The Red Sox Rag

2003-11-14T21:29:00.000-05:00

Been Away

Sorry for the lack of activity. Been busy for a while. I'll try to find time to comment on the off-season happenings soon.

2003-10-17T09:45:00.000-04:00

Feeling Better
It took me a few days, but I'm finally moving past the hurt of Game 7. At first, I wanted Grady's head on a pike. He may still need to be fired, simply because it's difficult to allow the face of the Boston Red Sox to be a man widely perceived by both Boston fans and other fans alike, as a complete and total moron.

And yet, if we are to believe what we hear, one of the reasons the Sox were so tight-knit this year is Grady's ability to manage a clubhouse. His game tactics are simply horrendous. Some of the worst I've ever seen, particularly when it comes to managing pitchers. But a different style of manager might hinder the team more than it helps. There are no easy answers. Heck, Bobby Cox has the same rap in Atlanta. Great clubhouse guy, terrible strategist.

So, I await the results. Apparently, they're waiting for some boring series between the Yankees and Marlins to make the annoucement. No, i'm not watching. Given the choice between watching Darth Vader and his minions add another trophy to their pile of treasure with a yawn and a snicker or the 4 die hard Marlins fans celebrate, I've chosen to persue other hobbies. College basketball is right around the corner and my UConn Huskies are pre-season #1!

2003-10-16T23:10:00.000-04:00

FIRE GRADY LITTLE

FIRE HIM RIGHT NOW!!! YOU FORREST GUMP PIECE OF SHIT!! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO US!!!

2003-10-14T22:59:00.000-04:00

Not Much Positive to Say

Offense and defense sucked and Manny blew a huge chance. His HR was meaningless in context. Millar, Nomar, and Mueller are about as useless a trio with the bat I've ever seen. I have zero confidence when any one of them is up. Our pitching has been more than good enough. The bats have let us down big time. Wells is hittable. We need two in a row in NY and we have to rely on John Burkett. Gulp.

On a side note, the Cubs collapse tonight will go down as historic, alongside Buckner and 1986 if they don't pull out Game 7 tomorrow (or pull of a 9th inning miracle tonight).

Who's excited about a possible Yanks-Marlins World Series? Yeah, me neither. I think there's something good on Discovery Channel those nights.

2003-10-11T22:41:00.000-04:00

Simply Disgusting

I don't think I can adequately put into words how I felt about today's game. It seems that every year the Red Sox are in contention or make the postseason, there comes a seminal moment when you suddenly realize that they are going to lose. Buckner is an obvious one. Mell Hall's blast in '91 (or was it '92) comes to mind. Aguilera blowing a save in the '95 ALDS. Today feels like that seminal moment.

Now, i'm not saying that I'm giving up and that they're definitely going to lose this series. But after the ugliness, I just knew they weren't going to win today (and I was right). And I just can't shake the bad feeling that it's over. For the first time this year, my faith in the guys has been shaken.

Some thoughts on the game:

Pedro let us down, big time. He comes out throwing nothing but slop, making me think he's hurt, yet again. Then, after he coughs up the 2-0 lead and let's the Yanks take a 3-2 lead, he decides "Hey, they're kicking my ass and I can't break a pane of glass, I think I'll buzz Garcia by his melon." Garcia and the Yanks take offense and get fired up (Go figure). That leads to...

Manny Ramirez' overreaction. He went to the plate convinced Rocket was going to throw at him. So when a high and slightly inside pitch comes his way, he goes icky-balookey. This causes the benches to empty, Zimmer charges Pedro and Pedro throws him to the ground. Now, Zimmer should not have taken a swing at Pedro, but watching that old man roll on the ground, man my stomach sank to my feet. This is what our postseason has now come to? All the good vibes from coming back against the A's are GONE. Now we are the punk ass team who beat up old men and throw at heads. Oh, and our groundskeepers bullrush opposing bullpens. What the *&$@ was that?

So, explain to me how a guy who threw nothing but mediocre slop for 4 innings comes out and mows down the Yankees for the next 3? WTF? Where the hell was that Pedro for the first 4? What, you had to instigate a whole freaking mess to get motivated to pitch? I think I got angrier about his post-incident performance. He had that in him the whole time? What the hell was he doing for the first 4 innings? And Manny? Jesus, thanks a freaking bunch you clueless nimrod. Talk with your bat.

And Nomar? Seriously, what is wrong with him. Is it Mia? His wrist? What? This guy tries to pull everything and has become a shadow of his former self. He used to rise to big spots. Now he's an automatic out, practically. So is our batting champ for that matter.

I've had enough venting. Bad vibes aside, I really think on paper, the Sox have a good shot at knocking Wells around tomorrow. I think they could win a high scoring affair. They better, because if they don't, it really is over.

2003-10-09T19:53:00.000-04:00

And Then There Were Three

Great all around performance last night. Wakefield has never looked better (at least not since 1995), the pen was solid, the hitting was back. I really like our chances tonight with D-Lowe. Pettitte is tough, to be sure, but I really like the way we're playing and Lowe is pitching with a confidence not seen since...well, ever. Not even in his early run last year did he look this committed.

Anyway, don't have much time today. Go Sox! Let's leave the Bronx up 2-0.

2003-10-07T23:06:00.000-04:00

Haven't Had Time to Blog

We cap off another 0-2 comeback in the ALDS with one of the most exciting baseball games I've ever watched, and I have not really had the time to blog about it. I can only be brief tonight. That may have been the single most tense, exciting Red Sox game I've ever watched. My father couldn't handle it after Williamson walked two in the ninth and turnd the TV off because he didn't want to go to bed unable to sleep after watching the Sox blow it. Oh ye of little faith I chastised him!

I said some negative things about D-Lowe's mental make-up earlier this year and suggested they shop him around. I take it all back. He's obviously got the gnads to pitch in the big games. Why couldn't he be this confident all year? Eh, water under the bridge.

Last night's game was so exicting, even my sister, who hates baseball, was excited and now wants to watch the ALCS. When a game can convert someone who hates baseball, you know it was good.

Sox-Yanks ALCS, Part Deux
What can I say about this that others won't cover. Yankee fans claim that we're nothing to them, that it's too uneven to be a real rivalry. Yet they always come looking for Sox fans to start sh*t and gloat. Yeah, we mean nothing to you. OK.

So the "rivalry" restarts tomorrow. The teams were pretty even in the regular season series. The Yanks would have to be favored based on the fact that they are better rested and have their pitching staff lined up. Our series stretching to Monday hurt, as did having to use starters in relief.

Still, I think we've got more than a fighting chance. This team has shown that it will not lie down for anyone. I would set up our rotation this way.
1. Wakefield
2. Lowe
3. Pedro
4. Suppan
5. Wakefield
6. Lowe
7. Martinez

I take Suppan over Burkett based on Suppan's outing at Yankee Stadium in late August. They're really the same pitcher, only Suppan has a little more endurance.

I'll stick by my orginal prediction. Sox in 7. I'm holding out for the Armageddon Series (Sox vs. Cubs). Wouldn't that be a blast?

2003-10-05T20:03:00.000-04:00

Leaving On a Jet Plane....Back to Oakland

Incredible game today. Once Hudson left the game and Spraks came in I had visions of an 11-4 shellacking. Somehow, we still managed to scuffle on offense.

But in the 8th, all our big stars came through. Nomar finally got an extra base hit with his wall ball. Manny delivered a hit, but with that short LF, Nomar had to hold at third. How fitting was it that Ortiz broke through his 0 for 18 ALDS with a double on a 3-2 pitch over Dye's head in RF? You gotta feel the love for the big guy. He was the straw that stirred the drink (to borrow from Reggie) down the stretch, and it killed me to see him coming up empty now that we had made it.

And what can you say about Williamson? With his family situation now in order, he has stepped up big time. Williamson has to be the closer now, and it was telling that Kim was not up in the bullpen in the 9th. Don't know if that was due to his "shoulder stiffness" or not.

Game MVP: Johnny Damon

A lot of guys made big contributions, but I think if you combine Damon's 2 run HR with his huge throw to 3B, I think you have to give it to him.

So, Pedro tomorrow in Oakland on full rest vs. Zito on short rest. I gotta say, I like our chances, although I'm not foolish enough to think that it's a slam dunk. Man, I don't even dare think about a 1999 ALCS rematch yet....

2003-10-05T00:14:00.000-04:00

In Closing

After tonight, does anyone else think Williamson should be our closer? He looks like his velocity and control is back. Timlin should obviously be the main set-up guy. Make Kim the 6th-7th guy.

2003-10-05T00:02:00.000-04:00

Wow!

What can I say, I'm speechless. Once again the 2003 Red Sox rise like the phoenix. We need to have extra inning postseason games at Fenway more often. They end so nicely. 1 PM tomorrow! Let's hope Burkett can avoid the 1st inning yips.

2003-10-04T22:34:00.000-04:00

Boy Did Kapler Blow That One

Botch 2 bunts then hit into a DP. Thanks tons.

2003-10-04T22:27:00.000-04:00

Good Move Grady

I was hoping he'd leave Timlin in for another inning. He didn't throw many pitches in the 8th, and he's been our best reliever. Not sure if I'd send him out for a third, although he didn't throw that many pitches again. Might be pressing our luck. However, who comes in now? Pedro I'd save for a lead (if I use him at all). I'd bring Kim, yes, Kim in. He seems to be better in tie games than with leads.

2003-10-04T21:57:00.000-04:00

OK, Let's Cut the Crap Here

If we can't score against Ted f***ing Lilly at Fenway then we're not going to win anything anyway.

2003-10-04T21:36:00.000-04:00

Inning 6: How Strange Can this Get?

First the play at the plate with Byrnes where he doesn't tag home, shoves Varitek theng ets tagged out. Then Nomar oles a grounder and Tejada stops running after brushing Muellar and gets called out. The fates are desperately, desperately trying to give this game to Boston and yet it's tied 1-1.

2003-10-04T20:51:00.000-04:00

Inning Four :A's, "Take this Game", Sox, "NO!"

Now a botched pop up. The A's are trying hard to let the Sox back into this series. The Sox will have none of it so far. Only Lowe is barring the door right now.

2003-10-04T20:17:00.000-04:00

Inning Two: Bizzare Defense

Three straight bizzare defenive gaffes from the A's give us a gift run. I have rarely seen interference in a run-down before, but it was rather obvious in this case. I wish we could have capitalized a little better. Still, we'll take the gift run.

p.s. Garica-popup.

2003-10-04T20:02:00.000-04:00

Inning Two: Lowe Looks Damn Good

Wow, Lowe is on right now. His sinker looks fantastic. If he can keep his pitch count down, maybe we can get 8-9 out of him tonight.

2003-10-04T19:59:00.000-04:00

Inning One: Shades of Canseco and Vaughn?

It looked like we might get to Lilly quickly, but Ramirez and Vaughn shut that down quickly. I'm starting to be reminded of 1995 whn Canseco and Vaughn were completely shut down in Cleveland's 3 game sweep. Let's hope they get of the schneid, and soon.

2003-10-02T21:46:00.000-04:00

Game 2 Commentary

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

So When Does College Basketball Start?

Ok, I'm kidding, mostly. If 1999, the A's-Yanks series from '01 and this Sox entire 2003 season has taught me anything, it's to never give up until the last game is played. But it doesn't look too good. It looks like the pen will be the killer flaw we all feared it might be. Horrid defense, a wild knuckler and Barry Zito killed us today. God this sucks.

2003-10-02T16:02:00.000-04:00

OK, where do we go from here?

The bullpen did its usual choke job, Little possibly ruined Lowe for Game 3, Arroyo was nowhere to be found (why? WHY?) and a valiant comeback by our boys was scuttled. Oh, and I had to stay up really f*cking late just for the pleasure of watching that botch job.

I really wish we could jettison the whole bullpen from the team (save maybe Timlin). This whole team fights and competes harder than any Sox team I've ever seen, but those pansies in the bullpen keep f***ing it up for them.

I'm very pessimistic about our chances at the World Series at this moment. I don't see how you can win without the bullpen playing a key role, and I do not think they're up to it.

That said, it's time to fight on, another game is upon us. Let's hope the knuckleball is working and Zito is off his game. I really don't want to have to climb out of an 0-2 hole again like in 1999. What are the odds of pulling that off again?

2003-09-30T19:00:00.000-04:00

Big Surprise in New Yawk

If you had told me before the game that Santana would be out of the game after 4 IP with leg cramps, I would have told you the Yankees win big. Great job by the Twins pen to keep the Yankees nailed down. The Twins need to send the Yanks defense some flowers as well. There were some horrendous plays in the field. Stewart's catch saved the game. Anyone else notice the Yankee fan reaching over the fence trying to slap Stewart's glove? I'm guessing he was trying to knock the ball out of his glove and become Jeffery Meier II.

This game was big for the Twins, because the pitching matchups favor the Yankees for the next 2 games. Radke has been hot in September, though, so maybe he can keep it up.

2003-09-30T13:15:00.000-04:00

Red Sox Rag's AL Cy Young Ballot

5. Mike Mussina (NYY): Mussina put up a typical year for him, 17-8, 3.40 ERA, 214.2 IP, 195 SO, 40 BB, 1.08 WHIP. Mussina eats innings and keeps you in ballgames. Rocket is a legend, but Mussina is the ace of the Yankees.

4. Tim Hudson (OAK): One of these years, the little ace is going to win one of these. He's a total bulldog and the only righthander in the Big Three. 16-7, 2.70 ERA, 240 IP, 162 SO, 1.08 WHIP

3. Esteban Loaiza (CWS): Esteban came out of nowhere to propel the White Sox into the AL Central race. At one time, he was my #1 pick, but he faltered in 2 key games in September. Two meaningless wins after the race was over padded his totals. 21-9, 2.96 ERA, 219 IP, 193 H, 199 SO, 1.12 WHIP.

2. Pedro Martinez (BOS): A second straight runner up season for Pedro. Bad luck and a bad bullpen hurt his win total, but the failure to get over 200 IP prevents him from finishing 1st. 14-4, 2.22 ERA, 186.2 IP, 206 SO, 147 H, 1.04 WHIP.

1. Roy Halladay (TOR): He has to be #1. He was a horse all year, chewing up innings and winning tons of ballgames. His ERA is higher than all but Mussina on this list, but his durability offsets that. Plus, he pitches for the worst of the 5 teams represented here. 22-7, 3.25 ERA, 9 CG, 266 IP, 204 SO, 32 BB, 1.07 WHIP.

Honorable metnion to Jamie Moyer (SEA).

2003-09-30T12:55:00.000-04:00

Playoff Predictions

OK, we're about 10 minutes from the first pitch, so here are my playoff predictions:

AL
Yankees 3 Twins 1

The Twins have been a nice story in the second half, but the Yankees pitching will overwhelm the Twins.

Red Sox 3 A's 2

The series that scares me most. Lefty starters and the Sox haven't been a good mix. But I think we'll see the Sox starters rise to the occasion.

NL
Cubs 3 Braves 2

Heartbreak once again for Atlanta. The Cubs starters will propel them past the Bravos. I have a feeling Smoltz will either hurt himself permanently or not be able to go.

Giants 3 Marlins 1

The Fish are a great story, but I really don't see them beating Bonds and Co.

2003-09-25T23:07:00.000-04:00

Congratulations Red Sox!

The Sox sewed up the Wild Card with a 14-3 drubbing of the O's tonight. I feel more confident about this team's chances than any previous edition of the Red Sox I've watched. I will caveat that this postseason looks like a total crapshoot. Anyone can win. Any of the 8 teams has a shot. Why not us this year?

Proposed Playoff Roster

C- Varitek, Mirabelli
1b- Millar, Ortiz
2b- Walker
3b- Mueller
ss- Garciaparra
lf- Ramirez
cf- Damon
Rf- Nixon
ut- Jackson
of- Kapler
ut- Merloni
of/1b-McCarty

Starting Pitchers:
Pedro
Lowe
Wakefield
Suppan

Bullpen:
Kim
Williamson
Embree
Timlin
Arroyo
Sauerbeck (God help us)
Lyon

I see no point in holding onto Burkett as a reliever. I think we are much better served by having Lyon or Arroyo on this team. I'm not thrilled about having Sauerbeck on the roster. But let's face it, he'll be there, like it or not. And who should we replace him with? Burkett? Mendoza? I think not.

2003-09-23T23:16:00.000-04:00

Red Sox Rag's National League MVP Ballot

5. Javy Lopez, C (ATL): Who would have thought, after the last 2 dismal seasons, that Lopez would turn things around so dramatically at his age (32)? Lopez has put up one of the great offensive seasons for a catcher in baseball history and is one of the key reasons for the Braves turnaround on offense (along with Marcus Giles). All this despite the fact that he does not have enough plate appearances to qulaify for the batting title due to Bobby Cox and Greg Maddux stubbron insistence on using Henry Blanco exclusively for Maddux' starts. .326/.377/.681 42 HR 106 RBI 86 Runs

4. Jim Thome, 1B (PHI): Say what you will about the Phillies' underachiving (and they have), but it's not Thome's fault. His batting average is down somewhat, but everything else is excellent as always. .268/.388/.566 44 HR 127 RBI 107 Runs

3. Gary Sheffield, RF (ATL): Injuries hampered him in 2002, but he has been full strength all year and has been a terror at the plate. This is what a happy, healthy Sheffield can do. If he were in the AL, he'd win hands down. .328/.419/.602 38 HR 128 RBI 124 Runs 18 SB

2. Barry Bonds, LF (SF): OK, the screaming begins. Why is Bonds #2? He's the best player in baseball. That is very true. He is the best there is, one of the best ever. And he'd get my vote, if he hadn't missed so much time. He may not even play in 130 games this year. He'd win anyway, despite this, if there weren't another compelling candidate who, though his numbers aren't quite up to Bonds, are close enough and will play in almost 160 games. Plus he plays multiple positions. .337/.528/.745 44 HR 88 RBI 108 Runs 147 BB

1. Albert Pujols, 1B/LF (STL): I've covered the argument above. Bonds wins if he hadn't missed so much time. But let's not sell Pujols short. Look at these numbers: .365/.445/.681 43 HR 124 RBI 133 Runs 50 2B

Others receiving consideration were Marcus Giles and Todd Helton.

2003-09-23T22:35:00.000-04:00

Go Home Seattle

We are not to be denied! Todd Walker and David Ortiz deliver! This playoff spot is ours! As great as last night was, I wish I had been there tonight. Wow!

2003-09-23T22:24:00.000-04:00

Red Sox Rag's American League MVP Ballot

I may not get an official vote, but here's my ballot for AL MVP (Barring any last minute developments)

5. Bill Mueller, 3B (BOS): Mueller was one of the key catalysts for one of the most potent offenses of the post World War II era. While many would look at his HR and RBI totals and dismiss him outright, a discerning eye will note that he's 6th in the league in OPS while manning a more difficult position than the typical MVP positions (1b, OF). His numbers are .325/.397/.540, 19 HR 82 RBI 82 Runs 43 2B.

4. Magglio Ordonez, RF (CWS): Ordonez helped the White Sox awaken from their moribund first half and drive the Sox into contention. He gets my vote over Frank Thomas due both a slightly higher OPS plus the fact that he plays the field. .322/.385/.559 29 HR 96 RBI 45 2B

3. Jorge Posada, C (NYY): Rob Neyer really opened my eyes on the subject of Posada. Giambi's power numbers are pretty, but Posada plays one of the key positions on the field (and he does it fairly well) and his combination of patience and power is perhaps the key component of the Yanks offense this year. .279/.405/.513 29 HR 98 RBI 81 Runs

2. Manny Ramirez, LF (BOS): If Manny doesn't let the team down in early September, he'd probably get my vote for MVP. He's played much better defense this year and has been his usual terror on offense. But I just can't pull the trigger on a first place vote. .325/.428/.587 36 HR 102 RBI 115 Runs

1. Alex Rodriguez, SS (TEX): I know all the arguments about why A-Rod shouldn't be MVP. Normally, I vote for players who influence pennant races. But in the absence of a truly compelling candidate for MVP from a contending team, the door does open for a truly exceptional player from a losing team. All of the above players are worthy candidates, but a case can be made for all for other players on their respective teams. No one player truly stands out. Banks, Dawson, Ripken, are names of others who have done it. A-Rod is the next. .297/.395/.603 47 HR 117 RBI 122 Runs 16 SB

Other candidates who were considered included Nomar Garciaparra, Frank Thomas, Bret Boone and Carlos Delgado.

2003-09-23T22:05:00.000-04:00

Great Time at Fenway

I had a great time at Fenway last night with my wife and Father. It was a picture perfect night for baseball. The temperature was in the low 60's all night and the air was relatively still. I was quite comfortable in a T-shirt and jeans. We stopped by Twins Enterprises and picked up new fitted Sox hats for everyone (my old one was, well....old). I loved the closed off set-up on Lansdowne Street.

The game was very entertaining. Suppan pitched fairly well. The home runs were flying as Manny, Trot and Ortiz went deep. There was the usual bullpen intrigue. And in the end the Sox won 7-5.

You can tend to forget, after living in Atlanta for 8 years and going to games with the barely there Atlanta crowd, how fun it is to go to games with fans who hold such passion for the game and hold such knowledge. Sure, Boston has its share of idiot fans, but most are terrific. Listening to the banter back and forth among fans in a particular section is part of the fun of going. Discussing the positives of Johnny Damon's game, lamenting the bullpen, predicting (with great accuracy) that Nomar will swing at the first ptich and pop up. Singing along to Sweet Caroline between innings with 34,000 others (when did that start, by the way..very funny). Love the new scoreboards in left-center with all the cool stats.

2003-09-22T11:15:00.000-04:00

In New England for the Week

This should be a treat. I get to spend the final week of the regular season at my parents' home in Central Connecticut. The fam and I jetted up from Atlanta yesterday. I'm hoping I get to experience the final playoff push here in my home state. Tonight, I head up to Fenway to catch the Sox and the O's. Jeff Suppan vs. Jason Johnson. Here's hoping Suppan can keep the ball in the ballpark tonight.

This is my first trip to Fenway since mid-May of last year. I was up for my sister's graduation from Suffolk Law School and we got tix to Fenway. Third row behind the Red Sox batting circle. (They use to be front row until they added a couple of rows.) My Dad has a friend through the Navy who has had the tickets for generations. We used to get to use them one or two times a year when I was kid. There was nothing like sitting 3 feet from Don Baylor or Jim Rice as they warmed up in the on-deck cricle. You don't realize how big these guys are until you see them up close and personal like that. (They look even bigger when you're 12).

Anyway, the temperature was in the 30's that day. The freaking 30's in Mid-May (remind me again why I moved to the Southeast, oh yeah, THIS is why). There was intermittent rain (and some snow mixed in) and the game was delayed, but we finally did get to see Pedro, up close. He struck out the first 3 batter (Seattle, I think) on 9 pitches. Simple amazing. He shut the M's down and the Sox did win that day. Hopefully I get better weather today.

I'm planning on checking out all the improvement the new ownership group has made since last year. The enclosing of Lansdowne street, the Monster seats (I'm not sure if you can go look at those or not, i'll find out tonight). And hopefully we'll see the Magic Number tick down at least one more #. (M's have Moyer tonight, so I'm not counting on an M's loss).

Closer Dilemma

The Kim drama the other night really brought home just how dire the Sox bullpen situation is. This team is so resilient, and has played the good teams in the AL so well, I cannot write off their chances to win the World Series based on the bullpen. Especially since the Sox ERA has been around 3.40 in September. However, with Kim's struggles and Williamson's rather obvious arm troubles, we are really hurting to find guys who can close out games. We're going to HAVE to rely on Kim, along with Embree and Timlin to get most of the heavy lifting done. Perhaps we can mix in Lyon and Arroyo to fill out earlier innings as needed. I wouldn't rely on Sauerbeck AT ALL. The man can't throw strikes. Any man who can't throw strikes has no business in important spots of a game. It's just that simple.

2003-09-17T22:07:00.000-04:00

HBO Curse of the Bambino

I watched it last night. I thought it was very well done. It made me laugh a lot. I had no idea that Steven Wright was a Red Sox fan. How appropriate is that? Denis Leary was great, too. It made me sad. Reliving 1986 is always painful. I almost never watch any footage if I can help it. But it was cathartic to listen to other Sox fans describe what they were doing when it happened and how they reacted. I was 15 and tore my bedroom apart. I ripped down the team picture poster that hanging in my room, screamed, cried, you name it. We all knew they wouldn't win Game 7. Not even Bruce Hurst could save us.

Mostly, though, it made me proud to be a Red Sox fan, despite the lunatic fringe that believes in a real Curse. It is an endless story and I am always awaiting the next chapter with great anticipation, no matter how disappointed I was in the previous chapter. You have to say this about the Sox, at least our chapters make for interesting reading. Cubs and White Sox fans usually have nothing going on other than losing (this year being a rare exception).

It's funny, the Red Sox have the third longest drought of World Series titles in MLB history behind both Chicago teams, but we are the franchise who are mythologized (is that a word?) Not that I'm all that surprised. No other franchise has such a star-struck history.

Wild Card Race

Well, it looks like our 2 1/2 game lead is about to go back to 1 1/2 games. We have the bvious schedule advantage. We need to close the deal. I think we will, history be damned. Hope I'm right. I'll be at Fenway next Monday. It will be my first trip since May of last year. (I live in Atlanta). With any luck, we'll be close to clinching by then.

2003-09-15T22:13:00.000-04:00

Sox 8 Rays 2

Nice solid win by the boys. It was tough to drop 2 to the ChiSox, but they are a very solid team. Colon was lights out (and only 2 K's!) It's great to see D-Lowe rising to the challenge in September. I've been very critical of Derek and his fragile psyche. The last thing I expected to see was him nutting it up and pitching well down the stretch. But let's give credit, he's been huge, and even has a shot a finishing 18-6. He's changing my mind regarding offering his name around as trade bait in the offseason.

Nomar

I don't want to join the bandwagon in Nomar bashing. He's been very, very disappointing for the last month and all year on the road. You can't knock his overall numbers (unless you're comparing them to past Nomar seasons). He's had a solid season and has been a big contributor to the Sox success this year. Just not lately. Nomar has been huge in the playoffs in the past. I'm expecting to see him rise to the occasion this year (should we make it). Let's rally behind Nomar.

Bullpen still blows

Just thought I'd throw that in there.

2003-09-10T19:26:00.000-04:00

Jayson Stark Picks Red Sox to Win it All

But do we want anyone to pick us?

2003-09-10T19:19:00.000-04:00

Pedro Comes Up Big

Another strong start from Pedro today. Eight shutout innings as the Sox finally take a series from the O's. Having to work, I didn't get to see the game at all.

M's Collapsing

When I went to bed last night, the M's seemed safely ahead of Texas 4-1 after 7. Given their bullpen, I was rather amazed to wake up and find that they had blown the game. I've hear various theories as to why they are playing so horribly since the All Star Break. Their young pitchers are gassed, their offense isn't balanced enough, Ichiro's slump...It's probably a combination of them all. I just hope it continues.

Aaron Boone Watch

.202/.257/.295
Yuck.

Feeling Good

Life as a Red Sox fan is full of highs and lows, ups and downs. I'm in an up phase right now. The Sox are playing solid ball (Monday not withstanding) and look to have a good shot at making the playoffs. I think if they go 11-6 and finish at 96-66, they should make it with relative ease. That would be their best regular season record since 1986 (95-66). Unfortunately, both teams have similar bullpens. Let's hope that doesn't translate into similar results.

2003-09-08T23:16:00.000-04:00

I'll Say it Again, the NL Must Suck Hard

Bet it all on the AL team to win the series this year folks. If the Sox acquired 3 of the NL's top shelf relievers, and THIS is what they can do against AL teams, then NL teams must suck hardcore.

2003-09-08T22:17:00.000-04:00

Nomar Bails Pen Out

As usual, the Sox offense rides to the rescue. Now, will the pen give it right back as they are wont to do? Or will they "cowboy up"?

An aside, that is the first big, late inning hit I can remember Nomar delivering in a LONG time. Maybe my memory is failing, but it seems to me he's failed a LOT in late inning pressure situations lately.

2003-09-08T22:06:00.000-04:00

Invitation to the Red Sox Bullpen

I'd just like to take this opportunity to invite the entire Red Sox bullpen to go f*** themselves. A more overrated bunch of rag arms, I don't think I've ever seen. The NL must be an inferior league if guys like Sauerbeck, Williamson and Kim were considered terrific relievers. If the Sox miss the playoffs or lose in the playoffs, it will be because of Y-O-U. The Sox offense may bail them out YET AGAIN tonight, but that doesn't change just how damaging this hideous bullpen is.

May I also repeat what I said a few weeks ago. THESE ARE THE FREAKING ORIOLES.

Can't Jump on the Negative Without Saying This

Kudos to the rest of the team for their amazing effort in New York this weekend. A reverse Boston Massacre would have been sweet. (An aside: my first Sox game ever was Game 3 of the Massacre in 1978). The Sox have really pounded Yankee pitching this year. I don't think they're any better than we are. There are no dominant teams in either league. If we get in the dance, anyone has a shot. We must get in.

P.S. It was no coincedence that the bullpen played almost no role in our victories over the Yankees.

2003-09-05T22:52:00.000-04:00

Sorry For the Lack of Posts

Time is a precious commodity in my household. Sometimes, I'm just not going to have time to post anything. This is a hobby for me, so I suppose there's no need to apologize, but I thought I'd throw that out there anyway.

Great Win Tonight

It was nice to see the offense rise up for Pedro and put a spanking on Andy Pettite. So often Pedro pitches well and gets zero support from his mates. Tonight he only had to go 6. There is a guy on a website I visit that argued last week the Pedro's record vs. the Yanks and Pettite's record vs. the Sox showed that Andy was clearly superior in Sox-Yanks matchups and that Andy would ultimately be the more valuable pitcher in years to come. He also arued that Pedro's ERA's and peripherals didn't matter and shouldn't be taken into account because the Sox don't ever win with Pedro on the team, therefore, he can't be that valuable. That's a nutshell version anyway. I won't go into it again here, suffice to say that the great Baseball Enlightenment that is sweeping baseball (A's, Red Sox, Jays) hasn't quite reached everyone yet. Bet this guy loves Joe Morgan's commentaries.

Passing the Test?

Everyone was saying that the Sox needed to survive their brutual August stretch in order to have a shot at the playoffs. Well, in the last 23 games encompassing series with Oakland (twice), Seattle (twice), Chicago, New York (one + one in progress), Toronto and one game with Philly, the Sox are 14-9. How many out there would have been thrilled with those results?

2003-08-29T09:19:00.000-04:00

It's official, I hate Michael Kay...

mostly, I don't let announcers bother me. Most team play by play guys these days are homers, and the broadcast IS for the fans of that home team, so I don't see the big deal. But this statement is too much...

Michael "I'm Objective" Kay on Red Sox fans: "They overestimate their team because they are overcompensating for their feelings of inferiority of the Yankees. I honestly think that whenever they are ahead, the emotion they feel is more of a fear of being caught rather than the euphoria of having only the wind in front of you." ...

Hey Michael, just because you have the good fortune to work for the most successful team in sports doesn't make you a better person and it sure as hell doesn't make you a shrink. F*** you, you arrogant prick. You want to know why Sox fans hate the Yankees? Take a look in your f*cking mirror you piece of sh*t.

There, I feel better now.

Thanks to Joy of Sox for the heads up on the quote.

2003-08-28T21:35:00.000-04:00

Everybody's Waiting For the Weekend

You wanna piece of my heart....c'mon baby let's start....

(Ahem) Wait a minute. Let's start over. The Yankees come to Beantown tomorrow for the much anticipated showdown of AL East rivals. A week ago, I was thinking this series was going to be largely meaningless, at least in terms of a divisional race. Now, the stakes are certainly higher. We are 4 1/2 games back (5 loss column). I don't think anything less than a sweep makes a race of this division. Two out of three is good, and certainly would help us in our wild card push, but being 4 back in the loss column with a month to go isn't a good position to be in. Even if we play really well, the Yanks have to stumble a bit. Possible, but unlikely.

We could take 2 of 3 in New York as well. That would being us to 3 back. I think we need to go 3-0 in Boston and 2-1 in New York. And let's face facts, the regular season series over the last 6 years or so have been pretty evenly split. Heck, even the year the Yanks won 114 games we still won the season series by a game. I think we should root for 6-0, but realistically, if we go 4-2 we should be thrilled, because that will help put us in great shape for the wild card.

2003-08-27T22:22:00.000-04:00

Aaron Boone Watch

23G 85AB .176AVG/.220OBP/.247SLG. Pee-You. I hate to say I told you so....OK, I love to say I told you so. Actually, Boone should eventually rise to his career norms, around a .750 OPS.

Sox 6 Jays 3

Great win, tonight, a must to keep from potentially slipping further back. With the Yanks getting scorched again, it looks likely that the Sox will be 4 back (5 loss column) to set the stage for Friday night. A sweep makes it a race again. Dare we dream?

With Walker's big homer tonight, all 9 regulars have double digit home runs, a new Sox record. All I can say is wow.

The Return of Friendly Fenway for Hitters?

Does anyone know where I might find offensive numbers for all the MLB ballparks for this year? I know that I've read that ever since Fenway put up the 600 Club (now the .406 club) that offense at Fenway has leveled off and that Fenway has been close to neutral for hitting since. But the home/road splits for the team this year would suggest that Fenway is becoming a hitters' haven once again. Nomar's splits (as I noted a month or so ago) are ridiculous. He's actually a pretty lousy hitter on the road this year, and historically, that has NOT been the case. His struggles on the road are most puzzling seeing as how he has historically been a better power hitter on the road (and a slightly better hitter for average at home). This year busts all those norms, and looking up and down the Sox lineup, he's not the only one this year.

2003-08-26T23:29:00.000-04:00

Disgusting Performance by Bullpen

Another egg laid by the revamped bullpen. Seriously, has Scott Sauerbeck been introduced to home plate? This guy was praised by scouts as the best left handed specialist in the NL? And what the hell is up with Williamson? Theo acquired the best available guys to be sure, but they sure aren't performing. Disgusting. It's disgusting to come back from 7-1 to tie only to see the pen hand it right back over.

The personnel is in place. They just need to perform, and it's just not happening right now.

McCarty went 2 for 2 with a HR and 4 RBI. Guess it was the right move, eh?

2003-08-26T19:54:00.000-04:00

Crap, down 3-1

Catalanatto homers. #$#$@#@. Now I am worried about those 6-9 hitters. Still plenty of time.

2003-08-26T19:52:00.000-04:00

Mike Bordick Hitting Leadoff?

Is that really a good idea Carlos? He has a .335 OBP, which is better than his .322 career number.

Eric Hinske

One wonders if last year is the real Hinske or this year. I'm having shades of Joe Charbonneau. His OPS is .747, down from .846 last year. He's gotten better as the year has gone on. It's a little early to Charbonneau him really, but I just like bringing up that name. Say it with me. Char-bonn-eau. Rolls of the tongue, doesn't it?

Homestand Length

I seem to have missed the fact earlier that the Sox play the Yankees at home after they play Toronto and not in New York. Whoops. Well, that 6-3 homestand I predicted, then junked, looks quite possible (though Toronto). I'm going to revise my estimate to 9-3. I think they take both from Toronto and 2 of 3 from the Yankees. That would give us one hell of a burst into September.

2003-08-26T19:46:00.000-04:00

Interesting Lineup Tonight

Our 6-9 batters are as follows:
6. Mirabelli (C)

7. McCarty (LF)

8. Kapler (RF)

9. Jackson (CF)

Methinks this does not strike fear into the heart of the opponent. I know you need to get your bench guys in and rest your starters, but do they all have to play at the same time??? Aren't we in a flat footed tie for the WC?

Well, as I check Mirabelli singles and McCarty hits an RBI double. Shows you what I know. Actually, I'm still wary of this lineup. Toronto is capable of scoring big. I'm not so sure this lineup can answer that if needed.

2003-08-24T23:07:00.000-04:00

Righting the Ship

Well, I must say, I am rather impressed. The temptation to shovel dirt on this team was creeping into my mind after the frist 2 games against Oakland. The last loss in particular was ugly. However, the team has dug deep again and has taken 4 in a row from Oakland and Seattle to surge back to a wild card tie and 5 games behind the Yankees.

If not for some crappy bullpen work, the Sox could be 6-0 on this homestand. While that knowledge is painful, we have to be pleased with what we've seen from the Sox these past 4 days. With Pedro back on Monday, a 4 game sweep of Seattle looks very attainable.

This team may yet be the one. But even if it's not, I want to see them go down fighting and playing like they have these past 4 games instead of the ugliness that was those first 2 games of the homestand.

P.S. Anyone else just a smidge worried about Kim? He's not striking anyone out. Not even right handers lately. That doesn't bode well and may explain his 2 recent blown saves. I wonder if we'll have to consider Williamson for the closer role at some point? Food for thought.

2003-08-20T23:00:00.000-04:00

Last Post For a Week or Two

Words can't describe how pissed and disgusted I am with this team right now. Curses are for the weak minded. I don't buy into them. There is no excuse for what has transpired over the last 2 games and I'm not in the mood to tolerate it. I need to distance myself from the team for a bit before I say something really nasty. Maybe they'll right the ship in the meantime, maybe they won't. All I know is, a 6-3 homestand ain't happening.

2003-08-18T20:17:00.000-04:00

I Smell a 6-3 Homestand

I feel it in me bones. The Sox are home, where they play far better than they do on the road. They posted a respectable 3-4 record against the AL West's best on their home turf. 4-3 would have been terrific, but we only lost a game to the A's on the trip and they played at home (where they're the best in the AL). So, it was a good road trip.

So, now it's time to welcome the Left Coasters to the Hub. I've got this notion that the Sox are coming to prove something. That's why I'm going out on a limb and projecting a 6-3 homestand (OK, a limb would be 7-2). Still, I see the Sox taking 2 of 3 from Oakland, 3 of 4 from Seattle and splitting with Toronto. Even if it's a split with Seattle and a 2 game sweep of Toronto, I'll be happy.

Lost Division?

Despite my optimism over our upcoming homestand, I'm of the notion that the AL East is all but out of reach. We're 5 back, but 6 back in the loss column. While I feel we will play well down the stretch, there is no reason to believe the Yankees will play poorly enough to allow us to catch them. Six games is a lot to make up with only 38 games to go (40 for NYY). Even if we go 24-14, the Yanks have to stumble to an 18-22 finish just for us to tie. I don't see that happening, bullpen woes, Wells' back, and Weaver's psyche aside. They still have a loaded lineup and strong starting pitching with Pettitte, Mussina and Clemens. And I think Rivera will regain his form if Torre backs off of his overuse.

One interesting note, though, courtesy of Bob Klapisch of ESPN.com , is that the Yankees face only teams with winning records or have outscored their opponents, save 3 games with the Tigers. Oh, and the Yanks recently played series against playoff contenders Oakland, Seattle, KC and Boston, and lost every one of them.

That said, unless we beat up on them in our last 6 games with them, I still see the Yanks taking the AL East flag. We need to hold off Oakland.

2003-08-14T20:14:00.000-04:00

Sox Right the Ship

Whew! The Sox salvaged the road trip with a 4-2 come from behind win against the A's today. Down 2-1 in the 9th, Manny Ramirez homers off Keith Foulke to tie. The Sox won in 10.

I gotta admit, after the first 2 games of the series, I was starting to think that the race was going to slip away from us. The Sox were showing absolutely no signs of life. But a gutty outing by Lowe, a typical Wakefield start, great bullpen work and some clutch hitting has pulled us back into the wild card lead. Perhaps this team will vindicate my earlier confidence in a playoff spot yet.

2003-08-13T22:32:00.000-04:00

McCarty and Kapler?

For the second straight night, Grady has gone the percentage route and started 2 right handed hitters against an A's lefty (MUlder tonight). Is this necessary?

I checked Mulder's splits. He gives up a .674 OPS vs. righties and a .652 OPS vs. lefties. Obviously, that's real good either way, but there's not a huge difference between the two.

Kapler does have a .793 OPS vs. righties this year, albeit in only 44 AB. McCarty's OPS vs. lefties is .921. Don't get too excited, though, it's only in 18 AB.

Meanwhile Nixon's OPS vs lefties is .645. Ortiz is at .676.

I don't know, my gut tells me Grady is wrong on this one. Mulder doesn't dominate lefties any more than righties and Kapler and McCarty don't have a proven track record of punishing lefties. I would have started Nixon at a minimum. We'll see.

2003-08-12T22:32:00.000-04:00

1st Inning, 5-0 A's ,Game Already Over

With Barry Zito and a 5-0 lead, this is pretty much forked. Thank you John Burkett for getting pounded by one of the worst offenses in baseball.

2003-08-12T22:03:00.000-04:00

A Lousy Start

Well, the Sox certainly got off to a lousy start last night. Granted, I think the AL All Stars would have been shut down by Tim Hudson last night, but it's still disconcerting to lose with Pedro on the mound. It's also disappointing to see Pedro not bring his "A" game to one of the most important matchups of the regular season. Throwing 100 pitches in 5 innings is letting your team down, IMHO.
The possible excuse I heard for last night's struggle is the pitch counts of his last 2 outings, especially the complete game. This is Pedro's big shortcoming, especially this year. If you can't rely on your ace to pitch on a full 4 days rest and pitch effectively, what do you have? In the playoffs (if we make it), he's going to have to go deep into games and pitch on a minimum of 4 days rest (let's forget even thinking about trying him on 3 days rest. That will not work). If he can't do that, then is having him really much of an advantage as your ace over a guy like Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, or Mike Mussina, guys who CAN do it?
Don't get me wrong, Pedro is great and has been great for the Red Sox. I'd really like to see him stay in Boston. But I'm having a hard time justifying the money he is going to command when he is a 6-7 inning pitcher who needs 5 days rest.
Is it age that's reduced his effectiveness or wear and tear? In 1997 with the Expos he pitched 13 complete games and 241 IP. His first year in Boston he pitched 233 IP. Can he build his endurance back up with a killer training regimen like the one Clemens puts himself through? Would he?
What I see when I see Pedro pitch is a guy who has lost some of that zip on his fastball, and therefore, cannot keep hitters as off-balance as he once could. Oh sure, his numbers are still great. His K/9IP are down. I see a lot of hitters run long counts with him by fouling off tons of pitches. Pitches guys used to wave at, they're now getting the bat on the ball. Thus, Pedro is running up huge pitch totals and is often gone after 6 or 7 IP. That 4 MPH is the difference between guys whiffing on that fastball (or change up with the huge speed differential) and fouling it off.
OK, enough on Pedro. He's still great and I'm still a big fan, but I think the days of Pedro going 23-4 and winning Cy Youngs may be over. He's becoming more finesse with each passing year. I think he's going to settle into winning 16-19 games a year (assuming he stays healthy) for the forseeable future.

So, tonight we have the revitalized John Burkett vs. Barry Zito. Sounds like a huge mismatch, but I think this one has a decent chance to tilt our way. I think the Sox still have a shot to go 4-3 on this trip, but they must split with Oakland. So they must win tonight. Let's hope the guys remember how to hit on the road.

2003-08-09T22:23:00.000-04:00

Alfonso Soriano

Since the Yankees have dropped Soriano to 8th in the batting order, I became curious about how his season stats stack up this year vs. last year. We were told last year was only the beginning and that the sky was the limit for this young stud. Certainly, this is only a mere bump in the road for Soriano. He's just way too talented. Everyone suffers through slumps. Anyway, his 2002 numbers vs. 2003.

2002 .300 AVG 39 HR 102 RBI .332 OBP . 547 SLG 128 R 157 K 23 BB 41 SB
2003 .282 AVG 24 HR 62 RBI .333 OBP .490 SLG 81 R 91 K 26 BB 28 SB

Interestingly, he's become more patient. I expected to see no improvement, figuring that might be the cause of his problems. He has a lower AVG, but his OBP is identical. It's a lousy OBP for a leadoff hitter, and frankly, Soriano should be hitting 3rd, not 1st (when not slumping).
The only difference I see right now is his power is down. He's still having the 2nd best season of any AL 2nd baseman (behind Boone).

2003-08-09T19:19:00.000-04:00

The Freaking Orioles

What is it with the Sox and the Orioles this year? They get rolling on a 4 game win streak and then get swept in a doubleheader by these mediocre clowns? This following dropping 2 of 3 at Camden.

OK granted, they have a few good players. Gibbons is having a nice year, Julio is solid, Ligtenberg is good, Deivi Cruz is having a nice year, too. Still. We should wipe the floor with them. Very aggravating.

2003-08-09T19:16:00.000-04:00

What, No Armando-Time?

THe M's beat the Yankees today 2-1. Shigetosi Hasegawa closed out the game with a scoreless 9th. Gee, I can't imagine why the M's didn't use Benitez to close out the Yankees.

2003-08-09T19:15:00.000-04:00

Aaron Boone Watch

In 7 games, Aaron is hitting .138/.138/.172 with 1 RBI. It's a small sample size, but might those road stats have been trying to tell us something?

2003-08-04T22:50:00.000-04:00

Tracking the Rookies

Since it's an off day, I decided to occupy some time by taking a look at the rookies in each league and see how the ROY races are shaping up. I could vent about the past week and the Sox going 2-4 against crappy teams, but I figure let's try to get some positive vibe going. So I'll ignore last week.

AL Rookies
There are only 5 rookies in the AL who qualify for the batting race. We'll focus on them.

Angel Berroa (KC) .295/.345/.489 15 HR 54 RBI
M. Texieria (Tex) .260/.343/.480 17 HR 53 RBI
H. Matsui (NYY) .297/.355/.454 12 HR 78 RBI
R. Baldelli (TB) .303/.333/.453 9 HR 57 RBI 18 SB
K. Harvey (KC) .252/.296/.397 9 HR 49 RBI

It's interesting that Matsui gets all the pub for ROY. He's got the nice AVG and RBI totals, but he trails in OPS to 2 true rookies in Berroa, a SS, and Texieria, a guy who's played 1b/3b/RF/LF. But we all know the press only looks at AVG, HR, and RBI (and sometimes SB), so expect Matsui and Baldelli to outpoll the others easily.

But what about pitchers you say? Well, no starter has an ERA under 4.70. Rich Harden has only made 4 starts, so he's out. That leaves relievers. Basically you've got Mike MacDougal (25 SV, 3.97 ERA) and Lance Carter (19 SV, 4.42 ERA). MacDougal had a shot for a while, but he's gone cold since the All Star Break (0 SV). And Carter? Please.

Expect Matsui to get the hardware, but my vote is for Berroa.

NL Rookies

P-U. You've got 3 position players who qualify for the batting title to choose from.

Scott Posednik (MIL) .305/.376/.401 3 HR 28 RBI 22 SB
Ty Wigginton (NYM) .269/.320/.408 7 HR 49 RBI
Xavier Nady (SD) .253/.304/.370 7 HR 31 RBI

Posednik is the only one worth considering here. What about pitchers?

Dontrelle Willis (FLA) 10-2 2.50 ERA 97 IP 85 H 93 SO 32 BB
Brandon Webb (ARZ) 7-4 2.43 ERA 122.1 IP 97 H 110 SO 36 BB

These are the only 2 serious candidates. Willis has been flashier but Webb has the better peripherals. That said, Willis has been electrifying. He gets my vote.

Aaron Boone

The Yankees have been trumpeting the arrival of Aaron Boone to solve their 3B woes. Certainly, he's an upgrade over the aging Robin Ventura, but is he all that he's cracked up to be? He's 30 years old and he's only played 135+ games in 2 other seasons (1999, 2002). In those 2 seaons, his OPS was .775 and .753. Not exactly world beating. But this year he's better right? On the surface, you'd think so:

.271 AVG .335 OBP .464 SLG 18 HR 66 RBI 16 SB .799 OPS.

OK, so that's a little better, right? But wait, what are his home road splits?

Home: .297/.366/.530
Road: .245/.304/.401

He's played all his home games thus far at Great American Ballpark, which has proven to be an excellent hitters park this year. Therefore, the more accurate measure of the hitting ability the Yankees would see would be his road stats, right? His road stats kind, sorta suck. They gave up a potentially big time starter in Claussen for what appears to be a slightly above average (if that) 3B who, at 30, has probably hit his peak (unless he pulls a Bret Boone). The Yankees could really end up regretting this one (and Aaron might too, because the fans will be merciless if he doesn't produce).

P.S. Does anyone know an easy way to set up stats in a readable table? The last one I did was so time consuming, I'm reluctant to do it again.

2003-08-02T21:18:00.000-04:00

Must....Control....Temper...

It's now 5-2 O's, bottom of 6th. I tuned in and immediately they coughed up a 2-1 lead. The TV is now off. They are preparing for their toughest stretch of the season by gagging on some of the most mediocre/worst teams (Rangers, O's) in the AL. They got shut down by 2 nobodies and Pat Hentgen??? Pat Hentgen???? I need to find a metal bar to chew on.

2003-08-01T17:33:00.000-04:00

Thumbs Up for Theo

I like the deal's Theo made this weekend. It seems the media is catching on, too. Right now, Theo is one of the hottest GM's in the game in terms of profile. He's being called Boy Wonder and Wunderkind. People were so focused on the bullpen's failure and the mis-named "closer by committee" that no one noticed the great signings he pulled off before the season (Mueller, Millar, Ortiz, Jackson, Timlin).

But now that he's dealt excess (and overrated) hitting (Hillenbrand) for a top-flight closer (Kim), a decent, but not top, Single A prospect (Dumatrait) for another top-flight closer/set-up man and a top middle infield prospect that there no room for (Sanchez) for TWO solid pitchers (Sauerbeck, Suppan), people are finally taking notice.

I'm glad the Sox didn't get Billy Beane. I loved Moneyball and I buy into Beane's results based evaluation system and focus on OBP. But he's too volatile and the book has created some ill-will. Plus, his stated desire to trade Varitek and replace him with Mark Johnson (Mark Johnson???) shows that he doesn't always make the right call.

In Theo we have a GM who believes in sabermetrics and objective evaluation, but also seems to know how to play GM politics (I've read he's very well-liked by other GM's) and is media-friendly. I think we're playoff bound.

2003-07-30T15:29:00.000-04:00

Where to Begin?
So much has happened since my last post. It’s difficult to know where to start. We’ll go topic by topic.

Sox Trump Yanks

The game one loss with Pedro on the mound had me worried. With Burkett going in game 2 and his miserable track record against the Yanks, I was beginning to wonder if winning 1 out of 3 wouldn’t be bad. Who would have thunk that Burkett would shutout the Yanks for 6, the new and improved pen would cough it up and we’d win anyway thanks to a Jeremey Giambi STEAL(??!!) and a David Ortiz wall single on an 0-2 pitch?
Game 3 just poured more drama on with the stirring comeback thanks to Tek’s monster blast and Damon’s follow-through.
So the season series with the Yanks is now 7-6 Bad Guys, which is basically the difference in the division right now. I found it hilarious that Georgie felt the need to fire off a press release declaring that the Red Sox “hadn’t won anything yet”. Gee, thanks George. I never would have known that without your timely statement. I can just picture him in his office just storming back and forth muttering to himself “Those damn Red Sox, how DARE they upstage us. We’re the Yankees for God’s sake. This is our divine right! I’ll show them who’s won anything yet!!”
LOL, if you ask me (and even if you didn’t), this is a sure sign that Georgie is incredibly insecure. All those Championships, all those times the Yanks made the Red Sox eat dirt, and he gets his panties in a wad over losing one hard-fought, coin-flip of a regular season series. He should be the most secure man in baseball, and yet he can’t even handle one little setback. Says a lot about him, really.

Sox get Williamson
This one surprised me. I knew Theo was out to improve the staff, but I never thought we’d add a second closer. And if we did, I figured that would mean Kim goes back to the rotation. Instead, we’re going to go with the Anaheim Angels super-stocked bullpen theory. We have one ace, our other starters are OK, but our bullpen will smother you. It may not be a bad idea. Our offense is so good, that if we can aim to hold other teams to 4 runs, we should win most games. All we have to do is get 6 and 3 from our starters (6 IP, 3 R). The bullpen will do the rest. We have enough speed and ability throughout the order that we don’t have to rely on homers to score, too.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Theo had one more rabbit to pull out, but I’m more than willing to go to war with this team (OK, I know I’m not playing, I’m just a fan, just deal with the analogy).

Litmus Test
As many others have pointed out, these next few weeks will be the litmus test for our heroes. Two weeks of A’s and Mariners followed by 2 series with the Yankees. If we play .500 or a little better, I think we emerge in great shape to either win the division or at least make the wild card. This Sox team has made me believe like no other Sox team has. Not even the 1986 team (which, Game 6 aside, was a pretty damn good team, aside from the bullpen).

You Want OPS, I’ll Give You OPS
These numbers are amazing:
Ramirez 1.015
Nixon .988
Mueller .987
Garciaparra .932
Varitek .927
Ortiz .900
Millar .868

That’s SIX regulars with OPS of .900 or above and a 7th in the mid .800’s who’s slump brought him under the .900 level he was at before. And Damon’s OPS is rising. Walker could be back over .800 if gets back on track.
Consider:
Three of the top 4 in the AL in OPS are Red Sox (Ramirez #2, Nixon #3, Mueller #4).
Two others are in the Top 15 (Nomar #13, Varitek #15). That’s 5 of the Top 15.
Five of the Top 10 in SLG are Red Sox.
Four of the Top 9 in AVG are Red Sox.
This team amazes me.

2003-07-25T22:52:00.000-04:00

A Formula Loss

Well, it was a damn entertaining game tonight, fitting of 2 of the best teams in the AL. But the Sox followed their early season formula for losing games. Get lead, blow lead, fight back to tie, give lead back immediately, lose game after falling just short of fighting back again. For a while, they had broken out of that pattern. Leave it to the Yankees to resurrect it.

Although Kim gave the lead back, it's hard to fault him. He gives up a scratch hit to Enrique "Freaking" Wilson. Stolen base, jam job ground out, sac fly, run scored. No solid hits, yet a run scores. It's enough to make you want to put your head through the cement driveway. Tomorrow is another day.

2003-07-23T22:22:00.000-04:00

Don't Look Now, The Bullpen Rocks

I never thought I'd be able to say this 6 weeks ago, but the Red Sox have what appears to be on of the top bullpens in the AL. It's been an amazing transformation. Let's look at the pen as currently constructed:

Name	W	L	ERA	IP	H	SO	BB	WHIP	SV	HLD
C. Fossum	4	4	5.65	65.1	66	55	27	1.42	1	0
C. Fox	1	2	2.45	14.2	12	15	14	1.77	3	0
T. Jones(BOS)	2	0	3.00	9.0	6	10	4	1.11	0	0
A. Embree	3	1	3.79	38.0	29	29	13	1.11	0	8
S. Sauerbeck	3	4	4.05	40.0	30	32	25	1.38	0	16
M. Timlin	3	3	3.15	54.1	53	43	5	1.07	2	9
B. Kim(BOS)	3	2	3.25	44.1	43	36	11	1.22	5	0

I cheated a bit and only put Todd Jones' Boston numbers up there. Granted his Rockies' numbers were horrendous. But he has looked quite good since arriving in Boston (in only 9 IP, I know). You've got 3 lefites, 4 righties. Only Fossum has a 5+ ERA, and a lot of the damage was incurred as a starter while his arm was hurting. Everyone else is below 4, except Sauerbeck, who's barely over.

A few numbers stand out as sore spots. Fox has a nice ERA but terrible control. A WHIP of 1.77 will get you pummeled one of these days. Sauerbeck also has control issues of sorts, but he kills lefties, so it's not a big issue, IMHO. Kim is arubber armed closer who can go many days in a row. Timlin has pinpoint control. He gives up a few homers, but with such a low WHIP, most of those will be solo shots. The price of throwing strikes (ask Curt Schilling).

The last piece would be a Top 3 starter, but I just don't see that happening. So we'll have to dance with what we've got. Hey, the Angels won with a rotation that wasn't any better. You need a deep, effective pen to back up that kind of rotation, and we seem to have that now. Plus we score a hell of a lot more runs than they did.

I like the Lyon deal. We got him for fish heads and rice and turned him into a very effective lefty reliever. One the Yankees coveted (even better). Lyon was a Godsend and gave us what we desperately needed, but he was struggling lately, and I just don't see him being much more than a good set-up guy. Now, he has potential to be an effective starter someday, and you hate to give that up, but again, we got him for nothing and the AL is ripe for the plucking this year. I'd rather trade Lyon than one of our system jewels.

BTW, nice win tonight. Trot pummels Rays pitching. Damon's homer was damn high up there. Five wins in a row and counting. God I love playing the Tigers and Rays.

2003-07-19T23:07:00.000-04:00

Big Sox Win

Tonight's win was both dramatic and huge. Shades of summer swoons past were raising their ugly heads after losing 2 straight to Toronto and trailing 4-3 with 2 out in the 9th. I sat watching and not quite believing what I was seeing from this team. The Halladay game, I could understand. He's having a crazy good year. But the rest of the Toronto staff, and the bullpen in particular, is dreadful. How could we be getting shut down by these stiffs? At Fenway no less?

The Nomar walked (see Nomar, walks can be valuable, too). Then Nomar stole 2nd. The clear, CLEAR interference by Manny didn't hurt, though I think Nomar would have had it stolen anyway. Then Manny gets Nomar home. Then we go to extra. In the first half of the year, the script to follow would be the bullpen promptly giving back the lead. Not this new, improved bullpen. We got 4 1/3 scoreless innings from the pen tonight, continuing their strong resurgance. Kim makes all the difference in the world. And he has a rubber arm and can pitch day after day after day....

The offense is clearly struggling, despite tonight's win. I'd suggest demoting Walker to 8th or 9th in the order. He isn't hitting anything, nor is he drawing walks. I'd install Mueller in the #2 hole with his great OBP and tons o' doubles. That might help spur Walker back on track. You'd think with Nomar hitting behind him that Walker would be seeing tons of hittable fastballs. Maybe the skeptics are right. Maybe there is no such thing as protection in a lineup (although I don't believe that).

Still waiting for Theo's big move. I can't say i have any sage advice as to what he should do other than give up as little as possible for as much as possible. Suppan seems like a decent option as long as we're not giving up any top shelf talent to get him. He's having a nice year, but this is still Jeff Suppan. I never liked the Odalis Perez for Nixon rumors. Perez has talent, but he's having a subpar year in a pitcher's park and Nixon is having a great year (when not facing lefties). Who plays RF if you trade Nixon? Kapler? Not every day I'd hope. Millar? Talk about weakening yourself defensively. I love Millar, but not in RF.

Fact is, there are no big name studs to acquire this year (unless the White Sox throw the towel in). I'd make a move for some depth like Suppan or take a shot at a guy with talent like Benson, provided we're not mortgaging the future to do it. I think if we agree to pay Benson's salary, we might be able to get by with "B" level prospects. That seems to be the way things work these days.

Great win tonight. I'm breathing much easier. This team is just too good and too resilient to suffer the same fate as Sox teams of the past. I really believe that.

2003-07-13T19:02:00.000-04:00

All Star Break Thoughts

I think we really lost a chance at some major momentum by dropping the last game of the Tigers series. Comerica may be a pitchers' park, but to get shutout by the worst team in baseball was surprising, to say the least. Still, winning 5 of 6 to pull within 2 games of New York isn't too shabby. I still believe the Yanks can be taken this year. Ever year, Georgie Porgie creeps a little further back into the picture, a few more questionable moves are made (Sierra, Mondesi, Contreras) and the Yanks deteriorate just a little more. True, a few key signings have propped them up (Mussina, Giambi), but this is not the same type of team that rolled to four World Series titles.

It was nice to see Nomar go 3 for 4 today. I have never seen Nomar look more clueless at the plate than he has looked on this roadtrip. He's been in slumps before, but this has been horrendous. He swung at a pitch last night that bounced in front of home plate en route to a 3 pitch strikeout. He's always been a free swinger, but he usually gets his bat on the ball when he does.

The blown save last night notwithstanding, the bullpen looks really good right now. With Kim as a solid closer and Lyon, Embree, Timlin, Jones and (soon) Fossum, that has the makings of a great pen. Hopefully, we can find another starter and move Mendoza back into the long role. I'm feeling more and more confident about the pitching staff, and the lineup is (to put it mildly) potent and deep. Defense could be better, but it's adequate. We've got solid defenders at CF, RF, SS, C, and 3b. Those are all the most important spots (except 2b). And we've got 2 good defensive replacements in Kapler and Jackson. Well, 3 if you count Sanchez, but I think he's heading back to Pawtucket where he can actually PLAY once Giambi is brought back up. There's no point in wasting Freddy on the bench right now.

All in all, I'm quite pleased with our first half results. First in the Wild Card, 2 games back, and the team seems to be just rounding into its best form of the year. I don't forsee any .500 second halves this time around.

2003-07-09T19:14:00.000-04:00

Random Musings

Jason Vartiek was jobbed. He didn't just deserve to make the All Star team, he deserved to start. Now, Posada is excellent and is a more household name, so I was fine with him winning the fan vote. You can't help what the sheeple do. But Ramon Hernandez??? He's decent, but c'mon. That's just lame. Varitek is the best hitting catcher in the AL this season by every measure and is a damn fine defensive catcher and handler of pitchers. I've voted for him at MLB.com and I hope you will, too.

I never got around to picking my NL All Star Team and now it's kind of anti-climatic. Oh well. Dontrelle Willis got jobbed, too.

What can you say about the pen last night? Great job. Even Todd Jones chipping in 2 scoreless IP. Winning against Halladay was huge because the possibility of a sweep now hangs in the air. The rest of Toronto's pitchers are ordinary to downright stinky.

The offense is in the first real slump of the year. Given that they've faced Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina and Roy Halladay in succession, I think you have to give them a pass. Nomar, though, has stunk the whole road trip. I'm starting to worry that he's becoming a classic Red Sox Fenway hitter. The difference this year is startling. Nomar's home OPS is a phenomenal 1.154. On the road it's a rather anemic .731. He's not even close to being the same hitter away from Fenway.
The good news is that from 2000-2002, his OPS is .950 at home and .938 on the road, which is negligible. So, this isn't something I'd exprect to continue. It's probably a very bizzare aberration that I really hope abates sometime soon. I think it's a HUGE reason for the Sox sub-.500 road record.

2003-07-06T22:37:00.000-04:00

Homer Happy

Well, that was one hell of a show the Sox put on this weekend, until they ran into Andy Pettitte anyway. They put a first class ass-whuppin' on two of my least favorite pitchers and people, Wells and Clemens.

I'm really starting to like David Ortiz, and this was before he hit 4 bombs in two days against the Yankees. He works the count and has a .390 OBP. He's not bad against lefties so far (.520 SLG against lefties). He hits a ton of doubles and seems to be good for 20-25 HR a year.
We really seem the have the right lefty-righty mix this year. Nomar, Manny, Millar from the right; Damon, Walker, Ortiz, Nixon from the left with Vartiek and Mueller switching. Throw in Kapler off the bench, and it's a balanced mix. I've never seen a Red Sox team that can hit like this one. The mid-90's Indians were probably just as potent. I haven't checked the numbers, though.

It's unfortunate that we ran into a buzz-saw in Andy Pettitte today. You just have to tip your cap. He had it all working today, and he always own the Red Sox. YES said he has the third highest win percentage against the Sox in Yankees history. I'm not surprised.
I like our chances tomorrow in the Martinez-Mussina matchup. Mussina is 8-6 with a 2.45 ERA over the last 3 years against us. Pretty tough, but I think Pedro comes to play tommorrow.

2003-07-04T15:58:00.000-04:00

One Man's All Star Team

These are my selections for the 2003 All Star Game. I am naming complete rosters, including startes, but I am not taking into consideration one rep from each team. That is a stupid rule that needs to go away.

American League

Starters are in bold

Catcher- Jason Vartiek (BOS) , Jorge Posada (NYY)
Most are picking Posada, both fans and pundits, but Varitek's OPS is 27 points higher (.919-.892) and almost everyone would agree that Varitek is a better defensive catcher. Posada does have the edge in OBP, but I'd still go with Jason this year.

First Base-Carlos Delgado (TOR), Mike Sweeney (KC), Kevin Millar (BOS).

Delgado is a no-brainer. Sweeney is #2 in OPS and is also a no-brainer. Millar is a surprise but with a .310 AVG and a .919 OPS, he has a strong case. Giambi actually has a better OPS despite his horrific start, but given Millar's consistency over the first half, I give him the nod. Interstingly, 1b is not as deep a field as we've seen in the past.

Second Base-Bret Boone (SEA), Alfonso Soriano (NYY)

Boone leads in every major offensive category except SB and runs, and he's not far off in runs, despite the fact that Soriano hits leadoff and Boone hits #4. Boone is also miles better with the glove.

Shortstop-Nomar Garciaparra (BOS), Alex Rodriguez (TEX)

This is a surpsise, but Nomar leads A-Rod in every major offensive category except HR. Despite this, Nomar has a higher SLG and OPS. Nomar leads the AL in runs and is #1 or #2 in hits and is #1 in 3B by far. A-Rod is better with the glove, but Nomar's no slouch. Amazingly, no one else really deserves to go this year after 5 went last year. The 3rd highest OPS at SS this year is....Angel Berroa of KC. Tejada has had a rough first half, Jeter missed a month and hasn't hit much since returning. Who would've thunk that the NL would be deeper at SS this year?

Third Base- Hank Blalock (TEX), Cory Koskie (MIN), Bill Mueller (BOS)

Blalock is easy with his .941 OPS, which leads all at the position. Mueller is #2, but I almost left him off given his recent struggles. Koskie is having a solid year. A good argument can be made for Troy Glaus as well. I'm disappointed in what Eric Chavez has done so far.

Outfield- Melvin Mora (BAL), Manny Ramirez (BOS), Garrett Anderson (ANA), Vernon Wells (TOR), Milton Bradley (CLE), Carlos Beltran (KC)

Mora is having a phenomenal, and puzzling year. When could he hit like this. I smell Darrin Erstad Part II (great year that is a complete aberration from rest of career). Manny is #2 in OPS and is an offensive wrecking machine. I love Anderson's consistency and I picked him over Wells in a close shave to start because RBI don't mean as much to me as other factors. Wells is still having an awesome year by any standards, though. Bradley has been the lone bright spot in a dismal Indians lineup. Beltran does everything well.

DH- Frank Thomas (CWS)

I thought I'd pick Edgar Martinez, but amazingly, Frank leads Edgar in every major category except batting average. Batting average isn't enough. Go Big Hurt!

Pitching Staff- Esteban Loaiza (CWS), Roy Halladay (TOR), Mark Mulder (OAK), Barry Zito (OAK), Gil Meche (SEA), Mike Mussina (NYY), Jamie Moyer (SEA), Brendan Donnelly (ANA), Mike MacDougal (KC), Mariano Rivera (NYY), Keith Foulke (OAK)

Loaiza is the big surprise this year, but he deserves the start, despite Halladay's big run of wins. I'd pitch those 2 guys the first 4 IP. I hate to leave Tim Hudson off given his 2.97 ERA, but despite how silly the win stat can be, it's tough to name a starter with 6 wins. Sorry. Same goes for Pedro (and Pedro's injury didn't help.) The starters' numbers speak for themselves. Joel Piniero, David Wells, Roger Clemens and C.C. Sabathia all had good cases too, but there's only so much room. I'm not a huge reliever guy, so there's only 4 on the team. Donnelly has just been sick. Screw saves, this guy is the best reliever in the AL. Rivera's been his usual self since rounding back into shape off of missing April. Foulke and MacDougal have been ace closers for contending teams.

Well, that's my team. This took a while. I'll do the NL another time.

2003-07-02T22:41:00.000-04:00

Sox Win, Bullpen Comes Through!

It's only been two games and we've already seen the shift of Kim to the bullpen pay dividends. Kim pitched 2 scoreless innings last night and picks up the save tonight. The pen gave up no earned runs last night and only one harmless one tonight. (Egads that was a rocket off of Baldelli's bat. He's got such potential.)

We've been playing some serious Earl Weaver ball lately. Lots of homers. Not that there's anything wrong with that. This team has a great OBP and decent speed, so I'm not worried that we're going to be slapped with the "can't manufacture runs" tag, not that I think that tag means all that much anyway.

I was thinking tonight after Millar's home run that he is what made Shea so expendable. I think without Millar, we'd be very thin on right handed hitting outside of Nomar and Manny. But Millar made Shea completely unnecessary. And Shea can't even pray to do the things Millar is doing. Millar has a .381 OBP and .555 SLG. Shea has never approached those numbers, and given his age and continued lack of plate discipline, it's unlikely he will.

Sox Sign Todd Jones

OK, on the surface it doesn't seem bad. His ERA is 8.24, but he ptiched for the Rockies and he has a pretty nice pedigree. Deep deeper and you see his road ERA was 8.10 in 16 2/3 IP. Yick. It's a small sample size, but it doesn't look promising. we've sent down Almonte, so it looks as though we're going to see what, if anything, Jones has left in the tank. Hopefully he's limited to mop-up duty.

Odds and Ends

A stat shown by NESN said that Damon is #1 in the AL with 21 RBI after the 7th inning. I can't believe that. I can't remember ANY big hits by Damon this year. He's the last guy in the whole line-up I want up there late in the game. Those have to be garbage time RBI's.

2003-07-01T23:25:00.000-04:00

What a Way to Lose

Great comeback squandered. The funny thing is it wasn't the bullpen's fault. Talk about your freak errors. Lyon had Baldelli picked off. I'm not sure how to feel about this one tonight. Any loss to Tampa is a bad one. We had a chance to gain on the Yanks and put more distance on the Jays. You just can't squander the ones against the Devil Rays of the world.

Marlins 20 Braves 1

Ouch! Guess the Marlins had some pent up frustration after the beatings they took at Fenway this weekend. Granted, they had their comeback game, but the gave up a TON of runs in three games. Time to give as good as they got. You gotta wonder if the Braves let their pitching get too weak. Hampton is still a shadow of his former self. The bullpen is weak except for Smoltz. Maddux has lost his magic. Who's your ace? Russ Ortiz? He's a good pitcher, but he's no ace. And note that Furcal and Giles have stopped getting on base, which means the Braves aren't scoring anymore. It will be interesting to see which Furcal and Giles show up in the second half (and if Javy Lopez can continue to hit like Mike Piazza of the early 90's.)

2003-06-30T09:31:00.000-04:00

Dixie's View of the New Sox Regime

Here's a view on the Sox from my adopted hometown.
AJC Red Sox Article

2003-06-28T22:47:00.000-04:00

Sox 25 Marlins 8

Holy sh*t!!!!

Marlins 10 Sox 9

F***ing typical.

Really, is there anything else to add at this point?

Wakefield Recant

Before I went on my business trip I complained about Wakefield not pitching deep into games. Then I read the story and found out he had hurt his back. Oops. Guess I should read the recap first when I don't get to see the whole game.

A Note on My Psychic Powers

I have this odd Spidey Sense when it comes to baseball. Usually, it's a harbringer of doom, but occasionally, it fortells good things. Tonight, it was all crap. I saw Lyon come out for the 9th and I was pleased at first. He's been pitching so well. Then the voice appears. He'll blow it, Sox lose. Screw you, go away I say. About 8-10 minutes later, the voice is right as usual.

You're saying, "Ha ha Paul, like you're the first guy to guess lucky on a blown save." No. This happens more than I care to say. Last year when the Sox were 40-17, the voice said something about going .500 the rest of the year. They did. The voice has told me about a number of the big comebacks this year as well some home runs.

I view this as a curse. Most of the voices are in-game kind of visions. For some reason I can't get this voice to do anything useful like give me stock picks or winning lotto numbers.

Yes, Sox fans are nutty.

2003-06-23T22:49:00.000-04:00

Sox 3 Pussycats 1

I can't say I'm terribly impressed tonight. The Sox bats remain cold. They got shut down by a 2-11 pitcher with a 5.10 ERA. Thank you Kevin Millar for providing some offense. Wakefield pitched well, but these are the Tigers, the worst offensive baseball team I can remember seeing.

While we're on Wakefield, why only 90 pitches and 6 IP?? I didn't join the game until after he was gone. This seems to be a pattern with Wake. The guy throws a knuckle ball. He should be able to throw 120-140 pitches if you really needed it. Would it kill us to let him try to go 8 IP and 110-120 pitches? We're not using him between starts anymore. I just don't get it. Sure Embree was great, but why spend him for 2 IP when you don't need to?

I'm off on a business trip to Cleveland tomorrow. I'll be catching a Royals-Tribe game at the Jake on Wednesday night. Disgustingly easy to get good seats in Cleveland these days. I went back in 1997 and my friend and I barely got in the stadium. We figured we'd be able to get scalped tickets. In almost an hour of hunting we found one scalper selling 2 crappy-ass tickets. So we took them and paid handsomely. Oh how times have changed. See you on Friday.

2003-06-21T20:17:00.000-04:00

See-Ya Nez

OK, it's time to end the Rudy Seanez experiment. A straighter 95 MPH fastball, I haven't seen since Cal Schiraldi donned the blue and red.

I didn't get to see the game today, but that looked like a very frustrating loss from the recap. The pen blows THREE leads?? I can live with Timlin's mistake. He's pitched well and is a pretty good set-up guy overall. When you throw that many strikes, you're gonna give up a few taters. Lyon and Embree both pitched well again.

Shiell, although bad today, has looked good enough this year that we can certianly overlook one bad outing. But what redeeming value does Rudy Seanez bring to this club? It's time to try something different.

On a different note, have you ever seen two such polar opposite games from your #3 and #4 hitters? Nomar goes 6 for 6 and Manny 0 for 7. Wow.

Jeremey Giambi Hit Watch

I'm introducing a new feature called the Jeremy Giambi hit watch. We'll be on the lookout for that most elusive of birds, a Jeremy Giambi base hit. Today, there was no sign of a hit. We'll keep you updated.

2003-06-20T19:33:00.000-04:00

Damn rainouts

No game tonight. I was looking forward to watching Sox-Phils. The Phillies have an intriguing team. Al their guys are underachieving right now. Abreu (.276/.388/.444), Thome (.242/.371/.480), Burrell (.209/.317/.431), David Bell (.204/.288/.291). Rollins and Lieberthal are doing as expected. I keep waiting for this team to just bust out the whuppin' sticks at some point.
Look at David Bell's numbers, by the way! A .291 SLG???? Some unsolicited advice for Larry Bowa. Nail this guy to the bench, and pronto.

2003-06-19T10:56:00.000-04:00

Laid Low By Loaiza

I'll give 10 bucks to anyone who can prove they predicted that Esteban Loaiza would be 10-2 with an ERA around 2.00 on June 19th. This guy has always had strong April's, but somehow, either the league would figure him out again, or he'd lose focus and the shellings would begin.

Well, I don't know why he didn't do this sooner, but damn he looked good last night. Good heater, nice movement. Maybe he's finally learned how to harness his stuff and pitch. Some guys just take longer to figure it out (if they aren't out of baseball before that time).
The White Sox staff as a whole has actually managed to hold down the Sox' potent offense quite nicely. I'd be curious to see what the numbers are for new Commiskey in terms of offense. Is it a pitchers' park, hitters, neutral? All I know is it's a crappy park, at least from what I've heard and from what I see on TV.

They're having the All-Star Game this year for the first time since 1983. That was one of my favorite All-Star Games as a kid. I was an AL fan, of course, and the AL had never won the damn game in my lifetime. I was born a few months after they won in 1971. But then Jimmie Rice goes deep. Freddie Lynn hits a grand slam and the AL beats the tar out of the NL 13-3. I loved every minute of it. That's when the worm started to turn and the AL began to win the bulk of the All-Star Games from there on out. That also was one of the last years I can remember the All Star Game being taken seriously as a competitive contest. Slowly it slid into exhibition land over the next decade. I did enjoy the 1986 game when Rocket won the MVP in Houston.

Quick hit on D-Lowe
D-Lowe needs to even it up tonight. He's been looking more like the 21-8 guy the last few starts. I've wondered if he wouldn't benefit from seeing that shrink that put John Smoltz on the road to consistent success back in the early '90's. No one seems to be more fragile emotionally than D-Lowe.

2003-06-18T08:50:00.000-04:00

Grady's Got a Squeeze Box

Loved, loved, loved the squeeze play called by Grady tonight. See Sox fans,
he really does have a pulse in there. Great job by Damon getting it down
considering if he missed he would be singing soprano.

I gotta hand it to Burkett. I've been hard on him and it looked like another
ass-whuppin in the first inning. But damn, 18 in a row and 20 of 22 retired
after that. 9 K's in 6 IP! Way to go old man, you've earned a reprieve. You
still should've relieved Pedro last night, though.

Pen was solid again. Timlin has rounded into the high quality set-up man he
had proven to be in St. Louis the last few years. Lyon closed things out
nicely. We may yet have the makings of a decent pen. I still want to see a
true closer patrolling the 9th if we make the postseason. Lyon is good, but
I'm getting Cal Schiraldi flashbacks when I think of him closing games in
October. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. (What, a Sox fan paranoid?? Never I
say, never!)

Jeff Weaver got knocked around today. Hey George! HA HA! Why didn't you
just re-acquire the rights to Ed Whitson? We'll take a doubleheader split
with the D-Rays. We're back to 1/2 game out.

I miss the late '80's Yankees teams. They were competitive, but never could
get over the hump. But I loved the odds and ends they had as players. Wayne
Tolleson, Charlie Hudson, Matt Nokes, the immortal Mike Blowers. Anyone
remember that Steve Kemp played for the Yanks for a while? That was early-
mid '80's I think.

Anyway, great job tonight, we're 40-29. Time to take the series tomorrow.

2003-06-17T14:48:00.000-04:00

Rupe a Dope

I don't have a lot to add that I haven't already read amongst Sox bloggers about last nights Rupe/Burkett "controversy". It was ridiculous for the Sox to put Rupe out there on 2 days rest after throwing 100 pitches. Either Burkett should have been out there, like a team guy would have been, or they should have used their pen as normal. I don't blame Rupe. He deserves kudos for being willing to step up for the team.

This is yet another reason why Burkett needs to be released once everyone gets healthy. It's bad enough this fossil has to haul his near 6.00 ERA to the mound for another shelling. But for him to have the gall to tell us he'll only start at this point of his career? Hey pal, you mean ex-career. Let's see if he can hold down the banjo hitting White Sox.

It was shocking to see a pitcher shut down the Sox offense last night. So few have managed to do it. Usually, if you beat the Sox this year, you're winning 8-7, not 4-2. Buherle finally looked like the 19 game winner he was last year. Just our luck. He's on my fantasy team and he KILLED me. By the time I gave up on him and benched him, he had already inflated my team ERA beyond repair. Him and Ramon Ortiz.

The Colon/Burkett matchup doesn't look good on paper, but I remember times when we have slapped the hell out of Colon. Hopefully this is one of those nights. We can't be losing games while the Yanks are playing Tampa Bay.

2003-06-15T15:26:00.000-04:00

Clemens Torpedos Boston Legacy

Clemens has announced that if he is not allowed to go into the HOF as a Yankee, he will skip the ceremony. It's still early, but I'd say if he continues to be loud and vocal about this threat, then his legacy in Boston is pretty much tarnished beyond all repair.

I really think there was a chance Boston fans, given time, would have welcomed him back and embraced him. His uniform would be retired and put up with Ted, Yaz, etc. Fans would remember the 3 Cy Youngs and the decade of dominance.

Instead, he is willing to destroy that over his hatred for one man. Dan Duquette. Is it really worth it Roger? He claims he became a Hall of Famer in New York. Horsesh*t. If his Boston years didn't put him in, his two years in Toronto certainly put him over the top. You don't need 300 wins to get in anymore. 5 Cy Youngs would have got him in just fine. His New York years were icing. Nice icing, to be sure with those titles, but that's all in terms of the HOF.

What he is saying to the fans in Boston is, "My years in Boston mattered so little, I'm willing to put my petty hatred of one man, who never represented the fans of Boston, over the years of glory and my legacy in Boston." Skip your own induction if you get a Boston cap Roger? That's the ultimate insult. You can't spin it any other way. If you aren't over Duquette by now, then you have far more problems than I ever thought. Duke is a gnat, a fly in your ointment. Get the F*** over it. You should send him a damn card every year thanking him for motivating you to finish your career on top instead of overweight and injured.

If I'm the Red Sox, I issue #21 to the next player called up. I think Henry has too much class for that, and that's too bad. Roger's still one of the greatest ever, but I don't think he should ever be welcomed back to Fenway given his attitude.

Read Rogers's comments here.

2003-06-14T23:46:00.000-04:00

Offense Galore

Has anyone else realized that everyone in the everyday lineup is hitting over .300 except Johnny Damon, who's finally starting to hit, and Jason Varitek, who's hitting "only" .297? Simply amazing. I know, I know, batting average is overrated, but this team also works the count, draws walks (well Nomar doesn't, but who cares) and hits for a lot of power. This is the bet Sox offense I've ever seen. I was too young to really remember the '77 and '78 teams, but I know they had great offenses too. But they still had banjo hitters like Burleson and Remy.

Great job by Derek. The line looks worse than he pitched, as he was left in one inning too long. Lots of ground balls. Freddie Sanchez was eating up everything. I knew he could hit, but damn kid, nice leather!

One question. Why lift Shiell? Oh, I know it worked, but Shiell looked really good against the 2 batters he faced. Why lift him so quickly? Embree looked great, sure, but why? I don't understand needlessly lifting a well rested pitcher who's doing well. It's not like Embree needed the work. Sometimes, I just have to scratch my head, even when things work. Oh well.

Yanks win again, although Tino hits 2 bombs (go Tino). Jays lose. Man, a possible three team dogfight. It's going to be a fun summer. Can any of us beat the Mariners, though?

2003-06-14T00:12:00.000-04:00

A nice, uneventful win

Ahhhh, a nice 4-3 win over Houston tonight. No late inning heroics, no gas can bullpen, no walking the bases loaded to get to Trot, just a nice, simple 4-3 win. Kudos to Ryan Rupe. His performance at Pawtucket warranted a look and he tamed a very talented Houston lineup for 6 innings. Timlin and Lyon pitched very well in tandem. It's so rare to get two guys out of the pen to pitch well at once. No white-knuckling tonight, no acid wash in the throat. I needed that.

Sox still need to pick up some sort of pitching help. Either a starter, to allow Kim to move to the closer role, or a closer (Urbina?) to bump the others back into better roles. If we get Urbina, I'm thinking:

Closer: UU

Set-Up R: Timlin

Set-Up L: Embree

6th-7th: Lyon, Almonte

Mop-Up/Long: Mendoza

Speaking of Urbina, if we do deal for him, I'd only want to do it if we didn't have to give up two top prospects. I've been hearing Fossum and AA starter Josh Stevens. No thanks. Perhaps Stevens and a lesser prospect? And Benitez? I don't understand the fascination. He's like Jose Mesa. I don't need the ulcers, thanks. Do you REALLY want Benitez on the mound with the pennant/LCS/World Series on the line? I didn't think so.

2003-06-13T17:22:00.000-04:00

The Return of Bagwell

Jeff Bagwell comes to Fenway tonight to face the organization who traded him away for the infamous Larry Andersen in 1990. Now, this deal has been flogged to death and rightly so. Oddly enough, Andersen pitched well for the Sox down the stretch, but when he was set free as a free agent following the collusion settlements, the Sox ended up trading a HOF player for a 2 month rental.

Lou Gorman has been defending himself lately. In an article in the Boston Globe, Gorman claims that he really thought Tim Naehring was going to be the Sox' 3b of the future. Given that Bagwell had shown no power and that they had a 1b in the system named Mo Vaughn who did, Bagwell was expendable. A bone or two to pick with Lou.

Bagwell hit only 4 HR at AA New Britain the year he was traded. Here's something that I know, having grown up next to New Britain and going to countless NB Sox games. NO ONE hit home runs in New Britain. Beehive Field was the worst hitters park in organized baseball. Year after year, the team batting average hovered in the .230 range. The team home run record for the first 4 or 5 years was 12. TWELVE! Ellis Burks finally broke the record around 1986 with 14. This was in a full season too. Mo Vaughn hit 7 HR in a whole year playing for New Britain. That's right, SEVEN.

What was amazing about Bagwell was that he hit .333 that season in New Britain. Almost no one did that. He had gap power, which was what you needed to have to survive in that park. He was smart enough to realize that swinging for the fences was a losing proposition. Neither Scott Cooper (who skipped AA I think) nor Tim Naehring did what Bagwell did at New Britain. I believe for a while that the Sox starting having their best hitting prospects skip New Britain and go straight to AAA Pawtucket to avoid destroying their confidence.

Bottom line, if Gorman didn't know what he had in Bagwell, then he wasn't paying attention to what was going on in New Britain.

Welcome home Jeff. I've been rooting for you all these years. Pity you had to do all this great work for Houston and not for us.

2003-06-13T10:50:00.000-04:00

Introduction

Hi, my name is Paul and I'm a Red Sox fan. I've been one for most of my life. Since I was 5 or 6 years old.

Sounds like the opening to my first AA meeting doesn't it? I guess all of us in Red Sox Nation feel like we're recovering from our latest Sox binge. Just one more fix, this time they'll make me feel good, I won't end up curled in a fetal position in the gutter crying and vomiting like last time. This time it will be all good times, fun and glory. You think we'd learn? Nah.

My first Sox game at Fenway was 1978. Yes, that year. The game? Game 3 of the Boston Massacre. Yankees 7 Red Sox 0.

New York Yankees 7, Boston Red Sox 0

DayGame Played on September 9, 1978 (D) at Fenway Park

NY  A    0  0  0    7  0  0    0  0  0  -   7 11  1

BOS A    0  0  0    0  0  0    0  0  0  -   0  2  2

BATTINGNew York Yankees      AB   R   H RBI      BB   K      PO   A

Rivers cf              4   1   1   2       0   0       0   0

  Blair cf             1   0   1   0       0   0       2   0

Randolph 2b            3   1   1   0       2   1       2   4

Munson c               4   0   2   1       0   0       6   0

Jackson dh             4   0   0   0       1   2       0   0

Chambliss 1b           5   1   1   0       0   1      11   1

Nettles 3b             4   1   1   0       1   0       0   2

Piniella rf            5   1   3   1       0   1       4   0

White lf               3   1   0   0       1   0       0   0

  Johnstone lf         0   0   0   0       0   0       1   0

Dent ss                5   1   1   2       0   0       1   2

Guidry p               0   0   0   0       0   0       0   2

Totals                38   7  11   6       5   5      27  11

FIELDING - 

DP: 1.

E: Dent (8).

BATTING - 

2B: Chambliss (24,off Eckersley); Piniella (31,off Eckersley).

HBP: Munson (3,by Eckersley); Johnstone (2,by Burgmeier).

IBB: Nettles (5,by Eckersley); White (3,by Eckersley).

Boston Red Sox        AB   R   H RBI      BB   K      PO   A

Burleson ss            3   0   1   0       1   1       0   1

Lynn cf                2   0   0   0       0   0       5   0

Rice rf                4   0   1   0       0   0       2   0

Yastrzemski lf         4   0   0   0       0   0       3   1

Fisk c                 2   0   0   0       2   1       7   0

Bailey dh              3   0   0   0       1   0       0   0

Scott 1b               2   0   0   0       0   0       5   1

Hobson 3b              3   0   0   0       0   1       2   3

Duffy 2b               3   0   0   0       0   2       2   1

Eckersley p            0   0   0   0       0   0       0   0

  Burgmeier p          0   0   0   0       0   0       1   1

Totals                26   0   2   0       4   5      27   8

FIELDING - 

DP: 1.

E: Yastrzemski (3), Hobson (39).

PB: Fisk (5).

BATTING - 

SH: Lynn 2 (4,off Guidry 2); Scott (5,off Guidry).

PITCHINGNew York Yankees      IP     H  HR   R  ER  BB   K

Guidry W(21-2)         9     2   0   0   0   4   5

Boston Red Sox        IP     H  HR   R  ER  BB   K

Eckersley L(16-7)      3.2   7   0   7   6   3   3

Burgmeier              5.1   4   0   0   0   2   2

Totals                 9.0  11   0   7   6   5   5

WP: Eckersley (3).

HBP: Eckersley (7,Munson); Burgmeier (3,Johnstone).

IBB: Eckersley 2 (8,Nettles,White).

Umpires: Rich Garcia, Jim Evans, Durwood Merrill, Marty Springstead

Time of Game: 2:26   Attendance: 33611

Sigh. The start of a love affair. I was raised on Freddie Lynn, Jim Rice, Dewey, Steamer, Tom Burgmeier, Eck, Gary Allenson, Rick Buerleson, Pudge, Tony Armas and many others. My father would take me to 6-8 games a year. We lived in Connecticut and I always looked forward to that 2 hour drive up to Boston. We took the "T" in from Riverside.

Jim Rice was my favorite player. Later I would latch onto a young pitcher I saw pitch the New Britain Red Sox to the AA Eastern League title in 1983. Twenty years later he's still pitching. He's just pitching for the wrong guys. And he's no longer my favorite pitcher.

I've been through a lot with this team and I plan to stick it out. Either they'll win a Series some day or I'll die first. Hopefully the former. I have no idea how I'll feel once the quest is over, but contrary to what other teams' fans may think of us in Red Sox Nation, we DO want it to end with a title. I don't like pain nearly that much. It will be the only sporting event that would top my UConn Huskies (men's team) winning the NCAA basketball title in 1999.

This blog will be my vent, my place to share my thoughts about my team and baseball in general. It's always been my one true sports passion. Oh, I love other sports too. Football, basketball....I even loved hockey when the Hartford Whalers still existed. But nothing tops baseball and my passion for the Red Sox.