Today is yet another home opener for what will undoubtedly be another painful losing season for the Lowell Devils. Can’t wait for game time!

Today I installed the BlogPress Lite iPhone app. It works exclusively with Blogger, while the full paid version works with other blogging tools.

It is almost 11:00 pm. The Red Sox are up 1-0 in the fourth inning. I am just testing this new app out quick before going to sleep.

Lemme add a picture…

Okay, I’ll post this, look at the results, and call it a night.

Sleep tight.

Go Red Sox.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I grabbed the free photoshop iPhone app. Cropped, B&W, and soft focus.

The other night Jen and I switched on the Yankees/Twins series opener for a few minutes. I can’t watch the Yankees for long, I hate them so much I get physically ill.

She commented that the sections behind home plate were almost totally empty. I told her the little bit I knew about the insane over pricing of tickets at the new Yankee Stadium while we watched a few minutes of the game before switching the channel to something that doesn’t make me want to vomit.

Right on schedule, here is an ESPN Outside the Lines story discussing the very same topic. Read it and weep… and hope when the inevitable new Fenway Park opens the Red Sox ownership will have learned from the Yankee’s mistakes.

Last night I went to bed early. I didn’t want to have a replay of Wednesday night’s sleeplessness and I wasn’t terribly tired, having grabbed that mythical second wind around 5:00pm or so yesterday… but I gave it a try anyway. Fortunately I went right to sleep and didn’t stir until just before the alarm clock went off at 6:00am this morning.

Fortunately for my health… and fortunately for my sports-fan-state-of-mind.

The Red Sox got spanked in game one.

The Bruins got spanked too.

I now have to torture myself by reading write ups from both games. It won’t be as painful as watching the games probably was, but it’s still going to rot.

Here’s hoping for better luck for the Red Sox tonight.

Go Red Sox! (please!)

I’m listening to the new Mission of Burma again. It’s growing on me. That’s impressive seeing as I liked it a ton on the first listen.

The song I was sad was missing that I thought was called “Monkey Boy” is actually called “Here it Comes” and it is in fact a b-side. It’s the back of the Innermost single which ironically I had picked up last weekend but hadn’t had a chance to listen to yet. So I actually had a copy of it prior to getting the album I was missing it on. Nice job Robbie.

Game 1 of the ALDS between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (formerly known as plain old California) begins tonight.

It brings back memories of the first ever Major League Baseball playoff game I ever had the fortune to attend. It was the same two teams at Fenway Park in Boston. It was game one of the 2007 ALDS. We all know how the 2007 playoffs ended, right? (hint: World Series Champion Boston Red Sox)

I went to that game with my girlfriend Jennifer. She has since become my wife Jennifer. Seeing it with her made it infinitely better.

In honor of tonight’s game 1, here are a few pictures of 2007’s game 1. Different ball park, same two teams.

The pre-game ceremonies.

They keep telling us that the Angels are going to run… and yet we’ve still taken 12 out of the last 13 post season meetings. Yes we have.

Big Papi’s home run trot.

The final score. I’d like to see something similar to that tonight. Please? Thanks you!

Go Red Sox

Last night sucked.

We put the kids to bed at about 8:30-8:45, something like that. Then Jen and I went to our room to sit in bed reading. We were both very tired and didn’t expect to last long before nodding off.

It was dead quiet in the house. I could hear everything going on inside and out.

Outside there was a car that sounded like it was flying up and down the street. The engine was so loud that I couldn’t tell if it was on our street or another one nearby. The roads near us are all pretty narrow and in some places you can’t fit two cars side by side. Whoever this guy was he didn’t care. It sounded like he was flying.

I also heard some yelling outside. I couldn’t tell what they were saying or who was yelling at whom. Many of my neighbors speak Spanish so even if I could make out words I might not have been able to understand.

I was annoyed by this at first. Then the sirens started.

Police? Fire? Ambulance? I couldn’t tell, but it sounded like a lot of them and they were on for a good long time. 10 minutes maybe. They seemed to be coming from the top of our street. That was when I started thinking about that Sunday night and the possible intruder in our driveway. That’s when I started freaking out a little.

Jen was sound asleep. At around 9:30 I turned out the light and tried to go to sleep too. It was no use at all. Every sound outside made me jump. Every footstep in the apartment next door made me nervous. I was completely exhausted and wide awake at the same time. My tooth was hurting a little but I have slept through worse. Jen was snoring a little but not only have I slept through worse, I actually found it comforting. For three hours I lay in bed trying to relax enough to dose off. Eventually I started moving from feeling uncomfortable to sore. My next started to hurt, my back started to hurt, even my ears started to hurt.

A little after 11:00 I propped up some pillows and sat up straight in the bed. I figured it might make the discomfort go away and maybe help me sleep. It didn’t. I could still hear voices outside, I could still hear cars, I could still here the kids next door running up and down the stairs.

At about 11:30 I gave up and got out of bed. I went down stairs and put on the tube. The Dodgers were beating the Cardinals and both teams were leaving runners on base at a record setting pace. I couldn’t really get into it. I tried to read the last 70 pages of the book I’ve been working on forever but couldn’t get into it. I killed some time on Flickr looking for pictures taken in South Bend Indiana (more on that in the coming weeks maybe) and learned that there is a football stadium, a church, and nothing else. Nothing helped me relax. I sat there feeling dead tired and wide awake at the same time. I was seriously miserable.

A little after 1:00 am I went back to bed. I didn’t feel any different than I had 90 minutes earlier, but I had to try. I didn’t fall asleep right away. I remember seeing the clock read 1:36, but at some point after that I finally drifted off. I got a few minutes more than four hours of sleep on a night I fully expected to get close to nine.

Last night sucked, and it’s going to make today suck just as much.

Series begins Thursday
Game	Matchup	Day	Date	Time ET	TV
Gm 1	BOS @ LAA	Thu	Oct. 8	9:37 PM	TBS
Gm 2	BOS @ LAA	Fri	Oct. 9	9:37 PM	TBS
Gm 3	LAA @ BOS	Sun	Oct. 11	TBD	TBS
Gm 4*	LAA @ BOS	Mon	Oct. 12	TBD	TBS
Gm 5*	BOS @ LAA	Wed	Oct. 14	TBD	TBS

There you have it, the schedule for the Boston/Los Angeles American League Divisional Series. The Red Sox, our beloved home town team, have made the post season once again and will once again meet the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the first round.

The Sox had such a commanding lead in the wild card race that it was all but wrapped up back in April. (okay, I exaggerate, but it was a long time ago.) I fear for my team this year. I fear because while they are obviously a very good team, all of the teams in the post season are obviously very good teams, I do not think that they are a great team. They might be, they just haven’t showed me that yet. The Angels don’t appear to be a great team either, but they might be better than the Red Sox. I can’t really tell. It will all come down to pitching I think. Can the Boston starting pitchers, Lester, Beckett, and Buckholtz, shut down the powerful LA offense. I think they can if they are on the top of their game. Unfortunately they might not be. Lester got slammed in the knee with a line drive recently. He came back for his next start and pitched well, but who knows. Beckett missed a recent start with a minor injury. Buckholtz has been very hitable over his last couple of starts. I am picking the Red Sox to win this series, but it’s not a lock by any means.

Series begins Wednesday
Game	Matchup	Day	Date	Time ET	TV
Gm 1	MIN @ NYY	Wed	Oct. 7	6:07 PM	TBS
Gm 2	MIN @ NYY	Fri	Oct. 9	6:07 PM	TBS
Gm 3	NYY @ MIN	Sun	Oct. 11	TBD	TBS
Gm 4*	NYY @ MIN	Mon	Oct. 12	TBD	TBS
Gm 5*	MIN @ NYY	Wed	Oct. 14	TBD	TBS

The Minnesota Twins won a dazzling one game play off against the Detroit Tigers last night. We only saw the 12th and final inning, but what we saw was fantastic, and from what I’ve read this morning the entire five hour game was just as incredible. The Tigers blew a commanding lead in the division down the stretch. The Twins were three games back with four games to play over the last week. No one has ever come back in that situation. The Twins are on a whirlwind of a roll right now.

Unfortunately all they get by winning the division is the right to be blown out of the water by the New York Yankees. Sorry Twins fans, but the Yankees are the one playoff team that is clearly a great team. I hate the Yankees with all of my heart and soul. I loath them. I am from Boston and hating the Yankees is my solemn duty and I fulfill that duty to the best of my abilities. Having said that… I have to say this… and I hate to say this… but I don’t see anyone beating the Yankees in the post season. As of about 10:00 last night I became a humongous Minnesota Twins fan and will root for them just as strongly as I root for my beloved Red Sox… but they don’t have a chance.

I barely paid any attention to the National League at all this year. My predictions are based solely on numbers.

Series begins Wednesday
Game	Matchup	Day	Date	Time ET	TV
Gm 1	COL @ PHI	Wed	Oct. 7	2:37 PM	TBS
Gm 2	COL @ PHI	Thu	Oct. 8	2:37 PM	TBS
Gm 3	PHI @ COL	Sat	Oct. 10	9:37 PM	TBS
Gm 4*	PHI @ COL	Sun	Oct. 11	TBD	TBS
Gm 5*	COL @ PHI	Tue	Oct. 13	TBD	TBS

The Colorado Rockies have been hot. I think that gives them an advantage over the Philadelphia Phillies. I don’t think it’s enough though. I see the Phillies taking this one. I just hope it’s a good series.

Series begins Wednesday
Game	Matchup	Day	Date	Time ET	TV
Gm 1	STL @ LAD	Wed	Oct. 7	9:37 PM	TBS
Gm 2	STL @ LAD	Thu	Oct. 8	6:07 PM	TBS
Gm 3	LAD @ STL	Sat	Oct. 10	6:07 PM	TBS
Gm 4*	LAD @ STL	Sun	Oct. 11	TBD	TBS
Gm 5*	STL @ LAD	Tue	Oct. 13	TBD	TBS

The Los Angeles Dodgers lead their division from just about day one. They faded a little but are still a force. I don’t know if their starting pitching is enough to take out the St. Louis Cardinals though. I’m not sure who to pick here. My heart tells me the Dodgers if for no other reason then the possibility of a Yankees/Dodgers World Series. As classic a match up as you can get in baseball. My head is telling me to pick the Cardinals. I think I will go with my head this time and pick St. Louis.

There we have it. Eight teams, four best-of-five-game series’. Anyone can win any of these. It should be fun to watch.

Go Red Sox.
Go Twins.
Go Red Sox.