The St. Louis Cardinals are the [improbable] World Series Champions. I was rooting for the Tigers (they of the 119 losses in 2003), but you can’t make errors in every game of the World Series and expect go home with some bling. Hats off to the Cardinals, though. It may be true that few people would have called you the best team in the majors this year, but none of them will head into April as defending champions.
110 days until pitchers and catchers report…
There’s a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth going around right now, and understandable but unnecessary. There’s still a lot of baseball left, and the Sox can turn this around. All we have to do is gain two or three games on the Yankees before we meet back up in NY. (I’ll be there to kick off the series, so you know we’ll take ’em out. 8-)) It’s time to start playing like there’s no tomorrow, because there basically isn’t…
he Boston media are notoriously doom & gloom. Chill out. The Sox will win the division, David Ortiz will be the MVP, and everyone will eat crow.
Sorry folks, I got swallowed up by school for a bit there. But now it’s summer time, and the livin’s easy… I’ll start updating more regularly (and maybe get a domain ;-)). In the meantime, the Sox have been doing pretty well. At least, if you count out Wells’ knee and Matt Clement”s… Matt Clement. 8-)
Turn back into a pumpkin all ready!
Way to welcome me back to Fenway big guy… The game was over almost before it was done, although the Sox bats didn’t do much to bail Wells out. Hopefully he’ll do better on Monday. On the plus side, the Sox continue to play excellent defense, and Dustin Mohr hit a home run in his first real game as a member of the Red Sox. HR watch: Arroyo 2, Wily Mo Pena 1. It’s a good thing we kept DiNardo around, we ended up needing him. Sox fall to the Blue Jays 8-4. Both Manny and Alex Gonzalez need to start doing something at the plate.
Coco Crisp just signed a contract extension with Red Sox. He would have been under control anyway, but this avoids arbitration/year-to-year contract negotiations. The extension contains a $1 million signing bonus and salaries of $3.5 million in 2007, $4.75 million in 2008 and $5.75 million in 2009. The club option for 2010, which would buy out his first year of free agency, is at $8 million and includes $500,000 buyout and salary escalator provisions. So it’s $15.75 for three years. That’s only a little more than one year of Johnny Damon! I like what Crisp has brought to the team all-ready, and I think he will continue to do good things. Looks like a great move by and for the Sox.
Sox open up the house the way it should be opened, by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3. Didn’t get to see most of the game cuz I’m trying to get the work out of the way before I go to tomorrow’s game. Josh Beckett’s first inning struggles continue, but fortunately his late inning dominance does as well. He and Schill are both 2-0 so far–about 10% shy of where they’ll end up. ;-) Good to see Lowell have a productive offensive day, and Youks should do good things atop the order. Loretta, Gonzalez, and Youks turned a heck of a double play when Loretta batted down a line drive. This is going to be a fun team to watch.
Unfortunately, all was not good news. Trot has a minor groin strain, and will be out a few games. This will hopefully give Wily Mo Pena enough time to string together some productive at bats (and hopefully not let any more HRs drop off his glove). As it stands, Arroyo furthered his lead on him, and it’s now two homers to none.
Theo & Co. just announced that David Ortiz has signed a four-year contract extension, with a club option for 2011. No word yet on dollar figures, but the gossip queens say it’s in the neighborhood of 4 years @ $12 mil/per. Apparently Peter Gammons is saying it’s $50M for 4 years. Until you hear something from the mouth of any of the horses involved, take any numbers with a grain of salt. Ortiz’s heads up to the new guys on playing in Fenway:
I keep telling the new guys “Wait until you play your first game at Fenway Park. You might need a diaper. … You might need a diaper, homey. It’s gonna be like that every day.” It’s outstanding.
To which Theo joked “you can buy them all diapers now.” And a hearty guffaw was had by all. ;-) Hopefully a unburdened Papi can start jacking homers out of Fenway tomorrow. 8-) And on into 2011…
Boston Red Sox : Official Info : Press Release:
“Coco has a non-displaced fracture at the base of his left index finger,” said [Red Sox Medical Director Dr. Thomas] Gill. “He will be placed in a splint for 10 days and reevaluated at that time. Once sufficient healing has occurred, Coco can begin batting and return to baseball activities. No surgery is indicated at this time.”
Hope he makes a recovery that’s as speedy as he is. I was looking forward to the warm welcome the Fenway Faithful would have given him in the home opener (and all of the hits he would have given in return!). In the meantime, I imagine Adam Stern will get more starts in center field than anyone expected, and I think he’ll handle himself well.