Monday, August 18, 2008

LESTER SAVES THE DAY... AGAIN


After an embarrassing home sweep to the Blue Jays, the Red Sox needed a nice boost on the road. Jon Lester provided that. The bullpen made things a bit too interesting, but Jason Bay provided some nice insurance in the 8th and 9th innings.

Bay was 3 for 5 with a solo homer, a 2 run homer, and 4 RBI. In 16 games with the Red Sox, he's knocked in 16 runs, and hit .348.

But the bullpen found ways to suck, once more. Delcarmen was brought in to pitch the 8th. He got two quick outs, then allowed two walks, putting the tying run at the plate in Aubrey Huff. Yet again, Francona was forced to bring Papelbon in early. Pap gave up a double, then retired 4 straight for the save.

When I did my preview for the Red Sox back in March, I said that Delcarmen would be an important key to the success or failure of the bullpen. And he has been. He hasn't been terrible, but he's been unreliable. This unreliability has only been amplified by the lack of faith anyone has in Okajima.

It's simply too bad that the Red Sox had a 4-1 lead in the 8th inning, and you have no idea who should pitch the 8th, and it's seemingly 50/50 that the Sox will lose.

Daisuke goes for win #15 Tuesday night. He faces Daniel Cabrera.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Nick Wass

OLYMPIC GRIPES

I don't hate the Olympics, but I hate the bullshit that surrounds and envelops the Olympics like pink hats around Jacoby Ellsbury. And I do hate China, with a passion. And I hate the IOC (International Olympic Committee).

2012 will see no more baseball at the Olympic games. Why not? I don't really know. Baseball isn't just played in the US. It's played in the entire Western Hemisphere, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and Europe. Seeing the Cuban national team is a treat every 4 years because the talent is near Major League levels. But it won't be an Olympic sport in 2012, and neither will softball.

Yet these are Olympic sports:

Race walking.



Only Europeans could come up with this. It's a race on foot, but you can't run. If you run, you're disqualified. It looks pretty hard, but it looks pretty retarded.

Ping pong.



It's not table tennis, it's fucking ping pong! They actually have DOUBLES ping pong in the Olympics! Is gold that worthless that it's given out every 4 years to 2 Asian dudes who are sick at ping pong?

And if ping pong is an Olympic sport why not...?



Or this...



Or bowling, or mini-golf, or pool, or darts, or Beirut, or flip cup, or speed reading, or seeing who can go the longest without sleeping, or Edward 40 hands, or running backwards, or staring contests???

And can ESPN, NBC, and everyone else in the universe all give Michael Phelps some rest and get off his junk? Yes, he's a phenomenal athlete and deserves all the medals, endorsements, praise, and groupies he'll get.



But this whole debating bullshit is melting my brain. "Is he the best Olympian ever?" How the fuck could anybody know that?!? It's hard enough to compare athletes from different eras in the same sport, but when you start comparing him to Jim Thorpe (decathlon/pentathlon/long jump/high jump), and Jesse Owens (sprinter/long jump); you're wasting your time. Can't we just sit back and enjoy the events without having to wonder if he's the best, 2nd best, or 3rd best ever?

And China can go straight to hell. So can the IOC. The big argument for China getting the 2008 games was "if Nazi Germany got them in 1936, why not China?" But Nazi Germany used the games as propaganda. It was a chance for Hitler to impress his country (and the world) on the biggest possible stage. So why are we allowing China to do the same thing?

The glamour and scale of the Opening Ceremony was eerily similar to the grandiose spectacles the Nazis used in their rallies, and the Soviets used in their big May-Day parades.



The fuckos who think the Olympics are some sort of peace-creating lovefest piss me off most of all. The Olympics have nothing to do with peace, and just a little bit to do with sports. They're an opportunity for governments to aggrandize themselves, to make themsevles seem amazingly powerful in the eyes of their own people. They're a monstrous platform for enormous multinational corporations to sell their products. McDonalds, Visa, Coca-Cola and 9 other companies paid $866 million just to be able to put the Olympic logo on their products and put up signs at Olympic facilities.

The Olympics aren't a peaceful time outside the host city, and even inside it. Just ask the people right now in Georgia, or the 1972 Israeli Olympic team, or the 2 people who died in Atlanta in '96. And they don't spread peace or goodwill, either. In 1968, Mexico City hosted the games, but their dictatorial government massacred hundreds of protesters that same year. And I don't need to tell you what Germany did post-1936, when Berlin was the host city.

The Olympics are sports, and some of them are fun to watch. I prefer the Winter Olympics, with the best hockey competition in the world. And I have a sick curling fetish. But most of it is bullshit. Michael Phelps is not the greatest athlete of all time. China is not a good country. McDonalds has nothing to do with athleticism.

-The Commodore

WHAT THE BUCC?


The Patriots struggled without Brady once again, falling to Tampa Bay 27-10 last night. Matt Cassel looked better than he did in the first preseason game, which isn't saying much. He was 6 for 10 with 57 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT. He still looked stiff, deliberate, and telegraphed. He doesn't do anything to deceive defenses, and that results in tipped balls, passes being broken up, and interceptions.

Kevin O'Connell didn't look good either. The most impressive thing about O'Connell are his quick feet, which is a bad sign for an NFL quarterback. He was 6 for 15 with an interception.

Welker and Moss both played, and both looked as good as they did last year.

Jerod Mayo and Shawn Crable again had solid performances. Mayo led the team in tackles with 7. Crable made 4 tackles, including a sack.

CJ Jones had a good game. He caught two passes for 31 yards. He returned a kick 20 yards, and averaged 13 yards on his two punt returns.

As a team, the Patriots were dominated in almost all aspects of the game. The Buccaneers outrushed them (170 yards to 56), and controlled time of possession (37:58 to 22:02). The Pats were 3 of 11 on 3rd downs, and turned the ball over twice.



When do you start to worry? Not yet. It's preseason, folks, remember that. The NFL MVP hasn't been under center, yet. The defense has been full of part-timers struggling for roster spots. If Brady doesn't play in Friday's game against Philadelphia, or the Patriots have another awful game; then it will be time to worry.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Carl Roberts
AP Photo/Chris O'Meara

FROM FEAST TO FAMINE


The one thing that's been consistent about the Red Sox offense is its inconsistency. After a mere 1 run off Roy Halladay on Saturday, the Sox only managed 4 meaningless runs in a 15-4 route by the Blue Jays on Sunday. With Tampa Bay's victory, the Sox are now 4.5 out of the divisional lead, and have a slim 0.5 game lead in the wild card.

The game was pretty much lost in the 1st inning, when Josh Beckett was touched for 6 runs. He wound up allowing 8 over 2.1 innings. The bullpen allowed 7 more, but the 8 was plenty to beat the Sox. It was a very rare short start for Beckett, the shortest he's made in 2 years. 5 different Sox pitchers allowed runs in this game.

JD Drew left the game in the 3rd with tightness in his lower back. After the game, Francona said:

"We were getting guys out anyway, but he said his back was stiff, that makes it an easy decision."

So if it hadn't been 8-0 at that point, Drew might have stayed in. This doesn't seem like a serious injury, but JD Drew and the disabled list have a lengthy relationship, and any injury with him is potentially troublesome.

The Sox go on the road to Baltimore. Jon Lester faces 10-8 Jeremy Guthrie Monday night.

Sources:
ESPN.com
MLB.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson