HOW STUPID CAN YOU GET?

Those who read this site with any regularity know that I hate two things: sportswriters, and people from New York. So when I read Peter Abraham's column arguing for Mariano Rivera to start the All-Star Game, you can imagine my rage.

"But this goes beyond strategy. For all he has done in baseball, Rivera curiously has been left out at awards time. He has not won the MVP Award or Cy Young Award, and he was the World Series MVP only once in the four times the Yankees have won the title during his tenure. He has won a few of those Rolaids Relief Awards, but nobody gets too excited about that. This could be his last chance to get some real recognition. We're talking about one of the best players in the history of the game, the best relief pitcher ever. Has any professional athlete ever been better at his job?"

Recognition??? Everyone acknowledges Rivera is the best closer ever. What more recognition do you want? He'll get his due and proper in Cooperstown 5 years after he retires.

"But it would be nice if the starting pitcher was somebody people actually recognized. Justin Duchscherer? John Danks? No and no."

Abraham complains about recognition and then proclaims that Justin Duscherer (10-5, 1.78 ERA, 0.83 WHIP) shouldn't get the nod as starter because he isn't a household name. Did you ever think that an All-Star start would help make him a household name? And just because someone doesn't pitch in New York or Boston, and you don't know who he is, doesn't mean they aren't a star.

Thankfully, Terry Francona has more respect for the game of baseball than he does for Mariano Rivera. He won't make a mockery of things by starting a reliever. He'll use Rivera if there's a save situation. Francona knows who Mo is, and has nothing but respect for him. But he won't pander to fans who only want to see the Yankees.

AFTERNOON DELIGHT

The Red Sox thrashed the Twins this afternoon to complete a 3 game sweep. Minnesota came to Boston riding a 5 game winning streak, but Friendly Fenway is only friendly to one team this year.

Ten Sox batters got a hit, 9 players knocked a run in, 10 scored runs. The Sox had 7 doubles, a triple, 2 homeruns, and 23 hits total.

This series may be what Manny Ramirez needed to get going again. He went 6 for 13 with 2 doubles, a homer, and 6 RBI.

But this wasn't a flawless victory for the Sox. Beckett gave up 3 runs in the 1st and threw far too many pitches early on. He left after 5 innings. This spelled trouble with a capital B (for bullpen).

Javier Lopez faced 8 batters and let 5 of them reach. Craig Hansen only threw 9 strikes in 19 pitches and was unable to eat the garbage innings at the end of the game.

I know I'm being far too negative after an 18-5 victory, but the Sox didn't dominate the entirety of the game as the score suggests. 18 runs is an aberration, a rarity we probably won't see duplicated this season. But bullpen problems have been a bad habit of this team.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Steven Senne

ANOTHER MIRACLE

Before the 8th inning last night, Manny Ramirez had only hit 1 homerun in his last 77 at-bats. The 2 run Monster shot was part of a 4 run inning for the Sox, and tied the game at 5-5. Later, with 2 outs, Brandy Moss knocked in Youkilis to make it a 6-5 game.

Lester pitched decently. He allowed 5 runs in 7.1 innings. He threw 117 pitches, the 2nd most of the season (his most was 130 in the no-hitter). He had reached 100 pitches after 7 innings, but Francona had him start the 8th. That's an unusual move for Francona, who doesn't like to pull pitchers in the middle of an inning. But with the bullpen in the state that it is, you can't blame Tito for trying to stretch his starters.

Another interesting managerial decision was starting Kevin Cash. Francona hasn't benched Varitek, he simply gave him a day off. And maybe that's what Tek needs right now. Hopefully he used the off-day wisely. Cash went 0 for 2. But if Varitek continues to struggle, I'd like to see Cash given more at-bats, particularly against lefthanded pitchers. He's 6 for 17 against lefties this season.

Tampa Bay lost to the Yankees last night, cutting their divisional lead to 3 games.

The Sox go for the sweep this afternoon as Beckett faces Livan Hernandez.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson

THE BARRY BONDS QUESTION

A story leaked to ESPN that the Red Sox were internally discussing picking up free agent outfielder Barry Bonds. The homerun king has been sitting around all season, waiting for a team to call him up and stuff his roided out body into one of their uniforms. For the Red Sox, several factors may just make Barry Bonds a perfect acquisition, as bone chilling as that sounds.

David Ortiz's injury is the main reason why Bonds' name is even being mentioned by Red Sox brass to each other. Ortiz has been out of the lineup for over a month now, and his power at the core of the batting order has been sorely missed. Although he took batting practice on Monday with no reports of complications, his return is still a long way off. If he makes a return at all.

Without Ortiz, the Sox lineup dissolves into an entirely new entity. Instead of Ortiz-Ramirez at 3 and 4, it will be Drew, or Lowell. This also means that the 5 and 6 spots suffer. Instead of black holes like Varitek and Lugo at 8 and 9, they have to hit closer to the top of the order.

Bonds could potentially fix this. He doesn't hit for average anymore, but his bloated OBP (.480 last season) more than makes up for that. And his power is still there (28 HRs in 126 games).

Furthermore, he wouldn't cost that much. He made $15.5M last year, but pro-rated for 1/3 of a season and it's very affordable for the Red Sox. He also wouldn't cost anything in terms of prospects given up in a trade. The Braves had to trade 5 prospects to get Mark Teixera last year, including #1 catching prospect in the universe Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

The big questions with Bonds are his clubhouse attitude and his legal issues. But the only outspoken critic of his with a Red Sox uniform is/was Curt Schilling, but he's not going to be around. Plus, he owns a McNabb jersey, Forget him.



This is a veteran team. Guys like Lowell, Varitek, Youkilis, Drew, Wakefield, and Timlin either won't be bothered by Bonds' B.S., or won't tolerate it. Manny won't even realize that Barry isn't David Ortiz.

And if he does cause a problem or doesn't perform, then it's an easy cut.

Look, I don't like Barry Bonds. I think it's a shame that he has more homers than anyone else in history. Seeing him in a Red Sox uniform would be painful. But not as painful as watching Tampa Bay win the AL East, or losing to the Yankees 5-4.

And if you have delicate sensibilities out there, and enjoy standing on moral high ground, I'd like to ask you how you feel about Randy Moss. Corey Dillon. Rodney Harrison. Bryan Cox. Zdeno Chara (for the 2 Bruins fans out there). Tell me you wouldn't go nuts if Bonds hit a walk off Grand Slam against Mariano Rivera.

Hopefully, Ortiz's wrist will heal and this speculation will be forgotten. But if things don't go well with Big Papi, it's time to bring in the Big Cheat.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

HOME SWEET HOME

After a dreadful 3-7 road trip, the Red Sox returned to the friendly confines of Fenway Park and edged the Twins with a 1-0 win last night. Manny Ramirez knocked in the game winning run with a single in the 8th. Dustin Pedroia reached with a double in the inning and scored the winning run. His hit streak is now at 15 games.

Daisuke didn't get win #10 (how is he NOT in the All-Star Game?), but had one of the best starts of the season. It was your typical Dice-K start: tons of baserunners, very few of them coming home. But unlike his last two starts, he was able to keep his pitch count down and go 7.1 innings. It was his first Quality Start since May 17th.

Jason Varitek's struggles continue unabated. He was 0 for 3 with a strikeout, and left 2 men in scoring position. He's 12 for his last 92 (.130).

Jon Lester faces Nick Blackburn tonight.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

MASTERSON MOVED TO BULLPEN...EVENTUALLY

The Red Sox sent Justin Masterson down to AAA Pawtucket, and will eventually replace him in the rotation with Clay Buchholz. Masterson will spend his time in Rhode Island learning the ropes of relief pitching. First baseman Jeff Bailey will be filling in the roster spot until Buchholz is recalled.

I'm not a fan of this move. As desperate as the Sox are for middle-relief, I don't like the idea of sending a prospect like Masterson to AAA in order to convert him into a reliever. He isn't even a fully fledged Major League starter yet. I don't mind giving Buchholz (2-3, 5.53 ERA) another shot at starting, but what if he picks up where he left off? At that point, you don't have much choice but to go back to Masterson. Which means retraining him back into being a starter.

Short term, this is a good move. The Sox NEED help in the bullpen. But they also need starters to go 7 innings consistently. The team can get a good inning out of Delcarmen, or even Okajima. It's when they need to get 2 or 3 innings from the middle-relief that the trouble starts.

To me, the potential damage to Masterson's development is too much of a risk in order to get a new reliever who might not even be a good bullpen pitcher. Long term, this is a bad move.

Source:
Associated Press

SOX ALL-STARTS TO INVADE YANKEE STADIUM

Seven Red Sox were named to the AL All-Star team, four as starters.

AL Starters:
C: Joe Mauer, Twins
1B: Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
2B: Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
SS: Derek Jeter, Yankees
3B: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
OF: Josh Hamilton, Rangers
OF: Manny Ramirez, Red Sox
OF: Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
DH: David Ortiz, Red Sox

Obviously David Ortiz will be replaced. Manny doesn't deserve to be there, in my opinion, and neither does Jeter. Then again, it is the All-STAR game, and is seemingly meant for star players having down years.

AL Pitchers:
Scott Kazmir, Rays
George Sherrill, Orioles
Roy Halladay, Blue Jays
Mariano Rivera, Yankees
Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox
Justin Duchscherer, Athletics
Joe Nathan, Twins
Joakim Soria, Royals
Cliff Lee, Indians
Francisco Rodriguez, Angels
Ervin Santana, Angels
Joe Saunders, Angels

Jon Lester got a bit of a snub, but nowhere near the snub that 11 game winner Mike Mussina got. With the game in Yankee Stadium, Mussina had an inside track to starting the ASG. Now he'll have front row seats to watch it.

AL Reserves:
J.D. Drew, Red Sox
Jason Varitek, Red Sox
Joe Crede, White Sox
Carlos Quentin, White Sox
Grady Sizemore, Indians
Carlos Guillen, Tigers
Justin Morneau, Twins
Milton Bradley, Rangers
Ian Kinsler, Rangers
Michael Young, Rangers
Dioner Navarro, Rays

Jason Varitek was voted in by the players. He might be having the weakest All-Star season in the history of the game. Either that, or calling pitches is more important in an All-Star game than it appears.

The National League hasn't won an All-Star Game since 1996. But this year they have a pretty good shot, and I think they'll win. Here's their team:

NL Starters:
C: Geovany Soto, Cubs
1B: Lance Berkman, Astros
2B: Chase Utley, Phillies
SS: Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
3B: Chipper Jones, Braves
OF: Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs
OF: Alfonso Soriano, Cubs
OF: Ryan Braun, Brewers

NL Pitchers:
Tim Lincecum, Giants
Aaron Cook, Rockies
Dan Haren, Diamondbacks
Ben Sheets, Brewers
Carlos Zambrano, Cubs
Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks
Ryan Dempster, Cubs
Brian Wilson, Giants
Edinson Volquez, Reds
Kerry Wood, Cubs
Brad Lidge, Phillies
Billy Wagner, Mets

NL Reserves:
Brian McCann, Braves
Aramis Ramirez, Cubs
Matt Holliday, Rockies
Dan Uggla, Marlins
Miguel Tejada, Astros
Russell Martin, Dodgers
Nate McLouth, Pirates
Albert Pujols, Cardinals
Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals
Adrian Gonzalez, Padres
Cristian Guzman, Nationals

Prediction: NL 8, AL 6

Sources:
Boston.com's Extra Bases
Baseball Almanac

DON'T WORRY, THE YANKEES STILL SUCK

I wouldn't worry too much about Sunday night's 5-4 extra inning loss to the Yankees. They scored the tying run in the 7th by skipping 3rd base. And Gardner's game winning single was as soft as a teddy bear.

Then again, the Red Sox not only could have won this game, they SHOULD have. They've become a .500 team when leading after 6 innings, and that's not the sign of a good ballclub.

Lopez was brought into the 7th inning to get out of a jam. Last year, we'd see Okajima in this situation, but Francona has justifiably shied away from using Hideki when there are runners on.

The pinch hitting in the top of the 9th confused me. I don't know why you'd take out Lugo and replace him with Varitek. Lugo was 1 for 3 on the day. Varitek had much better numbers against Rivera, but that was the old Jason Varitek, not this new super-slumping incarnation. Right now, the only people who want to see Jason Varitek with a bat in his hands are American League pitchers.

Alex Cora also deserves some blame for the game winning single. There's no way he could have thrown Gardner out at first, but Cora MUST keep that ball in the infield. He got to it, got a glove on it, but failed.

Kevin Youkilis was caught stealing. The Red Sox were 1 for 8 in stolen base attempts this series. I don't know why they refused to give Molina credit and continually tested him.

After going 3-7 on the road trip, the Red Sox finally return home to face the Twins. Minnesota has been playing well lately, but at least the games are in Fenway. Matsuzaka faces Scott baker Monday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Kathy Willens