Really Red Sox? On Opening Day While I'm in London?.... Really?

The long and short of it is I went through too much trouble and hassle tonight to come home and watch a condensed MLBTV game of an opening day performance which saw Daniel Bard puke all over himself.

Blame Lester's lack of ace-like outing if you want, but it's not on him, not in the first start of the year during a month that is always bad for him....we all know Lester will be there.

While in Ft Myers, at the minor league complex (against a bunch of single A 19 year old kids) we saw Bard look shaky at best...which got to Joe Murph and I using lines like "imagine if Bard took a step back this year and couldn't be the bridge/future closer for the Sox?" 

It is absolutely way too early for that, but today's opening day performance does nothing to bury those random conversations in our mind.

Back tomorrow with more detail on my opening day....Go Sox...because if they don't show up tomorrow, I may go nuts sooner than later...

Opening Day....In London - Thank God for MLBTV

Don't get me wrong, I miss my family and friends back home, but today has got to be the toughest day to be away from Boston.  Red Sox opening day....a sacred day of leaving work early (not happening here), meeting up with buddies for beers (may happen here), and obsessing over each pitch in game 1 of 162 (will happen here...but mostly just ITMGal and I...in our tiny flat).

All that gets me to this...thank god for MLBtv.  Joe Murph has been using it for years to satisfy his Red Sox needs in NYC...but I've never run into a sustained period away from Red Sox baseball in my life.  I must say, if he MLBtv premium package that I just purchased lives up to the hype, I might not suffer a total freak out here across the pond.
 
Here are the features....

• Portable to Multiple Devices* Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV, Android™ Phones, Sony PlayStation®3 system, Samsung®, Roku®, Boxee®, LG® Televisions
• HD Quality (where available)
• In-Game Highlights and Stats
• Full Game Archives
• Alternate Audio Options
• Pitch by Pitch Widget
• Clickable Linescore
• Fantasy Player Tracker (huge!)
• Home and Away Broadcasts (Don and Jerry (and hopefully Heidi)...yes please)
• Live Game DVR Controls
• Multi-Game View (PIP, Split Screen, Quad)

Wait...I can watch Sox games live on my iPhone??  Crap, my company is going to HATE those international streaming rates.  Yikes.

 

What did people do 5 or 10 years ago when this wasn't an option? I must say, I would have considered turning the opportunity to come to London down (kidding....or am I???).

Either way, it's opening day for the Sox...I hear the Boston area has some snow, but here in London is sunny and about 60 degrees.  Time to get focus, dial up some MLBtv, and settle in for what should be a great season.

Go Sox...

Game on....

Happy Opening Day....Night...Whatever, Get Pumped

It's Opening Day (night), at Fenway.....against the Yankees....and 70 degrees out. Get pumped.

We considered doing a live blog for tonight's game, but in the end figured we all need to really let this sink in.

So finish up your Easter celebrations, run around in circles outside to shake off the butterflies, grab a beer, your Red Sox shirt and hat.....and settle in for a 4 hour season opener.

Go Sox!

Opening Day Countdown. How Old am I Again?

The picture above is my white board at work...it's a countdown to opening day. I've had it running since returning from Ft Myers a few weeks back.

I had to add in the "until opening day" detail today since a co worker asked if I was really that excited for Easter. Clearly that individual doesn't know me very well, nor is she from Boston. I gave her a pass.

I didn't think twice about doing it, but today I had the memory of being 7 years old and having a "days until Christmas" countdown on a chalkboard in my room.

I'd like to think I've matured past that age, but I'm starting to question it.

Either way, we're so close that I'm already getting pissed off about the idea of an off day on Monday. If we lose opening night that's far too long for me to hear, listen, think and blog about it.
3.05 days, Go Sox.

Is This Sox/Yanks Commercial Funny? Or Just Terrible?

I know I linked to this a few days back....I'm just a little confused by this, I mean, I want it to be funny, I do, but it just doesn't do it for me. I have a hard time getting over how awkward Buchholz looks.

ESPN could have gone so many ways with an opening day Sox vs Yanks skit. Apparently, a number of players must have passed. Think about how good a Dusty and Jeter commercial could have been? Pap and Mo? V-Mart and Posada screaming at each other in Spanish? Ortiz and CC in a cheeseburger eating contest? The possibilities are endless.

Like I said, I want to like this commercial, but it doesn't do much to raise my excitement for opening day. It might also have something to do with the fact that opening day is on Easter Sunday night at 8pm. Not only do I have to listen to the horrible ESPN announcers but we can't even use it as an excuse to call in sick to work or school.

We got the short end of the stick in so many ways on this one.

O's Top Yanks

The Oriole's are officially in 1st place in the AL East, topping New York 10-5 in today's opener.


The much bally-hooed debut of C.C. Sabathia in pinstripes did not go according to plan. The big southpaw went 4 1/3 giving up 8 hits, 6 earned runs, and walking 5. He never quite got control of his fastball, and departed the game with the Yanks in the hole 6-1.

The Yankees offense hit back, including a home run by Jorge Posada (still looking good, behind and next to the plate), as well as some some sweet swinging from Derek Jeter (3 for 5 on the night).


But in the 8th, when the Yanks had their chance to tie it up---with the tying run on third and the go-ahead on first---Mark Texeira couldn't come through, dribbling into a fielder's choice. It was a long day for the new three-hole, with booes raining down on him at every step.


The game blew wide open in the 8th, when the O's brought 4 across off of Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte. Which means the questions are still swarming out in the Yankees bullpen.

So there you have it. The Sox and Rays couldn't get their game in, but Boston still got some baseball pleasure today. Hope that gets you through to 4:06pm ET Tuesday.

Breaking news: Today's Game Canceled

Larry Lucchino is currently on WEEI's morning show and has said today's opening day game at Fenway has been canceled, and rescheduled for tomorrow at 4:05pm. Larry sounded very optimistic in regards to getting the game in tomorrow. The cancellation will likely change Brad Penny's expected start date, but it has yet to be officially announced.

This brings up the natural question....why is the first game of the season in, early April, at Fenway anyways? As much as I like opening day, shouldn't this series be played in Tampa? The Sox usually spend the first handful of series on the road as the Boston weather continues to slowly improve over the month of April.

Either way, my balloon of excitement has been popped and the office party has been slightly ruined.....until 4:05pm tomorrow.

There is just something about opening day.....

A phone call with JoeMurph today got me thinking about how sacred opening day is. It's not only the start of another Red Sox season, but it seems to mark a change in overall life feelings. Seasonal depression? Maybe, but there is something about this time of year that just seems to make everything right. You can feel it from the north end, to the fens, to hyde park, the city is alive again.

I was driving down storrow this afternoon, sun roof down, 60 degree weather, people everywhere, staring at a sunny Boston skyline, Red Sox baseball just hours away...this is what it's about. During the cold winter months, I often tell people I struggle to rationalize why I live in Boston. This is why, there is nothing better than sunny spring and summer days with baseball on the mind.

It may be somewhat comparable to Fever Pitch, but my life changes when the season starts, work productivity likely goes down, my graduate school GPA plummets, and overall obsession with all things Red Sox (and subsequently, my fantasy baseball team) goes way up. You begin talking every night about the Sox with friends you haven't heard from since October. A night watching the Sox outside at Tia's sounds like perfection. The number of awkward conversations with coworkers that you don't actually know naturally decreases as discussions on Dice-k's inefficiency, or JD Drew's health spring up at any time, in any place (most often used in elevators).

Opening day in the Fens officially switches my brain from winter doldrums to summer delight. I swear I smile at least 83% more of the time during baseball season. I'm not sure what exactly it is, but everything seems to make sense again....until Tek goes 0 for 12 in this first series. The boys of summer pose as a release from the stress of everyday life....granted my obsession with them usually only adds to stress levels, but it's something I could never live without.

Either way, it's time. Opening day is upon us and ITM is going to be all over the Red Sox this season, so keep checking in.....Let's go Sox.