NO ONE CARES IN CANADA!!!

I can't believe it all happened while I was in Canada.

I arrived in Toronto early friday morning, I am attending a cousin's wedding. So Fridays night, I went to see the Jays play Tampa Bay in the Skydome, with another cousin and his girlfriend.

I was looking forward to going to a game, and watching it for the love of baseball, not because the team has to win. No stress, just hanging around and watching America's game. 2nd row off the field (afterall, it was against Tampa Bay, and the place was about 1/2 empty). Amazing how great the seat selection is, so close to gametime.

But You know what I realized? Games that mean nothing... are sometimes just downright boring.

This cousin with us has said watching baseball is like watching grass grow. He, like everyone else around here, is more interested in Hockey. This reality is quite painful when the Sox are 2 away from clinching the Division. Good, timely information is tough to come by. No one around here even cared.

Well, I cared, and my brother, the Yankee fan, also cared. What we found was a scoreboard that did not give us updated scores in real time. Very frustrating.

No TV channel showed highlights or scores. The bars we went into showed the exhibition hockey games, not a snipit of baseball. Not even small tickers on the bottom, with stats. I went to bed Friday night, not knowing if the Nation was celebrating... or sulking.

So now, 24 hours later, after my beautiful cousin had her beautiful wedding, I took my opportunity to go online and search for answers. Whoopie! We won. A beautiful ending to a beautiful day. Even if I am a day late.

Now Our Historical 3rd baseman

Sorry to all the guy readers out there, this is the only picture I could get of our Mikey today, a Tommy Hilfiger ad. I certainly don't mind looking at it, but maybe you do...

Mike Lowell scored himself another 5 RBIs last night, and now he is in the record books. At 116 RBIs this season, he is now the Red Sox All Time 3rd base RBI record holder. The record was previous held by that other good looking 3rd baseman from back in 1977, Butch Hobson.

Mike's year has been outstanding. Who would argue that he is the Red Sox's MVP for '07? He's been the most reliable, most clutch, and most dependable guy so far this year. Put him in the 6th sport, 4th spot, 5th spot, it doesn't matter. He just goes out there and will PRODUCE. Thanks to a guy like this, pitchers have HAD to pitch to Papi. Simply put, he's had a his best season yet. Its awful to think that a guy like this, having been such a significant part of the team this year, may not be back for '08.

Look Who's Not Coming to Dinner

Looks like Clemens will not be playing until the playoffs,
as his left hamstring is still bothering him.



I guess he's not as young as this photo would
lead you to believe...

Hey, Look Who Came to Dinner !!!

Tonite was an especially good evening of baseball...

1. Manny is back.

Youk is back.

Curt pitched well, and got run support.

The Red Sox Won, and are now 3 games up on the Yankees.


Yanks lost in the 10th, spoiling their playoff celebration for another day.


Don't know if any of you noticed, I think in the 7th or 8th inning tonite. Lugo got to hit against his younger brother, Ruddy Lugo. Ruddy is about 5 years younger, and a relief pitcher for the A's.

Can you imagine? I am sure many times as kids, the two of them played lots of baseball together. I would bet they even talked about playing in the majors. Maybe even playing against each other. I am sure over the years, the two have shared a lot of good humored smack talk.

The sibling rivalry was pretty obvious. Julio Lugo was down in the count, and came back to draw a walk. As he started strolling down first base, his eyes pointed straight at the mound, and Julio was trying to hold back a wiry little smirk on his face. As if to say, "Hey man, you are still my little brother."

A Day of Rest - Have a Seat.

Sad that these seats are part of our beloved ballpark, eh?

Well, we've clinched a spot in the playoffs, and as of today, we are 2 games up on the Yankees, for the AL East title. With the Yankees losing 4-1 to the Blue Jays this afternoon, our magic number to take the East title now sits at 5.

To all of you fans out there, who whined about wanting a close race at the end of the season, I sure hope you're happy!

I realize there is lots of talk out there, that the AL East title doesn't matter, with all the stats to prove that a Wild Card contender is just as likely to win a World Series, etc. There are two schools of thought out there right now. 1. The Sox care, and are just blowing it. 2. The Sox are in, and now it doesn't matter, now is the time to rest and align for the postseason. I think the answer is likely a mix of both.

Let's hope our guys are getting good and rested today, so we can finish the week off strong. Manny and Youk are both spending some time in the batting cages today, so the coaching staff can assess their progress and (hopefully) make plans for their return.

I should hope Manny is coming back soon. He's been taking batting practice since the Yankee series, but we have yet to see him even pinch hit for anyone.

Here's a quick video of Chris Russo Mad Dog, and his take on the American League race. I listen to Mike a lot on WFAN. Pretty funny guy.

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=e2d513e6-329d-4716-9433-d0b031296447&f=00&fg=copy





Rumor has it that Curt Schilling has put his Massachusetts house on the market. I wonder if behind closed doors, he and Theo have already had a conversation, and his return to the big leagues next year is NOT in a Boston uniform? This is one that will hurt me, just a bit. I've followed this guy since he and I both lived in the Philly area, and his contributions to the 2004 season are beyond measure. The bloody sock, his leadership, all of it. Sure, he can be a blowhole at times, and his big mouth has had his sock in it on more than one occasion. But he's been a great ballplayer in a Red Sox uniform. But, while my heart says don't go, my head understands that this team needs the youth for its success.

"20" is a Good Place to Be

Despite the recent bumpy road, Sox Nation saw last night, one of the real gems of our team, and a big reason why we have been in 1st place of the AL East most of this year.

Josh Beckett became the first major league pitcher since 2005 to win 20 games, as the Sox beat the Devil Rays, 8-1.

Beckett went 6 innings, and got good run support from the guys behind him, including Papi, who was supposed to have the night off. Its just like Papi, who asked Tito that he be put IN. With this win, Beckett takes the lead as the favorite for this year's Cy Young award.

After the game, Beckett entered the clubhouse, to find (2) bottles of Dom Perignon waiting for him on ice. One from one of the clubhouse guys, the other, from Curt Schilling. All he could say is, thanks, but no thanks. Afterall, he's a beer man.

A man after my own heart.

Congrats, Josh. Its great to have you with us.

Here's Some Positives to Chew On

Before you all go out and buy your one-way tickets to "Whineville", remember that its not over. No matter what a Yankee fan will tell you today.







Ask the '97 Florida Marlins. They went 2-7 in their last nine regular season games, and still won the World Series.

Ask the 2000 Yankees. Yankee fans won't tell you that they lost 18 of their final 21 games. They will only remind you that in 2000, they won the World Series.

Ask the 2002 Anaheim Angels. They ended their '02 season 4-7 and whaddya know? They went on to win the World Series.

Two years ago, the '05 White Sox went from 15-games ahead on July 31 to a mere 1.5 games ahead (sound familiar?) Yep, you got it; they won the World Series in '05.

Don't you guys remember JUST LAST SEASON? The '06 Cardinals were up seven games exactly 1 year ago today, and in 8 days saw their lead plummet to .5 up in an EIGHT DAY SPAN. THIS IS YOUR CURRENT WORLD SERIES CHAMPION, folks.

My point is this. Teams go up, teams go down. Chill out. Believe me, I am not pleased with anyone's performance out there these past 2 weeks. We've been dealt with our own share of baseball injuries and fatigue; it just happens to be right now. I don't want to see us lose the AL East lead. But guess what? It just might happen. But remember, it ain't over 'til its over. Ask Mark Bellhorn, Kevin Millar, Keith Foulke, or Varitek for that matter. Hang in there. Today we are STILL IN FIRST PLACE.

Gagne Blows the Game, in the Motherland

I have absolutely nothing to say, no words. Anyone who knows me, knows that my being speechless is a rare occasion.

If I comment right now, I will throw this guy under the bus, with the accelerator on.

I need to go listen to the postgame show, and get more info as to WHY Tito kept this flippin' guy in. Sorry, but Now is not the time of year to experiment, and see if a guy can prove his worth. Even from my couch, I could see Gagne didn't have it. Even my cat could tell this guy absolutely STUNK.

2 1/2 games up. All I can say is, if we blow it, tonite's game will be one that will be analyzed, over analyzed and critiqued all winter.

AARRGGGHHH....

Weekend Recap

Well, somebody took 2 of 3, just like I predicted.





Unfortunately, it wasn't the Red Sox.








Friday, Sox lose 8-7


Just when you think its all over, the other team reminds you how there are no definitives in baseball.





Our seats on Friday were standing room, up top, between home and the Yankee dugout. Dice-K had a decent outing, a nice lead. At the end of the 7th, my husband noticed a bunch of empty seats, real close to the action. He thought it might be fun to sit a bit closer. Why not?





It took us 10 mins. to get there, as we tried to first sneak into the .406 club... unsuccessfully. When we sat down, I noticed the score had changed... it wasn't 7-2 anymore, it was 7-4. Uh oh. We missed the 2 homers by Giambi and Cano altogether. What happened, and why were there Yankee players on 2nd and 3rd with 0 outs? Then when Papelbon came in, well, of course he would get us out of the jam, right?





Not. 3 hits later, we were down, and would stay that way.





I'm a Sox fan. I told my husband that it was our fault. We moved, and changed the charma. There was no way on God's good earth that I would EVER move my seat again.





Saturday, Sox win 10-1


The hyped up pitching duel between 2 Cy Young wannabes only lasted 6 innings. After that, Beckett grabbed the horns and ran, giving the Sox a 10-1 win, and stopping a 5 game losing streak to the Yankees.

You Bet I stayed in my seat this time.





This game was not without its drama. I'd like to know what it is about Youkilis that the Yankees hate him so much. On this day, he gets hit by a Wang pitch right on the wrist. Thankfully, its not broken, just bruised. Looks like Hinske will cover at first, which will give Ellsbury more time in left field, which is always a good thing.





Speaking of Hinske, Yankee catcher Posada found out the hard way that Hinske played football in pre baseball days. In the 6th, trying to get to a blocked home plate, Hinske bowled over Posada, but was out trying to score. Posada looked like he thought he was Batman for a few minutes, there dazed and confused. Luckily, all tests for concussions were negative.





Even Beckett got in on the controversy, as he popped Giambi once he got over 100 pitches. Retribution? Probably. As a result, he and the others got their warnings, and he retired the rest to end the inning.

Sunday, Sox lose 4-3

This is the game that to me, was going to be most interesting. Two guys who have seen their better days. And both guys pitched quite well. For Curt, it was two pitches that did him in. Other than that, his control was great, his location was good, and he hit speeds up to 93 mph, the highest we've seen in about a month.

Jeter, Jeter, Jeter.

Joba paid us a visit as well. Thanks to Mike Lowell, he no longer has a 0.00 ERA, as he belted a solo homer into the monster.

I know many people have been critical of Torre this year, in his management of his pitchers, and always relying on the veterans. But I have to say, Torre's smartest move was playing Mientkiewicz at first for Sunday's game. Giambi's defense was a disaster at first base on Friday night. I can think of 3 times during Sunday night's game where, had Giambi been playing that position, we would have either been save at first, or the ball would have raced by him, into right field.

To me, Giambi not at first was one of the major reasons the Sox did not score more runs. It may have been the difference in this game.

Yeah, we only took one. We're 4.5 games out. But hey, these were great games to watch, I must admit.

Day One - we Lost, but still was Fun

I'm blogging today from the hotel's access site... have a couple minutes, so here goes the Reader's Digest version...

Clay Buchholtz' family is staying at our hotel...
I Met and talked with Gordon Edes from the Globe... very nice guy...
Rode in another elevator with Peter Gammons, but got too tongue tied and just
embarrassed myself... anyone who knows me, knows its pretty easy for me to do.

Great watching A-Rod get some K's... in person.

Crap, it was really really painful watching them $%@!%$! Yankees come back in the 8th. My only solace was meeting a Yankee fan friend of mine after the game on the street. He explained to us that "for No reason" he got ejected from the game, in the 6th inning, so he missed all the hoop-la. Pretty long drive, to watch it from a bar!

Sorry, David, but that was pretty funny!

I'll write more soon, gettin' ready for Game Two; hopefully the rain will let up by then.

This is What We Live For...

Yeah, the Bombers are Coming!

The Bombers are Coming!

What a fun weekend of baseball this is going to be. I'm lucky enough to be going up to Fenway for Friday night and Saturday's games. Friday we will see if Dice-K can bounce back, from what has been 2 horrible outings back to back. He'll be opposing Andy Pettitte, who is looking for his 200th win, while on Yawkey Way. Pettitte's got a 4.75 ERA against the Sox this year.

Saturday will be a battle of the aces game, as Wang takes on Beckett. And Sunday looks to be the Senior Discount Day, as Clemens and Schilling both take the mound.

My prediction is we take 2 out of 3. Dice-K is a great pitcher, unfortunately for us the Yankees haven't had an opportunity to see that yet, and Dice-K is due. His ERA against them is so far this year is an ugle 6.98. But, I think Saturday's game will be the toughest. On Sunday, as long as Schilling pitches like he has the last 3 games, we should do fine.

Something tells me an elbow overshot with cortisone on a 45 year old guy is an ingredient for whoop-pie.

We're meeting a good friend of mine at Fenway on Saturday, who will be accompanied by her fiance, a die-hard Yankee fan. As far as I can tell, this is his only flaw. I laugh when I think about the circumstances of our inviting him to come with us. Sure, it was easy to WANT to bring a Yankee fan when you are 13 games up on them, which was the case when we offered them the pair of tickets back at the end of May. My Red Sox Faithful friends want to kill me, for committing such a horrendous crime and not offering the tickets to them.

So, our AL East lead is stuck at 5.5, and our Magic Number to the Playoffs tonite sits at 11. Many thanks to our friends up north of the border, who handed the Yankees a 2-1 loss after a walk off single by Frank Thomas to score Alex Rios. I must admit, Ian Kennedy looked real good tonite, 7 innings, only giving up 1 hit. Merci beaucoup, Blue Jays, for stopping that winning streak at 7.

So I will be sure to take some good photos this weekend, and share them with you all.

Sorry I will miss your Red Sox party, Mike and Debbie. I wish I had a nice new HDTV to share NESN with my closest friends, as you will be doing. I know I will be missing a great time. But you have to admit, even the biggest HDTV is still no match to being there, live. So sorry guys, look for my sign; it'll have your name on it, right next to Rem-Dawg's.

I Owe the Sox an Apology

I can believe it, but I did it.

I lost it last night. For a little while, I actually gave up on our Sox. And I promised Jim that I would apologize to the Red Sox, right here on my blog for being such a terrible, terrible fan.

The top of the 5th saw a score of 9-5. After trailing 8-1, the fact that the Sox rallied to get to 5 was great. But once the Rays scored again to make it 9-5, I made the mistake of switching to YES, and saw their score. The Yanks were on mark to win again, and with Manny down, and J.D. Drew and Kevin Cash in the lineup, I admit, gulp!, that I lost the faith.

Jim sat calmly in the recliner, watching me cuss, pace, and pull my hair out. "C'mon, Chris, don't give up. The Rays starter is coming out soon, and we'll come back." Just how could he be so calm, no emotion? What, is there icewater in his veins?

I couldn't bear to look. I needed a break. I went upstairs and started cleaning up a mess that has been there for longer than I want to admit. I even put on the History Channel, and had 9/11 stories on, instead of NESN. How's that for depressing?

But, as always, I can't stay away from my boys for long. I switched back and it was the 6th. Wha? Tied up 9-9? What the heck happened? Youk is up? Oh, man, bases loaded, this looks pretty good. Yeah! Smacked a triple off the green monster, and cleared the bases! Whoopie!

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, stepping with glee, my ever faithful husband was waiting. He knew I'd be back. And he reminded me of my shame from a mere inning ago. I had cheated on the likes of Pedroia, Youk, Coco and even Ellsbury... all guys who didn't give up in the 6th when things had gotten tough.

So now, I apologize. I've been rooting for these guys for a long, long time. And unfortunately some of these years have been heartbreaking. But I have to remember that the days of Bill Buckner and Bob Stanley are behind us. This is a new day. There is no more curse; probably there never was.

Like a good marriage, you have to take the good and the bad. And show support for that loved one, especially when times are tough. I tripped last night, and don't worry boys, I will never do it again!

Even in Margaritaville....

Saturday night was Jimmy Buffett's 2nd show in Gilette Stadium.

My husband and I were lucky enough to go, with some very good friends of ours.

Our seats were no where near where this picture was taken (thanks to a guy named Hugh for posting this on flickr!)

What I found so incredible, and very amusing, was the enormous presence of Red Sox Nation. OK we were in MA, so of course it's more likely to happen, but here we were...

in the middle of a show...

50,000 screaming fans...

Parrotheads everywhere...

And the 2 rows surrounding where we sat, all anyone could talk about, was the Red Sox. Between each song, someone would text a friend or check their online phone service, for score updates. Then the message would get sent up 22 seats, back another row, and back down again.

Even in the heart of Margaritaville, in the midst of hawaiian shirts, leis, hats of pirates, parrots, volcanos, and cheeseburgers, people's focus while under the obvious influence of margaritas and Landshark beers, were the RED SOX.

Wicked awesome!

Tito's Got to Know When to Fold 'Em

I know that it was only 2-2/3 innings, but c'mon...

I'm pretty sure EVERYONE out there in the Nation was screaming for Tito to take Dice-K out of the game.

Maybe Tito is hearing impaired? Hmmm..

In the third with bases loaded and nobody out, Dice-K walked Nick Markakis to force in a run. Tito left him in.

Then, Miguel Tejada sliced an RBI single to left, making the score 4-3, Sox. Still bases loaded... Tito still left him in.

Next, Dice-K pitches a bases-loaded walk to Kevin Millar -- to tie the game 4-4. Still bases loaded... Tito STILL left him in.

I'm pretty sure we all predicted what was coming next... our worst nightmare. A Grand slam on a pitch right over the plate, by Scott Moore, and there goes the game.

No way, NOW TITO TAKES HIM OUT. Go figure.

No one knows for sure what Dice-K's problem is. He's denying it's fatigue, though the Japanese baseball season is a few months shorter, and in Japan he pitched every 6 days, whereas here he pitches every 5th day. Its certainly understandable, if this is his issue.

Pitching coach John Farrell is saying that Dice-K's relying on his fastball too much, and overpitching it, so his control is being compromised.

Honestly, I don't care all that much what the issues are, I just need to see this get fixed. If it takes a mini vacation for him, to get some rest, I'm OK with that. Give him the rest of September off. We certainly have a decent stockpile of pitchers available to cover the void. Tavarez is certainly good enough for the schedule we have left, and Buchholz and Hansack are nice little cushions for chewing up some extra innings .

Seems eerily familiar to 2004, when Derek Lowe tanked at season's end. It cost him his spot in the starting rotation going into the playoffs.

Lowe was infuriated, and in the end, became one of our unsung heros of the postseason.

I just wonder if Tito would really be willing to A. Sit Dice-K for awhile, and B. move him to a relief spot in the postseason.

For the kind of money that the Red Sox have invested in this guy, and Tito's track record with staying with struggling players, I am betting that neither will happen, even if it would be the best thing to do for the short term.

Checkin' Perspectives

If you were like me last night, you were probably pretty irate at the childish behavior displayed on the mound during the 4th inning of last night's win over Baltimore.

6'9" Daniel Cabrera just balked in a run, and he was pissed. So mad, that he whistled a 94 mph fastball just behind Dustin Pedroia's head. The umps issued a warning, the benches cleared and Cabrera got tossed.

Well, sometimes I wonder if, as fans, we get so emotionally charged about our players, that we take their sides no matter what.

Maybe I am letting this all get to me, because I am a Sox Fan. Dustin is like, 5' nothing, a valid Rookie of the Year candidate. Like the big kid on the playground, picking on my little brother. Yeah, that makes me mad! How could this big monster take a pop shot at our little Pedro?

So I wanted a little bit of perspective. Listen to the fallout from the other side's perspective, to make some sense of it all. So I took a look and a listen at some of the coverage from the Baltimore area shows, writers, and publications, today, to see their take on the matter. The results are in.

Seems the consensus is the same, even in Orioles country. The pitch was uncalled for, and certainly isn't being perceived as a ball that slipped out of his hand.

Look, these guys the Orioles have lost their last 11 games at home. It ties their franchise record. I am sure those guys are pretty discouraged, especially when the stands are chock full of people wearing red shirts, not orange and black ones. Can you imagine how Red Sox Nation would be feeling, in their shoes?

But picking on the little guy is no way to channel that frustration. I am glad that Cabrera at least wasnt throwing accurately on that pitch, because

at 94 m.p.h., its a deadly weapon.

Anyone Remember this Guy?

You should... he's still a Red Sox, and he's getting a $9.5 million paycheck this year.

Matt Clement is slowly making his way back to baseball.

It seems pretty Slowly to us, but really Clements' road to recovery is progressing a bit ahead of schedule.

3 surgeries in 1 in September '06 to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder and also a rotator cuff injury will keep a guy on the DL for awhile. About a year, to be exact.

He's been on the DL since June of '06.

Good news is that he threw simulated game pitches to Brandon Moss and Kevin Cash, and felt great. He'll have another bullpen session this week, and another simulated game next week. But don't think that the Sox will rush to get him back into a game anytime soon. He more likely will pitch instructional league games, if he continues to progess as he has so far.

Its reported that a lot of the Red Sox pitchers came out to offer their support for Matt. Tito and Theo were also on hand.

Clement will be a free agent in '08, so I'm sure if it was up to him, he'd be pushing to start before playoffs. You wonder, though, if the Sox will be willing to keep and take a chance with a guy like this. I remember times where he seemed like a pretty decent pitcher, (don't forget he was an AL Allstar in '05) but his brillance was usually only seen in the first half of a season. Once he got hit in the head by Carl Crawford's line drive in July of '05, he just didn't seem like the same pitcher.

Matt Clement is just one more ingredient in the Red Sox's soup. The question is whether or not Theo's recipe calls for him or not.

What do you think?

There's a Youth Movement in the Nation!

Theo and the Gang over in baseball Development have had one hell of a week showcasing their recent minor league graduates...

Pedroia continues to demonstrate why he is a viable candidate for AL Rookie of the Year.

Buckholz pitches a no hitter Saturday.

Lester gives up only 2 runs as he gets the win on Sunday.

Jacoby Ellsbury steps right into the outfield on Friday as if he was always there. His speed, defensive prowess, and lively bat sparks this team.

Brandon Moss comes in for Manny during his aches and pains, and shows all of us why he was worth keeping during the '07 trading deadline...

Every team gets to bring up the young guns this time of year. But it isn't often that the new guys come up and show contribution so quickly. Red Sox Nation is fortunate because we have several of them.

We can castrate Theo for overspending for J.D. Drew, but we have to pat him on the back for keeping his composure and thinking about long term;and NOT trading some of these young prospects away for short term reasons. These are real players who can be true contributors to our team in the near future.

Hats off to our managers and coaches in Portland and Pawtucket. They seem to have done a wonderful job, preparing these guys for their chance to earn their spots on the roster.

In '06, guys like Hansen came up too early out of necessity, and they weren't ready for the big field. Hansen was a bust, and you won't hear his name anytime soon. I think Theo and the Gang learned from that experience, unfortunately it was at Hansen's expense.

Just the Spark we Need... way to Go, Clay!

Funny how things have a way of taking care of themselves.

Here we are in Sox Nation, lamenting that our bats have been cold...

Manny's hurt...

Kelty's been sore...

Wakefield's back is bothering him again...

Wake's out of the lineup for a week, and the front office decides to bring up their prize pitching prospect, Clay Bucholtz, to give him a start. Just in time for the roster expansion. Heck, we've all been hearing about this guy all year, that he's got wicked good stuff: curve, breaking ball, change up. Really good with the off speed stuff. Wow, what a way to say hello to all of us in the Nation.

36 hours ago, he was sitting on the bench in Pawtucket.

This morning, he is soaking in the fact that he is the first rookie in Red Sox history to pitch a NO HITTER. Only the 3rd guy in baseball history to pitch a no hitter in his 1st or 2nd game.

How's that for a spark for this team? Clay has never thrown more than 98 pitches in his life. Theo and the gang found themselves in a bind. Going into the 9th Clay was already over 100 pitches. Do they pull him out? After discussion, they decided 120 would be his maximum. Once he pitched 120, Tito would have to take him out, no matter what, and look like the Goat.

Thankfully, it only took Clay 115.

Another note: Jacoby Ellsbury came in late in the game, and on his first pitch hits an RBI double. Welcome to the team, Jacoby. Glad to have you here, I hope you like right field, because I hope this will be your new home. We'll let you fight for it, with rookie Brandon Moss. Brandon played for Manny last night, and gave us some offense, too. Neither of you can do worse than G.D. Drew.

The 2007 Red Sox have talent. But it seems that they have lacked that spark that they need. Could this be the spark that we've been missing? Does anyone have some lighter fluid, so we can turn this into a flame?