Dustin Pedroia Wins AL MVP.

As nice as it is to have a 5′ 7″ AL MVP. as much as I love that Dustin Pedroia won the award, I would gladly trade it in for another World Series title.

I’m sure Dusty feels the same way.

Pedroia won the AL MVP and yes, he is the type of baseball player that the sports media eats up (gritty, hard-worker, undersized). But I don’t think his playing for the Boston Red Sox had anything to do with him winning the MVP.

Pedroia had one of those rare seasons where he was just on a roll for 162 games.

He constantly got hits, he consistently played above average in the field and he excelled at every possible juncture. Anything that was asked of him, he came through on. He even did a damn fine job batting cleanup and protecting David Ortiz for a couple of games.

But I can see how you could miss it if you didn’t watch him throughout the season.

The numbers don’t lie, and Pedroia did lead baseball in hits and runs, his batting average was 2nd in the AL and when you throw in nearly 20 home runs and steals and 80+ RBI, you get a pretty good picture of an all-around player.

Pedroia isn’t hard to appreciate if you get the chance to watch him routinely. And I’m sure there are probably St. Louis Cardinals fans out there struggling to remember seeing him playing the same way I was with Pujols earlier. But I have a great appreciation for Evan Longoria, for example, because I got see him play 18 games last season. Anyone who watched Pedroia play at least 10 games in 2008 knows that this seemed like a logical conclusion to the award voting.

A-Rod was patchy, Josh Hamilton slowed down substantially, Ian Kinsler got hurt, Milton Bradley slowed down, Morneau played better in one half than the other…Pedroia was the most consistent of the bunch. That’s why he won the award.

Pedroia is a hit machine. It might not make a hell of a lot of sense, but that’s just the way it is.

In looking at the rest of the balloting, I hope the Red Sox get Joe Mauer somehow. And Justin Morneau.

 

Boston Red Sox Refrain From Price Gouging On Tickets…For At Least 1 Season…

Thanks for all your support Larry Lucchino. I’m sure these times are really hitting you hard. I bet you can barely afford that fifth floor you were going to add to your house…

As much as I appreciate the Red Sox not raising ticket prices, it really isn’t much of a gesture considering they a) don’t have Manny on the books anymore and b) didn’t win the World Series oh and c) Theo Epstein claims he is not interested in any of the 3 major pitchers available for next season.

I expect he will come to his sense and C.C. Sabathia will be in a Red Sox uniform by Christmas (this won’t happen for a lot of reasons).

The Red Sox clearly need to do something. You can’t fall in game 7 of the ALCS and come back the next year with the same exact team and same exact problems.

here are 5 things I want changed:

1. Jason Varitek (I’m fine with the Red Sox re-signing him at severely reduced pay and giving him the Sam Cassell treatment (making him inactive but having him at practices and on the bench in a sports jacket).
2. Julio Lugo (keep him on the bench. Indefinitely. Jed Lowrie is the wave of the future).
3. Mike Timlin (someone needs to take the old dog out back and shoot him).
4. Add a new starting pitcher or two. (they don’t have to be #1’s. I’ll take two #3’s or one #2 and one #4…but clearly Tim Wakefield isn’t an every 5 games type of pitcher anymore at this point in his career and because Josh Beckett is BOUND to get hurt and injuries happen routinely, it would be nice to not have to go through most of the season with a slapped together crew of guys with no experience and guys who mysteriously suck).
5. Add another bat. Either an outfielder or a 3rd/1st baseman. Someone with some power. There will be injuries to the corner positions and outfield and probably DH this year. Mark Kotsay wasn’t a good answer last season (all though, he was OK at times, he sort of sucked horribly during most of the playoffs).

If they can fulfill these 5 changes and also keep ticket prices what they are, I’ll be impressed.

But this just feels like one of those Jose Offerman-type offseasons…

Red Sox Take Game 1 Over Angels.

The Red Sox game started after 10:00 p.m. EST last night. So, suffice it to say, because I have a very very very important sports blog to run, I couldn’t stay up until 2:30 a.m. to watch the whole game.

Of course if it was the ALCS or World Series or even a deciding game, I would have. But game 1, in LA, against John Lackey with the far superior John Lester pitching?

No need.

I wasn’t extremely overconfident in the team as a whole, because, frankly, the Angels are probably a more talented team. They have an outstanding bullpen, a stronger rotation and a lineup that easily rivals the Red Sox.

I sort of just had a feeling that John Lester would be breathing fire.

And I know it is a small sample size, but Jacoby Ellsbury is batting .466 lifetime in the playoffs with 9 runs scored, 5 doubles and 4 stolen bases.

Granted he’s only played in 12 playoff games in his career, but A-Rod would kill to have playoff numbers like that (though 39 playoff games, A-Rod bats .279).

A-Rod is no Jacoby Ellsbury. That’s all I’m trying to say…

You know who else had a great game last night that has never played in the postseason before? Jason Bay.

The Red Sox were down 0-1 and had problems getting hits all night against Lackey and the first pitch Lackey left hanging over the middle of the plate, Jason Bay just clobbered. Red Sox up 2-1, a lead they would not relinquish.

It wasn’t just Bay’s first Red Sox home run in the playoffs, it was his first hoem run int he playoffs period.

I know Jason Bay isn’t Manny Ramirez. I know that. But he’s a guy that plays inspired baseball every night. Truly a pleasure to watch and root for. I’ve always thought very highly of Bay and hopefully he’ll make a great case to play in Boston for a long long time this postseason.

At one point they showed a shot of Vladimir Guerrero in the Angels dugout. He had a look on his face that said ‘I can’t believe it’s happening again…’ and that is one thing the Red Sox have going for them in this series and in the Playoffs in general.

It is very rare that the defending World Champions also get a “Nobody Believed In Us” angle. Which isn’t to say that experts had completely ruled the Red Sox out of World Series or anything, but they are sort of the underdog of the AL (behind only the White Sox who had to play game 163 to get in) when you look at how poorly they played against the Rays and Angels this season and the records of those two teams.

This series is probably far from over and it truly is a shame that it is only 5 games.

But the Red Sox did what the Spurs kind of do a lot. They played hard in the regular season, but didn’t rush anyoneback from injuries and didn’t make winning the division their highest priority (they blew a few winnable games that they could havewon if they were going for the division…but I think Francona had the foresight to see that winning the division is great if it happens, but there is no point in burning out your team trying to win the division only to get bounced early in the playoffs). They played well but didn’t wow the media for a lot of the season and then when the playoffs rolled around, they showed up fresh and ready to play with intensity we have scarcely seen from them all season.

Now they’re here.

And by the way, this was their starting lineup last night:

• Ellsbury
• Pedroia
• Ortiz
• Youkilis
• Drew
• Bay
• Lowell
• Lowrie
• Varitek

Not a lot of dead spots there. No easy outs. And for the first time in a long time, it isn’t a lineup based strictly on the one or two power hitters on the team. There is a lot of versatility in this lineup. You have a lot of speed and a great chance to manufacture runs.

JD Drew had a rough first game back. But he’ll get hot soon.

This could be trouble.

Red Sox Prep For Playoffs. A Reflection On A Long Season.

As long as the baseball season is, it always feels short in retrospect.

It seems like just yesterday people thought the Mariners wouldn’t suck. Or that the Tigers were winning a World Series…

What was I doing the whole time?

Working. Cleaning out a new apartment. Moving. Working. That’s about it. Throw in a couple trips to Rhode Island, a few games I attended in April and a few in September and that’s how it passed.

Don’t get me wrong, I was watching. Even when I wasn’t watching I was constantly reminded when the Red Sox were at home by the stupid amount of people crowding all the trains on my way back from work.

And Red Sox fans are not normal commuters. Oh no. They spit in the face of train etiquette.

I remember opening day in Japan like it was yesterday. Some of the bars around town opened at 5 a.m. to serve eggs. Others stayed open from the night before. At lunch that day my co-worker Crowley and I complained about not being near a sausage and peppers cart. What a great day.

One of my favorite things about the baseball season that really is kind of unique to baseball is how much your mind can change throughout the season.

I was down on Manny. I don’t know if it was his fault or Boras’, but clearly Manny was content to play like shit in Boston around the midpoint. The Red Sox gave up way too much to deal him, but got Jason Bay back and since then, I’ve been a lot more content with this team.

My friend Sloan was convinced it was a bad idea to trade Manny at the time and still thinks so:

My problem with the BoSox trading away Manny Ramirez was that he’s a great hitter who can change the course of a playoff series and help a team win a championship. York, a Red Sox fan, was all about dealing Manny for Jason Bay, and obviously some people more powerful than me agreed with him. My main idea was that the Red Sox were as likely as anyone to win the title this year, and that’s not something you pass up lightly. York disagreed.

Disagree. This team isn’t winning Shit Sloan. You know that, or should know that, and I know that. They are HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE under pressure.

THIS TEAM HAS BEEN SWEPT 6 TIMES SLOAN! 6 TIMES!!!

As much as I’d love to see the Rays beat the Cubs in the series (breaking the Rays’ tragic and historic ten year curse) I still think the BoSox should be feared until they’re beaten. And I still think it’s stupid for the defending World Series champions to deal their best player.

See how I said horrible 4 times there. That’s how you know I was serious.

Today?

If the Red Sox can get by the Angels, I think they have a pretty good shot at getting to the World Series. The Angels have owned them this season. So much hitting,, so much base running, so much pitching…

Obviously the Red Sox have owned the Angels in the playoffs the last few seasons. But that was sort of a different Angels team. I was really sold on this Angels team a few months ago. They probably should have won 110 games in the shitty AL West. But they didn’t.

I’m really not sold on the White Sox. Not without Carlos Quentin. They score a lot, but they also give up a lot.

The Twins might be the surprise of the season. Well aside from the Rays. But can the Twins actually put up the offense they would need to compete with the Rays or Red Sox or Cubs or even White Sox? I don’t think so…

More on tonight’s playoff game later on…

But I like this Red Sox team. I think that if JD Drew is healthy, they are going to be really great offensively. While they are not a team with two legendary post-season power hitters hitting back to back any more, I feel like they have a lot more spark, a lot more fight and a lot more guts than they did before the Manny trade. It seems as clear as day to me as I’m sure it does to anyone else who has watched them evolve since Manny skipped town.

The main thing I was worried about, Manny’s bat aside, was that Ortiz might be depressed or angry at the team and might drop off in an already shaky season.

But to watch this team come together and see Ortiz and Pedroia interact, it is clear that David Ortiz is still happy. He still wants to win. He’s no Mr. October, but in Boston, he’s good as Mr. keeps-coming-back-when-you-thought-they-were-dead.

That alone is enough to scare opposing pitchers.

Troy Brown Retires.

Troy Brown announced his retirement today.

He spent his entire career with the Patriots and was a true fan favorite. There was just something about Troy Brown that people loved.

I think a lot of it was that he was an everyman. Or as close to an ‘everyman’ as a professional athlete can be. Troy Brown always seemed to be playing as hard as he could on the field. He was always reliable to come up in big situations.

But he wasn’t built for football.

At 5′ 10″, 190 lbs., Brown was about the same size as any wide receiver on your high school’s varsity team. He wasn’t an imposing guy. He wasn’t a an amazing physical specimen. He was just a guy like any other average guy off the street who worked hard at what he did to improve himself. 

In his line of work, had to work twice as hard his whole life to even get noticed.

Say what you will about Boston sports fans, but I think that we truly identify with guys like that.

The reason why everyone has always loved Troy Brown is the same reason why everyone loves Wes Welker and Dustin Pedroia.

These guys are proof that you can get what what you put in. Something I realized when I was a kid and loved Troy Brown.

Brown was drafted by the Patriots in 1993. He was an 8th round pick from Marshall.

Let me restate that: Brown was selected in a round of the NFL draft that doesn’t exist anymore, from a college that was Division 1AA at the time.

Over the course of his career he caught 557 passes (a Patriots record) for 6,366 yards (2nd in franchise history). He had 31 TDs. He also had some huge catches that lead the Patriots to 3 Superbowls.

But these are far from Hall Of Fame statistics.

Brown never won  MVP. He only made the Pro Bowl once. He wasn’t the best receiver in the NFL ever in his career (the only time he was even close to the top 10 was 2001, his Pro Bowl season).

But #80 should be retired at Gillette Stadium.

When a player unselfishly gives his entire career to an organization, is a leader on the field and in the locker room, is willing to play anywhere the team needs him to play (he spent a lot of time playing Cornerback and working on special teams at the end of his career) and helps take the team to the Superbowl 5 times in his career, how could you not retire his number?

There are some teams that retire too many numbers (Celtics), while others retire too few (Red Sox). I understand the reasoning behind both.

Retiring a  number at a team’s stadium is a great honor for a player, second only to being in the Hall Of Fame. 

But I sort of feel like being retired at the stadium is an honor that should be reserved for guys who gave everything they had to a specific team for their entire career.

Troy Brown isn’t going to Canton.

But how could the Patriots organization ignore a guy with his heart?

If anything, I feel like being retired in your home stadium should be an honor given only to those who wouldn’t be remembered anywhere else.

When Tom Brady retires, he’ll go to Canton. Everyone will know his name in 50 years. He doesn’t need to be remembered in the Patriots Stadium to be remembered in general. Kids who are going to be born in New England in 2015 will grow up hearing stories about Tom Brady and the glory days of the Patriots.

Troy Brown is retired and 50 years from now, only those of us who had the privilige of watching him play will remember everything he did for the Patriots.

How could you not retire #80? 

Some things go deeper than stats.

Thanks for all the memories Troy.

The Red Sox To Break The Cleveland Indians’ Consecutive Sellout Streak Tonight. Try to Put The Kids To Bed.

See what happens when you remove the Devil from your life and follow the path of rugged-domed-senior-citizens-wearing-Haiwaiin-shirt-glory?

The Tampa Bay Rays have looked a lot like the Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays I know and love from seasons past. They just got swept by the Blue Jays. THE BLUE JAYS! Roy Halladay aside (I would give him the Cy Young over Cliff Lee any day of the week) they are not a very good team.

Tonight I get to attend the record setting attendance game. It will be my first trip to Fenway since John Lester’s no-hitter. My 3rd overall game this season. The first game I went to was the Detroit Tigers’ first win of the season (over John Lester). The Second was the no hitter (Lester). So naturally, tonight’s starter will be none other than John Lester.

That always seems to happen. I see the same starter 4 times in one season (it isn’t like I have season tickets or anything). Two years ago I saw Wakefield 4 out of 5 times.

At least this year it’s Lester.

The Red Sox finally have Beckett back in the rotation, Lowell is healthy, Kevin Youkilis is back, JD Drew and David Aardsma are coming back. It looks like things are coming together (at just the right time).

The Rays have started to sink. The Twins and White Sox are killing themselves (thanks for the help Carlos Quentin!) and even the Angels do not look nearly as good as they did 6 weeks ago.

I was low on the Red Sox in June and July and even early August.

But they have hooked me in.

I feel like if they play the way they have the last few weeks, they have some legs. Maybe they can swing the momentum and parlay it into a Divisional Victory and a serious shot at NOT getting bounced immediately in the Playoffs (as I was so sure they would 6 weeks ago).

And I swear that my new found hope for the Red Sox is in no way related to my acceptance of the Patriots impending doom (all though, if Vince Wilfork popped Brett Favre’s ACL to take those ridiculous Jets fans down a notch, I wouldn’t mind…not that Wilfork would do that or anything…just saying…as much as I hate the Steelers and Chargers and Colts and Cowboys, I would not say ‘that’s what you deserve (homophobic slur here)!!!’ if any of their star players went down with a season ending injury).

Also, Dustin Pedroia needs to go 4-4 tonight. Maybe 5-5 or 6-6. Pick it up Dusty.

 

‘

American League MVP 2008. Josh Hamilton? Cliff Lee? Dustin Pedroia? Ian Kinsler? Carlos Quentin? Aubrey Huff? A-Rod?

Poor Ian Kinsler.

I really do think Kinsler would have won the MVP had he not been injured.

But shit happens.

And Texas sucks. As a team. As a group of hitters, they are exciting and enchanting gentlemen. As a team? Call me when you get a rotation and/or bullpen.

The thing is, this is one MVP Race that isn’t very cut and dry.

You’ve got ARod who sucked for a while, has been terrible in the clutch (more-so than usual even) and who won it last year with numbers far better than the ones he is currently putting up.

You’ve got Josh Hamilton who was on fire for a while but sort of fell to Earth a little bit.

You’ve got Carlos Quentin who has great power numbers…but that’s about it.

And you’ve got Aubrey Huff who one would never figure to be in the MVP race.

Then there’s Dustin Pedroia.

Before I get into how Pedroia is statistically amazing or how much he has carried the Red Sox since the Manny trade, let me state what the term MVP means to me.

Most Valuable Player means the player who has contributed the most to his team thoughout the season. A player who has been statistically amazing, carried his team through tough times and led them to the promised land.

The Most Valuable Player should never be a guy who is on a non-playoff team unless he is having a record setting season.

For example, if Josh Hamilton had 179 RBI right now with the same batting average and home run stats, I would say he should definitely be in the running. After all, he would have a legitimate shot at Hack Wilson’s record, he would clearly appear to be carrying his team by himself and statistics like that are hard to ignore.

But Hamilton only has 121 RBI right now. That’s not groundbreaking. That’s just a great season. He hasn’t carried the Rangers through their pitching struggles. His offense alone has not compensated for his team’s lack of pitching. The Rangers are nowhere near the playoffs. They might be a fun team to watch, but they aren’t going anywhere and would certainly be worse without Hamilton, but they aren’t necessarily better just for having him (if that makes sense).

I don’t see how you could consider Hamilton.

ARod, same thing. Unless ARod were to lead the Yankees back from the dead to a divisional championship or Wild Card playoff spot, against all odds. In which case I would say, yes, he is very very valuable.

Aubrey Huff is on the Orioles who apparently the Playoffs have filed a restraining order against, because it seems like the O’s are not allowed within 500 feet of the Playoffs.

That leaves Carlos Quentin. He might help carry the White Sox to a division championship. But let’s look at his stats:

Quentin has 138 hits. 96 Runs, 26 Doubles, 36 Home Runs, 100 RBI, 7 Steals and 80 Strikeouts. He is batting .287. .394 On Base Percentage. 274 Total Bases.

Certainly Quentin’s 36 Home Runs and 100 RBI are impressive. But I don’t think a guy should ever win MVP if he has a sub-.300 batting average. I’m sure Quentin will pick it up in September (the White Sox will need him to).

But Pedroia?

Dustin Pedroia has 191 hits (MLB Leader), 110 Runs (MLB Leader), 44 Doubles (Tied for 2nd), 17 Home Runs, 76 RBI, 17 Steals and only 47 Strikeouts. He is batting .333 (leads the AL), .378 On base Percentage. 290 Total Bases.

The hits and runs are absurd. Obviously Pedroia’s home run and RBI totals do not appear to be MVP worthy, but when you look deeper at his other stats, it is abundantly clear that his offensive output has been ridiculous.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Pedroia was batting 2nd most of the season and did not have nearly as many RBI opportunities as say Josh Hamilton or Carols Quentin have had. I think Pedroia could still finish with 100 RBI and 20+ Home Runs. But I do feel like those are thresholds he might need to cross in order to win over some voters.

Pedroia has been a monster for the Red Sox since Manny was traded. He has found a way to get them runs without Mike Lowell, without Kevin Youkilis and without a healthy rotation. This Red Sox team has been eviscerated by injuries all season and I doubted their toughness and grit before and after the All Star break.

But something changed after Manny was traded.

The Red Sox seemed to get more injured and when most teams would have folded after losing an icon, this Red Sox team buckled down and played hard.

This is why I was so happy to get Jason Bay. Why Mark Kotsay was a great pick up. Why Jed Lowrie will be the starting shortstop for the Red Sox next season and why Jacoby Ellsbury is not done yet (don’t give up on him).

And to be honest, I really do feel like it all goes back to 5′ 6″ Dustin Pedroia (there is no way in hell he is 5′ 9″).

I say this not just as a Red Sox fan.

I really do think if Pedroia continues to rip the leather off the ball the way he has the last several weeks, there is no one in the AL more valuable to their team than Pedroia.

When you factor in his defense versus ARod or his versus Quentin or Hamilton, it seems like it would be hard to not give him the MVP.

And when you look at Josh Hamilton or Milton Bradley or Ian Kinsler, you have to wonder how anyone could vote for any of the three of them over any of the others. They would probably split votes (Ross Perot Effect).

It is also worth mentioning, that if a team has 3 guys who are putting up offensive numbers that look to be of MVP caliber, how could that team be sub .500? Oh, right, because they have committed over 100 errors (that’s an average of more than 10 a starter people!) and can’t pitch worth a damn. 

Not all that valuable.

Let’s see if Pedroia has enough gas left to take advantage of a vulnerable inexperienced Rays team and lead the Sox to a division title.

If he can, I see no way he could lose.

Top 5 Favorite Red Sox Players In My Lifetime

Chair gave me the go ahead to post on this, so I’m going to take the permission slip that I was given and run with it.

 I love the Red Sox.  

I was brought up to love the Red Sox, and throughout my formative years the Red Sox showed up at my house unannounced, woke me up from a peaceful nap and slapped me across the face (figuratively, of course [editor's note: Will Cordero did break into Crowley's home and slap him across the face]).  

I remember Mo Vaughn riding on a horse after the Sox won the AL East in 1995 just as vividly as watching Time Wakefield give up the Boone shot in 2003.  1999 and 2001 postseason failure also helped fuel a “why does God hate me?” look at life.  2004 brought the Sox to the promised land and 2007 rekindled some great 04 memories.  

The ups and downs, the peaks and valleys of a sports fan help build character and can in some ways define them.  That sounds incredibly lame, but it is true.  I pour my time, money and allegiance with a group of individuals who do not know nor care if I exist.  I’ve dealt with that.  I don’t care, I still love these guys.  I am excited to bring you this list and explain myself in hopes of conjuring up some memories and discussion.  

Without further ado:

5. Marty Barrett-#17-2B-Red Sox (1982-1990)

Yes, I do realize I was only 3 and barely capable of using the toilet properly during Barrett’s last season, but I have done a good deal of research and have heard my family talk about this guy for a long time.  I guess when I was 3 someone in my family bought me a Marty Barrett pin and gave me a couple Barrett baseball cards.  One of the reasons for this was due to his number being the same as my birth date, 17.  I have no further information on why I still have his pin anda variety of his baseball cards throughout the years.  As you will see later in the list, I have a thing for undersized second basemen who went to Arizona State.  My mom tells me that I would always watch his at-bats, but I think that’s kind of bullshit.  Still, I love the type of player that Barrett was, and since he was the first player whose cards I collected, although it was unknown to me at the time, I feel as though he deserves to be on the list.

4. John Valentin-#13-SS/2B/3B-Red Sox (1992-2001)

Valentin had a monster year in 1995, the first year that I fully remember falling totally in love with baseball.  I loved watching him play.  Playing youth baseball, I was always number 13 because of John Valentin.  Seeing his knee injury ranks among the most disgusting things I’ve seen, only behind Bryce Florie’s eye pretty much exploding and seeing the SI cover of Tony Congliaro after taking a pitch to the eye.  He also had the same initials as me, and was a team player when phenom Nomar came up.  Nomar is to be covered later, but John Valentin was a class act a one of my first Sox heroes.

3. Dustin Pedroia-#15-2B-Red Sox(2006-present)

Dustin Pedroia is the next big thing in baseball.  An undersized, balding 24 year old man has already accomplished so much.  I remember hearing about him coming up through the minors and looking into him and then writing him off completely…that is until I saw him play towards the end of the year in 2006.  They screwed the pooch down the stretch and ended up finishing 3rd in the AL East, but Pedroia made his mark on me (in a non-ARod/Will Cordero sort of way).  I remember getting shit from all angles from my friends in April of 2007 when Pedroia was barely hitting his weight, and then in May the hits started dropping and then came pouring out.  I love watching him play.  His swing looks violent and you can see the energy coming from his feet up, but it’s so pretty when he pulls one over the Monster or slaps it into a gap.  He will not hit the most home runs in Red Sox history, but the bomb to lead off the 2007 World Series will certainly always be remembered.  He is married to a smoke show and a half, won the Rookie of the Year, was in integral part to the 2007 WS win, has a cult-like following, started the All-Star Game in his 2nd full season in the Majors and is in the top 5 in league in hits.  His range is surprising for a little guy and he plays the game the right way.  He is going to be bald by 30, but hopefully will still be producing at the 2B position for the Sox.  It is great to watch him play everyday.  He turns 25 in a couple weeks and has accomplished more in his life already than I will.

2. Mo Vaughn-#42-1B-Red Sox (1991-1998)

As I said earlier, one of the happiest moments of my young life was watching Mo ride around Fenway on a horse smoking a cigar in 1995 after winning the AL East.  During my first Fenway trip/Sox game I met Mo and got his autograph, always a special moment in a young baseball fan’s life.  I emulated Mo’s swing, his hulk-like presence and catlike reflexes at first.  Mo hit BOMBS at Fenway.  He was probably my first hero.  Everybody loved Mo.  When the MLB decided to retire Jackie Robinson’s #42, they let Mo keep wearing it because his family enjoyed watching Mo play and had a relationship with him.  Mo wore the number in honor of Jackie, just like Mo Rivera, who was also allowed to keep wearing the number until he retires (sidenote, please retire Rivera..we get it, your cutter makes baseball’s best look like amateurs, enough).  Even though some of the stories surrounding Mo involved nightclub violence, I refused to believe he could do anything wrong.  One of my saddest memories is watching Mo go to Anaheim just as Nomar was hitting his stride.  Mo and then GM Dan Duquette did not have the best relationship, leading to a premature departure from the Red Sox for the Hit Dog.  I still kept my MoMentum poster up in my room and refused to believe the Red Sox made the right decision.  Mo was in an inspiration to me, and watching him hit the shit out of the ball as a big husky lefty made me feel like I could do it too…I was wrong, but I still love Mo.

1. Nomar Garciaparra-#5-SS-Red Sox (1996-2004)

I saw Nomar play for the PawSox in 1996 and fell in love.  I forget the stats, but he had an absolute monster game, and I can remember waiting with anticipation for him to get called up to the big leagues.  Watching Nomar at bat was amazing.  From his stance to his inability to lay off the first pitch and have so much success offensively and defensively(some of his errors were on balls no other shortstop would even come near), there was not much to dislike about the guy.  I loved Nomar.  He filled the void when Mo left.  He was the superstar the Sox needed and at the time I couldn’t imagine him playing anywhere else.  His friendship with Ted Williams was beautiful, his smile was electric and his bat was hot.  I went to his baseball camp in 1999, during the All-Star Break and got to meet him and have my picture taken with him.  That was the first time I think I was awestruck, and I was by no means the only one.  I still have the picture and signed 8×10 framed.

I remember having the news on in 2004 and hearing about a Boston superhero having a weird injury.  Sure enough, Nomar was the player who had tendinitis.  Looking back, Nomar was possibly [editor's note: Almost DEFINITELY] on steroids and this was a common injury.  I mean he was a little guy and was JACKED…just look at the SI cover, but I still refuse to believe it was true.

Nomar had sort of gone on a decline in 2003, but I didn’t care.  I remember July 31, 2004 just like it was yesterday.  I remember hearing rumors of a Nomar trade, but nothing had surfaced by the time I headed into work at the local sports bar as a dishwasher/fry cook.  I walked into the building and saw no news…ten minutes later I headed out and saw the breaking news.  Nomar was now a Cub.  I walked back into the kitchen and cried.  Sure, the Red Sox had broken my heart in 2001 and 2003, and they did again on July 31, 2004.  I couldn’t believe it actually happened, and to add insult to injury Orlando Cabrera, Nomar’s replacement hit a home run in his first at bat.  Nomar was the poster boy for Boston, and turned into chopped liver during the 2004 season after accusations of not trying and rifts with upper management.  

Looking back, the deal had to be done and if it hadn’t I don’t see the Sox winning in 2004, but it still hurts that Nomar hasn’t won a World Series (I mean counting on the Cubs to win the World Series is never the safest bet, same with the Dodgers to an extent).  I hope he does win at least one.  His career was sort of like Mo’s.  After he left, he had some success, but then has led an injury plagued life.  He is still my favorite Sox player and the only player who has come close to eclipsing him for me is little Dustin.  I miss you Nomie, you were the best.

 

So there it is..my top 5 with commentary.  I enjoyed writing it, whether or not you enjoyed reading it.  Baseball has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember andI don’t see much changing in the future.  Even though soccer( my second favorite sport) is the Beautiful Game, baseball is a beautiful game as well and has provided me with a lot of smiles and frustration.  Let’s Go Sox!

Another Reason Why The Angels Will Win The World Series

John Lackey was great last night. Before the game I was at the Red Hat with some old friends (Bombs, Blade, CMaj, Evan) and I asked if anyone would pay me 5-1 if the Red Sox were sweeped. Yes, based on my previous entries, I decided if I bet $5 on the Red Sox getting sweeped against the Angels that I almost certainly would win $25. There were no takers.

The Angels are the best team in baseball hands down. And no Abby, it is NOT because they have dead people helping them.

Anyway as the game progressed the Red Sox fell into some nasty habits and the Angels were scoring runs and Lackey had a no hitter (Pedroia and Youkilis are the ones who scored, Pedroia broke it up. It seems like these two guys have been the only CONSISTENT bats on the Red Sox all season).

But these aren’t the new reasons why the Angels will win the World Series in 2008. No no.

When you are ALREADY the best team in baseball (best rotation, best bullpen, solid lineup AND have the best record) and you go out and ADD another bat to help an offense that has been underachieving? That is an insanely smart managerial decision.

I before E except after X and T...apparently.

Mark Teixeira is an absolute beast. He is 28, I’d be willing to bet he finishes this season (his 6th, mind you) with 200 home runs. He already has 920 hits (in 5 and less than 3/4 seasons).

Additionally, Teixeira is someone who IS NOT vastly under performing this year. He already has 20 HR, 78 RBI and a .390 OBP. Adding him to this Angels team is like adding Danny DeVito to “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”, something that was already great is now EVEN MORE great.

NOBODY wants to pitch to this guy

I WOULD NOT want to pitch to the middle of the Angels lineup.

Red Sox Start To Choke, Throw Up, Play Better, Start To Choke, Throw Up, Play Better.

One thing I’ve often wanted to write about but always seem to forget to mention is how much of a pain in the ass the 2008 Red Sox are.

I’m not generally happy when the teams I root for are in the shitter (of course), but sometimes I’d almost rather that be the case than to not know what to expect night after night.

It just seems like this Red Sox team is so full of holes, has so many issues (injuries, Manny throwing people by the neck, Julio Lugo…etc.) and has so much inexperience in so many spots that I wonder how they could possibly only be a few games out of first (I also wonder how the Rays are in first, but that’s a whole different entry).

In their last 6 series, the Red Sox are 9-10. Not good. They lost a couple of heart-breakers in Houston due to lack of pitching, they chucked up game 3 against the Rays due to shitty pitching and they dropped games 3 and 4 against the Yankees due to no one stepping up in key situations, lack of pitching, shitty pitching and a batting order that just seems to drop off at the bottom.

Ok, shitty pitching happens to everyone, injuries are a dime a dozen at this point in the season and lack of pitching is the story of Major League Baseball, without which it would be incredibly boring to watch (imagine a league full of ace pitchers? The batting average of the league would be like .189 and final scores would be 1-0…it would be like soccer…horrible…but games would only be 2.5 hours tops…that would be nice…)

Let’s take a look at the Sox Batting Order:

J. Ellsbury, LF
D. Pedroia, 2B
J. Drew, RF
M. Ramirez, DH
M. Lowell, 3B
K. Youkilis, 1B
C. Crisp, CF
J. Varitek, C
J. Lugo, SS

The top 6 are fine. I can’t complain about Manny slumping or Ellsbury getting colder. He’s a rookie. Manny has returned (I think his arms were just tired from beating a 60 year old last week). It looks ok up there.

But Coco Crisp is essentially not a hitter on most days. He’s batting .259 right now, sure, he’s got 13 steals and he’s only had 200 or so at bats. But still. He’s not someone you consistenly want in the 7 spot.

Jason Varitekmight be a great Captain, a great leader and everything. But the guy just can’t swing the bat these days. He’s hitting .220 right now with an OBP of .300. He really doesn’t add anything offensively these days. There was a time when he was consistently around .265-.280 and that was fine. I wouldn’t even mind him being a .260 hitter if he was batting ninth. But having Varitekin combination with

Julio Lugo? Horrible.

I know Julio Lugo is batting .267, so he’s not AS BAD as he was this time last year. He made a nice defensive play the other night. And one time he DIDN’T run me over when I was in a crosswalk Brookline Ave., I greatly appreciated it, I must say. But those things aside, the guy is a liability. He makes too much money. No one else would even take him if the Sox could trade him and he’s just not that good. Theo was WAY OFF on this one.

But again, I could live witha .267 batter batting ninth if the 8th batter was like a .275 batter and the 7th batter was a .280 guy. I know things will change when David Ortiz comes back. But the Red Sox need some help right now.

The most frustrating thing is feeling like the Red Soxare right on the verge of their season ending, the Manny thing combined with the losses piling up, the pitching blowing winnable games, I thought for sure the Sox were done. I thought, “They’ll win 86 games and miss the playoffs, its fine”. But they win again and look good doing it.

I still feel like they are on the verge of destruction every game. Like they are one injury to Manny or Pedroia or Youkilis away from coming in 4th in the East. I can’t believe how well they’ve done without David Ortiz. I know he wasn’t exactly playing superstar caliber ball this season, but he adds a presence. He’s powerful, regardless of how well he’s doing.

Who knows what kind of insane trade they might make for relief pitching in a couple of weeks. Horrible. I know Kason Gabbardhasn’t exactly been Nolan Ryan with the Rangers (his ERA is right around the Rangers 4.65 average), but David Murphy? That guy would look great batting 7th for the Sox right now.