebrating the Red Sox World Series victory."
Tourist: "But that was two months ago. That guy is screaming and running in traffic."
Bostonian: "What's your point?" - Modified from an email I read that was sent to Bill Simmons.

My World Series Championship T-Shirt looks really good on me.

WE DID IT!!!!!

Originally written on 10/28/04

Eighty-Six years of misery, torment, heartbreak, and tears is finally over. It's all in the past now. None of it matters anymore.

The Babe, Enos Slaughter, Bob Gibson, Larry Barnett, Eddie Armbrister, The Boston Massacre, Bucky Bleepin' Dent, The Steamer, Billy Buck, Grady Little, Aaron Boone.

All the villains and goats are finally off the hook. Bucky, you can go back to 2 names again. Billy B, you never deserved it to begin with, but now you can sleep easy again (although I'm sure you already were). If you ever find it in your heart to forgive us and come back, you'll receive a hero's welcome.

Who would have ever imagined that a merry band of idiots would inspire an entire "Nation"? And the way they did it, staging the greatest comeback of all time against the greatest rivals of all time, and then sweeping a great team in the World Series, finishing it on a night when the moon was red. This stuff cannot be made up.

8 straight for a post season record. Heroes galore in the regular and post season, you name a player on that roster and they played some important part in bringing this thing home. Everything just went our way even when we did everything we could to try to prevent it.

Unbelievable. The demons are gone, the past is history, and the Boston Red Sox are World Champions.

How do I feel right now?

First of all, I'm amazed that I'm still here to feel anything. Isn't it supposed to be "Armageddon" right now?

In order for anyone to understand how I feel right now you have to kind of know a little about my relationship with this team.

I was 8 in "75" and only vaguely remember parts of it.

I started following them from there but my first real memories are from "78". The Boston Massacre in September, the late charge at the end of the season to force the extra game, Bucky Bleepin' Dent. We were big bubble gum chewers back then and I remember charging out of the house as the game ended with 2 packages of grape Bubble Yum, firing each individual piece off into the early evening sky, cursing Dent, The Yankees, and my beloved Sox.

I cried when we let Pudge, Lynn, and the Rooster walk. I swore I was done with them. They killed me in "78" and now my heroes were leaving.

In "86" I spent a weekend in early October outside of Fenway, from Friday night to Monday morning, waiting to buy playoff tickets. We got'em for games 4 and 5 of the World Series. I don't usually bet, but as the Series started I plopped down a couple hundred on my team to win it. There was no way we were gonna lose this thing, not after Dave Henderson in California, it was easy money.

I was crushed. I don't recall ever feeling that bad up to that point in my life. Unlike many Sox fans, I never blamed Buckner. I thought he was vilified unnecessarily and it wasn't right.

In "87" I was working full time and living at home so I had some extra money to blow on season tickets. I picked the wrong year.

My faith in this team never wavered, I knew that every spring we had a chance to win it. Occasionally we even came close.

Last year was really the year. We had this thing locked up. We went down 0-2 to the A's and roared back to take the next 3. How could we possibly lose now? I knew what happened in "86" but this was different. We had the Yankees right where we wanted them.

I watch most of the games. Of course I have other things going on in my life so I miss a few here and there, but I always try to plan things around the games. Penny now looks at the schedule when she wants to do something so she can figure out when I'm available to do it.

Kyla was born in November 2000. That following summer she was at Fenway for the first time and has been back every year since.

Last night, as Renteria was coming to the plate for the final at bat, Kyla woke up. I ran into her room and brought her out to watch the final out. At not even 4 yet, she got to see something that I had to wait over 37 years to see, and something that hadn't happened in 86 years.

When we beat the Yankees I received phone calls and emails from friends and co-workers, either congratulating me or just letting me know they were thinking of me. Some people I hadn't talked to in a while. It's already started happening again today. As if I was part of the team.

And I am. I'm part of the team and part of the Nation. This thing was won for us, all of us. How do I know that? Because they told me, John Henry, Tom Werner, Larry Luchino, Theo Epstien, Terry Francona, Johnny Damon, Kevin Millar, Big Papi, Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Manny, Pedro, D-Lowe and all the rest. They all said it. They won it for each other, they won it for the Nation, they won it for all of us. And they're right. We're all in this together.

Some of the players actually apologized for not doing it last year. I heard both Henry and Werner apologize because it took them 3 years to get it done. They all know what it's about. They all get it. This is bigger than them, it's bigger than me, it's bigger than all of us. We couldn't ask for anything better.

I started out trying to answer a question. How do I feel right now? I guess I still can't answer it. I still really don't know. The only thing I do know right now is that the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions of baseball.

Sox in Six

Originally written on 10/23/04

That's my prediction. Schilling starts the series clincher next Saturday at Fenway.

People around here are comparing this series to the gold medal game against Finland in 1980 from the Sox perspective. The U.S. (Sox) had just taken down the Evil Russian Juggernaut (Yankees) and it didn't really matter what happened against Finland (St Louis) for the Gold (World Series).

As far as I'm concerned that's bullshit. Taking down the Yanks was so far the best moment for me as a Sox fan, but we're not done yet and I'm not gonna be satisfied if we don't finish the deal.

This promises to be a great series. These are 2 of the greatest and most storied franchises in baseball, 2 of the greatest baseball cities in the game, and both teams have fans around the world.

Although the Cards don't have the same tragic history that we do, they've got some demons of their own.

They lost the "85" series to the Royals after being up 3-1. I remember watching that and thinking, how the hell can that happen? These guys were up 3-1 and they couldn't win another game. Of course, it's no longer the biggest choke anymore.

In "87" they were heavily favored and lost to the Twins in 7. One of the things that stands out to me about that series was that the home team won every game. That just happened again with them against Houston. This bodes well for us.

And more recently they've lost the NLCS in "96", "00", and "02".

They've got a great team over there and are perfectly capable of taking it to us. They have solid starting pitching, solid bullpen pitching, great defense, and an offense that can score runs a lot of different ways.

My prediction is that the pitching doesn't come through for them against this Boston offense. Of the 5 starters, the only one with a proven track record of winning is Morris and he's actually having an off year. Woody Williams is having his usual solid year with a 4 ERA but the other guys are all having career years and have never put up numbers like this before. Same situation with the pen. Isringhausen is the only one who's done it in the past.

I think our offense will bust it out against these guys and our pitching will do just enough to keep us ahead of their powerful lineup.

Of course, the only thing I can guarantee is that Tim McCarver will be heavily supporting St Louis as he spent 10 years of his career there and they were also his best years.

GO SOX!

WE BEAT NEW YORK

Originally written on 10/21/04

Start spreading the news, it happened today
I'm glad to be a part of it - we beat New York
These Red Sox are due, it starts Saturday
Fenway's the very heart of it - we beat New York

Today we woke up in a city, that didn't sleep
To find we're king of the A.L. - top of the league

These old Beantown blues, are melting away
We made a brand new start of it - we beat New York
If we can make it there, we'll make it anywhere
The Sox aren't through - we beat New York

We beat New York
Today we woke up in a city, that didn't sleep
To find we're A number, one top of the league, king of the A.L.
A number one

These old Beantown blues, are melting away
We're gonna make a brand new start of it - we beat New York
And if we can make it there, we're gonna make it anywhere

Our time is due - we beat New York

GO SOX!!!!!

Originally written on 10/3/04

So, here we are, the end of another regular season. This has to be the greatest and kookiest Sox season I’ve ever experienced.

We end it with 98 wins. That’s good for 3rd best record behind St Louis and “those bastards just south of here”. It’s 3 more than last year and the most we’ve had since “78” when we had 99 but needed 100 (we’re not gonna talk about that anymore though).

We started in the off season with one of the biggest trades that was never made. I didn’t want to lose Nomar but we were bringing in one of the best players to ever play the game so I was willing to make the tradeoff. Then it doesn’t happen, oh well, we get to keep Nomar, I can live with that.

We sign Schilling, we sign Foulke, A-Rod goes to the enemy, Nomar goes down, Nixon goes down, let’s get this damn season started already.

It starts off great, we have the best record in the league and we can’t seem to lose to the Yankees. Reese is filling in admirably for Nomar, a few guys are manning right for Nixon, and Bellhorn just keeps getting on base (at least when he’s not striking out). Manny, Ortizzle, Varitek, and Jesus (uh, I mean Damon) are awesome. The pitching is solid, lead by Schill and Pedro. Foulke comes as advertised and the rest of the pen falls into place.

Then, mediocrity hits. We play 500 ball for almost 3 months and suddenly we can’t seem to beat the Yankees. Mueller goes down, Lowe can’t seem to do anything, the pen is tired, Pedro is suddenly human, the defense is terrible. Nomar is back but it doesn’t seem to be helping. Nixon is back and gone again, probably for the season. Francona seems to be having “Little” moments.
This can’t be happening, this team is too good for this. What the hell is going on here?

July 24th, Fenway Park. Tek puts his glove in the face of the guy who was supposed to be playing for us. Mueller puts on the finishing touch by hammering a Rivera pitch into the Sox bullpen for what was the greatest regular season home run that I can recall in all my time as a Sox fan. Things are starting to come together, but are not quite there yet.

One week later, one of the saddest days in Sox history. We trade away one of our greatest and most beloved players. It had to be done. Things were just not working the way they should have. He didn’t want to be here and he wasn’t helping the team.

Suddenly it all starts coming together. There’s no doubt that “the Nomar effect” played a part, but it can’t be the main reason for the turnaround, can it? Although no one would admit it, Nomar was dragging down the club house. The guys they got for him came in right away and improved the defense. Great defense instantly improves the starters which helps the bullpen and everyone just gets better, everyone but Derek Lowe anyway. These guys finally started playing the way they were supposed to be playing all along. We go from being completely out of the AL East race and trying to fight our way back into the Wild Card, to getting out ahead in the Wild Card and actually getting within 2 ½ games of the Yankees.

We slowed down a little but still played well enough to clinch the Wild Card early enough to set up our playoff rotation. Schilling is showing us that he is the big money pitcher we were hoping for, Pedro is okay but not exactly where we would like him to be (the guy wants a ring too badly to keep pitching like that though), Arroyo is solid, Wake seems to be coming around, Lowe still sucks.

The pen is tired but resting up for the playoffs, they’ll be ready when we need them. Manny and Big Papi set records for teammates. Bellhorn set the wrong kind of record but is still getting the job done. Jesus is having the best year of his career. Nixon comes back and starts wailing the crap out of the ball to win his spot back. Mueller and Cabrera are solid. Millar is hitting the ball again. Tek is ready to drag us all to the finish line kicking and screaming. The bench is deep. The team is ready. The manager still scares me a little, but hey, when was the last time we had a manager that didn’t scare me? That’s part of it. It comes with the territory of being a member of “The Nation”.

Tonight we’re off to Anaheim to open against the Halos on Tuesday. Much better than having to go to the baggy dome and face the Twins and the AL Cy Young winner (BTW, anyone who doesn’t put down Santana first on their ballot doesn’t deserve a vote).

I’m very happy we don’t have to face him twice in a best of 5. The Yankees have their hands full even without having to deal with domefield advantage. Good luck to them. And I don’t mean that literally.

I know you’ve all heard it before but I like our chances. I honestly believe we have the best chance to get to the WS and win it. Every team in this thing has their strengths and weaknesses, even St Louis. They’ve been starting to show some cracks in their armor. Cracks that I’ve been expecting to surface and finally have.

As always it will come down to pitching, pitching, pitching, solid defense, and a little timely hitting. Whoever does all that the best will win. There’s absolutely no reason why it shouldn’t be us.

GO SOX!!!!!!!!!!!

Goodbye Nomar

Originally written 8/1/04

Losing Nomar hurts. Nomar is a Red Sox and should be a Red Sox forever. Derek Jeter mentioned yesterday that when you think of the Red Sox you think of Nomar first. Johnny Damon said that they just traded Mr. Boston. It’s gonna be tough today when I watch him make his first appearance in a Cubs uniform. And I WILL see it whether I want to or not because it will be all over the place around here.

Nomar’s been a part of this organization for 10 years with this being his 8th in the big leagues. As recently as last season I figured we had him for good. He loved playing here, he loved the fans, and he loved the team. I know he wasn’t happy with the previous ownership team (who was?) but until that A-Rod fiasco last winter he was happy with the new regime and I figured they would have no problem re-signing him when the time came.

Somehow we always seem to fuck it up with a guy like this and end up losing him.
I don’t blame the current ownership entirely for it. They had a chance to improve their team by getting one of the greatest players ever (A-Rod) and getting rid of a guy who just didn’t seem to get it (Manny). An unfortunate sidebar would be that we would have to replace the current shortstop with the better one. Of course in hindsight I now wonder why we never asked A-Rod to move to 3rd and just hold onto Nomar. Who knows, he may have only been really willing to move to 3rd with the Yankees but we should have asked.

In a way you can almost blame losing Nomar on the Duquette/Harrington regime anyway. If they hadn’t saddled the current ownership team with Manny’s contract we never would have had to try to get rid of it which in turn means never having to try to get rid of Nomar and having him feel so slighted about it that he couldn’t stay.
We also have to put some of the onus on Nomar here. I understand his feelings were hurt by what ownership tried to do and I understand him feeling like he wasn’t wanted here, but at some point he has to look at it from their perspective and see what they were trying to do. He also has to realize that baseball is a business, that these things happen sometimes and he’s not the only player it’s ever happened to and then sooner or later get over it and start playing baseball for the fans again. Nomar is the ONLY superstar to play here who’s never been booed. Even Teddy Ballgame and Yaz were booed here at one time or another.

Obviously Nomar just couldn’t get past this and probably never will. One of his comments yesterday was that he was very happy to be going to a team that wants him. That tells me he’s not only not over it but that he wants to stick it to the owners as well.

It’s a sad day here in Red Sox Nation. I can honestly say that I haven’t felt like this since the Sox let Pudge walk in 1980. I was so mad then I actually stopped watching the team for a few seasons.

Nomar is a special player. No one works or plays harder, has more fun playing, or loves playing the game more. It’s obvious that he may have lost a little of that love and fun this year but he never stopped playing the game as hard as he could. It pisses me off when I hear idiots suggest that maybe he sat out a little longer or skipped an occasional game just to stick it to the owners and not because he was hurt. I don’t believe he is even capable of doing something like that. All he wants to do is play baseball and until recently all he wanted to do was play baseball for the Sox.

It’s a shame that these unfortunate circumstances had to occur and had to result in the inevitable loss of one of the most loved and best players we ever had.

Things that come to mind in no particular order when I think about #5:

Ted Williams comparing him to Joe D and saying right from the get go that the kid was special.

Hearing baseball people marvel about how when they look at one of his bats all the ball marks are right around the sweet spot, you never saw many near either end of the bat.

Watching him make that play in the hole that only he seemed to be able to make and how effortless he made it look and how he always seemed to be able to make it.

Hearing the Nomah chants at Fenway (and hell just about every other park they were playing in as well) and all the standing O’s the guy got throughout his career.

Being at that last playoff game in 98 when we lost to the Indians to end our season and Nomar came out onto the field after the game and gave US, the fans, a standing ovation because of the support we showed for the team.

Taking my daughter to Fenway last year and buying her a Nomar baseball and how of the many Sox shirts she already has the only one that has a name on the back says “Garciaparra”.

I (and everyone else) knew there was a good chance he was gonna swing at the first pitch but that there was also a good chance that he was gonna hit it where they ain’t.

During his career he batted everywhere from 1-5 in the order and no matter where you put him the results were the same and he didn’t seem to care as long as he got to bat.

As I’m sitting here writing this, for some reason my daughter has decided that today she was going to put on one of her Sox shirts and Sox hat and is now walking around saying she’s a Red Sox.

He was not only one of the greatest Red Sox but also one of the greatest Boston sports figures ranking right up there with the likes of Bird and Orr.

All the guy ever wanted to do was help this team win a World Series Championship and now when it finally happens it’s not gonna feel quite the same.

Reading a story in The Globe earlier this year about a group of homeless men who got together nightly at the Pine Street Inn to watch the games on a crappy little 19” TV and how when Nomar heard the same story he showed up at the place with a bran new big screen TV for them to watch.

How much he did for this town and this community that we knew of and how much we probably don’t and never will know of.

Nomar has been the heart and soul of this team for the last 7 ½ years and it is that same heart and soul that eventually forced him out of here.

Even though I believe this trade has improved this team it’s just not gonna be the same around here without him and it will be a long time before we’re used to the fact that he’s gone.

Now that #5 will never be up in the right field grandstands between 4 and 8.