This Red Sox team seems like the teams of old. Alot of big hitters and alot of mediocre pitchers. This is why we're losing. This is why when we win, it's 8-6 or 10-7. The Yankees are in striking distance and if we don't take advantage of weak teams like Kansas City or Detroit, we're going to lose 1st place very soon. The Red Sox need to go on a run here.
Schilling looks very very shaky. As shaky as he looked back in the beginning of the season. Arroyo has fallen off dramtically since then. As has Clement. Wells has been shaky all year. Wakefield is giving up the homerun ball as much as he did last season. And the bullpen has been terrible all season.
We can't win a World Series playing like this. Last season we won because we had great pitching to go along with our hitting. The Cleveland Indians from 1995 to 2000 are perfect proof that you need more than an outstanding offense to win in the post-season.
I think the Red Sox can win 9 of their next 11 games (1 vs. DET, 4 vs. TB, 3 vs. BAL, 1 vs. CWS, 3 vs. LAA all in Fenway). I think they need to win at least 7 of those games. Then the big series against New York in The Stadium. That weekend, in my opinion, will be pivitol to our playoff aspirations.
Boston sports blog featuring Patriots propaganda, and opinions on the Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Sunday, August 14, 2005
SOX SWEEP SOX IN SHORT SERIES
The Chicago White Sox are alledgedly the best team in baseball, but maybe now the "experts" on ESPN will realise that they're a good team that has feasted upon the AL Central.
Despite the fact that the Red Sox made no major deals at the deadline, does this team feel like a different team? Graffanino has performed well, Cora has been solid, Kapler has found a way to contribute almost every day and Petagine has been a great addition. Soon, younger players will be coming. This team could roll through the crap of the league and beat the top teams. It's a good thing we're winning though, because the Yankees are hot.
Despite the fact that the Red Sox made no major deals at the deadline, does this team feel like a different team? Graffanino has performed well, Cora has been solid, Kapler has found a way to contribute almost every day and Petagine has been a great addition. Soon, younger players will be coming. This team could roll through the crap of the league and beat the top teams. It's a good thing we're winning though, because the Yankees are hot.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
DEMEANING A YANKEE FAN
I'm only going to do this once but I'm going to do it properly. Some guy has been posting comments on Red Sox blogs like this one and Away Team (which is actually a pretty good looking Sox site despite the political leanings of its writer).
Anyway, Here is this guy's blog. It really isn't about the Yankees very much. It is more about him saying "F the Red Sox" over and over and over again. I guess it says alot that there are Yankee fans so obsessed with their once pathetic rivals up here in Massachusetts. We've come a long way from where we were in 1997 and the Yankees haven't won since 2000 despite spending over half a billion dollars since that year.
Let's just look at a singular post.
"Hey fucker sit down it's a pop up!" Why does every red sux fans freak out whenever the ball is hit during a game, god I love how little these fans know about baseball.
I was near fenway the other day as a matter of fact, just getting a view of the enemies' home base up close. I decided to bring up the biggest lugey I had in my throat with so much mucas, and then proceeded to spit it at the green monster, while giving it the finger and the evil eye all at the same time, there season is over now!!
The thing this guy might not comprehend is that sitting in Section 41 of the RF bleachers about 500 feet from the plate, it isn't exactly easy to read that a 400 foot fly ball isn't going to be a 430 foot Homerun. Fans at Yankee Stadium do the same thing, go crazy whenever the Yankees make hard contact on the ball. It happens. Oh, and Fenway has been around for 93 years, it has had multiple fires, been rebuilt twice, and had millions of fans come and go. Your spit, whatever ghastly fluids it might contain, is probably not going to have an impact on the structure, or on the fate of the team which plays inside.
A lot of people say why do you live in boston if you complain about it so much? I love the city of Boston itself, it's her inhabitants that cast a bad light on a wonderfully crafted city. The positives of the city, wipe out the negatives of the fans.
Just try listening to at least five minutes of talk radio in Boston. You will laugh your ass off, with how these un-educated whorebags chop up the english language! And again how they all have forgotten about Manny, I laugh, ha!
And what about Manny? "Manny being Manny" even he's wearing shirts that say that, does he realize it's really saying, "Manny being a Retard"
I may be an uneducated whorebag, but I think I could come up with a better insult than that. Oh, and I've never heard a New Yorker, or Ney Jerseyan mangle words like call or Mark Clark.
FUCK YOU ROYAL ROOTERS FROM THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY!
FUCK YOU DOUCHE BAGS FROM DORCHESTER
FUCK YOU GABE KAPLER
FUCK YOU TROT NIXON, I HOPE YOU NEVER STEP FOOT ON THE FIELD AGAIN
FUCK YOU SCHILLING YOU LOUD MOUTH, GUN TOATING, STERIOD TAKING, JESUS LOVING, REPUBLICAN BASTARD!
FUCK YOU MANNY, YOU CRACK SMOKING MORON!
FUCK YOU THEO EPSTEIN
FUCK YOU JERRY REMY
FUCK YOU JOHNNY PESKY, THE PESKY POLE... STUPID!
FUCK YOU BALL GIRLS, YOU FUCKING UGLY WHORES!
FUCK YOU JASON VARITEK, STICK THAT FUCKING "C"ON YOUR UNIFORM UP DAMON'S ASS, MAYBE IT WILL TEACH HIM HOW TO TALK LIKE A HUMAN!
FUCK YOU BOSTON CAB DRIVERS
FUCK YOU MITT ROMNEY, YOU REPUBLICAN
FUCK YOU YAZ!
FUCK YOU JIM RICE
FUCK YOU DEWEY EVANS - WHAT ARE YOU LIKE 5? DEWEY??
FUCK YOU DAVE HENDERSON- WITH THAT SMILE THAT TOOK UP ALL THE ROOM ON THE TV BACK IN 1986 WHILE TRYING TO WATCH THE PLAYOFFS
Finally,
FUCK YOU FENWAY PARK - your seats are too small, you give ketchup with your hotdogs, you are falling apart, you have no parking, and you are too small, it's intimate, yeah fuck that!
You tell those Royal Rooters. Go down to the cemetary, and yell your ass off at those guys. Just don't expect a response. I hate douchebags from Dorchester too. The rest of the people from there are OK I guess. If I were a Yankee fan, I wouldn't want Trot to take the field again either. I don't think Curt will be too insulted to be called a Jesus loving Republican because I think that is kind of what he is. I guess Johnny Damon doesn't talk like a human. My questions is, what animal does Johnny talk like? A giraffe? Perhaps a hippopotamus. Wait, I've got it, a lemur. I think Dwight Evans is significantly older than 5. It'd be pretty amazing to play so well if he were only five! And the thing about Dave Henderson, I don't even comprehend what that could possibly mean. Was his mouth wicked big or something? Big teeth maybe? I like ketchup with my hot dogs, BTW.
I posted a comment on this guy's blog because at the top he says "Viva La Yankees." I mentioned that it should be Viva Los Yankees because Yankees is plural and masculine and Los is the Spanish article for plural/masculine words. Apparently I offended this guy and he deleted my comment.
Weirdly enough, on Abe's Away Team blog, he decided to post 10 links to hardcore gay porn sites (I'm assuming this from the URL) which he was able to type up in the span of 4 minutes. Although his knowledge of such websites is impressive, it just seemd to be a bit awkward to me that he would post such things on a Red Sox blog's comments.
Anyways, I expect a barrage of poorly written, profanity ridden, gay porn linking comments from this guy but I just wanted to get a few thoughts off my chest.
Anyway, Here is this guy's blog. It really isn't about the Yankees very much. It is more about him saying "F the Red Sox" over and over and over again. I guess it says alot that there are Yankee fans so obsessed with their once pathetic rivals up here in Massachusetts. We've come a long way from where we were in 1997 and the Yankees haven't won since 2000 despite spending over half a billion dollars since that year.
Let's just look at a singular post.
"Hey fucker sit down it's a pop up!" Why does every red sux fans freak out whenever the ball is hit during a game, god I love how little these fans know about baseball.
I was near fenway the other day as a matter of fact, just getting a view of the enemies' home base up close. I decided to bring up the biggest lugey I had in my throat with so much mucas, and then proceeded to spit it at the green monster, while giving it the finger and the evil eye all at the same time, there season is over now!!
The thing this guy might not comprehend is that sitting in Section 41 of the RF bleachers about 500 feet from the plate, it isn't exactly easy to read that a 400 foot fly ball isn't going to be a 430 foot Homerun. Fans at Yankee Stadium do the same thing, go crazy whenever the Yankees make hard contact on the ball. It happens. Oh, and Fenway has been around for 93 years, it has had multiple fires, been rebuilt twice, and had millions of fans come and go. Your spit, whatever ghastly fluids it might contain, is probably not going to have an impact on the structure, or on the fate of the team which plays inside.
A lot of people say why do you live in boston if you complain about it so much? I love the city of Boston itself, it's her inhabitants that cast a bad light on a wonderfully crafted city. The positives of the city, wipe out the negatives of the fans.
Just try listening to at least five minutes of talk radio in Boston. You will laugh your ass off, with how these un-educated whorebags chop up the english language! And again how they all have forgotten about Manny, I laugh, ha!
And what about Manny? "Manny being Manny" even he's wearing shirts that say that, does he realize it's really saying, "Manny being a Retard"
I may be an uneducated whorebag, but I think I could come up with a better insult than that. Oh, and I've never heard a New Yorker, or Ney Jerseyan mangle words like call or Mark Clark.
FUCK YOU ROYAL ROOTERS FROM THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY!
FUCK YOU DOUCHE BAGS FROM DORCHESTER
FUCK YOU GABE KAPLER
FUCK YOU TROT NIXON, I HOPE YOU NEVER STEP FOOT ON THE FIELD AGAIN
FUCK YOU SCHILLING YOU LOUD MOUTH, GUN TOATING, STERIOD TAKING, JESUS LOVING, REPUBLICAN BASTARD!
FUCK YOU MANNY, YOU CRACK SMOKING MORON!
FUCK YOU THEO EPSTEIN
FUCK YOU JERRY REMY
FUCK YOU JOHNNY PESKY, THE PESKY POLE... STUPID!
FUCK YOU BALL GIRLS, YOU FUCKING UGLY WHORES!
FUCK YOU JASON VARITEK, STICK THAT FUCKING "C"ON YOUR UNIFORM UP DAMON'S ASS, MAYBE IT WILL TEACH HIM HOW TO TALK LIKE A HUMAN!
FUCK YOU BOSTON CAB DRIVERS
FUCK YOU MITT ROMNEY, YOU REPUBLICAN
FUCK YOU YAZ!
FUCK YOU JIM RICE
FUCK YOU DEWEY EVANS - WHAT ARE YOU LIKE 5? DEWEY??
FUCK YOU DAVE HENDERSON- WITH THAT SMILE THAT TOOK UP ALL THE ROOM ON THE TV BACK IN 1986 WHILE TRYING TO WATCH THE PLAYOFFS
Finally,
FUCK YOU FENWAY PARK - your seats are too small, you give ketchup with your hotdogs, you are falling apart, you have no parking, and you are too small, it's intimate, yeah fuck that!
You tell those Royal Rooters. Go down to the cemetary, and yell your ass off at those guys. Just don't expect a response. I hate douchebags from Dorchester too. The rest of the people from there are OK I guess. If I were a Yankee fan, I wouldn't want Trot to take the field again either. I don't think Curt will be too insulted to be called a Jesus loving Republican because I think that is kind of what he is. I guess Johnny Damon doesn't talk like a human. My questions is, what animal does Johnny talk like? A giraffe? Perhaps a hippopotamus. Wait, I've got it, a lemur. I think Dwight Evans is significantly older than 5. It'd be pretty amazing to play so well if he were only five! And the thing about Dave Henderson, I don't even comprehend what that could possibly mean. Was his mouth wicked big or something? Big teeth maybe? I like ketchup with my hot dogs, BTW.
I posted a comment on this guy's blog because at the top he says "Viva La Yankees." I mentioned that it should be Viva Los Yankees because Yankees is plural and masculine and Los is the Spanish article for plural/masculine words. Apparently I offended this guy and he deleted my comment.
Weirdly enough, on Abe's Away Team blog, he decided to post 10 links to hardcore gay porn sites (I'm assuming this from the URL) which he was able to type up in the span of 4 minutes. Although his knowledge of such websites is impressive, it just seemd to be a bit awkward to me that he would post such things on a Red Sox blog's comments.
Anyways, I expect a barrage of poorly written, profanity ridden, gay porn linking comments from this guy but I just wanted to get a few thoughts off my chest.
FENWAY DEFINATELY NOT MR. ROGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD
The photo is such a cliche. Its on ESPN.com and Yahoo every time for nearly every game. The pitcher walking back to the mound with his head down while an out of focus figure trots around the bases. It's so great though.
What the hell was Rogers doing on the mound? Why did some "impartial" arbitrator force MLB to reinstate him? How come the Rangers, who are already out of the race, didn't impose their own suspension for the remaining 7 games? It wound out that it was a good thing as Rogers started strong but wore down.
The Red Sox scored 35 runs in the series, which is the good news. The bad news is that they allowed 18. You can give up 6 runs a game if you're scoring more than 11, but I doubt that we will be able to put up such impressive numbers when Chicago comes to town.
The Man of the Game is Manny Ramirez who went 2 for 3 with a homer, a pair of walks, 3 RBI, and 3 Runs scored. No-one's noticed, but he's gotten his average up to .288. Could he possibly the American League MVP?
The Yankees, meanwhile, are back into a struggling phase. They have been a very streaky team this year. We're now 5.5 up on them with 49 games to go. They also found out that Pavano is out for at least 6 more weeks. This picture pretty much sums up their series with Chicago and will also silence anyone on any other blog saying that Yankee fans are smarter than Red Sox fans:
Should John Kerry be embrassed that Barbara Bush threw just as far as he did?
She probably knows a few of the player's names too.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
THE STRETCH RUN
Fifty games are all that remain in the oh so long baseball season. The stretch run. The mediocrity of the league has fallen to the wayside. It is time for the cream to rise to the top. The trade deadline has passed. September callups are on their way. So who will come out on top and earn a spot in the playoffs?
The AL East has become a two team race with the Red Sox 4.5 up over New York going into today's action. The AL Central is all but won by the White Sox. The AL West is a great race with the LA Angels only 1 up on the surging Oakland Athletics. The AL Wild Card is basically a 3 team race between Oakland, the leaders, the Yankees (down 3.5) and Indians (down 3.5).
The NL East is Atlanta's to lose but anyone can win it. The Mets are in last, but are only 7.5 back. The Cardinals are running away with the NL Central. The NL West will unfortunately receive a playoff berth even though all 5 teams suck. San Diego is 2 games above .500 but is 4 ahead of LA for 1st place. The NL Wild Card race is pretty open with 6 teams within 5 games. Here is the top 6 for the NL Wild Card:
1. HOU 0 GB
2. WAS 1 GB
3. PHI 1.5 GB
4. FLA 2 GB
5. NYM 3 GB
6. MIL 5 GB
If it wasn't for the Wild Card, the National League wouldn't have much of a race for any playoff spot. Nor would Cleveland fans have anything to root for, now Washington, Houston, Philly, Florida, the Mets, and even the Brewers. Bud Selig has taken alot of crap over his tenure as commisioner, but introducing the Wild Card to baseball was one of the best things to ever happen. Just imagine if we still had 2 divisions per league, no wild card, no LDS, and only 4 out of the 30 teams making the playoffs. It'd be boring for alot of good teams that knew they had no chance.
Now its time to focus on the Red Sox coming down the stretch for their last 50 games. The greatest X-factor for the Red Sox is two pronged. The return of Keith Foulke could make this team or break it. If Foulke comes back and pitches well, all us Johnny Burger Kings will be happily eating up another World Series. When/If Foulke comes back, what will happen with Curt Schilling? He's improved out of the pen, has been stretched to an extra inning a few times, and looks more trim. I think he could enter the rotation and help us out.
The Red Sox also have Bellhorn and Olerud on the DL. Bellhorn will come back soon and although he won't play as much as he was in April or May, I think he can contribute to this team. After all, he still has more HRs than Kevin Millar. Olerud may have been playing too much. He's definately not an everyday player but with Manny out, he was forced into the lineup. He excelled until he got hurt. Francona needs to use Pettegini and Youk at first base more often.
For once in my lifetime, the Red Sox have young kids down in Pawtucket that could help this club in September and October. Youkilis, Pedroia, H-Ramirez, Delcarmen, Palpebon could all help this team out down the stretch run. Petegini, not a young guy by any means, looks to be a pretty good addition to the team. He has 6 RBI in 14 AB. That's 2.33 ABs per RBI (Manny has 3.62 ABs per RBI).
The Sox have 28 games remaining at Fenway and 22 on the road. Here are their remaining opponents, how many games they have against them, and the opponents winning percentage:
TEX - 1 - .500
CWS - 3 - .652
DET - 6 - .473
LAA - 7 - .580
KC - 3 - .339
TB - 7 - .381
BAL - 6 - .482
TOR - 7 - .509
NYY - 6 - .541
OAK - 4 - .571
I'll save you from doing the math, weighting the winning eprcentages based on how many times we face them, the Red Sox have a remaining strength of schedule of .500. That's right. It's actually .50046 but its basically even. The Red Sox CAN, I stress CAN, win as many as 40 of these games in my opinion. That's the aboslute high end of what they can do. They can also lose 35 of them. This is the high and low extreme. I think we WILL win 32-35 of these games which would force the Yankees to win 36-39 of their remaining games in order to win the division. The key games are the 6 against New York, the 7 against Tampa, the 7 against Toronto, and the 6 against Baltimore. We need to take 4 from New York, at least 5 from Tampa, figure out how to beat Toronto, and beat up on the struggling O's. If we can win 18 or 19 of these games, that will put us in good shape to win the division.
The AL East has become a two team race with the Red Sox 4.5 up over New York going into today's action. The AL Central is all but won by the White Sox. The AL West is a great race with the LA Angels only 1 up on the surging Oakland Athletics. The AL Wild Card is basically a 3 team race between Oakland, the leaders, the Yankees (down 3.5) and Indians (down 3.5).
The NL East is Atlanta's to lose but anyone can win it. The Mets are in last, but are only 7.5 back. The Cardinals are running away with the NL Central. The NL West will unfortunately receive a playoff berth even though all 5 teams suck. San Diego is 2 games above .500 but is 4 ahead of LA for 1st place. The NL Wild Card race is pretty open with 6 teams within 5 games. Here is the top 6 for the NL Wild Card:
1. HOU 0 GB
2. WAS 1 GB
3. PHI 1.5 GB
4. FLA 2 GB
5. NYM 3 GB
6. MIL 5 GB
If it wasn't for the Wild Card, the National League wouldn't have much of a race for any playoff spot. Nor would Cleveland fans have anything to root for, now Washington, Houston, Philly, Florida, the Mets, and even the Brewers. Bud Selig has taken alot of crap over his tenure as commisioner, but introducing the Wild Card to baseball was one of the best things to ever happen. Just imagine if we still had 2 divisions per league, no wild card, no LDS, and only 4 out of the 30 teams making the playoffs. It'd be boring for alot of good teams that knew they had no chance.
Now its time to focus on the Red Sox coming down the stretch for their last 50 games. The greatest X-factor for the Red Sox is two pronged. The return of Keith Foulke could make this team or break it. If Foulke comes back and pitches well, all us Johnny Burger Kings will be happily eating up another World Series. When/If Foulke comes back, what will happen with Curt Schilling? He's improved out of the pen, has been stretched to an extra inning a few times, and looks more trim. I think he could enter the rotation and help us out.
The Red Sox also have Bellhorn and Olerud on the DL. Bellhorn will come back soon and although he won't play as much as he was in April or May, I think he can contribute to this team. After all, he still has more HRs than Kevin Millar. Olerud may have been playing too much. He's definately not an everyday player but with Manny out, he was forced into the lineup. He excelled until he got hurt. Francona needs to use Pettegini and Youk at first base more often.
For once in my lifetime, the Red Sox have young kids down in Pawtucket that could help this club in September and October. Youkilis, Pedroia, H-Ramirez, Delcarmen, Palpebon could all help this team out down the stretch run. Petegini, not a young guy by any means, looks to be a pretty good addition to the team. He has 6 RBI in 14 AB. That's 2.33 ABs per RBI (Manny has 3.62 ABs per RBI).
The Sox have 28 games remaining at Fenway and 22 on the road. Here are their remaining opponents, how many games they have against them, and the opponents winning percentage:
TEX - 1 - .500
CWS - 3 - .652
DET - 6 - .473
LAA - 7 - .580
KC - 3 - .339
TB - 7 - .381
BAL - 6 - .482
TOR - 7 - .509
NYY - 6 - .541
OAK - 4 - .571
I'll save you from doing the math, weighting the winning eprcentages based on how many times we face them, the Red Sox have a remaining strength of schedule of .500. That's right. It's actually .50046 but its basically even. The Red Sox CAN, I stress CAN, win as many as 40 of these games in my opinion. That's the aboslute high end of what they can do. They can also lose 35 of them. This is the high and low extreme. I think we WILL win 32-35 of these games which would force the Yankees to win 36-39 of their remaining games in order to win the division. The key games are the 6 against New York, the 7 against Tampa, the 7 against Toronto, and the 6 against Baltimore. We need to take 4 from New York, at least 5 from Tampa, figure out how to beat Toronto, and beat up on the struggling O's. If we can win 18 or 19 of these games, that will put us in good shape to win the division.
MEN OF THE GAMES/BITCH-GOATS:
I haven't done Man of the Game or Bitch-Goat since the Tampa series, so here is just a summary and why they were selected.
Man of the Game:
7/29 - MIN - W 8-5 - David Ortiz: 2 for 3, 2B, BB, R
7/30 - MIN - W 6-2 - John Olerud: 2 for 5, 3 RBI
7/31 - MIN - W 4-3 - John Olerud: 2 for 3, 2 R, RBI
8/2 - KC - W 6-4 - Manny Ramirez: 2 for 4, 4 RBI, R
8/3 - KC - W 8-5 - Emil Brown: 2 for 4, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
8/4 - KC - W 11-9 - Jason Varitek: 2 for 4, BB, 2B, HR, 5 RBI
8/5 - @ MIN - L 0-12 - Brad Radke: 7 IP, 0 ER, 8 K
8/6 - @ MIN - L 3-4 - Joe Mauer: 1 for 4, 2 RBI
8/7 - @ MIN - W 11-7 - Manny Ramirez: 4 for 4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
8/8 - TEX - W 11-6 - Tony Graffanino: 3 for 3, BB, HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, SB
8/9 - TEX - W 8-7 - Bill Mueller: 2 for 4, 2B, BB, RBI, 2 R
Bitch-Goats:
8/5 - @ MIN - L 0-12
Arroyo: 0.6 - 3.2 IP, 7 R, Error
Varitek: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 2 K, 3 LOB
Millar: 0.1 - 0 for 4
Graffanino: 0.1 - 0 for 3
Gonzalez: 0.1 - 1.1 IP, 5 ER
8/6 - @ MIN - L 3-4
Wells: 0.2 - 6 IP, 3 ER
Timlin: 0.2 - 0.2 IP, R, Error
Mueller: 0.2 - 1 for 4, 2 LOB, Error
Renteria: 0.1 - 0 for 5
Ramirez: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 4 LOB
Millar: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 4 LOB
Ortiz: 0.1 - 0 for 3, K, 2 LOB
Man of the Game:
7/29 - MIN - W 8-5 - David Ortiz: 2 for 3, 2B, BB, R
7/30 - MIN - W 6-2 - John Olerud: 2 for 5, 3 RBI
7/31 - MIN - W 4-3 - John Olerud: 2 for 3, 2 R, RBI
8/2 - KC - W 6-4 - Manny Ramirez: 2 for 4, 4 RBI, R
8/3 - KC - W 8-5 - Emil Brown: 2 for 4, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
8/4 - KC - W 11-9 - Jason Varitek: 2 for 4, BB, 2B, HR, 5 RBI
8/5 - @ MIN - L 0-12 - Brad Radke: 7 IP, 0 ER, 8 K
8/6 - @ MIN - L 3-4 - Joe Mauer: 1 for 4, 2 RBI
8/7 - @ MIN - W 11-7 - Manny Ramirez: 4 for 4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
8/8 - TEX - W 11-6 - Tony Graffanino: 3 for 3, BB, HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, SB
8/9 - TEX - W 8-7 - Bill Mueller: 2 for 4, 2B, BB, RBI, 2 R
Bitch-Goats:
8/5 - @ MIN - L 0-12
Arroyo: 0.6 - 3.2 IP, 7 R, Error
Varitek: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 2 K, 3 LOB
Millar: 0.1 - 0 for 4
Graffanino: 0.1 - 0 for 3
Gonzalez: 0.1 - 1.1 IP, 5 ER
8/6 - @ MIN - L 3-4
Wells: 0.2 - 6 IP, 3 ER
Timlin: 0.2 - 0.2 IP, R, Error
Mueller: 0.2 - 1 for 4, 2 LOB, Error
Renteria: 0.1 - 0 for 5
Ramirez: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 4 LOB
Millar: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 4 LOB
Ortiz: 0.1 - 0 for 3, K, 2 LOB
RED SOX BEATING UP ON THE CRAP OF THE AL
Apologies for the lack of updates. I've been moving into a new apartment at school and the internet is come and go. The majority of my time is spent asleep or at the casino trying to make some $$$ playing poker.
I've been in my own little world out there in central New York with occasional internet acces, no cable, and no papers. I didn't even know that we got Remlinger and Youkilis was called up.
Looking at the schedule back in April, this part of the schedule looked pretty juicy. Our pitching has been less than perfect, considerably less. But the bats have been able to win the game for the most part. The Sox have won 12 of their last 14. They can sweep Texas tonight and go into the White Sox series over the weekend with some momentum. This series will be a big test for Chicago. They split with us a few weeks ago in Chicago and I think they are ripe to fall in Fenway.
After the White Sox, we go to Detroit for 3 then a big series with the Angles in Anaheim. Then its a nice stretch with 3 more against the Tigers, 3 with the Royals, 4 with Tampa, and then 3 with the struggling Orioles.
The AL East has become what many fans said it would eventually be despite the near dominance of Baltimore and the lackluster starts of Boston and New York. It will come down to the Yankees and Red Sox. At the moment, the Red Sox have a 4.5 game lead over the Yanks but there are 6 games (3 in each ballpark) remaining between the teams. These games may very well determine the division, particularly the 3 games to end the season for both teams in Fenway. You know Major League Baseball didn't randomly create the schedule when the Red Sox and Yankees start the season AND end the season. It is very important that we go into those series with a lead of about 5 games. It would be very good if we can win 4 of those games. Right now we look like we can beat anyone, but we haven't won a series against a really good team since we swept Philly back in June. The lack of good pitching is somewhat frightening.
I've been in my own little world out there in central New York with occasional internet acces, no cable, and no papers. I didn't even know that we got Remlinger and Youkilis was called up.
Looking at the schedule back in April, this part of the schedule looked pretty juicy. Our pitching has been less than perfect, considerably less. But the bats have been able to win the game for the most part. The Sox have won 12 of their last 14. They can sweep Texas tonight and go into the White Sox series over the weekend with some momentum. This series will be a big test for Chicago. They split with us a few weeks ago in Chicago and I think they are ripe to fall in Fenway.
After the White Sox, we go to Detroit for 3 then a big series with the Angles in Anaheim. Then its a nice stretch with 3 more against the Tigers, 3 with the Royals, 4 with Tampa, and then 3 with the struggling Orioles.
The AL East has become what many fans said it would eventually be despite the near dominance of Baltimore and the lackluster starts of Boston and New York. It will come down to the Yankees and Red Sox. At the moment, the Red Sox have a 4.5 game lead over the Yanks but there are 6 games (3 in each ballpark) remaining between the teams. These games may very well determine the division, particularly the 3 games to end the season for both teams in Fenway. You know Major League Baseball didn't randomly create the schedule when the Red Sox and Yankees start the season AND end the season. It is very important that we go into those series with a lead of about 5 games. It would be very good if we can win 4 of those games. Right now we look like we can beat anyone, but we haven't won a series against a really good team since we swept Philly back in June. The lack of good pitching is somewhat frightening.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
IN OTHER NEWS...
Big news for the three other big teams in the Boston area. The Patriots opened training camp last week. Tedy Bruschi did not report due to his medical problems, Ted Johnson decided to retire, which I kind of saw coming. Well, I at least thought he wouldn't be a full time player anymore. Rodney Harrison got a contract extension. Richard Seymour lost somewhere in the neighborhood of $24,000 in fines for missing a few days of camp, but made up for it with a contract worth $1.1 million more this season. The day I went down to Foxborough for camp, Doug Flutie stood right next to Rohan Davey. I had to laugh. I think Vince Wilfork will accidently eat Doug if he isn't careful.
The Pats have a few questions to answer. Who will start at inside linebacker? How will Belichick do as an offensive coordinator? How will Eric Mangini do as defensive coordinator? Will the secondary be as stifling and game changing without Ty Law?
I think the inside linebacker situation isn't a huge deal. They do play an important role, particularly against the run with the nose tackle only able to stop one of the middle three offensive linemen. The outside linebacking spot seems to have the most depth. McGinist, Colvin, and Vrabel all could start and see alot of time. I think the Pats might put Vrabel in at ILB. He's athletic and has already demonstrated a willingness to play multiple positions and an ability to adapt very well to new challenges. Apart from Vrabel, the Pats have ana bundance of linebackers. Overrall, there are 16 linebackers at camp. Guys like Larry Izzo and Matt Chatham, each of whom have made big plays in the past for us, will probably see alot of time at ILB. Then there's a "defensive tackle" like Dan Klecko who, like Vrabel, has been willing to take snaps at any position. Guys like Banta-Cain and Davis should also fit in decently and play special teams alot.
The coordinator shakeup is indicative of how good the Patriots have been. The fact that Croenell and Weiss went to two of the most historic football teams in the country says alot. The Bears have been around forever and Notre Dame is the most storied college football team in the land. I think the veteran leadership on both sides of the ball will help out quite a bit in the transition. Guys like Brady, Branch, Brown, Dillon, Fauria, and the fellas on the O-Line know what to do and can help out younger players like Ben Watson. On the other side of the ball we still have McGinist, Harrison, Seymour, and Poole combined with younger studs and potential studs like Ty Warren, Eugene Wilson, Randall Gay, Asante Samuel, and Vince Wilfork. Mangini knows his stuff when it comes to the secondary. Despite all the injuries to the defensive backfield last season, he was able to give the Pats a chance at a 14-2 season and another Super Bowl victory. The secondary will not be a problem.
The Celtics just made a big move to get some cap room and draft picks for Antoine Walker. Although Walker seemed to energize this team when he returned last season, the prospect of losing him for nothing to free agency was somewhat ominous. The deal itself appears to be incredibly complicated involving 7 teams and as many as 12 players. In the deal, the Cs seem to be getting a pair of 2nd round picks from the Heat, the rights to Albert Morales who is currently playing in Europe, Curtis Borchadt from the Jazz, Qyntel Woods from the Heat, and some cash from Miami that should cover Borchadt and Wodds' contracts. The Celtics will also be getting a trade exception of $5.4 million from the cap which will give them some breathing room in the free agency market. Losing Antoine sucks, but this team is not going to win as it is currently assembled. The Celtics have been drafting very well the past years so the more picks they get, the better.
The Bruins re-signed RW Glen Murray today to a 4 year deal. They also signed Shawn McEachern and Dave Scatchard. The Bs also traded for Brad Isbister from Edmonton for a late pick in the 2006 draft. The Bruins drafted D Matt Lashoff of the Ontario hockey League with their 1st round pick in the entry draft a few days ago. They got Czech C Petr Kalus in the 2nd, Finnish LW Mikko Lehtonen in the 3rd, a defenseman and forward in the 4th, and three more forwards in the late rounds.
The Bruins have yet to re-sign free agents Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov. There are rumors the Bruins are trying to deal Thornton, which wouldn't be a terrible idea but would still hurt the team unless they found a suitable replacement. That replacement might be free agent Center Mike Modano who has apparently been an interest of the Bruins lately.
The Bruins are still trying to re-sign Defenseman Sergei Gonchar and if that falls through, they may reacquire Bryan Berard.
The NHL has entered a new era and I think the Bruins will be poised to succeed in it. They know how to get value from players for little money, they know VERY WELL how to develop players (See: Thornton, Murray, Samsonov, Bergeron), and they've got alot of wiggling room in terms of players because so many are free agents in one way shape or form. It should be a good time up on Causeway Street this winter.
The Bruins begin their preseason schedule with an itnrasquad game at BU's new Agganis Arena on September 16. The Bruins will play in 8 different venues across the northeastern US and Canada.
The NHL will have a more unbalanced schedule this season with 8 games against each divisional opponent, and 32 of the 82 games within the division. This means 8 games with Montreal instead of 4 which should be good for the rivalry because familiartiy breeds discontent. The Bruins will start the 2005-06 regular season on October 5th at the Garden against Montreal. I can't wait for NHL hockey to come back.
The Pats have a few questions to answer. Who will start at inside linebacker? How will Belichick do as an offensive coordinator? How will Eric Mangini do as defensive coordinator? Will the secondary be as stifling and game changing without Ty Law?
I think the inside linebacker situation isn't a huge deal. They do play an important role, particularly against the run with the nose tackle only able to stop one of the middle three offensive linemen. The outside linebacking spot seems to have the most depth. McGinist, Colvin, and Vrabel all could start and see alot of time. I think the Pats might put Vrabel in at ILB. He's athletic and has already demonstrated a willingness to play multiple positions and an ability to adapt very well to new challenges. Apart from Vrabel, the Pats have ana bundance of linebackers. Overrall, there are 16 linebackers at camp. Guys like Larry Izzo and Matt Chatham, each of whom have made big plays in the past for us, will probably see alot of time at ILB. Then there's a "defensive tackle" like Dan Klecko who, like Vrabel, has been willing to take snaps at any position. Guys like Banta-Cain and Davis should also fit in decently and play special teams alot.
The coordinator shakeup is indicative of how good the Patriots have been. The fact that Croenell and Weiss went to two of the most historic football teams in the country says alot. The Bears have been around forever and Notre Dame is the most storied college football team in the land. I think the veteran leadership on both sides of the ball will help out quite a bit in the transition. Guys like Brady, Branch, Brown, Dillon, Fauria, and the fellas on the O-Line know what to do and can help out younger players like Ben Watson. On the other side of the ball we still have McGinist, Harrison, Seymour, and Poole combined with younger studs and potential studs like Ty Warren, Eugene Wilson, Randall Gay, Asante Samuel, and Vince Wilfork. Mangini knows his stuff when it comes to the secondary. Despite all the injuries to the defensive backfield last season, he was able to give the Pats a chance at a 14-2 season and another Super Bowl victory. The secondary will not be a problem.
The Celtics just made a big move to get some cap room and draft picks for Antoine Walker. Although Walker seemed to energize this team when he returned last season, the prospect of losing him for nothing to free agency was somewhat ominous. The deal itself appears to be incredibly complicated involving 7 teams and as many as 12 players. In the deal, the Cs seem to be getting a pair of 2nd round picks from the Heat, the rights to Albert Morales who is currently playing in Europe, Curtis Borchadt from the Jazz, Qyntel Woods from the Heat, and some cash from Miami that should cover Borchadt and Wodds' contracts. The Celtics will also be getting a trade exception of $5.4 million from the cap which will give them some breathing room in the free agency market. Losing Antoine sucks, but this team is not going to win as it is currently assembled. The Celtics have been drafting very well the past years so the more picks they get, the better.
The Bruins re-signed RW Glen Murray today to a 4 year deal. They also signed Shawn McEachern and Dave Scatchard. The Bs also traded for Brad Isbister from Edmonton for a late pick in the 2006 draft. The Bruins drafted D Matt Lashoff of the Ontario hockey League with their 1st round pick in the entry draft a few days ago. They got Czech C Petr Kalus in the 2nd, Finnish LW Mikko Lehtonen in the 3rd, a defenseman and forward in the 4th, and three more forwards in the late rounds.
The Bruins have yet to re-sign free agents Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov. There are rumors the Bruins are trying to deal Thornton, which wouldn't be a terrible idea but would still hurt the team unless they found a suitable replacement. That replacement might be free agent Center Mike Modano who has apparently been an interest of the Bruins lately.
The Bruins are still trying to re-sign Defenseman Sergei Gonchar and if that falls through, they may reacquire Bryan Berard.
The NHL has entered a new era and I think the Bruins will be poised to succeed in it. They know how to get value from players for little money, they know VERY WELL how to develop players (See: Thornton, Murray, Samsonov, Bergeron), and they've got alot of wiggling room in terms of players because so many are free agents in one way shape or form. It should be a good time up on Causeway Street this winter.
The Bruins begin their preseason schedule with an itnrasquad game at BU's new Agganis Arena on September 16. The Bruins will play in 8 different venues across the northeastern US and Canada.
The NHL will have a more unbalanced schedule this season with 8 games against each divisional opponent, and 32 of the 82 games within the division. This means 8 games with Montreal instead of 4 which should be good for the rivalry because familiartiy breeds discontent. The Bruins will start the 2005-06 regular season on October 5th at the Garden against Montreal. I can't wait for NHL hockey to come back.
THE COLLAPSE OF BALTIMORE
Way back in April and May, when the Orioles were dominating the AL East, the morons on ESPN and Fox Sports were proclaiming that Baltimore was "the real thing." Meanwhile, fans in Boston and New York, who know what the real thing is, looked at Baltimore and anticipated a collapse. This moment has come. Baltimore has lost 6 straight, has fallen 3 games below .500 and is 8.5 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East. They're 7th for the AL Wild Card, 8 games behind Oakland.
So what went wrong in Baltimore? This isn't the right question. The right question is, what stopped going right in Baltimore? Their lack of pitching was exposed. Their best player in April returned to his mediocre ways. Their lack of bullpen depth was exposed. Sammy Sosa has sucked since steroid testing was introduced. Palmeiro hasn't sucked, but that's because he's juiced.
A few weeks ago, Palmeiro was on top of the baseball world for perhaps the first time in his career. He had been quietly amassing statistics in Texas then in Baltimore. He was a member of the exclusive 500 HR/3,000 Hit club. He looked to be on his way to 600 HRs before he retired. Instead, he's tested positive for steroids. I must say, I kind of saw it coming.
It was really a matter of time before one of the big sluggers tested positive. Sosa, Bonds, Palmeiro. One of them has got to still be on it. It just happens to be the guy who lied to Congress about it. For as much crap as McGwire got for his BS, he was blatantly avoiding the truth. Palmeiro, on the other hand, flat out lied. In my opinion, he should be banned from baseball and is lucky to be getting only a 10 "Day" suspension, not even 10 games.
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