Youkilis

On the Importance of Playing Wall-Ball

/ Sara / Leave a comment

After a few days spent on vacation with my mom and sister (thus, sports were almost banned altogether) its good to get back into the news world. And to think, I’ve been missing all the minute-by-minute updates on Brett Farve!

Sportscenter:
Levy: Mort, what’s happening with the Farve situation in Greenbay?
Mortison: Well, he got up to go to the bathroom, so clearly he thinks this meeting is going to go longer than he thought and he won’t be able to hold it.
Levy: Any other updates? How does Aaron Rogers feel about this?
Mort: He feels that it is his turn, he thinks Brett can go to the bathroom, but how can he pee at a time like this? Aaron kind of feels like maybe Brett could be home in Mississippi using the bathroom, or in the front office.
Levy: So he’s really being distracted by this whole situation, then?
Mort: If this continues, I wouldn’t expect the Packers to be much of a threat this year. I mean, the Lions might actually win ten games (and Kitna might not get sacked every game), the Vikings could improve their quarterback overnight so they wouldn’t have to lean on that fierce running game all season, and the Bears could have more than just an iffy defense, if they pick a quarterback that is not their number one or number two.
Levy: Well, that’s all the time we have for this Sportscenter update. For baseball scores and any sports other than Farve-watching, go online to ESPN.com. Oh, and we love the Rays.

(sorry for the dabble into football, but I am SO over this Farve situation. We should be talking baseball and a little bit of pre-season football this time of year, not just about one washed-up player)

On to the Red Sox.

They look so much better. So much. Even in the loss, they were looking a lot better than they have in weeks. They seem to care about baseball again, they seem to be having some fun. Ellsbury has finally seemed to come out of his slump, Varitek has been on base more times than he’s struck out in the month of August, Pedroia has struck out 4 times in the last 10 games (do we have a new Greek God of Walks?), and Youk has been settling into his new role as Manny. Seriously, when they got in a fight a few weeks back, maybe Manny transfered some of his bat-swinging mojo to Youk. He’s having the season of his life, and I’m glad Tito moved him behind Papi. And Bay? Did you see the ball-rolling almost homer? Classic. And a second one for the Red Sox this year. Weird.

wallball.png

Tonight, Pedroia has the night off, which is not good, but well-earned, Jason Bay seems to be fitting right in and loving playing for Boston, and in other good news, the Platypus (Joba Chamberlain) is on the DL. No offense to the guy, but anything that hinders the Yankees makes me happy). Mikey and Papi seem to be OK, and Ellsbury has his wheels back. Here’s to fifty stolen bags this season (hey, I can hope!)

Hey, the Olympics start Friday! Yay! 

“Youk” Can’t Stop the Beat

/ Sara / Leave a comment

Well, I was worried there for a moment. My boy, my favorite pitcher, my rock in all the storms, gave up two runs in the first and I thought it was all over.
Of course, then Pedroia got things started with a single, and Youk took one to the Monster Seats. Two run shot, Sox suddenly tie the game. Big Papi singled, so did Mikey. Then Bay took one out of the park, a three-run shot and the Sox are in the lead.

youk2.jpg

bay3shot.jpg

They would make it through the order in the first inning and go on to win 12-2 after another two-run shot from Youk.

Lowrie was good (again. That guy is a beast w/RISP) The bull pen was good, and Jon-Boy made it to seven, so that’s always good. (Since the bull pen is my main worry, anytime they have a good outing, I’m happy). Could trading Manny have been the best idea they’ve ever had? I wouldn’t go that far, and I’m not jumping on the Bay-is-better-than-Manny bus. He is a better fielder, and his numbers are close to Manny’s (hitting wise) but he’s younger. Only time will tell, but so far, the trade has not hurt the Sox. That is always a good thing.

For some non baseball news, Long-time Patriot (he still works in the front office) Andre Tippett was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame today. (Yay!) As were Redskins (hey, I’m from VA) Darrell Green and Art Monk. Art received a four-minute long standing ovation from the crowd and the Hall of Famers present at the ceremony (90% of the crowd were Redskins fans, but in Monk’s case, he deserved it)

tip.jpg
monk.jpgAll in all, it was a great ceremony (I watched that on espn while watching the Sox on mlb.tv) and all the new inductees were worthy, worthy guys. Now if we could only get Jim Rice into the baseball HOF…but thats a story for another day. Tomorrow we wrap up the series (and hopefully the A’s) with Dice on the mound.

Oh, and this just in. About an hour after they told him he was traded, Boras called Theo on behalf of Manny asking to stay in Boston, they could drop the options on him and Manny wouldn’t cause any trouble the rest of the season. Papi is wearing Manny’s wrist bands, but hopefully, he will recover and be the happy, wonderful batter we know he is.

And yes, I know that title is way cheesy, but it made me laugh, so it stays.

So Long, Farewell – But Not That Well

/ Sara / 1 Comment

Manny is gone. Wait, no really. Manny is gone. There will be no more calls from inside the wall, no more antics. And I don’t care. Okay, I care. I’m a little sad, I’m gonna miss the crazy man, but now, at least, we won’t have to deal with it anymore, and I know life will be much easier on Tito.
The only thing I am worried about is Papi. I hope he’s still happy in Boston, but he and Manny were good friends…so I don’t know. Papi, we still love you, and I will absolutely cry if you leave us. Do I think this will help? Probably. We needed a bat to back up Ortiz, we got that, and hopefully we’re done with the antics. At least, the detrimental ones.
I’m interested in what can happen. Right now, I’m in limbo on how I feel about the Red Sox. I agree with what Alex Cora said. They are playing like they don’t have any energy. Maybe some new (and younger) blood will get the Sox moving again. Youk is on a hitting streak, Pedroia is the Destroya, Ellsbury seems to be excelling in his new spot, and JD Drew has been better about not hitting into double plays. We’re still waiting for them to get on a streak, but I always have faith that they will.

So long Manny. I hope you are happy now, because you clearly weren’t happy at Boston. I feel like this will do nothing but good. So here’s to life after Manny, may it go well.

Wheels, Deals and Happy Meals

/ Sara / 1 Comment

In the course of one weekend, I went from hating the game of baseball, deciding the fat lady had sung on the Sox season, and giving up on baseball all together for about 24 hours to being impressed with the team and hoping for another championship. There is only one team in baseball that can do that with all of their fans so effectively: the Boston Red Sox. Its like one of those movies where you are so angry at the characters that you get up to leave, but once your out, you can’t stand to leave in the middle, so you just go to the bathroom and head back in, only to see the characters completely turn things around.

Lets not talk about the first two games, where the Yankees hot streak clearly got the better of the issues Boston has with leaving men on base, the bullpen, and the lineup. I’m sorry, when Josh Beckett pitches out of his mind and you can’t get him any runs to help out? That is not good. But that’s all I’m going to say about Friday and Saturday. On to Sunday.

Once again, the Sox lean on Jon Lester when they are spiraling into a losing streak. Once again, Jonny pulls out a great game and saves the Sox. I had a lot of confidence going into Sunday, because lets face it, Sidney Ponson? Despite the surprising streak he’s been on, his low inning count and high walk rate had to eventually catch up with him. I’m hoping that this loss sparks a whole new Yankees collapse, though I doubt it because yet again, the big money boys have made some big money deals to bring in a bit of help. Sure enough, the combination of the-pillar-of-the-pitching-staff Lester (note, he may not have the most wins, but he always goes deep, and I always feel a little bit safer when he’s on the hill.) He’s the only one I really trust to pull the team out of a losing streak, he’s really good at that, and like Tek said, he’s only going to get better. Coming from Tek, who is probably one of the best pitching judges out there (he should really become a pitching coach when he retires, with all the good he does behind the plate, I think he’d be great as a coach.) that’s high praise.

Speaking of Tek, guess who is still hitting. Yay! And the Papi-Manny Double-Whammy is back in business as of last night. I think Manny is starting to realize that he needs to be on his best behavior if he wants to get a better deal at the end of the season, which I’m sure his agent has been telling him. But that’s all I’m going to say about the Manny Saga. Anyway, Boston’s bats were a’swinging last night with a bunch of doubles and a two-run dinger from none other than Big Papi. I think he needed that.

1217244978_3318.jpgMan, its good to have the big guy back. And with him back, Dustin can be the lead-off man (I know Tito still wants Jacoby in that spot, but I think he’s not ready yet) followed by Youk (anyone else think Joba should have been ejected from the game for that ball he threw at him? I don’t care how stupid the timing was, there is just no way that wasn’t intentional) then the Papi-Manny duo that hopefully will again start to terrify opposing pitchers. I like the batting order now. I like having Jacoby at the bottom, I think he needs some more time in the bigs before he really is an effective lead-off man. I think this visit to the 9th spot will be good for him. Speaking of Jacoby…

1217244913_9781.jpg

What a catch. I tell you what, with his speed and defensive ability, I don’t care that his arm strength isn’t that good. That boy has wheels. He’ll be stealing bases again in no time, and with him on, a single can turn into a double or triple. We like to call him wheels.

The trade deadline approaches, and no word yet from Theo about anything. Do we make a quick trade to shore up the bull pen or do we work from within, like with Masterson? (who I still think is going to be a solid reliever). Do we trade Coco or keep him? (keep, sorry Coco) Can we please trade Lugo? I mean…come on, won’t anyone take him? What kind of dealing will be done? Will the Pirates continue to let other teams raid their cookie jar? Who knows. Will the Yankees continue to make ridiculous deals to make sure they are contenders? Of course. They’re the Yankees. They must be in the playoff hunt every year. Its a conspiracy, I tell you, the Steinbrenners are paying off the baseball gods…but thats another story for another day.

So, that’s the wheels, the deals…what about the Happy Meal? After deciding the fat lady had sung on the 2008 season, I went and got myself a Happy Meal to bury my sorrow in a little pack of fries, a burger, and a very small diet coke. It was partially the Happy Meal I had for lunch on Sunday and the Sox performance that night that renewed my faith in the boys. (Not that I had ever actually lost it, but in true Sox fan form, I let it go temporarily) What did I have for lunch today? What do you think. Superstition rules all, and the toy I got today was way better than yesterday.

Next up, Dice takes on the Halos. God help us and not them. (Seriously, I know they’re the Angels, but we could use a little help, and if that help comes in the form of a Rays and Yankees collapse or Sox mega-hot streak, I’ll leave that up to You, Big Man.)

Batter up! 

Dice-K and Dustin: The Road Warriors

/ Sara / 1 Comment

Okay. Dice-K wasn’t dicey. At least until the 8th. That was a switch. And the Sox are looking good on the road, I mean, its against the Mariners, but still. I’ll take what I can get. 

072308_dicek329__1216791268_2657.jpgSome really good things happened yesterday:

1. Dice-K went 7 1/3 and only let in 2 runs towards the end there…not too bad
2. Okajima looked good. It was like a flashback to last year, maybe he’s out of his slump?
3. Paps notched save #30. That’s the third year in a row he’s had a least 30 saves in a season. 
    And its only July. We’ve got a lot more baseball to play.
4. Tek had another hit. Do we dare to hope?
5. Mikey had a good day swinging the bat, possibly signifying that he’s coming out of his little mini-slump
6. Jacoby Ellsbury looked good. I mean, he didn’t have a great night for a lead-off man, but he looked good.
7. Manny and Dustin extended their game hit-streaks to 11 and 23, respectively.
8. This afternoon’s game will hopefully be the last one we play this season without Papi, who returns for Friday’s home stand against the Yanks.
9. JD Drew homered. That’s always a good thing.
10. The Rays lost. Actually, the Rays got spanked. Good stuff.

300h.jpg
So now that we’ve discussed the  10 good things that happened last night, lets talk about something magical. I  was watching the game, and there were a couple of balls hit to third, and I remember thinking: “okay, good, we got that out.” when in fact Mikey had barely begun to field the ball. The duo of Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis is the most comforting corner combination ever. They are both tremendous defensive players, and sometimes I feel like any ball hit to them is an automatic out. And obviously Dustin Pedroia is up there too, they’re all golden glove candidates (again in Mikey and Youk’s case) in my book. That should have been your All-Star infield: Youk, Pedroia, Jeter, Mikey. (A-Rod is WAY overrated. I mean, at least Jeter is good and a class-act, but A-Rod…eh. not so much.)

Clay B. is starting for the Sox this afternoon (what a weird time for a game, not that I’m complaining, because I’ve been up late every night this week watching the late night games. I mean, I know its a 1:40 game in Seattle, but 4:40 is just a bizarre time to start a game ) hopefully this start will be better than the last few, especially since the Sox are up against Felix Hernandez, which is quite scary (especially for righties).

What do we need?

We need a quality outing from Buchholz, good, clutch bats from the boys, and I want to see Paps out there in the 9th. And a Rays loss wouldn’t hurt either 🙂

Go Sox!!

Justin Masterson, the Savior of the Bull Pen?

/ Sara / Leave a comment

The righty with energy and a demonic sinker joins the pen today, and hopefully, will help turn around what has been a big struggle for the Red Sox, especially on the road.  Our pen masters, who used to be lights-out, have been struggling this year. But lets not put the blame entirely on their shoulders (though they make a solid contribution to every loss) but we have got to get some bats going. JD Drew, Mikey, Youk, and especially Dustin have been hitting consistently in almost every game. At times, I feel like JD and Dustin are carrying the team, because they get a hit, they get on base, and then…three strikes your out or a infielder fly…we have got to leave more men on base than any other team in the league.

Maybe that will be solved when Papi returns, which even if he doesn’t hit consistantly (which I think he will) he adds that threat. Because then you have Manny,Youk, Mikey, Papi, JD and Dustin. That’s a scary offense. I think they miss the big man on the road more than they do at home.

So maybe Papi will be the savior of the bats on the road, and Masterson will be the catalyst to get the bullpen back to the level it should be: lights out.

Either way, bring on the Mariners. Lester’s got the start and hopefully, the win.

Closing thoughts:

don’t forget, I’m running for Governor of Red Sox Nation for VA, so log on to RedSox.com and vote for me, Sara Hannon, email hannonse@gmail.com, today!

The AL East, The All-Stars and the Rays, Oh  My!

/ Sara / Leave a comment

Sorry for the long hiatus…I was on vacay during the all-star break, but I’m back with notes and ready to go.

O’s game first. We lost. Moving on. O’s again, but this time, we weren’t planning on losing. Wake pitched great, and Youk, fresh from the last strikeout to lose the game Friday, was angry. When is Youk not angry? He is always fired up. Anyway, its the 3rd inning, bases loaded, here comes Youkilis. I was sitting on the couch with my neighbors dog (I live with people who think its okay to have a cookout when the Sox are on TV. eh) and I looked at the dog and I said “I think Youk’s gonna hit one hard.” Sure enough, Grand Slam for Kevin. Yay.

Picture 2.pngManny and J.D. hit solos….that was just a really bad inning for the O’s. I remember thinking towards the end there: wait a minute. Pedroia and Ellsbury have already hit this inning…like I said, bad inning for the O’s. And because it’s an AL East game, they keep updating us on the Rays scores.

Speaking of the Rays, they’ve lost seven in a row going into the break. Seven. Now, for older teams, that doesn’t worry me too much. But for the Rays…well, they’re pitching will keep them in it, maybe, but it all depends on whether or not they let this slump affect them, shatter their confidence. They were on top for three weeks or so, and they couldn’t hold it. Whether that’s over confidence on their part, bad luck, or just some nerves, I don’t know. I don’t see the Sox giving the East up any time soon, and I don’t think the Rays are going to go on a tear again, because as good as they are at home, they are that bad on the road. Unless the Jekyll and Hyde thing can be sorted out, they may fall out of the Wild Card race. Notice, I said “may”. Its baseball, anything can happen.

Okay, so the O’s fell to the Sox 12-1. I just think they had Liz’s number.

On to the next game. The nail biter. I mean, not really, but really. Dice-K threw an enormous number of pitches (scary) walked five (really scary) and four hits (really, really scary) yet somehow, it was scoreless. Paps looked a little sloppy on the save, but thanks to a diving catch by Pedroia and a few other good plays, he notched his 100th save. Nice. And with this win and the Rays loss, the Sox pull a half game ahead of the Rays just in time for the All-Star break.

Picture 3.png

So, the All-Stars. Okay, in Paps defense, he really didn’t mean that he thought he should close instead of Mariano Rivera. That was not what he said. What he said is exactly what every back-up was thinking: “I don’t care if [name] is the best [position] in baseball, I want to start at [position].” Duh, people. And New York fans, you can hurl all the insults you want at the boys, they expect it, but leave the pregnant ladies alone, okay. That’s just wrong. I wouldn’t say a bad word to a pregnant woman that would seem threatening, even if she was covered in Yankees gear. So heckle the players, heckle the other fans, but leave the future mommies alone.

Now on to the All-Star game. There were a ton of Sox playing, which is wonderful, and I gotta say, listening to an interview by Tek, I understand so much more why he is so respected by EVERYBODY. (Except maybe A-Rod. They may still have some beef) That is the most humble, intelligent player ever. He was so honored to be there, and I don’t care how bad he hits, you can not ask for a better captain or catcher. The oh-so-classy NY fans booed Tito and the other Sox. Surprised? I think Yaz and Fisk should have been on that field for the opening ceremony, but its the Yanks, what do you expect. This is what made me happy to watch the final All-Star game in Yankee Stadium:

1216219067_5000.jpgCount ’em: 16. Yep. That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout!

Now really, onto the game. I think Tito did a good job, they all played, they looked like they were having a good time, and hey, the AL won. Again. After 15 innings. And in almost every one, either side had a chance to put the game away for good. It was a weird game. I was in bed, watching it, thinking, I can drift off to sleep to the post-game, it’ll be here soon. (That was in the 11th inning)

You gotta love JD Drew in this game. He comes in, gets on base 4 out of 5 times, one of those was the game-tying 2-run homer. Combine that with good defense, he was an obvious choice for MVP. I mean, really, who else would you pick? Longoria? Its not even close. So congrats to JD.

Picture 4.png

In other news, Che-Hsuan Lin, a previously-unknown defensive replacement in the All-Star Futures game from Class A Greenville, was the MVP of that game. The Sox signed him, and are hopeful that with some work, the slugger and stellar defensive player will work his way up onto the Fenway roster, which is all that Lin wants to do. He wants to play for the Sox. I love a guy like that. So, the Sox come in with the most All-Stars for the AL, they get the MVP, and then the farm system gets the Futures MVP. Yep. That’s exactly the way I wanted Yankee stadium to be sent off. Actually, had it been Drew instead of Young who hit the game-winner, that would have been great.

I should not go on hiatus, the blogs get really long. Well, here’s to a strong second half.

In final, closing, seriously, the last bit of news…

I’m trying to be Governor of VA for Red Sox Nation. Its truly my passion, and I would love to do it, so anyone interested, you can endorse me, Sara Hannon, at RedSox.com, my email is: hannonse@gmail.com.

Thanks. See you in the second half! 🙂

And The Hits Go On

/ Sara / Leave a comment

After a few games one-hit wonder one run squeaks, the Sox let it all go for Wednesday’s game against the Twins. Final score? 18-5. Score in the first inning? 0-3. Yeah. We all got worried, and then, it was like someone flipped a switch.

Tek got some great hits. Maybe he’s coming out of his slump to go on a hot streak. (Being a catcher myself, it is really hard to concentrate on anything but catching, so working out of a batting slump along with being a game manager…its really, really hard. So I’ve been rooting for him) The best part? His hits were RBI singles.

tek.jpgAnd if that weren’t enough, Jacoby got 4 hits, Manny, Youk and Casey got three (including Youk hitting a homer) The Sox had 23 hits, 10 for extra bases. Jeez.

g1a9134e8adaeadda8b31649aad6cb2d5bc28568ab23d95.jpg

And this wasn’t the Mariners we were beating here, its the Twins. The Twins who came to Fenway winning 19 of their last 25 games. Why can’t we play like this against Tampa Bay? Maybe we can now. Maybe it won’t matter, if the Rays continue the slump they are on. The Sox are 1.5 games back on the Rays, hanging around and making things difficult for the young team.

Congrats to the All-Stars. I think Mikey should be at third, but that’s a rant for another day…and Cheers to the Nation for giving J.D. Drew one of the biggest voting boosts in the history of the All-Star game. Nice. We’ve got seven, eight if you count the skipper, I think that’s a fitting way to end the days of Yankee Stadium – filling it with Red Sox players. 🙂

This may sound terrible, but I need Evan Longoria to suck it up from now on and I need Jacoby to have the season of his life from now on. I want him to win Rookie of the Year, but as long as everyone is in love with Longoria, that’s not going to happen. I’m not saying this out of spite for the Rays, I want Jacoby to be the Rookie of the Year, and anyone who stands in the way of that goal is the enemy.

Clay Buchholz is back after his stint in the minors, and since he had such a strong few games in Pawtucket, spending that time to work on his mechanics, we’ll be getting a really good pitcher back who can take out the O’s.

Final thoughts: Manny is always going to be Manny. It’s how life is. But this? I feel like we could have a highlight reel of Manny’s antics and never mention how good a slugger he is. I mean, you have the catch, give a fan a high five, and still get the double play highlight, his often confused base-running, or this:

499w.jpg

Manny has climbed into the Monster before. But the cell phone? Oh well, its just Manny being Manny.

Dice-K Goes Deep, Manny Delivers

/ Sara / 1 Comment

Two things I didn’t think I’d see for a while. Manny’s been slumping, whether the hamstring, or lack of chemistry w/out Papi is the culprit, I don’t know. Fact is, he’s been in a slump. Dice-K usually goes 5 innings. Maybe. And then we have to bring on the middle relief, which is zero relief for the fans. How glad am I that they’re turning Masterson into a middle reliever? I mean, the kid is great. He’s got a lot of poise and grit to be so young, so I think him as middle relief is going to be lights out. (fingers crossed)

But last night, Dice-K went into the 8th. No, that is not a typo, he went into the EIGHTH inning. Yay! That’s almost as great as the Rays losing to the Royals last night. Always good. Okajima settled down and didn’t disappoint, and Paps was Paps. Solid. If they can figure out a way to make him lights out against lefties…wow. I mean, he would go from a great closer to an almost unbelievable closer. And how ’bout Youk’s diving catch? Is he an All-Star or what?

Speaking of All-Stars, we gotta start gearing up for the Red Sox vs. Cubbies Midsummer Classic. Some people are saying the only reason that there are so many Red Sox on the roster is because of how many fans there are. I tend to disagree. Youk? Gold Glove, wherever you play him, batting over .300, and totally gritty and full of heart. Pedroia? Not only has he been a great defender, and he’s been on a tear hitting for almost a month. Jeter. Okay, as much as I hate the fact that he’s a Yankee, he’s JETER. He’s a great player, and I have to respect him for it. Third base I have a problem. Womanizing, ice-cold A-Rod gets third base and the World Series MVP, Golden Glove Third Baseman Mike Lowell gets the snub. Of course, Tito wanted to put him on the final ballot, but Mikey declined. Then we have Manny, even slumping, he’s a threat, and Paps and Drew and Tek – all great. Tek may be having a hard time with the hitting but can you ask for a better game manager? I don’t think so.

Papi took BP and was at the game, which I think helped, even ig he’s not playing, he’s a presence. A necessary presence.

Tonight is Lester v. Blackburn.  Here’s to more Sox wins and more Rays and Yankees losses! 

Keep Rocking The All-Star Vote!

/ Sara / Leave a comment

We lost. I know. Our bullpen is killing us right now. Guys who have been good, who have been consistent are suddenly losing it. We’ll shape up. We’ll turn it around, and I’m predicting the young, inexperienced-in-the-post-season Rays will fall into place behind Boston.

    I gotta respect what Tampa is doing, but like most people, I’m dubious. Not because they’re the Rays and they’re historically bad, but because they’re young. While young does mean they’re fast, more athletic, and yes, right now, they’re batting smart, but how is this team going to be later in the year? I think they’ll be around, and they’ll trade first place back and forth for a while, but I just think that once they’re on the big stage, where they’ve never been as a team before, I don’t trust the grit of the second-youngest team in baseball when compared to the Phillies, Cubs, and Red Sox. I mean, these teams have been there, They’ve been in the post-season and they’ve been on the big stage and they understand the differences between regular season and post season games. So yes, I think the Rays are contenders, but I don’t think they’ll make it to the top this year.

On another note, we have ONE day left in the All-Star voting, and Tek may get bumped from the list! Here’s the All Star roster if we started right now:
1. Youk
2. Pedroia
3. Satan’s overpaid spawn (A-Rod)
        *Lowell is in a distant 2nd place by over 1,000,000,000 votes
S. Just-as-overpaid Jeter
C. Mauer
DH. Papi
O. Manny
O. Hamilton
O. Suzuki

Note: J.D. Drew moved up two spots last week, meaning he earned almost 400,000 votes in a week. Get voting people! We don’t have much more time! Tek is about 100,000 votes behind Mauer. We are Red Sox Nation! We can do this. Seriously!