Boston Sox Journalism

Breaking News: Boston Sox Journalism to be Replaced By a New Revolution in Sports' Journalism

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:05:00 +0000

As of today, Boston Sox Journalism will be shut down.

The reason for this. Why would I shut down a site with fantastic numbers in only two months of existence? Simple answer: Boston Sox Journalism is moving to a new server and covering all major New England Sports!

That is correct. BSJ will be going down for a new site known as Beantown Sports Observer. It will offically launch on March 8th, 2010 and feature the top notch commentary you have come to know and love for all New England sports!

We thank you for the fantastic numbers and hope you follow our journey to bigger and better pastures as we move onward to the newest New England sport's blogging website. We will have the same interaction with the community as we have with BSJ! It will be just like this site except on not only the Sox, but the Celtics, Patriots, and Bruins.

Check us out at the hyperlink provided and we officially launch March 8th, 2010. Until then we will be not updating BSJ, instead we will focus on building Beantown Sports Observer to be the best it can be until it's initial launch.

Thank you so much and we are answering the requests of many who wanted more!

DJ Rallo

Site Update: Boston Sox Journalism on Twitter and MySpace + More

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:38:00 +0000

MySpace and Twitter Added

Well with Boston Sox Journalism taking many steps forward in two months of existence, I am very proud to announce that BSJ will now be on both Twitter and MySpace to go with it's initial Facebook page that needs some tuning up. Numbers have been incredible and we would still like numbers to grow so we hope to reach out as far as possible.Be sure to tell your friends and join the BSJ Community

New Job Openings

As Boston Sox has been on the search for new writers, we also have two new job positions open. One of which is to handle our Twitter/Facebook/Myspace accounts by updating them regularly as well as an editor to look over and edit articles. We would like one person per position. Our Help Wanted page will be edited shortly.

Join the Community!

As of now, we fully enjoy and applaud the recent viewership hits, but we would also like to see some more interaction amongst the fanbase. With that said, be sure to leave comments on articles as well as our Guestbook page in case you ever wish to say something in regards to the site. If you ever have an issue, be sure to email me at bosoxrevolution@gmail.com or djredsox24@gmail.com if you wish to come in contact. We hope to have a mailbag of sorts soon so never be afraid to ask a question about anything.

Thanks again for making our site a massive hit as of late and we hope to continue to provide the best analysis possible!

Nomar Garciaparra: Time to Face the Music and Retire

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:03:00 +0000

Nomar, likely doing something on the field as a result of steroids | Photo ctsy: sportsofboston.com

I remember, when I was eight-years-old, all I wanted to be when I grew up was Nomar Garciaparra.

At that point, who wouldn't? Nomar was the toast of Boston, the man who was sure to lead the Red Sox to many World Series titles, and rake in the MVPs while he did it. He would've gone into the Hall of Fame and had his No. 5 placed on the right field facade at Fenway.

Then, whether it be psychological or physical, or both, Garciaparra began to suffer on the field. From 2002 to 2003, Garciaparra's doubles went from a career high 56 (which led the American League) down to 37, playing in the same amount of games. His home runs went from 24 to 28, but his average dropped nine points, and his OPS dropped 28 points.

Garciaparra was supposed to be in the prime of his career. Yet, his most important statistics began freefalling.

He injured his Achilles heel during Spring Training of 2004, missing most of the first half of the season. By July 31 of 2004, Garciaparra was traded to the Chicago Cubs.

The immediate reaction by Red Sox Nation was "kill Epstein," but as the season wore on, and Garciaparra wore down, it became clearer and clearer that Theo Epstein made the right move by trading Garciaparra.

After two injury-plagued seasons with the Cubs, in which he played 43 games in 2004 and 62 games in 2005, Garciaparra signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His first two seasons he played in 122 and 121 games, respectively. After that, he played in no more than 65, never hitting higher than the low .280s between Los Angeles and Oakland. His last .300 season was in 2006, which was also the final season he hit double-digit home runs.

Now, it's 2010. Nomar is a free agent again, and nobody wants him.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter once said Garciaparra was the best shortstop in the league, but with the Cubs, Dodgers, and Athletics Nomar played third base, first base, and DH.

According to Lou Merloni, Garciaparra's friend, ex-teammate, and confidant, Nomar intends to play in 2010. I find that hard to believe.

Garciaparra has been in downward spiral since at least 2003. He's proven he carries injuries like rats carry disease, he can't hit for average or power, and can't field. Some reports say Garciaparra isn't even a positive influence in the clubhouse.

So, with spring training days away, it might be best for Nomar just to simply call it quits and walk into the sunset.

This article is also featured on BleacherReport.

Know You're Role: How Will Victor Martinez Handle A Full Time Roll

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:30:00 +0000

With Spring Training coming upon us, I will be daily adding one or twomain discussion topics about the Boston Red Sox and their 2010 season.I will be analyzing the hottest topics and expressing my opinions as towhy I feel a certain way about something. Today, I ask whether or not Victor Martinez will be able to handle the full time catcher position.

The heading may be confusing, so let me clarify. With Victor Martinez being the new full time catcher on the Red Sox, can he work well with the pitching staff and fill the shoes of the man who has caught four no hitters, Jason Varitek? In my honest opinion, it was common sense to make Victor Martinez the full time catcher for the 2010 regular season.

He is clearly a major step up from the captain and will no doubt provide at the plate, but will he work the same magic when it comes to chemistry to the staff like Varitek always did?

This Spring is where this question will really be put into perspective in my opinion. He is Jason Varitek to help him as well as the staff and there should be no real worries besides catching Tim Wakefield, which may not even be that much of a problem seeing as he's the odd man out in the rotation, or his other problem being Josh Beckett.

Last season there seemed to be some communication problems between Beckett and Martinez that proved that the two were lacking chemistry. Josh obviously worked far better with Jason Varitek behind the plate and it's up to V-Mart and Beckett to build a bond of sorts before Opening Day.

Can Martinez handle the roll? Honestly, I do not think it will be much of a problem because like I said, he still has Varitek there to help him out and the rotation is arguably the best in baseball today. The final answer is, yes, Martinez will learn how to handle the rotation and take over for the veteran captain, Jason Varitek.

Next Topic: Mixed Bag Effect: How Will Low Risk-High Reward Acquisitions Pan Out?

Carl Yastrzemski: A Baseball Icon

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:36:00 +0000

Carl Yastrzemski left his mark in baseball asone of the elite hitters of his generation. The eighteen-time All-Starbecame one of the greatest of all the Red Sox despite having to fill the shoes of one of the greatest in history, Ted Williams, in left field.

Yaz may not have been Ted Williams, but who has? Today I am going to discuss the career of a true Red Sox legend.

Carl Michael Yastrzemski was born on August 22, 1939 in Southampton,New York. The family later moved to Bridgehampton, New York when Carlwas young, and he was raised on his father's potato farm. Yastrzemskiwas always known as a hard worker for his father and during hischildhood, he played a lot of "sandlot" baseball.

But as a child, Yastrzemski grew up with a great round ball talent as well and attended Notre Dame on a basketballscholarship. He also had a passion for baseball, and Yastrzemski decided to sign with the Boston Red Sox after being drafted in college.

When Yaz signed with Boston, he was sent to their minor league facility in Raleigh, North Carolina. There he led the league in battingaverage and quickly went through the minor leagues.

When called up to the Red Sox in 1961, Yastrzemski was given high expectations as he was supposed to be the next Ted Williams in leftfield. Though he did not meet those expectations in the first two seasons, Yaz had shown his true potential in his third year after finishing in the top ten in MVP voting while winning a batting title.

During the best year of Yaz's career, he won the Triple Crown in1967 as part of the 1967 "Impossible Dream Team", one of the mostfamous turnaround stories in sports' history. After eight starightlosing seasons, the Sox won an incredibly exciting four-team scramble for the pennant, sweeping the Minnesota Twins to win the AL by one game over the Detroit Tigers.

Though Yastrzemski and the '67 Sox did not win the World Series, they did make it to the Series for the first time since 1946.

From 1967 to 1974, Yaz won the batting championship in1967 while hitting over 40 home runs (44) for first time in his careerin 1969. Over the rest of his career, Yastrzemski was one ofthe premiere hitters for Boston.

By the end of his career, Yaz could boast a long list of accomplishments. He finished up with 3,419 hits, 452 home runs, 1,844RBI, and 1,845 walks.

After his retirement at the age of 44 in 1983, Yastrzemski held the major league record for the longest stint with a single team after being on the Boston Red Sox for 23 seasons, tied with Brooke Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles.

Yastrzemski was an 18-time All-Star, a seven-time Gold Glove winner,and had won an MVP and a Triple Crown (1967). Yaz is known throughout baseball as one of the greatest of all-time, and he is was ranked No.72 in Baseball America's Top 100 Players list.

On his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot, Yaz easily waltzed into the Hall after recieving over 90 percent of the votes. He had hisnumber (8) retired by the Boston Red Sox that year as well.

Yaz was known for his great attitude towards the game, his outlookon life, and his passion for baseball. He was also known for his very unique batting stance which led many people wondering on how he had hit so well in 20-plus years of baseball.

Carl Yastrzemski is one of the most recognizable names in sports andis highly regarded by most everyone. Yaz was a great man and an evengreater player.

Facts credited to Wikipedia.org as well as Carl Yastrzemski'sofficial website. This is a DJ Rallo original article, but facts can befound at those websites.