Celtics 17th - Some Shots from the TDB Garden

Still can't put anything into words, but these can help:

Pats are 18-0: Arizona (and History), Here We Come

So it'll be the Pats versus the Giants for Super Bowl XLII, and we all know that there'll be an overly excessive amount of hype between now and the big game in two weeks, so I'll keep this short.

So what happened yesterday? Well, the Patriots proved they can win even when their All-Pro quarterback is having a bad day and their number one receiver is limited to one catch. The Chargers proved they can still hang with the big boys even with LT limited to just two carries and their QB had surgery just before the game. The Giants proved they can overcome not one but two shanks late in the game to win a ticket to the Super Bowl in overtime (luckily for the other LT, Lawrence Tynes, it was with a field goal). Lastly, Brett Favre proved even a man in the twilight of a glorious career can still give away big football games.

We also learned that LT isn't the only player to hate on the Pats; Chargers center Nick Hardwick went off about patriots DE Richard Seymour, ranting:

"There are 10 (bleeping) good players on that team. But Richard Seymour is a dirty, cheap, little pompous (expletive)."

"He’s cheap and dirty and the head man just let him get away with it the whole time. They’ve got 10 great players on that team and when Jarvis Green comes on the field, they’ve got 11 great players who compete how you’re supposed to play. But Richard Seymour is the biggest (expletive) I’ve ever played."

"Head slapping, foot stomping in the pile, running by and throwing punches in your back. He’s a (expletive)...There were a lot of things he did. There’s a field goal where he was stomping feet. Who stomps feet? And the officials weren’t doing anything about it. He plays like a punk."

-Nick Hardwick, San Diego Chargers starting Center

Sorry Nick. Your (bleeping)(expletive) excuses aren't going to change the outcome of the game yesterday. Maybe next year.

On a small tangent, what is this business of Paul Pierce congratulating Plaxico Burress and other Giants players at Madison Square Garden this afternoon? I suppose New York sports fans need something to cheer about, but seriously, Paul, seriously...
 

3 Points on the Patriots

Point One:

The Patriots game against the Giants this Saturday night can now be watched by more than just people in the Boston market (no, not the restaurant chain) and subscribers to the NFL Network, as originally slated. In what will be an unprecedented simulcast, the game will now also be broadcast by CBS and NBC.

"It'll be like the State of the Union address, you can flip to every channel and see it." -Bill Belichick

I'm sure of two things: the people over at ABC must be fuming unless they've already received some kind of compensation for no longer having the exclusive rights to the local market, and that we'll be seeing p-l-e-n-t-y of NFL Network ads and general hype during the game. Believe me when I say that all of those records, starters playing or sitting, even the score in the game will at (most) times be playing second fiddle to NFL propaganda.

---

Point Two:

It's good to finally see at least one Patriot break away from this "our only goal is to win the Super Bowl" mantra and tell it like it is. Tom Brady laid it out in a locker room interview the day after Christmas:

"We've got a lot of records at stake, the most important one being the 16-0...I hope we achieve that. It would be a great feat for the team. We'd go down as the only team to be 16-0, so that's the goal I've got in mind." -Tom Brady

Though I'm sure winning the Super Bowl is still the supreme goal, it's nice to see a little honesty from the players (if only one so far publicly). Here's a thought: if realizing what they are on the verge of as a team is sinking in, what about all those other records, particularly the individual ones?

What will happen if the Patriots score three defensive touchdowns in the first quarter and essentially lock up the game by the half? Will Brady, Moss et.al. come back to take the field for the third quarter, risking potential injury? What if the team they are facing has already (and most likely will have) pulled their starters? How important are those records, even if only secretly to the individuals themselves?

I know this: we care. We want to see all those records broken. We want to see it happen, no matter what it takes, because we know these types of seasons and these types of chances don't come by everyday. So, Coach, give them a chance to do it, even if it's in the second half.

---

Point Three:

What is it that is making the Patriots so hated outside of the New England bubble? ESPN Page 2 ran a story yesterday that asked readers if the Patriots could go down as the most hated team in history (they had a poll too, if you're interested). Sports Illustrated's cover this week features a Photoshopped Bill Belichick grimacing in a Santa Suit...not exactly the picture of a person beloved.

"Being associated with Santa Claus...there is a lot worse, so I'll take it...When you're a kid, sometimes you dreamed of being on the cover of Sports Illustrated, but that's not the [cover] I pictured." -Bill Belichick

Is it jealousy? Spite perhaps? It's no secret that right now Boston is the place to be a sports fan, what with the World Champion Red Sox, the undefeated Patriots, and the NBA-best Celtics, etc. It's simple: the Patriots (and Boston sports in general) are no longer the underdogs, and subsequently it is no longer hip for peripheral sports fans (if you can call them that) to root for them. Instead, the American way dictates the common moron to shout "down with the victors" and mock guys like Belichick and Brady.

I can't wait for Saturday.

Carl from ATHF Hates the Red Sox

I found this on BostonDirtDogs and couldn't resist:

Pats are 14-0

The New England Patriots became the second team in history to start a season 14-0 after beating the Jets 20-10 today in a wet and rainy Gillette Stadium. Though the weather may have limited much of the Patriots' game plan to a ground attack, it proved not to be a factor in terms of the outcome.

In a game that also featured two blocked punts, the Jets seemed poised for a comeback late in the game. Chad Pennington, in for an injured Kellen Clemens, threw what was initially ruled a TD that would have made it a 3-point game with just under 3 minutes left. The play was reviewed and overturned, however, as receiver Justin McCareins clearly didn't have possession when his first foot hit the ground. I'm sure the New York media will cry foul, but it was the right call, without a doubt.

The closest the Pats came to losing today was when the game was temporarily suspended because some meatheads were slinging snowballs onto the field with the Pats in the end zone in the 4th quarter, bringing me to the edge of my seat wondering, albeit for a moment, if their perfect season would end with a forfeit.

Thankfully, it didn't.

The only other team to win their first 14 games was...you guessed it...the 1972 Miami Dolphins. For them, the 14th game marked the end of the regular season and clubhouse pat on the back. For the Pats, it's just a step closer to their ultimate goal (no, not a perfect season...another Super Bowl Championship) and a broad smile on the face of Bill Belichick.

The Patriots will face the 2007 version of the Miami team next week, who up until today were the polar opposite of the Pats; that is, they had yet to win a game. The Dolphins beat the Ravens in overtime 22-16 after Baltimore tied the game with a field goal with 8 second left in the 4th quarter. The Ravens kicker Matt Stover couldn't put the potential game winner through the uprights when given the chance in overtime, though, and Cleo Lemon found Greg Camarillo for a 64 yard game winning TD.

The Dolphins finally winning may not be all that bad. It may be the old Red Sox fan in me, but I for one was worried that karma would somehow intervene next week if an 0-14 Dolphins team were to face a 14-0 Patriots team, potentially spoiling the breaking of their own franchise's record, no matter how daunting the task may be. Now that they won a game, I'm back to reality and pretty confident that New England will be playing the NY Giants with a 15-0 record.
 

Mamma Mia! (you ain't kiddin)

TLM and I just got back from seeing "Mamma Mia!" (my first musical) at the Colonial Theater in Boston. I'm still gathering my thoughts on this one, though I can at this point ask: who knew there were so many ABBA fans?
 
UPDATE 12.16.07
As I went to the ABBA website to get some more info for a more substantial review, I noticed two things: today is Benny Andersson's birthday (he's one of the ABBA guys), and their question of the month is "Do you listen to ABBA every day?", a question to which 67% of responders said "yes". Read into that what you will, but it sounds like ABBA fans are pretty obsessive. When were they big? the 70's?

As for the show, I was taken aback at first. As I'd mentioned before, I'd never been to a musical, never mind one that featured music I'd only heard previously on "best of" anthologies and classic rock stations (classic already in the early 90's).

The set was simplistic yet effective. Two big pieces of faux-stone background that would be positioned in a variety of ways actually led to mostly-believable settings. Yes, I'm giving props to the props.

The story was simple and original and actually wasn't that bad, albeit profoundly predictable. There was frequent humor, though much of it, however harmless to the writers, I don't think was meant for children. In fact, I think it was clearly written for a particular generation of people, specifically those in their late teens or early twenties when ABBA hit this part of the world.

What struck me as unusual was the (often distracting) crowd activity. At times I felt like I was at the Rocky Horror Picture Show, minus Meatloaf and people throwing rice at the wedding. At the end of the show was nothing short of an homage to ABBA. Three of the main characters came out dressed in the spacesuit costumes of the time and led the bopping crowd in a rendition of "Dancing Queen", an image now forever ingrained in my head.

The singing was fine, and the dancing is what I imaging it to be...just a stone's throw from the "showtunes" pieces put together for "So You Think You Can Dance". What they do they do well, and I do respect that.

Overall I had a good time, and I give the show a B.
 

Possible Wedding Reception Venue Found?

Amidst all my posts about the Patriots, movies, silly websites and sillier holidays, you'll find a post or two about our upcoming wedding. From what I gather, it's never too early to get a date and/or book a venue for the reception. Today we went to the Seaport Hotel and were shown three different rooms, though the one that stood out above all other we've seen thus far, by far, is one of their newest ones called The Lighthouse Room.


The place has lots of windows, views, and modern decor (did I just write that?). This picture does it a little justice, but TLM has more pictures on a post today over on the wedding blog (http://msgettingmarried.blogspot.com), including some taken by a photographer who recently worked a couple of weddings there. If that's not enough, there's an even more expansive collection of photos we took today here on Flickr.

Might this be the place?
 

Celtics/Raptors...in da club

As if TLM wasn't the best already, she arranged for us to have a
"secret date night" tonight. I write you now from halftime at the TD
Banknorth Garden, where the the C's have a 22 point lead over the
Raptors.

Oh, did I mention she's the best?
 

Red Sox Sgt. Pepper Montage

This is a piece of a Red Sox "Sgt. Pepper" Montage AL-9000 sent me. There's a nice page with a full size version of it on the NY Times site, complete with a listing of each person included.

It's always good to see Nuf Ced McGreevey...it's too bad he couldn't just give a quick jolt with his left elbow a bit and tag Harry Frazee in the ear.
 

Lowell is Back!

Bust out the Black Sabbath clips - Mike Lowell appears to have come to an agreement with the Red Sox for 3 years. Excellent. Things couldn't have worked out better.

Happy Birthday Al! Sorry the Celtics lost, but the Pats are still undefeated, A-Stupid stayed with the Yankees, and now Mike Lowell gave us some good news today.
 

World Series 2007 Champs - Part 1

Before we could even collect our thoughts from last night, TLM and I went out this morning to get stuff commemorating the event. I quickly guest-posted over at TMT first and will post something more thorough later today.

2007 World Series Games 1 and 2 - Halfway There

What a great couple of nights. Though we may have lost some sleep and had to endure a couple of groggy mornings at work, I think we'd all agree (at least in Red Son Nation) that it was worth it. Two games, two wins, and we're off to Denver for Game 3.

Game 1 - Blowout

The Red Sox opened the 2007 World Series at Fenway by setting a record for most runs scored in a Game 1 (oh, and another for scoring 10 or more runs in three straight postseason games, too), and to make the blowout complete, Josh Beckett continued his torrid pace by striking out the first 3 batters he saw and 5 of the first 6, improving his 2007 playoff record to 4-0 while giving up only 6 hits through 7 innings pitched, striking out 9 and walking 1. Wowza...


The bats came out as well, as the box score indicates. Dustin Pedroia started off the scoring with a solo homerun to lead off the first. Manny and Papi both got 3 hits a piece before being pulled late in the game, and even Julio Lugo went 3-4. I know we'd heard a lot about the big layoff the Rockies had, and though I'm sure that factored in a little there had to be more to this shellacking than that. This Red Sox lineup is a formidable one, and even if Jeff Francis (4IP, 10H, 6ER, 3K, 3BB) was on point, he'd have had to beat Beckett. Whether it was 13-1 or 3-1, the Sox were going to win that game.

Speaking of terrible Colorado pitching, how about Franklin Morales? He came on in the 5th and managed to allow 7 earned runs while getting just 2 outs. The man even managed to mix in a balk...an accomplishment unseen in a World Series in over 10 years. Good job Franklin.

Other notes include:

• The crowd at Fenway was a very loud and active one, as well there should have been, seeing as how we are talking about the World Series and all. There was lots of chanting, including the popular chanting (heckling) of the pitcher's name (Fraaaaaaanciiiiiiiiis).
• It looked as if everyone had press passes around their necks when in fact they were just lanyards handed out to fans as they came in to hold their tickets (ok, I wanted one too, but I didn't wear it!). I guess everyone gets to feel special every once in a while, even if they had to shell out hundreds to get there.
• The Dropkick Murpheys sang the National Anthem, and then proceeded to bring down the house with a resounding rendition of "I'm Shipping Up To Boston", complete with a troop of young Irish dancers filing out of centerfield. "Tessie" is nice, but this song kicks ass, and whenever it is played in Fenway (mostly while Papelbon is warming up), the place goes nuts.

Anyway, on to Thursday night.

Game 2 - Bullpens 'R Us

Talk about night and day. In a game where both teams combined for just 3 runs, the story was pitching. Curt Schilling was his now-expected and usual postseason-self, allowing 4 hits and 1 earned run over 5 ans a third, striking out 4 and walking 2. For all we know, this may have been his last game at Fenway, or in a Red Sox uniform even, though as Nick Cafardo points out it would be hard to imagine otherwise given what he's done and can continue to do (at least for one more year) for this team.

With the victory in Game 2, Schilling became only the second 40-year old pitcher to win a World Series game, and the first player in history to win one in his 20's, his 30's, and his 40's.

After Schilling came Hideki Okajima then Jonathan Papelbon who combined for 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. Okajima was tremendous (2.1 IP, 0ER, 0H, 0BB, 4K). Back in late August / early September, everyone thought that the Red Sox brass had little faith that the rookie Japanaese relief man would have enough gas for the rest of the season. That's why they got Gagne, they said. Well, maybe they were right, maybe not, but all I know is that here we now have a very rested Okajima who can come out and perform like he did last night.

"This was the Pap-ajima show tonight...That was just phenominal to watch." -Curt Schilling

Papelbon was his usual intimidating self, and though his line doesn't include it up front (1.1 IP, 0ER, 1H, 0BB, 2K), he made what is definitely one of the plays of the game. He came in to relieve Okajima in the top of the 8th with 2 outs and a runner on first. Papelbon may be known for many things, like being an intimidating presence on the mound, trying to Irish step dance with goggles and a cigar, and looking like the crazy kid from "The Incredibles", but he is not one known for looking over to first, never mind throwing over there. Yet here in this situation before a pitch was thrown he whirled and caught the mighty Matt Holliday way off the bag, ending the inning and the potential Rockies rally in what will be considered one of the best plays of his careeer. TLM looked over to me and said "He never does that." She was right...and we're glad the Rockies thought that too...


Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado's starter, also pitched well (4.2IP, 3H, 2ER, 2K, 5BB), and in fact held the Sox hitless for over 3 innings. It just wasn't enough on a night where Boston's pitching was as on-point as it was.

Though Mike Lowell was the only player in the starting lineup of Game 1 to not get an RBI, he made up for it in Game 2 with not one but two key plays. In the 4th he made a heads-up, aggressive baserunning decision and took 3rd on a J.D. Drew single, putting himself in position to be driven in on a Jason Varitek sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1. Then, in the next inning, he drove in what would prove to be the winning run by knocking a double to left and sending Big Papi home. So wait...why is there so much debate as to whether or not we should keep this guy?

 

Sox-Angels 2007 ALDS...someday

TLM is at Fenway, and I'm sitting in my car in one of the worst traffic jams I've ever been in. Impatience on the part of drivers and incompetence on the part of the BPD trying to direct traffic have together combined for standstills, gridlock, and nightmarish backups for blocks in every direction.

There go the fly-by jets, indicating the end of the national anthem. Maybe someday I'll get there...maybe even by tomorrow if I'm lucky.

Dirty Water - Standells

In anticipation of the upcoming (and hopefully very successful) 2007 Red Sox postseason run, I give you this video of the Standells performing "Dirty Water" (not sure where). At first I thought there was just bad camera work, as the first 30 seconds or so seemed overly focused on the drummer, smiling and mumbling the words along. Then I realized he was the lead singer...ah, the early days of lip-syncing.

Also of note: apparently the lyric "lovers, hookers, and thieves" was changed to "lovers, buggers, and thieves", complete with the drummer delivering a knowing smile after momentarily covering his mouth with his arm. Maybe it's the subsequent "ah, but they're cool people" [in possible reference to hookers] that turned the network execs off...or maybe they just really wanted to find a way to get the word "buggers" in there.

Clay Buchholz's No-Hitter

TLM and I got a very pleasant surprise Friday night (as did all of Red Sox Nation) as Clay Buchholz punched through 3 rotations of the Baltimore Orioles lineup without letting up a hit. That's right...in his second major league start ever (and TLM and I were lucky enough to be at the first), the kid threw a no-hitter.

Buchholz struck out 9 and walked 3 to became the 16th Red Sox player to officially throw a no-hitter, and the first rookie to do so (though I think one could make a case for Devern Hansack in 2006). The closest thing to a jam came in the 5th when he led off the inning with back to back walks to Millar and Huff, then got Moore to strike out swinging, House to ground into a fielder's choice, then Payton to fly out to right, stranding Millar at 3rd. At this point both TLM and I noted the lack of hits on the part of Buchholz, and the excitement grew exponentially every inning from then on.


Though some people were leaving their seats as late as the 8th inning (???) it seemed as though everyone there knew what was happening. The feeling in the stands was electric and the most intense I've experienced since 2004. Somewhere during the 9th there was a low-pitch roar that, though almost inaudible, hurt the ears of everyone in our section. At one point a few melonheads in short right field tried to start a "Yankees Suck" chant and were immediately silenced by everyone within earshot, testament to the collective understanding of the importance of what was taking place.

Go Buchholz. Now all we have to do is wait for the Red Sox management to replace the guy in favor of Julian Tavarez...

We Didn't Start the Fire (Boston sports version)

I remember watching this back when it was broadcast. The voice is Scott Wahle, if I'm not mistaken. I think it's a classic.

Mr. Butch Dead at 56

Like many other kids who grew up in Boston, I spent a good amount of my high school years roaming around places like Copley, Kenmore, the South End, Harvard Square, and Allston, etc. It is amazing to me how much a part of the city I felt in those days, and much of that I attribute to relatively unimportant things like knowing the ins and outs of the T or being able to rattle off the 5 closest Mortal Kombat machines from any location. More than anything, though, I think it was that I knew and was known by (or at least recognized by) many people in and around town. Red and Pops at Little Stevies, the guys who worked at Captain Nemo's and the Pizza Pad, and even the token taker at Aquarium station who for some reason let us hang around for hours until kicking us out every day for sliding down those long escalators.

And then there was Mr. Butch. I remember him as a tall, lanky, dreadlocked fixture outside the Rat in Kenmore, and though apparently homeless (I think by choice), he stuck out as a kind of celebrity, a man everyone knew. "Hey, Mr. Butch", you'd call, and he'd come right over, grinning, and ask how you were. Maybe he'd crack a joke or say something you didn't understand at all, but you would smile anyway because, for some inexplicable reason, he made you feel like you were old friends.

Mr. Butch unfortunately died in an accident today (July 12) at the age of 56. Below is a short article from boston.com.

(Update 7.13.07 - there's now another, more recent article in the non-breaking-news section)

(Update 7.14.07 - a great Mr. Butch guestbook has been set up and lots of people are sharing their memories. It's amazing how many random people have fond memories of this guy...testament to his persona. He will be missed.)

Mr. Butch, the street icon, dies in a scooter accident


(Mark Wilson/Globe Staff/file)

Mr. Butch, shown above on Harvard Avenue in November, had lived on the streets in Boston for about 30 years.

By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff

Mr. Butch, the dreadlocked, homeless man who was an icon in Kenmore Square and Allston, was killed today in a scooter accident, friends and family said.

Boston police said there had been a fatal accident just after 7:30 a.m. on Cambridge Street in Allston, but did not release the name of the victim. Mr. Butch's sister, Jeannette Madison of Worcester, said she had been notified of her brother's death.

Mr. Butch's real name was Harold Madison Jr. The 56-year-old had been the subject of YouTube videos [as well as at least one independent film], a MySpace tribute page, and a Wikipedia entry. He was so popular that The Boston Phoenix wrote in April that it was considering changing the criteria for its "Readers' Pick: Neighborhood Character" category because Mr. Butch won so regularly.

"He's been in so many local movies, videos, in the Phoenix -- he's like an icon of the neighborhood," said Erin Scott, manager of New England Comics on Harvard Avenue in Allston.

Mr. Butch had lived on the streets of Boston for about 30 years. In Kenmore Square and his neighborhood in Allston -- areas rife with college students and people who cleave to less traditional approaches to living in Boston -- some saw in Mr. Butch a latter-day Thoreau, a man who chose a life that didn't involve taxes, rent, or office cubicles.

Schilling Joins the Almost No-Hitter Club

When I get a call from my father saying to me "Are you watching the game? You should be WATCHING the GAME right now.", I know he can only mean one thing. Someone is throwing a possible no-no, but he can't mention it for superstitious fear of cosmic intervention. Such was the case yesterday when Curt Schilling took the mound yesterday in hopes of achieving a different but equally uncommon task (recently, at least): snapping a Red Sox losing streak.

Schilling won the game, and almost pitched his first career no-hitter as he went 2 outs into the 9th before Shannon Stewart smacked a first pitch fastball into right field for a single. There are lots of articles out there covering this in much more detail than I, complete with video highlights and play-by-play breakdowns and recaps of the game, so no more about that.

(Getty Images Photo / Jed Jacobsohn)
What I would like to note, however, is that with his performance yesterday, Schilling became the fourth Red Sox pitcher since 1900 to allow a hit for the first time in a game with 2 out in the 9th. According to "Lost in the Ninth" (a pretty impressive website about...wait for it...losing no hitters and perfect games in the ninth inning), the four instances are as follows, with date, pitcher, team, opposing team, and opposing player who got a hit (all singles except for Scott):

1. 6/13/1933—Whit Wyatt, Boston vs. St. Louis, Tedd Gullic
2. 4/14/1967—Billy Rohr, Boston at New York, Elston Howard
3. 7/2/1975—Rick Wise, Boston at Milwaukee, George Scott (HR)
4. 6/7/2007—Curt Schilling, Boston at Oakland, Shannon Stewart

The Billy Rohr game is an integral part of Red Sox lore these days, especially since this year marks the 40th anniversary of the "Impossible Dream" season of 1967. This was a game immortalized by Ken Coleman's call of a Carl Yastrzemski catch to preserve the no-hitter for Rohr in his first major league start...against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium, no less. I've included a segment of the famous "Impossible Dream" record below that talks about that game and includes the now infamous "he dives and makes a tre-MEN-dous catch". (For more clips from the album, check out fleetwoodsounds.com.)



Even our own beloved Jerry Remy once broke up a no-hitter with 2 outs in the 9th, though not with the Sox. On May 26, 1976, while playing for the then-California Angels, he came up to the plate in a scoreless game to face Ken Brett of the Chicago White Sox and smacked a single to break up the no-no. The Angels went on to lose a heartbreaker, 1-0 in 11 innings.

When thinking of no-hitters broken up with 2 outs in the 9th inning, one game sticks out in my mind even more strongly than the Billy Rohr game. That game took place on September 2, 2001, and it was Red Sox-Yankees at Fenway. I had gone out of my way to get some box seats for the game, as I wanted my girlfriend at the time to come to a game with me and she would settle for nothing less (she also pretended to be a Yankee fan to irk me, sign #1 she wasn't right for me).

Come time to leave, all of a sudden she doesn't want to go. I was beside myself, and though I tried all I could to get her to go, her resistance continued to equal the strength of my attempts. Eventually, she won and we both stayed at her place. After a couple of hours she was fast asleep (arg), I turned on the TV to check in on the game, only to see that it was the 9th inning and Mike Mussina was pitching a perfect game. A PERFECT GAME! Bearing witness to an event so rare in baseball would have superseded the fact that it was being done to the Red Sox, and for maybe the second time in my life, I was in a state of shock. All I could do was look at the TV, then over at the sleeping girlfriend, then back to the TV, over and over again, shaking my head back and forth. Ridiculous.


This story has a happy ending, though, as Crazy Carl Everett stepped up to pinch hit with one out to go, and with 2 strikes (1 strike away, Moose) got a single to break up the perfect game. The fans at Fenway became riotous, and I couldn't help but applaud and belt out my own shout of approval, waking up my girlfriend and anyone else in the immediate vicinity. Too bad...

In case you didn't know already, let this be even more evidence that TLM (who by the way shares Red Sox season tickets with me) is the best girlfriend ever.

Trot's Return to Fenway

So last night was the return of yet another member of the 2004 World Series club to Fenway, and unsurprisingly another standing ovation as he came to the plate for the first time (see what happens when you don't go to the Yankees, Johnny?). This return was extra special, however, as the player making his debut in a new uniform was none other than fan favorite Trot Nixon, who played no less than 8 years as a starter for the Red Sox. Even when he singled in that first plate appearance, the crowd continued to cheer (I think it helped that the hit wasn't damaging at all). Curt Schilling said it best in his post game interview when he said he'd "rather Trot didn't reach 1st" but it was a nice showing by the Fenway faithful, once again, to show that much appreciation and "taking care of their own".

Yanker fans, please take note.

The general sentiment in the section TLM and I were in last night was essentially "ok, that was nice but no more", which I think is the correct response. As the game went on, however, and Nixon found himself coming to the plate in a position to tie the game with the bases loaded and 1 out in the 8th, several fans felt that it was still time to cheer Trot on. Trot eventually did sacrifice fly in a run, which was minimal damage, but the time to cheer him on was definitely over after the 1st inning, without a doubt. Red Sox come first, end of story.


Outside of the Nixon hubbub, the game had its other exciting moments as well. There was a near triple play in the 3rd (which many fans were aware of as it was happening, to my amazement), an inside-the-park home run by Kevin Youkilis in the 7th, and something I rarely get excited about: a great decision by the Manager when Francona took out JC Romero after he walked the first 2 batters of the 8th. Go Tito!

So as much as Trot and his fans may have wanted otherwise, the Red Sox picked up their 35th win of the season, bringing their season record to 35-15 (.700 winning percentage). This is great, no question, but the icing on the cake came when we found out that the Devil Rays came back to win in the 9th, and the Yankees lost yet again. Why icing? This means that the 200 million dollar team from the Bronx is now in a tie for...wait for it....LAST PLACE.

It's a clock ticking backwards, Cashman. You too, Torre.
 

The Good, The Bad, and the Annoying

The Lovely Mary and I have been to a few games already this year, and though much of it has thus far been devoted to Matsuzaka's starts, rain outs, high scoring offensive displays, great defensive plays, and the first round of Red Sox - Yankers 2007 (SWEEP!), I still need to get some things out about the first game we attended: the Red Sox home opener against the Mariners.

The Good

BecKKKKKKKKett

Josh Beckett was maybe the biggest story of that day for me, though his performance may have gotten lost amidst the explosion of Red Sox runs (damn, I wish we could've moved a few over to Matsuzaka's start the following night). He pitched a 2-hitter over 7 innings with 1 run, no walks, and 8 Ks, including punching out Ichiro an unbelievable 3 times and striking out the side in the 6th. The defense was also solid, and I hope that all those people who were so concerned that Julio Lugo (nicknamed "JuLu" by TLM) was a significant downgrade at shortstop see how much of a difference it makes when the pitcher is as dominant as Beckett was at the home opener.


This was the Beckett I was hoping to see last year and the Beckett I believe we will see a lot more of this year. He's had another good start the following Sunday against Vlad and company, and hopefully his great performances will continue (I say this not only because I'm a Red Sox fan, of course, but also because he's on my main fantasy team).

Matsuzaka Mania

During the player introductions, the largest cheer came for that of Daisuke Matsuzaka (see clip below), unsurprising considering the expectations of the front office and the rest of Red Sox Nation. What was surprising was the uproarious applause given to his translator and just about anyone with a last name that even remotely sounded Japanese. If that wasn't enough proof that Boston has gone Japan-crazy, we heard the Vapors' classic "Turning Japanese" at least twice and noticed at least half of the ads inside the park had some Japanese on them, including a new and large Dunkin Donuts billboard above the right field bleachers (is there even a Lumber Liquidators anywhere near Japan?).

The Almost Fight

In the 8th, TLM and I are sitting in our seats watching many fans start to exit what had been a blowout since the 3rd, when I look up and suddenly see Jose Guillen walking up the 3rd base line after striking out, jawing at the mound. The home plate umpire restrained him, though Guillen really made no effort to charge the mound, but it was enough apparently to empty the dugouts and, in traditional baseball fashion, the bullpens, just in case the fists were to fly and our resident enforcer Julian Tavarez was needed to step in. Guillen was ejected after the fracas, and the Sox pitcher who struck him out, Brendan Donnelly (yeah, that guy with the sports goggles from the Angles a few years ago) was allowed to stay in, only to be ejected after hitting the next batter 2 pitches later.

At first we thought it was Guillen mouthing off to Donnelly, as he has a reputation of not playing well with others. He has Sheffield disease: though a better than average player, the Mariners are Guillen's 8th team in 9 seasons. He was even kept off the 2004 (then-Anaheim) Angels postseason roster for being a jerk even though he was one of their best hitters.


As it turned out, these two had a history together, as Donnelly reminded us in the post game conference. I had forgotten all about the incident back in 2005 between the Angels and the Nationals, featuring a heated argument that almost turned violent between the managers of the 2 clubs, Mike Scioscia and Hall of Fame player and manager Frank Robinson (who, by the way, was almost 70 at the time). Donnelly got caught with lots of pine tar on the heel of his glove and was ejected, as pine tar is considered a "foreign substance". The accusation was made that Guillen, who had a bad breakup with the Angels the year before, told Robinson all about Donnelly's use of pine tar, and whether true or not, the bad blood has existed ever since. Apparently both teams were warned both in spring training and before the game that any unruliness would not be tolerated. That seems to have worked well...

The Bad

New, Improved, and Obstructed View

My father first bought these tickets back in 1990 (Brunansky!) which back then was a great deal. Infield grandstand, just inside of first, $10 a game for 30 or so games.

This year marks the 18th season we had that plan, and over the years I've become, well, let's just say accustomed to how Fenway looks from that perspective. Full on view of the monster, the bleachers, clear views of the entire infield, and almost the entire outfield save for deep right when everyone stands up (Brunansky!)...nothing to complain about. That is, apparently, until this season.


No sooner had I sat down to enjoy my first view of the Fenway field of the season, one of my favorite moments of the year by the way, than I notice that some of the new "enhancements" installed this year were two metal cages for cameramen, hanging down below the luxury boxes and under the overhang. They were also directly blocking, uh, any view I had of the electronic scoreboard in center field. No letter, no phone call, no advance warning at all, just "Welcome to Opening Day, enjoy your new view of the cameramen...hope you don't miss replays too much."

For this I and neighboring season ticket holders called the Red Sox offices, to which the only reply so far has amounted to "Oh yeah...too bad.". This now forces me to write my first ever official letter of complaint. Ridiculous. I get pissed about this at least three times a day still.

Oh, and it was butt-ass cold too.

40th Anniversary of the Impossible Dream

This was just sloppy. For the commemoration of an amazing season I and throngs of other people my age has been told about since we were children, this was simply disappointing and I'm glad my father wasn't there to see it. There was no real organization behind what we at the park saw. The ever cheesy Robert Goulet came out to sing the famous song from "Man of La Mancha", then I heard some cheering coming from left field. Apparently, the players had started to come out from behind the huge American flag they drape over the Monster every year, led by Captain Carl himself, though we had to figure that out on our own. Who knows; maybe the names were clearly displayed on the center field scoreboard where (almost) anyone could see...


The players from that Impossible Dream season of 1967 ended up taking their old positions on the field...or at least I think so. It was hard to tell not only because of the lack of audio (nd no scoreboard view) but also because the Mariners were doing wind sprints back and forth.

The 1967 team players that were there then lined up to all throw out "the first pitch" to members of the 2007 club. I heard someone say "On the count of three", though it wasn't the counting off of numbers that followed, but rather balls being thrown from various locations to various targets and at wildly various times.

And to top it all off, I think the jets missed Fenway on the flyby.

The Annoying

There are three things I can practically count on being true of Opening Day every year: I will not go to work (school, whatever), there will be no parking, and there will be no empty seats. After one inning of play, however, I was astonished to see that the two seats next to us were as of yet unoccupied. I wasn't about to complain though, as it allowed us to move over a seat and give us a little more room in those annually shrinking grandstand seats.

It was just after the 3rd inning began that I saw people in our aisle start to get up, the telltale sign that the aforementioned empty seats were about to be claimed by their rightful, albeit late, owners. And then I heard them. Or should I say her. I couldn't make out exactly what was being blurted out, but I could tell it was being blurted by one really annoying voice. TLM later told me she was actually asking "you gonna make room for me on your lap while your sitting in my seat?". Ha. We stand up when they arrive and she greets me with a particularly sarcastic "Sorry buddy", obviously under the impression that she had asserted her authority and kicked out some vagrant trying to sit in her seat. My quick and not so endearing response was something like "No problem, I'll be sitting right here next to you".

And so I did. For exactly one inning. I kid you not, she and her follower, er, friend left after the 3rd. For that entire inning, however, she wouldn't shut up and paid absolutely no mind to, whaddaya call it again, oh yeah, the BASEBALL GAME that was going on. I couldn't help but hear entirely too much information. Yap yap yap yap yap. She was married in August 2004. She was separated in November 2004. She moved to Vegas afterwards to "get her life together"...I think that explains a lot.

Chalk up another Opening Day...