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February 16, 2007Goodbye, Keith, and ThanksFormer Red Sox closer and the man who was on the mound for the Red Sox' first World Championship in 86 years Keith Foulke has hung up his spikes. I suspect that a large reason he has been hurting the past two seasons is because he gave the Red Sox everything he had in the 2004 postseason. Whether or not that's the case, I will remember him catching Edgar Renteria's groundout to close out the 2004 world classic. Thanks for your hard work, Keith, and good luck with life beyond baseball. Update: My report on game four, and my reaction the Sox' World Championship. Posted at 04:03 PM · Baseball · Comments (1) · TrackBack (0)
January 10, 2007Guilty Until Proven InnocentEveryone lies, Michael. The innocent lie because they don't want to be blamed for something they didn't do, and the guilty lie because they don't have any other choice. The fifth amendment to the Constitution is pretty important. It protects all of us from being forced to possibly incriminate ourselves should we find ourselves accused of a crime. You do hear it argued from time to time that, if you don't have anything to hide, why fear testifying, but that's a fool's game. First of all, just because you are innocent, it doesn't mean you don't have anything to hide. We all have things we'd rather keep private (well, reviewing some reality TV shows, maybe some of us don't), and we should not be required to lose that privacy simply because we've been accused of a crime. Second, one of the best things about our legal system is the supposition of innocence: we can't send someone to prison (or worse) unless we can prove they're guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. While that means that some of the guilty get off, it also serves as an important (although eroding) check on the power of the state. Without the supposition of innocence, the government can imprison anyone it wants simply by accusing them. (See Jose Padilla for exhibit A of this shameful behavior.) Of course, the problem with the fifth amendment is that it goes against human nature. If someone takes the fifth, the average person assumes they are doing so because they are, in fact, guilty. Which is silly when you think about it, since in most cases the crime the person is accused with is heinous enough that risking perjury charges isn't generally a major concern. Nonetheless, taking the fifth is generally regarding as equivalent to admitting one's guilt, which is unfortunate. For the reasons I listed above, people ought to be able to protect their privacy without being assumed to be criminals. Today's exhibit is Mark McGwire, who fell well short of election to the Hall of Fame yesterday in large part because it is assumed that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his career. And Steve Buckley at the Boston Herald is tickled pink about that, citing McGwire's testimony before Congress as proof of the slugger's guilt. Buckley calls McGwire's response, "I'm not here to talk about the past," a 'cheap lawyer's trick,' as if utilizing the rights our ancestors fought and died for 200+ years ago is somehow sleazy. I don't know if Mark McGwire used steroids during his career. If I had to bet money on it, I'd bet that he did. But I can't prove it, and while McGwire is not actually on trial, I see no reason why the presumption of innocence should not apply in his case as well, if only to remind people of the principle and why it matters. I don't care if McGwire goes into the HoF or not, but I care a great deal about retaining (and in many cases) reinstating the rights laid out in the Bill of Rights (including those troublesome ninth and tenth amendments). Posted at 05:57 PM · Baseball • · Philosophy · Comments (1) · TrackBack (0)
January 09, 2007Hall of Fame 2007Congratulations to Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr., the two newest members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. They were obvious and deserving selections, and they'll do the Hall proud (although Gwynn represents, by far, the most overrated HoF player archetype: high-average singles hitters). Neither managed to squeak past Tom Seaver for highest percentage ever, but both did quite well with 97.6 and 98.5% of the votes respectively. Remaining bridesmaids for yet another year were Goose Gossage, Bert Blyleven, and Jim Rice, all of whom will once again have to wait until next year, thanks in large part to (quite frankly) a vast number of idiots who make up a sizeable fraction of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Not that I'm overly upset over most of the vote; Gossage clearly deserves to be there, but Blyleven and Rice are on the bubble. What fascinates me are the morons who won't vote for anyone on the first ballot (news flash: nobody's plaque mentions how they ended up in the Hall) or who votes for only one outfielder/pitcher/etc. each year. Either someone is a Hall of Fame player, or they're not, and the silly games that go on with players having to agonize year after year because too many writers don't take the time to really work on their ballot. (To be fair, some writers do a very good job, but unfortunately there's enough chaff to ruin the wheat.) Really interesting: Jim Rice remains a decent candidate, albeit the clock will probably run out on him before he gets in, but Albert Belle garnered only 19 votes and is off the ballot. When it comes to writers not doing research, that's a pretty strong indicator. Belle put up numbers that are very similar to Rice's, and did it faster than Rice. Even adjusting for the eras in which they played, I'd love to know how 327 voters justified Rice but not Belle. Posted at 12:05 PM · Baseball · Comments (13) · TrackBack (0)
December 06, 2006Some Good NewsBoston pitcher Jon Lester, who went down late this season with cancer, has been pronounced cancer-free by his doctors. Naturally, they're going to need to keep a close eye on him for the rest of his life, but this is terrific news for a young guy who has his whole life in front of him. Here's hoping he's firmly ensconced in the starting rotation next year. Posted at 06:36 AM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
October 07, 2006Buck O'Neil, 1911-2006I think Reggie Jackson said it best: "I'm not sad for him. He had a long, full life and I hope I'm as lucky, but I'm sad for us." If you followed baseball, you knew Buck O'Neil, for he was a giant in the sport. No, he wasn't one of the all-time great sluggers like Ruth or Gibson, nor a tremendous pitcher like Paige or Johnson. But he saw them all, and more in his 94 years on the planet. O'Neil was a first baseman for the Kansas City Monarchs. Yes, those Monarchs...the ones whose stars included a pitcher named Satchel Paige and a young shortstop named Jackie Robinson. Buck played with them both, and many other stars, during his career in the Negro Leagues. He then followed that up by breaking another barrier: O'Neil was the first black man to serve as a coach in the major leagues. That might not sound like much, but O'Neil was the first black hired by a ball club not for his brawn, but for his brain. (Although that is a simplification; really good baseball players need more than physical tools.) But O'Neil really hit the big time with Ken Burns' documentary, Baseball. O'Neil's encyclopedic knowledge of the sport and his awe-inspiring ability to tell a story made him, as he put it, 'an overnight sensation at age 82.' With that experience establishing him as a more well-known spokesman for baseball, O'Neil spent the next twelve years criss-crossing the country thrilling audiences with his stories of ballplayers most of us know only as lines of text in a statistics book or grainy footage on a newsreel. O'Neil told stories about who they were and what they did, bringing the past to life as few can. I had the good fortune to see O'Neil in Colorado Springs several years ago. I don't know if I've ever met anyone who was so full of life as he was; it was a privilege having a chance to listen to him and even to ask him a few questions. We are all a little poorer today. Update: The Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City is holding a fund raiser for the John "Buck" O'Neil Education and Research Center. This expansion to the Negro Leagues Museum will allow researchers to delve into every aspect of the Negro Leagues, making it a huge boon for baseball scholars and historians alike. For those interested in baseball and American history (and who have money burning a hole in their pocket), it sounds like a pretty good cause. Posted at 09:23 AM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
October 06, 2006ALDS TwistsGames played thus far in the division series: ten. Games won by teams I picked to win their series: one. For those readers who do like to gamble, I recommend you watch my picks for the LCS very carefully. On the plus side, it's been an interesting postseason already, what with Oakland finally breaking a nine-game streak of futility and the Mets turning one of the most improbable double-plays in history. And I'll cheerfully admit how wrong I was in my predictions if one of the ones that proves to be wrong is the Yankees going all the way. Yes, I'm petty that way. Posted at 09:38 PM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
October 04, 2006Short SeriesI'd just like to thank the playoff teams for working so hard to queer my predictions. After five games, only one team I predicted to win its series has won even one game. And to take this opportunity to point out that anyone can win a short series, and that my predictions should not be used by anyone planning to place bets on the games, for your own safety (and mine). And, naturally, the one team that did win? The @$%$%@ Yankees. Typical. Posted at 06:37 PM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
October 03, 2006Playoff Watch 2006It's that time of year again. I hate this time of year in one sense, since there's a lot less baseball available and we're a long ways from the good times of Spring Training and beyond, but there's always excitement in the playoffs. Already we see that Oakland has stunned Minnesota with a 3-2 victory over Twins ace and probably Cy Young winner Johan Santana to take a 1-0 lead in that series, so it promises to be an interesting postseason. In the first round, I see things working out as follows: In the League Championship Series, things should get interesting. So the World Series will be a rematch of 1998. The good news for Padres fans is, they'll probably win a game or two this time. But, much as I hate to say it, I expect to see the Yankees on top at the end of this Series, therefore ending Boston's brief reign of having a shorter championship drought than New York. Still, it was fun while it lasted. Posted at 02:35 PM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
September 29, 2006Pedro Goes DownI hated to see Pedro Martinez leave Boston, particularly in the wake of Boston's 2004 World Series championship. But when the Mets offered a guaranteed fourth year, I thought that Theo Epstein was right to let Pedro go, and events thus far have proven me right, particularly in light of the announcement he cannot play for the Mets in this year's playoffs, reducing the Mets from probable pennant-winners to probable also-rans. Since going to the Mets, Pedro has put up the following lines: Ironically, had he been able to flip those lines, the Mets would be much better off, as last year he probably could have pitched in the playoffs but didn't have to because the Mets didn't make it. Now the Mets will be without their biggest gun for the postseason, and who knows what Pedro will be able to do next year. He's an amazing pitcher when he's healthy, and as Red Sox fans remember from 1999, even when he's hurt he's pretty damn amazing. But he's injury-prone and getting older, so these kinds of injuries are only likely to get worse over the next two years of his contract. Still, I take no pleasure in being proved right. Pedro was a great guy to have on our team for the seven years he spent in Boston, and I'm grateful for every start he made for us. I would have been very happy to see him go on to more success with the Mets, and I still wouldn't mind seeing the Mets somehow win the Series this year so he can earn a second ring. One of the most painful things about baseball is that it gives us an ugly reminder of our slow trek to the reaper, as a man who was one of the greatest pitchers of his age, if not of all time, slowly succumbs to the indignities of age. Posted at 07:13 AM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
September 18, 2006Small VictoriesYes, it's not much, but at least we didn't have to endure being the guests at yet another Yankees' AL East clinching ceremony. The Red Sox finally found a team they can play well against in the Yankees, taking three of four over the weekend. We even managed to end Derek Jeter's hitting streak, a petty little victory I'll take in my desperate desire to have something pleasant to cling to at this point in a very sad season. (Although I'll point out that a lousy baseball season still beats any other sport I'm aware of.) The Yankees didn't have much to play for, of course, as only divine intervention will prevent them from winning the AL East for the ninth year in a row, but I suspect that Joe Torre's boys don't get to sit back and get comfortable even when sitting in the catbird seat as they are now, and it's not like the Red Sox ran out a great lineup either, with the starting pitchers being this illustrious foursome: Josh Beckett (15-10, 5.02), Tim Wakefield (7-9, 4.19), Kyle Snyder (4-4, 6.28) and Kevin Jarvis (0-2 , 5.17). Nothing against them all; they actually acquited themselves quite well, but that's not exactly the rotation the Red Sox planned to have at this point in 2006, and it highlights the reason the Sox will be watching the playoffs on television in October. I should note, however, that Big Papi should stick to keeping his mouth shut about the MVP award and accept the fact he's never going to win it. As a DH, he simply has to put up stats that are far beyond anyone else in contention, and he's got to do it with a contending team. The Red Sox are not likely to be in contention next year (although much could change between now and then), and while Papi's a tremendous hitter, the fact is he's not even the best hitter on his own team. That Ramirez guy may not have quite such eye-popping stats, but comparing him to Papi, he comes away looking pretty good. Papi: .283/.405/.625, 49 HR, 129 RBI. Papi has a little more power, but the RBI difference comes primarily because Ramirez bats after Papi and therefore loses a lot of opportunities to Papi, and Manny gets on base more often. It's close, but Manny has a slight edge, especially when you consider that a pitcher facing Papi knows that he has to face Manny next, while a pitcher facing Manny knows he has to face Mike Lowell (.283/.341/.465, 17 HR, 70 RBI) next. That takes a bit of the pressure off. Now the more interesting question is, will Minnesota be able to come all the way back against the Tigers? I would like to see them do so, but they play Boston next, so I certainly want them to lose those games, and they need just about every game if they're to catch Detroit. It's about the last race for the playoffs, so you have to hope it stays close to make the last few weeks of the regular season interesting. Then the question will be, can anyone beat New York in the ALCS? Because if not, the Yankees' drought is coming to an end in 2006, and our long national nightmare will at long last be over. Posted at 10:47 AM · Baseball · Comments (2) · TrackBack (0)
August 30, 2006Red Sox 2007Yes, I realize I've been something of a ghost of late. My apologies; between having to play acting battalion commander for ten days, finishing up a course in my MBA program, and preparing for the transfer of responsibility for our mission here at Fort Riley to the 1st Infantry Division, it's been hectic of late. On the plus side, tomorrow I get to go home to enjoy Labor Day with my wife. So life is good. Although it would be a lot better if the Sox hadn't forgotten that we play 162 games these days, and not 122. I think it's safe to say that the bloom is off Theo's rose at this point, as the 2004 championship is looking a lot like a fluke rather than a true expression of the abilities of Epstein and Francona. I'm still of the opinion that the Sox ought to dump Terry; no, this year's disaster would have happened with or without him, but that doesn't change the fact he's a mediocre manager. But Boston's woes go well beyond him. So, since we're in 'wait 'til next year mode,' what do we need for next year? Quite a bit. Pitching-wise, we have three starters we can count on next year: Schilling, Beckett, and Lester. Wakefield may come back as well, so that would round out the rotation to four, although Schilling and Wakefield are both pretty good bets to go down to injury, given their age. Clement may be back, but given the production he's given us the last two years, I'm not sure anyone really wants to see him back in a Boston uniform. Still, he's under contract, so the Sox could have a rotation of Schilling, Beckett, Lester, Wakefield and Clement next year. That's not confidence-inspiring. It would help a lot if they went with Schilling, Beckett, Papelbon, Lester, Wakefield. Yes, it means we have to find a closer, but Papelbon isn't Mariano Rivera, so the Sox may as well put someone else on the back end and get 200+ innings out of that arm. Then they just need to find a closer and probably two other good arms to go with Foulke, Delcarmen and Hansen. Hitting-wise, the Sox obviously need some work. Right now they look like this: Varitek and Mirabelli behind the plate, Youklis, Loretta and Lowell around the diamond, and Ramirez, Crisp and Pena in the outfield. That's not good. At a minimum, we need a new shortstop (although I'd be happy to keep Gonzalez for his glove if we can get a few bigger hitters elsewhere. Varitek isn't the Tek of old, and Mirabelli's best years are behind him as well, so the Sox need to find a good catcher they can start training to take over the position. Get him early and have him catch Wakefield every minute he can spare, but don't keep Mirabelli around just because he can catch Wake. The Bard deal was a disaster for the Sox (imagine if they still had Cla Meredith in their bullpen); they need to find a good backup catcher and deal with whatever troubles he may have with Wake. The Sox also need a new third baseman; Lowell has been better than could be expected, but he's not getting any younger and the Sox desperately need to. Youkilis should be the solution at first for some time to come, and adding Pedroia to the mix as second should put the Sox in a good position for the future. In the outfield, I think the Sox are probably going to have to let Trot go; I hate to say that, but while he's a terrific player when he's healthy, he hasn't been healthy for at least three years. Unless he's willing to sign cheap, the Sox need to see if Pena can handle being an every day right fielder. The more I look at the Sox, the less I think of Epstein. Supposedly the Sox are built for the future, but I don't see them being much better next year than they are this year. I think the Yankees' stranglehold on the AL East is going to last a lot longer than we'd like to think. Posted at 11:13 AM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
August 11, 2006Fire FranconaI have never been a fan of Terry Francona. Yes, I know he managed the Red Sox to their first World Series Championship since 1918, but I'm of the opinion they did that despite him, not because of him. And last night's odious performance is just one more example of the kind of dismal managing we endure under Francona. The Sox came into last night in trouble. They'd dropped four of the first five games on their road trip and had lost the first two games of a three game series against woeful Kansas City. They needed a win badly. But their ace was on the mound, and after seven innings Schilling's arm and Wily Mo Pena's bat had staked the Red Sox to a 4-2 lead. Schilling had only thrown 89 pitches to that point, so I had no issue with Francona sending him back out to the mound. But as soon as he gave up the first double, Francona should have yanked him. Certainly when the tying run was on base Francona should have gone to the bullpen. And to leave Schilling out there to take the loss was, quite simply, unforgivable. With two innings to play and a two-run lead, there was no reason at all to leave Schilling out there in a game the Red Sox simply had to win. Yet, somehow, Francona pulled it off. It's pretty clear at this point that the Sox are in 'wait til next year' mode. The loss of Tek and Trot, plus the psychological issue of failing to pick up any help at the trade deadline appear to have combined to take the wind out of their sails. If Jon Lester, Craig Hansen, and Manny Delcarmen live up to their potential, that will be survivable. It will be painful to miss the playoffs this year, but it happens. But if we're going to focus on next year, then we need to start by looking for a manager capable of making the right moves. Let's dump Francona overboard and find ourselves a manager who can actually be a net benefit to this team. Posted at 07:16 AM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
June 27, 2006Gammons in SurgeryPeter Gammons, the renowned baseball reporter, has suffered an aneurysm and is undergoing surgery in a Boston hospital. Here's hoping the damage is not irreparable, as Gammons is a solid asset in the baseball world thanks to his superlative sources and good reporting. Posted at 05:21 PM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
The Ghosts of '86The Boston Red Sox are (finally) planning to celebrate the accomplishments of the 1986 Red Sox. Best known for one unfortunate error (that wouldn't have made a big difference anyhow, since Stanley had already allowed the tying run to score, but never mind that), the '86 Red Sox brought a lot of joy and life into Boston baseball and arguably set the stage for the 'Red Sox nation' that lived and died (and celebrated) with the boys of 2004. Yes, we lost in 1986. Yes, it was painful to lose after being one strike away. But it's nice to see we're finally going to recognize all that the 1986 team did accomplish. On a side note, if anyone boos Pedro tomorrow, they should be vigorously beaten about the head and shoulders. Posted at 11:07 AM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
May 26, 2006Time for a ChangeWhat's the difference between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers? Obviously they're separated by 3.5 and 5 games in the standings respectively, but why? (Duh...the Red Sox aren't as good. Go to the head of the class.) More precisely, are there any obvious reasons why the Red Sox can't seem to get any separation between themselves and the rest of the AL East? One springs immediately to mind to anyone following the Red Sox closely, I'll bet: the starting rotation. Boston's top three starters match up against any in the American League. Schilling, Beckett and Wakefield have combined for 20 quality starts in 30 starts to date. That is one more than the White Sox' top three of Buehrle, Garcia and Contreras and as many as the Tigers' Verlander, Bonderman and Rogers. The problem is that for Boston, that's about their only source of quality starts: in the fifteen games not started by the Red Sox front three, they have three quality starts. Detroit has gotten ten quality starts in 18 games not started by their top three. Chicago has ten quality starts in 20 games not started by their top three. That's a huge difference, and it probably accounts for a sizable fraction of the difference in the teams. So where do we look to fix this discrepancy? Granted, the Red Sox have been hurt by the loss of David Wells, who has started only one best-forgotten game thus far in 2006, and Lenny DiNardo, his replacement, has been minimally effective at best. But there's one other slot in the Boston rotation that has been healthy all year; he just hasn't pitched like it. Yes, Matt Clement, Theo Epstein's replacement for Derek Lowe, has managed a whopping three quality starts in nine games this year, a rate of 33%. That's just not getting the job done, and it's killing the Red Sox. Looking at Clement's stats, we see that the average batter against him is hitting .324 against him, with a .425 on-base percentage and a .456 slugging percentage, an .879 OPS. The hitter currently matching that stat: Kevin Mench, of the Texas Rangers. I don't think I'm alone in suggesting that when the average opposition hitter is Kevin Mench, you can expect to give up a lot of runs. And Clement has obliged, giving up 38 runs (36 earned) in his nine starts. Throw in his 51 innings in those nine starts and this is the hole the Red Sox put themselves in every time they send Clement to the mound: he'll give up 4.2 runs in 5.2 innings. So in an average Clement start, you've got to score five runs and get perfect bullpen work for 3.1 innings to win. It's a wonder he's only 4-4, a testament to the number of runs the Sox have scored for him. Of course, you can't replace someone with no one, and with Bronson Arroyo now wearing a Reds uniform and Wells still a question mark, the Sox are a little light in the starting pitching department. They do have two starters down at Pawtucket who might fit the bill, however: Abe Alvarez and Jon Lester. Lester is expected to be a horse, so the Red Sox may be reluctant to bring him up, but that still leaves Alvarez. No, he's not going to set the league on fire, but it's hard to imagine he'll be any worse than Clement has been this year, and he won't cost $9 million a year. Granted, the Sox are stuck paying Clement's salary unless they can convince another team to take him off their hands, but just because they have to pay him, it doesn't mean they have to play him. If David Wells is capable of starting with minimal effectiveness, it's time for the Red Sox to look elsewhere. Alvarez deserves a chance to show that he can outpitch Clement, because the Red Sox are not going far this season with a fourth starter who makes the average batter look better than Alex Rodriguez. Posted at 11:43 AM · Baseball · Comments (1) · TrackBack (0)
May 01, 2006Poor JohnnySo I'm watching the Yankees-Red Sox game, which is notable for Johnny Damon's return to Boston as well as the usual Boston-New York drama. The announcers are spending most of their time discussing Damon's decision to leave Boston for the Yankees. Personally, while I was sorry to see Damon leave, I didn't blame him for taking more money. I'd like to believe that I would stay in a place I loved for less money, but $12 million is a lot of money and I don't know if I could turn it down. But when Damon started whining about how the Red Sox had disrespected him (I wish I could be disrespected for $40 million over four years), I lost any sympathy I had for the man. Now he's apparently been whining for several days about how unfair it is that the Red Sox fans are going to boo him (a favorite sign tonight: "Looks like Jesus, Acts like Judas, Throws like Mary") after all he did for the Red Sox. Yes, Damon did a great deal for the Red Sox, and I won't soon forget his grand slam against the Yankees in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS. He played hard, he played hurt, and he was fun to watch. But he also decided that money was more important than his history for the Red Sox. The idea that fans are somehow unfair to hold that against him is ridiculous. I wouldn't boo him, but then, I don't boo people when I go to ball games. And Damon's decision to go public with his complaints just makes him look like a spoiled child. Do I wish he was still playing for Boston? Sure, and so do most Red Sox fans. But he could have done so and become part of the Sox pantheon of stars. Money was more important to him. Now he's unhappy because being greedy comes with a price? Remind me to feel sorry for him. Posted at 06:53 PM · Baseball · Comments (4) · TrackBack (0)
April 03, 2006Baseball 2006Life is good, for baseball has returned. Boston beat up on the Rangers to break a five-year Opening Day losing streak and start the 2006 season off on a good note. Curt Schilling looked very good, and the Red Sox offense looked quite solid as well. Keith Foulke had some trouble closing out the game, but all-in-all it was a good start, and if we can only have one of Foulke and Schilling at full effectiveness, I'll take Schill any day. I do hope Foulke gets his stroke back as well, of course, as I'd rather not have to rely on Craig Hansen any sooner than necessary, but I think it's easier to find a good closer than a good starter, and 200 innings of Curt Schilling will go a long ways towards making the Sox competitive this year. On a separate note, I don't care what the sportwriters say, Jimmy Rollins does not have a 37-game hitting streak going. A hitting streak does not extend past the end of a season. There's just too much time and too many games between the end of one season and the beginning of another for a streak to carry on. I realize that I'm fighting the sportswriters on this, but I stand by it. After 30-odd spring training games, the idea that he's just picked up his hitting streak with today's double is silly. If he wants to be DiMaggio, he's got 56 more games to go. Posted at 10:32 AM · Baseball · Comments (2) · TrackBack (0)
March 22, 2006The Breakup ContinuesShamed into it by the mighy Enrak, a few words on the Red Sox's decision to send pitcher Bronson Arroyo to Cincinnati for outfielder Wily Mo Pena. This is a trade that is difficult to assess, as neither player has yet to establish a consistent level of performance. Arroyo set career highs in innings and wins last year, his first as a full-time part of Boston's rotation. He's relatively young and has good stuff, if not overpowering. On the other hand, he was knocked around in some important games last year, and my personal impression of him is that he's not particularly mentally tough. While Bronson is remembered for plinking Alex Rodriguez in 2004, sparking the brawl that helped launch the Sox to their World Championship, the plain fact is ARod caused that brawl by being a punk. Arroyo had no intention of hitting him, and proved it by failing to pitch inside to ARod ever since. Given the importance of pitching inside to successful pitching, that mental issue makes me question if Arroyo can ever harness his stuff to become a real A-level starter. His decision to stay out late playing in his band the night prior to his start kicking off the second half of last season also leads me to question his judgement. Pena, on the other hand, has a huge upside potential but who knows if he can realize that potential. To date he's a human fan, striking out an inordinate number of times when he's played. Yes, he's got good power, but the Red Sox don't need another Rob Deer, especially when Pena, unlike Deer, also doesn't walk much. Unless Pena learns to control the strike zone, he's not going to be a star. Is the potential there? Sure, a 24-year old who can play Major League Baseball is a valuable commodity. But he's got a long ways to go to make this deal a winner for the Sox. Bottom line: it's too early to tell. My heart hates to see Arroyo leave, as the core of the 2004 team is down to less than half-a-dozen players, but my head says wait and see. This may turn out to be a great deal for the Sox. On the other hand, it may turn out to be another chink in the armor of the sainted Theo Epstein. Obviously, I'm hoping for the former, but I'm curious how much sabrmetric analysis the Sox braintrust put into this deal Posted at 09:31 AM · Baseball · Comments (1) · TrackBack (0)
January 10, 2006Hall of Fame 2006As numerous writers have noted, 2006 is a bit of a slim year for the Baseball Hall of Fame with no clear candidates for inclusion. With the results of the election due in only a few hours, I thought I'd post my own ballot. As I am not a member of the Baseball Writer's Association of America, my ballot has no bearing on the results of the election, but I'll post it anyhow for the purpose of spurring a little discussion. Before noting who I would vote for, I will note that my opinions come from the theory there is no insult in not being elected to the Hall of Fame. There are many very good players who will never see their face on a plaque in Cooperstown. The idea that a player is insulted by his exclusion from the Hall turns the entire concept of the Hall on its head. Cooperstown exists to honor the best baseball players who ever lived. Failing to clear that bar is hardly an insult. Even in cases where the Hall has erred (Tinker to Evers to Chance, anyone?), it should be our goal to avoid such mistakes in the future rather than using them as a new basis for what constitutes a Hall of Fame ballplayer. Looking at this year's ballot, I could see three candidates I consider worthy of inclusion: Bert Blyleven, Goose Gossage, and Tommy John. Blyleven and John, while not stereotypical Hall of Fame players, simply won too many games not to be enshrined, and Gossage really is what we think of when we think Hall of Fame: he was a nonpareil ballplayer whose abilities were far beyond his peers. A few notes on those I would not select. Jack Morris. I find little more amazing than writers who will vote for Morris, but who leave Blyleven and John to languish. Yes, I realize that Morris pitched one of the greatest games of the century in the 1991 World Series, but the Hall of Fame is about a career, not just one game, no matter how important. And Morris simply doesn't stack up against true Hall of Famers. Jim Rice. This was a tough one. Rice was an amazing hitter for an eleven year span. But after that, he fell off the table. Does eleven years of good hitting make up for what was, effectively, a short career? Ultimately, I come down against him. He wouldn't drag down the standards of the Hall were he inducted, but I think his career really falls in the next tier, players who were good, but who weren't quite Hall of Famers. Bruce Sutter. Sutter is the most likely candidate from this year, but the fact is he's not on the same level as Gossage. Twelve seasons isn't much of a career, and while he was terrific, he would have had to have been unhittable to justify the Hall for only 1,000 innings. Let the debate begin. Posted at 10:13 AM · Baseball • · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
Hall of Fame 2006As numerous writers have noted, 2006 is a bit of a slim year for the Baseball Hall of Fame with no clear candidates for inclusion. With the results of the election due in only a few hours, I thought I'd post my own ballot. As I am not a member of the Baseball Writer's Association of America, my ballot has no bearing on the results of the election, but I'll post it anyhow for the purpose of spurring a little discussion. Before noting who I would vote for, I will note that my opinions come from the theory there is no insult in not being elected to the Hall of Fame. There are many very good players who will never see their face on a plaque in Cooperstown. The idea that a player is insulted by his exclusion from the Hall turns the entire concept of the Hall on its head. Cooperstown exists to honor the best baseball players who ever lived. Failing to clear that bar is hardly an insult. Even in cases where the Hall has erred (Tinker to Evers to Chance, anyone?), it should be our goal to avoid such mistakes in the future rather than using them as a new basis for what constitutes a Hall of Fame ballplayer. Looking at this year's ballot, I could see three candidates I consider worthy of inclusion: Bert Blyleven, Goose Gossage, and Tommy John. Blyleven and John, while not stereotypical Hall of Fame players, simply won too many games not to be enshrined, and Gossage really is what we think of when we think Hall of Fame: he was a nonpareil ballplayer whose abilities were far beyond his peers. A few notes on those I would not select. Jack Morris. I find little more amazing than writers who will vote for Morris, but who leave Blyleven and John to languish. Yes, I realize that Morris pitched one of the greatest games of the century in the 1991 World Series, but the Hall of Fame is about a career, not just one game, no matter how important. And Morris simply doesn't stack up against true Hall of Famers. Jim Rice. This was a tough one. Rice was an amazing hitter for an eleven year span. But after that, he fell off the table. Does eleven years of good hitting make up for what was, effectively, a short career? Ultimately, I come down against him. He wouldn't drag down the standards of the Hall were he inducted, but I think his career really falls in the next tier, players who were good, but who weren't quite Hall of Famers. Bruce Sutter. Sutter is the most likely candidate from this year, but the fact is he's not on the same level as Gossage. Twelve seasons isn't much of a career, and while he was terrific, he would have had to have been unhittable to justify the Hall for only 1,000 innings. Let the debate begin. Posted at 10:13 AM · Baseball • · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
December 27, 2005Rice and the HallI remember watching Jim Rice play for the Red Sox in the mid-80s. By then he wasn't nearly the threat he had been in his heyday, but he was still a fun player to watch, and his assumption of the left field position that had been Carl Yaztremski's and Ted Williams' before that seemed quite appropriate. It has been 17 years since Rice retired, and in that time he has watched from afar year after year as the Hall of Fame vote has denied him entry for 11 straight years. Now Sean McAdam argues it's time to right that wrong, citing Rice's numbers in the context of his career and making a reasonable case for Rice's admission to the Hall. But in the course of making his argument, McAdam makes a classic error that sorely undermines his case. "Among all major leaguers, only nine players have compiled as high a career batting average (.298) and as many homers. They are: Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Mel Ott, Hank Aaron, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Stan Musial." I don't have my stat books handy, so I can't check the accuracy of this, but we'll assume that McAdam's factual argument is correct. My question is, so what? Yes, Jim Rice is one of ten men to accomplish those feats. Bill James once described this as the "He's in the group" fallacy, and here's why: of the ten men in that 'group,' Rice ranks tied for ninth in batting average with Mantle and tenth in home runs, 93 home runs behind the number nine guy. He's only in that group because his stats are set as the minimums. Babe Ruth, who hit .342 and 714 home runs is in the group, but Albert Belle, who hit .295 and 381 home runs is out. You tell me: is Jim Rice more comparable to the Babe, or to Belle? Belle is out of the group because he hit for too low an average and too few home runs: he's three points behind Rice in average and one home run off the mark. Babe Ruth, who his 332 more home runs and batted 44 points higher than Rice is in the group. There's no doubt that's a great group of hitters. There's also no doubt Jim Rice wasn't in their league as a hitter. That hardly makes him ineligible for the Hall. Rice's numbers were solid, and he was a great hitter for a dozen years. His entry into the Hall would not be dragging the Hall down by any stretch of the imagination. But arguments like McAdam's only serve to muddy the waters and detract from Rice's true accomplishments by creating arbitrary and silly groupings like that. McAdam has a number of good arguments for why Rice should be in the Hall. It's a shame he closed his argument with a bad one. Posted at 11:33 AM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
October 31, 2005Theo ResignsAnd so another chapter of the storied Boston Red Sox comes to a close as Theo Epstein leaves Boston after three glorious years as general manager. Theo's tenure was marked as the first time in Boston history the team reached the postseason in three consecutive seasons, not to mention the little matter of the team's World Series victory. Unfortunately, it appears that Epstein had some personal issues with club president Larry Luccino, issues that apparently were bad enough to convince him to turn down a three year, $4.5 million contract. That is bad news for the Red Sox, and quite possibly for Epstein as well. Let's recap the Theo era. Yes, Theo brought us a title, and I certainly will buy him a beer whenever he wants one for that triumph. The Sox came within one Grady Little meltdown of reaching the World Series in Theo's first year in Boston. His moves during the 2004 season were brilliant, from moving Nomar to the pickup of the sublime Dave Roberts. However, his encore in 2005 was far less impressive, with the Sox' weaknesses completely exposed by the White Sox in the ALDS. A good record? Absolutely. But mistakes were made as well, and Theo's reputation as a wunderkind was seriously undermined by the Sox' troubles this year. In any case, Theo is now gone, and the Red Sox must move on. More than half the starting lineup will turn over in the offseason, and the Sox are desperate for some solid starting pitching and another good arm in the bullpen. Whoever replaces Epstein will have an uphill climb on his hands. I wish Theo the best in his future endeavors, but the Sox will go on without him, and the sooner, the better. Posted at 08:08 PM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
September 22, 2005Wait 'til Next Year?The hits just keep on coming for the 2005 Red Sox. One day after watching their onetime four-game lead turn into a half-game deficit, the word from Boston is that last year's World Series hero, Keith Foulke, will not play the rest of the year. While Foulke has not contributed much this year anyhow, the Sox bullpen is so awful right now this loss makes their chances of coming back in the AL East very poor indeed. The only hope the Sox have right now is for manager Terry Francona to start making better use of his rookies in the bullpen. Jonathan Papelbon has been moderately effective out of the pen, and new draft pick Craig Hansen was stellar in his one outing thus far and has yet to surrender a run in his short professional career. Manny Delcarmen has shown some promise as well, striking out more than a batter an inning in limited action thus far. Yes, they're rookies, and they might not hold up in the heat of a playoff race, but let's ask the pertinent question: what other options do we have? Foulke is gone for the year. Timlin is worn out. Myers and Bradford can probably be used more than they have to date, but they can't carry the load alone. If the Sox are going to be competitive down the stretch (and they have not been since they left New York), they're going to need to revamp their bullpen to keep them in close games, and that means using the rookies. The question that remains is, does Francona have the vision to see that, or will he continue to try and ride Timlin's arm right out of the postseason picture? Posted at 11:11 AM · Baseball · Comments (2) · TrackBack (0)
September 21, 2005BackThere's nothing like watching your favorite team blow an eighth inning lead to give the division to your arch-rivals to make you realize you need a platform for blowing off steam. And what better platform is there than a blog, right? So, rather than throw things at the TV and shout obscenities out the window (which my neighbors seem to take great exception to, judging from the number of police cars that arrived the last time), I think it's time to get back to blogging so I can take my aggressions out in a forum where no one will mind. Or notice. It will probably take me a little time to get back up to blogging speed, so have a little patience with me. Comments, as always, will drive me straight up the wall. Posted at 08:29 PM · Baseball · Comments (2) · TrackBack (0)
April 12, 2005Three Cheers for MoEven if you took away all of the World Series that Joe Torre has led the Yankees to, he would still get my vote for the Hall of Fame for his success in making the Yankees into such a classy organization. Even a diehard Red Sox fan like yours truly has a hard time actually hating the Yankees players (except ARod) because they play the game right. Today's exhibit: Mariano Rivera, who was greeted with mock cheers from the Fenwey faithful yesterday. Rivera has had a rough time with the Sox lately: he blew saves in games four and five of last year's ALCS as the Sox became the first team in baseball history to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven game series. Rivera since blew two more saves against the Sox last week in Yankee Stadium, although Derek Jeter rescued one of those games with a walkoff homerun. In the wake of this minor bad patch after proving himself the best closer in baseball over the last decade, suddenly people are asking if he's washed up, and Rivera even heard boos in the Bronx last week. Despite all this, Rivera took the Fenway ribbing by doffing his cap to acknowledge the cheers. As is the standard for Torre's Yankees, Rivera took what could have been an uncomfortable moment and played it with pure class. Fortunately the Sox beat the Yankees handily, obviating the need to face Rivera again. Because no matter how many times the Sox come back on him, you can be sure Rivera will never make it easy on them. Posted at 11:50 AM · Baseball · Comments (1) · TrackBack (0)
April 03, 2005OK, the Season has started, GuysIf the Red Sox' offseason acquisitions can't do better the rest of the way than they did tonight, Theo Epstein's reign as resident genius will be short-lived indeed. More seriously, while not the way you'd like to see the Sox start the season, I still can't complain too much. Baseball is back and the Red Sox are still world champions. Posted at 09:31 PM · Baseball · Comments (2) · TrackBack (0)
Opening NightIt measures just 9 inches in circumference, weighs only about 5 ounces, and is made of cork wound with woolen yarn, covered with two layers of cowhide, and stiched by hand precisely 216 times. It travels 60 feet 6 inches from the pitcher's mound to home--and it can cover that distance at nearly 100 miles an hour. Along the way it can be made to twist, spin, curve, wobble, rise, or fall away. "Baseball is not a life or death matter. But the Red Sox are." Tonight the Red Sox begin their defense of their 2004 title, with David Wells facing off against Randy Johnson. I wouldn't bet against Randy ever, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Yankees win yet another AL East title in 2005. But the Yankees know that winning the East isn't enough, and that the Sox will still be staring them in the face in October. But what is in many ways more important is that baseball is back. Tom Boswell once observed that there is something in the six months when baseball is played that is missing during the offseason; it's not that you have to watch a game, but it helps to know that it's there if you need it. I can't express it any better than that. With baseball beginning once again tonight, the days will be just a little brighter and happier regardless of who wins the games (though I'll naturally be rooting for the Sox to successfully defend their title). Welcome back to the Boys of Summer. And to all those who said that Red Sox fans would regret seeing the Sox win it all because we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves: to quote Edna Krabapple: Hah! Posted at 05:20 PM · Baseball · Comments (1) · TrackBack (0)
February 13, 2005Now We're Talking
Courtesy Dan Drezner. Posted at 12:36 PM · Baseball · Comments (1) · TrackBack (0)
January 16, 2005I'm Thankful to God It's All OverI suspect there are very few people in America who wouldn't recognize the name Babe Ruth. The Sultan of Swat was America's first media superstar, his feats of baseball prowess so phenomonal that his fame has outlived him by more than six decades. Plenty of Americans are probably nearly as familiar with Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger whose hitting abilities outstrip anyone else in the game today, and whose relationship with steroids remains a murky question. Left in relative obscurity is the man who outstripped the Babe and whose record Bonds is currently chasing: Henry Aaron. In 1974, Aaron entered the year at 713 home runs, only one shy of the Babe's record. On Opening Day, Aaron tied the Babe with number 714. On April 8, the Braves' home opener, Aaron took an Al Dowling fastball into the Braves' bullpen for home run 715, the record-breaker. Aaron would hit another 40 home runs in his career to finish at 755, still the record. Yet as impressive as that mark is, it pales next to what Aaron had to endure to reach it. Babe Ruth, like all major league ballplayers of his time, was white. Aaron is black. In the early 1970s, the notion that a black man was going to surpass a white icon was too much to take for a large number of people. The hate mail Aaron endured was so horrible I won't even print a sample, because no sample can illustrate the combined weight of racist Hell Aaron was forced to endure. He spent the offseason between 1973 and 1974 under police protection, and there was more than one threat to shoot him dead on the field before he could hit home run number 715. Through it all, Aaron persevered. Aaron had come up through the Negro Leagues, and was the last Negro League player still in baseball by 1974. He was well-acquainted with bigotry. Yet somehow he kept going, noting once that he didn't want people to forget Ruth, only to remember him. The support he got from baseball was, to put it mildly, not great. On the night he hit number 715, baseball's commissioner was not even present. The support of the league against the torrent of hate mail certainly would not have stopped the hate, but it might well have helped to shield Aaron from some of it. But baseball dropped the ball. Now Aaron has no interest in reliving that time as Bonds closes in on his record. Orrin Judd notes that Aaron will not attend any of the festivities should Bonds break his record, despite the gravitas and grace Aaron's presence would lend to a moment that will undoubtedly be tainted by allegations of steroid abuse. When baseball needs Aaron, Hank asks the reasonable question: where was baseball when he needed it? Bonds will almost certainly eclipse Aaron's record next year, barring injury. With that, Aaron will no longer be the home run champion, and he will slide even further into obscurity. Baseball owes it to him to remember his story now, when attention will be sharpest on it. Not just the glory of that April evening when Aaron eclipsed Ruth, but everything he endured to reach that moment. Much like America, baseball has a long and glorious history. Also much like America, baseball history has plenty of less-glorious moments. Hank Aaron is indelibly tied to both of those, and we would all be well-served to remember everything that went into that moment.Posted at 11:04 AM · Baseball · Comments (1) · TrackBack (0)
December 17, 2004The Red Sox Secret RevealedApparently Gabe Kapler was a more important element of the Red Sox' success this year than anyone realized. Dave Pinto explains why. It's an interesting tale, and one that I believe has a great deal of relevance to most aspects of life.Posted at 07:06 AM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
December 14, 2004A Farewell to ArmIn what comes as no real surprise to Red Sox fans, Pedro Martinez has pitched his last game in a Boston uniform after signing with the New York Mets pending his passing a physical. Ultimately, as it so often does for ballplayers, it came down to money: the Mets were willing to pay more for Pedro's services than Boston was, and so Pedro jumped. I don't think you can really blame Pedro for that, as baseball is ultimately a business and players have a limited window in which to earn money for their abilities. Nonetheless, this is a painful loss for Sox fans both emotionally and strictly from a team sense. Emotionally, Pedro had been with the Sox seven years and had become a fixture of the team. While some of his antics could be infuriating, like his need to leave for the All Star break a week early, he could also provide the lighter touch in the dugout, laughing and playing with his teammates to ease the tension during a tough game. And there was never any doubt about one thing: Pedro cared about winning. When he was on the mound, he gave you his all. It was often painful to watch his struggles this year for precisely that reason; it was obvious he'd lost something, yet he refused to give in, taking the mound and trying to make up for lost stuff with more guile and guts. And ultimately getting away with it, as he did in his final start for Boston, shutting down St. Louis for seven critical innings in game three of the World Series. That's not a bad valedictory. From the team's standpoint, the Sox are certainly no longer nearly as strong as they were. A rotation of Schilling, Martinez, Wells, Arroyo, Wakefield would have been one of the best in the league. Schilling, Wells, Arroyo, Wakefield, Kim is a big letdown. Jason Varitek has to be pleased, as this will put more pressure on the Sox to keep him around. But keeping Varitek won't help the rotation, which needs at least a short-term fix for next year, and which will probably need a long-term fix as well, since the Sox will be lucky to get one good year out of Wells. The one good piece in all this is that the Sox won't overpay for Carl Pavano, who is by far the most overrated pitcher of this offseason. Good luck to Pedro. I suspect he may yet come to regret this decision, as even without him the Sox are a lot better bet to win than the Mets. But we'll miss him.Posted at 05:22 AM · Baseball · Comments (2) · TrackBack (0)
November 30, 2004One Down, Four to GoWhile we're talking baseball, I'm happy to note that the Red Sox have resigned catcher Doug Mirabelli to a two-year deal. While Doug is the Sox' backup catcher, he's been a huge part of the team thanks to his ability to handle Tim Wakefield's knuckleball and his solid bat. Expect him to be an important piece of the Sox' title defense in 2005. Now, of course, we're still waiting to hear about Pedro, Tek, Orlando, and Lowe or his replacement...Posted at 08:34 AM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
Baseball WhoresThe Washington Post endorses Bud Selig's plan today: they want the city of Washington to spend $600 million-plus to build a stadium for the Expos/Nationals. Their logic: if they don't agree to build the stadium, Washington might not get baseball for years. I bow to few in my love of baseball. I think it's the best game that has ever been invented, and I concur with the Post when they argue that baseball is good for a city. Both my own beloved Red Sox and the fabled Dodgers provide examples of this. While most people know that Brooklyn is a borough of the city of New York, few people today know that Brooklyn was once an independent city. It was brought into the larger city of New York in the early 20th Century, but it retained its own identity for decades. When did people stop saying they were from Brooklyn and start saying they were from New York? Around 1957, when the Brooklyn Dodgers announced that they would be pulling up stakes and moving to the west coast. Losing the Dodgers took the heart out of Brooklyn, and it has never been the same. For a more positive example, just look at what Boston enjoyed this October: as the Red Sox put together their unlikely run to their first championship in 86 years, the atmosphere in Boston was electric. As my sister-in-law attested, even people who didn't normally care about baseball or the Red Sox were caught up in the excitement, and when Boston beat the Yankees and St. Louis, everyone in Boston was as happy as they've been in years. Baseball can do great things. But that doesn't mean a city should just roll over for it. Major League Baseball has been playing this game for years. Teams move wherever they can extort the best deal from local government, even when the fans aren't interested in playing the game. My parents live outside Milwaukee, and have to pay additional taxes to finance the new Miller Park despite the fact they and a majority of their fellow citizens voted against public financing of the park. Their local politicians made a deal with Selig to fund it anyhow, and now the perenially awful Brewers get to play their games in a stadium built with taxpayer dollars. A great deal for them, but not such a good deal for the fans. There's no reason to saddle the people of Washington with a similar deal. Finally, let me address the Post's most clever move: noting that the stadium wouldn't be financed on the backs of taxpayers. Ah, they note, the tax will be on businesses. Really now. How hard is it to figure out who really pays taxes on business? Are the Post's editors really so economically illiterate that they simply believe a tax on business can be absorbed by the business without cost? Or do they not care that a business tax results in either increased prices or reduced profits? I suspect they're hoping for the latter, but reduced profits are not good for society, despite the fond dreams of many leftists. If there are fewer profits to be had in business, than fewer people will go into business. And while the left lives to hate business, they sure do love one of the important byproducts of business: jobs. Fewer profits leads to fewer jobs, but somehow proponents of taxes on business have never been able to make that connection. Here's hoping Washington's city council therefore is at least smart enough to not build the stadium on other grounds.Posted at 08:23 AM · Baseball · Comments (1) · TrackBack (0)
November 13, 2004A Stand Against Baseball ExtortionJacob Sullum pens a good summary of why the city of Washington D.C. should stand up to Bud Selig and tell him to build his own damn stadium. As regular readers know, I'm a huge baseball fan and I would very much love to see the Washington Greys take the field early next year. But not at any price. Baseball teams generate massive amounts of money...for the team. Their ability to generate economic booms for localities is questionable at best. Furthermore, there is absolutely no reason for any city to pay to build a ballpark for a local team. The team is a business, not a public trust. Should D.C. also spring for a new Wal-Mart Supercenter? The idea is ludicrous, but sports teams have managed to convince all too many cities that somehow they're different. They're not, and there is no reason to treat them as if they were. Only when local government shows a willingness to stand up to professional sports and tell them to pay their own way can we hope to see this come to an end. Yes, it might mean Washington doesn't get a major league team immediately. But if the economics of a Washington-based team make sense, someone will put a team there. And if the economics don't make sense, than the D.C. government will have saved itself a lot of money by not springing for a stadium that will be abandoned all too soon anyhow. It's time cities start acting as true stewards of the people's monies.Posted at 03:12 PM · Baseball · Comments (1) · TrackBack (0)
October 29, 2004Now What?So the Red Sox are World Champions, and the Curse is dead. No more "1918" chants at ballgames. No more replays of Enos Slaughter, Bob Gibson, Bucky Dent, Bill Buckner, and Aaron Boone. In a sense, we're no longer special, because what made us unique is now gone. And apparently some people think that's a bad thing (presumably not Red Sox fans). What a crock. Let's put things in perspective. We're still at war against a global enemy who would like little more than to see us all put to death. We've got two Godawful candidates running for President, and the rules say one of them has to win. The world still suffers from the four horsemen of war, disease, famine and pestilence. Boston's World Series win clearly doesn't do a damn thing for any of that. Hell, it doesn't even do much on a smaller scale. I still have the same bills. I'm still stuck in El Paso, 600 miles from my wife and thousands of miles from the rest of my family. So what's the big deal? For eighty-five years, the Boston Red Sox failed to win a title. That's not the longest drought in history; the Cubs are coming up on the centennial of their last victory. But unlike the Cubs, Boston has been consistently competitive since the late 1960s. 2004 was our fourth appearance in the World Series since 1966, and that doesn't even mention our other close calls in 1978 and 2003. Each time, the Sox had a chance to win the Series, and each time they fell short, most painfully in 1986 when the Mets' scoreboard broadcast the fateful "Congratulations Boston Red Sox World Champions 1986." The Curse of the Bambino was a typical human invention in an attempt to explain the inexplicable, no different than the Greek Apollo carrying the Sun across the sky or the theory that thunder was the gods bowling. What else, after all, could explain the Red Sox' uncanny ability to fall just short of greatness? Yet they persevered. Despite all of those failure, despite the belief by many people that Boston simply could never reach its goal, they went on. Last year could have crushed the city, to come so very close only to fall short yet again. Instead, they moved forward and vanquished a still-greater demon, coming back from an 0-3 deficit to win eight straight games, a feat never before seen in baseball history. The Boston Red Sox won a World Championship. And if we can do that, we can do anything.Posted at 03:24 PM · Baseball · Comments (1) · TrackBack (0)
No Joy Without a Little SadnessIn the wake of Boston's historic World Series victory, Edward Cosette of the marvelous blog Bambino's Curse is hanging up his spikes. While I didn't maintain him on the blogroll (mostly because I'm lazy, and because the damn thing is huge already), I loved to read his work, and he will be missed. Hopefully he'll be back sooner than later.Posted at 07:06 AM · Baseball · Comments (0) · TrackBack (0)
October 27, 2004This Is Next YearI never really followed baseball closely as a kid. Worse, when I was young, I followed the (gasp) Yankees. It wasn't until October 1986 that I discovered the Boston Red Sox. We were visiting my Dad's father in Maine. On the way back, we stopped at my Uncle Hank's, as he lived only a few miles down the road from my grandfather. Hank invited us in to watch the Red Sox' last game of the season. They were down to the California Angels, three games to one, and losing in the late innings of Game Five. We sat down in front of the television and watched Dave Henderson almost singlehandedly drag Boston to victory and keep the Series alive. Boston would go on to win the last two games at home for their first World Series appearance since 1975, and the first one in my experience. The World Series opened my eyes to the wonders of baseball. I was on the edge of my seat during Game Six. When Dave Henderson hit a sacrifice fly to put the Sox up by a run in the top of the tenth, I was certain Boston was going to win. Hendu had carried the Sox all through the postseason; it was only right he drive in the winning run tonight. And I watched Calvin Schiraldi suffer a nervous breakdown on the mound, and Bob Stanley allow the tying run to score, and poor Bill Buckner let a grounder eat him alive. Boston would drop Game Seven as well, but at the time I had no sense of history. I knew the Sox would be back. Sure enough, they won the AL East again in 1988 and again in 1990, but both times Oakland swept them out of the playoffs. I lived and died with the Sox in 1992 when they made up eleven games on Toronto down the stretch, but fell short because Toronto had an 11 1/2 game lead. The pain only grew worse when the Sox reached the playoffs again in 1995 to see Cleveland sweep them aside. In 1998 the Sox finally broke their postseason losing streak, but still went down in the Division Series. Then, 1999. Boston lost the first two games of the Division Series, with Pedro Martinez going down injured, and it looked like Cleveland would steamroller them yet again. But Boston managed to pull out a win in Game Three before putting up 23 runs in Game Four to even the Series. The teams kept the slugging going in Game Five until the fourth inning, when Pedro Martinez stepped out of the Boston bullpen. Pedro shut down the Indians the rest of the way, alloting them precisely zero hits through six innings while Cleveland would twice intentionally walk Nomar to pitch to Troy O'Leary and Troy would twice blast home runs to give Boston all the runs they would need. Boston was back in the ALCS for the first time since 1990. Thanks to some lousy calls, Boston dropped the first two games to the Yankees, but Game Three would be one for the ages: Roger Clemens back in Boston against Pedro Martinez. Pedro was brilliant, while Roger got bombed, but that was the high-water mark for the Sox, as New York won the next two to take the Series. Boston then slipped, missing the postseason the next three years before a triumphant return in 2003. Once again, Boston lost the first two games of the ALDS, this time to Oakland, and if not for two incredibly stupid baserunning plays by the Oakland runners in Game Three, Oakland would have completed the sweep. Instead Boston won the game on Trot Nixon's extra innings home run. Boston would beat Keith Foulke to win Game Four, and Derek Lowe would end Game Five with the tying and winning runs on base in Game Five. Boston was heading back to the ALCS, and once again they would face the Yankees. Boston took Game One in Yankee Stadium, but New York won the ugly Game Two against Pedro. New York would win two of three in Boston and was ready to close out the Series in Game Six, but Boston struggled back and forced Game Seven. Pedro should have been the hero of Game Seven, and I skipped my class to watch Game Seven in the hope I'd see Boston finally return to the World Series. Boston knocked Clemens around yet again, but Joe Torre was smart and hooked him early. Mussina shut Boston down the rest of the way, but after seven innings Boston led 5-2, and Timlin/Embree/Williamson had been lights out throughout the ALCS. Amanda turned to me and asked if we should go out somewhere for dinner to celebrate the Red Sox victory. I declined to answer, but I believed that it was a good idea. Then Pedro came out for the eighth. No big deal. Let him go until he gives up a baserunner, then bring in Timlin. Pedro got the first batter, but Derek Jeter hit an opposite field double and Grady Little came to the mound to get Pedro. Amanda and I nodded; yep, pat him on the butt and tell him good job and let's give this lead to the bullpen. Little turned around and walked back to the Boston dugout, leaving Pedro in the game, and Amanda and I watched in disbelief as the Yankees pushed three runs across. Only with the score tied did Little finally drag himself back to the mound, too late. Boston would keep it tied through the tenth, but, well, you all know what happened in the eleventh. I was crushed. I had really believed Boston was going to win that game, and they'd blown it not because New York outplayed them, but because they outmanaged them. It was painful, and watching the Yankees lose the World Series didn't really help. Boston had blown their best chance in years. Then they failed to get A-Rod (a blessing in disguise, as it turns out), but they did sign Schilling and Foulke in the offseason. But when New York signed A-Rod, and Boston lost Nixon and Garciaparra in spring training, it looked like it would be another long season. Instead, Boston started strong, taking five of the first six from New York and getting out to an early lead in the AL East. Then, three months of .500 ball punctuated by the trade of icon Nomar Garciaparra. The Sox took about a week to get over that, and then they caught fire. New York's lead was too great for Boston to overcome, although Francona's poor managing was a factor there as he recreated the ALCS nightmare in the infamous "Daddy" game. Still, Boston made the playoffs for the second year in a row, and despite their Wild Card status, an examination of the teams in the playoffs showed Boston to be the class of the AL. They looked like it against Anaheim, giving fans a scare in Game Three by giving up the lead but holding on to sweep Anaheim on Ortiz's home run. But New York ran roughshod over Boston in the first three games, thanks in part to Curt Schilling's injury, and it was clear this wasn't going to be Boston's year either. I was in the field at JRTC, I hadn't seen any of the first three games, and I was hoping Boston could win Game Four just so that I could actually see a game of the ALCS. Trailing going into the ninth, Boston tied the score against Mariano Rivera before David Ortiz stepped up to crush a ball in the twelvth inning to keep the Sox alive. Game Five was even harder to watch, as Pedro couldn't hold a lead and Boston had to earn back two against Tom Gordon and Rivera. Boston's bullpen managed to hold off the Yankees for six innings, although they never made it look easy, and once again David Ortiz drove in the winning run for Boston. I would be in the field for Game Six, and once again I just wanted one more chance to see my team play this year. S |
