Portland Sox Fan

Well, looks like we all wrote off the Yankees a little early, eh? 
I honestly haven't watched a complete game since the one I attended on
May 11th.  Between the West Coast trip, and my scouting trip to
Charlotte, NC, and trying to get my house ready to go on the
market…I've been busy.

But I do see that the Yanks are on fire, and are closing the gap just
in time for this weekend's series.  The next couple of series are
obviously important…head to head with the main competition within the
AL East.  Hopefully the bats come alive….

Am I the only one who thinks that we will barely see Schilling this year?

{mos_sb_discuss:506}

Today is Limerick Day, so to honor that, I give you the following:

There once was a closer named Foulke
Balls hit off him left trails of smoke
This time the Captain stepped in
The Faithful left with a grin
But his ERA is still quite a joke

Are we reaching the part where we are really concerned about Foulke
yet?  For some reason, I'm STILL not terribly worried..but that
was frustrating.

On a related note, weekday day games at Fenway are for the birds if you
are traveling from out of town.  I'm not going to any more of
them, they almost aren't worth the hassle.

The Riverside T stop appeard to be full just after 11 AM, so we drove
in.  Parking too far away wasn't an option as I had a 4 year old
and an 80 year old.  So I ended up on Beacon in Brookline on the
street, not TOO bad a walk.  We still got to the park in time.

Leaving, however, is another issue.  I'm usually in my driveway
about 2 hours after last pitch.  Yesterday, it took me over 4.

On another note, do Yankee fans this year feel like Sox fans usually
do?  They go on a pretty hot streak (granted against some not very
good teams), but cannot gain any ground because the Sox are just as
hot, if not hotter.  And while the Yanks are winning, they aren't
doing so impressively.  What did Pavano give up; 5 runs before he
gave up an out yesterday?  I'll take that…

{mos_sb_discuss:505}

I used to post frequently?  Man, have I become lazy.

I didn't see either game Sunday, but I listened…and am encouraged by
Wade Miller.  I'm thinking at this point that the Sox will never
have to worry about which starter has to go to the pen when all 6 of
them are healthy…because I wonder if that is ever going to be the
case.

Like everybody else watching/listening, I'm curious about the use of
Cla Merideth.  If I'm not mistaken, he hadn't given up a run all
year in AA and his one AAA game?  And you bring this young rookie
into a game where he has a chance to fail HUGE?  And he
DOES?  Hope that kid is mentally tough…

Boy, that book and media tour sure has been a distraction for Damon,
eh?  I seem to recall some radio and newspaper nitwits talking
about how all this would be a huge distraction for him.  Hey,
fellas…last time I checked he is hitting .373 and on a pace for 250+
hits.  Granted, chances are that pace won't last…but I think
they can put the distraction bit away.

The practical joker in the Sox dugout needs to take the 'hit me' sign off of Manny's back.  Seriously.  Please.

I'll be attending the A's series finale tomorrow afternoon with my 4
year old daughter in tow.  It will be her second time at Fenway;
the first time she was not even 3 months old so she didn't get much out
of it.  I've been prepping her at AA games for a couple of years
now; hopefully she's ready for the Show.

{mos_sb_discuss:504}

Arod went on a little tear, eh?  Nice to see him reverting back to
the norm; putting up huge numbers while the team doesn't do so
well.  And I wonder if Randy Johnson has a clause in his contract
to trade him to a contender at the break?

Kidding aside, I was talking with my father in law yesterday, and I had
an idea.  We were talking about how rumors were flying that if
Houston continues to flounder, Clemens could end up on one of the teams
in New York, or even in Boston.  And personally, I find the idea
of this repugnant.  Not because it is Clemens; but because the 3
teams with the highest payroll by far will just be able to pluck a high
priced player from someone else to try to improve their team.

Maybe there should be a rule…if your payroll exceeds a certain
threshold, you don't get to trade for certain players (i.e. big ticket,
high salary players).  If you spend 110, 125, 220 million a year,
you go to war with the team you assembled…none of this picking up an
18 million dollar pitcher via trade because your high priced team just
isn't good enough.

What do you all think?

On a side note, if you are in the market for a new television, I can't
recommend an HDTV capable unit enough.  Baseball in high
definition is UNBELIEVABLE.  Turns out I not only get Sox games,
but other random games as well.  This weekend, not counting
Mets/Nats on ESPNHD last night, I got the Yanks on Saturday and
Diamondbacks/Padres yesterday.  There might be more as well; I'll
have to check the listings.

{mos_sb_discuss:503}