Just one game under .500 ...

Things are looking up.

Roger Clemens steroid case is by no means over

And you thought it was over and done with?  Not so fast.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-29/clemens-ex-trainer-mcnamee-in-court-to-discuss-settling-lawsuit.html

30-degree wind chill last night!

It was brutal at the ballpark.  That was what I heard was the windchill temperature before the game.  And it sure felt like it.

I got a treat for a couple of innings - dugout seat, thanks to Giles McNamee. Then back to my regular seat, and finally back up to the press box.  Just way too cold.

Give Brian Cashman credit

What he said about Pineda: "I would want my manager to do what John Farrell did."

Koji could be out for two months?

Uehara said Friday he dealt with a similar shoulder issue while pitching for the Texas Rangers in 2012, and it took the right-hander two months to get over that injury.

Let's not get alarmed, but this is concerning.

the 2013 World Championship banner

Climbed  up on the Monster today and took something of a closeup.

Music for Tazawa and Uehara

My two favorites among the players' music are the tracks used when Tazawa and Uehara come into games.

J.D. Drew's #7 uniform

The Red Sox signed Ryan Roberts to play infield for them (Middlebrooks going on the DL), and gave him #7.

Red Sox and challenges: 0-1

Under MLB’s new system permitting a manager to challenge an umpire’s call and have it reviewed by video, John Farrell challenged a call in the bottom of the second. He thought Jackie Bradley Jr. was safe at first, running out an infield grounder. The Red Sox began the “challenge era” 0-1.

It didn't look all that close to the naked eye, but had Farrell been upheld, the Sox would have had the bases loaded -- and might actually have scored a run in the game...

So, the Red Sox won the last nine home openers in a row...and then I skipped one

Sorry, I had to go to New York, to promote Don't Let Us Win Tonight on MLB-TV.  Was it my fault the Sox lost?

They'd won the last nine home openers in a row...and then I missed one.

Oops. Anyhow, my real "thing" is Game Twos.  I have missed several openers over the years, but hardly ever missed a Game Two. All the hoopla used to get to me. And the second game of the year was often the worst-attended (and easiest to get seats to). So, a few minutes before I head out to Fenway for tonight's game, I have some hope.

Meanwhile, I do remember this picture I took last year...

an "inside view" of the 2013 Red Sox world championship rings

This is my favorite view.

Boston Globe review of DON'T LET US WIN TONIGHT

“Don’t Let Us Win Tonight” by Allan Wood and Bill Nowlin is a modern-day, single-team cousin to the classic 1966 omnibus work “The Glory of Their Times,” the key literary effort of the first half of baseball’s history.

Overblown, sure.  But we'll take it!

Student Toga Night at Fenway Park on April 8?

Yes, the Red Sox just announced this. This could be interesting to behold - though I can imagine seeing some parkas over the togas.

And prices of just $9 for high school and college students to get standing room spots, with a $20 ticket for an actual seat.

Clearly, they are trying to attract a younger audience.  There will also be Student Scavenger Hunt Night on April 20, and some other themed dates.