Wave of sickness.

Papi
Originally uploaded by LadyJ117.

Irregular heart beats? Possible cancer? Are we in a hospital or Fenway Park?

Good news: Papi checked out okay. He spent two days getting his heart tested for irregular beats at Mass General and was released last night. Phew! If there's anything good that can come out of this season, it's his race for the Red Sox single season homerun record. Foxx's record is 50. Papi currently has 47. He is expected to be back on the field next week.

Bad news: Our promising 22-year-old starter, Jon Lester, has enlarged lymph nodes. He started complaining about having a sore back and hasn't pitched in weeks. The news broke yesterday that he could have more than just a bad back. He could have cancer!! So sad!! Of course, this is the worst case scenario, but it's still pretty scary to even think of it as a possibility.

I've never been one to give up, but I think the Sox should just scrap the rest of the season and give their players a headstart on recovering. I mean, let's run down the list of the injured: Tim Wakefield, Matt Clement, Lester, Lenny Dinardo, Jason Varitek, Doug Mirabelli, Ortiz, Alex Gonzalez, Manny Ramirez, Coco Crisp, Trot Nixon, and Wily Mo Pena. Four are pitchers, two are catchers, four are outfielders, one is our shortstop and the other is our MVP.

Going to the game tonight and I have no idea who's going to be on the field. Guess I'm going to have to learn my friend Katie Belle's art of being at the game without actually watching the game.

Hands down, worst summer ever!...

...Weather-wise that is. I mean honestly!! Was I really forced to wear socks to bed last night because I was that cold? For the last three days now it's been nothing but rainy and cold. Temps are in the mid-70s, but it feels a lot cooler. What gives?

First, we have essentially no spring with five-weeks of rain in May-June. Then we have a month-long, scorching heatwave through July. Two weeks of glorious weather followed at the beginning of August. Now, we have this.

Summer's almost over, yet it already feels like Fall around here. Don't get me wrong. Fall is actually my favorite season in Boston. Leaves changing, crisp air, sweaters and jeans, football. It's great. But it's still August, at least for one more day, and quite frankly, I'd like it to feel that way. Is that too much to ask? (Insert smart-ass comments from West Coast readers here).

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Gearing up for poker night tonight at our Southie pad. Should be a blast. Roommie and me played last week at her friend's place and I won a whopping $20!! I'm hoping for a better showing with the homefield advantage and all.

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22 days and counting until my Vegas trip!! Woohoo!!

The saga continues.

So, after nine days of no dialog with Dennis, I receive yet another text. This after I rejected his two text requests to see me last week.

Here's his latest text: "Thinking about going to the Sox game on Thursday. Any plans?"

I responded via text: "Already going with the girls. Too bad the Sox suck." He wrote back: "Yeah, they do suck. Maybe I could meet you for drinks. kit." (short for keep in touch, of course).

Ahhhh, how bout no, Scott!! (or Dennis). I didn't respond.

Is it just me or is this kid a little nuts? Whatever his mental state, I think it's very clear he has no idea what he's doing with regards to women and relationships. I don't want to bash the kid, but I don't want to coddle him either. If I just ignore him, that's going to create an uncomfortable environment inside the Cask 'n Flagon. I guess that's why I've responded to the texts, but they've been as brief and un-flirty as possible.

It's just bizarre to me that after nine days of not talking to each other, he continues to text to ask me out. Not that I'm interested anymore, but seriously, why hasn't he picked up the phone to call me and ask me out. If he really is interested in seeing me, shouldn't he be interested in catching up?

Long story short, I think the kid likes the idea of dating someone, but doesn't quite know how to do it. He likes me perhaps because I'm so chill, but what he needs to realize is that the reason I'm so chill is because I have NO INTEREST IN SEEING HIM SOCIALLY ANYMORE.

If he does show up at the Cask on Thursday, because I really am going to the game, I'm not quite sure how to handle it. I'm a little too much of an adult to ignore him, but I don't want to lie. I feel like hearing what turns me off about him might help him in the long run. I'm pretty sure he might start to cry, though. God, guys suck!!

Shame spiral

DrownSorrows
Originally uploaded by LadyJ117.

I'm officially done. Seriously. No, seriously!! Hate that I have three games left to go to, including this Thursday.

How does a team just buckle like this? Sure, there's nothing really left to play for, but the team shouldn't be thinking that too!! First, Manny doesn't slide into third base on Saturday night and gets called out, ending a rally, and then he shows up on Sunday afternoon and tells Tito he doesn't want to play that day because his hammy is sore.

Sure, it's "Manny being Manny" at it's best, but this is where I draw the line. The guy's punking out. He doesn't want to play because he doesn't see the point. There's a little more than a month left to go in the season, but he's done now.

Thanks, Manny. These actions are exactly what I would expect from a World Series MVP. Thanks.

Another one bites the dust.

So, I think this thing with Dennis is over before it really even began. What gave it away? The fact that I haven't blogged at all about the dates we've had?

Long story short, the guy has issues, which we all do. But this isn't something I should be discovering on the first or second date. This is supposed to be the fun time. When we laugh, joke, flirt, and of course, make out profusely (sorry Mom). Well, it's pretty hard to get all worked up to kiss someone when they're constantly talking about how much they hate their life and how they don't know what they want to do and wah, wah, wah, wah. It's come up on both our dates and then again when I saw him on Sunday before the Sox/Yankees game. He just seems really emotionally unstable and has exhibited some symptoms of perhaps being bi-polar. One minute, he's cute, sweet, and totally in to me. The next, he's drowning his sorrows over a beer and hardly paying any attention to me. It's just too much drama too soon and I'm over it.

Some other reasons?
- He texts me to ask me out. Never calls.

- He asked me to go to the Sox game, but didn't have tickets. Something I learned the day before our first date. I end up going online all day to try to find some and ultimately call my ticket guy.

- Everytime I've tried to talk about something serious, he starts to dish and then says "I don't really want to talk about it."

- He admits to me that he's been "spoken to" at one of the bars he works at for drinking on the job and that he's "on the list" of people to watch at his other bar gig.

- One of his co-workers tells me after our first date that he has "issues with women."

Are you getting the picture now? Am I overreacting? Would you continue to see this guy? Cuz I wouldn't. No matter how cute he is. Just not worth it.

Phew!

Good news. I still have a job!!

Today, everyone is being called in for individual “informational meetings” with our managing editor and our editor-in-chief. Basically, you find out today whether you still have a job. I do.

Apparently, they’ve hired someone from one of the other companies to be the “Sr. Sports Editor” and I will be his right-hand man…or woman. I was happy to hear this, but also a little disappointed that I wasn’t considered for the Sr. position. Then again, I’m not really management material. I like to be among the people…except when it comes to beer at Fenway. I liked being a VIP. (Yeah, still harping about that).

Anyway, they tell me that this Sr. Editor and I will basically be working together to layout the new sports department. So, I guess technically, I’m a manager to some extent. I told them I’d like to have input with regards to the towns I cover and they said I would. They really didn’t have all the details mapped out yet, but I guess that’s what I’ll be figuring out with this Sr. guy within the next month. Flippin sweet!!

Nuf said.

WaitTilNextYear
Originally uploaded by LadyJ117.

Went to Game 3 of Sox vs. Yankees last night and I've had just about all I can take. We're going down a shame spiral. I still have three games left to go to and to be quite honest, I don't even want to. We're not giving up on them, they've given up on us.

Bring on the Pats, baby!! September 10th couldn't come soon enough.

To have and have not.

Last Tuesday night, I lost something very special to me. Something I've held near and dear to my heart for several months. One of the most unique things I've ever encountered, really, and it's gone, quite possibly forever. It's almost too difficult to talk about but I'm going to try to look through my welled-up eyes and get through it for you, oh loyal readers. Last Tuesday night, I lost...oh this is too hard. Last Tuesday night, I lost my...I'm trying, people. I'm trying. Okay, here goes. Last Tuesday night, I lost my beer hook-up at Fenway Park!!WWWWWAHAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! (I'm really crying right now. People just poked their heads out of their cubes to get a good look!!).

Okay, here's a little back-story. My Mom went to the Sox game on Friday night and mentioned that she hadn't seen Phil (aka, my Miller Lite Guy) at his station. Puzzled, she said she asked the blonde who works next to him where Phil was. "He took the night off," she replied. Being a bartender myself, I found this rather bizarre. I mean, the guy only has a job when the Sox are in town and to take a Friday night off seemed strange. "Eh, he must have had something really important to do," I said to my Mom when she told me the story on our way into the game last night.

Well, come to find out when we go up to Phil last night to get beers and give him crap for taking the night off, that he didn't actually take the night off. He was forced to after being suspended!!! "Suspended??!!," I exclaimed. "For what??!!" "For doing what I do," he replied sadly, meaning hooking people up with beer!! Apparently, I wasn't the only one. (Not that I thought I was, but still).

It was all I could do not to start balling right then and there. I mean, God damn it! I still have four more games to go to this season, including Sunday night against the Yankees, a game I know I'm going to need to slug a few back more than ever. I want to know who the dumb-ass was that ruined it for the rest of us!! I'm just glad it wasn't me. I could tell last night that Phil was really torn up about it. I guess the blonde got in trouble too, but Phil got it worse because "he's the guy," she said. He said next season, he'd have to figure something out. I hope so, Phil. I hope so. Until then, I'll cherish the 16-game VIP beer status I had this season and try my best to adapt to life among the little people again.

RIP beer hook-up. Go with God.

(For the record, I've been trying to post this since Wednesday and Blogger has been very disagreeable!!!! Still have date news to come and weekend recap).

Baby Taylor. How cute is she?

TaySox
Originally uploaded by LadyJ117.

So, this is the little one I like to call my niece. World, Taylor Madison Teixeira. Taylor, World. There, you're introduced. I've done my part.

Anyway, she's just the cutest little thing and I wanted to share her with you all. Of course, she's all smiles sporting a Red Sox one-zie!! Although, her mom would just assume it be a Cardinals one. (Momma's from St. Louis, you see). But her Poppa (born and raised in the Ville in the Hill --Somerville, Mass.) and me like to see her in Sox gear.

Just keep listening to Auntie J, Taylor. Keep loving the Sox and eventually, even if it's 86-years later, they'll love you back!!

Victory!

Lady J's gotta date!! Holla!! Yes, finally, my crush Dennis asked me out. Went up to visit him at his bar with Jackie before meeting Kev and his friends Friday and on the way out, Dennis asked me to go to a Sox game with him Wednesday. Woohoo!! Perfect first date, in my eyes.

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We had a great time with Kev on Friday. After leaving the Kinsale, Jacks and I hopped on the train and met him and his buddies at the Cask for the Sox game. Many drinks were drunk, much food was eaten, Sox won. Perfect. We ended up back at the Bell (place where I work) and by midnight, Jacks and I were ready to bail. God, I hate being old!! We couldn't hang with the kids and we said our goodbyes. I was in bed by 1. But lets keep in mind, we started at 5 p.m., when I got off the bar. That's a long A** day of drinking!!

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Didn't do much before work Saturday. Needed some down time. Was happy to see my friends Chuck, Troy, and Chris come in that night to visit me at the Bell. The night goes by so much faster when you have visitors!! Got them good and drunk on Gin and Tonics. It was a good night.

Ended up going over to Meri's for a couple of beers after work and rolled into bed around 6 a.m. Was woken up by Danielle around 11. She was in a panic looking for her phone. A phone she had on the kitchen table with me, Meri, and our friend BJ all night!! In the morning, it had disappeared!! So there we all were going through bed sheets, looking under every piece of furniture, leafing through the trash. Yuck!! We called the phone 100 times and couldn't hear anything.

After a good 40 minutes, Danielle proclaimed fairly uneventfully that she had found her phone. It was in an ice bucket next to the kitchen table. How it got there is anyone's guess. I'm just glad we found it.

A few hours later, I went up to Danielle's place to enjoy a lovely Sunday afternoon by the pool. Her friends Shelly and Joe met up and we had an impromptu cook-out. Good times.

That's all for my weekend. How was yours?

Serenity now!

Painting sux. It's that simple. But the end result is worth all the hard work.

In what was the most recent project in my apartment, my roommate Jill and I decided to slap some paint on our living room walls. We both got out of work early yesterday and banged out the room in about two hours. Every muscle in my body hurts and I have a pair of blisters developing on my hands, but as we sat on the couch admiring our work, it all became worth it.

It's amazing how much a difference a little paint makes. The room is a completely different room and all it took was a couple of hours of grueling work. I'm thrilled we did it and I love the room!!

Oh, it's a nice, deep green color, in case you were wondering. Works very well with our tan-colored furniture.

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Argh! My boss from the bar just called and left a voicemail on my cell. I know what this means. She wants me to work tonight. Yeah, it's just common practice for her to just blaze up people's cells at 12:30 on a Thursday to ask them to work that night at 6. Because I don't have any plans tonight and I have nothing better to do than be her beckon call...bartender.

She's actually said in staff meetings that we should be able to "break plans" for each other. Meaning, if someone needs a shift covered and we say no because we have plans, she thinks we should have no problem breaking those plans because someone needs us. Spoken like a true spoiled brat millionare!! That's what she is. Born into money, still making money, and therefore, thinks she's entitled to anything at anytime. Well not tonight sweetie!! I've got plans that are unbreakable. My friend Fusco's bartending at a place around the corner tonight and he wants to get me and my roommies wasted, and by God, I'm going to let him!! Heck, we're walking home. Why not? Of course, I won't tell her this when I call back. It'll be something along the lines of, "oh, sorry Deb. Some of my friends from college are up for a few days. No can do." She'll buy it!!

Can I get some sleep? Can Charles get a contract? Can Krissy not die taking a surf lesson?

Something I hate? When I purposely try to be good and not drink and go to bed early and it totally backfires!! Case in point: Last night, I got home from work, made myself dinner, made a black bean salad to share at work the next day, and played a little solitare on the computer. This was all in an attempt to resist the urge to go to bed before 10. But why was I resisting? I was tired, the roommies weren't home, I was bored, and the Sox were losing. Why not go to bed early? I guess I was trying to wait it out to catch the new episode of the Real World, but it's not like they won't rerun that shit every hour on the hour this weekend, so why not hit the sack. So, I reluctantly did at 9:46 p.m.

Because it was a nice evening, I had one of my two windows open and utilized the "fan only" option on my AC. I was comfortable and was out like a light. Fast-forward to 2:12 a.m. and I hear what sounds like a party going on in my place. OH NO, that would be the apartment next to me with a trillion people out on their balcony. In the middle of the week. At 2 a.m. On a school night. What's up with that?? Still in a sleepy haze, I angrily got up, slammed my window shut, and turned on my AC. Of course, it took a while to get back to sleep and when the alarm went off at 6:50 a.m., I, of course, felt extremely groggy!! Damn neighbors. I think in the two-plus years I've lived in Southie, this was the third time the neighbors have had a party. The previous two times? Oh yeah, one on a weekend, the other a Sunday holiday. GRRR!!

Now, I know I'll get no sympathy from my sister Krissy, who lives on the corner of two main streets in San Francisco and has to use a fan year-round to combat the noise. But to be honest, I'm not looking for sympathy, just to gripe!! Waaaah, I got woken up in the middle of the night!! WAAAAAAHHH!!

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In other BTD news, the Randolph BOS finally stopped ignoring Charles and took some action Monday night. This with a room full of firefighters and about 12 fire chiefs from across the South Shore, of course. In short, we had to wait the WHOLE meeting for something to come up, but finally, Billy Alexopolous (Charlie's friend and a selectman) brought up how he feels like the board is giving him no direction with regards to the fire chief's contract. He was wondering if the board had responded to a letter from Charles' attorney sent after the last meeting two weeks ago because if they had, he didn't know what that response was. Soon after, the chair (former chief) and another selectman claimed not to know what letter they were referring to and diverted the question to the Executive Secretary...who in turn said he forwarded the letter to the board. OH THAT LETTER, right. This prompted one selectman to make a motion to extend Charles' contract to Sept. 25 by which time a negotiation committee with two of the board members would be formed and a new contract would be in place. Phew!! When all five members approved the motion, we cheered and the meeting was promptly adjourned. Victory!!

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In other, other BTD news, my sister has informed me she's taking a surfing lesson on Saturday. This is not a good idea because a) she's not the best swimmer. b) she used to be called "clutsy Krissy". c) she'll be in shark-infested waters. d) all of the above. I'm going with D!! Hope she has fun, though!!

Kev's home.Yippee! and Why the Randolph BOS sux!

So I have wonderful news!! My friend Kevin is coming home from his second tour in Iraq today. He'll be at his base in upstate New York before returning home to Mass. this weekend. Couldn't be more delighted that he's back in the states. Kev was the only person I knew over there and he was one too many! So happy to have him back...and this time, for good.

My sister and I first met Kev while working at a grocery store (Sudbury Farms) during the high school years. We were cashiers and Kev was a bagger extraordinare!! His great sense of humor and deadpan delivery made most shifts easier to get through. He's truly a gem and I can't wait to buy him a Sam Adams...or two...or three...or four on Friday night when we take him out!!
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In other BTD news, I'm going to a meeting tonight in support of my stepdad, Charles. He's the fire chief in Randolph and the Board of Selectmen are refusing to offer him anything other than a temporary contract, which is total BS. Basically, it limits his power enough so he can't promote existing firefighters or hire new ones. Again, BS.

So, he's been working without a contract for a few months and the board is basically threatening him to stop paying him until he signs on. They have a meeting tonight to try to come to a compromise and I hope, for their sake, they make the right decision.

Charles has been the chief for six years. He has completely turned the place around and is garnering respect from his own staff, fellow officials, and neighboring firehouses. More than 30 fire chiefs from around Mass. attended the last selectmen's meeting two weeks ago in a show of support. He knows just about everyone in the town, most of whom have written letters or made calls on his behalf. In short, the board is toast.

The guy causing all the drama is the selectman chairman, who just also happens to be the man Charles replaced as fire chief. Essentially, he's jealous about how well-received Charles has been since becoming fire chief and feels the need to torment him simply because he has the power to do so. Ridiculous!! There's a petition going around to have him recalled and if that happens, he'll be out of office!!

Two of the other four selectmen are on board with this guy, one of whom happens to be someone I was once in a brief relationship with...that was until he told me he was gay!! He's such an attention-starved, power-hungry jerk and I really feel like outing him tonight!! Can't wait until he sees me!! He'll be shaking in his boots!!

But what's perhaps most troubling is that this chairman is still a member of the Fire Fighters Association of America, an organization that was developed to help promote the sense of family amongst those who serve their communities so bravely. These guys eat, sleep, and work together and are essentially brothers. We all saw how they banded together in the wake of 9/11, most of us have seen at least one episode of Rescue Me, and we all know what to expect to see in the soon-to-be-released movie, World Trade Center. These guys are heroes and Charles is one of the best firefighters I know. For someone who served to turn their back on another would be like me disowning my sister. Just shouldn't happen.

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for Charles. I think the board's going to get what they deserve!!

Weekend at Mach Speed.

Apologies to my readers who don't dig the Sox as much as I do. But when you go to 20 games in a season, it's hard to write about anything else. Sorry, I'll do my best to cut back.

My weekend at mach-speed:
Went to visit Beth and baby Taylor on Friday before working at the bar.
Saturday, I moved my new couch into my place...or should I say, I watched my stepdad Charles and my friend from the bar, Jose, move my new couch into my place. Watched in agony really as they pushed and pulled my 8 1/2-foot sofa up four flights of stairs in a poorly ventilated hallway and into my apartment. They are god-sents really. For some reason I thought me and Charles would be able to handle it ourselves. I must have been still asleep, because there would have been no freakin way we would have been able to have done it with just us. So, I called in some reinforcements and boy do I owe Jose!! I picked him up last minute and he truly saved the day!! After lounging on my new piece o furniture all day, I mustered up the energy to shower and go to work...again.
Sunday, I went to brunch with Jacks and did some afternoon drinking while watching the Sox blow a four-run lead and surrender a walk-off homer and their second loss to a ballclub that's been in the cellar almost since it joined the Majors!!

Now, I'm impatiently waiting to watch Entourage. Thought I would have a post waiting for you all on Monday morning. Enjoy!!

Random fun on a Tuesday night.

So, I’m 11-5 now in Red Sox games attended and not happy about it. Although, I was kind of expecting a loss with crappy Jason Johnson pitching. Long story short: He’s a rookie and he sucks.

Despite the loss and the sweltering heat, the game was actually a great time. I took my friend from the bar, Danielle, because we’d never been to a game before. In short, we had a blast. Rolled into the Cask n Flagon (best darn Sox watering hole in the Fenway area) around 5:30 p.m. and started drinking. In between chatting with fellow Sox fans and scarfing a plate of nachos, I was stealing glances at my crush, Dennis, behind the bar. He’s so darn cute!!

Went over to the game, got beers from Phil aka “My Miller Lite Guy” and since I had seats in the Bleachers (located in centerfield with the sun blazing down on us), I decided to scope out the situation in the handicapped area. Debbie, an usher Jacks and I had met one game, was thrilled to see me and promptly directed me to two open chairs. (Debbie commandeers the handicapped seating area, which is essentially a platform just above field level, 15 rows back that accommodates people in wheelchairs. When there are no handicapped people in the section, which is almost always the case, Debbie seats people there). Besides the better view, there are other perks to these seats: A) Nothing but wide-open space in front of you. B) Bathrooms are located directly at the bottom of the ramp. C) Phil’s beer station is located directly beside the ramp. Other perks: Debbie’s willingness to spritz us with her water bottle to cool us off and her pleasant conversation. In short, it’s my favorite place to sit.

At this point, Danielle was pretty much in shock about how well I was treated at Fenway. Just to remind you, I get free beer, free food, free water (essential on a game like last night when bottles are $4.25 apiece), and seating upgrades. Now I ask you, why wouldn’t I buy tickets for 20 games this season when I get treated so well? The way I see it, I have only two more hook-ups to master: Parking and Tickets. That’s parking ANYWHERE in the city and tickets to ANYTHING in the city.

After the game, we went back to the Cask and I was thrilled to see Dennis had been cut and was chilling at the end of the bar with my friend (and former roommate) Beth, mother of this cutie.
I chatted him up and basically made it really obvious I was interested. We laughed, we had arms around each other, we shared a prolonged kiss on the cheek before I left. In short (gosh I’ve used that a lot in the post), he seems interested too, but still hasn’t asked for my number. Lady J confused!! Anyway, I told him I’d drop by to visit him at the other bar he works at (close to mine) before my shift on Saturday and he seemed happy to hear that. I’ll try to get something going then. God, I hate being the aggressor!! I’ve literally got no game!!

Sorry, this post is all over the place!!

From the Cask, we went over to the Bell (where I work) to visit another bartender, Meri, and make my karaoke debut. At this point, we had Meri’s friends Natalie and Danielle (yup, another one) in tow. I sang two songs (One Way or Another; Spiderwebs) in front of several co-workers and regulars who had never heard me sing and they were stunned. I carry a pretty decent tune and I think I took them all by surprise. Got one of them swinging a towel in the air. God, I’m such a karaoke whore!! It’s going to be funny when I go in there to work on Thursday. Hopefully, they won’t rag on me too bad!!

To quote Eric the Midget in his disgruntled tone: “By for now.”

My boy is in danger.

So, my boy Trot Nixon, the rightfielder of the Boston Red Sox, left Sunday night’s game with a strained bicep. He had an MRI yesterday and was quickly placed on the 15-day disabled list, but is expected to be out for at least three weeks. Great. Last night, catcher Jason Varitek pulled up lame after running from first to second on a Coco Crisp single. After limping home on a Wily Mo Pena (I’m not kidding, by the way. Coco. Wily Mo. These are real names.) triple, he was pulled from the game. No word on how serious his injury is or how long he’s going to sit out.

The injuries concern me for a few reasons: A) They couldn’t be occurring at a worse time with Sox only holding a one-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East race. B) The Yankees, who have been battling injuries all year, are starting to get some of their injured back AND have just signed outfielder Bobby Abreu. C) With Trot not playing for three weeks, his return is sure to be lackluster, putting his future with the Sox at risk as he will be a free agent at the end of the 2006 season.

Again, I’m at a weird point in my fandom of the Red Sox. Because we won it all in 2004, there’s no longer that desperation to win a title. The Nation took a big sigh of relief in 04, but it doesn’t mean we don’t want to win. By this, I mean, we want to beat the Yankees. I can only speak for myself, but I think the next logical step in exercising the demons is to win our Division, not the wild card, and prevent the Yankees from even making the playoffs. That’s my goal for the team this season. And this feat will be tough to accomplish without the likes of the usual suspects who’ve been there before: Trot, Tek, Tim Wakefield, a knuckleballer who’s currently on the DL.

Injuries aside, my biggest cause for concern is the future of my favorite Sox player, Trot Nixon. There are many reasons why I like Trot, none of which are because I think he’s cute. He’s a decent looking fellow, but let’s be honest, the guy rarely cracks a smile and could probably pick up some obscure radio station in Japan with those ears of his. I like Trot because he’s a blue-collar player. One of those guys who’s not really the star of the team, he just performs day in and day out and always does something to help. He’s been with the Sox since he was drafted in the first round in 2003 and he’s said in my own presence that he doesn’t want to play anywhere else. These have always been my favorite types of players and it would break my heart to see him go. With the injury, it’s looking like that could almost be a certainty, especially when Wily Mo fills in and goes 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI.

So, it is with a heavy heart that I go to my 16th Red Sox game of the season tonight. Typically, I wear my No. 7 (Trot’s) jersey and make people in the stands “Pat the back” whenever he does something good. (Trust me, they love it. I’m the life of the party at Sox games!). With no Trot on the field, I probably won’t don the jersey. It would just be too hard. Well, that and it’s supposed to be about 96 degrees at game time and this weather is really not conducive to polyester.