I have to learn to read headlines

Just now I was checking Yahoo! Sports for any news on Daisuke Matsuzaka, and got very excited when I saw a link saying the Sox had signed a Japanese pitcher. I immediately clicked into the story and started reading while calling out to the wife, "They signed him! A two-year contract!"

Then I read a little more and realized the contract was not for Matsuzaka (which I should've noticed right away since he's a righty and the headline referred to a lefty), but a relief pitcher named Hideki Okajima. Which is still good news, since the Sox need bullpen help and Okajima is a good setup guy. But it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. Back on the D-Mat watch ...

Technorati: sports, baseball, Boston Red Sox

My mind is as sharp as a whatchamacallit

The other day, the wife and I were at the drugstore picking up a few things when I recognized someone waiting at the pharmacy counter. He saw me at the same time, and we both said, "Hey!"

Immediately after that, I thought, "Oh, shit."

I knew his face. I knew that we'd both worked at the same place several years earlier. I even remembered scraps of a conversation we'd had once at a party concerning a drum set that he was thinking about getting.

Did I remember his first name? Of course not.

What compounded the problem is that there's someone at my work now whose first name starts with the same initial, and whose last name is exactly the same as X's. Also, a blogging acquaintance has the same last name, and the same first and middle initials as another former co-worker. So every time I tried to remember X's name, I kept getting stuck on those two other combinations that I knew for sure were wrong.

I chose the cowardly route and didn't refer to X by name, but made sure to ask about the drum set so he would realize that, yes, I did really know who he was. Later on, I did a little searching and found his name so that I know it for the next time I run into him. Maybe by then, he'll have done a little searching of his own and found my correct first name. ;)

Technorati: personal

Sox notes

I have a slight headache and it's been a long week (and month and year), so this won't be too coherent, but here goes:

-- It might take me a while to learn how to spell Daisuke Matsuzaka without looking it up. But if he turns out to be an ace for the Sox, it'd be worth it. He sounds like the real deal, even if his vaunted "gyroball" is just a really good slider or curve.

-- Alex Cora just signed a $4 million, 2-year contract with the Sox. That's an awful lot for a guy who hit .238. Personally, I would've taken some of that money and thrown it Mark Loretta's way. As much as I like Dustin Pedroia (aka "Little Guy" in our household), he's not quite ready, and Loretta had a pretty good year at second.

-- I'm sad to see Foulke go, especially since the bullpen was shaky at times last year, and while he is no longer a closer, he can still be good. At least Timlin will be back, along with Wake, who can pitch anywhere, anytime.

-- There's a chance the Sox's replacement for Trot Nixon, an oft-injured outfielder, might be J.D. Drew, another oft-injured outfielder who would be a lot more expensive. I don't know what numbers Theo's crunching for this one -- probably the same ones Dan Duquette used to sign Kevin Mitchell and Jose Canseco.

Technorati: sports, baseball, Boston Red Sox

A good week for democracy

It's been a very exciting few days ... the Democrats took back control of Congress, Deval Patrick won the Mass. governor's race in a landslide, and the state legislature effectively killed the anti-marriage equality ballot measure. It's all enough to restore my faith in democracy.

I'm particularly thrilled about the ballot measure, as too much time and money has been wasted on something that would take away people's rights. I know some antigay activists will now complain that the will of the people wasn't heard. Which seems funny to me, because as far as I know the will of the people shouldn't rely on fraudulent signature-collecting methods and out-of-state protestors. But what do I know? I just live here.

Technorati: politics