Some More Links

Another somewhat fresh batch of links…today it’s G38, the year in photos part one, Jeddy Ballgame, the most annoying Christmas song ever and yes the world really is going to hell.

Disclaimer – this was hastily put together.

Curt Schilling is setting himself up quite nicely to be the next Jerry Remy/Tommy/Lyndon Byers-type guy in Boston. Someone who played here, then joined the media in some capacity and has become as much of a Boston homer as the rest of us. Of course Schilling would probably fall closer to Tommy then any of the other guys because they both did a lot more winning. Schilling can be annoying sometimes but all in all I think he’s been great for Boston and the Red Sox. He’s one of the most unique athletes when it comes to the media and now that he’s moved 38 Pitches to weei.com I don’t think it’s too far fetched to think he could become a regular fixture on the radio if this was his final season in the big leagues.

His recent post on 38 Pitches speaks to this. He basically writes everything you hope to believe about the players you follow as a fan. He talks about how much he loved playing here and how much he treasured the experience of playing in Boston and helping change Red Sox fans from lovable losers to the hated nation we are today. He’s right people hate the Sox and their fans because they’ve been winning and for the most part people in Massachusetts are a-holes to strangers. I don’t think we’re quite on the level of Philly fans but I wouldn’t want to be a fan of a visiting team coming here. I’m not bragging about that, I’m just saying it happens.

Back to Schill, his post about Boston being the best is partially a call to Mark Teixeira saying that he should sign with the Sox for the ability to play here, unless another team blows him away with a way bigger offer. It also seems to be a little bit of a ploy to try and entice the team into bringing him back for another season, which really wouldn’t surprise me at all if they brought him back and let him sit out until June or July.

Here are a couple excerpts that I particularly enjoyed and of course the link.

On what the Red Sox season means to fans.

“Think Packer football, Cowboy football, Yankee baseball, Penn State football, ‘Bama football, all rolled into one.”

“to suit up in this uniform, take the field as a member of this team and play for these fans, there’s nothing like it in my 23 years of professional baseball to compare it to. Nothing.”

I know people think he’s a windbag, and he kind of is, I will always owe him my gratitude for October 2004.

And I always loved the fact that he had that Ford commercial where he said he was hitch hiking and when asked where he was going he responded with – “Boston, I’ve got an 86 year curse to break”- and then he actually fulfilled that…awesome.
(38 Pitches)

The year in photos, and they are some gnarly ones at that. My favorites – the first picture which I thought was some Michael Bay CGI shit, the one of the guy flying the fixed wing jet pack and the dude from Conan the Barbarian with the skull and flaming horns on his head…CRUM!
(Boston.com)

Wait so the Braves signed Rafael Furcal right? No they didn’t, he’s staying with the Dodgers now. What is going on here? Can the Red Sox just sign Teixeira already!
(Yahoo!)

Interesting story about Jed Lowrie from WEEI, I don’t think many people realized how bad Lowrie was hurt at the end of the year, which killed his performance from the left side of the plate. On the bright side he proved to be a solid fielder, he doesn’t get to every ball but he makes plays on the balls that he gets to and prior to the injury he showed that he can hit from both sides of the plate, especially right handed. Now he’s in AZ working out with Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury to get ready for 2009. I’m not going to lie I’m pretty excited about those three guys going into the season. On a side note the last Red Sox middle infielder to play the end of the season with an injured wrist won the MVP the next year…yep, that’d be Pedroia.
(WEEI.com)

I’m all for the whole Christmas spirit thing and ugly sweater parties and whatnot but so help me God if I hear this Mariah Carey song one more time. But at least Nick Cannon is hilarious or so i'm told.
(YouTube)

Maybe the most depressing thing I’ve ever heard regarding the current state of the United States

This is a true story…the following events happened during the final round of Stump Trivia the other night.

The top three highest selling People magazines featured cover stories on 9/11, the death of JFK Jr. and Princess Diana’s death. Now based on that information if I asked you what cover story sold the fourth most mags, this happened in 2008, what would you say?

Has to be the election of Barack Obama right? Whichever side of the fence you’re on we all have to agree that for better or worse, love him or hate him his election in November is an historic and culturally significant moment. And if 9/11, JFK Jr. and Princess Di are 1-3 Obama has to be fourth. It can’t be the time Britney Spears shaved her head or something retarded like that right?

Nope you’re wrong too. It was the birth of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s twins. Good, way to go America. Let’s recap – 9/11, JFK Jr. and Princess Di, all major moments in history worthy of you clearing the shelves of the corner news for a People magazine. First black president, not so much…hold on BRAD PITT AND ANGELINA JOLIE WENT TO FRANCE AND HAD A PAIR OF FETUSES…JESUS CHRIST MONKEY BALLS!

I know its People magazine, which in and of itself represents the downfall of western civilization but still, come on humanity.
(Huffington Post)