Toeing the Rubber

Loading stuff onto a truck in the freezing cold. Seriously, that's all it is.

This coming Friday is Truck Day.  Still a mystery to a legion of baseball fans, it’s practically a holiday in Boston.  There has been a huge detachment for me from baseball this off-season.  I tried fueling the desire with the usual activities of the off-season:  the New Stars for Young Stars annual event at Jillian’s, the Hot Stove round table at Fenway, the Hot Stove, Cool Music concert at The House of Blues and the Hot Stove party at McCoy Stadium, .  all were lots of fun but  none really gave me that feeling of baseball being right around the corner.

Which isn’t to say I’m not excited about the season approaching.  One of my friends posted this morning on his Facebook profile that there are only 11 days until pitchers and catchers report – and suddenly I started getting that feeling of excitement.  That winter would be over soon and we’d be watching our boys playing the game we all love.  And now I’m desperate for it to get here!

I’m never one who wishes time away and I often chastise others who do so, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the sooner next Friday gets here (and by extension, p&c reporting) the happier I’ll be!  I’ve mentioned to more than one person this week that I had NO plans for next Friday other than to be standing in the cold out by Fenway Park watching them load equipment on to the trucks.  Most people who know me get this but I’ve made a few acquaintances over the last year who aren’t fully aware of my passion.  Or, as one of them said to me, “How stupid do you have to be to stand out in the cold and watch trucks drive away?”.

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Mike Timlin celebrating with Sean Casey in 2008 (Photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission)

It’s tough to keep my interest up when nothing of any real substance is going on in baseball.  I could write an entry about how some Yankees fans have indicated that they now “know” how the Red Sox fans felt when Johnny left Boston for New York .  (They don’t.  Not even a little bit.  But at least they seem to understand that just saying “he’s a hired gun, what did you expect?” doesn’t mean anything when feelings are involved.)  But my heart wouldn’t be in it.  I’m at the point now, with Damon, where I don’t “hate” him or want him anywhere near Boston, he just annoys the hell out of me.  Let him re-sign with the Yanks (doesn’t seem to be happening) or with the Rays for all I care.  Just stop making it out like the best centerfielder in the history of baseball doesn’t have a team right now.

That isn’t to say I’m not still paying attention to former Sox players.  Johnny will always have a place in my heart for being on the 2003 and 2004 teams but what happens to him in or out of baseball no longer holds  my interest.  Not so for most of the other guys from those teams.  Last week, my man Mike Timlin made an appearance on the Boston airwaves to promote a new venture.  Some might know that Mike does the narration for the documentary film “Touching the Game: Alaska” (I haven’t seen the film yet.  I do have it on order, though, and plan on reviewing it and its sister film “Touching the Game:  The Story of the Cape Cod Baseball League” once I have them both).  Mike spoke by telephone with Michael Holley and Lou Merloni last week about  his work on the film and how it piqued his interest in doing “radio and/or play by play”.  It’s too bad that he went out one last time last year with the Rockies to try and eke out a season because, had he been available, it would have been interesting to see how he would have done along side Don Orsillo.  Thankfully this year, with Jerry Remy being back to full health both mentally and physically, we won’t have rotating partners for Donnie O.  Still, it would have been fun to have Mike in the booth for a game or two.

Of interest from the interview:  Mike made it “official” that he is, indeed, retired.  He said he hoped last year he would have been able to do something with the Rockies but it never quite worked out.   What he told Lou Merloni was that he had three things to look at in deciding whether he’d play last year.  His family “suffering” through his playing another  year, his body “hurting”  (which he said it did much of his last year in Boston) and whether it was the right time.  He told Lou that he prayed to God to tell him if it was the right time.  He hit two out of three…God told him it wasn’t the right time and he was done.   He added that he can “look at the door and close it”, in regard to ever playing baseball and that now he doesn’t have the desire to say “Maybe I can try one more time”.   He went on to say that “it’s kind of nice being Dad and relaxing at home”.

It’s ridiculous, I know, but I feel like I have closure with Mike.  Not closure in that I’m not still a fan – hey he’s on my top ten list of my all-time favorite Red Sox players (a list soon to be shared on the blog) – but it’s nice to know that HE’S good with his not playing any more.  I hated the idea of his being forced out of baseball before he thought he was ready.  I give Lou Merloni credit for being so upfront with his question, “Are you done playing the game?”.  Can’t get more straightforward than that…except with Mike’s answer, “Yeah, I am.”

He’ll be in town soon trying to raise money for his next project, (in conjunction with the filmmakers who created the two “Touching the Game” documentaries) which is a show that highlights members of the military or other people who work for the greater good (police officers, teachers, firefighters) and how they make a difference through community service by doing “extraordinary” things.  I wish him luck with that and hope he has success with it.  I’d also not be against seeing him sitting in the studio with Tom Caron a few times this season.  Make it happen, NESN!

A week from this Friday is Truck Day.  I will most definitely be there with bells on.  (You just won’t be able to see them because they will be covered by long johns, thermal socks, scarves and my Red Sox knit cap!)

Photo of Isaias - Courtesy of Project Cupid

On September 5, 2009, Isaias Thomas Valentin, a vibrant and much loved boy, died four days before his 10th birthday from Acute Myeloid Leukemia.  Isaias was the cousin of a friend of mine, Amy Blue.

The loss of Isaias tragically took its toll on all of Amy’s family and Amy felt she needed to do something to not only honor Isaias’ memory but to thank the Dana Farber Cancer Institute for the treatment and support they gave to Isaias and his mother, Jeneen.  So on September 13, 2009, Amy completed her first Jimmy Fund Walk and after that success decided she needed to do something more.  Thus, Project Cupid was born.

Project Cupid is a charity date auction of “Boston’s best Bachelors and Bachelorettes” that is being held on Friday, February 5, from 7pm to 10pm at Red Sky Restaurant and Lounge.  The high bidders on each Bs & Bs, as Amy is calling them, will be treated to a date (with their bachelor or bachelorette) at a local restaurant.   If you aren’t in the market to bid on a date, there will be drawings at the end of the auction with prizes like a basketball autographed by the entire 2009-2010 Boston Celtics (donated by the team), gift certificates to local salons and spas, hotel stays, tickets to local shows and even a Mike Lowell autographed photo.  The event is open to the general public and there is no cover charge but Project Cupid has suggested donations of $7-$10 at the door the evening of the auction.  The expectation is that anywhere from 150-200 people will be attending the event.   If you’re unable to attend the auction, you can still make a donation by contacting Amy Blue.  It’s Amy’s hope that this will become an annual event if not in its current incarnation as something equally entertaining that will support Dana Farber and The Jimmy Fund.

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In 2008, Evan Richman caught me on film (in the center with the red scarves and with KellyJ to my right) at Truck Day for Boston.com

During MLB’s season, my mind is usually spinning with ideas about what to write here.  It takes a little more work for me to get going in the off-season, but Truck Day coming upon us is certainly starting to get me worked up about the 2010 season.

So in an effort to get the writing juices flowing again, I started reading up on a few former players and where they are now – which led me to the official home page of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The moment the page loads the banner greets you with PRIDE.  PASSION.  PITTSBURGH PIRATES. I suppose, when you’re the Pittsburgh Pirates, you can’t really promote anything with “We’re built to win!” or something similar.  All they have to play on is the love the fans have for their team.  (Although it’s much too close to “Pride. Power. Pinstripes.” for my liking.)  Javier Lopez, briefly rumored to be retiring this off-season, has been signed by the Pirates.  So has Brendan Donnelly.  Brandon Moss is still on their roster and they’ve also just picked up one of my favorite ex-Mets, Ryan Church.  Not exactly names that will be bringing the butts into the seats but the beginnings of a fun team to watch nonetheless.  I just dig that they feel like throwing a snappy catchphrase on their website will entice fans.  (I checked to see if the Royals had any kind of rally cry on the front of their home page – nope.)

The Red Sox don’t have a slogan either.  I don’t often visit their website but there was a time when I spent an awful lot of time over there (so much so that I was involved in a campaign to have Tim Wakefield added to their banner.  It worked!  But now their banner is a panoramic view of Fenway Park.  Acceptable.)

The front page story at Red Sox.com is about Jonathan Papelbon being “fine” with the one-year, $9.35 million deal he just finalized with the team.  Nowhere in the article did I see where it said he was just “fine” with it.  He seems pleased, though,  and eager to start the new season.  I received an email yesterday  from a Sox fan wondering if I was going to write about Paps “and defend him like you always do”.  Apparently, this particular reader was upset that I didn’t want Papelbon drawn and quartered after the final game of the 2009 ALDS.  I’m really stunned that there are people who genuinely point to Papelbon as the only reason the Sox didn’t get past 3 games in the playoffs last year.

Blame Papelbon all you want but I’m not buying.  In reality, all he did was spare us the anguish of ANOTHER game and ANOTHER loss.  Paps didn’t lose those first two games, lack of offense did.  So let’s put the past behind us and focus on what could happen in 2010.   I DID find it interesting that Paps didn’t let that game go the way a lot of people thought he did:

Papelbon made it clear that there was no exaggeration to his recent comments in an article with ESPNBoston.com that he plays the video of that fateful ninth inning as motivation during his winter workouts. Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy, who sat in with Tanguay and Zolak during Thursday’s interview, asked Papelbon why he would subject himself to something so painful.

“Man, I’m a different cat, you should know that by now, Dan. That’s just something that motivates me, man,” Papelbon said. “That was something that was very dear to me and something that I prized and cherished a lot was the postseason scoreless run that I went on. Obviously that came to an end this postseason.

“That’s something that look, when I’m in the gym and I’m sitting there saying, ‘God, I’ve got one more set to do,’ or ‘Man, I’m tired’, and I look up and that game is on one of the three TV’s in my gym and I look at that little tape that keeps rewinding and rewinding the whole time I’m in there. It gives me that little [motivation], that little edge that makes me dig down in my bones and pushes me. It does, it pushes me.”

So his failures motivate him. I can get behind that.

This year, Truck Day falls on Friday, February 12th (less than 25 days away!).  The signs are all there that for the third year running I’ll be at Fenway to see the trucks off.  It’s a bit of a silly tradition (and both years I’ve been it’s also a really COLD tradition) but I’m looking forward to it.  Seeing the equipment being loaded up, watching Wally interact with folks, it’s all become part of how I start off the new season and I can’t wait!

(To get a feel for the ‘excitement’ of Truck Day, you can view my photos from last year at my Flickr account.)

Rocco Baldelli - March 2009 (Photo by Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission)

So I’m minding my own business, sleeping actually, and I hear a notification alarm coming from the iPhone. I pick it up and see it’s from someone on Facebook. I read it and this is what I see:

Rocco Baldelli
just came to a mutual agreement with the New York Yankees..now I get to see what the Yankee side of the rivalry is like after witnessing the Boston side in 2009

It’s an odd way to wake up.  My first thought was, “I’m pretty sure I’m not Facebook friends with Rocco Baldelli” and my second thought, when I realized the update was coming from a fan page was, “Why would the person who runs the Rocco Baldelli fan page make up such a stupid lie”?

Also, the profile photo for Rocco’s fan page has been replaced with the logo for the Yankees, and his “affiliation” and “location” have changed to “New York Yankees” and  “Bronx, NY”.  It looks to me like the person who started the fan page is just someone looking to rile people up.  A quick Google search of Rocco’s name and you get a link to Rotoworld who links to this blog entry by Pete Caldera.  Here’s the money quote:

There is some mutual interest here, according to a source, but nothing has advanced yet past that. Given his injury history, and his talent, Baldelli would fall under the High Risk/High Reward category. But his candidacy as a potential left fielder vs. lefty pitching is something to seriously consider.

So “a source” tells one guy in New Jersey (who specifically asked about Baldelli) that there is “some mutual interest” and suddenly Rocco is wearing pinstripes? I never say never, and a Baldelli and MFY marriage isn’t the craziest idea I’ve ever heard thrown around (funny that it hasn’t been touched on by anyone of interest on Twitter yet) but I’d prefer my “official” pages for information actually have the correct information and not just throw crap to the wall to get people to comment on your page.

I’m not buying Rocco to the Yanks until I hear it from a source more reputable than a guy in Jersey who floated the idea and wants credit for it or, especially,  someone more credible than an anonymous person on Facebook.

Quick edit:  I no sooner hit “publish” on this entry and I find this at the LoHud Yankees Blog:

There is a Facebook page attributed to Rocco Baldelli that says Baldelli “just came to a mutual agreement with the New York Yankees.”

“That would be false,” Brian Cashman said.

Such is the world of the Internet.

Cashman acknowledged that the Yankees are talking to several players – ”We’re trying to assess our legitimate choices in the sandbox we’re playing in,” he said — but the team has reached an agreement with none of them.