$5 shorts!

Michael Jackson?
Surreal.
I loved his music growing up. Thinking about him makes me want to watch Free Willy.


Last night I did something very unusual: I went shopping. I never buy clothes for myself. Once in a while I'll find myself in Goodwill, where I'll see a shirt or a skirt that I like, and I'll get it. But (he he) I tend to wait and let my parents take me clothes shopping once or twice a year. I'm still young enough to get away with that. Anyhow, I realized that I dont have the clothes I want/need for the summer, gave myself a budget, and went out to Old Navy. They were selling shorts for $5!! A pleasant surprise. Until last night, I had one pair of non-athletic shorts to my name and so I loaded up. Then I hopped back in the car to listen to Smoltzy's start, which left something to be desired to say the least, but it's the man's first time back from a long, long winter (so to speak). It would have been great if he came back and completely dominated, but the guy's been pitching to AAA kids for the last 3 months. I'm willing to wait this out, give him the benefit of the doubt... and you'll notice that he locked in for the last few innings, retired something like the last 7 batters he faced. Bard had another inconsistent outing- definitely has some more developing to do, but if Theo lets it happen he'll be our closer in a couple years when Cinco Ocho is in pinstripes (as much as it pains me to say). I'm excited to see Bard back in Pawtucket this summer, because the next time he goes up, it'll be for good I'm sure. Selfish thought. Of course I'd love to see him stick it out in Boston for the rest of the season but things are going to get really interesting over the next 30 days.
Please dont make any trades we'll regret.

Today started with sun, and will end with rain. I am extremely upset with the way the weather has been. This weekend was supposed to be a break from all of the grey skies and rain. Now it looks like thunderstorms, and the possibility of hail tomorrow afternoon. I dont care, I will be in Pawtucket no matter what... I've waited long enough. Next week is also forecasted to be rainy, which is terrible as a few area churches have put together this Soccer Nights soccer camp - free - for kids around the area. Supposed to get around 300 participants. I'm volunteering as a team coach. Playing in the rain is fun, and at least it will be warm rain. But enough already. June was 97% rain, and that's no way to kick the summer into gear.

A new housemate moved in last night. Cory. More to come on that, but after 45 minutes of first-impression chat, he gets the thumbs up.

Quick Lunchtime Nothings

What is going on with all this rain? It has to end sometime.. I feel like we're being gypped out of summer. Saturday and Sunday (forecasted to be SUNNY) cant come soon enough. My hair is going crazy- it's naturally very curly, and I straighten it all the time, but during any sort of humidity it's neither straight nor curly- just frizzy.

Lowell Spinners tonight? Too wet out? Time will tell. It might be nice to just watch the Sox game on TV but I need to "meet" this year's Spinners team, and soon. Cant wait to see Lowrie this weekend.

Trader Joe's. Chicken and cilantro wontons. Cheap, and almost nothing in terms of fat or calorie content. Sounds like a winner to me.

----
10:30pm
Dusty Brown just came into the game, 9th inning, Boston is whooping Washington 11-3. Bard has one out, 2 on, throwin the heat at 97mph. Sad (not the right word, but you know..) that both Bard and Brown debuted on the road. Yikes, bases loaded now... Bard's gettin hit.

10:43pm
One double play later, Red Sox win it.

Pining

I'm listening to Babyface. That's when you know things are interesting.

Another Monday comes and goes.. 4 days left till the weekend, and a 4-day work-week next week (thank you honorary Independence Day). Today, not so eventful. I saw screenshots/pictures from Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland... everything looks up to par with the weirdness and darkness that one would expect from Burton. I, for one, cant wait to see it. I'm generally a fan of his work.

Mmm, speaking of movies with dry/dark humor, I watched an all-time favorite tonight- The Royal Tenenbaums. I love it no less with every viewing. It is comforting to me- quirky but familiar, aesthetically brilliant, and overall very colorful (literally and figuratively). I subjected the coworkers I share a room with to its soundtrack today. Last night was Bottle Rocket... and I'm out of Wes Anderson films already. I need to acquire some others in the near future.

Slow day for baseball. Mets get a win, which must feel good at a time when some of their key guys are down for the count. Paw Sox get no run support, and no ace-like showing from Buchholz, who pitched 82 pitches in 3.2 innings. 43 of those for strikes. ouch. 4K, not so bad there. 5 BB, but only 1 earned run (2 R total). Weird night. Scott Kazmir (I'm a fan) did pretty well in this his rehab start- 6 innings, 78 pitches (55 for strikes), 5K, 0 BB, 1 ER.

Wow.
Clay, 3.2 innings with 82 pitches. Scott, 6 innings with 78 pitches.
Wow.


Oh Paw Sox. Please come home soon.
Havent been to McCoy since last Tuesday. Wont be there again till this coming Saturday. I wish I could explain the part of me that is so restless to get back there. At least the action has started up in Lowell, to fill in the gaps while the big club and the Paw Sox are out of town. Red Sox are gone till the 3rd of July.. on the road for a while, DC, ATL, BAL. I got a good dose this weekend, at least.

Now I'm just rambling on, I think. It's because I feel like I had something else to mention, but it's not coming out of my fingers onto the keyboard... just cant remember.

Ah well. Some extra sleep never hurt. I've been thinking about what my walk up song would be if I was in the Majors. Potentials.. Aisle 10 by Scapegoat Wax; Let It Rock by Kevin Rudolf (Jacoby has this one right now); Cannonball by Five Iron Frenzy; E-Pro or Girl or Que Onda Guero by Beck; Baseline or Heartbeat by Bleach; Kountry Gentlemen by Family Force Five. Maybe I'd do a shoutout to friends of mine, like After the Sirens or The Wrecking.
Yeah, lots of choices. I keep forgetting what I've said in response to this question so I figured I'd put everything down here. For the record. :) yawn. now listening to all my itunes songs to test for good plate music....

Lazy Sunday

I used to be concerned when I'd wake up to find 10:00AM on my clock- I've always hated sleeping in because there's so much to be done in a day, even when I dont have anything particular to be doing. Lately I've been logging at least one 10am sleep-in per weekend, and it's great. Actually, for a good stretch of time, I wasnt able to sleep in past 8:30 on Saturday mornings. So perhaps I am fixed. Or perhaps I am throwing my body into overdrive with all of these long nights at Fenway/in Pawtucket. A friend recently suggested that I buy a suite at the park so I have someplace to sleep in between games. I wouldnt say I'm there often enough to warrant that kind of purchase (someday I hope I AM there that often) but I see at least a game per series and could definitely do without the crazy T rides home.

My coworker Kenny took me to the game on Friday and we sat in section 16 row 9, really great seats. As is the case with all GS seating past the 4th or 5th row, we had a pole in our view, but it wasnt too imposing, and it blocked out the precise spot that both shortstops were usually standing in, which is the one spot I think any Sox fan wouldnt mind not being able to see (no offense nick green, you've actually been an unexpected treat at ss). The highlight- watching Jason Bay absolutely maul one over the Monster. Poor Dice-K... booed from the very first moment of the game. They kept him in too long, trying to give him a chance to gain some momentum. Pitch 1 resulted in a McLouth homerun (i kept McLouth on the bench in one of my leagues.. should have registered that he'd be productive vs Matsuzaka). Things did NOT get better from there. However, we got to see Justin pretty early and he pitched a few quality innings. Quick Masterson tangent:
Last year the Red Sox Wives held a food drive outside the park before a Saturday game. The deal was, bring 10 items, get a signed picture of your player of choice (you could get up to 4 different ones). My table was manned by Meryl Masterson.. and i had brought my 40 items (including this huge bag of rice, haha, i lugged it all in from the North Shore where I was living at the time) so I was waiting in line for it all to "start", and figuring out who's pictures I wanted. Before I got to the table, I decided upon Pedroia, Lester, Masterson, Papi (this was pre-Bay). Things started rolling and i got up to the table to find that there were no Masterson pics! I had never met Meryl before but I saw that she had her husband's name on the back of her Sox shirt so I asked her, What? No Masterson? That's outrageous! And of course her interest was piqued immediately- they were new fixtures with the team still, so I'm sure she wasnt quite used to her husband's sudden megastar status. She said that she had tried to get him to sign some, and he had wanted to as well actually, but they never came and asked him to be part of the program. Being pretty high on Justin myself at that point, I went off on this rant about how stoked I was that we had someone like him who can pitch in starting and relief positions, and who has the stamina to pull us through tough games where starters have to bow out in the early innings, etc. I can still remember the look on her face as the words were streaming out of my mouth in a frenzy. She looked at me in total agreement as if I was acknowledging everything that she herself had been seeing in him for his whole career. After the initial line of people went through, there were no others stopping by to drop off items, so I stayed and we talked for about 20 minutes. Of course, they had lived in Portland (Maine) and so that's always something I can relate to, having grown up right around there. Bottom line- you ask anyone and they will tell you that Meryl and Justin are the sweetest wife/husband combo that you could ever hope to find. I've had equally enjoyable run-ins with Justin, but those stories will be for another day.

Last night's game was great- a feel-good game for lack of better words. The way Beckett was pitching from the start, I just knew we were gonna come out on top, regardless of the close score. Fun to see Derek Lowe (and the crowd's warm reception of him). I brought my brother Pat up on the Monster for bp before the gates opened and we spent the whole 2.5 hours before the game up there as we had Monster SRO tickets. I had packed dinner for us (bbq chicken bites, just-baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, batman fruit snacks, and grapes) so we ate and willed the batters to hit fly balls our way. I was close to catching one- it was heading right for me, but of course three different males stepped in front of me and I didnt end up with the ball when all was said and done. No worries... I've got two to my name this season and I know there'll be more ;) Papi had a good night, but I have to say that I'm not really that caught up in him. He really must be loved.. the man with the 2.11 BA (as of last night.. he had a few hits today so it's probably slightly higher now). And he gets cheered along more fervently than anyone else on our team. Interesting that Dice-K gets booed off the field but Papi.. well, fans seem to try to justify or shrug off his terrible season. BOTH have been productive for our team in the past (not just Papi). Anyhow. Just sayin.

Michael Bowden did not fare so well in his Friday night start. I cant imagine developing in the Red Sox farm system- talk about all eyes on being on you. Success and shortcoming are loudly advertised and the Boston media (anyone covering the Red Sox really) shouts opinions as if they were fact. The kid just barely made it through the first inning, giving up 6 runs and walking the first batter and one or two others within the course of the inning. It was tough. Uncharacteristic of Bowden, too, as his K/BB ratio from last year was somewhere between 3 and 4 (as in, 3K for every 1BB). Sorry, I've seen it written plenty of times but in a quick perusal of the WWW i cant find any exact stats to regale you with. Anyhow, I'm glad I wasnt tracking it on Gameday. Would have put a damper on my entire evening.. I want to see him do well.

http://shyderblog.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/06/at-bat-with-nat--from-charm-to-jinx.html

I'm glad he's a square.
I was about to recommend another particular post on that blog, but really, it's a great blog in general. Fun to read. Go peruse.

I need something chocolate.

I'm A Winner

There's no time tonight, but i must mention: I won two twitter-based trivia contests today, one from Jerry Remy's twitter account and the other from AceTickets' account. From Remy- a $200 gift cert to AceTickets (this is HUGE for someone like me who's gonna be at 30+ games during the season.. every free ticket is fantastic). From AceTickets- free field box seats to the game tonight, Sox vs Marlins, 6/17. It was called after 5 innings due to serious rain but Victor and I stuck it out for quite a while. To think.. we started with Pavilion SRO and ended up in Section 11 field box seats. I really liked Section 11 for one reason in particular- it's situated smack dab between home and the right field wall. i could see Drew very well, and wasnt all that far from the action happening around home plate either (relatively.. wasnt like being in the bleachers, close to the outfielders but far from the infield action, or like being in the infield grandstands between the two dugouts where the outfielders are farther off). just an interesting perspective, and besides the EMC seats, I'm running out of new areas in Fenway to test out. Oh, the left field loge/box/low grandstands, and the right field roof boxes but i'm really not interested in right field seats in general, not a fan.

I was soaked for the entire night, even under my raincoat. At some point early on (before the game started, even) it didnt even matter anymore. The game itself was pretty unexciting as far as Red Sox games go. A highlight- watching the Nats beat the Yankees for the second time (consecutive wins too), and watching it on the huge scoreboard in centerfield. Pretty great watching the Yankees get beat by the worst team in baseball on a screen IN FENWAY PARK. Also great- the Cinco Ocho/Delcarmen Blame It On The Rain video. I saw it for the first time just over a year ago, actually- it was at the Celtics Parade at Fenway before that day's game when there was a torrential downpour- and it still hasnt gotten old. That song will forever be included in any Red Sox mix i create, and I subject my coworker to it every day near the end of work during our POWER HOUR of awesome tunes. (Also check out Get Out Of My Dreams, Get Into My Car by Billy Ocean.. not baseball-related.)

Bowden tomorrow. On 6 days of rest but i think we've gone over this already. Zink got a few innings in but they had to call it because of serious rain.. that's all i know and it's too late to check into it further.

I need to end this now, or i'll never get to sleep. Night.

parting thoughts from the 6/17 game

By the way, what's going on with Youk? All these strikeouts (3 this past game) and 0fers lately (0-4 this past game). or 1-fer's. not typical of the Youkah.

Petey looked great though. 3-5 with 3 RBI and 2 SB. I look forward to a long career as a Pedroia enthusiast.

500 consecutive sellouts at Fenway Park. Will be there tomorrow for 501.

Matt Wieters hit his first MLB homerun tonight. Way to go, kid- congrats. More to come from you, I expect.


NICK GREEN. LOOKIN SHARP, LOOKING LIKE A SHORTSTOP. I was at McGreevy's with coworkers tonight watching the game, decided not to skip out and hit up Fenway... man alive, Nick Green has really stepped his game up a notch or two in the past little while.


Smoltz and Buchholz combined for a win in Pawtucket. Today (6/18) Zink is on the bump... I need to sit down with someone who knows what's going on to hear the explanation for the MESS that the rotation has been as of late. Bowden will be going on 6 days rest if Friday is his start, Clay went on 7 tonight (and didnt even start, he  relieved Smoltz), Zink is going on 6.. it's that Smoltz guy, and all this rainy weather/ppd games, but the way guys have been shifted is a little crazy (Zink was scheduled to go 6/16 which would have been 4 days rest.. then as a game time decision they put reliever Rocky Cherry in to start.. I know, i've already mentioned a bit of this but I'd love to know a little more about what's going on behind the scenes here).


Today (6/18), I'm out of work at 4 to watch Sox BP from the Monstah (so unique to be in there before the gates open), then taking lots of Hanley pictures for my friend Victor, who is either a Sox, Rays, or Hanley/Manny Ramirez fan.. but cant possibly be all of them. oh, and the best part... catching the Sox/Marlins game from Pavilion SRO. LOVE it, some of the best spots in the house to watch a game from.

That's all i've got in me... I'm fading fast.. night.

Paw Sox doubleheader

About the Buchholz post from a few days ago... sorry. Clearly I've never been a huge fan, and his tone in that interview made me a little crazy. I'm glad that his confidence certainly seems to be there (for better or worse). I'm glad that he cant wait to get to the big leagues, that he's not settling for the success he's experiencing in the present. And I will say no more. (until he gives me another reason to give him attention, positive or negative.)

Last night was a beauty of a night. I caught the second 7-inning game of Pawtucket's double header, and yes, more eye-footsie. In hindsight, I wish I had taken the $20 bleacher seat I had found for the Red Sox game, because I'm afraid that tomorrow could get rained out (I'm in Pavilion SRO... LOVE it). And how often do the Marlins come to town? Anyhow, I'm going to see 2 or 3 BoSox games (barring rainouts) before Sunday comes, and the Paw Sox are gone for a week after tomorrow night's game. Wanted catch them while they were at home. Chris Carter contributed mightily with his midgame 2-run homerun. Lately the Paw Sox have been looking alive at the plate but when the game is happening I'm still unable to believe that they have the ability to come back from being behind. Haha, Travis Denker summed it up in his post-game on-field interview last night... Hoard was talking to him about how "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away" in relation to getting breaks, having hits dropping in, and how for a while through the season guys were making contact but just not getting hits. Travis gave a little chuckle before replying something about how "the Lord has been taketh away for most of the season...". Funny stuff. McCoy was pretty much empty at that point, but I think everyone who heard got a kick out of that.

Tonight I'm cohosting a party at McGreevy's (baseball/boston sports bar half a block down the road, coowned by Dropkick Murphy Ken Casey) but might head over to Fenway to catch at least a few hours of baseball. Again, who knows what's going to happen tomorrow with the weather. It's supposed to be absolutely terrible this entire week, with the exception of tonight and last night.

*I'm thankful Ortiz ended his (embarrassing) curtain-call streak. Varitek has more hrs than you do, Papi. Good job, you're looking sharp lately, but you've still got work to do. Jonathan Van Every got his first (Major League) hr this season which should have been applauded so much more loudly than your first of the year, which came months into the season. We need you, and we're glad you're showing signs of life, so go out there and be our DH.

*Johan Santana. I believe in you. Locate those pitches, guy.. a pitcher of your caliber doesnt just lose it like that, and I know that once you figure stuff out you'll be back at the top of the pack. A couple tough outings dont define you.

*Jonathan Broxton, you are the best thing to ever happen in my fantasy baseball career.

*Hanley Ramirez, you're good, you're great, but I wouldnt trade Michael Bowden away for you.

*Wieters: too much pressure too soon? Or too soon to even talk about this perhaps. I feel for guys like you. The world doesnt give you a chance to do your thing the way any other rookie would get to..

Smoltz and Buchholz go tonight in Pawtucket. By the way, Zink was slated to start the second game last night but Rocky Cherry (? he's not a starter, fyi) took his place. Still havent figured out what happened there, but maybe google news can help with that.

More thoughts, but lunch time is over.

Go Sawks.

The Boys Are Back In Town

I dont know why but I always feel better when I know the team is back. Especially when they've been on the road quite a bit. The Sox have a day off today but that just means they're walking around Boston somewhere. One of these days I will stumble across someone exciting :)

My dad quit the Mets after 49 years of loyal fanhood, just this past weekend. He said that he is now a Red Sox fan. I wonder if this will stick.. the day after he made the proclaimation, the Mets beat the Yanks quite comfortably. (..though they then went on to lose to their Subway rivals 15-0 yesterday... tough times.)

Speaking of the Mets, it's fun having a Mets fan in the office. This morning, in honor of last night's massacre (hey, Johan got mauled... it hurt me too...) I put 4 postit notes along the guy's desk, spelling out M-E-T-S. That's all that needed to be said.

Mmm, I've got leftover teriyaki chicken and rice gurgling in my stomach. Lovely. I have missed the feeling of being plugged in. It's a hard thing to get back into- because my current lifestyle revolves around being able to pick up and go to games 4+times every week. I was entirely relieved when i found out that the Red Sox are on the road in two weeks when I will be volunteering each night at a soccer camp put on by some Cambridge area churches and organizations... and disappointed when I realized that the Paw Sox are home for that entire week.
Oh well. There are bigger and better things. These kids will love Soccer Nights... and I will too.
Also, trying to brainstorm interesting/creative ideas of how to raise money for either www.love146.com or www.notforsalecampaign.org . Or both, probably. On the notforsale site they have a great section where athletes, artists, every-day-people get others to sponsor them for doing so much of something- ie, Matt Holliday of the Oakland A's is getting people to sponsor every homerun he hits (either $100 or $50 per).. all to go towards NFS. Wondering what I can do, and how much support I would get for it. The wackier/more creative/flashy, the better. I was pleased to see another baseball player up there.. Jeremy Affeldt of the San Fran Giants. Just a point of personal interest.

Well, as often happens, lunchtime has come to a close. I head to Pawtucket today with my friend Victor.

More eye-footsie tonight? I'll keep you posted. Shouldnt be in the stands tonight. It is equal parts intriguing and astounding to me, but as it keeps happening, it's losing its "astounding" effect. After all, he's just a kid like me. I just wonder why...

Buchharoo

Alright Clay. That's it- it's over. I've tried to like you, or at least I've offered to give you more chances to win me over, but when it comes down to it, you just seem like a cocky jerk of a kid. I'm tired of trying to like you and/or trying to see the upside of you and your talent. I can understand your eagerness to get back to the majors, but you are not as entitled as you seem to think you are. Boston has pitchers that are better than you are. (half the problem here is that no one knows how good you are... you remain unproven past the minors, Bucko- just another reason why you are not the number one priority on the mind of the organization at present.) Eager, yes- you should be eager. Frustrated? Maybe, probably, but it should be mixed in with much larger portions of humility and self-awareness. I've heard people peg you as an immature, ego-inflated child, and the interview I saw tonight doesnt do much to dispute that picture of you. John Smoltz is a future hall of famer. He WILL pitch in Boston's rotation before you do. Brad Penny has been some shaky, some solid this season, but he's gotten us this far when our big guys werent yet up to speed, and so he SHOULD be in Boston for the time being. Justin Masterson has been more consistent while filling several different roles than you have filling just one in the Majors, and so why not continue to use him as a spot starter to patch the gaps here and there? Compared with Bowden, Bard, and Jones (who've all had MLB stints in 2009 of course), your attitude stinks, mister. You're good, and you've been great in Triple A, but you're not our be-all end-all (among those yet unnamed are Lester, Beckett, Wake, Tazawa, Doubront, Kelly, etc (Dice-K intentionally unnamed)). 

Yup, you'll get called up (if you're not traded outright first). But why dont you show a little reverence for all the guys in line before you and quit yapping. It's not a crime, and the way you make it sound like it is speaks volumes about how you see yourself.

Blogs are great. See how I just went off on a tirade about some guy I dont even personally know, save through the media? Still, I've never been able to like this guy, and his interview on Sports LateNight tonight drove me mad.

Ah well, I'm seeing him pitch today (Monday). No doubt he'll do really well.

Rainy days for Boston? Better than it sounds.

http://www.necn.com/Boston/Sports/2009/06/13/Bowden-works-toward-sticking/1244947003.html

on circulating trade rumors involving him:

"..if i cant control it, why worry about it."

on the idea that he could already be in a starting rotation were he with a big league club elsewhere in MLB:

"Yeah, you know what, you do think about that.. I would rather stay in the minors an extra year or so to play for Boston, to play in Boston at Fenway, and just with that group of guys."   !!!!! Yes indeed!!!

very well spoken, especially at the end.

In other news, it is an amazing tribute to our team that Dice-K can be a sure bet to flop on any given night, and yet we still function around him. 11-6.  Hawt dog. They really are hometown heroes. 

I've been saying Varitek gets 30 homers this season... but he's had a bit of a lull on that front lately. Let's get it started again Captain. Get a few this week.

Leftover cinnamon pancakes, leftover iced coffee, and church..

UPDATE 5:45pm

Amazing how much can happen in the span of a few hours. Church was great, and i had meeting for "Soccer Nights" volunteers that covered lots of things we'll need to know in order to corale the 300 kids that will be kicking  soccer balls  across Russell Field in 2 weeks. Anyway, now here I am, trying to digest a game that I think I really just had to be there for. A Beckett homerun? Baldelli and Green with back to back hrs? That sounds great. Just dont look at the score... or at the recap of what happened to get us there. 11-6, Phillies. Beckett gave up 7 runs (6 earned), which I could stomach as it's nothing I havent experienced before.. but Danny Bard gave up 4 in .2 innings. YIKES (and that's not even mentioning the 3 walks he issued). Didnt even get himself through the 7th inning. You know, the bright side of this is that I (in all of my infinite wisdom right?) think it's important for young pitchers to face adversity in the bigs, and to overcome it. So Daniel Bard. Here's your chance. Worst outing of your MLB career. Dust yourself off, know that I still like you, and go get 'em next time. (Except... I think you may be dropped back down to Pawtucket soon.. hope not, but we'll see.)

15-5 is the final score of the Paw Sox game vs Syracuse.. and the Paw Sox were the ones who came out on top. Now THAT is unbelievable. Bailey and Chavez had hrs, but they only account for 4 of the runs scored (1 and 3 respectively). Aaron Bates (called up from AA on June 8) continued on his offensive rampage, going 3-5 with a walk. Kid's already hitting cleanup, if that tells you anything about the state of Pawtucket's bats.

Pawtucket tomorrow and Tuesday! Fenway on Thursday with Victor. Fenway on Saturday with Pat. 

A little Sox excitement

The nap has yet to happen. How crazy is it that the Phillies made 3 errors in the first 15 minutes of the game?! We'll take it though. And Aaron Bates just hit a homerun over in Syracuse for the Paw Sox, and Bowden is fine so far (only pitched one inning at this point). 

Ok. Having MLB GameDay and ESPN GameCast open at the same time for two different games is making everything run slowly. I'm done.

UPDATE: 8:42pm

Aaron Bates makin it look easy... second homerun of the night. Picture me quietly chuckling to myself in admiration. This guy is looking like who we thought Lars Anderson was all of 3 months ago. (Lars is off to a slowish start, picking it up a little bit as of late, but still not having the season he was projected to have at this point. At the Double A level, though, still plenty of time for development, and he's by no means off the radar.)

UPDATE 8:48pm

Bowden has given up 5 hits in 4 innings, 2 of them hrs (one in the 4th, one in the 5th where the game is currently at right now, none out, one on). He had looked great up till the end of the 4th- before that first hr, only 2 hits given up. Here we go Mikey.

Red Sox still in a rain delay, up 5-0 in the 2nd.

Bowden just earned himself another strikeout. That's 3 on the night so far. And the inning is over (the K was out #2 but Dusty Brown caught a guy stealing to end it). Not sure if they'll put Mike back in for the 6th, though after 5 he's only thrown 62 pitches, 38 for strikes. That's pretty efficient. For once, our offense is booming.. 6-2 Paw Sox.

UPDATE 9:34pm

Impressive little battle between Bowden and Casto just now, but Mike got the best of him, as Casto K'ed swinging on the 9th pitch. Thus ended the 7th inning. Syracuse has sent 4 pitchers to the mound, but Pawtucket has relied on Bowden, who after 7 innings has struck out 5 and given up 6 hits, 1 BB, 2 ER. 96 pitches (58 for strikes) for MB, compared to Syracuse's combined pitch count of 125 (79 of those for strikes).

It might be cool, I dont know.. and if it's not I dont care

As Bill Simmons would say, "OHHHHHHHHHHH JOHNNY!"

By far my favorite among our starters, Jon Lester is lookin mighty good these days. Last night found me laying on a couch in the dark of our second floor common room, eyes starting to droop around the top of each inning... but when Lester was on the mound, different story. He pitched an incredible game. Spread over 7 innings... 2 hits, 1 run, 11 k's. Struck out the side (6 k's in a row) in the 4th and 5th innings. MLB.com tells us he retired 17 of the last 18 batters he faced. Bigger picture- over his last three starts, he's notched 10+ k's each time. They said last night that he's the first lefty in Red Sox history to strike out 10 or more in three consecutive starts. (dont you just love these little factoids... this sport is filled with them, so you know that over the course of your career you're probably going to do something record-breaking :) )

One of my favorite moments of the game- Justin Masterson striking out Greg Dobbs one pitch after Dobbs had jacked a just-foul rocket to right. Would have been a 3 run hr, and a walk-off at that, but it was not to be.. Masterson got out unscathed.

My least favorite part of the game- Petey going 0-7. But what he would have to say about it is that ultimately, it's about the team getting the win. And that's good enough for me. 

I just baked a gorgeous, flawless batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Soon, I'll take a nap, as I'm catching a midnight viewing of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Cleveland Corner, hosted by Johnny Cupcakes. Other than that, today was uneventful. I havent been feeling well at all, so after a morning excursion of softball and walking all over Boston (it was beautiful outside... I had to put in some time in the sunshine) I retired inside for a late lunch. I've been groggy/half asleep ever since, so I may as well get that out of the way and just go to sleep. 

Michael Bowden is going tonight for the Paw Sox. They're back home soon (thankfully, even when I feel like they're going to be gone for a long time, they always come back sooner than I expect) and I have another packed week of games ahead- Monday and Tuesday, Pawtucket; Wednesday, Company Party; Thursday, Sox vs Marlins; Friday, probably Sox if the price is right, or possibly sleep; Saturday, Sox vs Braves up on the Monstah for my brother's birthday (I'm a great sister). Bummed that the Paw Sox have been gone, and will only play 4 games this week until they're gone again for another full week. The big club wont play at Fenway for the last week+ of the month.. I feel like they keep going on long road trips, and it makes me frown.

But the Marlins and Braves games should be great. I wont be alone for either one of them. Nice perk once in a while.

The kids in the neighboring yard are playing some sort of baseball (wiffle ball? but i can actually hear a ball hitting a mit. still, their yard is WAYYY too tiny for hardball.. and there are about 8 kids over there with a smattering of parents. the space is about as large as a good-sized living room.)

Let's hope Dice-K is as good with a bat as he says he is (or has been). That would be redeeming. Also, Sir #3 Pitcher, please do what we need you to do tonight and go for 6, preferably 7 innings... our pen is tuckered out.

Here we go Petey!

The Morning After

Tonight I've gotta give myself a bit of a rest so I'll be at home. Everything within me wants to be at the game, but I've got no energy... over the last few weeks i've been doing 4 or 5 games between Pawtucket and Boston. Still... would have loved to head to Fenway after work. It never fails- Red Sox/Yankees games are unfailingly exciting whether we're up by 7 or we're neck and neck (or we're losing, in which case you know THESE red sox are just waiting to have their big comeback inning). Last night's game was no exception, and not-so-lights-out Papelbon kept fans (and, i'd imagine, his own teammates) wondering just how the game would end.

I've sat in field box seats before, but this was the first time I had ever purchased one (i had bought a single for Sox/Yanks game in April but had to sell it as I was committed to attending, of all things, a Sea Dogs game- since then, I have promised myself that if I found a face value single field box ticket around either on-deck circle, I'd go for it). To start the game I was 7 rows up from the visitors' on-deck circle, but by the 7th I was only 2 rows off the grass. I booed Teixeira with everything I had, but I couldnt participate in the ARod steroids chants. At one point it sounded like everyone in the grandstands was shouting, "You took Steh-roids" over and over. This is where you, the reader, start to question my Red Sox fandom- he may be as toolish as they come, but I have a well of compassion for Alex Rodriguez (deserved or not). Certain celebs remind me of that over-battered chicken you get at Chinese restaurants- there's so much deep-fried nastiness on the outside with hardly anything of substance at its center (ok, so maybe the actual chicken that these restaurants use isnt very substantial to begin with.. work with me). ARod is clearly a victim of the deep-frier... every article written about him seems to point out how he has little to no sense of himself/his own identity. Is this a man who really needs to be jeered at and taunted by tens of thousands of people at the park? Isnt he, sadly, pathetic enough? Steroids.. that's messing up big-time. Guess what baseball fans... your favorite players did 'em too. I dont mean to take the pessimistic viewpoint here, but from what I've heard and read (which is all that most people have to go by), it was the culture, and those guys who weren't juicing were at a disadvantage. But noone needs my take on this. Go to espn.com and read an expert's thoughts on the "Steroid Era".

I'm taking all of the fun and beauty out of the rivalry, so I'll move on to Wang for a cheap shot or two. He was terrible, as promised. He did not disappoint (Red Sox fans). In looking at the box score he allowed about 18 less walks than I remember him giving up, and we only got him for a third of the game, but it was enough to send us shooting off in the direction of VICTORY.

A few other notes- R.Ramirez, what happened? Back to back hrs. I am still a big fan. This guy is an unsung hero, and he has had a great season thus far overall. Papelbon kept throwing balls. I think everyone in RSN is eyeing this one warily, waiting it out to see if it gets better or worse from here. But GOOD NEWS! Daniel Bard is the man. Isn't that great news? So when Cinco Ocho opts to go where the money is (as stated over the offseason- he'll go where he gets what he's worth; sounds like pinstripes to me... but we're keeping the entrance song, because he cant take Shipping Up To Boston with him to NY) we have a flamethrower waiting in the wings. Nick Swisher had a flashy little dive into the right field box section, going for a ball that was clearly in unreachable territory, but it looked sweet as i was sitting in position to look straight down the right field line as he went soaring into the crowd. Petey had a fantastic opposite-field double that sliced beautifully towards far right field, and Swish should have caught it, but hey, we'll take it. Wake gave us what we needed through 6. Jason Bay struck out thrice.. the most painful part of the evening for me, and maybe for him as well.

No more time.. lunch is over. Suffice it to say that after getting to bed at 2:30am and waking up at 7am, I'm a hurting unit. Paw Sox are gone till Monday, Sox are outta here till Tuesday (after tonight's game). Yay, new employee's birthday celebration today... hopefully the sugar will get me through the end of the day.

what a dream.

flash of blue..

2 Months In.

I cant believe it's June. After yearning my way through the offseason, I feel like I've barely been to Fenway. I think I've seen 10 Sox games so far, so i'm more or less "on pace" to get to as many as I did last year- but it's all I want to do lately, which has become a problem while the team has been on the road for the past 2 weeks (nearly). It's surreal; I feel like I havent been to the park in ages. Meanwhile, I think I'm nearing the 20-game mark when it comes to the Paw Sox. I cant say for sure, but one of these days I'll get all of my ticket stubs together and see where I'm at. In all seriousness, going to Pawtucket has become what I imagine gum chewing is like for people who usually dip- a compulsive and necessary reaction to the absence of something I enjoy immensely. Thank goodness that when one team is on the road, the other is often at home; I rush home from work, hop in my car, sit in traffic and scream the day's angst away to the tune of Tessie or Spicy McHaggis or Blame It On The Rain, and make it to McCoy sometime within half an hour after the first pitch.

The Paw Sox are a tough team to watch, in my opinion, for a number of reasons ranging from the technical to the sentimental. For one, the pitching is pretty decent if you average it all out. We've got some stellar prospects, and some unremarkable guys too. But when it comes to the bats on this team, now there's the killer. It's really pathetic. Jeff Bailey, who was just this week dropped back down to make room for Mark Kotsay in the bigs, is hitting the ball around the .300 mark, but beyond that, you'll be hard-pressed to find someone on this team hitting over .265. When that's the best it gets, things are pretty bad. (Jeff Natale just came off the DL and i believe he is hitting over .300 for the moment... but he has been on and off the DL all season and his at bats count is incomparable with the guys who have been playing day to day.) I've seen Jonathan Van Every, who had a stellar stint with Boston to start the season, make more errors in center field and hit so poorly... I've seen daily starter Chip Ambres (the leader in BA, after Bailey and Natale who again have had incomplete seasons with Pawtucket to date) strike out 3 (i fear it may have even been 4) times in one somewhat recent extra-innings game... I've watched poor Gil Velazquez make error after error at SS, which still qualifies him to be making spot starts for Boston at this point (I recently read a column that stated something along the lines of "Julio Lugo is still up to his normal shenanigans at short stop".. well put, because at this point humor is all we've got). For these technical reasons and more, it's tough to sit and watch most other teams we face come up looking much sharper than we do. At this point, I have also developed favorites (though i generally like all of them, want to see them succeed), and so not only is it wince-worthy to see them working out the kinks night to night, but it's bittersweet to realize I cant keep them. I'm spoiled with the Red Sox... we've locked down some great players, and so the team of '08 (my rookie year with the Sox) is closely resembled in the team of '09, and will be for some time still. (PLEASE DO NOT BLOW IT WITH JASON BAY.) I have fierce love for a lot of our players, because they are gritty and tough and they're fighters, and they are heart and soul for Boston. The Paw Sox, though... I look out at the field, and I dont see many guys I can let myself get attached to in any longer-term sense. There's no room for infielders coming up, and as it stands now the outfield is pretty set too- the funny thing is, the organization's highest-touted up and coming outfielder isnt even at the AAA level yet. 

I'm at the point of free-flowing thought here, so why not jump into my anxiety over our pitching scene. I'll start by exclaiming YES! We have so many strong pitching options, that even when our rocks are struggling, we can patch it together and are none the worse for wear. I was injured by our rotation early on this season- I had so many high hopes, as did we all. Starting pitching was the least of Boston's concerns coming out of Spring Training. There's no need for me to recount what happened with Beckett, Lester, Dice-K, and Penny for the first 1.5 months. My trust was in Jon Lester, and I figured the others would follow suit; but I learned quickly that this was not to be the case. After a few sorely disappointing starts, I didnt even want to think about the starter of the night unless it was Wake; and the high I had ridden for the last half of the 2008 season with Petey and Lester dominating every chance they had simply did not pick up where it left off (Petey had a slow start too this season but I figured it couldnt last long). Fast-forward to just recently- Beckett had been showing signs of life over his last few starts, but my sigh of relief and my confidence in our rotation came back when Jon Lester became Jon Lester again, just this past week. If he can get another good one in there the next time he takes the mound, all will be right with the world.

So we've got a rotation that looks astounding on paper, and that is coming back around in reality (and that ultimately hasnt hurt us too badly even while struggling, if the standings are any indication). Look on any Boston MLB blog and you'll see at least one note about how, just below the 5 starters, we've got a bottleneck situation with John Smoltz, Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz, and Michael Bowden. Fantastic- we've got options. But not so fantastic- the possibility that we might cut away some of the excess here by making a trade for, say, a SS or a DH (both sorely needed). If not for my own tendency towards sentimentality (including my desire to see young minor leaguers succeed) I would be just as excited as the next Boston sports analyst (read: any Boston fan, because as Boston fans we give our opinions as fact)... seems only natural to look at our depth and think of how we can best use it to our team's advantage. If we have TOO many pitchers (come on, any baseball enthusiast knows there is no such thing) and the market is in desperate demand for pitching, we can get whatever we need at a "lesser cost" to the organization. We have what we need as far as pitching goes, after all, so we have room to play around.

...Please, no. I'm desperate here in my hope that this is not the higher-ups' POV.

I'm thankful that I havent come face to face with Theo for a few months now. As it is, I all but forced Jed Hoyer to publicly pledge his commitment and devotion to Michael Bowden back in April. If I spot Theo around town, I fear that I will be in very real danger of throwing myself at his feet and begging, pleading for him to hang on to Michael Bowden and Daniel Bard. Clay Buchholz is still such a question mark in my mind, though I feel that he has the potential to become an excellent major league starter near or at the top of the rotation (depending on who's rotation he's in). So far this year, he has been looking like a big leaguer through the majority of his starts, so no complaints regarding Buchholz's AAA performance. Anyhow, that's a bit beside the point-  what I'm saying here is that I like these fellows. I like them very much, Bard and Bowden in particular. They're two who I want to add to the list of players I can allow myself to consider comfortable, dependable, home-grown Boston warriors, who grow to love the team and the city as our other guys who are here to stay do.. and as I do, too. I want Boston to be their home, and for them to become part of my home. I believe in the good things that they have to offer, if only they stick around long enough to get their respective chances.

I wont delete the last paragraph+, but it's not a very productive part of this entry. My bias, I will admit, is toward the young ones in general. I'm fascinated by them. The ones my age or younger in particular, well, they astound me.

No more trade rumors. They have been making me neurotic. Buchholz and Bowden are always on the chopping block, with fainter hints that the names Masterson, Bard, and Penny are frequently being mentioned in negotiations as well (though the latter doesnt seem to fit in this grouping of sought-after prospects... but there are so many rumors that Penny's gonna be a-movin on before long).

I'm so relieved that the Sox are back in town. I have missed them more than I had realized up until the past few days. Tonight I bought tickets for 6/11 vs the yankees... and i'll have to make it to a game this weekend vs texas so i can see Elvis Andrus. another exciting one.

Losing steam... time to wrap it up and head to bed. It's been a long week of Paw Sox games, and I'm ready to find myself back at Fenway in a couple days.

Adieu.