Around Boston

Everyone keeps talking about the Red Sox being 14.5 (now 13.5 games) up in the AL East. I've heard it on the talk radio shows and read it in both the Globe and the Herald. This is nice and all, but last time I checked, there are 5 teams in the American League East, including the Orioles and the Blue Jays who are 10.5 and 11.5 games back respectively. Believe it or not, the Orioles have won the AL East more recently than the Red Sox, so I don't know why everyone's counting them out.


That being said, it's time for the weekly Yankees-Red Sox series. I believe this will be the fifth or sixth series between the two teams, which, not to make too fine a point, is five or six more series than we've seen between Boston and Tampa Bay. The big thing nowadays seems to be A-Rod's behavior both on and off the field. I can't remember an opponent that was so hated. Others have been booed, but for the most part, out of respect. Everytime I think he's gone as low as he can, Alex Rodriguez does something else to lose whatever little respect for him I have. That probably sums up the feelings of most of Massachusetts. They'll be 36,000 "MINE!!!"s every popup hit to him this series. I can't promise him that'll be the worst he hears, and I also can't promise that there won't be a blond wig or two in the stands.

The general consensus around the area is this is the weekend the Sox bury the Bombers once and for all. As awesome as that would be, I'm always weary of the Yankees coming to town. I've followed the Red Sox too long and seen them get manhandled by New York too often to feel that confident. I think this is a big series. Obviously, it's more important for New York than Boston. It could turn the Yankees season around. If they win it, they'll have momentum going with the Rocket on the mound. Not good.

Tito realized since the Yanks are holding off Clemens, there's no reason to waste an Automatic Win Day, so Tavarez is being pushed back till Monday. We have Wang vs Wakefield, Mussina vs Schilling, and Pettitte vs Beckett. The series is at Fenway, so therefore, I'm expecting the Sox to take at least 2 of 3.

One last thing: don't bean A-Rod. Last thing anyone needs is a fight to break out and to have the Yankees rally around him. He's in my black book of people to get (actually, he's the only person in the book...), but now's not the time.

A-Rod, what a jokester!

Alright, I always caught a lot of slack in college for being an "A-Rod lover." This support of A-Rod didn't come from his "cheap" plays or even being a Yankee, but just for being one of the best hitters in the game.

The controversies with A-Rod have been odd to say the least, and this newest one fits right in.

A-Rod, apparently, while running from second to third on an infield fly, may have shouted MINE! as the Blue Jays 3B went for the ball. The SS was right behind A-Rod.

A-Rod claims he just blurted out HAH! but it doesn't matter either way; people that don't like A-Rod will hate him even more for this.

Me, I find it to be hilarious. I mean, come on, if he really did it, it's a total singular anomaly for the the game of baseball for the next 10 seasons. It's just funny. Instead of hating on A-Rod, let's have a good laugh about it.

And you know you've done it while playing volleyball or whiffle ball.

He's the king!

On the Pirates home page today, the summary of the Pirates win last night mentions that the Buccos were powered by "Jason Bay, the reigning National League Player of the Week."

When you're as bad as the Pirates, this is the kind of phrase that makes your lead. 14 losing seasons? No talent or future? Oh yeah? Well, we have the REIGNING National League Player of the week! And Bay will be sitting on the throne for another FIVE days, baby, oh yeah!

He's the king!! Go Pirates!

(yippee.)

First Time at Fenway

I was at Fenway today, not to go to a game, but to go to see Pirates of the Caribbean at the AMC about 5 blocks from the park. I walked around Yawkey Way and Lansdowne Street just to soak in the atmosphere. Afterwards, I went to a McDonalds in Kenmore Square which is decorated with a bunch of really old Red Sox photos. I sat down with my number 2 inbetween two of these photos. One was Roger Clemens. The other had Roger with Mo Vaughn and Scott Cooper, who Ken might know of cause I think he went to St. Louis after two years here, but I'm pretty sure no one else has. The wall opposite to me had Nomar Garciapara. Next to Nomar was Dwight Evans. Near the enterance was another Mo Vaughn, this time alone. Is McDonalds business that bad that they can't update some of those photos? There wasn't one photo of anyone from the 2004 club, never mind this one. It kinda sickens me that Yankee fans will come to town and see more current Yankees than Red Sox, but I take comfort in the fact that they also have to see the standings.

It looks to be official that the two photos are pretty much all we'll be seeing of Roger in Fenway. The Yanks are making him throw an extra session to "avoid the Red Sox series." That's straight from their web page. The story later quotes Torre as saying ""I'm not disappointed that he's not pitching in Fenway, let's put it that way." What a vote of confidence!

By the way, David Ortiz hasn't been played the last three days cause he has the flu and his hamstring is tight. The Red Sox are 3-0 in those three games, thanks in part to to Kevin Youkilis has homered twice, including an inside the parker, STANDING UP! He has a 21 game hit streak, and at least 2 hits in nine consecutive games. The man can hit, field, and run, yet he's not on the All Star Ballot. Ridiculous!

speaking of the sox...

i read a rumor that they're toying around with the idea of trading jermaine dye to build up their farm system!!! WHAT?!?! they can't trade him!! he's my favorite player on their team!!! and... why would you trade one of your better players when you need all the help you can get at the moment? doesn't make sense to me... but then again... i'm just a fan. i only know so much.

i had a major decision to make with my fantasy team. bonderman was coming back from the dl... so i had to make room for him by getting rid of someone else. it was initially gonna be a pitcher... moyer or harang... but then i realized that i have two guys sitting on the bench in offensive positions to fill in gaps for other players' off days. well, and to play when my main guys aren't hitting. so... mark derosa and david dejesus were on the line. i got rid of derosa. he hasn't been playing as much... so i can't bank on consistency coming off the bench.

ps... i thought ken's post was right on. we were talking the other day about how it's funny how you can begin watching a game without knowing who you're gonna root for... but then without really thinking about it... you find yourself rooting for or against a team. and that's how you know. so crazy.

AND. the phillies made it above .500. i was really excited. but... now they've lost 2 games in a row... and are back at .500... 8 games behind the mets and 3 games behind the braves. LET'S GO PHILS!!!!

Choosing a 2nd Team...or any Team

Mrs. Utley's recent attempt to take applications for a new 2nd Team (or 3rd, 4th, whatever it is) as she recently moved to a new MLB market has gotten me contemplating what it is that brings us to root for a team in the first place. It may seem obvious that the main team we root for, "our team", is the one we grew up around or the local/"hometown" team. Occasionally there are other means of exposure, like growing up watching a team on national TV all the time (Braves on TBS, Cubs on WGN, Yankees on practically every ESPN game, etc.) It makes sense. Most people root for the team that best represents where they consider "home", where they grew up.

For some of us, we grew up in an area where we are exposed to more than one "hometown" team...for example, here in central IL it is mostly split between Cub and Cardinal fans...with a few White Sox fans scattered around. So, I will give my own situation as example of how we choose a favorite team (and also second team...since I mentioned the Sox - (White) - are mine).

Before I give reasons I should say that I don't think we really choose a team in the sense of making a conscious decision that "this is now the team I will root for". We just find ourselves rooting for a team. With a lot of effort we may be able to just pick a team and start rooting or weigh out the "logical reasons" but it rarely works that way. So, here are the main reasons...

1) Exposure.
This can take a few forms, but generally the team we are most exposed to early on becomes the team we root for...
a) TV - We didn't get cable growing up, so no WGN, and FOX carried Cards games here in town early on. So I mostly watched the Cards on TV, the Cubs a little bit.
b) Radio - The local station again had the Cardinals (with delightful Jack Buck) which I listened to in bed at night instead of sleeping.
c) going to games - I went to many different games as a kid, but our family and our closest friends went to St Louis every summer, including games.

2) Pride/Local Representation.
We often attach a sense of pride to the local team, like this team represents us in some way. This is tied into the first one, since we are usually exposed most to the team that is closest in proximity, or local, to us. These are the two primary reasons. This may cross over into number 5 as well, if we have family ties to a team, like a parent from that city or state or relatives there.

3) Key Players.
There are players on the team that we are drawn to, whether it is great skill, style, or personality. Sadly my brother has long been a big Bonds fan and so liked the Pirates for years and then the Giants for years for this reason. All based on a player. This is why I loved the Tigers in the early 90's--a bunch of power hitters who either crushed the ball or fanned dramatically. That was a second team thing...

4) Fans of that Team.
a) attract - when you have a lot of good friends that like a certain team it can be natural to join in with them. Many of my good friends growing up were also Cards fans, which made it more fun to root for them.
b) repel - when fans are obnoxious or annoying (and I know many Cub fans that are both) it helps make the decision for you...or at least keeps you from rooting for that team. It may even bring you to root for that team's rival. This is one of the reasons the Sox are my second team. They are the other rival of the Cubs. This can often be attached to a specific annoying/obnoxious fan, fair or not. There is a whole other post that could be written about why we hate/dislike certain teams as well...

5) Family Ties.
This was not as big for me, since my dad claims to be a Milwaukee Braves fan (grew up in Wis. but doesn't care about the Brewers) and my mom is the kind of Cub fan that can't name any players (she once guessed Darryl Strawberry when I asked her). But my cousins that grew up in town root for the Sox basically since my uncle is a Sox fan. This is the same reason my sister is a Cardinals fan after marrying my brother-in-law, who, praise the Lord, is a big fan.

6) Sentimental Attachment.
Sometimes we have an experience with a certain team that grows a love for them. Maybe it is seeing them winning it all or just frequently when we are young. Maybe it is a dramatic comeback or significant game in a pennant run. This has to do with exposure, of course, but sometimes that exposure manifests itself in a key moment or experience, not just prolonged or regular exposure. This is also a little different than just rooting for a team that wins or is "good". In general we don't just root for a winner because they win...the winning creates sentimental attachments or memories. I don't have a baseball example, but I tend to root for Michigan basketball because of the Fab-Five back in the day, just because of the fun of that one team.

For the most part it is similar for a second team, with subtle differences.

I like the Sox because they are also a rival of the Cubs, but also because they are an AL team, which doesn't interfere so much. And I had the great experience of playing T-Ball in the outfield at Old Comiskey when I was little, which left a great sentimental attachment. The Sox still meet a lot of the exposure and local pride things too.

I feel like there are still things to say about a second team. But in the end I think the big thing is just that we will discover who we root for or choose as that team and not actively pursue making them our next team.

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Up Next

Trot Nixon makes his return to Fenway Park tomorrow with the Cleveland Indians. He was among the most popular Red Sox players ever, plus his replacement J.D. Drew has been struggling as of late, so Trot'll get a huge ovation. Drew got a big hit today to put the Sox on top of Texas, so he might have saved himself for getting booed. The pitching matchups are Cliff Lee vs. Curt Schilling, Jeremy Sowers vs Josh Beckett, and Paul Byrd vs Diasuke Matsuzaka. Reasonable or not, I'd be disappointed with anything less than a sweep of the Tribe.

Let's talk about the Yankees for a second. Interestingly enough, they currently have Roger Clemens and Kei Igawa in their AAA rotation. Clemens cost 28 million. If you count what they paid to talk to him, Igawa costs around 40 million. According to this, the Yankees AAA rotation has a payroll in the general ball park of the Major League Rosters of the Milwaulkie Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers. The triple A rotation makes more than the Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamonbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals, Florida Marlins, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Click on the above link, and you'll see the Devil Rays make about four million less than Roger. Yet, the Yankees are in fourth place, 12.5 games out and only a game better than Tampa Bay. Glorious!

Furthermore, it doesn't look like the Yankees feel the Rocket is going to save them. If he only did one more Minor League start (which was the plan. The Red Sox and Astros insulted him by saying he should take more than two and a half weeks to come back. The Yankees were right on board with him. That's why he went to New York), he'd be back in the Majors just in time to pitch in Fenway. Isn't that why they're paying him 28 million? To win big games, including those in Fenway against the Red Sox? Apparently not, as the team is thinking of pushing him back 1 day to pitch against the White Sox in Chicago instead. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but it makes me question his worth. The Yankees website justifies the decision by saying:

"While Clemens' Major League reappearance in Boston -- the team he broke in
with as a fresh-faced rookie in 1984, and one of the three clubs he'd considered
returning to action with this season -- would be a dramatic re-entry, it may not
line up ideally for the Yankees. New York is slated to pitch its top three starting
pitchers -- Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte -- in the weekend
tilt against the American League East-leading Red Sox..."

28 million's a lot for a number four...

Looking back

I just graduated college this morning, so I'll have a lot more time to post on this site (as if I don't do that enough...). My four years in Amherst have been among the greatest in Red Sox baseball history. This'll probably be a ridiculously long look back. Feel free to skim it or skip it or buckle up and enjoy the ride.

I forget exactly when I first arrived at UMass. Sometime in late August of 2003. In the regular season from September of 2003 to the present, the Sox went 328-233. In that time, they qualified for the playoffs three years in a row (the only time other time in Sox history they had back-to-back post season appearances was 1915-1916). They went 17-12 in 6 post season series. And, after generations of heartbreak, they finally won a World Championship.

Regardless of how 2003 ended, that was such an awesome roller coaster ride. The Sox were all but eliminated in the LDS against the A's. In a tie game with the A's up two games to none, Eric Byrnes tried to score the series winning run, but Varitek blocked the plate by putting his leg on top of it and actually kicking Byrnes' foot up. Simultaniously, the ball soared past Varitek. Rather than touching home plate to score what would have been the winning run, Byrnes went and pushed Varitek and then headed back to the dugout. Jason picked up the ball and tagged him out, setting up Trot Nixon's game winning, pinch hit walk off homer in extra innings. The next day, the legend of David Ortiz was born. With the Sox down by 1in the 8th and closer Keith Foulke pitching for the A's, Ortiz smacked a game winning 2 run double to send the series back to Oakland. Game five, in the bottom of the ninth, starter Derek Lowe was brought in to relieve Sox closer Scott Williamson who was wild. Long story short: bases loaded, 2 outs, Sox up by one. 3-2 count to pinch hitter Terrance Long. Lowe throws a fastball that catches the inside corner. Long jumps back as if it was about to hit him. The home plate umpire (rightfully) rings Long up in the gutsiest call I've ever seen made (I wouldn't expect that to go against a home team in an elimination game...).

The 2003 ALCS with the New York Yankees was among the best I've ever seen played. The teams split the first two, setting up a game three to die for: Roger Clemens vs. Pedro Martinez. Pedro hit Karem Garcia (SUCKS!) up by the head, and threatened to do the same to Jorge Posada if Posada didn't shut up and get back into the dugout. Clemens threw a high pitch over the plate, no wear near Manny, but Rameriz took offense. Clemens told him to bring it, and Manny did. The benches cleared and the stupid Gerbil Don Zimmer charged Pedro, trying to punch Martinez in the head. Pedro grabbed the Gerbil by the neck and tossed him harmlessly to the ground. Later on, a grounds crew worker who was stationed in the Yankees bullpen was cheering waving a towel for the Sox. Yankee reliever Jeff Nelson (SUCKS!) took exception and attacked the guy. Karem Garcia (SUCKS!) jumped into the bullpen from right field and also started pounding the guy. New York Mayor Michael Bloomburg (the traitor from Medford, MA) called Boston a lawless city. Boston Mayor Tom Menino called the entire Yankee organization a bunch of Thugs and vowed do everything in his power to have Garcia and Nelson serve time. The game left a really bad taste in everyone's mouth, especially mine since the Yankees won.

The teams split games 4 and 5 to bring the Series back to Yankee Stadium. In the 7th inning with Sox down 6-4 in the game and 3-2 in the Series, the team rallied and scored 3 runs to go ahead and send the series to game 7: Pedro vs Clemens. Roger got rocked. Little stuck with Pedro and the Yankees tied the game. In the 11th inning Tim Wakefield (who would have been the MVP...) threw only one pitch. It was hit into the left field stands by the least likely of heroes, Aaron Boone as the Yankees won their 39th pennant. As a side note, Ortiz's homer in the 8th to put the Sox up 5-2 and silence the crowd was among the most clutch he's hit. I know now it counts for nothing, but at the time it was huge and I was and still am extremely thankful. No one talks about that one now, but still, that's the most clutch homer I've ever seen.

2004: Epstein traded away Nomar Garciapara, the face of the franchise, for Doug Mientkiewitczfjdsals and Orlando Cabrera, while also acquiring Dave Roberts. The team never looked back, going on a hot streak in the middle of August and in the LDS steam rolled the Angels. Ortiz hit his first walk off of the postseason in game 3, over the Monster in extra innings to finish the sweep and set up a rematch with New York. In game 1, Schilling had nothing and got lit up. The Red Sox encouraged me with a late comeback. After being down 8-0 going into the seventh, Bill Mueller came up as the tying run in the ninth, but Rivera got him to ground out into the game ending double play. Pedro Martinez, fresh off of his "Call the Yankees my Daddy" statement, pitch an amazing game two. Probably one of the best pitched playoff games I've seen, but he got no run support and the Sox were down 0-2. Game 3 was a blood bath. The Yankees won 19-8, prompting one of my best friends, Luke Miller, to say "John, I don't think the Red Sox are going to win this series." Also, I lived next to two girls from New York, and they played that stupid Frank Sinatra song on repeat until four in the morning. Next day, Kevin Millar came out and said to the press "Tell the Yankees they better beat us today. Otherwise, we have Pedro going game five, Schilling in game 6 and in game 7....well, anything can happen in game 7."

Bottom of the ninth, Sox down 4-3. Rivera walks Millar to start the inning. Dave Roberts pinch runs for him, and everyone on the planet knows he's running. Rivera throws over three or four times, but can't pick him off. First pitch Rivera throws to Bill Mueller, Roberts steals second. Why they don't pitch out is beyond. Fools. Mueller singles up the middle past Rivera, who did his best NHL goalie impression, trying to make the kick save. Roberts scores to tie the game. My glasses break in the ensuing celebration. I watch the next few innings holding the glass to my eyes to see. Then I find a pair of prescription sun glasses and Ortiz sends everyone home happy with a walk off homer in the 12. I don't bother to fix the glasses. For the rest of the post season, I wore sun glasses 24-7.

Game 5 was more of the same. Sox down one, Millar walks to lead off an inning. Roberts pinch runs for him and scores the game tying run as Varitek gets a sac fly against Rivera. Game goes to extras. Wakefield, who would have started game 7, volunteers to pitch. Varitek, can't catch him at all. In one of the innings, Varitek had three past balls, yet the Yankees didn't score a single run. That has to be a record. Three past balls in an inning without a run scoring. In the 13th, Ortiz came up with runners on first and second and hit a single to center, scoring Damon to win the game.

Game 6, Schilling had some crazy procedure done and pitched magnificantly. Mark Bellhorn hit a huge homer. A fan dropped it back onto the playing field, and the umpire originally said it was still in play. Francona argued, the crew huddled together and rightfully awarded Bellhorn a homer. A-Rod tried to cheat later, mugging Bronson Arroyo. Originally, Jeter scored to make it 4-3 and A-Rod was on second. Francona again argued, and again the umpires met, and again overturned the call. Fans started throwing things onto the field, so riot police had to line up alone either foul line, but the Sox tied the series.

Game 7 was so anti climatic. Boston beat the crap out of New York. There's no other way to put it. Kevin Brown started and had nothing. He left with the bases loaded and no one out in the second down 2-0. Johnny Damon hit the first pitch he saw from the reliever over the right field wall and the rest is history. I went over and knocked on the girls' room next to me and asked why they hadn't played "New York, New York" in such a long time. They slammed the door on my face. It was glorious.

The World Series was also glorious. Derek Lowe reminded me a lot of Drew Bledsoe in 2001. Francona took him out of the rotation before the post season, but Lowe stayed sharpe and won all three clinching games when the team needed him most. After Boston went up 2-0, some morons started cheering for the Cardinals to win 2 of three in St. Louis so the Sox could clinch at home. Fools. Every world series they Sox ever lost went 7 games (including '86, when the Sox had a 2-0 lead over the Mets.). If they had lost 1 game, talk of the Curse would come back, and the team would have choked.

Well, this post is probably long enough. I'm just pumped to know that while I was an undergrad, I got to see some of the Best Red Sox Baseball in history.

New Colors

Hey, I noticed that all of our teams feature "red" as an official color (even Jon, who doesn't really post here) so I switched up the scheme. I think all you guys have admin power to tweak it if you want.

What's that you say? The Pirates don't wear red? Well, this year on Friday night home games they do, and boy are those uniforms ugly.

I have invited Andy to join the blog one more time. Of course, that would ruin our color scheme.

It's Over

Well, it's officially over for the Pirates this year. We masqueraded as a legitimate mediocre baseball team for a while (which is all you need to get by in the NL), but we are now EIGHT games under .500 after being swept by the Cardinals.

That means that for the rest of this season, you won't see me posting much about lineups and starting pitching matchups and who needs to improve their plate approach.

Instead, I'll be moaning and complaining about everything from the front office ineptitude to Jack Wilson's asanine comments. I'm posting about the ONLY Major League Baseball team with no star players, no future, a manager that doesn't know how to think about baseball, the worst GM in MLB, and cheap owners who don't even notice the standings.

It's a sad, sad, existence.

The "no future" part is true, by the way. You'd think a team with AA talent at the major league level who trades their best players away would have something big coming up in the farm system, right?

Not this team. Be amazed at the uncanny ability to lose. Even if Mark Cuban were to buy the team today, it would take a full five year rebuilding plan by him to turn us around.

I can hardly wait for the trade deadline!

I am reminded the words on a black and gold t-shirt I once saw:

"Pittsburgh Baseball: rebuilding since 1992"

EDIT: Well, I suppose we do have a four-game series against the Reds... So there is one last speck of hope.

Sox Game and Potpourri

Sox Game
Well, someone beat me to writing about the Sox-A's game from Tues...and did a fine job of it. I will try to point out some different things in light of this...

One great thing about a game at Comiskey truly is the view of downtown from the top of the stadium (surprised you didn't mention that Mrs. Utley). Especially after a night game (which this was) the skyline is electric and sparkling. The exploding scoreboard is always great too...and it went off a few times since both Dye and Thome went deep...Thome drove in 5 runs and the Sox offense has looked tons different with him back.

A great thing about scoring all those runs early is the game feels much more relaxed...although pulling out a close game in the end is an even better experience. But, being up 10-1 early in the game you knew the Sox were on their way to a win. Man, they battered that poor starter pretty bad. There were a couple huge double plays for the Sox in the first couple innings on amazing stabs by the infielders that kept the A's off the board...and the rest is history.

Not only was there a great "exodus" of people before the game, but there were ridiculous "games" between just about every half inning. It paid off though as the guy next to us caught a T-Shirt that was thrown to our section and then left it behind. It fits and it gave me a shirt to wear the next day since I stayed longer than expected. Not bad.

It was also nice that there was a girl taking pictures of people for the Sox website (which you would have to buy of course) so floating around somewhere on the web there is a picture of us and the lush green field. Not paying $10 or whatever for it though.

The other thing of "note" was that our departure was delayed by poor relief in the 9th...not that there was any fear of blowing the whole game, just enough to keep us there a few batters too long. But all in all it was a great game with lots of great plays.

Cubs-Sox
My only statement to Mrs Utley about choosing a team was about the Cubs. Not only are they my team's hated rival, but I could unequivocally say "you can't root for the Cubs because the organization is inept." That sums it up to me.

In the end I don't think I could make a case for rooting for the Sox so much as not rooting for the Cubs. And when you get down to it I wonder if we really choose teams to root for that way anyway. I don't think I've ever just decided I would like and root for a certain team. And as was previously pointed out, with a secondary team it probably won't last anyway.
There needs to be a different attachment that leads to rooting for a team...

Second Teams
The Sox are my second team and I will explain why, just as I was getting at above...but I will do it in a separate post soon....

ps...

i really, really hope brett myers is okay. if he goes down... so do the phillies. God help us.

and.

GET THE OUT. don't throw for home if there's no way of getting the out.

and.

PUT YOUR KNEES DOWN AND STOP THE GUY COMING AT YOU INTO HOME PLATE. the guy slid right under barajas. not acceptable. barajas had a good 5 feet on the runner before he got to the plate... and the guy still scored.

come on, phils.

at least they won, though, right??

sox vs a's... my 4th game of the season...

tuesday night... another perfect baseball game. it was GREAT.

there are some convincing reasons to root for the cubs... and there are some convincing reasons to root for the white sox. but... as joe said... you can't have more than one #1 team. the phillies are my team. after that comes the tigers... then the orioles. i think i'd be okay to say that i'll "cheer on" the chicago teams... not promising my loyalty either way. whichever team's stadium i'm in... i'll cheer for that team... unless they're playing someone i like more. see the aforementioned teams. [ps... the red sox are sort of on that list as well for a number of reasons... one of which was johnny damon... who's now a stupid yankee... and the other was that they were the major league team for the wilmington blue rocks for a few years... which they no longer are... so b/c those two things slipped... i'm not as avid of a fan as i was before those things changed. schilling still plays for them, though... and i mean... come on... they're still the yanks biggest rivals.]

all that to say... since i was at a sox game tuesday night... i rooted for the sox!! [in games btwn the sox and the cubs... yikes... honestly... i think i'd have to root for the sox. at least i did last summer... but that was also b/c i lived two blocks from the ball park. glorious.]

it was SUCH a great game. final score... 10-4. the sox scored in 3 innings... 2 in the first... then 4 each in the second and fourth innings. i loved the first inning... thome got on and then dye knocked in a homer... which was great for the sox... but also for my fantasy team!!

so great, too, was alex cintron hitting a 2-run double, scoring, and then scoring again in the fourth. last summer... during a sox/tigers game i went to with andy... the tigers lost the game due to a homer or something by alex cintron. andy was more than a little disturbed... dumbfounded by the fact that the tigers lost b/c of "alex freakin' cintron." later in the summer... at another sox game... he did something else right... and of course... there was andy... ranting about "alex freakin' cintron." i loved it. so of course andy got a phone call during the second inning.

OH. but prolly the best parts of the game were watching the defense. SO many great plays. like the incredible catch made by the sox south paw pitcher when he sort of spun around clockwise to by sheer chance catch a ball whizzing past him on the left with the glove in his right hand. it was really, really cool. he had no way of knowing if he'd catch it or not... it was just perfect. there were other great defensive plays, too.

such a good game.

OH!! i almost forgot. the mass exodus. before the game started... all of a sudden... this crowd of people started coming onto the field from a utility-door type of thing in the outfield. they started circling the field... and kept coming and coming and coming. we had NO idea who they were and what they were doing. there were actually more ppl coming through the gate than sitting in the stands at that point. finally, they flashed on the jumbo-tron something about youth baseball and softball night or something. i mean... literally THOUSANDS of people were coming onto the field. after they circled around... they went back out. after they were all done... the stands started filling up. it was a pretty full park... which is always great. such a weird thing, though... the exodus. it was kinda fun, though. haha.

well... there's the game from my perspective. anyone else?? : )

Three things

1.) Tonight's game
The Sox bullpen is struggling. The entire pitching is. Tavarez labored through 5 and 2/3 innings. I was really mad at Francona for not pulling him after five. In the fifth, he was in all sorts of trouble. The bases were loaded and he couldn't buy an out. But somehow, he got out of it. And then Terry sends him back out there. Tavarez, who doesn't have the best stuff anyway, had absolutely nothing and miraculously got through 5 while only giving up 2 runs. ANYONE would pull him.

Well, the sixth starts and Tavarez walks A-Rod. Then, finally, mercifully, someone wakes up Francona or reminds him he's the manager or something, and he gets people up. Luckily, Tavarez got the next guy to ground into a double play, and that was his night.

Lopez came out first, and actually, now that I think about it, he pitched extremely well. 1 and 1/3 uneventful innings. That's what I want out of the bullpen. Uneventful innings.

Okajima, number two on my personal bullpen depth chart, was called out for the 8th. He struggled like there was no tomorrow. He got Damon to start the inning, then Jeter singled, walked Matsui and A-Rod back to back. Posada grounds out to Lowell, who fires to Pedroia to force out A-Rod (more on that in a second...). Posada beats Pedroia's relay to first by a step and a run scored, the first Okajima allowed since his first pitch as a Red Sox was hit a LONG way by Royals' catcher John Buck. Abreu grounded out right after to end the inning. But it was a painfully frustrating inning. Okajima threw a lot of pitches and was behind a lot. It stunk.

Ninth inning: Jonathan Papelbon, number 1 on my personal bullpen depth chart, comes out. Probably not to "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" since it's at New York. He walks the Giambi on five pitches. Canu comes up, and it's a REALLY long at bat. He fouls off everything before finally drawing a walk. I'm really mad now, because neither one of my top two has anything. Melky Cabrera comes up to pinch hit, and strikes out after like 7 or 8 pitches. This at bat was so frustrating, cause normally Papelbon just blows people away. I don't know if he's hurt or if he hasn't been used enough or too much or if it's cause it was a nonsave situation, but something wasn't right. Johnny's up and he hits a slow grounder to Pedroia who takes the sure out at first, runners each advance a base. Jeter comes up, and he strikes out on three pitches (all called strikes), and as far as I know he's still arguing with the homeplate umpire.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, it's time to realize it wasn't pretty, but it doesn't have to be. Automatic Win Day strikes again.

2.) Why I bean A-Rod.

In the eight, when Posada beat out the double play, A-Rod slid into second to break it up. I have no problem at all with that. However, he didn't get to Pedroia, so he did one of those popup slides, and throws an elbow into Dustin's ribs as he's releasing the ball. It looked like a hockey player checking someone into the boards. Honestly. I'm not sure if that's illegal, but it's dirty. I don't know if the throw would have gotten Posada anyway, but still. A-Rod's a dirty player. He's an excellent hitter and the best defensive shortstop in the majors and an underated defensive third baseman too. He's a fierce competitor, so I'm not taking any of that away from him. But he always does stuff like that. Need I remind anyone of him punching Bronson Arroyo in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS? Also, in Moneyball, former Red Sox catcher Scott Hatteburg said A-Rod always looks back at the signs when he's hitting. Again, probably not illegal, but definately a jerk thing to do. I bean him. The Red Sox never retaliated for the mugging of Arroyo. They've never retaliated for him peaking at Hatteburg's signs. They need to make up for those two things and for him trying to take out Dustin like that. Bean him in the butt. Not to hurt him. Just to send a message that the Red Sox aren't gonna be pushed around.

3.) WRITE IN KEVIN YOUKILIS FOR AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL STAR!
This year, the all star game is in a national league park, so MLB doesn't have a DH voting category. This is so stupid. David Ortiz is the Red Sox DH. He hasn't played the field once. At all. But, Ortiz is one of the faces of the league, so he has to be on the All Star ballet somewhere. Therefore, they put him in at first base.

Problem: Every team gets one rep for each position (beside outfield). This means the Red Sox everyday first baseman Kevin Youkilis isn't on the all star ballet. The so called Greek god of Walks (who isn't even Greek...) is hitting .342 with an OBP .428, 6 HR, 23 RBI and has scored 31 runs. Ortiz is hitting .314, with an OBP of .433, 9 HR, 36 RBI while scoring 30 runs, so the numbers are comparable. Plus Youk plays the field so well (I'd go as far as saying Gold Glove Caliber defense...but then again, I'm campaigning for him...). He hits wherever they need him in the lineup. Now, you're not gonna find a bigger Ortiz fan than me. I love Big Papi, BUT when the team asked him to hit after Manny as opposed to before, he did it, but he complained the whole time because he wasn't getting as good of a pitch quality. After about a week, the team bowed to his wishes and switched them back, knowing Manny doesn't really care where he hits cause he's Manny Rameriz.

Ideal Solution: MLB should allow a DH position right now, and use Ortiz as a pinch hitter. He'd probably only get one at bat anyway as the starting DH in an AL park. Then Youk could be on the ballet for the starting first baseman.

Real World Solution: MLB's not gonna change the rule this late, especially for a relatively unknown player like Youk. Therefore, WRITE YOUKILIS IN! Do it! Jim Leyland would definately take Big Papi as a reserve. But I'm not so sure Youk would be selected, which is such a shame because he truly deserves it.

I don't like posting during games...

But if I'm Schilling, I throw at A-Rod tomorrow. First inning. First at bat. Hit him in the butt. I'll post again after the game and explain, but the commericail break's ending so I gotta go.

ATTN Laura: Another note about picking up a new team...

I have already firmly established that the Cubs suck and that no one should root for them. My arguments had to be urgent because there was a potential new fan.

However, after thinking about it, it may be a moot argument anyway.

Why? Shunta might start rooting for a Chicago baseball team. But she is a Phillies fan.

I have discovered, that despite our best efforts, we are incapable of rooting for more than one team in a single sport.

Now, don't give me that NL/AL crap; it's not about the teams playing each other on a regular basis. You just can't, in your heart, like two MLB teams. Or NFL, or NCAA, or English League soccer teams for that matter.

I don't mean that it's morally wrong or something, I just mean that humans aren't capable of the act.

Sure, you can decide you're going to "root" for this team or that team, but in the end, we have just one love.

A few summers ago I was anticipating living in Chicago for 10 weeks, so I decided way before I went that I would be a Chicago White Sox fan (I would be living two blocks from the stadium). I thought I'd start tracking the players and look forward to the highlights and have opinions on what line up Ozzie should send out on whatever particular night. And, hey, they're in the opposite league as the Pirates, so there won't be a conflict of interest, right?

It worked for a little bit. When I arrived in Chicago, I was pretty pumped and therefore rooted hard for the Sox. (I was also encountering more Cubs fans than ever, so it was extra easy.)

But, by the time the World Series came around (this was 2005), I think I only watched a day and a half. A fellow fan called be at the end of game seven to celebrate and I wasn't even thinking about the game that day.

By the time I was back in Chicago the next summer, I knew that I didn't care the least bit about the Chicago White Sox, despite my best efforts.

Back in 2003, when the Steelers were having a down year, I tried to pick up the Seahawks as an NFC team to follow. But by the time the playoffs rolled around, I knew I didn't really care if the Seahawks went anywhere. The 'Hawks played the Packers in a wildcard game, and in overtime, Matt Hasselback won the toss and said, "We want the ball, and we're gonna score." At that point I knew that I would get 10x more enjoyment out of seeing the Seahawks lose than win, just because it would be funny. I knew then my heart could only be for Pittsburgh.

(Good thing, too, because the Seahawks, their coach, and their fans turned out to be a bunch of whining sore losers!)

Anyhow, my point is, Laura, if you decide to be a Cubs fan, I won't put up too much of a fight. Because by the end of the season, I know you won't actually care.

Red Sox Yankees: Clemens makes 2007 debute in rivalry

Tonight! Clemens will be on the mound. Tonight! For the New York Yankees' Trenton Thunder as they play the Boston Red Sox's Portland Sea Dogs.

Let's go Sea Dogs!

UPDATE: I was wrong. Clemens actually starts Wednesday night. And actually, Trenton is probably who he pitched his double A ball with the Red Sox, as they use to be the affiliate back in the old days. Also, Trenton's apparently giving out Freddy Sanchez Bobble Head Dolls, to make fun of the Red Sox. Sanchez played there as a Sox, then was traded to the Pirates and was an all star and batting champ or something.

Bucs vs. Cards

The Cardinals and Pirates face off tonight in a heated inter-blog battle. Wouldn't it be nice if it mattered?

Why the Chicago Cubs Don't Deserve Fans

The Chicago Cubs Baseball Club, dubbed the "lovable losers" by Major League Baseball fandom, is one of the most popular and nationally followed teams in all of North American sports.

But are these bonafide losers really so lovable? Or do self-respecting, decent baseball fans have legitimate reason to despise the so-called "Cubbies"? Let's investigate:

FACT: The Cubs, during the 1993 baseball season, signed 12-year-old local freak Henry Rowengartner to a Major League contract. With Rowengartner's 100 mph fastball, the Cubs were able to win the World Series, but their rings were taken away when it was later discovered that Rowengartner had his arm SURGICALLY ENHANCED by having the tendons in his elbow heal "a little tight." MLB subsequently covered up the incident to protect the guilty Cubs organization and passed the entire ordeal off to the public as a 1993 kid's movie starring Gary Busey. Since his appearence in the film, Barry Bonds has never been able to win back fans.

FACT: On June 3, 2003, Cubs right fielder Slammin' Sammy Sosa was caught in a Major League game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays using a corked bat. The Devil Rays have never recovered from this incident.

FACT: The Chicago Cubs single-handedly ruined baseball's 4-division system when they refused to move to the NL West. Ultimately, MLB was forced to create two new divisions, the NL and AL Central. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals have never recovered.

FACT: The Chicago Cubs front office continues to believe EVERY YEAR that Kerry Wood and Mark Prior will not get injured. Fantasy baseball fans have never recovered.

FACT: Believe it or not, the Chicago Cubs mascot is a baby bear. I am not making this up.

FACT: Wrigley Field is falling apart and should be condemned. Fans of Wrigley Field often rave about the historical notoriety of the ballpark, but there have been many other, equally old, more historically noteworthy parks in baseball history, including Forbes Field, Oriole Park, Comiskey Park, Crosley Field, and Tiger Stadium. Why don't these parks now exist as hallowed historical monuments? Because they got old and outdated, and so the cities put up newer, nicer stadiums. The Cubs refuse to go this route because the know people buy into the myth that there's some intangible redeeming quality to a really old building with concrete falling from the upper deck.

For all of these reasons, Laura, I implore you to either cheer for the Chicago White Sox or possibly no Chicago team at all.

Red Sox vs Yankees

The Bo-Sox travel to New York to play the Evil Empire...again.

Is it me or do the Red Sox seem to play the Yankees every week? I mean, there must be literally no Red Sox-Yankee Games in the second half of the season. And the Sox have yet to play the Devil Rays.

If the Red Sox sweep the series (HUGE IF) then they'll clinch a tie for the regular season series. It's at Yankee Stadium, which is never good. I believe homefield advantage plays a major role (aside from getting to hit last) in three circumstances: interleague games, when the Red Sox are home, and when the Yankees are home. Usually, you give them the edge, winning at least 2 of 3. This year, even though they've stunk, it's hard to argue against giving them that edge. It's always loud and it's pretty much the toughest place in the league to hit with two strikes (if your a visitor...).

Wakefield vs Wang, Tavarez vs Mussina, Schilling vs Petitte. I guess the middle game gives the Yankees an advantage.

Taking 1 of 3 is necessary. Taking 2 out of 3 would be amazing. Taking 3 of 3 rushes Roger Clemens back to the majors.

a case for the cubs... by my new friend, tim...

Hey Laura,

Good meeting you at Anni’s on Friday. Hopefully our nutty little group of friends didn’t scare you off on day 3 in the Chi!As promised, some thoughts on why joining the Cubs nation is a much wiser choice than going to the dark..er..South side.

1) Location – I’m just going to get the obvious one out of the way first. Wrigley Field is simply in a more ideal location. While both Comiskey (sorry, despite what U.S. Cellular pays for naming rights to Sox park, its still Comiskey to me) and Wrigley are similarly easy to reach via public transportation, Wrigleyville has the clear advantage for pre and post game reveling. Young people in Chicago live on the North side. Wrigley is surrounded by bars and restaurants you want to hang out in before and after games. Your friends are hanging out here, even if they are Sox fans. Sox fans, even of the diehard variety, aren’t lingering around Comiskey after the game. They’re heading to Wrigleyville to have a drink, because that’s where they live. This is coming from someone who lives on the South side and who isn’t that big of a fan of Wrigleyville. I’d still much rather hang out around Wrigley than Comiskey. Case closed.

2) Wrigley Field – I’ll just continue the same line of thinking and briefly argue the Wrigley Field advantage. It’s a magnificent old ballpark with lots of great sightlines. You feel the history when you’re there. That said, it is not without its drawbacks - urinal troughs for dudes being chief among them. It certainly lacks the creature comforts of Comiskey, which can be enjoyable. Plus, you have to pay an outrageous premium to get even the crappiest seats at Wrigley (tickets sell out within the first couple days of going on sale). In contrast, a Sox fan friend couldn’t even give away his Sox-Yankees tickets last week. So, it’s much easier to get to a Sox game at a reasonable price, but do you really want to sit in a big, sterile, characterless ballpark for a game? Given your effusive talk about the throwback parks when we met, I highly doubt it.

3) Fans – Ok, so this is the point where the Sox fans say all Cubs fans are yuppie poseurs who just go to Wrigley to drink beer and check out hotties of both genders. They could care less about the outcome of the game and are more likely to think that Theriot is a Canadian microbrew than a Cubs SS. They’re right – there a plenty of “Cubs fans” who fit this description. Plenty of girls hit Wrigley done up like it’s “skanks get in free night” at Le Passage. I hate these girls…. Sorry, I digress. So, yes, I concede this point to Sox fans. But, there are many, many Cubs fans who come to Wrigley to keep score, analyze every at-bat and who agonize each time Pinella has to call for one of the many lame-duck arms in the bullpen. These are the type of fans you’d be going to games with and we could all band together and ridicule the yuppies. As for Sox fans, do you really want to attend games with this mullet-wearing, IROC-driving crowd? They fully embrace their redneck ways, with the team running a “Mullet Night” promotion this year. Honestly, I think that’s brilliant marketing but still an indication that the core of the Sox fan base is a pretty fringe set. There are a lot of “mainstream” post-WS championship Sox fans in the city these days. Lots of them are of the fair-weather variety. Don’t let them fool you into thinking Sox fans are warm and cuddly. I still wouldn’t want to meet the guy with the “F*** You” tattoo in a dark alley…

4) Team Performance – The Cubs suck. They really do. They suck in that heartbreaking way where they con you into thinking they won’t suck by making a big trade or signing several big name free agents or taking the first 2 games of the Crosstown blood feud. In the end, though, they find a way to blow it. Every time. They are decidedly not “lovable” in the way they lose. There are times I want to kidnap each one of the players and drop them off at the “F*** You” tattoo guy’s house for him to have his Pulp Fiction-themed way with them. This is the kind of unhealthy thinking their consistent losing provokes. You know what, though? Someday, they will win. The Red Sox ’04 victory has given us all hope that it can happen and when it does, it will be the greatest sports story of all time. Don’t you want to be a part of that? When the ChiSox won it, no one outside of Chicago cared a lick. If the Cubs win, it will be a national love-fest of epic proportions. Deep down, I feel the joy of that moment will outweigh all the heartbreak. Seemed to work for the Red Sox Nation. As for the current state of affairs, this Cub team is pretty likable. DLee is a bonafide superstar and class act. Theriot is one of those hustle players you Philly fans seem to love so much. The starting pitching may be the strongest in the league, though the bullpen is the worst. The Sox are hitting .220 as a team and have no truly likable players. Konerko is their god, but the guy has no personality and is currently hitting .180. Do you really want to root for these guys, even if they win 5-10 more games than the Cubs? I think not…

So, there you have it. I could write a lot more on this subject, but I don’t want to sound too crazy before you get to know me better and I have to get some actual work done this morning. I’m sure you’ve been to Wrigley before, but I’d be happy to take you to a game and further demonstrate the virtues of Cub-fandom. It’d be tragic to see you in the white and black ;)

Enjoy day 5 in our fair city,

Tim

Cubs vs White Sox, DKM strikes again

Having once spent what, 10 weeks or so in Chicago, I'll throw my hat into the debate.

If the White Sox were playing the Cubs, I'd root for the Cubs. This is mostly because it would be better for the Red Sox if the Cubs won.

But then again, I think I'd root for the Cubs over alot of teams. I feel I can identify with them. The Cubs main rivial is the Cardinals, who are the most successful team in National League History. They've played in the same stadium since World War 1. They have a "curse." They played in the 1918 World Series. The Cubs had a young Texan strike out 20 batters in a single game. They dominated the early part of the last century. They know heart break. They have a nice classic old uniform. I mean, they're more or less the Boston Red Sox of the National League.

In other news, the Dropkick Murphys are back in baseball. In July of 2004, the band rewrote Tessie, which Boston Baseball fans sang during the Red Sox first 5 World Series and the 1914 Boston Braves World Series (all Boston victories). The new DKM version has been played after every Red Sox victory (along with the song "Dirty Water"). Anyway, from now on when Jonathan Papelbon comes out of the right field bullpen, the Red Sox now play "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" off the Warrior's Code Album. For those of you who have seen the Departed, the song is also featured in that movie (about the Boston Irish Mob...).

Laura: NO CUBS

I don't have time to type much. Later I will deliver my treatise on why you CANNOT CHEER FOR THE CUBS and must either be a White Sox fan or no fan at all.

CUBS = BAD.

Have I ever steered you wrong before?

([[much]] more to come later)

my four things:

1. the pirates/braves game.
2. cole hamels
3. the latest addition to my fantasy team
4. chicago baseball?

1. the game. SO awesome. if you haven't looked at my facebook pics yet... you should. they're nice. i went with some friends from my staff team... and we got there early enough to discover a few things around the park... including my favorite beer... ON TAP. it's a brew from the east coast that i haven't been able to find in the mid-west... and certainly wasn't expecting to show up in pittsburgh. anyway... my cup was tasty and it really made my day that they had it. next... batting practice. we walked around the stadium for a bit... soaking it all in... and kinda landed in the outfield for awhile to watch bp. some of the guys were hitting the ball out pretty good. this one guy hit a ball up to the stands above and to the left of where we were standing... and we were all watching as this 9-ish-year-old kid picked up the ball and cheered. it was pretty fun. next thing you know... this ball whooshes right in front of me as i'm looking up and to the left. seriously... it missed me by about 2 feet. no one saw it coming, cuz we were all looking at the kid. haha... no one... including the poor lady that the ball nailed in the neck. she was REALLY mad. didn't really look like she wanted to be there anyway... esp. on mother's day... and now she got hit in the neck by a baseball. after the ball hit her, it bounced off of my friend ruth's back and dropped to her feet. amongst the scuttle of ppl trying to find the ball, ruth casually looks down, sees the ball, picks it up, and says, 'oh here it is!!!' i DIED laughing. you have to know ruth and here how she said it to think it's funny, too... so i'm not worried if you're not laughing. my friend bryan tried to give the ball to the lady... but she just GLARED at him. i'm sure she was thinking... 'yeah... like i want the stupid baseball that almost killed me!!!' i woulda taken it, though. then again... i love baseball. so... after all that... i got to keep the ball... which was totally fun for me, of course. although, we all took turns holding it. the game itself was AMAZING. 13-2 pirates over braves. i don't really care one way or another about the pirates... but i absolutely loathe the atlanta braves. so it was a glorious day for me. our view was absolutely incredible. i've discovered that my favorite seats at a baseball game are in the upper deck above home plate. we had those... and had a perfect view of the river and the city. absolutely beautiful. the weather was perfect... although... i did get a bit of sunburn. oh- and here's an interesting fact. of the 13 runs the pirates scored, none of them were off of home runs. they gave us some great plays at the plate. it was just exciting all around. i'd recommend taking a trip to pnc park. quite the enjoyable experience.

2. my boy cole. this guy... i tell you what. chase is getting a run for his money. although... i think it's harder to have a sports crush on a pitcher... cuz you only see them perform once every 4-5 days. at least half of the sports crush is according to the ballplayers magnificent ability to play the game. chase hasn't lost me yet, though. have no fear. oh! but the point. cole had a perfect game going into the 7th inning in his last outing. SO exciting. i think he'll go far in baseball. he's seriously pretty incredible.

3. and then there's this guy: fausto carmono. the tiger's bonderman went down on the dl... so i needed a new pitcher for my fantasy team. i scrolled through the available players and saw this guy. he wasn't at the top of the list... and actually had quite a few ppl ahead of him. there was something that made me want to pick him up, though. plus... he was pitching the next day. well... that next day... i played him... and he threw a 4-hitter for a complete game and a 2-0 win!!!! i think it was 4 hits. the memory is going. anyway... FOR REAL. that was insane. very lucky pick.

4. the question of the month. if i begin to root for a chicago team... which one should i root for??? here's the problem. i don't dislike either team. however... i lived 2 blocks away from the white sox for 6 weeks... but... they're in the same division as the tigers. i kinda feel like i can't root for them. then there's the cubs. they're in the nl. however... they're in the same division as the cards... so i could easily root against the cards by rooting for the cubs. however... there's something that i remember from last summer that makes me want to not root for the cubbies. don't ask what that is... cuz i'm not gonna tell you. here's another thing. i have a bunch of friends who like the cubs in town. so then part of me wants to root for them just b/c of that. in fact... one of my new friends in the city told me that he'd write me an email explaining all the reasons why i should root for the cubs for me to post on here for him. he prolly won't do it, though. so... i haven't decided yet. i guess we'll just have to see what happens.

5. [i'm adding one.] the phils have made it over .500. i'm really proud of them... cuz i didn't know if they'd be able to pull it together or not. after a 4-11 start... you wonder a bit. the nl east standings aren't set in stone yet, my friends. we'll just have to wait and see!

What a perfect day

1:00 PM- Braves vs Red Sox on NESN
4:00 PM- Yankees vs Mets on FOX
7:00 PM- Braves vs Red Sox on NESN

It's finals week. I don't think I'm gonna study too much today...

Rain

How 'bout them Mets? They beat the Yankees 3-2. The Boston Red Sox now lead the AL East by 10 games, over Baltimore and New York, who are both virtually tied.

The Sox were rained out again Friday, meaning a double header (second in three days...) with the Braves Saturday.

Diasuke goes in game one against Lerew, who I've never heard of. Apparently he has two starts at the major league level, one of which he got killed by the Pirates. Devon Hansack going game two against Smoltz. Interesting decision on the Sox part, not saving Diasuke till the Smoltz game. I think they probably should have. Way I see it is, the Red Sox have the better team, so why give the Braves a pitching advantage. Hansack Lerew would be a wash. I'd predict the better team would win. Though you have to give the advantage to Smoltz, Diasuke would be a better matchup, and I think the Red Sox offensively could more than even the disadvantage. Though what do I know? I rarely if ever watch an NL game, so I'm just assuming the Braves aren't as good as the Red Sox.

Sunday gets tricky. The Red Sox go to Yankee Stadium right after the Braves series, and for the first time EVER, they're actually preparing for it. Tim Wakefield should go Sunday, but rumor has it Terry's gonna hold him back a day to pitch against the Yankees. They've never done this. In the olden days, they'd have Pedro pitch against the Devil Rays and then have Pat Rapp get his butt kicked by New York the next night. So whose starting Sunday? Apparently according to redsox.com, Kason Gabbard, whose currently on the Pawtucket Roster. I guess they're gonna deactivate someone after Saturday's game. Tim Hudson's pitching for Atlanta. So yeah, Braves have the rotation advantage, but since it's at Fenway, I'm saying the Red Sox take two out of three.

Kudos to Giambi!!

Here's the story.

I forgave Jason Giambi for taking steroids a long time ago, because he came out and apologized like a man. Some people actually hold this against him. His apology differs from a certain MLB hit-king in two ways: 1. He had the courage to apologize while still playing, and 2. He didn't use a book to make money off of his apology.

The truth is, Giambi can see the big picture much better than most fans.

When I posted a week ago about getting off Bonds' back, my point wasn't that I was fine with steroids. I'm not; they are cheating. My point is that we are all pointing the wrong fingers at the wrong people.

Getting mad at Giambi and Bonds and McGwire, etc., is dumb because they are some of the greatest baseball players of our time. They probably used steroids, but so did a ton of other players who aren't nearly as good at hitting a baseball as them. They are suspected (or caught, in some cases), because they are under a microscope for being so successful.

I think a lot of fans actually think that the only players who use steroids and HGH are the guys who hit 40+ home runs in a year. This is inaccurate; MANY players have used them that haven't hit 40+ home runs. Good God, freaking MATT LAWTON got caught using them a couple years ago. (I rest my case there.)

But not only is the sentiment inaccurate, it's DANGEROUS. Because the reverse logic begins to be believed as well, that all big home run hitters must be using steroids. Certainly not true!

Giambi goes as far as to say that steroids didn't help him win home runs. The only time I've taken steroids was when they were prescribed, so I can't say for sure, but I'd guess Giambi is wrong, and that steroids do help the occasional ball get that extra oomph it needs to exit the ballpark. However, I'd also guess they are a bit overrated by the media and fans.

But HERE is why Giambi can see the big picture:

"I was wrong for doing that stuff," Giambi said Wednesday before the Yankees played the Chicago White Sox. "What we should have done a long time ago was stand up -- players, ownership, everybody -- and said, 'We made a mistake.'

"We should have apologized back then and made sure we had a rule in place and gone forward."

PLAYERS.

OWNERSHIP.

EVERYBODY.

So true, Jason, so true. Players, ownership, managers, GMs, and most of all, Bud Selig. They have stained baseball. They have tainted records. Don't blame Barry. He cheated, but he's still probably the greatest home run hitter of all time. He just isn't nice to the media. Celebrate the moment he hits #756! But if you don't celebrate, curse BASEBALL itself, not Barry.

Bud Selig might not go to the game to watch Barry beat the record. COULD THIS BE ANY MORE HYPOCRITICAL???!! I haven't heard HIS apology about steroids yet. Why don't we hear about how hypocritical Selig is from talking heads? Because the media pins all of baseball's problems on one man, Barry Bonds, because he's not very nice, and YES, it's worth saying, because he's black.

When asked, "So why did you take steroids?" Giambi told the newspaper "Maybe one day I'll talk about it, but not now."

Well, that couldn't be any easier to read. Of course he can't talk about it now. Know why? Because this is what he would say:

BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE WAS DOING IT! BECAUSE MANAGERS AND OWNERS AND SELIG LOOKED THE OTHER WAY! BECAUSE MLB DIDN'T DO A THING ABOUT IT UNTIL THE GOVERNMENT STEPPED IN AND FORCED THEM!!

And now Mark McGwire's not in the Hall of Fame?? What a Goddamn shame.

Pirates/Marlins

The Pirates just finished up a four game series with the Marlins. Coming into the series, the Pirates were 16-20 and the Marlins were a nearly identical 16-21.

Both teams are extremely low payroll teams. The Pirates are spending just under $40 million this year (wow, almost like an NHL team or something!) and the Marlins are spending $30 million.

Amazingly, nearly $14 million of the Florida payroll is wrapped up in two players: Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. That means the Marlins are paying 23 players a total of $16 million dollars.

Keep in mind: This is a Major League Baseball team we are talking about.

But even that does not stump the insanity of this factoid: Can you guess the Pirate's highest paid player this year?

Jason Bay? Jack Wilson? Adam LaNewGuy?

Wait for it...

No, the answer is none other than Oakland A's catcher JASON KENDALL! We are paying the A's $5.5 million dollars for trading for him a couple years ago. That's $.25 million more than Jack Wilson.

The point is, the teams are similar in their low payroll ways. Here's how they matched up statistically:

The Marlins are a better hitting team. The've scored 48 more runs, have hit 19 more home runs, and their BA is about 20 points higher than the Pirates.

Meanwhile, the Pirates have better pitching, including being .34 better in ERA and giving up about 50 less walks(!).

So how did the series go? We split it, 2-2 of course. So what's the point?

I'm just posting this because right now, both teams look very equal and very mediocre. But how will they look at the end of the season? Like this: The Marlins will overachieve and have a winning record. The Pirates will eventually fall apart and win about 70 games. How can this consistent divergence between these basically equal teams be explained?

I am just posting this now so that everyone will begin to understand. Turning around the Pirates organization is much more than just trading for some better players. We need improvement in every spot on the team: hitters, pitchers, bat boys, coaches, manager, GM, and MOST importantly, OWNERS.

But we do have a beautiful ballpark.

i have 4 things to write about...

so this is here to remind me.

1. the pirates/braves game.
2. cole hamels
3. the latest addition to my fantasy team
4. chicago baseball?

coming soon!!!!!!!!

Josh Beckett

Beckett left Sunday's game with a cut on his middle finger, and apparently it's bad enough that he's gonna miss his start this Friday.

If this were 2004 or before, we'd all be talking about how The Curse is rearing it's ugly head. This time in the form of the Yankees signing Clemens right around the time the Sox ace gets hurt and might have to go on the disablied list. But this isn't 2004 or before. So we won't mention that.

Rain postponed tonight's game, so the Red Sox and Tigers will play 2 tomorrow. If rain gets one of those games, then I guess Schilling will go tomorrow and Tavarez will take Beckett's start. If not, the Red Sox said someone from Pawtucket will come up and pitch Friday. Kason Gabbard seems to be the favorite. He'd be throwing on 3 days rest though. I know it's not gonna happen, but Lester's suppose to resume his rehab stint with the Paw Sox Saturday. How 'bout moving him up and night and giving him a shot with the big team? It'd be nice, but I bet Lester will only go like 3 innings. The team wants him to throw 50-55 pitches and come back up to Boston around the middle of June. Jon wants to throw 100 and come back tomorrow.


P.S.- For clarification, the Red Sox AAA affiliate is the Pawtucket Red Sox. The team is called the Paw Sox for short.

Not much to say

I haven't posted for a couple days, but there's just not much to say, other than to wonder at the talent level of this team. We have almost no legit major league talent in our lineup.

I'll post more in a day or two when I think of something interesting to talk about.

Complete Game

Diasuke pitched a complete game, allowing only 1 run in the series opener against the defending American League Champs. The best part was his reaction afterwards. He showed little to no emotion or excitement or anything. Just went to shake Varitek's hand. I mean, everyone else in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was pumped, but it just seemed like another day in the office for Matsuzaka. He expects to pitch that well everytime out.

It kind of reminded me of Pedro. I'm not saying Diasuke was as dominant as Pedro, cause he wasn't. But Pedro would pitch a complete game shut out, striking out 16, and only give up 1 hit and shrug it off like it were nothing. He was always cool and collective afterwards. "Yeah. So what? I'm Pedro Martinez. I'm suppose to pitch that well. In fact, I'm kinda mad about that one hit I allowed. Maybe next game I'll bean that guy..."

I like the confidence.

The game was actually really close. It was 3-1 going into the eighth, but the Sox broke it wide open in the home half. Julio Lugo hit a triple with the bases loaded and Youkilous followed with a base hit to knock Lugo in.

So yeah, all around a good night. Beat the defending Champs, got the first complete game of the year, offense put the game out of reach in the ninth. Plus, the Sox chased Robertson early. He only pitched till the fifth. The Sox bullpen's well rested for the remainder of the series. Can't say the same about Detriot.

Can't wait for game two.

First Place!

Hurray, we just moved into first place...for most shutouts in the league, with 6. Shutout 6 times by mid-May? On top of that it has been about 10 games (10!) since a Cardinal has hit a homerun. And on top of that, poor Anthony Reyes has received a grand total of 8, count 'em, 8 runs in his 7 starts. Only 4 while he was in the game. Granted he hasn't been lights out, but unless you're Orel Hershiser throwing 0's every game, good luck with run support like that.
And on top of that, where is Albert?

At least the Cubs have had some good implosions lately...thank you Phillies.

I don't know what's better...

...having the best record in the Major Leagues or being 8 ahead of the New York Yankees.

Thankfully, the Red Sox don't have to chose, as both are currently true.

However, there is little to no time to celebrate. Firstly, it's only May. Secondly, Andy Brandt's Detriot Tigers are coming to Fenway Park. (Where is Andy anyway? Why isn't he posting on this site yet? How long does it take to get married?)

Anyway, the Tigers have their rotation set up pretty well to come to Fenway. Robertson vs Matsuzaka, Verlander vs Wakefield and Maroth vs Tavarez.

It's at Fenway, so I expect the Red Sox to take AT LEAST 2 of 3, no matter who is in town. But the matchups are tough. Diasuke has to pitch his butt off. Wakefield has to continue his unbelieveable hot streak. And Tavarez, although he's been a decent number 5, has to stop making me look stupid and get a win. He's 1-4 as the perennial Automatic Win Day Starter. And apparently, the Tigers are 7-0 when Maroth takes the mound... I don't know. I could see Detroit taking two of three. That bothers me.

This should be a good test as to where the Red Sox actually stand. Say what you will about the Yankees, but they were banged up real bad when the Sox played them, so those games don't really count. I think the Tigers have everyone but Kenny Rogers, so it'll be an interesting three game matchup.


At any rate, the defending American League Champions are in town. If you wanna be the champ, you gotta beat the champ. Or else hope everyone else does so come playoff time you don't have to worry about the champ.

Red Sox

The Sox went into the 9th inning down 5-0 to the Baltimore Orioles and came from behind to win 6-5.

Keep it up, Gentlemen. Keep It Up!

We scored 13 runs today.

I believe that beats our total from the other 35 games so far.

I hope you had fun, Laura. Where did you sit? Did you get a Primanti Bros. sandwich? Did you enjoy the pink bats?

Go Bucs.

Pirates vs. Braves

The game is just starting up, and once again Tracy has a very different lineup tonight:

Duffy-Sanchez-Bay-Nady-Doumit-Eldred-Bautista-Wilson.

This is a good thing. If you're going to lose baseball games, you might as well experiment with some different lineups. The Pirates had an extremely steady lineup the first few weeks of the season, and when you're the Pirates and you specialize in losing games, it doesn't make any sense to trot out everyone in the same order every night. Try something new, maybe it will contribute to a win.

MLB Loves NY

More proof that Major League Baseball loves New York:

Check out this article, titled "Mets Topple Baseball-best Brewers." The first sentence is "The Mets got their first look at the best record in baseball on Friday night, and they immediately defaced it."

With such a title and such an opening sentence, I assumed the score was 8-0. Maybe 17-3. But with "topple" and "immediately defaced" together, I figured it would have to have been 25- -2, called in the fifth inning because the entire Milwaulkie team was screaming crying for their mommies.

But it turns out the final was 5-4. I guess I forgot the National Media and the professional sports leagues love New York too much to let something as trivial as facts get in the way of their descriptions of games.

what a genius

Yesterday, for the last game of the road trip, the Pirates did something crazy-insane-wacko: they actually batted their best hitters AT THE BEGINNING OF THE LINEUP.

This insane-genius way of running a baseball team has never been seen before in Pittsburgh.

Instead of the normal Duffy-Wilson-Sanchez-LaNewGuy-Bay lineup, we had Sanchez-Bautista-Bay-Doumit-Nady. Duffy was relegated to the bench, and LaNewGuy and Jacko were shuffled to the back of the lineup.

The immediate payoff? Our top four batters went 7-19 with a walk, scored 4 RBIs and we beat the Cubs 6-4 to win the series.

Jim Tracy! This new lineup is great! Will you keep this lineup for the forseeable future?

"It's not the lineup you want to stick with. There are flaws to this one, too. There isn't any base-stealing speed up at the top. Is it perfect? No. But it's something else to try."

Base-stealing speed??? LaNewGuy, Paulino and Wilson went a combined 1-11 last night, but we really need them up there stealing bases. How many stolen bases have the Pirates achieved with the "can't hit but stolen base ready" Pirates lineup we've seen for most of the season so far?

Nine, next to last in MLB.

So pardon me, Tracy, if I prefer actual hits and walks and the like over the appearance of being able to bunt and steal bases and get hit by pitches or whatever you think constitutes as good baseball.

How do we get stuck with these guys???

Keep it up.

The Sox swept Toronto. They're now 7 games ahead of second place (Baltimore and New York are virtually tied...). I don't remember the last time the Red Sox had a seven game lead. It's early yet. Keep the pressure on. Roger's on the way and I don't think that's the last of the Yankees moves.

Baltimore's next. Pitching matchups are Burress vs Tavarez on Automatic Win Day, Trachsel vs Schilling and Guthrie vs Beckett. Aside from Trachsel, who seems like he's been around forever, I've never heard of any of the Oriole starters. Apparently this is Burress's second start and Guthrie (Jeremy, not Mark) has two career wins. Honestly, sweeping this series is a must, especially since it's at Fenway. The O's always seem to give the Red Sox trouble though...

In other news, ESPN is on in the background, and they're second guessing Grady Little. I don't know what happened, something about not playing at double play depth with Derek Lowe on the mound. One of the commentators said "Your forgetting this is Grady Little. None of his decisions make any sense. He throws logic out the window. We're is Pedro Martinez when you need him?"

Lay off Grady. He was an awesome manager. Honest , since that fateful day in October 2003, I've never changed my mind as to how I deal with that situation. I don't send Pedro out for the 8th. I was surprised he was back out there, but I wasn't shocked or outraged. I didn't start screaming at my TV like Senator Kerry allegidly did (with his pop corn, thinking of his favorite player, Manny Ortiz...) at the start of the 8th. But once he's in, he is the greatest pitcher in the planet, I don't pull him. I don't pull Pedro Martinez in the middle of an inning.

I also don't fire Grady Little either. He'll forever be the scapegoat. But he was a great manager.

Why the Pirates Suck

The Pirates, in 32 games, have scored just 108 runs, including the 0 that we scored last night.

Amazing, you say!

What's even more amazing is that the Cardinals and Nationals have scored 105 and 99 respectively. The Pirates are actually not last in runs scored. I cannot imagine what it must be like to watch Nationals games. They actually have even played two more games than the Pirates.

The Pirates are the ONLY team in the major leagues with an OBP under .300.

In 32 games, the Pirates have scored six runs THREE TIMES. Three times! They have yet to score more than six runs in a game. We lost one of these games. I defy you to compete with that. The Cardinals have scored 6+ runs five times.

Let's run down the lineup of comically bad hitters:

Chris Duffy is our CF and leadoff man. He is possibly the fastest player in the NL. He has been on base 24 times and stolen just 5. His OBP is .299. That .300 barrier is just too hard to crack, especially when it's not even BA but OBP.

Jack Wilson has hit second practically every day for about four years now. His BA is .275, which, compared to the rest of the team, is not bad, but he has only 6 walks in 131 at bats. Players with a comparable at-bat to walk ratio this season include Joe Crede and Ty Wiggington. My God, Ty Wiggington!!

Batting King Freddy Sanchez is hitting .240.

Our "big offseason left-handed power hitter addition" LaNewGuy, mostly batting clean-up, has really improved his BA. He is now up to .165. We love you Adam! To LaNewGuy's credit, he does have a solid 16 walks, giving him only a marginally below average OBP, which is the only thing keeping him from AAA Indianapolis.

Jason Bay is hitting .268 with a .338 OBP and 4 HRs. Not great, but he's all we got right now.

RF Xavier Nady is hitting .265. We obtained Nady last year in a mid-season trade with the Mets, giving up Oliver Perez, who is 3-3 with a 3.48 ERA for the Mets right now. We could use him!!

Catcher Ronny Paulino is hitting .222. At least it's a palindrome.

3B Jose Bautista is hiting .265 / .323, which is way above expectations.

Other bright spots:

"Big Country" Brad Eldred has 37 at-bats off the bench and has 5 hits.

Nate McClouth, our top backup in the outfield, has an OBP of .324. This is better than expected.

Backup catcher Ryan Doumit is hitting .425 after 40 at-bats. Clearly we need to see him at the plate more.

So for those of you who don't know anything about the Pirates and wonder how they have lost for 14 seasons in a row, let me let you in on a secret: EVERYONE ON THE TEAM SUCKS. There are no good players on our team. At all. (In terms of hitting.)

So now you know.

Tatanka's not dead!

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will host the Florida Marlins May 18th, and many former WWE wrestlers will fight before and after the game apparently. And, my favorite wrestler from when I was little, Tatanka, will be appearing. I honestly thought I heard he died a few years ago. Good to hear that's not so. I also hope alot of people go, more for the Devil Rays then the wrestling. I feel bad for them. The Yankees have played spring training in Tampa forever, and as a result have accumulated a vast fan base down there. It's tough to compete in a market when your not the number one team in your division, never mind in baseball.

In more important news, the Red Sox continue to win and win big. There's really nothing to talk about. Everything's going well with the pitching and the lineup. Manny's hot again. Heck, even Pedroia is heating up as of late. Keep up the good work!

Schilling on the 'Boards

It looks like Curt Schilling is spouting off his opinion all kinds of places lately.

(Note: yes, this is a joke.)

(Note 2: this is my last Schilling post.)

Blah blah blah --Curt Schilling

Barry Bonds is a great, great baseball player and how much of a jerk he is off the diamond is totally up to his discretion and not up for evaluation by the likes of me. It's too bad the principle reason he gets hated on is because he isn't nice to the media. The media are the vultures.

Bonds admitted that he "may" have taken steroids "unknowingly" in front of all his teammates right in the middle of the clubhouse because his trainer had given him stuff to take in the past that he never questioned.

When your trainer gets arrested and prosecuted for this stuff, of course you're gonna have to admit that you may have taken some unknowingly. It's just like Pujols' latest "admission"... Why isn't HE getting pasted by the media?? Hmmm...

Now did Bonds really take steroids on purpose? The evidence is overwhelming. Not the fact that he got bigger. People need to get off that. I mean the catalog of evidence in the book those guys wrote.

Read a nice collection of Bonds quotes. Reading between the lines, it's not hard to see his point:

Yes, I've taken steroids before. No, I don't really think they helped. I'm not on them right now and I'm still hitting home runs, right? In fact, I don't even think they should be considered a big deal. If people would just stop caring way too much about it, I'd probably freely admit everything. Tons of guys have taken steroids, and only one of us is going to be the home run champion of baseball. So if you want to blame someone about steroids (really, you should just forget about them) then blame Bud Selig and MLB for letting it all go on for years and years and years. Don't blame the one guy who took steroids who happens to be the most successful.

People who hate Barry Bonds follow one of a few particular paths:

1. They are media sheep who hate him just because the media hates him. (Get a brain.)

2. They are baseball purists who don't want their sacred baseball records broken, so they mistakenly blame only Barry Bonds for ruining everything. (Newsflash: Selig and MLB disrupted your sport's purity with an entire steroids era. Barry Bonds is but one measly player who took some steroids who also happens to be the greatest home run hitter of all time.)

3. They are Curt Schilling.

Barry Bonds does not get hated because he took steroids. He gets hated because he's not polite with reporters and he is the most successful baseball player of the past 15 years.

Seriously, HUNDREDS of baseball players took steroids because MLB did NOTHING about it. It was, for all intents and purposes, only "sort of" against the rules. Taking steroids wasn't exceptional. But players are NOT disliked for having taken steroids. No, that takes something much worse: You must be an all-time great hitter who doesn't care what the media thinks.

Barry Bonds has split baseball opinions in two, with most people being on the other side of the coin from me. But as time passes, people will come over to my side, and McGwire will be in the hall of fame like he should be right now.

NO ASTERISKS.