Dispatches from Red Sox Teen Nation

Reactions from Boston on the Yankees' 27th World Series Victory

2009-11-05T16:01:09Z

Apparently, the Yankees won their 27th World Series title last night. Me? I could really care less.

So what if the Yankees won? It isn't as if it did not took huge sums of money for them to get where they needed to be in order to add to their ring totals. It's not as if they beat the Red Sox in the postseason. It's not as if they had the Red Sox's number this year. Yes, I hate the Yankees, and because of that, I really don't care that they won.

I believe this World Series was not a reflection on the organization as a whole (as it was for the 2003 Marlins, the 2005 Cardinals) and that the Yankees really didn't have a huge effect on the Red Sox this season. This doesn't say anything about the Yankees other than they have the ability to buy the players necessary (Matsui, Texieira, Sabathia, A-Rod) to win championships. That, to me, illustrates everything that is wrong about baseball right now.

Now, the Red Sox are not wholly innocent of baseball as a business. They pay big money for Ortiz, for Beckett, for J.D., for Daisuke. At the very core of the team, however, the Red Sox have home-grown talent. There would have been no 2007 title without Pedroia, Youkilis, Papelbon and Lester.

The Yankees have Jeter.

He is by far the best player of this generation of players, and he may well be one of the greatest of all times. Other than him, however, the Yankees do not have a core of home-grown talent that leads their team. Cabrera, Cano, Chamberlain, Gardner . . . they are all decent players, but they do not lead the team. They are not the difference between a championship-caliber team and a playoff-caliber team.

To be honest, I did not watch a whole lot of this World Series. It had no appeal to me. I knew the Yankees would win, and even if they didn't, I did not care for the Phillies to repeat. How great would it have been for the sport if the Twins were playing the Rockies, or even the Dodgers to improve a low-key Series' TV ratings?

I mean, Minnesota's entire pay-roll would be consumed solely by A-Rod, Jeter and Matsui. What if 25 guys could play for that same amount of money on baseball's biggest stage? How great would that be for the sport?

In the end, I guess it's congratulations to the Yankees. On to another off season where both the Yankees AND the Red Sox will spend ridiculous sums of money on people who play a child's game. On to the debate over Jason Bay, Varitek, Tim Wakefield and friends.

And guess what? In 365 days, it will be the Red Sox holding that trophy.

Have a good off-season everybody!

Boston Sports Update

2009-10-22T15:37:13Z

I've been trying to find the Red Sox games on TV recently and they do not appear in the schedule. I realize that postseason baseball is still going on, so I will investigate this matter further, but I figured in the meantime, I'd update everybody who does not read boston.com every 5 minutes on the latest happenings.

Patriots wallop Titans before jetting off to London
It snowed all day on Sunday in Boston. Today it is 70 degrees. I feel the Titans, who had the unfortunate task of playing football at Gillette on Sunday, would have much preferred to play the Patriots today.

The Patriots absolutely obliterated the Titans. By half time, Tom Brady had five touchdown passes and the Pats were leading 45-0. Two of those five touchdowns came in the 13th minute of the quarter. If the Titans did not come out after the half, the Patriots would not have noticed the difference. The Pats ended up winning 59-0.

This week, the Patriots play Tampa Bay in foreign territory. Really foreign territory. American football arrives in London tonight, as the Patriots will leave for England this afternoon. I really do not think this trip will create too much more of a British following, as they are pretty happy with their form of football, but it does make for a fun trip for both the Pats and the Bucs.

I would not expect another 59-0 game. It was fun to watch, but the Titans were a struggling team who happened to run into the Pats when they were clicking for the first time this season. Granted, Tampa Bay is also winless on the season, but maybe jet lag will prevent the Patriots from being so explosive.

Savvy, Looch on IR and Kobasew traded
The Bruins have been really struggling this season with consistency. They have yet to have a losing streak on the season, but they have also yet to have a winning streak. They win big one night and lose big the next night.

This week, the Bruins seriously shook up their roster. Two of their top players, first-line center Marc Savard and enforcer Milan Lucic, are out for at least a month with a broken foot and finger, respectively. On Sunday, the Bs traded Chuck Kobasew for the rights to a college player, a perennial AHLer, and a second round 2011 draft pick. On Tuesday, the Bs turned around and acquired Daniel Paille who will presumably take Kobasew's place.

Last night, the Bs improved to a .500 record when they beat the Nashville Predators 3-2. I was at the game to cheer on BU's Colin Wilson who left for the NHL after two years of collegehockey. Colin scored his first (albeit messy/weak) career goal last night. It was great to see him in person succeeding at the NHL level, and it was also great for him to be able to score in front of many of his teammates from the past two years the day after his 20th birthday. My friend and I stood to applaud Colin's goal even though he was supposed to be the enemy last night. All was absolved, however, when the Bruins managed to pull off the W.

BU Hockey forgets that they actually need to play a full game of hockey to win a game
BU hockey occupies most of my time during baseball's offseason. The team won the national championship last year. They were loaded with talent, such as the aforementioned Colin Wilson, New York Rangers' defenseman Matt Gilroy, Jason Lawrence, Columbus's Chris Higgins, San Jose's John McCarthy and Pittsburgh's Brian Strait (just to mention a few). BU could turn on the jets last year and dominate games. They scored 3 goals in 44 seconds against BC to advance to the Hockey East final. They came back from a 3-1 deficit with 59.5 seconds remaining in the national title game to win the game 4-3.

This year, the only team BU has beaten was a group of 17-year-olds. For players, I'm sure it's annoying when fans scream "why aren't you doing this?" or "why does your powerplay suck?" Fans are not on the ice or the field. Fans are not able to pull off any of the plays that these elite athletes can. I try to consider this when criticizing teams and players for their play.

BU, however, has just been lazy this season. I've been very critical of them because they are ABLE to play better. They may not have the same talent as they did last year, but they do have enough to win a game if they play the full 60 minutes. This has yet to happen this season. BU is 0-2. In their two preseason games and their two regular season games, BU has outshot their opponents 170-76. They've been outscored 10-7. On Tuesday, BU took 31 shots and not one of them found its way into the goal. The freshman are playing extremely well. The only two goals BU has on the season were scored by a freshman. It is the veterans, the captains even, who are making lazy mistakes that lead to turn-overs and then goals for the other team. One of BU's assistant captains even scored a goal on himself. He's a senior.

I realize that this is not the same team as last year's team. I know that they have no chance to be as good as last year's team - last year was a truly special group of players, the likes of which have never been seen at Boston University before. This year's team, however, is definitely better than they are playing. On Tuesday night, the OPPOSING team's coach called BU out for their lack of effort. That's bad. There is no excuse for that.

BU's next game is on Saturday night against Michigan, and they better come out ready to play a full 60 minutes of hockey.

Bruins and Patriots pictures from boston.com. BU picture my own.

Start of the Off-season

2009-10-14T20:18:42Z

Now that I have pulled myself away from the edge of the Zakim Bridge, it is time to begin off-season fodder.

I knew the Red Sox would not win the series against the Angels. I was optimistic in thinking that they would at least make it to a Game Five, but the truth is this team was as good as done once they went 8-13 in their first 21 games post-All Star Game. The issues against the Angels (a spotty bullpen, no hitting, shaky starting rotation) were all problems that every Red Sox fan saw throughout the season. The Angels were a better team and had more drive last week. The Red Sox looked dead.

Boston.com, in an attempt to get Bostonians past Papelbon's blown save, posted a survey about hot issues for Red Sox management in the off season. I voted on them there and I'll explain them here.

picture from mysportsrumors.com

Jason Bay: The Red Sox can either re-sign Bay or pursue a different free agent.

The Red Sox's top priority this season should be finding a way to re-sign Bay. Though not often reflected in statistics, Bay was a catalyst for the Sox this year. When he was hitting well, the Red Sox were hitting well. He has a great arm and is adapting to the Monster very well. The Red Sox would also be hard-pressed to find a teammate of his caliber elsewhere. Bay is relatively quiet, never causing controversy and never having problems with teammates. He strikes out pretty frequently, but I would much rather take a player who strikes out all the time than a player who grounds into double plays. If the Red Sox do not re-sign Bay, they will miss out on a great chance to get a quality, well-rounded player who will definitely help the team make the postseason next year.

picture from sonsofsamhorn.net

Alex Gonzalez: The Red Sox can pick up Gonzalez's $6 million option for next year, try to re-sign him for less money or pursue a different option at shortstop either internally (Lowrie, Green) or externally.

I think it was a mistake to let Gonzalez leave Boston in the first place. Gonzalez is not anything great at the plate, but his defense more than makes up for his offensive deficiencies. Gonzalez is a sure-handed shortstop and performed well. Theo Epstein does not have a great history with shortstops, so with any new shortstop, there will be a lot of question marks entering the season. The Red Sox should attempt to sign Gonzalez for less money if at all possible, but should not get hung up on that avenue. Pick up his option if he refuses to take less money for more years.

picture from stonephoto.com

Tim Wakefield: Wakefield is schedules to have back surgery this postseason. The Red Sox have infinite one-year options for him. Wakefield could also retire or join a different team.

I think the Red Sox need to wait it out on Wake. Unless his back problems completely disappear for at least a few months, they should not re-sign Wakefield. There are a few starting pitchers in the minor leagues (work on Bowden) and some quality pitchers the Red Sox could pursue trades for that are more dependable and less injury prone than Wakefield.

Jason Varitek: The Red Sox can pick up his $5 million team option, welcome him back under his $3 million player option, watch him go elsewhere or invite him back as a coach.

I love Jason Varitek and he has been my favorite player for years now. That said, he is in the midst of a steady decline. Catchers have shorter careers, and at 38 years old by the start of next season, there is no reason to believe that Varitek will improve or even maintain his status quo. He has been abysmal at throwing runners out at second and cannot hit consistently well anymore. Varitek is, however, fantastic with pitching staffs and fellow catchers. Victor Martinez has done nothing but talk about how helpful Varitek has been for him. The Red Sox should encourage him to retire and return to the Red Sox as either a pitching or catching coach for next season.

picture from boston.com

Rocco Baldelli: The Red Sox can either sign him to a one-year deal, multi-year deal or let him walk as a free agent.

Baldelli is a great story, but not a great baseball player. His mitochondrial disease forces him to take a lot of time of to recover from strenuous activity. The Red Sox need a more durable fourth outfielder who can maybe spend some time platooning with J.D. Drew and adds more speed on the bases.

picture from trueslant.com

David Ortiz: Ortiz has $12.5 million left on his contract. The Sox can either keep him as the DH, platoon him with a first or third baseman, or release/trade him.

The Red Sox should keep Ortiz as is. The fact that he was able to reach 28 home runs and 99 RBIs is incredible after his horrific first three months of the season. Ortiz is not the same hitter as he was in 2004/2005, but he is still a difference maker for this team. There is no reason to change anything when the team has more pressing issues to deal with.

picture from armchairgm.com

Mike Lowell: Lowell's contract is not up after the season, but his declining health and numbers make him a palatable release or trade bait.

The Red Sox should maintain the status quo with Lowell as well. His range is not as good as it has been, but he is still capable of making Sports Center worthy plays and is a double machine. Lowell can get on base and drive in runs for the Red Sox, a glaring failure for the team in the ALDS. The Red Sox need to focus on pitching, not players like Lowell who are still very effective.

picture from projo.com

Billy Wagner: The Red Sox could theoretically pick up an $8 million option for next year for Wagner, but they promised the reliever they would not do so before trading for him. They could re-sign him in a different contract or send him on his way.

This is not even a question. Wagner is gone. He was not overly impressive, he is getting old, and he even admitted that he would probably retire. I hope he enjoys retirement and I wish him well.

Issue not addressed by Boston.com

picture from boston.com

Jonathan Papelbon: After Papelbon blew a save to end the Red Sox's postseason, many people in Red Sox Nation suggested that perhaps it was time for him to become a Yankee and for Daniel Bard to step into the closer's role. The Red Sox own Papelbon's rights through the 2011 season. They could sign him to either a one-year or multi-year deal or go to arbitration.

Unfortunately, one of Papelbon's worst outings the season ended the season. Papelbon had a very good year, par for the course for him. He made 38 saves in 41 opportunities, improving over last season's 41 saves in 46 opportunities. He ended the season with a 1.85 ERA. The Red Sox would be making a huge mistake by letting him get away. Papelbon is one of the elite closers of his generation and is still in his prime. Daniel Bard is still inexperienced and could use another year of study under Papelbon in order to become even close to a Papelbon-caliber pitcher. There is nobody in the Red Sox bullpen I would rather give the ball to, and I would have given Papelbon the ball every time in a Game 3 elimination save. Pitchers lose. Unfortunately, Papelbon lost at the wrong time. That, however, is no justification for trading him. It is important to look at the whole picture, not just one outing.

If I were Theo Epstein, I would keep Bay, Gonzalez, Ortiz, Lowell and Papelbon. I would say goodbye to Varitek, Wakefield, Wagner, Baldelli and half of the bullpen. I would be willing to trade Michael Bowden, but definitely would not trade Daniel Bard. I would also see that Daisuke shows up ready to pitch or else I would release him in Spring Training. The Red Sox really need to focus on pitching this off season, and it would be great if they could add one more solid bat to the lineup.

When umpires go wrong

2009-10-09T16:42:02Z

The Red Sox lost last night through no fault of the umpires. They failed to score runs, they failed to kill momentum, they failed to execute on big pitches. It is not my place to blame the umpires for last night's loss, because truthfully, the Red Sox had many chances to break out in last night's game. That said, I am extremely frustrated with Major League Baseball's choice of umpiring crew last night.

CB Bucknor missed three calls at first base; one that went against the Angels and two that went against the Red Sox. He was in perfect position all three times; no players blocked his view of the plays. Nevertheless, Bucknor failed to notice Youk blatantly tagging Howie Kendrick out on the hip before Kendrick reached first. Later in the game, Bucknor missed his second call at first when Youk, fielding a high throw from Mike Lowell, landed on first base with the ball in his glove way before Kendrick reached first.

picture from boston.com

Bucknor struck again, this time against the Angels, when Dustin Pedroia and Chone Figgins tagged first at what appeared to be the same time. Bucknor ruled Figgins out. Angels fans promptly booed Bucknor, who may as well have been wearing an Angels hat last night. I always learned that tie either goes to the runner or the umpires choice. Perhaps Bucknor was trying to atone for his earlier calls, but nonetheless he lost fans at Angel Stadium last night.

None of these calls led to runs, so there is no reason to downplay the Angels' victory. However, for MLB to actually allow Bucknor to umpire a postseason game is a travesty. In 2003 and 2006 Sports Illustrated polls, Bucknor was voted by players as the worst umpire in Major League Baseball. That's twice in four seasons.

How does the WORST umpire in Major League Baseball get a postseason game? Really, MLB? There are no other umpires that could have taken his place? Worse still, Bucknor takes his spot behind the plate tonight. Josh Beckett, who already has a short temper, will surely draw issue with Bucknor's calls. Do not be surprised if he gets himself ejected.

This is the postseason. Every call matters, yet for some reason, the Sox and the Angels will suffer the consequences of having the worst umpire in Major League Baseball making those calls. Once a single one of the calls costs either team anything, I would not hesitate to send a slew of letters Bud Selig's way.

picture from SI.com

Anaheim night in Boston

2009-10-08T15:02:57Z

Both the Bruins and Red Sox will be battling against teams from Anaheim tonight. The Bruins are playing my boy Nick Bonino's (Go BU hockey!) team, the Anaheim Ducks. Looch plays for the first time since signing a big, three year deal. The Bruins are also looking to continue their win streak post-Carolina killing.

The Red Sox begin the ALDS tonight at 9:37 p.m. ET. Jon Lester grabs the ace role for the club, taking the hill against Jon Lackey, who the Red Sox faced a couple of weeks ago.

I am feeling most confident about tonight's game. Lester and Lackey are pretty similar pitchers on paper. Lester has a 15-8 record, Lackey is 11-8. Lester has a 3.41 ERA, Lackey has a 3.83 ERA. Lackey is 0-1 versus Boston this season.

Lester has only pitched once in an ALDS in his career and it was last year against the Angels. He gave up one unearned run, six hits and struck out seven in seven innings. Lester has also not faced the Angels this season. This is bad news for the Angels, as they still have to figure out Lester's stuff. Lester, meanwhile, will be pitching the same game he always does.

The Red Sox have also ended the Angels season three out of the last five years. Players will downplay this. History does not matter, they'll say. It's all about this year. We are only focused on this game.

Nonsense.

Baseball can be a very mental game. If players get an idea stuck in their head, they are bound to play into that idea. Thus, the Angels are bound to have more doubts than the Red Sox. The Red Sox own Anaheim in the playoffs. Of course the Angels will want to put an end to this, but the second something goes wrong, a double play ends a promising inning, a fielder makes an error, a batter strikes out with the bases loaded - those doubts will start to overwhelm Angels' players' heads.

The Angels have to wage a battle in their heads and on the field. The Red Sox have only one battle to worry about.

That said, I still do not believe the Red Sox have what it takes to win this series. The first two starting pitching slots are a little shaky but not horrible, yet Daisuke and Buchholz bring up a lot of question marks. Is Daisuke sharp enough to pitch well in the postseason? Can Buchholz handle the pressure of possibly pitching in an elimination game? Will we even get to Buchholz?

All of these questions will begin to be answered tonight. I'm saying Angels in 5.

One Game Playoff Tonight!

2009-10-02T21:49:07Z

One of the most exciting aspect of the NFL playoffs is the one-game, life or death set up. In baseball, this is largely missing except for Game 5s or Game 7s, and as a result the hotter team generally wins. This has worked in the Red Sox's favor twice (re 2004, 2007) and can mean that despite the Yankees 103 wins, they could still blow it in October, but still, nothing beats sudden death.

Tonight, the Tigers and Twins will engage in battle at 5 PM. Everything is on the line. 162 games comes down to this. A tie, two equal teams, facing off against one another to determine who has the chance to capture glory and who will be watching October on the TV at home.

I'm rooting for Detroit for no particular reason other than the city of Detroit has nothing going for them. I mean, just watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZzgAjjuqZM

The only good thing about Cleveland is they are not Detroit. Not good news for Detroit.

picture from google

Minnesota has been a good team for a long time. They are right on the cusp of the Wild Card pretty frequently. They won the AL Central in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006.They have had some issues come playoff time, but at least they've been there.

Detroit, on the other hand, used to be a team on your schedule that was penciled in as an automatic win. They won the Wild Card in 2006 and lost in the World Series. Other than that, they had not been to the playoffs since 1987 and last won the World Series in 1984. Detroit lost 119 games in 2003, and 106 games the year before. That's two of their five worst seasons back to back. Just last year, Detroit finished last in their division.

I love rooting for underdogs. After all, I have been a Red Sox fan for almost 20 years now, and I'm also a huge Bruins fan. The Bruins are in a bit of Stanley Cup rut right now, if no one has noticed. Detroit is an underdog based on history here, but I think they have a pretty good team. I love Verlander, Washburn, Bonderman, Inge, Guillen, Granderson. These guys are some of the best (but for the most part quietly best) players of the decade.

Don't get me wrong. The Twins have a great team, and if they made the playoffs I wouldn't root against them unless they play the Sox in the ALCS, but they've had so many chances this decade. Let's embrace parity. Let's give someone else a chance.

Go Tigers.

picture from Detroit Free Press

The Only Time Luck Was On Our Side

2009-09-17T15:21:42Z

People always say that Fenway Park is a magical place. Last night, Nick Green was able to experience some magic of his own en route to aiding the Red Sox in their come-from-behind win.

With two outs in the ninth and the bases loaded, Green stepped up to the plate for his first appearance in about 10 years. Since acquiring Alex Gonzalez, Green has seen limited at best playing time. As he took a few warm-up swings, I turned to my friends and said, "Perhaps if the Red Sox had played Green at all in the last month, this may be a good idea, but the game is over. He's not fresh enough."

It turns out I was right. Green struck out twice in the ninth. In the same at-bat. He then proceeded to take ball 4, stroll down to first, and recieve credit for the tying run. Just imagine Mike Scioscia's face. It was great.

After the game, the media approached Scioscia, most likely tentatively as the Angel's manager was borderline insane with anger. They asked him about the game and he retorted, "what was the count -- 3-4 to Green?"

Some may call this outburst spiteful. Some may call it bitter. I still believe Mike Scoscia is a tool who fails as a manager every October, but I see where he's coming from. The man has been almost ejected about 16 times over the course of the past 2 games. I'm impressed that he restrained himself from bursting out of the clubhouse and attacking the umpiring crew.

My friends from California are livid. They feel betrayed by the umpiring crew and now hate Nick Green.

If the Angels were going to win last night's game, however, they should have won it long before. The Angels had every chance to win. They took leads in the 6th inning, 8th inning and 9th inning and proceeded to blow all of those leads. Alex Gonzalez's game-winning single was a catchable ball. They made a few half-hearted plays throughout the game that ended up costing them, and now they have another loss in September. Sure, the Red Sox were lucky Nick Green ended up walking, but the Angels still had every chance to win that game.

After the game, Tori Hunter called out his teammates, saying they needed to play with more guts. They needed to have more heart.

In these past two games, the Red Sox have shown a lot of heart, a lot of guts, and the tenacity needed to win against tough teams in both September and October. Back in August, I was sure the Sox had quit for the season. They were primed for an early exit if they were going to make the playoffs at all. The pitching was falling apart, Beckett was giving up an average of 42 home runs per inning, they were not hitting, they were slaughtered by the Yankees and the Wild Card ticket was not looking good.

These past two days, the Red Sox have put two pitchers on the mound who are plagued by large question marks. Daisuke earned his second win of the season on Tuesday after returning from a three-month DL stint. Paul Byrd was coaching little leaguers on Opening Day. He did not pitch fantastically last night, but the Red Sox kept rallying behind him. They seized every opportunity they had.

In the end, that's what makes a good playoff team. Dan Shaughnessey wrote that perhaps this team could make a run at a World Series title. I still doubt the Red Sox will go too deep into October, but at least it seems that now they are giving themselves a chance.

all pictures from boston.com

Red Sox v Yankees Round 3: Continued Domination

2009-06-11T19:47:27Z

Last night the Red Sox and Yankees faced off in their 7th game of the season. For the 7th time, the Sox came out victorious.

I can't say enough about Chien-Ming Wang and Nick Swisher. Thanks guys! Really appreciate your attempts to help the Red Sox win.

The Yankees have Wang on a 90 pitch pitch-count. This is really fabulous, especially since Wang can't seem to make it to that many pitches. He gave it a good shot yesterday, and to his credit he did throw two 29 pitch innings in an attempt to get the 90 pitches in by the third

inning when he would no doubt be forcibly removed from the mound by Joe Girardi. Yet again though, Wang fell a little bit short. Girardi took him out (strangely enough, after a strikeout, NOT Mike Lowell's home run) after 2 2/3 innings and 69 pitches.

Girardi brought in the man who was moved to the bullpen so that Wang could start, Phil Hughes. After this, the Yankees were able to keep up with the Sox for the rest of the night, and despite some pretty minor league fielding by Nick Swisher, the Red Sox were unable to break the way open the way they should have.

By the time Papelbon took the mound in the 9th, the score was 6-5 Red Sox.

Prior to play this week, I had predicted a Sox loss on Tuesday, a blow-out against Wang on Wednesday, and a close game Thursday. I also called Red Wings in 6 and a Lakers sweep, so I guess it's a good thing I'm not a gambler.

Apparently, I should also be counting my blessings that Papelbon was able to pitch. Papelbon, for me, is the real story today.

On Monday night, Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek held a joint charity poker tournament at Ned Devine's Irish Pub. Wake and Tek have held a lot of charity events together for the foundation at the receiving end of Monday night's affair, Pitching for Kids. It's a great cause and a good thing to do on an off-day. What could go wrong?

Well, Papelbon somehow ended up with food poisoning from the pub. As far as I know, he was the only one that was sick. I have no clue what he could have possible eaten. Perhaps oysters or poker chips? I wouldn't put it past him to eat either. Anyways, NESN caught him catching some shut-eye in the bullpen during Tuesday night's shut-out. Papelbon wasn't bored, he was just trying to keep dinner down. He was so sick that Sox doctors almost took him to the hospital Tuesday night for dehydration.

Luckily, Pap was able to keep his stomach together enough to earn his 15th save last night, albeit with some tense moments. That left the Red Sox 3 games away from capturing the season series against the new and "improved" Yankees. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Well, perhaps I could. I'm still saying we should sell Julio Lugo on Craigslist for cash.

images from 1. boston.com and 2. soxanddawgs.com

Drafts

2009-06-10T14:15:30Z

So.
The MLB draft is going on.
It started yesterday.
Stephen Strasburg went first.
I heard of him two days ago.
My caring level is this high.

Why?
A. Drafts are boring.
B. Drafts don't actually tell you who will play from whom, rather, it's more of who MAY play if everything works out.
C. They take forever.
D. I don't even know any of the players in 3 out of the 4 major sports drafts.

Drafts are nice for the players involved. It's a moment where they complete one more hurdle towards realizing their dreams. They still have a lot of work to do, as being drafted is completely different than actually playing a major league sport, but it is a pretty big step to check of the list.

So that's all well and good, but why would I watch this? I don't care who the Red Sox pick. I've never heard of the guys, and if they make it to the top without being traded or injured first within the next two years while I still remember who they are, that'll be nearly a miracle. We do have a couple of guys starting who made it through the minors quickly (re: Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester), but I don't remember when they were drafted. I wasn't watching.

While drafts are great for families, it means nothing for fans like me. It's more of just a reminder - oh, this is a kid who will play single-A ball for us next year. I'll be sure to watch all of Greenville's games. I mean, what am I supposed to say, "Congrats, can't wait to see you possibly play for a major league team in 5 years?"

And so what if teams trade their picks for something stupid? The Red Sox are one of the rare elite teams who actually get talent from their minor league system. After the Jeter generation, teams like the Yankees, Angels, Dodgers etc. get the majority of their All-Star players from trades and free-agency on the major league level.

I love baseball, I really do, but I'd rather watch a real game than see Bud Selig announce names like it's a graduation.

These aren't just my feelings towards the MLB draft. No, I think all drafts are pretty boring and ridiculous. During the NFL draft in April, I remember some of my guy friends flipping out. "This guy wasn't picked by that team," and "this team traded their pick for something stupid," and "that guy went way late". Whatever. Will the Patriots' defense still stink this year? Yes.

Even the NHL draft lacks any interest for me. College hockey is the only college sport I follow avidly, and so while I am hoping that someone picks up our outstanding goaltender, Kieran Millan, I also know that the captain of our championship team and three-time All-American Matt Gilroy was never drafted (only starting defenseman on the team not to be drafted). He signed a 2 year, $3.5 million deal with the New York Rangers in April. He's better off than top-notch players like Colin Wilson and Brian Strait who were drafted and are now stuck in entry-level contracts.

Don't even get me started on the NBA. I hate the NBA. I also hate their draft.

So I will not be watching any of the rest of the MLB draft. I won't tune in to the NHL draft later this month. I have no idea when the NBA draft is, and if I missed it, no loss there. Instead, I'm going to watch the Red Sox squash the Yankees again tonight, Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals on Friday night, and most likely some more of this ridiculous Kobe vs. Orlando saga on ABC.

Vote Manny?

2009-05-28T15:51:29Z

With the Red Sox going wild and crazy, I figured I'd write about general baseball for a change. Yesterday, I stumbled across an article mentioning a Vote for Manny website. At first, I didn't actually read the article and simply stewed in my rage that any baseball fan is dumb enough to pull a Bud Selig and basically ignore a superstar who used steroids while celebrating his padded accomplishments.

Today, I finally read the article. It turns out that the Vote for Manny website is actually a protest against Selig and Major League Baseball. The webmaster says it himself:

In a fit of insanity, I created a new site called "Vote for Manny". Why would I possibly try to help Manny get elected as a starter to the 2009 All Star Game?

Simple.

I think it'd be wonderful to watch MLB (Selig & Co.) uncomfortably try to figure out a new policy on the fly to keep him out of the game. Rather than proactively inact a rule similar to the NFL's "Shawne Merriman rule", the league is simply hoping that good ole Manny doesn't get voted as a starter. They can then strongarm manager Charlie Manuel into not selecting Manny. (Even if Torre is his bench coach!)

Except one thing: We're here to make sure Manny makes the Top 3.

Guess what? He's already at #4 with over 1.2 million votes.

So what can you do?

Click here to VOTE FOR MANNY.

Vote early and often, kids.

Prior to seeing this, I was vehemently against LA's treatment of this whole steroids issue. They have been embracing Manny, supporting him through this suspension and basically acting like Manny cheating is no big deal.

To some degree, I agree with them. Yes, most baseball players through the 90s and the beginning of the millenium likely took steroids, so in a way, the playing field was even.

At the same time, an even playing field does not mean any of this was okay. Every player found using performance enhancing drugs needs to be punished. Their image should become just as tarnished as Major League Baseball's. They should be ineligible for the All-Star Game at the very least, and they should count their blessings to be allowed to play in the World Series and keep the awards that they artificially won.

Bud Selig will not do a thing about cheating. He does not care about the integrity of the game; he's made that quite clear with his minimal action post-Mitchell report and his joke of punishment for steroid use. There is no reason for Manny to be eligible to play in the All-Star Game. After reading the point that Vote for Manny makes, however, I will vote for him as frequently as possible. I'd love to see Selig and the top brass at MLB handle this one.

The bottom line is that Major League Baseball - both players and management - have failed their fans in a major way. Let's see if they make any attempt to re-establish some sense of morality into baseball.

This is what failure looks like

2009-05-18T02:35:30Z

a

I'm off to try to piece small parts of my soul back together before Tuesday arrives. You'll find me softly sobbing in a corner alone until then.

photos from boston.com and red sox photo from bostonherald.com

Big Papi Bigger Problems

2009-05-16T21:11:57Z

Alright. This is finally unavoidable. David Ortiz is in one of the worst power slumps of his career, and the uproar is getting worse with each passing day.

I personally do not put too much weight into his batting average right now. He was actually worse through April of last season, when he finished the month batting .184. He is batting .200 right now. It is not a fantastic number, but the more attention people pay to slumps, the worse the slump will be. There is no reason, historically, to be concerned about Papi's average.

The real problem here is the home run total. In 2009, whenever a clutch home run hitter goes into a deep drought, steroids enter the picture. Did David Ortiz take steroids? I cannot say for sure either way, and it is not my place to infer anything. The bottom line is that the ball is not leaving the park for Papi. He's been robbed a couple of times at Fenway by the Monster, and he's been able to drive the ball deep, but luck is not on his side right now. Nevertheless, some of Papi's doubles off of the monster and his fly balls on the road show that Papi does still have the power to hit homeruns.

For Terry Francona, when Julio Lugo has more home runs than your DH, something must be done, no matter who the DH is. He has no choice here but to bench Ortiz, give Papi a bit of time to clear his head and then start all over again on Tuesday. Luckily for Francona, this is the best time and the best choice to make here.

The media has to stop this intense focus on Papi. The benefit of benching Papi for a series plus a day off means that Papi has a couple of days where people should be relatively quiet on ESPN and talk shows about his slump, and this should help to let him just relax and swing naturally. Perhaps Papi will not even come back on Tuesday. I wouldn't mind, at this point, giving him a week in the cages to just hit, hit, hit and see what happens.

In reality, the Red Sox have to be more worried right now about their starting pitching than the state of their lineup. Ellsbury is lighting things up, Bailey is hitting well, and Lugo was the Red Sox player of the week this week, so they do not need a DH right now to carry them. Francona can put Baldelli or Lugo/Green in the lineup right now while giving the team an equal or better chance of winning.

This break is a great thing for Papi. He needs to milk it for all the time he can and just get back into a form where he feels comfortable before returning. Will he ever be the Ortiz of 2003 or 2004 again? I doubt it. He's older now, and for whatver reason he is not that hitter anymore. However, Ortiz will still be able to hit, and he will still be able to hit home runs. He will never, however, hit 54 homers in a season again.

There is no need to panic right now. If anything, fans and the media alike should concern themselves with the state of the Red Sox starting pitching or perhaps the Celtics and just leave Papi alone for a few days. By July, we'll be watching Papi go yard once more.

Three's company

2009-05-14T01:24:43Z

I'm starting to run out of clever things to say about three Boston teams winning in one night (for the third time in recent history, might I add).

Boston, Carolina and California all personally saw Boston victories last night. The C's took the magic into their own hands at the Garden in Boston, winning in the last four minutes to take a 92-88 victory out of Orlando's grasp. The Bruins took Raleigh by storm, winning handily 4-2. Finally, the Sox rallied in Anaheim to win 4-3.

It goes without saying that it still rocks to live in Boston right now. Sportscenter could have 30 minutes worth of fresh material just by showing what is going on right here.

The time schedule last night worked out perfectly. I turned on the Bruins game right after dinner, watched them sure-handedly force game 7, switched to the Celtics during commercials and then exclusively watched TNT once the Bruins won, witnessing their come-from-behind antics back in action, and finally switched to NESN to see the Red Sox crush the Angels' bullpen. From 7 PM until 1:30 AM, I watched three different Boston sports teams win three different games in a span of 6 1/2 hours. My TV needed a bit of a break afterwards.

I don't know what I'll do if either the Bruins or Celtics lose their series (or both! what a horror show that would be!). Tonight is boring because there's only one sport on. I resorted to watching the Penguins/Capitals game which wasn't even that interesting. The Penguins took the Capitals confidence and then whipped their butts.

I can't wait until tomorrow. The time schedule is a little bit more complicated, as the Red Sox will start the action at 3:30 in Anaheim, the Celtics play at 7 on ESPN and then the Bruins start at 8 on NESN. This means that I'll probably have to either miss part of the Bruins game to watch the end of the Celtics game (unlikely) or only watch the beginning of the Celtics game, which means I won't see any of the real action. Additionally, my mother wants me to attend my oldest brother's graduation ceremony. He got his masters in December and they finally are holding a ceremony tomorrow. A masters degree, though? I don't think it's good enough to take the Red Sox's place.

This is quite a predicament, but it's one I'm really glad to be in.

picture from bostonsportsmedia.com

Three for three on Mother's Day: Boston owns Sportscenter

2009-05-11T03:41:47Z

Seasons have certainly collided here in Boston once more. Tonight we had the Bruins starting things off at 7:30 PM on Versus, the Celtics tipping off at 8 PM on TNT and the Sox finished off their series against the Rays at 8:20 on ESPN. I'm not sure where the Patriots are - they seem to think that their season doesn't start until Fall, but we here in Boston would really appreciate having the four major teams in action at the same time. I don't think I have enough carpal tunnel yet from channel switching.

So, I'm going to do my best to sum up all the action here. I'm not the biggest basketball fan, so you can skip that part if you run out of time.

Red Sox
My boys in red always come first. Beckett had a rough first inning, but he recovered pretty well, keeping the Rays hitless for a while and holding the Rays to a 3-3 tie before he left. Okajima came in and was 2007-like lights out. Interestingly enough, according to Joe Morgan and Harold Reynolds, the Rays are winless when they score 3 runs or less. Luckily, the Sox staff was able to keep them to 3 runs.

David Ortiz, who the whole world seems to be having a heart attack over, delivered tonight. He led off the bottom of the eighth with a nice double off the monster, then advanced to third on a wild pitch/passed ball (haven't checked to see what they ruled it yet). Harold Reynolds then lamented for a few hours about how the Red Sox should bring in a pinch runner for Papi
because, well, Ortiz runs as well as a broken-down Hummer. Pinch runners are a great idea when you have a deep enough bench to bring one in, but the Red Sox were without Youkilis, Pedey was injured (groin) in the fourth and so both Lugo and Green were already in the game, the Sox can't overuse Baldelli because of the mitochondrial disease and so options were pretty low.

Jason Bay (aka Jay Bay the RBI machine) came in and made a non-issue of it. He joined Papi in doubling off the monster, and Papi could run as quickly as possible (re: jog) and score the go-ahead run.

Pap decided to make things interesting in the ninth because both the Celtics and Bruins were over, so all eyes were finally on the Red Sox. After walking one and giving up a hit, then making an errant throw to first creating a runners on first and second situation, Pap proceeded to strike out the side. He finished his night off by embarassing Carl Crawford with 97 mph heat. That was a great ending to a lovely Sunday.

Bruins
The night started with the Bruins at 7:30. Milan Lucic apparently was confused by which sport he'd be playing tonight, as he tried to start a fight with Gleason only a minute into the game. Unfortunately, Gleason declined the chance to spar with Lucic, and our favorite basher finally figured out he was supposed to be playing hockey, not MMA.

14:48 into the game, Zdeno Chara started the scoring with a knuckler towards the net that Recchi tipped in to give the Bs a 1-0 advantage. Four minutes later, Phil Kessel added to the score, making it 2-0 Bruins after the first period.

In the second, the Bruins started shutting the door. Kessel got his second goal of the night to make it 3-0, and Chara ensured that the Whalers (er, Canes) knew who was in charge by leveling top-scorer Eric Staal twice in one shift. Late in the second, Jussi Jokinen showed what a great guy he is by karate-chopping Chara's ankle with his stick. Chara writhed in pain on the ice for what seemed like forever, apparently unable to stand up. Finally, he skated/used his superhuman abilities to get himself off of the ice and into the locker room where he recovered from the cheap shot in between periods.

The third period wasn't overly eventful in terms of hockey. Milan Lucic got in on the scoring action with the fourth Bruin's goal 12 minutes in, and Tim Conboy was beat up by two different Bruins about ten minutes apart. The Whalers (er, Canes) continued to show what upstanding gentlemen they are by allowing Scott Walker to drop Aaron Ward when Ward still had his gloves on. Even Lucic knows that's a d-bag move, and Tim Thomas called it one of the most blatant cheap shots he's ever seen.

Anyways, the Bruins will live to see another day . . . two actually, before they head back down to Carolina for Game 6 on Tuesday.

Celtics
Basketball is a sport where you really only need to watch the last three or four minutes to get the essence of the game. The Celtics decided to add as much drama without going into OT as possible, so they basically blew every opportunity they had for the last two minutes of the game. Whether it was missing shots, neglecting to aggresively fight for rebounds or taking ridiculous fouls, the Celtics seemed to want to lose that game.

With 11.4 seconds left, the Celtics got the ball down 94-93. Everybody, even the casual basketball fan, knew that the Cs would try to get the ball to either Pierce or Rondo who were sure-shots. Neither had a good shot, so Big Baby Glen Davis got the ball and with 0.7 seconds left drained a two-pointer to give the Celtics a 95-94 win and a tied series.

Typically, sportswriters are supposed to say things like "the Bruins earned the top spot in the Eastern conference" or "Papelbon earned the save," but I really feel like a liar saying the Celtics "earned" that win. Nevertheless, I'll take it and we'll have more carpal tunnel-inducing fun on Tuesday.

The Green Line
For those who don't live in Boston or have never gotten the pleasure of riding the oh-so-efficient Green Line (it's part of the T), you will probably be surprised to learn how almost comical I think this whole Green Line crash is.

Obviously, I don't think it's hilarious that 49 people were injured. That is extremely unfortunate, and the MBTA better be generously covering their medical bills. I hope everyone recovers quickly and fully.

However, this was a long time coming. At school, I'm on the B-line of the Green Line (it's not as confusing as it sounds). The B-line is anything but efficient and safe. BU students are warned about getting hit by two things when crossing the traffic-filled Comm Ave: bikers and the T. Drivers are often incompetent and the trains themselves squeak and creak and sway beyond belief. There are Facebook groups called "I have been screwed over by the T" and "The Green Line has ruined my life." It's a bad situation that the MBTA should really look into.

Apparently, before the Sox game on Friday night, a Green Line driver was too busy texting to watch what was in front of him and he slammed into a different train. Many of the people who were on the train were en route to the Sox game, so the T was packed at the time. In addition to the 49 people who were actually taken care of, there are reports of people who had no visible injuries and were thus turned away.

The MBTA has now started a "no phones on the job" policy, but there is a ton of work and inspections that need to be done. The Green Line is a horribly inefficient and dangerous way of travel, bottom-line, and simply taking phones away from drivers won't help matters greatly.

"Oh he'll never return,
no he'll never return
and his fate is still unlearned
- poor Charlie! -
he may ride forever
'neath the streets of Boston
he's the man who'll never return!"
- Charlie and the MBTA, written circa 1920. Nothing has changed.

Anyways, I should get some rest so I can do this again on Tuesday. Until then, be safe, don't ride the T!

all pictures from boston.com

Still have finals

2009-05-05T19:58:26Z

I am still in the midst of finals, but the good news is that my last one is at tomorrow in History of Journalism. The bad news is that the exam is at 9 AM. That's going to be a bit rough for me.

Anyways, I found this gem while studying:

On Sept. 28, another bombshell. Woodward and Bernstein had discovered that

John Mitchell, the chairman of CREEP, had, while serving as Attorney General,

controlled a secret slush fund that was used to spy on Democrats. Citing anonymous

sources, the story said some of those funds had been used by the Plumbers. As any

conscientious reporter must do, Bernstein called the target of the story to invite him to

comment. When he called Mitchell, the president's man exploded:

All that crap, you're putting it in the paper? It's all been denied. Katie

Graham's gonna get her *** caught in a big fat wringer if that's published. Good

Christ! That's the most sickening thing I ever heard."118

To his great credit, Bernstein followed one of the basic tenets of reporting: when people

get mad at you, don't take it personally, but do take notes.
Covering America: Chapter 11 (DRAFT) 80 of 103 © 2008 Christopher Daly
www.journalismprofessor.com All Rights Reserved

What now, Nixon?

Anyways, the Red Sox got another win against the Yankees under their belts after a 2 1/2 hour rain delay that so many Yankees fans stuck around for (NOT). I'm hoping they'll be able to play tonight, but if what is outside my window right now is also in New York, it doesn't look good.

Go Sox. Time to get back to the books.