The Season Starts NOW..

We are a little under two hours away from the first pitch of the first regular season game played on American Soil for the 2008 Boston Red Sox. I must admit, it does not even feel like baseball season to me, and the Sox are already at .500. I guess it's because I was only able to catch bits of the game in the morning and then some of the replay at night. Still I am pretty pumped about the season getting going.

There has been a ton of chatter over the two games played in Japan, with most of it centered around the Sox nation feeling like they somehow were disrespected by MLB sending the team over there. For the life of me, I just cannot understand this fanbase sometimes. While I have never lived somewhere else, I cannot imagine another team that has fans who think that they are entitled to the entire league making sure that they are happy. First of all, the Sox are not the first to have to make this trip, and they certainly won't be the last, so shut up, you are not being treated unfairly. Second, MLB and the Red Sox are all about making money. Do you really think that there would be professional sports teams if it was not wildy lucrative for the owners? They are in it to make money, MLB wants to make money, and they realize that you have to be constantly looking for new revenue streams, and that means expanding globally. Why? Because you already own a jersey and a hat, and some stupid fucking anti-yankees gear. So, they need to find new people to buy "official MLB" gear. Third, I don't know of anyone who watches all 162 regular season games. Hell, tonight is a 10 o'clock start and I would bet that most people are not planning on watching more than an inning or two(myself included.) So, chalk the two Japan games up as two you missed.

The bottom line is that the Sox do not care about you as a fan. They have done such an amazing marketing job over the last 7 years or so, that they know that you are not going anywhere. Just like they knew you would run out and buy those fucking ridiculous green jerseys when they unveiled them. They knew that you would not boycott the season, or give up on the team by them playing in Japan. They were more concerned with getting more people to watch their team and buy there marketing gimmicks, thats how they make money. So, shut up.

Anyway, on to tonights game. Here are a few things I will be looking out for in the game before I fall asleep on the couch:

-The big question is Dice-K. How is he going to perform? How consistent will he be? Is he going to continue to give us an awful inning or two, followed by three amazing ones? Its the first test for him in 2008 (I dont count the start in Japan, it was a different time zone, so I am not sure if it really happened...) We pain a lot of money for this guy, and I think that he will be a solid starter this year, but only time will tell.

-I am hoping to God that someone hits JD Drew in the head with an old battery. Preferably a D cell. You might remember, loyal reader, that I defended his poor performance last year and said I thought he would have a better year this year. Now, his back is tight...poor little guy...and he can't preform the way he would like to, so he is out. Now, I really do try to not swear on this site, but are you fucking kidding me??? You are a professional athlete. Moreover, you somehow got a huge contract that you didn't deserve. You also have daily access to the best trainers, massages, hot tubs, cold tubs and doctors that money can buy. You are telling me that they cannot untighten your back? You pussy. Grow a pair and get out there, or get the hell out of Boston.

-Is the age of Ellsbury upon us? I am not sold on it yet. However, I will openly admit that I was skeptical of Pedroia last year, and called him all sorts of names throughout April. I was dead wrong, and actually emailed him an apology.

-Remy...what are you going to try and sell us this year, you ass?

-Also, I am really excited to see Manny this year. He seems to have remembered his love for the game, and when he is firing on all cylinders it is just awesome to watch him swing the bat.

This post is getting a little long, so I will post some follow ups at some point tomorrow.

-B