A Few Thoughts

We've run into good pitching like Wily Mo runs into strikeouts. Seriously, I'm writing this in the top of the eighth in our second of 1-0 games in consecutive days. My nerves can't take this. Speaking of nerves, who wouldn't give a huge shout out to Jon Lester. Welcome back to the bigs, Jon. We missed you and we're all glad to see you back on the mound.

Another thing we're all glad to see is that the offense still works without Ortiz in it. It's always nice to see the wheels turning without all the spokes. That makes no sense, but I think you know what I mean.

As we're approaching the trade deadline, the latest rumors I've heard is that we're out of the running for Tex but that we're close to getting Bobby Kielty. Apparently, the Rangers asked for some big prospects (Bucholz and Ellsbury). We laughed at them, hung up the phone, and then laughed some more. Kielty, on the other hand, is reportedly only a matter of time. Our highly touted Spring Training closer was finally designated for assignment (another blessing related to Jon Lester's cancer comeback), but the A's aren't interested in pine-riding Pineiro. But I'm sure there's plenty of Little League teams looking for another arm in the pen with the stretch run to Williamsport coming up. Hopefully they could find some room for Joel. Maybe even the outfield?
But seriously, Kielty seems to be a better fit than Wily Mo. Which is to say that even though he doesn't hit much better, at least he actually has baseball instincts and can play defense, run the bases, and other baseball activites. You know, all that stuff that whenever the coach in Little League starting talking about, Wily Mo started giving a wet willy to the kid next to him.

The way I see it, Theo will find a way to make this Kielty move and maybe even add another arm to the pen without changing the face of the team too dramatically. It'll be a big move, but not a monster move on the scale of the Nomar trade. We're in great shape and could just use a little more depth to make sure we have enough stamina to make it all the way to the end of October.

While these words have been written, AC singled, Lugo was put in as a pinch runner and got caught stealing. Beckett is back out on the mound going strong. Take one pitch away and this is an even more nerve killing score of 0-0. Trot (or as he's known in some circles: the guy who is playing just as badly as J.D. Drew, but would have been cheaper and adored by fans) just singled so hopefully that's a setup to a nice double-play and not an RBI chance. This coffin needs no more nails. No DP but a K and a flyout to Mr. Overpaid will do. Seriously, Drew is a bum. Andrew, I've reached that point and he didn't even have to go on the DL. I officially hate J.D. Drew. Give me some batteries. If somehow we could trade him, you would not be able to pry the smile off my face ever again. Ever.

And, sadly, Joe Borowski closes the door for the Tribe. I really feel bad for Beckett, because he doesn't deserve the loss. He didn't lose this game, the offense did. They couldn't get one single run. Back to back 1-0 games are hard on me as a fan so I really hope this doesn't kill our momentum. We've got Gabby going tomorrow against Cliff Lee, which should rejuvenate even the quietest of bats. And then it's off to every batting average's favorite place: Tampa Bay. May the spirit of the Splendid Splinter be with us all tonight.

And not that I'm saying anything, but in case you were wondering Andrew is still alive and well, with lots of time on his hands too.

Baseball Hall of Fame

This blog is coming to you from the surprisingly sleepy town of Cooperstown, New York. This town is home to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame and a friendly, small town America atmosphere. It is also home to probably the most moving baseball experience I've ever had. With my ever economical Dad learning that a ticket purchased after 7 p.m. could be used the next day, we of course took advantage of this opportunity to take just a quick peak at the museum and the Hall. It was the first place I wanted to go, and I can safely say my mind is still there wandering the walls, looking at each of the plaques, and absorbing the indescribable and overwhelming feeling that the Hall of Fame breathes into its visitors. I guess I never really understood what the Hall meant until actually setting foot in it. From a numbers perspective, only about a single percent of all who ever played the game ever made it into the Hall of Fame. Think of all the names of players you've rooted for in your lifetime, think of how great they may have been, and think of how many are in the Hall. In my young life I've rooted for Nomar, Trot, Papi and Manny, Youk, Pedro, Schill, Tek, and Cal. From that list, only one has made it into the Hall, and maybe only two or three more ever will. I never understood how truly special of a player a man had to be to actually achieve immortality. The players, coaches, umps, and baseball executives dominated their sport in every sense of the word. I can't possibly imagine how it must feel to achieve this greatness. From the perspective of a fan, I can think of no other honor greater to a player than this Hall. I hope it is as great an experience as the one I had walking through those alcoves looking at the names and faces you only hear about in old highlight reels. There are not enough words to describe the magnitude of this place, and I strongly believe that every baseball fan must see it to truly appreciate the game we all love.

eh.............

I apologize for not posting in a while but hey what can I say I didn’t feel like it. One the heels of the impending milestone for the phillies I thought I would post but don’t have really anything to say. The phillies need pitching and have no way of acquiring it. The only thing I can hope for is Burrell has the most amazing 10 days of his life and hits like .900 in the next ten games with like 15 homeruns so we can trade his ass. I just hope someone finds Pat Gillick and tells him that he should try to make a trade.

I think we need to trade Rowand. Burrell isn’t going anywhere unfortunately and the only thing people would want is Rowand. I think it is easier for the Phillies to replace Rowand in the farm system then you can use young pitching. Just give me something Gillick please I beg of you….I will blog more later when I can actually think of something.

Sorry For The Delay

Let me begin this blog by apologizing for the delay. From June 23rd to this past Monday, I had been house sitting for my boss. It was an amazing time and I'd do anything to do it again, although it would be nice to at least have internet and a suite of ESPN channels. Sans those requests, it was still great. Andrew, on the other hand, has absolutely no excuse for not posting anything. Shame on you, Andrew! Shame!

Speaking of Andrew, I can't make fun of the guy too much because he did take me to the Phillies game last night. We had awesome seats. The guy walked us to them and wiped them down. Apparently you're supposed to tip him a dollar for doing so, but I wasn't familiar with this "rich seat" tradition so to him I owe an apology as well. Ironically enough, Tarc was at the game too and offered to take me along, but I had already been asked by Andrew. His seats were just two sections over so all I missed was a long car ride without a radio.

I wanted to see at least one of two things going into this game. The first was that I wanted to see Albert Pujols hit a home run. It's not often that a Heclanian gets the chance to see one of the premier players in baseball up close, so I definitely wanted to see him jack one. The second thing I wouldn't mind seeing, although I don't think many in the stadium would agree with me, is the inevitable 10,000th loss of the Phillies. I would consider myself lucky to be in attendance the night the franchise finally reaches this mark. I mean, who doesn't want to see an already depressed fan base celebrate the one thing their city's sports teams truly excel at: losses. Bars beware: you're taps will be flowing full bore whenever this mark is reached.

I only got to see one of those things, and I guess it's the better of the two. Pujols really did whack the ball far. It was estimated at 470 feet, and he hit it off none other than J.C. Romero. I didn't realize who had come into the game until Andrew started getting all excited. J.C. was doing his finest impression of himself, by walking a batter and then giving up the Pujols bomb. This signaled our time to depart, since even the Phillies bullpen couldn't give up the lead the team had at this point. Perhaps the happiest people in the stadium to see us leave were the two older women sitting in front of us. Andrew and I are what you could call bleacher-seat fans. We like to yell and cheer on our team, boo the opponents (and Pat Burrell), and make sure the umps understand that they are completely and totally incapable of doing their jobs. The ladies in front of us did not appreciate the experience of sitting in front of true baseball fans. Thankfully, some of those around us understood who and what we were: true fans of America's past time. My favorite thing to do all night was wait for the older lady to take her fingers our of her ears (because she put them in when the PA announcer said each players name, which was consistently followed by Andrew and I giving them an appropriate welcome) to start cheering again. This is the only bad thing about sitting in the good seats: the people there just don't know how to be fans. Maybe it's better in Fenway. If I ever find a couple thousand bucks in the street, I'll buy myself some good tickets at the Fens and see if the same stuck up, snotty rich folk migrate there as well.

With all this talk of migrating stuck up, snotty rich folk, I can't help but think of A-Rod. The most recent updates of Truth and Rumors have him coming to the Sox. (PREDICTION: If A-Rod is not playing for the Yankees next year, he will be in Boston or San Francisco. You read it here first, folks.) My dad and I just had this conversation about A-Rod.

Dad: Would I root for A-Rod if he played shortstop for the Red Sox? You bet!
Me: So would you move Lugo to third, then?
Dad: We can move him to Tampa Bay.

That doesn't sound like such a bad idea, Dad. And actually, the more I think about it, it does make some sense. Let me put aside how much I hate A-Rod (even though I root for him in the deep dark recesses of my mind, because I know he has to catch Bonds and eclipse whatever home run mark he reaches) and consider this move. Add to it the resigning of Mike Lowell, and this could work out very well. Drew will continue to leadoff, which he's done very well lately at a clip of .346 in his last 52 AB's. Pedroia hits second, followed by A-Rod in the three-hole. This pushes Papi down to fourth, and Manny at fifth, since the guy we hired to bat fifth has now (in a move straight out of the twilight zone) become our leadoff man, that is, when he decides he's healthy enough to play. We can follow this with Youkilis, Lowell, and Varitek in really any order and Crisp batting ninth or leadoff, depending on whichever gods control the health of J.D. Drew.

But thinking about A-Rod in a Sox uniform is even more painful than watching Drew leadoff, so we'll just end this speculation here. You are, however, allowed to dream of Julio Lugo playing in some city far away from Boston.