BOSTON RED SOX- 2013 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!!

For the 3rd time in less than a decade, the Boston Red Sox are World Series Champions, taking the 2013 Fall Classic in 6 gams from the St Louis Cardinals.

Wednesday night's game was the first time the Red Sox have clinched the World Series at Fenway Park since 1918 and came a little over 6 months after the terrorist attack against the Boston Marathon that killed three and maimed hundreds of bystanders.

I'm at a loss for words right now- I can't help but shake the feeling that even if it's on just this brisk autumn night, all is right with the world.

I will post a more detailed re-cap of the game and some of the awards that were given out, but in the meantime I thought I'd end the 2013 MLB season the way I started it- with the late Ernie Harwell's soliloquy on this quirky, wonderful game that traces its roots to New England



Congratulations, to the Boston Red Sox- from worst [at least in the AL East- NANESB!] to first!

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- How Sweep it Is, Red Sox Put The Broom to Struggling Yankees After Presenting Rivera With Retirement Gifts; Bills Past Due, Surging Buffalo Bests Carolina in Final Seconds

Matt West- Boston Herald photo

RED SOX- The final homestand of the regular 2013 got off to a fantastic start for the Red Sox with Boston taking the first two of a three game set against the Yankees who were coming in to the series in dire need of a win to secure one of the Wild Card berths.

By the time Sunday night's nationally televised game rolled around, the only suspense was what form Boston's parting gift to perennial All-Star closer Mariano would take. This was something the New York and sports media kept a running tally of the gifts the closer received throughout the season- Texas presented him with a cowboy hat and a pair of custom cowboy boots with the Yankees logo and his name on it while the Padres a customized beach-cruiser bicycle and the Minnesota Twins presented Rivera with a rocking chair made out of broken bats.

In Sunday night's pregame ceremony, the Red Sox presented Rivera with a #42 placard from the manually operated scoreboard in the Green Monster, a 1930's era wooden seat from Fenway [also #42- NANESB!] and a painting depicting a smiling Rivera waving to the crowd on Opening Day in 2005 at Fenway- when the Red Sox were given rings for their first championship in 86 years. Rivera is the last player in major league baseball to wear the number 42, which was retired in the late 1990s to honor the late Jackie Robinson. At the time, Rivera and Boston's Mo Vaughan were the only players in MLB to wear the #42 and were grandfathered in. With Vaughan's retirement in 2003, Rivera became the last player in the bigs to wear the number 42- although in recent years, every player on the field will wear the number 42 to observe Jackie Robinson day.

Once the ceremonies wrapped up, Boston got down to business, erasing an early 1-0 deficit thanks to a David Ortiz RBI single and a 2-run Mike Napoli homer off of Yankee starter Ivan Nova in the bottom of the first. The Red Sox added to their lead in the bottom of the 4th thanks to an extremely rare 2-out double steal where Jarrod Saltalamacchia stole home and Xander Bogaerts went to second. Saltalamacchia becomes the first Red Sox catcher in more than 30 years to successfully steal home. Nova got the hook from Yankees manager Joe Girardi in the bottom of the fifth after loading the bases with an intentional walk to Ortiz and then hitting Mike Carp with a pitch to make it a 5-1 game. Daniel Nava and Big Papi added to the Boston lead with RBI singles in the bottom of the 6th and Dustin Pedroia would belt a 2-RBI double to make it a 9-1 game. The Yankees would get back a run on the top of the 9th but Boston would go on to win by a 9-2 final.

Clay Buchholz was erratic but effective in his second start since coming back from the DL, walking batters but then managing to help himself out by getting a double play ball. Buchholz went six innings, walking four and striking out three for his 11th win of the season. Daniel Nava went 4-5 while and an RBI while Mike Napoli went 1-3 with a homer and 2 RBI on the night.

The Yankees were no doubt hoping to avoid the sweep with as many as five teams ahead of them for the final two AL Wild Card berths. Meanwhile, the Red Sox continue their homestand against the AL East as they host Baltimore on Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET Scott Feldman [12-10; 3.54 ERA] going up against Ryan Dempster [8-9; 4.70 ERA]. The game will be carried on NESN as well as the MLB network in some markets.

NFL- Although the Patriots had Sunday off, there were a number of interesting games on Sunday afternoon, including some last second heroics in Orchard Park, NY. Trailing 23-17 against the Carolina Panthers and getting the ball back on their own 20 with only 1:38 to go in regulation, Bills QB EJ Manuel led a drive [that was aided in part by a 20 yard pass interference penalty on the Panthers that also negated an interception of Manuel that would've sealed the win for Carolina- NANESB!]. With 6 seconds on the clock, and the Bills on the Panthers 2 yard line, Manuel managed to find a wide open Stevie Johnson to tie the game at 23-23 with the Bills taking the first lead of the half on a Dan Carpenter PAT to make it 24-23 Buffalo, and that would be the final from Orchard Park.

The Bills win was one of a couple that were decided in the final seconds on Sunday. Nick Novak kicked the go-ahead FG for the Chargers with 7 seconds remaining in the 4th at Philadelphia in San Diego's 33-30 win over the Eagles. Chicago's Jay Cutler completed a 16 yard TD Pass to Martellus Bennett, putting the Bears up 31-30 over the Vikings with 10 seconds to go in the 4th. The Texans needed extra time to do it, but they beat the Tennessee Titans by a 30-24 final in their home opener at Reliant Stadium

Meanwhile, the Dolphins are sporting a similar 2-0 record to New England after besting the Indianapolis Colts by a 24-20 final on Sunday afternoon. The Patriots hold a slight edge over Miami since both of their wins were against division opponents.

Today's Train of Thought- It's In The Cards, April 29, 2013

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Gateway City and the home of perennial NL pennant favorites, St Louis.

Taking up much of the real estate of the old Busch Stadium, the St Louis Cardinals christened their new home [the new Busch Stadium- NANESB!] with a World Series win against the Detroit Tigers in 2006. The conveniently located downtown ballpark is blocks away from the city's Amtrak depot [more of an Am-shack, really, as the original Union Station is now home to a series of upscale shops- NANESB!] and St Louis' Metro Link light-rail links the stadium to both the Amtrak depot and St Louis' Lambert International Airport about 12 miles west of downtown.

Railroad tracks crisscross the area just south of downtown, most of them elevated well above street level on trestles and girders. In addition to the CSX, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, BNSF, Kansas City Southern and Amtrak plying their trade in the St Louis area, there are also local shortlines and terminal railroads like the Alton & Southern, Central Midland, Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis and Foster-Townsend Logistics, which took over rail duties from Anheuser-Busch subsidiary Manufacturers Railway in 2011.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Jake Branson caught BNSF SD75M #8223 leading a freight eastbound past the new Busch Stadium on October 15, 2011. The #8223 is still in its as-delivered red and silver 'warbonnet' paint scheme- the last scheme for the Santa Fe before its 1996 merger with the Burlington Northern to form the BNSF.

As for the Cardinals, they had just beaten the Milwaukee Brewers the night before by a 7-1 final in front of a packed Busch Stadium in Game 5 of the NLCS and would go on to close out the series the following night and clinch a World Series berth on the road the following night.

Today's Train of Thought- Safe(Co) At Home, April 14, 2013

My oh my!

One does not necessarily need to be a Mariners fan or resident of the Pacific Northwest to know about some of the quirks of Seattle's SafeCo Field. Opened in 1999, the ballpark features a massive retractable roof that can be closed so that the ballgame can continue in the event of one of Seattle's infamous rainy days. The roof slides open and closes on massive tracks and on the east end of the ballpark. Of course, abutting the east end of the ballpark is the BNSF mainline through downtown Seattle, with the roof hanging over the line when its fully open.

This has led to broadcasters, including Ford C Frick award winner Dave Niehaus, having to pause their play-by-play not just for a word from their sponsors or station ID but also the air horns of passing trains from the BNSF, Amtrak's Cascade service or Seattle's Sounder commuter rail service. On a clear day or night, the sound of passing trains carries with the roof open since the gantry supporting the tracks the roof opens and closes along overhangs a stretch of the line where the trains have to blow their horns for the South Royal Brougham Way crossing (immediately north of the stadium). Some of the right-field seats reportedly offer a more commanding view of the tracks than they do the field, depending on which way you're facing.

So with that in mind, today's Train of Thought takes us to the Emerald City. Here, railpictures.net contributor John Ryan caught BNSF ES44AC #7598 leading a trio of GE's trundling southbound past the ballpark (and the Seahawk's Qwest Field in the background) with a double stack train destined for the Port of Seattle just to the south on September 11, 2008. The Mariners beat the Rangers by an 8-7 final the night before and will be on the road in Anaheim later on that night. Just to the right is the tower of the ex Great Northern and Northern Pacific King Street Station, which was completed in 1906 and still sees regular use from Amtrak's regional Cascades as well as the Empire Builder or Coast Starlight in addition to Seattle's Sounder commuter rail

Interesting footnote is that the western end of I-90 is just to the east of the ballpark and BNSF line. Up until the 1990s- the easternmost end of I-90 was the Mass Pike which passees right by Fenway Park. After completion of the Big Dig, I-90 was extended further east to Logan International Airport.

Today's Train of Thought- Target Sighted, April 4th 2013

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Twin Cities, which has seen a number of dramatic changes on recent years as far as both the railroad and sports landscape is concerned.

Since the last time the Twins won the World Series, there was the formation of the Twin Cities & Western, Union Pacific's acquisition of the Chicago & North Western, the merger between the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, Canadian National's acquisition of the Wisconsin Central, the formation of Progressive Rail, Inc to operate former Milwaukee Road and Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern trackage in the Twin Cities- not to mention the startup of the Hiawatha light rail line and the Northstar Commuter Rail starting in 2008.

The sports landscape has changed as well. The Minnesota Northstars moved to Dallas in 1993, but eventually a new NHL franchise was awarded and the Minnesota Wild began playing in the Twin Cities starting in 2000. Although the Vikings still play in the belegaured Metrodome, the Golden Gophers football team left the dome for TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis in 2009 and the Twins began playing their home games outdoors for the first time since 1981 with their 2010 move into Target field

Started in July 1991, the Glencoe, MN-based Twin Cities & Western is actually one of the older shortline operations in the Twin Cities, purchasing more than 100 miles of former Milwaukee Road track west of the Twin Cities. Traffic includes soybeans, ethanol, lumber, molasses, coal,  frozen vegetables, aggregates and of course.....lots of grain. Motive power for the TC&W is typically a hodgepodge of Caterpillar re-engined first generation Geeps, although the line more recently acquired a pair of former Kennecott Copper GP39-2s and restored Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 Northern #261 sometimes shows up on TC&W rails for excursions and shakedown runs. The TC&W is also the parent company of the Minnesota Prairie, Red River Valley & Western and Sisseton-Millbank.

The eastern end of the TC&W connects the line with the Canadian Pacific, BNSF, Union Pacific and Canadian National- four of America's six Class I carriers. But these connections aren't without their own inherent problems. In the late 1990s, reconstruction of Minnesota Route 55 and plans for the Hiawatha light rail made the route less viable. Currently, the TC&W reaches Minneapolis by way of a temporary connection over a former Chicago Great Western line converted into a bike path with the BNSF Wayzata subdivision. To reach the Canadian Pacific interchange in St Paul, the TC&W also has to navigate its way past a number of Northstar commuter rail trains.

Here, railpictures.net contributor John Ryan caught TC&W GP39-2 #2300 leading an eastbound grain-laden freight in Minneapolis, MN on July 16, 2010. The train is making its way across the Mississippi River to the CPR yard in St Paul. In the background, a Northstar commuter train is parked beneath the overpass waiting to depart while even more prominently in the background is the Twins' new home, Target Field.

Incidentally, the Twins beat the White Sox by a 7-4 final that night in case anybody was wondering.

Today's Train of Thought- Yankee Clipper, April 1, 2013

One might be surprised to learn that despite New York City's status as the largest city in the United States, the five boroughs are served by exactly one class one freight carrier. Norfolk Southern stops at the western shore of the Hudson River in New Jersey, regional Providence & Worcester reaches New York City from Connecticut via trackage rights over the Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, Anacostia Pacific's New York & Atlantic handles freight over the Long Island Railroad and New York New Jersey Rail operates a carfloat between Jersey City, NJ and Brooklyn.

That leaves just the CSX and in turn, the CSX has to deal with something called the Selkirk Hurdle. Since freight trains aren't allowed through the Northeast Corridor tunnel linking Manhattan and northern New Jersey, the nearest crossing of the Hudson River that freight trains can use is nearly 150 miles to the north at Selkirk, NY. That's been the case since 1974, when the former New Haven Railroad bridge over the Hudson River was taken out of service on May 8th, 1974 after a fire damaged the bridge's decking and girders on the eastern approach [the bridge was turned into a state park in 2009].

One example of this problem can be demonstrated when the City of New York reached a 30-year agreement with Waste Management [NYSE- WM] in 2009. The trash is hauled out of Brooklyn by train with a final destination in Virginia- some 300 miles away- has to move north over the Metro North commuter line between New York City and Poughkeepsie, continuing north through Hudson and linking up with the Selkirk-Boston, MA former Boston & Albany mainline before heading south along the west side of the Hudson into northern New Jersey before continuing south- a distance of more than 250 miles to cover 15 miles as the crow flies before continuing to Virgina. Moreover, because of the busy commuter operations on Metro North, most of the freight operations are limited to nighttime.

With that in mind, CSX operations in the Big Apple remain a fairly elusive and seldom photographed affair. But Railfan & Railroad contributor Michael Foley knows his subjects well and has been able to document CSX operations in their Big Apple hub- the Bronx's Oak Point yard.

On Opening Day, Today's Train of Thought offers us a glimpse of the ballpark where the Red Sox and Yankees will renew their rivalry and kick off their respective 2013 seasons. Here, Foley has photographed a mixed bag of second generation EMDs in charge of CSX freight B949-07, heading south past Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on February 7th, 2009. The train was sidelined with mechanical difficulties in the overnight hours, resulting in a fairly rare daylight run to Oak Point. Part of the original Yankee Stadium, which had seen its final ballgame some five months earlier, can be seen off to the righthand side.

For more images of CSX in and around the Big Apple, Foley has a photo gallery of this seldom-seen aspect of CSX operations on display on the Railfan & Railroad website as well as his own online photo gallery, Yonkers Rails.

PLAY BALL!

Sure gas is nearly $4.00 a gallon in most parts of the country, North Korea is threatening to nuke the West Coast and the number of Americans on some form of welfare estimated is at an estimated 100 million, but on a day like today all feels right with the world.

That's right- it's opening day for the 2013 baseball season [technically the season began on March 31st with a Sunday night mathcup between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros- NANESB]. Some teams have made no bones about the fact that they're in the midst of a lengthy and rebuilding process while others will take fans by surprise and exceed expectations and some just want to wipe the slate clean from a disastrous 2012 season.



No matter where your loyalties lie, I think fans of any age can appreciate the late Ernie Harwell's speech from his 1981 induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and this is how I tend to celebrate the start of the MLB season.

Quickie Sleepless In Seattle Sports Chowdah Update- Aaron Cooks Up Gem in Emerald City Shutout; Wildcat Strike- Arizona Sweeps College World Series

Ted S. Warren / AP

RED SOX- The pitcher of record for what turned out to be Kevin Youkilis' final game with the Red Sox was not only something of an afterthought, but he kind of backed into the win last Sunday and wasn't even supposed to start until Clay Buchholz was sidelined with intestinal problems.

Aaron Cook went 5 innings and gave up three runs in Boston's 9-4 win over the Braves to close out interleague play on Sunday. His start on Firday night would be much more memorable, though.

The series opener in Seattle on Thursday night ended with the Mariners' Felix Hernandez getting the W on a John Jaso RBI single in the bottom of the 9th to give Seattle the walkoff 1-0 victory. Hernandez pitched a complete game, but got no run support until the 9th frame.

On Friday night, fans would get to see another pitching gem- this time from the unlikely starter Aaron Cook. In the top of the 5th, the Red Sox would break a scoreless tie with a trio of solo homers from Middlebrooks, Ross and Nava to put the Red Sox up 3-0. In the top of thr 6th, Jarrod Saltalamacchia belted a run run homer to make it a 5-0 game.

As for Cook, he was cruising and did not give up a hit to the Mariners until the bottom of the 4th when Ichiro Suzuki reached on an infield single. The run support he had in the 5th would be enough for the W. Cook was so effective that he threw all of 81 pitches, allowing only two hits and causing 16 groundouts and walking none of the batters he faced. The Mariners were unable to get a runner past second base in Friday night's 5-0 Boston win.


Saturday's game will have Josh Beckett [4-7; 4.14 ERA] making his first start since June 11th before he went on the DL. Beckett will face Seattle's Erasmo Ramirez [0-2; 4.18 ERA]. The game gets underway at 7:10 Pacific time and 10:10 ET and will be televised on NESN for you night owls.

Cooks gem came two games into a Pacific coast road trip after the Red Sox departed Fenway taking two out of three from the Blue Jays earlier this week. The Red Sox will continue south to Oakland on Monday before returning back to Fenway to face the Yankees for the first time since that disastrous April loss where they managed to blow a seeminlgy insurmountable 8 run lead.

Rob Schumacher,AP Photo/The Arizona Republic

NCAA BASEBALL- The South Carolina Gamecocks reign as College World Series chamipons is over after losing Game 2 of the college World Series to the Arizona Wildcats in Omaha, NE on Monday night. The wildcats took a 1-0 lead on an RBI groundout in the top of the 3rd. The Gamecocks tied the contest up at 1-1 with an RBI fielder's choice of their own in the bottom of the 7th.

However, the Wildcat's Brandon Dixon- who usually enters games as a late-inning defensive replacement- broke the deadlock in the top of the 9th with an RBI double. Then, Trent Gilbert gave the Wildcats some insurance with a 2-RBI single to make it 4-1 in the top of the 9th.

The Gamecocks managed to load the bases in the bottom of the 9th with only one away, but they were retired on a flare to shortstop and a flyball to center field.

The win on Monday gave Arizona a sweep of this year's college world series as well as its first title since 1986.

Opening Day Is Upon Us Once Again

Although the regular season actually began with the Oakland A's and Seattle Mariners splitting a 2-game Series in Japan's Tokyo Dome last week, the regular season in the USA (and Canada) gets underway tonight when the new-look Marlins host the defending World Series Champion St Louis Cardinals in their brand new downtown Miami Ballpark.

Unlike the Mariners/A's series in Tokyo, the Marlins home opener will be broadcast at a reasonable hour (7:05 PM ET; 4:05 PM PT) on a network that most people get (ESPN). Miami's Josh Johnson is slated to get the start while the Cards' Kyle Lohse takes the mound for the defending World Series Champions.

Oddly enough, this will be a 1-game series, as the Marlins will depart for Cincinnati for the Reds home opener on Thursday afternoon while the Cardinals travel to Milwaukee for the Brewers home opener on Friday.

Even though there will be more games played on Thursday, it's still not quite a full slate. There will be exactly two American league games on Thursday afternoon- one of them will be the Detroit Tigers hosting the Red Sox. The Bobby Valentine era officially begins in the motor city as Jon Lester is scheduled to get the start going up against 2011 Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander.

Both teams were the subject of considerable attention in the offseason- Boston for firing manager Terry Francona and losing closer Jonathan Papelbon to free agency and the Tigers for signing one of the biggest-name free agents out there this offseason; former Milwaukee Brewers slugger Prince Fielder.

The other American League game on Thursday features the Cleveland Indian hosting the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field. Helmed by former Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell, Toronto had amassed an impressive 23-7 record in Spring Training, although Thursday's contest will show if any of that translates into success in the regular season.

This is the time for brash preditions and unbirdled optimism- where even the long-suffering fans of teams like Kansas City or Pittsburgh can start off with a clean slate.

It is time, once again, for America's Game.

PLAY BALL!

(Olivia De Berardinis)

Seemingly in the blink of an eye, the focal point for Fenway Park has gone from the Winter Classic on New Year's Day to baseball's opening night. The fact that I cannot physically be there does not diminish my enthusiasm for tonight's home opener for the Red Sox.

And whichever team you root for, I hope you're feeling the same sense of anticipation tempered with cautious optimism that I am right now. Opening Day is finally here- one can almost taste it.