Home game, right?

To the Red Sox fan near the front row in between the third base dugout and home plate on Friday, July 3rd versus the Mariners --- Let Youk catch the damn ball.

Why you ask?

• Youk looks like the craziest guy on the team. That death stare he gave you looked like he had a beheading in mind.
• Think risk vs reward. Is the risk of you being put in the same sentence as Bartman ( I know it wasn't a LCS but still people will compare) and facing the ridicule from the Nation worth the glory of saying you caught a $4 ball at Fenway?
• I know you were assuming Wake wasn't going to give up those three runs but we were facing Felix Hernandez. He is really good and close to filthy at Fenway in his career.
• Assuming you are a Red Sox fan, I hope for your sake the team does not fall short of the playoffs by one game. If that happens you will become far more famous then you ever hoped.
• Red Sox are supposed to be some of the most knowledgeable in all of sports. This is a mark against us.

Blow a nine run lead ... no worries

Last night's disappointing loss could drive some team's fans crazy. The Mets have suffered a couple of losses -- runner does not tag third and dropped pop up -- that could take weeks off a fan's life. The Cubs ... well they certainly have found interesting ways to lose. By the way Milton and Lou, dysfunction is spelled with a "y". So when the Red Sox lose a game after being up 10-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, with the best bull pen in the league, with the entire infield jogging in after the second out of an inning, with the manager removing the starting catcher (has anyone else noticed how uncomfortable the relievers, especially Papelbon, are with the Greek?), with all the crazy bloop, swinging bunt, seeing eye hits, with Lugo failing to get down a bunt what is a Red Sox fan supposed to do?

I watched the expressions / body language of the team. Francona sprinted to the clubhouse. Saito sat there in disbelief (I really like him), Papelbon had that crazed Jack Bauer look about him, and Pedroia quietly watched the Orioles celebrate their World Series win. I then turned off the plasma (and unplugged it because someone said if you leave it plugged in it still sucks your power) and calmly retreated to the bedroom to finish a good book.

Absolutely no increased heart rate, no heading out to bar to relieve the pain, no swearing, no throwing the remote (2003 ALDS game 1 vs Oakland - Ramon Hernandez lays down a perfect bunt with two outs and the winning run on third !!! Who does that?), no waking up the wife to tell her the play by play what happened and no way was I going to post an emotion filled blog at midnight. What has happened to me? Well, that's when the book comes in.

I have a big brother who I have figuratively (not literally since I was 13 and he was 20) looked up to. He sent me a Father's Day gift in the mail realizing I had recently had a minor disappointment and needed a little reminder that life was good. He sent me a book entitled, "No I Can Die in Peace" by Bill Simmons.

Bill Simmons is the popular columnist for ESPN.com's Page 2. He is a die hard Patriot, Bruin, Celtic and Red Sox fan. He started off writing a blog as the "Boston Sports Guy". No known simply as the "Sport's Guy", Simmons is very entertaining incorporating pop culture into his perspectives. This book was published in 2005 and includes many of the on line posts that Simmons wrote either for his original web site and then ESPN concerning his journey as a Sox fan up to Edgar Renteria's come backer to Keith Foulke.

I would read some of these passages and start laughing out loud getting quizzical looks from people on the beach, my children and most of all my wife. Two examples. Page 5 -- Simmons is explaining rules that people should live by when rooting for a team. Rule No. 5 was "If you marry someone who roots for another team, you can't be bullied into switching allegiances." His footnote to this had me crying. "By the way, I have to question any Red Sox fan who would marry a Yankee fan. Unless you have never been laid before and this is legitimately your only chance to having sex, it's simply unacceptable. Would you marry someone from Al-Qaeda?" I do have a friend who married a Yankee fan. Enough said. Page 314 -- Commenting on the AROD -- Arroyo play in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS, " (it) clearly exposed A-Rod as a liar and cheater of the highest order - the kind who would turn over an R in Scrabble and pretend it's a blank letter." Not less than a week ago my wife tried this on me in a game of Scrabble. She was "amazed" I noticed an extra blank on the board.

These are just two examples of things I could relate to in this book. Movies (Shawshank, Godfather, Rocky), television (White Shadow, Beverly Hills 90210) and people (Bush, Jessica Biel vs Alba) are used as examples or metaphors in explaining his point of view or what he was feeling. Made for an enjoyable read.

The message from this book is -- We are no longer a joke. Because what that group did and how they did it in 2004, baseball fans especially Yankee fans have a lot less ammunition. Even before the 2007 championship, we could hold our heads high and be proud of that one year. Now? We live in the Golden Era of the Boston Red Sox. It is just that simple. There have been many of Red Sox fans from 1918 to 2003 that would have negotiated parts of their lives to see the Red Sox win a World Series. Having the team in the playoffs, winning the division, going to the ALCS and winning it all not once but twice in our lifetimes makes us spoiled and very, very fortunate. So losing a nine run lead may make me wonder but does not discourage me.

I want to thank my brother for sending me this book and making me realize I have it as Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm would say, "Prettay, prettay good".

With Wakefield we wonder ...

How the heck does this guy do it? His next start will mark the most by any pitcher in Red Sox history. Three hundred and eighty-three (think about this number - 383) times he has been given the ball and I sincerely think he has been as prepared as he possibly could be each and every time. Obviously, there have been times when he has been pretty bad but it was not because he did not do what he was supposed to in between starts. Can you say that about Pedro (leaving early at the All Star break to go home), Clemens (if you take steroids you still have to actually workout -- the Duke's "twilight" comment motivated him to break the law)or any other starting pitcher in Sox history?

Wake has always been the consumate professional and great teammate. In 1999, he was asked to be the closer and did not complain. He was left off the World Series roster in 2007 and did not complain when a young Jon Lester took his start in the clinching game. He has also been heavily involved in charity work during his fifeteen seasons in Boston.

Personally, my favorite Wake moment was during the 2004 ALCS versus the Yankees. With the Sox down two games to none and the Bombers absolutely crushing the Sox on their way to a seemingly insurmountable three games to none lead, Wakefield volunteered to eat up some innings so the bull pen could get some much needed rest. He was the first guy to believe the team could come back. Wake went out there and pitched four innings in a 19-8 ALCS game so guys like Curtis Leskanic, Mike Timlin, Alan Embree, Bronson Arroyo and Keith Foulke could pitch meaningful innings in games four, five, six and seven. It does not matter that the one game he started in the World Series he got crushed (Sox still won), his contributions may have been bigger than Pedro's game four performance, the bloody sock and Derek Lowe's game seven masterpiece on two days rest. Imagine the dug out or locker room during and after Game 3. I guarantee you at least a half dozen teammates either said it to themselves or out loud -- "Tim Wakefield is sacrificing his own interests for those of the team" or --- "Wake is out there taking blows so we have a shot at this thing". Talk about inspirational.

Congratulations to Tim Wakefield on his durability, talent and determination in reaching this team record. You have certainly paid your dues and are most deserving for being a great teammate and competitor.

Road worthy and waiting for Smoltz

Great start to the nine game road trip. Both games in D.C. have featured some timely hitting and the steady bull pen doing its job. The team is on a definite roll. Good to see the road record climb above .500 Of course the Nationals have relinquished their home field advantage to the throngs of Sox fans that have invaded D.C.

Tomorrow night is the debut of John Smoltz in a Red Sox uniform. NESN has been over hyping this "event" for the past couple of weeks. While I am excited to see the man who is not Dice-K toe the rubber, I cannot help but remain realistic. Smoltz has not pitched in the majors in over a year. Let us not expect too much. I'll take five innings, two runs and then turn it over to the pen. The reason the guy signed with the Sox is to pitch in October and make us not miss Curt Schilling in those spots.

The Off day

Am I a little off on this off day or ...

... is Heidi Watney better than Hazel Mae? There is something about her.

... is Eck better than Remy in the booth? I know RemDawg is going through some serious health issues but I do enjoy watching a game and not hearing about his web site, hot dogs and presidency of Red Sox Nation.

... is Big Papi looking like he is getting out of his doldrums? That two run opposite field bomb through a stiff wind versus Atlanta was impressive.

... does Ramon Ramirez look like he needs a little time away from "hold" opportunities? Opposing hitters have been teeing off on him of late.

... is Terry Francona the perfect manager for this team? He has handled the team well during crisis (Manny, Papi's slump, etc.), he seems to always say the right thing and he hardly ever gets out managed during a game.

... are the Red Sox almost unbeatable during home stands? The Friendly Fenway advantage is certainly hard to beat.

... do those road gray uniform tops need to burned in favor of the alternate blue tops? Those things look too much like the Yankee road jerseys.

... do the Boston Red Sox look like the favorites to win the 2009 World Series?

Sayonara

There has been a lot of talk recently throughout Red Sox Nation concerning what to do with six healthy starting pitchers. As John Smoltz joins the rotation next week, Terry Francona and John Farrell have to decide what to do. Here's the obvious; Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Tim Wakefield are not going anywhere. Brad Penny has been mentioned in trade talks but has responded by being spectacular in his last two starts. He answered many people's questions.

Dice-K has not responded well. Last night, he attacked the strike zone early and got rocked. Then he decided to try and in Farrell's words became too "fine". Even last year's 18-3 mark was not without its high wire act; pitching in and out of trouble. Dice-K has not provided the answers the Nation is looking for. Not to digress but one needs to ask how was it that he was so dominant in the World Baseball Classic for his home country of Japan?

Options? As part of the Scott Boras negotiated contract, Dice-K cannot be sent to the minors without the player's approval. He also possesses the only no trade clause on the team. Francona mentioned this nugget in a recent interview, it takes He Who Is Not Fooling Anyone up to 45 minutes to get ready to pitch. I guess the bull pen is out of the question. A six man rotation would limit Beckett and Lester to roughly six or seven less starts this year. Do we really want Dice-K to start (Sox are 2-5 when he does) 12 games that would normally go to Beckett and Lester? As Whitney Houston once said; "Hell to the no!!"

So what can be done? It comes down to effectiveness. The other 25 guys on the roster, management, coaches and fans deserve to from the team to be given the best opportunity to make the playoffs. Right now, this guy is not it. Maybe, someone comes up with an oblique/shoulder/elbow/buttocks strain and could use a skip in the rotation. Maybe the 42 year old Smoltz breaks down. Even if any of this happens, wouldn't Clay Buchholz be a better option? He has been tearing up the Triple A International League.

Dice-K does not deserve another start. The Red Sox have better options presently on the roster and in the minors. My guess is the team throws him on the DL with some sort of mystery ailment for two weeks. After that, is anyone's guess.

That's eight!

Eight straight versus the Yanks. The New Yorkers look helpless right now against the Sox. The biggest difference between the two teams is the bull pen. Girardi has few options getting to Rivera while the Sox have at least five reliable guys to hand the ball to Papelbon.

A couple of observations:

• Penny threw very well tonight, as did CC.
• Papi looks more comfortable.
• Nick Green's play on Jeter's grounder in the 9th was huge. Lugo is sinking deeper and deeper.
• The Sox seem far more athletic than the Yanks
• The Rays seem far more athletic than the Sox
• Teixiera is a very good player.
• I admit it now -- Baldelli was a good signing
• I'm not sure Girardi knows what he is doing all the time
• Who is out of the rotation if Smoltz is pitching next week? Certainly not Beckett or Lester. Wakefield has been great this year. We have too many invested in Dice-K. Penny is starting throw well. Six man rotation?