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THEY'RE IN!!
2008-03-20 19:41:00
From the Globe of Boston, direct from the House of the Rising Sun...TOKYO -- "There was no daylight to tell the Red Sox what time it was when they touched down in the Land of the Rising Sun. It was early Friday morning in Japan, late Thursday morning back in Boston, and infinitely timeless in the minds and bodies of the exhausted world champions."Saddle up, partner," said reliever Jonathan Papelbon as he waited in an immigration line after the 20-hour journey from City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Fla., to the team's massive hotel headquarters near the Tokyo Dome. "This is going to be some road trip."Peter here, and YES! Everyone is safe and sound, albeit a little confused with the time difference. I'm so happy! That's it! Short but, as aways, sweet.

After Further Thought...
2008-03-20 10:00:00
I erred yesterday when I wrote my last post (just below this one) and I want to correct myself. Now. I thought about it a lot last night and I'm up early (it's even early for me!) to correct myself, to say "My bad." Here goes...When I first heard of the threatened travel boycott by the Red Sox players yesterday, I immediately thought of the many Red Sox fans from Japan who were waiting patiently for the team, THEIR team, to cross the Japanese shores, many of them with precious tickets in their hands as the team winged in from America. I thought of all the sad faces of the children who had their hearts set on seeing their heros from the USA, the champions of the world. So I wrote a post describing the Sox players as being selfish, of thinking only of themselves and not their fans. Boy, was I wrong.This was a show of team unity unlike any others in my recent memory. Because Major League Baseball decided NOT to pay the Red Sox coaches the same appearance fee that the players would r...
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TOTAL BULLS**T
2008-03-19 16:48:00
Peter here, and hello on this quickly dark Wednesday. I know you've heard this news by now, but I couldn't believe it...until this, UNTIL THIS.... "The Red Sox trip to Japan has already hit a major snag...During a players-only team meeting at City of Palms Park this morning at 8:30, the players decided unanimously, according to more than one player, that the Sox would not take the field for their scheduled 12:07 p.m. exhibition game against the Blue Jays today unless there was a resolution to MLB?s decision not to extend an appearnce fee of $40,000 to all team coaches making the trip to Japan. All players are receiving the $40,000 appearance fee for the Tokyo trip.According to one player, the players also agreed not to board the Red Sox? flight to Japan if the matter remained unresolved this evening.?Unless they take care of this I don?t think we?re going (to Japan),? said Red Sox pitcher Kyle Snyder [stats]. ?That?s pretty much where we stand. It?s a pretty strong feeling through...
More About: Bulls , Total

Tokyo Bound!
2008-03-19 11:05:00
It seems that Spring Training has passed quickly this year. After the Toronto game in Florida today (Wednesday), the Red Sox will begin their seventeen hour trip to the Far East. I wish them a safe flight...the Sox players will try to stay awake the entire trip to help with their sleep cycles in a completely different time zone. What a difference a twelve (or is it thirteen?) hour time difference can and will make. This is from the Boston Globe..."The last thing we need is us complaining about this," Francona said. "I hope you never hear an excuse about [not playing well] because of this trip."It is not a competitive advantage. Hopefully we'll be going as a very good representative of major league baseball, and we'll win some games."It will not and cannot be a win-at-all-costs mentality, however. For instance, Coco Crisp and Bobby Kielty, who have been battling injuries, learned yesterday they would make the trip, but most likely would see action only in the two exhibition contest...
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Theo On Jacoby...Colon Ineffective Against The Yankees...Starting Pitchers
2008-03-18 10:52:00
Wow, what a full plate today, Tuesday, March 18th. With just about a week to go before the Boston Red Sox head to the Far East, the powers-that-be have announced the early season pitching starters. Daisuke Matsuzaka will make a "home" start in the season opener and Jon Lester will be on the mound for game two. Both games, of course, are against the Oakland A's in Japan. Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield will pitch the two exhibition games against Hanshin and Yomiuri Saturday and Sunday. They are also expected to pitch two of the three exhibitions against the Dodgers in Los Angeles March 28-30, with Bartolo Colon working the other. So there you have it, Red Sox Nation and Red Sox International, as well as my Constant Readers. And that's only the beginning.Yesterday, the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox by a score of 8-3. Colon could not even get out of the first inning, only managing 2/3 of an inning while giving up four runs. Tavarez was almost as bad, pitching the next ...
More About: Pitchers , Theo

Josh Beckett To Stay Stateside ***New Sox Blog Announcement***
2008-03-17 10:53:00
Good Monday morning, the cheeriest day of the week (NOT!). But what can we do? Every seven days, a Monday comes and goes...by now, I'm used to it. Happy St. Patrick's Day, lads and lassies. Notice that my blog has a basic color scheme of green. But it's like that 365 days a year (this year-366). I like to think of it as a Fenway Park type of color. All things Red Sox make for a very happy blog. Ok, OK, back to baseball. Josh Beckett 's back is feeling 100%, and those are sweet words indeed. He will not be going to Japan. A 14 hour plane ride is not condusive to the health of any muscle in the body, especially those that are entwined through and throughout the spinal region. Here's what the man himself, as well as his manager, had to say after his Sunday outing. This is borrowed from the Boston Globe... "Everything's good," said Beckett, who had an icepack on his back. "I did everything I wanted to do."Francona, speaking from Bradenton, Fla., where the Red Sox dropped a 6-3 deci...
More About: Announcement , Blog , Stay

The Red Sox Put On Their Hitting Shoes...
2008-03-16 11:28:00
Saturday afternoon, the Boston Red Sox defeated the Cincinnati Reds by a score of 16-6. With 18 hits, two by the newly returned Julio Lugo, everything was good. Here is a quick recap from mlb dot com..."Julio Lugo had two hits after sitting out the previous 12 days with a back injury, and the Boston Red Sox hit three homers in a 16-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.Lugo led off the first inning with a double and scored on Mike Lowell?s single. He singled in a seven-run fourth, chasing starter Homer Bailey from the game. With the injury behind him, the shortstop is virtually certain to accompany the Red Sox on Wednesday to Tokyo, where they play two exhibition games against Japanese teams before the first two games of the regular season against the Oakland Athletics.?Right now I?m going. I went once and I like it. I like it very much,? said Lugo..."Peter here, and we like it too, Julio. John Lester was good, not great, and Hansack continues to impress. Here is the entire Sox...
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Baby Matsuzaka Comes Into The World
2008-03-16 10:33:00
Great news on this VERY early Sunday morning. And it was one of my wonderful readers, Red Sox-NJDevils, AKA Brittany, who brought it to my attention with her Saturday comment of my yesterday post. DAISUKE IS A DAD!! Here is the entire Boston Globe press release..."Daisuke Matsuzaka is a father again. Tomoyo, wife of the Red Sox righthander, gave birth to a boy Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m., the team said. The newborn, the couple's second child, weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces. No name for the boy was released.Matsuzaka, who pitched four innings against the Orioles in a spring training game Friday afternoon, has joined his wife in Boston and is expected to return to camp in Fort Myers, Fla., in a couple of days.There was some question as to how the timing of the birth would affect Matsuzaka's availability for the Red Sox' upcoming trip to Japan, where they will open the season against the Oakland A's March 25-26. With the child safely delivered, it appears likely that Matsuzaka will ...
More About: Baby , World , The World

Dice K OK As Sox Beat Birds 7-4..Hello To Sal S.
2008-03-15 10:37:00
Atlanta sustained a direct hit by a suspected tornado last night (Friday). There was an NCAA tournament in progress at the time and people inside the building described the increasing air pressure in great detail. 20 people were hurt, some severely, but no one perished, thank GOD. But it was much calmer in Florida as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles 7-4. Daisuke Matsuzaka was servicably good, giving up a couple runs in his four innings. He had this to say after the contest ended after 6.5 innings...?In terms of the four games that I?ve pitched so far, I feel that things are coming along well,? Matsuzaka said through a translator. ?As I?ve said before, I?m a slow starter. So, in my fifth start, the thing I?ll be working on is focusing on my first inning. From the third inning onward, I felt like I got a lot better,? Matsuzaka said. ?It would be nice to bring that state to the start of the game.?Manny slammed a two run four hundred plus foot home run in the very first...
More About: Birds , Beat , Dice-K , Dice

Colon Impresses--Bye Bye 'Belli
2008-03-14 11:03:00
There was good news and sad news for the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. First, the club released old friend Doug Mirabelli, the personal catcher for Tim Wakefield. Taking over the knuckleball catching duties will be defensive specialist but ultra light hitting Kevin Cash. Dougie's batting average had plummeted from .281 in '04 to .202 last year. Thank you for everything, Dougie. You were there when we needed you, and you will be missed.Bartolo Colon made his Sox pitching debut yesterday and opened some eyes. Wide. Here is what some said after his performance..."...a good two-inning performance in a 3-3 tie with the Tampa Bay Rays proved to be good news for the Red Sox. Colon allowed two hits, one run, a walk, and a home run in two innings. He struck out one of the 10 batters faced."I thought he was way up in the zone," said a scout, "but for his first time out, pretty good. HE'S GOING TO HELP IF HE CONTINUES LIKE THAT."There were a lot of scouts on hand to watch Colon, and the conse...

Our Manny Speaks, With JUST A Touch Of Grey
2008-03-13 13:06:00
Manny, with just a touch of grey in his locks, spoke out. He spoke out well. I want you to read this, from Red Sox MLB dot com. I enjoyed it so very much..."The experts will tell us one of the keys to aging well is to continue learning along the way. Older and wiser, as the saying goes. And, occasionally, we learn something about ourselves along the way, too."I'm older," said Manny Ramirez, who turns 36 on May 30 and has tinges of gray in his flowing braids and scruffs of whiskers attest to his observation."The thing is, be older and be smarter. The older you get, the smarter you get. We don't hope. That's just the way it is." On this morning, he (Manny) was uncharacteristically willing to share his thoughts with a clubhouse visitor.Ramirez said he learned during his offseason workouts at the Athletes' Performance in Arizona -- where his workout partners were teammates Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia -- that he could work smarter without working harder, and get better results ...
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Buchholz Doings & All The Bill James Numbers In A 24 Page Special Featu
2008-03-13 10:53:00
Peter here on this still cold Thursday morning. It's March 13th, and the days are slowly but steadily getting warmer, but the nights, the early morning hours especially, remain bone-chillingly cold. But that's the norm for mid-March.Clay Buchholz pitched four innings against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday, his third time pitching against them this spring. And he was flat out tremendous for the first three frames, HITLESS ones, before tiring in the fourth. The general feeling right now is that he will start the season playing for Triple A Pawtucket, not because of the quality of his pitches but to hold down the season-long innings pitched and the wear and tear on his arm. I ask you this...isn't the "wear and tear" on his arm and the total innings pitched the same when pitching for Pawtucket as it would be for the parent club? Simple logic says to me a resounding YES! So I don't get it, especially when I think of Tavarez being our number five guy in the rotation. No, please no! ...
More About: Page , Special , Numbers , James , Bill

Josh Beckett's Back Is A Little Better, But Japan Trip Is Doubtful At Best
2008-03-12 11:14:00
The news out of Florida was a little better about Josh Baseball Beckett's back. He had a horrible day on Monday but Tuesday was an improvement. He is nowhere close to even be able to do any stretching excercises, much less throw the ball. But the Sox are being cautious, as they should be. Said Tito Francona (quote taken from the Boston Globe)..."I don't know that we would want to eliminate it (the trip to Japan ) today because we don't have to," manager Terry Francona said. "The one thing we're not going to do is send him over there to pitch three innings and hurt his back. Just like everything, it depends on how they're doing health-wise. He actually is having a pretty good day today."We just want him to be healthy for the long haul. Last year when he had that avulsion, we didn't run him out there when we probably could have because we didn't think it made sense. So in something like this, we'll do the same thing. We'll use good judgment. It's not always easy to use good j...
More About: Back , Trip

Thank you Gov. Rell...UCONN Women Rule!!
2008-03-11 16:58:00
Why am I thanking the Gov?? I'll tell you. Last night the UCONN Women Huskies played and whipped DePaul to advance to the finals of the Big East Tournament. They are number ONE in the nation, and when it was obvious to her (the Gov.) that most of the state of Connecticut would not be able to watch the game (it was on ESPNU...useless to Comcast subscribers here), she stepped in. The game was broadcast on Connecticut Public Television, which is available to ALL cable Ct. people.....great job JODI! Tonight will be the finals....UCONN vs LOUISVILLE, in Hartford and on ESPN2 and ESPN 2 HD, nationwide at 7 PM. I can't wait! If you want to see a quality basketball team, check it out! What, WOMEN'S basketball? In many ways, they are better than any men's team in our nation. They do everything JUST right. GO UCONN!!!!!!!!!! And please click on this post's title for the full happy joyous story.
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***Josh Beckett's Back Worsens***
2008-03-11 10:57:00
The Boston Red Sox and the refurbished New York Mets played to a 1-1 tie in Florida Monday. Here is the Sox pitching summary.. IP H R ER BB SO HR J Lester 4 2 0 0 1 5 0 H Okajima 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 J Lopez 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 C Hansen 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 C Breslo 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 L Gronkiewicz 1 0 0 0 0 1 0Peter here. Santana started for the Metsies and pitched well, but great job by our Jon Lester (4 innings!) and Hideki Okajima as they round into regular season shape. But not everybody is progressing, and that brings me to the most important Sox story of the day (or the week, or the entire off season!). Josh Beckett awoke on Monday after a Sunday filled with optimism and realized he had had a setback. This is part of what he had to say. This excerpt is from the Boston Globe, and it's a little lengthy, but the subject matter is significantly impo...
More About: Back

Beckett's Back Beautifully Better
2008-03-10 11:14:00
The Boston Red Sox received some much needed great news about their ace pitcher's back. Josh Beckett, the only 20 game winner last season, was moving much better than he was able to on Saturday. His back spasms were significantly less severe. Said his manager, Tito Francona..."He actually looked way better than we anticipated," Francona said. "He was tested thoroughly. I think it has been pretty much determined that it's musculature in nature. His lower back is kind of in a spasm right now. We've got to ease that off and then get him back to doing what he's doing. It's probably a best-case scenario of what could have happened. As soon as this thing settles down, we'll get him back moving in the right direction. I think we're all relieved to see him moving around the way he was. I think HE was even surprised..."Peter here. There is still a chance he won't make the Japan trip, however, but the club is smartly being cautious. The season is a long one and there are far worse thi...
More About: Back

Josh Beckett's Back Spasms Are Cause For Concern, For ALL Of Us.
2008-03-09 10:55:00
Good morning on this Sunday, the first full day of Eastern Standard time. Wow, it seemed like Daylight Savings time came and went in a fortnight (that's two weeks). But now to more important news, news that provided quite the scare to Red Sox fans and coaches. Josh Beckett, our ace and "savior", stepped on a soft spot near the mound while throwing his warm up pitches before his scheduled Saturday start and did something to his back. Spasms ensued and he walked off the mound into the dugout before throwing a single pitch. Little Manny Delcarmen, who has an ERA of 0.00 (I like that!) so far this spring, became the spot starter and tossed two scoreless innings in a 5-2 Red Sox loss, but all eyes were focused on Josh Baseball, as I like to call him. Hey, it worked LAST year, why stop now? Here is what he and Sox pitching coach John Farrell had to say..."We'll just have to wait and see how it feels tomorrow" was Beckett's only comment three hours after he felt back spasms and called c...
More About: Back

Double Drubbing...Coco Crisp Cries Foul
2008-03-08 11:50:00
The Boston Red Sox had a Friday split squad twin slate that turned out to be an afternoon they would rather forget. Wipe that slate clean and turn the page. It was that kind of day. They lost 12-2 to the Minnesota Twins and 7-2 to the Baltimore Orioles. In the Birdie's game, Julian Tavarez was up to his old tricks, going the first 2 2/3 innings and giving up 4 runs. Kyle Snyder followed with 3 innings of work, giving up another 5 runs. Game over, as they say. In the Twinkie's game, Clay Buchholz and Jonathon Papelbon each surrendered 3 runs. The ink on Paps' contract had barely dried, but in no way am I worried about him. He's experimenting with a new pitch, a slider, and spring training is the time for experimentation. But it truly was a day to forget, so I will. There, it's done, erased from my memory bank. Deleted permanently. Caput. Finito.In other Sox news, Coco Crisp has recently been nagged by a sore throat and a dental root canal procedure, but those setbacks clearly h...
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Signed, Sealed & Delivered
2008-03-07 11:48:00
Jonathon Papelbon is a happy guy on this pre-dawn Friday morning, for he has a new contract that makes him the highest paid reliever with less than three years of service in all of baseball. This is from the Hartford Courant..."The Red Sox gave Papelbon a one-year, $775,000 contract, the largest for a relief pitcher with fewer than three years' service time. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, the player Papelbon most often compares himself with, signed a $750,000 deal as a pre-arbitration player in 1998. Papelbon, 27, was 37-for-40 on saves last season. He had a 1.85 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings before saving three of the four wins in the World Series, including the series finale."Peter here, and the Red Sox did the right thing. A happy Jonathon Papelbon makes for very unhappy Red Sox opponents, and that's just the way we like it. The Sox weren't finished there, though. Read on, again from the Courant..."The Red Sox also reached agreement with all 18 of their unsigned pla...
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Lester Looks Better--Papelbon Talks Continue
2008-03-06 12:06:00
John Lester 's second spring training start had a decided edge over his first one. He pitched three innings, without strain, and allowed one run on 4 hits. He threw 56 pitches, 33 for strikes. That's still too many balls for his 56 pitches, but he's heading in the right direction. The Red Sox lost to the Reds by a score of 7-6. Here's what Jon had to say after his encouraging outing..."I got another week under my belt, another bullpen and I just felt more comfortable," Lester said. "You see somebody other than your own team for the first time, you're more amped up. That could have resulted in me being a little erratic Saturday.Right now, I feel good. Mechanically, I'm feeling good and physically, I feel strong. Today, I didn't really get tired, even though it's the first time throwing three innings. I feel comfortable where I'm at right now."Peter here...well said Jon, and we feel the same way, too. Here is the Red Sox pitching summary from yesterday. It seems that Javier Lo...

The Ongoing Papelbon Pay Plea
2008-03-05 11:54:00
Boston Red Sox elite closer supreme Jonathon Papelbon, who has a new pitch in his arsenal, a slider, has a contract that is coming up for renewal. And he wants a raise. Hey, who can blame him? He was arguably the best closer in all of baseball in 2007, and he wants to be paid accordingly. He'd like something along the lines of what the Phillies' Ryan Howard takes home, an All Star closer who earns $900,000.00 per year. The club may opt to give him $500,000.00, which is what the White sox pitcher Bobby Jenks is paid. Paps had this to say yesterday..."It's a tough situation for me right now because basically I'm at a point to where I feel like the position I'm in, there's a certain standard that needs to be put in place here," said Papelbon, who had 37 saves last season, then added one more in the Championship Series and three more in the World Series. "I feel like with me being at the top of my position, I feel like that standard needs to be set, and I'm the one who set that s...

Tuesday Bits And Pieces
2008-03-04 12:08:00
I have a little of this and a little of that for you today. First, the this. Kyle Snyder again looked strong in his two innings of work against the Florida Marlins, a game in which the Boston Red Sox ended up losing 3-2. Every Sox pitcher threw the ball well save for Masterson, who pitched the 9th, giving up 4 hits and the winning run. But it's still early, and we're just fine. And now the that. The round rotund Bortolo Colon had a decent 42 pitch outing in the bullpen, and we'll see him on the mound mid-month. He could only help...the Sox are paying him a million dollars, with incentives built in to raise that to five million should he perform well. He would be well worth the extra bucks.And more that. Say goodbye to those ugly and obnoxious Coke bottles at Fenway Park. They are GONE! Hooray! The historic look of the left field light towers is back. Unveiled at Fenway will be "the Coca-Cola Corner." It's a 412 seat addition to the State Street Pavilion area in right field (than...
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A Rough Outing For Clay Buchholz
2008-03-03 11:49:00
Yes, it was a rough two innings for young Clay Buchholz Sunday in Fort Myers, as he pitched the third and fourth innings of Sunday's game against the Twinkies. He gave up four runs and four hits in that short span. He had this to say afterwards...?I?ve got to be able to get outs and not give up four runs in an inning. I know that,? Buchholz said. ?It didn?t happen to me all that much last year so it?s a little bitter right now.??There?s probably four or five guys here that are fighting for one spot,? Buchholz said. ?I like competing against everybody and that?s what it?s all about. If they were just going to give it to you, you?d take it for granted and that?s not how it should work.?Yes, conceivably Tavarez or Colon could fill that number five slot in the rotation, but I have faith in Clay. It was his first spring start, and like Jon Lester, his mechanics were off. It's only natural. On the up side, old man Timmy Wakefield pitched the first two innings, scoreless innings, too. He...
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John Henry To Hank Steinbrenner. Sincerely Yours, Hank....
2008-03-02 18:23:00
Hankie Steinbrenner must be proud on this Sunday afternoon after his Saturday mini-tirade against everything Red Sox (see two posts below). John Henry , the owner of the team I love has offered him a FREE membership to Red Sox Nation. I thought that was a gracious gesture by Mr. Henry, a gesture echoed and reverberating from northeast Maine to the city of Tokyo. And I'm happy. Hey Hank, you get the freebie. NOW watch our dust!!!! ALL SEASON LONG!!!!
More About: Hank Steinbrenner , Hank

Lester Feels Good, But Saturday's Results Did Not Show It...He Tells Us Why
2008-03-02 11:39:00
Jon Lester was "off" yesterday, failing to get an out in the second inning of an eventual 7-6 Red Sox win. But before any panic buttons (there ARE more than one) are pushed, read what he had to say after his start...?There?s a big difference - last year I had one inning and eight pitches my first start and this year, two innings and 44 pitches - it?s a lot different,? said Lester after yesterday?s 7-6 Red Sox victory. ?I can go out and do everything. I feel good about myself when I?m done, I don?t feel winded and tired and all that stuff.? He simply had a bad day at the office.?I was physically able to do everything, it was just a matter of my body not being able to do it when I wanted it to,? Lester said. ?Today I was happy. I had good life in my fastball, threw a couple of good two-seams into lefties. All in all, I was happy with my overall performance, just my numbers weren?t there. You look at some swings where I threw a fastball down the middle that guys were late on. Last yea...
More About: Show , Results , Good , Tells

Hank Steinbrenner Inserts His Foot Into His Big FAT Mouth
2008-03-01 11:50:00
Peter here on this snowy Saturday morning. I came across an article at ESPN dot com that raised my ire and helped me realize that in some cases, when it comes to father and son, the apples don't fall far from the tree...if they fall at all. Here is exactly why. Hank Steinbrenner uttered some comments yesterday about the Boston Red Sox that are sure to steam Red Sox Nation and Red Sox International while showcasing his lack of any kind of intelligence in general. Here they are, in full. I wouldn't have it ANY other way..."Steinbrenner, apparently trying to emphasize that he has no fear of the Yankees' American League competition, has amped up the rivalry between the two teams, intentionally or not."Red Sox Nation?" What a bunch of sh*t that is," he said in an interview with The New York Times' Play magazine. "That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans."Go anywhere in America and you won't see Red Sox hats and jackets, you'll see Yankee hats a...
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Red Sox Double Drubbing And A MAGIC Night In Hartford
2008-02-29 12:26:00
24-0 and 15-0. That says it all. The Boston Red Sox whitewashed the college competition in convincing fashion, with Josh Beckett and Justin Masterson, the two starters, looking good. Josh said that his best curveballs were thrown in the bullpen after his two inning stint, but he was satisfied. Much the same for Masterson, who has an outside chance, albeit a long one, to make the club at some point this year. Tonight's game will be TELECAST on NESN at 7PM!But now I must turn to last night, a truly MAGIC night in my city of Hartford. Downtown restaurants were packed (I made my reservations three months ago!), the streets echoed and amplified the sweet sounds of Bruce Springsteen music blaring from every bar in town and 17,000 joyous people of all ages were treated to an unbelievable night of American rock and roll, Bruce Springsteen rock and roll. And it doesn't get any better. No way, no how. Here is the Hartford Courant's Eric Denton's full review. Have a great Friday as I look...
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TONIGHT, It's Bruce Springsteen Time In Hartford, Connecticut. MY Hometown!
2008-02-28 20:37:00
And all I can say is one word...YES! I'll post the full Hartford Courant review first thing in the morning, with my ears still ringing from the sweet life-changing sounds of rock 'n roll, Bruce style. And there IS no better. There never will be!!!!
More About: Time , Connecticut , Tonight , Bruce Springsteen

AND SO IT BEGINS...
2008-02-28 16:12:00
And that's exactly what Bruce Springsteen said on the opening night of his 2007-2008 MAGIC tour last October 2nd, right here in Hartford. The second leg of that tour begins tonight, again right here in Hartford. How lucky am I? And that's what the the members of Red Sox Nation and Red Sox International are saying right now. The spring training schedule of REAL baseball starts today with a doubleheader for the world champions. There will be no TV...the Sox are playing college teams. But it IS major league baseball. FOR REAL!I came across an article in today's Boston Herald that was all about our captain, Jason Varitek. My goodness, what would we ever do without him? His off-season work had him busy trying to even out his right handed and left handed approaches to hitting the baseball. Here's a little bit of it..."For his (Tek's) career he is 24 points better from the right side. ?Tek has worked really hard on mirroring his right side because he feels so much more comfortable on ...

Spring Training Opening Day Red Sox Lineups
2008-02-27 12:18:00
Yes, it's THAT time of the year. Tomorrow (Thursday), the spring training games begin in earnest for the world champion Boston Red Sox. And here are the two lineups for that Boston team we love. This is from the Hartford Courant... Against Boston College: Jacoby Ellsbury, CF Dustin Pedroia, 2B; David Ortiz, DH; Mike Lowell, 3B; Jason Varitek, C; Kevin Youkilis, 1B; Julio Lugo, SS; Bobby Kielty, RF; Brandon Moss, LF. Pitchers: Josh Beckett, Kyle Snyder, Javier Lopez, Manny Delcarmen, Bryan Corey.****************************** Against Northeastern: Coco Crisp, CF; Alex Cora, 2B; J.D. Drew, RF; Manny Ramirez, DH; Sean Casey, 1B; Chris Carter, LF; Doug Mirabelli, C; Jed Lowrie, SS; Keith Ginter, 3B. Pitchers: Justin Masterson, Craig Hansen, Michael Bowden, Craig Breslow, Hunter Jones, Kyle Jackson. ******************************Peter here. Daisuke Matsuzaka will make his first start on Friday, and he seems to be much more comfortable in this, his second MLB season. This is also from...
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