R-J Baseball Banter

Jewel of a Gentleman

2010-01-08T19:50:00.000-05:00

I’m bringing back Papi & Circumstance prompted not by the new year or new decade, but the loss of Southington’s Jim Wallace shortly before Christmas.

Jim Wallace was the sort of man whose passing reminds us even the best eras must end.

Mr. Wallace was still involved in American Legion baseball when I returned home in 1998. He was one of those old-guard Southington guys I always enjoy seeing — the Ray Walshs, Bill Snows, Joe LaPortes and Joe Orsenes of our corner of the world, gracious gentlemen with a selfless air of class and an appreciation for things done right.

Now and then, Mr. Wallace would let me know he’d enjoyed something I’d written. It was usually a piece that had involved extra thought, extra creativity, extra patience.

“I write for readers like you,” I replied to one of his e-mails.

Most Southington folks are familiar with Jim’s legacy, or they should be. Town councilman, Hospital for Central Connecticut incorporator, YMCA, Bread for Life — that’s just the start of it.

I find myself thinking the ultimate measure of a man lies in his children. What truer reflection of one’s values, character?

Southington folks my age had the pleasure of going to school with Ted and Sally Wallace, the youngest of Jim’s five kids. Sally was in our class. She was smart, pretty and polished. She did one of her senior English papers on Faulkner’s “Intruder in the Dust,” if I recall correctly. Simply miles ahead down the road.

Ted, who eventually went to the Naval Academy, was a year older and, in our days at St. Thomas Junior High, part of a tremendous class of athletes. In basketball, he, Rob Dibble, Barry DePaolo, Kevin McCarthy and Pat Kelly comprised a starting five that rolled over most opponents and geared up for it by rolling over younger teammates in practice.

Coach Dave Valentine would wind the scrimmage clock to 30 minutes and, man, even on running time that was an eternity.

One night I managed to do something above average to net two textbook points for the scrubs. Pick-and-roll? No-look bounce pass? Can’t recall. I just remember Ted running back down court alongside me saying, “Nice play; now don’t get cocky.”

That was the most influential advice I got all season. I now recognize the influence behind it. Shape your sons well and you’re bound to shape the sons of others.

I’m not sure if Mr. Wallace coached Ted or his oldest boy, Jim, in sports. He was better known for refereeing midget football games and umpiring Little League games. Late in life, he was the scorekeeper for Southington Legion baseball.

Shape the sons of others and you’re bound to shape a corner of the world.

And that, I’d say on second thought, provides the true measure of a man in the eyes of scorekeepers Great and small.

BERLIN, CT BASEBALL In World Series!!

2009-08-11T13:09:00.003-04:00

The Berlin, CT American Legion baseball team won the Northeast Regional and has now advanced to the American Legion World Series, which is Fargo, North Dakota.

Two of the players (Chris Morin and Doug Ferraguto) on the team will be blogging live from the event.

You can catch all their baseball posts clicking here or visiting the BerlinCitizen.com web page.

Best of luck team!

Cape cod league baseball

2009-07-26T17:48:00.000-04:00

Future star? Heading to see the game in Orleans in an hour. Cape cod
league is the real deal.

Pro Baseball Players Using TWITTER!

2009-06-19T15:51:00.003-04:00

Jose Canseco
Curt Schilling

Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia Phillies - @moyerfoundation
Chien Ming Wang, New York Yankees - @chienmingwang
C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees - @cc_sabathia
Todd Wellemeyer, St. Louis Cardinals - @todalion
Barry Zito, San Francisco Giants - @barryzito
Chad Durbin, Philadelphia Phillies - @chaddurbin
Jason Grilli, Texas Rangers - @jgrilli49
Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals - @joakimsoria
C.J. Wilson, Texas Rangers - @str8edgeracer
Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins - @justinmorneau
David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox - @davidortiz
Nick Swisher, New York Yankees - @nickswisher
Chris Getz, Chicago White Sox - @chrisgetz
Coco Crisp, Kansas City Royals - @coco_crisp
Curtis Granderson, Detroit Tigers - @detroit_tigers
Matt LaPorta, Cleveland Indians - @gator4god
Erik Allison, future MVP of the Boston Red Sox @erikallison

MORE TO COME!!!

Lucky Seven. Go Red Sox!

2009-06-11T15:22:00.002-04:00

This is one of those times that Karma is gonna get me. It must be stated again though.

Sox - 7

Yankees - 0

What is happening to the rivalry? I know they match up MANY more times but this is just silly.

Go Red Sox.

Word.

Papi being Papi

2009-05-21T14:11:00.002-04:00

Finally.
I wasn't as down on him as some other Sox fans, or at least I didn't want to let myself be. I continue to think he'll be alright. He may not hit 51, but if he hits 25 and drives in around 100, I won't complain. I never thought he should be dropped in the order. Hopefully, that pop yesterday will get him going against the Mets this weekend. I could see a big weekend for him with a few homers and RBIs. Would love Lester to get on track tonight and sweep the Jays. It's about time for them to go into their customary lose 20 of 25 streak they seem to every season.
Looking forward to seeing what Dice does on Friday night although it's against Santana so that could be a problem. Bay and Lowell have been outstanding so far this year and with Youk back, the offense shouldn't have to many games of less than three runs.
Yankees seem to have righted the ship. Who knows if it's A-Rod's return or just all of them are hitting their stride at the same time. Either way, seems to be shaping up for a good race, especially since the Rays look like the old D-Rays.

Stayin' Up Late

2009-05-13T11:30:00.002-04:00

Sweet win for the Sox last night in Anaheim to start the road trip. A 'W' in the books without Pedroia or Youkilis in the lineup.
Proof anew, too, of the value of a great bullpen. No matter what the deficit, we've got a chance to win the game.

And did J.D. actually get excited about something last night?
Could do without Lugo. Don't know about you, but when the ball is hit to him, I expect an error. He wears expectation like an armored suit.
(A golden smog production)

Manny Being Suspended Manny!!!

2009-05-07T11:55:00.001-04:00

Manny Ramirez is busted. 50 game suspension coming for testing positive for a banned substance. Read up people!

BUSTED

That's five in a row.

2009-05-05T23:00:00.000-04:00

Sox take a fifth straight from the Bronx bombers. Ugly in the city.

Joba is a punk. Love him for his passion. Hate the way he goes about
the game. To bad you don't get an at bat.

Perhaps it's his upbringing. Bad mommy.

Nice job red sox. Now, go beat the tribe!

Twitter.com/eallison

Thoughts on new Yankee Stadium

2009-05-04T16:04:00.002-04:00

So we've got round II tonight, weather permitting, and I'm just pulling for a split. If that happens, the Sox would have taken four out of five from the Yanks and I could live with that. In the past, this would be the time the Sox would lose both of these games after sweeping last weekend. That's why I'm just looking for a split.
Anyway, got to go to the new Yankee Stadium on Saturday with some friends. There's no denying that it's amazing, but I do have a few issues.
When you go into this place, baseball becomes secondary. It's all about excess. There was a line about 45 minutes long to get cheese steaks and the girl in front of me was eating sushi. There's a Boar's Head deli counter in the stadium. The thing that really put me over the edge was the Farmer's Market. Seriously, just think about that for a second. A Farmer's Market inside a baseball stadium. Oh, and beers are $9 for a bottle of Coors Light.
That being said, they did fix alot of the problems I had with the old stadium. The bathrooms were small and you would waste an inning waiting in line. When you went out to get food, you literally missed the game. Now, there are TVs everywhere and they opened up the walkways so you can see the field when you're waiting in line for food or walking around.
The most immediate thing I noticed was the empty seats and it's not just behind the plate and dugout like you see on TV. There are a good amount of empty seats in the upper deck and the luxury boxes were literally being unused.
All in all, a good time. Yanks wound up losing so that was good and I had some good nachos. The only thing with that is they are now putting the caloric information on the menu next to every food item, which is so unnecessary at a ball game. I think my nachos said 1,750 next to them. I was just glad that wasn't the price. At Yankee Stadium, you just never know.

Let's keep things in perspective

2009-04-27T12:48:00.002-04:00

What happened over the weekend is no big deal. Remember the Yanks' five-game sweep of the Red Sox to clinch a playoff birth three years ago. Now that was a sweep!

The Beard of Truth speaks wisely.

2009-04-27T10:36:00.002-04:00

This is good stuff...

The Beard of Truth speaks wisely.

If you have a sense of humor and you are not a Yankee fan.

http://beardoftruth.com/

GO RED SOX! SSSSSWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPP!

Yankee fans are not allowed to speak this week to any SAWX fans! Quiet! Don't say anything, just sit there and take it. No. Stop talking and thinking. SSSHHHHHH!

@erikallison

Red sox one, yanks nilch. Love it.

2009-04-25T12:00:00.000-04:00

Yoooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuk.

Typical game. Sox win in a comeback vs. The yankers. Love it. Looking
for more today at 4pm just like that. Go red sox!
For more baseball ranting (rated R) visit:
Www.Twitter.com/erikallison

Happy Friday, Bry

2009-04-24T11:40:00.002-04:00

Thanks for breaking the news to me Bry. I know you and I both were big Kason Gabbard fans. He always reminded me of Bronson Arroyo for some reason. Just to walk down memory lane with Arroyo, I was thinking about him last night and how important he was during the 04 run in the playoffs. He goes into the bullpen and was brought in in the late innings to face the Yanks toughest righties. I have these images of him taking down A-Rod and Jeets. So, yes I'm happy to have Gabbard back. As for the goggled one, all I can say to talk you off the ledge is that, hey, at least they won in spite of him. The thing that bothers me most is that he actually got a ring that season. But then again, Abe Alvarez got in in 04 so it's all relative.

Kason in Point

2009-04-24T10:55:00.006-04:00

Hey, Danny, good to see the Sox get Kason Gabbard back. It is 50 percent redemption of the one and only bad trade Theo ever made.
But I must say, the re-acquisition puts the image of the Goggled One back in my mind and the old horrors afflict me once again. Come talk me off the ledge.
(A golden smog production)

Early-season musings

2009-04-21T12:24:00.003-04:00

"It took a five-game Sox winning streak for this guy to post for the first time?"
OK, I would probably be thinking the same thing right about now, but I have some excuses. First off, it takes me a while to get into a rhythm during baseball season. There was no time to decompress from the excitement of UConn getting into the Final Four, with the first pitch just a day-and-half after the Huskies lost to Michigan State. And with all the day games from opening day through Patriot's Day, it's hard to get a true feel for the ol' ball club -- after all, it's hard to work and watch a game at the same time ...
But I do have some early-season thoughts on the Sox. While admittedly ecstatic to see the Boston Juggernauts show off their pitching prowess in a 2-1 Lester-powered victory over the Orioles on Sunday, and then show off their ability to pound the ball by routing the hapless boys from Baltimore with a dozen runs on Monday, all is not well in Beantown. The five in a row, including a four-game sweep of the Orioles, has us above .500 for the first time since opening day, but injuries are starting to become a worry. Justin Masterson is an excellent fill-in for Dice-K in the rotation, but what does that do to our long relief the next time Brad Penny is knocked out in the third inning or Tim Wakefield has one of his off days and heads to the showers after four? And shortstop is an even bigger worry, because if Jed Lowrie is indeed out for the year, or even several months, that means a huge dose of Julio Lugo and I don't know a Sox fan out there that wants to suffer through that! It's nice to see Varitek piling up some extra-base hits and Big Papi feasted on some terrible Orioles pitching yesterday, as well, but I'm not sure the newly-spectacled Mr. Francona has found the right batting order yet. As hard as it is to face the truthfullness of the decline of Ortiz, who we've made excuses for the last two years, it may be time to drop him several spots in the order, where his inability to catch up to an 88-mph fastball will hurt offensive rallies a bit less.
So perhaps I'm focusing too much on the negative so you all don't think I'm just a fair-weather blogger -- it is nice to have a nice little winning streak to get on a roll heading into the first showdown with the Yanks this weekend. But hey, two recent titles or not, what would a true Sox fan be without a healthy dose of pessimism ...

2009-04-20T18:32:00.001-04:00

Back on Track

2009-04-20T09:47:00.002-04:00

Wow, EA. That is a pretty nice little weekend you had there. I was doing yardwork on Saturday when I came in and checked Facebook and like four status updates all said something along the lines of "Are the Yanks seriously down 20-2?" Ran right over to the TV and turned it on to watch the rest of it. There's got to be a bit of concern in Yankee camp when their fans are chanting for their right fielder to come in and pitch...for the second time in the first 12 games.
Watched parts of Sunday's Yankee game, too. Did anyone else notice that with the score 3-1 in the 7th, there were a heck of a lot of empty seats in back of home plate and near the dugouts. I know how much they cost, but that's pretty sad to have a game on a beautiful Sunday and have literally rows and rows empty. Can someone also send out an alert to the Yankee fans who sit in the front row of the the outfield to keep their hands to themselves. Not saying Posada's ball wouldn't have left the yard, but both those dopes were reaching out a few feet.
Sox looking much better. Was a bit concerned Friday night after going down 7-0, but they got four right back in the bottom of that inning. There was a point when they were down 7-3 with bases juiced and Papi up after Pedroia's head first slide into first. I yelled to my wife that Papi was about to hit a grand slam. It just had that feeling that this could be the at-bat to bring him back to life. He wound up with a sac fly. Oh well. Youk is as hot as Pedroia was last year when he carried the team and, right now, no one is missing Manny's bat in the cleanup spot. Loving Ramon Ramirez so far. Jason Bay is proving that he wasn't just a big fish in a small pond in Pittsburgh all those years. Things are looking up. It would be great to take a 4-game sweep today on Patriots Day.

Pounding in person.

2009-04-19T19:57:00.001-04:00

I was there in person for the twenty spot the Indians shredded off to the Yankees. What a game. I have never seen so many people leave a game by the fourth inning. Especially for what they paid for a ticket. Gotta say... nice new field and stadium NY has. Impressive. I will post pictures and a quick write up soon.

Not a bad weekend for a Sox fan. I went to the game Friday in Fenway and saw a 7 run comeback then the massacre in NY.... doesn't get much better.

- EA

So yeah, my record took a lil bit of a hit today

2009-04-19T01:21:00.008-04:00

I've been with them through the good times and on Saturday afternoon, I was right there with them for one of the worst games in the history of the Yankees.

22-4

All nine innings of it.

What's with the Indians putting up football numbers, rather consistently, against us? They don't even take most of the starters out. It's ridiculous.

Most Runs Allowed,
Yankees Franchise History
Runs	Opponent	Date
24	at Cleveland Indians	7/29/28
23	at Cleveland Indians	9/2/02
22	vs. Cleveland Indians	4/18/09
22	vs. Cleveland Indians	7/19/87

Source: ESPN.com

And this doesn't even include the 22-0 game in 04 or the blowout in game 1 of the alds in 07

At one point, Anthony Clagget's ERA was 81. What a way to make your major league debut.

Hey, at least Teixeira and Melky homered, 4 runs isn't too shabby.

ESPN.com says the team hasn't decided if they're going to skip his next start.

In the wake of all these tax tea parties, I'm not one for protesting. But if they DON'T skip his start, I think Yankee fans should storm the field and make it happen ourselves.

Chants of "We want Swisher" broke out in the 8th. It's games like this that make you realize it is just a game. We can't win a World Series like this and I can't take this team seriously anymore.

But hey, we've got Burnett going up against Southington native CARL PAVANO tomorrow.

Opener Schmopener

2009-04-17T19:45:00.029-04:00

Yeah, yeah, the Indians ruined our fun on April 16th, the day that everyone was looking forward to, the first game at the new stadium. And watching that game from home, it just didn't feel right.

Bernie's rendition of take me out to the ballgame was beautiful, although he added a couple of unnecessary notes at the end as the crowd was trying to applaud him off.

But I bought tickets to Friday's game and Saturday's game, thinking that would guarantee me a chance to see A.J. Burnett, but they switched up the rotation a bit to allow Sabathia to open the stadium and skip Joba's start, so I have to settle for Joba and Wang tomorrow.

I took the F train into the city, transferred at West 4th, and almost didn't take the B train because I thought it didn't go to the stadium. It's crazy how easy you forget these simple things after changing to a private commute for 3 years. But I walked over to the subway map as the doors remained open, and sure enough, it says the B stops at Yankee Stadium. Of course it does, or it's supposed to, because later as I took one of my inaugural bathroom breaks I could hear the 3-way Subway race between the B, D and the 4 train. But once the B train took all the local stops, and then the conductor said you've gotta transfer to the D.

"They lied," said one guy in a Yankee jacket who took the trip on the same train with me. So I did the sardine in a can thing for a couple of stops and I was there, same old 161st Street station, same old team, and a pigeon flew over the crowd as they got off the train. I'm pretty sure I never saw that before.

And I'm sure I never saw this new Stadium in person before. And I was skeptical, but right from the multiple entrances making the wait to get in shorter, to the banners of great Yankees hanging in the concourse and of course, that first view of the field; this place is beautiful.

And the cushy seats are definitely my favorite part.

All that was missing was a Yankee win. And apparently, a whole lot of solo homers to left field.

Damon tagged the first one just over the wall into a fan's glove, allowing him to taunt right-fielder Shin-Soo Choo.

Every opposing team seems to have a player with a name that becomes a fan sensation.

Every time Choo, the only Korean major leaguer if I remember my WBC commentators correctly, came to the plate this guy would chant "Shin-Soo" and his son followed with "Who?"

He was Section 132's rally monkey. Always starting the "Let's go Yankees" chant and continuing it for 4 minutes, even if him and his son were the only ones chanting. I love fans like this, we need more fans like this, but I can't really bring myself to be that guy unless something exciting is happening. Plus I've had a sore throat since Sunday and all these homers didn't help the matter.

Damon's always been a fan favorite here. Some Cleveland or Red Sox fan threw a plastic bottle at him from the left field bleachers, which were noticeably rowdier than the new bleacher creatures.

Tex making it back to back

The Melk man trots home with his delivery

A scorching hot Robinson Cano rounds third after his 6th inning shot into the Loge ... is that what they call it still?

and Jeter knocks out his third homer of the year, way ahead of last year's pace, to give Mariano a save opportunity. He looks reeeally comfortable out there with Cody Ransom at third. I wonder if he can keep it going like this when ARod comes back.

Mo had a pretty rough 9th. Ben Fransisco laced one into left center, and if it wasn't for Gardner's range, he would've scored the tying run on Asdrubal Cabrera's, if not Tony Graffinino's single. And after watching mark DeRosa's at-bat, our groans from the left field stands were rather justified on those two inside cutters that made the count 3-2, and Phil Cuzzi basically made up for it because DeRosa didn't swing at that last ball out of the strike zone.

Awww man, seems i just missed Swisher and Cano's celebration in the air right here...

And of course, what everybody has been waiting for, my Yankee Stadium food review.

This steak sandwich is AWESOME. I didn't mind paying $15 at all. You even get a bunch of old New York Times Yankee story clips with it. Who says print media is dead?

More pics to come tomorrow if I make it to the game, i might have strep throat or something, but I'm seeing a doctor tomorrow and hopefully he's got the good stuff for me. Hope the yanks turn in a less-exciting win tomorrow so I can talk in the near future.

The Yanks were 10-2 when I was at the game last year, they need to give me a season ticket plan, ain't nobody gonna buy these seats anyway.

MLB Trippin

2009-04-16T09:20:00.002-04:00

Right now I am thinking that I am one lucky cat. Friday will be a trip with some friends to Fenway. Saturday will be a trip with future brother-in-law to the Stadium.

The weather is supposed to be warm and the beer is supposed to be cold.

Yes I am one lucky dude right now. I will post pics from the game via twitpics. If interested, you can catch the images on my twitter page: @erikallison

Go Sox.

Alright Ransom

2009-04-15T19:43:00.002-04:00

Clutch 9th inning double to set up Jeter's game-winning two-bagger of his own to take a series from the daunting Tampa Bay Rays. Now just teach this kind of timely hitting to the Hall of Shamer that's inevitably going to replace you in May and we'll have something going here.

Oh, I can't expect that much out of Cody. Just keep Ramiro Pena honest.

Good to see Andy Pettitte manning up behind Burnett while Wang keeps imploding out there. I'm still furious about Girardi not going to Mo on Sunday, but he's obviously got the starters necessary to recover from these kinds of mistakes.

Tough loss

2009-04-15T09:30:00.002-04:00

Really tough loss for the Sox late last night. Started off with three runs in the first and I kind of thought maybe that would help them break out a bit, which big-run games tend to do to offenses sometimes. Instead, Dice gives up five in the bottom of the first and gets pulled with arm fatigue. Bullpen was great and the Sox wind up tying it at 5-5. I fell asleep around 2 a.m. and I guess they lost in the bottom of the 12th on an infield chopper. Their offense just looks pathetic right now and they're tough to watch. Dropped the first three series now and we'll have to wait and see on Dice-K. Gammons is saying Lowrie is going to be out more than that 15-day DL period he's on. Nick Green is not an everyday shortstop. Beckett's six-game suspension is a joke. How can a guy not get thrown out of a game and then get six games. If MLB decideds that's the case, the umps should be penalized for not making the right call.
The real problem with last night's game is that it totally screws up this afternoon's. The bullpen is completely taxed and with Wakefield on the bump today, it could go either way. Francona has probably already told him it's his game no matter what and he'll need to take it on the chin and eat up innings even if he isn't pitching well.

Numbers Game

2009-04-14T10:39:00.022-04:00

From the Geeks R' Us Department:

Save statistics just might be the most misleading in the game. You get equal credit for one whether you strike out the side or nearly screw up royally.

Exhibit A: Last night's Phillies-Nationals game. Philly closer Brad Lidge enters in the ninth with his team up 9-6 and gives up a two-run HR. By doing so, he put himself in position to get a save, which he eventually did "earn" in Philly's 9-8 win.

I don't know, man. Seems those stinkers shouldn't count in the save catagory.
Or maybe I'm just bitter because the Sox have had only one save situation so far and Pap barely got over the finish line.
(A golden smog production)

2009-04-14T09:51:00.002-04:00

It's April 14 and this is our most effective middle reliever. Girardi should be ashamed of himself.

Not happy with Tony Randazzo right now

2009-04-13T20:13:00.004-04:00

I was watching the Sox a little bit yesterday, Beckett had some good stuff and some of his breaking pitches basically hit the middle of the plate and the ump seemed to not have seen the pitch and called a ball.

Tony Randazzo is just not giving any of the black to Wang or Kazmir right now in Tampa, so he's consistent, but neither pitcher has that stuff tonight.

And I'm not one to nitpick an umpire's strikes and balls, but I've got nothing better to do since the Rays have taken a 9-0 lead in the second inning. I told you Burnett's a better number 2. He's actually a number 2 who at times looked better than Halladay last year.

Even when Wang throws shut outs, it's by the skin of his teeth depending on his defense and double play balls. And with each year, this defense isn't getting any younger.

Alfredo Aceves could definitely be our long man, maybe even a starter if Wang doesn't wake up, I mean do we really need melky Cabrera with the team anyway? (as i type this he gets our first hit.)

Oh what do I know anyway, Cody Ransom's making me swallow my tounge about giving him a shot. C'mon A-Rod just take the field, what's the worst that can happen?

And I guess these Rays weren't a fluke.

Talkin' J.D. Drew Blues, Pt. II

2009-04-13T11:07:00.011-04:00

You're right, Dan. Drew's apparent lack of emotion exacerbates his failures.
It gets to be point where you almost start to root against him -- as if you want him to let you down. And so the cycle of dysfunction spins downward and downward...

Oh well. I understand we'll be facing three lefties in Oakland, so maybe we won't have to watch J.D. until next weekend.
Look for Johan Lester to have a good outing tonight and Mikey Bones Lowell to lash some ropes with a vengeance!
(A golden smog production)

MASA - Meriden Softball Starts Up Today!

2009-04-13T10:06:00.002-04:00

MASA - Meriden Softball Starts Up Today!

Good luck to all teams. Have a safe and competitive season in the dirt. Here's to no rain outs in April and to plenty of cold ones at QT.

Rough weekend

2009-04-13T09:55:00.003-04:00

This morning on my way in to the R-J I was thinking about how I wanted this blog entry to sound. Then I read Bry's post in his Papi & Circumstance blog and he pretty hit my feelings on the Sox so far right on the head.

Obviously, I wasn't thrilled with the way the weekend turned out, but there were some bright spots. I agree that it's not a lack of hitting, but when they get the hits. Down by a run in the, the resurgent Tek leads off with a double off the wall. Nick Green winds up striking out and not moving him to third and the Sox don't wind up scoring. Little things like that are really frustrating when you have a utility infielder getting a shot (I know he had two singles yesterday, but seriously, lay down a bunt or at least make your out to the right side when asked.)

Here's my take on J.D. Drew. I'm a huge Trot Nixon fan so I'll say off the bat that I have always been a bit biased against the guy who replaced him even though I knew it had to be done. I swore I would never call him Nancy Drew again after the grand slam in the 07 ALCS against Cleveland. My issue is that he just looks like he doesn't care. I'm not saying that's the case, but when you continually strike out (and look bad doing it) in clutch situations and just walk back to the dugout with no emotion, that bothers me. When Pedroia the Destroya grounds out up 5 in the ninth you can tell he's angry. When Youk pops out, he nearly breaks his bat over his knee. With the go-ahead run on in the ninth and two outs yesterday, Drew looked at all three strikes without taking his bat off his shoulder, Manny style. He just aggrevates me.

Oh well, on to Oakland and the Yanks are playing the Rays so if Boston wins we're guaranteed to make up ground on someone ahead of us.

Not happy with Girardi at all

2009-04-12T17:04:00.003-04:00

When you've got a one run lead, and the greatest closer, trust him to get four outs against the Royals, especially since he didn't work the night before.

The conditions weren't good, and Coke isn't bad, but all that mixing and matching just threw away an easy W and a sweep and some much needed momentum heading into Tampa.

And can the Red Sox just pick a uniform and be done with it?

One series down

2009-04-10T14:34:00.002-04:00

So the Sox lost their first series of the year and what have we learned from that. I think we've learned the Rays run to the World Series may not have been a fluke last year. They're young pitchers can match up with anyone's top three in the league. Good hitters in the middle of the lineup, speed and good defense and they should be right there in September.
Even though the Sox lost the three-game series, I was actually pretty happy with what I saw from them. Beckett was lights out, Lester really had one bad inning that did him in and even though Dice gave up three homeruns, the Sox should be able to score more than four runs in any given night. Those are the games he typically wins. Goes 5 1-3 innings, Sox put up enough runs to bail him out. Wake going tonight against Anaheim. Get our first real look at the 25-year old knuckleball catcher George Kottaras. Could be an adventure.

Lester Bangs (birthday party, cheesecake, jellybean, boom)

2009-04-09T10:05:00.029-04:00

A rough first start for Johan Lester, but it's not like he got Wang-dang-doodled, know what I mean?
Mostly just a lot of sugar pops until Pena's bomb.
It is not the end of the world as we know it.

Jon's problem was his old ghost: falling behind hitters.
Last night's game was also a reminder of why the Rays are good. They can kill you by degrees or with one heavy blow.

Hopefully today we take this opening series by sticking it to Matt Garza, the one person on the planet who manages to spit more than Brian Daubach.
(A golden smog production)

Kickin' it into gear...

2009-04-08T18:24:00.005-04:00

So the season has now officially kicked into gear and after a 45 minute battle with the computer -- one which I clearly lost given I needed to create an entirely new email account to solve -- I'm online and ready to join this team of bloggers in following what I expect to be a great season.

As a Red Sox fan, it was certainly enjoyable to be able to turn to a friend who happens to be a Yankee fan after yesterday's game and playfully remind him that the New York Yankees "are already looking up at first place" with a little wink and a smile.

In fact once I got over the initial concerns that one of my favorite players would slip and have a season-ending injury while running from the stands (I was not entirely keen on the idea), I'd say yesterday was a great day. Pedroia is still a man on a mission, Beckett looked as good as he has since early last summer and Varitek is on pace for 162 HR's this year, which is exactly 162 more than most fans would have expected or in some cases even wanted from him. Even in the negatives, where Ellsbury failed in his efforts to get on base and the bullpen was hit in the 8th, this team here has talent and room to grow. I'm excited and expect some good things this year.

If there's one acquisition I will follow closely, it's certainly the impact that Brad Penny could have in helping this team take it up a notch. It'll be fun to watch this club, especially if Penny returns to all-star form.

Now it's on to game two. One down, 161 more to go (and hopefully another 11+ after that on the way to a championship).

On a side not, how about that Joba Chamberlain guy? Certainly couldn't have made any new Yanks fans with those drunken comments released from his winter DUI stop...

Every game matters

2009-04-08T11:14:00.002-04:00

So it was interesting to see the difference in attitude in Yankee fans around the office from roughly the third inning of their Opening Day to after the game. They were loving CC early on. Got out of a jam and whatnot. The next day, I was being told "It's only one game."
True, but when you lose the division or wild card spot by one game in September, all of a sudden that April 6 game really matters. I've never been a proponent of that thinking. If they didn't matter, they wouldn't play them.
Anyway, on to the Sox.
Beckett looked great. Had second and third with no outs and Longoria, Pena and Burrell up and no one got the ball out of the infield.
They just looked good all around. Pedroia starts off nicely, Tek earned about a week of silence from people who didn't want him re-signed and Paps even got a fist pump in on the first day. Pretty happy with the overall performance, but hey, it's only one game.

Revival of the Man Crush

2009-04-08T10:07:00.027-04:00

A sweet opener:

*Ted Kennedy soldiering out for the first pitch.
*Beckett showing his true gunslinger form.
*Pedroia going deep in his first at-bat.
*Varitek doing a pole dance.
*Pap going 1-2-3.

Take away a case of the Hokey Pokies by Okie, and it was nigh perfect.

I'm sure Jumpin' Jason Vallee, with that soft-spoken brevity of his which I admire and forever aspire, has some thoughts on the matter.
(A Golden Smog production)

Opening Day Schmopening Day..No Biggie

2009-04-07T12:31:00.007-04:00

In light of some Yankee bashing from Red Sox fans (coughDancough) I thought it necessary to state a simple baseball fact...161 games left

With C.C pitching about 30 of those and Tex at the plate about 500 more times I cant say that by any means am I worried about coming to work to find a conviently placed Daily News Cover bashing the Yankees on my desk.
It is true they looked god awful on opening day. True again they lost to a team who has not had a winning season in 11 years.

Also true they have a unrelentless lineup (sans Cody Ransom) and have finally managed to put together a power packed rotation that can and will (fingers crossed!) bring us number 27.

OK, so the Yankees lost on opening day...

2009-04-06T20:03:00.002-04:00

with their $11 million a year ace on the mound.

I was chatting with my buddy who's a Red Sox fan the other day and he said signing A.J. Burnett was a bad move, and that he'll inevitably have a season-ending injury.

Even though he is injury-prone, even if AJ does get hurt, we don't have to deal with him at all in Toronto anymore.

C.C. has been used to running through National League lineups since he was traded to Milwaukee last year, and the last time he faced an AL East team on a big stage, he got rocked by the Red Sox in Game 1 of the 2007 ALCS and couldn't match zeroes with Josh Beckett in Game 5.

We'll chalk it up to Opening Day jitters this time around, but if he isn't dominant in his next start and somehow lets his former team, the Cleveland Indians, jump on him early in the new Yankee Stadium, it'll be a rough going for Sabathia in the big city early on. I'm much less worried about Burnett.

The overlooked goat in Monday's 10-5 loss at Baltimore was Xavier Nady. In the top of the sixth, after knocking in Cano on a ground-rule double to make the score 6-3, Nady got caught drifting off third base after Derek Jeter singled off the shortstop's glove. Then in the seventh he grounded into an inning-ending double play after they got back to within a run of the Orioles.

That's three extra outs his team desperately needed that Nady just threw away.

I was telling Dan to be scared of Brett Gardner in this lineup and he's an actual defensive player. He helped keep the game interesting by throwing out Melvin Mora at the plate on a Greg Zaun pop fly to end the fifth.

And he's a reliable bunter that Girardi relied on in the eighth to get Nick Swisher over to third base with the potential tying run, but Jeter couldn't get it out of the infield, and Mark Teixeira (I think I'll be cutting and pasting that name for at least two months) couldn't get the big two-out hit.

Props to the Baltimore fans for interfering with Damon's play on César Izturis's three-run homer in the next inning. That was the cherry on top of a pretty lame opening day.

But hey, even the 1998 Yankees lost on Opening Day. Now it's up to Wang to right the ship on Wednesday, but I think Burnett would be the better No. 2 starter.

Opening Day

2009-04-06T10:27:00.003-04:00

Opening day. Let's go boys of Boston! Just one win away from a repeat trip to the series last year. See if you can get that win today against the Ray's.

Sox questions

2009-04-03T09:16:00.002-04:00

Entering the 09 season, I'm cautiously optimistic about the Sox chances, but I also have a lot of questions about them that need to be answered.
I'll start by saying I'm thrilled they brought back Tek. I know he had a down year last year, but anyone who watches them night after night knows what he brings to that team can't and shouldn't be measured by stats. This pitching staff simply wouldn't be the same without him. I'm hoping he retires with them and then stays on as a bench coach or something. Brilliant baseball mind.
OK, on to the questions.
1.) Is Papi really healthy and how will he perform in his first full season without ManRam hitting behind him.
2.) Will Lowell and Drew be able to play enough games this season? Lowell is coming off a bad injury and he's one year older. Drew inevitably will wind up on the DL at some point with a back problem, just hope it's not a recurring issue.
3.) How will Jacoby respond to being the go-to centerfielder? He split an awful lot of time last year with Coco and I just don't see Rocco Baldelli playing as much as Crisp, although I do love that signing. I think Rocco will make an impact.
4.) Yeah, the Sox have a deep pitching staff and we know what we have in the top three. Beck will do his thing. Lester will do his thing. Dice-K will win 18 games but only pitch into the 7th like four times. Wake will get rocked and then give up one hit over eight the next game. He'll go 14-10 with an ERA around 4 and make you nuts and love him at the same time. I've never been a huge Buckholz fan, just don't like the way he looks on the mound. I'm really hoping Penny pans out and Smoltz can be the future HOFer he is later in the season.
5.) Who is going to catch Wakefield? Seriously, this is always a major issue when Belli isn't on the team. Just go give him his 1-year, $550,000 so I don't need to clench up everytime Wake throws a pitch.
With all that being said, I'm fired up for this season. Been a long offseason with all the news out of NY (Sabathia, Burnett, Texeira, and that performance-enhancing drug abusing MVP at third, name escapes me right now.)
Enjoy Opening Day!!!

The Yankees are in first place

2009-04-03T03:35:00.005-04:00

They won the grapefruit league. That's the first, most important step of all: to be able to win when you don't care at all better than the other guy.

That way, when u do care, or at least pretend to care during the season, you'll be used to winning.

Anyway, here's to an awesome season.

I think Brett Gardner will do OK, and if not, we've got Melky, and if he's bad, well, there's always waiting for Austin Jackson (huge grand slam vs. the Sox in Spring Training, gotta love it). Someone's gotta hollow out the ground in the new centerfield.

No matter how amazing the last Stadium was, with all the great moments and players in it, I actually remember thinking we needed a new stadium a long time ago. I'm pretty sure I said that before the 1996 championship, the first in my lifetime.

And who knows? I might even say it again after getting my first views of this new monstrosity. I hear there are seats where you can't even see what's going on. Well yeah, that's life. I'll probably be in those seats. (Section 132, Row 15, Seat 16... looks like it'll be near the left field foul pole right in front of the stream of fans with chicken tenders and french fries above watching the game on their priority list, and Section 110, Row 28, Seats 5....this looks like I'll be glued to the wall in right field for this one).