Briefly...

Whoa. Been a long time.

I guess I didn't have much to write about. Hmmm...still don't.

I'm glad to see that Tek made up his mind. It will be nice to see him still in a Sox uniform this season. I hope they can fix whatever was wrong with his bat, though.

Elsewhere, I see that the Texas Rangers did absolutely NOTHING to improve their team during this off season. I guess Jon Daniels and Tom Hicks are happy with a less than mediocre second place in the American League Worst. I mean West.

I figure they'll trade Josh Hamilton before the season is over. If'n they do that, I'm burning all of my Rangers stuff. Just in case anyone wonders, though, I have more than twice as much Red Sox stuff as I do Rangers stuff. I got my priorities straight, doncha know?

I don't feel like writing much else right now...I'll try to keep this more up to date.

TTFN, y'all

Red Sox 8, Royals 2--Rangers 8, Evil Empire 6. BAM!!

So the Sox are now 4-1 A.M. (After Manny.) Or it could be P.M. (Post Manny.) Then they could have P.M.S. (Post Manny Syndrome)

Can you tell I'm sleepy? I get silly when I'm sleepy.

Note to the Red Sox. In order to catch the Desperate Housewives (previously known as the Tampa Bay Sunbeams), you have to WIN when they LOSE! Got it?? Geez.

In the meantime, the local boys (that would be the Rangers) have whooped up on the Evil Empire TWICE IN A ROW!!! And the Monday night game ended in tremendously grand fashion as Marlon Byrd hit a WOGSHR (Walk Off Grand Slam Home Run) to beat the Evil Ones 9-5. Tonight, they were up 8-2 before struggling C.J. Wilson gave up a Grand Salami to, of all people, Richie Sexson. BOOOOO!! But they still held on and won 8-6, putting the Rangers 6 games over .500 for the first time in 100 years.

That was probably a slight exaggeration.

And the Los Angeles Anaheim California Orange County Angels lost to Baltimore, so the Rangers actually gained a game on them. Oakland continues to lose (I think it's 8 in a row, now), so the Rangers are solidly in second place for now. But 10.5 games behind the Halos.

Our Sox continue to be 3 behind the Desperate Housewives.

Also, the Rangers are only 1.5 games behind the Evil Ones in the Wild Card race. That will disappear by Thursday after they achieve their first sweep of the season.

Oh, and did you see poor, poor Joba the Hut Monday night? His pride got hurt so bad from the pounding the Rangers were giving him that his shoulder started hurting. I felt soooooo sorry for him.

NOT!!

It would appear that the Rangers have his number. Now, if they would just share that number with the Sox...

Heh. And A-Roid got hit twice tonight! Twice!! Hah. So the Evils hit Josh Hamilton. Pft. Hamilton had already blasted another 2-run homer against Petite. (I know. I did that on purpose.)

I'm enjoying this way too much.

I'm hoping the Rangers can keep up the spanking Wednesday. Also hoping that the Sox can continue their A.M. winning ways.

I guess I'll go back to work now.

TTFN, y'all!

Tex, we gotta meet up somehow in September!

Bored Now

I WANT SOME BASEBALL!!!

Ok, I got that out of my system.

Yes, Ted, I got to see our boy go wild in the Home Run Derby. I had tears in my eyes watching him. It was amazing. Did you see him HIT THE FREAKIN' WALL??? MAN!

And that brings me to an opinion. They need to change their stupid rules on the derby. How in the world does a guy who hit 35 home runs in the derby lose to a guy who hits 13 less??? The third round was a total anticlimax. Both guys were spent. I mean, c'mon. The winner of the home run derby wins with a whopping FIVE home runs. Oooh! Hamilton should have won that thing, hands down.

At any rate, I couldn't be more proud of him. As a matter of fact, I will go on record and say that between Monday and Tuesday nights, I have never been more proud to be a fan of the Texas Rangers! Michael Young and Ian Kinsler turned a game-saving double play while Rivera was trying to lose the game.

And while we're talking about trying to lose the game, let's talk about booing Papelbon. Ok, I understand. It's Yankee-World. So they hate Papelbon. But you know what??? Papalbon DIDN'T THROW THE FREAKIN' BALL OUT INTO CENTERFIELD WHILE THE NL PLAYER WAS STEALING SECOND BASE, ALLOWING HIM TO GET TO THIRD AND SUBSEQUENTLY SCORE ON A SAC FLY!!! Who, you might ask, was guilty of that???

THE IDIOT CATCHER OF THE TAMPA BAY SUNBEAMS, THAT'S WHO!!!!

Ok. I'll stop shouting now.

J.D. Drew gets MVP honors, that's cool. And Michael Young drives in the winning run for the second time in 5 years (maybe 3 years??). And, once again, the AL proves who really runs the show in the MLB. 12 years since the poor NL has won the All-Star game.

I have a big question. During the introduction of all those HoF players, where was Yaz?? That was disappointing. But Yogi. Man, I cried when they introduced Yogi Berra. I know. He was a Yankee. But, man. What a legend. I really didn't even know the guy was still alive. He may be the last one of that bunch left. Not sure.

And I'm getting so excited, I can hardly stand it. A week from right now, I will be trying to sleep, so we can get up early for our flight to Boston on Friday morning. We got our tickets and itineraries (boy, that's a hard word to type) last week. All in a nice Red Sox folder, with a map from the airport to the hotel we will be staying in.

Our pre-game reception and tour are both on Saturday, which will be a very busy day, turns out.

Friday, we arrive, and will have time to get to the hotel, where we will find our packages with our jerseys. Stephanie and Christi are getting Ellsbury road jerseys and I'm getting a Varitek home jersey--that was a very hard decision for me; I really wanted a Schilling jersey, but it turns out he wasn't going to be on the roster, and I think it had to be a roster player. I love Ellsbury, too, and other players, but I probably have more respect for El Capitan than anyone on the team.

We will also receive a game-used ball for each of us, and I'm not sure what else. Then we have the first game Friday night.

Saturday starts early, with our tour of the park at 9:30am. Hopefully, we will get to go on the Green Monster this time. Then, our reception is at 11:00 or 11:30, right after the tour. They haven't told us which player we will get to meet. I really really really really hope it's not, you know, Lugo. But whoever, it is, it will be a Red Sox player, so that's ok. Then we have the afternoon game on Saturday. I figure after the game, we will head back to the hotel and collapse. Maybe hit the pool for a while.

Sunday's game is a late one. 8pm. So we will probably use Sunday for some sightseeing, try to catch as much of the history in Boston as we can. And maybe get to Fanueil Hall. We keep hearing that it's a really cool place.

We booked an extra night at the hotel since the game was so late on Sunday, so Monday morning, we will pack up and leave Boston for our rental house in Rye, NH. Right on the beach! Ahhhh....five nights of pure relaxation. Nothing to do. Except whatever we want to do. After the frenzied weekend, I think we will need it.

Just a few player notes. I hear the Yankees are making a deal with Richie Sexson. Hah. Good!!! They deserve each other. And there are also rumors that they are thinking about signing Bonds?? I tell you the truth, nothing could make me happier. Let's let all of the players with massive amounts of baggage go to New York. With A-Roid, Bonds, and Sexson, they are sure to wind up in the cellar!!

I also heard a very nasty rumor that the Sox were considering trading Youk for Teixeira. I really hope that there was no truth at all in that. As much as I would like to see Tex in a Sox uniform, that would be a very, very stupid move. Tex will be a free agent at the end of this season, and there is no way El Diablo will let him stay with the same team.

Oh, yeah, and Papi is scheduled to return next Friday night!! Yeehaaaaa!!!

There will be pictures. Lots of them.

TTFN, y'all!

What A Day

First of all, I offer my sincere, humble apologies to anyone who might have been offended by yesterday's entry. I don't know what came over me. I am, however, glad that the Sunbeams lost. I'll just ignore who it was that beat them. I hope that no one will shun me.

Moving on.

What a pleasant surprise was awaiting me when I woke up from my daily sleep yesterday to find my daughter happily announcing that the Red Sox defrelnicated the Twins 18-5! Who's the hottest team in baseball, again?? The bats came alive, eh? Cash hits one into the parking lot and Youk follows suit soon afterwards. Even El Capitan got 2 hits! Could this be the turnaround that we've been looking for? Just in time to take a week off?

You know, I really wish that baseball would have their All-Star game like football does. AFTER the season. I say that because I live in Rangers-land, where we are notorious for the "aftertheallstargame collapse." I just think that a week without games is too long. The pitchers get off their schedule, everybody gets cold, etc.

Anyway. On to the night game. Rangers vs Halos. So far, they are 1-1 in the series. When I left for work, the California Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were ahead 4-2, after Frankie Francisco had given up two runs. I listened on the way to work, as two innings progressed quite rapidly. When I pulled into the parking lot, it was the bottom of the 9th, K-Rod was pitching, one out, Cat had 2 strikes on him. I went into the building, went back to put my lunch up, make coffee, etc. Went to the restroom. My cell phone rings while I'm washing my hands. It's my daughter. "Josh Hamilton hit a home run. THEY WON!! I'm shaking so hard!!"

So here, for your viewing pleasure is a video of this year's story of the year hitting the walk-off.

VIDEO LINK

What a finish. So the Rangers are now up on the Angels 2-1 in this series with one game left. And they are 4 over .500 for the first time this season, first time since Noah's ark landed, I think.

Ok. That was an exaggeration. But it's been a very long time.

So it was a good day. And the Sox gained another game on the Sunbeams because they lost again. To somebody. Who shall remain nameless.

And I'm supposed to get my tickets and itinerary for our Red Sox Destinations weekend today! EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

TTFN, y'all!

Ex-Sox Makes Good For Rangers

David Murphy continues to be the best trade that Jon Daniels ever made in his piddly little existence.

Tonight, he put the Rangers ahead with a grand salami in the top of the 7th in KC. Once again, just like Tuesday night, the Rangers were down 5-1. Once again, they battled back. This time with no outs in the top of the 7th. After the dust cleared in the 7th inning, it was 8-5 Rangers, Byrd scoring on a sac fly. Not content with that, Murphy hit another home run on the very next pitch he received. Heh. Final score was Rangers 11, Royals 5. And our good friend Josh Hamilton seems to be back on the swing again, and...what a catch he made in foul territory over there in right field. Not sure what he was doing in right field...but, hey! He jumped really, really high and snagged a fly over the top of the fence. I thought Eric Nadel (radio broadcaster for the Rangers) was going to have a cow. His voice just kept getting higher and higher.

And our Sox did better tonight. 1-1 in this one so far, which is not bad on a road trip.

I'm not quite so hard on our boys for their road record, though. I was looking at the standings yesterday, and there are only, I think, three teams that have a winning record on the road. And there are a few who are quite a bit worse off than the Red Sox. Oddly, the Rangers, who are now (again) one game over .500, are almost exactly even in both areas, home and away. That's kind of funny. They don't do so well at home, because the idiots that designed that ballpark made it a very good park for hitters. That's why the Rangers can go in there, score 9 runs and still lose the game. Pft. Everybody blames the pitching, but I think it's really the ballpark's fault. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful place to watch a game. But it's a really bad place to pitch.

I guess that's all for now. See you later. I'm getting all butterfly-ey in my tummy...our trip is getting closer and closer. I just got goose bumps thinking about it. Little over a month. If we get to see a sweep in July, I may never come down off of that cloud!

Oh, and Stephanie told me that Mr. Papi became an American citizen yesterday? Congratulations to him!!! That is way cool!

Roller Coasters, Anyone?

Yes, I've been watching. I guess I really haven't felt like writing much lately. Until Saturday night, that is. And darn the luck, I wasn't looking. I was playing 42 with my wife and kids. Bleah. Stephanie yelled at me from up at the front computer. It's still great, though. Wish he could have done it at Fenway, but there were plenty of fans in Camden Yards to see it, too.

Before the Baltimore series, I was whining and moaning about why Boston can't win on the road. Seriously. It's pretty horrible. But now, they've won the Baltimore series. Maybe it's a west-coast thing. I dunno. But it's maddening.

Who would've ever thought we'd be battling it out in the AL East with the bloody Tampa Bay "Sunbeams???" And I know for sure I heard some screams from Tampa when Lugo was muffing those plays at shortstop and getting thrown out of the game in Seattle. By the way...did anyone ever hear what exactly he did for that idiot umpire to toss him?

And I also have a very serious question for Mr. Terry. When you have two outs in the top of the ninth, score tied 3-3 against one of the worst teams in baseball, and your batter is 0-6 against the current pitcher, WHY DON'T YOU PINCH HIT????? Why the bloody heck do you put Youk in to pinch run instead of pinch hitting??? Sigh.

We're all perfect managers, aren't we?

Ah, well. We're back in the winning column for now.

And look at the Rangers! Our home team was actually over .500 for one day this weekend, and were it not for the 7th inning, they would have won Sunday, too. But for now, the remain at .500, 1 1/2 games behind Oakland in third place. And they've won another series. All things considered, even as disappointing as Sunday's game was, they are playing really well, right now. Better than most of us expected. And to make it even better, they have won more games than the Evil Empire and are ahead of the Evil Ones in the standings!

And our good friend Josh Hamilton hit a grand slam home run on the day his picture appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine!! HAH!! Take THAT, Sports Illustrated Curse!! Still leading the MLB in RBIs.

In non-baseball news (What did he say??), I just finished one of the best books I've read in quite a long time. It's called Look Me In the Eye: my life with asperger's, by John Elder Robison. It's an amazing biographical story of the author's experiences with his Asperger's syndrome. I highly recommend it.

Gotta go eat lunch. Bye for now.

Way To Go, Jon Lester!!!

Wow.

Jon Lester throws a no-no and I missed the whole thing. I was on my way to work, listening to the Rangers blow a game with the Twins, when Eric Nadel announced it. I almost lost control of the van. Good on Lester, and great catch by Ellsbury.

It was a great weekend, too, with the Sox sweeping the Beer People, and the Rangers taking 2-3 from the Astros.

Ted, did you SEE Josh Hamilton on Friday night?? The boy went 5-5 and was a double away from hitting the cycle! It was amazing! Of course, tonight, he misplayed the ball that wound up being the losing play. I hope he's not too hard on himself, because losing this game was definitely a group effort. C.J. Wilson blew the save in the bottom of the ninth when they were ahead 6-5, and Michael Young struck out with the bases loaded in one of the extra innings. So...they all contributed. But Friday night...the Rangers hit 6 home runs as they whipped the 'stros 16-8.

So the Sox are on a nice streak, and the Yankees remain in last place by 6.5 games. I will enjoy that while it continues.

That's it for now...TTFN, y'all!

Close Games

Wow. The last two games have been very good games, especially for the "baseball purist." Absolute pitching battles. Lester against Halladay...Halladay pitched a complete game (and lost...aw...), Lester pitched 8 scoreless innings and they brought in Papelbon to shut 'em down. Thanks to Youk (well, he doesn't get all the credit does he? Papi walked and Manny singled to set him up), we win in the bottom of the ninth.

Then last night, we do it again, only with a 1-1 tie in the ninth. Papi hit a sweet big fly into the right field stands. But Tek gets to be the hero in this game, with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.

Meanwhile, the Rangers continue to struggle, so far winning one and losing one to the equally bad Royals. In last night's game, they got ahead early and stayed ahead, despite all efforts to lose. 11-9 final score, as the Rangers hit at least 5 home runs (all of their runs were caused by big flies), and Ted, you will be very pleased to know that our good friend Josh Hamilton hit his first Grand Salami last night, and I just happened to be watching when it happened.

They also have this new guy named Brandon Boggs? OMG, for his first four at bats with the Rangers, he was 4-4. He went 2-4 tonight, with one crushing home run that almost made upper home run porch, and now has a .667 batting average! Daniels will probably trade him next week. For a "big bat."

Things are progressively getting better at our house. We were all sick over the weekend. It started with Stephanie, who started "calling Earl" at around 2am Saturday morning. She was sick all day Saturday, and we actually attributed it to what we thought was (and still think might be) rheumatic fever, which sometimes comes on the heels of a strep infection. Well, this is not contagious. And my wife and I both started hugging the porcelain throne Sunday night. I left work early Sunday night and missed Monday night, she missed Monday and Tuesday. Stephanie finally went back to school Tuesday and after today, will have made three days in a row!! (Hear the angels singing??) She will miss Friday, though, because we have an appointment with a rheumatologist. We want to confirm (or unconfirm) that she had rheumatic fever. If she did, she will likely need to be on low dosages of antibiotics for a long time, in order to prevent another strep infection. We shall see.

Now the Sox have to play the dreaded Rays again. DEVIL RAYS!! Bring back the DEVIL!! Tam-pa Bay De-vil Rays. It just works better.

TTFN, y'all!

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!