Johnny Who?

I bought Cocoa Krispies this weekend. I couldn't help it. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I wonder if Kelloggs has reported a spike in sales that can be attributed to Red Sox Nation.

I never thought that Coco Crisp would be a member of the Red Sox. He just seems more like a cartoon character or the answer to a breakfast cereal related trivia question.

The good news is that Coco Crisp is also the answer to the question Red Sox fans have posed around the water cooler since December: Who will be the opening day centerfielder? Here are two reasons why I love this deal:

1. Coco Crisp is just about to enter his baseball prime. Consider this: Last season with the Cleveland Indians, Crisp was age 25. His batting numbers (.300 BA, 16 HR, 69 RBI, 178 Hits) were almost identical to Johnny Damon's 1999 season when he was 25 (.307, 14 HR, 77 RBI, 179 Hits). My purpose isn't to compare Crisp and Damon (I know that Coco will probably never be bearded and shaggy), but it is exciting that the Sox have acquired a charismatic player who has the potential to make a huge impact over the next four seasons.

I know that the Sox had to give up top prospect Andy Marte to land Crisp, but when you get back a young player who has already proven that he can hit .300 at the Major League level, then it is worth the risk of trading a prospect. Let's just all just cross our fingers and hope that Marte doesn't turn out to be the second coming of Manny Ramirez.

2. The other reason that I love this deal is because the name "Coco Crisp" will provide endless possibilities for witty headlines by the Boston media. Crisp's first game on the Red Sox: "Crisp Beginnings". When Crisp is playing well: "Hot Coco". How about "The Heir Is Crisp in Centerfield".

If I had another cup of coffee and a Rice (Cocoa) Krispie treat, I might be able to come up with a few more, but I'll stop.

Enough Already

Enough already. I navigated over to Boston.com this morning to read about the Red Sox and all I found were four articles about Theo Epstein's "return". The bottom line is that there was a workplace disagreement, Theo left, there was a resolution, Theo returned. The media frenzy over this story is getting silly. Stop. Write about baseball.

In fact, all any of us really need to know about the Red Sox decision making can be found in this flowchart of what the Sox have to consider before finalizing a trade by Jamie Chisholm at Barstool Sports.

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Red Sox fans, don't forget that Single Game Tickets for the 2006 season go on sale tomorrow at 10am ET. According to redsox.com:

"tickets will be available for all games with the exception of the nine Fenway Park encounters with the Yankees. In an effort to limit ticket scalpers' access to those marquee games, those tickets -- along with Green Monster and Right Field Roof Deck tickets -- will be available at a later date through a random drawing. Details of that drawing have not yet been announced."

The Ten Most Hated Athletes

GQ Magazine has a feature article this month called The Ten Most Hated Athletes: "From Curt Schilling to Terrell Owens, meet the ten groin-kicking, preening, backstabbing athletes you most love to hate."

Here is the GQ list:

10. Lleyton Hewitt
9. A.J. Pierzynski
8. Phil Mickelson
7. Bonzai Wells
6. Michael Iaconelli
5. Kobe Bryant
4. Curt Schilling
3. Kurt Busch
2. Barry Bonds
1. Terrell Owens

First, I can't respect a list that doesn't put Barry Bonds as public enemy #1. Second, is Curt Schilling really hated that much? Third, what about A-Rod? Randy Johnson? Sheffield? Todd Bertuzzi?

Safe at Home

I came across this fantastic article in yesterday's Washington Post about the hostages who returned from Iran twenty five years ago Friday. They were given many gifts upon their return to the United States including a lifetime pass to any major league or minor league baseball game. The article explores how baseball helped each of them "reconnect with America":

"It was a small thing really, barely bigger than a credit card, tucked unpretentiously in a small black case. For each of the 52 American hostages who bounded off the plane, free at last, the ticket stuffed inside the box was another of the trinkets that piled up around them. A modest reward for the cold, metal muzzle of a shotgun pressed against their faces..."

Read the Washington Post Article, "Safe at Home" by Less Carpenter

An Open Letter to Dan Shaughnessey

Dan,

You helped drive Theo out of town with that column a few days before Halloween and, strangely, I believe this will actually make the Sox stonger because it allowed him to sort out some of his issues with the organization. No thanks to you. He is now back on his own terms. Now only a few hours after his rerturn you submit that he is coming back ignorant of his new role: "We have no idea where he'll rank on our flow chart..."

Dan, you and I both know that Theo would not return without having some idea of where he will rank on the 'flow chart'. Furthermore, slipping in those jabs towards the end. "He's been at best, immature and at worst, duplicitous." I'm not sure how you construe being principled as being immature. He was unhappy with his job so he left, and he said that he would not come back until things changed. This seems entirely mature and professional to me. An immature man would have left the organization in a fit of rage and rashly vowed never to come back. And duplicitous? That is beyond hyperbole.

It seems to me that an immature and duplicitous man... a man who hates his job... would use his column to create controversy, cause in- fighting, and basically toy with peoples' emotions to make them perceive issues that aren't there.

I'm saddened because, when I was young, I used to think that you were a great columnist. Maybe I was young and naive. Or maybe you were a great columnist but now you are nothing but a bitter, hollow man who doesn't seem to believe in anything but increasing readership. Actually, make that a bitter old man. If I can remember reading you when I was young... You should really update that little black and white picture they put next to your column.

Anyhow, I will no longer read your work. This letter will be posted on numerous blogs and will be forwarded through email and print. Hopefully people will join me. I know this won't scare you. It's not meant to. I don't have a big enough soapbox to turn people against you en masse, but just know that slowly people are realizing what you are. I hope you take this to heart even though that may be impossible.

Boston Dan

My Goodness, My Guinness Ice Cream

I came across a recipe for Guinness Ice Cream in the Food section of Boston.com today. What a great idea! The recipe calls for molasses though and since my kitchen is temporarily out of molasses, I am going to try this really simple recipe by Daniel Bornstein which was originally published at milk.com:

Recipe for Guinness Ice Cream

1 1/2 Cans Guinness Draft Beer
1 Large Egg
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Milk
2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

Preparation: Pour Guinness into a pan. (Note, you should drink the leftover 1/2 can while you prepare this recipe.) Boil it down to 1 1/2 cups and then leave it on the stove on low heat.

Mix the egg and sugar in a bowl. Stir in the milk and the warm Guinness concentrate. Mix in cream.

Chill the mixture for about an hour. Process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Makes approximately one quart of ice cream.

A New Kind of March Madness

The provisional rosters have been announced for this spring's inaugural World Baseball Classic, scheduled for March 3 through March 20th. Games will be played in the US, Japan and Puerto Rico.

There were forty-two players named to the United States' "Dream Team" roster including Barry Bonds, Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr., Chipper Jones, Lance Berkman, Derek Lee, Roger Clemens and Red Sox stars Jason Varitek and Mike Timlin.

The Dominican Republic roster is just plain scary. To rattle off some names: David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Vlad Guerrero, Albert Pujols, Pedro Martinez, Robinson Cano, Rafael Furcal, Miguel Tejada, Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rodriguez (maybe) and Adrian Beltre. Not a bad team for a country of approximately nine million people which is only slightly larger than the population of New York City. Geez.

The Chinese roster has eight "Chens". Only one player was named to the Netherlands roster: Andruw Jones. Apparently he is going to play every position a la Bugs Bunny.

There is definitely potential for the World Baseball Classic to be an exciting tournament but I am skeptical about whether the players named to the provisional rosters will actually participate. There is already chatter from big names such as Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens that they may sit out and I have no doubt that Barry Bonds will have the sudden onset of a mysterious unnamed injury to weasel his way out of it too.

Even if all the star players do participate, it may still be tough to get a captive audience within the United States. March is usually reserved for filling out NCAA Basketball Tournament brackets and biding time until our favorite Major League teams take the field. It will also be a big transition to transfer our "regional loyalties" to "national loyalties".

In other words, I just don't know if I'll be able to root for Derek Jeter or against Manny and Big Papi.

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On a completely unrelated note (file this under "things you never needed to know"), I am totally addicted to Fox's TV Series "24". Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep.

76 Days, 21 Hours, 38 Minutes and 16 Seconds

Photo by tollerSCREAM

The New England Patriots' season came to an abrupt end on Saturday in Denver - five turnovers, 27 points for the Broncos and it was all over. Since I would rather bob for apples in my free time than watch the struggling Bruins and Celtics, there is only one option: It is time to pop "Faith Rewarded" into the DVD player and start the countdown.

76 Days, 21 Hours, 38 Minutes and 16 Seconds until the 2006 Red Sox season begins in Texas against the Rangers. In three weeks pitchers and catchers will arrive at City of Palms Park for Spring Training. That means in-depth reports from Rem Dawg in his Hawaiian shirt and sandals. I can't wait.

Anyone know where I can get an advent-style Red Sox calendar to countdown to Opening Day? You know, one of those calendars where you open a little door each day and there is a picture inside. I'd like to open January 16th and see a picture of Big Papi launching a ball into orbit.

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Don't forget: It's Monday and that means that tonight is Trivia Night with Boston Dan at John Harvard's Brewhouse (33 Dunster Street, Harvard Square). The trivia questions start at 10pm sharp!

So I'm Marrying A Denver Broncos Fan

Usually "the Broncos thing" is not an issue in our relationship. If it weren't for the Thanksgiving dinners with his family in Denver and the orange and blue Broncos jacket that I keep pushed to the back of the closet, I'd hardly even notice his one minor flaw. I mean it's not as if he is a Yankees fan or something equally unforgivable like this guy.

Today is different. The Denver Broncos and New England Patriots meet in the AFC Divisional Playoffs and for three hours tonight there will be no cuddling. In fact, we will sit on polar opposite ends of our couch -- he in his throwback John Elway jersey and me with Bruschi's number 54 on my back. I bought my own six pack of Samuel Adams because I was notified that he won't be sharing his Coors Light with a Patriots fan. For every errant Patriots pass he will emit a guttural "IN-COM-PLETE" with the rest of the Broncos faithful and I will glance across the room and wonder what I ever saw in him.

Let's just hope that it is all over quickly -- no last minute Vinatieri field goal heroics, no overtime, no controversial calls, just a nice hard fought win for the Patriots. Then in the aftermath, I'll tell him that "it will be okay...the Broncos are really good but the Patriots just don't lose in the playoffs" and I'll remind him that pitchers and catchers report for spring training in less than five weeks.

At least he is a Red Sox fan.

Joe Is Back

It is going to be painful to see Joe Thornton back on the ice in Boston tonight wearing a San Jose Sharks uniform -- and it's not just because the teal is hideous. I'm still not buying the argument that trading Joe made the Bruins a better team.

You'll Never Be Sober Again

Worried about the Red Sox? Here's a solution: Navigate over to Extratasty.com and you'll never be sober again. At least that's what the guys at Skinny Corp want you to believe. If you find yourself on their new social drink-making site, you just might be able to ease your Red Sox based tension a little bit.

Extratasty is similar to webtender.com in that you create a catalogue of items in your home bar - liquor, mixers and garnishes - and then generate a list of drinks that you can make with the ingredients you have. Extratasty takes the concept a step further though with searchable tags, user interaction, commenting, and recipe rating.

Overall, Extratasty seems to be "a work in progress" (a search for Drambuie turns up 0 results!), but I love the concept.

It's Happy Hour - time to mix up a Fuzzy Logic.

Trivia Night With Boston Dan

Hey Bleacher people!

I host a trivia night at John Harvard's in Harvard Square (of all places). I have been doing it since Septemeber and it is a lot of fun. We start at 10pm every Monday night and finish before midnight. It's absolutely free to play and you can win beer and gift certificates from the restaurant. Come down and say hi! If you tell me that you are a fellow bleacher creature, I'll slip you some extra points...email me for details at dan.donato@gmail.com or just show up!

John Harvard's Brew House
33 Dunster Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

New England Patriots Good Luck Drink: The Patriot

We posted this good luck recipe for the New England Patriots during the NFL Playoffs last year. Apparently it worked, so here it is again.

For best results, "The Patriot" should be done as a shot just before kickoff.

The Patriot
Ingredients:
1/3 oz Blue Curacao
1/3 oz Creme de Cacao, white
1/3 oz Grenadine

Mixing Instructions:
This is a layered shot so the end result should be a layer of red, then white and then blue. Fill the shot glass one third of the way with grenadine, then using the back of a spoon, pour in the white creme de cacao. Use the spoon again to fill the last 1/3 with blue curacao. (recipe from drinknation.com)

Go Pats!

Diggin' Up the Past

With the Red Sox reportedly still in limbo on the trade front, I decided to dig through my closet and unearth some boxes of old baseball cards. I even found a wad of Mo Vaughn cards that he might want use as giveaways at his new car wash in Attleboro.

Even better than the discovery of a new "valuable card" is coming across random "gems" that remind me of the Red Sox players that I watched when I was a kid. Here are some examples:


Dave Stapleton, a defensive specialist, played for the Sox from 1980 - 1986 and was famously sitting on the bench when the ball went through Buckner's legs during the 1986 World Series.


I love this 1986 fancy "Super Special Star" card of Carlton Fisk and Rich Gedman. I remember the style and image quality of Fleer cards in the '80s were "low budget" compared to Topps, Donruss and Score.


Todd Benzinger played for the Sox in 1987 and 1988. My six year old sister named her pet hamster after him.


Stanley pitched for the Sox from 1977 to 1989. I remember him always getting booed.


Red Sox Manager, Terry Francona, as shown in his 1987 Topps Card.



It is always a treat to come across an old "Rem Dawg" card. Here he is back in 1979.

See, wasn't that fun?

What I've Been Diggin'

Instead of straining my typing muscles to make speculations about the 2006 Red Sox roster, (Will Manny really be traded for Miguel Tejada? Who will be the leadoff hitter? What about centerfield?) I have decided to follow the lead of my pal Sean over at Nervous Music and make a list of "what I've been diggin'" lately.

Every couple of months, Sean partakes in the great sport of "sharing unsolicited recommendations about random items". Here are mine. Away we go:

1. Bed Bath and Beyond's Hotel Fabric Shower Curtain Liner: I am pleased to announce that shower curtain liner technology is progressing. Not only is this little gem mildew resistant, but it features four SUCTION CUPS that seal the liner to the side of the shower to prevent leakage. This is a vital feature for individuals (such as myself) who have a problem keeping water inside the shower.

2. Apples to Apples Party Game: I usually cringe and play dead when I'm at a party and the host pulls out a "game", but I recently played "Apples to Apples" and I am ready to label it with "two thumbs up." I would probably even give it "three thumbs up" if I had an additional thumb. The game isn't difficult, it's just fun and it's easy to morph it into a drinking game too.

3. IKEA's VURM 4-Bottle Wine Rack: This flashy little rack from IKEA holds four bottles of wine. It is well worth the price of $9.99 and it can double as "wall decoration" if you are trying to spruce up a new apartment.

4. Don and Joe's Meats Steak Seasoning: A small butcher shop located in the Pike Place Market in Seattle creates this clever concoction of garlic, vegetable oil, dill, paprika and "spices". I swear, this seasoning magically turns a "decent piece of steak" into an "amazin' steak". I brought a few bottles home to the East Coast in December and now there are at least six people in Brewster, MA addicted to the stuff.

5. Google Reader: This is Google's web based RSS feed reader that was launched back in October 2005. The application is still in "beta" status so there are definitely bugs to work out and improvements to be made, but I've been having fun playing around with it. Google is one step closer to World Domination.

6. "Smallville" Season 1: Okay, so I know that a)"Smallville" airs on "The WB Network" which is notorious for its cheesy teen dramas and b)this series has been airing since 2001 so it is nothing new, but I recently rented the first season and was absolutely entertained. The series is a "prequel" of sorts to Superman, chronicling the early years of Clark Kent's life as he figures out "just how to deal with the puzzling powers he now possesses and the oddly devilish goings-on in Smallville, the tiny Kansas town where he lives." (from Netflix)

"I wish I could pinpoint exactly what happened" -- Rafael Palmeiro

Just in case you need some help today, here are the top ten cures for a hangover from hungover.net.

Here is some entertaining Sunday reading once you have recovered:

The New York Post psychoanalyzes Johnny Damon: Damon In the Rough.

The Boston Herald's Inside Track names Damon, Brady lead in '05 Gossip All-Stars.