That #24, he can do it all! Normally, he hits up a storm and plays balls off the Monster - but today, #24 pitched a scoreless inning in relief against the Twins, giving up just one hit and no runs. No, not that #24 - this #24:

Jonathan Papelbon left his #58 jersey behind at City of Palms Park, so when he reported for duty this morning at Hammond Stadium he was jersey-less. He had a choice: don the spare #99 jersey (Wild Thing style), or use one of the extra Manny Ramirez #24 jerseys the Sox keep around. Papelbon chose to suit up Manny-style.

I could feel the dreadlocks flowing.

I just forgot my jersey and sure enough, they seem to always have an extra Manny jersey laying around here due to the circumstances. It looked better than 99.

"Due to the circumstances" is code for "due to the fact that Manny is nutty", I think. It should surprise no one that out of everyone on the team, the Sox keep extra Manny jerseys around. "Circumstances" being what they are and all.

Jonathan also had a successful outing speechifying for the college kids back at his alma mater, Mississippi State. I noted his appearance in the sidebar calendar (you can always check there for the latest events and appearances), but Jonathan was the keynote speaker at MSU's First Pitch banquet. The banquet was a fundraising activity for the baseball department, trying to get together enough money to build a weight room facility. And, kind of surprisingly, Papelbon's 20 minute (!) speech sounds like it was very heartfelt and not at all wacky:

"There are a lot of ups and downs in baseball," Papelbon said. "Baseball is an even keel game and you also can't go through life without having some ups and downs. I guess baseball is what has helped me keep a level head about me."

Papelbon spoke about his many experiences as a Bulldog and during his brief professional career in the Red Sox organization.

"Baseball is a very humbling game," Papelbon said. "When you think you've figured it out, it will turn around and punch you right in the nose. It's the same in life. I've tried not to get too ahead of myself.

"It's an honor to play the game of baseball and it has taught me a lot."

Jacoby Ellsbury may have been the Men's Vogue model for March, but Josh Beckett just couldn't let that go unanswered... he'll be the cover boy for the April issue of Men's Fitness. That's right, he will kick your ass on the field and then he will take over your local newsstand!

The feature on Josh centers on his offseason and conditioning regimen. From the article:

As for the cardio workout, it mostly helps him with recovering from a pitch.

Each throwing motion requires three seconds of intense effort, followed by 12 seconds of recovery time, he said. Who knew?

"We try to train my body to recover during those 12 seconds," said the Sox fastball biggie... "I try to throw the damn thing as hard as I can."

So much for that "belly", huh?

Tie a string around your finger so you don't forget: the Red Sox added a bonus B-game to the schedule for Monday. They'll be facing off against the Minnesota Twins (again! 4 days in a row!) at City of Palms Park at 10 a.m., even though the game still doesn't appear on the team's official schedule at redsox.com.

Josh Beckett and batterymate Jason Varitek will stay to pitch the early-bird B-game in Ft. Myers, Kyle Snyder and the lion's share of the team will travel to Jupiter to face the Marlins in the afternoon. Tito Francona spoke about the decision to add the game to the ProJo:

We felt like we had between seven to nine innings of pitching we wanted to account for (that day). Actually, the Twins approached us. We had the pitching, so due to the abbreviated spring training, it gives us nine more innings to see pitching. We actually don't have enough position players, so we're going to have to scuffle [to find it].

For those lucky enough to be down in Ft. Myers, admission will be free.

As I reported yesterday, there was a Red Sox dance-off for charity earlier this evening in Ft. Myers. Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, Mike Lowell and Alex Cora partnered with pro ballroom dancers as part of the "Dancing with the All-Stars" benefit for the Mike Lowell Foundation and Red Sox Foundation. But the majestic reality of this event is so much better than I could possibly have imagined.

I... just... words fail me.

So many questions. Is that "DADDY" written on Dustin's chest in Sharpie? Why did Mike Lowell get away with wearing a normal outfit? Where in the hell did Papelbon get that "shirt" (and I use that term very loosely)? For that matter, where did he get the belt? And why does it look like he's really enjoying wearing that shirt and belt?

And of course, I have video for you:

video courtesy of NESN

A little more information:

Each player was paired with a professional dance partner who, in two hours, taught merengue and salsa steps that usually take two weeks to master. The event was Cuban-themed to celebrate Lowell's heritage.

It didn't take long for his teammates to lighten the mood, beginning with Papelbon, whom [sic] came out in a black lace top -- a hard look for any dancer to pull off, not to mention one with a build like the intimidating Red Sox closer.

Pedroia came out and proceeded to rip off his shirt while dancing his best.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona attended the event, while teammates Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, Josh Beckett, Javier Lopez, Sean Casey and Jacoby Ellsbury all provided emotional support and some unbiased judging during the nerve-wracking dancing contest.

I can only imagine what kind of "emotional support" and "unbiased judging" those guys had to offer... especially stoic Jason Varitek and Josh "F-Bomb" Beckett. I'm thinking "support" = "mocking", and "judging" = "more mocking". And it comes as no surprise that the self-proclaimed Gun Show Pedroia ripped off his shirt at the first available opportunity.

Tito and Pedroia weigh in:

"[Papelbon's shirt] was terrible," Pedroia said. "I thought my body pulled it off, and his didn't. That's my personal opinion. A lot of women, they loved it."

Pedroia threw his shirt to owner John Henry, nearly killing manager Terry Francona in the process.

"I thought I was going to have a heart attack," Francona said. "My chest hurt, I was laughing so hard. Pedroia is a moron. You can write that. He is a moron. He was dancing, he looked like a puppet on a string. He's such a little gamer, but he's looking over knowing we were crushing him. He's drinking the Red Bull. He's exhausted. He's trying to do these things with this girl he's not strong enough to do. It was hilarious.

"They showed me something getting up on that stage, because I guarantee they were scared to death."

photos courtesy of the Red Sox and Brita Meng Outzen

Red Sox vs. Minnesota Twins 1:05 pm City of Palms Park - Ft. Myers SP: Tim Wakefield tv/radio: NESN - MLB.TV - WRKO

The Twins and Red Sox meet for the third time in 3 days- and the battle for the Mayor's Cup continues. Wakey will take the mound for the Sox, Livan Hernandez will toe the rubber for the Twins.

Use the comments to this entry as your own personal Gameday open thread. These open threads have been fun so far - so I'll keep 'em up as long as y'all are interested in having them.

Sunday brought the first Red Sox defeat since, well, the third game of the ALCS back in October. On a day where the Sox brightest pitching prospect looked mighty shaky, and the Sox recovering sleep apnea patient/pitcher looked shaken apart... all you can do is laugh. And so I give you... LOLSox.

See the rest after the jump...

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First, there was the Cookie-Off.
Then, there was a rematch in Cookie-Off, Round Two.
And now, finally at long last... Cookie-Off, Part The Third.

God bless you, Dan Roche, for all you do for us. Although I have to agree with Youk - your puns need some work.

video courtesy of WBZTV

All that's missing is Bronson and his plaintive guitar strumming.

A "can of corn" is a can't-miss high fly ball, an easy catch an outfielder can (and should) make without any trouble. Around here, a can of corn contains all the can't-miss posts I've run across during the week- great links that you can (and should) check out.

	Kristen rejoices about the return of baseball (don't we all). And marvels at the new Josh Beckett (don't we all). [Basegirl]
	Why you should watch the Boston Red Sox. As if you needed more reasons. [Refrigerator Logic]
	Moneyball is such a failure! [Fire Joe Morgan]
	Farewell, Fenway coke bottles. We barely knew ye. [Red Sox Monster]
	Well wishes for WEEI's Glenn Ordway. [Sox & Dawgs]
	I still miss Eric Hinske. And apparently, Eric Hinske still misses the Red Sox. [Surviving Grady]
	Papel-spotting around Boston. [Papel-blog]
	I'm not gonna lie, it's a tad bit painful looking at the happy shiny pictures of Pedro and Santana together. Although not near as painful as if they were in pinstripes. [Metsgrrl]
	Turning the corner from football to baseball - not always the easiest thing to do. [Cursed To First]
	I'm sorry, I just adore Dontrelle Willis. And his orange shoes. [Big League Stew]
	Dougie "Fresh" Mirabelli rhymes like Vanilla Ice. Jason Varitek does not approve. [Respect The Tek]

You know I adore you. Really, truly I do. The crazy antics, the dancing, the Bud Light case on your head, the bullpen band, the Scrabble, the goggles, the arguments over spelling, the Friendly's Scoop segments, the absolute lack of any kind of real filter on what comes out of your mouth and the great sense of clubhouse camaraderie you help engender. And obviously, most of all, the phenomenal lights-out pitching you deliver (especially during last season, and most especially during last year's postseason). I can't imagine the Sox bullpen without you- and I am quite serious about that.

But we need to talk.

As much as your lack of a verbal filter entertains me, this is one situation in which you really, really need to just bite your tongue. I have no doubt that you are just venting some frustration, and that most (if not all) ballplayers feel like you do during their contract negotiations.... but: talking about all this money that you "deserve", and comparing yourself to veteran Mariano Rivera (who is hands-down the best closer to ever play the game), and generally being petulant and whiny? You've got to stop.

I'm not saying you're not worth more than they're paying you. I'm not even saying you're wrong for feeling that way. But you have just two years service time - two years! - and that means, unfortunately, that what you are "worth" and what you "deserve" are two very different things.

Fair or not, the major league baseball system basically results in underpaying rookies and new guys for their first two or three years of service... and then basically overpays them from there on out. Yes, that means you have to "suffer" through a couple of years at $400-500K a year, but you'll be making seven figures from year 4 on forward.

Also, I know you'd like to make the $900,000 Ryan Howard did after his second year - but (a) he won NL Rookie of the Year his first year, (b) he won the National League MVP award in his second year, and (c) he racked up 31 win shares that same second year. You were phenomenal, no doubt about it - but you had 12 win shares to his 31. Your value as a closer who saw 58.3 innings of work is just flat not the same as that of an everyday player and league MVP. You and Ryan Howard are not equivalent for salary purposes-- it's apples and oranges.

One player who is comparable to you: Bobby Jenks. He is a closer at very nearly the same service level, with 65 innings of work last year and 14 win shares. Your ERA and WHIP lines beat him out, but his overall value to his club is higher than yours by about the same margin. He made $450,000 last year, and is quite contented with his raise to $550,000. That's who you need to be making comparisons to, not Ryan Howard.

And I wouldn't argue at all if you felt you deserved to make even a little more than Jenks -- baseball has (ridiculously) started tying "respect" to salary, and I get that. You're the reigning World champ, I'd support a $575,000 payday. But you've got to stop with the thinking that you're somehow entitled to a near $1 million dollar paycheck after just two years (one of which saw you shut down with an injury). It's unrealistic, and if it leads to you getting offended by a half million dollar offer from the club... it could be potentially toxic to your working relationship in the future.

The Red Sox adore you, Boston adores you, the fans adore you - and everyone will totally back your giant payday that will most certainly be your due. But only after you finish up your third year and maintain your health and value. Even though you're priceless to the fans, that doesn't mean you "deserve" a million dollar salary at this moment.

And I say that with nothing but love.

Jacoby was featured in a Men's Vogue spread. Josh Beckett retaliated with a cover and spread in Men's Fitness magazine. Jacoby responded this week - he is featured as the "First Person" in Sports Illustrated. What's next in this contest - Josh posing on the cover of Bride's magazine? Jacoby hugging Oprah on the cover of O magazine?

click on the picture for a scan of the article

From the March 10, 2008 issue:

On being a starting centerfielder in the World Series, just 16 weeks after his big league debut, and batting .438

There was pressure, but I figured this is uncharted territory for a lot of guys. Even if you're a five-time All-Star, if you've never been to the postseason, it's new. I told myself there was no reason to back down. I didn't want it to be over and think, Oh, man, I could've gone harder.

On the post-Series parade held in his honor in his hometown, Madras, Ore.

The coolest thing was that it seemed like I knew everybody by first name, my old teachers, my former teammates, my old classmates. Only 5,000 people live in our town, and at least that many were at the parade. A lot of people talked about seeing me on TV running in to celebrate after the last out. They were saying, "You should have seen your face. It was priceless."

On Boston's Coco Crisp, whom he replaced in center during the ALCS

We talk, we joke, but the centerfield job hasn't come up. We know what's going on. He's been great. The day I got called up, Coco took me out to centerfield at Fenway and started telling me, "O.K., if the ball hits [the wall] here, this is what it will do and where you need to be." He spent an hour with me.

On the off-season regimen that helped him gain 15 pounds and improve his considerable speed

I do something called SPARQ. It stands for speed, power, agility, reaction and quickness, and it's about focusing on muscle groups that relate to what I do on the field. One thing I do is swing a [61⁄2-pound] medicine ball like a bat--it generates explosiveness through your hips, abs, legs, upper body. I've never felt more prepared for a season. I've never been this powerful, this explosive.

Red Sox vs. L.A. Dodgers 1:05 pm City of Palms Park - Ft. Myers SP: Tim Wakefield tv/radio: ESPN - MLB.TV

It's Wakey Wake and the Sox versus DLowe and the Dodgers - and the battle will take place live on your television set on ESPN.

Use the comments to this entry as your own personal Gameday open thread. These open threads have been fun so far - so I'll keep 'em up as long as y'all are interested in having them.

I have no idea what that song title has to do with today's Sox vs. Dodgers matchup, but after watching Bobby Kielty goof around in the background while an unaware Jacoby Ellsbury was giving a very serious dugout interview to ESPN... that's just what popped in my head. So I'm rolling with it.

Maybe Bobby is trying to distract us from the stat lines of pitching prospects Hunter Jones (blown save!) and Lee Gronkiewicz (18.00 ERA over 0.1 IP!), but it's not working. Tim Wakefield's three great innings of scoreless work do soothe, though- he looked solid as ever.

Baseball Boyfriend of the Day honors go to Sean Casey - who is batting .444 this spring (!) and had two hits today (!!). He also tumbled ass-over-teakettle in pursuit of a 6-4-3 double play- and any guy who's willing to do acrobatics to get the out always gets bonus style points from me.

Of course, I have video of the Kielty antics. I love that the ESPN team doesn't see fit to clue Jacoby in about Bobby's clowning, and so Jacoby just happily chatters on completely unaware (while several guys crack up in the dugout behind him).

video courtesy of ESPN

If you're looking for me over the next 11 days, this is where I'll be:

Clearwater, Florida - here I come!

Never fear, I'll be checking in to post regularly-- in between the 9 baseball games. And the beach. And the bars. I'm already dreading coming back... and I haven't even left!

While I'm gone, I'll plan to continue posting open game threads for the televised spring training games. And I'll count on y'all to leave me notes about funny things that happen during the game that you'd like to get video of when I return.

So I'm at the Phillies-Indians game at the Indians ballpark in Winter Haven, Florida, basking in the sun and hating on Ryan Garko (he totally deserves it), when I get a frantic text that says: "Beckett!! Nooooooooo!" Which was very cruel and unkind to do to a person who is at a ballgame and therefore has no idea what is going on and so imagines the worst. So I hop on to the Globe's website, and find:

I blame myself.

Clearly, it is no coincidence that the first day I'm otherwise occupied down here in Florida, Josh goes off and pulls a stunt like this to get my attention back.

It's not exactly as scenic as City of Palms, huh?

Notice that the scourge of the Yankees is encroaching in the lower corner of the photo. Thankfully, he was not sitting anywhere near me - so I didn't have to get up and move away from him.

Jays vs. Phillies, Clearwater Florida.

Phillies got shelled in the second- and it was Scott Rolen (the Philly fans' favorite ballplayer to boo) who started it off with the first hit. You know it's a bad inning when the team bats around and you have to move over and start a new column on your scorecard to keep scoring that same inning.

Off to Bradenton today - I really hope that Doug Mientkiewiczisytzxsk gets some playing time. I can feel a good heckle coming on.

Red Sox vs. New York Mets 1:10 pm Tradition Field - Port St. Lucie SP: Jon Lester tv/radio: SNY - MLB.TV

SANTANA TIME! Jon Lester will take the mound to do battle against Johan Santana and the Mets. And if you're lucky enough to get SNY on your TV, or you've got an MLB.TV subscription, you can watch the matchup.

Use the comments to this entry as your own personal Gameday open thread. These open threads have been fun so far - so I'll keep 'em up as long as y'all are interested in having them.

Because it is the God-given right of folks down on the sunny beaches of Florida to brag about the view and the weather, here is the view of Clearwater Beach I'm looking out at as I sit on the balcony of my hotel room writing this post:

Today was my first off-day -- no game! -- so I have time to give you not one, not two, but three random spring training photos.

First up, RyHo - grinning at me for the picture.

And demonstrating his cool ball trick.

Pirates bullpen: Bad bullpen or The Worst bullpen? McKechnie Field in Bradenton is actually fairly new - did no one think to include a bullpen-type area in the plans? They just have the pitchers sitting in little folding stools out on the outfield wall in RF and LF. Then when a ball is hit that way (which happens about once an inning), all the pitchers pick up their stools and go running.

And just so those of you back up North in the cold environs feel a tad better - it is torture to be down here and not get to see any of the games on TV. We get all our updates at night on the sportsticker on ESPN in the bars. That's no way to live.

BeckettWatch (or should that be BeckettBackWatch?) continues in earnest, and I'm stuck in a town with no hourly NESN updates on the TV. So this means I'm forced to imagine my own news updates. You know, things like:

BECKETT YELLS AT HIS OWN BACK - THREATENS TO 'KNOCK IT INTO NEXT TUESDAY'
JOSH CUSSES IN THE DUGOUT; SAYS HIS BACK ISN'T 'PLAYING THE GAME THE RIGHT WAY'
BECKETT TATTOOS 'EXECUTE FUCKING PITCHES' ON HIS BACK AS PUNISHMENT

I hear that there was one helluva rip-roaring Beckett press conference yesterday, and that the Beckett we all know and love seems to have returned-- leaving a slew of cusswords in his wake. Oh, Josh- how we've missed you. I'm just sorry it took some loose dirt on the pitcher's mound to piss you off and bring you out of your HappyHappyJoyJoy state. I wonder how long it will be until we see that smiley Josh again? Over/under on two years?

In the meantime- NO SPOILERS on the press conference. I'm hoping I have video of it duly stored away on my TiVo at home, and I'm avoiding reading any press accounts or transcripts. I'm saving that like other people save the newest Lost episode or basketball game. Don't tell me your favorite quotes - because if I know Josh, I'm pretty sure the conference was full of deep and meaningful thought-out answers, and full and frank discussion about his feelings and emotions. Also, lots of big words.

Do, however, feel free to discuss the latest BeckettWatch developments- and tell me how awesome he is. Like, on a scale of 1 to 10 of Awesomeness, is he an 11... or merely a 9.99999?

So I thought I was cool as ice when I somehow mysteriously showed up on the Red Sox Christmas card list this year. I thought I was BIG STUFF. Little did I know, that was just the beginning.

Apparently I'm also on the "random Jacoby Ellsbury news and information mailing list for people who may or may not be a tad too knowledgeable about the minutiae of his career" ... because I got an email from a Nike dude hyping up the new website for Nike SPARQ Training that features Jacoby.

OK, maybe there is no such insider email list - I suspect the same email went to a ton of Red Sox bloggers. But I like to pretend I'm more important than I am.

So, just for that Nike dude - and for those of you who never get tired of seeing Jacoby pictures - here are the Nike promo shots of Jacoby. You can visit the website for video, and photos/video of the other participating athletes, including: Kevin Durant (yay!), Adrian Peterson (boo!), Matt Holliday (you still never touched the plate!) and Pete Carroll (?!? not exactly a hot body, but I'm going to boo him anyway since he's from USC).

Continue reading »

Night game tonight (gates open at 4:30 - which means about 3 hours of boozing at the tiki hut in left field before the game even starts!), so you're getting a photo from the last game.

MVP! MVP! MVP!

Also, a bonus story:

At the Phillies-Pirates game on Monday, the number of Philly fans who traveled to the game easily outnumbered the number of Pirates fans at their own home ballpark. Since the Phillies got creamed, and Pirates fans are apparently either (a) lethargic, or (b) absent, it was a fairly quiet ballpark. But in the 8th inning, a little kid (probably about 5 or so) decided he could turn the tide for the Phightins, and started hollering "Let's - Go - Phil - lies", with the appropriate pause for the "clap-clap-clapclapclap" afterwards. He did this about 5 or 6 times in a row, and I turned to my friend and said "Over/under on him hitting 35 times in a row without stopping". She took the over - and it's a good thing, because we stopped counting after he hit 100. He kept it up through the rest of the 8th and the 9th inning, solid. Did not stop, did not take a breath. Eventually, I think even the (few) Pirates fans in attendance joined in the "clap-clap-clapclapclap"ing out of a mixture of annoyance and awe.

Happy ending: even though the Phils lost (boo!), Wes Helms walked up after the game and gave the kid both of his batting gloves.

For everyone who's looking for a home during today's ST game, Ian at Sox and Dawgs is doing an open thread!

The forecast for chicken parm sales in the greater Boston area just took a nosedive... Doug Mirabelli was released by the Red Sox today.

It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating his return. Now all we're left with is the memories.

Oh, Stickbug. Somehow, I thought you might turn out different. But I see it took less than a few months of big league ball for this to happen.

[Clay] Buchholz's dad confirmed yesterday that his boy has spent some quality time with the 23-year-old Penthouse Pet of the Year Erica Ellyson.

Apparently Erica also spilled the beans - somewhat - to Howard Stern the other morning, telling the satellite shock jock that she was sleeping with someone on the Sox.

"It doesn't surprise me any," said Clay's dad. "Last year up in Boston he was dating a Victoria's Secret model, so he's moving up the ladder . . . . I mean, he's got pretty good taste."

On her MySpace page the perky Pet lists her interests as "being naked and spanking" along with the more tame "golf, track, fishing and drinking with friends."

Kudos... I guess?

But in no way, shape or form is a Penthouse Pet a step up from a Vicky's Secret model. Sorry, Stickbug.

Also: this is just another reason why parents should never, ever, under any circumstances discuss their children's sex lives. In addition to being icky on every level (seriously, how creepy is it that his dad is talking about who Clay is banging?), maybe Clay didn't feel like telling the world about this.

I wonder if she'll get the Leanne Tweeden treatment for opening her trap to Stern?

Congratulations to Daisuke Matsuzaka and his wife, Tomoyo, on their brand new baby boy - born yesterday morning at 7:30 a.m. in Boston.

This also means that after a few days in Boston with his wife and children, Dice-K will rejoin the team and be available to travel to Japan. Cheers all around!

Josh Beckett threw today in Ft. Myers for the first time since injuring his back last weekend and kicking off BeckettWatch (also known as the day every Sox fan across the land simultaneously felt like they'd been kicked in the stomach, because we are not a calm and laid-back lot).

Hooray for Josh's return to throwing, because I have to say that I really enjoy seeing this Josh:

A whole lot more than this Josh:

Josh threw 35 pitches off of flat ground (25 at 60 feet, and 10 at 75 feet)- and, crucially, felt no pain or discomfort. Coach Farrell says Josh will move back to 90 feet tomorrow, then on to long toss on Tuesday, more flat ground on Wednesday and then back to the mound on Thursday. That would seem to indicate he'd be staying in Florida, right Tito?

"He's not going to go with us to Japan," Francona said. "Again, I think, using common sense along the way ... but you try to do things in the correct order and everything like that. Talked to him this morning about it. He completely understands."

That puts to death any chance we had at wacky Josh in Japan stories involving sushi hijinks or the Texan-to-Japanese language barrier.

Things That Happened Since I Last Posted:

1. I caught my first homerun - hit by this guy off of a pitch from this guy.

2. St. Patrick's Day!

3. My computer barfed out on me. Which both prevented me from posting and from checking up on news and happenings. Which was awesomely freeing... and yet scary. But it's all better now.

4. I finally had to leave sunny Florida after 12 days and 9 ballgames. Brought home a tan, a few baseballs tossed to me at games, a motley collection of scorecards and beer cups from the various ballparks, some leftover sand, and an orange baseball. No, seriously - a baseball that looks and feels like an orange. It was the lone souvenir I bought-- commemorating the Indians last year in Florida... because who can pass up an ORANGE BASEBALL?

So I'm finally back and will be putting up catch-up posts on the fun stuff that happened while I was gone... because, it's better late than never, right?

So the list of Red Sox players making the trip to Japan might look like this:

David Aardsma, Dusty Brown, Clay Buchholz, Sean Casey, Kevin Cash, Alex Cora, Bryan Corey, Coco Crisp, Manny Delcarmen, J.D. Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, Bobby Kielty, Jon Lester, Javier Lopez, Mike Lowell, Jed Lowrie, Julio Lugo, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Brandon Moss, Hideki Okajima, David Ortiz, Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, Manny Ramirez, Curt Schilling, Kyle Snyder, Julian Tavarez, Mike Timlin, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, Kevin Youkilis

Or, it might well look like this:

...

Spurred on by Mike Lowell, the Sox players met this morning and unanimously agreed to boycott today's exhibition game aganst Toronto in Ft. Myers and the entire Japan trip if the coaching and training staff are not paid their promised compensation for making the Japan trip.

"It's wrong, it's wrong," said Curt Schilling. "It was part of the basic agreement when we talked about it last year. The coaching staff was part of the conversation, we all heard it.

"It's not really surprising because the coaches and staff are people generally who have always been overlooked and undervalued."

The A's also voted, in a meeting just a short while ago, to join the boycott and skip the Japan trip.

Jason Varitek spoke from the dugout in Ft. Myers - where the entire Red Sox team is chilling on the bench, refusing to take the field - confirming Mike Lowell's report that the team will not play until the issue is resolved. Both Jason and Curt Schilling also made reference to multiple other things that were promised to the club in compensation for the Japan trip that have "fallen by the wayside" (in Jason's words). What kinds of things? Per Curt:

Different personal things that were supposed to happen from an accommodations standpoint. Little things that tend to make trips like this easier. It's been more than one thing.

As Remy and Orsillo just pointed out - the teams who have made the trip to Japan before (Yankees, Rays, etc.) have always had their staff financially compensated.

Frankly, I think this move by MLB is horseshit. Plain and simple. It deserves no more eloquent description than that.

Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays 12:05 pm City of Palms Park - Ft. Myers SP: Daisuke Matsuzaka David Aardsma tv/radio: NESN - ESPN - MLB.TV - WEEI

The Sox tune up one last time before leaving for Japan (or will they?) - as Dice-K David Aardsma takes the ball for the Sox against a random assortment of relievers pitching for the Jays.

Use the comments to this entry as your own personal Gameday open thread. These open threads have been fun so far - so I'll keep 'em up as long as y'all are interested in having them.

Speaking from the dugout to a gaggle of reporters earlier this afternoon, Jason Varitek discussed the now-resolved coaches compensation issue. Curt Schilling also held court on the field and discussed his thoughts on the boycott.

Here's the video of Jason- the video of Curt is after the jump.

video courtesy of NESN

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Don't worry- all of the Sox luggage will soon be winging its way to Japan as planned.

Oh, and the players too.

Per the Herald, the Red Sox prevailed on Major League Baseball to "relent and compensate all personnel in an appropriate fashion." After a morning filled with controversy and Norma Rae-esque standoffs, the Sox coaches and staff will now be getting paid an undisclosed amount which is more than the undisclosed amount they were going to be paid previously. That clears that right up! Ever the eloquent speaker, Curt Schilling confirmed reports.

When asked if the team got what it wanted, Sox pitcher Curt Schilling responded in a text message, "Yes."

Only thing in that picture that won't make it on the plane to Japan? The guy in the top right corner. [insert sad face here]

The Red Sox (minus Josh Beckett and Craig Breslow) have officially left the building. They're winging their way towards Japan tonight, scheduled to land at around 10 a.m. (our time) tomorrow morning. They made a pit stop in my fair city of Chicago earlier this evening, before heading out on the near-12 hour flight to Tokyo.

The quote of the day has to go to Japan game 1 starter Daisuke Matsuzaka - who left the City of Palms Park this afternoon during the boycott delay and headed out to pitch at the minor league complex. When Japanese reporters asked Dice-K why he was leaving, he responded: "I was cut." Look at Dice, busting out the jokes. I think he's just giddy he's leaving for Japan and won't have to change poopy diapers for a couple of weeks.

And in the "worth 1000 words" department, the photo of the day has to go to Manny Ramirez - it's the frowny face that makes it art.

Remember when Josh Beckett wasn't supposed to throw off the mound until Thursday? Well, he thinks you can take your silly timetables for recovery and stuff 'em. Timetables are for weaklings. For mortals. Josh Beckett will throw off the mound when he's gosh darned good and ready!

And that day was today-- after a game of long toss, Josh threw a bullpen session of 45 pitches off the mound. Per Coach Farrell:

In Beckett's bullpen this morning, he proved that there were no restrictions when he got on the mound. He went through his 45-pitch bullpen today, and surprisingly the arm strength hasn't suffered that much of a setback. Granted, it was just a bullpen. But I think the first step toward his game progression will likely go through another bullpen.

But really, this post is just a shameful excuse to post this gem of a Beckett photoshop, courtesy of Boston Dirt Dogs. I'm counting it as a late St. Patrick's Day present, since I wasn't able to post here on St. Pat's Day.

Why is it that Beckett's smiling mug doesn't look at all out of place atop a leprechaun ensemble?

You know what would make an excellent complement to a nice glass of Manny Being Merlot or a tall tumbler of SlumpBuster energy drink? Some chips and salsa, of course. But not just any salsa... Dustin Pedroia Black Bean and Corn Salsa.

That is not a photoshop, it is an honest-to-god new product currently being sold, at a price of about $3 a jar. I have to think Dustin takes offense that they only sell it in 'mild' and 'medium' varieties... because Dustin is clearly neither mild nor medium. He is "EXTRA EFFIN' HOT AND SPICY"-- just ask him. Or watch him.

The same company producing Dustin salsa also previously produced Pedro Martinez salsa and David Ortiz salsa as well. Collect the whole set!

Surely old stale salsa will only appreciate in value, right?

A photo essay, entitled: "10 Things That Are Awesome".

#1: Pink suitcase!

#2: Manny being Manny!

#3: Helicopters!

Continue reading »

Buried in Dan Shaughnessy's article about the Red Sox flight over to Japan, we all learned something very important about Kyle Snyder: he knows how to work a celery suit.

It took more than an hour to load the aircraft with assorted bags, bats, balls, a car-seat for 5-month old Manny Delcarmen Jr., eight cases of Red Bull (four regular and four sugar free), and the Wally the Green Monster suit.

"We have the costume, but we don't have Wally yet," said Sox executive Meg Vaillancourt. "Any volunteers?"

"I did that once already," said Kyle Snyder. "When I pitched in Wilmington, I was Mr. Celery for one game. It was hot in there."

Yep, it seems that for one brief shining moment, Kyle Snyder was Mr. Celery.

Now it all makes so much sense why Mr. Celery lists Kyle as his "Favorite Person in Baseball".

It's time to add another couple of cute baby photos to our Red Sox Baby Album - another new photo of Mike Lowell at age 9, and the first baby photo of Jon Lester (with his younger cousin riding piggyback).

GO HERE for the full Red Sox Baby Album-- the new photos are included. And if you ever run across a photo of any of the Sox as kids growing up, please send it my way and I'll add it to the album!

Well, lookie what we got here - we got ourselves a couple of snazzy cover boys.

I opened my mailbox today to find a giant squinty Jonathan Papelbon staring out at me from the cover of the latest issue of The Sporting News. He's wearing an expression that's a weird cross between a snarl and a grin. It's a grarl. Or a snin.

And then there's Mike Lowell - who garnered himself not one, but TWO covers of the Improper Bostonian. He's lounging in jeans and a tshirt on one, and modeling the GQ suit look on the other.

Of course, wherever there are Red Sox players appearing in magazines, one Mr. Josh Beckett isn't far behind. He's not gonna let them hog the spotlight. In the very same issue of The Sporting News for which Papelbon graces the cover, Josh appears in two advertisements inside-- for TBS baseball, and the new Major League Baseball 2K8 video game.

You can click on most of those pictures to see bigger versions.

Last night's game against the Hanshin Tigers in Tokyo was epic. The 11:00 pm start time. The dueling national anthems. The boom sticks. The constant chants and fight songs. The lack of helpful graphics and scoreboard on the screen. The two rows of bowling alley seats in the dugouts. The homeruns from Big Papi and J.D. Drew. The typical closing shutdown by Papelbon. Watching a broadcast entirely in Japanese, and still- somehow- kind of sort of understanding what they were saying, just from the inflection of their voices.

But, oddly enough, the highlight of the game has to be one of the worst moments of the game. The kind of thing that, were this a regular season game, would give us all fits.

Kyle Snyder's wild pitch. And I do mean WILD.

The ball smacks the dirt way in front of the left-hand batter's box, and careens off of Jason Varitek's chest and completely off camera. The gleeful reactions of the Japanese broadcast crew are priceless. The pitch is so horrible, it's beautiful; so awful, it's awesome.

I've got video of the Wild Pitch of Doom-- and I included the entire at-bat so you could see some of the atmosphere in Tokyo. (if you want to go straight to the WP, try the 2:00 minute mark.)

video courtesy of MLB

Awww, look- how sweet! Jonathan Papelbon and a cute little Red Sox baby in Japan! Even though he's holding the baby like a sack of potatoes (or like the kid just pooped his pants), it's still awful precious. I'm not one to coo over babies, but even I can't help but smile looking at that photo.

Not so fast my friend... seems someone isn't smiling.

I think the baby just saw that photo with the black lace shirt. Don't worry, kid - that shirt made me want to holler and cry, too.

Happy Easter!

And to celebrate, let me give you a couple of goodies for your Easter basket. Like... this choice little story about Dustin Pedroia, from right before Friday's game against the Hanshin Tigers:

About 30 minutes before the game, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia stood in the dugout working over the handle of his bat with a pine tar rag. Out of nowhere, a blunt noise filled the stadium. Pedroia pirouetted toward left field. A band of Tigers fans in left field had begun a chant. Then drums joined in. Then a horn. And clapping.

"What the (expletive) is that?" Pedroia asked.

Get used to it, he was told. That's Japanese baseball.

The answer seemed not to suffice.

"Shut up!" Pedroia yelled toward the fans.

Four hundred feet away, they couldn't hear Pedroia, and even if they could, his bellyaching would not have deterred a thing. Baseball games in Japan are spectacles in simplicity: quiet, bordering on silent, during the opponents' at-bats, and fervent, with cheers and whistles and other such chicanery, during the home teams'.

It was enough to keep Manny Ramirez awake.

And since real baseball is just around the corner (whee!), here's a nice little video clip montage from NESN showing the Sox working out at spring training down in F