Opening Day

Opening Day brings back the magic, the majesty and the dignity that only the game of baseball seems to conjure up.  Is it, as Bart Giamatti wrote, because baseball is the only major sport that begins with the start of Spring, or because it is one of the oldest leagues in the country?  As flowers bloom, so do the attitudes and hopes of a nation revived.  

Continue reading "Opening Day 2011"

It's four hours before the second game of the 2010 season. I'm in the 9th in of the Opening Day- night- game and one out away from seeing the Sox win for the fourth time I've watched this game. It was that great of a game. Truly, it's taken me this long just to digest the game. I've been savoring it since the 8p.m. start and even now I think the 0-2 pitch to Curtis Granderson in the 9th was a strike, especially given home plate umpire Jerry West's expansion of the strike zone as the 4 hour game went on. I enjoyed a season's worth of emotions over the 9 innings, and ultimately I was reminded just how special a ball game at Fenway Park can be.

Continue reading "Opening Day Thoughts, two days later."

Opening Day brings back the magic, the majesty and the dignity that only the game of baseball seems to conjure up.  Is it, as Giamatti wrote, because baseball is the only major sport that begins with the start of Spring, or because it is one of the oldest leagues in the country?  As flowers bloom, so do rookie players and veteran batting averages. 

Continue reading "Fenway Home Opener 2010"

The free agency market was once again dominated by the evil empire this off-season.  As Yankee fans rejoiced at the signings of some of the most talented free agents, Red Sox fans held strong: “we can find hitting from within” and, “we have the best five-man rotation in all of baseball” were the phrases we heard from fellow members of the Nation.  We chuckled quietly (and not so quietly) as the steroid issue reared its ugly head again this winter, chuckling only because THEY had to deal with it, and not us.  We have hope for the Red Sox Captain, and may miss Manny’s bat, but will not miss his antics. 

Continue reading "Red Sox Opening Day 2009"

Well, not yet. But at this rate, whoever steps onto the mound in Tokyo in the 25th will most likely be a surprise.

The 2008 starting rotation for the Boston Red Sox is a formidable one, even without Johan Santana, but it doesn’t look like it at this point in the season, which hasn’t actually started yet.

Continue reading "Chewbacca to Start Opening Game in Japan"

Forget about the groundhog, today is the day that officially marks the end of winter for baseball fans everywhere. Pitchers and catchers are reporting to spring training camps in Arizona and Florida and not a moment too soon. While the Hot Stove League is entertaining for a while and gives us something to talk about during the off-season, it loses steam once the new year begins and we are left yearning for the day when the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues kick into gear. It is here that we get our first looks are the new acquisitions, the hot rookies and the comfort of the returning stars. We get the first glimpses of what our favorite team will have in store for us and we really get to ramp up the predictions and debates for the new season. Here are some of the stories I’ll be following with the Red Sox this spring.

Continue reading "Boston Red Sox Spring Training Stories To Follow"

If you're using the fact that Spring Training begins less than two weeks from now as a way to get over that catastrophe of a football game last Sunday, I'm with you.

Pitchers and catchers voluntary report date is Valentine's day (awww), and it is a day that will hopefully help to mend the many broken hearts that the Giants walked all over.  No, Johan Santana will not be in the Sox rotation. No, A-rod didn't defect. Thank God.

Continue reading "Hope Springs Eternal"