Baseball as of June 9, 2014

 
Photo: Albert Pujols' 2001 Upper Deck Rookie Card

Hard to believe it's been so long!  Well, you can see how the Sox's season has gone, so there's not too much for me to add.  So a few quick things:

--Last year the Sox supremely overachieved; this year they're supremely underachieving.  They weren't as good as they looked last year, and they aren't as bad as they look this year.  Both are extremes, and their true ability is the average...

--...but I'll take a World Series-winning year and a subpar year anytime over two ho-hom average years.  Gimme two years of 100-62 and 62-100 over two years of 81-81 and 81-81 anytime.  The first pair gets you a World Series ring and a good draft pick.  The other two?  Nothing.

--This year is what last year was supposed to be--a transition year.

--The difference?  Last year they had unbelievable comebacks and unbelievable pitching.  This year they have mostly good / very good pitching--but not unbelievable--and very few comeback wins.  They're simply not hitting with RISP.  If they were, at all, they might be in first place in the very mediocre American League East.

--The Sox and the Blue Jays have essentially flip-flopped seasons compared to last year.  The Jays should've been great last year and fizzled.  With almost exactly the same team, they're excelling.  The Sox excelled last year and are floundering this year with essentially the same team--minus Ellsbury, of course.

--But the Jays are not this good.  Normally I'd say that they're going to start to sink, but, again, they're the Sox of last year.  Ya never know.

--R.A. Dickey so far is having a Tim Wakefield year when Wake would reel off 10-12 straight wins in the mid-90s.  Such is the nature of the knuckleball, though to be fair Dickey throws a lot of curves and "fastballs" as well.

--The Yanks may have a decent year, but they won't win the division, and may not even make the playoffs.  I'd be surprised if any Wild Card team comes from the A.L. East this year.

--Ellsbury's impact is truly being felt as the Sox flounder.  People forget how good offensively he was, and how much his speed effected the pitches Pedroia and Victorino saw.  The latter two are great fastball hitters, and that's what they got with Ellsbury on first base.  He made everybody else in the lineup better, plus he tired out the pitcher when he threw to first a lot.  He also drove in a lot of runs for a leadoff batter, and had good power from the leadoff spot.

--Having said that, I wouldn't have resigned him for more than three or four years, either.  The Yanks had better win with him now, because they surely won't with him in the fifth through seventh years of his contract.

--I have a graded NM-MT+ Pujols Upper Deck RC, so I need him to have a monster comeback year.

Offseason So Far

Some very quick things to say about the offseason so far:

--Fans who spurt vitriol Ellsbury's way--and Johnny Damon's way before him--are simply ignorant of the fact that the Yankees offered much more money both times.  The Sox offered Ellsbury a three-year deal.  Even at $20 million per year, that would be "just" $60 million.  The Yankees offered him seven years for $153 million dollars, which by my simple math is four years and $93 million dollars more.  Bottom line: More security via a longer contract, and $93 million.  Plus whatever endorsements he can get in New York, which I'll bet will be incredible, especially after one or two very good seasons.  Would you turn down $93 million?

--Robinson Cano, don't ya know, going to Seattle is a shocker, though the 10-year, $240 million contract isn't a surprise.  It's just surprising that Seattle gave it to him and not New York.  Though the Yanks did spend roughly $280 million so far, it was on three full-time, high-impact players at three different positions, rather than just one high-impact player at one position.  And Cano won't win too many playoff games in his ten years in Seattle, though he will have a good pitching staff.  But he's now the only weapon offensively.

--I guess Jay-Z came through for his client--albeit a client who wants dollars more than he wants rings.

--Signing Napoli is a good move.  Though nobody can K like he can, it's also true that nobody around the team can field first base and motivate his team like he can.  And he likes Boston like college students do.

--Napoli will make more with this two-year deal, plus last year, than he would have with that three-year, $39 million contract that he lost because of the physical that found his deteriorating hip.  But he'd better rest more the next two years, or that hip will end his career.

--Signing the ex-Cardinals reliever Mujica is a good move, too.  He's a solid reliever who can pitch frequently, and for two innings at a time.  Two years for $9.5 million isn't bad for him.  Bailey's gone, and Hanrahan is just happy to be around.  Uehara will still close, and Tazawa and Breslow still have the eighth, and when one of them falters, either Mujica or Hanrahan can step in.  Relief still looks very good in Boston.

--As does their starting pitching.  Everyone's stayed.  They're a year older, but Lester and Buchholz are still young in baseball years (though Buchholz needs physical coddling and Lester needs emotional coddling), and Workman, Doubront, and other younger players in Pawtucket are ready to step in when needed.  The Sox are poised to get younger, and their farm system looks great.

--Which is why the Yankees had to spend $153 million for Ellsbury, $85 million for McCann, and $45 million for Beltran, for 7 years, 5 years and 3 years, respectively.  And the Sox?  Not a dime.  Because the Sox have a good farm system, and the Yanks don't.  And won't for quite awhile.

--Though, I would've liked to have seen Beltran in right, and Victorino in center.  But maybe Fenway's right field is too big for Beltran, though Beltran is a good athlete and a very good fielder, and he gives 100%--all of which we saw in the playoffs.  Plus, he's one of the best playoff hitters of all time.  (Which made the game-ending pickoff of that Cardinals rookie even more inexplicable--because Beltran was at the plate.)

--I still say that Choo would be a good fit in center or in right, as well.  He's an on-base machine, which the Sox covet, and he can run and steal, though not as prodigiously as Ellsbury.  Still, a very good fielder and a very good leadoff guy.

--Right now, the leadoff position is a little murky.  Victorino can, but you don't want him to, since he was great hitting second, plus he's getting older.  Pedroia can, but you don't want him to, since you want him at third.  Is Jackie Bradley fast enough?  Is he a good enough hitter?  If he is, he's your answer.  But I'm not sure that he is.

--I'll take Pierzynski over Saltalamacchia any day.  Fewer Ks, more walks, about the same batting average with better production and OB%, and a much better play-caller.  I like the Sox catching corps for 2014.

--They're both old, sure, but they can play the position very well, DH on rare occasion, learn first base, and get relieved by one of the Triple-A catching stalwarts every now and then.

--Salatalamacchia and Middlebrooks never played again after that horrible, game-ending play.

--And I'm not crazy about seeing Middlebrooks at third, so I hope the Sox re-sign Drew to play short, and put Bogaerts at third, and make Middlebrooks the first- / thirdbaseman to begin some games.  He's still great trade-bait, as he does have a great upside.  I just don't think he'll ever meet it.

--Though I'd hate to break up whatever he's got going on with Jenny Dell.  Did you notice how her before- or after-game interviews with him were a little sweeter than they were with anyone else on the team?

--Speaking of the off-field talent, I hope Jerry Remy is better and ready to go.  Sox fans will take him back, no problem.  Hopefully his lungs and head are well, and he wants to return.  If he's up for it, I think he will.

Sox 2 Rays 0 2013 Division Series

A few things as we await the third game of the series.  Comments about a game refer to the second one unless specified otherwise:

--Let's not celebrate yet.  The third win is always the hardest, or so the players say.  Five teams have won the first two Division Series games and not the series.

--Each of the three double plays ended an inning, and none was more important than Tazawa's.  He's this bullpen's weakest link.  Out of the really important pitchers, anyway.

--Breslow continues to amaze, but I still hope Buchholz goes into the eighth inning next time.

--It is not as easy as Uehara makes it look.

--Speaking of which: Uehara threw 11 pitches.  All strikes.

--The most important stat of the night: Not Ortiz's two homers.  Not Pedroia's three RBIs.  It's Ellsbury's three hits and three runs scored.  He is the oil that lubricates this offense and keeps it running smoothly.  If he's not on base, and stealing bases, and creating errors, and taking the pitcher's mind off the other batters, then Pedroia doesn't drive in three because there's nobody to drive in.  As Ellsbury goes, so does the offense.

--Speaking of which: I've not been an Ellsbury fan the last couple of years, since he exploded on the scene in 2007, because of his many injuries and days on the DL, and his fragility and reluctance to play unless he's 100%.  (Which no ballplayer ever is.)  But I'm a fan this year.  The Sox need to resign him, though not at the expense of other players, of course.  He's beloved here, so I hope he doesn't take the money (the Yankees, the Dodgers and the Angels will all offer more during the offseason) and run.

--I have a very reliable source who says that Ellsbury is such a jerk that he will, in fact, take the money and run.  Of course, if someone offered me millions more than I'm making now, I might, as well.  Who wouldn't?

--But this very reliable source is firm on the fact that he is a very big jerk, and is known for being so.

--It was nice to hear the applause that Lackey got when he left the game.  Last year and a couple of weeks ago, all of those cheers were very loud boos.  Well, when his name was spoken, anyway, since of course he wasn't on the field when he cashed his checks totaling about $16,000,000.

--I'm closer to California than Stephen Drew was to second base when he turned the two late-inning double plays tonight.  But we'll take 'em.

--Next year, when the abomination of the instant replay starts, you won't see those proximity plays anymore.

--The Rays pitching and defense are tired.  Moore and Price usually manhandle and shackle the Sox.

--Breslow continues to impress during his interviews, which is not normally where players shine.  But this Ivy-League educated guy is yet to give a cheap or cliche answer to any question.  He must've missed Bull Durham.

--Rays' manager Joe Maddon said after the game that he looks forward to Game 5 at Fenway.  And he sounded like he meant it.  Gotta respect that.  (And let's hope he's of false hope.)

--A shout out to my friend Chris, who was at Fenway during Game Two of this 2013 Division Series.

--I've never seen the Sox run the bases as well as they have the past two games.  You expect Ellsbury to score from first on a double, but not on a hard-hit ball to left field at Fenway.  And Gomes scoring from second on an infield hit last night by Stephen Drew?  That's right out of Major League.  (Literally.  Remember Jake's bunt?)  Unbelievable.  The Sox I started watching in the mid- to late-80s were the exact opposite of this, barely-fit sluggers who clogged the basepaths and didn't hustle.  (For the most part.  Ellis Burks and a couple of second basemen were the exceptions.)

--I have to admit that I worried when Breslow came in, and was loudly critical of Farrell for bringing in Tazawa.  But what did I know?  (Except that Tazawa was brutally bad in September, and that double play perhaps saved the game right there.)

--I thought Breslow should've started the eighth, and bring in Uehara for a four- or five-out save, if necessary.  Breslow hadn't thrown many pitches at all, because of the double-play, and because the Rays swung early against him.  Tazawa worries me.  A lot.

--I thought starting Ross was a mistake, too.  But he hits a double, and scores a run, and there's only one base stolen against him.  So what do I know?

--Here's to hoping for a Game Three win for the Sox, and for a Series win by the A's over the Tigers.  Is that asking too much?

 

Red Sox 27-17 May 19, 2013

Been gone for a long time.  The job, and getting a lot of reading and writing done.  But I've been watching (or listening to) most of the games.  Missed maybe 3 or 4 all year so far, maybe.  Here's what's been going through my head about the Sox, and about baseball in general, lately:

--The new one-game Wild Card playoff format is unbelievably bad, I've realized, and here's why.  Imagine you're the Red Sox, for example, and you win the Wild Card over the next team, the Tigers, by, let's say, five games, which is a lot for a Wild Card lead.  Anyway, since the top-2 Wild Card teams play in the one-game playoff, the Sox, who won by five games, play the Tigers.  The Tigers, of course, pitch Justin Verlander, possibly the one best pitcher in the majors.  He strikes out 12 and wins a complete game shutout, and the Sox are out of the playoffs.  Is that fair?  The format exists this year not to make it more interesting for the top two teams, but to make it more interesting for the middle-level teams, three or four of which will finish between one to three games away from the second spot.  Soon it'll be like hockey or basketball, where almost every team is in, or close to, the playoffs.  This is better for the owners, of course, but not for the game itself.

--Pedro Ciriaco isn't doing it for me this year.  After today's game, he's committed six errors in extremely limited playing time, and is hitting below the Mendoza line.  This is a far cry from last year, when he hit (it seems) about .300 and played great defense.  Right now, he's a glorified pinch-runner.  What happened?

--John Lackey is 2-4 with a 3.30 ERA.  And he's slim.  And he's not complaining.  Finally.  Not bad for $15.25 million per year for the past three years, including this one.

--Speaking of money, David Ortiz has made over $112 million (mostly for the Sox) over his career to, essentially, swing a bat.  And for the Sox, and even for Boston itself, he's been worth every cent--if anyone can be worth that much to swing a bat and to represent sport in a major city.

--Lester and Buchholz are finally pitching like they should--at the same time.

--Hanrahan never did it for me, anyway.  But Bailey can't spend any more time on the DL, especially when you consider last year.  If he does any more, you can't consider him a good signing.

--Uehara is amusing.

--I've probably said it before, but I'll do so again: Minnesota should not have an open-air stadium.  Target Field looks beautiful (and its ground crew is run by the guy who used to do Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium for many years), especially with the tan limestone and cityscape in the distance, but it's a mistake for the Twins to have an open-air stadium.  And without a great team, the novelty of it will wear off, fast.

--Ellsbury has been in a long, very quiet, slump.  (Napoli has, too, but not for as long.)  Currently he's hitting about .250, with an on-base percentage around .300.  That's bad in general, but it's catastrophic for a lead-off hitter.  How about Victorino there, and Ellsbury 2nd, or whatever, to let him get himself on track again?  Bradley may not be the answer next year, but I'm not sure Ellsbury is, either.  I have his autograph, so I want to be wrong, but he's got a lot to prove, since he's a free agent at the end of this year.  If the year ended now, I wouldn't resign him, no matter how much Sox gear he sells for the ladies.  (Yes, the management would take it into consideration when considering his free agency.)

--Pedroia's having a great year.  He's a great hitter almost anywhere in the lineup.  He could hit productively, with a high average and on-base percentage, between the first and the fifth spots in the lineup.  When batting cleanup, which he has the last few years when Ortiz was out, he drove in a lot of runs, too.  An amazing hitter who should have a long and productive decline phase, which shouldn't start for quite awhile yet.

--Saw Cecil Fielder on Tim McCarver's show for a short time, so I looked him up on baseball-reference.com, which I use to look up all players' stats, and the salaries mentioned above.  Anyway, he ate himself out of the major leagues.  His last game was at age 34.  The site mentioned above kindly listed his weight at 230 pounds, which is way off, I assure you.  Even now, he takes up the entire lens of the camera.

--Who're the only two American League batters to lead the league in RBIs for three consecutive years?  Answer: Babe Ruth--and Cecil Fielder.

--Speaking of whom...His son, Prince Fielder, will be making $23 million per year, every year, for the Detroit Tigers, until the year 2020.  By that time, he would've made over $225 million playing baseball.  Prince Fielder is hitting below the Mendoza line in his playoff games.  His playoff batting stats are, to be kind, abysmal.  A-Rod has been much better in the playoffs, despite his reputation otherwise.  Ewwwww......

--Tim McCarver is a terrible broadcaster, by the way.  His enshrinement was a joke.

--Daniel Nava is quietly hitting close to .300, with close to a .400 on-base percentage and close to a .500 slugging percentage.  Unbelievable!  Happy for the guy who hit a grand slam on the first pitch he ever saw in the majors--and hadn't done much since.  He was bought from an independent league team for $1.  Literally.

--To show the opposite, Julio Iglesias, who was hitting about .360 and playing Gold Glove defense for Boston when he was sent down to Pawtucket when Stephen Drew came off the DL, was benched for three games recently by the Pawsox manager due to his bad attitude.  His benching started in about the seventh inning of a game I attended.  He was his typical magician self in the field, but he wasn't running out ground balls, and he must've said the wrong thing at the wrong time to the manager.  This won't get him brought back up anytime soon.  He deserved the chance for his defense alone, but his attitude won't help hide how offensive he can be, if you catch what I'm sayin'.  But he has a major league career, even if he bats ninth for bad teams his whole career, just for his defense alone.  He'll give his teams a few wins a year just with his glove.

--Saw a Twins outfielder make a homerun out of a double for Pedroia when he went after a fly ball, and it bounced off of the heel of his glove and over the outfield wall.  (This should really be a 4-base error, rather than a homerun, but I don't know if the rules allow for such a thing.)  Anyway, I haven't seen that happen since Jose Canseco infamously let a fly ball bounce off his head and over the wall.

--A friend of mine imitates how Jenny Dell seems to point with her chest.  I mentioned that Dell does it better, which didn't help matters.  Jenny Dell seems to be having fun with a thankless job.  And she's definitely grown on me, since I said in the beginning of the year that she's no Heidi Watney. 

Opening Day 2013--Red Sox 8, Yankees 2

Photo: Jackie Bradley, Jr., from nbcsports.com

So I'm going to give this blog another shot.  Hope springs eternal, right?  Gone seems to be the bitterness of last year, in which we had a manager nobody liked (including his own players), players nobody liked (including the manager, and the other players) and a front office that seemed to be a bit distant from the action.  Then came the fire sale trades at the end of the season, and things looked up, except for the players themselves, because by then nobody cared.

In all of that, you have the fact that the players weren't trying at all, despite being paid millions (or, tens of millions, in a few cases), and then when the Jerry Sandusky thing came around, that was it for me, folks.  Maybe I'll see you, maybe I won't.

After that, I tried with some baseball cards--which I liked doing, by the way.  And I liked how I went into the players lives, and delved a bit deeper into their backgrounds, or their issues.  In the meantime, I learned a few things as well.  But then some personal changes happened, and my writing took off, and I didn't have the time anymore.

But now I'm back.  The smoke has cleared, and the dust has settled, and whatever other trite cliches you can think of have happened.  Spring is here.  There's hustle and bustle and excitement and exuberance on this Sox team again--for now, anyway.  But there does seem to be a new attitude, and that's not just the Sox ads on NESN talking there.

So, the game.  Opening game, opening series, and at Yankee Stadium, no less.  True, this Yankees team is essentially their Triple-A team right now, but the Sox still had to face Sabathia.  They've handled him well in the past, sure, but this game wasn't even about facing him, beating the Yankees, or even winning, per se.  It was about the new look, new attitude Sox.  The new face of the team.  That's what I mostly wanted to see.

And I did.  Specifically, here are the notes I took during the game (when I watched it on DVR after returning from an appt.):

--I'm glad I thought ahead enough to get two autographed baseballs from Jackie Bradley, Jr. when he was at Pawtucket Red Sox Hotstove League in January.  One to keep, and one to sell when the time is right.  Already his autograph has sold on ebay for about $50.  After one major league game.

--Lester is noticeably taking less time between pitches.  He needs to do that all year.  He was told to do so the last couple of years, but didn't.  This was a Becket influence, I think, since Josh has a cup of coffee and a sandwich between pitches.

--Lester's keeping the ball down and not feeling, also like Becket does, that he can just blow his fastball by people whenever he wants.  He has to set up his pitches better, which is what he's doing now.

--Seeing what I've just written, I'm noticing how glad I am that Becket's gone.

--Bradley's first AB was brilliant and memorable.  Down quickly 0-2 to Sabathia.  Takes some (very close) pitches for balls that you would expect a player with his limited experience to swing at.  Fouls off some good pitches.  Finally draws a walk after a seven or eight pitch at bat.  This pushes runners to second and third, which is more important than the fact that it loads the bases.  This PA proves John Farrell's point about how impressed he was with Bradley's approach every AB.

--I don't know why Sabathia didn't continue to give him off-speed stuff inside and low.  He was susceptible to those in this AB.

--Iglesias infield hit to short; Bradley safe at second by an eyelash, which extends the inning and scores the run.  Speed on both counts, Bradley safe at second and Iglesias fast enough to not even draw a throw to first.  I like it!

--Ellsbury hard hit to first, throw home for one out rather than to second and back to first for a possible double-play.  Youkillis knew that with Ellsbury running, the DP wouldn't happen.  Again, speed.  Iglesias now on second and Bradley at third.

--Victorino singles in both speedy runners with a hard hit single.  I was wrong to question batting him second.  I forgot about his solid production the last few years, and I forgot about his Gold Gloves.  My bad.

--Pedroia singles in speedy Ellsbury.  With Bradley batting eighth, Iglesias ninth, Ellsbury first and Victorino second (and maybe even Pedroia third), the Sox have five consecutive above-average to speedy runners.  That's very nice.

--Napoli, who'd looked silly in his first AB, just (and I mean just) gets under one and skies to deep center to end the second inning.

--Good show here in the second, with lots of walks, speedy running, and clutch-hitting.  You can do a lot of things with walks and singles.  This is how the Sox won titles in 2004 and 2007.  This needs to happen every game, all year, in order for them to have a chance.

--Bradley's great catch on Cano's (don'tcha know) drive in the 4th.  He took an odd-looking route to it, but it's a results-oriented business, as Orsillo says, and he made a great catch.

--Iglesias's push-bunt single in the fourth.  He needs to do that much more often.  Every time he hits it in the air, he owes me twenty push-ups.

--That's a line from Major League, by the way.  That one was for you, big guy.  (Because Bunky's already taken.)

--I love Jonny Gomes, the second straight Jonny the Sox got from the Oakland A's who's an under-rated table-setter, run-producer and all-around making-it-happen kind of guy.  You don't see a two-run infield single too often.  I won't be surprised if the players talk more about Gomes's hustle than they do Bradley's play in this game.

--Bullpen is doing a good job, but we knew heading into the season-opener that the bullpen was actually going to be a major plus for this team.  That, by itself, is unusual for Boston, even for the World Series winning teams.

--There's so much talk about Bradley right now, it seems like Sox fans have him already ticketed for the Hall of Fame.  And he doesn't even have a hit yet.

--Great start for what hopefully is a new-look, new-attitude team.  They should at least be fun to watch, on tv and at Fenway.  I go to my first Fenway game on April 12th.

Lately

Been away for a few days, so a few things:

--Don't look now, but the Sox are 7-1 in their past 8 games and are finally out of the cellar.

--Baltimore is now there, being one of the faster teams to go from first to last that I've seen.

--The top 3 are the Yanks, Rays and Sox, which you can bet will be the three playing the shell game for the rest of the season.

--A source tells me that you can bet that the Sox will not be paying Papelbon for his services next year.  As they have 3 closers on the roster now, they'll probably try to trade him if they don't think they'll go deep in the playoffs.  If they do, he'll stay, but then go bye-bye via free agency.

--I also hear that all indicators are that Papelbon will have a lights-out year, as he's mentioned he'll test the free agent market next year.  Nice enough guy, I'm told, and not as nutty as you'd think--but not the brightest bulb, either.

--The Angels will have trouble scoring runs consistently this year.  Their pitching and defense will have to be stellar.  This series they haven't been.

--Pitchers need to have better poker faces on the mound.  I'm getting tired of them showing lots of emotion when a call that's not even close doesn't go their way.

--The word is that some players in MLB are taking substances not being tested for yet, sort of a Stealth HGH.  I'm not surprised.

--I also hear that I may be surprised by the support that Manny may get from HOF voters after all.  If he gets in within a few years of eligibility, I will be very surprised.

--You have to wonder why Dice-K can't be like this all the time, if he can be unhittable in two straight starts.  What's going on in there?

--Varitek can go 0 for the season and still catch Game 7 of the World Series for me.

--Then again, so can Heidi Watney, if you know what I'm sayin'.

--The Yanks have 5 out of the top-10 batters in the league in terms of batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.  They'll have to be that way all year in order for them to contend.

--Mike Cameron must have pictures.

--Salty might be too tall to be a catcher.

--Ervin Santana, who could be Pedro, struck out 9 in 7 innings yesterday, but also gave up 9 hits and 5 runs, and some long homeruns.  That, in a nutshell, is why he drives his management crazy.  I remember when he came up, and he was lights out.  Now he's still lights out, but in a different way.

--I just saw Ellsbury thrown out on the second of two consecutive pitchouts.  Before the pitch, Scioscia was going through his signs in the dugout, and I thought: He's calling for another pitchout.  I swear.

--I called a Jim Rice homerun just like that, when I was 14.  A short story due to be in print soon (Space and Time Magazine; look for it in the summer) starts with a reference to the narrator calling a Manny homer, but it's based on me calling Rice's.

--Speaking of which, I was talking to a local former sports reporter yesterday, and when I asked him if he could guess the most perfect homerun swing I ever saw, he said, "Manny's game-winning homer off the Angels in the 2007 ALDS?"  Now, how the hell did he know that?  That was a little bit creepy!

Last Few Days

A few quick things:

--Okie-Dokie isn't ready.  Or, he's as ready as he's going to be, if you know what I mean.

--The McCourt situation with the Dodgers is a disgrace.  They're choosing their bitterness towards each other over the team, the fans, and everyone else.  A travesty.

--Let's hope Youk didn't break a bone tonight.  Looks exactly like Pedroia's injury last year.

--The Sox pitching looks A LOT better.  It's all about the starters, who've strung together five or six straight starts of five innings and one run or less.  They haven't done that since the 50s.  Lots of pitching and hitting firsts this year, most of them not good.

--The Sox tried to give the game away last night, but the A's didn't want it.  They left 15 on base.

--Nobody in the A.L. East is hot out of the gate, or for more than 4 or 5 straight games.  That's why the Sox are only 6-11, but just 4 or so games out.  Had a team started out 12-4 or so, they'd be at least 7 or 8 out, as they should be.

--I'm sick of the texting and driving commercial, though it needs to be said.  My barber got his expensive Jeep crushed in the street-side back corner by a young girl from CT who was texting and driving.

--I miss the AFLAC duck, but I'll say again that if I run AFLAC, I fire Gottfried, too.  Dumb.

--Angels pitching and defense look really good.  Their offense, a little less so.

--Umpiring has been ridiculously awful this week.  Pedroia slid past the bag and was tagged out--very obvious to the naked viewing eye, even with the bag, players and umpire blocking the camera view--but he was called safe anyway.  Even now, nobody knows what the call was on the Cameron/Ellsbury play.  (Though Cameron obviously obstructed the catcher, so he and Ellsbury should have been out.)

--The Sox finally agreed with me that Varitek needs to catch more.  The Sox brass obviously reads this blog.

--The Angels stadium looks great, too, but the excessive water beyond the outfield bothers me there just like it does in Royals Stadium.  What a waste, when a couple of cities in my state have lousy drinking water.  Why am I fixing my faucets when they're just wasting tons of gallons?  I hope they have the larger version of a smaller self-sustaining water system that keeps using the same water.

--Speaking of the Royals, they're doing much better than I, or anyone, thought they would.

--The Sox have 5 everyday players hitting at or below the Mendoza Line (speaking again of the Royals).

--So....Kendys, not Kendrys?  Whatever.  Break a leg, man.  (Sorry.)

--Rumor has it Trump wants to buy the Mets.  Didn't he file for bankruptcy several times?

--Let the circus begin when the potential buyers for the Dodgers line up.

--The relief you hear is Big Papi being happy about his start this year.

--Ellsbury leads the team in homers and yet is hitting below .200.  He shouldn't be hitting flyballs at all.  I want to see all of his hits be on a line somewhere.  I don't want him hitting homers.  Every time he hits it in the air, he owes me 20 pushups.

--Leave a comment below or send an email if you know who said the Mendoza Line reference and the movie and character I alluded to in the last sentence of the last bulleted item.  No looking them up!

First Fenway Visit of 2011

Was very, very cold.  I had on a T-shirt, a Sox long-sleeved shirt, a very comfortable school sweatshirt, and a heavy black trenchcoat--and I was still cold.  Though not as cold as the Sox performance!  So a few notes of what I saw in person:

--The Fenway Faithful are quickly losing the faith.  Several booed most of the night, which isn't helpful for the players.  They're pressing enough as it is--and they ARE clearly pressing--and so putting more pressure on them by booing them is counterproductive.

--But when you're paying your mortgage to watch the games, how else can most vent their frustration?  I just shake my head and logically say what shouldn't have happened; but, in that, my friend is right when he says that, as a fan, "I'm kind of bland."

--And you're supposed to say that in your best Joe Castiglione voice--and make it very nasal.

--So Defense Exhibit A of a player pressing: Crawford, in the 7th, had a 3-1 count on him, with the bases empty, Sox down by 4.  In such a situation, you learn in high school to take that 3-1 pitch.  Always.  A solo homer by you does no good; you need to get on base, start a big inning, make things happen on the basepaths, and hope your teammates keep the line moving.  So you take that 3-1, and if it's a strike, you do what you have to on 3-2.  Plus, that's one more pitch for the reliever to throw, and the more relievers throw, the more you can get to them.  The worst thing you can do is swing at that pitch.  What's he do?  He swings and pops it up to third.  Crawford knows not to do this.  So why do it?  Because he's pressing and trying to do too much.  (Even players like Ortiz need to take on 3-1 there, though the player I'm speaking of here was Crawford, a leadoff guy.)

--Defense Exhibit B: Ellsbury gets on base in the 8th and steals second base, going to third on the errant throw.  At first I told my friend I liked the play because the Sox--yesterday and today--need a spark, anything at all to get them going.  While I still believe this, and while this example is not as egregious as the one described above because of that, you still don't steal 2nd down by 4 in the 8th inning, with your team pressing.  It's a percentage play that, had it failed, would have been disasterous for many reasons.

--The most glaring offensive problem is that they are not playing fundamental baseball when at the plate.  They are not swinging smartly, or working the count, or working the pitchers, etc.  They're flailing up there, or guessing and thinking too much up there.  At 2-10, it needs to come down to: Be smart.  Go back to basics.  And in a hitting count, don't think too much or guess: See the ball, hit the ball.

--The Sox are missing John Farrell.  And somebody needs to get on Curt Young, big-time.

--Francona sent a message to Salty by pinch-hitting Lowrie for him in the 8th.  I've said it a ton already this year, but I'll say it again: Salty is not calling a good game, and he's not hitting.  Maybe Varitek needs to be a backup, but not to this guy.  I want to see Varitek in there for at least the next 10 games.  Let's see what he can do.  He can't do any worse.

--The brand new Hi-Def screens look great, but the info. put on there is for the fan who otherwise would not know what was going on.  In other words, not the serious fan.

--The Sox don't make as much money on tickets as they do on concessions.  Our tickets were $30 each, not too bad for Fenway.  But a regular plastic cup of Coors Lite is $8, and a Sam Adams Summer Ale (perfect for last night's game) was $8.50.  A quick look around you shows you that a vast majority of the 38,000 fans had at least one.  And those who had more than one compensated for those who didn't have any, believe me.

--Jencks needs to pitch out of the stretch all the time.

--It's a mystery why J.D. Drew, with that swing, hasn't amassed 3,000 hits.  Except, of course, that he doesn't play when he gets a splinter, and he doesn't swing a vast majority of the time.  Okay, forget I said that.

--To show how unfaithful the Faithful are, when the Sox trailed by 4, the place emptied out, fast.  There was a sparse crowd after the 6th inning, and almost no one saw the 3 runs in the 8th.

--A quick look at today's news shows you that Dykstra has been arrested for stealing from himself (can't do that when you declare bankruptcy) and that he's been defrauding others for years.  Don't say I didn't tell you.  If you've forgotten, read my blog entry on him here.

--And Gooden got 5 years' probation for being high on cocaine while driving, causing an accident in which a child of his wasn't buckled in.  Call it the Curse of '86.  Buckner lives a life of guilt-free bliss compared to these guys.

Game 2--Beltre, Rangers 12 Sox 5, and More

--Still no time to panic, though you are allowed to feel a strong sense of unease.  I do.

--To state the obvious, the pitching looks to be a bit of a problem right now.  I'm more concerned about the relief pitching than the starting pitching, though you would think Lackey wouldn't leave a pitch middle in to a right handed hitter, especially one of Beltre's caliber.

--If you leave the ball up, the Rangers hitters will hit it.  Hard.  Everyone, of almost any caliber or type of pitcher, needs to keep the ball either down or away from them.  Even their 8th and 9th hitters look good.

--The worry with the starting pitching is that we haven't gotten to Beckett and Dice-K yet, who we expect to do badly.  So if the others do as well...

--It's early, but a win today is strongly needed.  You don't want to be swept during the first series of the season.

--A little perspective: The Rays lost 2 straight to the Orioles.  The Orioles are not better than the Rays, I assure you.

--Ortiz hit another homer, good for him.  Then again, so did Ian Kinsler...and Ellsbury looks good at the plate, too.  In fact, the whole Sox offense looks good, except for Crawford, who really looks like he's pressing.  I was guessing at that yesterday, but a golf-swing and miss on a pitch low and away yesterday proved it.

--The Cleveland pitching staff looks helpless.  This against the Chicago White Sox, who don't have a thunderous lineup.

--I won't look at the standings until the Sox win one.

--Lou Gorman was apparently a really nice guy.  That's always said when someone dies, but it's been the overwhelming thing that everyone's been saying about him, even before his 30 years or so in the business.  He was the GM when I first started watching baseball, in 1984, and I remember that during interview spots he would always talk very slowly, very muffled, and that he cared more about the players themselves than is usual for GMs, then or now.  He was the exact polar opposite of Dan Duquette.  I have a very vague memory of maybe talking to him--or at least he was in the same room with me--when I was at McCoy when very young.  This is back when Mike Stenhouse was involved with the team and he gave my Dad tickets, or maybe just AMICA in general.

--Dunkin' Donuts doesn't sponsor Sox games anymore?  No more Dugout?  I saw a Honey Dew commercial on NESN and I almost fell over.

--The Sox pitching coach will be earning his money starting right now.

--I want to see Varitek behind the plate today.  Let's see if he can bring the staff ERA down.  If he is in, and if Bucholz has a good game, I want to see him in there the next day, too.  Even if Salty has a batting average a 100 points higher than Varitek's, it won't be worth it if Varitek calls a superior game and takes hits and runs off the board doing so.  I believe this can happen, and that it has happened.  With the Sox lineup the way it is, they can afford a great game-caller with a weak batting average hitting ninth.

--Castig has gotten even more nasal, if that's possible.

--By the way, why's Lackey the Number 2 over Bucholz?  At this point, Lackey and Beckett are capable of each winning 20, but are presently lumbering innings-eaters.  Let's have the younger guys who've been pitching much better and winning more consistently at the top of the rotation, okay?

--If you have 3 doubles, 2 triples and 2 homers (one a grand slam) hit off you in 3 2/3 innings, now that's a bad day.

--Someone needs to keep the cameras off of pitchers during obvious f-word moments, such as Lackey's yesterday right after Beltre's slam.  They're obviously putting the lens on these guys at those moments so that we, the viewers, can see them mouthing the f-word.

--Completely unnecessary, by the way, as we are saying the same thing at the time ourselves.

--The guys next to me were very vocal against Francona, as if they expected him to pull his starting pitcher, who is getting paid about $12 million this year to win and eat innings, in the fourth inning of the second game of the year.  There's 160 of these left, guys.  Take it easy.

--I see now why sports pros from across the country say that Sox fans are unique in their rabidity for the team.  Every game really is life or death for many of these guys.  These guys yesterday were an example, confusing the second game of the year for an ALCS or World Series game.

--By the way, kudos to my better half, who sat through five innings of a game, at a local restaurant/bar, surrounded by these guys, watching her second game in a row--while not appearing tortured.  Though she still calls "uniforms" "outfits."  I tried to explain that ballplayers wear uniforms and tennis players wear outfits, but she was not deterred.

--She said that she was now a Rangers fan because they at least make things happen.  And said that all teams should use just one pitcher every day.  I took that opportunity to speak about the 1880s Providence Greys, and Old Hoss Radbourne, and how teams then did just have one pitcher, who would often win 40-60 games a season while tossing 400 to 600 innings.  Luckily she was on her second Mojito at the time and so was able to make it through my explanation without her eyes glazing over.  (I did have to explain who Nomar was.)

--Beltre 1, Sox 0 for those keeping track.

--Speaking of Beltre, I didn't know that he'd been offered a one-year, $10 million contract by the Sox last year.  Instead he signed a guaranteed 5 year, $80 million contract with the Rangers.  That's an average of $16 million a year, each year for five years, for those bad at math.  I'd turn down the Sox offer for that, wouldn't you?  Sox fans vilified him, as they had Damon when he left for much more money than the Sox offered.

--As part of that contract, Beltre makes $14 million this year, and one million more each year until 2016, when he drops back down to $16 million a year.  Included also is the stipulation that the Rangers can defer $12 million of the 2016 contract at 1% interest.  Oh, and it's in his contract that he gets uniform #29. 

--Remember that this guy was in the slush pile after 5 very bad years in Seattle, on an exorbitant contract that he landed after his one--and, at that time, only--great season with the Dodgers.  His stats that year, especially the 49 homers, are dubious when compared to those 5 terrible seasons, a drop-off that he has never fully explained.  Then one more great year, this time in Boston, and he uses that one good year again to garner an exorbitant long-term contract.  I hope he does well this year, or else this would form a very questionable pattern of behavior, if you know what I'm sayin'.

--And speaking of money, Cliff Lee said No to the Rangers this past offseason when they offered him a 6-year/$138 million contract so he could return to the Phillies.  That's an average of $23 million per year.  And he said No.  Tough to fathom, isn't it?

Carl Crawford, and Beyond

Photo: Me at Picnic in the Park, July 5th, 2009.  With the signings of Gonzalez and Crawford, I'm predicting right now that this picture shows the expected finish of the teams at the end of next year before the playoffs.  (I was going to show a picture of Ellsbury signing a ball for me, but I wasn't sure about the legalities of showing a player's image on my blog.  Please email me at the address above if you know the laws about this.)


Well, I have to say I'm surprised.  I like the signing, even at 7 years / $142 million.  I like Carl Crawford, and you'd have to say the Sox offense is on par now with the Yanks', or even better.  It also probably says goodbye to Jacoby Ellsbury, and I'm surprisingly okay with that.  There's been something up with him that the casual fan--or the more involved fan like me--doesn't know about.  A friend said to me today, "He says he's still sore," and I responded, "Yeah, literally and figuratively," because there's a lot of animosity there that hasn't come out to us.  Ellsbury is very upset with the Sox about how they treated his rib injury, and the Sox are very upset with him about how he's responded to it--and about how upset with them he is.  There's also something else, I believe (with admittedly little or no proof), that someone is hiding from us.  Some disability, or addiction, or problem, or something, that's being explained with, "Rib injury."  His ribs are definitely injured, but there's something else...

At any rate, though it would be wonderful to keep him, you now have a severe glut of outfielders.  This is a great problem to have, because a couple of them, at least, are going to be traded for relief help, and you'd have to be a fool if you didn't ask for Ellsbury in return for a really good reliever.  Drew's not going anywhere, so he'll be in right, with Kalish/McDonald/Nava backing him up--because you know his neck and back will bother him.  A lot.  Crawford will be in left, or in center; ditto for Cameron, who isn't going anywhere for the same reason Drew isn't: they're too expensive, and no one wants them.  I'd love to pawn them off on someone, but who'd take them?  The ideal situation is Drew/Kalish in right, Ellsbury/Kalish in center, and Crawford in left, though Crawford could play center for me any day.  That leads McDonald and Nava available, but I can't believe anyone would part with a high quality reliever for those two guys.  But I do believe that lots of teams would part for one, or both, of those guys, and Kalish.  I also believe lots of teams would part with a quality releiver, straight up, for Ellsbury (with McDonald or Nava thrown in, but you're overpaying for a high quality reliever if you give up Ellsbury and Kalish for one guy), especially considering Ellsbury's health concerns.

That's the point of this deal: Ellsbury, Kalish, McDonald and Nava are all expendable now, and you could get at least two high quality relievers for any combination of those guys.  Or you could just sign Kerry Wood, which I would (assuming the Sox haven't emptied the cookie jar already, which is a very real possibility), and then trade Ellsbury OR Kalish for another good reliever, with any combination of Nava and McDonald if someone insists.  (I think those two are part-time or three-quarters players, like Cameron, but Cameron even now is much better.  None of those three will ever be a full-time permanent major league player.)  I think the Sox think that Kalish is the prime player here, and would rather lose Ellsbury, for the reasons I explained above.

I'm surprised, though, about the Crawford signing  because, really, the Sox didn't need him.  With Kalish/Ellsbury/McDonald/Drew and Nava in the outfield, the Sox still were second in the majors in runs and offense last year.  They missed the playoffs because of their starting and relieving last year, plain and simple.  So they could have traded any combination of those guys for a couple of relievers--one great, one good--and they still would make the playoffs next year, if not go all the way.  They didn't need another outfielder.  This signing means that three or four of those guys definitely will go, and you'll definitely get those two relievers, and who knows what else they'll do by then?  With that relief help, and Beckett and Lackey returning to something that even a little bit resembles what they're supposed to be, and I'm writing about next year's Series winner now.

All of this also means that they're playoff contenders for the next 7 years, and that Ortiz, Papelbon, Cameron, Drew, etc. will definitely not be back after next year.  They just spent all the money they were saving by jettisoning those players by getting Crawford and Gonzalez now.  And who could blame them?  I'm okay with losing Papelbon after this coming year for the same exact reason I am about losing Ellsbury.  I'll be said to see Big Papi go, and maybe they'll resign him to a much cheaper, incentive-laden contract (which I think both sides would be very happy with), but nobody can deny that the big guy has been slipping, even if last year was a bit of a rebound from the year before.  But he's clearly not going to get better, and he's clearly not going to be able to stay at last year's level, either.  Now would be a good time for him to start slimming down, too.  Make that swing a little quicker, maybe.  Make the body last a little more.  But if you lose him after next year, and if you have a couple of those outfielders (minus Ellsbury and/or Kalish, who'll definitely be traded by then), then you can platoon them at DH, and move around the outfielders to DH to give them an occasional day off in the field, and you wouldn't lose much offensively when you tally the numbers at the end of the year.

Sox 2011--Yo, Adrian!!!

Photo: Me, in front of the Green Monster, during Picnic in the Park a couple of years ago.

Well, so here it is.  Gonzalez is a Gold Glove at first, who transplants Youkilis, who was Gold Glove at first, and moves him to third, where he may actually be a little better.  So both corner positions are Gold Glovers, which you had last year before the injuries.  Under the plan beforehand, Martinez would've been your catcher/1B, and, though a good hitter, he is defensively challenged at both positions.  Youk and Gonzalez are clearly better at 1B defensively, and are both clearly better at the plate.  So Martinez is out of the picture at first.  Now, do you pay him 4 years for $50 million to be your full-time catcher and occasional DH?  In other words, do you pay him $12.5 million for the next four years to just catch for you, knowing that you'll have to give him about 30-35 games off, minimum, per year to save the wear and tear so he can be an effective hitter?  With his questionable defense and play calling, knowing he won't be at first or DH?  No way!  If you could put him at first on his days off from catching, maybe, but even that's a stretch.  I'd want to keep him, but not for that money.  And you clearly have to get Gonzalez if he's available, because he's a better hitter and defender than Martinez.  So, once you have all this figured out, Martinez is gone.  Fine.  A shame, and you get nothing now for Justin Masterson--who I was never a fan of anyway--but that's okay with me, too.

The biggest shame out of all this is that you lose Adrian Beltre and Casey Kelly, the latter of which I think can be a future ace of a staff.  But as Brian Rose and Carl Pavano (remember those guys?  the twin sure-things who both fizzled?  Pavano's still pitching, but he clearly stuck it to the Yanks) taught you, one definite is better than one maybe, so getting Gonzalez again is a no-brainer.  The other two prospects in the deal are also potential very good players, but that's why you draft such guys--to help your team on the field (Youk; Pedroia; Papelbon) or to help you in trades (Kelly and the other two).  Remember that Pavano and Rose got you Pedro Martinez.  That worked out pretty well, right?  And if Gonzalez can be 30/100 in San Diego, in a terrible hitters park, he can be 35/120, minimum, in Fenway, and the American League in general.

So then there's Adrian Beltre, who clearly has a perfect swing--down to one knee--at Fenway, and is a Gold Glove at 3rd base, too.  And a 35/120 guy himself.  (Youk is another 120 RBI guy, with fewer home runs.)  But where do you put him?  You have to keep Youk, who's a Fenway Favorite ("YOOOOOOOKKKK") like Ortiz, Pedroia and Papelbon are.  But he had nowhere to play now in the infield, and I'm a little worried at how he only has had monster years during contract years, and his 49 homeruns one year was due to a word that we will not mention here.  That's worrisome, though in his defense I think he enjoyed Fenway and would've put up great numbers and played great defense there every year.  I will miss him, and I think Kelly (whose autograph I have somewhere) and the other two prospects will turn out to be great players, but that's the business side of the game, which is just as important as the balls and strikes.

In short, you now have great hitters and Gold Gloves at every position in the infield (except at short, but Scutaro is unspectacularly solid), and you have Gold Gloves in the outfield with Cameron (when healthy) and Gold Glove caliber with Ellsbury (when healthy) and Drew makes it all look so easy when he glides after a ball, when he feels like it, and when he graces us with his outfield presence.  I wouldn't mind seeing Ellsbury back in center, and then a platoon in right and left between Drew and Cameron, and take your pick between the guys who did a good job subbing last year.  None of those guys, including Drew and Cameron are full-time players anymore--and excluding Ellsbury--so I wouldn't mind seeing Carl Crawford out there (the Nationals overpaid sickeningly for Werth).  BUT, you have to replenish your relief corps first, and if you do that and then don't have enough money left to sign Crawford, I am totally okay with that.  They fielded practically a minor league team last year in the outfield for most of the year, and were still second in the majors in offense, so they don't need another outfielder.  Get Beckett and Lackey back on track, and get a solid middle reliever or two, and if that's all you do, you're still going deep in the playoffs next season.