So, in honor of today, the 8th day of the month, I give you 8 Things…

1. I hear that Papelbon and Saltalamacchia were 2 of the 1st players to arrive at camp, well before the reporting date of Monday…Lets hope the extra work and diligence will pay off for the both of them. Speaking of Papelbon–I heard he was quoted as saying something to the effect of “They don’t pay me to think” Now, if we could get the Sox to pay him to keep his mouth shut…

2. I cannot even tell you how happy I am that Dave Roberts has beaten Hodgkins’ lymphoma–and that he is staying in baseball as the 1st base coach for the Padres in 2011. He weighs in: …”I never realized how many people cared for me and loved me, from family to friends to fans. The e-mails, the cards, all the well wishes, were amazing. I never really had anyone constantly praying for me and my well being. To feel that wherever I went, from San Francisco to San Diego to Boston and to outside the country, was very humbling.”

3. If Daisuke sucks again in 2011, is he going to blame it on the fact that the interpreter he has had since he arrived with the Sox in 2007 went and got a job elsewhere? Hmmmm……

4. Because a battle for the left position wasn’t complicated enough with Okajima, Lenny Dinardo, Andrew Miller, Felix Doubront and Rich Hill all vying for basically one or 2 spots, the Sox needed to add another lefty into the mix: Dennys Reyes, signed to a minor league contract over the weekend, comes with a pretty impressive pedigree, having an average against lefts of .238, and not allowing more than 4 homers in any season since 2004…Should be interesting to see how it all plays out…

5. Jose Canseco is at it again. Apparently, he has challenged A-Fraud to a home run competition, stating he could “…Hit a softball further than Alex Rodriguez can have (sic) a baseball any day” (I think he meant “hit” instead of “have”) He goes on to say that he “understands if you back away from this challenge, because you are use (sic) to baking away form the truth and not commenting on it..” Oh, how I love folks who send stream of consciousness e-mails (or in this case, a tweet) without editing themselves in the least–good times!

I am not a fan of twitter, but I may just have to sign up for the Jose Canseco stuff–the comedy is off the charts!

Now, if we could get Carl Everett a twitter account, THAT would be perfect! He could talk about the dinosaurs!

6. What is WRONG with people?? The bronze statue of legendary announcer Harry Caray, which lives outside Wrigley Field in Chicago, was vandalized with white spray paint over the weekend. And its not the 1st time–in 2007 a carcass of a goat was found hanging around his neck…People SO suck….

7. So Michael Young has finally said enough huh? He has spent his whole career with the Rangers, and is the longest tenured player (10 seasons so far), and holds the ballclub’s record for most hits (1,848). After A-Fraud went to the Skanks, he moved from 2nd base to Shortstop. Then, when the Rangers decided to promote Rookie Elvis Andrus from the minors (DOUBLE A ball no less) 2 years ago, they moved him to 3rd base. And now that they signed Adrian Beltre, they planned on moving him from 3rd base to this strange amalgam of things: DH, and utility guy, since he could play all the infield positions. Apparently, his at bats would not suffer.

And yes, he agreed to it when it happened, but he plainly wasn’t happy, as evidenced by his ‘willingness to “make some pretty big sacrifices” to (play for the Rangers)’ comment of last month. And now it comes out that he has asked the Rangers to trade him. Now, the Rangers aren’t going to–unless it makes sense for them. There is also the remaining 3 year and $46 million left on his contract–AND the fact that his list of teams he will agree to be traded to is only 8 ballclubs–sort of limits his marketability….Be interesting to see how it all plays out…

8. One of my battery mates Millers Time Go Sox blog, is having his annual contests–and there are 6 of them! You don’t have to join them all–but there are some pretty neat ones: Make a prediction for the 2011 season. Will the Nationals be better or worse this year? Or how bout what will be the WS Matchup for 2011?

And the prizes? Holy Buckets! TICKETS! To the place of your choice, to heck, THE WORLD SERIES! Check out his blog for all the details…

And, if you decide to enter, mention Boston Red Thoughts in your submission, so then, if you win, I win something too…Deadline to enter is 1:05pm on March 31st, 2011–Opening Day (And my birthday…) But you might want to enter earlier than that–in case of a tie, the entry that came in 1st will be the winner…Good Luck!

And, at 2:00pm, I was right.

Amazingly, I was granted immediate access to buy tickets, bypassing the “virtual waiting room” but every date I looked for was either standing room only, or “the quantity requested exceeds the available tickets” (I was looking for TWO….) And while I love the Sox, and Fenway Park, I am not driving 6 hours each way, and spending ridiculous amounts of money to stay and park in Boston, only to STAND at a Sox Game for 3 hours–not happening…

So I resigned myself to the fact that if I wanted to see the Sox at Fenway this year, I was going to have to bite the bullet, and go to one of the ticket resellers online–at least then I would get the tickets I want for when I wanted them–and hopefully not pay too much for them…

About 7:00pm, I jumped on again–not sure why, but I did, and once again, I was taken right in buy tickets, avoiding the virtual waiting room (I now wonder if there was no VWR this year…) and clicked on August, for the Cleveland Indians series. There was now a “allow scattered seat search if seats together are unavailable”. So just for giggles, I did–and 2 Grandstand tickets popped up RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER! Now, where were these earlier in the day? Did they add some extra later, or what?

Since that choice was a Monday, I figured I would check the Thursday, August 4th date, to see if I had any luck there, and HOLY BUCKETS! There were even better grandstand tickets, again, right next to each other! Not wanting to tempt fate again, I quickly purchased these. So $15.50 in fees later–I am the proud owner of tickets to the Holy Land for August 4th–Whoo Hoo!

Now, let’s just hope the Sox are all they are supposed to be, and are enjoying a healthy 15-20 game lead in the AL East…

Hey, did you hear? The Skanks signed Bartolo “get in my belly” Colon to a minor league contract last week, and hope that perhaps he will rise to the occasion as a possible 5th starter…..Do you think he is who Brian Cashman meant when he said hits?: “…I think we improved ourselves, and if we can get a starting pitcher, [we] will be a legitimate World Series contender.” HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA…..ahem sorry…HAHAHAHAHAH…I’ll be OK in a minute….HAHAHAHAHAHA….

Some sad, but not surprising news: Rocco Baldelli, at the tender age of 29, retired from baseball last week. He weighs in: “I have no regrets. I played major league baseball. I got to the big leagues and I had some moments I’ll never forget…I just feel like physically I shouldn’t be playing baseball anymore.” Good Luck Rocco, you were a class act, and I hope you stay in the game in some capacity–I think you have alot to offer the young un coming up in the game….

Finally, let’s hope that the Sox get picked up for some games on ESPN on Monday and Wednesday nights–Nomar will join Dave O’Brien as the analyst for the mid week contests. On Monday’s Aaron &*#(@&(Boone and Rick Sutcliff will work with old friend Sean McDonough…

Coming up: Less than 2 week to Pitchers and Catchers–but 6 MONTHS until I can use my tickets…Holy Buckets, I want to go NOW–especially in light of the 432 inches of snow and the 192 inches of ice that are supposedly coming to NE Pennsylvania starting sometime tonight…

Hosted by the Boston Amateur Baseball Network, the 10th Annual Winterball Game is a 9-inning baseball game fundraiser played the first weekend of December, and for the 7th year in a row, the beneficiaries will be Toys for Tots and the United States Marine Corps.

To be held this Saturday, December 4, at Maplewood Park, 99 Crystal Street, Malden, MA, there are 2 Winterball games scheduled. Game 1 is for kids aged 14-17, and begins at 9:00 AM. Then, at 12:00 noon, adults 18 and older take the field, managed by Managed by Ryan Bere (of Boston Men’s Baseball League 2010 Champion Blue Jays) and Rob McDonough (of the Yawkey League 2010 Champion Somerville Alibrandis)
All are welcome, and to get on the roster, Winterball participants are required to make a toy donation to Toys for Tots. More than 100 youth and adult amateur baseball players from several local baseball leagues are expected to attend.

And, in case you were wondering, since its inception in 2001, the average game temperature has been A balmy 39 degrees.  Brrr!

Even if you are not interested in playing, stop on by, cheer the players on, and bring a toy to help make a child’s Christmas merry and bright…

For more info, please check out their website… 

About Toys for Tots: The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.

Started in 2004, The 100 Innings of Baseball Spectacular began as a fundraiser for Curt’s Pitch for ALS program to aid the fight against Lou Gehrig’s disease to raise money for ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. To date, the world’s longest game has raised $470,000.

Curt’s son, 15-year-old Gehrig Schilling (named for the legend) is expected to take the mound on Sunday at noon joined by his Medfield teammates. In addition, Gehrig’s Team Medfield will be managed by Curt Schilling during this marathon game.

The game, played for 100 straight innings and lasts about 33 hours, consists of ballplayers from across Metro-Boston and New England who will play nonstop, all day and night, until 100 innings are completed. The contest is expected to end sometime Sunday afternoon.

2010′s proceeds will benefit ALS and the Walter Bentson Scholarship Fund, a fund that supports the children of PALS (patients of ALS) for their higher education. Walter Bentson is president of the Boston Park League, the oldest amateur baseball league in the country, and is also the Umpire Chief of several amateur baseball leagues. He also has ALS.

For more information, please check out their website, and if you are in the neighborhood over the weekend, please stop by and lend your support. If I wasn’t 6 hours away, I would SO be there…

First, Nomar reaches out to retire in a Sox uniform and it happens…

And then Alan Embree’s agent reaches out to Theo in an e-mail, letting him know that Embree still had gas in the tank at 40. So Theo sent a scout, and voila, Alan Embree is signed to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training.: “…I feel 100 percent. I’ve been able to do everything that everybody else would be able to do. Workload, I’m still the same guy. I can throw 65 games if you need me to, at whatever capacity they want me to. I’m here to kind of fit in…” In 882 career appearances, he is 39-45 with a 4.59 ERA…

So it should be even more interesting as the season draws near, how the last 1 or 2 bullpen slots play out….

Maybe now, just MAYBE, folks can stop talking about Tim Wakefield is going to the bullpen, especially after his outing over the weekend, throwing a 2-hitter in 5 innings of work against the Oreos. Throwing 65 pitches (39 for strikes), he walked 2 and struck out 3.

Daisuke finally made his 1st “real” start in 2010, a minor league intrasquad game, where he threw 32 pitches, 18 of strikes. Provided all goes well, look for him to pitch 3 innings after Wake on Thursday when the Sox will face the Marlins at City of Palms…And since the goal for all starters is to get to 15 pitches in a game before they are considered stretched out sufficiently, it looks like Daisuke will stay in Florida on the DL when the Sox break camp next week…

Apparently, there are still “thousands” of tickets available for the Home Opener next weekend at Fenway vs the Skanks–so my question is: are they all single tickets? Or are they the ones that were not available when I tried to buy some a couple of weeks ago when I was selected for the “second chance” opportunity to purchase tickets? Good news though–prices are down at the ticket resellers this year, up to 30% less than last year…so if you want Easter Night 8:00 tickets for the 1st game of the 2010 campaign against the Skanks, there are tickets to be had…

So Joe Mauer signed with the Twins…for 8 years, and $184 million AND includes a full no-trade clause… And why is this a surprise to anyone? Yeah, I know, the Twins are notoriously tight fisted–but with their new stadium and all, they would have to had been completely bonkers not to sign the hometown boy, who happens to be one of, if not the, best player in baseball right now…

Another Split Squad day today, with Boof Bonser getting the start against the Rays at City of Palms, which they lost 11-9. The other 1/2 went to Jupiter for the makeup game with the Cardinals, with Michael Bowden getting the start for the Sox, which they also lost 8-13, as everyone pitching pretty much sucked out loud–although the Sox DID light up “Bad Penny!” for 7 runs in 5 innings of work, which is rather fun…

Coming up: Tomorrow night the Sox take their losing record of 11-9 to Hammond Stadium to play the Twins, with Clay Buchholz getting the start. 1st pitch: 7:05pm, and the game will be televised on MLB.TV–unfortunately, I cannot watch MLB.TV on my Roku until Opening Day..which I did not know until I signed up and went to the Roku Page…CRAP…

13 more days….Whooo Hoo!

While I regret that Nomar never got to be what he should have been with the injuries–and that he had to be traded in 2004–I am Oh So Happy that he will end his career where he started–and where he always belonged…

And now, about that show that he and Lou Merloni should have on NESN–it would certainly be must see TV…But, for now, Nomar will be heading to ESPN as a baseball analyst…

Tim Wakefield was downright brilliant in his 2nd outing of the season yesterday, throwing 3 scoreless frames of 30 pitches (22 for strikes) while giving up 2 hits, walking none, and striking out 1…A bunch of prospects (and the “other” Ramon Ramirez” combined for the remaining 6 shutout innings…His next outing, 4-5 innings, will be next Monday against the Oreos…

So it looks like another great beginning for Tim Wakefield–unfortunately, its the end of the season that has been messing with his cake the last few years–it seems he gets to about the All-Star break with all kinds of good stuff, and then something happens…Like in 2009: If he had continued the All-Star caliber dominance he has at the beginning of the season, there would have definitely been Cy Young talk…

While it’s still not certain that Jerry Remy will be the everyday color man in the NESN booth during Sox games, he has been calling the Spring Training games since they started last week. And this is a tough call. While I think DO and Rem-Dawg has extraordinary chemistry in the booth–I reallyREALLY enjoyed Eck’s perspective and commentary as well. Maybe they could have Eck come in 1 or 2 days a week, give Jerry some time off?

Injury updates: Daisuke had another bullpen session today, and will probably pitch in his 1st game sometime mid/end of next week.

Mike Lowell, receiving a clean bill of health from his doctors earlier hits week, will play in a game over the weekend…It seems more and more likely that Mike will break camp with the Sox, as a bench player…

The #1 pick in baseball this year, touted as “the best pitching prospect in 20 years” who plays for the worst team in baseball (isn’t it always that way?)Stephen Strasburg got his 1st start yesterday against the Tigers, going 2 innings, throwing 27 pitches, 15 for strikes, giving up 2 hits and zero runs while striking out 2. Coming from San Diego State, Strasburg signed with the Nationals for 4-years–and $15.1 million dollars. But for a young kid, he seems to not be influenced by the hype: “…and I can honestly say it’s not necessarily earned. It’s something you have to deal with when you’re the No. 1 pick. But I haven’t really proved anything at the pro level. There are guys here who have had long, successful, big league careers who don’t get this type of attention. Kind of a shame, but it’s out of my control.” Looking forward to seeing more of this kid…

Jon Lester got his 2nd start of the season today, in the 6-8 loss against the Rays at home, opposed by fellow-lefthander David Price. After allowing the 4 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks, today’s outing was MUCH better 2 2/3 innings, giving up 1 unearned run on 2 hits while walking and striking out 4…Which was certainly good enough to get a win, if Adam Mills (Don’t know who he is either…) didn’t get lit up to the tune of 6 runs on 7 hits while walking 1–all in 1 inning of work…wonderful…

This loss brings the Sox Grapefruit Record to a very respectable 5-3…

Coming up: John Lackey will make his 2nd start of the season against the Mets in Port St. Lucie. This will also be the 1st time the Sox face Jason Bay since he left…1st pitch is at 1:10pm…