Terror in a Texas Ballpark

When Larry Luchhino or Ben Cherington need to make a major decision, they have to call Mike Napoli and get approval. Because he owns the Red Sox. He has a higher career slugging percentage against the Red Sox than any other player. Ever. He slugs .725 against the Sox. Nelson Cruz slugged .710, Babe Ruth slugged .683, Frank Robinson .652, and Lou Gehrig .644.

Last night he hit a 2 run homerun, part of a 9 run Ranger onslaught. And the Red Sox fell below .500 for the first time since June 16th.

Giving up 9 runs to the Rangers is bad, but it's not as depressing as the Red Sox offense was. They were 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. Crawford didn't get on base, striking out twice. Pedroia got 3 hits, but Adrian Gonzalez got 0 hitting behind him. Ryan Sweeney, the 8th hitter in the lineup, had the best offensive chances. That's not how it's supposed to work.

I don't like Carl Crawford hitting 2nd. I know he's fast. And that's great. But how often will you try stealing bases when your best hitters are coming up? And if those hitters are power hitters, why risk stealing 2nd when you're still able to score from 1st on a double? And anyway, the #2 hitter's main purpose is to get on base. Which Crawford hasn't been great at in his career. His .333 career OBP doesn't justify his hitting in either of the top 2 spots of the lineup.

I'd prefer to see Crawford at the bottom of the order, hitting 7th, 8th, or 9th. Then he can use his speed to help the bottom of the order generate a few extra runs.

Hitting Crawford 2nd pushes everyone back a spot, which also reduces their at-bats. He also strikes out far too often for a top of the lineup kind of guy who doesn't hit for much power.

Dustin Pedroia was designed to be a #2 hitter. He's not an easy out, he's not going to clog the bases, he's a smart hitter, a smart baserunner, his career OBP is .368.

Right now my base lineup would be: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Ross, Saltalamacchia, Middlebrooks, Crawford, Aviles, Nava/Sweeney.

Then when Ortiz returns: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Gonzalez, Ross, Saltalamacchia, Middlebrooks, Crawford, Aviles. Now that's a lineup. Ellsbury and Pedroia get on base. You have multiple power guys in the middle who can knock runs in. Then some decent power after that to mop up, and a solid back of the lineup that can generate runs and give Ellsbury and Pedroia some RBI opportunities.

Having Crawford bat 2nd means the lineup relies too heavily on a player who never was great at getting on base. And this is also a guy who hasn't yet proven he is nearly as good as he was back in 2010.

This doesn't solve the Red Sox' pitching problems. Guys like Felix Doubront have carried the team while Beckett and Lester have been lying down on the job. And now Doubront is looking more like Felix Doubront.

Fixing this team's pitching is a simple plan, but it's not easy to execute. Josh Beckett and Jon Lester need to pitch better. Easy to say, but will it actually happen? Beckett might go on one of his runs of excellence. He might not. Flip a coin.

But Jon Lester is staring into the abyss right now. His next start could be a turning point in his career, one way or the other.

Beckett and Lester need to do their jobs. Felix Doubront is simply not capable of carrying the load that these guys are supposed to assume responsibility for. Doubront has done well, but he's no Josh Beckett or Jon Lester.

Thankfully, Clay Buchholz is on the mound tonight. The Sox could use another great start from him. He faces 21 year old Martin Perez. Perez has made two Major League starts this year, one was decent, one was horrible. However, he's also a lefty, and the Sox have no experience against him. So Buchholz might need to be brilliant in order for this losing streak to be stopped.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Red Sox Suck Against Blue Jays

Should we be surprised by this team's disappointments anymore? After taking 3 of 4 from a division leader, they get swept by a team which had been in last place. The Red Sox are 15-15 in their last 30 games. A remarkably uniform achievement of inconsistency.

I'm seriously considering the idea that the Red Sox should simply trade Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. The Red Sox are 1-6 the last 7 times Beckett took the mound. They haven't won with Lester starting since June.

With these guys on the mound, the Sox are 13-23 (.361). The Sox are 35-25 (.583) when someone else starts. These are supposedly the best two pitchers on the team, but the team is .222 winning percentage points better when Beckett and Lester are spectators.

Beckett has always been inconsistent and unreliable. This season's struggles aren't much different from his poor 2010 performance, his inconsistency in 2008, or his shitty September last year.

Lester's struggling is more of a mystery. This is a guy whose career has been consistent as a clock. For 4 years he won between 15-19 games, had an ERA between 3.20 and 3.50, and a WHIP between 1.23 and 1.27.

Now his ERA is 2 runs higher than normal, his WHIP is slightly higher, and he's giving up much more extra-base hits.

One theory I have is psychological. I think he wanted to be more than the steady #2 pitcher he'd been for 4 straight seasons. I think he wanted to be an Ace. He made pre-season remarks complaining that he wasn't perceived as elite. I think he's trying too hard and not just letting himself be Jon Lester on the mound.

Or maybe the explanation is simple and he just sucks.

I doubt the Red Sox will trade either of these guys. Let alone both of them. I do know that the .583 winning percentage they have when others are starting would be good enough to lead the Wild Card race. And if the Sox were merely .500 in Beckett and Lester's starts, they'd be 53-43, would be leading the Wild Card, and  be only 4.5 games behind the Yankees.

As it is, the Sox are in last place in the division, and 4 teams stand between them and the Wild Card spots.

The Sox start a 6 game road trip against the two best teams in baseball. Tonight Felix Doubront opposes Scott Feldman of the Rangers. Feldman is a converted reliever with a 5.89 ERA. The Sox should be able to do something against him.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Dark Knight Rises Massacre

This isn't sports related, but it's a major story and it's difficult to think about sports when you hear about a story like this.

At a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado, 12 people were killed and dozens more wounded. About 20 minutes into the movie, a man in his young 20s stood at the front of the packed theater, tossed a tear gas grenade into the crowd, then opened fire. He walked up the aisles of the theater, shooting people at random as they fled. He was armed with an AK-type assault rifle, a shotgun, and handguns.

A man was detained by police in the parking lot and is believed to be the shooter. His name is James Holmes. He's 24 and lives in Aurora.

The one thing about this that doesn't piss me off is that the shooter surrendered. Typically in these mass shootings, the guy kills himself. Then for the next 9 days the media, psychologists, pundits, and everyone else tries to speculate why the person did it. They blame hard rock music, or violent video games, or movies, or drugs, or politics, or gun control laws (or lack thereof). Marilyn Manson gets blamed for more murders than Charles Manson.

With this jagoff alive, we can all learn why he really did it. I already have a guess. He's a selfish, spoiled brat. In his own mind, the world revolves around him. And instead of adapting to the reality that it doesn't, he's decided to make sure that it does. Instead of adjusting to the lack of omnipotent control he has over his own life, he decided to take control of other people's lives.

This isn't the result of a youth desensitized by the violence in movies like The Dark Knight Rises. This isn't the result of any societal problem. If it were, this would be more common. It does happen too often, but it's still not normal, not expected, and not a societal inevitability.

And if society does have a problem that's contributing to massacres like this one, it's that we always look for a problem to blame. We never blame ourselves for our shortcomings and therefore never come to terms with them and adjust to them. And at the same time, we glorify ourselves as being the center of the world. It's a psychological conflict that can result in disorder, disaster, but in most cases just turns people into jerks.

It just seems like in the last 10 years, we've become more and more selfish. And also taken less responsibility for our own actions. We don't try to improve our faults, we don't even accept them. We blame other people for them. And in a lot of ways, we dehumanize other people.

What this jerk did was the ultimate dehumanization of other people. He did not care about the people he was killing. He didn't even hate them. At least hate is a humanizing emotion. This bastard was indifferent, because in his own mind he's all that matters.

Ross Knocks Sox Off with Walk Off

Cody Ross continues to belt out 3 run homeruns. And Clay Buchholz is once again pitching as well as he did before his esophagitis. This allowed the Red Sox to beat the White Sox 3-1. The Red Sox won 3 out of 4 in their series against the AL Central leaders.

Ross now has 50 RBI on the season. He's 3rd on the team in RBI (despite having much fewer at-bats than David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez, who are ahead of him). He's 3rd on the team in homeruns behind Ortiz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

I'm going to entertain a moment of optimism here, so bear with me. The Red Sox could have an outfield with a power-hitting Cody Ross, a five-tool player like Ellsbury, and a speedy line-drive hitter like Carl Crawford. If all three of these guys are performing at their best, that's a very productive trio.

One tough but enjoyable question to ask is: where do you bat all these guys in the lineup?

Clay Buchholz's ERA might still be a too high 5.19, but since May 27th (his last 7 starts) it's 2.63. He has a track record of starting seasons slow and eventually settling down, and 2012 doesn't appear to be different. He went 8 innings last night, scattering 6 hits, allowing just 1 run, and striking out 6.

Buchholz is the key man in the rotation. Lester, perhaps in a quest to be seen as an Ace, seems to be having some psychological difficulties. Beckett will inevitably be inconsistent and unreliable. Doubront and Cook have been solid, but they're not front-of-the-rotation types of pitchers.

Buchholz can go on a run of seriously good starts. He can spearhead the rotation. He isn't an Ace but he's capable of pitching like one for extended periods.

At the same time, if he gets hurt (as he tends to do) or has a bad stretch (as he can sometimes have), then he can sink the rotation. He's either an engine to drive the pitching staff forward, or an anchor to drag them down.

The Red Sox host the floundering Toronto Blue Jays this weekend. Tonight Josh Beckett faces Aaron Laffey. The converted reliever has been Doubrontlike in most of his starts. He faced the Red Sox in late June and pitched 6 scoreless innings.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Forbes Magazine Ranks Most Valuable Sports Teams: Patriots Ranked 6th, Red Sox 23rd

Every year Forbes ranks the top 50 sports teams around the world based on their value as a business. And although the top two teams are European soccer clubs (Manchester United of England and Real Madrid of Spain), the list is dominated by the NFL. All 32 teams are in the top 50, due mostly to the League's colossal TV contracts.

Here's the full article on Forbes' site. The list is very interesting, although it noticeably and inexplicably omitted Ted DiBiase's Money Inc.

Top teams Man United (valued at $2.23 billion), and Real Madrid ($1.88 billion) have global followings and companies pay top dollar/pound/Euro to sponsor them.

The New York Yankees ($1.85 billion) were ranked 3rd. The Yankees have a lucrative regional sports network (YES) and massive revenue from tickets and luxury boxes. The Yankees generate $330 million in ticket revenue, far and away the most in the Majors. The Red Sox are second with $190 million.

The Dallas Cowboys tied with the Yankees for 3rd. Their new stadium apparently includes a money-printing machine.

The Washington Redskins were 5th, valued at $1.56 billion.

The Patriots were 6th, worth $1.4 billion. That's thanks in part to owning their own stadium, selling out every game, and having some of the highest ticket prices in the NFL.

The LA Dodgers tied with the Patriots at 6th. Spanish soccer team Barcelona was 7th worth $1.31 billion. The New York Giants were 9th at $1.3 billion. London-based soccer club Arsenal FC were 10th at $1.29 billion. Here's the rest of the list:

11. Bayern Munich (German soccer team) - $1.23 billion
11. New York Jets - $1.23 billion
13. Houston Texans - $1.2 billion
14. Philadelphia Eagles - $1.16 billion
15. Ferrari (Formula 1 racing team) - $1.1 billion

Maybe Fenway Sports Group invested in the wrong kind of racing. Formula 1's global appeal attracts massive sponsorship money.

16. Chicago Bears - $1.09 billion
16. Green Bay Packers - $1.09 billion
16. Baltimore Ravens - $1.09 billion
19. Indianapolis Colts - $1.06 billion
20. Denver Broncos - $1.05 billion
21. Pittsburgh Steelers - $1.02 billion
22. Miami Dolphins - $1.01 billion
23. Carolina Panthers - $1 billion
23. Boston Red Sox - $1 billion

The Red Sox are the 3rd ranked baseball team on the list, which is nothing to be ashamed of. The two ahead of them (Yankees and Dodgers) play in the two largest media markets in the country. The Red Sox are in the #6 market in the US, have a small ballpark, and are still worth $1 billion. They're worth more than half the teams in the NFL, which is saying something.

The Sox make their money from high ticket prices, technically selling out every game, and from their 80% stake in NESN. Even when Fenway Park isn't filled to capacity, people still leave a lot of cash there.

25. Seattle Seahawks - $997 million
26. San Francisco 49ers - $990 million
27. AC Milan (Italian soccer team) - $989 million

AC Milan will be playing an exhibition game at Gillette Stadium on August 4th. So the 27th most valuable sports team in the world will be guests of the 6th most valuable team.

28. Kansas City Chiefs - $986 million
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - $981 million
30. Cleveland Browns - $977 million
31. New Orleans Saints - $965 million
32. Tennessee Titans - $964 million
33. San Diego Chargers - $920 million
34. Arizona Cardinals - $901 million
35. LA Lakers - $900 million
36. Chicago Cubs - $879 million

Proof that winning doesn't necessarily mean profits. Perhaps the Red Sox are learning too much from the Wrigley-model. The Cubs are far and away the most popular team in Chicago, even though the White Sox are much more successful on the field.

37. Cincinnati Bengals - $875 million
38. Detroit Lions - $844 million
39. Atlanta Falcons - $814 million
40. McLaren (Formula 1 racing team) - $800 million
41. Minnesota Vikings - $796 million
42. Buffalo Bills - $792 million
43. New York Knicks - $780 million
44. St. Louis Rams - $775 million
45. Oakland Raiders - $761 million
45. Chelsea FC (English soccer team) - $761 million
47. Jacksonville Jaguars - $725 million

The least valuable team in the NFL is worth more than 26 MLB teams, 28 NBA teams, and all 30 NHL teams.

48. Philadelphia Phillies - $723 million
49. New York Mets - $719 million
50. Texas Rangers - $674 million

It's amazing how valuable NFL franchises are. Even in very small markets like Jacksonville and Buffalo, teams are worth more than MLB teams in Philadelphia, New York, and Dallas-Fort Worth.

At the same time, the Cowboys are worth more than twice as much as 10 other NFL teams.

Market-size seems to dictate value in the 3 non-NFL leagues. But even in the NFL, market-size, history, and success separate the ultra-wealthy teams like Dallas, Washington, New England the Giants; from the just-rich teams like Buffalo, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, and Minnesota.

David Ortiz to DL

The Red Sox have placed David Ortiz on the 15-Day Disabled List. He was diagnosed by Red Sox doctors with a strained right Achilles. After receiving a second opinion, that diagnosis was confirmed. Or as Dr. Bobby Valentine put it: "He has a right strained heel, Achilles’ attachment type thing."

Valentine also said that Ortiz would do nothing baseball related for a week to 10 days while the heel heals. Then again, Valentine's projections on injuries this year have always been on optimistic side.

Ortiz suffered the injury by stepping awkwardly on a base after Adrian Gonzalez hit a homerun. It was a CBI, a Classic Baseball Injury. When you consider that Ortiz spends most of the game on the bench, then has to run at full speed on the bases, it makes sense. That starting and stopping can be very hard on a muscle or a tendon.

Without Ortiz, the Sox will need Adrian Gonzalez to play up to expectations. Contributions from Ellsbury and Crawford are also needed more now.

Mauro Gomez was called up and started last night as the DH. I wouldn't mind seeing Crawford play some games as the DH, considering his elbow issues.

Perhaps Ortiz will realize that this is the reason the Sox don't extend his contract. You never know what will happen to a player during the season.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Ross and Gonzalez Power Red Sox

Cody Ross and Adrian Gonzalez knocked in all 10 Red Sox runs last night. Prince Felix Doubront made another very solid start and the Red Sox cruised to a 10-1 victory.

Ross hit a pair of 3 run homers, one in the 3rd, the next in the 4th. He now has 15 on the season, along with 47 RBI. Ross has the second best slugging percentage (.557) on the team, behind David Ortiz. So with Ortiz on the DL, the Sox need him to continue to hit for power.

Adrian Gonzalez also needs to help fill the void left by Ortiz. And he's starting to do that. He was 3 for 4 last night with a solo homerun and a pair of RBI singles. He knocked in 4 runs.

In his last 20 games, Gonzalez is hitting .427, slugging .598, has hit 3 homeruns and knocked in 19 runs.

Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford did their job and got on base. Ellsbury was 3 for 4 with a double. Crawford was 1 for 3. Ellsbury scored 3 times, Crawford twice.

The offensive output from the top of the order slightly overshadowed yet another good outing by Felix Doubront. He already has 10 Quality Starts this season. Most of them are the 6 inning, 3 earned run variety, but that's good enough. He's only failed to go 5 innings in 3 starts. He's gone 6+ innings 12 times.

This was a great combination win. The big name talent like Gonzalez, Ellsbury, and Crawford did their job. The second-tier guys like Ross and Doubront continued to go above and beyond.

The Sox have a good chance to win this series tonight. Clay Buchholz faces 4-1 Jose Quintana. Quintana is a leftahander who's had consistency problems. For instance, he had an 8 inning 1 run start against the Rangers. Then followed that by getting knocked around by the Royals for 5 runs in 5 innings.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Kevin, You Kill Us

I know that the words "ego" and "Bobby Valentine" have likely never been used in the same sentence before. Valentine is, after all, one of the least macho, least egotistical, least arrogant managers in the game. So I'm sure his decision for Lester to pitch to Kevin Youkilis with first base open in the 4th was based entirely on logic, and not on a desire to prove himself superior to the player he called out in April.

Whatever the baseball logic or Freudian psychoanalytical reasons behind allowing Lester to pitch to Youkilis, the simple fact is Lester pitched, Youkilis swung, hit the ball, and it went a long way. Youkilis executed, Lester didn't.

And Jon Lester hasn't executed much at all this season. He fully deserves his 5-7 record. He's failed to go 5 innings 4 times this year. He only failed to do so 3 times last year.

Strangely enough, all 3 of those sub-5 inning outings came in the second half of last season. He had 19 Quality Starts in 2011. But 12 of them were in April, May, and June. Only 7 for the rest of the year. Since July of 2011, Lester is 10-12. And since September of 2011, he's 6-10 with a 4.93 ERA. He's been failing to meet expectations for a full calendar year now.

Monday night Aaron Cook gave the Red Sox a great start. And Adrian Gonzalez finally came through in the clutch. And I had a glimmer of hope that if the second-tier guys like Cook continue to perform, and the big-name talent like Gonzalez can contribute, the Sox have a good chance. Well Lester is one of those big-name talents. He isn't contributing much, though.

The Red Sox are 7-12 when Lester starts. If they were just 10-9 in those games, they'd be leading the Wild Card race.

Why can't we have more Aaron Cooks and fewer Jon Lesters?

The Sox had a chance to secure at least a 2-2 split in this series. Instead, it was just another wasted opportunity for the Red Sox.

Felix Doubront takes the mound tonight. He faces Pedro Hernandez, who is making his Major League debut. Hernandez is a lefty and the Red Sox have no experience facing him. That usually doesn't bode well.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo