theredsoxblog06

Thats all folks...

2006-08-21T01:14:00.000-04:00

well this season is over. A few thoughts about the off season. We need a closer so we can put Papelbon in the rotation and we need to get a legit hitter to bat behind Manny. Manny has walked in half his at bats this series because there is no one behind him that other teams need to worry about.

As for tonights suck fest, were do I begin? In the 9th inning tonight David Ortiz hustled to get to second base after and error by Jason Giambi. This would seem like a good thing, but it made it so the Yankees intentionally walked the red hot Manny. If Papi did not go to second the Yankees would have pitched to Manny because they would not want to put the tying run in scoring position. When Papi went to second it took both the bat at out Manny’s hands and any chance of the sox scoring against Rivera with it.

Also why the fuck is Youk bunting? If you really want to play small ball and bunt at least put a pinch runner for Papi. But in the end Youk should not be bunting at all. How is it that Hinske can not even make contact on 3 straight fastballs? Fuck fuck fuck fuck. The had my hopes up for a while earlier tonight but this season is fucking over.

Kapler fuck up major in the 9th. He dived for no reason playing a single into the double. Then we he should have dived on Jeter's hit he pulled back. What the Fuck?

Despite my current tirade I am not as angered as I used to be. 2004 softened my anger when we fuck up; in addition, the sox brass would never really publicly admit it but this is a rebuilding year. But does it have to be the fucking Yankees we tank it too? What the fuck is Toronto’s problem. If Toronto had a great year and was winning the division it would not be really annoy me at all, but the fact we are letting the Yankees cake walk into the post season still pisses me off. What Happened to that Latroy Hawkins deal that was supposed to go down earlier in the week? He could have meant a victory in a game like tonight. Maybe we would not need Hawkins if Hansen would spend more time on pitching and less time drunk off hiss ass hitting on girls.

Pointless

2006-08-10T00:17:00.000-04:00

To write about this team at this point will only serve to infuriate me...

Hey Papi!!!!!!....Get The GMs Drunk

2006-07-31T22:42:00.000-04:00

If any dumbass writer does not put David Ortiz number 1 on their MVP ballot this year because he is a DH I will personally lead the Calvary charge on their homes. All I can say is WOW.

Here is my theory why there was another trading deadline with no major deals in the entire MLB. The trading deadline is at 4pm. In the past it was at midnight. By midnight most of the GM were at the very least tired and most likely had thrown back a few and were half drunk. Everyone knows that there are a lot of ideas that people have that seem brilliant at midnight, but seem foolish in the light of day. Thus, you see few blockbuster deals at 4pm compared to the past when the deadline was at midnight.

Trade Deadline

2006-07-31T07:44:00.000-04:00

There were a lot of rumors recently of trades involving Nixon and Crisp, but with the injury to Trot last night I don’t see either of them being moved. Furthermore, I don’t see the sox trading any of their young arms. Thus, despite the Yankees move, the sox making most likely will not make any big deals today.

The most persistent rumor I have seen is a trade that would send Lowell to Tampa for Julio Lugo and the Padres being involved and the sox getting set up man Scott Linebrink who I know pretty much nothing about. I don’t really understand the point of that trade.

Should be interesting to see where Soriano lands and if Tejada gets dealt.

Ben Affleck should have his sox nation membership revoked after failing to fight for that foul ball last night. He could have saved the sox an out.

Bad Loss

2006-07-29T07:39:00.000-04:00

Last Night was the type of game we had been winning all year. Lester pitched better then his stats from last night indicate. Alot of those hits in the sixth were ticky tack hits.

I am a huge Trot fan and dont want him to be traded but he needs to step his game up. In the last month he has hit for almost no power and his average is slowly dipping as well.

Manny Vs. A-Rod

2006-07-25T23:25:00.000-04:00

It is only the fourth inning, but Manny already has had a classic Manny night. He drove a ball to deep center in the first inning for an RBI single, but should have easily made it to second if he hustled. Two innings later he came back up and hit one out of the park. Then there is the man we almost traded Manny for, A-Rod. A-Rod reminds me of the talented little leaguer whose dad is always watching him in the stands and tries too hard to impress his dad and ends up failing. I don’t care if Manny takes out a Game Boy and starts playing Tetris in Left Field, I still rather have him on the Sox over the head case that is A-Fraud.

Harold Reynolds

2006-07-25T22:12:00.000-04:00

Harold Reynolds was unexpectantly fired from ESPN today. Reports say that he was frequently hitting on the female ESPN production staff. I say, who cares, hes Harold Reynolds. Who doesn't like Harold Reynolds. He is a classy man, and anywoman who refuses his advances, should be fired from ESPN. I hope NESN quickly picks him up, cause I will suffer from Reynolds withdrawl.

Red Sox and Trades
I feel like there are no trades that would significantly help the Sox. They need starting pitching, and Wells is reportingly coming back. One pitcher i wouldn't mind seeing in a Red Sox uniform would be Livan Hernandez of the Washington Nationals. He pitches alot of innings, and Nationals GM Jim Bowden says he needs a pressure situation to be succesfull.

Good Win and Trade Rumors

2006-07-22T08:22:00.000-04:00

Good win last night, but I wish Snyder did not pull a Clement and have a random injury in the 6th inning. Are starters are not going deep enough into games and I am worried that we will tire are bull pen arms too early. On the plus side the Win put us ahead of Chicago and 3 and half over the Yankees in the standings.

I have been hearing rumors of a trade involving Mike Lowell and a midlevel prospect such as David Pauley for Jake Peavy. Peavy is having a bad year this year, and Lowell is fitting into the team well, but I would do that deal in a heart beat. Peavy is a young fire-baller akin to Beckett. He could help the team this year and down the round. We could always move Youk to third and have a combo of Cora and Wily Mo at first or even make an additional deal for a serviceable first baseman. I am sure Doug Mientkiewicz would be available just hide all the baseball or any other memorabilia if he arrives because he will most likely claim he is the rightful owner and try to put it on EBay.

Look Out for the Twinkies. Minnesota has one 8 in a row and I am sure by mid-August you will already be sick of hearing baseball commentators saying that with Santana and Liriano the Twins would be… lets say it all together now “ the team no one wants to face in the playoffs.”

A look at my predictions

2006-07-19T10:38:00.000-04:00

AL MVP- Ortiz, looks like im correct there
AL CY YOUNG-Johon Santanna He is still one of the best pitchers in baseball
AL MANEGER- Eric Wedge- Indians have greatly underachieved
AL ROY- Liriano- great pick so far

NL MVP- Soriano- Hes been alright, no MVP
NL CY YOung- Ben Sheets, havent heard his name once
NL MANEGER- Frank Robinson- I love the NATS
NL ROY- Ryan Zimmerman- Prince Fielder looked like the early pick but Zimmerman looks like the pick as of late

I Said this on March 27th

"ALL STAR GAME WINNERS
MVP: Michael Young- game winning hit, no one will be watching"

THAT IS THE MOST AMAZING PREDICTION I HAVE EVER HAD

Back in The Minor Leagues

2006-07-18T22:09:00.000-04:00

While facing the Royals tonight Jon Lester must have been wondering at times if he was sent back to Pawtucket. Despite the fact that the Royals are a joke, it was great to see Lester pitch 8 innings of 1 hit ball. Lester has proven he can pitch effectively in the big leagues and now all he has to do is get out of innings with an economy of pitches so he can go deep into games like tonight.

Are the Red Sox bats still on the All Star break?

Congratulations to Jason Varitek for breaking Carlton Fisk’s team record of games caught. In addition, I have to always give credit to the much maligned Dan Duquette who pulled off the best trade in Red Sox history by getting Tek and D_Lowe for Slocumb. The Slocumb for Tek and Lowe trade tops even the Pedro and Schilling trades because in the case of Pedro and Schilling the sox were getting known proven players. In the case of Lowe and Tek, Duquette got both of them before they were established major leaguers and both Tek and Lowe were major players in the Sox first World Series win in 86 years.

The Stopper

2006-07-15T22:31:00.000-04:00

After 2 tough loses, it was good to see Curt Schilling bring his ace stuff and stop a potential losing streak tonight. In addition, the continuing emergence of DelCarmen and Hansen in the bullpen will be the story in the second half.

Papi with another home run tonight has a great chance at 50 and an outside chance at 62. Lets say Papi hits 62 home runs; being that he has never been associated with steroids or HGH, should he not be considered the true home run king?

A look back on my predictions:

2006-07-13T00:18:00.000-04:00

At the half way point of the season, here is a look back at my predictions before the start of the season:

AL
R.O.Y: I picked Brain Anderson who has sucked. Verlander has been great, but he would be 3rd on my half season ROY list. I will go with Papelbon over Lirano because Papelbon’s games have been more pressure packed and I am homer.

Cy Young: I picked Roy Holladay and I am standing by this decision even though cases can be made for both Papelbon and Lirano as well.

MVP: I picked Manny, but for the first half of the year I have to go with Papi.

Manager: I picked Jim Leyland and if the Tigers keep this up he will win this award unanimously

Divisions and Wild Card: So far I am right about the Red Sox being in first. I thought the Tigers would be better, but not where they are. I picked Chicago in first place and they are only a few games out. I picked Texas in the west; they were leading for a while but Oakland past them and I must admit the A’s will most likely win this division. I picked Cleveland for Wild Card, but there bad bull pen and mediocre starting pitching combined with being in a surprisingly tough division means they don’t have a shot in hell at getting the wild card now.

NL.

The NL is such a joke I am not going to waste time writing about them.

19 Inning game

2006-07-10T22:21:00.000-04:00

The worst thing about watching all 19 innings of the game...

That god damn wendy's unicorn commercial over and over again!

Long Game… Short Post

2006-07-09T23:24:00.000-04:00

While it would have been nice to win today’s game, I cant be too upset with taking 2/3 in Chicago. On Tuesday, I will give my mid-season report and look back on some of the predictions I made at the start of the season.

Papi Power

2006-07-06T23:25:00.000-04:00

When David Ortiz first started his power surge a few year back I compared him to Mo Vaughn. He has since far exceeded anything that Mo Vaughn has done and the only player in Baseball history that he should be compared to the last few years is Babe Ruth.

Hansen, Delcarmen, and Papelbon had a strong night. As great as Papelbon is at closer I still see the starting rotation of the future of being Papelbon, Beckett, Lester; the closer of the future will be Hansen and Manny D will be the set up man.

Glad to see Nomar made it to the All Star team via the final fan voting he deserved it. Pierzynski on the other hand was the worst player on the list and should not have made it. I would have much preferred Liriano, Verlander, or Hafner.

Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie

2006-07-04T00:54:00.000-04:00

I heard today on WEEI that after the fan and player voting, Ozzie Guien had to choose the three remaining spots for the AL all star team. He chose 3 White Sox. Im guessing Bobby Jenks, Jermaine Dye, and Mark Buehrle. None of these players are more derserving than Francisco Liriano, Justin Verlander, Curt Schilling, Travis Hafner, and (I hate to say it) Jason Giambi. Schilling was left of the "Last Man Vote" as well. This is a bad system. The fans elect crappy people and leave the manegers in positions in which they make bad decisions.
Ways to make it better

NO FAN VOTING

A player does not need to be selected from each team
Joe from KC isnt tuning into the game just to see Mark Redman

A Coach or maneger from each team is present at a conferance call which does not end till they hvae picked 25 men for the team.

All Star Teams

2006-07-02T21:34:00.000-04:00

The Sox have 4 all stars: Manny, Papi, Papelbon, and Loretta who I am glad got voted in. Loretta had that one slump for about 3 weeks when he was driving me nuts, but aside from that he has been on fire. Here are the teams for both leagues. I highlighted the sox and former sox players. Schilling should have made it but he was left off because Redman had to be their for the Royals and Ozzie put every possible White Sox on the team.

The complete list of AL All-Stars:
Starters:
1B David Ortiz, BOS 2B Mark Loretta, BOS 3B Alex Rodriguez, NYYSS Derek Jeter, NYY C Ivan Rodriguez, DET OF Vladimir Guerrero, LAA OF Manny Ramirez, BOS OF Ichiro Suzuki, SEA

Pitchers:
SP Mark Buerhle, CWS SP Jose Contreras, CWS SP Roy Halladay, TOR SP Scott Kazmir, TB SP Mark Redman, KC SP Kenny Rogers, DET SP Johan Santana, MIN SP Barry Zito, OAK RP Bobby Jenks, CWS RP Jon Papelbon, BOS RP Mariano Rivera, NYY RP B.J. Ryan, TOR
Reserves:
1B Paul Konerko, CWS 1B Jim Thome, CWS 2B Robinson Cano, NYY 2B Jose Lopez, SEA 3B Troy Glaus, TOR SS Miguel Tejada, BAL SS Michael Young, TEXC Joe Mauer, MIN OF Jermaine Dye, CWS OF Alex Rios, TOR OF Gary Matthews, Jr., TEXOF Grady Sizemore, CLE OF Vernon Wells, TOR

Here are the National League All-Stars:
Starters:
1B Albert Pujols, STL 2B Chase Utley, PHI 3B David Wright, NYM SS Jose Reyes, NYMC Paul Lo Duca, NYM OF Jason Bay, PIT OF Carlos Beltran, NYM OF Alfonso Soriano, WSH
Pitchers:
SP Carlos Zambrano, CHC SP Bronson Arroyo, CIN SP Brad Penny, LAD SP Tom Glavine, NYM SP Pedro Martinez, NYM SP Chris Carpenter, STL SP Jason Schmidt, SF RP Brian Fuentes, RP Derrick Turnbow, RP Tom Gordon, PHI RP Trevor Hoffman, SD
Reserves:
1B Lance Berkman, HOU 1B Ryan Howard, PHI 2B Dan Uggla, FLA 3B Miguel Cabrera, FLA 3B Freddy Sanchez, PIT 3B Scott Rolen, STL SS Edgar Renteria, ATL C Brian McCann, ATL OF Andruw Jones, ATL OF Matt Holliday, COL OF Carlos Lee, MIL

CoCo’s Coming Out Party

2006-06-29T22:16:00.000-04:00

Every new Red Sox has a game when they officially become a Red Sox. Nick pointed out that earlier in the year Loretta had his Red Sox’s coming out party when he hit his walk off homer. Tonight, after it being delayed by injury, CoCo had his Red Sox arrival game. The bunt single, the stolen base and the winning run. He caped that off with one of the best catches of the season to protect the lead.

Welcome to Red Sox Nation CoCo. To paraphrase Humphrey Bogart “ I have a feeling this is the start of a beautiful relationship”

Lester Shines (get well Peter)

2006-06-27T22:57:00.000-04:00

Before I talk about the game I have to wish a get well to Peter Gammons who is in the hospital after suffering a brain aneurism. Gammons has contributed to my love of baseball as much as any player and I hope he recovers.

Lester’s pitch to strike out Dave Wright in the fifth was the most important pitch of the season. Not only did he help keep the game under control and help preserve the winning streak, he showed a toughness that others ( cough cough Matt Clement) have lacked. I think Lester’s getting out of the fifth in a way inspired A-Gon and Lowell’s home runs.

There are few plays I enjoy more then the outfield assist to get someone out at the plate. It is even more fun to when it is yet another player underestimating Manny’s quick release and arm accuracy and getting gun down on a plate.

Mets series

2006-06-25T23:14:00.000-04:00

Firstly, I agree with Sam, anything less than a enthusiastic standing ovation would be a joke.

The Sox have to be estatic with how their pitching lines up for the series. Lester. Beckett. Schilling.

The scouting report on Lester is already thin and on top of that no Mets (aside from Millige maybe) have faced him. Thats a good advantage.

Beckett looked great last time out and he knows the mets well and Schill is Schill.

Should be a great series. I see the mets as the only good NL team. (How the hell can a whole league have one good team)???

Pedro

2006-06-25T12:24:00.000-04:00

The members of "The Boston Dirt Dogs" website is calling for a Paydro Martinez Greedy-Petey-Bolted-for-New-York Standing Boo-vation. Personally i think this is rediculous. He wanted a forth year and the Red Sox didn't want to give it to him. If you want to blame anyone for Pedros departure, it's the Red Sox. They made a calculated decision that in 4 years Pedro would be ineffective. Personally, i still think the Red Sox made the right decision, but booing Pedro is still stupid.
After everything he did for the Team and the City, he should recive a 5 minute standing ovation.
1998-2000 Dominance
99 All Star Game
99 PLayoffs- Injured earlier in the series, comes in, in game 5. Pitches 6 no hit innings to clinch the series.
117-37 Record as a Red Sox
1999 AL Pitching Triple Crown- Record:23-4 ERA:2.07 SO:313

Papelbon and Papi

2006-06-25T11:30:00.000-04:00

Papelbon so far this year has been every bit as good as Rivera or Eck in their prime.

Even an SI cover can’t stop Papi’s heroics. I am sure there are players in the history of baseball who have more total game winning hits and home runs, but someone needs to go into the record books and see if Papi has the highest ratio of game winners to games played.

If the Sox played in the national league is there any doubt they would finish with around 115 wins?

Aaargh

2006-06-23T01:08:00.000-04:00

Off days suck

Off days during a win streak really really suck.

What If......

2006-06-22T14:26:00.000-04:00

NESN is starting a program called "What If...."
http://www.boston.com/sports/nesn/programming/shows/what_if/

Its debut is, What if Grady Little had Taken Pedro out of the 2003 ALCS.
They will use computer-generated statistical data, to try and predict the results.
They have 10 other Boston Sports Situations that they want fans to rank to see what the next show will be. I ranked them as such.

1. Buckner- Obvious First choice
2. Manny A-Rod Trade- Would he still fear failure
3. Len Bias- the Celtics would be good
4. No Tom Brady- Drew Bledsoe isnt leading the Dynasty
5. Celts get Tim Duncan- Again celtics would be good
6. Glen Wesley Scores in 90 Finals- I was 3 months old, but i have seen that replay, damn damn damn
7. Belicheck is Jets Head Coach- More Pete Carrol?
8. Orr is nevered injured- I dont know much about orr, except that he was amazing, his health would not affect my sports life
9. Bagwell is never traded- I dont think bagwell alone could have done anything.
10. Flutie has incomplete hail mary- flutie doesnt get hiesman, and no one knows about him when hes up in canadia

Snyder Silences Snide Statements

2006-06-20T00:05:00.000-04:00

I went to school with some guy named Kyle Snyder. He was a rolly polly dude, unlike the Snyder who pitched for the sox tonight who looked like a giant Bronson Arroyo (Arroyo had another great performance tonight) with a decent curveball. I heard many pundits mock the signing of Snyder since he was released from the Royals who are one of the worst teams in baseball history, but Snyder came through tonight. I suspect that there is a 50/50 shot that this will be Snyder’s only start for the Red Sox. If it is, and the sox win the pennant or the Series, Snyder earned his ring tonight.

2 Good Wins

2006-06-17T19:27:00.000-04:00

After the debacle that was the Twins series it was good to see the Sox get back on track the past few games. I had WEEI on a little earlier and they were speculating that maybe the sox fans have lost some passion since the World Series win because they don’t get as many angry calls when the sox lose. Like Mia Hamm, this is a misnomer. Personally I get frustrated when the sox lose a few games in a row, but I can still see the big picture and it looks good. Papelbon, Lester, Beckett, Hansen, Del Carmen, Pauley… the first few of those names figured prominently in our past 2 wins and I just cant recall any time in my life when the sox had so many quality young arms in their system. We used to get excited about average talents like Casey Fossum. The lack of frustration is not a sign of lack of passion, but a sign of confidence.

I am all for the demolition of that hell hole.

2006-06-16T00:16:00.000-04:00

David Ortiz's speakershot would have been far far far up in the upperdeck. Its a joke. And even if you are going to place speakers in play, have some ground rules like Tampa. If you look at where the speakers in the outfield are, its impossible to hit one on a ball that wouldn't be going out.

Teddy is right, manny came up three times while the sox had momentum, all three times he shit the bed.

I hate to dwell on this, but Twins fans are a joke. In the past three days I have seen dozens of twins fans in twins shirts and jerseys with sox hats on. That violates every rule in the book. Also, they are like Ron Burgandy with the teleprompter. Any time you heard the twins fans being loud while you were watching the game on tv, know that the jumbotron was telling them to. Joe Nathan doesn't have an entrance song, he has a voice screaming "Stand up and shout" over and over again.

I wish tek had at least looked at a pitch on that PH appearence.

As for the trade, I like it. Not because I think Lopez is anything special, but because he could be decent and Riske isn't. Its like trading nothing for possibly something.

No pressure on Lester or anything...

Tek and Trot better have a players-only meeting coming up.

Demolish The Metrodome

2006-06-15T23:21:00.000-04:00

I will let Nick be more in depth about tonight game, but I here are 3 thoughts. The Metrodome is a joke of a ball park. You can’t have a major league ballpark where hitting a speaker is a regular occurrence.

Manny was horrific tonight and cost us the game.

I like the Riske for Lopez trade. We needed a lefty in the pen and Lopez looks to be decent.

Don’t Mess With The Bat Boy

2006-06-15T19:41:00.000-04:00

More Highlights

2006-06-15T00:30:00.000-04:00

In the 8th inning after Loretta made the second out two drunken minnesotans ran out on to the field. One was succesful in making one of the security guards fall down, while the other avoided security while high fiving Torii Hunter and Luis Castillo then sliding head first into home. He was finally taken down by the Red Sox Bat Boy, who made a great open field tackle a few feet up the first base line.

If the sox lose tommarow, i will be the next to run out on the field, i will defecate on the shoes of the terrible reliver that has just giving up the winning run.

Highlights and Lowlights

2006-06-14T23:50:00.000-04:00

Highlights.

$9 tickets for front row above the baggy.

$1 dollar hot dog night.

Lowlights

Before the game, about 50 or so new army recruits were publically sworn in on the field. It was so so frustrating to not be able to scream "don't do it!" without being beaten by a bunch of midwestern idiots.

Clement. From watching Clement tonight and during warmups at Fenway I have finally found a way to describe him and his demenor. Whenever he has to do anything (warm up, etc) he acts like a stereotypical sitcom teenager who has to take out the garbage. His shoulders slouch, he moves around slowly and generally acts like he doesn't want to be there. Considering how far away I was I have no idea if he was hurt or not, but I could see him asking his way out of the game.

Sox pitching in general. Twins batters walked 9 times and didn't strike out once. You will never win a game like that.

And most importantly, the anemic offense. It has been pathetic for games now.

Put Clement On The D.L.

2006-06-14T22:03:00.000-04:00

It is the fifth inning right now and Matt Clement has just walked off the mound again with some sort of injury. It seems all of Clement’s starts go this way of late; A mediocre at best performance for a few innings, Varitek noticing something odd in his delivery, talking to Clement, and then Clement abruptly leaving the mound. Either this guy has an actual injury or something is wrong in his head. Either way I don’t want him pitching. Put him on the D.L. and recall Hansen or Pauley and have them start.

That was a great game with a shitty end

2006-06-14T00:17:00.000-04:00

It is very very rare to see a pitching matchup like schilling-santana match up to the hype. This time, it did so and more.

I do not throw this around lightly so when I say it it is meaningful. Johan santana tonight reminded me of Pedro circa 1999. Normally good batters looked absolutely hopeless. 2 fastballs on the corners followed by a sick changeup = sit down, over and over again.

Speaking of batters looking hopeless, Coco had one of the worst games at the plate ever.

Twins "fans" are a joke. When your pitcher has like 8 strike outs through 3 innings, he deserves a standing roaring crowd everytime he gets 2 strikes on a batter. He was pitching an absolute gem and its like his fans barely understood it was happening.

Now, to the awful awful end.

The sox are in trouble, big big trouble. How many ineffective guys can you carry in one bull pen. Foulke sucks, Seanez sucks, Riske sucks, and Tavarez really really sucks. As long as Papelbon and Timlin are the only reliable guys out there, the sox can't win a game where the starter goes less than 7 or a game that goes past the 9th or 10th. Unfortunatly, I'm not confident the problem is fixable.

Coming Up Aces

2006-06-13T23:56:00.000-04:00

Nick, Despite Minneapolis not really being the ideal vacation spot, this was a great game to have attended and will probably be one of the top 5 pitched games in the American League this year. Schilling looked great all night and got a lot of ground ball outs keeping his pitch count low. He seems to have adjusted from earlier in the year when he had the highest pitches per at bat for anyone in the league. Santana was remarkable in the way he mixed his pitches. For a while there, I thought he might near Clemens territory in strike outs. Papelbon and Timlin both pitched well too.

That leads us to the newest occupant of my shit list: Julian Tavarez. This guy has been a bust of epic proportions this year. Tonight, was his nadir . Not only did he lose the game, his crappy pitching ruined a great pitching night. It all started with yet another hit batsmen at a terrible time. It only got worse from there with pitches with not a lot of movement being left over the plate. All that being said, that grand slam was bullshit. It did not even look like Kubel put a good swing on the ball.

To add a picture to blogger just click on the image icon thingy to the right of the abc spelling icon.

I'm looking out my hotel window...

2006-06-13T16:31:00.000-04:00

Im looking at the metrodome right now (odd vacation spot i know). I'm going to be at all 3 games and I will write about them, etc. Hopefully i can take pictures and figure out how to put them here too.

Big Papi!!!!

2006-06-11T19:53:00.000-04:00

He has not been as consistent at years past, (partly due to all shifts that are being used against him) but Papi still comes through more often then not when it matters.

my feet hurt

2006-06-10T23:42:00.000-04:00

I entered the park at 1030 Am and left at 1030 PM, the least the sox could have done is win.

Something i meant to write about the game on friday. At the time I wondered why they were throwing Hansen into the fire. Now i think its because they knew they were sending him down and wanted him to get in a game while he was up.

Theo needs to find a lefty for the bullpen, i dont like that Foulke is the one to come in against leftys, as he has proven time and time again (tonight included) he sucks ass.

Hot To Trot

2006-06-09T23:42:00.000-04:00

No one hits right-handed fastball pitchers better then Trot Nixon. Exhibit A: Tonights 4/4 3RBI performance. Exhibit B: his dominance of Roger Clemens.

Wakefield pitch really well tonight, but being that he is the pitcher who is snakebite for the year he again did not get the win.

Hansen looked ok. Texas had some good at bats against him. Just 2 suggestions for Hansen. Throw the slider more and when a ball is hit back up the middle don’t try to block it with your ankle. You are too valuable to the team’s future to risk getting hurt on a dumb play like that.

Despite technically blowing his first save Papelbon looked great.

Time for my weekly A-Rod is overrated rant. Here are the stats so far this year for A-Rod and the player who he was traded for who makes less then half of his yearly salary.

Alfonso Soriano .310 23HR 46 RBI 14 SB
Alex Rodriguez .282 13HR 44RBI 5SB

Tomorrow is one of those days when real life gibberish (i.e. having to attend a graduation party) interferes with important baseball stuff (i.e. watching Jon Lester’s first start.) Thus, for selfish reasons I am hoping for a rainout for the first game tomorrow and a double header and Lester’s first start on Sunday.

Dinardo Can S my D

2006-06-07T09:38:00.000-04:00

MLB.com says that Dinardo is starting in the early saturday game. This is rediculous, conspiculous, and matriculous. My friend Ephie can throw a Mid 80s fastball, a slider, a curve, and a change, and hes a lefty, lets put him on the mound, since throwning Jon Lester seems to be out of the question.

Disappointing…

2006-06-06T22:39:00.000-04:00

Positives: Pauley pitched great. It sucks he had to get that loss and that he just missed that grounder in the seventh. He kept the Yankees off balance the whole night with his change up and induced ground balls with his sinker. I am not get carried away and thinking he an ace, but he has a potential to be a solid 3-5 guy in the Sox rotation like Arroyo.

We lost this game in the first 3 innings when we had runners on against Wang and could not get them home.

What was Manny thinking going to second base a hit to short center? My guess is that he was joking with Damon before the game about Damon’s arm and they had some sort of bet going. Speaking of Manny I can’t believe that fucking Cabrera caught that ball. It just was not the Sox night.

Except for the fact he could not get the curve ball over the plate against Giambi, Seanez looked good. He pitched just well enough to lose.

Regarding the Giambi at-bat is not Foulke are lefty specialist. He has not pitched on the last week due to his bad back or whatever he has bothering him. Why not put him on the D.L.?

Varitek should be batting eight in the order.

Hansen Called Up

2006-06-06T19:06:00.000-04:00

After last nights debacle it is good to see the sox be proactive and call up Craig Hansen. Earlier in the blog I proposed using Lester and Hansen as almost a combined started and I would not be surprised if the sox do something similar tonight with Pauley and Hansen. Have Pauley go 4 (hopefully he gets that far) and then Hansen 3.

Nothing to say

2006-06-06T01:06:00.000-04:00

I already wasted 3+ hours watching it, I'm not wasting any more time writing about it.

Never mind

2006-06-05T20:42:00.000-04:00

Lester is pitching tonight at Pawtucket, i thought they had pushed his start back to tuesday.

What the fuck

2006-06-05T20:29:00.000-04:00

It is the 3d inning right now and I am pissed. Either Beckett is horrible or hurt, neither is good for the sox. Is it just me or has he struggled ever since that game when he "didn't have a blister".

Anyhow, here is what I wish Terry had done. Rather than putting Van Buren it, put Pauly in, then start Lester tomorrow. Why lose 2 when you can try and salvage tuesday?

A Running Commentary OF The Game Today

2006-06-04T16:35:00.000-04:00

First Inning: Frustrated that Manny and Trot could not get a run home. It is key to jump on a young pitcher early so he does not get a chance to develop confidence.

Clement looked good. I find he does better against free swinging teams like the Tigers as opposed to more patient teams like Toronto and New York.

Second Inning: In a game with both Loretta and Lowell out, it was especially good to see A-Gon get a hold of one and hit it out. (2-0 sox) Cora just hit another foul ball caught for an out that would have been in the stands at Fenway. That is the 10th one of those I have seen this series. This really is a pitchers park.

Damn it Clement. He walked the first guy after we got the lead for him. He has done that way too often this year. Hey he got out of the inning. Again he benefited by Detroit’s free swinging on that last strike out on the 3-1 count when it would have been called a ball.

Third Inning: Another offensive squander. Manny can be locked on sometimes, but other times as we know he can be very lackadaisical. His first 2 at bats today have been examples of the latter.

Good Stuff for Clement. 1,2,3 inning with an economy of pitches.

Fourth Inning: Nice Bunt Single for Cora. He is one of the best I have seen at that. Well Cora just got thrown out trying to steal. So much for the nice bunt single.

I-Rod just saved us a run foolishly getting out while trying to get to second base.

Fifth Inning: YOOOUUUUKKK. Wow, I am surprised Leyland took Miner out so early. I thought the kid was pitching well especially using the change up to keep us off balance. BOOYAA, Back2Back, Papi just hit one out: 4-1.

Great inning for Clement. He got ahead of hitters then went with pitches out of the strike zone he knew the free swinging Tigers would chase.

Sixth Inning: Since Clement seems to have gotten into a grove, I don’t mind too much that the Sox offense just got 3 outs in only 7 pitches. If we had a long drawn out inning and did not score it might have iced Clement.

3 straight hits for Detroit and a run home. Fuck me, I take full responsibility for having Jinxed Clement with my Clement is in a grove comment. Wow, I have to give Clement credit. He just got out of the inning and shockingly did not give up the lead.

Seventh Inning: That was an old School opposite field Manny Home Run. Good news out of Baltamore they are leading the Yankees 10-0. Ordonez just throw the ball into the crowd and some kid who was wearing a glove dropped it; what a dumbass.

I don’t like Clement starting this inning. He pitched 6 strong innings and it would be could in terms of confidence to leave on a high note. In addition, Van Buren who has been pitching well is all warmed since last inning. The medical staff just came out again for Clement on his third pitch of the inning. I could not really tell what the problem was from the replay, but I would guess it might be his ankle which has been acting up the last few starts. Santiago is trying to win the day time Emmy Award for best performance trying to pretend like a pitch hit you. Remy just mentioned that Clement has Asthma and he might have had an attack, thus having to leave that game. This is news to me. Was this a well know fact that Clement had Asthma? Great Pitch to strike out Thames by Van Burin to end the inning. I already have more confidence in Van Burin then I do Tavarez.

Eighth Inning: Three throws to first base with J.T. Snow there. Do they really fear Snow stealing? Jim Leyland is throwing a nutty because of a few close pitches called as balls. Looking at the replay, I think the umpire made the right call. The pitch was outside. Now Manny walked to score another run. 7-3. A walk to Trot. 8-3. Remy said this pitcher Grilli was picked 4th overall and one pick ahead of Vernon Wells. I pretty sure the Tigers would like a do over with that pick.

Lowell took over for Youk who got hit in the forearm with a pitch last inning. Here is hoping he is ok because he has been one of the most valuable players on the team this year. Amazing catch for CoCo on that smash by Ordonez. In most ball parks that would be off the wall at least and most likely gone. In addition, I dont think Damon would have got it.

Ninth Inning: Great job by Riske closing out the game 1,2,3 without any dramatics.

Pathetic

2006-06-04T01:17:00.000-04:00

I don't really have much to say other than that it is inexcusable for this team to be behind the Yankees right now given all the shit the yankees have gone through this season.

It's impossible to say anything about Papi, but he really needs to get it going again soon.

Wow

2006-06-02T22:50:00.000-04:00

For 8 innings this was the most frustrating Sox game of the season. Heres the highlights for me split into positive and negative.

Negative.

- Strike Zone. That curveball strike 3 at Manny's shins was among the worst calls I can remember seeing. That is not hyperbole. It was awful. It sounds odd to say but Manny deserves credit for not getting tossed.

- Comerica Park. If David Ortiz can crush a 98 MPH fastball and it stays in the park, you have a shitty stadium.

- (At the time it was happening) Riske and Seanez in a one run game. I was yelling at the TV when I saw Riske on the mound.

- Kenny Rogers. Reminds me of old school Wells in a way. Soft tossing lefty who hits his spots and piles up outs without looking the least bit impressive.

- The lowlight of the night for me, Youk dropping a ball at first. I flipped my shit. I still don't understand how that happened.

Positive.

- Coco. Looks like he has no remaining symptoms of the injury. The steal set up the 1st run and shows what he brings to the lead off spot that Youk cannot.

- Schill. I wish he hadn't had to throw so many pitches but I'll take 2 ER over 6 every time out. The splitter was on tonight.

- Riske and Seanez. I didn't agree with the call and I'm not sure that Tito didn't just get lucky but these guys got the job done. Seanez' curve looked nice and he gets credit for pitching through Youk's horrendous error.
So Riske and Seanez pitched well tonight. Van Buren and Delcarmen pitched well Wednesday. Foulke has been decent, Timlin will be back, Paps is Paps and Hansen is waiting in the wings. Things in the Pen could be a-ok.

- Mike Lowell getting three hits when no one else could manage anything. Makes me wonder what the problem was last year. Motivation?

- Tito for pinch hitting Cora for Gonzo. Its good that he finally acknowledges that Cora's better at the plate.

- Papelbon. I keep waiting for him to blow one. Odds say he's going to blow one. He's just not blowing one. He's the story of the year.

- Youk. That almost makes up for the error. I'm kidding (mostly) but you gotta feel good for him to come back one inning later and do that.

Quality Bullpen

2006-05-31T23:30:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite parts of this game is that I now feel like the Sox have another future major-league talent in Pauley who I will admit I did not know existed two days ago. Watching the kid pitch I immediately thought of Derek Lowe. If he can strengthen his location a bit and work on his off pitches a bit more he should be able to help this team in the future. That sinker is Major League quality right now.

Teddy already wrote what I wanted to say about Gonzalez. I don't, however, think Gonzalez won the game fot the sox. That distinction goes to the bullpen.

Here's what Van Buren, Delcarmen, Foulke, and Papelbon combined for.

4.2 IP
2 H
0 R
0 ER
1 BB
2 K

I was especially impressed with Delcarmen's 1.2 IP of No-Hit ball (and Tito for letting him pitch even though Foulke was warm)

The Kid is all right.

2006-05-31T23:07:00.000-04:00

Pauley did O.K. considering this was his first major league start and one of the toughest line ups. He induced ground balls for DP when he needed them. He also seemed to fight his nerves better then Clement.

Which brings me to Alex Gonzales who won the game tonight with defensive plays he made early on.

Manny was too casual with that ball in the outfield and his Manny being Manny moment cost us a run. Being that he also hit a two run homer, he gets a +1 for the night.

Youk on base 4 times again. The guy is a fucking machine.

Delcarmen looks a lot better now then he did earlier in the year. He will be key with Timlin out. Props also go to Van Buren who has done a great job since he has been up.

Lilly looked awful compared to his usually performances against the Red Sox.

I'm not pleased.

2006-05-31T10:56:00.000-04:00

My hope for this 10 game road trip against 3 tough teams (odd to include Detriot in there) was for the Sox to go at least 5-5. Looking at things realistically, the sox are probably going to lose tonight. Roger is gone to Houston and all is not well in Boston land.

Here's something that bothers me...
"They've got good hitters. But we're not pitching the way we're supposed to. That's what I say. When we come to hit, they don't give us [anything] to hit. Why do we have to give them [something] to hit? That's it. I mean, the guy is hitting three homers on pretty much the same pitch, something up in the strike zone. [When] I hit one, I don't see another pitch again all night. We've got to make adjustments."

Ortiz taking shots at Sox pitching. Hmm. That brings up a question, how long does he have to struggle before I am allowed to comment on Ortiz's play. He opened the year on fire, but he hasnt done anything in like 2 or 3 weeks.

Without Timlin, Terry makes a Riske decision.

2006-05-29T23:42:00.000-04:00

First there was Matt Young
Then there was Aaron Sele
Now we have Matt Clement

Some people are not meant to pitch in Boston; I think Matt Clement is one of those people.

I have to give it to Nick who called it; this was a night the Sox could have won if they had Timlin.

Why was Riske in the 8th tonight? This is not hindsight. I was thinking why not Foulke or leave Delcarmen in for the eight? Despite his knee injury Foulke has a rubber arm and could go a few innings.

The red sox want me dead.

2006-05-28T23:29:00.000-04:00

I'm in New Jersey for family stuff so I was following the game on MLB gameday, one of those computer update things.

I was concerned in the 9th as the bases were loaded by Seanez (At first I was pissed Tito took Wake out but apparently he asked out).

I was relieved when Tavarez seemed to have ended the game with a strike out. All I saw on my screen was "Strike 3: Strike Swinging". So I was pretty suprised and pissed when I looked down and saw 5-1 as the score and that the game was still going on.

Then I had to sit there and watch ball after ball come up on my screen. I was dying with every pitch.

Then, when it was 5-3 and Crawford was up, the screen showed the dreaded "Ball In Play: Run(s)-Scoring Play" I was sure that the game had been tied up or worse and I had to wait and wait and wait for the computer to get its shit together and tell me what happened.

Not fun.

Also not funny. Timlin on the DL. The sox bullpen will blow 1-3 games while he is out.

Congratulations To Curt In The Car

2006-05-27T22:51:00.000-04:00

I didn’t get to see most of the game so I do not have that much insight or analysis, but I just want to congratulate Curt Schilling on his 200th victory. In addition, the fact that Schilling only just reached 200 makes me even more impressed with Maddux and The Rocket who both have well over 300 victories.

On a side note, I came across another great performance by Bronson Arroyo. Check it out:

It would never happen, but…

2006-05-27T09:27:00.000-04:00

I just read Nick’s post about what to do for a #5 starter and here is my idea. I am guessing Wells most likely goes on the D.L. again and I just don’t think Lenny the Lefty has it so I would send him down. Lester and Hansen both have great stuff, but they have been limited to strict pitch counts (around 80 for Lester and 60 for Hansen is what I heard) in Pawtucket. I say call them both up. You have Lester start the game from the left side and pitch four or five innings. Then you have Hansen come throwing fireballs from the right side and pitch two or three innings. I have had a lot of random ideas like this over the years that never come through fruition and this one most likely won’t happen either, but you have to admit it would be pretty cool.

The Royals ended their 13 game losing streak last night against the Yankees almost makes up for the fact the Sox lost 2 in a row to them. Almost.

Number 5 starters are tough to come by...

2006-05-27T01:38:00.000-04:00

Sucks, the fat man actually looked pretty good until he got smashed (by the ball, not like when he pitched the perfect game).

So, the nation turns its lonely eyes to the glaring hole at the end of the rotation. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that Wells is out for a while.

Lets look at the candidates.

Lenny DiNardo.

Pros. He's done it before.
Cons. He's done it badly before. Also, hes on the DL so he can't take the next start.

Abe Alverez.

Pros. He's done it before a bit too. He's a lefty. Rex Specs.
Cons. He's not much more than a stop-gap solution, Hasn't shown me much.

Jon Lester

Pros. Has great stuff. Great #s in Pawtucket in May.
Cons. Never pitched in majors. Could stunt development.

Craig Hansen

Pros. Also has filthy stuff. Some major league experience. Has been starting in Pawtucket.
Cons. A Reliever by trade. Might not be stretched out enough.

Roger Clemens

Pros. Greatest living pitcher. One of top NL Pitchers last year. Storybook ending in Beantown.
Cons. Lots and lots of $$$. Probably not realistic.

Outside Help Via Trade (Willis, Zito, Schmit, etc).

Pros. Proven major league commodity.
Cons. Have to morgage the future.

I think the hands-down winner is Clemens if he would come here. I think the Wells injury actually helps our chances because Roger wouldn't have to feel like he is taking anybodys spot. Still, its a bit of a long shot and he wouldn't be here in the immediate future anyhow.

So... the option I would like to see is Lester or Hansen. I'm sick of giving away games every five days with a DiNardo and Alvarez. Each of these guys is going to play a big role on the Sox in the near future. Why not now?

Frustrating Night

2006-05-25T00:30:00.000-04:00

What was more unlikely, Papi failing to come through in the clutch or Seanez pitching a scoreless 8th?

The good news is that Randy Johnson sucks, leaving the Yankees essentially Ace-less.
The bad news is Clement sucks worse.

For the first time in my life I saw Sox fans and Yankees fans unite for a chant. The Chant? "A-Rod Sucks!"

I ran in to Dan Duquette in the bathroom. He was taking a piss as I was washing my hands so I waited by the sink a little while longer figuring that he would come over in a moment. As he walked toward me I said "Hey Mr. Duquette, How are you doing?' He responded, "Doing well thank you" as he walked out of the bathroom with out washing his hands.

In a new segment of the blog here are the PEOPLE NICK SAID HELLO TO TODAY AND WAS RESPONDED TO LIKE A HUMAN BEING.

Dan Duquette (Gross Though)
Joe Kerrigan
Bernie Williams

Disappointing…

2006-05-24T23:40:00.000-04:00

This was the most disappointing series of the year so far. The Yankees were reeling coming into this series; while the Sox could by no means put the Yankees away, a sweep could have put some distance between the 2 teams and put Yankees management into a panic mode.

Clement was awful. There is nothing a pitcher can do that pisses me off more then when your team gets the lead and the next half innings the pitcher starts walking people. I empathize with his getting hit in the head last year and how getting hit by a batted ball tonight probably brought back bad memories and shook him up, but he is a major league pitcher and needs to show more mental toughness then he has demonstrated the two years he has been with the sox.

It has also been frustrating that so far this year Manny and Ortiz have not put a simultaneous good hitting streak. I expect that is an aberration.

Not that it would have mattered, but I think Wily Mo could have scored on that wild pitch in the 8th.

Finally props to Nick for some good inside baseball info from the ballpark. This job gives you the potential to be a one man Inside Track.

Highlights from Fenway before the fans arrived

2006-05-24T14:40:00.000-04:00

I went into the park at 2 yesterday to get my employee ID and, having nothing better to do, I entered the park at 2:30.

Coco and Kapler were taking BP when I got in. Coco looked ok but the highlight was Kapler who hit 10-15 balls in a row over the monster. The two of them then went to the outfield and Tito hit them fly balls. Coco was throwing erratically, hope thats not a sign of a problem.

Later, after he threw a side session in the bullpen, I talked to Mike Mussina for a minute. I asked him why he does that weird dip thing from the stretch. He says that he was taught it a long time ago and he fels comfortable with it.

Manny was flirting with the latina cleaning ladies.

There was a ball lying in the outfield as A-Rod was headed to the batting cage. He picked it up and hit it into the main scoreboard. What a dickhead.

Shitty game. We definitely could have used Pena.

Missing Wily Mo

2006-05-23T23:06:00.000-04:00

I went to the free Damone concert at Newbury comics tonight, so I missed the first 7 innings of the game. But from watching the last few innings and looking at the box score, I think the Sox could have really used Wily Mo tonight. It sucks that his wrist injury kept him not only out of the starting line up, but also pinch hitting duties because there were a lot of times tonight when I was thinking “I really wish Wily Mo was hitting right now.”

Tonight was one of those Wakefield nights when he was not really on and thus we needed some extra runs, but the bottom of the line up was anemic tonight.

Riske looked good. Papelbon looked great.

Manny looks to be getting his power stroke back.

I am Trying too look for positives even though I thought we should sweep this series so here is one more; even though the sox lost it was good that we forced Mariano to pitch a couple of innings.

Hey Nick, I am counting on you to break the story if Adams is ever lighting one up before he goes on air.

Highlights from last nights game/ 1st day working at Fenway

2006-05-23T10:49:00.000-04:00

Teddy already touched on most of the main points, Schilling, Mannyy, etc.

I loved Cora's bunt. I'm not on the get rid of Gonzalez bandwagon (The sox are tops in the majors in defense) but it would benice to see Cora get maybe a start a week or so.

Mark Loretta's crazy climb back toward a respectable average. It just shows how weird a game baseball is, one month everybody is calling you washed up, the next month you hit over .400

My Personal Highlight from work: I talked with WEEI's Mike Adams for about a minute. It was in the 9th inning while Foulke was sucking, we talked about random stuff for a minute of so before Adams says "Keith Foulke sucks, I gotta go" and disappears into the crowd.

Good Stuff

2006-05-22T22:16:00.000-04:00

Good to see Manny crush one tonight. So far this year, he has been to close to Youk in terms of production and not the old Manny. He has been getting on base a ton, but not driving in a lot of runs. In Manny’s defense, I remember a lot of his walks coming with people on base and pitchers pitching around him. But, like I said we need Manny to be a consistent power threat.

Schilling look great tonight and most importantly he got his outs with a minimal amount of pitchers which has been a problem for him so far this year. I think I heard on EEI earlier in the week that he had the highest ratio of pitches per at bat in baseball.

I am not too worried about Foulke getting racked. I think he was just getting his work in.

Finally, you got to hand it to A-fraud. He is the only guy in baseball who can consistently come up with home runs when it matters least.

Guess Who The Stats Belong To?

2006-05-22T12:04:00.000-04:00

.270 BA 9HR 30RBI

.363 BA 5HR 29RBI

.352BA 5HR 32RBI

Hint: all 3 players appeared on a magazine cover together.

Sox could/should sweep.

2006-05-21T23:41:00.000-04:00

I really like the pitching matchups this series.

Schilling-Wang, I give the slight edge to Schilling, mostly because I heard him on Dennis and Callahan and he sounds pissed with himself. Thats a good thing.

Wakefield-Wright. I like Wakefield against every Yankee but Giambi.

Clement-Johnson. Raaaaaannnndyyyy... Raaaaaannnnndddddyyyy! Randy has lost it, doubt he finds it at Fenway.

The Yankees are ice cold, without Billy Wagner's help and support, they get swept out of Shea.

In more personal news, I'm gonna be working at Fenway making and laser engraving bats. I'll be at every home game, hopefully I'll get to see a lot of them.

Red Sox Power

2006-05-20T21:34:00.000-04:00

Three home runs in fridays night game.
Josh Beckett hit a home run today
Alex Gonzalez hits a 400 plus homerun also.

Damn You Billy Wagner

2006-05-20T20:24:00.000-04:00

I am going to New York tomorrow to meet the girlfriend at JFK airport, but before I go to JFK, I am go by Shea Stadium and throwing a baseball at Billy Wagner for handing the Yankees the game today and blowing the win for Pedro.

In the other subway series in Chicago had the first good brawl of the year. The biggest shock was an actually a punch landed. Usually these things resort to girlie slapfests. On a side note, I want the Sox to get in a Brawl so Wily Mo can give someone a Zangief style spinning suplex.

Speaking of Wily Mo, he is the only person to get a hit for the sox through 5 innings. WTF.

Oh yeah Bonds tied Babe Ruth or something. Bonds, Giambi, Sheffield, Sosa, McGuire, should been put into the ring in a Royal Rumble style match. Last one standing gets to have his name in the record book without a steroids asterisk next to it.

From today's ESPN insider

2006-05-19T00:24:00.000-04:00

J.T. Snow wants out of Boston, and the Red Sox are trying to swing a deal to make it happen, the Hartford Courant reports. "J.T.'s the ultimate professional," agent Dan Horwits told the newspaper. "He realizes the guys playing in front of him are doing great. If he was playing more, he wouldn't have a problem. But the fact is, he's not playing at all."
Snow signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Red Sox, figuring he would get about 300 at-bats splitting time with Kevin Youkilis at first base and as an occasional defensive replacement. As it stands now, Snow, who has had between 330 and 367 at-bats the past three seasons, might not get 100.

The best-case scenario for Snow would be to get traded to a contender. He spent the previous nine years in San Francisco but doesn't have a preference as far as remaining in the American League or going back to the National League. "He enjoys playing the game and he's not playing," said Horwits. "Hopefully, he can go to a team that's contending and it works out for the Red Sox as well."

I wonder who becomes the backup 1st baseman. Papi? Pena?

Ahhh

2006-05-18T01:29:00.000-04:00

Now, the odds say that Nixon would have made the last out so it makes no difference.

Still, Willie Harris. Willie "Hot Shot" Harris. Does he think he is smarter than Terry? Silverman is reporting that there was a "hold" sign on, meaning essentially a automatic red light. Harris says he "forgot it". I hope he did forget it rather than ignoring it trying to be the hero. I'd rather be able to think of him as an idiot than an asshole.

It made me think of a couple of different kids who I have played baseball with in my life. Idiots, without any ability to hit, and absolutely no baseball sense but really really fast. Of course, they would be taken off the bench to pinch run late in tight games. 9 times out of 10 they would get picked off, run through a stop sign or be caught stealing without having been given the sign. Mostly because they had egos, knew they were fast and saw it as their time to shine.

I hope Terry manages to develop a doghouse and put Harris in it. Where is Coco? What 20-something year old gets kidney stones? Why was he trying to steal third anyway??? How are they only tied with the worst Yankee team in over a decade? 133 Pitches??!??

I'm in a bad mood. They're ruining my summah!!

Good Win, but…

2006-05-16T23:13:00.000-04:00

It is good to see how the offense has come alive the past week; I give a lot of credit to Youk who is top ten in the league in OBP and the best in terms of lead off hitters. Manny and Trot are also top ten in OBP. Add in Lowell the double machine, Pena getting better each game, Loretta getting hot, and Ortiz still getting RBIs even in his minislump and we got ourselves a potent offence.

But… here is the bigger story of the night. Ever since Schilling pitch 138 pitches a few weeks ago, he has only been a mediocre pitcher. I hope Terry has learned his lesson and does not throw him out there for that long again this year.

Bring Nomah Back!

2006-05-13T12:55:00.000-04:00

In my other blog, I just wrote a column regarding rooting for former Boston players in the NHL and NBA playoffs. This and the boredom and insanity that is setting in with the constant rain that is making me consider building an ark got me thinking about ways to improve the redsox. Here are 2 facts:

J.T. Snow is a good guy, but currently completely useless to the Red Sox as a baseball player. He is a defensive replacement to a player who does not need a defensive replacement and a pinch hitter who no longer can hit.

Alex Gonzales is great at defense, but despite a few hits in the last week he has had me considering letting Wakefield hit and having Ortiz DH for A-Gon.

Who is someone who could provide more offense at shortstop, play first in case Youk gets hurt, could be acquired for a mid-level prospect, and is not bogged down with a long contract?

The Answer is Nomar Garciaparra. I am not delusional; I know with all his injuries that Nomah is no longer a good defensive short stop, but he still can hit; ( .352 4 19 in only 71 AB). Furthermore, we could keep A-Gon for a late inning defensive replacement for Nomah at short. The worst case scenario is Nomah gets hurt again and we owe him his contract for the remainder of the year.

Finally advice to Nomah in case he does come back; instead of having a generally quiet disdain for the Boston media and thus acting surly around the club house, be open about it. The first time you see Steve Buckley in the club-house, punch him in nose.

This is going to be one to look back on.

2006-05-11T23:49:00.000-04:00

Matsui is a huge huge loss for the Yankees. I'm going through the sports news sites and they are all focusing on the consecutive games aspect. Until anyone reaches 2,000 games, I couldn't care less about streaks. What I do care about is the Yankees losing one of the few players in their all-star line up who I do not want to see at the plate when it counts.

Teddy wrote about how he has the least hatred for Matsui and Rivera and a lot of respect for Jeter. I feel the same way. You can tell that all three players care about winning above all else, you can't say that about everybody.

If the Sox had lost this game, and they should have (Thanks Bernie), I think I would have torn my hair out. They blew more chances than I could count.

I agree wholeheartedly about Wily Mo. Hell, I'd let him steal home.

Speaking of Wily Mo, I wish we could find a way to keep him in the lineup once Coco comes back.

Props to Papelbon for being dominant, to A-Rod for somehow making 25 million dollars, and Props to Teddy for putting the proper accent in the word cliche.

Sometimes It Is A One Game Marathon…

2006-05-11T23:44:00.000-04:00

One of the oldest baseball clichés is that the baseball season is a marathon and not a sprint. Tonight felt like a one game marathon. There were too many key points in the game to recall, but here are a few things I was thinking about during the game.

Props to Matsui for his consecutive game streak that will be broken after that nasty play tonight. Matsui and Rivera are the Yankees I dislike the least.

The game was inches away from being a blow out if Lowell and Mirabelli’s hits went out of the park.

Doug Mirabelli is a god send because Wakefield is a much better pitcher with him back there.

The sixth inning constant pitching changes illustrate how serious both teams play these games.

Mostly because I am a sick bastard, just once this year, I don’t care if the ball is going to be at home ahead of him, I want to send Wily Mo home and see him run over a catcher.

Loretta is officially off my shit list.

I respect Jeter as a player way more then A-Rod. In the ninth inning I knew Jeter would not make the last out. But I was not scared of A-Rod who eventually struck out in the 7th in a key at bat at all.

Arroyo pitched a great game today: 8 innings, no runs, 8 strike outs. But his bullpen blew the game for him.

Not a good week to be an ex-Dimondback world series co-MVP

2006-05-10T23:34:00.000-04:00

I was at both Tuesday and Wensday nights games, and the common link between them was that each losing team's starting pitching blew it for them.

Tuesday: Teddy basically said it all, Johnson just plain sucked. Although, I can't think of any Yankees that didn't. Giambi scares me more than any other bat in their line up. I don't quite understand how a player can lose his ability to catch up to a fastball and then gain it again. HGH? Who knows? Highlights for me were, A-Rod sucking, A-Gon actually hitting, Lowell continuing his hot bat, and Wily Mo runnning down a sure double toward the end of the game.

Wednesday: It would be nice if somebody besides Papi decided to come play tonight. After the 1st 3 innings (2 run scoring innings and a bases loaded jam in the 3d) I thought we would be able to get Mussina out early. You have to hand it to him for the way he pulled it together. I did not like the way Terry played this game tonight.

1. Willy Harris has no reason to be starting a baseball game with Pena and Mohr on the bench, I don't care what his numbers against Mussina are.
2. A 3 run deficit in the 6th inning is not insurmountable, you don not bring in a AAA pitcher to send it out of reach, I don't care who is coming up.
3. This is not a gripe as much as a question: Considering that Harris will never, never be up against Rivera in a key moment late in the season, why not let Pena take the at-bat. I doubt hes ever faced Rivera and it would be nice to get him some experiance when its not crunch time.

Yankee Stadium, Section 41, Bleachers.

Tuesday night was far worse than I have ever seen Fenway. Ever. Anyone with the balls to wear Sox gear was met with section wide chants of "Asshole" and "Fenway Faggot." In fact, Faggot was the most common word I heard in the bleachers that night. Section 41 is the mathematical opposite of Provincetown. It seemed to me that many fans came not to watch baseball, but because it would give them the opportunity to harrass some sox fans. Any couples that walked up the aisle inspired the classy chant of "She's a slut!" which resulted in a girl running out of the bleachers crying. I was alone and I kept my mouth shut so I was fine. I was worried though because I knew I was sitting with my ladyfriend on Wendsday.

For some reason, the bleachers tonight were tame. An "asshole" chant here or there but that was about it. None of the fights or fan removals that made Tuesday crazy.

Tuesdays awesomeness outweighs Wendsdays suckiness in my mind.

One thing I really liked about the Yankees bleachers that I wish we had at Fenway: The Infamous Roll Call during the 1st inning is really cool.

A Limp Johnson

2006-05-09T23:19:00.000-04:00

I will let Nick give a fuller analysis of tonight’s proceedings because he was at the game, but here are a few thoughts.

Randy Johnson looked like Jeff Fassero out there. He barely cleared 90 and had no control.

Wily Mo made a few good grabs in the outfield and played every single position. He needs at bats and experience in the field to cultivate his prestigious talents. I wonder how they will work him into the line up when CoCo comes back. Platooning with Trot and getting occasional at bats at first, left, center, and DH seams like a good idea.

It was good to see Beckett settle down after a tough start. For many young power pitchers (Roger being a prime example) getting through the first innings was a trouble spot, but after they have established the fast ball and can work in other pitches they get into a rhythm.

A-Fraud is to clutch baseball what P. Manning is to clutch football.

Thoughts about the upcoming series in NY

2006-05-09T01:06:00.000-04:00

I'm going to the games on tuesday and wednesday. I'm having a really hard time getting a read on how the series should play out.

Hopefully, Beckett responds well to the intensity of the rivalry, if he doesnt pitch better than he has been, it could be ugly. I would expect either a gem or a dun, no in between. The same goes for Johnson so that should be an odd game.

I think the best matchup is Schilling vs. Mussina. Mussina has been the yankees ace this season so I would not be suprised to see him continue that against the sox. This is the game that I would anticipate to be the most of a nail biter.

Thursday is actually the game I feel most confident about mostly because, despite the numbers, I don't buy Chacon.

I would not be suprised to see the sox win the series 2-1, lose it 2-1, or get swept. A red sox sweep would shock me.

I'll write about the Yankee Stadium experiance later (As I recover from my impending stab wounds)

My highlights from listening to the game.

2006-05-05T22:27:00.000-04:00

1. Mike Lowell. Mike Lowell. Mike Lowell. Considering that he was the ultimate throw-in, any production from him would be gravy. With his bat, his glove, and his leadership, he has been an excellent addition to the team. Along with Papelbon, hes the story of the season so far.

2. The radio guys commenting that "If Erik Bedard played for the Pirates, you could call him Erik Bed-ARRRRR-d"

3. 7 pitch save.

One non-highlight.

If you are put in the game to pinch-run, don't don't don't get picked off. When Willy Harris comes in the game it reminds me of little league when the shitty kids have to get their 2 innings in.

Some thoughts about the backup First Basemen.

JT Snow can't hit and I have seen nothing from Youk to indicate that he needs to be replaced late in games. Why not see what Hee Sop can do.

Also, looking at the team long term, would it be possible to teacvh Wily Mo to play 1st?

Dr. Quandary

2006-05-05T22:19:00.000-04:00

I say Pedro gets a standing O. I would have gave Damon a standing O. Everyone wouldf take 30% increase in pay. People argue that once you have 10 mil, the extra 3 don't matter. Since when has 3 million dollars not mattered.

I say we visit dr. quandarys secret island and we find the answers to all of our questions

Kudos to Loretta

2006-05-05T21:27:00.000-04:00

I have been generally annoyed with Loretta the past few weeks, but I have to give him props for the 2 out bunt he just executed to get Papi up to the plate.

The Matt Clement Quandary

2006-05-05T00:53:00.000-04:00

I have been trying to figure out the enigma that is Matt Clement and here is what I came up with. Even though his array of pitches is different, in his mentality and results he reminds me of Aaron Sele. Clement and Sele both do well when given an early lead like tonight. They also both suffer from some sort of pitching bi-polar disorder; they either go on a run of starts where they look un-hittable or they go on a run of starts when you wonder how they made it too the majors. In addition, Clement and Sele both significantly better with no one on base then with runners on. Tonight Clement got an early lead and did not have a lot of base runners so he looked great.

In the end with a quandary as confusing as Matt Clement, I think we must consult Dr. Quandary. And if that does not work maybe that Tree House or Castle game.

Pedro will get 75 percent cheers and about 25 percent boos (boos will be from the fellowship of the miserable). Pedro helped win the series and treated Sox fans to some of the best pitching performances ever. I would argue that his season in 99 was the best season ever for a sox pitcher especially with the hindsight that is was taking place in the middle of the steroids era. Furthermore, Pedro even though went to the Mets, went to a national league team and going to the national league is pretty much like going to Japan and not likely to cause strong negative emotions. The reason Damon was booed so loudly was that he went straight from the being the symbol of the Idiot Redsox straight to becoming a conformist member of pinstripe nation.

2 Things that confuse me.

2006-05-04T23:04:00.000-04:00

1. Matt Clement
2. Peter Gammons

1. I didn't get to see the game tonight so perhaps the performance was not as impressive as the boxscore indicates but I don't see how you can argue with 2 hits over 6 innings. This guy is an enigma, sometimes he looks great out there but others he has the worst stuff in the league.

2. Even more puzzing than Matt Clement is Peter Gammons' comments that he thinks Pedro will get worse treatment in his return than Damon. Pete, what the hell are you talking about? I would be shocked to see Pedro not recieve a standing O when he returns.

Teddy, am I wrong here?

Some more rain would have been nice.

2006-05-03T22:58:00.000-04:00

Every year, there's one team that owns us. I think its safe to say that this year its the Blue Jays.

I did not like Papelbon's demeanor in the dugout at all. I like players that get mad when they fail, he just looked really sad.

Watching B.J. Ryan throw, it looks like rightys should own him. guess not...

If you are a shortstop who struggles to hit .200 you better damm well be able to bunt. If you can't bunt, get off the damm field. Dustin sounds prety good to me right now...

I'm going to sox-yankees on the 9th. Hopefully Yankee Stadium pumps Beckett up, because I do not feel like putting up with the shit im gonna have to take if he is going to suck.

Barry Bonds

2006-05-03T19:10:00.000-04:00

During B.P. today in Milwaukee Barry Bonds got hit in the forehead with a foul ball.

I bet the ball got dented.

The Wind Blows In A Classic

2006-05-01T22:42:00.000-04:00

Some Quick Hits:
Only in Boston can a back up catcher get a police escort from the airport to the ballpark all while changing into his uniform in the backseat. Imagine being stuck in traffic, hearing the police sirens, and then pulling over to the side to see a half naked Doug Mirabelli in the back seat.

Mirabelli was key tonight, I counted at least 3 balls he stopped that Bard would have let go bye.

Loretta should have knocked down that ball to in the fourth and kept the Yankees third run from scoring.

Wily Mo is looking better each at bat. (Props again to 5-0 Arroyo who pitched a complete game giving up one run to the Cardinals.)

Early in the game Manny and Ortiz showed why they are great hitters and adjusting to the strong wind by smacking the ball the opposite way. While watching the game I thought there was no way in hell that someone would hit one out Fenway tonight…

Willie Harris slide tonight was Dave Robertsesque.

It is always fun to see Jeter fuck up and get picked off.

Boy was I wrong about no one hitting one out tonight. Papi continues to amaze me. Most Clutch Hitter of his generation by far.

I will say it again Papelbon=domination.

Props to Mike Adams (Nick you don’t have to cry)

2006-05-01T11:51:00.000-04:00

Good news to hear while eating lunch, it is being reported by multiple sources that Josh Bard and Clay Meredith have been traded to San Diego to require Doug Mirabelli. Mirabelli will help the line up, but much more importantly he will help Tim Wakefield immeasurably. Furthermore, I could give 2 shits about Bard and Meredith is an ok prospect but his stuff does not really impress me much.

I want to give props to Mike Adams. When I turned on WEEI this morning he called in and said he had an inside source that Mirabelli was getting on a chartered flight to head back to Boston tonight. Coming from the normally goofy Adams I thought that this might have been a joke, but now multiple other sources are reporting it as well so Adams broke the story before anyone.

This may be the first time in Major League baseball history when a back up catcher gets a standing ovation when the line up is announced.

New Low for Loretta

2006-04-30T22:54:00.000-04:00

A lot happened that contributed to the loss today, but I want to focus on Mark Loretta. After the first week of the season, Loretta looked like he was going to be at least Todd Walker in terms of production and most likely better. Loretta today weekly grounded out to end the game with the winning run on second base. Everyone fails sometime, but Loretta is down to batting .219. Add in Alex Gonzales batting below the Mendoza line, and back up center fielders and you have a pretty anemic line up. Then when Wakefield pitches you can add Josh Bard to the punching Judy hitter list. It is only May 1 so no one should panic yet, but if by July 1 Gonzales or Loretta are not batting above .230 it is time to bring up Pedroia.

Finally...

2006-04-29T22:23:00.000-04:00

For a while it looked like this was going to be another Sox game where they fall behind early and continually fail to get any clutch hits. In the sixth the sox finally broke out and eventually came from behind on 2 separate occasions. The past few years sox teams have made come from behind wins seem routine and it was nice to finally see the sox get one this year.

Papelbon=Domination

One of the first things you learn being a kindergarten teacher is if you sit two goofy boys with ADD next to each other then you are looking for trouble. That is how I feel when ever I see a ball hit into the gap between center and left when Manny is in left and Wily Mo is in center. I am scared they are going to crash into each other or maybe both forget to go after a ball.

Another Positive

2006-04-28T07:54:00.000-04:00

In the vain of Nick’s post looking for a positive in 2 straight loses culminating with last night’s crushing defeat, here is a bright spot: Keith Foulke continues to look strong and pitched an inning and a third with 2 strikeouts.

Lets look at a single positive...

2006-04-27T21:54:00.000-04:00

I have been unfortunate enough to watch the enitirety of the last 2 "games" on ESPN.

Rather than dwelling on the endless negative, which will only piss me off further, I will mention the single positive.

Oral Hersheiser is a superior color man. Best I have heard I would say, no offense to the RemDawg.

I am leaving right now for a 15 hour drive to Chicago, be back in time for Sox-Yankees on Monday.
If Bard is catching I might cry.

Manny Being Manny

2006-04-25T22:54:00.000-04:00

Tonight was the classic Manny being Manny game. He kills a potential rally by falling asleep at second base and subsequently getting picked off. But he makes up for it by going ¾ and hitting a game winning homerun.

Foulke looked sharp again. This team will be at its best if Foulke can be a good closer and Papelbon can fill the hefty lefty’s spot in the rotation.

Ugly Ugly Ugly

2006-04-25T22:41:00.000-04:00

This one looked like neither team wanted to win. Lets just list the top 9 fuck ups.

9. Blake misplaying a Tek pop-up into a single.
8. Hale for waving Manny in for a sure out.
7. Victor Martinez dropping the ball.
6. Terry bringing Timlin in with men on base yet again.
5. Willie Harris' impressive bunting ability.
4. Westbrook walking 6
3. The Sox not doing shit about the 6 walks.
2. Manny and Tek on the bases.
1. Terry letting Curt start the 7th.

I would like to take an 8 X 10 piece of paper. Write "WE HAVE A GOOD BULLPEN NOW" and staple it to Terry's forehead. Even if we had a shakey bullpen, how do you let your aging ace, whos health the team worries about, throw 130+ pitches in a game against the Indians in April.

On the good side. Manny Ramirez is now hitting .300. I doubt you will see him in the 200s again. Mike Lowell is hitting .304 too. If this team can keep playing as well as it has without Crisp, it should be a fun summer.

What does Jerry Remy Know?

2006-04-25T10:51:00.000-04:00

I'm listening to Dale and Holley right now and they played a clip of Remy from Dennis and Callahan this morning talking about the center field situation. Remy mentioned that "Nixon is still an option out there." Dale then mentioned that Remy often knows about things before they happen from talking to Francona everyday. It will be interesting to see the lineup tonight.

Nomah Back With A Bang… Papelbon?

2006-04-24T23:51:00.000-04:00

Nomah just hit a game winning grand slam.

While I think Major League is an underrated movie, I don’t get the whole Papelbon Rick Wild Thing Vaughn haircut. Papelbon does not look like sheen nor does he have any similiarities to the character in the movie. On the other hand, Willie Mo Pena is similar to Pedro Serrano.

Papelbon Video.

Johnny from Burger King Approves

2006-04-23T16:47:00.000-04:00

The key to this game for me was Keith Foulke's performance. After the Jays brought the game to within one it seemed like the sox were hanging on for dear life. Foulke's 1.2 perfect innings (with 3 strikeouts) slammed the door and gave the sox the room to add to their lead. To me, Foulke's performance this year makes the difference between the sox having an elite bullpen and being a bit shaky.

Matt the Stopper?

2006-04-23T12:42:00.000-04:00

Clement is not the first guy I'd want out there to prevent a sweep. Then again, there aren't any other options at this point.

It's going to be odd to listen to the game considering that it is pouring here in NYC. Hopefully the Sox do a bit better than yesterday. If im gonna be stuck inside today, I'd rather not be enraged too.

Manny’s Back

2006-04-22T18:59:00.000-04:00

And I don’t mean Ramirez, Manny Delcarmen was recalled from Pawtucket where he pitched 10 shout-out innings.

After the game Van Buren who was sent down to make room for Delcarmen told reporters “You'll see me again. I'll tell you that."

Van Buren was right; he was seen 20 minutes later applying for a job at the Kenmore Square Store 24.

Both Sides of the Loss Spectrum

2006-04-22T15:52:00.000-04:00

Due to religious stuff and other obligations I did not really get to see much of either yesterdays or today’s games, but they were representations of the 2 sides of the loss coin. Today, was one of those days when losing is not a big deal because you look at the pitching match before the game (Dinardo vs. Halladay) and you put a loss into the books.

Last night on the other hand, was a disappointing loss on many levels. You finally had a true Manny break out night combined with a good start for Beckett, until the last inning where Francona left him in too long. Papelbon was strong out of the pen with 2+ shut out innings. In the end, lack of consistent hitting from the line up and decent middle relievers cost us the game.

Breaking down some lyrics and getting excited about the possible future.

2006-04-21T18:11:00.000-04:00

And I think it's going to be a long long time (1996-2006)
Til touchdown brings me round again to find (again!)
I'm not the man they think I am at all (An asshole)
No, no no no. I'm a Rocketman! (and the story of 2006)

The Run Support Curse

2006-04-20T22:04:00.000-04:00

It seems that every year, on every team, there is one pitcher who consistently receives low run support; so far it is looking like that will be Wakefield for the Sox.

Taverez pitched like crap.

Tomorrow night?

2006-04-18T22:50:00.000-04:00

Good game tonight, I wish I could have seen Stern's catch, Joe and Jerry made it seem like a game saver.

My question is this: Given that Papelbon threw more than 30 pitches, tomorrow night if the sox are up by a few in the ninth, do we see Foulke? If Paps is unavalible, i dont think the sox have much choice.

Lots to Talk About Tonight

2006-04-18T22:32:00.000-04:00

Why did Clement come out in the eighth to pitch? He was nearing 100 pitches and we knew he was not going to finish the inning because Timlin was already warming up. And we all know from last year Timlin is much better when he starts the inning then when he comes in with people on base.

I have a theory about Clement. When he faces teams that have a low OBP and are not patient at the plate, he does fine. When facing patient teams he gets racked because his pitches have so much movement on them that they end up being balls and he falls behind in the count.

Tampa has a really tough line up and gave Papelbon a good challenge tonight. It was his first experience as a closer where everything did not go smoothly and I think he will be better for it.

Youk is the man.

Manny is slowly getting back to being Manny, but that right fielder should have caught his second double.

Randy could not get out of the fourth inning tonight and Yankess got pounded. Prediction: Lou Pinella is managing the Yankees by the all star break

At Least the have some realistic observers

2006-04-18T21:17:00.000-04:00

Today's New York Metro wrote "Jason Giambi was named AL player of the week for his 8 for 14 4 home run performance last week. How can he top that this week?"

My favorites are 4 and 1

5. Go 8-14 and steal 4 bases.
4. Learn how to throw a heavy sinker so Torre doesn't have to use Tanyon Sturtze anymore.
3. Hit a triple.
2. Play defense well enough to actually stay in the game in the late innings.
1. Keep hitting the ball well enough so there's no close games for A-Rod to have to hit in.