Doubleheader Day

Doubleheader day wasn't quite the sweep we were looking for but Victor Martinez telling me Josh was dominant and mentioning his cutter and curveball is always a good thing.

The idiot rookie ump who had Beltre thrown out in the 2nd inning of last night's game really should have some consequences heaped on him but we all know that that won't happen because umps think they are infallible. Peter Gammons was quite worked up about it on the post-game show. For the record, I adore Peter Gammons and would love to have him over to watch a game with me and do some commentary while we watch. I'll provide beer and snacks Pete! If he were accompanied by the Surviving Grady guys, even better.

Day off today and then on to Tampa Bay where we have a chance to really make a play at the wild card. It is almost too much for me to bear watching but you know I will be.

Some Rainy Day Reflections

On this, an unexpected off night for the Red Sox, I was inspired to write a blog post because I realized that we only have 6 weeks of regular baseball left. It's hard to believe as April 4th seems like it was just a few weeks ago but here we are in the home stretch with a great degree of uncertainty about whether the season will end on October 3rd or if the Sox will still be in it.

Putting that thought aside for a moment, I noticed that my last post (aptly titled "The Clouds are Closing in) was written almost 20 days ago. How that could be, I don't know, since plenty has happened in Red Sox world in those 20 days. Had I been posting I'm sure I would have mentioned Josh Beckett's inconsistent starts, Jon Lester's inability to adjust to the new baby in his house, Clay's remarkable ability to adjust to his new baby, the addition of Saltalamacchia to the mix and his subsequent trip to the DL, Youk's season ending surgery, Pedroia's return to the lineup and then return to the DL, Ellsubry's return to the lineup and then return to the DL, Mike Lowell rejoining the team as an everyday player, Kalish showing why he was such a touted prospect, the return of Daniel Nava, the demotion of Jeremy Hermida, Okie's trip to the DL, Ramon Ramirez getting traded to somewhere, and the expressionless but mighty Felix Doubront joining the bullpen. I'm sure other things happened that I missed, so be sure to point them out in the comments.

And those are just the things that have happened in the past few weeks. If you take the whole season, boy do you have a story. So even if the Sox don't make the playoffs (admit it, the thought has crossed your mind a time or two) you can't say it hasn't been a good season. For pure drama alone this season has been gold.

I'm already planning my off-season - watching the 2004 World Series DVDs my Mom bought me for my birthday, watching my 2007 World Series highlights DVD again, planning my trip to Spring Training, you get the idea. Not that I'm giving up on this season (au contraire!) but it's good to plan ahead. Last season left me bereft so quickly, I plan on being better prepared this time around. And you, what are your plans for the off-season?

As an aside, if you have not heard Victor Martinez' accent here is your chance.

The Clouds Are Closing In

Maybe it is the weather today or perhaps it was that god awful game last night but I'm feeling a tad bit pessimistic about the Red Sox this morning. When Jon Lester takes the mound against the Indians I'm counting on a blowout win and by that I don't mean a blowout win for the Indians.

Jon Lester cannot be blamed solely for this loss, it was a team effort loss thanks to crappy errors by Scoots and VMart as well as some not so good pitching by Atchison. At least Manny del Carmen pitched well, which is really all the good that can be said about last night's game. After the triumphant return of Mike Lowell on Tuesday and the return of the crazy, angry Josh Beckett (as opposed to the cynical, stoic Josh Beckett) I was expecting more than that.

I will say this - last night's loss combined with Monday night's loss is making me much more worried about the upcoming Yankees series than I usually am. This could be make it or break it time. So step it up guys, forget about all those new babies that have arrived with their resulting life altering ways and play your little hearts out.

Seguin is a Done Deal

As of today, the Bruins signed 2nd overall draft pick Tyler Seguin to a 3-year entry level deal, worth $800k with a bonus. I cannot wait to see how well he does on the ice, and I'm sure, as do the rest of you. Literally every B's fan has been has been waiting to see if this deal would be done, and it was.

I don't think it positively effects our cap situation, but I DO think it is a good deal. Seguin will for sure help the lacking offense on the team. That is if the Marc Savard rumors don't ever come true. He is young, gives me a new person to fangirl over (sorry Looch, I need someone closer to my age. I still love you though.), and yet he still has to prove he has good hockey skills, I'm sure he does. Not to put all my eggs in 1 basket or anything.

So now we wait 49 days for the pres-season to start, and 66 days sor the first day of regular season to see how this all pans out. Am I positive about this? Yes. Now I want to know what you think.

A V-Mart Story in Honor of His Return to the Lineup

Now that it is official that V-Mart has returned to the lineup I feel inclined to share my V-Mart story with you. Most of my readers have probably heard this story in person but it bears repeating.

About a month ago I was at a Red Sox game watching Tim Wakefield warm up in the bullpen when V-Mart came over and started stretching. I stood up, waved, and yelled loudly "Hi Victor!!" and he looked over, nodded and smiled at me. That's right, nodded and smiled. If you don't believe me just ask @__fc. She was there.

Saturday I'm going to another Red Sox game. I'm planning on wearing my I Heart V-Mart shirt and yelling hi to him again. I'm hoping for more than a smile and a nod. Perhaps an "Hola!" or "Camisa agradable!" and of course I will respond with "Gracias! Buena suerte Victor!"

Cuts Like a Knife

Perhaps I am dating myself here but Bryan Adams' "Cuts Like a Knife" video was the first video I ever saw on MTV (at my grandmother's house, we didn't have cable at the time). Yesterday's Red Sox game reminded me of that video, minus the "but it feels so right" line and Bryan Adams hanging out in an empty swimming pool.

Watching Oki blow that game was like a knife to the gut. I was standing there pounding my forehead with my fist and screaming at Tito to get him out of there. The offense could have made a comeback. It was not beyond possibility but with the way they've been hitting lately it would have been surprising. 

Tonight (hopefully) we get the return of V-Mart which can only be good. I must admit to having some trepidation that his long absence will has cooled his bat off, especially since he got off to such a slow start this season. Also, I don't want to heap too much hope on one guy. V-Mart's a good hitter but he's not going to single-handedly turn things around. We do have John Lackey on the mound tonight and he has been pitching pretty well lately but if even Jon Lester couldn't get a win I'm not counting on starting pitching to win this for us. Three more nights of these west coast games and then the boys come home (and we can all go to bed at a reasonable hour again).

The Week There Was No Baseball

This past week I was on vacation without a TV and went an entire week without seeing a baseball game and let me tell you, it was no fun. I tried to convince my husband to bring our old satellite dish and a receiver but he just looked at me like I was crazy. Of course, Josh Beckett chose the week I was on vacation to make his return and I did listen to 3 innings of that game on Friday because it was Josh Beckett and I had to be present in some way for his return. Despite my having missed everything this week I still have some random thoughts about the Red Sox to share.

- How odd to come back to find Nava gone, Hermida back, and Lowrie raised from the dead.

- Patterson went from hero to the goat pretty quickly after his error broke up Lester's perfect game last night.

- I called my sister yesterday and told her that for now she can wear the Wacky for Lackey shirt I bought her with pride but not to get too comfortable in it.

- Victor Martinez could be back as soon as Monday! Woot! I have been pretty down on Kevin Cash but as @shelley1005 pointed out to me last night on Twitter imagine what the past few weeks would have been like without him. So a big hat tip to Cash.

- Could a couple of weeks on the DL really cause Clay to have that much rust to shake off?

- I know Big Papi hit a home run last night and it was great to see him prove the naysayers wrong by winning the Home Run Derby but I still think there is a correlation between his decreased home runs since All-Star break and his participation.

- Who would have thought Scott Atchison would be so durable and useful?

- Jon Lester angry is a scary sight. I wouldn't want to meet angry Jon Lester anywhere. I would bet Hanley Ramirez agrees with me.

- I think Youk's new beard is a good look for him.

- Found out this morning that Daniel Bard is the Red Sox union player's representative. Daniel Bard? If I were a player on the Red Sox I would want someone aggressive to be my rep. Maybe Youk or Beltre.

- Josh Beckett is back. Need I say more?

Do you have any random Red Sox thoughts? Share below.

Photo from http://letsgosox.blogspot.com/