AL EAST 2009

Francona on Dale and Holley: Daisuke to the 'pen not happening


By: DJ Bean
Red Sox manager Terry Francona, appearing in his weekly segment on the Dale & Holley Show (with Mike Felger filling in for Dale Arnold), touched on many topics Wednesday at noon, with Daisuke Matsuzaka being a topic of note.

Francona on why he doesn't feel sending Matsuzaka to the bullpen would be beneficial:

"My first thought was that if we tell him that we're putting him in long relief that's probably not going to build his confidence a whole lot. You know, there's a lot of things to think about. When you put a guy in the bullpen, who comes out of the bullpen? When you send a guy to the bullpen, how does he react to the bullpen? Daisuke is typically our guy who takes the longest to warm up, that's a given. He goes out there a good 45-50 minutes before the game and throws a lot, so is that going to work? If you put a guy in the bullpen and he hasn't pitched a lot in three weeks and you need a starter is he capable of throwing a lot of pitches? I think there's a lot of things to look at besides just the obvious which has been performance which we can't allow ourselves to look past. We've got an obligation to try to keep this team going and there's a lot of variables. We can't just get caught up in what the fans and [media] are caught up in because we'll make some poor decisions."

Francona also talked about David Ortiz finally coming into some luck:

"If you're consistent, you put the bat on the ball, you're going to get your hits, you're going line out. The luck will even out."

The conversation rounded out with talk about Major League Baseball's attempt at cleaning up the game in light of big-name players testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs:

"What's happened in the past with baseball [is that] they've tried almost desperately to get it right and you can't undo what happened. We have to figure out a way to make it better, but I think the mistakes were made a long time ago."
 
:up Amazing accomplishment! Now they just need to make that 500th sellout a win! :D
Lots of activities for those fortunate enough to attend tonight:

  • A special commemorative postcard celebrating the historic achievement will be distributed to fans as they enter the gates. The front of each postcard features a panoramic photograph of Fenway Park and the graphic “Thank you for 500 Consecutive Sellouts at Fenway Park 2003-2009”.
  • As they leave Fenway Park, all fans will also receive a special commemorative baseball etched with the ‘500’ graphic.
  • At the end of every inning break, randomly selected fans throughout the ballpark will receive giveaways from Red Sox corporate sponsors.
  • One fan whose seat is located 500 feet from home plate will be chosen to receive two authentic bleacher seats from Fenway Park. The pair was part of the seats taken out and replaced before the 2008 season.
  • During inning breaks, brief video "thank you" messages from players, ownership and other Boston notables will be played on the center field videoboard.
  • After the top of the fifth inning, when the game and the 500th sellout becomes official, a congratulatory video dedicated to Red Sox Nation will be played on the videoboard as well. The video features some of the most memorable and significant moments that have occurred during the span of the past 500 games at Fenway Park.
  • As part of the pre-game ceremonies, the three fans who will deliver the Ceremonial First Pitch will wear Red Sox jerseys with the numbers 5, 0 and 0 on their backs to represent the fans who helped make possible 500 consecutive regular season sellout games at Fenway Park.
  • The number 500 is mowed into the grass in the outfield.
 
Lots of activities for those fortunate enough to attend tonight:

  • A special commemorative postcard celebrating the historic achievement will be distributed to fans as they enter the gates. The front of each postcard features a panoramic photograph of Fenway Park and the graphic “Thank you for 500 Consecutive Sellouts at Fenway Park 2003-2009”.
  • As they leave Fenway Park, all fans will also receive a special commemorative baseball etched with the ‘500’ graphic.
  • At the end of every inning break, randomly selected fans throughout the ballpark will receive giveaways from Red Sox corporate sponsors.
  • One fan whose seat is located 500 feet from home plate will be chosen to receive two authentic bleacher seats from Fenway Park. The pair was part of the seats taken out and replaced before the 2008 season.
  • During inning breaks, brief video "thank you" messages from players, ownership and other Boston notables will be played on the center field videoboard.
  • After the top of the fifth inning, when the game and the 500th sellout becomes official, a congratulatory video dedicated to Red Sox Nation will be played on the videoboard as well. The video features some of the most memorable and significant moments that have occurred during the span of the past 500 games at Fenway Park.
  • As part of the pre-game ceremonies, the three fans who will deliver the Ceremonial First Pitch will wear Red Sox jerseys with the numbers 5, 0 and 0 on their backs to represent the fans who helped make possible 500 consecutive regular season sellout games at Fenway Park.
  • The number 500 is mowed into the grass in the outfield.


Wish I was going tonight! :(

I've got tickets to an A's game in a few weeks.
 
... make you forget about empty seats at Fenway. I read an article the other day that the Sox didn't routinely average 30K per game attendance until the 1999 season...

They didn't routinely average even 20K per game until the 1967 season. I think they drew a Senators-like 800,000 in 1966.

Of course, the Celtics typically drew about 7,000 for playoff games back then, and I can't even estimate what the Patriots might have drawn, playing at Boston College or wherever, because few of their games were televised.

Meanwhile, the Bruins drew 13,909, night after night after night.
 
They didn't routinely average even 20K per game until the 1967 season. I think they drew a Senators-like 800,000 in 1966.

I heard that the 1967 Impossible Dream season was a turning point in team history:

Boston historians consider the 1967 Red Sox season as the "re-invention" of Boston Red Sox baseball. Every aspect of Boston baseball was transposed at the hands of this club. For instance, in 1966, the Red Sox ranked eighth out of ten American League teams in home attendance (811,172). The 1967 season set a Fenway Park record and the Sox finished first in the league in home attendance (1,727,832). Jerry Remy (current Red Sox television broadcaster for NESN) is quoted as saying, "The 1967 created the Red Sox craze and Red Sox Nation we have today. They re-invented baseball in New England."
 
They didn't routinely average even 20K per game until the 1967 season. I think they drew a Senators-like 800,000 in 1966.

Of course, the Celtics typically drew about 7,000 for playoff games back then, and I can't even estimate what the Patriots might have drawn, playing at Boston College or wherever, because few of their games were televised.

Meanwhile, the Bruins drew 13,909, night after night after night.


Exactly!

This is why I've always argued that everything BEING EQUAL, this is a hockey town only behind a baseball town.
 
Pretty cool thing in between innings at Fenway tonight, Bobby Orr came out from behind the scoreboard door, and greeted Jason Bay (who is a HUGE hockey fan). :)
 
Boston wins 8-2.

Combining their two wins over the Marlins with New England's beatdown of the Raiders and the Celtics' 3 wins to 1 over the Heat, here's the tally so far:

Bill- 6, Salsa- 1
 
Now that the Red Sox have reached the 500 milestone for consecutive sellouts, the next step is to try and catch the three pro teams in front of them (all NBA teams):

next stop the Jordan Era Bulls with 515 consecutive home sellouts...........

then they'll try to catch their cross-town buddies, the Bird Era Celtics with 567 consecutive home sellouts.............................

and finally (good luck with THIS one), the Portland Trail Blazers from 1977-1993 had a mind-boggling 744 consecutive home sellouts! :eek:
 
Now that the Red Sox have reached the 500 milestone for consecutive sellouts, the next step is to try and catch the three pro teams in front of them (all NBA teams):

next stop the Jordan Era Bulls with 515 consecutive home sellouts...........

then they'll try to catch their cross-town buddies, the Bird Era Celtics with 567 consecutive home sellouts.............................

and finally (good luck with THIS one), the Portland Trail Blazers from 1977-1993 had a mind-boggling 744 consecutive home sellouts! :eek:

Woah. That's surprising. I never knew Portland to be such a sports crazy city. Good for them.
 
Pretty cool thing in between innings at Fenway tonight, Bobby Orr came out from behind the scoreboard door, and greeted Jason Bay (who is a HUGE hockey fan). :)

It was very cool. Bay was upset because Orr had visited the clubhouse pregame and he missed him. I bet he's glad he missed him since it got him an onfield visit!
 

My Two Cents on Alex Ovechkin

OK....the kool-aid has worn off....BENCH JaMarcus Russell!!

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