MVP Has It's Privileges

I come back from lunch, and find out that ESPN is reporting that the Boston Red Sox and Dustin Pedroia have come to an agreement on 6 year (through 2014), $40.5 million contract with an option for 2015.

Usually, you here sniffs of a deal like this before it happens. I listen to WEEI sports radio all of the time, and there was no mention of the possibility of this type of deal happening, so it was quite a nice surprise to read this.

This is a nice deal for both sides. Pedroia made about $500,000 last year. He will now average $6.75 million over the 6 years, but not sure how the individual years breakdown. It ends up being quite a raise for a deserving player like Pedroia. For the Red Sox, it eliminates the arbitration years and 2 (3 is the option is exercised) of Pedroia's free agent years, which will end up saving the Red Sox money in the long-term.

Congratulations to both Dustin and the Red Sox, as it is great to be able to watch Pedroia play and knowing we will be able to for at least 6 more years is nice.

More Than Deserving

I've recovered from Thanksgiving, Black Friday, My Birthday (Nov 29, and yes I do accept belated gifts), and Cyber Monday. Phew!

Now, it is that time of year again. The Hall of Fame Ballot has been published.

There are only 23 players on this year's ballot. That is the smallest amount ever. 10 of those players are appearing on the ballot for the first time. Those 10 players are highlighted by Ricky Henderson who is a SURE THING to be voted in.

Of the players who are back on the ballot again, there is Bert Blyleven, Andre Dawson, Dale Murphy, Mark McGwire, and Jim Rice, who is entering his 15th and final year on the HOF Ballot and is the subject of today's blog entry.

Jim Rice was one of the most dominant and feared hitters of his era (1974 - 1989), yet he has been unable to garner the necessary 75% of the BBWAA votes to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Why is that?

Obviously, that answer is subjective. However, it can probably be a combination of various things.

Firstly, Rice does not have any "Magic Numbers" in his career statistics. He did not hit 400 HRs (which was pretty much the magic HR total before the steroid era pushed it up to 500) nor did he collect 3,000 career hits. Now, what do these Magic Numbers truly mean? They mean you were either an super extraordinary player or you were a good play who played a long, long time. There can be lots of arguments with regards to using this as a standard of Hall of Fame enshrinement; I mean just compare Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. However, it is pretty much an unwritten rule that reaching these milestones will garner Hall of Fame induction.

Secondly, when you compare Rice's numbers to other Hall of Famers, there are some things that don't add up for him. However, should players be compared to other Hall of Fame players who played in a different era? The game is constantly evolving; nowadays, more rapidly than ever before. Not only that, but how many of the writers who vote for the Hall of Fame and are doing these type of comparisons, but have never seen Jim Rice play. You figure, if I am 37, that means I wasn't even 3 years old when Rice made his major league debut and I was enjoying my last summer of freedom after graduating high school and getting ready to head off to Nichols College when he played his final game on August 3, 1989. What were some of these other sportswriters doing back then? Now, all they have to go by to determine if he is worthy is by comparing numbers.

Lastly, and this is a weak reason, but there has always been some chatter that Rice was not friendly to the media during his career. Was this truly the case? Who knows? If it was the case, would voting writers hold a grudge and not vote for somebody because of this? I highly doubt it. Maybe 1 or 2 writers, but that would make a minimal difference, since Rice has always been short of reaching 75% by way more than 1 or 2 votes.

Why should Jim Rice be a Hall of Famer?

First of all, like I wrote above, he was one of the most feared hitters of his era. Ask Jim Palmer (actually, don't ask him as he held Rice to a .219 average but he did give up the most HRs to Rice of any pitcher who faced him. So, ask him anyway! Haha), ask Ron Guidry, ask Dennis Martinez, ask Jack Morris, ask Steve Stone, ask Storm Davis, ask Rick Stutcliffe, ask Scott McGregor, ask Sparky Lyle, ask Jim Beattie, ask Doyle Alexander, ask Rollie Fingers, well, ask any pitcher from that time. I'm sure as a BBWAA member you'd be able to ask any of these pitchers, guys who actually faced Jim Rice.

Second, if Gary Carter is a Hall of Famer, than Jim Rice is a no-brainer. Carter is a career .262 hitter, 2,092 career hits, 324 HRs, 1225 RBIs in 19 seasons. His Mets defeated Rice's Red Sox in the 1986 World Series. That is the only thing Carter has over Rice. Why is Carter in the hall?
Next, let us compare Jim Rice to other players of his ERA. Jim Rice played from August 19, 1974 through August 3, 1989. In those 15 seasons, 13 full seasons, his contemporaries were players such as Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Dave Winfield, Reggie Jackson, Gary Carter, Fred Lynn, Andre Dawson, George Foster, Carlton Fisk, Don Baylor, Eddie Murray, Greg Luzinski, Robin Yount, Dale Murphy. All of these players were active for AT LEAST 12 seasons during Jim Rice's career or the Rice era.

Only 2 players hit more career HRs during the Rice era than Jim's 382. Mike Schmidt hit 529 in that span while Dave Kingman hit 383 HRs. Only Robin Yount and George Brett accumulated more than Rice's 2,452 hits with 2,602 and 2,523, respectively. Only Mike Schmidt had more RBIs, 1,540 to 1,451 during the Rice era. Jim Rice led all players in the Rice ERA in RBI's per game, as he average .69 RBIs which is slightly better than Mike Schmidt's .68 RBIs per game. His Batting Average of .298 ranked 8th in the Rice era behind Rod Carew, George Brett, Al Oliver, Bill Madlock, Paul Molitor, and Cecil Cooper. His Slugging Percentage of .502 was 3rd in the era behind only Mike Schmidt and George Brett.

For this comparison, you could conclude that Rice was the 2nd or 3rd best hitter during this era. I think, undoubtedly, Mike Schmidt is the dominate hitter of this era. You could rank Rice ahead of or behind George Brett. Aside from that, there is nobody else who compares. However, you have to take into consideration that Dave Winfield, Reggie Jackson, and Eddie Murray played 14, 13, and 12 of the seasons of the Rice ERA. I will concede that Reggie Jackson more than surpasses Jim Rice (although Rice did have a better career average and slugging percentage and ALMOST more career hits even though Jackson played 6 more seasons), but you CANNOT say that Dave Winfield or Eddie Murray surpass Jim Rice. The only reason they are in the Hall of Fame, is because they hit the one or both of the MAGIC NUMBERS.

Dave Winfield is a Hall of Famer. He played 22 seasons to Rice's 15. Winfield finished with a .283 batting average, 3,110 hits, 465 HRs, and 1,833 RBIs. Rice retired at age 36. Winfield's numbers at age 36 (he retired at 43) were: .287 batting average, 2,421 hits, 357 HRs, and 1,438 RBIs. Looks pretty similar, eh? Winfield never accumulated 200 hits in a season, while Rice did that 4 times. In his remaining 6 seasons, Winfield batted over .271 once (at .290) and averaged 18 HRs and 66 RBIs during that time. Not really HoF type numbers, but lasting those last 6 seasons, got him to the magic numbers. Winfield never won an MVP and placed in the Top 5 of MVP voting 3 times, but was a 12 time All-Star game selection. Jim Rice won 1 MVP and placed in the Top 5 6 times, but was only selected to 8 All-Star games.

Eddie Murray is a Hall of Famer. He played 21 seasons to Rice's 15. Murray finished with a .287 batting average, 3,255 hits, 504 HRs, and 1,917 RBIs. Murray played his first full season of 160 games at the age of 21 while Rice only got 24 games at age 21 with his first full season at 22. Rice retired at age 36. Here are Murray's numbers at 36 (he retired at 41): .290 batting average, 2,646 hits, 414 HRs, and 1,562 RBIs. Almost similar, but slightly better since that covers 16 full seasons while Rice only had 13 full seasons. In his remaining 5 seasons, Murray batted over .260 twice (.323 and .285) and averaged 18 HRs and 71 RBIs. Not really HoF type number again. However, like Winfield, Murray played long enough to reach the magice numbers of 500 HRs and 3,000 hits. Again, like Winfield, Murray never had a 200 hit season nor won an MVP. However, like Rice he finished in Top 5 MVP voting 6 times, and was selected to 8 All-Star games.

So why are Winfield and Murray Hall of Famers? You could argue that Rice was more of a feared hitter and a better hitter than both Winfield and Murray, but does that mean Winfield and Murray are only get rewarded for lasting 22 and 21 seasons? Is having a long career more important than how you performed over that career? It does seem that the combination of having a LONG career so that you can reach the MAGIC NUMBERS is the best way to guarantee yourself a plaque in Cooperstown. While injuries took their toll on Rice, forcing him to retire at 36, Winfield and Murray were able to continue playing the game at less than there full selves, but still good enough to remain useful to a team to get themselves the career numbers needed.

Personally, I think Jim Rice should be in the Hall of Fame. I think he isn't because of what I wrote above, and also the fact that offensive numbers EXPLODED during the Steroid Era (maybe Rice should have taken some roids to hang on and over come his injury issues, like Mark McGwire) dwarfing a lot of the solid numbers of the players who dominated and were feared in the late 70s and early 80s. I think it is a joke is Rice does not end up in the Hall of Fame, yet Gary Carter is in there, especially since Jim Rice was just as great a player as Dave Winfield and Eddie Murray.

I rest my case.
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In other Red Sox news, the Sox offered arbitration to Jason Varitek and Paul Byrd. You can read hear why offering arbitration to Varitek is a no-lose situation for the Red Sox. Varitek and Byrd will have until Sunday, December 7th to accept or reject arbitration. If they accept, they are guaranteed to be Red Sox again in 2009.

ESPN is reporting that the Sox have signed Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa to a "term sheet" which means only passing a physical is impeding the official announcement of a deal.

Tom Who?

Well, since the Hot Stove flame seems like it is flickering and the off-season wheeling and dealing is moving a pace slower than this guy:

I figured I'd blog about something else.

This weekend, a Patriot QB did something no the other Patriot QB had ever done. (No, I'm not talking about marrying a pregnant girlfriend.) Matt Cassel threw for over 400 yards in two consecutive games. That is also more 400 yard games in a span of 2 games than Tom Brady has thrown in his career (or so I've hard, there is no snazzy Play-Index over at Football Reference like there is a Baseball Reference.) Cassel has really done a great job filling in for Brady during this injury. The Patriots still have a great shot of another championship. The Pats currently sit a game behind the Jets in the AFL East and tied with the Colts and Ravens in the Wild Card race at 7-4. Aside from this upcoming week against the Steelers, the remaining schedule is pretty easy. It looks like the Pats can easily finish the season at 12-4 or no worse than 11-5 which should easily clinch a playoff spot. However, the Patriots are no longer the sole winter team in Boston vying for our attention.



Although it is still early in their respective seasons, both the Celtics and Bruins are the top teams in their conferences. Usually nobody pays much attention to these two teams. However, since Kevin Garnett came to town, the Celtics have returned to being the force they were from a previous era:


Not only that, but the Bruins are actually fun to watch. They play fast, the play hard, they hit hard, and they score goals. I've never been much of a Bruin follower or a hockey watcher for that matter. Usually I'd start to tune into hockey come playoff time. There are less whistles and faster pace that is funner to watch during the playoffs. However, I actually did flick the channel over the Bruins game the other night against the Canadians. They were down 1-0 at that time, but came back to win in a shoot out. I can't remember the last time I flipped to that channel.

So, at least in Boston, we have some sports to keep us occuppied during this baseball void.

Oh, and since this is a baseball themed blog specifically tailored to the Boston Red Sox, there was a bit of news today. Rob Bradford at WEEI.com is reporting that the Red Sox opened negotiations with Jason Varitek by offering him a 1-year deal. If the story is true, I don't think that is an offer that is going to get a deal done. Maybe it is only a starting point, as according to Peter Gammons it doesn't appear that the fax machine dedicated toVaritek offers at the Boras office isn't exactly ringing off the hook.

I do hope that the Sox and Tek can work out a deal, possibly a 2-yr deal with a mutual option for a 3rd year, as I can't picture him in any other uniform but Red Sox.

Bye Bye Coco

The Red Sox have finally traded centerfielder Coco Crisp. They shipped him of to Kansas City (poor Coco) for reliever Ramon Ramirez.

At first I was a bit disappointed, because I thought, "Who the hell is Ramon Ramirez." But after look him up at Baseball-Reference, I saw that he is a quality middle reliever / set-up guy. This definately addresses on of the needs the Sox have in the bullpen. Additionally, this will allow Terry Francona the flexibility of having Justin Masterson go back into the rotation.

For Coco, it now gives him the chance to start everyday in center field. It also hands the Red Sox center field job to Jacoby Ellsbury, and will hopefully allow him to relax a bit knowing he doesn't have a player of Crisp's caliber waiting in the wings for failure.

Crisp was a good player for the Red Sox, and I enjoyed watching him roam center field. In 2007, I definetly think he was robbed of a gold glove award. Injuires played a factor in some of Crisp's medicore offensive output during some of his time here, but I hope he does well in Kansas City (poor Coco.)

Congrats Dustin

Congrats to Dustin Pedroia. He was named the 2008 AL MVP. The first Red Sox player to win the award since Mo Vaughn back in 1995. Kevin Youkillis finshed 3rd. The 1st pair of Red Sox players to finish in the Top 3 in MVP since Roger Clemens won and Jim Rice finished 3rd back in 1986.

Free Agent Frenzy?

Now that players who filed for Free Agency are able to sign with any team, the transactions are flying fast and furious. (Note the sarcasm dripping from that sentence.) The action has been slower than anticipated, with the biggest news of the Yankees desperate attempt to make sure they sign Sabathia. Supposedly they have offered $140 million over 6 years and if that is only their initial offer, one has to wonder how high they will go. So far, the only free agent to change uniforms is Jeremy Affeldt. He will not be returning to Cincinnati, instead choosing to sign with the San Francisco Giants.


In Red Sox news, several Sox players and coaches are awaiting to hear some results. Bench coach Brad Mills and 3rd Base coach DeMarlo Hale both interviewed for the Seattle Mariners manager position. The Mariners are supposed to announce their selection today. Although, rumor has it that the Mariners will select Oakland A's bench coach Don Wakamatsu. Good luck to Mills and Hale.




Meanwhile, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis are 2 of the top candidates for AL MVP. We will find out the winner around 2pm today. Even though I think Youk is more deserving, my guess is that Pedroia will be named AL MVP. Go Red Sox!

Steve had a nice post over at his The Boston Red Sox Blog about a Julio Lugo - Dontrelle Willis trade that may be in the works. I'd like that.

Finally, if you have never checked out this blog: U.S.S. Mariner, it is one of the best blogs around. Anyway, one of the creators of that blog is trying to win a college scholarship for bloggers. Here is his post about it. So, let's support our fellow baseball blogger, and help him win. Vote for David Cameron!! He was winning for a while, but is now about 200 votes behind.

No, I'm not going to complain about Jacoby Ellsbury not winning the RoY. Congrats to Evan Longoria and Geovany Soto for winning the AL and NL RoY, respectively (I’ve always wanted to write that.)

However, I have uncovered a discrepancy in the NL RoY Voting (and I’m not talking about Soto not winning unanimously, although he should have). What I am talking about is that there was a mysterious “extra” vote cast.

The following is the voting results taking from the MLB.com article posted here.

If you calculate all the votes from these results, you'll find that there were 97 votes tabulated here. Was this voting done somewhere in Florida? The voting is done by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Two writers from each city cast a vote for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.

So for the 14 AL teams, there would be 2 writers from each city placing 3 votes or (14x2x3) which would get you 84 total votes. In the NL, since there are 16 teams, it would go (16x2x3) for 96 total votes. If you count all the votes from the results above, you get (GASP!) 97 votes. Additionally, 3 voters voted for an ineligible candidate! I demand an investigation.

Not only has voter fraud been seen in the political arena, but it has seeped into our National Pastime.

Oh the Travesty!

This next week or so is one of my favorite times of the baseball off-season. Although there is no red carpet like at the Oscars or the Emmys, to me the MLB Award season is a lot more fun. Over the course of the next 9 days we will find out the winners of: AL & NL Rookie of the Year, NL Cy Young, AL & NL Manager of the Year, AL Cy Young, NL MVP, and AL MVP.

For the most part, however, this award season is probably a little too predictable. There is a clear cut choice in 6 of the 8 categories, with only the NL Manager and AL MVP still unclear. Here is how I think it is going to go in other categories:

AL Rookie: Evan Longoria

NL Rookie: Geovany Soto

NL Cy Young: Tin Lincecum

AL Manager: Joe Maddon

AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee

NL MVP: Albert Puljos

The only one of the above that may not be a sure thing to win is Puljos, since the new fad in MVP voting is your team needs to make the post season. I will stand my ground there, but it will be interesting to see how many votes C.C. Sabathia and Manny Ramirez get in this category.

However, up for grabs are the NL Manager and AL MVP.

Now, let's take a look at the nominees for NL Manager of the Year:

Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia Phillies

Led the Phillies to their 2nd consecutive NL East title. (Won the World Series, but that result has no bearing on the voters since ballots are due by the end of the regular season.)

Fredi Gonzalez, Florida Marlins

Took a young team with the lowest payroll in baseball and had them in the NL East / Wildcard mix for most of the summer. The team finished with a respectable 84-77 record, which would have forced at least a tie if they played in the NL West.

Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers

Led the Dodgers back to the post-season, pulling the team (along with the acquisitions of Casey Blake and Manny Ramirez) through a rough stretch to overtake the Diamondbacks and pull away in the NL West.

Lou Pinella, Chicago Cubs

Led the Cubs to the best record in the NL and 2nd consecutive NL Central title.

My Choice: Lou Pinella

Now, here are the nominees for the AL MVP award:

Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

302-35-103 OPS: .965. Stellar number once again, but with the Yankees out of the playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons, he is not in the talk for this award. Additionally, since this year is an even year (2008), recent history says A-Rod will not even place better than 10th in the race. However, he will probably finishing somewhere between 4-8 in the voting.

Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox

.288-30-100 OPS: .965. Led the White Sox offensively, until missing the final month of the season with an injury. He may have been the leader of the pack at one time, but that injury may be what keeps him from winning, as he was limited to only 130 games.

Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox

.326-17-83 OPS: .869. Pretty much was lifted into MVP contention with a stellar August with clutch hit after clutch hit, picking up for Manny Ramirez. He even hit in the clean-up hole for a couple games with big results. Boston fans will light up the WEEI phone lines if he doesn't win it, but I'm not sure he is the favorite, it is that close in this race.

Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins

.328-9-85 OPS: .864. Winning a batting title as a catcher is a TOUGH thing to do. This was his 2nd batting title in 4 seasons. He plays the most demanding position in baseball, and I've heard some talk that he is more valuable to the Twins than Morneau is. However, he probably is the darkest horse in this race.

Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

.304-32-130 OPS: .901. He got off to a monster start, and was the story of baseball by the All-Star break. However, he faded a bit during the hot Texas summer, and not too mention he plays on the Rangers. If he was on the Angels, Red Sox, Yankees, or White Sox he'd be the winner hands down.

Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins

.300-23-129 OPS: .873. May be the front runner with Pedroia for this award, he was the offensive power for the Twins again AND played in all 163 games. However, could his and Mauer's 0 for in the playoff game with the White Sox affect his chances in a race this close?

Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox

.312-29-115 OPS: .959. Filled the void in the clean-up hole that was left when Manny decided he didn't want to play in Boston anymore. This was definately a career year for Youkilis, and I think he is the Red Sox MVP over Pedroia, but Pedroia has all of the sentiment on his side, especially nationally, that he probably finishes 3rd behind Pedoria and Morneau for this award.

My Choice: Dustin Pedroia

The announcements begin today with the Rookies. I look forward to this, and the drama will build for the AL MVP which, like the Best Picture, will be announced Tuesday, 11/18 to close this show.

Good News On Tek....

He's a Type "A" Personality.

The Sox and Tek haven't come to an agreement on a contract. Who knows if they even will? However, the MLB Player Rankings have been published by the Elias Sports Bureau and Varitek has been rated as a type "A" player. This is good news, because a type "A" free agent will get their former team a supplemental round pick between the first and second rounds and a compensatory pick from the signing team.

Now, the Sox will only get these 2 draft picks if:

1) They offer Varitek salary arbitration and he declines it.
2) If Varitek signs with another team before the deadline for teams to offer salary arbitration to their free agents.

This rating makes it a virtual no-brainer that Varitek will be offered arbitration. If Varitek accepts arbitration, it means that Varitek will be a Red Sox in 2009 at the least. That basically means that the Sox and Tek have agreed to a 1 year contract and if the two sides can't agree on a salary, it will be decided by an arbitrator.

However, if he rejects arbitration, he can still sign with the Red Sox. However, they will have to come to an agreement based on the terms negotiated by the team and Tek's agent, Scott Boras. Boras has come out to say that the starting point of negotiations for Tek is a Jorge Posada's recent 4 yr, 50 something million deal. If any other team signs Tek, the Sox will get 2 draft picks, as stated above.

So the good news translates to: Red Sox will either get something for Varitek (2 draft picks) or have a chance to get him for only a 1 year deal via arbitration process. Both are good results for the Red Sox. As there is no way the Sox are going to give him a contract similar to Posada, especially when Tek would be 41 years old at the end of the deal.

Since Tek has already filed for free agency, here is the likely scenario that will happen:

1) On Nov 14, he is eligible to sign with any team in MLB (if he does, the Sox receive 2 draft picks.)
2) Red Sox will offer him salary arbitration. They have until December 1, 2008 to do so.
3) Varitek will reject salary arbitration. Tek will have until December 7, 2008 to do so.
4) Tek will sign a contract with some team other than the Red Sox, and the Sox will get 2 draft picks.

A lot of this will depend on how Boras and Tek feel the about the offers they get from other teams, if any. If Varitek decides to accept arbitration, we will know that there was not much interest from other teams in him OR he REALLY wants to stay with the Red Sox. The good thing about arbitration for Varitek, is if he does file, the worse his contract will be for is the same 10 million he was making, as the chances of him getting a larger salary in an arbitration case would seem to be not too good, especially considering his putrid offensive production this season.


A quick congratulations to Dustin Pedroia who is going to be named the winner of the AL Gold Glove Award for 2nd Basemen. It could be just the first award he may receive this off-season, as there is a chance he could win a Silver Slugger and a Bronze....errr I mean MVP award.

Jake Says No, Look to Japan again

Jake Peavy has said he would not accept a trade to the Boston Red Sox. Peavy has a full no-trade clause in his deal with the Padres. Kevin Towers confirmed that the Red Sox were on a list of teams Peavy does not want to get traded to. However, the New York Yankees are not on that list. Seems there is something about the Padres not liking Boston. Remember when Brian Giles would not accept a trade to Boston at the trade deadline?

However, it seems like the Sox aren't going to give up on trying to get Padres. It looks like they may be interested in acquiring shortstop Khalil Greene. Greene is coming off a down year where he hit .213 in only 105 games. In 2007, he did hit .254 with 27 HRs and 97 RBIs after having 15 HRs a season from 2004 - 2006. Greene would either be a free agent after 2009 or be in his last year of salary arbitration, as he will finish up a 2-yr, 11m contract extention that he signed at the beginning of 2008 to avoid salary arbitration. This could be a nice stop gap to give Jed Lowrie a bit more seasoning, especially if they can move Julio Lugo somewhere duing the off-season.

So, word has it that the Red Sox are the front runner for a young amateur free-agent from Japan named Junichi Tazawa. He is 22 yrs old, supposedly with an above average fastball to go along with a curve and split-finger. He requested that Japanese professional teams not draft him so he could sign with MLB as a free agent. Japanese players usually must go through a posting process, but since Tazawa has never been drafted or sign to a Japanese professional team, he does not need to through that process. It is unclear how major league ready he is, but it is never wrong to try build up some quality young pitching.

Don't forget to vote today!!

Staying Put

Good news for the folks of Fort Myers, FL. The Boston Red Sox are not going anywhere. The city of Ft. Myers, the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox since 1993, and the club have reached an agreement where the Sox will keep training in the city for 30 more years. The club had been looking at moving to Sarasota, but apparently Ft. Myers will build a new complex for the team.

I have never been down to a Spring Training. However, that is one of my goals in life. A nice 2 week vacation, where I could visit several spring training sites seems like it would be fun. One of the drawbacks of spring training in FL, though, is that a lot of the clubs are spread out quite a distance. That is the biggest reason you see quite a few clubs who have left Florida or Arizona, where there are quite a few teams training facilities within quite a small radius, compared to FL.

Another thing I'd like to do one day is try the Red Sox fantasy camp. Spending a week like a major leaguers would be cool. I think there is a blog that somebody wrote that chronicled their experience at a fantasy camp. Someday, I'll do that.

The Phillies declined Tom Gordon's 2009 option. That could be a nice replacement for Mike Timlin for a season. I think he still has some life left in that arm. He has, obviously, had some success her in Boston as a reliever. I'm sure he'll get some offers from clubs who are in contention, so he may end up being a little costlier than the Sox may want to pay. Another name out there that would make a nice invite to spring training is Mark Mulder. The Cardinals released him a week or so ago. He has gone through quite a bit of arm injuries, but if you could sign him to a minor league deal and bring him to camp, I think that is a no-lose situation.

Hopefully we'll here some news out of the GM meetings soon.

Hot Stove to Heat Up

Well, now that World Series has ended, and Cole Hamel and the rest of Phillies have been corroneted 2008 Champions, we not head into baseball's "off-season." However, the term "off-season" only really applies to some of the players, as this one of the busiest times of the hear for team management, agents, and a flurry of players who will file for free agency or arbitration, get traded or hear their names come up in trade talk, or get released and franticly search for an organization or team to try and cling to stay in the game.

Image: by: Otto Greule, Jr - Getty Images - 2 April 1998

The Hot Stove news is already coming out in Red Sox nation today, especially where it concerns the Red Sox two longest tenured and most respected players. It is being reported that Jason Varitek filed for free agency. Along with Alex Cora and David Ross, they were among 65 major league players who filed on the first day for eligible players. Players who are eligible have until Monday, November 3rd to file for Free Angency.

Meanwhile, it is being reported that the Red Sox plan to pick-up the option on Tim Wakefield's contract. That means Wakefield will be back with the club at a reasonable $4 million dollar contract. The Sox and Wakefield came to a unique contract agreement back in 2005 in which Wakefield is basically owned by the Red Sox via infinate options on his contract until the Sox finally decide not to pick up an option. I, obviously, don't know the full details, but that's pretty much the layman's explanation.

The first trade of the off-season was pulled off as the Kansas City Royals will get 30-HR guy Mike Jacobs from the Florida Marlins while sending reliever Leo Nunez back.

Ken Macha has been hired as the Milwaukee Brewers manager, replacing interim manager Dale Sveum. Both have ties to the Red Sox. Macha was long time minor league manager in the Red Sox minor league system before being hired by the A's a few years back. In between his two managing job, he has been serving as an analyst (and cure for insomnia) with the Sox pre and post game broadcasts on NESN. Sveum was a third base coach with the Sox back in 2004 when the Sox won their first World Series since 1918.

Finally, there has been a lot of talk, mostly on ESPN.com and ESPN radio, about how baseball should make the World Series into an 7 - 10 day long event. MLB could play the World Series on a neutral (warm weather / sunny) site (similar to the Super Bowl) and hold a litany of events (such as naming the HoF induction class, MVP / Cy Young awards, Town Meetings with GMs, etc, etc.) and hoopla. I don't think I am in favor of this, but don't think this is something that we would see any time soon. It is just being brought up because of the debacle of Game 3 and the Game 5 rain delay.

One last thing. If you are a fan of Cole Hamels, which I am becoming, then there is a pretty neat read about him. It is an interview with the current Red Sox scouting director, Jason McLeod, who was scouting Hamels back in high school. It is a good read which you can find here.

Cinderella Re-write

It looks like the classic fairy-tale is getting a major re-write. In the role of the newly created step-brother, Cole Hamels is about to smash both of the Tampa Bay Rays glass slippers, which (as we know from the Disney version) will prevent Cinderella from ever getting together with Prince Charming.

Surprisingly, at least to me, the Rays find themselves down 3 - 1. Judging from the highlights, in what appears to be one of the most exciting World Series games in a while, the Phillies won Game 4, 5-4. Unfortunately, thanks to a long rain delay, nobody other than Philly and Tampa saw this game (which ended at some point after 1 am EST) on the East Coast. B.J. Upton continues his amazing post season, by single "footedly" scoring the tying run in the top of the 8th. However, a bases-loaded single (that traveled about 30 ft) brought home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth for the Phillies.


Ryan Howard, then, awoke from his post-season slumber to lead the Phillies to a 10 - 2 drubbing. He had 2 HRs and 5 RBIs.


This game, pretty much sealed up the World Series for the Phillies, as the best pitcher in MLB is heading to the hill tonight. Hamels is on the verge of a record 5th win for a starting pitcher in a single post-season. This, obviously, would his biggest win and bring home a World Series title to Philadelphia for the first time since 1980. Hamels has had an amazing post-season, and has put himself in the same category with the likes of Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling, Jack Morris, Orel Hershiser as clutch post-season pitchers.

Congrats to the Phillies

Missed Opportunities

No, I'm not talking about the 1 for 28 the Phillies are with runners in scoring position for the first two games of the World Series. Although, 1 for 28?, that is AMAZINGly inept.

I am talking about the missed opportunity of having this man pitch in Fenway Park in Game 2 of the World Series:

Brett Myers.

Oh, the chants the Fenway Faithful could have launched while he was on the mound. To the always effective "Rogahhhh, Rogahhhh" and "Toriiiiii, Toriiiii" (well, maybe that Torii chant didn't work out to well) and "Steroids, Steroids" for our friend Jason Giambi and other juicers, the "Wife Beat-er" chant could have been epic.

For those not familiar, back in 2006 when the Phillies were in town for an inter-league series against the Sox, Myers was arrested for hitting his wife in downtown Boston.

We, here in Boston, don't take to kindly to big, tough athletes beating up their wives or girlfriends. Just ask this guy:

I was glad to see the Rays beat...err defeat Myers last night, to even the World Series at 1-1. I'm not sure if I posted my prediction here, but I am taking the Rays in 6. I see Tampa getting to the elderly Jamie Moyer on Saturday, with the only other game they will drop is Game 5 against Cole Hamels.

In some Red Sox news, the team is bringing back the entire coaching staff with the exception of Luis Alicea. Alicea was the first base / infield coach for the past couple of season. Apparently there was a "philosophical" disagreement between him and manager, Terry Francona that has led to this departure. No word on who will replace him.

WOW! CRAZY! UNBELIEVABLE!

Let’s recap my evening last night.

I get my son into bed and back downstairs ready to watch the game at about 8:40 or 8:45. I turn on the TV, flip over to TBS and it is the top of the 2nd and the Rays already have a 2-0 lead. Christ! I sit down at the PC and head to ESPN.com to see how it happened. Iawmura hit followed by another Upton HR. Damn!

The Sox get a couple on against Kazmir, but can’t deliver. Kazmir seems to be pitching okay. Certainly not the Kazmir of old, but definitely not the Kazmir of recent either. However, it’s just a matter of time before the Sox get to him…right?

Top of the 3rd, and Upton gets another hit. Can we get this guy out yet? Pena HR, next. Longoria HR next. Gawd! Well, when 1 team is hitting on all cylinders and out pitching the opponent, what are you going to do? You just have to give credit to the Rays. It’s not going to be the year this year.

I check with the wife, see if she wants to watch a show. We’re both tired (my wife works nights, and worked Wed night, so she’s way more tired than me. But you know how it is with kids, your ALWAYS tired.), but I pull up the DVR and see what we have waiting to watch. How about Survivor? Great! We watch the Fang tribe (which could be like the Rays of old, or the Pirates, always losing) lose both challenges and GC get voted out.

The wife’s ready for bed, so she curls up on the couch with a blanket and is off to dreamland as I turn the game back on. It is the Top of the 7th, and Delcarmen just walked the 2nd of two batters, so the Rays have 1st & 2nd with nobody out and Upton (him again?) coming up. Francona, in a desperation moves, brings in Papelbon. However, after a double steal, runs are at 2nd and 3rd. Papelbon works back to a full count on Upton, but gives up a wall ball double that extends the lead to 7-0. That just about sealed up the MVP for Upton.

I get back on the PC, as I’m thinking about going to bed, and type up a little blog to congratulate the Rays, as I’ll probably type up more in the morning.

However, even though I am tired, it is a bit early for me to go to bed. I am a night owl. I like to stay up late. Not sure why, but I’ve always been that way. Sometimes I regret it in the morning, but most times I’m fine.

So, I start surfing the net, checking out some other blogs. I went to a message board that I frequent. I played a few games, all as the game was still on.

Maddon decides not to bring Kamir out for the 7th, and goes with the flame thrower Grant Balfour. Lowrie crushes a ball to RF, that just misses a HR. However, that gets you to take notice. Then when Varitek and Kotsay fly out, oh well. However, Crisp lines a single, but too hard for Lowrie to score. Pedroia then singles, and the Sox are on the board. At least they won’t be shut out.

Now, up comes Papi. He crushes one deep into the night.

Fenway is rocking again, and now your thinking how HUGE those 2 runs the Rays just got in the top of the inning are. That HR could have made it 5-4, but Upton gave the Rays plenty of breathing room at 7-4. Maddon brings in Wheeler, and Youk flies out to end the inning.

Papelbon comes out and gets the Rays 1-2-3 in the 8th. Sweet!

Then, a 4 pitch lead-off walk to Bay, and you can just see how tightly Wheeler is squeezing that ball. Drew crushes a HR to right, and WOW! But, your still thinking how HUGE those 2 runs the Rays got in the top of 7th are. Walks will kill you. But, the Sox are now down a run. If you’re going to lose, if you’re going to get eliminated, this is the way to go out. Not some pathetic 7-0 loss. Wheeler gets Lowrie and Casey, and is almost out of the inning. But here is where some “weird” things happen:

- Kotsay’s line drive goes off the glove of B.J. Upton in CF )who has been tracking down EVERYTHING) for a double.

- Gabe Gross’ throw to home goes straight into the ground, allowing Kotsay to score on Crisp’s single to tie the game.

- Carlos Pena (who had ground into only 2 DPs all season) grouned into an inning ending DP with the leading run on 2nd.

- Evan Longoria, one of the best fielding 3B in the league, makes an error. That runner ends up scoring the winning run on J.D. Drew’s game winning hit.

There I am, dancing around the living room while my wife is fast asleep on the couch. Haha. But, who would have thought? Seriously!! Down 7-0 in the 7th?

We go back to Tampa. There is still a lot of work to be done, but ANYTHING can happen, as we just witnessed. There are lots of questions though:

Can Beckett be Beckett?

Is the offense back?

Should Francona swap Lester to game 6 (on normal rest) and Beckett for game 7 (on extra rest)?

Saturday can’t get here fast enough for me.

Whew!

What a night!

Go Sox!

*images from this post courtesey of AP/ESPN and CBS

ARE YOU KIDDING ME

Down 7-0 in the bottom of the 7th. WOW. Good thing I'm a night owl or I would have missed it. Now I can't fall a sleep for a bit, I bet. More tomorrow.

Congrats to the Rays

Well, it's the top of the 7th. 2 men are on base as the Sox are down 5-0, and Papelbon is in the game. Looks like the inevitable is upon us. You have to give them all the credit in the world. The Rays can pitch, can hit, can run. They've done everything, while the stifled the Red Sox in every possible way.

Kazmir was our only hope, but Maddon had faith in him.

I'm sure the Fox executives are crying in their beer at this moment. Their dream match up of the Red Sox and Dodgers have been flushed down the toilet. No Mannywood triumphantly returning to Fenway Park.

The better team won. The only thing in doubt, is who is the ALCS MVP. Is it BJ Upton? Is it Evan Longoria? Can't go wrong with either one. However, I think Fox's Ken Rosenthal is already preparing a column, just in case it is not Upton. Actually, he just doubled in 2 more runs. That should seal it...the MVP I mean.

Go Sox! Next year though. I'm going to hit the hay.

Against the Ropes

If it was a boxing match, we'd be on the verge of TKO. Luckily the bell sounded and they get to head back to their corner and regroup and try to change the game plan mid fight.

The Rays have been throwing and landing the haymakers. 31 runs in 3 games covering 29 innings is quite impressive. That is over 1 run per inning. Meanwhile, the jabs from the Red Sox have not been able to penetrate the tough defense.

The Rays really have the Sox on the ropes. This is a position that they have been in and have fought back from before. Will the Rays let them off the hook? In a curious move, Rays manager Joe Maddon is pushing up Scott Kazmir to pitch Game 5 tomorrow and pushing James Shields back to pitch game 6. With the way Kazmir has been struggling lately, it seems Maddon is conceding game 5 to the Sox, even though another get by Dice-K similar to game 1's outing is unlikely.

Is Maddon afraid of wasting another Shields outing, and having Kazmir have another bad outing in game 6, thus allowing the Sox to get back to even with Lester ready to go in a game 7? Or is it because of some history between Kazmir and umpire Daryll Cousins, who will be behind the plate for game 6? I don't know. The Red Sox bats have been quite stymied and frustrated the last 2 games, could Kazmir be the wake-up call they need to get back in the series?

It will be interesting to see how this move pans out for the Rays. While the Evan Longoria 1st inning HR off Beckett in game 2 seemed to revive the Rays, could Kazmir be the remedy for the Sox to get right back in this?

We'll see! Go Sox!

On a side note, there was a nice piece in today's USA Today about some legendary play-by-play guys. Vin Scully and Harry Kalas are broadcasting legends. I can remember NBC Saturday Baseball games manned by Scully and Joe Garagiola, not too mention the many World Series games he's called. I was more familiar with Harry Kalas as the narrator for a lot of the NFL Films productions, with his unique voice. While dating my wife, and the many times I drove to her place, for some reason the local Boston AM station wouldn't come in (mind boggling), but somehow I could pick up 1210 AM out of Phillie, and hear Kalas call the Phillies games for part of the ride. To me, these are the voice of baseball, along with Mel Allen who I knew mostly from This Week in Baseball. How about that? Anyway, a nice piece to take a look at.

Panic in the Manager's Office?

Tonight's line-up is out, and Terry Francona has made a couple of changes. Let's take a look at it:

1) JD Drew - RF
2) Pedroia - 2B
3) Ortiz - DH
4) Youkilis - 3B
5) Bay - LF
6) Kotsay - 1B
7) Crisp - CF
8) Cash - C
9) Lowrie - SS

Drew has replaced Ellsbury at the top of the order, while Crisp has replaced Ellsbury in CF. Ellsbury has been struggling, as he was 0 for his last 20 ABs dating back to Game 3 of the ALDS when he doubled in the 5th inning. Obviously, some sort of change was needed, but I wouldn't call this Panic. It looks like I like to ask questions in my titles and answer no to them. Haha.

Anyway, Drew batted lead-off 8 times early in the season. He batted .172 (5-29) from the lead-off hole. However, he did walk an impressive 10 times, for a respecatble OBP of .385.

We knew that Varitek would be sitting today, as Kevin Cash is Tim Wakefiled's personal catcher. However, we shouldn't expect anything from his bat.

Finally, the Sox will be calling in a Dirt Dog from season's past as the Red Sox Insider is reporting in his blog that Trot Nixon, THE DIRT DOG, will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch tonight. WELCOME BACK TROT.




Go Sox!

Time to Panic?

It’s been a busy week, both for me and for baseball. Sorry for the absence of posts, however, I was helping the little woman prepare the house for a party in celebration of our daughter’s 1st Birthday / Baptism which took place on Sunday. The event was a success, while the Patriots game later that night was not a success.

Anyway, a lot has happened. The Phillies are on the verge of returning to the World Series for the first time since 1993 (oh Mitch Williams, your redemption may come) after taking a 3 – 1 series lead over the Dodgers. Game 3 of the series provide a weak attempt at recreating the Red Sox – Rays brawl from this summer. It was another humorous square dancing event, rather than a fight.

Meanwhile, our beloved Red Sox started out great, shutting out the Rays in Game 1 behind a great pitching performance by Dice-K. Red Sox fans had visions of a 3 game to zero lead in their head with Beckett and Lester to follow, but the Rays bats through in a monkey wrench. Tampa’s offense came alive with back-to-back games of 9 runs, bashing 7 HRs in the processes, reducing Beckett and Lester to the likes of John Wasdin and Matt Young (minus the walks).

Meanwhile (I feel like the narrator from the old Batman TV series with all of these meanwhiles), the Red Sox lumber have seem to take an extended slumber. Aside from Pedroia (.545), Youkilis (.429), and Bay (.455) not another batter is batting above .250. Ellsbury, Ortiz, and Varitek are all hitless in the series.

Should we be worrying? History says no. We all remember 2004, down 3 games to zero to the Yankees, don’t we? How about 2007 where we were down 3 games to 1 to the Indians and had to face their 2 best pitchers in games 6 and 7? So, being down 2 games to 1 while troublesome, is not worrisome on the whole.

Tonight, we have Tim Wakefield slated to start against Andy Sonnanstine in Game 4. In 3 starts this season versus TB, Wakefield is 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA. The Red Sox have lost all 3 of those games. Sonnanstine, in 2 starts, is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA. He has given up only 7 hits, 2 walks and 2 Unearned runs in 13 innings while Tampa has won both of those games. So, looking at those numbers, it doesn’t look good for tonight.

However, so far in these 3 games, nothing has really gone as anticipated. I mean, how many people predicted that Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz would combine for zero hits and 1 RBI in the 3 games? Would you be surprised if Wakefield went 8 innings of 3 hit baseball? Well, maybe! There is still lots of baseball to be played, and lots of thing could be happen. That one thing that would truly be surprising, though, is if Ortiz finishes the series still without a hit.

Go Sox!

Boredom Sets In

Well, since the Sox beat the Angels last night in an incredibly exciting game (I guess if you aren't an Angels fan) and the Rays beat the pale hose that leaves me bored. Tonight could have been game 5 of either the Cubs-Dodgers series or Brewers-Phillies series, but know luck there. Thus, I am left without any baseball to watch not only tonight, but tomorrow.

"Wouldn't that leave you with the opportunity to watch history in the making, Greg?", you ask. Well, there is only one thing that I hate more than politics...

Holy '70's leisure suits, Batman. Somebody not only needs to help Craig Sager (you didn't think I was going to talk about Kevin Youkilis, did ya?) with his wardrobe, but please somebody help him with sideline reporting. He is probably the worst aspect of the TBS coverage. Just think, we'll probably get 7 more games of him and TBS as they cover the ALCS, but we will get a break from TBS with the NLCS on Fox.

Anyway, I do, actually, like how TBS was able to get James Woods to do some color commentary during the post season. He must be happy to get work after having his series, Shark, canceled by CBS. Seriously, though, am I the only one who thinks Ron Darling's voice is a dead ringer for James Wood's voice?

Enough about TBS. Seriously, I am bored and a presidential debate is not the cure for boredom in my book. Not only that, but because of this debate, there is no Fringe, no Mentalist, no Without a Trace (Tuesday seems to be a busy night TV wise), only NCIS that isn't getting pre-empted. I guess, I'll just watch a few back-to-back-to-back Law and Order's on TNT (jeez, I can't seem to get away from these Turner channels) and then hit the sack or something and dream about baseball...which will be back on Thursday and then Friday.

Go Sox!