Tonight, I am going to ALCS Game 3!  This is my first ever MLB playoff game, so I'm extremely excited!
    Tonight, it's Jon Lester vs Matt Garza.  Jon Lester is an amazing playoff pitcher, as we saw in Game 4 of the 2007 World Series as well as this October thus far.  And with the Fenway crowd behind his back, Jon Lester will surely perform well under the spotlight.  Tonight's prediction?  6-1 Red Sox.  We haven't won an ALCS game 3 for a long time, and tonight we'll break that streak.
    I don't have too much time to write because I have to go to the game soon, but I'll finish with some quick notes.  I hate to say bad things about a Red Sox player, but I think we can all say that Mike Timlin just doesn't have enough anymore to pitch in games like these.  He's had an amazing career, but now he's beginning to become rusty.  Also now with Youkilis and Pedroia stepping up big, the stage is set for Big Papi to turn back to his old self.  If we want to win this October, he'll need to have a breakout game soon.

All for now,
Keyon V
The Red Sox Kid

    Yes, it's October again.  The tables are set, and the action is about to start.  The Sox.  The Rays.  The Angels.  The White Sox or Twins.  This will be an unforgettable ride my friends.
    But first, the Rays.  This "amazing Cinderella story" that won 97 games.  They had the second best record in the A.L., after years of disappointment and frustration.  They are predicted by some to go far in the playoffs.  But now that it is October, it is time to face the facts and the truth.  The 2008 Rays might be the worst team to ever make it into the playoffs.  Yes, I'll say it again.  The 2008 Rays might be the worst team to ever make it into the playoffs.
    Seven of their nine regular starters were on the 2007 team which won 61 games, 36 fewer wins.  The two exceptions are Evan Longoria and Joe Bartlett, both very fine players, but definitely not worth a combined 36 wins.
    The answer to this rapid improvement then?  It may just have been luck.  It may have Joe Maddon managing with a different, successful style.  Did they record the other teams signals?  Probably not, but not much else explains this improvement other than pure luck.
    This may be too early to say, and the Rays might end the year with a World Series trophy, but the Rays are not much of a threat.  They have had a good regular season, but their lack of experience and end of luck might define the most important part of the season.  The bottom line: The Rays may be good, but they are not good enough to thrive in October.  

Manny is gone.  He'll be with some familiar faces, such as Nomar, Lowe, and Joe Torre.  I'm excited to be seeing Jason Bay in a Red Sox uniform, but no one will compare to Manny.  Anyways, the time has come:

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes, and ships, and sealing wax,
Of cabbages and kings,
And why the sea is boiling hot,
And whether pigs have wings"

-Lewis Carroll, "The Walrus and the Carpenter"

I hope not.  After all he's done, this shouldn't be our last memory of him.  However, I'm sure Theo will make the best move for the team.

Today is my 14th birthday!  I'm spending it in Dublin with some family friends, where there are surprisingly a bunch of Red Sox fans.  I guess that Red Sox Nation is world-wide!

Because it's my 14th birthday, I'll share with you the 7 best games that I've been to at Fenway Park in the past few years. 

May 8, 2004: This was my first of 32 games (and counting!) at Fenway Park.  During this game against the Royals, Pokey Reese hit two homers, one inside-the-park, immediately making him a fan favorite at Fenway Park. (Pokey!  Pokey!)  The Red Sox won as they slaughtered the Royals, 8-1.

September 29, 2005: This game took place against the Blue Jays during the 2005 pennant race.  Into the late innings, the Red Sox were down by a few runs, until Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz tied the game with a couple of homers.  The game was tied into the bottom of the ninth, and David Ortiz eventually won it with a walk-off single, 5-4.

May 1, 2006: Johnny Damon was my favorite player before he left for New York.  That's when I stopped liking him. This game against the Yankees marked his return to Fenway Park.  Also, the Red Sox had traded to bring back Doug Mirabelli right before the game, and he arrived at the Park a couple minutes before the game started.  With all this pregame drama, the game also turned out exciting, as it stay tied into the eighth inning, where David Ortiz secured the game with a three-run homer, and the Sox won 8-4. 

April 11, 2007: This was Daisuke Matsuzaka's first appearance pitching against

the Mariners in front of the Fenway Faithful.  Everyone in town was hyped up for the game, and so was I.  Dice-K got a HUGE ovation when being introduced and after Ichiro grounded out to him.  The story, however, turned out to be Felix Hernandez, as he pitched a great game against the Red Sox, and we lost 3-0.

September 28, 2007: This was my celebration of my 13^th birthday, when the Sox hosted the Twins at Fenway.  We had already been guaranteed a spot into the playoffs, but everyone's mind was on the AL East.  The Red Sox won a nice game against the Twins, which made them a Yankees' loss away from securing the AL East.  The Orioles eventually came from behind to beat the Yankees, and there was a huge celebration on the field. 

April 8, 2008: Opening Day 2008!  The World Champs were hosting the Detroit Tigers.  Before the game, there was (obviously) a massive ring ceremony, and a great celebration.  It was fantastic seeing all the players get the rings they all deserved from last year, and my favorite memory at Fenway Park took place when Bill Buckner came back to Fenway Park, and threw out the first pitch.  The Red Sox also won, 5-0. 

May 20, 2008: This was Justin Masterson's first game in the Majors, against the Royals.  I went to this game with the rest of my grade, making it more fun.  We sat in left field, right before the Green Monster, so we had a great time catching Manny's attention, and we were trying to get noticed by Jose Guillen.  Masterson pitched a great game, and the Sox won 2-1. 

Please feel free to leave a comment sharing your favorite memories at Fenway Park!

All For Now,

Keyon V

The Red Sox Kid

Part I: The Home Run Derby

Not much in Part I.  As you probably know, Monday night was the Home Run Derby.  Before it started, I had predicted that Josh Hamilton would win.  And my prediction turned kinda true. 

Of course, in the 1^st round, Josh Hamilton blasted pitch after pitch into the

Upper Deck.  As the Yankee crowd began to give all their support to Hamilton, I had a little daydream.  I imagine David Ortiz in the batter's box, instead of Hamilton, hitting all these pitches way out of here.   I saw Ortiz's big smile as the shocked crowd had no idea what to do.  However, my daydream was suddenly interrupted when some ESPN analyst said something like, "The fans are cheering Hamilton so hard because they know he might be a Yankee in a few years."

So eventually it was Justin Morneau against Josh Hamilton in the Final Round, and Morneau became the victor even though he finished the night with fewer homers than Hamilton. 

Part II: The All-Star Game

Now this part was the most exciting part of the week.  I went to an All-Star Game party at my brother's camp, which was my Middle School.  There 

was a 10:00 curfew there, so I watched a majority of the game at home.

The pregame festivities were well-prepared and well fitting for the final year at Yankee Stadium.  It was nice seeing all the Hall of Famers take the field again, though I would've liked to see Carl Yastrzemski or Carlton Fisk there.  The Steinbrenner appearance was OK, but it was definitely unnecessary  to see him on the Golf Cart, because it was a ridiculous spin-off of Ted Williams in the 1999 All Star Game, which should not even be compared to.  There is a huge difference between Teddy Ballgame and The Boss.

Then, of course, it was the game.  In the bottom of the seventh when I saw JD Drew on deck, an image popped into my head.  I saw JD Drew stepping to the plate with a man on, hitting a home run into the Yankee Crowd to tie the game.  Man, I was thinking, that would be amazing.  It would be like a JD Drew rags to riches story. 

Now Flashback to last October.  Bases Loaded, 2 outs, Bottom of the 1^st, Game

 6 of the ALCS against the Cleveland Indians.  I was with my friends watching the game, and they started groaning when they saw JD Drew walking to the plate.  After their groans, I said, "Here comes a JD Drew Grand Slam guys."  I was obviously making a joke, but in my mind I really hoped it would happen.  Don't believe me?  Ask my friends.  Then the rest is history.  The next day, I hung up the Boston Globe Sports Section, and it's still there today.

Back to the All Star Game.  Soon, JD Drew came to the plate with a runner on, against Edinson Volquez (The man who was traded for Josh Hamilton).  Before I knew it, I was watching a Volquez pitch sail towards the short right field porch.  I was in Heaven.  I started running around the house, which probably wasn't a good idea because my younger brother was asleep.  But it didn't matter.  That pitch would definitely be in my top 20 Red Sox Moments list.


Top of the eighth, Papelbon came in to pitch in front of some of the worst fans in the game.  Jeter could say whatever he wants about them being the best fans in the world, but he's wrong.  Being a good fan is respecting the game of baseball and your team, but that Yankee crowd that day definitely had no respect for anything.  Again, horrible, horrible fans.

After Navvaro's error led to another run for the NL, his teammate, Evan Longoria tied it again in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI double.  It stay tied as we went into the ninth.  I really hoped Francona wouldn't play Rivera just to give these fans what they deserve, but then I realized that it would be classless and as bad as booing Papelbon.

End of the ninth, tie game.  That meant extra innings.  We move on to the tenth inning, tie game.  Eleventh inning, tie game.  My eyes were becoming tired, but I refused to go to sleep, even though the rest of my family were all sleeping in their rooms.  Twelth inning, still a tie.  Thirteenth inning, tie game.  Fourteenth inning, my eyes were about to remain shut, but I didn't let that happen.  Finally, in the bottom of the fifteenth, Michael Young hit a sacrifice fly, and just like that the game was over.  Even though I was wicked tired, it was all worth it to see Terry Francona's face after the AL had won.

I stayed to watch the postgame, and saw JD Drew (My mindreader) take home the MVP trophy in front of the fans that booed his teammate.  This is what they deserved.

Part III: Predictions for the Second Half

I usually don't do predictions because I'm afraid I may jinx something, but I'll do some here.  

1) The Rays will cool off, but remain good enough to snatch the Wild Card.

2) The Twins will catch up to the White Sox. and will be in a tight race for the AL Central title.

3) Barry Bonds won't come back.

4) Daisuke Matasuzaka will start pitching like a 103 Million Dollar Pitcher, and will be a contender for the Cy Young Award.

 

All for now,

Keyon V,

The Red Sox Kid

As you may know, I went to the Red Sox-Yankees game in Yankee Stadium last Sunday, on July 6, 2008.  I couldn't write about this earlier because I had to wait untill I returned to Boston, where I have good internet access.  Here, I'll share with you my account of the game:

My journey to Yankee Stadium started when I stepped on the 4 train at City Hall, taking the Express directly to Yankee Stadium.  The train was full of Yankee fans, but I was seated next to a couple of Red Sox fans and a Yankee fan complaing about how she got fired from a volunteer job.  As we neared toward the stadium, we heard the train conducter say: "Can all the Red Sox fans please step out of the subway to make room for all the Yankee fans."  This got a huge applause from the Yankee fans.  So I wasn't even at Yankee Stadium yet, but I already felt like I was in Yankee Country (which is nothing compred to Red Sox Nation or Red Sox Kid Nation!)

Our seats were in the first row of the bleachers, in left field, right next to the Red Sox bullpen.  The first thought that crawled in my mind was, Wow.  Yankee Stadium has real bleachers! As I looked around Yankee Stadium, I saw a ton of things commerating the final year in Yankee Stadium, as well as for the 2008 All-Star Game.

The pitching matchup was Tim Wakefield against Joba Chamberlain, so it was a matchup of a Red Sox Veteran against a young Yankee star.  In the bottom of the second, A-Rod hit a solo home run close to where we were seated, and tying Mickey Mantle on the All-Time Home Run List with 536 homers.  (I imagined John Sterling's annoying voice going: ANOTHER A-BOMB, FROM A-ROD!  AWWWAAHWHWHAHAHH!!)  The crowd went wild again after an A-Rod curtain call.  The thing I notice from watching Yankee games on TV is that some Yankee Players curtain-call way too much.  After going to tons of games at Fenway, I don't think I remember any curtain calls, though I've been to three games at Yankee Stadium, and have seen a Curtain Call in all three.

Anyways, the game continued and the Sox found themselves with a two run lead.  I was jumping around in the aisles every time a Red Sox run would score.  However, Robinson Cano hit a two run triple, that tied things up, late in the game.

In the top of the ninth, Mariano Rivera came in to pitch for the Yankees.  With two outs, and the go-ahead run at third, the worst moment of the game happened.  Francona brought Manny in the game as a pinch hitter, facing Rivera.  First Pitch: Strike 1 looking.  Second Pitch: Strike 2 looking.  The Yankee crowd got on their feet, and started cheering their loudest.  Third Pitch: Strike 3 looking.  Inning over.  Manny strikes out looking on three consecutive pitches.

In the bottom of the tenth, Papelbon came in.  Eventually there was a man on second, with Brett Gardner (AVG: .100) batting, and two outs.  When Gardner had two strikes on him, Papelbon sent a pitch right down the middle, yet the umpire called it a ball.  Everyone in the stadium knew that the inning should be over, yet the ump kept it alive.  So of course, Gardner then hits a walk-off single off Julio Lugo's glove.  If Lugo had stopped it, the runner wouldn't have scored, but of course, it went off his glove.

Even though the Sox lost, it was a great game, and a fun experience.  I had the chance to talk to a lot of the pitchers in the Sox bullpen, who were all very friendly.  This was my third (and last) trip to Yankee Stadium, the first coming in 2004, the second coming in 2007.  The Yankees won all three games, but every year I've gone, the Red Sox have won the World Series.  Let's hope the same thing happens this year.

 

 

Yours truly,

Keyon V

The Red Sox Kid

Before I say anything, I'd like to express how happy I am that the Sox could win in Yankee Stadium.  Now we need to find out how to win in Tampa Bay, and then we're near unstoppable!

So the Red Sox took games 1 and 2 from the Yankees, pretty easily.  Lester pitched a gem for Game 1, and the next day, the Red Sox bats were alive again.  But yesterday's game was just hurtful to watch.  The Red Sox bats were silent in the first eight innings, and the Yankees scored two runs off Masterson.  But in the ninth inning, the Sox staged a rally, and eventually were playing in a 2-1 game with the bases loaded and no outs.  ZERO outs!!

However, baseball is sometimes unfair, and it certainly was unfair here.  The three hitters that batted were the exact three hitters I didn't want in this situation: Crisp, Varitek, and Lugo.  These guys are all excellent players, and I usually would love to see Varitek in a situation like this.  However, each of them are in the middle of the worst slumps in their careers.  Mariano Rivera retired all three hitters, and after a Jose Molina fist pump, the game was over.

Anyways, I had the chance to attend the series finale, here in New York tonight!  I'll be sitting in the first row of the bleachers, right next to a bullpen.  I'll be wearing all my Red Sox apparel, so look out for me!

Yours truly,
Keyon V
The Red Sox Kid

As I mentioned in my previous post, now that I've been elected a Red Sox Kid Nation Captain, I have to put my dreams into action.  Here, I would like to share some of my goals for my term.  Some of these are very possible for me to achieve, while others I'll have to work hard.  These are just brief explanations of my goals, as more details are hopefully on the way.

Goals: Red Sox Kid Nation is about "Kids Helping Kids".  As a Captain, it is my responsibility to help this cause.  Most of my goals will aim to do this.

1) Inviting Kids to Fenway Park: There are many under-privileged kids in the world, due to many different reasons.  I think that the Captains could be in charge of finding kids like these, and we could invite them for a day at the ballpark.  I was watching  ESPN's "My Wish" last year, and saw something quite similar to this.  Now I hope to make it a routine.

2) Meet Your Favorite Player Contest: I mentioned this in another post here and it's basically a contest where kids are asked to write about their favorite players, and a few winners will have the opporutunity to meet them.  This encourages writing as well as the Red Sox.

3) Some Public Community Works Projects: Maybe the Captains could help out with public fundraising for a cause such as helping the homeless or helping out with a natural disaster such as Hurrican Katrina.  There are a number of possibilities here.

4) 2008 World Champion Boston Red Sox: The title explains it all.

Yours truly,
Keyon V
The Red Sox Kid

I'M A RED SOX KID NATION CAPTAIN!!!!  As my two-month campaign draws to a close, this is what I've been waiting to say!  WOW!  I don't think words can describe how I feel right now!  I obviously could not have done it without the help of some people, and here I would like to acknowledge and thank these special people:

1) My Family

All of you guys helped me a ton:

    a) My dad: I certainly could not have done it without you!  At the beginning, you're the one who told me to do this.  I was not going to enter because I didn't think I could've won, but you convinced me to enter!
    b) My mom: You're the one that helped me the most with my campaigning!  From letting our family friends know about this, to your overwhelming support!
    c) My two brothers: You guys let your friends know about this, and certainly did all you could to make sure I would win!

2) My friends and teachers

    You're where most of my votes came from, from your hard work in campaigning to all your great support!  Some of you guys were with me at my first Sox game way back long ago, and first exposed me to the wonderful sport of baseball! Teachers, through your years of knowing me, you've taught me a lot about everything, and I know I couldn't have done this without all you have taught me!

I would like to congratulate the 11 other captains, but also congratute the 13 finalists who weren't as lucky.  I know how hard you guys all worked, and I'm sure that everyone who entered this conteset deserved this oppurtunity.

Now that the dreaming and campaigning is over, it's time to put these dreams into action!

Thanks Again,

-Keyon V,
The Red Sox Kid