A perfect Saturday afternoon

Sunshine, temps in the 80s. I'm out in my yard, with the windows open and the radio on (speakers facing out as I weed the driveway), listening to the Red Sox play the Yankees at Fenway.

Even better: Varitek hits a grand slam in the 4th.

Great Baseball Names

For years, I have been collecting what I consider to be great baseball names. There's a certain rhythm to some, others are just plain classics, like Babe Ruth. Here are few of my favorites:

Davey Concepcion

Johnny Bench

Vida Blue

Thurman Munson

Vada Pinson

Rod Carew

Minnie Minoso

Carlton Fisk

Ferguson Jenkins

Butch Hobson

Dennis Eckersley

Clay Buchholz

Mariano Rivera

There are many others. There are different categories of names: the stolid, straightforward "Pete Rose;" the almost musical "Mariano Rivera;" the alliteritive "Minnie Minoso." There are some very old fashioned-sounding names, like "Carlton Fisk," "Catfish Hunter," and "Thurman Munson." And the poetic: "Vida Blue."

Now there is a crop of new players, with interesting and unusual names that I can't yet categorize, like Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia. The sounds of their names are still new to my ear, and haven't settled in yet.