The Triumphant Red Sox Blog

A couple hours ago, I got a WEEI Flash text message reporting Curt Schilling's retirement from baseball. Schilling made the announcement directly on his web site.

Talk about anti-climactic. Honestly, my first thought was, "He wasn't already retired?"

In my mind, this was a foregone conclusion. Schilling certainly wouldn't have agreed to blog on WEEI.com for the next year if he thought there was even the slightest chance he might be playing somewhere else. And I don't know anyone who thought the Red Sox were remotely interested in bringing him back for another year. All that was left was for him to make it official, which he has.

I have enjoyed the ride with him. I laughed at the Ford pickup ad ("Going to break an 86-year-old curse") and the Dunkin' Donuts ad ("Pahk. Pahk the cah.") I cringed at the sight of the bloody socks and got queasy upon hearing a description of the procedure that allowed him to pitch in those two games. I hollered at my television screen when I saw the weight gain. I smiled when he called out Manny. I got misty and thought of my late cousin Joe when he asked for money for ALS research. All in all, I liked him.

Sure, some so-called fans hate him for his politics because, you know, only celebrity Democrats like Theo Epstein and Larry Lucchino are allowed to campaign for their chosen candidates. Tell me you'd rather he had never come here. Tell me you'd give up 2004, the organizational confidence from which helped promulgate 2007 as well. Go ahead and say it. I won't believe you.

Labels: retirement

The good: Shortstop Jed Lowrie is hot in spring training, with (going into today's game) a .439 batting average, .872 slugging average, two home runs, and 10 RBI. He'll be the starting shortstop while Julio Lugo rehabs from arthroscopic knee surgery...and maybe afterward.

The bad: Jason Varitek is hitting .160 up to today (though he had a three-run homer this afternoon). David Ortiz is doing only slightly better at .200.

The unknown: Who is Josh Reddick? He's a 22-year-old left-hitting outfielder who hit .311 last season in time with Single-A Greenville and Lancaster, and AA Portland. This spring, he hit .500 in 13 games.

Labels: spring training

Some of the stories that have caught my eye of late:

• Sporting News Today reports that if pitcher Brad Penny's right shoulder isn't set by opening day, Justin Masterson will start the season as the #5 starter.

• The Herald's Sean McAdam says first baseman Kevin Youkilis will have an MRI in on his left ankle after a few days of Achilles tendon pain. Youk joins teammate and reigning MVP Dustin Pedroia as victims of injuries suffered while playing in the World Baseball Classic.

• For the second time in three years, the Josh Bard era has come to an end. The Sox released the backup catcher today, clearing the way for what might prove to be minor leaguer George Kottaras' big break.

• In case anyone still hasn't heard, shortstop Julio Lugo underwent arthroscopic surgery yesterday to repair a torn meniscus. He'll be out up to a month. And there was much rejoicing. (Actually, I hate to see anyone injured, especially someone like Julio who seems to be a very nice guy, but you know what I'm saying.) Adam Kilgore at the Globe points out that Jed Lowrie's resulting ascension to the starting job means a backup infielder is now needed, with Nick Green, Angel Chavez, Ivan Ochoa, and Gil Velazquez all contenders now that they are under minor league contract with the club.

• Finally, WEEI's Dennis and Callahan had author Jeff Pearlman on their show this morning. Pearlman's new book, The Rocket That Fell to Earth: Roger Clemens and the Rage for Baseball Immortality, is due out next week. It'll be interesting to see what, if anything, the book says about whether or not Clemens used drugs during his tenure with the Red Sox. Pick up a copy at a discount on Amazon. My order is already in.

Labels: injuries, players, transactions

So I joined this Twitter thing last night. Not sure if I'll keep it going, but just in case I do, I decided it would be cool to have my posts here show up there. (Being a Twitter neophyte, I only realized this could be done because I noticed that someone else updated via something called Twitterfeed. I Googled that, and the rest is history.)

If you're on Twitter and would like to follow me, my user name is >kellyjsox. Be aware, however, that my tweets won't be just about baseball. In fact, most of them probably won't be about baseball. If you're cool with that, I'd love to have you on board.

Labels: admin/tech stuff