According to the schedule on the Tigers' site, we play them at home on Tuesday, April 8th at 2:05, then two night games the next two nights. I think it's safe to say April 8th will be our home opener, complete with ring ceremony.

Other schedule news: I've got confirmation on the Sunday start times. The Mariners, like the Brewers, have a Sunday game at Fenway, and they also list it as being at 1:35 (eastern). Wow, it really is curtains for the ol' Sunday 2:05-erino.

Okay, wait a minute. This is interesting. I was trying to figure out who we'll play to start the season (after the Japan series with Oakland), which I assume will be a road series, due to what I mentioned in the first paragraph here. I eliminated most teams through all the released schedules. The teams unaccounted for are:

Oakland: Would we play them after the Japan series? And have a one-city west coast trip? No.

Toronto: We play them second, so we couldn't play them first.

That leaves one more team. The Yankees. And I'd say they ESPN definitely tabs that game as the Sunday nighter. So, my call is that we start in NY, Sunday, March 30th, followed by a Tuesday and a Wednesday game, possibly with Tuesday being a day game. Then, off to Toronto for a three-game weekend series. Off-day on Tuesday the 7th, then the ring ceremony and Opening Day against Detroit on Tuesday the 8th. Mark your calendars! In pencil!

(Of course, tomorrow I'll find out that they've already announced all this somewhere. My '08 makeshift schedule--minus the Yankee assumption, is here.)

Update: After doing more process-of-elimination work, I think those second two blank series on my sked have to be against NY. Therefore, maybe that Oakland idea isn't such a bad one. The Japan games on the 22nd and 23rd, then some exhibition games over there, then stop in Oakland for three to start the year, then a day off before going to Toronto. Or maybe I'm missing something obvious. Check in with me in a few days....

I just watched Manny on Leno. Really cool. His knuck-dust with Steven Carell was priceless. He also pointed out that he said the "it's not the end of the world" thing to take the pressure off, and then we won seven in a row. I'm sure you'll all see this online tomorrow.

I love our players.

Next up, Papi on Conan....

Okay, now I just watched that. Also good. I liked the new handshake, complete with dance. And a funny story about Papi's Halloween experience. Lots of Boston people on TV tonight: Conan and Leno themselves, Papi and Manny, and Steve Carell. The odd man out was Jerry Seinfeld. I've seen him on a few shows lately, plugging his cartoon movie, and he now sounds like Jimmy Fallon's impression of Jerry Seinfeld.

Anyway, the best part of the Papi interview was when Conan asked about re-signing Mike Lowell. Ortiz was totally pro-Lowell, of course, and then Conan told him to make it happen or he'd have to do it himself. So Papi turns to the camera and says "Theo! Do it!" Awesome. We're all in agreement, then.

When I was in college, back in a time we called "'93," a sketch-comedy show called "The State" came out. I loved it. Then, it almost became a network show. Then, it disappeared. Then, every fake-ass, coffee-house indie rocker and their left grandmother acted like it was their favorite show as the 1900s became the 2000s, even though they were too young to see it when it was on TV. A VHS tape of stuff I'd taped already was released. It was hard to find. The people from the show went on to do many fine things: Viva Variety, Reno 911, Stella, all the stuff Michael Ian Black does, The Baxter, The Ten, and a movie I watched once again last night, Wet Hot American Summer.

Today, I checked to see if the State DVD box-set was any closer to coming out. Terribly, despite the nice trailer they made for it, MTV has decided NOT to release it. At least not now. When are they gonna just give the people what they want? In the meantime, please go to itoonz or amazzzon or whatever and download an episode or two. I guess if people buy those, there's a better chance they release a DVD.

I knew there was something else that was awesome about Girardi being the new Yanks' manager: His little son is a huge Big Papi fan.

And now Torre is the Dodgers manager. I guess Torre thought, "Hmmm, what would be the opposite of New York?"

Abreu will be back with the Yanks in '08. Good. Love hatin' that guy. I wondering if he's practicing his not-swinging skills right now.

Royce Clayton was DFA'd. "I ain't got my assignment." But John Farrell will be back as pitching coach.

Oh, one more thing. And this may shock and amaze you. But I'd like to say "anti-terrible job" to Jorge Posada. After 2006, I was sure he was pretty much done, his numbers in a steady decline. But he had a great season. Granted, it was a contract year, but still. This also gives hope to anyone who has doubts about Varitek as he ages. If Posada can do that well, Tek can, easily.

Good 2007 wrap-up by Andrew here.

Scroll down and look along the right side of my blog for links to places with Rolling Rally pictures. If yours are online somewhere, or you know of any other good galleries (not from newspapers--regular folks only), feel free to let me know and I'll add them.

In "Team That Hasn't Had A Parade In A Long Time" news, Joe Girardi will be the new Yanks manager and will wear number 27. After that nice long talk we had about how they should stop with the 27 crap, for their own good. Oh well, just keep adding pressure to the cooker. I love that Girardi is their choice, as he's such a button-down guy--that'll keep the Yanks facial hair and below the collar hair-free. In other words, looking like the losers they've been for seven years. Perfect. Anything that keeps the Yanks the opposite of us is good. (And I'm not kidding--Girardi didn't allow facial hair when he managed the Marlins. Keep those top buttons buttoned, guys, that's the best way to choke. You can respect the game while looking weird--and win, too. Dumbasses.)

Only some teams have their '08 schedules up, and fewer have it up with game-times. But the one team who has times up, and who plays the Red Sox at Fenway on a Sunday, is the Brewers. According to their sked, the game starts at 12:35. That's central time, making it a 1:35 start in Boston. Does this mean our 2:05 Sunday games are moving back a half-hour for '08? If so, this reporter would like to pledge his allegiance to the new, alien Sunday start-time. I always liked the old 1:05 starts, so this would be kind of a compromise. You still have a little extra time to sleep in, or to get to the game if you live far away, yet the game will get out a little earlier.

Also note: This could just be a screw-up by the Brewers. I still anxiously await another team that plays us at Fenway on a Sunday to release their schedule, so I can confirm this. Or for the Red Sox to just release theirs! It November already! Opening Day is fast approaching! My current makeshift 2008 schedule is here.

Saw 25 Red Sox games this season. The Red Sox went 17-8 in those games.

In playoff games, I went 2-0. In May and August combined, I went 6-0. In games against the Yanks: 3-0.

By pitcher:

Dice-K starts: 6-1
Schill starts: 4-3
Beckett starts: 3-2
Wake starts: 2-1
Buchholz starts: 1-0
Gabbard starts: 1-0
Tavarez starts: 0-1

Notable stuff:
4 homers in a row by the Red Sox
Trot's return
Dave Roberts' return
Walk on the field after Father's Day game
Dice's Fenway debut
Buchholz' MLB debut
A Bonds HR
My first playoff win
Walkoff playoff win
ALCS Game 7
AL East on-field clinching celebration
AL on-field clinching celebration
My second Rolling Rally

No, I didn't forget the WS runs-by-inning contest. AJM/Laureen picked up a run in the fifth to add to their lead. A final effort by Jay/Leggett in the eighth left them five short. No one else made a serious move in the final game. So, after AJM and Kara finish one-two in the '06-'07 Quiz season, each of them wins a linescore contest, alongside Pweezil and Laureen. I will e-mail the winners about prizes. I have everyone's except Laureen (please write me at Two2067 at aol dot com if you want your prize.) I'll also be e-mailing everyone who took pictures at road games for me this season to talk about giving you your "prize." If you don't hear from me, it means I don't have your address, and you should e-mail me. Anyway, final WS linescore results:

Inn./Contestants/Runs

5/AJM & Laureen / 9
3/Kara & Pweezil / 6
1/Peter & Ryan / 4
8/Jay & Michael Leggett / 4
4/savethejellys & Rebecca / 3
9 & beyond/my mom / 1
2/Matty & Quinn / 1
7/Novy & Dan / 1
6/Soxy Lady & Allen / 0

Total WS runs (4 games): 29

Total ALCS runs (7 games): 51

Total runs by inning in ALCS and WS combined:

3/Kara & Pweezil / 21
8/Jay & Michael Leggett / 15
5/AJM & Laureen / 15
1/Peter & Ryan / 11
7/Novy & Dan / 7
6/Soxy Lady & Allen / 5
4/savethejellys & Rebecca / 3
2/Matty & Quinn / 2
9 & beyond/my mom / 1

We really kicked butt in that third inning! Jay/Leggett pulled a bit of an "'81 Reds," doing well in the first and second contest, finishing second overall, but not coming out with a prize. You know what would be fun? A season-long linescore contest!

Never have so many 13-25 year old female humans written the word "Ellsbury" in marker on a slab of cardboard in one day.

So here I was again, waiting for a Red Sox World Series victory parade to start. Sweet. Kim wasn't given the day off work, and Pat couldn't make it up from CT either, but my parents decided to take the train from New Haven to Boston so they could see it. I got to the route around ten, and it was fairly empty, although plenty of people had already staked out spots. I had many options. Go near the Pru to get it the background of my shots. Go to Copley where there'd be a big screen and a big crowd. Go anywhere along Boylston for an up-close view of things. But then I started thinking about 2004, how it's really a crap-shoot in terms of who you'll see, because half the players are on one side of the boats and half are on the other. So I found the one spot on the route where it takes a hard turn. I figured I could see the left side of the boats as they came up alongside the Common, and then the right as they passed by me on Tremont St. And that's the spot I chose. Before you call me a genius, note that I only ended up filming the left side of the first boat. After that, all I wanted do was pay attention to what's going on right in front of me.

Above, Henry and Lucchino. Getting back to the story, though, I'd brought my video camera, as I wanted to tape the whole thing like I did on 2004. (Here's the movie I made out of that footage if you missed it. Note: also includes footage of Sox in New Haven and the moon I filmed on the night we won.)

So, unless I had someone with me, I knew I wouldn't get still shots. I'd called my parents and let them know where I'd be, but their train was late, so I didn't know if they'd find me. I thought about asking the kid next to me from Portsmouth for his web site address so I could at least link to his shots. But it didn't matter, as my parents did find me, and my dad took still pictures. Great job by him.

So, I'm taping. These are video stills. You can click them, but they're probably better at the size you see them here. Above, Theo Epstien.

We didn't have a clear shot of Tito, but that's his head.

Rich Gedman! (middle, red sleeve) In 2004, as I filmed Johnny Pesky going by, Pat and I were completely oblivious to the fact that Geddy was right behind Pesky. When I watched the footage later, I was shocked to see this perfect shot I had of Gedman going right past us. This year, I didn't know if they'd have past players or not, but all of a sudden, there he was again! This time, I got to cheer for him and just watch him go by--as my mom repeatedly yelled "Ged-man" in the funniest moment of my video. Of course, this all led to my filming work to suffer, and this is the best shot I ended up with. No complaints, though. If you had told me in 1988 that our catcher would eventually be in a Red Sox WS parade, twice, almost 20 years later, and I'd be there both times, I never would've believed it, but instantly would've signed up for it.

Pedroia and Hinske. I have some shots of some people that are essentially the same as what my dad got, so I've left those out of this post.

Well, actually, this is kind of the same pose by Lester as in my dad's shot, but it's actually a different wave than the one he gave my dad. Plus, this shot has a bird in it. So, the day was chilly, but only in the shade. Unfortunately, I was in the shade, sitting still from 10 to 12 just waiting and shivering. Around 12:45, the sun finally reached our side of the street. At that point, I was hoping the players would beat the sun to our spot, to avoid glare, but it wasn't to be. But at least we got warm. After the parade, even right on the water, it felt like a summer day.

Youk!

Dice is another guy we didn't have a view of, so, again, you get the side of his head on the left.

I was so psyched that the bullpen dudes had drums and sticks and stuff. Here, Manny Delcarmen and Javier Lopez bang a drum.

We didn't see a Papelbon dance. Not many did. But we did see him playing the broom along with the Dropkick Murphys.

Okajima was on the front of the flatbed truck that carried the band.

We really lucked out as the trophy lept getting walked from one boat to the next, always ending up right in front of us. In fact, Timlin walked with it going right to left as the flatbed moved, so it was like he was walking in place right in front of us.

I liked how excited this military dude was, and how he held up the trophy right in the sun.

Another left-sider was Jacoby Ellsbury. His head is on the left there.

We also lucked out when the boats stopped for a few minutes--with Papi right above us. I think that's his dad with him.

Coco and Drew hold up the trophy.

We could hear Manny talking on-mic on the other side of Papi. "New York who?" "Forget Disney, we're partying at my house tonight, my wife's gonna cook for all of you!" Finally, the boat moved, and we actually got to see him.

More Manny.

Manny and his soon-to-be-busy- cooking-for-thousands wife. I really liked how Manny has a "fan"-type Red Sox hat on. Players never do that. Usually, their own off-field hats aren't of their own team.

Lowell and Cora.

Jason seemed out of it when he went by us. But I got this shot of him standing and about to be waving after he was past us. I liked comparing 2004 parade reactions to 2007, for guys who were on both teams.

Wally.

Carl Bean and Dr. Charles.

Left and Righty. That's Tina Cervasio's hair on the left, and barely visible next to her is Don Orsillo.

I've been noticing that whenever I or anyone else refers to 2004, whether it be the parade, the team, the playoffs, we'll start to say "last year," before correcting it: "or...2004." It kind of does seem like we'd all just been waiting for this to happen again. And it did. The rally was loud and packed and awesome. The crowd seemed thin shortly before noon, which made sense since it was a weekday, unlike in '04, but by the time the ducks rolled by, the sidewalks were full. I watched the NESN and Comcast Sports replays of the whole thing when I got home, and you could see just how massive the crowd was, especially at the end of the parade in City Hall Plaza. Oh, but before I went home, my parents and I walked all around that whole Faneuil Hall area. I'm learning more and more about the layout of this crazy town....

"This year's gonna be fun." --Me, March 2nd, 2007

[Update: Buy the entire video, which includes the 2004 rally, here.]

Okay, people, here are the still shots my dad and I got today. Later today I'll post video stills and I'll actually describe the day. [Update: Here are the video stills. And click here to buy the uncut video on DVD, which includes the 2004 rally. Thanks.] Click to enlarge.
Moon above the barricades, well before the parade came by.

Cop.

Cops with barricade head for toilet paper finish line.

And he wins!

Me filming while my dad takes over the still camera.

Henry, with Lucchino kind of visible.

Beckett.

Johnny Pesky.

Pedroia.

My dad is quite proud of this Jon Lester shot.

Manny Delcarmen with drumsticks. They had actual drums, too. Lopez at left.

Okajima with trophy.

Papelbon playing the broom with Dropkick Murphys.

Army dude with trophy.

Coco and Drew.

Big Papi.

Manny and Papi.

Lowell tapin'.

A dog in a Pedro shirt. Camera back in my hands now.

We went over to the water.

City of Boston.

This year's Rolling Rally was really fun. My parents came up from CT. I shot video, while my dad manned my still camera. So you can thank him for this shot:



Remember, a noble click embiggens the smallest picture. Much more to come later!

Special thanks to Chan for sending me this link.

The 2007 Red Sox went through the playoffs much in the same way the '04 team did. Sweep, followed by greatest or tied-for-second greatest comeback ever, followed by tied-for-biggest ever World Series win. (In terms of number of games.)

We all have our own memories related to each postseason. In '03, I ate chips and salsa for dinner during most of it, for some reason. '04 was the "briefly living with my sister and her four kids, and I'm happy to help out, but please make sure I just get to watch each game in peace" postseason. This year was definitely the Shining postseason at our house. And, of course, the one where I got to see the celebrations live. I'll never forget it. If anyone's thinking about taking these championships for granted, please re-think.

It was also the "Frank TV" postseason, the "swarm of bugs" postseason, and the "carrot cam" postseason. That last one's referring to the behind-the-plate camera that Fox used which made Indians' and Red Sox' sleeves appear orange.

So much has happened in this one day since the win. All the Yankee news, which will be covered later--they've taken up enough of our time recently. Edgar goes to the Tigers. The Red Sox come home. I thought about going over to Fenway for that, but I figured I'm gonna see all those guys tomorrow at the Rolling Rally. But it was fun watching them on TV: Werner talking about how it took so much effort for he and Jack Hank to raise the trophy, only to see Papi hoist it one-handed, as if it were a miniature version. Papelbon saying he's been puking all morning, and answering the "will you dance" question for the millionth time. Cora going right up to the platform where Remy and TC were, and telling them how ever since the Yankees dissed Bernie, their home country of Puerto Rico has been rooting for the Sox. Papi being asked if he's tired, and saying "a little bit."

So, we'll get to cheer for our Red Sox one more time tomorrow. I can't say enough about these dudes.

Beckett. Became truly dominant this year. Learned to keep the temper in check. Did what we thought he could do. Kept it up in the playoffs. May get a Cy Young award.

Buchholz. We knew he'd be good. But we got a no-hitter right away. Hang onto this kid.

Corey. Led that bullpen band to glory.

Delcarmen. Really coming into his own now. Was never scared.

Donnelly. Gave his all, until they wouldn't let him give any more. Still was there every game, in his first year with us.

Gagne. For a guy who did that poorly, he certainly never hid from anybody.

Lester. I knew this guy would do great in Game Four. For some reason, a lot of people didn't. I feel like if Buchholz hadn't thrown a no-hitter, Lester would've gotten a lot more credit.

Lopez. Threw in some serious bombs, but proved to be a necessary part of the 'pen.

Matsuzaka. Great job coming over here. Has really shown us what could be next year, and I think it will be.

Okajima. Amazing. We absolutely wouldn't have won without him.

Papelbon. Watch out, Mo.

Schilling. Pulled a Pedro, realizing he has to become a pitcher once he couldn't be a thrower any more. And succeeded. And still was great in the big games.

Snyder. Another invaluable part of the 'pen, even though some people think of him as Kramer when he went to "work" for that company just by starting to show up one day.

Tavarez. For a hot-head, he sure has proven to be pretty cool.

Timlin. Awesome. I love when you can really feel connections with people who share opposite political views with you, and when you can find things in common with them.

Wakefield. When we got him, I was 19. Now I'm 32. Great guy. Gave us a lot of quality performances this year, even when "real" writers were still completely passing him off as a novelty act.

Mirabelli. Without him, who catches Timmy?

Varitek. I still don't know if I'm considered to be "just another dumb fan" if I believe that his work with the pitching staff is a huge deal. But I don't care. I'm gonna agree with people who say that. He's the captain, and he's got two rings.

Clayton. Another guy whose baseball card I had as a teenager. I had no idea he was such a comedian. The perfect addition to a fun, non-robot, non-Yankee team.

Cora. Another vet who I'm sure anyone close to the team would tell you we needed in order to get it done this year.

Hinske. Always gave it everything he had. I liked how he was genuinely happy when he did well.

Lowell. World Series MV F'n P. What a guy. What a player. Will see him at Fenway next year. (!)

Lugo. It's not a team if there isn't a guy out there who makes you nervous. But he was there all year, and really came through big a bunch of times.

Pedroia. I love that this guy will be our second baseman for a long time to come. Was the guy you wanted to have up over anyone else for a huge stretch of the year. That says a lot in a lineup with Manny and Papi.

Youkilis. Awesome. Never asked him to be more than average on defense, but in addition to his solid bat, he's now a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman.

Crisp. I love Coco. Gave us so much in the field this year, and was still ready to play even when Jacoby took over.

Drew.

I said, "Drew." Oh, sorry. Just, uh, lost it for a second there. Okay, right, Drew. Stepped it up at playoff time. And that really is the most key time.

Ellsbury. I still think it may just be a really good dream I had.

Kielty. One World Series at bat. One World Series-winning dong!

Ramirez. I have cherished every second he's been here since I got his jersey in the winter he signed with us. I hope he's still here in '08.

Ortiz. "Is it better to be loved, or feared?" Apparently, both at the same time works just fine.

Tito and every other dude who doesn't play--We asked for the best, you gave us the best. Twice. Can I believe it? Well, Mike Lowell was on the cover of the New York Times today, so.....

Thank you, 2007 Red Sox.

And thank you, RSF/PT readers.

"Just relax, we're gonna have a parade." --Curt Schilling, two months ago (according to Tom Werner).

Jason Varitek, shorty after the game, was asked about Red Sox fans. He said that we were the "extra guy." Then, you could see it in his eyes. He'd just left out half of us. Very quickly, he ammended his statement, adding that we were also "the extra woman." Great job, Jason. In a world where we use the male default (my 10-game plan at Fenway is called the "10th Man Plan"), I am proud to go the opposite way. We Sox fans truly are the 10th Woman!

During the game tonight, Kim asked me if I'd be sad, considering this could be the last baseball we watch until spring. It's always sad. But the best kind of sad is happy-sad. Every year, Joe Castiglione ends the final broadcast with a poem that you all probably know. This year, we flipped on Joe in the ninth to hear his final call. As many of you know, I grew up with the Red Sox on radio. I was just starting to listen on my own around the time Castiglione was hired by the Sox, 25 years ago. So he and radio in general will always have a special place in my heart. Anyway, I have video-taped for you (meaning I pointed it at my 1980 Olympics radio, along with the Rico Petrocelli pin I bought this season, and kept in my pocket right up until just now) the end of the broadcast tonight. It contains tonight's final call, and the poem. I like how my all-time favorite, Ken Coleman, started the tradition, and Joe honors him, along with Bart Giamatti, the poem's author, every year.



Oh, and the other two things I did to help the Sox win: 1. Not jinx J. D. Drew's fine post-season by breaking out the "great job, Drew" speech too early. (Great job, Drew. I was worried when AJM came out of nowhere in the comments and said so, and I thought "shhhh!" but couldn't say anything. So, yes, AJM, he's done well in the post-season!)

2. A lot of times, I'll do a post, and the time of day will reflect when I started writing it, as opposed to when I finished. I always go to change it to the ending time, but if it's, say, 2:02 AM, I might change it to 2:04, in honor of 2004. Eventually I started changing them so anything close to an :04 was changed to exactly :04. At some point recently, I finished a post and it was six minutes after the hour or something, and I went to change it. But I thought, Wait. We have to win this year. So I made it say :07. Ever since then, if I had to change it, I'd change it to a time ending in 7 or :07. Now, in 2007, we have our 7th championship.

We're getting up early tomorrow. I'll get all the papers. If you're new to this blog, stay tuned. I'm here all winter. My mom and I are writing a book centered around the 2007 World Champion Boston Red Sox, out in 2008, and I'll keep you updated on that. Plus there will be quizzes, and, in the next few days, World Series parade pics/video.

Sweet dreams, all, though they couldn't be better than real life. It doesn't feel like 2004--and that's perfectly okay. This was just as sweet. Different, but no less effin' awesome. Congratulations Red Sox. Each and every one of you. We love you. Good series, Rockies. Good job, mom and dad and friends (physical and internet). We never gave up. See you at the parade!

My cousin (I think) at the World Series!

They started out in the Rock Pile.

But it looks like they were able to snag a good spot for the ninth. Here's Papelbon warming up.

And the Red Sox win! Thanks a million, mystery cuz! Glad you got to see a win.