Diamonds in the rough

The Bum(garner)'s rush!

2009-05-24T08:51:00.003-04:00

Ah, Memorial Day weekend - the official unofficial start of the summer! Is there a better way to kick it off than by catching a game at your favorite ballpark? Nope!

So, we were back at Portland, Maine's Hadlock Field to watch the Sea Dogs take on (who else?) the Connecticut Defenders for a Double-A Eastern League Saturday afternoon game. Due to scheduling peculiarities, we've seen quite a bit of the Defenders so far this season at Hadlock. They're normally a team we like to root for, but not when they're playing our Sea Dogs!

Anyone who was rooting for the Defenders this day had plenty to cheer about, however, as they scored a convincing 12-1 victory over the Dogs.

Despite that offensive display, the story of the game was the sensational performance by Defenders starter Madison Bumgarner, the 19 year-old southpaw who ranks as the number one prospect in the Giants system. He's the goods, all right!

Bumgarner came into the game sporting a .750 ERA to go along with his 2-0 Double-A record. Six shutout innings later found him 3-0 with a .500 ERA. Only two hits and one walk allowed plus ten strikeouts equals a good day at the office!

Facing this kid was bad enough, but nothing went the Sea Dogs' way at all, as the score indicates. Even their lone run was scored in a wacky manner: Zach Borowiak led off the bottom of the eighth with a double. Two outs later, he was still at second when a passed ball allowed him to take third. Then a wild pitch let him in. But that was way too little, way too late.

Despite the score, we had a good time. Our seats were in the front row, right behind home plate. That gave us a good look at Bumgarner in action. We'll have a good story when he's starring for the Giants in the National League.

And that might be soon!

Rockin' the 'Cats

2009-05-10T09:06:00.005-04:00

We were back up in Portland, ME this Saturday to see our Sea Dogs host the New Britain Rock Cats for some Double-A Eastern League action.

A nice day for a still early season game found the 'Dogs edging the 'Cats 8-7. The Rock Cats scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to make things squirm-inducing for the Hadlock Field crowd, but they finally ran out of outs just in time!

The starter for the Sea Dogs was Jarod Plummer, a big righty with whom we weren't familiar. He was signed by the Red Sox as a minor league free agent during the last off-season, as opposed to having been drafted by the Sox as most of the Sea Dogs were.

Plummer didn't figure in the decision, as the win was notched by reliever Richie Lentz, a Red Sox draftee who had been promoted to the Sea Dogs last year after starting that season with the High-A Lancaster JetHawks.

Prior to the start of this season, the Red Sox moved their High-A team from Lancaster, CA to the more convenient Salem, VA. Salem's prior team had been called the Avalanche, but the current club goes by the Salem Red Sox.

Recently called up from Salem to Portland was outfielder Matt Sheely, who's filling in for injured centerfielder Josh Reddick.

With Reddick out and Iggy Suarez in Triple-A Pawtucket, the Sea Dogs lineup looked a bit different, especially since first baseman Lars Anderson had the day off.

We did get a chance to talk to Lars, however, as he manned the autograph table before the game. He's the Sox' top prospect, so plenty of people had plenty of things for him to sign. At right, he signs a ball for J. (Note J's "playoff" beard. Go, Bruins!)

Anderson's predecessor at first base and now left fielder Aaron Bates (below) was the DH and h'd pretty well indeed, going 3-for-4 on the afternoon, which raised his average to a robust .359. That average leads the team and ranks high among all Eastern League batters.

So, another fun time with the Sea Dogs. It's about time for us to see them on the road...

Brave new world

2009-05-02T21:11:00.004-04:00

Were were back at McCoy Stadium this Saturday to see Pawtucket Red Sox host their newest International League rivals, the Gwinnett Braves.

This Triple-A version of the Braves found a new home in Gwinnett, GA after having called Richmond, VA their home since 1966. That's quite a long time, especially for the IL, where teams seem to change locations and/or affiliations fairly often.

Whatever the Braves' reason for moving, Richmond's loss is Gwinnett's game, as who wouldn't want a minor league team nearby?

There had been a fair amount of rain in the area during the week and the forecast didn't sound brilliant for Saturday, but the weather was actually quite nice for the game. It was cool at the start, got a little warmer as the game went on. It did start to rain, but not until we were already on our way back home. Talk about good timing!

As for the game itself, the Paw Sox pretty much had their way. Right fielder Chris Carter (at left) hit a home run in the second inning to give them a lead they never relinquished. The seven runs put up in the third was all they need for an 8-5 victory.

Enrique Gonzalez, whom we had seen in the stands charting pitches on our last trip to McCoy, was the starter and picked up the win.

The save was notched by fireballer Daniel Bard. As noted before, this kid can throw! Who else could throw a fastball registering 97 on the pitch speed, then reverse it on the next pitch for a 79 mph change-up, with the same motion? Take that, Lars!

We had good seats at this game as well, so we were eager to see if we could spot another Paw Sox pitcher in the stands. Very recognizable to us was Michael Bowden, the previous night's starter.

He was busy charting pitches, but you couldn't blame him if he was a bit distracted at times, as right behind him among the wives and girlfriends (W.A.G.s, if you will) of the Paw Sox was the fiancee of fellow pitcher Clay Buchholz. And who's that? Lindsay Clubine, number 26 herself from TV's Deal or No Deal!

Not all the familiar faces were in the stands. Some were on the field too. We were glad to see Iggy Suarez playing third base. Iggy had recently received his first Triple-A call-up (from the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs) and we were hoping to see him in action. He picked up his first Triple-A hit during the game and added a second base knock for a 2-4 afternoon. Good job!

On a rehab stint from the Red Sox was Mark Kotsay, who served as DH. Nothing against the guy, and we do appreciate that he was also once a Sea Dog back when they were a Florida Marlins affiliate, but we like seeing "our" players better. Still, he got a nice ovation from the fans, due to his name recognition.

But you can bet we cheered louder for Iggy! Meanwhile, another former (and most likely future) Paw Sox was having the time of his life with the Red Sox. Jonathan Van Every, the onetime Cleveland farmhand, made a great diving catch against his former employers in Wednesday's Red Sox/Indians game, then hit a home run in the tenth inning for the winning run in a 6-5 Sox win.

What a game, but what could he do for an encore? How about pitch? The next night, the Sox were on the bad end of a 13-0 margin in Tampa. The bullpen was getting roughed up and another arm was needed. Leave it to "Lefty" Van Every to finish the game. He does it all!

No matter what happens to J-V-E in the future, he'll have some great stories to tell about his time in the Show!

And who could ask for anything more?

Back to the minors

2009-04-27T16:08:00.006-04:00

Well, after the exciting Red Sox game on Saturday afternoon, it was back to the minors for us as we made like Gus Cantrell and headed to Hadlock Field to catch the Portland Sea Dogs in some Double-A Eastern League action.

Their opponents were once again the Connecticut Defenders, same as the last time we were there two weeks ago.

The Defenders had the upper hand that day, but maybe the Sea Dogs would prevail this time.

After the crazy 16-11 slugfest we witnessed at Fenway Park the day before, we figured things would have to be a bit calmer. Not so fast, however, as this contest was settled by a score of 20-15!

The Sea Dogs rapped out a franchise record 23 hits, so they must have been the winners, right? Nope, as those hits only resulted in the 15 runs. The Defenders were much more efficient, needing only 20 hits to get their 20 runs.

The game was about as wacky as the final score indicates. Despite the 15 runs, the 'Dogs only scored in two innings, tallying five in the second and a whopping ten in the sixth. The ten-spot put "us" up 15-12, but Connecticut scored seven in the eighth (after having racked up eight in the third) plus one in the ninth to win the game.

Despite the outcome, we had a fun time. It's always good to see Slugger the Sea Dog in action, and we enjoyed seeing the lighthouse rise out of centerfield when Josh Reddick hit a home run.

The hitters on both teams enjoyed themselves as well. The pitchers all probably would rather forget the whole thing!

Also on the plus side for us was the weather was much warmer this time around, so we were able enjoy our favorite Hadlock snack - Sea Dog biscuits!

Some former Sea Dogs were also having a good time with their current teams: Justin Masterson, for example, started for the Red Sox against the Yankees Sunday night and picked up the win.

Hot pitching prospect Michael Bowden was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket for the game and chipped in with two no-hit innings. Recent call-up Hunter Jones also pitched well.

Biggest news of all was Jacoby Ellsbury's straight steal of home. An exciting play you don't see very often. And the exclamation point on the Sox' sweep of those you-know-what Yankees!

Missing from the Sea Dogs lineup was fan-favorite and infield fixture Iggy Suarez. The news was good, however - he was finally called up to Triple-A! Maybe only temporarily as Gil Velazquez was sent down from the Red Sox to make room for the returning Julio Lugo. But good for Iggy!

We also enjoyed catching the highlights of the Texas-Baltimore game, as another former Sea Dog standout, outfielder David Murphy, gunned down a runner at the plate and hit his first home run of the season. That's showing off all the skills!

Murphy was traded to Texas in one of our least favorite deals ever, the one thta brought the underachieving Eric Gagne to Boston. Also departing the Sox in that deal was southpaw Kason Gabbard. Good news is that the Sox have reacquired Gabby and assigned him to Pawtucket.

We were also glad to see Jonathan Van Every added right back to the Red Sox roster after completing a rehab stint at Pawtucket. Van Every wasn't a Sea Dog, but we remember him from his Double-A days with the Akron Aeros. We always like to see a longtime minor leaguer make the big club, just as Sea Dog Jeff Bailey had a couple of days before.

So many former Sea Dogs are now with the Red Sox that they don't have enough room for all their "shirts" at Hadlock Field.

But, they'd better make room for the next one soon!

The show!

2009-04-27T09:45:00.006-04:00

We continued our move up through the Red Sox system this Saturday. After having visited the Portland Sea Dogs (Double-A) and Pawtucket Red Sox (Triple-A) over the last two weekends, we ventured to Fenway Park to see the Boston Red Sox take on the New York Yankees. Early season or not, a Red Sox-Yankees series seems like the playoffs. Excitement is in the air, and the games dominate the sports coverage.

The first game of the series on Friday night was an extra-inning affair, with the Red Sox prevailing on Kevin Youkilis's walk-off home run in the bottom of the eleventh. This was made possible by Jason Bay's two-run, two-out, game-tying homer off Mariano Rivera in the ninth. Exciting stuff, with the good guys grabbing a 5-4 win for their eighth in a row.

We were present for Saturday's game, which pitted former Marlins teammates Josh Beckett (Sox) and A.J. Burnett (Yankees) against each other in what was thought to be a potential pitchers' duel. But with a final score of 16-11, there was no such duel in sight!

The Yankees took a quick two-run lead in the first inning and actually built their cushion to 6-0 by the time they finished their half of the fourth.

How did Mr. Burnett handle such prosperity? Well, the Sox grabbed five runs in the bottom of the fourth (including a grand slam from Jason Varitek) and tacked on three more in the fifth (including a Jacoby Ellsbury solo shot) to erase the deficit and take an 8-0 lead.

Good, right? Well, not so good when the bad guys put up a pair on former Sox star Johnny Damon's homer in the sixth to tie it up again (That'll teach the Fenway crowd to boo their former idol!). But the Sox added a run in the bottom of the frame to take a one run lead. Will this lead hold up?

Not so much, as a costly error by Gold Glove second baseman Dustin Pedroia allowed the Evil Empire to take a 10-9 lead. OK, this game is officially wacky now!

No more fooling around for the Sox now, however, as Mike Lowell's three-run shot put the Sox ahead to stay. Four more runs in the eighth against one Yankee run adds up to the 16-11 final score. The dust had settled and the Sox found themselves with their ninth consecutive victory and a chance to sweep their rivals on Sunday.

How did that game go? Very well indeed, as former Sea Dogs Justin Masterson with the win and Jacoby Ellsbury with a straight steal of home (first Red Sox to do so since Billy Hatcher oh so long ago) had their way. Ten in a row for the Sox, who now stand at 12-6, a long way from the 2-6 of a scant couple of weeks ago!

So, some crazy baseball action all around. But how was our experience at Saturday's game? Also crazy!

It was a beautiful day in Massachusetts with record-setting (or at least tying) temperatures and low humidity. This after unseasonably cold temperatures during the week. And with the game time set for 4:00 PM due to the Fox telecast, the hour and weather couldn't be beat.

We arrived at the park (not always easy) in plenty of time to grab some hot dogs and sodas and head to our seats for the pre-game ceremonies.

Some fun stuff there, with Wally the Green Monster sporting a Hawaiian shirt in honor of the balmy temperatures.

Daisuke Matusuzaka received his World Baseball Classic MVP trophy before the game. Well-deserved, but did his heroics in that tournament result in Dice-K's current trip to the disabled list? That's another discussion...

The Sox also honored Arthur Giddon (dubbed "Big Pappy" for the occasion), a local, soon-to-be 100 year old fan who had once been a bat boy for the old Boston Braves in the '20s. And there was a ceremonial first pitch from Jamaican Olympic star Usain Bolt. He was billed as "the world's fastest man," but has he met Jacoby?

As noted previously, the atmosphere at Fenway was at a fever pitch, as they say. Plenty of Yankees fans in attendance, but they can't out-scream Red Sox fans. And scream they did. A lot.

Everything that happened or didn't happen got a response. What makes the crowd yell so much? Well, let's just say that the Sox will not go broke based on the sales of adult beverages!

We had a good time, but a trip to Fenway always reminds us why we like minor league baseball so much!

Following the minor league teams in the Red Sox system gives us an appreciation of the current Sox players who have worked their way up. We had seen Ellsbury, Pedroia, and Youkilis many times as Spinners, Sea Dogs and/or PawSox back in the day. It's great to see them doing so well with the big club.

Also appearing in Saturday's game were pitchers Manny Delcarmen and Jonathan Papelbon, both of whom we have followed through the minors.

Coincidentally, both starting pitchers Beckett and Burnett were once Sea Dogs, back when the Portland squad was the Double-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins.

So, you never know if someone you see in the minors now will be starring in the majors someday!

Movin' on up!

2009-04-19T11:21:00.004-04:00

After last week's game at the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, we worked our way up to Triple-A this Saturday, as we visited McCoy Stadium to see the Pawtucket Red Sox host the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

It was a pleasant day for a ballgame, especially considering it's still early in the season. Good game too, as the Paw Sox scored a pair of runs in the first inning and never looked back en route to a 5-2 win.

The Paw Sox played well enough, but their efforts were helped mightily by the Iron Pigs, who gave up eight walks and committed three errors on the day. The Pigs were sloppy indeed!

Since we had come from Double-A to Triple-A, it was fun to see several former Sea Dogs take the field for the Paw Sox.

Jeff Natale was back in action at first base. He had a good day at the plate, with a couple of hits and two RBI, as well as a good day in the field, making a nifty unassisted double play on a liner to first. At right, he steps to the plate in the bottom of the first before picking up a base knock to left field.

Catcher Dusty Brown was behind the plate for the start of the game, but his day was cut short when he was ejected in the bottom of the second for arguing a called third strike. The umpire had a short fuse, running him right away. Dusty made sure to get his money's worth before leaving the field, however!

The third former Sea Dog to play in the field was "scrappy" centerfielder Sean Danielson. Jeff Bailey was also in the lineup, leading off at DH.

Former Sea Dog pitcher Jose Vaquedano picked up the win, relieving (non-Sea Dog) starter Marcus McBeth, and fireballer Daniel Bard closed it out, hitting 99 on the radar a couple of times.

And speaking of former Sea Dogs, we always enjoy seeing former Portland and current Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson. RJ always seems to enjoy his job!

Did we mention we had great seats for the game? We had picked them up last December when we went to the Paw Sox Christmas party, at which we met Jeff Natale. (Very nice guy!)

The seats were so good that we were amongst some scouts and pitchers armed with radar guns. To the side of us were Pawtucket's Charlie Zink and Enrique Gonzales (Friday's and Sunday's starters respectively). Lehigh Valley's Justin Lehr (Sunday's starter) was behind us. They kept busy charting pitches throughout the game.

We've always enjoyed that aspect of minor league baseball. It's hard to imagine Josh Beckett, say, sitting amongst the fans at Fenway Park to chart pitches!

We also enjoy the sometimes less formal atmosphere of the minor leagues. For this game, the Paw Sox were celebrating the birthday of mascot Paws. The guest list included several other local mascots, including fellow Paw Sox polar bear Sox, the Red Sox' Wally the Green Monster, the Ram from URI, the Providence College Friar, the Dunkin' Donuts coffee and doughnut (whom we also met at McCoy during the off-season), plus our AHL pals Finz (Worcester Sharks) and Samboni (Providence Bruins). Very fun to see them all cavorting on the field!

Also fun is the chance to eat some tasty hot dogs and enjoy ice cream served in a mini-helmet.

So, good game plus good weather plus good eats equals good time!

Next weekend, we plan to move up even further. Stay tuned!

We let the 'Dogs out!

2009-04-13T20:17:00.003-04:00

Well, the calendar has indicated that it's been Spring for the last couple of weeks, but you'd never know it by the weather in New England. So, how does one get the ol' spring fever when Mother Nature doesn't cooperate? Why, a trip to your favorite ballpark, of course!

Our favorite minor league team, the Portland Sea Dogs (Double-A affiliate of your Boston Red Sox), just started their season last Thursday night. It's a little far for us to travel up to Maine on a "school night," but we made sure to be there at Hadlock Field on Saturday to see the team in action during the opening homestand.

The forecast wasn't great (cold and rainy), but we figured we could at least hang around the park no matter what happened. The rain held off, however, so the game went on as scheduled. Good thing too, as we had great seats right behind home plate and if the game had been postponed, we might not have been able to get such good seats for a later game.

The Sea Dogs hosted the Connecticut Defenders, a team we enjoy rooting for when we visit them at their home in Norwich, but when they're playing the 'Dogs, we don't want to see them do too well.

But, the Defenders did very well, pulling ahead in the fourth inning, on their way to an eventual 10-4 victory. Starter Travis Beazley took the loss. He pitched pretty well for a while, but seemed to run out of steam after a while, as happens early in the season. Both teams used four pitchers apiece over the nine innings.

So, the game didn't go nearly as well as we would have liked, but we still had a lot of fun.

Things got started with a stop at the autograph table. An hour or so before the start of each home game, a Sea Dog comes out to sign autographs and chat with the fans. As a result, we like to get there early.

Saturday's player was infielder Zach Borowiak. He's making a comeback this year after having retired following the 2007 season, during which he had made it up to Triple-A Pawtucket. He's back in the Red Sox fold, assigned to the Sea Dogs for now.

We had a nice little chat with him, saying how we were glad to see him back. He said he was glad to be back!

He was nice enough to pose for a photo with us. He was ready for the cold weather with the "Elmer Fudd" style Sea Dogs cap!

That particular cap is just one of the many new items to be found at the souvenir shop. We saw some good stuff, as well as plenty of stuff we've picked up in the past!

Although "we" wound up losing the game, it was still a lot of fun to see this year's team. There are a number of players who had been there at least part of last season, including hot prospects Lars Anderson (first base) and Josh Reddick (centerfield), both of whom were promoted to Double-A in 2008. How long they'll stay for 2009 remains to be seen.

Josh had the offensive highlight of the day with his second home run in as many games. Power's only part of his game, however, as he seems to do everything well.

Also returning to the Sea Dogs roster are catcher Mark Wagner, outfielder Bubba Bell, and infielders Ryan Khoury and Iggy Suarez, all of whom we've had the pleasure to meet. Nice guys all!

Iggy's back for his fourth season in Portland, so he knows how cold it gets up there in April. He was prepared, wearing a red ski mask that made him look a bit like Spider-Man. Only when he came to bat and pulled the mask down a little could we tell it was really him!

The picture at left shows Iggy along with Argenis Diaz (shortstop) and the rest of the starting infield listening to the national anthem with Beazley.

Making a position change this year is Aaron Bates. He vacated first base to make room for Lars and has switched to left field. He didn't look bad out there, covering a fair amount of ground. We met him at last year's "Field of Dreams" promotion, which was a lot of fun.

We weren't as familiar with most of the Defenders, although we see quite a bit of the team during the course of a season, either at their home games on when they're on the road against other Eastern League teams.

It seems as if most of last year's team has moved up to the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies or even all the way to the San Francisco Giants.

We look forward to seeing the Defenders at Dodd Stadium soon. And if they're not playing the Sea Dogs, we'll be cheering for 'em!

Welcome back!

2009-04-08T06:51:00.005-04:00

Baseball is back and so are we! After watching yesterday's Opening Day win by the Red Sox over the Tampa Bay Rays, we'll have our own opening day tonight when we see the New Hampshire Fisher Cats take on the New Britain Rock Cats.

We're headed to Manchester, N.H., for the game at Merchantsauto.com Stadium. It's an evening game in a chilly April in New England, so we're going to be bundling up. As much as we love to proudly display our fan wear, our experience going to many baseball games over the years has taught us that not freezing is worth covering up. (We spent an opening day at the Fisher Cats a few years back looking at the thermometer on the scoreboard read 37 and wishing the numbers were flipped. That game - also against the Rock Cats - was the one where we met Brock Peterson's mom and Trevor Plouffe's girlfriend. We had to convince his girlfriend, who was from California, that wasn't normal weather in April, even in New Hampshire.) So out come the winter coats, the gloves and maybe a scarf or two. After all, three hours or so sitting still in 40-degree weather with a good breeze kicking up from the river is probably a recipe for hypothermia. Tonight at the 'Cats, the first 1,000 people to arrive get the giveaway: fleece blankets. We're going to try to get there early because this will be a night for a fleece blanket.

Despite the weather (which is supposed to be warm and sunny tomorrow - yes, this is New England), we are excited to see some minor league action. Checking out the roster for the Fisher Cats, it appears that a lot of players we saw last year have moved on or up to Triple-A. In the case of Travis Snider, who blew the competition away at last year's home run derby during the Eastern League All-Star festivities, that move up was all the way to the bigs. Snider is now with the Toronto Blue Jays. He and another former Fisher Cat, Adam Lind, both hit home runs on the Jays' Opening Day. Snider, who is barely into his 20s, is no doubt one to watch. Lind, who was the Eastern League's 2006 MVP, is also an exciting young player and we look forward to seeing them both in the majors this season. Unfortunately, all that talent will be aimed at the Sox at times...

And this season, moving on up for former Fisher Cats means going across the country. In previous years, Double-A grads went to the Syracuse Chiefs (aka Sky Chiefs) in upstate New York. But as has been the case with several International League teams in the last few years, Major League affiliations were swapped around in the off-season and the Blue Jays' Triple-A team is now the Las Vegas 51s (formerly the L.A. Dodgers). Talk about a change in the weather!

Fun: If you check out today's fan poll on http://www.milb.com/, you'll see former Fisher Cat Chip Cannon and current Portland Sea Dog T.J. Large among the choices for wackiest player names.

Firin' up the Hot Stove

2009-01-17T22:51:00.010-05:00

With temperatures in New England as low as they've been since wooly mammoths were roaming through the area, what better time to fire up the old hot stove?

The Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston's Triple-A entry in the International League) understand such things, so they hosted their annual Hot Stove Party at McCoy Stadium this weekend.

We've attended this affair for a few years now and have always had a great time, so we were really looking forward to a taste of baseball amidst the bleak midwinter.

The Red Sox have a rookies program that they've been running for the last few years in which some top prospects go through two weeks of seminars, public appearances, etc. to help ease their transition as they work their way through the minor leagues.

The Pawtucket Hot Stove Party is usually at the end of the program, so the Sox send a few players projected to play for the Paw Sox at some point during the upcoming season.

Last year, among the prospects were Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson, both of whom were fixtures with the major league Boston Red Sox by the end of the 2008 season. Who knows what might happen to this year's crop?

Five players were in attendance this year, all of whom played for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs last season. Since the Sea Dogs are our most frequently attended team, we knew all about them.

First up was southpaw starter Kris Johnson. We had met Kris at Portland's "Field of Dreams" at the end of the 2008 season, when he and first baseman Aaron Bates emerged from the cornstalks and greeted fans in our section of the stands (other players visited other sections). We mentioned that to him and he enjoyed the anecdote.

Next to Johnson at the Hot Stove autograph table was first baseman Lars Anderson (shown above) who is rated as the No. 1 prospect in the Red Sox system and heard us mention the Field of Dreams and remarked how much fun that was.

Anderson's status as a hot prospect was no secret to the fans present, as we kept hearing people ask, "Is this the line for Lars?" Most haven't had the chance to see him play, but we have, and he's impressive.

Also impressive is Daniel Bard, the righty reliever who tops 100 mph with his fastball without seemingly trying. He can also slow it down to the 80s to thoroughly confound opposing batters. When we mentioned to him how he changes speeds so well, Lars piped in with, "Whaddya mean? His change-up is 90!"

We had a lot of fun with those guys!

The next group featured manager Ron Johnson along with outfielder Zach Daeges and catcher Mark Wagner, shown above, both former Lowell Spinners.

We always get a kick out of talking to RJ, who is a very humorous fellow. He does a great job of working with young players, as is evidenced by the impact several have had with the Red Sox over the last couple of years. Those players always make it a point to mention how much he helped them along.

We mentioned to Zach that we had seen him play as both a Spinner and a Sea Dog. He appreciated that, as it seems to us that some players aren't as well-recognized as others at the minor league level.

Mark Wagner gets some buzz, however, as he's the Red Sox' top catching prospect and any Sox fan knows that the big club has catching issues - to say the least. If and when he gets to the big leagues, we can see him being a popular player, as he is a really nice guy. We had a very pleasant chat with him.

We enjoyed meeting all of the players (as well as mascots Paws and Sox, shown at left with J) and can't wait to root for them - once it gets a little warmer!

Christmas with the Paw Sox

2008-12-11T18:05:00.009-05:00

During what always seems to be the eternity known as the off-season, what better way to get a quick baseball fix than visiting one of your favorite ballparks? Mix in a few holiday festivities and you're all set!

This past Saturday we made the short jaunt down to Rhode Island to attend the annual Pawtucket Red Sox Christmas Party at McCoy Stadium.

The invitation we received via e-mail indicated that there would be a couple of special guests to greet fans: former Paw Sox (and Red Sox) player Lou Merloni and current Paw Sox Jeff Natale. Sounded good to us!

We had seen Natale a lot with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs and he became one of our favorites. He had been called up to Triple-A last season but suffered a broken arm, naturally limiting his playing time quite a bit.

While rehabbing, one of his stops was the short-season Single-A Lowell Spinners, another of our regular teams. We had the good fortune to attend one of the games that Natale appeared in for the Spinners. It's always fun to see a familiar player mixed in with the youngsters just starting their careers. Jeff himself started his trek through the Red Sox system as a Spinner in 2005.

That particular game was marked by a heavy rainstorm, but in order to keep it from going into extra innings and making it an even longer night, Mr. Natale did everyone a solid by hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. We knew he was good!

So, after having followed his career for a few years now, we were looking forward to meeting Jeff. We weren't disappointed, as he's a really nice guy. We chatted with him a bit, including mentioning how we had seen him in that Spinners game. He got a big kick out of that.

We also enjoyed meeting Lou Merloni, who's been on the scene for a while now. He was well-known to Sox fans for being a local product (from Framingham, Mass.) as well as a good buddy of a certain superstar shortstop back in the day. He was also known for being sent up and down from Boston to Pawtucket many times. "The Merloni Shuttle," as some called it.

Lou's back in the area these days, doing baseball analysis for NESN on TV and WEEI on radio. He does a good job, so we were sure to tell him so!

Both gentleman were even gracious enough to pose for a photo with us!

We also got the chance to see "Santa Paws," the Paw Sox mascot usually known as Paws, but decked out for the holiday season. We always enjoy hanging out with mascots and we go way back with Paws!

Tickets for the 2009 season also went on sale that day, offering the opportunity to get some great seats. Throw in a hot dog and we had a blast!

It's still going to be a long winter, but opening day is less than four months away!

Looking into the Future(s)

2008-08-11T20:13:00.005-04:00

We were back in Boston on Saturday, Aug. 9 for one of our favorite annual events - Futures at Fenway. First held in 2006, the event is a double-header featuring two teams from the Red Sox farm system taking on league rivals. It's a fun day that brings what we love most about baseball to Fenway Park: great baseball, exciting players with a real thirst for success, wacky between-innings entertainment and of course, mascots.

This year's Futures at Fenway saw the Lowell Spinners take on the Hudson Valley Renegades. As we've written before, the Spinners are the short-season Single-A affiliate of the Red Sox. Normally, they play at LeLacheur Park on the East Campus of the University of Massachusetts Lowell along the banks of the Merrimack River. While we are big fans of LeLacheur (it's got a lot of character and came from the same minds that designed the Baltimore Orioles' Camden Yards -- and it's a short distance from where we live), it's always exciting to see the Spinners on the hallowed field at Fenway.

We've been fortunate to attend all three of the Futures at Fenway events. The Spinners took part in the inaugural event three seasons ago (last year featured the Portland Sea Dogs and the Paw Sox), and had the pleasure of seeing key players like Justin Masterson first step onto the diamond. The excitement of the minor-leaguers first experiencing Fenway from the player's point of view is truly infectious. We've often seen players taking photos of themselves on the field and in the dugout before their games started, as well as greeting family and friends in the crowd. Some will return to the park as major leaguers. For others, this is the closest they will ever come to playing in a major league park. No one (at least not the players or the fans) knows who will end up in which category, but they all seem to make the most of this experience.

Futures at Fenway is a far kinder, gentler experience than most Boston Red Sox games. The atmosphere is much more family-oriented and the fans are far less frenzied. The outcome here won't bring the Red Sox closer to or further from another World Series championship. It's unlikely anyone in the stands paid more than $20 (if that) per ticket to be there. And it's hard to take things too seriously when there are dogs catching Frisbees in the outfield in between innings.

Those are just some of the reasons we love the Futures at Fenway experience so much. This year's event didn't disappoint: the skies were sunny and the temperature comfortable (so far, F at F is batting 1.000 in the weather department), and while the park was plenty full, we weren't as crammed in as we would have been at a Red Sox game. And our seats were a heck of a lot better than anything we can get our hands on under "normal" circumstances.

First up at this year's Futures, the Spinners delivered an exciting game against the Renegades. The team (check out the recap) delivered an exciting 4-3 victory over Hudson Valley (the Tampa Bay Ray's Single-A team) -- and it took 12 innings to do it. We imagine that having the first game of a double-header go 12 innings is a nightmare for the folks behind the scenes, but the fans had no trouble going the distance to see the Spinners win.

On the mascot front, Canaligator, Allie-Gator and Millie-Gator were on hand to lead the "Spinnertainment." (As a side note, if you aren't familiar with the mascots, Canaligator and Allie-Gator are married, and Millie-Gator is their daughter. Check out the photos from their 2006 wedding at LeLacheur Park.) With the help of "P.A. Guy" and Spinners staffers, we were treated to a mascot dance-off, Sumo wrestlers (the inflatable kind), a sub-eating contest, T-shirt tosses, and of course, Blue Dog Group doing their thing with the Frisbees.

When the Paw Sox (Boston's Triple-A team) took the field, it was against the Charlotte Knights, their counterparts in the Chicago White Sox system. As did the Spinners, the Paw Sox defeated their rivals (see the recap). This game didn't go 12 innings, but it was exciting to see the 5-2 win nonetheless, which saw the team put the Knights away for real in the bottom of the fourth with three runs.

Mascots Paws and Sox were also on hand and they also entertained fans, although the Paw Sox, as a more serious team (they are, after all, only a step below playing at Fenway for real) don't have the same complement of wacky antics in between innings. That said, T-shirts were thrown, mascots danced, and even Wally the Green Monster made an appearance.

We sipped lemonade, munched on hot dogs, visited with some friends who also attended the games -- and enjoyed what's great about minor-league baseball in a major-league setting.

The Rivalry - major and minor

2008-08-06T05:59:00.006-04:00

Red Sox vs. Yankees. Is there a greater sports rivalry? Well, certainly not if you live on the East Coast, where the baseball world seems to revolve around those two organizations.

Over the past couple of weekends, we got to experience the rivalry at the major and minor league levels, as the New York Yankees invaded Fenway Park starting on July 25 and their Double-A team, the Trenton Thunder, took on the Sea Dogs at Hadlock Field the next weekend. We took in the Saturday games at each venue.

A trip to Boston's Fenway Park is always interesting and there's never more buzz than when the Yankees are in town. It doesn't really matter what the standings say, these games are like playoff games. Yankees fans come out of the woodwork, some real fans, others perhaps just contrarians!

Saturday's game had the makings of a good match-up, with Tim Wakefield taking the mound for the Red Sox against the Yankees' Andy Petitte. Both pitchers had been throwing pretty well and have enjoyed success against their rivals over the years.

The game started off well, as Wake set down the Yankees in the top of the first and the Sox put up a pair of runs in the bottom of the fame. Two runs are always good, but what made these even better was that the Sox rally was set up by an error on the part of Alex Rodriguez, that poster-child for hated Yankees. He booted Dustin Pedroia's leadoff ground ball, much to the delight of the Fenway faithful.

Alas, major league baseball games last more than one inning and the rest was pretty much downhill from there. The final score was 10-3 in favor of the Evil Empire, so the less said about the rest of the game, the better!

Apart from the game itself, there was plenty of drama behind the scenes before the game started, as speculation of the status of one Manny Ramirez ran rampant. He had not played in the first game of the series the night before, citing a bad knee, but it appears that Sox brass were not entirely convinced that Manny was unable to play. Rumor had it that they threatened to suspend the slugger if he didn't play on Saturday. He did play, but went hitless in four at bats and left five runners on base. The photo at right shows Manny in left field, literally and perhpas figuratively!

Flash-forward a few days, and Manny's out west and Jason Bay's in Boston. Seems like a good deal for both sides so far.

Meanwhile, the Trenton Thunder were playing the Portland Sea Dogs in the Double-A version of Yankees/Red Sox starting on August 1.

Due to earlier rain-outs, a double-header was scheduled for Saturday. Mother Nature was still not overly cooperative, however, and only one of the seven-inning games was able to be played.

The Thunder was not overly cooperative either, as they beat the Sea Dogs 7-3. Not much went the Sea Dogs' way, although the three runs were scored late in the game for a bit of excitement, but the rally was not enough to offset the seven-run deficit.

One aspect of the game we were looking forward to was getting a look at Lars Anderson, a big, 20-year old first baseman just called up to the Sea Dogs from the High-A Lancaster JetHawks. Here he at bat in the left photo. He's got some power!

So, how does one compare the two experiences? Well, they're certainly a lot different!

For starters, the fan excitement is certainly much higher at the major-league level, no two ways about that. Everything that happens on the field gets some sort of reaction, as the stakes are high.

Normally if a batter on the home team hits a routine grounder or makes some other sort of non-controversial out, you don't hear much noise, as the home fans don't cheer or boo. Well, the pesky Yankees fans who managed to sneak into Fenway did cheer when a Sox player was out. And not just a few. How did those Yankees fans get tickets when Sox fans have such a hard time doing so?

Down at the Double- A level, fans enjoy themselves, but don't get quite so worked up. The Sea Dogs have a strong fan base, but there are always plenty of spectators who have seemingly never been to Hadlock Field before and don't know who any of the players are. Sometimes it seems that they don't even know who they're supposed to root for!

It must be said that Fenway Park also always has a lot of non-baseball fans who have wandered in, but they know to cheer for the Red Sox and boo the other team, even of they don't know who those players are. Fenway is "the" place to be for tourists as well as locals who want to sound important by saying they go to Fenway!

Since the fans at Hadlock Field are not as invested in the outcome of the game, you tend to have less obnoxious behavior. This is partly because there usually aren't that many fans of the visiting team on hand. No doubt the Trenton Thunder have plenty of fans, but they aren't as likely to journey to Portland as Yankees fans are to visit Boston. There are always a few Yankees caps seen around Hadlock, but no more than usual when the Thunder is there. Makes us wonder if they even know who the Thunder's parent club is!

But the real Sea Dogs fans know the players and always like it when a former Sea Dog makes good with the Red Sox.

So, there's less buzz surrounding a Sea Dogs games, but you get to enjoy yourself in a more relaxed atmosphere. What about the level of play?

Of course, the American League is filled with players who are much more accomplished than those in the Eastern League. It would be folly to think otherwise. However, when you match the best hitters against the best pitchers, the results aren't a lot different from when Double-A hitters face Double-A pitchers. Either way, it's a fair fight and you might get a pitchers' duel or a slugfest on any given day.

And while the minor-leaguers may not be as accomplished as their major league brethren, don't think they don't want to win. They want to show what they can do so they can keep climbing the ladder of their organization. Has a major-leaguer with a fat, guaranteed contract ever phoned it in? Perhaps, but a minor-leaguer wouldn't dare!

So, you can see a good game at both Fenway Park and Hadlock Field. How do the amenities stack up? The answer is: very differently!

Most fans are aware that Fenway Park is the oldest major league stadium still in use. It opened in 1912, right around when the Titanic sank, which makes it ancient by ballpark standards. Times have changed a lot since 1912 and Fenway has too, but it's still been left behind. And with no iceberg in sight, it will be around a while longer!

For starters, people in 1912 weren't as big and/or tall as they are now. Or maybe they didn't mind being crammed into seats with no leg room back then. Whatever the case, the seats available to the average Red Sox fans in 2008 are not comfortable. At all!

Also, in 1912, most people didn't drive cars, especially in the city. So when Fenway opened, nobody needed to park a car anywhere near there. In 2008, you'd like to be able to drive to the ballpark and park your car somewhere in the vicinity, but you really can't do it.

When you go to a Sea Dogs game on the other hand, you can park right across the street from Hadlock Field for five dollars. And when you get in, you'll have a bigger seat with much more leg room. Parking anywhere near Fenway is more than five dollars. A lot more!

It's also a lot easier to get tickets to Hadlock Field. That's a bit of an understatement, actually, as you can get tickets to Hadlock Field. And they're not expensive. Mostly less than a movie ticket these days. It's virtually impossible to get Red Sox tickets. Every game is sold out and it seems like the average fan cannot get a ticket without jumping through hoops or going through a third party. And those third parties charge plenty for even the worst seats at Fenway. So most Red Sox fans are unable to attend a Red Sox game at Fenway Park.

For a lot of fans lucky enough to secure tickets to a game, that game might be the only one they get to see that season or maybe for a few seasons. Again, that makes the stakes that much higher. If the team lays an egg, such as that Saturday, your spirits can be dampened. Or, perhaps worse, if a star player has the day off (excused or not), there goes your chance to see him in action live.

Major league parks are naturally much bigger than minor league parks, and even though Fenway isn't the biggest around, it's much larger than Hadlock Field. At Hadlock, every seat offers you a good view of the game, so you can tell what's going on. At Fenway, some seats are so far away that you'd be hard-pressed to distinguish between Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz if the announcer didn't tell you who was at bat!

The concessions at Fenway are bigger as well. There's a lot to choose from these days, as the new ownership has done a lot to improve the fan experience, with the Big Concourse helping immensely. The food's good and not really all that overpriced. You know when you go to any venue (including movie theaters) that the food and drink will be a bit more than you'd like to pay, but you deal with it.

Although not as extensive, the Sea Dogs have good concessions too, with a couple of specialty items added to the usual ballpark fare. Taking advantage of the proximity to the ocean, the fish sandwich is a popular choice. And nobody can resist a Sea Dog Biscuit, an ice cream sandwich with chocolate chip cookies.

One other difference between the major and minor leagues that we've always enjoyed is the accessibility of the players. Before that recent Sea Dogs game, we met and got an autograph from pitcher TJ Large before the game. Will he ever become a big-leaguer? Who knows, but when he came in to relieve later in the game (seen at left), it was kind of fun to know that we had just talked to him.

At a Sea Dogs game last year, we noticed that Clay Buchholz was in the stands charting pitches. Although it was a short time ago chronologically speaking, he was light years away from joining the Red Sox and throwing a no-hitter late in the season. Back then, he was just a young pitcher hoping to get to Triple-A Pawtucket. Although he was wearing street clothes, we recognized him and said hi to him when he passed our seats. He smiled and greeted us back. Now that he's with the Red Sox, security would probably toss us out if we tried to talk to him at Fenway!

We met pitcher Michael Bowden in a similar manner earlier this season, so we'll have a good story to tell when he makes his inevitable Red Sox debut (he's that good)!

So, what's the verdict? Which is better? Let's just say there's more than one reason we only go to a couple of Red Sox games each year, but catch a Sea Dogs game during every homestand!

Goodbye, Manny; Hello, Jason!

2008-07-31T17:16:00.003-04:00

Big news on the MLB front as today's trading deadline hit.

Red Sox fans are well aware of the recent friction between the team and one Manny Ramirez. Relations had always been been cordial at best, but it seemed that recent events made the Sox brass bound and determined to ship off the future Hall-of-Famer.

We at DITR have generally been Manny fans over the years and we certainly appreciate his efforts in helping us win two World Series titles after such a long drought. But we knew the writing was on the wall. Our only question was, what would we get in return?

Well, we will not squawk about what we got: Pirates All-Star Jason Bay!

We've been big Bay fans for a while now. We had the chance to visit Pittsburgh's PNC Park a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the experience. We loved the park and the Pirates instantly became our second favorite MLB squad (after our hometown Red Sox). Bay impressed us in particular, and how could he not?

(As a side note, and to throw in a plug for our other favorite sport, Jason's sister, Lauren Bay Regula, is one of the best softball pitchers on the planet. She'll be in Beijing as part of Canada's Olympic softball team. We hope she wins the silver medal!)

So, we're very excited about the Bay side of the deal.

Of course, you can't get something good without giving up something. Along with Manny, the Sox have also parted ways with reliever Craig Hansen and outfielder Brandon Moss, two players we've followed from their minor-league days in the Red Sox system.

Hansen has always been an enigma. He throws really hard and sometimes seems unhittable. Other times, he still throws really hard and is quite hittable. We remember when he first came up with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs in 2005, soon after he was drafted and signed. He was lights out, not giving up a run while with the 'Dogs. He made his big-league debut with the Red Sox later that year and found that major league hitters are just a little bit harder to strike out than minor leaguers. Since then, he's been a work in progress. We wish him luck in the future.

Brandon Moss is a somewhat different story, as he's been one of our favorite players for a long time now. His rise through the system wasn't as fast as Hansen's, but that only meant that Sea Dogs fans got to watch him play for two seasons along the way. A fan favorite, he was instrumental in leading the 'Dogs to the Eastern League championship in 2006. During one of the playoff games we attended, Moss hit two home runs. What made it extra special was that it was his birthday! He was named MVP of the championship series, a well-deserved honor.

During the next off-season, we had a chance to meet Moss at a Red Sox rookies event. Hansen was also there, along with Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz and other up-and-comers. We mentioned the birthday game to Brandon and he got a big kick out of it. A fine player and a real gentleman. We'll miss him, but hope this means his major league playing time will increase and he'll really get the chance to show what he can do.

It's a story not unlike last year's "big" Red Sox trade which found Eric Gagne joining the team and David Murphy (with Kason Gabbard and Engel Beltre) heading to Texas. Murphy, Moss's teammate with the Lowell Spinners, Portland Sea Dogs and Pawtucket Red Sox, has taken advantage of the situation and is making a strong case for himself as Rookie of the Year. We have no doubt that Moss will also excel in his new home.

An we certainly have no doubt that Jason Bay will be just what the doctor ordered for the Red Sox.

Welcome to Boston, Mr. Bay!

All-Stars of the Eastern League

2008-07-21T16:44:00.009-04:00

We recently returned to Merchantsauto.com Stadium in Manchester, N.H., for the 2008 Eastern League All-Star Game to catch some of the best players in minor-league baseball go head-to-head.

The Eastern League is the Double-A league that includes our favorite of the minor league teams, the Portland Sea Dogs. In our years going to see the Sea Dogs, we've seen all of the Eastern League teams in action on the road, and many of them at home.

One of our goals is to visit all of the Eastern League parks, and we're making good progress. So far, in addition to the Sea Dogs' Hadlock Field and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats' Merchantsauto.com Stadium, we've been in the stands at the Connecticut Defenders' Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn.; the Rock Cats' New Britain Stadium, also in Connecticut; the Altoona Curve's Blair County Stadium and the Erie Sea Wolves' Jerry Uht Stadium in Pennsylvania; and most recently, the Binghamton Mets in Binghamton, N.Y. To make the sweep, we need to visit the home fields of the the Bowie BaySox in Maryland, the Akron Aeros in Ohio, the Reading Phillies and Harrisburg Senators in Pennsylvania, and the Trenton Thunder in New Jersey.

During our trip to Binghamton the week before the All-Star Game, we not only got to see the team in action (including a few All-Stars), we met up with Buddy the Bee, as we mentioned in an earlier post. At the All-Star Game, we made sure to say hi, since we'd promised Buddy we'd catch up with each other in Manchester. We also shared some stories from the 2007 All-Star Game, which was fogged out only a few pitches into the game.

But this year, the weather couldn't have been nicer. The sky was clear and the temperatures pleasant. The ballpark was full (the line for player autographs started more than three hours before gametime and ran the almost the entire length of the concourse) and the baseball was high-quality.
Before the game, a select group of players from the Northern and Southern Division teams squared off in a home run derby. Coming on the heels of Josh Hamilton's amazing run in the Major League All-Star derby, fans were poised for a show. And we weren't disappointed -- eventual winner Travis Snider put on quite a show, sending home runs smashing off the scoreboard, hitting light poles and rocketing over the right field wall, so far that they reached a train on the tracks outside the park. And Snider (seen at left), a Fisher Cat, did it all in front of a hometown crowd. Read all about it here.

Luke Hughes, one of our New Britain Rock Cat faves and a repeat All-Star, was in the home run derby, but not nearly as successful as Snider. Hughes, who usually wields a serious bat, was stymied in his attempts to hit one out of the park. In the end, he didn't hit a single home run in the contest.

But Hughes saved his homer for when it counted: the game. Hughes crushed a three-run homer in the sixth inning off Altoona's Pat Bresnahan, lifting the Northern Division over the Southern Division team 5-3. For a full account of the game, check this out.

At right, the starting battery for the Southern All-Stars, pitcher Brad Bergesen (Bowie Baysox) and catcher Lou Marson (Reading Phillies) go over their strategy before the game.

Needless to say, going to the All-Star Game was super-exciting. Interestingly, some of the players we thought we'd see there were promoted just before the game and a few have been called up since.

Sea Dogs Michael Bowden and Jeff Corsaletti had just been called up to Triple-A Pawtucket, but were on hand for the festivities and will report to the Paw Sox after the break. Bowden didn't pitch but Corsaletti started in the outfield.

And we were all set to root for Binghamton Mets slugger Nick Evans in the home run derby, but he was called up to the New York Mets just after we had visited Binghamton. No doubt Nick didn't mind missing the All-Star game for a chance to play with the big league club.

Let's hope these other future stars also get that chance someday!

'Twistin' the Night Away'

2008-07-15T20:46:00.010-04:00

We were back at our home base this weekend, so it was a
short trip back to Worcester, Mass. to see the Tornadoes host the Nashua Pride in a Can-Am tilt at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field. It was a beautiful summer night, and what better way to enjoy it than being at the old ballgame?

This was an interesting game for us, as the Tornadoes and Pride are our two favorite Can-Am teams and two of our favorite teams in general. So, who do we root for? For fun, J cheered for the Tornadoes and C represented the Pride. J's choice of fan wear met with approval from Twister, as seen at right.

Both sides had something to cheer about over the course of the game, as the lead changed hands a couple of times and each team had at least one home run. Nashua's Jeremy Pickrel (below, at bat) scored three runs to go along with his home run and Chris Colabello and Josh Farkes both went deep for Worcester.

The Pride wound up winning the game 7-6 when they scored two runs in the top of the ninth and held the Tornadoes scoreless in the bottom of the fame.

These teams hold interest for Red Sox fans as they're both managed by former Red Sox stars, Rich Gedman for the Tornadoes and Rick Miller for the Pride. And the new hitting coach for the Pride is recent Sox star Brian Daubach. He's seen at right as he heads back to the dugout after warming up the pitcher in between innings.

A fun time and we're looking forward to seeing another Tornadoes/Pride match-up next time Worcester visits Nashua!

'Road trip!'

2008-07-11T20:22:00.010-04:00

For our annual vacation baseball-themed road trip, we journeyed to the state of New York to see the Binghamton Mets and Oneonta Tigers in their home parks and drop by the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The first stop was Binghamton, where we were able to catch two B-Mets (Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets) games at NYSEG Stadium, one on Sunday night and the other on Monday afternoon. Both games were against the Akron Aeros (Cleveland Indians), the team with the best overall record in the Eastern League. The Aeros showed why they have that record, as they won both games, 14-5 and 4-2. The Aeros seemed to out-hit, out-pitch, and out-field the B-Mets, which just about says it all.

The Aeros are in the Southern Division of the Eastern League, so they are not direct rivals of "our" Portland Sea Dogs, but the B-Mets are in the Northern Division, so we really didn't mind the outcome of the games. We liked the park and had a great time.

Sunday night's game featured Mascot Mania, with several local mascots joining the B-Mets' usual trio of Buddy, Bingo and Ballwinkle (with J & C at right). We at DITR love mascots, so we enjoyed all of the wacky antics. Throw in a great post-game fireworks show and it's hard to argue with their claim that they're The Greatest Show on Dirt!

Monday was Super Splash Day, which was not a bad thing for a hot afternoon game. As is usually the case at weekday baseball games wherever you go, plenty of campers were in attendance. They had a great time being splashed and soaked by the mascots and staff.

A fun touch was altering the B-Mets players' photos on the video board to give them a tropical/beach look. At left you can see how slugger Nick Evans looked. The Mets front office must think he looks really good these days, as they called Evans up to the big team the next day!

Before the game started, we had a chance to catch up with Buddy the Bee (below), whom we had met at last year's Eastern League All-Star game. We asked if he was going to this year's game. When he nodded in the affirmative, we told him we'd see him there!

Since this was an early game, we had plenty of time to drive down to Oneonta and take in an Oneonta Tigers game at Damaschke Field. The team (the short-season Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers) took on the State College Spikes (Pittsburgh Pirates) in a New York-Penn League match-up. Below are the Spikes during their pre-game warm-ups.

We've seen a fair amount of NY-Penn action courtesy of the Lowell Spinners at LaLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass., but had never been to another ballpark in that league before (although we have been to a few Single-A games in the Midwest League). Things are very busy at a Spinners game and we had heard that the O-Tigers were pretty "old school," so we figured the experiences would be different, despite the teams being in the same league.

The teams may be in the same league, but as far as their parks go, they may as well be from different planets! Nothing is the same. LaLacheur Park is a modern venue with a big video board in the middle of a university in a city, whereas Damaschke Field is an older facility with just the scoreboard in the above picture in a small town. There's something to be said for both and we're glad to be able to experience the different atmospheres.

The Tigers wound up winning the game, 4-1, in a rather crisply played game.

Oneonta is not far from Cooperstown, so a trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame was on the agenda for the next morning before we headed home to Jenny, the official mascot of DITR.

We've been to the Hall of Fame a number of times, but not since 2005. At that time, the HOF featured items from the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox. The current World Series display features items from the 2007 champions (see photo at right). That would also be your Boston Red Sox!

Anyone who's ever been to the Hall of Fame knows that there are so many artifacts from so many eras that it will boggle your mind. Any baseball fan who's never been needs to go the first opportunity they get.

So, another fun road trip. Where will we go next?

Fun for the Fourth

2008-07-05T11:56:00.024-04:00

What could be a better way to celebrate Independence Day than a baseball game with hot dogs and fireworks? How about two?

This year, we celebrated with just that: On Thursday, July 3, we saw the Pawtucket Red Sox take on the Syracuse (N.Y.) Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The next night, Friday, July 4, we headed to Portland to see the Sea Dogs play the Double-A Reading Phillies. Both of our teams won and both games were followed by terrific fireworks shows. And we were treated some great pitching courtesy of two players headed to their league's All-Star games later this month.

Thursday night's game saw Paw Sox pitcher Charlie Zink (above) throw a complete game shutout against the Chiefs, who could manage only two hits against the knuckleballer. We met Zink last season at the Eastern League All-Star game in Norwich, Conn., when he was pitching for the Sea Dogs. Zink, who'd been up with the Paw Sox previously and was back in Double-A at that point, is a friendly guy who appreciates those who appreciate the knuckleball. His pitches seem to float out of his hand and take their own sweet time getting to the plate, often confounding batters on the opposing team. On Thursday, Zink's pitches were averaging around 68 miles an hour, with the occasional fastball thrown in to surprise a batter on the verge of striking out.

Zink, who had eight strikeouts, had no trouble finishing off the Chiefs (formerly the Sky Chiefs), even though there were some batters on the team who likely faced him previously in Double-A when they were with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats: Chip Cannon and Curtis Thigpen. Check out the game recap here.

Zink, whose record reached 8-2 with the July 3 win, is one of five Paw Sox players on the Triple-A All-Star team along with second baseman Joe Thurston, outfielder/first baseman Jeff Bailey, DH Chris Carter and centerfielder Jonathan Van Every. We're excited that all five made the team, but especially Zink, Van Every and Bailey, whom we've watched on the diamond since their Double-A days; Zink and Bailey in Portland and Van Every with the Akron Aeros. As we've mentioned before, we saw Van Every hit two home runs in the 2006 Eastern League All-Star Game, which was held in Portland.

On Friday, July 4, we drove north to see Zink's former team: the Portland Sea Dogs. Michael Bowden, one of the hot pitching prospects in the Red Sox system, was on the mound at Hadlock Field and pitched five shut-out innings -- including going hitless deep into the fourth inning.

Catcher Mark Wagner delivered the offense (and "showed us the lighthouse," right) with a two-run homer, the only two runs the 'Dogs scored in their 2-1 victory over the R-Phils. Check out the game recap.

This being the Sea Dogs and the Fourth of July, there was plenty of fun to be had. Slugger the Sea Dog, below, wearing Stars and Stripes-patterned shorts and a top hat a la Uncle Sam, was fully of wacky antics. In addition to his customary performances of "YMCA" (go to love a Sea Dog doing a cartwheel into the splits) and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," he did some moves during "Sweet Caroline" with none other than C. Following the game, the Sea Dogs shot off some great fireworks set to the tune of patriotic favorites.

Speaking of Sea Dogs, five will be on the Northern Division team at the Eastern League All-Star Game on July 16 in Manchester, N.H.: Michael Bowden, Bubba Bell, Jeff Corsaletti, Beau Vaughan and Zach Daeges. We'll also be at the game, set for Merchantsauto.com Stadium, home of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, and are very excited to see these five 'Dogs in action. There's always a great autograph session before the All-Star game (this will be our third), so we're looking forward to saying hello to the players. Of the five Sea Dogs, Zach Daeges is the only one we haven't met previously. Beau Vaughan and Bubba Bell were particularly fun to meet. Bell is extremely friendly and Vaughan is both very nice and very funny.

In other All-Star news, six former Sea Dogs have been chosen for the 2008 MLB All-Star Game, which will be held July 15 (at a location we prefer not to discuss): Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, who are all still in the Red Sox system. Other former 'Dogs in the game (all in the NL, by coincidence) will include San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, Chicago Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster and Hanley Ramirez, shortstop for the Florida Marlins.

Hanley Ramirez, of course, was part of the big trade with the Marlins for Josh Beckett (another former Sea Dog) and Mike Lowell. Ramirez, who has gone on to great things with the Marlins, never seemed at his best with the Sea Dogs. His performance in Double-A (he never made even a guest appearance in Triple-A with the Paw Sox and had a mere two at-bats with the Boston Red Sox at the end of the '05 season) was lackluster at best, and we at DITR have often speculated why that was the case.

So our Fourth of July celebration kicked off the beginning of our annual baseball-themed vacation. Read on for more on that!

That's Spinnertainment!

2008-07-03T12:30:00.008-04:00

On Monday night we made the short trip to LaLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass. to see the Lowell Spinners battle the Oneonta Tigers in a NY-Penn League match-up. Beautiful weather, beautiful ballpark.

Torrential downpours the day before caused Sunday's game to be suspended after the first inning, so fans holding tickets to Monday's game were treated to a double-header: the conclusion of Sunday's game, plus Monday's game. Talk about free baseball!

The Spinners poured it on in game one, notching 15 hits on their way to a 14-2 win over the Tigers. The old baseball axiom that you should save some hits for the second game rang true as the Spinners were no-hit in the second game, losing 2-1. Feast or famine!

The Spinners are the short-season Single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, with many players fresh out oschool, so you never know what future star you might be seeing. Several current Sea Dogs (Bubba Bell, Aaron Bates, Iggy Suarez), Paw Sox (Jed Lowrie, Clay Buchholz, Chris Smith) and Red Sox (Jacoby Ellsbury, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, Justin Masterson), as well as Pittsburgh's Freddy Sanchez, Toronto's David Eckstein and Texas's David Murphy all were Spinners early in their careers.

Because the players are so young and inexperienced when playing for the Spinners, it's hard to know who will make a big splash someday. As a result, if a Red Sox player is rehabbing with the Spinners, they tend to get a lot of attention. For this homestand, Bobby Kielty (at left) was in the outfield for Lowell. Fans remembered him for his World Series heroics with the Sox last season, so he got a good hand every time he came up.

(On a side note, when we were in Portland the day before, Slugger the Sea Dog was joined by Ronald McDonald for some of his wacky antics. If you've seen Mr. Kielty with his hair grown out, you'll understand the reference!)

A Spinners game is typically loaded with plenty of "Spinnertainment" between innings and during the game. Various contests, promotions, etc. And the operators of the audio and visual systems have never met a sound or video clip they didn't like, so things are very busy.

The Spinners are fortunate to have a family of mascots: Canaligator, his lovely wife Allie-Gator and their daughter Millie-Gator. (At right: J meets up with Canaligator before the first game.) They provide a lot of fun for the fans, and it all adds up to a satisfying minor-league baseball experience!

See 'Dogs

2008-07-01T19:07:00.007-04:00

We were back in Maine on Sunday to see the Portland Sea Dogs, this time taking on the Trenton Thunder. It was a mini-version of good vs. evil as the Sea Dogs are the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and the Thunder are the New York Yankees' (we hate to even type it) team.

It was a close game -- until the ninth inning when the Thunder racked up five runs. See the game recap here, if you can bear to read the ending. In case you can't, here's the Cliff Notes version: Michael Bowden, a top Sox prospect, was the starter and went into the sixth inning, striking out six. Unfortunately, one of the batters he didn't strike out was Edwar "Hold the D" Gonzalez, who hit a two-run homer in the sixth. Bowden came out at that point, and Daniel Bard came in. Bard had the high heat, but not the accuracy, walking two runners in .2 innings. After the sixth, things got a little shaky after that before the wheels came off entirely in the ninth. The final score was 8-2.

One player whose bat would have come in handy on Sunday was Aaron Bates, shown above, who didn't play and instead was coaching first base.

We were joined at Sunday's game by some fun family members who are also fans of baseball, and of the Sea Dogs, in particular. We were also joined by Slugger the Sea Dog for some wacky antics at one point. So while the game itself lacked at times, the company was terrific. And really, no matter how they play, we do love our Sea Dogs.

Speaking of the Sea Dogs, some of the members of the team recently helped recreate some classic works by artist Norman Rockwell. While Rockwell's quintessential American scenes were paintings, Mainer Liam Crotty recreated the images using photography - and Sea Dogs personnel, from the GM down to the bat boys. Check out a segment by Channel 6 in Portland here on the project.

'Free' baseball

2008-06-22T18:51:00.011-04:00

That's right, baseball fans. We enjoyed some "free" baseball this afternoon, both in person and on the tube when the Red Sox (Pawtucket and Boston) both went into extra innings. And both teams came out on top, thanks to walk-off home runs off the bats of two of our favorites.

First, we took in the Paw Sox' 10-inning win over the Columbus Clippers (Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals) at McCoy Stadium at Pawtucket, R.I. It was an exciting game, with the lead see-sawing between both teams, thanks to home runs on both sides. Two of our faves from their days in Double-A hit homers: George Kottaras (DH-ing today, as shown in photo at right) and first baseman Jeff Bailey, who went deep twice. (Not that we're taking credit, but this is the second game we've been to this year when he's hit two home runs.) And of course, Jonathan Van Every, who hit a two-run, walk-off home run to win the game, 8-6. Van Every (former Akron Aero and Buffalo Bison) also delivered some great defense in center field, won the game for the Paw Sox did it in front of family members who were visiting for the series.

Also of note at today's Paw Sox game: Pitcher Edgar Martinez, who we first got to know as a catcher for the Sea Dogs, made the start. Edgar has worked primarily out of the bullpen, but pitched a strong six innings as a starter today, with pitches topping out over 90 mph.

The Boston Red Sox game ran so long -- 13 innings -- we were able to drive back from Pawtucket and watch the exciting victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in HD with another big baseball fan, Jenny. There was plenty of drama -- including a surprising blown save by Jonathan Papelbon, great pitching out of a bases-loaded jam by Craig Hansen and Jacoby on third with no chance to run for home plate -- but Kevin Youkilis finally nailed it shut with a huge two-run homer that landed in the back row of the Green Monster seats. And yes, in case you're wondering, all three are former Sea Dogs and Paw Sox.

Next weekend, a match-up between the Sea Dogs and the Evil Empire Jr.: the Trenton Thunder at our home away from home, Hadlock Field in Portland. We'll be joined by some family ourselves for this game, so we're expecting great baseball and plenty of wacky fun. Go 'Dogs!

Can vs. Am

2008-06-18T17:03:00.009-04:00

On Sunday, we made the quick jaunt to Worcester, Mass. to see the Ottawa Rapidz take on the Worcester Tornadoes in a Can-Am League match-up. The Tornadoes put up a five-spot in the second inning en route to a 6-4 win over their Canadian guests.

It had been raining earlier in the day, but it stopped well before game time, so the fans got to enjoy a nice, if unseasonably cool, afternoon.

As always, a Can-Am league game is an interesting peek into an alt-baseball world. As mentioned in our previous post regarding the Nashua Pride, there are many good players in this and other independent leagues who have been overlooked by MLB organizations.

Some don't remain overlooked once they have a chance to show what they can do. In fact, over the past few days, the Boston Red Sox have plucked two pitchers from independent leagues and inked them to minor-league deals.

The Tornadoes play their home games at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field, located on the beautiful grounds of the College of the Holy Cross. The "HIP" was constructed just in time for the Tornadoes' inaugural season in 2005. Good thing, as the Tornadoes captured the Can-Am championship in that first season!

Fitton Field itself goes back goes back a long way, as the Holy Cross Crusaders have played baseball on that same field since 1905. Fitton Field has had some interesting brushes with baseball immortals over the years. In 1939, in an exhibition game there against the Crusaders, Ted Williams hit his first home run in a Red Sox uniform. Babe Ruth even played at Fitton Field, in an exhibition game when he was a member of the Boston Braves in 1935. So, some more history to be found with your baseball action!

As far as that current baseball action goes, a Tornadoes game is a great time. You can enjoy excellent seats for a low price, some delicious ballpark food, as well as the wacky antics of Twister, the Tornadoes mascot. What more could you ask for?

We were living there in Allentown

2008-06-10T22:24:00.009-04:00

This weekend, we hit the road to Allentown, Pa., home
of the newest Triple-A team in the International League, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. (The city is also home to one of the teams in National Pro Fastpitch, the women's pro softball league. That's also one of our interests - go New England Riptide!)

To be concise, the IronPigs have really nailed it when it comes to a great fan experience: new stadium, great mascots, good selection of merchandise (we like our merch), and great concessions (we like those, too.)

The IronPigs are the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, and came about because of a big team switcheroo in the IL last year. That's when the Yankees took over the former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (now the SWB Yankees), the Phillies moved their Triple-A team to the Ottawa Lynx, the Baltimore Orioles moved their team from Ottawa to the Norfolk Tides, and the New York Mets moved their team from Norfolk to New Orleans. Not surprisingly, the Phillies apparently found that Ottawa, Canada was too far away for the team that's just one step down from their major league operation. So that's how the IronPigs came into the picture, and this year, they opened their inaugural season in the brand-new Coca-Cola Park.

The park really takes the best elements of the new major league parks (think PNC Park in Pittsburgh and Miller Park in Milwaukee, except for the retractable roof) and combines them with the intimacy of the best minor league parks (think Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine and Blair County Stadium in Pennsylvania, the home of the Altoona Curve). The result is a great mix of what we love about the minor leagues. On Sunday, we saw the IronPigs take on the Rochester Red Wings, the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, and one step up from one of our Double-A faves, the New Britain Rock Cats. We see both the Rock Cats in the Eastern League at home and on the road, and the Red Wings at McCoy Stadium, taking on the Pawtucket Red Sox. So there were a lot of familiar faces playing for both teams at Coca-Cola Park, including Sergio Santos. Santos was on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in the Eastern League last year and won the home-run derby at the all-star game in Norwich, Conn. (As it turns out, it was the only event at the all-star game because the game itself was fogged out at Dodd Stadium.)

The game (check out the recap) was an exciting one, decided in the 10th inning in favor of the IronPigs. Beside the exciting play, we were excited to find that it was also the birthday party of Ferrous, one of the IronPigs' two mascots (FeFe is the other). That meant many more mascots from teams from around Pennsylvania: Screwball and Change-Up from the Reading Phillies, the Falcon from Cedar Crest College, the Nittany Lion from Penn State and more.

We highly recommend Coca-Cola Park! It was well worth the five-plus hours on the road to get there!

'Cats and 'Dogs

2008-06-01T20:27:00.014-04:00

First, we have to mention the amazing accomplishment last night of Manny Ramirez, who hit his 500th home run as the Boston Red Sox took on the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yard. If you missed it, here's a link to the video and related coverage. (And props from DITR go to friends B.P., P.P. and J.P., who were there in person to root on Manny and the Sox.) Manny has a reputation for being daffy (or for "Manny being Manny"), but one shouldn't forget that he is all business when it comes to hitting. Running the bases, well, that can be another story. But at the plate, there are only a few in history who can say they were any better.

As for our own slugfest this weekend, we followed the Portland Sea Dogs today to Merchantsauto.com Stadium (seriously, that's the name of the ballpark) in Manchester, N.H., where the team took on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

The game -- which started at 1:05 and stretched out to 4:30 p.m. on a warm and sunny afternoon -- finally ended with a score of 17-11. The Sea Dogs won by six runs, but were actually up 11 runs going into the ninth when the wheels started coming off of Portland's pitching and the Fisher Cats' bats heated up. Check out the game recap here. Everyone on the Sea Dogs scored a run today, Andrew Pinckney hit two homers and Ryan Khoury hit one. We got our first look at Sea Dogs pitcher Dustin Richardson, who got the win today with some solid stuff, going into the sixth inning.

In addition to the crazy hitting, we witnessed two unusual events at this game: Sea Dogs pitcher Daniel Bard, a recent call-up from Single-A, fired off a few pitches topping 100 m.p.h. when he came in late in the game. The other was not so positive -- Fisher Cat Travis Snider was hit in the head by hard foul off the bat of teammate Aaron Mathews. Snider was on deck when Mathews hit the foul back, striking Snider hard enough that we could hear the ball crack the helmet from our seats, which were nine rows behind the on-deck circle. Snider hit the ground, and Fisher Cat staffers immediately swarmed him. Fortunately, he did not seem to lose consciousness and was able to get up and walk back to the dugout under his own power. However, Snider came out of the game in what seemed like a precautionary measure (no information on his condition was available as of this evening). It was a scary moment and we are glad that Snider seemed OK. And it certainly proves the point about why batters wear helmets.

As is our custom at this park, we checked out the autograph table where there's usually a Fisher Cat doing the honors before the game. We were pleased to see that today's player was relief pitcher Jean Machi. At a previous Sea Dogs/Fisher Cats tilt last season, we had the pleasure of sitting near Machi's family and host family in the stands. When they saw that we were Sea Dogs fans, they gave us plenty of good-natured ribbing throughout the game. Lots of fun! While he was signing autographs for us, we mentioned to Machi that we had met his family and how nice they were, which got a big smile out of him. A great example of the accessibility of players in the minors!

In other news, the Boston Red Sox optioned Clay Buchholz to the Pawtucket Red Sox yesterday. Buchholz, the former Sea Dog who made a name for himself last season with his rookie no-hitter, had been on the DL with a minor injury. Buchholz, who'd already made some rehab starts with the Paw Sox, will be staying there to work on elements of his pitching away from the pressure of pitching in the majors, according to the Red Sox. It's probably not a coincidence that Bartolo Colon just came off the DL and already had two wins for the Sox in as many starts (and won again today).

We're disappointed that the Sox aren't bringing Clay right back into the rotation, particularly with Daisuke Matsuzaka now on the DL, but hopeful that he will be back in the majors soon. And in the meantime, we hope to see him pitch in person for the Paw Sox. The silver lining is that Justin Masterson, who is now with the Paw Sox, is scheduled to start for the Red Sox on Tuesday against the first-place Tampa Bay Rays, who are just one game ahead of Boston.

North and south

2008-05-26T19:43:00.011-04:00

This weekend, our baseball travels took us to Maine and Rhode Island. On Sunday, we were back at Hadlock Field to see the Portland Sea Dogs take on the New Britain Rock Cats. On Monday, we saw the Pawtucket Red Sox play International League rivals the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

Sunday's game was a rematch of the game we saw last weekend when we traveled to New Britain, Conn., and saw the Sea Dogs beat the Rock Cats Unfortunately, although it was -- as Ernie Banks would say, "a beautiful day for a ballgame'' -- the Sea Dogs didn't repeat their victory.

Kris Johnson was the starter for the Sea Dogs and ended up being the tough-luck loser. He pitched pretty well into the sixth inning, but thanks to a hit that dropped into no-man's land just behind second base but not quite into center field, the Rock Cats went up 2-0 and never looked back. The real damage was done by reliever Carlos Vazquez, who, despite being in for little more than an inning, gave up four runs. As Dennis Eckersley would say, "That's history, pal." The bright spots of the game were Iggy Suarez breaking up the shutout and Aaron Bates' home run. Read the rec ap here.

But no matter how the game goes, there are always wacky antics with Slugger to keep things fun. And the Sea Dogs avenged their loss on Monday, taking the Memorial Day matchup against the Rock Cats 15-11. A 10-run fifth inning did the job. Check out that game recap here.

The Boston Red Sox minor league affiliate to the south also came out on top of a slugfest on Monday. The Pawtucket Red Sox beat the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, the Triple-A affiliate of you-know-who, 11-5. Knuckleballer Charlie Zink (a former Sea Dog whom we met at last year's Double-A All-Star Game in Norwich, Conn.) got the win today after going eight innings and giving up three earned runs. Check out the game recap here.

It seemed like everyone in the Paw Sox lineup hit a home run during this game, but in actuality, five players went deep: Jonathan Van Every, George Kottaras, Keith Ginter, Gil Velasquez and Jeff Bailey, who hit two. We go way back with Bailey, who spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs -- first in 2001 when the 'Dogs were still affiliated with the Florida Marlins, and again during portions of the 2004 and 2005 seasons before he was promoted to the Paw Sox. (In the interim, Bailey spent most of his time with the Harrisburg Senators, who were then the Double-A affiliate of the Montreal Expos.) Bailey did a brief stint with the Boston Red Sox last year (where he clubbed a home run for his first major-league hit), playing in three games in July around the time both Jacoby Ellsbury and David Murphy were also briefly called up.

Speaking of call-ups coming to an end, in addition to Van Every being back with the Paw Sox, Brandon Moss was also back in action today in Pawtucket after being on the DL with an appendectomy. The bout of appendicitis hit while Moss was with the Boston Red Sox, and ended up creating a spot for Van Every to move up.

It's always great to see any version of the Red Sox beat the Yankees (especially in Rhode Island where New York Yankees fans are far too plentiful), and the weather for today's game was as beautiful as Sunday's. We were fortunate to hear a beautiful a cappella version of "God Bless America" by a vocal ensemble from West Bridgewater (Mass.) High School. The teens were as good (if not better) than plenty of singers we've heard at ballgames anywhere.

On a sad note, we learned today that former Paw Sox and Red Sox pitcher Jeremi Gonzalez was killed this weekend when he was struck by lightning in Venezuela. Gonzalez, 33, spent time with both teams during the 2005 season. We saw Jeremi (news reports have his name spelled "Geremi" because his real name was "Geremis," but he went by "Jeremi" in the Red Sox system) pitch for the Paw Sox back then, and were happy when he had the opportunity to pitch in the majors. After becoming a free agent at the end of that season, Gonzalez went on to pitch in the New York Mets system and was eventually traded to the Milwaukee Brewers and wound up in the Toronto Blue Jays system where he pitched for the Syracuse Sky Chiefs in the International League. After being released by the Blue Jays, he pitched for the Yomiuri Giants last year. Gonzalez -- whose best season was 1997 when he won 11 games for the Chicago Cubs -- was back in his home country of Venezuela, presumably out of MLB-affiliated baseball, when he was killed.

We didn't meet Gonzalez, but he always handled himself well on the mound with Pawtucket and Boston. He must have been a nice guy because even Lou Piniella, his manager with the Cubs, had nice things to say about him upon learning of his death. Read the full article here.

Goodbye, Jeremi. We got tickets.

Pride roars back for another season

2008-05-23T20:49:00.005-04:00

On Thursday night we headed to New Hampshire for opening night of the 2008 season of the defending Can-Am champion Nashua Pride. It was still unseasonably cool at historic Holman Stadium, but it was a fun evening, especially since rain showers in the area ended just in time for the pre-game ring ceremony.

This first game of the season also featured the first giveaway: a dust pan and broom in honor of the Pride's sweeping of the North Shore Spirit for the 2007 Can-Am title. A cute idea!

We were glad to see a decent crowd turn out for the game. We like to see independent teams do well and would not want to the Pride go the way of the afore-mentioned North Shore Spirit. That team folded after last season, despite making it to the league championship series.

The Can-Am league (which the Pride joined two years ago after having been in the Atlantic League for several seasons) exists in an interesting alt-baseball world. There are a lot of good players who have been overlooked by MLB teams and it's great to see them get a chance to play. Every year some players from the Can-Am league as well as other independent leagues wind up getting signed by major league organizations. In fact, two Pride players from last season, shortstop Olmo Rosario and pitcher Steve Palazzolo, were signed by the Giants and assigned to the Double-A Connecticut Defenders, a favorite DITR team.

As far as last night's Pride game goes, "we" won in the tenth inning over the Brockton Rox, 8-7. Catcher Luis Rodriguez delivered the two-out, game-winning hit.

Entertainment during the game was provided by Krazy George, a professional cheerleader who certainly lives up to his nickname. He is reportedly the originator of "the wave" and knows how to work a crowd.

The Pride and the city of Nashua are justly proud of the role they played in the integration of modern baseball. In 1946, while Jackie Robinson played in Montreal, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe of the Nashua Dodgers were the first African-American players on an organized team in the United States, playing their home games at historic Holman Stadium.

In the photo above you can see the retired numbers of Newk (36) and Campy (39) alongside the number 42 of their future Brooklyn Dodgers teammate.

So, you get to take in a bit of history with your baseball. A great time!

Rockin' with the Rock Cats

2008-05-21T20:28:00.017-04:00

With all the excitement this week -- former Portland Sea Dog and Paw Sox Jon Lester pitched a no-hitter for the Boston Red Sox, Sea Dog Justin Masterson got his second temporary call-up and delivered his second fabulous start for the Red Sox and former Sox minor-leaguer and DITR fave David Murphy won Rookie of the Month for April -- we haven't had a chance to recount this past weekend's minor league baseball journey.

We went to Connecticut to see the Portland Sea Dogs face the New Britain Rock Cats, the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. And it was our annual chance to see mascot extraordinaire Birdzerk in action.

The Rock Cats play at New Britain Stadium, and have a rich history in both that community and in baseball in general. Before they were the Rock Cats, they were the New Britain Red Sox, which was the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox during a stretch of the '80s and '90s.

We saw Michael Bowden, shown at right during the game, a top pitching prospect in the Red Sox system, start against the Rock Cats. Daniel Bard, another hot prospect, made his Double-A debut who hasn't allowed a run in 15 of the 16 innings he's pitched between Portland and the Greenville Drive, and we also had a chance to see Kyle Jackson (a New Hampshire native whom we also met at the Red Sox rookies event at Fenway in January 2007 that also included Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz and David Murphy) pitch a scoreless inning. The pitching potpourri continued with Daniel Haigwood (who ultimately got the win) and Beau Vaughan (another DITR fave) got the save, his fourth of the season. It took three hours and 51 minutes (the longest nine-inning game in Sea Dogs history), but in the end, the Sea Dogs won, 7-6.

As much as we were rooting for the Sea Dogs, we really do enjoy the Rock Cats. Their ballpark is terrific from the layout and parking to the fan amenities. There's great food, an expanded souvenir shop (J scored a great Joe Mauer -- former Rock Cat and current Twin --bobblehead) Lucky leads the on-field promotions and the mascots are great -- there are five! Rocky is the main mascot, and he's almost as good at the job as the Slugger the Sea Dog. In this photo at left, he's giving J the business for showing up at a Rock Cats game wearing Sea Dogs fanwear.

Also wandering the stands and concourse to mingle with fans are Sandy the lion, Blooper the walrus, Toner (an earlier take on a rock cat) and Peanuts the elephant. How can you beat having five mascots?

Typically, we'd say you can't. But this Sunday, Birdzerk was in the house. He's professional mascot who travels to ballparks around the country, bringing his special brand of wacky antics to minor-league audiences. He does a lot of dates in the Midwest, but typically only makes it to New England once a season. We first saw him at Blair County Stadium in Pennsylvania, the home of the Altoona Curve (the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates) in 2005, and he totally cracked us up. For the last few seasons, we've been fortunate to see him in New Britain. We don't want to say too much about what he does because we don't want to spoil it if you have the chance to see him (check out Birdzerk's schedule) for yourself. But trust us, you'll laugh really hard and be very surprised at some of his bits.

Tomorrow night, we head to Nashua, N.H., for the Nashua Pride's opening night of the 2008 season. This team has had a variety of incarnations, including as a minor-league affiliate of the Dodgers, Angels and Pirates, but it's best known as being one of the first teams anywhere in baseball to be integrated. While Jackie Robinson was in Montreal, Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella were playing in Nashua, a city (despite being almost exclusively caucasian at that time) that embraced them. These days, the Pride is an independent team. Two seasons ago, the team left the Atlantic League in favor of the Can-Am League. Being an unaffiliated team can be a tough road, and the Pride at times battle to draw a crowd. But Historic Holman Stadium is a great little park that has been upgraded in recent years in terms of both the physical condition and also the fan amenities. Seeing a Pride game really is a good time, and the tickets are very reasonably priced and usually easy to get. We highly recommend it.

No-hitter fun facts

2008-05-20T20:01:00.009-04:00

In honor of Jon Lester's amazing no-hitter last night, DITR wants to share some fun facts about the Red Sox and no-hitters.

A former Portland Sea Dog has thrown a no-hitter in the majors during each of the last three seasons: Anibal Sanchez for the Florida Marlins in 2006, Clay Buchholz for the Boston Red Sox in 2007 and Jon Lester, also for the Red Sox, in 2008.

In each of those, a former Sea Dog made a key defensive play to save the no-hitter: Hanley Ramirez for Sanchez, Dustin Pedroia for Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury (shown above during the play in question) for Lester.

Catcher Jason Varitek (who briefly played for the Pawtucket Red Sox right after the Boston Red Sox acquired him, with pitcher Derek Lowe, from the Seattle Mariners) has caught four no-hitters, the most of any major league catcher in history. One of them was Lowe's no-hitter in 2002.

Charles Johnson caught three no-hitters during his career. Johnson played for the Sea Dogs back when they were affiliated with the Marlins, and was the first member of the team to ever make it to the majors.

Lester's no-hitter was the first for a Red Sox lefty since Mel Parnell (who is also a lymphoma survivor) hurled one in 1956.

Lester and Buchholz's no-hitters are the first for the same team without one in between by any other team since Nolan Ryan did it himself (one in the '74 season and the other in '75) for the California Angels. Ryan, BTW, is the only other pitcher to ever no-hit the Kansas City Royals.

Speaking of dreams: Lester throws a no-hitter

2008-05-19T22:28:00.009-04:00

Jon Lester, former Sea Dog and Paw Sox pitcher, threw a no-hitter at Fenway Park tonight against the Kansas City Royals. It's the first no-hitter for the Boston Red Sox since Sept. 1, 2007 when Clay Buchholz -- another former member of the Sea Dogs and Paw Sox -- threw his own no-no.

And who made the catch of the night to save Lester's no-hitter? Jacoby Ellsbury. Check out Jimmy Golen's story for the Associated Press here. At right, check out the AP photo of Lester in action.

Yes, it was a night to remember as fans of these players going back to their days when they were just starting their professional baseball careers. Some players do their thing, you enjoy the show and that's it. Since we first saw him pitch in Double-A with the Sea Dogs, Lester has always come across as a quiet, classy guy whose earnest, innocent love of baseball was evident, even from the stands. When he got the call from the Red Sox in 2006, we were thrilled. When we got the word later that season that he had cancer, we were saddened.

That Lester beat cancer and made it back to pitch in the majors is something of a miracle. That he helped the Sox clinch the World Series last year in his first season back after cancer is a story that was like watching a TV movie with a happy ending too good to be true. That he could surpass that to become the first lefty to pitch a no-hitter at Fenway since 1956 seems almost unimaginable.

Lester started this season out a little shaky, with some high pitch counts and a lot of walks. But despite that, the difference in how he looked from the start of this season seemed to signal that something about Lester as a pitcher is different, too. He's looked bigger, stronger, a little more Lester than he was last year when he was still rebuilding his body and his pitching after finishing his cancer treatments. Watching him pitch this season, he's looked as strong and healthy as any young talented lefty and it's been a joy to see him perform so well that we can forget he ever battled a life-threatening disease.

Tonight, Lester seemed to take his final step away from that shadow. Last season, when he helped the Sox win the World Series, it was a miracle comeback from illness. Tonight, Lester was seemed to take his final step away from the shadow of cancer, a young talent throwing his way into the record books on great pitching and good fielding -- a miracle unto itself.

It's (Van) Every player's dream

2008-05-14T20:13:00.006-04:00

Jonathan Van Every got the call today he may have thought would never come. Van Every, 28, and in his eighth season in the minors, was called up to the majors.

Van Every, centerfielder for the Paw Sox, was needed by the Boston Red Sox for today's game against the Baltimore Orioles because of J.D. Drew's sprained wrist and Coco Crisp's combination of a migraine and upset stomach. Van Every went 1 for 3 today with a single against the Orioles at Camden Yards. Spare yourself reading the box score because the Sox lost, and instead check out the Red Sox.com story on Van Every's call-up.

Van Every was drafted in 2000 by the Cleveland Indians, and until this year, had been in the Indians minor-league system the entire time. The Red Sox organization signed him as a minor-league free agent in December 2007 and assigned him to the Paw Sox over the winter.

Although he'd previously spent his entire career with the Indians organization, Van Every had already made a name for himself around here. Between stints with the Buffalo Bisons in Triple-A and the Akron Aeros in Double-A, Van Every played against every Red Sox minor-league position player now on the big club: Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Cash. He also likely faced pitchers Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Manny Delcarmen, Clay Buchholz and Craig Hansen in his eight years on teams that opposed the Lowell Spinners, Portland Sea Dogs and Pawtucket Red Sox.

It was during his seasons with the Akron Aeros that we first saw Van Every in action. While his high level of play made him a standout in regular games against the Sea Dogs, Van Every put himself on our map -- and likely many others -- in the Double-A All-Star Game in 2005.

The game was held in Portland, Maine on July 13 and pitted the cream of the crop from the Northern Division of the Eastern League against the top players from the Southern Division. As fans of the Sea Dogs and with seven 'Dogs selected for the All-Star team, we were firmly in the camp of the Northern Division. But that didn't stop us from being impressed when Van Every sent not one, but two home runs flying over the fences at Hadlock Field for the Southern Division.

Were it not for some shaky pitching by Van Every's teammate Chris Cooper, the Southern Division would probably have won the game and Van Every would have most likely been the MVP. Instead, MVP honors went to the New Britain Rock Cats' Danny Matienzo for a good, but less spectacular performance than Van Every's.

(BTW, check out some of the people who played in that game: Hanley Ramirez, now with the Florida Marlins; Tom Gorzelanny of the Pittsburgh Pirates; Dan Ortmeier of the San Francisco Giants; Shelley Duncan, who regularly goes back and forth between the New York and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees; and Brandon Moss, more often on the Paw Sox but technically still with the Boston Red Sox, although sidelined after an appendectomy.)

In December, we heard that Van Every had been signed by the Sox (on the recommendation of Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell, who was also formerly in the Indians system). We were excited that this player was finally on our side.

Van Every signed his deal with the Red Sox in time to be one of the top prospects invited to greet fans at the Paw Sox annual Hot Stove Party on Jan. 19 at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I. We never miss this event, and were particularly looking forward to meeting Van Every.

The experience didn't disappoint: When we got up to the table where Van Every was signing autographs (shown here alongside Justin Masterson and Paw Sox skipper Ron "R.J." Johnson), J had the chance to tell Van Every that we'd seen him hit those two home runs. "Oh, finally, somebody knows me," Van Every quipped with a smile, adding, "I could have been MVP if my teammate hadn't blown the lead."

He didn't need to tell us twice.

Masterson on the mound

2008-05-10T21:42:00.011-04:00

We were back at Hadlock Field today to see the Portland Sea Dogs take on the Bowie BaySox, the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Justin Masterson was on the mound in his second start for the Sea Dogs since returning from a terrific major-league debut with the Boston Red Sox.

But as he did during his first start back in Double-A, Masterson (on the mound in the photo at right) struggled today, as did the rest of the Sea Dogs. By the middle of the third inning, the 'Dogs had notched three Es and the BaySox had rung up five runs without any answer from the Sea Dogs. Would you believe us if we told you the Sea Dogs won that game? Had we not been there to see it in person, we probably wouldn't have believed that with some doubles and a bunch of walks courtesy of bad Bowie pitching, the Sea Dogs would come back for a 7-5 victory. Check out the game recap for the full breakdown, but to cut to the chase, Masterson made it as far as two-thirds of the way through the fifth inning, reliever Chad Rhoades got the win and Hunter Jones got the save. When it was all over, we were relieved to see the lighthouse. (If you haven't been to Hadlock Field, when a Sea Dog hits a home run or the team wins a game, a lighthouse comes up from behind the center field wall and lights up and spins around. Sometimes, there are even pyrotechnics to go with.)

Before the game, we hit the concourse for an autograph session with outfielder Bubba Bell (check out his stats). We were excited to see that Bubba was the player doing autographs today because we've enjoyed seeing him play with the Sea Dogs and the Lowell Spinners, and because he's got a great reputation as being a fan favorite wherever he's played. Bell -- who isn't listed on the Sea Dogs' Web site as on the DL but was wearing a walking cast today -- was very friendly and willing to spend some time talking to fans, not to mention pose for a photo.

In other minor league news, we were excited to see Jed Lowrie hit his first major-league home run tonight in Minnesota against the Twins. Jed, who was called up to the PawSox during last season, has been making the most of his short-term call-up to the Red Sox this month with some clutch hitting and great fielding. Lowrie, who is usually a shortstop but has played all over the infield lately, has been so good that it's made the highly paid Julio Lugo's poor fielding and so-so offense even more embarrassing. With Lugo now out with a concussion (they say it was a knee to the head sliding into second that did the damage, but we can't help but wonder if it was the work of an angry teammate or two after Lugo cost them the game the other night), we hope that Jed's time in the majors is extended further. P.S. Jed said in a post-game interview that former Sea Dog Josh Beckett was the one who got his home run ball back from a fan by trading a ball he'd autographed for the Lowrie ball.

Speaking of call-ups, Craig Hansen also got the call from the Red Sox this week. (This brings the number of "shirts" posted at Hadlock Field in honor of Sea Dogs who are with the Red Sox up to 11; Beckett is the only player in the group we haven't seen play with the Sea Dogs together, although J saw him there in 2001.) Hansen has been with the Paw Sox since 2006, and we were starting to wonder if he was going to top-out at Triple-A. After a hot start with the Sea Dogs in 2005 led to an appearance with the Red Sox that season, Hansen seemed to have trouble recapturing what had made him a stand-out at age 21. He's always had a fastball in the 90s, but lacked other pitches and the control to fool batters with more experience than Double-A. Hanson had surgery for sleep apnea during the off-season this year, and apparently, the predictions that it was going to make a big difference for him this season are coming true.

And one of our favorites, Brandon Moss, is out for at least a few weeks after an emergency appendectomy this week. We're bummed out about that - Moss was also up with the Red Sox temporarily and was doing great. (DITR has often speculated that if Moss was in a different team's system that he'd be playing every day in the majors.) We hope he's back on his feet soon and he gets a little more time with the Sox before they send him back to Pawtucket.

Wash out

2008-05-04T17:53:00.003-04:00

Bad weather and even worse scheduling threw us a curveball this weekend. Our usual local teams were on the road and our backup plan -- UMass Lowell baseball -- was foiled by Mother Nature delivering us rain and temperatures more like November than May.

We're fortunate to live within (what we consider)reasonable driving distance of several minor-league teams: the Portland Sea Dogs, Pawtucket Red Sox, New Hampshire Fisher Cats and Connecticut Defenders. However, in the rare instance when they're all out of town, we look to alternate sources for baseball. Right now, it's the end of the college baseball season and later this month, the Can-Am League gets started (and the Nashua Pride and Worcester Tornadoes are a long toss away).

This weekend, however, the weather had other plans for us, and the UMass Lowell River Hawks weren't able to play today as scheduled. We enjoy seeing the River Hawks not just because of the good quality of play, but also because they play in LeLacheur Park, home of the Lowell Spinners of the New York Penn League. The Spinners (who also haven't started their season yet) can be a tough ticket, so going to a River Hawks game is a great chance to enjoy the park -- and admission is free.

So we had to settle for baseball on TV. We revved up the HDTV and enjoyed some widescreen, high-definition Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals on the FOX Game of the Week and the Red Sox vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. Ironically, the Red Sox were the only team in town this weekend, and even tickets to see the Rays are virtually impossible to come by. But you know what? We just as happy to be warm and dry and watching at home than in the drizzle and 40s at Fenway!

Our return to Hadlock

2008-04-27T21:11:00.007-04:00

Today we headed to Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine for our first Sea Dogs game of the season. We were hoping for some nice weather, but settled for the rain stopping before the game started and not dipping too far below fifty degrees.

We were really looking forward to seeing Hadlock again. It's the ballpark we've visited most often, so it feels like our home field.

Among other things, we enjoy the concessions a lot. A specialty is the fish sandwich, always enjoyed by J. C ranks their pizza highly among ballpark 'za.

We planned to arrive about an hour before game time to check out the autograph table. (The Sea Dogs usually have a player signing autographs before the game, but they stop well before the game starts, so you need to get there early.) We were excited to see that today's player was Iggy Suarez! We had first met Iggy at the end of last season during the annual "Field of Dreams" event. The players emerge from behind cornstalks in the outfield and go into the stands to greet fans. Iggy was the player who came into our section and he charmed everyone with his big smile and friendly personality.

That same personality was on display today as he signed autographs and graciously posed for this picture with us!

Getting to meet players and seeing them play up close are some of the things we like best about minor league baseball.

An interesting feature of Hadlock Field is the wall where they display the "jerseys" (they're actually shirt-shaped signs with players' names and numbers) of former Sea Dogs who are currently with the Red Sox (see above photo). As of today, there are 10 up there, which is quite a sight to see: Dustin Pedroia, Josh Beckett, Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, Manny Delcarmen, Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, Jed Lowrie and Brandon Moss. We've had the good fortune to meet several of these players in their minor league days and witnessed their great play, so we're glad to see that they're getting their chance with the Red Sox.

One player whose shirt was not on the wall is Justin Masterson, who was back with the Sea Dogs after his emergency start for the Red Sox last week. We caught a glimpse of him waiting to go into the dugout and he was sporting a nice, warm Red Sox parka. Perhaps a perk from making it to The Show?

Today's game featured starting southpaw Kris Johnson against the Binghamton Mets. A good performance (six scoreless innings) in a fast-paced game, which "we" won 3-0.

Highlights for the Sea Dogs included a home run from newcomer Mickey Hall and a triple from scrappy centerfielder Sean Danielson. Home runs are great, but triples are really exciting. A home run is gone right away, but with a triple, you don't know if the runner will make it. Should he have stopped at second? Will he get thrown out at third? Maybe he'll even make it home!

Of course, another highlight was seeing Slugger, our favorite mascot. We got our customary high-fives from him, which made us realize all the more that it was great to be back!

Sea Dogs -- past and present -- get their shot with the Sox

2008-04-24T20:54:00.008-04:00

If you follow the Boston Red Sox, you probably know that a good portion of the team is fighting the flu, injured or both. Particularly hard hit has been the pitching staff. While that's not good news for those who are hurt or sick, the situation has created some opportunities for promising pitchers in the Sox farm system. We're excited about this because of the pitchers' connections to the Portland Sea Dogs, the Sox Double-A affliate -- and our favorite team.

Earlier this week, former Sea Dog and current Paw Sox pitcher David Pauley started for the Red Sox in the place of Josh Beckett (also a former Sea Dog from the team's past affiliation with the Florida Marlins). Yesterday, Craig Hansen (we saw him pitch for the Paw Sox last weekend, topping 95 mph with more than a few pitches) came in in relief. While Pauley and Hansen's outings weren't entirely successful, a current Sea Dog had a better day today: sensation Justin Masterson (0.95 ERA so far this season in four Double-A starts) got his first major league start, going a solid six innings against the Angels, and giving up only one run. He was in line to get his first major league win, but bullpen problems gave Masterson a no-decision in a 7-5 loss for the Sox. (Read about the game here)

Although this was Masterson's first start for the Sox, it wasn't his first time pitching at Fenway Park (despite the comments of one former Sox player and current NESN broadcaster). Two seasons ago, Masterson was on the mound for the Lowell Spinners at the first-ever Futures at Fenway, a double-header that pitted the Spinners against the Oneonta Tigers in the first game and the Paw Sox against the Rochester Red Wings in the second. Masterson pitched four innings in relief, and came up with the win after giving up only two hits and striking out four batters. (box score)

We were at that game (natch) and before the action started, we were hanging out on the "Big Concourse." We had made our way down to the far end of the concourse and encountered a lone ballplayer, in uniform, looking for the gate into the section of the park reserved only for players. And yes, it was all 6-feet, 6-inches of Justin Masterson, who creates quite an impression up close. We gave him a nod and the always-friendly Masterson smiled and nodded back (we didn't want to bother him, as much as we would have liked to hit him up for an autograph). In the photo at left, Masterson (No. 45) and his fellow Spinners are on the field for the Futures at Fenway pre-game. Also out there are two of the three Spinners' mascots, Canaligator and Millie-Gator, and two Red Sox mascots, Lefty and Righty.

A year and a half later at this past winter's Paw Sox Hot Stove Party (an annual fan event not to be missed), Masterson was one of about a half-dozen hot Red Sox prospects talking to fans, answering questions and signing autographs. When we got to talk to him, we recounted how we'd run into him previously at Futures at Fenway. He gave us a broad smile and said how much he'd enjoyed the whole experience. No doubt, that experience came in handy today when he was back on the mound at Fenway.

Some new hardware

2008-04-21T19:39:00.008-04:00

One of the highlights of Saturday evening's Pawtucket Red Sox game actually happened before the first pitch ever crossed the plate.

Four current PawSox players who appeared in at least one game with the Boston Red Sox during last season were presented with their World Series rings. They're shown in the photo (which is from the PawSox, not ours), from left, Jeff Bailey and Brandon Moss (both of whom do double-duty in the infield and outfield) and pitchers Devern Hansack and Kyle Snyder.

Three of the players -- Bailey, Moss and Hansack -- were called up to Boston during the season on a fill-in basis. Kyle Snyder spent all of last season with the major league team but was recently put on waivers and then accepted an assignment with the PawSox. It was exciting to see all four -- especially Bailey, Moss and Hansack, whose excellent play we've enjoyed since they were with the Portland Sea Dogs in recent years -- get their rings during the pre-game ceremony.

Two other former PawSox players also got their World Series rings this week -- David Murphy and Kason Gabbard. Both Murphy, an outfielder with a great arm, and the lefty pitcher Gabbard were in Boston with the Texas Rangers, where they were traded last year as part of the ridiculous, if not disastrous, deal that brought the Red Sox Eric Gagne. We here at DITR don't like to pick on players, but we don't think that anyone who was even halfway paying attention to the Red Sox last season could miss that Gagne could not get it done. (And that's not to mention that Boston already had a closer and a good setup guy before Gagne got here...but we digress...)

We've been fans of both Gabbard and Murphy since they played for the Portland Sea Dogs back in the 2005 and 2006 seasons. We're regulars at Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine every summer and both players, particularly Murphy, were favorites with not only the fans (they voted him Player of the Year in 2005) but also the staff. When Murphy got called up to the PawSox in May 2006 and got off to a hot start (he was International League Player of the Week his first week on the job), one of the Sea Dogs' ushers, Frank (aka Ballpark Frank) lamented after a questionable play in the outfield that he was glad for Murphy, but sad for Portland. Little did he know who would get the call to Portland a few months later: centerfielder/super hero Jacoby Ellsbury.

It was Ellsbury's later call-up to the PawSox that moved Murphy from center field to left field, and ultimately, out of the Red Sox organization. As good as Murphy is (he was a first-round draft pick by the Sox in 2003 and the first ever by manager Theo Epstein), Jacoby is a force to be reckoned with, and that was clear pretty quickly to anyone watching.

While Murphy and Gabbard were in the Red Sox farm system, we had the opportunity to meet them both on a number of occasions. At hot-stove event in the winter of 2006, J was chatting with Murphy and pointed out that he wore No. 18 with the Sea Dogs during the 2005 season and the Red Sox had an opening for a centerfielder wearing No. 18 (Johnny Damon, had just signed with the Yankees). While Murphy got a kick out of that -- "Oh, I hadn't thought about that," he told J -- curiously, he was wearing No. 24 when the '06 baseball season started.

We had a chance to get reacquainted with Gabbard and Murphy at the PawSox Hot Stove Party in the winter of '06. The event, held in the clubhouse and training areas beneath McCoy Stadium that are normally off-limits, featured autograph sessions and panel discussions with several stars of the Sox minor league system. Gabbard and Murphy were among them, and Gabbard got a roar out of the crowd when he told a young fan that he wasn't worried that he wasn't a particularly good student because he had baseball to fall back on. Murphy was always classy and friendly at such events, and we found in a chance meeting with his wife Andrea at a PawSox game during the '07 season, that she was equally so when it came to talking to fans.

The photo at left was shot by J at the January 2007 Red Sox Rookies fan event at the Souvenir Store across Yawkey Way from Fenway Park. Murphy, third from right, is talking to infielder and Sea Dog/Paw Sox teammate Chad Spann, center, and....Jacoby Ellsbury, who hadn't made it out of Double-A ball yet. They were among a dozen top Red Sox prospects who took part in an elite training program designed to groom them for the majors. All 12 at the event were in the minors at this point, but at least seven have gone on to play in the majors: Murphy, Gabbard, Clay Buchholz, David Pauley, Craig Hansen, Brandon Moss and Ellsbury.

For another take on Murphy and Gabbard getting their rings, check out this story from MLB.com: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080418&content_id=2546517&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex

Our 2008 season kicks off

2008-04-20T22:24:00.010-04:00

Our 2008 season got underway earlier this month with some fun -- but chilly -- games. The first game was the Pawtucket Red Sox vs. the Indianapolis Indians on Saturday, April 5 (even earlier than the Boston Red Sox home opener) in Pawtucket, R.I. The mercury didn't climb out of the 40s that day. The next day, we headed to Norwich, Conn., for the Connecticut Defenders vs. the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Dodd Stadium. The warmest it got at that game was 40, the temp was hovering around 37 when we left the ballpark.

This weekend, we got a taste of the best of baseball weather. Warm temperatures, climbing into the mid-70s for our day game today (back to Norwich for more Defenders, this time playing the Reading Phillies). Last night, we also did a repeat performance of one of our first stops (PawSox, taking on the Buffalo Bisons at McCoy Stadium). Again, much more pleasant experience -- with temps that started out in the high 60s, it was a lot easier to focus on the game when fighting hypothermia wasn't a consideration.

This Saturday and Sunday was a reminder of how fast the early season changes from cold contests of survival to a warm welcome of what we love about the minor leagues: prime seats and hot baseball. Our seats today at Dodd Stadium had us in the first row, directly behind home plate. Not only could we call pitches and strikes, we were also to throw in our two cents when the umpire was getting an earful from the Reading Phillies' manager over whether a pitch actually hit a Defenders batter (for the record, it did). So it was only the right thing to do to encourage the ump to "Run him!" when P.J. Forbes' tirade was running long (for the record, it worked -- Forbes was ejected and pitching coach Frank Cacciatore took over for the rest of the game).

Scores:

Saturday, April 5: Indians, 5; PawSox, 4 box score

Sunday, April 6: Defenders, 4; Fisher Cats, 2 game recap

Saturday, April 19: Bisons, 7; PawSox, 0 box score

Sunday, April 20: Defenders, 6; R-Phils, 5 game recap