 The only 2009 Photo Day photo I’ve found that I like. (When is Photo Day for the Mets?) Photo taken by Chris Graythen /Getty Images. I try not to use these photos but am making an exception today. I promise I won’t make a habit of it! |
According to Chris Forsberg over at boston.com, today is photo day for the Red Sox. I love photo day. Not only is that the day they take the still photos that will be used for the year (I’m a sucker for racing to redsox.com when they put up the new headshots every year) but it’s also when they record the videos you see on the scoreboard during the game. (“And in the nine-spot, there is NO SMOKING at Fenway Park“). I love that stuff. Every year I think about writing to the Red Sox to see if I can get a copy of those videos somehow. I think it would make for interesting viewing. But I’ve never gotten off my butt and done it so I don’t imagine I will this year either.
I wonder how long taking all the photos and shooting the videos runs them? Forsberg writes that the media doesn’t have the same access this morning as they usually do…and he also writes that the Sox will take the field at 9am for their “normal” practice session. So what time do they make the players show up to do all this, 7am? That would suck the fun right out of it for me.
Quick note on Kyle Snyder…still no updates but the Mets have announced their pitchers for next week and on Tuesday he’ll throw two innings in an intrasquad game and then on Thursday he’ll be one of 7 pitchers going against the Marlins. Sending PVs Kyle’s way that he pitches well and stays healthy.
I had considered writing about the schadenfreude that is A*Rod right now. And, don’t get me wrong, it’s at the point where I’m now enjoying the unraveling going on here. After that performance the other day, he deserves all the bad that falls upon him. (But, hey, the fans are still supporting him. The same fans who can boo Jeter for going through a bad spell are bringing signs to Spring Training games showing Slappy how much they love him.) The problem is, you can’t just glance over the stories about A*Rod and this trainer without looking at the other names of the players attached to him. Granted, training with the guy and having him secretly travel around with you are two VERY different situations. But I’m not going to just bury my head in the sand and not acknowledge that the Papi (and Pedro) connection bothers me, because it does. A lot. Papi is doing a lot of denying right now. And with no proof of anything but their working out together, I’ll take him at his word. That doesn’t mean I’m not uneasy about the whole thing.
Vice President of Red Sox Nation, Rob Crawford was quoted by Newsday for the story I linked:
We could take it if any other Red Sox players were on the [2003 list of 104 players who failed the survey test]. But if David Ortiz was on it, that would suck all of the wind out of us.”
I understand this guy won his title by a vote, but in this case he certainly doesn’t speak for me. If I saw Pedro’s name on that list, or Bill Mueller’s , or Kevin Millar’s, or Mike Timlin’s, or Trot Nixon’s or Jason Varitek’s or probably just about any other guy from that 2003 team, even (especially?) Manny’s, I’d be devastated. It would be a sucker-punch to the gut. You can’t say “Oh steroids is bad” in one breathe and then say “But it’s okay if SOME of my guys were doing it” in the next. And, with all due respect to Papi, Mr. Crawford is sadly mistaken if he thinks Papi’s usage would be a bigger disappointment than Pedro’s. His return to Fenway with the Mets is proof that the Nation still adores him. Personally, outing Pedro as a steroid user would be a much more difficult story to deal with than outing Papi. Here’s hoping the only guy from the 2003 team to test positive was Jeremy Giambi. 🙂 (Though, I’m not holding out much hope for that.)
Hope everyone gets to enjoy a quiet, uneventful Sunday. Those are my favorite kinds!