I haven't attempted to play poker in a very long time. I can play Setback. I can play Spit. I used to be able to play Gin Rummy. I can play War. I am really good at Uno, not as good at Crazy Eights. I got a little bit competitive at Hearts once--stacked the deck. People were upset; it wasn't pretty.
My Dad tried to teach me poker once or twice, five-card draw, seven-card stud (I think these are games), and after I got the hang of it declared myself to be a card sharp. The old man thought this was particularly funny and insisted that the term was card shark. And so the poker lesson dissolved into an etymological lesson and started the hunt for the actual term (we were both right but I was more right) and where it could possibly have come from.
If you do play the game though, on June 8 there will be a poker party in Faneuil Hall (and subsequent golf tournament) to benefit Pitching in for Kids; which raises grant money for children's charities. The event will be hosted by Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek.
So John Smoltz pitched last night in Manchester, New Hampshire and I didn't go because 1: I thought the game was in Portland, Maine and 2: I assumed that his start on Sunday would also be with Portland and would be down in Norwich, CT. A Sunday afternoon game in Conn sounded much more doable than a scramble to Portland after work on a Tuesday. But as it turns out, his Sunday start will be down in North Carolina and as much as I'd like to see John Smoltz pitch in a minor league stadium, I don't think it's likely that I'll be flying down there. I suppose Pawtucket is an option but I'm not a big fan of McCoy--it's sort of like an operating theater. It's not a big deal, I guess.
Anyway, meat of the post:
Smoltz was pleased with the way things went overall. The slider was disappointing but his splitter and change up were satisfactory. Smoltzie claims that he was still just practicing and not really playing the game. There's still a little more rust to shake off but once he gets into the competitive spirit of the game, things will be sharper.
There are naysayers, however. A couple of nameless scouts felt that he might not be in any shape to make a difference come June. Said one:
"He's not the John Smoltz we all know and love, that's for sure. That fluid arm action he had, it's kind of restricted. He's kind of pushing the ball. You could see the shoulder is not 100 percent.
His velocity was 87 to 90 mph. He still throws five decent pitches. But he's probably a fourth starter at this point unless his arm speed and fluidness comes back and his velocity takes a jump."
We shall see.
I also thought this picture of Mark Wagner, not entirely certain if he's allowed to smack Smoltz's ass, all kinds of adorable.
Seriously? That was crap. You might argue that the offense should have been able to come up with something more than two runs; that would've been fabulous. Or you might point out that while I was watching him get ready to pitch I was suddenly reminded of the migraine issue. But I don't care. While I'm generally for spreading the blame around, I'm perfectly happy to put this one squarely in Papelbon's lap. Dude doesn't suck, but that did. Rather than stress about it though, I present someone's photo of a kitten (who pitched very well) and a puppy. Also, I don't know that I've ever been so mad at Alex Cora. Screw you, Alex Cora. I inexplicably liked you.
Mrs. Kelli Pedroia was just on the NESN broadcast promoting not getting skin cancer and, surprisingly, she appeared to be six or seven monthes pregnant. Congratulations to the both of them. (I hope, of course, that she didn't just start in on her Memorial Day picnic early. Given the unhealthy skin-and-bones look she was sporting before, it seems unlikely.)
(For the longest time I really thought the second line of the song was "Beat the Mets." which didn't make any sense but what are you gonna do? They're bridge and tunnel folk, they're not the most intelligent creatures to roam the planet.)
It was a good day when Johan Santana left the Twins for the National League. Sadly, the lefty returns to the Fens tonight. His command is impeccable; the man is a strike out machine and rarely gives out walks. He does seem to have contracted a case of Tim Wakefield syndrome this year--his offense has decided that because it's Santana pitching, they don't have to score many runs and so they don't. Jason Varitek has had the most success against Santana (8 for 18, with 1 home run, 1 walk, and six strike outs). Jason Bay and Dustin Pedroia are both 2 for 5 with a double (Bay also has a home run and a walk). No one else has seemed to be able to do much of anything with him. It would be an ideal night for Matsuzaka to be unhittable and not have a similar meltdown to the one he had last year when he came off the disabled list agaisnt St. Louis.
Mike Pelfrey is scheduled to start on Saturday. Pelfrey is a big, young righty who was once called a right-handed Randy Johnson. He is hittable, though. He pitches to contact and gets a good number of groundball outs. He has had command issues, with more walks (17) than strike outs (11) this season. Only Mark Kotsay has faced Pelfrey and he's gone 0 for 6, with a walk.
Sunday's starter is likely to be Tim Redding. Redding has bounced around a little bit, he started with Houston in 2001 and had a decent year in 2003. He was traded to the Padres in 2005 only to be sidelined for a month and a half with shoulder problems; was traded to the Yankees and made one dismal start for them (4 walks, 4 hits, 6 earned runs, 2 strike outs, 11 batters faced in one inning) against the Red Sox. He spent 2006 as a White Sox minor-leaguer; started 2007 in AAA for the Nationals and was a decent pitcher after a July call-up, until an elbow problem knocked him out in September. He played all of 2008 for the Nationals and while not particularly good at least he didn't break something. The Nationals, however, declined to offer him a contract at the end of last year and he latched on with the Mets. Unfortunately, the shoulder proved to be a problem for him again and he only made his first start of the season last week. He was decent in his start but walks were problematic. Historically, lefties have handled him well.
Offensively, the Mets aren't a huge power team (their home run leader is Carlos Beltran with six.) They hit well though, especially doubles and triples. They'll talk a walk and don't strike out too much (David Wright, on the other hand, has 41 strike outs so far this season.) Their best players are Wright, Beltran, and Carlos Delgado (Delgado is currently on the DL.) Another potential problem for the Mets is the loss of Jose Reyes to a leg injury; he's not on the DL but isn't likely to play in Boston. Also, Alex Cora won't be playing in Boston as he has injured his thumb. They will run but they don't seem to be very good at it, they lead the National League in both stolen bases and caught stealings.
Religion is a manifestation of deep emotion that will out, one way or the other. Either in an atheistic political ideology or in an excessive fierceness of being secular. Or the Red Sox.--E.O. Wilson
