Finally ST!

Last night was the last Saturday night without baseball in some form. Spring Training officially starts for the Sox today, when the team takes the field for its first workout. So what does a Sox fan do on this last night? Break out Fever Pitch of course. I know it was panned by many - and many fans feel it feeds into stereotypes about Sox fans - but I happen to love it. The opening scene - when little Ben is taken to his first game at Fenway by his Uncle Carl - literally had me sobbing. I remember that moment myself - my dad took us to a night game in 1968, and I remember walking down the ramps, past the refreshment stands, up the ramp to the field. That first glimpse of the beautiful green field, the Monster looming in the distance. There were Rico, Billy C, Yaz playing catch. Lonborg pitched - although the Sox lost. As Uncle Carl tells Ben, sadly and sagely, "They'll break your heart." I'm getting misty just thinking about it...

So, on a lighter note - I love the scene where one of Ben's friends yells at Johnny Damon "Hey, Johnny Damon, best ass in the American League." At the time, we had quite a debate on the Remy Report board about the truth of that statement. Most agreed, JD didn't even have the best ass on his own team! That honor goes, of course, to:


Ah, Captain Quadzilla. Hey, now I know what to do this afternoon - break out that Red Sox/Queer Eye episode!

Speaking of the Captain, great shot off boston.com:

And finally, good-bye to Keith Foulke. I know the fans and press turned against him in 2005 & 2006 - he did make some unwise comments perhaps. But it's clear his self-sacrifice in 2004 - the way he threw himself into the playoffs and was perhaps the MVP - well, he probably sacrificed a longer career. I salute him for retiring on the eve of Spring Training - he easily could have reported and collected his $5 million from the Indians. He chose instead to honorably retire. I hope he enjoys hockey season...