You weren’t lights out.. but you got the job done.
Now we’ll see you, CC, and the rest of the tribe at Fenway.
Archive for the ‘Baseball’ category
Thank You, Paul Byrd
October 8th, 2007Let’s Go Sox
October 3rd, 2007Sox take game one, 4-0. Beckett pitched a gem, and has proved that he’s going to be a threat in the post season. The big bats came through, now let’s hope that Cleveland can help take out the evil empire before they make it to the ALCS.
Here’s a pic of my cube at work — Go Sox!
755
August 5th, 2007A day that will live in infamy. Until 756.
Update @ 1:25 AM:
On a separate baseball-related note… What’s worse? I’ll have to hear “It’s an A-bomb. [Pause] From A-Rod” every time they re-play Alex Rodriguez’s 500th Homerun.
Fourteen and a half
May 30th, 2007As of this writing, the Red Sox are currently leading the American League East by 11.5 games over the second place Baltimore Orioles, though this is not the highlight of the standings box. For all intents and purposes, Orioles could be 1 game out of first place, and yet I’d still have a sense of satistfaction when I look at the standings.
For the first time since May 29, 1984, the Yankees are 14.5 games out of first place. Following the news and stories surrounding the poor start the Yankees have faced this year is just as exciting as the great start the Red Sox have had. Though, despite being ahead of the Yankees by 15 games in the Win Column, I still can’t seem to shake that they have the opportunity to come back. They did it in 1978.. My only hope is that 2007 will be different.
I anxiously await the headline atop the New York Times ‘Joe Torre Fired” — but I may need to wait until the end of the season. I write this post as a moment in history. A statement of fact that on May 30, 2007 — the Yankees are now officially 14.5 games out of first place. What will happen in the last four months of the seasons is completely up-for-grabs, but for this moment.. let’s relish in the spotlight.
Man, why couldn’t this have happened last year — when I was living in Hoboken. A giant smile would have come across my face each time I walked by the Yankee Laundromat .
Keep on going deep, Dougie!
April 19th, 2007Last two games for Doug Mirabelli:
* 4-8
* 2 runs
* 4 RBI
* 2 home runs
Dougie is on pace to demolish his career high in home runs, which should be 10, but those fucks in Toronto cheated him out of #10 at the end of 2004. Clearly, Dougie remembered that last night at SkyDome, Rogers Centre, or whatever they’re calling it this week. Then he went to high-five Manny Ramirez and Manny thought Doug was cocking his arm to punch him, so he hid under the bench for the rest of the inning.
Anyway, as Dougie goes, so go the Red Sox. Doug had a sub-par year in 2006 and the Sox wilted. Doug is on fire this year (as is his boss Tim Wakefield) and the Sox are looking good. Just one question, with Nomar gone, does that leave Coco as Dougie’s de facto urine recepticle?
Manny Being Manny
April 17th, 2007I am thoroughly excited to read the new ‘New Yorker’ article about Manny Ramirez. I need to track it down ASAP. I can’t remember the last time I even picked up a ‘New Yorker,’ but the old rag has my attention now.
I was watching TV earlier and a commercial for Heelies, or some competitor, came on and it struck me that Manny Ramirez seems to me like the type of guy that wears Heelies. I can totally picture him wheeling around The Home Depot, the supermarket, the Red Sox clubhouse, or wherever he goes. I would bet money that Manny owns some Heelies. And it they’re not made in his size, then he plunked down $5,000 to get a pair custom-made.
It would be just fascinating to spend some time with the enigma wrapped in a riddle, infused by madness that is Manny Ramirez. I mean, this is a guy that was selling an autographed grill on eBay for a neighbor. Wha…? Paraphrasing David Ortiz, as quoted in that article, ‘Manny is just a crazy shit. He lives on his own planet.’ I love it. From a sneak preview of the article, I learned that Manny watches The History Channel and wants to visit the Forbidden City in China. No doubt he’d be wheelin’ around on his Heelies hip hoppin’ down the Great Wall of China with his iPod cranked up and his dred locks blowing in the breeze.
When his Washington Heights high school baseball team was chronicled by the ‘New Yorker’ about 16 years ago, the world learned that Manny got up early in the mornings and ran up hills dragging a tire on a rope tied to his waist. We know that he still works very studiously at what he does, with a fierce dedication. However, he’s also a space case. I can’t wait to find out more idiosyncracies about him. Until then, I can only imagine that he sleeps with a teddy bear, watches the Teletubbies, probably speaks fluent Italian, has season tickets to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has never written or cashed a check, thinks Curt Schilling is the assistant manager, probably loaned Theo Epstein that infamous gorilla suit, thinks the Green Monster speaks to him between innings, is deathly afraid of Wally the Green Monster mascot, probably calls Mayor Menino from time to time, can’t remember his shoe size, refuses to shower until Doug Mirabelli is out of the shower room, and thinks the show ’24′ is a reality show.
Manny is the Syd Barrett of baseball. Gifted by God with immense talent, yet fragile and introverted. The miraculous thing is that Manny has been able to stay focused enough to keep doing what God put him here to do. Why, you ask? That’s just Manny being Manny.
Sunday Dreary Sunday
April 15th, 2007It’s a Sunday during baseball season. Ordinarily, these are the days I live for. Now that I’ve finally managed to purge from my system the feeling of dread that came from two decades of school following Sunday, I now treasure this day. Especially during baseball season. I don’t necessarily have a set routine, but it usually includes sleeping late, making some coffee, hopping on line for a bit, and then settling in with the Sox day game, some lunch, and a few beers. Proper.
But the entire country is dealing with the worst April, weather-wise, in quite some time. Snow-outs and rain-outs are affecting the entire MLB schedule. Ahhh, if only the Sox were playing in a city with a domed stadium today. Side question: if Messrs. Henry, Werner, Lucchino, or Epstein are reading, when you’re done trying to put lipstick on a 95-year-old dame, how about giving Boston a domed stadium like the new one in Milwaukee? Please.
Spring means rebirth and baseball is intrinsically and psychologically tied into that. Baseball has just as much power on our collective psyche as the flowers blooming and the grass turning green again. And I’d wager that most of our country is heavily bummed out right now.
With no baseball, what is supposed to compliment my Sunday beers? What will be my excuse to Swedish Girl from having to clear up my desk? How will I extricate myself from antiquing and store-hopping? I’m just about finished this blog entry, so the time on this excuse is expiring.
Wish me luck. I’m about to brave a world that consists of no baseball on a springtime Sunday. It’s just not right. I might actually have to tune in to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Talk about a bunt when you needed a grand slam.
