Gluttony is a sin. So call me a sinner. Especially when it comes to sport, media and other obsessions.
Random observations on these and other life or death topics.
Remarkably, the second post of the day, albeit a short one.
Jerry Crasnick goes through the numbers and cases for the main 5 AL MVP candidates, and of course two of them are from the Red Sox; Youkilis and Pedroia.
Bitter grapes you say? I don't care, I still find it ironic that the Red Sox best shot at an AL MVP for several years is after Manny's departure...
However, I still find it wrong that MVP votes are affected by whether the team or not makes the playoffs - it shouldn't, and without Cliff Lee the Indians would have struggled to beat AAA teams.
So, the Rays faltered, yet again, ever-so close to their ultimate dream and the first ever AL East title. With three games left, the Red Sox need to sweep the Yankees while the Tigers do the same to the Rays. Stranger things have happened (see Nationals vs Mets, Sept 2007), but I doubt it. Especially as Tito is setting up the team for the playoffs, holding Lester to an 85 pitch count last night.
I told him that was the first time I've ever rooted against him. The only way you're going to see something like that, it would've had to have been a group effort.
When Lester had gone through 5 innings without allowing a single hit, the Red Sox found themselves in the strange situation of wanting a hit for the Indians to break it up, so that Lester could have a short and nice 86 pitch outing instead of another essentially meaningless 130+ pitch bid for his second no-hitter of the season. (The first one was magic - trust me, I was there!). His forced departure after 6 innings also allowed Sox fans the comfort of actually watching three innings of 1-2-3 pitching by Masterson, Okajima and Pap. I think Masterson will turn out to be the ace in the hole for an intermittently shaky 2008 bullpen in the playoffs.
And although I didn't make it to the final in my fantasy team, I had the pleasure to ride Lester and Dice-K's arms all season... On another note, and the reason for today's post title, away from the Yankees, their unceremoniously ejected former leader Joe Torre is enjoying another trip to the playoffs - and despite his statements to the contrary, I suspect it deep down inside Torre might be even moreso as his former team is looking forward to golf rounds in early October for the first time since 1993.
Although there are members of the Yankees that I do not care for, I've always respected some of them; Torre and Jeter comes to mind. In Stephen A. Smith's column on ESPN, Torre takes the high road, which is understandable considering his close ties to several of the Yankees players and current manager.
Still, whilst I rate Torre very highly - his post game press outings were always a smidgen more open and honest than you normally hear, although one of Torre's strengths was handling the rabid NYC media very well - as a Red Sox fan enduring Ramirez complete abandon of his duties and responsibilities until he got what he wanted (unbelievable that you can throw your toys out of the pram to such a degree when you're loved by the fans and paid $20m per year) it's a bit annoying that the ultimate reason the Dodgers made the playoffs was because of the arrival of a certain Manuel Aristide Ramirez.
Whilst I loved watching one of the best hitters of all time torment Red Sox opposing pitchers, his "Manny being Manny" act was tiresome, but somewhat manageable.
However, as Bill Simmons points out in his current ESPN The Mag column, we shouldn't perhaps focus the blame for Manny's transition from annoying yet affable to downright tanking and manipulative on Manny himself. Let's be honest, if he didn't have the best eye of the strike zone and pitches since the nineteenhundreds, his most common frase would most likely be "Do you want to supersize that?". Sharpest tool in the box he is not.
We must never forget that Scott Boras is the greediest, most manipulative agent in sports history.
How true that is. And to think I was considering a career in the sports agency business once upon a time....I only hope that GM's realise both sides to the Manny coin and do not fall for the sudden "resurgence" and give him the $25m per year, 4 year contract he wants. As soon as Manny gets it, he'll be back to "Manny being Manny".
Finally, it's worrying to see that more and more young Red Sox players are tempted by the dark side of the force...
Despite the Sox win last night, the Rays improbable comeback from an 0-6 hole against the O's means that the Rays magic number for the Division title is now 1.
With 4 games to play.
I think it's safe to say that Tito will now turn his attention to the upcoming Halos of Southern California series starting either Wednesday or Thursday next week. The start date is up to the Halos - as the holders of the best record in the AL, they get to choose if they want to play a 7 or 8 day ALDS. The questions surrounding the playoff roster are many and could heavily affect the Sox chances. With two semi-healthy position players in Lowell and Drew, can Tito risk a recurrance of their injuries? John Tomase goes through many of these issues in today's Boston Herald.
Although I'm normally somewhat hesitant of retiring numbers in sport - for me it's the ultimate honour and possibly even carries more weight than the HOF - for Johnny Pesky I am willing to make an exception. In my limited lifespan as a Red Sox fan, I have never encountered a player that was so loyal to the team and followed them with a fervour so, so long after his playing days were over. It warms my heart to see that no.6 will be retired on Friday.
Finally, Steve Buckley goes through D-Ped's sensational season for the Sox. Honestly, I think he should be a very, very serious candidate for AL MVP. I'll go through the contenders later to see how he measures up stat by stat.
After a lot of near misses in the last week or so, the Red Sox finally clinched a play off spot last night after taking 22 game winner and possible AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee of the Indians to the cleaners in an eventful 5th inning.
However, despite the Yankees missing the playoffs for the first time since 1993 (Buster Olney at ESPN has an interesting look at the pillaging the Yankees did to its own farm system over the last money-laden, drug-binging years), the Red Sox still look unlikely to clinch the AL East like it did in 2007. Those Icarus like Rays have a 3 game lead over the Sox in the division, and despite ending the regular season on the road, one final game against the O's followed by 4 games at Tiger Stadium makes it unlikely they'll lose the grip on the division.
The Red Sox finish with two more games at home to the Indians before a three game series at Fenway against a demoralised Yankees. Despite the Yanks being out of it, there are several factors coming into play.
Will Tito go all out for the title in an attempt to avoid an away ALDS series against the Angels in Anahem and try to get a home series against the ChiSox/Twins, or will he instead rest players and adjust the rotation for the playoffs. I suspect everything hangs on tonight's games.
Being a relative newcomer to baseball (7 years) and as a Red Sox fan (almost 6 years), plus not being a Boston native, I have yet to develop the “standard” love/hate relationship to the Red Sox that many long time fans seem to have. At least those who became fans prior to 2004.
When I started following the Sox in 2002/2003, the general atmosphere was one of extreme loyalty, but also combined with the somewhat fatalistic view honed by decades of nearly-rans.
Sure, the Sox are great in June-July, but come September they’ll slump.
As I was not following baseball during most of the horrible 86 years between 1918 and 2004, (apart from witnessing my own obvious horror show hosted by Aaron Boone at 5am one October morning in 2003) I have had to understand history by reading many a book on baseball and the Red Sox. It is painfully obvious that being a Red Sox fan prior to 2004 was like being a sucker for punishment. Every opening day was filled with new belief, but also a little bit of trepidation of the inevitable letdown that will come at some point. You would love the Sox, but they would also break your heart every year.
Personally, the City of Boston nowadays holds a similar emotion in my psyche. Boston is without a doubt one of my favourite cities in the world. One snowy February night 5 ½ years ago I proposed to my then girlfriend there, and for years that amplified my attraction and love for Boston. Finding out years later that some horrible things affecting me personally had happened in the very same city shattered my love for Boston. I struggled very much just watching my beloved Sox on television, knowing what Boston now represented for me, looking in the crowd on the TV feed for people I loathed, and loathing even more that people I hated with a passion were also supposedly Red Sox fans.
How could I reconcile these conflicting feelings in my head? How could I love the Sox while having such a love/hate relationship with the concept of Boston itself. Only then did I realise a little what the long time Sox fans had been going through. Falling in love with the Sox, only to have your heart shattered. I truly felt like a “proper” Red Sox fan….
Today the atmosphere is very different. I returned to Boston, found love again, not only for the city, but also for people there. Like my love returned and healed my heart, Bostonians now encounter different emotions for the Sox than before.
8 games behind the AL East top? Doesn’t matter, we can catch them!
As strange as it might seem, there are young Red Sox fans who think that the team always wins in the end. There are new “fans” that came to the Nation after the 2004 glorious (yet for me personally with hindsight very difficult) win, certain people without any baseball interest paying fortunes for World Series tickets so that they can say “I was there”. Whilst I’m of course happy that people flock to the gorgeous temple that is Fenway, like with any other successful team there will be bandwagon jumpers (see: Manchester United). Although I do not feel that the pink B caps are an abomination like Kristen does in her great Basegirl blog, (in fact I got my girlfriend a pink cap – sorry…), I feel more annoyance towards the bandwagon fans who think the Sox will do no wrong.
Similar to my personal life where I am now a little bit guarded, I follow the Red Sox with a smidgen of concern, knowing how fragile a team ultimately is. A season ending injury (god forbid) to Lester or Beckett would have serious effects on any post season chances.
However, I still find myself opening up and allowing old battle scars to fade, knowing that life will go on even if the Sox lose, but life will be just that little bit better if they do win.
Since when do the Red Sox utter a sigh of relief that they're leaving the Trop and heading to the Stadium?
Sure, the Rays are for real, no doubt. They have, after 12 or so consecutive top 3 draft picks managed to field a very talented and young team (and let's not forget the Kazmir for Zambrano trade - yet another brilliant move by the Mets). Longoria leads a superb defense and they are certainly for real. However, the difference maker this year is that several players are having career years, including the old sock Hinske, who's playing out of his skin.
We'll see if the Rays are still in it when injuries hit in August/early September, as they inevitably will.
Still, not complaining that we're 6 games ahead of 4th (!) place Yankees.
‘Tis the season to be reading. With the sun out, many lunch breaks have been filled by sitting in the park reading various literary masterpieces.
A truly fascinating read was the delve into the front office mechanics in the book Feeding the Monster, by Seth Mnookin, where it seems as Mnookin has had great access to all of the Red Sox front office and to many of the counterparts in various situations. On many contentious points; Nomar’s trade to the Cubs, the Henry group acquiring the Red Sox, Theo’s departure and conflicts with Larry Luchino and subsequent return to the Red Sox all are depicted with quotes from both sides, and give for me an unprecedented look into the goings on in the front office. Hey, it looks like any other workplace!
Still, how to convince the Red Sox powers that be that half Swede/half Brit who only discovered baseball 6 years ago is a perfect hire for the Baseball Operations department will be a tough nut to crack. I think I will just ignore the part of the rules that say the competition is just open to US residents
After Feeding the Monster, I am continuing through my stack of baseball books I received from Santa (and various other kind souls). Authors and die-hard Red Sox fans Stewart O’Nan and Stephen King (yes, the same SK of scary books fame) are able through their running diary of the year to instantly take me back to the tumultuous year (both for the Red Sox and for me personally) of 2004 in their best-selling book Faithful. Both Stewart and Steve write almost daily notes throughout the season and also include their more suitable email conversations throughout the season.
After the glory of actually winning it all, it is sometimes easy to forget the agony we all went through, and how little faith we on occasion actually had in the team – although many times they gave us very little to believe in.
Francona’s several meltdowns, especially in failing to play hands defence during the later innings whilst ahead, and his mismanagement of the bullpen show how far Terry came in a short while to become the manager he is today. The curious moves by Theo, which of course turned out to be masterstrokes and not to forget Millar’s complete ineptitude, both in the field and at the plate before turning it around.
With 20-20 hindsight, it’s hilarious (and hair-raising), to see how close we were to trading away Youk, and to see the endless parade of no-name bullpen arms being led through the Red Sox clubhouse – Curtis Leskanic anyone? How did the pieces actually fall into play? How did the Red Sox actually think that Millar/Giambi (the less 'roided one) was the answer at 1st?
Much of the writing is hilarious and very recognisable for any die-hard Red Sox fan, and some of the quotes are brilliant, such as this from Stewart to Steve in an email conversation where they have discussed connections between Red Sox players and possible movie remakes such as the Coen Brother’s remake Mueller’s Crossing:
Stewart O’Nan: Was at a game last year against Clemboy and the Yanks where John Williams threw out the first ball (I think he bounced it), and when Clem jogged out to the pen, the PA played Lord Vader’s March – perfect for a guy who started out as a headstrong young Jedi apprentice from a dusty forlorn planet, then felt betrayed and hurt, grew powermad and crossed over to the dark side.
On a more personal note, SO also writes:
April 13th 2004: A dark, cold day.
You have no idea how right you are Stewart. Talk about the Evil Empire. Or perhaps another sign of the impending doom that was about to happen. Thanks again to those involved.
I highly recommend both books, available through an internet retailer that shall not be named.
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On another note, the Red Sox put up Matsuzaka, Lester and Beckett against the Astros and still only took one game?? Truly a sign of the apocalypse that we go into a three game series in Tampa with the 4th best record in baseball, a half game behind the team with the best record….Tampa Bay Rays??? Seriously, where’s the Kool-Aid? Still, Masterson is on the hill, and he’s beaten the Rays before this season, and I suspect the Red Sox line-up will need no further motivation to spank James Shields after his altercation with Coco Crisp, who perhaps on one level fittingly begins his 5-game suspension for said altercation, whilst Jonny Gomes might be a marked man during the next few games as he decided, yet again (remember the Shelley Duncan fight during spring training?), to get involved in the fight during the Red Sox 3-game sweep of the Rays at Fenway in early June. This from Rotoworlds coverage:
Gomes must have started running from the dugout even before Coco Crisp charged the mound, because he was out there in a flash to delivered several blows in Crisp's general direction with Boston's outfielder on the ground. He single-handedly took the whole brawl up a notch and deserves a significant suspension.
Rarely do I agree with the Yankees Insider, but I think we have found common ground.
However, whilst it might cool some heads to not have Crisp for the Rays series, his replacement is not faring too well right now.
We need to take 2 out of 3 from this series, although the bullpen seems to be a mess for the umpteenth time in the last, oh say 20 years. That Red Sox are renewing their interest in the freefalling Rockies closer Brian Fuentes could be a welcome help to a bullpen ailing from an out of sorts Okajima.
At least J.D has been able to focus now that his personal issues (his young son had serious health issues during 2007) have faded. I know how you feel J.D, and whilst I never derided you, I still want to offer my Mea Culpas. You clearly have the tools, and now you’re finally using them at a time the RSN needed you more than ever. Good timing, sir.
Also, a very interesting story on CNNSI about Wake and the dying art of the knuckleball. As I wrote a long time ago, a pitch described by Tek as trying to catch a fly with chopsticks. Luckily, the Red Sox have Charlie Zink, a prospect at Pawtucket who is 8-2 with a 2.33 ERA and an impressive 1.01 WHIP. (Knuckleballers, when they’re having an off day, tend to walk more than a “normal” pitcher.)
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Also, with scarcely a thought across the pond, but a big event here in Europe, the Euro 2008 football champion ships are over, and the Spaniards have finally won a title after decades of league prowess and international futility. Whilst this tournament lost a little of its appeal to me after Sweden predictably got knocked out as they were more afraid to lose than they wanted to win, it’s good to see that my local fan favourite, El Nino was the match winner – Suddenly Merseyside is turning bilingual:
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Finally, despite a torn hamstring, I will finish my 10k run for charity this coming Sunday. Donations are very welcome at www.justgiving.com/nicholashk.
My travels unfortunately prevented me from following up on my previous short post. There I was, spending a week in New England with The Girl, including a long weekend in Boston, soaking up Yawkey Way, Cask N' Flagon, Jillians (not to mention several superb sausages with onions and peppers for sale under the grand stand concourse...with the odd pint of Smithwicks), just happy that I was going to get two Fenway games and my first trip to McCoy Stadium. Sadly the Cape Cod league had not started in time for our trip to Chatham....next time though.
However, I digress. We get to the Landsdowne Road entrance about 90 mins before game time, just after a short downpour but with skies clearing, and lo and behold, plenty of tickets left ($50 face value for 14 rows behind home plate!) - we get our tickets and are kindly allowed back to C&F to have a $5 beer instead of a $7 beer at Fenway... The game looked interesting for nothing else than getting a chance to see yet another team - (The Royals now join the list together with the Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Brewers, Twins, Mets, Nats, A's, Cubs, Tigers (although the last two I saw 16 years ago, and I have no idea who they played against...I call the era "B.B")), and also a chance to get a look at the highly touted and somewhat controversial Luke Hochevar. Hochevar pitched in the 2005 CWS for U of Tenn, was drafted by the Dodgers the same year, failed through his agent Scott Boras to come to an agreement with the Dodgers, fired Boras and made a $2.9m deal with the Dodgers only to resign Boras and renege on the deal. He then re-entered the 2006 draft after pitching in independent leagues and was picked no.1 overall by the Royals, one of the few teams not sick and tired of Boras.
We sit down, get some peanuts and proceed to watch a thing of beauty. However, it actually took me a while to realise Lester had a no-hitter going. After getting two easy fly outs and a 4-3 ground out in the first, Lester walked Butler in the second, and two plays later over threw his pickoff move trying to get Miguel Olivo out who had reached on a Fielder's Choice.
In the third the Red Sox opened up the offensive floodgates. Despite a double play on Varitek and Lugo, the Red Sox scored 4 runs with 2 outs to add to Drew's initial run, including a sensational triple by Ellsbury. (Remember the debate a few years ago about who would be the next CF of the Red Sox when Damon left for the retirement home....that's been solved ;).
Talking about Ellsbury, it was his amazing catch to rob Jose Guillen of a hit to end the 4th that made me look at the scoreboard and notice that the H column still said 0. It slowly started to dawn on me what was going on in front of us. Although some Red Sox fans might be under the belief that it's a relatively commonplace occurance considering Nomo's in 2001, D-Lowe's in 2002 and Buchholz's last year, only 9 no-no's by Red Sox pitchers have happened at home since the opening of Fenway in 1912 (18 in total in Red Sox history).
In the break between the 6th half innings when I went for a needed beer run, half of the concourse screamed "SHUT UP!" at the TV when a stupid Sportscenter anchor with into a segue with the words "And now over to Fenway where Jon Lester has a no-hitter going into the 6th".
Lester was completely ignored by the other Sox players, and for the last 2 innings, all of Fenway stood up for every Lester pitch. Although Lester had reached 100 pitches after 7, Francona would never dare to pull a no-no, and with the 134th pitch, a 95MPH fastball off the plate to draw the final swinging strike out, the crowd roared for a magic evening.
If I could, I probably would never leave the area around Yawkey way...
Even with our game rained out on Friday night, we had a few great hours at the Cask and Flagon, followed by a tour of the Yawkey Way store, and got to go back for the extra scheduled game against the Brewers on Saturday night....3 rows behind the home plate!
Tonight, the Royals are in town, and with Ortiz hitting form, hopefully we'll see him climb closer to the .300 mark.
The Rays are in first place, London endured a week of 80s temprature in May and I'm finally, 2 years delayed, off to Cape Cod. The world is truly off it's axis :)
Despite best intentions, I seem unable to maintain the weekly posting, although I realise I'm mainly orating to a very select few. Still, the spring has been exciting;
Liverpool put up a good fight, but Chelsea ultimately was the better team in the Champions League Semi Final. Whether they can beat ManU on Wednesday remains to be seen. I for one think ManU will come out on top.
The Red Sox looks like they have an abundance of young talent, although Schill's injury is something I'm increasingly worried about.
Richmond has three teams which all could be contenders for playoff spots this year.
And with an almost impeccable timing we welcome back the pitchers' nightmare that is Big Papi. After my post, and RSN wide worrying about long term injury problems for our DH, Big Papi returned from New York and quickly proved the "doubters" (I use this phrase very lightly, in the long run nobody doubts BP) wrong.
With karma-like help to bring him closer to the Mendoza line of course he was aided by the Rangers SP Luis Mendoza. After a very solid start from Mendoza, allowing no baserunners in the first 2 innings, including two K's and getting BP out on a weak grounder in a 1-3 play, Mendoza took the mound and promptly got two outs, Varitek on a foul out and Casey on a line out to shortstop.
Then it all unraveled. First rookie 3B/SS Jed Lowrie doubled to left, then he walked Ellsbury and Pedroia on 9 pitches. After a visit from the pitching coach, (and you know the Rangers bench, slump or no slump were worried at this point) Ortiz lumbers up to plate, takes his normal effortless (for him, not for us mortals) swing straight through a 93mph fastball right over the plate and puts it opposite field over the Green Monster. Grand slam, thank you...ehh...Mendoza.
Last night also saw me venture to the famous Astoria club in London, for what might have been one of the last gigs there before it being torn down.
Tom Delonge's acrimonious split from his other Blink-182 band members saw him venture into a new style of music with his new band Angels & Airwaves. Whilst his music might have changed, it was good to see that the infamous juvenile banter from his Blink-182 days have not changed a bit. Self proclaimed maturity was somewhat counter acted by admittedly quite amusing talks about various body parts.
Despite horrible soundmixing in the beginning, the concert was enjoyable, with the highlights for me being Tom, alone with a guitar, playing the old 182 song "Reckless Abandon", and one of their encore songs - the opening song of their first album, Valkyrie Missile.
Good fun was had.
Now to look forward to gigs with Clapton, Mayer, the Foos and Linkin Park/Jay-Z. And that's just barely into June!
The two pillars of the Red Sox lineup are enjoying success on a vastly different scale.
Manny, Oh Manny, Ramirez, in a contract year with the Red Sox having a $20m option for 09 and 10 is batting like a man on a...well, contract year. After 17 games, he's batting .343 with 5 homers and 18 RBI, including going .444 and hitting 4 homers in the last 7 games.
In the mean time, the surgically repaired David Ortiz now has the infamous negative triple crown position. He's last in the league (among players who've had the required number of at-bats) in average (.111), slugging (.179) and OPS (.401). Yes, last time he travelled to Japan he also had a slow start, but I'm wondering if everything is healthy with Big Papi.
Joshua Patrick however showed last night why he is possibly one of the two best pitchers in the league (albeit with a slightly inflated 5.12 ERA). Going 8 innings on a very controlled 105 pitches, he allowed 3 runs on 6 hits and only one walk against probably the second or third best (on paper) lineup in the league. His three runs came in the 5th inning when he allowed back to back hits to Jeter and Abreu, when the Red Sox where up 7-0. He followed the 5th by not allowing another Yankee baserunner in 3 innings, so clearly he has learned to control his previsiously somewhat troubesome composure.With Beckett in form after the spring training back problems, and Dice-K pitching lights out, the Red Sox 1-2 punch is one of the most fearsome lineups in the majors.
Today the Sox host the Rangers at Fenway with Dice-K taking the mound.
To steal a phrase from the NBA - I Love This Game.Which is more than I can say about my interest in the upcoming NBA playoffs. I don't know why, but it just doesn't appeal to me anymore...
Also, as if Fenway, The Girl and the Cape wasn't enough to have me chomping at the bits for my upcoming Boston trip, the official announcement of the impending summer was made on Kristen's excellent blog:
And finally, the third awesome thing that happened yesterday is that bars in Boston now have Sam's Summer on tap. Which means summer is officially coming. It can't get here fast enough.
Finally, tickets booked for flight to Boston for the first visit to Fenway of 2008 (or, as it shall be named, the back-to-back year). After the barren years of '05 and '06, I finished '07 with a fantastic 2 game visit for the final regular games at Fenway.
Travelling around the NE area for 9 days should allow me to take in at least two games at Fenway during the intraleague series against the Brewers and the following one against the Royals. Sadly, as intraleague game is held at the AL stadium, the DH rule will still be in effect. Although of course if it wasn't, one of Youk, Big Papi or Lowell would sit, and as I love all three, I guess I'll manage :)
On the agenda is also a goal I've had for a long time, a trip to a minor league game. Ever since I saw Bull Durham, the grind and authenticity of minor league baseball has been very close to my heart.
The Pawtucket Red Sox host the Twins AAA affiliate Rochester Red Wings. Hopefully I'll get a real life glimpse of some of the future Red Sox major leaguers. Recently called up SS of the future Jed Lowrie should be down in Pawtucket by then, so it will be a treat to see him tear up minor league pitching.
Now, what to do for the next month? Oh yes, I think there's a Red Sox @ Yankees game on tonight. Here's to Lester finding his locations better than last time. And I don't only say that because he's on my fantasy team!
So, after a very, from a Red Sox perspective, uneventful Hot Stove league, the regular season is upon us. With the only real issues during Spring Training being the battle for CF between Coco and Elsbury and the sad, but but as it seems inevitable end of Gehrig38's career, not only in a Red Sox shirt, but as a player too, we're finally at a stage where games start to matter.
However, as "spring" is here, the snow hits London...go figure. Yes, I also realise this post is already a week into the season, but seeing as the Fenway home opener is tomorrow, after the Red Sox travelled about 10 time zones and four venues before returning home after a 20+ day roadtrip, it is fitting to look at the state of the nation, n'est-ce pas?
If we start with Schill, it is a sad end to a HOF career. With no.38 only having a one-year deal with the Sox, and at 42 years of age, it is not in the clubs interest to look at anything past 2008. Schilling's personal physician, the same doctor who performed shoulder surgery on Schill in the 80s, Dr. Craig Morgan, does not mince his words.
If Schilling has the surgery, there’s a “75- to 80-percent chance,” said Morgan. “And the percentage of him being able to pitch effectively with conservative treatment is probably between zero and five percent.”
Obviously, this is two different opinions coming from two very different sides. Red Sox is out $8m for a Schilling who they say would not be able to pitch in 2008 if he had surgery. Dr.Morgan has nothing invested in Schilling pitching this year, although one would assume it is his goal that Schilling pitches again.
The Red Sox said:
“Curt Schilling was examined by Red Sox doctors in January after he reported feeling right shoulder discomfort. Curt has started a program of rest, rehabilitation and shoulder strengthening in an attempt to return to pitching.”
Morgan replied with:
“In all honesty and respect for the Red Sox, they are relying on medical advice from people within their organization, and in doing so they truly believe that that’s the best thing for them and Curt,” said Morgan. “I’m not faulting them on that, and I want to make that clear. I just have to disagree with that — strongly.”
“I know his shoulder better than anybody who breathes on this planet,” said Morgan. “I’ve known it for thirteen years. The other two operations that I did are carbon copies of the controversy that is going on with this one. I was told by the organization he was with for those two other operations that my approach was way out on the fringe, wouldn’t work and had no shot at success. How did I do?”
One has to give Morgan a point here. Whilst I think Schilling sadly will not pitch again, I truly hope that Morgan for once is wrong. Let's hope the Red Sox are not blinded by the contract, but actually look past the next few months here.
On another note, what magic wand does the Blue Jays hold over the Red Sox. No team has beaten the Red Sox more times over the last three years than the Blue Jays, and it continued this weekend. Despite a relatively solid effort by Beckett (3 of his 5 earned runs came on Frank Thomas grand slam hit off Manny Delcarmen's poorly located fastball, but the base runners were inherited, thus they go against Beckett), the Blue Jays swept the BoSox on the horror that is the artificial turf in Rogers Stadium. How Scott Rolen, with his rickety body volutarily went there I don't know. I'm sure Torii Hunter is in heaven on the green grass of Angel's field, regardless of how they're doing or how crowded the outfield is.
Finally, despite having potentially the best lineup since the Yankees Murderers Row, the Tigers are experiencing that pitching and defence are still key to the game. The loss of Zumaya and Rodney is creating a big problem for Leyland, and as all MLB personnel guys (including the Red Sox in 2003) knows, one of the most diffcult holes to fill early in the season is relief pitching. (Remember the Byun Yung-Kim nightmare?)
All we need now is an actual spring here too...playing bball in cold weather is something we have to live with, but in snow - even I draw the line there...
With interest piqued by a lot of friends suddenly deciding to enter various mad greek runs, I too seem to have caught the bug. Boosted by technology, and a pretty competetive nature, I'm now running distances I haven't done for more than a decade.
It's not marathon level, but 10k races or even half marathons might not be out of the question.
I love gadgets though, and below is the results from the distance add-on I've bought for my iPod - can't beat technology....well, unless you're Sarah Connor....
On that note, off to break a "recent history" personal best in regards to time and distance - 7km in less than 42 mins.
Update: 7.01km in 38m39s. Not marathon distance nor the speed I want just yet, but beat both of my targets :)
One of the more amusing side stories to spring training has been the Devil Rays...eh, sorry, the "Rays" v the Yankees mud-slinging about how to play in spring training.
It all began when the Rays' Elliot Johnson bowled over Yankee catcher Francisco Cervelli last Saturday on a play at the plate where Cervelli broke his wrist. New Yankee manager Joe Girardi, himself a former major league catcher, thought that Johnson's play had been a bit over the top for spring training, but former Yankee coach and now Ray "consultant" Don Zimmer refuted Girardi's views and said the game is supposed to be played hard but fair.
Forward to the return game, played on Tuesday night, and what happens? First a buzzing of Rays 3B prospect Evan Longoria (no more Visteria Lane jokes, please!), followed by Yankees hurler Heath Phillips immediate ejection. Next inning, just a "normal" hard play into second. Shelley Duncan, who was out by about a cup of coffee and a bathroom break, even tried to pretend it was normal. One Gomes charge from CF later, and both teams have lost 2 more players and a coach each. Spring comedy at its best.
Still, the Rays and the Yanks can pummel each other as much as they want. I'll bring the popcorn, the lounge chair and the soda. Have at it boys!
Sitting here in what only last week was a promising spring, but today saw frost on the ground, I develop yet another layer of envy towards the guys getting paid to play ball in Florida and Arizona this time of year.
Sure, it is not a walk in the park for those on the cusp of the major league squad, or even less so for the journeyman trying for the umpteenth time to break the trend, and really make this year the spring when everything goes his way. When the hard run to first results in a basehit instead of a ground out. When those two extra hits per week mean a +.300 avg and a call-up, instead of that .250 average, and yet another April on endless bus journeys in the minors, making in a year what some of the major leaguers make in an at bat.
Pondering things like that, nothing pisses me off more than reading about someone who used to be one of my favourite players in baseball - Nomar Garciaparra. The guy with a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas. Ok, I am somewhat weary about Jeff Pearlman, as some comments on his story point out, but I also remember the extremely unfriendly Nomar of 2003 and 2004, the man who thought he was entitled to everything - someone who thought the fans were a nuisance, that they should be awed by him. I don't agree with the theory that fans can heckle players to whatever degree they feel like (see Beckham, David - effogies post World Cup 1998), but ultimately it is impossible to get away from one point. Without fans, Mr. Garciaparra would most likely not have made it through college (he was on an Athl. Scolarship). He has about $50m reasons to be grateful for his life, but now at the tailend of his career he almost hisses at the very fans that put him in a situation of being financially independent for his, his kids and his grandkids lives.
Everyone is entitled to a bad day or two at the office, and I hope that this was one of yours Nomars. Please prove me wrong and show how grateful you are for being able to have had a career that most people would die for.
Still, spring is soon here, I can watch Grapefruit League games on my plasma, and look forward to go out and throw in freezing cold on the weekend. I love this game.
Like a thief caught red-handed, like an unfaithful spouse with proof of their infidelity shoved in their face, Roger Clemens is still denying that he ever took steroids.
buh-bye Roger. No way you're getting into the Hall in 2012.
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Follow up June 2008: The irony of course is that Clemens was an unfaithful spouse too.
Roger Clemens. Great fastball. Substandard human being.
Baseball is about as quiet as it can get, but possibly the calm before the storm. European football is mired in the post christmas cup/league fixture congestion. NFL is hyping the Super Bowl until the end of time ("Would you believe that Eli's season would still be going on when Peyton was playing golf, etc..."). Despite how much I'd rather it wouldn't happen, the Pats will win on Sunday and become the first 19-0 team in history. :(
As for the Boston team I actually like, the Santana trade is still going through the many permutations possible, but it seems as the Twins might have overestimated the market.
With the Yankees and Red Sox unwilling to hand over the future of the respective teams in Phil Hughes for the Yanks and Lester and Ellsbury of the Red Sox (in the Red Sox case one, but not both as the Twins wanted), the Twins seem to have painted themselves in a corner.
The Mets, with a lot less talent in the minors than the AL teams, clearly realises that they are the only ones interested in the Santana dance, while the Red Sox and the Yankees seem happy as long as the other team fail to land the mercurial lefty. There's an interesting thread on Santana on the Yanksfan vs. Sox Fan site
Also, for the Red Sox, there are some debate as to the possible efficiency of Santana at Fenway. Lefthanded flyball pitchers have rarely had success at Fenway, Santana included, although he's only played in two games there:
IP 15.2 ERA: 6.82 BA: .328 SLG: .469 OPS: .856
(And to put that in perspective, his stats against Boston overall:)
IP: 55.2 ERA: 3.40 BA: .250 SLG: .373 OPS: .673
Now, does that mean I would rather not have Santana at Fenway? Of course I would, but Lester and Ellsbury would be too much for my stomach. Lester has the enormous feel-good story of the return from cancer, and Ellsbury was simply a machine in 2007 call-ups. A rookie batting .458 in the second spot in the World Series? Ice in veins, people!
I personally think that another year of Beckett (20), Dice-K (18), Schill (15), Wakefield (15) and Lester (12) is as solid a rotation as you’ll find in the Majors. (My early spring prediction of wins in brackets – I’m sure it will be revised). Of course age and injuries are a clear issue for Wakefield and Schilling, but we also have no-hitting sensation Buchholz waiting in the wings for a spot in the rotation, and Snyder will also be able to fill holes.
As for the fielding side, the only (and fundamentally obvious) change from last years starting line-up will be the Red Sox CF for the next 5-10 years in own product Ellsbury. The other seven, Varitek, Youkilis, Pedroia, Lugo, Lowell, Ramirez and Drew will be the same, and hopefully Lugo and Drew can build on a nice 2007 finish as opposed to the torrid time they had offensively for the major part of the season. Of course we might get a look in from top prospect SS Jed Lowrie, possible heir apparent to Lugo, but with a lot more oomph at the plate.(.298 BA/ .393 OBP / .503 SLG in 497 AB in AA and AAA in 2007).
Karma Bus? Sadly, no....
As for other sports news, there is no getting away from the Patriots quest for perfection. Sadly, it couldn’t have happened to a worse guy than Belichick. Whilst he’s clearly a superb coach, he’s clearly a below average human being. Whilst I agree with many of Gene’s conclusions, the one I cannot get past is how the Patriots is a .500 team at best without Brady. As much as I loathe the Pats (thanks to Belichick and another Boston based low-life), I love to watch Brady spread the ball around. He’s like my first football hero, Joe Montana, but with more zip on the arm. For once I think I’ll skip the Super Bowl, as I really have no interest in neither the Giants nor the Pats. Now, if Brett had made it I would have been on the edge of my seat all evening, but alas…
Rednecks for Reds?
Finally, although there apparently is now a truce in effect between Benitez and the American owners of Liverpool, the Reds are clearly performing below both expectations and capabilities. Yes, there is a clear need to keep players fresh for the run-in during April, but if you’re already out of contention then, what does it matter??
Play Reina, Finnan, Hyypia (Agger when healthy), Carra, Arbeloa/Riise, Benayoun, Gerrard, Mascherano, Kewell, Torres and Kuyt/Crouch and ride that puppy as long as it will hold.
Subs are just that – subs. Bring them on from the bench, but for god’s sake – we’re 12 points behind after 22 games!!!
At least I can enjoy our own Spring Training this week….got a new glove to break in!
Finally, best right now is John Mayer's new single "Say", from "The Bucket List" official soundtrack. Looking forward to hearing it live in June in Hyde Park!
No Santana, no winning season for the 49ers, LFC seems to be sold for the second time in 2 years....
This is no fun time for a sports fan. Especially a sports fan who despite the enormous love for the Red Sox hate the Patriots with a passion, mainly for reasons that are better left unstated.
Ah well, at least the spring is hopefully on the way, and I can start using the lovely new driver I bought in the US :)
After my recent burst, I guess the month long sleep deprivation and the emotions of the World Series put a brief moratorium on my posting, with not a single post during the entire WS!?!
Like the feeling I had after the Beckett win in game 5 of the ALCS, I think I had a strange sense of calm. Sure, there were question remaining whether Dice-K could regain his form, whether Schilling would last past 60 pitches, whether a long season would snuff the magic from Pap's lazerlike pitches. Somehow I wasn't worried. (And yes, I do realise it's a hell of a lot easier to write this now, the night after raising the trophy)
(Photo from Reuters)
BTW, I wonder who makes a killing on those swim (champagne) goggles...
I "knew" Beckett would be very, very difficult to beat, so in a 7 game series that means at least 2 wins, if not three, and despite previous showings in the autumn, I still had faith in Dice-K - and did he come through? YES!
Now comes the long winter of discontent. I have a feeling that the Hot Stove will not be so hot for the Red Sox. They seem to have most pieces in place for a continual assault on the championship for years to come....
Now to watch the horrible mess that is the 49ers...
As an homage to one of my favourite sports writers, Bill Simmons, I will too keep a running log of the game tonight. Of course the twist being I'm in the UK, so it will highlight the madness of watching baseball across the pond.
01.55: V-Tek hits a double off the Green Monster to lead off the 2nd...damn the double play in to end the 1st...
02.06: Dice-K is getting ahead of every pitcher, compared to his previous start, where he went deep in almost every at bat. Good sign. Could this be the pre All-Star Matzusaka returning?
Note; honestly, how old is Kenny Lofton?? He can't be far off Julio Franco. I just wish I'll be even remotely as active when I hit his age...
02.15: I think the ump hosed Dice-K on that breaking pitch to Sizemore. Inning should be over now....And it is! Waist high fastball to strike out Sizemore. Boston 2 Indians 0, bottom 3rd.
02.21 Indians bullpen warming up, as Westbrook allows the third leadoff batter to get on base, Youk being 2 for 2, opening the inning with a double. And yet again the Fox commentators come with the They're not booing, they're saying "Yoouk" . Honestly, who doesn't know that by now??
02.28 Lowell hits a sac fly to right to score Youk, Boston 3 Indians 0. You have to wonder how long Westbrook stays in the game. TV picture shows Beckett sitting with the normal relievers in the bullpen clearly feeling like the odd man out.. [Somewhere around 2.45 I was flagging badly, and "watched" the rest of the game in bed without my laptop. How the hell does Simmons do it? Oh yes, he's 5 hours behind in time....]
Further notes from the game;
Looking back, I was surprised how long Westbrook stayed in, but alas it wasn't enough anyway. Although it would take until the non-DH games of the World Series for Tito to take my advice with the batting order, Ellsbury clearly gave the top of the order an additional spark (not like it really needed it with D-Po and Youk), and boy does the kid have wheels.
Dustin Pedroia, who to use a term from american football, has a non-stop "engine" clearly is playing at a level he shouldn't, based on his experience. He's scary. All "our" kids, including Youk (who of course looks older than I do) are scary. Truly the next generation. A generation that could be perennial contenders.
A week late, but at least I finished the post...Pap takes over from a flawless Okie, gets the last 5 outs and suddenly the Red Sox are in the World Series.
It's strange, somehow I wasn't worried. Don't know why.
Is it just me, or is Schill turning into (despite the obvious reverse uniform issue) Eddie Harris?
Gone are the days of mid 90s fastballs, although I did see a few at 91 last night, so I guess he was up for it. Is he too resorting Crisco, Bardol and Vargisil, or is he, like Eddie, just "throwing any kind of junk he can think of at them?"
Of course that makes Pap Rick Vaughn, but with better control....
With Drew (shock horror) and Coco struggling, will we see Jacoby Ellsbury starting for the first time in the post season in the outfield for the Red Sox tonight? I for one would love to see if he can continue his regular season performance. Not only being an above average defender, he also batted .353 in 33 regular season games since his call up with 11 extrabase hits including 3 home runs in 41 hits. Clearly the boy also has wheels, as indicated by his 9 stolen bases without getting caught once.
The question would be, who would he replace? Drew or Coco? JD, for all of his maligned regular season is batting .259 in the postseason after going on a tear and batting .371 in his last ten regular season games, while poor Coco, who finished the season batting .219 in his last 10 regular season games (.268 reg season avg) and has gone downhill, batting 5-for-31 (.161) in the post season. Thus, as even Tito has acknowledged, Coco's struggling, so Jacoby might get his first start. (Also, he's never played RF in the Majors, although I must admit I haven't looked up if he's done so in the minors - still RF at Fenway takes some adjusting to, so perhaps not the best game to do so in)
Question is where would he bat?
The most common line-up recently has been:
Pedroia Youk Big Papi Manny Lowell Drew Varitek Crisp Lugo
A straight swap would see him bat 8th, but perhaps Tito has some balls to change it around, and Ellsbury's .394 OBP would indicate he could be a great table setter, with power at the top of the order.
I would like to see
1. Pedroia 2. Ellsbury 3. Big Papi 4. Manny 5. Lowell 6. Youk 7. Drew 8. Tek 9. Lugo
If Jacoby can bat like he has in regular season (and he actually has a 10 point higher average against lefties, as Carmona's on the mound tonight), with Pedroia finding his groove again in game 5, that's a very strong 1-6 lineup, with potential from 7 as well.
Gehrig38
So, it's game 6 of the ALCS again, bloody sock redux, and the intimidation factor of Schilling and Fenway returns. Can you imagine what would go through the heads of the Tribe if the Red Sox actually pull out a win tonight? Will they be the lame ducks in game 7 that the Yankees were in 2004? So many intriguing threads, so many, many stories to follow. Dane is perhaps right, there is only one Actober.
...although, despite being a Dane Cook fan I must admit the SNL parody is pretty fun too...
All fun and games, now to stick with the vow of not staying up until 6am to watch it...
I forgot in this morning's post to add another round of Mea Culpa's towards Joshua.
Honestly, although I think he'll go on to win 200+ games in the majors, he's almost ensuring his HOF status on his post season play alone.
5-2 with 1.75 ERA with one complete game shut out in 9 games in the post season at the age of 27?? 73 K's in in 65.2 innings pitched with a almost tauntingly low 13 walks. The guy's a machine.
His at bat against Cabrera on Thursday is a prime example. One 97mph fastball for a strike to lead off, then four vicious curveballs, the last one at 77, but looking like it travelled at 87 for a strike out looking. He's taken his game to a whole other level this year.
So Joshy boy, can you recover from your 109 pitch outing to come out in relief on Sunday to bridge it between Dice-K and Pap? If we could get the Dice-K from before the All Star game to return (and yes, I know that Dice-K is sadly conspicious in his absence), that must simply be one of the worst pitching lineups an opponent could imagine...
Tito, do me one favour though. Send Gagne, or as my blogging friend Iain aptly named him, Perdu, home to Canada for the rest of the season. I was very happy when I heard that the Sox had traded for him, but now that horrible feeling of pitchers and 'roids keep popping into my head when I see his fastball having lost so, so much.
I know, he's had a horrible injury period, but when a changeup is your outpitch, it works wonders if your fastball is mid-high 90s, not when your fastball is 88 and your changeup is 83. When that happens, you outpitch becomes a batting practice pitch....
Sadly, it doesn't matter if you look like the next coming of Rick Vaughn, when you toss meatballs and niggle the corners, we simply struggle to trust your ability. Please Eric, show us doubters the old Eric, and go 1-2-3 in the 7th with the game on the line, and we''ll love you as much as we love Youk....well ok, not quite, but we'll still like you!
Honestly, doesn't Youk just embody everything the RSN is about? Every at-bat like it's your last, every ball dug out of the dirt like it's the final out of a winning World Series, every baserun like it's the tying run in a 9th inning comeback.
My family is going to kill me, but I think I need to get yet another Red Sox shirt
Remarkably, the second post of the day, albeit a short one.
