Don't miss me for the early part of the game ;)

I've got to do our radio show before heading back over here. So enjoy. :D

Watching the PawSox game right now, and so far no sign of Timlin (he did pitch the other night for only an inning). I almost wonder if the plan is to have him come on in relief tonight...it's all Charlie Zink (knuckleballer!) right now.

(Also, I'm so thrilled to actually be here for a game thread for once! I've missed the last ones...grrr.)

Zink =

Anyway. Is it just me or (that is, for those of you who are watching) did the players seem really, really into watching those dancers on the dugout (especially Coco)?

Coco almost - ALMOST - climbed up on the dugout with them, I'm pretty sure.

Steph needs NESN. Waaah.

And OF COURSE we're getting the Pearl Jam music for Jeremy's montage.

* Zink =

Is there anyway to alter the code here so we can 'save' our nick/email/url info for easier posting?

**Zink = *heart*. Like a tag and a three. Huh.

Also, for a funny juxtaposition, even though they went to college together:

Jed Lowrie's Pawtucket roster photo (aka the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life)
Dr. McDreamy's Chris Carter's Pawtucket roster photo

They couldn't look more different. Somebody needs to make Chris Carter laugh sometime.

I'll try to stop here during commericals, but it's Devils vs. Rangers playoff hockey, so I'll probably be focused on that...

Aww, Jed!

What's Daisuke doign with that bat? :-) Is he thinking of stepping in for Lugo?

Steerike one!

WOW. That sounded fantastic over the radio. Go Mikey!

I'm pissed at MLB/Directv.

I have to watch the game on non-HD. I had NESN (HD) on and when the game came on I got the "channel not purchased" message on the screen. I go to search, find listings for the games, then find one being broadcast.

It's NESN, but NOT in HD. Damn MLB isn't happy with the Extra Innings subscription and the sports subscription and the HD $$$ I pay every month. Nooooooo...they want me to pony up for more damn money for games in HD.

Does anyone else have this problem? What the hell good is a big HD tv if I have to watch baseball with a crap picture? It wasn't like this last year.

Sorry for the whine, it's been one of those days.

Jules - I'm not getting that. I do have the HD (new since last season--it's so great!). And no problem about the whining, everyone has those days.

Yay Manny!

Stupid college TV! I can't watch my four-games-at-once like I did the other day because ESPN2 is the only channel not working! I'll have to be content with the Red Sox, the PawSox, and the Iowa Cubs (blame the fellow on the left) for now...I was looking forward to watching the Mets and the Phillies, too!

(Iowa Cubs. :D)

C'mon, Dustin. Let's score some runs today.

Liza, are you in New England? I'm in California and can get the Sox by the Extra Innings subscription. I got the HD games last year, but this year, they're making you pay extra for them. ANOTHER $50.

(Yeah, I knew you'd get it. I knew if anyone would recognize the guy in the left of that picture, it would be you.)

The radio just jokingly called Youk a speed demon because he's tied for the MLB lead in triples (2)!

I'm sooooo bad. What's another $50 to see my guys in HD?

Still ticks me off, tho. (but wow, directv moves fast..."wanna pay more...here's your HD...)

:: shutting up now ::

Go Papi!

Jules - Oh, that'd explain it. I'm in New England.

Steph - I recognize both, are you kidding? ^_^

Wow. BIG foul.

(I hate businesses sometimes. They suck like that.)

...what did Papi do? (is on radio delay) ...wait, wait, don't spoil me!

Aw. Maybe Youk isn't so speedy. xD

So much for Youk being a demon on wheels.

(I will admit to my dorkdom - I love that show.)

Switzer in for Zink in Pawtucket. Still no sign of Mike Timlin...

Just wanted to say i love technology, Here half a world away i can have the sox on one program and then the stanley cup playoffs on another program. Love the internet. jensen out.

OW. Oh man. That looked PAINFUL.

Hope he's okay...

...what happened to Youk?

Liner to the chest. He's still in. He did manage to tag the bag, though.

I could sort of hear it on the radio, but it's just not the same especially since in my head everything happens in anime form.

Yay for two outs, guys!

I just ran a Google search for "girlsox nation - chris carter" just to see what would come up... My results, creepily enough, include my own LJ, but it's my PawSox live-blog from last week. The actual site came up first, at least. (And that site disturbs me so much...)

(Also, what do human biology majors find funny? Chris is way too serious for his own good...)

That slider was WHOA.

CASEY!

Hope Lowell's okay, though...

YAY SEAN.

That being said...please be okay, Mike...please.

POLANCO?

Let's go, JACOBY!

...Polanco has me totally, totally confused right now. Who is that, and what have they done with Placido?

C'mon, Jacoby. Don't swing at dumb pitches. Know the strike zone. You know the drill, kid.

Timlin finally in down in Pawtucket!

Woo!

And here comes Mr. Julio E6 Lugo... let's go, Julio!

Hooray for walking! Way to draw one, Jacoby!

Wow, the first period of the hockey game just ended at the perfect time!

LUGO!

...really?

JULIO! Way to go!

Hi all.

Yeah, Lugo!

HOLY SHIT! REALLY! Lugo's clearly feeling the pressure of potentially being replaced by a prospect...

Hi Abby!

Aw, foul. Let's go PEDORIA.

Aw, DP.*

*Double play
*Dustin Pedroia

Henry Chadwick just struck out in Iowa. Waaaaah.

And Dustin...don't ever do that again, okay?

"Henry Chadwick just struck out in Iowa."

-cracks up, stifles laughter, regains composure-

PLEASE, let's hear about Mikey... Youk on third and Casey at first...

...I should probably explain that. Henry Chadwick is Sam Fuld.

Did anyone happen to catch the Pap Dunkin commercial during the pregame show with everyone lined up to slap him on the butt? Cute but a little bit awkward. I am willing to bet that he had a butt double though.

I missed the Pap DD commercial!? Nooo!

"That's not how you said it. That's not how you said it." I love Remy.

C'mon, Lester. Placido's hitting .087. You can get him out, easy.

What is with this defense recently? C'mon, guys.

"X-rays negative"? That sounds scary. He's on day-to-day, according to Don.

Where is everyone?

Waaaah, Mikey...speedy recovery!

Also, please don't tell me that I am the only one who finds Keith Ginter's photo slightly creepy. He looks waaaay too happy...

(Go Manny!)

I'm here (sort-of). Scotty Gomez just scored for the Rangers, and he's like the "Johnny Demon" of the Devils, so that makes it even worse...

Eww. Not fun. (sends you some NJ mojo)

Thanks, 1863.

Bobby Scales just singled for Iowa! I miss him in Pawtucket...

YOUK is safe! They can't decide who made the error, but we'll take it.

The radio says it was an E3.

Craig Hansen just replaced Mike Timlin. Mike went one clean inning, 0s down the line (ERA included).

The scoreboard said about four different things.

Let's go, Manny...

SEAN! AGAIN!!

Sorry. Momentarily unhappy computer.

They just said Lowell has a sprained left thumb with negative Xrays and is listed as day-to-day.

Casey's putting up a very nice night for himself!

Radio delay, but I hear it now! YAY SEAN!

JD - that was awful. Awful.

Ugh.

At least the hand is not broken, though.

Anyone see this?
http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080409&content_id=2508351&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos

Yeah, I did! I was so proud!

Yes, Julio, that's how you play defense! You may have gotten away with the call but you didn't get an error.

...uhm, okay...someone on the IronPigs was just ejected from the game. I have absolutely no idea why.

Also, Lugo's throwing is not pretty. (wishes she could make call-ups herself...)

Hooray for Dustin! That's awesome.

Oof, Lester. C'mon.

"YOU PUNK!"

I love when it's so quiet you can hear single, random hecklers.

Good evening all.
Wow, 20K for his CA little league team. Sounds like real money. Anyone know if it is or isn't for 2008 little league?

There's a minor league team called the IronPigs? That's amazing. I love minor league baseball.

"STRIKE OUT! DO THE WORLD A FAVOR!"

Hee!

IronPigs are brand new this year in Lehigh Valley (aka former Scranton) - Philly AAA affiliate. I know someone who (used to) pitch for that team.

The Lehigh IronPigs are almost as funny as the Albuquerque Isotopes. But not quite.

1863, Devs/NY tied up 1-1.

I am LOVING the hecklers tonite...

Anyone else getting 403 errors when they try to post? I am for some reason...

Maybe the Tropicana Field heckler's taking a vacation in Boston!

AWWWWWW HELL.

Finally!

And would you believe that I'm watching the Albuquerque Isotopes right now?

And yay Devils! (more NJ mojo...)

...also, no losing. Stop it, guys.

Bleh.

C'mon, Jon. Outs. Outs are good.

1863, no errors here, but I found this quote from Theo Epstein that I thought you'd absolutely love:
"Dustin's an outspoken, fiery, hardnosed gamer who gets in anyone's face, thinks he can hit anyone, and isn't afraid to talk about it, but Jed is more of a cerebral, almost intellectual type of player who's a student of the game and is very polished because of his ability and athleticism."

There's a whole article on their similarities/differences here:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=806

C'mon Lester!!! Strike!!

I've read that - and I love the way they describe Jed so much. He did go to Stanford, so...yeah. It adds up, so to speak.

(I'm a little mad at him right now because he's struck out twice tonight. But I still adore him.)

Dr. McDreamy singled in Pawtucket! Woohoo!

(The game's gone scoreless into the eighth, so even mere singles are exciting me right now...)

And just like that...

Ugh, Jon. No good.

I think my favorite minor league team is the Montgomery Biscuits.

It would take some serious suckiness to make Steph NOT adore Lowrie.

BLEH.

Let's go, Lester. C'mon, Jon.

His pitch count's gotta be rising, especially with that 9-pitch at-bat...

(facepalms) Jon...

Yikes!! Seems like we're too late. We may have awoken the sleeping Tiger bats.
Darn.

Ick...

YES. The Montgomery Biscuits just flat-out win as far as random Minor League teams go. They crack me up...

I think I'd love Jed even if he was flat-out awful. He said he'd love to have Julius Caesar over for dinner, and that did it for me. Well, that and the really dorky smile.

JON!

augh. Let's just get out of this inning and let our bats get us into it.

Sunbeam (Brandon Moss, long story!) doubled in Pawtucket - second and third, no outs! C'mon, guys!

(Prospects make me all kinds of happy, at least. They're very useful.)

FINALLY.

Yeah Sunbeam! :D

Funny you should say that, Abby - at spring training this year, I was talking with that friend of mine about if he thought the name "Iron Pigs" was dumb, and if the ballplayers hated playing for a team named that. He said, "I don't - because it's not as bad as when I played for the Montgomery Biscuits." And I was all, "but that's the greatest minor league mascot ever!" I finally got him to admit that the hat they had to wear was goofy, but in a cool way. But he said all the guys hated being a Biscuit.

(wonders if Evan Longoria hated being a Biscuit)

...does your friend know Evan Longoria? There might be a slim chance, I guess...

Yay Brandon Moss! LOVE him.

Gotta go pick up milk. Back shortly.

Nope - Evan's too young. He played in the Rays system before Evan got there. Although he did think it was hilarious I caught Evan's HR.

Tektektektektek!

I should just go ahead and call him Woodpecker. Hah.

I can't help myself, John Henry is the least emotional man, er, ghost ever!
Maybe that's how you amass millions? Hmmm

Anyone else jealous of Kristin?

Hang onto that ball. Evan's gonna be something.

There was a GREAT article on Evan on MiLB.com today...

(Go Tek!)

I want a ring!

OK, the two ring sizes was funny.

Evan is on my fantasy baseball team. I can't wait to see him play when he is called up.

TG - Deathly jealous. She's RIGHT THERE with Don and Remy and the management and--oh yeah--SHE HAS A RING.

Woo, Jacoby! Take that, people who say he can't judge a strike zone...

Whoooa! Don't get banged up, Lugie.

The look on his face was kinda priceless, though.

FUG. At least they didn't get the triple play.

Whoa, talk about a brushback pitch! Eeeek.

...how do you throw out Jacoby at second? (is all confused) He's like Steve Prefontaine out there...

(Sorry, Oregon joke.)

WOOHOO! PawSox win it 2-0! McDreamy (Carter) singled, Sunbeam (Moss) doubled, and Keith Ginter (who has no stupid nickname yet) singled to bring them both in! Gronkiewicz just closed it out in the ninth!

Gronk! Woo!

Now we just have to get our big boys on track and all will be well.

If Lugo gets thrown out of the game for arguing with the umpire, can we call up Jed immediately? He just finished up in Pawtucket...

(I'm pathetic, I know.)

Damn! Red Sox.
Sweet for the PawSox.

1863, I have a fierce looking Astro Boy on my computer right now. It's an early 60's image in b/w.

YES! I love 1960s anime! The original Astro Boy is awesome...

(I own all of the original Speed Racer anime on DVD. I'm kind of a dork like that...)

Nice play E6!
Yeah, I love 60s anime and who doesn't love original Speed Racer?

Henry Chadwick just drew a walk for Iowa. Hooray!

(Sam is my favorite non-Sox prospect, if you can't tell. Uhm, yeah.)

I am so looking forward to that Speed Racer movie. I'm so stoked. (And apparently, according to the radio, Mihashi is slated to start the first game against the Yankees...)

Sam Fuld/"Chadwick" is love. His master's degree in stats + awesome baseball skillz + traditional good looks = sexy to the fourth power.

Also, E6 didn't screw up a play! Woot!

Oh, all this anime talk just reminded me - Kelly (of SittingStill.net fame) found the most amazingly Mihashi-like interview with Clay right here (you have to scroll down a bit, and Clay's last name is misspelled). I am amazed at how much he resembles Mihashi (on the left) in that video...

Does anyone know if we get NESN Plus in CT? I've never heard of it.

Here's the list, shark - you should be able to.

http://www.boston.com/sports/nesn/programming/nesn_plus/

The first entry in the dictionary is up in the bullpen.

http://www.boston.com/sports/nesn/programming/nesn_plus/

The link for finding what channel is NESN Plus for you.

Mmph.

There goes Jon... and here comes Aardvark!

BOO Renteria. Aardsma's playing for a roster spot. Lester looked great for 2, OK for one, not so great for 2.

HHHMMM.....not sure what CN8 means...

HA. Bruney started for the Yankees. That makes me laugh.

...-murders that stupid Call To The Bullpen graphic (again)-

I think if they keep playing the same commercials on the radio by the end of the season I will be convinced Giant Glass services New Jersey and Pennsylvania. (I think I've already memorized the damn jingle! 1-800-54-GIANT! Ugh.)

Good Lester summary, Tex!

According to Aardsma's Wikipedia entry, he acquired the name Crazy Eyes during the 2007 season. He and Pap should have a Crazy Eye Showdown.

cn8: http://www.cn8.tv/CN8Home/default.aspx?lc=ma

It's channel 3 on comcast for me on the south shore.

According to the radio, Timlin's expected to be back with the big club by Friday, the same day that Jacoby Ellsbury is officially set to graduate from prospectdom.

(I'm serious, this Friday Jacoby will be an official rookie! Hooray!)

Anyone going to the game tomorrow night?
I'm going!!! Yea. Hope it's a balmy as tonight even though folks look pretty bundled up at the park.

It's CN8 on Comcast shark.

Pudge Rodriguez should also be in the crazy eyes competition.

AardsvarK!!

(whistles) Nicely done, Aardsma! I'm impressed!

And for the person who wanted to have their name and email stay in, get the google toolbar and use the autofill button. works like a charm.

Am I the only one who misses the old Foxwood jingles? (Take a chance, make it happen/Pop the cork, fingers snappin'/Spin the wheel, round and round we go...)

Special Guest Judge: Kevin Millar

1863, that Giant commercial is sooo annoying!
The Devs aren't looking so good, it's 3-1 NY

AAAH...no.

Manny, please hit the ball? Fair?

Crap. (would put on a Rutgers hat if she had one) We need to get more New Jerseyan here!

Sister lives in Jersey (exit 63!), does that count? I went to school there.

Boo Rutgers....

I have cousins in NJ...

Manny, woo! And there goes Bonderman. Not that bad an outing for him.

Yay New Jersey! I'm from northern NJ (I live just outside of New York - and I'm a Sox fan. I'm crazy, I know).

But I go to school here.

(Go Manny! YES!)

Sure, that counts, starr!

howdy y'all by the way.

My office used to be in NJ. I only had to go there like 4 or 5x a year though.

I'm closer to central NJ... ARGH 4-1 final
:(

Damn. (is in Penguins country, so she doesn't hear anyone actively making noise in her dorm building)

1863, the Pens are beating the Senators 2-0 with like 9 mins left, so you should probably hear some celebrating in the next few minutes.

JD. Come on.

I'm within driving distance of both D.C. and Pittsburgh (i.e. literally in the middle of nowhere), so we'll see what goes on out in the hall...the closest city is Harrisburg, actually. It's about 45 minutes away...

Harrisburg is a fun party city. I remember going there to play the Senators.

A long, long time ago, in a New Jersey far, far away and in the distant past, I used to DJ at City Gardens in Trenton. That's alotta New Jerseyan!!! Ain't nothing like Trenton at 4 AM.

I'm tempted to get tickets for when the Sea Dogs are in town to play the Senators, actually. (I really want to see Masterson - he's looked excellent in his first two starts this season...)

I live about 20 minutes from Jersey..
in good 'ole tri-state PA.

-I'm feeling brave tonight, by the way. I'm always too, er, intimidated to post anything.

No there isn't, starr!
(Now I have American Pie stuck in my head because of your first five words...)

Trenton's scary to visit. The ballpark is right next to the prison. Beautiful views at the ballpark though.

No reason to be intimidated blood and whiskey. Welcome to the partah.

Hey, B&W! Don't be intimidated. We don't bite...

Hey, TG--is it possible you could get this other NESN commercial? The "It's who we are" one...

The park views, overlooking the Delaware, are beautiful.

I always liked visiting there especially since they were the Red Sox then. It's like a big league stadium underneath it all.

I miss New Jersey when I'm away - and I mean away. I am literally out in the middle of nowhere. This is a picture I took of my college yesterday. See, nothing near me!

And hooray for new people! Nothing wrong with lurking, but it's always so much more fun to join in - welcome!

At least the Yankees are losing (1-0 to the Royals)

Who knew there were so many Sox fans with New Jersey backgrounds?

holy farm land Steph

Wow. Awesome picture.

Youuuuk! Caseyyy!

Penn State?

It's actually a battlefield. My college campus is encompassed by it...

(Also, re Sox fans from NJ - Sox prospect Ryan Kalish is from NJ, but his mother's from New England and he was raised a Sox fan, too! When I discovered that he became one of my favorite prospects immediately.)

Not me, Abby. I thought I was pretty much by myself (until now!).

Liza - I am SO all over that. I have a very cool post already queued up with that.

Oh - and B&W - don't ever feel intimidated! Ask questions if you want, make any observation you want... no worries.

I should specify - the photo was taken atop Seminary Ridge. on the Gettysburg battlefield. (Best place to study military history in the country, I'm telling you!)

I just checked my local listings...I don't think I get CN8.

she's gotta be at gettsburg is my guess

One of my friends in college was a native New Jerseyan and a huge Sox fan. She then came up to Boston for college and said she was much happier where she could get games every day and wasn't ridiculed for her allegiances.

Yep! Gettysburg College. Division III (ugh). Love it!

Shark you get comcast where you live right?

Yep, the fourscore place in our pasts.

The reason I'm a Sox fan in Jersey is all because of Nomar. He played for the Trenton Thunder (AA) and everyone just loved him so much. We all knew he was going to go pro and just loved watching him grow up.

Now that the Thunder is the AA of the Yanks, though, it kind of stinks because I find myself rooting against my own team (ex: booing Kennedy and Joba because I knew they would play for the Yanks someday)

*soaks up the friendliness*

my whole family is actually from New York City..
Dad's from the Bronx, ma's from Long Island, brothers born and raised in Manhattan.

bunch of rebels we are.

Wooo Div III! That's the one thing I hated about my school - nobody cared about the school sports.

(salutes your bravery) That's awesome.

I was raised in a Mets family (I'm the only Sox fan), and my Sox fandom was accepted because it's anti-Yankee. That's pretty much how it works in my house. (My great-aunt grew up as a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, though, and she got to see Jackie Robinson in person! I'm so jealous!)

Shark it's CN8 which should be channel 8 on the cable box

I'm a little depressed, because someone in my graduating class came to G-burg to play baseball, and yet the likelihood of him being drafted is so low because we're Division III and nobody cares...it's sad.

But the military history program here makes up for it. (is a reenactor and everything...)

Nothing wrong with a D3 school. I went to a D2 school with about a 1,000 people.

I actually saw Nomar play in Trenton. he came to play us in new haven plus i went down there a bunch when we played there as well.

I even saw Roger Clemens when he played for the Bristol Red Sox.

TG - Silly me, did I even have to ask? :D

Steph - That area of Pennsylvania is beautiful. I was there once, a couple years ago, in the fall, and it was just awesome. (The next year, I spent Columbus Day in Vermont and there was almost no foliage. Ugh. I do love my fall colors--go New England!)

And here comes the pitching change.

It's so gorgeous. There's not much to do out here, though (and my friends aren't too keen on going out on the battlefield with me), so it can get a little slow sometimes. (I almost ponied up for Orioles season tickets so I could run down there whenever the Sox were in town! I'm roughly an hour or so from Baltimore...)

I went to a massively massive huge D-IA school. When I was there, we were the biggest school in the country. Enrollment was about 65,000. My graduating class had 10,000+ people. Now it's "down" to a more manageable 58,000 or so.

One of the RAs from my dorm freshman year was in the Sox system until he was the final part of the Coco Crisp trade. Now he's in AA Akron.

I don't remember specifics, but I'm pretty sure I saw Youk and Papelbon in Lowell a few years ago.

LUGO!

E-6 with a hitttttttttt.

Finally some action in the game.

am I the only one who's never been to a game? :[

There's no players left from college when I went there playing in MLB still. There is one I know that's playing (Brett Tomko) that came in the year after I graduated.

(is now thinking about who was in the Coco Crisp trade) There was Kelly Stoppach, Andy Marte, Guillermo Mota and Randy Newsom, according to Wikipedia...

I'm glad the camera was on hand to catch Dustin hollering "FUCK!!" towards the field when he went down into the dugout. Classic.

I haven't been to a game yet...............

this year

Randy Newsom. I didn't even know he was part of the trade until I googled him a second ago to figure out where he was. That's kind of cool!

I need NESN. I like when Dustin swears. (I identify with him so much - I'm short and I swear a mile a minute, too!)

I haven't been to a game yet...............

this year

Youk played for the Thunder for a little while in 2002, but I don't remember that too much.

Tomorrow, I'm going tomorrow for the first time this season!!
**just a little excited**

Nothing wrong with a trucker's mouth

I love watching them swear.

I'm not sure if i saw youk in trenton. I've seen so many guys i lost count

It was like he was hollering it AT someone. Like he was running into the dugout, paused, turned around and screamed "FUCK!" back out at the field.

Maybe he was hollering at the basepath for slowing him down.

But nothing's better than a live presser with beckett dropping an f-bomb.

Damn basepath. Always trying to keep those scrappy kids down.

I swear. Sometimes. And I'm just about Pedroia's height...!

I worked in the Eastern League from 1995-2001 and then again in 2003. So anyone that came through those years. I've seen play since I saw at least a 100 minor league games a year during that time.

Pedroia's like Rudy - 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin',

But nothing's better than beckett dropping an f-bomb.
/fixed

I'm the height Dustin claimed he was (5'2"). Creepily enough, we dress similarly (as in we share a lack of coordination skills). I've started wearing my ASU hat with any and all green shirts I have in his honor.

Cool, Ian!

why couldn't renteria hit like this when he played for the sox

Renteria is REALLY pissing me off tonight.

I'd love to have a job like that! That's so awesome!

(It's more likely that I'll end up as a historian, though. But maybe I could be a baseball historian...)

I'm the height Dustin probably is (5'7''). Hee.

I dress similarly to a lot of the Sox, too... in that I tend to wear shirts that say "RED SOX" on them.

why couldn't renteria hit like this when he played for the sox

Baseball historian? That would be awesome !

A baseball historian would be a cool thing!
Sweet gig, Ian. Do you ever miss it?

why couldn't renteria hit like this when he played for the sox

suddenly I feel very tall and very young. :]

To borrow a phrase from Dustin... FUCK.

Geez. No more runs, please.

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit. rally cap time now

I've decided to write my thesis (when that time comes) on baseball and its expansion during the American Civil War. It'll be totally fun.

A job in Cooperstown would rock, but...it's also in the middle of nowhere. But it would still rock. During the summer, at least.

ughhhh, stop with the runs.

Goodbye, Bryan. That might've been it for Colgate...

Damn!@#$%^&*

It's kind of pathetic, but I'm shorter than Dustin... Five foot AND one-eigth inches (the 1/8" is the important part!).

B&W: Don't worry. I'm probably younger.

C'mon, Sox. Let's get some runs!

And I'd absolutely love to be a sports (aka Red Sox) photojournalist... taking photographs and watching Sox games? Hell yes.

There's real meat in baseball and US social history. Cooperstown...

It depends Starr. If you mean working from 9 AM to 12 or 1 at night when the team is home and 9 am to 6-8 pm when the team is on the road for shit pay then no i don't miss it.

I do miss it in the fact i was the groundskeeper from 98-01 and again in 03 and was the darkest person in the office.

I do miss talking to the players and coaches about things. I made some good friends as Texy will attest to (we talked to one of them at the World Series last year).

I do miss watching games although i don't miss pulling tarp or being the guy that made people stay after the game to pull tarp. I miss the free beer and food lol.

I had to take this really awful research methods class in order to graduate, so I wrote my big paper on how the Red Sox affect the city of Boston and vice versa. It's the only way I got through that class.

Tavarez... not again.

I'm guessing i'm the tallest at 6'4 and probably the oldest here as well.

There's a great book on my shelf right now called Baseball in Blue and Gray that I'm reading...it's awesome. And there's this one line that reminds me of Josh Beckett playing by townball rules (which involves beaning the runners to put them out):

Josephus Clarkson was a Boston ship chandler's apprentice before the war who was incarcerated at Salisbury. In his diary he recalled that the inmates preferred to follow the New York rules rather than the townball regulations since the latter game allowed fielders to "plug" base runners with the ball to record an out. He remembered that a pitcher from Texas was removed from one game after "badly laming" several prisoners.

Lopez warming up = instant nausea

Liza, any chance you're young enough to qualify for spelling bees?

Texas pitchers rule.

Oh and I miss one more thing. I had the meanest farmer's tan.

My feet are going to be permanently white for life.

I think I'm Dustin Pedroia's actual height, although redsox.com lists him at 5"9', and I don't think that's true in the least.

I'll take shortest and second (maybe third) youngest.

Ian, I sometimes think about all those folks in the Red Sox org( or anyone else's for that matter) who work endless hours, maybe for lousy pay. How many people in the system it takes to make a team like the Red Sox function the way it does. And, how much effort, leadership and pride it takes to make it all hang together the way it does. Maybe one day, over beer and food, you'll share some insights on what you saw on the inside.

Sweet! Thank goodness.

subtract at least 2 inches from most of the short guys heights.

It's just like when they list basketball players heights. They exaggerate.

phew, glad that's over.

Does that make me second shortest at 5'2"?

Nice DP, boys!

B&W: Um... how young is that?

Also, slick double play.

fourteen.

I just qualify, but only for a few more months.

Does that make me not the youngest!? (I'll be so happy if it does)

It's amazing how much work goes into a minor league team. I can only imagine how much work it takes in the big leagues. It's a constant year round thing.

I know around July for us, we were already planning next year. A week after the season we had most of the next season planned.

I used to start my stadium prep in February (freezing my ass off) and finish closing down the stadium in November.

ah, man. my birthday's in December, so I have a feeling I'm the youngest. oi.

come on, Papi!

Hi everyone-- just checking in to say hi.

Haven't been around lately, but that doesn't mean I don't love everyone...

Just less to say, I guess... anyway, hello!

Hi, mhcranberry!

Iowa Cubs lost. Nuuuu, Sammy!

And hello! Nice to see you!

You have to breakdown each aspect of the organization.

For us in the minors, it was ticket sales then group ticket sales, advertising and marketing, sales, and operations.

I only had to deal with the operations part (stadium maintenance and doing the field and that was hard enough).

It's always a great feeling when you saw the stadium full because you know you were the one who may have sold the tickets.

For me it was the compliments about how good the field looked. Especially when i decided to have fun putting patterns in the grass.

The Red Sox actually used a design of ours on the infield once.

I'll have to see if I have the picture one day. We did something that resembled a hurricane with the mound being the eye.

B&W - Well, that makes me feel not so little. We can be little together. :P

Cranberry - Hi!

LET'S GO PAPI!

And starr i've got stories.

Two #1 draft choices of the Colorado Rockies doing upside down keg stands on my deck. (Hint one still plays for the Rockies, the other for the Rangers).

Liza: :D

uhm, okay, so no Papi. come onnnn Manny!

Well, he tried. I'm sitting here in NC "watching" this on mlb Gameday and that looked like a pretty tenacious attempt.

Poor Papi. :-(

I'm starting to worry about Papi a little. Bit of a slow start, isn't it? (crosses her fingers and hopes for improvement...)

Pudge Rodriguez stroked his 2,500th hit in the 8th inning.

Lot of a slow start, more like.

Manny! Wooo!

I do appreciate a nicely maintained field.

Oh, yeah, boys being boys stories...bring em on. :)

and after that party we almost got evicted from our complex.

Ah, Gameday! I spent countless hours watching Gameday (I still do - I did it for the Arizona Fall League and I still do it now for most of the Minor League games I follow because the Sox are on at the same time...).

That program gets annoying after a while.

get me drunk. they'll all come out. Not to compare myself to a woman but i'd probably be like Elaine Benes' vault. get her drunk, things start coming out of the vault.

Siigh. Let's get the pitching going well for this inning at least...

Ian - Stories are fun!

Can we stop hitting into double plays, please? They kind of suck, guys.

Now, there's a surprise!

I had an umpire friend of mine tell me he went out drinking with a lot of Sox prospects last year when he was workin' the NE circuit - and he mentioned Masterson. I was all "I doubt it. And if he was there, I think that would pretty much shock everyone."

I thought of you 1863 - the rest of the guys he described fit. I told him I bet he got Masterson and Bowden mixed up.

C'mon guys...you can do better than this.

It's too bad my scanner is across the room and I'm comfy on the couch, otherwise i'd scan in the picture of the hurricane design.

For the record: I tried to get Ian drunk at the World Series, but he wasn't having it. :)

Oh, the other reason... IMMINENT NBA PLAYOFFS. And as much as I love the Sox, I also have a problem with my brain when it comes to the men in green. And this? Is a BIG YEAR.

I will share a great story. I've been stuck on my couch whining and wallowing in my own pain with a strain in my back that left me unable to sit at my desk and type... I watched yesterday's proceedings surrounded by hot packs, cold packs, pillows, and self-pity.

And like any good little homer-- yeah, Bill Buckner was phenomenal-- I urge you all to read the entry on it in Keys to the Game:

http://keystothegame.blogspot.com/2008/04/like-romeo-and-juliet.html

Excluding with hesitation the part about Emile Durkheim (brilliance, really)--

We are a tribal people, we warriors of Red Sox nation, we priests of the Green Monster, and eventually, we will always yield to that, to the ecstasy, to the anger.

But not yesterday. Yesterday we were not an angry tribe reveling in our own identity, trying to exert control over the uncontrollable. Yesterday we were civilized. Yesterday we were men. And beneath all of the taunts and jeers, the fury and the fanaticism, we always knew that we were. Today, Bill Buckner knows too.

Anyway, when I saw Bill Russell and K. C. Jones talking with Tim Wakefield... Bruschi hovering nearby... and just after that line charging across the outfield with that hardware. Oh man. Cardiac arrhythmia. Tears. Snot. Kleenex.

I'd imagine he did confuse them - Justin's not that sort of person at all.

(I think in general I am associated with Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson now. Sad but true.)

We will be expecting a picture of the hurricane field in the very near future.

The umpires always have great stories. I used to love talking to them. I spent a lot of time with them since the first three years i worked in the clubhouse and then had to deal with them when i was the groundskeeper.

For the record: second to last paragraph there should be in italics. Part of the Melendez quote.

Yeah, June needs NESN, too. I'm listening to XM Satellite Radio on my car with the windows rolled down, kitchen door wide open so I can hear this while washing the dishes. The cats think I'm crazy (I crazy for my BOYS) and it's a good thing my husband is working tonight so he can't see this! :)
WOO-HOO - I finally get to post on one of these threads!!

Masterson doesn't smoke, drink, or even swear. He's such a good boy. And I trust him, too--he's really, really religious.

Okay, Lopez. Strikes. Remember, strikes, and don't be "aggressive" with lefties.

As a person with 3 herniated discs MHC, i highly recommend perocets and muscle relaxers for the back pain.

and chase that with a beer.

I asked him if sometimes managers come out on the field to "argue" with him - and really they're saying nice things, just hollering them to make the people in the stands happy. He said it happens all the time.

Masterson does try to blind batters with his head, though. But that's not a bad thing at all. In fact, it's rather funny.

There are few things funnier than giving Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson a microphone and a recording device and telling them to have fun with it.

Well hey howdy, Lifelong...good to see you over here. I mostly lurk but have just gotten un-shy in the last few minutes.

They do say nice things? Just like the water commercial with Lou Piniella!

I love that site, cranberry. FJM and Dugout are my bread and butter, but Keys is like a special dessert treat.

Yay, June! (and I once went camping out in BFE the weekend of a big Texas Longhorn football game, and we did the same thing- opened all the doors on my truck and blasted it from my satellite radio so we could hear it around the campfire).

Hey, Ecl! :)

I was put at first at my softball practice yesterday and I tried to be all chatty like Casey and it didn't work so well.

To reiterate: FUCK.

F'ing Lopez.

Aren't those stories great Texy. I've got a good one on that one.

and here's the hurricane picture. I found it on my comp.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x97/soxanddawgs/ravens.jpg

Ian - That is AWESOME.

Is it just me or did the hecklers just get a lot... drunker sounding?

DAMN IT! Homerun. Hey ecl! How are ya?? By the way, I hate Lou Piniella. He beat up on my AB-FAB FAVE Sox Carlton Fisk.

I think so Liza because I can hear them on MLB Audio (WRKO radio) now.

Okay, that hurricane pattern? So cool!

It's not my original design so I can't take credit for it. My boss thought of it and taught it to me when i took over for him. It was a bitch to cut though.

And that pic doesn't do it justice.

Hi Liza...glad you remember me!

Look what happens when I step away from the computer for a minute or so. Urgh.

ecl1958 - hooray! Never be too shy to post here.

Unless it's vulgar bordering-on-pornographic comments about the players. I get those from time to time, and promptly delete- NO THANK YOU. This is not that kind of place.

Thanks, Ian. That was quick. OK, so do you chart out the design? Do you stay awake thinking of new ways to mow grass?

Cranberry, I hope you feel better soon!

Welcome Ecl.

Lopez, you are a little bitch.
fo'serious.

I love Pudge Fisk. My parents went to a signing and got him to sign a ball for me!

Ian: The Wizard of Turf.

Also- as a very-recently-removed Wrigleyville resident, Lou could murder someone and I'd still like him better than Dusty Baker.

Ecl - I can't remember faces for my life, but I remember names. (That sounded a lot less threatening in my head...?)

Nice zoom view of the tobacco spit on the dugout floor.

I still pine for Kason Gabbard. I went on record when that trade happened that it was a bad idea. Can you imagine if we still had him as long middle relief?!?!

I took this from one my posts and it's my favorite arguing call from a manager

I do have a funny story from my days in Albany, Georgia again. And yes it involves Butch Wynegar again. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you who we were playing that game, but I remember being in the dugout sitting there talking to a player when there was a bad call by the umpire that didn’t go our way. Our manager, Wynegar, went out to argue the call. About half way out to the umpire, he stopped running and put his hand over his mouth, took out the dip in his mouth, and bent over to tie his shoe. While pretending to tie his shoe, he dropped the dip into the grass and was sure to step on when he got up. He gets back to the dugout and goes your not gonna believe this. So I said what happened Butch. He goes did you see me tie my shoe on the way to argue the call. I said yeah. He goes I got about half way out there and realized I had a dip in my mouth so I had to get rid of it. We all just started laughing when we heard that one. Needless to say, he got fined in kangaroo court for that one.

Hopefully I haven't transgressed here or on any other of the various sites. I have a difficult time remembering which site is run by who, but I do try to keep it reasonably clean on the public forums, not that my internal dialogue is spotless, mind you. ;-)

Woohoo. Let's get some RUNS!

(If I wasn't me I'd be pissed at myself for being so cheerful. At least it's not early in the morning--then I'd be really pissed at myself.)

AAHHH! LOVE that pic of Pudge!! I would have jumped the table! Thanks for sharing!

Hi everyone. I'm late to the game; have been lurking tonight. Ian, the pic of the field is awesome.

That was taken by my father. (The signed ball is in my bedroom at home! I wouldn't dare take something that valuable to college...)

A well-placed and funny/adorable squee is perfectly fine. Talking graphically about sexing up one of the players is gross.

(and no worries, ecl - it most definitely was not you! or anyone else on here)

C'mon, JD! Let's gooo!

Yes Starr I actually did think about some designs at night.

No mapping that one out at all. We did that by free hand with a greens mower. Once you got the first inside loop done you just went back and forth along the edge until you got back to the beginning.

When we had the high school games at our field, that's when I would try out new designs. I did one that looked like i was drunk while i was mowing. Just all shorts of squiggly lines.

Liza, you've probably never seen my face because I don't live in Boston or near any other MLB parks. I've been making the rounds of the sites since I got bitten by the bug late nlast season.

Okay guys...time for a rally!!!

JD!!!

Nice start, fellas! Keep it going.

Ugh, radio delay! Uhm...yay future JD!

Aww, 1863 - that's awesome!

My dad once got me an autograph, too... Donnie Wahlberg from New Kids. :)

JD! Woooooo!

Mjaegs - Hi! :)

And uh... never mind. But wooo, Woodpecker! (Tektektektek)

Starr and everyone else, this one will crack you up.

I used to do some of my field designs with my vacuum cleaner and carpet. I would vaccuum all sorts of designs into the carpet and then try them out on the field if i liked it.

That signing used to just be a Mets signing that occurred annually, but this past December they got athletes from all over the place and all kinds of sports, and when my parents told me Fisk was going to be there...I was all excited that they were able to go. (They also met some other people, too, although I really can't recall who at the moment besides Refrigerator Perry...)

Ian: Master of the Turf and Captain of the Carpet.

Gee, my autograph collection consists of Al Unser, Jr. and Josh Groban! HAHAHA

Ecl - Oh, I didn't mean it that way--I just meant in general, I'm good at remembering names. Sorry. xD

Let's go, Jacoby...!

let's go..Cora?!

co'mon, Baby!!

AL UNSER, JR.? (is a huge IndyCar fan) I'm so jealous!

CORAAAAA!

Ian - That's so cool :D

Most good groundskeepers do everything by sight.

The hardest thing to do is mow a straight line for those ballparks that do it.

I've got tons of autographed balls from players and stuff. I gave my mom a Jim Rice ball once. Mine are all at my parents in their cases.