Sometimes a jerk is just a jerk

I deleted a comment in the last comments section because all it was posted for was to get people riled up. And on the “American” first day of baseball, I’m not letting people get into a flame war. Give peace a chance, folks.

But I will address the comment here. Basically, “Karl” called me a stereotypical Boston racist for my comment about Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge.

So what I’d like to know is this: Since when did the world become a place where if I don’t like someone and that someone happens to be a minority, that automatically makes me racist?

(Not to even touch upon the bullshit title of “Boston – Most Racist City in the History of the World – FOREVER!” that every anti-Boston sports fan spouts off as if they actually know what they’re talking about.)

Elijah Dukes is, in no uncertain terms, a piece of shit. Lastings Milledge is, at the very least, a punk. I don’t care if they’re white or brown or yellow, that is how I feel and there is history to back that up.

None of which involves the color of their skin.

So “Karl” and others of his ilk, if you want to cry ‘racist’, you’re barking up the wrong tree. That I promise you. You know absolutely not of what you speak. If you did, the notion that I’m a racist would strike you as humorous as it does me.

But I do want to put it out there. Do I have to refrain now from any form of criticism if the person I decide to criticize happens to not be white?

Should I make a list of “White Guys I don’t Like” just to appease trolls who have no other argument than to cry ‘racist’?

That could be fun. Jason Giambi springs immediately to mind. Roger Clemens too. And Michael Kay…ooh and Eric Byrnes…hey, Tim McCarver and Joe Buck are white – and I can’t stand them!!

I could go on all day, because there are a lot of people I don’t like (apparently!). It isn’t because they’re black or white or American Indian (I’m looking at YOU Joba!)…it’s because I don’t like them. And while I don’t think I need to defend that on my own blog – I wanted to put it out there today…because it’s going to be a loooong season if I have to keep dealing with crap like “Karl’s”.

There have to be better ways to spend a lunch hour.

A Good Decision

So I get excited for baseball and settle in to watch the game on ESPN last night.  I had started to develop a headache, but chalked it up to a full weekend and weird sleep patterns.  But game time, the headache hadn’t gone away.   I watched the ceremonial first pitch get thrown out.  I also watched the likes of Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes standing on the field (and suddenly remembered why I’m not such a big Nationals fan).  The game is about to begin and even before the first pitch is thrown, Joe Morgan tells us (and Jon Miller says he agrees) that the season hasn’t started yet because he doesn’t “count” the two games in Japan. Baseball begins when it begins in America.

And that’s when I shut the television off.   Fell asleep not too long after.

So I got a really good night’s sleep and I didn’t have to listen to Joe Morgan all night.  Win/win.

While I understand that the way the season began was more than odd, (Two exhibition games in Japan, the season opener and another game to follow, three exhibition games in Los Angeles…) how ridiculous is it to ignore those games just because they weren’t played in America?  The possible racist and American elitist attitudes Morgan and Miller were displaying aside, were the two teams playing not MLB teams?  Did both those games not count in the standings?   What an arrogant, ignorant way to start off a season of Sunday Night Baseball.

I’m just glad I got some sleep.

On a happier note, Kyle pitched 2 scoreless innings yesterday.  He did give up an unearned run (sorry Clay) but still pitched pretty well.  Buchholz pitched well too, for the most part, until he somewhat imploded.  So let’s hope a normal schedule settles everyone down – including our closer.

Baseball Tonight!

Okay, so it’s Nationals/Braves, but still REAL baseball!

And it’s on ESPN, so we get to start our Morgan hate right off. All in all, I’m quite looking forward to 8:05pm.

Watching the Sox/Dodgers at the Coliseum last night I was struck by how special it was – unique and all for charity – yet how ridiculous it was at the same time. Sox play the Dodgers today at 4est and then we’re done. No more exhibition games. No more trotting out the Red Sox like some kind of novelty act. The team gets to play for real and we can get back to relatively-normal sleeping habits. 😆

When I started typing this, the Sox game hadn’t started yet.  Now, we’re in the 4th inning and Buchholz stunk up the place like cheese.  Kyle Snyder is in now to clean up the mess he left.  (Fingers crossed as Kyle throws a wild pitch.)

I just want the meaningless games to be over.

I Seem to be in a Mood to Rant

So I’m on redsox.com looking over the roster and am reminded of things that need to be said before the seasons “really” begins.

* It’s Buchholz. B-U-C-H-H-O-L-Z. For cryin’ out loud, sports writers have been spelling Mientkiewicz correctly for years but writers and fans alike keep finding new ways to spell Clay’s last name. This isn’t rocket science people.

* It’s SNyder. Kyle Snyder. Not Schneider. (Don’t let Papelbon fool you.) I hear this one more than I see it, but either way it’s annoying. Kid’s been in the major leagues for long enough now – and it’s a fairly popular name (hell, there are six Snyders in MLB right now).

* Kevin Cash is not Keith Foulke. Keith Foulke is not Kevin Cash. We get it. They look alike. Let’s move on.

At Least it isn’t Snowing

Apparently the Red Sox lost last night. I didn’t see this so I’ll just go with what they’re saying in the papers. 🙂

I did get to see Colon pitch and he did look sharp. Still, I’m happy that it’s being reported that he’s starting the season in AAA. One game does not a comeback make. I hope he kicks butt in Pawtucket and returns to form. I just still not convinced he will.

My man Mike Timlin was put on the 15-day disabled list retroactively. So, along with Josh Beckett, should be available for the Toronto series next weekend. This, as has been reported just about everywhere, means that Javier Lopez, David Aardsma and Bryan Corey all still have a spot on the roster for now. Every report I’ve read mentions these three guys, implying Kyle Snyder as a given in the bullpen (at LEAST). When Beckett and Timlin come back, two of them have to go. Selfishly, I’m just happy no one is mentioning Kyle’s name in vain right now. I don’t envy Tito and Theo many of the decisions they have to make.

Am I the only one who couldn’t care less if the Sox win or lose these three games in L.A.? It isn’t even like Spring Training to me. I don’t even care if our players do well. I want them to get the games over with and get their butts rested and ready to go in Oakland.

I need to give a shout out to friend of the RSC John. He taped, then converted, Tru’s appearance (with Brenda) on CNN. (Oddly, the only people we know who saw it on CNN were people from out of the United States. Go figure.) I’m going to try and post it here, but I tried this yesterday and it gave me loads of trouble. If it doesn’t work, you can find it here for posterity! Thanks, again, John!

Gosh I’m Tired

And all I did was get up at 4am two days in a row to watch a baseball game.

So how the hell do the Red Sox and A’s players feel this morning?

Exhibition game versus the Dodgers is on MLBtv tonight at 10:40. I had considered live-blogging it, but I truly don’t know if I’ll even be awake when it beings begins. (to illustrate how tired I was – I didn’t notice that typo until a day later!)

We get through these next three days and are rewarded with real baseball in Oakland. I might just sleep the weekend away!

In Your Faces, Kyle Detractors

And you know who you are.

Getty Images Photo by Jed Jacobsohn

I somehow missed this (probably because it was buried in a story about ARod that I purposely avoided since it was written by Yankee Fan Nick Cafardo):

An American League Central scout raved about Kyle Snyder: “Of the five teams I cover, Kyle Snyder is the most attractive pitcher of all the pitchers on the bubble on those five teams,” the scout remarked.

While I love to read the positive about Kyle (note to Kyle fans, stay far away from SoSH), I now get filled with worry that this could mean the Sox have an opportunity to use Kyle for a trade. So the mental hand-wringing begins.

Nope, no link to Cafardo. You can find it if you want it but I’m not giving him the traffic. Not today, anyway.

Because I’ve finally fixed the bug that made it annoying to add photos to the posts, I’m including what is probably one of my favorite photos of Kyle.

Looking forward to the Dodger games this weekend, even if they are only exhibition games. And then on Monday, real Red Sox baseball – again!

The Travels of Tru – Part VI (The Final Chapter?)

A dear friend of the RSC and frequent commenter here, “Tru” is making the trip to Japan to see both Red Sox games versus the Oakland A’s. Tru was kind enough to offer to contribute his observations on his trip, Japan, and the games.

Here is what I believe to be the final installment* of “The Travels of Tru”:

I can’t thank Tru enough for doing this. I can’t imagine taking the time out of his experience there to write all this down and focus on editing the pictures he sent me. I’d probably have done nothing but sleep and watch baseball. He’s made me feel special and as if I was there with him. I owe him a couple of three beers for this one! 🙂

*Cyn reserves the right to amend this if Tru decides to send us more!

(Brenda and Tru in front of the Tokyo Dome!) 

Epilogue

Brenda and I said our goodbyes at the Suidobashi train station. We had a great time and got to see the Sox play baseball in Japan. It was interesting how that kept coming back center stage in each of our minds. It was that kind of feeling an 8 year old has on Christmas morning, opening up that one gift they’d hoped for and got. It was really quite special.

Riding back to Shinjuku station in the overcrowded train, I kept on thinking about how everyone made out on this trip. Clearly, disaster was avoided when AirBud found ½ of his conscience; coaches thankfully made out. The players actually seemed to be enjoying the novelty, and have a memory that will last them a lifetime. The fans for each team got some of what they wanted, as they split the series. And the fans from Japan got Matsuzaka and Okajima. I also believe the vendors made out, as the better Opening Series Japan mementos were pretty scarce; hats were sold out and Brenda and I talked about why they did not have more inventory. I would have liked a cap. I believe both the A’s and Sox organizations profited from the experience. And finally, my good friend and baseball’s moral compass, AirBud made out.

On the way back to the hotel, it is a 10 minute walk from the west exit of Shinjuku station. The place was simply packed. I believe the facility sees more than 3.5 million people per day, ranking it as one of, if not the busiest train stations in the world. A man I saw talking on the train was also headed towards Keio Plaza, and he stopped me and asked if he could take my picture. I was struck by how he thought of me as an oddity of sorts, or possibly a novelty. I was wearing my field warm up jacket and cap. I was in a uniform for the event and Japan likes uniforms.

So he takes my picture, thanks me profusely for having allowed him to, and then presents me his business card. I can only imagine that happening at the Kenmore stop.

Thanks Beazer (Note from Cyn: Yes, I’m “Beazer” 🙂 ) for letting me share some of what we saw and noticed during the last couple of days. The photos were taken with the camera I got Mrs. Tru for Christmas and KellyO was thought of quite a lot when I was trying to hold the camera steady. Last I saw her (and that ferret of hers), she was telling me about the lighting and our position and how it made for challenges in getting a good shot. I hope the images convey a little bit of what it was like inside the Dome.

I’m looking forward to coming home. I miss my wife and kids. And at least at Fenway I do not need to use advanced math to figure out the difference of kilometers per hour and miles per hour on the radar gun.

Housekeeping

Because I finally fixed a bug with the blog theme, the photos in any of the posts prior to this one will probably mess up the flow of the posts.  When I have some free time, I’ll probably fix it, but for now it might be a little hard on the eyes.

Sorry folks. 🙂

The Travels of Tru – Part V

A dear friend of the RSC and frequent commenter here, “Tru” is making the trip to Japan to see both Red Sox games versus the Oakland A’s. Tru was kind enough to offer to contribute his observations on his trip, Japan, and the games.

Here is the fifth in what will be a six installments of “The Travels of Tru”:

Tuesday March 25th

Who says mass transit stinks?

Brenda showed up at my hotel and after a quick greeting, “Gee nice to see you here in Tokyo”, we headed via train to the Tokyo Dome. The Japanese train system is indeed the major, most used form of getting around. It is also inexpensive compared to other means. The taxis are immaculate, with drivers sporting white gloves, doily covered head rests, and rear doors that open automatically. It should be noted that tipping for services is not customary in Japan, and to do so is to offer affront.

The pictures taken of the route system map is from the station next to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government office. I took a couple of pictures so you can see how the Japanese can crank up government along with the best of them. The trains are also very clean. While we were on this train around 5 PM, this is not rush hour traffic; the train is a lot emptier than would normally be seen.

So this is where Matsui hit 55 homeruns!

As we approached the Dome, we started to notice a lot of English speaking people, lots of Sox and A’s gear. There were more Japanese people wearing gear for both teams, and excitement about what was to come began to envelop me.

We climbed stairs to take a wide bridge over to the main area outside of the Dome. There was a couple who were learned were celebrating their first wedding anniversary, and we took a photo of them together and in turn, they took a picture of Brenda, me, then the both of us. Later in the game, we saw them on the Jumbo-Tron.

Getting inside the stadium was interesting. A large uniformed security presence is stationed at each entrance. It was like observing a sports version of TSA. They had metal detectors, and issued small clear plastic bags, which were used to put anything in your pockets into. You had to show this bag to security, and if you carried a back pack, or camera bag, purse, etc., searching those items was random. Yet a highlight of my night occurred early, when a very cute Japanese gal, who was part of the security team asked, “May I please check your body?” It’s been a long time since I’d heard anything remotely tied to the twisted take I applied to her question, and upon further contemplation thought better of it, and kept my mouth shut. Like all things in Japan, the security process had a certain rhythm and cadence, requiring cooperation from the people going to the game, and they willingly obliged from what little we could see.