• Wally the Green Monster’s Guest at Hospital Event & Red Sox Tickets; visit the children’s hospital with UMPS CARE and Wally to help raise spirits, then get tickets to that night’s game at Fenway Park.
• Boston Red Sox Batting Practice and Game Tickets. You and a friend can watch BP from the field at Fenway and then go to your Infield Grandstand seats to watch the game.
• Lunch with an Ump and Boston Red Sox Tickets. Anything you’ve ever wanted to ask an ump, you can while sharing a meal with him! Then you’ll be his guest at the ballgame that night!
• Jim Rice HOF ‘09 Autographed Jersey

Other amazing items for bid include:

• A Major League Baseball jersey signed by President Barack Obama
• A pre-concert meet-and-greet with the Black Eyed Peas including floor seating
• Tickets to the 2010 All-Star Game

You can get a complete list of all items here.

Proceeds from this auction support the UMPS CARE Charities youth programs, such as The BLUE Crew Ticket Program which offers the baseball experience with tickets to big league baseball games for children awaiting adoption and at-risk youth in mentoring programs.

Another program is BLUE for Kids, held across the country during the baseball season. Umpires and team mascots offer words of encouragement and Build-A-Bear Workshops to children coping with cancer and other serious illnesses. As part of the workshop, each child chooses from a variety of pre-stuffed animals as well as clothing outfits for their new “furry friend” – including bear-sized baseball team uniforms. More than 4,000 Build-A-Bears have been made by children since the program began.

For more information or to bid on items, go to Umps Care. Winning bidders will be notified after the auction closes on March 22.

Good Luck–and Happy Bidding!

Lackey weighs in on the difference in doing Spring Training in Florida rather than Arizona (where Anaheim, the only other team he has ever played for, prepares for the season): “I like the humidity over here. That’s one good thing about it. Feel like you get loose a little bit easier on this side, feel the ball a little better.” Wait until you go to Boston in April and its 42 degrees for 1st pitch, and you are used to California weather…You’ll be loving THAT–NOT…

Junichi Tazawa closed out the game with 2 scoreless/hitless innings of his own, while walking 1, throwing a wild pitch, and striking out 2…

This win brings the Sox Grapefruit record to 6-3…

And of course “the big story” was the fact that the Sox would be facing Jason Bay for the 1st time since he left the Sox and signed with the Mets in the offseason. Whatever…

So at Jason Bay’s 1st at bat in yesterday’s contest against the Mets, there were actually a few folks who BOOED him. Uh, WHY? He didn’t lie to anyone (like Johnny Damon), or act like a jerk to get run out of town (like Manny) He came to Boston, gave the team a good year and a half, was always polite and a good citizen and just could not come to an agreement with management and went to the Mets. He never once trashed the fans, or even the team for that matter. So what’s with the boos? Frankly, Nomar left under far worse circumstances and he got a 5 minute standing O when he came back to Fenway with Oakland last year…

Now, I know Jason Bat isn’t Nomar, but STILL…Red Sox Nation is better than that…

Speaking of #5, if you have not gotten enough of Nomar retiring as a Member of the Boston Red Sox, Comcast SportsNet New England’s Lou Merloni scored an interview with Nomar Garciaparra after the Red Sox press conference. This 2 part, more extensive interview (over 15 minutes) can be found here. Maybe CSNNE will consider a Lou and Nomar show–’cause I really think this needs to happen…

Still on schedule for a start at the end of next week, Daisuke will throw to live hitters this week, and be evaluated from there…

Today’s game against the Cardinals at their home in Jupiter, was postponed due to rain, but will be made up on March 22nd with split squad games/ Clay Buchholz, who was supposed to start today, will get a start in against the Pirates tomorrow…

Chad Fox wrong a GREAT article on Random Lists of 5, you can read it here….

Finally, our friends at Celebrities for Charities are running another very cool raffle. The Jason Varitek Spring Training Raffle, valued at over $2500, consists of the following:

• Winner and a guest will enjoy 2 tickets (1 each) to the Boston Red Sox March 27, 2010 Spring Training game against the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Field in Sarasota Florida and 2 tickets (1 each) to the March 28, 2010 game against the Minnesota Twins at Palms Park Field in Fort Myers, Florida (Game Times 1:05 PM)
• Winner and a guest will enjoy dinner with Jason Varitek in Florida
• Winner will receive $1,500 for travel and other expenses
• Winner and guest will each receive an autographed Jason Varitek 8 X 10 Photo
• Winner will receive a cash prize in the amount of $816.75 to mitigate the tax liability that results from winning the raffle. This prize is withheld and paid, on behalf of the Winner, directly to the IRS ($675.00) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ($141.75)

AS always, raffle tickets are only $2 each with a minimum of 5 required, and can be purchased here. You must be 18 years or older to enter. Deadline for all entries is Monday, March 22nd at 11:00am EST, with the drawing later that day.

All proceeds will benefit Journey Forward, a non profit organization dedicated to bettering the lives of those who have suffered a Spinal Cord Injury through an intense exercise program, which is designed to assists those with Spinal Cord Injuries so that they can achieve basic lifelong functions and receive the benefits. For more information about Journey Forward check out their website.

Coming up: The Sox stay home tomorrow for the contest against Pittsburgh, Clay Buchholz gets the start, followed by Michael Bowden. 1st pitch: 1:05pm.

While I regret that Nomar never got to be what he should have been with the injuries–and that he had to be traded in 2004–I am Oh So Happy that he will end his career where he started–and where he always belonged…

And now, about that show that he and Lou Merloni should have on NESN–it would certainly be must see TV…But, for now, Nomar will be heading to ESPN as a baseball analyst…

Tim Wakefield was downright brilliant in his 2nd outing of the season yesterday, throwing 3 scoreless frames of 30 pitches (22 for strikes) while giving up 2 hits, walking none, and striking out 1…A bunch of prospects (and the “other” Ramon Ramirez” combined for the remaining 6 shutout innings…His next outing, 4-5 innings, will be next Monday against the Oreos…

So it looks like another great beginning for Tim Wakefield–unfortunately, its the end of the season that has been messing with his cake the last few years–it seems he gets to about the All-Star break with all kinds of good stuff, and then something happens…Like in 2009: If he had continued the All-Star caliber dominance he has at the beginning of the season, there would have definitely been Cy Young talk…

While it’s still not certain that Jerry Remy will be the everyday color man in the NESN booth during Sox games, he has been calling the Spring Training games since they started last week. And this is a tough call. While I think DO and Rem-Dawg has extraordinary chemistry in the booth–I reallyREALLY enjoyed Eck’s perspective and commentary as well. Maybe they could have Eck come in 1 or 2 days a week, give Jerry some time off?

Injury updates: Daisuke had another bullpen session today, and will probably pitch in his 1st game sometime mid/end of next week.

Mike Lowell, receiving a clean bill of health from his doctors earlier hits week, will play in a game over the weekend…It seems more and more likely that Mike will break camp with the Sox, as a bench player…

The #1 pick in baseball this year, touted as “the best pitching prospect in 20 years” who plays for the worst team in baseball (isn’t it always that way?)Stephen Strasburg got his 1st start yesterday against the Tigers, going 2 innings, throwing 27 pitches, 15 for strikes, giving up 2 hits and zero runs while striking out 2. Coming from San Diego State, Strasburg signed with the Nationals for 4-years–and $15.1 million dollars. But for a young kid, he seems to not be influenced by the hype: “…and I can honestly say it’s not necessarily earned. It’s something you have to deal with when you’re the No. 1 pick. But I haven’t really proved anything at the pro level. There are guys here who have had long, successful, big league careers who don’t get this type of attention. Kind of a shame, but it’s out of my control.” Looking forward to seeing more of this kid…

Jon Lester got his 2nd start of the season today, in the 6-8 loss against the Rays at home, opposed by fellow-lefthander David Price. After allowing the 4 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks, today’s outing was MUCH better 2 2/3 innings, giving up 1 unearned run on 2 hits while walking and striking out 4…Which was certainly good enough to get a win, if Adam Mills (Don’t know who he is either…) didn’t get lit up to the tune of 6 runs on 7 hits while walking 1–all in 1 inning of work…wonderful…

This loss brings the Sox Grapefruit Record to a very respectable 5-3…

Coming up: John Lackey will make his 2nd start of the season against the Mets in Port St. Lucie. This will also be the 1st time the Sox face Jason Bay since he left…1st pitch is at 1:10pm…

Sadly enough, I could go and see them just about any other venue, and would not have any problems. But when Fenway Park is the place to be–why would I want to go anywhere else? And, before you ask, The Stadium is completely out of the question…Yuk!

So here are my options if I want Sox tickets at Fenway:

Driving 6 hours to stand for 3 (Standing Room Only) Not happening…

Doing the obstructed view thing–which I have done already, and got a crick in my back from leaning over to see home plate, which was obstructed by the POST 3 feet in front of me. The thing about obstructed view is that you never really know HOW obstructed your view is going to be–until you chunk out the money and get the the park…

Going myself, or going with someone–and not sitting anywhere near them–which, again, I am not going to drive 6 hours to do….

Showing up at the Box Office day of and seeing if there is anything available–and if there’s not–then what? Back to the hotel to watch it on TV?

Buying from a scalper–which is not only illegal, but paying $100.00 for a $28.00 bleacher seat is just not going to happen…

OR, the option I should have went with in the 1st place: A Ticket Vendor Online…

So I went to Online Seats, an independently owned ticket agency, licensed in the state of Illinois. And Holy Buckets, did they have seats of tons of dates, and tons of location–even Red Sox/Yankee games, and while the prices are above face value, they are more reasonable than you think…

Specializing in selling premium seats and tickets for sold out events (and Fenway would certainly apply), Online seats has a staff with of over 33 years of experience in the event ticketing industry, to help you find those “gotta have” seats.

And not only do they do sports ticketing of every type imaginable, they also sell all types of theater tickets for Las Vegas and Broadway shows among others…

So if you could not get tickets to Fenway, have a golf fan in your life who would LOVE tickets to The Masters, or want to finally see The Lion King on Broadway, Online Seats has what you are looking for–Check them out!

Good Luck–and Happy Ticketing!

Yeah, I know, meaningless games (even the Mayors Cup…)–but I never want them to lose, so a losing record, even in Spring Training, bugs me…

And yesterday’s game was one of those “skin of their teeth” kind of games, as That Clay Person did not fare so well in his 2010 debut, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits while walking 2 and striking out 1–in 2 innings of work…Following him, Boof Bonser threw 2 scoreless…And Casey Kelly, facing pro players for the 1st time in his career, pitched a scoreless 7 and 8 th inning for the win, with 1 walk and 1 strikeout in the span…

And, as frequently happens in Spring Training Games, the unknown Mark Wagner was responsibility for putting the Sox ahead for good, with a homer in the 9th inning…

Daisuke is making good progress, with a 65 pitch side session over the weekend, using all of his pitches. Pitching Coach John Farrell weighs in on Daisuke’s progress: “Right now, it’s more a matter of refining the timing in his delivery and establishing a release point on each individual pitch, as opposed from a health standpoint that he’s not feeling anything, which he is not. It’s encouraging from that standpoint. He’s into progressional bullpens and ultimately to batting practice.” Nest step is another bullpen session, and then if all goes well, onto batting practice… The estimated time for his Grapefruit Leagues debut would be around mid March, which places him about 2.5 weeks behind all the other pitchers in terms of conditioning and readiness for the season….

Mike Lowell went to see his hip and thumb doctors over the weekend, so it should be anytime now when he can return to more extensive baseball activities…to this point, Mike has only been doing drills and batting practice…

Today: At 1:05pm, the Sox hosted St Louis, winning 7-6, as Josh Beckett, with his 2nd start of the season, went 3 beautiful, perfect innings,while striking out 3 and walking none, lowering his ERA to 1.80. Jonathan Papelbon, Okajima and the Demonic Bullpen Tandem (MDC & the incumbent Ramon Ramirez) also threw an inning each,with only Delcarmen giving up a run? So why 6 runs by the Cards? Dustin Richardson, and Randor Bierd (Yeah, I dont know who he is either,except that he came from Baltimore…) combined to give up the other 5 runs in 1 (yes ONE) inning of work. But Josh Reddick saved the day in the 9th, both tying the score with a double, and then winning the game with a walk-off single… the 9th

Coming up: Tomorrow, the Sox head to Roger Dean Stadium to play the Marlins tomorrow, with Tim Wakefield getting the nod, with Anibal Sanchez starting for the fish. 1st pitch 1:05pm…

Yay!  The day we have all been waiting for…the Red Sox officially kick off the 2010 Campaign with 2 games against Boston College Teams, one at 1:05pm, started by phenom in The making Casey Kelly, who, at 20, will be younger than some of the college kids he will pitch to and one at 6:05 pm, started by Boof “Yes-I-legally-changed-my-name-to-…Boof”  Bonser, who has pitched in the bigs since 2008, because he has been rehabbing from shoulder surgery…

Tim Wakefield has alot of fans–myself included–but yesterday, he had a very special fan who spent some time with him–an 18 year old Japanese girl who hopes to be the 1st woman to play professional baseball in Japan–by throwing the knuckleball…Eri Yoshida spent time in the morning watching Wake throw his side session, and then had the opportunity to
have a throwing session of her own, under the watchful eye of her mentor:  “I’m impressed. She spun a couple, but for the most part, it was very good. She was able to take the spin out of a lot of them and they had quite a lot of movement on them…It’s an honor to have somebody carry on a knuckleball tradition, and somebody that’s doing it because she likes what I do…But for her to come all the way to Fort Myers and watch me throw, it was an honor for me to just talk to her and give her some tips.”  And I dare anyone one to say there is a nicer guy man in all of baseball…

OK, I know JD Drew hits pretty well/and consistently gets on base.  I also know he has come up pretty big in some pretty key areas (The Grand Slam in the 2007 ALCS comes to mind)  But lets not get ahead of ourselves here–he is no Big Papi or Manny Ramirez, he is a solid #6 or #7 hitter…MAYBE a 5 sometimes…But #4?  C’mon…I don’t think so…

So Adrian Gonzales want Mark Toxemia money ($180 million/8 years). And this is a surprise WHY?  He will be 29 when his current deal ends next year–and he is certainly the type of player to build a franchise on, so why not? Now, whether he will get that type of money remains to be seen–it all depends on the market, and what he does up to that point…Will be interesting to watch–and will also be interesting to see how involved the Sox get…

Looks like Rocco Baldelli will not be playing this yerar, returning to Tampa Bay as a Special Assistant.  Still recovering from shoulder problems, he really cannot play at this point anyway.  Coupled with the fact that his channelopathy makes everything harder to come back from, it’s probably going to be a while…But Rocco doesn’t consider this to be the end:  “I don’t think I’m ready to retire, I’m only 28 years old. But at this point I can’t really do what I want to do on the field. I wasn’t comfortable going to spring training this year, because I wouldn’t be able to perform.”  Right now he is working with minor leaguers as part of his Special Assistant duties…

Looks like Mike Cameron is on the mend, taking batting practice and easing back into baseball activities.  Look for him to make his 1st start sometime this weekend…

So Johnny Damon wants everyone to like him now, because he no longer plays for the Skanks…You really don’t get it, do you Johnny?  The reason we were made (at least for me anyway) was your adamant declarations that you would never play for the Skanks–and then you go and play for the Skanks…and then start talking about how the Skanks are the best team ever…THAT is why I don’t like you. Johnny…and I don’t care if you play for the San Diego Grandma league, I am still not going to like you…I’m just going to be glad I don’t have to see your mug 19 times a year…

Thanks so much to stupid Dan for his article (http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2010/03/03/getting_into_a_sensitive_area/) on Adrian Beltre’s decision not to wear a cup-and his ripped testicle as a result…my life is now fulfilled…UGH…

Coming up: The Sox continue their 1st game of the season, vs Northeastern University. At the top of the 3rd, the Sox lead 3-0, as they just scored 3 in the bottom of the 2nd…

And it looks like always a virtual waiting room, never a ticket buyer this year, because my hour is almost up, and so is my chance to buy Tickets….CRAP…

UPDATE:  I did manage to get to the ticket buying screens on all of the Octover Skankee games–and after pressing the “continue” button like a BILLION times–the best I coudl do was Standing Room only–thanks, but no thanks…Not driving 6 hours to stand for 3…