Corey's 1st Red Sox Game

Guess where I'm going? FENWAY PARK!!! Duh!
Hey Dad, guess where I am?
Batting Practice!
Newest member of the Fenway Faithful - Corey Camper!

So Good, So Good, So Good! The video:

No-No...Lefty-style!

I am very ashamed and remorseful for my lack of attention to my blog this season. I had glorious plans in the off-season to add "player of the week" postings, to promote the Red Sox Foundation - and, then - I most certainly had plans to write about Opening Day/Ring Ceremony, and other events and milestones. I've done none of that. Not one single task that I set out to do, in terms of my blog, got done. These details are only important as an indication of how important it is for me to get this historical event posted in such a timely fashion.

What is so important that it's dragged me out my too-busy-for-blogging life (yeah, ask me how many games I've attended this season already - if you traveled 70 miles several times a week and worked full-time, you've had trouble finding the time too!) that I sit in front of my PC now and share with you? A No-Hitter. Oh...so what, you say, Nolan Ryan pitched 7 of them, Sandy Koufax did it 4 times (one was a perfect game)....so, big deal, the Red Sox had a no-hitting game? But, it's not exactly that simple.

As in life, the history of Major League Baseball is made up of many special moments mixed in with the ho-hum balls, strikes, walks, hits, etc. And, again, as in life, you never quite know when a special moment is going to happen, or who's special moment it will be. So, last night, as I literally hobbled my way down Mass Ave to Fenway, my right ankle lathered in Icy Hot, wrapped in an ace bandage, trying to minimize the stress on my tendonitis (am I an idiot or what, shouldn't I have been home in bed?) - dressed in several layers of heavy, winter clothing to protect myself against the plummeting temperatures with a 20 mile an hour wind - I gotta tell ya, I wasn't feeling anything special about this night, this game.

We didn't actually even settle in to watch the game until well into the 2nd inning. Oh sure, it was clear the Kansas City Royals' at-bats were swift and uneventful. The Red Sox bats were responsive...in fact, the wind blowing in from the northeast prevented a number of additional runs - pop flys which, on any other night, would have been home runs. It honestly wasn't until the sixth inning, when my friend made a phone call and mentioned: "No hits so far" did the words "no-hitter" even enter my mind. And, no one was talking about it, the crowd was quiet, for the most part, almost somber for Fenway....but, there it was, 7th then 8th inning, all zeros lined up on the Green Monster, no hits from the Royals. It was when Jon Lester came out to close the game that the crowd suddenly seemed to realize that there was an opportunity for one of those special moments in baseball. I have to be honest - I had my doubts, by the time Lester took the mound for the 9th time that evening, his pitch count was well over 100, and though he quickly dismissed the first batter, he walked the second (although, I must admit, 2 of those balls were bad calls, they really were strikes). I caught myself holding my breath each time the ball left young Lester's hand, expecting any one of the Royals hungry, eager bats to take a chunk of one of those cutter balls into the bleachers, but that moment did not come. It all happened so fast, quite frankly - as most amazing moments do - after the walk - the runner would end up on 2nd base and that would be as close as the Royals would come to home plate. 2 swift outs, and that, my friends, we call a no-hitter....before you could even say the words, Jason Varitek had Jon Lester hoisted up off the ground in true team captain fashion, as we've seen him with Papelbon time and time again, and with our young Clay Buchholz last September.

Let's talk turkey, shall we? Because special moments aren't special unless you know what makes them special and the cold, hard stats are what really matter in baseball. First of all, let's take Jon Lester - he's had his share of mention in my rantings - he is, as everyone knows, a cancer survivor (as is Mike Lowell). Everyone knows he was the starting pitcher in WS4, an intergral part of the sweep against the Rockies. As if that's not enough for this young pitcher who only pitched 12 regular season games last year, won 4 and lost none....pretty good stuff for a young pitcher who is still considered a rookie by payroll standards. Oh sure, other pitchers have thrown no-hitters, some more than once - but this is only the 9th no-hitter in the history of Fenway, only the 18th for the Red Sox (4 of which have been in the last 7 years), it's been 52 years since any other lefty pitcher has done it. Jon had never thrown more than 113 pitches, but the 130th that left the arm of this southpaw last night was a 96 mph fastball. And, as for the Royals, the only other pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter to the KC Royals is, yup, Nolan Ryan. Our Mr. Jon Lester is certainly wandering in the path of greatness today.

This win is truly remarkable for Jon Lester, but it's also a remarkable win for our humble team captain, Jason Varitek. We all know what a cerebral asset Varitek is to the Red Sox, brilliant at what he does - it cannot go unmentioned that Jason is the common link between Jon Lester's no-hitter last night and Clay Buchholz's no-hitter just 80 baseball days earlier. This win makes Jason Varitek the first catcher in MLB to receive 4 no-hitters - Nomo, Lowe, Buchholz and now Lester.

My WS champs 2007 baseball cap off to both of you, Jon and Jason - most sincere gratitude for yet another special moment at Fenway! It was one of those nights when I'd wished I'd brought my camera!

Feelin' it in 2008,

Ann, the Red Sox fan

Twas the night before...

OPENING DAY!!! (what'd you think I was going to say? It's April, for crying out loud!)

It's after 11pm, I know that I need to be up early...but, it's like a first day of school, like going to summer camp, like Christmas...or the night before vacation! There's an anticipation...an accelerator of sorts, racing thoughts of the pitching match-ups and finally wearing my new game jersey - the one with the World Series patch. They say if you don't go to sleep - Santa won't visit you....yeah, well, Santa visited me before 3pm today - his name was Ed, he's a tall, quiet guy who loves the Sox...he was wearing a Fedex uniform. :-) I....me....little Miss nobody - I'm going to Opening Day!

I've said it before and I'll say it again - "All you need is love" - sing it with me....that's all the Red Sox need to get their groove back on....a little love from Red Sox Nation.

Welcome Home, Men....we're so happy to see you and proud to have you back. Let's start the season right....it's just too bad that this time - the Yankees aren't here to watch! It's Ok, you can show 'em your rings this weekend...

Lovin' each and every one of you....see you tomorrow!
Ann, the Red Sox fan

First sign of Spring in New England

Here in New England, with our long, cold winters - we look for the tiniest of glimpses that spring is on it's way. What marks that the season is just around the corner? What indications do we seek? Is it Punxsatawney Phil and his shadow? Who believes that crap anyway? The crocuses popping their little heads out of the ground? Not quite. For any member of Red Sox Nation - it's TRUCK DAY!

Well, folks...today is that day. The truck showed up at Yawkey Way early this morning. What truck? If you don't know about Truck Day - let me tell you: It's the day when the tractor trailer arrives at Fenway to load the Red Sox equipment and haul it all down to Ft. Myers, Florida - home of Red Sox Spring Training.

There may still be snow in the forecast and a frigid blast on the way - with no flora or fauna in sight - but, the Fenway Faithful are warm with the promise of another magnificent season of baseball.

This is the first sign of spring that inspires me the most!

Happy Travels!

Ann, the Red Sox fan

(photos are courtesy of Boston Globe)

Countdown to Spring Training!

My blog has silent for nearly 2 months now. And, with all of the long faces here in New England this week - I thought it appropos to cheer everyone up with news from a team that DID go all the way - and can do it again!

Pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training on February 14 and my list of 2008 valentine's this year include:

Josh Beckett
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Tim Wakefield
Jon Lester

Clay Buchholz
Jonathan Papelbon
Hideki Okijima
Mike Timlin
Jason Varitek
Doug Mirabelli

There are a number of other pitchers and catchers on the roster, but you get the jist.

Wondering why Curt Schilling isn't on the list?

BREAKING NEWS: As you may or may not be aware, Curt Schilling began experiencing shoulder pain in December (long after he passed his Red Sox contract physical). Schilling saw the Red Sox' doctor who prescribed rest and rehab. Then, Curt saw his own personal doctor who recommended immediate surgery - and went on to say that, in his opinion, Curt will never pitch again unless he has the surgery. As per the contract, they brought in a 3rd opinion - who agreed with the first recommendation - rest and rehab. Seemingly, they all agree on one thing - we won't see Curt until half way through the season. Now, this is serious - if Curt can't pitch, we're not that deep in starting pitchers. More than likely, Clay Buchholz will be called up to fill the absence in the rotation. PLEASE THEO - don't let it be Tavares!

Read more about it:

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080208&content_id=2368243&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos - What MLB has to say

http://38pitches.com/ - In Curt's own words

http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GWYA,GWYA:2006-07,GWYA:en&q=curt+schilling&um=1&sa=N&tab=wn - The latest news

I have mixed feelings about this. I think Clay Buchholz would do a good job....was the no-no a fluke? Perhaps...but, I've no doubt he can pitch. Clay is quite willing to let Varitek lead the way, as it should be. And, you know what, folks....there was a chunk of the season last year when we were without Schilling...we still went ALL THE WAY! Does it make you wonder "what if" we'd closed the Santana deal instead of letting him go to the Mets? Ah...woulda, coulda, shoulda...we still got Jacoby Ellsbury!

Remaining hopeful and optimistic,

Ann, the Red Sox fan