Soxy Lady

A Tribute to the Minor Leagues: Your Pawtucket Red Sox

2011-07-22T11:50:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! My name is Melissa and I am honored to be a new contributor here at Soxy Lady! I'm a mom of a 7 month old little boy, author of Filling Our Bucket and a huge Boston Red Sox fan. My family lives in Rhode Island, and we are frequent visitors to McCoy Stadium to see our "hometown" team, the Pawtucket Red Sox! If you've never been, check it out! Below, you'll find lots of information about the ballpark and the team. Enjoy!

We are huge Boston Red Sox fans. But as Rhode Islanders, and now Rhode Islanders with a 7 (already!!) month old, it is pretty tough for us to get up to Fenway Park as much as we would like. Aside from that, the cost of a Red Sox game is not a small amount! Between tickets, food, a couple sodas...we are often talking over $100 a game! I love my Red Sox, but sometimes, I love having the money in my pocket a little more.

So what is a girl, and a family, to do? Well, head to a Pawtucket Red Sox game of course!!

The PawSox are the Triple A affiliate of the big club and play at McCoy Stadium. We are lucky enough to pretty much live within a stones throw of the park, so it is really easy for us to pop on over for a game.

A little history about McCoy. It was built in 1942, and named after the mayor of Pawtucket, Thomas P. McCoy. It was renovated in 1998. So much like the big boys, the PawSox have been playing in their original stadium for a long time, although not quite 100 years!

McCoy is also home to the longest game in baseball history. 33 innings over 3 days, April 18, 19, and June 23, 1981. On June 23, the PawSox were victorious and beat the Rochester Red Wings 3 - 2!

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the game, and there has been quite a few stories and events in recognition of it, including a story that aired on CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley. I never watch CBS, but I did that night. There were two gentlemen in the story who were at the game, two men that were two of the few fans that stayed until 4am that first night. They had them sit in the seats they sat in for the game...on opposite sides of the field. It was a fantastic story, and reminded us of the glory and excitement of baseball. Want to learn even more? NY Times columnist Dan Barry has written a book about the event called Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption and Baseball's Longest Game. I haven't read it yet, but it is definitely on my summer reading list.

As an aside, I have to wonder what would happen if a game went on and on and on like this these days. Would someone pull a Bud Selig, call the game and have it end in a tie?

Another great bit of history at McCoy are the murals. The Murals at McCoy, painted by Carol Heuser, are of PawSox greats over the years. Men who have made significant contributions to the PawSox and Red Sox organization not only as players, but as people. Here is a collage of the murals. Do you recognize any of the greats? See your favorite player?

photo credit

McCoy Stadium and the Pawtucket Red Sox are incredibly family friendly place. Before the ballgames, there is almost always some sort of entertainment outside the gates. We missed the band this week, but as we walked in I heard people talking about how great they were. Every Sunday after the game, kids of all ages can go down onto the field and run the bases! There is face painting, several kid friendly giveaways throughout the summer, and several games start at 6:05 - you know, to accommodate those early bedtimes!

On Sunday, the PawSox played the Durham Bulls, the minor league team for the Tampa Bay Rays - who the Boston Red Sox beat that night in a 16 inning battle, 1 - 0. It was hot, but McCoy Stadium has the luxury of having most seats under the roof, and during a day game with the position of the sun, typically the only seats in the sun are those that are down the third base line, the bleacher seats in center and right, and the grassy area in left. We were lucky enough to be sitting nearly right behind home plate, so we were under the roof. A comfortable breeze was blowing, so that definitely helped!

our view - no zoom!

Tickets at McCoy are incredibly reasonable, as I'm sure you can imagine and because the stadium has a capacity of only just over 10,000, there isn't a bad seat in the house. Box seats at McCoy are $11 for all ages, General admission seats are $7 for adults and $5 for kids 12 and under and seniors. General admission seats are great, but if you choose to go that route, remember that you'll have to get to the park fairly early, particularly for weekend games! The seats fill up quick, and the ballpark opens two hours before game time.

McCoy offers a good selection of concession options at reasonable prices. They even have the complete list of their concessions - with prices - available online! Please note the price of a draft beer in McCoy Stadium - $4.75. They even offer healthier fare for those who may not want to go all out in the full baseball experience, noshing on hot dogs, peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Salads, fruit and hummus with pita chips are just a few of these healthier options.

photo credit

The mascots of the PawSox are Paws and Sox. And while they are no Wally the Green Monster, they are pretty awesome. I mean, according to his bio, Paws favorite song is "Centerfield" by John Fogarty. That's MY favorite baseball song. It was meant to be!!

Do you want to meet Paws and/or Sox? You can!!! During the 2nd, 3rd, 8th and 9th innings, one of these furry mascots will be at the SBLI Paws Pavilion to take pictures and give autographs! Unfortunately, when we went to the game on Sunday, I didn't get a chance to get down there with the little man. But, I did get a picture of the Pavilion! Too bad that person was standing there, kind of ruining the shot. But, I have never claimed to be a photographer! See how the seat looks like ice? That's to keep Paws and Sox cool. Since they are polar bears. Of course.

TSI is already a big Paws fan. He's got a fun little beanbag Paws that we bought him way back in February, when he took his very first trip to McCoy!! We started training him about PawSox and Red Sox love young, and brought him to the ballpark the day it opened for ticket and souvenir sales!! They didn't expect anyone to show up, but we showed up about an hour after I saw the posting on Facebook, and they actually had to unlock the doors for us. That was the day we also bought our flex pack tickets.

The PawSox offer a really cool deal with these tickets. You can purchase packs in multiples of 25. The more tickets you purchase, the lower the price! We decided to get the 25 tickets of the box seat package. Normally box seats are $11 per set, but when you purchase through the flex ticket pack, you save $1 a ticket! That's a total of a $25 savings over time! Pretty sweet! When you want to go to a game, all you have to do is show up at the ticket window and exchange your voucher for a real ticket. It's pretty great. Just remember, there will always be games that are super popular that you should consider getting your tickets in advance. Most of these happen to be the games where there are fireworks such as Memorial Day and 4th of July weekend. We got a few games in advance - including Memorial Day Sunday and July 30, which is Clay Buchholz bobble head giveaway night! Get well soon Clay!

We left the game on Sunday in the bottom of the 5th inning. It was hot and TSI was getting sleepy and needed a nap. That's the beauty of going to a PawSox game, it's so close and the tickets are cheap enough that you don't feel too bad when you have to leave early! On the way out, I got to take a closer look at the area outside the ballpark. This season, they have lined the sidewalks around the outfield with pictures of some of the greats that have played in a PawSox uniform. As part of this addition, they created a nice little garden area with some pretty cool statues!

I do have to say that I love they included a little girl in this group of statues! Girls love baseball too!! I also love how one group of kids is just playing for fun, and the other is clearly playing more competitively. They are fun and full of whimsy. Someday, that'll be TSI!!

So, if you are a baseball lover and you live in the Rhode Island area - or even if you don't live in the Rhode Island area! - you must head on over to McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket to check out a game. Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and see one of the major leaguers that are set to come off the DL soon doing a rehab assignment!!

Play Ball!!!

All Star Pizza - The Best Pizza in Rhode Island

2011-07-12T23:20:00.001-04:00

During this MLB All Star break, it only seemed appropriate for my husband and I to pick up dinner from our favorite local pizza shop, All Star Pizza.

All Star Pizza, 417 Broad Street, Cumberland, RI 02864

Located in Cumberland, Rhode Island All Star Pizza is owned by brothers Brian and Steve Seagrave.

From the name, to the colors painted outside the building it is apparent baseball is going to be a theme in this pizza shop - but just wait until you step inside.

Once opened, the door chimes with "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" and everywhere you look are pieces of Red Sox memorabilia. There are bats, World Series pictures, pennants, a mini scoreboard/green monster, Red Sox pizza cutters, cotton candy and even a the light switches are Red Sox themed!

Red Sox Memorabilia in All Star Pizza

As much as it's fun to look around while picking up your order (or dining in at one of the high top tables located within the small shop), All Star really hits a homerun with its food.

They have some signature items like friend pickles and wieners served Rhode Island style (yellow mustard, diced onions, seasoned meat sauce and celery salt) and seriously some of the best pizza I've ever had. Their pizza dough and sauce are made from scratch and they smother their toppings in cheese.

Look at that cheese-covered pepperoni goodness!

I even hear in the fall they serve a special Thanksgiving Pizza (brown gravy, chunks of turkey, bread stuffing, green beans and mozzarella cheese). Yes, please!

In addition to the wonderful atmosphere and outstanding food All Star also offers free delivery and the best prices around.

If I had one (or two) small wishes it would have been 1) That All Star supported their local professional baseball team, the Pawtucket Red Sox a little bit within their shop and 2) Sports was on their TV instead of Cake Boss ;)

But seriously if you're ever in the area or looking to try some great pizza check out All Star Pizza. Tell 'em SoxyLady sent you.

All Star Pizza

417 Broad Street

Cumberland, RI 02864

401-725-SLAM

Business Hours:
Sun-Thurs: 11 AM - 11 PM

Fri - Sat: 11 AM - 1 AM

Like All Star Pizza on Facebook

View pictures of All Star Pizza's Menu on Facebook

No free pizza or other offers were exchanged for this review. In fact, nobody at All Star even knows who I am. I just want to support this local Rhode Island business and fellow Sox fans!

Boo Birds Sing

2011-07-08T20:04:00.004-04:00

There's stormy weather in the forecast, and it made me think about one of the times when I feel it's okay to boo at Fenway Park, when it's not directed at the other team; If you feel you're being held hostage by a rain delay.

Rain is just a part of what you deal with as a baseball fan. It's not played indoors like hockey and basketball, and it's not just an exciting, additional factor, like it is in football. It's cause for cancellation of a game that is played almost every day of the Summer. Therefore, it's hard to make up this games after they're called off. Believe me when I say I'd much rather have an open field like Fenway than one of those artificial domes, that feels more like a novelty size child's toy than a ball park. However, there's been plenty of times where I feel this has been taken advantage of.

Obviously not all Sox fans live in Boston. Usually, a trip to catch a game involves a commute that lasts hours each way. When one finally arrives, the ordeal isn't over. If you didn't feel like parking outside of town and going through the nightmare that is public transportation revolving around a sporting event, you have to find a place to park that beast, and it costs $30.00 + dollars to do so. Then you file in, probably pick up an official trash bag with a hood, because you forgot to pack any gear, buy some food, and wait for the delay to be called off, knowing in your heart the whole time the whole game is going to be called off. You heard the weather man say 100% chance of precipitation in Boston tonight on the way up.

That excuse about how difficult it is to make up that game is always at the ready, should you ever imply the whole run-around is given to prevent loss of vendor revenue to anyone official.

So you sit there...In your hooded trash bag...Watching as time trickles on, just like the rain, only to have it called about an hour after the game was supposed to start. Just enough time to make sure as many people as possible spent money on parking, rain gear and food.

Recently, my father had tickets to a game that was cancelled hours before it started. He was so pleased that he didn't have to deal with the weather gamble that he was moved to write a letter to the Red Sox saying so. I've never known Dad to take the time to write letters when he's anything but livid about something. Sign my name on the bottom of that letter too, pops.

Anyone who has been in this situation knows exactly what I'm talking about. Anyone else thinks I'm just bitching about the weather, which no one can control. Fair enough, but it brings me back to my original point about being more clear about when it's okay to direct boos at something other than the other team. Here's the break down:

-When your team is losing to a bunch of Canadians on America's birthday.
Nope. Just turn that cap inside out, and rally like a good fan.

-When a consistently lackluster pitcher is giving the game away.
No. This is only going to make him worse, and build up resentment.

-When the organization waits until the last second to call a game, while the weather reports were telling the people of Boston all day not to worry about filling up the kiddie pool using town water.
Absolutely. Boo the bejesus out of that place! Better to get it all out there, than behind the wheel on the long trip home.


Source

That's all for today's lesson. Cheer up, though. We're back in first!

-eMouse

The Seven Commandments of Fenway

2011-07-01T17:34:00.002-04:00

This past week, I've had a few friends reply "So I guess you're the judge now on who's a real fan and who isn't?" after I posted the link to my last blog entry on Facebook, I thought "Yes. Yes I am...And why not?"

In light of this, I've decided to compile a list of rules one should follow in order to behave properly as a baseball fan, particularly within the walls of our beloved ball park. So, without further ado, I present you with the SEVEN COMMANDMENTS OF FENWAY!!!

Yes, there's only seven. The remaining commandments were lost in an unfortunate and unforeseen incident.

Thou Shalt Remember that You are at a Baseball Game.

While a baseball game is certainly a place to connect with other fans, it is not a cocktail party. It is impolite to come and go as you please, making everyone in your row stand up to let you by, and blocking the view of the people behind you while the count is full. If you need to leave your seat, wait to do it between innings. If you can't wait that long, do it between at-bats.

Seeing people more interested in waving while talking too loudly on their cell phone, either at a camera or to a friend on the other side of the park who isn't going to see them anyway is also annoying. While pretty much everyone has done this at some point, you should be mindful that you will be made fun of by complete strangers. You may not be aware of it, but it is happening.

Thou Shalt Not Boo Any Member of thy Current Red Sox Roster

I'm typically not one to utter a phrase such as "How dare you!?", but I've found myself saying it at Fenway before, particularly during David Ortiz's dry spell. When a player has been performing poorly for a while, it weighs heavily on his mind. He doesn't need your entitled sense of indignation following him in wafts of hot air back to the dugout. Since I've been a Red Sox fan, I've sinned; I've booed two team players. The first was Manny Ramirez, because...Well, because of the same reason you booed him. Also there was Eric Gagne, because he was clearly a Yankee spy.


What more proof do you need?

The fickle nature of many that inhabit the stands of Fenway was the reason Ted Williams refused to tip his cap for so many years. No one's saying that you have to cheer or come up with with motivational posters to hold up at the game, or that you're not allowed to discuss your disappointment with a player's falling numbers...But absolutely no booing, especially when it comes to players who have already done so much for the team. I don't buy the argument that it gives him incentive to shut the crowd up, either. It is uncalled for and there's zero class in it.

Thou Shalt Not Waste Playoff or Yankees Tickets on Non-Fans.

I propose that when deciding whether or not a person is worthy of post-season or Yankees tickets, they should be quizzed. I suggest asking them to name the players corresponding to all the Red Sox retired numbers. If none of your potential "dates" pass the test, sell it to someone who is dying to go.

In December of 2003, my parents stood in line and acquired a ten-man-ticket-plan season ticket package. That was quite a year to pick up one of those! Their deal included four seats to ten regular season games (two of which are Yankees games), and four seats in one post-season game. I was in my senior year of college, so my parents sold two of the seats for every game to a friend of my father's.

Turned out that was a bad idea, because the first thing he did was sell his seats for the Yankees games, and brag about how much money he made. That wasn't the worst part though. The post-season of 2004 was rather exciting, as you may remember. The game my parents wound up getting tickets to was game 5 of the ALCS. Despite strong suggestions from both myself and my parents that he should offer me the last ticket, Kevin (screw it, I'll use his real name. The bastard deserves it.) decided to take a woman he'd just met to the game. I'm sure she was very impressed by the gesture, but according to my parents, she knew next to nothing about the game, and apparently cared even less. That's some bullshit, huh?

Also, small children that don't know anything about the game should brought a regular season, non-Yankees game for a test run to see if they show any interest in watching and sitting through one. Too many times have I sat near a family, and the well-intentioned parents brought their children, thinking they were giving their children a memory they'd have for the rest of their lives. They realize only when the kids argue with each other the entire time, climb the seats, kick the back of my chair, and cry that they want to go home starting in the fifth inning, that maybe it wasn't such a good idea.

Thou Shalt Not Fake It

Of course you're going to meet people in the stands that know very little about the game, and readily admit it, but are enthusiastic about learning more. However, many band-wagoners are highly annoying in their attempts to make it seem like they've been fans all along. This makes it an important commandment, as it has to do with the self-preservation of one's own pride. Faking it to try and appease the Faithful is a mistake, because you will eventually be outed, and that's just embarrassing for everyone. You will also be the subject of scorn if you managed to fake your way into getting a ticket to an important game, and are found out when you ask "Why is everyone booing and clapping at the same time?" when Youkilis approaches the plate.

Thou Shalt Not Confuse Thy Team Colors

These days, it's fashionable to claim to root for the Red Sox. The key word in that statement is "fashionable", and the influx of band-wagoners that have converged on Fenway Park since the mid to late nineties haven't exactly made themselves hard to spot, particularly if they're so ridiculous as to wear a pink hat, pink Ellsbury shirt and pearls...Yes, we have photographic evidence of this.

Green is not okay either. I realize the Sox have been known to wear green uniforms one day out of the year during Spring training in honor of St. Patrick, but neither pink nor green shall ever be considered team colors, unless the club changes its name to the Boston Watermelons.

Only then...

Thou Shalt Be Mindful of Thy Beer

Pay attention, whether it be in watching your overall consumption level, or trying to carry one too many cups back to your seat, and sloshing it everywhere. Either situation can become uncomfortable for all involved. I know the beer isn't that great at Fenway, and it's no big loss to you losing a splash or two, but I don't want to wear it on my sleeve. Please be particularly careful if you have higher-up seats right on the perimeter. Too many times have I seen fans with their elbows perched on the railing holding a beer, blissfully unaware of it raining down on the fans below. I don't know about you, but my chances of being stopped by police double when I leave a game, especially if we lost. I prefer not to smell beer-soaked in such cases.


Worst case scenario: Being soaked in a beverage disaster, and then antiqued by a mountain of powdered sugar from a piece of fried dough on a windy day. Source

Thou Shalt Not Leave Early, Just Because Thy Team is Losing

-You took the train in, and you don't want to miss the last one out.

-You've got children with you, and they're getting cranky.

-You work the graveyard shift, and you have to be there in an hour.

Those are all acceptable excuses for leaving a game early. Leaving because the team is losing is never, ever, ever, ever acceptable. Leaving just to beat traffic is just as bad. You're the very definition of a fair-weather fan if you do either, and you will deserve the walk of shame to the scowls of the real fans who know to stick around when their team needs them.

-eMouse

Pink Stinks!

2011-06-23T18:38:00.010-04:00

Author's Note - I wanted to post a positive, non-ranting piece for my first entry on Soxy's blog, I really did! But I saw something last week at the coffee shop that just inspired me to go off.


Source

"I ain't no pink hat-wearin' Red Sox 'fan'".

I wonder how I would explain this statement to somebody visiting our country. Someone with absolutely no knowledge of baseball. Even if they did know a little, I'm sure I'd come off as a complete nutcase. I wonder how I would describe this to a "pink hat" herself. I pondered this question as I took a gander at my first viewing of a pink Bruins jersey, on the eve of game 7 last week. I was sipping my anti-grump serum on my fifteen minute break when a familiar bitter taste of non-coffee origin crept into my throat. I gazed upon the familiar B logo without even a hint of black or gold coloring.

I thought to myself "Well now, I guess this means at least I shouldn't have any trouble finding someone to go to a Bruins game with me." However, I know from experience that the crowd once made up of "Good Will Hunting" stunt doubles will be replaced with wannabe runway models. It will be less of a hockey game and more of a school dance. It's a small price to pay for victory, and hell, some would call it an improvement, but it always makes me mourn for the watering down of the die-hard crowd.

What does a pink hat in Fenway Park represent to me? It represents a movement of poseurism that inevitably follows any championship, or even any serious run at one. You'll turn around to high five a stranger after a home run, only to see the top of a pink hat, gazing down at her iPhone. Maybe she's updating her Face Book status at how awesome it was seeing Papi knock one out at a Yankees game? Nope. She's playing "Angry Birds".

Congratulations to the runner up in the "Image of a fair weather fan" category. Source

You couldn't find a more literal sign of when it's fashionable to be a sports fan. I get the same feeling when I watch a post-season game and see the seats filled with Muffys and Mitchum Grayson Snobington III's, that cower at every hint of a foul ball, instead of the real fans that were there rallying with the team all season long. For every clown in a Nantucket red hat sitting behind home plate that's more interested in talking on his cell phone and waving at the camera than watching a crucial game from an amazing seat, there is a real fan sitting at home or in a bar with a hate-induced nose bleed.

Don't think I'm overlooking a double-standard, here. I'm not ready to let green hats off the hook either. Green is not a team color, unless we're talking Celtics. The only reason I don't rail on them so hard is because the ratio of true fans to fashion victims is reversed when you compare pink and green hats. Although the green is meant to show the Irish pride of Southie, it really just dilutes what should be a sea of red. Seriously, it's on the exact opposite side of the color wheel. You're there to support your team; Wear the team colors! I know I've seen correctly-tinted hats and jerseys with a shamrock patch. That'll do just fine, won't it?

Boston is a proud city, and the greatest sports town you'll find anywhere. It has endured years of agony and last second misses that have made its victories all that much sweeter. The heart and soul of the sports scene is its fan base, who's unwavering passion has brought about nicknames such as the "Fenway Faithful".

Source

Fenway is the only park I've been to where the fans don't need to be prompted over the P.A. or big screen to start a cheer. Take a trip up to Toronto, and see how many gimmicks they use to try and keep half-hearted fans engaged in supporting their team! I think of that whenever I see a pink hat...I feel like there is a spy among us.

I'm not saying anyone that's ever worn a pink hat can never be considered a real fan. I'm merely writing this to alert the unaware that if you want to support your team, you need to wear their colors, and learn not to ask if a pitcher that was traded two years ago is warming up in the bullpen. Get some real gear, and either toss that pink hat out, or just use it to keep the hair out of your face when you clean out the garage once a year. Every time you wear it, you'll be taken as seriously as that girl at every Super Bowl party that cheers when the other team scores because she "thought touchdowns were good"

Source

Unless your name was Lib Dooley...Then you get a pass.

-eMouse

Red Sox Events Calendar

2011-06-21T14:02:00.000-04:00

I'm happy to announce the next major change to SoxyLady!!

There are often many cool events happening for Red Sox nation and now SoxyLady can be your one-stop shop to find out about all of them.

There are two ways to view what's going on.

Now listed in the right hand navigation is an agenda view of upcoming events -- click on the name of any event to get more information and add the event to your personal Google calendar.

Second, also in the right hand navigation there is now a link under the "Quick Link Pages" to the main calendar page. Clicking on this will bring you to the static Red Sox Events Calendar page.

Again, clicking on any date/event name will provide you with more detailed information on the event as well as the option to add it to your personal Google calendar.

I hope you love this change, as I'm very excited about it.

Help get the word out to others by letting them know they can add their own event to this calendar by emailing me at: Soxylady33@gmail.com
In the subject of the email please write "Red Sox Event Calendar Addition"
In the body of the email please write the event name, date, time, registration information, costs associated and a brief description. Events should be in the greater Boston/Providence/Manchester/Portland areas.

Changes Coming to SoxyLady!!!

2011-06-16T07:00:00.006-04:00

Over the next few months expect to see some changes over here at SoxyLady. We're getting an overhaul, a self-hosted domain, some new writers, new focus....a lot of exciting stuff. Now is your chance to let us know what YOU want to see on this site, we just might take you up on it and send you a thank-you gift.

The first change I'm going to announce is a writer who has joined the Soxy family! Erin aka eMouse is the amazing artist who brought us such greats as "Darth Jeter" and "Emperor Steinbrenner"

I asked eMouse a few questions in effort to let you get to know her a little bit.

SL: I know you've been a Sox fan practically since birth, what is your earliest Sox memory?
eM: My earliest Sox memory is ironically hearing about my big brother's first trip to Fenway. I wasn't included on that trip. Dad says it was because they sat in the bleachers, and that was no place for a little girl. Of course, my brother's lasting impression of that event was seeing a drunk female flash the crowd and "having to pee in the sink". Of course, I'm referring to the infamous old urinal trough in Fenway.

SL: Were you disappointed the first time you went to Fenway and realized girls didn't have to "pee in the sink?"

eM: No, I was definitely not disappointed at not having the sink-peeing option. My first trip didn't come until 1995. I couldn't tell you who was pitching that night. I was more interesting in taking in the park for the first time.

SL: Of all of the changes that have taken place in Fenway Park over the years, what has been your favorite/least favorite?

eM: Hmmm, I think my favorite would be the monster seats, though I've never had the privilege of sitting up there. It just enhances one of the park's most famous quirks in an awesome way. My least favorite would have to be the seats in section 33 that they swapped out during last year's renovations. They're uncomfortable, they get smaller as they get closer to the wall, and they somehow managed to situate two of my parents' season ticket seats behind the same pole.

SL: AMEN!

SL: Obligatory question, who is your favorite Sox player, past or present?

eMouse: Y'know, Nomah was my first love, but I think I'm going to have to go with Papi. He's got as much class as he's got game, and his smile could light up the park at night. Attitude is very important, and Papi's got the right kind.

SL: What one thing do you want the readers of SoxyLady to know about your love of the Red Sox?

eM: It is real. I love the Red Sox and Red Sox Nation. I even love Yankees fans, in the same way a puppy loves an expensive leather shoe.

SL: Hahahahahaha, there comes some of that personality and fiestyness you're so famous for!

SL: One of my friends said today "Times have changed - my six year old thinks I'm joking when I tell him the Yankees used to beat the Red Sox all the time.." Those kids are lucky. At the same time, what do you say about pink hats who don't know the true pain of being a Red Sox fan? They aren't six years old...they should know better. Or do you think enough time has passed since 2004 that those pink hats should now be given a pass of being a true red sox fan?

eM: I wouldn't give pink hats a true fan pass. I'm sick of the pink hats who are just at games because it's the popular place to be.

SL: I suck at interviewing. Let's play a lightening round.....

SL: Fenway Franks or Italian sausages?

eM: Sausages

SL: Don or Jerry?

eM: Jerry

SL: Curveball: Damon or Clemens?

eM: [I hate] Damon more

SL:Dirty Water or Sweet Caroline?

eM: Dirty Water (tough one)

SL: Dirty Water or Shipping Up To Boston?

eM: Dropkicks win that round

SL: Curveball: ESPN or FOX

eM: ESPN...Fox {censored} {censored}

SL: Haha, ok. Soft serve ice cream in a mini sox helmet or fried dough?
eM: Soft serve in the helmet
SL: God Bless America in the 7th - yay or nay?

eM: Yay. Definitely yay. Please strrrrrrrrrretch and remove your caps for this evening's rendition of "God Bless America"

SL: Beckett or Pedro?

eM: Pedro, no questions

SL: Pardon the sexist girly question, but I gotta ask...[Babe] Kaplers abs or Variteks @ss?

eM: Kapler's abs, hahahaha

SL: Papelbon or Foulke?

eM: Papelbon. Didn't care for Foulke's attitude towards the end. He said he didn't even like baseball! WTF?

SL: Youk - beard or no beard?

eM: No beard! But have you seen him with just a mustache? He looks like Sgt. Slaughter. Fitting, no?
SL: I was thinking Buzz Lightyear

eM: You're stalling...you're on Google Images right now looking up Sgt. Slaughter, aren't you?

SL: Haha, GUILTY!
SL: Booing players, yay or nay?
eM: NAY!

SL: Bigger dirt dog, Nixon or Pedroia?
eM: Nixon, I used the snot rocket statistics to break the tie...you know, Nixon had more instances of snot rockets and nose picking on camera. I couldn't decide otherwise just based on diving catches and scrap.
SL: Ha! On that note, I think we've given readers a pretty good idea of who you are. I can't wait to read your posts, they're sure to entertain!

Stay tuned.......

Boston Bruins, 2011 Stanley Cup Champions!!!

2011-06-15T23:50:00.001-04:00

Photon from http://bruins.nhl.com/

Red Sox Support Earth Day, Every Day, But Can They Do More?

2011-04-22T10:14:00.000-04:00

Photo credit

Over the past few years the Red Sox have made significant strides in becoming a more environmentally-friendly ballpark.

This page on their website outlines their "Go Green" initiatives: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/community/gogreen.jsp

I've highlighted one of these initiatives below, as well as added thoughts on what I'd like to see from America's Most Beloved Ballpark.

Poland Spring Green Team
In 2008 Poland Springs solicited volunteers from local organizations and schools to walk around the park during the game and collect recyclable materials. According to the website, these teams collectively gathered 25 tons of plastics during the 2008 season. That number is absolutely mind-blowing. 25 tons of plastic gathered in just Fenway Park alone.

The Livestrong website estimates in 2008 the US used 14 million tons of plastic, and that recycling a ton of plastic saves about 30 cubic yards of space in landfills. So that means the Red Sox did their part by saving 750 cubic yards of space from Boston-area landfills. Seems admirable, right?

But here's the thing. I don't recall seeing Green Team members collecting plastic over the past couple of seasons. Did they only do this in 2008? If so, why haven't they continued? Since they are asking for volunteers I don't see that it costs the team much money (unless they sponsor the Tshirts the volunteers wear? Even so, they are effectively paying a ridiculously low sum of money to help have the park cleaned up).

Then comes an even bigger issue....do the Red Sox need to sponsor Poland Springs and bottled water usage? I'll admit I'm a bit of a hypocrite. I do purchase bottled water from time to time and I also bring my own sealed bottle of water to every Sox game I go to (what is the price of water up to in the park now, $4.00 or something?!). However, if I were allowed to bring in an empty reusable water bottle and fill it with filtered water I'd do just that instead.

Jack Johnson did something similar during his 2010 To The Sea concert tour

Jack and his crew reduced the use of single use plastic bottles on tour and backstage. All water came straight from the tap, filtered with Brita’s filtration systems and hydration stations.

As a result, the band, crew and concert-goers saved over 55,000 single use water bottles from being consumed and thus ending up in the wastestream.Concertgoers were able to fill up their own reusable water bottles for free at All At Once Water Stations located throughout each concert venue

The Red Sox could partner with All At Once, or a similar organization to effectively reduce plastic use at Fenway Park.

I know the push-back is going to be the fact the Red Sox will lose money by doing this. After all, they are a business ::rolls eyes:: but there are ways to work around that as well.

Red Sox could sell their own branded reusable water bottles, earning money
It would be free for fans to fill the Red Sox branded water bottles at filtration stations
Fans bringing in their own empty reusable water bottles would have to pay $1 to use the filtration station -- cheaper than buying a bottle of water, thus encouraging participation but still earning the organization some money

What do you think? What can the Red Sox do to reduce plastic water waste at Fenway Park?

The Boston Jed Sox

2011-04-21T23:35:00.004-04:00

Photo Credt: Elsa/Getty Images North America

If you had asked me who the shining star of the Red Sox would be at this point in the season, I can guarantee you Jed Lowrie wouldn't have been on that list.

Historically Lowrie has been an average utility player who has earned the nickname "no tickets" in my household (inside joke, sorry all).

He made his MLB debut playing 3rd base on April 15th (my birthday!) in 2008. He had a respectable season batting .258 over 81 games.

2009 was a different story for him entirely. Batting just .147 over 32 games, it didn't seem the Sox would have a permanent place for this young player.

In 2010 he hit a respectable .287 with 9 long balls over 55 games. Lowrie seemed to to be a decent utility player, especially against lefties. But to me, there wasn't much else.

Enter the 2011 season. The season of Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and the triumphant return of Youkilis, Pedroia and even Ellsbury from the DL. We had Scuataro as our starting SS it seemed like our team was set. Lowrie wasn't supposed to be a key player, yet here we are. Over the past couple of weeks Lowrie has become the heart and soul of the Red Sox franchise. Even in the past couple games where he hasn't been hitting as well, he's had productive at bats by advancing batters. (Don't make a liar out of me, no tickets!)

I even picked him up in one of my fantasy baseball leagues (OK, truth be told. I tried to pick him up in both of my fb leagues, but lost out to my brother in one!)

Not only is he making waves on the diamond...he's also earned himself a Chuck Norrisesque Twitter following using the hashtag #legendofjedlowrie

This is the final year of his contract if I'm not mistaken. Let's really see what the kid can do this year. What do you think?

2011 Red Sox At Bat - Player Entrance Songs and Songs of Fenway Park

2011-04-11T22:32:00.034-04:00

It's that time of year again! It's time to start compiling the list for the Red Sox 2011 At Bat/Player Entrance songs, as well as the songs of Fenway Park.

I was at last night's 4-0 win over the Yankees. I'm not sure what it is, other than the fact that I must be getting old (it is my birthday on Friday...makes sense), but I didn't have a clue on a lot of the at bat songs!

So just like last year, I'm going to need some help. Please email me at soxylady33 {at} gmail {dot} com or post a comment with any updates!!!

Mike Aviles #3 - Rocketeer by Far East Movement ft. Ryan Tedder
Carl Crawford #13 - Balling by Young Jeezy ft. Lil Wayne (previously John Doe by Rick Ross and Mr. Kodak by T.I.)
J.D. Drew # 7 - No song by request
Jacoby Ellsbury # 2 - Let It Rock by Kevin Rudolph ft. Lil Wayne
Adrian Gonzalez #28 - Get Up Levantate by Pitbull and Bon, Bon by Pitbull
Jed Lowrie #12 - Stylo by Gorillaz
Darnell McDonald #54 - Ni**as in Paris by Jay-Z and Kanye West (previously That's All She Wrote by T.I. ft Eminem , Can't Tell Me Nothing by Kanye West confirmed by Soxy reader, jmorse6)
David Ortiz # 34 - Subete by Alexis Y Fido and DJ Got Us Falling In Love by Usher ft. Pitbull (previously Never Scared by Bone Crusher ft. Killer Mike & T.I. and Big Poppa by Notorious BIG and Moment 4 Life by Nicki Minaj ft. Drake and All I Do Is Win by DJ Khaled - early in the season he was also coming out to Hotel California - both the Eagles and the Big Lebowski versions, anyone know why?)
Dustin Pedroia # 15 - Dre Day by Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg (previously All of the Lights by Kanye West ft. Rihanna and More Bounce To the Ounce by Zapp & Roger (confirmed by @mattjgoldstein) and The Wash by Snoop Dogg ft. Dr. Dre (confirmed by @jared_carrabis)
Josh Reddick # 16 - Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss (aka 2001: A Space Odyssey) (previously Cadence to Arms by Dropkick Murphys confirmed by @Shelley1005)
Jarrod Saltalamacchia #39 - 8 Second Ride by Jake Owen
Marco Scutaro # 16 - No Song by request
Drew Sutton #44 - Warehouse by Dave Matthews Band
Jason Varitek # 33 - Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down
Kevin Youkilis # 20 - Just a Friend by Biz Markie

Pitcher Entrance Songs
Alfredo Aceves #91 - Eye of the Tiger by Survivor, En La Ciudad De La Furia by Soda Stereo, Heroes Del Silencio by Soda Stereo, Musica Ligera by Soda Stereo, Viento by Caifanes, Letting Go (Dutty Love) by Sean Kingston ft. Nicki Minaj, Arboles De La Barranca by Banda El Recodo, Boom Boom Pow by The Black Eyed Peas, Dime Jaguar by Jaguares, Amante De Lo Bueno by Los Tucanes De Tijuana, Iluvia Al Corazon by Mana and Without Me by Eminem (confirmed by @RedSox)
Matt Albers #32 - No Song (confirmed by @RedSox)
Scott Atchinson #48 - No Song (confirmed by @RedSox)
Daniel Bard # 51 - Strangle Hold by Ted Nugent
Josh Beckett # 19 - My Kinda Party by Jason Aldean submitted by SoxyLady reader loopschick
Erik Bedard #23 - No Song (confirmed by @RedSox)
Clay Buchholz # 11 - VooDoo Child by Jimi Hendrix
Felix Doubront #61 - unknown
Rich Hill #53 - No song (confirmed by @RedSox)
Bobby Jenks #52 - I Won't Back Down by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
John Lackey # 41 - Guys Like Me by Eric Church (confirmed by Soxy reader Loops)
Jon Lester # 31 - I Use What I Got by Jason Aldean
Andrew Miller #30 - No Song (confirmed by @RedSox)
Franklin Morales #46 - No Song (confirmed by @RedSox)
Jonathan Papelbon # 58 - Shipping Up to Boston by Dropkick Murphys
Tim Wakefield # 49 - How Bad Do You Want It? by Tim McGraw
Dan Wheeler #35 - No Song (confirmed by @RedSox)
Pitchers Walking Out To The Bullpen - He's a Pirate from Pirates of the Caribbean

Fenway Park Songs
Before the Game - Cheers Theme Song
Before the Game Player Video Montage - The Show Goes On by Lupe Fiasco
Middle of the 8th Inning - Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
Pitcher Meeting On The Mound (by Opposing Team) - Communication Breakdown by Led Zeppelin and Message in a Bottle by The Police
Pitcher/Catcher Meeting - Theme from the Odd Couple
Pitching Change (Visiting Team) - Surrender by Cheap Trick
Ground Rule Double (by Sox) - Brass Bonanza
Walk (Sox player on base) - Walk This Way by Aerosmith
Intentional Walk of a Sox Player - Free Ride by Edgar Winter Group
Homerun (by Sox) - Kernkraft 400 by Zombie Nation or Boom, Boom, Boom by The Outhere Brothers
When the Game Goes into the Bottom of the 9th - I Need a Hero by Bonnie Tyler
When the Sox are Trailing in the 9th - Livin' on the Edge by Aerosmith
Extra Innings - Time Is Tight by Booker T & The MGs
After a Sox Win - Dirty Water by the Standells
After Dirty Water - Tessie by Dropkick Murphys
After Tessie - Joy to the World by Three Dog Night
After a Sox Loss - (on the organ) Goonight Sweetheart by The Spaniels and (on the organ) Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow by The Shirelles
Other songs:
Vertigo by U2
Gimme the Bassline by Torpedo Boyz

Here are the lists to my:
2007 Red Sox At Bat Songs
2008 Red Sox At Bat Songs
2010 Red Sox At Bat Songs
And not mine, but
2009 Red Sox At Bat Songs

And hey, guys, these lists are really a labor of love. Feel free to share with others, but please link back to me if you do.

Some of my information on 2011 player songs came from this article on the Boston.com. Last year, for the first time the Red Sox took my lead (yep, I'm saying my lead. Based on the number of hits I've gotten on these posts, you'd say the same!) and ended up posting their songs online.

I'm counting on you guys to help me fill in the blanks and confirm what I have!

Lil' Papi, D'angelo Ortiz Bringing It Big Time

2011-02-23T08:59:00.000-05:00

Personality: Check
Swagger: Check
Talent: To be seen, but looking good Lil' Papi, looking good!

There is something so refreshing about seeing the players out on the field with their kids, and seeing D'Angelo Ortiz at spring training is like a cherry on top of the sundae.

Spring training is a time of hope for many.
It's the hope of those young men trying to make it to the bigs.
It's the hope of a nation to bring home another World Series Championship
And where more do you see more hope than in the eyes of a six year old?

Love it.
Play Ball!

My Blog Giveaway Winner Announced!!!!!

2010-05-13T22:40:00.004-04:00

About a week ago, I posted a contest to give away a package of prizes from Boston Sports Blogapalooza.

Each entrant had the opportunity to enter the contest up to three times. I numbered all of the entries in the order I received them and used Random.org to pick the winner.

So without further ado, I'd like to congratulate Jeff Docherty!!

Photo originally posted here.

Jeff has won:

His choice of one of four baseball necklaces, courtesy of Sportsnecks
A Large "Boston Runs on Dustin" Tshirt, courtesy of Bottom Line Apparel
"Entering Fenway" sticker, courtesy of SupahFans
A free ticket to a Brockton Rox game, courtesy of Brockton Rox (probably a long shot from Canada, eh?)
Two coasters and a bottle opener, courtesy of Wachusett Brewing Company

Thank you to everyone who entered my very first blog contest and to all of our participating companies for the great prizes!

Congratulations, Jeff! Please email me (soxylady {at} gmail {dot} com) with your choice of necklace and your address.

You can follow Jeff on Twitter or read his blog, Jeff Doc, here.

Jacoby Ellsbury & Josh Beckett Launch Their Charity Wines

2010-05-12T14:46:00.015-04:00

Yesterday, in the shadows of the Green Monster, I attended the launch party for Jacoby Ellsbury and Josh Beckett's charity wines. The event was held at the exclusive Foundation Room at the House of Blues. Ellsbury and Beckett are the latest athletes to launch their wines "ZinfandEllsbury" and "Chardon-K" under the Longball Cellars brand.

NESN personality Heidi Watney emceed the event which was attended by Ellsbury. Beckett was supposed to be there but he's been "whining" about a tweaked back and had to focus on treatment in hopes he won't miss his next start (Get it? "whining"). Watney said the back problem stemmed from Beckett having to take batting practice in order to prepare for inter-league play later this month.

Heidi Watney

Jason Oberle, Executive Director of the Josh Beckett Foundation was on hand to read a statement from Beckett:

Jason Oberle

"With my new contract here in Boston, it is going to give me the chance to pursue even more opportunities to help the children in New England with my Foundation. These opportunities would not be possible if it were not for the dedication and hard work from companies like Charity Hop who also give back to our charities."

1oo% of proceeds from sales of Beckett's wine will go to the Josh Beckett Foundation, which supports community-based programs that strive to improve the health and well-being of children, especially those who are seriously ill, disabled or otherwise disadvantaged.

One example of how this charity has helped local kids is the Josh Beckett Treatment Room at Children's Hospital. Located in their Oncology department it's a room where sick kids can go in and focus on the cheerful Fenway Park imagery instead of drab walls. Once their treatment is done they leave with a Beckett baseball card and a picture.

Oberle also announced that Jason Aldean will be performing this July after Josh Beckett's Charity Bowl celebration, Beckett Bowl. I love that they're bringing this country star to Boston and hope I'm able to attend the event.

Next up was Andrew Graff. Graff started Charity Wines with the goal of finding athletes and celebrities, and matching them with fine wines to raise funds for the charities of their choice.

Andrew Graff

I was really hoping for the opportunity to speak with Graff, as he is a businessman I have looked up to for a long time. It has always been my hope to work for a non-profit or charity organization, while being able to support my family. Graff has found a way to combine that with sports and I really can't imagine anything better. Unfortunately it was not in the cards for me to meet him yesterday, but I was grateful to be able to hear him speak.

Shannon Albert, President of the Navajo Relief Fund spoke a little bit about the Navajo people. They represent the largest reservation in the United States and still take part in traditional activities such as basket weaving, rug making, harvest dance and silver making. What most people don't realize is the difficulty in the day-to-day conditions the Navajos face.

The current unemployment rate on the reservation is between 40%-50% and over 300,000 Navajos live below the poverty level. Nearly half of the high school students are drop-outs and teen suicide is well above the national average.

In her sincere thanks to Ellsbury (whose grandmother and mother are full Navajo) she presented him with a beautiful silver and turquoise bracelet which Ellsbury said reminded him of his grandmother.

Shannon Albert presents Ellsbury with a Navajo bracelet

Ellsbury's Navajo bracelet

“I have been blessed, not only to be a professional athlete but to be able to give back to the less fortunate,” Ellsbury said.

He mentioned how it took him a while to choose the charities who would benefit from wine sales. So difficult was it, he couldn't choose just one but was able to narrow it down to three charities which he said are "all near and dear" to his heart.

I already mentioned the first one, The Navajo Relief Fund helps Native Americans improve their quality of life by providing opportunities for them to bring about positive changes in their own communities.

The second is Project Bread. Executive Director Ellen Parker was on hand to talk about the leading anti-hunger organization, and how the money earned from sales of Ellsbury's wine will go to in-school programs to ensure kids from low-income families will be fed nutritious breakfast and lunches during school.

Ellen Parker

Ellsbury's third organization is the Ellsbury-Read Project. I was unable to find a website for this organization (So um....if you need some help with your online visibility, contact me!) but the Project helps promote child abuse prevention so every child can be safe at home.

Ellsbury talked a little bit about his number change from 46 back to his preferred 2 (He did mention 46 served him well in 2007 when the Sox won the World Series. Watney joked maybe he should switch back), his hopeful return to baseball "soon" and joked how his wine tasted better and had a better name than Beckett's.

He was so gracious posing for pictures, signing autographs and talking to his fans.

If you're a faithful reader of my blog, you know I'm a big fan of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Ellsbury played for the Cape League in 2004 for the Falmouth Commodores (*side note: The Commodores lost the championship to the Y-D Red Sox, my home-town team!). It's hard to believe he wasn't the heart-throb back then that he is now.

Swoon-worthy Ellsbury

That's not to say he wasn't adorable, but he wasn't the guy on the team all of the girls swooned over, like he is now.

Speaking of swooning girls...Ellsbury's long-time girlfriend Kelsey Hawkins was at the event. Despite rumors that have been swirling around lately Hawkins wasn't sporting a ring on her left-hand.

Jacoby Ellsbury's girlfriend, Kelsey Hawkins

You know who was sporting bling, though? Jacoby. Check this watch out!

Ellsbury's Watch

Does anyone know what brand that is? Wow.....

OK, back to the serious stuff.

I need to thank Brett Rudy from Charity Hop for inviting me to this wonderful event! The wines are now available for around $14 in local establishments, as well as online.

Mike Lembo, Brett Rudy & Jacoby Ellsbury

Please raise your glasses for both Beckett and Ellsbury
for using their status as a professional athlete to help those in need.

When Promotional Emails Just Don't Do It For Me (With My Sox On) (That's What He Said)

2010-05-07T14:23:00.012-04:00

If you're like me, your email inbox gets flooded with promotional emails on a daily basis. Email marketing has proven to be an effective tool for businesses - especially small businesses - some even have a lot of fun with it.

Today I got an email from Chowdaheadz. You know, the guys who have that "wicked pissah stuff." But instead of enticing me to buy something (or even get the free T-shirt they were promoting) I wanted to report them to the Grammar Vandal*.

Here is the text of the email:

By being our friend you are going to get some great deals from us including:
Discount codes, Free stuff, & Much More..

In fact we will start right now with this great offer:
FREE CHOWDAHEADZ T-SHIRT TODAY

HOW TO REDEEM:
-Use coupon code at checkout: FCTN7183
-This one time coupon code must be used the same day this email was opened
-Code cannot be combined with other codes & expires today
-CLICK THIS LINK TO GET YOUR FREE TEE TODAY!

Thanks for being a Chowdaheadz and we look forward to hearing from you!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT CHOWDAHEADZ.COM
If your a Yankee Fan hit unsubscribe below:

http://app.bronto.com/public/actionpage/execute_page/?fn=Mail_ActionPage_FormResponse&tsid=ifga1v5kj0vsctttqw47dr95hva4d&page_type=unsubscribe&sid=h5qnnnjrnp8x45vz0yi3dwolqzdwv&ssid=12459

I'm going to offer my unsolicited advice to these clams:

Saying "this one time coupon code must be used the same day this email was opened" and that the code "expires today" does not go hand in hand. What if I didn't open your email until tomorrow? Or next week? You are leaving your words open for some interpretation and confusion.
Do I need to purchase something in order to get my free Tshirt? Or maybe there is no purchase necessary? I don't want to have to click through to your site, try and add the shirt to my shopping cart and try and check out, only to find out I might need to buy something else. Tell me now, please.
You thank me for being a Chowdaheadz (wouldn't I just be a Chowdahead? I don't have multiple heads) and say you look forward to hearing from me, but don't tell me how to get in touch with you. Fail.
This line, while intending to be funny (I get that), is really just wrong in so many ways "If your a Yankee Fan hit unsubscribe below" - oh where to start, where to start....

First: Let's talk about homonyms. You've surely learned about them. They're words that are pronounced the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. See the Yankees, they don't belong to me. They don't belong to my heart, none of their shirts even belong in my closet.
Second: This may be me going over the edge a bit, but I'm an online marketing geek, I "click" on links. I don't "hit" them. My mom taught me not to hit at all, it's not nice.
Third: I can't even "hit" or "click" unsubscribe below because there is no unsubscribe button or link. There is just a dynamically generated link full of garbage most people don't understand.

And before you go all Snooki on me, I know I'm far from perfect. But this is my blog and I felt the urge to say something.

That's my rant for the day. Until next time, remember to proof your business emails before sending them out!

*Read the Grammar Vandal's Travel Blog: Adventurous Kate

.

A Blogapalooza-Sized Boston Sports Give-Away!!!!!

2010-05-05T16:46:00.009-04:00

You've read about Blogapalooza on my blog more than once. I've promised to write about some of the awesome bloggers, vendors and people I met there and I'm going to make good on that promise in the coming weeks. Today, however, I'm going to do one better. I'm not only going to write about some of the vendors but I'm also going to host my VERY FIRST SOXY LADY BLOG GIVE-AWAY!!!!!

I'm going to be giving away* a package of 5 awesome prizes in honor of Cinco De May0 and Nomar Day at Fenway Park.

All you need to do is either blog, Tweet or Facebook about this give-away. Once you have done that, leave a comment on this post with a link to your blog/Tweet/Facebook status** and you're entered! If you do all three then you are entered three times :) Make sure you leave your contact information in your comment, or email it to me at soxylady33 {at} gmail {dot} com.

You have until midnight on May 12th to enter. The winner will be announced on my blog on Thursday, May 13th.

The first prize comes from Sportsnecks. Sports jewelry made in the USA! These adorable baseball charms are perfect for the female sports fan in your life.

The winner will have their choice of one of the following:

A ball and bat charm on a silver chain or red chain
A glove and ball charm on a black chain
A white baseball on a silver chain
A pink baseball on a silver chain

(image courtesy of Sportsnecks.com)

The second prize comes from BottomLine Apparel. These Boston Sports shirts are fun and made on quality T-shirts. If you purchase Bottom Line's "Yoouuk" T-shirt $5 is donated to the Kevin Youkilis Hits for Kids charity. I'm wearing mine to the game tonight!!

The T-shirt you will win is size L and one of my favorites!

(image courtesy of blshirts.com)

The third prize comes from those Supah people over at Supahfans.com. They sell Boston sports T-shirts, stickers and more!

The sticker you will win is a must-have for any Red Sox fan! Place it on your car, your notebook, your forehead (heh)

(image courtesy of supahfans.com)

The fourth prize is a coupon for one free ticket to any home Brockton Rox game! You'll have a chance to experience professional baseball at a fraction of the price of the major-league team.

The ticket is not assigned to any seat, so for $5 bring a friend or family member!

(image courtesy of the Brockton Rox)

The fifth prize is really 3-in-1. You will win a pair of Wachusett Brewing Company coasters and a Wachusett Brewing Company bottle opener.

This MA-based brewery offers tours and has a store where you can fill 1/2 gallon growlers with their beer!! Bring it home and enjoy :)

(image courtesy of WachusettBrew.com)

All of these companies were represented in one way or another at the first-ever Blogapalooza. I want to thank them for these awesome prizes and hope you enjoy them!

Best of luck on winning!

*Dear, FTC: These prizes were all donated to me either to be part of a SoxyLady giveaway, or as a "door prize" at Boston Sports Blogapalooza.

**To link to the exact Tweet you posted on Twitter, click on the time stamp after the Tweet has been submitted and send me that link. To link to the Facebook status just tag me @SoxyLady in your message! Let me know if you have any questions.

Rally Wally

2010-05-03T21:56:00.005-04:00

I've always been a huge fan of Rally Wally. As a matter of fact, just a quick search through some of my old pictures and I was able to find these:

The first picture is from when Papi hit a 3-run walk-off homer in June of 2006. The Sox were down by 2 in the bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, 2 strikes...and the power of Rally Wally took hold.

Truth be told, I don't remember when the second picture is from, but we'll just have to assume it was also an epic night.

Earlier today the folks at the Remy Report urged Red Sox Nation to take part in "Upside-Down Wally night"

To all of Red Sox Nation - something MUST be done to stop this slide into oblivion.

So many of you have a Wally, and many even have his chair. Let's get ALL of Red Sox Nation to recognize "Upside-Down Wally" night as the Sox take on LAA.

We will even have Wally upside down and on his chair at Jerry Remy's Sports Bar & Grill. If you are there tonight, be sure to wish luck on Wally, so that he will bring luck to the Red Sox.
What are you waiting for?

Get Wally on his head before the game begins and tell all your friends and family to do the same! The Nation is waiting!

Did I take part?

You bet I did!!!!

Here is Rally Wally with the Growler of beer we won yesterday at Boston Sports Blogapalooza.

The Nation responded with plenty of pictures posted to the Remy Report's Facebook page. Go and check them out, and add your own photo from tonight if you have one.

I'll say the call to the Nation has paid off. In the 8th inning it is 17-4 Sox over the Angels. Dare I say I don't even think our bullpen can blow this lead?

Don't make me eat my words........

Boston Sports Blogapalooza

2010-05-02T21:46:00.005-04:00

Kudos to Joe Gilll for organizing a very successful Blogapalooza. If you weren't able to make it, definitely try and be there for the rumored 2nd coming of Blogapalooza in the fall.

In the coming days I'll be highlighting many of the bloggers/artists I met and will talk about the various prizes and schwag I walked away with. There is just too much to highlight in one post (and yeah, I'm tired after a long weekend!)

In the mean time, I want to share some linking love with the people I met. If I've missed you I apologize in advance, just shoot me a message and I'll be sure to add you to the list.

I want to send a special shout-out to Mike Hall's girlfriend, Laura. I was so excited to find out Laura is a fan of SoxyLady. I hope to get the chance to meet her soon!!

Minor League Highlight: Lowell Spinners

2010-04-27T22:37:00.009-04:00

In 2005 my dad met me in Boston and we drove a few miles north to Lowell to watch the Lowell Spinners play the Batavia Muckdogs.

Dad's former Cape Cod League Baseball host-son, Brett Harker, was going to pitch for the Muckdogs. We were ecstatic to see him play professional ball. I was even more excited because one of my BBBF's (yeah, that's Baseball Boyfriend), Gabe Kapler, was rehabbing in Lowell.

The Spinners are part of the Red Sox Minor League System. They are affiliated as a Class A Short Season Team. As the name implies, their season is short (June - September) and for many players this is their first opportunity to play with a wooden bat (Cape League Alumni have a head start on this!) Short-A ball helps transition rookies to professional baseball; They learn a lot about conditioning and have the opportunity to play on a daily basis.

We were able to meet with Brett before the game. He had always pitched as a closer, but told us the Muckdogs were going to try him out as a starter that day.

I expressed my concern.....I was conflicted because I wanted him to do well, but I had to cheer for the Spinners and for Kapler. My dad joked that when Gabe came up to bat, Brett should buzz the tower. Brett's agent didn't think that was a good idea. We had a few laughs and then headed for the ball park.

I don't remember many details of the game except for these:

Brett struck out Gabe Kapler. I was proud and frustrated at the same time

Jacoby Ellsbury was on the Spinners roster. He wasn't a household name yet, but he also played in the Cape League the same season Brett did. Our team beat Ellsbury's team to win the championship
I was impressed by LeLacheur Park
The fans loved their home team and the Spinners did a lot to get the fans involved
You could feel the passion in every pitch, every at-bat

It's the thing I love most about minor-league ball; The boys are playing for the love of the game. They're playing for the opportunity to perform on the big stage. They are giving it their all to make their dreams come true.

For anyone who lives in the vicinity of Lowell (or any town that hosts a minor-league team) I urge you to take in a game. For mere pennies in comparison to going to Fenway you can experience a night of fun and good, pure baseball for the whole family.

Often times you have the opportunity to meet and interact with players. This is especially beneficial for the kids as they get to pick out a "favorite player" before they become famous. They are able to follow their journey through the professional baseball system and boast to their friends they knew "so and so" way back when he played for the Spinners.

You are able to get a real good look at those boys who may one day turn into men in front of Red Sox Nation. Former Spinners players who are now on the Red Sox:

Kevin Youkilis
Jacoby Ellsbury
Jonathan Papelbon
Clay Buchholz

Oh, and the starting pitcher for the spinners the night Brett pitched? Just two short years later he threw a no-hitter for the Boston Red Sox.

If you're interested in Learning more about the Lowell Spinners come to Boston Sports Blogapalooza on Sunday, May 2nd. They will have a representative on hand.

I hope to see you there!

Boston Sports Blogapalooza, This Sunday May 2nd

2010-04-27T15:13:00.003-04:00

Ladies, Gentlemen & Sports fans, it's time to get your Blogapalooza on!

If you haven't heard about Blogapalooza yet, check it out:

Blogapalooza is an event where social media and Beantown sports collide. Bloggers, their fans, and Boston Media members will have the opportunity to meet, network, trade social media tips and of course talk sports.

The event is being held at and sponsored by The Baseball Tavern - right in Fenway's back yard. It is being co-sponsored by NESN.com, SwingJuice and Lenovo with the Lowell Spinners, Brockton Rox, SupahFans.com, Sullys and more as participating companies.

Who else is going to be there? Well..me. And lots of other Boston Sports bloggers. Check out the list on the Blogapalooza website.There is still time to RSVP for this free event! Make sure to visit the Facebook page to RSVP today!

Hope to see you all there!

Jay-Z Sues David Ortiz: Kicks Him While He's Down

2010-04-16T08:48:00.003-04:00

Let's face it, David Ortiz hasn't had the best two weeks of his life.

He's batting .143 which has caused the media and fans to jump all over him; They want him benched, they want him traded, they want to tear the big guy down. In response Ortiz hasn't been himself off the diamond either, lashing out at the media.

If things weren't bad enough...Jay-Z is suing him for $5M for allegedly stealing the name of his nightclubs.

(photo courtesy of the AP)

Nothing like kicking a man when he's down, huh?

The Iconic rap mogul has a series of clubs in the US and Tokyo called 40/40. The clubs name is supposed to be a shout-out to the exclusive club of MLB players who have hit 40 HRs and stolen 40 bases in a single season. Any true baseball fan would realize Ortiz is not one of them. While Papi went deep more than 40 times in each of the seasons from 2004-2006, according to Baseball-Reference.com in his 14 years in MLB he's only stolen a total of 10 bases.

Anyway, Ortiz has a club in Santa Domingo named Forty-Forty and Jay-Z thinks he's trying to capitalize off his success. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Papi is one of the Dominican's most recognizeable figures. He could have opened a club down there called "This Place Sucks" and I'm sure it would become a huge success. I don't honestly think he was trying to ride Jay's coat-tails.

At the same time, why would Ortiz even tread on that naming territory when he could have named his club anything? Bad advice from his management team? Who knows?

I'm really getting sick of all of this negative talk and attention surrounding Papi. We're two weeks into the season...give it a rest. I mean the Twin Cities can still stand behind the big guy, why can't we?

Daisuke Matsuzaka Starts at McCoy Stadium

2010-04-12T21:08:00.006-04:00

This past weekend my friend and I headed to McCoy Stadium to take in the Pawtucket Red Sox Double Header against the Yankees AAA team, Rochester Red Wings.

The Sox won both games - the first game was close at a score of 1-0. The winning pitcher? Daisuke Matsuzaka. I wanted to take in my first game of the season at McCoy watching Daisuke's rehab start, and he looked great! Reliever Alan Embree...not so great.

Here are a few of the pictures I took.

Watching Daisuke warming up in the Bullpen. This guy was crazy with his warmup routine. I think he stretched every possible muscle in his body...and then some! He also spent some time watching highlight reels on the scoreboard.

Short Stop, Angel Sanchez, throwing a ball to a fan during warmups.

Can you see Josh Reddick all bundled up? It was cold out, but not that cold!

Daisuke pitched really well. Looking forward to seeing him back in Boston soon!

Paws shooting TShirts into the crowd

2010 Red Sox At-Bat Songs

2010-04-08T11:39:00.009-04:00

Hey Red Sox fans! It's time to build the list of the 2010 Red Sox At-Bat and player entrance songs.

I'm going to need some help, so please email me at soxylady33 {at} gmail {dot} com with any updates!!! The list is looking pretty pathetic right now.

Position Players
Adrian Beltre # 29 - Unknown, but sounds like it possibly could have been a Daddy Yankee song?
Mike Cameron # 23 - Forever by Drake
J.D. Drew # 7 - No song!
Jacoby Ellsbury # 2 - Let It Rock by Kevin Rudolph ft. Lil Wayne
Bill Hall # 22 - Unknown
Jeremy Hermida # 32 - Unknown
Mike Lowell # 25 - Unconfirmed Iron Man by Black Sabboth or Bombtrack by Rage Against the Machine
Victor Martinez # 41 - Unknown Latin Song
David Ortiz # 34 - Unknown Latin Song
Dustin Pedroia # 15 - Unknown Song by Dr. Dre, wasn't Dre Day possibly The Next Episode
Marco Scutaro # 16 - No Song!
Jason Varitek # 33 - Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down
Kevin Youkilis # 20 - Just a Friend by Biz Markie

Pitchers
Scott Atchison # 48 - Heartland by George Strait
Daniel Bard # 51 - Strangle Hold by Ted Nugent
Josh Beckett # 19 - Unconfirmed Rock Star by Nickelback or Living Hard by Gary Alan
Clay Buchholz # 11 - Unknown
Manny Delcarmen # 17 - (I'm From) Boston - MAV Entertainment (Anyone know where to get this track?)
John Lackey # 40 - Crazy Town by Jason Aldean
Jon Lester # 31 - Unconfirmed I Use What I Got by Jason Aldean
Daisuke Matsuzaka #18 (when he returns) - Unconfirmed The Next Door by Exile
Hideki Okajima # 37 - Unconfirmed Okajima-Oki-doke by Mr. Yoshie
Jonathan Papelbon # 58 - Shipping Up to Boston by Dropkick Murphys
Ramon Ramirez # 56 - Unknown
Scott Schoeneweis # 60 - Unconfirmed It's a Fight by Three 6 Mafia (not sure this is right after hearing the song again)
Tim Wakefield # 49 - Unconfirmed How Bad Do You Want It? by Tim McGraw

Fenway Park Songs
Before the Game - Cheers Theme Song
Middle of the 8th Inning - Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
Pitcher Meeting On The Mound (by Opposing Team) - Communication Breakdown by Led Zeppelin
Pitcher/Catcher Meeting - Theme from the Odd Couple
Ground Rule Double (by Sox) - Brass Bonanza
Walk (Sox player on base) - Walk This Way by Aerosmith
Homerun (by Sox) - Kernkraft 400 by Zombie Nation or Boom, Boom, Boom by The Outhere Brothers
Extra Innings - Time Is Tight by Booker T & The MGs
After a Sox Win - Dirty Water by the Standells
After Dirty Water - Tessie by Dropkick Murphys
After Tessie - Joy to the World by Three Dog Night
After a Sox Loss - (on the organ) Goonight Sweetheart by The Spaniels and (on the organ) Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow by The Shirelles
Other songs:
Vertigo by U2
Gimme the Bassline by Torpedo Boyz

Here are the lists to my:
2007 Red Sox At-Bat Songs
2008 Red Sox At-Bat Songs
And not mine, but
2009 Red Sox At-Bat Songs

One Down, 161 To Go...

2010-04-05T16:06:00.007-04:00

If last night's game was any indication of the season to come, I am very very excited.

We all know the Sox spare no expense when it comes to marketing the team. And we know John Henry and Co. love to have a few surprises up their sleeves (ala Billy Buckner in 2008). What we didn't know is just how brilliant last night's opening game was going to be - both orchestrated and not.

I tuned into the coverage in time to see Dr. Dre donning a Sox Jersey (what?!) and plugging his new headphones, "Beats." When asked about player at-bat songs, and which one player he'd like to convince to be announced to one of his songs, he quickly replied "Ortiz......Big Papi" to a new song of his Under Pressure. Oh Dre. If you only knew Pedroia used The Wash in 2007 and F*ck With Dre the past two seasons you might have had to do too much convincing. Papi historically prefers The Game, 50 cent or some Dominican jam.

Then there was seeing newly retired Nomar Garciaparra sitting at the ESPN Analyst's Desk on the field.

When it was time to announce the teams. The 2009 World Series Champions, NYY were first. *yawn* and then it was time for the 2010 Red Sox. When Mr. Red Sox, number 6, Johnny Pesky was announced I got teary. When fan fave Mike Lowell was announced, I may have cried (don't judge me). He got the biggest ovation of the night, one he clearly deserved. It was strange having both Lowell and Varitek announced before the starting players, a reality I was perhaps not yet ready to accept.

Thank you to Jere at a Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory for shooting and posting this video!

Although the secret was leaked in the hour or so before the game, it was still a great surprise to see Pedro Martinez walk from out of the Green Monster, under the American Flag and towards home plate to throw out the game's first pitch. I loved when Orsillo announced him he said it was time to "wake up the d@mn Bambino and welcome Pedro back." But why, oh why did they play Phil Collins as he headed towards the mound?!

Pedro's smile was electric. He looked truly and honestly happy to be back. And I was truly, and honestly, happy to see him back wearing #54. I miss Pedro. Every time he toed the rubber you expected the unexpected to happen. The moment of his return was momentarily ruined when A-Rod ran out from to give him a hug...all returned to right in the world when Pedro thew to long-time catcher Varitek.

Martinez even shared in a lengthy hug, and a photo-opportunistic conversation with Pesky. It was magical to watch.

(photo courtesy of Bosotn.com and the AP)

It wasn't over there, though. 5 year old Joshua Sacco came out to do a Red Sox rendition of his paradoy on Herb Brooks locker room speech from the movie "Miracle." I wonder how many people didn't get what this was all about. If you didn't, it may have seemed odd. But if you were one of the million plus viewers who know Josh from YouTube...it was awesome. It was complete with the link, "I'm sick and tired of hearing 'bout what a great baseball team the Yankees have...Screw 'em!"

Seriously this was all before the game even started.

Beckett pitched a great first inning, but it was all down-hill from there. He allowed back-to-back homers to Jorge Posada (off of Pesky Pole) and Curtis Granderson. He had no control of his off-speed pitches and he only struck out one batter and gave up 5 runs in 4 2/3 innings.

But the offense, you know the offense that wasn't supposed to be able to score any runs this year? They came alive. Youk (who was still donning a goatee, much to the chagrin of many) went 3 for 4. He had two doubles, a triple and scored three runs with two RBIs.

Then there was Pedroia. El Caballito, the F*ck Yeah Kid. He went 2 for 4. He walked, smashed a 2 run homer and drove in 3. Almost nothing in baseball gets me as excited as watching Pedroia scream "F*ck Yeah!" (sorry mom & dad). He is in it to win it. Every single game.

Youk and Pedroia, they are the new face of the Boston Red Sox. They may not have the natural talent that Manny and Papi dominated with, but they are gritty and determined. They are not going to let anyone tell their offense they can't score runs. No way. No how. These boys are ball players.

The new guys did well, Ellsbury and Papi struggled at the plate (and Ellsbury a bit in the field). Nothing too concerning, but it did have me wondering about the future of Papi in a Sox uniform when a very capable DH named Mike Lowell was sitting on the bench.

Yankee's fan LeBron James was sitting in Henry's luxury box for the game (texting every time the camera cut to him) along with Dre (no longer in his Sox jersey).

There were other surprises throughout the night. Steven Tyler and one of his daughters came out for a creepy rendition of God Bless America. I'm not sure why she was there. She wasn't announced. She only did a bit of harmonizing at the end. My guess is that he's going to be pushing her pop-rock singing career soon.

One of the best things to happen? Sweet Caroline was played during the middle of the 8th, like always. But for the first time ever it was sung live by Mr. Neil Diamond himself.

He wasn't much better than Tyler...but honestly I loved every second of it. Sox fans had been waiting a long time to see that. He was curiously wearing a jacket that said "Keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn" but eh...whatever....

My first game of the season will be on Wednesday night watching John Lackey's debut against the Bronx Bombers. I can't wait.

Burying the Hatchet

2010-03-23T16:14:00.007-04:00

What do the following people have in common?

Johnny Damon
Ramiro Mendoza
Eric Hinske
Tony Cloninger
Dale Sveum
Gary Tuck

According to the New York Post they are the only people who have World Series rings from both the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Surprising, right? You'd think there would be some more, ummmm....iconic players/coaches on that list. But considering history...this is it.

I don't really have much to say about any of those men, with the exception of Johnny ~~Demon~~ Damon. I have to (wo)man up and admit it might be time to bury the hatchet with him.

There is no surprise that as a member of RSN I've had had hard feelings towards the self-proclaimed idiot. I've lashed out on my blog more than onc e about him. I've called him every name in the book, I've sat down during his announcements at Fenway Park (I would like to point out I never booed the man), I've laughed at the thought of him potentially being unemployed this season (until the Tigers stepped up)....but I've also loved him.

I loved him when he was a member of the 2002, 2003 and beloved 2004 Red Sox. He made me cry when he was carried off of the field after colliding with Damian Jackson in the outfield. He had me screaming out "What Would Johnny Damon Do?!" more than once. He hit a grand-slam against the Yankees in the game 7 2004 ALCS, which was just as exciting, if not more exciting, than winning the World Series in my eyes. He rode the duck boats through the streets of Boston, where I cheered at the top of my lungs out of sheer joy and excitement.

Johnny was my homeboy.

That is, until he went to the Yankees in 2005.

It honestly and truly felt like a betrayal to me. There is no other way to describe it. I was hurt. Johnny let ME down personally.

But here is the thing. I have had no hard feelings towards any other member of the 2004 Red Sox who are no longer with the team...except maybe a few for Manny, but that's just because he was "being Manny." I don't have hard feelings for Eric Hinske, who is up there on that same list with Damon. In short, I was being a jerk.

It's time for me to bury the hatchet on my hatred of Johnny Damon. I will cheer on May 14th (albeit while watching my television) when he steps up to bat against the Red Sox. I will try and get tickets to the July 30th game so I can cheer him in person, at Fenway Park. I would like to finally give him that standing ovation he so much deserves.

I just hope he'll accept my cheers and congratulations after all these years.

Getting Excited For Baseball

2010-03-23T15:52:00.004-04:00

Seeing these 2010 baseball commercials have surely fired me up for the baseball season.

In this ESPN Sunday Night Baseball clip, Buchholz and actor Adam Scott sing along to Sweet Caroline and try and get Yankees outfielder, Nick Swisher involved too. He wants nothing to do with it. So what does Buchholz do? He continues to sing along by himself. And he can actually carry a tune (not sure why this surprises me, but it does!) I've never been a huge fan of Buchholz, but this makes me like the guy a little.

Then there are the NESN spots that my friend Susan Mahoney told me about. The first one kind of cracks me up. Orsillo is trying to explain how to navigate around Boston to John Lackey. It has often made me comment out-loud that 95/128 are the same road (in some spots) and that 95S turns into 93N....it's just confusing. Even to those of us who grew up in MA.

This last video, however, has got to be my favorite. A (real) Yankees fan walks into a barber shop talking smack...until he sees the likes of Papi, Tek, Wake and Paps. It's great.

What about you? Which is your favorite? What is getting you fired up for the baseball season?

Nomar Gives Me Warm Fuzzies

2010-03-10T10:03:00.005-05:00

By now you've all heard the news that Nomar Garciaparra will be retiring as a member of the 2010 Red Sox organization.

(photo taken from boston.com, photographer unknown)

Reports say he will be signing a one-year, minor league contract with the Red Sox organization and then announce he will be taking a job with ESPN as a baseball analyst.

Now....there are a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head (and I'm sure some of them could be answered if I just waited 15 minutes to listen to the press conference...but that would be logical...)

Nomar (reportedly) had a tumultuous relationship with the city of Boston (towards the end). He didn't like all of the attention, he didn't like all of the press and he didn't always love the Red Sox - so why here, why now? I know he started his career here, that he played his best here, that he was LOVED here. I just want to know if he's being sincere, or pulling a PR stunt? edit: after watching the press conference I feel he was sincere in really wanting to end his career in the same uniform he wore when he started it. in fact, it was the most sincere i've seen nom-ay in a long time and it was awesome to see him look so happy! One little gripe though Noooommmaaahhhhhh, you are retiring as a member of the Red Sox, not as a Red Sock. We are Red Sox Nation, not Red Sock Nation. Still love ya, man.
If he signs a one-day deal with a MINOR LEAGUE team affiliated with the Red Sox, won't the hat he wears during his press conference be a SeaDog, or a "P" or something? And not that it really matters, but don't we all want to see him in a Red Sox hat? My brother assures me that the genious behind Red Sox PR will already have this figured out...edit: so no uni at the press conference....it is yet to be determined what will happen. I guess they toned down the PR aspect of it - in that respect. But man, I really wanted to see him with a "B" on his head.
Will Nomah coming back and ending his baseball legacy with the team where he was a five-time All-star end the curse of the SS as we have come to know it?
Is there any way he can find a way to sneak onto the DL for one last day? (Ok, ok no hate mail, I kid!!!)

I, of course, am happy this is taking place. I had a love-hate relationship (mostly love) with the former Cape Cod League Baseball Player but I do think his final career-resting place should be with the Sox. He was, for so many years, the face of the Red Sox. I don't think any true Sox fan is happy with the way things went down in 2004 (although the outcome was, of course, very favorable that season!) Now he'll get a proper "goodbye" from Red Sox Nation...especially when he throws out the first pitch on opening day*

Nomahhhh - I wish you the best!

Some of my fellow bloggers who are honoring Nomah:

Julia thanks Nomar: http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/03/nomar.html
Dan recaps his favorite Nomar memory: http://blog.masslive.com/redsoxmonster/2010/03/nomar_garciaparra_career_highlights.html
Joy of Sox posts a fantastic picture: http://joyofsox.blogspot.com/2010/03/nomar-announces-retirement.html
Jere from A Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory On Nomar, the media and the haters: http://letsgosox.blogspot.com/2010/03/on-nomar.html
Peter talks about Nomar coming home: http://peteronall.blogspot.com/2010/03/nomar-comes-home.html
Derek talks about Nomar and Sunshowers: http://www.sawxblog.com/2010/03/nomar-garciaparra-comes-back-home.html
Mighty Quinn thanks Nomar for the memories:
http://quinnmedia.blogspot.com/2010/03/nomar-retires-with-red-sox.html

(photo taken from redsox.com, photographer unknown)

*I totally made this up, but wouldn't it be amazing?! Come back to this post if it actually happens so I can say, "See! I totally called that!"

Erin Andrews Is A Serious Dancer, errr.....Reporter

2010-03-02T11:45:00.008-05:00

One of these things is not like the other

Erin Andrews wants to be taken as a serious sideline reporter
Erin Andrews has been fighting to keep her name out of the tabloid media and keep the paparazzi at bay since the "peep-hole" incident
Erin Andrews has been announced as part of the cast for Season 10 of Dancing With the Stars

I have nothing but respect for women in sports.

There is an unfair stereotype about you because of your gender. It's cut-throat and competitive.
You get heckled about your knowledge (or assumed lack there of) just because you are female.
You get cat-called and whistled at because you're pretty.

I get that. (I also get that it is a great marketing ploy for networks to have hot women sports reporters, but that's another story for another day).

I have to be honest, though. Erin Andrews is driving me nuts.

I felt bad about the whole peeping-tom peep-hole video. It would be an extreme invasion of privacy for any woman OR man. This is not about that (even though it did boost her popularity!)

What's getting to me is this woman has been "fighting" to be taken serious in her job, and now she's dragging herself down and trying to capitalize on her 15 minutes of fame with the likes of Kate Gosselin, Pamela Anderson, Shannen Doherty and Nicole Scherzinger. Are you kidding me?

It's a shame, honestly.

Perhaps Andrews using this as a Catalyst of career change? It could be possible, the ESPN personality does seem to have a bit of an obsession with Britney Spears:

My lifelong dream was to be a backup dancer for Britney. My sister is a professional dancer, so we're still hoping Britney gets her act together so Kendra, my sister, can dance with her. -Erin Andrews

Erin Andrews, the ESPN reporter filmed naked on hidden camera in a hotel room, called 911 recently to complain about paparazzi lingering outside her home, telling the operator, "I did nothing wrong, and I'm being treated like f*****g Britney Spears."

What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Let me know!

Affleck & Damon To Become Yankees?

2010-02-26T16:47:00.003-05:00

...It's possible, at least on-screen!

The irony of die-hard Red Sox Fans, Ben Affleck & Matt Damon potentially playing Yankees in an upcoming film is hilarious. Even better, Affleck is said to be directing the film on the Great Yankee Swap.

If you don't know the story, it goes like this: Back in the early seventies Yankee pitchers Mike Kekich and Fitz Peterson (who were good friends on and off the diamond) made headlines when not only swapping wives, but actually swapping lives. That's right, they swapped wives, houses, kids...even dogs!

The timeline is as follows:

Early 1972 couples joke about wife-swapping
Off-season 1972 Mike moved in with Fritz's wife, Marilyn and Fritz moved in with Mike's wife, Suzanne
Spring Training 1973 the new couples go public
Sometime 1973 Mike and Marilyn split
1973 - 1974 both men's baseball careers start to unravel (some think it has to do with all of the negative press surrounding their off-field decisions)
1974 Fritz and Suzanne get married (and in the years following end up having 4 children together)
1979 friends Mike and Fritz stop talking

The story was so shocking, and absurd it even made ESPN's Top-1o Shocking Moments in Baseball History.

So will the film make it to the big screen? Only time will tell. But who better to play the two left-handed Yankees pitchers than a couple of die-hard Red Sox fans from Boston? Heh....

My only question is how Jen and Luciana feel about the whole thing?

Hey Johnny, You Greedy SOB....

2010-02-19T23:01:00.005-05:00

Oh this is good....

The Chi Sox have rescinded on their offer to Johnny ~~Damon~~ Demon. GM Kevin Willams said:

"It became clear to us in our recent negotiations that the money that we were offering was not going to be good enough for Johnny at this time. At this particular point, we feel it's necessary to withdraw our offer."

The response from Damon's camp? They told the ~~White~~ Other Sox that they had underestimated his market value. But Williams didn't fall for the BS and responded:

"Unless Johnny sees this as a great opportunity for him, enjoys a chance to win in a great city, it's an unrealistic number in which we got back from them."

(awesome painting by Erin Biscoe)

I remember Damon's first game at Fenway Park after signing with the Evil Empire (05/01/06 - I can't believe it's been almost four years!) People in the outfield were throwing $$ at him, calling him a sellout (and other things I can't post here!) He responded by saying we were just upset that he left and were *hurt* to be missing his talent. Ha.

No Johnny, we hate you you greedy SOB. Have fun in (potential unintentional) retirement!

P.S. Check out my post on Boston Sports Then and Now: 57 Years Ago Today We Almost Lost a Baseball Legend

Boston Sports Blogapalooza

2010-02-18T12:33:00.006-05:00

Boston Sports Then & Now, the Rhode Island based Swing Juice and Jerry Remy's Sports Bar & Grill are teaming up to put an event together for us bloggers to meet each other face to face, network, trade tips, eat, drink and be merry!!

Boston Sports Blogapalooza is being held March 28th at Jerry Remy's new Sports Bar at Fenway Park (watch out, Game On!) for all sports bloggers 18+.

Local artists Brian Richard and The Hootchies will be there for our entertainment (and a little Nothern-Fried Rock and Roll).

R.S.V.P. on BSB Facebook Event Page and become a fan!

Some bloggers I've seen on the RSVP list are:

Cyn from Toeing the Rubber
Derek from SawxBlog
Caroline & Jennifer from Respect the Tek (I would not shake of Jason Varitek in my house either!)
Jared Carrabis from SoxSpace

Will yours be next? I hope to see you there!

For more information Email Joe from Boston Sports Then and Now.

RSN Represents in Vancouver Winter Olympics

2010-02-17T15:34:00.006-05:00

Life is Good.

Pitchers and Catchers report TOMORROW;

Opening Day is only 45 days away;
The 2010 Winter Olympics are in full swing.

I have been pleasantly surprised watching the national coverage of the games to find out two of our USA representatives are members of Red Sox Nation!

(image courtesy of boston.com)

Hannah Kearney is a VT native, and 2010 Gold Medalist in the Women's Freestyle Moguls did a great interview with Bob Costas where she admits to wearing a Jacoby Ellsbury shirt under her opening ceremony uniform and then Costas gives a shout-out to RSN. (about 4:40 into the video).

It's been reported that Tom Wearner called Kearney up on her cell phone to ask if she wanted to throw out the first pitch at a Sox v. Yanks game in April; An offer she (reportedly) gladly accepted.

If I could walk in the shoes of anyone right now, it just might be Kearney.

I mean, Ben & Jerry's are going to name and ice cream flavor after her. And while that's not Sox related, it's just plain cool. Never mind the fact the flavor is Coffee and chocolate cookies. No joke, my favorite. Seriously we should be BFF.

(image courtesy of nbcolympics.com)

Then there is Mr. Michael Morse who placed 15th in the 2010 Men's Freestyle Moguls.

During his interview, he showed the world that he wore a Red Sox belt buckle under his skiing uniform. The buckle may not have given him the best of luck in the Olympics, but this guy is a lucky charm in other ways.

Morse threw out the first pitch in Lester's 2008 No Hitter (a game I was at!)

He grew up on the South Shore in Duxbury, MA and has been an avid Red Sox fan his whole life.

Have you heard of any other Olympian who is a Sox fan? How about an Olympian who is a fan of another MLB team? Email me and let me know!

It's Truck Day, Brought To You By Jet Blue Airways...

2010-02-12T09:14:00.005-05:00

...who in the what now?

Nevertheless, it's the day we've all been waiting for (especially since the end of the football season): TRUCK DAY!!!!! I attended Truck Day back in 2007. I was working in the city and it was easy enough for me to hop down to Van Ness Street to take in the happenings. Wally was there, I sung along to the music, took a few pictures...and watched a truck drive down the street. For many, they don't understand the draw. For those of us who bleed Red Sox red, it was the start of another year full of hope.

Truck Day has been a fan favorite in Boston for years, until recently it was completely overlooked by other ball clubs. According to an MLB.com article on Wednesday, Truck Day is now being celebrated by multiple clubs. Hey, I say the more the merrier (and MLB says, the more we can capitalize on, the merrier!) But really, when did Truck Day become a celebratory event in any other city besides Boston?

I'm not the only one who has noticed this. Craig Calcaterra at HardballTalk wants to know why truck day is suddenly a big deal.

Last year Dan Lamothe, over at Red Sox Monster did some analysis stating Truck Day queries on Google were largely dominated with Red Sox results. I'm going to venture to guess this year Red Sox will still dominate the SERPs, but there will be some creepers on the page. Next year is anyone's guess.

While Red Sox Nation may not have hope that this season will bring home another trophy to Boston, I think we're all excited to see the Boys of Summer back in action. At least I know I am.

On this truck day, we should all take a moment to remember Dom DiMaggio who would have celebrated his 93rd birthday today!

Here is a short video from Truck Day 2007 - Get Ready, Get Pumped, Get Thunder Struck; the 2010 season is almost here!

Ask Soxy

2010-02-11T16:38:00.006-05:00

Every once in a while something miraculous happens; I get confirmation that someone has stumbled upon this little blog. This can happen in the form of a comment, a RT on a Twitter post, or in this case a question via email.

Chris asks:
I saw the thing you did for red sox at bat music

i was looking for the song they play when jd drew hit that homerun in ALCS game 5 in 2008

if u could help that would be great!

Hey Chris,

Thanks for the question. JD Drew's walk-off hit in Game 5 of the 2008 ALCS was fantastic! At Fenway Park, every time the Sox win a game they immediately play "Dirty Water" by the Standells.

Here is a short video I took of the Standells playing "Dirty Water" at Fenway in October 2007, just days before the Drew hit. Enjoy!

~SoxyLady

*****UPDATE*****

I was wrong, Chris was talking about Drew's 2 run homer in the 8th. He emailed me back and said he found the answer. The song in question was the popular homerun song Sandstorm by Darude.

Thanks everyone for making sure the posted details were correct!

Giving Away A Little Soxy Love

2010-02-03T21:21:00.005-05:00

It's not important why I've been gone for so long - it's just important that I'm back and I have a great way to celebrate!

It's about that time of year we all love to hate. The dreaded VDay, Vtines Day, VD day - you know the day on the 14th where you're supposed to spend oodles of money to profess your love to someone. What's your plan? No need to send overpriced flowers, buy tacky stuffed animals, or eat gross filled candy when there is THIS:

The big love T-shirt from my pals at the Red Seat!!!!!

Want to take a closer look?

Yep, it's pretty awesome. A perfect - cost effective - gift for the love of your life (if that love is a woman, or a man who loves to wear his heart on his ~~sleeve~~ shirt).

But here's the best part. My generous pals have given me a code to share with my Soxy Friends for 10% off! Just enter SOXYLOVE when you check out to get the discount.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR BIG LOVE T-SHIRT NOW

**I was not paid by the Red Seat to post this, I just happen to love the company and their merchandise and think you should too!

CB Bucknor

2009-10-09T15:08:00.003-04:00

Seriously?!

The first "safe" call against Kendrick was bad. The second one - inexcusable.

Curt Schilling himself provided some insight over at SOSH:

FWIW that might be the worst umpiring crew in the history of post season baseball. Bucknor, Gibson AND Merriweather? Oh and Joe West, the umpire who is well known to hate the Sox as much as any man ever.
At least in Joe's defense he's a decent ump, albeit one who has stated EXPLICITLY on the field he holds grudges and gets even, CB, Gibby and Chuck just suck, no two ways about it. Chuck's at least a nice guy though. He feels bad when he blows calls. CB has never been good enough to ID a bad or missed call and as far as Gibby knows he's NEVER MADE a bad call.

Direct quote from Greg Gibson during a game "Do you know you are arguing with the best young umpire in the game right now?"

Dead serious when delivering it too....

Want To Own Part of the Red Sox Franchise?

2009-01-15T15:44:00.001-05:00

Jere from A Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory has come up with an idea about how we, Red Sox fans, can own 17% of the Red Sox Franchise.

That's right, people, we're gonna buy the Red Sox. We've all heard that the Times is supposedly looking for a buyer for its 17 percent share of the Sox.

WHY NOT US?

They say the share of the team "could be worth up to 160 million dollars." But we're in a recession here, people. They can take or leave our offer of ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS.

Like he says, why not us?

Head over to his site, take a look, make a pledge and find those millionaires willing to help out!

Coming Out of Hibernation

2009-01-11T19:07:00.006-05:00

"...the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray..." ~Robert Burns

I'm not going to apologize or give you a laundry list of excuses why I haven't posted. I haven't, but I am now aren't you so happy?

My off-season has been semi-eventful. I started a new position at work, a new personal blog, had the holidays and all of that jazz. I even got to meet some Sox super-stars, past and present.

In November, thanks to our awesome friends from The Red Seat, we attended the 2008 Red Sox Hall of Fame Induction Gala. Mike Greenwell, Mo Vaughn and Bill "the Spaceman" Lee (among others) were this years inductees.

My husband and Louis Tiant

So we maybe, kinda, sorta stalked Tiant on his way to the bathroom. The thing is my husband is a huge cigar fan and we gave away Tiant's "El Tiante Cigars" at our wedding. When Tiant heard the boxes were for our wedding he actually signed one of the boxes for us, which was really cool.

Me and Mike Greenwell

I don't know why I was a little scared of Greeny - he was nice as could be. I can't even clearly remember what we talked about - but I was surprised by how genuine he seemed.

Me and Mo Vaughn

Mo was very cool. I (embarrassingly) told him when I was growing up my brother and I both had cow stuffed animals one was named "Mooooo Vaughn" and the other one was named "Cow Ripken" he laughed and said that was cool b/c Cal is one of his closest friends. I kinda wanted to ask him to call him up right then and there, but you know..I didn't.

Then right before Christmas the husband and I were shopping at the Cambridgeside Galleria and met Wes Welker (ufortunately we have no pictures, but we did get a great signed picture!)

Today we went to World of Wheels (for him, not me) and we I chose today as the day to go because Justin Masterson was there.

So this guy who brought Masterson up to the signing table had on a Yankees jacket and people were "booing" and yelling at him so he said "ok, ok, I'll take it off" and he had another Yankees shirt on under that. And again he said "ok, ok just kidding I'll take it off!" and off comes that shirt to display this A-Rod t-shirt. *sigh* At least Justin got a good laugh at it.

Another super-nice guy. We talked a bit about the Cape League and he said "man, that was a LONG time ago!" and I kind of laughed to myself thinking, "yeah, all the way back to 2005!" This kid has a great arm and a better smile.

So there it is, the celebrity sightings this off-season. Have you seen anyone good? My next stop is Ft. Myers in March. I can't wait.

F*CK YEAH MY LITTLE PONY!!!

2008-11-06T23:06:00.004-05:00

It's not breaking news that our very own Dustin Pedroia is the 2009 Rawlings Gold Glove winner at 2nd base. It's a well-deserved honor. Put it on your shelf, Dusty, and hope that your shiny MVP award will be sitting next to it soon.

Speaking of the AL MVP award....it's coming soon. Here are some other dates you may want to jot down on your calendar.

November 10th: Rookie of the Year Announced
November 12th: Manager of the Year Announced
November 13th: AL Cy Young Winner Announced
November 14th: Free Agents are....free
November 18th: AL MVP Winnter Announced
December 1st: Last day to offer salary arbitration
December 7th: Last day for those offered arbitration to accept
February 25th: Red Sox Spring Training Begins!
April 6th: Opening Day at Fenway Park!

Cape Cod League Alumni Player of the Game - Game 1 ALCS

2008-10-11T19:31:00.003-04:00

Three cheers to new Uncle Kevin Youkilis for being Game 1's Cape League Alumni Player of the Game!

He didn't care that going into the game he was 0-17 against Tampa Bay starter, James Shield - he nailed two hits off of him.

During the game Youk went 3 for 4 with two Doubles and an RBI. On the field he made Mike Lowell proud by knocking down Upton's shot up the line and holding him to a single in the 8th, during a critical point in the game.

Who will be tonight's player of the game? I can't wait - GO SOX!

Wondering what SoxyLady is up to? Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SoxyLady

*Photo credit to Jim Davis of the Globe Staff

2008 ALDS Cape Cod League Alumni MVP

2008-10-10T19:30:00.003-04:00

Who can forget Bay's 2 run homer in Game 1.
Or his 2 run homer in Game 2, with a 3rd RBI that game.

Overall Bay just played phenomenal ball for the Red Sox and left many to wonder, Manny who?

Congratulations Jason Bay - the 2008 ALDS Cape Cod League Alumni MVP!

*Photo Credits can be found here: http://flickr.com/photos/sarahmccracken/2929644017/

2008 ALCS Cape Cod Baseball League Alumni

2008-10-10T19:13:00.004-04:00

As far as I can tell there are 14 Cape Cod League Alumni playing in this years ALCS between the Boston Red Sox and The Tampa Bay Rays.

Red Sox:
Jason Bay, Chatham 1999
Sean Casey, Brewster 1994
Kevin Cash, Falmouth 1999
Jacoby Ellsbury, Falmouth 2004
Mark Kotsay, Bourne 1994
Javier Lopez, Falmouh 1997
Justin Masterson, Wareham 2005
David Ross, Brewster 1996
Jason Varitek, Hyannis 1991-1993
Kevin Youkilis, Bourne 2000
Left Off:
Mike Lowell, Chatham 1994

Rays:
Jason Bartlett, Harwich 2000
J.P. Howell, Bourne 2002/Wareham 2003
Evan Longoria, Chatham 2005
Carlos Pena, Harwich 1996/Wareham 197
Left Off:
Eric Hinske, Hyannis 1997

I'll be tracking their progress and naming a Cape League player of the game.

Don't forget to join the Dustin Pedroia for MVP Group on Facebook! Show your support for our favorite sailor cursing hitting machine!!

Wondering what SoxyLady is up to? Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SoxyLady

Cape Cod League Alumni Player of the Game - Game 4 ALDS

2008-10-10T13:32:00.005-04:00

I know I'm a little late on posting this, but hey, it's up before tonight's start of the AlCS!!!!

I'm still recovering from the excitement of the game.

This is another instance where I thought the Cape League Alumni Player of the Game was going to be easy to choose. Varitek. But then I started reading around the bloggernauts and everyone seems to be cheering for Kotsay. So once again, I leave it up to you.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Edit: My dad just reminded me of how strong Kotsay's game really was. In the 9th inning he should have had the game winning RBI, but Teixeira made an amazing play. In my mind, the POG still goes to Tek, but I had to add this info in case it changes anyone else's mind.

Red Sox Nation Stands Proud

2008-10-09T20:56:00.004-04:00

Dear TB,

You may have won the (AL East Champs) battle, but you haven't won the (World Series) war! We'll see you tomorrow.

Love,
RSN

*Tshirt sold on MLB.com

It's Not a Re-Tweet, but a Re-Post

2008-10-08T10:21:00.003-04:00

If any of you are on Twitter, you know about the phenomenon which is an "RT" or "Re-Tweet" - basically you just copy what another person tweeted about and give them credit back to their user name. It's a great way to get your blog posts, white papers and other interesting information passed around the Social Media Circus.....I mean Circuit.

Anyway - I want to play off of that and "RP" or "Re-Post" a blog posting I read this morning from The Joy of Sox. Honestly, I loved this post and think as many people as possible should read it. Should The Joy of Sox want me to remove it...I will gladly do so.

The original blog post may be found here: http://joyofsox.blogspot.com/2008/10/schadenfreude-64-continuing-series.html

Schadenfreude 64 (A Continuing Series)

Special Los Angeles Angels Edition!

John Lackey:

It's way different than last year. We are way better than they are. We lost to a team not as good as us. ... The last two days, we shouldn't have given up anything. ... I want to throw somebody through a wall. ...

[On Sunday] they scored on a pop fly they called a hit, which is a joke. [On Monday], they score on a broken-bat ground ball and a fly ball anywhere else in America [except in Fenway Park]. And [Pedroia's] fist-pumping on second like he did something great.

Some comments:

1. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

2. You ought to be angry at your second baseman who should have caught the ball, but stopped running and watched it fall in front of your center fielder. (Is he saying the official scorer's ruling was a "joke" and calling out Kendrick and Hunter? If so, that's extra fun. Hit or error, your guys blew it, and allowed the runs to score.)

3. You won the game in which that pop fly was hit.

4. Your team is playing in Fenway Park. Pitch accordingly, i.e., don't throw fat, hanging curves to a guy who might win the AL MVP award.

5. I'll bet your teammates didn't appreciate the pity party you threw on the mound whenever they did something that was not to your liking. Torii Hunter was screaming and celebrating whenever he did anything positive. Figgins practically did a dance on third base after his triple, and your whole fucking team whined and cried for the entire series. You losers could give Kevin Youkilis pointers on bitching.

6. You won 100 games, but you are not as good a team as you think you are. Based on your runs scored and runs allowed, your expected record was 88-74 -- five games worse than the Blue Jays.

8. Your team's .200 average (8-for-40) with runners in scoring position, your multiple blunders on the basepaths, ineptitude in the field, refusal to take pitches and work the count, and your irrational habit of giving up outs sealed your defeat to a stronger all-around team. Enjoy your winter.

8. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Torii Hunter:

I'm pissed off. I'm upset. This one's going to be with me for a while. It doesn't feel good, because we're a better team than they are.

Perhaps watching some TV would relax you. Here are some shows that will be on soon:

Oct. 10 - Red Sox at Rays, 8:30
Oct. 11 - Red Sox at Rays, 8:00
Oct. 13 - Rays at Red Sox, 4:30
Oct. 14 - Rays at Red Sox, 8:00
Oct. 16 - Rays at Red Sox, 8:00
Oct. 18 - Red Sox at Rays, 4:30
Oct. 19 - Red Sox at Rays, 8:00

***

Joel Sherman, Post:

The Yankees stopped playing more than a week ago and yet their season keeps getting worse.

If you think that is impossible, then just consider the following:

1. The two teams that outplayed them in the AL East both clinched Division Series yesterday. ...

2. The Yanks still might have to deal with this World Series: the Red Sox vs. the Joe Torre Dodgers. That will make the attack of midges that helped drive them from the playoffs last year seem like thousands of kisses. ...

3. Seven of the eight starters expected to work in the ALCS will be 28 or younger. ... [T]he Red Sox and Rays are not only fighting to reach the 2008 World Series, but already are ahead of the Yankees for 2009. ...

4. It must gall the Yanks that the Red Sox can handle the Angels, but they cannot. ... Against the Yanks, Aybar not only would have gotten down the bunt, but the Yanks then would have thrown the ball away, setting up the Angels for an insurance run, as well. ...

The Yanks sit at home. Their season done. Yet their season keeps getting worse and worse.

We Are the (ALDS) Champions!

2008-10-07T01:59:00.005-04:00

I can't wait to watch the game again on TIVO, listen to interviews and just soak it all in some more.

Here are some pictures I took of the celebration. I didn't have my camera on the correct setting (d'oh - I'm TRYING not to be upset that they are all blurry) they'll just have to do! The party was "subdued" on the field - not at all like previous ones we've all seen on TV ;o)

Make sure to Vote for the Cape Cod League Alumni Player of the Game!

P.S. Why oh WHY are some of the players wearing Crocs? Yeah, I'm talking about you Drew and Timlin!!!

Cape Cod League Alumni Player of the Game - Game 3 ALDS 2008

2008-10-06T12:27:00.004-04:00

I talked to my dad about it. We just cannot come up with a Cape Cod League Alumni Player of the Game for last night. By virtue of their win, it should have been an Angels player. The only one eligible is Teixeira. While he rocked it in Game 2, last night he went 2 for 6, Left 5 men on base and didn't score a single run or RBI - so really, does that constitute a POG?

We then started looking at the Sox Alumni, who honestly, didn't fare any better last night. Is it possible to have NO player of the game? Leaving it to you, once again, to decide.

Discuss.

Because RSN Needs a Laugh

2008-10-06T10:57:00.004-04:00

I'm tired.
You're tired.
We're all tired.
I have not been able to put together comprehensible thoughts on last night yet.
Instead I decided to catch up on my blog reads for the past few days, and came across this in a post from Joy of Sox:

Uploaded to SoSH by amarshal2

Quite honestly I cannot stop laughing. Today just got a bit better. Thanks Erick Aybar.

EVEN BETTER! Watch this while listening to
Zombie Nation: http://blip.fm/profile/SoxyLady/blip/607597

Game 3 Cape Cod League Alumni Player of the game to come later.

Don't forget to join the Dustin Pedroia for MVP Group on Facebook! Show your support for our favorite sailor cursing hitting machine!!

Wondering what SoxyLady is up to? Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SoxyLady

Cape Cod League Almuni Player of the Game - Game 2 ALDS 2008

2008-10-04T19:11:00.003-04:00

Hat's of (again) to Jason Bay!

Bay has been named the Cape Cod League Alumni Player of the Game (by me) for the second game in a row. In yesterday's win over the Angels, Bay batted .556, had a first inning 2 run homer and a total of 3 RBIs.

Honorable mentions go to:
Jacoby Ellsbury who, like Bay, had another fantastic game. He batted .444, had a double, 2 RBIs and stole some bags - but he also left four men on base, which is why he was once again edged out by Bay.
Mark Teixeira had the Angels managed to win, he would have easily been player of the game. He batted .714, scored three runs, had an RBI took part in a double play. He was on fire.

My posts may be a little lack luster, but the games sure have not been. The first two games of this series have reminded my why I love baseball. I may be a little sleep-deprived, but don't let that fool you. I'm ecstatic.

Don't forget to join the Dustin Pedroia for MVP Group on Facebook! Show your support for our favorite sailor cursing hitting machine!!

Wondering what SoxyLady is up to? Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SoxyLady

Photos courtesy of Boston.com

Cape Cod League Alumni Player of the Game - Game 1 ALDS 2008

2008-10-02T10:11:00.005-04:00

The winner was clear to me...until it became a little blurry.

Jason Bay!
Jacoby Ellsbury!
So I made my *official* polling call to my dad and my brother (b/c there cannot be a tie between the three of us). Dad said "Bay, no questions!" Brother said "Ellsbury for overall player, Bay for play of the game" - Does that work? Hmmm....So I need your help. This is just too close for me to call. My brother said Bay would be the less "controversial" pick...but do I just want to play it safe? No, instead I'll pass the buck to you.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

I can't write this post without mentioning what a Stud Jon Lester was last night. Had he played for the Cape League, I wouldn't need this quiz!

Don't forget to join the Dustin Pedroia for MVP Group on Facebook! Show your support for our favorite sailor cursing hitting machine!!

Wondering what SoxyLady is up to? Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SoxyLady

Photos courtesy of Boston.com

ALDS Cape League Alumni

2008-10-01T19:41:00.003-04:00

As far as I can tell there are 13 Cape Cod League Alumni playing in this years ALDS between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Jason Bay, Chatham 1999
Sean Casey, Brewster 1994
Kevin Cash, Falmouth 1999
Jacoby Ellsbury, Falmouth 2004
Mark Kotsay, Bourne 1994
Mike Lowell, Chatham 1994
Javier Lopez, Falmouh 1997
Justin Masterson, Wareham 2005
Robb Quinlan, Cotuit 1997
David Ross, Brewster 1996
Mark Teixeira, Orleans 1999
Jason Varitek, Hyannis 1991-1993
Kevin Youkilis, Bourne 2000

I'll be tracking their progress and naming a Cape League player of the game.

Don't forget to join the Dustin Pedroia for MVP Group on Facebook! Show your support for our favorite sailor cursing hitting machine!!

Wondering what SoxyLady is up to? Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SoxyLady

Lime Rock Vintage Festival

2008-09-28T23:03:00.002-04:00

The Sox are going to the playoffs.
Johnny Pesky's number has been retired.
Mussina got his 20 wins for the first time in his career.
I survived an overnight cruise in NYC, and let me tell you it was an experience!

And...I finally started playing around with my pictures from the 2008 Lime Rock Vintage Festival. What do you think?

Thoughts? Suggestions? Critiques?

Happy "Talk Like a Pirate" Day

2008-09-19T09:43:00.008-04:00

No, no, no not these Pirates (although their logo is fully appropriate)
Yinz see, we're not gowen to talk like iss today while drinking arn dahn at da park.

This is more like itAye, we're goin' t' kick some Blue Jays booty while drinkin' Sam Adams down at the Park Gar. Ahoy, Rays beware, we're comin' t' get you, gar! Where can I find a bottle o'rum?

Talk like a Pirate day is fully legit - so get to it! Here are some fellow blogger friends who have already spread the love

And Rapscallions, don't forget t' join the Dustin Pedroia for MVP Group on Facebook t' show support for our fa'orite sailor cursin', rum swiggin' Red Sox Pirate Aye, me parrot concurs.

Thanks to SoxyLady friend, Jeff Foulks, for his speedy photoshop work as I'm currently sans image editing software.

2009 Red Sox Schedule Released

2008-09-18T11:14:00.003-04:00

For the first time since 2002 the Red Sox will have a true opening day - one at home! Don't get too excited. They only play three games at home, against Tampa Bay, before heading to the west coast to battle LAA and Oakland.

Get the full 2009 Red Sox Schedule here.

Don't forget to join the Dustin Pedroia for MVP Group on Facebook! Show your support for our favorite sailor cursing hitting machine!!

Red Sox Tied for First Place in the Division

2008-09-15T22:57:00.003-04:00

As I head to bed tonight, I want to leave you with a little something to put a smile on your face.

Make sure to join the Dustin Pedroia for MVP Group on Facebook!

The Magic Number Is..........

2008-09-13T22:27:00.006-04:00

..........to clinch a playoff spot.

And our hats off to Dustin Pedroia (for MVP) tonight for getting his 200th hit this season in tonight's win against Toronto. He is only the third Red Sox Player to get 200 hits and 50 doubles in a single season. Who were the other two? Tris Speaker (1912) and Wade Boggs (1989).

Make sure to join the Dustin Pedroia for MVP Group on Facebook!

Dustin Pedroia for MVP

2008-09-13T11:58:00.004-04:00

Is there anyone left in RSN who isn't convinced our very own "F@ck yeah" kid should be the 2008 American League MVP?*

Need a little nudging? As of the time of the blog post these are Pedroia's stats in the American League

Offense

1st in number of Runs (112)
1st in number of Hits (193)
1st in BA (.327)
1st in Doubles (48)
1st in 4-Hit Games (7)
3rd in number of At Bats (602)
3rd in Total Bases (300)
Tied for 7th for most games played (143)
Tied for 10th for Sac Flies (7)
Tied for 12th for OBP (.377)
Tied for 14th for Sac Hits (6)
18th for SLG (.498)
Tied for 18th for Stolen Bases (17)
Tied for 22nd for RBIs (78)
Tied for 36th in Homeruns (17)
Tied for 47th in Walks (45)**

Defense

Fielding Percentage of .991
6 errors in 661 total chances
Turned 89 Double Plays

*My dad thinks Pedroia's biggest competition for AL MVP is Rangers player Josh Hamiltion. You know, the guy with the amazing story. More than his story, are his stats which may give Pedroia a run for his money.

Player TEAM POS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG

J Hamilton TEX OF 142 567 90 173 33 5 31 124 309 60 110 9 1 0.372 0.545 0.31

D Pedroia BOS 2B 143 602 112 197 48 2 17 78 300 45 48 17 1 0.377 0.498 0.33

**Our Destroia doesn't walk much. He's too busy swinging. The Boston Globe had this to say yesterday

Dustin Pedroia has swung the bat 1,114 times this season. He has connected with 1,027 pitches and missed 87. Think about that. It's the best percentage in the majors this season.

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
1. Dustin Pedroia, 2. Boston Red Sox vs. Chicago White Sox, 3. Dustin Pedroia, 4. Dustin Pedroia, 5. Dustin Pedroia, 6. Dustin Pedroia's double play...Damn!, 7. Dustin Pedroia, 8. All Star Game Parade20, 9. Dustin Pedroia, 10. Dustin Pedroia, 11. Dustin Pedroia, 12. Game 1: Dustin Pedroia leads off the bottom of the 1st with a HR, 13. Jason Kendall, 14. Dustin Pedroia, 15. Dustin Pedroia hacks, 16. Warmup_Pedroia, 17. Jones vs. Pedroia, looking to the ump, 18. Dustin Pedroia -BP-, 19. Pregame - Dustin Pedroia 4, 20. 2008 MLB All-Star Parade, Dustin Pedroia, 21. Dustin Pedroia's Salsa, 22. Dustin Pedroia, 23. Jones vs. Pedroia, applying the tag, 24. Pedroia Throwing to First, 25. Dustin Pedroia 1

Make sure to join the Dustin Pedroia for MVP Group on Facebook!

Kevin J. Shea at Fenway Park

2008-09-11T21:46:00.012-04:00

I was at last night's game.

The one I'm not going to write about for obvious reasons.

While it's always great to be at Fenway Park - to smell the sausages, to hear the crack of a bat, to see that perfect green grass - the highlight for me (besides SoxyHusband coming to surprise me and say "hello") had to be watching artist Kevin J. Shea painting a portrait outside of Gate A.

I snapped a few shots with my snazzy new camera.

Shea then pulled out a little card, with a print of a similar portrait he painted, signed it and asked me to email him the photos. I'll happily do so - and am thankful he gave me the "mini portrait" as it seems unlikely I'll be able to afford one of his prints any time soon (especially since my purse was stolen - have I harped on that enough yet?)

He is a very talented artist. If you haven't checked out his work yet, you should: www.kevinjshea.com.
To my photography friends: What would you have done differently if you were taking these pictures? How would you have edited them? I am going to be asking for a lot of help as I get back into my photography hobby.

Faith Rewarded

2008-09-11T20:57:00.002-04:00

No, I'm not talking about the video of the historic 2004 Red Sox.

I'm referring to something which has happened since my last blog post. In that post I mentioned how the low-lives who stole my purse, also stole my faith in people.

Since then I've received some really nice comments and emails. One of which was from Tony Schinella the Editor of the Belmont Citizen-Herald.

I'm not sure how Mr. Schinella found my blog post, but he posted it on a Belmont Blog. You can see his post, Do you know these suspects? here.

It's little gestures like these which may help catch my purse-stealing lucifers.

Thank you, Mr. Schinella and everyone else out there trying to help me - whether you know me or not. You are restoring my faith in people.

To Catch a Thief (or Thieves)

2008-09-09T19:05:00.003-04:00

Getting your purse stolen really sucks.

You know what sucks just as much, if not more? When you have video of the thieves rummaging through your wallet and trying to use your debit card but they are still at large!

Yep, that's the case in my situation. The asshats were caught on video, however the police have been unable to ID them. ARGH!

Being the squeaky wheel I am, I didn't want to just leave things as is. Come on, these people are on tape! Somebody HAS to know who they are!

Dear Loyal (or first time) readers of SoxyLady,

My life has severely disrupted by these low-life pieces of scum. Not only did they steal my new Coach Bag, my George, Gina & Lucy Wallet, my passport, my money, my checks, MY PRIDE, they stole my faith in people...again.

Somebody out there has to know who they are. I'm not asking you to be a rat on your friends or family members. I'm asking you to help us ID these people so they don't steal from me, you, or your grandmother again.

You don't need to give me their name and address, I'm just asking you to drop an anonymous tip to the police detective (Detective Orta (781) 314-3600 x 3555) on the case. I'm offering a reward. I could give it to you through the police department, or directly if you want to tell me who you are.

Here are the details. The scene of the crime was the Beaver Brook Reservation in Belmont, MA. It just so happens the parking of the Reservation is in Waltham, MA so those are the officers/detective I have been working with. The thieves tried to use my card in Cambridge, MA. If you live in or around any of these areas (or know somebody who does) please take a look at the pictures and let me or the detective know if you have any idea who these people are.

I will be forever thankful.

Sincerely,
SoxyLady

Pictures and information have been posted on the Mass Most Wanted Website.
http://www.massmostwanted.org/index.cfm?ac=casedetails&CaseID=20080540

Because there is no such thing...

2008-08-08T15:58:00.003-04:00

as too many cute doggy pictures. There are a few sites I browse on a regular basis, but here are some recent favorites from I Has a Hot Dog.

The doggies of one of my favorite authors!

This is probably a lot more funny if you're a Boston Terrier owner, like I am.

See more dog pictures here! Happy Friday!

2008 Red Sox At-Bat Songs

2008-08-06T11:56:00.007-04:00

Finally I've been able to start to put together a list of the 2008 Red Sox At-Bat Songs (and Pitching Entrance Songs for the pitchers).

The 2007 Red Sox At-Bat Songs post was hugely popular - and even plagiarized by a local radio station.

There is a lot more uncertainty with this list so help me out RSN!

Jason Bay - Alive by Pearl Jam
Josh Beckett - Rock Star by Nickelback
Paul Byrd - unknown
Sean Casey - Plush by STP
Kevin Cash - unknown
Alex Cora - unknown
Coco Crisp -Sexy Can I by RayJ / Lollipop by Lil Wayne /(formerly) Buy U a Drank by T-Pain featuring Yung Joc
Manny Delcarmen - Stand Here With Me by Creed
JD Drew - unknown
Jacoby Ellsbury - Cherub Rock by Smashing Pumpkins
Mark Kotsay - Low by Flo Rider
Jon Lester - unknown
Javier Lopez - Misirlou by Dick Dale
Mike Lowell - Iron Man by Black Sabboth
Jed Lowrie - Teenage Kicks by The Undertones
Julio Lugo - Impacto by Daddy Yankee
Justin Masterson - unknown
Daisuke Matsuzaka - The Second Coming by Juelz Santana / Real Thing Shakes by B'z / Stronger by Kanye West
Hideki Okajima - Okajima-Oki-doke by Mr. Yoshie
David Ortiz - AYO Technology by 50 Cent / This is Why I'm Hot by MIMS / Big Poppa by Notorious BIG / It's Okay (One Blood) by The Game / Get Buck in Here by Akon ft. Lil Jon
Jonathan Papelbon - Wild Thing by the Troggs / Shipping Up to Boston by Dropkick Murphys / (previously) Bodies by Drowning Pool
Dustin Pedroia - F*** wit Dre by Dr. Dre / (previously) The wash by Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre (Samples: Uphill (Peace of Mind) by Fredrick Knight)
Chris Smith - unknown
Mike Timlin - Black Betty by Ram Jam
Jason Varitek - Back to Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down / (previously) Me and My Gang by Rascal Flatts / (previously) Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down
Tim Wakefield - How Bad Do You Want It by Tim McGraw
Kevin Youkilis - Push It by Rick Ross

Last year I was able to link to an mp3 of each one of these songs, but the links are all invalid now. Anyone know where I can link to them now?

Update to Stolen Purse Drama

2008-08-05T20:56:00.003-04:00

It's been about a week since my purse was stolen at Beaver Brook Reservation in Belmont/Waltham, MA. In that time I've received my new Debit Card and New Credit Card. I still don't have my new license (it was my temporary license which was stolen...I applied for my new one on July 18th). I'm still not able to report my passport stolen, because you need a valid form of ID and I don't have one - thanks to the slow ass RMV.

The detective has pulled the ATM tape from Bank of America and there are two thieves. A mother effing male AND female. I don't know why that makes my blood boil, but it sure as hell does. Some hussy is walking around with my new coach bag and my brand new George Gina and Lucy Wallet. The detective was not able to ID the thieves but the tape will be passed on to area police departments to see if anyone is able to. If they can't, I need to find out next steps. I cannot let this go. It's on now you mother effers!!!

Dear Jason Bay,

2008-08-01T16:42:00.005-04:00

Welcome to Boston!

I think we'll get along famously. Sure, it may take some time - I just broke up with someone after almost 8 years of a love-hate relationship, but we'll get there. I'm confident.

How exciting that you played on the Cape League in '99? Do you realize how many of your new teammates also shared in that experience?

Jason Varitek (Hyannis in '91 and '93)
Mike Lowell (Chatham (your former team!) in '94)
Javier Lopez (Falmouth '97)
Kevin Cash (Falmouth '99)
Kevin Youkilis (Bourne '00)
David Aardsma (Falmouth '02)
Sean Casey (Brewster '94)
Jacoby Ellsbury (Falmouth '04)
Justin Masterson (Wareham '05)

Too bad you didn't get here a few days earlier - on July 30th the Red Sox honored this year's Cape League All Star players on the field. Casey and Masterson handed out plaques. It was great.

I love that you grew up wearing a Sox onesie, had a Yaz and Rice poster on your wall and loved the atmosphere of Fenway Park when you played here in '05.

Bucks fans say you took yourself a little too seriously at times, but I think you can let loose when you need to.

(photo courtesy of Blindspot1330)

Maybe you'll join in with the fans tonight, as they sing Sweet Caroline. Maybe you'll walk around wearing this new Tshirt...

...or send one to your friend Nady as a joke. Whatever you do - go out there, play hard and have fun.

Let's catch a Pearl Jam show next time they're in town, k?

Love,
SoxyLady

Going, Going, Gone

2008-07-31T16:47:00.008-04:00

Manny Being Manny is going to the LA Dodgers.
Sox are getting Jason Bay.
Pirates are getting Brandon Moss, Craig Hansen*, Bryan Morris and Andy LaRoche (who is the younger brother of Bucks first baseman Adam).

Did we get enough for giving up Manny, paying the rest of his contract, Moss and Hansen?

I don't know. I still need to wrap my head around it. In my initial opinion, the Pirates made out and their new GM did what he needed to do.

But damnit, I was secretly cheering for Torre to get his ring if the Sox didn't get one...no more, sorry Joe, at least not this year. But damn that would have been awesome to shove in the face of the MFY!

*No love lost for Hansen, he was Yankees fan anyway

Sometimes It's OK to Walk Instead of Run

2008-07-31T14:03:00.004-04:00

Honestly, I'm ready for Manny to go and I keep meaning to post about it (like the rest of the blogesphere) but I haven't been able to bring myself to do it.

What I do have to say is, "Sox, stick to your guns"

It is becoming increasingly apparent that certain teams are trying to take advantage of the "situation" with Manny in Boston.

Not only do the Marlins want the Sox to pay the remainder of Manny's $7M contract (which they said they would do) - but now they want an additional $2M? For what? That's insanity.

And I'm not entirely positive of the prospects the Pirates were offered by the Sox, but they apparently don't think they are good enough. This coming from a team who consistently trades away their best players for nothing.

Look, we're ready to deal but we're not effing stupid.

I hope Theo is on the phone with Ned Colletti right now.

Enough Said

2008-07-31T09:42:00.003-04:00

It was the first time our Sox were swept at home since 2006. It was pathetic. It was the first game in YEARS where I couldn't "feel the love" in the park.

Our Ace, Beckett was due a win. And a good one. He struck out 8 in 5 1/3 innings....but he also gave up 11 hits, 7 earned runs and missed backing up the plate on a play. Blahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

On a positive note, it was All Star recognition night for the Cape Cod Baseball League at Fenway Park and I got to see my host "brother" on the field, and sit with him for part of the game. Pictures to come.

My Life Has Been Stolen - Beaver Brook Reservation Theft

2008-07-29T23:36:00.007-04:00

I have started posts about fans who should not be allowed in Fenway Park and a "Dear Manny" letter but all is on hold right now. My life has been stolen.

Let me back up...

Earlier today my husband surprised me by renting a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for me to try out with my camera.

I've been wanting a "hefty-duty" lens for a while (even though I have NO skills with my professional camera yet). Instead of dropping $1600, he rented one for me (only they didn't have a lens with IS in stock to rent, so we got the one without IS) to practice with....and to see if I like it.

We're going to Fenway Park tomorrow, where they will be honoring the Cape Cod Baseball League All-Stars before the game - including the players who live with my dad. It's the perfect time to try it out.

I was so excited and we decided to take Spike to one of the local dog parks around 7pm - Beaver Brook Reservation - to try and get used to the settings. On the way out of the house I noticed my purse on the table and thought self, you should bring your license if anything happens, you'll need identification....but since your license is only a huge temporary paper license and you have a big bulky wallet, just bring the whole purse so you don't have to carry it around in your pocket. Logical, right?

What's not logical is leaving said purse in an unlocked car. I thought hubby had locked it, he thought I had. I don't need any grief about that stupidity (especially once you read what was in the purse). The bag was placed under the seat...long story short...we get back to the car and it's gone.

So ok, that sucks...but let me tell you why it really sucks. We just got married and I'm in the process of a name change. Why is that bad you ask? Oh let me list what was in my purse (a gorgeous Coach Purse I just got 4th of July weekend and a George, Gina and Lucy wallet given to my by my friend Claudia when she was visiting from Germany, btw):

The usual - money (about $60), license (although luckily only temporary as the permanent one has not been delivered yet), debit card, health insurance card, all of my stupid-ass rewards cards (grocery store, best buy, etc etc etc)
My Passport
My Checkbook (which I NEVER carry with me, but the damn RMV only takes checks or cash and I needed to write checks for the name change stuff)
$1425 worth of checks - some wedding which have trickled in, some freelance
Lord knows what else

The positive?

My keys weren't there - I left them on the coffee table at home, which I NEVER do
My Point and Click Cannon - I had taken it out before we went to the dog park to take a picture of something silly (if you want to consider me beating Nick's score in Guitar Hero silly - I needed a picture to prove it)
My cell phone - It's ALWAYS in my purse, but alas it was next to my keys on the coffee table

We alerted the Belmont Police and had to wait 1/2 hour to speak to an officer (b/c they were all responding to a domestic abuse situation at a house that happened to be diagonal to ours...I swear we live in an nice area!!!) Come to find out -even though the park is in Belmont, the parking lot is in Waltham so we had to go to the Waltham Police.

Meanwhile after 5 phone calls, HORRID automatic menus, dropped transfers and more I FINALLY got through to Bank of America to report my debit card and checkbook stolen (on a side note, this was one of the more frustrating things I have EVER tried to do, I may not be a BOA customer long). Once I actually got a person on the line, I spoke with an extremely nice woman who let me know the thieves had tried to use my debit card four times (7:28, 7:28, 7:29 and 7:29) at an ATM and were unsuccessful due to not having the right PIN! EFF ME! They traveled 3 miles and three towns (Waltham through Belmont to Cambridge) within 15-20 minutes of stealing my purse.

Once in Waltham, the officer sloppily wrote down some info on a yellow pad and said he would file a prelim report, but we had to come back during 8am - 3:30pm the next day to file a police report (not like I have to work or anything, but thanks). Nothing would be done tonight. He didn't care any of the information we had, a description of my purse, or how to report a lost passport!!!! Come back tomorrow.

On the way home, hubby had me call the Belmont police and ask that they drive by our house to make sure everything was ok. Even though the thieves didn't have my keys, they had our address and who knows...they see all the wedding checks in my purse and maybe they go to the house to get more loot? So the police were already on alert to drive through our neighborhood overnight due to the domestic disturbance situation earlier but they are going to check our house too to make sure all is well.

We headed over to the ATM where the thieves tried to use the card (or thief, I'm not sure why I keep referring to "them" as plural) in hopes that some of my stuff was thrown out in the trash can (like my bag, or wallet even if they were empty). But this was just not my night. The trash cans were TOTALLY empty. There was a grocery store in the same parking lot so I asked if they knew who collected trash and when the last time was. We were about an hour or so too late..and the trash had already been compacted. Blah.

I've cancelled bank cards and credit cards and have info (thanks Internetz) on how to report a stolen passport. I've alerted most of the people who gave us checks they have been stolen (will do the rest tomorrow). I need to report the theft to the credit bureaus as well.

I'm tired and I'm upset with myself and my stupidity.

I feel like my life has been stolen.

It's On Like Joba-Kong!!!!!

2008-07-25T12:45:00.003-04:00

(Beckett is yelling at Joba from the dugout after the second time the Hut threw at Youk's head)

RSN is alive and abuzz this morning, and for good reason.

Tonight the trailing Yankees are coming to Fenway. They are going to make their bid to be the first place team in the AL-East. There will be a pitch-off between Chamberlain and Beckett. Will Josh dominate? Will Joba take his hatred of Youk to another level? Will Papi say "we'll see ya" to a ball during his return to the Sox lineup? ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so much anticipation. I think we're about to see some Varsity ball tonight, kids.

I only wish this shirt was available for me to wear all weekend*:

GO SOX!!!

*Don't worry sports fans, it will be available in time for the August series in the Bronx. Ordering information here.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words...

2008-07-25T10:49:00.002-04:00

I was doing my regular blog reading this morning, and came across a post on Red Sox Chick's blog which caught my attention.

Instead of trying to paraphrase, I'm just going to copy the content of her post here. I hope she doesn't mind!

My dear friend Tru made me aware of a plea left on the Red Sox Fan Forum at redsox.com.

Well, let him put it in his own words.

Okay, so you know the sucker in me cannot resist a feel good story. And right now, there is one in the offing. Here is a link to a story that was written by the sister of James Taylor Jr., a medivac nurse who died from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash earlier this month. He left behind a wife and three young boys. Her story appears true. In any event, she talks about a dream the father had with his boys to go see a game at Fenway Park. It’s why she joined the forum and asked for help; can she get her nephew’s into see a game. The boys would be accompanied by their mother and grandfather.

So, I am securing really good seats for August 29th. That gets them into the game. What I’m hoping is that their story gets the attention of the media, and more importantly, the Red Sox. The goal is to see if these boys could meet a Sox player. I’m hoping that perhaps you can lend an assist through whatever contacts you have to see if that could happen. This is all about the Red Sox fans opening welcoming arms to do a good thing for kids who have just lost their dad. I cannot begin to imagine what it would be like, and if for just one afternoon, they were able to fulfill a dream they shared with their father, and put a smile on their faces, that would make me feel like a zillion bucks.

Now, we all know that I’m the last person who could email a member of the Boston Sports Media for a favor but I did send this message to a few people to spread the word. And if you click the link, the folks over at the Fan Form have been wonderful in getting the word out as well.

If you’re so inclined, getting the word to anyone in the media or at the Red Sox might really help these kids realize a dream.

Special shout out to Tru for being such a good guy and taking this on!

I couldn't get through the story without shedding a few tears. Unfortunately I'm not in the position to help this family but maybe some of you are - or maybe some of you know someone who may be able to help. Thank you to Cyn for posting this and to her friend Tru, who is doing amazing things for these strangers. He really shows the "true" spirit of RSN.

SoxyLady Does TV

2008-07-24T15:00:00.002-04:00

Back in September/October I was approached for an opportunity to do an on-screen interview about Women in Sports. The piece aired on Chronicle. At the time, I was approached about being a female Boston sports fan and it was going to air during the World Series. However, the Sox swept the series too quickly for the editing team, so the focus of the interview was changed to Women in Sports and ESPN.

I was hesitant to post the video, but what the heck. I've been in hiding long enough and it's gotten a good response.

Since the video has aired, I no longer have a SoxyFiance, but a SoxyHusband instead. We also aren't living in our little apartment, but are on to bigger and better things in a house.

Unfortunately, I tried to be honest about my feelings of Joe Morgan...but that was also left on the editing room floor. Who would have guessed? Hahahaha.

My New Sawx Jersey

2008-07-23T17:24:00.003-04:00

Every once in a while I stumble upon something and think "I really should write about this on my blog" but life has been getting in the way. Here, however, is something I could not pass up posting.

Sure it's making fun of "me" and "my kind" but if you can't laugh at yourself, you need to loosen up a little bit. I think the video is genius. At first I gave it a little less credit than deserved because the accent is gawd-awful sometimes.

Bostonians don't really talk like that.

But then I got to thinking....RSN is also comprised of Rhode Islanders who DO sometimes say things like "Sawx" (which makes me cringe).

What do you think? Enjoy!

Coming Out of Hiding

2008-07-02T23:11:00.003-04:00

I've been wanting to come out of hiding for a while now. There are so many things I could write about but it just hasn't happened yet. But regardless of how exhausted I am right now - I needed to log on to say EFF TAMPA BAY, EFF THE TAMPA BAY FANS and EFF THE TAMPA BAY MUSIC CHOOSING PEOPLE. I mean, I'm annoyed we lost and that the fans were obnoxious, but I'm PISSED they played Sweet Caroline at the end of tonights game. Have some respect Asshats.

John Lester Has Cancer

2008-05-27T08:50:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I just don't understand the way things work. It has been recently leaked to the media that John Lester, father of our cancer-beating no no pitching Jon Lester, also has cancer. Instead of trying to write a post about it, I'd like to point you to a great blog post written by Texas Gal on Center Field.

She writes:

As if the no hitter and victory celebrations afterwards weren't already sweet enough, Jon Lester wasn't just putting to rest his own battle over cancer... but also the news that his father had also been just recently diagnosed with lymphoma as well. Jon revealed the news during an interview with Erin Andrews on ESPN earlier today.

Lester said his father John was diagnosed with lymphoma last month and that the cancer is "slow growing, ... something [his father] will die with, not die from."
Jon Lester learned of his father's medical problems during Boston's opening series at Fenway Park when they got their World Series rings. Jon Lester, who was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma nearly two years ago, earned the victory in the clinching game of Boston's sweep of the Colorado Rockies last year.

When his mother sat him down to deliver the news, Lester knew the seriousness of the situation.

"You hear the word cancer, and you figure death," Lester said.

Jon Lester said his father is doing well and has two more treatments to go. The 24-year-old pitcher said that his father is proud of him, but after learning first hand what his son had to go through, "He's more proud of me on another level."

It also helps explain that extra bit of emotion shared between Jon and Tito Francona:

After the no-hitter, Lester and Red Sox manager Terry Francona had an emotional embrace. Everyone understood then what the pitcher had been through to get to this point -- or at least they thought they did.
While none of Lester's teammates knew of his father's cancer, Francona had been told what was going on. That was likely why Lester had said he wanted to keep his conversation with his manager private after the game.

Father and son had debated whether or not to talk publicly about his dad's condition. John Lester wanted his son to get it off his chest.

"He's telling everyone ... like he won a prize," Jon Lester said. "It makes him feel better to sit there and talk about it. He can tell people, you know what, I have cancer, I'm doing great, everything is going to be good and people look at him like he's crazy. I guess that's how everyone looked at me when I told them."

Jon will get to see his father for the first time since his dad was diagnosed today, when he takes the hill in Oakland.

Father and son will get to talk in person about their unfortunate common bond on Sunday. Jon Lester is scheduled to make his first start since the no-hitter Sunday afternoon in Oakland against the Athletics.
When the Lesters meet up Sunday night, Jon is bringing a special gift for his dad. He'll have a brand new Red Sox World Series hat with him to cover his father's head that is now bald due to cancer treatments.

She also posted the full video of the Erin Andrews interview of Jon, which on May 25th as Sunday Conversation on ESPN. Stop on over and take a look.

Jon Lester No Hitter - I Was There!

2008-05-20T18:47:00.019-04:00

It's the stuff dreams are made of.

Every Red Sox fan hopes to experience things in their baseball lifetime -

Going to games at Fenway Park - Thanks to my awesome family I'm guaranteed at least 10 games a season
Seeing Justin Masterson's Major League debut? I'd say that's impressive (especially after only giving up three hits the other night). I was also there for Cla Meredith's MLB debut.
Watching a crazed fan get dragged of the field? Briefly captured on video
How many of you know Jose Canseco actually pitched an inning against the Red Sox? I do, I was there
How being there for walk off wins thanks to Papi? Been there
Our favorite Jack Drinking first baseman Kevin Millar's return to Fenway in 'o5? Yep
Johnny Demon's return to Fenway Park? The same night Mirabelli gets dressed in a cab to make his return as well? Uh huh...I was there
Signed baseballs from a legend? Thank you Johnny Pesky
Witnessing the history making back to back to back to back homeruns against the Yankees? You guessed it - I was there!
Playing catch with dad in the Fenway outfield? Done that
For Red Sox Fans a wish was always for a World Series win in their lifetime. I've had two - complete with their Rolling Rally parades!

I have been a blessed baseball fan - and last night I was blessed again while experiencing a no-hitter from Mr. Jon Lester.

I have to thank Google for this. The tickets were a gift from them, thanks to the business our companies do together. Those New Yorkers couldn't have picked a better game to bring us to. THANK YOU will never be enough!

Armed with my new camera, a Canon 40D, I was able to get some good shots of the game. Not great shots, I've seemed to left my photography skills back with the film cameras. If anyone wants to teach me how to use this beast, I'm game!

Anyway - I don't need to go on and on about how impressive any no hitter is - never mind the circumstances behind this no hitter. What I really want to do is share some of those pictures with all of you.

A full moon rising over the park in the 8th inning.

Lester getting ready to pitch in the 9th

The Last Pitch of the Game

I DID IT!

Look how high Youk jumped!

Cora and Lowell in unison

The mighty bullpen leaping over the camera wires

130 total pitches - 86 for strikes - Last pitch a 94 MPH Fastball!

Captain Tek handing Lester the game ball (if you look closely you can see it in his right hand)

What a game. What a night. What memories!

But before another person I know tells me how much they hate me for being at the game, let me bring things back down a little bit. This morning, as I was walking to my car on my way to work, I stumbled on the grass and twisted my ankle. Bad. Bad enough that I was given a cast, crutches and orders to stay off my feet for five days. All of this 17 days before my wedding. So really, don't hate me too much. PLUS, these crutches...they don't do it for me. I was obviously not coordinated enough to walk on my own two feet, and now I have to try and balance on these things? Oh no way...this is not working well.

New Kids on the Block on the Today Show

2008-05-16T10:36:00.004-04:00

I'm sorry to do this to many of my "manly" regular readers. Really, I am.

I have fallen in love all over again (my fiance knows about it - so that makes it ok, right?)

Truth of the matter is I tried to embed these videos on my craptastic MySpace blog and it didn't work. And they need to be shared with the world - or at least my world of lunatic NKOTB loving friends. So here they are.

The first two (or ten) times I heard NKOTB's new single, Summertime. I really didn't like it. But I've fallen again, and hard. Now I think it will be my summer anthem. I kind of feel like a teenager again. Normally I would relish that feeling, but right now I'm still a bit embarrassed about it. Ah well.

Joey Joe is still my favorite of faves...but I'm finding myself having a "thing" for Donnie too. I can't help it - it's that Boston bad-boy thing. It's what attracted me to my fiance at first too.

The one bit of news I haven't shared with my fiance yet....there will be some New Kids played at our wedding. Eeeek!

Red Sox Garter

2008-05-08T17:27:00.003-04:00

29 days and counting until this SoxyLady is a SoxyWife. We're really trying to make our wedding personal, customized to our tastes and interests.

We're having the ceremony outdoors, the reception in an antique car museum and we're giving away El Tiante Cigars as favors to the guys (I love the Red Sox, My man the Cigars).

Today I ordered the next "personal" item, which is my very own Red Sox Garter!!!

I can't wait to get it. I'm so excited.

I was telling one of my friends about it and she mentioned another friend of hers is also wearing a Red Sox Garter at her wedding. Obviously, that wouldn't bother me under normal circumstances. But this is not a normal circumstance. This girl is not only a very casual Red Sox fan, she's also having her wedding during a Red Sox/Yankees game (and she set the date AFTER the schedules came out this season). Bah, I think that just cheapens the idea, and I don't want to be cheap.

That's like those casual fans getting free tickets to Red Sox games, and making stupid comments and ruining the atmosphere for the rest of us.

Ah well. I'll wear it, and represent the true RSN with pride. Ya with me?

Fenway Park Time Lapse Video

2008-04-29T16:31:00.001-04:00

All work, a new house and a wedding coming up in about a month makes for a very bad blogger. Sorry, all. I've been to three games this season and have some pics from all of them that I will hopefully upload soon. Going to two more this week.

In lieu of any real posts, here is a really cool video sent to me from my future brother in-law.

One Day At Fenway - Letus Extreme Film - Time Lapse - HDTV from Tom Guilmette on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

Player	TEAM	POS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
J Hamilton	TEX	OF	142	567	90	173	33	5	31	124	309	60	110	9	1	0.372	0.545	0.31
D Pedroia	BOS	2B	143	602	112	197	48	2	17	78	300	45	48	17	1	0.377	0.498	0.33