seabeachfred

Tal, you might like this story. It is Downey, California early February, 1962 and I am in the small gym of an elementary school waiting for my future boss to come in and hire me as a recreation leader for the school district. Great job for a college student. I'm waiting shooting baskets when this 11 year fresh faced kid lets me know that he wants to shoot baskets too, and then tells me he is a great baseball player and will someday play in the Big Leagues. Rick Burleson. He knew what the hell he was talking about. Never coached him. He was always one year behind where I was coaching whether it was Pony, Colt or Connie Mack. I eventually moved to another community but I followed the kid's career. He was a real tough competitor and played hard and worked his ass off.

Dana, maybe you can tell why there is all this sudden nostalgia for Nomar. He turned out to be a real *******. July 1, 2004 is all anyone has to know. We are fighting to salvage one of the three games in a crucial Yankee series, the players are on the steps of the dugout cheering each other on and that prick is sitting on his ass like he couldn't give a s***. Right then and there he was became a useless encumbrance for our team and thank God we got rid of him. Notice what happened soon after; we took off and eventually pulled off that miracle. Nomar? He went to the Cubs, was injured, made a modest comeback and then was shown the door by Chicago. He landed in LA and has done a pretty good job so far but it wouldn't surprise me if he went into another funk sooner or later. He was no team player at all for us in the end. f*** him.::thumbdown :thumbdown :thumbdown :thumbdown :thumbdown :thumbdown

Paps, once again we have a visitor from another board under another assumed handle. Pay no mind to the guy. He is not here to contribute anything worthwhile. He's been here before.

Dana, I love most of your posts but please let up on Curt. I am a big fan of his and Red Sox fans do owe him a big vote of thanks for putting his ass on the line back in '04. He has enough competitiveness and pride to come back strong next time out. Besides, if we are going to go anywhere this season we need a big year from Schilling. Yes, the guy likes a microphone and loves to bloviate but at least he backs his talk up most of the time.

Well it looks like you crapped out big time on that one HHM, but you were sort of in the neighborhood because DeJesus took Matsu out of the yard. However, you still lose out because close only counts in horseshoes, love and grenades. Got to admit, though, Dice-K really looked pretty good today, didn't he? Well, I'll tell you something else. He can be even better than that.

I will go on record right now. There is only one centerfielder I want to see out there for us next year and for a dozen years after that, and that is Jacoby Ellsbury. I really think he can become another Grady Sizemore without the great power that the Cleveland CF has. He looks like he is going to be a very good hitter with gap power, great speed, a top notch defensive outfielder, a player capable of stealing 40 bases a year and an excellent leadoff man. Later for Hunter, Jones and those guys. They are too expensive and are on the downside of their careers. Of course, here's a novel idea. Why couldn't we have included a couple of prospects, Andy Marte and maybe Trot Nixon last winter and made a big bid for Grady. Think of what we'd look like with him in our outfield instead of the pathetic Crisp.

Scott, we all love the Red Sox if we follow that team and I can tell you that rooting for them is like rooting for no other team anywhere in any sport. Some of my friends here know that I am generally a late comer, only my seventh season and I still feel a little put upon that I didn't see this club as the one for me until I was nearly 60. Reminds me so much of the Brooklyn Dodgers of my early New York years, only better. The teams I root for in college or pro football (Navy and Miami), basketball (the Lakers and Texas Tech), hockey (the Ducks), well, if they lose I am unhappy but I can get over it and get a good night's sleep. With the Red Sox it is blood on the moon and anything goes--and usually does. I think you will find the Red Sox fans on this board are not only diehards but very knowledgeable and ready to help all newcomers feel at home.

Right on Rician. It would be just great for my pal Schilling to just shut the hell up and put this lousy game behind him and move on. Bad day and nothing more. Being a big Schilling fan I am more than willing to give him a flier on Monday's game. All I care about is how we do today in the series finale and how Curt does in his next start. No way we can get that game back so it means crapola to keep harping on it.

Usually an hour or two after the game ends. It seems to vary by where the games are played from what I've seen the past few years. BTW, you got my antenna up when you said you played baseball. College or HS? I managed baseball teams for 30 years before I decided to work on my golf game.

Bo, I don't know how much that foul pop had to do with our disgust with this guy, but it is part of a pattern that for some reason Crisp simply cannot hit in the clutch. I agree it is early and we can't be too unduly influenced by two games because that would be silly and ridiculous but we have to keep a keen eye on this guy. He is coming off a terrible year that could be partly attributed to that knuckle injury he suffered early last season, but as I reminded someone on another board he was hitting in the 290's after he came back and was getting hits before he went deep into the tank. So I think the injury wasn't the only reason he stunk last year. If you noticed the Red Sox made him their poster boy for a major advertisement about RSN, but the gloss over that ill-timed move has been completely tarnished, and hopes that CocoPops would make Red Sox fans "forget Johnny Damon" have gone up in flames. Theo has two choices if this continues. One is to hold the fort at all costs and ram this guy down our throats in an attempt to justify letting JD walk and trading for Crisp, or admit a mistake and throw in the towel, hoping that Jacoby Ellsbury doesn't stumble down at Pawtucket and plays well enough to be brought up to play CF and put this sad post Damon era to bed once and for all.

No wonder I feel so at home around here. BTW Jackson, I leave for Boston on Monday and hopefully the Red Sox will have a winning record when they step on the field Tuesday in their Home Opener. I think I will see Beckett on the mound if we stay with a five man rotation up until then.

There are some yo yo's on this board who have been unduly influenced by our friends from Dodger Blues, especially their assinine comments about J.D. Drew. Well I saw him plenty of times last year and I can tell you the guy is a very solid ballplayer, a five tooler who plays effortlessly in right and brings you a good game on both ends of the field. If he can stay healthy, and he should because of his off-season workout regimen, we have a very solid player batting fifth and playing RF. He is certainly not one of our problems, but his compadre to the right of him could be unless he gets off the dime and starts contributing. As for Varitek that hit he got tonight is hopefully a shot in the arm for him and the whole team. :D :D :D :D

All in all Riverside, a pretty good night. I tried to hold my tongue until I thought this thing out but I have to say that all things considered this was a pretty good win for us. The relief pitching was strong, we got some good clutch hits and won. After Monday's game I was starting to dread just a little my trip to Boston on Monday for the Seattle series and one Angel game figuring we'd be in the tank so early. Well, we still have four games to play before our home opener but I'm hoping we're 4-2 by next Tuesday and on a little roll. Of course, Crisp looked like crap warmed over until he earned a walk and it would be nice to see him break out tomorrow. Hell, if Tek can get a big hit so should CocoPops.

Out here in So. Cal most of the Dodger fans I know despised Odalis Perez, called him a whale, fat slob, baby huey, and other less than complimentary titles. It also showed many of the fans out here didn't know s*** from shinola because the one thing this guy could do and do well and do consistently was beat the Dodgers' supposed arch rival, the Giants, in their home park. He was absolutely great pitching in San Francisco. He's never come back to what he was a few years back but with some of the stiffs in our lineup, unless they start coming through, we could have a tough game. We should win tonight and there shouldn't be any excuses.

HOSN, your take on Josh sounds pretty good to me, but my question is will be get more than one or two runs to make him a winner? And if we're ahead will Francona not be tempted to use bums like Piniero or Snyder? While I'm about are Lowell, Crisp and Varitek going to step up and start doing something for the offense? If not, the top five are going to have to have a big day and carry the load. Man, did we blow the Helton trade.

ANIMAL, have no fear of that. Buckner was before my Red Sox time. You might be interested to know that before I was engulfed in Red Sox Nation the Mets were my team and I used to love to see that DVD of the '86 Series. Now? I wouldn't watch it if someone wanted to bribe me. I thought I could root for the Red Sox as my second team. That lasted less than a month. They might make you sick, make you cry, make you pissed off, but once you are bitten by the Red Sox bug it is all enduring and permanent. Just for the record, tonight I will either put on "Reverse the Curve of the Bambino" or the "Red Sox vs Yankees---The Ultimate Rivalry". No matter how many times I watch it it never seems to get old.

GOM, let's say ten dollars. Is that fair? As for you Jackson, I'm not so sure we are going to burst out in front the first two or three months this year. With all the new faces and settling in it may be our turn to get our big push going in the summer this time around. Either that or GOM wins the bet.

Fair enough GOM---and I have to admit that you showed more class than I did with your response. Safe to say that I am not in the best of moods today and thank God my wife went to my daughter's and got out of harm's way. Bob Ryan is so right. Rooting for the Red Sox is like a Passion Play and this is my only seventh year of this. I wonder sometimes how ORS, SchillOut, Kilo, and the rest of the guys who have followed this team longer than I have been able to take it with going stark raving mad. As I said, tonight I will put on a Red Sox DVD as relates to 2004 and that will help me get emotionally charged for the next few games or so.