MLB Second Half Begins (July & Aug)

[Jedieb]

The second half of the season begins today. Here are the standings before today's games:
AL East
Boston - 53-33
NY - 3.0
Toronto - 5
Baltimore - 14
Tampa Bay - 15.5

AL Central
Detroit - 59-29
Chicago - 2
Minnesota - 11
Cleveland - 18.5
Kansas City - 27.5

AL West
Oakland - 45-43
Texas - 45-43
L.A. - 2
Seattle - 2.5

NL East
Mets - 53-36
Philadelphia - 12
Atlanta - 13
Florida - 13.5
Washington - 15.5

NL Central
St. Louis - 48-39
Cincy - 4
Brewers - 5.5
Houston - 6
Chicago - 14.5
Pittsburgh - 19.5

NL West
San Diego - 48-40
Los Angeles - 2
Colorado - 3.5
Roids Enablers - 3.5
Arizona - 5

The NL East is clearly OVER. There must be something in the water out west because any of AL or NL West teams could win their division, but neither has a realistic shot at their WC.

[JMK]

Let's not forget, it's still the New York Mets. They're as prone to meltdown as any other team.

The A.L. West is extremely tight...but IMO it isn't all that great a division. Oakland and Anaheim aren't what they used to be and Texas is still lacking pitching.

What's funny is that the D-Rays are only a game and a half from not being in the basement of their division.

[Jedieb]

Let's not forget, it's still the New York Mets. They're as prone to meltdown as any other team.
I think this Mets team is for real. They may not be a match for the top 3 AL teams, but they're more than capable of handling the rest of the NL East. The Mets are just going to win their division, they're going to be battling for the best record in baseball. Oh wait, thanks to Selig, that'll mean NOTHING come late October. Ugh.


What's funny is that the D-Rays are only a game and a half from not being in the basement of their division.
The D-Rays have one goal this second half, humiliate the Orioles by sending them to the cellar. Go Rays!

For 8 straight years the Yanks have won the AL East. The Red Sox have never had a better chance to end that streak than now. They have more games at home in the second half than any other team in the majors (44 at Fenway, only 32 away). That lineup loves hitting at Fenway and the starters love pitching there, especially Beckett whose ERA is 2 runs lower at home. The lead is down to 2.5 now, but I think Oakland eked out the only win they'll get at Fenway last night. This is going to be a brutal second half for my Yanks. :cry

[Jedi Master Carr]

The Sox have problems in extra inning games. The Yankees problems are pitching, it is awful this year. They have one good starter, adding Ponson really won't help them any. The guy has hasn't a good season in 4 years.

[JMK]

Originally posted by Jedieb This is going to be a brutal second half for my Yanks. :cry


Look on the bright side bro, you've got Ponson to shore up that demented rotation! :lol

At least he can't get any more DUIs...everyone cabs it in New York.

True the Red Sox have a good shot to end the Yanks run of AL East titles, but don't forget the Jays. They're going to be active at the deadline looking for pitching. Their 4 & 5 starters have combined to go 2-14 in the first half, and the top 3 have had varying injuries. If they can land a couple solid arms they are going to absolutely be right there in the end of September, especially with the way they hit. I can't believe they still have a .293 team batting average. :eek
They are definetly going to make sure that it's either win the division or spend the playoffs on the couch.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Looks like Barry might be charged with tax evasion and perjury next week.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2519843

I wonder if he is will the League, suspend him?

[Ryan Pode]

Go Orioles. . . !

[Jedieb]

Look on the bright side bro, you've got Ponson to shore up that demented rotation!

The Yankees problems are pitching, it is awful this year. They have one good starter, adding Ponson really won't help them any. The guy has hasn't a good season in 4 years.

The Yankees pitching hasn't been that bad, in fact, it's better this year than last. Mussina and Wang have been great. Wright has now had a couple of solid starts and is over .500. We just swept the White Sox with solid starts from Johnson, Moose, and Wright. Rivera's ERA is around 2, and he's converted something like 22 of 24 save chances. The team ERA is 4th in AL and the best in the division. Ponson is getting the 5th spot because Chacon has just been wretched.

This sweep of the Sox has had a huge impact on the AL standings. The Yanks are suddenly a half game behind Boston, the WC race is a race again, and the Tigers are now up 4.5 on Chicago and those two teams are starting a series tomorrow. NY, Boston, Toronto, & Minnesota are primed to make up ground on Chicago right now. If they get rolled over by Detroit in this set, they could find themselves in a battle just to make it back to the playoffs.

[JMK]

Well the Red Sox weren't going to hold off the Yankees forever. I expect it to be a much closer race from here on in...with the Blue Jays mixed in for good measure. They're only 3.5 back of Boston.

[jjwr]

Sox's problem is Francona is too stubborn. For once...just once I would love to see them play alittle small ball and get some runs in. In one of the weekend losses they left 15 guys on base, scored 3 runs I think?

Francona, please realize Ortiz & Manny aren't always going to hit homers!

[JMK]

True, the spectacle of Papi & Ortiz may be getting away from Francona. They're baseball players, not a sideshow. He'll have to get the team to generate more runs somehow...if they don't make the postseason...so long Francona, thanks for 2004.

[CMJ]

Whew, come up with a late rally to beat KANSAS CITY. :x

[JMK]

That was scary. I heard on the radio that they were down 3-0 at one point and I started thinking that they were heading for a tailspin...not just a slump, but a bit of an unravelling. Luckily they may have saved themselves a big blow last night.

[Jedieb]

In one of the games against Chicago the Yanks had 4 bunt singles. A couple of them weren't even called from the dugout. Torre has been trying to get the team to play more small ball and it's helped them create a lot of runs. The absence of Shef and Matsui has also forced the Yanks to rely on small ball because the big extra base hit just isn't there anymore. The young guys, Cabrera, Crosby, and Phillips have really come up big and Cairo is a great utility player.

A-Rod
This poor sap can't win for losing. He was wretched last night (0-4, 3 errors), but it's still unreal how hard a time he gets. Any little mistake he gets and the boo birds come out. Meanwhile, Bernie gets a bloop single and the crowd goes wild. Hell, Bernie ran out a infield single the other day and he almost got a standing O. Now, Bernie's EARNED the love, there's no doubt about that, but it has to be killing A-Rod inside. He's being held to a standard that NO ONE on the team is. I was listening to Mike & Mike this morning and Steve Phillips was actually saying that he would trade A-Rod if he were the Yanks GM. A-Rod may be making over $25M, but he's only costing the Yanks around $15M because Texas is paying the rest of his salary. That's a great salary for the Yankees and I think they'd be nuts to trade him. It's amazing that a trade is even being brought up, but the Bronx crowd is what's fueling it and it's a shame. Shut up people, he may be a choker, but he's YOUR clean up hitter.

[Jedieb]

Originally posted by JMK
That was scary. I heard on the radio that they were down 3-0 at one point and I started thinking that they were heading for a tailspin...not just a slump, but a bit of an unravelling. Luckily they may have saved themselves a big blow last night.
They were down 4-1 late in the game to the lowly Royals before KC did one of the few things it does best, blow a save. Last night would have been a tough game to lose, but that rally will probably carry Boston to a sweep of KC. I'm really curious about the Chicago/Detroit series starting today. A Detroit win or sweep would be welcome news for the Yanks and Boston. Boston is just 2 games behind Chicago and a bad series could help both AL teams draw even with Chicago.

[JMK]

It's horrid how A-Rod gets treated by the fans in NY. The guy was MVP last season? What else do they want the guy to do? Him getting booed last night was understandable. He had a putrid night...a single A player would have fared better. It seems like Yankee fans really expect this guy to bat .800 with 120 Homers and 300RBI, AS WELL AS be flawless at 3rd base.

[jjwr]

A-Rod's problem is he is too nice of a player for New York, he just doesn't fit in and you can see it with him having issues in clutch situations and his fielding.

It wouldn't hurt the Yankees to trade him, you know you would get some great players in return and honestly if I was A-Rod I'd be asking for it just to get the hell out of there.

[JMK]

A-Rod's situation is a nearly impossible one to solve.

He's so meticulous about his image. He's obsessive about the way he's perceived. He's very very sensitive to criticism, and that being the case, New York is NOT the place for him. You're right, he's too 'nice' to play in that environment.

But I also believe that he's a competitor and wants to be viewed as one of the best of all time, if not the best ever. If he can make it work in New York, he will be among the greatest names of all time. But if he goes there (which he has) and then has to wimp out (which will be the perception, no matter on who spins it differently), it would be a difficult blow to him.

Besides, how many teams can afford him, even if Texas is paying 10 of his 25 million dollar salary?

[CMJ]

Lester gives up 1 hit thru 8 and Boston wins 1-0. He's gonna be a real good one. :)

[JMK]

I think a 1 hitter is about as good as it has gotten in the majors this year. Good for him. :)

[Jedieb]

That was one hell of a pitching performance for that kid, even if it was against the Royals. The Yanks rallied in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game!!!!!!!!!! A-Rod was at the plate with the game tied, 2 outs, Posada at first, a 3-1 count and the ump calls a rain delay!!!!!! Crap, I won't be going to bed anytime soon. :x

[JMK]

So are the Braves really that dead? They've won 13 of 14, and have scored more than 10 runs in 5 consecutive games (65 runs in 5 games).

They're still 11.5 back of the Mets, who just keep winning, but they are on the wild card radar. Can they get back in it? Even take it? History says yes...but at some point they won't be able to pull it off.

[CMJ]

They're still 4 games back of the Reds in the Wild Card chase AFTER this streak. They are due for a letdown of some degree, but if they don't get too many games back theymight have a shot to catch Cincy.

[JMK]

I also think that Cincy is not totally for real. I believe they'll have a mediocre second half and the Braves will have a legit shot to catch them.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think they have a chance at the Wild Card. They can forget the division. They would need the Mets to collapse like the Dodgers did in the 50's or the Cubs back in 68. I just don't see that happening.

[CMJ]

I don't think anyone expects Atlanta to catch New York. Looking at the teams ahead of them, I think the Braves toughest competiton for the WC will be Los Angeles(I also find the Reds to be a tad suspect).

[Jedi Master Carr]

I don't think the Reds are that good either. The Dodgers though are fighting for the division too, so they could still get in that way. I am not too sure about the Padres either and the rest of that division is weak.
Oh and this hasn't been brought up at least by me, but do you all think Bonds might be suspended if he gets indicted on tax invasion and perjury? I just wondered what the precident has been before this case.

[JMK]

Selig says he has the authority to suspend Bonds. And I'm sure he'd love nothing more than to be able to suspend him indefinetly. He'd love to suspend him now for all the roid talk, but he can't because there was no testing, no rules. If he's given a real, legal reason to suspend him, I'm sure he will make Bonds go away at least for a little while.

[Jedi Master Carr]

That is what I am hoping. Also with the tax invasion claim, Bonds might be in some trouble. It is hard disproving that if he didn't pay any taxes for the money he got. He could be facing anywhere from 6 months to 2 years in jail for that. Pete Rose got 9 months just to make a comparison.

[Jedieb]

One of the young kids came through again last night! Cabrera hit a walk off HR into the short porch in right early this morning. The bottom of the order has come up big against Seattle. Detroit still can't find a way to beat Chicago. Both teams have a lot at stake in this series. Detroit has to start beating the AL Big Boys or they're not going to be taken seriously.

Friggin' Atlanta, can't these losers just stay dead?

[JMK]

He could be facing anywhere from 6 months to 2 years in jail for that. Pete Rose got 9 months just to make a comparison.

I doubt Barry will get 9 months. It's a different world now, and even though Barry is much more hated than Rose was, he's got the race card, which he will use, and he's got a lot of clout. I doubt he spends more than the minimum in prison...which would be a comfortable 20'x20' cell with a double bed, high def tv and great food. It won't be all that bad considering where other crooks go.

Detroit is losing credibility with each loss to the proven big boys. They're looking like paper lions more and more each time they lose to the teams they NEED to beat. And if they don't start beating them, at least for their confidence's sake, they will be in a lot of trouble come the last 2 weeks of September.

[JMK]

Originally posted by Jedieb
Last night would have been a tough game to lose, but that rally will probably carry Boston to a sweep of KC.

Correct you were sir. Interesting fact: these 2 consecutive 1-0 wins are the first consecutive 1-0 wins the Sox have posted at Fenway park since 1916. 90 years ago. Wow.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I know two straight 1-0 victories is hard to believe.

[Darth McBain]

No immediate indictment for Bonds... :(

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/07/20/grandjury.thursday.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think they could have got tax invasion on him, heck they don't have to go through the grand jury process to get that. Perjury is a different matter and I think they want to get him for the one that would be the harsher punishment.

[Jedieb]

I think A-Rod is going to need a 4th shrink. The Yanks are up 3-0 and Mussina is mowing down Blue Jays as if they were little leaguers. Man on 3rd, one out, and they hit a grounder to 3rd. A-Rod can concede the run, but kill the rally with an easy throw to first leaving 2 outs and no one on. He can try to throw home and stop the run from scoring, still get that second out despite leaving a runner on base. With a good throw the runner is out. A-Rod throws wide left, Posada can't make the catch and 10 minutes later, the Blue Jays have 4 runs in. What's worse, after the game some reporter got Mussina to make some comments about A-Rods play. Earlier in the year A-Rod made an error that cost Moose a complete game shut out so there's some history there. If the game had been at the Stadium they would have started throwing stuff at A-Rod. This is going to be a brutal weekend for Alex, at least they're on the road.

The Tigers won their series against Chicago by coming back for the second straight day. These last two games were huge for Detroit. After dropping the first game you had to wonder if they were ever going to beat any of the big boys. Chicago was around 5-1 against Detroit. Now, the Tigers extend their lead to 5.5 and they've proven to Chicago and the rest of the league that they can hand with the champs. Boston has now picked up a couple of games on both the Yanks and Chicago.

Ughh, another loss tonight and I may have to beat one of my kids this weekend. :(

[JMK]

Poor A-Rod...his confidence has to be shot to hell. Now he's trying to hard to make up for his mistakes - i.e. by getting the runner at home instead of killing the rally. That's a little league mistake. It would be one thing to do that in a tight playoff game, but not now. But like I said earlier and repeatedly, the Blue Jays can hit the stink out of the ball. And they will eventually get to you if you let them, as the Yankees did yesterday. Moose had a good outing, but the Jays will kick the door down if you give them the opportunity. And they did.

The Tigers finally gave themselves some credibility by beating the Sox and taking the series. Good for them. I'd hate for them to play .667 ball for so long only to see them collapse.

[Jedi Master Carr]

The Tigers rebounded well in that series. Now with a 5.5 game lead things get tough for the White Sox. Also the WC is no longer guarenteed, they are only 2.5 up on the Yankees, have to watch the Twins and Blue Jays as well.

[Jedieb]

Tonight's game isn't on TV and I'm in withdrawal... :cry The Yanks were down 4-0 and A-Rod hit a 3 run HR to get them back in the game. Wright is apparently throwing like crap though, the Blue Jays got another run and now it's 5-3. I had no idea their offense was this good. Their team average is over .290 and they've hit more HR's than both the Yanks and Red Sox.

Crap, Wright's been pulled after loading the bases and replaced with Chacon. :cry

[Jedi Master Carr]

The White Sox keep struggling getting beat 10-3 by Texas. And Minnesota is just lurking out there only 3 games back. The White Sox better watch out.

[Ryan Pode]

And the Russ Ortiz experiement is over.




















Godwilling.

[JMK]

A-Rod is 0-4 today with 4 K's. The last one coming with the bases loaded. This guy is in a freefall right now. It's sort of sad to see.

[Jedi Master Carr]

The White Sox are in some trouble. They are only a 1/2 game above the Yankees and one full game above the Twins. They are really struggling right now.

[JMK]

I'm sure they'll bounce back. They're far too good to fall apart like this. I really think it's just a slump. I wonder how much of a distraction Ozzie Guillen is becoming though?

[CMJ]

Didn't they lose something like 10 out of 12 games last September before they turned it around? Don't throw dirt of them yet.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well that is true but there starting pitching has been worst this year. 3 of their 5 starters have an ERA over 5. That is not a good sign, IMO. I would watch out for the Twins honestly they are the hottest team in the majors right now.

[JMK]

The Twins are scorching hot but I don't think there's a soul alive (outside of Twins fans) thinks they'll continue to be this hot for the next 50 games. They're definetly playing above their heads right now. I think they'll be in the running come late September, but ultimately I think they'll fade.

[Jedieb]

Originally posted by CMJ
Didn't they lose something like 10 out of 12 games last September before they turned it around? Don't throw dirt of them yet.

They did, but they did it with the LEAD. They lost AGAIN today. Their pitching is a shell of itself and the rumored trade for Soriano makes no sense. They need to shore up their starters, not get another bat. Not only has this post Allstar slide cost them the division, they're now 8.5 behind the Tigers, it may well cause them to MISS the playoffs. Throughout the first half of the season we reasonably assumed the AL wildcard was coming out of the AL central and that it would be the Tigers or the White Sox. Well, it may still come out of the AL Central, but it could be the Twins! If the Yankees win tonight they'll be a 3 way tie for the AL Wild Card. Right now, the White Sox are playing the worst ball of the 3 leaders and Toronto is only 3 games behind them. Not only has Chicago fallen back to the pack, but they're now 3 games behind Boston. This matters because Boston and NY aren't done battling for the AL East title yet. The AL playoff spot that Chicago seemed to have reserved a month ago is now a battle with Boston, NY, Minnesota, and Toronto. All four of those teams are playing better baseball than the White Sox right now. This ISN'T last year's team, they're not pitching as well, and they've lost a few pieces of the puzzle that made them champs. (Remember what El Duque did to you last year Red Sox fans?)

Detroit is for REAL. Their team ERA is tops in the AL and they're the only team under 4 runs a game. That being said, NO ONE wants to play the Twins in the playoffs. They have the 1-2 combination (Santanna & Loriano) that could carry them all the way to the World Series. I wouldn't want them anywhere near Yankee Stadium this fall. :cry

[Jedi Master Carr]

I agree with that analysis, Jedieb. The Twins are scary with that 1-2 punch, plus throw in Radke and they have a very good staff.

[JMK]

No kidding, with Santana and Liriano in a short series...I'd want NO part of that whatsoever...especially if I was a team with a 200 million dollar payroll and no rings since 2000.

[Jedieb]

Payroll jabs bounce off our diamond studded hides!!!!!!!!!

Giambi, how I love thee!!!!!!!!!! Those last two innings were a roller coaster, but this Yankees team has been battling all year. Even A-Rod chipped in with an 8th inning blast that helped get the rally started. The White Sox are now out of a playoff spot for the first time in months. Let's see how they handle it.

[JMK]

ESPN radio has an interesting topic going right now:

Do you care about what type of person your hometown athletes are off the field/court/ice/track etc.

Case in point: Giambi, admitted roid user gets booed mercilessly as he tumbles to a .220 average and absolutely no pop. Leaves the team for a while, says he's better, lost weight...but eventually put it all back on and is now a home run hitter again.
Now he's a hero in the Bronx again, but that doesn't change the fact that he admitted to juicing.

On the other hand, you've got A-Rod, who by all reports, is a decent person, who's a good husband and father...but doesn't hit a home run in the clutch, makes a bunch of errors, and he's almost reviled now in New York...less than a year removed from an MVP year.

Are the priorities screwed up...or should people just not care about what type of person the player is away from the game?

Personally I care what type of person a player is. I'll never look at Giambi the same way now. Same with Big Mac, Sosa, Palmeiro, and anyone else linked to roids.

[Jedieb]

The one redeeming factor about Giambi is that he's pretty much the only major roid user still playing who's given any kind of mea culpa. I don't fault anyone outside of NY for "roid" chants when he visits their stadium. If you're a Yankees fan, the guy seems to have cleaned up his act, and he does have a history of delivering in the clutch. The Yankees don't beat Pedro and the Red Sox in that Grady Little Classic without Giambi hitting a couple of HR's to keep them in the game. Without Giambi's numbers this season the Yankees aren't even in the Wild Card race.

Every team in pro sports is bound to have a certain number of thugs, punks, hooligans, etc. Pro sports are a reflection of our society; some good, some bad. Sammy and Mac probably cheated, but Cal did it right. Ken Lay should be rotting in hell, but.... well, I'm sure there's someone in corporate America who's not a dirtbag, but they're not on my radar. When you see the bad in pro sports you should realize you're looking at a mirror of our society. We're not importing all of these athletes from some evil land far away. This is what you get when you take a group of young American girls or boys and put them on a pedastal because they can dribble or hit a ball better than the other kids. Some will handle their fame and wealth well, others will still become the losers they were probably destined to become anyway. The guy who uses roids and cheats probably would have cheated at work so he could get the bigger cubicle if he'd never gotten famous in the first place.

[Jedieb]

In all the White Sox gloom and doom I hadn't bothered to take a look at their upcoming schedule. Ozzie and the boys have a couple of 3 game sets coming against the Orioles and Royals. If they can't win 4 out of 6 against those scrubs they really are doomed and out of the race.

[CMJ]

Well the White Sox have won their last 2, so maybe their free fall has stopped. Meanwhile the Yanks have also almost caught Boston as well.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Although the Yankees got killed by the Devil Rays today. The White Sox have got some easy games, if they can' t beat the Oriloes and Royals they just need to quit.

[Jedieb]

Nothing can get a struggling team over a slump like a series with the hapless O's. The White Sox are getting KC next so it only gets better for them. The Tigers sent another message to the league, they took 2 out of 3 from the redhot Twins and were two innings away from a sweep.

During the Yanks victory over KC the Abreu trade was announced. The Yanks didn't just get the OF slugger, they got Cory Lidle as well. Lidle has been pitching well lately and he could be the 4th or 5th starter they've been looking for. The Yanks only had to give up 4 minor leaguers so young guys like Cano and Cabrera are safe. I wonder how Shef is going to react to all this. He's in the last year of his contract and he can't be to happy to see Abreyu playing RF.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Abreu has had an awful year though. He hit 50 HRs last year and the way he is hitting them this year he might not make it to 15.

[JMK]

Since Abreu's unbelievable display at last year's home run derby he's hit only 14 or 15 home runs. His power has completely disappeared, but he still has a good on base %. Of course, at 16 million for next year, the Yankees will be expecting more than a handful of home runs.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Originally posted by JMK
Since Abreu's unbelievable display at last year's home run derby he's hit only 14 or 15 home runs. His power has completely disappeared, but he still has a good on base %. Of course, at 16 million for next year, the Yankees will be expecting more than a handful of home runs.

I know, I am sure the Phillies were just glad to get rid of him. The Yankees are going to stay over the luxury tax forever the way it looks. Even Steinbrenner doesn't have unliminted funds.

[JMK]

Well they are starting to build their farm system again. I think once this current crop of overpaid stars retires the Yankees will tone down buying their roster a little bit.

Did anyone catch the Sox/Angels game last night? Firstly, Schilling looked horrid, but that's not why I was asking. They posted a graphic showing the Yankees potential September lineup. It's friggin embarassing.

Damon
Jeter
Giambi
A-Rod
Abreu
Sheff
Matsui
Posada
Cano

It's such a bought lineup that they don't have room for guys like Melky Cabrera, who would be a much better player if he got to experience September/October ball, but there's no way they can let any of their high priced geezers ride the pine.

[jjwr]

They'll fail just like the last few years, hired mercenaries who can't play as a team. If the Yankees were smart they would keep playing these young guys who are doing quite well and keeping them in it and let them learn together but instead will keep playing fantasy baseball and mess up what mojo they have.

On another note, Sox vs Indians, Sox NEED the win, down 8-6 in the 9th, 2 on and Ortiz at the plate....need I say more?

The man is a GOD!

[Jedieb]

Unbelievable, the man is just SICK. Why do teams pitch to him? Just treat him like he's Bonds on a roid rage and walk the SOB. If Manny beats you, then he beats you. There's simply no damn reason to pitch to him! At least the Yanks are still even in the loss column.


Damon
Jeter
Giambi
A-Rod
Abreu
Sheff
Matsui
Posada
Cano

Hah! Eat it haters!!!!!!!!! :crack
As for Abreu's awful year, he's in the top 5 in OBP and leads the NL in walks. He also leads the MLB in pitches per AB. It's not all about HR's boys and girls. Once he's in NY with those bats around him he'll get better pitches to hit. He and Giambi are going to wear down starters left and right. Lidle should be able to stabilize the bottom of the rotation. This should be one hell of a stretch run.

[CMJ]

You throw up Boggs, Rocket, Vaugn, Pedro, Manny, and half a dozen other greats of my youth and/or current players. I don't think any of them were as dear to my heart as Ortiz. In about 3 1/2 seasons he's gone from a nobody to a God.

[JMK]

What Ortiz is doing is silly!

He's already 30, and only has 214 career homeruns, and is a career .283 hitter. He's probably not going to have hall of fame numbers when he's done, but if he continues to be so damn clutch like this, he just may get in to the hall for having such an impact on the game.

[Jedieb]

What Ortiz needs is another 5 years of this kinds of dominance. It may seem unfair, but that's what you need to get into the HOF if your numbers aren't that high. If he can keep this up for that amount of time he'd get over 400, maybe even 500 HR's. Unless someone in the AL gets uncounscious at the plate, he's going to win the MVP. Those kinds of numbers, 2-4 dominating seasons where you win an MVP and are a serious candidate in the others, some classic post season moments, and you can get in the HOF. But again, he needs at least 5 more years of dominance.

[jjwr]

Don't forget he's a DH, at only 30 he should have about 230ish homers by the end of the year. Being a DH if he can stay healthy and get in 8-9 more years he could have a shot at 500 HR, but if he makes 400 and keeps up his pace with his clutch hits he'd definetly have a shot at it.

[JMK]

Yeah, 5 years of this sort of hitting is the only way he'll get in. Of course, that may not be enough. A couple big playoff moments on top of the ones he's got will help, but if he wants in, he's going to have to be around 450-500 hrs and be known as the greatest clutch hitter of all time.

[CMJ]

A guy over at ESPN.com altered "Casey at the Bat" to fit Papi. It's greatness. :D

*****************************

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Red Sox nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
And then when Nixon died at first, and Gonzo did the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, "If only Ortiz could but get a whack at that—
We'd put up even money now, with Ortiz at the bat.

But Youks preceded Ortiz, as did also Loretta,
And the former was slumping, while the latter wasn’t much betta;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Ortiz getting to the bat.

But Youks let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Mark, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,
There was Mark safe at second and Youks a-hugging third.

Then from thirty-five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Ortiz, mighty Ortiz, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Ortiz's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Ortiz's bearing and a smile lit Ortiz's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Ortiz at the bat.

Seventy thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Thirty-five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt;
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance flashed in Ortiz's eye, a sneer curled Ortiz's lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Ortiz stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped—
"That ain't my style," said Ortiz. "Strike one!" the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore;
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;
And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Ortiz raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Ortiz's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the dun sphere flew;
But Ortiz still ignored it and the umpire said, "Strike two!"

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered "Fraud!"
But one scornful look from Ortiz and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Ortiz wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer is gone from Ortiz's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate,
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate;
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Ortiz's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And that place is Fenway, because there is no doubt,
The Legend always comes through….of course he hit it out.
********************


:lol :lol

[Jedieb]

Yanks win, Sox lose, first place changes hands. But that's not the worst news for Boston. Veritek is on the DL and is going to need surgery on his knee. He'll be out for 4-6 weeks. He should be back for the stretch run, but this could be a big blow for Boston. He's not just their captain, he knows how to handle that pitching staff. Losing his leadership and his bat will hurt, but I think losing him behind the plate could be the biggest blow. But ya get no injury sympathy from me, the Yanks have been dealing with big injuries all year.

[CMJ]

We're tied with 2 months to go. Oh baby. :D

[Jedieb]

It's going to be a great finish. I still think there's a better than even chance the AL East will end up with that extra playoff spot. The biggest AL WC threat IMO is the Twins. The White Sox just aren't playing the same kind of baseball they were last year. I saw a surprising stat during one of the games tonight. The White Sox have the 5th worst relief ERA in the majors. That's a stunning drop from last year when their pitching carried them. I think the WC is going to be a battle between Boston, NY, and the Twins. I think the Sox are going to keep losing ground. They've got some easy games with the likes of the Royals now, but eventually their schedule will toughen up again and I think they'll start struggling again.

[Jedieb]

One more quick note before I'm off to bed, we're two weeks away from one of the biggest series of the year. A rare FIVE game set between the Yankees and Red Sox. Starting the 18th the two teams square off for a 5 game set at Fenway that will probably change the AL East and WC standings on a daily basis.

I invite all interested parties to join CMJ and I for gametime IM's. :smokin

[jjwr]

A month ago I was sure the WC would come from the central but your right, the White Sox are fading and the Twins may not have enough to pull it out so once again we could see 2 teams from the AL East in there again.

[CMJ]

Papi isn't the only guy who goes walk off. :crack

[jjwr]

Yay Loretta!

Though I'm sure I wasn't the only one hoping he would walk Loretta so Ortiz would come up with the bases loaded :)

[JMK]

God I hate the term 'walk off'. It makes my skin crawl. But I love seeing the Sox come from behind like this.

[JMK]

Kerry Wood done for the year. Again.

When will the Cubs learn? Wood, and Prior are wasting the Cubs' organization's and fan's time. Sure they have the potential to be cy young winners, both of them, but they've never been able to stay healthy and the Cubs hitch their wagon to them each and every year.

[Jedieb]

Lidle looked great in his Yankees debut and Abreu has had a GREAT start in NY. He's dragging out at bats, getting hits, and looking good in the field. People think that because he had the batting practice session of a lifetime during an All-Star game that he's a struggling slugger. Abreu was NEVER a slugger, he's a lifetime .300 hitter who's averaged around 22 HR's a year. He has a high lifetime slugging percentage because he's a line drive hitter that hits a lot of doubles. This guy is really going to stabalize the lineup until Matsui and Shef return.

[jjwr]

I was watching the Sox game last night and when I saw Tavarez warming up I said outloud to the wife(though she really doesn't care)...Don't put Tavarez in, he'll lose the game for them.

Walk off HR off Tavarez. When its that obvious its hard to get upset about it :)

Interesting that the Braves put Andruw Jones out on Waivers, apparently a few teams put in a claim and one team was awarded the claim. No word yet who the team is though.

[Jedieb]

The White Sox, Boston, and NY have caught a huge break in the WC race. Loriano is headed to the DL. Without him I don't think the Twins have a realistic shot. They're 0-2 in his last 2 starts because of that elbow. Not having him in the rotation can cost them another 5-10 wins.

Big series between the White Sox and Yanks starts today. It's a win-win situation for Boston because they can easily make up games on both teams while they deal with the hapless Royals.

[JMK]

Yep. The Twins are sunk with this loss. How can they possibly overcome this?

[Jedieb]

They beat Detroit yesterday and have a shot at winning their series today. Both the Yanks and Red Sox lost. Boston is really struggling right now. They can't keep dropping games to the likes of the Royals and Devil Rays. The big series is less than 2 weeks away, I can't wait!

[JMK]

I don't know what the story with the Red Sox is. It's the middle of the summer and maybe they're in neutral right now before they wake up again, but you're right - they absolutely MUST be winning ALL of the series vs the D Rays and Royals. It's pretty obvious that any of the races will be decided by a game or three, and the games the Sox drop now to the sad sacks of the league will bite them in the <smallfont color={hovercolor}>-Censored-</smallfont> come game 162.

[Jedieb]

Rivera blew a save yesterday and tonight the Boston boy wonder Palpelbon blew a save as well. The Royals came up wit 2 runs in the bottom of the ninth to hand the Red Sox a horrible loss. I believe the Sox are now 3-7 for their last 10 and I think it's safe to say they're reeling. They've dropped to THIRD place in the WC race behind the Twins and White Sox, and 3 behind the AL East leading Yanks. They're only 1.5 behind the WC leading Twins, that's not a big deficit at all. The problem is the number of teams that they have to deal with. Pretty soon the Red Sox are going to be watching the scoreboard and waiting to see if 3 different teams have lost. Minnesota got a big win tonight and got the win they desperately needed with Santana on the mound. If Loriano does go on the DL guys like Radke are going to have to finish strong for them to have a chance.

You can call it Homer Talk, but I think the Yankees have clearly been playing the best ball of these four AL teams (Twins, Chicago, Boston, & NY) with the Twins close behind. The Yankees also have their 2 big guns looming on the horizon; Matsui & Shef. Hell, they might even be able to throw Pavano into the bullpen in Sept. I think Boston is finding life without Veritek extremely difficult. They didn't just lose a great catcher that does an outstanding job of managing his staff, they lost their CAPTAIN. I hate the guy, but even I can recognize he's a leader and one that Boston can't afford to be without for very long, not when they're got to battle 4 solid teams for a playoff spot.

The White Sox aren't playing as badly as I thought. They've split the first 2 games with the Yanks and they've shown a lot of heart in these two games. Both of these games have been close. Johnson, Villone, and Rivera were great tonight, but the Sox were all over the erratic Farnsworth tonight and almost overcame a 7-0 deficit tonight. That lineup is going to keep them in the race and make Boston and NY sweat it out right until the end of the season.

[jjwr]

I wouldn't be quick to get Matsui & Shef back in there, they are going to be very rusty and for a while could hurt the lineup. The guys they have in there now are meshing and playing very well together, it would be hard to mess with that chemistry.

Pavano? Do you really want him in the bullpen? :)

[JMK]

I think even the Red Sox would take Pavano in the bully right now. 4 straight losses to the 2 worst teams in the AL? That's downright pathetic. Is it a coincidence that the entire Red Sox pitching staff is melting down at the same time, or is it because Varitek is out? Either way, it's very disconcerting.

[jjwr]

The starters aren't doing bad, notice its a lot of the young guys in the pen which are all of a sudden getting really bad. Not saying Tek would have kept them from losing all of these games but I'm guessing a few of these late leads would be held if he was around.

[Jedieb]

I'm hoping that Pavano would give the Yanks a decent bullpen arm. Someone that can come in and give some solid middle relief down the stretch. Every start by Wright is one where you'll need an arm to come in during the 6th or 7th inning. Every third Randy Johnson start is one where he gives up 5 runs in 4 innings. Those are the kinds are situations a healthy Pavano can help.

[Jedieb]

I think I just saw grady Little take control of Francona's mind! :evil

I don't know if Francona has lost faith in his bullpen or trusted Schilling too much, but the Red Sox just blew ANOTHER late lead to the AL juggernaut from Kansas City. Swept by the Royals... it's been a good week for Yankees fans!

In Chicago it's become official, A-Rod has a Knoblacian case of the yips. He blew an easy double play that led to a run and helped get a big 4 run inning for the White Sox started. He threw wide of Cano by a good 10 feet. But it just wasn't A-Rod, Melky followed with another error in left field that led to a run and then Cano bobbled a relay and blew a double play. Man, do these guys get together before Mussina starts and come up with ways to make his life miserable? Giambi helped get the Yanks back in the game with a 2 run HR in the next inning so it's 4-2 in the top of the 4th with the Yanks threatening. 2 men on base, 2 outs, and A-Rod at the plate with a chance to redeem himself..................

He just drew a walk and here comes Giambi. As good as Jeter has been all year the team MVP has been Giambi. There have been times this season when he's carried the Yanks....DAMN he went down looking. Crap, at least they have Vasquez's pitch count up.

[JMK]

I don't think Jeter would have went down swinging. :p

It's just about panic time in Boston. Not because of the current slide, but that if it continues any longer, the fans & media in Boston will completely lose it and take the team down with them.
I've watched 2 of Schilling's last 3 starts and he was brutal in both. I don't know what's happening with the Sox, but nothing is working right now.

[Jedi Master Carr]

They are just struggling right now. It is hard to say what the problem is. Also right now I think Detriot is the favorite to be WS champs. They have the best team in my opinion from top to bottom.

[JMK]

While I do think Detroit has been by FAR the best team in MLB this year, I don't think they'll win the WS. I think a lot of the younger players, especially the pitchers will be a little overwhelmed by the excitement and expectations to carry their great season in to a WS title.

Here's how I would rank the teams in the running based on how they're playing right now:

Yankees
Twins
Tigers
White Sox
Mets
Oakland
Dodgers
St. Louis
Red Sox

[Jedi Master Carr]

Originally posted by JMK
While I do think Detroit has been by FAR the best team in MLB this year, I don't think they'll win the WS. I think a lot of the younger players, especially the pitchers will be a little overwhelmed by the excitement and expectations to carry their great season in to a WS title.

Here's how I would rank the teams in the running based on how they're playing right now:

Yankees
Twins
Tigers
White Sox
Mets
Oakland
Dodgers
St. Louis
Red Sox

People said that about the White sox last year. I just think they are going to win it, I have had that feeling about them since the all star break.

[JMK]

You could be right, they certainly will be the favorites to win it. For whatever reason I just think they'll be missing the intangibles like playoff guidance and leadership. I do hope I'm wrong because I'd like to see them go from zeroes to heroes.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I just hope its not those Darn yankees. Not only because I am a Red Sox fan but I hate it that they are able to buy themselves a WS. That is another reason that I just wish baseball had a salary cap like the NFL.

[JMK]

As the years go on, I hate the players on the Yankees less and less, but my hatred for the organization grows. I just can't stand Steinbrenner's arrogance, which rubs off on too many die hard Spankee fans. You know which ones I'm talking about - the ones who truly believe that if A-Rod (or E-Rod these days) tries hard enough, he can, and should hit .750 for the season. I don't hold it against the Yankees anymore that they happen to play in New York and have the most money. That's good for them and sucky for everyone else. But there's no doubt in my mind that if Boston, Philly, St. Louis, etc had the Yankees deep pockets, they'd spend just as feverishly and foolishly.

While I generally like salary caps, I HATE parity. I can't stand the fact that you're a legit contender one year, and practically a chump the next year. I think the price for success, for most teams has meant a dismantling, or significant loss of talent the next year because players want huge raises that the majority of teams can't afford. This holds especially true in the NFL. And I'm positive it will happen in the NHL once the cap has a few years to work itself in to the entire league. The NBA is sort of exempt from it because most teams can get by with one mega star and a supporting cast.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well the NBA is different because you only need 5 players to win. In the NFL you need 22 starters that is a lot, so with a cap can come some parity. But really there isn't that much extreme parity as there used to be. Certain teams do a good job and stay competive year end and year out, NE, Indy, Denver, Dallas, Seattle, KC, and Pittsburgh have all done good jobs of staying around 500 and the playoffs. The problem is the teams that don't know how to handle the cap like the Titans, they spend so much that it comes back to haunt them in a few years and they have to do massive cuts. I like the NFL system a lot better than what we have in MLB. It is a shame that teams like the Brewers, Pirates, Royals and Devil Rays can't compete, but the NFL teams in those same cities are very competive.

[Jedieb]

How quickly the tables turn, the Yanks have lost 4 of 5 and Boston is only 2 back after Wells throws some solid innings against the minor league franchise from Baltimore. The Yanks have 3 more games against the always tough Angles. Boston should be able to manhandle the O's so we could see both teams tied or Boston in the lead beofre their big series next week. I'm glad to have 3 games in the loss column, but it's still a small lead.

[jjwr]

Well Boston should have manhandled the Royals too :

Sad to think this but Sox could be back in first place if it wasn't for the big egg they laid.

As for the Yankees I don't mind most of the players(hate Giambi) but its really Steinbrenner and your right some fans take the attitude and end up being the type of fans that really drive some people away from sports.

Sox definetly have a high payroll but they've made a point to stay below the Salary cap, all it would have taken was money to get Lidle & Abreu, they had a better offer on the table but didn't want to take on the $$$.

One discussion I try to have with the Yankee fan at work is that the Yanks are worse since Steinbrenner started free spending. He's a bit too ignorant to see it though.

Yanks started to get good when they were able to build up their farm system and groom the home town talent. They had some high payrolls but it wasn't crazy like it was now and it was spent on resigning their core farm raised guys.

2000...they lose it and this is when George starts his Fantasy Baseball season, since then they have started to do worse year to year, a lot less chemistry and a ravaged farm system.

[Jedieb]

Sox definetly have a high payroll but they've made a point to stay below the Salary cap, all it would have taken was money to get Lidle & Abreu, they had a better offer on the table but didn't want to take on the $$$.
I'm pretty sure both the Yanks and Sox were over the limit last year. They were the only two teams to get nailed by the tax.

The Yankees farm system isn't as bad as you might think. Cabrera, Cano, and Wang are all products of the Yankees farm system. The four guys they gave up for Abreu and Lidle weren't even their best prospects. And the best of the four they gave up was an infielder. Because of the great play of Cano there's no place to put that kid anyway so that wasn't a big loss. Toss in oldtimers that came through the farm system like Jeter, Bernie, and Posada and on some nights more than half the players on field for the Yankees came from their farm system. That's more than what the Red Sox put out I believe.

Big win for the Yanks today. The Angels always play well at the Stadium and getting that first win and rebounding from yesterday was critical. Boston took advantage of the hapless O's bullpen and a right fielder who reverted back to his Little League days.

Chicago keeps handing it to Detroit and have suddenly cut the Tigers lead to 6.5. Detroit needs to avoid the sweep at Chicago tomorrow. Right now I think they're 3-8 for the season against the Sox.

[Jedieb]

Found this little payroll gem on the MLB.com site:

His Yankees, for example, contributed $75.9 million from their 2005 local income to the revenue-sharing fund. Steinbrenner and some of the other rich franchises -- the Red Sox paid $52 million -- are concerned that receiving teams don't always use the money to increase their payrolls to become more competitive.

Part of those big revenue sharing bills were luxury tax bills. And yes, BOTH the Yanks and Sox paid them.

The Yankees owe about $34 million and the Red Sox about $4 million. Both teams paid the tax for the second consecutive year. Last year, the Yankees were hit with a bill of $25.1 million and the Red Sox $3.1 million after Boston won its first World Series in 86 years. The Angels also paid just under $1 million in 2004.

That's one thing that needs to be addressed in the next CBA. Some of the "poorer" owners are simply pocketing their revenue-sharing money. They should be FORCED to put that money back on the field. They're not just living of the Yanks and Sox, they're ripping off their fans.

[Ryan Pode]

From the Baltimore Sun:

Minnesota Twins Gold Glove center fielder Torii Hunter microwaves his black Rawlings glove for 30 seconds if he fails to make a play the night before. And the glove gets nuked for two minutes after an error. Hunter said it's partially a reminder that he needs to stay sharp defensively. But there's a sadistic side to the ritual he has performed since the mid-1990s.

"That's punishment [for the glove]," Hunter said. "You do something bad, you go to hell."

Surpirsed Jobu isn't mentioned.

[jjwr]

No doubt the Yankees farm system has improved but you can't deny that the team has done worse since Steinbrenner started his free-spending ways.

If you want to see some Payroll inequity check out the Marlins...ouch, how can their fans even justify going to the games? The team obviously doesn't care as they have totally trashed their roster.

As for the Yanks & Sox, obviously the Sox paid due to being over but while they are #1 and #2 in payroll you really can't compare the two with any credibility. There is way too much of a gap.

Though unless George gets carried away in the next few years their payroll should go down quite a bit once Johnson, Giambi, Sheffield, etc come off the books.

[Jedieb]

As for the Yanks & Sox, obviously the Sox paid due to being over but while they are #1 and #2 in payroll you really can't compare the two with any credibility. There is way too much of a gap.

Yes, I can easily compare our payrolls. It's simple, NEITHER Red Sox fans or Yankees fans can whine about payrolls. We're both in the same boat the Yankees are just further down the stream. On any given night our payrolls are tens of millions of dollars above our opponents. If the Yankees and Red Sox played this year's Marlins team in the WS BOTH our payrolls would be moer than $100,000,000 than thsoe Marlins. In reality, Boston is only a few years behind the Yankees in their spending habits. In fact, they have about the same salary the Yankees had in 2002. This year, both teams dumped salary with Yankees dropping around $14M and the Red Sox $4. Yes, George has been spending money like a drunken sailor, but so have the Red Sox. Manny, Schilling, Becket, those are all big money free agent signings. Big Papi? Free Agent. Pedro? Free Agent.

My Dad gets to B&M about the payroll disparity because he's a Marlins fan. We don't, simple as that. The Yankees and the Red Sox are the pigs at the MLB payroll buffet and we have been for over 6 years now. We're the only two teams that have been over the $100M mark since 2001. (Except for 03 when Boston dipped to $99M.) We both have players that make more than ENTIRE teams. Manny is making $18M this year, but the 3 seasons prior to this one he made over $20M. That's what we pay Giambi and Jeter every year. (The Yanks only pay A-Rod around $16M, the idiot Hicks pays the rest.)

Again, the Red Sox aren't that different than the Yankees when it comes to payroll. They're just a couple of years behind.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I still hate it, but I hate it the Red Sox have had to play the same game. As I have said a multitude of times, the game would have been better off in the Owners had used replacement players back in 95. They would have done the same thing the NFL did and got a cap. Of course at the same, MLB has never had a powerful comissioner like in the NFL. Pete Rozell and Paul Tabligue were very powerful and smart men.

[JMK]

Yes, the Sox and Yanks are guilty of the same overspending that everyone else complains about. If the Sox were able to spend as much as the Yankees, they would. The Red Sox are literally the last people who should be moaning about the Yankees spending habits.

[Jedieb]

That's my point, the Sox and the Yanks are both guilty of the same free spending. There's two ways to abuse the present salary structure.
1) You spend like crazy because you have the funds necessary.
2) You cash in checks from the Yanks, Sox, and Angels and put a crap team on the field all the while lining your pockets with that revenue sharing mula.

They BOTH suck. I'd like nothing better than to see an NFL style salary cap. An NBA one is probably more realistic because there's a lot more money to spend on players in the MLB than the NFL.

The Red Sox are down to the Tigers 5-1 in the 6th while the Yanks are up with solid pitching from Johnson, 2-1. Detroit is coming being swept by the White Sox and are riding a 5 game losing streak. This is probably the worst time for the Red Sox to face them because you know they're due. Despite the sweep of the hapless O's, Red Sox nation has alot to be worried about. Your pitching has been horrid, even against the O's. Boston gave up 2, 7, and 9 runs over that series. I'm hoping the Yankees can manage a split with LA, which always plays them tough at the Stadium, and can pick up where Boston left off and start pummeling Baltimore tomorrow.

[Jedieb]

We're just a couple days away from the big showdown! The Sox avoided a sweep at the hands of Detroit while the Yanks, embarrisingly, dropped a game to the hapless O's. The Red Sox get tomorrow off while the Yanks finish off their series with Baltimore and make up one of the games they have in the loss column. The series will begin Friday with the lead at 2.5 or 1.5. Here are the tentative match-ups for the series at Fenway:

Friday 1PM ESPN
Wang (13-5 3.84 ERA) v. Lester (6-2 4.09 ERA)

Friday 7PM
Ponson (4-5 5.82 ERA) v. Johnson (3-11 6.26 ERA)

Saturday 1:20PM FOX
Johnson (13-9 4.92 ERA) v. Beckett (13-7 5.02 ERA)

Sunday 8PM ESPN
Mussina (13-5 3.54 ERA) v. Schilling (14-5 3.83 ERA)

Monday 1PM ESPN2
Lidle(9-8 4.64 ERA) v. Wells (1-2 6.06 ERA)

You can see that the Yanks have an ERA advantage in every match-up but you can throw a lot of that out the window if you start digging into home and away ERA. Wang for example is a much weaker pitcher on the road. Throw in the odd fact that the Yanks have struggled against rookies in the last few years and that first game is going to be pretty interesting. I've already warned the wife that I'm watching every single one of these games and that she's on her own. I'M NOT TO BE DISTURBED!

I'm hoping for a 3-2 series win. Even a 2-3 loss would be pretty good considering that it's at Boston and the last four will be at the Stadium. I just want to leave Fenway with the lead.

[CMJ]

I'm really hyped. I think we take the series, but that only means we'll make up 1 game.

[JMK]

To get any REAL benefit from this series the Sox need to go 4-1. If they can manage to go in to the series 1.5 games out of first and take the series 3-2, then that's not so bad either.

[Jedieb]

Spanked by the O's, how humiliating. :cry

We're staggering into Boston. Somebody is getting out of this series with a big boost, that's for sure. Ughh.

[JMK]

If we've learned anything about these 2 teams, its that you throw ALL precedent out the window. It just doesn't matter what happened previously, each time these 2 teams get together anything can happen.

[CMJ]

The ptching matchups seem to favor NY, but I still like our chances.

[Ryan Pode]

That was the third or fourth road series the O's have won this season.

[JMK]

Nice to see the great Boston pitching staff doing a wonderful job of keeping the team in the game...8-3 Spankees, top of the 7th, which started 4-3 New York.

[Jedieb]

The Yanks couldn't have asked for much better of a start to this series, the Sox couldn't have played much worse. Boston was a ridiculous 0-14 {edit: record setting 0-16}with RISP I think. The Yankees forced the Sox to throw over 200 pitches in this first game and use around 6 pitchers. We'll see how that effects the Sox bullpen the rest of the series.

tonight's a brand new game and everything can change with one swing of Ortiz's bat. But if the Sox go down tonight the Yanks are in a great position to get out of Boston with the AL lead and a ton of momentum.

[CMJ]

Pretty depressing one to watch as a Boston fan.

[jjwr]

Nah, pretty much a throw-away game, they threw out all the bad pitchers, Johnson followed by Snyder(who has actually been decent) then Declarmen and Seanez.

[jjwr]

Tonights another classic pitchers dual, through 2 innings the two starters had combined for 9 runs, 10 hits and 124 pitches...ouch!

[Jedieb]

7-5, Yanks with the lead but the Sox have loaded the bases with no outs. Torre has pulled Ponson and his gut. Yes, it's a classic Fenway pitchers duel!

[Jedieb]

Of course Big Papi is up with the bases loaded, the inevitible huge RBi is only a couple of pitches away. This game probably wont end until 2AM.

[jjwr]

All tied up in the 5th, 2 on with no out and Villone is still out there, this could come back and bite them. Course with the Sox bullpen I wouldn't feel comfortable without a 6 run lead in the 9th ;)

[jjwr]

Great throw by Melky to save another run!

[Jedieb]

Amazing friggin' game, Court almost cried after that Jeter double. Yanks lead 14-10 now, but Boston is threatening in the bottom of the 7th. That's right, we're only in the SEVENTH INNING! 2 out, Farnsworth just got knocked out by a Pena line drive, but got the out. Men at 2nd and 3rd, Proctor on the mound. Both bullpens are spent right now.

[Jedieb]

The battle is over, Yanks win 14-11. I read somewhere that it was the longest 9 inning game ever. This may have been the season for the BoSox. That was a DEVASTATING loss after getting spanked 12-4. Tomorrow is practically a must win for Boston. Goodnight girls and boys.

[CMJ]

I'm about to give up on the season.

[jjwr]

It was a bad loss but theres too many games left to say its the season.

Just about every sox fan looked at who was pitching on Friday for them and knew we'd be lucky to get a win. With Beckett, Schilling and Wells coming up we should see the Sox starters last longer than 4 innings.

What they need is Wakefield back so they can get rid of Johnson in the rotation. If they can't make some changes then they won't do anything meaningfull this year, even if they make the playoffs. The bullpen is way too shellshocked and is logging way too many innings, this has been going on for weeks now and you can tell those guys are all worn out.

[JMK]

Boy the Sox just look like they want to do everything wrong. Beckett struggles big time in the 1st, but comes out of it with no damage. Nice little pick me up after A-Rod hits in to a bases loaded double play (nice clutch hit...again!)...so you could expect the Sox to answer, right? Nah...how bout a nice 6 pitch inning for Johnson? That's good baseball from the Sox.

Then Beckett serves up his league leading 32nd homer of the year...to Bernie Williams. Ugh...this could be a very ugly series.

[JMK]

Wow. What a brutal game by the Sox pitching staff AGAIN. 13 walks. THIRTEEN! How sad. To paraphrase the sage CMJ, "It's about time to give up on the season."

I know there's 40 games left, but they're going to be 4.5 out, and look completely outclassed by everyone, from the Yankees, to the lowly Royals. Can this all be because of Varitek's absence?

[Jedieb]

It would be too easy for me to be a Steinbrenner right now, so I'll try to be gentle. :angel

Yes, it's the Boston Massacre Redux, but it'still just 3 games. If they were 1-0, 1-0, 1-0 the standings would still be the same. However, it's going to be pretty hard to shake off the psychological impact of such a beating. What's worse is that the flaws that have been plauging Boston since the All Star break have been revealed for the world to see. The back end of your rotation is weak. Your bullpen is in shambles. Beckett's ERA is now well over 5 and he looks as bad as Randy Johnson did early in the season.

Tomorrow night we get the pitching matchup that may finally bring some sanity back to this series, Schill v. Moose. To say that Boston needs to pull these games out would be an understatement. As bad as this beat down has been, two wins would put you back to within 2.5. you need to be somewhat close with series against the Angels, White Sox, Twins, and Yankees still coming up down the stretch.

I'm not going to go into how well the Yanks have playing because there'd be no way to do it without going over Damon's numbers during this series. Epstein should have opened up the checkbook and rewarded Damon for past service. I think it's obvious he's far from washed up, in fact he's putting up career best HR totals. He's killed you guys.

[sirdizzy]

It was that devastating 6th inning that killed them, bases loaded 2 outs, tie game and they walked back to back batters to give the yankees a 7-5 lead, then the picther got behind on the count 3-1 and posada blasts that triple for 3 more runs scored. That is some of the worst pitching I have ever seen.

They can't be happy with their perfomance at all in the is very important 5 game series. They have given up 39 runs in 3 games, a 13 a game average with a minimum 12 runs in every game. They had the yanks down 10-7 last night then gave up 7 runs in the 7th inning to eventually lose after getting pretty beat up in the early game. At best they can escape with a 3-2 series loss but that seems unlikely they will probably get 1 of the next 2 games unless they keep playing this bad meaning they are going to drop 3 games in the standings with the possibility of dropping 5.

[JMK]

Originally posted by sirdizzy
It was that devastating 6th inning that killed them, bases loaded 2 outs, tie game and they walked back to back batters to give the yankees a 7-5 lead, then the picther got behind on the count 3-1 and posada blasts that triple for 3 more runs scored. That is some of the worst pitching I have ever seen.


Bingo. That pretty much sums it up right there. That was some of the worst pitching ever. Today's game, and the series as a whole will be something the Sox can look to as a breaking point if they don't make the post season.

[jjwr]

Typicall Yankee fan, thinking its all them :)

This had nothing to do with the Yanks and everything to do with a horrible Sox pitching staff, don't foget this is the same team that lost 5 out of 6 to the Royals and Rays not that long ago.

Regardless of the oponent the staff sucks and is walking way too many batters and giving away late leads.

The only Sox pitchers worth their salt right now are Schilling and Papelbon. Wells is showing some life but thats about it. The pen has been a disaster and the Sox already put out two guys for assignment.

[jjwr]

As for Damon..its not just Damon, the Sox offense isn't great but he's nowhere near the root of their problems. They should have opened up the checkbooks to keep Pedro or Lowe or kept Arroyo, thats where their problems lie.

[Jedieb]

Typicall Yankee fan, thinking its all them. :)
Typical Sox fan, won't even accept their lumps and give credit where credit is due. ;)

Any hope the Sox have for a playoff run rests on Schilling's arm tonight. if they lose the Yanks could send out batboys and fans on the field tomorrow, lose by 50, and it would be irrelevant. A win tonight and tomorrow means the Yankees only end up gaining a game. But even with that, the Sox have shown themselves to have the worst pitching of all the remaining AL contenders. Starters, bullpen, they blow across the board. Papelbon has been clearly been the best pitcher on their staff, even he has come back down to Earth a bit in the last couple of weeks. Same thing with Schilling.

As for tonight's game, Schilling is the best shot the Sox have of beating the Yankees because their 'grind-out every AB' approach isn't that well suited to him. When Schilling is on he has exceptional control so when the Yanks start taking pitches they end up with 0-1, 0-2, and 1-2 counts over and over again. They end up chasing bad pitches or whiffing on his fastball. Guys like Abreu and Giambi will always take pitches, but tonight guys like Jeter, Damon, & Cano are going to have to be more aggressive. Then there's A-Rod. Who knows how he'll respond. He could light Schilling up and hit another 400ft monster to CF like he did last year, or ground into 2 DPs and K a couple of times, with 2 errors to boot.

I've been having fun reading some Sox boards and listening to Red Sox Nation collectively cry itself to sleep every night, I hope tonight is no different. Let the Boston Massacre of 06 continue! :spank

[jjwr]

Typical Sox fan, won't even accept their lumps and give credit where credit is due.

My brother is a Yankees fan, he got all the respect, I had none left for people on message boards ;)

It was actually rather fun, we were at the Airshow up in VT getting ready for the Thunderbirds and my brother got a new blackberry for work and we were checking the score throughout the day on it. Once I saw Declaremen coming up I told him next time we checked Sox would be down big and low and behold it was 10-5 next time I looked ;)

I think the Sox can still make the playoffs but anyone but a delusional Sox fan realizes they don't have any shot with their current roster.

The bullpen is either worn out or just no good to begin with. This problem has been building for about a month and a half now and game after game the starters aren't doing the job and the pen is getting worse and worse.

[jjwr]

Ok I can't resist....they put A-Rod at DH and have Giambi play the field? Thats sad when you would rather have Giambi in the field over A-Rod :)

[jjwr]

Mussina just got pulled, definetly a good move by Torre as he mentioned it may be his nagging hamstring. Get him out now before he slips or something and really hurts them down the stretch.

[jjwr]

Typical Sox bullpen, Schilling pitches a gem for 7 innings and the Pen comes out and loads the bases with no outs.

No pressure for Papelbon!

[sirdizzy]

The way the sox pen has been pitching, I knew once they got schilling out of the game they couldn't hold that lead, jeter just singled to tie the game in the 9th with 2 outs and if this goes into extra innings the yankees are going to hamme them

although oritix leads off for the sox in the 9th, tie game bottom of the ninth hes there best chance to escape with a win

[jjwr]

All things considered I'm impressed Papelbon got out of that with only a single run in the 8th.

In the 9th now and the bases are loaded again, at this point no matter who wins its been a much better game than the previous 3 combined.

[jjwr]

The other problem for the Sox was just shown in the 9th, they typically can't manufacture a run if their lives depended on it. 2 outs and Hinkse strikes out on 4 pitches? Sure....great call there Francona!

[jjwr]

Blah...I really don't mind if the Sox lose the game but does it have to be Giambi? The fact that people still cheer for this guy...

[Jedieb]

YOU ARE BEATEN, YOU ARE BROKEN, YOU ARE DONE!!! :crack
http://espn-att.starwave.com/photo/2006/0820/mlb_giambi_jeter_412.jpg

[sirdizzy]

1 run in the 8th, 1 run in the 9th, 3 runs in the 10th to win it. All after schilling had left, this is a sad commentary on the sox bullpen. Schilling is all you guys have and without him you would be 10-15 games out of first.

Ortiz had that big lead off double in the 9th, then after a couple of intentional walks the bases were loaded with only 1 out. The Rivera strikes out the next two batters and we go to the 10th for the win. this is a sad commentary on the sox's batting, after ortiz you have nothing and even he can't win em all for you. Without Ortiz you lose another 10 games in the standings.

Take away schilling and ortiz and the red sox are in the cellar looking up 20 games out right now.

[JMK]

Well, if aside from putting the Sox post season hopes in SERIOUS jeopardy, this series may have also nixed Papi's chances at winning the MVP. In fact, he'd be 3-4 in my MVP voting right now.

I'd go:
1- Jeter
2- Mauer
3- Morneau
4- Ortiz

If the Sox don't make the post season, Ortiz doesn't even get in the discussion. But at the moment I think the award is Jeter's to lose.

Anyway, it's been a depressing series for Sox fans everywhere. It's been the total opposite of what they needed to stay in contention. Only a collapse by the Twins AND White Sox can save them now.

[CMJ]

What a long and depressing game. I know I'm on the West Coast but I had to be up for work around 5:30 this morning, so I'm practically on East Coast time. And I stayed up till the bitter end. :zzz

[JMK]

Ouch - that hurts. Nothing hurts more than wasting your time watching your team, only to see them stink up the joint. And it's all the fault of the pitching staff & team management. How could they be so unaware that the bullpen was horrid? Aside from Papelbon they S-U-C-K. Francona has been getting killed lately, and I always wanted to defend him, but I thought he made a HUGE mistake last night by going with Timlin in the 8th with the top of the Yankees order coming up.

[jjwr]

I don't see how the loss drops Ortiz out of the MVP race, he's the only reason they are in the playoff race to begin with and its not like he didn't do his part.

A-Rod won it with a last place team. As for Jeter, the guy is incredible no doubt but I really don't see how he could be the MVP. Like A-Rod last year, you are going to get multiple Yankees in the top 10, how can you say a given player is the MVP with 2-3 other MVP caliber players playing around them?

As for Ortiz, he is now facing the same thing from Manny who has really come on down the stretch and will deserve from votes himself.

[JMK]

sure A-Rod won it with a last place team, but he was just unreal that year. Playoffs aren't always a necessity, but for a DH to win the MVP, that team had better make the post season.

Who else on the Yankees would garner MVP votes? Giambi might get some, but no one in their right mind would confuse Jeter & Giambi's contributions. Damon has been very very good this year, but I can't think of a leadoff guy who last won the MVP...maybe Rickey Henderson? In my mind, Jeter's the guy. He's as clutch as anyone, and he's a pretty damn good shortstop. And if it isn't him, you've GOT to look to Morneau and Mauer in Minnesota. Those 2 are carrying a team we ALL thought were finished once Liriano went down. They're making a stronger push for the playoffs in a tougher division with far less talent & resources to work with than Boston does.

[JMK]

Yankees complete a FIVE GAME SWEEP. That's incredible. I don't even know what to say about this series. It's embarassing for Red Sox nation, that's for sure.

[Jedieb]

The Sweep
The Yankees beat the Sox every way imaginable during this series. It didn't matter if it was a slugfest or a pitcher's duel. Moose and the pen matched Schilling and they got to Papelbon for 2 runs. As well as Papelbon pitched yesterday, he still gave up a bases loaded warning track shot to Giambi that would have been a HR in most ball parks. Today Wells probably threw his best game in 2 years and the Yankees still beat the Sox with Lidle and Farnsworth. The Yankees even matched the Sox defensively, and that's about the only place the Sox are still clearly superior to the Yankees. If the Yankees do manage to go all the way this year then 04 will have been officially avenged. I can only hope.

MVP Race
Ortiz would still get my vote. Yes, he had several chances to come up big this series and failed to get the clutch hit. Still, the Sox would be behind the Blue Jays without Ortiz. Manny would have under 30 HR's without Big Papi in front of him. Look at that double he legged out last night. That was friggin' unbelievable. I'd kill to have him on my team. That being said, if the Sox continue to implode it may well cost Ortiz the MVP. If Jeter keeps hitting well and finishes second or first in batting average, gets over 200 hits AGAIN, and the Yanks win the division, he may well eke out Ortiz in the MVP race. Voters can be funny sometimes. They may look at Jeter's performance during this series, this season's numbers, his CAREER, and say; "How the hell has this guy NEVER won an MVP?" Throw in the Sox crashing and the DH anchor that Ortiz still has to carry and it may be enough to swing the award to Jeter.

Theo & Company
Brian Cashman handed Theo Eptstein his nads this season. The Yankees made THE free agent deal of the season with the Abreu trade. For goodness sake, Cashman even got the Phillies to throw in Lidle and without him how do the Yankees finish of the Massacre? Jamie Moyer cleared waivers, where the hell was Epstein? You desperately needed leftys this weekend, where were the deals?! The Sox HAVE the money, they just didn't want to make the moves. Epstein may be holding his cards for 07 and 08, but that's a hell of a gamble. Manny and Ortiz aren't going to be around and this productive forever and every year Schilling gets that much older. Eventually he's going to fade just like Randy Johnson has.

Both the Sox and Yanks are heading out west and while I expect the Yanks to win a couple of these next series, there's got to be some kind of letdown after this series. Things look bleak for the Red Sox:
3 at LA
3 at Seattle
3 at Oakland
3 at home with Toronto (who can hit a TON)

The way they're playing you could probably see them as underdogs in each of those series except Seattle. At least they get Toronto at home, but what good did that do them this weekend? Toronto leads the league in batting average, what will they do to the Sox pen? This could be the worst August Red Sox nation has seen in DECADES.

[CMJ]

Well, I'll be at tommorrow night's game, so I hope we have a good effort.o_O

http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/ana/images/view_seat/view_529.jpg

My approximate view for the sold out game.:cool

[JMK]

Bastard! :verymad

[Jedieb]

I have to hand it to Red Sox fans, you guys know how to punish yourselves. One of the ways I've been reveling in the glory of the Massacre of 06 is by posting at YES boards and lurking over at SOSH. I read one of the funniest bits I have in months today. Mind you, this tortured Sox fan wrote this BEFORE today's game. One can only imagine his state of mind AFTER the sweep was completed. Enjoy the hilarity boys and girls:

It’s time for Jose Melendez’s KEYS TO THE GAME.
1. With the Red Sox now having dropped four straight games at Fenway to the Yankees in fashions ranging from heartbreaking to merely horrific, the comparisons to the “Boston Massacre” of 1978, when the Sox lost four straight to the Yankees by a combined score of 7,000 to 3 are inevitable. But Jose will not make that comparison. No, he will leave that to the countless Boston sports writers who have built careers wading through the fetid muck of Red Sox history. Instead, Jose will compare this series to the actual Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770, and show how the events of this weekend are worse, much worse.


FACT: Six of the British soldiers were acquitted and two were convicted of manslaughter.

Do you think there is any court in Boston that would acquit six members of this team right now? Papi, Manny and Curt Euro maybe, but who are the other three?

FACT: Future President John Adams defended the accused soldiers.

Is there any member of the Adams clan who would defend the Red Sox right now? Maybe Terry Adams, but that’s just because he got a World Series ring without doing much.

FACT: Only five Bostonians were left dead outside the custom’s house in 1770.

By contrast, somewhere pretty close to the full 600,000 in this city and millions more elsewhere were left dead over the weekend, on the inside anyway.

FACT: The events of 1770 laid the foundation for a revolution that would bring forth a new nation “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” (Note: Yes, that was Lincoln almost a century after the Boston Massacre, but he said it best.)

Is there even the remotest chance that the events of this weekend will lead to something that positive? Here’s how Jose sees it. If, as a result of this debacle, Sunni, Shiites and Kurds in Iraq are able to lay down their arms and say “With so much suffering, so much evil in the world, perhaps we should put aside our differences and work together to build a free, fair and just Iraq” then maybe, just maybe the evil of this weekend would have been neutralized. Otherwise, it wasn’t worth it.

FACT: Today, there are people dressed in period garb at the site of the 1770 massacre telling the story.

Two hundred and thirty six years from now, it is highly unlikely that there be young men and women dressed in Yankees Suck shirts and pink Sox caps respectively, the fashion of the era, explaining how the Red Sox were brutally massacred on one weekend in 2006.

FACT: One of the men killed in 1770 was Crispus Attucks, a sailor.

Crispus Attucks was probably a much better hitter than the comparably named Rococo Crisp.

FACT: Paul Revere quickly began to sell color prints depicting what he called the “Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street.”

Even Jimmy from Revere, would be hard pressed to sell memorabilia commemorating this weekend.

FACT: The colonists went on to defeat the Royal Army.

Jose seriously doubts the Red Sox could beat the Royals right now.

FACT: The mob harassing the British soldiers hit them with thrown snowballs and litter.

There is now way, Josh Beckett, Mike Timlin, Craig Hansen, Manny Delcarmen, Jon Lester, Jason Johnson, Javy Lopez or most of the others could hit a British soldier with a snowball at 20 feet right now.

So there you have it. At least when Samuel Gray, James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick, Patrick Carr and Crispus Attucks were gunned down, they died in the name of something— the right to throw snowballs and garbage at uniformed military personnel— unfortunately, the sacrifices of this weekend serve no such higher purpose.

2. Suddenly it’s 2001 all over again. All that’s left is to fire Tito and hire Joe Kerrigan.

[Jedieb]

Enjoy the game Court. Those seats are great! :cool

[CMJ]

I was field level last year, but out in right field. So, I'm not sure which is better - but I can't wait! :)

[JMK]

Anyone catch the altercation between Jays manager John Gibbons and pitcher Ted Lilly last night? Gibbons came out in the 4th to take Lilly out of the game. Lilly, who is a free agent at season's end, wants wins, and being the 4th inning, would not be eligible for a W. So they chirped at each other, and as Lilly headed down the dugout steps and in to the locker room, Gibbons followed him in there. Seconds later you see a bunch of Jays players storm after them, presumably to break up what had become a physical confrontation.

Maybe Shea Hillenbrand was right. Maybe the problem lies with the manager. I think Gibbons may have cost himself a job with his actions this time. He may have gotten away with it with Hillenbrand because he already had a reputation as a malcontent, but he won't get away with it twice. The Jays season is over, and if they're going to get more free agents this off season then they will have to assure those agents that the manager (whoever it is) is not going to sabotage them and treat them like crap.

[sirdizzy]

How can you defend Lilly though, I know the game was tight 8-7 but lilly gave up 7 earned runs in the third inning, including 2 hrs on 8 hits with 1 BB. Lilly deserved to be yanked and him yelling at the coach for it is inexusable. Gibbons may have shoved him first but it was Lilly who began the alteration with his attitude and crappy pitching.

[Jedieb]

Lilly was a bonehead, but when your manager gets into yet another physical beef with a player you have to question whether he's the right guy for the job. Couple these confrontations with the preseason expectations that the Blue Jays were going to be contending for the AL East title and you've got more than enough ammo to send Gibbons packing. I doubt he'll be back next year.

[CMJ]

The game was a back and forth nailbiter. I had a blast even though we lost. There were a TON of Sox fans there. I'd guess at least 20% of the attendence actually.

[JMK]

Glad to hear you had a good time, even though the losing streak is now at 6...and the Blue Jays are only 2.5 games behind them.

[Jedieb]

The Yanks Magic Number falls to 31! :crack

The Angels stranded 11 runners while the BoSox only left 1 man on base. When you're that inept you deserve to lose.

[CMJ]

Guess I picked the wrong game to goto. >D Actually it's okay, I had a ton of fun at the other one. And watching at home isn't bad. :)

[Ryan Pode]

Though it doesn't matter, the Orioles have won 8 out of the last 11. With series against the Yankees and Twins.

[Jedieb]

Congrats, you're only 18 games behind the Yanks!!!

After losing the first two games of the series the Yanks are laying a beat down on the always pesky Angels, 8-1. But the Angels are making some noise here in the bottom of the 3rd. It's 8-2 and both runs came after another throwing error by A-Rod. Ughh, I pity the guy, I really do.

[Ryan Pode]

It's rookies coming around, lets hope this leads into next season.

[Ryan Pode]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-redsox-padrestrade&prov=ap&type=lgns


Red Sox give up?

[JMK]

That just might be a white flag from the Red Sox. I wonder how this is going over in beantown?