2011 Boston Red Sox: It's not as bad as it seems!

Alright, alright, it's been long enough, enough has been settled: I can now talk about the season that was 2011.

Just today, it became official that Theo Epstein WOULD indeed be heading to Chicago to serve as the Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations, and Billy Goat #1, should the Cubs end up finishing third or worse in the NL Central, as they seem to have done every year since Steve Bartman. Have fun with that, Theo! While I am sad to see Theo go, it was clear with the fallout following the season that he would not be back. We have a great replacement in Ben Cherington, who, along Jed Hoyer (current Padres GM, who is set to become Theo's GM in Chicago) made one of the bigger trades in recent Red Sox history (getting Josh Beckett and Mike "World Series MVP" Lowell for Hanley "Bad Attitude" Ramirez.) while Theo was hiding in a Gorilla suit. (if you aren't familiar with this story: http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=51027) Cherington is an apt replacement and look forward to his tenure.

Theo's leaving came after it was announced that field manager Terry "Tito" Francona would not be returning next season. The move was made as a mutual agreement, but I believe it is more of Tito didn't want to come back, and the Sox brass were willing to let him go. To be fair, and I've been saying this for years, he was not that good of a manager. Sure, he led the Red Sox to their first two World Series championships in 86 years, but it's not like he was playing! I have consistently said over his years at the helm that he posses an inability to manage a bullpen, which has turned out to be quite an issue. His nickname of "Francoma" did not come without reasoning. I'm not sure who the next manager will end up being, but I sure as hell wish John Farrell hadn't left last year, for multiple reasons...

John Farrell was, hands down, the best pitching coach the Red Sox have ever had. I mean, at least in my lifetime. He showed signs of the makings of a great future manager, which he became last year for the pathetic Toronto Blue Jays. While he not only would be the answer to our current managerial problems, he also would've been great to have as our pitching coach, instead of the useless Curt Young. Sure, Curt Young had a great track record in Oakland (where he will be returning next year), but that could be wholly attributed to the fact that Oakland is a team that gets good draft picks, and has the pitchers while they are young and impressionable, before they are shipped out because Oakland won't be able to afford them. Well established pitchers like Josh Beckett and Jon Lester won't listen to a guy they don't really respect. With Young, this was apparently the case. This brings me to the next point: starting pitchers.

So, it turns out that Francoma was so lax in discipline that on off days starting pitchers would go back to the clubhouse and drink crappy beer (Bud Light) after the 6th inning. While I do not technically have a problem with players pitching on their off days, I think they probably should have remained with the team in the dugout, showing their support. Francoma was not a discipline man, and was very much a players manager, which is why this type of issue developed in the first place. Our next manager needs to be a good mix of fun and strict, an aspect that Francona was clearly heavy on the fun side of the spectrum. The guys I would most like to be the next manager are Joe Maddon and Buck Showalter, both of whom are unlikely to leave their posts (additonally, Showalter has shown distaste for the Red Sox organization, putting it lightly.)

I know that I have high hopes for Cherington and the Sox brass picking a new manager, and working out the drinking problems, and getting a good deal for getting rid of terrible signing John Lackey (unlikely), but I think things will work out because, really, things are not that bad. Sure, the Red Sox finished third and missed the playoffs. Sure, they have one of the highest payrolls in the league. But, it's not like they were terrible (with the exception of September). The Sox ALMOST made the playoffs, and only were eliminated from such hopes on the last day of the regular season. And it is not like they did not have some stiff AL East competition to deal with. Based on the fact that the Red Sox started off the season 2-10, went 7-20 in September and STILL managed to be in the playoff race until the very last day of the season should speak well of the team and their future, not negatively. Yes, this was the 2nd year in a row missing the playoffs and finishing 3rd, but I am not worried. The Sox consistently put out a great team that will compete for the playoffs until the very last day, and there is no reason to expect them not do so in 2012. Consider this: Jacoby Ellsbury had one of the best seasons in baseball, and he is poised to be at least half as good next year. And keep in mind, the Red Sox will get a much better year out of Carl Crawford next year (he can't possibly not bounce back). Additionally, the Red Sox still have Adrian Gonzalez. ADRIAN. GONZALEZ. Get excited for 2012.

Holy moley! I went to a playoff game!

Let me begin by apologizing for being a student. I know I promised myself, and you, that I would write two blog posts a week; one here, and one on http://markcyv.blogspot.com/. Unfortunately, I haven't been too great about that with this one. Much of this has to do with being busy, but also with the Red Sox epic fail in September. Next post will be about that, and the many changes the team has seen since then. Now, to the real reason you're reading: I WENT TO A PLAYOFF GAME!

On October 2 (yeah, yeah, two weeks ago, I know) I went to my first ever playoff game of any professional sport. Unfortunately, it did not include my beloved Red Sox, but that is of little or no consequence, because it was still PLAYOFF BASEBALL! It also had my Dad's favorite team, and my second favorite, the Detroit Tigers. It also included the dreaded Yankees losing at home, so it was pretty awesome. A-Fraud failing miserably, and receiving a heavy round of boos each time he failed (it happened at lot) was wonderful. Golden boy Derek Jeter striking out in a crucial at-bat in the 9th was great. Seeing Andy Pettitte at Yankee Stadium, and not pitching was also great (I bet most fans there wished he was still pitching for them). Hearing his wife sing the national anthem was not as terrible as it sounds. There was rain off an on the whole game, but our upper-upper deck seats were under the overhang, so we weren't bothered by it. It was impossible to find good parking (thanks to my own failures to wake up at the correct time) and I still feel really bad about it. I dealt with the deserved anger from my dad and brother, and made the best of the game, which was the best, most exciting game I'd been to, at least this season. There's just something about playoff baseball...

This was my first time in New Yankee Stadium, and to be honest, I was not super impressed. It's just like the old one, except newer, basically. Sure, it's a very nice ballpark, but it's really nothing special. It's nothing compared to the uncomfortable tiny seats that point you out towards center field from right like Fenway. Still, I was glad to have been to the new park of my most hated rivals.

I really enjoyed the obnoxious Yankee fan who told my dad, brother, and I to sit down when we were cheering for Miguel Cabrera's first inning homer. We'll cheer if we want, jerk!

I really enjoyed the Tigers winning in the dramatic fashion that they did. I was literally on the edge of my seat for all of the ninth.

Above is a picture from our seats, with a perfect view of all the (literally) fair weather fans the Yankees have, who left when a tiny bit of water began falling from the sky. IT'S PLAYOFF BASEBALL! Tough it out! I would never even consider leaving a game early that is not an absolute blowout, regardless of the weather. And this was the playoffs, so leaving in a tight game is just inexcusable. You should be ashamed of yourselves, Yankee fans.

Thanks for reading, make sure to check out my next post, where I may have an emotional breakdown halfway through, as I'll be talking about those guys the Yankees are now golfing with: The Boston Red Sox.

Justin Verlander and the MVP Race

Well, we've entered the home stretch. The playoff teams are pretty much set, safe for the AL West, and who will end up winning the AL East (the loser gets the Wild Card spot). Even the AL Cy Young is pretty much wrapped up for Detroit's Justin Verlander. So, the thoughts on everyone's mind is the AL MVP race. The front runners are New York's Curtis Granderson, Boston's Adrian Gonzalez, and Detroit's Justin Verlander. There are other candidates, but these are the three most likely to win. Let's explore each of these players statistics.

As of today, September 9, Curtis Granderson is hitting .270 with 38 home runs, 109 RBI and 24 stolen bases in the potent Yankees lineup.

Adrian Gonzalez is leading the league in batting average, hitting .343 with 24 home runs and 106 RBI in the only-slightly-less potent Red Sox lineup.

Verlander is a pitcher, and those statistics cannot be easily compared to that of position players, so we will discuss Granderson vs. Gonzalez first.

With those three major statistics, it is pretty much a toss up. Granderson has many more stolen bases, and 14 more home runs, but Gonzalez is hitting a whopping 77 points higher than Granderson. Even the more advanced stats don't give you a clear winner here. Gonzalez beats Granderson in OBP (.407 vs .374) and OPS (.964 vs .945), while Granderson edges out Gonzalez in slugging (.570 vs .557). If you wanted to see what types of hits are making up these numbers, you would compare Gonzalez 21 more doubles (43 vs 22) against Granderson's 7 more triples (10 vs 3). Gonzalez is approaching 200 hits on the season, while Granderson is 10 away from 150. Gonzalez has about 50 more at-bats and 15 more total bases on the season. So, what is basically being shown here is that it is a wash, and could go either way, between these two players. However, there is that Verlander guy, who already has 22 wins, and could reach 24 or 25, if he's lucky. (He doesn't need much luck; you'll see why in a minute)

This season, Justin Verlander has been, hands down, the most dominant starting pitcher in all of baseball. He holds an incomparable 22-5 record, including winning his last 10 decisions. His ERA stands at an impressive 2.44, with an amazing WHIP of 0.91. He is also untouchable, with 232 strikeouts. These numbers have already wrapped up the Cy Young for him, and he figures to have two or three more starts this season to add to those numbers. He throws hard, goes long (4 complete games, at least 26 of his 31 starts have been 6 innings or more and he has pitched 229 innings) and carries his team. It can be assumed that the 5 starts he made where he didn't get quality starts were the ones that he lost. Simply put, Justin Verlander is absolutely filthy, and the best pitcher in the game, without question. If you think CC Sabathia has good stats (he does), then Verlander is godly. Verlander makes Sabathia look like a second-tier pitcher, which is a difficult feat to accomplish. What's more, is he the only guy in Detroit's pitching staff that a manager could turn to to pitch a big game when the Tiger's less-than-amazing (but still pretty good) offense can't score enough to win without a good pitching performance. Verlander goes well beyond that; every single time he steps onto that mound, the Tigers stand to win that game, regardless of their offensive production. 

Those of you not as entirely wrapped up in baseball's ins and outs like I am must be now thinking "Wait. Why is there any question about MVP? It is clearly Verlander!" You, my dear friends, are absolutely correct. Or, rather, you should be absolutely correct. The award is for the Most Valuable Player, right? The player that is more valuable than any other. I am a die-hard Red Sox fan, and even I would argue that Dustin Pedroia should not have won the MVP in 2008. Yes, he had absolutely phenomenal numbers, but his whole team was very, very good. Sure, they wouldn't have been as good if he wasn't there, but he didn't save them by any means. Heck, another guy on his team (Kevin Youkilis) finished third in MVP voting. So, you see now that the MVP award is not really an award for the most valuable player on a team; It is more like an award for the best player, and that is only sort of a correct definition for it. 

Even if you go off of the assertion that the award is given to the player with the best stats, Verlander appears the best bet. But here in lies the issue: Justin Verlander is a starting pitcher. Starting pitchers only play once every four or five days. When the sports writers across the country make their votes for MVP, this absolutely is taken into high consideration. Sure, Justin Verlander was the most incredible player on the face of the earth...but he only did it once every five days. So, although Verlander's stats are incredible, they are diminished by the fact that he plays five times less often than a Curtis Granderson or an Adrian Gonzalez. The stats are seen less impressively due to his substantial amount less games played. How can one be the most valuable to any team if they do not play more often than a maximum of twice a week?

With all the facts on the table, the voting sports writers have a tough decision to make. Do they give first place votes to a guy with the best stats, but that only plays every five days? Or do they give it to one of the two guys who are pretty much equal in their value to their teams? Or, do they give it to the Dark Horse of the race, Jose Bautista, who appears headed for his second straight year of leading the majors in home runs? 

Bautista's existence seems to only weaken Granderson in a battle against Gonzalez, as his home runs seem less impressive with a guy with more being in the race. Also, Granderson is joined by fellow Yankee Mark Teixeira, who has 36 home runs. Gonzalez also has trouble from his own team, with Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia also putting up incredible numbers that will warrant some votes for the lower places in the race. Actually, Ellsbury could even replace Gonzalez at the forefront of Red Sox MVP candidates, with a .317/25/89 line with 36 stolen bases. It is so close between a decent sized group of hitters, it is difficult to pick a leader. For this reason, perhaps Verlander will get more attention and take home the MVP, as he rightly deserves. But, keep in mind, the last time a pitcher won the MVP it was Dennis Eckersly in 1992. Eck is one of the best pitchers of all time, and is a Hall Of Famer. The last time a pitcher won the Cy Young and MVP was in 1986, when Roger Clemens did it. Does Verlander have what it takes to match The Rocket? Or, more importantly, do the sports writers have the gusto to give him what he truly deserves?

September 1, 2011: Red Sox vs. Yankees

Karma seems to be catching up. After not getting to go to Fenway at all for five-ish years, I have now been four times in the last year. And they've all been GREAT times: The first one was Mother's Day in 2010, where my friend Jacob, whose father has season tickets, invited me to join them for the matinee, which just so happened to feature the arch-rival New York Yankees. The Red Sox won 9-3, and the seats were phenomenal. I had a great time. The second game was the anniversary of a game my family and I had attended in 2002. May 18, 2002 we saw Pedro Martinez hurl an eight inning, nine strikeout performance against the Seattle Mariners, a Sox win. On May 18, 2011, we saw Clay Buccholz throw seven innings of no-run ball, with seven strikeouts. After a slow start to the season, the Sox were now in the middle of an (at that point) five game winning streaking, pushing their record over .500 with a 22-20 record following the game. The next game was with my girlfriend and her temple on July 27 of this year. The Red Sox faced the Kansas City Royals and won 12-5. The hit parade was led by Big Papi, who hit a grand slam, pushing him beyond the 1,00 RBI mark with the Red Sox. It was very exciting to be part of history like that.

That brings me to yesterday's game against the Yankees. Last week I got contacted by my friend Sam asking if I'd like to join him, his twin brother and younger brother to go to the game. I have been good friends with Sam, Dom and Frank for a very long time but do not get to see them as much as I would like. Being with them alone made it a great time. Yeah, the Red Sox lost, but I find myself completely capable of enjoying myself at a baseball game, even if my team does not win. What could be more fun than a Red Sox-Yankees game at Fenway Park, with seats in the bleachers? That answer, technically, is the Red Sox winning that game, but that's beside the point. The bleachers are the most fun place to sit. Sure, you're about a half mile from the action, but you're not going to find fans that are any more 'real' than those who sit in the bleachers.

I had an interesting interaction with a young man seated in the row in front of us. Derek Jeter came up to bat, and I began jeering at him, calling him overrated. The man turned around and said, "How? He's got 3,000 hits!"
"I'm not questioning his offense. Of course he can hit. It's his fielding that I'm referring to."
"He's got like a million Gold Gloves!!"
"And he deserved maybe two of them!"

The conversation petered off after that, but the situation is still laughable to me. This guy was a Red Sox fan sitting in the bleachers in a game against the hated Yankees, supporting a man that is the epitome of Yankee-dom. It was baffling. Yes, yes, I know, Derek Jeter is known as a classy dude, and is absolutely a likable guy. If I had to pick a favorite (current) Yankee, he would be third, after Rivera and Granderson. However, I still have my beliefs, that are based on facts. Facts show that Derek Jeter has one of the worst ranges of major league shortstops; bottom of the league. Yes, he does regularly end up with a pretty good fielding percentage, but the truth is that it is only so high because of his lack of range; Jeter is unable to even attempt many plays that most other shortstops can get to. These more talented shortstops are sometimes unable to make these plays cleanly, resulting in errors and a lower fielding percentage. Shortstop is one of the most difficult positions to play, so I am in no way diminishing his athletic ability; he is way more athletic than I am, and can make plays I could never dream of making. However, most of the plays he makes are routine. As his age has advanced, so has range. I'm not sure of the exact statistic, but he ranks incredibly low UZR or WAR or one of those other advanced sabremetrics. Basically, if you wanted a good defensive shortstop, you would not want Derek Jeter. Please feel free to debate me on this issue in the comments, or in person.

I left for the game with the impression that Sox had a pretty good chance to win, with AJ "I am a terrible pitcher" Burnett on the mound for New York. But, of course, Burnett decides to pitch relatively acceptably and get the win. It was probably just to spite me. Jon Lester had a rocky 40+ pitch first inning and had one of his shortest pitching outings ever, taking the loss. The Red Sox had next to no offense, safe for Pedroia's Monster Shot that put the Sox up 2-1 at that point. They did not score again, and the Yankees did, so the Sox lost.

So, the Red Sox lead in the AL East went back to 0.5 over the Yankees. As I am writing this, the Red Sox are getting pummeled by the Texas Rangers 10-0, and and Yankees appear headed towards victory. If all remains as it is now, the Sox will be down a half game after tonight. Sure, we still clearly have control of the Wild Card, but we want the division! There is less than a month of the regular season, so it's crunch time. Our offense can't keep not producing like this. I have faith, but the Red Sox need more than just my faith; they need offense and at least decent pitching. It's go time!

Please leave any comments you have. I'll post again in a week!

John Kruk and the Werthless Losers

Howdy, y'all. Keeping up with the not bloggingabout the Red Sox theme this blog has had, I will be blogging about the Phillies game. But hey, at least I'm posting!

So, me and my family are currently on vacation. We went to Philadelphia, and did some sight-seeing before heading to the Phillies-Nationals game last night (8/13/11). We're in Baltimore now, and are supposed to go to the Orioles-Tigers game tonight, if the weather holds up.

Anyway, we get to the Citizens Bank Park, passing by the Wells Fargo Arena (boo Flyers) and Lincoln Financial Field (Go Eagles/Dream Team!). To my pleasant surprise, tonight's game had a special promotion. The promotion: The Phillies were inducting their latest member of their Phillies Wall of Fame. Awesomely enough, the player was one of my favorite baseball personalities, John Kruk! Krukkie was awesome when he played. He hit about .300 while with the Phillies, rocked a killer mullet, and played with heart. He is now known for being the silly little fat guy on Baseball Tonight. One of my favorite stories to tell about baseball is about Kruk, told me by my dad. It follows:

One day, on a day game, John Kruk was out on the streets, smoking a cigarette. Kruk has always been known as a guy who plays hard, and parties harder. He was a bit of booze hound, really. Anyway, some woman with some small kids sees him smoking, and walks over to him.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, "You're an athlete!"

Krukkie responded, "Lady, I'm not an athlete; I'm a baseball player."

Classic!

So, to begin the game, the Phillies put a stage out over home plate, and called out the other living members of the Phillies Wall of Fame. Darren Daulton, Mike Schmidt, Garry Maddox and Bob Boone, among others, were all present. It was actually really nice. Then, they had Darren Daulton, who was a good friend of Kruk's while playing together in Philly introduce Kruk. Daulton told a great story about Kruk that I will attempt to recreate below.

One Spring Training, Kruk and I (Daulton) were rooming together. We had the night off, so me and some of the other guys were going to go out on the town, ya know, have a few cocktails. I invited Krukkie to join, but he politely refused, choosing to spend the night in. So, I go out, we have our drinks, and come back to the hotel. By this time, it's pretty late. 2, 3 in the morning. I, being a considerate roommate, don't turn on light. I take off my shoes, undress, and get into bed.

A few hours pass, and then I'm woken up by hot smoke in my face. The room is still pitch black, except for a glowing cherry of a cigarette. I turn on the light, and see that the room has been covered in empty pizza boxes and beer cans, and Krukkie is sitting there smoking a cigarette, blowing smoke in my face. He says to me, "It's 6 am. Time to get to work."

Again, classic.

Kruk then parades around the stadium in some new Toyota convertible, receiving a huge standing ovation the whole time. It was a great thing to see, especially the montages of him they had. He was quite the dude, I'm sorry I missed most of his career.

The game wasn't all that interesting. I guess I'm used to the American League excitement. The most fun during the game was the fans all booing Jayson Werth. Werth played for the Phillies from 2007-2010, before leaving as a free agent last off season. He left the Phightin' Phil's for their division opponent (they're not really rivals, so I won't use the term.) Washington Nationals for, wait for it, a higher paycheck. Golly! Choosing the place that will offer you more money?! That's preposterous! Well, as with anything in sports, if your name can played upon, it will be. Werth is almost too easy. Last year, they said he was "Werth it." Since he has signed, they have begun booing him and refering to him as "Werthless." Couple things: 1. He's clearly not; he's apparently werth MORE than your office was willing to spend. 2. He kind of has been. His monster numbers from the last couple years haven't been even close to replicated this year with the Nats. He's hitting a dismal .224, with only 14 homers and 45 RBI. Sure, those aren't awful numbers, but they're not worth $126mm. Our seats were in right, so every time the Nationals were on the field, he was heckled mercilessly. Phillies phans are known for being just awful. He appeared unfazed, shrugging off the insults. It didn't matter to him; he'll continue to not be worth the money regardless of your taunts.

The other issue I have with the phans hating on Werth was the fact of what has happened since then: They used the money they didn't end up having to spend on Werth in order to sign Cliff Lee, the prized free agent pitcher this past off season. Then, in July, they traded for Astro's right fielder Hunter Pence, who, in my opinion, is actually much than Werth to begin with. So, they got themselves one of the best rotations of all time, and a better right fielder. Quit being so bitter! Also, they currently hold the best record in baseball. Stop complaining!

The Nationals won the game 4-2, but the excitement of the game really had very little to do with the game itself. I'm going to need to watch more NL games, get used to it, if I want to be a baseball writer (I very much do.)

That's all for now. Expect to hear more from me on here and my other blog, http://markcyv.blogspot.com/ from now on. I've decided to become a real blogger. Like, for real.

PS- Sorry for the awkward placement of the photo. Blogspot is mean and won't let me put it where I want.

7/24/11

Wow. So I haven't posted all season. I'll blame it on my not having cable at my apartment. I'm home this weekend, so I get to actually watch the game, and it's not just in a bar, so I feel comfortable blogging while watching. Yay! Today, the Sox take on RoTY candidate Michael Pineda and the struggling (dropped their last 14 games) Seattle Mariners. Timmy Wake is pitching for the Sox. I'm hoping for a bounce back start from him, because the Sox will need it against the fireballin' Pineda.

Top 1

Wow, Ichiro has kinda fallen off the face of the earth. Hitting .266, that's not the HOFer I've loved for years. His career may soon be over. He does have a 5 game hitting streak. He works a full count and bounces back to Wake for the first out. It's Maine Day today. Hooray for former Massachusetts territory! Brendan Ryan quickly went down 0-2 before getting hit in the back. Control of the knuckler may not be good today, especially with the weather. Ackley sends it back to the 379 mark, but Ellsbury runs it down, and Ryan has to retreat back to first. 2 outs. Monster shot for Miguel Olivo for his 14th of the season. 2-0 M's. Smoak doubles high off the monster. Wake's having a rough first. Chone Figgins was a late scratch, possibly involved in a trade? We'll see. Carp bounces one past Pedroia into right, Smoak tries to score from second and is out by a mile and a half. Inning over.

Bottom 1

119 K over 119.1 innings for Pineda. That's scary good. Ells lines on down the line, it bounces off the wall and into right. He ends up at second. 6-game hit streak now. WP on a slider from Pineda, Jacoby to 3rd. Pedey pops out to shallow center, 1 out. Gonzalez send it up the middle on a 1-0 count, scoring Elllsbury. 2-1 M's. Youk drives a 2-0 shot over the monster, 3-2 Sox! Maybe we shouldn't be afraid of Pineda, with this lineup. Ortiz slaps it off the monster, but it's a long single. ANOTHER hit off the monster, this time for Crawford. 2nd and 3rd for the Sox, still just one out. Reddick Ks, which is only to be expected with the guy who is 9th in the AL in that category. Salty loops one the right, scoring both Ortiz and Crawford. 5-2 Sox. Scutaro grounds to second to end the inning. 9 batters up for the Sox this inning. Good stuff.

Top 2

Adam Kennedy looked foolish on a few of the pitches, getting struck out by Wake to start the inning. Cust Ks too, but it gets away from Salty, but he throws him out anyway. 2 down. Guttierez golfs one to center. 1-2-3 inning for Wake. 5-2 Sox.

Bottom 2

This inning starts off the same way the first did; with Ellsbury up. Unlike the 1st, he strikes out. I'm expecting quite a few strikeouts, with Pineda on the hill. GREAT barehanded play by Brendan Ryan to get Pedroia. 2 out. Good defensive allignment for the M's gets A-Gon to end the inning. Still 5-2 Sox after 2.

Top 3

Ichrio flies to right for the first out. Brendan Ryan lines to Gonzalez for the second one. Dustin Ackley sends on down the 1B line, it bounces off the bag and skips into right. He ends up at 2nd. Olivo grounds to Youk, who throws him out to end the inning. 5-2 Sox.

Bottom 3

Good plays on both ends of the ball, from Ryan and Smoak to get Youk for the first out. Papi goes up 3-0 before striking out for the second out. Crawford, who has looked great since coming back from the DL, send one to left for a single. Stolen base for Crawford, who is only safe because Brendan Ryan dropped the ball. First bad play from him all game, as he's been spectacular. Apparently, it counts as a caught stealing with an error. I'm not quite sure how that works. Salty strikes out to the end the inning anyway, though. 5-2 Sox.

Top 4

Smoak flies to Ellsbury to start the inning. Leaping grab by Reddick makes it two outs. Kennedy bounces out to Pedey for another quick inning. 5-2 Sox.

Bottom 4

Salty dribbles on down the line to Smoak, 1 out. Scutaro grounds out to short. Ellsbury grounds to third to end the inning. 5-2 Sox.

Top 5

Wake's knuckleball has been dancing well today, striking out Cust for Wake's third K of the game. Gutierrez walks, and gets to third on a single by Ichiro. 1-3-4 pick-off to get Ichiro. Well done, Wake. Ryan sends one off the wall for a double. Good thing Ichiro was picked off. 5-3 Sox. Fly out to Crawford to end the inning, but not after a run scores for the Pilots, err, Mariners. 5-3 Sox.

Bottom 5

Just learned Wakefield is one strikeout away from 2000. And if he wins today, that'll be #199. I'm really rooting for this guy, and I hope he makes the hall. Pedroia grounds out to start the inning. He's 0-for-3 now and his 20-game hit streak is in jeopardy. He'll get at least one more AB today. Gonzalez sends one into the mini-shift and gets his second hit of the game. Youk walks. Pineda out. Aaron Laffey in. He inherits runners on first and second. Ortiz dribbles one down the 3B line, Laffey fields, but there's no play to make. All hands are safe. Sweet. Crawford RBI single scores Youk and Ortiz, both runs being charged to Pineda. This game has opened up again. 7-3 Sox. 7 runs in 4 1/3 for Pineda. Ugly. Reddick bounces one off the top of the scoreboard for an RBI double. 2nd and third now, 8-3 Sox. Salty sends on into right, scoring both Reddick and Crawford. That's his 2nd hit and 3rd and 4th RBI of the game. 10-3 Sox. Aaron Laffey out after 0+, Jamey Wright in. Scutaro takes the first pitch right to CF. Wright has done in one pitch what Laffey couldn't do against 4 batters; get an out. Ellsbury grounds out to finally end the inning. Poor Eric Wedge.

Top 6

10+ runs in 14 games for the Sox this year, which leads the majors. Our lineup might be kind of good...Olivo flies out to Reddick for the first out. Smoak grounds out for the second one. Mike Carp Ks for Wakefield's 2000th! A great, well deserved milestone. Congrats, Tim! 10-3 after five and a half.

Bottom 6

Wakefield got a curtain call, too. Only Clemens has more as a Red Sox than him. I still think he is a HOFer. Pedroia's hit streak is at 21-games now, with a double off the monster, which has taken quite the beating today. Gonzo past the shift AGAIN. He's owning it today. 3 hits now, and he picks up another RBI. 11-3 Sox as Pedey scores from second. K looking for Youk, who disagrees. Broken bat fly out for Papi, whose bat ends up way up in the stands. 2 out. Crawford strikes out to end the inning. 11-3 Sox.

Top 7

Yamaico Navvaro is in at third. Probably because we're up by 8 and Youk hurt his hand the other day. Cust singles to left, following 2 Ks earlier in the game. Gutierrez singles to center, moving Cust to second. Ichiro singles, loading up the bases. Aceves started warming before he came up, I'm sure we'll see him in soon. Brendan Ryan crushes it over the monster for a grand slam. This game is back to being a game. 11-7 Sox, Aceves coming in. Ackley flies out to center, one pitch into Aceves' outing. First time M's have scored 7 runs since June 12th. And they're still down by 4! Pathetic. Olivo pops out to Pedroia to end the inning.

Bottom 7

Josh Lueke pitching for the M's. He's got an ERA of 14.73. This could be interesting. Reddick gets it through the left side for a single. Salty singles to right, Reddick to third. That's his third hit, to go along with his 4 RBI. Good day from Salty. Scutaro pops out to shallow right. He's the only Red Sox without a hit today. Bloop single for Ells scores Reddick, 12-7 now. M's try to turn two, don't get Pedroia. Runners on the corners, 2 outs. Gonzalez hits it to Smoak, who steps on the bag to end the inning. 12-7 Sox after 7 full.

Top 8

Smoak grounds to Pedroia. Bloop single between Pedroia and Reddick gives Carp a hit. Aceves strikes out Kennedy after a relatively long at bat. Cust flies out deep to the warning track in left to end the inning. 12-7 Sox.

Bottom 8

Brandon League, Mariners closer, who is on my fantasy team, is in now. He has pitched one inning in the last 15 games. No saves, as is to be expected when your team is on a 14 game losing streak. He could pitch a scoreless inning and that'd be cool. He starts off the inning striking out Navarro looking. 3-1 for Papi. 2 out. Crawford walks. This won't help League's WHIP. Oh well. Reddick lines out to 2nd to end the inning. 12-7, half an inning left, if the M's don't score 5 runs here.

Top 9

Aceves still out there. Well done, Tito, this is how you're supposed to manage a bullpen. Gutierrez sends it back up the middle to lead off the inning. Just setting up the double play, I always say. Ichiro grounds to Pedroia, Gutierrez to 2nd, 1 out. Ground to short, 2 out. Ackley doubles Gutierrez in. This one's not done, yet. 12-8 Sox. Olivo pops out to Crawford to end the game. M's get swept, lose their 15th game in a row, a franchise record.

Good hitting from the Sox today, glad I saw it on the big, HD TV at my parents house in Springfield. Hopefully you'll see more blog posts here, but it really depends on my TV access. But, my other blog, http://markcyv.blogspot.com/ should be having regular posts starting this week. I'm getting back into blogging!

First weekend of televised Sox games

It has begun! It's the most wonderful time of year, where on pretty much any given day you can catch the Red Sox on live TV! I'd been awaiting the first Spring Training games, and then the first televised one, which was this past Friday's (3/4) game in Tampa against the hated New York Yankees.

Turns out, one Spring Training game isn't really enough to write a whole blog post about, a fact that works well with the fact that I didn't have the time to write a post until after another couple games, one of which I caught earlier today. That game was in Port St. Lucie against another New York team, but one nobody is afraid of; the Mets.

Let's begin with Friday's game at George M. Steinbrenner Field, named for the longtime owner and generally awful human being who passed away last year. First off, this stadium is named after an OWNER. Not a player, not a manager, but an OWNER. I wouldn't do such a thing, but hey, it's the Yankees, they do a lot of things I don't agree with. BUT, to add insult to insult, this field HASN'T been called George M. Steinbrenner Field only since this year, after Steinbrenner's death last July, but SINCE 2008. Gross. Naming the field the team you own plays at in March after yourself is pretty typical Steinbrenner, but c'mon! But, I'm not sure I'd prefer the previous name, "Legends Field."

This January, the front of the stadium added a bronze statue of Georgie. I'm literally appalled at this disgusting gesture. It shows the same kind of recognition of awful people as love for Ronald Reagan is now. Steinbrenner, like Reagan, was an awful person who was just about the worst thing to happen to baseball since, well, ever, but, in death, has gained reverence across the board. It is widely assumed that George Steinbrenner will end up in the Hall of Fame. While I am wholeheartedly against that, I will be slightly more okay with it they let Pete Rose in first. It's about damn time, anyway.

Ok, so, to begin with, apparently Spring Training games start on time. Who knew? I missed the first two outs of the game, which turned out to be Darnell McDonald grounding out to Jeter. Why McDonald is leading off, I'll never know, but he was. Kalish followed by striking out looking. THEN I came in, just in time to see Lowrie strike out to end the inning. I guess Bartolo Colon (who I'm still laughing at the fact that the Yankees signed him) wasn't as bad as expected, and actually did pretty good in this outing.

Bottom 1

Jeter and Russell Martin (who I just found out the "J. Martin" that he wore with the Dodgers was for his SECOND middle name, Jeanson. Silly Canadians) both grounded to Jose Iglesias, the Sox top prospect, a smooth fielding 21-year-old who I'd actually only seen for the first time just then. He made it look so easy, but the plays weren't too tough. Teixeira remained in early season form, striking out against Buchholz, who looks to repeat/improve on his great 17-7, 2.33 ERA 2010 performance, his first full one in the majors. Pretty uneventful thus far. 0-0

Top 2

Tek grounds to Cano to begin the inning. By the way, Yankees have brought almost all of their starting lineup (Jeter, Cano, Rodriguez, Martin, Teixeira, Posada) while the Sox brought, uh, NO ONE who will be in the Opening Day lineup. Wait to see how the roster choices work out. Daniel Nava, the guy the Sox system bought for $1 from the Golden Coast League who hit a grand slam in his first Major League at-bat and hasn't done anything since, struck out looking. Josh Reddick, who literally is the same person as Ryan Kalish, flys out to left to end the inning.

Bottom 2

A-Fraud (NOTE: I will regularly refer to Alex Rodriguez as A-Fraud. You know why.) takes a high Buchholz 3-0 pitch to left for a single. Next batter hits it deep and back to left, Reddick is running it down, he dives towards the wall AND MAKES THE CATCH! Great grab by Reddick. AND it keeps A-Fraud at first. Well done, sir, well done. As if there was some one-upping to do, next batter a nubber heads toward the second base bag, Iglesias moves in, grabs it, backs up, steps on second, flips effortlessly to first, GOT 'EM! Double play! Fantastic play! Iglesias' hands are AS ADVERTISED. I've never seen a play done so well. WATCH! I'm such a fan. I can't wait till he's starting for the Boston squad in 2012. It's gonna be glorious. 0-0

Top 3

Yamaico Navarro, an infielder we saw some of last year as a September call-up Ks to start the inning, followed by a Drew Sutton single that went down the line. Now, my boy Iglesias is up, and he doesn't disappoint; bouncing ball down towards third, A-Fraud ranges in, fields, throws, NOT IN TIME! Good stuff to see Iglesias beating his "mentor." (A-Fraud apparently took it upon himself to mentor the young, promising Hispanics coming into the league, including Iglesias. I am not a fan of this aspect, but Iglesias is hot like fire, so I'll get over it.) Sox have first and second for McDonald, who earns his spot at AAA with a strikeout. Kalish follows with a grounder to Teixeira, who flips to Colon, who may have been a bit late in getting to first. Kinda following protocol for overweight pitchers. No runs score, oh well.

Bottom 3

Some Yankee scrub grounds out to third, followed by another backwards K-ing. Greg Golson, yet another Yankees scrub, but one we saw in September last year, walks, and almost immediately steals second with a late throw from Tek. What do you expect, he's 39. Jeter does something of little consequence, as Martin follows by flying to left, ending the inning. Still 0-0.

Top 4

Quick inning here: Lowrie grounds to third, Tek Ks, then another grounder to third.

Bottom 4

Randy Williams is in pitching for the Red Sox. I'm not quite sure who he is, either. Don't expect to need to know who he is, anyway. Teixeira strikes out. A-Fraud doubles against Williams. Who is surprised? Next batter is a grounder to second, takes the out at first, the Fraud moves to third. Posada walks. Andruw Jones (another signing of the Yankees impressive "It's-still-2005" offseason that includes Jones, Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia and Mark Prior) strikes out swinging. No runs score, keeping it zilch to zilch.

Top 5

Reddick strikes out, then Yamaico hits a grounder to short. Sutton (who is one of the Sox top 15 prospects) hits a double down the left field line. Not complaining about this guy, so far. Iglesias, who is known to be major league-ready defense wise, but lagging in batting ability, follows with a good eye, drawing the walk. Unfortunately, McDonald seems adamant about reserving his spot in Pawtucket, striking out. Again.

Bottom 5

Brandon "Curt Schilling" Duckworth is pitching now. Melky "I'm not THAT Melky" Mesa flies out to center. Golson grounds to third, with a very nice play by Yamaico. I approve. Jeter slings one down the line for a single, but nothing comes of it, Russell Martin continuing to help prove my view of him as a catcher who was good based on hitting, but forgot how to hit by grounding out to third.

Top 6

Pedro Feliciano is on for the Yankees now. And to think I'd forgotten that it was 2005. Kalish grounds to first. He's looked great offensively so far! Lowrie doubles to left center. Oscar Tejada, who I hadn't heard of before, but SHOULD have, comes in to run for Lowrie. Tek grounds to short, Tejada stays at second. Nava's up next, grounds to second, BUT IT'S OFF CANO'S GLOVE! Tejada scores! 1-0 Sox! Reddick followed with broken bat, which is bounding towards Teixeira. Teixeira avoids the bat, fields the ball, steps on first, inning over. Sox score first, 1-0.

Bottom 6

Just like real baseball, because Teixera ending the inning with a decently nice play, he'll follow it up by batting in the next half inning and getting a hit. This time, it's a double that reaches the right field wall. Teixeira is immediately removed for everyone's favorite Yankee, Ramiro Pena. A-Fraud follows by striking out. WAIT, WHAT?!?! Yes, that's right; DUCKWORTH! Cano gets redemption next, hitting an RBI-double. A guy named Austin KRUM (yes, that's spelled correctly, K-R-U-M, like the guy from Harry Potter) pinch-runs for the speedy Cano. Weasel Posada is up next, and he walks, setting up 2005's Andruw Jones for an inning-ending double play at the pretty great hands of Oscar Tejada. After 6, 1-1.

Top 7

Boone Logan, Mr. Last Names himself is pitching for the Yanks now. Logan starts off the inning fast, making quick work of Navarro and Sutton, with a fly to center and a backwards K, respectively. Iglesias follows with a nice piece of hitting that finds itself getting past the second base bag. McDonald doesn't strike out, for a nice change of pace. He walks, pushing Iglesias to second. Now, the Three-Name Brigade moves in. Che-Hsuan Lin pinch runs for McDonald. I've been told Lin is so smooth and fast in the outfield, it's like he's on skates. Let's see how he is on the base paths. Next in the order is Juan Carlos Linares, who came in defensively for Kalish last inning. Linares singles, scoring Iglesias and moving Lin to third. Sox have first and third, with two outs and a 2-1 lead. The Yankees make a pitching change, bringing in Eric Wordekemper. Wordekemper quickly dishes up a nice meatball for Oscar Tejada, who turns it into a two-RBI triple. I like this Tejada guy. 4-1 Sox. Luis Exposito, who is in catching now, grounds to short, ending the inning, but not before Tejada tacks on 2 more to the Sox lead.

Bottom 7

Matt Albers is pitching now for the Red Sox. He was brought on, with about 43 other relief pitchers, to fight for a spot in the Sox bullpen. Lucky for him, Iglesias is still out there. Jorge Vazquez up, grounder hit near Iglesias, he ranges, fields, FLIPS OVER HIMSELF, making the throw to first. PHENOMENAL play. WATCH! Albers earns a spot in the 'pen with the rest of inning, K-ing Justin Maxwell swinging, and Doug Bernier looking. After 7, 4-1 Sox.

Top 8

Mark Prior, who I believe had already been injured and out of baseball for 3 or 4 years by the time 2005 came around, is now pitching for the Yankees. This should be fun. Nava strikes out to begin the inning. Oh shoot, maybe I'm wrong about him...Oh, no, Reddick walks, I'm still good. Yamaico strikes out looking; Maybe not... Lars Anderson, who is now in playing first, flys out to left. Not a bad inning for Prior. That's unfortunate.

Bottom 8

Gustavo "I'm-not-related-to-Bengie" Molina is up, and is now the catcher for the Yankees. He makes like a good minor league catcher, and goes down swinging. Ramiro Pena flys out to Lin in right. The guy really is on skates. I wonder if that's illegal... Some scrub who was so much of a scrub that NESN didn;t have his name grounds out to second, ending the inning. Score remains 4-1.

Top 9

Luis Ayala is pitching for the Steinbrenner's now. Yes, they've changed the team's name now, too. He gets Iglesias to ground out to him, before Lin strike out looking. Skates don't help pitch reading ability, I guess. Linares follows with double to the right field corner, and then scores on a single from Oscar Tejada. Good stuff from these guys. 5-1 Sox. Luis "Mr. Smiley" Exposito may need to work on his hitting. He grounds out to second, ending the inning.

Bottom 9

Tony Pena Jr. is pitching for the Red Sox now. You may remember Pena from his time with the MONTREAL EXPOS as a back up short stop. Or as being the son of Yankees coach, Tony Pena. Either way, not very good. He makes quick work of the first two batters, allowing a single and then hitting some guy named Kyle Higashioka. It couldn't have taken more than three or four pitches to get them on! Exposito wins me over a bit more here, with a passed ball moving the runners up. I'D ALWAYS WANTED FIRST BASE OPEN! Thanks Luis! Sox short stop can't make the play (it's obviously no longer Iglesias in there, apparently some guy Ryan Dent), Also, turns out they're ruling it a wild pitch, not a passed ball. Sorry Luis, go back to Canada, Tony. Jorge Vazquez strikes out, Maxwell flies out to right, to a guy named Bubba Bell. BUBBA! Awesome. With two outs, it's now time for Pena to get back to work. He walks the bases loaded with Doug Bernier. But he's not done yet! He needs to walk in a run! Gustavo Molina? Congrats, you get an RBI! 5-3 Sox. Sox management feels the need for some Irish blood out there, so they bring in Eammon Portice. First pitch Ramiro Pena sees he hits to second, Tejada flips to first NOT IN TIME! But wait, the umps have called him out. Bad call by them, but I will absolutely take it. Game over. Sox win 5-3. All is right in the world.

3/6/11: Red Sox @ New York Metropolitans. Digital Domain Stadium, Port St. Lucie, FL

Lester was supposed to start this game, but someone gave him the flu. So, it's Michael Bowden and some guys fighting for the lefty spot in the bullpen against the Met's lefty, Niese. Sox have a bit more of a Major League roster today, but only by last year's standards. The Met'ss have pretty much their Opening Day lineup. But that's because they don't have a choice.

Red Sox Mets

Michael Bowden, RHP Jon Niese, LHP

Scoot Jose Reyes

Kalish Angel Pagan

Lowrie David Wright

Nava Carlos Beltran

Reddick Jason Bay

Lars Anderson Ike Davis

Will Middlebrooks Scott Hairston

Juan Carlos Linares Daniel Murphy

Luis Exposito Mike Nickeas

(NOTE: Sorry about the formatting of the lineups)

Top 1

Scutaro grounds to third, Kalish strikes out looking. I've begun writing his name with a backwards 'K.' Can't seem to find a way to put that in here, though. Lowrie follows with a double into the right center field gap. Nava, with two strikes on him, checks his swing really badly. Called a swing, strike three. Inning over.

Bottom 1

Reyes pops foul, followed by two quick fly outs. Nicely done, Bowden. PS. My sister thinks you're cute.

Top 2

ReddicK. Lars and Middlebrooks both fly out. This game is flying.

Bottom 2

Here, it starts to get interesting. Beltran singles past Lowrie, who is playing second today, into right field. Old friend Jason Bay follows with a hard grounder past the diving Scutaro into left. Iglesias would've had it and gotten two out of it. Next year, next year. Davis flys out, no advance. Hairston follows with a high pop up into shallow right. Anderson, Lowrie and Reddick are all looking for it, Reddick has the best chance, calls the others off last minute, makes the catch. Good call, Reddick. Two outs. Now this gets ugly. Murphy hits a blooper into shallow right field. Beltran scores. Now, Murphy is caught in a rundown between first and second, so Bay takes off, and he also scores. They try to catch Bay at the plate, which results in Murphy getting second. So, in the end of this play, Murphy ends up on second with two runs in. 2-0 Mets. Nickeas draws a walk after a 10+ pitch at-bat, before Reyes chops out to second.

Top 3

Juan Carlos Linares makes Cuba proud, clouting a solo homer to left field. 2-1 Mets now. Exposito grounds to third, Scoot grounds to second, and Kalish strikes out looking again. Glad we can get guys we expect to be with the Big League club to produce.

Bottom 3

Andrew Miller, the tall (6'7") lefty is in now. Pagan leads off with a double off the left field wall. Wright ground out to short, Beltran flies out to RF. Bay singles, scoring Pagan. 3-1 Mets. Now, Ike Davis drives one, deep and back over the right-center field fence, 5-1 Mets. Hairston follows with a double down the left field line. Luckily, there's no longer anyone on base to score. Miller has been dreadful. He manages to get Murphy to ground out to short. Ugly inning.

Top 4

Lowrie singles up the middle. Nava drives one deep, and far....but not far enough. Ground rule double, Lowrie to third. Reddick pops out to short. Anderson induces a fielder's choice, scoring the run. 5-2 Mets. Niese is taken out. Runner on third, two out. Armando Rodriguez, all the way from Single-A ball, is in now. Middlebrooks is up. Damn, do those concussion-proof helmtes look freaking stupid. Middlebrooks walks. Linares grounds to third, to end the inning.

Bottom 4

Miller's still in. Gets Nickeas to ground to first, Reyes to short, and strikes out Pagan, looking. Miller could win a 'pen spot with this inning. Not last one, though.

Top 5

It's the fifth inning, which I guess means it's time for the Mets to bring in their disgruntled closer, Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez. Turns out, the guy's still got it. Strikes out Exposito, gets Scoot to ground out, and Kalish DOESN'T strike out! He flies out to center, but still. NOT a strikeout!

Bottom 5

Sox have made some changes. Nate Spears is in at short. And lemme tell you, he's not an attractive dude. Scary even. Tim Federowicz, who I've never heard of (and I know Sox prospects) is catching. Hideki (Ch)Okajima is now pitching. Quick inning, with a pop foul fielded by Lars, a fly to right, and a dribbler back to Okajima he makes a nice play on, ending the inning.

Top 6

Ryoto Igrashi is pitching for the Mets now. They've also made a shit-ton of defensive changes, none of which I remember, except Jacob Turner at third. I know almost no one in the Mets' system. Poor, poor Mets. Lowrie strikes out looking, Nava walks, and then Reddick fouls out at third. Anderson strikes out. I guess Igrashi is pretty ok.

Bottom 6

Rich Hill, who has developed a side arm, and is also vying for the lefty spot in the 'pen is pitching now. Aaron Bates is in at first. Davis grounds to first, before Hairston sends one past Spears at short. Middlebrooks makes a nice play in foul territory next to the stands. Mike Nickeas strikes out swinging. Just checked, and it turns out that the Mets starting catcher is Josh Thole. Who knew?

Top 7

Taylor Tankersley is pitching for the Mets now. Hey, I've heard of this guy! He strikes out Middlebrooks, and makes Linares pop to short. Federowicz follows with a solo blast. The bottom two spots in this lineup have hit two solo homers today. Not too shabby. 5-3 Mets. Nate Spears looks bad striking out looking, too.

Bottom 7

Fast inning for Hill: A line out to second, and unassisted play by Bates, and a fly to center.

Top 8

Jon Lujan is pitching for the Mets. Back to people no one has heard of, I see. Kalish has decreased his strike out ratio enormously with the last two at-bats, popping to second here. Tejada lines to right. Nava singles up the middle. Not a bad game for Nava. Now, Josh Reddick is up. He bombs one! 2-run home run! 5-5! Awesome. I retract my statement about Reddick and Kalish being the same person. Reddick can produce! But then again, he had a great a Spring last year, too, but did not much when we called him up. Oh well. Bates looks at strike three, inning over. TIED IT UP! 5-5.

Bottom 8

Now I'm getting confused. The Sox are pitching a guy named Alex Wilson. I'm going to assume he is a fake/created player from MVP Baseball 2011. He gets a quick line out to first, before Lucas Duda, of funny last name fame, hits a solo shot. Mets back up, 6-5. Zach Lutz (yes, I know) grounds out to Spears. Russ Adams follows almost the same ball path as Lutz, but this one gets by Spears. Jordany Valdespin (awesome name) singles. Raul Chavez, now catching for the Mets, grounds out to third, ending the inning. Mets are up again, 6-5.

Top 9

NOW PITCHING: Boof Bonser! YESSSSS. Sox had him last year, released/traded him because of his lack of skill/our lack of need for him. The first guy up I didn't catch the name of originally. All I knew was that he was batting in Middlebrooks spot, he popped out to second, and that he appeared to be about 11 years old. Turns out the guy is Ryan Khoury, a 26 year old. Linares follows with a strike out. Federowicz takes an encore, hitting a single in his second at-bat of the game. Now, it's all up to Nate Spears, who we've decided to describe as having an "unfortunate" face. It apparently does not get under Boof's skin, as Boof forces the ground out to short, ending the game. Boof looked good. Damn. Sox lose, 6-5.

Well, we beat the team we will actually face this year. It's Spring Training. The games mean nothing. It's just nice to be back.

Next game I will report on should be Wednesday March 9, @ 7:05 vs. Baltimore Orioles (ss) @ City of Palms Park. Game on NESN.

Welcome!

With pitchers and catchers a mere FORT NIGHT away, I figured now was a perfect time to begin my Red Sox/MLB blog. As a journalism major who aspires to be on a baseball/Red Sox beat for a newspaper/magazine, this is a perfect place for me to share my views on it all!

What a great time to be a Red Sox fan!

The Red Sox came into last season with expectation of being a phenomenal defensive team, but in a 'bridge season.' This didn't really seem to be the case. I figured the Sox would be fine offensively, and still had a great chance to contend. Then, the season and the injuries began. The Red Sox were without starters Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek, Mike Cameron and Josh Beckett for considerable amounts of time. Missing about half of your starting lineup, including your spark plug in Ellsbury, didn't bode well. But, somehow, thanks to Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz and a group of bench/AAA players used to replace the injured starters, the Red Sox still did pretty well. They won 89 games. They weren't mathematically eliminated from the playoffs until the LAST week of the season. Pretty good for a team that was considered a 'bridge season' team PRIOR to all of their injuries, I believe.

After happily seeing the Yankees taking an early exit from the post season, the greatness that is the off season began. I love seeing where free agents end up, and trades that are made. I love the rumors. It's one of my favorite parts of baseball, especially when it works out well for the Red Sox. Everyday I scour MLB Trade Rumors, multiple times, looking for rumors, trades, signings and the like. Going into the 2010-11 off season the Red Sox had a need for either a 1Bman or a 3Bman, depending on if they switched Youk to third or not. Adrian Beltre was a free agent, and after his monster year in 2010 (how could he NOT have hit that well at Fenway?), he would probably command more money than the Sox front office would be willing to give him, so he appeared gone. While I would be sad to see his great defense and great numbers at Fenway leave, I wasn't sad to see the guy that had taken Jacoby out for the year (and Hermida, for that matter) gone. His replacement would make me forget he ever existed.

THE RED SOX ACQUIRED ADRIAN GONZALEZ! It was a great, great, GREAT day in Red Sox history. Basically, the Sox gave the Padres their top pitching prospect, Casey Kelly, and Carlos Beltran's cousin, Reymond Fuentes, among a couple other prospects for one of the best players in the game. Gonzelez plays Gold Glove-caliber first base (meaning Youk plays 3rd), is a career .284 hitter, and has hit 30+ home runs (and about 100 RBI) in ever season since 2007, playing his home games at the notorious pitchers' park that is San Diego's Petco Park. He's going to absolutely crush the ball in 2011, with Fenway's dimensions being much more forgiving than Petco. He hit 40 homers just two seasons ago, AND THAT WASN'T AT FENWAY. I'm more than excited for Gonzo.

After long amounts of speculation of going to the LA Angels, the Red Sox signed free agent left fielder Carl Crawford for a whopping $142 mm. While it is a steep price, Crawford is absolutely worth it; He is a five-tool player who will only make the players around him better. With the lineup he is in now (for many, many years) Crawford's numbers will also only get better. The Red Sox lineup, for lack of a better word (or lack of desire for another word) is STACKED.

It is almost unbelievable that the Red Sox (thanks, Theo!) could pull off BOTH of those huge, great deals, but they did. I haven't been this excited for a Red Sox season since the Sox broke the curse in 2004. I hope you are, too!