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I'm Back...Finally!!

It was an on and off time in the hospital but it seems I'm as OK as I can be. I hope your Thanksgiving was a great one. I miss you more than you'll ever know. I'll be back writing posts before you know it. Peter

So Much I've Missed

Hello to everyone on this Saturday, October 29th. I'm doing SO much better. Thanks to everyone for your good wishes. The Cards did it in an epic game 6 and game 7. They pulled it out! I've never been a St. Louis fan (1967 etc.) .

Today here in North central Connecticut we're awaiting a never before seen intense October snowstorm. Woo pee. I mean that because all the leaves on the trees and snow, heavy and wet with wind, will bring down power lines. I like snow, but in October???? Power outages are too darn likely. The snow is fine, no electricity is not. I'll have an update after 12 noon. Right now it's 10:55.

About the Red Sox, thank you Tito and Theo.The 2012 season will certainly be different but with the core of players Boston has with a couple additions (starting pitcher for sidelined Lackey,etc) who knows.

As always, BE WELL.

Recovery (Of Me) Almost Complete

Hello my faithful readers. I'm back (since Wed. dinnertime) but this is my first blog entry. I'll be back later today with a a real post
explaining about my fall and my back with its broken bone (L1). Nice to be back. The Series resumed tonight. More later. As always, BE WELL.

A Farewell To A September Best Not Forgotten

I'm back. Bfw, I was pretty sick with a one week hospital stay but the computer harmlessly did not work for a while before that. I'm more than happy to be back. As for the Red Sox, I'll go into them in a couple days. I'm not up to it right now. WHO IS? Take care. Thanks. Click on this post's title for more. There's NO place like home!

Boston 12 Texas 7...CC Grand Tater

Carl Crawford's grand slam pushed the Red Sox to a 12-7 defeat of the Rangers. It also gave Bedard his first victory in a Boston uniform. Here's Carl himself...

“I don’t look at the numbers. I guess when [the media] reminds me, then I know. But other that that, I just try to take each new day as it comes. That’s my approach.’’

Here's Papi...

"That’s the guy we used to play against. He changes a game just like that. One swing, look what it did.’’

And beautiful it was, that's for sure. Today, game three comes up with J. Lackey (12-10) vs M. Harrison (10-9). You never know what your going to get with Lackey on the mound. Watch him pitch-his pitching is like a box of chocolates... you see what I mean? That's going to be it for me today. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday. Click on this post's title for more and as always, BE WELL.

Texas Tops Red Sox 9-0... OUCH!!

Andrew Miller gave up six runs in the first 1 1/3 innings Friday night. The Sox never recovered, and fell out of first place. That THUD was nice. While in first and we''ll be there again. I feel it deep in my heart. It's only one game between the Yankees and and the Sox. We need a pitcher (Lester) to become more consistent. Yes, Jon has a few disappointing games on his resume. He hasn't been as winningly consistent as he was as recently as a couple of months ago. He didn't pitch yesterday, it was just an example. Andrew really brought his team to their knees. Helpless. These are the games that seem pre-set. It was just one guy.

Today, they play against Texas. It'll be Boston vs. Texas in an evening game. We need to string together a few victories and get our confidence and batting prowess together. Also click on this post's title to hear and see more about it all. I thank you for popping in and as always, BE WELL. THANKS.

NY Yankees 4 Boston Red Sox 2..A CLUNKER

Jon Lester ran out of gas after just five innings, but left with a 2-1 lead en route to a 5-2 Red Sox loss. There were over 350 thrown, and many were ugly. They can't ALL go your way and this win surely didn't. NY takes the series 2 games to one and I expected so much more. But it was not to be, not even close. I'll have a full wrap-up later today. Thanks. Click on this post's title for more on the game. Jon threw 151 pitches in these innings

Here's Boston manager Terry Francona...

"Long games -- we're all tired. Tonight, we just didn't swing the bats that well. We move on and try to win tomorrow."

It was a long time coming and the loss was inevitable. It's as if the writing was on the wall before the final pitch was thrown. Maybe it was.

It's bye bye time. I'll be back in a few hours. I thank you for coming in.

Red Sox 9 Yankees 5

Jacoby Ellsbury hit a two-run home run in the sixth to help fuel a major Boston Red Sox victory last night by a score of 9-5.. Ells is batting .313 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs. Not bad for a guy who bats lead off. He never ever hit it over the Green Monstaer. Ells said this last night...

“That was pretty cool. I’ve wanted to do that.’’

On a field full of MVP candidates, Ellsbury stood tallest. He is now hitting .313 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs from the leadoff spot. That's AMAZING!

With 27 games remaining, Ellsbury is one run shy of his career high of 98. He also had his 35th double last night. The home run was the first he has hit to the opposite field in his career and only his eighth off a lefthander. Here's PIedey...

“He’s been great all year long. There’s nothing he can’t do on a baseball field,’’ teammate Dustin Pedroia said. “We’re glad he’s on our team. He’s a force at the top of the lineup.’’

That was a wonderful moment in the middle of a victorious effort for Boston. Oh yes it was. Today, AJ Burnett goes for the Yankees and Jon Lester, our best with Josh Beckett, takes the mound for the Red Sox. I like that pair going against each other. If Jon can stay out of early inning troubles, as he's been lately, the Yankees should leave Boston with a loss. GO SOX.

Yankees 5 Boston 2

I have this summary for the Yankees and Red Sox from this morning"s BOSTON GLOBE. I come back with a post a little later today...
The Yankees took the first game of this three-game set against the Red Sox to whittle Boston's lead to a half game in the American League East before a Fenway Park crowd of 37,773.

"CC Sabathia (18-7), winless in four previous starts against the Red Sox, went six innings and allowed two runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out 10.
John Lackey (12-10) went seven innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits and four walks while striking out three.
New York pitchers gave up 13 hits but struck out 13 as Boston stranded 16 runners in a 3-hour-59-minute game that saw Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild (seventh) and manager Joe Girardi (ninth inning) ejected by third base umpire Mark Wegner.
Rothschild was run from the game when he protested John Lackey's hitting catcher Francisco Cervelli, who hit a solo homer off Lackey in the fifth inning. Girardi was ejected when closer Mariano Rivera plunked Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia on the left wrist in the bottom of the ninth."

Lackey's five runs doomed his club. Oh well, we'll get 'em today. We'd better!

Back To Work For The Yankees & Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox will put on their uniforms and tackle with the NY Yankees tonight after a very wet interruption. Here are the pitching match ups, but first, a word from our DH...

“This is great. Our guys need the rest. We’ve been going like crazy around here and guys are tired and this is going to give us a little bit of a break physically, so we can get our energy ready to go the rest of the way. We’ve got the Yankees coming in and that’s always going to be a tough series and very intense for everybody. So we’re going to be rested for that.’’


Tonight, John Lackey will be on the hill at wet but still friendly Fenway. I'll see you soon.

For What It's Worth...

Theo Epstein was involved in a big way with Boston's acquisition of Adrian Hernendez. The Padres coveted our center fielder, Jacoby Ellsbury. Now he's turned himself into an irreplaceable cog in the Red Sox offensive attack and their defense. Imagine the Sox without Jacoby. I don't even want to go there. Here's reliever Daniel Bard...

“A lot different. Who’d be playing center field for us? We’d probably have had to go sign someone else, or maybe Cam (Mike Cameron) would still be here. Jacoby’s the sparkplug for our offense. You could say he’s been our most consistent guy all year. He had a really good spring training, maybe a little bit of a slow April, and he’s pretty much been on fire ever since.”

So thank you,Theo Epstein. You did good.

The hurricane tracked just to the west of where I live but unbelievably, my power stayed on with nary a flicker. For that, I'm thankful. What I'm not thankful for is the lack of ingress and egress. (I can't go anywhere until tomorrow because the road I live on is underwater. So I'm stuck here. Don't get me wrong. The fire department came yesterday and they knocked on every door to tell the people living here that Town Farm Road and route 4 are underwater. They told me things should be back to normal tomorrow. I have my two kinds of insulin here but one of them needs to be refrigerated. I have plenty of food and drink and I'll be fine until tomorrow morning. The river that keeping me penned in is the Farmington river, a tributary of the Connecticut river. Oh well, you can't fight Mother Nature.

On that note, I'll say goodbye. As always, stay safe. Thanks.

Red Sox Grab Two Wins On Saturday.. 9-1 & 4-0..Yankees/ Baltimore Sunday Doubleheader Has Been Cancelled

The Boston Red Sox had a great but rain-delayed day while capturing two wins yesterday against Oakland at Fenway Park in Boston. The first game's final score was 9-1 Sox for the Lester win and 4-0 for the Bedard outing. The only reason Bedard was denied a victory was another rain delay. That's too bad but I'm very happy he's part of the Boston starting quintet. For a number five guy, he's pitching well. So today, you must pick something other than baseball to spend your lazy afternoon with. Here's Boston's manager, Tito Francona...

“We’ll use it (two days off) to our advantage. That’s what we always try to do. We were really fortunate the way it worked out. Now we can let the guys regroup because they’re going to need to. This has been a long haul here.”

Yes, after a couple days off today and Monday, the Yankees will invade Fenway Park. With yesterday's Red Sox double whammy over Oakland, they are a full 2 games ahead of their New York rivals. Let's keep it there. Or more!

“It’s always a big series,” David Ortiz said of the impending matchup. “We always play to win so it’s always good.”

I have to run. No, I don't have anywhere to go (we're not supposed to be on the roads) but I do have to do a full house walk-through coming up right now. The winds have picked up and as soon as the sun makes its first appearance, I'll have an update.
It's still pitch dark outside. So be safe today. If you live in the northeast, as I do, you know you have to be careful. They just said the hurricane's landfall will be right around the previously announced 11 am EDT. So sit tight (or sleep well) until then. You can click on this post's title for more Sox news and as always, be careful, be well. If you have any questions, just leave yours as a comment and I'll answer it, IF we have electricity. I have a funny feeling we're not going to lose it. As always, BE WELL, my Constant Readers. What would I do without you? Don't forget to get in touch with me through the comment sections of every post and as always, BE WELL.

That Was Yesterday, Yesterday's Gone...Oakland 15 Boston 5

I'm happy this type of games, score wise, are so few and far between with this club from Boston. The final score? 15-5 Oakland A's over the Boston Red Sox. It was a combination of things, every one of them not good for the Sox. But I want to make this post short and dwell on the doubleheader scheduled for today. Jon Lester will be starting for the Red Sox ready to face Moscoso. Here are the statistics for both upcoming game. Weather wise, game one should be OK, game two is still a question sign. But at least they have a CHANCE to play it. If the powers that be decided to play the evening game tomorrow, there wouldn't be a chance to play it. Nice.

Sat. 27 Oak **12:05 PM ET CSCA/NESN **J. Lester (13-6) vs. G. Moscoso (6-7)...12 noon
Sat. 27 Oak **5:05 PM ET CSCA/NESN** E. Bedard (4-9) vs. TBA

Two great games for an ever-darkening late summer day into night. I really hope the two teams, in game two, can get in at least 6 quality innings as well as the nine plus in game one but right now, I don't think that scenario will play out. Why? I'm just looking at the timeline. The Red Sox want to win both of these games. Last night, the NY Yankees also lost, so Boston's place in the AL East has been preserved for game one at least. Again, if you're planning to go to game one, you'll have no weather problems at all. Game two? That could get a little complicated. Today, we'll take it one game at a time. Game one begins at noon at Fenway with the skies, slate gray and getting darker, holding off dropping their loads. But WHO REALLY KNOWS? Does anybody really know what time it is? I'm sure there's someone somewhere that that information. If not, CONSTANT Readers, GUESSTIMATE.

I'll talk to you tomorrow first thing in the morning unless the hurricane God makes a personal visit here. As always, BE WELL. If you're in the mid-Atlantic coastal region visiting us. Make it go away! Just kidding. GO SOX...TWICE. Again, in my opinion, that second game looks more and more iffy but it's only 6:11am here and in Boston so the grounds crew will work hard for the playing field to be ready for a game two.

Have a great day and please, enjoy the games. After yesterday's wipeout the Red Sox will be trying extra hard to win both games today. Hmm...that's it for me! Click on this post's title for more Sox stuff. Thanks.

Red Sox To Play Two Saturday

Yes, in order to make Sunday's storm irrelevant, meaning Boston's chances to play that third game would be little to none, the Sox will try to get in two on Saturday. The first game will begin at noon tomorrow and the second, IF the weather holds, will be at six. That makes sense to me in every way. But don't forget, the two teams (Sox and Oakland) will play tonight in the opener shortly after 7pm. Timmy Wakefield trys once again to win his 200th game. GO TIMMY, GO SOX. The weather for that game will be just fine. Saturday's noon game should be OK, too, but after 6pm, all bets are off. I'll be back first thing in the morning.

Power Surge For Adrian Gonzales Carries Red Sox To A 6-0 Win Over Rangers

Gonzales (two), Papi and Salty all homered to bring the Boston Red Sox to their third straight victory over the Texas Rangers. Now, it's bye bye Texas, hello Fenway Park. Here are the upcoming pitching match ups...

Fri. 26 Oak** 7:10 PM ET CSCA/NESN** T. Wakefield (6-5) vs. G. Gonzalez (10-11)
Sat. 27 Oak **12:05 PM ET CSCA/NESN **J. Lester (13-6) vs. G. Moscoso (6-7)
Sat. 27 Oak **5:05 PM ET CSCA/NESN** E. Bedard (4-9) vs. TBA

Adrian Gonzalez continued his homer tear with two more long balls to give him five in the past three days, while David Oritz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each went deep to back an effective Andrew Miller, who tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings. Here's the hot hitter, AGonz...

“When you’re not feeling well, you don’t go up there and be ready to swing at the first pitch. You might want to see a pitch or two. When you’re not feeling well, you don’t go up there and be ready to swing at the first pitch. You might want to see a pitch or two. That’s something everybody would agree with.’’

Makes sense to me. Boston pitcher Andrew Miller looks like he will stay in the rotation. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up three hits and zero runs. The bullpen, in the form of Aveves and Wheeler, kept the shutout alive. This was a nice effort from all the pitchers and this win was a great way to finish this road trip. But you know what they say...all's well that ends well.

Have a great Friday as a tons of Connecticutions prepare for this storm late Saturday into Sunday. The only thing that would upset me other than my house being damaged would be a prolonged period of no electricity. I need my refrigerator to keep my insulin very cool. I myself have to stock up the refrigerator and freezer with plenty of food and pick up most of my prescription medications. I'll keep you posted on this dire storm situation over the weekend, unless I DO lose power.

Thanks for stopping in, click on this post's title for more Red Sox stuff and as always, BE WELL. Thanks.

Boston Guns Down The Rangers

For the second game in a row, the Boston Red Sox scored a ton of runs and the starters kept Boston in charge for the balance of both games. Last night the final score was 13-2 Boston. Crawford, Jacoby and Big Papi were all back and the difference in firepower was astounding. Yesterday, Josh Beckett picked up his tenth victory, allowing that lone run on four hits. two bases on balls and four punch outs. That mark had been a long time coming (finally). Here's one of the returning starters, Carl Crawford...

"We've got a few guys back in the lineup. We've got Jacoby back and Big Papi back. Whenever you can have both of those back healthy, we kind of feed off that. It definitely gives the lineup a boost. We've been all swinging the bat pretty good."

And the skipper, Terry Francona...

"He didn't go out there and get lazy with the strike zone. He pumped strikes and he threw all his pitches and he kept them off the scoreboard, which is good."

The entire game was great, maybe because the Sox were ahead 4-0 after the top of the first inning, or "right off the bat." There was no doubt about it. The two teams ( NYY and the A's) go at it again today). Bard and Papelbon were never called to action because the lead was too bloated. That's fine with me.

I have an early Doctors appointment coming up a little later. I'm not looking forward to it, not at all but after the doctor's office, I'm going shopping to refresh all that I need for up to one week. The hurrricane is named Irene and its most likely track called for it to hug the coast on its northward trek and cross Connecticut right up the middle. I'll have everything about Irene first thing every morning until Sunday morning.

As always, be well. The main effects of this Hurricane will be rain and strong winds exceeding hurricane force Saturday night and Sunday and I'm a little worried. As is the norm, we'll make it. As always, be well and please click on this post's title. Have a great day and upcoming weekend as the storm approaches. Thanks.

The Sounds Of Silence For Boston Bats

The Sounds Of Silence is a great Simon & Garfunkel tune, a giant hit in its day. But you never want to hear it if you're a Boston Red Sox fan and the words described the Red Sox bats last night in tough Texas. Sox starting pitcher Eric Berdard pitched good enough to win except for a three run sixth inning home run. Until then, Bedard was pitching well but three runs are three more than the zero Boston tallied. The final score, by the way, was 4-0 Rangers. Here's Bedard's catcher, Jarrod Saltalamacchia...

“Trying to throw it (that pitch) up. Trying to get him to pop up or miss it. I just tried to throw a good pitch and tried to get him out, and he got it out."

Red Sox manager Tito Francona has further praise for their pitcher, CJ Wilson...

"His stuff is just filthy, and when we've had our full lineup, he's gone through us. I don't know that you can make an excuse. He's got a lot of good pitches and he went right through us. We had a couple of chances, but then he made really good pitches."

So that's the way it was Monday night in Arlington, Texas. A good pitching effort was beaten by a better one. Even with three starters out of the Boston lineup, they've been scoring enough runs to win 55% of their games.Unfortunately, if that trend continues and we do get two of those three players back SOON, we'll be the American Wild Card entry or better. We all want to win the AL East and be done with it. The last five plus weeks of this 2011 series will not go by quickly. That I'm pretty sure of.

Here are the pitching match-ups for games two and three of this four game series...

Tue. 23 at Tex** 8:05 PM ET NESN/FxSW** J. Lackey (11-9) vs. C. Lewis (11-8)
Wed. 24 at Tex** 7:05 PM ET ESP2/FxSW** J. Beckett (10-5) vs. M. Harrison (10-8)
Thu. 25 at Tex **8:05 PM ET NESN/FxSW** A. Miller (5-1) vs. A. Ogando (12-5)

May the force guide us to victory. Hey, we need all the help in the world we can get at this juncture of 2011. Please don't forget to click on this post's title for more video and print about last night's wipeout loss and as always and forever, BE WELL.

Wakefield Denied #200 Yet Again

Tim Wakefield was OH so close to his 200th win , holding a 4-1 lead in the middle of the sixth but the KC Royals stormed back with eight runs in the bottom of that frame and won going away 9-4. Here's Timmy...

“It is what it is, you know. We’re trying to win the game, not trying to do a favor for me. We’re trying to win the game as a team.’’

That's Wakefield's true team spirit. Boston was playing without 1/3 of its normal lineup. Most of you know about Big Papi and Youk's being on the 15 day DL. Terry Francona decided to take Jacoby Ellsbury out as a precaution because he was hit in the back the day before by an errant pitch. Hopefully, this will be a short-term loss for our favorite team but man, the Sox's lineup last night was weird looking. Here's the Boston manager, Tito Francona...

“We’ll give him another day for sure. He’s pretty sore. He’s moving around OK, though. He’s trying to rally a little bit.”

With yesterday's Yankee loss, the Red Sox would have been in first place had they won but my, my, they didn't. But today's another day, another game with Lester (12-6) ready to face D. Duffy (3-7). Recently, Jon has had trouble in the first couple of innings but after that, he turns into a left-handed super pitcher. Let's be good from inning number one, Jon. With our depleted lineup, every win is essential.

Enjoy your Sunday, click on this post's title for all the highlights you'd ever want to see and as always, BE WELL.

Boston Red Sox 7 KC Royalsl 1..Wakefield goes for 200 Victories

Timmy Wakefield takes another shot at victory number 200 tonight and I'll be rooting for him...loudly. Coming up are the pitching matchups for tonight's festivities. But first, last night the Sox were in KC and beat them convincingly, 7-1. Andrew Miller started and went 5.1 innings. Aceves finished the game without giving up a run. Nice pitching and neither Bard nor Papelbom were needed or used. Adrian Gonzalez, who hasn't had a tater in more than 100 at bats, took the field mustache-less. He says he isn't superstitious But he responded with a single and two doubles. With Papi and Youk out, it's up to him and Pedey to keep this boat from Boston afloat. Here's Gonzo...

“Just got some good pitches to hit. It doesn’t change what’s going to happen tomorrow. All that matters is that we won. The numbers are what they are. I don’t feel great at the plate. I’m just working through it. . . . It’s just timing. Hitting is always timing. You lose your timing for whatever reason and you try to get it back.

The hitting star for the Sox was Jarrod Saltalamachia, who smashed a three run long shot in the fifth. The Royals never had a chance after that bomb. Good pitching AND good hitting makes for a winning result, almost always. As I mentioned in this post's title, Timmy Wakefield will go for victory number 200 tonight. Here is the pitching matchup for todays game. I am well aware that if Paulino messes up in any way, Timmy will hit the 200 win mark with a decent performance or if his team's bats can do it right. I hope today's the day he'll do it. In Boston or in KC, it doesn't matter to Wakes or to me. Here are the official matchups. Time of first pitch will be 7:10pm EDT. Go Timmy...

**T. Wakefield (6-5) vs. F. Paulino (1-5) at 7:10pm EDT. **

So I wish every one of you a terrific weekend and a fantastic Friday night. Please don't forget to click on this post's title. Everything you'll ever want is right there, videos included. As always, take care and be well. GO SOX.