Wednesday, June 27, 2007

This pretty much sums up everything we already knew

Shea Hillenbrand has asked for his release.

The Angels lead the West by five games and appear to have hit their stride. Barring some major changes to both them and either the M's or the A's, they should make the playoffs pretty easily.

Shea Hillenbrand has never played in a playoff game.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Rod Beck and Other Thoughts

First off, my sympathies to Rod Beck's family. I remember, not too long ago, seeing a piece on him pitching in AAA and having a blast. He lived in a Winnebago behind the stadium and would have fans join him for BBQs after the game. I can't believe he was only 38...

On to lighter things...
The Yankees are 11 1/2 back again, and they had to use Clemens out of the pen. They will probably make another nice run before the season is over...However, we're closing in on 80 games, and they are under .500...

The Padres/Sox series was excellent (with the exception of Game 2). Great pitching, great drama. That Padres bullpen is ridiculous.

It is obvious that, even though they are winning many of the interleague games, that the Sox are built for the AL, and need the DH to get runs...

Ortiz, as much as I love him, is starting to annoy me with arguing almost every called strike.

Lugo is struggling. I like him, though. I hope they continue to put him in there. I think he'll get hot at some point. It looks like he is very afraid of striking out, and therefore is only hitting weak grounders. He's not trying to drive anything.

Hot Coco? He's up to .253...

Apparently the Red Sox are the front runner for Buerhle. The White Sox are reportedly interested in Jed Lowrie (minor league SS), and pitching prospects...Buerhle is an innings eater. Get him. I don't know where you slot him...Maybe Wake to the pen? I don't know...But with Donnelly out (what is wrong with him?), and Timlin not good, you need more starters that can go deep into games.

Although...the Sox's bullpen ERA is 2.90! Of course, that is mostly Okajima and Papelbon...but still. If I asked, I would have said upper 3's.

Gabbard will start on Tuesday. Not Lester. They must be thinking that they'll bring Lester up when he is ready to stay here for good.

I still say if the Sox keep their lead at 10+ games...leave Schilling out to rest for a little while. At least until after the break...

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Take Some Responsibility

Now edgar Renteria is chirping about how much he loves to play against Boston to"prover everyone wrong."

Interesting since he admitted after he was dealt that he was never comfortable in Boston. So why say crap like "Its good to show everyone they were wrong." the fact that you are doing well now just shows that people (like Tony LaRussa) were right - some people just can't handle Boston. He was quoted in the Globe on December 12, 2005 that he was not comfortable the whole year in Boston.

He did not perform when in Boston. And people booed. No one was wrong. Take some responsibility for your own suckiness Edgar!!

This one is interesting - "There are guys who have a lot of bad years there, and they don't say anything," he said. "If they like you, they like you. If they don't, they don't." Who is he referring to? Nixon? That's the only one I can think of. A lot of bad years in Boston - hell we run people out of town after one bad year. Maybe even a bad six month.

Try not making 30 freaking errors and then blaming it on the IF at Fenway. It did not seem to cause a problem for Gonzalez the next year. And nice to piss all over the organization that paid you top freakin dollar. Maybe you should be embarrassed for having sucked so bad. As much as he is a horses ass, at least Schilling admits when he sucks and didn't earn his paycheck. Plus he is a personal jinx machine - last out in the WS, Sox streak of one consecutive WS is broken when he gets to Boston, ATL steak of 14 consecutive post seasons breaks when he gets there.

Its all your fault Edgar.
This now concludes my own Grieve-like rant.

In other news Schill to the DL. Who gets his spot? Hansack? Lester?

Could It Be Possible?

Is it possible that the Sox could move to a 6-man rotation? I don't think it has been discussed, but if a team could do it, this would be the one.

Consider that Schilling looked tired in his last two outings. Maybe cutting back on his amount of starts by giving him an extra day in between would keep him fresh for the rest of the year?

Daisuke pitched on 5-days rest in Japan.

Wakefield could pitch in that rotation.

With off days you get Tavarez not always on 4-days rest, anyway.

Throw in Lester who you don't want to overwork anyway, and I think you could do it.

Notice I left out Beckett. I haven't tried to figure this out, yet...But is it possible to throw him on his regular rest and still have the other guys pitch on longer rest? I am sure that it is...

This gets Lester back to the bigs...Puts Daisuke back on his regular pattern...allows Schilling to not throw as much...Tavarez and Wakefield are flexible. Plus, one or both of those guys could be used in a bullpen appearance in a pinch.

I say it is something the Sox should consider. It is better to be rested for the post-season than to wear yourself out on the way there.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Revisiting a couple of deals...

Dan Duquette (I believe it was him) was once quoted as saying it is best to wait until the second year of a deal to see how it actually played. What got me thinking about this one was the Arroyo-Pena deal, but then I started thinking of some others.

While it drew some heat all last summer, this deal has been pretty bad from both sides. Obviously Pena has not broken through (how can he when he bats 8 times per week and strikes out 4 of them), but Arroyo is looking particularly soft. Maybe it the toll all the innings took on him last year, maybe it is the NL hitters adjusting, who knows, but he looks awful. 6+ runs in 6 of his last 7 starts. But I would say Cincy ends up the big loser in this one. Not only did the Reds assume the "under market" three year $12MM contract for 2006-2008, but the extended him last winter for two more years/ $25MM. If he does not run it around, they will be paying a lot of $$ for someone that we pretty much knew was a 5th starter. At least Boston on pays WMP on one year deals and will probably end up getting a mid level prospect for him at some point.

Pedro - Sox look pretty smart on that one.

Johnny Damon - hard to believe that just 14 months into his Yankee tenure, he really can not play any position anymore. And his batting line is in the second year of decline. And despite a HR last night, that slugging % of .362 ranks him 77th of 94 regulars in the AL. So much for the short porch helping Damon in NY. Not if he can't stay healthy.... there is one thing to say about Damon, as much as he is an ass when giving quotes about the Yankees, I do think the players appreciate that he is out there talking to the media and taking pressure off others to do so.

Lowe - despite a mediocre record, he has pitched well this year. The Dodgers just can't hit. But he was a head case in Boston, so who knows what he would have done.

Lowell and Beckett for Sanchez and Ramirez - well, SS has been a rough patch since 2005 (that could be its own post...), that trade is looking pretty good for the Sox. Sure ramirez won the ROY and is playing pretty damn good this year, but Beckett is great this year and Lowell has been solid. Plus Sanchez is apparently heading to surgery.

Crisp - who knows. I guess one positive we can say is that he has turned out better than some of the other names bandied about as a replacement (like Jeremy Reed or Jacque Jones.). I imagine we might be seeing Elsbury after the ASB if Coco does not start hitting more consistently.

And SS, I wouldn't even know where to start.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Pedroia/Drew vs. Giants (Game 1)

Daisy and I went to the game last night. The standing ovation for Dave Roberts was pretty sweet, as was the first AB for Bonds (the entire drama played out well, especially with a long strike). Unfortunately, we were a tad late so we watched Bonds on a tv inside the park. The boo birds were out in force as were the asterisk signs and t-shirts. We were impressed by the noticable presence of Giants fans.

The crowd at times was irritable (e.g. few cheers at the beginning and it sounded like they booed Drew - maybe this was a boo that he was leading off - but I doubt it). Pedroia's two-run homer was a huge help, as was Taverez's solid outing. He tipped his cap as he left the field after the 7th to a standing ovation.

As everyone saw Dustin and J.D. basically won the game for us (the rest of the team batted 1 for 24 with 2 RBI). Ortiz's ejection was ridiculous especially considering Durham's bitch-fest at the top of the next inning where his bat and helmet bounced off the plate.

During the third inning, a peanut vendor displayed some impressive arm-slinging. He started at the bottom of our section and threw bags of peanuts 20-25 rows deep on a dime. He then proceeded to climb on the backs of chairs and arm rests to make his way to the top of the section. On the way, he jawed with a couple meatheads (although who the biggest meathead was remains unclear), even roaring and yelling, "I am tough guy" at the top of his lungs.

Later in the game, Daisy spotted a duo wearing Baseball Jerseys numbers 1 and 2. Number 1 was "who" and 2 was "what". We thought it was pretty classic. Before we could ask them where they got them, they had dissappeared.

Notes: Zito's change up is pretty sick. Wily looked absolutely silly out there. Manny's hustle play to first was shocking. The woman's camera in front of us (15x) was crazy. The rendition of "God Bless America" even got Daisy to hum a bar (no it didn't, but it was pretty impressive).

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Okay, so...

Obviously 8.5 GB is still an awful lot. But since May 29 (just over two weeks ago), the Sox have gone 5-8, and the Yanks have gained a whopping 6 games in the standings. Two more weeks like this and the AL East is competitive again. At what point do we start getting worried?

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Monday, June 11, 2007

The web in action

Right now, 6:05pm on June 11, 2007, there is no Wikipedia entry for LMonstro. Googling LMonstro only gives 12 links, mostly to other blogs talking about the new surreal NESN video with Manny and Tina Cervasio.

Keep checking the links. I imagine there'll be a Wikipedia entry by tomorrow. And 200 Google hits by next week. And only a couple Sports Centers until someone uses "Lmonstro!" as their new homerun call.

Saturday, June 09, 2007

10 GB

You never know, but the Yanks taking 8 of their last 10 games sure makes you wonder whether they've finally turned the corner. In those ten games they've outscored opponents 72-46, so for the first time all season they're hitting and pitching. In the same game!

Two immediate thoughts:
1) thank god for that 10-game cushion. Double-digit leads are generally good things.
2) Annoyingly, if they did indeed turn it around 2 weeks ago, Roger Clemens will get all the credit.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Notes from Around the Blogsphere

Slow news day? More like I am trying not to get too focused on the little skid we're on. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for our fellow bloggers. Here is a quick look around the blogsphere:

Fire Brand leads with "Don't get swept" - Crap that doesn't help me
Peter a.k.a Darkman's Big Papi leads with "Four straight losses and six for seven" - Gulp!
Mnookin has no new posts but has all the links to Stray-Rods tryst - ah... that's better
Joy of sox leads with Super Manny - it is a funny picture of Manny sliding into second. There second post is titled, "What me worry? (No, but it's time to bat Lugo #8)... What so he can hit into even more double plays?
Surviving Grady Leads with... well I just really don't know what...

Anyway... that was fun! Congrats to Grieve. I believe he done graduated and stuff today! Now he's all edujmacated.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Moving on...

I just wanted to post something so I don't have to reread the same NY series post. That left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I remind myself to check the current standings. Ah, safe for now with our 12.5 lead. Not to mention, the fact that the Devil Rays and Yankees are still tied!!!

There is no doubt in my mind that the Yankees will improve, but like the Red Sox I'd like to focus on what is ahead of us. Last night's game was a tough loss. However, I have to give our boys credit. They scored on the best pitcher in the league and they played through the end of the game, tying things in the ninth. Chavez has sucked all year and Synder got unlucky or threw a crappy pitch. Still after an exhausting series in Boston and an exhausting flight to Oakland, to be able to tie it in the ninth and force extra-innings is a good sign that our boys are playing their hearts out.

Again, it was dissapointing (especially for X who was there), but I am staying positive. Especially, when the Yankees still can't get a starter at the bottom of their rotation to pitch past the 3rd inning.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Here we go again

So as I mentioned earlier, I was hoping Mienkviewiowjoewj wold actually start to play well. and he had, a bit. But then today in a freak play., Lowell broke his wrist. Among other injuries. And he appears to be out for a while. While I got a huge chuckle out of mcCarver saying Doug was loved in Boston for being part of the 2004 team and recording the last out (I guess it is a little true, only Damon and Foulke could be lower on the list of 04 love), I couldn't help but think that this is not necessarily a good thing. With Giambi and Mienky apparently also out for a while, I'm sure NY will do something. Helton and Teixera are the names that come to mind, but who knows.

In the plus side, with pedro still on the Dl and Damon now so dinged up that he can't play CF and is now DH'ing (with no power), Theo is looking pretty good.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

One of the best sentences ever written

From the AP:

"Pitcher-for-hire Roger Clemens was scratched from Monday's start against Chicago because of groin fatigue."

Here we go again

As we have talked about before, this is one of those situations - Sox lose a tough one to open the series and now it is gut check time. A win today avoids the sweep and guarantees that NY leaves town at least 12.5 games back. And Beckett goes tomorrow. Actually this is just like a week ago when all the Sox really needed was to avoid the sweep. I actually fee l pretty good about today - Mussina is notoriously soft. And Schilling will bask in the spotlight.

Here is a thought - with Giambi hurt and out for a while now, it would seem the perfect time for him to get "suspended" for his comments, steroid, etc. Of course he is already on the DL, so that probably won't work in terms of masking it (think Jordan's one year suspension/retirement from basketball for gambling). For real suspensions (over fights), the player has to be activated from the DL and the team loses its roster spot (i.e., plays with 24). But with steroids, the team can replace the player - doesn't seem fair, but that is the rule. So a hurt Giambi could be "suspended." But everyone would see through the shame. Then again Selig likes to make statements.

A nice 17-1 win today would be great.