Where's the credit for Dom DiMaggio?

Dom DiMaggio just had a nice little eulogy spoken about him by Vin Scully in tonight's Dodger game, where I first heard that he had passed away today at the age of 92. However, even a broadcaster as masterful as Scully couldn't work around the big shadow in DiMaggio's life - his brother, Joe.

In a quirk of genetics, three of the nine DiMaggio's made the majors - Vince, Joe and Dom - and even today as obituaries start to populate across the web, most mention Joe straight away. To do so is to sell Dom short as has been happening for decades now. Some of the wrtie-ups I've read tonight raise the question of whether Dom would have made the Hall of Fame by now if he'd been allowed to play instead of joining the Navy during World War II, while others hint at the role that constant comparisons to Joe played in the voting process.

Dom was seemingly always underestimated for one reason or another. His 5-9 frame and glasses - gasp, glasses! - led to his nickname, "The Professor" and it was those glasses that led to his transition to the outfield. Anecdotally, he was moved out there from his spot at shortstop by a manager so he wouldn't break his glasses . DiMaggio took that move and made the most of it, developing a hybrid style as a hard-charging center fielder who would close in quickly and agressively on balls hit his way.

In doing so, he became one of the greatest defensive center fielders of the time.

Additionally, he maintained a solid batting average and gave Joe a run for his money with a hitting streak of his own. As Scully pointed out, it was Joe who ended his brother's hitting streak at 30-plus games. See, there's that whole "Joe" thing again.

I imagine it's on par with being Michael Jordan's brother - both an athletic and cultural icon - where no matter what you did as a player, you'd always seem to be lacking by comparison. Don't be mistaken, this is not an Ozzie and Jose Canseco situation, Dom held his own in the majors and was a key piece of the strong Red Sox teams of the 40s and 50s.

DiMaggio was central to one of the biggest losses in Red Sox history - though not in typical Sox fashion - when an injury in the 1946 World Series led to the deciding play in the series. From the Boston Globe's excellent write up:

Mr. DiMaggio’s skill as a hitter inadvertently helped create one of the darkest moments in Red Sox history, their defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh and deciding game of the 1946 World Series. In the top of the eight inning, he doubled home two runs to tie the game at 3-3 — but pulled a hamstring on the way to second base.

Leon Culberson replaced him in center field. In the bottom of the eighth, with two outs, the Cardinals’ Enos Slaughter tried to score from first on a single. Culberson was slow to field the ball, then made a mediocre throw to shortstop Johnny Pesky, whose throw home was too little, too late. Slaughter was safe, giving the Cardinals the lead and, half an inning later, the championship.

“If they hadn’t taken DiMaggio out of the game,” Slaughter later said of his daring sprint, “I wouldn’t have tried it.”

His time with Boston is covered nicely in David Halberstam's The Teammates, a solid, short read about the relationship between DiMaggio, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky and Ted Williams. His life after baseball is covered well in the obituaries today, which describe his business sense and suggest that he'd have been a success in whatever he chose to do.

I think I like DiMaggio so much because he's an interesting man for many reasons outside of his control. Some of my favorite players of all time - Mickey Mantle, Williams, Joe DiMaggio - have major personal flaws or quirks that made them ill-suited for any sort of life outside of baseball. I am drawn to their stories that are tinged with elements of sadness and personal defeat, but which helped them to excell with a highly specialized skill set. Dom doesn't really fit that mold.

The fact that he was squarely in shadows of two of the game's giants in Williams and his brother, yet still found a way to maintain his own identity, accept and embrace his talents and move along is nothing short of extraordinary. To be comfortable enough being Dom DiMaggio to be successful and not dragged down as some may have is really a tribute to DiMaggio the man.

He was able to walk away on his own terms, start a series of successful business ventures and live to 92 (seeing two Red Sox World Series victories in the process). I think I'm with Scully here, where there's no real need to wail and feel sorrow for DiMaggio's passing, as he'd led a full life on many levels.

So here's to you, Dom DiMaggio, so much more than Joe's brother and Ted's center fielder. You'll be missed.

(Image from: WBZ.com)

That's a good point, Bill

While I swing wildly on the pro- and anti-Bill Simmons bandwagons, he was dead on in a recent mailbag discussing the Yankees' off-season spending spree.

From Simmons:

Although I cannot condone this sour-grapes quote from Sox owner John Henry after the fact.

"From the moment we arrived in Boston in late 2001, we saw it as a monumental challenge," Henry said. "We sought to reduce the financial gap, and succeeded to a degree. Now with a new stadium filled with revenue opportunities, they have leaped away from us again. So we have to be even more careful in deploying our resources."

(Note to John: They already hate us enough. Just stop. You sound like a rich prep-school kid lamenting the fact his Lamborghini isn't the most expensive car in the parking lot anymore. And while we're here, Fenway is a cash cow -- you can't play the "new stadium with revenue opportunities card" when you've done everything but stick hanging box seats on the Citgo sign.

Boston's payroll has been somewhere between $120-145 million each year for the past five. Every middle-class fan you have has been priced out unless they want to sit in the bleachers or wooden grandstand seats down the outfield lines that face second base. Just stop. Please, stop. Thank you.)

Amen.

I don't think people instinctively hate teams with high payrolls, only when they're successful and whine when they don't win with mini All-Star teams.

(If you think this post was just a weak excuse to test the new hosting capabilities as the site creeps back online, you're totally right. I should have done a redesign or something while I was at it...)

Winner take pennant

It turns out that the White Sox impressive run into October was just the warm up for the American League's main event this season.

I'm betting that John Danks would pull in a pretty hefty one-game paycheck if he were allowed to sign with either Boston or Tampa for a one-game contract after winning two consecutive "win or go home" games this fall.

In echoes of the final days of the season, it comes down to one game tonight to decide the American League pennant, which would be the major storyline to follow tonight if the Red Sox didn't find ways to fall apart and claw themselves back into another postseason series.

Between both species of Sox, we've had a very interesting games, where an incredibly long regular season comes down to one sudden death game. Granted, the White Sox did it twice in two days, but the Red Sox are in the middle of a dogfight with the Rays for the American League pennant.

Who says that baseball is a boring game?

* Yes, I know the "Red Sox are the new Yankees" argument is nearly indisputable, but that doesn't mean that I can't feel for Rays fans.

I imagine they felt the same sinking feeling seeing Jonathan Papelbon trot into the game last night that I am used to from years of seeing Mariano Rivera enter late in games.

Sorry about that.

(Image from: ETeamz.com)

Thinking about omens

So, which is a worse omen? Having tonight's Red Sox/Rays game preempted by a rerun of the Steve Harvey Show or having an umpire leave the field with an injury?

Aside from having more sets of eyeballs pointed at a television with Steve Harvey on it than any other time in history, TBS resolved its issues on the standard and high definition sides of the equation and Chip Carey told us that he was very, very sorry several times.

I didn't really buy into any of the mea culpas.

The ongoing Josh Beckett storyline continues to boil to the surface every few batters tonight with his velocity down and the peeks into the dugout showing a mixture of pain and frustration. With a 15-minute delay resulting from the injury to umpire Derryl Cousins, Beckett is still in the game right now after giving up a home run to Jason Bartlett.

Call me crazy, but with a franchise that is antsy after Beckett stayed in too long in Game 2 of this series and still makes Grady Little references five years after a long night for Pedro Martinez in the Bronx, maybe Tito Francona could err on the side of caution one of these times.

There's an old philosophy - and I'm almost ashamed to admit that I believe it's featured in Tim McCarver's Baseball for Brain Surgeons and Other Fans - that managers need to make decisions on pitchers based on what they think they will do next and not what they have just done.

Judging by what we're seeing into the sixth inning in Florida, I think it's time to lean on that bullpen again. I'd prefer for this to be a bloody sock game that only serves to shore up Beckett's legacy as a post-season ace instead of the first verse in the ballad of Big Game James.

(Update: The Captain just drove Shields from the game with a solo shot in the sixth inning to put the Sox up 3-2.)

(Image taken for Siberian Baseball)

Big brass ones

Say what you will about Curt Schilling's political leanings and tendency to maybe, occasionally run his mouth at the wrong time, but he has to be one of the more interesting athletes to grace the national scene in the past 20 years.

That he dares to do this in an age of constant media attention - in Boston, no less - where text messages can end up as bulletin board fodder - is either brave or very, very stupid depending on where you stand.

Regardless, Schilling will have a solid reputation when he's finished for being incredibly accessible as a player between his blog, calls to sports radio hosts and posting on fan boards.

Case in point was last night's Sox game where Schilling threw out the first pitch (and bounced it).

With David Ortiz coming to bat, Schilling posted a simple prognostication on the Sons of Sam Horn board:

Incoming Sox walkoff...

While Schilling and the fans had to wait a bit, he got his wish. I just want to know where he posted from. Blackberry? A reporter's laptop? Theo's office?

(Image taken for Siberian Baseball)

There are no wrong answers

What's more annoying? Nomar Garciaparra's batting glove fidget dance or Kevin Youkilis sliding his hand all the way to the sweet spot as he sets his trigger?

Discuss.

The Red Sox break a nasty streak

With all the chaos in my own backyard (and the late starts on the West Coast on school nights) the Red Sox have gotten lost in the shuffle a bit.

I guess that's the price that's paid when you win two championships in four years. Luckily, the Cubs made sure I'd be able to focus on just one team going forward in the playoffs.

Nice of them.

One of the more interesting notes pieces I've read this week was this one from the Boston Globe which pointed out that the defending champs hadn't won a single game since 2001.

(Wednesday night), the Red Sox will attempt to do something that has not been done since the very early morning of Nov. 2, 2001. Shortly after midnight, Byung-Hyun Kim submarined a meatball toward Scott Brosius, who clobbered a walkoff home run to left field. The New York Yankees had defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 of the 2001 World Series.

And the defending World Series champions had won a playoff game. It hasn't happened since.

Sound strange? It shouldn't.

The '03 Angels and '04 Marlins join the '06 White Sox and '07 Cardinals as four teams that didn't even make the postseason after winning it all the year before.

The '02 Diamondbacks were swept by the Cardinals and the '05 Red Sox were shown the door by the White Sox in three games.

This stat impresses me on two levels.

First, it lends weight to the conventional wisdom that it's harder to repeat because you become the target for the rest of the league. Add to that all sorts of other intangibles - distractions from appearing in commercials, lack of a common goal, etc. - and it's amazing that anyone is able to succeed in the follow up year.

Secondly, I have even more respect for the Yankees teams of the 30's, 40's, 50's and early 60's that kept rolling off championships tear after year. There are stories of players being shorted during contract negotiations because the team counted playoff bonuses as found money.

Fewer teams, no wild cards and the ability to be there year in and year out?

It was a different game back then.

* For the sake of posterity:

NL
Dodgers advance past the Cubs (3-0)
Phillies advance past the Brewers (3-1)

AL
White Sox survive and play the Rays again tomorrow (Rays 2, Sox 1)
Red Sox lead Angels 2-0 with Game 3 tied 4-4 in the top of the seventh inning



(Image from: MLB.com)

A quick bedtime story

With one out to go before the Cubs go down 2-0 in the series, the one shred of hope I am now forced to cling to comes courtesy of my experience as a fan of another beleaguered team, the Boston Red Sox.

Sure, bleary-eyed Cubs fans will spend tomorrow morning telling themselves that in 2004, the Sox rattled off four straight against the Yankees and made it to the World Series, where they finally reached the promised land.

Four games is more than three and the Dodgers are no Yankees, but that's not where I'll be drawing inspiration. (Game Two just ended with a called strike.)

The lessons of 2004 are a double edged sword. On the downside, it takes a team that doesn't feel the pressure to break decades of pent up hope and heartbreak and can just go out and play baseball. I don't feel that the Cubs are that team. One of the only reasons I can see for the offensive drought is that the hitters feel the hopes of the city crashing down on them every time they enter the batter's box.

In short, this team knows its fans a little too well.

On the positive side, 2004 taught me that a team making small strides on a pitch-by-pitch basis can come back, regardless of the opponent. The Cubs aren't facing a team that has bullied them for decades on end and will get out of Chicago for a few days, which hopefully makes things easier for them.

That said, here's a quick story that will keep me going into Saturday's showdown with elimination.

Even after the Red Sox climbed out of their three games to none hole, they still needed to play game seven in the Bronx. Most Boston fans couldn't bring themselves to feel better about that game, stopping just short of insisting that fate had brought them to that point just to smash them on the rocks of despair once again.

I watched cautiously, but I did watch.

Then, a weird thing happened. David Ortiz hit a two run homer with two out in the first to give the Sox an early lead.

In the second, Johnny Damon hit a grand slam to give Boston a 6-0 lead. It was that grand slam that signaled to Sox fans that things just might be OK.

For the first time in a long while, it was.

Final score? 10-3. The Red Sox were headed to the World Series and that game is seen as an afterthought now, missing the drama of the three games that came before it.

That's my point here. As a rational fan (sometimes) I know that the odds are in favor of the Cubs sluggers continuing to struggle, press and ultimately fail as they have for two years running with these players and for a century prior to that for the ballclub as a whole.

I know that given two games at home, the Dodgers should wrap up this series in a game or two and that Cubs fans will quietly slink back to dark rooms for the next few weeks to quietly listen to Eddie Vedder's new song on a near constant loop and focus on the "someday" lyric in "Someday We'll Go All the Way."

I also know that teams that seem unbeatable sometimes fall apart and that a little momentum can go a long way. I know that the Cubs have no one to blame but themselves for lack of run production and sloppy fielding like the kind that plauged them in tonight's game. I know that if the team can stop beating itself, it has a shot to at least hang around long enough for the Dodgers to make some mistakes to capitalize on.

I know, and I cling to this particular point, that sometimes in must-win games, Johnny Damon slaps a home run into the foul pole and your team runs away with a game that caused you to lose sleep over in sickening anticipation. Because of that, I know that when faced with a game you feel there's no way your team can win, every once in a while that team comes in and wins in a laugher that leaves you wondering why you even doubted them in the first place.

I know this because I've lived through this and feel much the same way tonight as I did after the Red Sox were whipped 19-8 on the night of a good friend's wedding.

What I don't know is if the Cubs are up to the challenge of following in the footsteps of idiots for a few weeks in October.

(Image from: HHWeb.com)

Secondary highlights

Aside from the Red Sox pasting the White Sox for most of the weekend - 8-0 and 8-2 wins on Friday and Saturday, with a 4-2 loss Sunday - the highlights have to be Ozzie Guillen's comments following the Saturday night game.

After Dustin Pedroia wore out the White Sox pitchers for two days, Guillen was extra quotable after the game.

"I never thought I would walk a jockey," Guillen said. "I must be the worst manager ever in the history of baseball right now, walking a guy that just came from being on the top of Big Brown to beat the White Sox.

"Right now he's on a roll."

Pedroia was 4-for-4 with three runs and a walk on Friday and 4-for-4 with two runs and a walk from the clean up spot on Saturday, prompting Guillen's exceptional comments.

Then again, good ink seems to follow Pedroia lately, including a feature story on him in ESPN the Magazine that focused on his constant jawing at opponents and oddball behavior in the clubhouse.

The title? 170 Pounds of Mouth. You really have to respect a man who Manny Ramirez thinks is crazy. I don't quite know why, but you do.

(Image from: Boston.com)

Did Manny really beg to stay?

It's a ritual of the summer that even the least observant baseball fans can't help but notice.

Fourth of July fireworks, sales on grills and charcoal and Manny Ramirez publicly expressing his displeasure with team management. To be honest, I was a little shocked that the Red Sox actually traded the guy this time around - that's not how this little dance was supposed to go.

Don't get me wrong, I think it was a solid decision at the core and Jason Bay showing up to play every game has to even the scales out versus Ramirez deciding when he wants to play and when he wants to sit by using excuses not seen since grammar school with a geography quiz looming.

I read this week that in the last go-round, where Ramirez sat in Seattle, he would have been fine, except he couldn't remember which knee he claimed to have injured.

Rookie mistake.

I just wanted to point everyone over to this strange little article from Boston.com (link via Deadspin) that claims Ramirez had his agent contact the Red Sox at the last minute to try and nix the trade. Once the team option had been dropped - making Ramirez an unrestricted free agent this offseason - he had hoped to return to the Red Sox with those conditions in place.

Here's where Sawx fans are free to get angry:

If the Sox dropped the option years on his contract - which they had agreed to do if they traded him - Boras said Ramírez would not be a problem the rest of the season.

Other tidbits of note:

* This quote from Theo Epstein, which is notable because of the use of past tense in describing Ramirez's career. Not his career in Boston, his career. I could be wrong, but he doesn't seem to draw the distinction:

"[Ramírez] had a remarkable run here," Epstein said after asserting he would not engage in finger-pointing at one player. "His whole career was remarkable. He is one of the best righthanded hitters in history, and no one can ever take that away from him."

* David Ortiz is not happy with the move. Definitely worth keeping an eye on this, especially if the lineup can't find a way to protect him without another power hitter batting behind him.

* John Henry was in the "Keep Manny, he's too good a player" camp, but ultimately chose to trust the team that brought two championships to Boston.

* Jason Varitek being a good soldier and talking about closure and the need for the team to move on.

(Image taken for Siberian Baseball)

That's about right

From this morning's Boston Dirt Dogs page - artwork by Meir Weinberg.

Sitting, waiting, wishing

Much like Jack Johnson's thoughts about an indecisive lover, I am here at Logan Airport working my way through all three sections of his process. It's much like grieving in some ways.

Sitting on uncomfortable chairs, waiting for flights to clear up so I can catch a standby seat and wishing that I could just be home by now.

With some time on my hands, I wanted to point out a few quick observations from the weekend in Boston - more of the new baseball culture in town than anything else.

* As bad as the Fever Pitch fan phenomenon is in visiting cities (Baltimore, Tampa, Chicago) it's much worse in Boston. As I travel everywhere with a camera, I think in loose terms of photo essays. You would never, ever be able to capture even a sliver of all the Red Sox gear in the streets of Boston these days.

Celtics gear, maybe, but the Red Sox have the town blanketed. I don't remember it being this bad, but then again, those memories are from when I was a kid.

* Another photo essay best left untouched? The "Official Fill In the Blank of the Boston Red Sox."

Why do the Sox need an official florist? Or an official trolley tour?

(Side note: I'm strongly considering referring to the White Sox as "The Sox" and the Red Sox as "The Sawx" after Frank the Tank correctly observed that for a site based in Chicago, there should only really be one "The Sox.")

* Fenway looks great. We were being put up in the Harvard Club across the way from the park and I made the pilgrimage Saturday morning to go down, see Ted Williams, the new banners and touch the walls.

It made for a great morning and the only reason I'd go that long between the alarm going off and getting my morning coffee.

(Image taken for Siberian Baseball)

It's not like they're the Steel Curtain

There's an old story about the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s that says in their heyday there were so many players on the defensive team on the Pro Bowl roster that they began calling their own plays on the field and confusing the handful of guys from the other teams.

It was just easier - and probably made for a better story - to call out the plays from the Pittsburgh playbook and let the non-Steelers fend for themselves instead of trying to play off of the same shortened page in the Pro Bowl.

I'm seeing elements of this as the All-Star balloting comes to a close shortly and players from the teams with huge fanbases are in the top three of each position, regardless of ability or this season's performance.

Primarily, I'm looking at the Cubs and how many are primed for a trip to New York. This shouldn't surprise me much anymore, because aside from being shocked that my e-mail client's spam filters let a message through imploring me that, "Kosuke needs your help!" without immediately dumping it to protect me from Japanese pornography, the rest of the experience is a carbon copy of what is becoming a yearly rant.

When the ESPN broadcast ran the graphic with current vote leaders on Sunday night, it was a little disappointing to see the screen awash in Cubbie blue, Red Sox red and the pinstripes of the Yankees.

Not that players who are having great seasons shouldn't be included, but once again, it seems that muscle memory and fan amnesia are helping to steer the ship.

In the National League, the Cubs are churning out votes with three players scheduled to start - Geovany Soto, Alfonso Soriano and Fukudome - if the voting ended today. This is despite Soriano's injuries which have kept him out of the Cubs lineup for long stretches this season.

Mark DeRosa and Aramis Ramirez are second in the voting, despite DeRosa not having a set position on the team, while Derek Lee and Ryan Theriot are in third place in their races.

For those scoring at home, every position has a Cubs player in the top three vote-getters. They're a good team through the first half of the season - last weekend at The Cell not withstanding - but they're not that good.

The American League is even worse. With the exception of Joe Mauer who just overtook Jason Varitek in the race to backstop the AL All-Stars, every leading vote-getter is a member of the Yankees or Red Sox (in most cases the top two are the New York/Boston connection).

Want proof that fans are voting a straight ticket for their team? There's no way that over 600,000 people truly believe Julio Lugo is the best shortstop in the AL.

The biggest oversight to fix is the omission of Carlos Quentin, who isn't among the top 15 in AL outfielders - despite the inclusion of Johnny Damon, Coco Crisp and Bobby Abreu - even though he's been the sparkplug for the White Sox in the first half.

While it's generally accepted that the whole exercise is just a way to make the fans feel involved and is nothing more than a popularity contest, it was nice to see Josh Hamilton make the cut after his hot start. Still, I think MLB could streamline the whole process by assigning votes like the government does in assigning members of the House of Representatives.

Teams with the largest fan bases as determined by merchandise sales and home attendance would receive the most votes for their players, while teams with small pockets of fans would receive the least.

Just think of all the time and energy we'd save not counting votes that would give us identical results.

(Image from: MLB.com)

Sox fans jump ship

A quick link from Daniel Rubin of the Philadelphia Inquirer who is politely asking to defect from Red Sox Nation, especially in light of the recent championship won by the Celtics.

I feel your pain, Mr. Rubin.

I remember being on the train in 2005 and seeing more Red Sox hats than White Sox hats on the Red line headed to The Cell and wondering if Chicago had that many transplants from Boston or if the natural parallels between the Northsiders and the Red Sox fans was too great of a temptation for those starved for success after nearly 100 years without a championship of their own.

I wonder retroactively if those fans also traded Red for White in their Sox loyalties that fall, especially after Chicago steamrolled the punchless Boston team in the playoffs that year.

Still, even without an increasingly loud and obnoxious fan base, it's difficult to not start pulling for the local team when you're a stranger in town. With two years in Minneapolis and season tickets for the Twins in 2006 and 2007, it was hard to not get wrapped up in the team you see most often, even with a full dance card of rooting interests.

When you're looking to talk baseball with your boss, it's much easier to start following the team that you hear about on the radio, see almost exclusively in the papers and have instant access to on local television. If you're even remotely interested in baseball, it's nice to be able to talk about the ups and downs of the season, even if it's not about your favorite team.

So, I don't blame anyone looking for a new team to call their own, especially when your home ballpark starts shutting you out by way of overpriced seats and sold outs games filled to capacity with fans from out of town who will show up, regardless of how poorly the team is doing - looking at you, Wrigley fans.

And as for Mr. Rubin, enjoy your newfound family in Philly. Try to keep the hooliganism to a minimum.

(Image from: MassholeProShop.com)

I miss Big Papi already

Not that anyone needs to panic quite yet, but the "sign Barry Bonds" buzz is getting louder by the day as the prognosis for David Ortiz's ailing left wrist fails to get any clearer with time.

I'm guessing damage to the tendon sheath is probably pretty serious. Can we give him the Curt Schilling treatment and sew a new one in there from a dead guy or something?

This ray of sunshine comes from Eric Wilbur at Boston.com:

Putting aside all talk of steroids and perjury charges, it's hard to imagine Boston becoming even more of a media circus, but it would happen. Pedro Gomez would have to start re-using his Marriott points. As much as America hates the Red Sox already, Bonds would add an extra element of hatred for fans across the country. Boston fans, on the other hand, would face yet another moment of pure hypocrisy, reasoning why the man they derided so viciously in the past was an OK dude. Aside from all that, Curt Schilling -- the man who last summer famously boasted that Bonds cheated on his taxes, family, and the game -- and Bonds on the same team? The Jim Rice-Joe Morgan and Mo Vaughn-Mike Greenwell snafus of years past could potentially look like thumb wars if these two got together.

Wonderful. Can't wait for that.

The Red Sox rarely get any attention from the national media and I think that this is just the kind of move that would put them on the map.

(Image taken for Siberian Baseball)

Just wait for the crowd reaction

What's the worst part about this clip if you're the fan involved?

Waking up sore the next morning from this outstanding takedown by the Fenway Park security guard or waking up in jail?

I think it's a toss up.

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

Jon Lester pitches no-hitter

With Jon Lester's no-hitter tonight - but really, does it count if it's against the Royals? - the Red Sox now have matching no-no's for the cornerstones of next generation's rotation (Clay Buchholz had the last no-hitter last September before he was shut down for the season).

Two walks and a runner that reached on a fielder's choice meant that Lester's chance at a perfect game fell by the wayside in the top of the second with a walk to Billy Butler, which might not be the worst way to go about things.

If you're going to lose your bid for the perfect game, but keep the no-hitter intact, wouldn't you want to get that out of the way early, before the pressure really builds and dropping from the perfecto has a chance to rattle you late in the game?

Tuning in for the last few innings of the game tonight, I was mainly thinking about two things.

First, aside from the pressure of a perfect game, a no-hitter has to be more challenging for the pitcher, right? I can't imagine there's that much more to weigh down a pitcher's mind between the two, but adding the extra batters can't help much.

Let's assume that you are pitching in the usual no-hitter where one or two batters reach base, either by walk or error. Now, you're walking to the mound in the ninth inning, you're already way over your normal pitch count and you're faced with the other team's top two hitters.

The normal balance of power late in the game swings from a stronger reliever against a tiring hitter to a starter being held in against the other team's best hitters who have now seen you for three at-bats.

That's what I'll remember tomorrow morning, when I'm bombarded by the crush of stories about how special this must be for Lester, Boston's most famous cancer survivor.

Cancer or not, a no-hitter is a big deal, period. That's why this is only the 18th no-hitter in the long history of the Red Sox. Here is another site's break down of where this no-hitter fits in with all the rest, including Jason Varitek being the new leader in no-hitters caught, with four.

Thank God the young pitchers have figured out that it's best to listen to the Captain in these types of situations. We're looking at you, Curt Schilling. Wherever you are.

(Image from: MLBlogs.com)

Ellsbury taking a run at the record books

Even if I didn't care about this story, I probably link to it for one simple reason. These odd sentences:

A streak like this is different from any other. Ellsbury, right now, is running around like a virgin on prom night. Once he’s caught, that’s that: He’s lost his virginity and there’s no regaining it in respect to this record.

Wait,what the hell is going on, right?

Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury has yet to be caught stealing in the major leagues. Add the eight steals through Thursday evening to the nine from last year and he stands at 17-for-17. As the post points out, he's a fast mammal.

The record up for grabs is Tim Raines' streak of 27 straight steals without being thrown out to start his career. Still, Ellsbury just needs to keep his head up and keep picking his spots as one of the few true speedsters on the Red Sox this year.

Not that he needs any incentive, but how fast would you run to become the new prince of the stolen base? Now how fast would you run if you were currently known as the guy who won everyone free tacos during the 2007 playoffs?

That would be a major upgrade.

(Image from: HeraldInteractive.com)

Day baseball is proof God loves us

With this afternoon's morning's Patriots' Day game in Boston, it made me appreciate day baseball that much more - well, that and the fact that an "early" Red Sox game is 11 a.m. and not 4 a.m. like the series in Japan.

After two years of games in a dome, I've been to Wrigley in the rain, in the sunny cold and in the warm(er) evening air. It's kind of nice to have some variety, even if it means holding your breath and murmuring about proper warm up procedures every time someone comes up a little awkwardly in the cold.

It makes me wonder just how random the computer-generated scheduling really is, though. Obviously, there have to be exceptions to allow the yearly Red Sox game that follows the Boston Marathon and some allowances have to be made for day and night games at Wrigley and for get away days - why can't those be plugged in for early season contests?

When you factor in scheduling nightmares like last season in Cleveland and this year in Chicago, I'm pretty sure none of the players would complain too loudly. Here it is four weeks into the season and the weather in Chicago is finally safe - aside from the revenue generated by Opening Day and the associated home openers that follow, what's the reason for forcing games into cold weather climates in early April?

Setting aside the usual arguments about interleague play, what's wrong with adding a little humanity to the schedule? Would it kill the league to front load the schedule with interleague matchups (like the nonconference schedules in college athletics) and allow the division rivals to duke it out starting in June?

(Image taken for Siberian Baseball)

Mike Lowell seems to be really good with kids

From Red Sox Monster comes this series of audio clips from a Q&A session with Mike Lowell, who was speaking to kids at Niketown in Boston on Monday.

There's a lot to get through, but he genuinely seems to be having fun with the group and has quite a few surprising answers. It's up for grabs whether the kids asked better questions than the pros usually do - I have a short list of announcers I can imagine chiming in with, "I don't know what a tee is..."

Check in around the 9:00-mark to hear Lowell's thoughts on the difference between Wrigley and Fenway. I totally agree.

I'll have to drop him a line to see if the Fever Pitch fans are worse than Iowans and Trixies, or if it's the other way around.

(Image taken for Siberian Baseball)

Home cooking > Change of scenery

Leading into the Red Sox home opener today, you had the jet-lagged Sox against the winless Tigers who were swept at home by the Royals and White Sox.

In the midst of the Sunday night shelling at the hands of Chicago, Jon Miller and Joe Morgan were suggesting that all the Tigers needed was a little time away to get back on track.

At the same time, the Red Sox were being pounded by the Blue Jays in Toronto, where much was made of their world tour with stops in Japan, Oakland and Canada. All they needed was to get home, get a little rest and they'd be fine.

Consider it the unstoppable force versus the immovable object, but for chattering announcer types.

As of the eighth inning in Boston - featuring Bill Buckner throwing out the first pitch, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler singing God Bless America and Neil Diamond doing a live version of Sweet Caroline - it appears that clean underwear and some new bling is the real recipe for success.

Well, that and a hit or two from anyone but their 2-3-4 hitters. That would probably be the most helpful improvement of all.

(Image from: Boston.com)

Cups, underpants and tiger-related injuries

I was online last night and jumped to the Twins shop linked from their site. Every now and again, I'll see what's been added to the "new" section to see if there's something my wife might like, if a new product line has come out that might look good in Cubbie blue or Sox red or if MLB is just rubber stamping products to make a quick buck.

Here's one from that third column.

Keeping in mind this is a newly released product, what's the thinking behind a Twins tumbler featuring Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Johan Santana? It wasn't a major surprise when Santana left and it had been a major story in the Twin Cities for months before the season ended.

Was this wishful thinking or are plastic tumblers much, much more difficult to manufacture than I ever knew?

I can only imagine that the Twins will sell a few of these cups - great for storing salt to later be ground into open wounds - box up the rest and sell them in 20 years as "throwback glasses."

* This came from the Extra Bases feature on Boston.com today, when Red Sox manager Terry Francona was asked about heading back home after his team was forced to play in three countries over the past two weeks:

Francona said Opening Day is "special anyway. Then you add the ring ceremony and half of us will be wearing clean underwear. How do you beat rings and a clean underwear?"

Uh, buddy? What about the other half? Were they already clean or some of those weird, superstitious guys who never do laundry in season like a boy in a sitcom?

* And finally, from my favorite White Sox site, the April 4 edition of Palehose 8. If you're confused by the set up this season it's well worth the time to start at the beginning and work your way back.

He's not going anywhere and I'm not planning to stop linking to him any time soon.

(Image from MLB.com)

Well, that's something different

I'm really enjoying watching ESPN scramble as the Red Sox refuse to take the field for this afternoon's Spring Training game against Toronto.

For the quick catch-up, the team is refusing to take the field in Fort Myers and says it won't get on the bus to the airport later today until the coaching, training and equipment staffs are paid for the scheduled trip to Japan.

Jason Varitek is in front of the cameras now and is apologizing to the fans - and promising autographs for those in the stadium - for essentially cancelling the game today as ESPN's broadcasters try to make lemonade with the dead airtime.

At 11:16 a.m., the Sox headed back to the dugout - more later if it's interesting.

Make that a Top 8 list...

Remember the Top 10 storylines to follow from yesterday?

Looks like No. 1 (What's the status of Curt Schilling's shoulder?) and No. 8 (Where does Clay Buchholz fit?) are off the Vegas boards following the word today that Schilling will be sidelined until the All-Star Break... at minimum.

So for those keeping score, that's 1.) really messed up and 2.) In the starting rotation through the All-Star Break, apparently.

Of course, this could be an excuse to stump for McCain through the summer or maybe an evil plan to help with fundraising.

You'll know what's up if you see a link on 38Pitches.com that demands donations to the McCain campaign that might help the shoulder heal up a little faster.

(Photo for SiberianBaseball.com)

The numbers never lie

While I'm sure most Red Sox fans have already seen it, either on the Boston.com site or on BostonDirtDogs.com, Gordon Edes boils down spring training into 10 easy-to-follow storylines.

I wish the rest of my life was that easy (Top 10 storylines to keep me out of trouble at work this week, Top 10 phone calls to duck, Top 10 questionable foodstuffs to pass on this spring), but this works, too.

I just wanted to call attention to the final poll at the end of the package which asks, "Which Sox player are you most looking forward to seeing at spring training?"

With roughly 7,700 votes in this evening, Jacoby Ellsbury has 50.1 percent of the vote, running away from Manny Ramirez with his 16.3 percent. This tells me two things: 1.) Ellsbury made a major impression in his time with the team last year and 2.) Sox fans are going to be watching him like a hawk after the Johan Santana trade rumors all winter.

This will be the continuing subplot for Ellsbury in the foreseeable future as fans try to value Ellsbury's performance against what Santana does for the Mets. That's going to be fun for him, I'm sure.

I'll be keeping an eye on the two young arms this year, Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester, as well as

On a related note, the teams listed by Edes as possibly looking for Coco Crisp's services this year are the Twins, Cubs, Rangers and A's. Bobby Kielty was signed to a one-year deal today, making Crisp even more expendable.

If anyone needs me in the next hour or so, I'll be down the street at Wrigley, spraypainting, "You don't need any more outfielders," in three-foot letters across the west wall.

(Image from: NYTimes.com)

How you think Ted Williams fought all those Nazis?

'Roids... Pure and simple.

Conflict of interest much, you old man?

The plot thickens

For those watching the Johan Santana trade with nervous/gleeful/heartbroken anticipation (that would be Red Sox fans/AL Central fans/Twins fans) the Boston Globe is doing a phenomenal job with the updates.

That link is here.

As of a half hour ago, the Angels seem to be making a strong play to close a deal immediately and the Twins are rumored to want the whole thing wrapped up today.

From the site:

From the Globe's Nick Cafardo (3:37 p.m.): "We've said here all along that the Los Angeles Angels have the ability to make any deal they desire because they have the chips to make it happen. If they have jumped into the Johan Santana hunt, they pose a real threat to the Red Sox and Yankees for Santana's services.

The Angels have extra pitching, so they're able to offer a major league-ready starting pitcher like Ervin Santanta or Jered Weaver as well as a host of positional players - anyone from Howie Kendrick to catcher Jeff Mathis, infielder Brandon Wood, outfielder Reggie Willits, and even Gary Mathews Jr."

"I do not believe the Yankees are out of the Santana hunt yet."

Well, OK, then.

Actually that makes perfect sense. The Angels have a recent history of sniping players at the last second, usually with half of America unaware that they were even in the market - this includes their recent signing of Torii Hunter.

No word yet on which fast food restaurant will host the signing if the deal goes through.

Also worth keeping an eye on is this new rumor that sends Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for pitching and prospects.

Update: That last deal appears to be final with Detroit capturing both Marlins stars in exchange for outfielder Cameron Maybin, pitcher Andrew Miller, catcher Mike Rabelo and three other minor league pitchers.

(Image from Angels in the Outfield)

Schilling back for one more year

Curt Schilling just posted to his blog that he and the Red Sox have agreed to a one-year deal that's full of all sorts of incentive clauses, not the least of which is a weigh-in clause designed to help him keep his girth down in the offseason. If you think that won't be driven into the ground on all sorts of message boards before Spring Training, you're a damned fool.

Also, if you haven't seen it yet, here's Will Leitch's take on Schilling from his NY Times blog during this year's playoffs. I've just been waiting for some substantial Schilling news to post it with.

While Red Sox Nation rejoices, here are the three points of his full post that I thought were most interesting.

1.) $1 million for receiving a Cy Young vote, any vote.

Weird. I wonder if this hurts or helps the chances of him getting a vote next year. What's to say that one of his pals in the media doesn't offer up a mercy vote as a retirement present? On the flip side, what's to say that a polarizing character like Schilling doesn't drive off all voters, regardless of his final record?

More on this when the 2007 Cy Young winners are announced.

2.) Bottom line is Mr Henry, Mr Werner, Mr Lucchino, Theo, Tito and John wanted me to come back, and I wanted to be back. So it’s all good. Saying it’s not ‘about the money” is a lie too. Both sides have a price, at some number I was not a viable option for the Red Sox, and at another number the Sox might have become a non-contender to us, but we both wanted this to happen and it did. Contrary to what some ‘insiders’ think they know, they don’t. Theo and I have an enormously respectful and friendly relationship and the same can be said for all three owners. As far as Tito goes, well I have too much dirt on him to ever worry about him selling out on me…

Isn't it nice when something as open and shut as returning a veteran pitcher is actually taken care of in a straightforward manner like this? Makes me all warm, fuzzy and damn near Boras-proofed on the inside.

3.) I’ve already heard from Josh and Wake, and am excited to know that my last year in the game will be with a team that has another legitimate chance to win the World Series. Also, the thought of being able to be teammates with this incredible group, for a final run is pretty damn cool.

"Last year" is the strange part here. Granted, I've been in fan limbo with Brett Favre for three years and counting, but still, to have an athlete cop to this is pretty odd. Someone remind me where this post is in a year if Schilling changes his mind.

Update: See, I'm not the only one who figured this out. Little did I know that Boston writers apparently have the votes next year.

(Photos taken for Siberian Baseball)

Quick reactions

ESPN.com ran the headline, "Twice in a lifetime" with a subhead that read:

The legend of Babe Ruth haunted Boston for some 86 years. The Curse of Doug Mientkiewicz? Merely three. Behind pitching as timely as their hitting, the Red Sox won another World Series.

Boston.com went with "Again!!"

My Aunt Phyllis who lives in the Red Sox Spring Training home of Fort Myers, FL probably feels the same way she did yesterday after the Game 3 win - "Great, that probably means even more tourists next year..."

Apparently they really screw up traffic.

(Image from Boston.com)

It's a bad night in the Bronx

I can just sit here and shake my head as the Red Sox lead 4-1 (now 4-3 by the time I'm ready to post) in the bottom of the eighth inning as it appears that Fox is trying its best to start a riot in New York City tonight.

If broadcasting the World Series with Boston up 3-0 heading into the fourth game wasn't bad enough, they've taken a little too much pleasure in announcing the apparent departure of Alex Rodriguez as well as rattling off the list of players who are free agents this year.

Sports Illustrated is reporting:

The Angels, Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Red Sox and Mets would appear to be the most logical pursuers of A-Rod. Although, the Mets would have to move at least one star player to accommodate A-Rod, who wanted to go there back in 2000 before Texas blew him away with their bid.

Can we add another iron into the fire by making sure everyone remembers that Rodriguez was originally a shortstop?

Also of note is the New York Daily News reporting that Joe Girardi is the frontrunner for the vacant position in the Yankee dugout, just days after stories that he was a goner for the manager's job.

All of this is just a little added flavor for Red Sox Nation which is taking this year's trip through the playoffs more calmly than the 2004 campaign. It's amazing what two trips to the World Series can do for a fan base, no?

I'll have to admit that this time around isn't quite as much fun as 2004 and I can't quite place why. I'd be lying if I didn't think that there's a greed factor involved - I've already let thoughts of a Series win in Fenway creep into my assessment of tonight's back and forth game.

I'm still contemplating something that Danny said last weekend - essentially that the Red Sox are the new Yankees. He's right and I think I first heard the sentiment for Red Sox blogs, but that doesn't make it any easier to process.

It's been hard to ignore the fact that Boston isn't the underdog this year and that there are thousands of young Rockies fans who are cursing the Red Sox and everything they stand for now, forging a hatred that will cause conflicts for years to come.

The biggest upside to the whole situation is that watching Fox try to pimp this series and Colorado's Cinderella season has provided quite a bit of entertainment for me this week. I'm pretty sure Joe Buck is about to start crying any minute from the stress.

(Image from: NYDailyNews.com)

If I see one worm, I'm not eating another apple again

So, amongst the chaos this morning at the hotel, I found a few minutes to flip on ESPN where The Sports Reporters were weighing in on the Paul Byrd story among other things.

The most ridiculous thing I heard in the opening 10 minutes was from Mitch Albom - I can't confirm this and I'm only relying on my shoddy memory, so I could very well be wrong on who said this - who said that the microscope was on Daisuke Matsuzaka after he signed his monster contract this season.

While I agree that he is seen as the key link to the Red Sox post-season, especially in light of tonight's do or die match up, I refuse to buy into the Sunday morning thesis. In short, the contention was that GMs across the league would be watching tonight as a litmus test on foreign born pitchers, how they handle the big games and whether they are worth the extreme investments.

This is in line with saying that Babe Ruth's switch from pitcher to slugger was such a success that every young arm should be given a bat.

I'm OK with playing up the pressure angle in tonight's game, but to make such a stupid blanket statement was enough to make me turn off the TV. Tonight will provide more information on one thing - whether or not Matsuzaka was worth the money - and not much else.

(Image from CNNSI.com)

Steven King approves, shakes teenager

In a name that will surely join the Pantheon of Spectator Participation giants like Steve Bartman and Jeffrey Maier, there was a little fan interaction at Fenway tonight.

As I'm sure will be reported ad nauseum by Saturday morning, a foul ball off the bat of Manny Ramirez was taken from Angels catcher Jeff Mathis' mitt along the first base side with one strike and one out to keep the at-bat alive, eventually leading to the tying run that inning when Dustin Pedroia notched the third run for the Red Sox.

Below are screen caps from the TBS broadcast and no, I have no life - thanks for asking.


After the play, the section was pretty jacked up to have a bona fide hero in their midst, including Stephen King, who cheered and then shook the hell out of the kid.


When this guy turns 21, he'll never have to buy a beer within Boston city limits.

(Images from TBS)

That beeping sound is the Cubs backing into the playoffs

Nothing like closing the regular season out with a loss hundreds of miles away, huh?

The Red Sox officially locked down the AL East for the first time since 1995 with a 5-2 win over the Twins coupled with a New York loss to Baltimore. The Cubs are back in the postseason in their yearlong attempt to destroy my pending nuptuals with a 6-0 win over the Reds and the Padres taking care of business in Milwaukee in a 6-3 win.

While both teams have had their ups and downs this year, Cub fans can't feel too confident about their chances in October, while Boston seems to have weathered the storm and won't face New York until the second round of the playoffs, assuming both teams advance.

This means that the American League is squared away now with Boston, Cleveland and Los Angeles winning their divisions and New York picking up the Wild Card.

The National League is still a bit murky, with the Cubs clinching the Central and Arizona locking up a yet-to-be determined spot. San Diego leads the Wild Card race by two games and the Phillies are up by a game in the East.

While there will be plenty of time to pick apart the matchups when the season concludes this weekend, everyone can prepare their favorite excuses about why the goat is a stupid curse, how two NL West teams actually have a shot at making the playoffs and why the AL East is primed for a fall.

Until then, enjoy the inner peace, Wrigleyville - this is the least stress you'll feel for at least a week. Maybe you should get out and get some sunshine or something this weekend.

Update: It will be Red Sox/Angels (like in 2004) and Yankees/Indians.

(Image from MLB.com)

Sometimes you just have a good day

Just a quick note on the two pitching gems of the weekend - Scott Baker's near perfect game for the Twins on Friday night and Clay Buchholz pitching a no-hitter for the Red Sox a day later.

I especially liked these two performances because they came out of nowhere for both pitchers. Baker is still a relatively unknown quantity in Minnesota and Buchholz is a rookie in every sense of the word, but they both managed to put together strong showings, albeit against some pretty suspect competition in the Royals and Orioles.

Considering there are at least two or three starters who are much more likely to pitch no-hitters on each players' team, it made the respective feats that much more exciting.

While I don't quite agree with Josh Beckett's assessment that Buchholz was one better than Curt Schilling - well, maybe Saturday he was - it's what makes these late in the season matchups worth watching.

Given a good day, you're never sure what will happen. Even in a worthless game against the Royals.

(Image from: The Associated Press)

The importance of talent evaluation

I couldn't help but think of Carlos Zambrano's new contract this morning while watching SportsCenter and hearing that tonight's game against the Cardinals will be the first spin around the block on his new deal.

Knowing the wonders of Cubdom, this all makes me very nervous. Just getting him to the park in one piece will be a moral victory in my opinion.

Still, the five-year, $91.5 million dollar contract should be a positive sign to the Wrigley faithful, especially given the Cubs' long history of driving away top-tier players, or having to be strong-armed into signings like the Andre Dawson standoff.

This is a good step for the organization, which finally appears to be giving up the dream of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior as the cornerstones of the Chicago rotation. By sinking ace of the staff money into Zambrano, I hope the Cubs have turned the corner on the series of problems that have plagued the team for the past several years.

The funny thing was that immediately following the talk of Zambrano's big payday were highlights of Hanley Ramirez in Florida and Orlando Cabrera in California, the heir apparent and sitting king of shortstop for the Red Sox, neither one of whom are still in Boston.

It just goes to show that while teams are sometimes rewarded for making quick moves to win immediately, sometimes the jewels of the farm system are prized for a reason.

Julio Lugo has become a punchline for baseball fans - and Bston fans aren't above taking a cheap shot or two - batting .241 with six homers, 59 RBI and 27 stolen bases, compared to Ramirez, who is hitting .340, with 23 home runs, 63 RBI (for the Marlins) and has 38 stolen bases so far.

Add to that the hypothetical double play combo of Ramirez and Dustin Pedroia for years to come and you can see how simple second-guessing has grown to full blown lament for Red Sox fans.

So, as the playoff chase starts to take shape, with the Brewers falling apart, the Cubs trying to pick up the slack with Alfonso Soriano still out and the Red Sox trying to keep ahead of the suddenly viable Yankees, I see two teams that are going to live or die by their decisions on talent in the organization.

Given their individual histories, I think both fan bases have reason to be skeptical.

(Image from USAToday.com)

Well, this is a troubling new pattern

So much for a lights out 1-2-3 punch in the Red Sox bullpen.

After dropping two of three to the Orioles, Boston's newest addition, Eric Gagne has been less than his spectacular old self, allowing five runs in the past two games, killing sure wins in the process.

With ERAs in those games a staggering 16.20 and 15.75, respectively, the Red Sox slide is corresponding with a suddenly viable Yankees team, cutting Boston's lead in the AL East to a slim four-game lead.

This was supposed to be a can't miss acquisition that now has me wondering exactly how healed Gagne really is from an injury that kept him out of all but two games last season and 14 games the year before that.

I wouldn't be less surprised if there's an announcement shortly regarding Gagne's health if he showed up at my house and his rotator cuff caught fire.

(Image from MLB.com)

Millar accuses Red Sox of cheating

Before there was Justin Morneau, there was Kevin Millar.

Helping to pull The Girl into my sick little world of baseball, Millar was a surefire lock to get her to watch a game or 162. For this reason, we're now the proud owners of a Millar autographed ball in the den and he'll remain one of my favorite players from the 2004 team for that reason alone.

That said, it's sad when they turn on you like this, accusing the Red Sox of cheating for signing Eric Gagne. Still, for anyone who hasn't enjoyed the wonder that is Millar speaking without a script, enjoy this video clip, where he pokes at Manny Ramirez for his hair extensions among other topics.

So much for that idea...

One of the strange things about attending out of town Red Sox games is that the Sox fans outnumber the home fans more often than not.

While I'm almost positive this is a result of attending more games in Baltimore and Minneapolis than say, Yankee Stadium, it's still a little satisfying when a nice, rumbling Red Sox chant rolls down from the cheap seats and takes over the Metrodome.

It's making me smile just thinking about it.

Anyways, a few days back, I e-mailed Dan over at Red Sox Monster to ask if he'd heard anything about Oriole fans and their crusade to buy out the tickets at Camden Yard to freeze out the great Red Menace to the North.

Well, the results are in and things aren't so great for the O's.

Not that much of this is surprising, I still think of the handful of Baltimore fans I knew during my time out East and regard them in much the same manner as my boss here, who is a Twins fan. In my estimation, meeting a real live O's or Twins fan is much like meeting a unicorn or a leprechaun.

So, enjoy taking over Baltimore, everyone - it's the site of one of my favorite baseball memories, where early in the 2004 season, my dad saw Johnny Damon and asked who the caveman was.

(Image from: ci.ftlaud.fl.us)

Good point

In the mix with the trade deadline chatter is this piece by Bugs & Cranks, a fan favorite here at Siberian Baseball.

It poses the intriguing question, "Will the Yankees and Red Sox ever trade players again?"

I tend to agree with their analysis which boils down to, "Sure, just as soon as my dog re-grows his balls."

According to the post:

Before the Mike Stanley trade in 1997, the Red Sox and Yankees last traded in 1986, when Boston acquired Don Baylor for Mike Easler - a swap of DHs. Before that, the two teams had gone 14 years without trading - the infamous Sparky Lyle for Danny Cater trade in 1972. So, in the last 35 years, the two teams have made 3 trades, or roughly one every 12 years. Even the United States and Cuba trade more frequently than that.

So, while crosstown rivals like the Cubs and White Sox will continue to offer and accept bizarre trades and swap players back and forth, the Yanks and Sox will most likely take the same road as other intra-division rivals and just let each other go to voice mail.

I'm fighting a case of the giggles right now, with images of Brian Cashman at a dinner party, when his phone rings, a friend asks if he needs to take the call and he shakes his head and puts his phone back in his pocket and says simply, "No, it's just Epstein again... You were saying?"

(Image from MLB.com)

Rich bullpen gets richer - Trading deadline 2007

It's not the wild west trading days of old, but most major league fans will take it.

With few superstars being moved this season, the headliners had to be Boston's aquisition of Eric Gagne - but not Jermaine Dye - and Atlanta's two newest Braves in Mark Teixeira and Octavio Dotel, big enough names, but nothing like the old school fire sales that used to happen.

Gagne is the talk of the telecast as the Red Sox are trailing the Orioles tonight and there is plenty to talk about there. With a bullpen that is already home to All-Stars Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon as the respective setup man and closer for the team.

The reports I've read make a point of mentioning that Gagne agreed to take a supporting role in Boston, so hopefully there won't be any turf wars over the closer's spot. Assuming that holds true and that Gagne is fine with taking it easy on his suddenly shaky arm, this is a great play by the Red Sox.

With Curt Schilling returning from the DL shortly, Josh Beckett's history of injuries and Daisuke Matsuzaka's high pitch counts this year another reliable arm in the bullpen can only help, especially if the starters need to be spelled in August as a long season takes its toll.

There's something to be said for having confidence in a deep bullpen - just ask any Cubs fans this year.

Personally, I thought the move to put Scott Linebrink in a Milwaukee uniform was interesting from a NL Central perspective. Despite his numbers, Linebrink was a bit of an untouchable player in San Diego as he was a favorite of management from everything I'd read. It seemed strange at the time, much like the unnatural attachments fantasy baseball managers seem to develop with their players, especially when they find diamonds in the rough.

For overviews of the trades made, you can check ESPN's take here or a little more blogger-friendly link here.

The Cubs decided to stand pat, with Sweet Lou Piniella opting to get a rubdown as the clock ticked down to zero on the trading deadline and the club prepares the areas around the clubhouse whirlpool tubs for Kerry Wood's return this weekend. Better put up some of those little yellow signs, too - just in case.

Knowing Wood's awful luck, there should probably be a lifeguard on duty just to be on the safe side.

(Image from MLB.com)

Tavarez shows signs of humanity... weird

Thanks to Red Sox Monster for this clip - the magic happens with roughly five minutes left, where Julian Tavarez makes up for the previous YouTube video where he's being heckled and looks like he could lose his mind at a moment's notice.

Say what you will about his demeanor, talent as a pitcher or lifetime record - Tavarez is a master at shaking what his momma gave him.

Nice work all around.

The wheels aren't falling off the Dice-K bandwagon

I have to admit that I poach more than my fair share of ideas from little asides I'll hear on MLB broadcasts. Not to the point that I just transcribe what the announcers are saying, but where I'll hear conventional wisdom or skewed stats and wonder if they're correct.

Case in point? Daisuke Matsuzaka's home run totals.

Matsuzaka rattled off five starts - dating back to his June 10 start - without allowing a home run before allowing 3 on July 8 in Detroit and 2 on July 14 against Toronto. Questions of Matsuzaka's pitch counts (more on that later), arm slot and general pitching issues surfaced.

My question is whether or not anyone bothered to look at the numbers before asking those questions on the broadcast.

If you dig a little deeper to the stats for Matsuzaka this year, you'll see a roller coaster of innings, pitches, earned runs and home runs allowed.

Considering that he's had five starts each month - except for six in May and four so far in July and that will change this week - it's not that hard to do the math. For the sake of brevity, I'll use monthly totals, but the full stat sheet is available here.

April - 3-2; 4.36 ERA; 33 IP; 16 ER; 2 HR; 541 pitches thrown; 38 K.
May - 4-1; 5.22 ERA; 39.2 IP; 23 ER; 6 HR; 623 pitches thrown; 30 K.
June - 2-2; 1.59 ERA; 34 IP; 6 ER; 1 HR; 601 pitches thrown; 42 K.
July (four games) - 2-2; 4.88 ERA; 24 IP; 13 ER; 5 HR; 431 pitches thrown; 21 K.

The quick breakdowns show a few things:

* The home run allowances aren't that far out of whack, but after allowing just one homer in the entire month of June, seeing back to back games of three homers and two homers look like a problem. It's not.

* There should be strong concerns regarding pitch counts after throwing no fewer than 112 pitches per game in his five June starts, with a high of 130 on June 5. On the season, he's pitched no fewer than 85 pitches, with three starts under 100 pitches.

Seriously, go look at those stats again - it's ridiculous.

* There is a real "all or nothing" pattern in terms of earned runs in Matsuzaka's starts, where it's six or seven earned runs or two or fewer. Kind of strange.

* While the numbers don't really flesh it out much, Matsuzaka is prone to the proverbial big inning, where he'll get into trouble, walk a few batters, give up a cheap hit and find himself on the short end of a quick flurry of runs. Cubs fans will know this as the Kerry Wood Effect.

* Matsuzaka has allowed 13 homers on grass and only one on turf... so there's that.

* The numbers are pretty equal otherwise if you look at the split stats here. In short, there's no real reason for Red Sox Nation to panic quite yet.

Of course, there's always the second half of the season, warmer days to wear him down, warmer air to help the hitters and the growing body of work that other teams get to pick apart to try and give their hitters the edge in matchups.

In short, here we go again.

(Image from: NYTimes.com)

Welcome back, Lester

The Red Sox and Indians are getting ready to start in Cleveland in about 10 minutes.

If you're looking for a ballgame tonight, check out ESPN2.

If you hadn't heard yet, here's why.

Catching up

No one told me that the All-Star Break wasn't a full week.

To bring Siberian Baseball back up to speed, here's a nice catch all post to put the train back on the tracks.

* Jason Kendall is the newest North Sider and many Cub fans who have seen games since 2003 are wondering why.

Phil Rogers wrote a short piece asking Cub fans to just trust the scouts on this one - which is pretty funny when you consider he's coming over from the Moneyball A's, which preach numbers over scouts' hunches - but you can't ignore declining numbers for a catcher.

From that story:

Kendall, acquired by the Cubs on Monday night from Oakland, has a great pedigree, impressive career numbers and more name recognition than Koyie Hill, Rob Bowen and Geovany Soto. But he also has a .226 batting average, a .261 on-base percentage and a 20 percent ratio throwing out base stealers.

OK, Phil, I'm with you - but only because the "Old catcher! Old catcher!" song was being sung for Pudge Rodriguez before his resurgence in Detroit.

* It's official, the Phillies are the, say it with me: Worst. Team. Ever.

The Cardinals beat the Phils for loss number 10,000 on Sunday night. Ouch.

But cheer up Cub fans:

Next on the losing list: the Braves, with 9,681 defeats. It took them stints in three cities (Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta) to reach that total. Not even those lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs, come close at 9,425.

* And finally, Scott Boras is causing a problem in Boston, questioning Daisuke Matsuzaka's pitch counts.

We all are, Boras. We all are.

I'll be back to get this thing moving in earnest soon, but as I mentioned at the mothership, it's a hectic week for me.

Keep your fingers crossed - if something good happens tonight, it'll be sooner versus later. Plus, there's always the embarrassing pre-season picks report card still to cover.

It'll go a long way to explaining why I have no future in the Vegas sportsbooks.

(Image from MLB.com)

My, what a fine grassroots effort

I do realize that most people don't buy tickets from multiple teams' ticket offices like I've done. I say that, because I realize most people only get e-mails from their home team.


After a few moves and different ticket situations, I now get regular e-mails from five or six teams - it just so happens that three of those teams have players in the running this year for the Final Vote.


Looks like MLB was all over this as I got three e-mails in rapid succession tonight. I know these need to be worked up quickly and sent along, but this is pretty much the least effort that can be spent and still actually do some work. The team colors don't even match. Can't they at least try to make it look like the teams are excited about their players?



(Images from MLB.com mailings)

Boston, here I come

Flights from Minneapolis are a tad more expensive than I'm used to.

Flying out of a hub like O'Hare really helps keep the price down, but a flight from here to Chicago, Chicago to Boston, transportation, hotel and game tickets are a small - nearly insignificant, really - price to pay to see a monkey throw out the first pitch at Fenway.

Again. To see a monkey throw the first pitch out at Fenway, again.

I missed out the first time and I'll be damned if it's going to happen again.

Thanks to With Leather for drawing attention to this, probably causing a rush on tickets in the process. So, I guess in reality that's a thanks for crushing my dream.

(Image from Boston.com)