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Senator John McCain described the Red Sox as his "sentimental favorite" to win the World Series, shunning playoff teams in the crucial swing states of Wisconsin, Florida, and Pennsylvania. "I still kinda like the Red Sox," McCain said in an interview this morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" when asked about the Major League Baseball playoffs. "I have a sentimental favorite, look, I think they're going to do well now that my Diamondbacks have blown it." McCain added that the Los Angeles Dodgers should also go deep into October because they "have some pretty strong pitching." "I think it's very possible...

In simplistic terms, it is but four letters, two syllables that allow vowels to do all the work. Yet when the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin summons them in his lede today, following last night’s Game 1 win by the Red Sox, they carry with them such deep significance that there can be no better way to sum up what has to be classified as an overall feeling of impending doom ... “Uh oh.” Uh oh, indeed. Also acceptable would have been any expletive form of “^%$#,” “**$#,” or “*&^%$# -snip- After last night’s 10th straight playoff loss to the...

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jason Bay hit a two-out, two-run homer off John Lackey in the sixth inning, giving the Boston Red Sox a 2-1 lead over the Los Angeles Angels in their AL playoff opener on Wednesday night.

Let's hear a little baseball chatter here! AL EAST Tampa Bay leads division by a game over Boston with the two teams squaring off in a three game series starting tonight. Yankees are in fourth, a half game behind the Blue Jays--and the last game at Yankee Stadium is set for Sunday night on ESPN. AL CENTRAL/WEST White Sox lead Twins by 1.5 games. Angels clinched the west and lead Texas by a mere 19.5 games. Curse of Hillary? The Obama campaign reminds me of the Yanks' fortune this year. Down down down Another close race in the NL EAST...

Carl Yastrzemski has had successful triple bypass surgery Tony Massarotti By Tony Massarotti Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - Longtime Red Sox [team stats] great Carl Yastrzemski has undergone successful triple bypass surgery and is now in recovery at Mass General Hospital, Yaz spokesman Dick Gordon confirmed a short time ago. According to Gordon, Yastrzemski actually was brought to Mass General yesterday after complaining of tightness and pains in his chest. The Hall of Fame left fielder underwent an array of tests before it was determined that he needed surgery, which took place early tonight at the hospital. The procedure took...

Baseball Hall of Famer Yastrzemski hospitalized By HOWARD ULMAN – 39 minutes ago BOSTON (AP) — Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, the last player to hit for the Triple Crown, was hospitalized for tests Tuesday after experiencing chest pains. The Boston Red Sox confirmed the 68-year-old Yastrzemski was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital and was undergoing evaluation and testing. The team said no further information was immediately available on its longtime great.

Spinners Get Politically Correct, Incorrect This Week Salute to the sensitive nature of political correctness, July 23-24  LOWELL, MA – The Lowell Spinners, Class A affiliate of the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox, announced today that this week’s upcoming homestand against the State College Spikes, a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate, will salute both the sensitive nature of political correctness and incorrectness.   WEDNESDAY, JULY 23 – Political Correctness Night at LeLacheur Park. Returning for a second season, the Spinners will take measures to make sure nobody—including the players—leaves the ballpark offended. Players committing an error will not be identified for...

Manny Ramirez will not be in the starting lineup for this afternoon's series finale in Seattle. Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Ramirez showed up this morning and said his right knee was sore, an overnight development that the manager said caught him by surprise. The trainers had not communicated any issue to Francona after the game. "He showed up this morning, I wasn't ready for that,'' Francona said. "He said his right knee hurts.'' Francona then joked, "The (expletive) jaywalking, if you do it right, you won't hurt your knee.'' Ramirez told reporters his knee has been bothering him...

PORTLAND, Maine — Poor John McCain. Tonight was supposed to be republican presidential hopeful's night in southern Maine. A chance to make a blue state — Maine has voted for a democrat for president in the last four elections — a red one. But Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, among a handful of the most popular human beings who reside in New England, needed to get some at-bats about five miles to the north at Hadlock Field, home of the Red Sox Double-A affiliate Portland Sea Dogs. And with Ortiz followed all of the local sportscasters, news anchors and...

The Red Sox beat the Yankees on Friday in the Bronx, but that didn't seem to satisfy a group of rowdy young people in Falmouth who attacked a family driving home from a Fourth of July fireworks display. Their reason, police said: The car had New York plates, and their attackers presumed they were Yankee fans. As the annual beachside fireworks show was letting up about 10 p.m., traffic congestion turned side streets into parking lots as thousands tried to leave. The New York family was stuck on Worcester Court when police say a group started yelling at them, accusing...

Man held in Fourth of July attack By Ira Kantor Sunday, July 6, 2008 A 20-year-old man was arrested Friday night for allegedly attacking a New York Yankees fan with a baseball bat after a Fourth of July fireworks display in Falmouth. According to police, officers responded to 153 Worcester Court after receiving a report about a fight in progress. On arrival, officers noticed several youths, including Robert Donald Correia of Falmouth, bothering a family in its car because the vehicle had New York license plates. Police said Correia and others accused the family of being Yankees fans. The family...

Curt Schilling statement from his blog: 22 years ago June the Boston Red Sox picked a Freshman Pitcher from Yavapai Junior College (the best JC team in the nation btw!) in the 2nd round of the (Last!) January Draft. 3 World Series rings, 3k innings plus later, there’s a chance it’s all over. To all of the well wishers, thank you. To all of the anti-Schilling people, thank you. Both sets of you were inspiration and motivation to be whatever it is I was for 19 some odd years on a major league mound. I am set to have what...

During his 19 years as a pitcher in the major leagues, Luis Tiant became well known for "throwing smoke." Now deep into retirement, the 67-year-old is spending much of his time dealing in smoke of a more literal nature, as main pitchman for his own line of fine cigars. He and his son Daniel are now in their third year of selling El Tiante Cigars, a line of high-end stogies marketed to true aficionados. "They've been really good, we've been really lucky," said Tiant via cell phone as he headed to Kennebunkport, Maine, for a golf tournament with former President...

Sox take lead on #500 by Manny! The huge Red Sox contingent at Camden Yards celebrates

All-Star promo with David Ortiz as Babe Ruth irks NY OAKLAND, Calif. - Touchy, touchy, touchy. Like a colicky baby who’s also battling diaper rash, the 2008 Yankees can’t seem to stop bawling. Besides a good burp, they also need to grow up. As if sitting in last place in the AL East were not bad enough, the Bronx Bombers discovered on Thursday that after years of planning for this summer’s All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, they were the last to discover that a new “Call Your Shot” insurance-company promotion would feature the Red Sox [team stats]’ David Ortiz [stats]...

2 hours ago BOSTON (AP) — David Ortiz homered twice and drove in four runs and the Boston Red Sox outslugged the Milwaukee Brewers to complete a sweep of their interleague series with an 11-7 win Sunday despite a subpar outing by ace Josh Beckett. Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer and Dustin Pedroia also homered for Boston, hitting a solo shot ahead of Ortiz's first of the game. Ryan Braun hit his 12th and 13th homers, J.J. Hardy had a two-run shot and Prince Fielder added a solo homer for the Brewers, who lost their fifth straight. Manny Ramirez...

NASHUA, N.H.—A woman accused of running down a man in her car after a Red Sox-Yankees argument in a bar never hit her brakes as she accelerated toward the small group he was in, a prosecutor said Monday. more stories like this "She never braked, and she accelerated at a high speed for about 200 feet. She went directly at this group of people," prosecutor Susan Morrell said of Ivonne Hernandez, who is charged with reckless second-degree murder in the death early Friday of Matthew Beaudoin, 29. Authorities won't describe the argument beforehand in Slade's Food & Spirits, but witnesses...

NEW YORK — A construction worker's bid to curse the New York Yankees by planting a Boston Red Sox jersey in their new stadium was foiled Sunday when the home team removed the offending shirt from its burial spot.After locating the shirt in a service corridor behind what will be a restaurant in the new Yankee Stadium, construction workers jackhammered through the concrete Sunday and pulled it out. The team said it learned that a Sox-rooting construction worker had buried a shirt in the new Bronx stadium, which will open next year across the street from the current ballpark, from...

The new Yankee Stadium may be cursed! A devilish Boston fan working on a concrete crew at the $1.3 billion stadium covertly buried a Red Sox T-shirt under what will become the visiting team's locker room to jinx the Yanks, two construction workers told The New York Post yesterday.

Red Sox fans around the world - as well as local guy Daisuke Matsuzaka - owe Brandon Moss and Manny Ramirez a major-league “arrigato.” Moss, a surprise starter in place of J.D. Drew, was due the bulk of the thanks for keeping the Red Sox alive with his game-tying, ninth-inning home run. Ramirez then applied the dagger to the A’s with his two-run double in the 10th that was enough to give the defending champion Red Sox a 6-5 victory in their first game of the season. Moss was inserted into the opening lineup minutes before game time after Drew...

FORT MYERS - The Red Sox’ trip to Japan has already hit a major snag. During a players-only team meeting at City of Palms Park this morning at 8:30, the players decided unanimously, according to more than one player, that the Sox would not take the field for their scheduled 12:07 p.m. exhibition game against the Blue Jays today unless there was a resolution to MLB’s decision not to extend an appearance fee of $40,000 to all team coaches making the trip to Japan. All players are receiving the $40,000 appearance fee for the Tokyo trip. According to one player,...

WASHINGTON -- Red Sox Nation conquered the nation's capital Wednesday as President Bush feted the 2007 World Series Champs in a White House celebration that turned the normally orderly Executive Mansion into a stampede of hero-worshipping Red Sox fans. The seat of political power, usually unfazed by the proximity of famous personalities, was outright star-struck with the entourage of power hitters, pitchers and all-stars. Members of Congress, media big-wigs and White House staff -- many with their kids and baseballs in tow -- craned their necks and jostled for a good spot to snap photos and seek out autographs. "The...

When you looked out at the football field in the indoor bubble at Boston College's Alumni Stadium yesterday, you saw the reason why many Red Sox fans don't want to make the Johan Santana trade. related content gallery Photos from Tuesday's workout Sox prospects learn to deal with trade rumors more stories like thisYou saw a confident, personable, Derek Lowe-like Justin Masterson and shortstop-of-the-future Jed Lowrie, both of whom have been mentioned in a possible trade for Santana. You saw a bulked-up, maturing Clay Buchholz, who may be the Red Sox' lone untouchable, though he may not even break camp...

Sox, Lowell agree to three years By Rob Bradford Mike Lowell is on the verge of returning to the Red Sox [team stats]. The Red Sox and Lowell have agreed to the parameters of a three-year contract with an annual worth of “more than $12 (million) but less than $13 (million)” according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The deal, which won’t be finalized until tomorrow, was brokered by the Sox and Lowell’s agents, Sam and Seth Levinson, early this morning. It has been learned that approximately a week ago the Red Sox had set a deadline for the...

Pedroia a cut above the rest Red Sox second baseman named AL Rookie of the Year BOSTON -- Back on May 1, when Dustin Pedroia was hitting .182, it would have been hard to imagine that just a few months later that he'd be taking home an award for his excellence. But Pedroia never lost confidence in himself, and neither did Red Sox manager Terry Francona. The diminutive second baseman just kept swinging, and his determined approach culminated in the American League Rookie of the Year Award on Monday. Pedroia became the first Red Sox player to win the trophy...

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Curt Schilling and the Boston Red Sox finalized an $8 million, one-year contract Tuesday that keeps the star right-hander with the World Series champions. The deal provides for him to make an additional $5 million in bonuses and match his 2007 salary. It contains $3 million in performance bonuses based on innings pitched and $2 million based on weight clauses. "We need some protection in case he wasn't able to stay healthy," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. "If he can stay healthy, he's very affordable, protects our rotation. If does recondition his body and stays...

Letter posted by Curt Schilling on his blog from when the Red Sox were negotiating to trade for him back in the fall of 2003: Here is the letter that arrived at our home a few hours prior to Theo, Jed and Larry opening up negotiations. Theo said he didn’t have a problem with it being published and I think it’s a pretty significant look into how the ownership and baseball operations people here in Boston do business. Dear Curt and Shonda: Usually the day before Thanksgiving is reserved for family and friends, for cleaning and cooking, for preparation and...

Boston sweeps. Wins game 4, 4-3.

"When it's third-and-10, you can take the milk drinkers and I'll take the whiskey drinkers every time." That's the authoritative word from Green Bay Packers legend Max McGee, who died on Oct. 20 at 75 after he fell raking leaves from his roof. Many old-time athletes and sports writers have felt the same way. Didn't Babe Ruth set records while satisfying his voracious appetite for hot dogs, booze, and sex? Character counts, but runs count more, right? That's what the Colorado Rockies thought until 2004, when fastballer Denny Neagle was arrested for soliciting a prostitute. The Rockies, who had finished...

Esoteric Republican presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo made an offer to a fellow Republican (and it wasn’t newly minted Sox fan Rudy Giuliani): [Tancredo’s] campaign called ABC News to issue this challenge: The Colorado congressman will drop out of the race if the Rockies lose the World Series — if rival Mitt Romney agrees to pack it in if the Red Sox lose. It is so on. Surely Mitt took the bet. The score was 13-1. They’re gonna win it all, governor! . . . [Romney] spokesman Kevin Madden issued a terse statement this morning: “The governor is in the race...

vs. Game 1 at Boston (Wed., Oct. 24, 8:35 p.m.)Josh Beckett vs. Jeff Francis Game 2 at Boston (Thurs., Oct. 25, 8:29 p.m.)Curt Schilling vs. Ubaldo Jimenez Game 3 at Colorado (Saturday, Oct. 27, 8 p.m.) Daisuke Matsuzaka vs. Josh Fogg Game 4 at Colorado (Sunday, Oct. 28, 8 p.m.) Aaron Cook vs. Jon Lester Game 5* at Colorado (Monday, Oct. 29) Game 6* at Boston (Wednesday, Oct. 31) Game 7* at Boston (Thursday, Nov. 1) AccuScore has run more than 10,000 simulations for every World Series game for Yahoo! Sports, calculating how each team's performance changes in response...

Rudy's turned red -- and that's sure to have Yankees fans feeling blue. Even though many New Yorkers are still mourning the Yankees' defeat by the Cleveland Indians two weeks ago during the playoffs, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani today declared his allegiance to Boston Red Sox, and said he'd root for them in the World Series against the Colorado Rockies. "I'm rooting for the Red Sox," the Republican presidential contender said in response to a question, sparking applause at the Boston restaurant where he was picking up a local endorsement. "I'm an American League fan, and I go...

Fox Sports is riding a wave of momentum -- and heightened advertiser interest -- into the World Series after the seventh and deciding game of the Red Sox-Indians series scored big numbers Sunday night.The Boston Red Sox will take on the Colorado Rockies in the Fall Classic beginning Wednesday night.Boston has a large national following while the Rockies are a great Cinderella story: Left for dead for most of summer, the young team rallied to become the last squad to qualify for the postseason and then swept the opening two rounds of the playoffs.The matchup has caught the attention of...

There are people paying $250 this week for Hannah Montana concert tickets with a face value of 25 bucks. For those of you not blessed with 13-year-old daughters who watch the Disney Channel, Hannah Montana is a fictional pop star played by the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus - also known as the Achy-Breaky Heart guy. Anyone who’d pay 10 times face value for tickets to watch a cable TV actress sing bad pop music for pre-teens is a dope who shouldn’t have access to a checkbook without adult supervision. On the other hand, there are people prepared to pay...

Gone forever are the Red Sox [team stats] of yesterday. In Boston, during the baseball season, there is now only an endless succession of tomorrows.Once seen as a tortured and most tragic franchise, the Red Sox are now American League champions for the second time in four years following an 11-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians last night in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series. Three years after the 2004 Red Sox permanently altered the fate and direction of the franchise, let the record show that these Sox were buoyed by a youth that seems entirely unencumbered by the...

MY SCREEN NAME COMES TRUE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Commentary on the game....

CLEVELAND -- Manny Ramirez didn't throw up his arms and admire the baseball he launched in the third inning of Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday night, but the Red Sox slugger still managed to become the center of controversy once again. With two outs and David Ortiz on first base, Ramirez sent the first offering he faced from Indians left-hander C.C. Sabathia rocketing deep to right-center field. Believing the blast to be a home run, Ramirez trotted out of the batter's box and toward first base, while Ortiz sprinted around the bases. The baseball came...

CLEVELAND -- The Red Sox aren't just going back home. They are going back to play some more baseball. With elimination staring his team in the face, Josh Beckett never blinked, pitching yet another postseason gem in leading the Red Sox to a 7-1 victory in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday night at Jacobs Field. Following an off-day on Friday, the Red Sox will again try to stay alive in Saturday night's Game 6, when they send Curt Schilling to the mound at what figures to be an electric Fenway Park. The Indians still lead...

WASHINGTON -- Presidential candidate Chris Dodd dropped a fundraising pitch aimed straight at the heart of Red Sox Nation after Major League Baseball cried foul. It seems the Dodd campaign erred when it offered contributors a chance to win seats for Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. All postseason tickets are apparently the property of Major League Baseball and the league does not allow such promotions. The Dodd campaign sent e-mails Friday to people who ponied up $20.04 or more to score a seat at Fenway Park, explaining that the contest was over and they could seek a...

BOSTON -- The Manny and Papi Show keeps on touring. On Friday night, Boston sluggers Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz brought their act back home to Fenway Park, where the pair toyed with Cleveland's pitchers all night long. They put on a clinic in patience, which both Ramirez and Ortiz know they can afford to do when pitchers display an obvious fear of the potent bats lurking in their quick hands. Their silent-but-deadly approach in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series helped pace Boston to a 10-3 victory, in which the duo reached base 10 times. "I've never...

Game 1 @ BOSTON:WEATHER:: Forecasts for tonight predict that the rain will cease enough to get the game in, certainly. It should be cloudy, with temperatures dipping to the mid-50s. Starting Pitchers C. C. Sabathia (19-7, 3.21 ERA) vs. Josh Beckett (20-7, 3.27 ERA) Game 1 LINEUPS1. Grady Sizemore, CF 2. Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B 3. Travis Hafner, DH 4. Victor Martinez, C 5. Ryan Garko, 1B 6. Jhonny Peralta, SS 7. Kenny Lofton, LF 8. Franklin Gutierrez, RF 9. Casey Blake, 3B 1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B 2. Kevin Youkilis, 1B 3. David Ortiz, DH 4. Manny Ramirez, LF 5. Mike...

The story lines would have been predictable and bombastic had the Red Sox met the Yankees again in the American League Championship Series. Imagine the hysteria if the Sox and Yankees clashed in the playoffs for the first time since the historic hurt the Sox hung on the Bombers in October of '04. But the Yankees and their $200 million payroll have gone fishin', the Cleveland Indians are coming to town, and here are 33 reasons why it's better to have the Sox playing the Tribe in the ALCS: # You just get a good feeling when there's a guy...

The earth opened up Sunday and swallowed the Angels. Actually, it just seemed that way. It was the Boston Red Sox who devoured them, and really Saturday was more like the final bite before the last burp. Rarely do you see an entire baseball team push itself back from the table, take a deep breath, loosen its belt, and reach for a mint. The Red Sox are moving on because, at least in this series against Los Angeles, it seemed like the only kind of bats they have are big ones. They provided a glimpse of that Sunday in theThe...

make your comments/observations about tonight's game

BOSTON -- The Red Sox erased another October question mark in the season's penultimate game. Red-hot J.D. Drew made the emphatic statement on Saturday night, carrying Boston to a 6-4 victory over the Twins. The win, coupled with the Indians' loss to the Royals, gives the Red Sox home-field advantage for the entire postseason. Drew entered the day on a seven-game RBI streak, which looked unsustainable when each of his first three plate appearances came without runners on base. Boston's offense struggled for six listless innings against Minnesota starter Carlos Silva a night after clinching the American League East title....

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- On the next-to-last day of the regular season, the Cleveland Indians absorbed a postseason setback. Joey Gathright singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth, lifting the Kansas City Royals over Cleveland 4-3 Saturday night and ending the Indians' hope of getting home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs. The Indians already had clinched the AL Central title and were set to play the New York Yankees in the first round. Cleveland's loss gave AL East champion Boston the home field. The Red Sox were to pick later Saturday night whether they wanted to open against...

BOSTON -- The Red Sox clinched their first American League East title in 12 years in most bizarre fashion. More than an hour after they had downed the Twins, 5-2, to reduce their magic number to one, the Yankees put it at zero by squandering a three-run lead in the ninth and losing to the Orioles in 10 innings on a bases-loaded, two-out bunt single by Melvin Mora. After taking first place in the American League East on April 18, the Red Sox never let it go, winning their first division title since 1995. With the remainder of Yankees-Orioles game...

BOSTON -- Daisuke Matsuzaka never, in fact, left. But in a sense, it was as though he returned on Friday night at Fenway Park. The right-hander, who had been seemingly running into a rookie wall over the last few weeks, seemed to climb right over it in this one. Matsuzaka was back to being the guy who could set a tone and go deep into a game. In so doing, he delivered the Red Sox a 5-2 victory over the Twins that at least put them on the precipice of winning the American League East. With two games left, the...

BOSTON -- As if to celebrate the return of their long lost run producers, the Red Sox went on a hitting rampage on Wednesday night, reinforcing exactly what it is they can do when manager Terry Francona has a full lineup to work with. The end result was an 11-6 thumping of the Athletics, which put the Red Sox in position to clinch their first American League East title since 1995 as early as Thursday night. And if this night was any indication, the Red Sox -- who have a magic number of two pending the outcome of the Yankees-Devil...