"Manny being Manny...I'm back!"
(Manny Ramirez, postgame interview)
Best win of the season, easily.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
In other news...
I'm not going to talk about You-Know-Who. Because if I do, my head might explode. So rather than discuss He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, let's look at other cool stuff going on in the world of baseball and the Red Sox.
- The Red Sox picked up Jose Cruz, Jr., for a couple prospects. He's had a rough season so far, batting just .213, but has still managed a .783 OPS. Plus, his first hit as a Red Sox will be his 1000th, which is sort of cool.
- Today Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg are inducted into the HOF, as is Peter Gammons. Good overviews of those three (respectively) here, here, and here. Congrats to all.
- Speaking of the HOF, good NYT article on questionable statistics used in the older HOF plaques, and the more general question of a "baseball record book". This is my favorite part:
- My little experiment to get more visitors via web searches is already paying off. Of our last 100 visits, here the web searches that got people here:
Wow. That's sad. What's even sadder is that the two best ones ("shrinking testicles" and "jake and the fatman fox schedule") are from different posts.
- Jon Papelbon starts for the Sox today. Hopefully his debut will be the big story tomorrow. Go Jon! Go Sox.
- The Red Sox picked up Jose Cruz, Jr., for a couple prospects. He's had a rough season so far, batting just .213, but has still managed a .783 OPS. Plus, his first hit as a Red Sox will be his 1000th, which is sort of cool.
- Today Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg are inducted into the HOF, as is Peter Gammons. Good overviews of those three (respectively) here, here, and here. Congrats to all.
- Speaking of the HOF, good NYT article on questionable statistics used in the older HOF plaques, and the more general question of a "baseball record book". This is my favorite part:
- Alan Embree, sans goatee, left the mound of Yankee Stadium yesterday to a chorus of boos. I'd feel bad for him, if he weren't a Yankee. Apparently he signed with NY over the Padres because the Yanks gave him a no-trade contract. Seriously.A doozy regarding Ruth is developing right now. Trent McCotter, an 18-year-old from Winston-Salem, N.C., was looking through Ruth's 1926 official sheets when he noticed that some late-season games listed him with home runs but no runs batted in.
Apparently the scorer in St. Louis for the final six weeks did not know what an R.B.I. was, and for every player he put either runs scored or some other variant in the ledger.
- My little experiment to get more visitors via web searches is already paying off. Of our last 100 visits, here the web searches that got people here:
Wow. That's sad. What's even sadder is that the two best ones ("shrinking testicles" and "jake and the fatman fox schedule") are from different posts.
- Jon Papelbon starts for the Sox today. Hopefully his debut will be the big story tomorrow. Go Jon! Go Sox.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Papi, forgive them, for...
Man, that's twice in three games I've been upset after a win. The first was of course when Nixon got hurt, and Clement got slammed. Then comes yesterday's game, in which Red Sox "fans" boo Manny. As in Manny Ramirez, the reigning World Series MVP. Unless they were all actually saying "Boo-urns", I'm pretty pissed off. After the game they got called out by David Oritz: "I don't think it's fair, people booing Manny...The guy, he leaves his heart and soul on the field for the fans. He's done the job here...He has nothing against the fans. The fans should appreciate what Manny Ramirez has done here." Meanwhile, Francona backtracked on his earlier comments (which as I said, made no real sense), calling the incident a "speed bump". I'm hoping today we'll see a backlash, with the cheers drowning out the boos.
A couple trade rumors have popped up: give up Manny and two prospects and get (drum roll please) Aubrey Huff and Mike Cameron, or give up the same two prospects and get...Larry Bigbie (ba dum bum). Neither trade makes any sense to me. In one, the Sox give up a lot to get not too much, and in the other, the Sox give up a little to get almost nothing. I fail to see how a OF with a .688 OPS helps much, particularly since Kapler's being activated soon. But that's just me; ITWT.
[In other news, the Yanks have signed Alan Embree. Not sure how to feel about that.]
[Update, 1:12 pm: scratch that. I now know how I feel about that. I like it. I like it ah-loht.]
A couple trade rumors have popped up: give up Manny and two prospects and get (drum roll please) Aubrey Huff and Mike Cameron, or give up the same two prospects and get...Larry Bigbie (ba dum bum). Neither trade makes any sense to me. In one, the Sox give up a lot to get not too much, and in the other, the Sox give up a little to get almost nothing. I fail to see how a OF with a .688 OPS helps much, particularly since Kapler's being activated soon. But that's just me; ITWT.
[In other news, the Yanks have signed Alan Embree. Not sure how to feel about that.]
[Update, 1:12 pm: scratch that. I now know how I feel about that. I like it. I like it ah-loht.]
Friday, July 29, 2005
Voice of the scary computer-generated persona
As part of ESPN's inevitable MTV-like shift away from what its original mission and towards lame unwatchable "entertainment", they have introduced "Voice of the Fan". It seems very useful. Now we can all discuss baseball without having to resort to "text", which is sooo last century. Nope, now it can all be done with terrible CG animation, with ttl or recorded voices.
In honor of this great new leap in technology, today's Game Preview will not be done by me but rather by Computer-Generated Me. I think he looks and sounds a lot like me; click here to decide for yourself.
In honor of this great new leap in technology, today's Game Preview will not be done by me but rather by Computer-Generated Me. I think he looks and sounds a lot like me; click here to decide for yourself.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Tempest in a Teaspoon
Gordon Edes: blah blah, Tom Verducci: blah blah...Manny apparently isn't loving Boston, what else is new. Then Manny sat out yesterday's game, against Francona's wishes. Red Sox Nation, who seems to need something to be utterly furious about (last month it was Bellhorn) is going ballistic. I think the whole thing is silly -- as has been said on this site more than once, Manny isn't the problem. I can only imagine what the callers to WEEI are saying -- anyone listening?
Anyway, I'd rather not dwell on the Pros and Cons of Manny; for some good reading, go to 12eight for Andrew's pro-Manny rant, followed by some amusing comments. Lots of good points also over at Joy of Sox. What a number of anti-Manny people are arguing is that Manny was "wrong to say no to the manager". Maybe he was; but there's something that really bugs me about the whole thing: why the hell did Francona want him to play so badly today? Via JoS, Tito's comments on WEEI:
So why was Francona so big on Manny playing this one game? My guess is: he wasn't. I'm not sure what his reason was for going to the media with this non-story, but I'm sure he had one. (That, or he's really stupid and/or petulant.)
Anyway, I'd rather not dwell on the Pros and Cons of Manny; for some good reading, go to 12eight for Andrew's pro-Manny rant, followed by some amusing comments. Lots of good points also over at Joy of Sox. What a number of anti-Manny people are arguing is that Manny was "wrong to say no to the manager". Maybe he was; but there's something that really bugs me about the whole thing: why the hell did Francona want him to play so badly today? Via JoS, Tito's comments on WEEI:
Manny was going to have a day off in Chicago the other day, we talked him out of it, at the time I said "to me Wednesday would be a better day." And then after last night's game we did go to him and say "Hey look, we're in a little bit of a bind now...Well, sure we are. But what no one seems to be talking about is: Nixon is out for 15 days minimum, possibly up to 6 weeks. Barring an acquisition of a new right fielder, the Sox are going to be in said bind for a long time. I really hope they're not expecting Manny to play every game until then -- his hamstrings won't last through September. So then why the big fuss about this one game? It was Tampa Bay. Their starter was Seth McClung, who went into the game 1-5 with a 7.07 ERA. And the following day (today) was an off day. That was the perfect day for Manny to get a day's rest.
So why was Francona so big on Manny playing this one game? My guess is: he wasn't. I'm not sure what his reason was for going to the media with this non-story, but I'm sure he had one. (That, or he's really stupid and/or petulant.)
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Welcome to our site!
[editor's note: a disturbingly large proportion of the "unique visitors" to this site -- 5 in the last 24 hours -- came here by searching for "hazel may nesn" in Yahoo! search; because of a minor typo in the comments section they all ended up at this post, which, I'm sure they were disappointed to find out, does not feature topless photos of Hazel Mae. Many people have also found this site by searching for "bronson aroyo", which is my fault (and a significantly more egregious error). In this post, then, I hope to significantly increase the number of visitors to this site. My apologies to those of you who cringe at mispellings. I mean misspellings.]
Man, last night's game (#100 on the season) had everything. To borrow from Buster Onley, it featured the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. I won't divide it up into those three categories since EPSN probably has a trademark on that; but he Worst was, of course, Mat Clement getting slammed in the head by a Carl Carwford line drive. He was down for a looonnggg time, but never lost consciousness, nor his awareness of his surroundings/situation, so it (miraculously) looks like Matt Clemens (ooh, that's painful to type) will be okay. Tort Nixon was also hurt, with a strained olbique, so may be out for a while -- a month, possibly more. Luckily Gape Kaplan will be arriving soon. On to the bulpen: Chad Bradfrod (the guys featured in Moneybal), promptly gave up a grand slam to Audrey Huff, and the game (which the Sox looked like they'd win easily) was suddenly tied at 5. Manny Del Carmen made his debut in a nice 1-2-3 inning. But Jeremy Gonzalez gave up a couple more runs, and the Sox were down by 2, going into the 9th, with closer Danny Baez on the mound. Many Ramirez (whom SI is reporting wants out of Boston) struck out, but Jason Variteck hit (another solo) HR, bringing it to within 1. Millar (how do you misspell that without naming someone else on the team?) got a single, as did Olrud. Bill Miller, true to form, then hit a double, but Dale Svuem, also true to form, sent Olerud (who's remarkably slow) home, for an easy out. [Seriously, how does Swaim still have a job? Fire him already!]. Curt Shilling came in, and very nearly gave up a game-ending HR, but Jhonny Damon made a nice catch to end the inning, and the Sox had their second consecutive (and second total) extra-inning game. Jonny Damon (who has a wife, Michelle...Michelle Damon...Or maybe it's Michele Damon...I'm not sure, but at this point I might as well also say "naked pictures") then led off the next inning with a HR. Edward Renteria singled, The Big Pappi David Ortiz flew out, and Mannny hit into what looked to be a double play. But both runners were safe, barely, thanks largely to the ump refusing to call the "phantom tag" at second and a bad throw by Cantu. I was really surprised not to see Lou Pinella come out and argue that Rentera was out, but he didn't. Good thing he was called safe, because he scored on a Vartiek double which gave the Sox an insurance run. They turned out to need it, as Schiling gave up a run in the bottom of the 10th. Sox win, 10-9.
It's hard to know what to make of that game. It was a sweet victory, certainly, and may have been the Turnaround we've been looking for. But with two key players hurt, it may instead have been a Pyrhic victory.
Also, Aaron Rowland and Brett Boone and Scott Posednik and Mark Texeira and Shawn Figgins. (Who am I missing?)
Man, last night's game (#100 on the season) had everything. To borrow from Buster Onley, it featured the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. I won't divide it up into those three categories since EPSN probably has a trademark on that; but he Worst was, of course, Mat Clement getting slammed in the head by a Carl Carwford line drive. He was down for a looonnggg time, but never lost consciousness, nor his awareness of his surroundings/situation, so it (miraculously) looks like Matt Clemens (ooh, that's painful to type) will be okay. Tort Nixon was also hurt, with a strained olbique, so may be out for a while -- a month, possibly more. Luckily Gape Kaplan will be arriving soon. On to the bulpen: Chad Bradfrod (the guys featured in Moneybal), promptly gave up a grand slam to Audrey Huff, and the game (which the Sox looked like they'd win easily) was suddenly tied at 5. Manny Del Carmen made his debut in a nice 1-2-3 inning. But Jeremy Gonzalez gave up a couple more runs, and the Sox were down by 2, going into the 9th, with closer Danny Baez on the mound. Many Ramirez (whom SI is reporting wants out of Boston) struck out, but Jason Variteck hit (another solo) HR, bringing it to within 1. Millar (how do you misspell that without naming someone else on the team?) got a single, as did Olrud. Bill Miller, true to form, then hit a double, but Dale Svuem, also true to form, sent Olerud (who's remarkably slow) home, for an easy out. [Seriously, how does Swaim still have a job? Fire him already!]. Curt Shilling came in, and very nearly gave up a game-ending HR, but Jhonny Damon made a nice catch to end the inning, and the Sox had their second consecutive (and second total) extra-inning game. Jonny Damon (who has a wife, Michelle...Michelle Damon...Or maybe it's Michele Damon...I'm not sure, but at this point I might as well also say "naked pictures") then led off the next inning with a HR. Edward Renteria singled, The Big Pappi David Ortiz flew out, and Mannny hit into what looked to be a double play. But both runners were safe, barely, thanks largely to the ump refusing to call the "phantom tag" at second and a bad throw by Cantu. I was really surprised not to see Lou Pinella come out and argue that Rentera was out, but he didn't. Good thing he was called safe, because he scored on a Vartiek double which gave the Sox an insurance run. They turned out to need it, as Schiling gave up a run in the bottom of the 10th. Sox win, 10-9.
It's hard to know what to make of that game. It was a sweet victory, certainly, and may have been the Turnaround we've been looking for. But with two key players hurt, it may instead have been a Pyrhic victory.
Also, Aaron Rowland and Brett Boone and Scott Posednik and Mark Texeira and Shawn Figgins. (Who am I missing?)
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
"Faithful", by Stewart O'Nan and Steven King
I'm only now getting around to reading it. As great as it is to go back and relive the 2004 season game-by-game, I have to say that so far I'm pretty disappointed. Unless people want to discuss it, I won't go into my reasons here -- I imagine I'm in a pretty small minority. However, one thing really jumped out at me. Page 264: "I'm in Boston (exploring possibilities for a musical play with John Mellencamp)..."
That may be the most frightening thing Steven King has ever written.
That may be the most frightening thing Steven King has ever written.
Monday, July 25, 2005
Five notes
1) Schilling say's he's all ready to start. Forgive me for not immediately believing him when he says he's ready. It's hard to tell from the stats, primarily due to small sample size: 7 IP, 3.86 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 8 K, 0 BB. Looks good, but it becomes a 5.4 ERA against teams not from Tampa Bay; he gave up some big hits; and his last save was very Foulkian (well, not quite, since he didn't give up a 2-R HR), and could've gone the other way. Not sure what to make of his performance so far.
2) Jason Giambi slugged .315 in May. In July, he's slugging 1.017, and is a big part of the Yanks' recent surge. The fawning articles have begun, everyone's talking about his amazing comeback, in which he tackled adversity head-on and worked hard to return to baseball. To this, I say: come on, people. Not six months ago we (fans and media) were kicking ourselves for blissfully ignoring something which was so painfully obvious. Have we forgotten already? Does anyone actually think steroids magically disappeared with this new steroid policy?
3) ESPN.com's transformation to an all-fee site is nearly complete. Its front page is pockmarked with those little orange "in" icons (23 at last count). I might pay the fee, if it weren't for that horrible magazine that comes with it. [Anyone want to go in with me? You can have the mag.]
4) As noted by Andrew, yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the famous A-Rod smackdown. This is widely viewed as the Moment the Season Turned Around, and while I somehow missed that game, it's apparently enough of a Big Event I remember where I was when I heard about the fight and the walkoff HR. However, what's sort of silly is that really wasn't much of a turnaround. Yes, it was a great come-from-behind victory, and the Sox won that series (much nicer than the previous Yankees sweep), and that inning may have planted the seeds for Mariano's troubles in Game 4 of the ALCS. But after the Yanks left town, the Sox went 10-8 their next 18 games (and six of those were against Tampa Bay). The turnaround really happened more than 3 weeks later, on August 16, when the Sox embarked on a ridiculous 20-2 run, including an 8-and-1 thrashing of the three elite teams of AL West, who until then were all fighting for a Wild Card spot. Not like it matters when it happened, of course, and the mouthful-of-catcher's-mitt picture (why does that sound naughty?) remains easily the best photo of the regular season -- it's just funny that something we all Know To Be True probably isn't.
5) The Oakland A's are now in a tie for first in the Wild Card. That is insane -- they were 15 below .500 on May 29. I still say they win the division.
2) Jason Giambi slugged .315 in May. In July, he's slugging 1.017, and is a big part of the Yanks' recent surge. The fawning articles have begun, everyone's talking about his amazing comeback, in which he tackled adversity head-on and worked hard to return to baseball. To this, I say: come on, people. Not six months ago we (fans and media) were kicking ourselves for blissfully ignoring something which was so painfully obvious. Have we forgotten already? Does anyone actually think steroids magically disappeared with this new steroid policy?
3) ESPN.com's transformation to an all-fee site is nearly complete. Its front page is pockmarked with those little orange "in" icons (23 at last count). I might pay the fee, if it weren't for that horrible magazine that comes with it. [Anyone want to go in with me? You can have the mag.]
4) As noted by Andrew, yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the famous A-Rod smackdown. This is widely viewed as the Moment the Season Turned Around, and while I somehow missed that game, it's apparently enough of a Big Event I remember where I was when I heard about the fight and the walkoff HR. However, what's sort of silly is that really wasn't much of a turnaround. Yes, it was a great come-from-behind victory, and the Sox won that series (much nicer than the previous Yankees sweep), and that inning may have planted the seeds for Mariano's troubles in Game 4 of the ALCS. But after the Yanks left town, the Sox went 10-8 their next 18 games (and six of those were against Tampa Bay). The turnaround really happened more than 3 weeks later, on August 16, when the Sox embarked on a ridiculous 20-2 run, including an 8-and-1 thrashing of the three elite teams of AL West, who until then were all fighting for a Wild Card spot. Not like it matters when it happened, of course, and the mouthful-of-catcher's-mitt picture (why does that sound naughty?) remains easily the best photo of the regular season -- it's just funny that something we all Know To Be True probably isn't.
5) The Oakland A's are now in a tie for first in the Wild Card. That is insane -- they were 15 below .500 on May 29. I still say they win the division.
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