I know, I haven’t blogged about the Red Sox for a while, but I think this is a great occasion to do so! Clay Buchholz just became the first rookie in Red Sox history to throw a no-hitter! This was just his second game in the major leagues, and he is only 22 years old. Also, he is just the third pitcher in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in his first or second game. It was great to see the whole team mob him at the end of the game. He seems very modest – he just pumped his fist once when he struck out the last batter, instead of jumping up and down or bragging. Congratulations to Clay; he really deserves it!
Congrats to Curt Schilling, who just won the 200th game of his career! The Red Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6 to 4 at Fenway Park. Schilling pitched seven innings and allowed four runs and eight hits. He is the 104th pitcher in Major League Baseball to win 200 games. Incidentally, Curt’s son, Gehrig, celebrated his 11th birthday today. The Schilling family and all of Red Sox natoin certainly have a lot to celebrate!
What a big day it’s been in the news! I have neglected to update my blog for over a week, and today’s events especially merit an update.
First of all, the Red Sox won their home opener 5 to 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Although I miss Arroyo, Damon, Bellhorn, Millar, Mueller, and the rest, I must admit the team seems great, especially Papelbon and Schilling! With today’s win the Sox have improved their record to 6 out of 7.
In (sort of) more serious news, shoe bomber Richard Reid will be testifying in the penalty phase of Zacharias Moussaoui’s trial. I don’t know if he’ll be testifying for or against Moussaoui, but I’m guessing against. Wouldn’t it be funny if he testified in Moussaoui’s favor about how good a friend and fellow terrorist Moussaoui was?
Another monumental event of today was Iran’s announcement that it has produced uranium of high enough quality to make nuclear weapons. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that he will only use the uranium for peaceful means, but I don’t think I believe him!
Finally, I realize that I failed to comment on last week’s “American Idol” results. I was not extremely disappointed with Mandisa’s ouster. I didn’t consider her one of the best or one of the worst, but my respect for her increased when I learned that, being a woman of strong religious convictions, she would be unwilling to perform at any event that benefited gay rights. I just finished watching tonight’s “Idol,” and I think I liked Kellie’s performance the best. However, Bucky, Ace, and Taylor were close behind.
Right after Bronson Arroyo’s sad departure from the Red Sox, New England lost another illustrious sports hero: Patriots kicker Adam Vinateri. A clutch player who was largely responsible for at least one of the Patriots’ Super Bowl wins, Vinateri will be sorely missed.
Another individual who I will miss is Kevin Covais of “American Idol”! Kevin, who was unjustly voted off this week, had a unique persona. His appearance, which Ryan Seacrest said resembles that of Chicken Little, is far from typical for a pop star, but his voice is surprisingly good. In my opinion, Kevin’s talent is above the average of this year’s top 11. Now that he’s been voted out, my favorite contestant is Bucky. Needless to say, I was horrified that Bucky was in the bottom two. In addition to Bucky, I also like Chris, Taylor, and Kellie.
To my great disappointment, the Red Sox have traded glorious pitcher Bronson Arroyo to the Cincinnati Reds for outfielder Wily Mo Pena. Although I’ve heard Pena has a lot of promise, I’m not extremely impressed with his batting average. No matter how good of a player Pena proves himself to be, I highly doubt his personality will ever match Arroyo’s. Bronson was one of the most charismatic members of the Red Sox. In addition to being a talented (albeit somewhat inconsistent) pitcher, he was also an excellent musician. With his blond cornrows, Bronson was a unique personality who brought individuality to his team. I will always remember Bronson’s role in the 2004 ALCS, during which A-Rod rudely slapped the ball out of his glove and was then punched in the face by Varitek. Another of my favorite memories was a particularly nasty game between the Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Bronson hit (probably intentionally) one of the Devil Rays in order to avenge David Ortiz, who had nearly been hit on the head by an intentionally lobbed ball from the Devil Rays’s pitcher.
I believe professional baseball should be reformed. Players should be forced to stay on the same time for their entire baseball career. The constant trading and free-agency are destroying players’ and fans’ sense of loyalty to their teams. It is becoming increasingly difficult to feel enthusiastic about a team that is constantly changing. The Red Sox had less charisma in 2005 than they did in 2004, and it seems they will have even less charisma in 2006. Without Johnny Damon, Mark Bellhorn, or Bronson Arroyo, the team simply does not have the glory it did in the past.
Farewell, Bronson. You will be sorely missed.
Coco Crisp is finally coming to the Red Sox. Although I still miss Johnny Damon, Coco will be a great replacement in center field. He’s a good player (he had a .300 batting average last season) and he has a cool name. Congratulations on the trade, Red Sox!
After all the fuss of the past few months, Theo Epstein will be returning as the Red Sox general manager! Theo has done an excellent job as GM so far, and I’m glad that he’ll be keeping the job. Another bit of good news is that Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito has been approved by the Senate Judicial Committee and is likely to be confirmed by the full Senate. Although I would have preferred Harriet Miers, who is an unmarried, conservative woman, I think Alito will make a decent Supreme Court justice.
