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Thursday, March 15, 2007

Ode to Dougie



Decided to throw a little blog love toward a key guy on the Red Sox who toils most of the time in anonymity, back up catcher Doug Mirabelli. Every 5th day, Dougie comes blinking out of the dugout, much like a mole, to be the personal catcher for Tim Wakefield and the dancing knuckleball, which also goes by " I'm just chucking it up there and have no idea where it's going".

Apparently, catching this thing is like trying to catch a fly with a pair of chopsticks, which I guess explains why the only 2 people who could catch Wakefield are Dougie and Mr. Miyagi. Watching Varitek, or God bless him, Josh Bard early last year, is like watching one of those YouTube videos where some skateboarder is gonna ride the rail all the way down: you know it's gonna end up bad, but you can't help but watch anyway.

Catching Wake is not his only job: I'm sure he helps Tek in the pitchers meetings, catches in the pen, and provides wise veteran advice to his younger teammates. I hear though, that Mirabelli is a world class cut-up, giving guys hotfoots, taping rookies to a pole, and just generally causing mayhem. Can't you see him and Papi, huddled in a corner giggling like a couple of school girls, while Schilling is cussing and screaming and wanting to know "Who cut the sleeves out of my brand new suit!?"

Dougie certainly looks the part: he rocks a wicked looking soul patch, is probably 25 lbs overweight, and can most likely drink anyone not named Big Papi under the table. He's good for about a .230 avg, 8-10 dingers, and 25-35 starts a year catching Wake, with another 20 or so giving Tek a breather. You need guys like Dougie on a team if you want to win: a selfless guy who does his job, carries his lunch pail, and can come through when it counts. His home runs always seem to come out of nowhere: he comes up with guys on 2nd and 3rd, one out, and you tell yourself "go ahead and hit the head now: this is a DP waiting to happen". Next thing you know, Dougie's launched a 3 run bomb onto Landsdowne Street.

If you don't think Mirabelli should be the backup catcher, ask Tim Wakefield what he thinks: I swear, before they brought him back in May last year with a police escort to Fenway, I thought Timmy was gonna have a nervous breakdown on the mound. As long as Wakefield is pitching for the Red Sox, I got a feeling Dougie will be catching that knuckleball.

Or at least trying to.

14 comments:

KAYLEE said...

Great post Ted.I agree.Dougie is the guy for wakefield.I love Dougie he is just one of those playes that Make me smile.STAY HEALTHY DOUGIE!I DONT WANT TO HAVE TO SEE TEK catch Wake.I love him to death but,not enough to want him catching Wake.

Ted D said...

Kaylee, those 3 errors by Tek in the 2004 ALCS still haunt me to this day.

If they keep Wakefield, the have got to keep Mirabelli.

KAYLEE said...

yes even in a playoff game they have to use mirabelli when wake pitches:)

Tex said...

Dougie is actually more handsome than Tek....he just dont have those Thighs!

Ted D said...

Jeez Tex: I try to give Dougie a little shout out and you gotta bring Tek's thighs into this!

I will never understand you women's fascination with Tek. Though considering I look nothing like him, it all may make sense.

Sonya@Beyond the Screen Door said...

I'm telling you Ted it the boxer brief thing. You got to ditch the where is Waldo boxers!

Tex said...

now wait a sec scottie. I like boxers. its about Tek's thighs...and he wears a cup anyway.

and Ted...I SAID Dougie was more handsome!!! :)

I do NOT want Tek catching Wake's knuckleball...its a really ugle scene.

You're right...Dougie doesnt get the glory as Tek does..he's the behind the scene man.

Ted D said...

Bub, I don't wear boxers. And needless to say, I'm not gonna get into what kind I do where. Leave it to you to steer my blog into what kind of underwear I wear. Jeez.

Morning everyone: hope you have a great Friday.

Christine E. said...

Hi Ted:

As soon as I started reading your blog today, I started thinking about what happened during the ALCS and 'Tek catching Wake--as if the stress wasn't bad enough!

I think Dougie is an assett as a catcher--unfortunately, I have heard some things about him as a person that are no so nice...which does color him for me...

Hope you are well!

Go Sox!

Ted D said...

Hi Christine: I've heard some rumblings too. Seems he may be a bit of a jerk, to put it nicely. I try to avoid reading or hearing stuff like that: I don't want to think they are like everyone else, but I know they are.

One of the best back up catchers in the game, and I just wanted to give him some props.

Thanks for stopping by, and take care.

Christine E. said...

I am like that too--I am always suprised when I hear Red Sox player have done something negative--its easy to forget that they are human--with all the flaws all of us have. I think its like that is all sports--we put them on a pedestal, and are then suprised when they have feet of clay...

Your blog is one of the best I read--keep up the great work!

Be well...

Ted D said...

Christine, I'm 37 and the father of 3, and I still want them to be super heroes. And I want my boys to have some role models like I did coming up: Sadly, not all of them think they are. Luckily, the Sox have guys like Papi and Tek who take that seriously.

Thank you for the compliment. I'm surprised people even read the thing. It's a stress reliever for me, and I surprised myself: I enjoy it.

You ain't no slouch either, I gotta say!

KAYLEE said...

I am glad I didnt go to that game today:)Freakin rain........

Ted D said...

Kaylee, are you still in FL? I thought you may be home by now.

Daisuke looked pretty good after the first inning from what I read.

Game on NESN tomorrow at 1.