Sale for Opening Day!

It's almost here! The season is just over a week away! You can almost taste it, I'm sure. Can you see it? The baseball on the field? The sun shining down on you wearing your Section 36 shirt? 

Wait, what's that? You don't have a Section 36 shirt? Well, you'd better hurry up! As luck would have it, I'm here to help. Because there's a sale!!

Today through Sunday, the Section 36 will be on sale! Don't miss this opportunity to show your support for the blog all season long! 

So, head over right now and select something that you like. But, don't delay. Remember, the sale only runs through Sunday! That's right only a few days before prices go back to their regular levels.

Click Here Now!

And, as always, when you do get an item, send me a picture wearing it for me to share with the world! The blog, Facebook, and even Instagram!

Like Bridget did! (With some help from K. Garcia Productions)

This sweatshirt is on sale!

Or, like Bernadette did to show off how amazing this tank top looks on her.

This tank is 27% off!

Or Phil did.

This tank is also 27% off!

Or Holly did with her cozy new hoodie.

This hoodie is 21% off!

Or Nicolette did with her great t-shirt!

This t-shirt is 30% off!

Or like Allison did!

This t-shirt is 30% off!

But, first you need to buy something you like. There's a lot to choose from.

What will you get?

Change for the Sake of Change

You're probably all well aware that Major League Baseball announced several rule changes for the upcoming seasons. Some make sense, some don't, and some are just plain odd. I don't know if there are any actual official explanations for these rules but I'd love to know the “fly on the wall” answer.

A few of the rules take place in time for the 2019 season.

They monkeyed around with the All-Star voting, which I should probably care about. The problem is, ever since Joe Torre ruined the game and selection process, and MLB decided to go along with it, the selection to an all-star game has become practically meaningless. So it's certainly not something to worry about now. Until MLB follows my plan, it'll always be a waste of time to try and worry about selections.

I care even less about the home run derby format. Unless they're planning on opening it up to non-all-stars, which I'd be in complete favor of. Otherwise, it's just an exhibition so I don't care what the rules are.

I'm fully on board with the “pace of play” rules for 2019. Limiting the number of mound visits is wonderful. Five still seems like a lot in a nine inning game, but it's better than six. Frankly, I'm ok if they limit it to “0”. I am also 136% on board with cutting the time between innings. It's the biggest contributor to the increased length of games, and it was the one I never thought they'd fix. So, I'm astonished and thrilled that they actually did it.

So going into this season, I’m all in on the changes.

The ones for 2020 get a bit murkier.

Increasing the roster size to 26 is fine. My only problem with it is it means another player a manager needs to keep fresh. If you need to sit Mookie more often because Blake Swihart hasn't played in two weeks, that's not good. But, if it ends up meaning that Mookie rests a tender ankle an extra day because they don't need to IL him thanks to an extra bench player, I'm good with that.

The reduction in September roster size is fantastic. Again, having all those players in the dugout needing playing time can get annoying. The only downfall would be having to play stars more in September as opposed to resting them on that final weekend and playing the cup of coffee players. Which might actually be the point.

Limiting the number of pitchers on a roster, and limiting position player pitching just seems odd to me. Who cares? What was the downside to a second baseman throwing an inning? Was the the union worrying about a Jose Canseco injury when a team makes a player do something they’re not accustomed to? Or, was MLB worried about using position players to get around some other rule? If a pitcher is in left field to start the inning, would that count as a pitching change if they brought him in to pitch? Could he just face the one batter if he wasn't new to the game?

Because the biggest proposed change seems to be forcing a reliever to face a minimum of three batters before being removed mid inning. I'm probably supposed to be all up in arms about this.  But I'm honestly having trouble seeing the arguments. I will firmly come down on the side of not fixing what isn't broken. I will also come out against changing things that won't fix a problem. So, I should probably hate this rule because of those reasons. This will not speed up the pace of play. Certainly not as much as shortening the time between innings will. Because, how often is a reliever pulled mid inning before facing three batters? No idea. But, I looked at my most recent scorebook. I scored fifteen games in it. This rule would have come into effect in three of the games, a total of four times. So, if those changes added three minutes each, that would mean twelve minutes of added time to those fifteen games. So, 48 seconds per game. That's what it takes to make a rule change? (Even in the individual game where it happened twice, I have a hard time imagining that the entrance six minutes was making me have a terrible time at the game.) I'm not sure that's worth changing strategy.

Because, it will change strategy. Any time you limit what a manager can do, you limit strategy. But, really, won't this also add strategy? Honestly, is there an easier call for a manager to make than “a lefty is up. Bring in my lefty specialist”? No. Any fool can make that call. Reminds me of the people who hate the DH because a manager has to strategize a pitcher bunting every time he's up. It's probably more strategy to say “ there's a lefty followed by two righties...do I still bring in a lefty specialist?” Which actually brings up the real problem with the rule. No matter what call the manager makes, the chances of batters getting hits increases. There is nothing that prolongs a game more than batters getting hits. So, really, any time savings from not having a pitching change will be lost to the additional base runners. Which brings us back to changing a rule for no reason.

So that's my one gripe. There's nothing wrong with the rule either way it's written. But changing something to fix a problem when the change won't fix the problem is never a good idea.

Hope Major League Baseball is prepared for that.

Emma Colen Visits Section 36!

Section 36 has a new visitor! Emma Colen is a talented dancer, a Red Sox fan, and the current Miss Auburn. I'm so pleased we were finally able to find some time for her visit with us to discuss those topics, and a few more. I hope you enjoy what she had to say!

So, lets see what happens when Emma Colen visits Section 36!

How did you celebrate winning the Miss Auburn crown?

I actually already had plans to go visit my family down in Cape Cod for a week so when my mom and I did get down there, we had some snacks and watched a movie! It was a very chill night but then we spent the whole next day on the beach and ate lunch at my favorite restaurant, Arnold's!

Is there a specific goal you’d like to accomplish before your time as Miss Auburn ends?

Last year, I held an event called “Striking Out For Spinal Cord Injuries” where I raised money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals along with Victoria’s Victory Foundation, so I would say my biggest goal is to hold a second annual “Striking Out For Spinal Cord Injuries” and raise even more money than last year!

What did you learn about yourself at the Miss Auburn competition that will help you at Miss New Hampshire in the spring?

One thing I learned about myself at the Miss Auburn competition was that I have the most fun and perform the best when I don’t try and hold myself to any standards, but instead just relax as much as I can and put my best foot forward. 

How did you select your platform, “REP Spinal Cord Injuries: Rehabilitation, Education, and Prevention”?

I chose my platform after I fractured my lower back. I was in

physical therapy to regain strength in my core to prevent further issues and pain in my back and was then introduced to Project Walk Boston in Stratham, New Hampshire. I began volunteering and knew at that moment that I wanted to bring awareness to spinal cord injuries of every type. After doing a lot of research, I learned that on average of 12,500 people a year in the U.S. suffers from a spinal cord injury with a majority of those being from preventable causes. I have now made it my mission to spread prevention of spinal cord injuries through education and still volunteer to rehabilitate those who are already suffering from spinal cord injuries.

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

My favorite part of being a dancer is striving to make the audience

feel what I'm trying to portray through my dancing. Performing onstage, to me, is the best feeling in the world. From picking the song that speaks to you to then picking the steps that embody that feeling, to then finally performing the dance is the most fulfilling feeling in the world.

You’re a freshman in the University of New Hampshire nursing program. What drew you to that field?

For a while, I actually wanted to be a Physical Therapist, but when my stepsister came into my life, she was a role model for me since the day I met her. When she became a successful nurse and told me

stories of what she did, I realized that nursing was what I actually wanted to pursue. Being a student dance teacher I also knew I wanted to work with children, so at this moment I am hoping to become a Pediatric Nurse when I graduate!

Who’s your favorite current Red Sox player? Why?

Mookie Betts for sure. Being the AL MVP and an incredible bowler how could he not be my favorite?

Is there a feature/aspect of a Red Sox game at Fenway you would most like to experience?

I’ve been lucky enough to attend many Red Sox games in my life and have even sat on the Green Monster for a game, but one of my life long goals is to throw the first pitch at a Red Sox game!

What were you doing when the Red Sox won the 2018 World Series?

As lame as it may sound, I was studying for an exam during the World Series! I was with friends, so of course, we were multi-tasking, but I'm proud to report I got an A on the exam!

----

That sounds like a double success to me!

As always, I want to thank to Emma for doing this interview. I also want to thank her for sending along so many great pictures. I love the ones of her with other titleholders who have visited with us.  I also definitely want to wish her the best of luck as she competes for the Miss New Hampshire crown in a few weeks. Could former Section 36 visitors go back to back in winning that crown?

As Emma continues her time as Miss Auburn, I encourage you to follow her on her official Miss Auburn Facebook page. It’ll be worth your time! 

Thanks again Emma, and good luck!

Hall of Fame Match-Ups (Updated)

Last year at about this time, I had another of my many wonderments. After noticing that when I saw Jim Thome face Pedro Martinez I was seeing future Hall of Famers face each other, I wondered how often I had seen that happen. As it turned out, that had happened nine times. When I finally got around to admitting that people had been elected to the Hall this year, I wondered if those numbers had changed. As it turns out, I was able to add two more games where I saw future Hall of Famers face off. Naturally, both included Pedro Martinez and the newly elected Edgar Martinez. When you add those numbers into my totals, the hitters end up doing a little bit better. Somehow, Edgar managed to get two hits off of Pedro...in eight at-bats. And, yeah, that brought the numbers UP. See for yourself.

Yup. Those were the only two hits I saw a future Hall of Famer get off another future Hall of Famer. If you eliminate Eckersley walking Junior, all of those were Pedro dominating the best hitters in the game. Look at those insane projections of a 660-AB season. 43 hits. A .212 OPS. That's just unfair!

I guess that's why Pedro is the best there ever was.

Did you see any Hall of Fame match-ups?

How did the hitters do?

Having Heritage Hangover?

What can I say. My Target seems to be incredibly pokey when it comes to bringing out the new stock. It took forever to bring out the 2019 Topps flagship. And, of course, it's been fully stocked since then. Likewise, it was in no hurry to put 2019 Heritage on the shelves. But, I was finally able to grab a blaster today. Does anyone still care what I got in the packs? Either way, here we go!

The first Red Sox in the box has to share his card with two Astros. How is that fair? 

The first solo Red Sox card is this beauty of EdRo posing in front of his hedge. I'm expecting big things from EdRo this year, so it's nice to see the look of determination on his face.

Of course, we all know what the backs look like. We've been looking at them since 1970. But, since the Sale card listed the other league leaders on the back, this is the first Red Sox back in the box. The cartoon is nice. Although, winning the pitcher of the year for the Red Sox in 2015 isn't exactly the same as winning the Cy Young. Wonder who finished second.

For obvious reasons, I was excited about the World Series subset in this year's set. Naturally, the only card I pulled celebrates the only World Series game the Red Sox lost.

The last pack was apparently a Red Sox hot pack. First came these two cards of two more Sox players posing in front of the hedge. Wonder if we'll see Pedroia at 2nd base much for the Sox this year.

The pack also included these two cards, bringing the total to four Red Sox cards in the last pack. If I was excited about the World Series subset, I didn't actually know this subset existed. A set celebrating the ALCS championship is definitely OK in my book. 

Other then the Red Sox, this was the best card out of the box. Of course, with the 36,000 different variations in Heritage, it took me a while to figure out this was in here. With Harper's monster contract in Philadelphia, this card will soon find a home in The Phillies Room. No idea if Jim can speak french. 

So, that was my box.

Is it better than yours?