I guess the Nation isn't quite ready to elect a female president since Jerry Remy won the election. Oh well, I honestly had a great time throughout this whole process and enjoyed every minute. I want to thank everyone who voted for me and supported me. Go Sox.
Two of my best friends from Franklin and Marshall College, Jim and John, have always been huge baseball fans. The only problem is that while John is a Red Sox fan, Jim is a Yankee fan. Not only a Yankee fan, but a trash talking, nasty email sending, in your face Yankee fan. Although it probably killed him to even visit the Red Sox Nation website to vote, he did and he also asked his friends to vote for me...in a uniquely Jim way:
I just got back from watching our Sox win tonight, and I have been on the edge of my seat and I am as excited right this moment as every other member of this great Red Sox Nation! Melvin Mora came through with a beautiful bunt for the Orioles, and that meant the Yankees lose and the Boston Red Sox are finally the American League East champions. That is the end of the Yankees' nine-year streak. What an amazing scene with so many Sox fans hanging around Fenway and watching that one on the scoreboard, too! Just an incredible night and an incredible year.
As I said in the previous post, you will be able to watch the presidential debate on RedSox.com. Hope you enjoy watching it and thanks again for everyone's support! Be sure to vote for me! There is a limit of 10 votes per email address, and you can vote until 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
The big debate was today and 6 worthy candidates (including myself above) met to discuss the issues with Tina Cervasio and Tim Russert. Two candidates couldn't make it and two dropped their candidacy, so the field is getting smaller and competition is fierce...just kidding. It may have gone down as the most polite and positive debate in history. Every one of the candidates is great in his/her own way and each brings various qualifications to the office. As I said in the debate in my closing comments, I feel as though I've made 6 new friends through this process. I don't want to get into depth regarding the debate because I'm hoping you all watch after the post-game show Friday For those out of town without access to NESN, or just wanting to watch it again, you also will be able to find it on RedSox.com. Questions included our platform and vision, as well as our most memorable Red Sox moments. The funniest questions had to do with A-Rod and Jeter...you'll have to tune in to see our comments!
I'm watching the game right now and we're down 4-2, I'm not worried with Beckett on the mound. He can hold them off and hopefully the bats can get swinging. Wouldn't it be great to clinch the title tonight if the Sox win and Yankees lose? It will take the pressure off for the weekend and give the Sox a boost in confidence. Let me correct myself, 4-3...thanks Big Papi! No sooner did I ask to get the bats going, when I heard the crack of the bat. Of course followed by the deafening Big Papi cheers. This guy is incredible. Updated Friday: At least one more day.
That's it for now, I've got to get back to the game. Enjoy the debate tomorrow, I know I did!
It's nice to start the day with a 3 game lead and a great night last night. The Sox looked like they did a few months ago - Schilling strong, Manny/Youk back from their injuries and a solid win. The highlight was when they showed the TB/Yankee score after the TB grand slam. It just shows how fast things can happen in one inning - this time for our benefit. I'm sure the Yanks were thrown, but knowing them, a new fire was lit under their butts. We can't count them out...yet. Three to clinch would be great, but 5 wins would send a strong message to anyone doubting the Sox.
The blogs are running strong for the Presidency and we have a debate tomorrow. The biggest issue seems to be access to tickets for "the common folk". I'd love to hear other issues or suggestions that you all as fans think are important. Thanks for everyone's support!
Yes, I've been away from my blog for a few days since I'm on a work trip out of the country. As fans know, it's hard to keep up with the team when your only news is the ticker on CNN and an occasional update in the out-of-town newspapers. I'm sorry to wake up today and see that, as my Dad would say, it was "a very bad night" (translation: Red Sox lost and Yankees won). Down to 1.5 isn't a good feeling, but we're still in the lead and going to the playoffs. When I get back into town tomorrow, my first job is to get caught up again on all things Red Sox.
Access to tickets remains a huge issue in this election. I hope to talk to the Red Sox about their current processs, so I can better understand how it works and how it can be improved. I do know that the Red Sox (as well as many corporations who have tickets) do a lot for needy causes. At every game you have a special person throwing out a ball, or announcing "play ball" or mentioned on the loudpeaker and/or screen. Maybe that needs to be publicized more than it currently is promoted to show the good will of the Red Sox. I'll see what I can find out and report back soon.
It's amazing how many people have asked about the lack of Red Sox tickets for the public. One obvious solution is to build a new ball park with 60,000+ seats as had been discussed in the past. This for true Fenway Park fans is not an option - how could we live without our historic, unique home? I do believe the current owners have done a great job in adding seats to Fenway with the Monster seats, Right Field roof deck and upgrades to the EMC and State Street Pavilion. I hope that by working with their planners, they can find ways to add even more seats. Of course we must assume those seats will probably be expensive and as hard to get as Monster seats, so that's not a great solution. Maybe they can add onto the bleachers and keep the price low. I don't know how the tickets are sold, but I think there needs to be some lottery or fair method of allocating tickets at the start of the season for non-season ticket holders. If they can find a way to stop ticket agents from getting huge blocks of tickets, that may help.
Here is where my Economics degree from Franklin and Marshall College is finally coming in handy. Unfortunately, the bottom line is that as long as we're in Fenway with limited seating capacity, and as long as the Red Sox fan base continues to grow, supply and demand principles will rule. There will always be a scarcity of tickets. It really hit home to me while watching the Toronto series and seeing how many empty seats they had...you'd NEVER see that at Fenway!
I had a really bad dream last night, the Red Sox had lost and the Yankees had won bringing the lead down to 1 1/2 games. Unfortunately when I opened the newspaper, I quickly realized that it wasn't a dream....could this be happening? Papelbon giving up a grand slam? I'm not blaming him for the loss and subsequent close race, but he's our go-to guy! He wins and saves games for us! What's happening to the Sox? Of course, there's still hope and I haven't given up...not by a long shot!
Last night we had the "Meet the 10 Candidates" event, which went really well. It was nice to meet the other candidates who were able to fit the event into their busy schedules. I wanted to write about a few things I said last night that I'd like to do for the Nation.
That's it for now. Keep the suggestions coming!
Everyone I've spoken to over the past 3 days has said the same thing. Yes, we know how it feels, certainly this isn't the first time that we've felt the breath of the Evil Empire on our necks. That doesn't make it any easier. The local media are all over it too - What's the worst case?, When will Manny play again?, Can the Yankees keep this up? Who knows? Now more than ever we need to keep the faith and trust that a stong team will pull through in the end. We have great coaching and a solid team. We won't settle for a wildcard slot, we NEED to win the division. Then go all the way....
Everyone is down on Gagne, yes. To say the least, he hasn't lived up to the hype or his past performance. Someone, I won't mention names, thinks he may be a plant to thow the games. I wouldn't go that far, but Francona needs to re-evaluate when (really if) to put him into the game. It's just so heartbreaking to be ahead then in a few quick moments, lose a game that shouldn't be lost.
We have only 10 games to go with 6 at home. I predict we go 7 and 3 and win the AL East! The Yankees will have to settle for a wildcard.
