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)

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.

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.