For the first time in his career Randy Moss is not the one holding the hammer. When he was drafted by the Vikings in 1998 he was to be the club’s savior, he was “the man” of the Vikings. With New England, for the first time in his career, he is just “another man.” Moss has no leverage with the Patriots who will only pay him $3 million as opposed to the $9.75 he was due to receive and the contract is not guaranteed. With the Vikings and Raiders Moss had a long leash, here in New England Moss will be under the microcope 24/7, on and off the field. There won’t be any discussions with any transgressions, he’ll simply be out of work. Fear can be a great motivator and so can winning. The Pats are banking on the latter.

 

So the recalcitrant Randy Moss is now a New England Patriot. After nine seasons in the NFL, Moss is finally with a perennial winner and it’s that word “winner” that will keep Randy Moss in check. Keep in mind that there is a solid core of veteran leaders on the Patriots – Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Troy Brown, Tom Brady and Rodney Harrison- none of these guys will put up with any nonsense from Moss and he knows it. It’s the fourth quarter of his career and Randy Moss just received a new set of downs. This deal is a winner!

Mike Lynch

SportsCenter 5

1st off- I am not a Curt Schilling basher, never will be. I don't think he's a bad guy- a bit eogtistical,but That is propbably part of what makes him a pretty good pitchetr. Probably the best way to describe my attitude towards Schilling is he amuses me. He takes himself way too seriously but he is amusing.

This whole sock thing is a joke. Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne spoke way out of hand with nothing to really back it up, and 2 years later??? C'mon. The Sock was bloodied and not painted

My only problem with Schilling in this matter is that he loves to lump all of us "journalists" with one another and that "none of us are accountable" etc, etc. That is not true, at least in my case-I am accountable to a number of bosses here at the station and, just as importantly, to you the viewer, to hundreds of thousands of viewers. If you don't like us, or don't think we are being accurate and fair- you won't watch us and eventually we'll probably be looking for work elsewhere

How would Schilling like to be lumped in with Barry Bonds and Albert Belle and some of the many professional athletes who are real jerks, and believe me-there are MANY.

Like a Said before I have nothing against Schilling. I think he is a very good pitcher, probably a pretty good Dad and husband and very entertaining. He is amusing and we'll all miss him when he retires, or leaves whichever comes first.  

   Willie Mo Pena is not doing Theo Epstein any favors. Every mistake Willie Mo makes, thoughts wander to Bronson Arroyo, who by the way this year has an impressive ERA of 3.25.
   The Willie Mo for Bronson Arroyo trade has been well documented, Arroyo making the all star team last year with the 4th lowest ERA in the entire National League. And poor Willie Mo, he seems to be getting worse at the plate and in the field rather than better.
    Now it is possible that the 6-3, 245 pound physical speciman Willie Mo, who is just 25 years old, may become a valuable power hitter . The again, have you seen him try to hit a curve ball. Ouch.
   Overall, Theo has spent John Henry's money pretty well, with an occasional hiccup-Edgar Renteria & Matt Clement- 2 very expensive hiccups. Red Sox fans can only hope that he doesn't make any MO trades like the Bronson Arroyo deal.

   Every single Red Sox player and manager Terry Francona said before last nights game against Toronto that there would be no letdown after the sweep of the Yankees. There couldn't be. The excitement that is always present at Fenway Park would prevent it. So much for that theory.
   Fans, even the unequaled passionate fans at fenway can generate only so much excitement. They must have something to build on and last night they were give little. No pun intended but it was the littlest red sox player who provided the night's only real spark with his 1st 2 RBI's of the year on a 2 run double. After that it was a flat peformance, and who really can blame them? After that weekend?
   The real problem is that tonight the Red Sox face arguably the best pitcher in the American League in Roy Halladay so they are looking at what might be back to back losses and taking that on the road for 2 at Baltimore where the Orioles have been playing way over there head, and then into Yankee stadium for 3 where the Yanks and their fans are going to be all riled up looking for revenge from this past weekends sweep by the Red Sox.(and just in case you missed it, A-Rod hit 2 more out last night and is on a ridiculous pace to hit 127 HRs this season)
    My suggestion is for Manny and Varitek to pretend that they are again facing the Yanks tonight because that is who they excel against. Last night's 1 for 19 by the top 4 hitters in the Red Sox lineup ceryainly will not get it done.

    He is still hitting just .200, but with Manny's 1st homer of the year in yesterdays 14th game of the year, he IS ahead of last years pace when he didn't hit his 1st home Run until game #17 and ended up with 35, so can we expect manny to hit 40 HRs this year. (while I was wondering yesterday if Manny and his .176 average needed a day off, I did predict in an earlier blog a week or so ago that Manny would hit his 1st homer of the year in Toronto -just didn't realize that it would come down to his final at bat of the 3 game series. Manny, thanks for making me look like I kind of know what I'm talking about)

    Your suggestions that he show up earlier for spring training might help him get warmed up earlier cannot be discounted.

    And what is with Alex Rodriguez? I'll tell you what- it is a contract year. A-Rod can opt out of his contract after this season, so if he hits 60 home runs (his simply ridiculous start has him on a pace to hit 115 HRs this year !). 2 walk-offs already? Let's see what he does this weekend.

    Let's also see what the Red Sox big 3 does this weekend-I'm talking Schilling, Beckett, & Daisuke. I don't think that is what this series will come down to because the Yankees are going to hit- their offensive lineup, lioke them or hate them, is awesome. Let's see if Varitek can regain some of his hot hitting against the yankees. The Red Sox are going to need it.

    Cheers for Coco, hey if you can't get a normal hit- help the team with what you did yesterday -some bunt singles. And poor Dustin Pedroia- this kid needs a break, he is not this bad but how can you keep Cora out of the line-up after what he did yesterday? You can't.

    I like the Sox to win 2 out of 3, but I'm still not sure which of the 1st 2 they win. Daisuke definitely wins Sunday night.

So how long before we give Manny a day off? He went 0-3 last night with a walk and 3 relatively ground outs- 2 to the opposite side so he's not even getting around on ground balls. For those of you keeping track-Doug Mirabelli has 2 more HRs than Manny. Ouch.

Manny's day off is not going to come in the Yankee series so do we keep him in the line-up today hoping that he will snap out of it going into this weekends series? In 13 games he has 9 hits. Last year in a very slow start he was hitting .239 after 13 games, with no HRs- his 1st HR came in game 17.

And let's not even talk about Coco .136 Crisp who also went hitless again last night.

On a much more positive note- you've got to love Tim Wakefield. 7 innings-1 run. An ERA of 1.35, and yes he'll be 41 in a few months.

 

For the second straight spring we are loserville USA. Celtics and Bruins playoff series were once a rite of spring. Sadly we have a generation of hockey and basketball fans that have no clue how a playoff series can grip an entire region. The Bruins have failed to reach the post season for the third straght year and fifth time in this decade while the Celtics have missed the playoffs four times in the same span. As a matter of fact there have been five springs in the last ten years when the Garden has been dark during playoff time, with both the Bruins and the Celtics finishing out of the money. Prior to 1997 you have to go back all the way to 1950 to find the last time there wasn't a Bruins or Celtics playoff series in town. Nothing beat the buzz on Causeway Street,the subway, the lobby of the Garden on playoff night. Often, on Sundays, the Celtics would take care business with the Hawks, Pacers or 76ers in the afternoon and then after the Garden cleared out, the Bruins would put on their show at night with the Canadiens, Rangers or Oilers. There was always a villian, public enemy #1 on the opposition while new heroes emerged in Black and Gold or Green and White. Forget the regular season, teams make their everlasting mark during playoff time, under pressure as well as intense scrutiny from an entire region of loyal as well as peripheral fans. Celtics and Bruins, we'd love to keep the light on for you, but you've given us no sign that you are close to coming home.

If Daisuke had the attitude of Pedro Martinez he would be demanding a trade for Hideki Matsui and Ichiro Sazuki because Daisuke is not getting any support from his present teammates. 1 run in the last 2 games?? Are you kidding? with this 145 million dollar payroll? Get some hits.

Manny wake up-.205?? Hey Francona, why don't you give Manny a day off like you have JD Drew and Kevin Youkilis who have 2 of your teams 5 highest batting averages. Manny is hitting less than Mirabelli. Less than Mirabelli!! and Eric Hinske is hitting .800. Hey Francona-get him in the lineup!!

Daisuke is going to be just fine, in fact alot better than just fine- ALOT! Wakefield tonight- you might want to wake up manny on your way out to the mound and tell him that the regular season started 2 1/2 weeks ago. 

It has only been a short while since the 111th running of the Boston Marathon. There aren't enough heat packs, ice packs or tubes of Ben Gay to assuage the aches and pains of the Hopkinton to Boston jaunt for those 23,000 plus brave souls who made it the the finish line on Boylston Street. The hurt from the run will fade but the thrill of competing will never wane. In what other sport on the planet can you compete in the same event, in the same field, on the same day with the best in the world? You can't jump into the Masters and compete against Tiger. Forget about grabbing a bat and trying to hit against Dice-K or lace them up and try to catch a pass from Tom Brady during an NFL game at Gillette. But in Boston you can run in the same race with the greatest marathoners in the world and for those that have competed the satisfaction is unmatched. Training for and competing in the Marathon is an enormous task that consumes about six months of you life. And the most rewarding part of it all is that you don't have to cross the finish line first to be a winner!

Not that Daisuke was bad in his 2nd start, in fact he pitched well enough to win, especially with this line-up. (check out Josh Beckett's run support-9 runs per game!)but tonight Daisuke will be pitching in conditions that will be familiar and much more to his liking as he pitches in Toronto's Dome, the Rogers centre.

My Prediction?-With a somewhat depleted line-up, 3rd baseman Troy Glaus and outfielder Reed Johnson are both out, I expect Daisuke will look dominate. Put the W in the win column. I also predicted that Manny would hit his 1st home run of the year in this series- I will go with tonight and it won't be a cheap one.

BTW, did you see the flying pizza yesterday hit that fan down the lefty field line. That was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Unusual-certainly. Who in the world stands up when a foul ball gets hit their way and thinks to throw a piece of pizza at someone else? Probably Only someone who has been drinking since 10 in the morning. I certainly do not condone this type of behaviour and Mr Pizza Special Delivery man was thrown out of Fenway while the victim was cleaned off, tho I think that he was not feeling any kind of pain if you know what I mean. I interviewed him and that fact was confirmed by his speech was slightly slurred.

This week Major League Baseball and the sporting public celebrated the 60th annivsersary of Jackie Robinson's first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson was arguably one of the greatest all around athletes of all time, lettering in four sports in one school year at UCLA. He was an All American football player, led the Pac 8 basketball in scoring two straight years, won the NCAA title in the long jump and was a standout on the UCLA basball team - all in the same year. He left UCLA to joint the army and faced a court martial for refusing to sit in the back of a military bus. Robinson was the perfect person to be the first African American to play Major League baseball. His education and his temperment helped him "turn the other cheek" when he was subjected to taunts from fans, opposing players and even his own teammates. It is still difficult to fathom that there was a time when a ballplayer couldn't stay in the same hotel with his teammates because of the color of his skin. It is with great admiration as well as shame that we look back on this man's accomplishments and what he did for all the great African Americans who followed the incomparable Jackie Roosevelt Robinson

Jason varitek, batting 7th- finally made the Red Sox 1st out of the game after 6 batters had reached, 5 of those scored.  It is now 6-1 Sox on the strength of 3 1st inning doubles by Lugo, Ortiz, & Lowell.

Josh Beckett hit Vladimir Guererro in the 1st on the hand knocking him out of the game. Warnings were issued to both benches so their would not be retaliation by the Angels, to which Angels manager Mike Scocia was ciruously upset about since now if his pitcher happens to hit anybody or even throw inside unintentially- he'll be thrown out.

5 up, 5 reach base, 4 hits, 4 runs and one error. Red Sox up 4-1 in the bottom of the 1st- NO OUTS

The Tarp is off and opening line-ups have been announced and there cannot be more than a thousand people here. C'mon down and sit wherever you'd like. Ever sat right next to the dugout- too bad you're not here. It must still be raining alot of places because 35,000 of this sell out crowd is still not here.

By the way- is it too early to start talking about the Yankees series this coming weekend? I didn't think so. The Red Sox do go to Toronto for 3 games Tues-Thurs and then come back for the Yanks, who if you have not been paying attention, will be without both Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano who have both just been put on the 15 day disabled list, so the Red Sox 145 million dollar line-up should be able to score big, big runs this week-end.

The national anthem has been sung and the players have taken the field and their are still only a couple thousand people here.

More later

Exactly one half century ago tonight the Boston Celtics won the first of their 16 NBA World Championships! It was the rookie season for Bill Russell, Tom Heinsohn and KC Jones. It was April 13, 1957 - Celtics and St. Louis Hawks in a seven game series for the ages. If this series was played in the past 5 years it would have been labelled as the greatest series of all time. Game one and game seven both went to double overtime. Despite an ice cold shooting night from future Hall of Famers Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman, the Celtics got a huge night from Russell and Heinsohn.  Check out these numbers.  Russell - 19 points, 32 REBOUNDS! and 5 blocked shots.  Heinsohn - 37 points and 23 REBOUNDS! All in a seventh game no less. At the time they had no idea they were on the precipice of a dynasty that would produce 11 championships in the next 13 seasons, a feat that will never be matched again in any sport. So when you are going ga-ga over Kobe and LaBron and other stars of this era, think about what this team accomplished that night and what followed for more than three decades.  Its worthy of a celebration, Boston style.  How are the Celtics recognizing the anniversary? They held a luncheon to honor the team.  Trot these guys out in front of the crowd and a generation of fans that has no sniff about a playoff game, let alone a seven game series and an NBA title. Happy Anniversary 1956-57 Celtics!

What's worse-striking out looking at a fastball right down the middle, or swailing away at a big curveball missing it by 2 feet (think Kevin Youkilis at the end of the Wednesday night's game) Well, yesterday the red sox did both without even playing a game.

waiting until 4:20 to cancel yesterdays game scheduled for 4 :00? in those horrible conditions? C'mon. Please don't insult Red Sox fans intelligence and pocketbooks by allowing them to come in and spend some money on concessions when it was a fait de compli. That is an insult.

And to add insult to injury- How about still going thru with the Red Auerbach tribute?- PLEASE! Paying tribute to the memory of the winningest person in the history of sports in a luxury suite in front of about 20 people. That WAS an insult!

The Red Sox usually always do things right- they whiffed big time on this one and looked bad doing it!

    If you have tickets to todays Sox-Seattle game, don't hurry to the park, this game will be delayed (that's not official, but then again that won't be official until about game time at 4:00).  Now I didn't say postponed as in to another date because the Red Sox will make every effort to get this one played sometime today considering that this is Seattle only trip to Boston this season.

Did you think that the the Red Sox (and JD Drew) were lucky to get that hit last night? Dive for that ball a little sooner and Felic Hernandez gets his no-hitter. That guy is for real and just turned 21-very impressive.

Manny- when does he get his 1st home run?- I'm saying next week in Toronto. Last year it was game 17 before he hit one out. The games in Toronto will be games 14,15 & 16 and inside in comfortable conditions. Hope somebody translates that to Daisuke. Wait a second -you can't even explain Manny in english

How about all of those people taking pictures of Daisuke's 1st pitch last night. From as far away from the field as all of them were-do you think you could actually tell it was Daisuke pitching?

 

Nothing quite like opening day, but don't worry about missing it- it is pretty cold- you'd be uncomfortable anyway.

I talked to Dustin Pedroia before the game who was a little nervous befrore his 1st home opener, but excited to get going and told me that he was going to try and take in all of the pre-game festivities

Opening Line-Ups and ovations?

-Big Papi with the biggest ovation until- you got it, Daisuke Matsuzaka who slapped 5 with all of his teammates except for Ortiz who he exchanged bows with.

-A nice ovation for Schilling (good thing he won on Sunday), Wakefield, and Jonathon Papelbon who received the 2nd biggest ovation next to Daisuke.

More coming up on the introductions of the 1967 team 

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

O-K let's take a step back and look at Daisuke's debut realistically and put it in it's proper perspective.

-Impressive that Daisuke was able to overcome the cold weather -a great thought when remembering how cold it is when the games really count in mid to late october. Remember Daisuke pitched the majority of his games
in japan in domed stadiums.

-Just as impressive was that he actually met (maybe even exceeded, tho how can you possibly exceed 103 million bucks) the unbelieveably high expectations of the money spent to bring him here (AND the 150 japanese media members- and do not discount that pressure from his homeland to be the savior).

-The Royals are not good (tho they certainly cuffed around Schilling), so realistically we should expect an overpowering performance.

-Daisuke's out pitch appears to be a fastball(bringing to mind Pedro and Clemens)- and a fastball that has some real pop AND movement to it. You'll love this!

-So all in all- Red Sox fans should be happy but let's not order the Cy Young award quite yet.

-Other quick hits,
-Varitek's bat looked quicker than I thought. I don't think he'll hit for a high average (I'm thinking .245 ish) but he is in such good shape that I think he will hit 15-18 home runs.

-Coco Crisp does not look good at the plate. Can you say Willie Mo?

-Irony of all ironies- Manny got a double when the Royals right fielder played Manny's hit like, well like Manny would have- a slow undecided jog. Tho, Mark Teahan had a little excuse- he has never played the outfield before this year.

-Kauffman stadium in Kansas City is beautiful and located in a very well designed stadium complex with the Chief's Arrowhead Stadium with LOTS of parking. What a breath of fresh air.

If you have not attended a major league baseball other than at fenway park, do yourself a favor-Do it, and do it soon. Yankee and Shea stadiums do not count- Go to a park which has been built in the last 15 years-Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Detroit, Kansas City, San Diego, San Francisco (do I need to go on) and enjoy a nice relaxing, uncrowded day at the park. You won't feel the passion that you do at Fenway, but it is wonderfully relaxing.

I went over to fenway today to check out the millions of dollars of improvemnts that they have made this off-season. I wasn't overly impressed tho I do know that many of them were "infrastructure" improvements. to get a batter look- watch our 5 and 6 O'clock news.

There was one nice improvement- old style aluminum bleacher seats in what they call Conigliaro Corner.

 

Let's give ourselves some credit here for maturity. I think there were alot less people climbing out on the ledge after this years opening day loss than , say, 3 years ago when the Red Sox lost on Opening day and then -I seem to remember, went on to.. well you know. Opening day loss?- fuhgetaboutit!

O-K It's time to cleanse your soul and confess- was there just a small part of you that saw alot of irony (ok even a slight laugh and an I told you so) in seeing Curt "Give me 13 more million for next year even tho I'll be 41" Schilling wet the bed on opening day? Was there? Was there?

I think Schilling will be just fine. I don't think he will win 20 (tho it would not chock me), but he'll get it straightened out- it's not like he has lost it over one overeating winter. He is very amusing and entertaining and most importantly for Red Sox fans-Competitive.

So Tonight the Red Sox give the ball to Josh Beckett to stop the bleeding...ok, to put a band aid on the slight cut. Has he smartened up since last years "throw it as hard as I can location is not that big of a deal" season? Or will that even matter against the Kansas City Royals who counter with the immortal Odalis Perez who last season had a run higher era than beckett at 6.22. Lok for the Red Sox Bats to come alive and -like last year-give Beckett 6 or 7 runs which will be enough to win 7-4.

And then tomorrow Daisuke. Can this game, this appearnce be hyped enough? (Yes, it can and will be way way way overhyped- it's just one game). The entire country of Japan has set it's collective alarm clocks for 3am to wake up and watch the man representing their copuntry and now us- Red Sox fans. Hey, even K-C is hyped up about it as Kauffman stadium is already sold out.  And I will be there- do stand by

Just finished speaking with Curt Schilling in the Red Sox clubhouse.  He took full responsibility for the Sox 7-1 loss to the Royals. Schilling said he never got untracked even though he felt fine in warmups. Said his fastball failed him. Spoke with his catcher Jason Varitek who was a bit more diplomatic and said that they had a hard time making KC bats miss Schilling's fastballs. Catch us on NewsCenter 5 tonight with all our clubhouse interviews. Gotta run - see you then!

Sox fifth. Coco looks at a call third strike. Dustin Pedroia grounds out on a slick play by Tony Pena Jr at shortstop. Julio Lugo looks at a call third strike. End of inning . 5-1 KC bottom of the fifth. Heading out to Left Center Field above the waterfall for the 6PM news. No blogging for a while. See you on TV. Its a great view. Curt Schilling is out of the game, lefty Javier Lopez is on.

Kansas City has erupted for three runs in the bottom of the fourth. The big blow delivered by Mark Grudzielanek's two run double. He has three runs batted in today. There is activity in the Sox bullpen as the inning ends. 5-1 KC in the top of the fifth.

One out J.D. Drew rips his first hit in a Red Sox uniform, single to right field. Mike Lowel grounds to third forcing Drew at second. Varitek goes down looking. End of inning. Bottom of the fourth, 2-1 KC.

For the first time this afternoon Schilling gets the side in order. He has retired four in a row. So far he has given up 5 hits, 2 runs, 4 strikeouts and a walk. 2-1 KC top of the fourth.

Sox go down in order in the top of the third. Lugo looked at a call third strike, Youkilis flied out to RF and Big Papi grounded out to 1B.  2-1 KC bottom of the third.

After getting the leadoff batter, Curt Schilling gave up a 400 foot double off the the left field wall to Tony Pena Jr.  Remember his dad, Tony Pena Sr.former catcher for the Sox? Schilling gets David DeJesus looking at a call third strike, two outs. Mark Grudzielanek singles past Youkilis into RF, 2-1 Royals. Schilling gets Mark Teahen swinging. End of inning. 2-1 Royals.

Sox go in order in the top of the second inning. Varitek popped to 2B. Coco grounded out to 2B. Dustin Pedroia ripped a single past 3B but was thrown out easily trying to stretch it into a double. 1-1 bottom of inning #2.

After retiring the first batter, Curt Schiling gave up three sharp singles to load the bases for the Royals. Schilling struck out Alex Gordon. Schilling walks Ryan Shealy bringing in a run, 1-1 game. Pitching coach John Farrell visits Schilling on the mound. Ross Gload flies out to CF to end inning. 1-1 the score.

Top of the first. Kevin Youkilis singled to right center field.  Next up Big Papi. He drilled a 1-2 pitch to left center field for a double scoring Youkilis from first base. Manny lined out deep to centerfield. J.D. Drew walked.Lowell strikes out. End of inning. 1-0 Red Sox.

Just after the national anthem there was a Flyby with a B-2 Stealth Bomber.  You could see it coming in from right field. It looked like a bat, was very quiet and as it approached a number of Red Sox players remained on the field and pointed at it and watched in awe as it flew over the heads and across the top of the stadium. First picth coming up in a few minutes. We'll give you the latest from KC!

The Red Sox concluded batting practice. David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Wily Mo Pena put on a show with some monster shots. There is a hill and waterfalls in the outfield and all three took aim. Dice K stretched and jogged in the outfield during BP and every move was chronicled by nearly 80 Japanese media members. Not sure what they are getting out of this.  Seems more like surveillance than journalism. Pre-game festivities will include a flyby with a B-2 bomber, REO Speedwagon will perform the national anthem and there will be a tribute to the late Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Royals will trot our their alumni led by George Brett who has a decent restaurant downtown by the way.They are rolling out the Royal Blue carpet (no joke - everything is royal blue here) for the ceremonies. There is a strong Red Sox presence here, hundreds in Red Sox caps and shirts behind the Sox dugout during batting practice - felt like a home game. First pitch at 4:10!

Welcome to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. It is already 80 degrees. This is a beautiful ballpark bordered by I70 and shares the same complex with Arrowhead Stadium home of the Kansas City Chiefs. Pulled in about noon local time, more than three hours before the first pitch and there are thousands of tailgaters in the parking lots.  Told the parking lot attendant I was from Ch.5 in Boston and I got to park for free, thats right F-R-E-E! Todays game is sold out, there are actually fans walking up and down the parking lots looking for tickets which is rare in Kansas City.  Thursday's game with Dice-K pitching is sold out as well.  Spent part of the morning walking in the beautiful Country Club Plaza section of KC which is loaded with shops and restaurants and saw many people from the midwest wearing Red Sox gear. All of the fountains downtown are gushing royal blue water to celebrate opening day for the Royals and the start of another baseball season.  The Royals are taking batting practice right now while the Sox are stretching in front of their dugout on the third base side.  We'll check in throughout the afternoon and keep you abreast of all that is happening here in Kansas City.

After the most active and expensive off season in recent memory the Red Sox will put that investment to the test today.  It is a glorious day here in Kansas City. Here is the Red Sox lineup as of this morning barring any last minute scratches.

SS Julio Lugo

1B Kevin Youkilis

DH David Ortiz

LF Manny Ramirez

RF J.D. Drew

3B Mike Lowell

C Jason Varitek

CF Coco Crisp

2B Dustin Pedrosia

P Curt Schilling

 

PS. Starting SS for Kansas City is Tony Pena Jr. son of former Red Sox catcher Tony Pena Sr. who now is the first base coach for the NY Yankees 

April Fool's Day in Kansas City.  No fooling around for the Red Sox who failed to make the playoffs last year and finished third in the AL East. Today the Sox and their off season acquisitions arrived here at Kauffman Stadium for a brief workout.  Big Papi was his usual jovial self while newcomers Julio Lugo, JD Drew and the Dice Man marvelled at all of the attention one receives once they put on a Red Sox uniform. Curt Schilling was all business as he begins his fiinal season in a Red Sox uniform.  Sunny skies and plenty of wind here in Kansas City.  Temps tomorrow expected in the low 80's.