Porcello’s Performance

Like most of you, I assume, I've been spending a lot of time lately watching highlights of the Red Sox 2018 playoff run. Whether that's highlights I can find online or, more recently, the official World

Series DVD I can't get enough. It's fun to watch everything over again without the stress of wondering what it would all mean. The loss in game three, and Eovaldi’s performance, is easier to appreciate when you know it doesn't kill the pitching staff and lead to the Sox demise. (As amazing as the performance was, since the Sox lost all it really did was blow their best reliever and save Drew Pomeranz. Hindsight being 20/20, it would have been better to put Pom in there and let him finish it, and save Eovaldi. But, that's a moot point now.) You can also pick up on things that you may have missed since they weren't as obvious as Eovaldi, Pearce, and Price.

For instance, the number of highlights Rick Porcello shows up in.

I feel like he was a bit of a forgotten man for the Red Sox this postseason. For the whole season, really. For a guy who won the Cy Young just two seasons ago, that's quite a feat. Maybe his two subpar seasons in a Sox uniform caused fans to give up on him. Or, at least give up on trying to figure him out. He can just do his thing, and whatever we get out of him will be great. He's not the presumed ace like Sale, and he's not highly paid like Price. He can just pitch.

And, pitch he did.

Did you know he won 17 games this season? Second most in his career. And while wins don't mean as much as people like to think, it does mean he pitched well enough to keep his team in good position during most of the games he pitched. He then seemed to improve on that in the postseason.

His overall postseason numbers don't jump out at you, but that's because he was too busy being invaluable to the team to worry about things like statistics.

In the very first series, he showed he was willing to do whatever was needed, when he originated the “rover” role. I think most of us were surprised when he got the eighth inning of game one, since that meant he probably wasn't starting game three. All he did was get the two outs the Sox needed. He then came back and pitched well enough in his start to get the win in the game four series clincher.

Next series? More of the same. He got the key outs and a hold in game 2 in relief, and still took his turn as a starter. Now, I think he stretched himself a bit too thin, and his start suffered from it. But, the Sox still won the game.

I think by the World Series, he was getting spent. He didn’t appear in the first two games of the series. So, he was much fresher for his game three start...and it showed. He only made it into the fifth, but he was much sharper only allowing the single run. Of course, we all forgot about that after Eovaldi finished the game out.

It was also evident from the World Series DVD that his teammates respect the heck out of him, which isn’t something I quite realized. He’s clearly a leader of that staff...if not the clubhouse itself.

I’m glad watching these highlights brought me to this appreciation for him. Some other players may have been flashier, or had better stories. But, the Sox aren’t world champs without Rick Porcello.

It makes me even more excited for 2019.

Alexis Ferreira Visits Section 36!

Section 36 has another visitor! Alexis Ferreira is a dancer, a Red Sox fan, and the current Miss Bristol County. I’m so glad she

was willing to visit with us to discuss those topics, and a few more. I'm sure you'll love reading what she had to say!

So, let’s see what happens when Alexis Ferreira visits Section 36!

How did you celebrate winning the Miss Bristol County crown?

I celebrated with family, friends, and also my 2 teen queens who had just titled as well. I ate mini cheese burgers and fries from TGI Friday’s…….I was starving by the end!

Is there a specific goal you’d like to accomplish during your time as Miss Bristol County?

Holding the title as Miss Bristol County gives a lot of locations for service. I have a goal to try to serve in every city under Bristol County before my year is up!

What did you learn about yourself during the Miss Bristol County competition that will help you at Miss Massachusetts?

I went into this competition with no expectations, I enjoyed getting ready with my friends, eating pizza and snacks and didn’t over think. I think I learned that when the time is right it will happen, and if things do not go the way you thought or had hoped, the world will NOT end. I still have a lot of learning to do throughout my year!

As a talented dancer, what is your favorite part about performing on stage on stage?

I love the rush of happiness and energy it brings to not only myself,

but to whoever is watching. Once you step on that stage all eyes are on you and I have learned over the years (especially if you are the only dancer there) that even if you know you messed up the audience doesn’t.

How did you select your platform, "Unplug and be Present"?

From observing customers at my job to my younger cousin and students that I teach. I noticed that a lot of people are glued to their phone, tablet, etc. In high school I was obsessing over social medias as newer ones were being created, and I do still use them, but I have had more realizations that technology is not the end all be all. I realize that our world is becoming more technologically advanced as the years go by, but I feel that children/teenagers are focusing more on how many likes they get or would prefer to watch a video of a girl playing with toys rather than playing with friends or making memories face to face.

Who is your favorite current Red Sox player? Why?

I would have to say Mookie Betts because we share the same birthday, and he has been a great asset to the team since he has been with the Red Sox!

Is there a feature or aspect of a Red Sox game at Fenway that you’d like to experience?

I would love to experience throwing the first pitch. For them, the field is there stage and I would love to experience it from their point of view!

The Red Sox were honored at Gillette before a Patriots game recently to celebrate winning the World Series. What are the chances the Patriots will be able to return the favor by celebrating a Super Bowl win at Fenway next season?

I think that would be fantastic!! It just shows that even though they are two individual sports with different rules and way of play, we can still come together and celebrate as they both represent the same area! The odds are in their favor for a Super Bowl win so maybe the Sox can pass on the good luck!

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That would be great to see!

As always, I want to give huge thanks to Alexis for doing this interview, and for providing the amazing pictures to accompany it. They're really perfect! I also want to wish her the best of luck as she competes for the Miss Massachusetts crown this summer. It would be amazing to have a former visitor once again take home that crown.

As Alexis continues her time as Miss Bristol County, I encourage you to follow her on her official Miss Bristol County Facebook. It’ll be worth your time! 

Thanks again Alexis, and good luck!

Year in Review: Overall

So, I've already discussed some of the exciting growth in specific areas enjoyed by Section 36 in 2018. Whether it was with titleholder interviews, or visits by other celebrities, or social media opportunities, or the Section 36 Suite itself... specific places within Section 36 had wonderful years.

But, what about just generally? How did the blog perform in 2018 at just being a blog? How did I do as a blogger? As a collector? I'm not going to pretend you actually care...but here we go anyway!

In 2018, this will be my 182nd post. That's more than I made in 2017, so that was nice to see. It also keeps right in line with my “every other day” goal. It's not a set schedule I try to keep, just a general amount of output. If it's three to four times a week, that's where I'm heading...even if those three posts are on consecutive days. As long as the posts are quality posts that people might actually enjoy!

In 2018, those posts almost always included an interview on Friday. Hopefully you've been enjoying all the visits from celebrity Red Sox fans (or, at least baseball fans). I think they're a lot of fun, and enjoy hearing input from those types of fans. If you enjoy them too, that’s wonderful. If you don't, hopefully once a week isn't too intrusive. Because, looking back, it's actually been almost once a week. With the 39 titleholders that visited, and the three New England Patriots Cheerleaders, and the three Red Sox wives/fiancé that makes a total of 45 visitors in 2018. Amazing! Out of 52 weeks, that's just about max. Especially considering I could have posted visits the last two weeks, but I didn't think it was fair to them to post the visits over those holiday weekends. So, 45 out of 50 is an amazing percentage. Hope I can keep that up.

The Section 36 store also had a great year. More people keep buying shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops, and whatever else. I'm always humbled whenever a sale goes through. Hopefully you've enjoyed all the pictures people have sent in wearing their gear. With any luck, both sales and picture submittals will increase in 2019!

Persoanlly, as a collector, 2018 saw me accomplish a long standing goal. I have been “working” on completing a 1975 Topps set for years now. Things went well in the beginning, but slowed down a bit as things tend to do. I was able to get a good jump on it buying lots off eBay. Since there hasn’t been a particularly local card shop or show that carried 1975 in a while, the Bay has been my go-to method. That worked pretty well when I was buying 100 commons at a time. The bulk rate and shipping discounts made it worthwhile. But once I got down to needing 50 or so, it got trickier. The chances of finding a single lot with multiple cads I needed were pretty low. And, the cards left were slightly more expensive. So, the idea of buying a single Lou Brock for a couple bucks and then adding a couple bucks worth of shipping for each card was annoying enough to grind me to a halt. And there is sat for way too long. Suddenly, a week or two ago I got fed up enough to just want to finish it off. So I finally checked out COMC. I wasn't really sure how it all worked, but other people spoke so highly (and often) about the site that I logged on. As I'm sure you all know, I was able to find all the cards I needed at a reasonable price (since condition barely matters for this set) and pay a flat shipping fee for them all. It was so easy and perfect that I'm ashamed it's taken so long. So, expect a “completion” post about the set in the future.

2018 was also big from the blogging perspective to help me find my voice or my place in this wide world. Sometimes I find myself wondering what exactly the point of my blogging is. Especially with all the success of the interviews. I wonder if Section 36 should do those full time, like a talk show of sorts. Would at be easier to fit them in? After all, my in depth Red Sox writing is sometimes few and far between. But, I've come to realize that I was thinking about it wrong. I am a Red Sox fan. I like talking about the team, and about collecting their memorabilia, and going to their games, and talking with their fans. All of that is what it means to be a fan of the reigning World Champs. Just because I don’t discuss WAR on a daily basis doesn't make this a bad blog. Nor does it mean that I can't discuss WAR every now and then. If the people I interview aren't exactly diehard Red Sox fans, that's ok. They can still talk about the type of fans they are. It's called a Red Sox fan blog for a reason. Because it's by a fan, about being a fan. Whatever type of fan that is.

Hope that's OK with you.

Year in Review: Social Media

Of course, these days a blog just can’t be a blog. Well, I mean, it can...but it’s not as easy or as much fun. After all, how can I be sure you’ll read my posts if I don’t inundate you with reminders about them all the time? If the blog’s name isn’t something you see every thirty seconds, will you forget about me?

Probably.

Which is why Section 36 needs to have a social media presence. OK. It’s why I want Section 36 to have a social media presence. Even on the sites where i have no idea what’s going on. So, I know you’ve been dying to find out...where are some other places you can follow the blogs that make up the Section 36 Suite? How have those social media sites gotten even better in 2018?

I’m glad you asked.

Instagram is probably the place I’ve seen the most movement in the past year. It’s been great connecting with fans and visitors through that site. For Section 36, in the past I have posted exclusively pictures I have taken. It’s a way to enjoy different views from a Red Sox fan. In 2018, I also started adding pictures people have submitted of themselves holding a “I’d Rather be in Section 36” sign, or pictures of themselves with Section 36 gear. (So, if you were wondering how you could appear on the Section 36 account, that’s how.) It’s been a great way to add variety to the feed, and publicize some great pictures people have submitted. And the best part? In 2018, it crossed the 1000 follower threshold! If you’re one of the followers, thanks! If you’re not, what’s keeping you? Section 36 Pageants also has an Instagram account. I use that account to post any and all pictures that have been submitted by my interview guests. Maybe they were pictures that went along with their interviews, or that couldn’t fit with the interview. Or, they’re pictures that have been submitted after visiting. Whatever the case, I post them and remind people of their visit. It’s fun because it adds a lot of different content to the feed. That account also had a big 2018, as it passed 450 followers! New to the Suite in 2018, Section 36 Music also has an Instagram account! It’s a little slow to get started. But, again it posts any pictures that my visitors have submitted that are musical in nature. Whether they’re singing, or playing an instrument. It’s another way to celebrate visitors with musical talents! While the follower count is low at the moment, it can only go up from here!

Twitter is still the old standby. I find that it’s a great way to spread the word about new posts to the blogs. The Section 36 account will tweet out links to posts here on Section 36. It will also converse with fans, especially during Red Sox games. At over 1200 followers, it’s a fun group to be involved with. There’s also a Twitter account for Section 36 Sports. It’s a blog/account that is really a compilation of all the the Section 36 sports teams blogs. So, this account will tweet links to all the posts from those blogs, and converse with fans about non-Red Sox sports. It’s sort of a catch-all to avoid having four twitter accounts. I’m excited to say it passed 1500 followers in 2018. Of course, Section 36 Pageants also has an account. It will tweet out links to titleholder interviews. It also passes along tweets/announcements from visitors. That account also went over 1200 followers in 2018, which is fantastic. Section 36 Music also got in on the twitter fun. As you’d expect, it tweets out music related posts made by the other blogs, or any posts on the Music blog itself. It also passes along info from music-related visitors. At just over 30 followers, it’s just a baby...but growing every day!

Facebook provides fun opportunities. I find it’s a nice combination between twitter and instagram. It can post links and pictures with ease, and has the ability to allow sharing with friends. The Section 36 page will post links to every post here on Section 36. Facebook is also great for pictures, so it posts pictures that I’ve taken. It’s also a prime spot to post pictures submitted by others. So almost every picture someone submits of themselves with Section 36 behind them, or in Section 36, or holding a “I’d rather be in Section 36” sign, or with Section 36 gear gets posted there. In 2018, Section 36 passed 450 likes which is great! As I’m sure you guessed, Section 36 Pageants also has a Facebook page. It again posts links to titleholder interviews, as well as any pictures former visitors have submitted. It has also started posting pictures of any titleholders with Section 36 gear, whether they’ve visited or not. That page passed 30 likes in 2018. Love to get ten times that many in 2019.

Beyond that? Section 36 also has a presence on Snapchat and Pinterest, although I honestly have no idea why. Hopefully in 2019 I’ll figure something out. Feel free to follow/add to see the progress! In fact, follow all of Section 36 on all social media accounts.

It’ll be a lot of fun.

Year in Review: The Section 36 Suite

Section 36 is a Red Sox fan blog. Hopefully that's been clear to you up to this point. The blog started as my way to talk about my views on the Red Sox with as many people as possible. That hasn't changed.

But, over time, I've realized that there are other things that I'd like to talk about every now and then. As with most Red Sox fans, I'm also a fan of the other Boston sports. So, sometimes I have things I'd like to get off my chest about those teams too. So, you've probably noticed that Section 36 has blogs for the Celtics, Bruins, and Patriots as well. There was never an intention to post there regularly, but to have them there waiting when I wanted them. As luck would have it, all three of those blogs saw some unexpected posts in 2018.  

The Celtics blog was fortunate enough to post a few guest blogs from Joshua. Those posts were well received and added some much needed quality content to the blog. I hope those guests posts will continue as the Celtics march their way to the NBA finals.

The other two blogs were actually lucky enough to host their own visitors!

The Bruins blog featured an interview with Taylor Higgins. Taylor was promoting her new book, and as a former Bruins Ice Girl, we found a home for her interview on that blog. (You can find my review of her book here on Section 36) It was exciting to be able to try something new with that blog.

Similarly, the Patriots blog was able to post an interview with a rookie member of the New England Patriots Cheerleaders, Jonet Nichelle. It was such a great experience to add her to the Section 36 family, and was glad to have a way to do it.

While I still don't intend to focus on those blogs, I'd love the chance to continue providing them with great content like that in 2019.

More recently, I added a non-sports blog to the suite in 2017. With the huge increase in visits from titleholders (remember the post from the other day?) I found myself wanting to have a home for them. A simple page on Section 36 didn't seem like enough. So, Section 36 Pageants was created as a way to display the titleholders in their own environment. They can dominate the sidebars. There can be photographer pages. That sort of thing. Like the other sports blogs, the intention was never to focus on creating content for that blog. It was just going to be for spillover posts from here. But, that changed a bit in 2018, as it had a couple exciting posts of its own. First, forever Miss Rhode Island Allison Rogers wrote a wonderful guest blog about her struggles with migraine disorder. I was flattered that I was able to provide a place to publish that important post. Then, following her first runner up finish at Miss America, Bridget Oei wrote a series of guest blogs talking about here experiences in Atlantic City. She's already submitted several posts, and hopefully she'll come up with a few more. I'm honored to have her contributing to the blog. Again, it was exciting to see the Pageants blog grow on its own in 2018. I certainly hope to have more exclusive content over there in 2019.

Which brings me to the newest member of the Suite. Once again, I found that many of my visitors had something in common that deserved to be celebrated. Enter Section 36 Music! A place to celebrate all the musicians and singers who have visited or contributed to Section 36. While it hasn't been around long enough to have the sort of content as the others, I like the future to come. Like the others, it should have plenty of "accidental" content to augment any exclusive posts. That's something for 2019 to bring!

So, I am thrilled by the progress made by all the blogs in the Section 36 Suite during 2018. There's a lot to build on going forward. I may even start posting more links on the other blogs back to relevant content here on Section 36. It's all in flux, but very exciting!

I can't wait for 2019!