Beautiful.

 (Elsa/Getty Images North America)

David Ortiz was asked what he sees in Grady Sizemore: “He looks all sexy and good looking. What do you want me to tell you?” #redsox
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) February 27, 2014

Spring Is.

When I was in second grade, I wrote a poem entitled Spring Is. Now you may wonder how I would have such a clear memory of the occurrence, so I'll tell you: my teacher, Mrs. Norman, made a really big deal about it, everybody in the class had to copy it down for handwriting practice and at the end of the year awards assembly, she gave me a poetry award. The first line of my magnum opus was, Spring is nice.

The sentiment holds true today. Spring is nice. If you needed further proof, at one o'clock this afternoon there will be baseball on MLB network. Alright, it's Toronto at Philadelphia (and who really cares) but it's new. They also have Reds at Cleveland at five and Dodgers at Diamondbacks at nine.

Even Your Birthday is Square.

(Source: Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America)

Happy birthday to Daniel Nava and to George Washington but mostly to Daniel Nava.

Happy Birthday Allen!

(Jared Wickerham/Getty Images North America)

Allen Webster looks more like a librarian than a pitcher. But at only 24 today he's been so intriguingly inconsistent it's hard not to expect good things from him. So a happy birthday and many happy returns to him.

On The Road.

Maybe it's all a little bit silly. It is, after all, just a truck. And what? They don't sell sunflower seeds in Florida? You need to haul them all the way down there? But today it's just a truck. Soon enough it'll be pitchers and catchers, then workouts, then spring training games, and when you're finally, finally sick of those: real baseball.

So embrace the silliness, it's a good day.

Happy Birthday Burke!

I don't know much of anything about Burke Badenhop. I know that his name lends itself to a fielding pun. (I can imagine Orsillo salivating over: The ball took a badenhop. Hehehehehe!) And I know that his thirty-first birthday is today. So happy birthday!

Palm Trees.

NESN has announced it's spring training coverage. They're covering 12 games this year: March 2, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, and 28. Sadly, they seem to have dropped the Saturday morning show with Tom Caron sitting at a desk, chatting away, while players worked out in the background. I really did enjoy watching that.

In other Florida news, Xander Bogaerts seems like a sweet boy, if a bit spoiled. According to Pete Abe, when asked about the 80 degree weather in Fort Myers he described it as a little cool. Hmmph.

DATE PROGRAM TIME Sunday, Feb. 16 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Monday, Feb. 17 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Tuesday, Feb. 18 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Wednesday, Feb. 19 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Thursday, Feb. 20 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Friday, Feb. 21 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Saturday, Feb. 22 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Sunday, Feb. 23 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Monday, Feb. 24 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Tuesday, Feb. 25 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Wednesday, Feb. 26 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan Morning Show in Fort Myers DATE PROGRAM TIME Wednesday, Feb. 19 Dennis & Callahan in Fort Myers 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM Thursday, Feb. 20 Dennis & Callahan in Fort Myers 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM Friday, Feb. 21 Dennis & Callahan in Fort Myers 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM Monday, Feb. 24 Dennis & Callahan in Fort Myers 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM Tuesday, Feb. 25 Dennis & Callahan in Fort Myers 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM Wednesday, Feb. 26 Dennis & Callahan in Fort Myers 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM NESN’s 2014 Red Sox Spring Training Game Telecasts DATE OPPONENT TIME* Sunday, March 2 Baltimore 1:00 PM Saturday, March 8 Baltimore (Sarasota) 1:00 PM Sunday, March 9 Pittsburgh (Bradenton) 1:00 PM Monday, March 10 Tampa Bay 1:00 PM Saturday, March 15 Philadelphia 7:00 PM Sunday, March 16 Tampa Bay (Port Charlotte) 1:00 PM Wednesday, March 19 Pittsburgh 7:00 PM Thursday, March 20 New York Yankees 7:00 PM Saturday, March 22 Atlanta (Orlando) 1:00 PM Sunday, March 23 Tampa Bay 1:00 PM Tuesday, March 25 Tampa Bay (Port Charlotte) 1:00 PM Friday, March 28 Minnesota (Hammond Stadium) 1:00 PM *Select spring training day games will be replayed in their entirety at 7:00 pm as the schedule permits. About NESN NESN has consistently been one of the top-rated regional sports networks in the country with award-winning Red Sox and Bruins coverage. The network is delivered to over 4 million homes throughout the six-state New England region and an additional 5 million homes nationally as NESN National. Forbes Magazine recently ranked NESN as the Eighth Most Valuable Sports Business Brand in the world. NESN.com, the network’s online sports news service, is one of the most visited regional sports network websites in the country. NESN also produces a number of distinctive programs under its umbrella Original NESN Entertainment (ONE). NESN is owned by Fenway Sports Group (owners of the Boston Red Sox) and Delaware North (owners of the Boston Bruins). NESN Team Dale Arnold John Beattie Andy Brickley Tom Caron Mike Cole Zack Cox Jamison Coyle Jenny Dell Ricky Doyle Dennis Eckersley Jack Edwards Jamie Erdahl Anna Fogel Nicholas Goss John Henry Leah Hextall Luke Hughes Doug Kyed Charlie Moore Marcus O’Mard Don Orsillo Adam Pellerin Jerry Remy Jim Rice Jen Slothower Alison Smith Gary Striewski Ben Watanabe Yardbarker FOX Sports Local Arizona Carolinas Detroit Florida Kansas City Midwest North Ohio San Diego South Southwest Tennessee West Wisconsin YES Network

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2014/02/nesn-announces-unprecedented-red-sox-spring-training-coverage/

ed Sox LIVE from Fort Myers Telecasts DATE PROGRAM TIME Sunday, Feb. 16 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Monday, Feb. 17 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Tuesday, Feb. 18 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Wednesday, Feb. 19 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Thursday, Feb. 20 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Friday, Feb. 21 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Saturday, Feb. 22 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Sunday, Feb. 23 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Monday, Feb. 24 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Tuesday, Feb. 25 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Wednesday, Feb. 26 Red Sox LIVE from Fort Myers 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan Morning Show in Fort Myers DATE PROGRAM TIME Wednesday, Feb. 19 Dennis & Callahan in Fort Myers 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM Thursday, Feb. 20 Dennis & Callahan in Fort Myers 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM Friday, Feb. 21 Dennis & Callahan in Fort Myers 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM Monday, Feb. 24 Dennis & Callahan in Fort Myers 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM Tuesday, Feb. 25 Dennis & Callahan in Fort Myers 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM Wednesday, Feb. 26 Dennis & Callahan in Fort Myers 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM NESN’s 2014 Red Sox Spring Training Game Telecasts DATE OPPONENT TIME* Sunday, March 2 Baltimore 1:00 PM Saturday, March 8 Baltimore (Sarasota) 1:00 PM Sunday, March 9 Pittsburgh (Bradenton) 1:00 PM Monday, March 10 Tampa Bay 1:00 PM Saturday, March 15 Philadelphia 7:00 PM Sunday, March 16 Tampa Bay (Port Charlotte) 1:00 PM Wednesday, March 19 Pittsburgh 7:00 PM Thursday, March 20 New York Yankees 7:00 PM Saturday, March 22 Atlanta (Orlando) 1:00 PM Sunday, March 23 Tampa Bay 1:00 PM Tuesday, March 25 Tampa Bay (Port Charlotte) 1:00 PM Friday, March 28 Minnesota (Hammond Stadium) 1:00 PM

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2014/02/nesn-announces-unprecedented-red-sox-spring-training-coverage/

Happy Birthday Fred!

 (Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America)

An old favorite, let's take a moment to wish a happy 62nd birthday to Freddy Lynn. Many happy returns.

Catch A Falling Star.

On l'affaire Middlebrooks.

Lately we have learned that not only does Will Middlebrooks have the attention span of a rabbit but he also has all the intelligence of an amoeba. A month ago, Will outed his relationship with Ms. Dell and, as a not unpredictable result, got his girlfriend demoted.

When you get that much stupid in a relationship, especially when one of the participants has a voice that would work effectively on parmesan, you can't help but marvel at the fact that they aren't regularly murdered.

I'm not sad that she's gone. I dislike the slut-shaming aspect of the whole mess but I very much doubt that there's anyone who would consider her to be a journalist. Even the most ardent Hazel/Heidi/Jenny supporter couldn't say with a straight face that her job was anything more than being a pair of breasts in a tight shirt and occasionally trying to read a promo so that they would have a reason to show said breasts on television.

More than my dislike of the double standard, I hate that her job exists. I hate that we encourage women to define themselves and their worth as human beings by the amount of fat that grows on their chest. And I hate that no one ever taught Jenny/Heidi/Hazel that they had no value beyond their bra size. Almost as importantly, I hate that the job is called sideline reporter, baseball doesn't have sidelines.

Hey, NESN, why not get rid of the job entirely? It adds nothing to the broadcast. And Don could do a much better job of reading the promos.

Ho Yeah!

Yesterday it was announced that Boston had signed Rich Hill to a minor league deal. Not a particularly noteworthy event but his mother is called Peggy and that makes me smile. And for that reason I hope he hangs around.