Clearing the Air

Hey folks! S'up? Lenny Dinardo here. Yeah, I know I'm not a 'sistah', but the way my name gets bandied about around here I figured it was high time I hijacked this blog and defended my good name!

Yeah, I said 'bandied'! What of it?

Anyhow, first things first. I wanted to apologize for, you know, sucking the entire time I was up with the Red Sox this season. It wasn't exactly how I planned for things to go. I figured with Bronson gone it would be my time to shine. Boy was I wrong!

Crap! I couldn't even get through the first few paragraphs without mentioning the "B" word. Sorry. It won't happen again.

See, I didn't know I sucked. Okay, I kind of knew I sucked, but tell me this, which one of YOU would give up the opportunity to pitch in the bigs for the Boston Friggin' Red Sox, just because you stunk? I don't see any hands. I didn't think so. So off my back please.

You know, I've been doing a lot more this off-season than just talking to Bronson. (DAMMIT!)

I went to Arizona to pitch out of the bullpen for the Peoria Javelinas. The season is over now, but I came out of it with a 1-0 record and a 2.70 ERA. Oh yeah, and in 10 games I struck out 16 batters.

SIXTEEN! Eat THAT Kyle Snyder! You Bronson wannabe.

Crap.

Okay, back to baseball. What do you all think of this Matsuzaka dude, huh? When I first heard about him I thought his name was Matt Suzaka and I'd have someone to hit the North End with, but then David Pauley explained it all. $51.11 million? Damn, for that amount of money I would have had that surgery, er, I mean, that's a lot of money huh? Well, I'm not worried.

Should I be worried? Maybe I should call Bronson? (Shit!)

Speaking of phone calls, I got one that will interest you all! Manny called me today. Okay, he thought he was calling his dry cleaner, but still...he called ME! I'm pretty sure he won't be going anywhere. When I asked him about the trade rumors he wanted to know who was getting traded. I'm pretty sure we're safe.

Man, this blogging thing is tough. I don't know how these chicks do it! Let's see, what else did I want to say? Oh yeah, thanks to this blog and other strategically placed photos around the internet, there has been a lot of speculating about the nature of my relationship with Bronson. I just want people to know that we're friends...that's all. Like Joey and Chandler on "Friends". Except neither of us is as funny as Chandler. I don't know where people get the idea that we're anything other than that. Just because Bronson brought me presents from Japan doesn't mean anything. He probably brought something back for Dave Weathers too, that rat bastard.

My fingers are starting to hurt. All this typing better not affect my pitching, now that I'm back on track.

Well, in closing I'd just like to say, I never wanted to be a pitcher anyway, but it was the only way to stay close to Bronson.

I mean...

Aw, screw it!

Reasons to Be Thankful

Today is the day set aside for us Americans to give thanks to whomever or whatever we feel thankful to for our bounty. For those of us with a special interest in baseball and the Red Sox, it is also an appropriate time to ignore the negativity that manages to infuse itself into our game and our team and instead focus on the good stuff.

In that spirit, here are a few of the many things I am thankful for today.

• I am thankful that Theo and the Trio won the Daisuke Matsuzaka sweepstakes...


• ...and that they enjoyed an early Thanksgiving dinner with the Japanese phenom.


• I am thankful for our other young major league pitchers, like Jonathan Papelbon and Josh Beckett.


• Speaking of young pitchers, I am thankful that Jon Lester has lots of support as he battles cancer, and that he has access to excellent health care and the means to obtain it.


• I am thankful that Derek Jeter didn't win the AL MVP...


• ...and that haughty New Yorkers are apoplectic about it.


• But more than that, I am thankful to have more intelligence than the 27 baseball writers who didn't give David Ortiz as much as a second place vote, especially the one who didn't give him any vote at all.


• I am thankful, and will be ever so, for the 2004 Red Sox, who made generations smile.


• I am thankful for a job that provides enough income to allow me enjoyment of several Red Sox games every year.


• I am thankful to be in the midst of planning my fifth annual spring training vacation.


• I am thankful to our loyal readers.


• I am thankful for my sistahs.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

Why You Ask?

Diamonds

They say diamonds are a girls’ best friend
perfect in shape, form,
brilliant color reflecting in the admirers’ eyes.
Each one different than the next;
Yet all bring the same feelings,
the same joy, the same smile
When a man steps up to the plate and
Finally says, “Play Ball!”

The one question I get asked when people find out I am a Red Sox fan and a born and raised Texan: Why? Why the Red Sox? Where’s the connection? What about the Astros or the Rangers? Where’s your loyalty to your own state’s team? So I tell them…you want to blame someone or something…blame Roger…blame Roger Clemens and blame the passion of the Red Sox Nation.

In a state where Football is God…I became a baseball fan. I am not sure if it came about when I rode my bike to the Little League ball field to watch my friends play or because of the high school ballplayers in their tight white pants. Perhaps it was because I became enthralled with the way a ball came across the plate where a wooden bat connected and whacked it hard over the pitcher and shortstop, falling short of the centerfielder, while watching the batter haul ass around the bases trying to make a triple. Maybe it was how the catcher “sits” behind the plate calling the pitches, while the runner on 1st tries to steal 2nd. Or just that I enjoyed the sound of the ‘thump’ of the ball hitting the catcher’s mitt from a fastball pitched. It really doesn’t matter because at some point in my younger life, I became an avid baseball fan.

I did follow the Astros, that is, until Roger. I attended Lamar University, a local college in Beaumont, Texas where the baseball program was as important, if not more important than the football program. (by the way, Lamar is the alma mater of Kevin Millar) Coach Jim Gilligan made it that way and still does today. Following baseball, I heard of a baseball phenom at UT, Roger Clemens. I followed Roger to the Red Sox and watched him succeed. So blame Roger…he is the reason I became a Red Sox fan. So now you ask, why didn’t you follow him to Toronto or to New York (gasp!)? Because after following Roger to Boston…I became a more avid fan of baseball but even more so…a fan of Red Sox baseball and became a part of the Red Sox Nation. How can you watch the BoSox fans and players and not get caught up into the passion of it all?

One thing I learned was Boston loves the Red Sox.

Make no mistake, I am a Texan so unlike some in the Red Sox Nation in Massachusetts, I still love Roger and follow him from afar, wishing him well even when he was playing for the enemy. So there, that is my story of how a die hard born and raised Texan gal became a Red Sox fan. And if you want to judge my loyalty or whether I'm a die hard Red Sox fan..just ask the Sistahs here, they'll tell ya.

Signed,

Texan By Birth

Red Sox by Choice

Hello (hello... hello...)

... Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone at home?

With apologies to Roger Waters, it has been quiet here lately. Over on my own Red Sox blog, I finally wrapped up the postseason stats of ex-Red Sox players and even did a drive-by posting about what little hot stove news there has been. I see that Beazer is similarly grasping for blog topics and has elected to post her greatest hits.

Meanwhile, somewhere deep in the heart of Texas, erstwhile-and-soon-to-be-again Sox Sistah Tex is trying to figure out exactly how she screwed up her Blogger.com account such that she can't post here. Trust me, when she finally gets things straightened out, you'll be glad she is here. If you've ever been at Fenway and seen a crazy woman waving a Texas flag, you have had a small taste of the Tex experience. I can only imagine what gleeful musings she would have posted (had she been able) when the Sox re-signed her compatriot Mike Timlin.

Of course, it would also be nice to hear from the other Sistahs who have not yet posted here. I hesitate to mention any names, but their initials are Bballwidow, Ladynightingale1, and Fenway123. Brenken just barely escapes scrutiny by virtue of a solitary post back in May.

Speaking of Brenken, she is coming north from her tropical lair in a couple weeks! Will we be able to capture her in pixels? How many Sistahs can we get in front of the camera at one time? Which of them will go postal after seeing said images posted here for our loyal readers to see? The world is waiting to find out.