The Captain is Back -- Whiff!

Alas! The drama is over. Jason Varitek will be with the Red Sox in 2009.

It's easy to get sentimental about this. I am. I can't help it. Tek will likely retire a Red Sox and I'd bet my left big toe that his number "33" will never be worn by another Red Sox player. But -- and that's a big but -- it won't be fun to watch another season of our aging, rally-killing, .220 hitting catcher (.175 with RISP) at the plate. Yikes.

Let's hope that this deal will put the Red Sox in a better position to trade for a young catcher. Remember this?

Woo Hoo!

Buchholz to make his Red Sox debut Friday

The Globe is reporting that "phenom," Clay Buchholz, will make is Major League debut in the first game of Friday's doubleheader against the LA Angels. Exciting stuff.

Here is what soxprospects.com has to say about Buchholz:

"Scouting Report: Buchholz has a low-to-mid 90s four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball with decent movement, a slider, a hard 12-to-6 curveball, and a change-up.

In 2006, Buchholz actually let loose towards the end of the season, when his fastball was sitting around 96 mph. However, over the course of the season his fastball typically sits around 91-94 and tops out at about 97 mph. His plus change-up is generally a straight change that sits around 78-82 mph; he also throws a circle change. His curveball, the best in the organization, sits between 76-81 mph with a knee-buckling bite. On any given night, Buchholz's curve or change can be unhittable, and he tends to rely on whichever is on as his out pitch throughout the game. His slider, while average to above average, is a bit behind his other secondary pitches and sits in the low to mid 80s. Mixes in all of his pitches phenomenally.

Good demeanor on the mound. Pitches well under pressure, pitching coaches have said he has ice water running through his veins. Nice pick-off move. Struggled with consistency early in his pro career, but otherwise has ace makeup. Might need to add and maintain some weight to endure a full major league season."

I've read a ton about Buchholz in the media, but haven't actually seen him pitch. It will be fun to see what he can do at Fenway Friday.

Go Sox!
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"Maybe I'll Have Some Moose Jerky"

Just in case you missed the "Moose incident" yesterday at Safeco Field, Barstool Sports has posted this YouTube video of Coco Crisp's run in with the Mariner Moose.Had he been hurt, I'm 100% sure that Coco would have been instantly added to ESPN's All-Bizarre Injury Team. What could be more bizarre than an injury caused by a collision with a Moose on an ATV? Here are a few quotes about the incident (from the Seattle Times):

Coco Crisp: "I believe avoiding that moose was the most athletic thing I did all day today. I mean, I didn't even see him. I just heard the loud vroom. I jumped back and kind of just rolled with the punch...Maybe I'll have some moose jerky."

Terry Francona: "I was told it looked like something from 'Naked Gun."

JD Drew: "How many times a day do you have to go out there and check for traffic? Coming out of the dugout, you have to look left and look right? I mean, it's not like you're crossing the highway or jaywalking or anything."
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Sunday Links: Home Run Charts, Steinbrenner and El Guapo

(Photo by Chris Cook)

Here are some links for Sunday afternoon. Let's hope that Beckett and the Sox can win the rubber game of the series in Seattle today.

Paths to the Top of the Home Run Charts (Interactive!) [New York Times]

In case you missed it, Conde Nast and the NY Post (among other publications) ran stories this week about the deteriorating health of George Steinbrenner. I don't usually poke fun at the poor health of 77 year old men, but the thought of Steinbrenner as a "befuddled, bloated old man in dreadful shape" who responds "Great to see ya" to every question he is asked is just too much.

Sean O's Guide to Fenway: Seating [Fire Brand of the American League]

El Guapo could be making a comeback! [Boston.com]

(Photo from Boston.com)

Trading Places: Red Sox Have Become the Yankees [NY Times]
Don't read this article if you have high blood pressure. Yanksfan vs Soxfan and Joy of Sox have posted great criticisms of the article if you are in need of relief.

Why do sinking fastballs cause groundballs? [The Hardball Times]

An ad, ad, world [Boston Sports Blog]

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What happened to Red Sox Nation?

According to this map which outlines the borders of the "United Countries of Baseball", Red Sox Nation doesn't extend quite as far as we thought.

(From Strange Maps via Deadspin)

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Larger than Life

Who knew that there exists a living human who can make Big Papi appear...uhm...small? Jeez. (Photo from Boston.com)

KG throws out the first pitch at Fenway [Boston.com]

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Holy Bullpen

Okay...so when one such blogger (me) has found herself on extended summer hiatus from general blog updating, it takes a major event be jarred back to the blogosphere. I'm "jump up and down" psyched that Eric Gagne is now a proud member of the Red Sox bullpen. Look at our pen: Papelbon, Okajima, Gagne, MDC, Timlin, Tavarez, Snyder and Lopez. Deep! Solid.

On the other hand, I am not disappointed at all that the proposed trade for Jermaine Dye fell through. Of course this might be tied to an unfounded hope that Wily-Mo Pena will eventually develop into a quality player. If the big guy could just lay off those outside breaking balls...

Go Sox!

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(Photo by Flickr user Timmer82)

Sox Prospect Interview

Blogger, Sox1Fan has done an exclusive interview with Red Sox uber pitching prospect, Clay Buchholz. Check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the interview over on his site. Good stuff!

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Swept

My hubby snapped this photo on our way out of Safeco Field Wednesday. Yikes -- Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched a gem and we were still swept.

One thing I noticed at the park yesterday is that Seattle Mariners fans are developing a strong animosity for Red Sox fans. Since the M's don't have a close local rival, fans are not used to having Safeco inundated by fans of the visiting team. When I moved here four years ago, there were plenty of Red Sox fans, but Mariners' fans didn't hate us. It wasn't unusual to get a consoling pat on the back by a Mariners' fan after their team beat the Sox. Yesterday I had multiple brooms stuck in my face and I heard things like "Go home Red Sox fans, get out of our city!" Times are changing I guess.

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Seattle

Safeco Field photo by my sis-in-law, Jen.

Ahh...I feel like a kid in a candy store out here in Seattle. The Red Sox are in town! Pacific Northwest Red Sox fans living quietly amongst us will emerge. The Sox will be on HD TV screens in all the local bars and there will certainly be sitings of Rem Dawg tossing a fish or two at the Pike Place Fish Market.

The sun is shining and the Safeco Field roof is open...Let's Go Sox!

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7 1/2

Here we have the current A.L. East standings:

The Sox division lead is down to 7.5 games. Should we be concerned or is this just a mini June swoon? We can't blame it every loss on Julio Lugo, can we?

David Ortiz offers an appropriate summary: "It’s not good, man. We haven’t been hitting for [crap], so hopefully it’ll get better."

Yes, hopefully. Go Sox!

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Schilling's Gem

Of course, the important thing is that the Sox won the final game of a tough series in Oakland, but it was heartbreaking to watch Schil lose the no-hitter with two outs in the ninth. Sigh. So close!

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7:05 pm

Did I mention that it is fantastic to have the Red Sox playing out here in the Pacific Time Zone for a few days? Baseball at 7:05 pm? Amazing!

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Sunday Links: Boggs, Youk and the $7 Brewskie

Here a whopping ten links for your Sunday afternoon:

Lowell: NY was my school of hard knocks [Boston.com]

Boggs and current Sox first baseman share perspectives [Nashua Telegraph]

Youk has a blog! [Yooooouuuuukkkkk]

Curt Schilling blogs about his outing Saturday. [38 Pitches]

Memories of the Impossible Dream Season Part One and Part Two [Peter's Red Sox Forever]

The $7 Ballpark Brewskie [The Hardball Times]

Leveraging Ballparks [Fire Brand of the AL]

Johnny Damon might play some first base for the Yankees. Yikes. [ESPN]

Roger Clemens won't start for the Yankees Monday. [ESPN]

If Only War Reporting Were More Like Sports Reporting [Washington Post]

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Friday Random YouTube: Rem Dawg Air Guitar

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Don't knock it 'til you try it: Five Toed Sox

Hey! Those are Alex Cora's toe-socks. (Photo from NY Times)

We learned during spring training that Japanese pitchers, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima, wear five-toed socks. This piece of information was dismissed as a "notable and mildly interesting cultural difference." Today we learn from David Picker of the New York Times that several other Red Sox players have jumped on the five-toed sock bandwagon:

"The socks, which fit like a glove with each toe individually encased, were met with curiosity in Boston’s clubhouse during spring training. Before long, Matsuzaka began offering pairs to anyone who expressed an interest. And a number of players did, including Mike Lowell, Alex Cora and Doug Mirabelli, who are now playing in them regularly. Looking for a reason for Boston’s great start to the season? Maybe it is the socks."

The Captain is a holdout:

"Jason Varitek said he has never worn five-toed socks and sees no reason to try them now. “I don’t know why,” Varitek said with a shrug. “I just don’t like the toes separated.”

This is a curious phenomenon. Alex Cora's batting average is 95 points higher than last season, Lowell's is up 49 points, Mirabelli's 12. Perhaps they are on to something? It might be time to pick up a pair of toe-socks for "research" to analyze the effect of toe separation on job performance. Just sayin'.

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On to Texas

Okay, so the Red Sox lost two of three in Yankee Stadium. No panic here. The Sox are still 31-15 with a 9.5 game lead in the AL East. On to Texas...

I was watching the ESPN broadcast of the game tonight and after Coco Crisp's eighth inning home run, Chris Berman made the following exclamation:

"Coco Crisp! Pour a little milk on that cereal and now it's a 7-2 ballgame!"

Goodness gracious. I wonder how long Berman had been waiting to use that line. It reminded me of this great blog post I read today about the decline of ESPN.

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Every man is responsible for his own elbow

Photo from Boston.com

A-Rod's "dirty" slide into second base in the eighth inning of Tuesday's Sox - Yanks game is causing quite a stir. If you missed it, A-Rod threw a late elbow in the general area of Dustin Pedroia's crotch (see photo above) in a successful attempt to break up a double play. Here are Pedroia's comments about the slide:

"He went in late and kind of threw an elbow," Pedroia said. "A little cheap, but no big deal....He's the one who slid in like that. Some people play like that and some people slide in, good, clean slide. I think he probably got a little carried away. It happens."

"I have to turn two against the Yankees 19 times a year," Pedroia said. "I know now that when he's coming in, my arm slot gets dropped to the floor. That's it. No big deal."

Now Boston.com is conducting a poll on whether or not Curt Schilling should "send a message" to A-Rod tonight. Fans are split at about 52% "Yes" and 48% "No." Perhaps the hockey I have been watching has got me riled up, but I think that Schilling should at least "brush back" A-Rod in a show of support for his rookie teammate. It was not a "good, clean," feet first slide to break up a double play, it was a dirty play. A-Rod has taken cheap shots before, remember?

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Best. Shoes. Ever.

I've got to get myself a few pairs of these.

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Sunday Links: The Catch, Friendliness and the Tango

Here are a seven links for your rainy cloudy Sunday afternoon...

Eric Hinske's catch is fun to watch over and over again. [MLB.com]
Thanks to my pal Chris S. for the link.

"The Yankees Clean Up Man" [Village Voice]
Rudy Giuliani "went to bat for the Yanks, and look what he scored." I wasn't planning on supporting Giuliani as a presidential candidate anyway, but this article really sealed the deal.

Sports Illustrated conducted a players poll to determine the friendliest and least friendly players in the Major Leagues. David Ortiz made the list (no surprise) as did three other members of the 2004 Red Sox -- Dave Roberts, Kevin Millar and Johnny Damon. 4% of the players polled voted for Curt Schilling as the "least friendly player in baseball." Interesting. (Hat tip Seth Mnookin)

Check out this Salary vs. Performance visualization. [Ben Fry]
"What baseball teams are spending their money well, and how does it change over the course of the season?" At least the Sox are getting bang for their buck. (Hat Tip Red Sox Times)

Rob Bradford has compiled the definitive list of Red Sox player theme songs. [Bradford Files]

"Yanks may look to jettison Jason" [NY Daily News]
The Yankees might try to void Jason Giambi's contract because of his alleged prior steroid use. This is low. Perhaps this the reason behind the Yankees interest in Todd Helton?

"Chien-Ming Wang Likes to Dance the Tango" [MLB Fanhouse]
Who knew?

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My Furniture Doesn't Sing

Part of the "experience" of watching the Red Sox on a nightly basis is the commercials. Most of the time these thirty second interludes aren't so bad -- except that the Dunkin' Donuts spots make me really want a Dunkin' iced coffee (there are "zero" Dunkin' Donuts in Seattle). Help! Occasionally though a commercial comes along that just cannot be ignored. It becomes necessary to comment.

So...What's the deal with the Bob's Discount Furniture ads with the "singing furniture?" Why create an ad in which a dresser harmonizes with a bed, a table, and a lampshade? I must know. I wonder if anyone has ever returned a piece of Bob's furniture because it doesn't sing. I would.

BTW: I miss those old Dean's Home Furniture commercials: "Two armchairs, an end table and a lampshade for $699. I Doubt It!"

Anyway. The Sox lost. No comeback tonight. We'll get 'em tomorrow.

Note to Buffalo Sabres fans: Keep the faith. It's not impossible to come back from a 3-0 series deficit and win a championship. I swear.

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Catch us if you can...

After "The Comeback" on Sunday afternoon, I flipped over to watch the Yankees - Mariners game. I wondered if the Yanks had taken notice of the Red Sox ninth inning comeback on the out of town scoreboard. They did:

"The Yankees were playing the Seattle Mariners, but there was no escaping the shadow cast by the Red Sox from across the country. When Boston scored six runs in the ninth inning to win their game, some of the Yankees noticed on the scoreboard at Safeco Field."

“I looked up and I couldn’t really believe it,” Johnny Damon said. “I thought it was a mistake...if the Red Sox keep playing the way they are, nobody’s going to catch them."

"Offensive Stuggle Catches Up to the Yankees" [NY Times]

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PS. Don't forget to watch ESPN's broadcast of Roger Clemens' Class A start on Friday. Cough. Gag.
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Glee

(Photo from Yahoo Sports)

Forget about sushi. Linguine with pesto -- that's what was on our dinner table during Daisuke Matsuzaka's last two successful starts. It's good luck. Either that or Matsuzaka is finally on his game. One or the other.

I thought that the scathing comments made before Monday's game by Tigers manager, Jim Leyland, were a little bit uhmmm...odd. From the Detroit Free Press:

"I don't give a [expletive] about [Matsuzaka]. I'm not getting into all that. I could give a [expletive] less. It's another pitcher. We're playing Boston."

After the game:

"I was very impressed," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said of the rookie the Red Sox invested $103 million in. "He's the real deal." (Boston.com)

That's better Jim. I was very impressed too.

Tonight! Knuckleball Tim (4-3, 1.79) and his league leading ERA vs Justin Verlander (3-1, 2.83).

Go Sox!

PS. Sam over at Blue Cats and Red Sox posted a disturbing photo that keeps popping into my head at inopportune times. If I had to see it, so do you.

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1000 Words

(Photo from Yahoo Sports)

Wow. Just Wow.

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All good innings...

Photo by Flickr user tdtpictures

So this is the phenomenon that occurs when Daisuke Matsuzaka pitches seven good innings and zero bad innings. Red Sox win 9-3. I can dig it.

Is anyone else amazed by the soap opera that has developed over Curt Schilling's on-air remarks about Barry Bonds? Over the past 48 hours we have witnessed:

1)Curt's statement on WEEI:

"I mean, there's no gray area. (Bonds) admitted to cheating on his wife, cheating on his taxes, and cheating on the game, so I think the reaction around the league, the game, being what it is, in the case of what people think."

2)Curt's "Public Apology":

"Regardless of my opinions, thoughts and beliefs on anything Barry Bonds it was absolutely irresponsible and wrong to say what I did. I don’t think it’s within anyone’s right to say the things I said yesterday and affect other peoples lives in that way."

3)Terry Francona tells Curt to "Zip it":

Nobody's more crazy about Schill than me. I just ask him to kind of zip it a little bit, and I think he will."

4) The Red Sox make enemies in San Francisco. From the SF Chronicle:

"America waited as long as it dared to start the Barry Bonds Cirque du Punditry, but it apparently can wait no longer...The seal was broken Tuesday, oddly enough by dueling members of the Boston Red Sox Forensics Society. Of course, the Boston Red Sox. They have nothing better to do now that they've clinched the AL East, right?"

Instead of accusing Barry Bonds, Schilling should have just said "Barry Bonds is a generally unpleasant individual and I hope he doesn't break the home run record." That's what I would have said.

Do you plan to root for Barry Bonds to break Hank Aaron's all-time home run record?

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Dear Mr. Dork

I love this story almost as much as I love that Josh Beckett is now 7-0. (Woo hoo!):

Last week, Toronto Blue Jays center fielder, Vernon Wells, was heckled by a few "bleacher creatures" at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. In response, Wells hand wrote a message on a ball and tossed it into the stands. Here is the message:

"Dear Mr. Dork,
Here is your ball! Can you please tell me what gas station you work at, so when you are pumping my gas, I can yell at you!!! Now sit down, shut up and enjoy the game.
- Your favorite centrefielder"

"Can you please tell me what gas station you work at?" Are you serious? Wells takes the prize for #1 response to a heckler.

Hat tip to Ballhype for the story.

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Manny & Julian

Those of you nestled snugly in NESN country have likely already seen this footage of Manny Ramirez "petting" Julian Tavarez during Sunday's Sox-Twins game. I was stuck watching the Twins broadcast so I saw the clip for the first time today. Be sure to have your volume turned up so that you can hear Don Orsillo's commentary. He is not quite able to contain himself. So funny.

Hat tip to Sox & Dawgs for the link.

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Sunday Links: Clemens, Taco Bell & Ball Busters

Photo by Flickr user yusheng

Here are seven links for Sunday afternoon. Don't forget to dig your anti-Clemens gear out of the bottom of the closet. (I just did.)

"Clemens announces return at Yankee Stadium" [SI.com]

"Trades have been hit or miss" [Boston Globe]
Gordon Edes takes a close look at recent Red Sox trades.

"Yankees and Red Sox May Open 2008 in Asia" [NY Times]

"Taco Bell Wants You To Propose During an MLB Game" [Fanhouse]
Note to guys: Bad idea.

"The Best/Worst of..." [Matsuzaka Watch]

"Lines Are For Suckers: How To Get Into a Baseball Game" [The Consumerist]

"Ball Busters" [Wired Magazine]
The story of the "lonely engineers who keep baseball honest."

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Holy Coco!

Look familiar?
(Photo from Yahoo Sports)

One day after spectacular catch #1 was overshadowed by a series of "unfortunate game events," Coco Crisp turned in a gem of a catch again last night. Just look at that full body extension! He must be sipping the Red Bull again.

Josh Beckett is 6-0? The last Red Sox pitcher to start 6-0 was Roger Clemens in 1991. Count me as a former Beckett skeptic who would not have predicted that. This pitching staff is really fun to watch.

Tonight! Matsuzaka (3-2, 4.36) vs Ramirez (2-1, 4.41) 7:05 ET / 4:05 PT

The Mariners local broadcast will be on TV here so we'll have a rare opportunity to watch a Red Sox game at a bar in downtown Seattle. Happy Hour starts at 4:05 PT today. Root beer for all!

PS: My pal Dan has a nice blog post up about his road trip to catch a Portland Sea Dogs game in Maine. Red Sox prospects? $7 seats? $3 Ice cream sundaes? I wanna go.

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"Don't know what happened. It's all a crazy game!"

(Photo from Yahoo Sports)

Hold on! This blog post was supposed to be about Curt Schilling's stellar outing, Coco's wicked catch and Hideki "Darkman" Okajima's mystifying dominance. We were all supposed to go to bed happy. Instead, all I can say is that game got away.

I don't honestly believe that Jonathan Papelbon is a super hero (although he could easily be mistaken for one.) Saves will be blown over the course of a long season. It just seemed as though something was...gulp...wrong with Papelbon last night. The velocity of his fastball was 91-93 when it is usually 94-97. He was hittable. He didn't have good control of his pitches. He was human. Let's hope that it was just fatigue. (It might be an appropriate occasion to make an offering to the baseball gods "just in case.")

BTW: I liked Don Orsillo's new blue outfit. I don't understand why Remy was ragging on him. I didn't see the alleged "white pants," but I thought the jacket was sharp.

BTW 2: Did anyone notice that the ball boy who interfered with the double off the bat of Mark Ellis in the top of the fifth was gone by the next inning? Dream job = over. Sorry kid.


Blog title from "The Man That Got Away" by Ira Gershwin/Harold Arlen.
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"slowly climbing up, quickly flying down"

(Photo by tollerSCREAM. See more of her wonderful photos here.)

I learned two things today: 1) Pope John Paul II was an Honorary Harlem Globetrotter (thanks Dan!) and 2)The Red Sox won't always play like that magical, inspired, unbeatable team we saw over the weekend.

That was ugly tonight, wasn't it? It's April and we've officially boarded the roller coaster. Hang on.

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A few notes from today:

The Red Sox are 2-4 on Mondays and Tuesdays this season and 10-3 Wednesday-Sunday. What's the deal with that?

Jason Varitek has donated the bat he used on Sunday to hit the Red Sox fourth consecutive home run to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The ESPN footage of the four home runs is up on YouTube if you get the urge to watch it again. I did.

37,161 was the announced attendance at the Sox game tonight--the largest crowd since the World War II era. Wow. (I'm not sure why, but I just had the urge to add up those numbers 3+7+1+6+1 and they equal 18. Oooooh.)

The Yankees are in last place in the American League East.


The title of this post is from the poem "Roller Coaster" by Dean Thorpe.
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Sunday Links: Cupcakes, Hoaxes and Balls

Photo by Flickr user M@

On Opening Day Eve I feel like a kid strapped to a chair in front of a tray of freshly baked Red Sox themed cupcakes. Or something. I'm not so good with the analogies. Anyway, here are seven links for your Sunday afternoon:

"Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time" [Museum of Hoaxes]
Which hoaxes do you remember? I was fooled by the Sid Finch article and the Taco Bell / Liberty Bell hoax.

"Interview with John Henry" [Boston.com]
47 questions for John Henry, the principal owner of the Red Sox. (JH has his own blog, but he won't give out the url. Oooooh.)

"Just another day for female umpire" [MLB.com via ARSFIPT]
Wow! It will be cool if Ria Cortesio can make it to the Major League level as an umpire this season.

"The Papi Monologues" [Boston Magazine]
Boston Magazine has an entertaining excerpt from Big Papi's forthcoming autobiography. (via Joy of Sox)

"Dice-K does not impress Pat Burrell" [Bugs & Cranks]
The Phillies' Pat Burrell appears to be giving Terry Francona the finger in yesterday's exhibition game.

"He's Got Balls" [SI.com via The Jaunt]
Meet the man who has collected "more than 2,900 major league baseballs at games over the past sixteen years."

"10 great places to relish fine stadium fare" [USA Today]
I was hesitant to include this link because the author forgot my two favorites: Fenway Franks and Garlic Fries from Safeco Field.

Go Sox!
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