After all the talk about seats being available for the first game of Thursday's double-header, I couldn't see one empty seat (at least on the television). The Boston Globe reports it was the largest crowd in 14 years for a mid-week day game. That might have something to do with the 420 extra bleacher seats. Kudos to the Red Sox organization for finally finding a way to seat fans in centerfield during day games. I've been waiting a long time for this. I often thought this section was wasted during the day. In the past, fans were not allowed to sit in these seats because the the ball might get lost in the backdrop of white T-shirts (typical attire on a hot summer day.) On Thursday, Projo.com reports Crowd in Conig's Corner dons green T-shirts. This is a well-overdue experiment. I say that fans should only wear the green during Red Sox at-bats however. Talk about home-field advantage.

What a game to see! I'll say it again, it's all about the pitching. Although the streak ended in the second game, the pitching staff amassed 32 shutout innings. There is none better right now. The bullpen still hasn't given up an earned run in 32 1/3 innings in 11 games. Amazing.

Continue reading "Thursday a great day for baseball, let's win two"

The Devil Rays are in Boston anxiously awaiting to begin this three-game series. Due to Tuesday's rain out, the Red Sox will play its first double-header of the year on Thursday. I am happy about the delay. With the extra day off, it gave the team a little more time to calm down from the spectacular display last weekend in New York.

While Tampa Bay's record may not look that impressive, this is still a team of talented young players, led by Rhode Island's Rocco Baldelli, the speedy Carl Crawford and the versatile Aubrey Huff. If the Devil Rays have weaknesses, it is with the pitching staff and playing in the toughest division in baseball. The latter may be a blessing in disguise. While the Devil Rays may lose lots of games to its divisional rivals, the players are sure to learn a few things from the likes of the Red Sox and Yankees.

The major bonus for this young team lies in its manager. I have a lot of respect for Lou Piniella. He is an icon in the world of baseball. He's been around, having managed New York, Cincinnati, Seatttle, and now Tampa Bay. Looking at his numbers on Baseball-Reference.com, he was a pretty good player during his 10 years with the Yankees, but he excels as a manager (Piniella's managerial record from Baseball-Reference.com). He and his staff are sure to teach these kids how baseball should be played. He manages with his heart on his sleeve and expects his players to play with the same emotion. The St. Petersburg Times says "Piniella won't stand pat" and looks to tinker with his rotation and lineup. Although he is a more reserved since arriving in Tampa Bay, he has a reputation for getting a little upset. When he jumps out of the dugout, look out, a tirade is about to begin. Kicking dirt at an umpire, tossing his hat, or showering an ump with spittle isn't uncommon. He is old-school baseball. Love him or hate him, he's fun to watch.

Continue reading "Devil Rays: Young team, old talent"

That's right, the Red Sox had the brooms out, sweeping the Yankees for the first time in almost five years. The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessey says the Red Sox have "All the bases covered in making case that this is the year. Talk about a confidence builder - they beat the Yankees at "The Stadium" without Nomar Garciaparra, Trot Nixon and Bill Mueller (Official profile) in the lineup.

The Red Sox have one heck of a pitching staff. All of Boston's starters (Lowe (Official profile),Arroyo (Official profile) and Pedro (Official profile)) pitched light's out. The Red Sox bullpen only allowed one hit and no earned runs in 11 innings. Boston has so much depth and experience, three people recorded saves over the weekend - Keith Foulke (Official profile), Mike Timlin (Official profile) and Scott Williamson (Official profile). Awesome.

Continue reading "Time for some spring cleaning"

I'm dumbfounded. As you may have guessed, I'm a Curt Schilling fan. I have a lot of faith in him. He is one of the top-notch pitchers in the league. Heck, I even have his autograph displayed on my desk.

But please tell me why he was still pitching in the eighth inning Thursday night? After allowing a couple of runs in the seventh, which tied the game at 3, Schilling should have been pulled. If not then, perhaps at the start of the eighth when the Jays got consecutive hits, Schilling should have been pulled. I just don't understand manager Terry Francona's methods. What is Francona thinking? 123 pitches in April against the last-place team. Wow. Read the Associated Press's coverage of the game.

A coworker said it best, "Francona took a page out of Grady Little's play book." Wow, you would think that the new manager would have at least heard what happened in the playoffs. It's early, but I'm losing faith in his abilities. No manager should be indifferent, and that is how Francona appeared.

The Red Sox travel from Toronto to the Big Apple today (April 23) to face the Yankees for round two of this grudge match. As usual, many sites are presenting some piece of the rivalry. ESPN even goes as far as listing all 19 games with schedule and results. I have not seen any other match-up handled in this manner. ESPN's Jim Caple talks about "The Greatest Rivalry in Sports." He doesn't believe the hype. Simply put, he's wrong.

You can re-live the Fenway games through a slide show at Foxsports.com.

Continue reading "Red Sox vs. Yankees: Round two"

It pains me to watch the Red Sox when they are playing in Toronto's SkyDome. The place is so cavernous and empty. Now, on Tuesday night I could sort of understand with the Maple Leafs playing in the playoffs right down the street, why attendance was low. However, the Maple Leafs didn't play Wednesday night and there were only 16,000 fans in the seats. Amazing. That is less than half of Fenway's capacity, which is one of the smallest parks in the league. Now, I realize that the Blue Jays are struggling right now having lost their eighth home game, but 16,000 fans? Ridiculous. With thousands of seats available maybe I'll start a bus tour for May 13, the next time the Red Sox head up to the Great White North. That is sure to be one long, four-game visit.

The Globe's Gordon Edes tells us that there are blue days in Toronto.

I often wonder why Major League Baseball even bothers having baseball teams north of the border. It's not that I don't like Canada, but the Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays do not attract many fans to America's pastime. Plus, I do not like the SkyDome. Baseball should be played outdoors on grass; the SkyDome has neither. It's time for Major League Baseball to find new homes for these teams. Perhaps in San Juan, Puerto Rico where the Montreal plays half of its home games.

Continue reading "Baseball in the Skydome, it hurts."

The Boston Globe's Dan Shaugnessey writes "Stirring finale was impressive windup". Impressive indeed. The Red Sox pitching proved to be dominant, even with Derek Lowe's poor outing. However, I do not blame him. Manager Terry Francona should have thought about using Derek Lowe before Sunday. 10 days had expired between his starts. Had Francona used a different philosophy we might have swept the Yankees. Michael Holley of the Globe agrees, "Fault here rests with the brass".

The Sox got to the best of the Yankees' pitching (Javier Vasquez, Mike Mussina and Kevin Brown). I was especially impressed with Monday's game against Brown. When I saw the lineup that included Crespo, Kapler and McCarty, I was a bit worried. Who would have thought that two of those guys would be the difference in the game? Especially when Kapler forgot to run with two outs. The Globe says he was concentrating on the game within the game. Concentrating or daydreaming? Regardless, after knocking in the winning run Monday, he is a hero for a day.

Continue reading "The big, bad Yankees are not so big after all. Bad, yes"

As I drove to work today, I heard many radio listeners speak out against Pedro Martinez. Some were saying Boston's star pitcher is "all washed up", "time for him to go." Wow. What a bunch of fickle fans the BoSox have in New England. I'm not surprised. Having lived in the area my entire life, I've heard it all. These people had they been around would have traded Ted Williams too. As soon as it gets a little rough, fans start crying.

Today, manager Terry Francona is looking like a genius for sitting Pedro. In fact the Boston Herald's Tony Massarotti says"Pedro is out of control" and perhaps he should sit out the rivalry out afterall.

Is Pedro injured? Fighting an illness? Even fans on the Sons of Sam Horn website are curious, What's wrong with Pedro? It's early. Let's not throw in the towel just yet. We still have a few rounds to go. Pedro would have pitched better against the "Evil Empire" I'm sure of it. Just the rush of the rivalry would have been enough for him.

Continue reading "Red Sox vs. Yankees - This is what it is all about"

To all you Pedro (Official Red Sox profile) nay sayers, I told you so! Pedro's fastball was still topping out at 91 mph, yet he was able to mix-up his pitches , confusing a potent Toronto lineup on Saturday. It was Pedro's first victory of the year. What made the feat especially nice - doing it against last year's Cy Young winner, Roy Halladay. It was more like watching a shooting match than a baseball game. I'd go to the fridge to get a drink, I'd return and miss a complete inning. Well, almost. Two things are for sure, Pedro is back and I love watching him pitch. Ctnow.com agrees in its article "Now that's Pedro."

I also enjoyed Curt Schilling's (Official Red Sox profile) outing although it wasn't as impressive. He only made one mistake. Although, according to the Providence Journal, Schilling had three mistakes. That'll happen. The man plays with a lot of heart though. He hates to lose. Luckily, even with a depleted lineup, the Red Sox were able to break a 12-inning, 4-4 tie. Schilling ended the day with the 10Ks I predicted he'd get against the Orioles. I knew he had it in him.

Continue reading "Hate to say I told you so"

Monday was a day off for the Red Sox and Sunday was an off day. Let's not jump to any conclusions yet. On the radio Monday, Jim Rome talked about the loss on his syndicated talk show. He thinks it's time to panic and says Pedro Martinez is not the same ol' Pete. I don't usually disagree with him, but I will here. Pedro is still the best pitcher going. His velocity may be down a bit, but it will return regardless of what Romie says. Pedro's arsenal also includes a change, slider and curve, so as long as he can mix up his pitches effectively, he will dominate.

Also "in the jungle" people from New England were asking for the manager's head. Saying that Terry Francona doesn't know how to manage. Poor Terry Francona.

Boston fans are very knowledgeable and let's say quick to judge. Sox fans start every year with high expectations. We expect to win, although history proves us wrong.

Continue reading "Don't Worry, be happy"

Here we are about to embark on one of the biggest seasons in Red Sox history.

I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. Why?

Perhaps it was the way 2003 ended. You'd think that I would be a little gun-shy, nah, I've dealt with defeat in the past and was not as eager.

Perhaps its the acquisition of Curt Schilling[Official team profile]. A proven winner, Schilling in fact should lead the American League in wins and strikeouts this year. I have a lot of respect for Schilling. He has a lot of respect for the game and has a tremendous work-ethic. Plus, he and I are both collectors of baseball memorabilia. He is a historian, who realizes his impact on this storied franchise.

Continue reading "This is the year...really"