Monday, February 25, 2008

Bits and Pieces

by: Frank Carpano

• I hear people mocking the fact that NESN, the TV home of the Boston Red Sox is televising the team’s spring training workouts. The Bottom line is: The Bottom Line!

• Somebody (sponsors) are buying commercials during the telecast. It’s a little like the red sox adding more seats. They do it because of the incredible demand for tickets.

 

• Boston College’s Jamie Silva is doing a blog for us elsewhere on this website. He’s the East Providence native who had a great career with the Eagles. He’s now trying to make his move to the National Football League. Scouts project him to be a middle round draft pick.

 

• One of the stories I did on Silva when he was at East Providence High School focused on his work in one particular classroom. He volunteered in a special needs classroom.You could tell by watching him that he had a wonderful relationship with these kids. The teacher pulled me aside and told me that the students in this class became school superstars when the star of the football team (Silva) befriended them. It’s a great example of the power of the student-athlete and a fine example of Silva’s character.

 

• Last week I found myself doing something I hadn’t done in years. I rushed home after work to watch a Celtics west coast game on TV. Part of this has to do with the quality of the High Definition telecast.  But the quality of the Celtics play was the overriding factor.

 

• As negotiations with former Pats video assistant Matt Walsh drags on, the more I think he doesn’t have any significant evidence to indict the patriots in the Spygate scandal. And even if he does have video of another team’s practice, how do you prove that Bill Belichick ordered him to do it. Couldn’t Matt Walsh have done it without anybody’s knowledge?

 

• Congratulations to Providence native Patrick Sheehan. He’s back on the PGA Tour and had a top 10 finish this past weekend at the Mayakoba Classic. Sheehan shot a final round 65 for a 6th place finish and a $126,000 paycheck.

 

Red Sox Hall of Fame, Class of 2008

Courtesy of the Boston Red Sox

SIX FORMER PLAYERS SELECTED IN CLASS OF 2008 FOR BOSTON RED SOX HALL OF FAME

Two Non-Uniformed Inductees Will Also Be Honored at November 7 Dinner

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame will welcome eight new members in the Class of 2008, it was announced today.

The list includes six former players and two non-uniformed individuals who will be inducted for their outstanding contributions to the franchise. The induction dinner will take place on Friday, November 7 at the Marriott Copley Hotel.

The class of 2008 consists of four players from the post-World War II era, outfielder Mike Greenwell, lefthanded pitcher Bill Lee, righthanded pitcher Frank Sullivan, and first baseman Mo Vaughn. In addition, righthanded pitcher Wes Ferrell and shortstop Everett Scott were selected from the early years of the franchise. The non-uniformed personnel entering the Hall of Fame are longtime scout George Digby and the late Edward Kenney, Sr., who spent over 40 years as a club executive.

The 2008 inductees were selected by a committee comprised of Red Sox executives and broadcasters, media members, and representatives of the New England Sports Museum and BoSox club.

The committee also selected its seventh Most Memorable Moment for Hall of Fame recognition: Ted Williams’ home run in his final major league at bat on September 28, 1960 versus the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.

This is seventh class of inductees selected since the Red Sox Hall of Fame was founded in 1995. Members have been added every other year beginning in 2000. The eight individuals selected in 2008 bring the number of Red Sox Hall of Famers to 52. Info on each member of the Class of 2008 is below.

WES FERRELL: Pitched for the Red Sox from 1934-37 with a 62-40 overall record in that span…Led the A.L. in wins (25), starts (38), complete games (31), and innings (322.1) in 1935 and recorded 20 victories in 1936…Had a 193-128 overall record in a 15-year major league career…Holds the ML career record with 38 homers by a pitcher…Died in 1996.

MIKE GREENWELL: Played his entire career with the Red Sox from 1985-96, serving as the team’s regular left fielder for most of that period…Batted .303 with 130 homers and 726 RBI in 1269 games…Is among Boston’s all-time leaders in doubles (9th, 275), hits (10th, 1400), RBI (12th), and average (13th)…Hit over .300 5 times…Hit .325 and finished 2nd in A.L. MVP voting in 1998.

BILL LEE: Pitched for the Red Sox from 1969-78 with a 94-68 record and 3.64 ERA in 321 games/167 starts…Ranks 8th in club history in appearances and is 3rd among Sox lefthanders in wins…Recorded 17 wins each in 3 consecutive seasons from 1973-75…Had an overall career record of 119-90 in 14 major league seasons.

EVERETT SCOTT: Was Boston’s regular shortstop from 1914-21, playing on 3 World Series winners (1915-16-18)…Holds the Red Sox club record by playing in 832 consecutive games and leads all Boston shortstops with 2310 putouts and 3394 assists…Played in 1654 games in a 13-year career, including a them ML record 1307 straight contests from 1916-25…Died in 1960. 

FRANK SULLIVAN: Posted a 90-80 record in 252 games/201 starts with the Red Sox from 1953-60…Won 13 or more games in 5 straight seasons from 1954-58 with a career high 18 victories and a 2.91 ERA in 1955…Was an A.L. All-Star in 1955 and 1956…Overall won 97 games in an 11-year major league career.

MO VAUGHN: Was one of the league’s top offensive players in his 8 seasons with Boston from 1991-98…Hit .304 with 230 homers and 752 RBI in 1046 games with the Red Sox…Ranks 6th in club history in homers and slugging (.542), 9th in RBI, and 12th in average…Was the 1995 A.L. MVP with 39 homers and 126 RBI…Hit .326 with 44 homers and 143 RBI in 1996 and .337 with 40 homers and 115 RBI in 1998…Won 3 straight Red Sox MVL Awards from 1994-96…Played in 3 All-Star Games…Had a .293 average with 328 homers and 1064 RBI in 1572 overall ML games.

GEORGE DIGBY: Served as a Red Sox amateur scout for 50 years from 1944-1994…Signed Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, newly elected Red Sox Hall of Famer Mike Greenwell and Dalton Jones and Reid Nichols among others…Was the 1985 East Coast Scout of the Year…Served as a scouting consultant for the Red Sox through 2004.

EDWARD KENNEY, SR.: Served as a Red Sox executive for over 40 years…Started in the Boston organization as a pitching prospect in 1946 but had arm problems and went to work in the ticket office…Joined the minor league department in 1948 and became farm director in 1966…Retired in 1991 after a stint as Vice President of Baseball Development…Died in 2006.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Red Sox headed to the White House

Courtesy of the Boston Red Sox

For Immediate Release
February 22, 2008

BOSTON RED SOX SCHEDULED TO MEET WITH PRESIDENT BUSH
AT THE WHITE HOUSE ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27

FORT MYERS, FL—Members of the 2007 World Champion Boston Red Sox are scheduled to meet with President George W. Bush at the White House in Washington, D.C. this coming Wednesday, February 27.

The announcement was made today during the daily media briefing at the White House.

The Red Sox will be making their second White House visit in four years, an honor that customarily goes to each year’s World Series champion. The members of the 2004 World Series championship team met with President Bush on March 2, 2005.

Manager Terry Francona and players, coaches, and field staff from the 2007 World Champions will fly from Fort Myers to Washington, D.C. following Wednesday morning’s workout and are expected to meet with President Bush at approximately 3:05 p.m. Principal Owner John Henry, Chairman Tom Werner, President/CEO Larry Lucchino and members of the Red Sox ownership group and front office will also attend the White House ceremony.

Red Sox players will also visit with patients at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center during their trip to Washington, D.C. In addition, the team will be bringing the 2007 World Series Trophy to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The Red Sox will return to Fort Myers on Wednesday evening.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Pats new ticket Prices

Courtesy of the New England Patriots

The Patriots released the following information regarding ticket prices for the coming season

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2008

PATRIOTS ANNOUNCE 2008 TICKET PRICES

Season ticket renewal notices to be sent beginning next week

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots have announced ticket prices for the 2008 season. The new ticket prices reflect the team’s first ticket price increase since the end of the 2004 season. Patriots season ticket holders will be sent renewal invoices starting next week. All season ticket renewal invoices must be returned by March 31. Once renewals are processed, any available season tickets will be made available to those on the season ticket waiting list. Additionally, a limited number of tickets have been reserved for a general, individual-game sale this spring.
For more information on season ticket renewals, waiting list applications or general information on the team, please visit patriots.com.

   

 

 

Seat Location Price
Lower Level Sideline $169
Lower Level Corner/End Zone $117
Mezzanine Level Corner/End Zone $117
Upper Level Sideline $89
Upper Level Corner (Rows 1-7) $89
Upper Level Corner (Rows 8-26) $65
Standing Room $49

 

The Patriots’ eight regular-season home opponents have been determined. New England will host each of its three AFC East division rivals (Buffalo, Miami and the New York Jets) in addition to a pair of teams from the AFC West (Denver and Kansas City), two teams from the NFC West (Arizona and St. Louis) and the 2007 AFC North Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

—PATRIOTS

Monday, February 04, 2008

Pats lose Super Bowl 42

By: Frank Carpano

Alright, so New England isn’t the center of the sports universe. I don’t think I was so arrogant to believe that all the Patriots had to do in Super Bowl 42 was show up, but I was surprised that they lost.

A couple of observations; The Giants pass rush was awesome, rendering the Pats offensive line ineffective. I counted on one hand the number of plays Tom Brady had adequate time to throw the football. The Giants pass protection was equally good, giving Eli Manning sufficient time to throw.

The Giants first offensive drive lasted almost 10 minutes. Even though it produced only 3 points, it kept the Pats offense off the field. And that was key. New England’s offense, the best in the NFL this season, never got into a rhythm.

If Eli doesn’t elude the rush to complete that pass, keeping a drive alive late in the 4th quarter, we’re talking about a Pats win.

Give the Giants credit, they were the best team in the postseason. And credit the Patriots with giving them the needed confidence. When the Pats prepared to play the Giants in the final regular season game, all the talk was about whether Tom Coughlin would play his regulars. He did, and it proved to be the key to getting their mojo back. The Giants learned that day that they could hang with the Pats. And they almost beat them that day. Big Blue rans the table in the postseason, doing it all on the road.

Think about this; When was the last game the pats won convincingly this season?
Can you thing of a game where you weren’t squirming in your seat for 3 hours? I know we were spoiled in the first half of the season when the Pats dominated everybody, but there were so many great escapes in the last half of the season.  In Super Bowl 42, the Pats luck just ran out.