Homecoming

The Sox are playing the Reds in their final home game of spring training. Our old friend Bronson Arroyo is the starting pitcher against his old team.

I had a chance to catch the first inning - besides throwing the ball into right field, allowing Coco Crisp to advance all the way to third base, Arroyo was pretty sharp, striking out Trot Nixon and Manny Ramirez, and retiring Mark Loretta on a pop-up.

We have a hothead on our hands

For evidence of this, please refer to the Boston.com story on Julian Tavarez. AKA the guy who punched out Joey Gathright. He's had his share of meltdowns. Note the 2004 NLCS, when he was still playing for the Cardinals.

I'm concerned that he'll have trouble keeping his temper in check in Boston. It's a saturated environment, especially when it comes to baseball, and I think he might be feeling a lot of pressure. I'm waiting for more blowups. Seriously.

New acquisition

Josh Beckett almost throws down with Ryan Howard. Funniest story of the day, hands down. Do yourself a favor, read it.

Also, the Sox acquired Hee Seop Choi over the weekend. Another first baseman. Smoothe move.

P.S.

I should also mention that the Sox lost to the Yankees yesterday. Boo. Wait til the regular season. Johnny will be getting the good 'ol Fenway Welcome. If he's expecting a standing O, well, quite frankly, he's out of his mind. I'll be standing, alright...so I can get a better shot at hitting him in the face with a Fenway Frank.

No, I'm not bitter or anything.

"A man doesn't change his stripes just because he goes to pinstripes."

Um, yeah, he does. I don't care what people say, I call Johnny Damon a sellout. He was a sellout when he was still in Boston. The same people who were booing him will now be kissing his butt, and vice versa. That's the way it goes. I don't care that he helped bring this team a World Series title. Once you join the Yankees, all bets are off. You're a part of the Evil Empire. As much as I love Manny Ramirez (and I do, very much...he's my favorite player), if he ever signed with the Yankees, our love affair would be over faster than Michael Jackson's career. Dunzo. Sorry. That's just the way it goes with us Red Sox fans.

Pre-season rivalry

The Sox are taking on the Yankees tonight in preseason action, but most of the Red Sox regulars are not on the starting roster. The action starts at 7:05.

Wily Mo impresses in start

"David Ortiz and Wily Mo Pena made impressive spring training debuts for the Red Sox on Tuesday," according to the Boston.com. Ortiz homered in the fourth. Pena subbed in for Trot Nixon in right field in the sixth, singled in the seventh and walked in the ninth. The Sox fell to the Devil Rays, 9-7. Wells had a decent three innings (coming off surgery), allowing three runs on four hits in the fourth. It was a slugfest - Tampa Bay hit three homers, the Sox hit four (including one by my fave, Manny).

The end of an era

Well, not really. Bronson Arroyo is gone. Traded to Cincinnati for Wily Mo Pena, a mediocre player at best. Theo Epstein is slowly dismantling a team that, just 18 months ago, brought Boston its first World Series title in 86 years.

I know I ripped on Arroyo (what, like 2 days ago?), but I'm not sure trading him was the answer. He could have pitched out of the pen if starting didn't work out. I guess I sort of saw it coming though. Oh well. Our singing sensation is taking his show to the Reds.

Mission Impossible

I'm on a quest for Red Sox tickets.

For those who don't know, I haven't purchased Red Sox tickets since...oh, probably the 2003 or 2004 season. My boyfriend is a security guard at Fenway Park. Last season alone I went to 6 Sox-Yankees games. Now that his future with Fenway is uncertain, I might have to resort to actually BUYING tickets.

I was on hold with the Red Sox ticketing office for half an hour. At this point, I'll take the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, I don't care. I just want to see some baseball!

Ok, I have to say I have a beef with NESN and all the other local channels for their lack of coverage on Red Sox spring training games. To date, I have seen ONE televised game. One. I know once the season starts, we'll go into Red Sox overload and there won't be any escape, but right now, I just really want to see the Sox live instead of on an internet scoreboard.

With that said, there's some news in Red Sox Nation: Sox brass has extended Terry Francona's contract. Not sure if this is a good thing...sure, some might say he brought us a World Series title, but I think he's too much of a softy and doesn't do enough hands-on managing. Hence, the nickname "FranCOMA."

Sox suffered another loss at the hands of the Devil Rays, the bottomfeeders of the American League East. During the season, these guys love to be spoilers. Hot prospect Jon Lester got roughed up on the mound, giving up four runs in two innings while walking three. Pitching's not looking too hot right now.

They're wearing their special green jerseys today in honor of St. Patrick's Day. It would be nice if the game was televised. Grr. Right now Sox are on top of the Marlins 5-0, with a Kevin Youkilis home run.

Put down the guitar

Put down the guitar and walk away, Bronson Arroyo.

Is it just me, or is it ever since he picked up a guitar and pretended to be a rock star, his pitching has just plain SUCKED? Who gives up 5 runs before retiring a batter??

I think the dreads are a woven a little too tight.

Dodgers top Sox

Even with a sturdy performance from Matt Clement, the Sox lost to the Dodgers in extra innings today in Fort Myers.

Clement pitched four scoreless innings, giving up only two hits and punching out three. The Sox lost in the 10th on a two-run homer by Willy Aybar. Another disappointing loss for the Beantown Boys, but the main thing is that the real season is what counts, not spring training.

Quick update

The Sox are currently taking on the Dodgers in interleague play. Alex Gonzalez, newcomer to Boston, has hit a home run for the Sox, giving them a 1-0 edge at the moment. Matt Clement is on the mound and to this point has only given up one hit. Will update after the game is over.

Return from Nevada

Unfortunately, I did not have internet access in Las Vegas as I thought I would, so I have been pretty much cut off from baseball and the Red Sox. I did get to watch some of the World Baseball Classic games...USA drubbed South Africa 17-0. Now there's a huge controversy over the WBC, people are saying it's rigged because of a controversial call yesterday in the USA-Japan game. Japan was down 4-3 and hit a sac fly, which would have given them the tying run. The US team appealed the call, citing that the runner left third base too early. The umps reversed the call, and USA won. Wow, the World Baseball Classic is rigged? Say it ain't so...

In Red Sox-related news, the Dominican Republic is kicking some butt in the WBC, led by our very own David Ortiz. Also, Jason Varitek hit a grand slam for the US team earlier in the week.

Spring training is well under way, and the countdown to the regular season is on...only 18 more days! The Sox have played some good ball, lost some close games, and also came back from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 7-6. Beckett's fastball looked good, he was throwing some heat, but he got roughed up in his first start.

More to come as soon as I read up on it...it's sooo nice to be back home and have Sox access!

Slow start for Beckett

Josh Beckett took the mound for the Sox today. He gave up a leadoff home run to Julio Lugo, and another to Jonny Gomes later in the inning. He gave up three more runs in the third, and the Devil Rays are now on top 5-0. Not an impressive start to spring training so far (hell, they haven't won a single game yet), but with several players gone at the World Baseball Classic, I expect to see some improvement.

Boomer OK with Boston

David Wells has apparently taken back his trade demand and said he is OK with staying in Boston, according to a story on Redsox.com. I'm surprised this wasn't a bigger issue in the offseason. Wells says he is 99.9% sure he's going to retire after this upcoming season, and in the winter the Sox management (whatever was left of it) said it would honor Boomer's request to be traded somewhere to the left coast. Apparently that's not happening. I have to say, I'm glad Wells will be back with us, even if it wasn't his first choice. When he's healthy, this guy is a great competitor.

Also, the Sox are getting off to a slow start in spring training. They fell to the Pirates, 7-6 yesterday and dropped another game to the Twins today, 5-1. One thing I am excited for is Josh Beckett's debut in a Red Sox uniform. You can watch him pitch against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays tomorrow at 1:05.

I'm heading to Las Vegas tomorrow until Friday, but I will have internet access, so I'll try to keep updated on the Red Sox action as it goes down.

Rough outing for Arroyo

Bronson Arroyo made his spring training debut for the Sox. He got roughed up by the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk. The game is still in progress...more to come later.

Sox vs. Twins

The Sox are kicking off the pre-season tonight with their first spring training game against the Minnesota Twins. Jonathan Papelbon (who I think is a strong, young pitcher), who is being compared to Roger Clemens, is trying to prove he deserves a spot in the starting rotation and is the starting pitcher for tonight. I'll hopefully have an update on his performance later tonight.

Also, the Northeastern Huskies will be taking on the Red Sox at City of Palms Park tomorrow (March 3). In their last matchup the Huskies managed only one hit off Curt Schilling and ended up on the short end of a lopsided score.

This year, the Sox are sending Matt Clement to the mound. After his dismal performance in the last half of the 2005 season, it makes me think the Huskies have a pretty decent shot at getting on base. Clement was a disappointment in the playoffs. I hope he can pick it up this season - if he throws like he did in the beginning of last season, he'd give the Sox a major advantage.

Manny Being Manny

Manny Ramirez showed up for spring training today (the official start...that means only a month til opening day), but avoided the media. The Remy Report is now selling "Camp Manny" t-shirts. Give me a break. You're getting paid millions of dollars to play baseball. It's not rocket science. Shut your trap and just do your job.

Oh, and the World Baseball Classic? Biggest joke ever. When you get to decide which team you want to play for, is it still baseball?