Quest for the (Mayor's) Cup

The Red Sox start their Grapefruit League schedule in mere hours against the Minnesota Twins in a Mayor's Cup matchup. Curt Schilling gets the start for Boston tonight. I am fairly certain that Curtis Montague's contract automatically renews for an additional year if the Sox win the Mayor's Cup. (Well, pretty sure.)

The Twins counter with young fireballer Matt Garza, best known for his meteoric rise through the minors to the Twins rotation last season. Minnesota likely realizes that they won't be a legitimate World Series contender until a hard salary cap and cyborgs enter the MLB landscape, so they should be going all out to win the Cup. Ellsbury and Murphy will be in the Sox starting lineup, and closer candidates Pineiro and Donnelly are expected to see action. I can't wait to see the Sox get under way...

Courtesy of MLB.TV, I got my 1st taste of Spring Training action today, watching Detroit defeat the Mets, 5-4. The Mets had weak starting pitching, courtesy of Pirates castoff Oliver Perez, and 3 of their 4 runs were scored in garbage time, when the Mutts padded their fantasy stats against some AA P's. Obviously, the Mets WILL NOT BE A FACTOR in the NL East, paving the way for the Phillies to return to the World Series in a rematch of the 1915 Fall Classic against the Boston Red Sox. I look forward to spending the money I saved by not buying tickets to see The Police, on Phillies World Series games at Fenway. $1800 for an Upper Bleachers ticket? No problem. Would you prefer PayPal, or shall I hand-deliver the cash immediately?

MLB.TV, which was a bit erratic in its' performance at times last season (freezing/slow-moving pictures, Phillies losing winnable games in the late innings), started slowly today with a big white screen that said "Error!", when I tried to login. But when it started working soon thereafter, the picture was crisp and clear, the sound as pleasant as possible, considering the broadcasters were of the New York Mets variety. However, I will wait to see if MLB.TV adversely affects the performance of the Phillies bullpen this season before issuing my final evaluation.

While MLB.TV usually blacks out the commercials, today I was able to watch them. Yes, I like to watch the commercials of MLB teams from far, far away. I like to see their commercials enticing fans to watch the team on TV and/or at the ballpark. I also enjoy seeing the commercials for distant and exotic places like "Round Table Pizza" and "Jack In the Box" and their culinary delights.
But I must admit I do get a bit bored of the same Sox commercials ad infinitum. Especially that damn W. B. Mason commercial. You know the one of which I speak.
Also, to clarify things a bit: No, I have no memory of my (alleged) role in an (alleged) attack on a mustachioed W.B Mason associate, (allegedly) utilizing large binder clips and crappy pens with a shorter shelf-life than the 2006 Red Sox version of Jason Johnson. Additionally, I have no knowledge of the nature of the video surveillance system at the location of the (alleged) attack. But if you want to know how I WOULD have done it IF I had, you can buy my book available this October. Between Phillies-Sox World Series tickets and my book, you have some serious saving up to do...

GO SOX!