Just the ticket...

By The Red Sox Girl

Editor's note: Welcome new blogger - "The Red Sox Girl" - to Yankeessuck.com. "Girl" is representin' for the youth of Boston who consider themselves 'born into it'.
Last June, my friend Nicki and I decided that we wanted to go to a Red Sox game in the next couple of days, but that's not as easy as it sounds. Looking online, I discovered that all the games were already sold out, even though our opponents were Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, not the New York Yankees or the Chicago White Sox! The cheapest seats I could find were over $100 which I was not willing to pay for standing room only. Then I remembered, earlier that spring my family and I got day-of-game tickets for face value and still had a lot of fun.

For every home game, the Red Sox reserve a small number of tickets and sell them at the day-of-game ticket window outside of the Green Monster two hours before game time. For various reasons, fans are only allowed to starting lining up for these tickets five hours before game time. On June 15, 2005, Nicki and I showed up a little over five hours before game time, and nobody else was milling around waiting for lineup time, so we were excited. Once the five hour mark came, we started the line and soon other people joined us. There was a lot of excitement among the fans regarding Bronson Arroyo, who was scheduled to pitch. (Who could guess that he would later pitch FOR very same Reds this year.) Fans in line chatted about the beautiful weather, and speculated about exactly how many tickets they would be releasing.

For a die-hard fan like me, three hours is not a long time to wait in order to get tickets, and the time went quickly. Once the ticket window opened, we asked for the best seats they had, and the woman told me that all they had were bleacher seats remaining. I asked her if they had any others available besides bleachers, and she turned around, looked at the man who was standing behind her, and asked if she could release these two tickets, and he nodded in agreement. She told us that she had two Right Field Box seats for $45 a seat, and we were excited. Little did we know just how lucky we would be.

We made our way into the park, and decided to see where our seats were. We kept looking for "RF Box 86," but found ourselves working our way almost to the bleachers without spotting our section. We looked behind us but could not find the sign for Box 86. We looked in front of us and saw the sign. It was the first 20 or so rows in right field, and we were excited. An usher asked if she could help us find our seats, and I gave her my ticket. The usher asked how we got the seats, and we responded at the day-of-game ticket window, and she seemed surprised. She kept leading us forward, closer and closer to the field. Finally she pointed us to the front row and we were stunned! We would be sitting in the front row of Fenway Park! This was our dream come true, and we could not stop jumping up and down and screaming.

The game was an amazing game, with Bronson Arroyo going 7 innings with one run ball, and Mike Timlin and Keith Foulke pitching a scoreless 8th and 9th inning to win the game 6-1, sweeping the series. I've done day-of-game tickets since, and never was able to get front row seats again, but I have absolutely no complaints, and it is worth the wait. For anyone that wants to get tickets -- the legal way-- to a sold-out game, I highly recommend waiting on line. It was an experience that I will never forget.

Until next time,
The Red Sox Girl

Roller Coaster Ride in East

By Kevin Horn

Hello loyal fans of YankeesSuck.com. It's been almost a year since I've written anything for this site, but I'm back like Bruce Willis, with a vengeance. We've seen some crazy things the first two weeks of this MLB season. Every team in the AL East is separated by 3 games (as of Saturday morning), the only division closer is the AL West where 3 teams are tied for first and Seattle is 1.5 back.

So what does this mean for our beloved teams? Well the Yankees have struggled, mostly with their pitching staff, and most people don't believe Tampa Bay and Baltimore can continue their good starts. The biggest wildcard in the division this season is the new-look Blue Jays. The Jays, uncharacteristically, are getting the jobs done with their bats. They have been ripping the cover off of the ball lately, winning games with a ton of runs scored. Their pitching has not been the boon they expected, with A.J. Burnett and Roy Halladay both having injury trouble so early in this young season. However the new additions of Molina, Overbay and Glaus have been slugging the ball like nobody's business.

The Red Sox have been winning games solely on the arms of Schilling and Beckett who -- until Friday night's meltdown in Toronto -- were a combined 7-0. Manny Ramirez finally woke up against the Jays, hitting a couple of home runs against his favourite team to hit them against.

So who's the favourite in the division this year? If we look at history, it's difficult to overlook the Yankees. Baltimore probably doesn't have the horses this year, and Tampa Bay is at least 2 years away from a serious challenge. The Red Sox? Well, yes, they've been very solid over the past few years but they must avoid injury to their two big sluggers and two big pitchers. If any of those four gets hurt it may spell trouble in Sox land. Then we come to the Blue Jays. The Jays have had a bit of a strange season so far, getting by on their hitting -- which no one expected. They have also proven to be a great comeback team, showing that against Boston a few times and New York. If the Jays can get their pitching studs healthy who knows how well they can do?

That didn't answer your question though. Who do I like in the division this year? Well, to be honest, I can't say. If I had to force a guess I might say Toronto, or Boston, but I just don't feel there is one team that stands out above the rest, at least this early in the season. The Jays are maybe the biggest underdog in this division, not having the winning pedigree of the other two teams. I will say this though, the team that wins this division will be the one that beats the other two. Regardless of their record versus other divisions, to win the east you gotta beat the east! So far the team that has proven to be able to do this has been the Blue Jays, and if this trend holds true, they may see the post-season for the first time since the world series of 1993.

As always, the AL East is going to be the division to watch. However this year there's a new kid on the block, namely the Blue Jays. It will be great to watch to see if this young squad can hold it together long enough to make a serious run at the division crown. They have shown they have the hitting, hopefully they have the pitching as well as soon as their guys get off the DL. Only time will tell, but as a Blue Jays fan, I have to say I have my fingers crossed.

Spring -- and Theo -- Bring Back the Hope

By Tom Jervis

Editor's Note: Welcome a new voice to the site, Sox fan Tom Jervis

It seems like only a brisk autumn day away that the hearts of Red Sox Nation had been ripped out and tossed to the roadside. Theo, in his favorite guerilla suit, flew Fenway Park, while Johnny went to the Evil Empire. I'll admit it, I panicked. With the Jays throwing money around like Victor Conte hands out steroids, the balance of power was clearly starting to shift.

For me, it all really started when Theo left. This guy is clearly one of the best young GMs in Baseball. He just GETS IT. Theo isn't your classic Dan Duquette GM. He doesn't hand out those huge, lengthy contracts that our friends slightly to the West do. He builds through the farm system, develops players, scouts talent, and makes smart trades. His one bust, Renteria, really can't be blamed on him. I guarantee 90% of knowledgable baseball fans would select Renteria over Eckstein and Cabrera. Renteria was clearly a better offensive player and no slouch defensively. He was also the same age as Eckstein and younger then Cabrera. The way people just pointed the finger at him like he completely blew it just baffled me.

This guy is the greatest GM in Red Sox history. How can he not be? Who's the last GM to win a World Series with Boston? You might remember him if you're 100 years old but they didn't even have free agency in that time and the game is totally different. The reason this team has never won before is not because of a "curse" or whatever you want to call it. The reason they have always lost is because of bad management. Whether it be a bad GM, Manager or Owner, it all starts at the top, as they say. Without him, we' still be talking about The Curse today. To me, this offseason was a disaster until Theo came back. Thank the Sox gods that he did.

Oh Happy Day!

By lefty
I love New York! The Mets that is. What a relief. After Steinbrenner's guarantee earlier in the year that the Yankees would win the World Series, we opponents were all quaking in our cleats. Was George the 21st century version of Nostradamus? With one biblical character, Johnny "Jesus" Damon, now in pinstripes, did George make a deal with another biblical character, "The Devil," to assure a 27th gold ring?

He may have, the season is far from over. But I will enjoy this day as the Mets are looking like they will not be a disgrace this year, and George is looking more like the guy Mr. T pities.

Calling it as I see it

By Karlsie

Last night my son and I started our season by going to a game in Pawtucket. On our way in I said, "Gee, I have never seen the PawSox win one, you think they might tonight?" He was hopeful and we settled down in our seats to catch the game.

Nothing had changed (in fact I kept expecting to hear Bizet playing through the PA system because it looked like the early games in the "Bad News Bears"), but once the sun went down it got cold enough to see our breath. It was really too cold to keep score, but as I was teaching my Pi guy, I had to find a way to move that pencil across the page. When I found out that I couldn't go out to the car to get my blanket and come back in, I stopped at the souvenir shop and picked up a huge one made out of sweatshirt material. The two of us hunkered down under it, afraid to move and risk exposure to the night air.

The game was made even worse by the reality the minor league umpires are on strike, so college and high school umpires are filling in. At one point I muttered, "Blue must be a liberal - the strike zone is definitely on a sliding scale."

Then came the call that riled up the couple of thousand fans left by the fifth inning. Andres Torres of the Rochester Red Wings (the Minnesota AAA team) hit one down the third base line that went foul before reaching the bag with the bases loaded. Willson made a stab at it, but it was foul so it went off towards left field. The home plate ump called fair ball and a run scored. As the PawSox and crowded roared in protest, a second run scored.

Immediately the manager was out of the dugout explaining the rule to the ump - and rather nicely. No angry voices or arguing, but the ump held to the ruling instead of sending players back.

At this point I did not stop my son from yelling at the ump - something I normally forbid because it's a hard, hard job. I didn't stop him in part because I was yelling too at such an egregious call. After a couple of more 1-2-3 innings we did something we never do, we left a game early. It was clear that any fun had been sucked out of the game by someone who hadn't bothered to learn the rules well enough to call a professional game.

The PawSox apparently gave up at least one more run after we left because their website listed a score of 6-0 as the final.

I have to admit that I'm rethinking our plan of visiting minor league parks this summer. Unless this strike is settled, I have to wonder if this is what we'll have to look forward to - a group of umps who just don't know even the most basic of rules and can't shake off the crowd noise and intimidation of players and coaches whose nature is to challenge what you see.

I already have my tickets to the Fishercats and Spinners games this year. I suppose I'll order up some Sea Dog tickets as well hoping the strike will settle soon. If not, it might be enough for me to study a rule book, don a blue uniform and step out onto the field myself because, even though I don't know much, I do know this: a good ump is worth their weight in platinum and a bad ump should never, ever, ever be tolerated.

So it begins

By Karlsie

We're only four games into the season and I think we've got an idea of how it's going to go already.

So far there were two good games: the first and last against Texas; and two painful games: the middle game in Texas and last night's 14-8 blow out in Baltimore. It's clear that trading Arroyo is going to cost this team by mid-season (and Theo, if you're reading this, I hope you're working on the bullpen because we could be in deep if you're not) because once again, it's going to be all about the bull pen.

I have not lost faith in Foulke. Do not lump me into that group of fatalists who, when Papelbon came on to close the other night, started hearing the bell tolling for Johnny at Burger King. I believe that, if he is still with the team in July, will be the bandwagon guy - you know, the one guy who, when doing well, is the person everyone says, "See, I knew he could do it..." even though they were calling for his head in May. I just think Papelbon is younger, stronger and the person they don't want to rush so long as you've got him under Curt Schilling's wing... or have you forgotten how he taught Jonny on the spot how to throw an effective spliter last year?

At any rate, the other night's loss started for me when I couldn't get the "Hockey Monkey" song out of my head. ("One, two, three the kids love the monkey and four, five, six, the monkey's got a hockey stick, seven, eight, nine, they're all having a good time....") It's a bad sign when you sit down to watch a baseball game huddled under a fleece blanket singing about monkeys playing hockey. Unfortunately, the Sox did nothing to shake me from that scenario either. Last night's win started when I heard "Dirty Water" earlier in the day (it's on one of my mp3 player mixes) and wanted to keep screaming, "I love that dirty water, oh Boston you're my home." Of course we were playing in Fenway South... I mean Camden Yards, where displaced Sox fans and cheap fares to Baltimore make it easier to score a ticket to a Sox game than taking the T to Fenway thus giving the home field advantage to the Sox and not the Orioles.

I have to admit I was more than a bit ticked that the umps didn't call the game for rain when pitchers started slipping on the mound. Drying agent my sainted aunt, if a player had been injured last night, I'd be going after the umpire's union. I was on the edge of my seat the last three innings worried someone was going to be wheeled off the field. A 90+ mph fastball coming out of a wet hand is just an invitation for a tragedy.

I can't believe that I miss today's game because I have to take two kids to speed skating (remind me again why I think Apollo Anton Ohno is so cool - especially when I'm sitting in a freezing rink watching two of my guys learning how to push and glide). All I have to say is the game better be on instead of a hockey game. Let's get real, the Bruins bite this year no matter how much I'm loving our new goalie, and BC got enough attention during March Madness. They haven't closed the deal in over a decade and I don't need to be teased by their hockey team either - so just turn on the Sox and move on folks. If not, I'll be in the car listening to the game on my XM and hoping the boys don't notice where I am.

A New Season

By Karlsie

The fridge is stocked with Mike's, the freezer is stocked with easy to nuke food and NESN has a heart next to it in the cable menu which can only mean one thing: baseball season has started and it's time for the family to leave me alone when the game's on.

I also decided to do something a little different this year. I have a blank book and pen on the coffee table where I can jot notes during the game instead of the random scraps of paper I used last year.

Wow... as I wrote that it struck me as so girlie - keeping a bound journal instead of scraps of paper or a wire bound notebook (you know the ones I'm talking about - where the wire is horribly smashed out of shape and little bits of paper are stuck in the coil from pages that have been ripped out over time).

That's the beauty of this game. It doesn't matter if you're an obsessive-compulsive who tracks every pitch on a custom score card and has a system of scoring that makes MIT mathematicians bow at your greatness or you're a girlie with a pink bunny on the end of your pen, there is something for everyone.

So, let the games begin so I can celebrate the mental and physical aspects (and, as long as I'm getting in touch with my girlie side, men with cute butts in tight pants) and PLAY BALL!