Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Strange and Wonderful Days
I've been living in Peabody, a temporary situation, since last wednesday when i quit my job. As everything seems to be with my ex-boss, my final good-bye was a bit backhanded, and so i really had very little reason to feel any warm-fuzzy sentimentality upon exiting the office for the last time. I havent looked back since, save to realize maybe twice since then that i never have to deal with it again.
I cant recount everything that has happened in the past month, for life has been non-stop. The last time the red sox were home, i went to all but one of the games in the homestand. That has been my full-time occupation lately. On Friday, the second game in the last series of the season, I arrived to the park before the gates opened, and took my usual place on the green monster. Soon, I was informed that there would be no batting practice that day, but that I had a chance to head down onto the field to explore the warning track. As if it was a race, i sped off down the steps to the gate by the visitors' dugout. I had circled the entire field and was leaning against the bullpen wall, looking in (in the same fashion as pitchers do, looking out at the field during a game; it was a bit tall for me), when the announcer came on over the loud speaker. Breathing in what i assumed would be some of my last on-field-air, i waited to hear instructions for exiting the field. None would come, however, and instead I heard "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen... We would now like to invite members of the 2009 Boston Red Sox out onto the field, where you will have a chance to greet them......" Sure enough, at that very moment, a small hoard of men emerged from the dugout and began making their ways past the crowd standing on the clay behind the ropes. Noting that another group set out going the other way around the field, I quickly took stock of who was heading my way and decided by process of elimination that no matter who was in the other group, I was probably more interested in shaking their hands. Let's be clear- I dont really discriminate too badly, but I figured that there were enough fans there that the players would never make it the full way around the field. I couldnt help but grin as I wove my way through the electrified net of people along the track in the outfield. Settling for an open spot in left, I (perhaps fittingly) ran into Michael Bowden first. He sees me at almost every game I'm at, and so as he spotted me from a bit down the line of people there was no surprise in his features, but reached out his hand, put on a shining smile, and made straight for me. Hunter Jones followed soon thereafter, and beyond that the sequence of events is a blur. Any of you who know me personally would expect that the highlight of the evening was when I shook Dustin Pedroia's hand, and I'd say it was, as I can remember how quiet excitement directly after the contact quickly turned to gleeful frenzy. I saw Jon Lester (heck, i saw them all) but he wasnt really shaking hands. Those who did, and it seemed like most were, generally tended to ask some variation of the question, "How're you doing?" Who else? A number of the call-ups, Dustin Richardson and Fernando Cabrera... Daniel Bard knew me still, which always is a pleasant surprise- when you dont imagine that someone you've had several personal interactions with will recall them, but they do afterall. Also, I'll be completely honest, I'm not fabricating things here, but when you show up at Fenway and sit directly behind the bullpen for many games in a row, people IN the bullpen start to look at you like the recognize you. That's the case with Brown, Varitek, and the bullpen catcher Mani Martinez especially. With Dan, he and I had met over the winter and had come across each other a number of times since then, at events and Spring Training and games. We're facebook friends too, and I post pictures of him when I have new ones, so it makes a bit of sense. Shook hands with Tek, Victor Martinez, Youk, Gonzalez, Drew, you get the point. Had a picture taken with Josh Beckett!
..he was the last one I came across, and I had nothing to show for this whole experience as I had been too concerned with talking to and shaking hands with each player. Also, there's not much room on my phone for pics.
----------------------------------------
I wrote all of the above about 2 weeks ago. Lately, I just havent been in the right space mentally to go back and face the end of the season. Everyone has something to say about how the postseason went for us, and this being Boston, the difference is that they all write about it. Self included. We're opinionated and we pretend like we've each got the key to what really happened and why no matter what the sport. I try not to make a habit out of reading blogs, because quite honestly, it's almost all the same thing, simple reiteration of what some espn or boston globe writer has already tweeted or otherwise written. That's just boring to me. I already take issue with the machine that is the "BOSTON MEDIA".. we have a bit of a hot-cold thing going on. So I really dont enjoy reading other people's regurgitation of what sports writers have already written.
All that said, I'm going to write a bit about it, too, because I've got months to kill here. And lets face it: I'm "from" Boston, and I've got my own trunkload of opinions, and by golly the world simply must hear them. Then again, I'm sure I'm less credible than all those who shop for their thoughts on the matter from ESPN as my opinions are just my own (I love ESPN- but I dont agree with everything those writers say, and i'm not going to copy-paste their ideas here).
First off, I'm not in bad shape here. I'm doing alright, and it's probably due to the fact that I'm not yet dwelling on just how long I will be without baseball. And on the upside, the Mesa Solar Sox have a bunch of A and AA guys on their team, which will keep me mildly entertained for another month. The big names right now are Casey Kelly and Jose Iglesias, the latter of whom defected from Cuba- both of whom are young stars in the making. But other familiar names include Randor Bierd, Richie Lentz, Chris Province, Dustin Richardson, Luis Exposito, and Ryan Kalish. Those are the hometeam guys as far as I'm concerned, but along with this mix I'm also kept up on the progress of guys like Stephen Strausburg, Mike Minor, Jason Heyward, and Scott Sizemore (not Mesa guys). I'm looking at a roster right now for Mesa, though, and clicked on a player named Starlin Castro, because he has a sweet name. Apparently he's an up and comer for the Cubs. If nothing else, paying attention to the Arizona Fall League will help me make the most of my roto league's minor league draft, which most people seem to blow off. Alas, out of 6 teams, the Solar Sox are most definitely in 5th place- but the 6th place team is undefeated after 6 games, so ouch there.
I'm in Maine now, and life is different here. For one thing:
Yep. Snow. I watched the snow coming down across the valley the night before I took this picture. It was beautiful, and it filled me with sadness, and it quieted me. I'm not quite ready for Winter, and that's a fact. Anyhow, it's all gone. Melted yesterday. It's acceptably warm out today, so spirits are high enough. Being here, though, with nothing to do... it has given me time to take stock of all of the tickets I collected over the 2009 season. Actually, unfortunately not ALL. I know that there are still a few Paw Sox and Red Sox tix in my car, and I also know that I am specifically missing at least one game's ticket (Oct 3rd). So. Try as I might to keep them all together, the fact is that I have lived in 4 different places since August. Still:
No, that's not all of them. This is a pic of each unique ticket I got- notice that there are no Becketts or Lowells. Strange, because just now I could have sworn that I remember having a Beckett ticket. Anyhow, it's not here with me if I ever did have it.
A lot of people speak about an emptiness that they feel once the Red Sox are done for the year. There's more to my life than following the team, but I do have shame for the way in which I've let myself go, spiritually-speaking. Thankfully, being here with my family and some longer-term friends helps a lot. Shame is a lie that keeps us from doing what we need to do and being who we can be. Knowing this is one thing; letting shame and fear drop away is another. I'll get there.
I've got some crazy ideas floating around in my head. For one, I'd say that Papelbon's time in Boston is up (ok, i know i'm not the only one out there who feels this way). Not because of the way things ended- everyone has tough games, and one guy doesnt win or lose a game for a team, much less a series. As soon as I knew about Daniel Bard, I began baiting fellow friends/fans by saying that Pap's out, Bard is our guy. Didn't take long for me to be serious about this, and not just instigatory. Oh, who knows. Bard had a great first year, but you dont bank on your less-than-half-a-year-experienced rookie over your proven top-of-the-league closer. You cant do that, unless you're in it for the gamble. Still, I really really like Cinco, but he's obnoxious sometimes. This isnt just a personality thing either- it's cute, it's funny when he doesnt cross the line, but the guy has been known to run his mouth a bit too far; in addition, his performance this year has not resembled what he did for our team last year either. Lots of saves still, yes, but more times than not I'd credit the offense for that before I'd shake his hand in gratitude after a game. It's definitely a loss for the Red Sox, that the Cinco Ocho of 2008 didn't really come out to play in 2009. So let him go to the Yankees, although they've already got their man for the time being. I have no idea if that will happen once Paps is a free man (after 2010 season)- a lot rides on 2010 I imagine. But in my infinite knowledge (sarcasm ends here.. the next part I'm serious about), I project that Bard will continue to look a lot like the man we saw in Game 3 of the Boston-LA 2009 ALDS, closer or not.
Saito has already walked the plank, so to speak. I'd also like to bid farewell, if not a bit preemptively, to Paul Byrd. Agree or disagree with me as you will, but I'd say that Cabrera, Delcarmen, Woodward, Ramirez, Anderson are all up for grabs. I'll be sad to see Billy Wagner go, but I get it. I'll also be sad to see Cabrera go if he does- and I havent looked up his history of being DFA'ed/his options/etc but I'd hope they'd send him back to Pawtucket. Though he is 28. Not quite a prospect, already in a pitcher's "prime". Had a great year in AAA this year though. I dont know, maybe he's just not the guy for us. I'm curious to see where all of our catchers wind up throughout the system... Expo, Federowicz, Wagner, Brown, Kottaras, Chen.. names that we've all heard tossed around, and yet none of them seems to be quite the whole package. Then again, a bunch of them are still in single and double A ball. In the time I've paid attention, I havent figured out the catching situation in our farm system.
Well, as rambly as this entry has been- now it will come to an abrupt stop. There's so much more to come.
I cant recount everything that has happened in the past month, for life has been non-stop. The last time the red sox were home, i went to all but one of the games in the homestand. That has been my full-time occupation lately. On Friday, the second game in the last series of the season, I arrived to the park before the gates opened, and took my usual place on the green monster. Soon, I was informed that there would be no batting practice that day, but that I had a chance to head down onto the field to explore the warning track. As if it was a race, i sped off down the steps to the gate by the visitors' dugout. I had circled the entire field and was leaning against the bullpen wall, looking in (in the same fashion as pitchers do, looking out at the field during a game; it was a bit tall for me), when the announcer came on over the loud speaker. Breathing in what i assumed would be some of my last on-field-air, i waited to hear instructions for exiting the field. None would come, however, and instead I heard "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen... We would now like to invite members of the 2009 Boston Red Sox out onto the field, where you will have a chance to greet them......" Sure enough, at that very moment, a small hoard of men emerged from the dugout and began making their ways past the crowd standing on the clay behind the ropes. Noting that another group set out going the other way around the field, I quickly took stock of who was heading my way and decided by process of elimination that no matter who was in the other group, I was probably more interested in shaking their hands. Let's be clear- I dont really discriminate too badly, but I figured that there were enough fans there that the players would never make it the full way around the field. I couldnt help but grin as I wove my way through the electrified net of people along the track in the outfield. Settling for an open spot in left, I (perhaps fittingly) ran into Michael Bowden first. He sees me at almost every game I'm at, and so as he spotted me from a bit down the line of people there was no surprise in his features, but reached out his hand, put on a shining smile, and made straight for me. Hunter Jones followed soon thereafter, and beyond that the sequence of events is a blur. Any of you who know me personally would expect that the highlight of the evening was when I shook Dustin Pedroia's hand, and I'd say it was, as I can remember how quiet excitement directly after the contact quickly turned to gleeful frenzy. I saw Jon Lester (heck, i saw them all) but he wasnt really shaking hands. Those who did, and it seemed like most were, generally tended to ask some variation of the question, "How're you doing?" Who else? A number of the call-ups, Dustin Richardson and Fernando Cabrera... Daniel Bard knew me still, which always is a pleasant surprise- when you dont imagine that someone you've had several personal interactions with will recall them, but they do afterall. Also, I'll be completely honest, I'm not fabricating things here, but when you show up at Fenway and sit directly behind the bullpen for many games in a row, people IN the bullpen start to look at you like the recognize you. That's the case with Brown, Varitek, and the bullpen catcher Mani Martinez especially. With Dan, he and I had met over the winter and had come across each other a number of times since then, at events and Spring Training and games. We're facebook friends too, and I post pictures of him when I have new ones, so it makes a bit of sense. Shook hands with Tek, Victor Martinez, Youk, Gonzalez, Drew, you get the point. Had a picture taken with Josh Beckett!
..he was the last one I came across, and I had nothing to show for this whole experience as I had been too concerned with talking to and shaking hands with each player. Also, there's not much room on my phone for pics.
----------------------------------------
I wrote all of the above about 2 weeks ago. Lately, I just havent been in the right space mentally to go back and face the end of the season. Everyone has something to say about how the postseason went for us, and this being Boston, the difference is that they all write about it. Self included. We're opinionated and we pretend like we've each got the key to what really happened and why no matter what the sport. I try not to make a habit out of reading blogs, because quite honestly, it's almost all the same thing, simple reiteration of what some espn or boston globe writer has already tweeted or otherwise written. That's just boring to me. I already take issue with the machine that is the "BOSTON MEDIA".. we have a bit of a hot-cold thing going on. So I really dont enjoy reading other people's regurgitation of what sports writers have already written.
All that said, I'm going to write a bit about it, too, because I've got months to kill here. And lets face it: I'm "from" Boston, and I've got my own trunkload of opinions, and by golly the world simply must hear them. Then again, I'm sure I'm less credible than all those who shop for their thoughts on the matter from ESPN as my opinions are just my own (I love ESPN- but I dont agree with everything those writers say, and i'm not going to copy-paste their ideas here).
First off, I'm not in bad shape here. I'm doing alright, and it's probably due to the fact that I'm not yet dwelling on just how long I will be without baseball. And on the upside, the Mesa Solar Sox have a bunch of A and AA guys on their team, which will keep me mildly entertained for another month. The big names right now are Casey Kelly and Jose Iglesias, the latter of whom defected from Cuba- both of whom are young stars in the making. But other familiar names include Randor Bierd, Richie Lentz, Chris Province, Dustin Richardson, Luis Exposito, and Ryan Kalish. Those are the hometeam guys as far as I'm concerned, but along with this mix I'm also kept up on the progress of guys like Stephen Strausburg, Mike Minor, Jason Heyward, and Scott Sizemore (not Mesa guys). I'm looking at a roster right now for Mesa, though, and clicked on a player named Starlin Castro, because he has a sweet name. Apparently he's an up and comer for the Cubs. If nothing else, paying attention to the Arizona Fall League will help me make the most of my roto league's minor league draft, which most people seem to blow off. Alas, out of 6 teams, the Solar Sox are most definitely in 5th place- but the 6th place team is undefeated after 6 games, so ouch there.
I'm in Maine now, and life is different here. For one thing:
Yep. Snow. I watched the snow coming down across the valley the night before I took this picture. It was beautiful, and it filled me with sadness, and it quieted me. I'm not quite ready for Winter, and that's a fact. Anyhow, it's all gone. Melted yesterday. It's acceptably warm out today, so spirits are high enough. Being here, though, with nothing to do... it has given me time to take stock of all of the tickets I collected over the 2009 season. Actually, unfortunately not ALL. I know that there are still a few Paw Sox and Red Sox tix in my car, and I also know that I am specifically missing at least one game's ticket (Oct 3rd). So. Try as I might to keep them all together, the fact is that I have lived in 4 different places since August. Still:
No, that's not all of them. This is a pic of each unique ticket I got- notice that there are no Becketts or Lowells. Strange, because just now I could have sworn that I remember having a Beckett ticket. Anyhow, it's not here with me if I ever did have it.
A lot of people speak about an emptiness that they feel once the Red Sox are done for the year. There's more to my life than following the team, but I do have shame for the way in which I've let myself go, spiritually-speaking. Thankfully, being here with my family and some longer-term friends helps a lot. Shame is a lie that keeps us from doing what we need to do and being who we can be. Knowing this is one thing; letting shame and fear drop away is another. I'll get there.
I've got some crazy ideas floating around in my head. For one, I'd say that Papelbon's time in Boston is up (ok, i know i'm not the only one out there who feels this way). Not because of the way things ended- everyone has tough games, and one guy doesnt win or lose a game for a team, much less a series. As soon as I knew about Daniel Bard, I began baiting fellow friends/fans by saying that Pap's out, Bard is our guy. Didn't take long for me to be serious about this, and not just instigatory. Oh, who knows. Bard had a great first year, but you dont bank on your less-than-half-a-year-experienced rookie over your proven top-of-the-league closer. You cant do that, unless you're in it for the gamble. Still, I really really like Cinco, but he's obnoxious sometimes. This isnt just a personality thing either- it's cute, it's funny when he doesnt cross the line, but the guy has been known to run his mouth a bit too far; in addition, his performance this year has not resembled what he did for our team last year either. Lots of saves still, yes, but more times than not I'd credit the offense for that before I'd shake his hand in gratitude after a game. It's definitely a loss for the Red Sox, that the Cinco Ocho of 2008 didn't really come out to play in 2009. So let him go to the Yankees, although they've already got their man for the time being. I have no idea if that will happen once Paps is a free man (after 2010 season)- a lot rides on 2010 I imagine. But in my infinite knowledge (sarcasm ends here.. the next part I'm serious about), I project that Bard will continue to look a lot like the man we saw in Game 3 of the Boston-LA 2009 ALDS, closer or not.
Saito has already walked the plank, so to speak. I'd also like to bid farewell, if not a bit preemptively, to Paul Byrd. Agree or disagree with me as you will, but I'd say that Cabrera, Delcarmen, Woodward, Ramirez, Anderson are all up for grabs. I'll be sad to see Billy Wagner go, but I get it. I'll also be sad to see Cabrera go if he does- and I havent looked up his history of being DFA'ed/his options/etc but I'd hope they'd send him back to Pawtucket. Though he is 28. Not quite a prospect, already in a pitcher's "prime". Had a great year in AAA this year though. I dont know, maybe he's just not the guy for us. I'm curious to see where all of our catchers wind up throughout the system... Expo, Federowicz, Wagner, Brown, Kottaras, Chen.. names that we've all heard tossed around, and yet none of them seems to be quite the whole package. Then again, a bunch of them are still in single and double A ball. In the time I've paid attention, I havent figured out the catching situation in our farm system.
Well, as rambly as this entry has been- now it will come to an abrupt stop. There's so much more to come.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Autumn Arrives
I havent been outside yet, but I can see the silhouette of trees blowing around out there through the curtains. It leads me to believe, along with the golden light that's filtering through the fabric, that today is a most excellent Autumn day. Fall has become my favorite season, though I dont really want to discriminate against the others. The weather is so relieving after whatever the year's summer has brought; September brings us new faces on all of the MLB teams; and there's a general sense of introspection and reflection that I settle into. I've discovered that I enjoy being alone in this season, I enjoy the feeling of yearning to be with someone who I'm not with. Fall is mellow, earth tones, acoustic music, coffee and pumpkin and apple and spice and the settling of dead leaves on the pavement and the smell of brush fires and the last celebration of being outside before winter comes.
Come October 1, I will be unemployed. Quite happily so. It has been relatively smooth sailing at work but with a week and a half to go that could come crumbling down at any point. I've lived with that same mentality the entire 2+ years I've been there, actually, and though I've rarely been treated in a hasty manner (to my face), I've seen how other people are treated. And I've had a few ridiculous and unnecessary situations come my way as well.
The Office is back on! The first episode was solid.. not an all-time favorite, but it included some lines that I'll be quoting for months and years to come. Of course, I was at the game when the first episode aired (I watched it after the fact on nbc.com/theoffice). Fenway never gets old. I was exceedingly giddy to be there on Thursday, as if it were the first game of a new season. The fact that we've got minor league call-ups on the team now adds to the excitement for me. Most of the time when I go, I try to make sure Mike knows I'm there. It's nice to know that you're on the home team, and that everyone is rooting for you in a general sense- but when he sees me standing or sitting behind the bullpen, I hope he feels, at the very least, like there's someone present who is pulling for him. No matter what kind of work we do, I feel like we all need someone who we know believes in us. I'm sure I'm not the only one at Fenway on any given night who would put Bowden on their list... hmm, maybe top 5 favorite players in the park? But he knows my face, he knows my name, and if it doesnt translate as a sign of enthusiasm and support then I dont know what else I could do. Now we've gotta work on getting Sean Danielson some playing time next season... with any team...
Speaking of Sean, he's unknowingly responsible for my latest addiction- to Kings of Leon. I'd hear one of their singles on the radio now and again but really wasnt fond of it. Then, the Paw Sox season ended, and everything associated with Pawtucket immediately became sentimental. Sean is a big Kings of Leon fan, and the single reminded me of him, so I started not changing the station when it came on. Then, I found things about it that I liked... then heard another single and liked it even better... then went online to listen to both... then started listening to a whole bunch of KoL... and this was like a big snowball effect, because once I listened online, I went tumbling head over heels for this band. I also found out that their song Closer is the song that Dusty Brown had playing as his at bat music this season. I remember asking a number of different people if they knew the song but no one did. Ta Da! I got it. Now go listen to it on www.grooveshark.com . (The part of the song he had playing as he walked to the plate was just the beginning instrumental bit.)
What a busy past few weeks. Weddings (Jeff & Laura! Dave & Rachel!)... ballgames... 2 trips to Maine... a new MacBook Pro and free iTouch... an office move... a Maggie move (and another one to come in about a week or so). Yep, I'll be living with my brother for a couple weeks. Scary... a house with 3 or 4 guys two years younger than me. Well, I've been there before and it wasnt a wreck. :)
The last time Bowdie pitched was 9/8. Anytime now...
In other news, Josh Reddick is seeing some fair playing time. Dustin Pedroia is hitting homeruns. (I was at the game 9/8/09 vs O's where he hit 2 hrs in the same game, for the second time in his career.) Jason Bay is hitting homeruns. Alex Gonzalez is quiet and easy to like. Dusty Brown is up with the big club and also getting some time behind the plate. Daniel Bard is a Major Leaguer, not a minor leaguer trying to prove himself. Sometimes I come back to the realization that life happens, just keeps moving along. I dont have to try to make it happen. With baseball, it's great to watch life happen for these guys. With myself, well, there are some unknowns on the horizon, and I'm trying to embrace that. I'm not going to NZ afterall... I'm going to Ireland with my brother, about which I am extremely excited. A brother-sister trip is something I've been waiting for my whole life!
I bought Pop Tarts as I do once every very long while. They are down in the kitchen, nearly audibly calling my name. Then it's off to softball... playoffs have begun. The lazy part of Saturday is just about over!
Come October 1, I will be unemployed. Quite happily so. It has been relatively smooth sailing at work but with a week and a half to go that could come crumbling down at any point. I've lived with that same mentality the entire 2+ years I've been there, actually, and though I've rarely been treated in a hasty manner (to my face), I've seen how other people are treated. And I've had a few ridiculous and unnecessary situations come my way as well.
The Office is back on! The first episode was solid.. not an all-time favorite, but it included some lines that I'll be quoting for months and years to come. Of course, I was at the game when the first episode aired (I watched it after the fact on nbc.com/theoffice). Fenway never gets old. I was exceedingly giddy to be there on Thursday, as if it were the first game of a new season. The fact that we've got minor league call-ups on the team now adds to the excitement for me. Most of the time when I go, I try to make sure Mike knows I'm there. It's nice to know that you're on the home team, and that everyone is rooting for you in a general sense- but when he sees me standing or sitting behind the bullpen, I hope he feels, at the very least, like there's someone present who is pulling for him. No matter what kind of work we do, I feel like we all need someone who we know believes in us. I'm sure I'm not the only one at Fenway on any given night who would put Bowden on their list... hmm, maybe top 5 favorite players in the park? But he knows my face, he knows my name, and if it doesnt translate as a sign of enthusiasm and support then I dont know what else I could do. Now we've gotta work on getting Sean Danielson some playing time next season... with any team...
Speaking of Sean, he's unknowingly responsible for my latest addiction- to Kings of Leon. I'd hear one of their singles on the radio now and again but really wasnt fond of it. Then, the Paw Sox season ended, and everything associated with Pawtucket immediately became sentimental. Sean is a big Kings of Leon fan, and the single reminded me of him, so I started not changing the station when it came on. Then, I found things about it that I liked... then heard another single and liked it even better... then went online to listen to both... then started listening to a whole bunch of KoL... and this was like a big snowball effect, because once I listened online, I went tumbling head over heels for this band. I also found out that their song Closer is the song that Dusty Brown had playing as his at bat music this season. I remember asking a number of different people if they knew the song but no one did. Ta Da! I got it. Now go listen to it on www.grooveshark.com . (The part of the song he had playing as he walked to the plate was just the beginning instrumental bit.)
What a busy past few weeks. Weddings (Jeff & Laura! Dave & Rachel!)... ballgames... 2 trips to Maine... a new MacBook Pro and free iTouch... an office move... a Maggie move (and another one to come in about a week or so). Yep, I'll be living with my brother for a couple weeks. Scary... a house with 3 or 4 guys two years younger than me. Well, I've been there before and it wasnt a wreck. :)
The last time Bowdie pitched was 9/8. Anytime now...
In other news, Josh Reddick is seeing some fair playing time. Dustin Pedroia is hitting homeruns. (I was at the game 9/8/09 vs O's where he hit 2 hrs in the same game, for the second time in his career.) Jason Bay is hitting homeruns. Alex Gonzalez is quiet and easy to like. Dusty Brown is up with the big club and also getting some time behind the plate. Daniel Bard is a Major Leaguer, not a minor leaguer trying to prove himself. Sometimes I come back to the realization that life happens, just keeps moving along. I dont have to try to make it happen. With baseball, it's great to watch life happen for these guys. With myself, well, there are some unknowns on the horizon, and I'm trying to embrace that. I'm not going to NZ afterall... I'm going to Ireland with my brother, about which I am extremely excited. A brother-sister trip is something I've been waiting for my whole life!
9/9/09 - happy 23rd birthday Mikey
The above pictures are from 8/30, 9/8, and 9/9.
Grandma had a blast :)
Friday, August 28, 2009
Friday Nights Are For Sleeping
If he doesnt get called up next week, dont tell me i jinxed him. His phone will ring or wont depending on what the sox brass make of what his season has been, and how he's been looking over the past few weeks. With that being said, I'll venture to state that last night was the last time I'll have the excitement of sitting in the stands at McCoy and watching out of the corner of my eye as MB again and again picked me out of the mosaic of fans. I hadnt been there for pre or post MB start games in weeks so it had been a while since we'd played that game, and seeing as how it's generally assumed that he'll be in Boston very soon, i should have made the most of last night. I've always wondered about this eye footsie that takes place. It's one thing for him to expect me to be there, and to look through the crowd to spot me; it's another thing for him to continually glance over across the park to .. i dont know. To see what i'm doing? When I notice it, I sometimes try to at least put on a little show... tap my hands on my legs to the song playing over the sound system, shout some brief encouragement to whoever's up to bat, stretch... because what else is there to see? During a ballgame, I sit still for the most part, shifting every 10 minutes or so to one of several positions, and I score the game. But I've even got a couple witnesses to this strange phenomenon, not that there's been any doubt left in my mind for a long time of the realness of these occurrences. It's usually obvious enough when he's looking at me sitting in section 1 from his vantage point in section 6 or 7, but it's all the more blatant when i'm in section 3 (because of the angle). He's essentially craning his neck to his right, pretty much behind him. Being undoubtedly the final time this little dance will happen in 2009, and possibly ever, I should have spun to face him (he turns his head definitively in my direction; i face the mound and watch out of my peripheral) or held up a page reading HI or something similar. I've only sat with him twice, and I'm never completely good with doing that... usually I'm afraid I'm gonna get bounced by those over-zealous ushers. Also, when I'm sitting with someone else I have a hard time tracking with the game at all. Still, I love sitting with people who know more about the technicalities of the game than I do. I've become friends with the guy who tapes at-bats for the team, and patches them together and does a bit of analysis on them. His name is Max and he actually graduated from Bucknell one year after two of my best friends, Kearah and Adam, did. Listening to guys like MB and Max talk is refreshing and exciting, because otherwise all I hear all-day-every-day is rollercoast opinions from people who often dont really know, but whose speculations and points of view are somehow generally taken as fact. I get tired of it- i want to know what happened, not just what you have to say about what happened. The Boston media as a unit is a force, that's for sure. I just dont tend to buy it.. which is why I like to get my facts and, yes, even opinions from ballplayers and not as much from reporters.
Man, my writing is already all over the place. Should be an interesting rest of the entry.
I saw a guy on the T a few days ago who looked so smooth in his Dodger blue hat. He was also wearing a similarly-blue t-shirt with white lettering on it, though it wasnt a Dodgers shirt... made me want to get a Billingsley T. I've had to put my like for TX on hold in light of all this wild card stuff, so the Dodgers are getting an extra dose of lovin from me.
The next week will be madness, as if the entire summer hasnt already been. My room is packed away and I plan to completely empty it by noon tomorrow to finish my move to Roxbury. Just for a month, while I finish up at my current job. I'm subletting the room that I'm in right now until January, when I'll come back to Boston and resume life. (Or at least that's the plan, barring any job offers before 2010 from within MLB.) After the move, I'm heading to Foxboro to watch the Revs with a good friend and some of his other friends for his birthday. Softball for tomorrow was cancelled as of this evening so that frees up some time around 3pm. Sunday, church, and then I'm taking my grandma to her first Red Sox game at Fenway! We have incredible seats. I hate hate hate Ace Ticket for how much of a rip-off they are, but I needed seats and I needed them in advance. Craigslist was not helping me. The money spent will be worth it but it's sickening. I like the people I've dealt with at Ace, I like them a lot, but it is really terrible how much they charge per ticket. I realize that this isnt how I make a living, but I can draw some good $$ when I sell tickets wisely- mutually beneficial deals. Why arent we all trying to help each other out instead of just being concerned over getting the better end of the deal? Seriously Ace. $369 for 2 loge seats. Yes, I purchased them so it's ultimately on me, no question. I never ever would have if i didnt have that $200 gift card.
Then September comes, rosters expand, lester bobblehead night happens in portland on 9/2/09, i try to fit as many minor league games in as i can before they're done for the season, and, grin, friday i'm in newburyport on a daaaate. ooooo-oooh. i've been part of a lot of ambiguous date-like situations over the past couple years, but this is very clear-cut. we'll see how it goes. ...and it doesnt end there, as i keep heading north that night to Maine to attend the wedding of my friend from high school to a woman he's been dating for ... 4? 5? years now. Gonna be a fun weekend. During the day on Saturday, they have all kinds of games planned out for us- kickball and the like. It's actually a weekend-long affair, being held at a rented-out summer camp. Everything that they've come up with sounds like it will make for a celebration to remember. My friend Dave, who's birthday is today and who's celebrating tomorrow with/at the Revs game (shhhh, it's a surprise) is also getting married that day. There was no right answer as to which wedding I should attend. I'm closer to Dave at this point in my life, but Jeff is such a long-time friend. Figures that the only weddings I've been invited to this year happen to be on the same day.
As of Monday, my workplace's non-existent dress code (as in, sweatpants/flip flops/cleavage/see through white shirts/tshirts were all allowed... i will dearly miss the flip flops and tshirts, but those of you who know me know that i dont dress provocatively, hah) becomes an existent dress code. We are moving, someday, or so they keep telling us (we were supposed to be in our new location as of last friday).. and the new place is in the financial district, in a nice building, so we have to "adapt to our new environment". I was out sick yesterday and missed the official rundown of the dress code during our staff meeting, so i've only got a memo to go off of. Noticeably absent from mention are flip flops. Also, corduroys. Things that we can and cant wear were detailed so I have hope that both of these articles are still acceptable. But no shorts, except for "dress shorts" (?? i dont really know what those are I guess).. definitely no tshirts. clothing is to be "neat, clean, and pressed"... or something along those lines. Hah. It's one thing to take a job where you know that this will be the standard. You know the rules up front. But the fact that we're having a dresscode wasnt even announced to us until last week! Talk about a serious lifestyle change- no, really, it is. All of the clothing I have out is very casual. I wear the same 4 pairs of shorts, intermixed with a few skirts and dresses. I snag a tank top, or if everything's dirty, a nice tshirt, and head out the door without thinking twice. Flip flops from April through October. Hair? Sometimes, like today, in pigtail braids (you cant wear pigtail braids when you're dressed up like a young professional, that's just silly). I know that I have it in me, but it's more that I never saw it coming. I have one more month at this place and it's going to be tough adjusting for that short period of time.
But really, there's no choice.
I need to spend some time tomorrow catching up on emails and facebook messages. People are starting to followup with me via text/calling to make sure i received their latest note. And that just defeats the purpose. For now, I'm going to fall asleep to the sound of gentle rain outside and the thought of games to come over this next month.
I love you, Boston.
2nd game of the 2009 season
Red Sox vs Rays
Fenway Park
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Hush Up.
I've wanted to post- I really have- but my computer gets VERY overheated everytime I use it. My room is already hot enough. This sounds funny, but resting my hands and wrists on my laptop overheats ME.. just not very comfortable. Right now is no different but I just took a shower and am cool for the time being.
So much happens day to day that it's impossible to cover the past week+ that I havent written. Naturally, a few things stand out... Bowden had another go with the Red Sox; our office move got postponed (we, the employees, were told 7 days before we were all actually planning to move); Zink threw lots of strikes today; I helped cook/prepare a meal for the Lowell Spinners; Dustin Richardson got called up to Pawtucket from Portland; Junichi Tazawa established himself as THE MAN; Josh Reddick decided that he only likes to hit well in AA; I started packing up my room as i am vacating the premises for about 4 months; I started listening to Five Iron Frenzy and Relient K again with renewed fervor.
Alright, alright. I know that Bowden did pretty badly on Friday night. My story for the night goes something like this: Wakefield was slotted to pitch in Pawtucket that night, so naturally I was headed down after an early end to the work day (having to do with the crazy postponement of the move date)... it's around 3:30 or 4, and I'm about 5 minutes up I-95 from the spot that 95 splits off and heads towards Providence, when my phone buzzes that I have a text message from Twitter. I check it out only to find that it's something that the PawSox had posted: ****ROSTER MOVE**** Bowden promoted to Boston...... that was enough for me. I dont think I read one more word of that message. I blinked a few times, thought about how it really was going to be a shame to miss out on seeing Wake so close up, that I would really enjoy watching him from the bullpen before the game, that I'd have great pics of the occasion... and quickly (safely) crossed 3 lanes of traffic to pull off at the Westwood exit and turn around, heading north this time back towards Boston. I tried to find tickets, but it became more and more clear that the best deal I was going to get would be around $70. Uh, no thanks... if I dont find a deal I usually dont go, but I always find deals. It's not like it was the kid's debut- probably would have splurged then. Still, being home and not at McCoy meant that I could watch the game on TV. Even better, I thought to myself, would be to go out and enjoy the game away from home. (SO HOT HERE.) I spent much of the game at Tavern in the Square, where I had a light dinner and a beer and a bunch of big-screen TVs everywhere... the coolest part of it all was that right in front of me both the Sox/Yankees game and the Peabody MA/San Antonio TX Little League World Series game were being broadcast.. the TVs were side by side. Couldnt have been better. Those kids are really fun to watch. It was interesting watching how they handled the game emotionally- obviously none of them are physically developed at age 12.
Anyhow, as we all know, Penny was terrible. By the time Bowden came in in the 5th, things were already looking very very bad. Then Mikey proceeded to throw 63 pitches over the next 2 innings, throwing for strikes about half the time and ultimately allowing 7 runs. He was absolutely mauled. There were three different people at the Tavern who asked me at different points during those 63 pitches something to the effect of, "Who's this new pitcher? Why dont they take him out, because he's doing really badly..." And anyone who knows me would have been proud at how patiently and briefly and uninstigatorially (i believe i just created a word) I explained to all three strangers who Michael Bowden is. I didnt try to fight any of them. I didnt sing his praises (although I did promote him). Just figures that people decided to ask me about him and always added a tagline about how horribly he was faring. You know, I was hopeful the entire time. Not once did I think to myself, shoot, he's really done it now. I mean his 2nd pitch was jacked into the stands by Matsui. (Michael was not pleased with this. Anyone watching NESN got a silent glimpse into his thoughts at that moment in time. Lets just say that even "F***" is in its own way sentimental and not harsh when it comes from him while he's out there. When he shows that sort of emotion from the hill it's genuine and it also even simply means that he's feeling that affected and frustrated by whatever is going on.. he usually keeps it together pretty well. When he yells out there, I feel for him.) All along, I was waiting for something to click and for him to get his rhythm and command and go. Never really happened. He knew it, and now all short-sighted Red Sox fans who dont recall how he's served the Red Sox in the other two games he pitched in will forever remember how badly he sucked. What a tough place for development, especially when the expectations and plans that the organization has for you get distorted by the general media. Oh, by the way, he doesnt even turn 23 till September.
Ok, missy. Enough of all that. It's over. Last night I went to a Spinners game with 100 peppermint brownies in tow. A few months ago I had heard that the "Spinners Fan Club" provides home-cooked meals for both teams and the Spinners staff every Saturday that they play at home. It took this long, but finally I was able to get myself involved. The "Fan Club" consists of middle-aged and older folks. No one my age. Interesting dynamic actually. Anyhow, there were about 10 or so of us yesterday providing for 80 people (and then some, quite possibly). I had such a blast. I didnt talk to a single player, interestingly enough. That's because I was chatting with the other fan clubbers. They are quite the little family there... it reminded me of how the Church should feel. Everyone I talked to emphasized how they do what they do for the players and not for themselves (ie not so that they can get up close to the players), because a lot of the guys make next to nothing and cant afford or dont bother to eat well. Overwhelming to think about... people providing for other people just because. I'm around coworkers most of the day every day, and a lot of my coworkers very steadfastly believe that their life, their money, their time is theirs and theirs alone. People blink at me when I talk about volunteer work, or giving money to certain causes that I STRONGLY believe in (the same way I blink at them when I listen to them talk about living life selfishly). They just dont get it. So it was incredible to meet a group of strangers who took to me immediately, who all got along so well, who were all giving of themselves. That's love, plain and simple. I cant wait until next Saturday, which is unfortunately the last Saturday home game of the Spinners' season.
Today I went to McCoy. I dont like to do this, but nonetheless I keep counting down the days that remain as part of this super long homestand (11 games), and it stems from the anxiety of not making it to as many of the 11 games as I "feel that I should".. it's all psychological because I never had a plan for how many I'd be attending this homestand. I've only been to two I think, and something inside clearly feels like I'm wasting all of these home games. Definitely a few in my future this week. Today was lovely. I woke up, rolled out of bed, got a few things together, painted my toenails blue, and headed down the highway. General Admission was all there was when I got there, which was around 11:40am. I climbed the steps and hustled to the railing where the view opens up onto the outfield... beautiful day, sunny, hot, but with some clouds in the sky as well. These old-time teams were playing an exhibition game, and the Paw Sox pitchers were throwing in the outfield. (Almost) the first thing I noticed was that Dustin Richardson was out there in a Paw Sox uniform... I hadnt heard anything about this promotion but it must have happened sometime this weekend, as I would later see on the scoreboard when he came in for a few innings that he had pitched 1 game for Pawtucket prior to this one. About 5 minutes after I arrived, Bowden threw a side session in the pen, and then Richardson practiced switching his grips smoothly in his glove. I like listening to them talk with the pitching coach. I like the pitching coach (Rich Sauveur) period.. he's always friendly to me. Side sessions are never something I plan to watch, because I've never paid enough attention to when they happen (although Sundays seem to be a good bet, for starters), but they're definitely a bonus to watch. The view on either end - behind pitcher or catcher - is so unique.
Paw Sox took yet another loss. Their only win in the last 14 or 15 games was led by a shining performance from Tim Wakefield.. sad huh? Billy Traber pitched well enough, but then again, not well enough apparently. The most interesting thing that happened was Charlie Zink assuming a relief role. I had to look out across the field to the pen about 3 times before i really believed it. But he threw strikes, he struck a couple guys out over 2.1 innings. One earned run. He hit a batter with his first pitch :) that was a funny moment....
I've got Sox tickets for Wednesday vs the White Sox, Friday vs Toronto, and Sunday vs Toronto. I'm taking my grandma to her first game at Fenway that Sunday!! She watches all the games on TV, very much a fan. We have loge seats in line with the vistors' on-deck circle, 5th row. PERFECT. It will surely be a night to remember.
UGHHHHH! It's so hot, it's so hot it's so hot. too hot to straighten my hair, no matter the consequences tomorrow morning. bedtime.
So much happens day to day that it's impossible to cover the past week+ that I havent written. Naturally, a few things stand out... Bowden had another go with the Red Sox; our office move got postponed (we, the employees, were told 7 days before we were all actually planning to move); Zink threw lots of strikes today; I helped cook/prepare a meal for the Lowell Spinners; Dustin Richardson got called up to Pawtucket from Portland; Junichi Tazawa established himself as THE MAN; Josh Reddick decided that he only likes to hit well in AA; I started packing up my room as i am vacating the premises for about 4 months; I started listening to Five Iron Frenzy and Relient K again with renewed fervor.
Alright, alright. I know that Bowden did pretty badly on Friday night. My story for the night goes something like this: Wakefield was slotted to pitch in Pawtucket that night, so naturally I was headed down after an early end to the work day (having to do with the crazy postponement of the move date)... it's around 3:30 or 4, and I'm about 5 minutes up I-95 from the spot that 95 splits off and heads towards Providence, when my phone buzzes that I have a text message from Twitter. I check it out only to find that it's something that the PawSox had posted: ****ROSTER MOVE**** Bowden promoted to Boston...... that was enough for me. I dont think I read one more word of that message. I blinked a few times, thought about how it really was going to be a shame to miss out on seeing Wake so close up, that I would really enjoy watching him from the bullpen before the game, that I'd have great pics of the occasion... and quickly (safely) crossed 3 lanes of traffic to pull off at the Westwood exit and turn around, heading north this time back towards Boston. I tried to find tickets, but it became more and more clear that the best deal I was going to get would be around $70. Uh, no thanks... if I dont find a deal I usually dont go, but I always find deals. It's not like it was the kid's debut- probably would have splurged then. Still, being home and not at McCoy meant that I could watch the game on TV. Even better, I thought to myself, would be to go out and enjoy the game away from home. (SO HOT HERE.) I spent much of the game at Tavern in the Square, where I had a light dinner and a beer and a bunch of big-screen TVs everywhere... the coolest part of it all was that right in front of me both the Sox/Yankees game and the Peabody MA/San Antonio TX Little League World Series game were being broadcast.. the TVs were side by side. Couldnt have been better. Those kids are really fun to watch. It was interesting watching how they handled the game emotionally- obviously none of them are physically developed at age 12.
Anyhow, as we all know, Penny was terrible. By the time Bowden came in in the 5th, things were already looking very very bad. Then Mikey proceeded to throw 63 pitches over the next 2 innings, throwing for strikes about half the time and ultimately allowing 7 runs. He was absolutely mauled. There were three different people at the Tavern who asked me at different points during those 63 pitches something to the effect of, "Who's this new pitcher? Why dont they take him out, because he's doing really badly..." And anyone who knows me would have been proud at how patiently and briefly and uninstigatorially (i believe i just created a word) I explained to all three strangers who Michael Bowden is. I didnt try to fight any of them. I didnt sing his praises (although I did promote him). Just figures that people decided to ask me about him and always added a tagline about how horribly he was faring. You know, I was hopeful the entire time. Not once did I think to myself, shoot, he's really done it now. I mean his 2nd pitch was jacked into the stands by Matsui. (Michael was not pleased with this. Anyone watching NESN got a silent glimpse into his thoughts at that moment in time. Lets just say that even "F***" is in its own way sentimental and not harsh when it comes from him while he's out there. When he shows that sort of emotion from the hill it's genuine and it also even simply means that he's feeling that affected and frustrated by whatever is going on.. he usually keeps it together pretty well. When he yells out there, I feel for him.) All along, I was waiting for something to click and for him to get his rhythm and command and go. Never really happened. He knew it, and now all short-sighted Red Sox fans who dont recall how he's served the Red Sox in the other two games he pitched in will forever remember how badly he sucked. What a tough place for development, especially when the expectations and plans that the organization has for you get distorted by the general media. Oh, by the way, he doesnt even turn 23 till September.
Ok, missy. Enough of all that. It's over. Last night I went to a Spinners game with 100 peppermint brownies in tow. A few months ago I had heard that the "Spinners Fan Club" provides home-cooked meals for both teams and the Spinners staff every Saturday that they play at home. It took this long, but finally I was able to get myself involved. The "Fan Club" consists of middle-aged and older folks. No one my age. Interesting dynamic actually. Anyhow, there were about 10 or so of us yesterday providing for 80 people (and then some, quite possibly). I had such a blast. I didnt talk to a single player, interestingly enough. That's because I was chatting with the other fan clubbers. They are quite the little family there... it reminded me of how the Church should feel. Everyone I talked to emphasized how they do what they do for the players and not for themselves (ie not so that they can get up close to the players), because a lot of the guys make next to nothing and cant afford or dont bother to eat well. Overwhelming to think about... people providing for other people just because. I'm around coworkers most of the day every day, and a lot of my coworkers very steadfastly believe that their life, their money, their time is theirs and theirs alone. People blink at me when I talk about volunteer work, or giving money to certain causes that I STRONGLY believe in (the same way I blink at them when I listen to them talk about living life selfishly). They just dont get it. So it was incredible to meet a group of strangers who took to me immediately, who all got along so well, who were all giving of themselves. That's love, plain and simple. I cant wait until next Saturday, which is unfortunately the last Saturday home game of the Spinners' season.
Today I went to McCoy. I dont like to do this, but nonetheless I keep counting down the days that remain as part of this super long homestand (11 games), and it stems from the anxiety of not making it to as many of the 11 games as I "feel that I should".. it's all psychological because I never had a plan for how many I'd be attending this homestand. I've only been to two I think, and something inside clearly feels like I'm wasting all of these home games. Definitely a few in my future this week. Today was lovely. I woke up, rolled out of bed, got a few things together, painted my toenails blue, and headed down the highway. General Admission was all there was when I got there, which was around 11:40am. I climbed the steps and hustled to the railing where the view opens up onto the outfield... beautiful day, sunny, hot, but with some clouds in the sky as well. These old-time teams were playing an exhibition game, and the Paw Sox pitchers were throwing in the outfield. (Almost) the first thing I noticed was that Dustin Richardson was out there in a Paw Sox uniform... I hadnt heard anything about this promotion but it must have happened sometime this weekend, as I would later see on the scoreboard when he came in for a few innings that he had pitched 1 game for Pawtucket prior to this one. About 5 minutes after I arrived, Bowden threw a side session in the pen, and then Richardson practiced switching his grips smoothly in his glove. I like listening to them talk with the pitching coach. I like the pitching coach (Rich Sauveur) period.. he's always friendly to me. Side sessions are never something I plan to watch, because I've never paid enough attention to when they happen (although Sundays seem to be a good bet, for starters), but they're definitely a bonus to watch. The view on either end - behind pitcher or catcher - is so unique.
Paw Sox took yet another loss. Their only win in the last 14 or 15 games was led by a shining performance from Tim Wakefield.. sad huh? Billy Traber pitched well enough, but then again, not well enough apparently. The most interesting thing that happened was Charlie Zink assuming a relief role. I had to look out across the field to the pen about 3 times before i really believed it. But he threw strikes, he struck a couple guys out over 2.1 innings. One earned run. He hit a batter with his first pitch :) that was a funny moment....
I've got Sox tickets for Wednesday vs the White Sox, Friday vs Toronto, and Sunday vs Toronto. I'm taking my grandma to her first game at Fenway that Sunday!! She watches all the games on TV, very much a fan. We have loge seats in line with the vistors' on-deck circle, 5th row. PERFECT. It will surely be a night to remember.
UGHHHHH! It's so hot, it's so hot it's so hot. too hot to straighten my hair, no matter the consequences tomorrow morning. bedtime.
Friday, August 14, 2009
midday musings. just a couple of 'em.
Hi.
The lastest word on the street is that Chris Woodward will shortly be making way for Alex Gonzalez. Some sources are reporting that the Sox have acquired him, but espn.com still reads that they're "nearing" a deal for him. The dance of the shortstops positively confounds me. I know nothing of Alex Gonzalez, save for that he plays for the Reds and was with the Red Sox in 2006.. nor do I have the time to look him up right now, as I'm on a hastily-dwindling lunch break. I hope his defense is exponentially better than his offense (BA .210, OBP .258). But the word on Twitter is that people like this move, so that's sounding good to me right about now.
Zink is on the bump tonight. Can they come home yet? They've got another 4-game series away in Gwinnett. What's worse is that I have been in the mood for a Spinners game (i didnt really know that i had a Spinners mood until this past week..) but they too are on the road. I'm almost considering checking out the Brockton Rox... hahaha... they're probably gone too anyhow.
LETS GO LESTAH! Lets mess with TX.
The lastest word on the street is that Chris Woodward will shortly be making way for Alex Gonzalez. Some sources are reporting that the Sox have acquired him, but espn.com still reads that they're "nearing" a deal for him. The dance of the shortstops positively confounds me. I know nothing of Alex Gonzalez, save for that he plays for the Reds and was with the Red Sox in 2006.. nor do I have the time to look him up right now, as I'm on a hastily-dwindling lunch break. I hope his defense is exponentially better than his offense (BA .210, OBP .258). But the word on Twitter is that people like this move, so that's sounding good to me right about now.
Zink is on the bump tonight. Can they come home yet? They've got another 4-game series away in Gwinnett. What's worse is that I have been in the mood for a Spinners game (i didnt really know that i had a Spinners mood until this past week..) but they too are on the road. I'm almost considering checking out the Brockton Rox... hahaha... they're probably gone too anyhow.
LETS GO LESTAH! Lets mess with TX.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Futures At Fenway
Yippie! We won last night. Winning feels good every now and again. But backing things up a bit to this past weekend..
Futures was spectacular.
(almost an incredible picture huh? oh well. next year :) )
I was telling a friend last night that minor league ball is something i like studying and analyzing, but Red Sox baseball is what i get intense about. (he was questioning whether i was becoming more of a minor league fan than major league fan.) The Sea Dogs brought in a win, and Jason Place learned what it's like to jack one onto the Monster.
(taken at New Stars For Young Stars event, January 2009)
He must've felt cool after that. Having come face to face with a lot of Sea Dogs players in the past, I think of them as a very young team with a sort of cocky 19-20 year-old air. I know they're most of them 23-25 but that's how they've come off in my very limited experience. Still, the Sea Dogs will always be my home team and I enjoy each of the rare chances to watch their games that I am afforded these days. Jason Place, for the record, was a friendly, easy-going, smiley guy the one time I met him.
My friend Joe's parents are hosting one of the Bowie players but I dont think I got to see him that day. Someday, my family will DEFINITELY host a minor league ballplayer.
Between games there was a nice little reunion as a wave of Paw Sox players crashed into the Sea Dogs, who were evacuating the dugout. Iggy Suarez got the "I Get Around" award, as he was by far the most frequent hugger in the melee. They all mingled for a good 15 minutes. I stole away from my dugout view seating and headed off towards the bullpen as soon as I spotted number 16 and number 15 trekking, heads down, toward the bullpen in right field. We had been speculating about who would be starting- in advance, Tazawa was scheduled to go, but after his call-up, Gonzalez had the start... neither Kelly nor I knew whether the rumor that Gonzalez had been called up last-minute was true, and therefore the chosen starter for the home team was a mystery until that moment where pitcher and catcher were seen walking side-by-side with purpose toward the outfield.
Charlie Zink! (ok, funny enough, but "#15 and #16 (Pedroia and Zink)" are featured in this pic... though when I used that phrase above, i was referring to #15 Dusty Brown who catches #16Zink's knuckleball)
(taken at Spring Training in Fort Myers 2009)
(taken with my phone, July Paw Sox game at McCoy)
I become more and more enamored with the knuckleball every time I see it in action. What a cool pitch. Why dont more pitchers become adequate at throwing it? ...would be a nice surprise to send to batters a few times each game, keep 'em on their toes. Have I mentioned that here before? .. if I have, sorry for the repeat. Clearly, the sentiment still holds. Cha'lie didnt have his best game.. there was a bit of implosion in the 4th and the 6th before he came out.. but I was satisfied. Paw Sox pitchers are tough to gauge because they lack the support of a team that is going to stand strong behind them. The guys certainly dont hit, and tend to look very minor league-ish in the field at times as well. (Let it be known that they just turned 4 double plays in yesterday's game, however- only one of them being on a ground out!) I hate to sound like I'm down on them- I dont mind paying to watch them play, that's obvious. There have been some really bright spots this season, but there have been large lingering clouds too. Anyhow. Paw Sox lost to the Tides, but not before Sean Danielson was put in the game! Spike went 1-1 with a walk and a run!
(taken at McCoy; one of Youk's rehab games, 5.18.09)
(taken at McCoy; one of Youk's rehab games, 5.18.09)
Sean Danielson has this energy about him. Man I wish they'd play that guy. As everyone knows, it's TOUGH to come off the bench and perform as up to par. The first step to him playing more is being taken off the "infinity DL", which happened a short time ago. With guys getting called up rapid-fire these days, I imagine he'll be active for the last month of the season. What a hand he was dealt this season, definitely a shame. He was a great 1st base coach, but he should have been so much more.
[Josh Beckett kicked the tar out of the Tigers tonight... we won 8-2, and Beckett got his 14th win of the season. Bay went 3-3 with 2 walks, 2 doubles, and another homerun (2 runs, 2 rbi). Lowell went deep as well.]
[simultaneously, Adam Mills did not fare so well in his Paw Sox debut: 2 IP, 57 pitches/41 for strikes, 9 hits,5 earned runs, 1 BB, ERA.......... 22.50]
(taken during Spring Training in Fort Myers, Feb 2009)
AH! Michael Bowden did his thing vs the Charlotte Knights, going 5 innings, 88 pitches (59 for strikes) with no runs and only 3 hits given up. Yes, 3 bb, and only 4 k (both numbers lean towards the sub-par for him as he is known as more of a command guy)... but it led the Paw Sox to a victory, and a shutout at that. I cant speak to much more than his line stats as I wasnt watching it play out.
(taken at Spring Training in Fort Myers 2009)
Relieving to have another solid outing from him and I hope he is comfortable and ready once he gets the call... if not in August then certainly in Sept. If he makes it in the bigs, I will be rooting for him like I root for Petey and Bay.
I actually havent been to a Red Sox game since directly before the All Star Break. Yeah, can you believe it? I think I'm saving up for some nice seats once September hits and things start getting crazy, and all the minor leaguers come to Boston. That's going to be spectacular. It's been hard though, especially this series... I've had a pressing urge every day this week to hit the game after work and have been prowling craigslist. In the end though, I've talked myself out of it each and every time. AGH! Completely torn.. would definitely have gone if not for Futures this past weekend, when I got to hang out at Fenway all day of course. Oh well. Good things are coming, and soon.
(Spring Training 2009)
Futures was spectacular.
(almost an incredible picture huh? oh well. next year :) )
I was telling a friend last night that minor league ball is something i like studying and analyzing, but Red Sox baseball is what i get intense about. (he was questioning whether i was becoming more of a minor league fan than major league fan.) The Sea Dogs brought in a win, and Jason Place learned what it's like to jack one onto the Monster.
(taken at New Stars For Young Stars event, January 2009)
He must've felt cool after that. Having come face to face with a lot of Sea Dogs players in the past, I think of them as a very young team with a sort of cocky 19-20 year-old air. I know they're most of them 23-25 but that's how they've come off in my very limited experience. Still, the Sea Dogs will always be my home team and I enjoy each of the rare chances to watch their games that I am afforded these days. Jason Place, for the record, was a friendly, easy-going, smiley guy the one time I met him.
My friend Joe's parents are hosting one of the Bowie players but I dont think I got to see him that day. Someday, my family will DEFINITELY host a minor league ballplayer.
Between games there was a nice little reunion as a wave of Paw Sox players crashed into the Sea Dogs, who were evacuating the dugout. Iggy Suarez got the "I Get Around" award, as he was by far the most frequent hugger in the melee. They all mingled for a good 15 minutes. I stole away from my dugout view seating and headed off towards the bullpen as soon as I spotted number 16 and number 15 trekking, heads down, toward the bullpen in right field. We had been speculating about who would be starting- in advance, Tazawa was scheduled to go, but after his call-up, Gonzalez had the start... neither Kelly nor I knew whether the rumor that Gonzalez had been called up last-minute was true, and therefore the chosen starter for the home team was a mystery until that moment where pitcher and catcher were seen walking side-by-side with purpose toward the outfield.
Charlie Zink! (ok, funny enough, but "#15 and #16 (Pedroia and Zink)" are featured in this pic... though when I used that phrase above, i was referring to #15 Dusty Brown who catches #16Zink's knuckleball)
(taken at Spring Training in Fort Myers 2009)
(taken with my phone, July Paw Sox game at McCoy)
I become more and more enamored with the knuckleball every time I see it in action. What a cool pitch. Why dont more pitchers become adequate at throwing it? ...would be a nice surprise to send to batters a few times each game, keep 'em on their toes. Have I mentioned that here before? .. if I have, sorry for the repeat. Clearly, the sentiment still holds. Cha'lie didnt have his best game.. there was a bit of implosion in the 4th and the 6th before he came out.. but I was satisfied. Paw Sox pitchers are tough to gauge because they lack the support of a team that is going to stand strong behind them. The guys certainly dont hit, and tend to look very minor league-ish in the field at times as well. (Let it be known that they just turned 4 double plays in yesterday's game, however- only one of them being on a ground out!) I hate to sound like I'm down on them- I dont mind paying to watch them play, that's obvious. There have been some really bright spots this season, but there have been large lingering clouds too. Anyhow. Paw Sox lost to the Tides, but not before Sean Danielson was put in the game! Spike went 1-1 with a walk and a run!
(taken at McCoy; one of Youk's rehab games, 5.18.09)
(taken at McCoy; one of Youk's rehab games, 5.18.09)
Sean Danielson has this energy about him. Man I wish they'd play that guy. As everyone knows, it's TOUGH to come off the bench and perform as up to par. The first step to him playing more is being taken off the "infinity DL", which happened a short time ago. With guys getting called up rapid-fire these days, I imagine he'll be active for the last month of the season. What a hand he was dealt this season, definitely a shame. He was a great 1st base coach, but he should have been so much more.
[Josh Beckett kicked the tar out of the Tigers tonight... we won 8-2, and Beckett got his 14th win of the season. Bay went 3-3 with 2 walks, 2 doubles, and another homerun (2 runs, 2 rbi). Lowell went deep as well.]
[simultaneously, Adam Mills did not fare so well in his Paw Sox debut: 2 IP, 57 pitches/41 for strikes, 9 hits,5 earned runs, 1 BB, ERA.......... 22.50]
(taken during Spring Training in Fort Myers, Feb 2009)
AH! Michael Bowden did his thing vs the Charlotte Knights, going 5 innings, 88 pitches (59 for strikes) with no runs and only 3 hits given up. Yes, 3 bb, and only 4 k (both numbers lean towards the sub-par for him as he is known as more of a command guy)... but it led the Paw Sox to a victory, and a shutout at that. I cant speak to much more than his line stats as I wasnt watching it play out.
(taken at Spring Training in Fort Myers 2009)
Relieving to have another solid outing from him and I hope he is comfortable and ready once he gets the call... if not in August then certainly in Sept. If he makes it in the bigs, I will be rooting for him like I root for Petey and Bay.
I actually havent been to a Red Sox game since directly before the All Star Break. Yeah, can you believe it? I think I'm saving up for some nice seats once September hits and things start getting crazy, and all the minor leaguers come to Boston. That's going to be spectacular. It's been hard though, especially this series... I've had a pressing urge every day this week to hit the game after work and have been prowling craigslist. In the end though, I've talked myself out of it each and every time. AGH! Completely torn.. would definitely have gone if not for Futures this past weekend, when I got to hang out at Fenway all day of course. Oh well. Good things are coming, and soon.
(Spring Training 2009)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
A Great Weekend
well, tonight's game vs Detroit has been eventful so far. we're in the midst of a rain delay right now, but to offer a short recap- Junichi Tazawa made his major league debut as a starter and went 5 innings, 1 earned run. his line actually looks pretty good... 4 hits, 2 bb, 6 k.. he threw 35 pitches in the first inning (actually, this was due to not one but TWO botched double plays, one of which was a complete wreck and the other which was broken up by a runner sliding into... shortstop? it definitely wasnt even close to second base and it kept Petey off-balance). he definitely got better as the game went on, and hey, you cant expect super solid performance can you? it's a big transition for a pitcher from AAA to the majors. what a strange game though. they scored 3 runs in the first inning and left us all with pits in our stomachs, thinking of our anemic-as-of-late offense. tazawa was throwing strikes but wasnt overpowering the tigers. bottom of the first and we did nothing. 2nd inning... bay with the 3-run homerun to tie it up. Jason Bay is a fixture favorite, and by that I mean that I know I'll be rooting for him for the rest of my life. Same with Pedroia, although Petey came first. Red Sox uniform or no, Bay and Petey are such likable characters and they make the game exciting.
Before I move on... there was a detroit batter just barely hit on the hand (well, it was just an out of control pitch delivered by a big-league first-timer... come on) and then an inside pitch to victor martinez in retaliation... and then... Porcello DRILLS Youk in the back. And there was no question, Youk was out of the batters box just like that, charging the mound. Porcello looked a little terrified and i dont blame him for it. No damage done in the end but Youk made it to him (you should have seen him go) and they were both on the ground by the time everyone else got to them.
Mikey Lowell came off the bench and hit 2 homeruns.
It's getting late now. Friday was the Paw Sox, and what do you know... we won. Futures at Fenway happened all day Saturday... and now I wish that they'd have a minor league game at Fenway every week. My ticketed seat somehow ended up being the one directly behind Kelly O'Connor who is the photographer behind www.sittingstill.net and who I've known online for about half a year. She had some great camera tips (our cameras are similar.. our zoom capabilities are not!!) and it was refreshing to talk casually with another woman who really just knows baseball. I'll have to jot down some highlights tomorrow because I'm fading fast and there are two games to summarize. I'll try to throw some pictures on here too.
Night.
Before I move on... there was a detroit batter just barely hit on the hand (well, it was just an out of control pitch delivered by a big-league first-timer... come on) and then an inside pitch to victor martinez in retaliation... and then... Porcello DRILLS Youk in the back. And there was no question, Youk was out of the batters box just like that, charging the mound. Porcello looked a little terrified and i dont blame him for it. No damage done in the end but Youk made it to him (you should have seen him go) and they were both on the ground by the time everyone else got to them.
Mikey Lowell came off the bench and hit 2 homeruns.
It's getting late now. Friday was the Paw Sox, and what do you know... we won. Futures at Fenway happened all day Saturday... and now I wish that they'd have a minor league game at Fenway every week. My ticketed seat somehow ended up being the one directly behind Kelly O'Connor who is the photographer behind www.sittingstill.net and who I've known online for about half a year. She had some great camera tips (our cameras are similar.. our zoom capabilities are not!!) and it was refreshing to talk casually with another woman who really just knows baseball. I'll have to jot down some highlights tomorrow because I'm fading fast and there are two games to summarize. I'll try to throw some pictures on here too.
Night.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Stupid computers.
...I went to change the song on my coworker's ipod, and when i turned back to my screen my entire entry (maybe 3 or 4 large paragraphs) were no longer there. There was no "undo" option... so in my frustration, I'm going to get up and get outta here. Paw Sox tonight. Just want to say that Adam Mills (Sea Dogs) is the man, pitching 8 strong innings last night for the win. Nice job. Red Sox/Yankees could be a disaster this time around. Who will be up to stay sooner... Bowden or Tazawa? Tazawa's with the big club tonight.
End of the DAY!
[[edit: cool. i should have thought that blogspot would save this for me. this is the post that was assumed dead, re: the one above this one where I state that what i had typed somewhat magically disappeared when i turned away]]
OOh boy, so excited to get outta here and head south to McCoy. Get myself a Pedroia "replica jersey". Do some scoring. Sit out in the beautiful fading evening. Welcome to the weekend! Clearly, I am so stoked to be away from the office for a few days. Today several things went down that, as of yet, have not caused any serious explosions... but we were all bracing for it, and so being tense for 7.5 hours has been stressful enough without any real fall out occuring. We're also moving our office space across town. We're ALSO upgrading our computer system from prehistoric to early 2000's (huge improvement if you think about it). My boss is also moving (from her house to another, which she is customizing and having terrible luck with). There are about 3 other serious big crazy happenings right now without the events of today.
I'M LOVIN BILLY OCEAN.
Another Sea Dogs win last night... Adam Mills!! He's lookin as good as anyone is right about now. 8 strong innings. Not bad. Red Sox/Yankees game was a different story but I'm not
OOh boy, so excited to get outta here and head south to McCoy. Get myself a Pedroia "replica jersey". Do some scoring. Sit out in the beautiful fading evening. Welcome to the weekend! Clearly, I am so stoked to be away from the office for a few days. Today several things went down that, as of yet, have not caused any serious explosions... but we were all bracing for it, and so being tense for 7.5 hours has been stressful enough without any real fall out occuring. We're also moving our office space across town. We're ALSO upgrading our computer system from prehistoric to early 2000's (huge improvement if you think about it). My boss is also moving (from her house to another, which she is customizing and having terrible luck with). There are about 3 other serious big crazy happenings right now without the events of today.
I'M LOVIN BILLY OCEAN.
Another Sea Dogs win last night... Adam Mills!! He's lookin as good as anyone is right about now. 8 strong innings. Not bad. Red Sox/Yankees game was a different story but I'm not
Thursday, August 6, 2009
For Once, It's A Little TOO Bright Outside
Ughhh. Kids my age seem to have this desire to participate in activities that have physical backlashes. I'm no different but instead of having hangovers a couple times a week (or.. ever) I run myself ragged into the night driving across state borders. My head is killing me and my eyes are dry to the point where I have been sitting at my desk and closing one eye for a handful of seconds, then switching to the other eye, in a creative attempt to allow myself to still work while alleviating my dry, sore eyes.
I took yesterday off from work to head up to Maine. It's silly that a bobblehead giveaway would be such a long-anticipated event, but I'd be lying if I said that I hadnt been counting on going since.. man, must be since April, whenever they released the promotions schedule for the Portland Sea Dogs. In fact, to give you a wider scope of things, I had a pretty aggressive schedule planned out at the beginning of the season which was going to allow my Bobblehead Alley to increase exponentially in size. So far, with work and traffic after work, I've only managed to collect two of the bobbleheads I had set my eyes upon- a Petey from Lowell and a Bowden from Portland (last night). I've missed 2 Lowries and 2 Mastersons (and a few others which were never part of my plan to begin with). As it stands, Bobblehead Alley consists of a Bowden, a Youk, and 4 Peteys (a 5th still in its box tucked away; all of them are unique, no repeats!)
Anyway, having Wednesday off split my week up very nicely. My dad paid me to run around Cumberland, ME taking pictures of area businesses for a website. I got my bobblehead, and I got my Sea Dogs Biscuit. I even got a win from the guys, 9-0. Will see them again this Saturday at Futures At Fenway.
My birthday was spectacular. Not only did I have a great (short) day at work, but I won 4 passes to a special season ticket holders/players' guests only Patriots practice for tonight (Thursday, 7pm), spent time with some of my favorite people, viewed a close game (to ask for a win would be far too much with the Paw Sox), had my first beer-at-a-ballpark (terrible), and had my name put up on the scoreboard!! Yeah, that was a big surprise.. I didnt know it was coming and all of a sudden my friends (there were 8 of us) are yelling and pointing towards the scoreboard. I had half a cup of beer in me which enabled me to be more excited than the little kid who was having his own birthday party 3 rows in front of us. More than anything, it was just very thoughtful.
Tonight, Patriots. Tomorrow, Pawtucket for the Pedroia Replica Jersey promotion (yessss!)... then Saturday is Futures, right by the home team's on-deck circle, a few rows back from the field.
Time to work.
I took yesterday off from work to head up to Maine. It's silly that a bobblehead giveaway would be such a long-anticipated event, but I'd be lying if I said that I hadnt been counting on going since.. man, must be since April, whenever they released the promotions schedule for the Portland Sea Dogs. In fact, to give you a wider scope of things, I had a pretty aggressive schedule planned out at the beginning of the season which was going to allow my Bobblehead Alley to increase exponentially in size. So far, with work and traffic after work, I've only managed to collect two of the bobbleheads I had set my eyes upon- a Petey from Lowell and a Bowden from Portland (last night). I've missed 2 Lowries and 2 Mastersons (and a few others which were never part of my plan to begin with). As it stands, Bobblehead Alley consists of a Bowden, a Youk, and 4 Peteys (a 5th still in its box tucked away; all of them are unique, no repeats!)
Anyway, having Wednesday off split my week up very nicely. My dad paid me to run around Cumberland, ME taking pictures of area businesses for a website. I got my bobblehead, and I got my Sea Dogs Biscuit. I even got a win from the guys, 9-0. Will see them again this Saturday at Futures At Fenway.
My birthday was spectacular. Not only did I have a great (short) day at work, but I won 4 passes to a special season ticket holders/players' guests only Patriots practice for tonight (Thursday, 7pm), spent time with some of my favorite people, viewed a close game (to ask for a win would be far too much with the Paw Sox), had my first beer-at-a-ballpark (terrible), and had my name put up on the scoreboard!! Yeah, that was a big surprise.. I didnt know it was coming and all of a sudden my friends (there were 8 of us) are yelling and pointing towards the scoreboard. I had half a cup of beer in me which enabled me to be more excited than the little kid who was having his own birthday party 3 rows in front of us. More than anything, it was just very thoughtful.
Tonight, Patriots. Tomorrow, Pawtucket for the Pedroia Replica Jersey promotion (yessss!)... then Saturday is Futures, right by the home team's on-deck circle, a few rows back from the field.
Time to work.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The Grave That I'm Digging Is For Me, Of Course..
Explaining how my friday/trade deadline day went would only serve to paint me in an over-dramatic light. (Most of the time if i'm acting over-dramatic it's for comedic value, but once in a while something gets me genuinely riled up.) I was exceedingly anxious, and that's where I'll leave it.
When you like pretty much everyone on your team, no trade is going to leave you feeling 100% without regret or emotion. Add to that an extreme awareness of and interest in the general scope of players in Lowell, Portland, and Pawtucket, and while everyone around Boston is feeling like we've gotten by unscathed with a trade, I've got definite pangs of sorrow. Victor Martinez is a great acquisition for the Red Sox, but Justin Masterson, well, you wont find a human being who has a better heart. All of my interactions with him have been on the superficial level because we're not pals. Still, he has a way of turning even the superficial into the personal- anyone can tell this just by watching his interviews and seeing how he interacts with the people questioning him. He and Meryl (his wife) are not only agreeable, cordial, joyful people, but great role models and great examples of Christianity in action. In an "exit interview" shortly after learning that he'd been traded, Justin was noticeably disappointed but in describing his outlook on the future he said that his ultimate goal is to impact people's lives positively, and that the move to Cleveland will present him with a new venue in which, a new crowd with which to do so. He's a cool cat.
Nick Hagadone... had heard great things, but it was too early to get overly attached. Thankfully, I can easily find solace there in the fact that so much happens developmentally between Single-A (where he had been) and the bigs that his projected greatness could still only be just that- a far off projection.
Bryan Price... same thing, but I hardly knew of him.
The fact is, we made out like bandits acquiring VMart for the guys we sent to Cleveland. Could have been so much worse. I'm really not complaining but giving due homage to Justin. He's blessed in the way that he'll be loved wherever he goes.
I got a small dose of Soul Fest this year... went up on Friday night and stayed through this morning. This year was the worst in every way, hands down. I wasnt there for the entire time (it started on Wednesday, ended Saturday night) but my experience (or sense, where i lacked actual first-hand experience), was that a lot of things had changed organizationally and musically for the worse. Oh well- ever since the demise of Five Iron Frenzy and the evacuation of Relient K, it has never been the same for me. Still, I attend so I can catch up with the singer/songwriters I only see once or twice annually. The Sanctus Real show was stellar, as were the few sets I caught that involved my friend Brant and my longtime (holy smokes, 8 or 9 years now!) acquaintance Justin. Beyond that, it was slim pickin's. Inside Out Soul Fest (before it was shortened to Soul Fest) was the single most influential, impactful, important event on my calendar year after year while I was in high school and college. I became who I am in large part thanks to IOSF, so I'm certainly not just trying to be critical. I've been going for 9 years and I've seen many versions of the event as things have changed a little bit, or in some cases a-lotta-bit. They're going to have to backtrack next year. Sometime when I'm in the writing mood and I've got time, I'll post about the IOSF of old. I wish I wasnt far from God right now. I think back to my "youth", and even just so far back as 6 months ago, and wonder why it is that we are so prone to walk away. How do we get far off the path we were on, and once we realize where we've strayed, how do we find it again? I dont converse with God regularly, but otherwise my behavior isnt/actions arent wild or dangerous or altered. I've never been interested in being wild. I dont find drinking/drugs/promiscuity freeing, and in fact it seems the opposite to me because, talk about chains, talk about being bound, those are all examples of easy ways to tie yourself up and into a serious mess. Jason Upton, a worship leader at the fest, said something to the effect of, Dont mistake man's approval for God's. It was very striking for me to hear that. I wear a ring on my left hand that used to remind me constantly that I am free from the expectations of those around me. It used to work very effectively as a symbol of the freedom that Jesus Christ has offered to me- the freedom to choose how I live my life (by the way, Christians are free to drink/swear/etc, it's just that a lot of us dont find excessive use of any of those things to be productive.. I enjoy me a good beer and I definitely let some of my strong thoughts fly when Michael Bowden is getting hit hard, for example :) ) with the condition that my choices lead me towards Him. (Hint- God is Love. if the main goal and commandment is to Love God with all your heart/soul/strength/mind, this to me means loving and pursuing what He's interested in, which is -in its most basic form- loving people. For God so loved the world... )
These days, I absolutely covet the approval, the alignment of my actions/plans with those of the people around me. That has led to so much confusion over what and who I should spend my time on, what I should become knowledgeable about, and let me tell you- I could have guessed it had I seen it coming, but the people around me (coworkers, friends outside the church) unspokenly agree that the things God cares about are not the things I need to be concerned with. I have not conformed entirely to life without God (what is life without God? what does that even mean? God is or He isnt, and He certainly is, of that I am sure forever, no matter what turns my life takes). Still, the things I was passionate about- involvement at the Vineyard, involvement with Not For Sale or Love146, a desire to see the end of homelessness in my city... eh. That's a memory. What I know for sure is that I need to get back to that place because THAT is who i am, and that is who i want to be. I know too many people who are content (and even more than that- who dont fathom any different life) to live solely for themselves. That idea has never once been an option in my mind, no matter how selfishly I have lived for the past 3 or so months- I cant imagine the world without compassion and unprecedented, undeserved love. At the crux of Christianity is the Truth that God has created and therefore knows the heart of each person (regardless of whether you know Him too), and that He passionately desires each heart to receive the uncalled-for, empowering, father-like, bold, unstoppable, and fearless Love that He's offering. A beautiful aspect of that Love is that it drives us to love others. What does all of that mean? you might wonder. God is offering us love? What about money, success, etc? ...those things might seem more useful when you lack them (or rather when you feel like you lack them- it's all relative, remember... any of us in the USA are wealthy beyond imagining by the standards of those in third-world countries). I would argue that those things dont make or break how fulfilled you are (happiness is usually the word to use here, but happiness is fleeting, volatile, and really irrelevant- if you have all of the nice clothes you desire but there are 10's or 100's of slaves who have manufactured/sewed/whatever'd your clothes, good job. you're happy. and you're also adding to the human bondage/trafficking market). I cant even say that I dont shop at certain places that are known to exploit workers... for all that I care about the issue, I am not close to being free from feeding the fire, so to speak. Dont let anyone tell you that churches are hypocrite-free. We're all hypocrites, and in particular, any Christian who thinks that going to church and even following as best they can the teachings of Jesus sets them above/apart from others has another thing coming. This kind of elitism is one of the stereotypical tendencies among pockets of Christianity that makes me smack my forehead. The Bible makes it painfully clear that we're not perfect no matter if we call ourselves Christians or not, so I'm not sure where the idea that church is for people who have it all together came from.
Human interaction, creating and nurturing relationships, now that's what's going to bring Heaven to Earth. At 1am, this all looks far too simplified. It's tough to write about faith because there are so many questions surrounding it and so many tangents to run off on. Also... I'm simply not the best "explainer" and I certainly dont profess to have all of the answers. I simply have my own experience, along with the experiences of those with whom I'm close and the need I see in the world for the gifts of fantastic Love and Mercy that we've been offered, to work off of.
Hmm. I feel like so many people out there are ready to verbally pound anyone who simply talks about this stuff and I'm a little weary of feeling uncomfortable/even on eggshells talking about this major part of who I am. I'm not good at talking about it, that's the thing- so I'd welcome open dialogue with anyone who wants to talk about faith, religion (something i often find myself steering clear of- but has it been meaningful to you?), spirituality... the only rule is that there's no maliciousness involved in the conversation. Honesty/personal good or bad experiences, on the other hand, will not only be accepted but encouraged, and will be handled without any offense taken.
Well, what can I say? I officially turn 24 at 1:07am or thereabouts, i believe. August 3rd. It's a great day for a birthday :) PawSox tonight (it's officially the 3rd even though it's not yet day) with some good friends... no work for me on Wednesday as I hike up I-95 for Bowden Bobblehead night at the SeaDogs... Futures at Fenway on Saturday... and a few things in between all of that! Good night.
When you like pretty much everyone on your team, no trade is going to leave you feeling 100% without regret or emotion. Add to that an extreme awareness of and interest in the general scope of players in Lowell, Portland, and Pawtucket, and while everyone around Boston is feeling like we've gotten by unscathed with a trade, I've got definite pangs of sorrow. Victor Martinez is a great acquisition for the Red Sox, but Justin Masterson, well, you wont find a human being who has a better heart. All of my interactions with him have been on the superficial level because we're not pals. Still, he has a way of turning even the superficial into the personal- anyone can tell this just by watching his interviews and seeing how he interacts with the people questioning him. He and Meryl (his wife) are not only agreeable, cordial, joyful people, but great role models and great examples of Christianity in action. In an "exit interview" shortly after learning that he'd been traded, Justin was noticeably disappointed but in describing his outlook on the future he said that his ultimate goal is to impact people's lives positively, and that the move to Cleveland will present him with a new venue in which, a new crowd with which to do so. He's a cool cat.
Nick Hagadone... had heard great things, but it was too early to get overly attached. Thankfully, I can easily find solace there in the fact that so much happens developmentally between Single-A (where he had been) and the bigs that his projected greatness could still only be just that- a far off projection.
Bryan Price... same thing, but I hardly knew of him.
The fact is, we made out like bandits acquiring VMart for the guys we sent to Cleveland. Could have been so much worse. I'm really not complaining but giving due homage to Justin. He's blessed in the way that he'll be loved wherever he goes.
I got a small dose of Soul Fest this year... went up on Friday night and stayed through this morning. This year was the worst in every way, hands down. I wasnt there for the entire time (it started on Wednesday, ended Saturday night) but my experience (or sense, where i lacked actual first-hand experience), was that a lot of things had changed organizationally and musically for the worse. Oh well- ever since the demise of Five Iron Frenzy and the evacuation of Relient K, it has never been the same for me. Still, I attend so I can catch up with the singer/songwriters I only see once or twice annually. The Sanctus Real show was stellar, as were the few sets I caught that involved my friend Brant and my longtime (holy smokes, 8 or 9 years now!) acquaintance Justin. Beyond that, it was slim pickin's. Inside Out Soul Fest (before it was shortened to Soul Fest) was the single most influential, impactful, important event on my calendar year after year while I was in high school and college. I became who I am in large part thanks to IOSF, so I'm certainly not just trying to be critical. I've been going for 9 years and I've seen many versions of the event as things have changed a little bit, or in some cases a-lotta-bit. They're going to have to backtrack next year. Sometime when I'm in the writing mood and I've got time, I'll post about the IOSF of old. I wish I wasnt far from God right now. I think back to my "youth", and even just so far back as 6 months ago, and wonder why it is that we are so prone to walk away. How do we get far off the path we were on, and once we realize where we've strayed, how do we find it again? I dont converse with God regularly, but otherwise my behavior isnt/actions arent wild or dangerous or altered. I've never been interested in being wild. I dont find drinking/drugs/promiscuity freeing, and in fact it seems the opposite to me because, talk about chains, talk about being bound, those are all examples of easy ways to tie yourself up and into a serious mess. Jason Upton, a worship leader at the fest, said something to the effect of, Dont mistake man's approval for God's. It was very striking for me to hear that. I wear a ring on my left hand that used to remind me constantly that I am free from the expectations of those around me. It used to work very effectively as a symbol of the freedom that Jesus Christ has offered to me- the freedom to choose how I live my life (by the way, Christians are free to drink/swear/etc, it's just that a lot of us dont find excessive use of any of those things to be productive.. I enjoy me a good beer and I definitely let some of my strong thoughts fly when Michael Bowden is getting hit hard, for example :) ) with the condition that my choices lead me towards Him. (Hint- God is Love. if the main goal and commandment is to Love God with all your heart/soul/strength/mind, this to me means loving and pursuing what He's interested in, which is -in its most basic form- loving people. For God so loved the world... )
These days, I absolutely covet the approval, the alignment of my actions/plans with those of the people around me. That has led to so much confusion over what and who I should spend my time on, what I should become knowledgeable about, and let me tell you- I could have guessed it had I seen it coming, but the people around me (coworkers, friends outside the church) unspokenly agree that the things God cares about are not the things I need to be concerned with. I have not conformed entirely to life without God (what is life without God? what does that even mean? God is or He isnt, and He certainly is, of that I am sure forever, no matter what turns my life takes). Still, the things I was passionate about- involvement at the Vineyard, involvement with Not For Sale or Love146, a desire to see the end of homelessness in my city... eh. That's a memory. What I know for sure is that I need to get back to that place because THAT is who i am, and that is who i want to be. I know too many people who are content (and even more than that- who dont fathom any different life) to live solely for themselves. That idea has never once been an option in my mind, no matter how selfishly I have lived for the past 3 or so months- I cant imagine the world without compassion and unprecedented, undeserved love. At the crux of Christianity is the Truth that God has created and therefore knows the heart of each person (regardless of whether you know Him too), and that He passionately desires each heart to receive the uncalled-for, empowering, father-like, bold, unstoppable, and fearless Love that He's offering. A beautiful aspect of that Love is that it drives us to love others. What does all of that mean? you might wonder. God is offering us love? What about money, success, etc? ...those things might seem more useful when you lack them (or rather when you feel like you lack them- it's all relative, remember... any of us in the USA are wealthy beyond imagining by the standards of those in third-world countries). I would argue that those things dont make or break how fulfilled you are (happiness is usually the word to use here, but happiness is fleeting, volatile, and really irrelevant- if you have all of the nice clothes you desire but there are 10's or 100's of slaves who have manufactured/sewed/whatever'd your clothes, good job. you're happy. and you're also adding to the human bondage/trafficking market). I cant even say that I dont shop at certain places that are known to exploit workers... for all that I care about the issue, I am not close to being free from feeding the fire, so to speak. Dont let anyone tell you that churches are hypocrite-free. We're all hypocrites, and in particular, any Christian who thinks that going to church and even following as best they can the teachings of Jesus sets them above/apart from others has another thing coming. This kind of elitism is one of the stereotypical tendencies among pockets of Christianity that makes me smack my forehead. The Bible makes it painfully clear that we're not perfect no matter if we call ourselves Christians or not, so I'm not sure where the idea that church is for people who have it all together came from.
Human interaction, creating and nurturing relationships, now that's what's going to bring Heaven to Earth. At 1am, this all looks far too simplified. It's tough to write about faith because there are so many questions surrounding it and so many tangents to run off on. Also... I'm simply not the best "explainer" and I certainly dont profess to have all of the answers. I simply have my own experience, along with the experiences of those with whom I'm close and the need I see in the world for the gifts of fantastic Love and Mercy that we've been offered, to work off of.
Hmm. I feel like so many people out there are ready to verbally pound anyone who simply talks about this stuff and I'm a little weary of feeling uncomfortable/even on eggshells talking about this major part of who I am. I'm not good at talking about it, that's the thing- so I'd welcome open dialogue with anyone who wants to talk about faith, religion (something i often find myself steering clear of- but has it been meaningful to you?), spirituality... the only rule is that there's no maliciousness involved in the conversation. Honesty/personal good or bad experiences, on the other hand, will not only be accepted but encouraged, and will be handled without any offense taken.
Well, what can I say? I officially turn 24 at 1:07am or thereabouts, i believe. August 3rd. It's a great day for a birthday :) PawSox tonight (it's officially the 3rd even though it's not yet day) with some good friends... no work for me on Wednesday as I hike up I-95 for Bowden Bobblehead night at the SeaDogs... Futures at Fenway on Saturday... and a few things in between all of that! Good night.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Richie Lentz
so i'm on a time crunch again, but here it is:
My friend Victor is still laughing about this moment in time. Victor, Roshan, and I had made the trek up to Manchester to see the Fishercats take on the visiting Sea Dogs (my home team... Maine will always be home). John Smoltz was making a rehab start for Portland that night and the three of us decided we had to be there. We get to the park and scalp some $5 tickets which end up being wayyyyyy out in left field. I dont know if i have ever felt farther from home plate in my life, save for during the offseason. We're about 8 rows back from the field and the visiting bullpen is right there, one of those open spaces that's simply a mound and a plate in foul territory. The guys are all sitting on a bench 2 feet in front of the first row of seats. Smoltz pitches about 4 innings that night, then hits the showers... the entire stadium clears out. Especially our section as it's so far from the action. The three of us decide to move down into the first row because we're all experiencing varying amounts of intrigue at the relievers being right there.
We sit down right behind the guys. Can hear them talking and no doubt they can hear us talking even better. I notice pretty quickly that Richie Lentz and Dustin Richardson are among the relievers, both of whom I had seen during a Jimmy Fund event this past winter. Roshan had gotten his pic taken with Dustin; I had spoken like a chatterbox with Richie, fast and furious. The other guys, I was struggling to recognize and cant remember who else I noticed there.
Before I went to the Jimmy Fund event, which was based around bowling and meet'n'greet prospects-style, I had looked up all the guys I was going to be coming into contact with. As I researched Richie a bit, I found his personal site and noticed that the song playing on his page was by a Christian worship/rock bank called Hillsong. Huh, pretty random, kind of obscure, definitely not what I expected to find on this minor leaguer's homepage. When I met him, I mentioned that we had a shared favorite band... especially at the time, Hillsong was really all that I was listening to. Hillsong and whatever they decided to play at Fenway. He was just as surprised at my mentioning it as I was to have discovered the common ground in the first place, and told me he'd never heard that one before.
yadda yadda yadda, skip to the game in Manchester... there he is, and I know that every guy I met at that Jimmy Fund event has remembered me from then on (Bard, Masterson, Bowden, Reddick, Anderson, Kottaras, Carter, etc) but still dont presume that this will be the case when I come upon most of them. So I dont say anything, and after all, it's the middle of a game, definitely not the time to be starting up a conversation. These little kids next to us are being really rambunctious, talking serious smack to Roshan especially for whatever reason and he is responding... well, one of the little guys directs his attention at me: "Hey, how'd you get these seats anyhow?" ...as if they were great seats, which I dont consider them to be. I laugh a little, and he goes on, "Do you know the players or something?" And I laugh a little more. I had told Victor (roshan knew as he was with me at the Jimmy Fund event) about when I had met Richie once I noticed him sitting in the bullpen. Very amused at this point, I dont really respond to the kid because of the way he's saying the things he's saying- he's clearly just being fresh. Victor shoots back at the kid with, "Yeah, she does actually" and I just have to roll my eyes... Roshan is 30, Victor is 21, and they are baiting 10 year old boys. The boy looks at me unbelievingly, of course, and says "No you dont"... then, "Who (of the players) gave you the tickets?" I smile, and before I can say anything the boy adds, "Who's that?" and he points directly at Richie. HAH! I tell him it's Richie Lentz... and it's a little awkward, as Richie is essentially a part of the conversation, he's sitting so close. I can all but see his ears perk up as his name is mentioned. The kid is not buying it, and presses for further information. I'm trying not to crack up at this point because i feel stuck between this kid (who is comically aggressive) and richie (who is surely listening to me talk about him), with my 2 friends watching from the sidelines. I tell the kid that I know that Richie likes Hillsong, and immediately Richie cranes his head around to face me, an unforgettable wide smile spread wide across his face. "I knew I recognized you." A little bit of chat, some laughter, and to be honest I figured he'd at least recognize my face but I know that my friends were impressed or surprised. AND, haha, the kids were dumbstruck. That was by far the best part. The silence that ensued.
So thanks Richie. You made my day. My friends still laugh about that incident. Good to literally just see you last night, glad your rehab stint is coming to an end, and maybe I'll see you in Portland on Wednesday!
My friend Victor is still laughing about this moment in time. Victor, Roshan, and I had made the trek up to Manchester to see the Fishercats take on the visiting Sea Dogs (my home team... Maine will always be home). John Smoltz was making a rehab start for Portland that night and the three of us decided we had to be there. We get to the park and scalp some $5 tickets which end up being wayyyyyy out in left field. I dont know if i have ever felt farther from home plate in my life, save for during the offseason. We're about 8 rows back from the field and the visiting bullpen is right there, one of those open spaces that's simply a mound and a plate in foul territory. The guys are all sitting on a bench 2 feet in front of the first row of seats. Smoltz pitches about 4 innings that night, then hits the showers... the entire stadium clears out. Especially our section as it's so far from the action. The three of us decide to move down into the first row because we're all experiencing varying amounts of intrigue at the relievers being right there.
We sit down right behind the guys. Can hear them talking and no doubt they can hear us talking even better. I notice pretty quickly that Richie Lentz and Dustin Richardson are among the relievers, both of whom I had seen during a Jimmy Fund event this past winter. Roshan had gotten his pic taken with Dustin; I had spoken like a chatterbox with Richie, fast and furious. The other guys, I was struggling to recognize and cant remember who else I noticed there.
Before I went to the Jimmy Fund event, which was based around bowling and meet'n'greet prospects-style, I had looked up all the guys I was going to be coming into contact with. As I researched Richie a bit, I found his personal site and noticed that the song playing on his page was by a Christian worship/rock bank called Hillsong. Huh, pretty random, kind of obscure, definitely not what I expected to find on this minor leaguer's homepage. When I met him, I mentioned that we had a shared favorite band... especially at the time, Hillsong was really all that I was listening to. Hillsong and whatever they decided to play at Fenway. He was just as surprised at my mentioning it as I was to have discovered the common ground in the first place, and told me he'd never heard that one before.
yadda yadda yadda, skip to the game in Manchester... there he is, and I know that every guy I met at that Jimmy Fund event has remembered me from then on (Bard, Masterson, Bowden, Reddick, Anderson, Kottaras, Carter, etc) but still dont presume that this will be the case when I come upon most of them. So I dont say anything, and after all, it's the middle of a game, definitely not the time to be starting up a conversation. These little kids next to us are being really rambunctious, talking serious smack to Roshan especially for whatever reason and he is responding... well, one of the little guys directs his attention at me: "Hey, how'd you get these seats anyhow?" ...as if they were great seats, which I dont consider them to be. I laugh a little, and he goes on, "Do you know the players or something?" And I laugh a little more. I had told Victor (roshan knew as he was with me at the Jimmy Fund event) about when I had met Richie once I noticed him sitting in the bullpen. Very amused at this point, I dont really respond to the kid because of the way he's saying the things he's saying- he's clearly just being fresh. Victor shoots back at the kid with, "Yeah, she does actually" and I just have to roll my eyes... Roshan is 30, Victor is 21, and they are baiting 10 year old boys. The boy looks at me unbelievingly, of course, and says "No you dont"... then, "Who (of the players) gave you the tickets?" I smile, and before I can say anything the boy adds, "Who's that?" and he points directly at Richie. HAH! I tell him it's Richie Lentz... and it's a little awkward, as Richie is essentially a part of the conversation, he's sitting so close. I can all but see his ears perk up as his name is mentioned. The kid is not buying it, and presses for further information. I'm trying not to crack up at this point because i feel stuck between this kid (who is comically aggressive) and richie (who is surely listening to me talk about him), with my 2 friends watching from the sidelines. I tell the kid that I know that Richie likes Hillsong, and immediately Richie cranes his head around to face me, an unforgettable wide smile spread wide across his face. "I knew I recognized you." A little bit of chat, some laughter, and to be honest I figured he'd at least recognize my face but I know that my friends were impressed or surprised. AND, haha, the kids were dumbstruck. That was by far the best part. The silence that ensued.
So thanks Richie. You made my day. My friends still laugh about that incident. Good to literally just see you last night, glad your rehab stint is coming to an end, and maybe I'll see you in Portland on Wednesday!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
#30 Continues To Impress
Bowden's day looked something like this: a strong 7 inning outing during which he allowed 1 run, 6 hits, and no walks. He struck out 6, and threw 80 pitches, 60 for strikes. WOW. That's amazing, that last bit. 75% of his pitches were strikes. He threw about 11 pitches per inning. Phenomenal. You cant measure a Paw Sox pitcher by his wins/losses... they simply dont have the run support. Bowden lowered his ERA to 2.96, back down below 3 once again. His last 3 outings have been very strong, and I had a serious case of Bowden pride today tracking the game at work (simultaneously listening to the Red Sox game... both were day games).
Papi... all I will say (for now, and maybe ever) is that if you were surprised by this bit of news- that David Ortiz is named among the 104 who tested positive for PEDs in 2003- you are blind (sorry to sound harsh) or have been in denial for a long time. Look at the guy (notice, spring training headlines this year were all about how he "slimmed down") and even forgetting about that, look at his history... from no power, to BIG power, to steep decline. Injury. These things are all by-the-book when it comes to steroid use. I would have been surprised if his name WASNT on the list. I'm one of very few people (it seems) who felt compassion towards ARod when his big steroid story broke, and so I am now feeling the same towards Ortiz. Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, Orioles, i dont care who is exposed. I dont like that they were using in the first place, but I REALLY dont like that names were leaked at all, or that they continue to be leaked. REALLY dont like that. It's not because I dont want to know but because these results were supposed to be anonymous and were never going to be released. I cant believe that there have not been any lawsuits... I would think that the players have every right to get (legally) angry about this, because back when these tests were administered, the stuff wasnt banned (lest we forget- and again, I dont like that anyone juiced, now, then, whenever. but the rules regarding all of this have changed between now and then and it's important to keep that in mind for objectivity's sake).
Yikes, that wasnt supposed to take up this much space. I'm stopping right there, although so much could be said. Really dont want to ramble on into the night about something that's talked about enough as it is. Summary: poor players. boo whoever leaked/is leaking names.
Saw the Spinners tonight. It was Celebrate How Much of a Quitter Manny Is night... the anniversary of his being traded from boston to the west coast. Interesting idea for a promotion. For my part, I barely even noticed... they did some contests and things but it wasnt really such an active promotional night. They WERE selling programs for 50 cents instead of a dollar (whoopdeedoo right? hey, i'm frugal). Saw Richie Lentz there, who in my mind of course is supposed to be up in Portland- heard later from him that he was finishing up a rehab stint, will be back in Maine by the end of the weekend.
Quick Richie Lentz story... no, I'll write it tomorrow, I need to get this post finished and go to bed.
Anyhow, Spinners won. Swept Tri-City, in fact. I found it interesting how much more the pitching seems to revolve around pitch counts/inning limits. Our starter was going strong but was out after 3 innings... 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 bb, 1 k. yeah. Before the game he had hurled 15 innings over 6 games (!!!) and had a .60 ERA. Looking at those stats, I was understandably confounded. Low ERA, and yet averaging just over 2 innings each game! What kind of sense does that make? Now I get it a bit more. I think I had noticed this trend at the other games I've been to this season but hadnt really dwelt on it. We got 5 pitchers into the game so lots of kids got their work in for the night. Wilkerson (strong performance in RF, 3-5 with 2 runs and a SB), Hedman (1-4 with 4 RBI and a near triple-called-out), Almanzar (reached base all 4 ABs with a walk, single, hbp, and drop 3rd strike), and Bermudez (3-4 with a stolen base) were players of note for tonight. Wilkerson continues to impress everyone. Unfortunately Ryan Westmoreland (another "very impressive young man") had the night off. Relief pitcher Michael Bugary pitched 1 inning, striking out the side (allowing two singles).
Time for sleep. Soulfest tomorrow night and Saturday. I cant believe I'm almost 24.
TRADE DEADLINE: HASTEN.
Papi... all I will say (for now, and maybe ever) is that if you were surprised by this bit of news- that David Ortiz is named among the 104 who tested positive for PEDs in 2003- you are blind (sorry to sound harsh) or have been in denial for a long time. Look at the guy (notice, spring training headlines this year were all about how he "slimmed down") and even forgetting about that, look at his history... from no power, to BIG power, to steep decline. Injury. These things are all by-the-book when it comes to steroid use. I would have been surprised if his name WASNT on the list. I'm one of very few people (it seems) who felt compassion towards ARod when his big steroid story broke, and so I am now feeling the same towards Ortiz. Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, Orioles, i dont care who is exposed. I dont like that they were using in the first place, but I REALLY dont like that names were leaked at all, or that they continue to be leaked. REALLY dont like that. It's not because I dont want to know but because these results were supposed to be anonymous and were never going to be released. I cant believe that there have not been any lawsuits... I would think that the players have every right to get (legally) angry about this, because back when these tests were administered, the stuff wasnt banned (lest we forget- and again, I dont like that anyone juiced, now, then, whenever. but the rules regarding all of this have changed between now and then and it's important to keep that in mind for objectivity's sake).
Yikes, that wasnt supposed to take up this much space. I'm stopping right there, although so much could be said. Really dont want to ramble on into the night about something that's talked about enough as it is. Summary: poor players. boo whoever leaked/is leaking names.
Saw the Spinners tonight. It was Celebrate How Much of a Quitter Manny Is night... the anniversary of his being traded from boston to the west coast. Interesting idea for a promotion. For my part, I barely even noticed... they did some contests and things but it wasnt really such an active promotional night. They WERE selling programs for 50 cents instead of a dollar (whoopdeedoo right? hey, i'm frugal). Saw Richie Lentz there, who in my mind of course is supposed to be up in Portland- heard later from him that he was finishing up a rehab stint, will be back in Maine by the end of the weekend.
Quick Richie Lentz story... no, I'll write it tomorrow, I need to get this post finished and go to bed.
Anyhow, Spinners won. Swept Tri-City, in fact. I found it interesting how much more the pitching seems to revolve around pitch counts/inning limits. Our starter was going strong but was out after 3 innings... 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 bb, 1 k. yeah. Before the game he had hurled 15 innings over 6 games (!!!) and had a .60 ERA. Looking at those stats, I was understandably confounded. Low ERA, and yet averaging just over 2 innings each game! What kind of sense does that make? Now I get it a bit more. I think I had noticed this trend at the other games I've been to this season but hadnt really dwelt on it. We got 5 pitchers into the game so lots of kids got their work in for the night. Wilkerson (strong performance in RF, 3-5 with 2 runs and a SB), Hedman (1-4 with 4 RBI and a near triple-called-out), Almanzar (reached base all 4 ABs with a walk, single, hbp, and drop 3rd strike), and Bermudez (3-4 with a stolen base) were players of note for tonight. Wilkerson continues to impress everyone. Unfortunately Ryan Westmoreland (another "very impressive young man") had the night off. Relief pitcher Michael Bugary pitched 1 inning, striking out the side (allowing two singles).
Time for sleep. Soulfest tomorrow night and Saturday. I cant believe I'm almost 24.
TRADE DEADLINE: HASTEN.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Jammin To Oasis All Day Long..
Everyone knows. Petey didnt hit Kottaras home. We lost. It was embarrassing and it wasnt the first time this season that the Red Sox have disintegrated mid-game. Thankfully, I think the Sox are still widely considered to be the team that will pull off a rally when a rally is needed. Nothing is ever over till it's over. Papelbon is a problem, and the red flags that have been popping up all season with regards to him are not going away. True- relatively speaking, he is still mostly getting it done. He plays for a great team that has the ability to give him run support. I'm not even close to the first one to say it- and I've been thinking this for the majority of the season, so nothing new about any of this- but Paps isnt clutch anymore. Those lights-out 9th innings are few and far between these days. He walks guys (a lot). He gives up home runs. He's not the closer he was last year, not by a long shot. Does he really deserve that big $$ contract that he was chattering about this past offseason? I've no doubt that someone would offer it to him. But as for the interests of our team, i'm split- I miss the adrenaline and cocky energy that Paps brought last year.. it was truly electric. He doesnt bring the same presence in 2009. My excitement at his entrance into a game begins and ends with Shipping Up To Boston.
This is not all to say that Paps lost the game for us... we had some other issues defensively, and though Clay had a pretty bland outing in my opinion (underwhelming I guess... nothing like the ACE he's projected to be), there were errors and plays that didnt get turned and things that didnt fall our way. Whatever happened to pitching endurance by the way? 5.2 innings is ok for a starter. Not great. In the 6th I recall that he walked a guy on 4 pitches. Whoever comes up from AAA, I would hope they'd bring a serious fresh arm. I dont know, maybe my standards are too high. Then again, we've got one of the most powerful pitching staffs in MLB. If the standards arent high here then I dont know how we got to where we are.
Phillies just acquired Cliff Lee. The anxiety continues regarding talks between the Red Sox and Blue Jays.
A few of us from work are heading to McGreevy's this evening. We have a voucher for 2 hours free in the downstairs VIP room, access to whatever video games they've got, and some free apps.... all because our last trip there was VERY unsatisfactory. I couldnt believe the way I was treated by the manager, or whoever he was. In thinking about it, I'm really not aware of any other instance in which I have been more aggressively disrespectfully treated. The only reason I'm bothering to go back is because of the free stuff. Too bad because it's a cool place. Baseball bar. Co-owned by Dropkick Murphys guys. Right around the corner from the office.
Back to work. Adios...
This is not all to say that Paps lost the game for us... we had some other issues defensively, and though Clay had a pretty bland outing in my opinion (underwhelming I guess... nothing like the ACE he's projected to be), there were errors and plays that didnt get turned and things that didnt fall our way. Whatever happened to pitching endurance by the way? 5.2 innings is ok for a starter. Not great. In the 6th I recall that he walked a guy on 4 pitches. Whoever comes up from AAA, I would hope they'd bring a serious fresh arm. I dont know, maybe my standards are too high. Then again, we've got one of the most powerful pitching staffs in MLB. If the standards arent high here then I dont know how we got to where we are.
Phillies just acquired Cliff Lee. The anxiety continues regarding talks between the Red Sox and Blue Jays.
A few of us from work are heading to McGreevy's this evening. We have a voucher for 2 hours free in the downstairs VIP room, access to whatever video games they've got, and some free apps.... all because our last trip there was VERY unsatisfactory. I couldnt believe the way I was treated by the manager, or whoever he was. In thinking about it, I'm really not aware of any other instance in which I have been more aggressively disrespectfully treated. The only reason I'm bothering to go back is because of the free stuff. Too bad because it's a cool place. Baseball bar. Co-owned by Dropkick Murphys guys. Right around the corner from the office.
Back to work. Adios...
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
dun dun dun
one more. bottom of the 11th, and we are staging a comeback. lowell and kottaras got singles to start the inning, green sacrificed, ellsbury grounded out but scored lowrie who was pinch-running for lowell. petey's up. he's gonna take it really hard on himself if he doesnt score georgie..
Buchholz Bombs
Well, maybe not that bad. vs A's. 5.2 IP, 9 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. But the pace he set for the game is something we never recovered from. 107 pitches thrown by Buckaroo. 2 hours into the game, and we were just at the mid-4th mark. I didnt watch his last start but I know that this one was comparable to that one with regards to pace/pitch count. Going too deep in counts. I dont mean to sound overly critical here- if you're reading this post, you've likely read others, and have picked up on my decided non-fandom. I've got to say, he's one of ours, and as such I want him to succeed so that the Red Sox can succeed. I mean it. Anyhow, the game is still going. We're in the 11th now... A's just scored a pair.
Spent most of the game watching from the Bleacher Bar. i give it two thumbs up. wasnt crowded which was nice, though that must just be a tuesday night thing. sweet to be field-level. If you've never been there, it's a bar that's built into the wall / under where bleachers would continue on to be out in center field. If you look at the wall behind where Jacoby stands you can see a square of metal gate which is colored/shaded so that people on the field side cant see in but those inside the bar can see out. biggest gripe- my soup was good, but for $4 it was tiiiiiiiiny.
So Buck and Bowden and Westmoreland (who apparently wasnt part of the offer afterall) and Lars and Josh etc etc are still ours. The story changes hour by hour but I cant help tracking it all the same. PawSox games wont be the same without those furtive glances that i still have yet to really understand. I'll admit to my lack of perspective on this whole trade deadline thing. Kind of feel like i've had the rug pulled out from under me... thought that Theo was a little more protective of his team's future, a lot more keen on building as much depth as possible in arms down through the system (several writers have made the point that with smoltz flopping, penny cooled off, wake on the DL, dice-k... aaahahahaha, and buchholz adequate at best, our pitching "depth" consists more of kids who will be ready in a year or two- that all of a sudden, we're down to trying out bowden next, and tazawa come september). where do we go if we lose buchholz and bowden or masterson? i just dont get it. yes, we'll have halladay, lester, beckett... and then? tell me who you'd insert there. because no matter who i think of (major league ready), it means two days of REALLY hit or miss ball. struggle, inconsistency. Coming into 2009, pitching was supposed to be our no-brainer. It has proven to be anything but.
I am very literally falling asleep in my chair. gonna make the switch to my bed. no more energy to write good night!
Spent most of the game watching from the Bleacher Bar. i give it two thumbs up. wasnt crowded which was nice, though that must just be a tuesday night thing. sweet to be field-level. If you've never been there, it's a bar that's built into the wall / under where bleachers would continue on to be out in center field. If you look at the wall behind where Jacoby stands you can see a square of metal gate which is colored/shaded so that people on the field side cant see in but those inside the bar can see out. biggest gripe- my soup was good, but for $4 it was tiiiiiiiiny.
So Buck and Bowden and Westmoreland (who apparently wasnt part of the offer afterall) and Lars and Josh etc etc are still ours. The story changes hour by hour but I cant help tracking it all the same. PawSox games wont be the same without those furtive glances that i still have yet to really understand. I'll admit to my lack of perspective on this whole trade deadline thing. Kind of feel like i've had the rug pulled out from under me... thought that Theo was a little more protective of his team's future, a lot more keen on building as much depth as possible in arms down through the system (several writers have made the point that with smoltz flopping, penny cooled off, wake on the DL, dice-k... aaahahahaha, and buchholz adequate at best, our pitching "depth" consists more of kids who will be ready in a year or two- that all of a sudden, we're down to trying out bowden next, and tazawa come september). where do we go if we lose buchholz and bowden or masterson? i just dont get it. yes, we'll have halladay, lester, beckett... and then? tell me who you'd insert there. because no matter who i think of (major league ready), it means two days of REALLY hit or miss ball. struggle, inconsistency. Coming into 2009, pitching was supposed to be our no-brainer. It has proven to be anything but.
I am very literally falling asleep in my chair. gonna make the switch to my bed. no more energy to write good night!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Rollercoaster.
Some pics from Bowden's start back on July 19th..
His latest start on Friday night 7/25 was great. I was chatting with a friend for the last few innings but MB's 7 innings got charted. 2 ER, 4 hits, NO WALKS, 5 K. Pitch counts per inning: 15, 8, 7, 15, 11, 13, 14. 83 thrown over 7 innings. VERY impressive.
The JUICE improved to 5-0 on the season as of yesterday morning. 5 wins was our goal for 2009 in total. we were so terrible last year, and the thing is, nothing has changed. we have three new people taking the places of 3 players from last year. that's it. new management. it's remarkable. we come out on top every game by 10+ runs. i did just fine... the field was larger than regulation size so one particular at-bat could have been more, as I made as solid contact as i've made all season and drove it on a line to the 2nd baseman. the infield was so much bigger to begin with. i got a hit, and i did well in left field, assisted in a double play even :) not commonly done from way out there.
Charlie Zink.. walked about a batter per inning on sunday, but in the end only gave up a few hits (didnt score it... he went 6 innings, and i think it was only 2 hits through 5 innings, with 2 more in the 6th). We won, he got the win, it was pretty nice. They were making contact off him but not productively. Made sure I was there early to see him warm up (arrived well before that though, in time to catch a few side sessions featuring Gonzalez, Bowden, and Johnson.. that was an unexpected surprise) and was just as fascinated watching him pitch up close as I had been a couple weeks earlier. What a sweet pitch, the knuckleball. I've mused with friends here and there over the idea of pitchers learning the knuckler, not as a primary pitch, but as something to pull out a few times each game, to really just mess around with batters. They wouldnt have to be really strong knuckleballers, they'd just have to be able to command it (as much as you can command it) one pitch at a time, a handful each game. I wonder why pitchers dont. Maybe it's just that tough to throw correctly.
...here it is, nearly 48 hours after i started this post. Finally, it's hot out, the sun is shining. While i was walking outside during lunch, I actually thought to myself...
*Wild Thing just came on. PAPELBON flashed into my mind*
...I actually thought to myself that I was glad I was working today and out of the sun. Sounds crazy? Ever since I read about Kelli Pedroia's story a year or so ago, I have had very little desire to sit out in the sun. Dont get me wrong... I love playing outside. I love walking around Boston in the sun. I love sitting out on the lawn before a Paw Sox game, I love going to the beach though I never do anymore. But as I get "older" (almost 24, wow dee dow) I think more and more about the long-term reality of the body i'm living in. I have one semi-significant sunspot on my back and I really dont care to acquire any more. I'm also terrible at taking the time to put on sunscreen, so if I'm in the sun for more than 30 minutes I am burnt. It's just not good for me. Thankfully I've found good ways to be out and enjoying the warmth... more often than not I'm under an overhang at Fenway or McCoy, and even if I'm not I'm generally at evening games. Working through the day helps too for the same reason- when I get out, I can play soccer or wiffleball as the sun is fading.
When I was learning about audio engineering in college it changed the way I treat my ears. When I hurt my back in high school pole vaulting, it changed things too (it's never been the same... regardless of phys training sessions, etc, I think my back is always going to be slightly damaged goods from here on out). I'm really hoping I can continue to be smart about the sun/my skin.
This is a crazy tangent I just went off on.
Another day is passing by, and we still have some of the guys I've been most fearful that we'll lose. Watched another Bowden interview... he's got great composure, very well spoken- granted, everyone asks him the same things so he should have his answers down pat!
..speaking of whom, Twitter just informed me that the Red Sox made an offer of Buchholz, Bowden, and Westmoreland for Halladay. my heart is racing. i am not happy, and i dont understand this trade. i dont know how much you know about Ryan Westmoreland but he is just as much of a prospective-powerhouse as Buckaroo and Bowden have been considered over the past year+. i havent felt this unhappy and suddenly preoccupied in ages.
i need to go work. i can bury myself in research/searches. i try to tell myself that there's no way the jays will take 1 unproven major leaguer and 2 guys who are not major league ready for the best of the best, but i have no idea what's going to happen.
His latest start on Friday night 7/25 was great. I was chatting with a friend for the last few innings but MB's 7 innings got charted. 2 ER, 4 hits, NO WALKS, 5 K. Pitch counts per inning: 15, 8, 7, 15, 11, 13, 14. 83 thrown over 7 innings. VERY impressive.
The JUICE improved to 5-0 on the season as of yesterday morning. 5 wins was our goal for 2009 in total. we were so terrible last year, and the thing is, nothing has changed. we have three new people taking the places of 3 players from last year. that's it. new management. it's remarkable. we come out on top every game by 10+ runs. i did just fine... the field was larger than regulation size so one particular at-bat could have been more, as I made as solid contact as i've made all season and drove it on a line to the 2nd baseman. the infield was so much bigger to begin with. i got a hit, and i did well in left field, assisted in a double play even :) not commonly done from way out there.
Charlie Zink.. walked about a batter per inning on sunday, but in the end only gave up a few hits (didnt score it... he went 6 innings, and i think it was only 2 hits through 5 innings, with 2 more in the 6th). We won, he got the win, it was pretty nice. They were making contact off him but not productively. Made sure I was there early to see him warm up (arrived well before that though, in time to catch a few side sessions featuring Gonzalez, Bowden, and Johnson.. that was an unexpected surprise) and was just as fascinated watching him pitch up close as I had been a couple weeks earlier. What a sweet pitch, the knuckleball. I've mused with friends here and there over the idea of pitchers learning the knuckler, not as a primary pitch, but as something to pull out a few times each game, to really just mess around with batters. They wouldnt have to be really strong knuckleballers, they'd just have to be able to command it (as much as you can command it) one pitch at a time, a handful each game. I wonder why pitchers dont. Maybe it's just that tough to throw correctly.
...here it is, nearly 48 hours after i started this post. Finally, it's hot out, the sun is shining. While i was walking outside during lunch, I actually thought to myself...
*Wild Thing just came on. PAPELBON flashed into my mind*
...I actually thought to myself that I was glad I was working today and out of the sun. Sounds crazy? Ever since I read about Kelli Pedroia's story a year or so ago, I have had very little desire to sit out in the sun. Dont get me wrong... I love playing outside. I love walking around Boston in the sun. I love sitting out on the lawn before a Paw Sox game, I love going to the beach though I never do anymore. But as I get "older" (almost 24, wow dee dow) I think more and more about the long-term reality of the body i'm living in. I have one semi-significant sunspot on my back and I really dont care to acquire any more. I'm also terrible at taking the time to put on sunscreen, so if I'm in the sun for more than 30 minutes I am burnt. It's just not good for me. Thankfully I've found good ways to be out and enjoying the warmth... more often than not I'm under an overhang at Fenway or McCoy, and even if I'm not I'm generally at evening games. Working through the day helps too for the same reason- when I get out, I can play soccer or wiffleball as the sun is fading.
When I was learning about audio engineering in college it changed the way I treat my ears. When I hurt my back in high school pole vaulting, it changed things too (it's never been the same... regardless of phys training sessions, etc, I think my back is always going to be slightly damaged goods from here on out). I'm really hoping I can continue to be smart about the sun/my skin.
This is a crazy tangent I just went off on.
Another day is passing by, and we still have some of the guys I've been most fearful that we'll lose. Watched another Bowden interview... he's got great composure, very well spoken- granted, everyone asks him the same things so he should have his answers down pat!
..speaking of whom, Twitter just informed me that the Red Sox made an offer of Buchholz, Bowden, and Westmoreland for Halladay. my heart is racing. i am not happy, and i dont understand this trade. i dont know how much you know about Ryan Westmoreland but he is just as much of a prospective-powerhouse as Buckaroo and Bowden have been considered over the past year+. i havent felt this unhappy and suddenly preoccupied in ages.
i need to go work. i can bury myself in research/searches. i try to tell myself that there's no way the jays will take 1 unproven major leaguer and 2 guys who are not major league ready for the best of the best, but i have no idea what's going to happen.
Friday, July 24, 2009
More rain.
It just keeps on a'comin. I dont know why this has to be, but Boston has been under one big grey cloud for the entirity of "summer". And of course, before summer was spring, which is rainy. And winter is dark/cold/snowy. Basically, it's been a long stretch of tough weather. I dont think there's anyone here who hasnt felt the effects.
Another little note from last night... Cameron Rupp, huge kid, power hitter, catcher. Could be a future there.
Ahh, one of the bat boys from last night was named Victor Martinez. For one night, it looked like V-Mart had come to boston... and we still had Bowden/Bard/Masterson/etc, so I was happy :) Heh. Hmm. They used all of the Red Sox' plate songs as each player came to bat... that was fun. And they played Night Moves! Youk's Beard of Truth (look it up if you dont know what i'm talking about) was trying to start a movement to get Kevin "Night Moves" Youkilis to have "Night Moves" as his at-bat music. It seems that the song is slowly making it's way.. infiltrating Fenway. I'd never heard it played there before.
Just started coming down again. Rain had been threatening all day after a rambunctiously stormy night last night. Hope Bowden gets to pitch... he doesnt need any more rest, he needs to be turned loose! Matt LaPorta is in town (well, in Pawtucket) with Cleveland's farm team.
WOAH! i love Oasis.
Belly filled with oreo soft serve frozen yogurt. Great tunes. Hour and a half left of work. And my shorts finally dried out (from the rainy commute this morning). Not unhappy.
Another little note from last night... Cameron Rupp, huge kid, power hitter, catcher. Could be a future there.
Ahh, one of the bat boys from last night was named Victor Martinez. For one night, it looked like V-Mart had come to boston... and we still had Bowden/Bard/Masterson/etc, so I was happy :) Heh. Hmm. They used all of the Red Sox' plate songs as each player came to bat... that was fun. And they played Night Moves! Youk's Beard of Truth (look it up if you dont know what i'm talking about) was trying to start a movement to get Kevin "Night Moves" Youkilis to have "Night Moves" as his at-bat music. It seems that the song is slowly making it's way.. infiltrating Fenway. I'd never heard it played there before.
Just started coming down again. Rain had been threatening all day after a rambunctiously stormy night last night. Hope Bowden gets to pitch... he doesnt need any more rest, he needs to be turned loose! Matt LaPorta is in town (well, in Pawtucket) with Cleveland's farm team.
WOAH! i love Oasis.
Belly filled with oreo soft serve frozen yogurt. Great tunes. Hour and a half left of work. And my shorts finally dried out (from the rainy commute this morning). Not unhappy.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Cape Cod All-Star game
It rained, and so -admittedly- I did not stay for the entire Cape Cod All Star game. I'm usually a trooper through rain and cold (and shorts, and no sweatshirt) but tonight was just not the night for all of that. Anyhow, I arrived around 4 at Fenway, so though I'm not saying that I had already spent plenty of time there by the point at which I left (around 7:45pm) I AM saying that my entire body was as wet, my hands and clothes as spongy, as 4 hours out in the rain will make a person.
I loved every second of it, though.
If you ask me in person, I'll rave to you about everything I witnessed on the field during and prior to the game. The pre-game homerun derby was a bit weak, but fun anyhow. I was in a field box seat behind the sox dugout and in prime position despite the umbrellas that kept popping up thoughout the section.
...just a note: you paid $10 to see a game. i paid $10 to see a game. you are watching the game. i am watching your umbrella. if you want to have it open, well, you cant. or you're not supposed to, because it takes up a WHOLE lot of space- more than you think. go sit under the overhang if you're really that worried about the rain.
well, again, it wasnt so bad for me, but i knew that the people around me were unfortunately in seats where umbrellas had become unexpected but full-on obstructions to their view of the field. anyhow, i cant wait to pay attn to the cape league next year. kind of a drive, but then again, so is Pawtucket. I'll tell you this- Pawtucket cant play like these kids can. Everyone on the field from both teams was a Dustin Pedroia, was a Jacoby Ellsbury, an Evan Longoria... super talented, super young, and always motoring. I was impressed just from watching each team take BP and then fielding practice prior to the game. Guys were running on and off the field as if they were aggressively running the bases! The game itself was pretty fast-paced. A ton of very sharp-looking plays in the 3 full innings I stayed for. Every batter blazed towards first after making contact, and so many routine ground balls to short or third were very close plays, always a near tie at 1st between the batter and the ball.
There was one particular pitcher on the West team (plays for Wareham) who impressed me the most- though the West pitching was clearly dominating the East for the time i was there. Workman was our starter over two innings, and then Eric Pfisterer came in. He was born in 1990. yes, FIVE WHOLE YEARS after I was born. THREE after my younger brother. I cant even fathom... but he was so efficient and was really workin it tonight. A lefty with a fastball that generally clocks in through the low-90s, a curve, and a changeup (minus the lefty bit, sound familiar?).. also has one of those fully-overarmed deliveries where it looks like he's brought the ball straight up over his head and then uses his upper body in a motion that seems to hurl the ball downhill (another point of familiarity..).
.... i got sidetracked. for over an hour. it's way past bedtime. more later.
I loved every second of it, though.
If you ask me in person, I'll rave to you about everything I witnessed on the field during and prior to the game. The pre-game homerun derby was a bit weak, but fun anyhow. I was in a field box seat behind the sox dugout and in prime position despite the umbrellas that kept popping up thoughout the section.
...just a note: you paid $10 to see a game. i paid $10 to see a game. you are watching the game. i am watching your umbrella. if you want to have it open, well, you cant. or you're not supposed to, because it takes up a WHOLE lot of space- more than you think. go sit under the overhang if you're really that worried about the rain.
well, again, it wasnt so bad for me, but i knew that the people around me were unfortunately in seats where umbrellas had become unexpected but full-on obstructions to their view of the field. anyhow, i cant wait to pay attn to the cape league next year. kind of a drive, but then again, so is Pawtucket. I'll tell you this- Pawtucket cant play like these kids can. Everyone on the field from both teams was a Dustin Pedroia, was a Jacoby Ellsbury, an Evan Longoria... super talented, super young, and always motoring. I was impressed just from watching each team take BP and then fielding practice prior to the game. Guys were running on and off the field as if they were aggressively running the bases! The game itself was pretty fast-paced. A ton of very sharp-looking plays in the 3 full innings I stayed for. Every batter blazed towards first after making contact, and so many routine ground balls to short or third were very close plays, always a near tie at 1st between the batter and the ball.
There was one particular pitcher on the West team (plays for Wareham) who impressed me the most- though the West pitching was clearly dominating the East for the time i was there. Workman was our starter over two innings, and then Eric Pfisterer came in. He was born in 1990. yes, FIVE WHOLE YEARS after I was born. THREE after my younger brother. I cant even fathom... but he was so efficient and was really workin it tonight. A lefty with a fastball that generally clocks in through the low-90s, a curve, and a changeup (minus the lefty bit, sound familiar?).. also has one of those fully-overarmed deliveries where it looks like he's brought the ball straight up over his head and then uses his upper body in a motion that seems to hurl the ball downhill (another point of familiarity..).
.... i got sidetracked. for over an hour. it's way past bedtime. more later.
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