The Machine Rolls On

Wow. The Sox continue to roll with a 7-6 win over the Angels last night. It was a close one, though, as the Los Angeles California Orange County Angels of Anaheim of the Long Skinny State to the West were actually ahead for an inning. Or maybe half an inning.

But hey. Didja see that Jacoby Ellsbury??? Oh. My. God. Two home runs. AND he scored the winning run. It makes my head hurt that anyone was even thinking about trading that boy for Johann Santana during the off season. I see a Rookie-of-the-Year award in his future.

My man Youk also porked one into the Monster seats. Which extended my "Beat the Streak" hitting streak to 8 games. I have a long way to go there, because someone has well over 20 going on right now.

Meanwhile, our poor Rangers can't even beat the Tigers. That's bad. They are most definitely doomed. Lots of speculation. Will manager Ron Washington make it out of Detroit with his job intact? We shall see. The Rangers are worse by at least a week than they were last season. Last season, they had not lost 14 games until April 29th and they weren't 7 under .500 until sometime in May. Sadly, most "experts" agree that they have more talent on the field than they had last year. Something is certainly very wrong, then.

Back to the important team. Red Sox bats have come alive with a vengeance. There's hardly a weak spot in the lineup. And, hopefully, Lowell will be back soon. Um...but what's up with our Beckett? I'm a little worried about that.

Oh, and we have Tampa Bay after the Angels. That's scary. For some reason, the Sox always have a hard time beating them. Maybe this year will be different.

Does Anyone Have Nails Left??

Ok. Could we stop waiting until the 8th inning to win these games? While I realize it makes for really exciting baseball, I'm not sure how much more my sanity can take. Whew.

And those poor Rangers starting pitchers. That's three games in a row, now that the starting pitcher should have gotten a win, but the bullpen blew it for him. I'm not complaining so much, because the Red Sox have been the team beating them, but, geez, it's got to be frustrating for the starters. Jason Jennings and Kevin Millwood both had great outings this weekend, only to be sent into the realm of "no decision" by the bullpen. The Rangers fans are pushing the panic button, but how quickly they forgot that the Rangers did sweep the Blue Jays before having to face the greatest team in baseball. I say, let's see what happens after they get out of Fenway.

And Papi does seem to be out of his slump finally.

Oh, and they won this game without Manny. Silly Manny. Oh, how he does hate getting called out on strikes.

We'll have a fight with Stephanie in the morning when it's school time. She was complaining loudly about the pain Sunday afternoon/evening. I know she's hurting, but the fact is that she got through school on Friday and was able to do the things she wanted to do this weekend, but now that Monday morning school is imminent, suddenly the pain is agonizing. I think we may be putting her back on the anxiety meds tomorrow.

Thanks for the prayers and well wishes.

Oh, yeah. I would also like to welcome my friend and brother in Christ, Marshall Kitron to the blogspot family. Check out his blog as he prepares to go back to Peru on a missionary journey. He's the new one on my list of links.

Go, Marshall!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Red Sox are BAAAAACK!!

First of all, let me apologize for my unblogginess lately. It's been a rough couple of weeks for us. More about that later. Now on to last night's game.

Manny hits number 496 and beats the Rangers! After Ortiz got a clutch single to drive in Pedroia, Manny defrelnicated the ball out into the street behind the Green Monster (what street is that, anyway? Is it Brookline? Landsdown?). I was watching the game with a few other fans at Frankie's Sports Bar in Dallas. We were a little scattered, because we had to compete with a Dallas Mavericks playoff game. Blech. So while watching the Red Sox finally win, I also saw the Mavs blow a 12 point half-time lead to lose by about 15. I silently enjoyed that...

Baltimore helped the cause by beating the Evil Empire yet again. It's cute how the Orioles are trying to be contenders this year.

In defense of the Rangers, Jason Jennings really had a decent outing on the mound. It was his best of the year, and I'm glad he didn't suffer the loss for it. Benoit got the loss (again) as he gave up the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the eighth, setting the stage for Papelbon to come in and do that thing he does so well.

As for stuff at the Bickleyhouse over the past several weeks, Stephanie has not been well. It all started with a double ear infection three weeks ago, which, as it was on its way out, gave way to a viral infection of some kind. From there, we suddenly developed a blotchy pink skin rash, along with joint swelling and pain, similar to some kind of rheumatoid arthritis. Keep in mind, this is a 14-year-old, who with high-functioning autism, functions at a much lower age level. At one point, she couldn't even hold a pen to write with, it hurt so much. She could barely walk. We have been at the doctor's office at least once a week for the last three weeks, and Steph and her mother wound up at the emergency room Saturday night, April 12, because the pain was so bad. The only reason I didn't go was because I had to be at church Sunday morning to lead the worship. They didn't get home until 4am.

Steph seems to be doing better now, though. We have never found out what has been wrong. The tests for Rheumatoid arthritis and lupis both came back negative. We have an appointment with a rheumatologist on April 29. If she recovers completely by then, I don't know if we will still keep it or not.

But that's primarily why I haven't had the energy to blog lately. I do a daily blog on another site that is mainly a daily devotional that I do. I keep it there instead of in a paper journal. If you care to check it out, it's at my Diaryland site.

I guess that's it for today. I'll be watching at least part of this afternoon's game, and will have to record Monday morning's, as I will be asleep. Remember, I work graveyard shift...

TTFN, y'all!

Red Sox Fans Building Yankee Stadium?

Wouldn't it be great if this is actually true??

Report: Boston Red Sox T-shirt buried in new Yankee Stadium by construction worker

NEW YORK (AP)—Say it ain’t so, George!

A construction worker on a concrete crew at the new Yankee Stadium secretly buried a Red Sox T-shirt under the future visiting clubhouse in an effort to jinx the Yankees, the New York Post reported Friday.

The paper cited two construction workers it did not identify, saying they were not authorized to speak with the media. One of the workers said the T-shirt was poured in a slab in the visitor’s clubhouse.

“We noticed that the NY Post wrote a fun and interesting story about a T-shirt today—but it never happened,” Yankees spokeswoman Alice McGillion said Friday. “Yankee fans know that burying something in concrete in the basement is never a good thing. Memo to the Post: You’re 10 days late for April Fools’ Day.”

The Yankees move to the new ballpark in 2009.

Ahahaha....

Yeah, baby.

AAAAAARRRRRRRGHHHHHH!!!!!!

OH MY FREAKIN' GOD!!!!!
FOX 4 JUST CUT AWAY FROM THE RED SOX GAME WITH ONE STRIKE LEFT TO BROADCAST THE BEGINNING OF A STUPID NASCAR RACE!!!!!!

I can't believe those morons!!!!!

But yeah. Papelbon was, in fact, brilliant! This was A-Roid....*swish*swish*swish*

This was Giambi...*swish*swish*drink some steroids*swish*

Good game, Sox. Great game, Manny. Number 492, right?

Yanks 4, Sox 1

There are words I want to say, but I think some of my church members read this...

Sox Take 2 of 3

That was the Sox that we all know and love. The bats were out tonight, folks! Pitching was ok. Wake did alright, but had a couple shaky innings. But the Sox once again did that thing where they explode in the second half of the game.

I'm really sleepy, so there won't be many details. Plus I was also watching the Rangers on TV while watching the Sox on the 'puter. The Rangers are on the verge of sweeping a double-header from the Orioles, which will help the Sox immensely. It will also put the Rangers over .500 for the first time since 2006! Woot! It won't be enough to get the Sox into first, but it will help.

How many times did David Ortiz walk tonight? At least twice. And J.D. continues to play the redemption game. So much so that he drew (heh...no pun intended...really!) an intentional walk tonight.

And the poor Tigers fall even further. I feel no sympathy for them, though. They have Kenny Rogers on their team, you know. Ugh.

Ok. Rangers won. Game over. Baltimore falls to 6-3, Sox are 5-5. Looks like the Yanks are going to win, too, though. GO KC!!!

Well, off to bed with me. I have juree dutee tomorrow. Fun, eh! Guilty, I say! Guilty!!

Later, friends.

Game 2 of Series With the Tigers

In the middle of the second inning, there is no score. Tigers have one hit. Youk just took a screaming ground ball right in the chest! Ouch. He falls, the ball falls down inches away from first base, allowing him to crawl, rather painfully looking, grab it and touch the base, putting out the batter and saving his error-free streak! What a trooper!! Yet another reason why he remains one of my favorite players. (Along with Manny, Papi, Lowell, Ellsbury, Tek, Pedroia, etc., etc. Heh.)

Casey's pinch-hitting for Lowell alreay?? What did I miss? Apparently Lowell hurt himself in the first inning? Egad. But Casey at the bat, gets a hit this time.
By the way, this ump sucks. He's calling strikes well outside of the strike zone.

Hehe...Polanco just made an error at second base so Tek gets on, loading the bases for Ellsbury. Hah! Ellsbury walks, scoring a run. Sox lead 1-0. Great eye, Jacoby!!

Woot! Lugo hits. Another run scores. 2-0.

(Side note...looks like no game in Texas tonight. Raining.)

Nuts. Peds hits into a double play, ending the 2nd inning.

Nothing doing for the Tigers in the third.

Youk outruns a throw to first. Oh, no he didn't. Bad throw pulled the baseman off. That's two errors for the Tigers. Papi pops. And apparently, Manny isn't going to swing tonight. Oh, ok. Yes, he is, but he flies out to center. Casey doubles. He's hot tonight. And Drew grounds out to end the inning. Still 2-0, Sox.

Lester's slipping. Walked two in a row in the top of the fourth. Uh-oh. Renteria doubles and ties the game at 2.

Crap. Thames homers over the Monster. 4-2 Tigers. Finally out of it, but the Tigers cross the plate four times.

Bottom of fourth. Tek hooks a pop into shallow left and nobody gets to it. Counts as a double for Tek. Ok, STOP showing me John Henry talking!! There's game going on! Meanwhile, Ellsbury walks.

Holy cow! Lugo almost hits into a triple play! And then gets caught stealing, because he was obviously upset that his ploy for a triple play didn't work. Are you screaming, Dawn??

Lugo makes an attempt at redeeming himself by making a fabulous throw from short in the top of the fifth. Nothing for the Tigers, still 4-2.

Sadly, I really need a nap before work tonight, so I have to leave this game unfinished. If it's still going on in two hours (which is entirely possible, because it is the Red Sox), I'll catch up when I get to work.

Texas Rangers were postponed and plan a double header tomorrow.

*much later*

I'm at work now and see that we couldn't muster anything else for the night. Papi went 0-4 so I'm back at zero for my "Beat the Streak" hitting streak.

Sox lose 7-2.

However, the night wasn't a complete loss, because the Royals beat the Evil Empire 4-0. HAH!!

Now That's More Like It

This is much better. Boston wins 5-0 over the struggling Tigers. The Tigers whom Sports Illustrated picked to win the World Series this year. The Tigers who are 0-7. I know. It's just the second week. I just think it's funny.

Dice-K leads the league in strikeouts, too. That's great. And Youk is still errorless, but I've lost count. How many consecutive games now?

And just to show what great fans the Red Sox have, Bill Buckner was welcomed at Fenway Park today to throw out the first pitch for the home opener. The guy that everybody blames for the '86 World Series received a standing ovation for at least a solid minute, maybe 2. It was very touching. I swear I saw him wipe a tear from his eye a couple times. He would probably say it was dust.

On this side of the world, the Rangers lost their home opener to Red Sox nemeses, the Baltimore Orioles, who are obviously cheating somehow. Heh. It wouldn't hurt the Rangers to help the Sox a little, here, would it??

Man, it's good to be talking about actual games again. I love baseball season.

TTFN, y'all!

whimper

LAST PLACE???? WE'RE IN LAST PLACE????

Who are these guys and what have they done with the Red Sox??

Uhg.

Who's Who, Here?

After watching the better part of two different ball games tonight, I've decided that the Rangers and Red Sox switched uniforms tonight. The Red Sox played a lot like I'm used to seeing the Rangers play tonight. Although they didn't get credited with any errors, there were plays that should have been made, players falling down, sliding when it wasn't necessary...just overall sloppy play. Offensively, JD Drew was about it. So they lose to the Jays. Fortunately, the Evil Empire got their clocks cleaned by the Rays. Heh. 13-4.

So then, I turn on the TV to watch the Rangers play the Angels out in Nevernever land. As of just a couple minutes ago, bottom of the ninth, it was 11-0 in favor of the Rangers. Eric Broussard hit a grand slam, our guy Josh Hamilton hit an opposite field triple and a double, Ian Kinsler hit two doubles, and our ex-Red Sox Kason Gabbard pitched 7 innings of shut-out baseball. Gabbard and David Murphy worked out really well for the Rangers. Too bad Gagne didn't work for the Sox. That was a stupid trade anyway. The Sox didn't need a closer. Gagne is a closer. Anyway...the Rangers played like the Sox tonight. This will put them at .500 again, for the second time this season. I don't remember when the last time they were at .500. I'm not sure they ever were last season.

Well, onward to tomorrow...um...today? Whatever.

TTFN, y'all.

Watch Out A-Roid!!

Here's an article from the Yahoo front page this morning.

Hawk swoops from Fenway Park railing, attacks girl on school tour

Buzz Up Print BOSTON (AP)—A 13-year-old girl touring Fenway Park on a school trip was attacked by a resident red-tailed hawk that drew blood from her scalp Thursday.

She wasn’t seriously hurt, but some observers saw an omen for a certain New York Yankees slugger in the attack at the home of the Boston Red Sox. The girl’s name is Alexa Rodriguez.

Vince Jennetta, a teacher who chaperoned her class trip from Memorial Boulevard Middle School in Bristol, Conn., told The Boston Globe that Alexa is “a little shaken, but OK.”

The hawk was perched on a railing in the upper deck behind home plate while the group toured the stadium. The hawk flew at the girl and swooped with its talons extended, scratching her scalp.

A single egg lay in the hawk’s nearby nest in an overhang near the stadium’s press booth.

The nest and egg were removed at the direction of state wildlife officials.

Personally, with, of course, no ill feelings towards the young lady, I think they should keep the hawk and release it only when A-Roid bats.

MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Red Sox Take the Series

I got to watch the end of the game again. I'll be glad when these games get on a regular schedule. I was asleep through most of this one. But the Sox did that thing they love to do, they exploded in the last few innings of the game. Papi got them started with his two-run banger, then there was that 8th inning with 5 straight singles. Hahaha! Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang...two more runs. And Tek got that homer back that he lost last night. Huzzah!!

The only bad thing? Since Ellsbury didn't even get to bat tonight, my "Beat the Streak" hitting streak is over. I have to start again tomorrow. Sigh. But the Sox won. That's the bigger picture. They are now 3-1.

Glory be! I just saw that the Blue Jays are ahead of the Yanks, 5-2, top of the ninth! Hang on, Jays!!

And another reason to celebrate! I just learned that Youk set a new record for consecutive games at first base without an error at 194. Way to go Youk!! He gets to keep first base from today's game, which all of his teammates signed. *sniff*

Ok...one last celebration. This.

Stephanie got her braces off today!!! Congratulations, my dear! Heh. You can see where her true loyalty lies...She loves my Sox, too, though!

Papelbon Is Brilliant, Life Is Good

Papelbon struck out the side last night to seal the victory over the A's, 2-1. Dice-K struck out 9 in 6 2/3 innings. I wasn't able to watch any of the game, since it started so late...I had to get a nap before going to work, but I was able to listen to the last inning and heard Papelbon's brilliant 9th.

I have just seen some video, though, that shows Varitek getting completely robbed of a home run. Even the announcers were saying that it was a home run. But no umpires were anywhere near the shot to make a valid call. Pft.

And in spite of having two wins, we are in third place. Well, that will change soon.

Also, Manny got a hit, which kept my "Beat the Streak" contest going at 5 games. Thanks, Manny.

And to help make it a better day, the Rangers beat the Mariners, 5-4, in the ninth. It was a see-saw game, which they really tried to lose, but Josh Hamilton said, "No Way!" He belted a two run homer to drive in Ian Kinsler in the top of the ninth, and CJ Wilson pitched a good bottom to close it.

Gotta go eat lunch. Later, friends!