• Curt Schilling bounced the Game 5 first pitch and then J.D. Drew helped Boston bounce the series back to Tampa

Sox and Dawgs provides this video of an $8 million bounced first pitch by Curt Schilling. I’ll give Schill a little slack since he had surgery, but his toss seemed like an omen after B.J. Upton took Dice-K deep for a two-run shot in the first inning.

I know the Boston Red Sox have given us incredible comebacks in playoffs past, but at 7-0, I had written the Nation off. I was only watching the game to see how many runs Tampa Bay would score en route to clinching their first trip to the World Series. Then it happened.

The Boston Red Sox came up with the clutch hits and big home runs we’ve become accustomed to from them and pulled off the greatest postseason comeback since 1929. Strangely, the same year as the great stock market crash.

Dustin Pedroia got things started with a single in the seventh to score Jed Lowrie, a run that at time seemed like it would serve no purpose other than preventing the Sox from being shutout in their final game of the season. It ended up being the snowball that started the avalanche.

From there on it was just like old times. David Ortiz found his stroke and jacked a three-run shot to pull Boston within three at 7-4. Johnathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless eighth after giving up two runs in the seventh, and J.D. Drew clutched up with a two-run homer in the eighth and the game winning single in the ninth. The J.D. Drew clutching up is new, but the Sox pulling off miracles isn’t. It’s hard to believe that this team was considered the Chicago Cubs of the American League earlier this decade.

Does this win get the Red Sox rolling to the World Series? Probably. The Tampa Bay Rays are a young team, and a loss like this could ruin them for the rest of the series. Luckily for T.B., James Shields is locked for Game 6 which gives them their best chance of winning. If Boston forces a Game 7, get ready for a Red Sox-Phillies World Series.

The Chicago Cubs are continuing their 100 years of World Series solitude, and are taking the appropriate amount of crap for their effort. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart broke out a pie chart that shows Chicago Cubs fans are stupid.

Hey Cubs fans.. There’s still a silver lining here. At least you’re not Red Sox or Yankees fans. Granted, would’ve seen your team win a championship in your lifetime, but you’d also be labeled a Fucktard or a Douchenozzle.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is very open about his political leanings, as he is with everything in his life. Schill is shilling for John McCain and had an interesting encounter with McCain’s wife Cindy at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Shonda Schilling tells the story:

From the Boston Herald:

“We all got separated in this huge room with lots of people,” Mrs. S told the Track. “I walked ahead with (racing legend) Richard Petty while Curt stopped to sign autographs.

“So when he started to walk away, he grabbed Cindy’s hand. She didn’t seem to mind and went along with it,” said Shonda. “But when he realized what he was doing, he held up their hands and said, ‘Hey, Shonda, look at this!’ Suddenly, Richard grabbed my hand and I said, ‘Don’t worry, I’m being taken care of.’ ”

Cindy McCain didn’t seem to mind huh? Maybe she’s like the mom in The Wedding Crashers, or maybe she was happy to be holding anything but her husband’s hand.

Even Big Papi has to have a papi, and David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox can be seen with his in this video. The clip was shot by L’Montro 99, and it’s from the beginning of the season.

Big Papi is a lot more relaxed than I am when I’m on a plane that’s about to take flight. Of course, I’ve never been on a flight on my way to pick up my second World Series ring. That probably takes some of the edge off.

Bonus video: Dice K modeling a shirt in honor of Manny Ramirez

The Baltimore Orioles are expected to surpass 50 million in attendance for the 14-year-old Camden Yards on Monday or Tuesday in games against the Boston Red Sox. The O’s plan to celebrate this occasion by awarding the 50 millionth fan to enter the stadium $50,000, season tickets for five years, a VIP package, and a commemorative jersey.

If you’re a fan of the Red Sox that’s planning on attending this game and getting a chance at the money you can forget it. The contest is rigged.

Oriole Park needs just 43,290 more people to cross the 50 million mark. With the last Red Sox-Orioles series drawing more than 45,000 for three out of four games, officials are primed to celebrate the milestone but aware of the concern from some that the 50 millionth person to pass through Camden Yards’ gates could be rooting for the opposing team.

Bader said Orioles staff will place an extra attendant at all the park entrances when the gates open at 5:30 p.m., and staffers will be tracking the attendance count as tickets are scanned for entry. Once the count hits the magic number, they will pinpoint the gate at which they believe the scan occurred and notify the attendant there.

The attendant will select a fan at random who best represents the sentiment behind the promotion, Bader said.

The Red Sox fans can wear an O’s hat and t-shirt just to walk through the gate if they want a shot at the money, but other than that the Nation is outta luck. The promotion isn’t breaking any laws because they’re celebrating the spirit of the contest.

Baltimore Orioles, 50 Millionth Fan, baseball

Manny Ramirez was shipped from the Boston Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three team deal that saw Jason Bay land in Beantown. Man-Ram finally got the trade he was seeking, and can be seen is this video leaving Fenway Park for the last time. Manny’s bat will help the Dodgers offense tremendously, but the clubhouse could be a disaster with Jeff Kent and Manny Ramirez sharing space.

Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, Los Angeles Dodgers, video

Manny Ramirez put his studies of the Shawn Chacon book of problem resolution to work Saturday in Houston. The Boston Red Sox outfielder had a dispute with the team’s traveling secretary which ended with Manny shoving the employee to the ground.

From the Projo SoxBlog:

Manny Ramirez shoved Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick to the ground in an argument over Ramirez’ ticket allotment. Several onlookers moved quickly to separate the two.

Ramirez had asked McCormick for 16 tickets for Saturday night’s Red Sox-Astros game, an unusually high number for day-of-game.

When McCormick cautioned Ramirez that he might not be able to fulfill his request, Ramirez responded by shouting: “Just do your job!”

An argument insued and Ramirez pushed McCormick, sending him to the ground.

Attention all MLB team employees: Watch your back in Houston. Something down there is making the players go nuts. Manny, Terry Francona, and Jack McCormick say the problem is behind them, so this will probably be chalked up to Manny being Manny (Pacquiao) again. I think Ramirez was looking ahead to this week’s series against the Tampa Bay Rays and wanted to make sure he was in fighting shape.

Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox, MLB, fight

There are three things you can count on.. Death, taxes, and Julian Tavarez screwing something up. I’m a St. Louis Cardinals fan so I got all of the Tavarez I could handle back in ‘04 when he broke his hand punching the dugout wall during the playoffs. Now, by way of the Red Sox Monster comes another great Julian Tavarez story.

JT was interviewed by The Capital Times and revealed some interesting info regarding his unearned World Series ring.

It seems the newest member of the Milwaukee Brewers left the $20,000 prize in his locker when the Red Sox designated him for assignment, then released him earlier this month.

“They’re going to mail it to me, I’m sure.”

Tavarez was awarded the ring because he pitched in the regular season for the Red Sox last year, but he didn’t make an appearance in the playoffs. That could be why he doesn’t seem to have any attachment to a $20,000 World Series ring. He’s confident that the team is gonna mail it to him but if Manny Ramirez gets his hands on it, you know that ring will be on Ebay.

Julian Tavarez, World Series ring, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers

Curt Schilling of the Boston Red Sox has picked up a new toy which he can use to write 38 Pitches or play World of Warcraft. This HP laptop was designed by graffiti artist de la Vega, one of 9 artist picked by PC magazine to pimp out some computers for charity. Schilling is the first person to take one off the market, and I’m hoping A) he got this for his kids or B) it’s for him and  he breaks this bad boy out in the Sox clubhouse and the boys let him have it.. On camera of course.

There’s no word on how much Schilling bid for his HP, but the other eight are still available and range in price from $300 to $1200. The money is going to the National Cristina Foundation which in turn provides computer equipment to needy schools and non-profit organizations. I respect Curt buying the computer for a good cause, but did he have to choose that one?

I like the album look laptop designed by Rebecca Minkoff:

Curt Schilling, Boston Red Sox, laptop, HP

Curt Schilling is known for being a big game pitcher, and a big mouth. Schill’s not a trash talker he just has an opinion on any and every thing. There’s a fine line between opening up and needing to zip it up, and 38 tends to fall on the side of the latter. While I obviously rarely agree with Curt’s opinions I think he handled the global warming question from the snowman pretty well.. For a politician. He admitted his own wrongdoing in the beginning and then laid into others for their similar wrongdoing. It’s like he’s been on the Hill instead of the mound all of his life. Also, I don’t wanna point out the lack of diversity amongst the McCain supporters, but when a snowman is one of the darkest people in the crowd I have to say something.

Tags: Curt Schilling, John McCain, Global Warming, Boston Red Sox