If you’ve been living under a rock this week then you might not know that the Red Sox were able to win the World Series over the Rockies, sweeping Colorado in four games. Why it’s taken us almost a week to post this is due to the fact that we are just recovering from the hangover that followed. Just kidding…

Interestingly enough, only seven players remain from the 2004 team (eight if you count Kevin Youkilis, who was not on the World Series roster that year) so we are looking at a team much different from the “Idiots” that ended that 86-year drought three years ago. The good news is that this team looks built to contend often over the next three to five years, with several young guys in the mix with some savvy veterans and a strong core pitching staff. Of course, we won’t put the cart before the horse here but it wouldn’t surprise too many people at this point if the Sox pull this off again at least once more in the next few seasons.

For me (Jeff), I got the privilege of witnessing four playoff games at Fenway Park during this championship run; Game Two of the ALDS, Games One and Six of the ALCS, and Game One of the World Series. Boston won each game, three times by blowing out the opposition and once thanks to a game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth by Manny Ramirez. Odd as this may sound, I also went to nine other games at Fenway this season… and Boston won all nine of those games, giving the Sox a record of 13-0 this season when I was in attendance. There was even one game that I had to sell my tickets due to another commitment and Boston won that day, too! Coincidence? Well, I know that the Sox have never done much better than .500 in the games I’ve attended in a single season so it was unusual, to say the least.

Hey, only fifteen more weeks until the truck leaves Fenway for spring training in Fort Myers! Hopefully, I’ll be witness to the ring ceremony and the raising of a championship banner next April, too!

Categories: Jeff, Red Sox
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So our softball season finally got underway yesterday to a not-so-successful beginning. It was a tough one-run loss - they scored 23, we scored just one (ouch!). Perhaps it was the fact that our team had far more grey hairs than the 20-somethings that filled the roster of the other team. Maybe it was the fact that we hadn’t practiced and were entering the game cold. Or… maybe it didn’t matter because we’re playing in a fun league and it’s more about the socializing than the winning. Yeah, I’m going to keep telling myself that one.

I apologize to those of you that have been wondering when we’ve been; I guess that we’ve just not had time to even say hello lately. The basement project is still a work-in-progress; right now, we are having tile and carpet laid down and I have some clean-up left to do for that to proceed. The kids are both doing well; Lea has master crawling and is now pulling herself to standing while Jakob is getting into the routine of asking to use the potty. We’re also still keeping track of our beloved Sox, who are a half-game back of first behind New York to start the night and, coincidently, are at Yankee Stadium playing a four-game series with the bombers.

Also, big news out of Virginia: my brother, Greg, has just made Petty officer First Class rate (E-6) so that will mean a senior position in the Navy. He also just got his papers to begin shore duty starting in November in Chesapeake, VA; that means that he’ll be working a normal 9-to-5 job and getting to come home on evenings and weekends to see his family instead of spending day after day after day in the bowels of the USS Vella Gulf. He also recently participated in a daring rescue out at sea, which made an otherwise uninteresting two-month voyage a little more exciting. I guess it’s true that good things come in threes.

Categories: Family, Jakob, Jeff, Lea
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Like it? This is our team logo for the upcoming softball season here at Raytheon. I say upcoming because we are still waiting to step foot on the field. League play was suppose to begin the last week of April but a new field was put in and, with the dry weather this spring, they are still waiting for the grass to take root in the outfield. Right now, they have the season starting the week of the 22nd but even that is in jeopardy. Our first game now won’t be until 30 May (the day after Memorial Day) so I guess it’s a wait-and-see approach. Hey, at least we have a cool logo, eh?

At least the Sox have been playing well as of late. After a tough stretch on the road to end last month, Boston returned to Fenway Park and took five-of-six last week, with wins against New York and Toronto, and a weekend sweep of Baltimore. This week starts off with the local nine on the road again, this time facing the Bronx Bombers at Yankee Stadium. Right now, both teams have their best starters lined up for the series: Josh Beckett and Randy Johnson tonight, Curt Schilling and Mike Mussina tomorrow, and Tim Wakefield and Shawn Chacón Thursday. The two teams also enter the series tied for first in the East and while some might say that it’s too early to worry about the standings, just point to last season when they finished tied at 95 wins apiece and New York won the tiebreaker on account that they had won one more game in the season series (10-9).

Categories: Jeff, Red Sox
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No reason to put this photo here other than we thought both Jakob and Lea looked cute and that you can see how much higher Jeff’s forehead seems these days.

Categories: Family, Jakob, Jeff, Lea
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Out of the blue, Jeff’s friend Dave Bradley called last night from Wisconsin where he and his beautiful bride Jenn have lived for… what? eight or nine years?  Well, the two of them just had a baby, James, in January, two days after Jeff’s own birthday, and they’ve been “heads down moving forward” in their new role as parents.  David remarked that, with some of the issues that James has had in his first couple of months, he can’t imagine what it must be like to be dealing with these issues when you have a toddler to watch after as well.  We say, give them a few years and they may just find out!

Of course, congratulations to them and we wish nothing but the best for what’s to come!

Categories: Family, Jeff
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So Monday afternoon, I get an email that has been forwarded to me by a friend of mine who owns another Red Sox fan site.  A request had come to him from a Utica (NY) radio news/sports station, WIBX 950, to break down the upcoming Red Sox season.  He wasn’t readily available to do it, so he told them to contact me about the opportunity.  Seeing this as an opportunity to talk Sox with some fellow sports nuts, I more than happily said: Yes!

Just before 6:10 this evening, I got the call from the director and host, Dave Richards, who put me on hold and then gave a nice intro before allowing me to step in, introduce myself, and start answering questions about the club.  It was great!  They asked me my thoughts on everything: the changes in the clubhouse, the different players, the race for the AL East title, who might be the X-factor this season, and many other subjects.  Unbelieveably, we talked for just over a half-hour with no commercial breaks; whether that was intended or not, I don’t know but, per usual, I had plenty to say!  Of course, they made sure to plug my site about a dozen times or so, so I can only hope that it draws a few more visitors to FenwayFanatics.com!

Afterwards, I asked whether they might have a copy of the segment but, unfortunately, they don’t tape it unless it’s requested (my fault).  However, I do have witness to the event: my sister-in-law, Sheila, and her three kids, Ryan, Cody, and Heather, all listened to the broadcast down the road apiece in Fort Plain.  Sheila called immediately after it ended and told us that it sounded great; just for fun, she also told me that I have the face for radio. (heh!)

I also got a nice email afterwards from Dave who thanked me a thousand times over for helping upstate New York prepare from another Red Sox season (heh!).  He also told me that he might give me a call later in the season and have me talk about the team again, so perhaps my fame won’t be fleeting?  I guess we’ll see; for now, I’ll enjoy the moment.

Categories: Jeff, Red Sox
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If you see Jeff today, first make sure to tell him that the comb-over looks great. Then smile and wish him a Happy Birthday! For those of you curious to know how old he is, just look up the number that Derek Lowe wore when he was with the Red Sox.

Categories: Jeff
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This photos is Jeff with his best friend from college, Ben Haas, who also happened to be the best man at our wedding. This was taken at the first game of the World Series in 2004, which Boston won, 11-9.

Ben is heading to NYC at the end of the year to start a new job. We got to spend the afternoon today with him watching the Pats game together as we have done so for the past four or five years. Though he appeared subdued about the whole affair, we can tell that he is very excited to be heading there. Plus, it will put him closer to his girlfriend, Alex, who lives in Brooklyn and whom we haven’t met yet, though we have seen pictures and she is cute! Ben was also nice enough to give us a box of delicious cannolis, which Tiffany can’t eat because of Lea’s allergies but nevertheless were enjoyed by Jakob and Jeff.

We wish him all the best in his new endeavor!

Categories: Family, Jeff
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One of our dear friends offered to watch the two kids this evening while we went and saw King Kong at the local cinema. As I have seen the original movie from 1933, Peter Jackson (same guy who directed the Rings trilogy) did a nice job staying somewhat true to the original, with some obvious nods here and there. However, he also added his own touch and made it his own (a $180 million budget helped with that!).

Actually, the only negative comment I had was that the camera movement was a little jerky at some points and, in a few instances, I started getting nauseous. I don’t know where that came from but it was a rather unpleasant feeling. It was like when I crew in the summer on our friend’s boat and I stay below deck for too long. Tiffany even got a little woozy near the end when the camera is panning around the cityscape.

In either case, go see it if you have the chance but don’t bring your little kids because there are some gruesome parts (we won’t go into detail). We wouldn’t say that it rises to the same level as the trilogy but a great job nonetheless.

Categories: Jeff, Tiffany
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