The Rochester Red Wings love you hard.

The Red Wings official site is excellent. Can't wait to go back to Frontier Field and freeze to death!

Ben Mondor and the International League Hall of Fame

The IL Hall of Fame is back! Nothing's been going on since 1964, but 2008 is the 125th anniversary of the IL. It doesn't have a permanent home, so the ILHOF will be making the ballpark rounds in '08.

Ben Mondor and 26 others, including Jim Rice and Joe Morgan, will be inducted this year. Party at McCoy Stadium!!

Torii Hunter is human.

2.15.08 Providence Bruins v Portland Pirates - ???

Portland WINS! 4-2

Okay. I still don't understand the Providence Bruins. I mean, I guess I always knew there were people who liked hockey... people who like hockey more than any other sport. But I don't think I've ever seen one, you know?

And yet I go to a Providence Bruins game and there they are, in their hats and jerseys. Some bring cowbells. A few old-timers in their Providence Reds jerseys. Eight thousand plus fans, many of them passionate and involved. You should have seen the old woman next to me last night! She was SCREAMING and tossing peanut shells! FURIOUS with the Bruins' inability to score! At times, she was unintelligible. Man! She must have been from Woonsocket!

One thing I thought was neat: a players' stick got wedged between the plexi-wall windows. It stuck way out over the ice for a few minutes until a ref came and yanked it out. How does that happen?

Bobbleheads were given to the first 1500 fans last night.

PS Sean Curry is my favorite.

don't be afraid to care

Longtime Twins catcher Matthew LeCroy has been signed to a minor league contract by the Oakland A's. I would pay a lot of money (in Euros) to watch him catch Keith Foulke during spring training.

Although he spent most of his career in the Twins' organization, he played for the Nationals in '06. You may recall that he was removed from a game that year because the Astros stole seven bases while he was catching. Nationals manager Frank Robinson broke down in the post-game press conference. LeCroy fully supported the move, saying his daddy would have done the same.

I also found some old batting notes from his time in Rochester. For LeCroy, the notes mention "Yesterday: Danced on field w/Jimmy". What in the world does that mean? The notes also mention his last homer was off Charlie Zink. Wow, was I at that game?

He will be missed in the IL.

He can do it?

Manny Delcarmen might have to step up and be the closer from time to time. Or set it up Okajima-style. John Farrell talked to him and has challenged him with a role of increased importance. Let's hope for a big year from Delcarmen.

The PawSox souvenir shop sells game worn jackets. They're authentically dirty and have been authentically recycled, as evidenced by the Sharpied, crossed-out, and re-Sharpied numbers on the inner tag. I have a serious jones for the Jeff Bailey model, but at $200 I have to wait. The Manny Delcarmen jacket is $300, but is very large (almost...extra-large.)

February is short, yet long.

spring training

People are starting to show up to camp, which is good. It's like a resurrected corpse punching its way through the coffin, through the cold dirt, and you're in the cemetary to fool around with your boyfriend and suddenly an emaciated, bony hand explodes from the grave you're on top of. YEAH! It's a lot like that. YEAH ZOMBIE BASEBALL!

In a related story, baseball players are not looking forward to travelling to Japan. Oh, really, baseball players? Did I hear you lamenting the abbreviated games and practices? Because I seem to recall every single other year that you said "Spring training is great but it lasts too long. You're pretty much ready to go after a couple of weeks."

You think your life is hard? Someone gave me a little glass "Birthstone Bear" figurine. It's a bear holding a heart-shaped representation of my ugly birthstone. Also, the bear has wings. And it's sitting atop a little round mirror. It looks like something you might purchase with Skee-Ball tickets.

I still dig Doug.

Like iron-rich blood sinking to the bottom of a fluid-filled test tube, Doug Mientkiewicz's baseball career is similarly drowning. And so the Pittsburgh Pirates have signed him to a minor league contract. Hey, Doug, good news! The Pirates called! No, you're not going to Pittsburgh. More like Indianapolis.

Also a possible McCoy stadium visitor? Steve Trachsel! Norfolk Tides!

Foulke: Super-dope homeboy back in Oaktown.

Keith Foulke's back on the A's. There are many things I don't understand about all this, but okay, good for him. He's going to be a reliever, just like Alan Embree. I'm sure they'll have lots to catch up on!

I'm going to go buy tickets to an A's game in Boston now. What has two thumbs and loves Keith Foulke?

Hey, Mets fans!

The Mets home opener is Tuesday, April 8th, but maybe you might wanna wait and go on Friday, the 11th. Assuming Santana is your #1, that'll be the kid's first home game.

2.8.08 Providence Bruins v. Hartford Wolf Pack - Pastings

Hartford WINS! 7-5

This would be the best P-Bruins game I've ever been to, in spite of the loss During the first period, the teams beat the shit out of each other and many, many players received penalties. The Bruins were hit pretty hard and Hartford took full advantage by scoring like four goals in the second period.

The Bruins wore Providence Reds jerseys which will be auctioned off on Monday.

Also, Don Orsillo attended this game with the family. At first I thought, wow, he is slumming, but what the hell? He lives in Rhode Island and he's no different than the rest of us. Us Rhody folk. He probably had himself a coffee milk.

In the middle of a bath I call your name....

Oh, Johan!

The Mets? Perfect. Now maybe I don't want to see the Twins in Milwaukee. No Santana, no Torii Hunter, no Mientkiewicz or Pierzinski or Jacque Jones? No Corey Koskie? LaTroy Hawkins? The Twins as I have loved them are no longer.

I guess there's always Restovich and Cuddyer. And Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser. And Rochester...

I'm still going to Milwaukee, but now if I don't get Twins tickets I won't die.

Brewerfans.net is a great website, by the way. A lot of people around here seem to think that no other team has passionate, intelligent fans. Shut up, People Around Here.

Daniel Nava: YOU WILL BE HAPPY

Santa Clara U. grad Daniel Nava. Future goals include playing professional baseball. Coming to a double-A ballpark near you!

The 24-year-old Mr. Nava played for the Golden Baseball League's Chico Outlaws in California. He's a talented switch-hitting outfielder that'll probably play in Portland. What does this mean to me? It means I'll be checking out some Sea Dogs games in Connecticut and New Hampshire. I think this is going to be great. Can't wait to see him in spring training! Isn't he adorable?!

"You have no idea how excited I am," Nava said from his home in Los Altos. "I am so pumped ... all I really asked for was a chance, and now I'm going to do everything I can to take advantage of it."

I guess he's excited, too! YEAH BASEBALL!! Pop off the top and rock with my posse!

Another pitcher? Really?

Jacob Miller, RHP, signed by Boston Red Sox. Except he's really Matt Miller. And he's older than I am.

Here're the new (probably Pawtucket) people so far:

1. LHP Jay Marshall, claimed off A's waivers...wait, he was reclaimed by Oakland. (?)
2. OF Daniel Nava, top ranked independent league player, signed to Red Sox contract.
3. RHP Lee "Lee" Gronkiewicz
4. OF J. Van Every
5. 3B Keith Ginter
6. C Juan Apodaca
7. 2B Joe Thurston
8. SS Tony Granadillo
9. SS Gil Velazquez
10. LHP Jon Switzer
11. LHP Michael Tejera
12. RHP Ben Howard
13. RHP Dan Kolb
14. RHP Dan Miceli
15. RHP Miguel Asencio
16. RHP David Thorne
17. C Steve Torrealba
18. OF Rich Thompson
19. RHP Matt "Jacob" Miller

Wow! We'll have to see where everyone ends up after spring training. The Red Sox should make them all live in the same house and install a confessional and tape their lives.

I'll have to check out Daniel Nava, Mr. Independent. It is wicked, wicked hard to be scouted out of a non-MLB affiliated team.

Still on the PawSox:
1. Zink
2. Bailey
3. Chad Spann
4. Brandon Moss?
5. Kottaras and Breslow?
6. What?

Okay, I am going to stop right there because we are not finished with the off-season. Poor, dumb Brandon Moss... all that work at first base in the Dominican and now we go and sign Millar 2.0 (Casey).

JD Durbin

Last April, the Red Sox claimed former Twins minor leaguer JD Durbin off Diamondbacks waivers. I thought, OK, cool, I know him from the IL. But then Durbin was all, 'Tell my wife I love her very much' and he stepped outside the door.

So what happened? Well, Durbin was on the AAA Rochester Red Wings for a couple of years until the Twins DFA'd him last March. The Diamondbacks claimed him off waivers and he pitched the season opening series... but hey, they wanted Micah Owings to come up from AAA and start and Durbin had done a crappy job so he got DFA'd to open a roster spot.

And then... try and remember this... April in Boston and Mike Timlin's got an injury thing so we might need a reliever. Boston claims JD Durbin. Timlin's all, 'I was only kidding!' So within 24 hrs Durbin's career in Boston is ovah.

The Phillies picked him up and that is where he now resides. I knew everyone was wondering about this.

a football crumb

2002 was like, six years ago.

Things I learned from the PawSox 2002 souvenir program:

1. The murals: The walls of the entry ramps at McCoy Stadium are lined with paintings and photos of guys who played in Pawtucket. The original murals were painted directly on the walls, but were destroyed when the park was renovated in 1998. Fortunately, original artist Tayo Heuser had replicated the murals on 4'x8' boards. The 150-lb boards could not be rehung due to size issues, but were stored for future use.

The artwork was finally returned to the towers after being upgraded, lightweighted, weatherproofed and digitalized. I never realized how iconic they were until now. Iconic and at times, creepy.

2. The PawSox have an unofficial historian: one Mrs. Betty Johnson. Johnson has mad archives and you can check it all out by appointment. She is in Pawtucket's HOF.

3. Who dey? Tonayne Brown, Bry Nelson, Mike Kusiewicz, Jay Yennaco, Mike Drumright.

4. 2002 PawSox now deceased: Dernell Stenson, Josh Hancock, Casey Fossum. Stenson's picture would kill you. He looks very sweet and very, very young. Sad.

5. OMG, remember??: Sunny Kim, Angel Santos, Juan Peña, Andy Hazlett, Butch Henry?

6. RHP Derek Hasselhoff? Yes, they're cousins!

7. In 2001, first baseman Juan Diaz hit a record-setting 491-ft home run. It went out, up and over the house-looking thing in center. Into the parking lot! YES!

8. Youkilis' OBP with Lowell? .512


9. Gulf Coast Red Sox Player of the Year was 19-year-old Manny Delcarmen.

I promised to mention Nelson here. He lent me the program. Thanks, Princess. You left your movie tickets stubs inside, though. And now I know you went to the bargain matinee showing of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'.

It's all about the workplace.

our voices will ring together until the twelfth of never

If they win: I'll have to hear about it for like three weeks.

If they lose: two months.

For that reason only: go, team, go.

casey

I have made almost no progress.

Someone told me about Sean Casey today. Instead of rifling through my mental catalogue of 'One Million Ways Most Baseball Players Are Bad and Will Suck in Boston' and ripping the signing, I said, "Oh my God! I LOVE Sean Casey! I love him! That's great! I hope he plays in Pawtucket! Sean Casey, alright!"

Not that people were like "OMG!!! FIRE THEO!!!"

homeboy

Interview with Jon Van Every. He's got the tools and he's got the talent!

He also looks uncannily like a guy who played on our baseball team a couple of years ago. Chris, congratulations! He was like our best player.