The 4-3, the 3-4 and 34

Okay, if you have been following the Patriots at all this week you'd realize they were snapping up DEs and DTs like nobody's business. All of a sudden, the Hoody (Bill Belichick) is seemingly switching to a 4-3, considering they took less than 5% of all defensive snaps from the 4-3 since 2008 that's pretty ding dang dong ridiculous.

And at the risk of sounding like the homer I am, I have to say "all hail the Hoody".

Think about it. The Patriots played 3-4 for years. They didn't do 4-3. Period. So all these offense packages that teams have been dreaming up during the lockout, and you know they were working on those, to go against the Patriots D are all out the window now because to be honest no one really knows what they are going to do.

Okay now that I have everyone thoroughly confused, here's the deal with the different types of defense. I'll go over the major differences because if I start having to get into the coverage guys...it'll make your head spin. We'll start by explaining the personnel.

Linemen: these are the big guys. In a 3-4 defense, there are 3 lineman: a nose tackle (the biggest and strongest) and two defensive ends (DE) who are on either "end" of the three man line. In the 4-3 defense, there are four linemen. The two big dudes in the middle are called defensive tackles (DT) and are usually referred to as the "left" or "right" DT. Pretty self-explanatory.

Linebackers: they do exactly what their name suggests. The stand in back of the line. These guys are a little smaller and a little faster. In the 3-4 defense, you have four linebackers and they concentrate more on stopping the run and confusing the passer (the quarterback). In the 4-3, there are only three linebackers. Linebackers have several names:

Inside Linebacker (ILB) AKA Middle Linebacker (MLB) AKA "Mike". These are your guys in the middle of the line of linebackers. This is your boss of the defense, usually the guy yelling to his teammates what the QB is about to do or if a blitz has been called, etc. These guys have to do it all, they have to spy on the quarterback, tackle, block runs up the middle, blitz, or drop back into pass coverage depending on the situation.

Outside Linebacker (OLB) The outside linebacker stands on either end of the line of linebackers. They come in two varieties:
Strongside Linebacker AKA "Sam". These are your big strong guys in terms of linebackers. They line up on the strong side,
which is the side with the most offensive players.

Weakside Linebackers AKA "Will". These are your most mobile and your fastest linebackers. They line up on the side with
the least offensive players and often have to drop back into pass coverage.


Now that you know who everyone is, here is how those defenses work.

The 3-4
In the 3-4 you have 3 linemen, they consist of one Nose tackle and 2 DEs. Behind them you have 4 linebackers. This is a defense used by the Steelers, Jets, Dolphins, Redskins, Cowboys and several other teams. This seems to be the "trendy" defensive style at the moment,


The 4-3
In the 4-3, you have 4 linemen. A left DT and a right DT and two DEs. Behind them are 3 linebackers. Currently the Colts, Eagles, Lions and several other teams favor this style of defense.


Now, just because a team prefers one over the other doesn't mean that is the only defense they do. But count the players when they line up at the line of scrimmage (where the ball is) and you'll be able to make a good guess at what style of defense they are lining up in.

Back to the Patriots. So why are they changing things up when the rest of the league seems to be going the other way? Why not? If this season has taught me anything so far it is that you can never trust Bill Belichick to do what is expected. Watching them and the Eagles this pre-season, I keep wondering where they are getting all this money from. The Patriots like to get good deals for their players but they've always stayed closer to the cap than the stingier teams. And now they are switching the defense all up and have all these new faces I don't know what the team will look like come Thursday when they take on the Jags for the first preseason game of the year. Football (for real) is ALMOST HERE!

You know what, I might even watch the whole preseason game because I'm so starved for football that I don't care if I have no idea who is playing and the JV team is out there. It's football and it's back.

Switching sports for a moment. I'd like to add something about my very favorite #34 since we've been talking about 3-4 and 4-3. David Ortiz had a monster night against the Twinkies (Min Twins) tonight. 4-5 with 3 RBIs and just a triple short of the cycle is no laughing matter, especially since the team arrived in Minnesota around 5 PM due to an extremely late marathon against the Yankees. Papi has been slumping a little since the break, but seems to be coming out of it with a great night tonight and some solid ABs against the Yankees.

Schedule for the week:

Sox vs. Twins 8/9 and 8/10

Sox vs. Mariners 8/12-8/14

Patriots vs. Jags 8/11

Now if only I didn't have finals, this would be a fantastic week. I gotta go dig out my jerseys because FOOTBALL IS BACK!

"Wake"ing Up The Red Sox

Wednesday, Tim Wakefield flirted with a perfect game, and might have restored the Red Sox confidence in themselves.


It feels as though these first two weeks of baseball, the Red Sox have been trying to start a car. Sometimes the ignition turns over, but it doesn't last long. Maybe Wake's start is the jump they need to really get moving. It does not help, of course, that they had to face first the Rays, and then the emotionally charged and always difficult LA Angels.

Looking at the stats for the first two weeks of the season give me hope, however. They have allowed the second fewest runs in the AL East, the Rays have allowed two fewer, but the Red Sox are one of the three teams with more runs allowed than runs scored. So there is your problem. Well, Dice-K and Lowrie being injured doesn't help either, but truly, the issue is offense.

The Red Sox have just 35 RBIs so far this year. That's 27th in the league. Their on-base percentage is ranked considerably higher. Which leads me to one issue: they can't hit with runners on. While more of the team has moved above .200, Varitek (who's right at .200), Pedroia, Ellsbury, and Ortiz are all still below the .200 mark. Dustin is a traditionally slow starter, so his engine should start going soon, Papi had his first extra-base hit of the season, so maybe that will kick him into gear, and Ellsbury seems to be coming back, he's hit much better in the A's series than the others.

Maybe Wake's brush with history will rejuvinate the entire team. Right now, Youkilis and Bay are on fire. Youk's hitting .472 and Bay is hitting .345, both with two homers. Varitek's average might be a little low, but of his five hits, two are doubles, and two are home runs. He's hitting for much more power than last year and is tied with the lowest number of strike-outs on the team.

I'm an eternal optimist. So maybe all of this is nothing, and they're going to continue to be below .500 for the first time in years, but somehow, I doubt it. Maybe Tek is going to have another bad year, but what I've seen so far says otherwise. Maybe Bay won't hit 30 homers, but I think he will. And maybe Kevin Youkilis will slump after the All-Star break, but I have faith.

The Sox return home tonight to take on the Orioles at 7:10. Penny takes on Guthrie, who has looked pretty good in his two starts for the birds. The Orioles are a game back of the AL East leading Toronto Blue Jays. Raise your hand if you saw that one coming. If Penny can locate tonight, and the bats can get moving, I think the Sox turn it around and get back above .500.

Pink Hats, The Youk Fu, Some Aces and a Changeup

There's a lot to cover today, and since Spring training has officially started, we finally have news! On a funny note, Manny rejected another massively huge offer from the Dodgers. That's his fourth offer he's declined due to either: not enough money or not enough years. Really, at this point, Boras should be telling him to take anything because no one is going to pay as much as he wants for as many years as he wants because we know that Manny doesn't play unless its a contract year. Enough said.

Next on the list, the now-infamous and controversial pink hats. I've actually had several emails/comments/etc about the pink hats, either for or against. So here's the new plan: a poll. Its at the end of the article, so select your answer and we will get a clear picture of how Red Sox Nation (or any baseball fans, really) feel about the pink hats.

Moving on. A few days ago was Red Sox Photo Day. Probably one of the most ridiculous things in all of baseball, photo day never ceases to produce a few funny pictures.While we haven't seen all the pictures yet, here's the first few. We get a glimpse at the "Youk Fu" (to be explained later), we realize that the team as a whole is not particularly photogenic, and we see that Terry Francona looks a little like Ben Kinglsley. Click on the photos to seem them larger.

Here they are, from left to right, top to bottom:
Row 1: OF Jacoby Ellsbury, RHP Michael Bowden, 1B/DH David Ortiz, OF Jason Bay, RHP
Josh Beckett
Row 2: U Mark Kotsay, OF J.D. Drew, LHP Jon Lester, 3B Mike Lowell, SS Julio Lugo
Row 3: 2B Dustin Pedroia, RHP John Smoltz, RHP Brad Penny, RHP Jonathan Papelbon,
LHP Hideki Okajima
Row 4: RHP Junichi Tazawa, C Jason Varitek, RHP Tim Wakefield, 1B Kevin Youkilis,
Skipper Terry Francona

Along with being picture day, it also seemed to be father's day, with Little Papi and Little Lugo hanging out. Here are some super cute pics that made me go "awwwwwww"

Aren't they just too cute?

A few final things to address: The Youk Fu. I would try to explain, but I'll just let Kevin Youkilis do it for me.

The Youk Fu
by beisbolct


Guess the goatee is out...

Finally, lets take a look at the pitching staff. While Wake was a little rusty in his start, Beckett, Saito, Lester...they've all be sharp. Lester has even worked on his changeup a little more and if he continues to progress it through Spring training, he'll have a very dangerous pitch added to his already ace-like repertoire.

One thing you can't argue is that the Red Sox have massive depth with pitching. They have several guys who could start but will likely be in the bull pen because they don't need to start. So that makes the good bull pen even better. Then we have the consistent capstone himself in Papelbon, and I think with a pen this strong, he won't have to come in for any 5-out saves or even 4-out saves, which will keep him full of gas just a little bit longer.

What can I say, I'm excited about this season. I think they have great chemistry in the clubhouse with guys like Papi, Pedroia, Papelbon, Tek, Lowell, and Youk. They all relax and goof off in the clubhouse, but when the game is on, so are they. And I don't think we've seen the last of "Large Father" and "Pedroia Productions". I'm sure Pap's mom has a lot more embarrassing movies of her son that will make their way into the clubhouse this year.

A few final questions facing the Sox this year:
1. Will Jacoby steal his way back into America's heart by winning another free taco?
2. How much Double Bubble will Tito go through on average a game?
3. Will Pedroia attack the next person who calls him a "little guy" "jockey", etc?
4. Will the Youk Fu catch on as a national craze?

Finally, and, most importantly:

5. Will Pedroia ever beat Tito at Cribbage?

Your Pink Hat Opinion

I have no opinion. I\'m neutral. They aren\'t called the \"Pink Sox\" so why wear a pink hatNULL Real fans wear pink hats! Only for special events, like cancer awareness days They\'re okay if your a girl Other opinion.

View Results Free Myspace Poll

So You Wanna Be A Red Sox Fan? Part 2

Here's part two of your guide to being a Red Sox Fan.

As one of my lovely commentators pointed out, there are a few aspects of Fenway that I forgot to mention. So here's a brief guide to Fenway:

-It was built for the 1912 season, and the Red Sox owner at that time, John I. Taylor, decided to call it "Fenway Park" because it was located in a section of Boston called "the Fens". (If you were wondering, Taylor was also the guy who changed the club's name to the Red Sox in 1907)

-Duffy's Cliff: Around from 1912-1933, Duffy's Cliff was a 10' high mound that ran from the left-field foul pole to center field, and because of this, any left-fielder playing at Fenway had to play the entire game running uphill. Duffy Lewis, a star left fielder for Boston, had playing this way so down pat, they named it after him.

-The Red Seat: There's a seat in the right field bleachers painted red. It marks the spot of the longest measurable homer hit inside Fenway. Ted Williams hit it on June 9, 1946, and it was measured at 502 feet. According to legend, the ball crashed through the straw hat of a man sitting in that seat, Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21.

-The Pesky Pole: The right field foul pole is named after Johnny Pesky. He's been a virtual fixture at Fenway since 1942. While he moved around a bit, Pesky has been nicknamed "Mr. Red Sox" and his number, number 6, was retired last year. The pole was officially named "Pesky's Pole" on September 27, 2006, Pesky's 87th birthday.

-Did you know that Fenway Park cost $650,000 to build in 1912?

-The largest crowd ever at Fenway was 47,627, for a doubleheader against, you guessed it, the Yankees in 1935.

-Behind the manual scoreboard (one of the last remaining) in left field is a room where the walls are covered with signatures of players who have played left field over the years. Maybe that's where Manny always disappeared to...

-No one has ever hit a ball over the right field roof.

-The screen behind home plate that protects spectators from wild pitches/fouls/etc was the first of its kind in the majors

-9 Red Sox players have pitched no-hitters at Fenway: George Foster (6/21/1916), Dutch Leonard (08/30/1916), Ernie Shore (06/23/1917), Mel Parnell (07/14/1956), Dave Morehead (09/16/1965), Derek Lowe (04/27/2002), Clay Buchholz (09/01/2007) and Jon Lester (05/19/2008)

-The Sox have currently sold out 469 consecutive games, and with the team as talented as it is this year, look for it to increase.

Now a few more clarifications/rules/tips:

-There is no curse of the Babe, we were not cursed and we don't believe in it. Some people did/do but its best, if you want to hide your newbie status, not to mention the "Curse of the Bambino".

-Before you go to a game, familiarize yourself with the roster and the starter's numbers. This will help you, trust me.

-The "Yankees Suck" chant. I know I already mentioned it, but I think I need to clarify. If you are a new fan, its best to avoid starting these chants simply because of your in-experience. Some fans believe it is applicable any time, any where. Others think there is a time and place. Save yourself the trouble and join in, but don't start.

-Don't ask stupid questions. What is a stupid question? Here's one: "I thought Manny Ramirez played left...who is that Jason Bay guy?" or "Why does that guy have the 'C' on his chest?" These will get you glares/looks of shock and will guarantee that everyone thinks you are a bandwagon jumper.

-if someone calls you a "bandwagon jumper" don't get defensive and start spouting off this whole sob story about how you've been a Sox fan since the '86 season (I'll give you a hint, ball rolling through Bill Buckner's legs...). Just say "you're crazy" or "okay" and brush it off. Unless you have asked one of the above questions, then just admit to it and say something nice about the fans/team/etc and all will be forgiven. Most of the time.

-Fenway is old. It has lots of bad seats, but lots of character as well. Just don't ask why they built it like that, because its been that way since 1912, as you've just learned, and its just the way it is.

Now, for a few pronunciations.This isn't all-inclusive, so if you run into a problem, go with their first name or just point.

David Ortiz = (or-teez)

Jason Varitek = (Ver-a-tech)

Jacoby Ellsubury = (ju-cO-bee)

Dustin Pedroia = (Pedroy-ya)

Kevin Youkilis = (You-kill-is) just call him "Youk"

Daisuke Matsuzaka = (Dice-K Mat-sue-za-ka) just call him "Dice-K"

Hideki Okajima = (Hide-e-key O-ka-G-ma) just call him "Oki"

That's it for part 2. If I hear of anything else, there will be a part three, if not, look forward to my next article which actually will be on the MLB's best fans.

Well, Someone Has To Go

Okay kids. Here it is, game 7 of the ALCS. Anyone else but me incredibly surprised to be here? (Think back to Thursday before the 7th inning and be honest with yourself)

Tonight, Jon Boy takes the mound against Garza.

We're putting our best foot forward, I have my lucky shirt, and join my incredibly superstitious friends in keeping my fingers crossed. Look at this survey on the Boston Globe's website:

See the choices? You gotta love superstitious baseball fans.

So I was all kinds of cursing TBS last night. I don't care if you have a power outtage, the Steve Harvey show was a BAD CALL. The Office would have been a little less annoying. So I logged in to all the various websites, watching TBS Hotcorner (which I am not a fan of) listening to WRKO (love them!) and watching gameday pitch-by-pitch. So of course I found myself yelling agrily at BJ Upton before long. I called home and my mother, though I love her, occasionally choses the "hometown" boys over the team that the rest of my family is insane about. Not a very nice thing to do in the regular season, but a cardinal sin in the post-season, especially when facing elimination.

Note on the "hometown": I graduated high school with Justin Upton (DBacks), BJ's little brother. BJ did not go to my school, he went to a local private school, though I have met him, David Wright (Mets), and Mike Cuddyer (Twins) - all local boys. Thus, he's a "local" boy and my mother loves it when anyone from our area does well. I usually do too...just not in the postseason when they're playing my team.

Back to the game. The Rays lead 1-0, but never fear! Youk is here! Youk launches a solo shot to tie the game. Thank goodness, because with the way both Sheilds and Beckett were pitching, it was going to be a tight one.

Yay for Youk, because he hits a sac-grounder which scores Pedroia on the go-ahead run in the third. Then Becks gives up a solo homer to Bartlett, and we're tied again in the 5th. But it could have been worse, had the Rays not put on a hit-and-run which allowed Tek to throw out Navarro at second. So we come to the 6th. Two outs, Tek is up. We love the Captain, and watching him struggle is more painful than most players just in a slump. On a 2-0 pitch, Shields hung a fastball to the corner and bam! Tek hit the go-ahead solo homer and the Sox never looked back.

I mean, if you're going to have only one hit this series, that was a really great time to do it. It got the Sox pumped up even more and the 2-out rally continued, thanks to an E by Bartlet and some clutch hits from Coco, Dustin, and Papi, who, by the way, hit a double and an RBI single last night.


The bull pen, which came in for the 6th, shut it down. Oki went two beastly innings, Masterson settled down marvelously after hitting a batter, and Paps, even though he looks a little gassed (yipes!) got it done in a big way.

So now there's one game left. Winner goes to the World Series, loser starts shopping for Halloween costumes. Tonight we hand the ball to the de fecto ace of the team, Jon Lester. To be quite honest with you, win or lose, they have done a GREAT job. And I really feel that if we can hit with men on (stranded TWELVE last night!) and Lester can keep the game under control, we'll be golden. Though I'd like us to blow them out so Paps can rest. We need him and he needs it.

So good luck Sox, the Nation is behind you.

No Freakin' Way!

Sorry for the long hiatus, but midterms, projects and one nasty cold
have combined to keep me sleeping when not watching games or doing
homework. Notice how all of these things have to happen in the same
week? The Sox drop three games, I catch a monster cold, I have two midterms, a paper, and a project due and I have a massive shoot for the project that isn't due for two weeks. On to the craziest comeback I've ever seen. Period.


So, the Sox were down by 7 heading into the 7th inning, and I was contemplating the merits of being a temporary Phillies fan.

And then Pedroia hit an RBI single and scores Lowrie. Finally, the Sox were on the board. Here I am thinking: at least we weren't going to get shut out.

Pedroia Gets it Going


Then Papi comes up, and with two men on, Papi swings...its going...going...THREE RUN SHOT! PAPI HITS A HOME RUN!!!!
At this point, I call my dad, who has gone to bed and tell him to put the game back on we're only down by three runs and we've still got seven outs. Somehow, we can feel the momentum shifting our direction.

Papi's 3-Run Shot


Paps comes back for the top of the 8th and has a shut-down inning. And the momentum continues to shift. Then back come the Sox in the 8th. JBay gets on and bam! Mr. Clutch JD Drew comes up with a 2-run homer.

JD Drew's 2-Run Homer




Now the lead is down to one tiny little run. Then Mark Kotsay hits a towering 2-out RBI double and scores on a Coco Crisp single to tie the game. Even though Coco was thrown out at second (there were some weird throws in there, so he thought he could extend the single...) he is beyond excited, throwing his helmet and Fenway is going NUTS. PS...check out Mike Lowell when Kotsay doubles. I tell you what, he may not be playing, but he is still in the game.

Kotsay Doubles


Coco Ties the Game


In the 9th. Masterson is on and he gets into a little bit of trouble, but then gets Pena to ground into a double play to end the inning.

Key 463 Double Play


So we head into the 9th, Pedroia, Papi and Youk up. (Pretty good order, huh?) Pedroia grounds out, Papi strikes out and its all up to Youk. He hits one to Longoria and I'm thinking extra innings, but it bounces off the glove of Pena and Youk is on 2nd. They give an intentional free pass to JBay and take on JD Drew. (AKA, Mr. Clutch) JD whacked a screaming liner passed Gross to score Youk and end the game.

JD walk off single


And so the Red Sox staged the second greatest comeback in MLB postseason history (by one run) and force a trip back to St. Pete. The momentum shifted big time in the Sox favor, just like it did the Rays after the extra-innings victory in game 2. Here's hoping they can keep it and head back to the Fall Classic! If not, whatever. This game was uh-mazing!

How To Ride The Red Sox Roller Coaster

Okay. I'm finally sitting down to do this after last night's game. I reiterate how much I hate west-coast games and how excited I am that they are playing in the Fens tomorrow. I also gotta say, I usually don't watch games with my dad. Being in school and all, you know, he's not there. I'm home for the weekend so I got to watch it with him (its been about two years since we've watched a playoff game together). Watching with my dad truly highlighted the absolute difference in generations of fans. I'm from the generation where we don't remember the heartaches as much. I mean, the first time I saw the Sox in the World Series, I was a month old and they lost (1986 WS). My mom eventually took me away from my dad, for fear that instead of the remote flying at the TV in frustration, it would be me. Of course, my dad would never actually throw me at the TV, but I digress...

So we're watching the game, and I get nervous, turn my hat inside-out, change shirts, etc., but I don't give up. I am an eternal optimist. The whole "Sox fans are all crazy pessimists" is a stereotype and you have to look at the ages of these people. Those of us born in the past 20 years or so only remember a few bad years, like 2003. But we mostly remember 2004 and 2007. While we've heard all the stories of all the bad years, we didn't live through it.

So we're watching the game, and my Dad is like a yo-yo. He can go from loving the Sox to needing a prozac in 30 seconds or less. Two outs in the first, Drew is up to bat, Papi and Youk are on base. Dad is thinking of JD's game 1. Then he hits a double and scores Papi. Next up, Jason Bay. At this point, Dad is just amazed, because the Red Sox never rally with 2 outs. Lets be honest, here, no one really does. So Bay steps up and launches a three-run shot, becoming the first Red Sox player ever to homer in his first two post-season games. (Think he's enjoying his first trip into October?)

After that, we watched (me nervously, my dad, angrily) as the Angels pecked away at our lead, until finally, in the eigth, its tied 5-5 on a sac-fly in the 8th (inherited runner from Masterson). Due to the day of rest, both Tito and Scioscia had the closers on in the 8th. Paps shuts down the inning, continuing to have a 0.00 ERA in the post-season (its only two games, but still...) At this point, I have changed my shirt to bring some good kharma and my Dad is close to giving up. And we both really, really, really want to strangle the rally monkey (seriously). So Papi hits a double and we come to Drew with one out in the ninth. JD's been fierce tonight, and me, the eternal optimist, have already said before this inning: one fo them could hit a home run, you know. My dad scoffed at this but a two-run dinger from JD Drew let me say "I told you so". JD Drew hit a homer off of K-Rod, with the count 2-2. That just doesn't happen. All of Red Sox nation is again celebrating JD Drew's clutch homer (remember last year?) which immediately silenced the crowd and put away the monkeys (seriously, monkeys?).

Down to the bottom of the ninth, Pap is back, and Hunter bunts, but is out on a good play by Youk. Then Matthews works Paps for quite a few pitches, and fouls one off. It's going to land in the cameras, but Youk reaches in and grabs it for an amazing catch and the 2nd out of the 9th. Then Paps gets Kendrick to end the game and put Boston ahead in the series 2-0. So here's to game 3, and for my father's health (I seriously worry about his heart during the playoffs) I hope they blow the Angels out of the water.

In other news: I'm currently watching the Cubs continue to collapse. Its the top of the 8th and they are down 3-1 to the Dodgers, two out, one guy on. My prediction is the Dodgers are about to achieve what the Brewers managed to avoid today: the sweep. Any one taking the ChiSox at home? I am. I have this feeling that series is going to go 4 or 5 games. Obviously, I'm gonna take the Sox at home to finish the sweep of the Halos. Maybe killing the rally monkey in the process...you know, maybe one time he bounces right into a black hole or something? Sorry. I have an inexplicable hatred for the Rally monkey. Not sure what that's about, but...eh.

Hopefully on the playlist for tomorrow: Sweet Caroline, I'm Shipping Up To Boston, Dirty Water and Tessie. GO SOX!

LIVE Blog of the Jays-Red Sox Game

What a comeback last night. Whew. Scary. Live blog time!

Holy cow. What a match-up today. Halladay (on short rest) vs southpaw ace Lester.

Crap. Home run Toronto. Lester is throwing rockets but his control is off. Good thing we have game-manager extraordinare behind the plate (thank goodness for Tek!)

Batter up.

Single Jacoby! Yay! Here comes MVP Dustin Pedroia! (What? I can hope, can't I?)
Steal Jacoby and Sac-bunt for Dustin, Jacoby to third and here comes big Papi. All we need is a single or sac-fly. I tell you what, Dustin does it all, home runs, sac-flies, doubles, triples, bunts...Papi's out at first but Jacoby scores, tie game.

Youuuuuuuukkkkk. After a long at-bat, Youk hits a bat-shattering single. Mikey up.

Okay, I get that Toronto really wants to win, but pitching Halladay on three days rest is really not a good move, especially in September. Mike is out at first, and we go to commercial.

Overbay is up. And Lester got him. And the Yankees are leading the Rays 6-3 in the bottom of the 2nd (wow). Say it with me everyone. "Let's go Yankees!"

Okay, count is full on Rolen and Lester walks him. He is really not finding the strike zone right now. Wacko chopper, nice stop Pedroia and a bang-bang play. He's out.

Lester is up 0-2 on McDonald. Come on Jon, just one more strike and we're good. McDonald is battling. Lester really needs to get some control down, because he's thrown WAY too many pitches for it to only be the 2nd inning. Swing and a miss, he's out. Commercial time.

Back to the game. JBay is up. Bottom of the third, Yankees up 6-3 bottom of the third. Oh! JBay hits a double. Yay for JBay! Here comes the Captain. Come on Tek! We love Tek. Whatever he can do to get JBay to third or to score, he'll do it. And you can talk about how his average is down - good eye Tek! - we need that man behind the plate as long as we can because that man is a beastly fabulous leader. Good job, Captain, sac-single to get JBay to third.

Cora is up and the infield is in. I have a feeling we're in for a pitchers duel. Both pitchers are up over 30 pitches in the 2nd. The 'pens will be getting some work tonight. Okay, I think the TBS is in love with Halladay, because they are fawning all over him. Yes, he is a great pitcher, but come on!

Oh, Cora out on strikes. Coco is up. I'd recognize that batting stance anywhere. Oh, and announcers, its impossible to take the Fenway crowd completely out of the game, you underestimate the fan-base.

Coco hits a 2-out RBI single and Ellsbury is up. He has caught fire again, and I am hoping he can make a big push for Rookie of the Year. Bunt, but they got him. Inning over.

Lester seems to be getting things under control...big hit but Coco is there...1 out. Come on Lester, get them up. Liner back, Lester misses, Pedroia scoops it up and gets the out at first. 2 down. Next up, Alex Rios. Lester gets ahead 1-2. Lets close this one out with a K, lefty. Rips one...they try for it but its in the alley. Double for Rios. Next batter. He pops up and Cora gets it. Inning over.

Dustin is up. I love him, he doesn't think any pitcher should be able to get him out, and he goes up knowing he's going to get a hit. That's the kind of batter I like. Fly out, out 1. That's okay, here comes Papi. 2-2 on Papi, and he is really not happy with himself. And he strikes out swinging. Top of the 5th and the Yanks are still beating the Rays. Remember that old adage "I root for the Red Sox and anyone playing the Yankees"? Well, things sure have changed.

Youk's up, down 0-2. Seems like Halladay has found his zone, but Youk is battling. Hit to third, out at fist.

While the Jays are up, here's a score update: Yankees lead TB 6-3, Os lead Twins 5-0. Good things for the AL East and good things for the AL Wild Card.

Nice catch by Ellsbury for the second out. Wow, what a play by Lowell and Youk! Three out.

Three-up, three down. Crap. Anyone else think the strike zone on this guy is a little off? Oh well, at least he's consistent.

Batista against JLes, Ellsbury has the catch. You gotta love the Sox outfeild right now. Coco and Ellsbury are speed demons and can move all over to catch the ball. And Jason Bay isn't exactly slow either. Line out to Mikey and its 2 out. Lester is 2-2 on Batista, got him.

Okay, back to the game with 2 outs in the fifth. Jacoby up. Come on buddy, get a rally going. At least stop the Halladay streak of retiring batters. Nope. Took a swing at a bad one and struck out.

Bring on the 6th.

I have a theory about the TBS annoucers. I think they are biased, they clearly want Toronto to win this game. Now, in a nationally broadcast game, where there are many more Red Sox fans. Grounder to Pedroia, out at first. Grounder to Mikey and out at first. Liner and foul. 0-2. They are really swinging at Lester. Swing and a miss and Lester has taken out 8 in a row.

Dustin is up to start. Lets break the Halladay streak. He's thrown 85 pitches, they have to be getting close to pulling him. Pedroia hits it to third, thrown out at first. And here comes Papi. Yankees still beating the Rays, bottom of the 6th. Papi's wrist is still kind of bothering him, but he won't rest until the Sox are done for the season, because that is how Papi plays. Full count. Fly out. Youk is up, Halladay is behind 3-0 on him. A few pitches later and its full count. Infield ground ball, out at first.

Lester is looking pretty good. Got his sixth K. Dang, Mikey couldn't make a play, but good stop anyway. I don't care if Halladay has retured 13 batters and Lester only retired 9. Scoreboard!

Walked him. Two on. Come on Lester! Masterson is warming up in the 'pen, I love watching him pitch!

DP for Cora, DP and Youk, inning over.

Mikey is up. Halladay is at 105 pitches, full count on Lowell. Base hit Mikey. Lets get a rally started! Bay-man is up, popped out. Bring on the Captain, base hit for Tek! Cora is up and takes one high, ball 1. Hits it, Tek's out at 2nd, but they can't get the double play on Cora. Coco is up to bat. Line to left, drops down for a hit and Mikey is in. Coco gets his second 2-out RBI. Jacoby is up. Pops out. Inning done, but another run to pad the lead. Yay!

Okay, I'm gonna shut it down so I can go and get ready to watch the Patriots game. This has been fun, but I'll blog later.

Byrd and Boston Soar to Win, but Brady's Knee is a Big Loss

The Red Sox won. The Rays lost. The Patriots won. I should be jubilant and obnoxiously happy as a write this, but as it stands, I have almost no joy.

According to wire reports from Yahoo and another site (both citing anonymous sources "close" to the Patriots) say Tom Brady has a torn ACL and will be out for the season. However, this is not from the Patriots as of yet, and could be the same "sources" who told the Boston Herald about the Ram's walk-through being taped, which we all now know was wrong and unsubstantiated. There is no need to panic. I, for one, will not trust a report until it is coming from Bill B or Tommy or someone who I actually can see who said it. How can they know? He doesn't have an MRI until tomorrow! So unless you have MRI-vision, oh "sources" of Yahoo, then how can you possibly know? Or are you going on the expertise of the Jets players (who are in Miami currently), who watched the play on TV and said he had a torn ACL?

Too much speculation. I remain optimistic until the official word has come down.

Okay, on to baseball.

Papi ended a 19-game homer-less streak. Yay. Lots to smile about here.

David Ortiz after hitting a 2-run homer. Image found here

Varitek's average has stayed in the high 220s for over two weeks now. That's good news for him, it meas he's probably closer to his old hitting self.

Ellsbury hit one and walked once (a totally clutch RBI hit with 2-out), Youk is back, Coco had an amazing night, and Byrd and co held the Rangers to 7 scoreless innings. The Rays, White Sox, Twins and Yankees all won, which does nothing but help the Sox in their wild card/AL east race.

PS...anyone notice that the Rays have dropped the past 3 games? They come to Fenway for a three game series, probable pitchers: Lester vs. Jackson. The Sox are hitting .308 against Jackson while the Rays are hitting just .250 against Lester. Should be an interesting game, especially with the AL East now squarely on the line and the Rays coming in having lost three, while the Sox come in having won the rubber match against Texas.

Bring on the Rays. God, if you can hear me, please, let Tommy be okay and let the Rays lose this next series.

Hey, God cares about sports too!

Take A Deep Breath...And Let It Out

I have some staggering stats for you following last night's down-to-the-wire game.

455. Fenway has sold out 455 consecutive times. Tying the Indians record for most consecutive sell-outs. When they return home after the brief trip to Texas, they will break the record.

.621: That's Dustin Pedroia's batting average over the past 7 days.

3.79: that's the ERA for the starting pitchers. Not bad when your team has average 5.3 runs a game. Look for the ERA to get lower as we roll into September and October. (Especially if Beckett returns to his dominance, and Lester gets his power under control.)

97. That's how fast Lester threw one pitch against the Orioles. He claims to have never gone higher than 96 in his career. If he can get a fastball that fast under control, he will be the ace of the AL.

44: Stolen bases for Jacoby Ellsbury, who has struggled to get on base all year. Imagine how much larger that number would be if he could get on base more often...

110 and 191. That's how many times Dustin Pedroia has scored and how many hits he has this season. Those are both Major Leage Leading Stats.

2. That's how many players the Red Sox have who are in the running for MVP, some might even say that they are the front-runners.

and finally...


3. That's the games back we are on Tampa Bay, who still have one more night with the Yankees, who have now won 6 straight road games. We still lead the Wild Card, but I would love to retake the East just in time for the playoffs.


Now, back to the game.

Dice-K did well, not one of his stronger outings, but not bad either. We just could not get any offense going.

Except for Dustin, who looks like he could get a hit in his sleep. The bottom half of the order produced too, at least, a little.

Youk was again out, and Jason Bay had the day off, so already the bats are just a little bit weaker.

The Sox started to come back, then stalled, leaving the score at 4-2 Orioles.

Then Papi got a free pass. Dustin got a double, and Kotsay hit a wall-bouncing triple to score them both, tying the game in the bottom of the 8th.

The Sox held the Orioles, who threatened with two men on in the 9th, but could not deliver, and then the bottom of the order came up. Cora singled, then Crisp singled on a wack-a-doodle bunt that 99% of the time rolls foul, but didn't, then Jacoby, who popped out in the 7th with the bases loaded and 2 outs, stepped up and bunted. Cora dived into third, the ball was overthrown, so he got up and scored, meeting his teammates at home, ecstatic to have come back and finished the sweep, something that had been unable to do against the White Sox and against the Yankees.

Yay. And Crisp was running his heart out, not realizing that Cora was the winning run and the game was over.

That might be the weirdest walk-off win I have ever seen, on a sac-bunt and a throwing error.

We have the night off. Good. I'm tired and I need to watch the season opener for FOOTBALL!!!! Yay.

Of Dice and Men and Perfect Pedroia

Dice-K had an astounding outing yesterday against the visiting chiSox. Which, I have a temporary complaint: we live in southeastern VA. I realize and understand that WGN is Chicago-based, but it is unnerving and annoying to watch a home game from the visitor's side and I HATE Harrelson. Rem-Dawg (NESN) is clearly biased, but no one, I mean NO ONE is as bad as the guys who do games for the White Sox. If I have to hear something repeated/hear "he gone" one more time, I will strangle someone.

(Sorry, I'm watching the game right now, and I am so tempted to mute the TV and pull up gameday audio with WRKO so I don't have to listen to these guys!)

Dustin was fantastic, going 4 for 4, and Papi, Youk and Tek had great nights. Talk about Tek, he has brought his batting average up, like .010 in a week and a half. (Note, this stat may not be so surprising for everyone, but for Tek, especially this year, that is great!)

Okay, game is on and commercial is over, I'll write again when the game is over (though, I have to say, I'm loving our bats tonight!)

PS - anyone see the beautiful bit of acting the Captain tried after catching a crazy in-and-out of the crowd bouncing foul? LOVE him! LOVE him!

Out With A Bang

The Red Sox opened the last series they will ever play at the House That Ruth Built. And they opened it with style.

Wake did more than I expected him to after coming back to the lineup, if you manage to scatter 8 hits over five innings with only three runs scoring means you're either Dice-K or you're doing pretty good.

All in all, Wake was solid. Manny, not so much, J-Mas (as we are starting to call him) was the beast of the bull pen that he has become. Can we discuss how perfect it was that both Wake and Masterson got the great and powerful A-Rod to hit into a double play? Wow. Did I mention he was 5-0 tonight? Not good for the #4 spot. Sorry, I can't resist the chance to poke a little bit of fun at the Yankees. I'm a Sox fan, its in my genes.

I will say this, if only to kharmically balance out poking fun at A-Rod. Damon clearly still has Wake's number. I guess he's seen the knuckler in action enough to be able to hit off him. That's my theory, anyways.



A couple of double-plays, a few good hits, and some good base-running later, we had a lead. Always good with the Sox, but with the Sox, doesn't always mean much. The good news is this, in a game where we won 7-3, our big guys were having a little bit of an off night. We have no Mikey (who was struggling, but you can never count him out), we have no Drew, and Pedroia was a little off his game. That said, Papi had a Yankee-killing night, Bay and Bailey (yay new guy!) had a pair of RBIs each, Youk only had 1 hit, but it was an RBI. And Jacoby, back in the lead-off where he doesn't do as well (lets face it, he has to grow into that spot) only had one hit, but it was a clutch 2-out RBI.

DP getting a little DP action.

And finally, we have this gem given to us by the 'stash himself:

I can hear the New York fans screaming "Don't worry about him! Throw the runner out at HOME!" Of course, probably with a few more explitives thrown in. A-Rod fields the ball, throws, but Bailey is too fast, he's safe, all the Umps are doing that motion that looks like they're flattening a sheet, you know, really emphatically to get all the wrinkles out, and Giambi isn't looking. He's not sure if Bailey is out or not. Of course, it didn't help that the Sox runners were their faster ones (I love him, but I'm glad it was Coco not Big Papi running those bases)

Finally, lets talk injuries (and no, I don't mean Brady's mysterious bone-bruising that will magically disappear in September)
Beckett will be back in the line-up Friday, Mikey is working his way back in, JD wants to be back by the 2nd. Needless to say, once September comes a-knocking, its amazing how many players come off the DL, especially if their team is in or close to being in the post-season. Now, I'm not knocking the players and saying they're faking it, I'm saying that Lowell will play through hip pain if it can secure him another shot at the World Series, and JD Drew will do everything in his power to make his back feel better in time to get to October. They will push and work hard and get their way through rehab as fast as they can because, hey, its September, where one series can be the difference between going golfing in October or playing on for all the marbles.

I'm gonna say this now, baseball gods, do not be angered, it is not a prediction, merely an observation. If they Yankees do not win this series against the Wild Card Race leading Sox, then their chances at October are looking pretty slim. Merely for the fact that they only go head-to-head with the Sox once more this year, and a 7 or 8 game deficit is hard to make up in one month. Because then not only do you have to win pretty much every game, you have to pray that the Sox will lose games. They both have a similar (and tough) schedule coming up, but the Yanks have some serious road-tripping, while Boston stays mostly at home. All I know is that I hope and pray that the Sox win, the Yankees lose, and if Tampa Bay starts tanking, I wouldn't mind that much either.

On The Importance of Playing Wall-Ball

After a few days spent on vacation with my mom and sister (thus, sports were almost banned altogether) its good to get back into the news world. And to think, I've been missing all the minute-by-minute updates on Brett Farve!

Sportscenter:
Levy: Mort, what's happening with the Farve situation in Greenbay?
Mortison: Well, he got up to go to the bathroom, so clearly he thinks this meeting is going to go longer than he thought and he won't be able to hold it.
Levy: Any other updates? How does Aaron Rogers feel about this?
Mort: He feels that it is his turn, he thinks Brett can go to the bathroom, but how can he pee at a time like this? Aaron kind of feels like maybe Brett could be home in Mississippi using the bathroom, or in the front office.
Levy: So he's really being distracted by this whole situation, then?
Mort: If this continues, I wouldn't expect the Packers to be much of a threat this year. I mean, the Lions might actually win ten games (and Kitna might not get sacked every game), the Vikings could improve their quarterback overnight so they wouldn't have to lean on that fierce running game all season, and the Bears could have more than just an iffy defense, if they pick a quarterback that is not their number one or number two.
Levy: Well, that's all the time we have for this Sportscenter update. For baseball scores and any sports other than Farve-watching, go online to ESPN.com. Oh, and we love the Rays.

(sorry for the dabble into football, but I am SO over this Farve situation. We should be talking baseball and a little bit of pre-season football this time of year, not just about one washed-up player)

On to the Red Sox.

They look so much better. So much. Even in the loss, they were looking a lot better than they have in weeks. They seem to care about baseball again, they seem to be having some fun. Ellsbury has finally seemed to come out of his slump, Varitek has been on base more times than he's struck out in the month of August, Pedroia has struck out 4 times in the last 10 games (do we have a new Greek God of Walks?), and Youk has been settling into his new role as Manny. Seriously, when they got in a fight a few weeks back, maybe Manny transfered some of his bat-swinging mojo to Youk. He's having the season of his life, and I'm glad Tito moved him behind Papi. And Bay? Did you see the ball-rolling almost homer? Classic. And a second one for the Red Sox this year. Weird.



Tonight, Pedroia has the night off, which is not good, but well-earned, Jason Bay seems to be fitting right in and loving playing for Boston, and in other good news, the Platypus (Joba Chamberlain) is on the DL. No offense to the guy, but anything that hinders the Yankees makes me happy). Mikey and Papi seem to be OK, and Ellsbury has his wheels back. Here's to fifty stolen bags this season (hey, I can hope!)

Hey, the Olympics start Friday! Yay!

A Brand New "Bay"

We squeaked by again, but we're getting on base. Which is better than we did in the Angels series. Maybe next game we'll start scoring more?

Welcome to Boston, Jason Bay. While I will miss Manny's antics, I'm okay with moving on. Here's the conclusion of the game: Jed Lowrie hits a sac fly to score Jason Bay. Jed Lowrie hits a single to shortstop, Jason Bay scores. Sounds like a broken record. And I liked how all the guys mobbed them at the end. I finally felt like they were a team again.

Yeah. I think he'll be okay. He's glad to be here, too.

"I had a Red Sox onesie when I was growing up," the British Columbia native told reporters, noting that his father was a diehard Sox fan.

In his bedroom as a kid? Posters of Jim Rice and Carl Yastrzemski.

(see video here.)

Bad news: Mikey hurt himself running out a single in the 10th. Not good. Good news? It doesn't seem too serious. Papi was a little out of it tonight, but I think he'll adjust. JD looked fierce, so did Pedroia and our bullpen. (Thank goodness!) More good news is that New York lost again. Bad news? The Rays won.

You know what I heard on the radio today? John Seibel (or his guest host, I don't remember) said that by trading away Manny, the Sox had traded themselves out of the playoffs. Are you serious? These are the same guys who said before the break that the Yankees wouldn't be a force this year, only to see the Yanks go on a hot streak. Now they're saying we won't get into the playoffs? We have as good a shot now as we had before the deadline. I don't think one player can make that much of a difference. Not on this team. Take away Manny and we still have the best captain around, JD Drew, red-hot Pedroia, speedy Coco and Ellsbury, beastly Youk, lights-out Lester, Big Papi, and World Series MVP Mikey. Those guys, especially the experienced, veteran players, will not let that happen.

Hey, I think my faith has been renewed...weird.

So Long, Farewell - But Not That Well

Manny is gone. Wait, no really. Manny is gone. There will be no more calls from inside the wall, no more antics. And I don't care. Okay, I care. I'm a little sad, I'm gonna miss the crazy man, but now, at least, we won't have to deal with it anymore, and I know life will be much easier on Tito.
The only thing I am worried about is Papi. I hope he's still happy in Boston, but he and Manny were good friends...so I don't know. Papi, we still love you, and I will absolutely cry if you leave us. Do I think this will help? Probably. We needed a bat to back up Ortiz, we got that, and hopefully we're done with the antics. At least, the detrimental ones.
I'm interested in what can happen. Right now, I'm in limbo on how I feel about the Red Sox. I agree with what Alex Cora said. They are playing like they don't have any energy. Maybe some new (and younger) blood will get the Sox moving again. Youk is on a hitting streak, Pedroia is the Destroya, Ellsbury seems to be excelling in his new spot, and JD Drew has been better about not hitting into double plays. We're still waiting for them to get on a streak, but I always have faith that they will.

So long Manny. I hope you are happy now, because you clearly weren't happy at Boston. I feel like this will do nothing but good. So here's to life after Manny, may it go well

Stress and the Sox

Okay, I know, we're reining world champions, but I am not at the point where I can take a loss or a slump without the inevitable question of whether or not we're done. It is still as stressful as ever, I think had we been no hit tonight, I might have given up on them for longer than 24 hours. I might have even gone a whole week. But in comes Pedroia on his shining white horse and his hot bad, come to chase to no-hitter away. And just so we weren't shut-out, Youk knocks one into the monster seats. Do I feel bad about the Angel losing his no-hitter with one out in the ninth? Heck no. The only no-hitters I want to see in Fenway are the ones the home-team throws.

Tonight highlighted all the reasons I hate it when Clay Buchholz pitches. He's like the schizo pitcher. He'll be lights out, then suddenly, its like he's a whole different pitcher. Then he gets back to business. Tek, if you can hear me, can you figure out a way to fix that please?

One good sign in this game that maybe we're about to turn things around is the fact that Lackey only struck out four and gave out 2 free passes (one on a hit batter to Drew). So that means 21 of 27 outs came from fielding the ball, either with a ground-out or a pop-out or a line-out. We;re making contact, and as my coach would always say, that's the first step. Its always better to make contact or walk than strike out. Okajima was on tonight, but the rest of the bull pen...shaky as ever. I was so glad Tito put Paps in during the 9th. I mean, if he could just be our designated 9th-inning guy (winning or not) At least until the bull pen pulls it together on a consistent basis.

Speaking of Paps, I think 20 years from now, when we look back on it, we'll be remembering a lot of greats from this team. We'll look back on Paps, Nomar, Pedro, Schilling, Tito, Wake and all of those guys and talk about them like we talk about Tony C, Fisk, and Bobby D. We'll always remember Damon as a traitor (sorry, but that's life), so long as Manny doesn't do anything stupid and retires in Boston or goes out quietly somewhere other than the Yankees or another AL east rival, we'll always remember Manny, but what happens after this year determines how fondly we'll remember him. Lester? Give him a few years and we could be calling him one of the best ever. Youk? Um, its Youk. That's it. We don't even need to say any more. He's a beast. If Ellsbury continues to develop (and I think he will) he could become one of the greatest base runners ever. We just have to get him on base. Mike Lowell is one of the most remarkable and likable guys to play the game, of course we'll be telling our kids about how, at the end of the 2007 world series, hundreds of fans stayed behind to throw their support at Mike Lowell and let management know what they wanted.

Then we have Papi. I mean, he's Papi. We love Papi. Of course we'll be telling our kids about the slugger. Drew? Maybe. If he sticks around long enough and plays well. We'll certainly remember his grand slam forever.

The guys I think we may be mentioning up there with Cy Young, Ted Williams, and Yaz someday are Pedroia and Varitek. (Note, Papi will be here too, but we already covered him) Tek could probably be in a hitting slump the rest of this year, and we'll still be talking HOF. (In my book, anyway) Anyone who is named the Captain of his team, and then is their captain for TWO world series (and hopefully more!) wins and is one of the main reasons they didn't get discouraged when they were down games in the ALCS (both times) is a Captain to be respected and proud of. He had one of the worst batting averages in the league and the players STILL wanted to honor him as an All-Star. That tells you something right there. And as for Pedroia, he has all the makings of a phenomenal player. Low on the errors, gets on base, a lot, fast, smart at the plate, and plays with a lot of heart. I'm not saying he's playing at a HOF level now, I just see a lot of potential (do not let him go, Theo). Who else would have broken up the first possible no-hitter at Fenway since 1953? My money was on him or Papi.

So now we've lost two series at Fenway. Can this be our home losing slump for the season and then we can be done with it? Please? We haven't had a real good hot streak all year. We're starting the hottest month of the year, maybe we could develop a streak to match the weather? (watch, as I say this, God is going to make it the mildest August ever)

We are now back to two games behind Tampa Bay, but another Yankee loss puts them further in our rear-view mirror. (Thank goodness). I almost expected this, because if you compare the teams we're playing to the teams the Rays are playing...they're playing Toronto, who are just barely above .500, we played the Angels, who currently have the best record in baseball. But, as I say that, I have to say this: look at their division. Their only competition is Oakland, who are 12 games back. The last place team in the whole AL East is only 11.5 games back. The AL East is the only division in baseball where four teams are above .500. So right now, I don't mind losing to the Angels. As long as we win when it counts, like when we fell out of shouting distance of first place and won five out of six (helped by a Rays 7-game losing streak) to get back into right before the break, I'm happy. And here's a good thought to end this not-so-happy blog on: the Yankees, who were surging, have now lost three straight, two to the worst team in the AL East. How nice would it be to have the 9-2 loss on Sunday be the catalyst for the Yankee's undoing? (I was raised to hate them, for better or worse, richer or poorer, 'til death do I stop)

Next up, Beckett. He only allowed one run to the Yanks last time, but since no one felt like swinging the bat against the platypus (Joba C.), we lost. Maybe Becks will only give up one run this time and we can actually do a little work on offense. Who knows. Here's hoping for some good mojo. We certainly need it.