November 2008

Premonition maybe?

Okay so to be quick, I accidentally posted the whole Coco was traded thing twice (I guess I was incessantly clicking). So I wanted to delete one entry, but I ended up deleting both… so I was annoyed because it still showed up on my profile (as far as I could tell).

I guess the only bright side is that I can add the thing that I forgot to mention in the other two posts…. 
So, this morning, during my first period Geometry class, I got this really bad feeling. I didn’t know what it was, but it was really bad. Then I saw my test, and the feeling got worse (I’m mathematically challenged). The feeling continued throughout the day, and was subtly noticeable to my best friend. So I got home, and went to redsox.com, and Coco got traded! Now, first period starts around the time that it was released/confirmed that he got traded. A coincidence? Not sure… 
It happened really fast, the Coco trade. I mean, I knew it was going to happen, but I at least expected to hear a rumor. I wanted to brace myself for his departure, and analyze whoever we were going to get (as I’m doing now with our acquisition). We got Ramon Ramirez. According to Theo’s reports, this guy is pretty good, and underrated for that matter. He’ll probably become a valuable asset to our bullpen. I think we have some pretty good depth in there now: Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson, Jonathan Papelbon, and now, Ramirez. And if the Lugo trade ever happens, we’ll have either Nate Robertson or Dontrelle Willis to throw in there. Not that I really want them pitching yet, I mean, Willis was sent down to single A last year. S
This also gives us flexibility with Justin Masterson, who can start if we need him to. And apparently, the Sox are getting pretty serious about AJ Burnett, who had a pretty solid 2008 season, posting career highs in numerous categories (such as strikeouts). The Yankees, are also in contention for him. I swear if they get Sabbathia, Burnett, Peavy and Lowe (potentially) I will probably crawl into a hole, and live in constant fear. 
Also, I sign on to MLBlogs, and I see the headline: MLBloggers react to the AL MVP, Dustin Pedroia, and it has links on the bottom, one of which was ‘Future Blog’. I was interested because my blog is called ‘The Future Blog of the Red Sox’. But when I clicked on it, it led to my blog! I was so surprised, and really happy too. I have to say, I really enjoy this MLBlogs community. 
So once again, sorry about like, the third post of the day. Maybe I’ll take a break tomorrow, but that’s highly unlikely. 

MVPedrioa!!!! (and also Albert Pujols for the NL)

The MVPs were announced during the past two days. Albert Pujols won in the NL, and Ryan Howard came in second. Oddly enough, I barely heard any talk about Pujols winning the MVP, much more about the Phillies’ potential to win a third in a row. They were talking about Ryan Howard or Chase Utley. That would’ve been crazy though. Congratulations to Pujols, he’s a great player, and has one hell of a career average.  

Dustin Pedroia won in the American League, adding yet another trophy to his already large collection (for a second year player that is). He won AL Rookie of the Year last year, and a gold glove, silver slugger, and MVP award in 2008. Talk about triple whammy in ’08! I know he wasn’t the big 30 home run guy this year, but if he ever does become the big home run hitter, I think he could win a triple crown. The first time since ’67… when Yaz did it. Here are some interesting stats about Pedroia
He joins only two other players in MLB history, Cal Ripken Jr. and Ryan Howard, to win Rookie of the Years and MVP in back to back years. 
He is the first second baseman to win the AL MVP award since Nellie Fox in 1959 (of the White Sox)
He’s the first Red Sox to receive an MVP award since Mo Vaughn in ’95.  
He’s now one of ten Red Sox players to win the award (in Red Sox history), those players being (and not surprising at all): Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams (twice), Jackie Jensen, Yaz, Fred Lynn, Jim Rice, and Roger Clemens
He became the fifth second baseman in major league history to have 200 hits, 50 doubles, 100 runs, and 15 home runs. He joins Charlie Gehringer, Craig Biggio, Jose Vidro, and Alfonso Soriano. 
Justin Morneau finished second, and Kevin Youkilis finished third. One of the only times in Red Sox history that two players from the same team have finished in the top three spots (the other time being Roger Clemens and Jim Rice). Want to hear Pedroia’s out of your mind stats?
.326 batting average (POINTS away from Joe Mauer), 213 hits (tied with Ichiro), 118 runs, 54 doubles,17 home runs, and 20 stolen bases. And he led the league with 61 multihit games. 
Dustin truly deserved to win this, he has a wonderful personality (like after he hit that grand slam against the Yanks in late August, he said I’m the strongest 165 pound man out there!), and has “led the team since day 1″- Big Papi. He’s only 25 years old, and he’s already leading a team. He’s barely 5’9″, in fact he’s more around 5’7″, and he doesn’t look like a baseball player when you look at him, but stats don’t lie. Of course, now he’s Arizona working out, just trying to get better for next year. He’s a real team player. He (and Youkilis for that matter) were the reasons that the Sox even got to the postseason. 
Congratulations Pedroia!
-Elizabeth 

Newest trade rumor: Lugo

So, I’m sure some of you might be like me… you chose to block Julio Lugo from your minds after he sustained an injury July 11, and fully embrace the awesomeness of our little Jed-i Knight Lowrie! I mean, Lugo hit something ungodly like .139 with RISP this year, batted a mere .269 in 82 games with only 22 RBIs. But hey, if the Tigers need a shortstop, then they need a shortstop. They have faith in the guy, he could very well turn it around. The Sox would either get Nate Robertson or Dontrelle Willis in return. I remember seeing Dontrelle pitch for the Marlins, and he almost won the Cy Young in 2005. But he was absolutely atrocious in 2008, he was sent down to single A I think. Yup, single A. That might be cool, we could put those pitchers in our bullpen. They’d be like the David Aardsma of the bullpen. Ridiculously inconsistent. 

There was also a story about the Red Sox suspension of Manny Ramirez, which was never enacted. The Sox management actually had a letter of suspension delivered to him, after he missed a second straight game because of a “bad knee” (yet nothing showed up on the MRI). He was supposed to be suspended the next day, against the Yankees, but he intended to play and went hitless in four attempts, in a 10-3 loss against the Yankees. WHOA. Holy crap, just had a realization there! I WAS AT THAT GAME. (This was seriously not planned at all, I just realized that now). I was at that game, and I sat in the right field grandstand, right next to these guys who were getting MAD drunk and abusing every Yankee fan in sight. Wakefield started, and it was a pretty good game until around the fifth inning, where the Yankees just erupted. Okay, well anyway, a week later Manny got traded. I’m really happy that I got to see one of his last games… because, even though he was a total *** about leaving, I still loved him, and I miss him :(
So I had to write a DBQ today… here’s the topic: Reform movements in the US sought to expand democratic ideals. *snooze* Took me like, eight hours to write. Probably because facebook is the most distracting social utility on the face of this earth. Once I finished that, I had a lab report to write, and I’m still not done. I still have to read a chapter of the Scarlet Letter, I have a chemistry quiz tomorrow, and a geometry test Tuesday. Okay, I’m kind of screwed.
We find out the MVPs on Tuesday! I’m so excited, GO PEDROIA!

Free Agency has begun, let the games begin

At 12:01 AM Friday morning, the free agency game officially began. And for the Red Sox, I think that Varitek is at the top of everyone’s list. I’m sure Theo has talked to Mr. Boras about it, but Theo is very secretive. It’s kind of unnerving. You’ve got to give Tek a second chance though, he’s a great player and he’s contributed so much to our team. I mean, remember how much everyone disliked JD Drew because of his lack of offensive in 2007. And remember thanking the lord for his existence? Well, who’s to say that Varitek can’t turn it around? If anything, it’ll be like a two year deal, but we all know that Varitek is going to retire with the Red Sox, one way or another. And has anyone else noticed that Scott Boras is like, a power agent? I mean, isn’t he Mark Teixiera’s agent, and Derek Lowe, and Jason Varitek? He must be pretty cool. The Sox might even be going after Teixiera. I don’t know who we’d give up for him though… actually, I don’t even know if we have to give anyone up for free agency. 

So, yesterday, my friend’s mom went to this event, the opening of this hotel on Miami Beach… and A-Rod was there. He used to be married to my friend’s cousin, and my friend knew him o_O. 
I’m staying on my toes for trade rumors, checking redsox.com every twenty minutes.. and counting down the days ’til spring training comes back. Can’t wait to make that 2.5 hours drive to Fort Meyers. I’ll almost have my license by then :)

How about bringing Derek Lowe back?

So I’ve heard that Derek Lowe wants to come back, and that the Sox would be interested in starting him. What harm could that do? I think everyone still loves him in RSN, there’s no real reason not to. He only left after ’04 because he was a free agent, it’s not like he betrayed an entire organization and went to a team that he said he would never go to (yeah, y’all know who I’m talking about right?). Plus, it would add some serious depth to our starting rotation. Look who we already have:

1. Josh Beckett
2. Dice-K Matsuzaka
3. Jon Lester
Those three right there are going to be sick, especially if we can a) get Dice-K to go more innings and b) get Beckett healthy, and c) just keep Lester the way he is. Now, we picked up the option on Wakefield, so he could be the number 4 starter, but think about this: say we pick up Lowe, he’d be our number 4 starter. So we could either make Timmy our fifth starter, or put him in the bullpen, like a Mike Timlin type person. We could have one of our darling prospects vie for a fifth spot in the rotation, and if that doesn’t work, then we just bring Wake back into the rotation. We can let Terry and John fret over that when it comes time, right now, I hope that they’re sleeping. 
According to the ‘Hot Stove Blog’ the Sox talked with the Rangers about Salty. Apparently, the Rangers “covet” Buchholz, or the Sox would give up someone like Masterson or Bowden. I don’t think anything SHOULD happen. Here’s why
1) We should re-sign Varitek. Like I’ve said, you don’t just give up on a guy after a bad year, give him another chance. He’s so important. If we re-sign him, we have no need for Salty. 
2) Sure Clay Buchholz went 2-9, but that’s because they screwed him over in his rehab stint. Apparently, he’s doing pretty well in the AFL. Why not see how he is in spring training? How much would we regret it if he became a big star on another team? The Sox have a knack for developing some wicked players.
3) JUSTIN MASTERSON! Why would we trade him? He’s amazing, did you NOT see him in the post season? He could be a potential fifth starter, OR add depth to the ‘pen, which we desperately need!!!
4) Michael Bowden. I hear he’s good, let’s develop him!!! 
So yeah, I’m pretty protective of allthe players, I really like them all, and I want to keep them for a while. I’m open to a Julio Lugo trade, I wonder who we could get for him? 

Congratulations Evan Longoria

The rookie of the year award went out today, and Evan Longoria got it. He deserved it, he had a great year over at third defensively, and offensively for the Rays. He was a big part of the reason why the Rays even got to the postseason, his bat was just silenced sometimes in the actual postseason when it mattered (like the World Series). Alexi Ramirez got second, how many grand slams did he have this year? Like a million, right? Oh, and guess who got third? Jacoby Ellsbury! I knew he wouldn’t win first, I mean, he had a .280 batting average, not too many home runs, and not too many RBI’s. He had the most steals in the American League though, as well as some stellar defensive catches. It won’t be long until he wins his first gold glove. Theo’s got to keep him, I mean, everybody loves him who loves the Red Sox.

So, over the weekend, I went to a debate tournament, right? And in one of my rounds, the girl was like: well that would be like blah blah blah, or taking away Red Sox fans’ right to vote just because they’re Red Sox fans. Well, that really offended me. I almost brought it up in Cross Ex. but I had to keep it professional. The first guy I hit though, GOD was he annoying? He was one of those guys all about masculine superiority so he was helping me with my chair and stuff, in a really condescending way. I tried to give him as many dirty looks as possible, without seeming rude to the judge. After the round, he was like: sorry I was a little harsh, but I ended up beating him. So next time I see him, I want to be like: SORRY I KICKED YOUR ***! Don’t you just hate those cocky people? I ended up going 2-2 at the tournament, if I had worked a little harder, I probably could’ve won :p.
Then today, during PE, we had to run outside. I tried to convince our coach not to go outside and he was like: If you say that you hate the Red Sox and that you’re a Mets fan, we’ll stay inside. And I was like, HELL NO. Having my religion questioned or threatened twice within the past two days, that’s a bit of harassment no? 
A couple of the Sox coaches are looking into managerial positions for the Mariners. God knows that they need it, poor guys. 
On other note, I’m not too sure about the national league gold glovers, but I’m sure they did great (I’m pretty sure one of the Padres won) but as far as the American League goes, I’ve got that down.
First: Carlos Pena, yeah, yeah good, but it’s not like he set a record like Kevin Youkilis did towards the beginning of the year
Second: Dustin Pedroia :D :D :D :D :D  
Shortstop: Michael Young. How cool is that? First time in history that a guy won a gold glove who was on the team with the worst fielding percentage in baseball
Third Base: Adrian Beltre from the Mariners. I don’t know much about him, but he must be great since he’s won multiple gold gloves
Outfield: Torii Hunter (AGAIN), Ichiro Suzuki (AGAIN), and Grady Sizemore (again, but this is only the second time). Soon, it’s going to be double digits for Suzuki and Hunter. If you deserve it, you deserve it
Catcher: Joe Mauer. I think he’s a candidate for MVP, or maybe that’s Josh Hamilton. One of the two for sure. But hey, Joe and Josh are pretty similar names, so it’s easily confused with a baseball fan who doesn’t follow the Twins super closely :)
How long was this Monday? I don’t know, it just seemed really long and worn out, I hated it; partially because I totally bombed my chemistry test. Who knew that there was going to be some density conversions on my dimensional analysis test? We only went over density one day in class, ONE PROBLEM. Ugh

My recommendations for coping with the off-season

The offseason is tough, five long months until baseball starts up again. The only things that you can think about are the trade rumors, the MVP and Gold Glove awards, and of course free agency. It’s boring though, without baseball. Sports Center becomes all about football and basketball, and those sports just don’t interest me, and the baseball section slowly disappears from the sports section. So, how do we deal with this separation? Well, I’ve come up with a few things that you can do that don’t involve checking your favorite team’s site every twenty minutes to look for any new updates. 

1. Start watching those TV shows that you always heard were good, but would always disregard since they always came on during the baseball game! My recommendations include The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, Family Guy (which is truly the most brilliant show on television), Gossip Girl (it’s a guilty pleasure, and very shallow and unrealistic, but the drama will keep you hooked), 90210 (the west coast version of gossip girl), House, Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy, The Office, Heroes, and 30 Rock. 
2. Check out ‘The Dream Weaver’ by Jack Bowen. It’s this crazy book all about philosophers. Basically, this boy encounters all these philosophical theories, and it kind of disproves our way of thinking. It gives you this sensational headache.
3. Try hanging out with the friends that you ditched countless times to watch the game. During the regular season, I ditched my friends for Spring Training games, for rivalry games, for regular season games, and for playoff games but of course. 
4. If you’re in high school (like myself) or college, try doing your homework in your room, at your desk, instead of the TV room. Your grades might just sky-rocket (like my Geometry grade!!)
5. Try going out on the weekends, crash a party, go out to eat (instead of ordering in so you don’t miss the first pitch). 
6. Try doing some yoga, it really centers yourself and takes away stress. 
7. Guitar Hero, it becomes really addicting! 
8. You know those people that you argue with everyday because they hate the team you love? Well now that baseball season is over, find something else you dislike about them, and continue the arguing. 
9. Catch up on your sleep. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. All those late night games that went into extra innings. Those games on the West Coast that you stayed up to watch (even if it was a blowout game) That time you drove 4.5 hours to go see a game just because your favorite team was playing, and then got back at 3 in the morning, went to school the next day, and failed the test you had to take. 
10. Start a blog! Yay! Write about those lovely opinions that you have, because that’s what us bloggers do. If nobody listens to you when you talk, maybe someone out there will read what you right. 

A golden glove, and a golden ticket! And, a really cool fact!

First off, Barack Obama has been elected president! I am truly happy for him, I think he is a really great guy, and I think his vice president, Joe Biden, was a great choice since he is an expert on foreign policy. To all you republicans out there, I really respected John McCain, but Sarah Palin? Even you know in the bottom of your conservative heart that being a soccer mom who can see Russia from her house is not qualified. The electoral college map was interesting. I predicted 48/50 states correctly. I only missed Missouri and North Carolina. Virginia was a close race, it was 50-50 for a little while, and Indiana was close too. Barack Obama is like the Jackie Robinson of politics. Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier in baseball, and now, Obama has broke the racial barrier in politics. It was inspiring to watch some interviews with people who had marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, and how happy they were. 

Now, dear republicans, if you think that Barack’s policies are socialism, I have a response for that too. On the political spectrum, being a democrat verges towards socialism, but it isn’t socialism at all. Spreading the wealth has always been a democratic idea. Obama just wants to help Joe the plumber become successful. Besides, most of you probably will benefit from his tax plan. Plus, we’ve given your republican policies 8 years to work, and they haven’t. It’s time for Change, and Barack is our golden ticket to that.
Now, another notable accomplishment is that Dustin Pedroia won a gold glove! If you think about it, it’s really quite remarkable. The kid is in his second year of baseball, and in his first he won AL Rookie of the Year, and in the second he won a gold glove, and he is a very strong candidate for the MVP award. I’m so proud of him. 
Fenway Park is now in it’s “8th inning” of renovations, we’re getting better seats apparently and water proofing the lower bowl. Some of the Sox correspondents have requested that Fenway holds the 2012 All-Star game. Why? Well, it’s sentimental. 100 glorious years at the beautiful Fenway Park. I hope they’re allowed! 

What Does Joe Biden put on his pasta?

It’s finally here, it’s what we’ve all been waiting for (for the past four years)! Ever since the primaries started, I’ve been excited. I myself am a moderate-liberal, but I do like Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. John McCain is a great guy though, I just don’t like Sarah Palin very much. If McCain-Palin ends up getting elected, we’ll have some great SNL skits to come in the next four years; plus, perhaps some more prank calls from French-Canadian radio stations! 

So I got home from school today, and I was really excited to turn on the news to see how the election was going. I turn on Fox News at 4 (channel 7 or whatever) and some guy is talking about the weather, so I look for CNBC or MSNBC but I can’t find it, I think it just disappeared. But, I did find the Colbert Report, which is much more reliable than any of the other stations, in my opinion at least. Mr. Colbert and Mr. Stewart are probably the smartest guys on television. Political satire shows are my favorite.
So, the only big baseball news of the day that I have acquired is that Theo Epstein’s contract has been extended. I trust Theo with everything he does, I’d put my life in his hands. I just really hopes that he decided to keep Jason Varitek, and Jacoby Ellsbury. One more thing, I want Pedroia to be MVP, I think that he really deserves it. How cool would it be if he got rookie of the year and then the MVP in back to back seasons. He’s insane. I think the top 3 cadidates are Pedroia, Mauer (or maybe it’s Hamilton? I’m not sure) and Youkilis. If one of them wins, then they definitely deserve it. 
So, the answer to the question (or joke rather)… What does Joe Biden put on his pasta? COMMUNIST MANIPESTO! See? Not only is Steven Colbert smart, he’s clever too!

I promise, there’s some baseball in this!!!

First off, it’s spirit week at my school. I’m pretty apathetic when it comes to school activities, so spirit week doesn’t really work for me. They played a song that they play at all the big baseball rallies today during the dodgeball tournament. Totally made me miss baseball season. So, the sophomores are Medieval-Renaissance… lame. The juniors are the future, and the seniors are Greco-Roman culture (basically 300 in a nutshell) and the freshmen… well, who cares? 

Tomorrow is November 5. I envy those of you who are able to vote (which is pretty much all of you). I think that I have the mental capacity the determine who governs the United States. I’m moderate-liberal… so if I was voting, I’d be voting for Obama Biden. Not to say that McCain isn’t a good guy. I’d be a bit disappointed if he won the election (Obama has me convinced that he is a clone of George Bush). So let’s say that McCain and Obama have an equal chance at dying, which I guess they do (my AP US History teacher has me convinced on that one), let’s look at their vice presidents: Sarah Palin vs. Joe Biden. Really? 
Okay, baseball time:
So here are the Red Sox free agents: Jason Varitek, Curt Schilling, Bartolo Colon, Sean Casey, Alex Cora, Mark Kotsay, and David Ross. Mike Timlin is the only one left that is eligible for free agency, but he’s likely to retire. 
-Jason Varitek: I seriously don’t want him to leave. I think that he is too valuable behind the plate, and really? Are we going to give the starting spot to Kevin Cash, or George Kotteras? No
-Curt Schilling: To put it bluntly, you’re done buddy :) . I love you to death, and I have so much respect for you, but I think that you should just retire. 
-Bartolo Colon: If anyone signs you, you better kiss their feet
-Sean Casey: He was good when we needed him, and he’s a pretty funny guy. Gotta love the mayor! Good luck to him
-Alex Cora: Perhaps we should re-sign him, especially if Theo can work his magic and get rid of Lugo
-Mark Kotsay: He proved to be pretty useful playing defensively at first base, as far as offense goes… mediocre. I think that he should go some place that he can start everyday… in some place that needs him. Like the Nationals! God bless them! (Two things are ironic about that statement: 1)I sound like Sarah Palin, and 2) I’m agnostic).
-David Ross: I can’t judge you (barely anyway), probably destined for the minor leagues? No idea… 
I don’t think that the Sox are going to be getting Jake Peavy, I think that he wants to stay in the National League (perhaps to get some extra batting practice?) Probably go to some lucky AL East time, and I will fear them.
I don’t want CC Sabbathia, did you even see him this post season? Dice-K already gives me a heart attack when he loads the bases (and then miraculously gets out of it). I don’t need another heart attack, I’ll be watching the series from the ER.
I WANT DEREK LOWE! I’m still in love with him.
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