13 Days!

*Auto-correct won't get the better of me this time. Valentin.

A Virtuous Life.

No surprise to anyone but Tim Wakefield continues to be a class guy. Yesterday he held his Charity Golf Tournament and Auction for the Space Coast Early Intervention Center in Melbourne, Florida. At the auction he helped to raise $186,000 for the school. You can't help but hope for only the best for Wakey.

14 Days!

*Apologies to Jim Rice for the picture selection.

15 Days!

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Pretty in Pink.

Last night, at the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic, there was a gathering for baseball players in order to promote the Alliance for Dominican Development; a group which works to provide health care, education, and job training in the D.R. The Alliance has paired up with the USAID (US Agency for International Development) and Major League baseball and the shindig was held in order to encourage the ballplayers to take an active role in betterment of their home communities.

At the event, David Ortiz was asked about his goals for next season and he replied (link in Spanish) in a joking manner, "If I'm healthy, I add the other, I have the ability to finish a great year." I don't know what that means. The middle clause might also be 'I add another'; another level to his playing, another great year. I really don't know. So normally I would just skip the story but how could I possibly resist that pink jacket?

16 Days!

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What is It?

It's a new Camaro, that's what it is.



Jacoby Ellsbury went to a car show and came home with a muscle car. He purchased a 1970 Chevy Camaro at the Barrett-Jackson 40th Anniversary Collector Car Auction last weekend. I fear that this might make him a hipster.

Hearty Folk.

I've always lived in New England. I could appropriately drop an 'Ayuh' if required. I don't mind the snow. Really. I took the road portion of the test for my driver's license in the snow--in fact, it was the start of a blizzard that lasted three days and left about three feet of snow in it's wake. Even my cat likes the snow. That said, if it would stop already that would be awesome.

And while it looks like we might not see the grass again for quite some time, it should be noted that NESN released their schedule of spring training coverage today. NESN will be showing the snow-less Floridian terrain everyday from February 13-25 and then for twelve games between March 5 and 27.

17 Days!

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18 Days!

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19 Days!

20 Days!

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21 Days!

22 Days!

Reuters Pictures

*I tried to find one of Sean Casey but it was a no go, so Mr. Hall will have to do.

23 Days!

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24 Days!

Branching Out.

Jon Lester has been brought in as the new spokesperson for People's United Bank. Says Timothy P. Crimmins, the bank's President for Massachusetts:

"Jon's fine reputation and excellent interpersonal skills have made him a role model for many both on and off the field. People United has built its brand on exceeding customer expectations, and so we find Jon a perfect match."

I may have laughed aloud at the idea of Jon Lester having any interpersonal skills, let alone excellent ones, but good for him.

I look forward to the t.v. commercials with him standing awkwardly in front of a camera trying not to look like he's planning on killing anyone who stands within thirty feet of him. I think it's a good move for People's United, though. Lester should be able to frighten the masses into switching to their bank.

Also, he apparently opened a restaurant in November. Who knew?

Oh, Donny-O!

I'm not going to comment on the uselessness of hockey or that since football is finally over, it's now baseball season again. The only thing I'm going to observe is that in the space of seventeen seconds Don Orsillo scarfs down three munchkins. You've got to wonder if they feed him at home.

Reasons to Smile.

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Jonathan Papelbon is happy. He's happy with the moves made by the Front Office this off-season, he's a team player, and he's looking forward to next season. He's also happy because he'll make $230,769.23 a week this year. Blah. Blah. Blah. Whatever. Who cares about any of it (My inner Bolshevik is having trouble with that amount but she will be tamped down.) when you can admire that shirt. Because that is a beautiful shirt. Whoever picked it out for him (I'm certain it wasn't Pap) made a really nice choice. The fabric seems to be gorgeous. While I'm not really up on men's fashion and I don't know if the pocket-less look is the rage at the moment, I like it.

25 Days!

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26 Days!

27 Days!

28 Days!

29 Days!

30 Days!

31 Days!

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*Apologies to Lester for picking this photo.

32 Days!

*I know that it's watermarked. One would think that when he was with Boston the man never turned his back to a camera.

Fenway Idol.

If you've got the chops for it, the Sox will be holding auditions during their Red Sox Road Trip to sing the National Anthem at Fenway Park this summer. The dates and locations are:

January 18, 12:00-6:00 PM, XL Center in Hartford
January 19, 10:00 AM-4:00 PM, Curry Hicks Cage at UMASS Amherst
January 20, 11:00 AM-5:00 PM, University Mall, South Burlington
January 21, 12:00-6:00 PM, Muldoon Fitness Center, Rivier College, Nashua
January 22, 10:00 AM-4:00 PM, Hadlock Field, Portland
January 24, 2:00-8:00 PM, Woonsocket High School, Woonsocket.

Callbacks will be held on February 9 for the top two winners from each state at Fenway.

33 Days!

Rueters Pictures

34 Days!

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Reading Material.

I may have found a new Yankee to like. His name was Bob Shawkey and he pitched for New York from 1915 to 1927. Huh? Dude's been dead for twenty-nine years. How can he possibly be elevated to the status of liked Yankee? The only good Yankee is a dead Yankee, is that what you're saying? Maybe.

There's a book coming out on March 1, Remembering Fenway Park: An oral and narrative history of the home of the Boston Red Sox. In the excerpt (linked on the book's website) the author, Harvey Frommer, shares this little story:

"Yankee Bob Shawkey walked in a run in the 4th inning and became so irritated that he began yelling at home plate umpire George Hildebrand. The agitated Shawkey then took 5 minutes to tie his shoe on the mound. He resumed pitching and was credited with a called 3rd strike on Harry Hooper. That prompted him to sarcastically tip his cap and bow low to Hildebrand who ejected him from the game. Shawkey's parting shot was a swing at the ump who banged him with his mask. The crowd loved it. Shawkey did not. A one week suspension and a $200 fine was the price the Yankee hurler paid for his temper tantrum."

I'm just delighted with this Bob Shawkey; maybe not with the trying to punch the umpire bit but that bow must have been a spectacular thing to see. I can't imagine anyone on the current Sox staff having the guts to do that. It's pretty bad ass.

Days Until Pitchers and Catchers.

Rueters Pictures

35 days until February 13, the day pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers.

I've seen this on NYYfans.com (I really need to stop going there, it's bad for my health) and I'm not above swiping an idea that amuses me. I was going to start on a more logical day but I couldn't find a Mike Greenwell picture that would do.

Now is the Winter of Our Discontent.

Made glorious summer by this son of York.

I figure the son of York in this case must be the makers of MLB the Show 11 or something. The preview for the video game has Josh Beckett striking out Ryan Howard. They seem to have taken the liquefy tool to both Howard and Beckett and they seem to be ignoring the fact that Varitek is likely to be Beckett's personal catcher (also, the person who set up the preview clearly has no idea how to go about lineup construction: It says that it's the bottom of the first, 0-0, nobody on and nobody out. Who in their right mind would use Ryan Howard to lead off?) but it looks of Summer. So I shall pretend.

Nomar!

If you're up for a little drive, Nomar Garciaparra will be appearing at the Mohegan Sun World Baseball Coaches Convention on January 21. He's participating in two sessions: My Approach to Hitting and Talking Baseball with Ms. Mae. I figure prime stalking (um...yeah) time would probably be between the sessions. I totally recommend bugging him while he's at dinner.

Catching Up.

Firstly, congratulations to Adrian Beltre on his deal with the Rangers. He was a tremendous amount of fun to watch play last season and he seemed like a good guy. It's a move that might make me rethink my general position on Texas but probably not because he seems somewhat superfluous for them. They, as they have presumably since the beginning of time, still need pitching. Nevertheless, all good things for Adrian.

Secondly, the departure of Spitty McGoo from Tampa to the Cubs makes me infinitely happy; not because the move weakens Tampa (it probably doesn't) or because he pitched well against the Sox but simply because he's disgusting. I'm sure the ground crew at the Trop (Do they have a ground crew?) is just as glad because they no longer have to clean up the trail of phlegm that boy undoubtedly left in his wake.

Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine.)

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Hideki Okajima appears to be headed back to the Boston bullpen. I wasn't completely heartbroken when they let him go but it also doesn't strike me as a terrible move for them to bring him back. Hopefully, it all works out for the best.

Okaerinasai, Okajima-San.