BOSTON SPORTS HIT A LOW POINT

It was just a few months ago when Boston was on top of the sports world. The Sox were champions, the Pats were unbeatable, and BC was in contention to win several championships in several sports.

Since then, BC choked three times, the Sox are a mediocre team with NO pitching whatsoever, and the Celtics are down 2-1 and will have to play Indy without Twan tonight.

Let's deal with the Sox first. They get shut down by Chan Ho Park. Wakefield got lit up by Texas' offense too but at least he was able to pitch more than 6 innings. The Red Sox had 3 hits. 3 hits!

The Man of the Game is Chan Ho Park who went 7 innings allowing 3 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks, and striking out 7.

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Wakefield: 0.4 - 6.2 IP, 5 ER
Nixon: 0.2 - 0 for 3, 2 LOB
Mueller: 0.2 - 0 for 3, K, 2 LOB
Vazquez: 0.1 - 2 K, LOB
Renteria: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 2 K, LOB

The Celtics are in alot of trouble. They need to win one of the two upcoming games in Indiana in order to force the series back to Boston. They have to do this without Walker in tonight's game.

SOX GET HANDED SUSPENSIONS
Francona got 3 games because he...um...well I don't know why. Arroyo got a 6 game suspension for protecting his hitter who got his head thrown at. Nixon got 2 games for "aggressive action." Ortiz got fined for being upset that he got thrown at.

How come Sheffield gets no punishment for agressive action against a fan yet Nixon gets suspended for agressive action against a player?

The suspension of Arroyo hurts the most. He's been our best pitcher and he will pretty much be missing a start.

PRAYERS FOR RAIN ANSWERED

Remember pitching? And by pitching I mean Pedro.

Clement with another shitty start. Foulke with another shitty releif appearance. I've tried to tone down my foul language on the blog but this loss deserves profanity.

The Red Sox only dependable pitchers right now are Wake and Arroyo. Theo needs to do alot of work if he wants this team to make the playoffs and then win some games in the playoffs. This staff was just thrown together. It is reminiscent of the staffs in the late 1990s. Saberhagen, Avery, Mark Portugal, Pat Rapp, Brian Rose, Ramon Martinez, Rolando Arrojo, Jeff Fassero, Pete Schourek, Tomo Ohka, Frank Castillo, Nomo, Cone, John Burkett, and Casey Fossum. Guys like this are now inhabiting the rotation once again. The Red Sox have never won a World Series without a rotation that was good. From 1903 to 2005.

The Man of the Game is obviously Miguel Tejada who is, in my opinion, the best shortstop in all of baseball right now. He went 4 for 6 with 2 R and 2 RBI. He had a double and a homer.

The Bitch-Goat will be divided thusly:
Clement: 0.6 - 4.2 IP, 7 ER
Foulke: 0.4 - IP, 4 ER

NEW LINKS:
TalkSox.com
A site to post opinions and discuss the Red Sox

InsideTheParks.com
A site devoted to ballparks and stadiums

Call of the Green Monster
Satirical stories about the Boston Red Sox

MORE NEWS IS BAD NEWS
Schilling is out for at least 2 weeks with an injured ankle. Wells is out. Miller is out for a while still. The Red Sox are going to be starting Jeremi Gonzalez from AAA Pawtucket soon to fill the void in the rotation. Hey, at least we replaced that injury prone Pedro Martinez with some healthy horses.

BEANBALL WAR OF WORDS
Boston Dirt Dogs article
Schilling is not going to keep his mouth shut and I'm glad. Fuck Pinella and the scum he manages. Fuck that moron Kruk. Fuck that moron Magrane.

MISCELLANEOUS STUFF
The sign in this picture makes me give O's fans alot more respect.

A-Rod vs. V-Tek article. pretty funny

How many days until Pats camp starts up again?

CELTICS AND SOX DISSAPOINT

I am sick and tired of hearing about Reggie Miller. The guy is a three point shooter who hits the floor whenever a slight breeze hits him. He should go into the Hall of Fame as an Indiana Diver, not a Pacer. He has never won anything in his career and although he has made a big shot here and there, he hasn't won like Bird or Jordan or Shaq or Kobe. All of a sudden, though, he has a reputation for being a clutch player. HE MADE ONE FIELD GOAL IN THE 4TH QUARTER!

The Celtics dropped the ball on this one. They could have gone into Indy with a 2-0 lead and a team with little confidence to play. Instead, Indy has essentially shortened the series to 5 games with them having home court advantage. I'm pretty worried because the Celtics just weren't that good away from Boston this season.

The Red Sox didn't do much better down the street at Fenway. David Wells went back to sucking and shockingly he got injured. The offense never did much to win the game after the early innings which is becoming a frightening trend as of late.

The Man of the Game is Johnny Damon who did his job going 3 for 3 and walking twice. Unfortunately, the Red Sox were only able to knock him in once.

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
David Wells: 0.9 - 3.2 IP, 6 ER
Manny Ramirez: 0.1 - 0 for 5, 4 LOB

SOX FINALLY SHOW UP AND BEAT TAMPA

Good to see offense and pitching show up and beat Tampa. I was forced to listen to the D-Rays announcers while driving back to school on XM Radio and they were laughably homerish. "For world champions, these Red Sox are acting like a bunch of bush leaguers." This coming from announcers for the Tampa Bay Double As. The situation would have ended if Carter had not thrown near Ortiz after throwing behind Manny. I thought Arroyo was foolish for continuing it knowing that he would get ejected and knowing that he was only 85 pitches deep and had at least another inning in him.

The Man of the Game is Johnny Damon who jump started alot of offense going 4 for 5 with a double, a walk, 2 runs, and 2 RBI.

The Sox go back home to Fenway for three games and then fly down to Dallas to play the Rangers. Why the schedule makers decided to do this, I have no idea.

MORE PATRIOTS DRAFT
Round 3, Pick 100
G/T Nick Kaczur, Toldeo
Like Mankins, this guy can play two offensive line positions and will be a candidate to take Andruzzi's spot.

Round 4, Pick 133
S James Saunders, Fresno State
Big surprise, the Pats draft a player who can "cover and hit." He's said to be a really smart player. Should fit in nicely

Round 5, Pick 170
OLB Ryan Claridge, Nevada-Las Vegas
Looking for LB help obviously with Phifer gone, Bruschi an unkown and Johnson another year older.

Round 7, Pick 230
QB Matt Cassell, Southern California
You got me on this one. We're good at QB and this guy was a backup in college. Granted, he backed up the Heisman winner. Still, weird.

Round 7, Pick 255, Mr. Irrelevant
TE Andy Stokes, William Penn
Who cares?

INDY CAN'T KEEP PACE WITH CELTICS

The Celtics began the game slowly going 1 for their first 11 shots from the field. In the 1nd quarter though, the 2nd line came out very strong. The Celtics went on a 21-3 run that pretty much gave them a game unless they allowed themselves to lose, which they didn't. They take a 1-0 lead in the series but won't play again until Thursday so the fact that Pierce and Walker got alot of rest will be pretty much irrelevant. 1 win down, 15 more to go.

SCHTRUGGLING

The Boston Red Sox have had an Ace pitcher since the 1998 season. At the moment, they have no Ace. I'm not saying Schilling will never be the same, but right now, he is definately not the Ace he was last year. More on that later.

Schilling couldn't hang on to the lead and the Sox couldn't amass a big inning or add to their lead. Like the tortoise and the hare, the Red Sox ran out to a nice early lead but then allowed the tortoise to catch up and eventually win the race.

The Man of the Game is David Ortiz who busted out of a slump with two bombs. Unfortunately, nobody was on base for either of them.

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Schilling: 0.8 - 7 IP, 6 ER
Varitek: 0.1 - 0 for 4, K, LOB
Bellhorn: 0.1 - 1 for 3, big K with 2 outs and 2 on in the 8th

The problem for Schilling seems to be endurance. As he gets deeper into the game, he seems to be losing his stuff. In his first three starts, opponents batting average has improved in each inning. Here are the numbers:

1st: .100
2nd: .250
3rd: .333
4th: .429
5th: .500
6th: .545

That is a consistent increase in the opponents ability to hit him as he gets deeper into the pitch count and into the game. Furthermore, opponents improve after each AB. Most of the damage done in Schilling's appearances has been in the 3rd at-bat of the opponents. In their first AB, opponents are 7/26 which is a .269 batting average. They're slugging .308. In the 2nd at-bat, opponents are 9/26 with a .346 average and a .692 slugging percentage. In the 3rd at-bat, opponents are 11/23 with a .478 average and a slugging percentage of .826. That is ridiculous.

The bright side seems to be that the problem may resolve istelf as Schilling continues to pitch. I found it weird how he only had to start in one rehab game and was never really treated with the care that Pedro was given when he was rehabbing injuries. I know Curt's wasn't an arm injury, but it affects his ability to pitch just as much as an arm injury. Hopefully by mid-May we'll have an Ace again because in '97, we finished 4th.

POORLY STRUCTURED BENCH
The Red Sox bench lacks something which it had last year, I think. It lacks versatility.

Mirabelli is the bench's best hitter but he cannot be used as a pinch hitter many times because of the fear that Tek might get hurt and no-one would be left to catch. He can only play catcher and he is the slowest player on the team.

Vazquez can play all infield positions, but he cannot hit. He isn't that fast.

McCarty can play 1st and the outfield, but he isn't much of a hitter or a runner.

Payton can play the outfield but he is a poor hitter against right-handed pitching and despite his speed, is a poor baserunner.

So there is one player who can catch, one who can play the tough infield spots, and two who can play the outfield. There really isn't any great pinch hitting threat and there is no good pinch runner. I think Theo needs to seriously look at this bench and try to get guys with pop and speed and defensive versatility for the playoffs. We all know how great the bench contributed in the playoffs last season.

PATRIOTS DRAFTING
Round 1, Pick 32
G/T Logan Mankins, Fresno State

The Pats lost Joe Andruzzi and this guy appears to be his replacement. Then again, you never know with this coaching staff. He may end up replacing Ty Law. That was sarcasm, BTW. The word on Mankins is that he is storng physically and technically and that he is a hardcore player who gives it his all. The Pats have had success with their offensive line draft picks (Koppen, 2003; Light, 2001) so this pick looks to be a good one. Belichick may also know something few others do because Fresno's head coach was a member of Bill's staff at Cleveland.

Round 3, Pick 84
CB Ellis Hobbs III, Iowa State


"YANKEES SUCK" SHIRTS NOW TRUE
The Yankees are currently sucking. They're 7-11 in the bottom of the division. They lost Jaret Wright to injury for an unkown amount of time, mid-releiver Tanyon Sturtze is on the DL, Kevin Brown sucks, Johnson is getting hit consistently, and Mussina continues to be mediocre. Plus, they've made so many deadline deals with their top prospects that they don't have a whole lot of arms down in Columbus to come up and help them out.

They probably won't stay where they are in the standings, but its kind of funny to watch them struggle. Kind of like laughing at Bill Gates for bein fined by the government even though everyone knows he'll be fine.

JUST ONE OF THOSE DRAYS

Bad baseball overshadowing good baseball. Never any excuse to lose to Tampa Bay. Untimely errors and an inability by Wakefield to pitch around those errors. I still thought we were going to win though. The big double play turned by Vazquez, Bellhorn and Millar with the bases loaded in the 8th and then the way the Red Sox built on each other's efforts to score their 3rd and 4th runs of the game made me think that we had the game. All we had to do was have a scoreless ninth and then Manny, DO and Millar would be up in the 10th. It was not to be though as Allan Embree threw one pitch that was rapidly sent into the left field stands to end the game.

The Man of the Game is Scott Kazmir who went 7 innings holding the Red Sox to one run off 4 hits and 3 walks. He was able to work out of some jams and give his team a great chance to win the game. Even though Julio Lugo's offense was a big reason for Tampa's win, without Kazmir's pitching, it may have been irrelevant.

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Alan Embree: 0.6 - IP, H, R, ER, 0 BB, 0 K, HR
Tim Wakefield: 0.3 - 6 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, didn't pitch around errors too well
Jay Payton: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 4 LOB

It was nice to see Bellhorn batting before a hitter like Ramon Vazquez but I think it would have been better if Bellhorn was batting ahead of Payton as well. Once again, I think it may have been a mistake to drop Youkilis down to AAA just to save Blaine Neal.

The Sox bullpen has been unreliable thus far. Hopefully the pitchers are just waiting to get into mid-season form. I don't feel safe with any of them coming into a game though. I think this potential bullpen problem is due to the way the Sox pen has been assembled. Career releivers surrounded by burned out starters and 30 year old minor leaguers. Truly amazing bullpens, like the one Anaheim had a few years ago, are bolstered by YOUNG minor leaguers with strong arms. We don't have anyone like that.

RENTERIA VS. CABRERA
You may have noticed the Renteria vs. Cabrera portion of the blog on the right sidebar thingy. It has been there since Spring Training. Renteria has struggled at the plate. He's batting .203, with an OBP of .225. He is slugging a mere .362. His OPS is an unimpressive .588. Cabrera hasn't been tearing the cover off the ball but he is putting up decent numbers. He's also hit a pair of game winning homeruns.

Now, I don't think Cabrera is better. I think Renteria is a slightly better defensive player but offensively, I think they are a wash. Cabrera fit into the Sox lineup perfectly when he came here and once we picked him up, we went on a tear. I just don't see why the Sox management decided to drop Cabrera and pickup Renteria. Why risk making a major change to the lineup and clubhouse chemistry when the only reward is maybe a few more plays made at SS?

SMALL MARKET VS. BIG MARKET PART II
Every time a fan of a big market team and a fan of a small market team enter into an intelligent conversation, it seems to devolve into the small market fan whining and moaning about not having enough money to "buy the World Series." Up in Toronto, some moronic Blue Jays fan sitting in front of me who celebrated his team's early April victory to the point of near heart attack, remarked to me in the 7th inning that teams like the Red Sox and Yankees were ruining baseball with their seemingly wreckless spending. However, I think that teams like Boston, New York, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta stimulate much of the baseball economy. A perfect example of this was the scene at Tropicana Field last night. 30,530 fans went to the game. That's about 4,000 more people than Tampa's Opening Day. That's more than twice as many fans as any other day besides Opening Day. On Thursday, the Rangers drew a mere 8,799. Small market teams make tons of money off big market teams when they come to town. They also get 10% of the gate when they go to Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park. The fact of the matter is, teams like Tampa Bay and Toronto and Kansas City make alot of money off the big market teams they often lament.

THINGS I DON'T GET

Here's a thought about the Sheffield thing that I read about at a blog called The GYS Network. How come the fan who may or may not have struck Gary Sheffield got season tickets revoked, yet the fan who actually altered the course of a very famous game a few years ago was rewarded with season tickets?

What House did at Fenway was wrong and he should have been ejected from the game and possibly had his season ticket holder status put on probation, but this kid should never have gotten rewarded for blatantly breaking the rules. Had it been an Orioles fan at Camden Yards, the call would have been fan interferance and the kid would have gotten alot more criticism and much less praise.

Here's another thing I don't get. How come among Red Sox fans, there seems to be a backlash towards Pedro Martinez yet there is little backlash against Nomar Garciaparra? Nomar was a solid player for us but he missed more time than Pedro, failed in the clutch in September and October of 2003, and when we traded him, we suddenly began to win and won the World Series!

BTW, Pedro had another quality start going 7 innings and allowing only 1 ER in a Mets win. He struck out 8.

One more thing that completely baffles me. How come the Yankees are willing to build a new ballpark and we aren't? The Red Sox have won 5 World Series since moving to Fenway. The Yankees have won 25 World Series since they moved into Yankee Stadium. There's obviously more history in the Bronx than in the Fens. The Yankees already have a big stadium capacity wise. They have sufficient infrastructure and a decent location with plenty of parking. They seem to have everything Fenway doesn't yet Steinbrenner still wants to pay almost $1 billion for a new ballpark. Why? Cuz he's a smart businessman. He knows the profit potential of a new Yankee Stadium with a few thousand more seats and a few dozen luxury boxes. That's why the Yankees are the Yankees. They're greedy. They always want to improve themselves. Especially with the luxury tax, the cost of baseball is going up for them and they are going to put themselves in a position to maintain their spending. Meanwhile, the Red Sox are more concerned with nostalgia and "history" than actualy running a baseball team as a business. Why the hell do they care if people will miss Fenway? People will still go to the games and spend money on the team!!! That's all that matters!!! If anyone thinks people go to Fenway for the ballpark, they obviously weren't a fan back in 1997 say and went to April games to see some crappy team in crappy weather. NO-ONE WAS THERE!!! People don't go to Fenway to see the Green Monster or sit in uncomfortable seats, they go to Fenway to watch a great baseball team play a great game. The Red Sox are the attraction, Fenway is just a venue. The Red Sox have the potential to make alot of money and subsequently spend alot of money on this team and they are refusing to do it. Adding 100 $250 seats doesn't do much. It's $2 million at the end of the year which in the grand scheme of things represents a small amount of money. It increases the Red Sox revenues by about one percent. Then you have to figure in construction costs and crap like that. If the Sox built a new ballpark, they could sell about 17,000 more tickets a game at about an average cost of $25. That's $34.4 million a season right there. THAT is a significant increase in revenue. Not to mention the luxury box sales and additional ad space the team could sell.

It is ironic that the Red Sox are going to hold onto Fenway because of nostalgia. They didn't listen to nostalgia when they traded Nomar. They listened to their minds, not their hearts. And it worked out, BIG TIME.

000 000 000 000 000 000

That's what David Wells, Blaine Neal, Matt Clement and Keith Foulke combined to do to one of the fiercest looking lineups in baseball the past two days. 1-0 games are always refreshing compared to the 7-5 slugfests seen on a nightly basis.

The Man of the Game is undoubtedly Matt Clement. 8 innings pitched, 0 ER, 8 hits scattered, 1 walk and 7 Ks. He worked out of some jams and considering that he had to face the likes of Brian Roberts, Sammy Sosa, Miguel Tejada and Melvin Mora a few times only makes his outing more impressive.

The Sox fly down to Fenway Park South a.k.a. Tropicana Field to play the D-Rays.

The Celtics will be playing the Indiana Pacers in the 1st round of the NBA playoffs. They play game 1 in Boston Saturday night. Hopefully, I'll be there.

I just finished a 9 page term paper on why New York surpassed Boston as a city. I felt somewhat dirty doing it but in the opening paragraph I snuck in:

"About the only things Boston has better than New York are colleges and sports teams."

ALLS WELLS THAT ENDS WELLS

Undoubtedly the best outing for a Red Sox pitcher this year for Wells. Some stellar offensive performances, as well. Manny went 2 for 2, walked twice, and had a double. He scored a run and knocked one in. Tek went 2 for 3 with a homer, 3 runs, and 3 RBI. However, this game was about David Wells who went 8 shutout innings allowing only 3 hits and a walk. I think if the game were tighter and later in the season, he would have gone 9 having thrown only 109 pitches.

Wells is definately the Man of the Game.

Nomar might be out for a while with a groin injury.

Sox look for a 2 game sweep tomorrow.

SOX PEN BLOWS THE GAME

Keith Foulke has been unimpressive this season. 1-2 record with a 4.50 ERA, a WHIP of 1.63. I feel bad for Bronson Arroyo who went up against one of the best pitchers in the league and gave the Sox an opportunity to win the game. Manny and Ortiz did their part.

A few questionable decisions for Francona. How come in the 8th and 9th innings, Jay Payton, David McCarty and Ramon Vazquez were batting? I know Manny won't be winning any Gold Gloves in the outfield, but can we wait until the 9th to pull him when we're pretty sure he won't get another AB unless the other team takes a lead.

Why the hell didn't Francona pinch hit for Vazquez? He could have used Mirabelli, one of the best hitters on the team. Instead, with 2 on and 2 out in the bottom of the 9th down 4-3, in Fenway Park with 35,000 fans cheering, a AAA player was given an at-bat. Not surprisingly, he didn't do anything with it.

This goes back to the Neal/Youkilis thing. Why the hell do we need to keep Blaine Neal around? He is only good for blowout games anyway and we've got Halama. We shouldv'e kept Youk up in Boston. He actually has a chance to be a major league player if he's given some Major League at-bats.

The Man of the Game is Bronson Arroyo who went 7 allowing only 1 run on a homer. He scattered 8 hits and walked only 1.

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Embree: 0.4 - IP, 2 ER
Foulke: 0.3 - IP, ER
Renteria: 0.1 - 0 for 4, 2 LOB
Vazquez: 0.1 - 0 for 4, 2 LOB
Francona: 0.1 - Over micromanaging

Wells takes on Ponson in Baltimore tonight.

The Yankees went back to struggling, losing to Hideo Nomo and the D-Rays 5-2.

The Red Sox signed Tim Wakefield to a unique contract extension. The team and the player agreed to stay together in 2006 and every year after that the team has the option to keep him. It's a very original idea and I think it shows the dedication Wake has to the Sox and that the Sox have to Wake.

In 11 years with Boston, Wakefield has done EVERYTHING the team has asked of him. He has started 253 games for Boston ans has come in as a releiver 139 times. He even pinch hit for another pitcher in an extra inning game at Fenway getting a SAC Bunt (Pete Schourek also pinch hit in the game and got a single).

PATRIOTS DAY VICTORY

Manny had a good day and a bad day. A pair of homers and a pair of errors. Schilling continued to struggle somewhat and barely went 5. Quality mop up work by Halama and Timlin and not so good work by Mantei and Neal. Every Red Sox hitter got a hit.

The Man of the Game is a tough decision. Manny would get it if he didn't make 2 errors. He went 2 for 2 with 2 HRs, walked twice, scored thrice, and knocked in 5. Outfield errors though are supposed to be rare. No pitcher had a really great outing. No other hitter had a huge day except for Shea Hillenbrand. He went 4 for 4 and fortunately for us, he didn't have very many people on base in front of him. Also, he didn't have too many big hits coming after him, he only scored once. There were 2 double plays grounded into by batters after him.

The Yankees were called out by Steinbrenner and seemed to respond. Well, that's gonna be Georgie Porgie's conclusion. I'm sure it had nothing to do with facing Tampa Bay and Rob Bell who had a career low 4.46 ERA last season.

HOUSE CLEANING
I've tried avoiding getting into this story too much because some other sites are obsessing over it. It is a pretty weird punishment. Chris House, the guy who brushed Gary Sheffield, who has season tickets in the RF Box seats will have his tickets revoked for the rest of the 2005 season. However, he is getting reimbursed for the tickets being revoked. He can also reapply in 2006. That isn't much of a punishment. The guy who spilled beer on Sheffield has been banned from buying tickets this season (pretty much like everyone else in Boston).

I have no problem with House being tossed. You shouldn't interfere with the field of play. But I also think the Red Sox should ban him permanantly. I also think the Red Sox should revoke season tickets and ticket purchasing rights from EVERY fan that reaches over the wall into the field of play in the middle of a play. I also think the Red Sox should build a 2 or 3 foot chain link barrier over the wall to seperate fans from players and the ball.

Bronson Arroyo will face Blue Jay's ace Roy Halladay tonight at Fenway in the final game of the two game set. The Sox then go to Balto for two (who the hell made this schedule with back to back 2 game series?).

Nothing on the Boston Marathon because few people care about the Marathon as an actual sporting event.

SOX SWEEP TAMPA BAY

Wakefield is definately the best pitcher on the team right now. It is also very nice to see Renteria hitting the ball well. It is looking like I might have been wrong about him but time will tell. Payton has also made some nice contributions off the bench.

The Man of the Game is Wakefield who went 6 inning allowing 1 ER off 4 hits. I know 6 innings isn't amazing but there really wasn't anyone else in the game that had an all around great game and Wake pitched pretty well.

Schilling goes against Toronto on Patriot's Day tomorrow.

The Celtics clinched the Atlantic Division title and the 3rd playoff seed by beating Toronto tonight.

MANY RBI FOR MANNY

Coming into this game Manny was 2 for 11 with RISP and had not hit a homerun. He only had 4 RBI coming into this game. He aboslutely exploded against the D-Rays and knocked in all 6 of Boston's runs. Backed by Manny's bat and a fine performance by Matt Clement in his Fenway debut, the Red Sox cruised to a nice 6-2 victory.

Manny is obviously the Man of the Game. He was 2 for 3 with a 2 run homer and a Grand Slam, his 18th career Grand Slam. He is the active leader in Grand Slams and is 3rd all-time.

The Sox go for the sweep tommorrow.

Pedro helped the Mets beat the Marlins today. He got a no decision but struck out 9. He has struck out 30 batters and leads the majors in strikeouts.

The Yankees lost to the Orioles 7-6. New York has lost 4 of 5 but their savior Kevin Brown is slated to come off the DL Sunday. (Sarcasm) Baltimore looks pretty good this year and considering the trouble we had with them last year, they will play us very tough.

More Renovations to Fenway
So the Red Sox are going to add 2,500 more seats to Fenway Park within the next 3 years. Will you be able to afford any of them? Probably not. That's right, more $250 tickets for corporate guys to use to butter up potential clients and for John Kerry to cheer for Manny Ortez.

Okay, I'm glad the Red Sox finally made a commitment as to whether or not to stay at Fenway, and I think the renovations they've done to the ballpark are very nice and don't take away from the ambience of the park. However, what are fans like me supposed to do? I know, I'm being selfish, but I'm just a college student and there are plenty of other people out there who face financial difficulties going to games. You want to go to the game with your spouse and 2 kids? At least $80 for tickets unless you mind standing. For 4 hot dogs and 4 sodas, that's another $30. And I hope you live within walking distance of the ballpark, otherwise you'll have to pay $20+ for parking or stand shoulder to shoulder with strangers in a sweaty subway.

What would be my plan? How about playing at a modified Gillette Stadium for a year or so with a few games in the Dominican Republic and Japan? Then you could completely renovate Fenway. Replace every single 1934 seat with a seat from this century. Build an upper deck for people who aren't wealthy to enjoy the game. You can even build the ultimate lucrative stadium asset: luxury boxes. Hell, advance sales on luxury boxes alone would finance much of the project and with the demand for seats so astronomically high, the Sox could easily draw 50,000 fans on average. The Sox could still play in Fenway, make more money, compete with New York, and allow more fans to enjoy the team.

SOX CRUSH TAMPA

I just wanna say something about Hideo Nomo. This guy deserves alot of credit that he doesn't get. He broke the line between Japanese baseball and Major League Baseball. That may not seem like a big deal here but for many Japanese fans it was. Unlike Ichiro or Hideki, Nomo didn't get the amount of support that current crossers of the Pacific get from their home country. Alot of people labelled him as a sell-out and even a traitor to Japanese baseball. The guy has had a solid career and it is a shame to see him struggling. I think when he retires he should get an exhibit in Cooperstown for really opening up another baseball frontier.

Very little analysis for this game. A pitcher who walks alot of batters and gives up alot of homeruns went against a lineup that is both patient and powerful. Then a pitcher who throws mostly strikes had to merely throw strikes for a few innings. The answer to this mathematical equation is a 10-0 victory.

The Man of the Game is Mark Bellhorn who went 2 for 3 with a walk, 2 runs, and 2 RBI. His double in the 2nd initiated a big run scoring rally that resulted in 7 runs.

CELTICS TAKE THE HEAT

I think the Celtics have one of the best benches in the East. Davis and Jefferson were in double digits off the pine and overrall the bench had 45 points. This is a very encouraging win coming down the stretch. The Celtics have already clinched a playoff berth and with 1 more win in 3 games or a loss by the 76ers, the Celtics will have the Atlantic Division and a 3 seed locked up.

An Up Close Perspective of Thursday's Incident at Fenway

Clement goes tomorrow for the Sox against Tampa.

The Yankees got crushed by the Orioles 8-1 and Toronto lost to Texas 4-2.

SOX BEAT SCUM AND SCUMPIRES

What a scumbag. OK, the fan who reached over should have been tossed from Fenway, and the Red Sox really need to consider doing something about the morons in thr RF Box seats reaching over into the field of play. Perhaps a 3 or 4 foot chain link fence like that one that protects the bullpen from the bleachers would be in order.

Sheffield should have also been tossed from the game. He should be suspended. I understand why he was upset, but he nearly swung at a fan. This guy was being stupid, but not malicious and the steroid aided Gary Sheffield against this guy in a fight would have been a complete mismatch.

Fenway Park security, which I malign often as the Red Sox Gestapo, did a VERY good job at keeping the situation a controversial incident and not something very ugly. That one security guard who jumped in between Sheffield and the guy should get a big bonus.

Now to the game. This one shouldn't have been close but the Sox were able to overcome some horrendous calls and win the game. Arroyo got squeezed pretty harshly on some big calls. The Yankees never shouldv'e gotten the 4 runs they did in that inning. Arroyo did pretty well to keep his composure afterwards though.

Something lost in this game is the way the Red Sox hit Johnson. This is his second straight start allowing 5 runs.

The Man of the Game is Edgar Renteria who did nicely pulling the ball going 2 for 4 with a double off the wall and a homer over it. He knocked in 3 runs.

The Red Sox only left 2 men on base.

SOX LET VICTORY SLIP AWAY

Everytime these two teams face each other, the game typically comes down to one or two moments. If you ask me, this game came down to two moments. The first was the bottom of the 3rd in which the Sox had a great opportunity to put up a crooked number and instead put up a straight one. The second was when Francona decided to leave Schilling in the game to pitch the 6th and not have anyone warming up in case he didn't have it.

The Red Sox 3rd inning started off pretty nicely. If you look at it, it seems impossible that the Sox only got a single run from it. Wright walked 3 batters and gave up a double. He had to navigate through the heart of the Red Sox order as well. Here are a few reasons why I think the Sox failed to put up a sufficient amount of runs:

1. The inning started with lackluster hitter Ramo Vazquez doing what he did best, failing at the plate. A bit more on this later

2. David Ortiz swinging at a bad pitch with loaded bases and a 3-1 count. It may have been ball 4 and a run would have scored, it may have been a strike and DO would get another pitch to hit, it DEFINATELY was not a good pitch to drive and knock in several runs. If it were Mueller or Damon who hit the ball, that would be one thing, but Ortiz is the RBI man on the team along with Ramirez, he needed to be more selective there.

3. Edgar Renteria still thinks he is a pull hitter. He NEEDS to push it the other way. He is not a pull hitter.

Francona made some interesting decisions in this game. I don't know why he would sit down Bellhorn after an off day. This was a divisional game against an opponent that always plays us close and tough. Small things seem to always make a difference in these games. I don't know how anyone could justify the argument that Ramon Vazquez could help the team win more than Mark Bellhorn.

Why did Schilling go out to pitch the 6th? Not only is it early April, not only is it Schilling's first start, not only did Schilling miss most of Spring Training, but he is hurt! He was 91 pitches deep against one of the best offenses in baseball. He had done enough. The bullpen was rested with Wakefield's performance on Monday and yesterday's off day. Even if he did leave in Schilling, why didn't he have someone already warming up in the bullpen? Schilling looked done at the end of the 5th. Why not have some insurance in case the gamble didn't work out?

The Man of the Game is Bernie Williams who went 3 for 4 with a homer, and a double. He also made a few plays in the outfield.

The Bich-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Francona: 0.5 - Let Schilling pitch way too long
Schilling: 0.2 - Should have been lifted but was on the mound when the winning runs were allowed
Vazquez: 0.2 - Complete hole in the 9 spot, 0 for 3, K, 2 LOB
Ortiz: 0.1 - 0 for 3 with a weak SAC Fly, should have produced more.

Arroyo faces Johnson in the rubber game tommorow.

The Celtics got another step closer to a division title by beating the Bucks 111-108 tonight in Milwaukee. Two more wins and they clinch the Atlantic Division and the 3 seed in the playoffs.

Celtics 86 76ers

105-98. Pierce had a great night with 27 points, 13 boards, 4 assists, a pair of steals and a blocked shot. This was a big road win for the Celtics. Despite the 76ers getting tons of favorable calls and non-calls, the Celtics were able to pull it out. With 5 games left, the Celtics are 3 up in the division and if they win 3 of those 5 games, they will win the division no matter what Philadelphia does.

The Celtics have a road game against the 29-48 Milwaukee Bucks. They then host the #1 seed Miami Heat on the 15th. They then go on the road to play Toronto and Cleveland. They end the season on the 20th against the Nets in Boston. They should definately be able to get wins against Milwaukee and Toronto and they should be able to beat either New Jersey or the Cavs.

A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT OPENING DAY
1. I'm not pissed Pedro wasn't there because his new team had their Opening Day on Monday as well. It would have been a slap to the face if he hadn't been at Shea.

2. I have no problem with D-Lowe or Dave Roberts wearing Sox jerseys over their shirts. If they still played in the AL it may have been a slap to the face to their teams, but as it is, I doubt the Dodgers and Padres will have much of a qualm with them participating in the Red Sox celebration as they did.

Schilling will return against the Yankees tomorrow night. I cannot wait.

Sox Ring Up 8 On Yanks

Could you possibly ask for more? Tito coming back to the team. Opening Day. A game against the Yankees. Orr, Bruschi, Seymour, and Russell tossing out the first pitches. Rings being given out. And of course, a nice 8-1 crushing of New York.

The Yankees showed alot of class by watching the cermeonies, applauding the Red Sox and of course Torre tipping his cap to Francona. Rivera also took his ovation with a grain of salt.

The Man of the Game is Wakefield who has been our most consistent pitcher of the year. He went 7 strong innings and the only run he allowed was on a strange play on which Renteria might have been able to throw out A-Rod but made an awkward throw that was short of Mirabelli.

Oh, to make this day even better, the Pats signed Dillon to a 5 year extension for $25M.

Sox Drop Pair to Jays

David Wells needs to settle down, big time. Back-to-back-to-back homeruns? You can't win ballgames doing that. The bats provided what should have been sufficient offense with 5 runs and the game was close until the 8th when for some reason, Halama came into a 1 run game with 6 outs to go. I think Halama's role with this team should be limited to situations in which giving up a run or two or six won't alter the outcome of the game. When Schilling and Miller get back, one of the starters will bolster the pen though.

The Man of the Game for Saturday is Greg Zaun who went 2 for 4 with an RBI single and a Grand Slam that essentially sealed the win for Toronto.

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Wells: 0.3 - 6 ER in 6.1 IP, 3 HR allowed
Mantei: 0.1 - 0.2 IP, ER
Halama: 0.3 - 0 IP, 3 ER
Neal: 0.1 - IP, 2 ER
Mills: 0.1 - put Halama into a 1 run game in the 8th
Ramirez: 0.1 - 1 for 4, GIDP, K, 3 LOB, 2 RISP LOB

SOX DROP RUBBER GAME RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES
Amazing seats in a lackluster stadium. It was clean, easy to get around, somewhat spacious, and plenty of concessions, but it wasn't a baseball park. It was 65 degrees out and the roof was closed. It was dead quiet for most of the game. The stereo system was far too loud. The heckling was too polite.

The game itself was pretty good. The Sox got the early lead with a SAC Fly hit by Jay Payton that scored Ortiz. Clement was sharp until the 4th when he loaded the bases with no outs. The Jays scored a run off a double play. Clement loaded the bases once again in the next inning. This time, the Jays hit a single to score 2 and take a lead. However, Coskie was eliminated at the plate on a crazy play and a close tag. The Sox got Lilly out of the game after 5 but were unable to amass any offense against Pete Walker for 2 and a third innings. Ever notice how sometimes the Sox make random mediocre pitchers look like Cy Young? Well, I have.

The Sox finally had something going in the 9th against Batista. Tek led off the inning with a basehit. Mills finally decided to pinch hit for Payton and Youkilis in the 9th as opposed to doing it in the 6th and 7th innings. (Oh and whay was Bellhorn batting behind Payton and Youkilis?) Nixon and Mueller each hit deep fly balls that were caught. With 2 outs, Tek took 2nd on defensive indifference. Bellhorn was able to work a walk to put the tying run on base and the go ahead run at the plate. Damon hit an awkward chopper that resulted in an infield single and the bases to be loaded. Up came Edgar Renteria. All day he had been trying to pull the ball. This doesn't work for him because his stance doesn't help a player when they try to pull. His right foot is behind his left in the batter's box which means he gets no drive when he tries to pull the ball. All day I was yelling at him to go the other way with the ball. The count got to 2-2 and the occasional Blue Jays fans were on their feet. Edgar then hit a line drive just over the second baseman's head and into the outfield, the oppositte way. The single scored 2 and the game was tied. With runners on the corners, however, Ramirez hit the second pitch he saw to center fielder Vernon Wells to end the inning.

I knew if the game went to 10 we'd win with Ortiz, Millar, and Tek coming up. The Blue Jays fan in front of me questioned why Timlin was coming out to pitch the 9th instead of Foulke. Timlin didn't look too sharp in the 8th. The move was questionable but understandable. Unfortunately, he lost the game for us.

The Man of the Game is Eric Hinske who went 3 for 4 with a huge 2 RBI single off Clement.

The Bitch-Goat goes like this:
Clement: 0.4 - walked way too many batters, was lucky to only give up 3 runs
Timlin: 0.4 - all he had to do was hold Toronto scoreless for another inning and I think we would have won it in 10. He didn't
Ramirez: 0.1 - Despite the stolen base and a double, he didn't come through in the clutch
Mills: 0.1 - Questionable to put Payton and Youkilis in, bat them before Bellhorn, not to pinch hit for them in the 6th and 7th, and keep Timlin in.

SMALL MARKET VS. BIG MARKET
Alot of the fans at the game were complaining about how Boston and New York spend so much on their teams. It was weird for me because normally I complain about the Yankees spending so much on their team. I realise that teams like Toronto may never have as much money as us or the Yankees, but it is their responsibility to remain competetive. I think their GM is doing a solid job building a team with limited finances. Freeing themselves of Delgado's contract will be huge for them the next few years.

If you ask me what is killing baseball, it isn't us or the Yankees or Mets or Dodger. It is corporate ownership. The fact that the Blue Jays owner, Mr. Rogers (the primary stockholder of Rogers Inc, a gigantic company in Canada) attended Opening Day is sad. Steinbrenner and Henry are ALWAYS at the game and are ALWAYS concerned about the team. The owners of smaller market teams are rarely concerned about their teams and do not put in extra money to get returns on their investment in the long run. Rogers could have spent a few million this year in hopes the Blue Jays would win more and consequently make more money.

People complain that big market teams kill smaller ones. However, the smaller market teams make alot of money off the big market teams. Of the 22,000 fans at the game I went to, I'd say at least 7,000 were Sox fans. That's 7,000 more tickets sold, a few thousand more beers, hot dogs, and souvenirs bought. Half the souvenirs at the Rogers Centre, formerly SkyDome, were Red Sox souvenirs. Small market teams get huge spikes in attendance whenever a big club comes into town. Just look at the attendance at Devil Rays games when Boston or New York roll in. I still beleive in revenue sharing but I feel that small market teams are responsible for their own success or failure. Look at the Marlins last year, or the D-Bax in 2001 or the Angels and Giants in 2002. None of these teams spent over $90M on their payrolls, but they all had fantastic seasons. It is tougher for small market teams to build good clubs and maintain success, but they can do it.

VINTAGE PEDRO APPEARS IN ATLANTA

9 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, BB, 9 K, 0 HR

About the only thing Pedro hasn't done well for the Mets is hit. He's still batting .000 with an 0 for 4 performance yesterday.

BTW, I could care less if Pedro goes to the ring ceremony today. He's on a new team now and his focus is on the Mets. I'm perfectly fine with that.

CELTICS STRUGGLING, 76ERS GETTING CLOSE
All the Celtics have to do to clinch the division is win 5 games. Every time Philly loses, this number will go down. However the Celtics are 3-6 in their last 9 games. They MUST beat the 76ers on Tuesday in Philly. If they do, they'll be 3 up and their magic number will be 3. If they don't, the 76ers will only be a game behind.

Sox Escape Jays

This game was way too close. The Sox should have blown it open a few times and Foulke nearly blew a cake walk save. Good outing by Arroyo though.

The Man of the Game is Eric Hinske. He made a couple of good plays at a new position and went 3 for 4 with 2 runs, 2 RBI, a double and a homer.

Yankees Drop the Ball

We Own Rivera. Seven Blown Saves against us in the past 2 seasons counting the playoffs. In his last 4 appearances against us, he has blown a save. I don't think we needed this victory in the big scheme of things. But it sure does help to leave New York on a good note as opposed to leaving with a sweep.

It was nice to see the offense put together a nice inning. Manny and Renteria getting some hits. Millar had a great day until he hurt his leg. Damon also did well. Bellhorn had a solid day. Nixon was hitless but he did walk three times.

The Man of the Game is Tim Wakefield. After Wells and Clement couldn't get out of the 5th, Wake went out and pitched 6.2 Innings of 3 hit ball. Probably most important was that he held Matsui hitless.

The Sox have an off day and then go up to Toronto for a three game series before the Home Opener against New York next week.

Good to see the Sox win one for Tito.

Sox Crawl Back Only To Be Kicked Back Down

The good news is that The War is back to being close after Sunday's 9-2 blowout. The Sox were only a few feet from taking a lead but Damon's fly-out to Sheffield didn't have enough energy to get over the right fielder's steroid filled head. Another piece of good news is that we own Mariano Rivera. In his last 10 regular seaosn outings, he has blown 4 saves to us. He blew two in the ALCS last year. I think Rivera's dominance was mostly because of the myth surrounding him. Hitters thought the game was over when he came in. As any sports psychologist will tell you, sports are replete will self-fulfilling prophecies. The Sox seem to have confidence against him though. They have ever since Shea Hillenbrand hit a HR off him over the Monster a few years ago (one of the ebst games I've ever been to). The way Varitek sat on a cut-fastball, turned on it, and drove it was a beautiful thing to see. To quote my friend Will, Rivera has become the Yankees Byung-Hyung Kim.

Anyway, alot of dissapointing performances from the Red Sox took away from some fine outings. First and foremost, Clement did not pitch around trouble very well. The fact that he couldn't go 5 sets up tomorrow's game poorly. Foulke came on strong against the bottom of the order but he did not look great against Jeter. It was a great at-bat but Jeter won it. Nixon had a terrible day in the #2 hole going 0 for 4 with 2 Ks and 5 LOB. Last year the Sox got alot of production out of the 2 spot in the order from Bellhorn and later Cabrera. So far, the Sox #2 hitters are 0 for 8. Manny continued to struggle going 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts. Renteria also failed to get a hit and made his first error of the season.

The Man of the Game is once again Hideki Matsui. This guy is locked in and definately playing in mid-season form. He went 3 for 4 with a pair of RBI, a Homer, and a Run scored.

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Clement: 0.2 - 4.1 IP, 3 ER
Ramirez: 0.1 - 0 for 4
Nixon: 0.2 - 0 for 4 with 5 LOB
Renteria: 0.2 - 0 for 4 with an Error
Foulke: 0.3 - IP, ER

The Sox finish their first of seemingly 50 series with New York tomorrow afternoon as Tim Wakefield faces Mike "$16 Million for a #3 starter" Mussina.

Pedro Robbed of Victory

It seems like an annual tradition that Pedro gets screwed over by his bullpen on Opening Day. This time, Braden Looper blew the lead. Pedro had a solid day going 6, allowing 3 ER off 3 hits and striking out 12 Reds.

Round 1: Loss

What a display of great baseball and pathetic baseball on the same stage. I know it isn't the end of the world, but the Sox did not look that good tonight. Everyone seemed a little off except for a few players. The top 3 of the lineup went a combined 0 for 12 with 4 Ks, Mueller went 0 for 3, and Bellhorn struck out 3 times and left 4 men on base. The Sox made 2 errors and had to use 7 pitchers.

For anyone who doesn't know, after every game, I reward a Man of the Game (MOTG) and a Bitch-Goat. The MOTG is simply the player on either the winning or losing team who stood out the most and had the best game. The Bitch-Goat is "rewarded" to players who contribute to the Sox losing. There is 1 Bitch-Goat point per game but it is divided into tenths. If I feel a player/manager/coach/umpire is partially responsible for a loss, they will get 0.1 or 0.2 B-G points. If a player is very responsible for a loss, I will give them 0.7 or 0.8 or even 1.0 B-G points. Both MOTG and B-G will be kept track of and at the end of the year, a Man of the Season will be determined and the biggest Bitch-Goat will be determined.

For this game, Hideki Matsui was the Man of the Game. His 2 run HR in the 8th sealed the victory for New York. His catch in the 2nd of a ball destined for the seats stopped the Sox from gaining any momentum and allowed Johnson to get into a groove. He went 3 for 5, scored 3 times, and knocked in 3 runs. He was a big part of the Yankees 3rd inning rally which was where they won the game, in my opinion.

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
David Wells: 0.4 - couldn't throw strikes or pitch 5 innings
Blaine Neal: 0.2 - allowed the Yankees to build on their lead
Johnny Damon: 0.2 - Error, 0 for 4, K
Edgar Renteria: 0.1 - 0 for 4, K, 2 LOB
Manny Ramirez: 0.1 - 0 for 4, 2 K

The Sox play New York again as Carl Pavano goes against Matt the Missile Clement Tuesday night in the Bronx.

The Celtics are starting to slip into a troublesome area. If they don't shape up, they may lose the divisional lead. If this happens, they either won't make the playoffs or will come in as an 8 seed pitting them against Miami.