A Nation Clad In Red Rejoices

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae.

Why is this guy Monday morning's poster boy on " Thoughts of Hazel Mae"?

If you have been here before, you know who he is and you know that he did something special. If you haven't been here before, you should still know who he is. If you don't know who he is, check back tonight to find out why he is first in line for this week's Hazies. We'll just say that people in God's country are very happy with his latest accomplishment.

Red Sox Nation is celebrating after sweeping the Yankees this week - last night's game featured four straight home runs by Boston in the third inning to erase a 3-0 deficit, as well as a three -run shot in the seventh to erase a 5-4 deficit. Matsuzaka evens his record at 2-2 with the victory - keeping the Red Sox in the game after a shaky start. That was one thing that impressed me this weekend, both Matsuzaka and Beckett overcoming shaky starts, on days where they clearly didn't start out with their best stuff.

In the case of Beckett, we may be seeing the next step in the maturation of Josh - in years gone by in Florida, he would always come out of the gate well - but would have a game like he did on Saturday (not getting the win) and then toss three or four sub-par games. He overcame a shaky start and was dominant for from innings three through six.

The Toronto Blue Jays are in trouble - real trouble; while the team has spent the last week talking about "keeping things close" while they try to get healthy, they are doing anything but. The Jays get swept by the O's in Baltimore, after yet another sub-par performance by one of their starters; this time Gustavo Chacin takes the loss. Chacin's start yesterday was much like Josh Towers' start on Saturday - he came out throwing strikes...unfortunately for Jays fans, his strikes were a little too good and Baltimore hit him all over the park. I'm not sure what pitching coach Brad Arnsberg is telling these guys, but he would be well advised to show them a clip of the Red Sox/Yankees game last night - Matsuzaka was "effectively wild last night", meaning hitters don't dig in as much as they do against guys like Towers and Chacin who are around the plate all the time (I know neither throws the ball in the mid-90s).

Note to J.P. Ricciardi - the Josh Towers experiment should be called off - he is what he is...a AAA pitcher; stop trying to say otherwise.

Tough afternoon for Red Sox West - we had to lose eventually I guess. Dodgers drop a 7-5 decision to the Pirates yesterday but still sit on top of the N.L. West with a 13-6 record.

I'd like to be the first person to welcome Albert Pujols back to the major leagues after having gone missing for the first two weeks of the season - Pujols' miserable start (among others) is killing me in the Hazelspeeps Rotisserie Baseball pool.

Round 2 of the NHL playoffs are almost set - Dallas is in Vancouver for game 7 of their first round series - Dallas will go into tonight's game under-manned, having suffered a few injuries in game 6, but something tells me they are going to pull it out tonight. We'll breakdown round 2 of the NHL playoffs tomorrow. In a glass half-full view of round two - the Devils are facing off against the SenaTards, meaning one of those two will be out of the playoffs!


HAZEL'S THREE STARS
Florida Marlins 2B Dan Uggla had three hits, including two home runs, and drove in six runs in the Marlins 12-6 victory over Washington yesterday afternoon; I know its only the Nationals, but driving in that many has to get you something.

Atlanta Braves 2B Kelly Johnson also hit two home runs and drove in four, leading the Braves to a 9-6 win over the New York Mets.

Boston Red Sox 3B Mike Lowell hit two home runs, including a three-run shot in the seventh inning to lead the Sox to a .


MONDAY THREE PLAY
We didn't get anything in yesterday - which is too bad, because it would have been a big day for us; still though, we finish the week at + $150, with our total for the year up to + $1,110.

Boston over Toronto - we don't know if Hazel would go on record to pick a winner tonight - conflicting interests - and we don't blame her. The Sox, coming off an emotional weekend series vs. the Yankees, could be in for a letdown tonight against Toronto; but we don't think so. Lay $100 on Wakefield and the Red Sox - $200.

NY Mets over Colorado - the Rockies are 3-6 on the road, not good when you are heading to Shea to play a Mets team that dropped two of three at home to the Braves over the weekend. Lay $100 on the Mets - $200.

Texas over Seattle - two teams that are off to a bad start, the difference in this game will be that the Rangers play well at home and the Mariners have lost 4 of 5 on the road. Lay $100 on the Rangers - $140.

That's it for this morning gang - gotta run. Have a great one peeps!


HAZEL'S MONDAY HOROSCOPE
Take a serious look at your present situation and decide what you must do to make things more to your liking. A little time and space to think things through will help. Plan a mini vacation or a business trip. 2 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - wake up song

Dance Dance - Fall Out Boy

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!