As the Santana trade rumors continue to swirl, Jon Lester's name is also still being bandied about in connection with various possible Sox-Twins deals. The Seacoast Online has a great (and very sweet) interview with a cousin of Jon's talking about, among other things, the possibility of Jon being traded from Boston.

You can read the whole thing at the link above, but I pieced together this story below about Jon's first ever visit to Fenway Park back at the age of 10:

[Joe] Pongrace has been there since the beginning -- literally. He saw Lester pitch during his journey through the minor leagues and was at the first game the 23-year-old lefty pitched at Fenway Park. But Pongrace was there the first time a 10-year-old Jon Lester visited the storied ballpark in 1994.

Yep, the first time little Jon went to a game at Fenway Pongrace was right there beside him. He is Lester's second cousin; Joe and Lester's mom, Kathie, are first cousins.

As for that day 13 years ago at Fenway Park, when 10-year-old Jon wasn't yet old enough to pitch for the Red Sox, it remains a special one for the Pongraces. There's even a picture on a dormitory wall at Springfield College showing Matt Pongrace, Joe's eldest son, on Lester's shoulders on the weekend of that game. Matt is 18 now and could conceivably break Lester's shoulders were he perched atop them, but needless to say he still displays that picture with pride. Plus, being related to Jon Lester must give him serious street cred.

That trip to Fenway when Lester was 10 was apparently a sign of things to come. The only difference is, Jon is now on the field and Joe is still in the stands. And that suits him just fine.

"The first time I saw Jon pitch at Fenway, I got to sit next to his mother -- my cousin -- and you couldn't believe the excitement," he said. "It was obvious how nervous she was. But what a treat it was to be there with her."

A neat little factoid about Lester's first start at Fenway on June 10, 2006, and his first visit to Fenway 11 years ago, according to Joe: There was a rain delay prior to both games.

I love these stories taking us back to the wide-eyed childhood of the guys. I'd love to know how many of the team visited Fenway as kids- and how old they were when they did.

And what about the Santana carousel of rumors?

[W]hen addressing those trade rumors, Joe didn't mince words on his feelings about Lester being shipped to Minnesota or anywhere else for that matter.

"That would suck," he said.

Spoken like a true Red Sox fan -- and a loyal cousin.

I like this Joe guy.

Two best things about last night's Alamo Bowl?

1. Watching Penn State beat Texas A&M.
2. Josh Beckett in boots.

Our favorite Aggie (which is really saying something, considering my well-documented aversion to them) was once again on the sidelines of a Texas A&M football game, but this time there's video. And he's wearing boots.

You might recall that I expressed my displeasure when he showed up to the Texas game wearing an A&M hat- thankfully he chose to wear a Herradura Ranch ballcap this time instead. Dressed in full Texan regalia (Wranglers, ostrich boots, big ol' belt buckle and Pat Green shirt), ESPN cut to Josh several times in the broadcast-- and since Doug Flutie was in the broadcast booth, this also meant we got a little Red Sox talk as well... on air during a football game. In Texas. Between schools from PA and TX. Awesome.

The boots in question

Here's video of the Beckett and Sox segments: (one note: when Flutie mentions that "Pony" was wearing a Red Sox shirt, he's referring to ESPN broadcaster Craig James- who was a standout QB at SMU (mascot: Mustangs, also called the Pony Express or Ponies)... apparently even that die-hard Texan Craig James owns property in Mass. and was sporting a Red Sox shirt in San Antonio yesterday)

video courtesy of ESPN

What's better on New Year's Eve Day than a few fluffy fun Christmas leftovers?

First up, Terry Francona was featured in last week's issue of Sports Illustrated (Sports Illustrated (Dec. 24, 2007- Volume 107, No. 25), all gussied up in his holiday best. And by "holiday best", I mean a Santa hat and wrapped in Christmas lights.

credit to Sports Illustrated

From the SI article:

The best Christmas gift he ever got
Easy. I was 10, and I got an Oakland A's warmup jacket. My dad [Tito, a 15-year big league first baseman-outfielder] was playing with Oakland. They wore white spikes and green jackets. This was in the day [1969] before they sold those things, but I got a jacket that fit me! It was green, in that shiny, satiny material. I wore it to school every day.

On what he would get his Red Sox players for the holidays
I'd get them back into shape. And I'd give Papelbon dance lessons.

What he would get the Yankees
Nothing good--actually, I didn't know Santa comes to the Yankees.

His New Year's resolutions
Not to eat at two in the morning. But we'd have to go 162-0 for me to keep it. When we lose, I end up eating late- if the minibar's open, it's M&M's; if not, it's a club sandwich from room service.

On when his thoughts switch from winning this year's World Series to next season
They've switched. The losses stay with you longer than the wins. I've been sitting home for the past week doing reports on our players for spring training.

The secret to having gone 8-0 as a manager in the World Series
Good players. Very, very good players.

On his public effort to quit chewing tobacco last spring
I didn't succeed; I lasted until mid-May. I try to quit every year; it's a horrible habit I wish I didn't have. I don't like that children see it, especially my kids. It's something I fight. I don't touch it over the winter.

On life as a big leaguer's son
He retired when I was 11, and from age seven to 11 were some of the happiest days of my life. I hung out at the ballpark, and my favorite players weren't necessarily the stars but the guys who played catch with me. My favorites are players like Al Downing and Rick Monday. They didn't mind a kid running around.

You can click on that image for a bigger version of the article as well- and thanks to a lovely reader for sending me the transcript of the article.

Also, I had several people email asking about the Christmas card I got from the Sox, so I went ahead and scanned in the whole thing - front, inside, and back - so y'all could take a gander. Kudos to the graphic design firm who did that one.

Bigger-sized scans of the card after the jump...

Continue reading »

The ballots for Cooperstown are due in soon, and there are all kinds of very serious sportswriters writing very seriously about who should (and should not) make it in. But for my money, the sportswriter whose opinion I most want to hear is Jon Heyman. And by that, I mean that I cannot wait to see the logical backflips he does to justify the thought processes behind his HOF ballot. Even though Keith Law and Rob Neyer still don't get votes, guys like Heyman inexplicably do- and his reasons for his HOF votes are doozies.

Don't even bother reading what Heyman wrote, though - because the guys at Fire Joe Morgan (who know more about baseball than I could ever hope to cram into my head) have got you covered... twice over: Part One and Part Two. And just because I can't help myself, here are pull quotes of a few of my favorite lines:

You know who a computer would probably pick? All of his computer friends. Hope you like a Hall of Fame full of Commodore 64's, ENIACs and vacuum tubes, you number-loving asshole.

I don't understand why Dawson supporters always cite his "ravaged knees" as a like thing that makes his numbers be better than they are. "He had bad knees! He gets bonus points!" You wouldn't say about Tony Gwynn: "The guy hit .320 every year -- and he was fat!"

[W]inning the Hearts of New Yorkers is not, the last time I checked, a fucking qualification for anything, least of all the Baseball Hall of Fame. You know who else has won the hearts of New Yorkers? Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, Turk Wendell, and Luis Sojo.

For introducing the words "jerkbutt" and "ass-toucan" into my lexicon, and for making me burst into laughter no fewer than six times while reading these two posts, I'm gonna go ahead and name FJM as my Baseball Boyfriend of the Day. That's right, a collective Baseball Boyfriend. They're Red Sox fans- and therefore not only are they clearly of superior intellect, I cannot be forced to pick between them.

We're still a few hours away from midnight here in the continental US (though our friends overseas are already well into 2008 already) - so the New Year is just around the corner.

I've added a new feature to the sidebar for the new year: a calendar to keep track of important Sox dates and events (that replaces the rather boring list format that was there before). When your mouse rolls across a date, you'll get a popup window with the details -- and the days are color-coded by event (red for games, green for front office dates, blue for appearances, etc). To close a popup, just click on/roll over the "x" in the upper right corner. If you know of any Sox events that aren't on the calendar, drop me an email!

Stay safe tonight - but have tons of fun - and I'll see you all in 2008 with a big ol' New Year's post!

Happy New Year, everyone!

2007 was a banner year in many ways - we all got to celebrate as the Sox won it all, the Mother's Day MIracle, Clay's no-hitter, the Sox also picked up a whole host of individual awards, and the front office managed to re-sign the key components of championship team. Back in September, I wrote this (pardon the egotastic move of quoting myself):

This 2007 Red Sox team is magic.

I know the 2004 team is the benchmark by which everyone measures this year's group, and all other groups that will likely come after, but I'm telling you... this team is magic.

It's no coincidence that we've witnessed so much special awesomeness surrounding the club all year: the Dice-K hoopla, the Mother's Day Miracle, the Lester comeback, Beckett establishing himself as the #1 ace, the Coco outfield gymnastics, the rookie surge from Pedroia and Ellsbury, the Papelbon mastery, the out-of-nowhere Okey, the Papi clutchness in spite of injuries, the Lowell slugging, the Youk defense, the Clay no-hitter, and now these back-to-back from-behind victories. These things are not just happening all at the same time, in the same season, to the same team at random.

I'm telling you- this is BIG STUFF. 40 years later... maybe it's the scales righting themselves.

I'll say it again: this 2007 Red Sox team is magic.

What an amazing, unbelievable season.

On a more personal note, I somehow had the good fortune to go to 78 baseball games (!!), spending practically the entire summer and fall traveling to ballparks around the country, watching a ton of baseball and spending time with friends-- an experience I'll probably never have the chance to do again. Lucky for me, my grand adventure just happened to coincide with the Sox, Cubs and Phils all making it into the playoffs.

But now, for better or for worse, it's time to put 2007 permanently into the history books -- and move on to 2008. Baseball is as much about change as it is about nostalgia- and at the turn of the year, with spring training around the corner, nothing is a more apt passage than this from A. Bartlett Giamatti's A Great and Glorious Game:

Baseball is about homecoming. It is a journey by theft and strength, guile and speed, out around first to the far island of second, where foes lurk in the reefs and the green sea suddenly grows deeper, then to turn sharply, skimming the shallows, making for a shore that will show a friendly face, a color, a familiar language and, at third, to proceed, no longer by paths indirect but straight, to home.

Baseball is about going home, and how hard it is to get there and how driven is our need. It tells us how good home is. Its wisdom says you can go home again but that you cannot stay. The journey must always start once more, the bat an oar over the shoulder, until there is an end to all journeying.

So here's to 2008 - may it bring as much success on the diamond as 2007, and even more happiness everywhere else.

Big hat tip to reader Lisa for the Giamatti quote- can't ever have too much Giamatti. And my own personal Top 10 for 2007...

Top 10 Sporting Events I Attended in 2007
1. World Series, Game 4 - Denver, CO
2. AFC Championship, Colts vs. Patriots - Indianapolis, IN
3. Mother's Day Miracle, Red Sox vs. Orioles - Boston, MA
4. Spring Training, Phillies - Clearwater, FL
5. World Series, Game 1 - Boston, MA
6. ALDS Game 2, Red Sox vs. Angels - Boston, MA
7. U.S. Open, golf - Pittsburgh, PA
8. Red Sox vs. Yankees, Beckett vs. Clemens - New York, NY
9. Phillies Week, vs. Cubs and Brewers - Chicago, IL & Milwaukee, WI
10. AFC Playoffs, Colts vs. Chiefs - Indianapolis, IN

I'd love to hear what your favorite sporting events you attended in '07 were! And any grand plans for sports in the year ahead? Who's headed to spring training? Who's going to the NFL playoffs? Anyone going to brave New York to hit up the All-Star Game in July?

You might think it would be hard to confuse this guy:

With this guy:

But you would be wrong.

Mike Lowell was at last night's Gonzaga-Utah college basketball game as a guest of his buddy (and former Marlin) Mike Redmond, catcher for the Twins. Redmond went to Gonzaga and is a huge Zags fan-- and so he asked Lowell to stop in and speak to the team in the locker room after the game. Whatever Lowell said must have been pretty awesome, because the Seattle papers reported his "speech was greeted with cheers" by the team.

But the hilarity came during the game. Mike and Mike sat together right behind the Zags' bench- and word spread around amongst the spectators and players that there was a big-time baseball player in their midst. This caused some confusion for Gonzaga basketball player- and avid baseball fan- David Pendergraft ("Pendo"). Fellow Zags player Matt Bouldin said:

It's funny, right before the game Pendo was saying, 'Derek Lowe is sitting right behind our bench.' I'm like, 'Where?' I'm looking for two minutes and I don't see him. Later I heard the announcement that it was Mike Lowell.

I said, 'Pendo, it's Mike Lowell,' and he's like, 'Ahhh, sorry.' Pendo's a baseball fan. I expected a lot more out of him.

I'm pretty positive this is the first time someone has ever mistaken Mike Lowell for Derek Lowe. Just don't tell Alyssa Milano about this.

An oldie, but a goodie- from back at the beginning of November: a Pittsburgh paper, of all places, had an article about skipper Terry Francona and looking back at the team and the 2007 season.

The first part discusses how criminally underrated Tito is a baseball manager- which I have to agree with, even if I don't agree with how the author describes the situation:

Francona doesn't get the same respect [as Bill Belichick] -- and he doesn't cheat. The feeling among many Boston bumpkins is that their team wins because it has a big payroll. Even Red Sox management seems to believe that. It didn't give Francona a contract extension this summer -- he has a year left on his current deal -- even though his team ended 86 years of New England agony by sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series, made the playoffs again in '05 and went wire to wire to win the American League East Division this season.

"I don't know that I've ever checked," Francona said when asked whether he feels appreciated. "I know I don't care. There's no room for me to have an ego up here. It just wouldn't work."

I think Tito's contributions often get overlooked, but I don't think it's a matter of him not getting any respect. At least, I hope that's not the case- because anyone who actually followed the team, and watched the games (and Tito's strategy) unfold would have a hard time faulting the decisions he made. But I think the constant hyper-attention on him in the white-hot spotlight of Boston has worn him down at times, though he'd never come right out and say that. I found this quote particularly telling- because it sounds like he doesn't really care about the media so much as it bothers him when the fans are so quick to toss him to the wolves

Do you think it's easy managing the giant egos in today's game? Do you think it's easy managing in a market the size of Boston, where the media is relentless and brutal and the fan base passionate, opinionated and always willing to second-guess?

"I can handle that," Francona said. "What I have a hard time dealing with is seeing people at our parade the other day cheering me and holding up signs with my name on it. I know they were calling me a dumb ass 10 days before that."

The article closes out discussing not Tito's strategy - but his relations with his players, possibly his greatest skill of all. And the part about Jason Varitek is fascinating- as that's a side of Tek nobody ever gets to see.

But his strength is working his clubhouse, relating to his players, making them want to play their best not just for themselves, but for him.

It could be old pro Curt Schilling, the one star Francona had when he managed bad teams in Philadelphia. Or it could be rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

"We play cribbage every day at 1 o'clock and talk about everything," Francona said. "I can trust that kid with anything."

It doesn't matter. Francona has a feel for what makes each of his players tick. He also knows team captain Jason Varitek has his back.

"When we were on the field after the [clinching] game the other night, he put his head on my shoulder and cried like a baby," Francona said. "He had willed everybody to be so good. I think that's why I'm so calm. I know he's in charge. It's his team."

Hat tip to boston_princess for finding this article!

No offense to Herbert Hoover, Nike or Sally Struthers, but the three best things to come out of Oregon:

The Bend Bulletin did a reader survey of what the biggest stories in Oregon were for the year 2007, and it should be no surprise that Oregon native Jacoby Ellsbury made the list. From the article:

Madras native Jacoby Ellsbury helps Boston Red Sox win the 2007 World Series.

Madras native and Oregon State University baseball standout Jacoby Ellsbury, 24, got his chance in the big show when he was called up from the minor leagues to play for the Boston Red Sox in September. The speedy rookie started in centerfield in key games, including throughout the playoffs and World Series, and served as the leadoff hitter as the Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies to win the world championship.

Ellsbury made his debut on the big stage with style, racking up seven hits in the World Series, and was the first rookie since 1946 to have four hits in a World Series game. In November, Madras welcomed him back with a parade.

I think Jacoby single-handedly turned an entire generation of Oregon schoolchildren into Red Sox fans. The free tacos just sealed the deal.

Big props to those of you who recognize what's in that first picture.

It gets so monotonous posting cute story after cute story around here - the sappy sweet stuff is all good and fine, but I think we're all adult enough to know that professional baseball ain't all sunshine and unicorns and hearts and flowers. Baseball players have a reputation to protect... and Kevin Youkilis is here to bring the focus back to what really matters: slumpbusting!

For anyone out there lucky (sheltered?) enough not to know about slumpbusters, how about I let Mark Grace, the King of Slumpbusting, tell you all about it? From his 2003 interview on "Rome Is Burning": A slumpbuster is when you have to take one for the team. It's finding the biggest, nastiest, fattest broad, and you put the wood to her to come out of your slump. Also known as 'jumping on a grenade for the team'. All class, that one. If that's not enough background info for you, Curt Schilling also commented on the subject for Maxim magazine back when he played for the Dbacks: That was premarriage Mark. [laughs] If you are struggling at some aspect of the game and you're a single guy, there's a way that players believe you can relieve the negative karma. You go out and fornicate with a woman who might be of less than appealing visual quality I guess is the way to put it. The key to slumpbusting is alcohol intake before the excursion. So there you are. Normally, taking down a slumpbuster isn't something to be proud of. But Youk has found a way to turn slumpbusting into dollars for the kiddies: he's coming out with a new sports energy drink that's going to be called SlumpBuster. Even better... there will be a special drink to be called "Youk's Signature" SlumpBuster -- and proceeds from that will go to his Hits For Kids charity. So now you can go out slumpbusting... for the children!

I enjoy the press release announcing the creation of this interesting new product- watching publicity flacks bend over backwards to try and make this sound anything less than dirty is hilarious. To wit:

Red Sox Gold Glove first baseman Kevin Youkilis has teamed up with California based MBSB Holdings, LLC to produce a new energy drink geared towards sports fans and athletes. SlumpBuster, a term widely recognized by athletes and fans, will be launched in the 1st quarter of '08 with hopes of being the official energy drink of locker rooms and stadium concession stands worldwide.

Get involved and be the first in your area to "Take Down a SlumpBuster".

Come on now, that press release ain't fooling ANYONE. I'm curious to see how the hip and happening MLB officials and front office types are going to react to this - because that crowd is totally known for being laid back about this sort of thing.

Big hat tip to Dan at Red Sox Monster for this.

Matt Clement is heading back to the National League from whence he came: the St. Louis Cardinals signed him today to a one-year deal for an undisclosed amount, with a club option for 2009. So he'll again be wearing red this season... just of a different variety.

Clement had surgery in the fall of 2006 that kept him off the mound for the Red Sox for the entirety of 2007. The last time Matt pitched? June of '06. This offseason, the club declined to offer him arbitration, so the Sox and Clement officially parted ways.

As a Sox fan, I wish Clement luck in his new home- but as a Cubs fan, I hope he rides the pine again.

Tucked in amongst the normal "Are we going to trade Jacoby?" and "When is the Santana deal going to happen?" and "Who is going to start in center field?"" questions in the latest Red Sox Mailbag was a question I've always been curious about myself:

I've always wondered about how lockers are assigned in the clubhouse. Who does the assigning? Who is next to whom? Where are the "best" locations in the room, and who has lockers there? Do veterans get to pick their own locker location? Do players change their locker location? Is it possible to get a layout of who is where or is that private information?
-- Abbe B., Vineyard Haven, Mass.

Good question, Abbe B. from Vineyard Haven. I'm less concerned with the specifics of exactly who has which locker where, and more curious about who decides where everyone's locker is (and how), and if there's any interesting stories about people having to switch lockers during the season-- you know, Okajima can't stand the music Papelbon listens to or the smell of Doug Mirabelli's chicken parm leftovers makes Schilling sick. That's like a little peek into the inner politics of managing the team in general. The response answered a little of that- but not much:

Red Sox equipment manager Joe Cochran is mainly in charge of aligning the lockers in the clubhouse. Cochran has been with the Red Sox for a long time, and he has a good understanding of the dynamic of the team and how to make everyone most comfortable. I'm sure that in certain cases, Cochran asks Francona or Epstein where to put certain players.

When you walk in to the clubhouse and look to your left, it's a long row of most of your position players. In that row, you will find Pedroia, Lowell, Alex Cora, Julio Lugo, Youkilis and others. Off in their own little corner are Ortiz and Ramirez. To the right is another little corner tucked away where you'll find Varitek, Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield. To the right of that is "pitchers' row," where you'll find relievers such as Mike Timlin, Javy Lopez, Manny Delcarmen, etc.

At the end of that row is one more corner, where you'll find Hideki Okajima, Matsuzaka, Beckett and Papelbon. Papelbon's space has always gone to a player with some clout on the team. It once belonged to Carl Yastrzemski, and it has been passed on to others such as Dwight Evans, Bret Saberhagen, Pedro Martinez and Keith Foulke through the years.

This little tidbit raises a few points: (1) I wonder which "certain players" the equipment manager has had to go to Theo and Tito about; (2) I love that Manny and Papi are "off in their own little corner" - that just seems RIGHT somehow; and (3) Papelbon's locker placement means he has "clout" with the team. This is both awesome and terrifying.