Results tagged ‘ Dodgers ’

Let Down

All the expert were saying it.  All the articles I read were saying it.  The Red Sox own the Angels.  The Red Sox are in the Angel’s head.  Here comes another Red Sox – Yankees ALCS.  Well, three games into the ALDS, and it was over.  However, this was not supposed to happen:

laa celebrate.JPGGetting swept?  Jonathan Papelbon blowing a post-season save?  Carlos Ruiz hitting a 3-run homer?  (Ooops, sorry about that.  Watching Dodgers-Phillies game 1 while I type this) Going down 1-2-3 to Brian Fuentes to end it?  Well, I guess there is something to say about ending it like you started it, isn’t there?  There were certainly a lot of 1-2-3 innings for the Red Sox offense this series.  What went wrong?

I don’t know, really.  The whole team was pretty flat.  The offense was anemic in Games 1 and 2. Scoring only 1 run of Lackey and Weaver.  The starters weren’t sharp.  Well, Clay Buchholz looked very good.  Much better than Jon Lester and Josh Beckett. 

However, when you’re leading batter in the series hit .250, your starters weren’t sharp, and your closer allows 5 runs (2 inherited runners, and the first 3 runs of his post-season career), that is a recipe for failure.  A disappointing way to lose a series and end a pretty nice season.  It took a few days to let it sink in.

When I left the game, the Sox were up 5-2.  I was pretty much expecting to be spending Columbus Day back at Fenway for a cold night of work.  Oh, here is me at work, for those who don’t know (sorry for the size, I used my digital camera to record it off the DVR, and then took a screen shot while replaying it using Windows Media Player):

vendahhh.JPGHowever, the biggest let down of losing that game aside from no World Series for the Red Sox was a hit in my wallet.  Working on Columbus Day would have given me Holiday Pay as well as an added incentive bonus pay for working my 65th game of the Season.

Oh, Red Sox, the ways you hurt me.

GO ANGELS!

P.S. Yes, I will still watch the the rest of the playoffs.  Even though, I am a Red Sox fan.  I am first and foremost a baseball fan.  I love the game, no matter who is playing.  Even the Yankees.  Now, back to the Phillies ~ Dodgers NLCS Game 1.

P.P.S. Sorry if I let down you readers (if there are any) this season.  Working two jobs, and two young children really don’t leave a lot of free time to sit down and write.  Thanks to all who still check in.  I should have more time during the off-season to write a bit more.

Sun Sets on a Local

While the big news in Red Sox nation this weekend is the signing of Jon Lester to a five-year contract extension.  There was some other news that is directly related to the backyard of Red Sox nation. 

250px-Mark_Sweeney.jpgFormer Cardinal, Padre, Red, Brewer, Padre, Rockie, Padre, Giant, and Dodger pinch hitter extraordinaire Mark Sweeney hung up the spikes this weekend. 

Now, why is this piece of news appearing as a blog on a Red Sox related blog?  That’s a good question, with an easy answer. 

Mark Sweeney is a graduate of Holliston High School in Massachusetts.  This is the town I currently reside in and the school from which my wife graduated (a couple of years after) as well.  My high school was/is big rivals with Sweeney’s school.  While I never played baseball after the youth level, and have never met Sweeney myself, being that we were of similar age and from the same area (he is a TVL alumni) I began to follow him while he was setting records at the University of Maine.  He’s probably one of the most succesful professional athletes to come from are since Howie Long.

While his retirment won’t garner the coverage on ESPN that say Brett Favre’s retirment did, he retires from MLB with the 2nd most pinch hits in MLB history.  He also has the most career pinch hit RBIs in history.  Quite an amazing achievment if you think about.

Sweeney won’t be out of baseball, though.  He has already joined the Dodgers coaching staff as an assistant.  Now, I will just have to follow his progress as a coach and see if it ever leads to a managing gig someday.  Who know?

Although he never played for the Red Sox, or even in the AL for that matter, I’m sure he dreamed of it as kid, like we all did growing up in this area.  That is good enough to make it into my blog. 

Go Sox! 

Looking Ahead

It’s that time of year.  The time to look into the future and see what lies ahead.  So, let me put on my swami headgear, take out some sort of crystal thing, and this magic little 8 ball thing:
8ball.JPGOkay, now we are ready for our 2009 Predictions:

  • The New England Patriots will not win the Super Bowl.  (Okay, now that I got my obligatory bad joke out of the way, we can continue.)
  • The Pittsburgh Steelers will win the Super Bowl.
  • The Boston Celtics will win the NBA Championship….again!!
  • The Boston Bruins will lose in the 1st round of the NHL Playoffs.  (I really hope that is not true, but I only go by history.)
  • Some race horse will win the Kentucky Derby and then the Preakness.  Then for weeks we will hear about how great this horse is and it will be hyped up as the first winner of the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.  Then in the Belmont, the horse will finish in 8th place or something stupid.  This seems like an annual ritual.
  • Tiger Woods will win the first golf tournament he plays when he returns from his knee injury.

Now, let’s get to the baseball stuff:

  • Jason Varitek will sign a 2-year contract with the Red Sox.
  • The Dominican Republic will win the World Baseball Classic.
  • Manny Ramirez signs with the San Francisco Giants.  The city of LA has never done a complete 180 on anything faster.
  • David Price will become the 1st pitcher to win the Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young in the same season.
  • A.J. Burnett will make 18 starts this season, however, J.D. Drew will spend more days on the DL than Burnett.
  • C.C. Sabathia will be the AL All-Star Game starter while the NL will send Pedro Martinez to the hill.
  • After throwing a complete game in the 10 inning All-Star Game, leading the AL to a 3-2 victory, Sabathia’s shoulder falls apart lifting the All-Star Game trophy MVP.
  • Ryan Howard, Mark Reynolds, and Adam Dunn combine for only 400 strike outs between them.
  • Curt Schilling signs with the Tampa Rays in mid-May, and goes 8-0 down the stretch to help the Rays surpass the Yanks for the AL Wild Card.
  • The Dodgers win the AL West over the Giants after Manny sits out the final month with a “calf strain”, code for “I’m not happy with only getting a 2-year, $50 million contract.”
  • The Red Sox win their 3rd World Series Championship of the Century. (Hey, this wouldn’t be a Red Sox blog without this prediction, am I right?)

ws.jpgNow, that those are finally finished, I must say I enjoyed watching the MLB Network and their broadcast of Don Larsen’s perfect game.  I am looking forward to more of their stuff.  However, I do hope they cut back on showing Viagra ads when I am watching the channel with my son.  He is 4, and doesn’t really notice that stuff yet, but……Please MLB, keep those for after bed time.  I know they pay the bills for you, but just do it.  Okay?  Great!

And the winner is….

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: Tim 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.

A TRUE CLASS ACT

It was recently announced that the Red Sox are going to retire the number former player, coach, manager, ambassador, and legend, Johnny Pesky. There isn’t a more deserving person than him.

To do this, the Red Sox have amended their long standing criteria for retiring a number of which included finishing your playing career with the Sox. This criteria was actually ignored (although they claimed that working in the Front Office was considering “finishing your career”) when they retired Carlton Fisk’s #27 back in 2000. Although, that was done by the previous Red Sox regime.

None the less, this is wonderful recognition of not just a good ballplayer, but a truly legendary and wonderful person. Pesky is to the Red Sox what Pee Wee Reese was to the Dodgers. While, Pesky spent only 7 + seasons with the Sox, he missed 3 FULL seasons (1943-1945) while serving in World War II. He finished in the Top 5 in the AL MVP race his rookie season in ’42 and his second season in ’46. Although he finished his career with the Tigers and Senators he returned to Boston where has remained with the team as a coach, manager, ambassador, and legend.

I have seen Johnny Pesky around the ballpark many times. One of the benefits of being a vendor at Fenway Park is that I can enter the ballpark any time before the gates open. A few years ago, the gates would open only 90 minutes (now it is 2 hours before) before game time, just as the visiting team would be starting BP. While the Sox would take BP, Pesky would be sitting in a seat behind the dugout, relaxing and talking with either Red Sox staff, ushers, reporters, or sitting alone just watching. However, he would always give you a smile and say hello, and even chat for a bit if you so desired.

I remember a day where Johnny came down to the RF foul pole (Pesky Pole) to take a picture with, I think, his grandson or great grand child. The gates were already open to the public and that area was crowded since it is a great spot to get a ball during BP. Anyway, Pesky climbed on the wall next to the pole, and pick-up the child with him to have the picture taken. He then spent the next 30 – 45 minutes afterwards signing autographs for fans and even posing for pictures with them. He smiled the whole time, and truly seemed to be enjoying himself. A truly classy guy.

It appears that this ceremony will take place this Saturday. Congratulations, indeed, to Johnny Pesky.

Go Red Sox!

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