Tag: RedSox

“Liveblogging” “Opening Day”

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ellsbury.jpgWith the Red Sox having their opening day over in Japan, I dutifully set my alarm clock for 5:50 AM so I could kickoff baseball season in style, i.e. in pajamas in the dark with the sound turned real low. Co-editor Willis had suggested trying to talk via interweb as the game was going on, but I’m not fancy enough to have a laptop. I did, however, keep notes throughout the whole affair, and am presenting them to you now.

The Night Before: In order to prepare waking up ass-early, I readied myself by going to bed around 10 (which would afford me an equal night’s sleep as usual). I made myself sleepy by drinking Guinness and warm milk, though not at the same time.

c. 2-5 AM: Weird dreams. I don’t really remember what they were about – something about replacement dinners? I dunno. Anyway, I do know that in more than one dream I said, “I have to leave so I can get up early and watch the game.” No, really.

5:50 AM: Snooze button.

5:57 AM: I trudge myself out of bed, make myself comfy on the couch and fiddle with the remote until I find NESN. I turn to the channel just as the Japanese national anthem is being played. Mildly disconcerting. And then the managers are given bouquets of flowers. I wonder how Joe Torre would react to a bouquet of flowers. Or Earl Weaver.

6:07 AM: I find it reassuring to hear the voices of Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy. I take a minute to wonder what would happen if Remy were lost in downtown Tokyo without a translator. Would he ever find his way home? It’s like a zen koan.

6:11 AM: Joe Blanton takes the mound. He is on my fantasy baseball league this year, but these Tokyo games don’t count toward anything in our league due in part to their peculiar scheduling. ??? ???? ????? ?? ???????
So I have no feelings of ambivalence, but would rather not have a Red Sox defeat that crushes his soul. Or patella.

6:19 AM: A Mark Ellis HR. Oh, goody.

6:23 AM: Jack Cust is at bat. His presence makes me wonder if there are going to be any good Mitchell-report heckles this year. It is too early in the morning for me to think of any.

6:38 AM: Seeing a scruffy Jason Varitek reminds me that I’ve missed baseball oh so very much.

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Rolling the Sunday Blogosahedron

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Girls Wearing Bruins UniformThere is so much fun stuff out there that I’m going to try to blogroll every Sunday some of what I have been reading during the week. (Feel free to email me things I should be reading — The internets are a big place and I do need guidance.) This week I have some broken keepers, baseball prognostications, RedSox Pictorials, a Philly Prank [umm… that doesn’t look right… what do you call someone on the Phillies? (other than terrible)], and more.

  • NBC has the options on a sports reality show. Doesn’t that sound cool? And, Hey, The winners could go to the Olympics! But wait, It’s curling. [TheStar.com]
  • Some goalkeepers are falling apart while not goalkeeping: Michael Rensing of Bayern Munich hurt himself tying his shoes, and Dida of Milan hurt himself going from sitting on the bench to the locker room. [The Offside]
  • Jocoby EllsburyI’ve requested entry into the fantasy leagues of the Babes who Love Baseball, because losing to my friends in one league and losing to the people I work with in a second league wasn’t enough. I now want to lose to strange bloggers I don’t even know. [Babes Love Baseball]
  • Last year is was Jimmy Rollins. This year it’s Carlos Beltran. Some people just love to make crazy predictions for the Mets winning the season. [We Should Be GMs] [ESPN] [Babes Love Baseball]
  • Jacoby Ellsbury has a pictorial and article in the new issue of Men’s Vogue. Our little rookie is growing up fast, and I bet the jerseys with his name on them are selling out fast now too. [Center Field]
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[Business Day One] Concerning Boston

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There really isn’t an aftermath to speak of.  Boston isn’t burning.  There isn’t wailing and lamentation in the Common.  Folks have just kind of moved on. ??????? ???? ???? ?????

The reasons for the collective shrugging of shoulders up in this part of the world are pretty He graduated, again.abundant.  We all know that the team isn’t going anywhere.  The foundation of every excellent team (Offensive line, Defensive line, Quarterback) is in place and will be for years to come.  The Kraft family is invested in the longterm success of the team and the facilities. ???? ???? ?????   The genius coach is still a genius coach.  And the aging linebacker corps will get younger and faster next season (though I think everyone’s a little broken up about losing Bruschi and Seau).  Over all, there’s a citywide sense that we’ll all be alright.

A friend of mine that doesn’t follow sports too closely told me that he was always surprised by how Boston fans were so opportunistic in terms of their demeanor.  That is to say, once the Patriots (or any local team) lose, fans can move on to other things fairly quickly and not dwell in misery too long.  I find such an assertion funny, because for my entire life up until 2004, you couldn’t say “Boston fans” without squeezing the phrase “long suffering” in.  Nowadays, Boston fans are apparently seen as folks with an abundance of things to cheer about.  So I did a little thinking on the matter, and I realized that perhaps this friend is right.  I did a quick “pulse check” on the Boston Sports Scene as of this morning, and the results are in:  Read More

What’s Cooking on the Hot Stove

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So the baseball winter meetings are happening right now. There are rumors flying through the air like monkeys from the boobs of a sorceress (Tin Man reference). ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? Rumors about Santana going everywhere — From Boston to Los Angeles or somewhere in New York to playing on the Canadian curling team. Baseball rumors are crazy right now.

Johan Santana Baseball CardAlso, why do they call it hot stove? Is it because they are cooking something wacky? Perhaps the GM’s are frying up some delicious prospects to tempt another owner? Ok, so maybe it’s because these trade meetings happen in the winter and you have to gather around a “hot stove” to keep warm for the discussions. But how cold can it be in Nashville? 30 degrees at night — Ok, but how cold can it be in the Gaylord Resort? Yeah, all these older gentlemen are gathering at the Gaylord. Take it as you will.

Now that we’re past the gay stuff, on to the trades and rumors. Read More

Catching Up With The Home Teams – Boston Edition

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The Zakim BridgeI titled this post as “Boston edition,” but it’s not like there’s going to be another edition. I live in Boston and root for Boston teams. Then again, there is always the hope that someone else here will be a fan of another team and write a competing entry.

New England Patriots
Hey, the team is still undefeated. And peoples around the blogosahedron are waiting to watch the Patriots again when they are 16-0 (Deadspin, Bleacher Report, Blown Coverage, You Been Blinded, ArmchairGM). Now we can add Nerds on Sports to that list becaus: New England Patriots: 16-0 (18-0 if you count postseason).

So, it looks like the Patriots-Colts Pumped Soundgate Noisegate The Skipping Crowd Conspiracies Speakergate was just an issue with the broadcast. But, as a Patriots fan, I can’t believe that this is the truth until I get a bit more closure on the situation. I want a team of investigative reporters to sneak into the RCA Dome and set up some noise meters (like you would find at a terrible talent show to measure who the winner is) and record during games. If that doesn’t work, perhaps some sort of non-football competition between Manning and Brady. Maybe something involving being sexy and making shitloads of commercials. ???? ??????? My money is on Manning – Brady may out sexy him, but Peyton’s commercial making prowess is impressive. Read More

Happy Halloween to the Blogosahedron

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FrankenRedSox FanI think having a free taco and giving out free tacos to children only slightly dressed up at my doorstep has ruined my writing energy for the week. So I shall tell you where else you can go for some exciting things. Of course, I will mix in some fun pictures, because Google Image Search is our biggest visitor (by biggest, I mean only – I don’t think anyone gets here without going through Google) and I have to keep them happy.

The Pumpkin House

[Business Day One] A Series of Moments

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Thursday, October 25th / Weymouth, MA / 10:30 p.m.

The driving rain and swarming defense prevented Matt Ryan from taking to the air.  Bud Foster gameplanned it perfectly.  The Virginia Tech defensive ends and linebackers speed-rushed the offensive line for the first 55 minutes, preventing Ryan from planting his feet and throwing.  He was hurled to the soggy carpet over and over again as one of the best defenses in college football consistently beat the Boston College blockers.  On offense, the Hokies were doing enough to win.  Sean Glennon moved the ball just enough to get 10 points on the board against the Eagles.  It was agony to watch.

With five minutes left, I said goodbye to the two friends I was watching the game with and walked across the condo complex to my car.  I was silent and so was the black night around me.  Read More

[Business Day One] Priorities

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Bottom of the ninth inning and David Ortiz stood in against Mariano Rivera.  The bases were loaded, there were two outs and the Red Sox were down by 1 against the Yankees.  Fenway was shaking with energy, with waves of noise cascading down from the Faithful on to the field as their Hero cocked his bat against the fireballer.  Could Papi do it again?  Or would the Best Closer In Baseball notch another save in the most enemy of enemy territories?  A Sox win would extend out their lead in the East to five and a half.  A Yankees win would keep the pressue on Boston down a grueling final stretch.  Ramifications of a single at bat, a singular moment in time as watched by millions of fans.  If a scientist were to distill an entire season to get the extract of pure Sport, he would get this.  Mariano winds and delivers…

But alas, I wasn’t watching it.  A diehard Yankee fan in front of a television on a Sunday night five miles from Fenway, and I wasn’t watching it.  In fact, I wasn’t even thinking about it.  I was awake, and in my right mind, but had no interest in the outcome of the game at that moment.  It was only this morning that I realized I don’t know how the game ended.  I turned it off when Pedroia was batting, and so had to check the final score on my cell phone at 8:30 this morning.  It was a stark realization on this windy day.  The team I grew up rooting for was not my biggest sports priority.

It was a pretty jarring thought, and one that I wanted to make my peace with as soon as possible.  Thank goodness I write for a sports blog, eh?  On my commute to my office, I counted all of the sports-related concerns that were on my mind last night that took precedence over my Sox/Yankees interest.  I shuddered when I realized that this relatively important baseball game barely cracked the Top Five.  For sake of healing, I am putting my Top Five here:

1.  Patriots/Chargers Sunday Night Football – Read More