Why Joe Thornton Sucks. And always will

So a buddy of mine out here asked my why I can't stand Big Joe. This is about as good as I could come up with. And it still feels like I'm missing something.

Imagine you see this girl every day and she is smoking hot. But you have to get laughed at every day for a year (have the worst record) to get a chance to go out with her. And finally you do. The first date (season) goes okay, you act like a gentleman and don’t want to rush things. The second date is starting to look really good, there is some promise you make out a bit and get to second base (second round). The third and fourth dates go okay. They aren’t great, but they aren’t terrible. You don’t go home with her, but you think there is enough progress being made. She laughs at your jokes (scores a lot), she teases you with her physique, but there is definitely a little alloofness there. By the fifth date you are confident. The starts are aligning. You have a great date (number one seed), she is wearing a smoking outfit (100 points) . You finally get her naked and she says, not tonight, it just doesn’t feel right (first round exit). You have another date. You’re starting to worry. Same crap. Then what would be your last date. Again, showing hope. Again she’s smoking (another high seed). You get her home. You get her naked. You’re bangin her but she just lies there. She even asks if you’re done yet. So that’s it. You know it will never be. You break up with her.

But in the end, you do have a bit of the last laugh. As she dates someone new, yes she still looks hot. In fact in the first year after you break up she wins a beauty contest (mvp), but you still get to laugh cause you know they are only going to second base. And she just lays there.

Feel free to discuss.

Fun with numbers

2010 Giants - August 13-15 7 game losing streak
2009 Yankees From April 24 - May 7 they were 4-9 and lost 5 straight (and they won 103 games)
2008 Phillies - June 12-14 6 game losing streak
2007 Sox - June 12-14 5 game losing streak
2006 Cardinals - they had 3 months w a losing record and lost 8 in a row at one point
2005 White Sox August 12-16 7 game losing streak

So or those ready to write the season off.....

Yankees lose to the worst team in baseball

Yesterday, the Pinstripes rolled into Boston to face off against the lowly Boston Red Sox. Having won an infinite more number of games this year (the Sox haven't won ANY!!!). Let's face it, the Sox were the worst team in baseball. Their pitching was abysmal, and their lineup was far from a powerhouse. Yet, the little engine of the Sox was able to take down the mighty Yankees. The Bombers must have come in a little over-confident. Why else could such a dominant team of All-Stars fall to David? Truly a Cinderella story.

Will the Sox win again this year? Maybe. They do play the Yankees 18 more times.

2011 Predictions continued: AL West

It's a sad day when the GYSNetwork has more momentum then the Red Sox. Here's to hoping the 0-6 start ends soon and that we can keep up the banter.

Continuing the conversation re: 2011 prediction, here are my thoughts on the AL West. Again, this is based on absolutely minimal research, beer (Sam's Boston Ale), and how I felt the 2010 season went based on my fantasy baseball team. (If nothing else, I am honest).

Texas 88 wins
Oakland 82 wins
LAAAAAAA .500
Ichiro 40 SB

This might be over estimating the A's ability to manufacturer wins. Their pitching will be competitive especially if they can keep up the defense, but I am just not scared of their line up. Am I missing something? I think it's more likely that the team will move to San Jose than they win the AL West (and I mean this beyond 2011). Texas went all the way last year (heh) and they look good again this year. They have arms and bats, oh my!

Manny being Manny Circa 2011

Ramirez was originally listed in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels, but he has since been scratched, the St. Petersburg Times reports.

Yahoo! sports reports: There doesn't appear to be an injury here, as the Rays seem to simply be giving Ramirez a rest day to regroup after his 1-for-16 start to the season. It's unfortunate because it seems like a good matchup for him; he's 18-for-35 (.514) with three homers and four doubles in his career against Angels starter Dan Haren.

DH Manny Ramirez, off to a 1-for-16 start and booed by the Tropicana Field crowd Tuesday, was not in the lineup Wednesday.

"I want the fans to know he works, this man really works, this man really cares... It's not working for him right now, but he's going to be just fine. We need to let him be himself and let Manny be Manny and go up there and not try to carry us. The last thing I want him to do is feel like he has to carry us."

Impressive, even if Maddon played Manny and he went 0-5, he'd still be batting .450 on Dan Haren. Talk about OWNED.

2011 Predictions continued: AL Central

Not exactly daily, but I am back! Moving east to west, it's time for the AL Central 2011 predictions. This is based on about 2 minutes of research, a pint of Rogue Chocolate Stout, and a healthy fantasy baseball habit.

While the Tigers have the most pop on paper, I am signing up for the Twins to take it again. Morneau ought to be healthy and as long as Mauer's knees don't explode the Twins have the best all around team (in my opinion). The Sox are going to benefit from Adam Dunn in the line up, and no I am not just saying that because I drafted him for my fantasy team. In the end I see the following:

Twins 85 wins
Tigers 83 wins
Sox .500
Indians may get 70 wins
Royals may not get 70 wins

Is it me or is it a little sad that the Twins will win out with 85 wins and have the benefit of 36+ games against the Indians and Royals?

2011 AL East Predictions

80 minutes and counting until 2011 kicks off! So I thought it was only fitting that we start the 2011 predictions. I have elected to break it up by league and Division and will try to post 1 new division a day for the next week or so. (In the end it will be a good test to my motivation, especially when we have to look at the NL).

Now for our own backyard. AL East standings at the end of this year (drum roll)

Red Sox 97 wins
Yankees 95 wins
Rays 88 wins
Toronto ~.500
Baltimore ~.500

Essentially, I have to go with the fact that the Red Sox had, on paper, the best off-season. It was a lot of fun to watch the line up last night (last preseason game). Jacoby, Pedroia, Crawford, Gonzalez.... HOLY COW! Per the previous post, if the starters can improve slightly, the offense holds or improves, and the bullpen improves a lot we should be in good shape to take the East. Of course, this is barring the injury bug that crushed us last year.

Per X's point, the Yankees are too rich and have too much talent to discount. That being said, I do think they are vulnerable. They haven't had the injury bug in a while and they have some aging players. In the end, if they stay healthy I think they are a lock for the wildcard.

Tampa Bay will give it a good run, but will fade. Especially, after Manny hits 20 HR in the first half and checks out mentally. Their pitching is good, but young and that might work the first time around. But as hitters in the AL East get more looks they will start to lock in. So I see a pretty significant second half fade.

Toronto will be above average as will Baltimore. I think Baltimore has some up and coming pitchers that will make it interesting. But neither team has the depth to last deep into the season. I can't wait for the huge slump the O's will experience at some point in the second half. Showalter will blow his cool in some completely crazy way.

Sox Starters Unpredictable at Best

When I look through the Sox starting rotation, I know that I should feel pretty good about the guys they have. Look at the names: Beckett, Lackey, Lester, Buchholz, Matsuzaka. Throw into the equation that spring training starts literally mean nothing, and what are you left with? Gut feeling and that is all.

Having Matsuzaka as your number 5 guy is impressive. Was he good last year? For a number 5, he was fine. You'd like to see more innings from him, but 9-6 with a mid-4's ERA is not terrible. Again...for a number 5. And does last year's performance mean anything this year? Not really. The Sox have made some tweaks in his regimen. Now it is wait and see.

Lester has developed into one of the premiere left-handers in the game. He's the one guy the Sox can hang their hat on.

Buchholz emerged last year as the clear number two in the Sox rotation. But, like Dice-K, he is still an unknown.

The clearest part of this puzzle is that the Sox need more from Beckett. Lackey, despite local criticism, had a typical Lackey year. I think, with his associated price tag and previous playoff hype, Sox fans expected a number 1 when he arrived. But, Beckett's season last year was abysmal by Beckett standards. He hasn't had a great spring training, either. But, as stated above, spring training means nothing. The Sox can't have another year of 6-6 with an ERA near 6 if they expect to make a series run. The need a healthy Beckett.

This rotation could go either way. It has the potential to be the deepest in the majors. It also has the potential to be middle of the pack.

Down the Line - Sox Dcoumentary

I had read some good stuff about this documentary (now airing in mlb network) about the behind the scenes work of the Fenway Park workers. I was pretty happy to sit down and watch given that baseball season can't come soon enough.

Some pretty good stuff, mostly about how the clubhouse kids work silly hours to basically clean the spikes of the players and unpack their bags when returning from a road trip.

My real problem with the show was the complete fictional timeline the producers create. Granted, I am nitpicking here. The real story is about the dedicated employees who are probably underpaid, overworked,etc. But if the producers are going to pretend that this is a "real" timeline, then make it a real timeline.

The documentary starts with rain coming down and the tagline "2:32:Red Sox due home from West Coast trip any minute."

Then they proceed to tell how the guys work all night to get ready for the game the next day. Cut to Fenway park "the next day." And they show pregame coverage of the game. Batting practice, fans mulling about the Stadium. In the footage, the CF scoreboard clearly shows the date as July 15, 2010 (more on that later). The "game" proceeds. Wake takes his warm ups, their is a rain delay, and the Sox win in the 11th.

All good, except


Returning from a West Coast trip? July 15 was the first game after the All Star break.

July 15 was started by Wake. But the Sox lost.

The Sox did win a game vs TEX on the play they showed (a Youk walk off Sac Fly), but that was July 17. There was even a fan in the pregame coverage carrying a Cliff Lee sign, which makes since as Lee was the pitcher in the Saturday the 17th game.

So why did the producers have to take liberties with the facts? Did they not think people could check this stuff? Silly.

Other than that? Decent stuff.

Oh and why is mlb2K11 showing Longoria as this big time HR hitter? I mean, you had, what 22 HR. Same as JD Drew.

Excited?

Wow...despite the new additions to the Sox, I just can't seem to muster any excitement, yet, for the upcoming season. I guess one might attribute it to the excitement around the Bruins, or maybe just the success of the Sox in general.

Could it be that rooting for a team like the Bruins reminds one of the 86-year struggle Sox fans went through? Is there more excitement in a team struggling to win rather than one that's recently won?

Or...

Is it the professional demeanor of the Sox?

Or...

Is it the band wagoners that are just enjoying the winning and buying all the tickets making it next to impossible for others to go?

I'll tell you what a big portion of it is for me (and LISTEN up Sox Front Office and NESN). It's the incessant advertising. In between almost every pitch the camera pans Fenway (or other ball park) and a burn appears on the screen. Orsillo or Remy's voice reads the copy. Or...Friday night games...Not only do you get the countless commercials, but you get the booth guests.

It is NOT the speed of the game. If allowed, Remy and Orsillo could lay out strategies and options for the next pitch. The director would not cut 10-12 times in between each pitch (except to maybe show player positioning and pitch calling).

Nope...the Sox have commercialized the game to death. I understand that they need revenue to compete. I guess. I do make the trips to the New York area (family down there), and I'll watch the Yankees or Mets games. Aside from the fact that their announcers aren't very good, you at least don't get killed with non-stop product placement. One can't enjoy the game when one feels they are watching 3 hours of commercials. It isn't cohesive. The game has a flow that NESN and the Sox don't want to get across on television. They are too busy trying to suck pennies from their viewers.

The Bruins games have very little of this. The games keep moving. The announcers provide great play-by-play and thorough analysis. The Sox brass have made big moves to bring back TV viewers by acquiring players. They should look, however, at their over-advertising as the next move. Maybe then, we can start to enjoy the televised games.