Comments Off It’s baseball, and it’s fun and we are all lucky to witness yet another chapter of the rivalry that never fails to live up. So don’t go too crazy and try to enjoy this stuff. It won’t last forever.
Gotta have this one tonight. I want no part of the Unit in a de facto elimination game.
Check out a good piece by Cliff on how we got here…
Comments Off So it all comes down to this…
One of my first memories of being a Red Sox fan was sitting the bleachers wondering why Fenway was so quiet so early. Lenny Dykstra had just taken Oil Can Boyd’s first pitch into the right field seats. I was 2 months removed from my sixth birthday.
A few days later, I cried because the adults cried. I didn’t know why for a year or two. I didn’t have an appreciation of why it was important until October 2004.
We’re now 11 months removed from the Red Sox winning the World Series. Something that I still call one of the top five moments of my life, which is now a quarter-century long, and I know that Sully and Mullet are marginally older than I, would probably rank it up there as well. This is an event that was supposed to soften us, maybe remove some of our self-indulgent resolve that united us into the cliché of Red Sox Nation. As a collective, we were supposed to fade back into the baseball universe as nothing special, just people that love a baseball team.
If this is true, why am I so pissed off at the team all the time?
This is a new feeling for me. I’ve had a few outbursts in the past, usually as a guttural response of a season gone awry be it from something off the bat of an Aaron Boone or a Tony Pena, or wondering why Pedro is still in the game. Never have I been watching a run-of-the-mill regular season game and felt actual anger reaching to the top of my throat like I have this year.
I would like to know why. My life isn’t full of many emotional swings like this. I try hard to be even-keel with everything. In non-baseball pursuits, I honestly can’t remember the last time I so much as rose my voice. Yet this year, a year after we were supposed to become lobotomized versions of our former self (they even let you keep the brain!), I’ve become someone who throws pillows and swears a lot.
Since I was six years old, I’ve waited with baited breath for the very moment that I experienced in Charlie O’s on October 27, 2004. Whereas a victory was supposed to be like a shot of emotional heroin, I’m popping greenies to keep up. I’m angry because this team should be better. I’m angry because they could better.
I’m angry because they aren’t better.
This weekend, I’m sure that I will be dropping F-bombs, and pacing where as before I watched with a kind of calm amusement. Now that I’ve seen a ring, I want to see more. What’s more is that I never want to not be able to look up and see “World Champion Boston Red Sox” in the sky.
For long time readers, I haven’t written much this year because I don’t think I could keep my emotion out of it enough. I’m trying to rehabilitate myself back into the person that just loved baseball rather than be consumed with the right result. I’m sure there are a few people out there that can relate to me. I would guess there is more that actually feel the opposite. Then there are some who have no change. To wrap it all up…
We’re Red Sox fans. We’re human. Now kick the Yankees’ ass and ease my pain.
The Yankees were pounding the lifeless Orioles. The Indians were beating up on old friend Casey Fossum. And the Red Sox were losing 4-1.
And I’m sitting in the local eatery, eating a sub and getting updates from the guy behind the counter because my power went out.
Sully mentions liking metaphors. Maybe the power going out is a nice metaphor for what’s happened to the Sox lately. Lifeless. No energy. A distinct lack of power.
In the top of the 6th, the power arrived to my home.
In the bottom of the 6th, the power came back on in the Sox. You just can’t help but feel optimistic.
Three men have seemingly come through time and time again for the Sox, as they barrel down the home stretch of the 2005 season. Two of those players are guys you’d expect. One is 24 and was pitching in Portland just a couple of months ago. All three were instrumental in recharging the batteries of the wilting, lifeless Red Sox last night.
In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Sox trailed 4-1. Matt Clement had pitched one of his alright, but completely inefficient games, throwing 96 pitches through 5 innings, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks. The Sox trailed 4-1 and looked like they would sleepwalk to a 2-game deficit in the AL East (and a 1-game deficit in the Wild Card). But David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez would not comply. Ortiz singles to lead off the inning. Manny Ramirez strides to the plate, goes to an 0-1 count, and then promptly is Manny being Manny–he rips a pitch to right that lands in the Jays’ bullpen.
4-3.
With 1 out in the top of the 7th, Jonathan Papelbon comes into the game. He sandwiches a couple of outs around a double to get the Sox through the inning. When the Sox go scoreless in the bottom of the inning, Papelbon comes back out in the 8th and needs just 7 pitches to get the Jays in order and keep the Sox within striking distance.
Still, the Sox trailed by a run. So David Ortiz decided to add to his resume. On the 3rd pitch of the bottom of the 8th, Papi deposited a pitch into the Monster seats, sending Fenway into bedlam and started people around the country chanting “M-V-P.” Manny followed with a walk and then hustled to 3rd with a head first slide on a Varitek single. The power outage still affected the bottom of the order though. John Olerud, Bill Mueller, and Trot Nixon were unable to get the run home from 3rd with 0 outs.
Francona wisely stuck with Papelbon. Papelbon got a couple of groundouts, the second on a nifty play by Bill Mueller that had Papelbon off the back of the mound pointing and yelling excitedly. Maybe it’s his youthful exuberance. Maybe it’s because he hasn’t “been there before.” But it sure was nice to see someone on the Red Sox recognizing the importance of the moment. With 2 outs, he missed his spot a tiny bit, allowing Eric Hinske to line a double down the left field line. But, Papelbon is a battler. He came right back and got Gregg Zaun to pop out to keep the game tied heading into the bottom of the 9th.
All you needed to know at that moment was if a single batter reached, David Ortiz would come to the plate.
Johnny Damon singled with 1 out. Edgar Renteria walked. David Ortiz came to bat with gargantuan MVP chants ringing out. Toronto closer Miguel Batista worked around Papi a bit, with Ortiz taking a couple of suspect hacks. With the count 3-2, Ortiz lined a pitch into CF, right around the overshift. Damon raced around and was greeted by a throng of teammates at home plate.
5-4.
The power’s back on at Fenway.
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Tonight’s pitching matchups:
Yankees @ Sox: Wang vs. Wells
White Sox @ Cleveland: Buehrle vs. Millwood
I’m going to be on Radio Open Source in about an hour to talk about the Red Sox and Yankees and whatever else might come up. It’s one of the premier public radio shows, airs on WGBH here in Boston, gets streamed over the internet, and is available in podcast form (my preferred format).
Jay Jaffe of Futility Infielder and Cliff Corcoran of Bronx Banter will be on as well. They’re both far better writers and far more widely known, so I’m definitely playing the role of David in this one.
Both Jeff and Sully probably would have been better options, but I get the gig because I’ve got the sexy radio voice. And because I was available.
Listen in and let me know how I do. I’ll try not to embarrass Red Sox Nation.
Comments Off So it’s been a dark and dreary day here in Boston, what with the weather and last night’s game and all. But situated about 300 feet up in the air here in downtown Boston and glancing to the southwest, I can accurately report that clearer skies are on the way.
I like metaphors.
Well if Tuesday night’s contest hurt because it felt like an opportunity squandered, last night’s loss hurt because it was just plain demoralizing. Demoralizing in that some of the most talented Red Sox once again failed to make any sort of impact, demoralizing in that some of the least talented Red Sox are still counted upon to fulfill roles for which they are wholly unsuited. Last night was September 28, the Red Sox were in a tie for the American League East lead and Kevin Millar started at 1st Base. A team with serious aspirations does not allow that to happen, not this late in the year. If a team with serious aspirations does in fact allow that to happen as the Red Sox did last night (and countless other nights this season), then someone ought to address the incompetence that provokes one to believe Kevin Millar should have a serious role on a championship caliber club.
For me, one of SoSH’s very best, DieHard3 sums it up.
When it comes right down to it, all Francona could do about the pitching was rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. I have grave doubts that anything they did would have dramatically changed the result. For instance, last night. I agree it was questionable whether to have Schilling pitch the 7th. Anybody honestly think any combination of Hanson, Bradford, and Myers would have held the Jays scoreless until the 9th? And, if they did, what’s the chance of Timlin blowing the save? Ultimately, a moot point.
For what could be a fine reason, Theo Epstein decided not to upgrade the pitching staff at the trade deadline. I don’t really think you can fault that either. For a season, we horded prospects who look like they can be difference makers instead of squandering them on patches.
However, when the final analysis is written on this regular season, and we are a game or two behind both the Indians and the Yankees, the place where the manager can be blamed is at first base. Terry Francona stayed loyal to Kevin Millar through a putrid first half, and was rewarded with an empty stat line in the second half that looks respectable but really isn’t.
Roberto Petagine wasted away at Pawtucket. I think that was worth at least a game or two from June through August. And, if you’re not a fan of Petagine, Jay Payton rotted on the bench while Ortiz stayed at DH and Manny played like a butcher in LF. A few starts in LF for Payton may have made a difference of a game.
Yes, ultimately the problem this year was the pitching. However, pitching help was not available at a price the GM was willing to pay. The team’s offense could have been improved by a manager’s decision. The team’s defense could have been intermittently improved by a manager’s decision. They were not.
For all the haggling over Lenny DiNardo or Manny Delcarmen or Craig Hansen, what are we really talking about? Aren’t Tito’s hands pretty tied with the pitching staff? Absolving the Red Sox altogether for Schilling and Foulke this season would be to let them off too easy – both should have been held out longer than when they made their initial returns from injury – but isn’t the reality that without these two (and Embree) we all should have expected a rocky road this year on the run prevention side? I understand that some different off-season pitching moves could have mitigated the effects of some of these problems but that’s not the point right now. There will be time to address personnel decisions in the off-season (sure would have been nice to have Pedro’s 217 innings this year). Now is time to simply take a look at what might have been done a little differently to have made a difference this year and DH3 nails it. The amount of playing time Kevin Millar logged, with either Roberto Petagine, Jay Payton or both being in the mix all year long, will have cost this team the post-season if they fail to qualify.
As for last night’s game, it was pretty much a microcosm of the stretch run; shoddy pitching, a lacking offense and questionable managing. Bronson Arroyo was not as bad as his stat line will look but he made three absolutely critical mistakes and paid dearly for all three. He hung a slider on the inner half of the plate to Vernon Wells that ended up in the Monster Seats and missed badly with two fastballs to Frank Catalanotto and Eric Hinske, who each homered. Lenny DiNardo and Manny Delcarmen came on to shut the Jays down the rest of the way (woulda been nice to see those two Tuesday night) but the damage had been done. As for the offense, it was really just Edgar Renteria and David Ortiz that provided anything at all. Ted Lilly, though not as stellar as he has been against the Sox in the past, was pretty darn good.
You hate to dwell on something like this but it needs to be said. During the most critical stretch of the season, Captain Jason Varitek has been downright pitiful. He is as much a drain on this club as any player has been at any point during this season. At .171/.284/.200 for September, he’s got nothing on the April version of Edgar Renteria or the May Kevin Millar. And look, he’s entitled to a slump. But maybe this terrible stretch during such a critical time will make people reconsider the personal characteristics they assign to baseball players when they happen to perform well on the biggest stages. Peter Gammons, when talking about Varitek, typically needs to excuse himself he fawns over him so badly. Well what of Varitek now? If he is so clutch, if he is such a fantastic leader, hell if he is worth $40 million through his mid-thirties, why is he wilting like an unwatered, 3-year old houseplant down the stetch?
Managerially, there may have been some pitching nitpicks but I only want to dwell on one move that I found absolutely appalling. In the bottom of the 8th inning, with the score 7-2 Jays, two men on and Trot Nixon coming up, John Gibbons came and got Vinnie Chaulk and replcaed him with Scott Schoenweis, a tough lefty that can get lefthanded hitters out with the best of them. Trot Nixon is a tough lefthanded hitter himself, who can be dispensed by a tough southpaw as easily as some of the lightest-hitting players in the game. Nixon has hit lefties at a .244/.359/.333 clip this year with 4 extra-base hits in 92 plate appearances. Between 2002 and 2004 he hit .220/.293/.348 against southpaws, with 16 extra-base hits in 252 plate appearances. And yet, with two men on in the 8th inning, a five-run deficit, the division tied and the Yankees winning, let the record show that Terry Francona stuck with Trot Nixon as Adam Hyzdu, Doug Mirabelli, Roberto Petagine and Kelly Shoppach watched from the dugout. Again, it’s either a lack of commitment to winning or gross incompetence. Take your pick.
All is not even close to lost, so stay tuned. It will be Scott Downs and Matt Clement tonight at Fenway, while Aaron Small goes up against Erik Bedard down at Camden. At the Jake, it will be old pal Casey Fossum against C.C. Sabathia. The Sox are tied with Cleveland, and trail the Yanks by a game.
Comments Off I tend to be unimpressed with assertions when little else accompanies them. If you tell me that “the average driver now drives 92 MPH” but don’t mention anything else, why would I believe you? If you present some data or tell me about a study you read, well, that’s a different story altogether. The point I am getting at may seem simple enough but when it comes to sports, and particularly baseball, baseless assertions impersonate cogency all the time, and nowhere in the world are baseless assertions passed off as truth with more ease and frequency than at “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark”, Fenway Park.
Here’s a sampling of some of the stuff I heard last night. And keep in mind; this was just within earshot of me.
“David Ortiz has to be the MVP. I mean, look at this shift they put on for him. You ever seen this shift put on for A-Rod?”
“Trot Nixon always hits well at the end of the year because Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz bat in front of him.”
“Manny Ramirez deserves MVP votes for protecting Ortiz all year.”
“Kevin Millar has been a lot better than people give him credit for…Shea Hillenbrand sucks.”
“Jason Varitek always comes through in these (clutch) situations.”
“Manny Ramirez is the most overrated player on the team.”
“Look at that. Groundball right at the 1st Baseman and Billy Mueller hustling his ass off down the line. The average fan just doesn’t understand how much that helps a ballclub.”
Now, I am not a baseball snob and realize that I spend more time reading and writing about the game than most. I experience the game differently than the majority of baseball fans and I am sensitive to the notion that everyone is entitled to enjoy the sport in any way they choose. But why is everyone so eager to demonstrate how much he or she knows (whether they know about the issue at hand or not) at a ballpark? The interesting part of baseball for me is always the unknown. Three years back, when I first started to read Bill James and Pete Palmer and really look at the game more analytically, I used to enjoy scouring the OBP leader-boards to find players that were better than I had ever realized. Guys like Craig Biggio and Frank Thomas were players of historic significance, and I never had realized it. Now, however, I believe I have acquired a sort of given understanding that on-base percentage is an important component of an offensive baseball player’s worth. Accordingly, I have no problem asserting that Derrek Lee had a much better year than Andruw Jones in 2005. I know that to be the case because I have put the time in to be able to know that. I now spend my analytical pursuits on things I don’t know a helluva lot about. Things like DIPS and the value of a clutch hit. Those are things I do not feel I have a great grasp of and therefore, you won’t hear me popping off about them.
A large part of me feels bad for the close-minded sports fan. I was one for about 21 years of my life. However, since I started trying to understand the sports about which I had always been so opinionated, I have been exposed to a whole new level of enjoyment of baseball and to a lesser extent, the other games I follow. I wish the most vocal sports fans were the most informed but they’re not, and the informed sports fan is palpably absent amongst the so-called “Smartest Baseball Fans in the World.”
Game 1:
Starting the day a half-game back of the Yankees, the Red Sox were hoping to pull even sometime before 4pm. And they did, on the strength of another fantastic Tim Wakefield outing. Wakefield picked up his 16th win, throwing 7 innings of 3 hit ball, giving up a single unearned run, as the Sox got out to an early lead and coasted to a 3-1 win over Dave Bush and the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Sox struck right away, with a Johnny Damon single, followed by an Edgar Renteria double. David Ortiz moved both runners along, scoring Damon with a ground out. Manny Ramirez singled to center driving in Renteria with what would turn out to be the winning run. The Sox would pick up their 3rd run in the 5th inning on back-to-back doubles by Renteria and Ortiz. That would be it for the offense–6 hits on the day, 5 from the top four hitters (the 6th from Alex Cora).
After Wakefield departed at the end of the 7th, Terry Francona went to Jonathan Papelbon for the 8th. Papelbon struggled a bit, putting men on first and third with one out before getting Vernon Wells to foul out and striking out Shea Hillenbrand to end the threat. Papelbon gave way to Mike Timlin who closed the game out, allowing a lone baserunner on a Corey Koskie single.
At approximately 3:28, the Red Sox and Yankees were once again tied atop the AL East.
Enough cannot be said about what Tim Wakefield has meant to the Red Sox down the stretch. His September ERA dropped below 2.00 after yesterday’s performance, and he’s thrown a much needed 40+ innings in September, giving the bullpen some needed rest. He’ll be back on short rest on Saturday and may be the Sox only consistent starter heading into the Yankees series (and, possibly, the post-season).
Game 2:
After all of the uproar about who likes or doesn’t like Curt Schilling, the opportunity arose for Mr. Schilling to end the issue. With the Indians and Yankees both falling behind early, the Red Sox had a chance to move a game up in both the East and Wild Card hunts.
Once again, the Sox struck first, scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 3rd off of Jays’ starter Gustavo Chacin. The Sox offense, as it often does, strung together a series of hits (a Tony Graffanino single, Damon double, Renteria double, Ortiz single, and Ramirez single), plating 3 runs and exciting the Fenway faithful, who’d seen Schilling give up just 2 singles to that point.
After 3 innings, the Sox were up and Schilling had allowed just 2 hits. In the top of the 4th, Schilling gave up a single to Corey Koskie, quickly got two strikeouts, and then made a single mistake to Gregg Zaun. Zaun capitalized, cutting the Sox’ lead to 3-2.
The Sox picked up a couple more runs in the 4th, when Bill Mueller scored on a Trot Nixon double. Nixon then scored on back-to-back singles by Johnny Damon and Edgar Renteria, making the score 5-2 Sox. The top four in the Sox batting order had a stellar double header, going 13 for 32 with all 8 RBI. The rest of the Sox lineup had 5 hits combined in the two games.
Leading 5-2, with the Indians trailing and the Yankees in a battle against the suddenly frisky Orioles, Schilling went back to the mound to try and help the Sox to a 1 game lead. He got hit hard in the 5th, allowing 3 consecutive hits (and a sac fly) which cut the Sox lead down to 5-4, before striking out Koskie and Hillenbrand to end the inning. At this point, it was pretty obvious that it was not going to be a great night for Schilling, who simply didn’t have command of his pitches. As captured by Chris Snow in today’s Globe:
Succinctly, Schilling said, ”My fastball command has been just horse [crap].”
Francona ran Schilling back out for the 6th inning, trying to avoid the bullpen more than really expecting much out of Schilling, but this would prove to be costly. Schilling coasted through the 6th with a 1-2-3 inning, picking up his 8th strikeout. This performance convinced Francona to send Schilling back out for the 7th–just one decision by Francona that will be second guessed for a long time.
Schilling gave up 3 singles to the Jays, allowing his 5th run of the night and tying the game. Francona finally went to Mike Myers (arguably one batter too late). Myers failed at his job, walking Corey Koskie. Myers gave way to Chad Bradford, who got Hillenbrand and Hinske to end the inning. Bradford would start the 8th facing Gregg Zaun, a switch hitter. Bradford makes lefties look like David Ortiz and walked Zaun, before giving up a single to Reed Johnson. After an Aaron Hill sacrifice, Francona went to Craig Hansen.
It’s hard to know what to think about that. I’ve argued that it’s important to go to your best arms when you’re in high leverage situations, and even though Hansen is young, he seems to have electric stuff. That being said, this was a situation that cried out for Papelbon or Timlin, the Sox top 2 relievers. It’s a tie game with runners on 2nd and 3rd and one out. That’s about as high leverage as it gets.
Unfortunately, either Francona had decided Papelbon and Timlin weren’t available after pitching in the first game, or he simply wasn’t going to use them if the Sox weren’t protecting a lead. Hansen gave up a sac fly, scoring the Blue Jays 6th run. The Blue Jays also got to Hansen for a single and a walk, but Hansen was able to escape unharmed.
The Sox went scoreless in the bottom of the 8th. Tony Graffanino hit into a double play on which he was thrown out by at least 30 feet–meaning his injury is probably more severe than most think right now. Down by a run, once again Francona was faced with a decision on who to bring in to keep the game close.
Francona decided on Chad Harville, who’s probably the worst pitcher in the bullpen. Harville walked the first batter he faced, gave up a double, got a foul out, then hit a batter to load the bases. It was an awful performance from a pitcher who had no business being in a close game when there were a number of better options (Papelbon, Timline, Gonzalez, Delcarmen, DiNardo). Francona’s lack of faith in DiNardo and Delcarmen is troubling and may well be his worst trait as a manager.
After the beaning, Francona finally removed Harville, going with Jeremi Gonzalez. Gonzalez gave up a sac fly, scoring Toronto’s 7th and final run.
The Sox top 3 hitters went down with a nary a whisper. Sox lose, 7-5.
The silver lining to our dark cloud? Both the Yankees and Indians lost, leaving all 3 teams in a dead heat at 92-65.
The pitching matchups tonight:
Toronto-Ted Lilly vs. Boston-Bronson Arroyo
Tampa Bay-Seth McClung vs. Cleveland-Cliff Lee
New York-Shawn Chacon vs. Baltimore-Daniel Cabrera
Sully should be by this afternoon with a little something to tide you over until game time.
If Curt Schilling’s 2004 performance was enough to earn him the good will of the media and fans, to the point of absolving him of guilt when he says/does things that are detrimental to the team, surely the career Red Sox performances of the oft-criticized Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez have done enough to similarly absolve them of guilt when they say/do things that are detrimental to the team.
All three players were members of “The 25.” Both Pedro and Schill pitched with significant injuries in must win games in the playoffs (surely you haven’t forgotten this game). All three players were/are/have been, during their stretches in Boston, amongst the elite at their positions. All are paid well/overpaid (Schilling is earning about $500k less than Martinez this year). Two of the three are outspoken.
Yet two of the players have been degraded, demeaned, and questioned by the legitimate press. One hasn’t been. Two of the players have been pilloried by a tabloid-style site I won’t link to since I refuse to give it credence. One hasn’t been.
It is that simple. That is the double standard the unnamed player was referring to.
I’m not in favor of rooting against Curt Schilling. My last ticket of the year was to last night’s rain out, and I’m sorely disappointed I won’t get to see Schilling pitch. As a baseball fan, it is a joy to watch him play the game. But he is the beneficiary of a double standard and I don’t think it is even arguable.
Holy Shit, folks. I am not sure it has ever been as on as it is this week. Postseason Odds.
In a million simulations of the rest of the season, here are the percentage of times the Yanks win the AL East and the percentage of times the Sox win:
New York: 50.50025
Boston: 49.49975
Wow.
Comments Off Honest to God…In case you haven’t read or heard, here’s the money quote from Bob Hohler’s piece today in the Boston Globe.
In his bleakest hour, Schilling indicated, he has imagined a better life after baseball. That moment came after a teammate, whom he declined to identify, complained that Schilling should have received more grief than he has from fans for underachieving. Schilling was stung.
”Somebody on this team wants me to get booed to make them feel better, and that really bothers me a lot,” said Schilling, 38, who hopes to pitch two more years. ”Those are the kinds of things that really make me look at this game and understand that when I’m done in the game, I’ll be done with the game.”
Gammons has been on the radio the last few days saying essentially that Manny Ramirez holds a real grudge against Schilling for the way Schill gets treated both by ownership and the fans. The two also had a very public spat in Tampa Bay when Manny asked for the day off a month or so back. So we will assume Schill is referring to Manny, admittedly based on somewhat flimsy evidence.
I have two thoughts on this. First, Manny’s dead right. Ramirez has been a good player this year. Not a superstar, but a real asset. He was the World Series MVP last year and yet he gets roasted by both ignorant fans and the local media that can’t seem to figure out that the guy does a lot to help the Red Sox win. Meanwhile Schilling, whose hubris had him back on a pitcher’s mound way too early this Spring, has not pitched well at all and yet he gets a free pass. Personally, I don’t think either Manny or Schilling deserve any grief from fans or media. But you can understand Manny’s frustration, particularly when Schilling has no problem trotting out the holier-than-thou routine and will regularly call Manny out in a de facto public manner.
My second thought is this; why in God’s name is Schilling raising this issue now, with seven games remaining and in the heat of a pennant race? Whatever his level of frustration, however right or wrong he is, this couldn’t have waited?
Anyway, unless Mullet takes a stab at the issue, that’s the last you’ll hear of it here. I am not going to dwell on sideshows during such a great week of baseball. But I thought I would mention my feelings on this matter, as I am sure the mainstream reaction will be to try to both identify and filet the Schill detractor. After all, the windbag has this city in the palm of his hand.
Comments Off With one man out and two men on base in a scorelees tie in the 4th inning, Rodrigo Lopez had a golden opportunity to escape the trouble he had gotten himself into. John Flaherty (.169/.212/.258) and Bubba Crosby (.280/.302/.333) were coming up and if he could just bear down and get those two, he would be out of the inning unscathed or having surrendered just one run. Unbelievably, he nibbled and nibbled until he lost Flaherty, who inudced Lopez’s fourth walk in less than four innings. He did get Bubba Crosby to pop-out but the damage was done. The bases were loaded and the game’s best top-of-the-order was coming up. Derek Jeter walked (Lopez’s fifth) in the game’s first run, Alex Rodriguez doubled to deep left field to plate two runs, Jason Giambi homered for another three runs, Gary Sheffield forced Lopez’s sixth walk and Hideki Matsui finally flied out to end the inning but the damage was most definitely done.
The Yanks won 11-3, and the six-run 4th was the key. Could have been a lot different had Lopez realized that John Flaherty was, um, John Flaherty.
The Red Sox were rained out and will play a day-night double-header today. Tim Wakefield will go at 1 and oppose Dave Bush. Curt Schilling tosses the nightcap against Gustavo Chacin. Have fun, everybody.
Comments Off And so just as they were on the morning of September 26, 1949, the Red Sox and Yankees sit tied atop the standings. Forget Varitek hitting A-Rod in the face or any FOX sideshow musical montages, this is real, legendary drama that ought to make even the stodgiest of purists perk up – even if the quality of the baseball play leaves a tad to be desired. George Will, enjoy; David Halberstam, get your pen out; and even you too, Bob Costas, can stop talking about everything wrong with baseball and enjoy this week.
The Red Sox are still tied with the Yankees this morning because they thrashed the Baltimore Orioles yesterday, 9-3, thanks to a solid outing from a gimpy David Wells and a relentless offensive attack. Manny Ramirez is hitting folks, and you have to like the way this whole team has been swinging the bats over the last 5 games or so as they head home for the remainder of the regular season. They have hit .283/.363/.461 at home this year.
The only sour taste that this weekend left in my mouth was that now the Yankees get their shot for four against these same, downtrodden, pathetic Baltimore Orioles. Maybe the O’s have some fight left in them but I can’t see it. The Red Sox should be gunning for the Toronto Blue Jays, as anything less than a sweep may result in a deficit heading into next weekend’s unthinkably dramatic, seaon-ending series against the Bombers.
Curt Schilling faces David Bush tonight, and for all of Schilling’s faults there is nobody I would rather have the ball to start out such a pressure-packed week. For crissakes folks, please, enjoy this week. It may be another 27, or heck, 56 years until we see anything like it again.
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For some comic relief, check out this dude’s boston.com essay-winning contest piece defending David Ortiz’s MVP candidacy (A-Rod’s defense is on the right, and is pretty good). If this doesn’t end the debate, I don’t know what will.
Comments Off The Red Sox had 8 singles and 5 walks yesterday en route to 4 runs.
The Orioles parlayed 6 singles, 3 doubles, a home run and 7 walks into just 3 runs.
At this point in the year, however, style points don’t mean anything. But, um, being outplayed is generally not the best formula for sustained success. One week to go, hold on tight.
You could almost hear the cacophony of keyboards as all of the Boston scribes lined up to rip Terry Francona for bringing in Craig Hansen. It’s a situation where Francona almost can’t win. If he doesn’t bring in Hansen, everyone chides him for not having faith in the kids. If he brings in Hansen, and he gives up a run, people will wonder why a kid was in such a tight spot.
With Matt Clement having given the Sox six of the least efficient shutout innings in history (116 pitches, only 65 strikes, 4 hits, 6 BB), Francona brought on wunderkind Craig Hansen to face 9-1-2 of the Orioles order. Hansen quickly struck out Luis Matos. Bernie Castro followed with a high chopper that Bill Mueller simply had no play on. Melvin Mora came up, saw a fastball and a really poor slider (Hansen had no offspeed stuff yesterday) and then turned on a 95 mph fastball and deposited just a couple of rows into the left field bleachers.
2-2. Tie game.
Honestly, I expected Francona to go get Hansen right there. But he stuck with him. Hansen got Miguel Tejada to ground out to short. I expected Francona to go get Hansen again. But, once again, he stuck with him, making the right decision (in my opinion). Hansen faced the lefty Jay Gibbons, even with Mike Myers up and ready in the pen. With so little time left in the regular season, it is imperative to determine if Hansen can be effective against righties and lefties. Hansen got Gibbons to chop a lazy groundball up the middle, but Hansen couldn’t get his glove on it and it bounced into CF. Javy Lopez then ripped a ball to the gap in left-center, but Manny Ramirez made a fantastic defensive play, cutting the ball off and getting it into the infield quickly, holding Gibbons at 3rd. That ended Hansen’s night. Mike Myers came on and got BJ Surhoff to end the inning.
Hansen’s line score isn’t good. But Francona proved that he was willing to go with the best arm in the ‘pen, regardless of age or tenure. That’s not something he’s been willing to do much this season and it was refreshing. It was also the right decision. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.
The Sox went scoreless in the top of the 8th, and Francona went to wunderkind #2, Jonathan Papelbon. Papelbon gave up a single to Chris Gomez. The Orioles tried to move pinch runner Ed Rogers to 2nd, but David Newhan (who famously hates Ottawa) popped up a bunt for the first out. Papelbon battled with Luis Matos, finally striking him out, with the strikeout punctuated by Jason Varitek catching Ed Rogers stealing 2nd base. Going to the best arm in the pen, regardless of age, is going to work more often than not.
Bill Mueller started the 9th for the Sox, popping out to second. Not a great at-bat by the Pro. Trot Nixon scooted a groundball into the hole at SS, placing it where even he could beat it out. Tony Graffanino poked a ball to right, moving Nixon to 3rd (before being replaced by pinch runner Adam Stern). B.J. Ryan walked Johnny Damon on 4 pitches to load the bases.
At this point, I actually lost a little hope. It’s not something I’m proud of. But I know I wasn’t the only one envisioning creative ways Edgar Renteria could hit into a double play. I was partial to the 1-2-3 double play. It’s simply how things have been going for the Sox.
Renteria, however, had other things in mind. He looped the first pitch from Ryan into short left field, scoring Nixon and the hustling Adam Stern, giving the Sox a 4-2 lead and temporarily removing the giant fork from his back.
Francona went to Mike Timlin for the 9th. Timlin has been shaky lately, not because he doesn’t have a “closer’s mentality” but because he’s 59 years old and has appeared in more games hits year than at any point in his career. Timlin walked the pesky Bernie Castro, who was then doubled home by Jay Gibbons with 2 outs. Javy Lopez then drove a ball to deep right, which I’m sure allowed Jerry Trupiano to give a heart attack to any of the folks listening on radio, but landed nicely in Nixon’s glove just a few feet short of the track.
4-3. Ball game. Back in first place.
Both the Sox and Yankees have 8 games left. People are dreaming up dramatic scenarios that have the Sox and Yankees tied and in a playoff, or have the season decided on the last day of the season.
Fuck that.
I want the Sox to go 5-0 and the Yankees 0-5 leading into the last series of the year. I want it to be over. I want the Sox to start Lenny DiNardo, Jeremi Gonzalez, and Kevin Millar in those last 3 games. I want them to be meaningless. I don’t care about romanticism or drama or redemption. Those are the things that old people want so they can tell their kids stories or so they can come up with another lame book to foist on the good people of Red Sox Nation.
The rest of us? We just like to win.
Manny Ramirez delivered the signagture blow of the game, an enormous two-run home run to left-center field while Bronson Arroyo and Trot Nixon also did their parts. It was a win the Red Sox badly needed, as the Yankees continued their winning ways last night with an impressive 5-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
That Manny was the hero last night was particularly satisfying because it came on the same night as Dan Shaughnessy’s most recent hatchet job. I suppose it’s a personal failure of mine that I allow this turd to continue to get my dander up, but what can I say? I’m only human, the guy writes for a respectable publication, and he is as reprehensible as they come. Consider….
The front office, the manager, and Sox teammates have made their peace with Manny because, apparently, they feel they have no choice. But what about the fans? I’m amazed Red Sox fans look the other way when Manny dogs it, especially in the middle of a pennant race. Normal standards just don’t apply with this guy. Winning doesn’t matter to him and it seems to be OK with all of you. Amazing.
No fuckhead, what’s amazing is the fact that you willingly insult your readers in your bullshit columns. What’s amazing is that you brush aside Manny’s production as if it’s a mere detail in the big picture while focusing on the groundballs Manny doesn’t run out (something plenty of other MLB players do too). Here’s a tip, Dan. A .950 OPS and bigtime home runs during a pennant drive help a team out a whole lot more than running your ass off on a chopper back to the pitcher.
Shaughnessy just sucks and this latest episode just reinforces his suckitude. Essentially, he predicted back on June 26 that the Red Sox would run away with the Division. Everyone thought Dan had changed his tune from unbearable, super-negative, pseudo-racist hack to unbearable, super-positive, Michael Kay-style fanboy. But here’s the thing. Dan put himself in a position to be one of two things; correct or negative. If the Red Sox had in fact run away with the thing, the CHB could remind you and remind you of his prescient call. But if the Red Sox faltered, as they have, he would be able to dust off the “Red Sox are put on earth to torture us” routine. And sure enough, in this latest column, we got this…
I should have known better. These are, after all, the Red Sox, and that trophy you have been photographed with doesn’t change the fundamental dynamic between the town and the team. The Sox have been put on this earth to make us suffer. My eyes have seen the gory. The Sox are here to test our resolve. That’s why Lobel’s got the panic alert button and why the sharp objects have been locked away between now and Oct. 2.
Too funny. If witnessing perhaps the most exciting championship (or ALCS at least) in MLB history and having the opportunity to watch Williams, Doerr, Yaz, Rice, Evans, Boggs, Clemens, Pedro, Nomar, Manny, Papi and Schilling over the years constitutes “suffering”, then what the hell have fans of other baseball teams gone through all this time? What shortsighted, provincial poop.
Anyway, enough of the CHB. I am somewhat embarassed to have spent even this much time on him but Christ, what a useless piece of shit the guy is and the fact that he gets to publish this nonsense in a respectable publication never fails to just blow me away. He’s not smart, in fact I happen to believe he is pretty obtuse, he’s not a talented writer and he relishes the caricature he has made of his career. He’s a one-trick pony with no talent.
The Red Sox play at 4:35 today at Camden, and will send Matt Clement to the hill while the O’s counter with Erik Bedard. Gulp. The Yanks play at 1:05 and send Jaret Wright to the hill against the Jays. So that’s nice. Drink lots of fluids and take deep breaths. Or something.
If the Yanks do hold on to win this thing, it will be because they were able to admit mistakes, diagnose problems and have the stones to make bold decisions in order to find solutions while the Red Sox were, at best, too slow to diagnose their own shortcomings. As bad as the Yanks were in the off-season, and they were awful, they deserve credit for putting together a 95-win club made up of a couple of old guys, a couple of superstars and a slew of cast-aways.
Injuries or crappy performance from starting pitchers? Hell, let’s try Aaron Small….and Wang…and trade for Shawn Chacon…hell we should even try Tim Redding and Darrell May. So Womack didn’t turn out like we thought he would? Call the Cano kid up. Bernie a problem in CF? Let’s see if Melky can’t help out. Sheff struggling with some injuries? Let’s see if Lawton’s available.
Some moves worked unbelievably well while others didn’t but the point is that the Yanks were willing to address issues and cut losses, admit mistakes, and really just do whatever they had to in order to try and find solutions.
Meanwhile, Kevin Millar continues to log serious playing time for Boston with a guy who won an MVP in Japan and made the International League look like Tee-Ball on the bench.
This post was borne out of a rant I made on the Replacement Level Yankee Weblog this morning. At least I thought it was a rant. But rants are supposed to be knee-jerk and reactionary, rarely the result of clear-headedness. Thing is, 7 hours later I feel the same way.
Hopefully a rusty Moose has his ass handed to him tonight.
Just like that, the Sox are out of the playoffs. Or they would be, if the season ended today.
It’s hard to be rational about this team, given the way they’ve played as of late, but I will do my best. Tim Wakefield gave another pretty solid performance, seven full innings of 2 run ball before running into trouble in the 8th. It would have been seven full innings of 1 run ball, but Alex Cora and Kevin Millar combined on a beautiful error in the 2nd inning that allowed a run to score.
The 8th, however, is where it all came apart. After allowing a hit, a wild pitch, and then hitting a batter, Wakefield induced a double play ball from Carl Crawford (a feat in itself). With 2 outs and a runner on 3rd, Wake gave up a single making it a 4-3 game. Terry Francona came out, signalled to the pen, and out strode Mike Timlin. It took Timlin five hitters to get that 3rd out. 2 singles, a double, and a triple later, the Devil Rays had a 7-4 lead and were looking to knock the Sox out of 1st place.
The Sox countered with David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and John Olerud. Danys Baez vs. the heart of the Sox order. Ortiz grounded out on the first pitch. Ramirez struck out in a five pitch at-bat. John Olerud flew out just five pitches later.
And that was it. 11 pitches and the Sox are out of the playoffs. At least for today.
Final Score: 7-4 Rays.
It’s not over yet. I’m not going to give you the Animal House routine, but it is certainly not over. Regardless, this team, particularly its on- and off-the-field management, are going to be open to a lot of criticism and questioning when the regular season ends. I still stand by what I said back in July: this team (front office/manager) has put a lot of weight into the idea that chemistry is important to winning. Right now, I’d just rather have talent.
Comments Off I honestly didn’t know if they had that in them. I thought they’d scratch and claw and battle it out to the end but with so many slumping and the starting pitching failing them a bit, things were looking a tad bleak. I would not have gone as far as Mazz, who once again has made himself out to be an absolute imbecile. Here was yesterday’s declaration…
Personally, I think they’re cooked. And deep in their heart of hearts, you can only wonder if the Red Sox know it.
On the same day that Tony Mazz put forth that the Sox were “cooked”, they went out and put up a .438/.491/.792 line while holding Tampa Bay to a measly .182/.212/.313. They won 15-2 and I am not sure it was even that close. Imagine if a team with Barry Bonds coming up in all 9 batting spots faced a team with, say, Ramon Santiago or Brad Ausmus in all 9 batting spots? That’s what last night was like. A first-order drubbing.
Curt Schilling was magnificent, and that shouldn’t be lost in all of the praise for the offense. He posted 7 K’s in 7 innings before giving way to Manny Delcarmen and Lenny Dinardo, who each looked great themselves. Terry Francona, despite an enormous lead, stuck with Schilling for 114 pitches. I don’t have a problem with that. Schill should be stretched out a bit before the critical upcoming week and hopefully – hopefully – the postseason.
Offensively, it was the three best hitters on the team that carried the weight. David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Trot Nixon combined for 29 total bases and although I would never expect to see such ridiculous combined output from that trio again, it will have to be these three that spearheads the offense in my opinion. The .950 OPS Jason Varitek was nice and all for a while but that’s not who he is. He is an excellent hitter for a catcher, but by no means an offensive force that can carry your attack. The .900 OPS Johnny Damon we experienced for 4 months was a blast to have around but that isn’t Damon. He’s a nice table-setter with sneaky pop that plays a whale of a centerfield. That makes him a very good, if not great player but again, he is not the type that should be a top-two hitter in a championship caliber lineup. No, the trio of sluggers from last night’s game are the truly gifted hitters on this team and I would guess that, like last night, as these three go so goes the Red Sox offense from here on out. So let’s hope last night was just the beginning.
Unfortunately, just as Sunday’s ugly defeat did not hurt the Sox because Toronto beat the Bombers, last night’s ass-kicking didn’t earn Boston any separation. The Yanks had their big sticks out as well, as they put up a 12-spot on Baltimore.
Comments Off From Steven Levitt on April 2, 2005…
So what does Billy Beane do in the off season? He deals two of his top starters to other teams. And after four years of averaging 97 games a year, the gambling markets at www.tradesports.com project the A’s to win 83 games this year. If there were markets for multiple years in the future, my guess is that Oakland is not expected to be a good team again for the forseeable future. So I guess not everyone is in the cult of Moneyball after all.
Now this is a man that has earned far-reaching renown for his recent book, Freakonomics, and given his status as Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and research fellow at the American Bar foundation, he is doubtless more intelligent than me. I have a tough time mustering a ton of respect, however, for someone who fails to recognize the limitations of their own areas of expertise. Levitt is smart, and therefore convincing when he understands his material. But also because he is smart, he is convincing when he does not know his material. So the above is good and snarky and sounds cogent enough, and I am sure he had plenty of people believing that Billy Beane was a damned fool. Well is there anything more silly-looking than ignorance about one’s own ignorance? And if that isn’t humiliating enough for you, try this on…
Just as the A’s are about to head south, he negotiates a lucrative contract extension and becomes the first baseball GM to get an ownership share (but he doesn’t have any liability for losses, only sharing in the gains!).
That is genius.
Steven? You there, Steven?
Edit: Well Steven was kind enough to offer up in the comments section here something I missed that he had posted August 3rd – essentially conceding he was wrong on the A’s. So I have a little egg on my face now…sorry for the snark, Steven.
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