Review: Boston Pops' "The Red Sox Album"

UPDATE: Mike Wood over at the BSO sent me an update saying that the album is available at Barnes & Noble, Fenway Park souvenir stands, and over at Symphony Hall. Also, you can get it straight from the horse's mouth at www.bostonpops.org.

Keith Lockhart and his gang kicked off Fenway's Opening Day about a month ago with a plug for their latest release pointedly titled The Red Sox Album. I must admit that I first took this as one of those gag associations, you know, the kind that fall in line with "Official Plumbing Supplier of the Boston Red Sox." I mean really, it's not 2004 or 2007, the Blue Jays are in first place, and David Ortiz is making Nick Green look like Superman. Somebody must have missed the endorsement boat, right?

Wrong.

Turns out, this is a great album. From top to bottom, the songs are well composed, well recorded, and a blast to listen to. My favorites are "The National Game" and "Suite from the Natural," but the rest of the track list is equally impressive. The fare isn't exactly mind-blowing (I mean, if you're a pops orchestra, chances are "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Stars and Stripes Forever" are going to sound close to the same anywhere you go), but it doesn't have to be. It's the kind of album that feels like it should be played mid-summer while slowly pulling down Main Street in Cooperstown. Very classic.

The praise is not all positive as the corny, carnival-esque voice in "Casey at the Bat" makes it essentially unlistenable, and the electric guitar in "I'm Shipping Off to Boston" is a really campy attempt to make a pops arrangement sound badass (thankfully, the horns and percussion help balance this out).

Despite these minor flaws, The Red Sox Album is a success. People have been coming up to me to talk about the good things they've heard, but to this point I have no idea where you can buy this besides online. It's worth the effort to find it, though, as this record deserves its place on the shelf.

Manny Reasons for 50 Game Vacation

At least it's not his grandmother's fault, right? She's dead. If you live under a rock, maybe you haven't heard the news du jour, which is that Manny Ramirez has been suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for violating the league's drug policy. From the World Wide Leader in Sports:

However, two sources told ESPN's T.J. Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada that the drug used by Ramirez is HCG -- human chorionic gonadotropin. HCG is a women's fertility drug typically used by steroid users to restart their body's natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle. It is similar to Clomid, the drug Bonds, Giambi and others used as clients of BALCO.

So, what does a guy like Manny need with a fertility drug similar to Clomid? Nothing, as far as I can tell. I've seen a few people speculate that he might have needed the drug to boost his sexual performance, but if this sort of drug helped guys out, you'd think it would be somewhat more popular.

In the end, this is just another black eye for baseball in a long chain of black eyes. If this continues, how much longer can the writers use PED use as a reason to keep players out of the Hall of Fame?

Review: Boston Red Sox and the Meaning of Life

As the Red Sox try to claw their way out of a 5-1 hole against the A's here at the end of the first week of the new season, I've been asked to take a look at some of the new Sox-related media making its way to the bookstores this spring.

I'll start with the book, Mark Rucker's Boston Red Sox and the Meaning of Life (MVP Books, 2009). Its a book that's in a weird place as far as my rankings. On the outside, I tend to snobbily disdain anything that doesn't present something historically, emotionally or statistical novel to my sense of fandom, but on the inside I've been known to curiously flip through those 150-page, picture-heavy novelty books and trivia collections that pepper the baseball section at Borders. Rucker's book falls into the latter category, not something I'd normally purchase, but a book I would definitely have looked through. Thing is, that's not really fair.

True, Boston Red Sox and the Meaning of Life is not the kind of book you'd pick up for the sabermetrician in your family, but it would certainly make a solid gift for the casual fan. The basic premise is that, through various quotes from select characters in Sox (and sports) history and accompanying photographs, one can get a chuckle and a little more perspective on the outside world. While there's a solid number of mediocre quotes from such baseball greats as Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and noted baseball scribe Victor Hugo, there're also a number of classic Sox quips. Some of my favorites:

"You have two hemispheres in your brain, a left side and a right side. The left side controls the right side of your body, and the right controls the left half. It's a fact. Therefore, left-handers are the only people in their right minds." - Bill Lee, one of my all-time favorites

"Probably the best thing that every happened to me was going nuts. Nobody knew who I was until that happened." - Jimmy Piersall

"I think about the cosmic snowball theory. A few million years from now the sun will burn out and lose its gravitational pull. The earth will turn into a giant snowball and be hurled through space. When that happens it won't matter if I get this guy out." - Bill Lee, again

"All managers are losers. They are the most expendable pieces of furniture on the face of the earth." - Ted Williams

The more time I spend with the book, the more I enjoy perusing its waxed pages. The quotes, while not always insightful, frequently present readers with a different take on their favorite game, and old baseball photos are always a blast to look at. This one won't find its way into anybody's Top 10 of baseball lit, but the sheer density of content and perusable nature will give it a lasting shelf (or coffee table) life. If you're looking for a quirky, casual pickup, consider Boston Red Sox and the Meaning of Life.

Baseball Spoken Here.

Look, I hate corny propagandistic garbage same as any other snob, but the second World Baseball Classic has been anything but boring. First the US beats Canada in a nailbiter, then the Canucks get ousted by the Azurri yesterday, and now the Netherlands now has twice up-ended the baseball universe by beating the Dominican Republic, sending them home, and now Australia is in a tie game with Cuba, 1-1. 

Seriously? Canada sent packing by the Italians? The DR limping home with their tail between their legs because of the pesky Dutch? This is a great day for the game of baseball. I can't understand how, if you're a true fan of this game, the WBC isn't a wonderful thing.  It's unfortunate that 2012 Olympics won't have baseball, because it would be great to see more countries in the 2013 tournament.

Also, it can't be overstated as to how much of a difference the Major League Baseball Network has made for a fan to watch these games.

Grapefruit League Opener, Sox vs. Twins

It took forever to get to today, the spring training opener in which a handful of regulars will play for the first 30 minutes and then get swapped out for seven innings worth of "Name That Prospect" Sudoku, and I couldn't be happier it's here. Tony Massarotti was absolutely right when he wrote a few days ago that the Sox have become ho-hum in their preseason routines. A distinction should be made here: it's not that the thrill is gone per se, but Boston Dirt Dogs doesn't have an hourly update with a goofy picture and absurd player crisis anymore (A-Rod has taken up that standard).

Going into the opener this evening I feel as though the Sox are in a pretty good position. While they didn't break the (now nationalized) bank with major signings, I do believe their depth signings will provide the flexibility they'll need.

I will say, it makes me happy to see that Manny still doesn't have a place to call home because of his schtick last July. He'll almost definitely be a Dodger, but it will be for less money and (I hope) on the team's terms. So much for going beyond the box score with this future Hall of Famer.