Sunday, April 26, 2009
alternate history
yahoo ponders what would've been had the a-rod trade to the sox been culminated in winter 03-04. oddly, he thinks it would've been a success. well, if this whole column isn't entirely ironic, that is.
sox slam the door
in a marathon series sweep, many highlights:
bay's home run off rivera in the 9th on friday to tie
youk's home run to win on fri
varitek's grand slam and lowell making them pay for the intentional walk twice yesterday
the bullpen keeping the game within striking distance when beckett failed
today: two rookies come out of the bullpen to hold the game
perhaps most exciting: ellsbury steals home plate!
i love this team. in other news, thus far on the young season, the yankees have given up more runs than they've scored. if you compare the bullpens, the sox have a distinct advantage.
bay's home run off rivera in the 9th on friday to tie
youk's home run to win on fri
varitek's grand slam and lowell making them pay for the intentional walk twice yesterday
the bullpen keeping the game within striking distance when beckett failed
today: two rookies come out of the bullpen to hold the game
perhaps most exciting: ellsbury steals home plate!
i love this team. in other news, thus far on the young season, the yankees have given up more runs than they've scored. if you compare the bullpens, the sox have a distinct advantage.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Now pitching: Jeff Tweedy?
Jeff Tweedy of Wilco threw out the first pitch for the Milwaukee Brewers the other day. Later that night, the Brewers lost. As Tweedy sings in "War on War":
"You have to lose
You have to learn how to die
If you want to want to be alive"
fitting for the Brewers.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
bandbox in the bronx?
maybe that ortiz jersey buried in the concrete at the new yankee stadium did work. it looks like the place plays very differently from the old stadium. espn.com's buster olney writes about how it may be hell on pitchers.
happy patriots' day
12-1 red sox win over the orioles. tek homers. hunter jones makes his mlb debut, throwing a hitless 9th. ortiz goes 2 for 4, including a triple.
Monday, April 13, 2009
please?
will you please hit the ball?
our opponents have scored 37 runs, which is 2nd in the AL east. we have scored 24 runs, which is dead last in the AL east. no surprise: we're also dead last in the AL east.
too early for panic?
our opponents have scored 37 runs, which is 2nd in the AL east. we have scored 24 runs, which is dead last in the AL east. no surprise: we're also dead last in the AL east.
too early for panic?
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Angels Rookie Dies In Car Accident
Angels #3 starter Nick Adenhart died after his car was hit by a minivan.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Phillies Fans Boo During Ring Ceremony
I mean, I know it's Adam Eaton who stunk and got left off the playoff roster then released, but your team won the World Series and you're booing? What?!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
my al east picks
this is what i think will happen, not what i'd like to happen:
first place - yankees
second place/wild card - red sox
third place - rays
fourth place - orioles
fifth place - blue jays
sox vs. yankees alcs w/ yankees winning.
yankees win world series.
first place - yankees
second place/wild card - red sox
third place - rays
fourth place - orioles
fifth place - blue jays
sox vs. yankees alcs w/ yankees winning.
yankees win world series.
jason stark picks sox over yanks
from espn.com could there be another alcs head-to-head in store for these two teams?:
Didn't you know it would come down to this? First, we'd like to invite Aaron Boone, Pedro, Don Zimmer, Grady Little, Bucky Dent and Mike Torrez to sit together in our VIP box for the entire series. Now let's try to sort this out.
The Red Sox are far from perfect. We acknowledge that. They're a middle-of-the-order bat short, and they told us that when they threw all those bucks at Mark Teixeira. So they've never needed David Ortiz more than they do this year.
"Big Papi is a big question mark," one scout said. "He's got to have a bigger presence and bigger production to give the rest of that lineup the confidence it can score runs. Mike Lowell has to have a better year. Jason Bay has to hit. J.D. [Drew] has to stay healthy. There are a lot of question marks there."
But now let's go back to those three pivotal questions: Who has more depth (especially pitching depth)? Who has the better bullpen? Which group feels more like a team?
We hate to break it to the Steinbrenner family, but the Yankees aren't the answer to any of those questions.
"That [Yankees] rotation is so good that it's hard to imagine a situation where their starting pitching isn't dominant," one panelist said. "But you can easily envision a situation where their options in the seventh and eighth inning aren't dominant."
"The closer is still great, but beyond that, that bullpen is very unproven," another panelist said. "[Brian] Bruney looked like a shaky guy this spring. [Damaso] Marte -- I'm not sure how much trust to put in a guy like that in a town like New York. And I'm not sure where they turn if those guys can't do it. Compare that to the Red Sox, with all the depth in their bullpen, and it's not even close."
And even in the rotation, said another panelist, the Red Sox have one subtle, but significant, advantage -- their sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth starters.
"I'd take Boston, just because of [John] Smoltz and [Brad] Penny and [Clay] Buchholz as much as anything else," he said. "And because of their pitching depth, they have the ability to go out in the second half and get whatever they need."
The Red Sox pieces also seem to fit together better than the Yankees' pieces. A-Rod's injury has already elevated to Cody Ransom to a role he was never supposed to have to assume. Now what happens if Jorge Posada can't catch regularly? If Posada has to DH, what happens to Hideki Matsui? Will Nick Swisher accept life as a bench player? Where do they turn if Derek Jeter gets hurt? Or Robinson Cano?
This is also a team with second-tier defense at way too many positions on the field. And that's if everybody stays healthy. So the Yankees' worst-case scenarios can get awfully messy.
"To me," said one scout, "the Yankees feel more like a bunch of stars who happen to be playing together than a real baseball team."
"With the Yankees, you always wonder about their chemistry," another panelist said. "If you think that's been one of their problems in the past -- and I do -- you can see where it might not be a good situation this year. And wait 'til A-Rod shows up. At some point, that black cloud is coming back. And how will they handle that?"
When you have pitching, of course, it's amazing what you can handle. But if we stack up one team's negatives alongside the other team's negatives, the Yankees clearly have the bigger pile.
So that leaves the Red Sox. They're the one team we haven't voted off this island. And that means they're our pick. By process of elimination. Literally.
Now feel free to head straight to Vegas and tell them we told you the Boston Red Sox are going to win the 2009 World Series.
Then they'll look over our record of predictions over the years, laugh uproariously for the next 15 minutes and gladly take all your money. But hey, better yours than ours.
Didn't you know it would come down to this? First, we'd like to invite Aaron Boone, Pedro, Don Zimmer, Grady Little, Bucky Dent and Mike Torrez to sit together in our VIP box for the entire series. Now let's try to sort this out.
The Red Sox are far from perfect. We acknowledge that. They're a middle-of-the-order bat short, and they told us that when they threw all those bucks at Mark Teixeira. So they've never needed David Ortiz more than they do this year.
"Big Papi is a big question mark," one scout said. "He's got to have a bigger presence and bigger production to give the rest of that lineup the confidence it can score runs. Mike Lowell has to have a better year. Jason Bay has to hit. J.D. [Drew] has to stay healthy. There are a lot of question marks there."
But now let's go back to those three pivotal questions: Who has more depth (especially pitching depth)? Who has the better bullpen? Which group feels more like a team?
We hate to break it to the Steinbrenner family, but the Yankees aren't the answer to any of those questions.
"That [Yankees] rotation is so good that it's hard to imagine a situation where their starting pitching isn't dominant," one panelist said. "But you can easily envision a situation where their options in the seventh and eighth inning aren't dominant."
"The closer is still great, but beyond that, that bullpen is very unproven," another panelist said. "[Brian] Bruney looked like a shaky guy this spring. [Damaso] Marte -- I'm not sure how much trust to put in a guy like that in a town like New York. And I'm not sure where they turn if those guys can't do it. Compare that to the Red Sox, with all the depth in their bullpen, and it's not even close."
And even in the rotation, said another panelist, the Red Sox have one subtle, but significant, advantage -- their sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth starters.
"I'd take Boston, just because of [John] Smoltz and [Brad] Penny and [Clay] Buchholz as much as anything else," he said. "And because of their pitching depth, they have the ability to go out in the second half and get whatever they need."
The Red Sox pieces also seem to fit together better than the Yankees' pieces. A-Rod's injury has already elevated to Cody Ransom to a role he was never supposed to have to assume. Now what happens if Jorge Posada can't catch regularly? If Posada has to DH, what happens to Hideki Matsui? Will Nick Swisher accept life as a bench player? Where do they turn if Derek Jeter gets hurt? Or Robinson Cano?
This is also a team with second-tier defense at way too many positions on the field. And that's if everybody stays healthy. So the Yankees' worst-case scenarios can get awfully messy.
"To me," said one scout, "the Yankees feel more like a bunch of stars who happen to be playing together than a real baseball team."
"With the Yankees, you always wonder about their chemistry," another panelist said. "If you think that's been one of their problems in the past -- and I do -- you can see where it might not be a good situation this year. And wait 'til A-Rod shows up. At some point, that black cloud is coming back. And how will they handle that?"
When you have pitching, of course, it's amazing what you can handle. But if we stack up one team's negatives alongside the other team's negatives, the Yankees clearly have the bigger pile.
So that leaves the Red Sox. They're the one team we haven't voted off this island. And that means they're our pick. By process of elimination. Literally.
Now feel free to head straight to Vegas and tell them we told you the Boston Red Sox are going to win the 2009 World Series.
Then they'll look over our record of predictions over the years, laugh uproariously for the next 15 minutes and gladly take all your money. But hey, better yours than ours.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
yankees now priciest seat in baseball
from espn.com:
The Team Marketing Report released its annual survey Thursday and said the average price of a Yankees home ticket was a major league-high $72.97, a 76.3 percent increase from last year's $41.40.
The Boston Red Sox, who had been first for 13 consecutive years, were next at $50.24 following a 0.3 percent rise. The Cubs were third at $47.75 after a 10 percent hike, followed by the New York Mets, who rose 8.6 percent to $36.99 for their first season at Citi Field.
The Team Marketing Report released its annual survey Thursday and said the average price of a Yankees home ticket was a major league-high $72.97, a 76.3 percent increase from last year's $41.40.
The Boston Red Sox, who had been first for 13 consecutive years, were next at $50.24 following a 0.3 percent rise. The Cubs were third at $47.75 after a 10 percent hike, followed by the New York Mets, who rose 8.6 percent to $36.99 for their first season at Citi Field.
gammons on the sox' young players
Young players who impressed the most this spring
Friday, April 3, 2009
This year's spring training wore on for close to two months, with lineups that were second cousins of the '95 replacement players. But it gave general managers, managers, coaches, scouts and some of us hangers-on a chance to see a lot more young players than most springs.
So that begged four questions that were asked of close to five dozen baseball people who saw all these young players:
Question 1: Which young players have made major impressions on you?
9. Daniel Bard, Red Sox right-handed pitcher. Two years ago, Bard went through a nightmare by issuing 78 walks in 76 innings pitched. This spring the refrain through the southwest portion of Florida was "the easiest 100 [mph] I've ever seen." His presence changed, he got up on top, his breaking ball tightened and that 97-102 comes out of his hand so easily that it looks as if he's playing catch with his mother. Just a matter of time before he'll be pitching in Boston.
15. Junichi Tazawa, Red Sox right-handed pitcher. This was the biggest surprise of the spring. Signed out of an industrial league in Japan, the 22-year-old shocked people with his stuff, command (he threw one ball per inning in his last two minor league starts). "He'd have been in the top six to 10 in this June's draft," says one scout, "and his feel might have moved him him into the top five."
Question 3: Which players coming off injuries convinced you they are back?
8. Brad Penny, RHP, Red Sox
Question 4: Who had the best arm you saw this spring?
This wasn't close. Boston's Daniel Bard got three times as many votes as anyone else. Actually, tied for second were a catcher (Carlos Santana) and an outfielder (Rick Ankiel), although the latter doesn't qualify as a kid.
1. Daniel Bard, RHP, Red Sox
Friday, April 3, 2009
This year's spring training wore on for close to two months, with lineups that were second cousins of the '95 replacement players. But it gave general managers, managers, coaches, scouts and some of us hangers-on a chance to see a lot more young players than most springs.
So that begged four questions that were asked of close to five dozen baseball people who saw all these young players:
Question 1: Which young players have made major impressions on you?
9. Daniel Bard, Red Sox right-handed pitcher. Two years ago, Bard went through a nightmare by issuing 78 walks in 76 innings pitched. This spring the refrain through the southwest portion of Florida was "the easiest 100 [mph] I've ever seen." His presence changed, he got up on top, his breaking ball tightened and that 97-102 comes out of his hand so easily that it looks as if he's playing catch with his mother. Just a matter of time before he'll be pitching in Boston.
15. Junichi Tazawa, Red Sox right-handed pitcher. This was the biggest surprise of the spring. Signed out of an industrial league in Japan, the 22-year-old shocked people with his stuff, command (he threw one ball per inning in his last two minor league starts). "He'd have been in the top six to 10 in this June's draft," says one scout, "and his feel might have moved him him into the top five."
Question 3: Which players coming off injuries convinced you they are back?
8. Brad Penny, RHP, Red Sox
Question 4: Who had the best arm you saw this spring?
This wasn't close. Boston's Daniel Bard got three times as many votes as anyone else. Actually, tied for second were a catcher (Carlos Santana) and an outfielder (Rick Ankiel), although the latter doesn't qualify as a kid.
1. Daniel Bard, RHP, Red Sox
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Sports Illustrated Season Picks
Six SI reporters pick the Sox to take the AL; two pick the Yankees and two pick the Rays.
Four pick the Sox to go all the way.
(Thanks, Alan.)
Four pick the Sox to go all the way.
(Thanks, Alan.)
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