Fireside Chats #42: Where we bask in the glory of the sweep and welcome back our cranky friend Frank

It's a marathon, not a sprint. You've got to stay in for the long haul. Everything will regress to the mean. Water seeks its own level. The cream will rise to the top. You get my point...All is right with the world this week coming off a series sweep against Baltimore.

Paul and I welcome back our longest standing guest of Fireside Chats, Cranky Frankie the Yankee in advance of this weekends renewal of "the rivalry".

We close the show discussing the greatest moments in Red Sox Nation history. Our vote, cast for Dave Roberts and the steal. How about you?

All that and more on Episode #42 of Fireside Chats on MVN!

Poll: “Short” handed Red Sox

Vintage Lester

"Vintage Lester dominates Orioles" read the headline after Sunday's 2-1 Red Sox victory over Baltimore. While headlines are known for hyperbole, by definition, Jon Lester's third and best start of 2009 was vintage.

Poll: What early season situation most concerns you?

Fireside Chats #41: Where we find ourselves in the cellar looking up at the Os

The season certainly has taken a turn since we last talked with you all after an Opening Day win and that turn was not a good one. In fact, it was so bad, we now find ourselves in last place in the bizzaro world that is the American League East. But neither Paul nor I are ready to press the panic button, yet.

In today's show, we lament the loss of Lowrie, blame the WBC for all things Matsuzaka, and Paul explains why he believes Josh Beckett did throw at Bobby Abreu and why a suspension is in order. We also look forward to the week ahead and talk a little O's with Anthony Amobi of MVN's Oriole Magic.

Poll: Are You Worried??

So the Red Sox start hasn't been what we all hoped for.  I think it's fair to consider this team in a bit of an early season funk.  That said, are you worried about the start in the context of the full season?  Has the 2-5 run out of the gate caused you to reconsider your lofty expectations of this club in 2009?  Vote away!

The good, the bad, and the Tek

Early season series against top flight division rivals are always difficult to measure. It's been said time and time again that the Red Sox, Rays and Yankees are likely to play themselves all around .500 against each other by the time this season shakes out and the team that outperforms against the rest of their schedule has the upper hand in the race for the division. That said, it's never easy to swallow being beaten in your own house by a team you'll be battling with all season long.

Given that it was the first three games of the season, a whopping 1.9% of the full slate of regular season games, it's difficult to draw any firm conclusions without being beaten over the head with comments about sample size. But as it is the regular season and no longer the fruitless analysis of in game Spring Training analysis, it is fair to point out a few things that were both good and bad omens, directionally speaking.

Fireside Chats #40: Where we celebrate Opening Day and talk Rays with DRaysBay.com

The 2009 season is finally upon us and we celebrate a win over those pesky Rays by taunting the very bloggers that cover them. Old friends of the show Tommy and Erik were kind enough not to back out of an appearance after the loss today to talk about the 2009 Rays and give us some perspective as we watch this team in action over the next few days.

Of course, we couldn't let the show go without reminiscing fondly over C.C. Sabbathia's first start in a Yankee uniform. While we don't expect him to throw $800k stinkers out there every start, we do think that the Yankees bullpen on the road to Rivera is wrought with potholes.

All that and more on Episode #40 of Fireside Chats on MVN!

2009 Red Sox Madness Champion: Josh Beckett

If the results of our Red Sox Madness tournament tournament tell us anything, it's that today's start for Josh Beckett could be setting the tone for the season.

After matching up the sixteen most important players on the Red Sox 2009 roster in a head to head, NCAA tournament style bracket, Josh Beckett cruised to a 63-36 win in the finals over Dustin Pedroia.

In resounding support of the notion that top flight pitching wins championships, the Red Sox "Big Three" of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka went 7-2 in this tournament with the two losses being Lester's and Dice-K's to the eventual champion.

Poll: Who wins the first “AL East Showdown”?

Today we pick right back up where we left off last season; playing the Tampa Bay Rays. For those of you who don't believe early season matchups matter over the long haul, I'll remind you that when it comes to the 2009 AL East three teams are fighting for what will likely be two playoff spots. The difference between October baseball and some late season tee times could likely come down to only a handful of games. That handful starts today.

With that in mind, our first "in season" poll question asks "who will draw first blood in the AL East"?

As always, the poll can be found in the left hand sidebar. Votes will be tallied tomorrow.