I could not be more excited for the start of the regular season! Luckily, opening day is in mere days, on April 6th. However, the 2pm game start time does not fit into my schedule, thanks to work. My first graders are taking the final part of the state test that day so I can’t possibly abandon them, even though the thought did cross my mind. So as a close second, I am hosting a game watching party for the 2nd game of the season (the first primetime showdown between the Sox and Rays since last year’s ALCS) on Wednesday, April 8th at 7pm at McSwiggan’s in Hoboken. I have been posting this event on the Red Sox message boards, facebook, sawxheads, and myspace. However, the next best way to get more people to come out is by word of mouth so please pass on this info to other NJ Sox fans, even if you can’t make it.

I also have plans for another game watching party on Saturday, April 25th at 4pm. There will actually be two parties going on that day. One will be at McSwiggan’s in Hoboken and the other will take place at Chili’s on Route 202 in Flemington so mark your calendars!

As always, feel free to email me at NJGov@redsoxnation.com with any questions or concerns.

Take care and GO SOX!

I haven’t updated in a while, but in my defense it is the offseason. However, I am starting to get amped up again about baseball as spring rapidly approaches. In fact, the first televised spring training game is only 24 days away! I am working on having an event at McSwiggan’s in Hoboken on Feb. 25th so check back often. More information to come very soon!

Last week, the governors had conference calls with the Red Sox front office. Ben from Baseball Operations spoke to us about offseason trades. He said our team is more well-rounded than it was a few years ago. He also mentioned our young pitchers that are in their prime or on the verge of their prime like Papelbon, Lester, Masterson, Dice K, and Beckett. We also got a few new guys like Brad Penny and John Smoltz, who the front office are optimistic will be able to make positive contributions to the team. Next, we discussed Red Sox Nation memberships. The Red Sox have added some new bonuses once you become a member. My personal favorite is the opportunity to come into the park early to watch batting practice. That is in addition to the ticket upgrades and giveaways that have previously been a part of RSN. I just received a huge envelope of RSN sign up cards to get new members to join. I will be handing them out at my events this season to try and recruit some new Sox fans. 🙂

I can’t end this without mentioning the fact that Jason Varitek FINALLY signed back with the Sox. He got a one year $5 million deal with an option for 2010. So our captain is back and we have the reigning AL MVP at 2nd (Pedroia). I am so excited for this season! 

Ok well it is Super Bowl Sunday so I am off to watch the game. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to email me at njgov@redsoxnation.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Take care and GO SOX! 

Well after my last, uplifting entry, things didn’t exactly work out the way I planned. I knew the Sox were going to win, but apparently, the Red Sox didn’t know that. Somehow, when game 7 was over, the Rays were the ones celebrating and moving on to the World Series against the Phillies. I was in shock. In fact, it still hasn’t fully set in yet. I know this feeling all too well though. It feels the same way baseball used to feel before 2004. You put your whole heart and soul into believing they can win and when they don’t, you feel disappointed, dejected, and depressed. I haven’t felt this way in a while so it hurts even more! I was getting used to the elation of championship seasons and victory parades. Just like Sports Illustrated said, “Behold the sated, if spoiled Red Sox fan.” We have been getting spoiled so it is hard to revert back to not winning this year after that miraculous comeback! Oh well, it was a good season and we have a lot to be proud of so I won’t linger on my negative feelings. Time will heal my wounds.

In other news, I sent the pictures from McSwiggan’s in to the Red Sox. Here are a few of my favorites:

Despite how things ended this season, I am grateful for AL Wild Card, winning the ALDS, the game 5 comeback, and for the opportunity to be RSN governor of NJ, which has allowed me to meet some incredible Red Sox fans, especially Mike and Nick (Sec of Defense). No matter what happens, I feel privileged to a Red Sox fan because I know I am in the company of some of the most passionate people in the world. We know how it feels to suffer through 86 years of turmoil, but that just made us enjoy winning that much more. March can’t come soon enough! Take care and GO SOX!

P.S. Feel free to contact me at njgov@redsoxnation.com with questions, concerns, or game watch party ideas for the future.

This past week has been amazingly exciting! When the Sox fell apart in games 2, 3, and 4, it broke my heart. I knew the Rays were good, but all those RBIs made me wonder if it was postseason baseball or a homerun derby. I didn’t give up on our boys though. Game 5, down 7-0 in the 7th inning and I still couldn’t shut off the tv. I could not go to sleep thinking that the Red Sox had lost and were out of the playoffs. I was tired though so I expected to start to doze off between innings since it had been a relatively boring game on our end. However, then Pedroia got that hit with 2 outs and a full count to score Lowrie and I knew we were going to win. That sounds a little ridiculous, I know, but I just had a feeling. Just like I had a feeling against the Yanks in 2004 and the Indians in 2007. I am hardly saying I can predict the future. I think I just refuse to believe my beloved Sox are going to lose, as if I can will them to win. However, it is easy to revert back to thinking the way most Sox fans did before 2004, back when the Sox made losing in a heartbreaking way into an art form. For example, in 2003 when Aaron Boone hit that homerun in game 7 and the Yankees won. I get nauseous whenever I think about it. I remember exactly where I was and what I was wearing. Most of all, I remember how those Yankee fans tormented me since I am obviously not shy about my love for the Red Sox.

However, those days are behind us now. The Red Sox have transformed since then, winning 2 championships in the past 4 years. So as much as it seemed improbable on Thursday night for them to comeback and win, I just had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that they would. After Pedroia got it started, Big Papi really sealed the deal for me with his 3-run homerun to make it 7-4. Then J.D. Drew hit a 2-run homerun to make it 7-6. Coco Crisp shocked me to the point where I almost fell off my bed (Yes, I was standing on it. It makes it easier for me to jump up when they win.) with his hit into right field to score Kotsay and make it 7-7. At that point, it was just a matter of when we were going to win. The Rays were unraveling before my eyes and I reveled in it. After they crushed us 13-4 in game 3, how could I not enjoy their demise? In the 9th, Howell walked Bay and gave J.D. Drew his shot to end the game. With his injuries lately, I could understand why they would rather pitch to him than Bay, but Drew has a way of coming through in the postseason for us. I guess the Rays didn’t get that memo though. Early Friday morning, Drew did it again for us and hit the game-winning shot to score Youklis. As mentioned, I was standing on my bed, screaming and jumping up and down like I had won the lottery. In a way, I had, all Red Sox fans had. Our boys were back in it and we all could breathe a sigh of relief. Momentum was in our favor going back to Tampa Bay for game 6! It took me a while to calm down after the game was over so I was kind of tired when I woke up for work. However, I jumped out of bed because it was dress day down and I had my Red Sox attire (as usual) all picked out. Despite being slightly sleep deprived, I was smiling ear to ear. I had just witnessed the greatest postseason comeback in 79 years, only surpassed by the 1929 World Series between the Cubs and Athletics. New life had been breathed into a team many had left for dead. What was there not to be happy about?

Last night, I went to McSwiggan’s Pub in Hoboken, NJ to watch game 6. I read on the internet that it was a Red Sox friendly bar and they were right. I met so many incredible Red Sox fans that I didn’t want to leave. I even went to CVS across the street to buy a disposable digital camera so I could take pictures for the Red Sox website because I wanted to be able to show everyone that New Jersey isn’t just a bunch of Yankees and Mets fans. (I had brought my own digital camera with me, but conveniently had forgotten to put the battery back in it after I charged it, hence the disposable one.) Just because we are in close proximity to NY, doesn’t mean there aren’t passionate Red Sox fans here. So I took about 20 pictures of different Red Sox fans and as soon as I get them on a CD and upload them to my computer, they will be sent in for posting.

Game 6 was everything I expected it to be. Beckett redeemed himself and battled the Rays potent lineup for 5 innings before Tito put Okajima in, an excellent managerial call on his part. However, Beckett did give up 2 solo homeruns, one of which no one got to see since TBS had technical difficulties and showed The Steve Harvey Show instead. (That was the best they could come up with? What about a replay of the last game?) Okajima was flawless though, throwing 2 innings without a single hit. Offensively, Youklis hit a solo homerun in the 2nd inning and Varitek earned back that C on his jersey with his shot to right-center field. Then Ortiz hit one to center to score Coco Crisp making it 4-2, Red Sox. That was all Masterson and Papelbon needed to close it out, sending the Sox to game 7.

I had the most spectacular time because the Sox won and I spent the end of the night with a few guys who were Sox fans and kept calling me “The Governor,” but pronouncing it, “Gov-na”. I even found someone to appoint as my Secretary of Defense because he called all the pitchers that were coming in. It was highly entertaining. It was so refreshing to finally find a bar in NJ with mostly Red Sox fans so we can celebrate and cheer together without being heckled or yelled at by Yanks fans who are just bitter that their team didn’t even make the playoffs. I will say that I did meet a few Yankee fans who were pleasant. However, most of them told me to go away when I asked if they were Red Sox fans and if I could take their pictures. One girl even came towards me like she wanted to fight. Luckily, this nice Sox fan, Donna, told me to call her if I needed back up. 🙂 See, that what Sox fans do for each other!

Ok this has been sufficiently lengthy so I am going to go. Thank you to all the fantasticly fanatical people I met last night at McSwiggan’s and thank you to my wonderful boyfriend (according to my new friends, the Lieutenant Gov-na) who endures my nonsensical obsession with this baseball team and all the talking and picture taking that goes along with being the Gov. of NJ. He is definitely a good sport about all of it. 🙂

Game 7 tonight and then it’s on to the World Series! Check back in a few days to see when my next event will be after we win tonight! Take care and GO SOX!

I was thrilled (but not surprised) to see the Red Sox win on Monday night and move on to face the Devil Rays in the American League Championship Series! Despite the late games and rocky performances from Pedroia, Beckett, and Masterson, the end result was positive. So that’s all that matters. In other news, I attempted to hold an ALDS watch party last week, but I didn’t get a very good turnout. I am not sure if Red Sox fans are unaware of my events, live too far to attend, or are just uninterested in breaking their game watching routines. Nevertheless, I am hoping this week’s event will be much more productive. It’s at the Grasshopper Also in Carlstadt, NJ again. The address is 645 Washington Avenue. The game starts at 8:37pm so I will be there by 8:30pm the latest. Hope to see some more Boston fans there! 🙂 Take care and GO SOX!

Hello, residents of The Garden State! I am thrilled to be the governor representing Sox fans in NJ! I created this blog to keep you updated on the events I will be holding over the next year to bring Sox fans together. The first event I have planned is for this Friday, October 3rd at The Grasshopper in Carlstadt. The address is 645 Washington Ave Carlstadt, NJ 07072. The game starts at 9:30pm, but I will probably be there from 9pm on. I would love to meet as many fans as possible so if you are in the area, please stop by, even if it’s just for a little while. To the fans who can’t make it because of distance, I plan on holding events in other areas of the state in the near future. Please post a comment about the area of the state that you believe I should target and I will do my best to schedule something closer to you. I am here to serve you so please let me know what I can do (besides give out free tickets) to make your fan experience even better! No matter where you are on Friday, I hope you will be watching our boys bring us one victory closer to another championship! Take care and GO SOX!