Red Sox Uniforms

I was gonna write about free agents, so I'll do that quickly. The Yankees are trying to sign Manny. They couldn't beat him. Might as well sign him I guess to go with Sabathia and Burnett. The Red Sox, on the other hand are trying to sign Teixeira. Talk on the radio is what will happen to Mike Lowell, who would be the odd man out with Youk moving over to third. I guess you'd have to trade him (while obviously eating a HUGE portion of his contract). I'll keep you posted.

Now, I've been very busy with finals and grading, so I just went to redsox.com for the first time in I don't remember how long. I almost threw up cause I read on the Sox are introducing new uniforms next year. New away, new alternate home, new alternate away. Thankfully they're keeping the home jerseys.

Here's what I think of each, and I'm looking at them for the first time as I type. These are my first impressions.
Road Jersey
The new road jersey. This is ok. I calmed down a lot after seeing it. I thought It harkens back to the days of my youth, if you consider preschool and earlier to be youth. They look similiar to the jerseys the team wore in the 80s. The major differences are the new jerseys have a font similiar to what they used the past 15 years or so, whereas the 80s jerseys looked like they were done in time new Roman. Also, the old 80s jerseys never had names on the back. These ones do. Reviewing it more, the color scheme reminds me of the New York road jerseys. That's not a good thing. I miss the old (new? 1990s version) ones already. I don't mind the red sox they have on the sleave. Can we comprimise and just put that on the road uniforms from last year?

Alternate Road Jersey
First of all, since when do the Red Sox do alternate road jerseys? That's something crappy teams like Seattle do to get more revinue. Oh yeah...revinue. That's what this is all about. Second of all, this is atricious. It's like one of those kids you see dressed up as a ball player on Halloween wearing nothing that comes close to resembling the actual uniform. In all honesty, I don't mind the jersey that much. I kind of like it better than the red alternates they've been wearing. Those things kind of hurt your eyes to look at. If that were the only change, I'd be quite happy. But the hat. That's disgusting. When I was a young boy, around 8 or 9, I use to think other teams like the Marlins had hats that were so much cooler than the Red Sox. I can't find an old Marlin hat online, but it was teal with a black bill and had the F and the fish and it looked awesome. So anyway, I spent many an hour trying to design an awesome Red Sox hat, and came to the realization, this is as good as it gets. This hat was worn by all the great Red Sox, and all their fans. This has all the history and tradition. Look at that beautiful B. Just look at it. No other way to describe it. It's beautiful. Now look at the alternate hat. It's hideous. It looks like something a little kid would wear. I'm 100% against it.

New Alternate Home Jersey.
I don't know why I wasted time looking for an image of the old alternate, cause this "new" alternate looks the same to me at first glance.

New Logo
They're also changing the logo. I miss the old one, with the Sox insider the baseball and "BOSTON" up top and "RED SOX" down bottom. The new logo is the hanging Sox on the hat. Not much of a change, I agree, but still, what I grew up with was better.

Off Season Stuff Part 1

10 minutes ago (plus or minus), the Red Sox traded Coco Crisp. The fact he was traded probably surprises no one. The fact it took this long after the 2007 World Series probably surprises quite a few of us.

Crisp wasn't happy when Ellsbury took his job in October 2007 and didn't like the idea of the roles reversing this past season, which they pretty much did. Interestingly enough, Ellsbury lost his job to Crisp in the post season this year. I guess that was just a two week thing though and Ellsbury, unquestionably the centerfielder of the future, is also the centerfielder of right now.

The Red Sox sent Crisp to the 1985 World Champions, getting reliever Ramon Ramirez in exchange. I've never heard of him, but I like that at first glance he seems reliable with a 2.64 ERA in 71 appearences.

Also, according to redsox.com, the Sox and the Yankees are fighting over A.J. Burnett. Why? He's been in the division 3 years and pretty much did nothing substantial. He won 18 games this year, which I notice is the only the third time in his career. The Second was 2005, another free agent year for him. The 1st was 2002. I don't know if he was up for arbitration at the end of that season, but I wouldn't be surprised. Curt Schilling once said Burnett might have the best stuff of anyone in the American League. That might be true, he's just never healthy enough to prove it.

The Yankees want Lowe, Sabathia, and Burnett, the Red Sox only apparently are going after Burnett.

Aside from questioning Burnett, I'd also question why the Yanks would want D-Lowe. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything he did, getting a save in the clincher of the 2003 ALDS and winning the clinching games of the 2004 ALDS, 2004 ALCS, and 2004 World Series.
But 2004 was in a contract year when he pitched so crappily he was removed from the rotation for the post season. He got the ALDS win cause the game went to extras and he was the long man. He got the ALCS win cause Wakefield volunteered to pitch as a long reliever in the game 3 blow out and gave up his game 4 start, which the team gave to Lowe. Wakefield also volunteered to pitch long relief in game 5 if necessary (it was) and gave up his possible game 7 start, which Lowe got. Based on the ALCS, Francona let him start in the World Series. Did he pitch well in the post season? Yeah. I give him all the credit in the world for it, but I wouldn't want him back. I think physically, Lowe's a great pitcher. He's got talent. But as soon as anything goes wrong, be it an error by the second baseman, or the umpire making a bad call he loses it mentally and immediately gives up 3 runs. I haven't seen him much as a Dodger (if at all...) so maybe he's fixed that. Perhaps someone who watches the NL with regularity could comment.

Lastly, Dustin Pedroia won the AL MVP. Congratulations to him. Mo Vaughn was the last Red Sox in 1995, and that helped heal the wounds I had as a 10 year old after watching the Red Sox get swept by Cleveland out of the first round of the playoffs that year. No offense to Dustin, but that trick doesn't do it for me anymore.

Congratulations Phillies

The Phillies are World Champions.  Cory Matthews would be proud! 

In all seriousness, congratulations Laura.  Enjoy the title.

This is now the third year in a row one of our teams won the World Series.  You know what that means?  

Pittsburgh Pirates: 2009 World Series Champions.  

You heard it here first.

Pitching Strategy

So what do you do tonight?  Do you go with a brand new starter to pitch 3 or 4 innings?  Or do you use your bullpen like you would  in any other World Series game in the late innings.

I think Tampa Bay's gotta start with Balfour, cause otherwise they lose him for the night.  After that, I guess it depends on situation.  Philly on the other hand has more options.  For all intensive purposes, Hamels is on 2 days rest, and he's also leading off the inning.  I haven't seen him play too often, but looking at his stats it doesn't seem like he's a great hitter.  I might just go with a starter for the whole game...however long that lasts.  Moyer pitched well in game four.  You think he could give you three or four shut out innings tonight Laura?

!!!!!!

I have SO many things to say... but no time to write. Here's a reminder for myself:

Mad River
horrible officiating
Bud Selig
rain delay and game suspension
Joe Buck
Cole Hamels
Joe Blanton
cow bells
RISP
home wins vs away wins
home field advantage
instant replay
the lack of Manny
my baseball
late nights
the real deal

I can't wait to write about this stuff... soon...

2008 World Series: Game One

PHILS!!!!!!!!!!!

The pitching was absolutely outstanding... with Hamels, Madson, and Lidge performing brilliantly.

Utley... what can I say... the offensive man of the game.

Sexy Werth... dreamy as ever with his run scored and two doubles. [Sorry... that's just what I call him.]

The Flying Hawaiian... the new Mr. October?

Pedro and Ruiz... filling in for Rollins and Howard who're doing squat.

My concern: something needs to be done about these stranded runners. Guys are getting on base only to get left there. With Cole pitching it was okay cuz he's gonna keep the other team from scoring... but what about the rest of the week...

Overall... GREAT start Phillies!!!!!!!!

The Tampa Bay Rays are American League Champions

I just wrote the title of this post.  There are a lot of thoughts running through my mind.  Francona shoulda pinched hit for Varitek in the seventh with two runners on and in the ninth when he was the tying run.  Coco Crisp should have slid right at the bag instead of trying to take out Bartlett.  The umpire shouldn't have called J.D. Drew out on the worst check swing call I've ever seen.  But it doesn't matter what should have happened.  It matters what did.

There are lots of people in Tampa Bay right now.  I've seen hundreds of games there on television, and in the games I see, it's usually 50% of capacity and 95% of those people are wearing Red Sox gear.  Now the place is packed with people wearing Rays gear crying and hugging each other like they've waited 95 years to see this.  Congratulations to the four or five hundred diehards.  You deserve something like this and I hope you got to see it along with the tens of thousands of people there who couldn't name a Devil Ray to save their life.  Though to their credit they've been pretty supportive the past 2 months or so when they finally figured out they had a baseball team.  Maybe they've been confused the past 10 years.  I've never been down there, but I hear the stadium is in St. Petersburg, not Tampa Bay.  Maybe they've been searching and just found the place.  Hopefully this will be the start of something there.  That would be good for baseball.  And who knows... maybe next year these people will come back and they'll actually sell out a regular season game or two.

Last year I posted that the Cleveland Indians became irrelevant the night they lost game 7.  I stand by that.  The 2008 Boston Red Sox are now irrelevant.  If I've counted right, the Red Sox have been in playoff series deciding games 8 times in my life.  They're 5-3.  All three loses were on the road, and in all three loses the Red Sox scored first.  Nothing's sweeter than winning those games.  Nothing hurt more then losing the first 2.  This one stings a lot less.  I guess two World Series titles lessens the blow. 

 

I really thought the Sox were gonna win as Pedroia's homer cleared the wall.  He had a great post season.  A lot like Todd Walker in 2003.  No one remembers that though, cause the Red Sox lost in the ALCS.  No one will remember Pedroia's heroics this year either.  Oh well.  You can't win them all.

So that means it's Tampa Bay vs Philadelphia in the World Series.  I haven't decided who I'm rooting for yet.  I probably won't decide till it actually starts and I see it.  I can't watch a game without rooting for someone.  Teams I wanted to win in the LCS went 0-2, so I don't expect either team to start lobbying for my support any time soon.  

I don't know anymore

I watched game 5 at Jose's house. Funny story. He has cable but no TV. I have a TV but no cable, so for the entire month of October my television's been at his house. We both thought the Rays were American League Champions last night. I was complaining about Manny not being there, couting down the defensive outs Tampa needed. Jose was complaining about Varitek being worthless and about Ortiz not bunting down the third base line even though he was 1 for the series and Tampa's third baseman was playing within an arm's reach of secondbase the entire time. He also began wondering about offseason moves, getting rid of Varitek, Timlin and Byrd. We disagreed about Wakefield. I said he's done, Jose said he's too valuable as a fifth starter. I guess when you put the 5th starter label on him he still has value, but that's besides the point. Around this time Tampa score two runs off Papelbon to make it 7-0. They were inherited runners so they don't count against his ERA. But that doesn't matter. They still got to Papelbon. I was debating going home, cause I have lots of work I could be doing. But I stuck it out, figuring it'd be the last I saw the Sox till 2009.

In the home half of the 7th seventh Lowrie hit a fly ball we thought was gone but instead hit off the wall in right. We agreed it was irrelevant, though it would have been nice to get rid of the shut out. Down 7-0 in the seventh inning to a team that has beaten you badly in your own ball park 2 nights in a row, when your entire offense is more or less in a slump, you don't usually come back. Then they came back to tie it. And J.D. Drew, who had a monster game 6 against Cleveland last year, won the game in the 9th on a single. He also hit a two run homer in the comeback.

Beckett's going in game 6. I'm against this. I'd have Lester pitch 6 and then the entire team in 7. Beckett's been mediocre to put it nicely, so I have a feeling he's gonna need all the help he can get. But then what do I know? I thought this series was over when Tampa Bay took a 2 run lead before a defensive out had been recorded.

It's been 15 years...

... and my favorite team is finally going back to the World Series.

The last several years have been particularly difficult for Philadelphia fans. For YEARS... the team would come up just a few games short of getting into the playoffs. Last year they finally broke it open and got in... only to get swept in the NLDS.

They'd been building a team... but just couldn't pull it together. It looks like they finally did it. [At least to be called the best in the NL... which... as we all know, is perpetually not quite as good as the AL... so we'll see what happens next week. More on that later.]

I was two the last time the Phillies won the World Series in 1980... so I obviously don't remember that. I was five in 1983 when the Phils lost to the Orioles... so I don't remember that, either.

But I remember 1993 like it was yesterday. I loved that group of guys... long hair and all: Darren [the hottie] "Dutch" Daulton, John Kurk, Dave Hollins, Mickey Morandini, Kevin Stocker, Milt Thompson, Jim Eisenreich, Mariano Duncan, Wes Chamberlin, Pete "Inky" Incaviglia, Curt Schilling, Terry Mulholland, Tommy Greene, Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, and of course... my all-time favorite baseball player... #4... centerfielder Lenny "Nails" Dykstra.

I remember the Hollins home run and the last out of the game where we finally beat the loatheable Atlanta Braves for the NL pennant. I remember the champagne spraying and watching all the interviews. I remember the elation.

And I remember the game 6 9th inning 3-run home run by Joe Carter off of the Wild Thing that broke my heart and crushed my dreams.

The Phils had a chance to come back the following year... except for the dumb strike that halted the season. Oh- and then Dykstra and Daulton got into a car wreck that for all intents and purposes ended their careers. For the next decade, Philadelphia fans became accustomed to singing the Eagles fight song at the end of Phillies games... showing their displeasure with the Phils and that they might as well move on to football.

Since the days of Jim Fregosi, the Phillies suffered through the leadership of Terry Francona and Larry "Anger Management" Bowa before acquiring Charlie Manual in 2005. Uncle Chollie, as he's known affectionately. Whoever would've thought that HE would be the guy to pull the players together and take them to a championship series? I giggle every time he "runs" out to mound. It makes me happy. : )

So that brings us to today. The losing-est team in sports... the Philadelphia Phillies... back in the World Series.

I cried.

Like I said... I don't have great expectations for the series... regardless of who we're playing. [At this point, Dice-K just gave up a 2-run home run in the top of the 1st.] Of course, I didn't think we'd beat the Dodgers, either since they entered the NLCS so hot. But they found ways to win... and when the top of the order wasn't doing it... Brett Myers got three hits... Matt Stairs came in and blasted a monster homer. There were heroes like Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino... but everyone contributed in some way on some day. It was a team-effort.

Can they do it again? Can they take the next five days off and come back and be up to par to compete for the title? I guess we'll see.

For the time being... I'm just gonna soak up being a Philadelphia Phillies fan.

Phillies in the Series

I'm for it.

(Congrats Laura.)

Cheering for Bay

The Rays are one of the best baseball stories I've ever seen; it's very exciting that they're winning, especially for a small-market fan like me.

However, I am cheering very hard for the Red Sox. The reason is not just because I said I would, but because I have found myself really, REALLY wanting Jason Bay to win a world series. No other outcome would make me happier.

I think I underestimated how much I like Jason Bay, because I have been cheering for him and his team like crazy since the trade.

As for Manny? In my opinion, apart from the personalities, it was a good baseball trade for Boston. Bay has played about the same for Boston (.293/.370/.527) as Manny played for them this year (.299/.398/.529). There is no evidence that Manny's outrageous numbers in L.A. were going to show up in Boston, especially with the problems he was causing, whether they were planned by himself or Boras.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox gave up two very ordinary prospects and got a guy who's under a super cheap contract for next year and who could be re-signed and playing at his current level for 4-6 more years. Manny would be gone at the end of this year.

Besides all that, I like Bay because he's a smart guy who knows the game. He approaches the game in a way that will give him the maximum possible success.

Go Sox!

ALDS Game 4

Francona's the luckiest man in America right now.  Lester was cruising through the game and had a 2 run lead.  For some reason, even though the bullpen was strained from game 3, Francona pulled Lester for Okajima and Masterson in the 8th, allowing the Angels to tie the ball game.  What was he thinking?  This is October.  Pitch counts don't matter anymore, and Lester was throwing 97 mph in the 7th.  That was poor management.  But the Red Sox found a way to win, so it doesn't matter.  

What do you guys think of the failed suicide squeeze by the Angels where slid and V-tek tagged out Willitz then hit the ground and dropped the ball.  Is that the old "the ground can't cause a fumble" rule?  If Willitz was charging Varitek and knocked him over and he hit the ground then dropped the ball at home, Willitz would have been safe, right?  What's the rule about that?  A lot of the calls went the Red Sox way today, that one and pretty much every pitch called by the home plate umpire.  You know if I'm admitting that, it had to have been bad.  Is this MLB's way of  making up for all those horrible calls that went the Yankees way the mid and late 90s?  Anaheim must be pissed.

LA doesn't care cause Manny and the Dodgers are still alive.  

I would have believed you if you told me there would be an all AL East ALCS in the beginning of the season.  I wouldn't have believed you if you told me Tampa Bay was involved in it, never mind hosting it.  

Wahoo!!

The Phillies did it!! They made it past the first round of the playoffs by beating the Brewers this afternoon.

First, I must say that I'm incredibly proud of them. The pitching was light's out... even if the offense didn't make a huge stand.

Second, I didn't think they'd get knocked out in the first round this year. Course, I didn't think that against the Rockies last year, either... but the Rocks at the time were hot, so I figured it'd be tough. The Brewers, however, got into the playoffs cuz they were lucky.

Third, luck or not, I'm SO GLAD the Mets were eliminated... giving them another winter to miserably think about yet another collapse. To be fair, though, their bullpen is a disaster. You can't win games regardless of your starting pitchers and offense if your pen is more likely than anywhere else to blow leads. Either way... they're at home. Sulking. And the Phillies are still playing... for now.

Fourth, I'm not sure how I feel going into a new series with the Dodgers. Are they really as good as they looked this week against the Cubs? Or did the Cubs just fall flat on their faces yet again, making the Dodgers look unbeatable? It'll be a challenge either way.

Fifth, if the Phillies are to keep advancing... they need their bats to heat up. Utley, Howard, Rollins, and Burrell need to wake up. Thank goodness for sexy Werth and the Flying Hawaiian!!

I obviously hope they end up in the world series and put to rest talking about the Game 6 walk-off 3-run homer by Joe Carter vs. Mitch Williams. I'm pretty sure I see a replay of that home run at least once a season... and I'd like to replace it with something new. Like a trophy and scenes of Brad Lidge getting the last out of the game. That sort of thing.

Here are my predictions:

Phils over Dodgers

Red Sox over Angels

Rays over White Sox

Rays over Red Sox

Phillies over Rays

Now... who knows what will really happen. I don't think the Angels or the White Sox can come back to win their respective series. I'd like to see the Rays advance because I'm tired of the Red Sox winning [sorry, John]. And I can't pick against the Phillies... so there you have it.

If I weren't a Phillies fan, I'd pick the American League, no matter who got the bid. Let's just hope it doesn't turn out that way!

Manny being Manipulated

Here's an article by Bill Simmons about Manny.  

I'm debating buying a Manny Rameriz 99 Dodger Jersey.  I've only been a traitor once in my life, buying a Toronto Blue Jay hat and wearing it everyday for Clemens tenure there.  I still rooted for the Red Sox, it was more of a statement I made as an 11 year old.  The Red Sox screwed up by letting Roger go.  I'll still root for them now, but the Jersey will be a statement.  The Red Sox screwed up by letting Manny go.  

ALDS Game 1 Boston vs LA-ANA

11:29 PM- So, maybe I'll try to live blog during this game to make up for my silence..  I'm watching it at my friend Jose's house.  Jed Lowrie made an error in the bottom of the 3rd with two outs and a runner on first.  The very next hitter was Tori Hunter, who got a base hit to drive in the inaugural run of the series.  I said it about Graffino and I'll say it about Lowrie.  He's so lucky the Red Sox have won a World Series in recent memory, otherwise he'd be hated by an entire region forever because of that.

11:46-  Jason Bay just hit a two run homer.  I've been badmouthing him a bit, saying I wasn't too impressed with him in the field.  I thought he could have caught a few line drives if he tried instead of playing it safe.  I was getting ready to tell Jose (who hates Manny) that Manny would have hit a two run homer here the take the lead.  Before  I could get it out, Bay hit his own jack and Jose said to me "What have you got to say about Manny now?"  My response?  "Manny would have hit it 10 rows further."  Jose was right when he shot back "Doesn't matter how far it went."  

Way to go Jason.  Lowrie still owes me.

12:50AM-  Vladimir Guerrero just made the second worst base running mistake I've seen in a Major League Playoff game.  He was on first with one out.  A popup was hit between Youkilis and J.D. Drew.  As Youk ran out and made an excellent sliding attempt at it, Guerrero was 3/4 of the way to second.  If Youkilis catches it, he's doubled off as Masterson's covering first.  Fortunately for Guerrero, the ball drops in.  Unfortunately for Guerrero, he decides to take off for third.  Youkilis stood up and threw to Lowell and gunned Guerrero by 15 ft.  Still 2-1 Sox in the top of the 9th.

12:58-  Ellsbury hits a single to drive in Lowrie (who still owes me).  3-1 Sox.  I'd take Bay out after this half inning, have Crisp play center and Ellsbury play left.  As I type this, Ellsbury just stole second (for the second time tonight) to get himself into scoring position.

1:05-  Ortiz singles to score Ellsbury.  The announcers, whoever they are, state Ortiz now has a 12 game ALDS hit streak.  Let's see...1 in 2008, 3 in'07, 3 in '05, 3 in '04 and 2 in '03.  I guess that means Game 3 in the 2003 ALDS against Oakland (the Trot Nixon Game), was the last time Ortiz was hitless.

1:21- Game over.  Lester the win, Papelbon the save, Lackey the loss.  

Boston leads the series 1-0.

Wild Card vs. Division

A lot of people around the Boston area (or at least at Boston College) are paranoid now that the Rays are a 1.5 games up on the Red Sox.  To many, Tampa Bay will winning the division is the worst thing possible.  I don't know if I agree with that.

Sure, it'd be nice to win the division and have that first series at Fenway, but would it make for the easiest road to the World Series?  I'm gonna go out on a limb and say no.

I assume either way, you have to play Los Angeles-Anaheim.  LA-A has taken something like 7 of 8 from Boston this year, so it's safe to assume they're the better team.  I also believe the better team is more likely to win a 7 game series then a 5 game series, which leads me to the conclusion that the Red Sox would be better off taking on the Angels in the first round.  I like the that in a five game series, you can have Beckett, the greatest postseason pitcher in Red Sox history, pitch twice and Lester pitch once.  If all goes according to plan, those are your three wins right there. 

As a final point, taking on the Angels to open up the post season seemed to work pretty well in both 2004 and 2007.  Both 3 game sweeps for Boston. 

Conflict

Drafting players for my fantasy team can always be a challenge. I try to avoid drafting players that I don't like... or who play for teams that I don't like. At the same time, however... I want my team to win! Sometimes that means drafting players that I'd rather not have do well.

For example... I picked up Mark Teixeira of the Braves this year. [Well... at least he was in Atlanta at the beginning of the season. I was rather relieved when he went to California and I didn't have to root for a Brave anymore!] It was difficult for me to root for a player on a rival team... but I sucked it up and did it anyway. I just hoped that the rest of the team fell apart... which they did, thankfully.

So... it's September. Why on earth am I writing about this now?

It's fantasy league playoff time... and I had a major conflict yesterday. Here's what happened:

On Facebook, I saw on my news feed that a friend of mine had the phrase "Go Mets!" on her profile status. It was horrifying. This wasn't just any friend... this was one of my best friends. And she was not only rooting for the Mets... but rooting for them in a game against the Phillies.

Horrified... I wrote on her wall. She wrote back and explained the situation. She needed ONE hold by a reliever to go past her opponent... and that reliever happened to be a Met. It was a do or die situation: if he got the hold, she'd win the week and play for 1st-4th. If he failed to get the hold, she'd lose the week and would play for 5th or 6th place.

Shoot.

Where does my loyalty lie? To one of my best friends and only other girl in our baseball league? Or to my beloved Phillies?

On the one hand... if I can't win the league... I want her to. So that makes me want to cheer for her. But on the other hand... how can I root FOR the Mets... and AGAINST the Phillies?!? Especially in a real-life playoff race!

It was awful.

But that day has passed. The Phillies lost. My friend got her hold and her win. And now the Phils have to win an extra game to make up for the loss.

We weren't friends yesterday... but I think we're okay now. : )

No-Hitter? Who cares? It's still his fault...

There is a big hub-bub about the only hit in the Brewers-Pirates game yesterday that cost Sabathia a no-hitter. Was it an incorrect scoring decision? Was it a play he should have made on the nubber in front of the mound?
Maybe.
But I think something is getting lost here...Sabathia himself was the one who made the mistake! Maybe he should have made the play, but whether it was a no-hitter or not he still didn't get the job done on that. And yes, I understand that calling it an error shows how dominant his pitching was that the only way the other team could touch him was normal plays getting messed up. It is a measure of how great a pitcher is on a given day...which apparently doesn't have anything to do with fielding. Either way C.C. was incredible (for 11 starts now). An infield hit is basically the equivalent of saying the hitter got lucky. But in order to say the pitcher was as good as he could be, shouldn't that include not making errors?

This gets into the whole problem of unearned runs, at least indirectly. Does it bother anyone else that a pitcher can commit an error in a game and then not get charged for the runs it allows...that HE allows? How does that make sense? The point of an unearned run is not to charge the pitcher for runs he was not responsible for. If we are completely divorcing pitching from fielding, then I guess this makes sense. But we don't seem to have a problem with crediting the pitcher when a guy behind him turns in a web-gem to save a run...

Ok, just a soapbox.

Another question that has come up among friends is: At what point does Sabathia become a real choice for NL Cy Young?
I mean, he has thoroughly dominated his 11 starts, with 6 CGs and 9-0, barely allowing hits or runs...crazy. So, with, say...15 starts and 13-0? Webb is faltering lately...hmm...

Last (Regular Season) Game at Yankee Stadium

The Red Sox blew a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 to the Yankees on a walk off single by Jason Giambi yesterday. Giambi hit a 2 out homer against Hideki Okajima to tie the game in the seventh. You can read all about that I'm sure all over.

Sometimes it's the little plays that make a difference though. Lester had 2 outs in the 7th with two strikes on the Yankees first baseman Cody Ransom. Ransom foul tipped the next pitch right into Varitek's glove. If he had just sweezed it, Lester's out of the jam and the Sox are up 2-0. But Jason dropped it, and Ransom hit the next pitch for a double, causing Francona to go to the bullpen. He succeed at the inherited runner and went to Okajima, who immediately let up the aforementioned 2 run homer to Giambi.

That botched foul tip, though I doubt it got any press coverage, was the difference in the game.

Oh well. Good Riddance Yankee Stadium. Are they blowing it up or keeping it as a monument? If they're blowing it up, how do I apply to be the guy that gets to push the button?

Obnoxious.

I went to the Phillies/Cubs game last night here in Chicago. Really good game. The Cubs ended up winning on a Ramirez grand slam in the later innings which was unfortunate... but the game was still a lot of fun.

On the way out, however... I started getting really annoyed.

Cub fans were yelling things like, "Phillies suck," "Utley sucks," and "Joe Carter."

First of all. Clearly, the Phillies don't suck. Three teams in the NL [including the Cubs and the Mets who just took over first in the East] have a better record than the Phils. Three. That's it. You don't suck and have that kind of record.

Secondly. Chase went 3 for 5 last night and also reached on an error... getting him on base 4 times. He also scored a run and drove in a run. You don't suck and have a day at the park like that.

Thirdly. Joe Carter? Really? That's just mean.

I don't like obnoxious fans. I'm of the opinion that people should be good sports. Win graciously. Lose graciously. [Granted... I'll say that Dallas sucks until the day I die. But that's b/c of a lifetime of loathing for the Cowboys.] Cubs fans don't hate the Phillies. We're not rivals. Philly fans don't care about the Cubs.

Some people... those drunk, in particular... just have nothing of consequence or intelligence to say, but figure they should open their mouths anyway. I wish they wouldn't.

Yankee Stadium

The Red Sox play at Yankee Stadium for the final time ever today at 1pm.  Here I'm making the not so bold prediction that one of the two teams doesn't make the playoffs this year.  By the way, although the Rays could still lose 32 straight and finish below .500, I'm conceding defeat.  Tampa Bay will win more games then they lose.  But they're still a bunch of thugs and hooligans.

I always hated Yankee Stadium.  I've never actually been there, but I have many bad memories watching games on TV.  I learned life wasn't fair in '93 or '94.  Both the Sox and the Yankees were way out of contention, but to a boy of 7 or 8, that's irrelevant.  The Red Sox had a lead in the ninth and with two outs, a Yankee popped up to end the game.  But a Yankee fan ran out onto the field before the pitch, so the third base umpire ruled that the play was dead.  If memory serves correct, the kid was 13 or so.  Given a fourth out for free, the Yankees rallied and won that game.  I didn't even know about the rivialry then (the Yankees actually had sucked up until that point in my life, so no one cared...) but I was upset.  I remember listening to a Roger Clemens interview later and he said it was unfortunate it wasn't like football and you couldn't penalize the home team 5 yards or something.  

1996 continued my lessons of life isn't fair, but this time on a bigger stage.  I had matured enough in my fanhood to realize the Yankees are evil, so I rooted against them with all my heart as they played the Orioles in the ALCS.  In game one, Jeter flew out to right field, only this time another kid, probably also 13, reached out and pulled the ball over the wall.  An ump was standing right there and missed it somehow.  Jerk.  The Yankees won the game and the series.  

That brings me to bad memory number 3.  Unlike the previous generations which delt with 22 Yankee Championships, I had escaped them the first 11 years of my life.  In fact, before the 96 season, the Red Sox had the sole pennant and the only division titles (4 out of 11!) in my lifetime in the storied rivalry.  I remember 10 years to the day after the Calvin Schiraldi/Rich Gedman collapse (often blamed on Bill Buckner, who certainly didn't help...) the Yankees had a 3-2 lead in the World Series.  I saw lots of simularities between '86 and '96.  For example, game six was in New York.  The American League team was up 3-2 in the series.  The games were on the same day of the calandar year.  It seemed obvious to me that history was repeating and the National League team would come back and win in heartbreaking fashion.  I shared this with my cousin Danny, who pointed out my observations implied that something bad for the Red Sox and good for New York was bound to happen again.  Unfortunately, he was right.  I believe the last out was a Brave popping out in foul territory just behind third base to Wade Boggs, a gutless trader if there ever was one.  

The 1999 ALCS was no better.  The Yankees and Red Sox met up for the first time in official post season history.  Long story short, the umpires screwed the Red Sox out of game 1.  In the tenth, Jose Offerman was on first and a grounder was hit to Jeter, who threw to Knoblach.  Knoblach didn't catch it, but the ump called Offerman out anyway.  Bernie Williams homered in the Bottom of the inning.  A similar call happened later, which according to espn.com is the single worst call of all time.  Search Chuck Knoblach phantom tag if you're interested.  That happened at Fenway, so I won't bother.  There were other horrible calls in that series, all of which went New York's way as the MLB handed them the pennant, but I won't get into it right now.

Skip ahead to 2003, game 7.  Red Sox up 4-0 with Pedro on the mound, the Rocket sent to an early shower.  I stood in my dorm room and applauded respectfully as he exited.  "That's the last time the greatest pitcher of all time will ever pitch."  I don't want to talk much about what happened next.  It's all a blur.  New York scored 2 to make it 4-2 in the seventh.  Then David Ortiz hit what I still feel to this day is the most clutch homer ever, silencing the crowd making it 5-2 in the 8th.  Pedro's back and the lead's gone.  The game's tied in the 8th.  I remember vaguly Todd Walker coming up to hit with a runner on second in the ninth or tenth or something and declaring "I swear to God, if he gets a hit here, I'll name my first born son Todd Walker McColgan."  He didn't, though I would have.  He had a great post season.  Aaron Boone hit a homer in the 11th.  It was so predictable.  There were so many fair weather Yankee fans around, and I mocked them earlier saying I bet they couldn't even name the third baseman.  They couldn't.  And he's the one that came back to haunt me.  

I remember screams of the one Yankee fan on my floor.  His window looked directly into mine.  He screamed "MAYBE NEXT YEAR" over and over again for an hour, right into my window.  I just shut the TV off and the lights and laid on my bed listening to him.  People kept checking on me.  On drunk girl said they were all worried I was gonna kill myself.  My mom kept calling too.  I think she was thinking the same.  

On top of all this, there were countlessly many games where the Red Sox just got destroyed there.  I really don't like that place very much.  Yeah, 2004 was sweet, especially game 6.  It was unbelievable that two calls, Mark Bellhorn's homer and A-Rod tackling Arroyo, were overturned and went the Red Sox way.  They don't make up for the past though, as those should have gone against the Yankees anyway, just like Jeter flying out and Knoblach dropping the ball and the phantom tag.  I guess 2004 taught me sometimes justice does prevail.

I'm personally glad to see it go.  The Red Sox won Wednesday, 11-3.  NESN kept showing little kids in Yankee hats and shirts who looked miserable.  As bad as it sounds, I enjoy their misery.  The Yankees and their fans ruined so many of my summer nights in years passed.  It's good to see the tide has turned.  Here's hoping the new stadium continues not only the championship draught but also the recent Red Sox success there.

Boo-Birds

This article in today's News Journal [out of Wilmington, DE] cracked me up and was too good to not share. Author Kevin Noonan is kind of the resident DE sports guru who's very familiar with how Philly Phans think and act. He should be... cuz he is one. So without further ado...

This is a city that is as well known for its boo-birds as it is for the Liberty Bell. It's a dubious distinction of which many sports fans around here are proud.

But even though it seems as if we boo everybody, not all booing is equal. We tailor it to each individual situation, and sometimes to each individual.

There's the boo of frustration, which happens when Pat Burrell strikes out with the bases loaded.

There's the boo of anger, which Jimmy Rollins has been hearing the last few days.

There's the boo of bitterness, which is directed at players like former Phils Billy Wagner and Scott Rolen.

And then there's the boo of respect, the kind Manny Ramirez heard on Friday night during the Phillies' 8-1 victory over his Los Angeles Dodgers.

Larry Bird used to hear it, and so did Magic Johnson and Lawrence Taylor and Emmitt Smith and Mario Lemieux. They were athletes the Philly fans hated, but also admired. They were athletes the Philly fans booed with all their leather-lunged might, but those same fans would have been thrilled to cheer for them if they had worn the home uniform.

Ramirez fits into that category. Some people might not like his king-sized ego. Some might not like his choice of hair style. But everybody loves the way he swings a bat and brings energy to a lineup.

Back to me. I LOVE the fact that there are indeed different types of boos. Seriously. And for some reason... we really DO take pride in it. Such a funny thing.

A fellow reader added this comment: "Nice try, Noonan...but you're flat wrong. David Wright gets the boo of respect. Manny Rameriz gets booed because he's a <>."

I actually agree with the reader more than Noonan in this case. My respect for Manny is waning, as I've previously discussed.

I'd give the boo of bitterness to Wagner and Rolen as noted, as well as J.D. Drew.

The boo of admiration would go to a lot of players... but specifically I'd have to think of guys like Wright, Holliday, Beltran, Glavine, Maddux, Smoltz, both Chipper and Andruw, and prolly some other guys, too. But the boo of admiration is reserved mainly for guys who're on rival teams like the Mets or Braves. Gotta include Holliday in there, too, b/c of the NL run last year.

Anyway... love the article. Love the News Journal. Love Noonan. Love booing. Love the Phils.

Playoffs?

In the beginning of the year, I probably picked the Red Sox to win the World Series. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've predicted that every year since I learned the World Series existed in '91. However, now it's not even certain they'll be in the playoffs this year. They're 4.5 games behind the Artists Formally Known as the Devil Rays* and are clinging to a slim half game wild card lead.

The problems with the team are so numerous it's tough to tell where to begin. First, I guess we'll start with the trading deadline, and more specifically, the Manny deal. Apparently, everyone was sick of him and my friend Jose is convinced he was throwing at bats and purposely making errors in his last days in Boston. According to rumors, a group of veterans including Varitek and Lowell went to Theo to tell him Manny had to go. I don't care how much of this is true, you don't trade away Manny Rameriz. You find a way to make him happy, and then he produces. That's the bottom line. Since he left Boston, he has 6 homers, 21 RBI, a .500 OBP and he's hitting a mere .413.

Former Yankee and Red Sox manager Joe McCarthy had a tie policy. Everyone had to wear ties unless they were in their uniform. Ted Williams didn't wear ties, and the media started asking McCarthy what he was gonna do about it. McCarthy said he wasn't gonna do anything about it cause "If you can't get along with a .400 hitter, you have no business being in the game." Whatever it took to make Manny happy, the team should have done it. He is the greatest Red Sox outfielder of my life time, and the fact they gave up two prospects, admittedly not great prospects, but two prospects none the less, plus they're paying all of Manny's salary and all they got was Jason Bay is silly. I'm not blaming Jason Bay for this. I really don't have a strong opinion on him one way or the other yet. He seems to be a right handed J.D. Drew. The good one from this year, not the bad one from last year.

Problem number 2 is the bullpen. In tonight's game, I watched Aardsma, Lopez, and Timlin all suck. One guy comes out after the other and the only question I have is how many runs will they give up? It's a given that every inherited runner will score, regardless of who comes through the bullpen door (even if it's Papelbon...). For Aardsma, Lopez, Timlin, and DelCarmen, at least 1 run and usually 2 are guarented. It got to the point tonight where the Red Sox warmed up middle infielder Alex Cora and considered bringing him in. I was rooting for him to come in and pitch a 1-2-3 inning. If he had, it would easily propel him to the top half of the bullpen depth chart.

The third problem is the rotation. Lester has been great, Diasuke has been good. Wakefield has been Wakefield. He's a .500 pitcher, which isn't bad for a number 5. Everyone else has been disapointing, none worse then Josh Beckett. I honestly thought Beckett was the reincarnation of Derek Lowe in 2006. He pitched well when things were going well, then he blew up and pitched like crap if one thing went wrong. I didn't trust him in 2007 even though he had a Cy Young calaber year until the playoffs. Then he pitched his rear end off in October and put forth the best performance in post season history leading me to declare him the best pitcher to ever wear a Red Sox uniform. This year he's 11-9 with a 4.34 ERA. That mediocrity is something I expect from Tim Wakefield, not the ace. Add on top of that Beckett now has numbness in his hand and might miss his next start, and this isn't what I expected from the heir to Pedro Martinez.

Buchholz was in my mind gonna be what Lester currently is. Well, maybe not that good, at least not yet. But he hasn't won a game since May! He's 2-9 with an ERA in the 6's, plus he got hammered tonight after the offense spotted him a 4 run lead against an Oriole team he no hit a year ago. He was optioned to AA Portland after tonight's shalacking. Interesting tidbit from the official press release, the Sox are 3-12 when Buchholz starts, 70-42 when anyone else does. I have no idea whose gonna replace him. Maybe they'll activate Wakefield from the DL.

I was originally gonna blame Epstein for problems 2 and 3, but I decided not to at the last minute. It's hard to considering the injuries (Schilling, Colon, Wakefield) and people underpreforming (Buchholz and Okajima) he's had to deal with. I was also gonna blame Schilling for being injured,but I decided not to. He's done way to much for the Boston Red Sox and I don't blame anyone for signing a deal that gives them millions to play a game...even if they're too hurt to play.

*-note as of tonight, the Artists Formally Known as the Devil Rays have 77 wins. That means my earlier prediction still has a mathematical chance of being true.

The Jimmy Fund

So, the Red Sox official charity is the Jimmy Fund. It's part of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, but the focus is on kids. For the past seven years, the Red Sox along with radio station AM 850 WEEI and cable station NESN have taken a day to fund raise for it. This year, it's two days. Maybe it always has been. I can't remember. The goal is 4 million. They're at 3.7 million right now.

I was listening to WEEI all day today, and they had all sorts of little kids who were dying or recovering or survivors. It was heartbreaking. If you heard them you'd donate. If you think you could spare anything, even a few bucks, I urge you too. Call 877-738-1234 or else click here. The fundraiser ends tonight, but it's never too late to give. Here's the Jimmy Fund's home page for future reference.

UPDATE: This is a huge event every year with a great many contributors from all over. Everyone gives, including many affiliated with the Yankees. George Steinbrenner's always very generous, as is Yankee fan Donald Trump who threw out the first pitch last year wearing a Jimmy Fund Jersey cause he hates the Red Sox and won't wear there's. Here's a picture of Bill Cosby throwing out last night's first pitch in a shirt near and dear to all our hearts.

Texas vs Boston

When I tuned in last night the score was Boston 10, Texas 2. The Sox added 2 more in the 3rd to make it 12-2. My only thoughts at the time were about whether or not Zink could go 7 innings and let the bullpen rest. Three hours later, Texas had the lead. In all my life, I never remember the Red Sox blowing a 10 run lead. According to Sports Illustrated's web page, the Red Sox were beating the Blue Jays 10-0 after 6 when I was 4 years old in 1989 and lost the game 13-11. I guess that's the only other time a Red Sox team has blown that big a lead.

There were a lot of crazy plays that went Texas way. Coco Crisp had a fly ball land inside his glove and then fall out. Crisp argued it was on the tranfer, but the umpire ruled it wasn't a catch. The official score keeper ruled it a double, not an error. That, along with 8 Ranger runs, pretty much sums up the fifth. Oh yeah...and it took Lopez and Aardsma to get out of the it in a game I was hoping the starter would go at least 7.

In the bottom of the fifth, Ortiz appeared to hit a homer, but an umpire ruled a fan reached out and interfeared with the ball. They decided it would have hit the top of the centerfield wall and gave Ortiz a double. Myself and all of Baltimore is currently wondering where this umpiring crew was during the 1996 ALCS. Aside from fantasy numbers, it didn't matter much, as Youkilis homered the very next at bat.

In the sixth with one out and a runner on third, a ground ball was hit that deflected off Youkilis. Pedroia picked it up and had plenty of time to toss to first to get the sure out, and even looked that way. Instead, he decided to throw home. Kevin Cash made a great play just to catch the horrible throw. The first thing you learn in little league is to take the sure out. Pedroia must have been sick that day. Than man who reached on the Youk error/Pedroia fielder's choice eventually scored on a sacrifice fly. Had Pedrioa just gone to first and gotten the sure out, the inning's over on that fly ball. Stupidity.

In the seventh, Okajima came on with a runner on first and 1 out. It was ugly how he did it, but after loading the bases he got out of the inning without allowing any runs. I mention this only cause it's the first time I've seen Okajima not allow an inherited runner to score this year. Hopefully he's gotten better at that in my time away. It's impossible for him to be any worse.

Anyway, in a game the Red Sox lead 10-0 and 12-2, they came up to bat trailing 16-15 in the eight. Thankfully, they scored 4 runs capped by a three run Youkilis homer to take a 19-16 lead into the 9th. The Rangers got 1 off Papelbon, but the Red Sox escaped with a 19-17 win.

Also, Tampa Bay lost and New York beat Minnesota. Sickening as it sounds, it's actually good the Yankees won. It helps cause Minnesota's in second behind Boston for the wildcard.

Lastly, at the risk of comprimising what little respect and integrity I have left, I'm keeping the faith that Tampa Bay will never finish above .500. Right now they have 71 wins with 44 games to play. In order to finish above .500, the Rays need only to go 11-33. 10-34 or worse may seem impossible. However, I've been watching them for 10 years play their role as the most worthless team in professional sports history. I'm confident if any team can pull it off, they can.

Byrd a Red Sox

I'm back in Boston. I don't really know what's going on. I feel like such a fair weather fan. I saw part of the game Sunday, a 6-5 loss to the White Sox. I was technically still in Anchorage, but I was at a sports bar called Boston's. Close enough.

Apparently Buchholtz hasn't been everything I hoped for since I left. That's been the talk the last two days. I logged on to RedSox.com and saw the Sox traded a player to be named later and cash to Cleveland for Paul Byrd, who if I recall correctly, pitched better than Carmona and Sabathia in the ALCS last year. He's apparently gonna take Buchholtz spot in the rotation.

Wakefield's on the DL. The Sox have another knuckleballer starting tonight, Charlie Zinc. He's been really good with Pawtucket, 13-4 with a 2.89 ERA, 2 complete games and a shutout. It's his first start in the Majors. I remember Wakefield coming out of nowhere in 95 and leading the Sox to the division title that year. If Zinc can be half as effective for half as long during his Red Sox career, I'll be thrilled. He's pretty old for making his debut, about to turn 29 latter this month.

Obnoxious

Top of the 9th in LA... Dodgers lead Philly 8-4. Everyone's ready to go except... left field is...vacant?

Where the heck is Manny??

After an awkward period of time [while people searched for him], he runs out from the dugout... grinning and looking ridiculous with his baggy pants and shirt not buttoned up.

From the announcers: "Well, we did a little special on "Manny being Manny,"... and we've got more. He's unbuttoned, he's late... who knows, huh? Who knows."

Absolutely obnoxious. His egocentrism and lack of seriousness about the game are not only annoying... but they also make the game seem like a joke.

You've got guys playing their hearts out... hustling down the line, chasing down balls in the outfield. It's like those guys realize that people are paying good money to watch them work hard. They realize that it's a privilege to be on the field in the first place and don't take it for granted.

And then there's Manny.

I've said it before... but one of these days [or years] Manny's offensive contribution will be outweighed by his mediocre defense and his lack of heart. On his way to becoming a player of little consequence, he'll go back to the AL and end up as a DH for awhile, I'm sure. [Which may happen sooner than later as he's hoping to go to the Yanks during the offseason. Apparently he wants to get back at the Red Sox or something. Good grief.]

He's a great hitter... one of the best of this generation. He'll make it to the Hall as his bat deserves to be there. But I wish the powers that be wouldn't tolerate so much stupidity and laziness from him. There's a higher standard for baseball players... and that he gets away with so much is an embarrassment.

Baseball is too good for Manny.

It's easy cheering for the Red Sox

As a Jason Bay / new Red Sox fan, I am discovering just how easy and fun it is to like this team.

Mainly, there is this: The team is good. This therefore motivates me to actually seek the results of every game, and even more amazing, to find out how the Rays and Yankees are doing as well!

I like it.

Another thing is that their fans are intelligent. I've enjoyed becoming acquainted with the smart blogs Over The Monster and Joy of Sox.

Finally, I didn't realize how much of a fan I am of Bay personally until I saw him succeeding in games that mattered. My heart skips a beat whenever he's at the plate now and when he has a nice play or a good hit I get so excited!! Because what he does actually affects the fortunes of a team now. I have a feeling he's going to be better than ever with the Sox.

Standing Ovation

Another title I considered for this post:

"Go Red Sox," because as I've said, I will cheer for Jason Bay's new team until the Pirates are good again. I will still be a Pirates fan, of course, but you can expect me to follow the Red Sox closely come playoff time, especially when Bay's at the plate.

But ultimately when I think about the trade deadline, I am blown away by the Pirates' rookie GM Neal Huntington.

Huntington was hired with no prospects and a pathetic major league roster. Many fans clamored this offseason for him to trade away Bay, Jack Wilson, Nady, Marte, and others right away. He resisted.

As it turned out, every one of those guys improved on last year's performances, especially Nady and Bay, who churned out All-Star-caliber years.

Another player improved, our center fielder Nate McLouth. The result was that we had a pretty darn good offense this season. Our pitching was terrible though, worst in the league. Conventional wisdom says to hang on for dear life to those hitters and try desperately to improve pitching through trades and offseason signings.

That is perhaps what former GM Dave Littlefield would have done, desperate for the team to look at least average, mortgaging the future for the illusion of competing.

But Huntington made the right choice. He knows that to truly compete, the Pirates need a stronger minor league system and not just talent at the major league level, but talent with depth. After making no significant moves in the offseason, Huntington had what appears to be a decent draft, although there are still many good players from the draft who haven't signed.

At the deadline, all eyes were now on the former Indians Assistant GM to make his move. And he performed a magic trick.

Over the weekend, he sent Xavier Nady (an impending free agent) and Damasco Marte to the Bronx in return for one top-shelf-potential-but-very-young OF prospect and three very ordinary, average pitching prospects. (Of course, they instantly became the Pirates' 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best pitching prospects.)

Some praised the return Huntington got for a LOOGY and a mediocre OF having a career year who would leave in a couple months. Others complained that it wasn't enough. Perhaps it's not an easy call.

As it turned out, though, Neal had mysterious ways, and ulterior motives in making a New York trade five days before the deadline.

Still spouting lies that the Pirates had no serious intentions of trading Jason Bay, Huntington began talks with two teams who suddenly had incentive to improve: the Yankees division rivals Tampa Bay and Boston. Tampa Bay, whose system is so rich with prospects that they don't know what to do with them, seemed unwilling to budge on a few players the Pirates were demanding. Meanwhile, Boston, who needed to rid themselves of Ramierez, searched desperately for the right team to send him to so that they could replace him with Bay.

At this point, TB and Boston had incentive not just to one-up the Yankees but to avoid having the other team improve. Not only was Huntington selling Bay at his highest value, but he was in a self-created perfect situation for negotiating with the upper hand.

As a result, Huntington was able to reject offers all week right up until the last second, ultimately taking 3B Andy LaRoche, SP Brandon Morris, RP Craig Hansen, and OF Brandon Moss. From what I've read in the past 24 hours, LaRoche is a gem, a major-league ready player who should eventually be a star. Morris has star potential and is only 21. Hansen and Moss have less potential but can step right in and be certain contributors for years here.

This deal was more fruitful than any of the rumored deals we "had together" with Florida or Tampa Bay. Huntington took players at their peak value, traded them to a team who had incentive to trade that was created by Huntington, and picked up great prospects who are being undervalued by the Dodgers, along with solid contributors fromo Boston.

Bravo, Neal. For two impending free agents and Jason Bay, you got 3 guys who SHOULD be future All-Stars and 5 other guys who should be contributors on the Pirates' eventual turnaround team in a couple years.

Until then, GO RED SOX!!

A deal that benefits me

Junior in Chicago?!?

This excites me for absolutely no other reason than the fact that I get to have the most beautiful swing in baseball in my backyard.

Manny-Bay-Prospects... Does it make sense?

I woke up this morning to see if I was dreaming about the likely three-way trade involving Jason Bay and Manny. Here's why it makes sense for everyone involved:

1. Boston gets to send Manny to the NL while getting a player in return who is nearly as productive this year but is not disruptive. Bay still has a year before free agency as well, and could therefore become part of the Red Sox' longterm plans. And the most important part for for Boston: Tampa Bay does not get Jason Bay. Boston also gets reliever John Grabow. It costs them Manny for the playoff run, cash, and a couple strong prospects.

2. Florida gets a productive outfielder, Manny, free for a playoff run (from what I hear Boston will pay Florida the rest of Manny's salary). They give up a couple strong prospects.

3. Pittsburgh gets much needed high-level talent for their farm system, something like four players. They give up Jason Bay.

At first I was skeptical that Boston would trade Manny at this point in the year but considering age, won't Bay be at least as good as Manny for the next few years? And they can more easily keep him around.

Meanwhile, we know Florida is a weird team and probably just wants to go on a strong run this year before selling their team off or something. They do not have to pay the full cost for Bay to the Pirates so it is not a big loss for them.

The Pirates will presumably get great return on Jason Bay, because the Rays and the Red Sox now have to work against each other, both having a desire not only for Bay but also for the other team to not have Bay.

Rumors are that either the Pirates want slightly better prospects or the Marlins want Boston to send a prospect their way. I'm sure I'll be addicted to checking back all day to see what happens.

The greatest part is that the Pirates don't NEED to trade Bay. If we're not happy about the deal, just hang onto him and trade him in the off-season or next year at this time. With a year of arbitration left, the guy is like gold. We should get a couple elite prospects and a couple 2nd or 3rd tier prospects for him.

Finally, with Tampa Bay and Boston both in the running for Bay, the Nady/Marte-to-Yankees trade looks better and better, as it turned up the heat on these two teams to improve their situation.

Trade deadline!!

As I've said before, this is an exciting season for Pirate fans, as we have a new front office that sometimes shows shades of competence. This is a huge improvement from the last seven or so years.

The Pirates have a decent offense this year and the worst pitching anyone's ever seen. Our minor league system is practically bankrupt.

A couple days ago we traded RF Xavier Nady and RP Damasco Marte to the Yankees for four prospects. Three were pitchers of various pedigrees, although none are top-shelf talent. The last guy, whose name is Tabata, is a 19-year-old OF with potential to be a star, although he's had a rough year in the minors so far.

Despite what some media members have said, it's a great deal for the Pirates, because Xavier Nady is mediocre and is simply having a career year. He's just as likely to fall flat on his face in New York as to continue his good year there. Marte is a relief pitcher and was going to be gone at the end of the season anyway. Nice job (general manager) Huntington!

Some have complained that we helped the Yankees. I could care less if it's the Yankees or anyone else. In fact, I'll be cheering a bit for the Yankees because Nady and Marte are both really great guys who liked Pittsburgh a lot.

As I have stated more than once, if Jason Bay is traded, I will cheer for his new team until the Pirates are good again. That promise is still on, and while there is a good chance Bay will not be traded in the next 24 hours, there is still a chance.

In fact, the Tampa Bay Rays are looking more and more like his new team. The Cardinals are in the mix too, but they don't have as much to offer. I would be excited to cheer for the Rays, although it'll make me look like a bandwagon jumper. Oh well.

All Star Game Thoughts...

1. I loathe J.D. Drew. So of course he won the MVP award.

2. I'm a little bit concerned about Brad Lidge. Giving up a walk-off homer to Albert Pujols in the NLCS a few years ago really rattled him. He didn't recover until he came to Philly this year. Will losing the ASG last night have a similar affect on him? I sure hope not... cuz he just signed a 3-year deal...

3. I was really impressed with that one inning where the AL had the bases loaded with no outs and the pitcher got three infield hits in a row with outs at home. The other really impressive play was Nate McClouth's throw from center to home for another out. It was a PERFECT throw. Any other location on the ball and it wouldn't have been an out. Perfect.

4. Fifteen innings? Really? I mean... I usually like extra inning games... but I think this was kind of ridiculous in light of the managers trying to get all the players in... and still trying to win... AND trying to protect guys like Kazmir and Webb who weren't supposed to pitch. Should the managers have extra players in case of a never-ending game like this year's? Should pitchers be replaced if they're not able to be used in the game?

5. With that... should the game matter? I like that it matters b/c it makes the guys actually try to win. On the other hand... since the AL is clearly the better league [though you wouldn't necessarily know it from last night's game] it's almost a "gimme" that the AL will get home field advantage for the World Series. That kinda blows.

The Battle for NL Central B

The NL Central is the only division with six teams. This does not make it unfair for these teams, because two or three of these teams are always among the worst in the league.

Each year there are 1-3 teams competing for a playoff spot and the other 3-5 teams compete to be the best of the bad.

That's why I have created the NL Central B-division. Since the Pirates will never win the NL Central again, we can at least be the best of the teams that are eliminated by July.

If we take a look retroactively, the Pirates haven't even won the B-division for a few years:

In 2007, the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals all had at least 78 wins, while the Astros won the B-Division over the Reds and Pirates with 73 wins (Pirates: 68 wins).

In 2006 the Cardinals, Astros and Reds all had at least 80 wins while the Brewers won the B-Division with 75 (Pirates: 67 wins).

In 2005 the Cardinals and Astros had at least 89 wins, while the Brewers won the B-League with 81 (Pirates: 67 wins).

In 2004 the Cardinals, Astros and Cubs all had at least 86 wins, while the Reds won the B-Division with 76 wins (Pirates: 72 wins).

And in 2003, the Cardinals, Astros and Cubs all had at least 85 wins while the Pittsburgh Pirates won the B-Division with 75!! Oh yeah. This was of course a Lloyd McClendon-managed year of craziness, including Randall Simon hitting a certain sausage over the head with a baseball bat.

So it's been 5 years since our last B-League championship. How are things shaping up this season?

Well, the two divisions are clearly set already: The Cubs, Cardinals and Brewers are competing for playoff spots (50-55 wins), while the Pirates, Astros and Reds are in the B-Division (42-43 wins).

Currently, Cinci and Pitt are tied for the lead while Houston is a game back. I'll be chronicalling our quest for a B-Division championship the rest of the season.

Go Bucs!

(Hey, when you've been losing for this long, you'll take what you can get.)

c.c. ya later

welp... so much for that.

c.c. if it happens

could the phils get sabbathia?

who could they possibly give up that would even out the trade?!!?

i like the lineup just the way it is, thank you. so please don't give the indians any of the following:

utley... obviously
rollins
howard
burrell... though a year ago i'd be in shock that i now want to keep him
victorino
werth
feliz... we spent too long trying to find a good 3b
ruiz... bat's terrible right now... but defensively he's a gem
coste... great backup catcher and a good bench bat
dobbs... the "pinch-hitter extraordinaire"

i don't have strong feelings for bruntlett or jenkins or taguchi... but i appreciate what they've been able to do both in the field and at the plate. but... if they had to go... okay.

as for pitchers... i need to keep:

hamels... obviously
kendrick
myers
moyer... old... but reliable most of the time
lidge
condrey
durbin
romero

i'd eagerly part with eaton. and i'm always skeptical of madson and gordon... so i'd be fine if they left, too.

am i forgetting anyone important?

the alternative is for the phils to dig into their minor league prospects. apparently there are some good ones... though i don't know any of their names. it's a tough call for me... b/c we could have some brilliant players preparing to come up... but... at the same time, i'd more easily let them go since i don't have an emotional connection to them. [note that i said "to" them rather than "with" them. "to"implies the one-sidedness of the connection/obsession. "with" would imply a mutual connection. only in my dreams.]

if chase ever leaves me, by the way... i'll be absolutely devastated. i'd like the phillies to lay down the big bucks and just keep him for his entire career. course... that's what their plan was with burrell... until he hit his 3-year slump. course... he's coming out of it... and loves philly... so maybe he'll stay after all. [how he loves it there i have no idea... fans have been harassing him for the duration of his slump.]

hamels will jet the second he gets offered more money. not b/c he doesn't like philly... but b/c he's a little bit arrogant and has one of the most awful, greedy, manipulative human beings on the planet as his wife. i don't seem him staying with the phils long-term... though i wish he would. he'll prolly end up with the yanks or bosox or something like that. i'd rather keep him around... but money's a powerful thing.

as for c.c.... do i want him? depends on the price tag. not if it'd break up my beloved starting lineup. i can see him doing well in philly though... and having him would certainly bolster the rotation.

if, of course, he can get used to the hitter-friendliness of The Bank.

Losing

I have to be honest. It's difficult for me to post when the Phillies are losing. I stop watching Sportscenter and Baseball Tonight. I can't go to ESPN.com or Delaware Online b/c I don't want to see articles about a single Phillies' loss... much less a streak of losses. I live in denial.

Brett Myers got demoted to the minors yesterday... though... they're saying that it's not a demotion. It's a way for him to get his fastball back to normal without the pressure of needing to win. And it's so he can reboost his confidence. He'll apparently be back in a few starts and the guy they pulled up from the minors to replace him will go back down.

It's a wonder they never sent Adam Eaton down to the minors.

I'm not really sure what's wrong with the Phils right now. Myers not pitching well is certainly part of it. But something weird happened with them during all the interleague play. It's rather distressing. Still in first place... but barely.

They're a good team. So I'm fairly certain that they'll pull it together and be back to their normal form soon. Well... at least I hope they will.

Beat the Best, Lose to the Worst

There are many things I don't understand about baseball and probably never will. One is the multitude of ways a balk can be called, but almost never is...it always just seems so arbitrary. Another is why managers are recycled so often, as if the guy might just get it right with his fifth different team after bombing with the other four. Or why Tony LaRussa hits his pitchers eight most of the time now.

But one that seems to happen all the time is playing great against a tough team only to get swept by a crappy team...only to play well against a great team again. The crazy ups and downs of baseball are just astounding.

Take the Cardinals last several games as an example.

They play three against Philadelphia, NL East leaders who were playing really well...and started the series off with a 20-2 pounding of the Cards...no, it was an anihilation...or something tremendously awful. Then, STL rebounds to win the last two, taking the series. Pretty good against a hot, 1st place team.

Then the Cards take on Kansas City, perennial bottom-dwellers of the AL Central. Should be able to take this momentum and beat up on a bad team, right? Apparently not. STL got swept. Yeah, swept, not just lost two of three. Swept. And that leading up to playing the Red Sox in Boston.

Great, Boston doesn't lose at home. They are, like, 56-2 at home or something and we are coming off of getting swept by the Royals...not looking good. Without Albert my faith in the team is similar to my faith in the Royals. But that's not how it turns out, is it? The Cardinals were within one bad JD Drew throw of a sweep of the Sox themselves...IN Boston.
What?!
How does this make sense?

I know there are reasons within reasons in any single game. But it is just weird how this happens. Going 4-5 against those three teams, I would have thought a sweep of the Royals would have been in there, not a sweep BY the Royals.

Crazy baseball.

Adam Dunn: Why the haters?

Adam Dunn leads the league in strike outs. Adam Dunn has a .228 batting average this season. All I hear all day on Columbus radio is Adam Dunn stinks, trade Adam Dunn, etc. Today the GM of the Blue Jays blasted him. I just watched the guys on Around the Horn agree.

Why does everyone hate Adam Dunn?

He has bad defense, but that's no rarity for right fielders. Other than that, he has a .396 OBP, a .511 SLG, has 18 home runs and he leads the league in walks!!

Not only that, he's been doing it every year!!

When will people learn that there's more to baseball than batting average? Dunn is still one of the best players in the league at not getting out AND he has power. I'd love him on my team.

I love everything about baseball...except one thing.

I love baseball. I could watch it all day. I could read as many books or ESPN articles as you would put in front of me. I would love it if it was all year round (kind of like much of America seems to be doing with the NFL now) so I would have games every day of the year. I love the history of the game. I love the amazing and unexpected things that seem to happen every week. I love the beauty of the field, the duel of pitcher and batter, the dimensions of the diamond that make the stolen base a challenge and yet not impossible. I love going to games. I love listening to games on the radio...any teams. I love being able to flip between three or four games on TV. I love talking about it, debating it-the players, teams, rules, etc. I love everything about it. Except one thing.

I don't love that it can distract me...or even enslave me. It can become a god. I want to enjoy the players and the game, not worship them. But sometimes it feels that way. And tonight was a good example of how I/we can get so wrapped up and focused on the fun of baseball that we push God out of His rightful place as the center of life.

This wasn't dramatic or anything, but as one of my roommates and I were debating Hall of Fame worthy players--who's in, who's out, what about so-and-so, etc.--our other roommate, who had come in, finally said, "God is putting some stuff on my heart and I could use some prayer...". Now, this didn't upset me, even though I would have enjoyed more baseball talk. And we ended up having a great time of discussion and prayer together. But we also noted that we end up spending so much time talking about ultimately worthless things (like whether Mike Mussina has been merely a good player for a long time or a truly great player deserving of a place with those in the Hall--for the record, I don't see him as great) that sometimes we miss those opportunities for where God is leading. Miss opportunities to really get into life issues with each other and seek God's face together...it's a lot easier most of the time to talk about what the Tiger's chances are of making the playoffs this year or which team's injuries are the most devastating than to really engage with one another about God. Praying together is a big one of those.

How many times have I not wanted to interupt my roommates or inconvenience someone else with initiating praying together or bringing up heart stuff? Or how many times have I been so wrapped up in reading articles or watching a game or talking Hot Stove League speculation and not been "available" for my roommates and friends? And how many times have I decided not to read my Bible, but to read about the history of the Cardinals or about sabermetrics...not just once, but a week in a row or more?

Baseball is great. And beautiful. God wants us tobe able to enjoy it. But when it begins to come before Him or keeps us from really being attentive to Him and what he is doing around us...well, that is a problem. That is the one thing about baseball that I don't like.
May we all enjoy baseball, but never in place of God.

Final Thoughts

The Red Sox beat the Reds, 9-0. Florida is beating Tampa Bay 9-2 also in the ninth. If that score holds, the Red Sox will have a 2.5 game lead in the AL East. Objectively, I can see only two problems with this team. The first and most obvious is the bullpen. Okajima's no where near as effective as last year. He still has problems with allowing inherited runners to score and now he's also having trouble allowing his own to score, if that makes sense. Papelbon's been good as has David Aardsma. Both Craig Hanson and Manny DelCarmen have shown signs of being reliable setup men, but both have also gone through periods of struggle. Javier Lopez has been ok as the left handed specialist. Timlin's just getting too old. I don't think he has anything left. I would like to see Theo get a middle reliever this year, not a closer. I think they learned that doesn't work with Gagne. Trade for a reliable setup man. I honestly don't know who right now. As I said before, Brandon Morrow would be great...but I don't think that's reasonable.

The other problem they have is winning on the road. The Sox are 16-21 on the road, which actually is getting a lot better. If the Red Sox finish even a game or two above 500 on the road, they'll be all set. They're unstoppable at Fenway with a 28-7 record.

Everything else about the team is awesome. The rotation is phenominal...no matter who is in it. Right now, it's Beckett, Lester, Wakefield, Colon and Masterson. Also expected to come off the DL this year, the Sox have Diasuke, Buchholtz and Schilling. Even with Manny and Ortiz both out today hurt, the Sox lineup was able to score 9 runs (and counting). Manny's bothered by his ham string and would have DHed in an AL park. He'll be back. AM 680 WRKO is reporting that Ortiz wrist feels fine and he should be able to comeback without the surgery. In his absense, J.D. Drew finally figured out how to hit in the American League.

One last thing. In the first inning today, 72 games into the season, Jacoby Ellsbury set a Red Sox rookie record for stolen bases, stealing second for his 32nd steal. He celebrated by stealing third to set a new record, and we're not even halfway through the year yet. According to my uncle Michael, and backed up by Wikipedia, Tommy Harper has the overall Red Sox record with 54 steals. I think it's safe to assume that will be smashed by the time I get back from Alaska.

This is the time for the Red Sox. I don't know that a team's been set up this nicely in history. The team keeps getting both better and younger. And the salaries are cheaper. Papelbon, Pedrioa, Ellsbury, Buchholtz, Masterson. They'll all be around awhile and none of them make over a million. Theo's been brilliant. He's very Belichick-like, in that he's willing to part ways with fan favorites like Johnny Damon and Pedro Martinez-even if it pisses off the fan base-for the good of the team.

In terms of history, I don't know if the Red Sox will ever catch the Yankees...at least not in our life time. The Yankees have 26 World Championships and 39 pennants. The Red Sox have 7 World Championships and 12 pennants. Granted, 27 straight pennants to close the gap isn't very likely, but this is the time to close the gap, one baby step at a time. This millennium, the Red Sox have the only two World Series Titles of the rivalry. Both teams have 2 pennants but I think its safe to say the Red Sox are the better of the two since 2001.

Now that that's done, we can look at things in terms of my life time. Right now, the Yankees lead, 4 world championships to 2. When it comes to pennants, the Yankees have the 6-3 advantage. This 5 year period is the time to strike at that. I think the Red Sox could win 2-3 pennants and 1 or 2 World Series in the next 5 years. It's amazing. I never would have thought when I was 13 or 14 the Red Sox would have a shot at having as many pennants in my life as the Yankees, never mind World Championships. But it's a very real possibility now. Is it going to be easy? Nope. Not at all. But it definitely is possible.

Boston vs Cincinnati

For the first time since the 1975 World Series, the Red Sox will play the Reds. I didn't believe it at first when I read about it on redsox.com. For as long as Interleague has been going on, it seems every team would have played all the others at least once by now. I'm not sure if this will be the final National League team for the Red Sox. Looking at the teams real quick, I don't remember them ever playing the Astros in Interleague, who are on the schedule for later this year. I'm not sure about the Nationals, though they definitely played the Expos a bunch of times. I think I remember every other team playing Boston at least once in the regular season.

This will also probably be the last series I'll blog about for at least 6 weeks. I'm going off to Alaska on Monday. I'm told they have a really good semi pro league up there...on par with the Cape Cod League we have in Massachusetts. Maybe I'll check that out and let you know about it.

UPDATE: I just checked out the webpage for the Alaska Baseball League. There are 6 teams. I'm staying in Anchorage, who apparently has two teams... the Anchorage Buccs and Anchorage Glacier Pilots. I'm going with Campus Crusade, and they have a branch known as Athletes in Action who also has a team in the league, the Fairbanks AIA Fire. Don't know who I'll root for yet. I like the name "Glacier Pilots" though...

interleague :(

Pirates record in interleague play: 57-94.

These two weeks ain't never pretty for the Buccos.

By the way, a new Indians blogger could be on the way soon.

6/13/08

I kept score again, but unfortunately Lester didn't repeat his no hitter. I was very upset when a slow ground ball went down the right field line for a single. Youkilis, as is his way, was playing a righty waaayyy off the bag. Normally, it helps take away line drives. This time, it burnt him as most other first basemen would have had it. But that wasn't the last hit Lester surrendered, so it really didn't matter much.

Offensively, the Sox scored 9 runs, including a grand slam by Mike Lowell. Manny came up with no one out and runners on second and third. The Orioles walked Manny to load the bases and Lowell made them pay. Youk and J.D. Drew also hit two run homers. The Fenway Faithful have started to greet J.D. with the "DRRREEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW" call. I think that call should be reserved for the great Drew Bledsoe, so I boycotted it. Two or three good weeks, no matter how good, doesn't put you on the same page as a man who single handedly saved a franchise. Just my opinion. Anyway, the final was Boston 9, Baltimore 2.

I've been to many nonbaseball events, whether it be Patriots games, Celtics games, Patriots Super Bowl Championship rallies, UMass sporting events, weddings, classes, or Dropkick Murphy concerts where people chanted "Yankees Suck." Tonight, perhaps for the first time since the chant began in the late 90s, there wasn't a single "Yankees Suck" chant. However, there were plenty of "Beat L.A." chants, which is a nice transition to the real story of the night, the NBA Finals. When I got home, it was halftime and L.A. was up by 20. When I settled down to watch it, it was in the begining of the 3rd. The Celtics scored first, and I told my brother Boston was outscoring LA 2-0 in parts of the game I watch. I was just trying to be funny, and kept updating after every possession. For some reason, L.A. couldn't score. I'm not really a basketball expert or anything, so I can't give detailed analysis aside from the John Madden "they just couldn't shot the ball in the basket" comment.

Next thing you know, the leads down to 12 and LA's calling a time out. Then the lead drops to 10. Pierce gets fouled, hits the free throw knocking it down to 9. Then ABC announces Phil Jackson will be interviewed after the quarter. Lead is down to 4. I couldn't wait to see what Jackson would say. Mercyfully for the Lakers, the quarter ends with L.A. clinging to a 2 point lead.

Before play resumes in the fourth, they show the Jackson interview. I'm extremely disappointed. If I were coaching a team that blew a 20 point lead at home in a championship, I'd be furious, flipping out and throwing chairs. He said something stupid like "That's a good question. How did they get back in the game?" When the reporter pointed out he was the coach and it was his job to figure that out, he responded with "Momentum's a fiery lady, and she's jumped to the other side of the ship." He didn't even raise his voice or anything.

For the first half of the fourth quarter, Boston kept tying the game and getting the ball back, but couldn't get a lead. The Lakers would have some crappy possession filled with bad passes tipped by countless Celtic plays only to end up somehow getting a wide open dunk to regain the lead. Then finally, with four minutes left, Eddie House hit a jump shot to give the Celtics their first lead, and then Boston pretty much ran away with it at the end, winning 97-91. Series is 3-1 Celtics.

The sportscasters kept mentioning the Celtics great comeback in game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals against the Nets. I think the comebacks are different for three reasons.

Firstly, in 2002, the Celtics were at home, which is a huge advantage. The crowd was so loud and supportive, especially at the defensive end. This game was on the road, with hostile Laker fans like Justin Timberlake. In that respect, tonight's comeback was more impressive.

Secondly, the in 2002, the team was down by something like 25 at the start of the 4th and were pretty much dead. Yeah, tonight the Celtics were trailing by 20, but they had an entire half to comeback. The Celtics had all the momentum going into the fourth. In that respect, the comeback in 2002 was more impressive.

Thirdly, the 2002 Celtics had Antoine Walker, my favorite Celtic ever. He was a huge motivating force in the comeback, literally screaming profanity after profanity in Paul Pierce's ear about how Pierce had to take the game over. The 2008 Celtics don't have Antoine to do that, though there were a few times tonight where I did bust out the "Walker Wiggle," the greatest basketball celebration ever.

All Star Ballot

Here's who I voted for. I voted not so much based on stats but more based on who I like...which is pretty much the Red Sox

American League
C-J. Varitek
1B- Youkilis
2B-Pedroia
3B-Lowell
SS-O.Cabrera (arguably my favorite shortstop of all time)
OF-Manny
OF-J.D. Drew (stepping up big without Ortiz. Gets the nod)
OF-M. Bradley (as someone with a temper myself, I appreciate the man)
DH-Ortiz

National League- a lot tougher. Never watch these guys.
C-B McCann- totally on stats. Don't even know his first name.
1B-D. Lee- I've always liked him. Don't know why.
2B-B. Phillips-played great in a game I went to last year, and even hit a homerun to win some guy a lifetime supply of pizza or something. I respect that.
3B-NOMAH!
SS-H. Ramirez- Went based on stats. Didn't hurt that he's the reason the Sox have Beckett and Lowell...
OF-Griffey
OF-W. Pena
OF-D. Roberts-if one man deserves to be a perennial All Star, it is without question Dave Roberts.

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday

My friend called me up with an extra ticket to Thursdays game against Baltimore. Interestingly enough, Lester's pitching again. I'm undecided as to whether or not I'll keep score this time.