The Year That Was.

I'm not sure why but I wasn't going to do an end of the year post. But then it occurred to me that I had this goofy little oddball musical theatre theme going for this season and there was a perfect song in RENT. [Aside: I know that there are a lot of RENT fans out there but the show has not aged well. It's odd because La Boheme hasn't suffered the same fate. It's probably because RENT set out to be super-edgy and now it's not--it's just super full of itself.] So how could I resist?

So Year in Review:

April: There were a couple of excellent games in April; Wakefield's near no-hitter (April 15) and subsequent eleven game winning streak, Jason Bay tying it up off Mariano Rivera in the ninth and Youkilis walking off with the win on April 24, Varitek's grand slam off AJ Burnett (April 25), and on April 27 at Cleveland the teams traded zeros for nine innings until Jason Bay hit a three-run home run off of Kerry Wood. But the winner for best game has to be Ellsbury's steal of home on April 26.

The worst game in April had to be the twelve inning disaster in Oakland on April 14. The game was almost four and a half hours long--not the best thing for a game that started at ten. Matsuzaka lasted only one inning, giving up five runs on five hits and two walks. The bullpen mostly held it together after that though. Happy went four innings, no runs; Manny Del went one and two-thirds, no runs; Ramon Ramirez went one and a third, no hits, no runs; Okajima went two innings, no hits, no runs; Papelbon went one inning, no hits, no runs; Javier Lopez struggled though--a walk, a ground out, a walk, a walk to load the bases, a strike out, and a single that brought in the tying run but was a really close play at first. The other choice would be Matt Garza's almost no-hitter (April 30). Featuring: Seven earned runs from Josh Beckett, five from Javier Lopez and his right-field debut, and two-thirds of an inning pitching from Jonathan Van Every.

May: The good: Not so much a great Red Sox moment as a Yankees Suck moment but on May 5, pugly Joba Chamberlain performed beautifully in relief of himself--he still got the loss after giving up four runs in the first inning and Beckett was able to hold them to a Damon three-run home run. And on Thursday May 7, the Red Sox scored 12 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning against Cleveland.

The bad: Papelbon blew a save against the Mets on May 23; he gave up a home run to Omir Santos that scrapped it's way over the wall. And on May 3, Carl Crawford stole six bases in one game.

The ugly: I would nominate May 28 in Minnesota. In the seventh inning, Jeff Bailey looks like he misses homeplate as he tries to score on a Dustin Pedroia sacrifice fly. Mike Redmond argues and is tossed. Ron Gardenhire argues and is tossed. In the next half inning, Josh Beckett says something to the umpire, Varitek jumps up to defend him and gets tossed. Terry Francona tries to defend Varitek and he gets tossed. Very strange.

June: On June 3, Josh Beckett had a no-hitter through seven and two-thirds. On June 4, the Sox continued to not swing at bad pitches as Dontrelle Willis fell apart before their eyes (he couldn't make it out of the third inning.) On June 6, Lester was perfect through six and one-third. On June 21, Nick Green hit a walk-off home run against the Braves.

The worst game of June would have to be June 30 at Baltimore. John Smoltz looked to be on his way to his first win; he went four innings and gave up only one run. Then the skies opened up. When the game resumed the bullpen coughed up a nine run lead and gave up ten runs in two innings.

July: Conversely, one of the best games on July was on July 1st. The Orioles had Bergesen going and the Sox came up with only one run in eight innings. But after he was pulled from the game in the ninth inning, the Oriole bullpen did their best Red Sox from the night before impersonation: Jim Johnson walked Pedroia and gave up a home run to Youkilis; George Sherrill got two strike outs (Jason Bay and David Ortiz), Ellsbury got a single, Bailey walked, Varitek walked to load the bases, Rocco Baldelli hit a single and tied the game, then Drew walked; Danys Baez got them out of the inning. To the top of the eleventh--Ellsbury hit a double, took third on a Baldelli fly ball, and scored the winning run on a Julio Lugo single.

In terms of bad days on July 30 the David Ortiz PEDs scandal broke; he did hit a three-run home run to win the game that day, though. That was a pretty bad day.

August: August brought Victor Martinez and that wasn't a bad thing. On August 14 in Texas, the Rangers had a four to two lead heading into the ninth inning and then all hell broke loose against Frank Francisco. David Ortiz doubled. Varitek singled, Ortiz went to third. Ellsbury singled, Varitek went to second, and Ortiz went home. Chris Woodward struck out. Clay Buchholz was put in to run for Varitek but, you see, he was thrown out at home trying to score on a double. From second base. Rally killer? You might think so but not with Victor Martinez in the lineup. Martinez hit a double; knocked himself on the helmet and knocked in two runs to put the Sox up by one. But they weren't done yet. Jason Bay singled and Martinez scored. Then JD Drew topped it off with a home run. Other games? Paul Byrd beat Roy Halladay on August 30.

I'd have to pick the fifteen inning affair at New York on August 7 as the bad game for August. Five and a half hours and fourteen innings of nothing before a two-run home run by Alex Rodriguez to end it.

September: September 16 against the Angels was possibly the game of the year. Paul Byrd pitched five and one-third of an inning and gave up three runs, when he was pulled the Sox were behind nothing to three. In the bottom of the sixth they pulled ahead 5-3. In the top of the seventh, Ramon Ramirez was pitching after Saito got the first out and then hit Vlad Guerrero with a pitch. Torii Hunter popped out. Two out. Kendry Morales struck out. Three out. Except, Varitek didn't catch the ball and Morales hustled down to first. Ramon may have been rattled. Kendrick singled, Guerrero scored. Rivera doubled, both Morales and Kendrick scored. Napoli doubled, Rivera scored. Okajima came in and got the fourth out by striking out Figgins. The damage at the end of the inning was that the Angels were once again leading, this time 7-5. The Sox didn't respond in the seventh and Oki/Manny Del were able to get through the eighth. Bottom of the eighth, Kevin Jepsen pitching. David Ortiz singles. JD Drew pinch hits for Brian Anderson and walks. Josh Reddick pinch hits for Jason Varitek and grounds into a force out, Ortiz takes third. Darren Oliver replaces Jepsen as the pitcher. A wild pitch to Casey Kotchman moves Reddick to second. Kotchman grounds out, Ortiz scores, and Reddick moves to third. Alex Gonzalez walks. Ellsbury singles and Reddick scores to tie the game. Pedroia flies out to end inning. Daniel Bard is brought in for the ninth inning. He got two outs (both ground outs) but then gave up three singles in a row to again put the Angels up by one. The Angels went to their closer, Brian Fuentes. Jason Bay popped out. One out. Mike Lowell flied out to deep center. Two outs. David Ortiz walked and was pinch run for by Joey Gathright. JD Drew singled and Gathright took second. Jed Lowrie singled to load the bases. Nick Green seemed to strike out twice (once swinging and once looking) but drew a walk and re-tied the game. And then Alex Gonzalez blooped one to left and the Red Sox won.

They didn't win the worst game of September but it wasn't a particularly badly played game. On September 25 in New York, Jon Lester took a line drive off the quadriceps muscle and as he lie on the ground rolling around in pain it didn't look good.

October: They played four games against Cleveland in October and won all of them so they were all pretty good. On October 1, though, Lester was perfect for five and one third of an inning in his first game back from being hit in New York.

As for a bad game, Clay Buchholz didn't look good in his last start on October 4. He went three innings and gave up six runs (including walking in a run).

And the play-offs aren't particularly worth talking about. The starting pitching wasn't all that bad but the bullpen and the lack of hitting was pathetic.

Hopefully, there are bigger and better things awaiting the Red Sox in 2010.

Number Forty-Nine: Ernie Shore.

(From L-R: Ernie Shore, Babe Ruth, Carl Mays and Dutch Leo

Ernie Shore only pitched six full seasons in the big leagues and four of them were with Boston (1914-1917). In Boston he went 58-33 in 125 games. Dead ball era aside, he was a solid pitcher in a rotation that featured Smokey Joe Wood and Babe Ruth. But Ernie Shore's claim to fame is a single game in 1917.

On June 23, 1917 Babe Ruth started the first game of a double header at Fenway against the Washington Senators. Ruth walked the first batter of the game and then proceeded to get himself thrown out of the game for arguing with the umpire. Shore came in in relief, the runner got caught stealing, and Shore sat down the next twenty-six Senators he faced. In short, a nearly perfect game.

Optimism.

A disturbingly hairless Kevin Youkilis was at the Lowell Spinners' Alumni Awards Dinner last night to receive the Dick Berardino Distinguished Alumni Award. Asked how the Red Sox will survive without the bat of Jason Bay in the lineup, Youk replied:

"We have a great team. Signing John Lackey is huge. If we don't allow as many runs, then we don't have to score as many runs. Mike Cameron is a good addition to the team, and this team has some guys who can improve on their numbers from last year. You never know: Someone who hit fifteen homers last year might hit twenty-five."

So there you go. Youkie says relax.

Fifty Days.

There are fifty days until spring training. It may be frigid outside but there are only fifty days until pitchers and catchers. When you say it like that it doesn't seem so bad. (I may have to work harder on the John Lackey liking, though.)

So I came up with a task for myself for those fifty days. But unlike other assignments I've given myself for this space which I've either done half-heartedly or grown bored with and abandoned, I've come prepared. I have a list. It started off as a list of Fifty Reasons to Love the Red Sox but then morphed into something closer to Fifty Things to Know About the Red Sox. But there were things to know that were not reasons to love and so I suppose that it's best title at the moment would be Fifty Good Things About the Red Sox.

And so I present:

Number Fifty: Fred Lynn.



A graceful, athletic, fearless centerfielder--was there any doubt that he would make my list? It also doesn't hurt that the man could hit. He was Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in 1975 but in his sixteen (and a piece) seasons in baseball he put up more good years than bad. Injuries and being traded out of Fenway to the California Angels hampered a potentially spectacular career. But men who leap into walls after a small leather ball will always have a little piece of my heart.

Choked Up.

I'm not sure I could ever get enough of Billy Mueller knocking Mariano Rivera ass over tea kettle.

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish.

Mike Francesa had it on his show (and Heyman confirmed) that Jason Bay is a physical shy of spending the next four years in Queens. Poor Jason. I'm glad he got his money but to have to play for the Mets is just tragic. I am glad that he didn't end up with the Yankees, though. That would have sucked.

Meanwhile, Josh Bard has signed a minor-league deal with Bay's supposed dream destination, the Seattle Mariners. With their catching situation the way it is (Johjima has gone back to Japan; Rob Johnson has had four surgeries this off-season, and has a below average bat and is, at best, an average defensive catcher; and baby catcher Adam Moore has a grand total of six major league games) maybe he gets a chance out there. Seattle is building an interesting team.

Go West.

Jeff Bailey has decided to give up on beautiful Pawtucket and head for, at least, the high desert in Reno, NV signing a minor-league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. At least it's not Japan. And, hey! If Jeffy ends up making the major-league roster, then he'd be around in June when the Diamondbacks come to town. Absolute best of luck to him.

The Diamondbacks also signed Bob Howry. Bob's time in Boston was short--half of 2002 and four games in 2003--and it wasn't particularly good. To be fair he did have an elbow problem in 2003 and he bounced right back in 2004 with Cleveland. But I guess good luck to him too.

Cold Winter Fun.

A bit of information that may only be of interest to myself:

Former best beloved Craig Breslow [Aside: He really needn't worry about me stalking him. Honestly. I'm not the stalking type--well, except for that weatherman but that was quite awhile ago.] is scheduled to appear at the World Baseball Coaches' Convention at the Mohegan Sun, January 21-23. He doesn't actually appear on the schedule of events, though.

And to make it more relevant to anyone else: Strength and conditioning coach, Dave Page will be giving a talk entitled "The Facts About Baseball Fitness Training: Getting Your Player Ready for the Season" on January 22.

S-M-R-T.

List season. It starts with Christmas lists. Then there are shopping lists. And lastly, top ten lists; top ten people, top ten news stories, top ten sports stories, top ten status updates on Facebook. This year, list makers--generally, journalists with nothing real to write about--get the added bonus of making Top Ten ________ of the Decade. It fell to one writer (Karen Hawthorne of Canada's National Post) to compile a list of the Top Ten Smartest People of the Decade. I don't necessarily agree with most of her choices (But, truthfully, I didn't really read it. I only looked at the pictures.) coming in as the tenth smartest person of the decade was Theo Epstein. So there's that.

Ninety.

"Wake up the damn Bambino. Have him face me. Maybe I'll drill him in the ass." --Pedro Martinez

My mother's uncle was a war photographer during World War II. At the beginning of the war he was stationed in England but by 1944 he had been transferred to Hawaii. I have no idea how it happened (short of my great uncle and my grandmother being a pair of spies--they were from the German part of Poland, after all) but somehow my grandmother ended up with copies of a lot of photographs that her brother took. There are eight books filled with photographs and a cigar box with overflow pictures. Going back to the spy thing, my mother never knew any of those pictures existed. They were stored in my grandmother's closet and only when she died did they come to light.

The pictures from England are hard to look at. They show a lot of rubble and charred buildings. But the photos from Hawaii are less emotional. They show lots of guns and cannon and airplanes and battleships and cannon going off and barracks and military parades. There are some pictures of scenery but they mostly seemed to be taken to experiment with colorization.

So you're flipping through these books and the pages are crumbling under your fingers. There are pages and pages and pages of guns. And then suddenly, without any sort of context around it, staring grumpily out at you from the facing page is Babe Ruth. It's very shocking the first time you see the picture. He's so instantly recognizable and so out of place that it prompts a response of "Wait! Is that..?" from everyone.

It would be interesting to know how my great uncle felt about taking that picture. On one hand, it's Babe Ruth but on the other ninety years ago today Ruth was sold to the Yankees. I assume that Ruth was in Hawaii as a morale booster/USO type thing. And since there are no other photographs in any of the other books of even a remotely similar nature, I think that it's safe to assume that the mystique of Babe Ruth overtook any sense of bitterness or resentment or cursed-ness that my mother's uncle might have felt.

But whether the Curse of the Bambino was a figment of Dan Shaughnessy's imagination or an actual sentiment that existed before he put a title to it, it deserves to be acknowledged--if only because it became such a large part of our collective conscience. Who doesn't know "No, No, Nannette"? And while this is almost certainly a severe case of hindsight, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. 2007 was great but it was no 2004. 2004 was an amazing ride. Mind you, 2003 sucked.

A Second Career.

After 2007, Matt Clement went to St. Louis but he wasn't able to make a start for them. Last year he tried out for Toronto but when he didn't make the team out of spring training, he decided to call it quits. And so what's a guy to do when he's thirty-five, has already made a considerable amount of money, and suddenly has a lot of free time on his hands? Matt Clement is filling his days coaching basketball at his old high school. I won't make any snarky comments about Clement or contemplate his psyche. I will say that he is a very fortunate individual and good for him for finding something he likes to do.

Merry Christmas.

Perhaps I'm not a very good host but I do appreciate the people who willing partake of my oddness. Thank you and just a very merry (but safe) Christmas (Hanukkah/Winter Solstice) to anyone who should happen by.

Also, happy birthday Okie!

The Baby and the Bath Water.

Don Orsillo's mailbag. What can I say? The man watches a lot of baseball and he probably knows this team as well as anybody. Like most people, he sometimes has interesting things to say and he sometimes has bone-headed things to say. Like today's answer about Ellsbury's defense:

"I am not a fan of this method of evaluating a player. I realize agents and some scouting departments are searching for ways to quantify a player's defense; I just don’t think it tells you enough of the story. I am guessing most baseball people agree, based on how people view your two great examples, Ellsbury and Jeter. I think a scout's eye can more accurately determine whether a player is a good defender and can cover ground. Again, this is a way to quantify an area that, with the exception of fielding percentage, has been tough to quantify. Still not a fan though."

Oh, Donny O. Fielding percentage? Really? Come out of the dark ages. How many times have you and Jerry sat there and disagreed with the official scorers call on whether something was an error or not? How then can you rely on a statistic that has errors as an integral part of it's formula?

Look, I agree with you that Ellsbury was treated unfairly by UZR this season. And I agree that you should rely on what you can see. What I've seen is Jacoby making plays much more difficult than they need to be. How many times have you called something to the effect of: "Jacoby started in and now he's headed back to leap and make the play." or "Jacoby started back and now he's headed in but he has the speed to make up for it." And that's all I'll say about that because it's all been said before.

Also, I'm not sure what it says about me but in the photo included with the mailbag, I recognized the dugout at Angels Stadium (at least, I hope it's Angels Stadium after I called Don Orsillo's opinions bone-headed) before I recognized Varitek.

Tacoma Bound.

David Pauley has moved on from the Orioles and signed a minor league deal with Seattle. I always liked Pauley. They're building quite a team out there in Seattle and if he should get a chance to break through out there, that would be great. And here's hoping his little girl is doing well.

From the Halls of Montezuma.

to trying to get a thirty-six year-old-man to get on a bus in Los Angeles.

Edes has a piece about Terry Francona's son, Nick, who graduated from Quantico last summer as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps and is likely to be deployed to Afghanistan soon enough. I don't do politics here but the best of luck to him.

The reason to bring it up is Nick's quote about the difference between managing a baseball team and managing a Marine platoon:

"There's a difference, though, between $10 million ballplayers and Marines making $10,000 a year, they don't have Manny Ramirezes in the Marine Corps. They just don't exist. In baseball, you can't just tell them what to do. In the Marine Corps, you say jump, they say, 'How high?"'

Do you think Francona did some complaining about his job over the breakfast table?

Also, the picture is fabulous.

MVP.

Choosing an MVP for the 2009 Boston Red Sox was probably a fairly easy decision for the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. This wasn't a club that had an easy go of it from April to October; there were plenty of injuries to and disappointing starts for players who were being counted on for big things. I suppose a case could have been made for Jason Bay but he seemed to lead the team-wide slump in early August. And so they selected Kevin Youkilis for the Thomas A. Yawkey Memorial Award. Congratulations to him.

Tip of the Cap.

Jason Bay was awarded the Tip O'Neill Award by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. The award is given to the best Canadian playing the game of baseball. It's Bay's third go-round, as he won in 2004 and 2005. So congratulations to him.

A Well Kept Secret.

I had heard awhile ago that Manny Delcarmen's wife might be pregnant but since it seemed to be only a one-off rumor I dismissed it. Turns out, my teller-of-tales was right. Last month she gave birth to a little girl whom they are calling Miley. (Forgive me for linking the Inside Track.) I am being non-judgmental about her name. Congratulations to the family. Given how adorable the son is, it probably won't be too long until the girl is breaking hearts.

It's a Small World.

With two little kids a vacation to Disney World makes a lot of sense for Daisuke Matsuzaka. What doesn't make a lot of sense? The truly awful jacket he chose to wear.

Trading Barbs.

Mike Lowell and Rob Bradford are total BFFs. So, it would make sense that when Lowell decided to make his side of the "Great Thumb Controversy" known he went right to Bradford. Sounding slightly bitter, defensive and like he's giving a deposition, Mikey says:

“I was in constant contact with the training staff and I told them at the two-week (mark) I didn’t feel a difference with my thumb and at the four-week mark it was the same thing and then at the seven-week mark Mike Reinold flew down to Miami to check it out and that’s when they decided to put me in the splint and keep it immobilized for a month. That’s when the thinking was that it might be something more than it was originally thought to be. The first day of the winter meetings was when I was ordered to get an MRI."

I don't really understand what the point of this was as I'm sure it doesn't help things with the front office if they do end up stuck with each other. Mike certainly doesn't seem too happy with them.

Of Cabbages and Kings.

Word is Covelli is a physical shy of signing to play, presumably, center field for Oakland next season. While it's a move that keeps Coco, at least, a little closer to home, it's not a move that really seems to make much sense for the Athletics. They already have Rajai Davis and Ryan Sweeney who are very similar to Coco in that they're defensive assets and about average with the bat. And they also have Scott Hairston who was only acquired half way through last season. And they just got prospect Michael Taylor from Toronto (after Toronto received him in the Halladay trade.) Admittedly, Taylor needs more time in triple AAA but it's a crowded outfield. They might consider platooning Hairston and Davis but one of them might just as likely be available for a trade.

Also, might Pedro be thinking about a return to Queens? Given the way things seem to be going for Minaya this off season, I wouldn't put it past him.

Also, the Padres who were looking to trade for a catcher (which might have made some sense of the Max Ramirez for Mike Lowell trade) have filled that need by trading for the Tiger's Dusty Ryan.

And this is what happens when there is anything interesting to write about.

Thumbs Down.

Mike Lowell seems to have the worst luck when it comes to injuries. Damage to the radial collateral ligament of the thumb, while not unheard of, is rare.

It's a short little ligament that originates at the styloid process of the radius (the little point of bone on the end of the radius) and connects to the scaphoid bone in the wrist (the lower of the two wrist bones in the picture) and the trapezium (the other wrist bone in the picture). You should be able to easily feel it in your own wrist. It's in the space between the end of the radius and the metacarpal of the thumb. The purpose of the RCL is to stabilize the wrist and to limit how far the hand will move in the direction of the pinkie finger. If you hold your right hand straight out in front of you with the wrist flat and try to move just your hand to the right, it won't go very far because of the RCL. Mikey Lowell's probably moves alarmingly further because his RCL is torn.

As to why nobody bothered to get this checked out sooner: The prescribed treatment for the injury is to splint the thumb for four or five weeks in the hope that it will heal itself before attempting surgery; so they very well may have done this. The surgery itself is fairly simple, depending on the quality of the ligament. You open up the hand and reattach the ligament. In severe cases the ligament may be too damaged to use and you'd have to do a tendon graft. Then you reset the bones and pin the joint in place.

Recovery is probably three or four weeks until you take the pin out and then an additional three weeks or so until the ligament is healed. I'd say it would probably be the beginning of March before he'd be ready to get back into the swing of things.

Hold the Phone.

Rob Bradford has it that Mike Lowell is staying due to a torn radial collateral ligament in his thumb. Obviously not for Mikey himself but this may be the best outcome to occur from this whole fiasco.

Old Pen Pals.

Javier Lopez has landed with the Pirates. I always liked Javier. And I think that a lot of the crap he got last year was, if not undeserved, at least overwrought. He was relatively reliable a few years ago. And if Daisuke Matsuzaka gets to blame the WBC for his poor 2009, then why shouldn't Javier? So good for him.

And Bryan Corey, remember him? He played the water bottles in the band and had a sad story about buying a house in Boston in 2008 thinking that he was going to make the team for real only to be claimed off waivers by the Padres. And there was a daughter who was going to miss Wally. Well, he's headed to Japan to join the Chiba Lotte Marines.

The Natives Are Restless.

Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this son of York;
And all the clouds that low'r'd upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

Richard the Third, Act 1, scene 1, 1-4

So said Richard the Third meaning the "winter of our discontent" is now over thanks to his brother Edward being made king and the result of which is that all their troubles have gone away. Theo fits nicely into the role of Edward. He wrests control and makes all our lives better. But he is not above reproach as Richard promptly starts complaining about the way his brother rules the kingdom. Mike Lowell (and possibly others, if this report of clubhouse grousing is to be believed) might be cast as our Richard.

The complaint is against the treatment of Mike Lowell and Jason Bay. I adore Mike Lowell and I'm ready to bust out the black crepe for him. I am. And I'd absolutely agree that he has a reason to be annoyed or disappointed or even angry over the way Theo's treated him. And it may be hard for him to accept but the stark reality is that he is not nearly the defender that he once was and that he can barely move. If he can't play the position and he can't DH (because we've already got one of those with similar issues), then what does he expect them to do? Especially if he's going to complain about sitting on the bench.

I don't know that you can make a case for Jason Bay, though. Maybe I'm just blindly toeing the party line but my understanding of the July breakdown in talks was that it was mutual. (Or maybe it was just Theo saying they were going to table it and to stop bugging Bay about it.) I don't seem him being mistreated by the front office.

But if Bronson Arroyo is right when he says:

"As players we don't care if (owner) John Henry loses money on the year. Players care about winning the World Series. Dollars and cents don't mean (anything) except for your own individual contract. So, you never want to see a good teammate, a player who you think can help the club, leave. But that's the way it is."

it seems like a little bit of a double standard, no? He seems to be saying: I don't care about management's end of it. As long as you can pay me my $12 million, I just want to win. But when management says: I just want to win. And if I have to pay $9 million for you to go away so that I can win, I'm willing to do that. It becomes a problem.

And lastly the quote by the anonymous player upbraiding the front office:

"I was almost taken aback by some of the stuff that has gone on here. They'll play the card to get the player here, but as soon as they get here, they'll cast him away."

My inner Harriot the Spy is abuzz with trying to figure out who might have said it. "...stuff that has gone on here." seems to indicate to me that it's from someone who is currently on the team but who has played somewhere else. So, Youkilis, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, Buchholz, Papelbon, and Delcarmen are out. I would disqualify Okajima and Matsuzaka simply because it's unlikely that Joe McDonald speaks Japanese well enough to bother with either of them. As a mercenary himself, JD Drew wouldn't have anything to say about loyalty. Jason Bay and Mike Lowell can be scratched as the source of the quote. Victor Martinez wasn't around long enough to be aware of the Jason Bay situation. So that leaves Varitek, David Ortiz, Josh Beckett and Tim Wakefield. Varitek can't string three words together into a coherent sentence, so he's out. In English David Ortiz tends to introduce each sentence (e.g. I'm telling you man). It might have been Beckett as he seems fiercely loyal but I don't know if he'd insist on anonymity. It might have been Wakefield because he does have something to complain about and he may be out of a job. But if I was going to venture a guess (and he probably doesn't qualify because he's not on the roster anymore) I would go with Rocco Baldelli; fairly intelligent, played somewhere else fairly recently. Or it might just be because I've decided that Rocco is a very Shakespearean character.

Thin Ice.

Jason Varitek was back at Fenway earlier today along with some old Bruins to test out the ice before the Winter Classic. WBZ has video. Oddly, and it might just be the giant coat but his legs look really skinny.

He also spoke with the media while he was there. Edes has the full transcript but Varitek speaks with such strange syntax that it's sometimes difficult to figure out what he's trying to say when it's written down. Plus, he has a weird issue with tenses.

So, I knew that being a catcher was hard on the joints in your legs but I didn't realize just how difficult it must be. Says Varitek on the last time the season ended without him being in pain:

"I don't know. But one good thing, at the end of the season I didn't play as much, so my sea legs came back a lot quicker. Usually the determining point of ... when I can start training is if I can go down the stairs straight. I don't have to sidestep to get down the steps. Then my body is feeling pretty good. You can't play that position. Once you're down and the adrenaline leaves the system, something's going to hurt.''

Geez, man.

We Will Rebuild Him.

Daisuke Matsuzaka's 2009 season left quite a bit to be desired. He started off poorly, went on the DL, came back but continued to suck before he was banished to Florida for three months. The Florida stint seemed to work well for him, though, as when he came back he showed more of what had come to be expected of him in his two years here.

In a seeming effort to build on that progress, Matsuzaka is spending time at Athletes' Performance (which has apparently changed it's name from Athletes' Performance Institute) both last week and for five weeks starting in January. During the past week he was working on core strength and aerobic efficiency. With a VO2 Max of 50, he does seem to be relatively fit aerobically. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I am more aerobically fit than Daisuke Matsuzaka--a girl has got to take her props where she can get them. [Aside: V02 Max is a way of measuring how effectively the body uses oxygen when it's working at it's maximum capacity. The higher the better. The idea is the more oxygen you can use, the more energy you can produce. If you're interested, there's an easy home test to estimate your VO2 Max here.]

He also got a glowing review from his trainer:

"After that he'll get in good shape. He'll get better strength on the core, and he doesn't have any worry for hip conditioning or anything. So, I think he's probably pretty much ready to go. He gets everything right. Once I coach him, he gets it. He's a great athlete."

So that's good.

A Major Turn Around.

After a terrible April and May in 2009, Jon Lester got himself straightened out and never looked back once the calendar turned to June/May 31. Except for the night he took a liner off the quadriceps in NY he never allowed more than four runs an outing from then on. He also started striking batters out like it was going out of style. And so for the second year in a row, Jon Lester has been selected as the Red Sox Pitcher of the Year by the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Going Home.

Not all that long ago, Dustin Pedroia didn't get along with the town of Woodland, CA. Last year, after his brother's arrest, Pedroia had a problem with the way the local newspaper connected him with the crime. Then, during spring training, he called the town a dump (or something of that nature) and said that nobody wanted to live there. At the time, reports out of northern California seemed to indicate that for some of the local populace Dustin was persona non grata.

It would seem that Pedroia and the town have now reached a sort of peace. On January 30, Pedroia will be speaking at a benefit to raise money for the renovation of the town's ballfields.

Now, I realize that Woodland is a good-sized town and that Dustin has only been in the league for a few years but down in Hahira, GA J.D. Drew has a ballfield named after him (and his brothers) while Dustin, who seems much more outgoing, is raising money for a field named after somebody called Clark. Fair?

Personal Reference.

I can't imagine who you would have to be or what you would have had to have done for Sean Casey to dislike you. He seems like the type of person who could find the good in anyone. So it comes as no surprise that Casey provides a glowing recommendation of Mike Cameron:

"Cam has a great personality. He brings energy to the park every day. He's real loose. Guys gravitate toward him. He plays hard every night, just like (Dustin) Pedroia and (Kevin) Youkilis. He is a perfect fit with that team and that city."

Sold.

The Award Goes To...

There is a certain segment of the population that realized a few days ago that the acquisition of Mike Cameron would potentially free up Theo to move Ellsbury to San Diego in order to get his paws on Adrian Gonzalez. They're vocal about their belief that Ellsbury has serious defensive deficiencies and on top of that he doesn't get on base enough to make up for that. He doesn't walk enough and he doesn't seem to be able to bunt. His only positive attribute is his speed and speed may be fleeting.

Now, I'm not the biggest Jacoby Ellsbury fan but I do think that that's a very dour take on him as a player. I agree that he could get on base more but I also think that if he would take fewer pitches he'd have a better chance of doing that. He seems to be looking for a walk and falling behind because of it. I do think that if he could bunt for a base hit, then he'd be golden. I also think that his defensive issues are over blown. He goes side-to-side beautifully but seems to have depth perception issues. I'm inclined to think that experience or maybe a new glasses prescription might help that out.

But I would guess that the Ellsbury-detractors are the in the minority as Ellsbury won the Defensive Player of the Year for the This Year in Baseball Awards. So congratulations to him. May he prove me wrong.

Getting to Know You. Or, Old Habits Die Hard.

Getting to like John Lackey may be more difficult than I anticipated. Just a few seconds into his presser I ended up snarling "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you." at the television screen. I hate his stupid little beady eyes and his pointy teeth and his mole and his under-bite and his mouth-breathing. He might as well be called John Hapsburg. And to top it all off, that voice. Oy.

The prima donna thing may be overplayed because he is reportedly a good teammate (but, of course, I can't find the article) just extremely passionate. And he's a ballplayer not a politician, so the lack of eloquence may be forgiven.

See? Little by little I'll probably come around.





But Mike Cameron and I? While in terms of the ability to cast off the cliches he's not Justin Masterson (whom I am convinced has a preacher inside him), Mike Cameron and I are cool. He seems genuinely happy to be here. He and Francona go back a long way. And he plays a mean centerfield.

What's the Sound of Two Mittens Clapping?

Baseball in April in Boston is always a crap-shoot; the weather doesn't always cooperate. Of course, it doesn't help when opening day is scheduled for 8:00 on a Sunday night. I suppose that most people won't end up having to call in sick from work. Luckily, the game will still be on NESN. It would be tragic to begin a season with Joe Morgan.

But Which Is Theo?

Busy Day.

I like John Lackey. I like John Lackey. I like John Lackey. I figure that if I start repeating it to myself now, I'll be able to convince myself of it by spring training. If Manny and Papelbon can be charming, then so can Lackey, his ugly mug, and his hissy fit throwing ways.

It's a good move, though. (Even if it is, seemingly, superfluous.) Dependent on the health of his elbow, he's a good pitcher; easily a top of the rotation starter on most teams. He's a fierce competitor, if the past ALCS is any indication. And it frees up Theo to move Buchholz for a bat, if necessary. I like Clay but if he becomes all that he can become, how much better than Lackey will he really be? Plus, it keeps him away from the Yankees--which, while it should never be the main motivation of making a move--is always a nice bonus. And it's a kick in the teeth to the Angels.

All that money on Lackey (and five years does seem like a long time) almost assuredly means that the Sox have moved on from Bay. But this Mike Cameron rumor, coupled with my love of slick fielding centerfielders almost makes up for it. Maybe.

A Different Sort of Christmas.

Tonight in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic David Ortiz will be co-hosting an event called The Millionaire's Night Party--link in Spanish. The event is a fundraiser with the idea of being able to provide Christmas dinner (gifts and toys included) to the children in ten orphanages in the the Dominican Republic.

Say it with me: Awwww.

I Was Not Sleeping.

Perhaps because I split a toenail and haven't run in more than a week and the ennui and general sluggishness that that entails overran my normal life, I haven't felt like writing anything. It's not that there wasn't anything to write about: the doubling of the Ramon Ramirezes (Ramirezi?) amused me greatly and I could have decorated this place with black bunting for Curtis Granderson and Mike Lowell. I, however, just didn't feel like it. But the say when you don't feel like writing, that's the time you should be writing (or something like that), so...

Jerry Remy put a plea up on his Facebook page that made me snicker (and it seemed like a good way to break the silence) copied verbatim:

Ok - it's panic time again, and it has nothing to do with the Red Sox. There's 2 weeks until Christmas and as usual, I have absolutely no idea what to get my wife. Last year I gave her a Wally and a scorecard. Even though I took the time to autograph them, she didn't appreciate it! So this year I am reaching out - is there anyone out there that has any ideas?

By the way ... did I mention that if possible, I would like to order it without leaving the house and have it arrive already wrapped?

Ha!

Marco It Is Then.

That certainly happened quickly. I was still kicking around ideas for my Marco Scutaro post when Edes has it that they're thisclose to signing him. And Ian Browne has it at two years. I suppose that he was the best option available but mostly it's just uninspiring. Welcome to Boston though.

I Heard a Man in Reno.

If Reno was even a little bit closer, I might seriously consider attending a fundraiser for Western Nevada College's baseball and softball programs on January 16. The reason? Dustin Pedroia will be the featured speaker. There's very little that amuses me as much as a Dustin Pedroia quote; his combination of humor and braggadocio is an absolute hoot. And I can't imagine that he'd have a difficult time speaking on the topic of: The Dustin Pedroia Story. You do have to wonder if he came up with the title himself.

Billy the Brave.

Billy Wagner didn't want to come to Boston unless the Sox agreed to not pick up his option and to not offer him arbitration. His wife convinced him that it might be worth it to go even if they did offer him arbitration and so he went. Then the season ended and his agent started making noise about accepting arbitration should it be offered but Theo was unfazed: We'd love to have him back, he claimed. Yesterday an offer of arbitration was extended and before the ink had even had a chance to dry, Wagner was reportedly accepting a deal to become the closer for the Atlanta Braves. Sometimes everything works out in the end. Theo loves his draft picks and (as of right now) he ended up with the twentieth pick overall in June. Not a bad deal.

Re: Just an Old Baseball Club in Search of a Shortstop.

Username: StatBustinDustin
Vitals: Male; 26 years old; Boston, MA

Introduction: 'Sup? The name's Dustin but people call me DP or Pedey or whatever. I saw your ad about looking for a new shortstop and think that I'd be awesome at it. I gotta say: I know where you're coming from. I was also disappointed in the way 2009 turned out for me and am hoping for better things in 2010.

What I Bring to the Table: I may not be the biggest guy who responds to your ad but I've got heart and I've got hustle. And I would literally be a shortstop <--- Punny, right? I really don't harp on my height and hope that you'd be able to see past it. I love a challenge (and since I've already accomplished everything that could ever be accomplished at second, moving to short and doing it all again would be a challenge). But I did play short in college and in the minors, so it wouldn't be completely new. Plus, since we already know each other there wouldn't be any getting to know you period. Lastly, my, like, personal theme song:



Hit me back. Let's talk.

Come Live With Me and Be My Love.

Username: BoSox2010
Headline: Just an Old Baseball Club in Search of a Shortstop.
Vitals: 105 years old, Boston, MA


About Me: First things first, the obligatory: Personal ads are always so hard to fill out. How do you say that last season you were a pretty good baseball club, consisting of (relatively) decent people, who pitched pretty well, scored a lot of runs, and won a lot of games, without sounding like you're full of yourself? And if you succeed in doing that, how do explain why you're once again heading into the holiday season without a reliable shortstop to share it with--without sounding like you're a waste of time? I'm really not a bad ball club to play for. I'm dedicated to winning and playing in the post season. I'm competitive. I have a worshipful (albeit slightly crazy) fan base. I've been burned in the past and am sometimes a little wary to start out but I'm looking forward to taking some chances and seeing who's out there.

About the One I'm Looking For: I smile when I think of you. You might not be overly flashy or sexy but you are competent. You're cool and collected. You're goal oriented and nothing is going to stand in you're way. You're so comfortable in your own skin that you don't have to be the star. You don't make waves or cause a fuss. You've got a pleasant personality and you're interested in something--anything will do.

My Idea of a Perfect First Date: You go one for two with a pair of walks and an RBI. You play passable defense--I'm not asking for anything spectacular--you make the routine plays; maybe turn a double play or two.

My Perception of an Ideal Relationship: I'm not looking for a long term commitment. (My last shortstop left me to go to Toronto because I wasn't ready to commit to him yet.) We'd spend a lot of time together but nothing too serious. We get along. We laugh. I'm comfortable, you're comfortable. And we work together to help each other be better.

What I've Learned From Past Relationships: For the past five years, I've been trying, unsuccessfully, to fill the void left by my last great love. It hasn't been easy. I've been picking up bits and pieces along the way but none have been able to fulfill that role. I've learned that not everyone can play here. And while I thought that I could deal with sub-par defense if it might come with an improved offense, that doesn't seem to be the case. At the same time though, all glove and no bat won't cut it either.

Sound like you? I'd love to hear from you. Ask for Theo.

Must Be David Ortiz Day.

While in the Dominican Republic David Ortiz is championing another cause besides raising funds for pediatric cardiology services, he is also lending his voice to a campaign to end domestic violence.

The radio campaign "Pégale a la Pelota, Jamás a una Mujer" (Hit a ball, Never a woman) is aimed at baseball fans and has ballplayers making comparisons between baseball and abused women. (It probably isn't as awful as that sounds or it plays better in a more chauvinistic culture.)

Says David of women (my translation):

"...so beautiful and I think that we know that we come from a woman and that we should pay them respect. And know that we live for a woman and that she is a rose."

"[A woman] is a flower that decorates the lives of men and that we should only give her caresses."

*Quietly mumbles to herself that he means well and that it's a different culture where he can say things like that. Is also very impressed that she got the accent marks to appear.*

Domestic violence is a serious issue anywhere so good on David for standing up against it.

Como se Dice Big Papi?

This amused me:

David Ortiz is in the middle of an extensive publicity campaign for his golf tournament; Facebook, Twitter, press conference at Fenway, and now a press conference down in the Dominican Republic. Besides the golf tournament, he spoke with Hoy (a Dominican newspaper) about trade rumors and the possibility of playing Dominican Winter ball. Regarding trade rumors he gave the standard answer that they didn't faze him and that he was turning the page on last season. And he didn't so yes or no to playing for the Dominican team Leones del Escogido. (Although here he says that on a scale of one to ten the possibility of him playing is a five--I'd take that as a diplomatic no.)

The part that amused me though was in the comments, where twice he's referred to as Big Daddy. It was just sort of odd.

Also, how the hell does he know Rachel Dratch? (Who is one of the celebrities invited to the tournament.) I just learned that she's from Lexington but it seems like a strange combination.

Like Crocuses or the First Robin.

It's cold and gray and the sun, if it was out, would be disgustingly low in the sky for this time of day. And to top it off, it's going rain later in the week. Not that I'm complaining or anything because soon enough, baseball will be back. Evidence: the Spring Training schedule was released today.

Surprisingly, there are no Yankee games--not really a bad thing.

All Hail Hale.

Over the weekend, Gordon Edes returned to the world of Boston sports writing and every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small, was singing! Can I get a squee? Is that allowed? I've always liked Edes. He writes well and has interesting things to say--two traits not commonly found in tandem in a Boston sportswriter. It was a sad day when he departed leaving us in the easily flustered, overly anxious, Chicken Little-esque hands of Tony Mazz.

And what better way to really get started than to pass on the information that DeMarlo Hale will be named Terry Francona's bench coach in a few days, Tim Bogar will shift over to third, and (Pawtucket manager) Ron Johnson will man first.

The Shoulder Bone's Connected to the Collar Bone (Hopefully).

J. D. Drew has a reputation for being a wimp but an acromioclavicular joint sprain is not a walk in the park and the fact that he could play through such an injury (even with cortisone shots) is impressive--not very smart but still impressive.

The scapula is very much a three dimensional bone and, as such, is difficult to describe; there's a sort of crook (the coracoid process) that goes all the way toward the front of the body and can be felt as a bony bump just under the clavicle and there's the scapular spine that sticks out in the other direction (away from the body) and extends above and beyond the flat part of the scapula.

But the scapula as Africa is a good visual, as it's shaped sort of like Africa. On the left scapula, the glenoid fossa (the socket part of the ball-and-socket joint) would be near Morocco. If you started digging in northern Mali, then you'd be the right area for the coracoid process. But the main feature that we're concerned about is the scapular spine. If it was an African mountain range, then it would start in the Sudan and cut across the continent in a northwesterly direction. At the end of the spine, the bone sort of flattens out and forms a roof above the glenoid process. That section of bone is called the acromion process. The bone you can feel on the back of you shoulder is the acromion process.

The humerus is connected to the rest of the body at the glenoid fossa of the scapula. The scapula's attachment point to the rest of the body is at the clavicle or the acromioclavicular joint (AC joint). It's the scapula's only point of articulation. In the anatomical map, the Middle East doesn't exist.

The shoulder joint is flimsy. Between the two bones (the acromion process and the clavicle) there is a cartilaginous disc. The bones are held in place by the muscular structure--the anterior deltoid in the front and the trapezius muscle in the back--and by ligaments strapping the thing together. The important ligaments (for our purposes) are the acromioclavicular ligament (which connects the acromion process and the clavicle) and the coracoclavicular ligament (which attaches the clavicle to the coracoid process). They form a sort of triangle that stabilizes the joint. But it's not a perfect system and it's relatively easy (through direct impact on the shoulder usually by falling) to irritate the ligaments.

A sprain to the AC joint could be as simple as a stretched acromioclavicular ligament (Grade I) to completely tearing that ligament and the coracoclavicular ligament (Grade III)--this injury leaves the scapula (and, therefore, the humerus) unattached to the main skeleton. (There are three more severe grades of injury but they have to do with how far out of place the clavicle ends up.)

JD sprained his AC joint at the beginning of last season. Because they treated it with a cortisone shot (to reduce the swelling) and a couple of days off, one can assume that it wasn't a severe strain. The pain didn't go away and he got another cortisone shot in September. Obviously, the pain still hasn't gone away as he had surgery on the shoulder last Thursday.

Because AC joint surgery is major surgery (it involves either cutting off the end of the clavicle or, alternately, screwing it in place) and no one seems to think that this is a big deal, chances are this surgery was more of a cleaning than a fixing. Occasionally, patients with Grade II injuries (the acromioclavicular ligament ruptures but the coracoclavicular ligament is only sprained) will experience fraying and tearing of the cartilage between the acromion process and the clavicle. And it develops into an impingement. So they go in arthroscopically and smooth it out the best they can. Recovery from the procedure is maybe eight weeks.

Print the Legend.

I love movies: new movies, old movies, comedies, thrillers, Westerns, dramas, horror flicks, foreign films, blockbusters, little indie films, kids movies. I'll happily watch them all in search of a good story. I love a good story. (Craig Breslow? Good story.) If there is nothing to watch on television, then you can bet that one of the first places I'll stop with the remote is TCM. You can run into some wonderful stories by just leaving TCM on--that's how I saw Bringing Up Baby, an absolute hoot of a movie. [Aside: Incidentally, I get a very Cary Grant vibe from Mike Lowell.]

One of the best story-tellers (and a New England boy to boot) was John Ford. In 1962 he made a movie called The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance about, essentially, truth and the value of it. It's a good movie even if that stupid song does get stuck in my head. The most famous quote from the film is: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." That's where my mind goes after it stops singing about how "He was the greatest of them all."

Josh Beckett, on the other hand, must be a big fan of the movie because his mind doesn't stop there. He goes to Doniphon (John Wayne) telling Stoddard (Jimmy Stewart): "Out here a man settles his own problems." [Context: Jimmy Stewart plays a young Eastern lawyer who goes out West hoping to civilize them via the law and John Wayne plays a rancher who reluctantly helps him out.]

To wit: Available on December 1, you can purchase a t-shirt with the quote from Muze Clothing that will help support the Josh Beckett Foundation.

The Old Switcheroo.

I really do try to not just pilfer stuff from other sites but sometimes someone is just faster than I am. And there doesn't seem to be anything else to write about.

Jacoby Ellsbury has switched his number from 46 to 2. Interesting? No, not really. True? Yup. Why? Don't know but a cynical part of me can't help but wonder if the marketing department didn't approach him about lowering his number so that they could sell a whole slew of new Ellsbury paraphernalia.

Without Canadians.

I suppose that it comes as no surprise with Jason Varitek taking over the role of backup catcher but the Sox have released George Kottaras--it's a complete non sequitur at the end of the article. Maybe he'll be able to find a job elsewhere.

Doing It for the Kids.

Billy Wagner has a bit of a reputation for being a jerk. It's not wholly undeserved; he's outspoken and not always tactful. He also seems to have a tendency to burn bridges. He did, however, co-found the Second Chance Learning Center in Bluefield, Virginia; an organization that provides tutoring and counseling with the aim of getting kids through high school and into some form of secondary education. Yesterday he ran a baseball clinic down in Virginia for the kids in that organization.

Interviewed about his time in Boston he said:

“I respect those pitchers in the American League. That is no joke. Every hitter, one through nine, is a .300 hitter with power and speed. It was tough, man. That’s a tough league to play in. It was fun to go over there and experience that type of baseball rivalry [with the New York Yankees] and plus going to Boston. You have the tradition and all that is involved in it. It just makes things that much better.”

A couple of days ago I declared that the threat that he might accept arbitration was probably just that: a threat. Reading that quote, though, I'm not as sure. He does sound like he really enjoyed playing in Boston but at the same time I wouldn't put money on him being ready to jump back into the American League. Those Ks were a pretty thing but I'm not going to give him a tag.

Social Calendar Update.

Next Tuesday night (November 17) there will be a benefit at the Boston Center for the Arts to raise money for lung cancer research. The event is called "Life Is a Cabaret" and is being sponsored by Upstage Lung Cancer. During the show, Jerry Remy will be presented with the First Annual Upstage Lung Cancer Fan award. And if you buy one of the top three tiers of tickets, you can attend the reception afterward--for which they are forcing him to stay.

Come Back Bay.

Jason Bay is an extremely streaky hitter and when he goes cold, he goes cold but when he's hitting, there's no one better. Witness: Jason Bay received his first silver slugger award today. I really do think that they need to bring him back. Congratulations to Jason.

Johnny Damon II.

Baseball Prospectus has an interview with Ryan Kalish.

He's an outfielder up in Portland, who might eventually settle into center field. He's an athletic lefty, who runs the bases well. He's a lead-off hitter type, who puts together nice at bats. The Johnny Damon comparison doesn't end there, though. Says Kalish:

"...they actually have a nickname for me. I'm like the caveman."

Clearly, he sees it too.

Speak for Your Supper.

On December 1, Larry Lucchino will be speaking at the St. Mary's Education Fund Fall Dinner. The fund supports scholarships for students in the Fall River Diocese allowing them to attend catholic schools. Lucchino was selected for his history of charitable giving. Says E. Dennis Kelly, chairman of the event:

"The Red Sox organization has certainly had extraordinary success with Lucchino at the helm but beyond that, led by Lucchino, the organization has transcended the baseball field to serve an important role within the community. As a charitable foundation, the Sox are out front. Lucchino epitomizes the ideal of giving back to the community."

Completely Off Topic.

I think that the Sox need to hire a new advertising firm. Last year they had their "I Can't Wait" campaign but it absolutely smacked of lack of effort and it looked like it was made on the cheap. If at all possible, they should hire whichever firm puts together the Twins ads. Because I like it. (And it's all about me. Hey. I watch a lot of baseball game., I have an opinion. And I have a blog to write about that opinion on: Fear me.)

Joe Mauer wrapped in bubble wrap? Michael Cuddyer popping out of a box of Styrofoam packing peanuts? Even Joe Nathan, with his pip-squeaky little "Hi!", manages to slightly redeemed himself from his horrid post-season. (Sort of.)

It's fun. It gets you excited for the season. They should do something like this instead of having frozen people telling me that they're excited for the new season.

Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain.

An agent's job is to blow smoke; effectively muddle up the situation enough that the front office-types can't tell their asses from their elbows so that his client gets exactly what he wants. It does, of course, work both ways with the front office-types trying to give the player as little as possible. In the end, the sheer amount of smoke in such a room would cause an emphysemic to hack up a lung right on the carpet.

To that end, Bean Stringfellow (a man who clearly just strode out of a Wodehouse novel) told the Herald:

"I just visited with Billy and his family the other day and I can tell you this much: Billy thoroughly enjoyed his time in Boston. It was one of the best experiences he has ever had in baseball. So, does he rule out accepting arbitration? No, he doesn’t."

He might not rule it out but I have a hard time believing that he would accept it. (Which, given my history with prognostication, probably means that he does and the Sox end up with an $8 million set up man.) Wagner has stated two goals: 1.) Get 400 saves and 2.) Win the World Series. There are clubs where he could have a chance to meet both of those goals; since both Philly and the Mets are out, LAAAAAAAAAAA should probably be looking for a reliable closer, or St. Louis, should Franklin fall back to earth, might be a suitable destination.

Our Fearful Trip is Not Quite Done.

In a surprise to-absolutely-no-one move, Jason Varitek exercised his player option yesterday afternoon to become Boston's backup catcher. I guess it's okay. His teammates all seem to like him and feel that he's important (though maybe Kottaras less so in this instance). He did have a nice start to last season, so maybe he'll benefit from the extra time off. A girl can hope, right?

When I'm Right...

While it certainly isn't his physical appearance, I knew that there was something to love about Craig Breslow. [Aside: He does have a very nice speaking voice.] It would seem that Breslow also made quite the impression on teammate Dallas Braden.

Braden--stupidly named lefty starter out in Oakland; looks like a smarmy bastard in his roster photo; was having a very nice season until he was felled by a severe case of athlete's foot (officially he was put on the disabled list with a foot rash but, for amusement purposes, I choose to believe that it was athlete's foot)--had this to say about Craig:

"Breslow knows everything. I seriously want to be Craig Breslow when I grow up. He knows things most baseball players wouldn't even try to think about. ... I'm not saying we're all a bunch of rockheads, but if we were, he'd know how to build some kind of laser to break up the rocks and turn them into something way cooler."

That is just a tremendous quote. Nomar's also in the video but, to be honest, I didn't watch the whole thing simply because I can't get over that quote.

Yankee Fans Suck.

In this particular space I keep my politics to myself but this both amused me and pissed me off.

The House of Representatives, obviously having nothing more important to do, took up a vote yesterday to congratulate the Yankees on their World Series win. The bill passed with 89% of the vote but that wasn't good enough for Pete King (R-NY) who said:

"Being from New York, I have always considered myself to be a winner. So it is very difficult for me to understand the 'begrudgery' and thought process of those who come from unimportant cities and states." (emphasis mine)

Seriously, guy? Thanks.

A Hunting We Will Go.

Betty Boop - A Hunting We Will Go
by baje22

I am not morally opposed to hunting. I don't particularly understand it's appeal but I'm not against it.

So even though I don't recall having ever seen a Betty Boop cartoon, I was never really a fan of Ms. Boop. (My Dad's nickname for me is descended from Ms. Boop's and it greatly offended my childhood sensibilities to be named after a cartoon character. My grandfather always used to call me Betty and my Dad picked up on that and calls me Booper, or in its full version: Betty Booper Pooper Scooper. It was never a favorite of mine.) She seems to be a bit of a flake. In this cartoon, she will just absolutely die if she doesn't get a fur coat but then the sight of the animals without their fur causes her to see the light and she gives them back their coats. Because skinning animals alive is wrong. Or something.

Hopefully, Josh Beckett has properly vetted the participants in his charity hunting event this weekend (You knew that there would be a point in here somewhere, right? And that really was the only mention I could find of the gathering--a throw away line in an article about philanthropic Tommy Hunter.) so that he hasn't invited any individuals who might share Ms. Boop's ideals. I'd bet she's a trouble maker.

Soup's On.

So Bud Selig wants to push the World Series into November? Fine. We'll just have to start the hot stove season the day after it ends.

The Sox announced today that they've acquired Jeremy Hermida from the Florida Marlins for Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez. The question is: Why?

Hermida is a former first round draft pick who hasn't really lived up to expectations. He had a nice year in 2007 but has been less impressive since then. His numbers last year may have been hurt by a strained oblique. He does have pretty good plate discipline, I guess. Hermida has played mostly right field in his career but played fifty-one games in left last season; either way, he's better defensively than Jason Bay (which isn't saying much) but he isn't fabulous.

I don't know. He does fit into Theo's dream roster filled with players whose names begin with J.

Things I Have Learned in the Past Five Years.

Aw, Philly? You suck. I am glad that you screwed it up on a night when I didn't have to go to work the next morning though.

Here's the thing: I don't actually care that the Yankees won. I would have adored it had they lost, there's no denying that, but I'm not perturbed about their win today. I'm not going to pull my hair out. I'm not even going to be mildly depressed. The whole thing is just kind of, "Meh. Whatever."

It seems that post-2004, it's all different. Yankee fans have lost their power over me. Five years ago the sight of a smug, condescending individual in a Yankee cap would have sent me to ground. But now? Now they're gnats. Now they don't matter. Theo and Co. have imbued me with a sense of security and it's wonderfully freeing.

The Red Sox are no longer a team to be ashamed of and as much as Yankee fans might prance around preening and gloating, they will not convince me that I should be. And as much as they might not want to believe it, I'm not jealous of their team. I'm happy with mine, thanks. The Yankees are no longer the be-all-and-end-all the baseball world.

So let the baby have it's bottle. There's always next year.

Semi Off Topic.

Alright Phillies. Truth be told, I am not normally a fan. I don't understand how you can have Andy Pettitte on the ropes like that but be unable to deliver the knock out blow. And to top it all off, he ends up winning the game. And the less said about Philadelphia fans the better. But today is a new day and I need you to do me a favor tonight and for the next couple of games. I need you, collectively, as a team, to channel your inner John Cleese. Thank you.

Golfing With Mr. Hunter (and Mr. Upton).

I'm not sure if my recent dislike of Torii Hunter gives me leave to make fun of his charity. Even if he is a terrible friend and his charity's mission statement is somewhat grandiose and self-satisfied, he probably does a lot of good. Besides which, the man has connections.

Josh Beckett hosts a bowling tournament with a similarly vague goal of helping children and you get coverage from the local media outlets. Torii Hunter hosts a golf tournament to help children in his own self-important way and he gets MLB Network to cover it for him. Beckett has an after party with some band I've never heard of (sorry) and Hunter gets Brian McKnight for his shindig (I couldn't tell you what he sings but I have heard of him).

The reason for bringing it up? Both Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz (who must be a better person than me) have agreed to show up for the November 10-11 tournament. And although Kevin Millar is shown in an Orioles uniform in the slide show at the bottom of the page and it's been four seasons since he played in Boston, he apparently remains an Old Sock to everyone. Also, if Hazel Mae is your thing, she'll be there too.

Friday Night Retirement.

Duluth high school in Duluth, Georgia has two somewhat recent claims to fame. A dozen years ago, Nick Green graduated from said school and five years after that Brain McCann followed suit. While there both played basketball in addition to baseball. And that's probably where the Brian McCann-Nick Green comparison should end.

Tonight both went back to their old stomping grounds so that the school could retire their numbers during a football game. Says Green:

"It's always nice for people to recognize you, especially as long as I've been gone. It's great that they remember me and it's a nice honor for us and what we did for the program. It means a lot to us."

Here's what I found interesting though: In the second article it says that Green's leg problem was really a back problem that will require surgery to correct. I would assume that even if the Sox were to let him go on his merry way, they'd be responsible for paying for the surgery. So why the delay? It seems like the season has been over for ages.

Big Words.

The opening shots have been fired in the Jason Bay Free Agency Conflict and Bay's agent, Joe Urbon, has apparently come out swinging. Says Urbon:

"I think the only defensive statistic that I know for sure that is easily measurable is outfield assists and errors committed, and Jason is just the third outfielder in major league history to lead the league in outfield assists while not creating an error all season, the last guy being Carl Yastrzemski. It used to be that those statistics were enough. In baseball we all need a better evaluation of defensive ability but the defensive metrics we have out there are so debatable, and in most cases proprietary, that it is hard to quantify a player’s ability to play defense."

Outfield assists are a nice thing. No doubt about that. And to tell you the truth, I didn't realize that Bay had fifteen last season or that he lead the league. But c'mon errors? Errors are a crap statistic. They're subjective on the part of the scorekeeper and therefore are not easily quantifiable. And I'll say that it also drives me nuts that it's not public information how zone ratings are figured out--how can I trust that they don't just pull the numbers out of a hat, if I can't plug in the numbers myself. But let's be realistic, Jason Bay is no Yaz.

“Jason Bay is a serviceable outfielder. That’s what we know. We know that Jason bay can play left field. Some will say he’s average, some will say he’s below average. But he’s certainly not a DH or, as someone described him, a hockey goalie out there.”

Ok. I'll give you that it's not going to kill the team to put him in left field; he's not dead weight. Plus, you've got a rangy centerfielder who takes away the need for Bay to ever move to his left. (Meanwhile Jacoby apparently has defensive issues of his own.) I wouldn't call him a hockey goalie, though. A statue? Maybe. But not a hockey goalie. Toward the end of the season they played a game with Josh Reddick in left. Someone hit a little bloop to short left and Reddick came charging in and caught the ball. It was by no means an amazing catch (maybe it was down by his knees) and wouldn't normally have been a play of any note but I was stunned, absolutely stunned that it wasn't a base hit. I guess it shows that you can get used to god awful defense.

Look, I like Bay. I do. He seems like a perfectly nice fellow. I certainly wouldn't be adverse to them bringing him back. But no matter how you spin it, defense has never been Jason Bay's strong suit. Plus he strikes out too much.