Team Mexico.

For my own sake, I find it best to avoid the two (three now, if you count Merloni) dinks at Comcast Sports New England at all costs. The anger that the two of them incite isn't good for anyone. I will admit to liking Merloni when he was first on NESN but then he started telling me how I should feel and that was the end of that. I also recently had inexplicably fallen a little bit out of love with Jonathan Papelbon.

Part four of this video may have just fixed that right up.

Jonathan Papelbon took over for one of the dinks and asked Javier Lopez and Manny Delcarmen the questions. The interview somehow takes a turn and ends up being about Papelbon but there's some good stuff in there. For example, he needs a checklist to remind himself to put on his belt and to tie his shoes; and they may need to add putting on the correct jersey to the list. And he's very upset that Manny Del won't be representing Team Mexico in the WBC. That's right he thought Manny Delcarmen was Mexican.

Lecture Circuit, Part 2.

Saturday night, Terry Francona headed down to the University of North Carolina (where, coincidentally, his eldest and his middle daughter take classes and play softball) to deliver the keynote address at the school's First Pitch Dinner for the baseball team.

Said Francona:

"Also for me, it's kicking off baseball season, which is an exciting time for all of us. I know the weather doesn't really look like it but you starting thinking warm thoughts and start thinking of spring training, and I know the college kids are thinking about starting their season. It's an exciting time of year."

Here. Friggin' here.

Also on Saturday night, Javier Lopez made a trip down to his Alma Mater, University of Virginia, for their baseball season kick-off dinner: Step Up to the Plate.

It's Not Exactly a Cadrillion.

Everyone cringes a little bit when Jonathan Papelbon starts running his mouth. Last spring he started in on money, saying that he "owed it to baseball" to rake in as much money as he could. He even told Tom Caron that he'd go play for the Pirates if they were the ones who gave him a fat contract. It was highly uncouth and not super popular. In an attempt to keep his closer's mouth shut Theo has agreed to give him $6.25 million for the year.

Javier Lopez, who I don't recall ever sticking his foot in his mouth, is also getting a nice payday. Miles ahead of Papelbon in intelligence and looks (but not on the same level of pitching ability), Javier will be receiving $1.35 million for his efforts this year.

Silver Lining.

I suppose one thing to take away from that game is that the bullpen, with the exception of Mike Timlin (whom I don't see earning himself a post-season roster spot, anyway), was good tonight. And a good bullpen is vital.

Okajima's first inning was cake. He had trouble in his second but in came Justin Masterson. I just wanted to hug the big lug or buy him a drink or something (though in his goody-two-shoes-ness he probably doesn't drink) after he got out of a bases-loaded-one-out jam with a strike out of the only good batter the Rays have and a ground out. He strutted out there for the ninth inning (and with the help of Kevin Cash) mowed them down.

And then it was Manny Delcarmen's turn. *Gulp* Manny Del did Dennis Eckersley proud. Eck has said repeatedly that Manny Del is too good to be scared of batters and tonight he wasn't. He got a strike out, a ground out-with some heads up fielding by Delcarmen, and a fly out in the tenth. And in the eleventh got a ground out-with some slick fielding by Lowrie, a strike out, gave up a double, but got a ground out to end the inning.

Then came old buddy Javier Lopez. On Javier's birthday I promised to try to be nicer to him but if he continues to pitch like he did tonight, and has been doing recently, I probably won't have to try. Javier got through his first inning with two ground outs and a strike out. He gave up a double and a walk to start off his second inning but then got a double play and ground out to finish it off. He even came out for the first batter of the fourteenth inning and got a strike out.

Granted, the Rays aren't the Angels or even what Chicago was a couple of weeks ago in terms of hitting. But it's all good stuff to see.

Happy Birthday Javier!

I suppose I haven't always been fair to you. I've criticized your pitching ability and I've openly expressed shock when you've done well. And what's more, none of my poor behavior was on you-I've got no beef with you-it was just that you seemed to be the biggest obstacle to my man Craig [Aside: I haven't decided (or, in actuality, worked up the courage) yet whether to hit publish or not on my post about Breslow's pitching the other day. Maybe, eventually, I will.] making the team out of spring training and as such, you were fair game for all the cattiness I could muster. The silliness just got away from me and for that I apologize.

When you think about it, there really was no reason to choose Breslow over you. You have similar stories: you're both really smart guys who could easily have had perfectly lucrative and respectable careers outside of baseball but you both chose to forgo an average life and to take a big chance on a dream. You're a better looking guy (taller, stronger, nicely spaced features, strong jaw line, great eyelashes, and a pleasant smile) so that can't be it. You've displayed more personality than Breslow; all I know about Craig is that he's very, very, very competitive and you've exhibited a sense of humor (always a good thing) and you played the tuba in high school (which has to count for something.) Also, I think I read somewhere that your father was in the FBI; growing up with Mulder must have left you with at least a couple of interesting stories to tell.

And so for your thirty-first birthday, Javier Lopez, I've decided to make a sincere effort to be kinder to you. I hope you enjoy many happy and healthy returns of the day. How about that for a start? Pretty good, huh? No sarcasm at all.

Golfing with the Good Guys

I don't know who this guy (no, not Tim Wakefield) is; he seems to be a weatherman for the Naples Daily News but who's ever heard of a weatherman that works for a newspaper? He's probably inconsequential and he doesn't write well. It is, however, the only thing I've been able to find about the golf tournament last Friday.

Random guy, Jim Syoen, played in the tournament in Javier Lopez' foursome. The point of his blog entry is...well, I don't know what it is, unless it's to bitch about baseball fans. He tells me nothing interesting and he seems more than a little peeved that Lopez and, later, Wakefield weren't jerks. Maybe he was annoyed that he probably paid a hefty fee to participate and he wasn't getting the special treatment he felt he deserved, but I like the fact that they're good guys. Expecting baseball players to turn down autograph requests at a charity event seems a little silly, especially expecting such behaviour from Mr. Nice Guy Himself, Tim Wakefield. What do I know though?

But I find I have lied. He did tell me something interesting. It seems that Javier Lopez played tuba in the high school band. I just can't see it. He probably started as a trumpet player and was switched to tuba either do to ineptitude or the fact that he was too big for the trumpet. Either way, I've got to think that left-handed tuba playing must be very awkward.

Javier Lopez, no. 48

Birth Date: July 11, 1977 in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Height/Weight: 6'4", 200 lbs.

College: University of Virginia (majored in psychology)

Contract: $840,000 for 1 year

Lopez threw 40.2 innings in the majors last season. He had a record of 2 wins and 1 loss. He faced 174 batters. He struck out 26 of them, walked 18 of them, and hit 4 of them with a pitch. He allowed 36 hits and 16 runs (14 of them earned). He gave up 2 home runs. His Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched was a decent 1.328.



He's a left handed specialist, submarine-style pitcher. He has a fastball in the high eighties and an above average slider.



It's hard to predict what Lopez will do in the future. He has a good season, and then a couple of bad seasons, then a couple of good seasons. Last season, though his ERA was only 3.10, was not a good season for him. Left handed batters hit .293 against him. During the post-season, he gave up four runs in two innings. So, if the pattern holds, then next season might be a good season.