Number 9 Has Been Gone 5 Years

July 5, 2002. I’ll never forget that day. It was the summer after my freshman year of high school and my family and I had gone down the Cape for the 4^th of July that year. Boy do I remember that day. It had to have been 105 degrees in Hyannis that day and the beach was full of tourists.

After lunch, my mother wanted to poke around in some of the shops near the restaurant we had eaten at. My nine year old brother, Peter, and I were not about to become prisoners of my mother dragging our feet from store to store full of things that we could not touch (we call those the no ‘touchy’ stores). My brother and I asked my father if we could have the hotel key so we could go back to the room to get our swim-suits, so we could head to the beach. He handed us the key and my brother and I walked back to the hotel.

While I was waiting for my brother to change into his swim-suit I flicked on the television and heard the heart breaking news; Ted Williams had died. Every channel was covering the story, after all the city of Boston had just lost one of their only living legends. ESPN, NESN, Channel 4,5,6, and 7 all had the same story running; “The Kid” was gone.

I did not know what to think. All I new was that I had to let my dad know right away. I am not sure but I may have left my brother in the hotel room all by himself, but I ran back down the street and found my parents. I told my father what I had just heard on the news, I told him Ted Williams was dead.

Five years later I still remember that day. It was a sad day for baseball. Many baseball historians and enthusiasts regarded Ted Williams as the greatest hitter of all time, and many would have agreed that he was the greatest living ball player aside form maybe Hank Aaron, but that’s another debate. Ball parks around America acknowledged that a hero was gone that day, and moments of silence along with many tears were shared in every ball park that day.

The image that resonates most clearly for me is of my favorite ball player of all time taking a knee and saying a prayer for the greatest Red Sox player of all time.

Nomar Garciaparra was probably to closest with Ted Williams than any other active player on the Red Sox. Ted and Nomar had a certain bond; they would often share their philosophies on hitting and other aspects of baseball… but mostly hitting.  Teddy loved Nomar, he saw a great hitter in him, he also saw a man that struggled with dealing with his fame in Boston; just like he did for most of his career.  My hero, Nomar Garciaparra had lost his hero, Ted Williams and Red Sox nation’s heart broke for both icons on that day.

 

The only memories I have of Williams come from the 1999 All Star Game at Fenway Park. The Mid Summer classic was held at Fenway that year, and Major League Baseball had a special treat in-store for their fans and players; before the game was under way the PA announcer at Fenway Park asked for the crowds attention and directed everyone’s eyes to the bullpen door in right field. As the bullpen door opened the announcer asked every one to welcome, “The Greatest Hitter of All Time, Ted Williams!”

Ted was paraded around the field on a golf cart, as he would tip his cap for the last time to the Fenway faithful. When the cart finally made it’s way to it’s destination at the middle of the infield, players from both the American League and National League poured out of their dugouts to get a glimpse of the “Splendid Splinter.” Giants of the game like Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Cal Ripken Jr., and Tony Gwynne circled the golf cart with jaw dropped mouths and star studded eyes as if they were not worthy of Teddy “Ball-Games” presence.

After the celebration was over the PA anouncer had to ask the players to return to their dugouts, so the game could begin. Ted could have talked hitting with guys like Junior Griffey, and Tony Gwynne all night, but there was a game to play.

After Ted’s death I became some what of a Ted Williams historian; soaking up any fact and statistic about him I came across. I often reminded my friends that Ted would have most likely ended his career at the top of the home run list, above Hank Aaron if he had not had lost five seasons of his career to the military. Ted flew combat missions for the United States Marine Corp during World War I, and the Korean War.

In fact Ted Williams had to crash land his plane in the Korean War for fear of using the ejection seat. Ted was fearful that he leave his knee caps in the cockpit of his fighter jet, because Ted was well over six feet and far too tall to fit in the cockpit of a fighter jet. If he ejected and his knees were damaged Ted knew that he would never play baseball again.

As I am writing this article I am also reading, “The Teammates,” By the late David Halberstam. The book Chronicles the playing days of Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Dom DiMaggio and Bobby Doerr. These men shared a relationship that is not found in any clubhouses in Major league baseball today.

In the past five years I have learned so much about Ted Williams, and his legend has only grown in the eyes of Boston fans. Ted Williams is honored in three different Halls, the Baseball Hall of Fame, The Fly-Fishing Hall of Fame, and the Marine Corp. Hall of Fame. Some joke that by accomplishing this feat Ted Williams had conquered land, air, and sea; something no other man has yet to do as perfectly as Ted.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that Ted Williams passed away just one day after our Nations birthday. He was the quintessential American. In his book “The Teammates,” David Halberstam tells Ted that he was the man John Wayne was always portraying in all of his movies. All I know is that Ted was a Great American, and Boston was lucky enough to have him.

 

 

RIP Josh Hancock

I’m sitting here watching the St. Louis Cardinals play the Milwaukee Brewers on ESPN and the Cardinal’s player’s heads are not in the game. They’re making errors, base running mistakes and poor pitches, that’s because their minds as well as their hearts rest with their departed teammate Josh Hancock. The Cards are playing with a heavy heart tonight just two days after Josh Hancock, a relief pitcher, was killed in a car crash not far from Busch Stadium where the Cardinals play.

On Saturday night Josh Hancock drove his SUV head on into a parked tow-truck that was assisting a broken down car. The Police and Medics determined that Hancock died on impact, just 18 days after his 29^th birthday. The investigation continues, but there were no signs of alcohol in the vehicle, and skid marks prove that Hancock was awake, as he tried to avoid the tow-truck.

Although Hancock was a Boston Red Sox product I am sad to say that I had never heard of him until yesterday when I heard the tragic news. From what I have heard and read Hancock was a joy to be around. A player that spent most of his career in the Minors, Hancock tried to make the most of his time in the big leagues. Hancock’s hard work and determination paid off last season when he was included on the Cardinal’s post season roster. Although Hancock did not pitch in the Cardinal’s World Series triumph over the Detroit Tigers, he was deserving of a World Series ring just as much as anyone else on that team.

My heart really does go out to the Cardinals. This is the second time since 2002 that the Cards have had to lay a teammate to rest. The Cardinals experienced a similar tragedy when pitcher Darryl Kile died in his sleep in a Chicago hotel room. Kile died of coronary atherosclerosis, which resulted in a heart attack. Kile was only 33.

I always respect the Cardinals as team, and I have always respected the city of St. Louis as a smart and loving baseball town. They really are the one group of fans that will wrap their arms around a fan from an opposing team. For those Bostonians who were lucky enough to go to St. Louis to see the Sox win the 2004 World Series, all of them came back glowing about the St. Louis fans.

I remember reading an article about a group of Cardinals fans that came up to Boston for game 2 of the World Series. They stopped into a Boston bar to grab a few drinks before the game. While many of the Sox fans in the bar heckled the opposing fans, two kind hearted Bostonians called them over to have a drink. After an hour or two about talking about Baseball one the of Cardinals fans asked one of the Boston fans for his phone number, telling him he would give him a call if he could get tickets for the upcoming games in St. Louis. The Boston fan gave the man his number, not expecting a call, and thinking, “this guy has had too much to drink.” Two days later that Boston fan got a call from St. Louis, it was his bar buddy telling him he had go the tickets, and to catch the next flight out to St. Louis. How many fans would do that for an opposing fan during the World Series? The Cardinals organization even opened the ball park gates for non-ticket-holding Red Sox fans, so they could see the final innings of the World Series vivtory. They are just a classy organization.

Tony Larussa, who is one of my favorite Managers in the game, was the one that was given the horrifying task of calling Hancock’s family. Larussa then told Hancock’s father the devastating news at 4 o’clock sunday morning. In St. Louis those same loving fans have lined the ball park gates with flowers, jerseys, Cards caps, and posters commemorating Hancock’s time with the Cardinals. Tonight and for the rest of the season the Cardinals wear #32 on their jersey’s sleeve. And in the Bullpen hangs a #32- Josh Hancock jersey. Physically the Cardinals are playing baseball tonight, but it may be a long time until we see the Cardinals play with a clear mind.

Photos: Josh Hancock memorial

Video: La Russa on Hancock’s death

 

Moss Touches Down With Patriots

The Patriots were the only team with two first round picks in the NFL draft over the weekend, and in typical Patriots fashion they traded one of them away, and only made one first day selection. Their 24 pick resulted in University of Miami Safety Brandon Meriwether. However the Patriots made their biggest splash in day 2 of the draft when they shipped a 4^th round pick to the Oakland Raiders for perennial Pro-Bowl wide receiver Randy Moss. Moss comes to the New England Patriots possessing the type of talent that Tom Brady has only dreamed of having on his team. Moss also brings with him a rap-sheet of inexcusable incidents that leave some Patriots fans wondering if Moss can acclimate to the Patriots way of life in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

PHOTO GALLERY: Moss’s highs and lows

Moss has always been labeled as one of the “bad boys” of the NFL. A man that has nonchalantly admitted to playing when he feels like it, and also has admitted to causally smoking marijuana. Moss can be considered a loose cannon. But don’t you for a second think that Moss will be able to pull a “T.O.” and completely divide the locker like Owens did in Philly. Moss is not a bad guy, I simply look at him as the Manny Ramirez of the NFL; he may make you pull your hair out sometimes, but he is not going to kill the integrity of the locker room.

If you’re still skeptical that Moss could come in and destroy the “Patriot Way,” than you are forgetting the type of people the Patriots employ. How many plays do you think it will take for Randy Moss to “take off” before someone like Rodney Harrison, or Richard Seymour pins him up against a locker and tells him to smarten up? The answer is one play. If Moss so much as dogs it on one play he will have to answer to one of the Patriot’s veterans, and it will not be a light-hearted conversation. If Moss has a problem with one Patriot, he will have a problem with all of them.

According to many reports the Patriots were the only team that Moss was willing to restructure his contract for. Moss was slated to make $9.75 million for the Raiders this coming season. Instead the Pats will pay a base salary of $3 million, but Moss can make an extra $2 million with incentives. For the Patriots this trade was a no-brainer. It was only two short seasons ago when the Raiders traded former 1^st round pick, linebacker Napoleon Harris, the 7^th overall pick in the draft, and a 7^th round pick for Randy Moss; two years later the Pats get Moss for the low, low price of a 4^th round pick.

The beauty of this acquisition is that if Moss does indeed act like a child the Patriots won’t even think twice about cutting him. Does the name Terry Glenn ring a bell to anyone? Glenn was on the 2001 Patriots team that won the Super Bowl; Glenn however only played in 4 games that season due to a suspension handed out by the team. Glenn was by far the most talented wide out on the team that year, after all their deep threat was David Patten, and Belichick did not have any qualms about benching Terry Glenn. If Moss proves that he can not acclimate to the Pats philosophy, Belichick will hand him a plane ticket home and say, “Thanks for coming.”

The Patriots were only 4 yards away from getting to and winning their 4^th Super Bowl in 6 years. Lest face it I would have bet my parents home that any of the top 5 teams in the AFC last year was going to beat the Chicago Bears in that Super Bowl. Last year the Pats top wide receiver was the wide eyed Reche Caldwell, this season he will be fighting to see time in the slot position. In a position where the Patriots were extremely weak last year, this year they may have the most depth in the entire league

 

Wide Receiver Depth Chart- 2007 New England Patriots
1- Randy Moss*
2- Donte Stallworth*
3- Wes Welker*
4- Reche Caldwell
5- Jabar Gaffney
6- Kelly Washington*
7- Chad Jackson
8- Bam Childress
9- Kelvin Kight
*= Off Season Acquisition

At least 3 or 4 of these guys will not be on the Patriots come September, and Troy Brown is still a Belichick favorite and will probably be on the team just for his versatility alone.

The fact is that the Patriots had the best off-season out of any team in the NFL. They signed Adalius Thomas who was considered the most coveted free agent on the market, now with the acquisitions of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, and Wes Welker the Pats are the “sexy pick” and smart pick to win the Super Bowl. As WEEI’s Michael Holly would say, if you like money I would put a little wager on the Patriots this season. And they just might win the whole thing again.

 

 

Schilling Has a ‘Thorne’ in His Side

Last night Curt Schilling dominated once again as he faced off with Oriole’s flame thrower Daniel Cabrera. Schilling only allowed one run, a Miguel Tejada solo shot, in 7 innings of work, and the Red Sox won the game 6-1. But that’s not the story here.

In the 5^th inning of last nights game play-by-play announcer, Gary Thorne, was reminiscing about Schilling’s courageous performance in the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees. Out of no where Thorne states that the “blood” on the sock that the whole nation saw on national television that October night was in fact red paint.

“The great story we were talking about the other night was that famous red stocking that he wore when they finally won, the blood on his stocking. Nah. It was painted. Doug Mirabelli confessed up to it after. It was all for PR.” — 4.25.07, Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne

Boston Globe reporter, Gordon Edes, was at the game covering it for the Globe. When Edes heard this he immediately made his way to the Red Sox clubhouse to ask Mirabelli if he in fact did disclose this information to Gary Thorne:

“What? Are you kidding me? He’s [expletive] lying. A straight lie. I never said that. I know it was blood. Everybody knows it was blood.” – 4.25.07, Doug Mirabell

Today this was the lead story on ESPN’s Sport Center, and the Baseball media has flooded Camden Yards to get reaction the day after the fact. Doug Mirabelli has probably never had so many microphones and tape recorders shoved in his face in his life. Mirabelli said that he had talked to Thorne about six months after the World Series. Mirabelli recalled that Thorne made a comment about Schillings great performance with the bloody sock and all. Doug remembers saying, “Yeah, we got a lot of attention for that.” Mirabelli adamantly denies that he ever uttered the words “paint” or fake blood in his brief conversation with Thorne.

Thorne also had to deal with the mass of media at the ball park today. Thorne informed everyone that he did not pick up on the sarcasm when he had his conversation with Doug. Thorne said that he and Doug basically had a communication problem, when Doug said one thing and Gary heard another. Thorne was apologetic to Schilling, Terry Francona, and all of Curt’s supporters. Thorne said that he would never report anything that he thought was false, and at the time believed that Mirabelli’s comments were told in sincerity.

So lets just set the record straight, it was not paint, it was not ketchup, it was not toe nail polish; it was real blood that came out of Curt Schillings ankle. For all you bitter Yankee fans and Schilling haters just take a look at this picture if you have any doubt in your mind.

I’ll admit it Schilling is not the most likeable guy in the game; he’s got a mouth that just does not shut, and now fingers that don’t stop typing. And sometimes you just want to tell the guy to shut up and pitch, but for maybe the first time Schilling is the innocent victim of the media. If you remember correctly Schilling got lit up by the Yankees in game 1 of the 2004 ALCS, and he had blood in his sock then. After game 5, the bloody sock game, Schill said, “I did not even know if I could take the ball tonight.” Schilling had to deal with one of the best lineups in baseball that night, and if you think that he had enough time to think about putting some red paint on his sock than you should be committed.

Some people are saying that we need to send in the CSI team to Cooperstown to do some tests on the sock to make sure it is really blood. The sock sits in a class case next to other pieces of memorabilia from the Red Sox World Series run. The red blood has oxidized, and now is more brown that red. If you want to send in the CSI unit be my guest, but you will only add fuel to the fire in Curt Schilling’s mind.

Dr. Morgan sets the record straight.

How Sweep It Is!

This Morning I was able to walk around Quinnipiac University proudly donning my David Ortiz jersey and Sox cap receiving no jeers from any of the many New Yorkers that infest this fine University. What could they say? Last night the Sox swept the Yankees at the Fens for the first time in 17 years.

I was also presently pleased to find that many of my class mates that usually bear a Yankee cap had their hair neatly combed on their hatless heads. That’s the difference between Sox fans and Yankee fans, I wear my Sox cap proudly every day win or lose; hell I even wore it after the Aaron Boon game, New Yorkers leave their caps on their hooks, afraid to be associated with a loser.

Game 1

Lets face it the Sox were supposed to sweep this series, the only real pitching match up in the series occurred in game 1, Friday night when Curt Schilling and Andy Pettite faced off. Both pitchers were great. Schilling really only made two mistakes, both against A-Rod, and both left the ball park. Pettite on the other hand, handed his bullpen a 6-2 lead but the Sox rallied for 5 runs in the bottom of the 8^th to steal one from the Yankees.

I’ll admit it when A-Rod sent his second home run, along with Coco Crisp, into the Sox bullpen I turned the TV off. Later on that night me and my buddy Andy and his family headed to the 99 for some dinner. When the hostess asked us if we wanted to sit near a TV, every one looked at each other and determined that a Sox loss would only make us lose our appetites. But being the loyal fans that we are, we sat down in a booth directly in front of a television.

Then like magic the Sox bat’s came alive. The waiter even brought me my food during the Sox rally, but I refused to touch it due to my ridiculous baseball superstitions. Even Yank’s closer Mariano Rivera could not stop the bleeding, giving up a game tying triple to Coco Crisp, and then an Alex Cora flair that made its way over a drawn in infield that proved to be the winning run.

With Papelbon unavaliable for that night’s game, having pitched in the two games prior to the series, Tito handed the ball to Hideki Okajima to close the door in the 9th. Okijima had to deal with the heart of the Yankees line up. But “Oki” got A-Rod to pop out to Alex Cora at second base, and then struck out DH- David Thomas for the final out.

Could the Red Sox have been affected by the luck of the Irish that night? After all the Sox did wear their Celtic green uniforms that night, honoring the late great Red Auerbach. Or maybe the Sox were uplifted by a great catch that did not happen. Even though Coco did not come up with the ball on A-Rod’s second homer, the guts and determination he showed on that play just might have been enough to turn the tides and give the Red Sox the momentum.

Or maybe it was just karma coming back to bite a certain Yankee fan in the ass. Seconds after Coco crashed into the bullpen I received a text message from my roommate with some choice words about how the Red Sox were playing at the time. After the Sox capped off the come back I handed my phone to my buddy (I hate texting) and told him to send a colorful reply. And by all accounts my roommate deserved it. Friday

 

Game 2

 

Saturday’s game started a lot like Friday’s game. Josh Beckett was on the hill looking to be the first pitcher in the Major Leagues to win his first 4 decisions of the season. Many Sox fans had already put this game in the win column before it even began because Beckett was going up against rookie Jeff Karstens, a virtual unknown. Compared to game 1 and game 3 of this series game 2 was a snoozer. The Red Sox only had to battle back from a two run deficit twice in the ball game. That seemed like a walk in the park compared to what they accomplished the night before.

Beckett gave up two first inning runs on a Giambi blooper. But in the bottom of the first the Red Sox answered right back when Ortiz drove in Lugo and Youkilis with a double. Beckett got into trouble again in the third inning giving up two more runs, but Big Papi was there to bail him out again with a two run blast into the right field stands to knot up the game a 4.

Beckett then settled down and began setting the Yankees down with ease. Beckett left the game after 6 2/3 innings after throwing 106 pitches. It was definitely Beckett’s least impressing start of the year, but was enough to provide the Sox with a 7-4 lead going into the seventh. Beckett allowed only 4 earned runs, and left the game to a standing ovation from the Fenway faithful.

 

Francona preceded to hand the ball to Okijima and Timlin for the 7^th and 8^th inning. Then it was old reliable, Jonathan Papelbon, for the ninth. Papelbon had to deal with the top of the Yankee order in the 9^th. Paps made quick work of former Red Sox, Johnny Damon, by inducing a harmless ground ball out.  He then walked Melky Cabrera on four straight pitches, only Papelbon’s second walk of the season. Papelbon answered by blowing away Derek Jeter, but Cabrera stole second on the strike out. Bobby Abreu stood in the batter’s box, representing the tying run, and A-Rod waited in the on-deck circle representing the go ahead run. A-Rod would not get a chance to be the hero; Abreu gave the ball a ride, but Crisp was there to track it down at the triangle in centerfield to record the final out. Two down… One to go! PHOTOS: Saturday

 

Game 3

 

The hype leading up to game three was palpable. The sun was out, it was a gorgeous day, and the Sox and Yankees were set to square off on ESPN Sunday night baseball in front of the entire country. Every sox fan was breaking out there brooms getting ready to sweep those horrible Yankees out of town, and back to that hell whole they reside in somewhere in the Bronx. It was sure to be a classic; Daisuke Matsuzaka in his first taste of the best rivalry in all of sports would be dueling against, drum role please… Chase Wright?

That’s right the Yankees sent Chase Wright, a single A pitcher making only his second big league start of his career, to the hill to face Boston’s $100 million dollar man, Dice-K. This was going to be fun. The only damper on the night was that I had to listen to Joe Morgan decipher every pitch using the “K-Zone” which apparently ESPN thinks is the greatest invention since sliced bread, but I digress.

The Yankees actually almost got away with sending the green lefty to the mound that night. It’s just something about seeing a pitcher for the first time that must throw the Red Sox off. The first time thought he order Wright actually looked like a big league pitcher; but then the third inning happened. With the sox down 3-0 Manny Ramirez stepped to the dish with two outs.

What happened next will go down as the greatest 4 at-bats in Red Sox regular season history. Manny took Wright’s 2-1 offering and put the ball well over the green monster and probably over Landsdowne St as well. J.D. Drew followed by smashing a ball even further than Manny’s, but Drew’s landed in right-center, just to the right of the triangle.

Red Sox third basemen Mike Lowell then got in on the action by lifting one over the monster. Lowell literally golfed this one out of the park, and it appeared to scrape the moon as it disappeared into the night sky. Then it was the Captain’s turn. Jason Varitek took the first pitch he saw and promptly placed it on Landsdowne St. Unlike the previous 3 blasts Varitek’s homer made a bee-line for the green monster seats, but no fan dared to put their hands in the way of this souvenir as the ball left the park in a blink of an eye.

Back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs! In the span of 10 pitches Chase Wright and the Yankees went from a 3-0 lead to a 4-3 deficit, all runs by way of the long ball. It was only the forth time that a team had hit 4 consecutive homers, and only the second time that one pitcher had given up four dingers in a row. And with that Wright was chased from the game.

This games excitement was just beginning though. The next inning the Yankee captain, Derek Jeter tied the game up by hitting a home run of his own over the monster. In Jeter’s previous at-bat he was hit square in the back by a Dice-K fastball. Jeter simply said, “You hit me, I hit you.”

In the 7^th inning the Sox found themselves trailing the Yankees 5-4, but that’s when Mike Lowell stepped into the box with men on second and third. I was almost positive that Lowell would put the ball in play and some how get a run home, after all Lowell had only struck out two times the whole season. I was wrong, Lowell did not put the ball the in play, he put it out of play, again blasting one over the green monster. The Sox led the Yanks 7-5 going into the 8^th .

The Sox surrendered one run in the 8^th making it 7-6 and Francona called for Papelbon in the 9^th for the second consecutive night. Papelbon was given the same task as the day before, protect the lead against the top of the Yankees line up. Johnny Damon, the “Idiot,” hit a grounder to short and was easily retired. Jeter continued with his struggles against Papelbon, striking out for the second consecutive night. Again Jeter sulked back to the dugout looking for a hug from manager Joe Torre, but Torre would not comply.

Jeter is now 0-5 with 4 strikeouts in his career against Papelbon. With two down Abreu battled Papelbon and was able to reach first on a well deserved walk. This time A-Rod would not be stranded in the on-deck-circle. Rodriguez dug against Papelbon trying to assume the hero role that he had already filled twice this season for the Yankees. The graphic at the bottom of the screen read, “Rodriguez- Career vs. Papelbon 0-2, 2 K’s” Papelbon would not blow Rodriguez away, he would however retire the superstar by jamming him with an inside fastball, which resulted in a ground ball to third. Lowell scooped the grounder and forced Abreu out at second for the final out of the game and the series.

This was pay back for the 5 game sweep the Yankees gave the Red Sox last season in August. And while the most recent series was only a 3 game sweep by the Sox, Boston travels to New York this weekend for another weekend series. And maybe, just maybe the Sox can sweep that series and win 6 in row against the Bronx Bombers.

Game photos Pick your favorite moment