Special thanks to Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.net for this shot of Ryan Westmoreland from February 2009 (Used with permission)
So trying to watch the game today on NESN was impossible. Well, not totally impossible, we got to watch the 7th and 9th innings…so there was that. Luckily Joe Castiglione was there to entertain me on the radio (listening to a game with the television reading “We have technical difficulties” wasn’t really working for me). It did please me that NESN was on the air long enough to show us the triple play that ended the game today.
It’s tough to be cranky about something as silly as not being able to watch a Spring Training game on television when you read news like this about outfielder Ryan Westmoreland being diagnosed with a cavernous malformation in his brain.
The 19-year-old Westmoreland left camp on March 4 and was diagnosed with the malformation the following day, at Massachusetts General Hospital. He had consultations with three experts in the field and will have surgery in Phoenix on Tuesday with Dr. Robert Spetzler of the Barrow Neurological Institute.
Regardless of whether he plays ball or is going to college or just living the life of a teenager, it’s difficult for me to grasp the idea of any nineteen year-old having to go through brain surgery. My good thoughts and prayers are with Ryan.  Honestly, I just can’t imagine what this kid and his family are going through and I’ll pray for the surgery to be a success, for Ryan to come out healthy and well and for him to be back with his team as soon as he’s able.
For more about Ryan, check out Steve Hyder’s blog entry about him here.
Sunday at 1pm ET NESN gets another shot at presenting us with a baseball game. This one is against the Twins with Josh Beckett Ryne Miller on the mound. (According to Ian Browne this morning, Beckett has been scratched due to an “illness”.) Don’t forget to “Spring Forward”!