Getting Ugly!

Well, in the season's second game, things definitely took a major turn for the worse. Aside from Jake, Yoouk, and Dusty hitting very little of not at all, the pitching by JB, not to mention his successors, was worse than terrible. After four innings, it was Zip Five for the Hose, Zip Seven after six and went downhill from there. Both Bengals players Cabrera and Fielder had a pair of roundtrippers. Beckett had the worst start of his career, statistically (maybe his thumb really is in serious condition). I know it's just two games, but this is BAD!

Season Begins!

Well, with a chorus or two of "Put me in, Co", the season opener has finally been played. Results not much different from last year, although it went right down to the bottom of the 9th in Detroit. Facing the reigning Cy Young Award winner, Justin Verlander, the Sox had their work cut out from the start. However, after finding themselves down two zip, they came back late in the game to tie, right fielder Sweeney plating the tying run with a triple, his second hit of the day. This came after Papi picked up where he left off last year with a ribbie to get the Hose within one. Lester looked pretty good getting through the first six, but unfortunately, the Sox closer doesn't exist yet, at least not anywhere near the Sox. Melanson came in for the 9th to hold the tie and give the Sox a chance in extra innings. As it turned out, they never got that far. Facing 3 batters, he gave up a pair of hits, one of which became the winning run when Aceves allowed a walk-off run scoring single. Did you have to go to Philly, Pap? Not much else to say about the game. The Hose pick up on Saturday, with JB scheduled to take the ball, assuming his thumb is OK.

It Gets Worse!

Just came across the wire, so to speak. Bailey's definitely hurting and will have ligament repair surgery on his thumb. He'll be lost for at least 3-4 months! Hope our new GM has some ideas on getting a closer at this late date.

Not Again!

This is getting a bit monotonous! Here we are not even starting the season and already two of the Hose hurlers are injured and checking with the docs. Bailey, our newly anointed closer, has somehow injured his thumb and may be out "for....months", according to Manager Valentine, although Valentine says it could also be "days"; he just doesn't know yet. Doesn't look good. On top of that, JB is seeing the same hand specialist because of a 'minor' thumb injury that could sideline him or not, depending on what the doc finds. For now, he & Valentine are saying he'll pitch game 2 of the season as scheduled. So, we'll see.

Great Fenway Documentary

No, the season hasn't started yet (except Oakland in Japan). However, I happened to stumble upon an excellent documentary the other night about Fenway. Made for its 100th anniversary this year, the film combines numerous interviews with some fabulous footage from the entire history of the park. Produced by National Geographic, it is called "Inside Fenway Park: An Icon at 100," and is narrated by Matt Damon, a native Bostonian and long-time Sox fan. Really worth seeing; something to get every member of Red Sox nation primed for the coming season! Enjoy!

RIP - Mel Parnell

Well, Mel Parnell died yesterday. If you're not of my generation or older, you won't know him, possibly won't even recognize the name. But in the 40's and 50's he was one of the best lefties in the game. He threw one no-hitter and was an All-Star twice. His career ERA was in the mid-3's, and his best year was 1949, when he was 25-7, and led the AL in wins, ERA (2.77), complete games (27)(not a misprint--pitch counts didn't exist then--hurlers threw--period!) and innings (295 1/3)(again, no typo). No Cy Young for all of this, or any year, as they didn't have the award then. What was really amazing was his record at Fenway. A lefthander, he didn't have the usual problems most southpaws did with the short left field and the Monster. His career record at the Fens was 70-30, an awesome .700 winning percentage! Overall career stats were 123-75, which, at ,621 wasn't too shabby either!
I enjoyed watching him and extend this site's condolences to his family and friends.

Spring Training & A Wedding

Well, Spring Training is now only a week away, 2-19. Also, it was just announced that two of Boston's biggest sports are getting closer together. The Sox' Yoooouuuukkk is engaged to marry Tom Brady's sister. Congratulations!