Sox Lose One Like It's Two Thousand Twelve

Al Gore Night At Cellular One  (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Bobby Valentine would have loved this one. On Global Warming Deniers Night in frigid Chicago, the Red Sox booted away a game on a routine ground ball to short in the bottom of the ninth. Bring back memories, folks? Xander Bogaerts made the play but bounced it in front of befuddled first-baseman Mike Carp (who was only in there because Mike Napoli nearly broke a finger on a dumb head-first slide.) Oh yeah, this game was one for the books. Boston (AKA Raiders Of The Lost Offense) mustered just three hits and scored only on a HR by Daniel Nava. What a stinker of a  2-1 loss!

Red Sox May Face 'Scattered Flurries' Tonight

Spring? Ha! Nice try. The Red Sox will take on the Pale Hose tonight in Chicago—where "scattered flurries" are expected during the game. Of course, Jake Peavy is used to pitching during Windy City 'Springs', so it might not be too much of a disadvantage. Boston will send out the following line-up to battle the clear case of Global Warming engulfing Second City: Grady Sizemore, LF, Xander Bogaerts, SS, David Ortiz, DH, Mike Napoli, 1B, Daniel Nava, RF, A.J. Pierzynski, C, Ryan Roberts, 3B, Jackie Bradley Jr., CF, Jonathan Herrera, 2B. Cut it out, Winter!

Torre To Fine Farrell For Instant Replay Remarks

It's fair to say that the new MLB Instant Replay System is not exactly a rousing success in its first two weeks. So far, two managers have been ejected (John Farrell and Ron Washington) for arguing a review decision. Now, MLB’s executive VP of baseball operations, Joe Torre, have levied a fine on Farrell for his "comments" about replay. Specifically, the Red Sox skipper made the following obviously true statement, "..it’s hard to have any faith in the system." Duh. No kidding. But, in the delusional world of Papa Selig and his minions, challenging replay orthodoxy is a no-no. After we fully supported the implementation of the replay system, we're having second thoughts. We're starting to come around to the view of former Red Sox infielder Lou Merloni, who favors using the system only on fair/foul and HR calls—as God intended it.

4/15/14-Boston: Stronger Than We've Ever Been

BREAKING: Pedroia Wrist Injury Not Serious

According to a tweet from The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham, Dustin Pedroia's left wrist injury "does not appear serious". More tests are being done, but the word is that the wrist should be fine. If the report is true, the Red Sox will have dodged a major bullet. Stay tuned.

Uehara Expected To Pitch In Pale Hose Series

(AP Photo)

Koji Uehara threw off flat ground yesterday and based on the results of that session, the Red Sox expect the closer to pitch in the upcoming White Sox series in Chicago. Said manager John Farrell, "At this point, we’re hopeful and expecting him to return to us in Chicago. We’d still like to get him off a mound in a bullpen session or get him back in a game, but today overall was very good news regarding Koji." This team can use some good news!

New Mayor Like Old Mayor—Fenway Tax Breaks

(brentdanley.com)

The NOG's all-time favorite Mayor may be out of office, but it looks like they have one who's just as compliant as Tom Menino was. New Boston Mayor Martin Walsh is proposing tax breaks for a stalled development alongside Fenway Park—with air rights stretching over the Massachusetts Turnpike. The $550 million "Fenway Center" retail and residential development will be an obvious boon to the Red Sox ownership group. Walsh is proposing a $4.6 million tax break for the developers. As April 15th rolls around—how many tax breaks have you gotten from the government lately? That's what we figured.

Muddy Chicken Back In Boston For Wrist MRI

This could be season-busting. Dustin Pedroia was scratched from Sunday's game in New York with a sore left wrist that he injured in the home opener on April 4th. He is being sent back to Boston for an MRI on the wrist today at Mass General. Team sources say the injury could be "serious". Losing Pedroia for any stretch of time is a problem—but losing him for a long stretch would be devastating. Not only would the team lose his leadership and on-field performance, they really have no one to credibly back him up at second base. With the team mired in last place and unable to get big hits with runners in scoring position, the last thing it needs is to lose The Laser Show. Stay tuned. This could be a real bad one.

Instant Replay System 3, Red Sox 2 In The Bronx

(Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

The eventual winning run in last night's 3-2 loss at The Concrete Bunker On 161st Street came thanks to Bud Selig's brand spanking new Instant Replay System. An inning-ending double-play resulted in a instant replay reversal and a extra run for The Bronx Embalmers. We are now interpreting things like whether the ball was far enough into the glove of a fielder to justify an out call. This is preposterous. Can you say Pandora? While last night's call was egregious enough, manager John Farrell got tossed over frustration with the whole process—and particularly the Saturday missed tag call that MLB admitted they blew. The game itself was about as wacky as can be—with Felix Doubront pitching just bad enough to lose and the Red Sox continuing to leave men on base in key situations (8 last night). Mike Napoli [White House pronunciation: NA-POLE-EEE] went yard again, but the Red Sox still look feeble—and may be about to lose Dustin Pedroia for a long time.

Pedroia Scratched From Sox Lineup Sunday

According to Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe, Dustin Pedroia has been scratched from the Red Sox lineup tonight. There is no word yet as to why the move was made—but given who we're talking about—it must be due to some sort of injury. Losing Pedroia for any significant amount of time would be devastating for the reeling, last-place Sox.

SNL Takes On The Big Papi-Obama Selfie

FN Trivia Contest: The Last Sox 'Loss Leaders'

We have a winner!

Barb Drake
Charlottetown, PE, Canada

Correct answer: 1903. 
 

Thanks to the good folks at A&E Networks Home Entertainment, FenwayNation is giving away DVD copies of "Fall Classic At Fenway Park". This is all to celebrate a new season of digital downloads from MLB and iTunes! Allowing fans to watch everything from their favorite teams and players to some of the greatest moments in Major League Baseball history anywhere a smart phone or tablet can go, MLB's digital downloads have never been easier to attain. Until April 15th, simply visit www.iTunes.com/MLB to purchase any of the specially-priced programs, including: Fenway Park Centennial-100 years as the Heart of Red Sox Nation and Major League Baseball Official World Series Films, 1943-2013.

QUESTION:
Last year, the Red Sox never lost more than three games in a row. In the 113-year history of the franchise, this feat was achieved only one other time. Name the year. 
The first correct answer submitted via email to: fenwaynation@comcast.net will win a copy of the DVD! 

NOTE: If you have won a FenwayNation-sponsored contest in the last 12 months, please let someone else win.

Lester Rejected 4-YR, $70-$80M Red Sox Offer

(Boston Herald Photo)

As we suggested a few days ago, the Red Sox ownership may be getting us ready for the departure of Jon Lester. Now, multiple sources report that Lester, in fact, has rejected a 4-year contract extension worth between $70-$80 million. Despite an average annual value of about $18 million, in the current starting pitcher marketplace, this offer is clearly feeble on the number of years offered. Lester confirmed that there will be no more negotiations until the season ends, "I want to be here. They said they want me here. So just at that particular time, things didn't really pan out, didn't work out. When the time comes, we'll sit down again and see where we're at then." We'd better hope young stud lefty starter Henry Owens is for real, because Lester is as good as gone.

Even With High-Tech Replay, Umps Still Blow It

Not that it really mattered, but the umpiring crew in today's Red Sox-Yankee game completely blew a call at second base—and the replay confirmed the bad call! Yankee no-namer Dean Anna doubled off completely ineffective Burke Badenhop—but clearly came off the bag while Xander Bogaerts continued to apply the tag. The safe call was made on the field and "confirmed" by the so-called high-tech MLB replay system. FOXSports.com's Ken Rosthenhal tweeted out later that MLB admitted they screwed up, "MLB did not have immediate access to conclusive angle on Anna play at second. Acknowledges that call should have been made differently." Unbelievable!

Five HRs Stymie Red Sox In 7-4 Loss To Empire

(Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

John Lackey has famously stated that—since he pounds the strike zone—he can get hurt with the long ball. Case in point: today's 7-4 loss to the Empire. The Pinstriped Posers left the yard four times against Lackey (with another off Burke Badenhop)—yielding six runs in the process. Lackey's ERA went from the high "ones" to the high "threes". A. J. Pierzynski went yard for a two-run shot and Mike Carp knocked in the other two runs—but the Red Sox still seem snake-bitten by the LOB (left-on-base) Monster (7 more today).

Koji Out Saturday; Will Long-Toss On Sunday

Red Sox Uber-Closer Koji Uehara will not pitch for the second straight day on Saturday due to "shoulder stiffness". According to CSNNE.com's Seas McAdam, Uehara will engage in a little "long-toss" on Sunday and be re-evaluated. There is a chance that he could return to Boston on Monday for further examination. As yet, no roster moves have been made. Edward Mujica (who had a 1-2-3 ninth-inning save on Friday night) will temporarily move into the closer's role.

Lester Finally Gets Support, Sox Top NYY, 4-2

(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

It didn't look good for while. Jon Lester had made just one mistake (a HR to Alfonso Soriano) and was trailing again, 1-0. Then, the guy we said shouldn't be hitting lead-off—Jonny Gomes—went yard to even the score. Old friends next had an encounter—when Grady Sizemore smacked a three-run HR off former Tribe teammate CC Sabathia. That was pretty much all she wrote in the 4-2 win, as Lester survived through 6 2/3, giving up just two runs (the last thanks to another blown umpire call) and six hits. The lasting story out of this game may be whether closer Koji Uehara 's "shoulder stiffness" is serious or not. Edward "HighWire" Mujica pitched a perfect ninth in Uehara's absence for the save.

Gomes Again (For Some Reason) Leading-Off

Don't ask us why, but Jonny Gomes will be back in the lead-off spot tonight as the Red Sox try to even their series with The Bronx Embalmers at The Concrete Bunker On 161st Street. After Gomes, Boston will feature—in order—Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Mike Napoli, Grady Sizemore, Xander Bogaerts, Ryan Roberts, David Ross and Jackie Bradley, Jr. Jon Lester is on the hill tonight for the Red Sox.