It Gets Better

Written by of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 4:45 pm on September 7, 2011
Filed Under Baseball Miscellaneous | Leave a Comment

Over the summer the Red Sox pulled a classy move and filmed their own ‘It Gets Better‘ commercial. If you’re not aware of the program, ‘It Gets Better’ was created to help those young people who are dealing with bullying and homophobia. The message is pretty simple: You are who you are, please don’t do anything drastic and just keep reminding yourself that it gets better.

The reason that I am re-posting a video that was originally shown in July is twofold. First off, I believe in its message and I find it appalling that people are being bullied to the point where suicide seems like the only option. The second reason for rehashing this is because a Massachusetts political group (Mass Resistance) has decided to write a letter to the Red Sox organization protesting the film.

I try to stay away from politics as much as possible on this website because I know how obnoxious it is to insert your political views into the subject matter you’re covering (I’m looking at YOU Dennis & Callahan.) It was just very hard to stay away from this one when Mass Resistance claims what the Red Sox are doing “[...] serves as a conduit for kids to extremely objectionable and outrageous homosexual activism.”

As a Red Sox fan, we should all already know this. The ALCS in 2003 broke my heart but the very next season we got to experience the biggest comeback in baseball history and the first of two World Series championships. It got better, much better, and it will for you too.

Strike Out Cancer

Written by of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 12:21 pm on August 30, 2011
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Striking Out CancerWEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon
August 30 and 31, 2011
6 AM to Midnight

My first encounter with cancer came when I was 13 years old. I was taking my yellow lab Taffy outside for a walk. My parents had gotten her as a puppy when I was born and we were inseparable. At times she barked too much and she even had a bad habit of eating things that she wasn’t supposed to, but what dog didn’t? She was my pal and I loved her. The only details I remember about that day are that it was colder than it should have been for a September afternoon and I was home alone while my parents were off bringing my sister to ballet class. Taffy and I walked through the grass. She would run until there was no more slack left in her leash, stop, and wait for me to catch up. I noticed an out-of-place plane in the sky so I stared up at it for a minute. When I finally looked back down, Taffy was lying on the ground having a seizure. Panic set in as my brain shut off, my throat closed shut, and tears started welling up in my eyes. Eventually she stopped convulsing and I took her inside. The very next day we brought her to the vet where she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. This would be my introduction to a disease that would lead to me burying Taffy. Since then I have lost a countless amount of family members, co-workers, friends, and regular old acquaintances to cancer.

But there is a bright side. Groups like The Jimmy Fund have been working for years to try and eradicate cancer, create better methods of dealing with the disease, and trying to make the lives of those with it better. The only problem is that they can’t do it without help and that is where you, the reader, comes in. Today and tomorrow is their 10th annual telethon. Please think about making a donation. It sounds cliche but every little bit helps.

Donation Hotline:
1-877-738-1234

Text to Donate:
KCANCER to 20222

Twitter Accounts to Follow:
@TheJimmyFund
@WEEI
@NESN

Lets #KCancer!

Gonzo named AL Player of the Week

Written by of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 10:20 am on August 30, 2011
Filed Under 2011 Season | Leave a Comment

7 days and 7 games is all it took for Adrian Gonzalez to show the world he still has some power in his bat and that he deserved the title of ‘AL Player of the Week’ for August 22nd-28th.

.393 AVG (11-for-28), 5 HR, 1 2B, 9 RBI, 8 R

In addition to hitting the laces off the ball, Gonzo also spent yesterday doing some back-to-school shopping with some young Red Sox Scholars at Target in Dorchester and even showed up to help Josh Beckett raise some money at the Beckett Bowl.

Beckett Bowl 2011 recap

Written by of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 10:54 pm on August 29, 2011
Filed Under Baseball Miscellaneous | 3 Comments

Beckett Bowl 2011 is complete. There were Sox players galore (Daniel Bard, Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez, and Jon Lester among others), a few members of the Stanley Cup champion Bruins (Daniel Paille and Dennis Seidenberg), a handful of other athletes (soccer players that I’ve never seen before in my life, ex-NCAA hockey stars) and some actors that I didn’t recognize (someone that was on Seinfeld?)

It may sound cliche but none of these people were the real stars of the night. That honor fell to the children that were invited to come along. Each one of them has battled a hardship in their life whether it was a brain tumor or a variation of Leukemia. These kids put on brave faces, smiled for the cameras, and reminded us what the Beckett Bowl is really for. Sure, it was awesome to meet Pedroia and speak to Larry Lucchino but this event was created to raise money and help others. I’m glad I could be a part of it, if only by helping to raise awareness and spread the word of the good that Josh Beckett and his foundation are doing.

Jump down the rabbit hole for a ton more photos:
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Red Sox/Yankees pitching matchups

Written by of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 11:44 am on August 29, 2011
Filed Under 2011 Season | Leave a Comment

My father-in-law gives me a call every time the Red Sox and Yankees play because he can never seem to find the games on TV. Are they on TBS? Fox? ESPN? MLB Network? NESN? I’ll make it easy for you Bob, here is some series info:

Date: Tuesday, August 30th @ 7:10 PM
Pitchers: LHP CC Sabathia (17-7, 2.99) vs. RHP John Lackey (12-9, 5.98)
TV: NESN, MY9, MLB Network

Date: Wednesday, August 31st @ 7:10 PM
Pitchers: RHP Phil Hughes (4-4, 6.46 ERA) vs RHP Josh Beckett (11-5, 2.43)
TV: NESN, YES, ESPN, ESPN3.com

Date: Thursday, September 1st @ 7:10 PM
Pitchers: RHP A.J. Burnett (9-11, 5.31 ERA) vs. LHP Jon Lester (14-6, 3.09 ERA)
TV: NESN, YES, MLB Network

These match-ups look just a tad bit lopsided and seem to favor the Red Sox but anything can happen in baseball. That two game lead in the standings could disappear in a heartbeat so pray for a sweep.

Wet and wild weekend!

Written by of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 11:01 am on August 29, 2011
Filed Under 2011 Season | Leave a Comment

This was a pretty crazy weekend for New Englanders. We had threats of a hurricane wiping us off the map but it only did minimal damage (I know, to those of you with destroyed property or missing loved ones it does not seem like minimal damage but in the grand scheme of things, it is.) For this I am thankful, but I’m also thankful for a few other things:

Friday: The Yankees beat on the Athletics the night before the Red Sox faced them. Our arch-enemies hit an MLB record 3 grand slams against Oakland pitching. The A’s were a tad bit embarrassed so they took it out on the Sox. Tim Wakefield got denied his 200th career win as the pitching staff got hit around so badly that Darnell McDonald had to finish the 9th inning on the mound. We learned that not only is Darnell a terrible (slumping?) hitter but he is also not that great of a pitcher, giving up 2 BB, 2 ER, and 1 hit. He still did better than big Matt Albers (1 IP, 4 ER.) This was our live-and-learn game.

Saturday: The BOS/OAK game from Sunday got pushed back because of Hurricane Irene so the team was facing a doubleheader. Game 1 started off at 12:00 and ending around 6:00 PM with a 9-3 win after 3 hours of rain delays. Game 2 started shortly after, had its own 3 hour rain delay, and ended with a 4-0 Sox win.

David Ortiz: Big Papi has been on a tear during his last 4 games. After recovering from the bursitis in his heel, the man has been knocking the stitching off the ball. 3 HR in his last 4 games and one of them was to the absolute deepest part of Fenway.

Alfredo Aceves: In the month of August, Aceves has pitched 14.2 innings, allowed only 14 baserunners, and given up 2 earned runs. 1.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP. At a time when Matt Albers has completely crumbled and the Bard/Papelbon duo has been a bit overworked, Aceves has been THE MAN coming out of the pen.

AL East Standings: With the Red Sox taking 2 out of 3 from the A’s and 3 out of 4 from the Rangers, they have jumped up to 1st place in the standings again.

Without further adieu, here is a photo of Boston Bruins agitator slash goal scorer Brad Marchand eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch out of the Stanley Cup:

I think this is exactly how I would spend my day with the Cup as well. Thanks @NHLBruins

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