Games 46

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 2, Oakland Athletics 15

Well, clearly the back end of the Sox rotation is dragging a bit. I'm going to put this loss down to the fact that I wasn't around last night to watch it go down and leave it at that. As redsox.com put it today, last night was a "forgettable night for Red Sox against A's."

But why dwell on that, when we have Pedro-I'm-12-and-0-against-the-Mariners-with-a-1.00-ERA-Martinez on the mound tonight against Seattle. Yes, you read that right. 12 and 0, with a 1.00 ERA. Having that fail tonight would be like the appearance of a Sign of the Apocalypse.

The young Theo Epstein is out with director of amateur scouting David Chadd and director of scouting administration Jason McLeod looking for future Red Sox and strategizing about how to pick best when your first pick isn't until the third round (number 65, to be exact). I like to think the draft has acquired a special significance for Sox fans since the change in ownership - ever since Yankees fans started to accuse the Sox of being as much into buying players as Steinbrenner, it's nice to pretend, at least, that the Front Office is trying to grow a team instead of just buying it. Of course, my usual response to "you know, you guys DO have the second largest payroll in the majors, so stop accusing us of buying players" tends to revolve more around phrases like "only owner paying luxury tax" and "$60 million more than the next highest payroll," but any port in a storm. YANKEES SUCK!

Game 45

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 9, Oakland Athletics 6

And, with a little help from Bobby Crosby and a MONSTER home run from V-Tek, D-Lowe survived long enough to get the win. Which, in the scheme of things, is probably what Derek needed. The man has come off as such a head case several times over the past few years that it seems like all he needs is a boost like a win to get him back in step. I hope so, because that game last night was real ugly for the starting pitchers on both sides (I admit a small bias - Redman is on my fantasy team. My ideal night last night would have been something involving perfection from both Redman and Lowe last night through seven or eight innings and then a Red Sox win off of the Oakland bullpen, or something like that. But I digress).

It seems like every commentator last night, from the ESPN booth announcers to super-fan Ben Affleck (and goddamn if that's not an awful picture) had something to say about The Great Coming (as I like to call the return of Nixon and Garciaparra) and how much more that will improve the monster offense. I feel I must weigh in (why have a soapbox if I didn't?) on this matter. My thoughts: first of all, The Great Coming, although it will be greated joyfully, will be a subtraction as well as an addition. Some of that offense that's batting now is going to get shifted out to fit Garciaparra and Nixon back in. That would suggest that things are going to stay about par with where they are now (which is certainly fine with me). Second, there's no guarantee that either Trott or Nomar is going to come back in full form. I realize that the whole point of rehab assignments is to avoid those sort of difficulties, but there are guarantees. I think everyone needs to calm down before we get a case of over-hype.

Also, to the ESPN broadcasting team: not that it matters too much, but Ben Affleck is not from Southie. He's from Berkeley, CA by way of growing up in Cambridge. A rather nice part of Cambridge, from my understanding. Just because the man co-wrote a movie about Southie does not make him one of South Boston Denizens. And Ben, next time someone suggests you are from Southie, please correct them. We need to kill these misconceptions at the source.

Alright, game 3 tonight. Perhaps the toughest test for the pitching staff tonight, going up against bad-ass Mark Mulder. I remember feeling greatful when I heard last year he wouldn't be appearing in the playoffs. Of course, if things continue as they have for the past few nights, all Arroyo has to do is hold on long enough for the Sox hitters to grind the Oakland pitchers under their collective heel once again and pick up their sixth win in a row.

I was going to make some sort of asinine commentary about tonight being the matchup between the rookie and the veteran, because Mulder looks like he's 35 and Arroyo looks like he's 12, but apparently Bronson has about half a year (he's 27) on young Mark. Fancy that. YANKEES SUCK! - eventually the truth will bear me out.

Game 44

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 12, Oakland Athletics 2

Well, clearly the vaunted match up between Hudson and Schilling wasn't. Because of the hype surrounding this series ("the first time the Red Sox and Athletics have faced each other since the post-season last year!"), ESPN was kind enough to broadcast the game on ESPN2 (something which I predicted without looking at the schedule) and I was able to watch the game for once instead of just listening to it. The broadcasters (who to a man were turning the game into a glorious Red Sox love-fest) seemed to feel that it was the bitter Boston cold that took the edge off of Hudson's stuff, although Hudson was quoted on the Athletic's site as saying that he just had an off night. Schilling was on fire both on and off the field - he had an inning long monologue with Ortiz after Ortiz was called out on strikes in the seventh, after throwing 113 pitches over eight innings. Manny and Ortiz did a little dance at home plate after Manny hit a home run. Mark Bellhorn nearly hit for the cycle. The young blood was in full force last night, with appearances last night by Kevin Youkilis, Lenny Dinardo, Jamie Brown and Andy Dominque.

Youkilis is apparently going to have to get used to that third base position, since Bill Mueller is out for six to eight weeks for arthroscopic surgery on an arthritic knee. Guess it's a good thing he went in for a second opinion, eh? Then there's our old pal BK Kim, who's flown back to Korea to see a doctor about correcting an "imbalance in his legs." I would say that Kim is suffering from Ramiro Mendoza syndrome, but he's supposed to be back in five to seven days. We'll see, I guess. Rumor also has it that Trott Nixon (remember him?) will be coming back soon. YANKEES SUCK!

Games 41 - 43

Final Scores:

Game 41: Boston Red Sox 11, Toronto Blue Jays 5
Game 42: Boston Red Sox 5, Toronto Blue Jays 2
Game 43: Boston Red Sox 7, Toronto Blue Jays 2

That's the way this team should be handled! Sweep all the way, baby. Thank you Manny for proving me right about your value to the team and David for just being awesome.

It amuses me that I was discussing the back and forth first place bounce with several Yankees fans on Saturday night...after it had already become irrelevant. I have to admit that it was exciting seeing them go back and forth, as much as I'm enjoying the idea of the Sox going into a West Coast homestand with a lead in the East. Speaking of which, Tuesday will mark the first time the Sox have played a really difficult team since last playing the Yankees (no, I'm no elitist...not at all) and it's Hudson vs. Schilling too; should make for a good game. I'm looking forward to it. Yankees continue in their suckage.

Game 40

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 6, Tampa Bay Devil Ray 9

Time for another first place switch with the Yankees - how much fun would it be..no, I'm not going to finish that thought. The hatchet needs to be buried.

In Steinbrenner's back, of course.

It looks like from reading the post-game report that the Sox offense didn't do that badly trying to recover from a seven run deficit, but when Manny doesn't hit the entire night, it certainly hurts. This isn't the offense it was last year, guys. Maybe it's because we're still missing a few key players, or maybe because of the attempts to fix the bullpen fiasco of last year, but I think those days of matching every run our pitchers give up with runs of our own are over.

Derek Lowe, Derek Lowe. Your catcher thinks we just need to keep supporting you a little longer, because you're going to catch a break soon. Of course, this was a guy who went on record as saying that it wasn't a mistake leaving Pedro in during The Game last year, so I think I'll take his pronouncements with a grain of salt. But three starts out of eight where you give up seven runs? Ouch. I'm still hoping that Lowe's announcement in March that he felt as good this year in spring training as he did before the 2002 season will still hold some water, but I'm starting to lose faith.

YANKEES SUCK, y'all.

Game 40

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 4, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 1

I'd say Schilling's an excellent recovery from last week...something about the warmer climate, perhaps. The offensive did its thing, the playing level was at a proper intensity; it even slightly edgy a few times. Excellent game overall.

For reasons unknown, WEEI was not broadcasting online tonight, so I was forced to listen to WFLA to get my Red Sox fix. The Devil Rays announcers amuse me to no end - I think it's partially because it's clear they realize their team is not that good so their broadcast was full of a certain awe for the opposition - I don't think I've ever heard Joe and Jerry praise Schilling's abilities nearly as much as these guys did. It probably doesn't help that the majority of the crowd at Tropicana Field tonight was part of Red Sox Nation - it got a bit confusing trying to tell what happened based on crowd noise.

I'd like to close this evening with two quotes:

"Oh man Schill did great and Folke got the save and Manny hit one out.... that's like the Trifecta!"
- Robin

"[The Red Sox fans at Tropicana] will soon be turning to the national anthem of Red Sox Nation, which is directed at the Yankees..."
- Tampa Bay Announcer Charlie Slowes

Yes, Charlie, I believe the phrase you're looking for is YANKEES SUCK!

Game 39

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 7, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 3

First, this bit of banter between Eric and Micah:

Micah: you do know its rag on the Sox day right?
Eric: well, it's yankees suck day too
Eric: oh wait
Eric: that's every day

I'm awesome. And so are easy victories over teams like Tampa Bay. Let's face it, folks, there's nothing like scoring cheap debating points about first place position when you're comparing apples to oranges. That said, I'm not going to sneeze on 13 batters retired in a row, or being 8th on the Red Sox all time wins list (for the record, 8th would be 105 wins). Taking a look at Wakefield's stats, it seems slightly incredible that he's been pitching for the Sox since 1995. I guess for me, Wakefield is one of those players who feels like a mainstay while retaining some of that fresh face syndrome.

Mueller is back with a vengeance (3 for 4 last night with an RBI). Nixon is making his triumphal return tonight as DH. Manny is (hopefully) well enough to play the field again. Nomar is rejoining the team in the next series against Toronto (although it's unknown at the moment when he'll start playing). And Johnny Damon (God bless him) managed to avoid taking himself out last night, collision and all. To quote the man himself: "My head keeps getting in the way." It sure does, Johnny. It sure does.

Game 2 tonight, with the Return of the Schill. Let's hope to God that whatever was bothering him last Thursday has gone away - I don't think I could stand another one of those games. In closing, YANKEES SUCK!

Games 36 - 38

Final Scores:

Game 36: Boston Red Sox 9, Toronto Blue Jays 3
Game 37: Boston Red Sox 4, Toronto Blue Jays 0
Game 38: Boston Red Sox 1, Toronto Blue Jays 3

A topsy-turvey weekend, culminating in a series split. Being shut down by Halladay isn't the worst thing in the world, even if we traded the division lead with the Yankees for the third time in as many days as a result. Besides, we can look back at the glory that is a crushing victory after a harrowing defeat (on Friday night) and Bronson Arroyo's stellar performance on Saturday. Shut down the last 13 batters he faced, you say. Three hits on six strikeouts and no walks, you say. I like it.

And there's the Kevin Youkilis, the Greek God of Walks and his monster debut on former Cy Young winner Pat Hentgen. Even if he's only here for a few days (until Mueller's knee heals enough for him to return to 3rd base), it's certainly a great start and hopefully a portent of great things to come.

And finally, of course, there's a series with Tampa Bay to look forward to - nothing like a mediocre team and a half insane manager for a good game of baseball, I always say.

On Saturday, I was in Central Park, where among other things, the USA Women's Softball Team had come to play against Hunter College in the fields near the Carousel (in the lower west side of the park). Although they were only taking team pictures when I walked over, I was told their starting pitcher could throw over 100 miles an hour and was striking out major leaguers. I felt kinda bad for Hunter College.

I'll be back after Tuesday's game. Lest you all forget, YANKEES SUCK!

Game 35

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 6, Toronto Blue Jays 12

"This is the worst the Red Sox have played defensively since 1994."
-Jerry Trupiano

Let us speak no more of this awful, awful game.

Man, I don't even have the heart to call the Yankees out tonight.

mid-Game 35

This game isn't even over yet and I'm ripped. This is the most pathetic example of baseball I've heard in a long time.

Pre-Game 35

Well, the Yankees won their game today already. No pressure, guys.

Game 34

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 4, Cleveland Indians 6

Let the following be resolved: like the Orioles of last year, the 2004 Indians are a bane upon the Red Sox...and Pedro is a Golden God for having beat them twice (alright, so he got a no decision two nights ago, but that's not a loss and the Sox won anyway). That said, the Angels had the grace to beat the Yankees last night, so the precious, precious half game lead is preserved. I will take it as a good omen that said lead still exists, because I don't remember it existing this late in the spring for at least the past two years.

So Francona opted to go with another pitcher instead of a batter to take Arroyo's spot in the bullpen as Arroyo reenters the rotation, in the form of Jamie Brown...I do believe I approve. No point in lessening the depth of the bullpen and with the expected return of Nixon and Garciaparra, bringing in another bat who'll end up getting sent back to Pawtucket in a month anyway. This is a good opportunity to develop another pitcher.

Damn straight I'll be listening to the game tonight...YANKEES SUCK!

Game 33

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 5, Cleveland Indians 3

Ah, Pedro. Ah, Cleveland bullpen. That's the sort of game we expect out of you. I want to put forth the theory that Pedro's arm is full of reptile blood, giving him the ability to strike quickly, like a snake or the jaws of an alligator, but only when warm. I'm imagining some sort of hidden compact for justice whereby Pedro was juiced up in an underground lab full of freedom fighters in an effort to save the world from further Yankee championship titles. Can you tell I haven't gotten enough sleep lately?

Meanwhile, Kim is back in Pawtucket. MLB.com writer Ian Browne pointed out today that Kim only has 16 starts out of of 295 appearances, which I guess gives Kim the benefit of the doubt, especially from the point of view of the Red Sox management. One wonders, however, if Kim's place was in Arizona, not here in Boston.

Sports Center this morning put forth Schilling as a Cy Young candidate. I love it when journalists make blanket statements, especially this early in the year, although it's certainly pleasant to watch footage of Schilling strikeouts while they make those statements. From my understanding the whole Cy Young award is based on wins (and thus run support) anyway. Eh, what do I know. Good on Schilling, I hope he does win.

Contracts again (I was discussing this the other night, so it's on my mind): Pedro and Veritek are both no-brainers. But if you had to pick between Nomar and Lowe, who would you pick? I've heard rumors that Lowe is already pissed off over the Schilling acquisition anyway and he's certainly having a mixed year so far. Nomar is an unknown at the moment and is going to be so for the next half month. Fundamentally, I'd pick pitching over hitting, especially since we already a technically better defensive shortstop in Reese, but then there's the question of Lowe's effectiveness...Ok, no answer this time either. I know, I'm terrible.

I'll be back tomorrow for more fun and YANKEES SUCK!

Game 32

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 6, Cleveland Indians 10

Man, it's like it's the early 90s and the Indians are some sort of threat to mental security of Red Sox Nation all over again. I reiterate my comments from the last time Kim pitched and apparently management agrees with me (how flattering) - they've put Kim back in the bullpen. He seems to be the sort of pitcher who gets bounced back and forth between the bullpen and starting rotation as if there's a feeling he'll fit in one place or the other if only the coaches try hard enough. I guess middle/long relief is something Kim hasn't done before - maybe it'll work out right this time. And remember, Arroyo hasn't flipped anyone off on the field lately.

Last nights game was wretched for more reasons than Kim though. The precious, precious bullpen! What happened to it?! Apparently they switched places with the Cleveland bullpen, considering how much better the Indians' relievers did. Then, of course, we have Manny and his citizenship ceremony. Props to the man for becoming a U.S. citizen, but why oh why does the government have to schedule it on a Monday in a city in a totally different part of the country? I suspect conspiracy, maybe something between George Steinbrenner and...Donald Rumsfeld. Yeah, he's in the doghouse right now anyway, might as well make it worse for him by suggesting some sort of collusion between the Bush Administration and Mad King George. Aren't you glad I'm up on this soapbox? Yeah, me too.

I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully with happier news of another C.C. Sabathia defeat at the hands of Pedro (who, by the way, is also referred to as "ace" by redsox.com...clearly I was right yesterday about word choice). YANKEES SUCK!

post-note: one of the spelling suggestions from the Live Journal spellchecker for "Steinbrenner" is stentorian, which the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines as "extremely loud." I find it extremely hillarious.

Games 29 - 31

Final Scores:

Game 22: Boston Red Sox 7, Kansas City Royals 6
Game 23: Boston Red Sox 9, Kansas City Royals 1
Game 24: Boston Red Sox 4, Kansas City Royals 8

Not a sweep, but not bad, either. Heck, Schilling's performance is probably more on par with "the party that rocks the body." Remember back in the off-season when everyone was saying how Schilling was going to be the perfect competitive foil for Pedro? See how well it's working? Awesome.

Then there's Pokey Reese and his record breaking antics. And a friend of mine calls him a secondary ballplayer. Shame on you.

My father, in his wisdom, has begun to question whether or not Schilling has taken the title of ace away from Pedro. Redsox.com seems to agree, but that might just be a question of word usage. I'm reserving judgment on this one - a cop out, perhaps, but it's early yet in the year. Besides, let's look at the facts. Yes, Schilling's had the better year this year (lower ERA), but both pitchers are 4 and 2 and pitching well. Maybe this is some form of release (a part of the grieving process, if you will), since it's unclear at this point if Pedro will be in a Red Sox uniform next year. This whole contract dispute has brought up a worry in my mind - that if this does turn out to be The Year, the ownership will just pull an Angels in the off-season and drop those parts of the team they haven't signed already. Of course, I think John Henry and Co. probably enjoy walking the streets of Boston unmolested, so this is probably an unnecessary worry. Besides, I think the Patriots have proven how much fun it is to keep winning.

for consistency's sake: YANKEES SUCK!

Game 28

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 5, Cleveland Indians 2

Red Sox split the series and restart their momentum coming back into Fenway. Pedro silences the criticisms of the "Red Sox Nation" (is that like the Kiss Army?) by striking out 8 and bettering his record to 4 and 2. Hell, the Yankees even lost. I would say a full scale recovery is in process.

Apparently Rickey Henderson is making a bid at coming back to the majors. This was a man who was a part of the Oakland teams that gave me creeping horrors back in the late 1980s and I gotta give props to a guy who isn't ready to quit from baseball at age 45. And really, why shouldn't he? If he's still having fun and hasn't broken himself playing all this time, I say rock on. There's too much worship of the youth culture in this society.

I'll be back on Monday with all the fun from this weekends games. And lest you forget: YANKEES SUCK!

Game 27

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 9, Cleveland Indians 5

Apparently I am not blessed with the gift of prophecy. This fact makes me quite happy.

The bats seem to have awoken - conveniently timed, of course, now that the standings in the AL East are nice and close. It also seems that sticking Bill Mueller back in his old eighth spot in the lineup has improved his average. I kinda like him there anyway; now he's kinda like that delayed surprise after you think you've made it through the hard part of the lineup. I'm still trying to decide if someone should just put B.K. Kim (gotta love how illiterate Boston sports fans are - we'll nickname a guy by using his initials, then tack his last name on anyway) out of his misery, or if he just had a bad outing. I have heard it suggested that the whole secret to Kim's magic is his delivery - once hitters get used to the weird stuff he does when he's throwing the ball, they've got him nailed.

I just took part in a poll on redsox.com that asked who the fans thought should be the MVP for April. Out of the 56417 people who had voted so far, about 45% had voted for Manny (the choices were Ortiz, Schilling, Ramirez, Varitek and Foulke). These results surprised me a bit - I picked Foulke, but I wonder how much of that is a result of my gratitude that the bullpen this year is so much better than it was last year and that Foulke is like unto a saving machine. That said, Manny has been doing crazy things like hustling and offering to give up part of his salary to help the Sox keep Pedro - things that are impressive for any rich athlete, but seem like evidence of a complete personality change for someone like Manny. There's that whole hitting thing too - apparently Ramirez was a major player in keeping the team in runs in April. I could revise my thinking on this one.

Battle of the aces tonight and I should *actually* be around to listen to it. Joy of joys.

Yankees continue to suck, kids.

Game 26

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 6, Cleveland Indians 7

Perhaps I should consider doing a penance. I'm thinking something involving a hair shirt, or maybe the sacrifice of a goat during a full moon. What exactly appeases the baseball gods anyway? A burnt offering of Manny's batting gloves and a copy of the "Cowboy Up" video? Maybe that's the Yankees secret. Somewhere in the bowels of The Stadium Mad King George presides over an altar that burns the corpses of those who have failed him and is continuously fed by Bud Selig. Maybe Contreras is going to be fed to that altar next.

Such bitterness. I had a dream last night that one of the Red Sox roster (I think it might have been Timlin) drove by me while I was walking down the street, beating his fists against the steering wheel and shouting about "six in a row! six games in a row!" Since the loss streak is currently at 5, I can only hope that this was some sort of mistake made by my oh-so-tired brain and not a form of prophecy. All is not lost yet, though. It's not as if there was no hitting last night; the Sox certainly pulled off one of their almost trademark 9th inning rallies - even if it didn't get them over the top, it's certainly a good sign (ah optimism, my beautiful, beautiful friend. You will save all in the end). I have my hopes they'll regain their stride tonight.

Later, all. (with feeling, now) YANKEES SUCK!

Game 25

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 1, Cleveland Indians 2

The offense is killing me. Any game that ends with a fly ball out when the tying run is 90 feet away is like a small death inside of me. All I gotta say is something better smack the Red Sox bats back into attention, because consistently holding your opponents offense to two or so runs should be good enough for any pitching staff to get some wins. Feh.

Yankees suck and all that.

Games 22 - 24

Final Scores:

Game 22: Boston Red Sox 5, Texas Rangers 8
Game 23: Boston Red Sox 3, Texas Rangers 4
Game 24: Boston Red Sox 1, Texas Rangers 4

I will not panic even though the Sox were swept over the weekend. I will not panic even though the Sox were swept over the weekend. I will not...

Ok, so not a good weekend for Red Sox baseball. I was in Boston this weekend (even walked past the Holy of Holies on Friday night), which I would have thought would help, but apparently it was not to be. My father put forth a theory this weekend, while we were listening to the game on 'EEI (see my comments on the ridiculousness of broadcasting the majority of Red Sox games on cable below), about what might be termed the curse of A-Rod. Young Mr. Rodriguez starts with the Mariners. After he leaves to go to Texas, the Mariners become the dominant team in the AL West, winning obscene numbers of games. Texas, meanwhile, becomes the bottom of the heap. A-Rod leaves Texas and comes to NY. Texas goes from the cellar to the top of the AL West and goes on to crush my beloved Sox over the weekend. That said, the Yankees have won their last six games (how dare they) and have pulled into second place ahead of Baltimore, so I guess the theory will need some refinement further proving. Or we could just say that the power of the Evil Empire is such that even the Curse of A-Rod cannot defeat it. Something like that. I want it noted here, however, that I was against the A-Rod trade after it stopped involving Magglio Ordonez. The Red Sox do not need the two highest paid players in baseball, no matter how good they are.

Let's focus on more negative: contract negotiations. Specifically, Pedro's declaration of free agency and the idiocy of the Red Sox ownership. As someone living in New York City (a New Yorker, even?) who frequently takes the subway, I am frequently privileged to encounter that paean of journalism, the New York Post. The New York Post is to New York City what the Boston Herald is to Boston; it reeks of the scandalous. The Posts' writers cried like wounded puppies when Clemens announced he was signing with the Astros, cackled gleefully over the A-Rod deal, had a field day with Game 7, etc. Now, they're tearing into the Pedro situation (who can blame them), because, of course, Mad King George recognizes a good pitcher when he sees one. My take on all this: at the moment, the contracts of Martinez, Garciaparra, Veritek and Lowe are all up at the end of this season. Management kinda dicked around with Nomar during the off-season by entering trade negotiations without telling him beforehand (yes, I know this is a business, but a little courtesy ain't so bad). Now, according to Pedro at least, the contract offers that have been made so far have been a bit lacking. It may be that they were made in the spirit of economies, because I have heard some suggestion that paycuts will need to be taken for this team to continue to grow. I've also heard that Pedro said he was willing to take those pay cuts...so maybe the offers just weren't reasonable. Or maybe he changed his mind. Let's hope it gets worked out one way or another.

TV broadcasts: TV licensing has become rediculous. You shouldn't need to have a cable box to watch the Red Sox on TV. You shouldn't have to deal with Tim McCarver and Joe Buck and the FOX network broadcasts during important games. If I'm up in Boston, give me Sean and Jerry and make it snappy. That is all.

Now for the only positive note: it's a Monday night and there is baseball being played and broadcast. The Monday night day off policy bothers me to no end. Yes, I understand that teams need a night off and that more people are likely to be watching/listening during the weekend than during the week. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people. Not only do I tend to be out doing things on the weekend, but it's Monday, man. I need baseball on a Monday night like a soothing, soothing drug (one that frequently gets me hyped up, admittedly, but that's not the point) to help start the work week. Fortunately, I will not have to go without tonight. Excellence shall abound and the hated Indians shall be crushed.

Ok, that's it until tomorrow. Before I sign off, I've been asked to include a note. My girlfriend is from the Bronx and is a Yankees fan (you don't know how many people asked me how I can stand to date her this past weekend. A few even called me a better man for being to do so. I thought it was great). She asked me to include this in my next sign-off: that the Yankees do not suck, that it's just my overactive Boston-influenced imagination mixed with the bitterness that comes with the longest can't-quite-make-it-past-second-place record in baseball. I, of course, have only one response: THE YANKEES HAVE SUCKED AND WILL CONTINUE TO SUCK!

Later.