Last January, Robert B. Parker died.
I posted about it in this blog. I had read every single Spenser mystery, every Jesse Stone mystery, all the Sunny Randalls, and a few books by Parker that starred none of the aforementioned. I’d read Spenser books every summer since 1981.

But wait!
This summer a posthumous Jesse Stone book was released, which I read by the pool on the Cape. 2010 was a very nice summer and that helped.

Then I checked Amazon.
Okay, my wife did. Turns out that there was one more Spenser book to be released in October. I got it, and tried my best to read it slowly. Parker featured very short chapters, so it was easy to tell yourself, “I’ll read just one more, then go to sleep” and wind up reading eight or nine more.

But this was really it, and I wanted to savor it.
Painted Ladies, the final Spenser book, featured lots of typical Spenser stuff, which is a good thing. It had too much drooling about how fabulous Susan is, but almost every Spenser book did. What surprised me a little is that only a few of the other regulars made an appearance.

State Police Homicide Commander Healy was there, as were his Boston cop friends Frank Belson and Martin Quirk. Rita Fiore, a lawyer with whom had a brief fling about 2o books ago and pops in with legal advice and flirty talk in a number of the books – including some of the Jesse Stones – has a cameo. He introduced a new Boston Police detective, Kate Quagliossi. A character with lots of potential that we’ll no doubt never see.

Completely missing:
Hawk (that may be a first) , Henry Cimoli at Harbor Health Club, his bad guy posse members Vinny Morris the Shooter, Chollo, and Tedy Sapp. Boston drug lord Tony Marcus and his posse of Ty Bop and Junior. It was just Spenser doing it himself.

But wait…Spenser’s not completely dead yet.
(A nod to Monty Python’s “Holy Grail” for that line.) I just found out that there’s still one more Spenser novel yet to be published. The title is Sixkill and the expected release date is May 3, 2011. I’ve already pre-ordered it.

It was October 3rd, 1951 at the Polo Grounds in New York.
The Giants had trailed the Dodgers by 13-1/2 games in August and wound up in a dead tie at the end of the regular season. Bobby Tompson hit a home run, called “The shot heard round the world” (it was actually only a 279-foot line drive shot) and play-by-play guy Russ Hodges yelled, “The Giants win the pennant” 13 times in a row.

But they didn’t win the Series. The Yankees did. It was their 3rd in a row and 14th overall. The Giants were back in 1954, facing the Cleveland Indians. The Indians won 111 games in 1954, but were swept in the World Series by the Giants. Neither team had won since.

Until tonight.
The Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958, the same year that the Dodgers went west. The Dodgers won it all in their second year in LA, beating the White Sox. The Giants were a different story. They lost to the Yankees again in 1962 (5th time), then lost to the A’s in 1989 (the earthquake series, 3rd loss to the A’s), then lost to the Angels in 2002.

Go ahead, mess with Texas
The Rangers, meanwhile, had been around since 1961, originally as the replacement Washington Senators, then moving to Arlington in 1972. Never won a pennant before this year. No team from Texas has ever won the World Series. The Texas total of non-winning seasons (combining the Colt 45’s/Astros and the Rangers) is now at 87 and counting. Note that it’s longer than the now-forgotten drought of the Red Sox.

So it wa a 56-year wait.
Tim Lincecum, who looks like the murderer kid last season on “Desperate Housewives,” is fun to watch. I mentioned in an earlier post that I saw him play several times on Cape Cod for the Harwich Mariners. And Buster Posey, the shortstop-turned-catcher for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape League, becomes the first rookie ever to hit cleanup in the World Series. Then there’s Edgar “Rent-a-wreck” Renteria, who was horrible for the Red Sox in 2005, but got the walkoff hit for the Marlins back in 1997, and as a Cardinal hit the Series-ending tapper back to Foulke when the Sox won in ’04. He hit the home run that was the difference tonight. So congrats to the Giants.

The real fun already happened.
That was in October, when the Red Sox knocked the the Yankees out of 1st place on the final day of the regular season, then the Rangers knocked them out of the playoffs. Any year when the Yankees last game is a loss is a good season.

The Yankees lose. THE….YANKEEEEESSSS....LOOOOSE!!!

How much oomph did John Sterling put into that call?
Sterling, the annoying Yankees play-by-play guy, says the reverse of that after every game they win. Shut the bleep up.

It’s Friday night, 11:13.
The Texas Rangers have knocked off New York in 6 games. I wasn’t really rooting for the Texas Rangers, of course, I was rooting for the Yankees to lose. And, thankfully, they did. It’s pretty cool, though, watching the Texas fans enjoying their first-ever American League pennant.

Quick history lesson.
For those too young to know. In 1961 the American League had its first expansion. The Washington Senators, who had gone 36 years without a World Series win and with ten last-place finishes (“Washington: First in war, first in peace, last in the American League”) gave it up and moved to Minneapolis to become the Minnesota Twins. They were immediately replaced by a “new” Washington Senators, managed by Mickey Vernon, who was as nice a guy as you’d ever want to meet. Despite that, the new Senators fared no better than the old ones, and in 1972 they moved to Arlington, Texas and changed their name to the Rangers.

Success continued to be elusive.
Until a week ago they had never won a postseason game at home. The Yankees had knocked them off in Round One three times in the 90’s. Not now. Not this night. (Okay, I stole that from “Titanic.”) Good for them.

So for whom am I rooting in the Series?
It actually doesn’t matter. It won’t be the Yankees who win .

Tonight I went to an event at Fenway Park that was by invitation-only for Red Sox season ticket holders. The Listening Tour.

Larry Lucchino, Theo Epstein, Ben Charrington and Sam Kennedy presented a video showing the physical improvements under way for 2011 at Fenway and held an extended Q&A session with season ticket holders.

The most notable improvement will be replacing the outdated diamondvision video board under the John Hancock sign in center field with a much bigger and brighter 100’x38′ HD video board. As Larry Lucchino said, “You’ll be able to see the sweat beads on Kevin Youkilis‘ face.” There will also be two other new HD video boards, one replacing the Bank of America scoreboard above the wall in left center, the other above the “Dunkin‘ Dugout” at the top of the right field bleachers. For those who are old enough to remember it, this is where there used to be a Buck Printing sign.

Being someone who always wants to get up and ask a question or make a comment – especially in a situation like this – I raised my hand high when they started taking questions. I was #2. First I made a suggestion, then asked a question. The comment is one I’ve previously made in this blog. If you’re interested, go to older blogs, May 2009, “A Free upgrade.” In a sentence or two, it’s this: When the Legend players are featured on the video board, why don’t you include the audio of their highlight clips? Why not announce them? A good three-quarters of the crowd doesn’t even know that they’re there. Lucchino responded that it was an excellent idea. Then I asked whether the new video boards would mean they’ll add stupid graphics like, “It’s a hit” or “Let’s make some noise” with a picture of two hands clapping (in case you forgot how to do that). Larry answered, “Absolutely not!” That answer alone was worth the trip.

Other questions ranged from, “Are you going to sign Cliff Lee?” to “What will the pitching rotation be like in 2011?” Theo’s answer was (hmmm) pretty much what it was in 2010.

Oh, and they asked who might be a good group for a Fenway concert next year. Answer: Pearl Jam or U2. And a big deal is being planned for Opening Day in 2012, the 100th anniversary of Fenway.

There was a possibility that this could have turned out to be a Yankee Elimination party as well, but it didn’t happen. There’s still Friday night in Texas for that.

Over the weekend the Phillies swept the Reds; as expected, the Yankees put the Twins away; the Giants won the pennant, the Giants won the pennant (repeat 13 times).

So now it’s the Phillies and Giants in the NLCS. Giant fans have waited a long time. That famous “the Giants win the pennant” call was back in 1951 and they did not wind up winning the World Series. The Yankess did. It was the third of the Yankees record five in a row. The streak was finally broken in 1954 when the Giants did win. Since then they’ve been waiting on both coasts for another championship.

The Phillies hardly have a tradition of winning, but this could be their third straight World Series appearance. In the last 50 years only two teams (other than the Yankees) have appeared three straight times: The Orioles (69-71) and the A’s (72-74 – all wins) and (88-90).

Then there’s the ALCS. The deciding game is tonight between the Rays and Rangers. I’ll go with either one – whoever has the best chance to beat New York. This year Texas went 4 and 4 with them, but did win 4 of the last 6 meetings. Tampa Bay won 10 of 18. Of the last 13 The Rays took 7. It’s a toss-up.

Teams in the same division see each other so much that there aren’t many mysteries. I think that means I’m going with Texas.

The first round of the Playoffs is well under way and may well wrap up this weekend. Three of the four series have one of the teams up 2 games to none in the best-of-five.

The Twins historically do poorly against the Yankees – epecially in the playoffs. This year is no exception, as Minnesota dropped the first two at home. The Rays also dropped the first two at home to Texas. The Phillies won the first two at home. The Giants and Braves are the only exception.

So here are some tidbits about the playoff teams. (I’m not going to bother with the Yankees.)

~The Rays have never won the World Series, but they got there in 2008 and lost to the Phillies. In their first ten years they finished in last place 9 times. They lost 100 games or more 3 times. The big change in 2008 that supposedly turned their fortunes around was dropping the word “Devil” from their name.

~The state of Texas has never had a World Series champion. The Astros are 0 for 1 in 48 seasons. The Rangers have never won a pennant. The franchise dates back to 1961 and prior to this year they’ve had only one playoff win (1996).

~The Twins won in 1987 and again in 1991. Before that the last championship for the franchise was in 1924.

~The Rangers and Twins share a uinque history: both teams used to be the Washington Senators. The famous line was, “Washington: first in war, first in peace, last in the American League.” It was equally true for both versions of the Senators.

~The Reds last won in 1990. They won back-to-back championships in the 70’s, beating the Red Sox in 7 games in ’75 and sweeping the Yankees the following year. Prior to that they hadn’t won since 1940. In the 1950’s the Reds changed their name to the Redlegs because they thought Reds made them sound like Commies. Originally they were known as the Cincinnati Red Stockings, but the team folded for several years in the 1870’s. What happened? In 1871 the very first professional league, the National Association of Base Ball Teams, was founded. The Red Stockings were a charter team, but the manager and half of the players decided they’d rather play in Boston, so they took off and moved the franchise in time for Opening Day. The team originally known as the Boston Red Stockings is the longest continuously-running franchise in all of pro sports. So what happened to them?

~The Braves is what happened to them. In 1876 the National Association gave way to the National League as we know it today. The Boston Red Stockings were a charter team, but Cincinnati put a new team on the field, using the old name Red Stockings. The Boston folks decided that the name duplication wasn’t a good idea, and since Cincy had used it first they changed their name to the Beaneaters. Then to the Doves (that really threw some fear into the opposing teams), then to the Braves, then the Bees, then back to the Braves. The American League came along in 1901 and one of the charter teams was the Red Sox, who wound up outdrawing the Braves every single year. In 1953 the Braves finally gave up and moved to Milwaukee, where their AAA team played. That move was good for a while, but attendance dropped off and in 1966 they moved again, this time to Atlanta. In the 90’s they suddenly became a good team and they’ve won their division almost every year for the last couple of decades. They’re the only team to win the World Series playing in three different cities: Boston (1914), Milwaukee (1957) and Atlanta (1995). They also lost it playing in three cities: Boston (1948), Milwaukee (1958), and Atlanta (1991,1992,1996,1999).

~The Giants have been to the World Series three times in San Francisco: 1962, 1989 and 2002, and lost all three. In the ’62 Series a guy named Jack Sanford, from my hometown of Wellesley, Massachusetts, one-hit the Yankees. The franchise last won as the New York Giants in 1954. Fifty-six years ago. They beat the Cleveland Indians, who last won in 1948. The only team to go longer than the Giants and Indians without winning is, of course, the Cubs, now at 65 years without a World Series appearance and 102 years and counting without a win.

~The Phillies. (I’m rooting for them.) The Phillies, originally known as the Worcester Rubylegs, moved to the City of Brotherly Love in 1882 and took 99 years to win their first championship. They won game 1 of the 1915 Series, then went 65 years before winning another playoff game. They finally won in 1980 and again in 2008. A couple of years ago they set a professional sports all-time record by losing their 10,000th game. Philly, a city with a lotta-lotta culture, is where they boo Santa Claus and cheer bad landings at the airport. They have terriffic fans and a great ballpark. How can you not root for them?

That’s when pitchers and catchers show up at Spring Training 2011. I didn’t add up that number myself, I got it from a “Thank you Red Sox Nation” e-mail that came on Monday.

So what do I think about 2010? Considering that the Sox lost their starting left fielder, center fielder, catcher, 1st baseman, second baseman and two starters, had nine broken ribs (all thanks to Adrian Beltre), two broken feet and two broken thumbs and three of the five starting pitchers turning in seasons that ranged from mediocre to horrible, they did okay. No playoff berth, of course, but by winning four of six from the Yankees (could have been 6 of 6 if Papelbomb had been on his game) they knocked the Yankees out of first place on the final day.

There were certainly some bright spots. Darnell McDonald was announced in the 8th inning back in June and we thought he was a new pitcher for the Rangers. No, he was a pinch hitter for Boston and no one had heard of him. What was that? Dar-who? Then he hit a game-tying homer in his first at bat, and hit a walkoff double in his second at bat. And there was Daniel Nava, just up from Pawtucket. Joe Castiglione had interviewed Nava before the game and told him to swing at the first pitch he saw because you’ll never get your first pitch in the majors again. He did, and hit a grand slam into the Red Sox bullpen. He’s the only player in the history of Major League Baseball to hit a grand slam on the very first pitch he saw.

We saw Manny return twice, once as a Dodger and once as a White Sock. (Is that the way to write that?) Both times he got mostly boos, but I must say an impressive number of Dodger fans showed up and made it sound like two-thirds booing instead about the 75-80% booing we heard when he came back with Chicago.

We saw Mike Lowell day on the final Saturday. Big cheers, and well deserved. In the first at bat he doubled in two runs. In his final at bat he hit a ball off the top of the monster that missed going out by only a foot. A homer in your final at bat before retiring would be pretty ccol, but I think that Ted Williams is the only one who ever did it.

The bright side? Maybe some people won’t renew and I can upgrade my season tickets to the red seats with more legroom and cupholders.

My random list of really good baseball names:

There are some historically great baseball names, like old-time pitchers Burleigh Grimes, Rollie Fingers, Three Finger Brown and Smokey Joe Wood. And bad ones like Eric Plunk and Bob Walk.

LOOKING AT TODAY’S 40-MAN ROSTERS, HERE ARE SOME GOOD PITCHER NAMES:
Doug Fister (Mariners)
Jamey Wright (Mariners) Yes, he’s a righty.
Aaron Laffey (Indians) Bring him in when the game gets out of hand.
Tony Sipp (Indians) Trouble is, the Indians never get to sip the champagne.
Kevin Slowey (Twins) Throws junkballs.
Zack Greinke. It’s just a good name.
Mark Buerhle (White Sox) Sounds like a big guy.
Frank Francisco (Rangers) I keep wondering if his full name is Francisco Francisco.
John Maine (Mets). Only player named after a state.
Ryan Rowland-Smith (Mariners). Only MLB player ever with a hyphenated name.
Mark Lowe (Rangers) …and just a little outside.
Ubaldo Jiminez (Rockies). Have you seen him with his hat off?
Huston Street (Rockies). Is that where he was born?
Mike Leake (Reds). When you gotta go…
Laynce Nix (Reds), Drew Stubbs (Reds) Both sound like shaving mistakes.
Fernando Abad (Astros). A bad pitcher?
Grant Balfour (Rays). It’s BAL-four, but it looks like like ball four.
David Riske (Brewers) Risky business? He was briefly with the Red Sox.
Brian Bannister (Royals). He should slide.
Evan Meek (Pirates). As long as he’s in Pittsburgh he won’t be inheriting the earth.
Antonio Bastardo (Phillies). Clearly born out of wedlock. Did his Mom think people wouldn’t know?
Tim Lincecum (Giants). I just like it. I saw him play in the Cape Cod League.

GOOD NAMES THAT AREN’T PITCHERS
Buster Posey (Giants). Also saw him play in the Cape Cod League. The PA guy on the Cape always called him “Busta”
Grady Sizemore (Indians) Scott Sizemore (Tigers) Both big guys.
Clete Thomas (Tigers) It’s right up there with Spike Owen and Trot Nixon.
Ryan Budde (Angels) Hey, buddy!
Will Rhymes (Tigers). 3 and 2, the big one due.
Taylor Teagarden (Rangers) Remember Teegarden & Van Winkle’s “God, Love and Rock & Roll” in 1970? No?
Taylor Tankersley (Marlins). It sounds like Dennis Eckersley when he had a bad game.
Casey Blake (Dodgers) In the poem “Casey at the Bat” the guy who’s at bat right before Casey strikes out is named Blake.
Reggie Willits (Angels) Will its the bottom of the 9th.
Chipper Jones (Braves) Should have been a golfer.
Chin Lung Hu (Dodgers). Only MLB player with a name that has two body parts. He’s a shortstop, but with a name like that he should play first base.
Prince Fielder (Brewers). He looks like a DH but could never be one with a name like that.
Craig Counsell (Brewers). He should have played on the Patriots along with Ty Law and Lawyer Milloy.
Chase Utley (Phillies). Great player with a great name.
Lastings Milledge (Pirates). Sounds like a Vice Presidential candidate in 1856.
Assdrubal Cabrera (Indians). It’s a boy! Let’s name him Assdrubal!
Yorvit Torrealba (Padres). Why Yorvit? Because Asdrubel was already taken.
(Okay, they’re both from Venezuela, but Yorvit is actually older than Assdrubal, and Asdrubal really has only one s. But it’s funnier with two.)size>
Matt Stairs (Padres) Is he up?
Coco Crisp (A’s) Obvious.
Milton Bradley (Mariners). A real gamer. Also a jerk. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go.
Evan Longoria (Rays). How can you not think of Eva Longoria?
Ty Wigginton (Orioles). I just like the name.
Don Kelly (Tigers). He spells it the wrong way, but how can I not like it?

SHOULD BE A PITCHER:
Justin Smoak (Mariners).
Randy Winn (Cardinals)

SHOULDN’T BE A PITCHER:
Homer Bailey (Reds)

ROLLS OFF THE TONGUE NICELY:
Humberto Quintero (Astros)
Placido Polanco (Tigers).
Rod Barajas (Mets). Give the the R in his last name a really good rrrroll.

SPELLING BEE NAMES:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia (Rangers) A 14-letter name that barely fits on his shirt.
Mark Rzepczynski (Blue Jays) An 11-letter last name with only two and a half vowels.

SOUNDS LIKE A FIFA SOCCER PLAYER:
Ryan Langerhans (Mariners)
Jair Jurrjens (Braves)

PRETTY FUNNY NAME IF YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO SAY IT:
Kosuko Fukudome (Cubs).