SawxBlog

It's Official, I Love Julian Tavarez - Sox Beat Yankees for 8th Time in 10 Tries

(AP Photo)

There was a time, not so long a go, when I found it virtually impossible to write anything positive about Julian Tavarez. I’ve called him Freddy Kruger numerous times. I’ve made fun of his pitching style. I’ve questioned his judgment in multiple situations. And I think I’m ready to apologize.

I was sort of pulling for Julian to be our closer before Papelbon stepped back into his rightful role. I was pulling him for a few reasons, Tavarez seems to like pitching in pressure situations, he LOVES to pitch anytime/anywhere, he was very impressive starting at the end of 2006, and lastly, I thought he could be one scary looking mother closer.

What Tavarez did last night, and what he’s been doing this year for us is amazing. Figure this, thus far into the season Tavarez, our fifth starter who’s really built to be a long reliever, has more wins then every Yankee starter except Wang, and they’re tied with three a piece.

I wrote a few days ago about how the type of ballplayers and people who make a championship ball club are “The Kaplers”. People like Alex Cora, Eric Hinske, and now Julian Tavarez. Just dirty assed ballplayers that are smart, hungry, and love to play the game. You need your Schilling’s, Manny’s, and Papi’s, but these guys are the glue that holds a team together. When players like “The Kaplers” do something positive for the team it means that much more, and builds that much more camaraderie amongst the clubhouse.

Dan Shaughnessy wrote a great article (I know, seems like an oxymoron) today about Julian. He’s just got the greatest attitude this year. He’s saying all the right things, and he seems like a genuinely cool dude. I’m confident no matter where he ends up with us once Lester’s back he’ll approach the job with the same zest and zeal he does now, and you can’t ask for too much more then that.

So sorry for busting your balls Julian, my bad. Keep it up the rest of the season, you’ve more then earned the respect of this Red Sox fan.

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SawxBlog Player of the Game
Julian Tavarez
SP - 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2K's

Rick Sutcliffe and Yankees Take Down Sox, 6-2

(AP Photo)

I honestly don’t know what was more frustrating last night, watching the Red Sox squander the opportunity to push runs across the plate or listen to Rick Sutcliffe sputter on the air. I guess I’ll pre-face this by saying that I don’t think Sutcliffe is intentionally biased, I just think he’s a complete idiot. Rick may have great baseball knowledge, however his ability to communicate, and call a game on the air is bad at its best.

It only took me an inning to long for the sweet soothing sounds of Jerry Remy, and when I realized the game was also the Wednesday Night baseball game on ESPN my hopes fell that much farther. Why is it that 2/3 games between the Red Sox and Yankees have to be played on national T.V? I understand it’s the biggest draw in baseball and maybe sports, but man, watching these national announcers is pure pain at times.

The one (well, it’s actually two) instances where I literally wanted to jump through the T.V. and choke out Mr. Sutcliffe was on the called second strike to Youk when he had the bases loaded. I was at home watching the game with my friends Roger and Zac and right after the pitch I turned to them and said, “There’s no way that was a strike, lets see their *Bleeping* K Zone.”, and they did show us. The ball was clearly outside however Sutcliffe praised Wang with making a good pitch, I was beside myself. Of course Youk strikes out on the next pitch when in reality it should have been 2-1 with Big Papi up with the bases loaded.

Then when a similar pitch happen with Jeter a few innings later all Sutcliffe could say was how Jeter got screwed out of a walk, on the same exact pitch. I can forgive the ump here because at least he was consistent, but Sutcliffe I can’t. He was like this all night, and to add insult to injury my buddy Josh just told me he watched the entire game on NESN.

So in short I’ll take the heat on this loss, my bad. I’m still hoping the Sox can take this series but even if they take one game the Yankees only will gain one in the standings. Still you don’t want to give the Yanks any excuse to have momentum for it is still on May, and as Red Sox fans, we’ve seen a lot crazier things happen.

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SawxBlog Player of the Game
David Ortiz - DH
1/2, 2 RBI, 1 BB

Mini-Fenway Park Licence Plate Auction A Hit

Derek and Ms. SawxBlog (Jeannine) kicking it with Wally. (Photo - John Black)

About a month before I took off for Ecuador I attended a fund raiser in the State Street Pavilion at Fenway Park to benefit the development of a Mini-Fenway. The park will be for all children in New England to use, and there will also be a Yaz museum at the site of the park which is slated to be in West Quincy.

I personally can't think of anything cooler for a kid in New England then to have the ability to wrap a ball around Pesky's Pole, or to try and put your own personalized dent on a mini Green Monster. To read more about the cause please click here.

The event was a great time and I knew I was in for a treat when I saw Red Sox legend Luis Tiant riding right in front of Jeannine and I on the escalator. As a Red Sox fan any time I can find myself within the hallowed halls of Fenway is a good day, but it's an even better day when the food and drink is free!

There were a lot of past Red Sox stars and celebrities at the event and it was just really fun to rub shoulders with some of Boston's generous and elite. Everyone from Tiant,  Rico Petrocelli, Bob Montgomery, and Shonda Schilling were in attendance and everyone seemed to be in a festive mood.

 

The highlight of the night was when Jim Holzman (owner of Ace Tickets, and the very first sponsor of SawxBlog) got into an insane bidding war and ended up winning the #1 Red Sox plate for a whopping $31,000!!! You see, I was upset when the price of the T went up so my jaw was basically on the ground when he paid for a license plate almost as much as he could have paid for this. Still it was a very generous offer, and one I hope I can make someday! I've never been to an auction before so I found it pretty fun to see people throw their money and weight around the room. A big thanks goes out to John McKearney for letting me attend this great event.

To see more pictures of the event Click Here, and to read the Mini-Fenway Park Blog please Click Here.

Kason Gabbard Silences Braves - Sox Win 6-3

(AP Photo)

The Boston Red Sox took their Fenway series with the Atlanta Braves as Kason Gabbard pitched splendidly to defeat our "natural rivals". Taking two out of three from a decent Braves team with two rookie pitchers filling in as spot starters is a welcome surprise. Especially when so many of our regulars sitting out from tonights game.

The Red Sox now head into the Bronx to looking to do the same thing they did this weekend and that's win the series. It's always a little more intense when the Yankees are on the other side of the rubber, but there seems to be such an air of desperation (already) from them that it seems a little awkward to be looking at. These games obviously mean more to New York then Boston, however if we can win this series it puts that much more ground between us and put the hand a little tighter around the throat. Any head to head we can win now is huge because of the big series lead we've given ourselves.

Hats of to Kason Gabbard again, seeing a young lefty pitch like he did today is a great thing to see, especially when you have a lefty of Jon Lester's caliber on the mend as well. Gabbard may be our 7th starter now, and I wouldn't be too surprised to see him be the first option out of Pawtucket come any unfortunate injuries.

All and all a great (I'll be it wet) weekend for the Sox as they look to put their rivals even further into the distance.

Red Sox and Braves Split Saturday Double Header

(AP Photos / SawxBlog Montage)

It was a tale of two teams yesterday as the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox took turns beating up on each other during a double-header in Fenway Park. In the first game Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched a wonderful game as he got a myriad of run support from his mates, winning 14-3. The second game saw young Sox pitcher, Devern Hansack, getting the spot start due to Josh Beckett's cut middle finger, and the results weren't as rosy, as the hometown red lost 14-0.

In the end I'm totally fine with a split, especially since this was our second double-header in four days. Winning game one was expected, and game two would have been an additional treat. The Sawx look to take another season series today at 2:05pm as former Oakland Athletic, Tim Hudson, takes on recalled our 25 year old lefty, Kason Gabbard. This is another match-up that isn't favorable for us, however I'd be shocked to see our bats lay quiet after a night like last night. I say Sox win 9-7, we'll see.

New Red Sox Wallpaper Ready to Download - Fenway Park

(SawxBlog Illustration)

SawxBlog has a new Boston Red Sox Wallpaper to download now which will be the beginning of an Fenway Park Series. Click Here to download the newest Red Sox wallpaper, or view some of the past ones from Spring Training. Enjoy!

Perfect 10 for Red Sox

As the Boston Red Sox head into today's day/night double header with the Atlanta Braves we sit atop the AL East with at least a 10 game lead over all other competition. Looking out at the standings at the base of the Monster is a little surreal, but it's a surreal life that's certainly worth living. The squad we have put together is just really deep, and really strong.

To realize this you have to look no further then Eric Hinske or Alex Cora. These guys are the type of people who really help you win a championship. They're like the Gabe Kapler's of the world and you pretty much have no choice but to respect the way they approach their job, and the way they play the game. I know they're not overlooked in Red Sox Nation, and I hope they're enjoying their time with the club.

I'm hoping for 2/3 this weekend with the patch starting pitching we have, but we'll see, you never can tell what will happen. Sitting with a double digit lead is satisfying while we're over 1/4 of the way through the season, even if it is only May.

One Final Post From South America

Well I´m about to head back to the states and SawxBlog will then be back in the grind with daily updates, reviews, humor, illustrations, and more. I am seriously jonesing for some baseball and am beyond ready to get back in the swing of things. My vacation has been incredible and needed but as with all things that end, it´s a little sad to see happen. With that in mind, here´s some bullet points of my time in Ecuador SawxBlog style.

• I don´t care if they´re donated from off the US black market, but there´s entirely too much Yankee gear down hear. I would much rather see someone wearing a ¨Jeter Drinks Wine Coolers T-Shirt¨ then a ghetto Yankee hoodie. Boston Police this mean you need to do some good will and get some Green Monstah T-Shirts down here ASAP.
• MLB2K7 is awful for the Nintendo DS. And I mean awful. You´re better off watching a Soap Opera in Spanish, seriously. I felt like I was playing Bases Loaded for the NES, actually that game was better...I´m going to write an official review of this to hopefully stop people from buying it for the DS. I mean what was I expecting, Jeter´s on the cover. If you don´t believe me read this.
• How ´bout them Red Sox huh?!? Best record in the MLB, winning games in numerous different ways, and sitting with an 8 game lead is beyond sweet, it´s schweet. Do I have to say but it´s only May after typing this? I think not.
• If Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron's legit record in Fenway Park there may be rioting that made the 2004 ALCS look like an episode of The View. Please God, don´t let this happen.
• Watching baseball games in Spanish is AWESOME. All you hear is ¨sakldjfhdsl kjsdhf kdsjfh  ksdjfh sdk oiusdhf kjsd a Michael Young.¨ Too funny.
• Roger...seriously, the Yankees? Nothing like riding in the sunset of one of the best pitching careers ever in third place. And yes I said third place because I´m a stupid Red Sox fan in May. There, beat you to the punch. I can write about how he could have gotten a ring in Boston, about how he would have had the perfect book end to his baseball career but I won´t. All I can say is yes the Yankees needed him more, but seriously, pitching in the AL East is a lot different then the weak NL Central. Remember, the Red Sox had an awful season in 2006 and still had more wins then the 2006 WS winning Cardinals. Weak.
• Typing on a Spanish keyboard sucks. You have to hit the AltGr button + 3 to get an ´@´symbol.
• I´m going to a game in Fenway Park this week, mark my words.
  
  I´ll get back to all your e-mails as soon as I´m back in the states, talk to you all soon, and as always, Go Sawx.

- Derek

Reflections From South America

Hola mi amigos.

My trip thus far in Ecuador has been great thus far, however I see that the tentacles of Red Sox Nation have not taken this tiny South American country quite yet. So far I´d say Yankee hats have outnumbered Red Sox hats about 30-1. I think this is in large part due to the fact that the NY Yankees, and New York in general have represented America for so long, due to their success in the past. This must change.

The one kid I saw wearing a Red Sox hat I smiled broadly at and I think it freaked him out a Little bit! I should have went down to Yawkey Way before I came down and bought all the Red Sox paraphernalia I could think of and spread the good word, maybe next time. (Hint, Hint Mr.Henry)

So far the Sawx are a solid 2-1 in my absence from Boston, and they still have a firm grasp on the AL East. Looks like our bats were pretty quite last night in a 2-1 loss, and from looking at Boston.com it looks like Julio Lugo is starting to get the first heat of the season.

Maybe ever since Nomar left our shortstops have an unrealistic expectation placed upon them. I said this at the beginning of Spring Training, and I´ll say it now, Boston will love Julio Lugo by the end of the season, just give him a shot.

I guess with all that´s been going right with the Red Sox the major Boston media needs something to complain about. I however, have nothing to complain about. I´m about to go off to some thermal pools, oh yeah, and to also spread the good word of Red Sox Nation. Every Internet cafe I´ve been to so far has some site called SawxBlog.com at the top of their favorites list...hah ha!

Live From Ecuador - SawxBlog Update

Hola from South America Red Sox Nation! Im currentlly on vacation in Ecuador and will be trying to update the site as often as possible during my travels south of the equator. Looks like Manny and the bullpen just bailed Dice-K last night (I love the internet!) So please send me any storys you´d like or updates and I´ll post on the site when I´m at an internet cafe. I´m definetly getting the NESN shakes, but I shall survive.

Adios, and Go Sox!