Results tagged ‘ Being a fan ’
For a Red Sox fan…
…. his face looks rather horrifies. There must be dozens of pictures of his face all over the Internet now. lol.
This is more like it:
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STATS | | | SCHEDULE | | | NEWS | | | ROSTER | | | BALLPARK | | | FAN FORUM | | | COMMUNITY | | | FANTASY |  |
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LESTER THROWS NO-HITTER AT FENWAY
There was never a question about Jon Lester’s poise or his promising arsenal of pitches. It’s just that he never put it all together quite like Monday night, when he thrilled the Fenway Park faithful — not to mention his teammates — by throwing a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals.
The Boston lefty was magnificent, walking just two batters while leading the Red Sox to a 7-0 victory over the Royals.
Instead of tiring, Lester only got stronger as the night wore on. Over the final five innings, it seemed the Royals were struggling just to make solid contact.
Not only was this Lester’s first no-hitter, but it was also his first complete game.
And it was the second no-hitter in as many seasons for the Sox. Clay Buchholz, a product of the Red Sox’s farm system just like Lester, did the honors last Sept. 1 against the Orioles.
The Red Sox have had four no-hitters in the 21st century. Hideo Nomo threw one at Baltimore in 2001 and Derek Lowe no-hit the Tampa Bay Rays in ’02. Of those four no-hitters, only Nomo’s took place away from Fenway Park.
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Also, been selling my furniture off craigslist and got a buyer tonight. He saw my Red Sox hat thrown aside on a chair and inquired about the game. I responded with a casual “yes, we won, 7-0″ then realised he still held his head in a slant as if waiting for more. I added “and it was a no-hitter” and was rewarded a nod and my $30 for the purchase.
Try this exercise
I love people watching. I’m the person who’s content standing in the dark corner of a room during a party and watching people, how they interact, with whom they interact, their mannerisms, their body language, and their communication.
So, if you’re a people observer, try this for kicks. Tune into the local baseball team’s radio station after a loss. Note: it’s easier to be objective and amused when it’s not your team, so try it when you’re travelling to a different city.
I’ve been tuning into the the local National’s broadcast station lately. The team is on a pretty hot streak. They’ve won the series against both the Cubs and the Mets. No small feat for the team ranking dead bottom.
Two observations.
First, although they ended up winning the series, the Nats lost badly to the Cubs on Saturday, thanks primarily to pitcher Matt Chico, who had be the assumed ace after last year’s performance but has so far flailed this year. For a team that’s been in town for only a couple of months, they’ve already gained some passionate fans who ran both Chico and Acta over the coals. I was a proponent for bringing the team to DC but my loyalties to the Red Sox runs deep. I was surprised how some locals have already adopted the Nats as the home team. Boy, those fans weren’t any nice than Red Sox fans are after a bad loss!
- send Chico down to the minors
- why is Acta coddling him?
- the batting coaching is terrible… they swing at everything
- velocity? What velocity. the radar guns are wrong!
It’s like Monday morning armchair quarterbacking for baseball!
Second, the broadcasters aren’t so gentle on the team either. And it comes out in the choice of words, even during the regular broadcast. It goes to show how teams with established loyalties have an advantage with sympathtic broadcasters. Some actual quotes:
- The Nationals have been extremely poor in pick-off defense
- They are fumbling with the ball all the time
- … little to no command of the pitching…
- May not be a routine catch but definitely should have been an error
- … lucky he wasn’t charged an error…
- I don’t know what he was thinking at all
Damn. From your own dedicated broadcasters? Brutal.
A breed within a breed
Y’all thought we true Red Sox fans are a rabid crazy lot.
Would it scare you to hear there’s a breed within this breed?
I admit.. I don’t find the need to go that far personally. I’ll settle with the blogging. Red war paint? Nah, the sun an’ me makes the combo naturally enough. Although I would like to get seats amongst them on the Green Monster for just one game, just to get the experience.
Beckett scratched
… and Pedroia volunteered to be secondary catcher. I almost want to see that.
In the meantime, I’m wondering how bad shape Beckett is in terms of health. It hasn’t been a good start for him this season.
Another aside: On my drive back north yesterday, I stopped by NYC to have dinner with a high school classmate and his wife. I miraculously found street parking in the Village, ignored a brief thought about a possible break in with my car bulging at the seams with personal belongings for my move. But I circled and backtracked my steps back to my car… just to take the Red Sox magnet of the side of my car in hide it in the trunk to avoid attracting any attention. Just. In. Case.
Holy crap!
How does one explain the exclamation and the wince one experiences when one comes home in the wee hours of the morn after a long and late workday, logs online only to see a final score of 15-9, Yankees?
le sigh *siiiiigh*
Ladies and Gents,
May I present to you, my first official baseball sore loser sulk of the year. One of many to come, I’m sure.
C’mon, ESPN
So, yesterday was an exceedingly excellent day for the Sox:
- Dice-K pitched phenomenally, taking in a win
- Youkilis ties his error-less streak record, meaning the odds are he’s going to set the new record if he continues just one more game
- Beckett is slated to pitch on Sunday, finally
All this aside, I couldn’t find a single game featured on tv last night. It didn’t even have to be the Red Sox. Any team would do. Baseball is baseball and I’m still a baseball fan. Argh. And I forgot to pack my XM radio to tune in. After being able to watch a couple of games earlier this week, I’m beginning to get used to the idea of watching baseball on tv. I don’t know how I managed last year- listening to XM and watching the mlb website with those virtual recaps of each pitch. Word, I must have been nuts.
More good news
I’ll admit it. I am an unabashedly devoted fan of Beckett. Heck, if someone told me to carry a sign pouring out some of those adulations, I just may do it. That big of a fan, yes.
So I am picking every little bt of news about his health and recovery. Because I want to see him pitch. I want him to resume his well-deserved and well-earned position as the Boston Red Sox ace.
At the same time, as a coach, I can appreciate the need to heal properly. So I’m not clamouring for him to hurry the heck back but I am eager to take in any bit of good news.
Man, if only you knew
Dear Red Sox players,
Do you know what extents we go to show you our dedication?
One part of me says, sure, how can you not? You see Fenway completely packed everytime you go out to the field. You see stadiums you visit completely blanketed with a sea of red when you’re on the road. If you started and stayed with the Sox, you probably never experienced or forgot how empty some of those stadiums get for their own home teams (Nationals, Orioles, anyone?). The heckling, hooting, yelling, screaming… you are probably used to it by now. It’s not a matter of “tuning it out.” It’s simply a matter of assuming it’s always there. You get fans clamouring for signatures. You see how your team has one of the best paid rosters in the league. So, yeah, you’ve got to know how intense the fans are, right?
But do you really know and appreciate? Do you sense or actually witness the lengths your fans go through?
How about those guys in Japan. Do you have any idea how much airfare there costs? You probably had an aircraft with quite a number of seats that are normally reserved for the first and business class cabins with almost flat if not completely flat declining backs. How about sticking yourself in an economy seat for 13+ hours straight, most likely wedged between two people who are overflowing over their own seats? You are big guys, averaging well over 6 feet. Your arms and limbs won’t fit!
How about staying in Tokyo? One of the most expensive cities to visit in the world. Compound that by the shrinking value of US currency. Then, again, when your W2 shows numbers in the millions, and your charity events cost thousands a piece, can you appreciate how the regular folks in a country where the average household income is less than $50,000 take the pain in the wallet to follow you halfway across the globe? In a country where the majority of the citizens don’t even own passports.
So, guys, how much do you appreciate your fans? Really really appreciate us?
I’m not implying you don’t. I really appreciate how plugged into our community some of you are. It really added to the sense that you are the “home” team for the locals. It’s a two-way street and some of you have done a phenomenal job.
But what I’m saying is you are lucky. You are some very very lucky guys. You play ball for a living. Some of you have spouses who are raising your kids almost as a single parent for the season. You have a whole demographic cheering for you everywhere you go even outside the country.
So we fans deserve a right to complain, criticise, cheer or jeer, second-guess, and behave crazy. It’s our money that fuels your team’s success. We pay a bloody forture for Fenway tickets. If we can get any. We give so much to demonstrate how much we love the team. We loose sleep to watch you. We adjust our lifestyle to incorporate you in our routine. Many of your members come and go but for the most part we fans are here to stay for life. We’re not getting paid or rewarded in any way. Other than the occaisional satisfaction of cheering for a win.
So, thank your lucky stars for your incredible talet and amazing luck. And the next time someone ask for an autograph, adult or child, grin, honour the request, and thank him or her for the support. Because other than playing some good baseball, it’s really not too much to give.
A fan.
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