Happy 36th!

Today we wish a very happy 36^th birthday to Casey Fossum!

Fossum was one of the top Red Sox pitching prospects at the turn of the century. He was with the big club from 2001-2003, and was starting to hold his own on the pitching staff. While he never made his mark in Boston, he did play a huge part in finally bringing a World Championship to Fenway.

I was lucky enough to see Fossum pitch several times. How did he do in those games? I’m glad you asked.

On July 28, 2001 Fossum pitched the ninth inning of a 3-1 loss to the White Sox. Casey pitched a 1-2-3 inning, despite giving up a hit since that runner was out when he tried to stretch a single into a double.

On August 18, 2001 Fossum got the start against the Orioles. He went 4.2 innings, without giving up a run. He was pulled after a HBP, single, and walk loaded the bases. He didn’t make it quite far enough to qualify for the win.

On April 1, 2002 Fossum pitched the eighth inning on Opening Day. Pedro started the game, and was rocked. Fossum pitched a scoreless inning to keep the Sox close before Urbina blew it in the ninth.

On April 14, 2002 Fossum pitched the ninth inning of a 6-2 loss to the Yankees. Again, he didn’t give up a run as he retired Derek Jeter, Nick Johnson, and Bernie Williams in order.

On May 25, 2002 Casey pitched the final three innings in another loss to New York. Once again, Fossum didn’t allow a run while giving up two hits. He even struck out three in a row at one point.

Finally, on September 7, 2002 Fossum got the start against the Blue Jays. He went six innings, but gave up the only run I saw him surrender, on the way to the win.

Those games would seem to sum up Fossum’s career pretty well. He pitched fantastically. But, was both a reliever and a starter because he didn’t quite have everything he needed. Couldn’t put it together all the time. But, the one run over 16.2 innings certainly showed the potential he had.

It was that potential that allowed Fossum to make his biggest contribution to the team. He was included in the package that brought Curt Schilling to Boston. The rest, as they say, was history. I think helping bring a championship to Boston warrants birthday wishes!

Happy 36^th Birthday Casey Fossum!

From the Pedro Binder

1998 Stadium Club Transactions

Could there be a more significant card in Sox history? This card commemorates the trade that brought the best pitcher in at least a generation to Boston.

The card itself is surprisingly mundane for such a flashy look. It doesn’t scan very well, but the surface has that not-quite-chrome shimmer that was popular in many insert sets of the time. But, it was very low on other pizzazz.

The two team logos are there. The team Pedro went to is slightly more prominent than the one he left. That makes sense. Pedro’s name is clear, although written annoyingly on the side. The set name is also on the side, which in that case is just fine. The picture is pretty standard. Just Pedro ready to let it fly towards the plate.

All in all, a card that ranks much higher in historical importance than in overall appeal. Not that I need to be reminded that Pedro was traded to the Red Sox, but it’s nice to have a card to shout it from the rooftops.

It was definitely a worthy “transaction.”

Can a Goal be a Resolution?

Lots of people make resolutions. Most of them are under the complete control of the person making the resolution. “I want to run one mile every day.” That’s something you can control. It’s up to you, and only you, to find the time to run one mile every day. But, what if your resolution was to “make up with my sister?” Doesn’t that require some help from the sister? Can you count that as a resolution?

As I started writing down what I wanted to accomplish as a blog this year, I found a couple of each of those. Some I could just do, and some I needed some help with. The latter are nice, because I gave myself an out if I don’t accomplish them. Want to read what I have? Too bad, you’re going to anyway.

Make a dent in my 1975 Topps set completion. I know. I just talked about this. It’s been sitting there, and I’ve done nothing with it. So, I figure the easiest way to deal with a set I can’t get motivated to complete is to complete it and be done with it. I’d like to just go for it, and move on. (Did you sense all the excitement in that?)

Finish up the 2013 wantlist. I know, I didn’t post a wantlist for 2013. That’s because I’ve been buying the complete sets for the most part. When I get some extra money in the card fund, I look at the sets I need, and grab them. But, in my efforts to let the prices die down after release, I’ve lost track of a couple. I need to go back and make sure I don’t have any holes.

Make more trades. This is one of those that isn’t really up to me. In order to make a true trade, I need a trade partner. So, I guess what I really need to do is make the effort to make more trades. Start looking over posted wantlists. Start making offers. Then just hope it results in more trading. After all, I love making trades. It’s one of the best parts of the blog.

Get more people to like me. Yeah, this one is almost entirely up to others. But, the Section 36 Facebook page had quite a 2013, and I’d like it to continue. At the moment, 233 people “like” the page. That’s up 200 from last January. I don’t dare attempt to hope for that many new likes again. But, getting to 300 sure would be nice. Admittedly, I’m absolutely going to need help. If you don’t like the page yet, go do it now. If you do like it, thanks! Please, tell all your friends that they should like it too. I’ll do my best to make the page worth liking.

Lead more who follow. Once again, not up to me. But, the Section 36 Twitter account has 948 followers at the moment. 1000 would be fantastic. 2000 would be incredible. So, again, help would be appreciated. Go follow me, if you haven’t already. And, tell your friends to follow me if you have. Once again, I’ll have to try and make you not regret doing it.

More exposure. Hopefully the previous two will help out a lot with this one. But, I want to get more people stopping by here, and leaving comments, or sending pictures, or participating in scavenger hunts, or whatever else. I know the best thing I can do for that is to write things that make people want to visit over and over. To have people stopping by enough that they want to join in. Some of that will be through sheer numbers. If enough people can see the blog, the more likely one of them has enough spare time to get involved. But, it’s also about having the type of site that people want to come to and want to be a part of. So, that’s a goal for me.

Q & Q. Which brings me to the last resolution/goal that I always have. To find the balance between the quantity of posts for people to read, and the quality of posts to make them want to read. There’s some benefit to just flinging out posts just to keep in people’s minds. But, there’s also something to having the quality stuff that would make readers come back after breaks. Like everyone, I need to find the best way to do both.

OK, maybe I have one more. Fun. If this isn’t fun, why do it? I still like writing posts. I still get a burst of joy at a new comment, or page like, or follow. It’s not a chore, but something I want to do. I just need to keep it what way.

Hopefully this will be quite the year.

Happy New Year!

Have you made any resolutions yet? Naturally, I have a couple. But, I’m not going to talk about those yet. Today, I’m talking about your resolutions. If you haven’t thought of one, here’s one for you.

Enter the 2013 Section 36 Scavenger Hunt!

But, don’t just enter. Put forth a great effort. Look for those items. Prove to yourself you can work at something, and accomplish a goal. After all, isn’t that what resolutions are supposed to be for?

This one is nice, too, because it has a definite end point. The end of the contest is only FIVE weeks away! So, you only need to keep at your resolution for a month or so. (In fact, if you found every item this weekend, you’d be done in days!)

So, you can make yourself a better person, and work towards a goal. And, let’s be honest, this isn’t a very hard one to do.

After all, if you’re reading this right now, I know you’ve found one item. Another one is almost assured. Looking around the room you’re in most likely gets you another one. There’s three, right off the bat. Some of them you can make yourself. How hard can that be to find? Just grab a camera and start snapping pictures.

Sure, some of them are going to take some work. And, a couple of them you’re not going to be able to get. But, you can put together a strong entry, and feel a lot better about yourself.

Unlike those annoying resolutions that require you to eat less or exercise more, this one is actually fun! What could be a better way to pass the time than looking around your house for Red Sox items? Or your local Target, or shopping mall? Bring along a friend to help. Make a day of it!

So get out there. Look around.

Actually keep at least one resolution this year.

What a Year!

I know. Year-end recaps are everywhere. Frankly, it’s a pretty lazy blog post. But, when your team has the type of year the Red Sox had, and you’re still living off the high that they’ve given you, it seems odd to not at least mention it.

The number of games I made it to Fenway was a little down this year. But, I more than made up for the lack of quantity with a huge increase in quality. I saw two former MVPs at Fenway (Pedroia, Cabrera), three Cy Young award winners (Jake Peavy, David Price, Max Scherzer), and more all-stars than I care to count. I also added some of the best games a person can hope for.

Home Opening Day. Nobody quite knew what to expect from this team on opening day. I said over and over that I didn’t know what to make of a team that was better than average everywhere. I didn’t know how to predict it. I didn’t see what the team was missing that the 2012 SF Giants had. I just didn’t know. Watching them win the home opener was a wonderful thing.

Boston Strong. Little did I know when I got tickets to a Saturday game in April that I would be going to one of the most important games ever. A game you tell the grandkids about. I actually feel a little guilty adding it to the list, because talking about it on a Red Sox blog seems to diminish everything it stood for.

ALDS Game 2. As much as we like to call Boston the City of Champions, and imply that anything less than winning it all is a disappointment…playoff games are still pretty cool. Watching John Lackey take care of business was thrilling. We even got to give Will Myers an ovation when he finally caught a ball.

AL Clincher. I said at the time, I had never seen the Red Sox clinch anything in person. If you’re going to do it for the first time, might as well make it when the Sox clinch the pennant. The excitement. The anticipation. The strikeout to end it. Celebration. Trophy. It had everything.

World Series Clincher. Well, almost everything. After never seeing a clinching game, I got to two in two weeks. This one, of course, upped the ante just a little bit. I don’t think I’ve ever used my seat for less of a game. (Well, except for between innings.) You had to stand to really take in all that was happening. This was going to be it. The game everyone had been waiting for. The celebration everyone wanted to be a part of. It was it all.

Those were, of course, just the highest of the highs. There was also everything else a great season brings. Walk-off wins. Long home runs. Marquee pitching match-ups. Huge strikeouts. Great double plays. Many (although unfortunately not all) seen from the comfort of Section 36. Like I said, what a year!

What were some of your highlights?