"I'm Shutting Down the Studio" - ITM Edition

The time has come.  It's time to make official something I've known for well over a year.  It's time to bring ITM to a close.

Simply put; between work, work related travel, living across the Atlantic, and a number of other endeavors I'm currently pursuing, there are not enough hours in the day to give this blog the kind of dedication it deserves.

At its peak, ITM had two additional writers and hundreds of readers, unfortunately we simply fell victim to the real world...."the working man is a sucka!".

However, ITM has been strung along by random posts of videos, nonsensical banter, and Spaceball quotes for the past twelve months. 

While I'm not ruling out an eventual return to Red Sox blogging (this site will remain up and open, with perhaps an occasional rant), it shouldn't be half-assed. 

...not going to lie, a contributing factor to this decision is that without recent blogging, the Sox have seemingly found their stride a bit.  Here's hoping reaching .500 last night is the take off point.

.....and for those of you not in the David Chappelle loop, here is how the title of this post relates.

Iggy Called Up...Man Love Escalates

Jose Iglesias was called up to the big leagues earlier today.  He's not expected to play today, tomorrow, or maybe even the next day....but the news alone has me all sorts of excited.

With Scutaro out with a strained oblique, and Pawtucket's Yamaico Navarro going down with an injury last week (who is technically ahead of Iggy on the depth chart), Iggy got the call he's been waiting for.

Personally, I think it's a bit early for the 21 year old Cuban to be in the big time lights, but it was primarily a result of circumstance.

While my (and 94 percent of Red Sox Nation's) expectations for Iggy are irrationally high, there is reason to believe he may indeed be ready for the big show later this year.

In the minor leagues, he's shown the ability to consistent hit the ball, get on base, and make plays on the base paths (while he's not exactly Jacoby, he's a smart base runner who can swipe bags with intelligence as opposed to pure speed).

Multiple scouts have already said Iggy's glove is "major league ready"....it's only a matter of time until he gets his time to shine in the Fens and even the Pink Hats learn his name.

With Lowrie currently representing one of Boston's best lineup options, I'm not ready to rush Iggy up to the bigs by any means (personally, I think he's better suited to stay in Pawtucket the entire year).

However, there is nothing wrong with admiring our future short stop and wishing him the best.  Let's just hope unexpected injuries don't rush any of the process.

Go Sox, Go Boston, Go Iggy....just go.

Did Heidi Watney Just Call The Sox A Bunch Of Pansies?

Not going to lie, sounds like Heidi is throwing the Sox under the bus here right?  I mean, pretty much saying the Angels wanted it more....this team has no heart, no passion, no fire.

She realized she let her true feelings come out after tilting back a few too many glasses of what I assume to be terrible wine....she did her best to cover her tracks, but the truth is out there....even Heidi can see this team lacks swagger, desire, grit.

Maybe that's what happens to a team when a supposed "big game pitcher" walks out to the mound and gets smacked around and called Susan all over Fenway Park.

ITM Note:  How money is Buchholz though?  I didn't know he had it in him....totally looks like he rolled out of bed after a bender, slicked his hair back, and showed up to an event he had absolutely no idea about.

.....that said, his wife is all sorts of talented.

Theo Epstein - 2012

"Theo Epstein 2012" with that kind of interview right? 

While I tend to agree that the bullpen will be ok in the long run, lately, it's tough to be a believer.  That said, Theo shows his stuff here, just calming things down and building optimism.  It's a marathon, not a sprint, and it's just Theo being Theo.

ITM Note:  Theo absolutely needs to put this kind of spin and political tone on his discussion of the bullpen, it's primarily his self-constructed baby and looks shaky at best.  Surely it's the most volatile and interchangeable aspect of the team, but it's also something that, coming into this season, Theo painted as a pillar of strength based on his off season moves.

Just Another Example Of Why Some Althetes Shouldn't Speak...

WEEI.com:  Bucks swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts and Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall were not pleased with the celebrations that broke out all over America after the announcement that Osama bin Laden had been killed.

Douglas-Roberts said it made Americans look like the Taliban after 9/11. "We just looked like the Afghan people, a decade later," he said. "That's not what we should be doing, celebrating with beers and all that. I didn't agree with that. That's just me."

Mendenhall, who suggested a conspiracy on 9/11, took it a step further. "What kind of person celebrates death?" he tweeted. "It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side."

I honestly have no words for the above article, just pure anger....especially for Mendenhall's comment.  First he's a Steeler, and now this comment cements his place in the "Karl Malone hate" category....the most elite category of hate there is in my world.
I wish Pedroia could hit one of his line drive lasers at Mendenall's dome right now.

There is no reason for me to post this outside of the need to feel some kind of stress release when hitting the "publish" button. 

Ellsbury Cements Leadoff Spot

As an American, in London, blogging about the Sox on my iPhone from a pub in the middle of the Wedding, I deserve extra credit.

That said, it's just a quick post.

My feelings towards Jacoby have been on a rollercoaster of emotion over the past two years or so. From man love, to disappointment, to anger, and now back to cautious excitment.

I want nothing more than Jacoby to prove the haters (including myself) wrong; with a studly season. While he's not exactly tearing up the basebaths, or the cover off the ball for that matter, he seems to have recently cemented his role as the team's leadoff hitter.

Perhaps it's as much Crawford's fault, but it's fairly apparent that Boston's CC will not be this team's leadoff man (which he shouldn't be anyways). Either way, Ellsbury's recent spike in production and on base percentage has provided a bit kore stability to Boston's lineup. Something that is desperately needed.

My feelings on Jacoby have yet to come back full circle, but it's slowly getting there.

I'm not a 15 year old girl, he still needs to earn my love back.

Carl Everett - Surprising No One

Boston.com:  Former major league outfielder Carl Everett, who played for the Red Sox in 2000-01, was in a Tampa jail on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after putting a handgun to his wife’s head, according to police records. Everett, 39, was arrested Monday night at his home in the Tampa suburb of Lutz. Everett played for 14 seasons. He began with the Marlins and also played for the Mets, Astros, Rangers, White Sox, Expos, and Mariners

As serious as the above report is, should it really surprise anyone?  I mean, didn't we all know this was bound to happen sooner rather than later?  Everett is/was Major League Baseball's version of Ron Artest, except even more insane.

I mean, the man head butts umpires, doesn't believe in dinosaurs, thinks that landing on the Moon was fake, "doesn't believe in being gay", the list goes on...

For those in need of his direct quote on dinosaurs: 

"God created the sun, the stars, the heavens and the earth, and then made Adam and Eve. The Bible never says anything about dinosaurs. You can't say there were dinosaurs when you never saw them. Somebody actually saw Adam and Eve. No one ever saw a Tyrannosaurus rex."

I believe Everett and Manny played together on the Sox during the 2001 season....how did the world not end at that point?

ITM note:  blogging about this was way easier than discussing the Sox loss last night, easy sell there.