No Hitter on LSD?

It happened in 1970, supposedly, by Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Todd Snider's got a great new song about it on 'The Excitement Plan' (a record I've been enjoying). He explains on NPR today.

New Cubs Documentary

hmm, i wonder where they got that title...

great baseball names, pt. 325235

Antonio Bastardo, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher

Big Papi debuts hot sauce

Sox win again on a nail-biter. Meanwhile, Ortiz debuts a new hot sauce line:

Original En Fuego, Monster Double En Fuego, Off the Wall Triple En Fuego, and Grand Slam En Fuego (from mildest to spiciest). It's gotta be better than the wine he came out with in 2006. Proceeds go to health care for children in New England and the Dominican Republic, apparently. I will probably not be the last to suggest that perhaps Grand Slam En Fuego is the cure to Ortiz' slump.

Reverse Curse Attempt The Worst

From NY Post:

Ian Ferris, 30, a Bombers fan in the heart of Red Sox Nation, green-thumbed his nose at Boston by planting Yankee Stadium grass in the Fenway infield during a May 31 Phish concert.
Yankee Stadium grass seeds went on sale this year. Ferris hid the seeds in his pants as he entered Fenway, filled the bag with water and tossed it onto the infield.

"This is payback," said Ferris, who manages a Hooters in Vermont. "If even one blade of grass sprouts on the field, I feel it was a success."

[insert hooters joke here]

usa today on big papi

big feature yesterday.

tidbits:

Bay knew life was going to be different when he walked through Boston's Logan International Airport and heard an announcement over the public-address system: "Jason Bay, your bags from Pittsburgh are coming in on Carousel 13. Welcome to Red Sox Nation."

.....

Papi: "What I do know is that I'm not done. Trust me. I am not finished."

.....

Ortiz's mailbox is stuffed each day with suggestions. Even games he gets a single hit, his cellphone is filled with messages from friends around the country.

"If I ever get four hits in a game," Ortiz says, "I'm going to have to get a new phone because mine will blow up."

.....

"I'm the same guy I've always been," Ortiz says. "I'm the same guy now as when I was hitting 50 home runs. I don't change. I never talked (stuff).

"If my (4-year-old) kid decides to play baseball, I want people to say, 'His last name is Ortiz. I remember his dad. He was a good player.

" 'But you know what, he was even a better person.' What could be better than that?"

this is why we love him. well, that big smile and also all those clutch home runs. i take his word for it. the game ain't over 'til big papi swings.

great game

papi homered. beckett was briliant. sox shut out the yankees; yanks' first blank of the season. sox are now 6-0 against their rivals this year.

The Onion - Manny Ramirez To David Ortiz: 'Road Trip'

I swear there's a Sox fan at the Onion. This piece is hysterical.

"Everybody's left me, you know?" Ortiz responded, tears streaming down his face. "You left me, Pedro left me. The only one who doesn't leave is Jason [Varitek], and he don't talk to me. He don't talk to anyone."

Nick Johnson in Boston?

Could Nick Johnson be the answer? Perhaps DHing could keep him off the DL. Buster Olney likes the fit.

"Johnson has a .434 on-base percentage and a career-high .330 batting average, and two scouts talked on Thursday about how his swing would be absolutely tailor-made for Fenway Park. 'He'd play pepper with the left-field wall,' one NL scout said."

Big Papi Debate Continues