They're Back!

That's right! Baseball will be played at Fenway Park today! And with it came all the smells and sounds of baseball!

Oh, along with the sights!

It's the sights that I'm going to focus on today, since I love pictures. (But, you knew that.) So, with the return of action to Fenway, it means the return of the fans as well.

And that means a lot more people taking pictures!

Which is great for this here blog. It's been a long winter where new submissions have been understandably slim. But, that all changes today. So, I'm excited for the fresh batch of pictures that I'm sure will be submitted every day all season.

Submitted by Dominique

Like pictures of people In Section 36. I don't think the tours that run all winter take you to Section 36. Weird. So, this is probably people's first chance in a while to grab a shot from there. I can't wait to see them!

Submitted by Lauren

Or pictures With Section 36. Even if you're at the park, it isn't always easy to make your way over to centerfield. I understand. I still love looking at the pictures people submit posing with Section 36 in the background. In fact, some of my favorite pictures are in this category.

Submitted by Michele

Even simply pictures Of Section 36. Those are fun too. To see what Fenway's greatest section looks like from every angle. It's great to see the variety.

Submitted by Lauren

Of course, I understand that not everyone can make it to the park for every game. Which is why I love the pictures taken holding a "I'd Rather be in Section 36" sign. Sure, you can take those pictures any time all year long. But, they're especially accurate when there's a game at Fenway. So, there's usually a fun increase in those submissions as well!

Submitted by Alissa

I've recently added yet another picture category as well. I've been having a little fun with different forms of Section 36 gear. That means that some people have t-shirts, or tank tops, or bumper stickers that show their support of the blog. Again, those pictures have been coming in all year, and have been a lot of fun. But, imagine a picture of someone wearing a Section 36 shirt and/or holding a Section 36 sticker while sitting in Section 36? That's a combination I can't wait to see happen.

Basically, I can wait to see any of the pictures. They're all incredible.

Send them in!

Do You Like Me?

Because, you really should.

You may have heard that tomorrow is the Red Sox Home Opener. The start of the new season at Fenway. Of course, the season itself has already started. The Sox have already completed two series on the road. But, the season is still just beginning. So, you still have plenty of time!

Time for what?

I'm glad you asked.

Time to take full advantage of everything the world of Section 36 has to offer, of course!

It's not just this blog. Although, that's a wonderful place to start. But, believe it or not, there even more fun to behold.

There's a Facebook page. Thankfully, many of you already like it. It would be great to get even more. In fact, I've had a mini goal of reaching 400 before first pitch tomorrow. So, if you haven't already, go do it now. If you have, thank you. Now go tell all your friends to too! The Facebook page isn't just a great place to get notices of all my new posts. Although, that would probably be enough. Facebook is also the home to some great pictures that you can only see there. People submit tons of pictures to the blog. Some of them are posted here. All the rest are posted as a daily picture on Facebook. So, unless you like the page, you're going to miss some. And, we don't want that.

Section 36 also offers Instagram! Again, even more pictures are posted on there! After all, that's kind of the whole point, right? Over 550 of you are currently following, and that's great. Can we get another fifty before first pitch tomorrow? Again, the pictures on Instagram usually aren't posted anywhere else. So, that's your only chance to see all the fun.

You'll notice that Section 36 is on Twitter! In fact, over 1100 of you already follow Section 36. So, you know it's another great way to be alerted every time I post something new on the blog. I also let people know about popular posts they may have missed. There's also the usual witty banter that you can only find on twitter. Why would you want to miss any of that? How about another 400 follows by tomorrow?

Section36 can even be found on snapchat. Truth be told, I'm still trying to figure that one out. But, now that the season is in full swing, I expect that area to get more use. Don't miss out!

So, as you can see, while this here blog will always be the sun that the rest of the Section 36 universe revolves around (I know. The universe doesn't revolve around the sun. But, "Section 36 solar system" doesn't have the same ring. Or, does it?) there are other ways to enjoy everything Section 36 has to offer. I hope you'll take advantage of as many of them as you can.

Does anyone already enjoy Section 36 all five ways?

Oh, and Porcello's Not Pedro Either

Yeah, I'm guessing I REALLY didn't need to remind you of that.

But, sometimes it feels like I do. Take today, for instance. 

Porcello had a decent day. Sure, people are going to harp on the 6.00 ERA. And, they're right. That is a high ERA. But, that doesn't mean he gave up six runs. In fact, he didn't. He only gave up four runs over six inning. And, let's be honest, giving up two two-run home runs to Jose Bautista in Toronto isn't exactly a sign of weakness.

So, instead of focusing on the ERA, how about the fact that he only walked one batter? Or, that he only gave up seven hits. Sure, a 1.33 WHIP isn't Pedro-esque. But, it's pretty good for a number four starter. So are his seven strikeouts. That works out to 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings. That is, in fact, Pedro-esque. (I mean, not Pedro's good years. But, you know, like when he was with the Mets.)

I think Porcello also suffers from a comparison to the impossible. Sure, he was a big trade acquisition. Sure, he was signed to a big contract. That doesn't mean he's bound for Cooperstown.

He's bound to be a very good pitcher. That's where our expectations should be. A pitcher doesn't have to be elite to be worthwhile. Regular pitchers are going to have off nights. Or, off innings. They're going to look, well, regular every once in a while. It's what we should be expecting from other pitchers.

There's only one Pedro.

It would do us good to remember that.

Happy National Trading Cards for Grown-Ups Day!

Wait a minute. You mean EVERY day isn't National Trading Cards for Grown-Ups Day?

Dang.

I suppose that the only way to properly celebrate is to open as many packs of trading cards as possible today. You know, unlike every other day.

It does bring one question to the forefront though.

Why is it assumed that trading cards aren't for grown-ups?

Just think of all the ridiculous things that people adults collect. Paintings. Teapots. Dolls. Vases. Spoons. Disneyana. Elvis. Star Wars. Coins. Stamps. Postcards. 

Are trading cards really that weird? Seems perfectly reasonable to me that adults would collect trading cards. Frankly, it makes more sense than kids collecting them. Cardboard pictures? Isn't that just a stiffer version of a stamp? But, adults. Ahh. They're the ones that can appreciate the history behind them. The can appreciate the care needed to really collect them. They can appreciate the subtle differences between styles and brands. They won't throw them against a wall or but them in the spokes of their bicycle.

Can you imagine someone "collecting" a teapot doing that?

The distinction does, however, bring up a question I often ask myself. Why do I collect trading cards? When I get right down to it, what is it? They're not all that unique, compared to a collection of salt and pepper shakers for instance. They don't always display very nicely. Especially when they're hidden in a binder or storage box. So, what is it?

Trading cards, whichever kind they are, appear to be simply extensions of some other type of collection or hobby. I love the Red Sox, and baseball, so I collect baseball cards. People who love Star Wars collect Star Wars Cards. People who love Frozen collect Frozen cards. Nobody, that I know of, collects trading cards because of the cards themselves. I don't look at a box of cards and think, I'm not a fan of Harry Potter, but I like the look of those cards. I'm going to buy a box. Do you?

So, if you look at them as a subset of a collection, they make a lot more sense. They're an easy way to keep track of all the players on the Red Sox in a colorful and interesting way. Better than just buying the yearbook every year and flipping through it. 

There's also, admittedly, the gambling aspect of it. That's why I've always been a pack ripper. You never know what's going to be in there. Will it be the Red Sox card I need? Will it be two of them? Will it be that super-rare one? I remember in 1998 my local card shop had a box of 1990 leaf packs. Those packs, of course, might have contained the rookie card of Sammy Sosa...who was tearing up the home run record books. I don't want to say how much money I spent on packs trying to get the card. Let's just say it was more than it would have cost to just buy the card. Even in 1998. But, it was the thrill of the hunt that did it. And, no, I didn't get one. (I did get a Frank Thomas, though, as a nice consolation prize.)

So, I guess that's it. A way to get my gambling fix, and support my Red Sox obsession. Those seem like good reasons to me.

What are your reasons?

From the Media Guide

In my collection, I currently have every Red Sox Media Guide dating back to 1998. I love flipping through them to see what tidbits they contain. I figured that if I liked it, you might enjoy taking a look along with me. So, I had a somewhat random number generator select a page from the 1998 edition to talk about today.

It selected page 88.

That's the first page in Reggie Jefferson's entry. 

The first thing I notice is that the media guide was very low on frills in 1998. A black and white pictures, and then just txt followed by text followed by text. I wonder if there was a change in philosophy that added some style to the guide, or if it's just a matter of cheaper printing processes these days.

But, what do we learn from looking at this page? 

Well, first off we see that Reggie's middle name is Jirod. That's a little unusual.

The first segment on the page deals with his 1997 season. We see in bold that Reggie had three two-homer games that season. That's not bad at all. We also see that he had a 22-game hitting streak. Now, I'm not a big fan of calling streaks "important", but it does indicate that he was probably having a pretty good month. I like the last sentence in his 1997 section. Reggie hit 11 balls off the LF wall, and two more over it. I love that they were keeping track of that. I can also imagine after Reggie did it for the first time in 1998, the announcer saying something like. "And there's a double iff the wall for Reggie. The first time he's done that in 1998. He did it eleven times last season." 

I like the next part in bold as well. Reggie hit a "game-ending" home run. Interesting choice of words there. It looks like "walk-off" was still a ways off from being the go-to term. But, you'd think "game winning" might be a better option. 

He also had another long hitting streak in 1996. Right there in bold it tells us that it was 18 games. That's a pretty lengthy streak in consecutive seasons. 

We also see in bold that Reggie had another three two-homer games in 1996. So, he's a pretty consistent hitter in that regard. Can't ask for much more than that.

All that information can be found on this Media Guide page, along with lots of other great information.

Just like every page.