These Boys have the best record in Baseball. I'm still in awe.
All photos are courtesy of Kelly O'Connor at Sitting Still.
And some updated videos of Youk and Papelbon Dancing - because what I had before was just NOT enough.
If you missed any of the celebration on Friday night (like I did) take a look here and thank Texas Gal from Center Field (especially since I knew Paps was dancing in his underwear but I had no idea there was bare-assed jock-strap partying!!)
Ladies and Gentleman, your 2007 AL East Champion Red Sox
I haven't written sooner b/c I was relishing the moment...because that's all I really got to experience. If you can believe if, I didn't see the Sox or the O's game last night. I was in the car, 20 minutes from home when I got the call that our Boston Red Sox were the Champs! We rushed home to watch what we could of the post-game celebration. It was a very happy, teary, magical moment. Watching the Sox* celebrate will NEVER get old.
It's unfortunate Millar struck out, because it would have been so appropriate for him the one to have won the Game for the O's and help the Sox clinch the Championship...but it was Melvin Mora to the resuce.
Another unfortunate thing? We didn't get to see Manny, Yo-Yo Tavarez, or Drew at the celebration. I guess they most have left? Almost as unfortunate to me is that they interviewed Eric GagME during the celebration and not Jacoby Ellsbury, but who am I to complain?
*Papelbon wins, hands down, the "best of" celebration award. He's a crazy-mo fo and I love it.
(first photo is a NESN screenshot, the rest are courtesy of the AP)
And what kind of name is Boof anyway? I'll tell you who he is, the craptastic pitcher who beat Cy Young candidate Josh Beckett in tonight's Sox vs. Twins game. There's nothing more he can do to help his team win the division, except sit on the sidelines with his pompons.
I'm sure this guy's named Boof too. Or maybe that thing on his head is called a Boof?
Highlights of the game?
Papi's Homer
Tek's Homer
Drew's second intentional walks in as many games
Hearing the Okie Dokie song
Seeing bad comb-over dude (above)
Eating Kielbasa with peppers and onions
Uncle Ron's name on the scoreboard*
Lowlights?
We lost, Stankees won**
Leaving 12 men on base
Tek and Youk striking out in the bottom of the 9th with bases loaded
Jacoby Ellsbury leaving the game with a calf cramp
Not getting to hear 'Wild Thing' and 'Shipping Up to Boston' OR 'Dirty Water'
It rained
Did I mention we lost and the Stankees won?
Stupid security guard who tried to make us sit from the G-Spot***
Seeing the fan in the bleachers get thrown out after throwing a Twins homerun ball back on the field
*UncleTomBiscoeDad's brother, Ron, passed away two years ago to the day (tomorrow would have been his 62nd birthday). This game was dubbed the 'Uncle Ron Memorial Game' and was immortalized on the Fenway Park Scoreboard.
** And they won, despite AFraud, Jeter, Posada and Abreau (were there more? likely) all sitting out because they were too hung over from last night (that's my guess why they weren't playing)
***For the past four years, as a season ticket holder, UncleTomBiscoeDad has ALWAYS stood at the "G-Spot" during the games. Tonight some pompus @ss security guard told him he had to sit. That has NEVER happened before. I mean, he's AGAINST the wall and NOT in anyone's way. What gives? Don't worry....he stood back up. Security was just nasty tonight.
You have not won the World Series, you haven't advanced in the playoffs, hell you haven't even won the Division title! What gives? You are also not the Red Sox of '04, so please don't even try...
We just swept the Athletics with an 11-6 victory (in which they intentionally walked Drew!!). The Yankees are ahead of Tampa Bay 2-1...make that 3-1 in the 5th*. There is still time for them to lose, but if they don't and we win and they lose TOMORROW night, I'll be at the game! WOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*Edit: 5th inning is still not over and it's 8-1 Yankees. Umm...let's hope for tomorrow!!!
(photo courtesy of wallyg) Magic Number to Clinch the Division: 3 Magic Number to Clinch a Playoff Spot: We Already Made it, Baby!
I'll say it again...Brian Bruney is my favorite Yankees player. This time b/c he gave up a Grand Slam (to Jorge Velandia - It was his first career homerun!) to change the lead in the 6th inning against Toronto. And this was after AFraud had pranced around the bases with his Grannie thinking he had won the game, and secured a playoff spot for them. Sorry Roger.
I love this picture.
(photo courtesy of Chris O'Meara/AP)
Look at Bruney. Look at Posada. Classic. The stankees had to use 8 pitchers last night! 8! Sweet. Don't get me wrong, I think they'll make the playoffs, and I think they'll be a strong contender but I love watching them sweat and wear down their pitchers.
Anyway, enough about them. How 'bout us? Curt pitched a strong game, Manny was back, Youk pinch-hit....All is well in RSN today. I'll admit I was a little worried when Gagne came in, but Paps saved him....with one pitch. And then, even though we were leading 7-1, Corey scared me a bit but we did it! I feel good, but not great. I'm hoping to feel great after tonight. If we can pull of another win and the Yankees lose again that means WE COULD CLINCH THE DIVISION on Thursday night when I'll be at the game! EEEKKK!!!!
Rest? That's what November, December, January, and February are for. Tell the tired and wounded fellas to suck it up and remember the words of the late, great Warren Zevon, who wrote, "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead."
In other news, Manny is back in the lineup tonight!
He's slated to hit second (strange). Still no sign of Youk.
1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B 2. Manny Ramirez, LF 3. David Ortiz, DH 4. Mike Lowell, 3B 5. J.D. Drew, RF 6. Jason Varitek, C 7. Coco Crisp, CF 8. Eric Hinske, 1B 9. Julio Lugo, SS
As far as I can tell, as of this minute, the Red Sox are 1 1/2 games up in the division and the Yankees are close to losing against Toronto, which would give the Sox a 2 game division lead with 6 games yet. How the f' can they say the Yankees won the division? WTF ESPN!?!
And WTF Tito?!?!? He said today it is "doubtful" that Youk and Manny will be playing tomorrow. Seriously, it's like there's a full moon out...only that won't happen until the 26th.
(photo courtesy of Lodigs) Magic Number to Clinch the Division: 7 Magic Number to Clinch a Playoff Spot: 2
Finally - so much good news to report!
Josh Beckett & Cy Young - I really have to believe that last night's performance clinched the Cy Young award for Josh Beckett (although nothing is ever certain with this Red Sox team). Beckett became the major's first 20 game winner since 2005. From an article on RedSox.com:
By the time Beckett got to his locker postgame, there were two bottles of Dom Perignon waiting for him. One was from clubhouse attendant Joe Cochran. The other was from right-hander Curt Schilling.
Jacoby Ellsbury is a horse, dude - Sorry Cinco Ocho, I had to borrow your line. Ellsbury continues to dominate. I have had the pleasure to see this rookie sensation play on the Cape League, in Lowell and Finally in a Boston Red Sox uniform. I had to catch the replay of this catch on Sports Center this morning and I'm glad I did.
This play was voted the top play on Sports Center.
David Ortiz - He didn't disappoint, again....Big Papi started against the left-hander Kazmir when he would usually have a night off. He did this because he KNEW the importance of this win. Not just for Beckett, but for the Red Sox and well...with Manny and Youk out our lineup is a lot weaker. He played on a bad knee, with a sore shoulder and he did it going 3-5 with a homer. This guy is clutch (as if we didn't already know that). Let's just pray he makes it through the playoffs.
Brian Bruney is my favorite Yankees Player - So maybe I didn't know who the heck he was when I saw him practicing in the bullpen last Sunday, but he's made his name known with me.
He gave up a single homer to Gregg Zaun in the 14th to lose the game for the Yankees. They are now 2 1/2 games behind the Sox in the division race with 9 games left to play (8 games left for the Sox).
Sha Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye Barry - The Giants made it official, they are not interested in having Bonds back for a 16th Season. He, however, is still on the quest for a Championship Ring....since his defense is lacking it is only logical that if this is to happen he needs to play for an American League team. Sorry Barry, no room for a DH on our team. Wouldn't it be great for him not to get a job? I mean, I think he'll get one, but we can dream right?
On to today... Dice K is just 1-3 against Tampa Bay this season, with both of his losses coming AT Tampa Bay. Let's hope the team can pull it together today...LETS GO SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's the only reason I can come up with to even try and justify WTF happened last night.
Congrats to JD Drew for scoring our single run with his homer. Yes, you KNOW things are bad when JD Drew produces our ONLY run of the game.
And good job to Buchholz. I know he had those fielding errors but lets not forget he's a ROOKIE and he pitched 4 hitless innings. Good job kid. Without the rookies who knows where we'd be now?
My name is SoxyLady, and I am a fan of the Boston Dead Sox.
I'm taking the Maria von Trapp (or Julie Andrews) view on life today and listing a few of my favorite things because I absolutely CANNOT discuss what happened last night...and what's been happening with the Red Sox.
So in no particular order here goes...
This song not only gets me PUMPED UP, it means that Papelbon has entered the game...and GAG-ME is getting splinters on his @ss in the bull-pen. I, however, think the real reason the DKM's shipped up to Boston to find their wooden leg was to beat GAGne with it....
This AP photo of Hinske absolutely FLATENING Posada makes me smile every time I see it. I think I fell in love with Hinske a little bit when it happened (don't worry SoxyMan, I love you the most!)
Thanks zafulotus9 over on YouTube for posting this video.
I don't know if this is funny or pathetic but I get some strange sense of satisfaction seeing Dice-K dressed up like a Teletubbie. Thanks PostmanE over at FanHouse for the embedded video.
My puppy always makes me happy (and the Red Sox, obviously make him cry too). I have yet to get a picture of him in his new Sox jacket..but it's coming, I promise!
I don't even know who Trehub is other than some dude on Facebook who said if he could get 100,000 members to his group he would streak on the field during a Red Sox game or something.
It wasn't him, but this kid has driven a TON of traffic to my 14 second YouTube video.
After Hinske doubled in the 7th inning of Sunday's Sox vs Yankees game, a fan ran out onto the field, tried to high five Hinske, stole and put on Cano's hat and ran out towards the Monster (where Damon ran from him like a GIRL!) before getting tackled and taken off of the field by security. It was stupid (yes!) but original and funny and I am sad to say I only got this very short video clip of the whole event. If you look closely you can see a guy walking away to bring Cano his hat back. Hahaha.
The Bostonist is reporting it was 20-year-old Charles Gendron, of Maine (haha, OF COURSE he was from Maine!) who ran across the field
NESN cut away from the action, but Bostonist saw the guy running in the corner of the screen, along with Johnny Damon running toward the errant fan. The guy also tried to high-five Eric Hinske, who had just made it to the base, but Hinske declined.
Gendron was arrested, and Cano's cap was swiftly returned. Cano told the New York Post, "I was scared a little. I didn't know what it was." The Red Sox's Jason Varitek agreed, "That was a little freaky." All we can say is at least he was from Maine and not Boston.
I guess I'm one of the only ones who got any sort of video...although I find that hard to believe. But since adding the video to YouTube yesterday it has gotten 12,549 views! WOAH! It's being linked to from Red Sox Monster, another blog and has also gotten the following "honor" from YouTube:
That means of ALL Sports videos on ALL of YouTube, this one was the 13th most viewed today - that is CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here are some AP pictures of the "Event" - Thank you Kyle Trehub, and Charles Gendron, for the traffic to YouTube...now just drive some of that to my site. Oh and stop being Asshats...seriously.
**While the first two photos are courtesy of the AP, I do not know who to give credit to for the third picture. It is not, however, mine.
Blah, I wanted to write this yesterday but I was tired and then the horrible loss to Toronto depressed me so I couldn't bring myself to do it. But I don't want too much time to pass.... Let's go Sox, it's the top of the 1st in the second game against Toronto. Ellsbury just got a single and now Papi is up with one out. We NEED this win. NEED it. Ohhhh Ellsbury just stole second and the ball was overthrown and he is now on third...this is what I like to see.
Let me preface this game recap by saying even though we lost 4-3 it was a GOOD game. I, of course, really wanted the Sox to win (I NEVER want the Yankees to win) but I wasn't upset about the loss because it was a great effort all-around.
We got to Fenway around 3:30 hoping to get a tour before the game, but they were all sold out. We headed over to Beerworks to kill some time until 6:00 when the park was open. I hadn't seen much batting practice this year and I thought this was the perfect game to get some in. As you can see from the pictures, we were over on the "Yankees" side but it was cool to see them up close and personal too.
A-Fraud
Giambi, Jeter, Joba, Duncan and Peter Gammons (in the suit)
Shelly Duncan - THE JERK*more about this later
Giambi, Jeter, Posada and Joba behind Gammons
Matsui, Duncan and Damon
Damon, Manny and Papi
Torre
"Tonights Pitchers, Clemens vs Schilling"
The Original Fat Bastard, Roger Clemens
Roooogggg-eeeerrrrrr
Natalie Jacobson shaking off the catcher - haha
Jacoby Ellsbury in Left Field
Johnny Demon in Left Field
1st Inning The game started off great - Schill only gave up one hit and things seemed off to a fantastic start when Damon dropped a routine fly ball to get Ellsbury on base (and he eventually scored). Oh the heckling he got, you wouldn't believe it. At one point when the yelling died down I yelled "That a girl, Johnny!" which even got some chuckles from the stupid Yankee fans around us. I have to admit I stole that line from my cousin but she didn't yell it loud enough for him to hear - I did. Mientkiewicz made an amazing play against Varitek to end the first. I swear, he never did anything so good for us. It was the best defensive play of the game.
3rd Inning Nothing but good pitching until Jeter made a great catch to get Hinske out. This was definitely the second best defensive play of the game.
Innings 5 through 8 So yeah, we all know this is where things went downhill. Schilling started out the 5th giving up a solo homer to Cano (to tie the game) before retiring the next three batters.
I have to admit I was shocked when Roger didn't come out in the seventh inning, but instead we got a chance to see Joba Chamberlain and tell him what we thought of him.
Schilling came out to pitch the 8th, he only had 70 pitches and he really wanted the win. He retired 9 batters in a row after Cano's homer so ok...here's your chance Curt. He struck out Melky Cabrera to start off the inning. He then gave up a single to Mientkiewicz and a wall ball double to 'roid boy himself, Giambi. At this point, my Uncle Tom said out loud "He (Schilling) is too old to be pitching past 10:00!" - It was 10:28PM. At this point I think we were ALL wondering why Tito didn't come out and stop the insanity.
He retired Damon for the second out in the inning and got two strikes on Derek Jeter. People were on their feet, the crowd was going crazy and I turned to Rick, the guy who sits to the right of me at the games, and said "If he EVEN shakes off Tek and gives up a hit right now I'm leaving..." But no, he didn't shake off Tek and he didn't give up a hit, he gave up a BOMB and three runs!
The saving grace of the 8th inning - what made it all worth it? Mike Lowells response homerun over the Monster. Joba the Hut's FIRST earned run.
9th Inning Gotta admit, I was a little scared when Gagne** came out for the 9th but he got it done retiring the side in order with one strikeout.
Mo (Mariano Rivera) came in to shut out the game for the Evil Empire but he did NOT have an easy time doing it. He walked Tek before getting out both Hinske and Crisp. Lugo got a double and the little glimmer of hope that we COULD win this game came back. We were through the bottom of our order!! Mo hit Ellsbury (BOOOO!) and then walked Pedroia to load the bases and Whose turn was it to bat? BIG PAPI! He worked the at-bat to a full count and then....popped up on what was possibly ball four to end the game. *sigh* We left 9 men on base and lost by one run.
Like I said, at least it was a good game, save for the loss and a few other things.
1. For the most part Yankees fans ARE rude and ARE stupid. I'm sorry to generalize but let me point out three examples.
While we were watching batting practice I was next to a loud-mouth woman in a Yankees Jersey who was going on and on about how cool it was we were so close to the players and "you could never get this close in the Bronx" - I said "well I'm glad you're having a good Fenway experience" to which she responded "It will be even better when we kick your ass" - Hello. Uncalled for.
There was some ghetto girl sitting in front of us with a Yankees shirt (F'n ARod!) and hat on. The hat had the words "Pretty Dirt" embroidered on it? Huh? What the hell does that mean. She played solitare on her blackberry the ENTIRE game...except when the Yankees scored...and she left in the 8th inning. She was NOT worthy of a ticket to this game.
After the game we were filing out of the park and some Yankees fan idiot (in a Jersey covered with Mustard on the back of it. Wonder how that happened? Hahaha) was mouthing off about how "his" team was only 3 1/2 games behind. Hello Asshat, you were 4 1/2 games behind.
2. It's not just the Yankees fans who are rude. In this past week alone I have witnessed one and read another account of a Yankees PLAYER being rude to a Red Sox fan.
*First I read over on The Mighty Quinn Media Machine about Duncan signing an autograph for a 10 year old Sox fan that said "Red Sox Suck - Shelly Duncan" - now had he done this to an adult it would have been funny. But to a 10 year old kid? Give me a break. Seriously. That is just wrong. And seriously, who is Shelly Duncan? Read more about it here: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1031894
Then there was this incident I witnessed with Derek Jeter. YES! Captain Derek Jeter, who I have always thought to be a classy guy. While I was standing next to the Yankees lady who was RUDE, there was a kid in a Red Sox fan standing in front of us yelling "DEREK PLEASE! SIGN MY BALL! JORGE! SHELLY! DEREK! JASON! PLEASE SIGN MY BALL!" and he wouldn't stop. He was annoying, but an obvious baseball fan. But Jeter stops his exercises, looks up and goes "Hey Buddy we have work to do, leave us alone" and I couldn't believe it! But what is worse! He gets up, walks over and signs an autograph for a kid in a Yankees shirt!
3. OK, I cannot stress this enough. THERE SHOULD BE SOME SORT OF TEST YOU NEED TO PASS BEFORE YOU ARE ALLOWED TO ATTEND A RED SOX GAME ON THE HALLOWED GROUND OF FENWAY PARK, ESPECIALLY DURING A YANKEES SERIES!!!!!!! I am sickened by the number of non-fans (not only of the Red Sox, but of BASEBALL) that are at Red Sox games on a regular basis. Whether its the pink hats, or the girls in stilettos or the whining little brats....I can't deal! There are so many TRUE fans (of BASEBALL) out there who would LOVE to have that ticket and can't get it. This game was no exception. There was the "Pretty Dirt" Yankees fan I talked about earlier, but there was also the group of people who sat behind us. First there was a girl who must have been 5 years old who whined during the whole first inning that she was cold - so I very graciously let her borrow the blanket I had brought. Then here dad had to leave with her in the second inning because she wanted to go meet Wally at the team store (HELLO YOU ARE LEAVING A RED SOX YANKEES GAME?!?!) When they came back she was whining about wanting cotton candy, and being tickled and blah blah blah. Finally the dad called the mom and told her to come pick the ungracious brat up. But that wasn't it. There was a father-son who were there with these people. The son didn't know what a foul pole was, he thought the "hole" for a homerun in right field was bigger than the "whole" in left field (Huh?!) and wanted to know how you steal a goal and if we ended up getting any points. PLEASE GO BACK TO CANADA AND LEAVE THE TICKETS FOR FANS!!!! Phew....
I wanted to talk about the ran who ran on the field in the 7th inning as well, but I realize that needs its own blog post.
And on that note, I am going to end this LONG blog post and report that it is the 5th inning and the Sox are beating Toronto 2-1. LETS GO SOX!!!!!!!
I am getting psyched up to see Schill and the Rocket pitch today. I'm going to try and get to Fenway early enough to get some good batting practice pictures! Stay tuned!!!!
WTF? In the 7th inning we were beating the Yankees 7-2. I fall asleep for 15 minutes. I wake up. Yankees are beating the Sox 8-7. I can't even see the freakin' replay b/c the TIVO stopped recording at 11 PM. So much for our lights out bullpen. Dice K did what he needed to do and then this.... and with GagME warming.... Ugh. I am going to be Debbie Downer and go to bed. Seriously. I'll be a more optimistic Sox fan *snort* tomorrow.
Last night I was reading Papi's Book (yes, I'm still plugging my way through it. It's not exactly Best Seller List material, but an entertaining read nonetheless.) Anyway, I'm read the part about the 2003 ALCS series and the beginning of 2004 and it struck me just how much I loved every guy on the team. Every one, even greasy Mark Bellhorn.
So of course my mind starts wandering to our 2007 Red Sox and I realize I don't feel the same love for all of our players and got a little sad. It's obvious who some of those players are (ahem Lugo and Drew).
Don't get me wrong, my heart has grown 10 sizes too big thanks to the likes of Mike Lowell, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia (among others), but it's not a huge team lovefest like it has been in the past.
Then this morning I come across this article where Varitek asks RSN to please not Boo Drew - it kind of changed something inside of me. I'll quote a couple of paragraphs below...but let me know what you think. Should we follow the advice of O' Capatin my Captain Tek? Probably....
"I wish the fans understood how much power they have," said Varitek. "They can help J.D. Drew. They really can." The irony, said Varitek, is that by booing Drew, who has been mired in a season-long slump, the Red Sox chances of winning drops.....
....."But you look at his swing. It's a great swing," said Varitek. "And he's a good outfielder. He has good speed. He's a good player. Is he having the year a lot of people hoped? No. But he can still help us. In fact, I really believe we are going to need him."
That's where the fans come in, said Varitek, sitting in an office at Jaffarian's.
"Why not give him a standing ovation when he comes to plate," said Varitek. "They did it for Julio Lugo and it helped. It really did. The energy the fans give you can carry a team. Trust me, I know. I can feel it. But the fans can also make you want to get under a rock."
The Yankees lost the last game of their series (and broke their seven game winning streak) to Toronto tonight, which gives the Red Sox a 5.5 game lead heading into the weekend and brings the magic number to
I am lucky enough to say I was there last night to witness Papi drive in all 5 runs of the win over Tampa Bay. OK, so maybe I was in line getting Fried Dough when he hit his first one out of the park, but believe you me....I was there for the walk-off in all of it's glory.
Being part of an Ortiz walk-off game (this is my second one!) is a feeling of elation that is incredibly hard to describe. I'm not even going to try except to say it is one of the best feelings in the world, and only if you're a true Sox fan will you understand how that's possible.
I have so many thoughts/feelings on this game...I think I'm just going to do a list because otherwise I'm sure to ramble on for waaaayyyy too long, heck I'll probably ramble anyway.
Our starting pitching is scaring the ever-loving bejesus out of me. Between Dice, Wake and Lester I want to crawl in a hole and die. I have confidence Wake will come around (if he's being honest about there being no lingering injury) - Lester is bound to have a bad game here and there but Dice....I'm not feeling it.
I'm CERTAINLY not feeling him start the game on Friday against the Yankees. We NEED to win that first game. NEED TO. Not for the purpose of the standings, but for the sanity of RSN
JD Drew can suck lemons and other things that I'm not going to mention here. I was trying to give the dude the benefit of the doubt. He had some good hits (not clutch, but still good) on Tuesday night and last night he started with a single, then got a double, then drew a walk (I can't remember what he did after that). But that play in right field where he dropped the ball...(I'm having a hard time placing blame on Pedroia) was inexcusable. You don't need me to go on and on about his lack of passion - but he doesn't have any. I don't give a shit that he doesn't "show emotion" like the rest of the team. He has no spark, nothing. He's just there going through the motions. Show me some F'N emotion and I might try and like you again and might try and forgive your short comings. Until that point, you are dead to me Drew.
It was hard for me to fully respect what Yo-yo Tavarez pulled off last night until after the game. Great job Julian (why did they take him out anyway? anyone?)....FANTASTIC job to our bull pen. Cinco Ocho, congrats on your first win.
Speaking of Papelbon....this is another thing that is hard to explain. When he came out pitched a great 9th....the fans were on their feet cheering like we had won the game. We were still behind by a run, but the energy in the park was electric. It was amazing.
Holy Okajima mania....have ya'll heard his 'coming out' song (hmmm...what is the appropriate term for that song?) - The entire lyrics were "O-K-A-J-I-M-A okajima! oki doke!" or something similar. I thought it was a joke at first, but ya know what? It's pretty catchy and pumped me up...I think it will be there to stay for a while at Fenway. I did some research this morning and came up with this quote by my soon-to-be-favorite-if-he-stays-at-Fenway Mike Lowell, ""It's awesome," said Lowell. "Oh my God, it's the best. You have to hear it. We're going to play it at Fenway when we come home. It's outstanding. It's unbelievable."
Has anyone heard about Mike Lowell? Was it food poisoning? Is he feeling better?
The message below is from my cousin ~ I wanted to share it with all of you because identity theft is a VERY real thing. And...well I feel partially responsible b/c I'm the one who suggested we sign up for the card to get the free blanket. Sorry cuz. - In any event, please be careful at Fenway Park and anywhere else you sign up for free offers, it's just one of the many ways your identity can be stolen. ---------------- Hey all. I just wanted to share with you this pain in the ass stuff I've been dealing with since last October. People who want to pay extra close attention are regulars at Fenway Park. You know those stands that are set up inside the park giving away free blankets/beanie caps/duffel bags when you sign up for a credit card? Well, last year they'd started quizzing you on your information after handing them the application before giving you your freebie...too many applications for Seymore Butts, I guess. If you didn't give them your real information, you'd be busted and not get anything but a dirty look, unless you had your bogus info memorized. Me being unprepared and freezing just gave them my real information for a free blanket, thinking it would be cool to have a card with the Sox logo on it anyway. Well, what happened to me afterward is all summarized in this copy of an email I just sent to a debt collection company that I got a notice from today:
~To Whom It May Concern: I received a notice from your company informing me of a debt of $309.31 that is owed to Bank of America. I am disputing this claim. The mentioned debt is completely invalid. I have spoken to several customer service representatives at Bank of America over the past year who have consistently reassured me that the bills I keep receiving in the mail are the result of a technicality glitch in the system. My troubles with this company began on October 1, 2006 when I attended a baseball game at Fenway Park. It was very cold, so I took the company up on their offer of a free blanket with the submission of an application for a credit card with their company. I filled out all the information and was warm for the rest of the game, but never received my card in the mail. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about it until mid November when I received a phone call from the company. They informed me that a woman claiming to be me, that had personal information of mine such as my social security number and mother's maiden name, had attempted to activate my card over the phone. The woman told them that she would be traveling out of the country, so foreign charges would probably be made and the company should not become alarmed. The representative of the company told me that the card was not activated because the phone number the woman was calling from was not the one I had indicated as my home phone on the application. She informed me that my confirmation of this fraud would be cause enough to make the account close immediately before it ever opened. Relieved, I left it at that. However, in December I received a bill with charges from jewelery shops in Beijing and returned check fees. I'm assuming these were for those credit card checks that often get sent with the card for the user's "convenience". I then called Bank of America again and they assured me I would not be held responsible for any of these charges. I also proceeded to file a report with my local police department, file a security alert with the three major credit report companies, and save all the documents that were sent to me regarding this matter before and since. It seemed to be over. The following months, however, revealed different. All though all of the Beijing charges were removed, I was still being sent statements that showed that I was expected to pay the interest on those charges. The first statement said I owed $110.52. The first three months that I had received statements like these, I called customer service, each time being reassured that I would not be held responsible for any charges and the credit score that I've worked so hard to build would not be affected. I was told that I may see statements for a month or two more, because the company needed to keep the account open to investigate the credit fraud case a little while longer. Well, after those three phone calls I became resigned to the fact that I would just continue to receive these statements and should not worry about them because they wouldn't affect me. Since then, the amount owed has grown from $110.52 to $309.31. I'd written it off as a minor annoyance. However, today I received a notice from your company specializing in debt collection informing me that this matter has evolved into something more. Although the letter was eloquently written with just hints of gentle persuasion, all I could visualize when I saw the term "debt collector" was two huge men showing up at my job to break my thumbs. It's greatly affected my peace of mind. I know none of this is your company's fault, and I'm only going on like this because I want to make sure I make myself perfectly clear. This debt is invalid. I did not make any of the charges on this account. I never even received the card...the only country I've ever been to outside the U.S. is Canada! I guess all I really want to know from you is if this email is sufficient for a formal dispute or if I should send you a signed letter, because to be honest I'm so bitter about the whole thing that I don't even want to spend money on a stamp to resolve the matter! All Bank of America has done has ensured that I will never ever do business with them again. I had never had any accounts with them before this incident, and now I never will. I will inform them of all the same things I have told you, but I'm still completely unsure of what they want from me! Do you think they want the free blanket back? They can have it if it will make the whole thing stop, even though I've affectionately dubbed it my "social-security blanket". In all seriousness though, please instruct me on how to proceed. Thank you for your time.
Yours Very Truly, BassKo ~
Okay, obviously I didn't sign the letter BassKo, but I figured that if you wanted to share this warning/tale of woe with your own friends, I really didn't want my real name shown to complete strangers...I've had enough of that shit.
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