(Note: I wrote all of this, then started searching through my archives for a picture of Petey to post, and decided to look through pics for half an hour.. then tried to fit a bunch of random favorites in here. Enjoy my mad photography skillz.)
http://youcanfeelthesun.blogspot.com/
Since i moved, I've been posting on the blog linked above. It's just life stuff, but it has been baseball-heavy of course. I really dont think most people who check that blog care about my baseball fixation, so maybe i'll try to split my content matter between sites.
2010! Moving right along, isnt it? Unfortunately for Red Sox Nation, all is not well. The Red Sox have tried to keep steady focus on their season, to leave dwelling on their collective personal issue outside of work hours so to speak, but clearly their distraught hearts are affecting their play.
..distraught because they're missing a rambunctious and previously-very-present fan at Fenway of course.
Had I known that my leaving would have THIS kind of effect on the start of the season, believe me, I never would have moved away. To the Red Sox, I would like to say this: I'm hurting as much as (and probably more than) you guys.
Hurting, in part, because you guys have had some pretty pathetic moments already. Thankfully, as usual, Dustin Pedroia is keeping me- and all of you- afloat when it's gametime.
No matter how bad things are looking... flat offense, errors, disappointing pitching... Petey steps up to the plate and within a minute I'm on my feet and my hands are in the air- homerun! stand-up double! rbi! He's always doing something right.
I have no specific agenda in writing tonight. Not sure if i'm missing the PawSox or RedSox more... at least I can watch the Red Sox. At least the Red Sox will come out this way in a few months. I listen to Paw Sox broadcasts when I can... just wish i could be there now and then. If Fenway was home, McCoy was my best friend's house, you know? The place I wanted to be if I couldnt be at Fenway. I almost always went alone, but i had many friends and acquaintances there- players, people who worked there, other fans. It's strange for me to think that Sean Danielson and Jeff Natale are gone.
Jeff and Sean
Sean
Neither of these guys got their due allotment of playing time last year, so in a way I'm glad that they're free to move on to new opportunities (Sean's in the Reds organization now but Jeff is unsigned last i heard).. still, even beyond their contribution to the actual games played, they were fixtures at McCoy for various reasons.. they made auxiliary marks on Pawtucket. I miss Charlie Zink too- it just wasnt his year last year.
He got picked up by the Cardinals in the offseason but was eventually let go during Spring Training. Sad sad sad. Such are the Minors though.
Last year around the trade deadline, I remember having a panic attack at work. My coworker Bill, who shared a room in the office with me, can attest. I was a mess, repeating over and over in my head that the rumors about an impending trade involving Michael Bowden were just rumors until proven otherwise, checking twitter and google news every 30 seconds up until the deadline- and then a few minutes beyond, just to make sure that I knew what was happening if and when anything did. He was just too big a part of my Paw Sox (and subsequently, Red Sox) experience last year.
I've come a long way. I like the guy a lot and root for him loudly, and beyond that I do believe in his ability and his work ethic, but without any anxiety I can say that this may be the year that Boston gives him up. I'm not basing this off of his performace thus far- over two starts, he's gone 6.1 innings, with 3 very solid and 3.1 not so spotless- is reminiscent of last year, which was spectacular at times and pretty subpar at others. Again, it's pointless to make any conclusions after two starts, and so few innings thrown.. I'm just bringing you up to speed a bit on his 2010 so far. In any case, there are prospects who should be stuck with through serious developmental challenges; anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a Buchholz fan, but his ceiling is high if/when he gets himself together. You hang on to a struggling ace, I'm all for that, I see the sense in that sort of investment. Bowden has never projected to be an ace (that's ok, we cant all be) and for a while now it looks like the Sox have lost hope/interest in grooming Bowdie to crack their rotation- he knows his role has changed and has publicly embraced it, which is a very smart move on his part- even if it could be looked upon as something of a demotion (but whether it is or isnt, a team player just wants to help his team win in the end).
Still, they've got him starting for the Paw Sox because 1) it's easier to stick a trained starter into a relief situation than a bullpen guy into a starting role and 2) may as well exercise his stamina/endurance if he's going to be a middle reliever, an innings eater. And who knows? Any given pitching staff is stupidly volatile (stupidly, because they're here one minute and gone the next, freak injuries, psychological blocks... it's crazy how quickly we went from having what felt like 10 big league/ready, momentum-carrying starters last year to having 3 to count on, who were performing unpredictably at best). Bowdie might have a shot at the rotation again, I dont think anyone has said Absolutely Not to that idea. It will be an interesting first few months, because he's a different pitcher now in a lot of ways- changed form/mechanics, leaner, new fashion statement (no socks showing... what a shame; the PawSox look like sandlot kids next to Scranton-Wilkes Barre (Yankees AAA) where everyone wears their socks showing, so sharp (they play sharply too, another way in which SWB makes the PawSox look like neighborhood kids, hehe)).
In summation, I'm definitely pulling for this guy as much as I ever was- I hope this season finds him making great progress and exceeding expectations. If it comes to it, though, and we get something/someone we need (take your pick at this point..) in exchange for Bowden, I wont despair.
But as things stand right now, what say the Sox call him up to the big club in time for their series in Los Angeles vs the Angels?
I had such a good Dustin Pedroia dream last week.
It's detailed on my other blog.. maybe I'll paste it here soon. Forgive the dull descriptive word here, but I just felt so
happy both during and after the dream, like I had had an unexpected visit from a good friend who I'd been missing.
What else... Chris Carter (traded from the PawSox to the Mets organization last year) ate the Paw Sox alive in one of their recent games. He was 4 for 4 with something like 30 homeruns and 77 stolen bases. Or something like that.
Well, he really did go 4 for 4. It was really impressive, but clearly i'm fading fast.. i should definitely be sleeping after the weekend I've had. I saw Scott Kazmir pitch for the Angels' A team, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. He did well and pitched more than half the game (too lazy to go look at my scorebook). Oh, and just now as I was looking for a good pic of Petey to post, I came across a bunch of other pics that I decided I'd like to post too. They're all from one of the most memorable games I've ever been to- June 20 2008, the night of the Celtics parade. We played the Cardinals.. it rained something terrible before the game/during the Celtics parade inside Fenway, so much so that many typically-hearty New England folk left the park. I was a direct beneficiary of this, and had a couple VERY good seats behind the on deck circle (i think my ticket was actually for the bleachers, so it was quite a steal). Anyhow, in perusing that night's pictures, I decided that I should mention the following:
(With the Royals now.) He had a lot of fun with the Sox just recently.. and i JUST missed picking him up in fantasy. Argh. Someone got him off waivers right before I could.
Maybe going into a slide wasnt necessary, Jacoby. But everyone in RSN should be upset w Beltre (ok, that's a bit harsh); he had little to no business trying to catch that ball when you were running in on it. PLEASE heal quickly.
I like him, always have. But Wake and question marks go hand in hand these days.
One more time for tonight.. man this guy is awesome.
On my long drives to and from Laytonville this weekend, I listened to this Kings of Leon song quite a bit, as most of the lyrics remind me of Boston, the Sox, and everything that fits under that sentimental and beloved umbrella:
What a night for a dance, dont you know I'm a dancing machine
With the fire in my bones and the sweet taste of kerosene
I get lost in the night so high I don't wanna come down
To face the loss of the good thing that I had found
Woo hoo hoooo
Woo hoo hoooo
In the dark of the night I can hear you calling my name
With the hardest of hearts, I still feel full of pain
So I drink and I smoke and I ask you if youre ever around
Even though it was me who drove us right in the ground
See the time we shared it was precious to me
But all the while I was dreaming of revelry
Gonna run baby run like a stream down a mountainside
With the wind in my back I wont ever even bat an eye
Just know it was you all along that had a hold of my heart
But the demon in me was a best friend from the start
So the time we shared it was precious to me
All the while I was dreaming of revelry
Dreaming of revelry
And I told myself Boy, away you go
It rained so hard it felt like snow
Everything came tumbling down on me
In the back of the woods, in the dark of the night
Paleness of the old moonlight
Everything just felt so incomplete
Dreaming of revelry
