Red Sox weekly recap (Week 8)

The Boston Red Sox avoided a sweep against the New York Mets in interleague play, split a four-game series with the Minnesota Twins, and are now trying to avoid a sweep to the Toronto Blue Jays.

So far in May the Sox are 14-14. If they win today they'll be a game over .500 for the month, but if they lose they'll finished a game below .500. And thanks to a nine game losing streak from the Jays, the New York Yankees are now first in the East.

Sunday May 24 - Saturday May 30

Week record: 3-3

Overall record: 28-22

AL East standing: T-2nd with Toronto, 1.5 games behind New York

Runs scored: 31

Opponents' runs scored: 31

Home runs: 7; Jason Varitek (2), Mike Lowell (1), Jeff Bailey (1), Jason Bay (1), J.D. Drew (1), Rocco Baldelli (1)

Games left: 112

Weeks left: 19

What is up with these random commentators?

I don't know about other Boston Red Sox fans, but I am kind of getting sick of these "guest" 

commentators with NESN's Don Orsillo.

I really hope Jerry Remy will be back soon. I understand this is some serious stuff (cancer 

surgery and all) and my thoughts and prayers are with him, but listening to the Sox games are almost unbearable now. 

Don Orsillo is legendary in the NESN broadcast booth and him and Remdawg have this crazy chemistry, but once you start mixing other people, the chemistry dies off and that's what's going on now.

Dennis Eckersley has done the best job by far, at least making it entertaining, but no offense Dave Roberts, you're not exactly the best color announcer. However I'd rather have either Eck or Roberts anytime than these "other guys."

These past two series have been ridiculous though out in Minnesota and now in Toronto. Eck and Roberts don't go out on the road so now NESN is bringing in these random announcers (I've never heard of) to team up with Orsillo and expect it to be somewhat decent and have a "Red Sox" feel.

The worst by far was Buck Martinez when Boston was down in Tampa the first series Remy was absent. But who is this guy in Toronto? I already forgot his name. Apparently he used to play with Remy, that's kind of interesting though.

I'm just wondering if other Red Sox fans are feeling me with this right now...

UPDATE: I got word from Sox & Dawgs that Dave Roberts have a scheduling conflict so he couldn't make the road trip. Darn you Roberts and your conflict!! Hahaha just kidding :)

Can Jays end their losing ways? Lets hope not.

Toronto who?

It appears that after the Boston Red Sox swept the then AL East first place Toronto Blue Jays a week ago, they have imploded.

The Blue Jays are 0-9 in their last nine games and were swept by the Sox, Atlanta Braves, and the last place Baltimore Orioles. 

Is the Canadian reign over? After being hyped up without facing the also dying Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto is not appearing to be a quality AL East contender anymore. However the Red Sox for some reason always seem to not do well up at the Rogers Centre.

Tonight it's knuckleballer Tim Wakefield facing Casey Janssen on the pitcher's mound.

Bad karmah for Lestah?

Forget about Jonathan Papelbon Boston Red Sox fans.

What is up with Jon Lester?

After a masterful 2008 season, the southpaw has given up at least five runs in six of his season total 10 outings.

His best performance was back on April 19 facing Baltimore, pitching seven innings deep, allowing only four hits, no runs, and nine strikeouts.

Last year he was the most consistent pitcher all year (this year the honor goes to Tim Wakefield so far). So seriously, what is the problem here?

Bad karma? I'm hoping that's it. I had a Boston Globe poster of Lester's no-no from May 19 of last year hanging on my wall in front of my desk at work and I took it down fearing it's been bad luck.

Let the countdown commence to his next start.

Globe still stands; 2 unions OK contracts

Two of The Boston Globe's unions agreed last night to the new contracts that will cut pay and benefits by $7 million in order to keep the 137-year-old newspaper running.

Of those two unions were Teamsters Local 1 and the Boston Newspaper Printing Pressmen's Union Local 3. 

Teamsters voted 107-95 to approve the contract while the Pressmen's Union passed with a "narrow vote" after an "angry meeting."

Here are the details in today's Globe.

Notre Dame football hero 'Rudy' tells students to keep on dreaming

I had the amazing opportunity to meet and speak with the legendary Daniel Eugene "Rudy" Ruettiger a month ago as he was a guest speak at Wilbraham and Monson Academy. If the name doesn't hit you right away then the movie, "Rudy," will. Any diehard Notre Dame football fan knows.

By AMANDA BRUNO

WILBRAHAM - Daniel Eugene Ruettiger, better known as "Rudy," didn't have the easy road. Standing at 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 165 pounds, this isn't the typical size of a defensive end in football.

Despite his small stature, Ruettiger has the heart of a champion. The words "give up" and "quit" aren't in his vocabulary. He was always used to being the underdog whether it was out on the football field or in the classroom.

However, Ruettiger is one of only two players in school history to be carried off the Notre Dame football field by his teammates after a game. (Marc Edwards is the other, after he led the Fighting Irish to an upset over the University of Southern California in 1995.)

Click here to read the full article.

Photo taken from Wilbraham and Monson Academy website.

Agawam star athlete Megan Gloster back home coaching

This obviously has nothing to do with the Red Sox, but here's a sports related story I wrote for The Springfield Republican that came out today:

By AMANDA BRUNO

AGAWAM - Megan L. Gloster never expected that she would be back coaching at her former high school, but in the end, everything kind of fell into place.

Gloster, a 2004 graduate of Agawam High School, lives and breathes sports every day. She was a tri-athlete in soccer, basketball, and lacrosse in high school and she continued that path at Eastern Connecticut State University as a member of the soccer and lacrosse programs.

Now the ECSU alumna is serving her first stint as the head coach of the Agawam High School girls junior varsity lacrosse team. She also assists during the varsity games.

Click here to read the full article.

Should we be a bit worried about Papelbon?

After a pretty good outing by Brad Penny and more dominance dished out by the bullpen, the Boston Red Sox held on to beat the Minnesota Twins, 6-5, in game 1 of the four game series.

Before the ninth inning, it was 6-3 Red Sox, with Penny giving up all of the runs. Ramon Ramirez and Hideki Okajima each did not allow a run nor a hit. 

Well Don Orsillo pointed that out and lode and behold, the leadoff batter gets a hit off of Jonathan Papelbon. Three batters later, Joe Mauer pinch hits and blasts one out of the dome, which made that Jeff Bailey home run a bigger deal.

This is the second game that Paps has given up a home run, but luckily it didn't hurt this time.

Is this a cause for concern? I mean, come on, it's Jonathan Papelbon, Mr. "Cinco Ocho," lights out, Shippin up to Boston, guy.

Maybe he needs to stop thinking he can blow fastballs by everyone. And he also needs to cool it down a little bit, flipping out against the Mets with that throw to second base? Come on now.

Lets just hope that this isn't a big deal right now.

Happy Memorial Day the Red Sox way

Happy Memorial Day 

from Batter-up with Bruno!!!

We'll be back to normal with regular postings this week.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 7)

Ouch. 

The first time that instant replay had to be used at Fenway this season, the Boston Red Sox get screwed big time. After a lead off walk and then striking out the next two batters, Jonathan Papelbon gave up a two-run home run (his second HR on the season), which eventually led to his first blown save and loss of the season.

That was a real killer especially after a huge sweepage over the first place Toronto Blue Jays. Because of the last two games, the Sox get a C grade for this week. One highlight however, David Ortiz going deep for the first time.

Sunday May 17 - Saturday May 23

Week record: 3-3

Overall record: 25-18

AL East standing: 2nd, 0.5 game behind Toronto

Runs scored: 22

Opponents' runs scored: 16

Home runs: 8; Jason Varitek (3), Jason Bay (2), J.D. Drew (1), Mike Lowell (1), David Ortiz (1)

Games left: 119

Weeks left: 20

Boston goes for the major sweepage tonight

All right, so the Boston Red Sox are finding its groove back.

The talk of today is David Ortiz who (sigh of relief) jacked his first home run of the season in front of the Fenway Faithful. Good time to do it Papi.

Kevin Youkilis returned to the lineup in style going 3 for 5 as if he wasn't on the 15-day disabled list.

The home run power came back as well with Jason Varitek blasting two out of the park (7 on the season) along with Jason Bay (12) and Mike Lowell (7). 

Tonight is a huge start for Jon Lester who is trying to gain back his 2008 dominance. Lets see if the lefty can thrive at home and give the Sox the sweep to put them a half game back of Toronto.

How diehard are you? Topic: Legendariness

Oh, and if you think you can come up with a better story, bring it!!! There will be multiple "Legendary" categories.

Sox host Jays for big 3 game bid

After a month and a half of play, the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays are finally squaring off against each other in a battle of the first and second place contenders.

The Jays have been cruising and hold a steady 3.5 games lead over the Sox. For the last three and so weeks, Boston was behind by 2.0 games, but after the disappointing series in Seattle, Toronto got some insurance thanks to the Sox struggles and its consistency. 

The Sox normally have a tough time playing the Jays, but home field advantage for this three-game set is huge. Boston will be happy to return to Fenway after going 2-4 out west. 

Toronto enters with a four-game win and is 7-3 in its last 10 games. They are 11-8 on the road this season.

Lets see if Boston can turn it around and at least take two out of three games.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 6)

With David Ortiz finally pulled out from the lineup its time to ponder what's going to happen with him. The Boston Red Sox have gone 1-1 with Papi pulled. 

It was kind of a down week with the offensive power supply of the Sox's bats (with the exception of last night) and there's clearly something up with Jon Lester who continues to struggle even against weaker teams like the Seattle Mariners. Josh Beckett earned some redemption last night.

Sunday May 10 - Saturday May 16

Week record: 3-3

Overall record: 22-15

AL East standing: 2nd, 2.0 games behind Toronto

Runs scored: 25*

Opponents' runs scored: 27

Home runs: 4; Jason Bay (2), Jason Varitek (1), Jeff Bailey (1)

Games left: 132

Weeks left: 21

*Random note I saw while glancing at the calendar...Boston scored four runs in all of its games except for last night (5-3 W).

Shutout: Congrats to the Curry College class of 2009!!!

Is this the end for Ortiz?

Even with David Ortiz out of the lineup last night, the Boston Red Sox still lost to the 17-19 Seattle Mariners after Jon Lester died off in the bottom of the 5th inning.

Ortiz is out of the lineup again, with Rocco Baldelli taking the DH role.

You have to wonder if this could be the end of an era in Boston. Papi isn't young anymore (34), which means his numbers aren't likely to reach the same high as they once were, but that's a given.

Jason Bay has been amazing picking up the slack of Ortiz's bat, which makes Theo Epstein look like a freak of nature genius man. 

Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez traded; 2004 World Series champions, Jason Bay. Simple as that.

The question is will Theo search for another bat? Who is out there and who will the Sox have to use as trade bait?

Javier Lopez? Hunter Jones? Daniel Bard? Lars Anderson (you'd hope not)?

I don't believe Baldelli is the permanent solution to the DH role, but has something to be done to give this ball club some depth back. 

Fun Friday: David Ortiz rocking a Yankees cap

Poor David Ortiz...this will ease the pain off Sox fans a little bit. I thought this was pretty funny. I thought Wally was going to have a heart attack.

Bruins done, Canes kill 'em

Photo by Barry Chin, Globe Staff

It was a good run, but the Carolina Hurricanes are the ones who are advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

After killing off the New Jersey Devils in the quarterfinal, the Canes killed off the top seeded Boston Bruins in the east to advance to the big east dance against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It's one step at a time apparently for hockey in Beantown (quarter 2008, semi 2009, final + beyond 2010?).

Thanks for a great season Bruins, we were definitely spoiled.

Take Ortiz out of the 3rd slot!!

Enough is enough Terry Francona.

Red Sox Nation is screaming its head off right now and now you need to be the bigger man and do the right thing so the entire team doesn't suffer anymore.

The Sox lost a heart breaker this afternoon against the Los Angeles Angels, which took 12 innings to play with Manny Delcarmen being dealt the loss. 

Boston left 34 runners on base with David Ortiz leading the way leaving 12 men on while going 0-for-7 in the third slot.

Alright Francona, it's time to make the move. Do it for the team! Put Ortiz either 7th, 8th, or not in at all because the Sox can't afford these losses anymore. Send him down to Pawtucket, make him work on his swing, do adjustments, DO SOMETHING because something has to be done, seriously!

Name that sportswriter: who is this???

This is driving me insane. The first reporter who asks Jason Bay a question...does anyone recognize his voice? Who is it?

Scot Shields: Dude, you suck.

I found this as part of a three-page comic strip on Halo's Heaven. I laughed so hard when I saw this (on the left) only because this is one of my famous phrases of all time courtesy of when I worked at The Boston Globe.

Once it slips, it slips about a million more times.

Unfortunately the rest of the strip completely bashes, once again, the Boston Red Sox. Some slams of Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz are in there. 

It's just jealous Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim fans being weak.

Shiny new buttons to click on

Attention loyal readers: You will now notice at the footer of all of my posts that there are two brand new shiny buttons you can click on.

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If you feel that my post is worthy of being "hyped" or "barked up" please click on the buttons to tell others that this post is worth reading!

Thank you for continuing to make this site grow and become noticed!

Since joining Ball Hype my blog went from being ranked 1899 to 821 in a matter of three weeks.

Angels bullpen rocks? Really?

It looks like Halo's Heaven just jinxed its own bullpen last night.

In a blog post from yesterday entitled, "Angels Aware: Boston Red Sox in Anaheim" that I decided to breakdown piece by piece (see below post), the blogger compared the Los Angeles Angels bullpen to the Red Sox's pen.

From Halo's Heaven:

BULLPENS: They have a good one and we have a good one that doesn't do the sphincter shuffle after a strikeout, so there you have it, we rock and with class!

Don't you mean that you got rocked? 

And the best part is Halo's Heaven doesn't even have its facts straight. 

From the Orange County Register:

There was bad news at Angel Stadium Tuesday night and guess who the culprit was?

(Sarcastic surprise): the bullpen.

Angels relievers picked up their ninth loss this season, worst in the majors by a team other than the Washington Nationals, this time spoiling a brilliant performance by Jered Weaver and a dramatic defensive play.

Wow, other than the Washington Nationals, the worst team in Major League Baseball (not including Ryan Zimmerman's 30 game hitting streak) the Angels have the worst bullpen.

Congratulations, you guys (Angels) have the worst bullpen in the American League.

Let the blog bash begin west coast style

So, it appears that Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim fans and sports bloggers, and even newspaper reporters, have nothing better else to do, but to bash a team that has owned them in the playoffs since 2003.

With the Boston Red Sox second trip to the earthquake, mudslide, and fire state, there is some hating and bashing going on and cries of not being able to boo Josh Beckett this go around.

Heck, the Orange County Register writers are so confident, they already created a Top 10 List of why the Angels will be World Series Champions.

That's amazing OC Register.

But probably the best of the best (a.k.a. most ridiculous) of this bashing can be found on Halo's Heaven where this blogger shows his true baseball wits on the Sox.

Halo's Heaven: Jacoby Ellsbury is a bust.

Batter-up with Bruno's response: Wow a player that stole 50 bases last year and drew 41 walks, not to mention will eventually win a Gold Glove is a bust? Ellsbury is currently batting .292 and already has 15 steals. 

Halo's Heaven: Nick Green is not the pitcher we waived who ended up a Brewer, he is a weak excuse for a shortstop.

Batter-up with Bruno's response: I think you got your shortstops crossed. Green's stat line - .289 BA, 1 HR, 12 RBI. I don't believe that's a poor excuse for a shortstop. 

Halo's Heaven: BULLPENS: They have a good one and we have a good one that doesn't do the sphincter shuffle after a strikeout, so there you have it, we rock and with class!

Batter-up with Bruno's response:  OK the "sphincter shuffle" as you called it...alright Papelbon, alright, but Manny Delcarmen, Ramon Ramirez, Daniel Bard, Hunter Jones, Hideki Okajima, Takashi Saito???

Halo's Heaven: FANS: Only Angel fans are Angel fans. Idiot trendoid fratboys and couch-potato ESPN conformists comprise a majority of Red Sox Nation.

Batter-up with Bruno's response: Idiot trendoid (that's not even a word according to spell check) fratboys? Couch-potatos? And ESPN conformists are the majority of The Nation? You're just jealous your team can't beat the Sox is the playoffs with your lame thunder sticks; 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008.

Looks like Boston actually has a reason to make this a "playoff series." 

East(Coast) side to the West(Coast) side

Ah yes, the beloved west coast trips.

Every Boston Red Sox fan's favorite when the game start time is at 10:00 p.m. the earliest and most of the time it's not over until at least 1:00 a.m. during the week.

It's absolute torture. 

And geez if the game goes into extra innings!? Forget about it. Unless it's the playoffs, it's not worth staying up and finding yourself drooling on top of your computer at work the next morning.

The one thing to celebrate is that this is the last west coast trip of the year. 

YAY!!!

The Sox will take on the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim) for a three-game set, followed by the Seattle Mariners for the closing three games before heading back to Fenway with an off day in between to meet the (current first place) Toronto Blue Jays.

Now that will be an interesting series and I am predicting it now, that's what every single newspaper/sports blog/sports radio show will be talking about come Monday, May 18 and Tuesday, May 19 before the game starts. 

I bet you $1,000.

How diehard are you? Topic: wardrobe (T-shirt edition)

FYI: I forgot to mention Kevin Youkilis in there. Not sure why I skipped over him.

"How diehard are you" returns this week

If you were looking for last week's "How diehard are you?" many apologies. I wasn't able to get a chance to tape a segment so I will make it up this week with a fresh topic. 

Sorry for any disappointments.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 5)

Highlights have to include the all-mighty Jason Raymond Bay who bombed four home runs and drove in 12 runs (Manny who?). Unfortunately it was really an up and down week.

The Boston Red Sox swept the quick two-game series in New York, split against the Indians, and thanks to the pesky Tampa Bay Rays, Boston is fighting to win this three-game series at Fenway.

Sunday May 3 - Saturday May 9

Week record: 4-3

Overall record: 19-12

AL East standing: 2nd, 1.0 game behind Toronto

Runs scored: 43

Opponents' runs scored: 41

Home runs: 9; Jason Bay (4), Kevin Youkilis (1), Mike Lowell (1), Rocco Baldelli (1), Julio Lugo (1)

Games left: 131

Weeks left: 21

*HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!*

FOX hates the Boston Red Sox

I am convinced.

It was made official a long time ago, but I am convinced that FOX just hates the Boston Red Sox. 

The remarks they say, the uncalled facts and stats they say, and every other word or run on sentence is a jinx towards the team so they lose.

I'm not kidding.

That fifth inning interview with former great Carlton Fisk? How coincidental that the Tampa Bay Rays ended up scoring six times in that inning? Of course it didn't help that Julio Lugo couldn't field the ball, but really?

Apparently to FOX Jason Bay has "done badly." 

Are you serious right now? 

And please learn how to pronounce players' names correctly Tim McCarver. Akinori Iwamura, NOT Akinori Akamura. What?! It's not like it's his first year in the big leagues. 

Congrats FOX, you will continue to go down as the worst announcers in baseball announcing history.

What if Papi's juicing...?

I was listening to the Dale and Holley Show today on WEEI and an interesting topic came up with connection of Manny Ramirez and him taking banned substances. 

David Ortiz, you know, Manny's best friend when he was on the Boston Red Sox?

David Ortiz who has not hit a home run yet this season and is clearly not the same player from two years ago (we're not going to count last year). 

Sox fans can keep blaming the wrist injury, but lets wake up and smell the coffee. It's already being speculated that because Manny was supping up, that his buddy Papi was well aware and doing it with him.

Does it make sense? You'd think that Ortiz would be the last guy on the planet to do such a thing, but you'd also think that Manny would be the last guy on the planet to do such a thing...such a stupid thing. 

But honestly, I wouldn't be surprised. Anything is possible now. And with Ortiz's numbers there could be some questions marks.

Bruins, Celtics, Red Sox, aaahhh!!!

For the second time this week, the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, and Boston Red Sox are all playing on the same night.

The Bruins are down 2-1 in the series vs. the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Celtics are deadlocked at one game apiece with the Orlando Magic.

And the Red Sox host their latest arch enemies, the Tampa Bay Rays, which for some reason, they cannot beat?

Of the three games, which is the most important?

Bruins?

Celtics?

Red Sox?

As a DirecTV customer, I can watch the Sox game, click on my handy dandy red button on the remote control and get access to score guide, so I can see the scores of the Bruins and Celtics games. Or vice versa. Instead of going channel flipping crazy I can do the score guide.

And luckily unlike some Bruins fans out there, I get Versus and also NESNplus so no worries over here.

Me being the diehard Sox fan, but am also pumped that the Bruins have a shot, I'm thinking that the B's are more important tonight.

Who agrees?

Why Manny?!?! Seriously, why???

That's the only question I have...it's why?

Seriously Manny Ramirez, why did YOU have to take performance enhancing drugs? 

Why did YOU decide to take them when Major League Baseball started doing mandatory testing in 2003?

Why did YOU think that YOU could get away with it. 

And honestly, did YOU really need them? Numbers don't show that you really did need them.

There's an increase in the number of home runs from 1997 to 1998 when he was on the Cleveland Indians. In 1997 Manny hit 26 homers, had 40 doubles, and 88 RBI in 150 games. In 1998 Manny hit 45 bombs, had 35 doubles, and 145 RBI also in 150 games.

From 1998 his numbers have been steady with the exception of 2002 when he "only" hit 33 homers with the Boston Red Sox. But in 2007 Ramirez had 20 home runs, but in 133 due to an injury.

But now because of all of this, A-Rod is off of the hot seat and A-Rod hasn't been suspended for 50 games, he just got injured that's all. 

To Manny: Dude, YOU SUCK!!!

Globe Sports is No. 1; website wins sports, arts awards

And to think, the company could have shutdown just days ago.

The Boston Globe's Tony Massarotti and Boston.com's Things To Do and Arts and Entertainment sections won nationwide online journalism awards on Tuesday, May 5 (happy Cinco de Mayo!).

Massarotti picked up the award for his blog, Mazz. 

Boston.com has also been nominated for five of the Editor & Publisher/Mediaweek (EPpys), which is the most by any newspaper website (Go Glooooobe!).

And this is why The Boston Globe has the best sports section in the country.

Hey Boston Herald; Did you guys win any awards?

Globe and Guild finally reach a deal

It's almost official...it looks like The Boston Globe will live on after this nightmarish month, let only past five days.

Globe proposes 23% paycut

From boston.com:

Boston Globe management and the Boston Newspaper Guild resumed negotiations this evening so far apart that the company has proposed a "last, best offer" that would slash wages of its members by about 23 percent to gain the $10 million in concessions sought from the union, according to union and management representatives with knowledge of the negotiations.

More to come as we get word.

Red Sox vs. Yankees: Round 5 on Cinco de Mayo

What else will happen next during these memorable Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees games?

Lets see, after almost a two and a half hour rain delay and fans being told that the game was called and couldn't return inside the new Yankees Stadium, the Sox hung on and won 6-4 with the game ending at 1:10 a.m.

Within the same night, Joba Chamberlain's mom was arrested with suspicions of selling meth (btw that mugshot is pretty creepy; she's got Joba's eyes for sure).

So tonight we got Josh Beckett vs. Chamberlain (oh man, if only it were at Fenway Park instead of the new Yankees Stadium), but with the looks of this weather watch out...we might have another two and a half hour rain delay! Aaaahhh!

Globe/Guild resume talks at 5 p.m.

An hour ago, The Boston Globe and Boston Newspaper Guild resumed talks to try and come to some kind of agreement of where the cut spending in order to keep the Globe running.

Six of the seven unions have come to terms of expense cuts. The only one remaining is the largest union of them all.

We'll try to keep you posted with any further developments. 

Guild's offer that Globe rejected

Check out the proposed offer that the Guild put on the table, but was rejected by the Globe.

From boston.com:

1. Raise early retirement age from 52 to 55 ($1 million in savings)
2. Reduce pension accrual from 1.8 to 1.6 ($1 million in savings
3. Eliminate 401 (a) $450,000
4. 1.3 percent furlough for all employees ($659,750)
5. 50 percent reduction to shift contributions to health fund $310,000
6. Wage cut for non-tier II employees (including boston.com) - 3.5 percent ($1.378 million)
7. Wage Cut for Tier II employees - 1 percent ($36,580 in savings)
8. Elimination of co-op and summer intern positions ($452,563)
9. Elimination of active employee life insurance FT $70,000
10. Elimination of part time life insurance ($2,250)
11. Elimination of retiree death benefit ($52,000)
12. Elimination of tuition reimbursement ($23,425)
13. Elimination of Eye Care Program $19,327
14. Elimination of P/T sick/birthday holiday ($165,621)
15. elimination of MLK Day/Columbus Day holidays ($331,242)
16. Increase to 40 hour work week ($2.507 million)
17. Vacation accrual changes ($250,00)
18. elimination of retiree healthacre 65+ ($995,400)
19. Elimination of new quid ($200,00)
20. Elimination of messenger quid ($100,000)

The final tally is a little over $10 million. 

No. 8 really hits home.

Red Sox vs. Yankees: The rivalry continues

Alright, lets take a quick break from these Globe talks...

So the Boston Red Sox are playing in the new Yankees Stadium tonight with its launch pad out in right field.

The Bronx Bombers are looking for revenge from its sweep just a little over a week ago at Fenway Park.

This is a brief two-game series so it's anyone game, but the Sox are definitely happy to be out of Tampa Bay.

Tonight it'll be Jon Jester vs. Phil Hughes. I could have sworn it was suppose to be Joba Chamberlain pitching in game 1 of the series though? 

Hhhmmm interesting.

Closing The Boston Globe WOULD be a BIG DEAL

At this hour, we are uncertain as to exactly what is going on with The Boston Globe, Boston Newspaper Guild, and New York Times, but I want to take this time to say some things as to why closing The Boston Globe would be a big deal.

First off to all of you Globe haters: You're actually rooting for hundreds, thousands, of people to LOSE THEIR JOBS?! Are you really that heartless? That's really amazing, cheering and praising for people to be out of work. That really shows your class. 

In this failing economy the last thing we need is for more people to be out of work and standing in the unemployment lines.

Face it you NEED the Globe, because IF it's gone, you won't have anything to complain about. You won't have anything to hate or cry about anymore, and it will drive you INSANE. 

It's like the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry. 

To The Boston Herald (Howie Carr): You're going to be next. You think the Herald's safe? The numbers in The Boston Phoenix' article last week proves that the Herald is worse off with the circulation numbers. And you guys apparently only have 10 news reporters? 

Do you really think all of the Globe readers will end up buying the Herald? I don't think so.

To the state of Massachusetts: We would lose the heart and soul of Boston and we would become another state to lose its daily newspaper. IF the Globe falls, that means any newspaper can fall next. And IF the Globe falls, what about boston.com? What's the fate of them?

So as of right now we still don't know, once we do know, I'll let you know. This is NOT over.

Keeping you posted folks.

Rumors, frustrations, what is going on with the Boston Globe!?

Ok so this is what we got as far as what's the deal with The Boston Globe.

Boston.com is reporting that that the Globe Pressmen have reached a deal and the Guild is taking a break from talks. 

Here's a snippet of that article, which was updated at 10:03 a.m.

By David Abel and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

WEYMOUTH – The Boston Globe pressmen’s union said this morning it reached a tentative agreement with the New York Times Co., but representatives from the newspaper’s largest union have taken a break from bargaining after the company rejected its latest offer, which included $10 million in cuts to salaries and benefits. 

The Boston Herald's Jessica Heslam has been up for 24 hours live blogging the talks. Her latest update came at 9:23 a.m., which reads:

Union leaders and company representatives are clearing out of the Sacred Heart Church after a long, tireless weekend of negotiations.

But it’s not over yet. The Boston Newspaper Guild, the Globe’s largest union, plans to resume talks at some point, unlikely today.

But The Washington Post has a whole different story. They are reporting that The New York Times have filed a notice that it will close The Boston Globe. This was reported in today's paper.

The New York Times Co. said last night that it is notifying federal authorities of its plans to shut down the Boston Globe, raising the possibility that New England's most storied newspaper could cease to exist within weeks.

So what in the world is going on? Who is right? Who is wrong? Who is making up false presumptions? I really feel bad for all of the Globe employees right now. How incredibility frustrating is this?

Keeping you posted folks.

Globe negotiations continue; some agreements reached

I woke up this morning and heard on the radio that an agreement had been reached with the mailers union as they came up with $5 million in concessions.

As I am writing this deals are being discussed between the pressmen's union and Boston Newspaper Guild.

Here's the latest from The Boston Globe.

Here's what the Boston Herald is reporting. 

Globe clock is ticking; WARN notice is threatened

From reports from boston.com and the Boston Herald:

Boston Globe management has issued an ultimatum to its four major unions: agree to major financial and contract concessions, including the abolition of lifetime job guarantees for some workers, or its owners, the New York Times Co., would file a plant closing notice with the state.

- Boston.com

The Boston Globe is warning its unions that is it prepared to file a federally-mandated notice tomorrow that it plans to shut down the Globe unless the two sides reach an agreement by midnight.

Management said tonight that it is prepared to file a WARN notice. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act is a federal labor law that requires most employers with more than 100 employees to give 60 days’ notice of plant closings and mass layoffs. - Boston Herald website

It's 11:34 p.m. right now...

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 4)

The Boston Red Sox 11-game win streak came to an end on Tuesday against the Cleveland Indians thanks to multiple errors in the game (cough Julio Lugo cough) and ever since, the Sox haven't been quite themselves.

Tampa Bay thrashed them Thursday night 13-0, and have outscored Boston 25-12 in the first three games of this four-game series at Tropicana Field. 

Sunday April 26 - Saturday May 2

Week record: 4-3

Overall record: 15-9

AL East standing: 2nd, 1.0 game behind Toronto

Runs scored: 33

Opponents' runs scored: 41

Home runs: 3; Jason Bay (1), Jonathan Van Every (1), Mike Lowell (1)

Games left: 138

Weeks left: 22

Celtics vs. Sox; live blog on boston.com

Well I think this one is a no brainer if you're both a Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics fan.

Isn't it fun (knocking on wood) having three teams playing at the same time with two of them in the playoffs?

Note worthiness: Boston.com is doing a live Celtics blog. 

Lets see if the Green can advance to the Eastern Conference Semis. 

Globe deadline extended; Remdawg to miss rest of road trip

This morning I got the "good news" that The Boston Globe will have two more days to work a miracle of not shutting down.

From today's Globe:

"Because there has been progress on reaching needed cost savings, The Boston Globe will extend the deadline for reaching complete agreements with its unions until midnight Sunday May 3," Globe spokesman Robert Powers said in a statement.

So this is being dragged out even more. 

UPDATE from The Boston Herald's website:

The Boston Globe’s largest union emerged from marathon talks early this morning declaring that it had made concessions to avert a shutdown of the newspaper and was working toward a new deadline Sunday in talks with theNew York Times [NYT] Co.

“We have met their needs. The Globe is not shutting down,” said Boston Newspaper Guild President Dan Totten after ending talks for the night around 1 a.m.

In other news: 

NESN color announcer Jerry Remy will miss the remainder of the Boston Red Sox road trip due to an illness, which are the same symptoms that kept him from commentating the Sox spring training games. 

Tampa Bay tops Sox again; Buck Martinez a jinx

Did the Boston Red Sox even have an 11-game winning streak?

Because the Tampa Bay Rays have completely sucked the life out of the Sox red hot offense, which is now a mere memory.

Sinker baller Justin Masterson got his first loss of the season, as he allowed six runs on six hits (two were home runs; one a grand slam), and three walks as the Red Sox lost their second straight game to the Rays.

Times at Tropicana Field have certainly changed.

And yeah Buck Martinez...I am convinced he is a jinx.

Unfortunately for the last two nights on NESN, myself and thousands of other Sox fans had to put up with his commenting with Don Orsillo because Jerry Remy has been feeling under the weather.

I could not stand Martinez during those dreadful TBS broadcasts during the postseason last year and in 2007 and I can't stand him now. He probably has one of the most annoying voices in commentating history. Just awful.

Remy, please get well soon!!

Red Sox vs. Bruins; What to watch tonight

What will you be watching tonight?

On one hand we got The Boston Red Sox down in Tampa Bay looking to even things up with a W. Justin Masterson will be on the mound facing Andy Sonnanstine.

But on the other hand you have the Boston Bruins at the TD Garden facing the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in the playoffs. The Bruins have been eagerly waiting after sweeping the Montreal Canadiens.

Hhhmmm. What to watch.

Globe union asks for extension

From today's Boston Globe:

By Keith O'Brien and Robert Gavin

"The Boston Globe's largest union last night called on The New York Times Co. to extend today's deadline for reaching agreement on millions of dollars in concessions after revealing that an accounting mistake by management has suddenly removed $4.5 million in possible givebacks from the table.

The error, which leaders of the Boston Newspaper Guild said was revealed to them late Wednesday night, complicates already difficult negotiations aimed at saving the Globe, which is projected to lose some $85 million this year."

Are you kidding me right now?

Sox shut out; avoid no hit bid

That Matt Garza, he sure is something.

And to have thought the Twins just traded him away not even knowing what he could potentially become.

Garza took a no-hitter into the 7th inning before Jacoby Ellsbury ran out a grounder to third base to break up his no-hit bid and the Tampa Bay Rays blanked the Boston Red Sox 13-0 at the Trop last night.

Garza pitched for 7 2/3 innings giving up the one hit, no runs, and had 10 strikeouts.

Josh Beckett was not on his game whatsoever allowing seven runs, 10 hits, and three walks in 4 2/3 innings pitched.