April 2, 2005

Counting Down The Hours

And because we set our clocks ahead one hour tonight, the Big Eunuch's first pitch to Jesus is actually sixty minutes closer than you think.

Curt Schilling and Wade Miller were placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26. While Schilling can be activated April 10, Miller is not expected to return until May. ... At least 10 Red Sox will be on the David Letterman show Monday night.

Bronson Arroyo was hammered in his final spring start on Thursday. Arizona clubbed him for seven runs in four innings. Last night, Tim Wakefield lasted only .2 of an inning, allowing 6 hits, 2 walks and 6 runs. The sky is falling! ... Asked if the Sox might start the season with a "hangover" from last October's success, Terry Francona said, "Our guys are fine with hangovers. It doesn't bother them a bit."

NESN will dazzle us with some new features this year. My idea: How about making sure we don't miss any pitches when coming back from commercials? Get that important aspect down first, then bring in the fancy stuff.

Gordon Edes offers some sobering facts about repeating: "In the last 75 years in the American League, only three teams have won back-to-back championships: the Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Oakland A's. ... In the National League, Cincinnati's Big Red Machine of 1975-76 is the only team to win consecutive titles in the last 83 years."

Tizzle: "[W]hen I go to Fenway, never in my life have I ever felt like that. It's like, damn, I'm at home. This is where I want to be. Sometimes I want to be out of my house, hurry up, just because I want to be at Fenway. ... There are some days, man, when your energy is not there, but when I walk in, bro, it only takes me seconds to go back to where I want to be. I have so much fun at Fenway. These have been the best two years, man."

George Steinbrenner: "I hate to lose, anyway, you know, but to lose the way we lost is tough. That was one of the toughest things I've been through in my life." ... Tony Clark: "It took a good length of time during the off-season to turn that page. What happened was a tough pill to swallow." ... Kevin Brown took himself out of Friday's game after three innings with a "stiff and achy" back and hip. He'll miss his first start and may go on the DL.

Interesting quotes from a number of Red Sox on Byung-Hyun Kim:
Mike Myers: "He spoke good English when we were together. He'd speak enough that he noticed I wasn't going to say anything bad about him or talk behind his back. ... His biggest fear was you guys in the media and saying the wrong thing in front of his teammates because of that culture barrier. So he stayed away from people a lot because of that."

Jason Varitek: "Why he didn't fit is because he didn't want to fit in, unfortunately. He didn't want to, period. ... There has to be some kind of give. We tried to give and he just wouldn't receive it."

Mike Timlin: "To me, he was a solitary lone worker. That's all he did. He did his work. He's got tremendous talent, but he didn't connect here with anybody. He didn't try to be part of our team, that's the way I look at it."
In his first appearance with Colorado, Kim retired only one Texas batter while giving up eight runs on six hits (including two home runs). Ouch.

More predictions: Boston Globe blogger Eric Wilbur: Yankees win East, Red Sox win Wild card. AL/NLDS: Twins over Red Sox, Angels over Yankees, Padres over Cardinals, Braves over Cubs. AL/NLCS: Twins over Angels, Padres over Braves. World Series: Twins over Padres.

Opening Night: Torre has offered a partial look at is lineup: Jeter, Slappy and Sheffield are in the top three spots and Tony Womack will hit ninth. ... Boston's lineup will likely be: Damon, Renteria, Ramirez, Ortiz, Millar, Varitek, Payton, Mueller, Bellhorn.

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