Saturday, January 18, 2003

The Hunt for Red October

As fitting for a Saturday, let's talk about fashion.

According to the Herald, the Red Sox are making some changes to their uniforms:

Red Sox vice president of public affairs Charles Steinberg confirmed yesterday that the Sox are considering changes to their apparel for the 2003 season … a switch from blue undershirts to red ones - the players refer to these as "sleeves" - though the Sox are also pondering a switch in batting practice jerseys and team jackets from the traditional navy blue to scarlet … (Massarotti)

Bravo!

I've been bitching for a while about too much blue in the Red Sox uniform, especially when compared to other teams like the Angels, who, by their uniforms, look as if they'd have the word "red" in their name rather than the Sox.

Now if only they'd get rid of the surnames on the backs of the away jerseys and change the font on the away jerseys back to the sans serif, my fashion sense would be appeased.

Friday, January 17, 2003

Pity? We Don't Need No Stinking Pity!

I forgot just how much I like Johnny Damon:

"It goes back to 1919. [said Damon]. Steinbrenner is willing to win at all costs. They have deeper pockets, but they fear us and that's why they are making these moves. And the year we win the World Series it's going to get back at all 26 they've won."

Not sure the one will overwrite the 26, but I appreciate the sentiment.

Meanwhile, an unabashed Yankees' fan writes on his blog,

You know, I have to pat myself on the back for all of the very generous and open support of the hated Boston Red Sox fan sites we offer here at OBM. Or, maybe I just feel sorry for them.... Hmmmm.... Red Sox (Perricone).

Pity? Or maybe it's that Boston fans just have the best blogs? Not to cast aspersions toward Yankees fans (who me? never!), but our lot is a pretty literate and creative group. Dealing with defeat, frustration, and seemingly insurmountable odds brings out the best in people.

Speaking of the best blogs, have you nominated sites for the 2003 Bloggies yet?

Thursday, January 16, 2003

Misery Loves Company

I'm trying to stay positive, trying not to fall into a fan slump, but it's not easy.

I'd by lying if I said the Colón to Chicago deal didn't feel like a punch in the gut, especially considering the Yankees' involvement. I know as fans we are not supposed to admit to any interest, however closeted, in what the Yankees do. And heaven forbid if we dare think that the Yankees even considered the Red Sox when making their three way trade. No that would be whining. True dat.

And I know that the Red Sox could have had Colón if they were willing to depart with Shea Hillenbrand and Casey "I couldn't imagine playing anywhere else but Boston" Fossum.

And I stand by that decision Theo Epstein and the Red Sox made.

Still, I'd by lying if I said I felt great this morning.

Yes, Spring is coming, but this morning it was 6 degrees outside and another winter storm warning has been posted. Nothing to do but bundle up and face the weather Nature dishes. It just is. (Doesn't mean I'm going to enjoy it though.)

Wednesday, January 15, 2003

The Millar's Tale

The Globe is alone in reporting that the Red Sox will get Millar:

Setting the stage for one of the shrewdest acquisitions in recent Red Sox lore, general manager Theo Epstein yesterday defied tradition by claiming Kevin Millar off waivers from the Florida Marlins as a prelude to extricating him from his contract with Japan's Chunichi Dragons and signing him to play first base at Fenway Park (Hohler and Edes).

I love the sound of "one of the shrewdest acquisitions, " don't you? I suspect there is more shrewdness to come from Theo.

Meanwhile, the Globe story suggests that "with Millar's addition, the Sox roster virtually would be complete."

I can live with that. No Colón. No Vasquez. No Problema.

This tale is doon, and God save al the rowte.*

On the subject of Colón, man, the Boston Dirt Dogs site had a good gotcha on me.

On their front page is this fantastic photograph of a rather rotund Latino man sitting next to what appears very much to be a stripper (wearing knee high boots and a yellow leather suit of sorts) under the headline "Livin' Large." The implication, of course, is that the guy in the photo is Colón, about whom reports have surfaced that he's put on some pounds to his already heavy frame. According to one MLB scout, "He's gotten so big all over, his eyes are ready to shut."

Looking at the photo, I said to myself, "Christ, Colón's gotten huge! He looks the rapper Fat Joe fer chrissakes."

Of course, upon further review, I realize, the man in the photo is the rapper Fat Joe!

Beautiful. I tip my hat to the Big Dog at Dirt Dogs.

Tuesday, January 14, 2003

Don't Fall Asleep

Well, I'm just pissing for shits and giggles over here, as there really isn't much going on. Oh, same old same old on the trade front with Montreal.

Yawn. Wake me when something actually happens.

Now speaking of getting sleepy, remember how I've mentioned before that this Bambino's blog gets many visits each day from folks searching at Google et al? Well, when things are slow with baseball news, I like to peruse the server logs to see what search terms people are using that result in links pointing here to Bambino's Curse.

Generally, it's the usual suspects: "Curse," "Bambino," "Red Sox logo" etc. -- But every now and then you get a real gem, something that you'd never imagine.

The latest such search term? "Roofie 'get some'"

Yep, if you search on "Roofie 'get some,'" good ol' Bambino's will come up 6th on Google's results. If you're a regular reader you may recall this footnote mention of "roofies" back in November.

So yesterday, the person searching for "Roofie 'get some'" found their way to Bambino's and hung out for 40 seconds. Will he/she ever be back? Did he/she ever get some roofies? Is he/she up to no good, a potential date rapist?

So many questions. And so many odd thoughts, like imagine a noir advertising campaign with the slogan: "Roofie. Get Some." Or even more macabre, "Got Roofie?" with the text across a picture of an attractive young lady, disheveled and passed out on a nasty looking bed. The latter would actually make a good "anti" ad similar to the what the Adbusters group does with their spoof ads or the anti-smoking ads by truth.com with the idea to make people aware of the roofie/date rate problem.

And so it is on a slow baseball news day in January.

Monday, January 13, 2003

Golden Years, Gold Whop Whop Whop

Massarotti surmises:

If you want to spark an interesting debate, ask yourself whether Harrington and Dan Duquette would have traded Hillenbrand and Fossum for Colon.

Ah, the golden years under Harrington and Dan Duquette. How many World Series pennants did the Harrington/Duquette regime win again?

Yep, that erstwhile strategy of over paying for questionable talent all the while depleting completely the minor league farm system sure was a winner. It's difficult to believe another club hasn't seized the opportunity to hire Duquette as GM considering he's currently available and did such a stellar job bringing all those pennants to Boston.

Whop, whop, whop.

In other news, Dave Pinto is spot on with his assessment of Selig's new strategy to make the All Star game mean something: It's a bad idea. Of course it is.