First of all let me say that this blog is coming from my back patio outside. I absolutely love wireless technology.
This weekend has been a good one for Red Sox fans. A sweep of the Giants in their first trip to Fenway since the 1912 World Series is a nice addition to any Nation member's weekend. It's brought about quite a few revelations, at least in my mind. That said, here's another list of Things I've Realized This Weekend:
1. Even though it may cause a hole in the time-space continuum to open up, or maybe because this has already happened, J.D. Drew has emerged as a solid leadoff man. I know that this really does upset many of you, just like it upsets me, but it works. As long as it keeps working let's not change it.
2. Wily Mo Pena and Julio Lugo have got to go. I know I've been calling for the Sox to pull off, essentially, a Coco for Torii Hunter deal, but Coco is too valuable to the team in comparison to these two guys. Coco is just great in the outfield; a clear five steps above Wily Mo as far as defense goes. It's interesting to point out that Wily Mo was recently voted by Major League players as the player with the most talent who does not take advantage of that talent. Way to go, Wily Mo. They're essentially saying you're a bum. You're that stoner from high school who was brilliantly intelligent but too blazed to ever do well in school, except you're (probably) not on pot. You're just a waste, and you need to go. Hopefully we can package you along with Julio Lugo and ship you off to somewhere else. Lugo, you're a nice guy and a great baserunner, but .207 just ain't gonna cut it in this town, pal. There's plenty of guys out there who can bat ninth, 30 or 40 points above you, and steal bases just as well. Look out, because you're going to be calling a different clubhouse home soon. This brings me back to the rumor about Tejada. He'd fit in our clubhouse, he's already great friends with David Ortiz, but I just don't think I like the move at all. He's past his prime, not the type of hitter we're looking at, and doesn't really provide anything we're lacking. Then again, anything besides Lugo is a step up, but I just don't see a trade forming between the O's and us. I wouldn't mind seeing Orlando Cabrera come back. Although the Angels are looking for a power hitter to protect Vlad, and I don't see them taking a chance on Pena. Did someone say three way deal? That would be nice, but I'm definitely not knowledgeable enough to figure that one out, so we'll just leave this speculation for your minds.
3. This one is about the Phillies. I'm going to be pretty harsh right now on Pat Gillick, because Philly, not only do you guys have Charlie Manuel managing you team, but you've got the GM equivalent of him too. Back in the spring you had six solid starters and a shaky bullpen. I'm not going to harp on Pat for the Freddy Garcia trade like Andrew did. He and I disagree on this point, but I think the Garcia move was a good one. Nobody could have really foreseen this injury. That being said, Gillick should have given you guys a solid bullpen if not in the offseason, than by at least the end of the Spring. Maybe Myers should have been the closer from day one, maybe a trade should have been made, but going into the season expecting to use Gordon as long as he'll hold up, and then figure it out on the run whenever he breaks down is NEVER a good strategy. Now Philly is forced to move Aaron Rowand when he's such a valuable part of the team. Granted, he's playing well above average right now and his stock will surely fall, but it will never be as low as Burrell's. There's a guy who's wasting the talent you have in Dobbs, Bourn, and Werth. They could be platooning right now, but no, Pat Burrell is a suck-fest out there in left. Just take it as a loss and eat his contract. Pull a Pittsburgh-Jason Kendall type deal and ship him off to a team who won't be paying the majority of his contract for its length. I'm worried about the Phillies. They need starters, they need a bullpen, and Ryan Howard needs to remember that it's okay to hit the ball inside the park too, and not at anyone either.
4. Getting shot in the manboob with a paintball gun hurts. Ok, so this isn't baseball related, but during our paintball battle today Rocky caught me right in the chest. I don't recall ever being hit there before, and now it kind of looks like I have a third nipple. Great.
5. Wearing a tie-die shirt is hard. I'm a rookie to this kind of fashion, and I can't keep my damn eyes off of it. It's kind of like one of those bug lights: I can't look away.
Well folks it appears the sun has gone down and the crickets are coming out. The 'skeeters have also come out so maybe blogging outside wasn't the best idea.
-Flig
Sunday, June 17, 2007
If we are PTI which one of us is Black?
Todays blog is brought to you by the semi colon
Sorry for the lapse in blog like my friend pat said I have been in
I would like to create a new rule; the phillies are not allowed to trade for pitchers. I will use two case studies, Kevin Millwood and Freddy Garcia. At the time I loved both of these trades. We received a quality starting pitcher for appeared to be nothing. WRONG! Lets examine the Kevin Millwood trade. Kevin Millwood for that slow poke Johnny Estrada. At the time I loved it, he was a guy coming off a twenty win season for a back up catcher. However, at the time I forgot who my starting catcher was Mike I don’t know my pitchers pitches Leibertahl. Not only did the trade make me sit through 3 more years of this guy, it also made me watch Kevin Millwood I am not sure which was worse. And this whole Freddy Garcia deal may turn out to be a huge stinker. Paul Abbot had the same number of wins that’s all im going to say.
Ok so I went to the game Friday night and here are a few thoughts I had at the game for you all to nibble on. …
- Pat you should have asked where the girls behind us were from…you blew it worse then mitch Williams in 1993…
- J.C. Romero and Joel Pinero aren’t an upgrade. ARE YOU F***ING Serious!”?!?! How can you make that statement and trot out Jose Table? Does anyone else not see that this makes no sense. It is one of the most brain dead moves by a gm ever. Take a chance they were on waivers it wouldn’t even cost them anything to get the two pitchers.
- However, if the Phillies get Myers and Gordon back they may actually have a decent bullpen. I think they would be one arm away unless Joe Table and Alfonseca find the fountain of youth and pretend its 1996 all over again. You have
- One of these days Pat Burrell will get hot it’s for those two days you must trade him. Pat Gillick this is my one job for you, you can even pass on pitching just get rid of that bum Pat Burrell I will take a ham sandwich. He needs to get off the team, you can platoon Jason Wearth, Dobbs, Robertson, And Bourn in the outfield I would take that for the rest of the season I really would.
- The sandwich was good pat….screw Kosher
- Do we really need to trade Aaron Rowand, if we could swindle a team for a pitcher for Burrell it would be amazing. I think Rowand is a key piece to this team and I don’t want to see us lose him. However because Gillick is our GM it doesn’t look like we have a choice. He plays hard, cares, and at the moment he is actually hitting which is a good thing. I really don’t want to see him go.
- You really blew it with those girls pat
- I really hope soon Howard can hit for average I don’t know how long I can see 1 for 5 with a home run. I want the Ryan Howard from last year he is trying to do to much right now and I think its hurting the team. I blame part of this on the team not signing him. I think he knows he has his first big pay day coming up after the season and is trying to repeat last year. However, I do not know if he can do that again. He can come close but I think he just has to play his game a relax. I think the idea of going to arbitration for money is in the back of his head and he is playing for the money. Even if we were stuck with him into his decline we should have signed him long term, now money is in his head and he can’t hit for shit.
- I cant wait to be sucked in 1500000 more times by this team…its going to be a long summer
All I know is if no moves are made…I officially know that I would make a better GM then Pat Gillick
Until next time peace ya’all stay human!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
PTI, Here I Come
I love baseball. Last night, along with Andrew and his Dad, I made the trek to Citizens Bank Park to see an interleague matchup of the Phillies vs. the Detroit Tigers. This was a great experience and here's a list of why this is so:
1. Roast Pork Sandwich. This has got to be the first thing on my list. When Andrew first asked if I wanted to go to the game the very first thing that popped into my mind was the memory of that oh so delicious roast pork sandwich I had back in Spring Training. This thing is seriously good. I know Philly is famous for the cheese steak and I'm not knocking that hoagie by any means, but my recommendation to you, my loyal readers, is fork over the cash and buy a roast pork sandwich. Your taste buds will thank you later.
2. It was stress free. Just like watching a non-Red Sox game on TV, this was the most stress free, relaxed baseball game I've ever been to. I liken to being a fan of any West Coast baseball team. You follow the team, and you go to the games, but really you just go to hang out. I didn't have to worry about the players, the record, the opposing team. I just got to yell and scream and have a good time.
3. Red Sox Nation is everywhere. Even though I was at a Phillies/Tigers game I was still decked out in Red Sox gear, and I wasn't the only one. The Nation really is so strong that we show up to games we're not even involved in. This brings me to my next reason...
4. Girls. Specifically, the five who sat behind us at the game, one of which was a Red Sox fan. I milked that all night long. Every run scored, even though we were down the whole game, led to a round of high fives. We even got on the big screen (making me 2-5 life time at the big league level, and 1-2 at AA). In hindsight, I should have got some names but oh well. I'll just have to go back again.
5. I got to yell at Gary Sheffield. All night long in any play Sheffield was involved in, I booed, I let him know he sucks, I reminded him that he's on steroids. The line of the night had to come from the guy in front of me. I had asked some of the Detroit fans sitting in our section how they could root for Gary Sheffield. The guy in front of me turns around and goes "maybe they sell steroids." It was great.
It really was an awesome experience, so a big thank you has to go out to the Horrow's for allowing me to have it. Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.
And now down to business...
First of all, Pat Gillick you're retarded. Saying you don't need relievers like J.C. Romero and Joel Pineiro is like saying C.C. Sabathia doesn't need to tilt his cap to the side to look so damn cool. We all see right through you Pat; don't lie.
This brings me to another quick point: the Phillies really are bringing shame to my name. Pat Gillick. Pat Burrell. I share the first name of these guys. On behalf of Pats all around the world, step it up and bring some respect back to noble name!
But anyway, I've been giving a lot of thought to the trade situation I described earlier. One thing I realized is that Red Sox Nation really has to start jumping on the White Sox bandwagon and get that team going. They have the pitching, so if their bats can just wake up they'll easily bury Minnesota to last place (seriously, who really counts the Royals? I think they're just a figment of our collective imaginations) in the AL Central. That'll make it a little easier for the Twins to part with Torii Hunter. As for some other rumors, I understand that the Twins are interested in Mike Lowell, and that we're taking a look at Mark Teixeira. In my mind, and through a combination of deals, this is the outcome I wouldn't mind seeing. We give up major leaguers Coco Crisp and Mike Lowell, high prospect Craig Hansen, mid-level prospects David Murphy, Kasson Gabbard, Devern Hansack, David Pauley (pick three, any three). In return, we get equally unknown mid-level prospects, Torii Hunter, and Mark Teixeira. I really love this deal. Both Hunter and Teixeira are hitting over .300 with 14 and 12 homers, respectively. Granted, our infield defense will suffer a bit, but not by much. Hunter is a gold-glove centerfielder, so there's nothing to worry about as far as that goes. What does this do to our lineup? Well, if Tito can get off the hippie lettuce and show a little consistency, here's a lineup I wouldn't mind seeing:
2B Pedroia
3B Youk
DH Papi
LF Manny
CF Hunter
1B Teixeira
RF Drew
C Tek
SS Lugo
That sounds pretty solid to me. Now, I also heard that we were again interested in Miguel Tejada. As much as I would love to see Miggy in a Red Sox uniform, I never really like inter-division trades. We'd have to involve a third party in this, so maybe it could fit into the Twins/Texas trade or another bullpen deal that I'm sure we'll make.
Then again, none of this will probably come true. But if it does, or at least comes reasonably close, just remember that you read about it right here. I was the first to have this information (and by that I mean pull it right out of my ass), and I think that at least deserves a spot on Around the Horn, if not a Good Five Minutes on PTI.
And last, but not least, the Giants have come to Fenway. If for no other reason, this is why Interleague play is so great. How else would you guarantee a matchup of two clubs like these? It also gives Red Sox fans a chance to boo Barry up close, and pay some respect to the great Dave Roberts. That guy will always have a special place in each and every Red Sox fan's heart. He will never pay for a drink or a meal in New England again.
So anyway, I honestly have no explanation for what Tito is doing with the lineup right now. None whatsover. I'm just not even going to speculate. I'm treating this like you treat one of those really hard concepts in physics. You just accept that it's true and move on in life. Don't think about it, don't analyze it, just accept that it's there and move on. It's also kind of like how the Toronto Blue Jays treat Greg Zaun. But the craziest part about this is, for Drew and Pedroia it's working! Drew went 3-4 with three runs and three RBI's and Pedroia (now called Petey by his teammates) went 5-5, two runs, a homer, and five RBI's!! The rest of the team went a collective 1-24, with Coco providing that lone remaining hit. What is going on in the world?!?
So in conclusion, remember to tune your TV's into Fox this afternoon (but not your ears) so we can all watch another Petey and Drew show. Hopefully the rest of the team decides to show up today to support the Mohawk-toting Dice Man as he dismantles the Giants lineup piece by piece. That's how I want it done, Dice Man. No walks, no losing your control or poise, just pitch em like you see em. Except for Bonds, because injecting steroids into the baseball won't help it at all (see also David Bell).
1. Roast Pork Sandwich. This has got to be the first thing on my list. When Andrew first asked if I wanted to go to the game the very first thing that popped into my mind was the memory of that oh so delicious roast pork sandwich I had back in Spring Training. This thing is seriously good. I know Philly is famous for the cheese steak and I'm not knocking that hoagie by any means, but my recommendation to you, my loyal readers, is fork over the cash and buy a roast pork sandwich. Your taste buds will thank you later.
2. It was stress free. Just like watching a non-Red Sox game on TV, this was the most stress free, relaxed baseball game I've ever been to. I liken to being a fan of any West Coast baseball team. You follow the team, and you go to the games, but really you just go to hang out. I didn't have to worry about the players, the record, the opposing team. I just got to yell and scream and have a good time.
3. Red Sox Nation is everywhere. Even though I was at a Phillies/Tigers game I was still decked out in Red Sox gear, and I wasn't the only one. The Nation really is so strong that we show up to games we're not even involved in. This brings me to my next reason...
4. Girls. Specifically, the five who sat behind us at the game, one of which was a Red Sox fan. I milked that all night long. Every run scored, even though we were down the whole game, led to a round of high fives. We even got on the big screen (making me 2-5 life time at the big league level, and 1-2 at AA). In hindsight, I should have got some names but oh well. I'll just have to go back again.
5. I got to yell at Gary Sheffield. All night long in any play Sheffield was involved in, I booed, I let him know he sucks, I reminded him that he's on steroids. The line of the night had to come from the guy in front of me. I had asked some of the Detroit fans sitting in our section how they could root for Gary Sheffield. The guy in front of me turns around and goes "maybe they sell steroids." It was great.
It really was an awesome experience, so a big thank you has to go out to the Horrow's for allowing me to have it. Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.
And now down to business...
First of all, Pat Gillick you're retarded. Saying you don't need relievers like J.C. Romero and Joel Pineiro is like saying C.C. Sabathia doesn't need to tilt his cap to the side to look so damn cool. We all see right through you Pat; don't lie.
This brings me to another quick point: the Phillies really are bringing shame to my name. Pat Gillick. Pat Burrell. I share the first name of these guys. On behalf of Pats all around the world, step it up and bring some respect back to noble name!
But anyway, I've been giving a lot of thought to the trade situation I described earlier. One thing I realized is that Red Sox Nation really has to start jumping on the White Sox bandwagon and get that team going. They have the pitching, so if their bats can just wake up they'll easily bury Minnesota to last place (seriously, who really counts the Royals? I think they're just a figment of our collective imaginations) in the AL Central. That'll make it a little easier for the Twins to part with Torii Hunter. As for some other rumors, I understand that the Twins are interested in Mike Lowell, and that we're taking a look at Mark Teixeira. In my mind, and through a combination of deals, this is the outcome I wouldn't mind seeing. We give up major leaguers Coco Crisp and Mike Lowell, high prospect Craig Hansen, mid-level prospects David Murphy, Kasson Gabbard, Devern Hansack, David Pauley (pick three, any three). In return, we get equally unknown mid-level prospects, Torii Hunter, and Mark Teixeira. I really love this deal. Both Hunter and Teixeira are hitting over .300 with 14 and 12 homers, respectively. Granted, our infield defense will suffer a bit, but not by much. Hunter is a gold-glove centerfielder, so there's nothing to worry about as far as that goes. What does this do to our lineup? Well, if Tito can get off the hippie lettuce and show a little consistency, here's a lineup I wouldn't mind seeing:
2B Pedroia
3B Youk
DH Papi
LF Manny
CF Hunter
1B Teixeira
RF Drew
C Tek
SS Lugo
That sounds pretty solid to me. Now, I also heard that we were again interested in Miguel Tejada. As much as I would love to see Miggy in a Red Sox uniform, I never really like inter-division trades. We'd have to involve a third party in this, so maybe it could fit into the Twins/Texas trade or another bullpen deal that I'm sure we'll make.
Then again, none of this will probably come true. But if it does, or at least comes reasonably close, just remember that you read about it right here. I was the first to have this information (and by that I mean pull it right out of my ass), and I think that at least deserves a spot on Around the Horn, if not a Good Five Minutes on PTI.
And last, but not least, the Giants have come to Fenway. If for no other reason, this is why Interleague play is so great. How else would you guarantee a matchup of two clubs like these? It also gives Red Sox fans a chance to boo Barry up close, and pay some respect to the great Dave Roberts. That guy will always have a special place in each and every Red Sox fan's heart. He will never pay for a drink or a meal in New England again.
So anyway, I honestly have no explanation for what Tito is doing with the lineup right now. None whatsover. I'm just not even going to speculate. I'm treating this like you treat one of those really hard concepts in physics. You just accept that it's true and move on in life. Don't think about it, don't analyze it, just accept that it's there and move on. It's also kind of like how the Toronto Blue Jays treat Greg Zaun. But the craziest part about this is, for Drew and Pedroia it's working! Drew went 3-4 with three runs and three RBI's and Pedroia (now called Petey by his teammates) went 5-5, two runs, a homer, and five RBI's!! The rest of the team went a collective 1-24, with Coco providing that lone remaining hit. What is going on in the world?!?
So in conclusion, remember to tune your TV's into Fox this afternoon (but not your ears) so we can all watch another Petey and Drew show. Hopefully the rest of the team decides to show up today to support the Mohawk-toting Dice Man as he dismantles the Giants lineup piece by piece. That's how I want it done, Dice Man. No walks, no losing your control or poise, just pitch em like you see em. Except for Bonds, because injecting steroids into the baseball won't help it at all (see also David Bell).
Monday, June 11, 2007
Theo Got His Deadline Ideas From This Blog
I'm living in sports hell right now, and no it's not San Diego. It's right here in Hecla. Apparently, and after three angry phone calls, I've learned that Service Electric is doing some "work on the lines" meaning that I don't have 26 of my channels. Now, some can be found by adding a prefix of 7, but not all of them, and most importantly not ESPN. What do they expect me to do? Talk to my parents? They're out of their minds. Nevermind the fact that I could just watch ESPN on one of the non-digital cable box TV's, but that's just crazy talk right there. How do they expect me to regress to the stone ages of not having that little guide bar allowing me to know pointless information about the program I'm currently watching. Or how I'm able to see what's on other channels while still watching the channel I'm on, or in other words, a channel surfer's wet dream come true.
But to recap on the sports stories of late...
Curt Schilling nearly pitched a no-hitter! Admittedly, I fell asleep for most of it. Hey, it was a tough day at work so lay off. I woke up just in time to see him shake off Tek with two outs in the ninth, and consequently give up a hit to Shannon Stewart. (Shannon has quite a gangster official MLB picture, by the way. Shannon: this is not the NBA.) See Pedro Martinez, August 29, 2000. It was a clean hit by Stewart so there's nothing to complain about there. I promptly returned to my nap. This does prove my point of the Red Sox having two legitimate aces. Beckett's record speaks for itself, and Schilling's ability to be the stopper proves his ace-status.
Dice Man matched up very well against The Big Unit. Once again, walks killed him. So did Mike Timlin's error, but even without it we still lost the game. Dice walks two leadoff batters which both ended up scoring the only two runs he gave up. Johnson looked very good and nothing like the old fart he really is. I hope this isn't a trend that extends to another aged, fat, fatigued groin pitcher. Besides his errant throw, Timlin looked sharp in coming off the DL. It would be great if he could regain some of his old form. It would add to what is already one of the deepest and best bullpens in all of baseball. That fact makes me very excited to approach the trade deadline. With all the bullpen help needed out there, it really is a seller's market. I'd rather not see any moves made until July (except for Pineiro who I will personally help pack his bags), just because I don't want to mess with our team too early and we'll be able to get a lot more for a lot less as the deadline approaches.
So what's a move that's on my mind? Well, Tori Hunter is looking pretty good right now. If the Twins continue to fall behind the Indians and Detroit, as well as wild card contenders like the Yankees or Oakland, getting rid of the contract-year Hunter should look pretty attractive. I wouldn't mind seeing us sending a major leaguer (Coco/Wily Mo), a high end pitcher (Hansen/Tavarez/Delcarman), and a mid-level prospect or two (Hansack/Gabbard/Pauley/Murphy) for Hunter. The way I see it, he brings just as good defense as Coco as well as an awesome bat. We could bat him second behind Julio "hopefully hitting by July" Lugo allowing us to drop Youkilis down and making our lineup totally solid one through nine. Maybe we could talk Hunter into a one year extension, but I doubt this. The best course of action would be to go after one of the lesser known outfield free agents and platoon them with Wily Mo (and yes, this means I am expecting Coco the one to be traded, even though I love the guy) until Ellsbury is ready. Hopefully that will be by mid-season 2008, but either way I expect to see Jacob Ellsbury playing center field in 2009. That gives him a year to get used to the bigs before he steps into the leadoff role. That's also assuming Julio Lugo is still around, but I wouldn't make any bets on that. Nothing against Julio, but the Boston infield, and especially middle infielders, has been quite the revolving door of late, although I do expect to number 15 between second and first for many years to come.
Anyway, with one of the deepest pitching staffs in the league, and an always present need for good pitching, I wouldn't be surprised nor upset to see us loose some depth at the deadline in order to improve in an area that we may be lacking at. A blockbuster deadline along with some lesser known deals (see July 31, 2004) would be real nice, Theo. (Yeah, you know he reads this.) I was in Boston last season on the deadline. At the time, it was probably the worst deadline experience we've ever had. The Yankees made the moves they needed to while we looked like Wily Mo Pena after he's swung at the third straight curveball in the dirt. We seriously Greg Zauned the 2006 deadline, but in the long run, I think it was the best move. The trade that would have happened but didn't involved Andruw Jones (see slumping and swinging at everything...see also Wily Mo Pena), Jon Lester, and Craig Hansen. Lester is too important to us to give up, and Hansen will be great trade bait again this year. That's the Theo we all know and love: looking out for the long term interests of the team while still considering short-term results.
On a personal note, that was one of the greatest days of my life. It totally deserves it's own blog and one day out of boredom I'm sure I'll fill you all in. For now, I'll leave you guessing in suspense.
On another personal note, if you don't want your life to be consumed by video games do not, I repeat DO NOT purchase MLB '07 The Show. There's a time in every man's life when he realizes that he won't play professional baseball, and this game will surely prolong that realization. The world as we know it will never be the same.
So tonight, I'll have to survive by living in the stone ages of watching non-digital ESPN. I bet Service Electric is a bunch of Yankee fans, too.
-Flig
But to recap on the sports stories of late...
Curt Schilling nearly pitched a no-hitter! Admittedly, I fell asleep for most of it. Hey, it was a tough day at work so lay off. I woke up just in time to see him shake off Tek with two outs in the ninth, and consequently give up a hit to Shannon Stewart. (Shannon has quite a gangster official MLB picture, by the way. Shannon: this is not the NBA.) See Pedro Martinez, August 29, 2000. It was a clean hit by Stewart so there's nothing to complain about there. I promptly returned to my nap. This does prove my point of the Red Sox having two legitimate aces. Beckett's record speaks for itself, and Schilling's ability to be the stopper proves his ace-status.
Dice Man matched up very well against The Big Unit. Once again, walks killed him. So did Mike Timlin's error, but even without it we still lost the game. Dice walks two leadoff batters which both ended up scoring the only two runs he gave up. Johnson looked very good and nothing like the old fart he really is. I hope this isn't a trend that extends to another aged, fat, fatigued groin pitcher. Besides his errant throw, Timlin looked sharp in coming off the DL. It would be great if he could regain some of his old form. It would add to what is already one of the deepest and best bullpens in all of baseball. That fact makes me very excited to approach the trade deadline. With all the bullpen help needed out there, it really is a seller's market. I'd rather not see any moves made until July (except for Pineiro who I will personally help pack his bags), just because I don't want to mess with our team too early and we'll be able to get a lot more for a lot less as the deadline approaches.
So what's a move that's on my mind? Well, Tori Hunter is looking pretty good right now. If the Twins continue to fall behind the Indians and Detroit, as well as wild card contenders like the Yankees or Oakland, getting rid of the contract-year Hunter should look pretty attractive. I wouldn't mind seeing us sending a major leaguer (Coco/Wily Mo), a high end pitcher (Hansen/Tavarez/Delcarman), and a mid-level prospect or two (Hansack/Gabbard/Pauley/Murphy) for Hunter. The way I see it, he brings just as good defense as Coco as well as an awesome bat. We could bat him second behind Julio "hopefully hitting by July" Lugo allowing us to drop Youkilis down and making our lineup totally solid one through nine. Maybe we could talk Hunter into a one year extension, but I doubt this. The best course of action would be to go after one of the lesser known outfield free agents and platoon them with Wily Mo (and yes, this means I am expecting Coco the one to be traded, even though I love the guy) until Ellsbury is ready. Hopefully that will be by mid-season 2008, but either way I expect to see Jacob Ellsbury playing center field in 2009. That gives him a year to get used to the bigs before he steps into the leadoff role. That's also assuming Julio Lugo is still around, but I wouldn't make any bets on that. Nothing against Julio, but the Boston infield, and especially middle infielders, has been quite the revolving door of late, although I do expect to number 15 between second and first for many years to come.
Anyway, with one of the deepest pitching staffs in the league, and an always present need for good pitching, I wouldn't be surprised nor upset to see us loose some depth at the deadline in order to improve in an area that we may be lacking at. A blockbuster deadline along with some lesser known deals (see July 31, 2004) would be real nice, Theo. (Yeah, you know he reads this.) I was in Boston last season on the deadline. At the time, it was probably the worst deadline experience we've ever had. The Yankees made the moves they needed to while we looked like Wily Mo Pena after he's swung at the third straight curveball in the dirt. We seriously Greg Zauned the 2006 deadline, but in the long run, I think it was the best move. The trade that would have happened but didn't involved Andruw Jones (see slumping and swinging at everything...see also Wily Mo Pena), Jon Lester, and Craig Hansen. Lester is too important to us to give up, and Hansen will be great trade bait again this year. That's the Theo we all know and love: looking out for the long term interests of the team while still considering short-term results.
On a personal note, that was one of the greatest days of my life. It totally deserves it's own blog and one day out of boredom I'm sure I'll fill you all in. For now, I'll leave you guessing in suspense.
On another personal note, if you don't want your life to be consumed by video games do not, I repeat DO NOT purchase MLB '07 The Show. There's a time in every man's life when he realizes that he won't play professional baseball, and this game will surely prolong that realization. The world as we know it will never be the same.
So tonight, I'll have to survive by living in the stone ages of watching non-digital ESPN. I bet Service Electric is a bunch of Yankee fans, too.
-Flig
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Red Sox Thoughts
This blog has typically been used for my attempted comical musings on baseball and select parts of my life. Today, I feel like talking straight baseball so here it goes.
The Pitching Situation:
Now onto our second ace, Mr. Josh Beckett. This guy has pretty much made the strongest case to be the starter at the All-Star Game this summer. I don't know if there is anyone out there who is pitching better right now. His curveball is buckling knees, his changeup is wrapping guys up, and his fastball is blowing everyone away. One minor injury hasn't seemed to slow Beckett down, and so may we all pray for the strength of Josh Beckett's finger skin. I really don't know what else to say about Beckett. He's been lights out this year. Absolutely electric.
Remember how I said we have two legitimate aces this year? Does anyone recall the last time we had two legitimate aces? That's right folks, 2004. Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling. What else did we have that year? A lights out closer. What do we have this year? A lights out closer. Papelbon is having another amazing year at the back end of the bullpen. It's obvious that the Sox are treating him a little more carefully this year, and it hasn't effected his game. A 1.77 ERA, only 10 walks and 28 strikeouts in 20.1 innings, and 13 saves in 14 opportunities has once again cemented Papelbon as one of the best closers in the game.
But Papelbon isn't all we've got in the pen. Hideki Okajima has pretty much blown every expectation out of the water. Here's a guy that was basically thrown onto the team to make Dice feel a little more comfortable in his surroundings. Nobody expected him to be be the best setup man in all of baseball. His "okie-dokie" is probably the nastiest offspeed pitch in any bullpen on any team, and when Papelbon is getting his rest, Okie has been able to step in and save the game without breaking a sweat.
But Okie isn't all we've got in the pen, either. Brenden Donnelly and Kyle Snyder have both pitched very well. JC Romero and Javier Lopez have done well as lefty specialists, although Romero does make me a little nervous sometimes. The guy that really gets me shaking in my boots is Piniero. I can't believe we actually thought this guy would be our closer. He sucks. Plain and simple. Hopefully Mike Timlin can come back and be healthy. He's been such a workhorse for us over the years and I hate to see him struggle with injuries and his command like he has recently.
Just for kicks, I'd like to mention that we've got some pretty reliable arms down in the farm as well. Manny Delcarman and Craig Hansen are both arms of the future that will either supply great innings out of the bullpen, or great trade bait. Kason Gabbard was called up to spot start for us this year and pitched brilliantly. Devern Hansack didn't fare as well as Gabbard, but he has shown flares of competency in the past as has a kid by the name of David Pauley. This may be the deepest we've ever been as far as pitching goes.
The Position Players:
Except for 2004, I don't know if there's a team with more likable personalities than this one. That being said, let's take a look at how this team has been underachieving, overachieving, and yet still at the top of the majors.
Julio Lugo was bought in the offseason to step in and fill the shoes of Johnny Damon that have been empty since he left in the '05 offseason. So far this year Lugo has been underachieving. A .283 OBP doesn't really make anybody an elite leadoff man, but we're getting by. What Lugo does bring us is good defense and a threat on the basepaths. He's 16 for 16 in stolen bases (obviously well above the Moneyball threshold of 80%) and it does seem that when Lugo gets a hit, it's in a timely situation.
With the leadoff situation in mind, let's take a look at Coco Crisp. Obviously our expectations of Coco were set too high when we got him last year. We thought he could step in and pretty much replace the fallen one (Damon) who was at the time the best leadoff hitter in baseball.Coco can't do that. What he does give us is good defense out there in center field (I qualify it as good because even though he doesn't have the greatest arm, he has great range and a great glove), a threat on the basepaths, and the scrappiness, good clubhouse-guy intangibles.
If you ask me, the guys who have really been carrying the team so far this season are Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis. Both are off to awesome tears and have really been playing well. Lowell is still showing off his gold-glove caliber play at third, and his presence behind the plate is being felt by all our opponents. It's not Manny, Papi, or J.D. Drew who leads the team in RBI's; it's Mike Lowell. Yooooouuuuuk is doing just as well. Here's a guy who had a 23 game hitting streak on the line yesterday, and yet he drew 3 walks. He didn't selfishly reach for pitches so he could keep his streak going. What Youk wanted to do was win the game. That's all. He didn't care about himself he cared about the team. It's a real shame that the All-Star game is being played in an NL park this year and Youk isn't on the ballot for the Sox. Both these guys are All-Stars.
The argument could be made that the Sox are relying too heavily on Youkilis and Lowell, since both those guys are typically better in the first half than in the second. Worried? No. Because two other guys on our team have yet to really get going. And those two guys are Big Papi and Manny Ramirez. Just like past seasons, their bats will continue to heat up with the summer. Manny has shown signs of life as he's boosted his average to .284 and with Papi's hamstring woes hopefully past him his power should soon return. So if Lowell and Youkilis tail off as they have in the past, they will be picked up by the resurgence of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, the most feared 3-4 combo in all the bigs.
Three feel-good stories surround Dustin Pedroia, Alex Cora, and Jason Varitek. Pedroia is the first rookie position player to start the season since Shea Hillenbrand in 2001. After a slow start, Pedroia is making Francona look like a genius. He's now hitting .333 with an OBP of .411 and SLG. .465. If Pedroia can keep this up he'll be making a very legitimate case for Rookie of the Year.
Pedroia's partner in crime Alex Cora is off to a great start as well. However, I've made this argument before and I'll make it again. There is only so much good baseball in Alex Cora. If we make him play everyday, he has to spread that good baseball out and so it won't be as good. But if we only play Cora once in a while (to spell the rookie Pedroia or the tired legs of Lugo, just as Francona has been doing) he gets to use that good baseball all at once. It's proven a good strategy.
And now to my favorite player, the Captain: Jason Varitek. After a year of injury slowed Varitek down, and a slow start this season had many worried, Varitek has climbed back into his old form. Six home runs and a .276 average to go along with a .374 OBP and .469 SLG have got to make the Captain feel good. His importance to our pitchers was never made so painfully aware than last season when he went on the DL. Even Josh Beckett said this spring that one way he knows he will improve is by listening to Varitek more often. Varitek is the glue of the Red Sox.
And now for the underachievers. After getting off to a terrific start, J.D. Drew has pretty much sucked. The guy took a near .400 average and dropped it down to .222. Sure, he's on base at a clip of .340, but where's the fearsome #5 hitter I was told we were getting? He was here in April, but apparently those April showers didn't bring May flowers, they brought a slumping J.D. Drew. Hopefully his hamstring rehab will bring back memories of his swing. In the mean time we're stuck with Swing-and-a-miss Wily Mo Pena. Here's a guy that makes me angry every time I hear his name. He has more potential than any guy on our team, and yet he wastes it away. If he could learn patience at the plate, and how to track down a fly ball, he'd be an MVP every year. When he figures out how to play this game, Wily Mo will be a dangerous, dangerous threat. I only hope that time comes sooner rather than later, or that some other GM thinks his team can solve Pena's problem and will give us a sweet trade package.
Another underachiever is Doug Mirabelli, but Dougie isn't all that bad. He took a big cut in pay, which was good of him because his numbers don't deserve top dollar. He's a great clubhouse presence and bench guy. He plays great defense and knows how to catch Wake which is a quality that is pretty valuable. Except, of course, for his last outing. That was probably the worst performance I've ever seen by Dougie and Wake. I really hope this battery can figure their problems out and be that consistent presence they've been in the past.
The last guy to talk about his Eric Hinske. I really feel bad for the former ROY because he's not as good as anybody (including himself) thought he was. I've seen him play and he hits with a heck of a lot of power. I'd characterize Hinske as a top of the line bench player, but low order everyday guy. He's shown he'll really lay out for the team, and he can play all four corners which adds a lot of value to him as a bench guy. All in all, I'm glad he's with us.
This is our team. This is the team that's given us a Major League leading 37-17 record. This is the team that's never lost more than two games in a row. This is the team that's buried the Yankees. This is the team that has striking similarities to 2004. Hopefully, they achieve one more similarity when they are crowned 2007 World Champions. But let's not give too much thought to that just yet.
-Flig
The Pitching Situation:
Obviously we have to get Jon Lester into our rotation. He’s a young kid with great stuff and he has proven he knows how to use it at the major league level.
Just to be safe, I think we should hold on to Tavarez until Lester gets going. You never know what might happen. But by the trade deadline, I expect him to be moved for maybe a "Dave Roberts" type acquisition. we do have a lot of starting pitching depth in the minors for us to draw on (Hansack, gab bard, Pauley) so I wouldn't be too upset if the sox moved Tavarez sooner than later after Lester comes back.
And somebody up above me suggested sending Snyder down. We can't do that and we shouldn't do that. We can't because he's out of options meaning he'd have to clear waivers before we could send him down. And we shouldn't because he's been pretty good out of the pen this year. Somebody else suggested sending Pineiro down. That’s a move I could agree with, but does he have options on his contract or would we have to sneak him through waivers? Although I wouldn't mind seeing him go for good. Although, he'd probably be another David Riske and he'd go on a 14 inning scoreless streak for whatever borderline team would pick him up. GAMBLING ALERT: if any of our relievers go on waivers in an attempt to make a roster spot, I’ll bet you any money the tigers pick them up. Any takers?
Even though Tavarez is going to be the guy pushed out of our rotation to make room for Lester, the starter I’m most worried about is
The rest of our rotation has been pretty solid. If we ignore the expectations placed onto Daisuke by some and treat the Dice Man for what he really is (a quasi-rookie #3 starter) he's doing extremely well. We didn't need this guy to step in and be our ace. What we wanted to see was continuing improvement as he adapts to American style baseball. His stuff is absolutely nasty (that's not filthy, THAT'S NASTY!...thanks BBTN) and once he learns to trust it he'll do a lot better. One area of his game that he really needs to improve on is pitching out of the stretch. Dice really loses a lot on his control when he's pitching out of the stretch. In Japan, pitchers hardly do this so he really doesn't have a lot of experience. In time, he'll learn how to pitch effectively with runners on and this will markedly improve his game. But really, look at what our #3 starter has done so far: 7-2 record, 4.83 ERA, and 3.24 K/BB, which will improve once he learns to pitch out of the stretch. That's not too shabby for a #3 starter.
Now onto our second ace, Mr. Josh Beckett. This guy has pretty much made the strongest case to be the starter at the All-Star Game this summer. I don't know if there is anyone out there who is pitching better right now. His curveball is buckling knees, his changeup is wrapping guys up, and his fastball is blowing everyone away. One minor injury hasn't seemed to slow Beckett down, and so may we all pray for the strength of Josh Beckett's finger skin. I really don't know what else to say about Beckett. He's been lights out this year. Absolutely electric.
Remember how I said we have two legitimate aces this year? Does anyone recall the last time we had two legitimate aces? That's right folks, 2004. Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling. What else did we have that year? A lights out closer. What do we have this year? A lights out closer. Papelbon is having another amazing year at the back end of the bullpen. It's obvious that the Sox are treating him a little more carefully this year, and it hasn't effected his game. A 1.77 ERA, only 10 walks and 28 strikeouts in 20.1 innings, and 13 saves in 14 opportunities has once again cemented Papelbon as one of the best closers in the game.
But Papelbon isn't all we've got in the pen. Hideki Okajima has pretty much blown every expectation out of the water. Here's a guy that was basically thrown onto the team to make Dice feel a little more comfortable in his surroundings. Nobody expected him to be be the best setup man in all of baseball. His "okie-dokie" is probably the nastiest offspeed pitch in any bullpen on any team, and when Papelbon is getting his rest, Okie has been able to step in and save the game without breaking a sweat.
But Okie isn't all we've got in the pen, either. Brenden Donnelly and Kyle Snyder have both pitched very well. JC Romero and Javier Lopez have done well as lefty specialists, although Romero does make me a little nervous sometimes. The guy that really gets me shaking in my boots is Piniero. I can't believe we actually thought this guy would be our closer. He sucks. Plain and simple. Hopefully Mike Timlin can come back and be healthy. He's been such a workhorse for us over the years and I hate to see him struggle with injuries and his command like he has recently.
Just for kicks, I'd like to mention that we've got some pretty reliable arms down in the farm as well. Manny Delcarman and Craig Hansen are both arms of the future that will either supply great innings out of the bullpen, or great trade bait. Kason Gabbard was called up to spot start for us this year and pitched brilliantly. Devern Hansack didn't fare as well as Gabbard, but he has shown flares of competency in the past as has a kid by the name of David Pauley. This may be the deepest we've ever been as far as pitching goes.
The Position Players:
Except for 2004, I don't know if there's a team with more likable personalities than this one. That being said, let's take a look at how this team has been underachieving, overachieving, and yet still at the top of the majors.
Julio Lugo was bought in the offseason to step in and fill the shoes of Johnny Damon that have been empty since he left in the '05 offseason. So far this year Lugo has been underachieving. A .283 OBP doesn't really make anybody an elite leadoff man, but we're getting by. What Lugo does bring us is good defense and a threat on the basepaths. He's 16 for 16 in stolen bases (obviously well above the Moneyball threshold of 80%) and it does seem that when Lugo gets a hit, it's in a timely situation.
With the leadoff situation in mind, let's take a look at Coco Crisp. Obviously our expectations of Coco were set too high when we got him last year. We thought he could step in and pretty much replace the fallen one (Damon) who was at the time the best leadoff hitter in baseball.
If you ask me, the guys who have really been carrying the team so far this season are Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis. Both are off to awesome tears and have really been playing well. Lowell is still showing off his gold-glove caliber play at third, and his presence behind the plate is being felt by all our opponents. It's not Manny, Papi, or J.D. Drew who leads the team in RBI's; it's Mike Lowell. Yooooouuuuuk is doing just as well. Here's a guy who had a 23 game hitting streak on the line yesterday, and yet he drew 3 walks. He didn't selfishly reach for pitches so he could keep his streak going. What Youk wanted to do was win the game. That's all. He didn't care about himself he cared about the team. It's a real shame that the All-Star game is being played in an NL park this year and Youk isn't on the ballot for the Sox. Both these guys are All-Stars.
The argument could be made that the Sox are relying too heavily on Youkilis and Lowell, since both those guys are typically better in the first half than in the second. Worried? No. Because two other guys on our team have yet to really get going. And those two guys are Big Papi and Manny Ramirez. Just like past seasons, their bats will continue to heat up with the summer. Manny has shown signs of life as he's boosted his average to .284 and with Papi's hamstring woes hopefully past him his power should soon return. So if Lowell and Youkilis tail off as they have in the past, they will be picked up by the resurgence of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, the most feared 3-4 combo in all the bigs.
Three feel-good stories surround Dustin Pedroia, Alex Cora, and Jason Varitek. Pedroia is the first rookie position player to start the season since Shea Hillenbrand in 2001. After a slow start, Pedroia is making Francona look like a genius. He's now hitting .333 with an OBP of .411 and SLG. .465. If Pedroia can keep this up he'll be making a very legitimate case for Rookie of the Year.
Pedroia's partner in crime Alex Cora is off to a great start as well. However, I've made this argument before and I'll make it again. There is only so much good baseball in Alex Cora. If we make him play everyday, he has to spread that good baseball out and so it won't be as good. But if we only play Cora once in a while (to spell the rookie Pedroia or the tired legs of Lugo, just as Francona has been doing) he gets to use that good baseball all at once. It's proven a good strategy.
And now to my favorite player, the Captain: Jason Varitek. After a year of injury slowed Varitek down, and a slow start this season had many worried, Varitek has climbed back into his old form. Six home runs and a .276 average to go along with a .374 OBP and .469 SLG have got to make the Captain feel good. His importance to our pitchers was never made so painfully aware than last season when he went on the DL. Even Josh Beckett said this spring that one way he knows he will improve is by listening to Varitek more often. Varitek is the glue of the Red Sox.
And now for the underachievers. After getting off to a terrific start, J.D. Drew has pretty much sucked. The guy took a near .400 average and dropped it down to .222. Sure, he's on base at a clip of .340, but where's the fearsome #5 hitter I was told we were getting? He was here in April, but apparently those April showers didn't bring May flowers, they brought a slumping J.D. Drew. Hopefully his hamstring rehab will bring back memories of his swing. In the mean time we're stuck with Swing-and-a-miss Wily Mo Pena. Here's a guy that makes me angry every time I hear his name. He has more potential than any guy on our team, and yet he wastes it away. If he could learn patience at the plate, and how to track down a fly ball, he'd be an MVP every year. When he figures out how to play this game, Wily Mo will be a dangerous, dangerous threat. I only hope that time comes sooner rather than later, or that some other GM thinks his team can solve Pena's problem and will give us a sweet trade package.
Another underachiever is Doug Mirabelli, but Dougie isn't all that bad. He took a big cut in pay, which was good of him because his numbers don't deserve top dollar. He's a great clubhouse presence and bench guy. He plays great defense and knows how to catch Wake which is a quality that is pretty valuable. Except, of course, for his last outing. That was probably the worst performance I've ever seen by Dougie and Wake. I really hope this battery can figure their problems out and be that consistent presence they've been in the past.
The last guy to talk about his Eric Hinske. I really feel bad for the former ROY because he's not as good as anybody (including himself) thought he was. I've seen him play and he hits with a heck of a lot of power. I'd characterize Hinske as a top of the line bench player, but low order everyday guy. He's shown he'll really lay out for the team, and he can play all four corners which adds a lot of value to him as a bench guy. All in all, I'm glad he's with us.
This is our team. This is the team that's given us a Major League leading 37-17 record. This is the team that's never lost more than two games in a row. This is the team that's buried the Yankees. This is the team that has striking similarities to 2004. Hopefully, they achieve one more similarity when they are crowned 2007 World Champions. But let's not give too much thought to that just yet.
-Flig
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Tim McCarver Has A Tired Groin
Tim McCarver has a tired groin. More to follow...
It's been a while. I'd like to apologize to our loyal readers for our long absence. Andrew is living it up over in Israel right now. His girlfriend was worried that he'd meet a nice Jewish girl. I'm more worried he'll meet an angry Palestinian.
Today, Tarc and I went on our First Official Golf Outing of the Summer. The first three holes were fantastic. We felt on top of the world. The match was shaping up to be a close battle between two evenly matched foes. And then number four came along. Number four: the bane of my existence. This hole single handedly destroyed our confidence as golfers just like Wily Mo Pena destroys any chance at a base on balls. (Everytime an announcer says "and Wily Mo strikes out swinging" somebody donates a dollar to something. We could cure diabetes people!) After this hole Tarc and I were merely trying to finish the round and make it to Wing Street. Thrown clubs, lost balls, and the enforcement of the "Ladies Tee" rule was witnessed on this woe some excuse of a golf outing. For the sake of our pride I will not report the exact score of this outing, but suffice it to say we both had real integers between 0 and 47 trillion.
And so two tired, sweaty, defeated golfers sullenly strode into Wing Street. This was the second time I've been there, and both times I've acted like a total deer in headlights when the cute hostess asked if we were dining in. I think this time I awkwardly held up a reversed peace sign that was supposed to indicate there were two of us, but more than likely indicated my complete dorky-ness. After waiting an interminable amount of time to be waited on, we came to the conclusion that our waitress either hates her job with a passion or was having the worst day ever. The Red Sox were being shown on ESPN as the game was coming back from a rain delay. Just as it came back on the Sox got the bases loaded, and Mike Lowell gave a nice, clean elbow to Robbie Cano knocking Cano to the ground. A few innings later (and me resting comfortably on the living room couch of the Mayor's Mansion) Mike Lowell inadvertently collided with Doug Mientkiewicz's head. It was downright bad. Dougie M. lay on the ground for a while with the Yankees clustering around him and Fox disgracefully replaying the shot a thousand different times from a thousand different angles. Disgusting. I hate to take the lead like this. Thankfully, the Yankees bullpen remembered it was time to start imploding. This was combined with the Yankees infield regressing to Little League and forgetting where to stand and Bobby "I'm-afraid-of-a-wall" Abreu living up to his not-so-creative nickname.
During this time the announcers, Joe Buck and the Human Mute Button (Tim McCarver) brought up everyone's favorite topic: Roger Clemens. It seems the old fart has, as Tim McCarver described, a tired groin. In the words of McCarver, "a lot of pitchers pitch with a tired groin everyday. I don't see what kind of problem a tired groin poses." Please, America, tell me you laughed at this as hard as I did. Red Sox fans, please also rejoice that the Yankees have, indeed, thrown even more money down the toilet by paying for the tired groin to come back to New York in the first ever recorded instance of a rat jumping ON to a sinking ship.
And so as the "Yankees Suck!" cheer erupts around Fenway the Red Sox roll to their 37th win. I hope Dougie M. is ok, and I hope none of you out there are bothered by a tired groin.
-Flig
It's been a while. I'd like to apologize to our loyal readers for our long absence. Andrew is living it up over in Israel right now. His girlfriend was worried that he'd meet a nice Jewish girl. I'm more worried he'll meet an angry Palestinian.
Today, Tarc and I went on our First Official Golf Outing of the Summer. The first three holes were fantastic. We felt on top of the world. The match was shaping up to be a close battle between two evenly matched foes. And then number four came along. Number four: the bane of my existence. This hole single handedly destroyed our confidence as golfers just like Wily Mo Pena destroys any chance at a base on balls. (Everytime an announcer says "and Wily Mo strikes out swinging" somebody donates a dollar to something. We could cure diabetes people!) After this hole Tarc and I were merely trying to finish the round and make it to Wing Street. Thrown clubs, lost balls, and the enforcement of the "Ladies Tee" rule was witnessed on this woe some excuse of a golf outing. For the sake of our pride I will not report the exact score of this outing, but suffice it to say we both had real integers between 0 and 47 trillion.
And so two tired, sweaty, defeated golfers sullenly strode into Wing Street. This was the second time I've been there, and both times I've acted like a total deer in headlights when the cute hostess asked if we were dining in. I think this time I awkwardly held up a reversed peace sign that was supposed to indicate there were two of us, but more than likely indicated my complete dorky-ness. After waiting an interminable amount of time to be waited on, we came to the conclusion that our waitress either hates her job with a passion or was having the worst day ever. The Red Sox were being shown on ESPN as the game was coming back from a rain delay. Just as it came back on the Sox got the bases loaded, and Mike Lowell gave a nice, clean elbow to Robbie Cano knocking Cano to the ground. A few innings later (and me resting comfortably on the living room couch of the Mayor's Mansion) Mike Lowell inadvertently collided with Doug Mientkiewicz's head. It was downright bad. Dougie M. lay on the ground for a while with the Yankees clustering around him and Fox disgracefully replaying the shot a thousand different times from a thousand different angles. Disgusting. I hate to take the lead like this. Thankfully, the Yankees bullpen remembered it was time to start imploding. This was combined with the Yankees infield regressing to Little League and forgetting where to stand and Bobby "I'm-afraid-of-a-wall" Abreu living up to his not-so-creative nickname.
During this time the announcers, Joe Buck and the Human Mute Button (Tim McCarver) brought up everyone's favorite topic: Roger Clemens. It seems the old fart has, as Tim McCarver described, a tired groin. In the words of McCarver, "a lot of pitchers pitch with a tired groin everyday. I don't see what kind of problem a tired groin poses." Please, America, tell me you laughed at this as hard as I did. Red Sox fans, please also rejoice that the Yankees have, indeed, thrown even more money down the toilet by paying for the tired groin to come back to New York in the first ever recorded instance of a rat jumping ON to a sinking ship.
And so as the "Yankees Suck!" cheer erupts around Fenway the Red Sox roll to their 37th win. I hope Dougie M. is ok, and I hope none of you out there are bothered by a tired groin.
-Flig
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)