Did I mention I'm excited about Sean Casey starting today?

Again, I'm so glad for this gameday thread when I am stuck at work and can't watch the game. That way I can have somewhat of a clue of what is going on. YAY!!

Here's hoping today's game is better than last night's was.

Yay for Clay, but I'm more excited about Josh's start tommorow...it will be on TBS, so I'll actually get to watch it out here in Jersey.

The Beckett-Halladay matchup tomorrow may be one of my most favorite duels we'll see all year.

I'm a little less excited about Sean Casey starting because it means someone else isn't ;) but I'm totally down with giving Youk regular rest so he doesn't burn himself out with the tear he's been on.

Afternoon ladies.

My guess is Lowell gets the day off tomorrow and Youk will play him some third base.

Hi everyone!
I second Texy on both Casey starting today (happy, joy, joy!) and about the Halladay/Beckett matchup tomorrow. Baseball's bein' very, very good to me this weekend.

Now, if the guys can only field and hit, we'll win some of the games. :)

Texy, how have the games been in HD??

Youk's bat is the hottest on the team right now - and his OBP is the best out of the group as well.

I've got some more Dustin Pedroia video goodness for y'all.

HD on my roomie's big screen is nothing short of heavenly.

It's very precious that the Jays think Beej can stay healthy this year. They'll be lucky to keep him off the DL longer than a couple of months.

I do like the way Eckstein plays the game. Not sure the Jays can avoid the injury plague. But if they do...the AL EAST will be a tough division.

Ah, Pedroia needs to get rid of those pleated khakis.. Lordy, they're bad.

I know this sounds dumb, but what are the "we sorta did commercials"?
They been mentioned a few times on the open threads, but I don't have a clue what they are.
Any help?

They are the NESN commercials that look back at the Red Sox in 2004 and again in 2007

I'll get one up for you in a few minutes unless Texy has one.

njdevils - I'll upload it for ya!

Thanks, Ian.

Ok that answers that question for me. I'll let the boss here upload it :D

TG or Ian can probably hook you up to the commercials running on NESN. The sorta did commercials are a montage of the 2004 and 2007 WS championships. The sorta did refers to the way the team won the series last year.

Awesome, TG!
It stinks to live so far away and without NESN, but you always make it better!

Well, Stickbug looks a little tight today. And, I thought Wakey also looked tight in the hips yesterday.

Should I be worried about this physical tightness in April, after trans-Pacific trips, long road trip, early season?

I'm gonna say no. I also think Clay is getting used to that extra muscle weight he put on, so that may have something to do with his tightness.

Whoo, made it back from running errands just in time! (breathes a sigh of relief)

They just showed the ad on NESN.

Yeah, I don't suppose I should worry about them anyways. They have staff to do that. But cause I am fascinated with the body mechanics of pitching, it's something I notice.
Good advice that. Not to worry. Can't impact it one way or the other.

Fun errands, or boring errands?

Speaking of- I need to duck out and grab lunch before long. Has anyone tried those Dunkin Donuts sandwiches?

One of them was boring - buying tissues - but I treated myself to Dairy Queen, so it was okay. Baseball and ice cream. Summer, yay!

Do you want lunch recommendations? What neighborhood?

they are pretty good texy. I recommend the ham and cheese.

Oh my GOD. Did you SEE that pitch Lugo got out on? It moved about two feet to the left!

Wow. His pitches move like freakin' knucklers.

(/Litsch-love)

Hmmmm, Tito's rockin'!

Toronto's radio commentators just called Papi the Human Condominium! Huh?

I think that's his cross-seam fastball that's getting all the movement.

And I'm in Scituate right now -- right on the harbor, actually. So there's a choice of DD, the Harbor House or CVS.

some one shoot Scutaro. His vacuum at third base is killing us so far in this series.

Human Condominium? What?

Wow. Nice catch.

I just love these Jays. Hallady and Litsch--

MANNY! YESSS!

at least Manny didn't admire it this time.

Like I said before, I really wish Manny and Papi would do something. They're so boring and listless.

Hooray for Steph's radio delay! I knew something good was coming...YAY FOR MANNY!

YEAH!
Did I actually see Manny move out of the batter's box?

I am in love with practically the entire Jays pitching staff - Halladay is a god, and McGowan and Burnett are fabulous.

Texy i'll have to check my pictures out to see if I still have pictures of a young Dustin McGowan pitching for us in 2003. I know have some shots of Rios from back then.

For njdevils:

We Sorta Did
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMHB3H9Vdyw

and by us, i mean my former employer in minor league baseball, the new haven ravens.

What I meant to say before Manny so nicely interrupted me is that I totally love the Jays this year, a lot more than I should love a division rival. Halladay's one of my favorite pitchers in the league, and as you can see, Litsch's pitches make me wax poetic.

Aw, look at SCRAPPY Eckstein. He HUSTLES so hard.

He's such a GAMER. He's such a GRINDER.

TG, sorry, checked Chowhound for some lunch places in Scituate. Came up with not a whole lot. PJs and Jamie's Pub.
No mention of the Harbor House.

Yeah, Clay! Don't leave 'em up like that, though, hun.

It's a good thing we're not playing San Francisco this year (at least I'm pretty sure we're not - I checked the schedule), because Lincecum's stuff makes me drool.

But so does Clayboy's changeup.

Eckstein, drafted by Sox in 1997, picked off of waivers in 2000.

Stickbug!
Tek!
Woooooo!

Take that, Mr. GRITTY!

NICE! You two are such a wonderful battery!

Thank You, TG!

Ooh, yay. I get to drool over Litsch more.

God... I just LOVE the movement on those pitches. This is a little pathetic, but seriously, they just move so much!

His grit and hustle didn't grittily hustle him to second base in time to beat the tag.

By the way, TG, thanks for the video. I just faved it--it's never gonna get old.

NICE by Litsch there. Too bad it was my man JD.

I'm just going to come out and say this now - there's an anime I watch called Ookiku Furikabutte, and the main character, Mihashi Ren, bears a strong resemblance to Clay. What's more - his catcher, Abe Takaya, has a very Tek-like personality and presence behind the plate. It amuses me very much.

These two are the reason I made the battery comment.

1863--that's hilarious. The pitcher looks exactly like Clay.

C'mon, Casey... is it just me or is his batting helmet all tilted?

sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit

SEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And boo, Sean. DP is no way to start things off.

Oh, if only that wasn't directly at the first baseman...

...oh. I'm still on radio delay, but that's not fun stuff.

1863, I'm also listening to the Toronto station, so I have the delay, too.

Re: Oofuri - I am convinced that Mihashi is Clay with an inferiority complex. They make the EXACT SAME facial expressions. It's insane.

To make it even more uncanny, Mihashi's best pitches are his breaking balls - namely his curve and his changeup.

Just add a few necklaces to Mihashi, and you've got an exact replica of Clay!

That's just hilarious. It's HIM.

C'mon, Clay. His pitches have some nice movement today, too.

WHAT IS IT WITH MANNY AND NOT COMMUNICATING IN THE FIELD ALL OF A SUDDEN?

Manny - NOT COOL

Well. That was nice. Yet another mixup in left - I guess Manny and Lugo thought it was more fun to watch the ball than catch it?

Ugh. Mihashi Clay needs some better backup. C'mon, guys, quit it!

Vernon! *shakes fist at sky*

Ugh. No fun.

Aww, Clay, come on! Get some outs.

1869...you used Mihashi hair as a match for Lowrie's the other day. Clay does look like an anime character with the big eyes.

Jeez, can we get our fielding in order, please!!!???

Come on, Clay. Calm down, get your cool on.

Actually, I used Mihashi for the bullpen phone, if I recall...He has the same hair color as Jed, though, and it's annoying for me to try to color that in when I draw it because it looks different all the time!

This is not fun, Mihashi Clay. Just calm down.

Fun fact:

Jesse Litsch's K/BB ratio is only 0.021111(etc) lower than his WHIP.

Anyway. CLAY, GET YOUR PITCHES DOWN, MISTER.

I like that Clay's still using 61.

YES. Just like that, Clayboy. Good.

All these walks coming back to hurt everyone might convince Tim McCarver that he was right about walks leading to more runs than homers.

We can't have that man thinking he's right.

Clay, way to go!

THERE's that movement we like (I love) to see. Good, Clay.

Clay's really impressing me right now. Seriously. 4 strikeouts already!

(And as an addendum to my McCarver reference - I don't care if he is right or not, but I just don't want him to think he is.)

Lugo and Manny could learn a thing or two from Pedroia and Drew.

Good to see him work out of that jam

Nicely done, Clay. Nicely done. Way to settle down there! I think a little newfound maturity is showing...!

Manny, Julio - see that?
Take notes please

Cocooo! Let's gooo!

WRKO just played train noises for no reason. (is totally confused)

If anyone cares, the PawSox and Indianapolis are tied at 1-1 through three. (Go Pauley!)

And OW, Lugo. That sounded painful...

Not THAT much movement, Mr. Litsch. Please don't hurt our batters.

Yeah PEDROIA!

My internet was just out for about an hour for some reason:-/ Thankfully my cable still worked:-D

This could be promising.....come on Papi.

YAY! Dustin, you're wonderful! I approve...

Yay Pauley!

And let's go Papi...

I always liked Pauley, but this picture totally won me over. It's so awesome.

C'mon, Manny, let's do this thing! ...Or get yourself walked. Mike, then!

Let's go MIKEY!

Let's go Mikey!

Come on, Mikey. Something positive, please.

AARRRGGGH

These gloves on the corner infield are killing me.

Damn. At least people are making contact, right?

AUGH. At least we raised the pitch count a bit.

Rays just took the lead 2-1 over the Yanks

Okay, C'mon, Clay... don't let them go that far down, please.

Could his legs be any LONGER, though?

And right as you say that, they call him 'lanky' on WRKO. 'Lanky' is an understatement...

Also, Yankees losing = YAY.

(Jed's up in Pawtucket!)

Hey everyone-- fc's birthday!!!

eCONFETTI AND eBALLOONS!

Also, I'm so proud of Buck today...

Back from getting lunch just in time to say...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FC!

(and to see the Rios hit... boo)

Hey Cranberry! And happy birthday, fc!

Aw. I was just about to mention how many first-pitch strikes Clay was getting and how good he looked this inning.

Oh no, it's Vernon. -wince-

Happy b-day FC

Hooray! Happy birthday!

(Jed grounded out. GirlSox Nation's Darling Chris Carter is up in Pawtucket now.)

C'mon, Clayboy...

aw, thanks kids, you're embarassing me.
Can I have a win for my birthday?

Rumor is that Aardsma will be placed on waivers after the game to make room for Josh Baseball

Yay, Clayboy! Keeping that cool head under pressure...

Sunbeam Brandon Moss just doubled in Pawtucket! There are two outs, though...

They're playing the O's on my birthday... and they lost to the Yankees last year... heh.

But we'll see what Clay can do about it!

Also, WOOOOO CARTER YAAAAY GO MR. BIOLOGY!

Bobby Kielty just singled him in! Pawtucket's up 2-1 in the fourth!

...if anyone cares.

(Chris fanned on three pitches. But he's still awesomely smart!)

Ian - Rumor from where? I like Aardsma...

YEAH JD!

(And Sunbeam! We like outfielders' doubles.)

Yeah, JD!! Nice hit.

Yeah, sorry for my absenteeism of late, I've been busy busy. Well, more busy than usual.

Actually having to get things done at work and other completely unreasonable demands on my time, you know...

Anyway, happy baseball season everyone....

Hey, so how about that JD Drew fella, huh? Whaddya know?

Nice JD!

Amalie benjamin said it on the pre-game show and also Don and Rem-Dawg were talking about it earlier.

My b-day is the same as Johnny Pesky's.
They play the Yankees that day...

A-Rod just struck out swinging =D

MHC doesn't your employer know that the Red Sox have started. :))

JD! YES! I think he's due for a huge year - granted, anything would be huge compared to last year, but...

(I think Chris struck out because he was defending himself. I think A-Rod struck out because he deserved it.)

Casey and Buchholz starting and the game is blocked!

damn.

Casey!!!

THANK YOU SEAN

nice sean

Ribbie for my baseball boyfriend!

Also, my other baseball boyfriend is clean-shaven today in the dugout, I note.

Yeahhh Casey!

And thanks, Ian. I slept until just before the game started, so I didn't watch any pre-game. Heh.

Thank youuu, A-Rod!

YES! We're winning! YAY SEAN CASEY!

yeah!

Jules it's blocked because of FOX starting up baseball today. They usually black out any game before the start time of the first game on FOX.

Aww. There goes Casey. But now we've got speedy Coco on...

Neh. But here comes Clayboy!

Nice hit, Casey!

Derek Lowe pitched his nohitter on my 18th birthday. I was watching the Bruins in the playoffs though so I watched none of the Sox game.

Holy crap! I just checked in on the Sea Dogs game, and Bowden has four strikeouts through two innings. (He's also given up one hit and threw a wild pitch, but the score's still 0-0.)

I can't wait to see more of Bowden. I can't wait.

1869, I for one, am counting on you keeping our Wa up this season. Yeah, it was the adorable dugout phone that prompted the anime. I stand corrected.
Heart swells for Casey! Beckett is goateed as usual. Other BB, TG?

Kapler on Charlie Moore tomorrow night on NESN. That should be fun. I'll have to set the DVR for that one.

Kapler's going to be on Charlie Moore tonight? I think I will be watching Charlie Moore for the first time ever. Kap's been doing pretty well with the Brewers.

Yeah Bowden! Can we get Clay to imitate him?

YEAH DREW!

Nice throw back in by Manny. LOL

What the heck kind of throw was that? Was he throwing it to someone in the rafters?

xactly what PLANET is Manny visiting today?

Guhh. Nice bunt.

He was trying to hit the pigeons that are stuck inside with the roof closed. :D

FC that would be planet Manny

Urg. Clever bugger.

I'm pretty enamored with Bowden, too. Kyle Jackson is my prospect, but Bowden (and Moss) are very close behind.

starr - I was talking about Beckett. Last night he had a thick ol' 5 o'clock shadow going. More like a 10 o'clock shadow.

There used to be birds in Tropicana sometimes...and the roof is always closed there so I always wondered how they got there.

Aww they won't let Manny have any fun.

Kyle Jackson is awesome. I'm a total Masterson-er, though. And I love Kottaras. And I love Carter (and his degree in human biology from Stanford--oh, yeah, and his face).

keep it together clay...ugh.

Bowden's stuff has me drooling. He's got such a high ceiling...I wish I could get a better look at him, but all I've got is the Portland box score.

(I'm pretty sure he also has the bluest eyes in the organization right now, on a random note. They bewitch fangirls everywhere!)

a veteran pitcher gets that call.

Look, it's Jacoby!

C'mon, Clayboy. Make it through the fourth freakin' inning...

AWW HELL. Sean! You're making it hard for me to adore you when you do that!

Dang it Caseyyyyyyyyyyyy. Put Youk back in.

(facepalms)

Being totally objective, I'm missing Youk at 1st right now.

Where's our errorless first baseman?

C'mon, Clay. Let's go. Strikes... let's get some strikes...

Here's something for y'all.

The Red Sox have handled a major league high 185 total chances without an error in 2008.

Of course that was before today's game.

Boo! Boo I say!!

fc is always objective when it comes to Youk.
Just as I am completely unbiased when it comes to Beckett.

What is with the defense? Yesterday and today, I mean. There was that gaping wormhole up the middle last night and now all this...

C'mon, Clay. Strikes. Strikes are good. Throw strikes.

LIKE THAT. Goooood.

This inning could've been over, you know...

(Clay, not your fault entirely. It's the people behind you. But you need to remain confident when they do that so you can escape the inning, okay?)

And some more from Ian's useless encyclopedia brain.

Coming into today, the Sox have lost the last 4 games to Toronto at Rogers Centre since winning on May 10, 2007 and have dropped 5 straight games to the Blue Jays since a victory last September 4 at the Fens.

Clay's face is looking like he needs to get some ProActiv

Come ON, Clay. STRIKES STRIKES STRIKES.

Gooood. He has had a lot of first-pitch strikes today. He just needs to get those second and third strikes.

Ugh. Seriously, Clay... c'mon... in the zone... get your pitches down... but NOT that far down!

Best source for meaningless trivia like that: the press pass page on mlb.com. All of those tidbits were on today's Sox press packet. It's like a goldmine.

And this is us against the bottom of Toronto's rotation...imagine if we play like this in a series with Halladay, Burnett and McGowan. Ouch (all three of whom are on my fantasy team, but that is besides the point). Toronto has scary good starting pitching.

GOOD.

Did I just spy Dustin HUSTLING down to the dugout? I mean, he's practically the same as Eckstein.

And thats where I got it. That's usually the source of our notes section in the game recaps.

Tek needs to go up to Clay and do this. It builds trust, apparently.

Liza - they're just so SIMILAR, ya know? They're both so... SCRAPPY.

TG, I was gonna say the same thing...

Also, Ian, you be nice.

Meghan - I'm kinda in love with this team, especially with its starting pitching.

That Sox Appeal commercial? That was funny. Especially Pap.

Kottaras homered with two men on! Pawtucket up 4-1 in the fourth! (Jed then grounded out and Chris Carter doubled. Sunbeam at the plate!)

"You weren't missing much."

Nice one, Remy.

1863 - Yes. They do.

I'll go sit in the corner now for my comments about Clay's face. :D

Snyder up in the pen, according to the radio.

Bowden's cleanly through three with five strikeouts. Mmm. I approve.

Kottaras, Carter, and Sunbeam! My AAA loves! :D (And Jed.) How's Kielty doing toady?

Also, according to his bio on bluejays.com, Litsch is single. Just puttin' that out there.

Manny even admires his foul balls. I wanna go to Planet Manny

Kielty is up right now. He's one for two at the moment, and he drove in the early runs.

Correction on the PawSox score - it's 5-1.

I do like the prospects this year, very strong group. Lots to love there!!

Manny admires ALL his balls. (ahem)

Here ya go. Planet Manny

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1119180128&channel=770166806

I love them. I'm a total prospect geek. It started when I became addicted to the Arizona Fall League during the off-season, and it went from there. And then there's Jed Lowrie, who I won't even begin with...(sheepish grin)

Kielty walked. The bases are loaded for Keith Ginter!

That bobblehead one is my favorite Jose Reyes 2K8 commercial. If I was a player, I'd totally keep my own bobblehead in my locker.

Yeah Kielty! :D

Let's go, Clay! Just make it through this inning...

I love that commercial with Reyes! "Do you like this song?" (makes bobblehead nod) "Yes." It makes me laugh every time...

GIN-TER! Let's go GIN-TER!

And Clay... go Clay... Yeah Mikey!

And TG - I just snorted...

Ginter flew out to end the inning! He left them loaded, nuuuu!

At least my boys are up right now. They could've blown the thing so ridiculously far open, though...Holdzkom in for Pauley. Good job, Pauley!

1863 - That was a good commercial. I've never seen it before!

Lyle Overbay coming up to the plate to some old school Pearl Jam

Jonny Gomes 3 run HR
TB 5, NY 1

Clay's still gettin it done. atta boy.

Funny thing was watching Holdzkom down in Clearwater pitch in a Phillies uni... and then seeing him two days later back in a Sox uni.

YES! Jonny Gomes seems to do quite well against the Yankees, at least the times I've seen him...I approve muchly.

Seven strikeouts for Mihashi Clayboy!

Have we heard the first sounds of panic from Yankees fans yet?

GOOD. Good, Clay.

If Clay's done today, I think he did pretty good. You can't blame him for the 3 runs in the Casey error inning.

Oh man. Go Rays.

Yeah Litsch! YEAH MIKEY!

So, Ian, Aarsdma is going onto waivers. Is that right? Too bad. Kinda hoped to have him around some. Corey and Lopez still can't breathe easy though if Colon continues to progress.

Weird that Tavarez hasn't made an appearance?

Bowden clean through four! Nice going, Michael!

Holdskom seems to throw a lot of pitches. He's spent 16 on three people so far. (He has to face more because one of the batters singled.)

Yay for Mike Lowell!

Aww. Bye-bye, Jesse. I'm off to watch replays of your pitches.

Nice hit, Mikey!

Maybe the Sox can get to one of the Jays' relievers.

C Buchholz 5 IP 6 hits 4 runs 3 earned 2 walks 7 strikeouts 89-57 5.40era

What's Bowden's line so far?

Starr that is the rumor that was being discussed on the pregame show. Whomever of the three doesn't go, will have to sweat it out again later in the week when Timlin comes back from the DL. Colon's got two more starts in Pawtucket before Clay has to worry.

Ian, I do not want to get a meal at Planet Manny.

Bowden's line, as copied from the Portland box score page:

Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Bowden 4.0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0.00

Nifty.

Yay for Bowden!

C'mon, Casey...

Will one of those two be tossed when we get back from commercial?

I like Aardsma, but he needs to MOVE, BITCH- GET OUT THE WAY. The Beckett train is rolling through.

Sean Casey arguing with the umpire makes me like him a little more. Plus, you know he's gotta be mega frustrated to ever say a cross word to anyone.

Wow, that was a little confusing.

Sean's PASSIONATE.

We should totally call him B-Train.

Wow, though... Casey definitely looked pissed.

GAAH. IT'S THE GRAPHIC. Seriously, this thing is gonna bug me all year.

Portland takes the lead 1-0 in the fifth! WOOHOO!

Well judging from that replay Casey was in the wrong. But nice to see him have that fire.

And Jonathan Van Every just hit a solo shot in Pawtucket! YAAAY!

SNYDER. Strikes, Kyle. Strikes. Not balls. Strikes.

YEAH Portland and Van Every!

With some guilt, I'm already gleefully anticipating the post-game press conference with Beckett tomorrow. Guilt, cause I'm trying to be in the here and now but the then and there is quite distracting.

starr, sounds like a good coping mechanism given what's happening right now. You're going to your 'happy place.'

Kyle! C'mon, man. Maybe Farrell can talk some sense into him.

Aw. There's Corey. This could hypothetically be his last outing in a Sox uniform...

Snyder, please don't hit anyone.

Bye-bye Kyle.

Tidbits from Beckett's press conference tomorrow.

The back felt fine. I went out and executed my pitches. That call was horseshit. F bomb F bomb,

Colgate in! Corey can blind the batters with the glint from his perfectly white teeth.

1863 - Huston Street can, too. Just like Masterson with his head.

Good job, Ian, of replicating Beckett's banter! Let's see how close you are. :)
I do love that man's economical approach to the media.
FC, it is a happy place. My own Manny Planet.

crappppppppp....this game isn't a happy place.

I'm just gonna put this out there: I really, really, effin HATE David Eckstein.

someone shoot Eckstein please. That scrappy bastard is killing us.

And there's our first Yo-Yo sighting of the season.

(facepalms again) You boys are ruining my happy weekend!

Also, Edgar Martinez is all over the place in Pawtucket. (cringes)

TG - I don't really really hate him, but he's getting on my nerves. A whole lot. Put it this way: He's not at the A-Rod or Demon level, but he's definitely at the Grady Frikkin' Sizemore level.

RIOS. UGH.

Edgar Martinez has walked three people to load the bases with one out. He's thrown 24 pitches so far this inning.

I am so glad Jon Van Every homered not too long ago. (crosses her fingers...)

This is quickly turning disastrous. Timlin, please come back!

well maybe aardsma stays after all. Will be interesting to see what the brass decides after the game.

Gotta love the Yankees suck chant in Toronto.

Our middle relief S-U-X lately.

They're saying "Manny sucks", I believe. They did that last night, too, when Manny was in LF.

please let this inning end. please please

Can we get some Timlin in here? Please?

Or at least can we magically fast-forward to the eighth inning so we can get some Okie?

This is turning into a rout! UGH!

(On the plus side, Edgar Martinez only gave up one run, and it was on a sac fly. But he threw 28 pitches that inning, and only 14 were strikes. I'm not too keen on that line.)

I THOUGHT I heard a 'Yankees Suck' chant on the radio...

The Big Hurt was a notorious bar prowler in Clearwater/Dunedin last year during spring training. I saw him out every single night... until his wife unexpectedly showed up.

What's the Pawtucket score? And how's the Portland game going? (I'm doing a few things as well as watching the game and posting here so I'm kinda busy to check the box scores.)

C'mon, Corey. Just one strike... CMON COCO... never mind. Fuck.

Aw, darn it, the game in Portland is tied 1-1. Bowden was pulled for Kyle Jackson after he gave up the run, and Kyle got the final out in the inning.

...shit. Homers suck.

People: STOP THE WAVE. It's madness.

Bye bye Colgate.

Well this sucks. At least it's nice outside here.

Shit.

Has anyone seen this commercial that's 30 seconds of the Sox being ADORABLE? I love it.

The Pawtucket score, nicely enough, is 6-2 in favor of our boys. Jed's due to lead off the bottom of the seventh.

TG - Ouchhh. Poor wife.

Also, maybe Yo-Yo can get us some good pitching. And maybe the Jays' pen will implode, too.

I am SO looking forward to tomorrow's pitchers' duel.

Now pitching for the Boston Red Sox. Freddy Krueger.

Good. Now it's our turn...

And yeah, Abby. I just adore it. The Manny-Yoyo head petting is probably my dugout moment clip of all last year.

I was gonna lay off the alcohol this afternoon but I think I need something to help me get through this.

At least it's the "we sorta did" commercial to up my spirits...

SUN!!! There's a sun sighting in Boston. Thank god.

Unfortunately, Liza, they all do it. Until they get old enough not to bother leaving the hotel rooms.

...hold up, the Pawtucket game was just called! I'm confused... (goes to figure out what the hell happened) It might be rain or something. I'm not sure...

TG - I know. But the poor wife had to find him...

Anon and 1863 - Yeah, it's beautiful here now. I doubt it's rain.

Yeah, Julio! Now Pedroia can get something started...

I don't think there's supposed to be a doubleheader in Pawtucket tonight, either, but if that's it, then the shortened game would make a little sense...yeah, it's a doubleheader, according to MiLB.com. Hmm. (shrugs)

Yay, Lugo. Thank you for showing signs of Sox life.

6-1 Rays
Giambi just left the game for an injured groin (?)

Texy check your email. I just sent you something.

Injured groin? Do they mean what the steroids did to his...never mind, I won't go there.

Hey! A hit! Go Dustin!

ha, ha 1863

Yay Dustin! Attaboy! (Maybe I should get my ASU cap I bought because of him and use it as a rally cap...)

Texy check your email. I just sent you something.

Cmon, Papi! And Manny! Let's go, Sox...

OK i don't know why that comment got posted 3x.

Nice Dustin

Y'all are just getting sun? We've had sun here all day and it's 60 degrees out.

Crap. Cmon, MANNY!

Ian - Lucky. It's all nice and clear now.

Abby I left this for you on last night's game thread.

Abby you are talking about PJ Stock.

He was my favorite player when he played for the Hartford Wolfpack of the AH. There wasn't a fight he'd back down from. He even fought big Peter Worrell.

It's finally cleared up down here, too. I wish some of those 10 runs would clear up off the scoreboard.

Damnit! Manny, let's do this...

It's been pretty nice in PA today, actually, but I was up all of last night doing Relay for Life and the sunlight still hurts my eyes a bit...

GAAH. NOT MR. SCRAPPY... UGHHH.

Sorry. He is seriously annoying me now.

No pressure on Josh Baseball tomorrow. Just go out and stop the bleeding from a 2-game losing streak.

Becketty Boo eats pressure for breakfast.

C'mon. It ain't over till it's over...

Wait. No. Yo-Yo's in.

JACOBY! And Cash. Whoa. Weird.

Hey, Jacoby's in!

Oh god it's Scutaro.

Anyway, nice catch there by Tacoby.

Who knew Cash had a regular catcher's mitt.

Fifty-four forty or fight, Jacoby!

...okay, REALLY bad history/Oregon/Canada joke there. Wow, I'm sad.

Pressure on Josh? naah
He knows all he has to do is execute pitches.

Hey Ian, thanks! The only last name I could come up with was PJ Carlesimo, and he's a basketball coach, I think, somewhere. I really liked him. He was totally the Eckstein of hockey - hustling and scrappy.

BEAN HIM YO-YO BEAN HIM

Anyone else want to seem him get beaned?

I think he does. That was way inside.

BEAN HIM

Aw. At least he's out.

I actually used to watch the Bruins only to watch him play. Same thing when he was up with the Rangers.

That's ok, 1863, here at CF, for obscure references, you've got the latitude.

ugh, sorry.

Obscure and/or random references are always appreciated.

That woman's fuchsia silk blouse is hurting my eyes.

Portland-New Britain tied 1-1 through seven.

(And don't worry, bad puns are fun!)

Why does it feel like the ninth inning already? The game hasn't even been that long...

Let's go JD! Cmon, man...

From PJ STOCK's WIKI:

Stock currently has his own show on Montreal radio called The Stock Exchange on Team 990. He presents sports on Montreal News at 6 on CBMT (CBC) television on a segment named Stock Talk and he has some sporadic segments in a francophone sports debate program on TQS, 110%.

and there's also this fight montage of his.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbBTeLji994

"that is the only trip to Cleveland all year."

To that I say, "THANK FUCKING GOD."

Yessssssssssssss comebacks starting. GO JD

Yeah JD! Let's get something started...

Yay! IT'S ALIVE!

Can Casey be a hero?

According to the radio, Cash strikes out in roughly 1 out of every 2.5 Major League at-bats. Wow.

Now why couldn't his bat have hit Eckstein in the head.

Eckstein is too short - the bat would've just sailed over his cranium.

Ugh. Never mind.

Ian - right!

1863 - ouchhh.

That montage is awesome. Much more awesome than what's happening in Toronto right now.

i wonder if Eckstein is still driving his toyota camry.

I'm off y'all. Enjoy the rest of the day.

Only if it's the scrappiest Camry ever!

Ian - bye!

TG - And it's gotta be GRITTY.

Did we ever find out where Tavy went during the offseason?

Gotta go. Enjoy the sun! I'll try to be back tomorrow.

Liza - Planet Manny?

Aww, see both of you later!

Okay - let's spark a rally in the ninth by repeatedly blasting this near the Jays bullpen.

RICK ROLLED

Okay, Sox. Last chance...

I think the potential Rick Rolling of Shea Stadium is hilarious...

It's a sad day when YoYo is one of your strongest performers.

I love this commercial! The Dunkin Donuts one with the construction guys, that is.

I totally voted to Rick Roll them.

I'm at Shea reasonably often, so I'm really hoping it happens so I can witness (and record) it. It'll be epic.

(I also associate that song and Rick Rolling in general with Justin Masterson - it's a long, long story...)

Cone on, Lugo, let's go...

I voted, too!

C'mon, Papi! Let's go PAPI!

Way to hang in there, Dustin! Best eyesight on the team, baby! (crosses her fingers)

Ugh. Not fun.

Ope. Game over.

(switches over to the Sea Dogs audio) Still tied 1-1 in the middle of the ninth...

All this losing only makes Josh Beckett madder. And that's not good for anyone who doesn't have a "B" on their hat.