A Red Sox State of Maine

Meatless Masher

This came out a week or so ago...I meant to post about it then but forgot. I gave up eating red meat and pork over a decade ago now, although I do still eat chicken and fish. Every now and then, I work on giving up the chicken, but thus far no luck. It's tough! Here's hoping Prince can stick with it, it's better for his health and for the environment, not to mention the cow.

From the Mlwaukee Journal Sentinel:

It wasn't always this way. Fielder used to enjoy a stacked burger or a juicy steak as much as any carnivore, but a few weeks ago he received a book from his wife, Chanel, that changed his outlook on what he puts in his massive frame. The book described how certain animals are treated and slaughtered for food.

The youngest player to hit 50 home runs in a season was grossed out, so much so that he made his last meaty meal a salmon filet before quitting the animal game on Feb. 3. He has even dabbled in a vegan lifestyle but admits that might be pushing things a little.

"After reading that, (meat) just didn't sound good to me anymore," Fielder said. "It grossed me out a little bit. It's not a diet thing or anything like that. I don't miss it at all."

He does know his favorite vegetarian food so far is Boca Burgers, a burger patty made from soy protein and wheat gluten. But he is obviously still a newbie because he has to "load it up with ketchup" for it to be just beyond tolerable.

Of course, his bratwurst-loving fanbase is a little uneasy about it-meat is the mark of a man, after all. But if he nails another 50 homers and keeps the Brew Crew in the running again this year, no one will care if he's chowing down fried squirrel with the Rev. Huckabee. And besides, I think those Boca Burgers are pretty yummy.   

If you want any more reasons to pare down your flesh intake, I'd suggest taking a look here. If you'd rather not know, then skip it.

(Photo from Getty Images) 

Old Home Week

A couple of old friends in Red Sox news this week.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Before Big Papi, there was Big Mo.

And on Monday, the Red Sox announced Maurice Samuel Vaughn would headline the latest class of inductees into the club's Hall of Fame.

One of the most feared sluggers of his era, Vaughn captured the 1995 American League MVP and led the Red Sox to the AL East title that same season. He ranks sixth in club history with 230 homers in a Boston uniform. A homegrown talent that attended Seton Hall University, Vaughn played in Boston from 1991 through 1998. He signed after the '98 season with the Angels before finishing his injury-plagued career with the Mets in 2003.

I, for one, loved Mo Vaughn, and am glad to see him back in the Red Sox fold. An affable character with a compelling story, he was easy to root for and easy to love (a natural righty who batted left, he hung out over the plate so much he had to practically wear body armor. Pissed pitchers off royally, especially southpaws, who said he took away their inside strike. Elicited an edit from the commissioner's office to make sure that the "high" strike was called appropriately). He played in 161 games as late as 2000, and while Dan Duquette may have been vindicated over his decision to let Roger Clemens go, but I'll always hold him responsible for the way Vaughn was forced out. Unfortunately for Mo, he was implicated in the Mitchell Report for buying HGH around the same time he hurt his ankle in Anaheim.

Mike Greenwell, Sox left fielder in between Rice and Manny, is going into the Sox HOF as well. He lost the 1988 MVP to a juiced-up Canseco.

Here's a little clip on what Big Mo is doing now, rehabbing buildings to create affordable housing in NY.

The other piece of news is the return of Bruce Hurst to the Red Sox organization as a pitching instructor.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- When Bruce Hurst left the Red Sox following the 1988 season, he didn't know if he would ever return. Monday, he got his answer.

Twenty years after throwing his final pitch in a Red Sox uniform and leaving his mark as one of the best left-handers in team history, Hurst returned as a special instructor for player development.

You may recall that Hurst was to be named the 1986 WS MVP before...well, never mind. Ancient history, as Belichick would say.

Hurst was another guy I always liked, but he left for free agency in 1988, and signed with the Padres for less money than the Sox offered him. Unlike the nasty situation with Vaughn, I don't think there's much the Sox could have done to hold onto Hurst. He said at the time he was leaving to be nearer his west coast "roots," the rumor was that Hurst-evidently a straight laced, God fearing man-didn't really fit in all that well with the more forgiving atmosphere in the Red Sox clubhouse (remember, this was a team that had Wade Boggs on it). San Diego apparently had a management that ran a far tighter ship, and Hurst played there for four years. He made it to the Red Sox HOF a few years ago.

Welcome home, guys. We've missed you. BTW, any guesses as to who Mo's giving props to in the photo above, and who the opposing catcher is? I can't give you anything but love, but guess away anyhow!

Happy Birthday Mike Lowell

Every Red Sox woman knows Mike Lowell is sexy, and here it's confirmed that men do, too.

Millar may not be punching a ticket to Cooperstown when it's over,but I can guarantee you he'll be looking at a host spot on The Best Damned Sports Show Period or something similar. Can you imagine him and John Sally together? And he has excellent taste in men, when you consider that he was just sucking up to Papelbon...But hey, Paps, what's that "over 40" crack???? Trust me when I tell you that after 40+ years of sizing up men, we mature women know hot from not. And Mikey is hot.

Oh, and yes, Mike...* ¡Feliz cumpleaños! *

Manny Being Happy

Lots of talk this week over Manny's pronouncement that he's happy with the Red Sox and wants to stay as long as we'll have him. I'm glad to hear it but I don't really think that in and of itself was such big news-if you just look at last season, where there were no dramatic sit outs or leaked trade demands, where he came and did his job and actually started to open up a little bit to the media, I think you can see the change of heart began then. I have no way of knowing, but I'd guess, as he himself says, he grew up some and realized that maybe he had it pretty good in Boston. We as fans may be harsh and critical, and our media invasive, but we are as loyal and love our team with an intensity that rivals any sports fans anywhere, and maybe Manny has finally gotten his head around that.

Manny being at peace with himself finally reveals a lesson in here for all of us mortals. You may not necessarily be able to choose your circumstances, you always can choose your response to them-and it seems that's what Manny's done, because nothing else has really changed ("Boston is Boston," he told an interviewer). The first part of that is understanding that no one can make you feel or do anything. While you have absolutely no control over other people's behavior, you have every bit of control over how you respond to it. If you are  in a constant state of turmoil over the behavior of your co-workers or your kids or anyone else, then you need to take a step back and examine your own culpability for your emotions in this situation. My ex is a perfect example of this. He was more fixated on what other people did or said than anyone I ever met. He would literally obsess about a co-worker's personal marriage decisions or his son's spending habits until it drove him nearly crazy, and as a result he is/was one of the most unhappy people I've ever known. In Manny's case, the things that drove him crazy about Boston-the never ending spotlight, the crazy fans, the unforgiving media-he seems to have decided to just let it go, and embrace the things that have been so good-an ownership and management committed to fielding a winning product, two world championships, and an adoring fanbase. Add twenty million large a year to that, and why wouldn't he want to stay?

Manny, welcome back for year eight. We love you too and we're glad you want to stay, because we can't imagine the lineup or the Monster without you!

(Pics from mlb.com)   

The Non-Fiction Meme

Thanks for the tag, Melissa...

What issues/topic interests you most--non-fiction, i.e, cooking, knitting, stitching, there are infinite topics that has nothing to do with novels?

1. Politics-I devoted a post on my other blog as to what political/social interest books I am most looking forward to reading this year, probably over my summer break. Melissa also got me interested in The Commission.

2. Sports-I love sports books, not about stats and performance, but about the lived experience. I've become a big fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers by reading memoirs of people who loved them (Doris Kearns Goodwin, Tom Oliohant). There's a real echo of Red Sox fan in them. Shut Out is one of my all-time favorites in this genre.

3. Historical-Thomas Cahill, who writes ancient history for the masses, is one of my favorite authors. Books about religious history I particularly enjoy, although I consider myself an atheist.

Would you like to review books concerning those?

Only if I could pick and choose what I wanted to read. If i got an assignment, that would turn a pleasurable hobby into work. The reason I have never envied a film critic's life is that in order to make a living, I would have to be exposed to endless crap on film that I would hate in order to see the one film I really like. Not everything about politics or sports interests me, and I wouldn't want to have to read books on those subjects. It would make me very resentful, I fear. 

Would you like to be paid or do it as interest or hobby? Tell reasons for what ever you choose.

A hobby, for previously stated reasons.

Would you recommend those to your friends and how?

Most people and friends with whom I associate seem to prefer novels, which I almost never read. When I tell them I'm reading something like And I Haven't Had a Bad Day Since, they look at me like I'm cross-eyed. Every time I try to take an interest and apply it to a novel, I fail. I love Civil War history, for example, so i was told I should try  The March by E.L. Doctorow. I didn't make it through a third of the book before giving up.  

If you have already done something like this, link it to your post.

I write reviews of Red Sox and Patriot games. That's about the best I can do! 

I thank Melissa for tagging me.....and I'll pass the baton to"

Lori

The Things We Do For Fame

Schilling will probably ejaculate during this charade, but the rest of the group will want to take a long, hot shower afterwards:

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- For the second time in four years, the Boston Red Sox will get a day-pass out of their Spring Training complex in order to be honored by President George W. Bush at the White House. The ceremonial event -- traditionally given to the World Series champions -- will take place on Wednesday.

Thankfully, the White House isn't the only stop:

The players will also visit with patients at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The championship trophy will also be present during the meeting at the Medical Center.

Ya think they'll have Walter Reed cleaned up a little bit for the guests of honor? Any one of the guys who wants to flip off the Liar in Chief and head straight on over to the hospital and spend time with the real heroes who have sacrificed their arms and legs while desperately trying to execute an ill-conceived war and failed policy is ok with me. 

Arlen Specter Needs to Get Laid

I mean, seriously. What is his problem? The guy is beginning to sound more paranoid than Ann Coulter.

INDIANAPOLIS - In the latest Spygate wrinkle, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., says the NFL is "stonewalling" when it comes to talking to key witness Matt Walsh, a former New England Patriots assistant, ESPN.com reported.

This report comes shortly after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters that he hopes to meet with Walsh about the tapes he reportedly made of the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before the 2002 Super Bowl.

“The lawyers are still talking and we’re anxious to speak to him. We’re anxious to get an agreement to get him to come forth.” Goodell told the Associated Press on Wednesday before the start of the NFL combine.

“We hope to be able to talk to him shortly.”

When and if Goodell does talk to Walsh, Specter says he wants to be present. But he's skeptical that will happen.

"My suspicion is that they're going to put enough conditions on it so that he won't talk," Specter told ESPN.com. "If they had wanted Walsh to talk, it would have been done a long time ago. They are not helped by keeping him on ice, unless they intend to [permanently] keep him on ice."

Ok, now, understand that at this point, even the wussy ass Indianapolis Colts-whose brass has bitched more about Belichick and the Patriots and who are responsible for passing more rules with the word "Patriots" stamped across on them than any team in the league-are done with this. Per whiner extraordinaire Bill Polian, who hates the Pats as much as anyone:

“The process was fair, it was detailed it was efficient. What was on the tape was explained to us and what was in the notes was explained to us. The reason that information was done away with was explained to us. From my perspective that was a thorough, fair, efficient process done with a lot of integrity. (The penalty handed down) was appropriate. It’s fair to say that we’re satisfied with the explanation and we’re satisfied with what was done. It’s behind us. It’s time to move forward.”

Everybody else actually connected to the NFL seems willing to build a bridge and get over it, but not Senator Specter, who seems determined to pursue this with a zeal you a) wish the Bush administration had pursued Osama Bin Laden with, b) is strangely reminiscent of the same type of personal, paranoid attacks on Anita Hill Specter engaged in during the Clarence Thomas hearings, and b) was largely absent during the time when Republicans controlled both chambers of Congress and the nation was being plowed under with lies and deceitful practices. Where was Arlen Specter when George Bush was telling us Saddam had WMDs and was part of the 9/11 plot? Where has Specter been on the effort to punish George Bush's repeated rape of the Constitution of the United States? Even when he admits the president broke a law-ie, the warrantless wiretapping flap-he doesn't think the president should be punished, because even the most moderate Republicans are all about the party:

"Specter, speaking in general terms, noted that impeachment and criminal prosecution are possibilities in the event a president acted unconstitutionally. But Specter added: "I don't see any talk about impeachment here. I don't think anyone doubts the president is making a good-faith effort. He's acting in a way that he feels he must."

So, it's ok if the president violates the constitution and spys on you and me-as long as he "feels he must" (and does that excuse the serial murderer from his crimes as long as he expressed that he "felt he must?"), we'll give him a pass, but it's not ok if an NFL team breaks no laws and spies on other teams, who expect to be spyed on? Is that not the most absurd thing you have ever heard?

No, actually, it's probably just as absurd that Specter is foaming at the mouth over Spygate but thinks the telecoms should be given blanket immunity for breaking the law and helping the president spy on us:

Now there are lawsuits pending, and I think that it is true that the telephone companies have been good citizens in this whole matter. They ought not to be held responsible.

In other words, they were just following orders. As I recall, that defense didn't work at Nuremberg, Sen. Specter, although it explains why Specter seems to think the NFL should just give Matt Walsh blanket immunity no matter what he says. He was just a good foot soldier, after all.

I could go on but I think you get the point here. Sen. Specter's righteous indignation seems contrived and out of place, curiously targeted at sexually harassed staffers of powerful men and football teams accused of violating an ambiguous league rule. While the true perpetrators of fraud and injustice on the American people wend their way merrily into history with nary a slap on the wrist, the senior senator from Pennsylvania seems determined not to be remembered as a tireless defender of our civil liberties and way of life but as the Guy Who Took On Big Football.

Whatever. Wear it with pride, Senator.

The Beat Goes On...

It seems Roger Clemens has been caught in yet another lie.

Photos taken by a boy who was 11 at the time place Roger Clemens at a party given by Jose Canseco in 1998 and would contradict the star pitcher's sworn testimony that he did not attend the event, the New York Daily News reported Friday.

Canseco has said in a sworn affidavit that Clemens was not at the party, but Clemens' former trainer Brian McNamee testified that he was there.

Now, of course this doesn't really mean anything except Roger lied about going to the party (which we already knew, since his nanny outed him). But it is yet another confirmation of Brian McNamee's account of events, just one more exhibit in the parade of lies. 

You know, as much as I have grimly enjoyed watching this arrogant prick get his comeuppance, part of  me reflects back on 1986, '88, '91 and feels nothing but sorrow...the wistful kind a Clemens Yankee fan can't begin to understand. Back then Roger was our guy, and he was young and new and made Red Sox fans everywhere believe anything was now possible, even a championship. We were going to the promised land, and he was going to take us there on that golden arm of his.

Remembering that, and watching what has become of our once-golden boy...well, it just hurts a little.

(Cartoon fby Bob Englehart on Cartoonist's Index; young Roger from Google Images)

Why is Dustin Pedroia...

...such a chick magnet, despite having a physical presence of a bald Opie? Well, this is one reason:

Second baseman Dustin Pedroia, asked why Jacoby Ellsbury appeared in a pictorial in Men's Vogue instead of him, said: "I turned them down."

It's not the size, folks, it's how you use it.

(photo courtesy of FanNation)

Road Trips

Not living right in the immediate area, planning a Fenway excursion takes a bit of work. Nevertheless, I have procured myself two tickets for a couple of games of Sox games this year and, of course, I'm psyched. On the calendar as of today are:

5/18 @ 1:35pm vs the Brewers (maybe Eric Gagne will make an appearance-what do you think the reception will be?)

and

8/3 @ 1:35pm vs the A's.

I went to three games last year, one of which was the ESPN Yankee game where ARod took Paps deep  to win it, and one was the Memorial Day vs Cleveland which was Trot's first game back and Youk hit the inside-the-park HR. Nothing quite so dramatic on the docket this time, but did those folks who bought tickets for last season's 9/1 game vs the Orioles expect to see a rookie throw a no-hitter, either?

I'm hoping to get down to Philly for the Sox series there, too. Much easier to manuever around Citizens' Bank Park then Fenway, for sure, and it's a fantastic family park. But you know where I'd rather be!