Ticket punched!

Playoffs!

The Sawx are into the postseason, and did so in fairly dramatic fashion, taking down the presumptive AL Cy Young Award favorite, Cliff Lee, and using the oft-maligned bullpen to wiggle out of some tough jams late in the game. They had big hits and solid starting pitching as well in taking down the Indians 5-4 and clinching a spot in the 2008 playoffs.

So now we wait to see what the Angels decide to do for the playoffs, since they have the prerogative when it comes to selecting when their series with the Sox would start. I know there is still a chance the Sox can win the AL East (they are 3 games back), but after watching Tampa sweep the Orioles in a doubleheader last night (the first EVER doubleheader sweep in Rays history), it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that the Rays will take the AL East Division title.

If the Angels decide to start the series on Wednesday, the Sox will need just Beckett, Lester and Dice-K for their starters, as the games go Wed/Fri/Sun/Mon/Wed. Should the Angels decide to start on Thursday, the Sox will need a 4th starter, either Wakefield or Byrd (Colon is out after pulling a Rolando Arroyo and disappearing into the Dominican for a BBQ), which means Tito Francona will have a decision to make. My money's on Byrd, given that he's been sharper of late and the knuckleball is too unpredictable in the Fall, esp. at Fenway.

Regardless, "Mission Soxtober" is accomplished, and we can look forward to postseason baseball and some late nights in our immediate future.

Go Sawx, and congrats on a hard-won playoff spot.

A Post! A Post!

Don't have time for much posting these days, but i did want to post on a few topics:

- SAWX! SAWX -- Wow... this team has been around the world, lost it's No. 1 & No. 3 starters, lost its All-Star thirdbasemen, endured a major slump by arguably its best hitter, has endured weeks of Ellsbury/Coco talk, and now has a team-wide case of the sniffles, yet sits in FIRST PLACE in the AL East. Dice-K's undefeated, the kids have been a revelation, and the bullpen has been patched together yet remains mostly effective. Paps hits 100 MPH the other night? Holy Schnikies, Incrediboy!

- Celts Quest for 17 -- C'mon Atlanta... you didn't REALLY think you had a chance, did you?!?! Bob Ryan absolutely nailed it in this morning's Globe (no surprise) about what makes this team so formidable. Instead wiping you out, they just keep coming at you with stifling D and timely buckets (not to mention some WIKKED intensity) . My favorite part has to be the following, perfectly captured by The Sports Guy's column on the NBA MVP from last week, talking about Garnett's influence on the Celts in 2007-08: "Every time an opponent kept going for a shot after a whistle, KG defiantly blocked the shot just out of principle. Eventually, everyone started doing it. No shots after the whistle against the Celtics. That was the rule. It was a series of little things, baby steps if you will, but they added up to something much bigger." Finally, I can be excited about the Celts in April again, and not because they have a lottery pick.

- Matt Walsh -- Please... give it a rest. I know many people have been saying it, but it bears repeating: If this REALLY had something, don't you think he would have come forward a long time ago, if for no other reason than he would have made millions? A lot of people have grown sick of the Pats' dominance and are looking for reasons why they are consistently better than the rest of the league (I'm talking to you, Arlen Specter), and many of them would be more than happy to pony up some dough to see Belichick and the Pats hoisted on their own petard. Best part about this has to be the statement issued on the news by the Pats... "It is important to note that there has never been a confidentiality agreement restricting Matt Walsh and no legal protections were ever necessary for him to speak to the NFL... He demanded to be released from responsibility for his statements, and after a frustrating and lengthy negotiation period, a settlement has finally been reached. Walsh has been granted a significant number of privileges... none of which the Patriots or the NFL were obligated to give." Does this sound like a team with something to hide? I don't think so either.

- Finally -- R.I.P. Don Gillis. A true Boston sportscasting legend, he originated the nightly TV sports anchor post in Boston on Channel 5 and is one of the few ever to do play-by-play for all four major sports franchises in Boston. He was also the voice of Candlepin Bowling for years in the Boston area. The Globe has a nice tribute to Gillis here. Here's a link to Gillis in a tribute to the 1967 Impossible Dream Sox: http://youtube.com/watch?v=G1qlOjIVBuY. Godspeed, Mr. Gillis... here's hoping you always pick up that 7-10 split in God's Bowling Alley.

Lords of the Bling-Ring

The Sawx got their rings today... and it was every bit the celebration that you would expect, altho definitely a different event than the memorable 2004 ring ceremony.

For one, the Yankees were the opposing team for that memorable April afternoon in 2005, which was delicious for all sorts of reasons and probably was a tough one for Joe Torre and his boys to swallow, having lost that 3-0 lead in the 2004 ALCS. It was fun, tho, to hear the reaction that Mariano Rivera got that day, and the smile he had on his face in reaction. This year's opponents, the Detroit Tigers (the team of my youth), just don't elicit the same feelings.

Two, the roster of ex-Red Sox players that came back for their rings in 2004 was much bigger than this years', what with Derek Lowe and Dave Roberts (among others), making the trip back and getting ovations. Today, it was just Royce Clayton (who?) and Doug Mirabelli, as star-crossed a Sox player as we've had in a long time. Mirabelli, who was cut just a few weeks ago in spring training, clearly was still smarting from his dismissal, as he grabbed his ring and headed for the door before they had even finished announcing his name.


So now the 2008 season can "officially" begin. No more trips around the world, no more lengthy introductions as the visiting team in someone else's house, and time for some home-cooking. The Sox, who sit at 3-4 after the first week of the season, clearly are having a tough month, but it's good to have them home.


Good luck boys...

SOX WIN! SOX WIN! SOX... whine?

Item (from today's Globe sports section): "I've been fighting a lot of [expletive], man," said Ortiz, whose recuperation from knee surgery has not been abetted by the frequent-flier miles. "Thank God it's early in the season; I can put myself together. But it's hard, man.

"Let me break this down for you. We were in Fort Myers, then we went to the other side of the planet. We came back to LA in one place [Dodger Stadium], then went to another place in LA [the Coliseum], and now we're leaving the country again. You tell me, what do you think?"

And yet the Sox are off to a better start than in either of their last two World Series-winning years, when they split their first four games in both 2004 and '07.

"I guess we're good," Ortiz said when reminded of that fact.

I guess this settles the debate of whether or not the Sox players were in favor of the Japanese adventure that started their defense of last year's Series win. Ortiz, who probably commands as much respect inside -- and outside -- the Sox clubhouse as any player, clearly was not a fan of MLB's desire to "taske this show on the road," as it were. But just in case you think it's just Big Papi being Big Disgruntled-i (wow, that didn't work), take heed of Curt Schilling's post on http://www.38pitches.com/ on the Japan trip.

Highlights include (full post is at http://38pitches.com/2008/03/20/last-boring-uneventful-day-of-camp%e2%80%a6):
- "Late last year we had confirmation of MLB’s desire for the Red Sox to open the 2008 baseball season in Japan... I know the players gave this a lukewarm reception at best, which deteriorated the deeper the discussion got."
- "I don’t believe MLB thought the players would have any objections and would be looking forward to the trip. To the contrary, on the initial call we actually told MLB we pretty much decided on not wanting to do this, and that as a club we’d voted not to go."

So was the trip overseas worth it? I guess it depends on your perspective... if you are MLB, then yes: Based on the interest level (nationally & internationally), now you have even more impetus to seriously consider adding some form of a Japanese team(s) or league to MLB. If you are teh Sox ownership: Yes, yes, yes. For financial reason principally, but also for the stability and longevity of the Red Sox brand and general goodwill.

However, if you're a player... hmmm. Remember when the Yankees did this a few years ago? Well, they had a horrible April and spent the first part of the season playing catch-up. For the Sox, the jury's still out.

But you have to wonder if there is any lingering acrimony between the players and the management, esp. give the brouhaha that preceded the trip concerning the Sox staff and compensation, not to mention the obvious reluctance to participate voiced publicly by Schilling and Ortiz and, surely, by many more privately.

And the fans? We'll see... Having the Sox defense of the Series begin thousands of miles (and 13 hours ahead) of the usual time probably wasn't all that damaging to the fan base. I for one, though, am wondering if it will all be so copascetic when all of a sudden Papi or someone else has to go on the DL because the time spent in an airplane flying to or back from Japan caused some kind of damage to their recuperation from injury or, like JD Drew and Sean Casey, aggravated a twinge (back and neck, respectively).

The worst-kept secret in baseball is that the Sox aren't as deep as they have been. Only time will tell if this will come back to bite them.

And then you might hear something from the fans... stay tuned.

In the meantime, enjoy this NSFW 2008 Sox preview from fellow Braintree High alum and noted Bostonian Paul "Fitzy" Fitzgerald...



More of "Fitzy" at http://www.townienews.com.

The hype grows...

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1272266785/bctid1476684407

AND

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2008/03/30/the_jacoby_factor/?page=full

AND

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/gallery/03_30_08_ellsbury/

Sox Win! Sox Win!

The Sox (or "Sawx" if you're from around here) won this morning's season-opening tilt versus the mighty Oakland A's, thanks to a bomb from Brandon Moss in the ninth and a pair of run-scoring doubles by Manny "Bad Man" Ramirez.

I'm sure that the next 24 hours will see lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth about Dice-K and his so-so performance in the opener (5 IP, 3 R, 5 BB, 6 K, 1 HBP, Ten Zillion pitches) and how "We" overpaid for him and maybe he's just not "that good."

Umm... maybe he's human? Hello? He's pitching in Japan where he was born and raised and made his reputation, in front of thousands of screaming rabid fans, and where he is -- for lack of a better term -- a true ICON and baseball deity. How many of us have the intestinal fortitude, aka STONES, to be able to focus and be cool, calm and collected in that atmosphere with all that pressure?

Say what you want about Dice-K (and, judging from the nitwits who call into WEEI every day, you will), but the guy takes he ball every time and never gives up. Sure, I'd love to see him show that dominating streak he flashed in Japan and in the World Baseball Classic, but the guy won 15 games last season and was a key member of a World Series-winning pitching staff -- WHILE PITCHING IN A COMPLETELY FOREIGN COUNTRY AND LEARNING A WHOLE NEW CULTURE.

I think that if the situation were reversed and we sent Josh Beckett to Japan for a season with the expectations of an entire nation(s) on his back, he'd probably submit a similar resume for his first season as Dice-K. Don't get me wrong -- I love Josh Beckett and believe that his breakthrough last season was the beginning of a dominating career, one that I am excited and privileged enough to be able to see for the next few years.

But let's not forget that in his first year in Boston -- in the country of his birth, speaking the same language and watching the same TV and eating the same food -- he posted a worse overall season than Dice-K.

So lay off Matsuzaka. At best, he shakes off this morning's game and goes on to win 20 to become Randy Johnson to Beckett's Schilling... at worst, he's Ron Darling to Beckett's Doc Gooden.

Either way, the guy's good and is gonna win some games, and maybe even help the Sawx win another ring. I for one will keep watching, and keep cheering for Matsuzaka-san.