Signing Off From Ft Myers

ITM concluded an amazingly successful trip to Ft Myers today. Joe Murph has just taken off for JFK and I'm left to conclude our trip via blackberry. Ft Myers airport is much less appealing when you're leaving, but we got the most out of our short stay in Boston South.

As many of you know by now, the Sox lost 11-9 today to a Rays team that featured the majority of its major league talent with James "big game" Shields on the mound. Shields pitched well for the Rays, and we decided it's games like today that gave James his nickname....(seriously, how did he really earn that nickname before pitching in a single big game?).

Anyways, some quick takeaways from the City of Palms Park:

-Boof Bonser, today's starter for the home team got through the first inning cleanly...but that's about it. The Rays teed off on him after that. The burly right hander surrendered a tater to Longoria and let up base hit after base hit afterwards. Later in the day he told the team he was suffering from some groin problems while on the mound. The jury remains out on Boof....awesome name aside.

-We decided today that while Jacoby and Dustin have been on point, the biggest surprise in our eyes was the play of Mike Cameron. He blasted yet another gap-ball double in the middle innings and showed off his power all weekend. We're eagerly awaiting his performance once the games begin to count, but as of right now, he's been very impressive.

-JD Drew got picked off first base today....to which Joe Murph responded: "yea, but didn't he look like a gazelle doing it?" Some people are just amazing.

-This just in, Evan Longoria is a stud. He blasted an absolute shot off the scoreboard in the 6th inning, his second of the day. He also displayed an impressive glove with a great play down the third base line. That said, we were quick to remind ourselves, and everyone around us, of the recent story where Tampa's coach called Beltre the hands down best glove he's ever seen.....it made us feel better at the time.

-Not that it's about winning at this point, but the Sox managed to drop every game while we were down here.....and they were never in this game. Despite the 11-9 final, it was only made close as a result of some garbage time production in the 8th and 9th by guys no one has heard of.

Alright, it's boarding time so I'll cut this short for now. We'll be posting more throughout the week on our thoughts and include pics/video.

We'll miss Ft Myers, and sinking adult beverages at 2am in front of a fire (see above), but we're already planning our trip for next year. It's an annual requirement at this point.

ITM's Last Day - Facing Reality......Later

It's our last day in Ft Myers.....the skies are starting to clear and they'll definitely be able to get today's game in. Our fridge (pictured above) is evidence of the sad reality we face.....one lonely yuengling beer......some nasty Floridian water.....the Kia Rio gets returned tonight....and we make the unfortunate trip back North.

We need to check out in about 20 mins, but J Murph refuses to repack his stuff......he has yet to face the facts.

Today's game however, features what is likely to be Boston's starting lineup on opening day....in addition, we're rushing down to the minor league complex to watch Boston's newest addition, John Lackey, throw a few innings in a minor league game.

Boof Bonzer gets the start at City of Palms Park....needless to say we'll sink a few beers and giggle every time they announce his name. Boof.....can't get enough of it.

More to come on our last day....Go Sox. Go Boof.

ITM: Going Around the Horn From Ft Myers

(We had a great view of Pap getting smacked around today....)

We're still drying off from today's Grapefruit League game at City of Palms Park. The game was called in the 8th after the skies opened up with rain, wind and lightning. The game ended with the Sox being on the wrong end of a 10-7 score, but there was a lot of action behind the numbers. Quickly going around the horn, here are some takeaways we had:

-With good seats just off set behind home plate, Joe Murph was finally able to see the ball off the bat....the past few days have been full of Joe ducking every time he hears the ball hit the bat in fear of a foul ball pinging him off the dome....he's amazingly blind.

-Jon Lester went 5 strong innings, striking out 7 while letting up 3 runs to a split squad from Houston. He featured a good mix of off-speed pitches and an overpowering fastball that mostly hit the spots. We're in agreement that he looks more than ready to start the season at this point.

-Marco Scutaro is just as short as Dusty. They're both listed at 5'9", but there is no way either is taller than 5'6".

-Boston's top of the order is on fire. Ellsbury showed off his power, speed and defense by going 3 for 4 at the plate and making a few nice plays in his new home in left field. Pedey followed him every time with a hit of his own...including turning on a fastball to hit a bomb over the left field fence. He can hit that pitch.

-Mike Cameron may strike out 180 times this year, but he'll hit for some power as well. He continues to swing a heavy stick at the plate. He belted a tater and hit a deep gap ball today. A productive Mike Cameron at the bottom of the order would really help to balance a top heavy lineup.

-Pap. Oh Pap. We screamed at the clouds to hold off all afternoon so we could watch a clean inning from you.....and you pitched just like you did in Game 3 last year. Pap has been effective all Spring, but just didn't have it today. He reportedly had a migraine, was noticeably failing to locate his fastball while working in some breaking stuff. In the end, it didn't matter what he threw, everything got hit, and hit hard. He allowed 6 runs, 5 earned, all while only getting one out. One. For now we're not worried, we'll call it an outlier of a performance.

-Ramon Ramierez and D Bard came in to clean up Pap's trash. Bard pumped fastballs by guys with uniform numbers in the 80's and 90's. It just wasn't a fair fight.

-WHERE IS HEIDI? It's been an amazing trip for ITM thus far, but one major missing piece is the absence of Boston's best asset.....Heidi Watney. With tomorrow being our last day, we'll undoubtedly be searching high and low.

Alright, we're off to the Ft Myers beach area for food and drinks. We'll be at tomorrow's game and will make attempts to post via our b-berries.

(Dice-K this morning....clearly my bberry has amazing picture quality)

(Theo analyzing the Diceman)

(Sean Mcadam looking slim and getting the scoop)

Again, we'll have much better pics and additional video from the trip posted on Tuesday and Weds.