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Ryan Dempster made a triumphant return to the mound after his five-game suspension for plunking Alex Rodriguez. Shane Victorino continued his scorching streak with a 2-for-4 showing with two runs scored and a run batted in. But the real winner was Brooke Mulford, the girl who threw out the first pitch. Brooke was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2009 when she was four years old. An imaging exam showed that the cancer had spread to her bones and bone marrow. She went through two years of treatment and was declared cancer-free. Brooke has relapsed and is now in a clinical trial for a potential treatment. In this video Brooke’s mother speaks about her daughter’s wisdom. “Mommy, I’m not sorry that I got cancer and I’m not sorry it came back because so many good things came out of this, too.” The Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon is done but you can still donate. In the bottom of the second Stephen Drew lofted what should have been the third out of the inning to shallow right-center. Alejandro De Aza had a play on the ball but Avisail Garcia called the center fielder off. Garcia was trying to be Yasiel Puig when he should have...
Dustin Pedroia’s absence from this game was a harbinger of his return to the disabled list. His stint with the team was as short as he was. In the two games he played he experienced pain that wouldn’t subside, so he went back on the disabled list rather than worsen the injury that obviously hadn’t fully healed. He joins an entire cadre of wounded: Hideki Okajima, Junichi Tazawa, Kevin Cash, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Cameron, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Eric Patterson. That’s one-third of a bullpen and a good part of a batting lineup, if I charitably identify Cash as a major league batter. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that Josh Beckett has been playing injured, or perhaps he doesn’t have his endurance back. He stifled the Angels for five innings but imploded spectacularly in the sixth to the tune of four runs. In the seventh the Blue Jays poured it on for three more runs, not just off Beckett but also Manny Delcarmen. The offensive highlights for the local nine were few and far between. David Ortiz homered in the fourth for the early lead and Adrian Beltre tagged on a sacrifice fly to...
The Red Sox jury rigged an seventh-inning comeback with hits by Victor Martinez and David Ortiz and a walk by Mike Lowell. Kevin Jepsen helped Boston with the repair job by uncorking a wild pitch to J.D. Drew that plated Martinez for the tie and plunking Daniel Nava to force Ortiz over home for the winning run. The rousing victory roused temporary elation, but it’s just a sports team winning. There are larger triumphs to pursue. Every year during Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon time I become melancholy when I meditate upon the people my friends and I have lost to cancer. Last night I looked over pictures of my friend’s daughter’s one-year birthday celebration, an event that people in Hawai‘i observe with lū‘au or party. The little girl lost her father to colorectal cancer. I knew I would get along with L as soon as I met him. We were huge Star Trek fans, both majored in English literature, and got all the same geeky jokes. I never had to worry if I was being too nerdy; in fact we loved to out-geek each other. All the things that we both liked, or that I think he would have enjoyed, or...
Game 122: August 14, 2008 Rangers 0 L: Tommy Hunter (0-2) 61-61, 3 game losing streak Red Sox 10 W: Daisuke Matsuzaka (14-2) 71-51, 4 game winning streak Highlights: Matsuzaka pitches from settopojishon (set position) expertly; as Jerry Remy noted, the starter’s splits shows that hitters are 0-for-12 against him with the bases loaded. Perhaps he should assume the Mike Timlin approach to twirling and always pitch from the stretch. New Boston Globe correspondent Matt Porter reported that the pair was practicing archery in right field today. The arrows were flying prior to batting practice, fortunately. The Rangers’ visit to Fenway was the much-needed tonic for the Boston batters. Texas came into town with wild card aspirations and departed with their pitching staff in shambles and a .500 record. They have the firepower to put up runs, but, much like the Rays, until a reasonable facsimile of a big league pitching staff is assembled in Arlington the team will only be able to bash their way to victory.When the Red Sox are hitting on all cylinders as they did in the second inning last night, not even the brawn of the Lone Star state’s bats can match them. For...
Lester May Attend Spring Training According to ESPN, Jon Lester could make spring training in 2007. His lymphoma is in remission and his most recent CT scan showed him disease-free. Arbitration Homesick Blues On December 3 announced their arbitration preferences. Arbitration was offered to Keith Foulke, but not to: Gabe KaplerMark LorettaDoug MirabelliTrot Nixon Lucky Lunch Dana-Farber is auctioning a meal with Larry Lucchino. I could be satirical, but the item description is amusing on its own:Lowest Acceptable Bid: $2,100.00 Starting Bid: $1,000.00 Bid Increment: $100.00 Quantity: 1 Condition: Excellent Auction Ends: 12/8/2006 5:00:00 PMIs the guarantee of excellent condition referring to before or after déjeuner?...
Game 120: August 18, 2006Yankees (71-48), 12Red Sox (69-51), 4W: Chien-Ming Wang (14-5)L: Jason Johnson (3-12) Hopefully a picture does say a thousand words, because that would be 999 more than I would like to waste summarizing this game. One good memory: a father sitting near me was wearing a Red Sox handerchief on his head, biker-style. His son was playing with a hanky of his own. The child tugged on his father’s sleeve and looked up at him imploringly. The father took the square of fabric and carefully created headwear like his for his son. Insert joke here. It was Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon day. I bought a Jimmy Fund t-shirt that I will wear to the park today. The Goodyear blimp took precedence over Hood airship. If you look closely, you’ll see a hawk riding a thermal. It could be the raptor that killed Wily Crow Peña....
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Photo courtesy of the Boston Public Library’s Sports Temples of Boston.