Sometimes, the best description is no description at all.

What's better than a walkoff win? TWO walkoff wins in a row!

vs. Toronto Blue Jays 7:05 pm Fenway Park - Boston, MA SP: Tim Wakefield vs. AJ Burnett 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.

The Sox lost this way last night-- but they 'Lost' in a whole 'nother way on Wednesday night as well, when the team made yet another appearance on ABC's "Lost". I gave up on Lost a couple of years ago, but I'm presuming this stuff below might well constitute a spoiler to those of you who still watch, so:

SPOILER ALERT!

The Red Sox have cropped up to factor in to the plot of Lost on numerous occasions- most assuredly because Carlton Cuse (a writer and executive producer on the show) is a rabid Sox fan. Jack Shepherd and his father (characters both written as Sox fans) often said, "That's why the Red Sox will never win the World Series" when talking about fate -- the irony of which had an even bigger impact when Jack was shown footage of the Sox winning the 2004 World Series as proof that the show's bad guys had contact with the outside world.

The Red Sox popped up as a major plot point again back in March when a tape containing crucial information gets pulled out of a vault to reveal... it's labeled "RED SOX" (and the characters indicate that the original content -- presumably a Sox game -- was taped over). I don't think it's at all unrealistic that a Sox fan would keep a VHS tape of a game locked away in a vault like the precious cargo it is.

Wednesday's episode once again featured the Sox - this time by way of a newspaper headline of the team being swept by the Yankees (along with Jack muttering about "A-Rod" under his breath).

Eric Wilbur and Big League Stew have competing theories over what series the headline refers to (Eric points to August, 2007; BLS thinks it's August, 2006), and what the significance of all of this is. I just find it amusing that even fictional characters are as annoyed by A-Rod as those of us in the real world.

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vs. Tampa Bay Rays 7:05 pm Fenway Park - Boston, MA 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.

The Powers That Be seem intent on jinxing Manny Ramirez with that giant "496" in the outfield at Fenway (take it down, guys- that's what teams like Seattle or San Francisco do)-- so I thought I'd counteract that bad mojo with some vintage Manny Being Manny video.

Jobu came, took fear from bats.

All that rum I've been offering up to Jobu really paid off -- in the form of a complete, three-game sweep of the Rays. It's only rightful as payback for the disaster that was last weekend. The Sox bats were back in fine form... I can only assume Jobu played a part.

The awesome powers of Jobu were not enough, however, to keep Brandon Moss off the DL. Come to find out, he's a right Dustin Pedroia that one. Brandon played through pain and sick feelings on Friday night, pounding out his second big league homer in the process... only to discover the next day he needed to have his appendix removed. That's enough to earn him Baseball Boyfriend of the Day honors, I'd say.

Brandon wasn't the only one being all Dustin Pedroia-like; Dustin Pedroia was downright Pedroia-esque as well. From the Herald:

Against the Blue Jays, Pedroia's left shoulder popped out of his socket after making a potentially game-saving stab of a Vernon Wells grounder. The subluxation, which originally stems from the injury he suffered in the 2006 spring training, was quickly fixed by the Sox infielder by manually popping the problem back into place.

But according to Pedroia, he experienced a similar instance during the ALDS against the Angels last year when making a diving stop.

"I did against the Angels and just had to pop it back in," he said. "I just rehab it and keep it strong, but my joints are loose and it will pop out sometimes when I dive."

Jacoby Ellsbury makes teenyboppers (and even grown adults) do some crazy things. But now it appears Jacobymania is so powerful, he's making corporations pee their pants.

I really think the folks at Owater could have used a copy editor to check their new ad campaign with a dictionary before running it. Unless they really are so super excited to have Jacoby as their new spokesman, that they're wetting themselves.

Jacoby took the David Wright-route with Massachusetts-based owater: he will receive an ownership stake in the company in lieu of traditional endorsement fees. Both Jacoby and Owater are tight-lipped on the precise percentage ownership Jacoby was granted-- but DWright's 0.5% ownership of VitaminWater netted him over $20 million when the company was sold to Coca-Cola.

The two-year endorsement deal will land Jacoby in radio spots and print ads around New England:

Ellsbury will be featured in the company's radio campaign, point-of-sale and other marketing efforts. The radio spots will begin to air this spring on New England radio stations. This marks Ellsbury's first partnership with a beverage company. owater VP/Marketing Kim Stewart said that the company is "mulling some other marketing events for him to help 'maximize Jacoby's stuff.'"

Ellsbury said that he signed with owater because he "sees himself as a role model and wants to put 'something positive out there on the shelf.'" owater President & CEO Tom First "got in touch with Ellsbury's representatives and got owater to [him] during spring training." On Tuesday, Ellsbury recorded a radio spot for the brand in the "make-it-up-as-you-go-along style." Ellsbury: "It's not scripted, so it's from the heart."

This is getting absolutely ridiculous.

Sox and Yanks fans getting into tussles is nothing new - the two fanbases have perfected the art of getting drunk and calling names... and throwing punches inevitably follows close behind. There have been multiple well-publicized incidences over the last couple of years where the anger carried over outside the ballpark, and fans perpetuated severe beatdowns on rival fans. And as idiotic as all of that is, it is nothing compared to the latest: a Yankees fan ran over a Sox fan with her car and killed him.

Authorities won't describe the argument beforehand in Slade's Food & Spirits, but witnesses said it heated up when Hernandez identified herself as a New York Yankees fan. Like the rest of New Hampshire, Nashua, 45 miles northwest of Boston, is Red Sox country.

Bartender Tanya Moran said the argument spilled outside, and at least one person in a group that included Beaudoin began chanting "Yankees suck!" when they saw a Yankees sticker on Hernandez's car.

Hernandez, 43, allegedly gunned her car and struck Beaudoin and his friend Maria Hughes, 21. Hughes had only minor injuries, which Beaudoin's sister Faith said was because her brother shielded his friend.

"She never braked, and she accelerated at a high speed for about 200 feet. She went directly at this group of people," prosecutor Susan Morrell said of Ivonne Hernandez, who is charged with reckless second-degree murder in the death early Friday of Matthew Beaudoin, 29.

Rivalries are essential to the enjoyment of sport. Anyone who attended a college without a rabid athletic rival or roots for a pro team without a rival counterpart team knows that having someone to "hate" makes sports a lot more exciting and interesting. But rivalry carried to this extreme isn't really rivalry any more -- it is pure hatred. That's not fun or exciting- it's ludicrous.

Except hatred of A-Rod... we can all get behind that. /ends on a light note

Finally, the long-awaited true story behind Schilling and his bloody sock.

With the news that Sean Casey is set for a rehab assignment in Pawtucket this week, it seemed like the perfect to share that not only is Sean "The Mayor", he's also...

the Homecoming King!

More not-at-all embarrassing yearbook photos of Sean after the jump...

(big hat tip and credit to TheStarterWife for sharing these pictures)

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Julio "E6" Lugo (or should that be "E6E6E6E6E6E6E6E6E6E6"?) has had enough.

He's tired of people talking about his 10 (!) errors so far this year. He doesn't want to talk about leading the league in errors, two more than the next guy on the list (Edwin Encarnacion has 8). Don't ask him any questions about his error in the ninth last night, and certainly don't bring up his 3-error game in Toronto just a short while ago. He just doesn't understand why anyone cares about all that.

"I don't care, but sometimes it would be nice to say something positive," [Lugo] said. "But all the time it's negative things, you know? Sometimes, you know, people should say something that's positive. But every time it's something negative . . . bring it up, bring it up, bring it up. Why?

"I understand you (the media) are going to write whatever you want . . . but I come here every day and bust my ass . . . if things don't work out sometimes, that's the way it's going to be. You understand? But sometimes you bring up the same things . . . You get tired of that."

And it's not like you're coasting on a groundswell of goodwill, either. Remember this? You're not a rookie phenom pitcher who consistently throws well, and had a rough outing. You're not a lights-out closer who notched a very rare BS. You're certainly not a twice-over World Series batting juggernaut and clutch hitter who hit a batting skid for a few weeks. You're a guy who's getting paid a shit-ton of money, who's been mediocre (or worse) at the plate and downright horrific in the field. Please quit acting so pissy because you're getting called out for sucking when you are, you know, sucking it up at SS.

And don't front like it's just us, either. It's not often that a player's Baseball Reference page is sponsored by a rival team's fans, who celebrate the fact you take up a Sox roster spot. To wit:

Oddly enough, I think most folks have been pretty lenient with you-- highly unusual for this town, as you well know. But Lugo... you're driving otherwise sane and rational folk to acts of violence. Either quit with the sucking, or quit with the attitude... otherwise someone's liable to go all Josh Beckett profanity-laced-tirade on your ass.

Hat tip to Joe in Philly at Soxaholix for noticing Lugo's BR sponsorship.

Jonathan Papelbon was not pleased with his blown save performance last night (even though neither of the runs in the ninth inning were earned by him), and this water cooler is going to pay the price.

FEEL THE WRATH, WATER COOLER!

This isn't the first time a poor, hapless water cooler at Comerica has been made to feel the pain of a Papelbon cleat. I think those Detroit water coolers must just be asking for it.

And of course, here's video of the cooler kicking from yesterday - and some postgame lockerrooom reaction from Papelbon as well.

vs. Detroit Tigers 7:05 pm Comerica Park - Detroit, MI SP: Josh Beckett vs. Justin Verlander tv/radio: NESN - MLB.TV - WRKO

And how about a little Beckett-Verlander montage video to get you pumped for the faceoff?

A quick administrative note: I'll be on the road most of today and Sunday, traveling to and from my brother's graduation. That likely means there won't be much updating on Saturday-- but since I'll be spending hours in the airport today and Sunday, posting on those days should continue as normal. I may end up posting Saturday's open game thread early, at an odd time, because of the scheduling.

There will also be an announcement on Monday of a fun intra-team blog wager on an upcoming series.... so look for that.

And finally, for anyone who's going to this weekend's series in Minnesota, I was asked to write the Red Sox summary for the insert in the Twins' GameDay program- so check that out! (Thanks to Kyle and all the GameDay program staff for that opportunity.)

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.

Twins Geek: insightful analysis on the Twins, and timely news updates Lipgloss & Baseball: the Twins from a female perspective, and loaded with humor Twinkie Town: SBN site that's updated daily with all the latest news & happenings On The Road: pitcher Pat Neshek's personal site, where he talks about life in baseball

So long, farewell and Auf Wiedersehen to Bryan Corey - who is headed to the Padres of San Diego for that always in-demand utility fielder/pitcher, "Player TBN" (or cash- not the Kevin kind). It should work out well for all parties- the Sox didn't have room for him, and the Pads are desperate for some pitching, so Bryan should get some playing time fairly quick.

The Sox were also busy making other kinds of roster and lineup moves today- pulling Alex Cora off the DL and plonking him down into the starting shortstop position for tonight's game (while Julio Lugo is still out). Jed Lowrie was optioned back to Pawtucket to make room for Alex's return. Hasta luego, Jeddie Boy (or is that "hasta Lugo"?) - I'm sure we'll be seeing you again soon.

Sean Casey is also ready, willing and able to come off the DL - look for him to be activated as soon as tomorrow, once the Sox make it through tonight and the likely bullpen deficiencies resulting from Papelbon and Okajima's recent use.

I've deprived y'all long enough -- it's time for another installment of Awesome Animated GIF Of The Week. This time, it's Manny (being Manny):

And if seeing Manny and his lifelike bobblehead makes you just a teensy bit jealous, you can make a bobblehead (of sorts) in your own likeness here -- or do like I did, and make bobbleheads of random Sox players.

One of the most unfortunate byproducts of my hectic schedule last week was that I sorely neglected to recognize my favorite ace hurler's outstanding career achievement from May 8th. So for Mr. Josh Beckett:

Better late than never, right?

Batting practice may look like a time for warming up, doing some fielding drills and chatting up random cute girls in the stands -- but Jonathan Papelbon uses the BP time to educate Hideki Okajima on the finer points of gambling.

During the Red Sox recent trip to Detroit, eagle-eyed commenter joyosity spotted Papelbon drawing something in the warning track dirt while gesturing and excitedly talking to Okajima and his translater. On closer inspection, she discovered Papelbon's artwork was really a giant replica of a craps table -- and Okajima was learning the art of being a high roller.

I can see a series of "Gambling With The Sox" videos in the future. Mike Timlin can lecture on how to win at blackjack while double-fisting Bud Lights, Josh Beckett can teach folks how bringing a loaded deer rifle to the poker table is an excellent way to win at Texas Hold 'Em, and Manny Ramirez can tell everyone how fun it is to play slots because of all of the pretty pictures and flashing lights. Wheeee!

And, of course, joyosity was quick enough to take a little bit of video of Vegas Master Papelbon and his two Gambling Proteges:

Hat tip to joyosity for the photos and video!

The lights went dark on Elm Street today, when it was announced that the Red Sox DFA'ed Julian Tavarez to make room for Sean Casey on the roster. That gives the Sox 10 days to trade him or place him on waivers -- and given the interest the Rox have expressed recently, he could well be headed to the Mile High City. Farewell, Julian the Jukin' Jackrabbit.

My only question is: what are the Red Sox trainers supposed to do with these extra pieces of Tavarez-specific equipment?

Of course, we'll always have the memories...

Foolish, foolish Brewer fans.

If it wasn't bad enough they had to deal with the loss of Bernie Brewer's awesome beer barrel slide**, now the guys behind the Milwaukee Brewers blog Right Field Bleachers challenged me to a surefire losing (for them) wager over the upcoming Sox-Brewers interleague series this weekend. I'm pretty confident that even Gabe Kapler can't help the Brew Crew take 2 of 3 from his beloved Sox.

If the Sox win? They'll send me over five of their original design Papi seeds tshirts (which I can then give away to 5 lucky Center Field readers).

If the Sox lose? UNLIKELY... but I'll send them a sixer of Sam Adams, Boston Baked Beans and some clam chowder.

Either way, they still have to deal with Eric Gagne -- so I think we already know who the real winner is.

** Seriously- how cool was this? Silly Brewers and their need to have a "family friendly" park. I wish we had one of these at Fenway- you could charge drunken Massholes $50 a pop to take a ride down the slide into the giant beer mug:

The silver lining of the grey cloud that was the pummeling of Clay Buchholz by the Twins' bats last night? Thanks to NESN, we got to witness Kevin Youkilis and Manny Ramirez making fun of the batting stances of Jason Varitek and Sean Casey.

Happy Birthday and Giddy Up to Josh Beckett - who turns a ripe old 28 today. All deer, elk and moose in a 500 mile radius, watch out: I'm sure there will be some beer drinkin' in celebration, and then no four-legged antlered animal will be safe.

Let's play a little game of catchup, shall we - and get caught up on all the Sox video goodness from the last few games.

First up: David Ortiz mocking Tito Francona in the dugout.

Next: some postgame remarks from Josh Beckett after his fairly crappy outing Tuesday against the O's.

Now that NESN censors his postgame press conferences, here's what was NOT included:

"It's (fucking) horrible. That's the only (fucking) word for it," Beckett said last night at Camden Yards, where the Red Sox dropped a 5-4 decision to the Baltimore Orioles. "You can't give up as many hits as you get outs when you have my (fucking) stuff. (Fucking) terrible.

"I think everybody in this room holds me to the standard (he holds himself to). I think they're all shocked how (fucking) (shitty) I can be at times. I think everybody in here knows I should be able to get more than 17 (fucking) outs in a game."

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Earlier this week, it looked as though Red Sox fans were going to be denied the chance to see their beloved Eric Gagne up close and personal when Brewers' manager Ned Yost unceremoniously yanked Gagne from the closer role after he notched a league-leading FIFTH blown save. To Sox fans, this seemed a little crazy. Not because benching Gagne is crazy-- but because after his performance last year, it's kind of like paying $10 million for a broken-down ratty old monkey windup toy... and then getting mad and throwing the monkey away when it couldn't play a tune on its cymbals. It's a broken-down ratty old monkey! Of course it can't play the cymbals well!

Never fear, Sox hecklers -- the dream is still alive: Gagne was restored to his rightful role as the closer/broken-down monkey for the Brewers after just a two day "mental break". I'm not sure what he did during that "mental break" (buy a new pair of weird goggles? say "eh?" and "aboot" a lot? drink some Molson beer? hang out with Mounties?), but I'm all for it if it means we still have a shot at seeing Gagne enter a game this weekend against the Sox at Fenway.

I'm thinking the fans should hurl water bottles at him again, so he feels right at home back in Fenway.

Gagne can't even catch a break on Wikipedia. Commenter 1863_project noticed a section on Gagne's Wiki page (long since removed, of course) criticizing his fashion choices as well. Thanks to 1863 for screencapping it for posterity:

No mention of his heinous goggle glasses and weird hair? Come on now, anonymous Wiki fashion critic -- get on the ball!

Let's try this again, shall we?

	vs. Milwaukee Brewers Fenway Park - Boston, MA SP: Daisuke Matsuzaka vs. Jeff Suppan tv/radio: FOX - MLB.TV - WRKO
	vs. Milwaukee Brewers 8:35 pm Fenway Park - Boston, MA SP: Tim Wakefield vs. Dave Bush tv/radio: NESN - MLB.TV - WRKO

Not only did the Red Sox 3-game sweep of the Brewers this weekend halt their losing skid, and put the Sox back on top of the AL East... it also meant I won the bet with our Brewer buddies from Right Field Bleachers. That also means I'll have some brand spankin' new original design Papi Seeds shirts to give away to readers. Everyone wins! (except the Brewers)

I've gushed about Chris Speakman's iconic artwork before-- but as a public service, I'm doing so again. Chris has partnered with Dunkin Donuts to release a series of 4 Sox posters over the next couple of months. Tomorrow is the last day to pick up the first poster (Papelbon) - so hop to it!

Also keep an eye out on Chris's website - his amazing artwork caught the eye of the Red Sox and Major League Baseball, so he'll also be releasing a bunch of new silkscreen print designs blessed by MLB. I MUST have this Fenway one...

Coherent thought to follow later, but for now... wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

2008 is the year Jon Lester rewrites his story. Again.

2006 was the year of the diagnosis. The year Jon, just 22 years old and in his rookie year, experienced severe lingering back pain that landed him on the DL just two months after his major league debut. The year he discovered that back pain wasn't what he thought, wasn't the aftereffect of a fender bender... it was cancer. The year he fielded questions from a mob of reporters about anaplastic large cell lymphoma during an emotional press conference. The year he faced down months of chemotherapy, and pitying looks from folks who thought he'd be lucky to make it through treatment but never really expected to see him pitch again. And then, in December, it became the year of remission, the year the scans ran clean, the year cancer was beaten back.

2007 was the year of redemption. The year Jon, just 23 years old and a few months removed from chemotherapy, reported to spring training. The year he was more than a few pounds lighter, but stronger in mind and spirit than before. The year he made a triumphant return to the mound in July and pitched the Sox to a victory in Cleveland, bringing tears to the eyes of just about everyone watching. The year he helped fill out a Sox rotation desperate for some new blood. The year he took the hill in Game 4 in Colorado when the ailing veteran stepped aside. The year he got to hug the World Series Trophy and then hug his ecstatic parents and celebrate being a World Champion. But it was also still the year that he was so often labeled "that cancer kid, Jon Lester", and the year that his miraculous comeback from lymphoma was still so fresh that it didn't just inspire others... it often overshadowed him.

2008 is the year of renewal, of change, of a new beginning. The year Jon, just 24 years old, threw his first career complete game, his first career shutout, and his first career no-hitter... all in the same night. The year his comrades vaulted over the dugout fence and the bullpen wall with crazy grins to get in a hug and a fistpound and a dance of celebration. The year he was lifted in the air by his batterymate, while his teammates raucously jumped around him. The year that his manager, the guy Jon described as a second father, clung to him just a little tighter and a little longer and made everyone tear up. The year that maybe, just possibly, the media stops going for the easy storyline, the vaguely manipulative use of his battle with lymphoma-- and the year he goes from being "Jon Lester, that kid who had cancer" to "Jon Lester, that kid who threw a no-hitter". The year that he finally gets to experience being a normal guy again... if your definition of "normal guy" includes "normal guy who throws a no-hitter". The year his victory over cancer becomes PART of his story, and not THE story.

Last night, Jon Lester rewrote history. He blazed his way into the record books of the Red Sox, throwing the 18th no-hitter in the club's history and the first lefty to toss one in 52 years, and the record books of MLB, becoming the first pitcher of the season to toss a no-no and the first to do so since his teammate back in September. But with that final fastball to Alberto Callaspo, that final swinging strike, Jon Lester didn't just rewrite the record books of history... he also rewrote his story.

Thirty-six hours later, and there's still a lingering feel of giddiness, for no particular reason at all. But before officially moving on to other things, a few superlatives deserve to be handed out -- and a few more videos need to be posted.

For rendering service in total disregard to life and limb, the Game Saver Award goes to Jacoby Ellsbury. Last time, it was rookie Dustin Pedroia with a diving catch to save Clay Buchholz's bacon; this time, Jacoby stepped up and helped preserve the No-No.

For a record-breaking track record of fabulous game-calling, the Oh Captain, My Captain Award goes to Jason Varitek. Hideo Nomo. Derek Lowe. Clay Buchholz. And now Jon Lester. It's like he's the best catcher in the majors or something.

For managing Jon Lester the pitcher to a victory on the field, and for helping manage Jon Lester the man to a victory off the field, the Father (Figure) of the Year Award goes to Terry Francona. He also earns himself Awesomest Emotional Hug of the Century, of which I will (of course) post several photos.

NESN caught up with both Jon Lester and Jason Varitek yesterday afternoon, and got a complete rundown of their thoughts and reactions the day following the no-hitter. Here's Lester's interview below- and Jason's interview is after the jump.

Lester also made an appearance on ABC World News last night as well - he's now cemented his status as official media darling.

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Jamaican baseball has arrived! With his first major league win last night, star prospect and Jamaican-born Justin Masterson officially joined the illustrious roster of Jamaican baseball players. A roster that includes Chili Davis, Devon White, Rolando Roomes and... that's about it. Still, yay Jamaica! While you were busy caring about cricket and track (and bobsled), you managed to produce the Red Sox #1 pitching prospect.

Justin also earned himself a promotion from double-A Portland to triple-A Pawtucket - which means he'll get to join Julian Tavarez on the PawSox.

And just because, some video of Justin Masterson awhile back, lookin' all young and "golly gee aww shucks" in Portland... after the jump.

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