Here we are, one day after Truck Day...Spring Training right around the corner. Baseball is back and we should all be celebrating but now we have to deal with all the steroids talk thanks to A-Rod*. When it becomes one of the top stories on the national news when Congress is debating a trillion dollar bill you know that it is a bad PR day for MLB.
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(Dave's dreaming again dep't.)
A-Rod* comes to bat.
Announcer: "Playing 3rd base and batting 4th for the Yankees, Asterisk Rodriguez."
Thanks and a tap of the keyboard to WCBias.com for this photo they spotted last year in San Luis Osbispo, CA. They duly noted that "You can't spell anabolic steroids without A-Rod."
The sticker isn't straight, but then again, is A-Rod?
Read more...I wonder why A-Rod* defended Bonds* so much...hmm what could be his reasoning?
Thanks to Wiley Miller and his 'Non Sequitur' comic strip for this nugget:
Alex Rodriguez* tested positive for steroids in 2003 according to four sources for Sports Illustrated. NO! How could it be??? I am totally shocked!!! Another player doing roids...and A-Rod* of all people. If you did not think A-rod* was an A-hole before this than you have been hiding under a rock but this just hurts the game even more as records become more and more useless from this generation. From SI.com:
When approached by an SI reporter on Thursday at a gym in Miami, Rodriguez declined to discuss his 2003 test results. "You'll have to talk to the union," said Rodriguez, the Yankees' third baseman since his trade to New York in February 2004. When asked if there was an explanation for his positive test, he said, "I'm not saying anything."
This may be the last season that Johnny Pesky works for the Red Sox. He spoke with reporters outside of Fenway today as the Grand Marshall of Truck Day:
Johnny Pesky will give the "Start Your Engine" command when the truck is loaded and ready to begin the 1467 mile trip from Fenway to Fort Myers. If you are going to the ceremony take some pictures and email them and I will post them on the site. Enjoy the official start of spring.
I understand the greatness that is Truck Day but it is now starting to morph into Truck Week. Each year Truck Day grows a little bigger, more fanfare, more show. Truck Day symbolizes the light at the end of the tunnel of a long New England winter and the hope that you will soon be opening a cold one at 7:30 pm (4:30 Pacific...we like to start drinking earlier) and listen to the RemDawg announce the starting lineups. What began as a nice ceremony by dedicated fans is turning into a marketing ploy by the front office. Look at this from Extra Bases:
The 18-wheeler will begin its 1,480-mile journey to Ft. Myers by departing from Gate D on Yawkey Way at 1 p.m. -- and it will be led in a procession by a flat-bed truck carrying Wally the Green Monster, Fenway Ambassadors, and official Citizens of Red Sox Nation.In a new development this year, a box of e-mails containing well-wishes from fans in Red Sox Nation will also be loaded on the equipment truck by official Citizens of Red Sox Nation. It is intended to bring the Red Sox good luck for the 2009 season.
Emails and official citizens of Red Sox Nation???? Really, do we need this? Have the truck pull out of the gate, let the fans who show up take a few pictures, have the driver give some high 5's and move on. How long before they start selling tickets to Truck Day? The event is in danger of Jumping the Shark if the front office over-manages it. Let it be an organic event and live on as a great tradition, please don't kill Truck Day by making it into Truck Week.
Watch Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino discuss the signing of Jason Varitek, the Teixeira negotiations, Pedroia and Youk's deals, and the current state of the team:
Mark Kotsay had back surgery during the offseason and will now miss at least the month of April. The Red Sox have plenty of options in the outfield if an injury should come to one of the starters but are less deep at first base. Wilkerson could be the backup guy now that he has joined the club if the team needs to fill a gap at one of the corners.
Read more...Here's a quick look at what's being discussed this Wednesday in Red Sox Nation:
The Bottom Line looks at the impact of playing in the World Baseball Classic.
Rob Bradford wonders if the Sox have a long term deal on the horizon for Jason Bay.
Curt Schilling discusses his use of social networking...Red Sox Monster calls him out.
Sox & Dawgs sheds some light onto a controversy brewing at the new training facility in Fort Myers.
Jon Lester has arrived in Fort Myers a week before the equipment truck to get ready for the upcoming season. Watch below as he talks about arriving early, having Tek back behind the plate, and his outlook on the season:
Roger* may be going down hard in the near future now that the tests have come back positive on a needle linking him to steroids. From the Washington Post:
The DNA results, which are preliminary and subject to verification tests, could prove critical if prosecutors seek an indictment of Clemens on charges that he lied about the use of steroids, according to the sources.Read more...
The Red Sox continued to add depth to their team by signing Brad Wilkerson to a minor league deal with some incentives if he makes the bigs. So now if any of the starters get hurt the team has the following players with big league experience able to fill in: Kotsay, Baldelli, Van Every, and Wilkerson.
Now that the Super Bowl is safely behind us it is time to get down to business. If you still need some more football news before Spring Training, you can read about Patriots QB Matt Cassel getting peed on at a Super Bowl party.
While the rest of the rotation gets ready in Ft. Myers Dice-K will be training with the Japanese National team. The Red Sox are taking some precautions according to Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell. From the Herald:
“I know a lot of national pride will be at stake in this setting and we want to respect any individual’s desire to pitch for his country...We have to do what’s consistent with our approach to getting a pitcher ready for the start of our season and mesh that with their approach....Technically speaking, do we have jurisdiction over that? No, but we can make our preferences known....He’s had two years with us now, he’s lived with the challenges of adapting to our approach and he’s more understanding of it. For him to have spring training over there rather than in Fort Myers under our watch, are the mega-bullpen sessions more likely to take place than otherwise?"
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