According to the Boston Globe, Jason Varitek finally agreed to sign with the Red Sox today for one year and an option for the second year. Like there was ever any doubt. Where else would a 37 year old catcher coming off of a year in which he hit .220 go? I wrote last week how dumb Varitek and snake agent Scott Boras were for turning down arbitration where he would have likely made around $11 million next year alone. If Varitek plays out both years for the Sox and makes the full value of the contract, he'll basically be making the same amount in two years that he would have made in just one year had he accepted arbitration.
Do I love this move? Not really. I would have liked to have seen the Sox cut ties with him and go out and sign a younger guy for less money. I have no doubt that Varitek contributed to the Red Sox winning two World Series title this decade but let's face it: aging catchers don't get better and last year was probably the beginning of the end for Varitek. So what are we in for this year? Is he going to be worse than last year, especially now that he's basically playing for less money? I'm not a betting man but even I'd put a little money on him being worse next year.
I also hate the argument that says that the pitching staff would suffer if we didn't have Varitek. Did anyone ever think that maybe they'd be better with someone else calling games? Maybe Daisuke Matsuzaka wouldn't walk so many people with someone else calling the shots or maybe Josh Beckett would be more consistent. But those arguments are never mentioned, only that the pitching staff would fall apart without Varitek. So the Captain is back for at least another year and while I'm glad that he's back, I'll be the first one to boo him if he can't get his average above the Mendoza line next year.
Oh, and do you think that Boras should be making any commission off of this deal, knowing that Varitek should have accepted arbitration and be making $11 million?
There's been a lot going on in the baseball world the last few weeks that has me jacked and pumped for the start of spring training. Yeah, there have been a ton of free agent signings recently but I'm more interested in what hasn't happened than in what has happened. Here's a snapshot of what's gone down lately:
The Red Sox held a private meeting with free agent catcher Jason Varitek in Atlanta a few days ago, without his agent, Scott Boras. The Red Sox have soured on Boras this offseason because of the Mark Teixeira dealing and now are trying to work on a deal with Varitek that doesn't involve Boras. Here's the thing- Boras told Varitek to decline arbitration, where the captain would have made $10-11 million next year and also stayed with the Sox. By declining arbitration, Varitek screwed himself. There is no other market for an aging catcher who can't do anything but call a decent game. I wouldn't mind seeing Varitek come back but the deal has to be $3-4 million for a year with incentives. Remember, this is a guy who hit .222 last year and can't even catch the knuckball.
And speaking of Boras, in addition to screwing Varitek, he has also screwed Manny Ramirez, not that there's anything wrong with that. Since Ramirez already had a contract with the Red Sox when Ramirez hired Boras, the slimy agent wasn't earning any commission on his contract. So Boras did the only thing he knows how to do- he got Ramirez to shoot his way out of town and then lit up the weak National League West the last half of the year in an attempt to get a five year, $125 deal. Since Boras helped Teixeira land in New York, they dropped out of the running for Ramirez, essentially leaving the so called greatest right handed hitter of our time without a team less than a month from spring training. Had Teixeira signed with the Red Sox, the Yankees almost certainly would have gone hard after Ramirez. Now the only team that has shown any interest in him are the Dodgers, where the two year, $45 million offer may or may not be on the table. And let's not forget that Ramirez was already slated to make $40 million over the next two years had he not shot his way out of Boston. It would give me imense pleasure to see Ramirez sign on with some team that has no shot of making the post season for less than what he would have made in Boston. You think he was a headache before this debacle? Wait until he's playing in Kansas City for $9 million a year.
And speaking of things that couldn't happen to a nicer guy, there are now reports that the once glorified Pedro Martinez is in contract talks with none other than the Pittsburgh Pirates. So Petey has gone from winning the World Series in 2004 with the Red Sox and pretty much having the keys to the city to signing a lucrative $53 million deal with the New York Mets where he posted a record of 32-23 over four years to now having to negotiate with the Pirates who want to pay him $5 million to pitch for their crappy team. This is almost too good to be true. Stay tuned for more Pedro the Pirate talk!
One last baseball note that I wanted to hit on, as well. After two years of pretty much dismal play, one in Atlanta and one in Los Angeles, the Dodgers recently released their so called slugger Andruw Jones, even though they still owe him more than $22 million. While the Dodgers are at fault for singing him to this ridiculous contract, I wish that Major League Baseball were more like the NFL in this regard. There are few guaranteed contracts in football and it works to the league's advantage not to have overpriced players playing at a low level, allowing teams to bring in other players to stay under the salary cap. Their system isn't perfect either but it sure beats having to pay players like Mike Hampton, Carl Pavano and Darren Dreifort untold millions when they can't even get on the field.
After a busy week signing roll players, the Red Sox also reached a deal with first baseman Kevin Youkilis on a 4 year, $41 million contract. Wait, is that right? It's only $41 million? Really? That seems like a bargain for a guy who batted .312, had 29 home runs, 115 RBIs, a slugging percentage of .569 and an OPS of .958.
Let's compare that to the 8 year, $180 deal that Mark Teixeira signed with the Yankees a few weeks agao. Last year, Teixeira batted .308, had 33 home runs, 121 RBIs, a slugging percentage of .552 and an OPS of .962. So essentially, Teixeira and Youkilis are the same player if you base it on numbers. Yet Youkilis just signed a deal for half the years and half the money. And the deal got done in one day, as opposed to the soap opera that Teixeira created.
Let's not forget that Youkilis also set the record for most consecutive errorless games (238) and chances (2,002) for a first basemen last year and had a .996 fielding percentage.
But you know what I like the most about this contract- Youk wants to play here. There was never any other thought. This was one of those bizarre circumstances where it's really not about the money. Youk even says it in the clip below- what good is an extra million a year going to do for him? It's about playing in front of die hard Red Sox fans screaming your name and going nuts when you come up to bat or make a nice play in the field. It's not about what uniform your wife thinks you'd look good in. It's about winning championships and Youk's already got two.
Last week, I wrote a little about what it means for the Yankees to have seemingly won the winter. Well, I'm here today to tell you that I'm not so sure that the Yankees have even won the winter. I mean, did the Red Sox sneak up and win this offseason while the Yankees were too busy writing checks? Only time will tell but the combined price tag for all of the players the Red Sox have signed in the last week is about what the Yankees are going to pay Mark Teixeira next year.
The biggest news is that the Red Sox have signed consumate professional and post season star John Smoltz. For all of the failures of the Braves teams of the 1990s, Smoltz was among the lone bright stars compiling one of the best won loss records of all time. I know he'll be 42 next year and is coming off of shoulder surgery but I like this signing.
Another signing that I like is Brad Penny. When healthy he's been among the best in all of baseball. He came to Boston for relatively cheap money and if he can give us 12-15 wins I'd be happy.
Next up for the Red Sox is New England native Rocco Baldelli. I like this signing for no other reason than they gave him number 5, Nomar's old number. Baldelli will fit perfectly as an extra outfielder and his speed will be a huge bonus to the team next year.
Another signing that I'm jacked and pumped about is the addition of Takashi Saito. Here's another guy who has flourished in Los Angeles the last few years relatively unnoticed around MLB. He'll replace Mike Timlin and will be the key link between the starters and Hideki Okajima. One other reason I like this signing is that I think he'll add another level of comfort for fellow countrymen Daisuke Matsuzaka and Okajima.
The last guy I'm going to take a look at is Mark Kotsay. He was a key contributor down the stretch last year, as well as in the playoffs. He can play the corner infield positions as well as all three outfield spots. Between Mike Lowell's unkown status and JD Drew being a complete wuss, I wouldn't mind see Kotsay get 400 at bats next year. In fact, I wouldn't be shocked if he were starting by the end of the year.
The thing that I like about all of these signings is that they all wanted to come to Boston and I believe that they all had offers for more money elsewhere but they chose to play here. Contrast that with CC Sabathia's hesitation to sign in New York and Teixeira waiting it out until the last minute before having his wife decide where he should play. The guys that the Yankees have signed this offseason are going to New York for the money. The guys that Red Sox signed this offseason are coming to Boston to win championships.
Well, the Baseball Hall of Fame finally wised up and elected Jim Ed Rice to the Hall of Fame on his 15th and final try. I think that Rice is one of those players who actually benefit from the steroids era because it appears that none of those players will make it, even those with better lifetime numbers than Rice. Hello, Mark McGuire. For a solid decade, Rice was the most feared hitter in all of baseball and played a nearly flawless left field. He ended his 16 year career with 2,452 hits, 382 home runs and a .298 lifetime average.
While he was never a media darling (and I have my own story), it's important to remember that he should be judged for his performance on the field and not off the field, where he is to this day one of the most unapproached people in all of baseball. At least he's as consistent off the field as he was on it.
As I crept into bed last night with the Sox down 7-0 to the unstoppable Tampa Bay Rays, I had a bit of a sad feeling. Not that the Sox were on the brink of losing but that they looked like a bunch of losers going down in only five games to the surging Rays. David Ortiz looked pathetic, going so far as to walk to first base with the bat on his shoulder as he was easily thrown out. Jason Varitek looked like Jason Varitek (that's not a good thing). The starting pitching was horrendous for the fourth game in a row. The leadoff spot was an automatic out. No one was hitting with runners on base.
In short, the Red Sox looked dead playing a team that looked more like the 1927 Yankees than 2008 Rays. Balls were flying off the bats of the Rays and out of the park left and right, even though there was a stiff breeze blowing in from centerfield. Scott Kazmir was getting in and out of jams in the first few innings and being let off the hook by a team that looked like they had no killer instinct or even a desire to be playing baseball in October.
And then something kind of weird happened. Dustin Pedroia drove in a run to make it 7-1 and then Big Papi came to the plate. This was the same Big Papi who was booed by the Fenway (un)Faithful the entire game. I'll let the following photos tell the rest of the story:
With one swing of the bat, Big Papi, the greatest clutch hitter in Red Sox history, makes it a 7-4 game:
After watching Manny Delcarmen implode (again) on the mound, Jonathan Papelbon comes in and pitches two scoreless innings:
JD Drew brings the Red Sox within one run of the Rays with his two run blast. Yes, that was JD Drew. I know, I can't believe it, either:
Coco Crisp ties the game at seven with this single, which also represented the first hit from the leadoff spot by the Red Sox the entire series:
Kevin Youkilis comes around to score on JD Drew's ground rule single in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Red Sox the biggest postseason comeback in the last 79 years:
This kid pretty much sums things up:
This had the feeling of the Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals game where the Celtics made the greatest playoff comeback in NBA history. This is just the Red Sox' way of trying to trump the Celtics. Gotta love a little competition between two hometown teams.
So now it's back to Tampa Bay with our rotation set up perfectly for the last two games of this series. And I'd be a total liar if I didn't admit that I'm petrified of Josh Beckett in game six. I have no doubt that he could go out and throw a no hitter. . . or give up nine runs in the bottom of the first inning, which would only allow the Red Sox to make an even greater comeback. I said it earlier (even though it was my third prediction), Sox in seven.
Well, this isn't going quite as well as I would have hoped for at this point in the series. I'll admit, I was wrong about my prediction of Sox in six. In fact, I even revised my prediction to Sox in five after seeing T shirts announcing that the Rays took down Red Sox nation before the series even began. Boy was I wrong about that one.
But I wasn't wrong about who's going to win this series, just the number of games it will take. I guess we'll have to settle for Sox in seven. And really, the only disappointing thing is that Jon Lester won't be able to pitch game one of the World Series after pitching game seven of the ALCS.
The scary thing about what's taking place is that I don't see the Rays going anywhere in the foreseeable future. This doesn't appear to be a fluky year for them like some teams have had in recent years. They have a lot of young, talented players who are under contract for very little money, as well as a decent pitching staff to go along with it- at least their pitching looks good when you have players like JD Drew swinging at pitches two feet off the plate.
Anyway, if the Rays weren't completely demolishing my favorite baseball team, I might actually like this team, especially their manager, Joe Madden. He looks amazingly like the character in the movie Falling Down right down to the glasses. It's sort of uncanny the way that Michael Douglas' character in the movie goes berserck and the Rays are going berserck on the Sox. I might actually have to add that one to my Netflix list:
Here are just a few quick thoughts on the Boston Massacre that's taken place over the last three games while wondering if the Red Sox have the Rays right where they want them:
The only reason you need to know about the Sox losing three straight to the Rays is that their starting pitching has given up 17 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings for an ERA of 12.08. And they did it all while giving up eight homers and 28 baserunners. That's a pretty amazing feat for less than 13 innings of work. In fact, when I first saw it, I thought that was Matt Clement's pitching line for the last year he was with Boston.
Another major factor has been hitting: Jacoby Ellsbury is 0 for the series, and the Red Sox are 0 for the leadoff spot. David Ortiz broke out of an 0-14 slump by hitting a triple last night. . . when the score was 11-1. Is Little Papi even capable of hitting it the opposite way to avoid the ridiculous shift they put on him? After the game, Ortiz was quoted as saying that "we need to stop their defense." He was clearly getting loaded up on the Jack Daniels a little early when he made that comment because I have no clue what that means. Here's an idea, though: how about not throwing the ball right down the middle of the plate so that mediocre players can hit it over the Mass Pike 500 feet away.
And if this does turn out to be the end of their run to the World Series, Jason Varitek is finishing his Red Sox career in an 0 for 195 streak. That last stat might actually be accurate considering that I don't even remember the last time he got a hit. I don't care how well he handles the pitching staff, it's time time for him to move on in the offseason.
And speaking of moving on, even if the Red Sox reach the World Series, last night had to be Tim Wakefield's last start in a Red Sox uniform. At 42, I just don't see bringing him back for another start, let alone another year. This is a guy who has been a terrific starting pitcher for a long time for the Red Sox but his career postseason record of 5-6 with a 6.75 ERA just isn't good enough anymore.
And speaking of moving on (part deux), there was a reason that Mike Timlin was left off of the first round playoff roster. It's because the guy is old and hasn't been able to get anyone out the entire year. He's another player that has serviced this team well over the year's but it's time for him to move on, as well. And when I say move on, I mean retire.
And just in case this situation looks very familiar, it should. Let's revisit some recent history:
You know one of the only things I remember about all of those history classes I took growing up? It's that history is bound to repeat itself. So I'm revising my pick once again. Sox in seven even though I have no confidence that Big Papi could be a starting DH on a softball team at this point in the year, let alone the starting DH in the ALCS.
I didn't even bother doing a first round playoff preview because it seemed like such a waste of time. Not only are the Angels approaching the Cubs in terms of playoff meltdowns but the Red Sox eliminating the Angels from the playoffs is just like the leaves changing colors- it happens every year. After falling behind 0-2, did you really think that the Angels were going to win three straight against the defending World Series Champions, two of which were in Boston? Yeah, didn't think so.
I will say this about the clinching game last night: if featured two of the dumbest managerial moves I've seen since the days of Grady Little. First, Terry Francona pulls Jon Lester after seven phenomenal innings only to see his bullpen cough up two runs to tie it at two heading into the ninth. I know that Lester had thrown over 100 pitches but he was lights out. Unless his arm was falling off, I'd have liked to see him at least go out for the eight. If he gives up a hit or two then pull him but to bring in Hideki Heart Attack Okajima in that game is insane.
Not to be outdone, Mike Scoscia has the go ahead run on third base in the ninth inning with one out, the batter has a 2-0 count and Manny DelCarmen can't find the strike zone. What does the Angels manager do- calls the suicide squeeze. In a tie game. Of the divisional playoffs. In a game you have to win. With a batter who hit .111 for the series. We all know that Erik Aybar missed the bunt and Jason Varitek made a great play to tag out the runner heading back to third. When you make calls like that, you deserve to lose.
The fact that the Red Sox pulled off another ninth inning playoff series clinching win would have been an amazing feat had it not become almost assumed against a team like the Angels.
But enough of the Angels. Bring on the Devil Rays. Oh, yeah, it's just the Rays. So bring on the Rays. Or should we be calling them the Tampa Bay Cinderella Rays because they've come out of no where to win the AL East title this year. Before I start ripping on the Rays, I will say this- they play in the hardest division in all of baseball and they never faded this year, like so many people said they would, myself included. So I have to give them a lot of credit for moving out of the cellar in the AL East and making things interesting. And honestly, beating the Yankees in the playoffs was getting a bit old. So welcome to the show, Tampa Bay.
Having said all that, I'd be kidding myself if I wasn't a bit concerned about this series because I actually think it might go six games. That's how good I think the Rays are but the fact remains that no team with a purple mascot is beating the Red Sox.
Let's break down some numbers from the regular season, which tend to mean absolutely nothing come October. For the year, the Rays and Red Sox met 18 times with the Rays coming out on top with ten wins. Looking at the numbers a little more closely and I think you'll see that those wins look more like an abberation than a trend.
In the 18 games that these two teams played, Tampa Bay hit .233. The Red Sox hit .253. Tampa Bay scored 67 runs, which is an average of 3.72 a game. The Red Sox scored 87 runs for an average of 4.83. And yes, I think the .83 might be a factor in this series. For the year, Tampa's offensive numbers are in the middle of the pack, coming in 13th in hitting with a .260 average and ninth in OBP with .774. Meanwhile, the Red Sox continue to be one of the best hitting teams in all of baseball with a .280 average (second best) and an .845 OBP (also second best).
Now that we know that the Red Sox have the better offensive numbers, let's break down the pitching. If you're a Rays fan, you may want to skip this section. For the 18 games, Tampa's ERA was 4.44 to the Sox' 3.35. You all know that I'm no math genius but the Sox' ERA is more than a run better than Tampa's. And over the same games, the Red Sox pitching staff struck out 156 Rays, while Tampa's staff only struck out 121 Sox batters. Pitching is going to be key in this series and the Red Sox have the clear edge.
I'd also like to take a look at Lester just a bit closer, if you'll allow me a moment. In his last 22 2/3 postseason innings, Lester hasn't given up an earned run. In 20 innings agains the Rays this year, Lester only gave up two runs. As it looks right now, Lester will be working game two and game six. That's not good news for the Rays.
I know that Tampa Bay has the home field advantage but how much is that really going to factor in this series when 75 percent of the fans who live in Tampa root for the Red Sox? The Rays did go 57-24 at home this year, which is an amazing number and tops in all of baseball, but they're under .500 on the road.
Let's also keep in mind that the Red Sox now have the best closer in all of postseason play of the teams remaining. For his career, Jonathan Papelbon has never allowed a run in 19 2/3 innings in his postseason career, which is only one-third of an inning short of the major league record held by Joe Niekro.
At some point during this series, we're going to hear the clock striking midnight and the glass slipper is coming off of Cinderella and the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays will transform back into the AAA club they've been for the last decade.
While I've been busy disecting the Patriots and the NFL the last few weeks, the Boston Red Sox have sneakily crept back into the playoffs and will most likely be the wild card team. And last I remembered, that worked out pretty good for them in 2004. It also means another first round series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Orange County, California. And as we all know, the Red Sox own the Angels in the playoffs. I think they've won something like 73 straight playoff games against the Angels.
But here's the funny thing about this year's team: I don't even think they're that good. Maybe I'm just spoiled by undefeated seasons, victory parades and the home town team running up the score, but this year's version of the Red Sox is vastly different than in year's past. Here's a breakdown of their season to date:
• Curt Shilling goes down for the year in spring training.
• The Red Sox start the year in Japan (doesn't that seem like six years ago?) where they have seven different opening ceremonies in five nights. They then fly to Oakland for their opening ceremony and complete the trifecta by being the opposing team in Toronto's home opener. All of this in a span of ten days. I'm tired just thinking about it.
• David Ortiz is out for a month with a writst injury and still hasn't looked the same since coming back. His wrist still clicks when he swings. I'm no medical genius but I'm guessing that's not a good thing.
• JD Drew looks like JD Drew (he may have been the All Star MVP but I still think he sucks) and just returned after missing two months with a mysterous back injury that required an epidural. I guess I shouldn't make fun of him if he just had a baby. He returned to action two nights ago to play a whopping three innings before his back tightened up again and had to be removed.
• Mike Lowell misses a month of action and is playing with a torn labrum in his hip. That sounds like fun, huh?
• Jason Varitek grows old before our eyes and can't hit a fastball or a curveball or a changeup or a meat ball. There are also rumors flying around that he's romantically involved with NESN's Heidi Whatney.
• Julio Lugo went down with an injury (thank goodness) and is currently on the 60 day DL. Jed Lowrie fills in for him and steals his job.
• Josh Beckett has numbness and tingling in his pitching arm, scares half of New England to death by going to see Dr. James Andrews to have a dye test in his elbow, and misses a month.
• Daisuke Matsuzaka throws 100 pitches and can only get out of the fifth inning in nearly every start on his way to his current record of 18-2 even though he's walked 852 batters this year. I don't even bother turning on the games when he's pitching because I know I won't see the end of it.
• Manny Being Manny goes to another level this year and he's finally traded to the Dodgers, where there's talk of him being the NL MVP for only two months of play. He even nicknames himself Mannywood. I still prefer to call him fruitcake. I would take Jason Bay any day of the week and twice on Sunday over Manny by the way.
• Tim Wakefield has missed more than a month of action with various ailments throughout the year and is looking more and more like a 42 year old pitcher.
• Clay Bucholz can't get major leaguers out and the Sox get fed up with his antics by demoting him to Double A, where he still pitches like crap.
• Mike Timlin can't get anyone out and can only be trusted in games where we're either winning by ten or losing by ten.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, these are your 2008 Boston Red Sox. And you know what? I think they're going to win the World Series again this year. They've outscored their opponents by 165 runs this year while playing in the toughest division in all of baseball. But you know what I love about this team- our starting pitching. Who is going to beat Beckett, Matsuzaka and Lester? Beckett is one of the best post season pitchers in baseball history, Matsuzaka will throw so many pitches that he'll literally cause the other team to fall asleep and Lester has been the real ace of this team all year. Their bullpen is a bit shaky but when you have Okajima and Papelbon that's pretty much all you need.
One last note about this year. While I'm happy for the Tampa Rays being in the playoffs, it just doesn't feel like October baseball without the Yankees. If for no other reason, it was always fun watching Alex Rodriguez fail miserably in clutch situations.
Once the schedule is complete, I'll be back with a first round series breakdown. Although, it doesn't even matter because I'm already picking the Sox in four, regardless of their first round opponent. Is it too early to fire up the duck boats?
Gotta love Jonathan Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen (even though he's kind of shaky on his best night). During a recent rain delay at Fenway Park, they posted a video of Papelbon and Delcarmen lip syncing to a lip synced version of Blame It On The Rain by Milli Vanilli. I'm starting to think that Papelbon isn't acting when he does crazy stuff like this- he might just be insane. At least Papelbon shows that he can cover a wide variety of music between the Drop Kick Murphy's and Milli Vanilli.
In Boston, we've started calling our victory celebrations Rolling Rally's. Kind of lame but we're too busy celebrating championships left and right to put much thought into it. Anyway, since yesterday's Rolling Rally didn't have a rally, is it just a Rolling? And for all of you out there who have never seen a Rolling Rally or a Rolling before, here you go:
Boston Celtics
Boston Red Sox
New England Patriots
And just in case you're interested in coughing up your breakfast, here's Glenn "Big Baby" Davis dancing around with no shirt at yesterday's Rolling.
So last week Manny Ramirez slapped Kevin Youkilis in the dugout and it has gone largely unnoticed in Boston. In fact, for all of the Manny Being Manny moments we've had over the years, this one is getting the least amount of air time, both in the papers and on the radio. It's almost like it never happened. Maybe it's the fact that the Celtics are on the verge of crushing Kobe and the Kobette's for banner number 17 or the fact that we've all been so wrapped up in the Stanley Cup Finals (yawn).
It appears that the real story is now coming out on the fight and it's apparently Youk's fault. Check out this Boston Herald article that explains Youk's intensity and his frustration at making an out. Still don't see how it's Youk's fault?
I guess I get it now. Youk plays hard, has always been a team guy (remember how they kept optioning him to AAA a few years ago because he was the only one with options left even though he was better than most of the players on the team?), rarely makes any mental mistakes, plays flawless defense at first base, always talks to the media following a good or bad night but apparently has a penchant for taking things out on the water cooler in the dugout. I'm cool with that.
On the other hand, we have Manny Being Manny who likes to take days off when the team is shorthanded, lollygags to first on almost every play, stands in the batters box admiring long balls that sometimes don't even go out of the park, makes a ton of baserunning errors and never talks to the media. This is a guy that even President Bush made fun of for not showing up at the White House earlier this year for a team gathering and Bush bashed him for always using the excuse that his grandmother died.
And somehow people think Youk deserved to get slapped? I don't get it. This isn't another Manny Being Manny moment. This is Manny Being an Idiot and apparently he's going to get a free pass on this one.
The incident takes place around the :30 second mark of the video below. I wish John Madden could do the play by play on this video because it would go something like this . . . "Okay, watch right here. We see Manny coming back to the dugout. Keep watching. Wait for it. Right here. BOOM! There's the hard slap to the face by Manny. I don't know what Manny was thinking but he gets the Thanksgiving Turkey leg for that hit."
From now on, when someone gets sucker punched, I think it should be called "getting Youk'd."
Well, yesterday was just another typical day at the old sports office here in Boston. In the last twelve hours, here's what's gone down:
1. Coco Crisp gets beaned in the leg and charges the mound.
2. Jacoby Ellsbury gets hurt making a diving catch (this could have huge repurcussions for the Pilgrims, my fantasy baseball team).
4. Manny Ramirez hits Kevin Youkilis in the face between innings. The announcers say that Youkilis looks bewildered by the event but I can't tell because Youk always looks that way.
R. Red Sox finish off a sweep of the Devil Rays and go a game and a half up on the Devil Rays in the standings. Hopefully this will be the demise of the Devil Rays. Are they just the Rays now? Did they drop the Devil?
4. Coco Crisp tells reporters after the game that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays fight "like a bunch of girls." Coco looks like a girl.
T. Celtics kick off their first NBA Finals appearance in 21 years by introducing someone who is not currently on the team because of an injury and then skipping Brian Scalabrine. It's hard to tell if anyone is actually at the Garden because the player introductions are so quite. They didn't even boo Kobe Bryant when he was announced.
6. NBA unveils Larry Bird/Magic Johnson commerical in which both players look like they belong to the local beer bowling league:
7. One of the main announcers for the game has a bandage on his forehead. His lips are moving but I don't hear one thing he said because I'm too busy staring at the bandaid. ABC should have sold advertising on that thing.
7. Paul Pierce gets carried off the court by teamates in what looks like it could be a career ending injury, perhaps even life threatening. All local Boston hospitals are standing by to assist in a life saving operation.
8. Two minutes later, Paul Pierce returns from getting taken off the court and goes berserk on the Lakers and propels the Celtics to victory.
B. Kobe Bryant looks like me shooting baskets during the fourth quarter (not a good sign).
10. Celtics win Game 1.
Yup, just another day at the old sports office. Just a quick question, would sports cease to exist if it weren't for Boston? I think so.
You may or may not know that Manny Ramirez hit his 500th home run over the weekend. What I can't figure out is if he hit it at Fenway Park or in Baltimore.
Seriously, are there any Orioles fans out there? That's kind of pathetic to have the home crowd going nuts for another team's player, even someone who just hit his 500th home run. I sort of expected a decent round of applause but while I was watching the video, I thought they were going to bring him out for a curtain call or two or have him do the Cal Ripken lap around the stadium, similar to when Ripken broke the consecutive games played streak. Perhaps that's why the O's are in last place. Well, that and the fact that Kevin Millar is their starting first baseman.
Looking back on the celebration, I guess I'm sort of dissapointed that Baltimore didn't have some type of huge banner unroll with the number 500 on it, a huge picture of Manny, a video highlight film of every one of his 500 home runs and the unveiling of Manny Being Manny Highway.
When you're watching the video below, check out Julio Lugo's reaction to the home run when Manny comes back to the dugout. First, he gives him a hug that lasts waaaaay too long before Manny even gets to the dugout steps. Then, after Manny has high fived everyone, we see Lugo return for a second helping of another waaaaay too long hug.
And in case you missed Manny's catch and high five earlier in the year, here it is. This is classic Manny being Manny. He probably doesn't even know what ball park he's playing or the score of the game but he's conscious enough to make a nice running catch, run another five steps, leap up the outfield wall and high five someone in the crowd. Classic Manny. This also took place in Baltimore and, as you can hear, the crowd is going nuts. Way to support the local team. They should rename Camden Yard to Fenway South.
So the talk of the town around here (even bigger than the Elliot #9 Spitzer prostitution story and Mumbles Menino being the 109th highest paid City of Boston employee) is that Josh Beckett has a crippling back injury that may force him into a wheelchair for the rest of his life. In fact, Beckett may only live another month or two because of this rare, newfound terminal condition.
Actually, that's not quite true but based on the coverage of Beckett's 'injury,' you'd think the guy was some kind of number one ace for the defending World Series Champions. Oh, yeah, he is the number one ace for the defending World Series Champions!
I have to admit that I'm not quite sure what's going on here. Is Beckett really injured? He may very well be but I'm not buying it. I just think he's way smahtah than everyone else and has found a way out of going to the season opening series in Japan. And who can blame him? Beckett is the backbone of this team right now and is by far the best pitcher that they have. Do you honestly think that Beckett wants to get on a plane and sit for close to 20 hours straight, pitch against the Oakland A's in Japan and then make the return 20 hour flight home? I'm guessing no.
And he's gotta be looking at Daisuke Matsuzaka and thinking that he got his wife pregnant just so he wouldn't have to go home to Japan so there really must not be much to see there. I've go to believe that Beckett's just looking for a way out of this series and I'm fine with it. Heck, he could have just come out and said that he thinks this is a stupid idea and doesn't want to do it and I would have been totally cool with that, too. Heck, they could have given him an incentive clause in his contract for not going and I would still think he's the best pitcher in the American League.
I wouldn't even be surprised if at some point down the road we find out that Theo Epstein and Terry Francona are behind this 'injury' business. Somehow, they're already setting up their pitching staff so that Beckett can dominate the Billy Crystal and the Yankees the first time we play them this year.
Look, Coco Crap has tried this stunt all spring training by coming up with one ailment after another and no one's been fooled by his injuries. And besides, Coco's gotta go so he can be the stewardess on the plane- there's no other explanation why Coco's still on this team. I wonder if they've told Coco that they only got him a one way ticket.
I think the only thing that's surprising about this 'injury' is that Manny Being Manny didn't think of it first, although I have to believe that Manny probably thinks Japan is the 51st State of the Union.
Let me start by saying that I have no clue how a team that is only ten years old can possibly need a new stadium, especially a team whose best year was winning 70 games. But for all of the Red Sox fans who find it cheaper to fly to Tampa Bay, pay for a hotel and tickets to see the Red Sox play the Devil Rays in Tampa than Boston, there is good news: the Devil Rays are building a state-of-the-art stadium with a retractable roof made of weatherproof fabric that will be pulled along cables suspended on a central mast structure that sticks straight out of the ground. The bad news is that the architect who desinged the ballpark was smoking crack, drinking vodka and shooting up when he drew up the plans.
Somehow the architect has also convinced team ownership, MLB officials, local governing bodies and even the Florida Governor himself that this is a good idea. Umm, did they see the design for this thing yet? I guess they were going for the yatch look with the way that the roof is going to be retractable. Having that nice white metal pole sticking out of the ground as the mast also looks like it will make a nice addition to the downtown skyline. I mean, really, who doesn't like a nice big white pole sticking a few hundred feet out of the ground. And when the roof is open, it looks kind of like the Leaning Tower of Tampa Bay. That could end up being a huge attraction for the large Italian population in Tampa Bay.
The new stadium will hold approximately 34,000 people, which is just about the number of Red Sox fans who travel from Boston to the stadium when the Sox are in town. And at a price tag of only $450 million it seems like a bargain compared to the new stadiums that the Yankees and Mets are building, which are both expected to top one billion apiece. Somehow the Devil Rays think they can have this thing open for the 2012 season, which is only four years away. Ownership also thinks that the facility will require no new taxes or the reallocation of existing taxes. Good luck with that one.
Here's some more bad news about the stadium: to protect the majestic views of downtown Tampa Bay and the waterfront, it won't be a true retractable roof. Instead, the roof will act more like an umbrella, allowing for an open-air stadium fell with climate control techniques that will lower temperatures in the stadium by 8-10 degrees. So when it's close to 100 degrees outside, it will be a cool, comfortable 92 inside. Do the Devil Rays really think it's a good idea to have all of those old people sitting around in 90 degree heat for three hours? I guess if you're smoking crack, drinking vodka and shooting up, this plan sounds like a great idea.
Well, the Red Sox made their way to Washington, D.C. yesterday to pay a visit to W as the 2007 World Series Champions (I love writing that) for the second time in two years (I love writing that, too). For those of you who have been stuck on a deserted island after your Oceanic Airlines plane crash and haven't heard the news, the Red Sox did a serious beat down on the Curse of the Bambino and won the World Series in 2004.
Here's some of what transpired during W's comments to the Red Sox at the White House:
∙ "So Tim Wakefield’s batterymate is Doug Mirabelli. Mine is the vice president."
I had no clue that Dick Cheney was still alive. And he was there at the ceremony, no less. How often are the president and vice president in the same place at the same time? And there's even photograph evidence to prove it, just like Roger Clemens being at Jose Canseco's party! All I can think is that it must have been a really slow day for two of the (supposedly) most powerful men in the world to have time for a little fun with the World Series Champions.
∙ "Red Sox Nation extends beyond the South Lawn, extends beyond New England - it obviously goes to the Caribbean and even the Far East. So we welcome Japan’s Daisuke here to the South Lawn. His press corps is bigger than mine. And we both have trouble answering questions in English."
I love when the president rags on himself. I think it's even funnier because it's so true. And because Daisuke had no clue what W was talking about. All he heard was 'blah blah blah Daisuke blah blah blah blah."
∙ "I’m sorry Manny Ramirez isn’t here. I guess his grandmother died again. Just kidding. Tell Manny I didn’t mean it. But I do want to quote him. He said, 'When you don’t feel good, and you still get hits, that’s when you know you’re a bad man.' I don’t know what that means. But if bad man means good hitter, he’s a really bad man, because he was clutch in the World Series and clutch in the playoffs."
I think it's hilarious that W is bashing Ramirez for his grandmother dying again and the fact that he has no clue what Ramirez is talking about in his famous 'bad man' quote. Don't worry, George, no one else has a clue what Manny's thinking, either. As it turns out, Ramirez didn't attend yesterday's ceremony. Just out of curiosity, what was he doing instead? The photo above of Manny was taken yesterday while his team mates were at the White House. Mark my words, this will be the first of many Manny Being Manny moments of the year.
∙ "And how about Jonathan Papelbon? The guy pitches almost as well as he dances. And I appreciate the dress code. Thanks for wearing pants. Good job, and congratulations."
W obviously didn't write this speech because it was actually funny. I do have to admit that I was a bit disappointed in Papelbon's sober behavior yesterday. I expected Papelbon to do some type of drunken Irish jig on the front steps of the White House as President Bush looked on in horror before deciding to join in the festivities, similar to how Ty Law got Bob Kraft to dance at one of the Super Bowl parades a few years ago (I hate the Giants).
∙ "And so the ownership gets a lot of credit, the front office gets credit, and so does a really fine manager in Terry Francona. Laura and I had the honor of having Mike Lowell and Mrs. Francona and Terry for dinner earlier this month, earlier this year. And what I was impressed about was the values of this guy, and the fact that he honors his family as the first and foremost thing in his life. And I think the ownership made a good deal in signing him to a new contract."
Nice to see the president recognize the little people but I do have to wonder, doesn't the President of the United States of America have more pressing things to do than honor a sports team for winning a championship or even hosting players and managers for dinner? This story is all over the news and yet, I wonder how injured soldiers feel lying in a hospital bed or how families who have lost a son, daughter, father, mother, husband or wife in one of the many wars we're fighting around the globe feel. I hope that they're recognized in some way by the president for their sacrifices because those are the true heroes, the true champions and the one's that we should honor every day.
If you missed the ceremony, here's some of what transpired:
The Red Sox have finally taken care of manager Terry Francona by signing him to a three year contract extension in the neighborhood of $12 million. The contract also has club options for 2012 and 2013, which would make Francona the second longest serving manager in Sox history if he gets those extra years. The only Red Sox manager with a longer tenure was Joe Cronin, who held the job from 1935-47, just a few short years before my time.
With the new deal, Francona is now closer to new Dodger manager Joe Torre as baseball's highest-paid manager. Torre signed a $13 million, three-year deal this offseason after spending the previous 12 seasons as manager of the New York Yonkees. Just as a side note, I don't see Torre excelling in La-La Land. Actually, I'm sort of looking forward to the Dodgers having an awful year.
In addition to a multi-year, mulit-million dollar extension, Francona also received something else during the negotiations- a touching love e-mail from general manager Theo Epstein.
"It was just personal about what we've been through since the very beginning. It meant a lot to me. He means a lot to me." Umm, I thought there was no crying in baseball. Seriously, pull yourself together there, Terry. And please try to remember that this is the same Theo that walked away from you and the organization two years ago to go hang out with Pearl Jam in Brazil.
I do give Francona a ton of credit for the job he's done. He's led the Red Sox to two (yes, two!) World Series Championships and has done an incredible job of handling the Boston media and the players. Not to mention that he has to deal with the annual Manny Being Manny episode. In fact, I think it's written in the new contract.
For his Red Sox career, Francona has a .579 regular-season winning percentage (375-273), which is the second-best in club history among managers with at least 350 games. His .710 winning percentage (22-9) in postseason games is the best in major league history among managers with at least 20 games and he has the most World Series wins (eight) without a loss. Did I mention that the Red Sox have won two World Series Championships with him as manager? Yes, two!
In my opinion, Francona shouldn't have to buy another drink or another meal in Boston for the rest of his life. So if you see him around town, take care of his tab for him because he's only make four million a year.
Well, I woke up this morning to hear that the Red Sox have signed Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal. My first thought was to go out and stock up my food pantry before he arrives in Boston and cleans out entire grocery stores in a single visit. At first, I was a little surprised because the last I heard, Colon was going to sign with the White Sox but apparently he likes red better. And who can blame him for not wanting to be coached by Ozzie Guillen. That guy is just plain nuts. If nothing else, this signing gives 300 pound men all over America a glimmer of hope that their dreams of pitching in the big leagues can come true.
I wasn't sure if this was a good move but then I found out that it's not going to cost the Red Sox much. In fact, if he doesn't make the roster, the Sox owe him nothing. If Colon does make the roster, it will be for a minimum salary with performance bonuses built in. And I'm just going out on a limb here and guessing that the Red Sox didn't include any type of weight clauses in this contract like they did for Curt Schilling. This may be the only time in history when I would believe a baseball player if he held out for more money because he had a family to feed. For a guy that has had a rough couple of years with injuries, he sure hasn't done much to stay in shape, unless eating cookies and donuts is his idea of a good workout.
From what I can tell, the White Sox, Cardinals and Astros were also interested in Colon. It was also rumored that Colon was close to an agreement with the Mets earlier this winter but they backed off out of concern for the condition of his pitching arm. Apparently the Mets only like young left handed studs who are in shape and throw 200 plus innings a year while totally dominating their division.
For the record, El Guapo Part Deux pretty much stunk last year with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Orange County of California because of injuries, going 6-8 with a 6.34 ERA, which was the worst of his career. During his 11-year career, Colon is 146-95 with a 4.10 ERA. He's won 20-games twice in his career, as well as the Cy Young Award in 2005 with the Angels. So let's hope we're getting the Colon of 2005 and not the Colon of 2007. Somehow, I doubt it, though.
If I owned a grocery store near Fenway Park, I'd start stocking up on food now. From a financial standpoint, my only concern if I were the Red Sox would be if Colon does make the roster, it will probably cost them more to feed him than it will cost to pay him to pitch. Anyway, welcome to Boston, Bartolo.
Lots of people, mostly me, myself and I, have been saying that I should start a blog about sports.
So, here is my blog. If you like it, leave me a comment. If you don't like it, leave me a comment. Either way, I don't really care. And if you're offended by anything on this blog then stop reading.
And please note that while this is a Boston sports blog, there will be no entries about the Boston Bruins or hockey. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, they don't exist. I'd talk about the world championship wife-carrying contest before I'd talk about hockey.
According to the Boston Globe, Jason Varitek finally agreed to sign with the Red Sox today for one year and an option for the second year. Like there was ever any doubt. Where else would a 37 year old catcher coming off of a year in which he hit .220 go? I wrote last week how dumb Varitek and snake agent Scott Boras were for turning down arbitration where he would have likely made around $11 million next year alone. If Varitek plays out both years for the Sox and makes the full value of the contract, he'll basically be making the same amount in two years that he would have made in just one year had he accepted arbitration.
