Empyreal Environs

George Mitchell released his long-awaited report today. Any player ever associated with the Red Sox with the page number he is mentioned on:

• Manny Alexander, 49
• Jose Canseco, 246
• Roger Clemens, 167
• Paxton Crawford, 111
• Brendan Donnelly, 224
• Eric Gagne, 217
• Jeremy Giambi, 133
• Mike Lansing, 196
• Josias Manzanillo (minor leaguer), 161
• Kent Mercker, 198
• Mike Spinelli (minor leaguer), 76
• Mike Stanton, 205
• Mo Vaughn, 186
• Steve Woodard, 257

In 2007 Donnelly contributed 20 and two-thirds innings and tallied two wins. Those two wins were the difference between the American League East Division Championship and the wild card. Then again, on the Yankees side Clemens went 99 innings and contributed six wins and Andy Pettitte was pivotal with his 215 and one-third innings and 15 victories.

13 December 2007 ∙ 2:54 PM ∙ 2007 News ∙ Permalink ∙ Comments: 7
Tags: Mitchell Report ∙ steroids

For the first time since its inception I did not get an invite to Christmas at Fenway. Instead, I spent hours looking at this:

Judging by the threads at SoSH and Royal Rooters, I was lucky to have purchased tickets at all. I didn’t get the Holy Grail of Sox Pax, the Opening Day, but I did get the Cactus and TGIF offerings. Usually every pack has a Yankee game included, but in this post-championship year the weekend sets don’t include that premium perk.

I was particularly interested in seeing the Diamondbacks in person because that is my team in the all-encompassing fantasy franchise league I am in, The Wood, the Abad, and the Uggla (registration required; contact me for a guest account), called WAU (pronounced “wow,” I think) for short. This league has taken over a considerable part of my life since its inception last year and I must admit that my affection for a few of my remaining Diamondbacks almost matches that for the Red Sox. Almost.

The league has deepened my appreciation for younger players, and even though some of the filler games included seem to be clunkers, there are exciting kids to look for on each team.

• Blue Jays: LF Adam Lind, RHP Jesse Litsch, C Curtis Thigpen
• Cardinals: C Bryan Anderson, CF Colby Rasmus, RHP Chris Perez
• Devil Rays: 3B Evan Longoria, RHP Jeff Niemann, 2B/OF B.J. Upton
• Diamondbacks: SS Stephen Drew, RF Justin Upton, CF Chris Young
• Rangers: RHP Matt Harrison, RHP Edinson Volquez, C Jarrod Saltalamacchia

8 December 2007 ∙ 2:56 PM ∙ Fantasy Baseball & Meta ∙ Permalink ∙ Comments: 0
Tags: Christmas at Fenway ∙ fantasy baseball ∙ virtual waiting room