More on Tasergate

Apparently there is more to the story.
From tampabay.com:

Sciesinski, 33, pleaded no contest to the charge Thursday morning. He also admitted to chanting "Let's go, Red Sox!" in the back of the police van.
The judge found him guilty. He was sentenced to the night he had already spent in jail and fined $375 and court costs.
The Sarasota DJ tells a different story. He wasn't drunk, he said, just "buzzed" after his third rum and Coke. He said he cursed in front of some kids but apologized. He said it was Rays fans who were being rowdy. He was just "heckling."
He said he went limp when he got tackled and that he was threatened with the Taser after he had surrendered. And he said "they beat me up pretty bad."
But Sciesinski said he won't file a complaint.
"If he would have Tased me, yeah, I would," he said. "But there's no need for ill feelings."

Okajima's option picked up for 2009

From redsox.com:

BOSTON -- The Red Sox announced Saturday that reliever Hideki Okajima's option has officially vested for next season.

Okajima's two-year, $2.5 million contract had a $1.75 million option for 2009, but if he pitched in at least 115 games in '07 and '08, the Sox would automatically pick it up.
"In a day and age when it's hard to find relievers," manager Terry Francona said, "he's done a pretty good job."
Entering Saturday's doubleheader with Toronto, Okajima has pitched in 123 games over the past two seasons; his 115th appearance was Aug. 20 at Baltimore. But due to paperwork and finalization on the option pickup, the Red Sox did not officially announce it until Saturday.
Okajima, 32, joined the Red Sox in November 2006 as an amateur free agent. The lefty came to the Major Leagues with a 34-32 career record and a 3.36 ERA in Japan.
He made the American League All-Star team in 2007 with a 3-2 record and a 2.22 ERA. This season hasn't been quite so seamless -- while Okajima harbors an identical record and a 2.88 ERA, he's blown eight saves.
"He set the bar unbelievably high," said Francona of Okajima's first year, when he finished sixth in the AL Rookie of the Year Award voting. "This year, I think by his own accounts, it hasn't been as easy as it was last year."
Okajima has pitched 123 1/3 innings in his first two seasons in Boston, and his strength down the stretch in 2007 undoubtedly helped the Sox toward their World Series title.
Now, with the option picked up, Okajima will have the opportunity to make a similar impact down the stretch this year and in 2009.
"He's still a pretty good reliever, and when he has that split over -- or that changeup or whatever you call it -- he can be a dominant reliever," Francona said. "There have been times this year when it hasn't always been there."

Lester to take on Halladay on TBS

New addition to the Sox national TV schedule this week: Jon Lester v. Roy Halladay of Toronto will be on TBS this Sunday, September 14, 10:35 AM (PDT) on TBS.

Celebrity TP

I found this photo of Yankee TP a while back. Someone asked me where to buy some, but I didn't know. Well, I have since found a link:

http://www.jeremyinc.com/Celebrity_toilet_paper.html

Besides Yankee TP, they also sell TP w/your favorite celebrity on it. If you click on the link, you'll get a good chuckle from who's first on their list!

Book Review: 'The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty', by Buster Olney

First of all, Buster Olney is not a die hard Red Sox fan. He did not write this book from the perspective that many of us in RSN might have given the opportunity. He covered the Yankees for 6 years for the New York Times. Secondly, it was with total glee that I happened to finish the book on the same day that the Yankees slid from 3rd place to 4th with slim chances of climbing back higher.
Olney tells the story of the Yankee dynasty of 1996-2000, the team that won 4 World Series in 5 years, the team that was on the brink of winning their 5th title in 6 years. He does a splendid job of weaving the backstories of most of the Yankee players of the era, the poor choices made by Yankee management and ownership, the events of the night mentioned in the title, and the subsequent title drought that persists to this day. He offers a look into the way George Steinbrenner operated as a hands on owner, driven more by the notion of success in whatever endeavor he chose (in his case, owning a baseball team) than creating a true baseball legacy. It seems to me that it didn’t matter what Steinbrenner was doing, as long as he was successful doing it.
If you’re looking for a book that shreds the Yankees into pieces, berates and belittles everyone in the Yankee organization from George himself down to the man holding down the last spot on the roster, this is not it. It is not a hit piece on the Yankees, but a well written docu-drama recording the events that had permanent repercussions and the lesser known sub-plots and personal stories of all involved, a must read for all die-hard Red Sox fans.

Mike Timlin Receives Lou Gehrig Memorial Award

Mike Timlin, for the Boston Red Sox, has won this year’s Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, sponsored by the Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity, headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. The award is presented annually by Phi Delta Theta to the Major League Baseball player who best exemplifies the giving character of Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig, who was a member of the Fraternity’s Columbia University chapter. The award was first presented in 1955 and is permanently maintained at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

The Yanks fall to 4th (FOURTH!) place in AL East!

Today, the Yankees lost to Seattle (last place Seattle!) while the Jays beat the Rays, leaving the pinstripers at the door to the basement. The Yankees stand all alone in 4th (FOURTH!) place in AL East today, with only the Orioles any lower.

Looking at the remaining schedule of the Yanks and the Jays, it is quite possible that the Yankees will not rise back up to 3rd place. Their schedule includes 9 road games against the Angels, Jays, and Sox, along with home games against the White Sox and the Rays. The only weak link in their schedule is a 3 game home stand against the O's. If the Yanks go 9-10, and the Jays go 11-9, which is quite doable for them, as they are a good team, that would leave the Yanks at 85-77 and the Jays at 87-75.

They've kept putting that humble pie to the back of the frig, but now it's time to eat it, as old and moldy as it is.