<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542</id><updated>2009-12-28T21:47:04.143-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Red Sox Dad</title><subtitle type='html'>One Man's thoughts, rants, and mumblings on family, life, and baseball.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default?start-index=26&amp;max-results=25'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>1032</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-7102588028549359283</id><published>2009-12-28T21:35:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-28T21:47:04.150-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Friends over Christmas = One Epic Holiday</title><content type='html'>What happens when a Twilight Zone version of Kevin &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Youkilis&lt;/span&gt; and a beautiful, slightly hyper native New &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Englander&lt;/span&gt; meet up with 2 Southerners, one extraordinary pretty &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;pre&lt;/span&gt;-teen girl, a 6 year old with a voice like sand paper and a heart of gold, and a kid who would have fit right in when "Children of the Corn" was being filmed?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Szlr3cYrCwI/AAAAAAAAGwM/1gwHWLpcTII/s1600-h/The+Blues+visit+NC+12-27-09+045.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Szlr3cYrCwI/AAAAAAAAGwM/1gwHWLpcTII/s400/The+Blues+visit+NC+12-27-09+045.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420482226773756674" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;One of the best 24 hours of my family's life. (And don't tell me that weird looking kid in the left hand corner of the picture doesn't freak you out just a little. And I have to LIVE with him.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Josh and Amy came to visit and there was more wrestling, hide and seek, &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;wrestling&lt;/span&gt;, jumping on the trampoline, wrestling, playing ball, wrestling, and laughing we've seen in about 4 years total.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Did I mention the wrestling?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Like some northern version of the Southern Winds, Josh and Amy blew through our home and left a ton of happy memories, 3 sad children, and 2 sad but happy adults in their wake.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And an autographed Dustin &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&gt;Pedroia&lt;/span&gt; ball for which I'll be forever grateful.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Come back anytime, guys.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We'll leave the light on for you.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-7102588028549359283?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/7102588028549359283/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=7102588028549359283&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/7102588028549359283'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/7102588028549359283'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/friends-over-christmas-one-epic-holiday.html' title='Friends over Christmas = One Epic Holiday'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Szlr3cYrCwI/AAAAAAAAGwM/1gwHWLpcTII/s72-c/The+Blues+visit+NC+12-27-09+045.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-5372485171830261235</id><published>2009-12-26T21:31:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-26T21:37:13.606-05:00</updated><title type='text'>The Day After</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzbHb9q6m_I/AAAAAAAAGwE/r_7tzD8ZqGk/s1600-h/Snow+day+12-21-09+025.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzbHb9q6m_I/AAAAAAAAGwE/r_7tzD8ZqGk/s400/Snow+day+12-21-09+025.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419738484811930610" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;They get a &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;WII&lt;/span&gt;, 4 games for it, and a flat screen for Christmas.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Naturally, when I get home from work today they want to play the board games LIFE and &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Zingo&lt;/span&gt;, which is just Bingo with some blackjack-like dealer for the bingo things.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My kids are weird.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;'Course according to Ange, Rakes played it so much today that he probably ruined his vision, possibly has developed carpel tunnel syndrome, and may have dislocated his elbow during one particularly animated game of "Star Wars".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I still think they're weird.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-5372485171830261235?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/5372485171830261235/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=5372485171830261235&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/5372485171830261235'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/5372485171830261235'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/day-after.html' title='The Day After'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzbHb9q6m_I/AAAAAAAAGwE/r_7tzD8ZqGk/s72-c/Snow+day+12-21-09+025.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-6761185942288803700</id><published>2009-12-25T21:49:00.005-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-25T22:11:48.338-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Thank God it's only once a Year</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzV6BQafB0I/AAAAAAAAGv0/bRMtaEvL8Jg/s1600-h/Christmas+2009+009.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzV6BQafB0I/AAAAAAAAGv0/bRMtaEvL8Jg/s400/Christmas+2009+009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419371888614770498" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Trot's&lt;/span&gt; expression in this picture sort of sums up how I feel after the last 24 hours or so; confused, a tad dazed, and wondering when the tilt-a-whirl is gonna stop so I can get off and hurl.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We've been to both sets of parents homes, communion at church, had Santa AND the Tooth Fairy visit on the same night (Rakes lost his second tooth within a 10 day span; at this rate he's gonna be gumming his cheeseburger from McDonald's sometime in the next 30 days.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Added to the pile of toys, games, and gadgets has been a &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;WII&lt;/span&gt;, and flat screen &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;tv&lt;/span&gt;, 4 &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;WII&lt;/span&gt; games, 2 &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&gt;lightsabers&lt;/span&gt; for the &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"&gt;WII&lt;/span&gt; (sadly, we lost both within 1 1/2 hours of opening thanks to Trot and his Godzilla like way of playing with stuff) and two remote control cars that have yet to reach the scrapyard but I've got $50 bucks that says they don't make it past Saturday. We've got 5 sets of pajamas, 4 stuffed animals, 3 wore out kids, 2 exhausted parents and a partridge in a pear tree in need of intense psycho therapy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Throw in the fact I'm so out of shape that I think I tore my &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"&gt;rotator&lt;/span&gt; cuff playing &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"&gt;WII&lt;/span&gt; golf, Rakes muttered "D****t" when I missed my 6&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"&gt;th&lt;/span&gt; putt on hole #3 (which led to a 10 minute session of Rakes in the box and me doing my best impression of Dennis Franz from &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"&gt;NYPD&lt;/span&gt; Blue on where exactly he picked up this new bit of vocabulary. Best I can figure it was from "The Sandlot" (but who knows?) and Trot duck walking his way out of my Mom's bathroom and uttering "I pooped my pants, Dad. Can I have some more punch?", and I'm thinking I should just stick my head in the oven and just get it over with.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But just when I'm ready to pull a &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"&gt;Krank&lt;/span&gt; and skip Christmas altogether, Ange goes and takes a picture like this and I'm Griswold-&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"&gt;esque&lt;/span&gt; in my love of this special day all over again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzV-MIc8tNI/AAAAAAAAGv8/qNBaxlNBVWA/s1600-h/Christmas+2009+026.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzV-MIc8tNI/AAAAAAAAGv8/qNBaxlNBVWA/s400/Christmas+2009+026.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419376473502692562" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;If you laughed half as much as I did today, or loved a fraction as much as I did today, or even lost your temper AS MUCH as I did today, consider yourself blessed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and the countdown to Truck Day is officially on.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-6761185942288803700?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/6761185942288803700/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=6761185942288803700&amp;isPopup=true' title='9 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/6761185942288803700'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/6761185942288803700'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/thank-god-its-only-once-year.html' title='Thank God it&apos;s only once a Year'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzV6BQafB0I/AAAAAAAAGv0/bRMtaEvL8Jg/s72-c/Christmas+2009+009.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>9</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-1236201657342750677</id><published>2009-12-24T21:50:00.002-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-24T21:58:44.180-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Silent Night</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzQokgg50_I/AAAAAAAAGvs/nBcAi654aI4/s1600-h/silent-night-nativity-scene.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 350px; height: 332px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzQokgg50_I/AAAAAAAAGvs/nBcAi654aI4/s400/silent-night-nativity-scene.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419000859301893106" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." &lt;p&gt; Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,&lt;br /&gt; "Glory to God in the highest,&lt;br /&gt;      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"&gt;Merry Christmas from my nutty little corner of the world to wherever you are tonight. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-1236201657342750677?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/1236201657342750677/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=1236201657342750677&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/1236201657342750677'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/1236201657342750677'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/silent-night.html' title='Silent Night'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzQokgg50_I/AAAAAAAAGvs/nBcAi654aI4/s72-c/silent-night-nativity-scene.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-7179417615123762539</id><published>2009-12-23T21:07:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-23T21:19:59.965-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Why I Need To Work From Home</title><content type='html'>Three weeks ago this coming Sunday, after threats of bodily harm by my wife, I headed to the local walk in clinic and was promptly diagnosed with bronchitis.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As I'm leaving, the very nice Doctor lady &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;says&lt;/span&gt; "If you get to feeling bad again after your medicine runs out, just call and I'll call something in". After feeling no pain for roughly a week after the medicine was gone, I woke up Monday morning feeling like a road grader had ran over my while I slept. Stupid man that I am I tell myself "It'll go away if I don't think about it"; you can see where this is going, right?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At 10:30 this morning while I'm at work laying a layer of manure so deep you needed two sets of hip waders to just walk in it I call, leave a message and receive a call back in about 15 minutes that I had seen a WEEKEND doc and not a WEEKLY doc, and they would need to see me before they could help. I calmly tell this very pleasant young woman that I work all the way across town, IN RETAIL, and it's 2 days before Christmas AND on commission so she promises to ask again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;An hour later? Same exact message; you've got to come in. Look, I get the game; get 'em in, charge 'em the co-pay, make 'em wait JUST long enough that they are beginning to think about tearing up the office, then check them out, write a scrip, and send them home. Today, however, I wasn't having it; I called my &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;ENT&lt;/span&gt;, begged his head nurse for some help, and currently have pill one of 20 inside my stomach and on the road to recovery.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I told you that story to tell you this one. While I'm alternating between hacking, chills, and legs that ached like I'd leg pressed 1,000 pounds my first born child, the daughter that I love more than life itself, is at home transforming Trot into the following:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzLPYWRYVtI/AAAAAAAAGvk/zI_s4rWVksA/s1600-h/Ciera+dresses+up+Trot+12-23-09+009.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzLPYWRYVtI/AAAAAAAAGvk/zI_s4rWVksA/s400/Ciera+dresses+up+Trot+12-23-09+009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418621318882416338" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;It's not like he didn't have enough issues to deal with already.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And now this.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-7179417615123762539?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/7179417615123762539/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=7179417615123762539&amp;isPopup=true' title='16 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/7179417615123762539'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/7179417615123762539'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/why-i-need-to-work-from-home.html' title='Why I Need To Work From Home'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzLPYWRYVtI/AAAAAAAAGvk/zI_s4rWVksA/s72-c/Ciera+dresses+up+Trot+12-23-09+009.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>16</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-3805931526858141450</id><published>2009-12-22T21:20:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-22T21:36:54.686-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Anyone know a good Therapist?</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzF-nV1wR8I/AAAAAAAAGvc/Dn4hpcMp88c/s1600-h/Milton.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzF-nV1wR8I/AAAAAAAAGvc/Dn4hpcMp88c/s400/Milton.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418251041046022082" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;He makes Manny look normal.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Check that; he makes TROT look normal. Milton Bradley may be the most certifiable insane athlete we've ever seen. Some guys lose it for brief periods, once or twice a career like Coco Crisp charging the mound like he was Ali back in the day or Pedro treating Don &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Zimmer&lt;/span&gt; like a charging Rhino back in '03.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But Milton? He takes first prize for being the biggest head case this side of "Monk". Let's put it this way; put Milton next to Crazy Carl Everett and Carl ends up looking like Einstein.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm not going to go over all of Milton's personal highlight reel over his career since you can read it all &lt;a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AovJH41izOPmweeuE.xWJ8j.gYl4?slug=sh-bradleymariners121809&amp;amp;prov=yhoo&amp;amp;type=lgns"&gt;HERE.&lt;/a&gt; Suffice it to say, he's about an entire Sears store away from a full toolbox.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And the Seattle Mariners just traded for the guy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I give it until about May 1st before &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Ichiro&lt;/span&gt; calls his contact in the &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;Yakuza&lt;/span&gt; to see if they can "settle" things down.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Reason 4,792 I thank God everyday we've got Theo running this team.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-3805931526858141450?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/3805931526858141450/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=3805931526858141450&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/3805931526858141450'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/3805931526858141450'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/anyone-know-good-therapist.html' title='Anyone know a good Therapist?'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzF-nV1wR8I/AAAAAAAAGvc/Dn4hpcMp88c/s72-c/Milton.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-4053948482965957099</id><published>2009-12-21T21:38:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-21T21:44:07.674-05:00</updated><title type='text'>One More Year For Senor Doubles?</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzAxXInTRRI/AAAAAAAAGvU/oU7bYq79WeA/s1600-h/Mikey+sliding+catch.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 315px; height: 275px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzAxXInTRRI/AAAAAAAAGvU/oU7bYq79WeA/s400/Mikey+sliding+catch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417884625245783314" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;I don't care if he's got a hip that makes Mickey Rooney's look pristine.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If the worst thing that happens to the Red Sox this off season is they "have" to take Mike Lowell and his professionalism, dirt doggedness, and award winning goatee back?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'd say the off season went well.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-4053948482965957099?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/4053948482965957099/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=4053948482965957099&amp;isPopup=true' title='6 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/4053948482965957099'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/4053948482965957099'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/one-more-year-for-senor-doubles.html' title='One More Year For Senor Doubles?'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SzAxXInTRRI/AAAAAAAAGvU/oU7bYq79WeA/s72-c/Mikey+sliding+catch.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>6</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-2338720579452230020</id><published>2009-12-20T21:33:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-20T22:06:29.473-05:00</updated><title type='text'>At least they look normal</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sy7e764JyXI/AAAAAAAAGu0/j1JO8fZ2DKo/s1600-h/Snow+day+12-21-09+029.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sy7e764JyXI/AAAAAAAAGu0/j1JO8fZ2DKo/s400/Snow+day+12-21-09+029.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417512522771712370" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;In the state of North Carolina we're known for many things; our hospitality, our barbecue, Dean Smith, and the home of the finest lawman to ever wear a badge, Sheriff Andy Taylor, aka Andy Griffith.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More so than anything else, however, is our unparalleled ability to totally FREAK OUT when the possibility of winter weather rears it's ugly head. You've never seen a population clear out a grocery store of it's milk, bread, and lotto tickets like the fine citizens of the Tar Heel state. The elderly go to the supermarket while those of us with small children clean out the local ABC stores, the corner drug dealer, and if all possible get &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;ahold&lt;/span&gt; of a Doctors prescription pad; the prospect of prolonged lock down mode with rabid children will make you wipe your moral compass clean in roughly the amount of time it takes to break the speed of sound. Trust me on this one.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thankfully, in spite of our local weather gurus predictions, we only got 3 inches instead of 12; which meant I shuffled off to work yesterday while Ange took the Two Amigos and One &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Amigoette&lt;/span&gt; out to play yesterday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Instead of telling you about how it all played out I'm going to just sum it up with what Ange saw as she finally got all three kids out of their wet clothes and boots and back inside the house.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Trot, buck naked, standing on top of the counter eating a banana while dancing and singing "Let it Snow" at the top of his lungs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I couldn't make half this stuff up if I tried.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-2338720579452230020?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/2338720579452230020/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=2338720579452230020&amp;isPopup=true' title='11 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/2338720579452230020'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/2338720579452230020'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/at-least-they-look-normal.html' title='At least they look normal'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sy7e764JyXI/AAAAAAAAGu0/j1JO8fZ2DKo/s72-c/Snow+day+12-21-09+029.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>11</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-9003028702758229548</id><published>2009-12-19T23:14:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-19T23:25:51.879-05:00</updated><title type='text'>It Seems Like Yesterday</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sy2lIPTEFZI/AAAAAAAAGus/iVwPCIBNIM8/s1600-h/Thanksgiving+11-26-09+056.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sy2lIPTEFZI/AAAAAAAAGus/iVwPCIBNIM8/s400/Thanksgiving+11-26-09+056.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417167487760602514" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;3 children, 2 miscarriages, 4,596 arguments, and 17 years later we're still married.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And speaking for myself, I'm more in love now than I was that night when I said "I do."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;17 years may not seem that long, but I bet if you ask her, when you're married to me, it seems like a lifetime.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks, Ange. For putting up with me obsessing about a baseball team and for spending countless hours watching baseball games that mean nothing in the big picture but are seemingly life and death when they are happening. Thanks for putting up with the fact that I have multiple online friends yet balk whenever you mention getting together with some couple that actually live close by.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thank you for giving me the three biggest blessings I could ever ask for in my children, and for putting up with a fully grown child as well. I know I'm not what you dreamed for growing up but I'll be forever grateful I became what you wished for when you reached adulthood.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'll never deserve you but I'll always be eternally grateful I got you.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here's to 17 years being celebrated and another 43 to come.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;That'll&lt;/span&gt; give us an even 60 and by that time I figure you can just trade me in for a newer model.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Love you, &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;darlin&lt;/span&gt;'.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And Happy Anniversary.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-9003028702758229548?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/9003028702758229548/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=9003028702758229548&amp;isPopup=true' title='10 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/9003028702758229548'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/9003028702758229548'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/it-seems-like-yesterday.html' title='It Seems Like Yesterday'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sy2lIPTEFZI/AAAAAAAAGus/iVwPCIBNIM8/s72-c/Thanksgiving+11-26-09+056.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>10</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-324817182483259417</id><published>2009-12-18T22:07:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-18T22:10:43.200-05:00</updated><title type='text'>It's 7 Days until Christmas and I feel fine</title><content type='html'>Ever wondered what a deranged, Prozac needing, sugar loving, whirling dervishing, strutting, cocky, and terminally hilarious miniature Elf looks like?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyxD6oNVC_I/AAAAAAAAGuc/gday-_rMXM8/s1600-h/scan0001.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 336px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyxD6oNVC_I/AAAAAAAAGuc/gday-_rMXM8/s400/scan0001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416779126324661234" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Now you know.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-324817182483259417?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/324817182483259417/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=324817182483259417&amp;isPopup=true' title='9 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/324817182483259417'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/324817182483259417'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/its-7-days-until-christmas-and-i-feel.html' title='It&apos;s 7 Days until Christmas and I feel fine'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyxD6oNVC_I/AAAAAAAAGuc/gday-_rMXM8/s72-c/scan0001.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>9</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-3686734161483147248</id><published>2009-12-17T22:16:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-17T22:25:47.374-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Papi and The Pips</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Syr0Wd5gkHI/AAAAAAAAGuM/o3uygOAaIVo/s1600-h/Papi+and+the+Pips.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 316px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Syr0Wd5gkHI/AAAAAAAAGuM/o3uygOAaIVo/s400/Papi+and+the+Pips.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416410168686579826" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;With all the Hot Stove drama of Lackey and Cameron signing, wondering if &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Jacoby&lt;/span&gt; and Clay are being shipped off to the Left Coast for A Gone, and the Yankees/Johnny Damon soap opera, I figured I needed a break from all the angst.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Leave it to &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Papi&lt;/span&gt;, some shades that I imagine cost more than my yearly salary, and Wake and Crabby in suits to lighten the mood. Throw in the Mayor looking slightly psychotic and Scenic rocking his Smithsonian worthy facial hair and unless you've got A. A heart of stone, B. You're a &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;MFY&lt;/span&gt; fan and therefore have NO heart, or C. You've just arrived from the planet &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;Nebulon&lt;/span&gt; looking for brains to harvest, this picture should at the very least bring a smile to your face and at best make you feel like it's Christmas morning, you're back to being 7 years old, and Santa brought you an Atari game console complete with the NFL game.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Or maybe that's just me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, it doesn't take an expert to notice &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&gt;Papi&lt;/span&gt; looking like a model for &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"&gt;GQ&lt;/span&gt; and per my completely &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"&gt;fact less&lt;/span&gt;, uneducated &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"&gt;guess&lt;/span&gt;, about 20 pounds less than his most recent playing rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A healthy, motivated, ticked off Large Father?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bad for everyone else and great for the &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"&gt;Sox&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-3686734161483147248?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/3686734161483147248/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=3686734161483147248&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/3686734161483147248'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/3686734161483147248'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/papi-and-pips.html' title='Papi and The Pips'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Syr0Wd5gkHI/AAAAAAAAGuM/o3uygOAaIVo/s72-c/Papi+and+the+Pips.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-4082487937288131299</id><published>2009-12-16T21:17:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-16T21:23:31.799-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Rumor #2,469 of the 2009 Offseason</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SymU2NaOtMI/AAAAAAAAGuE/4YGXzwT8vf8/s1600-h/A+Gone.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SymU2NaOtMI/AAAAAAAAGuE/4YGXzwT8vf8/s400/A+Gone.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416023685923255490" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;With the dust still settling from the John Lackey/Mike Cameron signings, the latest rumor is Clay &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Buchholz&lt;/span&gt;, &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Jacoby&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;Ellsbury&lt;/span&gt;, and apparently the second coming of Mantle, Mays, and Williams for Alex Gonzalez of the San Diego Padres.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For some reason this is going over about as well as the Hindenburg to most of &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;RSN&lt;/span&gt;. Me? I'll take a &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&gt;thumper&lt;/span&gt; who can hit one off the Mass Pike &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"&gt;every time&lt;/span&gt; he steps up to the plate every day of the week and twice on Sunday. But that's just me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Basically I look at the Hot Stove like I do an episode of Jerry Springer; lots of posturing, yelling, and cursing but in the end not much ever really happens.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'll believe this latest theory right about the time I see A Gone put one in the 5&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"&gt;th&lt;/span&gt; row of the Right Field bleachers.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-4082487937288131299?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/4082487937288131299/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=4082487937288131299&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/4082487937288131299'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/4082487937288131299'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/rumor-2469-of-2009-offseason.html' title='Rumor #2,469 of the 2009 Offseason'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SymU2NaOtMI/AAAAAAAAGuE/4YGXzwT8vf8/s72-c/A+Gone.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-6317370593423121806</id><published>2009-12-15T22:19:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-15T22:26:00.449-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Somebody get Hollywood on the Horn</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyhSH2Cq2JI/AAAAAAAAGt8/083DGx1fyAU/s1600-h/John+Lackey.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyhSH2Cq2JI/AAAAAAAAGt8/083DGx1fyAU/s400/John+Lackey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415668846632294546" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyhR8EjSb8I/AAAAAAAAGt0/j4A3Yc12Kps/s1600-h/Beckett+Howls.bmp"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 180px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyhR8EjSb8I/AAAAAAAAGt0/j4A3Yc12Kps/s400/Beckett+Howls.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415668644368773058" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The more I think about it the more it makes sense. ('Course I just got home from a 6&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;th&lt;/span&gt; grade band concert so I may be disoriented and out of my ever loving mind)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;NESN&lt;/span&gt; should make Tito room Beckett and Lackey on the road next year, assign a camera man 24/7 and go ahead and write the FCC a check for $3 million dollars as a sign of good faith, then just let the good times roll.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Seriously.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This could make "Harold and &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;Kumar&lt;/span&gt; Go To White Castle" look like an after school special by the end of the year.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-6317370593423121806?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/6317370593423121806/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=6317370593423121806&amp;isPopup=true' title='7 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/6317370593423121806'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/6317370593423121806'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/somebody-get-hollywood-on-horn.html' title='Somebody get Hollywood on the Horn'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyhSH2Cq2JI/AAAAAAAAGt8/083DGx1fyAU/s72-c/John+Lackey.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>7</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-572687547499085259</id><published>2009-12-14T21:16:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-14T21:25:31.405-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Seperated at Birth and $85 Million</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SybxqGizj4I/AAAAAAAAGtk/rwc7AifaSrA/s1600-h/John+Lackey.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SybxqGizj4I/AAAAAAAAGtk/rwc7AifaSrA/s400/John+Lackey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415281307572998018" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;If you believe what's being reported (it's on the Internet, so it's GOT to be true, right?) you're looking at the Red &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Sox&lt;/span&gt; new $85 million over 5 years pitcher John Lackey. He's 102-71 with a sub 4.00 era over the last eight years with the Angels, he's a bull dog who cursed his manager out when he had to come out of a playoff game last year, and combined with Josh Beckett may set the world record for F Bombs dropped by a duo in a single year, previously held by Richard Pryor and Redd &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Foxx&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Commander, Lester, &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;Daisuke&lt;/span&gt;, Wake/Clay, and Lackey as your starting rotation?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm so freaking happy I can even forget he looks just like Marty &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;McFly's&lt;/span&gt; mortal enemy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SybzRnvGS-I/AAAAAAAAGts/opVzsgvYrVI/s1600-h/Biff+2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SybzRnvGS-I/AAAAAAAAGts/opVzsgvYrVI/s400/Biff+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415283086009453538" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-572687547499085259?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/572687547499085259/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=572687547499085259&amp;isPopup=true' title='7 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/572687547499085259'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/572687547499085259'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/seperated-at-birth-and-85-million.html' title='Seperated at Birth and $85 Million'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SybxqGizj4I/AAAAAAAAGtk/rwc7AifaSrA/s72-c/John+Lackey.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>7</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-2290812502741498383</id><published>2009-12-13T21:16:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-13T21:29:38.335-05:00</updated><title type='text'>I'm Pretty Sure They Are Trying To Make Me Have A Nervous Breakdown.</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyWgRoXf9WI/AAAAAAAAGtc/7zh9k4boYIQ/s1600-h/Scenic+and+Clay.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyWgRoXf9WI/AAAAAAAAGtc/7zh9k4boYIQ/s400/Scenic+and+Clay.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414910351737091426" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"&gt;*Image courtesy of my good friend Kelly and her site&lt;a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.sittingstill.net"&gt; www.sittingstill.net&lt;/a&gt;*&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Just when I've mentally resigned myself to the fact that Mikey Two Bags and his award winning facial hair are gone from &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Fenway&lt;/span&gt; forever, I go and read &lt;a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4738602"&gt;THIS&lt;/a&gt; story on ESPN and all of a sudden my head is spinning around like I've got the Bubonic plague.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What's even more amazing is it's his thumb they're worried about. Forget the arthritic hip of a 98 year old with a calcium deficiency, they're worried about his thumb? Granted, it was an issue but I'd be more concerned about him hitting a ball off the &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;LF&lt;/span&gt; wall and getting thrown out at first than his ability to imitate Arthur Fonzerelli.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Throw in the Red &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;Sox&lt;/span&gt; eating most of the $12 million owed on his contract and this makes as much sense as me entering "People &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;Magazinest&lt;/span&gt; Sexiest Man" contest next year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Somebody wake me up when Truck Day gets here.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And pass the Prozac.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-2290812502741498383?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/2290812502741498383/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=2290812502741498383&amp;isPopup=true' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/2290812502741498383'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/2290812502741498383'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/im-pretty-sure-they-are-trying-to-give.html' title='I&apos;m Pretty Sure They Are Trying To Make Me Have A Nervous Breakdown.'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyWgRoXf9WI/AAAAAAAAGtc/7zh9k4boYIQ/s72-c/Scenic+and+Clay.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-4837098977130636651</id><published>2009-12-12T22:50:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-12T22:53:40.517-05:00</updated><title type='text'>THIS is the Hot Stove?</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyRkjxDzl1I/AAAAAAAAGtU/Zv_DYibU8tY/s1600-h/Boof+Bonser+RC.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 295px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyRkjxDzl1I/AAAAAAAAGtU/Zv_DYibU8tY/s400/Boof+Bonser+RC.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414563217633679186" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;The off season is in full swing, the Yankees have traded for Curtis Granderson, and so far the Red Sox have signed a Marco, a Tug, and a Boof.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If nothing else, the headlines in the Globe and the Herald next year should be a lot of fun.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Throw in Jason Bay and his agent flat out rejecting the Sox initial offer combined with Senor Doubles getting shipped off to Texas and I'm left wondering when the fun is going to commence.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;All that said?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In Theo I Trust.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He just doesn't make it real easy sometimes.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-4837098977130636651?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/4837098977130636651/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=4837098977130636651&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/4837098977130636651'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/4837098977130636651'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/this-is-hot-stove.html' title='THIS is the Hot Stove?'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyRkjxDzl1I/AAAAAAAAGtU/Zv_DYibU8tY/s72-c/Boof+Bonser+RC.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-5332374381109866480</id><published>2009-12-10T21:40:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-10T21:51:22.669-05:00</updated><title type='text'>All My Heros Keep Slipping Away</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyGxajK1FHI/AAAAAAAAGtM/QcH3HB732t8/s1600-h/Lowell+series+MVP.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyGxajK1FHI/AAAAAAAAGtM/QcH3HB732t8/s400/Lowell+series+MVP.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413803296751424626" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;I call myself a fan, they tell me it's a business.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I call it a business, they tell me to be a fan and support the team.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In yet one more "Don't get too attached to these guys" moments the guy who has manned third base for the past 4 years and who was World Series MVP back in '07 is gone.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don't know of a man who didn't admire his skills and his toughness and a woman who didn't think he was gorgeous, my own wife, Mom, and sister included. Shoot, even I think the guy is the epitome of a man's man.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But a pressing need for a young catcher and the fact his hip resembles one of Micky Rooney's combined with what I'm REALLY hoping is some blockbuster deal Theo is saving for Christmas Eve as a nice present to all of us made Mikey Lowell disposable. Mind you, as much as I love the guy, watching him limp his way down to first base or display the range of your average &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;wildebeest&lt;/span&gt; at third last year was painful to watch. That said, it's gonna be a little bit weird not to see him digging balls out at third while displaying the most awesome facial hair since "Sonny Crockett" patrolled the streets of Miami.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;God Speed, Senor Doubles.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Fenway&lt;/span&gt; Park won't be the same without you.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-5332374381109866480?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/5332374381109866480/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=5332374381109866480&amp;isPopup=true' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/5332374381109866480'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/5332374381109866480'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/all-my-heros-keep-slipping-away.html' title='All My Heros Keep Slipping Away'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyGxajK1FHI/AAAAAAAAGtM/QcH3HB732t8/s72-c/Lowell+series+MVP.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-4753116322347600386</id><published>2009-12-09T22:12:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-09T22:20:34.450-05:00</updated><title type='text'>I'm Josh Beckett. And You're Not.</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyBnM1aia4I/AAAAAAAAGsw/O19TNt1dYLo/s1600-h/josh+Almighty.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyBnM1aia4I/AAAAAAAAGsw/O19TNt1dYLo/s400/josh+Almighty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413440222293814146" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;With the Yankees trading for Curtis &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Granderson&lt;/span&gt; and the ongoing drama of the Jason Bay saga combined with Christmas coming just around the corner and the angst of Red &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Sox&lt;/span&gt; Nation over the possibility that Mike Lowell is bound for Texas or God knows where, I figured we all needed a gentle reminder.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A reminder that we've got a beer swilling, nail chewing, expletive spewing, 98 mph fastball throwing honest to God Texan as the ace of our staff.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And if you think he's not good and tanked off at how the season ended last year, then by God you don't know Josh Beckett.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If I know the Commander (and I don't, but bear with me) he's been lifting like a maniac and shooting men in Reno just to watch them die since the last game with the Angels in the post-season.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;'Cause that's just how he rolls.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;God help the poor first batter who has to step into the box in Spring Training.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-4753116322347600386?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/4753116322347600386/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=4753116322347600386&amp;isPopup=true' title='7 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/4753116322347600386'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/4753116322347600386'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/im-josh-beckett-and-youre-not.html' title='I&apos;m Josh Beckett. And You&apos;re Not.'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SyBnM1aia4I/AAAAAAAAGsw/O19TNt1dYLo/s72-c/josh+Almighty.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>7</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-5958596291485910210</id><published>2009-12-08T21:22:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-08T21:45:39.481-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Congratulations. You Made Another Birdie.</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sx8KF_96jUI/AAAAAAAAGrM/-Dl19qepTBE/s1600-h/TigerWoods.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 347px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sx8KF_96jUI/AAAAAAAAGrM/-Dl19qepTBE/s400/TigerWoods.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413056375309372738" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;I've got a question.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When did the concept of marriage become a running joke and why can't men (not all of us, but a growing majority) just keep it in their pants?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm using Tiger because he's just the latest and most famous in an increasingly and disturbing long line of men who somehow decide it's OK to cheat on the woman you vowed to honor for THE REST OF YOUR LIFE and screw up the lives of your kids, who never asked to be here in the first place.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now I realize I'm fundamentally lacking in the three areas most likely to lead to an affair; 1. I'm not rich. 2. I'm ugly. 3. I have no discernible talent other than the ability to recite lines from movies I saw 10 years ago seemingly at will.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But still. How can you look someone you supposedly love in the eye, swear a lifetime of devotion to that person, decide to bring innocent children into the mix, and then go out and chase anything with a pulse? When did being a man STOP meaning honoring your word and your commitment and evolve into chasing women, apparently as many as humanely possible?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And it's not just famous, rich dudes. I see it every day in my business; guys who own restaurants buying new living room suites for the 19 year old hostess or in the one instance a guy brings his wife in one week for a new bedroom suite and the very next week his girlfriend in for a new mattress.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What in the name of Ward Cleaver happened to "For better or worse" and "till death do us part?" Maybe I'm just some old fashioned romantic or maybe I just think that when you give your word you should, you know, keep it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;All I know is I don't have any idea how Tiger or the guy who came in my store or any other man can do that to his wife, then manage to look into the eyes of his kids and not feel like he's less than 2 feet tall.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I die, if I'm lucky, the following will be on my tombstone.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"He loved his wife, loved his kids, and did the best he could everyday to prove it. And he may have been a tad bent when it came to the Red &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Sox&lt;/span&gt;."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If it happens, I'll go off to the great beyond a happy man.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Call me crazy but it sounds a lot better to me than "He could hit a golf ball like nobodies business."&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-5958596291485910210?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/5958596291485910210/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=5958596291485910210&amp;isPopup=true' title='10 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/5958596291485910210'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/5958596291485910210'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/congratulations-you-made-another-birdie.html' title='Congratulations. You Made Another Birdie.'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sx8KF_96jUI/AAAAAAAAGrM/-Dl19qepTBE/s72-c/TigerWoods.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>10</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-3720275795095103392</id><published>2009-12-07T21:44:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-07T21:49:50.493-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Another First</title><content type='html'>Tonight, at 7:42 EST, something monumental occurred.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Something that far exceeds Theo trading Nomar in 2004, more amazing than the Arizona Cardinals making the Super Bowl this past January, and bigger than Barry Bonds head after 5 years of Human Growth Hormone use.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rakes lost his first tooth.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sx2-UBBH89I/AAAAAAAAGq8/FzR2DB67xJY/s1600-h/Rakes+loses+his+first+tooth+006.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sx2-UBBH89I/AAAAAAAAGq8/FzR2DB67xJY/s400/Rakes+loses+his+first+tooth+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412691578249016274" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;And another small part of me died.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They just keep getting bigger and older, no matter how hard I try and make it all stop.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-3720275795095103392?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/3720275795095103392/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=3720275795095103392&amp;isPopup=true' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/3720275795095103392'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/3720275795095103392'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/another-first.html' title='Another First'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sx2-UBBH89I/AAAAAAAAGq8/FzR2DB67xJY/s72-c/Rakes+loses+his+first+tooth+006.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-7679310939373493217</id><published>2009-12-06T20:41:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-06T20:52:55.194-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Bronchitis and strangers on Aisle 4</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sxxdjc-9YGI/AAAAAAAAGqw/8KucNdmBWDg/s1600-h/grocery-store-737406.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sxxdjc-9YGI/AAAAAAAAGqw/8KucNdmBWDg/s400/grocery-store-737406.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412303715849560162" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;As I fumbled with &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Ang's&lt;/span&gt; grocery list while I hacked up what's left of my right lung, I was picking out, per her instructions, 6 packages of ground beef that was supposedly on sale. Mind you, I look at going to the grocery store about one level above the dentist, and that was before the idiot behind me had the nerve to say "Do I need to get in front of you to make sure there is some meat left for the rest of us?"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How did I arrive at this spot, on 2:50 this afternoon, contemplating hitting this dink upside the head with 1.3 pounds of red meat? We need to back up about a week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ever since last Saturday, I've felt like I just went 10 rounds with Brock &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Lesnar&lt;/span&gt;; aching, sore, chills, and a persistent cough that had me begging for death sometime around Thursday afternoon. Being a man, I came to the completely rational conclusion that it would just go away on it's own when it was good and ready and I'd just deal with it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That particular way to address the problem came to an abrupt end at about 3 this morning when &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;Ang&lt;/span&gt; woke me up by sticking her finger in my chest and telling me "You're snoring and that cough is about to drive me insane. You're going to the doctor tomorrow and don't you dare say no."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So I went, all the while convinced they were going to tell me I had a cold and there was nothing they could do and to drink plenty of fluids, blah blah blah and it's run it's course. I was almost pleasantly surprised when the nice Doctor lady told me I had bronchitis, which partly relieved me because in the back of my mind I've got visions in H1N1 rattling around inside my head.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In a surprising lack of good judgement, I'd agreed to run some errands and pick up a few things for &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;Ang&lt;/span&gt; while I was out, which is how we come full circle to me, some ground beef, and a lady ,3 seconds away from getting a rib roast upside her head.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Summoning some force inside me I didn't know I had, I calmly turned and said "This is the last one. Although maybe you should have gotten here first."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Good will to all men, and peace on earth.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I hope she burns her stupid Christmas Turkey.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Can you tell I get a little irritable on antibiotics?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-7679310939373493217?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/7679310939373493217/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=7679310939373493217&amp;isPopup=true' title='7 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/7679310939373493217'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/7679310939373493217'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/bronchitis-and-strangers-on-aisle-4.html' title='Bronchitis and strangers on Aisle 4'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sxxdjc-9YGI/AAAAAAAAGqw/8KucNdmBWDg/s72-c/grocery-store-737406.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>7</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-6825815777357471516</id><published>2009-12-06T11:40:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-06T11:45:45.805-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Out Sick</title><content type='html'>It's been 3 days since my last post, and no; it's not because my life has turned into Ward Cleavers all of a sudden.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I've been sick since last Saturday with some kind of flu/virus/bug that has me coughing like I smoke 3 packs of Camels a day combined with aches, chills, and enough congestion in my head to fill up an average size swimming pool.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After 5 days of listening to Ang yell at me about "Why won't you just go to the doctor" and me yell back with "They're just going to tell me it's got to run it's course" I've finally given in and plan to be at the walk in clinic when they open at 1 today.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hopefully they can give me some medicine.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hopefully I can be out of there before dark.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hopefully I don't get the 3rd year med student working on her masters as my doctor.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm taking a book, my phone, and flask just in case.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-6825815777357471516?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/6825815777357471516/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=6825815777357471516&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/6825815777357471516'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/6825815777357471516'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/out-sick.html' title='Out Sick'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-8205359777796068473</id><published>2009-12-03T22:08:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-03T22:25:54.920-05:00</updated><title type='text'>The Calm Before The Storm</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sxh9gKK7pRI/AAAAAAAAGqg/GkW1CvYra1c/s1600-h/Rakes+first+day+at+pre-school+9-2-08+004.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sxh9gKK7pRI/AAAAAAAAGqg/GkW1CvYra1c/s400/Rakes+first+day+at+pre-school+9-2-08+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411212943725143314" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Rakes got his progress report for the second nine weeks of Kindergarten today and for the most part he's doing pretty well. M's (Student has mastered concept. Back when I was in Kindergarten I'm pretty sure we got S's but I'm old so what do I know?) for things like Rhyme recognition, Syllable blending, Identifying numbers, and counting to 20. He's a pretty smart kid so I'm not shocked; proud, but not surprised.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, when we get to the "Social Skills" area, he &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;received&lt;/span&gt; the following.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;(S= Satisfactory, N = Needs Improvement, and U= Unsatisfactory)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Completes Task given: N&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Listens: N&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Follows Directions: N&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Like I need a progress report to tell me this? He's 6, a boy, and has never met a messy room, drawer, or bathroom he didn't love. Look, I understand the teacher needs an orderly classroom or otherwise she's got the Kindergarten version of Attica on her hands. But come on; name me one boy who isn't a future ballet dancer or the next Bill Gates who doesn't cut corners, hear what he wants to hear, and would rather walk backwards into a Hurricane than do what someone tells him to do?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Two days ago he comes home from school, takes off his clothes, and proudly shows his Grandmother the pajamas he slept in the night before that he wore UNDER his school clothes because he was too lazy to actually take them off that morning. Yeah, it was dumb but you gotta admire his initiative.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'll be the first to admit this is all new to me; all I've had to go on up to now is a organized neat freak little girl who couldn't bear not making straight A's and did everything she could to stay out of trouble; personally? When it comes to Rakes I'm grateful for every day that doesn't end in a visit to the principle, suspension, or expulsion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Besides, there is some small part of me that wants to shout "If you think HE'S bad, wait until you get a load of THIS one!"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SxiAoq5NexI/AAAAAAAAGqo/Xf_8DYTSkEg/s1600-h/Trot+being+Animal+001.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SxiAoq5NexI/AAAAAAAAGqo/Xf_8DYTSkEg/s400/Trot+being+Animal+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411216388483021586" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;(Notice the Middle finger. May God Have Mercy on Their Souls.)&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-8205359777796068473?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/8205359777796068473/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=8205359777796068473&amp;isPopup=true' title='10 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/8205359777796068473'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/8205359777796068473'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/calm-before-storm.html' title='The Calm Before The Storm'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/Sxh9gKK7pRI/AAAAAAAAGqg/GkW1CvYra1c/s72-c/Rakes+first+day+at+pre-school+9-2-08+004.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>10</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-8747764655407884543</id><published>2009-12-02T22:27:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-02T22:32:42.524-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Too Much Free Time and I'm Toast</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SxcwVMZqOrI/AAAAAAAAGqY/SOnd2rhHdzc/s1600-h/Doc+12-2-09.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SxcwVMZqOrI/AAAAAAAAGqY/SOnd2rhHdzc/s400/Doc+12-2-09.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410846617973177010" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;It's 10:30 pm on Wednesday night and I'm currently watching Steven Segal's "Reality Show" on A &amp;amp; E, instant messaging Jr on Facebook, and running 347 trade scenarios around in my feeble mind about how the Red Sox can 1. Land Roy Halladay 2. Somehow get Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres and 3. Justify switching Pedroia to SS, if only for the satisfaction of watching him trash talk Jeter at Spring Training 2011 about how he won the Gold Glove instead of him.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hi. My name is Ted and I'm a basebalaholic.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Is there a 12 step program available for this yet?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-8747764655407884543?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/8747764655407884543/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=8747764655407884543&amp;isPopup=true' title='8 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/8747764655407884543'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/8747764655407884543'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/too-much-free-time-and-im-toast.html' title='Too Much Free Time and I&apos;m Toast'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SxcwVMZqOrI/AAAAAAAAGqY/SOnd2rhHdzc/s72-c/Doc+12-2-09.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>8</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574766998157088542.post-5627790509577870520</id><published>2009-12-01T21:16:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-01T21:28:43.328-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Postscript to "A Visit from the Policeman"</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SxXOHUAPrLI/AAAAAAAAGqQ/Je5PFMtfZWQ/s1600/First+Day+of+School+2009+038.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SxXOHUAPrLI/AAAAAAAAGqQ/Je5PFMtfZWQ/s400/First+Day+of+School+2009+038.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410457152379661490" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Due to the fact I came down with some version of whooping cough late Saturday night, spend Sunday and half of Monday in bed, then ruined whatever progress I'd made in making a recovery by going out last night to the company Christmas party (Hey. Free food, no kids, and night out with &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Ang&lt;/span&gt;? Pretty sure I'd need a limb removed to stop me) I spent today alternating between hacking a lung up and apologizing to the customer I was currently infecting with the Swine Flu or whatever it is I've got.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, last night at the party I learned a few more details about Rakes call to 911 on Saturday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It came to my attention that in addition to Trot excitedly asking this poor man if HE could go to jail, the following conversation took place....&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Trot: "&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Oooh&lt;/span&gt;. What is DAT?"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cop: "My &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;taser&lt;/span&gt;."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Trot: "&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;OOOOOOH&lt;/span&gt;. Your &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&gt;TASER&lt;/span&gt;? Tan I hold your &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"&gt;taser&lt;/span&gt;? What it do? Tan I shoot it?"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cop: "Uh, no. You might hurt yourself."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Trot: "Oh. I might hurt myself? What is DAT?"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cop: "My gun."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Trot: "&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"&gt;OOOOOH&lt;/span&gt;. Your DUN? Tan I hold your dun? &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"&gt;Pleeeeeease&lt;/span&gt;?"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cop: (Nervously looking at &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"&gt;Ang&lt;/span&gt;) "Uh, no son. It's dangerous."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Trot: "Why?" (I should interject here that &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"&gt;Ang&lt;/span&gt; immediately deduced this man didn't have any children as he spent the next 5 minutes calmly trying to explain why Trot couldn't hold a deadly weapon, only to be greeted with "Why?" every 7 seconds.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Somehow this poor man managed to convince Rakes that while it was serious business to dial 911 he would not be doing any jail time for it, keep his weapons away from Trot, make &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"&gt;Ang&lt;/span&gt; feel better about the whole thing, and drive away before Trot planted himself in the back seat and wanted to make the siren go.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Again, it's these moments that make me truly grateful I work on Saturday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Oh yeah; rumor is Theo may ask Pedie to play short stop this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pedie. Short stop.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sometimes the headline just writes itself.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8574766998157088542-5627790509577870520?l=redsoxdad.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/feeds/5627790509577870520/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8574766998157088542&amp;postID=5627790509577870520&amp;isPopup=true' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/5627790509577870520'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8574766998157088542/posts/default/5627790509577870520'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://redsoxdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/postscript-to-visit-from-policeman.html' title='Postscript to &quot;A Visit from the Policeman&quot;'/><author><name>Ted D</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17194317104263591515</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='07373617798519770116'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IZH83BZECbA/SxXOHUAPrLI/AAAAAAAAGqQ/Je5PFMtfZWQ/s72-c/First+Day+of+School+2009+038.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>4</thr:total></entry></feed>