Visitor's Views

It’s once again time to inject some opposing viewpoints into this blog. This is a slightly unique case. Not only are the Seattle Mariners visiting Fenway this evening, but the author of the fine Mariners blog Emerald City Diamond Gems is as well. What better person, then, to offer true visitor’s views? I asked him the same questions I asked all my visiting fans. I wonder how the answers compare. Here’s what he had to say:

When did you start blogging?I just started the blog back in late February, early March after reading many blogs for a long time. I decided to give myself a try at it.

What is the theme/goal of your blog?It is mostly Seattle Mariner based, but at times I will venture off to things that catch my interest. I hope to make friends and trade partners with fellow collectors.

Which member/group of the Mariners are you most confident in?
Really, right now there is not much of this team that I am very confident in. I would like to see how good Michael Saunders and Adam Moore can be, and September may bring us many kids with promising futures to watch. This team has fallen on hard times in the last 10 years.

Which member/group of the Mariners concerns you the most?
One of my biggest concerns is the bullpen. They cannot hold leads and can't close games out. The offense is not much better. Felix Hernandez should have a much better record this year, but you can't win when your team is consistently giving you no run support. I wish we would have been able to keep Cliff Lee, that guy is down right awesome.

Which member of the Red Sox scares you the most? (Yes, you have to pick one)One of the guys that scares me most is Dustin Pedroia. He knows how to do the little things that can help a team win. I also have a soft spot in my heart for David Ortiz. How can you not love Big Papi.

Which member of the Red Sox do you like the least?
I would have to say either John Lackey because we was an Angel before coming to Boston, or possibly Dice-K because he is so slow in keeping the game moving along.

What’s your prediction for the upcoming Red Sox/Mariners series?
I think the Sox will take two of three, possibly a sweep. I really hope the Mariners can win the first game on Monday, since my family will be at that game in Fenway for my son's birthday present.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say the number “36”?
The first thing I think of is Gaylord Perry pitching for the M's and getting his 300th win in the Kingdome. I had just became a Mariners fan in 1981, and that was the first real big thing of fame the Mariners had had in their brief history.

I hope these questions offer some insight into the Visitor’s Section. Thanks again to Emerald City Diamond Gems for helping me out. I wish the Mariners luck the rest of the season.

Especially against Tampa.

Visitor's Views

It’s once again time to inject some opposing viewpoints into this blog. Since the Toronto Blue Jays will be visiting Friendly Fenway tonight, I contacted The Blue Jay Hunter. I asked him to answer a few questions for me since he writes a great Blue Jays blog. He, thankfully, agreed. I asked him the same questions I asked all my visiting fans. I wonder how the answers compare. Here’s what he had to say:

When did you start blogging?
I started blogging on August 9th, 2007. My very first entry was inspired by a brawl that almost broke out after tensions boiled over between the Blue Jays and the Yankees. Surprise surprise, it was started by Alex Rodriguez.


What is the theme/goal of your blog?

The overall goal of my blog is simply to entertain folks. While I do post some serious articles from time to time, I try not to take things too seriously. After all, the baseball season is very long and once in a while it's good to take a break from all the seriousness that comes with the MLB schedule.


Which member/group of the Blue Jays are you most confident in?

At this point, I'd say the group of players I'm most confident in is the Blue Jays starting rotation . They're all under 30 years old, controllable for many seasons, and have all shown they have what it takes to pitch successfully in the big leagues.

Which member/group of the Blue Jays concerns you the most?
I would say that Aaron Hill and Adam Lind have me worried the most. They both put up career seasons last year, but have struggled to find themselves this year. I don't know if I set expectations for 2010 way too high, but it seems like both have struggled to regain their form from last year.

Which member of the Red Sox scares you the most? (Yes, you have to pick one)
Two names come to mind: Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester. It seems like every time the Blue Jays face them (especially in Toronto), Buchholz and Lester handle the Jays with ease. Lester is a career 6-3 with a 2.74 ERA against the Blue Jays, and Buchholz is a career 5-3 with a 2.79 ERA.

Which member of the Red Sox do you like the least?
I'll be honest, I can't stand Kevin Youkilis. The last time I saw the Red Sox at the Rogers Centre, there was an incident where Youkilis thought he was hit by a pitch, then started trotting down to first base when the home plate ump called him back. Then Youkilis freaked out and Terry Francona got into it and it was a huge ordeal.
What’s your prediction for the upcoming Red Sox/Blue Jays series?
The Blue Jays have had some trouble at Fenway Park these past few seasons, so I think it would be ambitious to say the Blue Jays might win 1 or 2 games out of the series. With Jon Lester scheduled to pitch Friday's game, I'm even more prone to say that number might be lower ... but anything can happen!

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say the number “36”?
(this might change by week's end) When I think of the number 36, right now I think of Jose Bautista's 36 home runs to lead the major leagues. Every time I see him hit another home run, I just can't believe the kind of season he's having. Initially I thought he'd have trouble clearing 30 home runs, but now it's almost inevitable he'll hit 40. Bautista could even break the Blue Jays club record of 47 home runs.


I hope these questions offer some insight into the Visitor’s Section. Thanks again to The Blue Jay Hunter for helping me out. I wish the Blue Jays luck.

Especially against Tampa and NY.

Visitor's Views

It’s once again time to inject some opposing viewpoints into this blog. Since the Detroit Tigers will be visiting Friendly Fenway tonight, I contacted Sam of Roar of the Tigers. I asked Sam to answer a couple questions for me since it’s a RotT is an amazing Tigers blog. Sam, thankfully, agreed. I asked the same questions I asked all my visiting fans. I wonder how the answers compare. Here we go:

When did you start blogging?
I took over Roar of the Tigers in June 2005. But I had been blogging elsewhere since 2001, and I had been blogging about baseball since about 2003. Long story there, I won't bore you with it. Suffice to say that a Red Sox messageboard played a vital role.

What is the theme/goal of your blog?
Roar of the Tigers is a blog about the Detroit Tigers, written by a crazy person, for crazy people, or perhaps for mostly-normal people who have the ability to appreciate a little crazy in their lives. Also sometimes the only way I can express my feelings about a player or game is via Terrible Cartoons, and it's nice to share those with the Internet.

Which member/group of the Tigers are you most confident in?Miguel Cabrera. I would say Brennan Boesch but as he's still a rookie, I'm waiting to see if the other cleat is going to drop on his adorable head.

Which member/group of the Tigers concerns you the most?
Pitching. I am too used to thinking of Bondo as injured to trust him with my heart, Verlander throws too many pitches, Scherzer is very hot-and-cold, FredFred (that's Rick Porcello) had to be sent down to the minors already this year, and who the hell is even in the 5th slot for us these days? Armando? Poor bastard. The bullpen, aside from Papa Grande and Phil Coke's Magnificent Mohawk, has been awfully inconsistent. Well, I guess Eddie Bonine has been ok. But nobody even knows he exists, so he doesn't count.

Which member of the Red Sox scares you the most? (Yes, you have to pick one)
Clay Buchholz. I'd be afraid he would sneak up on me and steal my laptop.

Which member of the Red Sox do you like the least?
I don't know how closely you read RotT or whatever, but I am actually a dual Red Sox and Tigers fan. I live in MA these days. I don't generally hate on the team, although I have loads of anecdotal evidence that Kevin Youkilis and Jonathan Papelbon are both asswipes off the field, and Dice K is starting to make me hate him on the field. That might be partly Scott Boras' fault, though, because Scott Boras ruins everything.

What’s your prediction for the upcoming Red Sox/Tigers series?The Tigers will probably drop at least 2, because the Tigers always seem to lose when I see them at Fenway.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say the number “36”?
Three feet. Seriously, that was the first thing. My second and third thoughts were 'pentagon' and 'krypton', so... I get the feeling this is not what you were aiming for. The fourth thing I thought of was Brad Thomas, Aussie Extraordinaire. There's your baseball.

I hope these questions offer some insight into the Visitor’s Section. (If you have a question you wish I had asked, let me know. If I do this again with other visiting teams, maybe I’ll use it.) Thanks again to Roar of the Tigers for helping me out. I wish the Tigers luck.

Once they stop playing the Red Sox.

Visitor's Views

It’s once again time to inject some opposing viewpoints into this blog. Since the Texas Rangers will be visiting Friendly Fenway tonight, I contacted Texas Rangers Cards. I asked him to answer a couple questions for me since it’s a great Rangers blog. He, thankfully, agreed. I asked him the same questions I asked all my visiting fans. I wonder how the answers compare. Here’s what he had to say:

When did you start blogging?
My first post was on January 15, 2008. I've tried to do six posts a week since. I take Sundays off.

What is the theme/goal of your blog?
Collecting the Texas Rangers. I try to follow the current team and talk about past players while posting pictures of my Rangers collection. I try to showcase both cards and memorabilia but most of the posts end up being cards.

Which member/group of the Rangers are you most confident in?
Michael Young is the first name that comes to mind. He seems to be a steadying influence with the younger players and a team-oriented guy. He also produces no matter what. If the Rangers had a captain I don't see how they could go with anyone other than him. Besides Michael I always like to see Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, Vladimir Guerrero, and Elvis Andrus in the lineup.

Which member/group of the Rangers concerns you the most?
The pitching. Always seems to be a weak area with Texas. The addition of Cliff Lee and Darren Oliver helps. Rich Harden has been about the disappointment I feared that he would be. Hopefully Feliz, Francisco, Lewis, and Wilson can all live up to their potential.

Which member of the Red Sox scares you the most? (Yes, you have to pick one)
Kevin Youkilis. He's gonna hurt you day in and day out at the plate.

Which member of the Red Sox do you like the least?
Don't really have an entry for this category now that Manny Ramirez is gone. There are very few players that I actively dislike but he is one of them.

What’s your prediction for the upcoming Red Sox/Rangers series?
Going to go out on the edge here and say that the series will split 2-2. Perhaps I should go more after the series last year but it's hard to discount Fenway.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say the number “36”?
Four more than Jon Matlack's number.

I hope these questions offer some insight into the Visitor’s Section. (If you have a question you wish I had asked, let me know. If I do this again with other visiting teams, maybe I’ll use it.) Thanks again to Texas Rangers Cardsfor helping me out. I wish the Rangers luck.

When they're not playing the Red Sox.

Visitor's Views

It’s once again time to inject some opposing viewpoints into this blog. Since the Los Angeles Dodgers will be visiting Friendly Fenway tonight, I contacted Dodger Bobble. I asked him to answer a couple questions for me since it’s a great Dodgers blog. He, thankfully, agreed. I asked him the same questions I asked all my visiting fans. I wonder how the answers compare. Here’s what he had to say:

When did you start blogging?
Started blogging March 2010.

What is the theme/goal of your blog?
The theme is anything Los Angeles Dodgers, bobbleheads, and baseball.

Which member/group of the Dodgers are you most confident in?
I have the most confidence in the pitching staff

Which member/group of the Dodgers concerns you the most?
Right now, it's the Dodgers offense.

Which member of the Red Sox scares you the most? (Yes, you have to pick one)
I'm not really sure. But I will say former Dodgers tend to go off when they play us, so maybe Adrian Beltre. Plus, Beltre is on my fantasy team, so there will be a conflict of interest for me.

Which member of the Red Sox do you like the least?
I hate JD Drew with a passion.

What’s your prediction for the upcoming Red Sox/Dodgers series?
Dodgers sweep of course

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say the number “36”?
First thing I think of is Greg Maddux. He wore 36 for the Dodgers.

I hope these questions offer some insight into the Visitor’s Section. (If you have a question you wish I had asked, let me know. If I do this again with other visiting teams, maybe I’ll use it.) Thanks again to Dodger Bobble for helping me out. I wish the Dodgers luck
.
Once they stop playing the Red Sox.

Visitor's Views

It’s once again time to inject some opposing viewpoints into this blog. Since the Philadelphia Phillies will be visiting Friendly Fenway tonight, I contacted Jim of The Phillies Room. I asked him to answer a couple questions for me since his was the phinest Phillies blog I’ve seen. He, thankfully, agreed. I asked him the same questions I asked all my visiting fans. I wonder how the answers compare. Here’s what he had to say:


When did you start blogging?
Last March. I had been lurking on a few of the more well known baseball card and Phillies blogs over the past few years and I thought - why not have a blog that combines my baseball card collection and my passion for the Phillies? I have an actual Phillies Room in my house (my wife rocks) so this is the virtual version.

What is the theme/goal of your blog?
To have fun, to feature custom Phillies baseball cards I've created and to give me an outlet to follow the Phillies. I created Phillies scrapbooks for several seasons in the '80s and '90s when I was growing up, so this just feels like the next generation of those scrapbooks.

Which member/group of the Phillies’s are you most confident in?
Roy Halladay. He comes as advertised. I was one of the many who couldn't believe we were giving up Cliff Lee to go after Halladay, but I get it now. It still would have been nice to have them both, but I've bought into the idea that the Phils didn't want to completely gut their farm system in the process.

Which member/group of the Phillies’s concerns you the most?Brad Lidge. He was just awful last year, which was all the more difficult to take after his perfect 2008. There's nothing more deflating than getting to the 9th inning with a lead and exiting the inning not more than 20 minutes later with the lead (or the game) gone. Lidge is such a professional, even in defeat, so it's hard not to pull for the guy though.

Which member of the Red Sox scares you the most? (Yes, you have to pick one)
I'll go with a group of guys - the starting pitchers. It's no secret the Phillies have been struggling mightily at the plate recently, and they looked pitiful against Wakefiled and Dice-K a few weeks ago. We missed Buccholz last time, so hopefully we'll miss him this time around again.


Which member of the Red Sox do you like the least?
J.D. Drew. Boooooo! Drew (via his agent Scott Boras) held out for more money when the Phillies drafted him with their first pick back in '97. The franchise was in shambles back then (as Tito Francona and Curt Schilling can attest) and his refusal to sign with the Phillies just poured salt into the wound. I think it all worked out OK for the Phils though. They went on to put together and lock up a solid nucleus of players without Drew, which they may not have been able to do had they thrown Drew all the money he was seeking.

What’s your prediction for the upcoming Red Sox/Phillies’s series?Phillies sweep. I'll admit I'm a passionate fan and not necessarily a realist. I'll go a step further and predict that either Charlie Manuel or Terry Francona will get ejected during one of the games.


What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say the number “36”?
That's easy - Robin Roberts. The Hall of Famer recently passed away and the Phils are wearing a black memorial patch with Roberts' "36" on their sleeves for the rest of the season.

I hope these questions offer some insight into the Visitor’s Section. (If you have a question you wish I had asked, let me know. If I do this again with other visiting teams, maybe I’ll use it.) Thanks again to Jim for helping me out. I wish the Phillies luck.

Once they stop playing the Red Sox.

Visitor's Views

Once again, I’d like to inject some opposing viewpoints into this blog. I have reached out to my fellow bloggers to see what they had to say. Since the Oakland A's will be visiting Friendly Fenway tonight, I contacted Jim, the fine writer of Tastelikedirt. I asked him to answer a couple questions for me since his was the finest A's blog I’ve seen. He, thankfully, agreed. I asked him the same questions I asked my other visiting fans. I wonder how the answers compare. Here’s what he had to say:

When did you start blogging?

I started the A’s Tastelikedirt blog in January of 2007. I had a few various A’s related websites in prior years, you know, free website templates that you fill in. They were mostly photos I had taken and were not updated with any regularity.

What is the theme/goal of your blog?

It’s a blog about the Oakland A’s. I think the original goal was to keep track of significant things that happened during the season and to use baseball cards as graphics, also to document games that I went to personally and to use photos that I took at the games as graphics. I also started sending baseball cards through the mail for autographs and posting the returned cards and writing about the players cool enough to sign for me TTM.
In 2007 there was only a handful of baseball card blogs, and even fewer A’s blogs. You really had to seek them out. I could read ‘em all each evening. I figured I was filling a niche. Somewhere in, I don’t remember exactly when, the middle of 2008? There was an explosion of baseball cards blogs. Which is awesome. I tried keeping up with them all. Reading them and adding them to my blogroll. There’s so many now I can’t keep up. I see new ones all the time. Surprisingly the number of A’s blogs has not really gone up.

Which A’s are you most confident in?

Catcher Kurt Suzuki is the first one to come to mind, second baseman Mark Ellis…Adam Rosales has done real well as a super utility guy in his first year with the A’s.

Which A’s concern you the most?

Ben Sheets, Jack Cust, Eric Chavez…I’m concerned with the young pitching staff to see what way there all going to go. I’m getting more confident in them though things in the pitching dept are looking mostly pretty good this year. Perfect Game anyone? Oh, the most obvious problem is the Offense. Big concern right there. Even if pitching and defense keeps the A’s around 500 all year and they manage to win the weak AL West, the terrible offense should end their play off run pretty quick…but, you never know.

Which Red Sox player scares you the most?

Well, all their scary players are getting old now aren’t they? My wife gets a kick out of that thing that Papplebon does, where he’s getting ready to pitch and he has his head down and brings it up slowly to reveal the crazy look on his face and bug eyes…HA! That never gets old.
　
Which Red Sox player scares you the least?

Well, a week or two ago that would be Ortiz, hands down. My general knowledge of the Red Sox this year, is that they were built/re-stocked with a focus on pitching and defense and the pitching and defense have not been extraordinary so far this year. Maybe the Red Sox GM wearing disguises to Pearl Jam concerts scares me the most, or is it the least.

What is your prediction for the series?

I’m thinking the A’s take two of three. Is it a three game series? I have not seen the pitching match ups, but Josh Beckett is probably one of the scarier Red Sox to have to face.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you see “36”?

Oddly enough I think of the guy who played Safety for the Oakland Raiders when the played the Eagles in the Super Bowl. Whatever his name was. Mike Davis? I don’t know.

Since I am far from a professional interviewer, I hope these questions offer some insight into the Visitor’s Section. (If you have a question you wish I had asked, let me know. If I do this again with other visiting teams, maybe I’ll use it.) Thanks again to Jim for helping me out. I wish his A's luck.

At least when they’re playing the Yankees.

Visitors Section

Once again, I’d like to inject some opposing viewpoints into this blog. I have reached out to my fellow bloggers to see what they had to say. Since the Minnesota Twins will be visiting Friendly Fenway tonight, I contacted Sarah of Oh, It’s THOSE Girls. I asked her to answer a couple questions for me since hers was the best Twins blog I’ve seen. She, thankfully, agreed. I asked her the same questions I asked my visiting Yankee fan. I wonder how the answers compare. Here’s what she had to say:

When did you start blogging?

I've been blogging in one form or another since 2003, but Oh, It's THOSE Girls was born in 2007, shortly after famed Twins super-blogger BatGirl went into retirement. Without her around to amuse and entertain us, we were all forced to amuse and entertain ourselves, by any means necessary.

What is the theme/goal of your blog?

When I started the blog, the initial premise was basically to put the strange, silly and utterly ridiculous thoughts I have about the Twins into written form. 3 years later it hasn't really changed so much. I'd say the main theme is just how much fun it is to be a fan. I'm completely and totally irrational about a lot of things, and I think that's OK. As a devoted sports fan, if you're not willing to admit to, and embrace, the irrationality of what you do, you're missing out on half the fun. My goal is to encourage that little bit of insanity that makes your devotion to a sports team so fulfilling. I say bust out your lucky underwear, scream obscenities at the TV whenever Nick Swisher's face is on, and spend a quarter of your paycheck on that rare eBay bobblehead. Go hogwild. I won't judge you. But I might bid against you on eBay for that bobblehead.

Which member/group of the Twins are you most confident in?

If Twins Territory had its own currency, and they let me design it, it would read "In Rick Anderson We Trust." As our pitching coach, he might not be a player on the field...but we wouldn't have had any of the success we've had the past several seasons without his work behind the scenes with our young pitching staff. You thought I was going to say "Joe Mauer," didn't you? I try to steer clear of the cliche.

Which member/group of the Twins concerns you the most?

I'm always concerned about the bullpen. When they're bad, you worry about that. When they're great, you worry they will get overused. The bullpen is the thing most likely to give me an ulcer in any given season. There can never be too many strong and consistent arms.

Which member of the Red Sox scares you the most? (Yes, you have to pick one)

Wait...does this mean scare as in "I am frightened for my pitcher and my team when this player comes to the plate?" Or is it scare as in "I am frightened for my life when I meet this player in a dark alley"? Nevermind. Doesn't matter. The answer is probably Youkilis either way.
[However, if the question can be interpreted as "I love this player so deeply that sometimes it scares me," then obviously the answer is Boof Bonser. Even though he isn't technically on the active roster. Boof, you are always on the active roster of my heart.]

Which member of the Red Sox do you like the least?

Sorry Sox fans...but Dustin Pedroia is the human equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard. You know it's true.

What’s your prediction for the upcoming Red Sox/Twins series?

I hate 2-game series. I hate them because by their very nature, they encourage a series split. So...that's what I'm predicting: A series split.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say the number “36”?

Joe Nathan. I didn't even read the whole sentence. I saw "36" and Joe Nathan magically popped into my mind. Please note that I am NOT complaining about that.

Hold the phone...does that question mean that not EVERYONE thinks about Joe Nathan when they see the number 36?! Consider my mind blown. Whoa.

Since I am far from a professional interviewer, I hope these questions offer some insight into the Visitor’s Section. (If you have a question you wish I had asked, let me know. If I do this again with other visiting teams, maybe I’ll use it.) My reaction to Sarah’s responses? They should show you why I like her blog so much. I agree with her comments on the bullpen completely. I will say that I can think of other Red Sox I’d rather not meet in a dark alley than Youkilis. (David Ortiz and Jon Lester are just huge) But, she was right on with Pedroia. And, I absolutely endorse yelling obscenities at Nick Swisher’s face. So, thanks again to Sarah for helping me out. I wish her Twins luck.

At least when they’re playing the Yankees.

Visitor's Views

I thought it would be a fun twist to inject some opposing viewpoints into this blog. As such, I have reached out to the blogging community. Since the New York Yankees will be visiting Friendly Fenway this weekend, I thought we should know what their fans think. I asked Marie of A Cardboard Problem to answer a couple questions for me since she was the best Yankees fan I knew. She, thankfully, agreed. Here’s what she had to say:

When did you start blogging?
I started blogging in 2007 with Sooz. We decided that it would be fun to show our collections and talk about baseball cards to people other than each other.

What is the theme/goal of your blog?
The theme of our blog is just baseball and baseball cards, we don't collect anything else so it wouldn't be fair to write about other markets in terms of cards. There are cases where Sooz will post something about another sport or athlete because she covers sports for a living and has a broad range of knowledge of all sports as well as more access to stuff. The goal of our blog.... hmm.... to perhaps take over the world (like Stewie in Family Guy). Just kidding (sort of). I think if I had to pick a goal it would be to be able to talk about baseball and baseball cards in a manner that would eliminate the stereotype of girls knowing nothing about sports, and that we can be knowledgeable and collect cards as well as (better than) most men.

Which member/group of the Yankees are you most confident in?
Derek Jeter. No doubt about it, if there is a situation where a rally needs to get started or a run needs to be driven in for the win, he is the player I want at the plate. In the play-offs last season I was also fine with A-Rod coming up to the plate because he seemed to have found his swing in time to smash the ball in October this year.

Which member/group of the Yankees concerns you the most?
I don't think any one player concerns me too much, there are players that I could personally do without on the team but that wasn't the question ;)

Which member of the Red Sox scares you the most? (Yes, you have to pick one)
Scares me? LOL, ok I will try to take this seriously. I guess Pedroia or Ellsbury (for his speed). Really I am just naming people here because I can't think of someone that worries me since Papi is now a weenie.

Which member of the Red Sox do you like the least?
Kevin Youkilis. I couldn't despise any member of that team more than him. I am 99% sure I speak for Sooz as well here.

What’s your prediction for the upcoming series?
I don't see either team sweeping the first series, I will go with 2-1 Yankees, of course. (I also don't understand why they had the Yankees as their opening series when it will sell out if they play the Royals.)

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say the number “36”?
My high school softball number. (Followed by David Cone)

Thanks for the answers Marie. The Youkilis thing surprises me. I know I find him to be annoying. But, don't know what he's done to instill hate among other fanbases. Oh Well.

Since I am far from a professional interviewer, I hope these questions offer some insight into the Visitor’s Section. If you have a question you wish I had asked, let me know. If I do this again with another visiting team, maybe I’ll use it.

Go Sox!