Curt Schilling Throws No-Hitter Through 8 Innings

Oh so close! Curt Schilling appeared to be on his way to throwing his first ever no-hitter, with 2 outs in the 9th inning, Shannon Stewart hit a line drive past Alex Cora breaking up the no-hitter and giving Curt Schilling a one hit game.

Minor League Coach Goes Crazy

A classic showing from a crazy manager of the Minor League Mississippi Braves. Got to love the Grenade!

A-Rod With a 'Cheap' Hit on Dustin Pedroia

Alex Rodriguez was again part of a controversial play while running the bases. A softly hit ball to Mike Lowell at third-base was thrown to Dustin Pedroia, who then attempted to turn-two. Alex Rodriquez, being on first, slid into second-base but in a 'cheap' maneuver, threw his back and elbow up into Pedroia who was attempting the throw to first. If you don't remember, A-Rod was part of a similar play in the 2004 ALCS where he slapped the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove who was making a play at first. While the play was fairly insignificant, it again shows that Alex Rodriguez is a poor sportsman and at times a 'cheap' player. Dustin Pedroia gave these comments;

“He went in late and kind of threw an elbow,” Pedroia said. “It was a little cheap but no big deal. I’ll remember. I play second base. I’ve got to turn two with the Yankees 19 times a year, so I know now when he’s coming in, my (arm) slot gets dropped to the floor. That’s it.” Boston Herald

A Commercial for Red Sox Fans

A look back at a hilarious clip on Comedy Central, showcasing die-hard Red Sox fans and a Master Card commercial.

What are you willing to sacrifice for another World Series win?

Dice-K Pitches Complete Game

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched a complete game against the Detriot Tigers last night, making him the first Red Sox rookie to do so since Tim VanEgmond in 1994. Allowing only one run in 9 innings and no-walks, Dice-K had great command of his pitches.

“I wouldn’t say that my stuff was the best that I’ve ever had with the Red Sox so far, but as for the results, I’m definitely the most happy about what happened today,” Matsuzaka said through a translator. “But at the same time, I don’t want to settle and have to say that going forward, the way I pitched today was the best I can pitch. I hope to improve continually.” Reported by Boston Herald

So far this season, Matsuzaka is 5 - 2 and is pitching extremely well at home. Having pitched 124 pitches last night, we finally saw the great durability that Dice-K was reported to have in Japan. Expect to see more of these long starts from him in the future.

Amazing Comeback by Red Sox

Jeremy Guthrie pitched 8 innings of shutout baseball against the Red Sox but his removal in the 9th inning due to a dropped infield fly by Orioles Catcher Ramon Hernandez brought out the bats in a big way.

The Red Sox scored six runs in the 9th inning off Baltimore relievers Danys Baez and Chris Ray to win. Not since 1998 have the Red Sox had such a comeback in the 9th inning.

ESPN Video Highlight

Josh Beckett Injures Finger

After pitching 4 innings in today's game, Josh Beckett was replaced by Kyle Snyder in the the top of the fifth due to an injury. Beckett had given up two runs but appeared to have good command of his pitches and no apparent problems.

The Red Sox have reported that there was an avulsion of the middle finger of Josh Beckett and not a blister. Beckett has suffered from blisters in the past and missed games last year due to this injury.

This comes at a bad time for Beckett who was looking to go 8-0 on the season. We will be following the Red Sox reports closely to see exactly how major this injury may be.

Canseco Says Schilling is a Liar

Yesterday, Jose Canseco spoke on the ESPN morning show First Take (formley Cold Pizza) about the comments of Curt Schilling on Barry Bonds. I would like to say Jose Conseco had some surprising comments, but then nothing he ever says is shocking anymore. Will this guy ever go away? Watch

Curt Schilling Apologizes for Barry Bonds Comments

With all the attention given to Curt Schillings' comments about Barry Bonds and his Steroid use, it is not surprising that Curt Schilling today wrote a "Public Apology."

"Everyone has days and events in life they’d love to push the rewind button on, yesterday was one of those days. Regardless of my opinions, thoughts and beliefs on anything Barry Bonds it was absolutely irresponsible and wrong to say what I did." Writes Curt Schilling on his website 38pitches.com

Terry Francona Tells Curt Schilling to "Zip It"

As reported on Boston.com, Terry Francona in an interview on WEEI this afternoon stated that he had spoken to Curt Schilling about his recent comments on Barry Bonds.

“Yeah, I actually talked to Schill yesterday about it, and you know again, he’s never been short on opinions, and so many of them are insightful, I just thought this was an area where you’re better off just leaving it alone. And he didn’t. And you know again, the problem is, it makes it tough for me, is that he comes to the ballpark and doesn’t talk to the media so I’m left to kind of clean up the mess which I really don’t feel like, but, again, I’ve been with Schill a long time. Nobody’s more crazy about Schill than me. I just ask him to kind of zip it a little bit, and I think he will.” Listen

Then asked the same question concerning David Ortiz Terry responded;

“I thought that was really different, in a different context,” Francona said. “If a writer comes up and asks you a question and you go ‘yeah,’ all of a sudden it’s big news. I felt bad yesterday ‘cause after I saw the article, and then I saw the headline, which didn’t even come close to being the article, and I thought that was very unprofessional on the paper’s part..." Listen

Unfortunately, all this news has taken away from another great start by Josh Beckett who won his 7th game, becoming the first pitcher to do so since Mickey Harris in 1946(RedSox.com).

Curt Schilling Rips Barry Bonds

In an interview on WEEI's "Dennis and Callahan" show, Curt Schilling was less than kind when talking about Barry Bonds. When asked if fans should hold their noses while watching Barry Bonds pursue Hank Aaron’s record, Schilling replied:

“Oh yeah. I would think so. I mean, he admitted that he used steroids,” said Schilling. “I mean, there’s no gray area. He admitted to cheating on his wife, cheating on his taxes, and cheating on the game, so I think the reaction around the league, the game, being what it is, in the case of what people think. Hank Aaron not being there. The commissioner [Bud Selig] trying to figure out where to be. It’s sad. And I don’t care that he’s black, or green, or purple, or yellow, or whatever. It’s unfortunate… there’s good people and bad people. It’s unfortunate that it’s happening the way it’s happening.” Listen

This comes after the surprising comments of David Ortiz who gave support to Barry Bonds and suggested being a great hitter is more than steroids.

David Ortiz Unsure if He's Taken Steroids

Red Sox slugger, David Ortiz admits hes not 100% sure that he has ever taken steroids.

“I tell you, I don’t know too much about steroids, but I started listening about steroids when they started to bring that (expletive) up, and I started realizing and getting to know a little bit about it,” Ortiz said Sunday. “You’ve got to be careful. . . . I used to buy a protein shake in my country. I don’t do that any more because they don’t have the approval for that here, so I know that, so I’m off of buying things at the GNC back in the Dominican (Republic). But it can happen anytime, it can happen. I don’t know. I don’t know if I drank something in my youth, not knowing it.”Reported by Boston Herald

These comments come after Ortiz's recent comments about Barry Bonds and his supposed use of steroids(Ortiz goes to bat for Barry). Supporting Bonds, Ortiz explains that hitting a baseball is much harder than taking some steroids

“To hit the frickin’ ball, the guy makes it look easy, but it ain’t. I don’t know how you can have that swing, consistently. I don’t know how steroids can do that,” Ortiz said. “There are supposed to be guys using steroids in the game, and there’s nobody close to Barry Bonds. What’s that mean? He was using the best (expletive)? Know what I’m saying?”

Roger Clemens Goes to the Yankees

Alright, so the Yankees get Roger Clemens but was it really a good deal? The Yankees signed Roger to a 28 Million Dollar one year pro-rated contract. Still needing to prepare for the season, Roger is not expected to start for the Yankees until sometime in June, if all goes well. Being 44 years old, this is a big if as Roger has had recent leg problems.

According to the Boston Herald, the Red Sox offered Roger Clemens a 18 Million Dollar deal which he declined. At 28 Million Dollars and another 14 Million in luxury taxes, I would not call this a steal for the Yankees.

The Red Sox pitching has been very strong with Beckett looking better than ever and Schilling pitching like old. While Roger Clemens may provide aid, I believe the Yankees have a much bigger wound with a heavily used bullpen and a team that shows very little chemistry.

“I’m happy with who we’ve got. I’m sure it’s a nice boost over there, given what they’ve gone through. It’s going to be a huge help for them.” Curt Schilling Source: Boston Herald

David Ortiz and Brian Urlacher Commercial

Watch this hilarious video of David Ortiz and Brian Urlacher playing badminton.

Dice-K Shaky But Sox Get Win

While Dice-K was nothing near perfect, giving up 5 runs in the first inning, the red sox were able to pull out a win with the help of Manny Ramirez and Wily Mo Pena. Manny crushed two home runs(watch) one of which gave the sox a 8 - 7 lead and the win while Wily Mo went 4 for 4(watch) with three singles and a double.

It was only time before Manny broke out and had a good game and this was a great game to do it as we really needed the runs.

Josh Beckett Goes 6 - 0

Josh Beckett starts the season at 6 - 0 marking the first time a Redsox pitcher has done so since Roger Clemens in 1991. While it was not his best outing, he showed great command through 4 innings and had great support from the Boston bats who regained the lead in the 6th and never looked back.

For the second night in a row, Coco Crisp made an amazing diving catch in center field and stopped the A's from rallying in the 9th. Watch the Coco Catch

Jason Varitek in Slump

At 2 for his last 22, Jason Varitek has found himself in a bit of a slump. But don't worry it seems a couple of ladies at McFadden's Bar in Boston have just the answer to breaking his drought. Wearing a shirt labeled "Don't Worry I Always Pull Out" it looks Varitek has found some time get out and blow off some steam. Hopefully, this laid-back attitude will help to break the slow start.

Jonathan Papelbon Blows Save

Well it had to happen sometime but it was still very surpising. Schilling looked great through 7 innings and Okajima dominated the A's line-up in the 8th. But it was Jonathan Papelbon who showed some weekness when he let up a 2 run home-run in the 9th to give up his first runs of the season and his first blown save. Pap had problems locating some of his pitches, especially the home-run which was suppose to be a high fast ball but stayed down in the zone. It was a disappionting loss as both Schilling and Okajima pitched a great game but I believe it's fair to say Papeldon deserves to have a bad day with all the great pitching he has given us.