Today's rant

So it's a few days old, but thanks to my gimpy shoulder I'm behind on my websurfing, and just found this atrocious puff piece by Tim Kurkjian today. I can't call it the single worst piece of writing I have read in my entire life, because to call it "writing" would be far too kind. I don't even know where to begin with this:

Jeter has a nice face, a rugged face, a handsome face, equal parts black and white, the son of a black father and white mother who had simple rules for him in high school, including being home by 10 p.m. every night and eating his lunch every day. He was taught well, and he has never forgotten his lessons. That's why he is such a good player and team captain. That's why he is the face of baseball.

Seriously now, how does this happen? To borrow from Ray Romano, I could've eaten a box of Alpha-Bits and crapped a better article. I know it must be tough to have to make deadlines with a weekly column, but come on. Is there really nothing left to write about? Seriously, I think this "article" has set the new standard for the ultimate in crapass baseball writing. (Come on Murray, you're not going to let this little ESPN dweeb beat you at your own game, are you?!?)

Juan Rincon

Sure does not look like a steroid user. He's not much bigger than Arroyo. Okay so that is an exaggeration. But he just got a huge strike out of Sierra with bases loaded and 2 out.

Vicodin-blogging

Sorry I'm late...just popped a V so am ready to go.

10:35: not a good start. Figgins with a leadoff HR, GA almost with one himself. Is it Arroyo, or Shoppach? Not sure I like Vazquez and Shoppach in the same game...
10:37: ok, inning over. Did you see that hot of Vlad? He looks like I feel. And he looks drunk.
i think buck and mccarver went on about "human nature" in the 1st inning. I may have imagined it. Oh my god now they're talking about Gallagher. And someone did a good impression of Dr. Phil. And now buck is yelling at Scooter. Are they this surreal for you guys not on Vicatin?
10:45: Ortiz shift gets em. Ouch.
Am in significantly more pain than yesterday, so can only type with my left hand...very slow. But this from my friend Ed:

I was originally reluctant to email you after surgery, but then I rationalized that you are quite adept at using the internet with one hand.

Ha ha.
10:49: Another classy welcome for o-cab.
10:55: Is budweiser select any good?
10:55: ever notice mccarver speaks about Manny's clothing more than his hitting?
11:02: Milllahhhh!
11:03: What just happened?!? McCarver's telling me it was an "old Harry Walker play". Ah yes, that. in which the 3rd baseman should've run home and the catcher over to 1st to back up the play. And Adam Kennedy apparently made a great play? Man, these Vikes rock.
11:17: Nice half inning. Though leaving the bases loaded sucks. I'm still so confused about the Harry Walker Play.
11:30: X--you can't watch?
Manny!!!! Nixon!!!!!! Wow, Colon's looking worse than Arroyo.
11:49: Damon is insane. Amazing catch, followed by an infield hit.
12:09: This is a slooooowwww game. Pitchers taking their time.
12:13: Fox Interview with Bud Black is interrupted by a bomb onto Landsdowne Street by Millar. Ten minutes after McCarver asks Tito why Olerud wasn't playing. Very well timed. 5-1 Sox.
12:27: Passed ball, 5-2. McCarver's waaayyy too excited about McPherson's baserunning.
12:32: Harry Walker was born on October 22, 1916, in Pascagoula, MS. He broke into the bigs on Sept 25, 1940 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Also known as "Harry the Hat", he batted leftie but threw rightie, and played 1st base, 3rd base, and outfield. He was traded to the Phillies in 1947, and also played for the Reds and the Cubs before returning to the Cards to finish up his career. His best season was 1947, in which he batted .371, with a .443 obp and .500 slg (though he only hit 1 HR that year). He also had a decent managerial career, going 630-604 (.511) with the Cards, Pirates, and Astros. He retired from baseball in 1972, and passed awayon Aug 8, 1999, in Birmingham, AL. That explains the Adam Kennedy play back in the second.
12:49: Game's getting confusing again. McCarver and Buck won't shut up about a Kennedy steal that they thought shouldn't have happened, and on the same play Scoscia got ejected though they didn't realize it, and now a "hit" by Erstad makes it a 2-run game. My head still hurts from all my Harry Walker research.
12:54: Embree continues to look terrible. Two on, 1 out, go-ahead run at the plate. Yikes.
1:00: Go-ahead run back at the plate, after rounding all the bases. Awesome. Angels up 6-5.
1:17: Brendan Donnelly had an extra baseball in his back pocket. And I thought the Vike was wearing off...Sox go down 1-2-3 in the 7th.
1:26: Angels score another. Myers comes in (1 inning too late); during the commercial break they show a truly terrifying ad for the All-Star game involving pinball. "And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like giant bats..."
1:35: Myers gets out of the inning with no further damage. McCarver mentions that Nixon's failure to score--
1:36: MILLAR!!!!
1:38: Ahem. 7-6 now. Yeah, as I was saying, McCarver was talking about how it'd be nice if Nixon had scored. I guess he had a point.
1:45: Top of the 9th, Mantei pitching. Inexplicably Vazquez got an at-bat (Renteria on the bench) in the 8th, though Varitek pinch hit for Shoppach (drew a walk). McPherson hits it hard, almost makes it 8-6, but Nixon catches it on the warning track.
2:03: Halama comes in after Mantei gives up a run and loads the bases, still one out. Gets one...
2:03: McCarver on the shadows creeping in: "Hello darkness, hello friend." Huh?
2:05: Another single by Erstad scores two, a "bloop triple" by Finley scores two more, and it's 12-6. Call me crazy, but the bullpen doesn't look too good. No wait, 13-6.

3:30 (epilogue): game lasted over 4 hours, meaning in the 9th it was time for another ride on the V-train...but I fell asleep first. What to say about that game? Painful. Some upsides (Damon, Millar, Arroyo, Harry Walker) but not exactly a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Back to bed.

The good, the bad and the ugly

The good - the yankees are now tied with the Tigers in the 7th place in the hunt for the Wild Card.

The bad - I am thorougly disappointed to not get a vicodin induced entry from Earl and tonight's game would have been a great candidate.

The ugly - it was not that Jesse was too wasted to type. He was actually posting over at 12 eight. And it sounds like he was pretty messed up.

Convalescence

So that game was awesome. And I deserve at least some of the credit. Not only did I not watch it, I timed things perfectly so that the general anesthesia kicked in just as Ortiz stepped to the plate in the 9th. Tonight I'll be sure to take like 17 Vicodin just before gametime. (I think tonight's starter would approve.)

So the Sox went 4-3 against Yanks and Orioles. Now don't attack me for being a naysayer, but how good should we really be feeling about this? (1) It was at home, (2) afterwards the Yanks went to KC to get swept by the worst team in baseball, and (3) the Orioles are pretty ravaged by injuries. I say the Sox are still underperforming.

Speaking of underperforming, how did Foulke look? I mean, it's always sad when your ace closer gives up a run in 1.1 innings and his ERA doesn't change, but it sounds like a dp ball should've gotten him out of the inning. Is he looking any more solid?

A Few Random Thoughts

Pavano (who lost last night's start for the Yankees) was the starter in the 17-1 Sox victory the other day. He was also the starter for the Marlins when the Sox demolished them. The Yankees have dropped 5 straight.

Francona was mad about the suspension differences handed out. Was he reading this blog? He said it was crazy that he received 3 games and couldn't be at the ballpark while Torre got one but just couldn't be in the clubhouse.

Ortiz is a monster. Hopefully he remembers how to play at first with inter-league approaching. I wonder why Francona never plays him there otherwise...you know, just to get ready.

By the way, on EEI people were calling up and complaing about yesterday's game. They said Renteria made a bad call by bunting in that situation. They said the lineup was ridiculous. This town is nuts.

The Sox went 9-10 against the O's last year. Looks like more of the same this year.

The Yankees beat up on the "little guys" last year. They are 15-9 against teams with a sub-500 record this year. 12-17 against teams 500 or better.

Shoppach doesn't appear to be major league ready as far as hitting goes. He looks very comfortable behind the plate, but uncomfortable next to it.

Hopefully the Cubs will cool off by the time we face them next weekend. 7 in a row for them now. By the way, the Sox and Cubs in Wrigley is about the coolest matchup I can think of...

Urg.

So three days ago I was sure the Sox had turned a corner, by taking 2 out of 3 from the Yankees. Turns out even the Royals can take 2 out of 3 from the Yankees. So it's not so much that that the Sox are playing well again, it's more that the Yankees are stinking it up again. Four games above .500 -- awesome.

Thoughts on Shoppach coming in with the Sox down by 7? Obviously the callers on WEEI are going to have a field day, but that's hindsight. As much as I wish it had been Varitek coming in with the bases loaded, I don't know.

Buddy Bell

According to Royals president Dan Glass, they hired him because he had "that fire in his eye that you want to see". Okay, makes sense. As good a reason as any to pick him over, say, Art Howe.

But then at the press conference Bell announced, “I don't know the rotation yet. I don't know the roles in the bullpen yet. I don't know the lineup yet. I'm looking forward to getting with the coaches to give me some direction.”

Wow. This coming from the bench coach of the Cleveland Indians, the Royals' division rivals. I hope he was just saying that to sound humble, and to make the other coaches feel comfortable. If not, KC's 2005 woes have just begun...

Suspension Question

Wow...a lot of posting by me this morning. Slow day at work...

Anyway, Quantrill got 3 games for retaliating and Torre got 1. Suspension that is...

I know that Francona got 1 game for the Arroyo retaliation, but Arroyo got 6.

What is the difference? Does the MLB take in to account that Quantrill is a reliever and so, in effect, is really missing 3 games whereas Arroyo is a starter and is only really missing one start?

Should it matter? Money-wise it does, right? But I know that both pitchers were also fined...So it looks like Arroyo's suspension was a bit more harsh.

Any idea why?

On To The Next Bashing

Yikes...People (ok sports writers and talk show hosts) are all over Francona for his moves last night. AND THEY WON...

Francona wanted to get Manny a game off. I think that's a good idea. Then Damon got hurt and Francona stuck with his choice of resting Manny. He moved Millar to left and put Olerud at first. Payton (starting for Manny) moved to center.

And they won...

Less than two weeks after calling for the head of Renteria (who is now the Sox poster boy to all of them), they are back on the Bash-Millar bandwagon. I, for one, happen to think that Millar (while not playing well right now) having shown public support for Renteria helped to jump start Edgar. Is there empirical proof of that? Not really...But one day after Millar's "Stop Booing" speech Edgar started his tear which, by the way, won him AL Player of the Week.

I think what we're seeing with a lot of the Boston hitters is that other teams have made adjustments. People are throwing nothing but breaking balls to Millar and he and Ron Jackson haven't made the necessary adjustments, yet. Last year Millar struggled until he opened his stance. He then turned like a madman on the inside fastballs that were jamming him. Maybe they'll figure it out, maybe they won't. We'll see. But I am not bashing this guy. No way.

And I understand that Olerud has come in and hit well.

But I think that writers need a story. I think that, to a point, they all said that Boston had improved on its championship team in the off-season and they feel like they are underperforming.

Ok, well how about this...Boston is only 3 games out of first place. They've had their ace on the DL for almost the entire year. Wells missed a few starts from injury, and Arroyo's suspension has thrown him out-of-sync. Manny's is hitting sub-250, and our bullpen has not been lights out. These things will correct themselves. But, we are ahead of the Yankees, and we are well within striking distance of an O's team that has dropped 4 of its last 5 games.

Sit back and enjoy the ride...Get off Millar's back...