Fenway West - A Boston Red Sox Blog

Happy Truck Day 2012!

shelley1005@gmail.com (shelley) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:34:51 +0000

(Photo Credit: Bill Greene)

It's the first sign that baseball is right around the corner....it's TRUCK DAY! Yes, it is just a truck with all of the stuff from Fenway being sent down to Fort Myers. It's silly to get excited about it, but I don't care...I'll be silly. Once TRUCK DAY is here...we know baseball will be played in just a few weeks. Pitchers are already arriving down in Fort Myers. And let's get real, it's no more silly than Groundhog Day.

Ahh, I love this time of year. The truck is leaving Fenway today at noon and no doubt it'll be seen off by many Red Sox fans looking forward to baseball in 2012.

Quote of the Day

odmatt@gmail.com (Matt O'Donnell) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:52:05 +0000

"We're going to have the second-highest payroll in baseball this year."

-Larry Lucchino dismissing the idea that the Red Sox are not spending money.

Win a Date with Heidi Watney this Saturday at Project Cupid

shelley1005@gmail.com (shelley) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:19:10 +0000

Do you want the chance to win a date with Heidi Watney? I know many of the male Red Sox fans would jump at the chance! Heidi is one of the many people joining the Project Cupid event this Saturday to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. If Heidi isn't your cup of tea, how about Jen Royle?? Project Cupid is an event where you can bid on bachelors or bachelorettes for a date and all the money raised goes to the Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) fund, which is a rare and often fatal subtype of Leukemia.

This is the third year of Project Cupid. It was started by Amy Blue after the death of her nine year old cousin, Isaias Valentin who was battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia. The idea of love aka auctioning off dates raising money to battle cancer is an ingenious idea. In the last two years, Project Cupid has raised over $12,000 and the organization hopes to raise $25,000 this year.

If you are curious as to who else is being auctioned off head over here and check it out! The event is this Saturday at The Estate in Boston. They are also having an auction with items such as signed jerseys from David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez and Paul Pierce. If you are in the Boston area, The Estate is definitely the place to be this Saturday. Head on over and who knows....maybe you'll get yourself a fantastic Valentine's Day Date!

If you aren't near Boston, but would still love to donate to the cause, you can donate at this link.

Project Cupid can be followed on both twitter and Facebook.

Quote of the Day

odmatt@gmail.com (Matt O'Donnell) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:11:31 +0000

“Some of the best games I’ve ever, ever pitched in the major leagues I stayed up all night; I’d say two-thirds of them. If I had went to bed, I would have won 150 ballgames in the time span that I played. I feel like my career was cut short for a lot of reasons, but I wasn’t doing anything that hundreds of ballplayers weren’t doing at the time; because that’s how I learned it."

-Oil Can Boyd on being under the influence of cocaine for two-thirds of the games he pitched.

Dan-you're beginning to bore us

mikpassanisi@aol.com (Michael Passanisi) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:13:46 +0000

To Dan Shaughnessy:

Dan, I have to say you're really getting boring. The crushing Pats loss on Sunday gave you an excuse to go over classic Boston folds-again. Naturally, you start at Fenway: "When it comes to mind-bending, catastrophic calamities, the Red Sox are the gold standard. They produce more agita than The Sopranos. No team does colossal flops like the local nine. They tortured the region in the latter half of the 20th century with the Bucky Dent game and the Bill Buckner game." (I'm tired of people calling it the Buckner game. How about giving some blame to Calvin Schiraldi, Bob Stanley, and Rich Gedman? If they had done their jobs, there would have been no grounder to Buckner.) You continue: "They gave us the Aaron Boone game in 2003. Most recently, they perpetrated the biggest collapse in baseball history, blowing a 9 1/2 game wild-card lead in September."

Yes, Dan, the Sox have broken our hearts many times. My first experience with one was when I was 13 years old and Johnny Pesky was manager. It was a fold from second place in July to seventh place in September, and has largely been forgotten I also lived through 1972, 1974, and 1978. But Dan, how would you like to be an Indians fan? Their last World Series win was in 1948, over the then-Boston Braves. In 1954, they won 111 games, a major league record at the time, then collapsed in four straight to the Willie Mays-led New York Giants. Most seasons since then they have been near the bottom of their divisions. Three times since 1980 they have lost more than 100 games. They made it to the Series twice in the 1990's, once coming within two outs of a win before reliever Jose Mesa surrendered the tying run and Charles Nagy gave up the clincher in the eleventh on a hit by former Sox shortstop Edgar Renteria
to win it for the Marlins.

How would you like to be an Orioles fan? Their last postseason appearence was in 1997, their last World Series appearence in 1983. In 1988, they lost their first 21 games. A few years ago, they were beaten in a game by a 30-3 score. In 2007 at Fenway, they had a 5-0 lead with two out and none on in the ninth and found a way to blow it. It is remembered by Sox fans as the Mothers Day Miracle. Unless the Sox and Yanks are in town and bring their own fans, beautiful Camden Yards is nearly empty.

Dan, I realize you have become a celebrity and probably a millionaire by writing books like One Strike Away, Curse of the Bambino, and Reversing the Curse. But leave the team alone, at least until spring training starts. The Bosox have made the postseason six times since 2003, and a game at Fenway is still one of the most exciting in baseball-look at the attendance figures.

Dan, you've had a great writing career. But your act is getting old.

Smells Like....Failure

odmatt@gmail.com (Matt O'Donnell) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:49:13 +0000

The New York Yankees are introducing an official team fragrance later this month. Really. You can even pre order it now. I am going to suggest they call it the Hank Stank.

Red Sox Sign Aceves and Avoid Arbitration Hearing

shelley1005@gmail.com (shelley) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:00:13 +0000

(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

The news came out yesterday that the Red Sox have reached a one year deal with Alfredo Aceves avoiding an arbitration hearing. Aceves is a relief/starter/"whatever you need from me" pitcher that joined the Red Sox last season after his contract was non-tendered by the Yankees. The deal is worth 1.2 million dollars with $100K in incentives.

I think the Sox should be happy they didn't go to a hearing with Aceves because I imagine he might do quite well. He filled so many roles for them last season and was a big piece of whatever success they had. He's a relief pitcher and not a closer, so he's not going to be making the big bucks (by baseball standards), but I could see him winning the hearing. Honestly, I was shocked the Yankees let him go last season. I know he had some injuries and there was a rumbling about his attitude and "unique way of doing things" however when he is healthy, he is valuable to the team. Their loss, our gain.

Now the only player left for the Sox is David Ortiz. He is headed to an arbitration hearing if they don't work something out and soon. Papi might be someone else who does well in a hearing. He had a great season last year. Hmm, time will tell. My feeling is that right before the hearing the Sox will sign a deal with Papi.

Sox 67 - Spring Training

mikpassanisi@aol.com (Michael Passanisi) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:30:05 +0000

When 1967 spring training began, it was obvious early that this camp would be different. A column by Harold Kaese, longtime Globe writer and columnist,is entitled "Sox Training No Clambake". In the lightly humerous style of the old-school writer that he was, Kaese talks about some issues faced by Dick Williams and the team.

One of these occurred when pitchers Dennis Bennett and Bob Sadowski were fined by Dick Williams for being 25 minutes late for sliding practice. Presenting his column in the form of a "complaint file" from different "fans", Kaese takes aim at the pitchers: "What's this about two Red Sox pitchers missing sliding practice by being 25 minutes late? Sliding practice? Who cares how Bennett and Sadowski slide? They're pitchers and the only time they'll see first base is when they look over there to hold somebody on. The last Red Sox manager who had the players sliding-Johnny Pesky- didn't last long." It was well-known that Pesky's practice stopped when players objected. It is also known that Pesky- a Sox lifer still alive today in his mid-90's-got no backing from his GM, the notorious Mike Higgins.

Another issue was Tony Conigliaro's request to not be forced to stay at the same hotel as the other single players. A photo of Conig is in the column, and it shows a crewcut Tony C looking about two years removed from St Mary's High School in Lynn, which he was when he first came up in 1964. Tony, whose playboy image was well-deserved, obviously did not want other players to see his late night and early morning companions, and the news reaching Williams. Commented Kaese: "The Conigliaro request has been denied, the Old Professor (another "fan")was happy to hear, and he will stay at the Haven Hotel along with the rest of the bachelors. This may work as a hardship on the handsome and talented young right fielder, but it reflects a certain staunchness in the character of the new manager, Dick Williams.

One of Dick's lines was "it's impossible to work too hard in spring training." The days of Higgins and Billy Herman were definitely over.

Josh Beckett on Intentional Talk

shelley1005@gmail.com (shelley) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:05:54 +0000

Since the 2011 season ended, we haven't heard anything from Josh Beckett. Zip. Nada. There were a lot of people who said that Josh was a clubhouse issue in 2011 and that he had become a problem. A lot of players made comments and called into the radio, but Josh was not one of them. He stayed silent. Today was the first time that Josh has spoken directly to a member of the media since the door closed on 2011. Of course, he gets a cookie, easy interview by doing it with Kevin Millar on Intentional Talk. Beckett talked about the controversy and the September collapse. Beckett did make a point of saying that whatever goes on in the clubhouse should stay in the clubhouse. Beckett spoke about meeting with Bobby Valentine and them both being excited about 2012. And of course, he and Millar trash talked back and forth. It's a cute little interview.

If you happen to have missed it, here it is below. Enjoy! Baseball is just around the corner folks!

Rehabbing with Rich Hill

shelley1005@gmail.com (shelley) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:00:17 +0000

Rich Hill is one of my fav members of the Red Sox. And no, not just because I crazily asked him to sign a picture of him and his cats:

Rich Hill has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and signed a minor league deal to stay with the Red Sox this off season. Hill was having himself quite an impressive season in 2011 until he grabbed his elbow on the mound and was headed for surgery. Here is a video from the Sox about his rehab and how he is preparing himself to be a productive part of the Sox in 2012: