Center Field

Pedroia Family Shrine

2008-11-20T02:34:05Z

I give. The Pedroia family's awesome is too much to be contained. Dustin's parents are cute as buttons, and now his older brother (Brett, 30) reveals that the family has a honest-to-goodness Dustin shrine in their tire shop in Woodland, CA. They should charge admission - turn it into a moneymaking museum venture. They could be an exhibit where you rub authentic Pedroia dirt on your clothes, and get your picture taken while you holler "Fuck, yeah!" at the camera (with a giant wad of dip, of course). Surefire winner. One customer who'd show up for sure? Matt Damon.

Three weeks ago, Matt Damon, of the Bourne movie fame and a well-known Boston Red Sox fanatic, stopped by Radial Tire Wholesale in West Sacramento. The topic of conversation? Baseball and wheels, and definitely in that order.

That story from Dustin's hometown newspaper has more sweet details about the Pedroia popularity in Woodland.

At a park near Woodland High School on Tuesday, Ryan Lewis, 11, was taking grounders with his father, Ron. The young fielder had a Red Sox T-shirt. The name on the back? Pedroia. "Everyone wants to be like Dustin here," said the younger Lewis. Just before it was announced he was the MVP, Pedroia called his parents, Debbie and Guy, brother Brett and lifelong friends. Everyone, it seemed, was more excited than the player himself. "Oh, goodness, I didn't sleep at all," Debbie Pedroia said, half out of breath from her Woodland home. "He called me and I asked, 'Did you win it?' and when he said, 'yes,' I started crying, then screaming - 'He won it!' It's just so exciting for all of us." Bobby Hawke, a Pedroia teammate from their Little League days, spent the weekend with Pedroia in Arizona. "I saw him Monday, and he was pretty relaxed for being the next MVP,'' Hawke said. "Here I am, one of his best friends, and I am more anxious and nervous than he was."

The article also had a fantastically "vintage" photo of high school-aged Pedroia. Bitchin' threads, Pedey.

End of the Coco Era

2008-11-19T16:50:39Z

The Red Sox are set to officially announce in 10 minutes that Coco's heading on down to Kansas City - so it's time for the old "picture send off" to mark the end of the Coco era in Boston.

And, of course, the conversation with Royce Clayton about tacos:

video courtesy of FOX

Crisp to Royals?

2008-11-19T16:03:51Z

UPDATE: The trade has been confirmed by both SI's Jon Heyman and the Globe's Nick Cafardo. A Kansas City radio station (WHB 810) is reporting that the Red Sox dealt Coco Crisp to the Royals for 27 year-old relief pitcher Ramon Ramirez. Neither the Red Sox nor the Royals have officially confirmed the trade yet, and (per MLBTR) Red Sox exec Ben Cherington was on XM's MLB Home Plate radio station saying "the report is premature." The Globe has more on the story from folks in KC:

[D]uring an on-air interview a few moments ago, Royals senior adviser Mike Arbuckle would not confirm that the deal was complete. "I would say Coco is a good player and we're always interested in getting good players," said Arbuckle, who recently joined the Royals after working in the front office of the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. Arbuckle politely declined a request from the hosts to evaluate Crisp as a player, saying, "Well, at this point, he's still under control of another organization. I wouldn't want to get into a tampering charge." The deal was first reported on the station by Brian McRae, a former Royals outfielder. When contacted via e-mail and asked if there was anything to this rumor, Kansas City Star columnist Joe Posnanski gave a one-word reply: "Yes."

Per MLB.com, Ramirez went 3-2 with a save and a 2.64 ERA in 71 games for Kansas City this year, including 3-1 with a 2.33 ERA after the All-Star break.

The Widdlest Pedwoya

2008-11-18T20:44:55Z

In honor of the reigning MVP: a video from a guy who seems to know very little about Dustin Pedroia cracks a very original joke about Dustin's height. It's amazing someone hasn't picked up on the whole short thing before now! Now, this is officially the end of the joke. Can we all cease talking about his height every single time Dustin's name comes up now? In fact, I double dog dare every journalist out there to refrain from using any of the following words in a Dustin Pedroia story:

short wee small tiny 5'9" (wink!) little little big man little engine that could

I doubt they'd make it a week.

Most Valuable

2008-11-18T19:09:28Z

First a Gold Glove, then a Silver Slugger and now the MVP.

Congratulations go out to Dustin Pedroia who was selected today as the 2008 American League MVP (a/k/a the "Kennesaw Mountain Landis Memorial Baseball Award") - earning himself yet another bauble for what is surely becoming a crowded trophy room at home.

Dustin is the first Red Sox player to snag the award since Mo Vaughn back in 1995. He joins an illustrious group of Sox MVP players, including Vaughn, Roger Clemens, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Carl Yastrzemski, Jackie Jensen, Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx.

Kevin Youkilis also finished a very respectable third place in the voting, behind Minnesota's Justin Morneau. Here's how the final vote tally shook out:

Player, Club	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Dustin Pedroia, BOS	16	6	4	1							317
Justin Morneau, MIN	7	7	6	3	3	1	1				257
Kevin Youkilis, BOS	2	4	4	9	2	4	1	2			201
Joe Mauer, MIN	2	8	1	3	4	3	3	2	1		188
Carlos Quentin, CWS		1	4	8	4	4	4		1	1	160
Francisco Rodriguez, LAA	1	2	6	1	6		3	2		2	143
Josh Hamilton, TEX			2	2	3	7	3	2	4	3	112
Alex Rodriguez, NYY					1	1	4	1	4	7	45
Carlos Pena, TB			1		2		2	3	2	3	44
Grady Sizemore, CLE						2	1	5	6	1	42
Evan Longoria, TB						2	2	5	2	1	38
Cliff Lee, CLE				1	1	1	1		1		24
Miguel Cabrera, DET						1		1	4	1	17
Vladimir Guerrero, LAA							2	2	1		16
Jermaine Dye, CWS					1			2		2	14
Aubrey Huff, BAL						1			2	3	12
Milton Bradley, TEX						1	1				9
Jason Bartlett, TB					1						6
Mike Mussina, NYY								1			3
Raul Ibanez, SEA										1	1
Ian Kinsler, TEX										1	1
Ichiro Suzuki, SEA										1	1
Mark Teixeira, LAA										1	1

Varitek Is Not A Fan of the Kiss Cam

2008-11-17T15:51:40Z

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the Kiss Cam ain't nothin' but trouble. Although I despise its presence at a ballpark, I suppose it's slightly more palatable at a basketball arena. But only slightly. I have to think Jason Varitek hates the Kiss Cam even more than I do. Friday night, Jason was at the Celtics-Nuggets game at the Garden, sitting courtside and doing the "hold-the-ball-for Lucky" publicity stunt at halftime. Tek was perfectly happy to be a part of all that. He was not, however, so thrilled to make a return appearance on the jumbo screens inside the Garden a little later in the game. During a break in the action, the Celtics video people fired up the trusty ol' Kiss Cam. Typical nonsense ensued- random people mugging (and mugging down) for the camera. But then those crafty folks focused on Jason and a lady sitting next to him (who tried desperately, but unsuccessfully, to scoot out of the frame). Jason was not pleased. Everyone cheered and hollered for him to kiss her, but Jason was unmoved. He sat rock still and stonefacedly stared ahead until the cameraman finally panned off of him. AWKWARD! So word to the wise: Jason Varitek is not really interested in performing an onscreen kiss for the unwashed masses at the Garden. At least he'll give a half smile to the camera, though!

Requiem For FJM

2008-11-14T13:09:09Z

It had been two weeks since the folks at Fremulon Insurance had posted any updates. I thought maybe they just had a post-Series hangover. But we're all going to have to wait a lot longer for more FJM posts. [insert somber, funeral procession appropriate music here] R.I.P. FJM.

Awards Cabinet

2008-11-11T13:45:59Z

The Red Sox offseason trophy cabinet has a few shiny new additions. Jon Lester was awarded the 2008 Hutch Award, given annually to the ballplayer who best exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of baseball great Fred Hutchinson (who died from cancer in 1964 at age 45), both on and off the field. Jon bested the field of ten finalists to win the award, including Rocco Baldelli, Ken Griffey Jr., Aaron Rowand and Lance Berkman. The Award is even more special for Jon, who is also a cancer survivor and a native Washingtonian, who was actually treated in Seattle by the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, the treatment arm of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (the group, founded by Fred Hutchinson's brother in Seattle). He'll receive the Award at a luncheon on January 21, 2009 -- actually out on the grass at Seattle's Safeco Field -- and legend Tom Seaver will be the guest speaker.

"Congratulations to Jon Lester on the Hutch Award. Jon handled his adversity with grace and dignity," said Red Sox Manager Terry Francona. "He is an inspiration to us all, on top of just being a really good kid.

And from Jon:

"This is a tremendous honor for me and my family to have been selected for the Hutch Award," Lester said in a statement released by the Fred Hutchinson Center. "I'm humbled to know that legends such as Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax and Lou Brock have won this award in the past."

Next up: Jacoby Ellsbury claims the James "Cool Papa" Bell Award - a Legacy Award presented by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City to the AL stolen base leader. He'll get to pick up his honor at a banquet in KC in January, along with all the other Legacy Award winners. Jacoby also finished a strong third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting, behind the unanimous winner Evan Longoria and the second place vote-getter Alexei Ramirez. Why MLB.com chose to memorialize the occasion with a photo that looks like Jacoby is taking a dump, I do not know. In any event: Congratulations to both Jon and Jacoby!

Looking Into The Future?

2008-11-10T21:15:59Z

The Red Sox official uniforms always seem to remain (largely) unchanged over the years. As trends (teal! purple! aztec prints! funky lettering!) come and go, the Sox unis hold fast So it would cause a minor ripple if the Red Sox road uniforms are changed in 2009, as this photo posted to Flickr (by wally1912) and discovered by Red Sox Monster seems to suggest might happen. There's been no news about any possible changes floating around as far as I can find, and the Flickr picture page contains no details about the source of the photo or the probability of that design being adopted, beyond a note that it is a "proposed design for the 2009 Boston Red Sox road uniforms". By contrast, here is the current road uni: The new uniform adds red trim along the neckline and button placket seams, and adds a second red trim on the sleeves. Most significantly, though, this uniform reverses the nearly set-in-stone combination of red letters with blue trim, to blue letters with red trim (although, curiously, the player name is left red with blue trim). The photo also shows a possibility of taking away players' last names from the back of the uniforms. This photo may be a total pipedream, and nothing may ever come of it - but it's fun to contemplate the possibility.

Mills Meeting with Mariners

2008-11-10T16:26:10Z

Brad Mills, Sox bench coach, former Tito college roommate and current Papi hug-recipient extraordinaire, is in Seattle today interviewing with the Mariners for the manager slot that's currently empty. John McLaren, hired by the Mariners in 2007, was fired by the front office back in June of this year - and Seattle's bench coach Jim Riggleman temporarily assumed the helm for the remainder of the 2008 season. Mills is the first of eight candidates to interview for the manager position, and Seattle's new GM Jack Zduriencik (hired just a few weeks ago) is expected to see most - if not all - of the candidates in a revolving door interview process this week.

Wedding Bells

2008-11-10T13:10:57Z

Congratulations to Kevin Youkilis and his brand new wife Enza, who tied the knot yesterday after a year-long engagement. The couple wed in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with 120 family and friends present - including David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and Dustin Pedroia. More from the Globe (not a word from Inside Track- looks like they got scooped):

Enza, who briefly dated Ben Affleck back in the day, wore Vera Wang. (Youk favors sweatpants, but we trust he cleaned up for this occasion.) It's Enza's second marriage and the first for Youkilis, who'll turn 30 in March. A Newton native and former BC student, Sambataro is the CEO of Youk's charity Hits for Kids, which raised $1 million last year for children's charities and medical research programs in New England and Cincinnati. The couple will spend the off-season in Arizona, where Youkilis is again working out at the Athletes Performance Institute.

As eagle eyed (eared?) tipster Karen noted, the clues were out there.

When Pedey got his gold glove, I listened to the conference call and he said he was planning to go to Cabo San Lucas with some friends. And then there was the photographer Youkilis has used for past charity events, who just happens to be in Cabo San Lucas with a wedding party. I knew it was coming soon.

Up next: Jon Lester, who is scheduled to wed in January.

Break Out The Deer Sausage!

2008-11-07T20:49:08Z

Last year I joked that the only reason Josh Beckett stages his annual Beckett Bowl event for charity is because the Red Sox front office turned down his request for a celebrity hunting tourney. ("Josh, just like we told Wakefield and Timlin, you can't kill animals for charity. Sorry.") Either the joke is on me, or he reads the blog, because that is exactly what Josh is doing. This Sunday, November 9th, through the 11th, Josh and his regular huntin' buddy Rusty Baker are hosting his first annual "Celebrity Invitational Hunt for Charity" at Josh's Herradura Ranch in Cotulla, Texas. All of the meat harvested from the hunt will go to Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, and the proceeds from entry fees and sponsorships will go to Show of Support and other charities. Perennial Beckett buds Kevin Fowler and Roger Creager will be there as well, and will provide a "campfire acoustic singalong". I assume there will be lots of Bud Light involved. Naturally, Jon Lester will also be there to partake in the fun. Rusty Baker (middle) and Josh pose like rockstars with a private jet... and some random dude. And so I present to you the Huntin' Josh action figure, complete with camo gear, boots and optional cowboy hat and dip can.

Golden Boy

2008-11-06T19:16:37Z

Congratulations go out to Dustin Pedroia for nabbing his first Gold Glove award. Although the official announcement is not for another 45 minutes, eagle-eyed SoSH folks spotted the Rawlings press release on the news wire. The Globe cites an unnamed "baseball source" rather than just pointing to the wire release- but WEEI credits the sports wire and notes that Dustin has acknowledged receiving the honor.

"I really didn't think about it," he said of winning the award. "I take pride in my defense, it's a huge part of my game. In fact, my biggest (priority) is defense. I need to be extremely important to our pitching staff. I put in a ton of time with Luis Alicea and Alex Cora from Day One. It's only my second year playing second base. I took extra ground balls every single day and it definitely paid off." "I got a lot faster in the offseason," he said. "I put in the time, did all the cardio workouts, speed work, and agility. That really paid off where my range got a lot better and my arm strength got better. I'm not the biggest guy in the world but I can make up with effort in the offseason."

Kevin Youkilis did not repeat at first base; that honor instead went to Tampa's Carlos Pena (who also beat out Youk in the Fielding Bible awards). Here's how the full slate shakes out in the American League:

P - MIKE MUSSINA - YANKEES C - JOE MAUER - TWINS 1ST - CARLOS PENA - RAYS 2ND - DUSTIN PEDROIA - RED SOX 3RD - ADRIAN BELTRE - MARINERS SS - MICHAEL YOUNG - RANGERS OF - TORII HUNTER - ANGELS OF - GRADY SIZEMORE - INDIANS OF - ICHIRO SUZUKI - MARINERS

Tony Gwynn Spreads the Masterson Gospel

2008-11-06T15:47:26Z

Tony Gwynn signed on to stay another three years as the head coach of the San Diego State baseball team just yesterday, but he's not spending his time talking about his contract. He wants to talk about Justin Masterson. After starting his college career at tiny Bethel College in Indiana, Justin transferred to SDSU and pitched for the Aztecs in Tony Gwynn Stadium, under head Aztecs coach Tony Gwynn. And Tony hasn't forgotten Justin.

"He's the type of guy that doesn't want to shake your hand, he wants to give you a hug," Gwynn said. "He's absolutely the same guy, and you can't help but love those type of guys because he really does it the right way. He does it with a great attitude. He does it with a smile on his face. And you know what? He's competitive as heck, but you'd be hard pressed to know that if you met him off the field."

And, of course, HOF'er Tony had praise for Justin's skills as well.

"At the college level, like most guys his size [6-foot-6], he could just overpower hitters. And with his stuff, he was able to do that for the most part. But now he's learned to pitch and it looks like he's trusting his stuff, and it looks like he's having fun. It looks like he's really enjoying himself and really trying to understand how to get guys out, and it looks like he's really paying attention and doing a good job. "When he was here, I think you could see that he had that kind of stuff where he would be successful at the big-league level, and I think he's just scratching the surface."

And with the trade rumors constantly swirling this time of year, Tony also thinks that Justin will find a place to fit with any club, but that the Red Sox are particularly suited to his style and development as a pitcher.

"[T]he Red Sox are kind of the perfect club because they have enough of everything, where they can kind of take the time to figure out where exactly he best fits. But I think they found out this year that he fits. Somewhere in those 11, 12 guys he's a guy that definitely will fit into whatever role they want to put him in."

The Varitek Conundrum

2008-11-05T21:32:57Z

Today is like Christmas in early November for GMs across the land: super swell nice guy Scott Boras delivers the magical "book" he has created for each of his clients. Theo can relax: that means the Jason Varitek book will be in his hot little hands any moment now. That also means today officially kicks off the insanity that this offseason is surely to bring - an insanity I like to call the "Varitek Conundrum". Boras is already fueling the fire by insinuating Varitek deserves a Jorge Posada-like contract (4 years, $52 million). The key difference between them (other than Yankee front office stupidity)?

Jorge Posada's 2007 line: .338 .426 .543 Jason Varitek's 2008 line: .220 .313 .359

Posada also didn't help shore up Varitek's case by getting hurt the very next season and missing most of the year. And if Boras thinks the Red Sox, or anyone else, are going to pay Jason Varitek over $13 million a year when he's 40 years old, he is going to be severely disappointed (no matter how much he tries to make Tek into Carlton Fisk). The facts are these: Jason Varitek has unquestionably been a pivotal key to the Red Sox success, and in particular to the success and development of the pitchers he works with. He is the captain of the team. There is not a person in baseball who speaks of his leadership and clubhouse skills with anything short of reverence, except maybe A-Rod's face after being smashed with Tek's glove. Jason Varitek also is getting old, his stats are in a steady decline since his all-star days (sharp decline, based on this year's horrific cliffdive), and his agent is going to want ridiculous money. He can barely hit at all, he certainly can't hit for power, and he's not even able to get on base with any regularity. It is logical to assume that the numbers will only decline as he nears the big 4-0. In (my) ideal world, Tek would stay on in a kind of modified mentor role for two years while the Sox brought in a new catching prospect for Tek to tutor -- and someone who could shoulder the majority of the catching duties to give Tek more days off. Of course, since that means the payday would not be in Borastratosphere levels, I don't know if Jason will be willing to take the ego and paycheck hit. But no matter what, the Varitek Conundrum means there's going to be a bumpy road ahead through to Fort Myers in February. Baseball is a business - and it ain't always easy.