It’s great that the World Champion Boston Red Sox received their rings yesterday. It’s even better that they won their home opener. But having Bill Buckner emerge from the Green Monster and throw out the first pitch was the worst idea that Boston owners have had since installing a hot dog vending machine at Fenway Park.

What has happened to Red Sox fans? A standing ovation? Is this guy now forgiven for his 1986 World Series blunder? What’s next, Yankee Appreciation Day?

As Sox fans, we need a villain in our lives. We need Bucky Dent, or Aaron Boone, or Bill Buckner. It’s the one thing that unifies us as fans and inspires us to cheer on the Sox. The day that we lose that fire in our gut and become content with the titles we’ve already won, is the day we become Yankee fans.

You can use the argument that we will always have our rivalry with the Yankees to keep us motivated, but is there still a rivalry? The Yankees have an aging lineup and an overrated farm system and haven’t been the team to beat for several years. I would be surprised if they make the playoffs this year.

Remember, we are Sox fans. We don’t turn the other cheek. We don’t take the high road. And we never forgive and forget.

Sox ownership needs to remember this for next year’s ring ceremony. Because while everyone was forgetting about the past, the passion that comes with being a Sox fan may have rolled through our legs.

This fantasy baseball league is sucking the life out of me. I can’t focus at work. I’m ignoring my kids. I spend too much time making blockbuster trades in my mind. All with the hopes of winning the prestigious title of “Best GM on thefoulline.com.”

I’ve been scouring other teams’ lineups trying to figure out their secret formula for success. Is having seven shortstops a good thing? Can my team win without any Yankees on it? Should I have focused on pitchers? Did I over think, and put too much stock in some potential up-and-comers? Should I have just used the damned Auto Draft?

Please help me if you know the answers to any of these questions.

thefoulline.com quick hits

• Last night Dice K lived up to his hype. Let’s hope he can do this all year.
• Has anyone seen the greatest clutch hitter in baseball? He wears #34 and spits on his hands a lot. If found, please return him to the Red Sox ASAP.
• Attention, Eric Gagne: I guess it wasn’t the city of Boston that caused your woes last year. It’s that you suck.
• It took all of three games, but I am done with J.D. Drew and his candy-ass excuses for the rest of the year. The Sox should send him down to Pawtucket to “rehab” his back, and bring up someone with heart.
• I’m not sure how to pronounce Cub’s right fielder Kosuke Fukudome’s name, but he might have the greatest name in Major League history since Rusty Kuntz.
• Fantasy Baseball causes Attention Deficit Disorder.

I’m sorry to make this such a short post, but with thefoulline.com war room up and running for tonight’s draft, resources are running low. So here are a few quick hits.

• The Sox split their Japan series with the A’s. Considering that they traveled across the world for this goodwill tour and still walked away with a win, it’s not too shabby. Plus, there are now a million Japanese fans who are part of Red Sox Nation.
• Maybe it’s time for John Henry to create Red Sox World.
• Jon Lester consistently pitches well for the Sox, but he always seems to give up a 3-run home run. Hopefully this will change with experience.
• J.D. drew loves to toy with fans’ expectations of him. He teased us with 7 RBIs in the first two games, then pulled a typical Drew move and removed himself from the opener with “back stiffness.” It’s a long season, he’s going to need to play with a few aches and pains eventually. But why would this season be any different?
• I wouldn’t take J.D. Drew in the 20th round of the fantasy draft. Dylan can have him.
• What type of bizarro world are we in when Julio Lugo and Brandon Moss are looking great, and Big Papi and Jason Varitek look like it’s their first day of spring training?
• Did Manny’s early success at the plate leap frog him into a first-round draft pick?
• There is still an outside chance the Sox will go 161-1.
• Did you hear about Jose Canseco’s new book? He claims that A-Rod was constantly hitting on Canseco’s wife. I hope no one tells this to Derek Jeter. I wouldn’t want him to get jealous.
• Brandon Moss was optioned to Triple A Pawtucket today. Something tells me he’ll be back.
• I guarantee that I will not pick any Yankees under any circumstances in tonight’s draft.

Just to echo “The Commissioner” Matt McLaughlin, let’s all have fun this season. Good Luck.

I wasn’t too excited about the Red Sox cutting their spring training short to travel halfway around the world for a couple of exhibition games. The Sox will have a hard enough time defending their title without having to fight jet lag, and it’s obvious that MLB is trying to capitalize on Boston’s recent success now that they are the best baseball team on the planet. But after watching today’s game, and seeing how excited the Japanese fans were to watch the World Series champions, I think maybe MLB got it right when they chose the Sox to be international ambassadors for baseball.

Thefoulline.com’s Quick Hits, the International Version

• MLB.tv used the Japanese broadcasters for today’s game. I didn’t understand a word they said, but I still preferred it to Jerry Remy’s incoherent babble.
• Dice K has proven that he is Japan’s version of Elvis.
• J.D. Drew has 7 RBIs in two games. He is on pace for 567 RBIs this season.
• I always found it funny that the Red Sox assign their rookies uniform numbers more appropriate for an offensive lineman or wide receiver. I’m pretty sure that Jed Lowrie didn’t dream about wearing #82 for a major league team when he a kid. I wonder if this increases their motivation to make the team, so that they can get a good number.
• Jonathan Papelbon was given #58 as a rookie and he kept it, but we all know he has a few screws loose.
• In an attempt to fix his dismal batting average of the past two years, Coco Crisp is now wearing batting gloves. It has to help, right?
• The Sox lineup has the chance to be special this year. A batting order of Pedroia, Youkilis, Papi, Manny, Lowell, Drew, Varitek, Ellsbury, and Lugo could wear down an opposing pitching staff and put up a ton of runs. Plus, this lineup gives Francona the flexibility to move players around if they aren’t performing well.
• Thefoulline.com’s public enemy #1, Jon Weber of the Tampa Bay Rays, is batting .211 this spring training. Public enemy #2 Doug Mientkewicz of the Pirates is hitting .273 with one measly RBI in 16 games. This just proves that you don’t mess with foulliners. Karma will come back to haunt you.
• Speaking of foulliners. Thefoulline.com inaugural fantasy league baseball draft is only three days away. We still have three spots to fill. If we don’t have ten players, the league will be disbanded, and we will never see Dylan chose J.D. Drew with his first round pick. Find a friend and sign them up!! There will be a great prize package for the league champion (me). Email me with any sign-up questions.

Have a happy Easter!

Dylan and I and two friends of ours went to the Tampa Bay Rays-Toronto Blue Jays game this past Friday. After having a great time at the Red Sox game a few weeks earlier, I was expecting good things. The last game we went to included nice weather, World Series trophies, and the best team on the planet. This game consisted of the always-crappy Rays and Canada’s only team. My expectations may have been too high.

I like to get to the park early so I can watch batting practice and check out the stadium, so we arrived at 11:30 for a 1:05 game. As soon as we passed through the turnstiles at Progress Energy Park, it started to rain, and the temperature dropped.

This sucked for a few reasons. First of all, I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Secondly, the field crew threw the tarp on the field, so no BP. Thirdly, there was absolutely nothing going on at this stadium. This place is essentially a bunch of concrete and bleachers, nothing like City of Palms park, where they have a beautiful stadium and didn’t cut any corners. So there we were, stuck standing around the concourse with the other seven fans at the game.

For about an hour it continued to rain off and on and get colder and colder until it got to the point that I made the very difficult decision to get off my wallet and invest in a long sleeve shirt. After going to four different souvenir stands, I had the choice between a long sleeve Rays shirt and a Rays sweatshirt. I reluctantly forked over $28 and experienced one of the lowest moments of my life as a sports fan.

Eventually, the rain stopped and we got to our seats, two rows up on the first-base line. We watched as the players warmed up and then started coming off the field, stopping to sign autographs and chat up the fans. Then a short, fat guy wearing #63 for the Rays came off the field and tossed a ball into the stands, right into the hands of yours truly.

I’d never caught a ball at game before so I was pretty psyched. Until I looked back at #63 to thank him and saw that he was shaking his head in disgust and calling me a few choice words. Confused, I turned around to see a 15-year-old kid, glove in hand, sitting right behind me. Feeling like a loser for stealing this kid’s ball, I apologized and gave him the ball.

As the game started, I found myself getting more and more irritated, thinking about #63 and his overreaction. I didn’t know there was a kid behind me, and I didn’t appreciate some no-name giving me a bunch of crap over it. So I decided to make Mr. Short Fuse my verbal target for the rest of the day. I quickly did some research on him and found out that he is a 30-year-old career minor leaguer named Jon Weber. Lucky for us, he was starting in center field.

So at the beginning and end of each inning, as Weber runs on and off the field, I hit him with a “Look alive out there Johnny” or a “Let’s show some hustle out there Johnny.” Each time I said something, he made a point to look right at me to give me the stink-eye. We were officially in his head.

Our exchanges came to a head in the fourth inning. As he was running off the field, I told Weber to “enjoy Double A this year, Johnny.” I don’t think he appreciated this, as he again stared me down, and then told Carl Crawford that I was something that rhymes with “brother-clucker.” Victory is ours.

After pushing Johnny’s buttons for four innings, I figured it was probably time to leave this psychopath alone, before he jumped the wall and beat me to death with a Louisville Slugger. Although, that may have made the game more exciting for the fans in attendance.

Boring game. Bad weather. Lousy stadium. $28 dollar Rays shirt. Not the best way to spend a Friday afternoon.

After the game, a few questions popped into my head:

• At what age do kids become fair game, when you don’t have to give them the ball?
• What kind of Employee Assistance Program do the Rays have to help Jon Weber with his anger management problem?
• Will the Rays ever be contenders in the hardest division in baseball?

If anyone has the answers to these highly debated questions, I would love to hear them.

For some reason MLB.tv had legendary announcer Vin Scully call the Red Sox/Dodgers game yesterday. Wow! Listening to Vin Scully call the game made me want to move to Siberia and never listen to another game for as long as I live.

Scully is a huge name in the broadcasting world. He’s been calling Dodgers games for 57 years and has been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. But enough is enough. This guy needs to hang up his microphone and enjoy his golden years.

During yesterday’s broadcast, some of the poignant topics that Scully talked about included: a detailed lesson about every palm tree in Dodgertown; which flavor bubble gum Matt Kemp was chewing; the reason that Mike Lowell doesn’t chew gum at the plate; and a history lesson about the field the Dodgers play on. He even managed to call a few balls and strikes. And this was just in the first inning.

This guy is the reason that television and radio broadcasts added a color commentator. If you ever have the opportunity to listen to Scully in action, don’t do it. Find a WNBA game and watch that instead. You’ll thank me.

Thefoulline.com’s tantalizing tidbits and predictions for the week.

• If Josh Beckett’s back injury is even remotely serious, the Red Sox are screwed.
• If Julio Lugo’s back injury prohibits him from playing ever again… oh well.
• The Grapefruit League’s worst record belongs to the Boston Red Sox. The best record belongs to the Tampa Bay Rays.
• The Sox treat Spring Training as a way to evaluate their young prospects. The Rays treat Spring Training as their World Series.
• I think Coco Crisp is going to have a good season for the Oakland A’s.
• If Bartolo Colon’s ERA matches his weight this year, he will go down as Theo Epstein’s best transaction… ever.
• The 2008 MLB All-Star game will be held at Yankee Stadium. Manny Delcarmen will be on the American League team. Derek Jeter will not.
• Thefoulline.com fantasy baseball draft starts in 17 days. Spots are still available, and competition is fierce for 2nd place.

George Steinbrenner’s mentally handicapped son and current Supervisor of Baseball Operations for the Yankees, Hank Steinbrenner, voiced his displeasure the other day to the New York Times “Play” magazine about the most popular fan base in all of sports. For those who missed it, Hank said: “Red Sox Nation? What a bunch of [expletive] that is. That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans.” Hammerin’ Hank continued, “Go anywhere in America and you won’t see Red Sox hats and jackets, you’ll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We’re going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.”

Now, we’ve let Hank say his piece, and we hope that he feels pretty good about himself. But here at thefoulline.com we would like the opportunity to respond. First of all, Hank, you are a complete and utter jackass. I thought that your dad was a whackjob, but you have now earned the title of “Craziest Steinbrenner To Run a Baseball Team.”

The reason that ESPN televises more Sox games than Yankee games is that people want to see a winner play. Not a group of overpaid, aging, lying, steroid-enabling has-beens. America likes that Boston players keep their noses clean and stay out of the tabloids. This is a good thing for the game of baseball. Having twenty current and former players on the Mitchell Report, an adulterating third baseman and left fielder, and a tax evading shortstop on your roster, on the other hand, is not.

After Hank spouted his line of crap, younger brother Hal decided to add this little gem: “The defending World Series champions have a lot of talent, and [have] done very well the past few years, but let me put it this way: I don’t think [they] wanted to play us in the ALCS. So I will concede nothing. I think we’re better than [them].”

Well Hal, allow me to retort. Boston would have LOVED to play your team in the ALCS. Winning a World Series title is nice, embarrassing the Yankees in the process is even better. Your stellar lineup, with its seven-game playoff losing streak, scares no one. Add an inconsistent rotation, an unreliable bullpen, and the annual playoff choke-job known as Alex Rodriguez, and your team can count on another early exit next year.

The thing is, they may be right about the number of fans out there. But there is a huge difference between Yankee fans and Red Sox fans. Sox fans wear their hats and jackets all year long, regardless of their wins or losses. Yankee fans hide in their parents’ basements until their team starts to lead the division, and then they dust off their Yankee gear and reveal themselves as the obnoxious idiots that they are.

Hank and Hal, you are fortunate to live in the greatest nation in the world. Unfortunately for you, it goes by the name of RED SOX NATION. And I think it’s time you were deported.

Life as a New England sports fan has been so good lately, I’ve forgotten how bad crow tastes. Not so long ago, Boston was not the sports mecca that it is now. The Red Sox were perennial underachievers, the Celtics and the Bruins both sucked, and the Patriots were the underdog that suddenly won every important game. But in a cruel twist of fate, the sports world of a New Englander has done a 180. Now the Sox have won two World Series titles in four seasons, the Celtics are returning to glory with the additions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, and even the Bruins have regained the grittiness that was the staple of their glory years.

Which brings us to the Patriots.

After a season of dominating the league and breaking every offensive record in the NFL record books, the Pats had the opportunity for immortality. The chance for a perfect season. The chance to finally silence the old, crotchety bastards known as the 1972 Dolphins. The chance to be the first sports dynasty of the 21st century. Only this time, the Patriots looked over-matched, out-coached, out-muscled, and completely outplayed by the New York Giants. This was supposed to be a sure thing. I was thinking scores in the triple digits, Tom Coughlin stroking out on the sideline, Bill Belicheck smiling smugly in victory. Instead we witnessed Tom Brady doing his best Tony Romo impression, bringing his celebrity girlfriend to the biggest game in the history of the league. Has Brady not learned anything from Romo? It’s too hard to play a perfect game when you’re trying to impress your date. This is exactly the reason I never bring my supermodel girlfriend to work with me.

Now, I can take the Pats losing the Super Bowl. It’s not like they lost on a fluke play; they were dominated the entire game. New England was lucky to still be in it when Plaxico Burress caught the winning touchdown. What I am having trouble dealing with is the fact that it was a New York team that took the Patriots down.

This is our time to control the sports world. The Red Sox have made the Yankees their bitch the last couple of years, making them the second most important baseball team in New York. Now I have to put up with fair-weathered New York fans who are going to abandon their beloved Yankees to climb aboard the Giants bandwagon. If the Patriots had lost the Super Bowl to the Cowboys, Green Bay, or anyone else, I wouldn’t like it, but I would get over it a lot quicker then this. This feels like a simultaneous punch in the stomach along with finding out that your wife is sleeping around with Hank Steinbrenner. This one is going to take some time to get over.

My only salvation is knowing that the Pats have the 7th pick in the draft this year, which they’ll turn into nine draft picks that will totally revamp their aging defense. I do hope to see a repeat performance of this season’s offensive juggernaut next season, but something tells me that we may have seen the last days of Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth. I anticipate New England turning into a more run-oriented team and climbing onto the back of Laurence Maroney next year.

After a perfect regular season that was all for naught, I am going to try and take comfort in these three things: First of all, there are only two Manning brothers in the NFL, so there is no chance of a third Manning playing in the big game next year and winning the MVP. Secondly, there is a really good chance that some of the 1972 Dolphins are going to kick the bucket this year, so that will be a few less idiots to relive their glory days. And finally, pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in just 11 days.

If this isn’t enough to heal the wounds from the Super Bowl loss, remember… A-Rod still sucks.

Go Sox

The more things change in Major League Baseball, the more they stay the same. I know that it is still early in the offseason, but I can’t help but to be a little amused that the Yankees and the Red Sox haven’t made any new acquisitions. Both teams have elected to re-sign their own free agents and have resorted to pretty much put the same teams on the field as last season. Are both teams that content with last year’s lineups? Or is the free agent market that inflated with overpriced and overrated talent? Either way, I was expecting both teams to make some upgrades by now.

Looking at both teams, it’s obvious that the Yankees have more holes than the Sox. They have a lousy bullpen that features an overpriced and rapidly declining Mariano Rivera. They have a starting rotation that may be losing Andy Pettitte. Mix in big-game choker Chien-ming Wang and three unproven youngsters in Phillip Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain, and this may be the area of the biggest need for the Evil Empire. I have been impressed the last couple of seasons that the Yankees have given their farm system a chance to develop and have avoided trading these guys. Let’s see if this patience pays off for them. It could be long year (I hope) for the Yankees.

The Red Sox have some holes of their own. Although not as glaring as the Yankees, there are some needs to be addressed. First and foremost, the Red Sox infield appears to be locked in for the next three years. Youk, Pedroia, Lugo, and Lowell have proven that they play great defense and they make each other look better. The outfield of Drew, Ellsbury, and Manny looks good for next year, but this will be without a doubt Manny’s last year in Boston. The Sox are going to have to keep an eye open for someone to replace his offense. I have no idea who this could be, but I’m sure it will be addressed.

The biggest concerns for the Red Sox in 2008 are their bench and backup catcher. There is going to be some major overhaul here. I would keep Alex Cora since he can play several positions, even though he is an offensive liability. I would try to keep Bobby Kielty, since he hit the game winning home run in game four of the World Series, not to mention he is a switch hitter. I would use Coco Crisp to land a quality backup catcher that can learn from Jason Varitek and be his eventual replacement. Gerald Laird of the Rangers is a name that has been mentioned in possible trade for Coco, which I think makes sense for both teams.

Being a Red Sox fan/Yankee hater, I am content with the Red Sox keeping their World Series team together for a chance to defend their title. I am also really happy that the Yankees decided to re-sign perennial loser/team cancer/MVP Alex Rodriquez and keep the rest of the team as it was. This guy has shown that he can lose at every level of baseball. Mix in a lousy bullpen, tax evading shortstop, the league’s highest payroll, and two crazy owners for the price of one, and next year should be no different for New York, as they sit at home watching Boston win another title.

Sign #3 that your baseball team is new to the playoffs: Not allowing your fans to purchase tickets to the World Series.

What a great idea by Rockies management. They finally have a decent team and are playing in their first World Series, and they reward the fans by only “selling” tickets online. I should say trying to sell tickets online. The Rockies, in their infinite wisdom, didn’t prepare for more than seven fans getting on the computer at the same time in an attempt to buy tickets. So of course the whole system crashed. So, no tickets for you Rockies fan.

Here is a novel idea for the Rockies owners: Open the ticket box office at the stadium. This way, both of your fans that have been following the team all year can go to the game. Instead of spending all of your time coming up with your fantastic playoff slogan, learn how to sell a ticket. I realize that this is your first time in the playoffs and you might be a little unsure of the proper protocol, but at this rate, in the event you happen to make the playoffs again, there might not be any fans left to attend.