Click the link to download. Very impressive. Also here is Gracie and Sak....

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jqyfrw

enjoy.

What was he doing last night?

Lets examine the last week of "questionable" decisions....

1. Bringing in Pettite. I understand that your pen has been WAY overworked. Half because they cant get an out, half because my younger sister is next inline to start for them this weekend. But seriously, what better shot to the nuts of your pen than saying "Andy's 70% off day workout is better than your 100%". No wonder everyone who they toss out there is getting lit up.

2. Down 3, 9th inning, sounds like mop up duty to me right? Not for the Yankees. Not for an over-the-hill Torre. Its time to bring in the "Best Closer In Baseball". We won't even take into account the physical stupididty of this move. But rather the emotional toll it takes, zero saves, and the last team to see him in a save situation, for that matter the SAME PART OF THE ORDER!, is coming up. Lets trot him out there against the bottom of the rivals order. Best case was him using up an inning of arm strength. Worst case... happened. HE got knocked around for a robust 12 WHIP and 108 ERA on the night. Raising his already hiddeous 2049 ERA on the season.

But now what happens when they are winning a game and need him? The Sox are confident because this makes 2 straight times getting to him with their lesser hitters. Hitters who have struggled all year. Would he rather see Lugo-Youk-Ortiz? No. So now, in theory, they have a mentally burnt out closer, and a pen with no confidence. This same pen that has thrown more innings than its starters! (only team in the bigs this can be said for).

3. Bringing in Phil Hughes to start. Way to mess with HIS head as well. He is already messed up enough, no need to bring him in til next save situation. (or something equally as stupid)

I really think he might be trying to get fired. He doesnt have the tools to manage effectively anymore. Stick a fork in him Jerry, hes done.

As noted in my "Sox Yanks 07" piece, I am a strong believer in the fact that Beckett has amazing stuff. This is his year. Not because he is 5-0 (though it doesnt hurt), but because he is not shaking his head out there.

Let me explain, what was his biggest weakness last year? Giving up the long ball. The reason for that was that he did not mix his pitches. It was his first run through the league and he should have been smarter than that. He would Shake off Tek's pitches in favor of his fastball when he needed a strike. The only issue was that it negates his "first time around the league advantage"! So he would throw the gas, leave it out over the plate, and get tagged.

This year is different. V-Tek definately had a long heart to heart with him this offseason. Saying "HEY! Listen to me and you'll dominate." Because he has without question some of the dirtiest pitches in the bigs. Now that he is listening to Tek a few things have happened...

1. He is throwing any pitch in any count in any situation. Perfect.

2. He has the confidence in throwing every single one of his pitches for strikes (a direct reslut of item 1).

3. 5 Wins, 0 Losses.

Thats all she wrote! He had the stuff last year, he was just not mature enough to know how or when to use it. Why Tek didn't pull him asside last year still escapes me, but it is clearly the difference in his pitching. Is this saying he will never get blown up again? No. But you're sure to see more good outings than not.

you'll notice a lesser rate of disageement with Tek this year. And look how thats turning out. It's why he is our captain ladies and gents. He knows baseball. And he has taken the best young pitcher in baseball, and made him a force in 2007.

This is a semi-irrelavent article. If you are from Boston and lived the Nomar era then I'm sure its worth a read.

When he left in 2004, I couldn't help but feel that it was our fault. The fans fault. We wanted SO badly to get A-rod and Maggs, in exchange for Nomar and Manny. So badly. As well we should have, we would have gotten prospects with them. Imagine if those things had happened. Well, they didn't. And Nomar was never the same playing in Boston.

Sure he was injured. Sure he struggled to get back on the field even when he was healthy. But that summer, two things stuck out. One, he would not talk to us. We didn't know anything about his issues and when they would be resolved. Two, he was clearly upset. We hurt him. Boston, the place that he gave himself to for his short but great (so far) career, was ready to flip him away for one of his rivals. (This was bigger than people saw. He was from the west and probably wanted deep down to go out there, until he played for us. Then it all changed, we always sort of expected him to be ours.)

Remember at that time, there was one big question in the AL. Who is the best SS? Jeter was winning rings, A rod was winning MVPs, and Nomar had more character than all of them. That being said, he was OUR guy. He was Nomar! HE loved Boston (not the media, but the fans) and we loves him.

Then a few things happened. He suddenly shut down. When he felt unwanted, he turned unmotivated. Which made everyone in Boston turn on him (an unthinkable situation a year earlier). Pokey was playing alright, so we didn't mind not feeding him the "aww are you ok?" and "your still our guy" crap.

He was sitting in the duggout during big games and big rallies. He wasn't giving us one single tid bit about himself or anything for that matter. He even went as far as to accuse the grounds crew of "messing up the dirt" in front of him so he would make errors and they could justify running his name around the league to trade. (rediculous by the way)

After all that, I want him back. Cabrerea was good for half a year, Rentaria was not, Gonzo got it done, and Lugo looks good so far. I don't care.None of them are as fun to watch as Nomar. None of them have that sense of hero in them like Nomar.

Since they dealt my childhood hero I have tried to avoid this whole situation until this year. I thought I was over it. Then a few things fell into place. I watched an old 2003 game on MLB.TV, I drafted him on my fantasy team, and I was reading "Now I Can Die In Peace" for the 4th time. The stars aligned and I re-examined the whole thing. You know what? I miss him. Boston should miss him. You can point to that trade as the piece that won us the series. And I wouldn't trade that for the world. Look now though, Doug M is on the Yanks, Cabrerea was gone before he settled in, and we have had 4299 short stops in 3 years. In hindsight, yeah, it had to happen to win it all. But anyone is lieing if they tell you they wouldn't want to see Nomar back here at SS.

I miss you buddy, don't rule out a comeback.

See for yourself here. Amazing KO by Gonzaga. Right high kick with about 15 seconds left in round 1. UFC is boned now that their big signing didn't beat this can.

I can't believe they pay me to show up to these things.

What just happened in Boston was unreal. It was like church! Stand, sit, stand sit, pray, stand, pray. Unlike church, there were 36000 people there screaming and high fiving like insane people. Well peace be with you I guess.

The strangest part is there were stranger things in a different game. Triple play that was off an interference call and never called correctly. Missing a tag at first, then the runner missing the bag at first, finally a small chase to apply the tag and get the out. Then I player off on a 3-2 pitch (ball 4) dives into second base, is safe because of ball 4, overslides second, and is out because the SS kept the tag applied. Called safe, argued, overturned, argued again, out. Crazy.

Back to the task at hand.....

1. Everyone thought Coco may have broken his neck "diving" over the wall. Only no one knew wether to cheer or be hushed in silence. (turns out in the 9th there would be a big reason to cheer).

2. A Rod is really good. I hate him. I'm bias. But he is really, REALLY, good. Sox fans will come up with "not when the games on the line" but it wouldn't have been close if he wasn't in that game.

3. Pettite still has something left in the tank.

4. Nothing in the world is better than a New York fan being as obnoxious as can be for 8 straight innings. Then being shut up like that. Nothing. That guy will never read this, but he knows who he is. Suck it man. Suck it. (sorry, I couldn't get over this guy all game)

5. The Red Sox got to Rivera, again. (11th time overall) But this time it felt like Rivera didn't have that unhittable aura around him. Its hard to explain. 3 years ago, you were lucky if you got a hit. Now its a toss up even with Crisp (should have been pinch hit for by the red hot Hinske, but as my Father said tonight on the phone, "I didn't have enough time to yell at the TV before he hit the triple and tied the game.") V-Tek, and Cora. Strangly good feeling to face Rivera, should be an interesting year.

6. Good job Tito. Way to stick to your guns and not go to Papelbon and ruin his arm. A few people booed when he didn't come out for the 9th. It was not a popular decission. But its a marathon, not a sprint.

7. Only at Fenway would a scene like this come to be. Everyone was pumped ot be there. Down by 4, slim hopes. Why? Because of the long time tradition Sweet Caroline. (bum bum bum) Couple that with Ortiz coming to the plate, and the place was in a frenzy like there was two outs with the bases loaded. Unreal.

Pictures, as promised.... Few of the Red tribute, few of the whole park, one zoomed in for the green uniforms.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w28/tbag33/DSC_0007.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w28/tbag33/DSC_0006.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w28/tbag33/DSC_0004.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w28/tbag33/DSC_0005.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w28/tbag33/DSC_0003.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w28/tbag33/DSC_0002.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w28/tbag33/DSC_0001.jpg

One last thing, classy move honoring Red. Very well done. Down to the Bob Cousy behind the back first pitch.

Thanks for reading as always

be good,

Tyler

Yeah, this is a bit old. But its still funny as hell, and how often is Douggie really going deep anymore? Warrent's mentioning. Few notes from tonights game.

-Wakefield... BRILLIANT! Period. Fantastic start, and he got help from the field. After eventually giving way to Donnley in the 8th, he left to a big applause. Donnley struggled, plunked Orlando on a 3-2 pitch. Which brings me to my next point....

-Papelbon is the most dominant pitcher (not closer, pitcher) in the game right now. You bring him in with one out, Vlad at the dish and two men on base and look how it turns out. Heat, heat, foul ball, High gas strike three. He has not lost a duel of titans, ever. After Blazing past Anderson at around 98 he wouldn't have to be back for the 9th. Also, he is back to "Wild Thing" as his theme song, always nice to hear.

- Coco Crisp is ready.... for the bench. At .127 its time to call Wily Mo out to center and at least give him a chance. He put up good numbers with the ABs he was given last year. He can't do any worse.

-JD Drew will be just fine in Beantown. The Nation already loves him. He produces, and he hustles.

Off for the weekend for my own baseball games. Wish me luck, I start Saturday morning at 10AM. See ya Monday. Thanks for reading as always.

Be good,

Tyler

Well, maybe they will talk more about King Felix's performance, but still a historic moment on video here. I managed to avoid working the top of the first to take this cell phone vid.

I have to go sit in the rain at the Fens for a few hours til they realize there isnt going to be a game today.

^This did happen for 2 hours. One pet peeve of mine is how they let the fans into the game when they know they are calling it. Here's why, so they can spend 30$ on parking, and buy 2 8$ beers. It makes sense I guess, but they should be treating the fans better than this.

No word on weather Red's Day will be pushed back to tomorrow or later. Very cool thing they are doing though. Putting all the Celts banners on the monster with a Red portrait. I took a picture of it, you can find it here....

www.redsox.com/fanfoto

click on today's date, and gallery 8. Hell, you can buy it if you want, make me a few extra bucks.

Anyway, before we go back and relive last night, today was pretty fun because I got to see a raccoon. I won't say where cuz I dont want to scare you, but it was pretty cool. This also entails seeing a random guy make one of those animal traps out of a broom and a piece of string. Very weird.

Onto last night....

Two words, goosebump city. As I'm sure you can tell by the vid, people were real excited. I didn't know what to expect. Honestly, I didn't know. Here's what happened.

The Sox take the field after 7 minutes of intro music playing. (not an exageration for the record, they went through "Thunderstruck" and "Teenage Wasteland" before taking the field)

Halfway through Thunderstruck everyone in the Fens is on their feet. Waiting for the Dice man.

They take the field to the largest ovation I have heard in a long time. Over Loretta's walk off blast on Patriot's Day last year.

Ichiro is stepping to the plate, I'm sure they are calling his name over the speaker system, but litterally no one can hear it.

First pitch is blinding from the thousands of flash bulbs. Curveball Strike to Ichiro. Giant ovation. (Edes wrote today in the Globe that I guess the younger pitcher throwing the older hitter a first pitch non-fastball is a sign of disrespect, who knew?)

I assume after that pop on the first pitch people would sit and enjoy the game. So I waited, nothing. Everyone was standing for the first 6 pitches. Right up until the 1-3 put out. Then people would definately sit down, right? Nope. First pitch of the second AB was also a strike, to another standing O. I had to get back and start working again so I went under and when I came back 2 pitches later everyone was sitting again. Maybe they were waiting for me.

Unfortunately that was not how the rest of the game would go. Felix dominated. Kept em off balence for the rest of the night. Drew's hit got quite a pop, besides that not a very happy Nation.

One thing is for sure, Dice K has a very bright future in Boston.

Be good,

Tyler

You think I'm kidding, but I'm not. Somehow, lost in the 67 team taking the field (a GREAT moment), Harry Connick Jr. singing America The Beautiful (maybe that counted) and and good ol' Pesky giving us a "Play ball!", was the fact that they forgot to sing the anthem! I was on the monster taking pictures of the men in uniform who presented the colors and they said that it WAS planned to take place, and they told them to come off the field before it was played. On a day of days, this was an extreme faux pas by Fenway Park.

Here are some notes from the game:

- The '67 team taking the field at their positions may have been the best moment at fenway since Ortiz killing the Yanks on 04. One thing that I was a bit perturbed with was when the former sox were taking the field there was an old woman next to me telling me to stop clapping (yes, stop clapping) because "You weren't around for these guys." Really lady? I don't know about the impossible dream? I wasn't alive but I know what happened, and I definately appreciate the history. Lighten up.

- Little known fact BK Novak (Ryan Howard on NBC's The Office) Is a huge Sox fan. He was up on the monster with his family watching the game. Extremely friendly guy.

- Beckett (as predicted earlier by me) has been untouchable so far this year. He is listening to the pitch calling from Tek and it is paying off. No more stubourn fastballs in clear off speed counts. What is the reslut? 2 hits over 7 innings.

- Weaver is awful. Period. He shouldn't be on your team unless there are 20 of you and you start 2041 pitchers. He not only got hammered, but he got hammered by falling behind in the count every AB. Every 3-0 and 3-1 pitch was a meatball because he has no confidence in his other pitches. I'm happy that everyone hit for the Sox, but let's see today if Tek, Coco, and Louk (Lugo-Youk) can keep it up.

- Dice K is going to be a mega-star in Boston. As they always do on opening day, they announce the entire team, right down to the bat boy, physical therapist, and translator. Dice K got the largest ovation. Over Ortiz, Papelbon, Manny, Drew, everyone. He has the right stuff, and he has a smile that New England is dying to fall in love with. If they can get anything out of the back end of the rotation the Red Sox will win the AL east on the shoulders of Dice K and Beckett.

That's all we realaly got for now. It was a great day to be at the park. I'll let you know how the buzz is for Dice K today, but if you could bet on it from 1-10 I'd put it around 93.

Be Good,

Tyler

Here is everything we know about what happened so far. Its very accurate on timing on mlb.tv.

MMAweekly reports that a press confrence tomorrow will announce that Pride FC has been bought by the Fertittas (owners of Zuffa and in turn, the UFC). Here's the link, and here comes Shogun Chuck, Fedor CC 2, and Gomi GSP.

Naturally the most written about thing in sports is the biggest rivalry in professional sports. The Sox and the Yanks. So I'm going to break it way down for you, Lineup v Lineup, Pitching V Pitching. In depth, just the way you like it....

Comparing lineups is key. It is not just "who has the best lead off" then "who has a better #2". For a lineup to be deadly it needs to mix righties and lefties well. Have the speed and OBP in the right places, and get good production from all of thier hitters. That being said, lets attack one team at a time...

First the Yanks..

1. Johnny DamonCF

2. Derek JeterSS

3. Bobby AbreuRF

4. Jason GiambiDH

5. Alex Rodriguez3B

6. Hideki MatsuiLF

7. Jorge PosadaC

8. Doug Mientkiewicz1B

9. Robinson Cano2B

Obviously a very tallented lineup. Cano at 9 may seem like a bad place for him, but if you move him around then you could rattle him and emotionally mess with him. (see 2006 V-tek) The bottom three do not produce much power wise. Cano will serve as a great "second leadoff" sort of guy. Giambi hits .253 with RISP, so all his power doesn't litterally translate, but that A Rod guy behind him usually drives in a few runs. Not to mention Abreau whacking it at a .330 clip with RISP probably not leaving him much to clean up besides maybe him on second base.

Not really any more surprises on this team. Everyone thinks they'll be good. Everyone knows they should be good. Now they just have to avoid the injury bug and try to stay away from the likes of Melky Cabrera and Cairo.

The Sox Lineup

1. Julio LugoSS

2. Kevin Youkilis1B

3. David OrtizDH

4.Manny RamirezLF

5.J.D. DrewRF

6. Mike Lowell3B

7. Jason VaritekC

8. Coco CrispCF

9. Dustin Pedroia2B

Why change up the best defence in the league last ye..... well, thats later on. But the point is, there are a lot of new faces in key places for the Sox. There are rumblings on putting Drew in the 2 spot. He makes more sense down there though. Espically after Youk's year last year in regards to setting teh table for the best 1-2 punch out there. Look for a lot more out of Tek this year not that he is back home in the bottom of the lineup. He should see better pitches, and feel less responsable for the run production (as opposed to hitting 6th and 5th last year). I wish they could find a place for Willy Mo somewhere in there, but it looks like it won't happen this year unless someone goes down. Cora can fill in anywhere, but wont provide much offence. A lot depends on the years of Coco and Dustin in the 8-9 hole. Pedrioa had a terrible start to his big league career when he hit around .013 last year. (ok, maybe a little higher, but still)

Any lineup with Manny and Papi has a chance to put up 6-7 RPG.

Verdict: Push

not in that they are the same, or of the same tallent. But on any given night against any team, they are both just as likely to put up 10 as they are to put up 3. The Sox struggle with lefties, the Yanks struggle with then too. Other than Jeter, no Yankee hit above .300 vs. Lefties.

Pitching

Pitching you can compare 1-1 because that is how it is in games. Furthermore you can compare the staffs pitcher by pitcher, so lets go.

Schilling or Wang

Wang had a great year last year, with a lot of run support he piled on the wins. Schilling is still chugging along at a steady 15 W per season. Even on the less than amazing Sox of 06. Slight edge to Wang.

Moose or Dice K

No real way to judge this other than WBC and preseason. Moose has been very good for a long time, but has fallen off a bit in recent years. Dice K is young and has something to prove. That chip on his shoulder should be the difference here. Edge: Dice K

Beckett or Pettitte

Pettite is getting up there in years, and his best quality at this point may be to sell his old new team to the Rocket. Beckett had a less than great year last year after switching leagues and going from a very relaxed setting to well, the least relaxed of them all. He should settle down this year a bit, I think hover around 17 Wins is safe. (I think more around 20 if he is healthy but hey, were sticking to facts here) Edge: Pettitte purely on consistancy.

Wakefield or Pavano

If Pavano is healthy then he can be pretty good again. Wake was hampered all last year with injuries. Its a matter of who can come back and how well. This one we will have to come back to during the year and see how they are doing. Right now, the upside is in Pavano's favor, but few can eat the kind of innings Wake has over the years. Push.

Tavarez/Lester or Igawa

One unproven in Igawa, and one proven to not be that great. Lester is coming off cancer, but all signs point to a full recovery and a healthy start. Tavarez was pitching to an akwardly uninspired crowd at the end of the year at fenway. As someone who works there I can tell you, that 5 game series changed the Sox last year. Manny quit, many others packed it in. I'm not convinced Tavarez can't come through when he cares about what he is doing. I'm going to give the edge to Igawa here though purely on hype until Lester comes back to full strength. Edge: temp. to Igawa.

Relief and Closing

Papelbon closing again is a step forward this year, but back in the long run. If they are serious about his starting some day, then waiting is not the thing to do for his arm or mind. From expreience I can tell you it is way different. But with him back there it pulls him at least even with Rivera, if not out in front. Rivera was suprisingly human last year. Still a top 3 closer, but not the Rivera we are all used to. He is getting old. Relief in both camps are about even. Myers is the only real lefty "specialist" in either pen. But good relief should be avalable for both teams all year.

Edge: Sox by 96 PMH fastball.

Overall, it looks like itll be another entertaining year when these two titans clash 40 times. Look for battles, and even matchups. I got the Yanks ahead by a little bit right now. 1-2 Injuries to the wrong people could easily sway that way in the other direction. A lot depends on the far east translation rate (for both teams).

Please leave comments, and send emails. I will address them in my next article. Hope you enjoyed it, I look fwd to hearing from you all.

Be good,

Tyler