July 31st

The day before August is crucial for two reasons. First, it's Harry Potter's birthday (Happy Birthday H-Man!). Second, and more relevant, it's the MLB trading deadline. It's a time teams mortgage their future in hopes of cementing the present forever by bringing home a World Series Title.

The Boston Red Sox always seem to be a player come the trading deadline. Here's my personal break down of their last five trade deadlines:

2002- Acquired Cliff Floyd from the Montreal Expos for two pitchers who were never significant. At the time, the Expos were owned by Major League Baseball prior to moving them to Washington. This trade was good cause it pissed off George Steinbrenner, who did his best Al Davis impression and ranted about how the whole league was against him and was trying to fix it so the Red Sox would win. Floyd didn't really do much for the Sox, and the team missed the playoffs. But hey, I'm in favor of anything that pisses off Steinbrenner.

2003- Acquired Scott Williamson from the Reds for some irrelevant. Acquired Jeff Suppan from the Pirates for Freddy Sanchez. Willamson was pretty irrelevant himself for a while, but pulled it together and became their closer come playoff time. Good deal. The Suppan trade seemed stupid at first. Suppan was originally a Red Sox and supposed to be the next Roger Clemens, and he stunk so they let the Diamondbacks have him as a welcome to the MLB present. Then all of a sudden they trade their top prospect for him? Plus, Suppan got beat so bad the team didn't include him on the ALDS roster, and didn't let him pitch in the ALCS. Then factor in that Sanchez is a perennial All Star and the defending NL batting Champ. This deal's looking bad. HOWEVER, Suppan helped the team win the World Series in 2004. As a pitcher for the Cardinals, he was on third base and the Sox were winning 2-0 or something like that, and had the infield back. A ground ball was hit to the right side, and Suppan took off for home. The Red Sox saw this, and conceeded the run and threw to first. But, for some reason, Suppan stopped between third and home. Ortiz was ready to throw the ball around the horn, but saw Suppan literally inbetween third and home just standing there. Ortiz pumpfaked and Suppan broke for third. Ortiz threw the ball to third and picked off Suppan. I'm pretty sure Jeff did that to make up for being a bust as a prospect and a bust as a deadline pickup the year before. Therefore, this trade goes from awful to mediocre.

2004- In a 4 team deal, the Sox gave up Nomar Garciapara and a minor leaguer, acquired Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz. This was a good deal cause Nomar was hurt the whole year and on the downside and the team needed defensive help bad. Cabrera turned out to be a scrappy little guy and is currently my favorite MLB shortstop. Gotta love the scrappy little guys. Plus, Mientkiewicz kept the ball from the final out of the 2004 World Series, and refused to give it to the Red Sox when the team asked nicely. They appealled to the Commissioners Office. MLB said they didn't care who kept the ball, so the Red Sox actually sued him for it. All offseason, we got to talk about some stupid ball, and where it was, and what would happen if Mientkiewicz gave them a substitute fake ball. It was a jolly good time and even made the front page of the New York times. I really wish he blew it up. Imagine how many hits that would have gotten on YouTube? When Mientiewicz still wouldn't give it too them or post a video of it exploding after a month or two, they traded him and began talking publicly about a new team policy for ownership of the balls of final outs of series clinching games. Only the Red Sox... As my Uncle Michael pointed out, not once did we hear anything about what happened any of Vinatieri's Super Bowl winning field goals.

The Red Sox also acquired Dave Roberts for some no name. Take away game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, this trade is a footnote. THE trade involved Nomar. Roberts barely played. The one regular season highlight involving him at Fenway Park was before the trade when he was a Dodger and hit a line drive ten feet up in the air that Pokey Reese somehow caught. He never had a year plus long dispute with the team over a baseball (it just sounds so funny when you put it like that...). However, you can't take away game 4. The Stolen Base made this trade the greatest trade in Red Sox history.

2005-Acquired Tony Graffino for two no names. Graffino played well till game 2 of the ALDS, when, as everyone in US Cellular Field was kind enough to remind me, he made a huge error with two outs which was followed by a grand slam. The Red Sox lost the game and were swept. Graffino is extremely lucky this happened AFTER 2004. Otherwise he probably would have been shot. Several times.

2006- The Red Sox do nothing, everyone gets injured, the team gets swept in a five game series against the Yankees in Fenway (I was so frustrated after game 4 that I honestly took a baseball bat and beat living daylights out of the lawn in my backyard), and falls out of playoff contention. This was the worst and most disappointing trading deadline ever. I was so excited coming back from work on the L wondering who the team was gonna pick up for their post season run. I hope they don't make the same mistake in 2007.

Scoring Games

Saturday night the Boston Red Sox played the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Lately I haven't been able to watch too many games due to work and stuff, but I had Saturday completely free and planed on watching the game. However, my brother was finishing up his game in NCAA 2005 dynasty we started 2 years ago and are currently on year 5, so I was forced to listen to the beginning of the game on the radio. Lately for some reason I've had trouble focusing on baseball broadcasts. I bet its cause the Red Sox switched from Sports Radio AM 850 to Talk Radio WRKO AM 680. In order to help focus, I decided to score the game.

My brother finished his game around the second inning, so I switched to watching it (which, by the way, I have no problem focusing on since the games are still on NESN). However, I decided to keep scoring it. I hadn't scored a game in probably 10 years. I use to do it all the time as a little kid, especially when I went to games. Usually I'd get board of it in the fifth or sixth inning, but I was determined to complete this game. I had a pretty good score card too. I forgot to mark two batters all in all, but found out what happened to them their next at bat. I also stopped keeping track of who was pitching for Tampa Bay after the 6th, figuring I could get that later online. I used the standard scoring system, though sometimes I wrote more indepth descriptions. For instance, in the third, the official scorer gave Ortiz a double. I said it was a single and charged the shortstop with an error. Had he caught the perfectly thrown ball from the cutoff man, Ortiz would have been out. I therefore charged the official scorer with an error for mis-scoring the play. Also, in the 4th, Gomes hit a ball that seemed destined to bounce into the seats, but Manny came out of no where and made a spectacular running catch while slamming into the wall. I scored it "7... WHAT A CATCH!!!!" Manny's awesome.

Come the ninth, I was pumped, thinking that with Papelbon on and a 2 run lead, all I had to do was three more hitters and I'd have a complete score card. Unfortunately, checking my score card, I see D. Young RF lead off the inning with a single, which if memory serves correct was a broken bat single on the first pitch. J. Gomes LF came up next and hit a 2 run homer to tie the game. Gomes also hit a homer his previous at bat, a solo shot off Jon Lester according to the score card (which by the way, was is a couple of pages from a class notebook I didn't use up...).

The game went on into the tenth, and I was on my last column on the page. Still, I faithfully kept score. Then it went into the 11th. I had to use two more sheets and recopy the lineups and everything, but I was determined to finish sans the Tampa Bay pitchers. Finally, the Red Sox rewarded me in the 12th. With 2 outs, Julio Lugo drew a bases loaded walk (his second of the game!). All Star Snub Kevin Youkilis followed with a base clearing double. Ortiz drew a walk, and Manny came up and hit a liner to center that curved really weird. Red Sox analysis Jerry Remy said the Devil Rays had to have the airconditioning on too high or something, cause the ball was heading straight for CF B. J. Upton, but it curved around him at the last second. No one was backing him up either, and the ball was destined to roll all the way out to the wall. As the camera showed Ortiz rounding third, I thought to myself "Manny's gonna get a triple, might even get an inside the park homerun..." But alas! As the Devil Rays got the ball in, the camera showed a smiling Manny standing at second. That's one of the many reasons you gotta love him. Ortiz, on a bad knee, goes from first to home, and Manny jogs into second. I'd curse anyone else, but you can't curse Manny. He's pretty much the greatest player ever.


So yeah, the Sox got six in the 12th and Lopez came out and retired the Devil Rays in their half, giving the Red Sox the win. I'm glad I scored it. I don't know if I'll be doing it again anytime soon, unless of course, the Devil Rays want me to be their official scorer cause they obviously need a new one. But, yeah, it's fun once every few years or so.

My last game of the season

A week from today I'll be going to my final Pirates game of the year, vs. the Cardinals.

An interesting note: In all 20+ games I've been to at PNC Park, the Pirates have either won or had the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the 9th at EVERY SINGLE GAME I've been to. I have never seen the Pirates get blown out at PNC Park.

They definitely have a winning record at games I've been to, as well. A good one at that, probably something like 15-10.

Let's hope it continues. A couple weeks after the game I'll be moving to Columbus, so I'll be abandoning MLB and the NFL and start to love Major League Soccer and Arena Football. Hahaha. Just kidding about that one.

(Although I have to admit I'll likely watch the Columbus Destroyers in the ArenaBowl on TV this Sunday.)

7

The Pirates are 0-7 since the all star break.

I don't know if you guys have ever experienced this, but I do every year: I now find it comical and enjoyable when my team loses. This happens once we are way out of contention and everybody on the team stops trying. (And with Jim Tracy, it's happened sooner two years in a row! I somehow miss Lloyd McClendon. At least he was genuinely passionate.)

Earlier today, I checked out the score. It was the fourth inning and we were losing 2-0. I just checked the final score. We lost 2-1, to the @#$%@#$%@$ Astros. (note: those are not edited curses, but me actually saying each of those characters out loud individually.)

So, the point is, it's fun just to see how long this losing streak will last, and the pathetic ways in which we lose baseball games to pathetic teams. The more it mounts, the more fun it is. At this point I'd really like to see us finish below last year's record! That will be hard, but maybe somebody would actually get fired who deserves it.

Having said all this, I'll go to my last game of the season against the Cards in a couple weeks and I'll be cheering hard for my Pirates while I'm at the game.

But when I'm not there, it's fun to see them lose.

Fenway Park Sucks

So, I went to two games in a row, Sunday and Monday. The Sox lost Sunday against Toronto, 2-1. Beckett pitched 8 innings and got pretty much no help. I was sitting in the bleachers, which is my favorite place in the ballpark. Mostly cause there are no poles blocking your view, so you can actually see the game...well, for the most part. We couldn't see what was happening in in triangle at all. But, that's not really that big of a deal. True, we were still cramped in seats that are too small for toddlers, but you know, whatever. Originally, they had metal benches out there, way before my time. But they put new seats out there, probably in the 70s or 80s. I think they tried to squeeze too many seats in each row and definitely tried to squeeze too many rows into each section... But whatever, it's the bleachers. At least you can see the game really well.

Monday's game was simultaneously better and worse. First the better: The Red Sox beat Kansas City on a complete game shut out tossed by Kason Gabbard. However, this time our seats were in the Right Field Grandstand. Here, we have Wooden Seats, which probably haven't changed since 1912. And, your cramped much worse than in the bleachers. People must have been about half the size of your average 8 year old back then.

On a positive note, I had a great view of the Royals bullpen...probably the best view of Bannister warming up before the game started. But, if I sat in my seat and looked straight ahead, I had an excellent view of the big metal door in foul territory down the left field line where they keep the batting cages... which I guess is interesting. Also, there are a bunch of poles everywhere, including one that was strategically placed to more or less block out everything all the way down the right field line. I had to more or less put my head on the shoulder of some random guy sitting next to me to see home plate or first base. And, there's also a roof over your head which is so low that it blocks the view of the jumbo tron. But, fear not! This is Friendly Fenway! So the Red Sox Management put up a bunch of 20 inch televisions next to each pole! Including the one strategically placed to block my view of the game! However, aside from being smaller than the one I have at home, this television was messed up. The picture was all wavy something was wrong with the color, so the picture was in black and white. Whatever. Last time I sat in the grandstand, I got stuck between two poles, one strategically placed so that I couldn't see home plate, the other so I couldn't pitchers mound. Plus there were no televisions then...so I guess they're making improvements.

And I guess I'm still dumb enough to go to the games even though I know the ball park is a joke. As is the rest of this region. I swear, if you say this to anyone in Boston, whether or not they can name a single player on the Red Sox, they'll start cursing you out and going on and on about the tradition and about how great it is and how we have the oldest ball park and if I think Wriggly or US Cellular or Edison Field or Petco Park or Qualcomm Stadium are so much better maybe I should just go out there and root for those teams.

I know Fenway's not going anywhere. This team currently has the longest sellout streak in the Major Leagues so people are still coming. Also ownership keeps investing money in the ball park, and I'm sure the Monster seats and the Right Field Roof Seats are great. I've never gotten to sit up there, but I've seen them and they seem roomy and you get your own table and everything. But truth be told, on the Right Field Roof, your what, 600 feet away from the action? And in the Monster seats, your sitting in left field, pretty high up. I don't imagine you have that great of a view of left field itself. Left field is usually one of the cheapest places to sit in ball parks, and way up on the right field roof is too. But here, Left field is $140, and to sit way up on the right field roof, it costs $110.

I know what your thinking. Fenway Park is so great because of all the history and the tradition and the atmosphere and blah blah blah. Fenway Park is no more historic or rich than the Boston Garden was, and they got rid of that. Heck, the Boston Garden brought 16 NBA World Championships and Five Stanley Cups. What's Fenway have compared to that? An 86 year championship draught? With a few bad Boston Patriots football seasons mixed in for good measure?. Sure, everyone was mad at first, when the Boston Garden was torn down for the same reasons they'd be mad if we got rid of Fenway. However, that anger lasted all of a day. No one cares now, cause the Boston Garden was a dump and The Shawmut Center...I mean the Fleet Center...I mean T.D. BankNorth Garden is an awesome facility. Give me something like Petco Park or Edison Field. Gosh. I'd love that. You could put more seats in and it would be cheaper and people could actually go to games without having to buy tickets in February or else pay ten times as much as when they are getting them from scalpers.

Well, I think that just about sums up this rant. I'm in favor of a new ballpark for the Boston Red Sox. I got tickets to Saturdays game randomly from my boss, back in the bleachers, which is good cause I won't have to put up with the poles and broken televisions. I'll let you know how that experience is going.

Hanging on by a thread...

...not the Pirates playoff chances of course. Those have been dead for weeks. I mean my attention span.

Going into the all-star break, the Pirates had won four straight series to claw their way to an impressive 41-49 record. A week later, they have lost five games in a row.

This is just about how it goes every year. The Pirates, although unquestionably bad for the entire season, play competitive baseball just long enough to tide me over until NFL training camp. Then I forget they exist. Camp Tomlin opens in less than a week.

Now, when we started this blog, I committed to paying attention all season. And I will. But man will it be torture. These guys are walking around like dead men.

R.I.P Pirates 2007 season.

it's official... the phillies are losers.

excerpts from the ap, philadelphia...

It was the kind of game Phillies fans had seen thousands of times before.

Now, make it 10,000 times.

Bad starting pitching, brutal relief and hardly any hitting. Oh, and lots of booing.

Loss No. 10,000 came Sunday night when Albert Pujols hit two of the St. Louis Cardinals' six homers in a 10-2 rout of Philadelphia.

By the ninth inning, fans in the sellout crowd of 44,872 were thumbing their noses at the dubious mark, standing and cheering. One fan held up a sign that read: "10,000 N Proud."

From Connie Mack Stadium to the Vet and Citizens Bank Park, and at ballparks all over, the Phillies have cemented their place as the losingest team in professional sports. The franchise, born in 1883 as the Philadelphia Quakers and later called the Blue Jays in the mid-1940s, fell to 8,810-10,000.

The Phillies avoided the inevitable milestone for three games, but the Cardinals -- the team that caught them 43 years ago for the NL pennant in one of the biggest collapses in baseball history -- beat Philadelphia one more time.

Earlier, a banner hung from the upper deck that read "10,000 is not in the Cards." Turns out, it was on this night.

So the franchise that won only one World Series championship (1980) in 125 years, has 14 seasons of 100-plus losses, and once lost 23 straight games, now has the ugliest number of them all in a city way too familiar with losing.

These Phillies had long grown tired of answering questions about 10,000 and most fans seemed rather detached from the number. After all, what's one more loss from a team responsible for countless more than 10,000 broken hearts?

"It's just another one as far as I'm concerned," said 81-year-old fan Ty Ayars, of Swedesboro, N.J. "They need pitching and until they get good pitching, they're not going to win a World Series any time soon."

Fans don't have to be old enough to remember the 1950 "Whiz Kids" to have suffered. Take fan Andrew Haines, 25, of Pitman, N.J., who still can't shake the image of Phillies closer Mitch Williams allowing the game-ending homer to Joe Carter that won the 1993 World Series for theToronto Blue Jays.

"It's hard to be a Phillies fan," said Haines, wearing a Phillies cap. "They're the butt of a lot of baseball jokes, and having 10,000 losses isn't helping any."

[Scott Rolen, the former fan favorite turned No. 1 target of the vicious boo birds, had an RBI in the third for St. Louis.]

No true fan can ever forget the infamous 1964 collapse when the Phillies held a 6 1/2-game lead with 12 to play, only to blow the National League pennant by losing 10 straight. The Cardinals won the pennant by one game.

Chico Ruiz stole home with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson at the plate to give Cincinnati a 1-0 victory and started the collapse that still hasn't been forgotten or forgiven to this day.

Never known as lovable losers, cursed, or even affectionately as bums, the Phillies had a big headstart in earning this pitiable total: They played their first game on May 1, 1883, against the Providence Grays. Of course, the Quakers lost 4-3 and started 0-8. They went on to lose 81 of 98 games in their inaugural season.

It hasn't been all bad for the Phillies. They haven't lost 100 games since 1961, and they won the NL East three straight years from 1976-78. Philadelphia lost the World Series in 1983 and 1993, though it hasn't returned to the playoffs since Carter's homer.

Greg Luzinski (1970-1980) hit 223 homers for the Phillies and was the starting left fielder for the 1980 World Series team. He now runs the "Bull's BBQ" stand at Citizens Bank Park and said the Phillies would win at least one more championship in the next 125 years.

"They're not that far away now," he said. "They've been around a long time, so you're going to accumulate the losses. I know people are disappointed they won only one world championship, but a catch here, a hit here, a pitch there, we might have had more."

... They wrote it: "Garland them with timeless lilies! Although they are a bunch of dillies, Who give honest men the willies. We still love them for their sillies. Hail, The Phillies." -- James Michener.

Nonsense

Trying to follow the Pirates can be confusing. They can be 11 games under .500 and yet you are reading an article in the newspaper with a quote like this

Will Dave Littlefield be a buyer for the first time in his tenure?

He threw strong hints about being a seller again when the Pirates were swept June 24 in Anaheim, Calif., but they have played their best baseball of the season since then. It is possible the stance could change, if it has not already.

Um... What? No further comment.

Also, the Pittsburgh media is always saying things like, "Well, sure, we could trade/release/bench Wilson/Castillo/Paulino/Armas, but who will take his place??" The answer: it doesn't matter. These players are not good enough to be every day players, so as long as they are, we will keep losing. Therefore, replacing them with someone who is a big question mark or who isn't proven at least gives potential, however small the chance. If we can lose with them, we can lose without them.

Also, the Pittsburgh paper, after the Pirates second loss in a three game sweep at the hands of the Braves, headlined the wrap like so: "Pirates count their curses after 5-4 loss."

Uh... If our main problem is being cursed, this is the worst curse ever. No, I'm afraid our problem is in bad baseball players.

Oh well.

A record-breaking 10,000...

LOSSES.

i'd like to share part of an abc.com article with you...

Philadelphia Phillies fans are counting down to an eagerly awaited, unprecedented benchmark. Their baseball team is just one game away from achieving a record that no other team in professional sports has ever reached.

T-shirts have been made, signs have been printed and now all the Phillies "Phans" can do is sit and wait to make their mark on sports history. If they get that 10,000th ... loss.

Americans are obsessed with sports and arguably more so with the statistic of sport than the game itself, and baseball, America's pastime, is the most saturated with numbers.
Everything from necessary statistics (how many times a player scores a run) to excessive statistics (the number of times a player has been hit by a pitch) has been carefully calculated. So it's not surprising that baseball fans across the country are well aware of the proximity of the 10,000 mark. But why are Phillies fans so eager to celebrate a less than flattering milestone?

Philadelphians Love to Hate Sports.

you gotta admire the city of love.

they booed santa claus.
they booed michael jack schmidt.
they booed donovan getting picked over ricky.

but they're making t-shirts for the 10,000th loss?

it's truly fascinating, isn't it. well, far be it from me to oppose what my city is doing... so... with that said... i'm cheering with the rest of them!

10,000 club losses. GO PHILS!!!!

On the Eve of the Second Half

Well, the Boston Red Sox have clinched homefield advantage in the World Series, again. This is the fourth time they've done so, but for some reason they've only taken advantage of it and actually played in a World Series once.

With a ten game lead in the division, it's kinda hard to complain. However, there's still an uneasy feeling. I went down to Cape Cod the other day (the peninsula part of Massachusetts that sticks out into the Atlantic) and my friend pointed out the Sox were 10 games ahead of everyone when we were still in school. So more or less, they've pretty much sucked just like the rest of the AL East the past month and a half. I think they're 17-18 in their last 35 games, riding a 6 game road losing streak. So, their record is a bit deceiving, especially as of late.

The question is, what do you do as the trading deadline approaches? Especially now that Curt Schilling's hurt, the starting pitching is a big question mark. Beckett's been everything anyone could ever ask for, Diasuke's been a good number three man. But you need three studs in the playoffs. If Schilling's in there pitching like he's been capable of in the past, you're all set. But he isn't getting any younger.

The power numbers are way down too. Talk about the Pirates not having a 30 homerun hitter, The Red Sox don't have anyone on pace to hit 30 homers (Ortiz and Lowell are tied with 14, which doubled is 28...and the Sox have already played more than half of their games...). Manny and Ortiz are especially disappointing, having a combined 25 home runs so far. That's more or less what you expect each of them to produce individually. And this team plays more than half of its games at Fenway Park. That's suppose to be a home run hitter's dream. Do you try to get someone to make up for their lack of production?

The other big question mark is the Shortstop Position. Alex Cora has given the team everything he's got, but he's not an everyday player. Julio Lugo sucks. He's suppose to be the everyday shortstop for this team, and the lead off hitter. This first place team, this team with a 10 game lead in their division, with the best record in the Major Leagues as the All Star Break closes. His batting average is .197. Thankfully he's a scrawny 175 lbs, so at least he's hitting his weight. He's under contract for three more years, so they can't exactly just dump him. The other day I was fantasizing about trading for Nomar Garciapara, but the Dodgers aren't out of contention. But just imagine him coming back here, to a hero's welcome, hitting .300, making spectacular defensive plays (I know he's a first baseman now, but I'm sure he'd adjust soon enough), erasing forever the cruel hand fate delt him when the Sox won it all without him. He'd be the perfect fit. I'm fully confident with the wall and returning to Fenway he'd hit 10-15 homers. Plus, he's be a really good number 5 hitter to protect Manny, in his number 5 jersey the Red Sox conveniently have been saving for him since his departure in 2004 (hanging up with the 21 and 45 jerseys...). You'd have Drew hitting first, then Youk, Ortiz, Manny, Nomar, Lowell, Varitek, Pedroia, and Crisp. Then when Drew started sucking again, you could switch him and Crisp in the lineup. Stupid Dodgers, not being out of it. Gotta go and ruin everything. Whatever... Kenny Loftin is someone else I'd like to see wearing the red B on his hat. He could hit leadoff and play Center. Crisp and Drew could take turns in right, with Francona letting whoever wasn't sucking during a particular stretch play. But that's not as good of a fit cause then you still have Lugo doing his best National League Pitcher imitation (it's tremendous, you should see it) at the bottom of the order.

Turning to more realistic topics of discussion, the Toronto Blue Jays are coming to town, and I'm actually going to a game this series (first this year). I'll be at Fenway Park on Sunday, seeing Josh Beckett take on Jesse Litch, who I've never heard of. According to the scouting reports, he's more or less the Blue Jays' version of Kason Gabbard, coming up from AAA to pitch in place of injured starters. He's starting in place of A.J. Burnett, which is unfortunate as otherwise I could have seen two former Marlins pitch.

So you might be asking, after waiting till after the all star break to go to one game, when am I going back to Fenway for a second? The very next day, seeing the 1985 Champions of the World, the Kansas City Royals. The aforementioned Kason Gabbard gets the start for Boston against Defending AL Rookie of the Month Brian Bannister.

My adventure in Pittsburgh, and the state of the Pirates

This Friday I went to see the Cubs play the Pirates at PNC Park. With me (and my brother-in-law and traitor sister, both Cubs fans) and my dad and our friend Josh went my uncle Jim. He loves dressing up like a Pirate. So he dressed like one for the game. Everybody seemed to love it, and this picture features just two of the many people who wanted their picture taken with him.

The Pirates won that night, and they won Sunday, too. Going into the All-Star break, they are eight games under .500, 9 games behind the Brewers (better than the Yankees!) and have won their last four series.

In order to handicap our chances to reach .500 and contend for the division title, let's take a look at the pluses and minuses of the season so far:

NEGATIVES:

• Adam LaRoche we a complete bust, hitting under .200 for about two months.
  
• Jason Bay hit a huge slump in June.
  
• Zach Duke has been terrible and is now injured.
  
• We cannot find a fifth starter.
  
• We have not had a real leadoff hitter since Kendell left. Several have failed to impress so far this season.
  
• No one on our team is likely to hit 30 home runs.
  
• Jack Wilson has proven once and for all that he is a defensive specialist.
  
• Two of our top three relievers are injured, leaving our bullpen in shambles.
  
• Our front office took a marginal reliever with the fourth pick in the draft because they don't want to spend money to get the best talent at that spot (kinda defeats the purpose of draft order, don't you think?)
  
• No one on the team has any clue how to draw a walk besides LaRoche.
  
• Our fundamentals, including baserunning and defense, are among the worst in the league.
  
• Our bench is putrid

POSITIVES:

• Ian Snell is a top-flight #1 starter who never gets injured.
  
• Tom Gorzelanny is also a top-flight #1 starter.
  
• Paul Maholm, after a rough start, has been just GREAT the past 5 weeks, including Friday when we saw him school the Brewers.
  
• Although he only has two starts Shane Youman has looked like a good #4 man, and has picked up two wins.
  
• Xavier Nady has been a big surprise, bringing a lot of offense to the table.
  
• LaRoche is starting to come around and is our best hitter right now.
  
• Freddy Sanchez' batting title was not an accident last year. He's still not-too-bad.
  
• Ryan Doumit could end up being a solid every day Major League hitter with some power.

So there you have it. A few positives among many negatives. That's what will earn you a 40-48 record. Luckily, those positives have been coming in more recently, so we could end up having a better second half.

And it is true that last year at the all-star break we were 30-60.

At this point, every ten games, we probably have starting pitchers that will give us a chance to win 7 of those days. We need our offense to keep improving so that we can win 5 of those games. Then, if we can win one of those remaining three games on a fluke, we MIGHT have a chance to climb back up to 81-81, that magic number.

More likely, we'll end up around 77 wins, which is exactly what I predicted.

Just wanted to point something out

Around this time last year, the Red Sox lost a 17 inning game (or something like that) on the road to the defending American League Champion Chicago White Sox. Going into that game, the Red Sox were in first place in the American League East, the White Sox in second in the American League Central. I remember because I was staying four blocks from US Cellular Field and yet the televisions in the dorms didn't carry White Sox games, so I was checking up on the internet for scores, and after a while went outside to have a quiet time. I found out the Red Sox lost because I heard a BUNCH of fireworks while sitting out side around 7 or 8 o'clock, and I figured it was a bit late to be celebrating the Fourth of July. Kind of sticks out in my mind

The season was pretty much lost for both teams afterwards, as each kinda collapsed and neither made the playoffs, nor did either finish in the top two of their division. I remember the White Sox coming to Fenway later in either August or September and they put the numbers before the marathon game and after for both teams, and before it looked like both were going to the playoffs. After it looked like both were competing for a really good draft pick.

Yesterday, the Red Sox lost a 13 inning game on the road to the defending American League Champion Detroit Tigers. Going into the game, the Red Sox were in first place in the American League East, the Tigers tied for first, and therefore also for second, with the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central. The similar circumstances seem eerie to me.

and when you're up 6-1 in a game...

you should be able to hold onto the win. if you can't, you suck. COME ON, PHILS!!!. : P

when you score 14 points in a game...

... there's NO way you should lose. and if you do... like the white sox did tonight. you should simply be ashamed of yourselves and fire all of your pitchers.

the sox lost two games tonight to the twins... 20-14 and 12-0.

that means that the twins scored a total of 32 points today. THIRTY-TWO.

ridiculous and amazing all at the same time...

I'm heading to the game tonight

I'm going with a big group, including some Cubs fans. :(

My uncle is going and he'll be dressed up as a Pirate. Chances are we'll be sitting in the outfield seats. Watch sportscenter and Baseball tonight to look for us! I'm sure he'll be attracting attention. (He makes a very good Pirate.)

Youkilis Screwed: An Update

A-Rod is hurt. He's suppose to be an AL All Star, but he's not sure he should play in the game.

For the first time in a while, what's good for the Red Sox might be what's good for the Yankees. A-Rod should sit out. This would make him less likely to hurt himself, plus the three day break would help him recover. This would free up an extra roster spot.

Now, David Ortiz is the American League's First Baseman. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I'm pretty sure Kevin Youkilis has played more games at third base than Ortiz has at First. David only plays first base 2/3 of the road interleague games. Youk plays third for 1/3 of said games, and whenever Lowell needs a rest during the season (Hinske plays first on those occasions). Therefore, Youkilis should be eligible to play third as an All Star. Therefore, since he should have been an All Star anyway, it only makes sense to give him A-Rod's spot.

Cincinatti Reds

The Reds just fired bench coach Bucky Freakin' Dent. No wonder they've sucked so much so far. They had Bucky Dent.

In 1978, the Red Sox had a 14.5 game lead over the Yankees in August (only 8 games over the Brewers, but no one ever mentions that cause it makes the story less dramatic), and blew it. It got to be so bad that heading into the last week of the season, the Yankees had a four game lead over the Red Sox. The Sox won their last four games and the Yankees lost their last four, setting up a 1 game playoff between the two at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox had a late lead, and Bucky Bleeping Dent comes up. This guy sucked so bad. He had absolutely no business doing anything significant. Very much an Aaron Boone type player. Anyway, the jerk hits a pop up that the wind takes barely over the Green Monster to give the Yankees the lead and the division title, scarring generations to come. Yeah, I remember watching it on Classic Sports as a youngin' and being really upset by it. Bucky Freaking Dent. It was a popup. A miserable popup.

Anyway, the Reds fired his butt, which is good for them. I'm surprised they've won 31 games this year and 80 games last year in spite of him.

Ron Guidry pitched the Yankees back into contention in '78. He's now their pitching coach. It would be interesting if they hired Bucky Bleeping Dent as their bench coach. It would probably help the Yankees out. I've always said Don Mattingly was cursed. He retires after '95 and the Yankees win it all in '96. The Yankees hired him as the bench coach before the '04 season and haven't won a Series since.

Whatever. Bucky Freaking Dent, you've just been fired! HA!

Showing Up, New Bloggers, and the Definition of Dominance

Item 1: The Pirates actually showed up today against a legit Major League team. Quite an accomplishment, I think. Shane Youman tossed his first game for the Buccos this year, replacing the "injured" Zach Duke. Although 2 ER over 6 innings "feels" good, he only struck out two, walked one and allowed a home run. 4 out of 5 times, that line is going to net more than two earned runs. But we'll take it tonight, especially for his first start.

Meanwhile, the bullpen stepped it up bigtime. Marte, Chacon and Capps threw three innings, 5 SOs, no walks and no home runs! 4 out of 5 times, that line will net you no ERs. Way to look like a real major league team, guys!

Item 2: With Ken on hiatus, I feel our energy level is a little low around here. How do you guys feel about adding another blogger or two to liven things up? If you have anyone that would be interested in typing their fan-ranting for the likes of a huge audience of 2-10 people per day, maybe now would be a good time to add them. I know a rabid Indians fan who could add to our AL commentary.

Also, if we do happen to have any regular readers that we don't know about, maybe they should just leave a comment and we could just add them as authors.

Item 3: This year in interleague play (I just got around to looking at the final interleague standings today) there were TWO NL teams with winning records. Two! And one of them was the Rockies. Meanwhile, there were only THREE AL teams with losing records. Two of them are Baltimore and Tampa Bay, who have sucked almost as long as the Pirates, and the other was the White Sox, who I believe are scoring at a rate of one run a week. AL DOMINANCE. What do you think is more unbalanced right now, MLB or the NBA?

Second Half

Begins tonight! And, I'm happy to report to the millions of readers in the Tampa area, the Devil Rays apparently do still exist. For the first time all year, the Red Sox will play the D-Rays.

I know I haven't seen them yet this year, but the Devil Rays perpetually suck. I'm gonna be mad if the Red Sox don't take all three games.

81 down, 81 to go

After beating the Rangers tonight, the Red Sox are officially half way done with the regular season. They're on pace to finish 100-62 and win the division by 22 games. Not to shabby. The pitching is now a concern, especially since Schilling is hurt and Wakefield's old. Beckett's had a rough go of things as of late too. As long as they don't completely collapse, the Red Sox should bring home their first division title since the Mo Vaughn-Jose Canseco-Roger Clemens 1995 lead team.

In other news, I'm thinking of starting a magic number countdown. Maybe not a magic number countdown, but an elimination countdown. When a team is eliminated, we should have a big party, celebrating the fact that there is one less team eligible for the World Series title. Up to the minute elimination numbers show the Cincinatti Reds are closest to being eliminated from post season eligibility. If the Reds lose a mere 66 more games, they are officially off for October. 66 is too big a number to countdown from. I guess I'll wait until it gets to 20 or 10 or something.

all stars....

i love the all-star game. i can remember telling my mom years and years ago that i didn't wanna miss it b/c it was the most important game of the year. [or maybe that was about football's pro bowl... i guess i can't remember.] either way, she quickly cleared up for me that this [or the pro bowl] was the least important game of the year. at least for baseball it determines which league gets home field advantage... which, while notable, really doesn't mean too much.

i'm REALLY excited about the home run derby. although... since no phillies will prolly be in it, it won't be quite as exciting... but i'll still love it.

congrats to chase and cole... my main men over in philadephia. they both deserve it... and quite honestly, at least in the position of second basemen, chase's reign as the nl's pick is prolly secure for years to come. there just aren't any other really good second basemen out there. congrats, as well, to rowand, who got in as a reserve.

there are many who think that jimmy rollins got severely snubbed... and i'd agree. sure... there are tons of great short stops in the league... but come on. jimmy is pretty legitimately amazing. he should be there. in the place of rowand? maybe. jimmy's better overall... but rowand has had an incredible season and has done a lot to put the phils where they are now vs. where they began at the start of the season. jimmy got snubbed. he should be playing in san francisco.

bonds on the other hand... please. can we just start ignoring him so he'll go away? if everyone stops paying attention to him, maybe he'll decide to quietly retire his juiced up super-body and leave hank's precious record alone.

i voted on espn.com about the game... here're the results:


1) Who was the biggest snub among AL hitters?
27.9% Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
25.4% Gary Sheffield, Tigers
18.7% Joe Mauer, Twins
18.0% Orlando Cabrera, Angels
10.0% Curtis Granderson, Tigers

2) Who was the biggest snub among AL pitchers?
19.2% Roy Halladay, Blue Jays
19.1% Jeremy Bonderman, Tigers
13.9% Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox
12.4% Erik Bedard, Orioles
11.6% Hideki Okajima, Red Sox
9.8% Kelvim Escobar, Angels
8.5% Joe Nathan, Twins
5.5% Joe Blanton, Athletics

3) Who was the biggest snub among NL hitters?
25.0% Ryan Howard, Phillies
17.9% Jimmy Rollins, Phillies
16.8% Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
14.0% Edgar Renteria, Braves
12.0% Aramis Ramirez, Cubs
10.1% Adam Dunn, Reds
4.3% Brad Hawpe, Rockies

4) Who was the biggest snub among NL pitchers?
22.9% Chris Young, Padres
17.6% Carlos Zambrano, Cubs
14.3% John Maine, Mets
13.1% Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks
12.5% Roy Oswalt, Astros
11.1% Tim Hudson, Braves
5.3% Tom Gorzelanny, Pirates
3.2% Jeff Francis, Rockies

5) Which AL player least deserves to be starting?
29.5% Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers
22.4% All deserve to start
15.5% David Ortiz, Red Sox
13.0% Derek Jeter, Yankees
10.7% Placido Polanco, Tigers
3.9% Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
2.5% Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
1.3% Magglio Ordonez, Tigers
1.3% Vladimir Guerrero, Angels

6) Which NL player least deserves to be starting?
47.3% Barry Bonds, Giants
15.6% Carlos Beltran, Mets
14.0% All deserve to start
8.0% David Wright, Mets
5.6% Russell Martin, Dodgers
3.1% Ken Griffey, Jr., Reds
2.9% Jose Reyes, Mets
2.1% Prince Fielder, Brewers
1.6% Chase Utley, Phillies

7) Should every team have a representative on All-Star rosters?
52.6% No
47.4% Yes

8) Should Barry Bonds be in the All-Star Game?
54.1% Yes
45.9% No

9) Which event are you more interested in?
56.9% All-Star Game
43.1% Home Run Derby

10) Which All-Star format would you rather watch?
77.2% American League vs. National League
22.8% United States vs. The World

Total Votes: 113,534

comments:

#1. why woud anyone think that chase was the least deserving 2nd baseman?!?!? he's the ONLY 2nd baseman even remotely deserving on the nl. must have been braves or mets fans that wrote that. i'd do something like that.

#2. i think jimmy rollins was a bigger snub than ryan howard.

#3. i'm not a fan of zambrano. i'm glad he's not in the all-star game.

anyway... the game's next week. i'm pretty excited. although... i'll have some friends here... [ashlynne and courtney!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!] so i'm not sure if i'll actually get to watch the game or not. i'll have someone dvr it for me.

in other news... the phillies finally won a game last night against the mets. i would've been really sad had they been completely swept by them. 1/4 still sucks pretty badly... but not as badly as 0/4.

also... at my new job... there are several philadephia fans!!!!!!!!!!! i walked into work on day 1 and one of the guys had a phillies hat on. i almost passed out.

Youkilis Screwed

Kevin Youkilis was left off the All Star Ballet.

I'd put Youk on before I'd put Manny, David Ortiz, or Mike Lowell, all of whom are on the All Star Roster as representatives for the Red Sox.

This sucks. He really deserves it, and this would have been his first appearance. He's hitting .329, has 9 homers, drove in 44 runs and just set a Red Sox franchise record for most consecutive errorless games at First Base.

Curse you Jim Leyland! Curse you!