The Mind of a Sox Fan

ALDS

2008-10-03T13:21:00.003-04:00

Just one game into the 2008 MLB playoffs for the Boston Red Sox, and we’ve already witnessed an instant October classic.

Wednesday night’s Game 1 matchup against the Anaheim Angels (sorry, not going for that “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim” crap) was a game that should be rewatched, studied, noted, even talked about for generations to come. It was an awesome display of talent and determination, with veteran players and rookies alike playing equally vital roles throughout.

Despite the incredibly late start time for the East Coast fan contingent (and a big thanks to the MLB braintrust for that scheduling genius, you bastards), I was wide awake from first pitch to final out. Hell, I had trouble falling asleep at 1:30am I was so keyed up from the game. It was that good.

If nothing else, the game was living proof that you can’t make mistakes against good baseball teams, because they will capitalize.

In the bottom of the third, Red Sox rookie shortstop Jed Lowrie booted a routing ground ball that would have easily been the third out of the inning. The next batter, Tori Hunter, singled to drive in the games first run and give the Angels a 1-0 lead. In addition, Boston’s starting pitcher Jon Lester threw seven more pitches to end the inning. Not a huge number, but it helped lead to his being pulled in the seventh for rookie reliever Justin Masterson (more on that later).

But the Angels made a few blunders of their own, upon which the Sox jumped when it counted. Their starting pitcher, John Lackey, was very much in command through the first five innings. He especially owned Jason Bay, who struck out twice and looked bad in the process.

But in the sixth, with Kevin Youkilis on first and two outs, Lackey hung a breaking ball up and over the plate that Bay crushed into the left field bleachers, giving the Sox a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish. Lackey’s target was down and away from the right-hander, a location he nailed twice against Bay in earlier at-bats.

With that one pitch, that one swing of the bat, momentum had changed. The players felt it, the fans knew it. Lester was dealing all night, but after the Sox took the lead, he struck out the side in the bottom of the sixth. In the seventh inning, Lester’s fastball was hitting 97 on the radar gun. The Angels went down 1-2-3 for the forth time of the night.

In a decision that made myself and many other Sox fans immediately break into a cold sweat, manager Tito Francona went with Masterson for the eighth inning, despite having a fresh bullpen of veteran hurlers. Masterson has some nasty stuff, but at 23 with only 88 innings pitched in the bigs, it seemed like a decision that would quickly bite Francona in the ass.

But it didn’t.

Masterson didn’t exactly shut down the Angels, giving up singles to Vladmir Guerrero and Hunter, but stellar defense helped end a potential threat: Hunter’s bloop single behind first base didn’t bounce far from the diving Youkilis, who snared the ball and immediately fired it to third base, nailing Guerrero by a country mile as he tried to advance from first. That might as well have been the final out of the game, because it completely deflated the Angels. Instead of first and third with one out in a one-run game, it was two outs with Hunter at first. Howie Kendrick hit a weak grounder to Lowrie to end the inning.

If that defensive pick-me-up for Masterson wasn’t enough, the Sox padded their lead in the next inning, plating both Lowrie and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury for a 4-1 lead. (It warrants mentioning here that Ellsbury scored form second base after Jason Varitek laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move him over, Varitek’s first sacrifice bunt in 3 years.) With Jonathan Papelbon taking the hill in the ninth, the Game 1 was in the books.

Game 2 of the series is tonight, with Boston’s Daisuke Matsuzaka facing off against Anaheim’s Irvin Santana. Both pitchers had excellent seasons and are tough to hit when they’re on. Sox fans around the globe are hoping the Good Matsuzaka shows up, the one that doesn’t waste time nibbling the corners of the plate for strikes and lets his pitches do the work for him.

The Sox have now beaten the Angels in 10 straight postseason matchups, with yesterday’s victory having the added bonus of removing home-field advantage from a 100-game winner. And Boston’s postseason ace Josh Becket is scheduled to toss Game 3 on Sunday.

In Fenway.

I think I speak for the majority of Red Sox Nation when I say: Sweet.

MVPedroia

2008-09-19T13:32:00.010-04:00

As the baseball season approaches its final week of play, the season-long battles that have raged since April take on a new, heightened fervor across the league. Not only are teams jockeying for playoff positions, home field advantage, and general hot streaks to propel them throughout October, fans and reporters are eyeing the illustrious hardware that accompanies those ballplayers that have stepped up and led their team to the next level.

Once such player is Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. In only his second full season in the majors, Pedroia has carved out quite a name for himself throughout baseball. His gritty, hard-nosed play on the field is something to be remembered, emulated, glorified. There's yet to be a game where Pedroia doesn't come off the field covered in dirt after pushing himself to the breaking point for his team. He's the consumate Dirt Dog on a team that for years celebrated that style and attitude in many former players.

After swiping the AL Rookie of the Year award last year in dramatic fashion (batting under .200 for the month of April, only to finish well above .300 on the year), capped off by a masterful performance in a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the World Series, Pedroia didn't miss a beat coming into the 2008 season. Plauged by injuries early in the season, Boston hopped on the back of the short-but-sturdy Pedroia as he carreid them through injuries to big boppers David Ortiz and JD Drew, even taking over the cleanup spot after Manny Ramirez wiggled his way out of the city before the trading deadline.

Pedroia's defense has been nothing but solid since his first day on the field, highlighted by too many game-saving diving stops to count (including one last season that preserved a Clay Buchholz no-hitter).

There is no questioning the desire and determination he brings to the park each and every day. Its readily apparent in his every move; from the monster down-to-one-knee swings he takes at the plate (once thought to be the Achilles Heel for the young talent) to the seeds he tosses from deep behind second base. Paired up with another young Red Sox phenom at shortstop, Jed Lowrie, a prettier double-play combiniation in Boston is hard to imagine.

So, as the season winds down and the Sox prepare for another postseason run, rumblings of "Pedroia for MVP" are beginning to reverberate throughout the cozy confines of Fenway, not to mention the reporters that determine the award's winner.

It's no surprise that the city of Boston generates much of the fan promotion for its newest hero, with a constant supply of posters and signs around the park. The latest phase includes custom printed t-shirts proclaiming his candidacy, guaranteed to be seen in droves at ballparks across the country.

But before Red Sox Nation rushes out en masse to purchase said shirt and jump on the MVPedroia bandwagon, take a moment to review the facts as presented by the wearable placard. No, not the "bulletproof" claim, which he has obviously proven time and time again with the way he hurls himself around the field with wreckless abandon.

Look closely. See it? Right there.

5'9"? Pedroia?!

I think not. Don't believe the hype, fans, and take a moment to examine the man in action for yourself. If number 15 measures in at 5'9", I'm Bud Selig.

But that just makes his season, and career, even more remarkable: the man's not the slightest tick over 5'8", yet still manages to be a force in the majors. He hangs with the giants of the game and keeps his spot at the top of the heap.

Pedroia at 5'9"? Not a chance.

Pedroia for MVP? Absolutely.

Fantasy Football: Week 2 Wrap-Up

2008-09-19T12:35:00.003-04:00

Though the season is only two weeks old, the cream is already starting to rise to the top of the league. Blowout wins and huge stats are proving to be the norm, not fluke performances.

Dunder Mifflin 124, Family Ties 93. Family Ties suffered from a lack of a dominant quarterback performance as Bret Favre (NYJ) had a pedestrian day, amassing only 4 points. In contrast, Dunder Mifflin’s QB Jon Kitna (DET) had a huge day, throwing for 276 yards and two touchdowns. The loss knocks Family ties back to an even 1-1 on the year, with a long season ahead if they can’t score at the QB slot.

Underdogs 67, Juno Beach Loggerheads 38. QB Matt Cassel (NE) couldn’t crack the scoreboard for Juno Beach, helping the Underdogs dominate despite lackluster showings from their own lineup. Juno Beach chose to leave WR Randy Moss (NE) on their bench, which ended up logging more points than the starting lineup. Another case where the Underdogs bench (39) outscored Juno Beach starters (38).

Fishheads 104, Ambulance Chasers 59. Phillip Rivers (QB, SD). That’s all that needs to be said here, since his 50 points surely would have helped any team to a victory. Too bad Ambulance Chasers sat him in favor of Ben Roethlisberger (PIT), who logged only 8 points for the day, no match for Fishheads QB Tony Romo (DAL), who had a big night against Philadelphia.

Allocators 104, C2 77. Despite fielding a tight end that didn’t even pull in a single pass on the day (Vernon Davis, SF), the Allocators streaked to a victory behind QB Eli Manning (NYG) and WR Terrell Owens (DAL). Meanwhile, C2 owners giggled like schoolboys after seeing the word “streaked.”

Killer B’s 145, Boystown 70. This week’s massive 75-point blowout was brought to you by Killer B’s dominant lineup led by QB Jay Cutler (DEN). Only two starters were unable to log double-digit points for Killer B’s (RB Steven Jackson, STL and WR Marvin Harrison, IND), with TE Chris “The Cock” Cooley (WAS) putting up more points than the majority of Boystown’s lineup.

Keep an eye out for the Week 3 Preview.

Silva Bros Fantasy Football Preview: Week 2

2008-09-10T10:50:00.003-04:00

Week 1 of the Silva Brothers Fantasy Football provided plenty of drama amongst the matchups, many of which had nothing to do with the injury to Patriots QB Tom Brady. From the 46-point Boystown blowout of C2 to the horrific 43-40 limp-wristed slapfight between Fishheads and Killer B’s, roster deficiencies were highlighted in many teams (prompting large bids for mediocre players on the free agent list).

Now that the opening salvo in on the books, its time to look ahead to Week 2 and see which teams can bounce back and those that will continue their winning ways.

Dunder Mifflin at Family Ties. Coming off a tough Week 1 six-point loss to Underdogs, Family Ties takes on the high-scoring Dunder Mifflin team that put up impressive numbers in their opening win against the Ambulance Chasers. Dunder Mifflin’s crew was solid across the board (Cleveland WR Braylon Edwards the only player unable to log points), while Family Ties was handcuffed by poor outings from key RB and WR positions.

Dunder Mifflin’s QB Jon Kitna (DET) takes the field against the Green Bay Packers this week, and will look to go to the air early and often in the absence of a running game. Kitna is capable of putting up big numbers, especially at home in the dome, and is a sure bet to find WR Calvin Johnson in the end zone for a strike or two.

Family Ties counters with Brett Favre (NYJ), but face yet another quandary: Start Favre against a tough New England defense that needs to up its game in order to compensate for the loss of QB Tom Brady, or go with injured Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck, who could have a field day with San Francisco despite the loss of his four top receivers? Last week showed that Favre is far from done and can still sling with the best of them, but also revealed that the Jets front line is far from secure. The Patriots could send him scrambling enough to shut down his high-flying attack. If Hasselbeck is healthy, Family Ties could start him instead and hope for a big day at home for the Seahawks.

At Running Back, both teams are headed for a long day of little production. Dunder Mifflin’s Brian Westbrook (PHI) goes up against a strong Dallas defense, while Family Ties’ LaDainian Tomlinson (SD) battles turf toe in Denver. If LT can bounce back from a disappointing Week 1 and overcome foot issues on the soft grass of Mile High Stadium (and a weak Denver D), Family Ties gets the nod as Dallas easily keeps Westbrook under the 100-yard mark and out of the end zone.

Dunder Mifflin definitely has the advantage in the Wide Receive slots, with Calvin Johnson (DET) hauling in passes from Kitna. Though most Fantasy Owners stay away from QB/WR combos on the same team, Kitna has few other options against Green Bay, so expect Johnson to have a big day with a couple visits to the Promised Land. Family Ties may be able to keep up if Anquan Boldin (ARI) gets some looks over teammate Larry Fitzgerald, especially against a weak Miami secondary.

Both team defenses face strong challenges, but Family Ties takes the advantage here, fielding the tough Pittsburgh D at home against division rivals Cleveland Browns. The Steelers always dial up the intensity for this inter-division clash, and will limit the Browns in the air and on the ground. Dunder Mifflin hopes the Packers defense can contain Kitna and the Lions in Detroit, but as mentioned earlier, Calvin Johnson WILL get in the end zone a couple of times.

In the end, the Quarterbacks will determine the winner of this game. If Kitna gets up and over Green Bay’s defense, Dunder Mifflin will easily take home a Week 2 win. Family Ties can only hope whichever QB they put on the starting roster will have the better day, and pray that the Packers keep Kitna contained.

Other games this week:

Juno Beach Loggerheads at Underdogs. With the loss of starting QB Tom Brady, Juno Beach quickly snatched up New England’s reserve Matt Cassel. Unfortunately, he’s no match for Underdogs QB Donovan McNabb, even against a tough Dallas defense. If Underdogs swap out RB Willis McGahee (BAL), who did not play Sunday, for Ricky Williams (MIA), who’s facing a weak Arizona defense, they can expect a nice two-game winning streak.

Fishheads at Ambulance Chasers. All signs point to the Fishheads rebounding from an abysmal Week 1 and taking the victory behind QB Tony Romo (DAL). Ambulance Chasers can keep it close with Dallas D and if they swap out TE Heath Miller (PIT) for Dallas Clark (IND), but it won’t be enough.

Allocators at C2. The Allocators are weak at the QB position, fielding Kurt Warner (ARI) against C2’s Peyton Manning (IND), who looks to have a payback week after an opening day loss. If Allocators go with Chicago RB Matt Forte, who could run wild in Carolina, instead of the banged-up Joseph Addai (IND), who’s questionable after a head injury and facing a tough Minnesota defense, they could keep it close. But give the win to C2 behind Manning and TE Jason Witten (DAL).

Killer B’s at Boystown. This might be the closest matchup on the schedule this week, and come down to Defenses. Killer B’s QB Jay Cutler (DEN) is no match for Boystown’s Drew Brees (NO), but a tandem RB punch of Julius Jones (SEA), taking on the 49ers, and Steven Jackson (STL) will devastate Boystown’s Willie Parker (PIT) and Jamal Lewis (CLE). Though Boystown fields the Bears D against Carolina, Killer B’s Ravens defense could pull in some points in Houston.

Fantasy Football: Week 1 Wrap-Up

2008-09-09T11:18:00.001-04:00

Underdogs 78, Family Ties 72. Though it wasn’t the closest game of the week, it was probably the best fought-out one on the books. Underdogs eeked out a win behind the resurgent arm of QB Donovan McNabb (PHI), who slung for 361 yards and three touchdowns. Family Ties received little support from their big dogs, with RB LaDanian Tomlinson (SD) failing to find the end zone, and WR Anquan Boldin (ARI) unable to break the 100-yard mark.

Dunder Mifflin 101, Ambulance Chasers 57. In the biggest margin of victory for the week, Dunder Mifflin benefitted from solid outings up and down their roster. The Ambulance Chasers, on the other hand, suffered from lackluster performances from both starting wide receivers, logging a grand total of 0 points. Its not a good day when your kicker lands the third-most points for the week.

Boystown 135, C2 89. Boystown takes the Most Points prize for Week 1, racking up 135 behind stellar performances from QB Drew Brees (NO) and RB Willie Parker (PIT). Those two players alone amassed enough fantasy points to beat half the league. C2 had a solid outing from their entire lineup, but was no match for the six TDs from Brees and Parker.

Juno Beach Loggerheads 91, Allocators 51. Juno Beach has got to feel good about notching a win this week after losing starting QB Tom Brady (NE) in the first quarter. RB Michael Turner (ATL) stepped up in his absence and put down the Allocators, who fell victim to unproductive days from QB Kurt Warner (ARI) and RB Edgerrin James (ARI). RB Joseph Addai (IND) and WR Torry Holt (STL) were no-shows, sealing the Allocators fate.

Killer B’s 43, Fishheads 40. In the lowest scoring game of the week, the Killer B’s squeaked out a win over the Fishheads despite a poor showing from starting QB Derek Anderson (CLE). The best story about this matchup is that both team’s bench players logged more points than their active roster. The outcome would have been the same, but the score a more respectable 67-60. Time to evaluate your starters, boys.

Torn Brady

2008-09-08T16:31:00.001-04:00

It’s not often that a single play defines the entire season for a team in any sport. What’s even rarer is when that play occurs in the first quarter of the opening game.

But that’s exactly what happened Sunday in New England when QB Tom Brady took a nasty shot to his left knee from Chiefs S Bernad Pollard less than 10 minutes into the game. Brady screamed as he hit the turf, where he remained as trainers and coaches rushed to examined the injured superstar.

That agonizing howl of pain yelped simultaneously from Brady and the scores of Pats fans defined the entire 2008/2009 season for the Patriots: Done. Finished. Cooked.

Painfully, unequivocally, absolutely over.

Even though Brady’s pass resulted in a 28-yard connection to Randy Moss, the completion of the play eerily mirrored Brady’s future, and possibly the future of the Patriot’s 2008 season: Moss fumbled the ball as he went down to avoid contact, and the Chiefs recovered.

Millions of Patriots fans around the world waited in dire anticipation as Brady lay on the field, hoping and praying to see him spring back to his feet, the seemingly gruesome hit just a minor nick. But no such luck. Brady was helped to his feet and even though he managed to leave the field under his own power, was clearly hobbling and struggling not to put much weight on the injured leg.

He would not return to the game. And, according to latest updates from the Patriots, will not return this season either. The injury requires surgery that will keep Brady on the Injured Reserve list indefinitely.

The Patriots were easy favorite picks to contend for the championship this year, building a strong resume over last season. They amassed an 18-1 record, marred only by a surprising upset in the Super Bowl. Brady threw a record 50 touchdown passes. Moss hauled in a record 23 touchdown catches.
But an ominous cloud hung low as training camps opened up this year. Brady was nursing a hurt foot, the same foot he was seen wearing a boot on after last year’s Super Bowl, and missed all of the team’s four preseason games (all losses, by the way). The injury was revealed to be a cracked bone the week before New England’s season opener, yet Brady was named the starting quarterback.

And to top it all off, for the first time in 57 games, coach Bill Bellicheck left Brady off of the injury list, despite the foot issue. Was this the straw that broke the camel’s back?

Something did, because Brady’s season is done, and so is his third-longest consecutive games streak of 128.

And so may be the Patriots season.

Fantasy Impact. Are you kidding me? Look at that picture above: Brady’s knee is totaled. I wouldn’t be surprised if all the major fantasy football websites crashed Sunday as hordes of mortified Brady owners ransacked the waiver wire to see which backup QBs were available.

Unless you were lucky enough to snag a decent backup, or your league is small enough that not all the second-tier starters were drafted, you have a rough season ahead of you. Pray your supporting cast can make up for the loss of the #1 QB in the league, or get ready to ransom your lineup for some points players.

Silva Bros Fantasy Football Preview: Week 1

2008-08-26T14:54:00.004-04:00

Silva Brothers Fantasy Football finalized its 2008 Draft this past Sunday, paving the road to scheduling matchups and, ultimately, “friendly” rivalries throughout the league. With questionable picks up and down the board (Westbrook at #2?), its time to examine Week 1 matchups.

The Underdogs, rebounding from a dismal 4-9 record in ‘06 to go 9-3-1 last year, are lead by aging veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb. Questions of his durability abound, as well as the heart of the Eagles franchise itself. Though McNabb desperately wants to prove himself out the gates and show fans (and critics) that he’s still a #1 QB threat in the league, the question lingers if he still has the ability to tap the resources of his youth, much less rely on the tools of teammates.

Family Ties, looking to recover from a somber 4-8-1 mark last season, also has questions at the QB role for its first week. However, this is a dilemma most teams would love to face: do you start Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck and hope the “tight back” that’s kept him out of preseason games is past, or do you go with proven veteran Brett Favre, who dons a new shade of green this year? Both QBs come with questions (Hasselbeck’s durability, Favre’s ability to quickly learn the Jets offense), but both are proven on the field and led their team to division pennants last season. A true real-life definition of a win-win situation for Family Ties.

The next big question in this matchup lies at the Wide Receive slot, but only for Family Ties. The sure-handed Chris Chambers (SD) is the safe pick as the #2 receiver, but San Diego is sure to rely more on the legs of LaDainian Tomlinson than the arm (and surgically repaired knee) of Phillip Rivers. It would come as no surprise if Family Ties rolled the dice on Laveranues Coles for the season opener, banking on a career resurgence led by the arm of new QB Brett Favre. An injured Coles put up six touchdowns last season in limited play, two more than a healthy Chambers hauled in for all 16 games.

The Underdogs counter with Santonio Holmes (PIT) as their secondary wideout, who’s always a threat to get behind safeties and score. Facing the slow secondary of Houston, Holmes is all but a lock to find the end zone at some point as he did eight times last season. If Pittsburgh has any trouble establishing its running game, no longer a one-man show behind Willie Parker, Big Ben Roethlisberger might take to the air towards Holmes and veteran WR Hines Ward.

Keeping on the Pittsburgh theme, Family Ties features the Steelers defense that is historically a tough wall to break through. The Houston Texans, Pittsburgh’s visiting opponent in Week 1, doesn’t have a clear-cut #1 running back or wide receiver, making them vulnerable to the Iron Curtain D. Though the Underdogs field the highly-touted Vikings defense, Minnesota takes on a tough Green Bay squad at Lambeau. Expect Pittsburgh to put more points on the board than Minnesota.

Family Ties hold a distinct advantage at the RB position to open the season, sending out LaDainian Tomlinson (facing the Carolina Panthers) against Adrian Petersen (at Green Bay). Though both tough backs that are capable of breaking long runs after initial hits, LT gets the nod as the Chargers make their running game presence known at home.

Though CBS Sports gives the Underdogs the slight edge in this matchup, a few savvy roster moves by Family Ties holds the true outcome for these Week 1 teams.

Other games this week:

Ambulance Chasers at Dunder Mifflin. Look for TJ Houshmandzadeh (CIN) to step up for the Ambulance Chasers in the absence of a healthy Ocho Cinco. And, if Marian Barber (DAL) can break free from Cleveland’s defense, he could have a big day that might overcome Dunder Mifflin’s Carson Palmer (CIN) QB stats.

C2 at Boystown. This one all lies on the health of C2 QB Peyton Manning (IND). If Manning is close to 100%, he’ll easily surpass Boystown’s Drew Brees (NO) on the stat sheet. However, a weak receiving corps for C2 might spell a season-opening defeat if Reggie Wayne (IND) and Greg Jennings (GB) continue to put up usual career all-pro numbers for Boystown.

Juno Beach Loggerheads at Allocators. Can QB Tom Brady (NE) singlehandedly put up numbers to surpass Allocators’ dynamic duo of Terrell Owens (DAL) and Torry Holt (STL)? He’ll have to if Juno Beach intends on winning. And for God’s sake, Allocators, change that hideous logo!

Fishheads at Killer B’s. The Killer B’s may have to look to bench QB Jake Delhomme (CAR) to take the starting reigns in Week 1 if Derek Anderson (CLE) isn’t cleared to play from his preseason concussion. Neither is a match for Fishheads QB Tony Romo (DAL), however. But with Fishheads WR Chad Johnson (CIN) nursing a torn labrum in his shoulder, Hines Ward (PIT) may get the starting nod, so don’t chalk up a W just yet.

Those Pesky Former Devils

2008-08-26T10:46:00.003-04:00

The Tampa Bay Rays.

That's all I really need to say here, isn't it? Don't those words alone inspire disbelief and awe in the same breath? Baseball's long-running sad story of futility has been turned on its head this season, and is showing no signs of letting up. Here's a team that no one expected to climb out of the cellar they've grown so accustomed to living in, shooting up the ranks in what has to be the toughest division in baseball to claim first place for a majority of the season. First frickin' place! And they've done it without any semblance of a superstar or grisly veteran to show them the way. Nope, just a great collection of young talent playing as a team. They're the anti-Yankees.

To top it off, despite their historic turnaround, everyone still expected them to falter as the season wore on, especially after they dropped seven games in a row heading into the All Star break. But what did they do after that lull? How about a 24-11 record that turned a half-game deficit into a 4.5 game lead over Boston.

And you can't root against these guys, either. No hot-heads on the squad, no showboaters, no troublemakers (well, maybe Cantu after those cheap shots on Crisp, but a brawl is a brawl). Ownership didn't go out and buy a winning team (which, as the Yankees have shown time and time again, doesn't always work), they stuck with the farm system, brought up good, young talent, made some key acquisitions along the way, and suddenly have a team to be reckoned with.

Even with the recent rash of injuries to key players, they're still winning. Joe Maddon has done an incredible job of coaching the squad and keeping them focused throughout the season. It would be easy for a team of young players like this to let their successes go to their heads, the pressure bog them down, or turn flat when injuries spring up. But they haven't succombed to any such mental ailments, and most of that credit has to go to the skipper. Manger of the year, hands down.

As expected, I'm very torn here. I mean, of COURSE I want the Red Sox to win the division, glide through the playoffs and sweep the World Series for the third time in five years (no, I didn't buy furniture from Jordan's, but I know some that did). But I have to admit, its been alot of fun to see a city at the top of the AL East this late in the season that isn't from New York or Boston. After how many years of those two juggernauts battling it out for the top spot, seeing new, young blood going toe-to-toe with dynasties, and winning, has been one of the best things for baseball since Cal Ripken saved the sport after that devistating strike.

(Did I just admit I'm happy Boston isn't in first place AND praise Cal Ripken in the same paragraph? Someone slap me.)

So, I encourage all baseball fans to sit back and enjoy what's left of the 2008 season, paying particular attention to these Tampa Bay Rays. No matter how far they go in the playoffs, and trust me, it'll be farther than you think, they're fun to watch.

And to think all it took was severing their ties to the Devil.

Side note: The Rays and my Red Sox have an awesome hate-hate relationship going. Started back in 2000 by, who else, Pedro Martinez when he drilled the first batter of the game (Gerald Williams) and started the first of many bench-clearing brawls, the Sox and Rays have had many skirmishes and beanball battles over the years. And its been awesome.

I'm sure its a bit condescending on my part, but the bad blood between these two squads is infinitely different than that the Sox have with the Yankees. Maybe its because the Rays have been the whipping boys of the league for so long and we never really had to take them seriously, or maybe its just because they haven't been around long enough (or, more to the point, been meaningful long enough) to take notice. Whatever the reason, I always get a kick out of these incidents moreso than when the Yankees start something up.

This season had a great brawl early on between Crisp and, well, the entire Rays bench. Crisp had gotten beaned by Shields in retaliation for an incident earlier in the season, and Crisp had enough. He charged the mound, dodged a wicked wild right hook from Shields, and landed a glancing blow before getting tackled and pummeled by the rest of the Rays team. Several great pictures emerged from that brawl, the best of which is seen here.

Despite what it looks like, Crisp actually dodged that punch with some Matrix-esque like moves. One of the best brawls I've seen.

New life?

2008-08-26T10:29:00.002-04:00

It's pretty sad that I haven't posted anything substantial here in almost a year. The sports world has been overflowing with great stories, huge controversies and amazing events since my last significant post, and I haven't laid one word to paper (or internet, in the case) about ANY of them.

And for that, I apologize.

It's not because I don't feel these events aren't worthy of my time or deserve any sort of coverage (because, you know, this blog is read by thousands of internet visitors a day). There are a thousand different excuses I could throw out there as to why I've been MIA, and none of them can be considered legitimate. So I won't waste your time or mine.

But I do need to post something here. I do need to put some thoughts down, as minuscule and uninspiring as they may be, so I don't "lose it". Just hope I'm not too late.

And, of course, once I started writing this posting, it started taking on a life of its own. Intead of bulleting some ideas just for the sake of getting something up on the site, I'm gonna break it down into separate posts like the topics deserve.

Lucky 7

2007-11-06T10:38:00.001-05:00

CHAMPIONS

2007-10-29T11:01:00.001-04:00

Makin' a Run

2007-10-26T09:12:00.001-04:00

Rocky Mountain High

2007-10-02T09:55:00.000-04:00

Unbelievable.

I went to bed right after Hairston hit that 2-run shot in the 13th to give the Pads an 8-6 lead. I was exhausted (almost midnight on the east coast by then), and figured the Pads had the game wrapped up.

I should have known better.

I should have known that postseason baseball doesn't allow mere 2-run leads in the 13th inning of a one-game playoff to stand without a challenge.

I mean, think about it: baseball plays a 162-game season. 162 games and these two teams end up tied for the final playoff spot. And whereas all other playoff teams get 5 and 7-game series to defeat an opponent and move to the next round, these two teams have one game. One. A single night to prove their worth and keep their season going.

Of COURSE there's going to be drama. I'm not surprised that both team's starting pitchers tanked, just as I wouldn't be surprised if they both pitched gems.

A grand slam? Of COURSE.

Misplayed ball that leads to a tie game? Of COURSE.

Extra innings and depleted bullpens? Yup. Of course.

So why did I think nothing would happen when the Pads took that 2-run lead in the 13th? Did I seriously believe Trevor Hoffman, the King of Saves in all of MLB, would be able to slam the door on the Rockies?

I can only blame it on the fact that it was rapidly approaching the midnight hour, and the beers I had consumed earlier were dragging my already heavy eyelids downward. I suppose it wasn't that I THOUGHT the game was over, just that I had HOPED it would be over.

How wrong I was. A leadoff double. Another double. A TRIPLE by Holliday, the Rockies MVP, to tie the game. Then, a sacrifice fly to right that led to the controversial play at the plate, where many a Padres fan are still waiting for Holliday to touch home plate.

A wild ending to a wild game and a wild season for both teams. A marathon season that came to a close in a quick 90-foot sprint home. Six months of baseball coming down to 6 seconds.

And I thought it was over. Little did I know that it had just begun.

Goddammit. I should have known.

Where'd who go?

2007-09-17T13:31:00.000-04:00

After dropping the final season series against heated rivals from New York, the Sox have little to look back and smile upon outside of their 4.5 game division lead, which, considering how poorly our pitching staff faired over the weekend, looks much smaller than it did a few weeks ago.

Eric Hinske has been the recipient of extended playing time due to Manny's questionable aching side, and has definitely been making the most of his run in the starting lineup. Though the play ended in an out for the Sox, he provided a game-changing spark for the Boston squad when he LEVELED Jorgie Posada in a home plate collision on Saturday. The play, occurring when the score remained close, gave the Sox a much-needed boost, as they went on to win 10-1.

Posada remained in the game, but the effects of Hinske's blow also lingered. On another close play at the plate a few innings later, Posada neglected to tag Jacoby Ellsbury as he slid home, instead flinching as he braced himself for another collision while Ellsbury snuck in to the plate.

The collision was one of those hard-nosed baseball plays you love to see. Hinske, a bear of a man, had no doubt he was going to knock Posada's block off as he barreled toward the plate. A near forearm shiver sent the catcher flying backwards, somehow managing to hold onto the ball. Though Hinske was out, the damage had been done: Posada never looked right after that play, and was pulled from the starting lineup of Sunday's finale.

As good as it was, however, one play doesn't win a season for any team. The Sox are still in complete control of their own destiny, but they certainly aren't about to make it easy for faithful fans. With only 12 games left, the Magic Number remains at 9 for Boston.

The Yankees are looking at a cakewalk of a schedule in their final two weeks, facing Baltimore, Toronto and Tampa Bay. The Sox also face off against the Blue Jays and Devil Rays, but finish up the season with Oakland and Minnesota, two clubs that are always dangerous for teams with playoff hopes.

So while much of the Nation tiptoes the ledge of doom and gloom, there are others that realize the following facts:

At 90-60, the Sox still hold the best record in baseball.
A 4.5 game lead with two weeks left in the season ain't bad at all.
Even if they do decide to hit a horrific slump and lose the division lead, a Wild Card berth is all but guaranteed (Sox are currently 7 games up on Detroit, second in the Wild Card race behind New York).
Boston has played the past month without all-star slugger Manny Ramirez.

But that doesn't mean all is well. There's still work to be done by the Sox, especially once they reach the playoffs. Even with one of the best starting rotations and bullpens in the majors, a recent slump by both needs to be corrected before it gets exploited in a short ALDS series. Outside of Josh Beckett, who posted his league-leading 19th win on Saturday in a battle of Cy Young contenders, other Boston starters have been less than stellar: Dice-K looks tired, Wakefield has had a string of bad starts, and Schilling continues to make fatal mistakes despite brilliant performances.

So enjoy the Sox now, while they're still the best in baseball and continue to manage to keep the Yankees at bay.

Because once the playoffs start, its a whole new ballgame.

Tick, tock, tick, tock ...

2007-04-03T17:04:00.000-04:00

End of an Era

2007-01-07T17:35:00.000-05:00

Bill Cowher, head coach of the storied Pittsburgh Steelers for the past 15 years, officially stepped down from his position on Friday.

Cowher, a Pennsylvania native, was well known for his jutting jaw and tough-love coaching style. Over the course of his impressive tenure, he placed together an overall record of 161-99-1, including a victory in Super Bowl XL.

Cowher was one of only two people to hold the head coaching job at Pittsburgh over the past 38 years. Chuck Noll held the position from 1969 to 1991, winning four Super Bowl titles in the 1970s.

NFL Wild Card Weekend, Part 1

2007-01-02T23:21:00.000-05:00

Chiefs vs Colts (AFC)

Even though this AFC matchup pits a sagging #6 against a strong #3, the experts a calling it the Upset Special of the playoffs. But beware; the experts aren’t always right.

Its no secret that Indianapolis has one of the weakest run defenses in the league. With Kansas City throwing Larry Johnson at defenses an average of 26 times and 112 yards per game, that Indy defense is in for a long day.

But lets not forget that Kansas City hasn’t exactly been a brick wall against rushers this season either. While viewers will be closely watching LJ rip up the Colts defensive line, don’t forget to keep an eye on rookie phenom Joseph Addai doing the same against a Chiefs defense that gives up over 100 rushing yards a game. Though Addai only logged two 100+ yard rushing games this year (including a monster 171 yard performance against Philadelphia), look for him to add his third this Saturday.

But Addai is the least of Kansas City’s worries this weekend. The Chiefs defense must find a way to contain the NFL’s most prolific passer, Peyton Manning. With well over 4000 yards passing and 31 touchdown connections, Manning is a serious threat in any game. Part of his success is in no small part due to the talented Indianapolis receiving corps of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, both with 1300+ yards this season. With the Chiefs defense allowing over 250 yards passing per game, the dynamic duo of Harrison and Wayne should have a field day in KC’s secondary.

Another big push for Indianapolis is their home-field advantage. The Colts mounted an 8-0 record in the dome this year, giving them a huge edge over anyone that comes to Indy. With the Chiefs sitting on a pitiful 3-5 road record, including a late-season overtime loss to the Browns, Kansas City is in trouble.

The Colts started their season on a 9-0 run, but finished 3-4 with late season losses to the Titans, Jaguars, and lowly in-state rival Texans. However, big wins over the Bengals and Dolphins justifies the late swoon.

The Chiefs battled to keep their heads above .500 all season long, almost blowing the feat by finishing the season 3-5. Wins over Denver and division leaders San Diego and Seattle bolster their 9-7 mark.

The bottom line? There’s no way Kansas City will be able to shut down Manning and his star receivers.

My take: Indianapolis 34, Kansas City 17.

Dallas vs. Seattle (NFC)

This NFC game is the Pick ‘Em of the Wild Card round. These two teams are not only evenly matched, but also limped into the playoffs together, both dropping 3 of their last 4 games of the season.

Despite their equal 9-7 records, these two teams couldn’t have had more divergent seasons. Dallas flip-flopped their wins and losses with the fading Drew Bledsoe at the helm early on, and didn’t seem to truly find their groove until their Week 10 victory over Arizona, after which they rolled off three more consecutive wins. They triumphed in the games they should have, and even tacked on a few big-win games, including handing the streaking Colts their first loss of the season.

Seattle’s biggest win of the year was an early-season rout of the New York Giants. Since then, they’ve feasted on a slew of sub-.500 teams to reach their 9-7 mark. Of those 7 losses, you ask? Minnesota, Arizona, and San Francisco … twice.

When comparing offensive weapons, you have to give the nod to Dallas. Though playing with a rookie QB, they have two receivers (Owens and Glenn) who racked up over 1000 yards receiving. While no dominant running back has been seen wearing the silver star since the days of Emmit Smith, Julius Jones continues to improve as he rushed for 1,084 yards. Marioni Barber III, a second-year running back out of Minnesota, led his non-QB teammates in touchdowns, crossing the goal line 14 times for Dallas.

Seattle does have the always-dangerous Shaun Alexander, who is a constant threat to eat up some serious yards during a game. Though he fell way off his record-setting touchdown pace from last year, finding the end zone only 7 times compared to 2005’s 27, Alexander remains one of the premier running backs in the league. However, injury kept him out of 6 games this season and held him under 1000 yards rushing for just the second time in his career. Against a stingy Dallas defense that gave up only 103 yards rushing per game, it could be a long night for Seattle’s ground attack. Couple that with no receivers over 1000 yards and a quarterback with almost as many interceptions as touchdown passes, and you have the potential for an offensive sputter from the ‘Hawks.

I’m calling it: Dallas 27, Seattle 13.
Next up: Sunday’s Wild Card playoff games.

Red Sox Welcome Dice-K

2006-12-19T08:03:00.000-05:00

Looks like I'll be able to keep wearing my #18 Sox jersey to Fenway this season, sweet!

The Local Sports Scene

2006-08-23T15:45:00.000-04:00

Shifting our attention to the local Reading sports scene today ...

In a heated battle against the Reading Fire Department, the Silva Brothers softball team took Game 1 of the best-of-five series last night, fending off a late rally for the 14-9 victory.

Though most teams take a friendly approach to Division 4 games, it’s painfully obvious there is no love lost between these two opponents once they take the field. Having faced each other in the playoff numerous times over the years, Silva Brothers and the RFD approach every game against each other as if it’s Game 7 of the World Series.

After dropping two of three games against the RFD during the regular season, Silva Brothers claimed sole possession of second place, and home team advantage, over their rivals in the final game of the season. As the 2 and 3 seeds in the playoffs, these teams will meet in a Round 1 rematch of last year’s Finals.

The matchup is by far the Red Sox – Yankees of the Reading Men’s Softball League. But unlike the recent 5-game flop the Sox performed at the hands of the Yankees, the good guys prospered this time around.

Silva Brothers jumped out to an early lead, plating 3 two-out runs in their first at-bat. Several extended rallies provided a 9 run lead, thanks in part to two home runs from Bobby Eaton. Eaton blasted shots deep into the night of the cavernous right field, allowing him plenty of time to round the bases.

Pitchers Chuck Mottola and Eaton tag-teamed a potent RFD lineup, limiting them to only a handful of runs through the first 4 innings. It wasn’t until the 5th and 6th innings that the RFD squad began to line the ball into the gaps and plate runs, pulling within 4 with only two innings left to play.

But the Silva Brothers defense held strong. Eaton made a run-saving, not to mention life-saving, snag of a line drive up the middle that nearly took off his head. Johnny Douglass, or Johnny One More to his teammates, tracked down a long fly ball that traveled beyond the light poles in right field.

Chris D’Ambrosio, manning the right-center position in the outfield, made a spectacular inning-ending double play with an outfield assist to help squash a mounting RFD rally. With a runner on second and one out, D’Ambrosio camped under a high pop fly and launched a strike to third baseman Charlie Tool to nail the tagging runner.

The first scary moment of the game came when catcher Bobby Kamina was struck above his left eye by a foul ball. The blow sent Kamina to the ground for a few minutes and opened a gash along his eyebrow. He was able to walk from the field on his own, but left the game after the incident, replaced by his son Jack.

Another hushed silence occurred when One More was sent tumbling past first base trying to beat out an infield hit. The covering second baseman slipped while covering and ended up laying across the bag, cutting One More’s legs out from underneath him and driving his shoulder into the ground when he landed. Though banged and bruised up, One More was able to take his position the next inning.

As is usually the case with games between these teams, this contest wasn’t without its controversy. An RFD batter had harsh words for Silva Brothers first baseman Dave Salomon that almost erupted into a larger melee. The runner overran first base on an infield hit, and Salomon, not receiving a Time Out call from the umpires, gave him an insurance tag after the play to make sure he hadn’t made an attempt at second base. The RFD runner took offense, but Salomon quickly diffused the situation and retaliated with his bat, driving in a run and scoring in the bottom half of the inning.

That same RFD player received a warning from the home plate umpire in later innings, as well. As the pitcher, he questioned a Ball call, only to have the home plate umpire stride out to the mound and warn the player about his comments. No further incident occurred in the game.

Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday evening at 6:30, and is sure to bring more excitement and highlight-reel action to the field. The Silva Brothers look to enjoy the return of several regular-season stars unable to make the first game, including starting shortstop Erik Stortz and hobbled power-hitting first baseman Paul Schille.

Red Sox Nation, Meet Dustin Pedroia

2006-08-22T16:41:00.000-04:00

Pay close attention to the game tonight, Red Sox Nation. We just may be witnessing the ushering in of a new era in Boston Baseball.

Tonight for their series-opening game against the Angels in Anaheim, the Red Sox will be joined by AAA-callup Dustin Pedroia. This 24-year old infielder has been tearing up Boston’s minor league system since being drafted out of Arizona State in 2004, and his arrival in the bigs rivals that of Hanley Ramirez before he was shipped off to Florida.

I’m well aware that the casual fan has probably never heard of Pedroia, as following the minor leagues isn’t always easy to do. Players get shifted from A to AA to AAA so often, its amazing these teams even have time to sew player names on the backs of the jerseys. I myself only know of Pedroia thanks to my time spent lurking on the Sons of Sam Horn website (www.sonsofsamhorn.com), a virtual playground for fan geeks and aspiring GM wannabes.

But let me assure you, the word on this guy is a good one. Though not much of a physical presence on the field, standing only 5’8” and 180 lbs, Pedroia has impressed scouts and fans alike with his keen baseball instincts that eliminate an otherwise average range. Skilled at both shortstop and second base, Pedroia uses athletic footwork and a strong arm to make plays that might otherwise sneak by your average major league infielder.

Think David Eckstein, only better. Hopefully less annoying, too.

Pedroia’s lack of power at the plate is fully compensated by his high on base percentage, a statistic that most GMs drool over in this day and age. Speculation abounds, but rumors are flying that Pedroia might replace Coco Crisp and Kevin Youkilis atop the Sox order if all work out according to plan.

There’s good reason to get excited to watch this guy play besides his obvious talent. Pedroia is a product of the Red Sox Farm System, a mechanism Theo Epstein has pushed to build up since the lean years of Dan Duquette diminished the prospect ranks. 2006 has seen many of these types of players make debuts in the bigs, including Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Craig Hansen, and Kevin Youkilis, to name a few. All have made an impact on the team at some point or another, and there’s little doubt that Pedroia will do the same.

This just may be what the Sox need to kick-start the final two-month sprint to the playoffs. After a rough month of ballgames that saw them get swept by New York and Kansas City, Boston needs an injection of something to get them going. This young talent may provide just that.

Some might view it as the front office giving up on the season, giving playing time to a rookie since the season is lost. But with Gonzalez more than likely landing on the DL with a back strain, and Loretta being shopped around as trade bait, it’s the perfect time to bring up yet another future star and let him get a feel for the bigs.

Papelbon got his taste at the end of last season, and came into this year roaring like a thousand lions. The guy was simply unhittable for the majority of the season. Who’s to say the same formula won’t work for Pedroia? Who wouldn’t want a young, cheap slick-fielding on base machine up the middle next season?

A new era of Red Sox baseball. Young, home grown talent.

So sit back and enjoy the show, Sox fans. We’re about to get treated to the next chapter in Theo’s grand plan.

Dog Days Indeed

2006-08-21T16:28:00.000-04:00

After two full weeks of avoiding having to write about the Red Sox, I’m sitting back down in front of this computer to hack away at my thoughts and ruminations about the season that has seemingly come to a crashing end over the weekend.

At the hands of the Yankees, nonetheless.

The Baseball Gods wouldn’t have had it any other way, though. Of course the Sox were going to sputter at the last minute. Of course our meager 3-game lead wasn’t going to hold up through August and September. Of course the Yankees would surge back into the race and eventually overtake the faltering Sox. You lay out that generic script for any Boston fan, and they’d have a hard time telling you which year it occurred, as it seems to happen continuously.

But an eerie calm overcame me as I watched Boston’s bullpen blow another lead in last night’s 8-5 loss, condemning the Sox to a nearly insurmountable 5.5-game deficit in the AL East, 4 games back in the Wild Card. Sure, I was upset, as any fan must be after losing 4 straight to our archrivals. But as in years past, when the Sox had the talent and ability to go far, I didn’t feel as if this team was failing to meet expectations or underachieving in any way.

For the first time in a while, I was cutting them some slack.

Sure, its infuriating to watch our bullpen blow lead after lead after lead, and have a young Ace in the rotation consistently serve up gopher balls. I forced myself to take a step back, however, and re-realize the big picture:

This team has been overachieving all season. Its just caught up to them now is all.

Think about it. The Sox started the year with a lot of new faces, including a completely new infield. Youkilis was even playing out of position. Our pitching staff had been overhauled, introducing a new face to the starting rotation (Beckett) and saying goodbye to an old friend (Arroyo). The bullpen shuffled new guys in and out in the offseason, retaining only a few of the veterans from years past.

No one really expected much from the Sox in the preseason. Lots of speculation about learning a new environment, new teammates and the such flew around. With the Yankees making some high-profile additions to their club, it was all but assumed they’d run away with the division.

But they didn’t. The Sox surprised everyone, even themselves, by playing some amazing baseball through the All Star break. They didn’t exceed expectations; they blew them out of the water.

Even in the face of daunting injuries to key players, the Sox kept on winning and fending off the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox lost Coco Crisp only 6 games into the season. Nixon made his annual trip to the DL. Varitek sustained a rare injury recently.

Boston’s once formidable pitching staff was cleaned out by bumps and bruises as well. Wakefield busted a few ribs somehow. Wells’ knee finally gave out under the weight of his stomach. Clement’s bruised ego successfully ended his season, and probably career with the Sox.

This decimation of the ranks did little to slow the Sox down, however. Newcomer Wily Mo Pena filled in admirably for the injured Crisp and Nixon (before going down with an injury of his own), and a slew of minor-league call-ups plugged the gaps in the field and the pitching staff. When the dust settled, the Sox still sat atop the AL East by 3.5 games.

Then that damn bird showed up.

For some reason, that seemed to mark the beginning of the end for the Sox. Something about that black bird on second base seemed to spark a thought in the team’s head that maybe they shouldn’t be playing this well. Ever since the little aviator perched on the Fenway dirt, the Sox have been in a freefall.

Mainly, our pitching staff returned to earth. The minor-league fill-ins so successfully employed by Boston began to give up runs at an alarming rate. Even our ace closer, Rookie of the Year and Cy Young candidate Jonathan Papelbon began to blow saves left and right.

That’s what being thrown into the fire will do to young players, I suppose. Very few of the pitchers out of the bullpen have spent an entire season in the bigs, and it began to show all at once. Arms got tired. Concentration waned. Games lost.

So I guess I’m not surprised that the Sox have faltered so dramatically lately. They grit their teeth and sharpened their nails and fought through adversity the entire season, and finally reached the breaking point. They simply couldn’t hold on any longer.

And though its depressing to think the Sox will probably miss the playoffs completely, especially disheartening after leading the league for so much of the season, I’m able to step back and appreciate how much they actually accomplished this year, a year when no one realistically expected much from them.

I’m sure people will read this as a Sox’s fan loser attitude, trying to rationalize another letdown by my team. But its really not. I’m just looking at this horrible situation, a 5-game sweep on our home turf at the hands of the Yankees, in the best possible way. I’m not about to give up on the Sox; true fans of any team never 100% dismiss their team until the final out is recorded.

I’m simply preparing myself for a postseason without Boston, because the way they’ve been playing, it’s far more than a distinct possibility; it’s a near certainty. I’m recognizing their shortcomings, and keeping an eye on the news to make sure Theo and company take the necessary steps to ensure a similar fiasco doesn’t take place next season.

And even though I’m starting to turn my attention to the upcoming football season, I’ll always have one hopeful eye on my Red Sox. Always.

What’s the Word?

2006-08-02T14:12:00.000-04:00

Omens come in all shapes and sizes. From ominous sightings of animals to burnt toast depicting the visage of the Virgin Mary, people around the world pick seemingly mundane occurrences and spin them into horrifying signs of the apocalypse.

Last night, the Red Sox Nation was visited by just such an omen. This one came in the form of a little black bird.

During the waning moments of a crushing 6-3 loss to the Indians, a little black bird found his way to the infield dirt, drawing the attention of fans and players alike. The poor fellow seemed to have suffered an injury of some sort, as he was unable to simply fly away when confronted by players trying to shoo him out of harm’s way.

The longer the bird hopped around the field, the more attention he attracted. Fans laughed and cheered the fowl when he darted along the basepath in an attempted steal of second base. Though he managed to swipe the bag fairly easily, the official scoring was Defensive Indifference, as he failed to even draw a throw.

During the height of his comic relief appearance, a welcome intermission to the Red Sox loss, the little bird perched upon second base for a while, surveying his surroundings. As if checking the signs coming in from the sideline, he peered down to the base coach before making another heroic jaunt towards third. Whether the bird had the green light or not is still a mystery.

But as the night drew to a close, fans began to realize their little temporary mascot was not there for the mere entertainment of a downtrodden Fenway crowd. This bird had another purpose that night than simply coaching Doug Mirabelli proper baserunning techniques.

This bird brought a message, and it wasn’t a good one.

As the dust settled on the morose evening in Boston, the Nation soon came to realize just how ominous this little blackbird’s appearance was. Soon after the game ended, word came down from the front office that Varitek’s knee suffered more than a simple tweak; cartilage was torn and he requires surgery, placing him on the DL for at least a month.

Though a bum knee would certainly help explain his season-long struggles at the plate, it also means our starting catcher is out for the final playoff push. The Sox won’t have Tek calling signs for either the veteran pitchers or the rookie hurlers for a while.

The Red Sox are without their Captain.

Doug Mirabelli, usually relegated to the role of Tim Wakefield’s Personal Catcher, will have to step up as a full-time player in Tek’s absense.

I can’t remember the last time Mirabelli was a full-time player. Hell, I doubt HE can remember the last time he was a full-time player. The Nation can only hope his less-than-ideal physique can withstand the rigors of daily play, and that his meager Mendoza-line batting average is merely due to lack of extended playing time. Hope.

But the little winged demon that soiled the hallowed confines of Fenway last night wasn’t done there. The harbinger of doom wasn’t content with simply taking down a key cog in the Red Sox machine.

After Boston’s loss, a win from New York placed them in first place in the AL East … by .002 percentage points. Having played two less games than the Red Sox, New York technically sits alone atop the standings because of a mathematical calculation.

Though the difference in schedule will eventually even itself out as New York plays its make-up games, seeing the Yankees looking down on the Sox shrouds the city of Boston in a disheartening cloud of despair. Even after dispelling the ghosts of 87 years back in 2004, Boston still seems to peer over its shoulder in anticipation of the inevitable Yankee surge to first. It happens so often, and this year suddenly seems no different despite the success this team has enjoyed so far in the season.

So while the antic of the little black bird in Fenway gave the fans a momentary release from the reality of Boston’s recent slump, and while Boston websites are having cute little contests to name the base-stealing bird, the true meaning of his visit is becoming all too clear today.

Shoo, bird, don’t bother us. We’re in the midst of a Pennant Race.

Same Old New Thrill

2006-08-01T10:27:00.000-04:00

David Ortiz is a force of nature. There’s no two ways about it.

Boston’s premiere clutch hitter came through once again for the Sox, crushing a 3-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning for the come-from-behind victory. As Ortiz strolled to the plate with two on and one out, facing a 2-run deficit, there was little doubt in anyone’s mind what was about to happen.

Its just incredible to watch this man pick up a bat. He seems to feed off those pressure situations, derives great strength and poise in those moments where the weight of the Red Sox Nation weighs upon his shoulders. And he never seems to buckle.

Mr. Clutch. Mr Automatic. Mr. Greatest Damn Pressure Hitter in History. Call him whatever you want, the names all mean the same thing:

Big Papi is the man.

Going into last night’s matchup, it was looking dire for the Sox. Clinging to a half-game lead over the Yankees going into last night’s game against the Cleveland Indians, a victory would put them an even one game up on their division rivals. With the Yankees picking up the coveted Bobby Abreu from the Phillies, along with teammate pitcher Cory Lidle, New York initially seems to have beefed up their weak spots and are ready to rumble into the finish line of the season. At this point, every game counts.

But heading into the ninth inning at Fenway last night, the Sox faced a 2-run deficit, and it looked like sole possession of first place might slip away.

David Wells, making his first start since getting drilled in his knee by a liner that put him on the DL, did his best to keep the Sox in the game, and almost escaped the 5th inning with the lead. But he hung a curveball to Casey Blake with two on and two out, and Blake deposited it in the Monster seats, his second homer off Wells, to give the Indians an 8-6 lead.

The Sox battled all night at the plate to keep it close. Manny Ramirez got the ball rolling with a two-run shot in the first inning off Indians starter Paul Byrd.

Wily Mo Pena, getting the start in right after Trot Nixon strained a bicep in Sunday’s game, made the most of his return to the lineup, falling a double shy of hitting for the cycle. His solo shot to lead off the fourth inning helped put to rest worries of him losing power after surgery on a bone in this wrist. Pena belted an absolute bomb to left on the first pitch he saw that was easily headed for the Mass Pike.

And still the Sox found themselves down by 2 heading into the final frame. And that’s usually where the magic starts for the Sox this season.

Alex Cora led off with a single to left, and Kevin Youkilis followed with a gutsy 7-pitch walk. Falling behind 1-2 to the Indians rookie closer Fausto Carmona (they traded their regular mop-up man Bob Wickman to the Braves), Youkilis didn’t chase two pitches in the dirt and took the free pass, giving the Sox two on with no outs.

Mark Loretta failed to advance the runners by popping out to the shortstop, but that didn’t diminish the spirits of the fans in Fenway. Not with Ortiz coming to bat.

Its weird the feeling of calm that comes over Sox fans when Ortiz is batting in a clutch situation. It used to be dread and resignation to a loss, especially down by a couple in the last at-bat. But these days, with Papi on the team, the fans just seem to know that Ortiz will come through with the big hit, a long bomb, the game winner.

And why shouldn’t we expect it? In his three seasons with the Sox, Ortiz has delivered 15 walkoff hits, 9 of them home runs. He’s had five already this season.

Last night was no exception. Big Papi delivered yet again.

And the Nation rejoiced from atop his shoulders.

Fallen Heroes

2006-07-27T11:54:00.000-04:00

I feel like I just got punched in the gut. Two well-respected faces shot down within days of each other? Ouch.

Just the other day, revered ESPN announcer Harold Reynolds was inexplicably fired from the sports network for undisclosed reasons. It didn’t take long for the rumors to start flying, and the first ones to hit the wire were those of sexual harassment allegations against Reynolds.

This was disheartening to say the least. Myself, probably along with a vast majority of US population, looked upon Reynolds as one of the good guys. He delivered his baseball insight eloquently in front of the camera, and seemed to genuinely have a good time with his coworkers, often yukking it up with fellow analysts during broadcasts.

Reynolds routinely assisted with the College World Series and Little League World Series over the years, announcing the prestigious events with flair. He even stepped onto the field to coach the Little Leaguers in an exhibition game one year. Harold Reynolds is a nice man.

Or was it just a façade for the camera? As the story slowly started coming to light, more and more “inside sources” were muttering the same Sexual Harassment story that many didn’t want to believe at first.

Then talk of the working atmosphere at ESPN seeped into the discussions, making matters worse. Apparently, ESPN’s main campus in Bristol, Connecticut is a pretty laid-back environment. Not to say they tolerate the mistreatment of female employees, but reports certainly make it sound like its hard to get fired there. Employees get more than one warning with instances of Sexual Harassment, and a pattern of abuse must be present in order to warrant dismissal.

That can only mean that Reynolds isn’t quite the nice guy he appears on TV. And Reynolds recently had a child with his wife, making the allegations that much more painful for everyone involved. Though many fans are hoping for a story of some sort of miscommunication on the whole matter, it doesn’t seem like its going to happen at this point.

That story is hard enough to swallow. And now this:

Floyd Landis doped.

Today, news stories pummeled the wire about Landis and his ride to glory in this year’s Tour de France. Unfortunately, they aren’t lauding his accomplishments, rather throwing dirt over his triumphs.

Drug tests of Landis’ blood after his legendary Stage 17 victory, which rocketed him from 11th place back into contention at 3rd, revealed “an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone.” Though rigorously denied by both Landis and his team, Phonak, he remains suspended and the Tour victory in jeopardy if he cannot prove his innocence.

Landis has requested his backup sample of blood be tested in effort to exonerate himself, but the damage may already have been done. Nine riders, including early Tour favorites Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich, were kicked out of this year’s ride for doping allegations. That list now threatens to increase by one.

This also once again sheds a disagreeable light on 7-time Tour victor Lance Armstrong, who battled constant doping allegations as well as brutal climbs throughout his historic streak. Armstrong and Landis rode together as US Postal until 2005 when Landis switched to the Swiss-based Phonak team. Whereas the Armstrong allegations, which he successfully thwarted with repeated clean tests, were thought of as simple attacks by the French government on an American rider, these latest accusations with Landis lay some credibility to it all, should he be shown guilty.

Landis excited a nation and shocked the cycling world with his incredible comeback in Stage 17. He defied the odds, overcame a seemingly insurmountable deficit, even fought through the pain and degradation of his own body, to rise to the top and claim the most coveted title in cycling.

And now it might all be a lie.

Drugs are destroying sports all around the globe. From international stars ousted from their premiere events to big baseball names linked to steroids scandals, the urge to gain an edge over the competition by any means necessary has opened countless doors to dark and depressing avenues.

It’s a sad week in the world of sports. Two heroes, forever stained with currently unverified claims of impropriety. Will they recover? Will WE recover?

The world can only hope so.

Random Musings

2006-07-25T16:29:00.000-04:00

Josh Beckett became the first 13-game winner in the majors yesterday, outpitching Barry Zito of the Oakland A’s. Beckett went 6 innings, allowing 3 runs and striking out 4. Despite sporting a season ERA of 4.77, Beckett has scraped together a league-lead in wins thanks to some timely offense from the Red Sox. Manny Ramirez blasted a 3-run shot off Zito (who gave up 7 runs and 3 homers in 5 innings of work) in the third inning, and Alex Gonzalez and David Ortiz followed suit with solo shots. Ortiz’s home run was his 34th of the season, putting him further in the league lead.

Tonight Curt Schilling aims to even up with his teammate and earn his 13th victory of the season. Schilling pitched 7 innings of shutout ball against Oakland back on July 15 for a win.

Beckett’s victory last night kept the Sox 2.5 games in front of the Yankees, who held off the Rangers 6-2 behind Randy Johnson. The close race in the AL East, together with the recent slump of the White Sox, has made the AL Wild Card race interesting once again. As the Tigers continue to run away with the AL Central title, Chicago finds itself in a fierce battle to hold onto the top Wild Card spot over the Yankees (1.5 back), Twins (2.0), and Blue Jays (4.5). Whereas just before the All Star break everyone was all but guaranteeing a AL Central Wild Card team, the recent struggles of the White Sox (losers of 10 of their last 13) has opened the doors to all divisions.

Harold Reynolds was fired from ESPN yesterday, for reasons yet undisclosed.

Reynolds had served as an analyst and all-around reporter for the news network for 11 years after playing 12 major league seasons. Reynolds was most visible in his role as a baseball analyst, but also covered the College and Little League World Series events.

Undoubtedly the many fans of Reynolds and his work on ESPN (and on the baseball field) are eagerly awaiting the official explanation for his firing, if it is at all to come. His insight into the game, softspoken manner and playful sense of humor will be sorely missed if he in fact does not return to the network.

The new CoolFlo batting helmets that have invaded the Major Leagues is a topic this blog has covered before, mostly to complain about the “new-age” look and unnecessary performance enhancement it offers. But now, another reason has come up.

As a University of Maryland graduate, I’m no more a fan of Duke basketball than I am of shoving bamboo shoots under my fingernails for fun. So imagine my delight when I came to this realization:

The CoolFlo helmets have been modeled after the wrinkly noggin of none other than Shane Battier!

While I’m still torn on who gets the shit end of that insult, Battier or the helmets, I’m quite pleased that I was able to burn both in one breath.

Thank you, goodnight!

Make it 8

2006-07-24T16:35:00.000-04:00

For the past 7 years, the Tour de France has been dominated by the American rider Lance Armstrong. The tenacious, and at times arrogant, Texan punished fellow cyclists throughout the Tour’s grueling stages, somehow managing to repeatedly crush the opposition during both time trials and mountain stages alike. His narrowest margin of victory was still a solid 61 seconds; his greatest over seven minutes ahead of the second-place rider.

Lance Armstrong has embodied the brutal struggle that is the Tour de France. 20 days of punishing climbs and sprints that break down even the fittest and conditioned of riders. Armstrong himself is a lesson in overcoming adversity, though, having been stricken with cancer early in his career. He decided not to let the ailment win and returned to cycling to claim his seven titles.

This year, Armstrong was not amongst the ranks at the Tour, having retired from participating in the ride through France after collecting his record-setting 7th consecutive victory at last year’s event. Armstrong’s absence opened the door for other nations and riders to take center stage in the world’s premiere cycling event, particularly the strong riders Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, who have continually lingered in Armstrong’s shadow during his incredible streak.

However, the day before the Tour was to begin, word came down that Ullrich and Basso were kicked off their respective teams due to recent connections with doping allegations. Now all bets for a Tour victor were off, and the field was wide open for the slew of eager riders to claim their first Tour win.

What developed over the course of the next 23 days was quickly touted as an instant classic in Tour history. After stage 11, Spanish rider Oscar Pereiro and American Floyd Landis traded the yellow jersey several times. Landis overcame a 1:30 gap in Stage 15 to once again adorn the coveted jersey, only to lose it back to Pereiro in Stage 16 with a collapse of monumental proportions. Landis had nothing left to give in the Stage 16 climb, and lost over 8 minutes to the leaders as his drained legs fell way off the pace. Where many were touting Landis as a strong competitor for the Tour victory, he was quickly written off after his collapse.

But Landis wasn’t about to give up that easily despite the sudden overwhelming deficit he faces. Landis was a teammate of Armstrong for three years during Armstrong’s record title streak, before splitting off to Phonak to pursue a leader’s role of his own. Those years with Armstrong not only provided valuable experience in weathering the vigors of the Tour, it also gave insight into Armstrong’s tenacity and ability to battle through every imaginable obstacle to reach your goal.

None of this was wasted on Landis.

Landis took to the roads in Stage 17, another brutal mountain stage, with sheer determination, grit, and defiance on his face. He made an early break away from the peleton, the first move to hopefully gain back some of the 8+ minutes he lost the day before.

Landis wasn’t just battling the clocks, just as Armstong fought through more physical ailments than simple fatigue. After a severe crash in 2003 in which he fractured his hip joint, Landis developed hip osteonecrosis, a condition where blood flow to the bone is decreased.

This is basically bone death, and is extremely painful. Landis underwent surgery in 2004 to increase the bloodflow to his hip, but it was only a temporary fix. During the Tour, it was announced that Landis would undergo complete hip replacement once the Tour is complete, which would more than likely cease his pain, but also end his cycling career at the same time.

Painful arthritis due to bone death. Most people find it difficult to walk with this condition; Landis was on the verge of winning his first Tour de France with it.

The ride Landis hammered out during Stage 17 goes far beyond historic; it was mythical. Being touted by his peers as the most amazing performance they’ve ever seen, Landis charged up the first category climb the peleton hit and never looked back.

He distanced himself early on, usually a bad idea avoided by season riders as the pack tends to reel in the eager breakaways with little effort. But Landis didn’t get caught, he was doing the catching.

He started the day 8:08 and mired in 11th place. Left for dead by everyone watching the Tour. No chance.

He finished the day a mere 30 seconds off first-place Pereiro’s pace. Third place overall.

With nothing more than a time-trial in Stage 19 and the customary victory lap around Paris in Stage 20, Landis was once again the favorite to don the yellow jersey in the end. And rightfully so. He dominated the time trial, overcoming the 30-second gap and vaulting himself into first place with a lead over a minute.

This all but secured him his first Tour victory. Sunday’s stage to Paris was a celebration of an incredible tour, of new faces, and a man who, like his predecessor, overcame obstacles from both inside his own body and the Tour itself. It was a Tour for the ages.

In the end, Landis was on the podium, marking the eighth American victory in a row. Next year might prove to be another epic Tour, bringing about new first-time winners and provide the emergence of more incredible stories of perseverance in the face of adversity.

But for now, the spotlight belongs to Landis.

This Rookie’s All Right

2006-07-19T15:59:00.000-04:00

Faced with a pitching staff decimated by untimely injuries to key starting pitchers, Boston has been scrambling to plug the holes in their rotation. Unfortunately, most of the plugs utilized haven’t withstood the test of time, and just as quick as they donned a Sox uniform, the temporary arms taking the mound have departed Fenway to suit up for another team the very next day.

One arm that is proving to be quite valuable for Boston is that of Jon Lester. The young rookie call-up has put up a 5-0 record in eight starts, the first Red Sox rookie southpaw pitcher to win his first five decisions since 1993 (Aaron Sele). In Lester’s eight starts since his callup in June, he’s held opponents to 3 runs or fewer every outing, posting a 2.38 ERA.

Last night was further example of this rising star’s ability. Lester threw eight strong innings, the longest outing in his career, surrendering only a single in the second inning. Papelbon slammed the door in the ninth for his league-leading 28th save, securing Lester’s 5th win.

With a revolving door of minor-league starters making their debuts in a Red Sox uniform this season, Lester allowed the Red Sox Nation to breathe a collective sigh of relief with his performances so far. With few more gems like the one he threw last night, Lester may start to get mention in the same breath as Papelbon for their surprising and welcomed dominance.

Lester still has some issues to work out before he can be considered a legitimate Major League hurler, however. Despite his record and ERA, he’s been plagued with walks in almost all of his starts, allowing 29 in 45 innings. While good defense has helped bail him out of jams from time to time, he’ll need to hone his control to really make an impact at this level.

But for now, Lester has been a godsend for the Sox. After starting the season with an abundance of pitching that led the front office to trade away fan favorite Bronson Arroyo, the Sox have been scrambling to nail down a solid 4th and 5th man in their rotation. And that number may bump up to include #3 starter Tim Wakefield if his back continues to ache.

So while Lester is still a far cry from the answer to all the Sox problems, he certainly has been more than adequate in filling an immediate need for quality starting pitching.

And pitching wins titles, folks.

New York kept stride with the Sox by winning their matchup with the Mariners, but only thanks to a blown call late in the game.

Trailing Seattle by a run in the bottom of the ninth with one out and one on, Jorge Posada sent a ground ball to the second baseman, who fielded it cleanly and fired to first for what should have been the second out of the inning. Instead, the first base umpire declared Posada safe, missing the fact that the ball clearly beat him to the bag by a half step. Two batters later, on a fly ball by Johnny Damon that would have been the final out in a Yankees loss, the tying run tagged up from third to send the game into extra innings. Melky Cabrera would go on to win it with a walk-off homer in the 11th.

The good news? ARod still sucks, going 0-4 in the game, including a strikeout to end the ninth. Keep up the good work, Alex!

Red Sox Captain Jason Varitek set a new team record for most games behind the plate, passing Boston legend Carlton Fisk. Tek caught his 991st game last night, eclipsing Fisk’s mark of 990.

As Tek strode to the plate in the top of the sixth inning, when the game becomes official, he received a raucous standing ovation from the Fenway crowd. Ever the humble yet gracious player, acknowledged the Fenway Faithful with a wave, sending the cheers to a new level.

The crowd had more reason to celebrate than just Tek’s new milestone as well. In the bottom of the fifth, Tek doubled and would come around to score the games only run on an Alex Gonzalez two-out single.

Oh Captain, My Captain!

The Red Sox have just completed a sweep of the Royals, taking another close 1-0 victory in a day game at Fenway. Josh Beckett pitched a great game, going 8 innings with 4 hits and 7 strikeouts. Papelbon once again recorded the save for his 29th of the season.

Manny Ramirez provided the only offense the Sox would need, blasting the first pitch he saw in the fourth inning over the Monster in left. It secured the second 1-0 victory over the Royals in as many days, and secured yet another day atop the AL East for Boston.

The Mariners are clinging to a 3-2 lead over New York in the eighth inning of their day game. A Seattle victory would pad Boston’s lead to 1.5 games over New York. But don’t get excited yet: the umpires still have a chance to swing the game in the Yankees favor.

Dougie’s Goin’ DEEP!

2006-07-18T15:12:00.000-04:00

Doug Mirabelli might have single-handedly saved the Sox season last night.

With the offense struggling to get on base against a surprising pitching performance from Luke Hudson, who must have been channeling the likes of Tim Hudson last night, the Sox needed a three-run blast from their knuckleball catcher to pull a victory from the jaws of defeat at the hands of an MLB-worst Kansas City squad.

Mirabelli’s dreadful .195 batting average was all too prominent when he strode to the plate in the seventh inning with two men on and his team down by 3. Mirabelli worked the count to 3-1, though, and would have drew a bases-loading walk on the next pitch, which was low and outside. Not low enough, though, as home plate ump called Mirabelli back to the plate to face a full count. With the next pitch he saw, Mirabelli made his uninspiring batting average a distant memory when his shot to left-center stayed up long enough to land in the front row of the Monster seats.

Though not considered the Clutch Hitter fellow teammate David Ortiz has proven to be over the years, Mirabelli somehow manages to make the few hits he does get count, either tying games up or giving the Sox the lead. And he couldn’t have come through at a better time last night.

Boston headed into the All Star break still high from an incredible 12-game win streak which saw them sweep four straight National League teams (Braves, Nationals, Phillies and Mets). Despite losing 3 of 4 to the Devil Rays, they rebounded nicely against the defending champion White Sox and won 2 of 3. At the break, they held a comfortable 3-game lead over the Yankees.

Since then, however, the wheels have started to come off. The Sox lost 3 of 4 to an unimpressive Oakland team, and the Yankees went on to sweep Chicago to pull within a half-game of Boston in the AL East. With an early victory over Seattle last night, the Yankees had pulled even with the Sox, and waited anxiously to see if the Royals could hold on for the win.

Thankfully, Mirabelli had other plans.

Last night’s win kept the Sox mere percentage points over the Yankees for the AL East lead (the Red Sox have one more win than New York), an advantage Boston is lucky to have. With a pitching staff decimated by injuries to key players (Wells, Clement, Foulke, and now Wakefield), every win counts. That goes double when looking at how well New York has overcome extended DL stints to star players on their squad.

With Detroit and Chicago putting together amazing seasons of their own in the AL Central, it’s a sure bet that this year’s playoffs will feature a Wild Card team from elsewhere in the league than the usual East division. Only time will tell if Boston’s half-game lead will be enough to hold off New York for the remainder of the season. A late come-from-behind victory might just give them the confidence they need to bear down, weather the rough starts while the pitching staff heals, and make a mad dash for the finish line in October.

Thanks, Doug. You came through for the team yet again.

David Ortiz swiped his first stolen base in over a year last night. On a botched hit-and-run play (Trot Nixon struck out), Ortiz was scampering over to second base. Pausing to glance towards home, he realized the catcher was firing the ball to second in an attempt for a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play. Ortiz quickly beared down, and thanks to a high throw to second, was able to sneak in under the tag. It was his first stolen base of the season, and only the sixth of his career.

Willie Harris has been sent to the minors, a fitting place for a light-hitting utility fielder who falls asleep on the basepath. Harris singlehandedly took the Sox out of two games this season, leading to two losses, which comes to two more than any pinch-runner should account for on any team.

Earlier this season, Harris made a big splash when he attempted to steal second with two outs in the bottom of the ninth with the Sox down by a run. However, Harris didn't have the steal sign and was promptly nailed at second, ending the game. More recently, Harris stepped in to pinch-run late in another close game. Instead of running through a steal sign this time around, Harris didn't even give the catcher a chance to catch him at second: Harris was snoozing at first and was picked off by the pitcher.

So long, Willie Harris. Your quick feet are no match for your slow brain. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.

The headline of this post references one hell of a funny website about a day in the life of Doug Mirabelli. Open your mind, click the link, and enjoy the hilarity.

Dougie's Goin' Deep Tonight!

The Furious Fan

2006-06-07T10:30:00.000-04:00

I am so mad at the Red Sox right now, I’m shaking.

Its not a rare occasion for me to be upset with my favorite baseball team, especially since we’re talking about Boston. They’re the kings of disappointment, of letdown, of frustration. They have a long and sordid history, including an 86-year championship drought, of driving their fans absolutely insane.

But this time, I just can’t believe them. I’m beyond mad, past angry, leapt right over enraged. I don’t even have words to describe the extreme, intense, fiery, passionate IRE at the Sox.

Here’s a team that has been overperforming all season long. With a team full of new faces, including a completely revamped infield, not many people expected much from Boston. This was looking to be a rebuilding year while the team learned to play together, management found the necessary missing pieces of the puzzle, players regained their prior All Star form.

But, to the surprise of many, Boston hit the ground running and has been in first place in the AL East for a majority of the season. The team clicked immediately and have looked like they’ve been playing together for years, not months. Aging vets found their Fountain of Youth in Fenway, putting up career stats. New pitchers proving they're ready for the Big Time. And the sun shone down upon Boston.

But as is usually the case in the life of a baseball fan, the question isn’t so much “What have you done?” as much as “What have you done for me lately?” And in the case of the Red Sox, the answer is nothing much besides give me a raging case of heartburn.

Let’s set the stage: Boston’s rival, the New York Yankees, is more banged up than my neighbor's '69 Dodge Dart, relying on a slew of minor-league callups and ineffective veteran signings to fill the holes in their lineup. Sheffield, Matsui, Posada, Damon, Jeter and others have all spent time on the pine this season due to injuries.

Yet somehow, the Yankees stayed in the race, thanks to both the elevated play of their fill-ins, and Boston’s inability to deliver a knockout blow. Despite Boston’s hot start, they’ve hit some rough patches along the way. Toronto owns us. Wells is on the DL for the second time this season. Clement is proving to be ineffective once again. And beyond Timlin (injured), Foulke (injured), and Papelbon, our bullpen is a constantly-rotating collection of AAA callups.

All this equates to a mere half-game lead over the Yanks heading into this weeks four-game series. A lead, mind you, that everyone, EVERYONE, expected the Red Sox to increase. The Yanks are hurt. They’re struggling. Two of their big boppers are down, their bullpen is atrocious, and starting pitching is spotty. The Red Sox were slotted to take advantage of the black-and-blue Yankees, pound out at least three wins in the series, and leave New York with a comfortable 2.5-game lead.

Instead, the Sox are now the ones looking up from second place.

After Beckett’s disaster Monday, which must have been the worst start of his career, and last night’s stomach-punch loss, the best Boston can hope for is a split and that meager half-game lead back. No big advantage, no padding their lead, no going into the All Star break feeling good about their position.

So the question is, Why? How? What the hell is going on?

I’ll tell you what’s going on. The Sox are on autopilot right now. They’re just going through the motions against the Yankees. With just as many Yankee All Stars on the DL as on the field, the Sox figured they could coast through New York, take a few games with no problem, and come out the other end smelling like roses.

They couldn’t be more wrong. The Replacement Yankees got something to prove, and they are doing one hell of a job of proving it to the Sox. Meanwhile, the Sox pitching is horrible and batters don’t seem to want to get on base. Red Sox Captain Jason Varitek hasn’t hit the ball hard in weeks, and is facing one of the lowest batting averages in his career. Even Mr. Clutch himself, David Ortiz, seems to be waving at the ball as it goes by him. Guess what, Ortiz: Alex Cora has a better batting average than you. Embarrassed? Good, you should be.

To make matters worse, the Sox were given a GIFT last night in the form of a stellar performance by a rookie starting pitcher. David Pauley gave the Sox six strong innings, against the Yankees in New York nonetheless, and what did the Sox give him in return? One run. One god-damned run. And yes, I can say God Damn because this ain’t radio. (Ten points for whoever identifies that reference.)

Pauley pitched a gem, and should have gotten out of the seventh with no problems. But with two outs and nobody on, a Cairo dribbler snuck under his glove and past Loretta (who was charging and tried to barehand the ball). Two more runners reach, and now we have the bases loaded.

Enter ineffective relief pitcher, Rudy Seanez, who promptly walks Giambi to give the Yanks a 2-1 lead. Thanks Rudy, you may go now.

That’s not even the real kick in the nuts, either. Top of the eighth, Manny Ramirez hits a BOMB to left center for a sure game-tying home run. Out of nowhere, Melky Cabrera, the same Melky Cabrera that flat-out dropped a pop-up earlier this year that opened up the floodgates for a lopsided Sox victory, the same Melky Cabrera that let a liner skip by him in Fenway for extra bases in another Sox win, this little bastard comes flying up the fence, does his best Tori Hunter impression, and pulls Manny’s game-tying home run ball back onto the field for the final out of the inning.

That’s not just a rally-killer, folks. That’s a game-ender.

There’s no two ways about it: the Yankees deserve first place. They wanted it, hungered for it, and played hard enough to earn the right to sit atop the AL East. Boston has dogged it so far against New York, and if they keep it up, will be lucky to hold on to second place over Toronto.

Get your shit in gear, Boston. Start playing ball. Hit the field like you know what the hell you’re doing. Show us some passion, some fire, some desire to be out there representing our great city. You’ve got one of the best fan bases in baseball supporting you, start fucking playing like you deserve it.

The 2004 championship may have earned you some slack for winning another World Series quickly, but it certainly did NOT excuse you from trying.

Now that I’ve thrown some much-deserved praise the Yankees’ way, it’s time to bring them back down the Earth and rip ‘em a new one:

What the hell is up with all the curtain calls the past two games?

Before you get all bent on me about being a poor loser or something, let me say that I’m all for the curtain call. I think it’s a great way to honor a player for an accomplishment or great play, and love to see that player acknowledge the fans cheering for him with a quick visit to the top step of the dugout and a tip of the cap. I was at Fenway for Curt Schilling’s 200th career victory, and not a single person in attendance left until we were able to coax Curt from the locker room after the game with deafening chants of “We want Curt!” The stadium erupted when Schilling popped out from the dugout and gave the crowd a few waves in appreciation. I actually got goosebumps at that moment.

So please excuse me when I cry foul after Yankee fans demand, and players reciprocate, a curtain call after a second-inning home run. That’s not appreciation, that’s gloating. There is no need to call a player to the top step after he hits a home run that early in the game (which didn’t even give them the lead, mind you). In Monday’s blowout, both players to homer in the second inning received curtain calls. Two in one inning! Are you kidding me? The game was already a blowout at that point, that’s just rubbing it in.

Along the lines of inappropriate cheering, how about that near-miss to Manny Ramirez last night? Wang tossed a high-and-tight fastball to Manny, sending him stumbling backwards out of the box.

And the fans went wild.

That near-beaning (at his head, nonetheless) was applauded almost as much as those damn curtain calls. I know these teams have a long, sordid history, but at NO point over the years has it been considered okay to plunk a batter in the head. And these clowns cheer.

You can bet the bank that if such behavior took place in Fenway, if Boston fans applauded when a Yankee almost got laid out by a fastball to the head, sportswriters around the GLOBE would rip the town apart for representing the ugliest side of human nature and fandom. Boston would be disparaged for wishing ill-will as serious as a concussion upon anyone. We would be beasts.

But somehow, its okay for New Yorkers to act like animals. So much for the classy fans and players at Yankee stadium. They can take that misnomer and cram it right up their pinstriped asses.

Bad Boy Beckett Becomes 26

2006-05-16T16:40:00.000-04:00

Josh Beckett’s 26th birthday outing last night was almost the shortest of his career. Two batters, to be exact.

In the first inning, home plate umpire Jim Joyce granted Baltimore slugger Miguel Tejada a late time-out request. Beckett had already begun his delivery, and had to stop his motion mid-stride as Tejada backed away from the plate.

Some pitchers take great offense to such an act. Suddenly halting a 98-mph fastball, which Beckett was flinging all night, can create some serious muscle pulls. Most professional players know this.

But what most professional players also know is that you don’t show up the umpire, either. Beckett vehemently voiced his displeasure with Joyce’s decision, going as far as to stride towards home as he hollered. In a move you see less often, Joyce started to meet Beckett halfway, walking out towards the mound as the jawing between umpire and player increased. It took Boston’s team captain Jason Varitek to diffuse the situation, intercepting Joyce on his way out to the mound and talking him back from the dangerous ledge both combatants were headed for.

It’s a good thing cooler heads prevailed, because otherwise the Red Sox Nation would have been deprived of witnessing one of Beckett’s finest outings in a Boston uniform. Despite surrendering a solo home run to Tejada after the confrontation with Joyce, Beckett settled into a groove, retiring the next 13 Orioles he faced. In his 80-pitch outing, shorter than usual due to the damp and dangerous mound conditions, Beckett threw 7 innings of two-hit ball, striking out six.

The win was an encouraging mark for the Red Sox on many levels. Beckett notched his record to 5-1. Terry Francona received his 500th career management victory. Boston improved to 7-0 against the Orioles this season, and 12-0 dating back to last September. After a rare two-day, thanks to a deluge of rain that’s still soaking New England, the Sox looked sharp as ever.

The offense was firing on all cylinders, too. Varitek scored a career-high four runs, going 2-for-2 with three walks on the night. Mike Lowell tripled for his second hit of the day, and Mark Loretta continued his hot hitting, raising his average to .273 after recording two hits,

Not to be outdone by the veterans, Wily Mo Pena continues to improve his prowess at the plate. He rifled two hits to the opposite field for four RBIs on the day, two of which came on a home run that gave the Sox a 2-run lead. Wily Mo is shattering critics’ expectations from early in the season, quickly gaining the patience few thought he could attain and becoming a real threat in the Sox lineup.

The biggest question raised by Wily Mo’s level of play has been, where do we put him when Crisp is ready to return? Wily Mo has been manning the centerfield spot, allowing Nixon’s hot bat to remain in the game. And though Wily Mo’s massive bulk is sure to take someone out as he chases down fly balls, he’s done a fine job defensively so far.

Too bad Wily Mo can’t play shortstop.

With the Yankees falling to the Rangers, the Sox again regain sole possession of first place in the AL East. After a brief interleague stint in Philadelphia over the weekend, Boston faces New York at Fenway for a three-game set. As is usually the case with this rivalry, first place could very well be at stake between these two teams.

The Yankees are facing serious personnel issues, still searching for an answer to their outfield woes. With Matsui out indefinitely and Sheffield showing no rush to return to the lineup, New York is making due with light-hitting Bubba Crosby and AAA-callup Melky Cabrera in the corners.

Their pitching staff hasn’t fared much better. The Big Unit has been showing his mortal side his last few outings, raising his ERA over 5 on the season. Tanyon Sturtze, long man in the Yankee bullpen, just landed on the DL for perhaps the rest of the season with a torn rotator cuff. Key starter Carl Pavano has yet to throw a single pitch this season.

And who knows what’s waiting for them around the corner? Damon injured his shoulder crashing into the centerfield wall last week. Giambi strained his neck diving for a ball and had to leave yesterday’s game in the third inning.

Shambles.

But somehow the Yankees find a way to win games and keep hanging around atop the AL East. Boston has been playing some amazing baseball as of late as well, though, making next week’s showdown a pivotal one.

As usual.

Doug Flutie has bid the NFL and a 21-year professional football a sad farewell. Flutie became a household name in 1984 with Boston College with a gimmick play, completing a last-ditch Hail Mary pass for a touchdown as time expired to beat Miami on national television. After a lackluster start to his NFL career, Flutie headed for the CFL, where he more than prospered as a quarterback. Over his eight-year career in the great white north, Flutie won three Grey Cups (the equivalent of the Super Bowl) and was named league MVP six times. His 6,619 passing yards in his second season remains a league record.

Despite his size and constant criticism as to such, Flutie wove an incredible career in the CFL, eventually returning to the NFL in 1998. Though he didn’t break any records back in the states, he constantly defied the odds and produced as both a starter and backup. He was revered during his years with San Diego, and proved to be an ample mentor to rising Charger star Drew Brees.

Just as Flutie entered American lives on a gimmick, he will go out with one as well. On his last play from scrimmage, playing as a member of his home team in front of his home crowd, Flutie converted the first drop-kick extra-point in over 60 years.

Thanks for the memories, Doug, we’ll miss your determination and grit.

Swingin’ in the Rain

2006-05-12T15:31:00.000-04:00

The Red Sox have played many frustrating games in their long history as a professional ballclub, but in my days as a fan, I can’t recall one as infuriating as last night’s matchup against the Yankees.

Boston has shown a tendency to leave small villages on the basepath in past years, a fact on the forefront of every fan’s thoughts after stranding 15 last night. On three separate occasions, they had the bases loaded and plated none. Two of the biggest offenders on the night is most surprising: the uber-clutch Yankee killer David Ortiz, and hot-hitting doubles machine Mike Lowell, who left 5 and 7 runners on base respectively. Facing a 2-run deficit for most of the night, those LOBs became more and more apparent as the innings ticked by.

The New York defense didn’t help matters, either. Twice in the game, Yankee outfielders crashed into the wall pulling back home run shots from Boston; the most notable catch made by former Sox Johnny Damon when he challenged the center-field wall to rob Doug Mirabelli of extra bases.

Even the umpires got in the act of stealing from the Sox. Mark Loretta lined a hot grounder down the third base line that appeared to pass over the base in fair territory and under the glove of a diving Alex Rodriguez. But the blue at third had other ideas, waving the ball foul despite protests from the third base coach and Tito Francona. The next pitch Loretta saw tapped weakly to the pitcher to end the inning.

Coming off a bad Schilling outing that lead to a 7-3 loss the night before, the 3-1 Yankee lead started to feel insurmountable. It seemed the Sox would waste another great Tim Wakefield outing, as he striking out nine Yankee batters in his six innings of work.

But then the ball started to bounce our way.

As the rain set in during the seventh inning, Bernie Williams horribly misplayed a pop fly in the right field corner (a position he was playing to help fill in for the injured Matsui), letting the ball drift back into the field of play, land untouched in fair territory, and bounce into the stands for a ground-rule double. Bernie looked lost on the play, and it would come back to haunt the Yankees.

Two batters later, with two on and two out, Loretta hit a shot into the gap between third and short. Derek Jeter made a nice diving stop, but the throw from his knees forced Miguel Cairo off the bag at first. He managed to glove the throw and get the tag on Loretta streaking down the line, but the ball popped loose. Two runs scored, giving the Sox a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish.

Jeter’s throwing error lost the lead, and eventually the game, for the Yankees, yet Steinbrenner didn’t make a peep as he did when grilling Rodriguez for his errors that led to a 14-3 embarrassment two nights prior. Jeter failed to execute in a clutch situation, just like Rodriguez, so where’s his grilling from the Boss? Though Steinbrenner is known for ruling with an iron fist and speaking his mind when the team doesn’t live up to expectations, it appears he isn’t willing to call out the Golden Boy when he falls short. Hypocrisy, or just playing favorites?

And what about Mariano Rivera, George? He continued his recent woes against the Sox as well, failing to keep the Sox from plating an insurance run in the ninth. The light-hitting Willie Harris would score after leading off the inning with a single. Willie Harris! No criticism for Rivera, George? Didn’t think so.

The biggest loss of the night for the Yankees wasn’t the game and a share of first place, however. In the first inning, Hideki Matsui fractured his wrist diving for a sinking hit from Loretta. Matsui’s wrist was wrenched backwards as he hit the turf, and was limply hanging on the end of his arm in a sickening manner when he scrambled to get the dropped ball to the infield. As he held his wrist in pain after the play, his injured hand already swelled up to twice its normal size.

With Gary Sheffield sitting on the DL, the Yankees suddenly find themselves scrambling to find available left fielders to fill in for Matsui, who could be out anywhere from three months to the rest of the season. For most teams, this would be a huge blow to the lineup, making rival fans quite happy; however, given Steinbrenner’s ability to light cigars with 100-dollar bills, Sox fans fear its only a matter of time before the Yankees land a big-name slugger to fill the gap. Its inevitable.

But today, Sox fans aren’t thinking about the Yankees. Sox fans are opening the paper, and reveling at seeing Boston atop the AL East yet again. The team stumbled a bit, key hitters hit slumps, ace pitchers got shelled, but the Sox found a way to stay in the race and climb back to the top of their division. Loretta has been on a tear, tagging four hits last night and batting over .450 the past few weeks. Manny shrugged off his season-opening slump and is now batting .310. Interim leadoff batter Youkilis is hitting over .350 with runners on base. Wily Mo Pena has learned patience, and its paid off in the form of a .325 average.

The pitching staff has been working hard too. Beckett pitched a gem on Tuesday for key win in New York. Papelbon recorded his 13th save and dropped his ERA to an infinitesimal 0.44. Timlin has continued to defy his aging arm, coming through with key strikeouts of Rodriguez and Jason Giambi in last night’s victory.

And where defense was a concern coming into the season, its been more than impressive thus far. Wily Mo Pena has rebounded nicely from early-season defensive woes. Lowell shows range and Billy Mueller-esque finesse at the hot corner. Youkilis is a picking machine over at first. And let’s not forget Mirabelli back behind the plate for Wakefield.

A well-rested Clement takes the mound tonight against the Rangers, and the Sox have got to feel momentum is on their side. Fending off the Yankees for first, taking two of three in New York, is no small feat, the significance of which is not lost on any of the players.

Let’s keep the ball rolling, boys!

Back In First

2006-05-10T15:46:00.000-04:00

It was a comedy of errors in the Bronx last night, with the Yankees headlining the show.

New York posted a 3-spot in the E column by the end of the game last night, led by two key errors from the undeniably un-clutch Alex Rodriguez. His pinstriped partner in crime was AAA callup Melky Cabrera, manning the right field spot while Gary Sheffield sits on the DL nursing a sore wrist. All three Yankee errors led to Red Sox runs, and the eventual 14-3 shellacking on their home turf.

A-Rod’s miscues couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Yankees. Hanging on to a two-run lead in the third inning, Rodriguez booted a David Ortiz grounder with two on and two outs. Half-diving towards his left, as he was the only player on the right side of the infield due to the Ortiz shift, he knocked the ball down but couldn’t find it when he got to his feet for the throw. By the time he located the ball and zipped it to first, Ortiz had already hustled down the line to first. Instead of ending the inning and heading to bat with the lead, Rodriguez’s miff plated two runs and allowed the inning to continue, eventually giving the Sox a 3-2 advantage.

That was all the Sox needed to get to Yankee starter Randy Johnson. The Big Unit was way off his usual game, lasting only 3.2 innings, his shortest outing against the Sox since 1991. Johnson allowed five walks, threw two wild pitches (one of which scored a run), and allowed seven Red Sox to cross home plate. Thanks to the horrific defense of the Yankees, only two of those seven runs were earned.

Sox starter Josh Beckett was Johnson’s antithesis. Beckett shined in his return to Yankee stadium, pitching seven strong innings of three-run ball, notching seven strikeouts along the way to his fifth win of the season. To the delight of the Red Sox Nation, two of those K’s came via Johnny Damon.

For the entire game, everything seemed to bounce in favor of the Red Sox. Mike Lowell lined a hard grounder that bounded up and over Rodriguez at third, his second error of the game, and would score three batters later on a three-run homer by Sox shortstop Alex Gonzalez, his first of the season. Did you catch that last part? A home run by Alex Couldn’t-Knock-a-Butterfly-Off-a-Branch Gonzalez? I bet he couldn’t believe it either. I was fully expecting him to pimp at home plate a-la Omar Epps (as Wesley Snipes) as Willie Mays Hayes, only to have it fall short for the lazy fly ball out.

But it didn’t drop in the left fielder’s glove; it almost made the second deck. That made the score 10-2, and the Sox were cruising along.

Mark Loretta got the green light to swing away on a 3-0 count, facing Johnson, and smacked a two-run single down the left field line past the diving Rodriguez. Ortiz shuffled around to score from second base on a Ramirez single, just getting under Jorge Posada’s tag at home. Ramirez belted a leadoff homer in the sixth.

And in a play that truly illustrates how Boston caught all the breaks, Beckett took a liner from Robinson Cano off his calf in the seventh with a man on first and one out. The ricochet bounced right to Lowell on third, though, who was able to get the force out at second.

It was just that kind of night for the Sox.

The frustration of the Yankees was readily apparent. After getting punched out watching strike three zip by him for the third out of the seventh inning, the usually mild-mannered Bernie Williams flipped his helmet back towards home plate in disgust, nearly hitting the umpire. Williams didn’t bother to argue his ejection, and will be lucky to escape a fine from the incident: replays show that Williams glanced back over his shoulder before throwing his helmet towards the umpire, a move that may prove to be too closely reminiscent of Devil Ray minor leaguer Delmon Young’s bat-tossing spectacle that landed him a 50 game suspension.

Even Steinbrenner, who has been suspiciously quiet this season compared to his rantings and blow-ups of past years, couldn’t help to voice displeasure with his multi-million dollar lineup. When asked what he thought of the lopsided loss to division rivals, Steinbrenner simply replied, “I’m upset at a lot of them.”

But without further solicitation, he added, “The third baseman.”

With 19 regular-season head-to-head games, its hard to call this series a Key Series. Though first place is at stake (and currently in control of the Sox), there’s too much season left to make any definitive conclusions.

But this series is still important. The first real matchup of these two powerhouses. Incredible pitching duels. Games played in the heart of enemy territories. It could all very well set the tone for the rest of the season, and the Sox have firmly planted themselves in the driver’s seat.

Barry Bonds* remains at 713 home runs, one away from pulling even with Babe Ruth, thanks to a highlight-reel leaping grab at the fence by Cubs centerfielder Juan Pierre. Had the blast gone to any other part of Giants stadium (AT&T Park, ugh.), especially the short right field porch designed to give Bonds those dramatic home runs into McCovey Cove, the number two spot on the all-time home runs list would be shared by two sluggers. Instead, Pierre tracked the long fly ball back to the wall, timed his leap perfectly, and hauled in a shot that would have just cleared the 399-foot fence.

Bravo, Pierre. I applaud you for keeping the Giants Juicer in the park, even if its just for one more night. It would take a miracle for Bonds not to catch and pass Ruth on the home run list at this point. Everyone knows its only a matter of time before he launches a few more moon shots and claims sole possession of second place.

But Pierre wouldn’t let that happen on his watch.

The fans in Philadelphia had it right, in my opinion. The seats in left field displayed a special banner for Bonds during Friday night’s game.

“Ruth did it on hotdogs & beer. Aaron did it with class.”

The legacy Bonds has built is a little harder to swallow.

Countdown to the Showdown

2006-05-08T10:39:00.000-04:00

I couldn’t be more pleased with the Red Sox Nation as I am after Friday’s game at Fenway.

When Kevin Millar was announced over the Fenway loudspeakers for the first time since signing with the Baltimore Orioles, the stadium erupted in a standing ovation for the former 2004 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox as he strode to the plate. As the hallowed hall of Boston echoes with the applause and overwhelming cheers, I couldn’t see a single fan in attendance that wasn’t on their feet to pay Millar the proper respect. This reception generated ten times the noise Damon received last week in his first return to Fenway, and there wasn’t a Boo to be heard this time around.

Millar tried to play the stoic act, simply taking a few practice cuts next to the batter’s box during the commotion, but couldn’t resist the extreme display of gratitude from the city of Boston, and saluted the stadium for their kindness.

It was a great moment for Boston and its fans. Not only did it give every Sox fan the chills to offer such a great response to a World Series champion that once donned our uniform, it was proof positive that this city, though hard on its players from time to time, can truly appreciate a good player with a great attitude, even after the relationship with Boston is severed.

Millar, like Damon, was lost due to free agency. But whereas Damon shunned reasonable offers from Boston to sign a more lucrative deal with the hated Yankees, Millar was simply set off into the wind, free to land where he may. Even coming back to take the field for another division rival, the Red Sox Nation understands the circumstances surrounding his departure were easier to swallow that Damon’s actions.

I hope sportswriters and players alike who seemingly have an unending supply of criticism for this city and its treatment of professional athletes took notice of Millar’s reception on Friday. I hope everyone saw how he was welcomed back in grand style, even though he was far from the face of a championship squad.

Boston has heroes, ones we freely throw due respect towards. Its when we fail to receive that same respect as fans that we find it difficult to dish it out.

The game that followed Millar’s party was just as amazing, too. Youkilis lead off the game with a bomb over the Green Monster, Loretta showed signs of breaking out of his slump after roping two hits, and Lowell continued to tear the cover off the ball with three doubles on the day.

Schilling pitched a gem en route to his fifth win of the season, going seven strong innings of 3-run ball, striking out 5 in the process. Timlin and Papelbon slammed the door in the eighth and ninth to seal the victory.

The real sparks of the day were provided by, who else, David Ortiz. After Alex Gonzalez tied the game at 3 with a double in the sixth inning, the Sox loaded the bases with two outs. Ortiz quickly fell behind into an 0-2 count, but didn’t chase the next three pitches out of the strike zone. Facing a full count, bases loaded with two outs of a tie game (I’m getting excited just typing this), Ortiz ripped a bases-clearing double down the right field line for the 6-3 lead. Fenway erupted. 99% of the fans in attendance simultaneously lost their voices from cheering.

Ortiz delivered a clutch hit once again. All is right in the Red Sox Nation.

Pitchers for the upcoming Sox-Yankees series have been juggled around a bit, a move Francona says will give the Sox a better chance to come out on top after the three-game stint in the Bronx. New York also skips over Jaret Wright in their rotation, bumping everyone up a day and giving Chacon the start on Thursday. The new matchups are as follows:

Tuesday: Josh Beckett vs. Randy Johnson
Wednesday: Curt Schilling vs. Mike Mussina
Thursday: Tim Wakefield vs. Shawn Chacon

This has quickly become a can’t-miss series between these two teams. Deadlocked in a tie for first place in the AL East, both teams are coming off of sweeps of their weekend series. Boston handled the Orioles, while Texas rolled over and played dead to the Yankees in Arlington. Momentum is favoring no one.

The pitching duels are epic as well. Young phenom Beckett against the Big Unit. Boston hero Schilling facing the streaky Mussina. Dodgy Wakefield tossing opposite Chacon, who lost his only outing against the Sox.

I have to give Schilling a slight advantage over Mussina on Wednesday, as he’s the stronger pitcher in big games. Timmy definitely gets the nod over Chacon in the finale.

But Tuesday’s opener is hard to pick. Beckett has shown flashes of brilliance that warrents comparisons to greats like Clemens, but has already had some bad days on the mound in Boston. Johnson is Johnson, always firing in tough pitches, but has shown his mortal side more often in later years. Regardless of who comes out on top, I’m sure it will be an instant classic pitching duel.

There’s a lot at stake in this early three-game series. We’ll see how new pitchers stand up to the pressure of the biggest rivalry in baseball. We’ll witness how new Boston players handle the same intensity.

And most importantly, we’ll see who comes out in sole possession of first place in the AL East.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2006-05-05T16:19:00.000-04:00

On such a joyous Mexican holiday, I really hate to start off with bad news. But I just can’t figure out how or why, but once again, the Blue Jays seem to have Boston’s number. The Sox have already dropped 5 of 8 games against the Jays, with 11 games left to go between these teams this season.

Even with the 7-4 win yesterday, giving Clement his much-needed third win of the season, the Blue Jays continue to be a thorn in Boston’s side. Thankfully the Sox put up a 5-spot right out of the gates, slapping Blue Jay starter Josh Towers around Fenway in the first inning for the quick lead. Towers settled down after that, but ran into trouble again in the sixth, where the Sox plated two more insurance runs. Youkilis had another huge night, going 3-5 with a homer, and Lowell continues his amazing rebound from last season.

The Orioles head into town for the weekend series, bringing with them a former member of the Idiots from 2004, Kevin Millar. Though he didn’t necessarily tear the cover off the ball in his time here, he definitely came through with some big hits and defensive gems over the years. Ask any Sox fan about his contributions, and they’ll spin you a tale of the 2004 ALCS, where Millar drew a key walk off of Yankee closer Mariano Rivera to lead off the bottom of the ninth of Game 4 with the Sox down by a run. That walk set up pinch runner Dave Roberts’ steal of second base (“The Steal”), and eventual scoring on a Bill Mueller single.

Millar was quite a character in the clubhouse, too. Always with a smile on his face, always joking with teammates, always doing whatever he could to get people fired up. He even coined the infamous “Cowboy Up!” catch phrase that became the battle cry for the 2003 Sox. Despite the few times when he said the wrong thing at the wrong time (Doing shots of Jack before a playoff game? Really Kevin?), his motivation and upbeat attitude was infectious, making him a fan favorite. Though universally understood as a necessary move, Red Sox Nation and team members alike were sad to see him go.

If Millar even gets in the game tonight, I fully expect him to get a standing ovation that rivals the mediocre reception Damon received upon his first return to Fenway. Millar was a fan favorite, as was Damon, but didn’t reject an offer from Boston to sign with the Yankees. Millar simply wasn’t re-signed and moved on in the free-agent market. Even if he had been picked up by New York, I doubt he would be booed as bad as Damon, beings as our former center fielder turned his back on a very reasonable offer to stay in Boston.

So tonight, when I’m at Fenway, I will stand and cheer and raise my beer (shot of Jack) to Millar when he’s announced for his first at-bat. Then, I hope Schilling sits him down in three pitches.

Welcome back, Millar!

Not to look ahead too far, but next week takes the Sox into the heart of enemy territory, as they travel to the Bronx for a 3-game set with the Yankees. The Sox took the only game these teams have played so far this season due to a rain-out and those weird two-game “series” scheduling format, so this will be the first true head-to-head battle for first place in the AL East.

And what a battle it will be. Pending any rainouts for either teams, the pitching matchups for the three-game series look like this:

Tuesday: Josh Beckett vs. Jaret Wright
Wednesday: Matt Clement vs. Randy Johnson
Thursday: Curt Schilling vs. Mike Mussina

Our biggest advantage comes Tuesday when Beckett takes the mound opposite Wright. Beckett last saw the Yankees in the 2003 World Series, where he pitched a complete-game shutout in the series-clinching Game 6. Did I mention he did that in Yankee Stadium? Wright hasn’t lasted more than 5 innings in any of his three starts so far, letting four runs plate each time he’s pitched.

Wednesday’s game is a crapshoot, flip-of-the-coin tossup as to which team gets the nod. It all depends on which version of each pitcher shows up that day. Both Clement and Johnson have been Jekyll-and-Hyde so far this season, following up a great outing with one that lasts only a few innings. Clement looked great in his game against the Blue Jays yesterday, while Johnson struggled against them his last outing, giving up 6 runs in 5 innings.

And Thursday brings together staff aces, with Schilling and Mussina taking the ball. Though Mussina has been tough against the Sox, he’s also proved to be very hittable in some games. I’m not sure how accurate my memory is, but I seem to remember him not pitching well against the Sox in Yankee Stadium. Let’s hope I’m right.

Should be a great series, no matter the outcome. Let’s hope Texas gives Alex Rodriguez a rude Welcome Back in the Yankees weekend series, and get the Sox to capitalize on a weak-pitching Orioles club. I’d like to see a game or two cushion before we head to New York.

And In This Cornah ...

2006-05-02T14:38:00.000-04:00

If the other 18 games the Sox and Yankees play against each other are as exciting as last night’s matchup, its going to be one hell of a ride.

Fans expect a show when they sit down to watch these rivals square off, and last night did not disappoint. The headline for the event, outside of the actual game, was the return of Johnny Damon to Fenway … in Yankee pinstripes. NESN did a good job of broadcasting from the stadium during pre-game to capture the reaction of the fans. And it was pretty much as expected.

Every time Damon stuck his head out of the dugout, he was showered with a rousing round of Boos from the Fenway Faithful. But as he made his way to the plate to lead off the game after being announced, a few cheers could be heard amongst the jeers from jilted fans. The cheers grew enough that Damon stepped out of the box before the first pitch, and turned to the crowd.

In a show of class, Damon tipped his cap to Fenway. Tucking away the Grin of the Idiot he usually wears, Johnny wore a look of sincerity as he acknowledged the fans that cheered him for the hard work he gave and World Series Trophy he helped bring to Boston.

Continuing the gesture of good will, he turned to the Red Sox dugout, throwing props to his former coach Tito Francona, and teammates he once shared uniforms with just a year ago. As the boos became more and more scarce throughout the hallowed walls of Fenway, Damon paid one last piece of respect to the city and team, giving Wakefield a little point-out on the mound before taking his stance in the batter’s box.

Damon was expecting the boos, and handled them with grace. Though many fans will hold onto the grudge of his signing with the Yankees, many more of us will remember the 2004 season and everything Damon meant to the city. Damon’s actions before his first at-bat yesterday let everyone know that he will remember the very same thing.

The sappy moment aside, Sox fans moved on to the more good-natured and relentless razzing normally given to enemies of Fenway. When Damon took his place in centerfield in the bottom of the inning, fans showered him with dollar bills in effigy of his off-season contract with the Yankees. Throughout the game, chants of “Da-mon! Da-mon!” rained down from the stands, coaxing that idiot grin from number 18.

As big a story as Damon’s return to Fenway was for last night’s game, Mirabelli practically stole the show before the first pitch was even thrown. Dougie was on the first flight out of San Diego yesterday, hoping to make it to Fenway on time for the game. When he emerged from the Police Escort he received from the airport to the stadium, Mirabelli was already decked out in his Boston whites, having changed along the way.

Where Damon’s ears rang with boos, Mirabelli’s received a deafening cheer when he stepped out of the dugout and headed towards home plate, taking his rightful spot as Tim Wakefield’s catcher.

The game itself was amazing. Even from just watching it on TV, I could feel the electricity emanating from the crowd, giving the game a playoff atmosphere. There was no doubt why this rivalry is one of the greatest in professional sports.

Youkilis lead off the game with a walk, and don’t think there was a single fan in Fenway that didn’t notice our new leadoff guy reached while our old leadoff guy on the Yankees didn’t touch a single base all night. That point was driven home two batters later when Ortiz drove a single to the outfield, scoring Youkilis and giving the Sox an early 1-0 advantage.

Mirabelli stepped up in the third inning when he threw out the stealing Bubba Crosby, killing a scoring opportunity with the top of the Yankee order on deck. Johnny Damon promptly grounded out to Wakefield on the very next pitch, ending the top half of the inning.

With the game tied at 3 heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees’ pitching strategy was unfurled. After reliever Tanyon Sturze gave up an RBI single to the struggling Mark Loretta to give the Sox a 4-3 edge, Torre went to the bullpen again.

With Ortiz striding to the plate, the Yankees brought in former Sox reliever Mike Myers, a pitcher Steinbrenner picked up in the offseason. Myers is a lefty killer, and is viewed as the answer to Big Papi.

All night long, a strong wind blowing straight in from centerfield, knocking down any ball lofted into the air long before reaching the stands, including a Wily Mo blast that would have been a key grand slam in the game. But Mother Nature proved to be no match for Ortiz. With two on, one out, and facing a full count from the sidearming Myers, Ortiz crushed a pitch to deep right-center field that found its way into the Boston bullpen for a three-run shot, giving the Sox a 7-3 advantage.

Its only fitting that Ortiz’s home run to the bullpen was caught by Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. Ortiz gave the Sox a nice cushion late in the game with the blast, and now it was up to Papelbon to slam the door on the Yanks.

And slam it he did. Alex Rodriguez was retired on three straight heaters from Papelbon, and after Hideki Matsui popped out to third, Jorge Posada ended the game waving at strike three. Papelbon needed only 13 pitches to retire the 4-5-6 hitters in the Yankee lineup.

Round 1 has gone to the Red Sox after a game that featured the return of old heroes and new enemies, beloved figures, monster shots and spectacular finishes. I’m exhausted just thinking about the game, much less the 18 other ones yet to take place. Though the rivalry isn’t quite what it used to be pre-2004, it’s still the best in baseball.

And I can’t wait for Round 2.

As I mentioned before, last night marked the triumphant return of Doug Mirabelli to Boston. Dougie not only serves as Wakefield’s personal catcher, he’s also a great clubhouse presence and fan favorite on the Red Sox.

But another reason on my personal list of why I’m happy to see Mirabelli back in Boston: no more hockey-style catcher’s masks for the Red Sox! Josh Bard wore one of those ridiculous pieces of headgear in his short time here, and I cringed at the very sight of it (almost as much as I cringed when he let another Wakefield knuckler bounce to the backstop). Mirabelli and Varitek both don the traditional (and completely functional) helmet-and-mask combination that should be worn by MLB catchers. They need to outlaw the hockey-style ones just as much as those new CoolFlo batting helmets.

And if that wasn’t enough reason to love Mirabelli, rumor has it that in the mad rush to get to Fenway in time for the game, Dougie actually caught the first inning without wearing a cup.

Granted, his jewels probably weren’t in too much danger of getting crushed considering Wake’s money pitch flutters in at 60 mph, any guy can attest that it doesn’t take much to put a hurtin’ on the boys. And with that knuckleball jumping all over the place like it does, Mirabelli gets both StudBoy and CrazyMan points for not sporting a shell, even if only for an inning.

And today’s closing thought, just because I find it damn hilarious that they don’t even realize they’re ripping their own kind …

Getting the Band Back Together

2006-05-01T14:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome Back, Dougie!

Even with all of the hype and excitement and what’s at stake concerning the arrival of the Yankees in Fenway for the first Boston-New York matchup of the season, not to mention the initial return of Johnny Damon to the city that made him famous, there’s just no getting around leading off this blog entry with what can only be described as fantasterrific news for the Red Sox.

Doug Mirabelli, personal catcher for Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, is back in a Boston uniform.

After enduring a month of the Bard experiment, which failed miserably, Theo Epstien pulled the trigger on a deal that sent the troubled backup catcher, who managed to log as many passed balls in the month of April (10) than Mirabelli did all of last season, to San Diego in exchange for the piece of mind that our every-fifth-day backstop is able to catch a knuckleball with some consistency.

From the business standpoint, the Sox probably had to fork over more than they should have, sending minor-league pitching prospect Cla Merdith, cash, and a player to be named later along with Bard. Bard’s $350,000 salary compared to Mirabelli’s $1.5 million may cause some to raise eyebrows, too.

But from a baseball standpoint, the decision was an easy one. Though Mirabelli probably won’t help the Sox score more runs, he will help fewer opponents cross the plate. Mirabelli knows the knuckleball, having been Wakefield’s catcher since 2001. Whereas Bard seemed unsure where the ball would land, much less how to dive in front of it when it did, Mirabelli is a seasoned professional at keeping Wake’s dancing devil at bay.

Some statheads have analyzed Bard’s performance so far this season, and came to the conclusion that his passed balls are responsible for almost two runs per game when Wake pitches. So even though Wake’s ERA is around 3, over 5 runs cross the plate. That’s not bad pitching, that’s bad catching.

And let’s not forget the piece of mind Wakefield gets with the return of his battery mate. I’ve heard announcers comment on how lively Wake’s knuckleball has looked all season, meaning its darting all over the place. But how confident can he really tossing it up to a catcher who can’t corral the pitch? If Wake is on the mound thinking Bard will probably boot his knuckler on a two-strike count or with a runner on base, he probably shakes off his money pitch and serves up a “fastball” to ensure Bard can handle it. Since Wake’s fastball is most pitcher’s change-up, its gonna get belted.

Mirabelli gives Wake that confidence he needs to rattle off an entire game full of floating knucklers with no reprieve. And obviously its not just the Red Sox that think so. Its being reported that Steinbrenner jumped into the bidding war for Mirabelli at the last minute to try to block his return to Boston.

How unbelievably shifty of Steinbrenner to try to pull a move like that. Trading for a player just to keep him from going to the Red Sox? Especially when they have absolutely ZERO need for a catcher! Poor Mirabelli would be wallowing in the mire that is the Yankees minor league system for the rest of his career, just so he wouldn’t catch for Wake, if Steinbrenner had his way. That’s ridiculous. My only consolation here is that he failed. Suck it, Steinbrenner. I hope Dougie sticks it to the Yankees tonight.

Mirabelli is currently on a plane heading back to Boston to rejoin his old team. All of Boston awaits his arrival, hoping the plane gets him to town in time to catch Wakefield when he takes the mound against the Yankees.

I can only wish I was in the locker room when Wake greets Doug with a giant man-hug. I’m gettin’ all misty just thinking about it.

Let the Battle for First begin. After a horrible week on the road, where they dropped 6 of 9 games and lost consecutive series to division rivals Toronto and Tampa Bay, the Red Sox limp back to Fenway for a 7-game homestand. Their recent slide has taken them from the best record in baseball into a tie for first place as they struggle to find ways to get men across the plate.

Its only fitting that the Sox are tied with the very team they open their homestand against: the New York Yankees. Though the Yankees are still struggling with their starting and relief pitching, their offense has been clicking on all cylinders and keeping the Yankees on a winning trend. Now that these teams are knotted up at the top of the AL East, today begins the first of eight games against each other.

The gloves are off. The true start to the 2006 season begins today.

Smoke on the Horizon

2006-04-28T15:01:00.000-04:00

There are probably very few Sox fans out there who aren’t a little concerned with the team right about now.

With a brutal 15-3 blowout against Cleveland last night, Boston has managed to drop 5 of their last 7 games, losing the past two series against Toronto and Cleveland. Wakefield has suffered two of those losses, again getting no run support from his anemic offense, and Beckett only needed one inning to set a new personal record by giving up his first-ever grand slam.

Fans are probably not so concerned with pitching, though. Even though he gave up nine runs, Beckett still managed to strike out six Indians in his 3.2 innings of work last night. Wakefield has been pitching the ball very well, and its only a matter of time before his new personal catcher Josh Bard figures out how to keep that knuckleball from the backstop every other pitch. Schilling has looked every bit his 2004 self, and then some. Clement helped salvage the series in Toronto with final game win, and with Wells on the DL (and hopefully on his way out of Boston for good), we just may have a better chance of landing Clemens for half a season.

It’s the offense that’s been offensive lately. While everyone knows new shortstop Alex Gonzalez was more a defensive acquisition than offensive one, his .200 batting average so far is making Alex Cora look like a viable option. And believe me, its hard work to make Sox fans yearn to see Cora in the lineup.

There’s been an even bigger black hole of offensive production from the center field spot ever since Crisp went down with a broken finger. Sox have tried platoons of Adam Stern, Dustan Mohr, and more recently, Willie Harris, and gotten a pitiful .143 average between the three of them for their efforts. Coco’s return date of May 15 can’t come soon enough.

Youkilis has done an outstanding job in the leadoff spot in Coco’s absence, but his bat is desperately needed in the bottom of the order. Once pitchers get past Nixon in the 5 spot, they can practically go on cruise control for the next four batters. Only Wily Mo’s recent prowess at the plate has been giving them any pause as they burn through our 6 through 9 hitters.

And that’s not all, folks. Varitek hasn’t looked comfortable at the plate so far this season, and his .250 average is proof positive that he’s not himself yet. Even Loretta, billed as an on-base guy with great bat control, has been slowly sinking closer to the .200 mark, a delineation previously reserved for our shortstops.

That black cloud over Fenway doesn’t overshadow the one on the horizon, either. May brings a tough schedule for Boston, highlighted by eight games against the division rival Yankees. Though plagued with pitching woes of their own, New York has climbed back to pull within one game of the Red Sox. The AL East juggernauts will meet for the first time on Monday, and it’s a total crapshoot as to who will hold the higher ground when that two-game series begins. Boston travels to Tampa Bay for the weekend where they’ll be facing Kazmir, always a thorn in their side, and New York hosts the Blue Jays, where hopefully Halladay can continue his success against the Yankees.

The next two weeks are pivotal for Boston, and will truly test their mettle. If they can hold their ground through five games against New York, a series with Baltimore and one with Texas, Crisp will be back to give this team more leadoff speed, defensive prowess, and a fresh bat.

Speaking of the Yankees, Monday will mark the return of Johnny Damon to Fenway Park. Though I was one of the fans calling for his head on a stick when I first heard he signed with our hated division rivals, I’ve since calmed my opinion and learned to simply appreciate the time he spent on the Red Sox and his contribution to the 2004 World Series Championship. I’d much rather see him in a Boston uniform, but I refuse to boo him now that he’s wearing pinstripes. He accomplished too much in the city, gave his heart and soul to the team (and his head, thanks to Damian Jackson), and deserves nothing less than a standing ovation when he steps to the plate in the top of the first inning.

Hopefully Boston agrees with me. Damon was an icon for the Red Sox, and the poster child for the Band of Idiots that ended the 86-year drought. How can you boo a resume like that?

Cheers to you, Johnny. Its great to see you again.

April 25, 1976

2006-04-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of one of baseball’s most patriotic acts that still receives deserved recognition.

Rick Monday, then an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs, was warming up between innings at Dodger Stadium on April 25, 1976. Two men jumped out of the left field stands and ran to centerfield (apparently, security wasn’t quite so quick to respond as they are today). Monday noticed they weren’t the usual drunken fan streaking the field; rather, they seemed purposed as they were carrying things with them.

It wasn’t long before their intentions were clear. They unfurled an American Flag on the center field grass and proceeded to douse it with lighter fluid. This was all Monday needed to see, as he quickly sprinted towards the men. Before they could get a match lit and ignite the flag, Monday swooped in and snatched Old Glory from the men and high-tailed it to the dugout (he stated afterwards he was unsure if the flag was on fire or not).

Monday was eventually presented that very flag as a gift of appreciation for his efforts of patriotism, and it hangs in his home to this day. Though he didn’t make it big as a ballplayer, Monday left a unforgettable mark on the game that day. His act was less a political statement, as the men who attempted to burn the symbol of America, and more a message of respect that applies even today. In fact, Monday still receives letters from people thanking him for his heroic actions that fateful day.

Hats off to you, Monday. May we all continue to learn from your example.

It was a horrid weekend in Canada, where the Sox dropped two of three to the Blue Jays, including a gut-wrenching 11-inning loss on Friday with Beckett on the mound. Cruising with a 6-2 lead, Beckett plunks Aaron Hill to lead off the eighth inning, most like retaliation from an earlier beaning of Sox shortstop Alex Gonzalez, and promptly gives up a two-run blast to the next batter, cutting the lead to 6-4. Vernon Wells steps up and delivers another long ball, and now the Sox lead is down to one. Enter the usually reliable Mike Timlin. Usually. Troy Glaus takes him deep to tie the game. Four runs for the Jays in the bottom of the eighth inning, costing Beckett his win, and eventually the game for the Sox.

Some people will blame Beckett for the collapse, saying there was no reason to retaliate by plunking the Toronto batter. It didn’t appear as though Gonzalez was hit intentionally, especially not to load the bases with Youkilis on deck. Besides, a weak hitter like Gonzalez is exactly who you want to pitch to in that situation, beings as close to an automatic out as you can get in the Sox lineup.

Perhaps Beckett just wanted to show his team he’s not afraid to stand up for them, to fight back when provoked. He was sitting on a nice cushion of a four-run lead at that point, so what not a better time to give the Jays a little shove back into their place? I have to chalk it up to simple bad luck that it fell apart like it did after that play, hardly the fault of the young ace. I love Beckett’s fire and passion on the hill, and hope he keeps that drive with him throughout the season.

Now the Sox are in Cleveland, taking on a pesky Indians squad. I’m saddened that Coco Crisp is still on the DL with his fractured finger (until May 15 now) and unable to take the field against his former team. Indians fans seem like a good bunch, and I’m sure he would have received a well-deserved ovation for the time he spent there.

Manny announced his presence to his former team with authority in the Sox win last night, going 3-for-4 with a decisive 3-run homer in the eighth that put the Sox up for good. Manny is starting to rip the ball lately, driving three home runs and raising his once-anemic average to a more suitable .300. That sound you hear is a collective sigh of relief from the Red Sox Nation. Manny had a sluggish start last year, and never fully recovered at the plate. Let’s hope his current trend of being patient, getting good swings and hitting the snot out of the ball continues.

Has Charlie Sheen joined the Red Sox? Nah, that’s just Jonathan Papelbon showing off his new ‘do. Boston’s new ace closer was sporting a Wild Thing-meets-Taxi Driver hairstyle in Toronto over the weekend, and had all of the Red Sox Nation in stitches over the apparent rookie hazing.

However, turns out the new style was the result of a bet with teammate Kevin Youkilis. The weird part is that Papelbon WON the bet, and still walked away with the funny new fro. Beings that Youkilis has been shaving his head for the past couple years, I really don’t want to imagine what he had to shave for the bet.

The Red Sox have a new “sideline reporter” for their home games this season. Tina Cervasio can been seen throughout NESN broadcasts of Sox games in Fenway, giving quick stand-ups from the stands inbetween innings and pitches, as well as post-game interviews with players and coaches. I was lucky enough to attend college with Mrs. Cervasio, and can attest that she is just as energetic and eager as she appears on television. She always had a broad, bright smile for people when we shared a classroom, and that trait seems to have carried over wonderfully to her broadcasting career.

Unfortunately, Tina has been getting ripped by some Sox fans for her performance so far this season. Statheads on sonsofsamhorn.com, who can be rather snobbish about their fanboy stances at times, have taken to discussing her efforts on their message boards, relentlessly bashing her for asking less-than-insightful questions and stumbling through her stand-ups. Even ESPN’s Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, took a moment in a recent article to hurl some insults her way (which were kinda funny, I have to admit).

My message: cut her some slack. The sideline reporter at a baseball game is useless enough as is, adding little to the game besides irritating breaks in the action that force viewers to watch a small split-screen of the game when the reporter is going through their stand-up. Cervasio isn’t the first reporter to fill that role for the Sox, and she won’t be the last. She’s just doing the job she was given, and doing it to the best of her ability. She may have some moments when she stumbles, but who doesn’t? Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy, Sox television announcers, have tripped and laughed their way through broadcasts more than once, in their time. It’s not such a big deal if the new reporter does it, too.

Good luck to ya, Tina. Boston’s a tough nut to crack, but keep beaming that grin and we’ll all come around.

Brother, Can You Spare a Run?

2006-04-21T10:50:00.000-04:00

Can’t a knuckleballer catch a break? If his name is Tim Wakefield, apparently not.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays dropped the Sox 5-1 last night, ending Boston’s four-game win streak, not to mention sending them on a nine-game road trip on a sour note. The loss only drops the Sox to 11-5, still good enough for a 1.5-game lead over second-place Baltimore. Its just the situation of the loss that, well, pretty much sucks.

The past few seasons, Wakefield has owned the Rays, going 13-1 in recent decisions, his last loss dating way back to 1999. So when he took the hill in last night’s game, practically everyone was expecting a home sweep of the Rays. They never seemed able to catch up to Wake’s fluttering money pitch, and the record shows that.

But Wake’s hit some lean times so far this season when it comes to run support from his teammates. If you disregard his first start of the season, a 3.2 inning 7-run shellacking at the hands of Texas, Wakefield has posted a 1.56 ERA over this last three starts, including a complete game where he only allowed two earned runs.

Unfortunately, that complete game ended in a loss for Wake, as Boston’s offense was held to five hits and no runs. In fact, in three of Wake’s four starts this season, he’s received a mere one run of offensive support. For a pitcher who normally gets at least five runs per game from his teammates, the recent .33 runs per game must be hard to swallow.

So why did Boston’s offense abandon their pitcher last night? Apparently, Wakefield wasn’t the only one facing a team he’s had great success against.

Scott Kazmir, the Ray’s 22-year-old lefty phenom, has posted a 3-1 record and 2.64 ERA against Boston in his short time in the majors, with those three wins all coming in Fenway. Kazmir seems to have Boston’s number, his only loss to them coming last season after allowing three runs over six innings. It was his offense that abandoned him that day, only getting one run for his efforts.

But not last night. Wakefield kept the game close, giving up three runs, but that would prove to be enough. Tavarez served up a Landsdown shot to Gomez, his second of the night, on the first pitch he threw, and surrendered another run off consecutive doubles before heading to the clubhouse for the night.

The Sox now start a nine-game road trip that will take them to Toronto (7-7), Cleveland (9-7) and Tampa Bay (8-8). The Sox return to Fenway on Monday, May 1st, for a quick two-game series against …

The Yankees.

I have to throw a quick shout-out to 48-year-old Julio Franco, who became the oldest player in MLB history to hit a home run. His two-run shot in the 8th helped lift the Mets past the Padres 7-2. Franco, a 24-year journeyman veteran of the big leagues, is probably best known (at least by me) for his batting stance: he holds his hands high and points the barrel of the bat right at the pitcher. Though never really in my good graces, especially after his years with the Braves, its pretty damn impressive that he’s still around and driving the ball just two years away from the big 5-0. Way to hang, Julio.

Kaz Matsui, Mets second baseman, put up an impressive record last night as well. He became the first player since Ken Griffey Jr. (1997-1999) to hit a home run in his first at-bat of the season three years in a row. And last night, he did it in style: the former Japanese All-Star scampered around the bases for an inside-the-park home run after his drive to right field glanced off the glove of Padre Brian Giles. Giles has a pretty good arm, so you know Matsui was haulin’ ass.

11-4

2006-04-20T13:23:00.000-04:00

Best record in baseball: What every fan of MLB wants to hear about their team.

At 11-4, the Red Sox not only have the best record in the AL East and a 2.5-game lead over second-place Baltimore, they also have the best record in the majors. Considering many people were predicting hard goings for the Sox early in the season due to the influx of new players at key positions, that ain’t too shabby.

That’s why you just have to love this year’s Red Sox team. We lost some big cogs in the machinery from the past few seasons (Damon, Mueller, Martinez, Lowe, shortstops, etc), and yet Boston still tops the AL East early in the season.

There were concerns over how some of these players, coming from small-market cities, would handle playing in a high-pressure town like Boston. However, not only have the newbies managed to adapt to the pressure, its seems like they are thriving on it. Just look at ‘em: Coco off to a hot start before his injury; Lowell’s bat has been coming alive; the defense of Stern, Gonzalez, and Loretta; Beckett and Papelbon pitching like aces.

Though I have faith in Sox, just as I do every year, I also don’t expect them to keep this pace up throughout the season, just as I don’t every year. They’re out to an amazing start so far, there’s no doubt about that. But things happen throughout the year that derail a team from time to time. Injuries to key players, slumps from big hitters, a few bad outings from ace pitchers.

Wait, injuries to key players? Like star center-fielder Crisp and pitcher Wells? They seem to have handled that well.

Slumps from big hitters? Like Manny’s .214 batting average early on? Still won 11 games regardless, and Manny’s starting to break out of it already, pumping his average up while driving the ball hard. Only a matter of time before his shots start leaving the yard.

A few bad outings from ace pitchers? Like Clement’s stinker last week? And Wakefield’s tough couple starts? Both bounced back beautifully from horrible outings to post a W. When Clement, an easy lock for 16+ wins a season, is your number three pitcher, you’re not in bad shape at all.

So looks like the Sox have been in the midst of three major setbacks already this season, and still managed to come out on top. How? This squad has done wonders with the replacements in the dugout and bullpen.

Adam Stern has flashed some serious leather in the outfield in Coco’s absence, making a beautiful game-ending catch and crashing into the Monster chasing one down. He’s a beast.

Strikeout artist Wily Mo must be hanging out with Ortiz and Manny in the dugout, because he’s starting to be more selective at the plate. Hell, he even eased up on his swing one game and went to the opposite field for a hit. I swear!

Minor-leaguer Lenny DiNardo pitched a GEM on Patriot’s Day, stepping up to fill in for the injured David Wells. His 2-run performance kept the Sox in the game, setting up Loretta’s 9th-inning heroics.

And those are just the fill-ins! Our regulars have played some serious ball along the way as well. Loretta and Gonzalez have provided sick defense up the middle, and did you know Youkilis is batting over .350? How about Ortiz mashing the ball out of Fenway at an incredible clip? Schilling looks like he found the fountain of youth, and Nixon, coming back after a brief injury, is hitting almost .380!

So, maybe I CAN have faith they’ll keep this up for most of the season. Maybe I don’t have to wait for the post All-Star break swoon, where the Yankees seem to creep up out of the basement to reclaim the throne. Maybe this new blood and rejuvenation the Sox seem to have found is the real deal.

Whatever the case, the Sox have hit the ground running, and show no signs of looking back.

Revolution!

2006-04-18T14:13:00.000-04:00

Patriot’s Day in Boston is a day rich in historical tradition. First observed back in 1894, this holiday commemorates the battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775, a battle which gave birth to Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride. To this day, parades and celebrations help mark the beginning of the American Revolutionary War and America’s march to freedom. The city practically shuts down, as many businesses and schools consider it a legitimate holiday despite the fact few outside of New England have ever heard of it.

It’s also a day with deep-rooted sports-related traditions as well. Every Patriot’s Day (celebrated on the third Monday in April), the Red Sox play what is probably the earliest local start time for a professional baseball game in recent history, taking the field at 11:00 AM. To add to this hallowed sporting event, the Boston Marathon’s route runs right by the stadium, allowing Sox fans to pile into the streets after the game to cheer on those brave souls that tackle the 26-mile course. Patriot’s Day is truly day that fanatics of history and sports alike can come together and celebrate with the entire city.

And what a spectacle it was! I was lucky enough to be the recipient of tickets to the Sox game, and was able to witness the event first hand. It’s a comical mixture of sports, drinking, mayhem, and unlikely comradery. The city is alive with activity, with thousands of people piling into the downtown area to see the marathon, walk the Freedom Trail, attend the Sox game, or just to be in the general vicinity of these events.

I was ecstatic to attend my first Sox game of the season, along with my first Patriot’s Day celebration. I’ve heard its quite an experience to just be in the city on this day, much less at the Sox game. I even unsuccessfully tried to find someone to simply go to the stadium with me and watch the game at a local bar. To get tickets to the game at the last minute? Stoked.

The game was fantastic. With Wells now officially on the DL with a bum knee, Sox called up minor-leaguer Lenny DiNardo to man the 6th spot in Boston’s rotation. An occasional reliever and spot-starter for the Sox over the past two seasons, DiNardo kept the game from becoming a blowout, holding Seattle to 2 runs over five innings. Boston’s offense matched those runs one-for-one with a solo shot from Ortiz (a blast that bounced off the top of the wall in dead-center) and a rare run-scoring double from utility infielder Alex Cora.

Crazy Carl Everett, still the recipient of a barrage of boos from the Fenway Faithful, silenced the crowd in the 6th with a two-run shot that bounced off Pesky’s Pole in right. In the bottom of that same frame, however, Ortiz once again showed fans why he’s worth every penny of his new contract (and then some), when he launched a two-run homer to right to knot the game at four apiece.

The fireworks for the day came in the bottom of the ninth. Down 6-5, Kevin Youkilis stepped to the plate with two outs. Facing a pitcher’s count of 1-2, Youkilis drove a hot shot to second for what almost was the third out of the game. Almost. Not known for his speed, Youkilis hustled down the line and just beat the throw by less than half a step.

That was all the leeway the Sox needed. Mark Loretta, newcomer to Boston this season, drive a 2-0 pitch over the Green Monster for his first hit of the day, first home run in a Sox uniform, and quite possibly the first walk-off homer of his baseball career.

He couldn’t have picked a better time to string together such an impressive list of firsts.

The stadium erupted the minute the ball left the bat and didn’t let up until long after the players left the field. Everyone seemed to feel the ball off Loretta’s bat, and knew it would travel beyond the Monster in left. The energy in that moment was amazing; the stands were a sea of motion as people jumped around and high-fived anyone within reach. The roar quickly grew from anticipation to assurance to the pinnacle of exuberance, the sound resonating throughout the stadium, surrounding streets, and probably the whole city of Boston.

Those marathoners must have loved the gauntlet going by Fenway. They must have gotten an extra boost from the masses that piled onto the sidewalks to cheer them on, undoubtedly pumped beyond belief after just watching the Sox complete an amazing last-ditch comeback. It was probably the most lively, loud and encouraging crowd ever to assemble along a marathon route.

I consider myself to be truly lucky to have been in attendance in yesterday’s game. Hell, I consider myself lucky to visit Fenway for ANY game, but yesterday was special. It was a day when the whole city of Boston commemorates the beginning of American Freedom. It was a day when the city’s beloved baseball team took the field in front of 36,000+ fans either enjoying a day off or playing hooky. It was a day when the world of two sports, on far ends of the spectrum from one another, came together in brotherhood, excitement, and patriotism. These things are rare to come by alone, much less all at once as it was yesterday. It was more than a thrill to be there; it was an honor.

So, thanks to the American Patriots who fought for our freedom on this day back in 1775. Thanks to the New England states who mark the occasion with this holiday. Thanks to the City of Boston for holding an event as prestigious as the Boston Marathon has become over the years. And thanks to the Red Sox for providing such an incredible, exhilarating victory to celebrate.

Nixon had a huge day in his first game back after tweaking his troublesome groin muscle, going 3 for 4 with two doubles and two runs scored. He’s made some great contributions to the team over the years both offensively and defensively, so its nice to see his name back in the lineup, especially in what looks to be his last season in Boston. With the acquisition of Wily Mo this season, it seems that Theo and Co. will allow Nixon to test the free-agent waters due to his high salary and injury issues. As sad as I will be to see him go, it’s probably a necessary evil to make room for some younger players (Pena, Mohr, Stern). I’m hoping Nixon has a monster year with little time spent on the DL and lands a contract worthy of this hard-nosed ballplayer. Long Live Trot!

First-Place Pitching Woes?

2006-04-14T13:00:00.000-04:00

Boston’s starting rotation is probably the best its been in years. We were so stacked with starting pitching in spring training, we were able to trade away a great arm in Bronson Arroyo for more offense. I figured the last thing we needed to worry about was getting quality innings from the front 5, much less facing early blowouts.

But by the second inning of last night’s game, Matt Clement had already solidified a two-game losing streak for the Red Sox. Even after his offense staked him to a one-run lead in the first, he couldn’t find the plate in the top of the second, and paid for it. With the bases juiced, Vernon Wells lofted a long fly ball to dead center, the farthest part of the ballpark, for a four-run four-bagger and a quick 6-1 lead for the Jays.

To say this was discouraging is a colossal understatement, especially considering the performance David Wells put forth in Wednesday’s game. Two horrific starts in a row by starting pitchers, both of which are veterans in the league and considered staff aces at one point in their careers. In fact, all three Sox losses so far this year have come at the expense of bad starting pitching in early innings, the first of which was Wakefield’s forgettable appearance in Texas.

Here’s the difference in those starts, though: whereas the Wakefield and Clement losses are more than likely the case of a rare bad outing, Wells had just come off the disabled list and, as is speculated by many a Sox fan, may have rushed back to the starting rotation in order to meet performance clauses in his contract (Wells’ contract is structured around the amount of starts he makes per year).

Wake and Clement went through a normal spring training regimen, and were ready for their starting roles for the regular season. Clement pitched a 7-inning gem his first time out, and Wakefield rebounded nicely from the Texas game by going 6 innings in beating Baltimore. These guys are ready.

Wells? Not so much. Without even going into the obvious lack of physical shape this guy has obtained over his career, Wells had knee surgery in the offseason, which shortened his spring training significantly. His rehabilitation was obviously not complete, getting smacked around in a Triple-A start before joining the Red Sox for his ill-fated first start.

And it isn’t completely Wells’ fault for rushing back. I’m curious as to why the front office didn’t step in and suggest Wells make another rehab start or two in the minors before testing his knee on the big stage. Theo is on top of everything that goes on with that team, so you know he was well aware of the problems Wells had with a minor-league lineup. Yet he was welcomed back to the rotation with open arms, and promptly served up a lopsided loss.

Shame on you, David Wells, for risking the Sox winning streak. Shame on you for taking the hill before you were ready. Shame on you for putting the best interests of your Bank Account above those of your team and the City of Boson.

And shame on the front office for letting the loudmouth get away with it all.

There were some highlights to the game last night, though. David Ortiz smacked his fourth home run of the season, once again wrapping a two-run shot around Pesky’s Pole in right field. Seeing him rake the long ball and scamper down to first is a beautiful sight for Sox fans, and I hope Ortiz continues to torment opposing pitchers the way he has since joining the Sox. Now if Manny could only find his power swing again, all would be right in the Red Sox Nation.

Kevin Youkilis continues to impress me. I’ve been rooting for this guy to get some regular playing time so we could get a good look at how good a batter he is, and last night we witnesses a great example of just that.

Ninth inning of last night’s game, Youkilis is at the plate with runners at first and second, two outs, the score an 8-3 deficit. Youk doesn’t push, doesn’t rush, doesn’t try to do too much with the at-bat, just advance some runners and keep the game going. He fouls off a few VERY tough pitches inside, lets some corner-nibblers go by for balls, and battled for a full count. Next pitch, he rips a shot to left-center that rolls to the wall for a double, scoring both runners. Now the game is 8-5, making Ortiz the tying run (after Loretta doubled and scored Youk).

Youkilis stayed focused the whole game, not backing off for a second even though the Sox were all but out of the game by the ninth. He hung in there, and helped put the Red Sox in the position to win the game. Ortiz flied out to deep right to secure the loss, but what a dramatic ending anyway.

What’s the last thing a Sox fan wants to hear? “Now batting for Alex Gonzalez … Alex Cora!” See? Every Sox fan who read that last sentence just cringed in disgust. Talk about a no-win situation! That’s like substituting Sleepless in Seattle with You’ve Got Mail. Sure, they may be different, but both make you painfully aware you will never get those two hours of your life back.

And yes, I am horrified that I have used not one, but two chic-flick references in my blog now. In the same damn sentence to boot. I have already self-imposed a ban on my Man Card.

New CoolFlo helmets have been invading MLB this season. Has anyone else noticed these? They have interesting (read: ugly as all hell) ridges and vents on the top and sides of the helmet. Some teams have even taken to using these ridges as an outline for a two-tone color scheme (Mets), which just comes out looking overly-futuristic.

Thankfully, not all teams in the majors have adopted the new helmet style, including my beloved Red Sox. I would say that teams rich in tradition have led the way in bucking the trend, like the Sox and Yankees, but the Cubs have also taken to using the new design, so there goes that theory.

And what’s the purpose of the new helmet, anyway? Was there something wrong with the traditional batting helmets? Were they really THAT much hotter that more vents were needed? Did they create THAT much drag on runners that aerodynamics just had to be incorporated?

Selig was behind this, wasn’t he? That bastard.

Around the Diamond

2006-04-12T16:49:00.000-04:00

Even though he’s currently on the DL, Coco Crisp signed a contract extension with Boston that will keep him in a Sox uniform through 2010. Even though we’ve only seen Crisp in 4 games so far this season, he’s been impressing fans, teammates and front office alike with his defense in the field, bat at the plate, and speed everywhere he goes. And at 26, Crisp still has many good years ahead of him.

No word yet on the dollar amounts behind the deal, but I’m betting it’s a far cry from the $12 million Damon’s getting.

If Pedro Martinez even gets within 3 feet of Guillen with a pitch in tonight’s Mets-Nationals matchup, the fireworks are gonna fly. After the beanball game in New York last week, both teams have behaved themselves, mostly for fear of suspension from the league. But tonight, Pedro is back on the hill, and he’s going to do his best to keep his Mets in first place. If Guillen is hanging over the plate just a hair, he’s getting plunked.

On a side note, keep your eye on Nationals manager Frank Robinson if anyone on his team does get beaned. His relentless badgering of the umpires in last week’s fiasco ranked very high on the Unintentional Comedy Scale (pardon the blatent ripoff of Bill Simmons). When he blows a gasket like that, I fully expect him to simply start to wander into the outfield, muttering to himself and waving his arms like a madman.

As I mentioned before, Bronson Arroyo belted his second home run of the season yesterday. On the scoreboard, that’s a run differential of +2. Also mentioned was Wily Mo’s Canseco-esque assist of a home run in right field, which plated two runs. Since those runs were for the opposite team, that’s a -2 for Wily. That gives Bronson a +4 advantage over Wily Mo so far. Think Arroyo can play right field?

Game Notes

David Wells is a load. I never did like the guy in a Sox uniform. He's a loudmouth, a sloppy fat mess on the mound, and an ex-Yankee to boot. The 15 wins he scraped out last season for the Sox could easily have been found elsewhere. I just don't like him.

He's managed to dig the Sox into a 5-0 hole after only two innings of work. Three of those runs came on homers, one of which left Fenway completely. Now the Sox might have to go to their bullpen, in the third inning, to finish out the game. I'm SO glad we brought him off the DL for this start. SO glad he could start the Sox out in the hole, and help deplete our bullpen for the rest of the homestand. Thanks Wells. You fatass.

On the bright side, Wily Mo just HAMMERED a ball to left. Unfortunately, it just hooked foul, but it was one hell of a shot. If he ever finds his stride here in Boston, cars on the Mass Pike had better stock up on windshield insurance.

Dustan Mohr, a minor-league centerfielder the Sox called up in place of the injured Nixon, is sporting number 18 in the game tonight. Its nice to see that jersey back on the field so soon, should help fans get over the loss of Damon. But then, having Crisp out there on a regular basis is all we really need to say, "Johnny who?"

Opening Day at Fenway

2006-04-11T17:31:00.000-04:00

Okay, I’ve been trying to be good about writing these blog entries while I’m at work (month-old new job, nonetheless), but today it’s simply unavoidable. The home opener for the Red Sox started at 2:00, and since I can’t stream audio OR video for the occasion, I closely followed the action on MLB.com GameCast, as well as my favorite Red Sox message board. There’s no way I was missing out completely on this grand occasion.

(I took notes as the game went along, and tried to past-tense this entry the best I could afterwards, so please bear with me if there’s any nasty logic or tense jumps.)

Though I already love Beckett after his strong 7-inning win in Texas to open the season, I wish he didn’t take lessons from Schilling on how to give up first-inning runs. I know sometimes the offense needs a little motivation to get going, I’d just rather that motivation not be in the form of cheap runs. Walking in a run is never acceptable, especially from as good a pitcher as Beckett. I’m going to chalk that one up to opening-day jitters.

All was not lost, tough. Becket battled out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam by getting Glaus to ground into a double play. The Sox rallied back in the bottom of the second on a few key doubles from Lowell, Stern and Youkilis, plating 4 runs in the wall-ball onslaught. There’s just so many great things with that last sentence, I don’t know where to begin.

Let’s go in order. Lowell, whom many thought was beyond his prime and would be a hindrance both in the field and at the plate, put together a beautiful 4-4 day with three doubles. Though this was by far his best game in a Sox uniform so far, the hits he’s had before have been timely.

Adam Stern, the Canadian manning center field in the absence of Crisp, has been talking Sox fans back from the ledge in his past two starts. The young callup has shown good defense (even dating back to the World Baseball Classic in his Canuck uniform), and his .333 batting average may land him the leadoff spot in the lineup in favor of the cement-footed Youkilis. Though I’m sure all Sox fans in the nation are eagerly awaiting the return of Crisp, Stern is helping us pass the time with much less anxiety.

And Youk, he’s still my boy. I love that he’s going to get some serious playing time this season, whether at first or third. He rakes the ball at the plate, and has an amazing eye and patience.

Beckett went on cruise control after that first inning, allowing only one run on three hits through 7 innings. I can’t wait to get home and watch this game, with Beckett screaming and pumping his fist after mowing down the Jays all game. Baseball is back in Boston, baby.

Our free-swinging platooner Wily Mo came into the game in the 5th, replacing Trot Nixon in right field. Going merely on what I’ve read on message boards, Trot made an awkward dive for a ball in the first inning, where he must have tweaked one of many sore weak muscles. I love the guy, don’t get me wrong, but for some reason its hard for him to stay healthy.

In the “no surprise there” department, Wily Mo swung at the first pitch he saw in the game and flied out. In his last at-bat, three pitches, three swings, three misses. Will someone please tell this guy to watch one for once? Just one pitch for a change?

Speaking of strikeouts, Manny had a rough day at the plate. An 0-4 day with two K’s to his name. His average is looking dangerously similar to his slow start of the 2005 season.

I have to give Kudos to Keith Foulke, who seems to be taking his loss of the Closer role in stride. The new system of Foulke in the 8th, Papelbon in the 9th is working wonders, and no one has heard a peep from the Sox. Its pretty evident why this new system is here to stay for a while, though: Foulke gave up a 2-run shot in the 8th, while Papelbon closed out the win with a 1-2-3 9th. That brings Papelbon’s ERA this season to ZERO. Not one earned run so far. Now THAT’S a closer.

So Opening Day at Fenway is in the books, and the Sox are sitting atop the AL East with a 6-1 record. Starting pitching looks tough, the bullpen is doing its job, and our offense has shown some pop thus far. Not a bad way to break in a newly-renovated Fenway Park.

Let’s just hope Boomer’s return to the mound is a successful one tomorrow and he keeps the streak alive. You never know what you’re going to get with his first few starts of the season.

The Yankees had some trouble with the Royals in today’s game. Wang couldn’t hold on to an early 4-1 lead, with Kansas City taking a 7-4 advantage late in the game. Tanyon Sturtze, the cheap-shot artist who choke-holded Nixon in the Brawl Game in 2004, relieved Wang in the seventh and promptly gave up a solo shot to Shane Costa. Jeter rallied them back, however, with a 3-run homer for a 9-7 lead, and Rivera closed it out for the win. Let’s hope the Royals bullpen shakes off today’s debacle and at least takes one from the Yanks. As much as I enjoy seeing them in the cellar, I’m certain it won’t last for too long.

Bronson Arroyo has done it again. In just his second start of the season, Captain Cornrows has belted another home run, bringing his season total to two. Just for the record, that’s just as many as Big Papi and Manny. Combined.

Post game update: After I got home, I had a chance to watch some highlights from today's game at Fenway, and I have a few comments that couldn't go un-added.

I'll get the bad out of the way first. I need to retract the dig on Foulke for giving up a two-run homer in today's game. He actually gave up a long fly-ball out that Wily Mo batted over the right-field fence for a homer. The ball was in his glove, he continued a good step and a half backwards, and lost the ball when he ran into the fence. Probably a tough catch, especially the way that fence seems to be at the perfect back-wrenching height, but still a catchable ball. I suddenly fear both Wily Mo's offense AND defense. Or severe lack thereof, as the case may be.

On a good note, did you see that double play turned by Gonzalez? Sick! As much as I hate his Mendoza-line batting average, his quickness and skill on the field makes up for a lot. Loretta managed to get a glove on a bullet shot headed for the outfield, but it was too far over his head, batting it behind second base. Out of nowhere, Gonzalez swoops in, snares the hop, steps on second and fires to first to complete the innng-ending double play. How I missed having such a fleet-footed, slick-fielding shortstop out there for the Sox! Reminds me of the days of OCab.

Good Times, Bad Times

2006-04-10T23:17:00.000-04:00

Monday brings many mixed emotions for this Red Sox fan, with great news and an unfortunate turn of events weighing heavy on my mind.

First, the bad. Coco Crisp, the Red Sox new centerfielder who’s been making a big splash with the team so far this season, managed to break his finger when he got caught trying to nab third base against the Orioles. He knew he was dead to rights, tried to slide and pull up at the same time, and ended up tumbling over a few feet away from third. That tumble snapped his left index finger, and will land him a 15-day stint on the DL.

Is this why Sox teams of past never valued speed much? Is it because it comes back to bite you in the ass in the end? Was management on to something with their less-than-fleet-of-foot squads of the 80s?

I hope not. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen anyone round the bases as fast as Crisp has this season for the Sox. Tito better not yank Coco’s perpetual green light on the basepath, ‘cause this guy is greased lightening. In the five games he’s played, Crisp has crossed home six times already. That means he’s getting on base at a damn fine clip, and that kind of production doesn’t come very often.

Coco’s trip to the DL will give Sox fans a better look at Wily Mo Pena, the part-time right fielder from Cincinnati who hasn’t hit much more than the bench in the few plate appearances he’s had so far. A notorious free-swinger with more K’s than Kris Kristofferson’s monogrammed luggage, Wily Mo has hardly seen a pitch he didn’t like, and frankly, hasn’t missed.

Perhaps Wily Mo has been pushing too hard, trying to make the best of limited playing time to impress Sox brass in the short-term. With Crisp out, Wily Mo is sure to get more platoon time in the outfield with Adam Stern. Hopefully Wily Mo’s increased roster presence will ease him at the plate, give him the time and confidence he needs to become a productive full-time player.

If not, there’s gonna be one helluva stiff breeze blowing around Fenway for the next two weeks.

But today wasn’t a total bust for the Sox. In fact, today may have set the stage for great Sox teams for years to come. In a signing that parallels the Varitek deal last year, the Sox tied up slugger David Ortiz to a four-year deal that will keep him in Boston’s laundry through 2010 (with an option for 2011). Its nice to see a big-name star actually get along with management for a change, isn’t it?

The man who’s being hailed as the best clutch hitter in baseball today made the decision to forgo the free agency that awaited him at the end of the 2006 season, not to mention some big dollar signs to match the stats he’s been putting up. Not necessarily taking a hometown discount, Ortiz inked the deal moreso to stay, and hopefully finish his career, here in Boston.

“I feel like this is my house. I want to protect my house;” said Ortiz at the press conference in an Under Armor-esque way. If that statement doesn't give every Sox fan out there the chills, you're simply not alive. Ortiz has thrown down the gauntlet and taken up his position at the gates of Fenway. He's here for the long haul, ready to stand tall for the city of Boston, a city he loves to play in.

And with a guard dog like Big Papi at the front door to Fenway, ain’t nobody coming in and pushing the Sox around.

Watch Out for In Your Ear

2006-04-06T22:21:00.000-04:00

There’s just something about bench-clearing brawls in baseball that I can’t get enough of. I don’t know if it’s the team comradery, the bullpen streaking across the outfield, or how batters conveniently wait until someone’s got a hold of them before they make any real attempt to go after the pitcher, but I like when a mob of baseballers meets halfway between the pitcher’s mound and home plate. Just makes me smile.

I don’t want anyone getting hurt, mind you. Not that anyone really gets hurt in a baseball fight anyway. Most of the time its just a few big swings that connect with little outside of an errant stadium bug, maybe a good tackle, followed by some bad Greco-Roman wrestling. Outside of the initial fracas, I’m sure most players are chatting up in the crowd, how’s the kids, nice play the other night.

The best mound-charging brawl I’ve seen has to be with Nolan Ryan and Robin Ventura. Ventura didn’t take too kindly to getting plunked by a 97 mph fastball, and ran out to the mound to have a chat about it. The next thing he knew, Ventura was in a headlock, getting rapped on the top of his head by Ryan. Right before the mob reached the mound to break them up, Ryan got in one final punch: a wicked sweeping fist right into Ventura’s face. Its not often a pitcher gets in a good lick like that. Ryan gave pitchers across the league hope. It was beautiful.

This all came up as I was watching the Nationals – Mets game tonight on ESPN, with ex-Sox great Pedro Martinez on the hill. It looked like Pedro had lost a little bit of that zip on his fastball, but there was no shortage of that Martinez attitude he carried with him all those years.

Pedro always did the beanball the right way. He only went after you if he had a good reason, like retaliation. Plus he hit batters correctly. When Pedro aims for you, he gets you in the back and in the ass; none of these head shots that run so rampant in baseball these days.

Tonight, Petey was claiming the inside corner of the plate against the Nationals, making sure their batters didn’t dig in too deep every at-bat. A few of them flew out of the way of the inside pitches, while others simply had no where to go. When all was said and done, Petey had plunked three Nationals batters, a new career high.

This kinda confused me, though. Three plunked batters is his career high? You mean to tell me he’s never pegged three batters in one game before? All those series against the Yankees, not one outing with three beanballs? I’m shocked.

Nick Johnson and Jose Guillen were Pedro’s targets for tonight, with Guillen getting the honor twice. The second time around is when the fun began. Guillen got crazed on his elbow, took a second to think about it, then decided to go after Pedro. Of course, by that time, even the umpire had an arm around him. Guillen made sure he gave Pedro plenty of evil eye, though, even going as far as to stare down the barrel of hit bat. Classic stand-off.

I think it should be mandatory for the crazy guys of baseball, the hotheads who regularly pop their top, to get plunked once a week in a game. Those moments when they get some chin music and you can just see the water beginning to boil is awesome. You know its just a matter of time until a pitch gets a little too close, much less hit them, and they’re going ballistic. Think Selig would go for that?

Yeah, probably not. Thankfully, there’s still pitchers like Pedro around to make sure we get our brawl fix every now and then.

Youngblood

2006-04-06T00:41:00.000-04:00

Okay, the other day I said I wasn’t going to get excited about the Red Sox so early in the season. But after watching them in their third game, I’m pretty fired up.

Maybe not as fired up as Josh Beckett, though. After struggling in the first and giving up a run, Beckett bounced back to deliver a pitching performance that had Schilling applauding from the top step of the dugout. Boston’s new young phenom put in 7 strong innings, battling out of some jams en route to a 5-strikeout performance.

But that’s not what really got me excited wasn’t so much Beckett’s performance (though I am pretty stoked about it), it was his passion. His youthful exuberance was flowing out his ears the whole game. He nearly ran down the first base umpire on an appealed check-swing call at one point, screaming for the appeal down the line. When he was granted the strikeout to end the inning, a Tiger Woods-esque fist pump accompanied a scream that the entire Red Sox Nation heard.

I love that we have a guy that gets this fired up. Schilling has his moments, his own fist pumps and hollers, but he’s getting old. Beckett is the young blood of the new starting rotation, and he’s got balls. This guy almost started a fight with Phillies first baseman Howard, screaming at him from the dugout after Howard stood at home and watched what turned out to be a long fly ball out.

I think that’s just what this team needs, some of that young fire. With all the new faces, it just may be Beckett’s sort of attitude that takes the reigns and brings together this team. I’m not saying he’s the leader, because I firmly believe Varitek has had that role wrapped up for years, but he could be someone the team rallies behind in the long run. And for Beckett, with a mentor like Schilling on the squad, the future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades.

But, having said that, there is one thing that concerns me about this guy. For all his talent, I hope he doesn’t get too cocky for his own good. Throughout the game tonight, his first start as a Red Sox mind you, he was shaking off Varitek left and right. Beckett had his own game plan for pitching this game, and didn’t seem to want Varitek’s advice on how to approach the batters.

Sure, it all worked out in the end, but look at the facts: Varitek has been catching and calling games in the AL his whole career. Beckett is only 5 years in the league, all in the NL. He doesn’t know the Rangers or any other team in the AL. I’m curious where his confidence comes from that he’s going to shake off a veteran like Varitek. I’m keeping my eye on this for now. Beckett gets a reprieve because he pitched one hell of a game tonight, but this arrogance better not come back to bite him, and the team, in the ass.

More on pitching: Have the Sox found a new closer in Papelbon? Boston’s farm-grown flamethrower came in the ninth tonight in a one-run game and mowed down batters for the save. With Foulke seemingly still struggling after his horrific outing Monday, Francona put the young pitcher in to see how he’d hold up, and he held up well.

Mixed feelings for me, though. While I would LOVE to see the Sox drop Foulke from the closer role and have Papelbon blowing away ninth-inning batters from here on out, I’m wondering if the team would be doing itself an injustice by not giving this guy more innings that lead to an eventual starter’s role. Papelbon has the potential to be the next (dare I say it, yes, I do!) Roger Clemens (hopefully minus the attitude), so a closer role might deprive him of the lengthy outings needed to make it through 7+ innings every 5 days.

In Theo we trust, however. That man has the master plan in order, and I have faith. Papelbon, Beckett, the works. I’m behind them all.

I’m stoked. Sox look hot. Let the season roll.

Bronson Arroyo hit a home run in his Cincinnati debut today. Let me say that again: pitcher Bronson Arroyo hit a home run in the third inning that tied the game at 3. The same Bronson Arroyo the Red Sox traded for part-time fielder Wily Mo Pena. Wily Mo has exactly ZERO home runs on the season so far. Advantage: Reds.

Oh, Arroyo won the game, too. Reds 2.

One down, 161 to go

2006-04-03T22:34:00.000-04:00

Not a bad way to open the season, boys. Not bad at all.

The Sox officially kicked off the 2006 baseball season today, beating the Texas Rangers 7-3. It was hard to stomach the 2:00 start for their first game, especially on a Monday. Its difficult enough trying to watch all 162 games a season, much less when they stick 'em on in the middle of a workday. I understand its impossible to schedule games that are convenient to every fan, but how can you put the opening game for the Red Sox on in the middle of a Monday? That should be a Federal Offense! You can't tell me they couldn't swap a night game with the Rockies or someone. I mean, who watches the Rockies anymore? After they traded Walker, didn't they automatically reclassify as a Double-A team? Yer killin' me, Smalls!

Ahem. Excuse the rant.

So anyway, Schilling pitched a gem, going 7 strong innings for the win. He certainly looked like he managed to get back into his 2004 shape, hitting close to 95 on the radar gun. He hit a little trouble in his last two innings, giving up a couple long fly-ball outs and an eventual two-run homer to Blalock, but battled out of a jam and came back for a 1-2-3 seventh. When the dust cleared, Schilling logged a 118-pitch, 5 strikeout day. That roar you hear in the background is cheering from Red Sox Nation.

Then Foulke steps in. Unfortunately, our trouble closer did not follow in the footsteps of Schilling and find the stride he so triumphantly strutted in 2004. Foulke reminded us once again why we were calling for his head on a platter last season, giving up a single, double and a run in the bottom of the ninth before recording the final out. That roar you hear in the background is a collective groan from the Red Sox Nation.

But even Foulke couldn’t ruin this day for Sox fans. Not only did Boston win its first season opener since 2000, the new faces on the field stepped up and contributed right away. Lowell showed some pop, Gonzalez had a 2 for 4 day, and Crisp put on a defensive clinic in center.

Speaking of Crisp, that bugger is FAST. Boston’s had a speedy center fielder the past four years, but Crisp made him look more like Bernie Williams with a bum leg. I’d put my money on Crisp in a straight-up sprint any day. Sox announcers stated that Francona has given Crisp the green light on the basepath all season long, and I couldn’t be happier. The Sox have never really been known as a running team, but with all the new blood around this season, what not a better time to buck the trend.

Big Papi got a helluva start to another MVP-type season, despite what voters decided last year. He delivered what proved to be the knockout blow in the game, absolutely CRUSHING a Kevin Millwood pitch in the fifth for a two-run homer that put the Sox up 5-0. This ball hit the top of the right-field foul pole it was hammered so hard. There was no doubt it was gone as soon as he hit it, just whether or not it would stay fair. I just love seeing that guy lumber around the bases after launching one like that. I sincerely hope Sox management get that rumored deal for him tied up soon. Big Papi has turned into a key player that any team would be lucky to have.

The big question still remains: can this new group of Red Sox pull together and play some quality ball all season long? Sports analysts have picked them everywhere from taking the AL East crown to a lowly 3rd place finish behind New York and Baltimore.

Me? I’m holding off on judgment for now. One game hardly a whole season makes, or some Yoda saying like that. Its just one game, no matter how impressive.

But what a game it was.

A fan in San Diego chucked a syringe at Giant’s slugger Barry Bonds during the game yesterday. No needle attached, but the sentiment was perfect. Surprisingly, Barry actually picked it up and took it off the field. Maybe he thought it was a special delivery from his trainer. Either way, I’m sure his PR rep had a heart attack seeing him even CONSIDER handling a syringe considering the scandal he’s stuck in right now.

The Yankees absolutely crushed the A’s in their opener last night. ARod launched a grand slam to give the Yanks an early 7-0 lead. Does anyone else notice how ARod seems to get the big hits when they are least needed? The Yankees were already up 3-0 on a clearly struggling Barry Zito, and THEN ARod gets offensive. Where is he in the close games? Clutch hits from this guy? MVP my left … well, you get the idea.

Theo Epstein is awesome. With Roger Clemens visiting both the Rangers and Red Sox prior to yesterday’s game, Theo maintained the integrity of both himself and the club when he spoke to the former Boston ace. Instead of groveling for his services this season as some teams have resorted to, Theo kept it short and sweet: The door is open when you decide to make up your mind. Nicely done, Theo.

Happiness Is ...

2006-04-03T11:58:00.000-04:00

Baseball has begun.

The initial pitch thrown, the first runs scored, the last out made. Three home runs for Chicago in the opening game, matched by 3 errors on Cleveland’s side of the diamond. Possibly the first regular-season visit to the DL, after CC Sabathia strained an abdominal in the third inning. Maybe his skewed hat threw off his balance.

Side note: raise your hand if you thought CC Sabathia even HAD abdominals to strain. Seriously, anyone?

The first game is in the books. Defending Champs White Sox 10, Rebuilding Indians 4. A good offensive start paired with a shakey defensive outing for the once-solid Indains. Remember their infield back in the day? Deadly double-play combo Carlos Baerga and Omar Vizquel up the middle? Sandy Alomar Jr. behind the plate? Even speedster Kenny Lofton patrolling center field? They ain’t in Kansas anymore, Toto.

Thome, facing his former team of 12 years, launched a two-run shot in the fourth, and received his first curtain-call in a White Sox uni. That shot tied him on the all-time homer run list with Oriole great (hack) Cal Ripken.

Though I’m pretty ambivalent about Thome, mostly a mere admirer of his quick crushing swings, its nice to see him move up such a prestigious list. Well, actually, I’m happier that he tied, and will eventually pass, Mr. Ripken. Love to see Cal’s name move DOWN on the record lists, hoo boy!

But today at 2:00 EST, my life will once again have meaning. In Texas, Coco Crisp, the Sox new center fielder, will see the first pitch of Boston’s 2006 season. Its magical. My first season living in Boston, being a local to the team I’ve followed my entire life, Fenway a short ride down the road. Can you feel it? I can.

The Gates of Heaven itself won’t open until next week when the Sox return to Boston for their home opener on the 11th, but the fans will still be there in Texas to cheer on their team. The Red Sox Nation is global and daunting; there are games when visiting Sox fans outnumber those for the home team. It’s a beautiful thing to see away games on TV and hear nothing but, “Let’s Go Red Sox!”

They may not have won the World Series last year, but no one in this town, in this fanbase, has forgotten the magic of 2004. Sure, we’re down to a mere handful, if that, of players remaining from the championship squad, but the name on the front of everyone’s jersey is the same. New faces, new personalities. New things to love about a team, new things to be concerned about. A new season starts today.

Curt Schilling will take the mound for the season opener today, already a better start than he had last year. We’ll get our first look at one of our staff aces, and maybe get a good sense as to if he’s returned to his 2004 form, or if we’ll be languishing in another 2005 debacle.

Lots of questions about the rest of the pitching staff, too. Are we going to miss our not-so-young-anymore phenom Arroyo? Will Paplebon be a beast out of the pen? Can Tavarez keep his cool long enough to throw a pitch? Will Becket be the new future of the pitching staff? Will Boomer get the boot? Is Clement’s new facial hair the answer to his post-All-Star-break woes?

We’ll get to see how the revamped lineup will perform this season. Will Crisp help us forget how Jesus abandoned the city for our most hated rivals? Can the flashy defense of Alex Gonzalez make us overlook his .245 career batting average? Will Mark Loretta stay healthy enough to keep Alex Cora off the field as much as possible? Can Mike Lowell play younger than he looks throughout the season? And for God’s sake, will Manny continue to be Manny and learn to once again love the city of Boston?

And the most important issue to examine today: Team Chemistry. No other team has sold fans on the importance of Chemistry more than the Sox and their band of Idiots the past few seasons. Now those Idiots are all but gone and forgotten, and a new crew is donning the Boston jerseys. This squad needs to find their common ground, that niche, that brings this team together in baseball harmony.

Today is our first look. In just a few hours, we’re underway.

And I’m stuck at work. Dammit.

The Terps are in the Finals! UMD basketball made it through the final four, beating #1 seed UNC to reach the final game against division rival Duke. These two teams finished 1-3 in the ACC this year, so its sure to be a hard-fought game between bitter enemies.

Unfortunately, I’m not talking about the Men’s squad. This year, the basketball accolades lie firmly with the Lady Terps and their amazing season. In only her fourth season with the team, coach Brenda Frese has led the Terps to a record of 33-4, more wins than any Men’s or Women’s team in school history.

And tomorrow night, they’ll take the court here in Boston to try to claim their first NCAA National Championship ever. Though I won’t be in attendance, I definitely will be rooting them on. Hell, I might even tune in for a few plays. I just won’t tell anyone I did.

Go Terps!

Welcome to the Minors

2006-03-30T20:57:00.000-05:00

Let the witchhunt begin.

Bud Selig, in all his senile wisdom, has opened an official investigation into the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs in baseball. After turning a blind eye for over a decade to major leaguers blowing up like they had allergic reactions to shellfish, Selig is trying to right his wrongs by launching a league-wide search for dopers.

I've never been a fan of Selig and the programs he's brought to baseball, there's no doubt about that. Interleague play is an abomination in my opinion, and thought it helped the Sox win their World Series in 2004, the Wild Card makes MLB just a little too much like NFL.

But I gotta say, I'm on the fence about this investigation. Depending on how this plays out over the season, I could go either way.

First off, I highly doubt this formal investigation will reveal much more than the usual hearsay and baseless accusations that we've been faced with since Steroids became a household name in the majors. Unless they plan to use different methods of testing besides urine, which has shown to be insufficient against today's designer drugs, and develop NEW methods that can detect the ever-changing cocktails of performance enhancers, they ain't gonna find shit.

They've also opened up the floor to EVERYONE who has information about players that have used. Not reliable sources, not trainers, not owners, EVERYONE. By the time their committee weeds through the hundreds of thousands of responses they're going to get, ranging from ex-mistresses to some slackjawed local that thought he saw a syringe in someone's trash can, its gonna be the year 2025. People are going to come out of the woodwork to finger these big leaguers they resent for being millionaires.

But what I'm afraid of mostly is this investigation will out so many big-name stars, the league will lose its big talent, its main draw. People love the longball, and that just may be going the way of the Dodo as more people get fingered and busted.

I'm afraid baseball may fall into a serious doldrum of fans, attendance dropping league-wide as more fans get disgusted as more members of their favorite team are booted out of the league for doping. Hell, I know how upset I'd be if I heard Manny or Big Papi were artificial.

With such a potential drop-off in fanbase, who's to say we don't get another strike year? Owners can't pay salaries if fans don't come to the stadiums. Are we on the verge of another NHL fiasco, with an entire season on the chopping block?

And who's going to bring their kids to games to watch a bunch of cheaters earn millions? With no heroes to adore, there's no kids to form the next generation of fans. With no fans, the game is in serious jeopardy, for possibly many years to come.

But there could be a good side to all this. I've always looked for the silver lining in things, and I'm not about to stop now, especially when it comes to my favorite sport.

Maybe a sudden purge in these all-star big guns will be good for the game. With these monster mashers out of the picture, these artificially-enhanced players out of the game, an influx of real talent is inevitable. We'll get to see those college kids and minor leaguers who have genuine talent, but never made it before because dopers already had their spot in the bigs.

Sure, team offense may no longer rest on the backs of a 40-dinger-a-year player, and come moreso from opponent errors and small-ball tactics, but that's what baseball started out as. That's more to the true nature of the game. Outsmart and outplay the other team, not simply outcrushtheball them.

I may be the only guy in the stands when the stars are gone. I may be the only guy in the stadium who still plunked down his hard-earned cash for a jersey with a name no one recognizes on the back. But I'll still be fan.

Maybe this latest fiasco by Selig will be exactly what everyone's expecting it to be: a disaster, a smokescreen, a sham of an investigation. Too little too late from the man who did nothing to discourage the use of illegal substances as long as the homers were flying and the fans were cheering.

But maybe this is just what baseball needs. Maybe this will finally even the playing field, giving the small teams and players alike a fighting chance to show us what they've got.

Maybe. Maybe.

Rock'em Sock'em

2006-03-27T20:40:00.000-05:00

I've never cared much for Julian Tavarez, a journeyman relief pitcher that's older than Bud Selig himself, but he REALLY hit the bottom of the barrel for me today.

While pitching an Spring Training game (for my beloved Red Sox, nonetheless), Tavarez was covering home when Joey Gathright attempted to score. A close play at the plate resulted in a hard Gathright slide into Tavarez, one which the ugliest man in baseball must have taken offense to. Tavarez stood on Gathright's arm so he couldn't get up. Gathright pushed him off, got to his knees, and caught a vicious right hook from Tavarez! While still on his knees!

Needless to say, a bench-clearing brawl ensued, and God I hope Tavarez caught a few extra punches, got bit, hit in his jewels, something. He's only been a Red Sox for Spring Training, and I sincerely hope that's as far as his tenure with Boston lasts. I fully understand the need to stand up for yourself, but Tavarez, a known hot-head, crossed a major line when he punched Gathright.

Now, I don't have all the details behind the whole incident (though I'm sure it will be covered extensively on SportsCenter tonight), I can't imagine there's ANY good reason to haul off and sock a guy who's barely off his knees. I don't want to see a guy with an attitude like that in the majors period, much less on my favorite team.

Theo, we're good on pitching. Traded away a great young thrower last week we're so stacked.

Do we really need this troublemaker?

Okay, I just may have to NEVER fill out an NCAA Tourney bracket again. And unfortunately, its not because I'm doing so well, there's nothing left for me to conquer. Nope, just the opposite: I managed to pick a grand total of ZERO Final Four teams. Not a one. Zilch. If Red Marker Cross Out was a team, then sure, I won big. But that ain't the case.

In fact, I did so poorly, I'm offering my unique team-jinxing services to the public. That's right, I'm a fan for hire. Or, Anti-Fan as it were. No matter which team I've rooted for in this year's tourney, they've lost. Syracuse didn't make it out of the first round. BC lost a heartbreaker to 'Nova. UNC fell to this year's Cinderella, George Mason. And the team I picked to win it all, Gonzaga, was reduced to a blubbering heap at center court by UCLA.

So its time for you, Joe Fan, to put my talents to work for YOU. Highest bidder gets me to root for the team of your choice. I'm so confident they'll lose, I'm offering a money-back guarantee. Look for me on eBay soon ...

Go Lady Terps! The Maryland women edged out Utah in OT to advance to their first Final Four in 17 years. Where I'm tempted to go see them when they're here in Boston, I'm afraid that NCAA tourney jinx of mine may extend to women's hoops, too.

Plus, its women's hoops. Sorry.

My Bracket's been Shaq'ed

2006-03-24T14:26:00.000-05:00

March Madness is in full swing, with some major upsets and unexpected outcomes rocking brackets nationwide. I think I’m back to loving this time of year again.

My bracket is dead to me now, with both of my final teams (Gonzaga and Ohio) out of the tourney. In fact, the only teams I have left are Texas, Memphis and BC. And BC hasn’t played their Sweet 16 game yet.

Seeing Duke go down was sweet, even though I didn’t think they’d make it to the Final Four anyway. They petered out at the end of the regular season, dropping their final two games to division foes UNC and Florida State. What struck me as funny is that while some experts were pointing out that Duke (or more specifically, Redick) may be running out of steam, they also had them in their Final Four picks.

Regardless, they didn’t make it. And Redick, probably one of the most loved (by Duke fans) and hated (by everyone else) ACC players in history, finishes off his collegiate career with exactly ZERO national titles. Sweet.

So who to root for since the Zags are gone? As I am prone to doing, I made another mistake in my post yesterday, claiming that the only ACC team left to root for was Duke. Beings that I now live in Boston, there’s little excuse for me overlooking BC’s run in this tournament. However, since they just joined the ACC this season, I think I deserve a pass on that goof. So, Go BC! (What’s their mascot again?)

I hope LSU mania doesn’t sweep the nation now, though. While I’m probably more excited than the next guy about their upset of Duke, I get a little annoyed by those “area affected by tragedy” rooting trends. Sure, Hurricane Katrina was devastating to New Orleans and other areas in Louisiana, but don’t let that be your reason for pulling for LSU. LSU winning the tourney won’t help the region recover from the turmoil. Let’s keep our heads on straight, please.

I hate to harp on the Barry Bonds thing (well, that’s not entirely true, its kinda fun), but he just makes it so easy sometimes.

Turns out that the suit he has filed against the authors and publishers of “Game of Shadows” is not a libel case at all. Instead, Bonds is suing because the authors used illegally obtained grand jury transcripts.

How does this move not simply crush the Bonds PR movement? For years now, Bonds has vehemently denied using any time of performance-enhancing drug. Now this book comes out that not only fingers him as a steroid user, but outlines his sources, his doping regimen, every drug he ever took, even fellow ballplayers he introduced to the stuff.

So, to maintain his innocence, wouldn’t you expect him to sue for libel, claiming the book is erroneous and portrays him in a negative manner that would negatively, severely negatively, impact his career? Wouldn’t you?

But he didn’t. Bonds took a different approach, suing because the authors used information that was supposed to be privileged. So he’s not claiming the book is wrong, just complaining about how they got their information. That’s shooting yourself in the foot.

Reminds me of those Law & Order reruns I always watch. Police bust into a suspect’s house and find the murder weapon that would easily lead to a conviction. However, clever lawyers deduce an illegal search and seizure makes that murder weapon inadmissible in court, and the criminal walks, usually without ever seeing a jury. Does that make him any less guilty in anyone’s eye, though? Of course not.

And that’s what Bonds is trying to do now, wiggle his steroid-bloated body through that same loophole. Sure, I may be guilty, but you can’t prove it because you’re not supposed to have those documents. See the hypocrisy? The irony? The whateverthefuck that is?

Man, my head hurts.

Parting thought: Am I the only one who didn’t know Dwight Gooden was Gary Sheffield’s uncle? Learn something new every day …

Wide World of Sports

2006-03-23T16:56:00.000-05:00

Random thoughts day.

As a football team, what’s the next best step after you dump the most accurate field-goal kicker in NFL history? Yep, you sign the most clutch field-goal kicker in NFL history. Seems the Colts have locked up Vinatieri to a 5-year deal that made him the highest-paid kicker in NFL history. Lot of history in this one transaction, eh? Considering Vanderjagt missed a field goal in the closing seconds of the AFC Championship game last year, I can see why Clutch would be an important word to the Colts for next season.

I’m curious to see how Vinatieri is going to hold up in Indy, though. Here’s a guy that spent his whole career kicking field goals in the brutal weather of New England. Snow, wind, rain, you name it, he’s kicked in it. Now he’s hopping over to the weather-less dome of the Colts? I bet he shanks some very makeable attempts early in the season.

Vanderjagt, meanwhile, has picked up with the Cowboys, one of the more fitting signings this off-season in my opinion. Well, personality-wise, at least. Over the years, the Cowboys have been chock-full of players with attitudes (see Irvin, Michael and Lett, Leon), so why not pick up a kicker who likes to bash his own players? And with a team like the Cowboys around him, he’ll have plenty of ammunition to last all season long.

More ‘roids, please! The big names have started to drop out of that already-infamous Barry Bonds steroid book, but they’re nothing surprising. The latest player to get sucked into the scandal, or sucked back into the scandal as it were, is Yankee right-fielder Gary Sheffield. Not that this is news, since Gary admitted to taking the Cream and Clear already, claiming he didn’t know they were steroids.

Am I the only person who’s offended by such accusations by these big MLB stars? You mean to tell me you took an oral medication when you weren’t 100% sure of its contents? These guys live and die by the performance of their bodies, you can’t tell me they would take such a risk.

And flaxseed oil? This is something that’s supposed to help prevent heart disease and cancer. Didn’t Sheffield and Bonds question why a physical trainer would be giving this to them? Is heart disease and cancer a hot-stove issue around the clubhouse that they wouldn’t question this?

Now rumors are flying that Bonds is going to sue over this book. The specific basis for the suit hasn’t been made public, but it seems they are trying to seize all the profits from sales of the book. Not halt the publication of the book, not demand a retraction for defamation of character, but seize the profits.

Guess Barry isn’t expecting to collect a paycheck from the Giants this year, eh?

The Sweet 16 tips off tonight, and I couldn’t be less interested! I only picked eight of the 16 correctly, only two of my Final Four teams remain, and my pick of OSU in the finals went sour last weekend. I have more red marks on my brackets than a heroin addict’s arm.

At this point, I’m just watching in hopes some underdogs go far and the big seeds fall miserably (hello Duke!). I’m still hoping Gonzaga takes the dance, no matter what some expert columnists say about rooting for your conference when your team is eliminated. Since I’m an ACC guy (frickin’ Terps lost in the FIRST ROUND of the NIT at HOME to MANHATTAN. I will now poke my eye with a stick.), and UNC lost to phenom George Mason, that would mean I’d have to root for Duke to win it all. Duke.

Um, yeah, I don’t think so. Go Zags.

Bostonopoly anyone?

2006-03-22T15:16:00.000-05:00

Are the Patriots being run by the same group of heartless businessmen as the Red Sox?

I don't mean to knock ownership of two of the four professional sports teams in Boston at once, but that’s the only explanation I can come up with after the news of Adam Vinatieri’s departure from a Patriots team that won three Super Bowls in four years. This is a city that places him (well, his foot, at least) on the highest of pedestals. How does Vinatieri leave the Patriots? How does he turn his back on a city that idolizes him for being THE clutch performer in the NFL?

Maybe my question should be, how do the Patriots not bend over backwards to KEEP him?

Its gotta be the Sox. After the recent shafting of Bronson Arroyo, I’ve come to terms with the fact that Red Sox management is a PURE business, guided only by their bottom line. If there was any loyalty factor behind their decisions, either to the players or the fans that adore them, it has certainly been tossed to the wayside. It truly has become a case of Root for the Laundry, not the Player.

Besides Arroyo, look at the list of stars the Sox have either let go or run out of town: Fisk. Clemens. Vaughn. Lowe. Martinez. Damon. Hell, the entire 2004 World Series team at this point. Some did it with grace, but most of ‘em looked over their shoulders with disgust at how the front office handled their contract negotiations.

Don’t get me wrong, here, I’m not trying to defend a group over million-dollar babies that didn’t get the few extra bucks for that bigger yacht they’ve had their eyes on. Some of those guys (coughDAMONcough) were just in it for the payday anyway. But it’s a trend that you can’t ignore.

And now it seems that same principle of management has seeped into the upper ranks of the Patriots. Over the past few years, some high-profile players have disappeared from the New England roster, most notably Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law, Drew Bledsoe, and this year so far, Willie McGinest and Adam Vinatieri, with Troy Brown yet unsigned. I’m not even a Pats fan, and am still disgusted by this.

The Pats seemed to do a great job of keeping talent on the team, especially the fan favorites. Hell, they even signed BC legend Flutie as a backup for a while, even letting him try the first drop-kick extra-point in the NFL since 1941, just for shits and giggles.

So why the shift in ownership mentality? Why are the good guys suddenly scooting off to rival cities for bigger contracts? Is the Red Sox model of management that appealing?

I'm stumped. All I can say is, don't get too attached to that Tom Brady jersey.

Sometimes I just don’t get our justice system. Tank Carter, brother of Pittsburgh Steelers safety Tyrone Carter, had an additional 4.5 years tacked on to a 6-month prison sentence recently. Tank was supposed to report to prison on January 6, but blew off the date in order to head to Detroit to watch his brother play in the Superbowl.

Okay, obligatory citizenship statement: Sure, he should have reported as instructed, and the additional time was his own fault. He even admitted he’d do it all over again given the chance, but we’ll see how he feels after spending 5 years in jail.

But let’s break this down. First of all, the offense he was reporting for was driving with a revoked license. Not exactly a serial killer or pedophile on the loose here, just a bad driver. There may be more charges behind the stories that are in the news, but if they were that serious, it would probably be more than just 6 months to begin with.

Secondly, the guy was REPORTING to prison. The state left it up to HIM to show up for his jail time, meaning they thought he was as much a threat as the grocery bagger at your local supermarket. This guy obviously isn’t dangerous or they wouldn’t have trusted him to pop into jail on time.

So why was his jail time increased by 900%? What point are they trying to prove? Is driving without a license THAT big a deal in Pompano Beach, or is this judge just trying to get his name on the map?

Again, I’m not saying that he shouldn’t pay a price for blowing off jail for the Superbowl, but I don’t think he should have to pay THAT hefty a price for it.

Besides, the guy’s name is Tank. He should get a little leniency for that alone.

Bouncing Around Baseball

2006-03-21T16:00:00.000-05:00

Just some quick thoughts for today:

Japan has claimed the first-ever World Baseball Classic title, beating Cuba 10-7 last night. What started out as a fledgling tournament struggling to gain the interest of both fans and players alike grew into a worldwide sensation of amazing brotherhood, national pride and baseball. After seeing how popular this tournament became over the past few weeks, I bet there won’t be such reluctance on the part of MLB players to participate next time it rolls around.

I would have to call the inaugural season of the WBC a rousing success, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s looking forward to the next incantation four years from now. In a world divided by politics, religion, beliefs, and anything else people decide to disagree about on a daily basis, its nice to see something bring nationalities together in celebration. Even nicer that its baseball for a change.

Japan had a rough road to the top, overcoming some bad calls against them when playing Team USA, surviving elimination when Mexico demoralized that same Team USA, and benefiting from the WBC’s funky tiebreaker math to make the final round. They played like champions against a surprisingly tough Cuba squad, and came out on top.

And it couldn’t have happened to a better bunch of players. Not to harp on Team USA, but I doubt the likes any of their MLB stars would hold a WBC trophy in such high regard as Team Japan. Even Ichiro, now a seasoned MLB vet, claims this was the greatest thrill in his life. They were playing for national pride, and revel in every minute of their victory.

So Congratulations, Japan, you earned it.

Alfonso Soriano has decided he’d rather sit out the season than take a stab at playing left field for the year. Considering the struggles most infielders-turn-outfielders have faced in recent years (see Jones, Chipper and Knoblauch, Chuck), he might have a legitimate gripe over being asked to make the change.

However, his refusal to even take the field in the new spot for a Spring Training game today could land him on the National’s Disqualified list – and keep his $10-million-a-year salary out of his pocket.

Its hard to know who to blame in this situation. Soriano, for being so stubborn and childish as to leave left field empty at the start of an exhibition game? Or the Nationals GM, who traded for the All-Star second baseman when they already had one in Jose Vidro? No matter the outcome of this standoff, someone’s going to come out a loser here.

But if I were Soriano, I’d grab my mitt and start shagging some fly balls in left. Play the position for the 8-month-long season. Get the exposure of playing in the Nation’s Capital, where the love of baseball was reborn last year. And come off your one-year contract with more leverage for a big contract than ever.

Johnny Damon truly is an idiot. Its amazing to me how some players just can’t learn when to keep their mouths shut. This time he’s sounding off against the Red Sox over the Bronson Arroyo trade, ripping Sox brass for their misguided philosophy on players.

"They have their plans, and they have their computers, and they believe that's right," Damon said. "Unfortunately, computers don't judge a person's heart.”

Pretty funny to hear talk about a person’s Heart from someone who sold their Soul.

I'm kind of an idiot, too. In my writeup of the Arroyo trade yesterday, I somehow neglected to mention what was probably Bronson's finest moment in his Red Sox career: beaning A-Rod to start The Brawl. Granted, it was more A-Rod's mouthing off to Tek (dumb dumb dumb!) that started the fraccas, but if it wasn't for Arroyo coming inside to the Yankees' 3rd baseman, the Sox may not have turned the corner they did that day and go on to win the Series.

So again, Cheers to you, Bronson. We'll miss ya.

Farewell to Arms (and a Leg)

2006-03-20T13:36:00.000-05:00

I’m as happy as the next Sox fan to have Theo Epstein, who helped bring the World Series trophy to Boston for the first time in 86 years, back in the leading role as GM of the team.

But today, for perhaps the first time since the Garciaparra trade, I’m questioning Mr. Epstein’s decision and am saddened by the news of his latest acquisition. And even more saddened by the price that acquisition carries.

Sox management, which always seems to tiptoe the line between Genius and Goat, perceived it’s best interests to lie in the camp of Cincinnati Reds part-time right fielder Wily Mo Pena. Besides bringing a cool nickname to the Sox, this overweight light-hitting Dominican has little upside. He’s setting more records for strikeouts than stolen bases, and a lifetime average under his 250lb weight class is hardly reason to race out for his jersey.

Regardless, the deal was made. Even though scouting reports hail Wily Mo as a speedster with a cannon arm, he’ll be platooning in right field with fan favorite Trot Nixon. Unless the Sox are planning on phasing out the injury-plagued Nixon, how much value can Pena bring over the likes of, say, Tony Graffanino or Gabe Kapler?

So who’s on their way out with this trade? Which prospect did the Sox part ways with to make room for our part-time player? Who was deemed less valuable than a platooning right fielder?

Bronson Arroyo.

A king of versatility, the master of humility, the beanpole with the gravity-defying leg kick. A kid on the rise, a sponge surrounded by masters of their game, limitless future ahead. A solid lock for 12-15 wins a season, if not more as his career progresses. A consistent pitcher, his awful outings were few and far between, with losing efforts usually plagued by horrific defense behind him. Just a few old vets away from being staff Ace.

Gone.

Haven’t the Sox learned about their Pirates acquisitions yet? Didn’t they remember the lesson taught by their other pitching prospect from Pittsburgh that became a city sensation over the course of an amazing career? Mr. Tim Wakefield, please stand up and say hello.

Wakefield was a Pirates throw-away back in 1993, after only two years with the club. No one had faith in knuckleballers back then, their erratic money-pitch bringing just as much pain as joy, especially to a player who “developed” one after learning they were about to be cut as regular fielder.

But the Sox took him on anyway. And they stuck by him through some rough times. And were rewarded with some great ones.

Timmy did it all in Boston. He bounced around between the starting rotation, to numerous bullpen assignments, even a closing role for a while. He sacrifices himself for the team, telling manager Francona to put him in during that 19-8 ALCS Game 3 romp against the Yankees, just so the team could save its pitchers for the rest of the series.

Now why couldn’t Arroyo, who also came to Boston via Pittsburgh, benefit from the success that Wakefield brought to our city? They’re following the same career path: the aforementioned Pittsburgh connection, they have both seen some rough times throughout their careers, and both even took a hometown discount to stay in the city that reveres them so.

In his short time here, Arroyo has become as much an icon as some of the seasoned veterans he shares the field with. His definitive high-straight-leg kick, insistence on coming inside to even to the biggest and meanest of players, the A-Rod Slappy debacle in the playoffs, even a crazy white-boy cornrow/dreadlock hairstyle that ranks in the top 5 in recent years. He’s known. He’s loved. He’s the future of Boston.

Or, WAS the future. While no official statement has been released by the Sox brass, one can only deduce that Arroyo was sent packing due to the overstocked pitching rotation. With starters Schilling, Wakefield, Clement, Beckett, Wells and Paplebon geared up for the 2006 season, Arroyo was the odd man out.

More specifically, he was RUN out by Wells. After whining for a trade all off-season, Wells recanted his request after all trade attempts came up empty. Suddenly Wells enjoys Boston’s atmosphere and team, and wants to stay on board. Sure.

Wells is a master at public relations. It may not seem like it the way he runs his mouth, calls out managers and higher-ups, and claims he is intoxicated while pitching from time to time. But that’s precisely the reason he’s so good at PR: he HAS to be. He gets himself into so much trouble with that filterless gullet of his, he needs all the savvy and political wordspeak to bail himself out. So excuse me if I don’t take his at his word when he suddenly changes his mind and decides to stay in Boston. I’m sure the fact that we couldn’t GIVE him away to a west-coast team had nothing to do with his change of heart.

THIS is the reason the Sox are now shy one great young pitcher. This is why Arroyo won’t be taking the hill for Boston every fifth day, bringing in 15+ wins for us in upcoming seasons. This is why we’ve mortgaged our future on Wily Mo “Part-time” Pena.

So long Arroyo, and thanks for everything. Next time you bring that leg kick to Boston, I hope you cram it up Theo’s ass.

Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye

2006-03-17T08:59:00.000-05:00

Its official: Team USA is out of the World Baseball Classic.

After a less-than-impressive showing throughout the tournament (I still think that 17-1 drubbing of South Africa was a disgrace), America’s collection of superstars was ousted in a 2-1 nailbiter in Anaheim last night. Heavy hitters were shut down, and even the timeless Rocket gave up 6 hits in just over 4 innings. Probably not the script he hoped for in what might be his last game ever.

But I say, good for Team Mexico! With just a few MLB players on their roster, this team wasn’t given much of a chance throughout the tourney. Even their advancement to the second round was a surprise to many. And now they’ve managed to topple a giant, eliminating one of the Big Three in the tournament.

Sure didn’t seem like that fact was lost on anyone at Angel Stadium, either. Thousands of face-painted fans cheered long after the game was over, even though Mexico themselves didn’t advance to the semis with the win (that funny math came into play again, sending Japan to San Diego instead).

Maybe it was retribution for the last World Cup: the US team ousted Mexico in that tournament, a game where Mexico was heavily favored. It was close to a public outcry the next day, how could the USA beat Mexico at its own sport like that.

Well, touche’ Mexico. Today is your day.

Day two of the NCAA tournament, and I’m still giddy. Missed five from all of yesterday’s games (16), not too bad. Syracuse really stuck it to me, falling to a 12-seed for the second year in a row. I had them in the Sweet 16, dammit.

Oh, and Iona over LSU, a 13-4 upset? That’s just greedy. I deserve that one.

My 11-6 upsets aren’t panning out so good, either. I blew the Oklahoma pick, and let loyalty to a former home lead me to pick San Diego State over Indiana. Bad move. Now my remaining two 11-6 upset picks are looking pretty shaky: George Mason over Michigan State, and Southern Illinois over West Virginia.

Michigan State is always a tough team in the tourney, and I’m not sure how much experience GM has in the big dance. I think I thought I was picking George Washington with that one. Yeah, that’s my excuse. I HAD to go with the Salukis, they’re always good for a shocking run or two in these tourneys, but my buddy, who’s much more well versed in hoops than I, picked West Virginia as his dark horse to go all the way. As a 6-seed, that’s tough to do, but since I picked Southern Illinois, his odds just improved.

Tipoff just after Noon today. Clock is tickin’ …

States I Hate

2006-03-16T17:23:00.000-05:00

Who the hell is Montana and when did they learn to play basketball out there? That’s what on my mind right now. I’m also extremely curious (which rhymes with furious) as to why #2 Tennessee is having so much trouble with Winthrop. Winthrop! A 15-seed! I can’t remember the last time I saw an upset that big, and it might just do a number on my bracket on day 1!

BC gave myself, and probably everyone else in the nation, one helluva scare earlier. Two OTs to beat Pacific? Yikes. Some experts picked them in the Final Four; you KNOW those guys are sweating right now. But the way things are going, they’re gonna take on Montana next, friggin’ Montana, so they might be able to at least get to the Sweet 16.

The only game I’ve officially lost so far was Oklahoma-UW Milwaukee, an 11-6 seed matchup. Now, I know that every year there’s at least ONE good 11-6 upset, so I made sure to pick one. Well, actually, I picked 3 this year. And the one I didn’t pick? Yeah, Oklahoma-UW Milwaukee.

God I hate March Madness.

No, scratch that. I just hate Montana and Oklahoma. And Tennessee is dangerously close to making the list, too.

Moving off the court, a bomb scare hit San Diego’s Cox Arena before the Alabama-Marquette game earlier. Seems a bomb-sniffing dog got a whiff of something interesting, and they cleared out the arena while they took a closer look. Thing is, though, the dog sniffed something inside of a HOT DOG CART. He didn’t find himself a bomb, he found himself LUNCH. Good dog!

Annual Productivity Dropoff Alert

2006-03-15T17:08:00.000-05:00

God, I love March Madness.

It’s no matter that my beloved Terrapins squad will be battling away in the lowly NIT, which they better do well in as a Number One seed, fer Christ’s sake, I’m still going to be closely following the annual tradition of the NCAA Tourney. The stories are just too great not to. Will Morrison and his ‘stache lead the Zags to a National Championship? Will J.J. rain his threes all tourney long for Duke? Who’s going to be the big Cinderella this year? I can’t wait. Can’t wait!

Personally, since the Terps aren’t around this year, I’m pulling for the Zags. They’re a damn good team. I like Morrison and his defiance of conventional facial hair standards by sporting the Porn Stache. And dammit if he didn’t have better stats this year that the hated J.J.!

So bring on the brackets. Mine is adorned on my cubicle wall, waiting for the inevitable barrage of red ink as I mark off my incorrect picks (yeah, I suck at brackets, no denying it). Bring on the tiny internet window in the upper corner of my computer screen scrolling up-to-the-minute scores. Bring on the yelps and grimaces of games won and lost at the last second, upsets avoided, and giants toppled.

Bring. It. On.

Two big-name NFL receivers were handed their walking papers today, Keyshawn Johnson of the Cowboys, and Terrell Owens of the Eagles. I couldn’t be happier that these teams are standing up to overpaid egomaniac superstars. I love that both of these loudmouthed crybabies got shut down for half a season before being given their walking papers. Let’s just hope that this trend continues on, it just might lead to lower payrolls and less attitude around professional sports.

Hell, maybe we’ll get REALLY lucky and the Giants will follow suit with Barry … but I’m not holding my breath on that one.

Did anyone see that ridiculous home run Ortiz hit in the WBC game against Cuba? Not just a home run, not just a monster shot, this ball left the entire STADIUM. Crushed.

Now the debate has sprung up about showboating: Ortiz flipped his bat and jawed at the Cuba catcher before beginning his home run trot, and some say it was unsportsmanlike. I’m sorry, people. If I ever hit a ball out of any stadium, no matter how many homers I have up to that point, I’m showboating. He deserves it. And the fans love it. So deal.

Damon has tendonitis in his shoulder. Let me say that again: Damon has tendonitis in his shoulder. I can barely type that my hands are shaking so much with joy.

Not that I revel in other’s misery, I swear. It just a dream come true! Damon defects to the Yankees for a payday, cuts his trademark mange, and all of a sudden, he comes down with a debilitating shoulder ailment. Sampson Prophecy is coming to pass already, its perfect!

I’m sure it’ll be kind of hard to tell if his shoulder is bothering him in games or not, since he really hasn’t had much of an arm his whole career, but just think: now its WORSE! I give him until the All-Star break before he’s running the ball back to the pitcher like Smalls from The Sandlot. I can hear Torre already, "Yer killin' me, Damon, yer killin' me ..."

Fashion Cents

2006-03-14T16:29:00.000-05:00

Okay, I’m having as close to a “girl moment” as I’m capable of having.

I don’t know what to wear!

I don’t mean what shirt matches my pants or how to accessorize or anything like that. I’m talking about jerseys.

With today’s professional sports being the Big Business that they are, it’s a rare commodity when a star player sticks with one team long enough to warrant throwing down $200-plus for his jersey.

Though I’ve been considering making such an investment lately, I’ve never actually purchased a jersey myself. As a child, I had a replica Boston road jersey that I wore until it evaporated (or I outgrew it, whichever came first). And just two years ago, one of the best Christmas presents ever: Authentic Red Sox Home Jersey, with my favorite number 18 on the back. Added bonus that the number belonged to Johnny Damon, a fan favorite of the 2004 World Series champs. Even had the World Series patch on the arm. It was beautiful.

Now, that beautiful, expensive, pristine jersey hangs all but forgotten in my closet, its eternal purgatory since Judas went to the Dark Side and signed with the Yankees. The only way that thing is seeing the light of day on my back is if the Sox reassign number 18 to a new player. Then I’ll remove the 2004 World Series patch and once again sport the jersey around Fenway, proudly supporting whoever the new No. 18 may be.

But what if that day never comes? What if 18 never steps foot on the field this year? Next? Year after that? I’m sure they’re not going to retire Damon’s digits after only four years of service, but the wounds from his betrayal of the city that idolized Him and His Idiocy are yet too raw to so quickly place his number back in circulation.

So what to do? I considered a jersey from another sport, perhaps my favorite NFL squad, and Super Bowl Champs, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ah, how I love that Antwaan Randle El! He’s quick, he’s versatile, he’s classy, he’s …

A friggin’ Redskin.

One of the few NFL jerseys I’d consider wearing, and the guy splits before their Super Bowl victory has even cooled off. I guess I should thank him for pulling the trigger so fast and not leaving me with Randle El in Black and Gold when he’s playing for the Red and White next season. But now what? Bettis is another great choice, but again, he’s not coming back next season. And I’m just too small a guy to wear Roethlisberger on my back. That name would stretch from elbow to elbow on me.

I’m too indifferent towards the NBA and NHL, and can’t bring myself to spend a few hundred bucks on a jersey of a player I have no idea about. I mean, this is a big investment here, and I’m not about to piss it away without knowing I’ve picked a winner.

So its back to baseball and the Sox. Can’t get Schilling, despite his World Series heroics, he still doesn’t feel like a Red Sox yet. Varitek has that silly little “C” on his chest. And I’d be surprised if Manny is sporting our jersey by the end of the season. So that brings me to …

Wakefield. Number 49. He’s perfect. My pops and I have followed his career since he came up with the Pirates in 1992. A timeless knuckleballer. An unselfish player, willing to take on any role the team may need him for. Hell, he just signed a deal last year that will keep him in a Sox uniform for as long as he wants.

My wish list has been filled out. I'm done. Its final.

Timmy’s the man.

Boo-S-A! Boo-S-A!

2006-03-13T10:38:00.000-05:00

Is it just me, or is Team USA starting to look like a bunch of bullies? I had fears of such going into the WBC, with a team loaded with MLB All Stars, four of which are members of the Yankees. Too many inflated salaries and egos on one team are not a good thing (as the Yankees can attest for the past four years).

Pounding a South Africa team into submission with a mercy-rule win was just plain cruel. There isn’t one solitary player on the South African team with major league experience; one was concerned he’d fail mandatory drug testing due to his acne medication. These aren’t exactly seasoned professionals, yet Team USA didn’t pull a single starter during the 17-1 romp.

And yesterday against Japan, a disputed call in the 8th inning turned the tide in Team USA’s favor. On what appeared to be a routine sac fly that scored a run for Japan, the USA flexed its influential muscle and got the call overturned; it was ruled the runner at third left early, and was called out to end the inning. In the bottom of the ninth, A-Rod knocked in the winning run with a little squibbler that just glanced off the second baseman’s glove. The same second baseman, mind you, that was called out for leaving third base too early.

We should be embarrassed for Team USA, because they obviously don’t care about the image they’re portraying so far. My beer-league softball team could probably beat that South Africa squad on a good day, yet they felt the need to redeem their embarrassing loss to Canada by pummeling a bunch of South African teenagers. And USA’s manager protesting the tag-up by convincing the home plate umpire to overrule the initial call of Safe made by the second base ump was just a tad bit more than sketchy. Do you think for one second that same call would have been made in Japan's favor if the roles were reversed? Yeah, me either.

I’m almost rooting against the USA squad at this point. Any victory beyond today will be tainted with the classlessness they’ve displayed in what should be a tournament of pure competition between countries that love the game of baseball. Instead, we’ve managed to turn it into another shameful reminder of American greed and political influence. With the United States as a nation coming across as bullies of the world, I suppose its only appropriate that our Team USA continue the image.

The United States of America: strongarming nations both on and off the field.

Dying Happy

2006-03-10T16:45:00.000-05:00

As much as I love the game of Baseball, I’ve always been on the fence regarding cheesy promotional gimmicks found at most minor-league ballparks across the US. I sorta understand the need for them since interest in minor-league teams isn’t the best, especially those teams with a professional squad right down the road. It definitely helps draw in greater revenue to keep things running, and dammit, minor league games can be a lot of fun to watch.

But those promotions they have always seem to be geared towards grade school children, hardly ever the adults who actually appreciate the game itself. This usually results in millions of hyperactive screaming brats climbing over seats, kicking the back of my chair, and generally annoying the everloving crap out of me (if my fiancée reads this, I promise I’ll love our kids no matter what, really).

But one minor league team out of Illinois has nailed it. Their promotions include some amazing concession stand offerings, including bacon-covered hot dogs, and cheese-filled brats.

This time, however, they’ve outdone themselves. Hell, they’ve outdone EVERYONE.

I present to you the greatest concession treat in the history of, well, history: a hamburger patty topped with cheddar cheese and two strips of meaty bacon. Doesn’t sound like much, right?

Try sandwiching that concoction between two Krispy Kreme glazed donuts.

Excuse me while I drool.

That’s right, a giant bundle of artery-clogging goodness packed into one hand-held package. Beef, pork, cheese, and Krispy Kreme. I’m not sure how many food groups that is, but it sure covers the tasty ones. This just might be the best combination of salt and sweet since trail mix with M&Ms was invented.

I imagine the team will have to beef up its EMT presence in the stadium to compensate for the increase in heart attacks that sure to happen. I mean, we’re talking the Midwest here. People out there have nothing better to do than wolf down three or four donut burgers over the course of a game, health risks be damned. I just hope we catch the live television coverage of the first fat old man to wake up after being resuscitated and continue to chow down on his prize.

Anyway, I gotta run. I think Southwest is running a special on flights to Illinois, and its almost dinnertime.

Oh Canada! indeed

2006-03-09T12:19:00.000-05:00

Just a few thoughts about the WBC so far …

• The USA lost to Canada yesterday, 8-6. The game was an 8-0 blowout at one point, but thanks mostly in part to a Jason Varitek grand slam, USA made a game of it. In fact, Chase Utley almost gave the US a one-run lead in the 8th with a huge blast with two on and two out. However, Red Sox prospect Adam Stern made a leaping grab at the wall, not quite robbing a home run, but definitely saving a few runs. Now the USA has its backs to the wall, with its hopes for advancing to Round 2 partly relying on the outcome of the Mexico-Canada game today. I’m horrible at math, so won’t even begin to try to explain that one.

• Wait, did I just say the USA lost to Canada?

• The WBC seems to be a huge success so far, with thousands of crazed nationalities gathering to root for their countries. Haven’t seen that many painted faces in the stands since the last World Cup.

• Do the Canucks even know HOW to play baseball? I thought the whole country was covered in ice? What gives?

• Big Papi could run for President (or King or Dictator or whatever kind of government they have there) of the Dominican Republic and win in a landslide right now. Two MONSTER shots in the opening game en route to an 11-5 romp of Venezuela.

• If Canada doesn’t beat Mexico today and the USA is eliminated from the WBC, I just might vomit.

• According to ESPN’s website, the Dominican Republic has a Representative Democracy form of government. So I guess that would make their leader the President. So what’s the over/under on number of “Big Papi for President” posters at today’s DR-Italy game? I’m going with 5 televised, 58 in the stadium.

• Man, I really hate the Yankees. Their fearless leader Steinbrenner, an outspoken opponent of the WBC, took it upon himself to apologize to their Spring Training fans for the absence of Yankee stars due to the WBC. The sign hung outside their Florida stadium makes it clear the WBC is not supported amongst the organization despite several star players’ involvement, including Yankee legends Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams. Way to support your stars, Georgie.

• But there is a bright side to this story. The sign hung outside the stadium had a spelling mistake. Of a big word. Of the Team Name. The Yankess. Isn’t karma great?

Barry and his Junk

2006-03-08T15:23:00.000-05:00

Um, excuse me, Mr. Bonds? Yeah, your fly is down. Not only that, I think you forgot to wear your skivvies today. Yeah, your junk is flappin’ in the wind, on display for everyone to see.

And it’ll be hard for anyone to ignore it at this point. I mean, there’s going to be an entire book published about your junk. A complete expose’ that cites documents, sources, hell, even interviews with your mistress. Haven’t you learned not to wave your junk around in front of your mistress? Always ends badly.

I think you’re sunk this time, Barry. It’ll take a PR miracle to rebound from the amount of coverage your junk is gonna get over this. Every intimate detail of your business is going to be laid out in nice, neat orderly courtroom quality. And that’s what that book basically is going to be, your courtroom. Judge, jury and executioner, all wrapped up into a 300-page hardbound bestseller.

Sure, it probably isn’t fair, Barry. Having people who you probably never even met before decide your career, your fate, your very legacy. Yeah, that sucks. It’s a crappy way to end up, horde of media attention before being embarrassingly swept under the rug.

You could have avoided it, though. You could have come clean about your use, your problem, your addiction. You could have had the best, sneakiest, most suave PR people in the world spin this in just the right way to make you out to be the victim here, the one who’s suffering through a terrible affliction. Hell, you could have even just straight up apologized, admitted a mistake, and cleaned up. Could have.

But didn’t.

Nope, you took the other option: strict diet of pure denial. Keep on being your surly self, blame the media, deny deny deny. For years that’s been your game. How’s that working out for you these days, Barry?

Now your junk is going to be plastered all over the news. Newspapers, radio, television, internet, its going to be everywhere.

You got greedy, Barry. You already had game. You were already heading for the Hall, even before you got to the Giants. Five tool player, five tools more than most guys have. But you got greedy. Had to measure up to the big guys, and cheated to get there.

Well congrats, Barry. You’re definitely being talked about by everyone now.

Well, at least your junk is.

The Original Minnesota Thief

2006-03-07T09:19:00.000-05:00

Kirby Puckett, 1960-2006

Today the world of baseball is one member shy of its ranks of the greatest players of all time.

Before center fielder Torii Hunter became the face of the Twins with his miraculous wall-climbing catches, stunning speed and ear-to-ear grin, there was Kirby. The original captain of the outfield turf, Puckett spent an entire career patrolling the vast expanse of the Metrodome, robbing hard-working batters of well-deserved two-baggers. I can still picture him in mid-leap at the plastic outfield wall, seemingly paused for a moment at his apex as he waits for the ball to gently plunk into his mitt.

Puckett was one of those players I consider myself lucky to have seen play during his prime. I’ll never forget his performance during the 1991 World Series, one of the absolute best that I’ve ever seen, against the Atlanta Braves. Seven game series, couple extra-inning matchups, Jack Morris pitching 10 innings in the finale. And there was Puckett, making outstanding grabs in the outfield, and forcing a Game 7 witih his 11th inning home run to win Game 6.

These are memories that can’t be turned off like a television. When I’m too old and senile to see the TV or understand what’s going on around me, I’ll be able to replay moments like those in my feeble mind over and over. The never-ending highlight reel of the greats of my time. And Kirby Puckett is as deserving a member as anyone out there.

It was a hard day for me when I heard Puckett was being forced to retire due to lost vision in his right eye. I shook my fist at the baseball gods for prematurely ending a wonderful career of such a classy ballplayer. I felt cheated, robbed of some good years of watching some amazing catches, powerful swing, bald head, and infectious smile.

And today, the baseball world has once again been robbed of the great pleasure of company from a great man.

We’ll miss ya, Kirby.