I just saw this article and picture online. I am COMPLETELY and UTTERLY disturbed. I am not a huge Sammy Sosa fan but my goodness. This is just sad.

Obviously, I have no idea what it feels like to be Sammy Sosa. Only he knows why he felt the need to do this to himself. Unbelieveable.

"Only" 175 days until opening day at Fenway Park on April 5, 2010 against the New York Yankees. We have some work to do between now and then.

Congrats to FV Tom and his LA Angels of Anaheim. He sent me a message on Facebook and said: My guys finally beat your guys.

They sure did - FINALLY. They didn't just sit back and wait for the Red Sox to fold. They went out there and snatched it right out from under us. That's aggressive play and that is how you advance in the post season.

I won't even get into the questions of next season but the biggest ones on my mind are:

1. Big Papi (is he good enough?)

2. Jonathan Papelbon (is he over-rated?)

3. Who will be our day in and day out catcher (Varitek? Martinez? Someone else?)

4. What about right field (is JD Drew worth his salary? Baldelli is weak. Can we trade for Markakis?)

5. Starting pitching (always a question for everyone on every team)

6. Where will our 2010 Red Sox Road Trip take us?

All for now.

This is how I feel this morning after staying up 'til the wee hours to watch my Red Sox fumble and bumble their way to a shutout in Game 1 against the Angels.

Sorry for the blurriness. I took this picture with my iPhone this morning as I was coming downstairs for my first cup of coffee. This is our dog Molly. She stayed up with me last night to watch the game. Can you tell?

That look on her face says it all. She's worn out and disgusted. Me, too.

On a more positive note, I still have all my fingernails. No nailbiting last night because the game wasn't even CLOSE.

The name of this blog is "Red Sox Faithful" therefore, I must keep the faith. I have faith that we'll make some good trades in the offseason and have a much better 2010.

Don't laugh. That is my hand. Why am I showing you this picture? Because it has taken me a good 4 weeks of not biting my nails to get them to this point. I am not a manicure kinda gal, and I'm not into fake nails. I'm happy with short and neat like in this picture.

I wanted to take this picture so I could remember what my nails used to look like because I know what's in store for me:

Tonight is the beginning of the ALDS between the Red Sox and Angels. I know nailbiting is a disgusting habit. I can go for weeks and months without biting, but I am not so successful in postseason.

I have no predictions to make. All I know is the teams I am rooting for in the other series have all lost (specifically the Twins and Cards). And while lots of folks tend to pooh-pooh the first game as being "nothing," I disagree.

According to this article on MLB.com, winning the first game is monumental in the NL. It's not so significant in the AL, but I would gladly take a win over a loss any day especially in LA. I am sure Jane feels the same way. Good win last night, She-Fan. Your pep talk worked!

And so it begins. Maybe I should dig out some mittens or gloves now... just in case.

I will keep this short and sweet...

First - I am really glad that I am neither a Tigers fan nor a Twins fan (esp. a Tigers fan). I know how their fans feel (been there, done that - way too many times!). The game last night was excruciating. I haven't used that word since the Yankees and Red Sox went head to head in a 15 inning pitchers' duel back on August 7.

Second - I have ALWAYS been an Orlando Cabrera fan. Loved him at shortstop for the Red Sox back in 2004 when everyone freaked out about trading Nomar. I have missed him ever since - although I am extremely happy with Alex Gonzalez at shortstop for us.

O.C. is tough and comes through with great clutch hits like his 2 run HR for the Twins last night. He said last night's game was the best game he's ever experienced. That says a lot because he was there in 2004 for the big series against the Yankees. I have a hard time rooting against the guy.

Next up... Red Sox vs. LA Angels - again. *fingers are crossed*

Today marks the end of the regular season for 2009. It's hard to believe another year of spring training camps, opening days, early summer slumps, mid-season trades and late summer brawls has come and gone. I haven't been the best at keeping my blog up to date or watching all the Red Sox games. Life has a funny way of interrupting regularly scheduled programming.

One recent interruption was my trip here:

This is the beautiful Bavaro Beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I was on the beach during the series between the Red Sox and Yankees. Obviously, I didn't miss much, but it was surprisingly easy to keep up with baseball while on vacation.

You see, the Dominican people are CRAZY about beisbol. I don't speak very much Spanish, but I was amazed at how well I could converse with the locals about my favorite pasttime. We talked about all the Dominican players especially Manny Ramirez (they LOVE Manny down there), David Ortiz, Albert Pujols and Pedro Martinez. The word "loco" was used several times. I will let you guess which players it was used to describe.

I even ran into a few diehard Red Sox fans wearing their hats on the beach including a couple from Springfield, MA. The friends I was traveling with were from Columbus, Ohio -- not a Sox fan in the group. They kept laughing at me and rolling their eyes for talking baseball with anyone who could speak a decent mix of English and Spanish or was willing to listen.

I even watched the game on Saturday afternoon on FOX Sports en Espanol. That was interesting. I knew Jon Lester had been hit on Friday night. I didn't know how seriously he was hurt. When the Fox crew interviewed John Farrell, they dubbed it in Spanish. I was able to hear a little bit of Farrell's comments in English and heard him say the x-rays were negative. Talk about a sigh of relief!

So I'm back from the Dominican Republic and here we are in October. Some call it "Soxtober." It's time to get pumped up for the postseason. Instead, I feel more like this:

Here's why:

- Mike Lowell is definitely hurt and getting a cortisone shot in his hip. Not good.

- Tim Wakefield still can't hobble his way on and off the mound. He's scratched for the ALDS. Who knows when he'll be able to pitch again.

- Clay Buchholz is giving up hits left and right. He needs to quit dating his Penthouse Pets and focus on his pitching. At least until after the postseason (please).

- Josh Beckett has back spasms. Great. Supposedly he's feeling better, but I am highly doubtful.

- I'm not sure what to think about Manny del Carmen and Daniel Bard. ay yi yi.

- Jason Varitek's bat is ice cold.

- J.D. Drew's bat isn't that much hotter although I saw the two home runs today. He is streaky. I hope he stays on the hot streak for a just a few more weeks.

I should be feeling like this:

Why?

We made the postseason, baby! That's why!

(Even though we kind of backed into it...)

And:

- Dice-K is back and pitching well.

- Victor Martinez is supernova hot and getting some timely hits (that's an understatement).

- Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia are also supernova hot at the plate.

- David Ortiz is hitting .306 over the last 30 days. Perfecto!

- Billy Wagner is a force to be reckoned with. He has a 1.72 ERA. Hello!

- Jed Lowrie is BACK. Loved that grand slam today - his first ever in the big leagues!

- Alex Gonzalez is doing a great job at short stop. We acquired him for his defensive skills but the man has managed to hit an impressive .284 since joining the Red Sox in August.

It ain't over 'til it's over. Oops. I should not be quoting a New York Yankee at a time like this. So let me re-phrase that.

It ain't over 'til the Fat Lady sings.

It's good to be back.

Before I get started with tonight's post, let me first say "Thank You" for your comments about my father-in-law's passing. Your kind words are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OK - so the livin' may not exactly be easy but at least we're winning games.

I heard an announcer on NESN say the "magic number for the Red Sox is 16." SIXTEEN? Are you kidding me? I didn't think there were 16 games left in the season, so I pulled up the schedule and counted the games left to be played. 19 games. That's it. Yikes. To Jane's point, whatever will we do when baseball season is over? I may have to take up knitting. Or real writing. ha ha!

So Dice-K returned to Fenway tonight, and he did not disappoint. 6 1/3 shut out innings with only 3 hits and 3 walks allowed plus 5 punchouts (as Eck used to say).  Welcome back, Daisuke-san! I have to admit I was biting my nails when Francona pulled him in the top of the 7th to bring in Ram-Ram.

I think pulling Dice-K was the right thing to do but Ram-Ram? Ay yi yi. That guy is completely unpredictable. Luckily, it turned out OK. I have no nails left though.

Scioscia left John Lackey in WAY too long. Just my honest opinion, but hey -- not my problem!

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED seeing David Ortiz hit his 270th career home run to straight away centerfield tonight. He set a new MLB record for the most home runs by a designated hitter. I would love to see Big Papi hit 30 home runs this year. I believe he's at 24 for the season so 30 is definitely possible.

And this sign - fantastic!

I remember at the beginning of the season when Big Papi was in a terrible slump. I don't think "slump" even begins to describe it. He was in a chasm. Anyway... there was a lot of talk about getting rid of Big Papi or benching him or trading him at mid season, blah, blah, blah. I felt like we were talking about putting down Ol' Yeller. Horrible! So I am really happy to see David back in fine form.

By the way, I am going to the Dominican Republic (a.k.a. "The D.R.") next week for five days. I may need to see if I can find some authentic Big Papi souvenirs down there. Maybe a bobblehead?

My father-in-law passed away last week. He was 88 years old. He was a decorated World War II veteran who flew 25 bombing missions over Germany as a navigator in the B-17 Flying Fortress.

He was also a lifelong Pittsburgh Pirates fan but started following the Red Sox in the last few years of his life. He knew I loved the Red Sox, and we would talk baseball on many occasions. His favorite players were Jason Bay (former Pirate) and David Ortiz.

I thought I would take this opportunity to share a few tidbits that I learned from him over the past 20-plus years:

My father-in-law used to work for Union Switch and Signal in Pittsburgh back in 1960. He told me the story of how he was at work at the Switch when Bill Mazeroski hit the walk off home run in Game 7 of the World Series championship.

Back then, the Pirates played at Forbes Field which was a few miles from his office building in Pittsburgh. He said that all of a sudden the building shook and everyone in the office could hear the giant roar coming from Forbes Field. A few people had the radio tuned to the game and knew the Pirates had just won the series.

I have watched some tense playoff games with the Red Sox. I cannot imagine watching a Game 7 being won with a walkoff homerun. That must have been absolutely exhilarating (if you were a Pirates fan, of course)!

Another story: My father-in-law took my husband to see the Pirates play the Orioles in Game 4 of the 1971 World Series. The interesting thing about this game was that it was the first World Series game played at night. My husband still has his ticket stub.

Both my father-in-law and my husband are devoted Roberto Clemente fans. Clemente hit safely in all seven games of the 1960 World Series and all seven games of the 1971 World Series. He was the first Latino player to earn the World Series MVP trophy. They say there has never been a better all around baseball athlete than Clemente.

During his 88 years, my father-in-law saw Babe Ruth play baseball when the Yankees came to play the Cleveland Indians. I am not sure of the date and neither was my FIL. But he remembered going to the game and seeing The Babe in person.

My father-in-law was also a traveling salesman for many years. He would often attend baseball games in whatever city he happened to be in that week. His travel schedule gave him the opportunity to see Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Warren Spahn.

My father-in-law's life was well-lived and baseball was just a part of it. He will be greatly missed.

So the Red Sox are in St. Pete for a three game series against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Oh joy... There's nothing like the sound of cowbells from inside the "The Garbage Can."

How's this for a lookalike?

To say this series against Tampa is "important" is an understatement. We need to take at least 2 out of 3 in Tampa. Getting swept is not an option. I'm feeling pretty good about the Red Sox right now. They are on a roll having won 10 of their last 13 games.

Which Josh Will It Be?

I like the pitching matchups for this series. I think tomorrow night is the crucial game with Josh Beckett going against Matt Garza. It all depends on which Josh Beckett shows up - the Josh of "May-June-July" or the Josh of "August." Let's hope the Josh of "September" is like this guy:

Matt Garza is T-O-U-G-H. I wish he pitched for us. I'm just sayin'.

As far as hitting is concerned, I have to say I think we need to sit Varitek down. He is almost an automatic out these days. We need Martinez's bat in the lineup. We also need Youk and Lowell so that means Youk at first and Lowell at third. Big Papi is on a tear so I would leave him at DH.

Of course, that all depends on if we are facing a left-handed pitcher in which case I would sit Papi, put Youk at third, Kotchman at first and keep Martinez behind the plate. Lowell can DH.

What I really want to see is J.D. Drew get SMOKIN' HOT in September. He can really be the tipping point for us.

It's good to have so many different options.

As far as Billy Wagner goes... the man wants a World Series ring. Great. I hate to see guys who want to play in Boston just for the chance of winning a World Series ring. Talk about prima donnas. That's not what the Red Sox are all about. We have always been a team of underdogs and idiots.

But I do hope Mr. Wagner is successful!

It's been a long time since we have seen Big Papi hit the walkoff home run and get mobbed at the plate. It's so great to see him hitting again and winning games for us in the bottom of the ninth. I have missed this smile:

Other observations from last night's game:

Tim Wakefield also came back in fine form last night. I had my fingers crossed that he would have a good first outing. Thankfully, the baseball gods answered my prayers.

And how about Victor Martinez behind the plate last night? He did a FANTASTIC job catching Wake's knuckleball. He needs a little work on his throw to 2nd base but hey -- I am not complaining.

And what about Alex Gonzalez? We have nicknamed him "Gonzo the Great." I am so relieved to finally have a shortstop with fantastic defensive skills AND a solid bat. Wow. He is really impressive. Why did we ever get rid of him in the first place? Geez. Orlando Cabrera and Alex Gonzalez -- two shortstops we never should have let go. Oh well. That is ancient history.

In other news...

So Brad Penny is gone. Oh well. He was okay at the beginning of the season. He had a couple of decent outings. He was no where as bad as John Smoltz or Eric Gagne. Now it's time for me to read up on Billy Wagner...