Watch Out for In Your Ear

There’s just something about bench-clearing brawls in baseball that I can’t get enough of. I don’t know if it’s the team comradery, the bullpen streaking across the outfield, or how batters conveniently wait until someone’s got a hold of them before they make any real attempt to go after the pitcher, but I like when a mob of baseballers meets halfway between the pitcher’s mound and home plate. Just makes me smile.

I don’t want anyone getting hurt, mind you. Not that anyone really gets hurt in a baseball fight anyway. Most of the time its just a few big swings that connect with little outside of an errant stadium bug, maybe a good tackle, followed by some bad Greco-Roman wrestling. Outside of the initial fracas, I’m sure most players are chatting up in the crowd, how’s the kids, nice play the other night.

The best mound-charging brawl I’ve seen has to be with Nolan Ryan and Robin Ventura. Ventura didn’t take too kindly to getting plunked by a 97 mph fastball, and ran out to the mound to have a chat about it. The next thing he knew, Ventura was in a headlock, getting rapped on the top of his head by Ryan. Right before the mob reached the mound to break them up, Ryan got in one final punch: a wicked sweeping fist right into Ventura’s face. Its not often a pitcher gets in a good lick like that. Ryan gave pitchers across the league hope. It was beautiful.

This all came up as I was watching the Nationals – Mets game tonight on ESPN, with ex-Sox great Pedro Martinez on the hill. It looked like Pedro had lost a little bit of that zip on his fastball, but there was no shortage of that Martinez attitude he carried with him all those years.

Pedro always did the beanball the right way. He only went after you if he had a good reason, like retaliation. Plus he hit batters correctly. When Pedro aims for you, he gets you in the back and in the ass; none of these head shots that run so rampant in baseball these days.

Tonight, Petey was claiming the inside corner of the plate against the Nationals, making sure their batters didn’t dig in too deep every at-bat. A few of them flew out of the way of the inside pitches, while others simply had no where to go. When all was said and done, Petey had plunked three Nationals batters, a new career high.

This kinda confused me, though. Three plunked batters is his career high? You mean to tell me he’s never pegged three batters in one game before? All those series against the Yankees, not one outing with three beanballs? I’m shocked.

Nick Johnson and Jose Guillen were Pedro’s targets for tonight, with Guillen getting the honor twice. The second time around is when the fun began. Guillen got crazed on his elbow, took a second to think about it, then decided to go after Pedro. Of course, by that time, even the umpire had an arm around him. Guillen made sure he gave Pedro plenty of evil eye, though, even going as far as to stare down the barrel of hit bat. Classic stand-off.

I think it should be mandatory for the crazy guys of baseball, the hotheads who regularly pop their top, to get plunked once a week in a game. Those moments when they get some chin music and you can just see the water beginning to boil is awesome. You know its just a matter of time until a pitch gets a little too close, much less hit them, and they’re going ballistic. Think Selig would go for that?

Yeah, probably not. Thankfully, there’s still pitchers like Pedro around to make sure we get our brawl fix every now and then.

Youngblood

Okay, the other day I said I wasn’t going to get excited about the Red Sox so early in the season. But after watching them in their third game, I’m pretty fired up.

Maybe not as fired up as Josh Beckett, though. After struggling in the first and giving up a run, Beckett bounced back to deliver a pitching performance that had Schilling applauding from the top step of the dugout. Boston’s new young phenom put in 7 strong innings, battling out of some jams en route to a 5-strikeout performance.

But that’s not what really got me excited wasn’t so much Beckett’s performance (though I am pretty stoked about it), it was his passion. His youthful exuberance was flowing out his ears the whole game. He nearly ran down the first base umpire on an appealed check-swing call at one point, screaming for the appeal down the line. When he was granted the strikeout to end the inning, a Tiger Woods-esque fist pump accompanied a scream that the entire Red Sox Nation heard.

I love that we have a guy that gets this fired up. Schilling has his moments, his own fist pumps and hollers, but he’s getting old. Beckett is the young blood of the new starting rotation, and he’s got balls. This guy almost started a fight with Phillies first baseman Howard, screaming at him from the dugout after Howard stood at home and watched what turned out to be a long fly ball out.

I think that’s just what this team needs, some of that young fire. With all the new faces, it just may be Beckett’s sort of attitude that takes the reigns and brings together this team. I’m not saying he’s the leader, because I firmly believe Varitek has had that role wrapped up for years, but he could be someone the team rallies behind in the long run. And for Beckett, with a mentor like Schilling on the squad, the future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades.

But, having said that, there is one thing that concerns me about this guy. For all his talent, I hope he doesn’t get too cocky for his own good. Throughout the game tonight, his first start as a Red Sox mind you, he was shaking off Varitek left and right. Beckett had his own game plan for pitching this game, and didn’t seem to want Varitek’s advice on how to approach the batters.

Sure, it all worked out in the end, but look at the facts: Varitek has been catching and calling games in the AL his whole career. Beckett is only 5 years in the league, all in the NL. He doesn’t know the Rangers or any other team in the AL. I’m curious where his confidence comes from that he’s going to shake off a veteran like Varitek. I’m keeping my eye on this for now. Beckett gets a reprieve because he pitched one hell of a game tonight, but this arrogance better not come back to bite him, and the team, in the ass.

More on pitching: Have the Sox found a new closer in Papelbon? Boston’s farm-grown flamethrower came in the ninth tonight in a one-run game and mowed down batters for the save. With Foulke seemingly still struggling after his horrific outing Monday, Francona put the young pitcher in to see how he’d hold up, and he held up well.

Mixed feelings for me, though. While I would LOVE to see the Sox drop Foulke from the closer role and have Papelbon blowing away ninth-inning batters from here on out, I’m wondering if the team would be doing itself an injustice by not giving this guy more innings that lead to an eventual starter’s role. Papelbon has the potential to be the next (dare I say it, yes, I do!) Roger Clemens (hopefully minus the attitude), so a closer role might deprive him of the lengthy outings needed to make it through 7+ innings every 5 days.

In Theo we trust, however. That man has the master plan in order, and I have faith. Papelbon, Beckett, the works. I’m behind them all.

I’m stoked. Sox look hot. Let the season roll.

Bronson Arroyo hit a home run in his Cincinnati debut today. Let me say that again: pitcher Bronson Arroyo hit a home run in the third inning that tied the game at 3. The same Bronson Arroyo the Red Sox traded for part-time fielder Wily Mo Pena. Wily Mo has exactly ZERO home runs on the season so far. Advantage: Reds.

Oh, Arroyo won the game, too. Reds 2.

One down, 161 to go

Not a bad way to open the season, boys. Not bad at all.

The Sox officially kicked off the 2006 baseball season today, beating the Texas Rangers 7-3. It was hard to stomach the 2:00 start for their first game, especially on a Monday. Its difficult enough trying to watch all 162 games a season, much less when they stick 'em on in the middle of a workday. I understand its impossible to schedule games that are convenient to every fan, but how can you put the opening game for the Red Sox on in the middle of a Monday? That should be a Federal Offense! You can't tell me they couldn't swap a night game with the Rockies or someone. I mean, who watches the Rockies anymore? After they traded Walker, didn't they automatically reclassify as a Double-A team? Yer killin' me, Smalls!

Ahem. Excuse the rant.

So anyway, Schilling pitched a gem, going 7 strong innings for the win. He certainly looked like he managed to get back into his 2004 shape, hitting close to 95 on the radar gun. He hit a little trouble in his last two innings, giving up a couple long fly-ball outs and an eventual two-run homer to Blalock, but battled out of a jam and came back for a 1-2-3 seventh. When the dust cleared, Schilling logged a 118-pitch, 5 strikeout day. That roar you hear in the background is cheering from Red Sox Nation.

Then Foulke steps in. Unfortunately, our trouble closer did not follow in the footsteps of Schilling and find the stride he so triumphantly strutted in 2004. Foulke reminded us once again why we were calling for his head on a platter last season, giving up a single, double and a run in the bottom of the ninth before recording the final out. That roar you hear in the background is a collective groan from the Red Sox Nation.

But even Foulke couldn’t ruin this day for Sox fans. Not only did Boston win its first season opener since 2000, the new faces on the field stepped up and contributed right away. Lowell showed some pop, Gonzalez had a 2 for 4 day, and Crisp put on a defensive clinic in center.

Speaking of Crisp, that bugger is FAST. Boston’s had a speedy center fielder the past four years, but Crisp made him look more like Bernie Williams with a bum leg. I’d put my money on Crisp in a straight-up sprint any day. Sox announcers stated that Francona has given Crisp the green light on the basepath all season long, and I couldn’t be happier. The Sox have never really been known as a running team, but with all the new blood around this season, what not a better time to buck the trend.

Big Papi got a helluva start to another MVP-type season, despite what voters decided last year. He delivered what proved to be the knockout blow in the game, absolutely CRUSHING a Kevin Millwood pitch in the fifth for a two-run homer that put the Sox up 5-0. This ball hit the top of the right-field foul pole it was hammered so hard. There was no doubt it was gone as soon as he hit it, just whether or not it would stay fair. I just love seeing that guy lumber around the bases after launching one like that. I sincerely hope Sox management get that rumored deal for him tied up soon. Big Papi has turned into a key player that any team would be lucky to have.

The big question still remains: can this new group of Red Sox pull together and play some quality ball all season long? Sports analysts have picked them everywhere from taking the AL East crown to a lowly 3rd place finish behind New York and Baltimore.

Me? I’m holding off on judgment for now. One game hardly a whole season makes, or some Yoda saying like that. Its just one game, no matter how impressive.

But what a game it was.

A fan in San Diego chucked a syringe at Giant’s slugger Barry Bonds during the game yesterday. No needle attached, but the sentiment was perfect. Surprisingly, Barry actually picked it up and took it off the field. Maybe he thought it was a special delivery from his trainer. Either way, I’m sure his PR rep had a heart attack seeing him even CONSIDER handling a syringe considering the scandal he’s stuck in right now.

The Yankees absolutely crushed the A’s in their opener last night. ARod launched a grand slam to give the Yanks an early 7-0 lead. Does anyone else notice how ARod seems to get the big hits when they are least needed? The Yankees were already up 3-0 on a clearly struggling Barry Zito, and THEN ARod gets offensive. Where is he in the close games? Clutch hits from this guy? MVP my left … well, you get the idea.

Theo Epstein is awesome. With Roger Clemens visiting both the Rangers and Red Sox prior to yesterday’s game, Theo maintained the integrity of both himself and the club when he spoke to the former Boston ace. Instead of groveling for his services this season as some teams have resorted to, Theo kept it short and sweet: The door is open when you decide to make up your mind. Nicely done, Theo.

Happiness Is ...

Baseball has begun.

The initial pitch thrown, the first runs scored, the last out made. Three home runs for Chicago in the opening game, matched by 3 errors on Cleveland’s side of the diamond. Possibly the first regular-season visit to the DL, after CC Sabathia strained an abdominal in the third inning. Maybe his skewed hat threw off his balance.

Side note: raise your hand if you thought CC Sabathia even HAD abdominals to strain. Seriously, anyone?

The first game is in the books. Defending Champs White Sox 10, Rebuilding Indians 4. A good offensive start paired with a shakey defensive outing for the once-solid Indains. Remember their infield back in the day? Deadly double-play combo Carlos Baerga and Omar Vizquel up the middle? Sandy Alomar Jr. behind the plate? Even speedster Kenny Lofton patrolling center field? They ain’t in Kansas anymore, Toto.

Thome, facing his former team of 12 years, launched a two-run shot in the fourth, and received his first curtain-call in a White Sox uni. That shot tied him on the all-time homer run list with Oriole great (hack) Cal Ripken.

Though I’m pretty ambivalent about Thome, mostly a mere admirer of his quick crushing swings, its nice to see him move up such a prestigious list. Well, actually, I’m happier that he tied, and will eventually pass, Mr. Ripken. Love to see Cal’s name move DOWN on the record lists, hoo boy!

But today at 2:00 EST, my life will once again have meaning. In Texas, Coco Crisp, the Sox new center fielder, will see the first pitch of Boston’s 2006 season. Its magical. My first season living in Boston, being a local to the team I’ve followed my entire life, Fenway a short ride down the road. Can you feel it? I can.

The Gates of Heaven itself won’t open until next week when the Sox return to Boston for their home opener on the 11th, but the fans will still be there in Texas to cheer on their team. The Red Sox Nation is global and daunting; there are games when visiting Sox fans outnumber those for the home team. It’s a beautiful thing to see away games on TV and hear nothing but, “Let’s Go Red Sox!”

They may not have won the World Series last year, but no one in this town, in this fanbase, has forgotten the magic of 2004. Sure, we’re down to a mere handful, if that, of players remaining from the championship squad, but the name on the front of everyone’s jersey is the same. New faces, new personalities. New things to love about a team, new things to be concerned about. A new season starts today.

Curt Schilling will take the mound for the season opener today, already a better start than he had last year. We’ll get our first look at one of our staff aces, and maybe get a good sense as to if he’s returned to his 2004 form, or if we’ll be languishing in another 2005 debacle.

Lots of questions about the rest of the pitching staff, too. Are we going to miss our not-so-young-anymore phenom Arroyo? Will Paplebon be a beast out of the pen? Can Tavarez keep his cool long enough to throw a pitch? Will Becket be the new future of the pitching staff? Will Boomer get the boot? Is Clement’s new facial hair the answer to his post-All-Star-break woes?

We’ll get to see how the revamped lineup will perform this season. Will Crisp help us forget how Jesus abandoned the city for our most hated rivals? Can the flashy defense of Alex Gonzalez make us overlook his .245 career batting average? Will Mark Loretta stay healthy enough to keep Alex Cora off the field as much as possible? Can Mike Lowell play younger than he looks throughout the season? And for God’s sake, will Manny continue to be Manny and learn to once again love the city of Boston?

And the most important issue to examine today: Team Chemistry. No other team has sold fans on the importance of Chemistry more than the Sox and their band of Idiots the past few seasons. Now those Idiots are all but gone and forgotten, and a new crew is donning the Boston jerseys. This squad needs to find their common ground, that niche, that brings this team together in baseball harmony.

Today is our first look. In just a few hours, we’re underway.

And I’m stuck at work. Dammit.

The Terps are in the Finals! UMD basketball made it through the final four, beating #1 seed UNC to reach the final game against division rival Duke. These two teams finished 1-3 in the ACC this year, so its sure to be a hard-fought game between bitter enemies.

Unfortunately, I’m not talking about the Men’s squad. This year, the basketball accolades lie firmly with the Lady Terps and their amazing season. In only her fourth season with the team, coach Brenda Frese has led the Terps to a record of 33-4, more wins than any Men’s or Women’s team in school history.

And tomorrow night, they’ll take the court here in Boston to try to claim their first NCAA National Championship ever. Though I won’t be in attendance, I definitely will be rooting them on. Hell, I might even tune in for a few plays. I just won’t tell anyone I did.

Go Terps!