Archive for August, 2007

Well that stunk. I wish I understood how the Sox could score 46 runs against Chicago and then just six against New York, but baseball’s a funny game and that stuff happens.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not worried at all. The Sox will be in the playoffs, and win the division. Still I would have liked to see them beat up on the Yankees and put them out of the race. That’s not really a team I care to face in October. Too much history, too much talent, too much to prove.

I’m not going to go into further details. It’s the start of a holiday weekend, and if you’re not already out the door, you’re close. Have a great weekend, I’ll be back here Monday or Tuesday with an update. Until then be safe and happy for Labor Day.

All of us have been haunted by the countless promos for “Sox Appeal” during Red Sox games over the past few months. Jerry and Don making fun of the guys, the girls looking like they might have a clue what’s going on. The idiots behind the couple making fun of them … next time on Sox appeal.

Me, though, I’ve been haunted for another reason. Every time they showed one of the promos a face from my past kept popping up. That’s right, one of the contestants on the show was an ex-girlfriend of mine, someone I dated a long, long time ago.

My wife thought I was crazy. “You’re so bad with faces,” she’d say. “There’s no way.”

But I knew. I am bad with faces, but some you don’t forget, and hers I didn’t. I knew it was Denise, I just knew it.

So after the Sox game last night I watched TiVo’d Sox appeal, and fast-forwarded it to her part. It was painful to watch because she was trying so hard, and falling flat on her face. You seen I liked Denise a lot, but she was a wee bit too crazy for me. I couldn’t get too serious with her because she had crazy tendencies, and I wasn’t up for that. We went out off-and-one for a while, had some fun, and then I met Lyra down at school. That was that. When you meet “the one” you know, and Lyra was the one.

Still, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Denise because she was a nice girl — just a little nuts. On the show that showed in a big way. Everything that made me know to be careful showed up on that show. She trys to impress too much, she has (the announcer’s words) “crazy eyes.”

When we were in college, I had broken up with another girl — the selfish Tracy — just one night earlier. My best friend Matt and I were having brunch in the cafeteria the next day talking things over and having a few laughs when Denise came by. Denise had wanted my attention for a while, and she saw an opportunity. She asked what I was doing that day and I told her that I’d just be hanging out in my room with Matt, watching the Pats game. It was a guys’ day, and we were going to revel in it.

Mid-way through the first quarter there was a knock on my door. Denise came in with a shopping bag full of stuff — bags of Doritos, bottles of soda, a can of Copenhagen (my brand at the time) and some other stuff. She had easily dropped like $20, which back in college was quite a bit of money (remember, this was probably 14 years ago).

I didn’t know what to say, other than “thanks.” She said that she’d be by later to hang out, after the game.

Matt started laughing the second she left, and I remember what he said “Dude, you’d better be careful. That’s kind of scary.”

In the end, he was right. She was just too intense, but still a nice girl. I hope that she finds someone that gets her someday.

At least she’s had her 15 minutes of fame. Maybe now NESN will stop running those promos so I won’t be haunted by my past every time I watch a Red Sox game.

You’ve all probably gotten emails like this one. Apparently I could be $1.2 million richer if I just help this poor woman from a war-torn country invest her money. Why exactly a sports writer/photographer would be the person to contact for this is beyond me. These scams crack me up. Do they actually work?

I think we need to mess with these guys. Any ideas?

Calm down, it’s one game that doesn’t mean all that much in the standings. Daisuke had a bad start, gave up two quick ones, and missed his spots on the pitches to Jeter and Damon. Other than that, he wasn’t that bad. He just wasn’t great, but like I said, it’s one game, and the lead is still seven.

Now here’s what we need to worry about, Manny. I know Kielty tweaked his back, too, but Manny’s the one we need to be concerned about. He probably won’t play today, and who knows about tomorrow, but right now he’s the biggest concern for Red Sox fans. He’s been having a great second half. THe power he showed on that opposite field homer in the second inning was awesome. Let’s hope this is not a big deal.

By the way, once again JD Drew was awful at the plate. At least there are some things in life we can count on.

For the Yankees, I must say I was blown away by the Joba Chamberlain kid. I hadn’t seen him pitch, but wow, just wow. He looked awesome. Looks like the AL East is going to have two premier closers in Chamberlain and Papelbon over the next several years. He actually throws harder than Paps, which is scary.

Let’s just hope tonight that Mr. $20 million fizzles and the Sox have their way.

Since no one is happy with last night’s results, I give you Ms. Teen South Carolina. You’ll probably have to watch it twice, and still, as a US American, you’ll be dumbfounded.

When the Red Sox started this road trip, did any of us really think they’d head to NY with an 8-game lead. I sure didn’t, and if you’re a Yankee fan right now, it might as well be 80.

You’ve seen the T-shirts that say “my favorite team is the Red Sox … and whoever is playing the Yankees.” Rivalries are the best thing about sports, your team against their team, head-to-head, may our team win and yours get crushed.

I understand people that say it would be fun for these three games that begin tonight in the Bronx to have more meaning, I do. Those types of games are like playoff contests, which are the most fun. But like a four-year old waiting for her birthday party, she wants that now. Good things come to those who wait, and let me tell you I can wait until October, because my team is going to be playing in the postseason.

Like that T-shirt reads, last night my favorite team was the Yankees’ opposition, and the Tigers made the Yanks look like the Red Sox made the White Sox look. Mussina got hammered and New York went on to lose by 16 runs. It was a joy to watch that happen in a room full of Red Sox fans at one of the bi-weekly donky fests at Dino’s sports pub. Everyone playing poker couldn’t help but giggle each team he noticed that the score had changed again. It was like watching your stock report higher quarterly earnings and then zip north on the exchange (Okay, I’m guessing on that one. I have a hard time checking how my 401K is doing).

For sure the team the Red Sox face tonight whimpered back to town with its tail between its legs. And tonight — and over the next three days — we find out if there is any fight left in the Yankees. There’s a chance they do, but even if New York swept the Sox, the lead would still be five games, which at this point in the season is huge. Most likely one team wins 2-of-3, and even if it is the Sox that win just one, they’d still be the big winners. That would finish off their big road trip at 7-3, and that would be just fine.

So tonight we’ll all gather around the tube to watch the rivalry, but there won’t be much tension for Red Sox fans. I’m okay with that.

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I was quite happy to be able to catch some of the Pats preseason game on Friday night. The league’s future champions looked pretty good as they beat up on the Panthers, who have got to be asking themselves what are they going to do offensively this season (yeah, they have Steve Smith, but real football isn’t Madden and you can’t just huck it down the field on every play).

Perhaps my favorite aspect of the game was that BB said before the game that they had a game plan and it didn’t really matter that what they wanted to do didn’t jive well with the fact that they were playing Carolina. Screw it, though, we’re going to work on what we want to work on were BB’s sentiments, and that is what the Pats did.

The Pats ran the ball 13 straight times to open the ballgame, with Laurence Maroney taking the rock on 9 of those occasions. He looked good, gathering a bit under 50 yards, and shook off the rust. On one play, a busted counter, he saw that his hole was filled and kicked back out to the right end, picking up about 10 yards and a first down. Not only did I love the field vision he showed off, but he also had a great burst of speed to hit the outside. I have a feeling I’ll be getting a lot more mileage out of the No. 39 jersey this year than my Atlanta No. 7.

LINKS

A great Patriots preview. I love this story. Do not click though if you are offended by dirty words, as I counted three.

You ever see The Rookie, the Reds’ newest pitcher loves that movie.

First things first, even though the Red Sox had a weekend for the ages, some things are just more important. Born on this day, about six hours ago, was the first child of my good friends Kirk and Ali, Cadel Winston Bosma. I know, I know, the poor kid is going to be picked on for the first 18 years of his life about his name, and it will never be spelled or pronounced correctly. Let’s see past the obvious and just bask in the fact that my good friends brought an offensive tackle into the world (he weighed 9 pounds).

Here’s the funny thing, Kirk had to skip being at the Oblong League fantasy football draft yesterday to stay by his wife’s side. I told him to come to the draft. “No one ever has the baby on the due date, you’ve got at least a week left.”

For the record, today was her due date. Also for the record, he could have safely attended the draft, selected his crappy team and still had about 12 hours left before she went into labor. I want to see Kirk make a bigger commitment to the important things in life, but that’s just me.

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On to the Red Sox, you know it’s a good day when JD Drew goes yard. That’s right, my whipping boy finally connected on his seventh homer of the season. Let’s forget that he was signed because Theo believed he’d have three times that number by this point and just enjoy the fact that he actually contributed to yesterday’s drubbing of the hapless White Sox. (side note: why are the actual socks worn by the White Sox black? I realize that with today’s styles you don’t actually see the socks of most players, but you try explaining to a five-year old why the White Sox wear black socks).

We have a phrase for what the Red Sox are experiencing on this road trip: Best case scenario. If you had told me that they’d go 6-1 over the first seven games, and totally destroy the competition in every facet of the game, I think I would have taken that. The blowout by the Sox this weekend was even greater than the blowout that the Patriots suffered at the hands of Chicago in Super Bowl XX. The Sox won the weekend 46-7, the Bears won 46-10. Of course not as much was on the line, but there’s still a sting from that big game and I’ll take what I can get.

So now it’s on to New York, with a lead that will be no less than seven games. I wrote in this space a week ago that I’d be happy to leave NY with a four-game lead. Let’s reassess that shall we. Six is what we’re shooting for. Boston needs just one win in the Bronx and the AL East title will be theirs for the first time since 1995. Should the Red Sox win the series, or even — dare I say ? — sweep it, they can just break out the champagne now.

Tonight’s game is a big one for the Yankees. The Sox are already in New York, but the Yankees have one more game with Detroit. If they lose tonight, they come home trailing the Sox by eight big games. A win and it’s seven. Let’s go Tigers.

Poor Rye, the little guy loves to play in the woods, finding sticks and chasing squirrels. Being five can be awesome. It can also be painful.

We found out yesterday that he’s allergic to poison ivy. The poor kid is covered in some kind of therapeutic mud right now that makes him look like he’s a baby Aboriginee. Part of him, though, doesn’t mind so much, probably because when you’re five you’re usually covered in mud anyways.

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Great day for the Sox yesterday. Sweeping the doubleheader and then having the Yankees lose in the wee hours upped the team’s lead to 6 1/2. It may not be over just yet, but it’s getting close. The Red Sox have only 32 regular season games to go, and are 78-51. The Yanks have 33 left. If the Sox go .500 the rest of the way, NY has to post a 25-8 mark over their final 33 games.

It isn’t over, but it’s getting close. As long as the Sox win one of the three games in New York next week everything will be dandy.

That’s right folks, one of the happiest days on the Guy Calendar is coming up this weekend for me — Fantasy Football Draft Day. It is time for the Stumblin’ Irish to attempt to rebound from the worst season in franchise history and reclaim our usual spot near the top of the Cape Cod Oblong League.

That I am aware of, only one of my fellow league mates reads this space regularly (What’s up Keeling?), and with it being a summer Friday, there’s a good chance he’s on the golf course today and not anywhere near the NYSE ticker or his desk. Not that it really matters all that much, how much strategy really goes into these things. You go to the draft with your list, and an idea of who you’d like to get, and then hope that you get those guys. You go after the best available players, it isn’t all that complicated.

Our league is a keeper league, with kind of a strange keeper rule. We don’t have a salary cap, so we’re allowed to take one guy from last year’s club, but can’t keep the same guy two years in a row.

The best guy left for me from last year’s team is Willis McGahee. I like McGahee, but don’t think he’s that great. He’ll help, but my good friend Kirk, who will have to draft remotely because his wife is about to pop out his first heir any minute now, was lucky enough to get Tomlinson a year ago and has him again this year. That makes him the favorite, as much as I hate to admit it.

I have the second overall pick and a dream. That’s right, I’m praying that my buddy Matt will take Larry Johnson with the first pick, leaving Stephen Jackson to be taken by me. I feel like SJ is the best guy on the board, so I’ve been talking up LJ all week. I made sure to call Matt when LJ signed his contract. “Good news for you man, LJ’s in camp.”

I don’t think he’s buying it. His keeper is Peyton Manning, so I also attempted to sell up the virtues of having Marvin Harrison, getting double points for all of those TD’s, but again, he’s not buying. Unfortunately I think he might be smart enough to realize that Jackson’s the best pick. We will see on Sunday afternoon.

Before we get into the Red Sox forgetting how to knock in runners (11 left on base last night), I thought I’d share a couple of stories that might give you a giggle ….

New Math: On my way into work yesterday afternoon my stomach began to rumble, so I stopped at Subway to pick up a sandwich before toiling at the keyboard for a few hours. The line never carries any decisions for me, because I get the same thing every time, a foot-long chicken breast sandwich, on wheat, with cucumbers, olives and tomatoes. There’s a reason I’m back under the weight I was when I graduated college (for the record, down to 205, exactly 50-pounds under my all-time high from about 2 1/2 years ago).

So I’m waiting on line and the guy in front of me places his order: two six-inch double meat roast beef sandwiches. Being the nosy guy that I am, I can’t help but ask him “wouldn’t it be cheaper to just get a foot long?”

For the record, a foot-long sandwich was $5.89, six-inchers are $3.89 (two would cost $7.78). It is an extra dollar per six-inch for extra meat, or — logically — an extra two bucks for double meat on a foot long. So his order cost 9.78. Had he gone for the foot long, it would have been 7.89. That’s nearly two bucks difference.

See if you can wrap your head around this logic. “No, I don’t want all that bread … and it’s only a dollar to add extra meat to a six-inch, but two bucks for a foot long.”

My head absolutely spun. You can’t make this stuff up.

Point one: two six inch subs is 12 inches of bread. Twelve inches is a foot. That’s the exact same amount of bread.

Point two: One dollar per sandwich for extra meat is two dollars total. Two dollars for a foot long is the same freakin’ price.

Dumbfounded doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. If this guy places the same order once a week over the course of a year he’s wasting a grand total of $98.28 per year. Unbelievable.

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I’m starting to think maybe Daisuke is mean to his teammates in the locker room or something. How else can you explain the lack of run support the import from Japan gets. Of the 10 losses he now has on the season, the Sox have scored two or fewer runs in six of those. It doesn’t make sense.

Last night they just couldn’t drive in any runs. Varitek stranded eight men himself. Daisuke made one mistake, leaving a fastball up to BJ Upton, and that was pretty much it. Still, even with NY winning, the lead is still five and another day slips off the calendar.

The whipping boy actually did alright last night. He had two hits for his $86K, so we won’t bury him further today.