"Swing and a pop up . . ."

I can hear Joe Castiglione's voice in my head.

That's how it ended for the McKay Club this season. On a pop up to the shortstop.

35 games, three-plus months, and a multitude of emotions later, I have to say with some gusto that I had fun this year. Sure, we didn't even make the playoffs. We went 19-16. Ask Rob Linn, Chris Deane, or anybody else on the team and they would have told you that we should have won five or six more games than that. I agree. I can't disagree so by elimination I have to agree. But that's not the point here. The point is that even though we lost the biggest game of our season 9-1 and didn't make the playoffs, the push for the playoffs was pretty sweet.

I should probably tell everyone right now what I've been thinking about for the past two or three weeks now (it might make the previous paragraph easier to absorb for some of the guys). All my life, through Little League, Babe Ruth, Senior League, and through High School ball and everywhere in between, I have never been on a good team. Little League might have been .500, but I think that's about as good as it got. Babe Ruth was bad, Senior League was worse and my high school didn't even have a baseball team until my sophomore year. I don't think I even need to tell you how bad those couple years were.

What I am trying to say is that, even though we missed the playoffs in 2007, I got a taste of what it means to be in the hunt. I smelled the blood, I was ready to face Somerville in the first round. Like Rob Linn said to me last night "St. Peter's Field baby." St. Peter's is right. He was still pissed about Tuesday's game, and I wasn't pissed, but it had been on my mind all that day, along with how shitty I felt.

I always loved playing baseball because even when I was losing, it was still fun. Now, no one wants to lose all the time, that just sucks. I never really knew what winning felt like on the baseball diamond because it happened to me once every five or six games most of my life.

Until this year.

This season was great. We were right in the middle of what was deemed "the most exciting Yawkey League playoff run in history" by David Treska and Dave McKay. I mean, we had playoff updates every single day in out inboxes. I have to be at work at 5:30 every morning, and I hate waking up, but I woke up extra early just to check my inbox, to see those updated playoff standings. Were we in, were we out, where were we, how many more points do we need, who owns the tie-breakers? The list went on and on, I was so excited.

We ended up losing, like I said. But we worked our asses off to make it to that single-elimination playoff game. Silver lining? Maybe. But I'll take it.

After losing four consecutive in the middle of July, it was finally time to make our playoff push apparently. We reeled off six out of seven to finish tied with the Devils of West Roxbury. During that stretch, I yelled louder, clapped more and high-fived more than I ever have in my entire baseball career. It was a great feeling. Winning, that is.

You've all said it before to me. I'm always positive. it may be sickening to you sometimes. You probably don't want to hear it after you just struck out with two men in scoring position or after you just gave up three hits and two runs, but that's just how I operate. This is me being positive again. If you don't want to hear about it, just stop reading.

If you're still with me, hear me out. If you want to win as bad as I do, you'll think about this season. Think about all the ups we had, but think about the downs too. The one-run losses, the games we pissed away and the games where we just didn't show up to play. Remember those good feelings, but remember the bad ones too. Channel all that into a small section of your brain and store it away for the 2008 season. When we get together again and we start playing games, remember everything.

22 years later, I finally have a taste for winning. But I want more than a taste. Help me get that meal in 2008.

Playoff Spot, Here We Come

“That’s how NOT to give up.”

Rob Linn said it best after Tuesday night’s battle in Brighton with the Braves.

For anyone who watched the first five innings of last night’s game, I’m sorry you saw the worst of it. The McKay Club was seemingly down and out, falling into a 6-1 hole fueled by bloops, errors, bad base running and a lack of energetic, inspired play in the field. After I exited during the fourth inning, my head was low, I’ll admit to it. At the time, we were chasing four runs and it looked like another abysmal night under the lights at spacious Rogers Park.

But in some odd reoccurrence of events, we managed to rally back for yet another come-from-behind-win up in the airy, affluent City of Brighton. Almost two weeks to the day, our very own McKay Club watched a lead ebb away like the outgoing tide to the Black Sox of Brighton, only to come back to win it in the seventh. And much like last night, a late surge was necessary to fuel a must-need win, a win that keeps us in the center of that playoff picture.

It reminds me of Back to the Future II, where Marty is looking at the picture of himself and his family fading quick but he saves the day, watches them reappear on the photograph again and everything is good once again in The Future. We were that family fading away quick, almost totally invisible. Maybe we had an arm or a leg left. That was it. That was until we got saved and reappeared. What a relief…

There were so many heroes last night, I really don’t know where to start. It was a team effort to bring us back into the picture, that’s for damn sure. We were all but off the photo for good after our captain got ejected for, what do you call it exactly, yelling at the umpire? Whatever it was, he was tossed and the game seemed to be going down hill faster than the Jamaican bob sled team. Our boy Nando Trindade wasn’t feeling the bad vibes though, as he launched a liner down the left field line. It rolled, skipped, rolled some more and by the time it stopped, our faux first baseman had himself a three run homerun which cut the lead to 6-4.

It was at that point precisely when our bench got up to congratulate Nando, looked at each other and thought collectively “hey, this game isn’t over, let’s go!” Nando’s first career Yawkey League homerun couldn’t have come at a better time. That awoke the sleeping giant known as the McKay Club. In the blink of an eye, the game was a game again, not just us pretending and going through the motions.

Now I can’t write anymore until I mention the total wildcard of this game, Joe Ceurvels. I don’t know what to say really. Here’s a guy who before last night had thrown one inning all season. One inning. Warming up the other pitchers became a regular activity until last night when Joe came in to get the final two outs of the fourth inning and then proceeded to pitch two hitless innings that we needed more than anything. It takes a lot of patience and dedication to wait 27 games to get a chance to pitch meaningful innings, but Joe did it and last night it was a Godsend.

Last night was a show-me game, and we showed last night. We showed it to our selves once again how to come back and win a game. Dan Ciooca -- who is a bulldog by the way -- showed us all how to tie a game in the top of the seventh inning with a 2 RBI single through the left side of the infield. That gave Ciocca 24 RBI on the season and about 700 clutch hits so far this year. What a beast. Jackie Owens showed us how to win a game, smacking an 0-2 pitch up the middle to drive in the game-winning run in the eighth inning (his biggest hit of the season in my books). And Adam Kulis showed us how to close out a game, going two scoreless innings of relief to get us one win closer to a spot in the playoffs.

What a night at the ball park. Just when you think we’re out of it, we pull you back in. It’s like one of those movies with a stellar cast but a soggy plot. You’re about to shut it off and go watch ESPN News, but then the movie takes a turn for the better and all the sudden your eyes are glued. That’s the McKay Club in a nutshell. We’ll make you cringe sometimes, and maybe once in a while you’ll want to walk away but when it comes down to it, we fight ‘til the end.

And besides, with loud obnoxious individuals like Rob Linn and Chris Deane, why wouldn’t you want to watch us? Tune in next time, Friday night, Ronan Park, 7:30. You just never know what you’re going to see happen.

Two Firsts in One Game For Young Sox Pitchers

It was last night at Jacobs Field in Cleveland that marked the return of Jon Lester. We all know and will always remember his heroic story, his battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and his victory over it.

I am fairly certain in my statement when I say that everyone reading this right now has heard all the details about the disease and how Lester was treated successfully and has made a full recovery. And most of you watched the Red Sox-Indians game last night – maybe not with as much emotion as Jon Lester’s mom – and saw what most Sox fans had been waiting for since spring training: a chance to see Jon Lester pitch in the big leagues again.

Well, there he was last night, the center of attention atop the loneliest circle a baseball field has to offer, surrounded by almost as many Red Sox fans as Indians fans. Lester came through with the win, his first in the Major Leagues since he was diagnosed with Aniplastic Large Cell Lymphoma.

Here was his pitching line: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HR. 96 pitches, 55 strikes.

Lester got the win, and all the publicity. Of course he did, and it was well deserved publicity. What he has accomplished was extremely courageous and there will probably be a five minute long, ear-ringing, foot-stomping standing ovation for him when he takes the mound at Fenway Park for the first time since his return. There’s actually a good chance that Fenway will collapse from all the excitement.

But what got lost in the shuffle of Jon Lester’s return in my vision was a 25 year-old fire-baller from right around the corner. West Roxbury, actually.

After logging 79.2 innings of relief for the Boston Red Sox over parts of three seasons, Manny Delcarmen got his first career major league save. Usually this would just be a nice story about the local kid who grew up a Red Sox fan, had talent, got drafted and pitched for the home town team. A dream come true of course.

But for me, my teammates, the other teams and all the alumni of the Yawkey Baseball League, we’re collectively proud of Manny Delcarmen for putting us on the map for future talents that happen to swim through the kettle known as the Yawkey League.

The next time someone happens to ask me or anyone else who happens to play in the Yawkey League, how the talent is, we can say to them:

“You know who Manny Delcarmen is?”

“Yea, the set-up man for the Sox.”

“Well, he played in the Yawkey League when he was 18 years old.”

Now, I wasn’t there to face him, and I’m glad I wasn’t because I may have soiled myself in the process. He was an elite Yawkey League player, but nonetheless, there are still a few guys on my team that can say that they played against him before the spot light shone bright on him.

The key to Delcarmen’s successes this year has been simple. He’s throwing first pitch strikes on a consistent basis and he’s locating his pitches. That’s really all you have to do to be successful at the Major League level. And throwing 95 miles and hour seems to help too.

The point of this is to be proud that you have a chance to play in the Yawkey League. Whether you’re a potential Yawkey league HOF’er, a middle of the road guy or you’re just sitting on the bench waiting for your chance to play, think about who sat down on that very same bench at one point in the past.

And you never know when another Manny Delcarmen or Rich Hill is going to appear in the Yawkey League, leave his impression and give you another name to drop on your friends in the future.

Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things

Drum roll please . . .

Cue the trumpets . . .

I know it’s been a while, but I had to make a grand entrance.

After about a two week hiatus from the time of my last blog post, a lot of teammates of mine were asking about the blog.

Where has it been?, they asked me. ‘It’ has been dormant and now that I am back from a short vacation and finally have the energy to string together coherent thoughts, here ‘it’ is.

Dana, you may have been writing more than I have recently and good for you. But now it’s my turn to write and your turn to read. It’s funny though, because when I was writing more consistently, there was rarely a mention of the blog at the games. From time to time, a comment and a remark about it, but nothing over the top. But over the past week, the questions have been rolling in asking where it is, why I haven’t posted any thing lately. Well, if I knew all of you (mostly my teammates and anybody else who happens to browse over it from time to time) read my blog consistently, I would be more inclined to write on a consistent basis. I love writing these things, but if I knew my readership was this large, it would be that much more inclined (don’t worry Deano, I just deflated my head).

Before I get to my main topic, I would like to thank my coach and the host of The Boston Baseball Heads show, Dave McKay for having me on as a guest this past week. Appearing on television and being able to discuss the game of baseball with him, Medford Maddogs pitcher and statistician Sean Gildea and all around baseball mind Al Ditilio was a fantastic experience and I hope to return to the set of the show and make another appearance. Thank you Dave for giving me the opportunity to promote what I am doing right now, I greatly appreciate it.

Now to the matters at hand, what you’re here for.

Since the Yawkey League All-Star break is upon us, I figured it was time to hand out some mid-season awards to our guys. Even though the McKay Club’s record is hovering just over .500 at 13-11, there is plenty to be happy about in the Land of Awards. We have a few athletes in our midst who have been going above and beyond, proving to both our team and to the entire Yawkey League that our McKay Club has some stardom within it.

In the game of baseball, pitching is key to success. You know that. Actually, why am I even telling you this? You already know it. Well, because it needs to be reiterated. The pitching staff of the McKay Club in 2007 has been pretty good overall with our team ERA under three at 2.91, hovering around the middle of the Yawkey League pack.

But there has been one guy who has stood out for us, and more so in recent weeks. He doesn’t have all the innings, or all the strikeouts, or that extra giddy-up on his fastball that some other pitchers may have. But what he may lack in those categories he more than makes up for in his win-loss record, his ERA and his WHIP (walks + hits / innings pitched). Of all the pitchers that have made significant contributions for the McKay Club this season, Adam Kulis is the only one not to have a loss to his credit.

His record stands at 3-0 in four starts and two relief appearances and his ERA is below two at a stymie 1.81. The numbers that really jumped out at me were the minimal walks and low WHIP. In 27 innings pitched Adam has allowed only five walks and his WHIP is .926, good enough for third in the entire Yawkey League. What also stood out to me was his stellar performance against the East Boston Bluefish and Yawkey League K-man Kyle Jones. In the game, Adam needed only 79 pitches to go the distance in a 1-0 quickie of a game in which he allowed only two hits and one walk. Half way through the season, my pitcher of the year for the McKay Club has to be the soon-to-be married Adam Kulis. Good luck with the wedding Adam, and don’t tighten those shackles too much.

Next up for me has to be the defensive whiz of the team. They say it in some professional sports that defense wins championships. In the game of baseball, defense doesn’t single-handedly win them, but it certainly helps a bunch. The teammate I am choosing for this award is probably the best at his position I have ever had the pleasure of playing with. His range is amazing, his jumps on balls are impeccable and it just seems as though every game he makes at least one play where you have to say to yourself ‘wow’.

What Jackie Owens has been lacking at the plate this year he has more than made up for in his stellar defensive play in centerfield. In 19 games so far this season, Jackie has 28 putouts, the most of our outfielders. He has not made an error, or even come close to one for that matter. To his credit he has collected two outfield assists, but could have more than that. Many teams don’t run on his arm for fear of being gunned down. I for one have been saved by Jackie Owens while on the mound more than once this year and I’m sure most of our other pitchers have as well. So I tip my cap to you, Jack, and I thank you for your top-notch play in the outfield. You are the Defensive Whiz of the 2007 season so far.

Did I mention that he’s got a Gold Glove to his credit as well? Icing on the cake baby.

Now, I left the first half MVP for last because I respect him tremendously and I didn’t want you to know who he was until the end. This guy has been doing it all for the McKay Club this season so far. If you play with us, or have played against us, you probably already know who I’m talking about. You might have seen him at first base. Or maybe it was second? Some may have caught a glimpse of him at short or third. If it was early in the season, you caught him in right field or even on the pitcher’s mound.

Yea, he’s even been there.

Versatility aside, Dan Ciocca has been an offensive force this entire season and his numbers back it up. Through 22 games, number 11 has been number one on the McKay Club. Ciocca is batting .379 while slugging a robust .579 thus far. His 19 RBI, not including last night’s game versus West Roxbury landed him third in the Yawkey League. He is also tied for third in the league with seven doubles and has one mammoth homerun against the tops dogs of the league Somerville.

All the versatility in the infield hasn’t hurt his defense either, as Ciocca has only committed five errors while collecting 35 assists (first on the team) and 34 put outs (second on the team).

The majority of Dan’s RBI’s have been difference makers in games as well. Any time there is a big spot for him to plate a few runs, he’s there to get the job done, just ask the opposing team. Now, some of this credit has to go to the three gentlemen (and it pains me to call them gentlemen by the way) ahead of him in the line-up. Dana Levensaler, Rob Linn and Chris Deane have been getting on base for Danny so he has these RBI opportunities. I know I would have heard it from at least two of them if their names were not mentioned within this piece. Ever since our line up was shuffled to get Ciocca in the clean-up spot, it has been nothing but good news for us and bas news for opposing pitchers. The first half MVP of the McKay Club goes to Mr. Versatility himself, Dan Ciocca. Just don’t let him be your wingman and Tom English’s. Just ask Dana.

To Be The Best You Copy The Best

A Yawkey League-leading 1.01 team ERA.

A .949 fielding percentage, third best in the league.

16 wins, 0 losses.

It doesn’t take Albert Einstein or Johannes Kepler to determine which team these stats belong to. Do I even need to say it? For the purpose of this space, I have to. They belong to the Somerville Alibrandis.

On the other hand, take a peak at these stats…

A .320 team batting average, good for tops in the Yawkey League.

A 2.29 ERA, good enough for seventh in the league.

A .915 fielding percentage, good enough for (wince) fourth worst in the league

Those statistics add up to an overall record of 9-7, putting the McKay Club five points behind the Dan Tarpey Division-leading South End Astros. Those same Astros that won both match-ups against the McKay Club this year by a combined total of 16-1. Now South End holds the tie-breaker in the division. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves now, we have work to do before we start talking about tie-breakers and division crowns.

Tuesday night at Jim Rice Field in Roxbury, I watched the McKay Club wither up like a grape in the sun. We made four errors, but there may have one or two that were graciously uncounted. Unfortunately, we were participating in the game of the week and airing on the CN8 Channel. Fortunately, whether we lost 9-0, 9-8, or 17-3, it only counts as one game, and I for one have a short memory.

We can put this game behind us, forget about. Not only did we not play well, but we were very unlucky. I can count at least three balls that were driven directly into the plate against us, making routine groundballs infield singles for the opposing team. I can also remember balls hit by Jake Suoto, Brendan England, Dana Levensaler and Jackie Owens that, on any other night would have been base nits, some of them for extra bases have you.

But good or back luck aside, we deserved to lose that game. Actually, I think we had to lose that game. We made mental errors, we made physical errors, we played shi-, I mean crappy and you know what? That’s what we need. A wake-up call, myself included.

Since we won four straight games to improve the record to 8-4, every member of this team has watched our record fall to 9-7. That’s three losses in four games. We only play 34 games and every game is important. There aren’t any that you can just give away. To put it terms of a 162 season, this would be the equivalent of the Bo Sox losing 14 out of 19 games. Not good.

So what do we do to change our woeful ways? We run the bases smarter. We field more thoroughly. We cut down on the mental errors. But most importantly, we need to play as a cohesive unit.

As a group of guys, we’re pretty tight. We go to Tom English’s on a regular basis, have some beers, shoot the shit and for the most part, we enjoy each other’s company. But on the baseball diamond, we need to be more than a group of guys, we need to be a team. A team trusts one another. A team stays positive under even the most undesirable conditions. And a team should know how to win.

It all starts before the game. The preparation for a baseball game is almost as important as the game its self, just as Dave Treska, coach of the Somerville Alibradis told me. “We (The Alibrandis) have a pretty good pre-game routine that we use to get them all ready for the game.” This doesn’t just mean the four infielders taking two grounders each and lollygagging throws to first and second. This should mean a full nine practicing at about 80-85 percent before game time, assuring themselves that all the bases are covered and everyone knows where to be at exactly the right times. Timing and location are everything. Ask Dana, he’s a real estate guy.

Staying positive is another big part of being a successful baseball team. I don’t want to keep using Somerville as an example, but I will anyway (Hey, who else is a better example that those guys?). I only watch two Somerville games a year, and that’s when they play the McKay Club. I’ll tell you what, I’ve never heard any of those guys saying “this sucks” or “you need to do [this] better” or “this guy doesn’t have anything, we should be hitting the hell out of the ball.”

Those guys win games because they are always prepared to play, they stay alert and they are always positive. They don’t act negative on the bench. They stay loose, pick each other up and always seem to stay positive.

You might not want to hear it and it may well be the last thing you want to hear, but to be successful, you need to copy the best. We need to embody the Somerville ways and play smarter baseball. We need to be more prepared to take the field every night and we need to pick each other up, even in the hardest of times.

Other than that, we just need to win and have fun doing it. See you in Malden on Thursday with a new attitude.

The Right Hand of Rejection

Note: names have been left out to avoid embarrassment.

You guys know who you are.

It was your average night at the bar. Chatter and background music filled the air as the fresh scents of draft beer flowed through the dimly lit watering hole. It was late in the evening, after midnight when an ordinary evening in an ordinary bar turned into a classic moment to be remembered.

After a good amount of draft beers and three shots of liquor, a young baseball player was sitting on his stool. This particular baseball player was qiuet-minded and usually he kept to himself. He never had too much to say, but most of the time, there wasn’t much to say. Slightly hunched and mulling over his next drink selection, he noticed two young ladies who had just arrived. Maybe at a dance club in the heart of Boston, these two lasses may have been run of the mill, but in this particular bar, they stood out like two diamonds in a sea of black.

“Whoa, check out these two at the bar,” the buzzing baseballer said to one of his older teammates.

“Well well well, what do we have here? This may be my lucky night. Not only did we win our game, but I’m gettin’ a number tonight.”

This older teammate, he had been around the block, he knew how to work the situation. With a stumbly wingman by his side, the two dirty, smelly ball players worked out a quick and decisive game plan to woo the two lookers at the bar.

“Ok, let me do the talking dude, because it looks like you’re not in prime shape to work your words,” the older teammate told the buzzed one.

“You know what?” he mumbled to his older counterpart, “you watch me work, I’ll show you how it’s done my friend.”

“Ok skip, whatever you say,” the elder of two chuckled as they both approached the young ladies who were waiting for their drinks. He didn’t feel fighting over whose game plan would be used. After a short meander over to the bar, the two teammates realized these two ladies were not run of the mill at all. They both seemed to be in college, and in seriously good shape, if you get my drift. The two bunnies were certainly dressed for a night out on the town with their short skirts and matching halter tops seemingly magnetizing all eyes towards them.

Our two baseball lads on the other hand, they weren’t quite dressed to go out on the town for a night. Fresh off a victory earlier in the evening they thought they smelled fresh, but in reality their aroma was similar to that of a gym bag. Unbeknownst to the two ballplayers, they approached the lovely ladies with one goal in mind: To score.

“Hi” the two stumble-bums said simultaneously to the girls. If the aromas of the two pairs were any more polar opposite, they would have been from different planets. The girls smelled fresh and sexy, like you’d find in a perfume ad in a Cosmo magazine. It seems at this point, the girls started to become weary, even before sentences were uttered. You could tell by way their smiles disappeared faster than a speeding locomotive.

“Yea, hi, can we help you?” one of the two cutie pies said quietly to the younger of the two ball players.

“I’m sure you can” he said with a laugh as he leaned over to inspect a little bit closer.

Names were exchanged, but after that, the sailing got rough. It seems as though these two women may not have been looking for a few guys quite like these two.

“So,” the buzzed baseball player half-mumbled to one of the fine ladies, “where are you from?”

“Um, I’m from around here. I live in the city” she replied, not seeming too interested.

At the same time this “conversation” was occurring, the older of the two ball players was trying to think of a way to salvage what was left of this debacle. He pulled the young shortstop away for a quick moment, told him a few words of encouragement and returned him to salvage what was left of the wreckage.

“So where you from?” he said again, not remembering that he had just uttered these same words no more than thirty seconds ago.

“I told you, I’m from Boston.” Nearly rolling her eyes into the back of her head, she fidgeted, looked at her friend and was quiet and stoic.

The older ballplayer, using his wisdom and knowledge to try and salvage the desperate situation, turned to the girls and made a futile attempt at a one-liner. They were not interested. Like two full fish looking at hooks with dried on worms crusted around, they were not interested at all.

The younger ball player, trying once again to whirl his magical words together, asked the young dame where she was from. No response. That’s never good. Anything is better than nothing.

Times were getting tough for the two guys, and their opportunity had just escaped out the front door. Walking like they just committed a crime, the two had grabbed their purses, paid their tab and left the bar quicker than you could say “shut down.”

In obvious anguish and half drunk, the younger of the two said “what just happened?”

“You screwed it up bad, that’s what just happened. We had a chance at those women,” the older ballplayer said to the younger one. “You should have just let me do the talking.”

“Wait,” the drunken one said. “Where were they from again?”

“Nevermind,” he sighed to him in disgust.

A beer or two later, they were talking again, still on the topic of the two fine young women who had evaded their Bond-like allure.

“It’s too bad we couldn’t pick those two up, it would have been a great end to this night” the young ballplayer said.

“Yea, it would have. But you know what? We won tonight, just not here. We’re 9-5, on a roll and I’m happy with that. Not satisfied, but happy.” You could tell that the older ballplayer was still a bit bothered by the whole situation that had transpired, but he looked at the bar one last time, and told his teammate “hey, at least we got the team, you know?”

“Yea,” the other replied. “I just wish I could remember where that girl was from.”

Oh So Perfect

Time for a bit of Yawkey League house cleaning here on the Boston Boy’s Sports Page. Not even a month and a half into the 2007 Yawkey League season, we have already seen one no-hitter by Sean Sullivan of the McKay Club Beacons. He threw against the Cambridge Spinners, striking out 11 in his seven innings of no-hit work.

On Saturday afternoon at damp, cool Trum Field Marc DesRoches threw the Yawkey League’s first perfect game of the 2007 season. He threw against the Brighton Braves, achieving his perfecto status in only 73 pitches, while striking out 10.

This was DesRoches’ third start of the season and the second start in which he has yet to allow a run. Currently, His ERA stands at a dental floss-thin 0.41, making even Paris Hilton’s waistline jealous. DesRoches has been one of the best Yawkey League pitchers not only this year, but for the last three seasons as well. In 97.2 career Yawkey League innings Marc DesRoches has a whittled-down ERA of 0.50 while striking out 131 batters and allowing only 44 hits. In his three plus years of service for the Somerville Alibrandis, DesRoches has a record of 15-2 with three saves in the regular season.

What makes Marc DesRoches the best player in the Yawkey League is not just his pitching prowess but his offensive production. While throwing his perfect game, DesRoches went 2-3 at the plate with a double, a triple, four RBI’s and a run scored to help lead his team to the 7-0 win. DesRoches is batting .379 this season, which is actually below his career .393 average. With 76 RBI’s in 91 career Yawkey League games, I think it’s safe to say that you just don’t see players like this come around everyday, whether it be in the Yawkey League or anywhere else for that matter.

Number 514 may not be of too much relevance to you, or to you, or to you either. It wasn’t to me either until Dan Mahoney of the Brighton Brewers got selected by the New York Yankees in the 16^th round of the 2007 MLB draft at number 514. congratulations to Dan and I hope the best for him. And when I say that, I hope that the Yankees trade him away as part of a package deal so that he never has to wear those dreaded pin stripes. Could you just imagine the range of emtions this kid felt as the New York New York Yankees drafted him?

‘Wait, so I just got drafted by Major League Baseball?’ WOW!

‘What’s that you say? It was by the New York Yankees?’

‘I want to be traded.’

Military All-Stars Defeat Yawkey League All-Stars 8-6

On the 63^rd anniversary of D-Day, a defining moment in American history, representatives from all branches of the military congregated in Roslindale to remember those who have fallen in years past, but also to hear two words that everyone was familiar with: “Play Ball!”

On Wednesday night Fallon Field hosted an annual All-Star game that pitted the best of Boston’s Yawkey Baseball League against some of the best athletes that the U.S. Military had to offer. Members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard were outfitted with full camouflage uniforms under the lights as they took a break from fighting for their country to play the American pastime we all know and love, baseball.

As Dave McKay, the president of the Yawkey Baseball League announced that Gulf War veteran and Yawkey League All-Star Chris Deane would be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, some in attendance may have wondered why. Chris seemed like the perfect candidate to perform such an honor. But believe it or not, there was someone else who was even more deserving of the honor.

Shane Burke, an Iraq war veteran and native of Dorchester who lost his left leg below the knee in 2006 was scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch to U.S. Navy member and starting catcher for the Military All-Stars, Caleb Robbins. Unfortunately, Burke got lost on his way to the field and was not able to make it in time to toss out the first pitch.

For the Yawkey league All-Stars, Somerville Alibrandi Jon Morse got the start on the mound and looked good in his two innings of work, allowing one run. So far this season, Morse has not allowed a run while strking out 18 in 15 innings of work for his Somerville Team. Coming on to start the third inning was McKay Club fire-baller and staff ace Sean Sullivan who recently threw a no-hitter for his Yawkey League team. Sully had quite an impressive first inning on the mound for the Yawkey League All-Stars, as he allowed just one squib hit to start the inning.

After a stolen base put the leadoff batter on second base, Sean struck out his next opponent looking. Unfortunately, the ball bounced in the dirt and got by catcher Tony Iafolla, leading to a first and third situation with no one out. Now, some pitchers have an “extra gear” they can go to when in tough spots, and Sully has that gear. And he shifted into it as he struck out the next batter swinging, induced a harmless fly out to the centerfielder and then finished off the downshift by striking out the next batter looking to end the inning. The pitching performance for the inning was very impressive, as Sully really bore down, threw quality strikes and made the most out of what was dealt his way.

After the YBL All-Stars collected two more runs in the bottom of the third with some help from powerhouse Alibrandi Marc DeRoches’ opposite field triple and an error on the shortstop, it was time for Sully to get back to work on the mound. The top of the fourth inning did not prove to be as tidy as the third for Sean. After three walks and a groundout, Sully balked in a run after the man on third spooked him by breaking for the plate.

Aidan Powers, a member of the Al Thomas Athletics who got a win against the McKay Club on opening day, relieved Sully of his duties and did not fare much better. He threw a passed ball while facing his first batter, leading to another run for the Military All-Stars. After two more walks loaded the bases again, a sacrifice fly was hit to give the Military All-Stars a 5-4 lead. Powers eventually forced a pop out to third baseman Marc DeRoches, but not before four runs had scored with the help of five walks.

Entering the bottom of the fourth down a run, the Yawkey League All-Stars scratched a run across the board. After Kevin White, a Somerville Alibrandi (see a recurring theme here?) reached on a strike out, he stole second, was moved over on a fly ball and scored on a groundball single by none other than Somerville Alibrandi David Scioli. Scioli put on quite a battle at the plate to tie the game up at five runs apiece.

As Kevin White crossed the plate to score the game-tying run, McKay Club bench coach Billy Cunningham, whom I was sitting next to, cheered as the run crossed the plate and then abruptly stopped. I looked over, and he told me he couldn’t believe he was actually cheering for the Somerville Alibrandis’ players. I nodded in agreement, then compared it to rooting for a New York Yankee in an MLB All-Star game.

Aidan Powers stayed in the game to pitch the fifth inning and looked a lot more like the pitcher I remember seeing on opening day. He made quick work of the Military All-Stars, striking out the side looking by mixing up his pitches very well and most importantly, controlling them too.

The two teams swapped runs over the next few innings, leading to a 6-6 tie going into the ninth inning. For the ninth inning, Kevin Christina of the Brighton Brewers was in to pitch. In three starts this season in the YBL, Christina had rung up 22 batters in 20 innings of work, leading to a respectable 2.45 ERA.

To lead off the ninth inning of the All-Star game, Christina allowed the silent killer, a lead-off walk. Just a quick aside here. I don’t have a stat for this, but I have to say that at least 50 percent of the time, when there is a leadoff walk in the seventh inning or later of a game, that player ends up scoring one way or another. I’ve watched a lot of baseball, and it is a recurring theme. Don’t walk the lead-off batter, it will kill you.

After a force out at second, steals of second and third, a walk and a theft of second by the base runner at first, the Military All-Stars had two men in scoring position with only one man down and outfielder Ronnie Stahl at the plate. Stahl, a member of the U.S. Navy and graduate of Old Dominion University knocked a two-run single up the middle to plate two runs, giving the Military All-Stars a two-run lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning.

With one out in the ninth, the Military All-Stars went to their apparent closer, the 6’ 2” right-hander out of the U.S. Navy, Will Zavala. Zavala entered the game and struck out the first batter he faced on a knee-buckling curve. He retired the final batter on a groundball to the second baseman to end to game and give the Military All-Stars an 8-6 victory over the Yawkey League All-Stars, improving their record to 6-1.

Now I know that Dave McKay was disappointed that the best of the Yawkey League didn’t win, but from the perspective of a baseball fan this was a great game. Aside from one inning that was filled with bases on balls, this game was about as clean as they come. There was good hitting all around, like the screaming RBI liner that DeRoches hit to the opposite field or the bomb that was hit about 400 feet to dead center by one of the Military All-Stars.

I was rooting for the Yawkey League All-Stars too, but I know good baseball when I see it. I know quality baseball when I see it too. This game was both. Win or lose, I was happy just being able to watch the best of the Yawkey League face off against the best of our country’s military on the 63^rd Anniversary of D-Day. It was a historic day for our country and fun evening for all involved. For next year, let’s just get Shane Burke better directions so he can throw out that first pitch and we can honor the way he deserves.

No-No's, Cold Weather and Offense Galore

June 3^rd. A Sunday evening. One would think that in Boston, you could relax for a few hours watching a good ole’ Yawkey League baseball game in just a shirt and pants, maybe a jacket if there was a breeze blowing off of Dorchester Bay. Not last night though.

If I were to look behind me into the bleachers last night, I would have seen two girls huddled up in a blanket like a couple hotdogs. It was cold. It was windy at times. It was wet. It was Field of Dreams meets Gorillas in the Mist last night at Ronan Park. Most of the time, for my teammates and I anyways, we didn’t notice the cold, or the wet or the wind. We were too busy winning.

Back to back games against the sub par Chelsea Nationals this weekend provided two wins for our McKay Club Beacons as we brought our record to an acceptable 6-4. Now, these Chelsea Nationals are anything but national. Come to think of it, we can compare them to the Washington Nationals of MLB. They’re a lower level Yawkey League team, but we don’t play the games on paper, as they say, so wins are wins. We needed to win those games. And win we did.

We won with pitching, we won with hitting. But most importantly, we won our games by playing solid defense behind our pitchers. These last two games have produced only three errors, a more acceptable number than the 11 we committed previous to the weekend of the home-and-home series versus the Nationals.

Why the turn around in defensive play you might ask? More practice? Nah. Mr. Iverson said it all. "We talkin’ ‘bout practice?" What has made the difference is one of the newest members of our team, Shawn Raposo. Raposo can play three infield positions (shortstop, second base, third base) and his presence at the hot corner these last two games has made a huge difference in the way our infield in constructed. He takes pressure off Jake Souto and Dan Ciocca and makes our defense much improved.

Sunday night in the mist, Ciocca and Souto turned the niftiest double play I’ve seen in quite some time. If I remember correctly, it was a web gem on Baseball Tonight last night. Here’s how it went down. There was a bounding ball to shortstop that Ciocca had to wait on, he played the high hop, shot it over to Souto covering the bag where he bare-handed it ala Roberto Alomar circa 1995 and threw on to first baseman John Rutkauskas for the twin killing. It was velvety smooth.

What’s really been making headlines for the McKay Club is the offense. Yea, that offense. The one that struggled mightily at times in 2006. How about leading the league in batting average, hits and runs scored now? Much better? I thought so too. As of right now, the McKay Club has nine players hitting over .300 with Dana Levensaler leading the way at a robust .533, putting him eighth overall in the Yawkey League. Dana, Rob Linn, Chris Deane, Dan Ciocca, Deuce McAllister and the rest of the McKay Club have all been driving the ball, producing runs and playing to win.

Speaking of producing runs, I need to give John Rutkauskas lots of credit for laying down a gorgeous bunt last night on a squeeze play. John has been struggling to find his groove at the plate so far this season, but he plays hard all the time, is a beast in the field and hopefully that bunt can give him the boost he needs to start hitting like we all know he can.

7 innings pitched. 1 run. 2 walks. 11 strikeouts. NO hits allowed. Big congratulations to Sean Sullivan, our token redhead and staff ace for tossing only the second no-hitter in McKay Club history. John Nee was the only other player to do so, accomplishing the feat in 2005 against the West Roxbury Devils. Even though Sully was mildly agitated with the sub par defense behind him, he overpowered the free-swinging Cambridge Spinners for seven innings.

Contrary to what Sully may think, he couldn’t have done it without the defense behind him, as they made some key plays to keep the feat intact. I have a feeling that we may see another one of these performances out of Sean before the season is over. With his overpowering fastball and knee-buckling curveball, he is certainly a no-hitter waiting to happen in the Yawkey League. Hey Sean, next time, we’ll try and help you with a perfect game.

The McKay Club Beacons are Officially Fun to Watch

Well then, back to business as usual. Memorial Day has come and gone. And what a Memorial Day it was. In Boston, we saw weather with timing as impeccable as the Boston Red Sox offense. And speaking of those Red Sox, they just keep sweeping right along as the New York Yankees keep getting swept away.

I’m sure that McKay Club outfielder Dana Levensaler won’t be too happy about the Yankees, but he has a team closer to his heart than those hapless Bronx Bombers. And that team would be our McKay Club Beacons. Dana has been a great example of how this team has already seemed to have come together more cohesively this season that at any point during all of last season.

This past Friday night proved to be a prime example of how this team sticks together and, above all else, just wants to win and have a great time doing it. I mean, how many times do you see a team get three runners gunned down, at home plate have you, and still end up pulling out the win, 8-4? If you were thinking ‘not too often,’ then you were right.

I digress. Dana is an old man. It had to be said. Now for the good part. He is an old man who can swing one hell of a bat, even under the weather. Suffering from a neck injury that, earlier in the day had limited him from scoping women on Newbury Street in Boston, came through with three hits in our 8-4 come-from-behind victory. Two of the three hits Dana delivered were a few of the hottest, hardest scorched balls I have seen in my two years in the Yawkey League.

That’s just one of the many finer points from Friday night that I believe solidified our team and put into our minds that, much like the 2007 Red Sox team, this team can come from behind, score runs and win games with ability and with timely hitting. This year, more hits seem to be falling and the stats are showing it.

Through six games, the Beacons’ offense has been putting out like a, um, well you guys know here I’m going with that one. I’ll just leave it at that. The team is currently ranked fifth or better in team batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS (ob-base-plus-slugging for those of you who might not know) doubles, hits and runs scored. Now, some of these stats may have been inflated by the eight-run, 17 hit performance on Friday night at Towne Field, but I can say this much. This team, as constituted, is much more gifted offensively than last year, and I don’t mean gifted in a special-ed kind of way either.

Last season, I looked at Dan Ciocca as a pitcher first, and an offensive player second. This season, not so much. Ciocca has absolutely been hitting the cover off of the ball, spraying hits to all gaps and fields so far this season. His biggest hit of the young season by far occurred after an intentional walk of Chris Deane to load the bases. Fearing the Yawkey League power threat, Savin Hill chose to pitch to Dan Ciocca instead of Deane and he made them pay for it big time. That was the biggest hit of the season so far for the team, as it gave us a 5-4 lead that would not be relinquished.

What allowed us to come from behind, and what will allow us to come from behind again and again is the pitching. Adam Kuils, Friday’s starter, didn’t get the win that he deserved, but he pitched well enough for it and that’s what has happened for the most part this season. Good pitching performances by the group I am officially deeming The Four Horsemen have allowed us to rank seventh in the Yawkey League in ERA while allowing only 10 earned runs while striking out 40 in 41 innings. The Four Horseman are as follows: Sean Sullivan, Adam Kulis, Dan Ciocca and Ryan Thomas. With three consistent starters and one very reliable bullpen arm, this team is poised to shut down opposing offenses and win ball games.

The only troublesome area, the one that may have cost us a game or two already, is the defense. In particular the infield. Now i’m not pointing fingers, but the infielders have allowed all 11 errors so far this season, leading to our rank of 13^th in the Yawkey League in fielding percentage. What can be done to fix this? A longer infield practice before games, or games of pepper to strengthen muscle memory and reflexes? Sure, whatever works. Maybe the kinks are out and more ground balls will start finding gloves. I’m an optimist, what can I say?

With a 3-3 record, a top-five offense and solid pitching, I can’t bitch about much. Yes, the defense needs a little bit of work. That will come. The important part is that, as of now, we know how to win and we believe that we can win no matter what. Three run deficit in the seventh? Big deal. With Chris Deane, Rob Linn, Dana Levensaler and Dan Ciocca in the middle of the line-up, bring on your closer. Or your starter after six innings. I know we can win and my team mates know we can win. Come to the games and watch, drink with us afterwards at Tom English’s Pub and enjoy the ride.

Reflections of a pitcher

As I sat on the bench at Trum Field in Somerville Tuesday night I had a chance to reflect back somewhat on last season. The weather was nice on Tuesday night, somewhat windy and partly cloudy. And dry. Ask anyone who was there, they saw the dustbowl-esque clouds of faux infield blowing around making the air cloudy and the view impaired. For whatever reason, after I made my appearance in the game and as I was sitting on the bench, I began to think about last season, how it went, how we have improved our team and why we will be better this season than last.

Baseball is a game of adjustments. As an athlete and baseball player, one has to look upon themselves with a judging eye and ask what am I doing, how can I do it better and how can I improve on my game? Whether it is a pitcher making mechanical adjustments in their delivery, a batter tweaking his stance just the slightest bit to create better bat speed or enable them to see the ball better, or a fielder changing his footwork or working on taking better routes to the ball, the game of baseball means constant change. It’s Darwin’s theory of evolution in a way. Change or perish, it’s as simple as that.

Last season can’t be looked at as a success, that’s for sure. But looking back on last season and looking at what we had constituted on the field Tuesday night against the uber-dynasty known as the Somerville Alibrandis, I came to the realization that we are a much better ball club. Win or lose Tuesday night, that wasn’t important, it was elementary. What Tuesday night did for me, and I’m sure for the rest of our team, was that it gave us a chance to gauge what we had and where we needed to be, going forward.

I saw Sean Sullivan pitch three innings. He has a small rib cage tendon issue, so he’s not 100%. It didn’t matter though because for three innings, he threw very well and I’m sure he impressed everyone on each side of the infield. The mere fact that he only threw five innings for his Bridgewater State College team this season bodes extremely well for us. He is very fresh and I for one can’t wait for the regular season to start because when Rusty, or Big Red, or Sully, or whatever you choose to call him is on his game, not even the Alibrandis can make him flinch.

After Sully threw his three innings, he was followed by Adam Kulis for one inning, Ryan Thomas for two, Geoff Wiech for an inning and then, I’m sorry for this, a new addition to our team threw the last inning of relief. Your name escapes me right now, you can chastise me for it later on. The end result was a 2-0 defeat, but I don’t think it was a defeat at all. What I saw on the field on Tuesday night made he happy, excited, intrigued, and most of all – it made me confident. Confident that the team Dave McKay put together for 2007 will be a contender in the Yawkey League.

Our pitching staff is young and ready to go. Sully is our team ace and we all know that. He knows that. (Don’t let it get to your head too much, ok Sull?) Last season was the first for Sully, Adam, Ryan, and Dan Ciocca, whom arguably was the best and most consistent pitcher for us last season. With one year under our belts, this season looks to be better for all of us because we are more comfortable here and we have some experience against the Yawkey League teams.

The addition to the pitching staff that intrigues me the most is that of Geoff Wiech. Geoff got a chance to pitch in the game on Tuesday and I have to say that he has very good stuff. His fastball has good velocity and good movement, his curve is big and slow like John Ratkauskas (just pokin’ some fun Johnnie) and he has a nice cutter and a change-up. If Geoff can keep consistent he will become another valuable chip in the poker game I like to call baseball.

The problems that reared their ugly heads most often last year were a lack of timely hitting and sloppy defense at times. From what I’ve seen, this season looks like it will be an improvement on both fronts. The additions of Rob Linn and Dana Levensalar will bolster a line up that already includes the likes of Chris Deane, Andy “Deuce” McCallister, Josh McDonnell , Jackie Owens and John Ratkauskas. From what I have seen so far, these additions will give the McKay Club more of a chance to drive in runs on a consistent basis.

Everyone involved in the pitching staff last year will tell you that the defensive play created sleepless nights and headaches for all involved in the game. The McKay Club used a lot of different combinations in the infield last year and I think that was the root of the problem defensively. This season, we have players who are committed to showing up and want to play baseball the way it is supposed to be played. The nicest addition to the defense I have seen has been shortstop Jay Suoto all the way from friggin’ New Bedford. If he’s not dedicated, then I don’t know who is. What I have seen from him in the infield impresses me very much. He has good hands and foot work and his throws to first are accurate. Between him, Josh McDonnell and Dan Ciocca, the McKay Club seems to have a good core of middle infielders.

The outfield defense was good last year and it has become even better with the addition of Dana Levensalar, who will prove to increase the depth of the outfield tremendously. Dana will contribute this season in all facets of the game, including pitching, fielding, and hitting. He will also prove to be a veteran presence on our bench and out on the field. I think I speak for everyone on the team when I say that I welcome the addition of Dana with open arms.

The overall ability of the McKay Club has been heightened over the last year in all facets of the game. Our pitching staff is deeper and more experienced, our offense is now well-balanced, and our defense has been upgraded in key areas. Not only that, but our overall team comradery will improve dramatically with the introduction of our new team sponsor Tom English, owner of the Tom English Pubs in South Boston and Dorchester. This sponsor gives us a chance to spend more time together and become more of family than just a team. I am looking forward to more laughs and more continuity, but most importantly, I am looking forward to more wins for the McKay Club Beacons in 2007.

Our team is poised to take the Yawkey League by storm this season.

Reunited And It Feels So Good

It's just that time of the year. That time of the year when cabin fever begins to set in. That first warm, sunny, breeze swept day where you want to tie up your spikes, throw your hat on, dust off your glove and start throwing, preparing for the season that should prove to better than the last.

I’m Ryan Thomas and I live for this time of the year. The Red Sox are in full swing and my team, the McKay Club Beacons are just starting to get in to the routine of showing up to the field most worthy of practice (no offense Ronan Park) and getting the feel for the grass, the lips of the infield and the faux clay that we’ll be playing on more days than not come summer.

This blog will be dedicated to the Yawkey League and all of it’s teams. More importantly though, I will be concentrating on what my team, the McKay Club Beacons have going on. With a team like this, there’s always something to talk about. Eat your heart out Laura Raposa, your gossip column in The Boston Herald has nothing on what the likes of Chris Deane, Rob Linn, Josh McDonnell and Co. have to say on a regular basis. I know, keep it on the field. But some of the things these guys say are just pure gold. Reading this blog for Chris Deane commentary alone is worth while.

Coming off a disappointing season in 2006, Coach Dave McKay and club captain and ball-busting connoisseur Chris Deane have helped to add depth to both our offense and pitching staff. To bolster an already formidable pitching staff that includes bulldog Danny Ciocca, token red-head and short fuse Sean Sullivan, hit-the-corners-in-my-sleep Adam Kulis and yours truly, Ryan Thomas, Dave McKay and the rest of “upper management” have added a good mix of young and old. Perennial Yawkey Leaguer Dana Levensaler will bring his experience and knowledge to the team, new-comer Geoff Wiech will bring his hot fastball and Harvard education to the table, Kevin Jackson will give the McKay Club a much needed left-hander and youngster Joe Cuervels will give the Beacons more depth and versatility this year.

Pitching aside, the McKay Club endured offensive struggles at times last year. Chris Deane has admitted on more than one occasion that in an attempt to carry the team on his back offensively, he tried to do too much at times. Instead of burdening Chris once again, the McKay Club has brought back, in Coach Dave McKay’s words, one of the best hitters the Yawkey League has seen in the last 15 years, Rob Linn. After a falling out between Linn and Chris Deane before last season began, the two have reconciled their differences and are now reunited once again, ready to torment Yawkey League pitching staffs.

Looking back on 2006, the season was deemed an underachievement by all the members of the McKay Club. This year is looking up, and with good reason. Key additions to the offense and pitching coinciding with the core players that are returning, hungry to get back to the playoffs is a recipe for success.

All throughout the 2007 season, I will be writing on a regular basis, talking about McKay Club news, Yawkey League news, Chris Deane’s and Sean Sullivan’s short fuses, Dave McKay’s quest for weight loss (almost 90 pounds so far, keep up the good work) and the good times had with our new sponsor Tom English. Tom English’s Pub is located in South Boston on East Broadway and members of the McKay Club will be a constant there during the season throwing back wobbly-pops, laughing it up and having a great time. Come by, share some laughs, share some brews, talk about baseball with us and most importantly, just have fun. And watch out for drunken Irish people. They can get pretty feisty.

McKay Club Looking Good Early On

The inaugural posting for The Yawkey Baseball League and The McKay Club Beacons will be arriving shortly. Don’t go Alec Baldwin on me, calling and leaving threatening messages, you’ll get to read about all the going-ons of my dysfunctional, yet well-balanced team soon enough. But until then, please make it to practice, the games aren’t won in front of the TV or computer reading my blog.

Back in the Saddle

Mariano Rivera. Joe Nathan. Francisco Rodriguez. Jonathan Papelbon. What do all of these men have in common? If you guessed that they all drive expensive cars, you are incorrect.

The four pitchers identified will be their team’s Most Valuable Players at the end of the season. (Sorry A-Rod, Justin Morneau, Vlad Guererro and Big Papi). The glitz and glamour of the Big Leagues is in the long ball. Chicks dig it, we all know by now. But for all the walk-off homers and batting titles, there’s only one thing that will bring a team to the Promised Land: A damn good closer. Ask the Atlanta Braves teams of the 90’s about not having a good one. It brought them one World Championship. 14 division titles, one World Series Title.

Papelbon, Rivera, Nathan and Rodriguez all have that make-up. That screw-you-I’m-better-than-you-any-given-day-of-the-week mentality gives them the ability to finish games like Jack Bauer mowing down terrorists like it’s his job. Well it is his job, but you get the point.

Ice water in the veins they say. Anyone who watched the Sunday night game between the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox on ESPN knows what I’m talking about. Watching Jonathan Papelbon enter that game with one out in the eight inning, I knew that the game was over. There was really no question about in my mind.

The look that comes over his face is just stunning to see. It’s the type of expression you would expect a sniper to have when he is about to take out Osama Bin Laden from one and one half miles away unseen. Eyes focused. Breaths tight and steady. Pulse almost zero. Ice water in the veins. Last night, those Rangers hitters were Bin Laden in the crosshairs: Done like burnt toast.

This is how it all went down. Joel Pinero starts off the eight inning by walking light-hitting number eight hitter Gerald Laird and second-year-second-baseman Ian Kinsler to start the inning. First and second, nobody out.

Kenny Lofton comes to the plate 0 for his last 17 and lays down a sac bunt on the second pitch he sees. Mike Lowell fields but there are three people (Youkilis, Cora and Lofton) crowding first base like it’s going out of style. No play, bases loaded no one out. Enter lefty specialist Javier Lopez.

Nelson Cruz pinch hits and smokes a laser of a liner to first base which Kevin Youkilis can’t handle cleanly. He gets a force at second base and it’s now first and third with one out and the Ranger’s best offensive player, Michael Young is coming to the plate. Enter Mr. Ice Water himself, Joanthan Papelbon.

The exchange happens like this. Swinging through a 93 mile per hour fastball, strike one. Swinging through a 96 mile per hour fastball, strike two. Frozen look from a 97 mile per hour fastball painted on the outside corner, strike three. (Picasso was jealous for about half an hour afterwards).

Next up was Mark Teixeira. He only saw one pitch and he popped it up to Mike Lowell to end the imminent threat of a tie-game. A collective sigh of relief from Red Sox Nation as the pop-up hits Lowell’s mit.

The bottom of the ninth wasn’t nearly as interesting as the eighth. Papelbon started off slammin’ Sammy Sosa with a fastball for strike one, followed by a high fastball in which he popped up in the infield. One out.

Next in the cross hairs was Hank Blalock, whom Papelbon and Jason Varitek decided would be looking dead-red because he saw four consecutive splitters to bring the count to 2-2 before Pap set him down swinging at a 96 mile per hour heater. Just for the record, Papelbon 4, Texas’ heart of the line-up 0.

Who better to finish the game off than free-swingin’ Brad Wilkerson who waved at two chest high fastballs before looking totally lost as Papelbon hit the corner with 97 mile per hour cheese that was followed by a Papelbon fist pump, a finger point to Varitek and some words of encouragement to his battery mate.

How intimidating did he look out there? Peering below his curved brim with a slightly oval shaped open mouth ready to throw mid to high 90’s heat with late movement, Papelbon has more mound presence than any of the aforementioned closers right now. What team in their right mind enters their half of the ninth inning down a run with Papelbon on the mound saying ‘we got this guy’? None of them. Jonathan Papelbon is THE most intimidating relief pitcher out there right now. Joel Zumaya is a close second, but he doesn’t have the same level of pin point accuracy or command of his off-speed pitch to be mentioned in the same breath as Mr. Papelbon.

Call me a homer, I’d agree. Call me a liar, I disagree. Red Sox fan or not, with Jonathan Papelbon closing out games again, the pressure’s on the other team because it’s certainly not on the closer that’s for sure.

What Are Your Expectations for the 2007 Boston Red Sox?

Expectations can be overwhelming, especially in a city full of passionate fans such as Boston. Expectations can be derived from many different aspects. Many fans set the expectations bar high when a free agent signs a bulky contract. ‘Can he live up to the worth of it’? they ask.

Expectations don’t necessarily need to be connected to the almighty dollar sign. In many cases, these expectations are modeled on previous output, albeit in the Minor Leagues or on a different team. If a Major League player can exist in one city, they must be able to exist in any city, right? Not quite so in Boston. Sorry Edgar Renteria.

Injuries can also have a vast impact on the expectations of certain athletes in this city. After injury-plagued seasons, the questions ricochet around like racquet balls as to whether expectations have changed and what to expect from these freshly-healed baseball players.

The Boston Red Sox have very high expectations coming into this season. Reading the two prominent newspapers that circulate the city, the bar is set high: World Series or Bust. With this expectation comes pressure and questions from both the media and the fans. Who knows which entity creates more chaos in this town when it comes to the Red Sox.

Every Sox player will be under a microscope this whole season, their every move caught, analyzed, talked about and then analyzed once more. But there will be some players who have more media attention and fan frenzy swirling about them for various reasons. These are The Five Sox to Watch in 2007. This list is dedicated to those particular Sox who will be watched with magnifying glasses and picked through with fine tooth combs.

Players arranged with regard to level of expectation, from the bottom up.

Josh Beckett

Questions: Can he lower his home run total and ERA?

What has he learned since last year?

With one year under his belt in the Heavy Weight division know as the AL East, Beckett’s expectations have risen from last season. This spring, Beckett has slowed his delivery for better mechanics and has thrown more curves and changes than he did all of last season. Beckett also vows to listen to his catcher more than he did last season. Beckett is confident that these changes will allow him to take his game to the next level. The bottom line is that Josh Beckett threw two 83 mile per hour changeups and started more than half of his opposing batters with a curve in his last spring start. If Beckett can keep healthy and pitch like he did in that spring game, the Red Sox will have a ace waiting in the wings when Schill moves on.

Expectations: 18 wins, 150-200 K’s and an ERA below four.

A Cy Young Award or damn close to it.

Jason Varitek

Questions: Will his bat return to pre-2006 form?

Can he handle the work load and stay healthy?

For Jason Varitek, the questions become almost endless, between learning the new pitchers, learning Japanese, working on his offensive game and staying healthy as a soon-to-be 35-year-old catcher, Varitek is inundated with questions at the start of the 2007 season. In only the second season of a four year $40 Million contract, Varitek posted five-year lows in total at-bats, total bases, batting average, hits, homeruns, runs batted in and extra base hits. Varitek is all alone atop the Games Behind the Plate as a Red Sox Catcher all-time list with over 1,000 games in his career. This doesn’t bode well for Varitek because older age and being a catcher for as long as he has brings serious and chronic (don’t you hate this word?) injury questions into the foreground. I know I’m not alone when I say that I am concerned about Jason Varitek’s ability to be a consistent bat in the Sox line-up come this season. (Even though he can handle the pitching staff better than anyone in baseball, he still needs to pull his weight in the line-up. $40 Million is $40 Million no matter what way you look at it.)

Expectations: .265 BA / .470 SLG / 14 HR / 67 RBI

135 games played and a happy pitching staff.

Coco Crisp

Questions: Can we see the Cleveland version of Coco this year?

Is he healthy enough to play 150 meaningful games in 2007?

I was as big a Coco Crisp enthusiast as anyone last spring when he was hitting the cover off the ball and started the season quite the same. One broken finger and a sub-par season later, Coco’s go-go is in question after he hit .184 with only two extra base hits in 38 at-bats this spring. Crisp denied throughout the spring that his finger and shoulder (which he hurt swinging too hard) are healthy and that he really doesn’t care what fans say about him. Perhaps Coco should have a chat with Keith Foulke before addressing the media again. Crisp can return to the form he was in at Cleveland if he is 100% healthy to begin the season. As Red Sox fans we should see more stolen bases from Crisp than last year due to his spot (eighth) in the line-up. Newfound freedom should equal more stolen bases and less pressure to perform at the top of the line-up.

Expectations: .285 BA, 30-35 SB, 16 HR, 68 RBI

A healthy season in centerfield and in both batting boxes.

J.D. Drew

Questions: Can he play 150 games a year?

Does he have the mindset to play in Boston?

J.D. Drew has flown under the radar this spring because of a certain player receiving considerable notoriety for his arrival to the team. Flying under the radar seems to be one of Drew’s favorite past times, along with being patient at the plate and quiet in the club house. All of that will just be water cooler talk if he can stay healthy and be that safety net behind Ortiz and Ramirez that the Red Sox have lacked since Kevin Millar had a productive season here in 2003 (25 homeruns and 96 RBI). The presence of Drew in the line-up brings a left-right-left counter balance to the 3-4-5 meat and potatoes of the line-up and optimistically brings up the RBI production of a five-spot in the batting order that ranked near the bottom of the league in 2006.

Expectations: A healthy (150 games played) season, with more to come.

.280 BA/.400 OBP/20-25 homeruns/ 100 RBI’s

Daisuke Matsuzaka

Questions: Can he learn enough to stay ahead of the hitter’s learning curve?

Will the pressure of the Media / Fans take a toll on him?

Arguably the player with the highest expectations coming into 2007, Matsuzaka has more questions surrounding him than a Bar Exam. Anybody who has followed Dice-K Mania this spring knows what it has been like. Matsuzaka seems to have taken most of it in stride aside from the silent treatment after five innings of no-hit spring training ball. I have watched Matsuzaka start twice this spring and he has allowed one hit and thrown at least one gyro ball. I think. Maybe. The comparisons to Pedro Martinez are right there in front of you. Ability to change speeds and movement on changeup? Check. Ability to dial the fastball up when needed? Check and check. Ability to bewilder batters and send them away talking to themselves? So far, so good. Matsuzaka has been in the spot light most of his adult life so I don’t see the increased media attention being a problem.

Expectations: 18-7 W-L / 3.40 ERA / 200 IP / 179 K

As with Beckett, Cy Young consideration and health (30 starts).