I was made aware of some comments made by Bronson Arroyo this past week as it related to a “caffeine” drink I recommended to him a few years back.

Here it is, if that drink nails you as a positive, then so would water.

It won’t, and it hasn’t.

FWIW the taste isn’t all that bad, it gets better the more you take it and it does help a hell of a lot with sleeping through the night.

A special tribute dinner event is being planned to recognize military families and pay tribute to Gold Star familiesm and to honor the heroes and victims of 9/11.

This event is NOT political but rather a chance to simply say thank you to people that deserve our thanks.

It will be held at the Myriad Ballroom in Mendon, Mass. on Friday, September 11, 2009.

If you know of a Gold Star family or a family that should be invited please send contact information to Michael Shain, 15 Virginia Drive, Milford, Ma 01757 or email tomatt4@verizon.net

If you wish to donate to the event please send to “Thanks to Yanks, c/o Charles River Bank, 70 Main Street, PO Box 740, Medway, MA 02053.

Shonda is putting on her first Bowling Tournament through the Shade Foundation, to help create awareness of melanoma and raise money for the SHADE FOUNDATION.

If you don’t like links, or hate that someone that ‘played a game’ for a living talks about something other than said game, don’t read any further, don’t click the link. If you’re none of the above feel free to read on and respond.

Ann Coulter might be extreme, but damn the woman is intelligent in ways that piss so many people off. You have to think that with as much anger and hatred as she elicits, she has to be hitting too close to home for some.

I disagree with some of what she says, I do wish she was more subdued so more people would listen to the actual content of what she says, but she has an opinion and really doesn’t give a damn what people think, there’s something admirable about that….most of the time.

Reading stuff like this you have to wonder where we really are headed..

I was traded five times during my career – four times as a major league player, only once as a minor leaguer. There is nothing like the first time, and being traded as a minor league player was far different than any of the other times.

I can remember it like it was yesterday. There were ironies abounding that day, as well…

Dan Gabrielle, Mike Carista, Todd Pratt and I were sitting in the Double A clubhouse in New Britain. That morning (we had a doubleheader vs. the Mariners that day) we talked about the rumored trade for MIke Boddicker for the first and only time. I don’t think any of us ever considered being part of a trade, but we openly talked about that very thing for the first and only time that morning.

Gabe was a No. 1 pick, incredibly talented and a great guy. Mike Carista was the most talented pitcher I had played with to that point, and Todd was catching, coming off a Rule 5 spring with the Indians.

It was both funny and ironic that we went around the room and talked about everyone’s chances… but mine. I never even considered being included, nor did anyone else. We thought we knew Brady was going, but we were trying to figure out which guy would make the other piece.

We talked about Gabe, but that he was a No. 1 pick we didn’t think they’d trade him. We all thought Mike was one of, if not the best prospect below AAA. No way they’d trade him. Todd was coming off a Rule 5 draft and seemed a logical choice if there was going to be another big prospect.

It was a simple 15-minute conversation, nothing more really.

I was slated to start Game 2 of the doubleheader and was in the clubhouse watching TV. The Double A clubhouse had the square footage of a mini refrigerator so there weren’t many options for roaming while waiting to get ready for Game 2. A big screen TV, training room table, a table for the hot dogs (post game spread) and not much else.

So I am sitting on the chair watching ESPN, and along the bottom of the screen scrolls

“Red Sox acquire Boddicker……..”

“Boston acquires RHP Mike Boddicker for minor league OF Brady Anderson and minor league RHP Curt Schilling”

Um, what?????

Talk about stunned, shocked, reeling, everything you can imagine.

That’s how I found out. That was how I was informed.

I walk out of the clubhouse to the dugout, Todd Pratt is on deck, I call him over, he leans to the screen and I whisper

“Dude I just got traded to Balitmore”

“No f’in way dude!”

“Yep!”

“Ok bro, watch, I’m going to hit a bomb for you”

I laugh. He proceeds to walk to the plate and launches a 450 foot homer to dead center (for anyone that doesn’t know the field at New Britain only Hercules and the Lord himself go dead central at that park).

I laughed, went inside, got a phone call I cannot for the life of me remember, and pack my things.

I flew to Orlando to meet the Charlotte Knights, the Double A team for Baltimore.

I ended up starting the next day. I was nervous as hell thinking “Man they are going to release me if I don’t pitch well, they are going to think they traded for a pathetic player!”

I got my ass handed to me, Chip Hale took me deep, too.

Not a great story, but man I remember every bit of the little stuff surrounding that morning. Little did I know 16 years later I’d get a shot at wearing the uniform of the team that had drafted me.

What was your initial reaction?
Disappointment, more than anything. We all respond with a lot of personal bias, and in players cases these guys are close friends, or enemies and there can be no doubt that taints our response from one to the other. David is a close friend, and my goal at home is to make sure that my kids understand that being a good person, treating people right and being kind doesn’t excuse you from making stupid mistakes and bad decisions. As long as you own up and are accountable.

Is this more shocking than any other revelation? Given David’s public statements about the need to show that people can succeed “the right way” in ‘06, and his calls for punishment this spring, is this more surprising than other sluggers who have been caught?
I am not sure about anyone else, personally I am in no way shocked anymore. David’s statements make me think that the guys that did test positive do not know or have not been told — until these leaks come out.

As to the second point, I mean come on. Our stinking President had sex with a woman half his age in the oval office and looked straight into the camera in his best Rafael Palmeiro impersonation and said “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” No, his comments don’t make it more surprising.

Should any of David’s subsequent accomplishments be judged by this?
That’s for you to decide. It seems to be an area of immense debate, but I am not sure how this could/should/will be resolved. Whatever you do you need to do it for anyone now, and if you do do something, make sure there is some detriment for anyone caught going forward. Given that so many people live on their accomplishments or stats, taking one or both away would be a decent way to deter some guys, I think.

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THE DAISUKE PROGRAM

–What is your perception of the situation with his throwing program? When you saw his between-starts work in ‘07, did you consider it fascinating, insane, something in between?

Daisuke is no different than any other pitcher I’ve played with from the Far East. They are taught at a young age to throw, throw some more, and when you’re exhausted, throw some more. That works well in some cases because their schedule is different. One thing that cannot be stated enough is the fact that they work in what amounts to a six-man rotation over there, which is worlds apart from the five-man. Their strike zones are bigger, they throw less pitches per start as well. BK Kim was a great example. Young kid, phenomenal arm, burned out. The quality of his stuff dropped dramatically because he refused to listen to anyone explain to him that sort of regimen could not maintain his arm strength through this much more rigorous and demanding schedule.

–What kind of teammate is he?

Nice kid, quiet. I can’t imagine the hurdles and challenges someone faces coming to a country where everything is foreign. I was surprised to find out he knew a lot more English than he ever let on and part of me thinks that was due to him wanting to know more of what was going on than he let on or people expected. It also, IMO only, presented him with the opportunity to say “I don’t understand” when he actually might have. He was always smiling.

–What’s your sense of the reason underlying his time on the DL this year: WBC, need to return to his lifelong shoulder program, poor conditioning, other?

I think he showed up to spring training in horrific shape based on what I heard and saw. When weight goes up, and body fat as well, it’s a clear indicator that work wasn’t being done. If he’s allowed to ‘do as he pleases’ he’s peaked and IMO he will not get better. If he is allowed to throw to the extreme volumes he wants you are looking at a starter who will need a few breaks during the season, and someone who will not remain a power guy for long.

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In a day and age when it feels like there is no politician alive you can trust as far as you can throw, it’s exciting as hell to hear this news;

I’ve known Charlie for about 5 years now, and I’ll state right up front I have not dug into his policies, or his agenda, but the one thing I do know is he’s a man of his word, and a man of integrity. Two things that are too often left off others resumes.

So while he may stand for some things, or done some things I don’t agree with, like I said I need to do some homework, I’ll vote for him. I’ll vote for him because he’s someone that has always appealed to me as being out for the greater good above all else.

This state is in dire need of exactly that right now.

Here’s a link to a more relevant site for anyone wanting to get involved.

July 24, 2009, marks the fifth anniversary of one of the most famous regular-season games in Red Sox history. A game against the Yankees that featured a brawl between Jason Varitek and Alex Rodriguez – followed by a dramatic ninth-inning walkoff homer by Bill Mueller against Mariano Rivera for an improbable 11-10 victory at Fenway – is credited by many as the turning point of the 2004 Red Sox’ run to their first World Series in 86 years.

Curt Schilling answered a number of questions about the game for Alex Speier’s article, “Red Sox Independence Day.” Here are Curt’s recollections of that day:

You started the night before that game – when the Yankees won, 8-7, to take a 9.5 game lead in the East. You took a 4-2 lead into the sixth, the Yankees scratched five runs off of you and Timlin (two infield singles playing a huge part in the rally) to take the lead, then after the Sox tied it in the eighth, A-Rod hit a game-winning single off of Foulke in the night. Afterwards, you said that if the Sox played that hard every night, you’d win the World Series. What do you remember about that game?

If I remember right that was one of the hardest regular season losses I suffered here. Was in total control of the game and it just slipped away. Giambi HR? Tough loss.

It was a micro version of the season. We battled, that team ground it out every night. We never conceded and we had the personality and makeup to say that attitude wasn’t [B.S.]. It was real, it was who we were.

Was there any despondency about that big a hole in the standings, any sense that the playoffs – let alone World Series – might be slipping as a legitimate goal?

We never looked at it that way. One of Tito’s strengths has always been his ability to get the team to focus on the nine innings ahead of you, regardless of what has happened.

Given the strength of the team in April (MLB-best 17-8 record), what explanations did you guys have for the weird run (35-36 through that game) that followed?

We just weren’t consistent, and we were playing in a very tough division. This league is as hard a grind as anything you could imagine. There were no real patsies. There was no stretch of games where you looked at and said “ah, we should go 7-3” because even when we drew a Seattle we’d get Hernandez, Baltimore would always have Bedard and it seemed we NEVER missed Halladay.

At that point, many questioned Terry Francona as a manager (an article in the New York Times on July 24, 2004, asked how Joe Torre would handle the Red Sox). How was Francona’s handling of the club during that period? Was he wearing the team’s struggles?

He was the same, he always is. Sure he’s human and some times are funner than others, but he never brought that into the clubhouse. I remember hanging out in his office often, just chatting. I’ve known him longer than anyone here and I know him well, and there are times, especially that year in dealing with Manny and some of the Pedro stuff that I knew he needed to talk to a player.

The next day, the weather was brutal. There was a rain delay (54 minutes) and most folks anticipated a rainout. What was the clubhouse attitude like prior to that game?

We wanted to play, the front office did not. They were very concerned about the ‘gate’ and we were dead set on playing. I remember a “[Expletive] that, we want to play” response when they came and told us they wanted to bang the game.

Do you recall whether there was any sense that a rainout was going to happen?

We thought they were wanting to do it, and we knew we wanted to play.

Was there any sense of desperation about the need to beat the Yankees at that point? Or is the 162-game nature of the season such that there are no such things as “must-wins?”

No. That team never ever acted or felt desperate. We were in holes, we had to climb some mountains, but we did so never being desperate. We were able to focus on the game at hand as well as any team I had ever been on.

Bronson Arroyo, as a first-year starter, was the guy on the mound for you that day. At that point, any concerns about how Bronson might handle that sort of spotlight game?

That was never a concern about Bronson. He was never a guy you worried about getting rattled. You hoped he was awake some times, but you never worried about him being rattled.

Top 3: Yankees, already up 2-0, push across another run (Bernie double, Jeter single, Sheffield run-scoring DP) to go up 3-0. Then, Bronson hits A-Rod.

How would you describe the tensions between the Sox and Yankees entering that year and that game? Obviously, you parachuted into the middle of the thing, following the ‘03 playoffs and all that came with it… Was there a sense of outright hostility between the teams, or was that a creation from outsiders?

Far more animosity in the stands than on the field. Though some things happened that year that were weird and uncomfortable. Pedro walking through their stretch at Yankee stadium, goofy stuff. But we never ‘hated’ them or anything like that, not as a team anyway. We certainly didn’t like some of them more than others.

What was the perception of A-Rod in the Sox clubhouse at that time?

Probably as disliked as anyone in the game. Profound respect for the on the field talent, but there was so much weird [expletive] that always was present. We always looked at him as someone forcing himself to look comfortable when he clearly wasn’t. It was weird. There was almost pity in that we watched the immense effort he would put out to make himself appear like ‘one of the guys’. We had a bunch of guys that knew him, and some that had played with him, so we knew the guy.

What was the scouting report on A-Rod in ‘04? How were you guys trying to pitch him in that series?

His major weakness is the strike outs. That many K’s always meant there were holes. There was no one way to pitch him, but you knew and know he was a HUGE guesser then. You could watch his K’s and know that.

Was Bronson trying to hit A-Rod?

Stupidest thing ever, no chance. Look at the score, count, situation, no chance.

Was it fair game for A-Rod to yell at Bronson?

Fair had nothing to do with it. The guy was SCREAMING for a situation to ingratiate himself there, and it presented itself, sort of. The yelling BS though, that was funny. The only thing between a hitter and the mound is air and opportunity, he had both….

What role did Jason Varitek play in escalating the situation? You’re probably aware of the legend — myth? real? — that Jason said something along the lines of, “We don’t hit .270 hitters on purpose…” Any truth to that? Was Jason simply looking to help a teammate, or was he looking to spark the team?

No. Jason told him to shut up, and go to first. Then the exchange of F bombs, then the Wilson sandwich.

You were the first guy in from the dugout — how did you see the thing unfold? Where were you trying to go on the field?

I was trying to get there first for two reasons, make sure Tek didn’t end up on the bottom, and that no one on our team got hurt in the melee.

What are the details of the brawl that you remember from inside of it? Nothing remarkable, a lot of shit talking, nothing more. What are the details that you learned while re-watching it? Anything – whether the Sturtze/Kapler, Sturtze/Ortiz/Nixon, anything – that was particularly insane?

That was the minute we realized Sturtze was a 6-foot-8 inch puss. The sucker BS and all that, no place for it. We were all wishing some how, some way, Trot would have had a cleaner, clearer shot. That would have been worthy of some sort of cage fighting highlight. We also went nuts when we saw Jonesy (first-base coach Lynn Jones, who tried to pull David Ortiz out of the scrum with Sturtze) grabbing our players. You never grab your own guys in a brawl.

How, if at all, was the dugout/clubhouse a different place after you guys returned to it? Do you see blood on guys? How would you describe the adrenaline of the situation?

Huge adrenalin surge on our end, then the normal scenes, everyone running back to the clubhouse to check out the video and see who did what, who said what, who kicked who’s ass and any sucker punches.

Among brawls you’ve been a part of, how — aside from subsequent history — was this one different, and how similar to others?

Not much really.

The game resumes. A-Rod, Sturtze, Tek, Kapler, Kenny Lofton are thrown out. The game goes all over the place. You guys score four runs to go up 4-3 by the end of the fourth. Yankees score six in the sixth, go up 9-4. Four for Sox in the sixth, 9-8 game. Yanks score another in the seventh. What do you remember about the course that the game took from the brawl into the ninth?

Nothing but the ending really, it was all a blur.

Any concern, in the sixth, that a five-run lead is hopelessly large? Any concern that you’ve missed out on a chance to build on a major event that could have built momentum?

No

What is the dugout chatter like during the game?

Like every other time. Wondering about retaliation, guys saying they are going straight for so and so if we clear again, no ONE, and I mean NO ONE, is not in the dugout from that point on.

As much as you guys had done to get back in the game, does Mariano Rivera’s entrance (with two outs in the eighth) change the dynamic?

Everywhere but here. Mo, and there is ZERO disrespect intended because he’s the greatest ever, but he never intimidated or set us back mentally. Mo was who you had to beat in late game situations and we had done that enough to know we could. We didn’t need ‘that guy’ at the plate, we had many guys who were and are ok facing him.

Bottom nine. Mo’s in. Nomar doubles. Trot flies out. Millar singles (10-9). Bill Mueller. What do you remember?

It was movie script like, really. That game injected a HUGE amount of momentum. You come to the park different every day for the rest of the season. Many times it’s not immediate, but it has huge impact, and that carried into October for us. We REALLY didn’t like them after that series, bordering on ‘beat the (expletive) out of them dislike” whereas before it was ‘beat them’.

The obvious disclaimers: you guys went 3-3, then 5-5 after the brawl game, and there was a little trade about a week later. That said…what was the role of this game in what happened over the rest of 2004?  Do you guys get to the playoffs without it? Are you able to come back in the ALCS without it? What was the significance of that game?

I think it had bigger implications in October than the regular season. I look at that team as one that would have made the playoffs anyway, but that’s now, I can’t remember it then, but I do know I heard more than once in October that game, being referenced.