Reflecting on the 2006 Season

While enjoying a few cocktails with a some of my Sox Sistahs at the Cask, I ventured onto the topic of what they thought of the 2006 Red Sox season. People have a tendency to seek me out to discuss everything Sox and I have been amazed at how negative people have been about the 2006 season. It surprises me, because I don't really judge a season by the standings at the end of the year. I look at the big picture of the entire season. If for the most part I have been able to enjoy a full season of competitive baseball, then I'm happy. Here are some of the memories of 2006 that helped make the season bright for me.

• I was thrilled to see Curt Schilling pitch in early April like the Curt Schilling we knew in 2004.


• Kevin Youkilis at first base playing like he was born to be on first.


• Our incredible defensive infield, Yo Lo Go Lo Va.


• Everything about Mike Lowell.


• Mark Loretta's walk off on Patriots Day.


• Jonathan Papelbon shutting the other team down in the ninth.


• Watching Jon Lester get his first major league win.


• Doug Mirabelli's dramatic entrance back with the Red Sox right before game time.


• Seeing the rookies get hazed by the veterans.


• Jason Varitek breaking Carlton Fisk's Red Sox catching record.


• David Ortiz and his outstanding 54 home runs.

Well off the top of my head these are what I remember about the 2006 season. I'm sure I've missed a few stellar moments and would love to have some additional input, so please comment and add your own favorite moments of 2006.

Here's to a Winning 2007!

Where oh Where Have All My Sox Sistahs gone?

Where oh Where

have all my Sox Sistahs gone??

Oh where oh where can they be?

With their blogging cut short

And their faces so long,

Oh where oh where can they be?

With all the razzing I got from the confusion of me beginning my blogging lessons, I think it is with my pleasure that I post the 1st post AFTER the cleanup. Christmas has come and gone. My favorite gift was spending Christmas morning eating breakfast at The Waffle House in my pj's with my sis and her family.

NOW Where ARE the other Sox Sistahs??? or are they not invited?

Excuse Our Mess...

This blog has just migrated to the new version of Blogger, our blogging service. While the changes resulting from the migration should be visible only to us posters, I wanted to bring a couple things to the attention of our loyal readers:

1. Where are all the other sistahs? As I type this post, only myself and Beazer are listed as "Contributors" in the sidebar. This is, I am guessing, because the other contributors need to do their own mini-migration to the new service before they can post—which I hope they will do very soon (migrate and post).


2. What are those funny "labels"? One feature of the new service is the ability of the poster to assign labels—categories, essentially—to a post. If you click on a label, you'll see all the posts assigned that label. Give it a try by clicking on "housekeeping" at the bottom of this post.


3. What about comments? As far as I know, reader comments should continue to work as they did before. Blogger had an issue with users not being able to delete their comments if they made a mistake, but I think that problem was resolved.

That, I hope, is all you need to know about the change. We're still here to give you the very wittiest female baseball fan insight the internet has to offer. So keep coming back.

Red Sox Survivor: "The Right Stuff"

Welcome to "Red Sox Survivor: The Right Stuff", brought to you by the Boston Red Sox and Champion Ford.

And, now, live from Fenway Park, here's your host, Kevin Millar!

Howdy Sox Nation! It's great to be back in Boston!

You aren't 'back', Kevin. But if you do a good job, I might be willing to make you an offer. We lost about 10 "Fenway Ambassadors" after last season's third-place finish.

Fine! Let's just get this started.

Good man!

Okay, here's the deal. The Red Sox need a right fielder and this game is going to decide who that right fielder will be. We're going to decide tonight WHO has "The Right Stuff!" (giggles) Get it? The RIGHT Stuff? This is gonna be great! We have three contestants tonight. Our first contestant has been in the bigs for ten years. All with the same team. And even though they refused to offer him arbitration, here he is tonight. Ladies and Gentlemen, the original Dirt Dog - Trot Nixon!

::After high fiving, hugging, and a new handshake with Kevin, Trot takes his place in left field::

Great to see you, brother!

I'm just grateful to God for giving me the opportunity to be here.

I had more to do with it than God, Trot.

::Awkward silence::

Aaanyhoo...our second contestant tried playing the outfield in Fenway last year and sucked like one of my babies on my wife's...

Millar!

Yeah, whatever. Here he is, Wily Mo Pena.

:: Wily Mo runs to Kevin and tries to hug him. Kevin punches him in the stomach and Pena doesn't flinch::

Damn! Sorry Bronson, I tried, man.

I'll stand in centerfield...for now.

Just don't try to catch anything, heh-heh! Right Trot?

People who live in glass houses, Kevin. Glass houses.

::sigh:: I'm so unappreciated. Okay, and contestant three is made of glass and probably blows Theo weekly...ladies and gentlemen, D.J. Drew.

It's J.D., punk.

Whatever, D.J. Go stand in right field, but don't get too comfortable. I'll see you after the show. Now, the rules are simple, there are two categories: defense and offense. We'll see who does the best in the field and then take it to the plate. I judge everyone's performance and choose the winner.

This is supposed to be "Survivor". Don't we get to vote?

No. My show, my rules.

Actually, Kevin, it's my show.

Okay, whatever. Let's take a minute to hear from our sponsor and we'll be right back.

::wipes away a tear:: 2004, man, 2004. (shakes his head) Okay, back to the game. My amigo, Manny Ramirez is at the plate and I'm going to throw him a meatball. We'll rate the contestants on how they respond to Manny hitting one out.

I'm ready, Man!

:: Manny hits the pitch to Drew in right field. Drew watches the ball go over his head, Trot runs over from left field, knocking over Wily Mo and smashing himself into the wall. As he falls down, Wily Mo gets a glove on the ball and knocks it into the stands::

:: JD Drew threw out his shoulder watching the ball go by and will be on the disabled list for two months::
:: Trot strained his ass again and will be on the disabled list for two months::

:: Wily Mo wins the position by forfeit::

Man, that didn't go the way I thought it would.

Funny. It went exactly the way I thought it would.

With props (or apologies) to Surviving Grady and The Dugout.

Good luck, Gabe!

I haven't met many players in person, but I had the chance to meet Gabe in December of 2005 (the picture above is from that meeting). He was well-(and soft) spoken and so obviously happy to be there. That season ended poorly for him. He ruptured his Achilles' tendon and some of us were sure he wouldn't play in 2006.

I asked him that day how he felt and he told me he felt great. He also told me he'd be back playing soon. He thanked me and my friend for coming out and he signed a dvd and a photo for me. I always liked Gabe but I was never taken with him the way many women in Red Sox Nation seem to be taken.

That changed after I met him. :-)

Gabe Kapler will never be a Hall of Famer. He'll probably only be remembered by fans of the 2004 Red Sox (as one of "The 25"). But he was so much more to the team.

He started the 2005 season in Japan and I remember watching him on "Extra Innings" when he came back to the team. Tom Caron told him that everyone in the clubhouse talked constantly about how much they missed him. This seemed to truly surprise Gabe.
When the Red Sox clinched the Wild Card in 2005, Gabe already had his surgery. He wasn't playing with the team, but showed up that day to celebrate in the clubhouse with his teammates. Many players remarked on how much it meant to them that he was there. It meant a lot to the fans too. Remember, Gabe is the guy who took less money to come back to the team in 2004, because he wanted to play in Boston.

Gabe Kapler is one of those rare people who seems to be a genuinely good guy. Even though he was never quite a superstar, he took his success and began his own foundation - dedicated to promoting awareness about domestic violence. In a field where powerful men who dominate all those around them are revered, Gabe chooses to be the man who admits that you don't have to flaunt your strength to be a real man.

I had great hopes for this post. But the truth is, writing about Gabe made me a little more emotional than I expected. When I read about his retirement, I immediately decided to write this brilliant account of his career. Something to convey how special he is to Red Sox Nation, because there are many fans outside the Nation who just won't get it. Instead, I find myself very sad and it's difficult for me to find the proper words to write a brilliant farewell for Gabe.

Luckily for us, Gabe is not going far. He's staying on with the team as the manager for the Greenville Drive, in South Carolina. Gabe's feelings on his new assignment? Predictably humble:

"A place where I'm going to be rewarded emotionally and spiritually to have an extreme impact on somebody's life can be much more powerful than hitting a home run in a clutch situation. "It feels right inside of my body."

It feels right inside of his body.

Reading those words gives me chills.

It isn't often you can say you're proud of someone like a professional athlete. Gabe Kapler is the type of person who makes that possible.

I'm so proud he continues on with the team and I'm proud that we in "The Nation" will always be able to say he's ours.

My apologies for the rambling post...but Gabe deserves more than just a brief mention.

Thanks for it all, Gabe!

Number Twenty-Four*

When you get older losing your swing
many years from now,
will you still be pointing to the fans you love
waving, smiling, losing your glove?

If you sit out a month and a half,
would you sit for more?
Come on, don't tease us. Please dude don't leave us.
Number twenty-four.

You'll be lonely too!

And if you say the word,
we will cheer for you!

Papi will be there, taking the heat,
when you want a rest.
You can carry water when you play the field.
Wily Mo can act as your shield.

Hitting a double, taking the lead,
who could ask for more?
Come on, don't tease us. Please dude don't leave us.
Number twenty-four.

Every summer we will watch you hit behind you friend David,
Big Papi Ortiz.

We shall scream and cheer!

You get to pick your days,
to sit against the Jays.

We'll send you postcards and drop you a line
stating we love you!
Write letters to CHB and Steve Buckley.
All they do is help kill some trees.

Give us your answer, tell us the score.
Be ours forever more!

Come on, don't tease us. Please dude don't leave us.
Number twenty-four.

*With apologies to Lennon (who didn't really co-write "When I'm Sixty-Four" but gets the credit), McCartney and any of the 'sistahs' who don't agree with the sentiment!