Entries Tagged 'General MLB News' ↓

I started writing this as a baseball article but quickly began getting into other situations on April 16, 2007. As you can imagine this writers head is clouded with doubt and sorrow for everyone involved in the shooting that took place at Virginia Tech.

Sox win!
Beckett takes care of business for the Red Sox in a delayed but finally played game starting at noon. Beckett is now 3-0 and is on his way to becoming the heir to the thrown atop the Boston pitching staff. I didn’t totally believe Manager Terry Francona when he said that Wily Mo Pena would back-up all three outfield spots but he did it today though I didn’t see the game in person, in the stat line, Pena was credited with an Outfield Assist throwing out Howie Kendrick at 2nd base. Okajima had another inning in relief striking out two and cruising this year with a 1.59 ERA on only nine pitches thrown today. David Ortiz is getting the stroke as he knocked his fourth homer in the 4th inning with two outs.

Virginia Tech in the news for all the wrong reasons
The great feeling of having the tribute to Jackie Robinson on the 15th has quickly subsided as we have been struck back to real life and situations beyond our control. Virginia Tech has been has made history for all the wrong reasons as it is now in the record books as the biggest Mass Shooting at a University in US history. The early numbers are thirty-plus have been killed with numerous students injured, a truly sad day, which shows a growing trend of violent outbursts that sting many lives and don’t seem to want to stop any time soon.

At times like these I feel like things little or otherwise don’t matter as much and you just feel grateful that you have your family and friends by your side. But then time passes on and you fall in the same rut and need an event like this you bring you together again. I am guessing or blaming this on human nature but we do need to sit up and realize what is causing these outbursts by a select few that affects so many lives. It definitely boils down to the way people treat one another and continue to and will keep on as selfishness leads to just not being able to pay attention to the little things and cherish everything people offer to one another the good, bad and ugly. Because these people were innocent little children once too, no one is born evil, to do evil things.

Get your own MLBlogs!
I am compelled to tell everyone about some new opportunities for you to get your stuff read by a lot of readers on a reputable site. MLB has decided to launch, PS already launched but for those who don’t know famed actress Alyssa Milano is even taking part, writing about her beloved Dodgers. She has found and heard from the haters out there and this girl is responding and I feel she will be sticking it out as a blogger at MLB. You have to pay a small fee monthly but the exposure is worth it to have your words read by a monster amount of baseball fans. I thought about it but I fancy myself more of a writer than a fan blogger so I will be keeping my position at SoxNest.

Word out of the Big Apple
Fans of baseball are slightly embarrassed, while non-baseball people can’t get enough of the sing along time. What am I talking about; well the New York Mets have decided to use the song “Sweet Caroline” in the eighth inning of every game. In which I say for shame Mets brass as that song is undoubtedly a staple of Red Sox Nation not to mention it is featured prominently in the Red Sox associated movie Fever Pitch where it is used as a musical number throughout the stands. A truly great song that every Sox fan belts proudly at every chance I am sure.

Sox @ Jays
No weather issues for the next upcoming series at the retractable Rogers Centre. Daisuke Matsuzaka faces Gustavo Chacin. They are both the number three guys on their respective staff’s and have a lot to prove this upcoming year though Dice-k has a mountain of pressure compared to Chacin’s mole hill. I am looking forward to this series as I will be seeing every game. As should everyone else as east is king.

I feel somewhat inspired to write this article, this game will hopefully be Curt Schilling’s stamp on how the 2007 season will go for him and the Red Sox. His last outing and first on this young season pitted the confident veteran against a pitcher who received a huge pay raise and a position based solely on being the number one guy, at a price of not going to a contender.
Schilling looks to gain a little more command as he lacked it on a good number of pitches in his four innings against KC.

Against Texas he will look to keep the ball away from the middle of the plate and pick his spots. Look for #38 to not sit back. He will not be afraid of an above average Texas Rangers lineup that boasts the likes of Sammy Sosa, who looks to make a comeback as he has been given a chance to play full-time once again. The lineup looks like this, two lefty batters to leadoff both veteran contact hitters, both signing in the off-season. Center fielder Kenny Lofton has maintained a steady number one spot in the batting order for numerous clubs over the years, lastly playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in ’06. Lofton continues to be one of my favorites.

Frank Catalanotto had a fine number of at bats as the fourth outfielder and designated hitter for the Toronto Blue Jays in the ’06 season. Halfway through the year OF Reed Johnson emerged as the Blue Jays more than competent leadoff hitter to bolster their lineup with a contact guy and a terrific two-strike hitter. We all know Vernon Wells, RF Alex Rios is young and just keeps improving year after year. I did expect Toronto to make a play for Frank, but they decided that they would use a full-time DH instead of a platoon of guys, thus Frank Thomas was signed.

Michael Young also a former Blue Jays product has carved quite a spot in Texas as their number three hitter and man up the middle at shortstop. He is followed by switch-hitting first-baseman Mark Teixeira who is the big hitter in this lineup from years past. Those seem to be the biggest concerns for Curt Schilling and the Red Sox in games ahead versus the Rangers.

The start of the game has shown that Vicente Padilla can handle his own against the whole order of the BoSox except for David Ortiz as Padilla quickly retires Sox hitters but is touched for one run as Ortiz homered to right.
#38 swiftly blows away Lofton with three fastballs. Switches to a change to start Catalanotto off who drives it deep to right near the foul pole almost foul but it’s gone to tie this game up early 1-1. Frank is not a guy you want to give up a long ball to as he’ll only drive out a good dozen yearly.
Schilling continues to strike out batters in the 2nd inning. With “BIG Papi” David Ortiz taking care of the offensive side driving his second homerun of the game to right field over the head and wall of Sammy Sosa, 3-1 Red Sox.

Schilling starts the third by walking Kenny Lofton. The one guy you don’t want to walk, especially now as Catalanotto has homered already in the game. Lofton is truly the antithesis of what you’d like to see on the base paths as a pitcher. Though Lofton doesn’t shine on this play as he gets doubled up , as he took a long run on a deep fly to Coco Crisp who runs down the Michael Young fly and quickly doubles off Kenny at first to get Schills’ out of the inning.

Listening to things said by Terry Francona the manager of the Red Sox I gather he is confident in his star and ace Curt Schilling. That he will make a good start and continue that throughout the year. As for Papelbon, he was non-apologetic for confusing media about the starter non-starter status of now Closer Jonathan Papelbon, who stated as long as he’s healthy that is the best spot for him to be.

An interesting stat from last season shows that the only player to hit more homeruns than Ortiz after the all-star break was none other than Texas’ Mark Teixeira, who had 24 but only adding 9 in the first half thus not gaining major attention for his homerun attributes over the season.

This year Terry Francona seems to want to use some hitters for moving runners ahead by sacrificing them over. Boston had only 22 sacrifices last season. Look for them to easily equal and pass this number in ’07 as they use Lugo, Pedroia and Cora mostly in those type situations if they can help it.

Cruising through five, Schilling gets to avoid the feeling of kissing his sister, a quote stated in his blog. Manny Ramirez hammers another pitch to deep center that the cold climate cuts down at the wall for two nice over the shoulder catches by Lofton.

This game has strictly been a pitching dual since hitters have not been able to manufacture any runs and have had to rely on the long balls, two by Ortiz and one by “the Cat”. Those are the only blemishes today for Vicente Padilla and Schilling through seven.
Padilla’s night finishes with 7 innings pitched, 4 k’s, 1 bb, and 4 hits on three earned runs which usually means he is the winning pitcher but not tonight versus Schillings 7 ip, 6 so, 1 walk with four hits and one earned run and is in position for the win.

Joel Pineiro is summoned to come in for #38 to setup the ninth for closer Jonathan Papelbon. Schilling seemed to be able to go at least eight strong but they realized it’s still early and I agree with the move to the pen. Pineiro is being groomed it seems as a go to mid-reliever type pitcher. As we can’t forget that Mike Timlin when healthy is the air-apparent to setup Papelbon.
Pineiro starts by walking the first two batters and Lofton puts down a sac-bunt, but Cora is late covering first and Lowell eats it. The bases are loaded with none out and we have a pitching change. Javier Lopez is in to face Frank Catalanotto to have a lefty-lefty match up, while Papelbon continues to warm. The move is negated as they sub in the right-handed hitter in Cruz. A laser line out by Cruz is dropped by Youkilis, but thrown to second for an out. A run scores and now runners are on the corners and Papelbon is beckoned.

58 blew away SS Michael Young for 2 outs and quickly pops up Teixeira to get into the ninth with a one run lead 3-2.
Boston seemed to be building toward something in the ninth but Drew was thrown out going to third as he slid right passed the bag to make it an easy call for the umpire.

Bottom of the ninth, Pap’ vs. Sosa up by one, he popped up Sammy who swung under that one for out #1.
Boom, blew one by Blalock for the strikeout at 96 mph after throwing four consecutive splitters and finishing him off with a fastball, two down nobody on. Two high fastballs and Wilkerson is caught looking after swinging thru the first two offerings on a pitch right down the middle of the plate.

Schilling gets the win (1-1) with Padilla losing (0-2) and Papelbon took the save (2), Red Sox WIN 3-2.

Written by Scott Penny

1st part consists of updates on your Red Sox thus far. The 2nd part has happenings and debuts from around Major League Baseball.

All eleven players that batted have at least one strikeout with Big Papi comprising of six in fifteen at bats. He hasn’t even played in Cleveland where they continue to fight the outdoor elements and maintain trying to swing at a pitch that you can’t tell if it may be a big fluffy snowflake. Cleveland and Seattle have been postponed and look to play a doubleheader in their upcoming match up weather permitting as there had been numerous delays. They had a monster crew of snow blowers cleaning the field at every chance they received and they were one pitch away from a complete game being completed before it was halted for good. Seattle was losing 4-0 top of the fifth I believe and had a full count and bases loaded and two outs and Byrd (Indians pitcher) was in the windup and the batter stepped away from the plate with a snowflake in his eye. Truly a remarkable result, so if you sports bettors took the Indians or Mariners consider this a void bet and feel extremely fortunate if you selected Seattle.

Dustin Pedroia and JD Drew are hitting well over .300 and Kevin Youkilis is the only one to hit one deep this year. Ramirez, Lugo and maybe even Lowell have been hitting at least respectable as it comes down to the numbers. As I had feared the lineup featuring Big Papi and Man-Ram would not be able to pull its weight. Though it is truly early you may see some reshuffling of that lineup since no substitutions have really been made as only in the instance of a few pinch hits for Wily Mo and the guaranteed at bats for Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher Doug Mirabelli.

Eric Hinske has not seen any at bats so far this year and things may change for Kevin Youkilis as you can’t have numbers like his and win as the first baseman is batting less than .200 but does have the only homerun on the team. I still believe that Hinske will get more chances to hit than Wily Mo Pena as the manager Terry Francona was quoted as to say Pena will backup all outfield spots, which I believe to be a stretch especially in center. So he will have to look to spell Drew and Ramirez. Who don’t look to miss too many games as the Red Sox look to rely upon them heavily throughout the year and hopefully into the playoffs?

The defense isn’t bad, though predicted to be better than anticipated by myself in a previous article (you all still with me? Good) I have seen Manny Ramirez make reluctant runs for balls he normally doesn’t catch. Besides a tough game for Mike Lowell, giving him a quick three errors on the year Pedroia has the only other error.

The Boston Red Sox seem to just need to keep the game tight and close to keep their guys revved up for a quick impervious comeback. With the “game winner” Big Papi winning a bunch of games last year expect more of the same as it will truly be a rare occurrence for the BoSox to blast a team to take them out they will continue to be efficient picking their spots, which should garner them an adequate record if the pitching staff touted as one of the best in the major leagues just accomplishes what is to be expected, while seeing Papelbon shut her down in the end.(Which isn’t always that easy as can’t miss big BJ Ryan found losing in the ninth to the lowly underrated never appreciated Devil Rays).

Ranked starters go like this, Matsuzaka had a strong 7 innings pitched with ten strikeouts, it came at a good time as they needed a strong outing by one of their pitchers and it took till game three to get a dominant performance. Tim Wakefield gave a good performance but ended with the loss 2-0 anytime you don’t have to hit a monster number of runs when Tim’s on the mound you should win, as at this point he is hit or miss. Beckett had an average performance as expected from last year, Sox fans are still looking for Josh to take the rains and give Boston their next ace. Schilling was energized for opening day, though he struggled with his command and was out pitched by the newly signed Gil Meche, look for him to bounce back as he wouldn’t throw himself out there if he still didn’t have it, that I believe. From what I have seen the bullpen is solid and if and when they move another pitcher into the fifth spot or drop it altogether having Julian Tavarez in the pen would make it the best in baseball no contest in my eyes. Stealing Joel Pineiro out from under the Seattle Mariners was genius and JC Romero has impressed me as a solid lefty who isn’t just a lefty who is a situation type guy this guy can throw.

For the second part of my article, I will delve into the happenings on around the MLB. Plus I will be starting discussions in the dugout that I would to get some feedback on.

The Orioles stealing one from the Yankees only helps the Red Sox as they will keep cheering for the Orioles and Devil Rays to take out the Blue Jays and the Yanks all year.
Baltimore and Tampa Bay will continue to be cellar dwellers until they prove they belong.

Sammy Sosa returning puts a smile on my face as a fan of baseball. It may be the fact that second chances are fun to watch and the way he plays and the approach he has is infectious, as he rounds the bases and salutes the air with his signature chest peace-pounds/ kisses. Is their a name for that? So here is hoping he can overcome the steroid allegations and the corked bat incident and the fact that he left the Cubbies for the Orioles.

I am calling it now Brad Penny and I are related somehow, through some measly crack it is true maybe a third cousin twice removed as I am of the last name Penny and he has the look of half my family especially the guys (lol). The only difference is he is a monster at 6’4” 265 lbs, just putting it out there.

In a nice twist Jackie Robinson has many MLB supporters who will wear is infamously retired league wide number 42. Ken Griffey Jr. approached Commissioner Bud Selig with the idea to wear #42 on April 15 this year. Which will be the 60th anniversary of that historic day, Selig liked the idea so much that he extended the offer to all Major League players. Expect to see numerous players wearing it on the 15th and also I have heard that their may not just be one player, their respective team reps are asking others to partake. Jackie Robinson debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. A truly historic day to remember and thus we will.

Here at SoxNest we have added a new archives section where you can look up all the content we have put up throughout the off-season and in the early season. So continue to let us inform you about your Red Sox and welcome to our Nest.

Written by Contributing Editor Scott Penny

The Red Sox managed to have 6 innings where the leadoff man reached base in the game against Kansas City. Half of the time the lead off man made it to second base. I began to wonder how much of a difference does it make when the leadoff man reaches? I found a study that looked at all of the games in 1998 and focused on the same question.

When the leadoff man in an inning reaches there is roughly a 40% chance that he will go on to score. Why do the odds shift in his favor so dramatically? Simply put the team increases the number of tools available to generate a run. For example, they can bunt to move the base runner over or they can use a sacrifice fly. They can use any number of strategies since they now have three outs to work with to manufacture a run.

There are always discussions about what type of player should be the leadoff batter. Should he be patient at the plate, like Youkilis, and eventually draw a walk? Should he be a good hitter, like Crisp, and get on with a lot of singles? Should he be fast, like Lugo, and use his speed to distract the pitcher when the next batter gets to the plate (this is only effective if Lugo gets on in the first place)?

As it happens, a closer look at the data suggests that it doesn’t matter how the leadoff man gets to the plate. There is a slight edge when a man reaches on an error, but it’s safe to assume the opposing team might be having an off night if they are creating an error in the first place, so that small difference can easily be accounted for.

Reached- Scored- %
Single 7066 - 2850 - 40.3

Walk 3297 - 1344 - 40.8

Hit by pitch 332 - 134 - 40.4

Errors (to 1b) 340 - 145 - 42.6

Total 11035 - 4473 - 40.5

Source: Retrosheet, Inc.

Given all of this data, the game against Kansas City, where all eyes were focused on Dice-K’s debut, had a stunning statistical outcome that should not be overlooked. In the first inning there was no leadoff man yet the Red Sox managed to score. In the next six innings the Red Sox managed to get a leadoff man on base. Three of those innings the leadoff man made it all the way to second base. Knowing that even getting to first base results in a 40% chance of scoring, it’s easy to see how many people would expect the Red Sox to have scored many runs as a part of the six golden opportunities gained.

Surprisingly, the Red Sox were only able to take advantage of their leadoff man being on twice. Both times they capitalized on subsequent errors made by the Royals (a throwing error and a wild pitch) once the leadoff man was on. In retrospect, most people don’t spend time on the inner workings of how a game played out… unless the Red Sox lose that is. In this case, we should all be wondering, how could a team have missed out on so many golden opportunities? If the Red Sox don’t find a way to bring their leadoff men home there will be plenty of time to analyze the game because the chances of getting a leadoff man on followed by an error that allows him to score are as low as Kansas City winning the World Series this year.

Written by Diane Garnick

Watching the opening moments of the baseball season I can’t help but get into the way that Jim Leyland the manager of the Detroit Tigers tried to lose their afternoon affair with the Toronto Blue Jays. He did not make any defensive switches or substitutions for some mediocre fielders already struggling throughout the contest, consistently fighting their surroundings all game. The game was 9-0 nothing folks and he left Nate Robertson in to give up two than put in Jason Grilli which was okay until he gave up another 5. So then unbeknownst to me he decides to put in Fernando Rodney who was beaten up by the Jays in the previous game which he went on to lose and cost his team a chance of breaking the tie themselves.

Just a few bonehead moves to allow his team to almost go 0-2 to start the season. This game became truly a lot closer than it should have been. Toronto surely will be pitching themselves out of games and continually trying to hit their way back into games this year. It is early but your manager should not try to just keep warm and forget he has a game to win, not to just act lackadaisical like it wouldn’t matter.

Another sunny day in Kansas City for tonight’s game, with first pitch commencing at 810pm-ET. Boston is slightly favored by a small margin in the game tonight. People are still unsure of what type of Beckett they will see and after Schillings performance on opening day all bets are off.

After using six pitchers in the 7-1 loss on Monday, Boston needs a longer outing from Beckett. The day between games will hopefully be enough to rest a few arms from the pen.

In contrast Josh Beckett has faired a little better than his counterpart for the Royals Odalis Perez. Beckett has posted a 1-0 record in 22 IP and a 2.45 earned run average. Perez’s era is almost three and a half with a 0-1 record in 19+ IP.

Look for a few good match ups for hitters today as Ortiz has owned Perez going 4-6 with one homer. Mark Grudzielanek has seen a lot of Beckett and is posting a .364 batting average. The same can’t be said for David DeJesus as he is batting .182 at the leadoff spot.

Written by Contributing Editor Scott Penny

Behind Enemy Lines on Opening Day

Excitement fills the air in each of the 30 hometowns of baseball it encompasses across America on opening day. Fans everywhere want to believe that their beloved team has as much of a chance at winning the World Series as everyone else. Red Sox Nation waits with baited breathe, knowing that Schilling will make his way to the mound as the first starter in a rotation that seems beyond our wildest dreams.

New York City is the last place in the world most members of Red Sox Nation ever want to be on opening day, but when you live here, you have little choice. The drama begins with neighbors and coworkers explaining “Of course you’ll win. You’re playing Kansas City and your payroll is almost as high as the 26 time champion New York Yankees”. It sickens me to listen to them gloat that we can spend almost as much and still not be as good as them. In contrast to the league it is true, but the Yankees and their Cashman spend almost a hundred million more.

A friend sent me a t-shirt with the new Red Sox logo “What’s not to love?” so this morning I put it on with great anticipation. I thought about what to wear, how the season would unfold, what a strong line up we have, and how sweet it will be if I can walk the streets of Manhattan with a 2007 Championship hat. Opening day air had come with some abundance in my apartment.

I decided to watch the game at a new bar dedicated to Red Sox fans in New York, Professor Thom’s. I called a friend and asked him if he would go with me (a lady walking alone into a sports bar could be a scary thing in this city). Before I walked outside to meet him I couldn’t help but see how the Yankees were doing. Two at bats after I turned on the game, the Devil Rays managed to tie it up. I shut the TV off and was glowing as I bounced down Madison Ave to meet a friend.

Inside his company’s lobby a man shook his head with a resounding no at my Red Sox jacket and told me I should be happy now, because it’s not gonna last. I asked him if he was a Yankee fan and he said yes, but they are losing to the Devil Rays. He was right. At that point my cell phone confirmed the Devil Rays had taken the lead. This could clearly be an opening day to remember. They lose to the Rays then Schill takes the mound, ahh. Life is sweet. My friend finally came down to meet me and reminded me that we need to get to this bar early for good seats. Professor Thom’s was packed with all things Boston, and lots of empty seats. I didn’t care. The Red Sox were about to start the season and the Yankees were losing. The bartender, Jim, was nice enough to have everyone move down a few seats at the bar so I could sit next to my friend.

I couldn’t believe the Yankees game even though it was unfolding in front of me. Kazmir has been their star and he’s giving up hits to the Yankees. Before I knew it, A Rod hit his home run and the game was put away. Suddenly I realized we’re already a half game behind. By the time the Red Sox game started Professor Thom’s was packed. The sea of red shirts and strangers giving high fives and smiles to one another was comforting to me. It marked the first time Red Sox Nation gathered in such strong numbers in the middle of Manhattan.

If you watched the Red Sox game, you know what happened. The only question they didn’t ask is why is Schilling now the size of David Wells? The walk home was brutal. Three quarters of the walk was with my friend who seemed to ignore the laughs at my Red Sox jacket and glares of satisfaction from Yankee fans. They seemed to love the Red Sox falling apart much more than seeing the Yankees come from behind to win.

During the last stretch home to my apartment I began to realize that New York City takes baseball much less seriously than we do in Boston. I passed people waiting in line for plays, heading to dinners, taking pictures of tall buildings. None of these people seem to even notice that the Yankees played baseball today.

I allowed myself to feel good; thinking that baseball might not be all there is in life. Then a man in a Yankees hat approached me and asked if I was married. As soon as I said no he laughed as loud as he could and told me “With that team, no wonder you’re not married”. Then he walked away.

Red Sox fans are worlds apart from Yankee fans. Many of us, at one point or another, were the underdogs. All of us have hopes of beating out those who begin in better spaces, those who ‘look better on paper’. At our core, we as Red Sox fans, know about pulling together, supporting each other, and therein we create a true sense of unity.

Tomorrow both the Red Sox and the Yankees have the day off. I dread the comments I am sure to get from friends and neighbors. They never say a word when the Red Sox win, but always seem to point out games where we fall behind and ultimately lose.

As you spend your next few days wallowing in the loss that we as a Nation suffered on this 2007 opening day, remind yourself that we are in this together. Even in the heart of Manhattan, there are fellow Red Sox fans who are rooting for the under dogs to outpace the ‘good on paper’ teams (and people) of the world.

Written by Diane Garnick

Opening day has come for another season. Many are unaware of this as sports fans continue to look on as their respective clubs and teams chase down those all-important playoff spots in the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association.

Included in this most recent post are firstly, thoughts on and from General Manager Theo Epstein, a female umpire making her way to the big leagues, Boston making the final releases and send-downs to get their roster to 25, former red sox favorite Nomar father of twins. Dice-K a top-seller through the spring, baseball becoming a constant scene for the big screen, I will also profile the first game of the season for everyone to see, while also sharing what some have projected as Red Sox award winners.

I am classifying Theo Epstein as a statistical General Manager who relies on the philosophy of what have you done for me lately it seems. Epstein has been quoted in saying for his off-season acquisitions “I’m very happy with the transaction process,” Epstein said “The rest of our players deserve credit for taking something that could have been a distraction and turning it into a positive.” Comments directed for the most part at the Daisuke signing and how it has affected the team. Jason Varitek and Dustin Pedroia have struggled, to put it lightly, in the spring. Varitek has no doubt been distracted by all the attention from a huge number of reporters most being from outside the states. His manner and enthusiasm was felt when first approached about Matsuzaka, but as of the end of spring training he has been less forthcoming with encouraging comments of the upcoming season. So I will watch from a distance to see how the spotlight of one pitcher will affect the overall play of trusty old ‘Tek.

The 25 is set!
(This is officially-unofficial but thank me for trying)
Starting Pitchers are as follows
1-Schilling 2-Beckett 3-Matsuzaka 4-Wakefield 5-Tavarez (the five spot may become interchangeable)
->The pen just got a heck of a lot better and bigger
Donnelly-Lopez-Okajima-Papelbon-Pineiro-Romero-Snyder (Timlin is injured at the moment but looks to return soon, so look for this list to be shuffled a bunch this year- with the big closer in Papelbon and the six-foot-eight hurler Snyder now guaranteed in the pen, it has truly gotten bigger and better.)
C-Varitek and Mirabelli no big surprises as Kevin wasn’t expected to “Cash” in.
1B-Youkilis and Hinske to share time
2B-Pedroia to start and hopefully excel in first full year otherwise Cora will gladly step in.
3B-Lowell getting older can he put up the numbers?
SS-Lugo an upgrade and solid with the bat, will his bat make up for throws he shouldn’t make for errors to first?
LF-Man-Ram still in need of DH spot as his defensive deficiencies haunt left field that is the biggest reason Manny doesn’t want to be a lifer in Bean town.
CF-Crisp check player profile for what I think. Pena is said to back-up as fourth fielder.
RF-Drew an upgrade, but can he stay healthy?
DH- Big Papi still the man will he get the pitches?

Dice-K merchandise has gotten out of hand as most Sox fans have been seen sporting Japanese Dice-K shirts and products throughout the Boston area. This trend is quickly going to spread through the Red Sox Nation as I can already feel it coming. This seems to be a second coming of the impact of a player of similar circumstance in center for the Houston Rockets Yao Ming.

I look on this year as a follower of baseball and the Red Sox with enthusiasm as some have predicted Dice-K as the American League Rookie of the Year and few even saying AL CY Young. But I even feel that is really far fetched in the first season of the mythical gyro ball. Big Papi David Ortiz has been pegged by several as the AL-MVP for a second consecutive season in the running.

Ria Cortesio has been making some noise ever so quietly as after umpping in exhibition games for Major League Baseball has remained unnoticeable during games as most umps tend to think is a good thing to be for any official.
The last female umpire to take part in an MLB game was in 1989 when Pam Postema made calls in a split-squad game. Ria has continued to make a name for herself, in hopes of getting to the triple-A level in this upcoming year as soon as a spot comes available. But for now she is on her way back to the Southern League.

Nomar Garciaparra has just been given twin Hamm’s for the upcoming season. Lots of luck to his wife Mia as she thought US soccer stardom was tough. Both twins are healthy and over five pounds, quoted from a Dodgers spokesman. Truly his life has come full circle from his younger days as the face of the Boston Red Sox.

I have been catching up on my baseball themed movies as I am looking forward to getting all jacked up for the upcoming ’07 season. I took in the classics and some new contenders for comical takes on the great pastime I love. The classic Major League series is always good viewing and I have even seen a commercial with “The Wild Thing” which is cool and shows that baseball is coming. The Rookie is not bad, *61 is a must see for any baseball fan, Mr. Baseball is a good look into life and baseball from other countries and a new Happy Madison production Bench Warmers. I have heard mixed reviews of Beer League so I will check it out soon I am sure.

Tonight’s opening game has an intriguing match up of last years hopefuls as the St.Louis Cardinals and Chris Carpenter take on the New York Mets and Tom Glavine. It will truly be an exciting opening night as the Cards do it right opening with excitement abound for the upcoming year and they are looking forward to rekindling the match up of last year.
It should be a good game of two of the games best but I do have to give the edge to the NL’s CY Young winner as the ace for the Mets is on the shelf as of now. Pedro Martinez would make me at least consider my pick a little harder. Am I the only one in baseball or otherwise that when they hear the name Pedro I think Martinez and World Series champ, rather than the Napoleon Dynamite movie and character, just a thought.

Also look for my pre-game and post-game summaries on game day, that being April 2nd. Feel free to comment on any or all articles as we at Sox Nest love the fans and feedback received.

This has been brought to you by your contributing editor Scott Penny