Red Sox All Star Predictions

Just checking in with my predictions for Red Sox All Stars. I hope to be able to resume daily posting here following the All Star break. David Ortiz (elected starter, wont play) Kevin Youkilis (elected starter) Dustin Pedroia (elected starter) Manny Ramirez (elected starter, to DH) JD Drew Mike Lowell Daisuke Matsuzaka Jon Lester Jonathan Papelbon

John Smoltz To Retire?

There's rumors floating around that Atlanta Braves pitcher and future Hall of Famer John Smoltz will announce his retirement at an 11:30am press conference at Turner Field. Smoltz returned from the disabled list Monday and blew a save, he apparently re injured his arm and now faces season ending surgery. Smoltz appears content to ride off into retirement instead of working the long road back from surgery again. We'll have more after the press conference.

Ortiz Could Have Season Ending Surgery

The Boston Herald is reporting that season ending surgery could be a real possibility for David Ortiz if it doesn't heal while in a cast for the next month. Should Ortiz have to have surgery, Boston will be left with a huge hole in their lineup. They will likely need to find someone on the trade market which could require giving up a combination of Jed Lowrie, Jon Lester or Justin Masterson, all of whom have raised their value in the opening months of the 2008 season. Who could Boston look at as replacements? Barry Bonds would immediately enter discussions and while he would come without losing prospects, he would be unlikely to land in Boston. Mark Teixeira will be a name mentioned often and Boston has the talent to pry him away from Atlanta, but Boston would need to get him signed to an extension as part of a deal or they wont give up the names needed to land him. Jim Thome will also be a free agent at seasons end and could probably be had for less the Teixeira and Chicago may look to move him especially if they begin to falter in the Central. They could try options within the system possibly with Chris Carter who has a decent bat, but is labeled a DH type who was blocked by Ortiz at the major league level. He started off slowly power wise but has come on of late. Boston could also recall Brandon Moss and use a combination of Moss, Coco Crisp, Jacoby Ellsbury and JD Drew in the outfield while putting Manny Ramirez at designated hitter while Manny is out.

500

Manny Ramirez became the 24th player in major league history to record 500 career homeruns. The shot came on the first pitch from Baltimore reliver Chad Bradford.

Geremi Gonzalez 1975-2008

The Red Sox family has lost another member on this holiday weekend. Geremi Gonzalez who spent parts of the 2005 season with the Red Sox making three starts and 28 total appearances died Sunday in his native Venezuela after being struck by lightning on a beach. Gonzalez played for five teams during his career compiling a 30-35 record. He last played in 2007 in Japan. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Gonzalez family.

Cancer Survivor Lester Tosses No Hitter Against Royals

Red Sox lefty Jon Lester tossed a no hitter against the Kansas City Royals. Lester struck out nine batters including the final out of the game, he walked just two batters. The no hitter was the 18th in Sox history and first since last September when rookie Clay Buchholz tossed one against the Baltimore Orioles. Jacoby Ellsbury made a highlight diving catch in the fourth to preserve the gem. It was only the second time the Royals have been no hit, it came just over 35 years after Nolan Ryan got them on May 15, 1973. It was the fourth no hitter called by catcher Jason Varitek. After a run of over 30 years without a no hitter for the Sox this is the fourth since 2001. Hideo Nomo had one in 2001, Derek Lowe in 2002 and Buchholz last season. Boston won 7-0 and extended their winning streak to four games. It was the 411th consecutive sellout at Fenway, 44 games short of the major league record held by the Cleveland Indians.

Celtics' success traced, in part, to the fortunes of a blind son

Just wanted to point you all to this ESPN.com story. BOSTON -- Campbell Grousbeck sits at his granite kitchen counter, attacking a steaming dish of pasta and broccoli. He sips a pink vitaminwater, power-c (dragonfruit), and, being an acutely social 15-year-old, he asks a guest his favorite flavor. "Uh," the guest says, trying to buy time, "the red kind." This is not a good answer, for a number of reasons, but Campbell doesn't flinch. "What are the ingredients?" he asks. "Blueberry and, hmmm …" "Pomegranate," Campbell says, triumphantly. "That's triple-X, triple antioxidants." Yes, in fact, that's it -- XXX. Now, this is a solid effort for anyone, but well, here's the thing: Campbell Grousbeck is blind. How does he know that? "Campbell," his father says, smiling, "is a pretty smart guy." Campbell Grousbeck's father, Wyc, calls his son "a pretty smart guy." Campbell, who attends the Perkins School for the Blind, is the reason his family is back in Boston. The apple apparently doesn't fall far from the tree. Campbell's father, Wycliffe "Wyc" Grousbeck, is the chief executive officer of the Boston Celtics. In 2002, he led a group of local investors who purchased the NBA franchise. It now has been 22 seasons since the league's most decorated franchise won a title. That the Celtics still are a threat to hoist a 17th championship banner this season is largely a result of the aggressive, spare-no-expense leadership of Wyc and his partners. And that Wyc found himself in position to buy the team, oddly enough, can be traced directly back to Campbell's blindness. So, as you watch Kevin Garnett elevate under the basket and swat away the shots, and see Paul Pierce and Ray Allen singe the twine, know this: It's all happening because of a sweet, slight boy who can't see any of it. "We would be out in California, probably, and my golf game would be a little bit better, but I wouldn't be getting ready for a playoff game tonight," Wyc said several weeks ago. "If not for Campbell, we wouldn't be here." Said Wyc's wife, Corinne: "We would never be out here if it were not for Campbell. I mean, that's a real example of following the child. We followed him clear across the country." Click here for full story.

New York Herald?

The Boston Herald today apologized to the Patriots ownership, players, employees and fans for the crap they printed the day before the Super Bowl. "On Feb. 2, 2008, the Boston Herald reported that a member of the New England Patriots video staff taped the St. Louis Rams’ walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI. While the Boston Herald based its Feb. 2, 2008, report on sources that it believed to be credible, we now know that this report was false, and that no tape of the walkthrough ever existed. Prior to the publication of its Feb. 2, 2008, article, the Boston Herald neither possessed nor viewed a tape of the Rams’ walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI, nor did we speak to anyone who had. We should not have published the allegation in the absence of firmer verification. The Boston Herald regrets the damage done to the team by publication of the allegation, and sincerely apologizes to its readers and to the New England Patriots owners, players, employees and fans for our error." The article appears in Wednesdays print edition as well as on the Herald site. The comments were already piling up early this morning. Here is a sampling of what some fans had to say. maverick4 I am never reading the Herald for the rest of my life, and I hope the writer of that article, who everyone knows by now, is severely punished for this. To publish a false report, of this magnitude, the day before the Superbowl, is unforgivable. dino246 responsible journalism? Give it a try sometimes! Rogie You need to man up Tomase must be at least suspend if not terminated as does the editor who approved and ran the story. How did you go from having "a source" to having "sources" and don't forget your response to the Globe when they had someone who made up a story. Lets see if you practice what you preach. Integrity If John Tomase is fired, I'll think about reading this publication again. Anything short of that is just empty words. If the Herald was used as some kind of manipulated platform as the timing of the article suggests, then that also needs to come to light. Until then this is just a half-assed apology for a maliciously unsubstantiated allegation the Herald made at a critical time for the New England Patriots. caylee You guys are truely ridiculous...I took 1 Jouralism class in high school, and hardly paid attention and even I know that you're suppose to check your sources out. Over and over again. Okay, so you guys didn't see the tape, but you didn't even talk to someone who actually saw "the tape"???? Haha...thats horrible. How do u report something based on a rumor? Nothing more then a Tabloid. bushy You "own up"? LMAO. How big of you. There is only one way you people can "own up" and that's that every editor who allowed the story to run is fired immediately. That Tomase should be fired as well goes without saying. If heads don't start rolling at the Herald, and I mean immediately, everyone there better start looking job starting 7am this morning.

A Lancaster Laugher

Too bad it was Inland Empire doing the laughing. The Lancaster JetHawks, the A Advanced affiliate of the Boston Red Sox gave up ten runs in the ninth inning on their way to losing to Inland Empire 25-1. The 66ers scored five runs in the first, four in the second, two in the third, fifth and eight and then 10 runs in the ninth. This was the highest scoring game so far this season in Lancaster which usually sees some shootouts, the odd line of the day though was that Lancaster scored just once on three hits. The winds that assist the scoring has already caused two postponements this season. The two teams wrap up the series tomorrow afternoon.

Why Julio? Because This Is Boston!

After last night's loss in Detroit, the media was asking questions to Julio Lugo, the bum of a guy who calls himself a shortstop. They were asking specifically about what happened in the ninth inning when he lost the game for Boston. He answered and then it was followed up by a reporter who was trying to make a connection between last nights error and his three error game in Toronto last month. “I don’t care, but sometimes it would be nice to say something positive,” he said. “But all the time it’s negative things, you know? Sometimes, you know, people should say something that’s positive. But every time it’s something negative . . . bring it up, bring it up, bring it up. Why? Lugo needs to learn something, he's not in Tampa Bay anymore, around here people actually care about their team. Many fans have tried to stay positive about his sorry-assed playing since he joined the team. We were willing to take the shitty fielding because he was supposed to hit, well he hasn't done a damn thing since he came to Boston and there's no reason the media or fans should console his worthless ass with saying positive things.