Yesterday Brian McGrory wrote a piece in The Boston Globe basically saying that he couldn’t give away his Red Sox Opening Day tickets.  No one cares anymore.

 That’s just not the case.  The place was packed, as always.  With smiling faces of every age.

It’s very family-friendly.  No smoking at Fenway.  Even the outside smoking area is difficult to find.

Second, the Star Spangled Banner done by the Boston Pops with the Tanglewood Festival orchestra is just fabulous.  They get the words right and don’t use five different notes to sing “free” or “brave” like Patti LaBelle.

I went with my older brother.  We hadn’t gone to Opening Day together in a long time.  I won’t say what year it was, but it was ten Presidents ago and the team the Red Sox were playing hasn’t existed for over five decades.  Take a guess.  We walked around to the bleacher area to locate the brick that I got for Christmas from my wife and daughters.

On Opening Day at Fenway they do things that the fans love…like having the first pitches thrown out by 90’s and 00’s favorites Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek and caught by 70’s and 80’s favorites Dwight Evans and Jim Rice.

Josh Beckett, in the center of last September’s collapse and with one horrible start under his belt, was terrific.  One run in eight innings.  Then it was Sweet Caroline time.

He probably could have pitched the 9th for a complete game victory.  His pitch count was only in the low 90’s, but the Red Sox sent 14 batters to the plate in the 8th and it was a long wait.  Plus he had an 11-run lead.  Not a save situation.  So Mark Melancon came in to close it and gave up a home run to Ben Zobrist.  Way too little, way too late for the Rays.

But the fun part was the entire day.  Just when you’re ready for hope to spring eternal, it does.  A beautiful day, the old ball yard looking great at 100, and a huge win for the Olde Towne Team.   It’s what Opening Day should be.  Brian, you missed a good one.

Think about it. Starting out 0-and-3 is twice as good as last year’s 0-and-6 start. It’s 7 times better than the Orioles’ 0-and-21 start in 1988. They could actually be at .500 for the Home Opener on Friday. So stop worrying.

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Notice that there are two #5’s trotting to the dugout.

It’s the annual Tom, Dick and Harry update.  What do you think is the most common first name in the Major Leagues?

HInt:  It’s not Asdrubel.  Like Jeep, there’s only one.  There’s also only one Yuniesky and one Gorkys, but two Melkys.

I checked the 40-man rosters of all 30 teams.  That’s 1200 players.

Initials:  19 use initials. Three AJ’s:  Burnett, Ellis, Pierzinski.  Three DJ’s:  Carrasco, LeMathieu, Mitchell.  Two JC’s:  Ramirez and Romero.  Two JJ’s:  Hardy and Putz.  Two JP’s:  Arencibia and Howell.  Plus BJ Upton, CC Sabathia, CJ Wilson, JA Happ, JB Shuck, JD Martinez and RA Dickey.  (Fortunately, JD Drew retired.)

The five most common first names…

#5:  Zack or Zach:  Braddock, Britton, Cox, Cozart, Grienke, Lutz, McAllister, Phillips, Putnam, Stewart.

#’s 4,3 and 2 all start with J, but none are Jose.

#4:  Justin.  We have DeFratus, Masterson, Miller, Morneau, Sellers, Smoak, Thomas, Turner, Upton, Verlander and Wilson.

#3:  Jason.  There’s Bay, Berken, Bourgeois, Castro, Donald, Giambi, Grilli, Hammel, Heyward, Insrighausen, Kipnis, Kubel, Marquis, Vargas, Werth (okay, he spells it with a y).

#2:  Josh:  Beckett, Bell, Collmeter, Donaldson, Hamilton, Harrison, Johnson, Lindbloom, Lueke, Outman, Reddick, Roenicke, Satin, Spence, Thole, Tomlin, Wall, Willingham.

and the #1 most common name….

Ryan:  Adams, Braun, Cook, Dempster, Doumit, Flaherty, Hanigan, Howard, Kalish, Lavarnway, Ludwick, Madson, Matteus, Perry, Raburn, Roberts, Sweeney, Theriot, Verdugo, Vogelsong, Webb, Zimmerman.

Don:  Only one.  Don Kelley of the Tigers.  Great name, even if he’s missing the second E in Kelley.  

Tom:  Three.  Gorzelanny, Koehler, Wilhelmsen.  Plus three Tommy’s:  Hanson, Hunter and Field.

Still no Dick and no Harry.

It’s one of those names like “Orioles Park at Camden Yards” that looks good on paper, but it’s well-known (at least in radio circles) that people love nicknames and they’ll shorten anything they can. Just like The Fleet center was shortened to “The Fleet” and “TD Garden” is shortened to “The Garden,” the new Red Sox spring training park will be popularly known as either jetBlue Park or Fenway South. My bet is on Fenway South. It’s catchy and it fits. You don’t have to remember that the “j” in jetBlue is lower case, but the B is upper case. Just say, “Fenway South” and everyone knows what you mean.

Here’s the View From Section 29 in Ft. Myers (actually it’s 209 or something like that). The grandstand roof looks like the bleachers at Dodger Stadium, but the field dimensions are almost exactly like Fenway. The Monster is actually 6 feet higher, and three rows of the Monster Seats are halfway up the wall with a screen. There’s another row on top of the Monster South. For some reason that I don’t get at all, the Red Sox dugout is on the third base side.

Why would they take such care to duplicate Fenway and get something that simple backward?  Everything else is identical. The stands jutting out down the third base line, 310′ to the left field wall, the actual scoreboard from Yaz days in the wall, the triangle in center, the bullpens, the Pesky pole, the low fence in right like at Fenway. (In April 1990 Claudell Washington, not being familiar with the quirks of Fenway, tried to non-chalant a Bill Buckner fly ball to right where the fence is only about 4 feet high. Claudell fell into the stands and Bill Buckner got an inside-the-park home run. Buckner, knowing this was funny, laughed his way around the bases.)


Back to spring training 2012. I saw the Red Sox play the Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. It’s a decent ballpark with signs, seats and such that look just like Camden Yards, but the field dimensions are standard. The O’s fans shout out “O” on “Oh, say can you see” in the middle of the National Anthem just like they do in Baltimore. They play “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” by John Denver right after “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” just like in Baltimore. Lots of O’s fans there, but probably outnumbered by Sox fans. Just like in Baltimore.


Back to Fort Myers. Get there an hour early so you can park. Parking is in an adjacent grass field like you’re going to a college football game. The fans are really into it. Sure, there is a heavy dose of guys walking with canes and women riding a Lark, but you also see tons of young families and 20-somethings on dates. I did a head count of 100 people and the gender skew was 51-49. It’s a great-looking park. Every game is sold out, they play “Sweet Caroline” in the middle of the 8th and “Dirty Water” when the Sox win.

Youk was trying a new stance with his feet spread apart a little. It wasn’t helping yet. Josh Beckett started one game with a quick one-pitch out, then proceeded to hit two guys in a row, then walk two guys. New closer Andrew Bailey came on the in the 6th and gave up three straight hits. 


Meanwhile, three regular starters are batting below the Mendoza line (Ellsbury, Youk and Saltalamacchia), one is in the 200’s (Papi), one is in the 300’s (Gonzalez) and one is over .400 (Pedroia). Lavarnway’s batting average is double Saltalamacchia’s. 


What do you do with guys like Lars Anderson, with more AB’s than Gonzo, more hits, more runs, more HR’s, more RBI’s, more walks, higher OBP, slugging and OPS, and a BA that’s 43 points higher? Or what about #77 (not a number that typically goes to someone traveling north with the big team), Pedro Ciriaco? An infielder who’s hitting .643, made a fabulous Pedroia-quality play against the Orioles on Sunday, hit a 10th inning walkoff home run on Monday and scored the winning run on a single and fielding errors by the Yankees on Tuesday. He has much better numbers in everything than Aviles, Iglesias or Punto, the candidates for the starting shortstop job.


It makes you forget about last September.


Hope springs eternal.

Jason Varitek was asked to come to spring training as a non-roster invitee.  The Red Sox already have Jarrod Saltalomacchia (the longest name in professional sports-three letters longer than Ben Roethlesberger) as the #1 receiver.  They also have Ryan Lavarnway, who came up from Pawtucket last fall and showed impressive power – substantially more than Jarrod or Jason over the last couple of years. Plus, the Sox signed former Pawtucket catcher Kelly Shoppach as a third catcher.  Shoppach was part of the trade to get Coco Crisp a few years ago, and wound up in Tampa Bay last year.  So, with three catchers on the roster, where would Tek play?

Jason Varitek was a player, a team leader, and a good guy who would sit in his front yard in Waban and hand out candy to neighborhood kids on Halloween.  I hope the Red Sox hire him as a coach.

Not surprising, but a little disappointing.  Of all the Red Sox pitchers I’ve seen – and it’s a long list – Tim Wakefield is at the top.  I’ve seen him more than anyone.  (Bob Stanley is #2 on that list.)

A knuckleballer is only supposed to win half of his games.  Sometimes the knuckler dances well, sometimes it doesn’t.  Tim easily exceeded the expectation.  He was a starter, a spot starter, a middle reliever, a bullpen guy and a closer.  19 seasons in the majors, 17 with the Red Sox, starting in 1995.   He pitched over 3200 innings.  Struck out twice as many as he walked.

In the 2004 playoffs against the Yankees he came on in relief in the crucial Game 5.  It went 14 innings and lasted until 2AM, and Tim had to face Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi, A-Rod, Hidecki Matsui, Jorge Paada, et al. for three innings.  He gave up only one hit and was the winning pitcher.  He is the only knuckleballer ever to start a World Series game.

How many times did Tim Wakefield go out there and pitch well, but get no support?  Losing 1-0, or leaving with a lead that was subsequently blown by the bullpen?

He wound up with 200 wins, 186 of them with the Red Sox.  Only eight short of breaking the all-time Red Sox record of 194, shared by Roger Clemens and Cy Young.   He struck out well over 2000 for the Red Sox, not that far from the Clemens mark of 2590, and double what Cy Young did.  An amazing record for a knuckleballer.

Cy Young was too along ago to really know, and we know all too much about Roger.  Tim Wakefield, however, was well known as a good guy.  Always said the right thing in an interview.  Did a ton of community work.  Gave us many quality innings.  We’ll miss him.

Thanks, Tim,  for 17 great seasons.

The writer’s strike, just like the NBA lockout, is over.  I’m finally able to update my blog, which has been silent for exactly 6 months. 

So much has happened.  When last I blogged, the Red Sox had just made it to first place, despite the 0-and-6 start.  We all know how it turned out, so let’s look forward to 2012.

Predictions for 2012:

My seats: 
The day after Tito was fired I called the Red Sox season ticket office and asked if anyone had called up mad and canceled their season tickets.  If so, I’d like to move up a few rows.  Still in Section 29, which has a great view, but enough to get to the bigger, more comfortable red seats and still be just under the roof overhang.  When it rains during a game I don’t even know it until they haul out the tarp.  They told me no one had called in to cancel yet, and they probably wouldn’t know until January anyway.  It’s in my tickler file.  I’ll bet that I don’t get to upgrade.

Manager:
No thoughts really on whether Bobby Valentine or Gene Lamont would be the right choice.  They do need a guy who can kick some butt in the locker room like Billy Beane did wth Jeremy Giambi and David Justice in Moneyball.  Great scene:  David Justice is in the batting cage, dripping with attitude, and Beane says to him, “You think you’re a pretty big deal, huh?”  Justice says, “Yeah.  You’re paying me 7 million dollars a year, so I guess that makes me a big deal.”   Beane responds, “No, we’re paying you 3-and-a-half million.  The Yankees are paying us 3-and-a-half million for you to play against them.  Still think you’re a big deal?”

Offense:
Ellsbury and Pedroia will once again have great seasons.  Youk will be less beat up and have more of a normal season, hitting just over .300 with 100 rbi’s.  In 2011 Carl Crawford was overwhelmed.  He was used to playing in a half-empty stadium with a crappy field in St. Petersburg, where the few fans who were there would be 80 years old and would only think to ring their cowbell when the scoreboard told them to.  In contrast, the nightly rock show at sold-out Fenway – especially playing the legendary left field – required a major adjustment. With a year to get used to it under his belt, he will have a substantially better season (he sure couldn’t have a much worse one) and he’ll be motivated to show that he’s worth the money.  Papi will be re-signed to a two-year deal and he’ll hit around .290 with 30 homers and 95 rbi’s.  Adrian Gonzalez will be about the same – maybe slightly better toward the end of the season with a less tender shoulder.  Ryan Lavarnway will see some decent playing time and will be a very good hitter.  Marco Scutaro will be mediocre at short, and Jed Lowrie will get one last shot and the job.  Varitek?  They should make him the pitching coach and activate him if they get into a pinch.

Pitching:
Starters will be an issue.  Beckett and Lester have to play nicely in the sandbox and show us that they’ve still got their good stuff.  Buchholz will be okay.  They need two more, but John Henry won’t open up the checkbook after getting burned over the past few years by the Matt Clement, Dice-K, John Smoltz, Brad Penny and John Lackey signings.  Wakefield will be back for insurance purposes.  He’s inexpensive, reliable and eats up a lot of innings.  Unlike much of the pitching staff, he has a great reputation.  Aceves will be the setup guy.  (I still distrust anyone that the Yankees let go.)  Michael Bowden will see more action and he’ll be allright.  Daniel Bard will be the closer and have a better season than Papelbon has in Philly.

So that’s what I think?  Any thoughts?  I’d love to hear them.   

The View From Section 29 writer’s strike is over.  The writers won.  My last post was on May 28th.  The Red Sox were in 1st place, a game and a half ahead of the Yankees.  The post was “Worst to First in 4 Weeks.”  No need to dwell on that.

Two weeks later Kara and I took a ballpark road trip to Florida.  We saw the Marlins host the Diamondbacks at Sun Life Stadium (formerly Land Shark Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Pro Player Stadium and Joe Robbie Stadium.  There might have been another name that I forgot.

We were in our seats in time for the scheduled start, but the game was delayed because there was a small cloud somewhere in the azure blue sky.  Nothing like Boston, where they’ll wait through three hours of heavy downpour to try and get the game in.

I took a shot of the first pitch.  Quite the crowd.  MLB.com listed the attendance at 15,000, but I swear I’ve been to Cape Cod League games with more people watching from lawn chairs.  Arizona blew out the Marlins.  As we walked through the practically empty concourse there were several displays of the new Marlins ballpark opening in 2012.  It will have a retractable roof and be on the site of the old Orange Bowl.  The team will be renamed the Miami Marlins.  Remember, when the Marlins began playing in 1993 they were the only team in Florida.  The Devil Rays didn’t exist until 1998 and didn’t actually play games of any consequence until they exorcised the Devil ten years later.

So who’s paying for this nice new stadium?  It sure isn’t coming from ticket sales.

The next day we drove across Alligator Alley and headed for St. Petersburg to see the Red Sox play the Rays at the Trop.  It’s a much more colorful place.  The concourses have a Disney World feel, and the crowd was two or three times the size of Miami’s.  Still, there were an awful lot of empty blue seats.

They have a crappy fake field and it seemed like half of the fans were from Boston.  Lots of Red Sox and Bruins apparrel.  When the Rays were in the World Series in 2008 they handed out annoying cowbells for the fans to ring if anything good for happened for Tampa Bay.  In case the fans nodded off, the scoreboard would remind you to ring your bell.  This night there was only one cowbell in sight.  An old guy who would wake up from time to time and ring it – even if we were in the middle of something boring like a pitching change.    

Tim Wakefield was pitching for the Red Sox, and he gave up an incredibly cheap home run to Evan Longoria.  A line drive right down the line in left.  Over the fence by the pole.  At the Trop it’s only 315 feet down the left field line and the fence is – get this – four feet.  It makes right field at Yankee Stadium (314 feet, 8 foot fence) look tough, and left field at Fenway (312 feet, 37 foot wall) look impossible.

Still, it was a fun trip.  Then we came back and enjoyed watching the Red Sox be the best team in baseball during June, July and August.  I’ll leave it at that.

Now the World Series is underway.  The Tigers knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs, thanks to some great offense and defense by one Don Kelly.  Spelled incorrectly, but when the network announcers say the name it sounds the same.  I thoroughly enjoyed hearing it.

I’m rooting for St. Louis because 1) they’re not Texas,  2) the Cardinals, even though they beat the Red Sox twice in the World Series, lay down for us in 2004, plus they are already #2 on the all-time World Series win list.  Anything that takes them one step closer to the Yankees record is a good thing.