vs. Texas Rangers 1:35 pm Fenway Park - Boston, MA SP: Tim Wakefield vs. Kevin Millwood tv/radio: NESN - MLB.TV - WRKO

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.

If you notice something a little different with the Red Sox in uniform during tonight's game, don't worry- your eyes aren't deceiving you. For the second time this season, the Red Sox will be wearing a patch on their uniform sleeves: the first time was the dreaded EMC patch for the Japan trip games; tonight, it's this logo below in honor of Earth Day.

The Red Sox are going green!

In addition to the patch, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Founding Director of the National Resource Defense Council will throw out the joint ceremonial first pitch -- and the Red Sox organization will receive an Environmental Merit award from the EPA in recognition of their efforts to run a greener organization. Per the Globe:

The award recognizes the Sox for environmental initiatives at Fenway, which include the installation of solar powered trash compactors around the park and the installation of solar panels that will soon help heat water at the park, the club said.

I think all these "green" initiatives are just a thinly-veiled excuse to celebrate the Celtics in the playoffs. The players and coaches can't get away with wearing Garnett or Pierce jerseys during the games, so they're gonna take whatever green decorations they can get.

The title of this post can be loosely translated as: "Holy shit, Beckett's hurt again."

Per the Globe and Herald, Josh Beckett has been scratched from his start tonight with a "stiff neck" -- and David Pauley has been called up to start in his place. (Joe Thurston was DFA'ed to make room for Pauley on the Sox roster.)

Somebody, get the man some ice cream, STAT. I don't care if he wants mint-chocolate- butterscotch-pecan-rainbow-brownie with nuts and sprinkles and whipped cream on top. Give him his own personal ice cream machine that caters to his every ice cream whim. Force the rookies to follow Beckett around with a cone in each hand at all times, just in case he has a hankering for ice cream. Hook him up to an ice cream IV. What, there's no such thing as an "ice cream IV"? Invent one, then!

vs. Los Angeles California Anaheim Los Angeles Angels 7:05 pm Fenway Park - Boston, MA SP: Josh Beckett David Pauley vs. Jered Weaver tv/radio: NESN - MLB.TV - WRKO

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.

Even though the first installment of the AAGOTW was just a few days ago, this week's AAGOTW is just TOO AWESOME to wait any longer.

Tim Souers, the genius mind (and brilliant artist) behind Cubby Blue, created this AAGOTW just for us... Cubs and Sox fans alike can unite in their mutual derision for Kyle Farnsworth.

Seriously - how awesome is this animation? I bow down before Tim's clever artistry.

Credit to Timothy Souers for the GIF.
Email me any funny Sox or baseball animated GIFs for future installments of AAGOTW!

No Josh Beckett.
No Jason Varitek.
No Mike Lowell.
No Alex Cora.
No Manny Delcarmen.
No Curt Schilling. (remember him?)
No problem.

Half of the team is barfing up their guts with flu, or hobbling around on the DL, or is Javier Lopez, and the Sox were still able to come up trumps last night over the Angels -- pulling yet another come-from-behind win out of their (collective) sleeve.

Of course, it helps to have Jacoby "Boy Wonder" Ellsbury and Dustin "Pleats In Cleats" Pedroia smacking the heck out of the ball in the 1-2 spots. And by "helps", I mean "kicks a lot of serious ass". And Dusty P was his normal humble self after the game:

"I'm definitely showing that I'm a lot faster than some of these slugs around here," Pedroia beamed in jest.

My only regret about the win is that there was no need to substitute in at the catcher's position, so all of America was deprived of seeing something an awful lot like this behind the plate at Fenway.

Sadly, we all missed possibly our one opportunity to see Pedroia strap on the gear, crouch down behind the plate, and attempt to throw someone out at second. Or catch a 98 mph Papelbon fastball. Or get in a brawl with some random Angel who dared try to slide into home.

The Celtics bandwagon is getting rather crowded these days-- die-hard Sacramento Kings fanatic Dustin Pedroia jumped on the green train this past weekend just in time to see the Celtics defeat the Hawks in the first round playoff game.

A few short hours after rallying from behind to beat the Rangers on Sunday, Celtics regulars David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis (and his fiancee Enza) were joined by Mike Lowell and Dustin Pedroia courtside at the Garden. Dustin entered the building looking like this:

But by midway through the 1st period, he had somehow managed to shed the shirt he came in, and don a long sleeved white tee and a Rajon Rondo t-shirt, to look like this:

I'd like to think this was the result of some sort of bet with Celtics go-to guy Big Papi, who challenged Dustin to a beer shotgunning contest or something.

And speaking of Big Papi, let's take a closer look at the sparkly bling he was rocking... Spectacular cocktail ring, Papi - and that diamond crusted watch looks positively bedazzled. I also see that he's taken the Josh Beckett patented "Wear Way Too Many Hemp Necklaces" look, and turned it on its ear- and goes instead for the "Wear Way Too Many Hemp Bracelets" look.

Papi also once again had the distinct honor of holding the ball for Lucky, the Celtics mascot, while he made a dunk.

And there's a little video of that after the jump...

Continue reading »

The all-powerful flu bug has claimed yet another victim in the Sox clubhouse: Daisuke Matsuzaka has scratched from his scheduled start tonight against the Angels- Jon Lester will start in his place.

Can't someone please pass the flu bug along to another team now? We've had quite enough, thankyouverymuch. We're running out of guys who can play. Pretty soon, the Sox will be calling on beer vendors and groundskeepers to fill out the roster.

vs. Los Angeles California Anaheim Los Angeles Angels 7:05 pm Fenway Park - Boston, MA SP: Daisuke Matsuzaka Jon Lester vs. Jon Garland tv/radio: NESN - MLB.TV - WRKO

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.

Say hi, hello and howdy to your newest Sox team member:

Justin Masterson is movin' on up from AA-Portland to make his debut in The Show, and will start today against the Angels. After Beckett's flu scratch (and David Pauley's callup and sendback), and Dice-K's flu scratch (and Jon Lester's emergency start last night), the Sox are desperate to plug the holes in the rotation-- and Masterson may be just the ticket.

Things you may or may not know about Justin:

1. He was born in Jamaica.

2. He was supposed to attend Notre Dame, but got sick on the day he was scheduled to visit... and the Irish never rescheduled. So he attended Bethel College in (very) nearby Mishawaka, Indiana instead.

3. He grew up a Cubs and Reds fan.

4. He has what may be the most misleadingly hideous official photo ever:

vs. Los Angeles California Anaheim Los Angeles Angels 1:35 pm Fenway Park - Boston, MA SP: Justin Masterson vs. Joe Saunders tv/radio: NESN - MLB.TV - WRKO

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.

Somebody back up the Rolaids delivery truck to the Red Sox lockerroom, because they need some relief (pitching)... STAT.

The funny-looking Jamaican Justin Masterson pitched brilliantly in his major league debut-- lasting much longer than expected (insert Michael Scott-esque "that's what she said") and going strong for six innings (TWSS) with just one earned run.

And then came the bullpen.

What has happened to the pirates of the Black Pearl? Are the bullpen band songs just not motivating enough anymore? Did someone steal Parlay the parrot again? Lopez, Delcarmen, Okajima, Aardsma and Tavarez all combined to turn in a lackluster 3-inning performance that cost the Jamaican his decision, and cost the team the victory.

Are the guys pining for the glory Gagne days? Is it possible that Eric Gagne was the really shitty pitching glue that held together the otherwise awesome bullpen? Do they need an astoundingly crappy pitcher in their midst to remind them how to be awesome? If so, I nominate Javier Lopez.

Josh Beckett won't let something like "guts-twisting flu" keep him from passing on his wisdom to the impressionable youth of America. In this case, the kids of the Children's Hospital Pediatric Oncology Department were the beneficiary of his giggles (seriously, he giggled- there's photographic proof). Lord only knows what stories he laid on those kids, or what helpful advice he rendered.

Josh also delivered a $100,000 check to Children's Hospital- the money he raised at last year's Beckett Bowl. The next Beckett Bowl is just around the corner (July 10th)- and the advertisements for it are cropping up around town. You can click on the image below to see a larger version.

photo credit Boston Herald

In which I highlight noteworthy blogs for you to gather reconnaissance on the Red Sox upcoming opponent. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

DRays Bay: SBN Rays site with daily open game threads and up-to-date news Rays Index: tons of news and info in a beautifully designed format (with a sense of humor) Rays of Light: covering all the DRays bases- news and game threads The Heater: insider's blog by sportswriter from the St. Pete Times

vs. Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7:10 pm Tropicana Field - Tampa, FL SP: Tim Wakefield vs. Matt Garza tv/radio: NESN - MLB.TV - WRKO

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.

Add another name to the ever-growing and changing injured list: Sean Casey is officially out with a strained right hip flexor and has been placed on the 15-day DL. That means we will not be treated to the sight of him ambling around the basepaths like a grizzly bear for at least two weeks. Boo!

Casey pulled up lame while running for home during last night's loss to the Rays in Tampa.

Casey said he should not have stutter-stepped as he approached third base to avoid Jacoby Ellsbury's single. Casey scored on the play, but manager Terry Francona immediately knew there was a problem.

"He was dragging his leg," Francona said. "On examination, it wasn't horrible but I'm sure we're going to lose him for some time. We'll get that figured out."

A slew of roster changes followed yesterday and today: Brandon Moss has been called up from Pawtucket, Bryan Corey was optioned back down to Portland, and Joe Thurston has been assigned outright to Pawtucket.

Sean's not the only one out of the lineup tonight: David Ortiz has also been scratched from his scheduled start due to a "bruised knee", so J.D. Drew will DH - leaving Coco Crisp to play center, and Jacoby Ellsbury to take over in right field.

Two bright spots: Jason Varitek is back in the starting lineup tonight, and Mike Lowell had his first rehab stint last night in Pawtucket (going 1-for-5 with 2 RBI).

I hope you have some earplugs handy at the ready, because tonight's matchup against the Rays in Tampa is going to be an aural assault... courtesy of a whole hell of a lot of cowbells.

Tonight is "Cowbell Night" at Tropicana Field (no, seriously) -- and the Rays are giving away 10,000 cowbells at the park gates to fans dressed in Rays gear. That's TEN THOUSAND clanging cowbells, in addition to the normal random sprinkling of cowbells in the Trop crowd. Hooray.

Fans dressed in Rays gear will be given a clanging cowbell to be shaken only when the opposing batter has two strikes or the other team's fans decide to start up a cheer.

The cowbell promotion was the idea of principal owner Stuart Sternberg, who picked it up from a classic Saturday Night Live skit. But its loudest proponent is "The Cowbell Kid" otherwise known as Cary Strukel, 38, a bartender and small-business owner who has become a one-man marching band of Rays fanfare, complete with giant blue afro wig and scuba flippers.

Strukel's proudest achievement is a clip from ESPN where Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay was heard saying about him, "I want to go down and make that guy eat the cowbell!"

Fantastic. Can't wait to hear this one in surround sound!

vs. Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7:10 pm Tropicana Field - Tampa, FL SP: Clay Buchholz vs. Edwin Jackson tv/radio: NESN - MLB.TV - WRKO

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.