Sunday, March 21, 2010
From the Embers... Embree!
Watching the Sox' lead against Houston slowly slip away as easily as the ice cold beers I keep cracking open. I've got the couch and TV outside, the cooler close at hand, and the "to do" list stuffed neatly in the trash bin. The game is really just background noise at this point, as is the news that Alan Embree is back, signed to a minor league deal with the possibility of stepping to the big club.

All thing considered, I kinda liked my last memories of Embree, jumping off the mound after the Sox secured the 2004 ALCS and chewing cigars during the victory parade. I don't want to muddy that up by seeing him cough up a lead to the Rangers in late August.

On the other hand, if Embree makes the club and becomes a key contributor, it can only spell good things for his 2004 classmates. I'm sure Mark Bellhorn and Curt Leskanic are looking for something to keep them out of trouble.
Posted by Red at 3:24 PM
Bracket Busters
This year's tournament has certainly lived up to its name: Madness. Two number 4's dumped in the first round, and halfway through the second round, number two Villanova and number one Kansas are going home. I've got Kentucky winning it all...

Meanwhile, Timmy pitched five scoreless while Youk and Scutaro homered. Two weeks from the real deal.
Posted by Denton at 1:57 AM
Saturday, March 20, 2010
The Chronicles Of Reddick
On the last day of July in 2009, Josh Reddick got the call to the Bigs. He exploded onto the scene, going five for his first 16 with three doubles, a home run and a couple RBI. Reality quickly set in and he would get just one hit in his next six games and struggle for the rest of the season. He finished with just 10 hits and a .169 batting average. But it was on the big club.

Reddick has been tearing it up this spring, currently batting .438 with a homer, five doubles and six RBI. With a starting outfield of Ellsbury, Cameron and Drew, and Bill Hall coming off the bench, there isn't a spot for Reddick in Boston. You have to think he has another chance coming, though. And if you've read this gem by Gordon Edes, you'll be rooting for it to be sooner than later.

When his father finally came home after missing his son's first birthday, the toddler was afraid of him. At least that's what his parents later told Josh Reddick about his reaction to seeing his father, Kenny, return from a burn center in Kentucky with his left hand missing and his right hand reduced to three fingers permanently locked in a claw.

It's something of a miracle that Kenny Reddick was able to be a part of this story at all, after 7,500 volts of electricity hot through his body while he was working for the power company back home. He'd been up in his bucket truck, working on a pole with the power shut off. He took a break for lunch, and while he was gone a supervisor ordered the juice to be turned back on.

After lunch, that's how Kenny Reddick came to be electrocuted.

"He was claimed dead three times," Josh Reddick says, "and they brought him back each time."

As Kenny Reddick was left to figure out how to put his life back together, his two little boys, Josh and older brother Bradford, looked to him to be a dad just like the other dads. A dad who could come out to the backyard and play catch.

Kenny Reddick forced himself to learn how to hold a ball with his three remaining fingers and throw it.

Game on.

"It's crazy," Josh Reddick says. "We've got videos of him back home, showing how he did it.

Fathers, sons and baseball. Amen.
Posted by Denton at 9:17 AM
Friday, March 19, 2010
Drink Like Josh Beckett

My attitude has always been that if you're gonna get drunk anyway, you might as well try to help people out while you're doing it. Thanks to the good folks at Charity Wines, you can. They've just added a couple new items to their line of Red Sox-themed wines, including Commander Kick Ass' Chardon-K and ZinfandEllsbury. Never mind the fact that I can't even imagine Josh Beckett drinking wine unless it was the only alcohol available and he sucked it out of the gas tank of a '67 Mustang that he just happened to be driving at the same time. Or unless the ingredients on the bottle listed "50% wine, 40% whiskey, 10% hellfire." It's for a good cause.

No word on when Daisuke Matsuzaka's "I Shall Avenge My 2009 Performance... Just As Soon As I Sit Down and Rest My Back For A While" Malt Liquor will be available, but I gotta believe it's coming soon.
Posted by Red at 10:20 AM
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Girls In Their Summer Clothes
The day after St. Patrick's Day is always an adventure. After crawling out of bed at the crack of noon, I was finally able to track down my missing car, which was parked for some reason on my neighbor's patio. My dignity remains among the missing, lost in blurry memories of trying to kiss some obese woman's butt because she had "Blarney Stone" written across of the ass of her sweatpants. But I'm not here to talk about the past.

The first spring day that the mercury cracks 60 means real baseball is just around the corner. I want to throw on a pair of cut-off jean shorts and my mesh tank-top with "Daytona Beach '88" on it, and break out the Jarts and the wine coolers (sharp objects and alcohol is always a winning combination). But mostly this type of day just makes me want to be at Fenway, watching the game and occasionally glancing at the scantily-clad hotties in the stands. And ladies, this one's for you...

Posted by Denton at 1:26 PM
Green Is The New Red

A solid performance from Lackey during yesterday's game against the Mets. But the lasting imprssion in my brain was made by Adrian Beltre's glovework. Watching Beltre in full vacuum mode over the last couple grapefruit games has got me frothing at the mouth for the start of the season. It's also helped me gain a new appreciation for his much-discussed cuplessness. While my personal pain-sensors may be spinning into overdrive with every line drive sent down the third base line, my gut feeling is that the guy will be that much more inclined to make sure nothing escapes his glove, lest it end up in Oniontown.

While we're on the subject, I'd like to send a message to my friends at NESN. And that message is: I can do without the phrase "Mazz Ballin'" for the rest of my life. Not the kind of thing that's gonna make my breakfast go down any easier, people.


Other than that, I'm good. Is it April yet?
Posted by Red at 7:45 AM
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
If I Should Fall from Grace With Orsillo

Savvy readers will note that the annual Surviving Grady St. Patrick's Day Mix hasn't changed much over the last couple seasons. I think I peaked, along with Daisuke Matsuzaka, in 2007, and have let it ride ever since then, cranking it up as I backflip into a vat of Guinness. As always, we welcome your suggestions in our comments.

"If I Should Fall from Grace with God" - The Pogues
"Bad Liver and a Broken Heart" - Tom Waits [Okay, so Tommy Boy's not the first thing that pops into your head when you think of paddy tunes. But the guy's probably written more songs about the demon liquor than Shane MacGowan, and this one's the best of the lot. Also, quite a fitting soundtrack for St. Patrick's Day festivities.]
"N17" - The Saw Doctors
"Goin' to my Hometown" - Rory Gallagher
"Faraway So Close" - U2
"Funky Cieli" - Black 47
"Boston Rose" - Wolfe Tones
"Real Real Gone" - Van Morrison
"Cocktail Blue" - The Mahones
"It'll be Easier in the Morning" - The Waterboys
"Whiskey You're the Devil" - The Clancy Brothers
"God Bless Mom" - The Frames
"Take Down the Union Jack" -- Billy Bragg
"Seven Drunken Nights" - The Dubliners
"Fields of Athenry" - Three Irish Tenors [We played this as the processional tune before my Dad's funeral in 2006. One of his favorites, and one of mine as well.]
"Teenage Kicks" - The Undertones
"Star of the County Down" - Van Morrison & The Chieftains
"Chelsea Girls" - The Tossers
"Running to Stand Still" - U2
"Did She Mention My Name" - The Irish Rovers
"The Bank Of Ireland/The Dairy Maid" - Tommy Peoples
"A Jug of Punch" - Tommy Makem & the Clancy Brothers
"Alternative Ulster" - Stiff Little Fingers
"The Bunch Of Keys/The Girl That Broke My Heart" - Kevin Burke
"Give It Up" - Hothouse Flowers
"The Irish Rover" - The Dubliners w/ The Pogues
"Danny Boy" - Bing Crosby [Alright, yeah, everyone's done this song. But Der Bingle's version always messes me up inside. And you know how I enjoy a good messin' up.]
"Women of Ireland" - Wolfe Tones
"She Moved Through The Fair" - Van Morrison & The Chieftains
"Hallelujah Here She Comes" - U2
"There's No Rainouts in Baseball" - Whiskey on a Sunday
"The Worst Day Since Yesterday" - Flogging Molly
"Galway Bay" - Daniel O'Donnell
"Foggy Dew" - The Clancy Brothers
"Shamrock Shore" - The Irish Rovers
"Low Rising" - The Swell Season [Honestly, I despised the SS's Oscar winning tune from "Once." But their new album is fantastic, and this song the best of the lot.]
"Every Day's St. Patrick's Day" - Neck
"The Rocky Road to Dublin" - Dropkick Murphys
"Irish Blood, English Heart" - Morrissey
"Brennan on the Moor" - Tommy Makem & The Clancy Brothers
"New York Girls" - Icewagon Flu
"A Rainy Night In Soho" - Shane MacGowan
"Everlasting Love" - U2
"Maria's Wedding" - Black 47
"That's What She Said Last Night" - The Saw Doctors
"Has Anybody Seen Hank?" - The Waterboys
"The Wind that Shakes the Barley" - The Chieftains
"Like Clockwork" - Boomtown Rats
Posted by Red at 9:55 AM
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sending Positive Vibes

Good news from our friends at NESN: Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland's surgery to remove a brain malformation was successful.

We wish him the luck of the Irish, the very best vibes we can conjure, and anything else he needs to ensure a speedy recovery.
Posted by Red at 10:26 PM
NESN Presents: Youk and Lowell, Cops With Guns
Episode 73: What's In a Name??

You wanted to see us, Sarge?


You're damn right I wanted to see you. What's this bullshit I hear about you guys handing out hot turkey sandwiches to those young toughs on Yancy Street?


Aw, it's cold out there, Sarge. We just thought we could help build good relations with those kids if we brought 'em a hot meal every once in a while.


In my glorious days of misspent youth, turkey subs helped get my life on the right track. Sue me if I want to give a little something back.


I don't like it. Makes us look soft. I want a tougher face on our squad down on Yancy. Effective today, you guys are transferred.


Transferred? Sarge, we've been making some serious inroads throughout that community. We know people, they like us. The kids love Kevin!


Many of them think of me as a hairier RoboCop, which I'm fine with if it keeps them from getting into guns or, worse, becoming "Phish" fans.


Well, I think it's time for new blood. Meet your replacements: Officers Vic and Beckett.


Greetings. We're the new guys.


Si.


What the fudge? These guys are supposed to be tougher than us? They look like goofy ballplayers in badly-Photoshopped cop hats.


It's not just about the look, kids. It's about the name. "Vic and Beckett." That's gold. That's an action flick.


Let me put it another way, baldy. If you've got five hundred kilos of cocaine hidden in your sofa, who are you worried about knocking down your door? "Mike and Kevin" or "Vic and Beckett"?


Well, personally, I wouldn't knock down someone's door. I would use a series of strategic knocking patterns to make them think I was, for example, the milkman, perhaps, and gain entry that way.


Regardless, a tough name goes a long way in that neighborhood.


Who says "Mike" isn't a tough name? That was the name of the guy from that show, I think, and also, let's not forget, the name of the patriarch from The Brady Bunch, which, as I think about it, might not be such a great example but he held stern authority over those kids, even if he did enjoy the occasional "croissant."


Aaaaaand we'll see you guys bright and early tomorrow morning on your new beat. Information is in your lockers.


Yeah, but--


Come on, partner. You and I might not have been blessed with the world's toughest names. But we know what's right, and we know the value of the work we do. Let's just focus our energies where they belong.


You're right, Mike. You're right.


Well, now that they're gone, I reckon it's time to assert ourselves as the resident tough guys in this precinct. Looking at the roster, turns out there's a "Jim" and a "Pete" and a "Felix" and a "Larry" and a "Freddie." Nothing that comes within a Texas mile of outclassing us, buddy.


Sweet.


Excuse me. I just got transferred to this precinct. Can you tell me where the squad room is?


Sure thing. Let me guess... is it "Randy"? "Billy"? "Philip"?


Er, no. It's officer Bierd. But you can call me... Randor.


F#$k.
Posted by Red at 7:09 AM
Monday, March 15, 2010
Spring Things
Is anyone else getting concerned about the rash of mysterious and potentially serious issues plaguing the Red Sox?


Ryan Westmoreland needs brain surgery to correct a "cavernous malformation" of cells in his brain stem. This could not only affect his ability to play baseball but his overall quality of life. Let's hope he kicks this thing the way Lester beat cancer.

Jed Lowrie has been out for an undiagnosed illness that leaves him rundown and feeling "like he got hit by a truck." Additional tests were ordered when trainers noticed an accelerated heart rate.

Dice-K threw just five pitches before bailing out with a sore neck. This is the guy that threw a million pitches between starts. Now he's turning into Mr. Glass.


Get well, boys, get well.
Posted by Denton at 4:39 PM
The End of an Era
Ruth may have been credited with building it, but it's the wrecking ball taking it down. The demolition of "old" Yankee Stadium is underway. At first, it seemed like a non-story to me: a bunch of Bud-drinking Yankee fans named Joey and Big Lou wearing their wife-beaters and cat-calling mildly attractive women as they do their job with a tear in their eye. But then I thought...what if it was Fenway?

I have been a long-time member of the Save Fenway club. I get the whole "seats are uncomfortable" thing and the fact that a new, modern stadium would be pretty cool...but it's Fenway F'ing Park. The faithful have been gathering there to worship the home team for almost 100 years! I just can't imagine stepping into any other place to watch a Red Sox home game. Even if they had robotic Teddy Ballgames serving ice-cold beer and Rachel McAdams giving seventh-inning stretch lapdances...I'd rather have Fenway.

Can you even imagine a wrecking crew tearing down the Green Monster? The Pesky Pole toppling to the ground? Never.
Posted by Denton at 12:01 AM