Batter-up with Bruno

Downward Journalism series: Do young people even care if every newspaper folded? Well, they should.

2010-11-18T16:22:00.002-05:00


The Boston News-Letter was first published on April, 24, 1704.

Newspapers? Ha! That's so old school. I mean what's so good about them anyway? Your hands get all dry and black, they are a pain to hold and read (especially broadsheets), if they get wet the ink runs and it's ruined, what's the point if everything is accessible online?

Never in my dreams did I ever think I'd be writing about this subject.

Now perhaps, but when I was growing up as a 10-year-old kid where my mom only subscribed to the Sunday Republican newspaper, which was my only source of Boston Red Sox news from columnists Garry Brown and Ron Chimelis, I believed this was the only and best source; newspapers.

Of course there was television and radio, but when I wanted to know about prospective trade rumors, player statistics, league leaders, standings, and a classic feature, I hit up The Republican sports page. That was my "online source" back in the day and this was 14 years ago.

I wasn't able to watch Red Sox games on an every day basis because NESN wasn't a part of our cable package until 2001 so I listened to Joe Castiglione and Jerry Trupiano on WHYN-AM 560 Springfield every night and got yelled at to go to sleep because it was a "school night."

But now, I've fallen into the category where the internet and social networking trends have consumed my life and Facebook, Twitter, and blogging are the new ages of journalism, which I am on board with.

However, despite the internet craze and the downfall of the newspaper industry, which can be blamed for the economy, not just the internet where a lot of the content is free, the younger generation doesn't seem to care about how the history of newspapers.

I truly believe they wouldn't care whatsoever if every paper in the country folded and was only available online. I mean come on, with iPhones, Blackberries, iPads, and laptops, you can still get the news on the go without having to carry a bulky broadsheet or tabloid paper.

I've seen it with my own eyes with the newspaper shrinkage. My paper has drastically cut down its sports page. Every Sunday we used to run league leaders, Red Sox stats, upcoming schedule, the whole shebang, which stretched over two pages including photos of some of the players. It's so easy to forget too.

The same deal with The Boston Globe. They used to do the same thing and I remember one time a caller complained and asked why we didn't run league leaders and statistics anymore in the Sunday paper. I made an educated guess and later confirmed it with the sports editor saying they cut it because of the section shrinkage.

But young people, they think, 'oh all of the information is available online so what's the big deal?' Well the older generation who rely on that Sunday sports section, they still care, but that's not the whole point of this post.

I personally love the smell of a freshly printed newspaper (whether the fumes have done damage to my brain, well, I surely hope not). I love holding the news in my hand and by this I don't mean on an iPad. I value the effort that goes into compiling and delivering the news everyday and I don't believe that papers are the so called "dinosaur age."

Newspapers, books, media guides, you need to have hard copies, it can't all be accessible solely online. I couldn't image every newspaper in the country folding, I honestly believe it would one of the darkest days in our country.

You can't count on technology. Things happen.

Batteries die, WiFi isn't available, 3G coverage shorts out. Then what?

What the younger generation doesn't understand (which I am classified under) is the whole concept of what makes a newspaper.

There are the reporters, photographers, editors, copy editors, technicians, graphic designers, press-room workers, etc. There is a specific chain and ranking of how things get done and produced. You don't just have reporters writing stories on their own, not being edited, placed on a page, and printed.

Newspapers aren't the internet and the internet isn't a newspaper.

To be a journalist and a reporter you have to understand the value of the business, which started back in 1704 when the first continuously published paper, The Boston News-Letter was printed.

Yes way back in 1704 over 300 years ago, perhaps I do sound like I'm from the stone age and am 50-years-old, but think about it. If the world went through a catastrophic event where there was a complete blackout, no power, no internet, no WiFi, no way of communication and records and news were only stored through computers and the internet? We'd be screwed, plain and simple.

I'm not saying the Pony Express will become reincarnated.

I know that's really far fetched, but I'm just trying to prove a point. You need to appreciate where and when journalism first started before you think you can demean and write off newspapers from existence. Young people don't have the right or power to make the decision to can the newspaper industry.

I can even take it a step further.

What about local coverage in town newspapers? You mean you're trying to tell me they should all fold too?

That's where I got my first break when I got a part-time job my senior year in high school at my town newspaper covering my school's varsity sports teams. I learned a great deal there from writing, reporting, deadlines, etc. Those are so valuable and they are great stepping stones for young people to get involved with writing.

Sometimes the younger generation just thinks town newspaper coverage isn't good enough for them, they want to start at the New York Times, USA Today, and the Washington Post.

That's a good one! But that's another topic of discussion for a future post.

To be continued.

Upcoming Journalism Series: The downward spiral of the younger generation of journalists

2010-11-08T15:56:00.002-05:00

I believe the headline says it all.

I know I haven't been posting often because of my other work duties, but I feel I need to do this.

Over the course of probably the next 14 weeks (maybe more, maybe less) I'm going to be writing about different topics/arguments about how the new age of journalism is evolving through the younger and upcoming generation, which was sparked by my visit to Boston University and being a guest speaker for Frank Shorr's Sports Journalism class.

I feel that the younger generation of journalists aren't realizing the basic integrity and concepts of journalism anymore. It makes me wonder if they are still teaching Journalism 101 and learning about the printing press, the Pony Express, and Yellow Journalism.

The most ironic is probably Yellow Journalism.

This is very upsetting to me because I fall into this bracket and I believe I know and have better values than most 20-something-year-olds who are in the same field as myself.

I'm going to try and write an article a week. I don't know I'll generate any buzz or comments, but I'm going to sure as hell try. Prove me wrong. If you disagree with anything I write, feel free to visit the comments section.

I'm looking forward to this. Thanks for reading.

-Amanda Bruno

Reflections from my guest appearance from Frank Shorr's Sports Journalism class at Boston University

2010-11-05T14:15:00.001-04:00

I had the opportunity Thursday to make a guest appearance for Frank Shorr's Sports Journalism class at Boston University to talk about media criticism.

Thanks to Ken Fang of Fang's Bites, who wasn't able to make it and referred me over to Frank.

At first I wasn't sure if I'd go or not, but made the decision that it could be a good opportunity for me.

I got the chance to meet Keith Thibault of the Sports Media Journal as he was the other guest.

I'm so glad there was two of us. It beat being drilled with questions upon questions for two straight hours.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure if I was perhaps the best guest of the topic chosen. If I had to grade myself on my performance I'd have to give myself either a C+ or a B-.

It's been over a month since I've posted here on my blog. At the beginning of September I started a Boston Bruins blog for MassLive.com, the online home of The Republican in Springfield, Mass. Since starting that, I haven't had time to update Batter-up with Bruno much. I could, but I wouldn't really have much of a social life.

Because it's been a while, I was a bit rusty with the whole "media criticism" and I'll admit I wasn't fully prepared with the firing of questions. Some, I didn't even know how to answer and it was apparent, but I did the best I possibly could.

What I should have done was read my Top 10 posts/stories of 2009. This would have been perfect, but Frank told me just to show up and I didn't need to prepare anything. Boy wish I didn't listen to him (no offense Frank!) and I should have known better.

I did talk about The Boston Globe and its possible shutdown in April of 2009 dragging all the way until June and mentioned some media movement with Mike Reiss leaving to join ESPNBoston, perhaps the biggest blow to the Globe. But I failed to even mention Chris Forsberg, who in my eyes started the whole high school sports video craze. Boston.com was first and now everyone is trying to copy them including ESPNBoston who launched its High School Sports page over the summer.

Another person I failed to mention was Boston Red Sox beat writer Gordon Edes. He left the Globe joined Yahoo! Sports to be the National Baseball Writer, then came back as the Red Sox beat reporter when ESPNBoston was launched. Clearly, he missed covering the Sox.

I'm not sure what the students thought of me, but I think some might have been taken back when I expressed my disliking of the sports tabloid website Deadspin. Wish I said it like that last night, "sports tabloid website."

Keith backed me up, but that was eminent. I think the students were expecting me to praise the site because of my age and the new movement of sports journalism, but I honestly cannot stands those sites. Deadspin, Sports by Brooks (yes now I'm awake), those are all about hit counts.

Boston Sports Media Watch, Fangs Bites, those are legit and clean (and completely different styled sites) and I visit them quite often.

So I'm sorry, not all 20-something-year-olds love tabloid sports websites. I'll admit I am old-school in some ways, like when I briefly mentioned about newspapers dying off. I like to hold the news in my hand and I'm not talking about on an iPad. I said sometimes it's easier having the newspaper to find certain content than on the site. I think it'd be devastating if say, 20 years from now, everything would only be accessible on the web.

Unfortunately this really can't happen unless poverty doesn't exist anymore, which will never happen. You still need newspapers and media guides, and books. If the world were to have a blackout and everything was digitized, we'd be in a lot of trouble.

Anyways I'll conclude with this. If Frank Shorr's class ever has a discussion about why or why not newspapers will eventually die off and only be accessible online, I'd love to come back and debate why they cannot die off. I couldn't imagine not having my town newspaper (which gave me the opportunity to get into the industry only as a senior in high school) let alone The Republican, The Boston Globe, and even the Boston Herald. How would inspiring journalists start off? You have the work your way up. No one just starts working for ESPN, NESN, the Globe, The New York Times, etc. and I'm not sure if some of Frank's students understand this since I wasn't able to really take that argument that far.

But I'm glad I was able to be a part of last night's discussion and I hope I wasn't disappointing to anyone. There were a few students who didn't look too engaged, but that happens everywhere unfortunately.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 26) FINAL

2010-10-03T13:38:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the last edition of Red Sox weekly recap for the 2010 season.

It's definitely been a rough journey, however despite the end result, the 2010 season hasn't been a complete waste. There were a lot of memorable highlights by a lot of players including veterans Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz and unknown rookies at the time who have made a name for themselves for the 2011 season in, Daniel Nava and Ryan Kalish.

Darnell McDonald too was included in the mix (but isn't exactly a rookie or vet) and really started the whole trend of surprises to come after Jacoby Ellsbury went down fracturing multiple ribs.

Ellsbury's injury was only the beginning of the domino effect as one-by-one Sox player after Sox player was placed on the disabled list some for the brief 15-days and others for an extended period of time.

So without further adieu, here's the final week of the recap. Technically there's one more game, being played today so later during the week I'll try to do a 2010 overall season review with final statistics and such.

Enjoy and go Red Sox!!!

Sunday September 26, 2010 - Saturday October 2, 2010

Weekly record: 2-5
Overall record: 88-73
AL East standing: 3rd (eliminated), 7.0 games behind New York and Tampa Bay
AL Wild Card standing: T-2nd, (eliminated), 7.0 games behind N.Y. and TB
Runs scored: 29
Opponents' runs scored: 35
Home runs: 5; J.D. Drew, David Ortiz, Victor Martinez, Felipe Lopez
Team leader (HR): David Ortiz (32)
Team leader (RBI): Adrian Beltre (102), Ortiz (102)
Games left: 1
Weeks left: .1

Boston Globe to launch paid website, BostonGlobe.com next year

2010-09-30T15:14:00.004-04:00

Breaking news this morning on the Boston media front.

Boston Globe publisher Christopher M. Mayer announced today that the company will launch a new paid-subscription website, BostonGlobe.com during the second half of 2011.

The site will offer content in the Globe's daily print edition.

Boston.com will remain free.

This is definitely an interesting strategy and if everything goes according to plan revenue wise, it's a direction that other newspapers could follow suit in.

A lot of papers are currently pursing the online subscription fee, however this is a little bit different, since Boston.com and The Boston Globe are technically separate, but right now used as one site to promote all of its news and stories (exactly like The Republican in Springfield, Mass. and its online home MassLive.com).

"Our research shows that Boston.com currently attracts several different types of users. Some are readers whose main interest is breaking news and things to do, while others want access to the entirety of The Boston Globe,” Mayer said. “These two distinct sites will allow us to serve both types of readers with maximum effectiveness, while continuing to provide advertisers the large engaged audience they have come to expect from Boston.com.”

The New York Times, which owns the Globe, plans to charge readers of NYTimes.com next year as well.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette, which is also owned by the Times Company started charging a fee for readers last month on its site, Telegram.com.

Sooner or later, we knew this would be coming.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 25)

2010-09-26T12:59:00.000-04:00

Sunday September 19, 2010 - Saturday September 25, 2010

Weekly record: 4-2
Overall record: 86-68
AL East standing: 3rd, 7.0 games behind Tampa Bay
AL Wild Card standing: 2nd, 5.5 games behind New York
Runs scored: 32
Opponents' runs scored: 25
Home runs: 8; Victor Martinez (2), J.D. Drew (2), David Ortiz, Josh Reddick, Jed Lowrie, Bill Hall
Team leader (HR): Ortiz (31)
Team leader (RBI): Beltre (99)
Games left: 8
Weeks left: 1.1
Week 25 in 2009

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 24)

2010-09-19T13:11:00.000-04:00

Sunday September 12, 2010 - Saturday September 18, 2010

Weekly record: 4-2
Overall record: 82-66
AL East standing: 3rd, 8.0 games behind New York
AL Wild Card standing: 2nd, 7.5 behind Tampa Bay
Runs scored: 36
Opponents' runs scored: 26
Home runs: 6; Jed Lowrie (2), Victor Martinez (2), David Ortiz, Adrian Beltre
Team leader (HR): Ortiz (30)
Team leader (RBI): Beltre (98)
Games left: 14
Weeks left: 2.1
Week 24 in 2009

College newspapers: Mizzou columnist now realizes the dangers of iPods

2010-09-14T15:08:00.000-04:00

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::NEWSFLASH:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

This just in: iPods are causing hearing loss in young adults.

For real? Wow, I didn't know that. I mean, it's only been reported on the news since 2005.

I'm sorry, but this isn't anything new.

The Maneater's Chris Gu wrote a column today entitled, "Column: iPods: Hearing hazard?"

In the column he first talks about his freshman year dating back to 2004.

2004? That was six years ago, going onto seven. What's up with this kid still in school?

I can understand if he was going straight through for his master's, but that's usually a six-year plan (if he didn't take any breaks in between). Perhaps his PhD in journalism? That's possible I guess since that is now the lowest requirement to even teach journalism (at a college). We can only hop I guess, or not.

Anyway I'm getting off the subject. Continuing...

Here an insert his column that I found to be intriguing:

"Surveys have revealed the average college student listens to MP3 players for one to three hours every day, most often during exercise or while walking to class. Most students report using the factory-issued iPod earbuds and listen to music at a "medium" volume.

"Although these findings may not seem alarming, the inherent design of iPods and the environment in which they are used might increase potential risk of hearing impairment. The iPod's long battery life allows users to listen to music for an almost unlimited amount of time and the factory earbuds do not block out ambient noise. This inability to cancel out unwanted noise is often compensated by users increasing the volume of the device while walking to campus, riding the bus or exercising at the gym. In addition, a significant percent of students reported using their iPods while driving a car (18 percent) or riding a bike (39 percent), activities in which reduced awareness of what's going on around them could result in serious accidents."

For one thing, you should not be listening to your iPod while driving your car. We live in an age that newer cards now have adapters and bluetooth technology to sync your iPod and play it through your stereo. If you're not blessed with a newer vehicle you can even buy adapters to plug into the cigarette lighter.

Chu reports this, but instead of blasting people for listening to their iPods while driving he offers tips.

Tips!?!?!?!??!?!?!!?!?!?

"Be aware that using MP3 players in loud environments can cause listeners to increase the volume subconsciously and might increase the risk of accidents when driving or riding a bike."

Of course it'll increase accidents because you can't hear anything else going on around you! You wouldn't be able to hear the police car, ambulance, a person yelling at you for almost hitting them on the crosswalk because you had Miley Cyrus blasting in your ears.

That's amazing.

How about this, ditch the ear buds and buy noise canceling headphones so you don't have to blast it in your ear so you end up wearing hearing aids by the time you turn 30.

But really nice column.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 23)

2010-09-12T12:12:00.002-04:00

Sunday September 5, 2010 - Saturday September 11, 2010

Weekly record: 2-4
Overall record: 78-64
AL East standing: 3rd, 9.0 games behind New York
AL Wild Card standing: T-2nd with Chicago, 8.5 games behind Tampa Bay
Runs scored: 36
Opponents' runs scored: 40
Home runs: 11; Marco Scutaro (3), David Ortiz (2), Adrian Beltre (2), Victor Martinez (2), Ryan Kalish, Darnell McDonald
Team leader (HR): Ortiz (29)
Team leader (RBI): Beltre (96)
Games left: 20
Weeks left: 3.1
Week 23 in 2009

College newspapers: ASU columnist schools Justin Bieber

2010-09-09T19:31:00.001-04:00

I haven't done one of these in a while.

If you're a regular to the blog, you know that I like to write about the college newspaper scene, since I am an editor-in-chief alumni myself.

Thanks to the power of Twitter and my compiled 'college-newspapers' list, I found this on my feed and found it to be intriguing.

Dustin Volz of the Arizona State, State Press wrote a piece about Justin Bieber criticizing his fans entitled, "Bieber Breakdown".

"I’m writing about Bieber because I came across what is possibly one of the funniest online news headlines.

'Justin Bieber wants fans to stop screaming,' it read.

I had to click.

I was, frankly, worried for the teen sensation. Maybe he suddenly developed a serious hearing problem, I thought. Or maybe he wants his fans to give a moment of silence to honor something or someone modestly important. This could be real news.

No such luck. Bieber’s just sick and tired of hysterical fans losing any shred of dignity around him. He can’t take it anymore. He’s fed up with them and just wants to have a normal life, apparently."

What? Justin Bieber is "fed up?" What did you expect Mr. 16-year-old teen sensation? There is a price you pay for being a star. You officially cannot have a normal life anymore and that's the unfortunate reality of it.

“And don’t come up to me while I’m eating,” Bieber told his fans via Teen Vogue magazine. “How would you like it if I came into your house and started taking pictures of you while you were eating? I hate that.”

Don't go up to him while he's eating Bieber maniacs! Geez, let the man eat his flipping McDonald's Big Mac and fries.

Volz joked with this remark,

"First off, I doubt fans — as loony as many may be — are breaking into Justin’s house and taking photos of him sipping juice at the breakfast table. He doesn’t live in Huntsville, Ala."

And it gets even better. Bieber claims he shops at Walmart. I guess it's possible, but dude, talk about sticking out like a glass of Mountain Dew surrounded by water.

"Okay, two more things. I’m skeptical Bieber shops at Wal-Mart. This is the same kid who unseated Lady Gaga for the title of having the most-viewed YouTube video of all time. The same kid who uses 3 percent of Twitter resources at any given moment, according to Gizmodo. He’s pals with Usher and Kanye — they wouldn’t allow bargain-bin shopping for their hip-hopper-in-training."

I highly suggest you head over and check out the full read. Sorry Justin, but that's what happens when you're super famous at a young age because more than likely 99.9% of your fan base is going to be crazy teenage girls. Just do what everyone else does and disguise yourself or just don't go to Walmart anymore.

Good work State Press, except for one minor thing I just noticed. I believe it's spelled Walmart, not Wal-Mart (according to its website).

Sox sock the Rays; Kalish = high expectations

2010-09-07T15:23:00.000-04:00

Ryan Kalish blasts his second grand slam of the season. AP photo

It's always nice to see the Red Sox kick the snuffing out of the Rays.

Despite Boston being 9.0 games back in the AL East and 6.5 out in the Wild Card (behind the White Sox), the season isn't over. I mean it'd still take a miracle for the Sox to make the playoffs, but it doesn't mean we as fans shouldn't be entertained.

Ryan Kalish officially has high expectations to follow for the 2011 season.

The rookie pounded his second grand slam of the season in a 12-5 win over the Rays last night.

David Ortiz (28) and Adrian Beltre (26) also went deep for Boston.

More than likely, these next two games at Fenway will be the last time these two teams square off for the 2010 season. It'd be nice to go out with a bang. At the same time the Red Sox are (dare I say it) helping the New York Yankees.

Yup, the Yankees are holding on to a 2.5 game advantage in the East, but do we really care about that right now? The Yankees will win the division there's no question, so why not screw with Tampa?

Tonight it's David Price vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka on the mound for a 7:10 p.m. start.

Come on Red Sox, you got nothing to lose.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 22)

2010-09-05T12:37:00.000-04:00

Sunday August 29, 2010 - Saturday September 4, 2010

Weekly record: 2-4
Overall record: 76-60
AL East standing: 3rd, 10.0 games behind New York
Runs scored: 22
Opponents' runs scored: 26
Home runs: 5; Adrian Beltre (2), Jed Lowrie, Marco Scutaro, J.D. Drew
Team leader (HR): David Ortiz (27)
Team leader (RBI): Beltre (92)
Games left: 26
Weeks left: 4.1
Week 22 in 2009

Ding dong, the Sox are done.

2010-09-01T16:47:00.001-04:00

Daniel Nava's grand slam against the Phillies. (AP Photo)

It's 2006 all over again.

But the difference is that the Red Sox find themselves ridiculously behind the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays.

Now at 8.0 games back in the AL East and 7.0 in the Wild Card (trailing the Rays) it's safe to say it's over.

The 15-13 August record wasn't enough to keep pace of two teams that simply won't quit.

Mathematically, Boston is still in it. But so are the Toronto Blue Jays (69-63). The Baltimore Orioles (who the Red Sox for some reason can't beat to save their lives) are officially out of it with a 49-83 record.

The 2010 season was just a mess right from the beginning. And it's unfortunate.

Of course this is the same season that Clay Buchholz outgrew his shell and is dominating on the mound.

This is the same season that off-season signing Adrian Beltre replaced Jason Bay's missing bat.

And this is the same season that David Ortiz revived himself and was now feared again at the plate.

But this is also the same season that Boston lost Jacoby Ellsbury for pretty much the season, and Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis soon followed.

And to top it all off, for some reason Josh Beckett and John Lackey decided to become two biggest 1-2 pitching combo busts in the league.

The bad clearly outweighed the good, but the 2010 season wasn't all a waste.

Darnell McDonald.
Daniel Nava.
Ryan Kalish.

Nava and Kalish give the 2011 club future hope and excitement. The phrase, 'wait til next year' is of course old and overused news to Red Sox fans, but there are bright sides.

The Rays are going to run into salary and signing issues as they want to lower the current $72 million to around $60 million. This forces them to wave good-bye to either Carlos Pena or Carl Crawford.

The Yankees aren't getting any younger, which means Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter aren't either.

Jeter's numbers have diminished and there's talk about what's going to happen after this season. He's going to have to take a massive pay cut, as he currently makes $22.6 million, ranking him third on the team behind Alex Rodriguez ($33 million) and CC Sabathia ($24.3 million).

So all in all this is the beginning of the end of the 2010 season. No matter what other 'experts' are saying, mentally this team isn't in it and Theo Epstein needs to start prepping for 2011. What he really needs to do is to persuade Beltre to stay.

That'll take a miracle.

Tampa Bay Rays: Most pathetic fans in baseball

2010-08-31T14:37:00.003-04:00

There actually might be something that both Red Sox and Yankees fans can agree on.

Tampa Bay Rays fans (bandwagoners).

They exist?

Where did they come from?

Oh that's right in 2008, 10 years after the club was established, which was also the same time the Arizona Diamondbacks joined Major League Baseball to bring the total to 30 teams (14 American League, 16 National League).

Hey Rays fans your team all of a sudden became good after the Red Sox won the World Series in 2007. I mean, it was only of a matter of time since you sucked for so long, having the top draft picks and choosing wisely since 1998.

But do these so called 'fans' actually know the history of their ball club?

The past few nights at the newspaper I work for, we had some interesting conversations about how pathetic Rays fans are.

The attendance at Tropicana Field is an absolute joke. Last night against the Toronto Blue Jays there was a total of 11,968 people who came out to support their first place team.

Tampa Bay is amidst a playoff race with New York for divisional bragging rights and they can't even get half of the stadium full? The capacity is 45,000 and was actually reduced from 48,000 before the Devil Rays were established according to ballparksofbaseball.com.

When the Red Sox visited this past weekend for a three-game series the highest attendance mark was 36,973 ("sellout") for game 2. The lowest was on Friday (29,461).

The only other time the stadium reached the 36,973 plateau was when the Yankees flew down from July 30-Aug. 1 and prior to that the biggest crowd was on opening day against the Baltimore Orioles.

Hey Rays fans? Just because the Red Sox and Yankees aren't in town, doesn't mean you shouldn't try to support your playoff potential team. I mean they are still currently tied for first in the AL East and have a good chance to go deep into the playoffs.

And that's the easy part, just showing up to games. Here's the more difficult, complex aspect of being a 'fan.' Knowing about your team, present and past.

I can say, that Red Sox and Yankees fans that know about the enriched history of their team. And of course there are fans that know nothing. But what's the percentage of Tampa Bay fans that can name five players from the 1998 team?

And don't even say Wade Boggs.

Ok how about just three? Give up? Using Goggle or Bing search engines don't count either.

Who was the original manager? No, it wasn't Lou Piniella.

Here's an interesting tidbit. Back to the D'backs; they have been in the league the same amount of time as the Rays and already have a World Series ring under their belt (2001 over the Yankees).

They also have a better all-time record.

Arizona: 1,023 wins, 1,053 losses, .493 winning percentage
Tampa Bay: 907 wins, 1,165 losses, .438 winning percentage

In fact, Tampa has the lowest all-time winning percentage of any of the other 29 teams.

The sad truth is, if Tampa Bay can't win it all this year, its chances will dramatically become lower with a lot of free agents and contract and payroll issues. Someone has to go and it'll either be Carlos Pena or Carl Crawford.

Pena is the highest paid player on the team at 10,125,000, followed by Crawford ($10 million) of Tampa's $72,323,471, 19th in the MLB.

This season is the best chance to win anything so why don't you show your appreciation?

Or not.

So Rays fans, before you decide to get all pissed off from this post (if there are actually any real fans readying this) think twice about all of those listed references.

Original players.
Original manager.
Selling out your ballpark five times a season out of 82 home games.
Knowing about baseball?

Get back to me if you think you are the only true Rays fan out there and why. Proof would be original Tampa Bay Devil Rays T-shirts, hats, 1998 ticket stubs, and Fred McGriff figures.

Maybe someone from DRaysBay.com - For Tampa Bay Rays Fan?

Overstock.com's 'Ultimate Red Sox Experience' contest

2010-08-30T15:51:00.002-04:00

Calling all die-hard Red Sox fans:

Still trying to score a pair of Red Sox-Yankees tickets?

Overstock.com is hosting an "Ultimate Red Sox Experience" contest through Sept. 10 with some perks.

The Grand Prize

Two tickets to the Red Sox-Yankees game on Oct. 2 (doesn't say where the seats are)
Round trip airfare for two
Two night stay at Hotel Commonwealth
Dinner for two at State Street Pavilion
Pre-game VIP Tour
On field viewing of batting practice
Turn the numbers inside the Green Monster for an inning (kind of interesting)

Click here for more details and to enter.

End of the line for the 2010 Red Sox; what went wrong?

2010-08-30T13:17:00.002-04:00

RIP 2010 Red Sox

Was last night any closure?

If Saturday night wasn't enough, Sunday sure sealed the deal.

Dan Johnson's walk-off, then John Lackey continuing to be a bust for the money he is earning (five-year $82.5 million).

The Red Sox entered the series 5.5 games back in the American League East and the AL Wild Card. Now they find themselves 6.5 back in both.

That's just too much ground.

Despite what the September schedule says, unless the Rays or Yankees decide to absolutely collapse it's mathematically impossible.

The reality

On paper, September favors the Red Sox, but the Rays have the 'easiest' schedule of the three.

Red Sox - Baltimore (2), Chicago (2), Oakland, Seattle, Toronto, New York (2)

Yankees - Oakland, Toronto (2), Baltimore (2), Texas, Tampa Bay (2), Boston (2)

Rays - Toronto (2), Baltimore (2), Boston, New York (2), Los Angeles, Seattle, Kansas City

The Yankees and Rays are tied with an 80-50 record. Both play tonight as the Sox (74-57) have the night off.

Boston has one series remaining with Tampa Bay (Sept. 6-8 at Fenway) and two with New York (Sept. 24-26 at Yankee Stadium, Oct. 1-3 at Fenway).

The rant

As a Red Sox fan I don't want to give up. I'll still watch the games and act the same as if it was Game 7 of the World Series.

As a reporter it becomes harder and harder to be realistic about the idea this team still has a chance. Some players have stepped up tremendously and have had career years, but others aren't willing to do the same, which is part of the problem.

If Josh Beckett and John Lackey were pitching like it was 2007, the Red Sox pitching staff would be unstoppable.

Jon Lester has had some lights out outings, but recently he's been out of sync as well.

Clay Buchholz is currently the ace of this staff. Almost hard to believe and even more hard to believe that his name is being said in the same sentence as Cy Young.

Other ramblings

Say good-bye to Adrian Beltre at the end of the season and it's really too bad. For some reason nothing wanted to click this year. Once the team finally regrouped in May the injury bug bit every starting player except for Beltre (*knocking on wood*). It's simply amazing how the Sox are technically still in the race and have stood their ground.

But losing Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis, and Dustin Pedroia for the rest of the season finally takes its toll. And even though David Ortiz, Victor Martinez, and Beltre are carrying the front load of the offense, it's still not enough.

Theo Epstein will has his work cut out for him this off-season and if he doesn't produce a post-season team in 2011 there will be a lot of frustrated fans out there that will put his his General Manager's position in question.

Batter-up with Bruno blog re-tweaking

2010-08-29T15:34:00.002-04:00

Hello all.

If you're a regular visitor, you've probably noticed some major re-tweakings on the site.

If you're not, well, welcome to my blog and I hope you continue check it out!

I was actually procrastinating for awhile to play with the new features that Blogger had offered with the new design templates. But I finally had time to sit down yesterday and figure it out.

With September around the corner and the Boston Red Sox still seeking out playoff contention, I should be posting more content within the next few weeks.

Sorry for only posting my "boring" Red Sox weekly recap on Sundays for pretty much the entire 2010 season and going weeks without anything else. I now magically have more time on my hands to sit down and just write and am looking forward to really getting into the postseason grind.

Any feedback is much appreciated, which includes the new look of the site.

Thanks and go Sox!

-Amanda

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 21)

2010-08-29T12:29:00.000-04:00

Sunday August 22, 2010 - Saturday August 28, 2010

Weekly record: 4-2
Overall record: 74-56
AL East standing: 3rd, 5.5 games behind New York and Tampa Bay
Runs scored: 23
Opponents' runs scored 14
Home runs: 5; Victor Martinez (3), Bill Hall, J.D. Drew
Team leader (HR): David Ortiz (27)
Team leader (RBI): Adrian Beltre (88)
Games left: 32
Weeks left: 5.1
Week 21 in 2009

Batter-up with Bruno: I won't welcome back Johnny Damon with open arms

2010-08-24T12:40:00.001-04:00

Johnny Damon

He was a hero in 2004. A self proclaimed "idiot."

He put the icing on the cake in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series with a grand slam in the second inning to the right-field upper deck and a two-run shot in the fourth sending the Boston Red Sox to its first World Series appearance since 1986.

Then Johnny Damon did the unthinkable. From looking like Jesus Christ with the long hair and beard, the then free agent in the 2005 off-season went to the dark side and signed with the Yankees, shaving off the beard and chopping off his long hair.

He'd be forever booed by Red Sox Nation everywhere and even as a Detroit Tiger he was still booed for what he did.

Now back to 2010, the Red Sox decided to claim Damon off waivers.

Say what!?

And now he has the power to accept or veto the deal because he has a no-trade clause in his contract.

As a Red Sox fan this disgusts me. First off, we all know the Sox only claimed Damon to block a deal to the Tampa Bay Rays. Boston doesn't need another outfielder, plus Damon's arm is even worse than when he left Beantown.

Boston doesn't need a designated hitter either. They have David Ortiz. So it really doesn't make any sense.

Damon is a traitor, a pure traitor. He cannot come back and pretend like nothing happened. The way he did it too was just inexcusable too.

Yes he was a hero in 2004 and had a career year: .304 BA, 20 HR, 94 RBI, but I don't believe Red Sox Nation will take too kindly to him or at least I won't anyway. If Damon does indeed accept the deal and returns to Boston all I have to say is as long as the team accepts his return (which Tim Wakefield and David Ortiz expressed they would) and he contributes then fine, but I still believe he won't be welcomed by a standing ovation like Nomar Garciaparra.

This might even be worse than Manny Ramirez.

Red Sox Nation shouldn't welcome back Damon and at this point it'd be a miracle if this team made the playoffs. As long as Tampa Bay keeps winning each day it's going to be harder and harder to catch up.

Just sayin'.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 20)

2010-08-22T12:47:00.000-04:00

Sunday August 15, 2010 - Saturday August 21, 2010

Weekly record: 3-3
Overall record: 70-54
AL East standing: 3rd, 6.5 games behind New York
Runs scored: 25
Opponents' runs scored: 39
Home runs: 7; Darnell McDonald (2), Ryan Kalish, Bill Hall, Adrian Beltra, David Ortiz, Jed Lowrie
Team leader (HR): Ortiz (27)
Team Leader (RBI): Beltre (85)
Games left: 38
Weeks left: 6.1
Week 20 in 2009

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 19)

2010-08-15T12:31:00.000-04:00

Sunday August 8, 2010 - Saturday August 14, 2010

Weekly record: 4-3
Overall record: 67-51
AL East standing: 3rd, 6.0 games behind N.Y.
Runs scored: 38
Opponents' runs scored: 31
Home runs: 15; J.D. Drew (4), Bill Hall (3), Jed Lowrie (3), David Ortiz (2), Adrian Beltre (2), Mike Lowell
Team leader (HR): Ortiz (26)
Team leader (RBI): Beltre (80)
Games left: 44
Weeks left: 7.1
Week 19 in 2009

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 18)

2010-08-08T12:28:00.000-04:00

Sunday August 1, 2010 - Saturday August 7, 2010

Weekly record: 4-3
Overall record: 63-48
AL East standing: 3rd, 6.0 games behind New York
Runs scored: 27
Opponents' runs scored: 29
Home runs: 9; Adrian Beltre (3), David Ortiz (2), Mike Lowell, Bill Hall, Ran Kalish, Victor Martinez
Team leader (HR): Ortiz (24)
Team leader (RBI): Beltre (75)
Games left: 51
Weeks left: 8.1
Week 18 in 2009

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 17)

2010-08-01T12:12:00.000-04:00

Sunday July 25, 2010 - Saturday July 31, 2010

Weekly record: 4-2
Overall record: 59-45
AL East standing: 3rd, 7.5 games behind New York
Runs scored: 29
Opponents' runs scored: 22
Home runs: 8; David Ortiz (3), Marco Scutaro (2), Adrian Beltre, Bill Hall, Kevin Youkilis
Team leader (HR): Ortiz (22)
Team leader: (RBI): Ortiz (71)
Games left: 58
Weeks left: 9.1
Week 17 in 2009

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 16)

2010-07-25T12:46:00.001-04:00

Sunday July 18, 2010 - Saturday July 24, 2010

Weekly record: 3-4
Overall record: 55-43
AL East standing: 3rd, 7.0 games behind New York
Runs scored: 23
Opponents' runs scored: 28
Home runs: 8; Adrian Beltre (2), Bill Hall (2), Mike Cameron, J.D. Drew, Marco Scutaro, David Ortiz
Team leader (HR): Ortiz (19)
Team leader (RBI): Beltre (62)
Games left: 64
Weeks left: 10.1
Week 16 in 2009

Batter-up with Bruno: Will the Red Sox actually make the playoffs?

2010-07-24T16:02:00.000-04:00

Playoffs or bust?

Magically there's only a week left in July and more importantly exactly one week away from the trading deadline. So now it's time to talk about, dare I say it, will the Red Sox actually make the playoffs?

Let's break down this by month:

April - aaahhhhahahahahaha!!!
May - eeeeeehhhhhhhhh...
June - who's next to go to the DL!?!?!??
July - uuummmm if the club stays healthy

Funny how things change month to month, week to week, or even series by series, which seems to be the case right now.

It's crucial that Boston finishes its 10-game road trip on the winning edge. And next month is literally 'Do or DIE'. In Red Sox history, the month of August practically always sums up the outcome of the season. Let's backtrack to 2003, 2004 and 2007.

2003: 15-14 (lost in Game 7 of ALCS to New York)
2004: 21-7 (won World Series over St. Louis)
2007: 16-13 (won World Series over Colorado)

Ok so 2007 wasn't an amazing August record, but the Yankees were playing downright horrible all season and couldn't catch up to Boston, so there's the possible exception. Then of course 2003 the Sox barely stood afloat, finishing a game over .500 for the month.

Now let's backtrack to 2006, 2008 and 2009.

2006: 9-21 (finished 3rd in AL East with an 86-76 record)
2008: 18-9 (lost in Game 7 of ALCS to Tampa Bay)
2009: 16-12 (swept in ALDS to Anaheim)

I remember August of 2006 as clear as day and I remember the night of Monday, August 21 when the Yankees swept the Red Sox in five games in New York. That was the ultimate collapse and implosion of the season and I knew there wasn't a chance they'd make the playoffs.

So how am I feeling right now? Well I'm feeling good about Josh Beckett, but Clay Buchholz still needs to prove himself his next start.

The keys:

The starting rotation all needs to come back and be healthy for the remainder of the season, which includes Beckett, Buchholz, Jon Lester, John Lackey, and Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Manny Delcarmen needs to get his act together
The 'starting nine' needs to come back and be healthy for the rest of the season.

No brainers, no kidding, but honestly, I don't think the Red Sox really need to make a big trade unless it's for a stellar bullpen arm. But then again, we don't want a repeat of Eric Gagne in 2007.

Victor Martinez will be back soon as will Dustin Pedroia and hopefully Jacoby Ellsbury. Jeremy Hermida pinch hit last night against the Mariners. If everything gels together this can be one deadly team, or the exact opposite can happen and another implosion is possible as well.

As for the season being a complete bust, I won't be devastated if the Red Sox don't make the playoffs. I've grown to accept that it's not the 'end of the world' if they don't make it. Younger fans might think the opposite because they have grown into being used to winning such as the mid-1990's New York Yankees.

How the 2010 season will be remembered?

Injury prone.
Grumpy players.
Bad management.

Let's just hope this won't be a repeat of 2006.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 15)

2010-07-18T13:26:00.000-04:00

Sunday July 11, 2010 - Saturday July 17, 2010

Weekly record: 2-2
Overall record: 52-39
AL East standing: 3rd, 5.5 games behind New York
Runs scored: 12
Opponents' runs scored: 19
Home runs: 3; Darnell McDonald, David Ortiz, Adrian Beltre
Team leader (HR): Ortiz (18)
Team leader (RBI): Kevin Youkilis (59)
Games left: 71
Weeks left: 11.1
Week 15 in 2009

Passings of Sheppard and Steinbrenner gives Yankees something to play for in 2nd half of 2010 season

2010-07-13T17:53:00.002-04:00

Within a three day span, the New York Yankees organization lost two legendary icons...and we're not talking about players.

On Sunday, public address announcer Bob Sheppard passed away at home beside his wife Mary. He was 99.

Then Tuesday morning George Steinbrenner suffered from what was later reported to be a massive heart attack. He was 80.

Both Sheppard and Steinbrenner had health problems and it wasn't a secret.

Sheppard's last season was in 2007 when he had to be sidelined for a bronchial infection. However his voice can still be heard at the New Yankee Stadium for Derek Jeter's introduction to the plate as an audio recording.

Steinbrenner's health started to decline in the fall of 2007, in which ironically his team was just about to concede to second place to the Boston Red Sox in the American League East. From that point on you didn't hear much about George Steinbrenner and once his two sons, Hal and Hank, took over as part-owners of the Yankees that winter, it was apparent that George was planning for the future of him not being around much longer.

Coming from a Red Sox fan, this is a big blow to the organization and I give out my deepest sympathy. Not just to lose one icon, but two in three days is pretty rough.

Even the Sox organization is doing the same with the kind words.

But with these two passings, it in a way, makes the Yankees a scary team to contend with in the second half of the season. They got something (or in this case someones) to play for. They already have a two game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the East and that could very well be plenty.

You can't count out Boston though. Not with key players hoping to make returns from the disabled list such as Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz, Victor Martinez, Dustin Pedroia, Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek, and Jeremy Hermida, and perhaps Jacoby Ellsbury.

This'll be one interesting ride.

2010 Red Sox first half review

2010-07-12T17:38:00.000-04:00

Sunday April 4, 2010 - Sunday July 11, 2010

Monthly record breakdowns

April: 11-12
May: 18-11
June: 18-9
July: 4-5

Total team record: 51-37

AL East standing: 3rd, 5.0 games behind New York
Wild Card standing: 2nd, 3.0 games behind Tampa Bay

Hitting stats
Runs scored: 481; 1st in AL
Home runs: 118; 2nd in AL
RBIs: 462; 1st in AL
Batting average: .276; 3rd in AL
Team leader (HR): David Ortiz (18), Kevin Youkilis (18)
Team leader (RBI): Ortiz (57), Youkilis (57)

Pitching stats
ERA: 4.34; 10th in AL
Earned runs: 382; 5th in AL
Home runs allowed: 81; tied for 10th in AL (least being the best)
Walks: 314; 4th in AL (least being the best)
Strikeouts: 611; 7th in AL
Shutouts: 6; tied for 4th in AL
Team leader (wins): Jon Lester (11)
Team leader (strikeouts): Lester (124)

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 14)

2010-07-11T12:30:00.000-04:00

Sunday July 4, 2010 - Saturday July 10, 2010

Weekly record: 1-5
Overall record: 50-37
AL East standing: 3rd, 5.0 games behind New York
Runs scored: 31
Opponents' runs scored: 33
Home runs: 8; Kevin Youkilis (2), Eric Patterson (2), Mike Cameron (2), Bill Hall, Adrian Beltre
Team leader (HR): Youkilis (18)
Team leader (RBI): Youkilis (57)
Games left: 75
Weeks left: 12.1
Week 14 in 2009

Vote Kevin Youkilis as Final Man on the 2010 AL All-Star Roster

2010-07-05T00:59:00.002-04:00

Let's go Red Sox Nation, now it's serious business.

Kevin Youkilis got screwed and he needs the help from fans everywhere to make it on the 2010 AL All-Star Roster.

Vote here and do it as much as you want.

As for the NL side, eh, we don't really care about that. Just pick the coolest sounding name or something.

I picked Ryan Zimmerman.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 13)

2010-07-04T12:46:00.000-04:00

Sunday June 27, 2010 - Saturday July 3, 2010

Weekly record: 4-1
Overall record: 49-32
AL East standing: 2nd, 1/2 game behind New York
Runs scored: 29
Opponents' runs scored: 20
Home runs: 7; David Ortiz (2), J.D. Drew (2), Adrian Beltre, Bill Hall, Kevin Youkilis
Team leader (HR): Ortiz (17)
Team leader (RBI): Ortiz (54)
Games left: 81
Weeks left: 13.1
Week 13 in 2009

Batter-up with Bruno: NESN's annoying promos; umpire laziness

2010-07-03T23:52:00.003-04:00

Promo-psycho

I have to say this season, I really haven't been able to actually sit down and watch a complete Red Sox game from start to finish with the volume up. But tonight, I started to notice something very strange and rather annoying.

What is up with all of the promotions that NESN announcers Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy have to say throughout the game?

I mean, I'm used to hearing about the Dunkin' Dugout and CVS Pharmacy donating $500 for every save or game that goes into extra innings, but what the hell is all of this?

Acura Key matchup
Ford's Call to the bullpen
New York Life
Home Depot: Doing More on Defense
Coors Light Freeze Cam
Jordan's Furniture, blah, blah, blah
Cumberland Farms Chill Zone
Amica Pitch Zone
Twisted Tea Hard Iced Tea: Twisted but true
NESN.com Question of the Day powered by kgb
I know I'm missing at least 5 more...
Wait does Scotts have a promo?
Holy, Taco Bell...???

What the frick. Taco Bell? Since when is Taco Bell connected with the Sox? The closest one in the Fenway Park radius is on Commonwealth Avenue.

And I know this is three months late, but what happened to the Aflac Trivia Question? Now all of a sudden it's AT&T with a blackberry texting graphic.

It seems like every other play Orsillo or Remy have to say one of these. How annoying that must be for them. There was none of this 10 years ago, except for maybe the trivia question alone, but why so much in 2010?

Is this pure greed? These companies obviously have to pay for the spots and are shelling out a lot money. So who's exactly profiting from this? NESN? The Red Sox? I can understand if they are raising money for charity or just a worthy cause like the Dunkin' Dugout, but that's not the case with Jordan's Furniture.

Replay making umpires less confident?

A home run or not a home run? That was the six + minute question during tonight's Red Sox/Orioles game. In the top of the ninth inning with two outs, Jake Fox took Robert Manuel (what an awful mugshot) deep off the Green Monster, but the umpires weren't sure if the baseball hit over the yellow line before falling back on the field.

First it appeared they were only going to give Fox the double, but with the new replay rule for home runs, they went to review it.

Remy knew right off the bat it was a homer. The first angle they showed wasn't a great look, but the ricochet couldn't have said it better.

So after trying to kill on air time, the umpires walked back out, delayed for a second, then signaled the home run. And what if there wasn't replay? Well, Orioles manager Juan Samuel already got ejected. So maybe the entire coaching staff would have initiated a massive argument and perhaps a bench clearing brawl?

Yeah that's a little bit too far, but it seems that umpires might be relying more on replay for home run calls. Even for calls that it's clear it's out, it hit above the yellow line, but we just want to triple check it's the right call. And people want to have more instant replay?

Nope. Not happening.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 12)

2010-06-27T12:09:00.002-04:00

Sunday June 20, 2010 - Saturday June 26, 2010

Weekly record: 3-3
Overall record: 45-31
AL East standing: T-2nd w/Tampa Bay, 2.0 games behind New York
Runs scored: 30
Opponents' runs scored: 28
Home runs: 8; Dustin Pedroia (3), Darnell McDonald (2), Adrian Beltre, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Cameron
Team leader (HR): David Ortiz (15), Youkilis (15)
Team leader (RBI): Beltre (51)
Games left: 86
Weeks left: 14.1
Week 12 in 2009

Batter-up with Bruno: Red Sox beat, battered, and bruised

2010-06-26T21:17:00.016-04:00

8-mazing pitching performance

If things didn't seem bad enough for the Boston Red Sox, Clay Buchholz took a turn on the base paths and left the game with a hyper-extended knee in the top of the 2nd inning.

But when it was all said and done, somehow, someway, the bullpen pulled it all together and the Red Sox came out on top with a 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Eight different pitchers combined for the 'W,' but in the books Scott Atchinson got credit and was on the mound for longest going two and a third.

Ramon Ramirez, Manny Delcarmen, Dustin Richardson, Hideki Okajima, Daniel Bard, and Jonathan Papelbon were the other six.

The craziness of this game?

John Lackey flipping pinch hit for Ramon Ramirez.

Say what?

Mike Cameron made an unbelievable grab in center field to save Bard in the bottom of the 8th inning by landing on his back, dust flying everywhere, and barely hanging on to the baseball.

If the Sox didn't win this game after that play, um, not quite sure how to explain that one.

Beat, battered, bruised; Surviving!?

How in the world did the Red Sox manage to climb out of the thick of the American League East, become in contention, have the third best record in the MLB, and continue to compete with the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays?

The entire club seems to be injury prone. Once a player comes back from the disabled list, another goes on. Or multiple guys go on it.

Here's the 2010 DL list

Josh Beckett
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Jacoby Ellsbury
Jeremy Hermida
Mike Cameron
Tim Wakefield
J.D. Drew
And the newest addition as of tonight:
Dustin Pedroia

Nnnnnnnoooooooooo!!!

Pray that Buchholz isn't next.

Welcome to the laser show

And literally the next game after busting out three home runs to lift the Red Sox to a dramatic 13-11 win in the rubber game of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies, Pedroia fractures from navicular bone on his left foot.

The little guy has a hell of a lot of power and heart, but unfortunately still is a human being that can break and fracture bones and not heal them at the speed of light.

It's another big blow to a team that's already hurting. The All-Star Break can't come soon enough.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 11)

2010-06-20T11:38:00.003-04:00

Sunday June 13, 2010 - Saturday June 19, 2010

Weekly record: 5-1
Overall record: 42-28
AL East standing: 2nd, 1.0 games behind Tampa Bay and New York
Runs scored: 38
Opponents' runs scored: 25
Home runs: 10; David Ortiz (3), Adrian Beltre (2), Kevin Youkilis (2), Dustin Pedroia, J.D. Drew, Victor Martinez
Team leader (HR): Ortiz (15)
Team leader (RBI): Beltre (48)
Games left: 92
Weeks left: 15.1
Week 11 in 2009

Batter-up with Bruno: Trading Ellsbury is asinine

2010-06-14T23:59:00.005-04:00

Up, up, and Ellsway!?

Now let me get this straight. There's 'talk' that the Boston Red Sox want to trade away Jacoby Ellsbury this offseason?

And I write 'talk' because this isn't exactly a rumor being concocted. Actually, it's more of a prediction, literally.

This past week, all ignited by The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo, Ellsbury's name has been swirling around, along with Jonathan Papelbon, in what appears to be some sort of scare tactic by Red Sox management.

Some people are claiming that Boston's center fielder (sorry Mike Cameron, you are not Boston's true center fielder) isn't as achy as he says to be, which is posing some problems.

Let's see. Cracked ribs?

Now I have no experience whatsoever with cracked ribs, let alone a broken bone (knock on wood), but can we cut the kid some slack?

Yes, it was a blow when he finally came back off the disabled list on May 25, then five games later was put back on it. But to throw out there, trade Ellsbury away to send him a message is asinine.

He is what the Boston organization has been dreaming of in a long time. Speed (70 steals in 2009), defense, and small ball seems to be a rare find in Beantown and you want to oust him? What seems to be the issue lately with Red Sox management and their players? Is this the second coming of George Steinbrenner?

Pre-Madonna Red Sox or messed up management?

Unless you've been living underneath a rock, there have been no question, a lot of issues this season. The Ellsbury deal is now the sixth.

It all started with Mike Lowell trying to be traded away and we all know how that turned out.

The Texas Rangers wanted him to have his physical and it turned out Lowell had a broken thumb. So Lowell returns to the Sox and ends up on the 25-man roster on Opening Day.

Next was who to play more in the designated hitter role, Lowell or David Ortiz?

Apparently Lowell doesn't like to DH very much, he'd rather play in the field, then of course you get Ortiz who literally had hissy fits when he wasn't getting enough of at-bats. Then all of a sudden Papi started popping home runs left and right leaving Mikey in a predicament.

If that wasn't enough, when Daisuke Matsuzaka returned after being placed on the 15-day DL to start the season, someone has to be kicked into the bullpen.

Well hello Tim Wakefield.

Even though you've been pitching great we really got no choice. I mean we can't demote Josh Beckett to the pen who we just signed to a four-year, $68 million contract extension. And Clay Buchholz is finally becoming the pitcher we all thought of him to be in 2007 when he dished that no-hitter to the Baltimore Orioles.

And what's up with Jonathan Papelbon?

The base of Cafardo's Sunday notebook was about Daniel Bard being the next Red Sox closer.

Well, we all heard that before...last season...spring training...now. What's the difference?

And it's Nava here!

At least there is some happy news to report about.

His name?

Daniel Nava.

You weren't alone being mind boggled on Saturday. 'Who the hell is Daniel Nava?'

Ron Chimelis of The Springfield Republican has the background story on this 27-year-old who didn't even make his college team as a walk-on and had to settle being the equipment manager at Santa Clara.

Nava joined Bill Duggleby Jeremy Hermida, and Kevin Kouzmanoff as the only other players in the big league to smash a grand slam in their first career at-bat. Nava is the second to do it on the first pitch as Kouzmanoff did it in 2006 for the Cleveland Indians.

That makes two great stories for rookies this season for the Sox. First it was Darnell McDonald and now Nava.

Hhhmmm, I guess the Ellsbury and Cameron injuries have been blessings in disguise after all.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 10)

2010-06-13T12:28:00.004-04:00

Sunday June 6, 2010 - Saturday June 12, 2010

Weekly record: 4-3

Overall record: 37-27

AL East standing: 3rd, 4.0 games behind Tampa Bay

Runs scored: 39

Opponents' runs scored: 30

Home runs: 5; Victor Martinez, Mike Lowell, Adrian Beltre, J.D. Drew, Daniel Nava

Team leader (HR): David Ortiz (12), Kevin Youkilis (12)

Team leader (RBI): Beltre (43)

Games left: 98

Weeks left: 16.1

Week 10 in 2009

Out in Cali? Check out the Rock & Sox Benefit for The Jimmy Fund on June 26

2010-06-09T16:49:00.004-04:00

If you happen to be out vacationing (or perhaps the lucky some who live out there) in San Francisco, on Saturday, June 26 the first annual "Rock & Sox Benefit for the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will be held at The Connecticut Yankee, which is a Red Sox and New England sports bar.

The benefit is sponsored by Fenway West, a Red Sox blog based on the West Coast, and will be taking place the same time as Boston visits the San Francisco Giants amidst interleague play.

Performances include "The Cancer Sucks Band," who will play Neil Young and John Fogerty classics.

The goal is to raise $5,000 as part of the 2010 "Rally Against Cancer" campaign.

For more information please check out, rockandsox.com and its official Twitter page and Facebook pages.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 9)

2010-06-06T11:34:00.003-04:00

Sunday May 30, 2010 - Saturday June 5, 2010

Weekly record: 5-1

Overall record: 33-24

AL East standing: 3rd, 3.5 games behind Tampa Bay

Runs scored: 50

Opponents' runs scored: 20

Home runs: 11; David Ortiz (2), Adrian Beltre (2), Kevin Youkilis (2), Marco Scutaro (2), Jason Varitek, Jeremy Hermida, Bill Hall

Team leader (HR): Ortiz (12), Youkilis (12)

Team leader (RBI): Beltre (40)

Games left: 105

Weeks left: 17.1

Week 9 in 2009

Batter-up with Bruno: Trade Clay Buchholz!?!?!?!?

2010-06-05T20:02:00.009-04:00

Clayday! Clayday! No way!?

As in Mayday, nope. Not right now. No, Clay Buchholz has been nothing but and after all of this criticism he's received in the past about inconsistency, it appears that the 25-year-old has finally found his niche.

Buchholz is 8-3 with a 2.39 earned run average. Currently he's tied for 2nd in the majors for wins including Roy Halladay and Tyler Clippard of the Washington Nationals. Other stats include allowing 63 hits in 71.2 innings pitched, 25 runs, and a WHIP of 1.284.

It's kind of hard to believe that he's technically Boston's fifth starter, however he's technically Boston's best pitcher next to Jon Lester.

Lester had another decent outing Saturday night, but left more on a sour note by walking the last three batters he faced as Daniel Bard came in with a one out, bases loaded situation. Bard was able to get out of the jam and the southpaw grabbed his seventh win on the season.

But getting back to Buchholz, who are the morons that wanted to trade this kid away?

Trade him?

Trade him!?

You've got to be kidding!?!

The Sox would simply be screwed if he was traded away, especially with the state of the starting pitching staff.

Josh Beckett on the disabled list, John Lackey not so dominant as expected, Daisuke Matsuzaka who either almost pitches a no-hitter or gives up six runs and six walks per outing, then poor Tim Wakefield who doesn't even know his role on the team anymore.

And we'll conclude on these notes:

Surprise! The Red Sox are three and a half games back in the American League East and tied for third with Toronto.
Boston has the fourth best record in the majors at 33-24.
Who the hell is Stephen Strasburg?

OMG, the Red Sox have the same record as 2009?

2010-05-31T00:53:00.019-04:00

The month of May is officially over for the Boston Red Sox and now with the first two months in the books, is it safe to say that fans were simply overreacting?

Yes, Boston is still in fourth place in the AL East (one game behind Toronto). Obviously that's not ideal, but let's go over the numbers and facts.

After a horrendous 11-12 record in April, the Sox bounced back in May at 18-11 to give themselves a 29-23 overall record.

In 2009, the Bosox finished April at 14-8 after getting off to an awful 2-6 start. In May, they finished one game above .500 at 15-14. Now add those two monthly records up and what do you get?

Boston was 29-22 this time last year.

Gasp!

How on Earth can this be correct?

But last year the Sox were tied for second with Toronto and only 1.5 games back of the Yankees?

But, but this year we're 5.5 out of first?

What!?

How the month of May was salvaged in 2010?

In the last two weeks, the Red Sox have won against contending teams including the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, and Philadelphia Phillies. And during its last season, salvaged a four-game split with Kansas City at home.

The Rays have cooled off significantly in the last week. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games including being swept at home against the Red Sox and splitting a four-game series with the White Sox.

Perhaps Tampa Bay has finally come back down to Earth.

So there you have it Red Sox fans. I know it is hard to believe, but the numbers are there. How to answer why everyone has been a skeptic this season, well let's see:

Jacoby Ellsbury was on the disabled list and is now back on it, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Mike Cameron were also DL victims, and the newest is Josh Beckett who I was not surprised with since it was clear something was wrong every outing he pitched in April and the first week of May.

Other issues and messes:

The battle between Mike Lowell and David Ortiz, who should be the designated hitter? Now all of a sudden Papi is heating up, popping 10 homers in the month of May alone to give him 11 on the season. Now Lowell is the odd man out.

Another odd man out? Tim Wakefield. But with Beckett on the DL, he's been starting again.

Yes it's been a crazy two months and there are four more months to go so who knows what will be next and what will be the next thing that fans complain and criticize?

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 8)

2010-05-30T11:11:00.003-04:00

Sunday May 23, 2010 - Saturday May 29, 2010

Weekly record: 5-2

Overall record: 28-23

AL East standing: 4th, 6.5 games behind Tampa Bay

Runs scored: 36

Opponents' runs scored: 23

Home runs: 8; Kevin Youkilis (2), David Ortiz (2), Adrian Beltre (2), Bill Hall, Victor Martinez

Team leader (HR): Youkilis (10), Ortiz (10)

Team leader (RBI): Beltre (34)

Games left: 111

Weeks left: 18.1

Week 8 in 2009

Batter-up with Bruno: The Sox swept the Rays? For real?

2010-05-29T21:06:00.001-04:00

Red Sox 180? Not so fast

All of a sudden, the Boston Red Sox are contending with top notch teams. And all of a sudden this includes a sweepage over the best ball club in the majors (Tampa Bay Rays) and taking the last seven out of eight games against the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and the Philadelphia Phillies before this current home stand with the Kansas City Royals.

In April the Rays humiliated Boston on its home turf with a four-game sweep. The good news is somehow this didn't destroy the club as it won the next three series against the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Toronto Blue Jays to conclude the month with a 11-12 record.

But where the hell did this come from?

Playing well? Playing stellar defense? No flipping way.

Where was this defensive unit a month ago? During Daisuke Matsuzaka's near no-hitter one week ago today, there was so much leather flashing around on the diamond that instead of Baseball Tonight's 'Top 10 plays' it was 'Top Red Sox plays.'

Whoa wait though. No sooner do the Bosox start coming around and gelling together, do they drop the first two games to the Royals with Bill Hall made his major league pitching debut in game two. He had a 1-2-3 inning.

His career earned run average, 0.00.

Interesting how these things work.

However not all is good. Josh Beckett's rehabilitation just took a step backwards and Jacoby Ellsbury is back on the 15-day disabled list. On the bright side, Mike Cameron is back, hooray!

Just when we thought we had the 2010 Boston Red Sox all figured out.

Dice-K, No no-no

So close, so close, but there wasn't a no-hitter tossed by Matsuzaka against the Phillies last Saturday. Marco Scutaro had no chance catching that blooper hit by Juan Castro in the eighth inning.

Wouldn't that have been something though? Dice-K throwing a no-hitter and without walking the bases loaded?

And the guy behind the plate calling the pitches, non-other than Jason Varitek who has caught four no-hitters. Tek would have had the most of all-time if all went according to plan.

Chances of this happening again though?

Try slim to none.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 7)

2010-05-23T12:11:00.003-04:00

Sunday May 16, 2010 - Saturday May 23, 2010

Weekly record: 4-3

Overall record: 23-21

AL East standing: 4th, 8.5 behinds behind Tampa Bay

Runs scored: 32

Opponents runs scored: 31

Home runs: 9; Kevin Youkilis (3), David Ortiz (2), Victor Martinez (2), J.D. Drew, Adrian Beltre

Team leader (HR): Dustin Pedroia (8), Kevin Youkilis (8), David Ortiz (8)

Team leader (RBI): J.D. Drew (28)

Games left: 118

Weeks left: 19.1

Week 7 in 2009

Batter-up with Bruno: Red Sox 3rd priority in Boston

2010-05-16T15:12:00.007-04:00

BoSox 3rd place ranking

I hate to admit it, but last week was an absolute blur to me if you were to ask me about the Boston Red Sox.

I know the Sox had a winning week going 5-2, but unfortunately it wasn't good enough to dig themselves out of fourth place in the American League East.

David Ortiz crushed two home runs Friday night against the Detroit Tigers and when I say crushed, I mean he literally destroyed both balls into the upper deck (thank you NESN SportsDesk highlights).

But besides that it was all about the Boston Bruins and Celtics.

With only one television in the sports department (yes that's right) we tuned in to either the Bruins or Celtics and even some cases the Canadiens/Penguins series. Of course playoff games automatically get top priority. But when it was all said and done the Bruins humiliated themselves with the worst collapse in team history and the Celtics overpowered past LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Pretty much the exact opposite of what fans were expecting.

Now the Sox move up a spot with the B's out of the picture. And as long as the C's keep up their winning ways, they'll rank No. 1 in Boston fans' books until mid-June.

But wait a sec? This isn't the first time this has happened with the Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox all playing at the same time. Actually this has been a recurrence for the last three years, but why is it different this year?

The hype isn't there for the Red Sox, I hate to say and admit it. As I am writing this column, Boston is three outs away from dropping back to the .500 mark and here it is mid-May. It's been a long while since they have performed this poorly.

Will it change my views on the season? I'll still watch the games no matter how awful the team is playing because I am a Red Sox fan, not a bandwagoner. I'll still show the frustrations, the cheering, the superstitions, that won't change, but for some reason, it's still not the same.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 6)

2010-05-16T12:24:00.003-04:00

Sunday May 9, 2010 - Saturday May 15, 2010

Weekly record: 5-2

Overall record: 19-18

AL East standing: 4th, 6.5 behind Tampa Bay

Runs scored: 37

Opponents' runs scored: 22

Home runs: 7; David Ortiz (2), Bill Hall (2), Jeremy Hermida, Jason Varitek, Dustin Pedroia

Team leader (HR): Dustin Pedroia (8)

Team leader (RBI): Dustin Pedroia (25)

Games left: 125

Weeks left: 20.1

Week 6 in 2009

Congrats to the Curry College class of 2010!!!

Batter-up with Bruno: Theo Epstein screwed up

2010-05-09T13:54:00.004-04:00

From Angels to Evil Empire

This is probably the worst thing that could have happened. After sweeping a four-game series from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the first time since 1967, the New York Yankees had to come to town.

Now if this were 2009, Red Sox Nation would be saying, "hell yeah, bring it on!" But in 2010, not so much.

The Sox were finally above the .500 mark for not even 24-hours then it all came crashing down.

Personally, I was livid seeing the Yankees next on the schedule. Boston finally found its groove against an even weaker club, then gets absolutely slaughtered Friday (10-3) and Saturday (14-3) by the second best ball club in the major leagues right now, with the Tampa Bay Rays being the best (crazy huh?).

Maybe tonight Jon Lester can salvage the final game of the series, then hopefully pick up where the team left off against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Theo Epstein screwed up big time

A show of hands, who was ridiculously excited with all of the signings from the 2009 offseason?

I was excited about the acquisition of John Lackey, which literally came out of nowhere, but everyone else? This might go down as the worst offseason ever for Epstein.

I complained about the signing of Marco Scutaro right here on this blog and then like an idiot said that this Red Sox team was scary even without Adrian Gonzalez after Epstein signed Mike Cameron.

Let me be the first to apologize for that second post, but I still stand my ground with Scutaro.

The bullpen? An absolute joke. And of course Jacoby Ellsbury on the disabled list is not helping out the cause. Cameron is also on the DL.

Here is your active outfield:

J.D. Drew
Jeremy Hermida
Darnell McDonald
Jonathan Van Every

That says it all.

Epstein signed junk all to one-year deals except for Scutaro and Lackey. Junk.

Beckett we have a problem

So after Josh Beckett gets a four-year $68 million contract extension, you'd think he'd perform up to those expectations right?

Wrong.

Beckett is 1-1 with a 7.46 ERA and has allowed 52 hits (including five home runs) in 41 innings pitched and 16 walks.

His last outing against the Yankees?

Line: 5 1/3 IP, 9 runs, 9 hits, 1 HR, 3 BB, 8 SO.

When will he turn it around? He needs to soon or else, well, it could be a very long season in Boston.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 5)

2010-05-09T12:15:00.003-04:00

Sunday, May 2, 2010 - Saturday, May 8, 2010

Weekly record: 4-3

Overall record: 15-16

AL East standing: 4th, 7.5 games behind Tampa Bay

Runs scored: 43

Opponents' runs scored: 43

Home runs: 11; Adrian Beltre (2), Victor Martinez (2), Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis, Bill Hall, J.D. Drew, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Darnell McDonald

Team leader (HR): Dustin Pedroia (7)

Team leader: (RBI): Dustin Pedroia (21)

Games left: 131

Weeks left: 21.1

Week 5 in 2009

*HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!*

(John) Lackey not lacking against former team; Nomar honored

2010-05-05T23:51:00.007-04:00

It was a near perfect night at Fenway Park, despite some lowlife loser calling in a bomb threat before the gates opened.

Nomar Garciaparra was honored respectively on 5-5-10 known as Cinco de Mayo, but dubbed Cinco de Nomar, John Lackey had arguable the best outing in a Red Sox uniform against his old ball club, and Boston went onto win 3-1 over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Lackey allowed only two hits in seven inning pitched, one run, two walks, and four strikeouts.

David Ortiz and Adrian Beltre both went yard to provide the offense as well as Dustin Pedroia with a run batted in.

Tomorrow night the Sox shoot for a four-game sweep as Daisuke Matsuzaka takes his second stab coming back to the Majors.

Maybe this time Tim Wakefield won't have to bail him out.

During the pre-game ceremony, Nomar was presented with two commemorative Fenway Park seats with No. 5 and No. 6 painted on, with No. 6 representing Johnny Pesky, and a Red Sox watch.

I truly do not believe this will be the past time we'll be honoring Nomar at Fenway Park.

The next you'll see him is when they retire his No. 5. Just wait and see.

Jon Lester proves 'ace' case w/another dominant performance

2010-05-05T00:15:00.006-04:00

For his second straight outing, Jon Lester has been masterful.

The southpaw pitched eight full innings and allowed five hits, one run, and had five strikeouts as the Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 5-1 at Fenway Park.

Perhaps this is the start of a regular thing for him after being rocked his previous four outings.

It was pitchers' duel between Lester and Ervin Santana until the bottom of the eighth with the score deadlocked 1-1, when the Red Sox bats finally came alive when the Angels bullpen took over.

After David Ortiz grounded into his second double-play, this time with the bases loaded and no one out, Adrian Beltre walked, and Jeremy Hermida delivered with a wall ball three-run double.

That's back-to-back game for the Sox where their starters have met and exceeded expectations. Now the question is can John Lackey make it three straight over his former team?

Much needed wake up call

2010-05-04T00:24:00.004-04:00

How's 17 runs?

Was that enough for you Theo Epstein?

The Boston Red Sox took out all of its anger and frustration out on the visiting Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Monday night, 17-8, after a miserable three-game sweep to the Baltimore Orioles.

It was a 17-4 ball game heading into the top of the ninth inning as Sox starter Clay Buchholz gave up all four runs in 5 1/3 innings pitched while walking three and striking out two. Scott Schoeneweis got roughed up a bit allowing four runs (all earned) on four hits and also had two walks.

Kevin Youkilis, Bill Hall, Adrian Beltre, and Dustin Pedroia all homered. Pedroia with his team leading seventh and Beltre and Hall with their first of the season.

Hopefully the Red Sox saved their bats for the rest of the series.

With the win Boston is now 12-14 and 6.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. This time last year it was 15-9 in second place and only one game back of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Will the month of May equal to winning ways? Lets hope so for everyone's sake.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 4)

2010-05-02T12:02:00.003-04:00

Sunday, April 25, 2010 - Saturday, May 1, 2010

Weekly record: 3-3

Overall record: 11-13

AL East standing: 4th, 6.0 games behind Tampa Bay

Runs scored: 36

Opponents' runs scored: 37

Home runs: 7; J.D. Drew (2), David Ortiz (2), Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Van Every, Kevin Youkilis (Note: All HRs hit in last two games)

Team leader (HR): Dustin Pedroia (6)

Team leader (RBI): Dustin Pedroia (18)

Games left: 138

Weeks left: 22.1

Week 4 in 2009

Batter-up with Bruno: Retire Nomar's No. 5 Boston

2010-05-01T00:10:00.003-04:00

Retire Nomar's No. 5

Friday the Boston Red Sox announced that they are going to honor Nomar Garciaparra on Wednesday (5/5/10) at Fenway Park in a pre-game ceremony when they host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

What that exactly means, well maybe he'll receive a plaque or his jersey encased in glass or something, but the proper thing the club should do is formally retire Garciaparra's No. 5.

Lets face it. Wasn't it just strange when Rocco Baldelli wore No. 5 in his brief time with the Sox last season?

It just seemed, wrong, and almost disrespectful. Baldelli was the first player to wear the number since the trade in 2004.

So please Boston, it's a no-brainer. Retire Nomar's number. Some may argue it's too early and others may argue it's plain ridiculous, but if the Red Sox can retire Carlton Fisks' No. 27 there's no reason whatsoever Nomar's No. 5 shouldn't be.

Red Sox 2nd most hated?

According to the most lamest study ever incorporated, apparently the Boston Red Sox are the second most hated team in Major League Baseball.

And no, I'm not saying this because I'm a Red Sox fan.

The Wall Street Journal had an article last Wednesday after the New York Yankees visited the White House to be recognized for its 27th World Series Championship. The headline reads: "Are the Yankees Truly the Most-Despised Ballclub?"

Surprisingly they ranked fifth on this "scale" concocted by an Internet algorithm built my the Nielsen Company, which anaylses that people feel about certain things and in this case, Major League Baseball teams.

And the most hated ballclub? You'd never guess.

The Cleveland Indians?

What?

I thought Cleveland was suppose to rock? I didn't know anyone even cared about them, hate wise.

Here's the rest of the Top 10 breakdown:

Cleveland Indians
Boston Red Sox
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
New York Yankees
Washington Nationals
Chicago White Sox
Baltimore Orioles
New York Mets
Los Angeles Dodgers

Here's my question. Where the hell are the Tampa Bay Rays? The fans alone should have their own separate category. I mean come on, the Washington Nationals? Really?

Please.

Lester claims 'Ace of staff' rights, right back for Boston

2010-04-28T23:58:00.005-04:00

Looks like Jon Lester got a little jealous of Clay Buchholz from his performance last night that he claim back "Ace of staff" rights.

Lester pitched seven inning and allow only one hit with 11 strikeouts and two walks as the Boston Red Sox completed the three-game sweepage of the Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday night.

The left-hander lowered his earned run average from 6.23 to 4.71 while raising his strikeout tally to 21 in 21 2/3 innings pitched.

Dustin Pedroia and Darnell McDonald provided the offense in the sixth and seventh innings while Daniel Bard struck out the side in the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon grabbed his seventh save in back-to-back nights.

This puts Boston back at .500 (11-11) for the first time since April 14 against the Minnesota Twins when the club was 4-4.

Been there, Buchholz that; Sox secure 2-1 win

2010-04-28T00:44:00.004-04:00

Boston, meet your best pitcher on the starting rotation right now.

We'll give you three guesses. And no his name doesn't begin with the letter 'J.'

Clay Buchholz saved a worn out bullpen by pitching eight innings and allowing only one run on seven hits as the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 Tuesday night. This gives the No. 5 starter a 2-2 record and 2.19 earned run average, the best on the club.

For the first time this season the Red Sox didn't need a lot of offense and they even scored their second run without swinging the bat.

Mike Lowell pinch hit for David Ortiz and walked with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth to grab the lead for good.

Ramon Ramirez did the rest and grabbed his first save without issuing a walk or hit.

At least there is some hope in the starting pitching department. Let's hope Daisuke Matsuzaka can spruce things up as well in his return to the mound on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles.

(Josh) Beckett blasted; DL anyone?

2010-04-27T00:35:00.006-04:00

This wasn't what Josh Beckett had in mind.

The ace blew a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning and when it was all said and done, allowed eight runs on nine hits, and walked three in three innings pitched. To cap it off He also gave up a two-run home run to Jose Bautista.

Lucky for Beckett he didn't get the 'L' he deserved. Boston rallied and held on barely again to beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 13-12 as Jonathan Papelbon earned his sixth save of the season.

Scott Schoeneweis (1-0) ended up with the win.

This was the first time this season the Red Sox scored in double digit figures, however the ironic part is that no one in the lineup hit a home run. And of Boston's 18 hits, only four were for extras bases, all doubles.

So here's the looming question. Should we be worried about Beckett? He has a 7.22 earned run average in five starts, but during his last two outings has given up 15 runs in 10 innings to go along with eight walks and seven strikeouts.

Disabled list anyone?

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 3)

2010-04-25T12:25:00.005-04:00

Sunday, April 18, 2010 - Saturday, April 24, 2010

Weekly record: 4-3

Overall record: 8-10

AL East standing: 4th, 5.0 games behind Tampa Bay

Runs scored: 29

Opponents' runs scored: 40

Home runs: 10; Jeremy Hermida (2), Darnell McDonald (2), J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, Marco Scutaro, Kevin Youkilis

Team leader (HR): Dustin Pedroia (5)

Team leader (RBI): Pedroia (13)

Games left: 144

Weeks left: 23.1

Week 3 in 2009

Batter-up with Bruno: Ortiz needs an attitude adjustment

2010-04-24T19:01:00.010-04:00

Pissy Papi poor all-around

David Ortiz throwing hissy fits? No way! Really? Unfortunately the answer is yes.

In flat out frustration on Tuesday against the Texas Rangers, Ortiz snapped his bat in half while walking back to the dugout. Later in the game Mike Lowell pinch hit for Ortiz and received a standing ovation.

Thank you Red Sox Nation, you guys said it all in that moment. No one should respect a player who acts that way. Yes we all know you've been 'sucking' Papi, but it doesn't mean you pull a 180 and become a poor excuse of a role model for the youngsters watching your every move.

Ortiz finally got his bat going by launching his first home run of the season on Friday night against Baltimore.

That's great, but you still got a long way to go.

Oooohhh, McDonald!

Two words, Darnell McDonald. Wait, Darnell who? Who is this guy?

McDonald got called up Tuesday night from Pawtucket because outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury (cracked ribs) and Mike Cameron (kidney stones) were placed on the disable list. But who knew he'd be the unsung hero for two straight nights?

The 31-year-old hit the game-tying home run then the game winning hit against the Rangers Tuesday then had another home run Wednesday as Boston came from behind back-to-back nights.

Here's some background info on this guy from Globe 10.0.

McDonald was a big time high school football player from Colorado, recruited by Texas, and apparently was going to be the next Ricky Williams, but decided to play baseball. Boston is his seventh organization. He was signed by the Orioles and rated by Baseball America as the No. 1 high school position player in the 1997 draft.

Obviously things didn't work out, but all I have to say is, welcome Darnell and I'm glad you're making an impact now.

Buchholz belongs in rotation

Sorry Tim Wakefield, but you're officially the odd-man out. Clay Buchholz earned his keep in the starting five after a dominant performance until it all came crashing down in the seventh inning Thursday night against the Rangers.

Buchholz had a career-high 10 strikeouts and didn't allow a run until the seventh as the Red Sox fell in the series finale. He could easily have a 2-1 record and every time he goes back to the mound he continues to improve and become more consistent.

With Daisuke Matsuzaka scheduled to come back from Triple-A rehab, someone had to be pulled and unfortunately it puts manager Terry Francona in a tough spot, but he made the right decision. Hopefully for the Sox it'll all work out in the long run.

A-Rod is an A-Hole

Have you heard the news about this?

Surviving Grady had a post this week showing Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez showing off his laziness and cockiness by cutting through the pitcher's mound after a called foul ball against the Oakland Athletics.

Pitcher Dallas Braden went nuts after turning an inning ending double play. A-Rod just shoved it off while Braden chucked his glove into the dugout and flung cups everywhere.

Here's the video from YouTube.

Seriously though, who does that? And the best part is A-Rod had no clue why Brasden went ballistic. You're a real class act.

Papi finally pops one; Red Sox hold on (barely)

2010-04-24T00:47:00.005-04:00

Maybe this is what David Ortiz needed.

A couple of days to cool off and perhaps find his old form.

Papi hit a solo home run in the second inning, which ended up being the difference maker, as the Boston Red Sox outlasted the last place Baltimore Orioles 4-3 Friday night at Fenway Park.

Last season Ortiz didn't hit his first home run until May 20 against the Toronto Blue Jays. That ended a 40-game, 149 at-bat stretch dating back to Sept. 22, 2008.

So the good news is he's a month ahead of last year's schedule.

But should Sox fans feel secure with his bat? Not quite yet, since there is still a lot Ortiz has to prove both at the plate and in the dugout. Once he fixes his attitude I'll have some confidence back towards him, but the whole "expletive" comments and snapping bats in half walking to the dugout skits have to stop.

And we continue on to a new day...

Buchholz pitches a beaut, but Red Sox bats MIA

2010-04-23T00:09:00.006-04:00

Throw Clay Buchholz in the bullpen?

He don't think so.

Thursday night he proved why he should remain in the starting rotation, despite the Red Sox dropping a 3-0 decision to the Texas Rangers in the series finale.

Buchholz fanned a career high 10 batters and didn't allow a run until the seventh inning when Josh Hamilton ignited the Rangers' bats with a wall ball double.

From that point Texas plated three runs and the Sox offense couldn't pull off another dramatic come from behind win.

Buchholz had every pitch working for him as he cruised, something that he hopefully continues to do throughout the season.

After the game, Peter Gammons confirmed reports that not Buchholz, but Tim Wakefield would be moved to the bullpen once Daisuke Matsuzaka returns. It's the obvious choice to make as Wakefield would be more versatile in a middle relief role. Why not bolster up the bullpen, which struggled to begin the season?

Right now it's about what will make the team better, like having Mike Lowell in the designated hitters role rather than David Ortiz, even though Lowell went 0-for-4, but the rest of the team only compiled six hits (two of them coming from Victor Martinez).

It's still early, let's see how the Baltimore series goes.

Are 'Youk' kidding me? Keep Lowell as DH

2010-04-22T00:09:00.009-04:00

How's this for an encore?

J.D. Drew finally broke his cold spell with his fifth career grand slam.
Mike Lowell launched a home run batting as the designated hitter.
Darnell (who) McDonald hit his second homer in two games.
Kevin Youkilis knocks in the game winning run with a shot to the Monster in the bottom of the 12th inning.

In back-to-back nights the Boston Red Sox have have come from behind and won on walk-off hits against the Texas Rangers to give fans signs of hope.

This time it was an 8-7 victory after being down 4-0 going into the bottom of the second.

If Terry Francona were smart, he'd keep Lowell in the DH slot and have McDonald stay for as long as his bat remains hot.

As for Ortiz, this is a no brainer and right now, he is the odd man out on a playing level and also a respect level.

Snapping your bat in half in frustration isn't going to solve your hitting difficulties and it's not going to win you over with the fans.

It's pretty much official even though it already has been since last season, Big Papi is not Big Papi anymore so get used to it.

Lowell should be the clear DH (for right now anyways) NOT Ortiz. And I'll say this again, good thing Lowell wasn't traded to Texas. Now how about that?

(Darnell) McDonald who!?

2010-04-21T00:25:00.007-04:00

Boston Red Sox fans, meet Darnell McDonald.

Darnell McDonald, meet Red Sox Nation.

And let me be the first to say THANK YOU.

Thank you for giving us something to cheer about since Opening Day at Fenway Park.

McDonald was the unsung hero hitting a two-run pinch hit home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, then delivered the game winning run an inning later as the Red Sox killed off their five-game losing streak Tuesday night with a 7-6 win over the Texas Rangers.

Can this finally be the break Boston needed?

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 2)

2010-04-18T12:43:00.003-04:00

Sunday, April 11, 2010 - Saturday, April 17, 2010

Weekly record: 2-4

Overall record: 4-7

AL East standing: 4th, 4.0 games behind New York and Tampa Bay

Runs scored: 22

Opponents' runs scored: 31

Home runs: 5; Dustin Pedroia (3), Marco Scutaro, Kevin Youkilis

Games left: 151

Weeks left: 24.1

Batter-up with Bruno: Howie Carr's a moron

2010-04-17T13:43:00.006-04:00

Howie Carr suspended? Shocking.

This just in last night, from Boston.com's MetroDesk:

"Conservative talk radio host Howie Carr of WRKO 680 AM has been suspended for a week, effective Friday, for publicly and repetitively using his program to bad-mouth the station, a company executive said."

Wow really? Gee Carr what did you think would happen? It's one thing if you're bashing a company you don't work for like when you kept bad-mouthing The Boston Globe and how it should have been shutdown, but to be bold enough to criticize your own company on your radio show? How stupid can you be?

WRKO should not only suspend him, they should flat out fire him. Stick to your lame column in The Boston Herald, then you can bad-mouth WRKO as much as you want.

Suspended by rain?! Really?!

After an hour and three minute rain delay the umpires decided to call the Red Sox-Rays game Friday night before the start of the bottom of the ninth inning with the game tied 1-1.

It only took over an hour to see on the doppler radar that the heaviest rains were then coming into Fenway Park, in yet for the majority of the game there was standing water on the warning tracks and foul ground territory. Needless to say it's a miracle no one got injured due to the atrocious conditions.

Because of the game being called, it's going to continue Saturday night before the start of the scheduled game at 7:10. Fans who had tickets for Friday night cannot go to watch the rest, but fans who have tickets for Saturday get to see the end result then a whole other game.

How ridiculous. When the tarp came out, it should have been called right then and there, not an hour later. Umpires do not think about the media whatsoever when it comes to these decisions. No, this won't impact them, while reporters, copy and layout editors, and agate clerks are waiting to see if the game resumes and we're going to have a full story, photos, and box score.

Let alone, the fans who were being drenched and waiting it out only to find out the bad news.

Can we fix this?

Super-Tek

"Hey Boston Red Sox, this is why I should play everyday!"

That's what Jason Varitek's bat is saying right now as the captain has been on fire in his two starts. In seven total at bats, Tek has three hits, all of them solo home runs, including two against Kansas City this week.

This is something we could all get used to every four games. Last season Tek also jumped out to a fast start, but slowly his stats declined after the All-Star Break and he finished with a career-low .209 batting average with 14 HR and 51 runs batted in.

Lets see how long it lasts this time.

Ellsbury still KO, not OK

Jacoby Ellsbury is still hurting from Sunday's collision with Adrian Beltre. The left fielder has bruised and sore ribs and said it was hard to take deep breaths, rotate his body, and couldn't even take batting practice, let only swing off from a tee.

Ellsbury has been out for the week, but so far manager Terry Francona hasn't decided to call up anyone from Pawtucket for outfield help.

Who knew how costly that collision would be, plus center fielder Mike Cameron has been out because of kidney stones.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 1)

2010-04-11T12:34:00.008-04:00

Sunday, April 4, 2010 - Saturday, April 10, 2010

Weekly record: 2-3

Overall record: 2-3

AL East standing: 4th, 2.0 games behind Toronto

Runs scored: 25

Opponents runs' scored: 23

Home runs: 8; Dustin Pedroia (2), Jason Varitek (2), Victor Martinez, J.D. Drew, Jeremy Hermida, Kevin Youkilis

Games left: 157

Weeks left: 25.1

Batter-up with Bruno column: Shut up Joe West

2010-04-10T14:33:00.016-04:00

Editor's Note: My senior year at Curry College I wrote a bi-weekly column called "Batter-up with Bruno." It was a column styled recap of the happenings in the wide world of sports. On Saturday's I hope to deliver a column to you in the same format. Hope you enjoy.

............................................................................

If you were living under a rock since Easter, here is what you missed this week in the wide world of Boston Red Sox baseball.

Joe West needs to shut up

Mr. West has issues with the two best teams in baseball. Apparently he thinks the Sox and New York Yankees take too long to play the game.

"They're the two clubs that don't try to pick up the pace," said West. "They're two of the best teams in baseball. Why are they playing the slowest...It's pathetic and embarrassing. They take too long to play."

Hey Joe West guess what? No one likes you and no one cares. Why don't you do your job and the teams do theirs? Oh yeah speaking of that, you umpires need to learn how to do yours more proficiently.

Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia lashed back at West saying,

"To call the Yankees and the Red Sox, the two best teams in baseball, 'pathetic and embarrassing,' that's just ridiculous. If he doesn't want to do Red Sox and Yankee games, he should tell the umpires' union. Then when we're in the World Series, he'll be out of that assignment, too."

Ok hold up a sec Pedroia. Please don't be predicting the World Series the first week of April when your team is 1-3. Both teams need to get over the ignorant comments and just play the game.

Bard has to get on the ball

So Daniel Bard hasn't exactly been dominant. He was the losing pitching on Friday night against the Kansas City Royals as they came back to win 4-3 after being down 3-0. On Wednesday he inherited Scott Schoeneweis' baserunner and tied up the game 1-1.

Boston went on to lose courtesy of Curtis Granderson in the top of the 10th inning.

Should fans be a bit worried about Bard not being lights-out? It's only Game 5 coming up, but lets pray not for the next Manny Delcarmen.

Marco? Error-o!

Scutaro was signed for his defense right? Well fans forgot about that on Tuesday night when he made a throwing error to keep the eighth inning alive and hand Hideki Okajima a loss to the Yankees.

Lights out Papelbon?

Not so much. Terry, why did you bring back Papelbon to pitch the 10th? It was the third game of the season, fresh out of spring training. Paps isn't a two-inning pitcher right now and it showed when Granderson greeted him with a leadoff bomb. Next time, don't do it.

1-2 looks awfully familiar for Red Sox

2010-04-08T20:39:00.004-04:00

Does this record look familiar?

A year ago Boston won its season opener against the Tampa Bay Rays in exciting fashion.

Dustin Pedroia hit a bomb to the Monster seats in his first at-bat in 2009.

Fans had to wait an extra day because of the rain, but it definitely seemed worth it.

And the rest of the story? The Sox lost the series 1-2 then went on to start the season 2-6 losing series to the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics.

Fast forward to 2010.

Pedroia was the hero with a two-run shot to lift the hometown team to a 9-7 win over the New York Yankees, but then went on to lose the series 1-2.

The Yankees triumphed 6-4 then 3-1 in 10 innings Wednesday night. A Marco Scutaro throwing error Tuesday night and a Curtis Grandserson home run were the factors in those losses.

Boston fans more than likely cringed seeing closer Jonathan Papelbon coming back to pitch the 10th inning. Hopefully Terry Francona will remember not to do that again until later in the season.

Will the 2009 repeat itself? Here's a note to Major League Baseball for 2011, don't start off the season with a Red Sox-Yankees series.

Blogging announcement

2010-04-07T14:05:00.003-04:00

It's officially the 2010 Boston Red Sox season and if you guys haven't noticed this past off-season, it's been pretty difficult balancing the blog and my crazy, insane new work schedule.

Since taking a new part-time post at The Republican newspaper in the office, my free time has significantly shrunk, making it nearly impossible to try and update the blog everyday.

I have decided that every Thursday I will try to dedicate with a post.

I will continue to write my "Red Sox weekly recap" as I did last season on Sundays.

As for the reminder of the week, you might see something here or there, depending.

I hope I will not lose readers, but I figured this move is better than not updating the blog for weeks on end and posting twice a month. As long as there is some kind of consistency to it readers will know the expect something new and fresh two days a week.

Thanks for reading and Go Red Sox!!!

-Amanda

Josh Beckett deal is a big deal for Boston's future

2010-03-30T17:22:00.013-04:00

With Josh Beckett's contract expiring after the 2010 season, there are talks looming to sign the Red Sox ace to a long-term deal to keep him with newly signed ace John Lackey and lefty cancer survivor Jon Lester.

According to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe the "talks remain positive." And on a scale from 1-10, Becket and the Sox are between a 7-8.

There has been speculation of Boston only wanting to offer a four-year deal, but because of Lackey's five-year signage, there's no reason why Beckett and his agent will push for the same. However it will require more money.

How important is it to lock him up? Well, no one wants a repeat of what happened with Jason Bay and if the two sides cannot reach an agreement either before or at the very beginning of the season, things won't be looking good.

Not securing Beckett would be another big blow to Sox management. And not knowing with the current state of Daisuke Matsuzaka and uncertainness of Clay Buchholz as a full-time major league starter, the pitching rotation could be a huge question mark for 2011.

Obviously fans are more focused about this season. It's something to keep an eye on though.

Boston Globe sports section and writer honored by Associated Press Sports Editors

2010-03-16T15:46:00.005-04:00

The Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) released its writing and section contest winners on March 12 with The Boston Globe taking honors for Top 10 best Daily sports and Sunday Sections in the over 250,000 circulation count.

The Globe also received an honorable mention for Special Sections.

Globe sportswriter Shira Springer also received two individual awards in the Explanatory and Projects categories.

Visit the National Sports Journalism Center for complete results in the 100,000-250,000 circulation, 40,000 - 100,000, under 40,000, and under 20,000.

How will Red Sox fans greet Jason Bay on St. Patrick's Day?

2010-03-14T16:29:00.005-04:00

It's coming up and it's only spring training.

Jason Bay will be returning to face the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, March 17 in familiar territory in Fort Myers, but as a member of the New York Mets.

Now it's not a mystery that Bay and the Red Sox organization left on bad terms, however how will the fans receive him?

Will Bay be booed? Or will he be cheered for what he did in his short duration in a Boston uniform?

Maybe some of these comments will help jog the case:

On the Red Sox wanting medical contingencies:

"Listen, I could understand the club wanting all these medical contingencies if I had spent any recent time on the DL,” Bay said, “but I had no history of being a risk for injuries and I wasn't hurt."

Peter Gammons pointed out that when the Sox were prepared to sign Bay to a four-year $60 million deal that an MRI raised concern about his knees.

With that, Bay had to prove to ownership that he'd be healthy for all four years, but refused to oblige.

Boston team physician Dr. Thomas Gill is one of the best in the business so when these red flags popped up they followed his expertise. Of course if Bay's knees do fall out in a couple of seasons Gill and the Red Sox will look like geniuses.

So again, there might be some mixed feelings about the Jason Bay situation in Boston, but it wasn't like the Manny situation, or even Nomar (but that ended with a happy ending).

Red Sox fans frustrated by NESN Technical Difficulties

2010-03-13T14:42:00.006-05:00

WE ARE EXPERIENCING

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

PLEASE STAND BY

This is what Red Sox fans saw when they turned on their televisions to the New England Sports Network to eagerly watch Clay Buchholz take the mound against the Pittsburgh Pirates for a 1:05 exhibition start.

In the NESN Edge bar at the bottom of the screen it said that the problem would be resolved shortly. That was clearly a joke.

Soon score updates were being shown in the bar and what inning it was.

Well that's just delightful.

It wasn't until the bottom of the seventh inning, which was around 3 p.m. Eastern Time that the picture finally came up. I was expecting to see rain, thinking that was the issue, but it was bright sunshine there in Fort Myers.

It seems like every year this happens. NESN has technical difficulties and fans can only watch partial games, which is ridiculously frustrating. You'd think by now they'd solve this ongoing issue.

Down with the blue screen guys, or at least don't promise to broadcast games, but not provide the service.

Nomar Garciaparra retires as a Red Sox

2010-03-10T12:36:00.005-05:00

There were rumors speculated earlier before the start of spring training and today they were confirmed.

Nomar Garciaparra signed a one-day contract with the Sox minor league organization so he could retire as a member of the team after 14 seasons in the big leagues, (eight and a half with Boston).

I guess this really shows of signs that we're all getting old, but on a personal note it's showing that I am getting older.

I was 11-years-old when Nomar was a rookie and I clearly remember saying how weird his batting routine was with the whole, "glove thing." Needless to say he'd end up being my favorite player with parafinalia from jerseys to baseballs, posters, cards, figures, beanie bear, bobble head, wallet, and newspaper clippings.

I couldn't even think of the day of when he'd retire from Major League Baseball. Now 13 years later and 24-years-old I just witnessed my all-time favorite baseball player retire. But the sad thing is, is that Nomar could have been an even better player.

Sure he put up some amazing numbers and has some good hardware, but he didn't win the World Series as a member of the Red Sox and injuries destroyed him later in his career especially after being traded on that dreaded July 31, 2004.

It's really a sad story and one I literally witnessed. A downfall of a great baseball player, but in the end I guess it did have a happy ending.

Nomar said he plans to be an ESPN analyst and be on Baseball Tonight and also announce some games.

The next question is, is he a Hall of Famer? Time will tell and I'm not really sure how to answer that question right now, but I believe everything Red Sox fan will not forget 3/10/10.

2010 Red Sox Spring Training TV Schedule

2010-03-02T17:02:00.007-05:00

Thanks to Ken Fang over at Fang's Bites, here is the Red Sox Spring Training TV Schedule.

All of the games will be televised on NESN.

The seven-game schedule features three weekday afternoon games including tomorrow (March 3) and the rest on every Saturday and Sunday starting next Saturday (March 13).

Wednesday, March 3 - Boston College vs. Red Sox at Fort Myers, FL, 1
Saturday, March 13 - Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Red Sox at Fort Myers, FL, 1
Sunday, March 14- Red Sox vs. Minnesota Twins at Fort Myers, FL, 1
Wednesday, March 17 - New York Mets vs. Red Sox at Fort Myers, FL, 1
Saturday, March 20 - Houston Astros vs. Red Sox at Fort Myers, FL, 1
Sunday, March 28 - Minnesota Twins vs. Red Sox at Fort Myers, FL, 1
Monday, March 29 - Tampa Bay Rays vs. Red Sox at Fort Myers, FL, 1

If you're curious about the rest of the AL East, you can check it out on Fang's Bites.

And thanks to today's weather forecast hovering around or perhaps above the 50 degree mark, it feels more like spring training has arrived in Massachusetts.

Update 12:53 AM: Ian Bethune over at Sox & Dawgs has an extended schedule including two ESPN games and radio broadcasts.

Tuesday March 30 - at Tamp Bay Rays 1, ESPN

Thursday April 1 - vs. Minnesota Twins 1, ESPN

NESN's Red Sox blog roundtable debut

2010-02-25T17:46:00.003-05:00

Myself along with the rest of the Red Sox blogging community were asked to participate in the inaugural Red Sox Blog Roundtable on NESN.com.

Production Assistant Evan Brunell will have a roundtable and alternate between the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox each week.

This week he asked us five questions and two of my answers are posted.

You can check out the full entry here.

Here are my answers:

The rotation saga is the story line to watch during spring training. Assuming everyone is healthy, who should go to the bullpen?

Amanda Bruno, Batter-up With Bruno: This is literally a no-brainer. It absolutely has to be Wakefield. Yes, we all know Wake needs 17 more wins to tie Roger Clemens and Cy Young for the most wins in a Red Sox uniform, but keep in mind that Boston wants to win. Wake is the most versatile of the group and can be a key long relief guy and eat up innings. It would be absurd to send Buchholz to Triple-A or the pen at this point in his career.

Do the Red Sox have what it takes to overtake the Yankees and hold off the Rays?
Bruno: It's really tough to tell. Boston bolstered its starting rotation, but that's really all it did.
The Yankees lost Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, but they also acquired Curtis Granderson, Nick Johnson and Randy Winn to fill in the holes. They also added another arm in Javier Vazquez to the starting rotation for his second stint in pinstripes.
Everyone keeps saying the Rays will be better this season and will make a run for the wild card, but what did they really do this offseason? They didn't sign any big players, and both the Red Sox and Yanks did.
The key factor is that everyone has to stay healthy for the Red Sox or there will be issues. If not, the Yankees will win the East again easily.

Say hello to spring training weather

2010-02-22T20:14:00.006-05:00

This isn't what I had in mind...

Today was the first official report day for position players in Fort Myers training camp, but up here in Massachusetts we're preparing for another coating/blast of wintery white.

It was a complete tease today with temps topping the upper 40s, near 50 degree mark.

Let's hope that Opening Night on Easter Sunday at Fenway Park won't have a forecast of a wet mix.

Risque Red Sox spring training photos anyone?

2010-02-19T20:27:00.009-05:00

I usually don't tend to post any kind of provocative material, but this kind of struck me.

This photo is published on Boston.com's Extra Bases Blog under "You want photos? We have photos" posted by Peter Abraham.

What's wrong with this picture?

Just look at Jason Varitek (left).

Now really look at Jason Varitek.

Now out of all of the photos that were taken, this is the one you decide to post on the front of the blog?

Way to go. I'm sure the male audience is going to love it.

Adam Kilgore is no more at The Boston Globe

2010-02-12T18:54:00.004-05:00

Well my prediction was just a little bit off, but I still called it, sorta.

New England Patriots beat writer Adam Kilgore is leaving The Boston Globe and returning to his former employer, The Washington Post to take the Washington Nationals beat.

Boston Sports Media Watch reported it this morning stating that, "the move is said to be a personal one, rather than a professional one...and in a place where he has some personal ties which make the move a good fit for him."

Looks like there's going to be more shuffling around at the Globe once again.

This may be a world record of shuffling things up at any newspaper in less than a year and half time frame.

Tomorrow's Truck Day; Red Sox players in the best shape of their lives?

2010-02-11T19:38:00.005-05:00

Well Massachusetts once again missed out on a Nor'easter and to celebrate, it's Truck Day tomorrow at Fenway Park!

The Red Sox equipment truck is scheduled to leave at noon with Fort Myers on its destination list.

The spring training countdown is approaching down to only six days until pitcher and catchers are suppose to report however Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Manny Delcarmen, and Kevin Youkilis already made an early arrival.

In that same blog post on Extra Bases, the Globe's Peter Abraham (who's been quite popular this week in the blogging world) wrote this:

"My sources tell me that every player is in the best shape of their lives, excited about the season and confident in the team's chances."

Um, please tell me you were just trying to be funny?

NY Times Co. still exploring selling Red Sox stake

2010-02-11T19:07:00.004-05:00

The New York Times Company is still exploring selling its 17.5 percent stake in the Boston Red Sox, but as quoted by Times President and CEO Janet Robinson, it's "complicated and taking longer than we anticipated."

The reason why it is rather complicated is that along with the Red Sox there's the New England Sports Network (NESN), Fenway Park, real estate holdings, as well as Major League Baseball.

Here's a simple tree breakdown of the excessive baggage:

The New York Times Co.

The Boston Globe

Boston Red Sox

NESN

Fenway Park

Real Estate Holdings

Major League Baseball

When you glance at this tree it looks more like an hour glass really.

Back in June 2009 the Times Co. was trying to sell the Globe, but then in October 2009, it was called off.

This was announced after threats of the Times to close the newspaper after losing $58 million in 2008.

New sites taking over RedSox100.com

2010-02-06T16:01:00.001-05:00

Has anyone else noticed within the last few weeks that an overload of new Red Sox sites have been added to the infamous RedSox100.com?

The Top 10 is almost recognizable on some days.

Here are the latest to join:

Boston Sports U18

4Sport Boston

Educated Cheese

A curveball was thrown by The Mighty Quinn Media Machine who changed its header.

Let's explore these new sites shall we?

Boston Sports U18

I did some digging and found out that this site is owned and operated by Michael Winn of Absolute Broadcasting, who also founded BostonSportsWoman.com, a site my blog is featured on.

Gethin Coolbaugh who is a student at Massachusetts Bay Community College is the Associate Editor of the newly developed site.

There's a whole cast of writers featuring sports correspondents of the MetroWest Daily News who post on all of the Boston sports teams, pro and college.

4Sport Boston

This site covers the Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, and Patriots, and Fantasy Sports.

It features podcasts and contests and honestly there's a lot going on with the homepage. It's almost too busy with stuff kind of buried everywhere. That's usually the case when a site covers all of the major teams and they aren't ESPN, Boston.com, or NESN (to name a few major sites).

As far as who runs it, no clue, because it only has a contact tab and no about page.

Educated Cheese

Finally, just another Red Sox blog that features NESN's and former Sox pitcher Dennis Eckersley.

Educated Cheese was founded in June of 2009 and its mission is to,

"To create a friendly existence between Eck and the rest of the world that was not fortunate to be blessed with such a cool baseball vocabulary."

I think every Sox fan knows why this blog was created so there's no need to explain.

As to who founded and operates the site, no clue because once again there is no about us page.

So there you have, a quick analysis of the new sites/blog added to RedSox100.com. There are only 39 registered sites with maybe half of them only geared towards the Red Sox. Not sure if it'll ever really get to 100, well just have to wait another 50 years and see.

Top 3 reasons why Boston fans cannot wait until spring training

2010-02-04T16:05:00.004-05:00

It's February 4 and spring training cannot come soon enough.

Right now, honestly it's pretty depressing being a Boston fan. There's not a whole lot to cheer about and to back that statement up here are the top 3 reasons spring training needs to get here quicker:

1. The Boston Bruins.

2. The Boston Celtics.

3. The New England Patriots.

Need I explain more?

The Bruins are dying by the day.

Since their exciting Winter Classic win Boston has gone 2-12 with wins against Ottawa and San Jose.

Oh my goodness, 2-12!? I didn't realize it was that bad, but apparently it is. Talk about the biggest jinx ever.

The Celtics?

Well they beat 24-25 Miami last night and last place Washington on Monday to give life to a new winning streak. Hence the sarcasm.

But, Paul Pierce is still listed as day-to-day with a strained left foot. It is definitely the season of the breakdown of the Big Three. First Kevin Garnett with an earlier knee injury, now with Pierce.

Is Ray Allen next?

And last, but not least, the Patriots and their defensive woes, which eliminated them in the first round of the playoffs. New England is definitely not at the same caliber as they once were and since Tom Brady tied the knot, well, you know what that means in sports.

Like it or not, Brady isn't the same hot shot and hero he was even two years ago.

So Boston Red Sox fans, will our baseball team finally cheer us up? Give us that need boost of hope and confidence?

For our sake I sure hope so. Bad enough the Sox already had a lot of pressure poured on them this offseaosn, but thanks to the other city teams doing lousy the pressure just doubled.

Coaches need to teach character for anti-bullying

2010-02-02T10:59:00.006-05:00

Everyone reading this more than likely has been a victim to it.

Back on January 14 in the town of South Hadley, Mass. a 15-year-old girl named Phoebe Prince who came over to the United State from Ireland took her own life after being severely bullied at her high school.

Ron Chimelis wrote an excellent column in The Sunday Republican last week talking about not only what teachers' roles should be, but as well as the coaches who need to teach character on the fields.

In the piece Chimelis quotes Westfield High School football coach Bill Moore:

"We talk to kids about bullying and hazing. Coaches have to step up. It's our responsibility," he said.

This however may be my favorite part of the entire column right here. Writes Chimelis:

It's my problem too. Whenever I interview a high school athlete, I privately wonder about the consequences.

Am I rewarding the hard work and achievement of the beaming kid in front of me?

Or am I feeding the monster? Will this kid, who I don't know, go back into the student body, armed with more reason to think he/she is special and others are not?

I urge all of you to check out the column. It definitely makes you think.

Personally it hits me hard only because I was bullied throughout grade school and know what Prince must have gone through, but it was never at the level of what she ended up doing. And now with Facebook, Twitter, texting, and the internet galore, the bulling issue is definitely easier said than done.

Red Sox virtual waiting room blues?

2010-01-30T18:10:00.004-05:00

Hey guys.

Yes I know, I've been just awful recently on the blog posting front and I apologize.

First I tried to make a commitment of compiling a Top 20 list of the best college newspaper websites and pretty much afterwards couldn't really follow through with it.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish, or at least size it down to the Top 10.

Anyways back to Red Sox talk...

So today tickets went on sale at 10AM, which means another meeting with the "Virtual Waiting Room."

As I recall last year some fans were stuck for hours on end and afraid if they refreshed the page that their place would be lost.

Others eventually got through, but then it was deciding between what games to go to, would you be able to find four seats in a row not in the bleacher section, and last but not least, the final tally.

If you have connections, I'd strongly suggest you use them and avoid the frustration. And honestly, if you really want to go to a game, there are other ways besides being trapped in the virtual waiting room.

You can go onto redsox.com in July and still find select single-game tickets, maybe not three-four seats in-a-row until you try Ace Ticket and wait for those season ticket holders to sell their seats because they can't make it to the game.

So those are my thoughts on the whole first day of Red Sox single-game tickets go on-sale.

Not sure exactly how it went today, but am curious to know if any people had problems or issues.

But back to the whole not blogging too much lately...I'm probably just going to have to set aside key days of when I'll post and of what to talk about.

There's really not a whole lot to talk about until spring training actually starts, which is two and a half weeks away, but I'll try my hardest. I'm sure events and topics will pop up between the Boston sports media industry (Pete Shepard?), the newspaper business, and/or Sox.

BUWB Top 20 college newspaper sites countdown

2010-01-18T14:40:00.007-05:00

Back in December I announced that I'd be compiling a list of the Top 20 best college newspaper sites in the country.

The list is solely based on the website, including the layout, content featured, multimedia, and overall appearance and accessibility.

I have decided not to follow through with the categories and number rankings because that literally would take forever and if there was a tie, well that wouldn't work out too well. So instead I'm just using my judgement and ranking them accordingly.

I contemplated how to launch the list and decided that each day starting today that I will post backwards the Top 20 sites starting with Honorable Mention and continue on with No. 20 later this week followed by No. 19, etc.

This will continue through February and at the end the complete list will be featured.

With that said here we go...

Honorable Mention

The Huntington News - Northeastern University

Though not a ridiculous techie

site, The Huntington News simple, clean cut design is a winner. It's laid out just like a regular newspaper you'd pick up on newsstands with the logo on the front page and all of the sections below and right there at your fingertips.

Navigation couldn't get easier and for those important features and coverage it's smack dab at your eye level of the computer screen.

The Huntington News does have a Twitter and Facebook page, but they are nowhere to be seen on its website, which is a tech fail. They should really add those graphics somewhere or at least a multimedia tab.

Jeremy Hermida makes a nice fit in Red Sox outfield

2010-01-16T14:54:00.007-05:00

Even though this happened over two months ago, now there's more talk about the acquisition of Jeremy Hermida from the Florida Marlins.

The Red Sox dealt left-handed pitchers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez back on November 5 in exchange for the outfielder, who'll serve in a backup role behind the 1-2-3 combo of Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Cameron, and J.D. Drew.

Hermida played in 129 games for the Marlins and batted .259 with 13 home runs, and 47 runs-batted-in. However he also struck out 101 times in 429 at-bats.

He's pretty solid in outfield and versatile playing in both left and right field and made only one error last season. Hermida had a career high nine errors in 2007, but that number has dropped since each year.

What does Hermida really mean for the Sox?

He brings another left-handed bat to the lineup who can possibly do some damage at the plate and brings more youth to the bench at 25-years-old (he turns 26 on January 30). And if Drew goes down (which seems to occur every season) there won't be a gaping hole.

Also don't forget about 22-year-old Josh Reddick who made his major league debut last July 31 from the Portland Sea Dogs, the Sox AA affiliate and made an immediate impact during his short time in Boston.

The outfield should be pretty much set, but it doesn't mean Theo Epstein is done wheeling and dealing.

Is the bench strong enough?

What about the bullpen?

This 2010 Red Sox club isn't complete yet, not just yet.

Jackie MacMullan fake Twitter account removed

2010-01-08T17:57:00.003-05:00

Twitter is known for having fake accounts for athletes and famous movie stars and singers. But now it's reached a new level particular to people who honestly have nothing better else to do.

There was a fake Twitter account for former Boston Globe sports columnist and Around the Horn panelist Jackie MacMullan.

I was one of those roughly 500+ followers who was duped into following the account thinking it was the real Jackie Mac.

This evening there was a suspicious tweet that arose from the account saying, J_MacMullan "Hearing Adrian Gonzalez for Ellsbury, Buchholz, Kelly, and Reddick."

Like a smart person I retweeted it, but then decided to delete it a minute later.

About five minutes afterwards Ian M. Browne of MLB.com tweeted: "A co worker just told me that Jackie MacMullan's fake twitter account said Adrian Gonz for Ellsbury, Buchholz Kelly, and Reddick. Classic!"

Then I went back to check the fake twitter account and the page magically doesn't exist anymore, but if you search for "Jackie MacMullan" you'll see two accounts. One looks legit, but is fake and one that looks fake and probably is another fake one.

What is seriously wrong with people? And the best part is that MacMullan probably has no idea about it.

Are the 2010 Red Sox better than the Yankees?

2010-01-08T16:00:00.008-05:00

Is this really for real?

John Lackey?

Mike Cameron?

Marco Scutaro?

Adrian Beltre?

It's almost a dream for Boston Red Sox fans and if Adrian Gonzalez was in the picture we'd be on Cloud 9.

Theo Epstein responded well after the New York Yankees won its 27th World Championship and instead of nickel and dime-ing like last offseason, he signed big gun Lackey and bolstered the defensive unit in Cameron, Beltre, and Scutaro.

The Red Sox want to be that team in 2010.

Even though they lost their power guy in Jason Bay, it may not be the end of the world. Someone will step up to the plate. There's almost that one surprise guy that no one expects, but who will it be?

That's really the only troubling question mark going into the 2010 season. Will the Sox have enough of power in their lineup? Will David Ortiz still have enough left in his tank? If not, could Mike Lowell be the answer in the designated hitter role?

Epstein could still try to trade off Lowell after his thumb surgery, but in reality shouldn't Boston keep him just in case Ortiz doesn't turn it around?

Here's a quick glance at what we might see on Opening Day on Easter Sunday at Fenway Park against the Yankees.

Potential starting lineup:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury LF

2. Dustin Pedroia 2B

3. Victor Martinez C

4. Kevin Youkilis 1B

5. David Ortiz/Mike Lowell DH

6. J.D. Drew RF

7. Adrian Beltre 3B

8. Mike Cameron CF

9. Marco Scutaro SS

Potential starting pitching rotation:

1. Josh Beckett/Jon Lester

2. Jon Lester/Beckett

3. John Lackey

4. Dice-K Matsuzaka

5. Clay Buchholz/Tim Wakefield

To be honest, I'm more excited about the pitching rotation. Beckett, Lester, and Lackey in which ever order may very well be the strongest 1-2-3 combo in the league.

But is this team better than the Yankees?

Yankees position breakdown:

Mark Teixeira 1B

Robinson Cano 2B

Derek Jeter SS

Alex Rodriguez 3B

Jorge Posada C

Brett Garnder LF

Curtis Granderson CF

Nick Swisher RF

Nick Johnson DH

Yankees starting rotation breakdown:

1. CC Sabathia

2. AJ Burnett

3. Andy Pettite

4. Javier Vazquez

5. Phil Hughes/Joba Chamerlain

Chamerlain may be moved back to the bullpen, which wouldn't be surprising especially with Vazquez coming back for his second stint.

It'll boil down to the bullpens and bench depth since anything can happen throughout the season.

If no other moves are made this should be a very interesting season in the American League East. April can't get here soon enough.

New year, more layoffs and cuts for newspapers

2010-01-07T18:15:00.005-05:00

Yesterday the Minneapolis Star Tribune announced that it would eliminate 35 positions at the newspaper, but not effecting reporters or editors.

You'd think this would be good news for the reporters and editors. Well guess again because about 18 of those positions are copy editing, a major hit for any paper.

According to David Brauer of MinnPost.com here's the list of potential job cuts:

Copy editors: Up to 18

Photographers: Up to 3

Photo lab technicians: Up to 1

Photo editors: Up to 2

Wire and web editors: Up to 2

Copy desk chiefs: Up to 1

News assistants: Up to 3

Graphics technicians: Up to 3

Graphics artists: Up to 2

Ironically these cuts happened just before the Star Tribune named Michael Klingensmith the new Publisher and CEO.

Out west, the Los Angeles Times will close its plant in Orange County, which will effect 80 jobs.

On top of that the width of the paper will shrink from 48 inches to 44 inches, something that's being scene across the country at many other companies.

Also beginning Feb. 2, a new section called LATEextra will be published Monday-Saturday for late breaking news.

Before the brink of the new decade The Washington Times published its last Sunday paper on Dec. 27, 2009 and prints editions from Monday-Friday for a $1 a copy, which increased from 50 cents.

And I thought this to be pretty interesting.

According to a new ranking of 200 jobs in the United States in 2009, (Reporter) Newspaper is #184.

The starting salary is set at $20,000 with a midlevel salary range of $35,000 and top level falling at $77,000.

What's worse? Well we've got: Photojournalist (#189), Firefighter (#188), Taxi driver, (#194), Garbage collector (#195), and Roustabout (#200).

What's similar but ranked higher?

Technical Writer #13

Web Developer #15

Publication Editor #65

Photographer #126

Why the Web Developer is put into this group is because of the online media frenzy and how that exactly is trying to wipe out the print media age.

Bruno's Top 10 posts/stories of 2009

2009-12-31T14:11:00.014-05:00

Believe it or not the end of another decade is approaching (in approximately seven and a half hours of this post) and around the sports blogging community some have been posting top 10 Boston sports moments of the decade.

Well I'm not going to be doing that and instead counting down the top 10 posts/stories of 2009 here on Batter-up with Bruno.

Mid-January will mark the blog's fifth birthday from its original creation in 2005 on AOL Journal's and its third since moving to Google's Blogger in February in 2007.

It's come a long way and hopefully my new and old followers will continue to follow me in 2010 and see what's in store for the next decade.

With that said, here is

Bruno's Top 10 posts/stories of 2009:

10. Should the Red Sox go after John Lackey?

Surprisingly GM Theo Epstein did and also reeled in outfielder Mike Cameron as well. I original wrote that post toying with the idea and one month and five days later it became a reality.

9. Bruins done, 'Canes kill 'em

After sweeping the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, the Bruins got beat by the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games in the semis.

8. Follow us on Twitter

On April 26, I decided to take a leap of faith and join the Twitter craze. It's probably one of the best and smartest decisions I've made as far as networking with other Red Sox bloggers. So far I have a total of 210 followers and have to check at least a couple times a week to spam people.

7. Red Sox 2009 season wrap-up: Angels return the favor and sweep ALDS

Jonathan Papelbon was due to give up runs, earned and not earned in the post-season and unfortunately it had to come in blown fashion as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim stole the show away and blasted Boston to advance to the ALCS to face the New York Yankees.

6. Fang's Bites links Batter-up with Bruno twice in one day

I had no idea what this would lead up to and no idea who this person was, but it was the start of my blog's growing network. Ken Fang found my blog on Bleacher Report, which I joined in June. Another smart decision made in 2009. Since the initial linkage, my blog has been also linked on Boston Sports Media Watch, SOX & Dawgs, Sox Addict, Red Sox Monster, Masslive.com (The Springfield Republican's website), National Sports Journalism Center, Boston Band Wagon, and Big League Screw.

5. No more SOX & Dawgs? Top Red Sox website shutdown (for now)

After covering a high school football game I came home to find out Ian Bethune, blogger and owner of SOX & Dawgs shutdown his site effective immediately after the Sox game. The news shocked the blogging and Twitter communities. The good news is it only lasted for two weeks.

*I would also like to note that Ian found my blog on Yardbarker during the 2009 offseason and since then he's helped me out a lot including convincing me to join the Twitter craze and have me post whenever I want on his blog, so thank you Ian for everything this year.

4. What is up with these random commentators?

Red Nation took a scare in 2009 when color announcer Jerry Remy was diagnosed with lung cancer and took an indefinite leave from the broadcast booth from May to late August. For almost four months Don Orsillo teamed up with multiple others including Buck Martinez, Dave Roberts, Sean Casey, Tony Massarotti, and Dennis Eckersley. The 2009 season was definitely one of the eeriest to watch and listen to.

3. I totally called it; David Ortiz linked to steroids

After the Manny Ramirez bombshell in May, two months later Ortiz's name surfaced as another ballplayer who was linked to using performance enhancing drugs. It shocked Red Sox fans all over, but it wasn't as shocking especially with the decline of Big Papi's performance numbers, yet somehow he still managed to hit 28 home runs and drive in 99 runs.

2b. Mike Reiss to leave Globe, join ESPNBoston

This was only the first of many other movements to come, which is way this is split into two parts. After Reiss left, Boston.com's Chris Forsberg followed and former Globe Red Sox beat writer Gordon Edes left Yahoo! Sports to come back to Beantown and cover his team again for the local market.

Other movement at the Globe: Albert Breer replaced Reiss, Zuri Berry replaced Forsberg, Peter Abraham joined the Boston.com staff for Red Sox coverage, Adam Kilgore was moved from the Sox beat to the Patriots, Christopher L. Gasper was named a new columnist joining Bob Ryan and Dan Shaughnessy, Julian Benbow was promoted to become a Celtics beat writer along with Frank Dell'Appa who still covers the Revolution, Gary Washburn replaced Marc J. Spears who left for Yahoo! Sports on the National Basketball beat, and Monique Walker was also promoted for Patriots coverage. Tony Massarotti joined 98.5 FM The Sports Hub, but remains part-time for Boston.com.

Another shocker was Peter Gammons leaving ESPN to join NESN.com and the MLB Network.

2a. How much is too much? Boston pro sports sites uncovered; and The Boston Globe will always be No. 1 ESPNBoston

These two posts go with one another. For some reason 2009 was the year of everyone hopping on the Boston sports coverage bandwagon and one of the reasons more than likely was because of my number one post/story below.

Boston.com now has intense competition with NESN.com and CSNNE.com, which were both revamped over the past year, WEEI.com, and now with ESPNBoston, which already has effected the Globe by taking away two of its staff members. Also 98.5 FM The Sports Hub joined the sports radio airwaves in competition with WEEI 850 AM.

In this down economy, at least it's creating more jobs for Boston sportswriters.

1. No more Boston Globe?!!?

This was by the far the most posted and talked about story of 2009. I think I legitley ticked off a lot of people too, especially on Facebook with the coverage. When the news first broke it was my biggest nightmare coming true. What started in the beginning of April was dragged out until the end of June, but after it was all said and done, the Globe and Guild reached an agreement including a pay cut, reduced benefits, and unpaid furloughs.

Happy New Year!!! What will 2010 bring...???

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-24T23:28:00.003-05:00

Will Jason Bay be the new Johnny Damon in Boston?

2009-12-23T17:04:00.003-05:00

There's something cooking in New York and no, it's not the Mets.

Melky Cabrera got shipped away to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Javier Vazquez as he'll have his second stint in pinstripes.

With Curtis Granderson as one of the newest outfielders for the Yankees this doesn't seem surprising, but with Hideki Matsui off to California (even though he served as a designated hitter in 2009) and Johnny Damon more than likely on his way out, why trade away an outfielder?

Unless, there's another sure deal in the works.

That's where Jason Bay comes in.

No matter what anyone says, Bay is not coming back to Boston. It's more than clear.

Bay could very well be the newest signing in New York after Christmas.

If that does happen, where does this leave Red Sox fans?

Will he be another traitor just like Damon?

Will fans boo him so hard every time his name is announced or comes to the plate at Fenway they'll lose their voices?

Or how about making creative signs to show their true feelings?

Yes it would be devastating, I mean this guy came from the Pittsburgh Pirates and no one knew who he was until he replaced Manny Ramirez in 2008. Now all of a sudden everyone wants this guy including the Yankees. But it's true props to Theo Epstein for finding him first.

It always seems to happen this way. Maybe Bay will be smart and go to Seattle like everyone else.

Mike Lowell Texas trade off; Good or bad for Boston?

2009-12-20T13:42:00.005-05:00

The Mike Lowell to Texas trade is officially off reported by Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe.

Lowell needs to have surgery due to a torn ligament in his right thumb.

He'll have surgery later this month.

The original deal was sending Lowell along with $9 million of his remaining $12 salary for the 2010 season to Texas in exchange for catcher Max Ramirez.

Maybe this isn't such a bad thing.

The Rangers plan was to send Lowell across the diamond to play first base. Perhaps Boston should think about doing the same.

Or after the surgery, perhaps Theo Epstein could try to move him again in a trade package, but that seems unlikely at this point.

How awkward that must be for Lowell and Epstein. It's like, 'Hey so it looks like you'll staying in Boston after all, heh, heh. I hope you understand our situation, no hard feelings?'

With Lowell's class, there shouldn't be a problem. Maybe even better he could produce to prove everyone wrong. He shouldn't be an everyday guy just because of his hip and if he were to switch over to first base if the Red Sox don't trade for Adrian Gonzalez, him and Kotchman along with the versatility of Kevin Youkilis could all rotate.

It's just one possible scenario if no other moves are made. But in reality, more moves need to be made especially with the loss of Jason Bay's bat.

Even without Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox team is scary

2009-12-17T18:12:00.005-05:00

Do the Boston Red Sox really need Adrian Gonzalez?

Of course he'd be the ultimate prize and prime solution for first base, but it still wouldn't be the end of the world if he winds up not coming to Boston.

Theo Epstein made some very smart transactions this week signing John Lackey and Mike Cameron.

Lackey bolsters the starting rotation with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Clay Buchholz, and Tim Wakefield.

Cameron fills the void of the departed Jason Bay, which isn't official, but pretty much likely. Bay is not returning to Boston, end of story.

The outfield will feature Cameron, Jacoby Ellsbury, and J.D. Drew.

That's not too shabby is it?

With the current players on the team, here's what the lineup could look like:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury LF/CF

2. Marco Scutaro SS

3. Dustin Pedroia 2B

4. Victor Martinez C

5. Kevin Youkilis 3B

6. J.D. Drew RF

7. David Ortiz DH

8. Mike Cameron LF/CF

9. Casey Kotchman 1B

* Or have Scutaro more towards the bottom of the lineup and move everyone else up.

What's wrong with this lineup?

The one question mark will be nonetheless David Ortiz, but say if the Mike Lowell trade falls through? Why not keep Lowell and have him DH and get rid of Papi? At least Lowell can still produce the numbers and won't strikeout all of the time.

The Sox don't absolutely need Gonzalez, but of course he'd be nice to have. It's all about not being too greedy, which is better known as the New York Yankees.

Memo to Theo Epstein: Don't trade Jacoby Ellsbury!!!

2009-12-16T11:17:00.006-05:00

Theo Epstein you're a fool if you trade away Jacoby Ellsbury, one of your homegrown even if it's to bring in Adrian Gonzalez from the San Diego Padres.

Why in the world would you trade away a clutch defender, 70 steals, leadoff hitter, something that any Boston Red Sox team

hasn't seen ever?

There are other options Theo. Even if it's parting with Clay Buchholz, which would also be a shame since the starting rotation on paper looks to be more deadly than even the reign World Champions (dare I say it) New York Yankees.

Tim Wakefield will be iffy in 2010, there's no question about that so why ship away a reliable arm?

The signings of John Lackey and Mike Cameron make it easier to trade both Buchholz and Ellsbury, however who is going to play left-field and who'll lead off?

Yes I know, it'll be for Gonzalez, the 27-year-old who hit 40 home runs and drove in 99 runs and also walked 119 times, but you can't have enough pitching unless Boston might be willing to risk and sign Chien-Ming Wang who left on not good terms.

Just in case you've forgotten, Wang was the Yankees No. 1 starter and won 19 games in 2006 and 2007.

Marco Scutaro can't lead off and he certainly won't steal 70 bags.

Move Ellsbury to left-field if you have to because whether you like it or not, Jason Bay is not coming back and it's quite a shame really, but what are you going to do.

The Sox would be deadly if they acquire Gonzalez and the move makes sense, but throw in Max Ramirez instead of Ellsbur, there are other options, this isn't Nomar Garciaparra.

Mike Lowell for Max Ramirez WHO!?

2009-12-10T11:37:00.005-05:00

Mike Lowell who was the 2007 World Series MVP is reportedly being dealt over to the Texas Rangers along with $9 of his remaining salary for catcher/first baseman Max Ramirez.

FOXSports.com first broke out with the news late Wednesday night about the trade however Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston reported that the deal isn't done yet after he contacted Rangers GM John Daniels.

Ramirez, 25 has only played in 17 Major League games in 2008. He didn't play in 2009 at the Major League level, but at two minor league levels. His combined stats aren't that impressive.

He batted a combined .230 with 5 home runs, 45 runs-batted-in, 15 doubles, 36 walks, and struck out 93 times in only 80 games.

Now the question is why? Why trade Lowell and eat up most of his contract for this guy?

The trade shouldn't be a complete surprise, but this is far from over. Moving Lowell means something else has to go down.

Scott Boras suggested yesterday that the Red Sox trade Lowell and sign Adrian Beltre.

Yahoo! Sports is suggesting that's exactly what's going to happen.

To be continued?

Red Sox offseason notes: Who's the next acquisition? Bay, Holliday, Halladay, or Harden?

2009-12-06T15:32:00.007-05:00

With the shortstop position officially filled with the signing of Marco Scutaro, many wonder what the next big signing will be.

So far there hasn't been anything big looming with left-fielder Jason Bay, but MLBTradeRumors.com reported that the Seattle Mariners are making a big push for him.

Speaking of the Mariners, it looks like they want to be serious contenders in 2010 as they already inked Chone Figgins and might also be in the mix for John Lackey.

The Sox already lost Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito to the Atlanta Braves who are bolstering its bullpen.

What is Theo Epstein waiting for?

It's either going to be Matt Holliday or Bay to fill the left-field hole and if Boston wants to be contenders with New York, they have to add another arm not only to the starting rotation, but now the bullpen.

Besides the Roy Halladay sweepstakes rumors, now Rich Harden of the Chicago Cubs is in the mix.

Who's it going to be Boston?

Red Sox to open 2010 season in Australia false

2009-12-05T16:09:00.003-05:00

There was a claim earlier that the Boston Red Sox would be opening up the 2010 season in Sydney, Australia.

The Sunday Telegraph, the Sunday edition of The Daily Telegraph reported:

"THE Boston Red Sox, one of the world's most famous baseball teams, are coming to Australia for a Major League game at our own field of dreams - the Sidney Cricket Ground - next year."

The story said that team officials watched the Danny Green-Roy Jones Jr. fight at Acer Arena on Wednesday night as guests.

The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham posted later on the Extra Bases blog that the reports were not true saying a "Red Sox source said the story wasn't true."

That's too bad, but then again I'm sure the players are even more relieved that it's not true. Can't imagine how they felt after the Japan opener in 2007, in yet they also made it to the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

But then again, everyone knows how that ended.

Coming in January 2010: BUWB Top 20 College Newspaper Sites

2009-12-03T16:38:00.007-05:00

With the MLB trade rumors in full force, I've been taking a break from the college newspaper reporting scene, but have concocted a masterful idea.

In January 2010, Batter-up with Bruno will list the Top 20 college newspaper sites in the country.

The list will solely focus on the site, not the actual newspaper. With the changing journalism industry it's only fair.

The rankings will be based on five categories:

1. Overall design and appearance

2. Navigation

3. Frequent Updates

4. Story content and writing

5. Multimedia

Each of those categories will earn between 0-5 points and that's how the list will be compiled.

If you have any suggestions of sites to look into feel free to contact me or leave a comment under this post.

Spread the word and let the games begin.

Forget about Polanco, Phillies ink second baseman

2009-12-03T16:07:00.002-05:00

In less than 24-hours, the Placido Polanco to Boston rumors are dead.

The Philadelphia Phillies inked the Detroit Tigers second baseman for a three-year $18 million contract The Detroit Free Press reported.

With Polanco off the market, perhaps those Dustin Pedroia moving over to shortstop rumors will die too.

At this point, it's all about Marco Scutaro, whether you agree or not.