Tomri arigato mr roboto

The Associated Press
Japanese pitcher Denny Tomori has agreed to a minor-league contract with the World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

Tomori, 37, went 0-1 last season for the Yokohama BayStars in Japan's Central League and has a career 18-28 record with 30 saves over 13 seasons in Japanese professional baseball.

"This is a new challenge for me," the Japanese reliever told reporters Sunday. "I want to thank the Red Sox organization for giving me this chance. It's never too late."

Tomori will attend Boston's spring training camp from Feb. 18 as a non-roster player and has agreed to a contract worth $310,000.

Tomori's best season in Japan was in 1998 when he went 7-4 with eight saves, 68 strikeouts and a 2.60 ERA for the Seibu Lions.
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El Guapo Missing Feared Kidnapped

Rich Garces AKA El Guapo has not been seen by family or friends since January 17 according to reports in a Boston Herald article.

The disappearance is troubling due to the rash of kidnappings that have taken place in South America involving high-profile athletes and their families. The mother of former Sox closer Ugueth Urbina was kidnapped in Venezuela in September.

El Guapo known for his heft had a large cult fan following, which peaked in the year 2000. In 2002, feeling the need to revitalize his career, Garces dropped a large amount of weight to help him compete for a set up roll position in the bullpen. Despite the weight loss, Garces remained ineffective throughout the season posting a 7 plus ERA in just 24 outings. After he gave away all his fat man clothes in spring training, he gained back most of the weight and ultimately was released by the Red Sox.

Have Ball Will Travel

Doug Mientkiewicz was traded Wednesday to the new look Mets. A Mientkiewicz trade has been in the works ever since the season finished. Millar, and Mientkiewicz (first base tag team) mutually agreed that they wanted nothing to do with a platoon set up next year. Mientkiewicz will probably be best known for holding on to the ball that recorded the last out of the last game of the world series and then not giving it to the Red Sox organization after team ownership expressed interest in it.

The ball issue was never a factor in this trade or in this negotiating process. We had a baseball decision to make," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. "I know that others in the organization were talking to Doug and either have reached a satisfactory resolution or are very, very close to doing so."

Doug will join former teammate Pedro Martinez in New York after GM Omar Minaya worked to get the both.

When I talk to him, we maybe have to negotiate the ball part, too," Minaya said, jokingly.

Mientkiewicz will now be able to hope his teammate Kris Benson cheats on his wife Anna.

I told him, cheat on me all you want. If you get caught, I'm going to screw everybody on your entire team; coaches, trainers, players. I would do everybody on his whole team."- Anna Benson

Link to Anna quote

Its a long cold winter, but only...

Mientkiewicz Won't Give Up the Biscuit

It seems that Doug Mientkiewicz won't let go of the final out ball he caught Foulke's toss to first base. A prize memento indeed however Mientkiewicz has other plans for it, and called the ball...

my retirement fund...I hope I don't have to use it for the money. It would be cool if we have kids someday to have it stay in our family for a long time. But I can be bought. I'm thinking, there's four years at Florida State for one of my kids. At least." Mientkiewicz said.

Red Sox brass is far from litigation but that doesn't mean they are too happy about Mientkiewicz's plans for the ball.

We want it to be part of Red Sox archives or museums so it can be shared with the fans," Lucchino told The Boston Globe. "We would hope he would understand the historical nature of it."

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This Sh!t is Millitary

The never ending journy for the most important trophy your life has ever seen took a stop at the Pentagon today. Unlike most of the trophys stops this time the was accompanied by a high ranking person from the front office.

Lucchino called it "a great privilege and honor" to accompany the world championship trophy to local military hospitals and the Pentagon, and said he was "amazed" at the outpouring of interest and enthusiasm.

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Pappi Warns Front Office

The Associated Press
4:12 p.m. ET Jan. 5, 2005
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic

If the Red Sox unload Manny Ramirez, it would be Boston that would be the biggest loser in the deal, his teammate David Ortiz said Wednesday. Although he is one of the best hitters in the major leagues, Ramirez has been put on the open market by Boston in the past two winters.

Boston would be losing out if they trade Manny Ramirez. I don't have the slightest doubt about that," Ortiz said. "it will not be easy for the Red Sox to find a replacement who can fill Manny's shoes."

Ramirez was placed on waivers at the end of the 2003 season, but he was not claimed by any teams. He has been mentioned in possible trades after helping the Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years.

None of those rumors affect Manny, but if they do trade him, Boston would lose more than him," said Ortiz

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Rice Burned Again

Jim Rice was over looked for the hall of fame for the 11th time while a slap hitter for average like Boggs waltzs into the H.O.F. his first time on the ballot. This year Rice received 307 votes out of 516 voters or 59% of the vote. A good way from the 75% needed to be inducted into the hall. This year he did draw his highest percentage of votes as his previous years drew between 52% and 58%.

Rice's Resume:
Teams: Red Sox
Key stats: 1,451 RBIs, three-time AL HR champ Awards: MVP '78, eight-time All-Star

A recap of his efforts from redsox.com
During his 16-year career, including a 67-at-bat debut in 1974, Rice put up 382 homers and 1,451 RBIs. While eight players with more home runs have been denied Hall of Fame status, none of them had a higher career average than Andre Dawson's .279; Rice (.298) fell a few hits shy of being a lifetime .300 hitter and was a six-time finisher in the AL Top Seven.

He was a pure hitter, not just a bruiser. His 406 total bases in 1978 remains the club record of Boston's storied franchise, in whose annals only two first-ballot Hall of Famers (Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski) had more homers or RBIs.

The current irony, of course, is that Wade Boggs, whose career path crossed Rice's in Fenway Park, is considered the darling of this year's ballot. In his 18 seasons, Boggs posted 264 fewer homers and drove in 437 fewer runs than did Rice. All right -- they came from different molds, Boggs being a hit machine who totaled 3,010 of them for a .328 average.
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Byung-Hyun Kim's Rocky Departure

From the Dever Post...
The Rockies' search for a proven closer remains open as Byung-Hyun Kim fades as an option.

With much of its winter work done, Boston is exercising patience with Kim, while entertaining trade proposals more appealing than Colorado's.

"We made a run at him, but we haven't come across anything new (to find a match)," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said.

Boston is seeking one or two prospects for Kim as a concession to absorbing nearly $5 million of his $6 million contract. A Red Sox official confirmed that Colorado is in the mix for Kim, but trailed other suitors, including the Mets.

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