tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102591722009-11-23T18:01:45.218-05:00Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.comBlogger1183125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-54507636829124359522009-11-09T17:36:00.005-05:002009-11-09T17:59:17.729-05:00

The Sox did some housekeeping today: they declined Gonzalez's ($6 million) and Varitek ($5 million)'s options, picked up Martinez's $7.7 million option, and changed Wakefield's perpetual club option into a two-year, $4 million deal. The business with catchers isn't surprising, but I'm a little baffled by the Gonzo choice. Presumably Boston is hedging its bets, slipping in the possibility of

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-17504008892045916012009-10-12T14:56:00.006-04:002009-10-13T11:59:48.450-04:00

ALDS Game 3: Boston Red Sox 6, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 7It takes seconds to say good bye to the end of a season...about the time it takes for the ball to leave Pedroia's bat and fall into Aybar's glove, or Chone Figgins to walk to first base at the start of a rally that wouldn't end until it was just too late. Afterward, we can debate the hows and whys until we're blue in the face: maybe

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-46931872451050204502009-10-10T10:31:00.005-04:002009-10-10T11:05:47.349-04:00

ALDS Game 2: Boston Red Sox 1, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 4When I woke up yesterday morning, I had really hoped the complete and total lack of hitting was just a one-time failure; a product of really good pitching and a really bad night. This morning, I'm starting to wonder if we're in some sort of terrible dream, where those at-bats that do turn into base runners are few and far between;

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-40821317395444843892009-10-09T10:07:00.006-04:002009-10-09T10:30:37.895-04:00

ALDS Game 1: Boston Red Sox 0, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 5Dedicated to Robin, who knows why.Last night was all about trouble. Take the sterling effort by the defense, for example. Normally you'd write it off as first-time playoff jitters, except that every man, infield and outfield, behind the plate and on the mound, had been to the post-season before. Yet somehow, these experienced

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-6162998841018375652009-10-08T21:23:00.001-04:002009-10-08T21:24:32.203-04:00

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-20183009592518694152009-10-07T16:18:00.004-04:002009-10-07T16:38:46.001-04:00

Jackie MacMullen's profile on Youkilis - or maybe more on Youkilis's intensity - is a great read, but is anyone surprised at all that:Boston fans love Youkilis for being the guy who made good by working hard and beating the odds. I'd say that's probably going to be the case no matter where Youkilis played, because it's a part of the American national myth: we love self-reliance and work ethic

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-55146008228295096032009-10-06T10:03:00.005-04:002009-10-06T10:33:55.192-04:00

I suspect many of you are asking yourselves right now: 'Has there ever been a 95-win team that seemed more of a long shot coming into the playoffs?' Maybe it's some combination of finishing second to a 103 game-winning Yankee team, the severely lackadaisical turn the team seemed to take after losing those first two games to the Royals, and how many of Boston's positions seemed to be filled by a

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-79040940710416614782009-08-23T22:39:00.004-04:002009-08-23T23:00:32.930-04:00

Regardless of how this game turns out, it's seems fairly safe to say that as sure as at least one person behind home plate will be waving like an idiot at the camera while talking on their cell phone, the Yankees will end up winning the AL East. I've come to terms with this idea, while blessing the idea of the Wild Card and its power to salvage the season. We still have a shot at the final

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-77818011670370801712009-08-10T11:28:00.007-04:002009-08-11T12:09:01.542-04:00

So many Red Sox thoughts right now, I'm overwhelmed with strange feelings.It started with Lester's 8 innings in Tampa last week when it looked like it was a lock for a win. And then the pen collapsed. I knew then that there was something strange and eerie going on--like it was 2008 all over again and the Rays have magical powers at the Trop.Some thoughts go to the past... Was Manny a Zenmaster in

Don Searshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01800090133528761089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-25762795968159141852009-08-08T17:56:00.005-04:002009-08-08T18:41:22.040-04:00

Where the hell is that nasty 12 to 6 curve ball Clay Buchholz threw in 2007?It was a knee-buckling, deer in the headlights pitch that seems to have disappeared from his repetoire. I don't get it at all. I've watched him try to throw it only two times in this game to the Yankees. Once, he came extremely close to hitting A-Rod in the back of the shoulder. The second time, it was very high and out

Don Searshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01800090133528761089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-42835030513680340442009-08-07T10:06:00.009-04:002009-08-07T11:24:07.506-04:00

In honor of the late, great John Hughes: "Billy Traber, you're my hero." As much as yesterday was bad piled on terrible piled on really effing craptastic, at least we don't have to go into tonight with a devastated bullpen.Of course, that may not matter so much, because winning the game of baseball requires scoring runs, and right now, that does not seem to be Boston's specialty. They can get

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-69575656389017345312009-08-06T10:14:00.006-04:002009-08-06T11:33:31.641-04:00

Crap in a hat. A few years ago, I have run screaming for the hills - or the ridge in Prospect Park; I'm in Brooklyn, after all - at the idea of facing the Yankees in the Bronx down a key member of the line up. Now I'm just slightly nervous. Shocking the Yanks at home seems like a possibility - particularly after the embarrassments the Bombers have suffered at the hands of the Sox this year -

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-64306291666726922762009-08-05T13:14:00.006-04:002009-08-05T14:08:35.976-04:00

It's a bad thing - for my confidence in the team, not my standing as a fan - when I walk away from a tied game going into extra innings because I know they're going to lose, right? Maybe that "2 and 12 at the Trop over the past two seasons" thing that was lurking in the back on mind. In any case, I'm glad I didn't lose any sleep to see the result. Besides, something else has been on my mind

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-3874518838428781842009-08-02T13:30:00.008-04:002009-08-02T15:15:10.679-04:00

On the surface, the Kotchman for LaRoche deal is pretty puzzling. But upon a little investigation, it appears that there are a few key factors at play.One appears to be that defense is a larger piece of the puzzle. The second reason is that LaRoche and Chris Duncan (who the Sox got in the Lugo deal from St. Louis) in my estimation--were down-the-stretch, left-handed offensive insurance in case

Don Searshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01800090133528761089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-31934600458721366162009-07-31T15:31:00.007-04:002009-07-31T15:59:04.550-04:00

...now located in the confines of friendly Fenway Park. The addition of the 30-year-old catcher and first baseman provides some insurance that will let Lowell take more spells away from the field and provide a bat with a bit more pop than the light hitting Kottaras. It's a solid deal, but I'll be honest: I'm more excited because the Sox were able to get an upgrade over LaRoche (now heading to

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-19841438333738587122009-07-31T11:47:00.005-04:002009-07-31T14:30:10.794-04:00

I think it's pretty clear the Globe has ruled against David Ortiz, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. The Herald is a little more moderate; the Providence Journal remained neutral, choosing to publish the results of a informal poll they took of fans on the concourse after the news came out. None of the columnists commented on Ortiz's statement, or seemed inclined to give him the benefit of the

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-15926604702231756002009-07-30T12:44:00.003-04:002009-07-30T12:53:21.903-04:00

I'm not particularly in the mood to think about the consequences of this article, but one thing my suddenly flailing mind latched on to was about the mention of ongoing battle over the rights to the list:The union has argued that the government illegally seized the 2003 test results, and judges at various levels of the federal court system have weighed whether the government can keep them. The

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-45035108431456069252009-07-29T13:53:00.004-04:002009-07-29T15:15:12.847-04:00

Reading over some of the articles on the storm raging over Matsuzaka's comments to the Japanese media about his training regimen, I'm struck by two things:John Farrell really knows how to take off the gloves once the dirty fighting starts: "It’s one thing to say that, ‘OK, we’ll let you go 125 pitches,’ ’’ Farrell said. “But you know what? You’ve got to go out and be effective. We’re not just

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-24627913736571843972009-07-29T13:52:00.000-04:002009-07-29T13:53:08.000-04:00

Not sure what's worse: that the Sox lost, or that the Yankees lost on the same night and the Sox missed a chance to gain some ground. I'm feeling a bit pessimistic at the moment, what with Wakefield and Matsuzaka on the DL and the consequent thrusting of the Smoltz experiment into the light, so I'm going to go with the blown chance as the greater of two evils.On further thought, let me revise:

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-12347955394019746972009-07-17T10:03:00.009-04:002009-07-17T11:26:09.034-04:00

The Red Sox are seen by a number of seasoned journalists and analysts to not need a whole lot at the trade deadline, but they have too much fat on the roster bone, and are rumored to want to give Julio Lugo away for a cup of chowder and eat his salary. Apparently, Lugo didn't show up to a mandatory meeting last night, but at this point, I think he knows it doesn't matter. He's owed $9 million for

Don Searshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01800090133528761089noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-79606734340177062502009-07-15T15:23:00.004-04:002009-07-15T15:51:48.093-04:00

Either this interview with Ichiro underwent some heavy cutting that cut all of the logic out of his argument, or he needs to work on his argument construction skills, because his reasoning for not blaming the WBC for Matsuzaka's arm woes doesn't make any sense:“If you think that’s the reason he’s struggling right now, if people are blaming the WBC, that’s not very smart,” Suzuki said. “People who

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-63191092385547217312009-07-15T12:21:00.003-04:002009-07-15T12:39:10.439-04:00

As usual, I missed the entirety of the All-Star Game, undoubtedly because I have not found a way to relate its meaningless spectacle to the numerous meaningful events that happen during a season. I did, however, check in on a few of the highlights. It's good to see that Papelbon continues to do his best to make his work look easy on paper - one inning, no runs, no hits, no walks, one strikeout,

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-52513147335866726942009-07-13T11:45:00.005-04:002009-07-13T15:37:38.284-04:00

Beckett at the helm is a nice way to end the first half: three hits, no runs, no walks, seven strike outs, and a league-leading tie of 10 wins with teammate and fellow All-Star Tim Wakefield (himself the subject of a nice profile in today's Globe). Beckett's 2009 ERA+ is 140, 22 points higher than his career average; his WHIP is 1.149, well below his career average of 1.216, and overall he looks

Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904419302875420207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-72097091083871144372009-07-12T12:15:00.002-04:002009-07-12T12:32:40.804-04:00

Dustin Pedroia's wife Kelli went in to pre-mature labor last week and has been hospitalized, and so, last year's MVP decided that he will tend to her needs during this 4 day break coming up. He is going to miss the All Star game. It sucks for the AL, but he's got my support. Sometimes you forget these players have lives outside of baseball, and the lengthy season can get in the way of key moments

Don Searshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01800090133528761089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10259172.post-87366507281652384852009-07-12T11:05:00.007-04:002009-07-12T12:12:11.110-04:00

John Smoltz got his first win with the Red Sox last night against the Kansas City Royals, and did so by only giving up one run over 5 innings. He left in the fifth inning with an 8 run lead.Though Smoltz was given generous calls on the outside corner at times, he did have his sick slider and split finger fastball working. As Eckersley loves to say, he was throwing cheese-- the kind of gouda that

Don Searshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01800090133528761089noreply@blogger.com0