My lovely wife scored the tickets originally scheduled for the washed-out game against the Mariners on April 12.

Wakefield was to pitch in that game, but it looks as though I may get a mild upgrade. Can you say Daisuke? I can.

My seats are located in the first row of the grandstand behind home plate. Can there be a better position to watch this phenom? I think not.

With six different pitches and six different deliveries for each I'll be quite busy trying to spot the famed gyroball. Has anyone seen it?

The stuff that legends are made from to be sure.

But before all that the Sox have a mini series vs. the Oakland Athletics.

I'm not quite sure I like these two-game series. Unless one sweeps, there is no clear winner. Why they even exist is a mystery to me. Those that do the scheduling, I'm sure have their hands full - 162 games is difficult to manage especially when you factor in interleague play. But come on, two-games? I hate it.

I do however like the matchups - Curt Schilling vs. Joe Blanton tonight; Josh Beckett vs. Chad Gaudin Wednesday.

Now, I don't mean to take the A's for granted. In fact, I've often wondered what they have in the organizational water, because they always seem to groom good pitching. Both of these starters have WHIPs of 1.09 (nothing to sneeze at).
They also have been racking up the Ks. (Blanton 27 in 33 innings; Gaudin 24 in 28 innings.

Oh this could be an interesting couple of days.

I had Blanton on my fantasy team in 2006. And, it was my impression he benefited from such a large home field. This year he's actually doing better away. I'm sure coming into the smallest park in the majors will have some affect on the performances.

The A's should consider switching its name with Chicago's AL team. Because I can never get over the white shoes. Reminds me of Herb Tarlek outfit from WKRP. But I digress.

The keys to winning this series is to get to the starters early (as with most games). What has troubled the Oakland team is its bullpen.

While the starters all have ERAs under 3.00; the bullpen is over 5.00.

I'm glad we are playing them early in the year. Oakland traditionally gets off to a slow start (this year they are 12-13), but come August they are right in the thick of it.

They have a tremendous amount of defensive talent led by six-time Gold Glover (and personal hot corner favorite) Eric Chavez.

Hmm. Good pitching, good defense? Sounds vaguely familiar.

An aside: The David Ortiz book-signing tour continues. So as the rest of the team took a day off, Ortiz continued working. This time in Manhattan. I hope this doesn't have an impact on his hitting. Signing books can be rough on the hands. Remember when Jerry Seinfeld had to sign all those checks and got hand cramps - nuff said.

I have yet to pick up my copy. And surprisingly I have not seen too much about the book (co-authored by Tony Massarotti) . Have any of you read it?

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