 Javier Lopez at Fenway Park in 2008. Photo taken by Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.net. Used with permission. |
A burst of randomness on a lazy Sunday morning: * Today the MLB Network is showing the Red Sox/Twins game at 1:pm, the Dodgers/White Sox game at 5pm and the taped version (the live one begins at 1pm) of the Mets/Astros game at 9pm. How can you not love this network? * How is it that A*Rod is allowed to just blow off MLB if he wants to? More importantly, why does this surprise me? Joba Chamberlain has successfully put off having to face his DUI charges, so Slappy wanting to put his meeting off really shouldn’t be a surprise, right? * After writing about Will Middlebrooks yesterday, I received an email from a reader pointing out some stories online about other Sox prospects – my favorite being about Anthony Rizzo. I had read it already, but it’s worth noting here. In case you’re one of those people who comes directly here and doesn’t check out the rest of the EEI site, Alex Speier wrote a tremendous article about the 19 year-old first baseman and cancer survivor. The final paragraph of the story sums up why this kid has my respect much more than others:
“I’m not ashamed (to be a survivor),” he said. “I still think about it every day – how lucky I am to be back on the field. I’ll never forget what I’ve been through – ever. I’ll go to charity events. Hopefully I’ll have my own charity when I get to the big leagues. I’ll never forget any of that.â€
The 19 year-old gets it. That’s amazing to me and really impressive. * I had a few friends at the Sox/Reds game last night and my favorite report came from Kelly O’Connor (who, incidentally, also reported Will Middlebrooks sitting in front of her during the game!). It’s my favorite report because I was listening to the game and getting a little concerned at how much Javier Lopez seemed to be struggling:
Last night Lopez was having a hard time of it from the moment he hit the mound. Buchholz had done a couple of little kicks and crow hops next to the mound when he was out there, like he wasn’t getting the grip he wanted, and Lopez didn’t seem to like the footing either.
So that makes me feel a little better about Lopez. Not that I put all that much into these games, but I would rather not see these guys struggle too much from the get-go, regardless of whether or not the games matter. Given that Buchholz pitched well last night and the Sox scored a total of 30 runs in two games yesterday, I think I can put the worrying on hold for a while. * I put together two more iMixes that cover the songs (the ones available on iTunes) I borrowed from in February:
Sox at 1pm on NESN (or MLBN if you don’t have NESN) and Mets at 9pm (Kyle is reported to be getting into this game at some point – at least I’ll know ahead of time since the 9pm showing is on tape). Baseball all day while waiting for a snowstorm to hit. You have to love March in New England.