It’s Dec. 2, it’s snowing in Texas, and my street in Hampshire, Illinois, has more Christmas lights than street lights, but you know what I’m thinking about?

Baseball!

This is a tough time of year for major league baseball fans because almost nothing is happening. But if you check out your favorite Major League Baseball team’s website, you’ll probably find the spring training schedule, and now’s the time to plan a trip!

Chicago fans – both Cubs and Sox – spend March in Arizona, where both teams have spring training facilities. But Minnesota Twins fans flock to Fort Myers, Florida, to watch games in the intimate Lee County Sports Complex.

I’ve been to spring training games for six of the past seven years. I love watching spring training baseball games! You get to see your favorite players close up, and the weather in Florida in March is full of sunshine and warmth.

Twins spring training begins March 4 this year, and now’s the time to plan a trip using those frequent flier miles … or selling plasma for tickets … or whatever it takes. Here are some tips:

Where to stay: Fort Myers is a sprawling town — a long way from one end to the other. So get a map and choose a hotel or campground nearer to the Twins stadium. One year, I stayed in a bed and breakfast in downtown Fort Myers, and that was nice (and reasonably priced), but it was sort of far from the stadium.

Where to eat: The restaurants in that town are decidedly mass market. You can find all the standard brand names and any kind of food. I can’t think of a can’t-miss restaurant but there is a diner in a railcar type setup that’s nice for breakfast (but offers standard food). The best thing you can do is buy fresh citrus to enjoy (there are orchards and road-side stands) — it’s delicious.

Stuff to do besides baseball: There is great shopping in Fort Myers. Miromar Outlet Mall (south of Fort Myers on Corkscrew Road at Interstate 75) is a great place to spend the better part of a day. There are bunches of other options, too, including Tanger Outlet on Summerlin Road. There are a ton of golf courses in the Fort Myers area, so I’m sure you could find something very nice, but I hate golfing so I’m not a good one to recommend anything. As for the beach, Fort Myers beach is not so nice. It’s crowded and kind of dirty. Go to Sanibel Island instead. Even if you just drive around Sanibel, it’s worth the trip (it’s a toll road, so bring some change). I ran 9 miles around the island one time (when I was training for the marathon) and that was cool, but I think they have bike rentals, too. There are some nice, unique restaurants on Sanibel, so if you’re there at meal time, that’s cool.

Twins games: Now, about the Twins. Go early! The home games start at 1:05 p.m. Show up at 10 a.m., and you can see batting practice, pitching practice and lots of other goings-on up close. You can wander around, check out the grounds and see who’s playing where (there are a lot of practice fields). I sat in the bleachers one year with Tom Kelly. We could hear him talking. It was cool — definitely worth going early. Buy a program — it’s cheap, and you’ll have time to read it.

Getting autographs: There’s a walkway to the left of the entrance to the stadium — that’s where you can get autographs as the players walk from the fields to the locker room (usually about an hour before the game). If you want autographs, bring something to sign and a Sharpie pen. You have to be aggressive, and players usually sign stuff for kids and women with cleavage first so don’t be disappointed if you can’t get an autograph. You may also be able to get autographs after the game, when the players leave the stadium in their cars. If you hang out near the exit of the player parking lot, and the player is willing to stop, you might be able to coax an autograph out of them. Again, cleavage helps.

Buying tickets: If you like sunshine, get third-base seats up front (they cost something like $22 each — really reasonable). Dress cool and wear a hat and sunglasses, because it can get hot (but it’s wonderful to be hot in March if you came from a place where the streets are snow covered). If you don’t like sun, get seat toward the “back” of the stadium. You’ll still be really close (compared to the Metrodome) ,and you’ll get shade there. I’ve gotten tickets in advance, from the website, and I’ve gotten tickets on site from a scalper. It’s worked well both ways. Unless they’re playing the Yankees or the Red Sox, you can almost certainly find scalped tickets. One year, I bought tickets at Twins Fest in late January (when it was at the Dome — I don’t know what they’ll do this year) — even that worked out great.

Etc.: Speaking of the Red Sox, they have a stadium in Fort Myers, too. I’ve never been there (because Red Sox fans are crazy), but I would guess you might want tickets in advance if you decide to go there one day. Do not leave the game early. You never know what will happen or who will come into the game, so don’t go home just because they’re behind. Traffic is sort of a pain when you leave, so don’t be in any hurry, but it’s still worth waiting until the end.

Well, that’s it — all the advice I have. I hope you have tons of fun if you go, and I hope that the Twins win (but it doesn’t really matter in spring training). If the weather is nice (and I’ve always had good weather when I was there), you’ll have a great time.

Here’s the press release from the Yankees:

The 2009 World Champion New York Yankees announced today they will open their 2010 Major League spring training schedule on Wednesday, March 3 at 1:05 p.m. vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla.

In addition, the Yankees announced that ticket prices for 2010 spring training games at George M. Steinbrenner Field will remain the same as last season, marking the second straight year the Yankees have carried over the same prices from the previous spring.

The Yankees will play a 33-game Grapefruit League schedule that will include 16 home games. In addition, the Yankees will play a home exhibition game against their minor league stars in their spring training finale on Saturday, April 3, at George M. Steinbrenner Field, in which all fans in attendance will receive a commemorative championship ring.

Included in the Yankees’ home exhibition games are six night contests (7:05 p.m. start time) on Thursday, March 11 vs. Atlanta; Tuesday, March 16 vs. Houston; Thursday, March 18 vs. Tampa Bay; Wednesday, March 24 vs. Washington; Friday, March 26 vs. Philadelphia; and Tuesday March 30 vs. Toronto.

Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report on Wednesday, February 17, with the first workout scheduled for Thursday, February 18. The Yankees’ first full-squad workout is scheduled for Wednesday, February 24.

Here’s the full schedule via Chad Jennings:

Date Opponent/Location Time

Wed., Mar. 3 PITTSBURGH 1:05 p.m.
Thur., Mar. 4 Philadelphia at Clearwater 1:05 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 5 TAMPA BAY 1:05 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 6 TORONTO 1:05 p.m.
Sun., Mar. 7 Minnesota at Ft. Myers 1:05 p.m.
Mon., Mar. 8 PHILADELPHIA (ss) 1:05 p.m.
         Pittsburgh at Bradenton (ss) 1:05 p.m.
Tue., Mar. 9 PITTSBURGH 1:05 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 10 Detroit at Lakeland 1:05 p.m.
Thur., Mar. 11 ATLANTA 7:05 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 12 Washington at Melbourne TBD
Sat., Mar. 13 BALTIMORE (ss) 1:05 p.m.
        Detroit at Lakeland (ss) 1:05 p.m.
Sun., Mar. 14 Pittsburgh at Bradenton 1:05 p.m.
Mon., Mar. 15 Off Day
Tue., Mar. 16 HOUSTON 7:05 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 17 Philadelphia at Clearwater 1:05 p.m.
Thur., Mar. 18 TAMPA BAY 7:05 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 19 DETROIT (ss) 1:05 p.m.
        Tampa Bay at Port Charlotte (ss) 1:05 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 20 Houston at Kissimmee TBD
Sun., Mar. 21 DETROIT 1:05 p.m.
Mon., Mar. 22 Philadelphia at Clearwater 1:05 p.m.
Tue., Mar. 23 Off Day
Wed., Mar. 24 WASHINGTON 7:05 p.m.
Thur., Mar. 25 Baltimore at Sarasota TBD
Fri., Mar. 26 PHILADELPHIA 7:05 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 27 Detroit at Lakeland 1:05 p.m.
Sun., Mar. 28 DETROIT 1:05 p.m.
Mon., Mar. 29 Baltimore at Sarasota TBD
Tue., Mar. 30 TORONTO (ss) 7:05 p.m.
        Atlanta at Lake Buena Vista (ss) TBD
Wed., Mar. 31 MINNESOTA 1:05 p.m.
Thur., Apr. 1 Toronto at Dunedin 1:05 p.m.
Fri., Apr. 2 BALTIMORE 1:05 p.m.
Sat., Apr. 3 YANKEES FUTURE STARS 1:05 p.m.

–

The future stars game sounds really cool. Hopefully they have it on YES so we can see what’s in store for the future. Something else that’s different on the schedule this year is that there will be no Spring games against the Red Sox for the first time in a while. But this is probably only because the Yanks and Sox kick the season off against each other at Fenway Park.

http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/spring_training/index.jsp?c_id=oak

This site has a list of dates and tickets for A’s Spring Training. It’s in Phoenix as always. So pack your sunscreen and get yourself a ticket or two.

V-Dub, playing through pain

Vernon Wells will be back in form in 2010. Oh, he will be back. The Jays announced today he’ll have surgery next week to repair torn cartilage in his left wrist and (thankfully) will be ready to go for the start of Spring Training.

Here’s some news I missed while NFLing in Buffalo this weekend: Apparently there was a rumor floating around of a possible Wells to the Cubs for Milton Bradley trade, though ESPNChicago’s Bruce Levine put an end to it by letting us all know the Cubs “vehemently” denied there were any talks. I love it — they “vehemently” put the rumor to bed. How dare anyone suggest they’d even consider trading for Vernon Wells? Levine, who seems to love his Chicago sports, also noted the potential deal was “ludicrous to begin with, because the Cubs will have the same payroll as they had in 2009 again in 2010″. This was in an actual news article, by the way, and not a column about how much he loves the Cubs.

Anyway, Wells is going under the knife, which I hope means he doesn’t suck as much in 2010.

Yesterday it was announced that Tom Ricketts and his family had taken control of the Cubs. Well, Mesa and the rest of the Cactus League would like to get to know Tom Ricketts real quick. With the Cubs eyeing a possible move to the Grapefruit League, Mesa is preparing to roll out the carpet for Mr. Ricketts. They will do this in the next few weeks.

The Ricketts will visit as part of an annual trip Cubs management makes to Mesa. The city is still putting together an itinerary that will likely include a tour of potential sites in east Mesa for a training facility, as well as talks with elected officials, business leaders and community members.

The city will emphasize the Cubs’ history here and the team’s loyal fan base, though Smith acknowledged any deal will rely on the development and financial deal that’s best for the owners.

The Mayor of Mesa is very concerned that they could lose the Cubs. According to reports the Cubs contribute $52 million to the AZ economy annually with Spring Training.

Mayor Scott Smith said Tuesday that Mesa must at least match whatever Florida would offer if it is serious about keeping the Cubs in Mesa. The Ricketts have visited Florida already, but not Arizona.

While the Cubs’ history with Mesa dates to the 1950s, Smith said the city must develop a relationship and a proposal as though the city and team were new to each other.

“This new owner is not familiar with the Arizona or the Cactus League opportunities,” Smith said.

One of the issues facing Mesa that the rival Naples, Florida bid appears not to have to deal with is the voters:

But voters could be asked, he said, to pay for new city parks that would double as Cubs practice facilities.

The election would be required because in 2004, Mesa voters approved a charter amendment requiring an election if the city wants to spend $1.5 million or more to build “any amphitheater, sports complex, cultural or entertainment facility, arena, stadium, convention facility, or multi-purpose facility.”

Smith said such a proposal couldn’t be ready for the ballot until November 2010 at the earliest.

The timing and the uncertainty of the outcome could be a real issue for Mesa. The Cubs can opt out of their agreement with Mesa as early as 2012.

Mayor Smith of Mesa views this like any other business opportunity for the East Valley:

Smith said he understands why some people might resent the city trying to accommodate a wealthy sports organization because he used to feel the same way.

“I had to get over that hump,” he said.

“I look at it purely from the economic development standpoint,” he said. “Investing in rich athletes, as distasteful as that may be to some people, creates an economic benefit to the community that far outweighs the investment.”

He added, “I would do this if it were the Cactus League or a tool and die company or Boeing.”

Smith also understands that this is business deal and the fifty+ year history the Cubs have with Mesa will be of little significance:

“Being nostalgic only goes so far,” Smith said.

I’ve always enjoyed going to Arizona for Spring Training. On a personal level, I’d like to see the Cubs stay in the Valley, but it appears to me that this is going to be a tougher battle than some suggest. I don’t think the Cubs staying in Mesa is anywhere near a done deal. I think they have to come up with a pitch that will be better than the one they get from Naples.

The news from Arizona follows the report Sunday that Ricketts and Crane Kenney had already visited Naples, Florida. Kenney had even made a statement:

“The Chicago Cubs are exploring Naples, Florida, as a potential spring training venue and have been working with Chicago-based Esmark and Naples-based Fifth Avenue Advisors in that regard,” Kenney confirmed in a statement. “Our site visits and discussions confirm that Collier County has a number of suitable locations for a world-class spring training facility.”

Call it what you want. It may just be posturing but the Cubs look bound and determined to get a world class Spring Training site. Similar to what the White Sox and Dodgers opened at Camelback Ranch in Glendale.

So, we’ve had a week to recuperate from last weekend’s miserable postseason showing.  I’m not going to sugarcoat it because, quite frankly, I’m still bitter about it.  And I think Red Sox Nation will agree with me that it’s frustrating to make sure you can watch the playoffs in their entirety, only to find out that your playoffs that year consisted of three games during which the team you’d been watching for the entire season didn’t even show up.  I’m just saying.

Evidently we have some work to do, and when I say “we” I especially mean Theo Epstein.  There is a reason why we were swept in the first round.  We had a hitting issue.  If you think about it, we didn’t have a pitching issue.  Lester made a mistake with Torii Hunter on the mound, Josh Beckett had one bad frame in the seventh, and Clay Buchholz, the vindicator of the entire 2009 postseason for the Boston Red Sox, delivered an absolutely stellar performance, and Theo has confirmed his membership in the 2010 starting rotation.  But the hitting issue was glaring and significant.  Even reflecting on the regular season.  In past years, when the team slumped, we were at least able to manufacture runs through walks and small ball.  This year, when we slumped, we didn’t reach base at all.  So let’s discuss how to solve this hitting issue.

Starting with Tek.  This was a hot topic last offseason, and while it’s not going to be as hot this year, it’s going to be just as significant.  After we acquired V-Mart at the trading deadline, Tek became our backup catcher.  V-Mart would’ve had playing time no matter what, given his diversity in the field, but it was his offense that did the captain in.  Theo has confirmed that V-Mart will start next year.  The Red Sox probably won’t exercise their five-million-dollar option for next year, so it’ll be up to Tek to exercise his option, worth three million, and just accept the fact that he’s no longer a starter, which he did this year with composure and grace, teaching V-Mart everything he knows to prepare him to catch each arm.  Will Tek exercise the option? I think he will.  And I would even go so far as to say that Tek may join our coaching staff after he retires.  Meanwhile, Tek’s solid defense behind the plate makes him one of the best defensive backup catchers there is, and having him on the roster would allow V-Mart to play other positions if necessary.  And let’s not forget the fact that Tek is our captain.  And the fact that he was a good soldier this season proves yet again that he deserves that “C” on his jersey.

We need a shortstop.  There’s no getting around that.  We’ve needed a shortstop ever since Nomar wrote his one-way ticket out of town.  Jed Lowrie needs insurance for his wrist, but that insurance probably won’t come in the form of Alex Gonzalez.  He’s got a six-million-dollar club option for next year, but that’s a steep figure in this economy, and unfortunately Theo probably won’t be picking that up.  It doesn’t look like we’ll be making any blockbuster deal for a power bat at that position, so look for Theo to focus more on defense.  Which Julio Lugo made painfully clear.

We also need to resign Jason Bay.  Let me repeat that.  We need to resign Jason Bay.  He’s an excellent hitter and fielder, walks more than most in the American League, and, oh, by the way, he hustles and he’s drama-free.  To be honest, it’s either him or Matt Holliday, but he’s been here, he’s used to this city, and he’s put up great numbers.

Oh, and we need David Ortiz to be a force again.  None of this one-home-run-in-his-first-forty-plus-at-bats business.  That won’t fly.  We need Big Papi back.  A big part of that will be monitoring his off-season program.

Mike Lowell’s situation is a bit tricky.  Tito expects him to be healthier than ever next year, and indeed he showed flashes of brilliance in the field in Anaheim.  But that’s just it.  We were in Anaheim, where the weather was warm and stable.  In Boston, it’s either hot or cold.  I’m not necessarily saying that we should get rid of Mike Lowell because I think he’s valuable to our club, both as a third baseman and perhaps as a DH when Ortiz gets the day off.  I’m just saying that we need to watch him closely.  Very, very closely.

Even though our pitching was definitely a strong point this season, there are some interesting discussions on that end, too.  Theo is insisting that Dice-K adequately prepare himself for Spring Training this year.  I couldn’t agree more.  And I will be furious if he’s a World Baseball Classic ace at Boston’s expense.

Wakefield had surgery on his back a few days ago to correct a loose fragment in his back that’s been bothering him since July.  It’s been significant; he’s had trouble walking because of weakness in his left leg.  But the surgery has minimal recovery time, so barring any complications, expect him to show up on time for Spring Training.

Billy Wagner’s agent says that he wants to pitch next season, and why not? Dude’s still got it.  The Red Sox agreed not to pick up his option for next season, so he’ll be testing the waters, but he says his family is his top priority.

Sooner or later, we have to start restoring our faith in Papelbon.  I personally am not completely ready to do that yet.  In a broad sense, it’s the lineup’s fault that we’re sitting on our laurels right now with nothing to do, baseball-wise, for the rest of October, but Papelbon just rubbed salt in the wound.  If you’re one pitch away multiple times, there’s no reason to not record the out already.  But I digress.  The point is, he’s still our closer, and he’s obviously shaken.  At some point this winter, we’ll have to remember the fact that he’s got some of the best stuff in the Majors and that he’s one of the elite closers in the game.  Even if he did ultimately play an integral part in our postseason downfall.  On a related note, I think it’s safe to say that the eighth inning has “Daniel Bard” written all over it.

But after all is said and done, I think one of the absolutely most important roles we need to fill this offseason is that of Kevin Millar.  He was the essence of the 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox.  He exuded a winning spirit, kept the clubhouse loose, and helped take the team to the top.  Right now, Dustin Pedroia is the emotional leader of this team, but after this year’s ALDS I think it’s safe to say that he needs some help.  Someone to spark the squad when the going gets tough and the tough need to hit.  Someone, ironically and unfortunately, like Torii Hunter.

All of that is to say that our front office has its hands full.  It’s not like last year where we barely didn’t make it.  This year we didn’t make it by a mile.  Something must be done.  I’ll leave it to Theo to ultimately decide what, who, when, and how, but I think we have effectively established the why.  The only thing we as fans can do now is look forward to 2010.  Meanwhile, the Bruins are 3-4-0 in the first seven games of the season.  We’re in third place in our division.  We’ve had some very spotty play, so I’m looking forward to some improvements.

The Future Blog of the Boston Red Sox

Many of you know that I’m from St. Louis, Missouri.  Our baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals, lost in the playoffs tonight to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round.  Ugly baseball on behalf of the Redbirds.  I donned the jersey, I shaved my head (like with a razor), and slapped on the extra big magnetic bumper sticker to the hood of the car.  It didn’t work…  So, another 12 months before we get the chance at another run to the World Series Championship.  The title of this post: 28 of 30.  I’ve been alive for 30 World Series and the Cardinals have not won the thing in 28 of 30 years.  1982 (too young to remember) and 2006 (yeah…it was great) were our years with 1985, 1987, and 2004 being the years we made the Series, but didn’t win.  To the Cubs fans: I know, every word is just me rubbing it in….I’ve got it so good….second only to the Yankees in titles…  I love the Cardinals, the Redbirds, the birds on the bat….and today’s the end of the season.  We’ll see you in late March!  Spring training’s only three months away…

Which Major League Baseball team plays its home games at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex during Spring Training?
A) Houston Astros
B) Atlanta Braves
C) Milwaukee Beers

Years ago I was given a small cardboard box that contained some slides of photos my Great-Grandfather Dunkle took. I packed it away in storage and forgot about it.

A self portrait of my Great-Grandfather.

I recently discovered the small box of slides again and decided to see what the photos looked like. This afternoon I scanned a few of them; I plan to scan the rest of them at a later date. It turns out that most of the pictures were taken during a spring training baseball game at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater, FL in early April of 1972. I’ve not yet determined what team the Phillies are playing, but maybe when I scan some of the other shots I’ll figure that out.

In the spring of 1972 hope abounded (it does for every team in the spring). The 1971 campaign had ended with a 67-95 record, last place in the NL East, surely 1972 would be better. The team traded for a lefthanded pitcher named Steve Carlton in February, and a promising thirdbaseman named Michael Jack Schmidt was coming up through the farm system.

Here are two of my Great-Grandfather’s photos:

Larry Bowa watches Ron Stone take a swing.

When this picture was taken Larry Bowa was a young shortstop (he had played just two seasons) and still had not hit a Major League home run. He would be the starting shortstop for the Phils for a decade. Ron Stone would serve as a reserve, appearing in just 41 games during his final season in MLB.

Tim McCarver behind the plate.

Tim McCarver would be traded in mid-season by the Phillies to the Montreal Expos. He currently provides in game analysis for FOX during baseball broadcasts.

Reality was cold in 1972. The Phillies’ record fell to 59-97 and they returned to the NL East cellar. Steve Carlton had 45.8% of the Phillies’ victories that year, which remains an MLB record. Mike Schmidt made his MLB debut on September 12.

The hope and optimism in Clearwater would return every spring (and continues to do so). In 1976 the hope sprouted into an NL East title (unfortunately The Big Red Machine waited in the NLCS). In 1980 the stars aligned and the Phillies won the World Series (I think they were just waiting for me to exist).

Hayhurst, no longer a "non-prospect"

Jays pitcher Dirk Hayhurst isn’t your average minor league journeyman getting a big league break at age 28. You see, two years ago Hayhurst started journaling his minor league experiences — bus trips, small paycheques, living in basements, etc. — and was eventually picked up by Baseball America to write a regular blog on the not-so-glamorous lifestyle. Hayhurst, figuring his tour of minor league cities such as Lake Elsinore, Fort Wayne and Mobile wasn’t likely to end with him making the majors, called his column the “Non-Prospect Diary”.

Hayhurst caught a break in 2008, making his major league debut in August with the San Diego Padres. Though he struggled in his first cameo, Hayhurst was claimed off waivers by Toronto and signed to a minor-league deal right before Spring Training. In 14 appearances with the Jays in 2009, he’s sporting a 1.35 ERA. His baseball career isn’t the only thing looking good at the moment — he has also completed a book, “The Bullpen Gospels”, set to be released next April.

I got a chance to talk to Hayhurst before the game Saturday, since I tend to write every now-and-then and wouldn’t mind getting some advice on the craft. Hayhurst was cool — he didn’t give me the “you’ll do great speech”, but rather the straight goods (or not-so-goods) on the industry. He said it’s the easiest profession to go broke in, and to stand out I’ll have to do something that’ll set me apart from every other writer out there. He wished me the best and gave me a few suggested reads to learn more about how to catch a break as a writer. All in all, a good chat from a guy that’s currently doing two things I’ve always wanted to do — pitch in the majors and have a book published.

Back at School! .... yes, it is a fixer-upper!

Wow, it has been far, far too long since I let all my readers (yes, plural…Mom, Dad, Hillery) hear about the ins-and-outs of MILB. For times sake, yours and mine, I will just quickly re-cap basically the rest of the summer:

-The All-Star Game was great–so much fun!  (side note: our entire party deck was destroyed in an HORRIFIC storm the night before the game…with a quick cleanup and a few repairs, we were still able to have a few beer/drink remotes on the deck. )

-The Miracle went through a couple weeks of EXTREMELY long games (4-41/2 hours each) that made for some REALLY long workdays.

-The Miracle made several roster moves, and even had a member of the 2008 Miracle “make it”…. Jeff Manship was called up by the Twins in mid-August and has been pitching great!  Steve Singleton also got called up to AA  and had a great remainder of the season in New Britain.

-Speaking of Singleton, I might add that I was his partner during baseball camp  and got nailed directly in the shin which resulted in a nasty bruise…no defense on his part.  I was soon delegated to just throwing baseballs back into the bucket. 

Visit miraclebaseball.com for more news!

-Not only did I pass Econ (phew!), I also took Spanish II and Government….I highly suggest taking summer classes!

-One of the other interns (Taylor) and I became BFF’s (I know you appreciate ‘abbrev’s’, Hill) and I talk to her a few times a week while she is at school in North Carolina

-My roommate over the summer, Tracey, moved into a new condo with some girls she works with.  She still works on the beach at a resort, lucky her! (ROUGH LIFE, T-MONEY!).

-I moved back to Indiana on August 14th and got to spend a couple days at the lake with my family…great to see everyone!  I also got to go back up during Labor Day weekend with my family and some friends.  My wake-boarding skills were a little rough, considering it had been over a year since I had last been out on the water!

So, now we’re back to the present, and I am currently finding myself with about 45 minutes of extra time before my next class, which is highly unusual. I’m taking 15 credit hours, and my K300 Stats class has been one of the most challenging classes I have ever taken.  I wish I could say I liked challenges (and I do, just not mathematical ones), but when its detrimental to my GPA I feel a little disgruntled towards the subject.  Spanish III is also a challenge, but I try to remember that knowing Spanish is essential in the sports world, especially baseball. 

My schedule isn’t the best; I usually like to get all my classes out of the way by two or three in the afternoon so I have the rest of the day to work, study, or here lately, JOB SEARCH!  But, alas, that is not the case this semester and my classes start at one or later every afternoon, except for Friday (my 7th semester without Friday class!).

When I do have spare time, I’m an active member of IU’s Hoosier Sports Business Organization and volunteer in the IU Athletic Media Relations Department.  Oops, did I say spare time?  I wrote that last line almost two days ago, and here I am, on the 1st floor of IU’s library, procrastinating studying for my Stats test tomorrow.  So no, this is not spare time.  This is time being wasted.  But….as John Lennon said…”Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.”  

So here’s to me, for wasting time.  And here’s to you, for reading this.  I thank you, and will be back again soon!

np

It appears that Tom Ricketts and the Chicago Cubs have scared the shit out of the Mayor of Mesa, AZ. Mesa Mayor Scott Smith came to Chicago this week to meet with Ricketts and his new sidekick Crane Kenney. Smith left the meeting convinced that Mesa had better pony up and build the Cubs a new Spring Training Stadium and Practice Facility or the Cubs will head east to Florida.

Mesa Mayor Scott Smith considers Naples, Fla., a “serious threat” to lure away the Chicago Cubs, but not everyone in Naples even wants the team.

Smith and a delegation from Mesa met Monday and Tuesday in Chicago with Cubs officials, including new owner Tom Ricketts, and concluded the city needs to match Naples’ bid by building a new stadium and training complex.

“This is the marketplace. Our competition is very serious. I think it’s a serious threat,” Smith said after the meetings. “We need to match the competition.”

Here is Smith’s plan to keep the Cubs in Mesa:

Mesa would like to build a new stadium and training complex near the former General Motors Proving Grounds but would need a private-public partnership to finance a $70 million to $80 million facility. The Cubs want Mesa to match the Cleveland Indians’ new training complex in Goodyear, and they consider Mesa’s Fitch Park antiquated.

Why does any of this matter? Well the Chicago Cubs are the stars of the Cactus League:

The stakes are high for Mesa and the Valley. A study states that Cubs fans contribute $31.1 million in direct Cactus League spending and $52.2 million to the state economy.

That’s a nice chunk of change to the Valley’s tourism in March of each year. When you realize the complex Smith is discussing is $80 million it seems to make sense. Still, these are incredible economic times. Asking a community to pony up this kind of dough in these times is not easy.

We’ll keep our eyes on this one…

Dice-K has been awful this season.  To put it bluntly, every single one of his outings was an epic fail.  It was like watching a wreck, rewinding it, and replaying it over and over and over again.  Everything that could have possibly gone wrong, did.  It was absolutely downright horrible.  Two DL stints later, Dice-K was down in Florida catching up on all the Spring Training he missed while winning MVP in the World Baseball Classic, but it took three times as long because of all the fatigue that had accumulated in his shoulder.  After he graduated from that, he went down to the farms and had some good and bad outings.  The whole thing was pretty much a mixed bag, so when we found out that Dice-K was returning to the Major League rotation, we didn’t know what we were going to get.

Hold on to your hats, was my advice.  Be prepared to be blown away, or be prepared to turn them inside-out because we may be in desperate need of a rally.  But his first Major League start after his epic fail of an eight-start first half wouldn’t be about just one game.  It would be about his entire 2009 season.  To properly vindicate himself, he would need one seriously dominant, no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners outing.  An outing that left no doubt in anyone’s mind that he is back and back with a vengeance.  An outing that effectively proved that he went down to Florida, was a good soldier and trained properly, and is now the better for it.

Last night’s outing exceeded all expectations of whatever outstanding outing you could possibly imagine.  He pitched six impeccable shutout innings.  Three hits, three walks, and five strikeouts, including some very nice no-hit, one-two-three innings.  And all of it on ninety-three pitches, more than half of which were four-seams, and let me tell you: his fastball was on.  He added some sliders and cutters as well as other off-speeds to keep them guessing and topped out at ninety-three miles per hour and going down to about eighty.  His command was sound and he went after the hitters.  Given the circumstances in which this outing took place, I have absolutely nothing whatsoever to complain about.

Especially since Dice-K started against the Angels.  That’s a very important detail.  We’ll probably face the Angels in the ALDS.  We have facts on our side, namely the fact that the Angels can’t do anything against us in the ALDS, but it’s good to know that that’s still true.  Dice-K made a very strong case for his ability to sustain that tradition.  Not to mention the fact that this lightens the pressure on the staff considerably, now that there’s another starter in the mix.  Wakefield can relax a bit and let his back heal properly.

But for these same reasons, Dice-K’s next start may be even more important than this one, so he isn’t out of the woods yet.  For now, though, Red Sox Nation and I can let out a huge collective sigh of relief.

The final score was 4-1.  The relief corps was solid through Ramirez, Wagner, and Bard, who each got holds, but it hit a stumbling block when we got to Papelbon.  Only six of his twenty pitches weren’t strikes, but two hits and one run later, Dice-K’s shutout was ruined.  Again, not good.

Of course, you can’t win without offense.  Only three of the four runs were earned, but we can thank Bay and Ortiz for those.  And while we thank Ortiz, we can give him a standing ovation as well.  His two-run moon shot with two out in the eighth was his twenty-fourth of the season and the 270th of his career as a DH.  With that homer, he officially passed Frank Thomas in the record books.  David Ortiz has officially hit more home runs in his career than any other designated hitter in the history of the sport.  Congratulations! And the best part is that he’s not even finished.

Ellsbury went two for four and was caught stealing.  Ortiz finished two for four.  Drew tripled.

Youk was out of the lineup with lower back spasms that aren’t too serious.  V-Mart will be in Cleveland probably until tomorrow taking care of some personal matters, but he probably wouldn’t have played anyway after that collision with Gabe Gross at the plate.  Next season’s schedule has been released, and we’re opening and closing by hosting the Yanks at Fenway.  Excellent.  We start off by showing them who’s boss and end by reminding them in case they forgot.  We’re facing some of the National League’s elite during Interleague, which still shouldn’t be a problem because it’s still the National League.  I’m just not happy about the fact that we’re only at home for nine games in July next year.  That’ll be a challenge.

John Lackey really challenged us, I’ll admit.  Most of the game was a very close pitcher’s duel, and for a while the only difference between Lackey and Dice-K was a pair of hits Lackey allowed while Dice-K still hadn’t allowed any.  It was a great contest.  Anytime you see good pitchers get crafty and try to best each other in a battle of wits, so to speak, you witness not just the science but also the art of the game, and those are special.  The important thing is that Dice-K had himself a phenomenal outing; technically, the win was just icing on the cake.  But I’ll take it.  Believe me, I’ll take it.  Especially against the Angels less than a month away from October.  We were in good shape all along, but if Dice-K holds it together, things look even more promising.  Tonight it’s Joe Saunders at Paul Byrd.  That, I’m not so sure about.

In other news, the Patriots had themselves quite the comeback against the Bills on Monday, winning 25-24.  Obviously that probably wasn’t exactly what Tom Brady or Bill Belichick had in mind, but winning is never a bad way to start the season.

Boston Globe Staff/Jim Davis

I have been unreasonably excited the past week by the prospect of watching the Korean “B” baseball team play the Netherlands Antilles (includes islands like Curaçao), walking around the house tossing a baseball my wife found at a flea market, breaking in the new Giants cap my father gave me, and trying on my toddler’s toddler baseball glove and working it with a nerf ball.

For the Baseball World Cup has come to Sweden for four days of early group play, and the national baseball stadium, Örvallen, is walking distance from our apartment.  They are playing the tournament all over Europe.  This used to be the world championship for baseball, but now there is the World Baseball Classic in the spring with all the big pro stars.  This is more traditionally an amateur or minor league affair, as it takes place during the Major League season in the US.

Hence, the Cubans usually win.

Regardless, it is world-class baseball, and I just returned from watching Canada put a beat down on Sweden, 19-1, called off after five innings.  This afternoon, the Netherlands Antilles pulled off a shocking upset of a soft looking Korean team.  The Antilles players looked like the championship team in your local fast pitch softball league – big guys who could not run, or small guys who could not hit, but they showed a lot more spirit than the lethargic Koreans.  The Antilles also had about 10 fans in our bleacher section who were louder than everyone else in the half-filled stadium put together.

It was not a day of good baseball, but it was a very good day.  The baby and the toddler looked good in Giants’ hats.  The sun was out in the afternoon, inspiring my wife to liken it to Arizona during spring training.  NK liked the crowd, the trees past the scoreboard, the hot dog, the cover band after the night game (they even had pyrotechnics!) and the most expensive and shabbiest carousel around.  Oh, and she even watched the game!  There was chatter all around, which is not something to take granted in Sweden, where most sports are observed with silent concentration, broken only by rhythmic clapping (do not trying chatting with a Swede at, say, a hockey game).

I chewed sunflower seeds, though am now too Swedish to just let the shells fall on the ground.

And I was at a baseball game, and that is long overdue, and always good.

The Devil Is Still In Josh Hamilton.

So declared a Web site called Deadspin that this weekend published photos (warning: images R-rated) of a shirtless, apparently drunken Josh Hamilton cavorting with three scantily clad women at a bar in January.

The post focused on the hypocrisy of the action:

Josh Hamilton claims he’s been sober since October 2005. Since then he’s rejuvenated his career, saved his marriage, devoted himself to Jesus, and become America’s flawed, homer-derby hero. Last winter, while he was alone in Tempe, Arizona, Hambone kinda slipped.

The Texas Rangers slugger, author of the best-selling book “Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength To Come Back,” admitted that he slipped and verified the authenticity of the photos before Saturday’s game against the Angels.

Evan Grant of D magazine’s Inside Corner reported:

ANAHEIM, Calif. — In one of the most surreal press conferences in Rangers history, a remorseful Josh Hamilton on Saturday acknowledged that photos of him partying in Tempe, Ariz., in January were real, that he drank alcohol that night and that the Rangers have been aware of the situation ever since.

“I’m embarrassed about it, personally, for the Rangers, for my wife, my children and my family,” Hamilton said at his locker with a handful of his teammates joining the crowd of media that had formed. “It reinforces one of the things that I can’t have is alcohol. It’s unfortunate that it happened. I was out there getting ready for the season and took my focus off the number one factor in my recovery — my relationship with Christ. I hate that this happened. I am human.”

I hate that it happened too.

During our mission trip to the Phoenix area in March, we attended a Rangers spring training game. All three of my children got autographs and posed for photos with Hamilton. Chatting with some of the Oklahoma Christian students on the trip, Hamilton pointed out the daily devotional he had tucked inside his uniform sock. This real-life sports hero — so open about his journey to hell and back — seemed like the real thing.

My reaction to this weekend’s disclosure about Hamilton?

Sadness. Disappointment. Concern. And a bit of skepticism that the only time he slipped (as he claims) that he got caught, although I certainly hope he’s telling the truth.

I also hate that such a high-profile incident gives ammunition to the opponents of Christ to ridicule those who put their faith and trust in Him.

But my other reaction is more personal. I don’t struggle with alcoholism, but I do struggle with sin. What might happen if my weakest moments were photographed and made public for all the world to see?

An excellent column by Gil LeBreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram points out that Hamilton’s road to recovery is filled with potholes — as, indeed, it is for all of us:

As the exploits from his remarkable season grew a year ago, Sports Illustrated made Hamilton the subject of its cover. At the time, the headline that they chose to run with the photo seemed unfairly skeptical — The Unbelievable Josh Hamilton.

They may have been some of the ones guffawing Saturday. Skeptics are always eager for tales like this.

But for those of us who’ve seen and written about the Hamilton comeback story since he arrived in Texas, this doesn’t shake our faith in Hamilton as much as it reminds us what he’s going through.

Even he, as it turned out, needed reminding.

I don’t know Josh Hamilton personally. I don’t know his heart. But I do know Jesus, and He is faithful.

I pray that Hamilton is truly committed to Christ.

If so, a bright sunlight awaits him — and all of us — on the other side of this storm.

We’re more than halfway through the season.  In fact, it’s already August, when more than the weather gets hot.  Each and every Major League club goes into playoff mode, but only a select few will get there.  There isn’t a doubt in my mind that we will most definitely be one of the few.  We’ve dominated our division.  Toronto started the season strong but has since slipped into fourth place and was seriously contemplating trading Roy Halladay to get some much-needed fresh blood into the clubhouse.  The Baltimore Orioles did the usual: fell to the bottom of the pack.  They’re twenty games out now, which is quite pathetic.  The Rays have been nonexistent in third place, even though somehow they just managed to sweep us in a two-game set, and we’ve been wiping the floor with the Yankees and are ready for another go-around.  It’s been fantastic.  We’re currently undefeated against New York.  Let me say that again.  We’re currently undefeated against New York.  Feels good, doesn’t it? So we start the two-month playoff rush in a decent place: two and a half games out and ready to rock and roll.  Not great but it could be worse.

Every year, Boston.com grades the team individually and overall at the All-Star break, with a little help from Tony Massarotti.  You can find Boston.com’s report card here.  I’ll be taking a break for about twelve days, but I’ll leave you with a report card of my own: a late-season grading of that team we all know and love.

Jason Varitek: A

Compare this year to last year.  So far this year, he’s hit thirteen home runs, batted in forty-four runs, scored thirty-seven runs, and has sixty-four hits.  Last year, he hit thirteen home runs, batted in forty-three runs, scored thirty-seven runs, and had ninety-three hits.  And this season isn’t even over yet.  So he’s significantly exceeded his numbers from last year in all of those categories, and he’s thirty-seven years old.  Experiencing a renaissance at the catcher’s position and at that age isn’t easy, but he worked closely with hitting coach Dave Magadan to make that happen with very positive results.  And we still get all of the goodness behind the plate; he’s got a 3.72 catcher’s ERA, the fourth-lowest in Major League Baseball.

Victor Martinez: A

Theo landed him at the trading deadline to add another big bat to the lineup.  Victor Martinez has done that and more, making an immediate impact and finding a groove right away.  He adds his .294 average, sixteen home runs, and seventy-three RBIs as well as a fielding percentage of upwards of .990 at first base.  He hasn’t made an error at catcher all season.  He plays first, he catches, he DHes; he does it all in the field and, as a switch-hitter who bats .307 from the left and a decent .258 from the right, at the plate.  A brilliant acquisition yet again by our general manager.

Kevin Youkilis: A

I have nothing to complain about here.  He consistently bats at or above .300 with a .422 on-base percentage and a .580 slugging percentage.  He’s hit twenty home runs this year, so his power numbers are up but not at the expense of his walks (fifty-six) or other hits.  That, plus his defense.  He moves between third and first like it’s the easiest thing in the world.  And these are his numbers with a stint on the DL and a slump during which he batted .194 over twenty-eight games.

Dustin Pedroia: A-

I give the kid an A.  Unlike many reigning MVPs, he’s not having a bad season the year after winning the award.  He’s batting above .300.  His power numbers are down, but he’s batted in forty-six runs and hit thirty-one doubles.  He’s second among Major League second basemen in runs and doubles, third in hits, fifth in walks, third in batting average, and fourth in on-base percentage.  Of course the top-notch fielding can’t be ignored, even though his .987 fielding percentage is low.  Still, he’s a dirt dog if I’ve ever seen one.

Mike Lowell: B

His 2007 season was outstanding.  His 2008 season, not as much.  His season this year will be a test of whether he can successfully rebound from his hip surgery.  He’s done that so far, posting a .296 batting average and .817 OPS, good for fifth in the American League among third basemen.  And after his three weeks on the DL in the first half, he’s really come on strong in the second.  We headed into the All-Star break thinking we needed another bat, and now we have one.  (Actually, we have two, since the acquisition of V-Mart.) As far as his fielding goes, the hip does prevent him from going the extra mile sometimes, but that’s rare enough.

Nick Green: B

Nick Green really stepped up to the plate.  Definitely an unsung hero of the team.  Jed Lowrie was out, and we were looking at a long stretch of errors from Julio Lugo.  Then some non-roster Spring Training invitee stepped in and lo and behold.  Lugo lost his job, and Green made the most of his opportunity to start.  His offense is his weakness, walkoff home run notwithstanding.

Jason Bay: A-

This man is phenomenal.  Theo Epstein hasn’t been able to lock him up yet, but he will.  Jason Bay is too good to let walk into the free agent market.  We’ll sign him.  Anyway, he does the usual.  He hits for average (the .252 is a little low but the .279 career gets the point across) and power (twenty-one home runs).  He fields (no errors at all this season).  He’s seventh in the American League in RBIs and first in walks with seventy-one.  He did go through a rather pronounced slump during which he batted .153 and struck out twenty-five times in seventeen games, but with a strong second half, which may be hampered by his right hamstring issue, he could be in the running for MVP along with Youkilis and Pedroia.

Jacoby Ellsbury: A

Whatever issues he may have had at the plate last year have been solved.  Ellsbury batted .287 in April, then .308 in May, then .313 in June.  He’s now batting .301.  With six home runs and thirty-five RBIs.  He’s gotten really comfortable at the top of the order, and there’s that whole stolen bases thing.  Since the start of last season, only Carl Crawford has more thefts.  And that steal of home against Andy Pettitte will be playing on highlight reels for the rest of the decade.  This speed translates perfectly from the basepaths to center field, where he makes the most difficult and convoluted catches look like walks in the park.

JD Drew: B

Theo Epstein knew exactly what he was getting when he signed Drew to a five-year, $14 million-per-season contract.  He’s batting .248.  With an on-base percentage of .365.  Consistently.  That’s the key.  You always know what you’ll get with Drew: nothing great, but nothing too bad, either.  And get this: the Red Sox are fourth in the American League in OPS in right field.  He’s put those numbers to good use in the leadoff spot, and the one-two punch of him and Pedroia has become something to be feared by opposing pitchers.  With Ellsbury fitting perfectly into that leadoff role now, he finds himself batting lower in the order, but his consistency remains intact.  He mans right field well, which isn’t something you can say for everyone who plays the position in Fenway Park.

David Ortiz: B+

I never thought I’d give that grade to David Ortiz, but you can blame it on his horrendous first two months.  His lowest point was June 2, when he batted .186 with one home run, eighteen RBIs, and an OPS of just .566 in forty-seven games.  Ugh.  But then, what a turnaround.  I want everyone who said he was done to take a good, long look at the following numbers: in his next thirty-four games, he led the team in home runs with eleven, RBIs with 29, and OPS with 1.011.  That, my friends, is Big Papi.  So far he’s batted .225 with fifteen home runs, so the numbers continue to climb.  With a solid second half, the season might not turn out to be so bad for him.

George Kottaras: B-

Let’s remember why he’s here.  He’s here to catch Tim Wakefield.  He’s not here to hit or to take the reins from Jason Varitek; those two responsibilities fall squarely on the shoulders of Victor Martinez.  He’s here to catch knuckleballs every fifth day and give the captain an extra day of rest if he needs it.  And he’s done a great job of that.  Less than ten passed balls and a 5.08 catcher’s ERA.  As far as offense goes, there really isn’t any, but again, that’s not the point.

Jeff Bailey: C

Again, we knew what we were getting here.  Key players were out with injuries, and we needed someone to fill in.  He’s significantly better against lefties (.400) than righties (.111), and the defense is fine enough (no errors).  He wasn’t staying in the Majors anyway, so it’s not a big deal.

Rocco Baldelli: A-

He was signed to provide backup in right field and to handle southpaws.  He hasn’t seen much playing time because of his health concerns, but he’s still batting .261.  Something he’s not usually credited with is a really strong arm.  He practically won the game for us when Lester dueled with Kansas City’s Brian Bannister on July 10; Ellsbury had been ejected for throwing equipment in frustration when called out at the plate, so Rocco Baldelli came in.  He gunned down a Royal at second, something Ellsbury probably would’ve have been able to pull off.  That was key.

Josh Beckett: A

Obviously.  Quite simply, he is an ace.  He is one of the fiercest competitors I’ve ever seen.  He had a 7.22 ERA to start June, but look at him now.  In his last thirteen starts before the All-Star break, he’s 9-1 with a 2.14 ERA.  Currently, he’s thirteen and four with a 3.27 ERA that just keeps dropping.  This is shaping up to be a Cy Young year.  Again.  Hopefully they’ll get it right this time.

Jon Lester: A

It’s almost the exact same story.  His rough patch was about two weeks longer than Beckett’s, but his turnaround was just as rapid and just as dramatic.  He is now the best southpaw in all of Major League Baseball.  In the middle of May, he was looking at a 6.51 ERA.  In his ten starts before the All-Star break, he was 6-2 with a 2.01 ERA.  He’s now nine and seven with a 3.79 ERA, but don’t let that fool you.  Theo knew what he had here.  Who needs Johan Santana when you have Lester.

Tim Wakefield: A

He’s eleven and three with a 4.31 ERA.  He’s an All-Star.  He carried a no-no bid into the eighth inning on the road against the A’s this year.  By the way, did I mention he’s forty-two years old? He’s the longest-tenured member of the club, and all he does is consistently give us quality innings and put us in a position to win.  It’s not his fault if he doesn’t get any run support.

Daizuke Matsuzaka: F

Fail.  Epic fail.  Without a doubt, this is the lowest grade I gave this year.  Eight starts, 1-5 with an 8.23 ERA.  The Sox’s record is 2-6 in those starts.  Awful.  Just awful.  And we can thank Bud Selig and the World Baseball Classic for that.  Dice-K went hard during the Classic and basically blew his season along with his shoulder.  He finally seems to be receptive to adapting to the Major League way of doing things (but only after airing his grievances), and after a stint on the DL, he’s now down in Fort Myers basically catching up on all the Spring Training he missed while pitching for Japan.  Just a big, huge, epic fail.

Brad Penny: C

He’s a number five starter.  He never pitches less than five innings, and he never pitches more than six.  He usually gives up about three runs per outing.  And he does this every single time he starts.  Consistency has been the name of his game, but it’s withered considerably in the second half.  He’s been struggling lately.

John Smoltz: C

Two and four with a 7.12 ERA isn’t the John Smoltz I was expecting, but then I stepped back and remembered why we signed him.  We signed him for October.  He has more wins in the postseason than any other pitcher, and he’s here to bring some of that success to us.  We can weather regular-season spottiness if it means some major Ws in the postseason, but the problem is that it just doesn’t seem like he’s peaking at all.  If the goal is to peak late, we should see glimmers of brilliance this month.  Maybe we will, starting tonight.  It doesn’t look likely, though.

Ramon Ramirez: A

The bullpen’s unsung hero.  Theo’s trade of Coco Crisp for this man was genius.  During his sixteen-game rough patch in the first half, his ERA was 5.02, and we all know it wasn’t pleasant to watch him during that stretch.  But he’s gotten better.  And he’s one of the best overall.  His ERA is 2.28, and less than ten relievers in the Majors have an ERA lower than his.  One of them being Jonathan Papelbon.

Daniel Bard: A

Daniel Bard has a long way to go, but he’s getting there fast.  As his confidence grows, so does Terry Francona’s.  He’s using him more and more, and Bard is stepping up and delivering.  A 2.25 ERA, and keep in mind that what you are seeing here is our setup man of the future.  Who tops out at one hundred miles per hour.  Imagine that.  The one-two punch of Bard and Papelbon.  Unhittable.

Takashi Saito: C

He was supposed to be our third-day closer, but with the bullpen being the best in baseball and all, he hasn’t really been used that consistently.  Actually, he’s mostly used when we’re losing.  If the bullpen stays healthy, we don’t really need him that much.  He’s been decent; 3.32 ERA.  But we have better.

Manny Delcarmen: B

He’s a workhorse who gets the job done and keeps the ERA low at 3.05.  Delcarmen is consistent, healthy, and can handle more than one inning of work if necessary.

Hideki Okajima: A

We keep talking about his epic season in 2007 while he’s having one of those right under our noses.  Since the start of that season, he’s been among the top ten relievers in the game in ERA.  A 2.98 ERA is not something to be taken for granted.  He’s a fantastic setup man.

Javier Lopez: D

He had a horrible start to the season and was optioned to the minor leagues.  Tito used him when he shouldn’t have been used: against righties.  But now the bullpen is having some trouble handling lefties, and he’s improved in the minors.  If he’s able to works his way back up, we could be all too ready to welcome him back.

Jonathan Papelbon: B

Many of his saves have been sloppy.  The one-two-three inning that’s been his trademark in the past hasn’t been as common this year.  But that’s changing.  Here’s the thing.  Papelbon has to be used every so often whether we need him or not because he needs to get his work in.  But when you put your closer in again where the team is leading, he doesn’t get the same high-pressure, adrenaline-rush-inducing sensation, and he relaxes.  And when he relaxes, he can’t sustain that fierce competitiveness.  I think Papelbon’s experienced that this year, which incidentally is a credit to our lineup.  The point is that recently, in close games, the one-two-three inning has resurfaced and seems to be appearing more and more often.  Numbers-wise, his problem is walks.  He’s giving up many more walks this year than he did last year.

Terry Francona: A

Again, obviously.  We’re almost leading the division again.  We’re set to appear in October again.  We’ll win the World Series again.  All with Terry Francona at the helm.  This is the first year of his three-year contract extension, and he’s the first Boston manager to begin a sixth season in about sixty years.  Sixty years.  Finally.  And rightfully so.  There are a lot of different personalities floating around in that clubhouse, and they all blend together seamlessly without a hitch.  A lot of that has to do with Tito.  Now that the revolving door for manager has closed, it’s time to seal the one at shortstop, too.

Theo Epstein: A

The man is a genius.  In Theo we trust, and he always comes through.  He’s made two major mistakes that I can recall: Eric Gagne and Julio Lugo, and so far that’s been it.  And even those weren’t that bad in the long run.  He went after bargain pitchers this offseason, and it paid off; we have one of the best rotations and definitely the best bullpen in the game.  All we need to do is work on hitting for the long-term and we’ll be all set.  Theo Epstein is someone Red Sox Nation and I can trust to do that.

The Boston Red Sox Overall: B+

We’re heading into August and we are poised to go on a tear.  The postseason is approaching.  Expect us to win it all.  We have what has to be the deepest team in Major League Baseball.  We have hitting.  We have pitching.  We have fielding.  We have the wherewithal to bring another World Series trophy to the city of Boston.  And we will.  Because we can.

Boston Globe Staf/Jim Davis

The losing streak is over.  Done.  Finished.  Snapped like the Yankees’ first-place lead will be in a matter of days.  That was exactly what we needed at exactly the right time.  The only thing that would’ve made it better was a Yankees loss, but I’d rather the standings don’t change than they change but in the wrong direction.

I want everybody who called for a trade of Brad Penny to consider this proof that so would’ve been a huge mistake.  I think we can safely say that one thing we’ve learned from our experiences this season is that you can never have too much pitching.  After Theo worked his magic in the offseason, people started dreaming about a six-man rotation.  Clearly that did not happen.  Beckett and Lester are right where they should be, now at least, but Wakefield is on the DL, Smoltz’s return to form is progressing exceptionally slowly (I know, I know, the goal is to peak late), and Dice-K is redoing all of the Spring Training he missed by pitching for Japan in the World Baseball Classic.  So we’ve added Clay Buchholz to the rotation and kept Penny.  And clearly that paid off.

Penny got the win last night, improving to seven and four with a 4.71 ERA, which is still deceptively high.  He went six and a third, gave up zero earned runs on five hits (one unearned), didn’t walk anybody, and struck out four.  How’s that for solid? Delcarmen took care of the last two outs in the seventh with one pitch, Okajima controlled through the eighth with ten, and Papelbon racked up save number twenty-five.  Another less-than-beautiful twenty-four-pitch effort.  He had to work himself out of a bases-loaded situation and did so by fanning Luke Scott and Melvin Mora in order.  Why he couldn’t just get the two strikeouts before the bases became loaded is beyond me.  He was doing so well up to this point; he seemed to have largely gotten over his I-forgot-how-to-make-a-save-in-less-than-fifteen-pitches phase.  Maybe this time the sloppiness will prove to be the exception rather than the rule.  But it hasn’t been pretty.    Only seven of his twenty-five saves have been one-two-threes.  A lot of that has to do with the fact that he’s already allowed nineteen walks, which is already twice his total for last season.  That needs to be fixed.  Definitely before October.  Prefereably before September.  But hey, if he figures it out before August, I won’t complain either.

The unearned run scored because Tek made a throwing error.  That does not happen often.  But it’s all good because he hit an RBI single to plate Drew in the fourth.  Ellsbury went two for four with a theft and a textbook forward diving catch in the third.  I’m telling you, you can bat any ball at him at any speed and any angle and make it travel any distance, and not only will he catch it but also he’ll make it look easy.  Pedroia went two for three with a walk and a repeat performance of that play he made to save Buchholz’s no hitter; a dive to the right, springing up, and firing to first for the out.  Ortiz hit, and Bay and Lowell hit and walked.  Lowrie hit a sac fly to bat in Lowell in the fourth, and who but JD Drew finally got a hit.  And he got an RBI in the fifth.  How ’bout that?

Things to be happy about.  We won.  We may be two and a half games behind the Yankees, but it could’ve been three and a half.  Tampa Bay is not close to catching up to us, even if we were planning on staying in second place.  The only two members of the lineup who went hitless were Youk and Lowrie, and Youk walked and scored and Lowrie hit a sac fly to plate somebody, and if that’s our version of hitless, that’s okay with me.  And that means that the seven other members of the lineup did hit.  And two members of the lineup enjoyed multi-hit games.  We went three for eight with runners in scoring position, but that’s a .375 average.  All in all, not a bad way to break the losing streak and not a bad building point for going forward.

We designated Mark Kotsay for assignment to make room for Adam LaRoche.  That’s fair.  When he wasn’t on the DL this season, he was batting .257 with an on-base percentage of .291, slugging percentage of .324, and home run and RBI totals of one and five, respectively.  LaRoche is posting comparable numbers: a .247 batting average, .329 on-base percentage, .441 slugging percentage, and home run and RBI totals of twelve and forty, respectively.  So the one thing that LaRoche has that Kotsay doesn’t have, offensively speaking, is gap power.  When people refer to LaRoche as a left-handed power bat, they mean more that he hits line drives for extra bases than home runs, but with the abysmal state of our offense over the past few games, I’ll take that.

Jeremy Guthrie at Lester, and Gio Gonzalez at Pettitte.  Speaking of the Yankees, did you know that Eric Hinske’s been tearing it up over the last six games? That’s just poor timing if you ask me.  In those six games, he’s got four home runs and six RBIs to go along with a .333 batting average.  Since when does that happen? And why couldn’t he have just done that with us? That right there is just unfair.  Anyway, unfortunately the A’s are nothing to be feared (unless you’re a Twins fan, in which case you support a team that lost to the A’s, 16-1, in one game only to drop a ten-run lead to lose in another).  But neither are the O’s, and if Lester keeps pitching the way he has been, we’ll have this locked.

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• With more than 460,000 residents, Mesa is Arizona’s third-largest city after Phoenix and Tucson.
• Mesa boasts 320 days of sunshine annually.
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With a little help from Boston Dirt Dogs for that headline.  Clay Buchholz made his first Major League start of the season last night, and if you ask anyone in that organization, they’ll tell you he was ready to join the rotation the day after Spring Training.  But we found ourselves with a surplus of arms, so we sent him down the minute his ERA touched 1.00.  Such are our high standards in Boston.  Of course, the irony is that now we’re in a position where we could use another bat, not another pitcher.  Depending on Lowell and Lowrie when they return, though, so maybe not.  We’ll see.  Anyway, not the point.

One of the best things about last night’s game was that it was played.  After the home run derby and the All-Star Game and two days off, it felt so good to watch baseball.  I also liked the fact that it was a win.  But for our future, the most important thing about it was that Buchholz looked fantastic.  He looked ready to jump to the rotation tomorrow.  I’m just glad all that time in Triple-A actually paid off.  It has to be difficult to throw a no-hitter then have a horrible season and be sent down, because you’re thinking if you can throw a no-hitter, how hard could pitching in the Majors possibly be? Hard.  Trust me.  But Buchholz shone yesterday.  Five and two-thirds innings, one run on four hits, three walks, three K’s.  Short but really sweet.  He mixed his pitches effectively; he threw about fifty percent four-seams and the rest off-speeds.  He ranged from nintey-six miles per hour to eighty-one.  And you know how nasty his off-speed stuff is.  Especially his changeup.  I could watch this kid throw changeups all day.  The key was that he was consistent with his control, and he just walked all over Toronto.  He was optioned back down after the game, and the only reason he was pitching in the first place was to give Josh Beckett and Tim Wakefield, our pitching All-Stars, extra rest before starting the second half.  Hey, sometimes the traveling wears on you.

The offense really didn’t have a problem handling Ricky Romero.  Ricky Romero was handled and re-handled. Pedroia scored twice, and you have to love his defense.  Third inning with a two-run lead and a man on first, there was a bullet hit right at him.  He dropped to his knees, caught it, and threw to Green who threw to Youk for the inning-ending double play.  Youk got the whole thing started with a two-run jack in the first, his seventeenth of the year, into the left-field seats.  Oh, and played first.  You read right.  Youk played first last night, because ladies and gentlemen, Lowell is back, and he is back with a vengeance.  He went two for four and made a throwing error but we’ll forgive him for that.  Nice.  Papi went two for four with a double and drove in two.  The final score was 4-1.

The bullpen pitched very well.  Daniel Bard struck out three of the four batters he faced and earned a hold for his service.  Okajima also earned a hold.  Paps earned a save, and when I say earned I mean earned.  He threw eight pitches, six of them strikes, to finish the ninth.  I like where this is going.

The Red Sox and Jason Bay have decided not to talk about a contract until the season is over after talks during the All-Star break were unsuccessful.  This, I don’t like.  I’m very confident that in the end a deal will be cut, but I don’t like this hanging in the breeze.  He’s a five-tool guy, he loves it here, and he plays very well here.  A deal will be cut.  Bay himself said he feels better after these failed talks than after the failed talks during Spring Training.  Somehow, Theo is making progress.  In Theo we trust.  Shortstop issues notwithstanding.  Which brings me to my next point.  That was the bad news, that we didn’t lock up Bay right away.

The good news is that we’ve finally designated Julio Lugo for assignment! It happened on Friday.  He has $13.6 million left but at this point I think that money’s better spent paying him not to play than paying him to strike out and make errors.  Harsh but true.  It also has to do with roster space.  Aaron Bates was optioned to make room for Lowell.  Buchholz was optioned back down to make room for Jed Lowrie.  And with Lowrie back and Green in full swing, Lugo doesn’t have a spot.  It’s no secret that, if Theo Epstein does have a weakness, it’s at the shortstop position.  He traded Nomar for Orlando Cabrera, which was good.  He let Orlando Cabrera walk in favor of Edgar Renteria, which was fine until his defense started declining, so we traded him.  Then it was Alex Gonzalez, who flashed leather left and right but did nothing at the plate.  So then we signed Lugo, who was supposed to be our leadoff man.  We all know how that went.  We need both at the same time: defense and offense.  And we’ve waited and waited for a shortstop who does both at the same time, and he’s arrived.  His name is Jed Lowrie.  And he comes from in-house.  And he’s back.  And I’m psyched.  And as far as Theo Epstein is concerned, we have the money to pay for this if he can’t trade Lugo, and we forgive him.  He’s made two mistakes: Gagne and Lugo.  After all the good he’s done, I think I speak for all of Red Sox Nation when I say we can let this one go.

And last but not least, Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson are getting ready to enter the Hall of Fame.  They’re the first left fielders inducted in twenty years.

So there you go.  It was just a great day and a great game.  We’re now on a four-game winning streak.  We’re well-rested.  We start the second half three games up on the Yankees.  We have Penny throwing against Marc Rzepczynski, which should be a pretty good matchup.  I like it.

AP Photo

What is it about spring training?  Maybe it’s the onset of that smell in the air?  We’re not speaking of the air in Arizona or Florida, or even in those cities that will, before long, see the return of their big league heroes, rather this is a smell that is perhaps imagined, but definitely experienced by people who live far from Major League cities.  Our perception of baseball is flavoured solely by the intimate versions of the game – our time in little league, our trips to minor league parks, playing catch at the beach – baseball in a way that is only our own interpretation.  Sure we see the game on TV, but we rarely get to visit ‘the park’ and experience the Show in all its splendour (some might say we are fortunate – for the record, I’m not one of these people).

We evoke memories from our youth, stumbling into card shops, hearing the Blue Jays game on the radio in the background – yes, there are still young people with memories that go back to before the internet was available to the masses – in a city where the time difference makes baseball almost always start at 4.  Thus, the stop on the way home from school is hurried; it is a Friday afternoon, just for you, the shops has some card, maybe a can of pop, a quick chat with your friends, but it is all very brief.  The mission is to hop on your bike and hustle home to watch the game.

The game was always in a far off place.  For some reason, if the Jays were playing at home, at SkyDome, the game never seemed so distant, but if it was being played on the road, all these big American cities blurred into a far-off and mystical oneness.  It wasn’t like I’d even been to Toronto and America was a place where I’d actually lived for a year when I was five, yet somehow this foreign city my heroes were visiting was always a version of the same imagined, generic, American city.  Names of cities had no character to them, the only difference you ever perceived of them was what their grandstands looked like on TV.

Spring Training elicits what Vancouver smells like in late February, the smell of we soil on a suddenly sunny day; several crisp, clear days in a row; it is in no way baseball weather yet, but it will be soon.  Spring Training remains an imagined idea, in a place that’s obviously warm.  (The idea that it would be regularly sunny some how didn’t connect, although I suppose if I’d thought about it, I would have figured out that these warm places were somehow consistent with sunny periods and longer days.)  Spring Training in baseball is usually written about as a new beginning, a time new hope, etc.  There’s no doubting that, but more importantly it creates a connection with our own history.  Does this work for everyone?