Opening Day is Scheduled; I Feel Sick

Flash forward a couple of months. It's 7:55 a.m., Monday, April 1.

I make a phone call.

Hello, boss. (Cough)

Oh, hello Chad. You don't sound so good.

Yeah, I can't go to work today. I've been sick all weekend. I think I need one more day to rest.

Ok, feel better soon and take care of you.

Thank (Cough. Cough.) you.

Click!

Hehehehehehehehehe.

I did it. I'm off work.

What?

No, I'm not celebrating April Fool's Day. (Who takes off work for that?)

I'm playing hooky April 1 because it's opening day of the 2013 baseball season. And the Yankees are hosting the Red Sox at the Stadium. First pitch, to be tossed, I'm guessing, by CC Sabathia, is scheduled for 1:05 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast on ESPN.

I love opening day. It's usually a bit cold at most ballparks, which doesn't bother me since I'm sitting in my cozy man cave watching on a 52-inch TV. But the site of long sleeves throws off the baseball aesthetic a bit for me. But not in a way I can't enjoy the game.

I still remember a few years ago seeing Kelly Clarkson singing the national anthem on opening day at the Stadium. She looked very cold and uncomfortable all bundled up in a blue Yankees jacket.

I still have no idea why Kelly Clarkson, who's from Texas, was singing the national anthem at Yankee Stadium.

Back to the cold for a second. I totally dig the look of fans bundled up and freezing in October. Being a Yankee fan 34 years – yes, I've been having an affair with the Nationals since they moved to D.C. – I guess I've gotten used to that site and, with the Yankees playoff accomplishments the last 15 or so years, have associated the frozen fan look with success.

But no matter the temperature in the Bronx, or at any of the other Major League cities on opening day, I embrace the excitement. This year will be particularly nice with the Yankees playing the hated Red Sox.

Yuck, the Red Sox.

They make me sick.

Hello, boss. I may need take off Tuesday also.

No Joshin'

I'm not writing another word about Josh Hamilton.

I'm sick of all the speculation as to what MLB team Hamilton will take his talents too and how much money he will be paid to do so.

Forget it.

If you want Josh Hamilton speculation, you may as well find yourself another lazily-written baseball blog.

I'm tired of the articles pontificating on why, for example, Hamilton is not a great fit for the Orioles and the pros and cons of him joining the Phillies. (As a Nationals fan, I have tons of reasons Hamilton should not go to Philadelphia. Dude, could Phillies be more obnoxious?)

And who ever thought the free agent outfielder would consider playing in Seattle?

As for my two cents, I've been thinking all along Hamilton will sign with the Red Sox... but maybe not. But he will sign with the Red Sox. That's my prediction, and I'm awesome at predictions.

Anyway, who cares about Hamilton? From now on, my fingers will not again touch my laptop keyboard in the order of J-O-S-H—H-A-M-I-L-T-O-N.

The Red Sox Want You! Seriously, They May Be Interested

Quick question: Is there any baseball player the Red Sox are not interested in?

Every time I look at Twitter, I see some baseball media person writing "Red Sox have interest in (insert name of free agent or trade possibility here)."

Those names have included Torii Hunter, Justin Masterson, Shin-Soo Choo, Hiroki Kuroda, Justin Upton, Adam LaRoche and Mike Napoli. There are more.

Now do the Red Sox really have interest in all these players or is this a lot of media speculation?

I'm sure the Red Sox front office is doing its due diligence, so the answer to the above question most likely is "both." But how much does the real interest tip the scale? (Man, I ask a lot of questions.)

Boston has significant payroll flexibility after sending Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett to the Dodgers back in August.

It'll be interesting over the course of the offseason to see who the Red Sox actually target.

Just for fun this morning, I played the Google auto-fill game. In the search bar, I typed "Red Sox interested in" to see which names popped up. You've played that game before, right?

Here are some interesting results:

Red Sox interested in Torii Hunter

Red Sox interested in Matt Garza

Red Sox interested in Hanley Ramirez

Red Sox interested in Jeter (That one made me nearly wet my pants.)

Red Sox interested in Jose Reyes

Red Sox interested in Cliff Lee (That one makes Brian Cashman nearly wet his pants.)

Red Sox interested in Matsui

Red Sox interested in Albert Pujols

Red Sox interested in Matt Holliday

Red Sox interested in Prince Fielder

Red Sox interested in R.A. Dickey. (Ok, I made up that one, but it would not surprise me to see the Cy Young candidate pitching in Fenway Park for the Sox next season.)

Just Because I Love Double Plays

As I write more and more about baseball here, you'll probably come to know that I'm a sucker for double plays. It’s my favorite play in baseball. I once thought of starting a blog dedicated to only to twin killings. (That's a horrible idea.)

This is a small, if not insignificant, item, but today Fangraphs has a Q&A with shortstop Mike Aviles, whom the Toronto Blue Jays just acquired from the Red Sox in the as compensation for manager John Farrell. Here's what Aviles had to say about his double play partner in Boston:

“I think I’m the same shortstop regardless of who is next to me. I’ve played games without Pedey [Dustin Pedroia] and feel like it’s been the same thing. Of course, any time you have a guy like Pedey over there, it makes you that much better. You know that any ball that can be turned into a double play is going to be, every time. That’s the reason he’s the reigning Gold Glove winner. But regardless of who my double play partner is, I’m out there just trying to do my job. I‘m not flashy, but I can make the plays.”