Results tagged ‘ Evan Longoria ’

House of Horrors

househorror.jpg

It may not be like what the old Montreal Forum was to the Bruins…

Montreal_Forum_1970.jpgOr what the Orange Bowl in Miami was to the Patriots…

orange251.jpgBut this place is becoming the Red Sox House of Horrors:

trop701.jpgTropicana Field aka The Trop!!!

Prior to last night, the Red Sox had lost 10 of their last 11 regular season games in the building.  Not to mention, the 2008 season came to a screeching halt when the Rays won Game 7 of the ALCS.

The Sox had been very successful in Tampa, prior to 2007.  They had posted a 50-35 record at the Trop; including a 2002 when they went 10-0.  It was almost a home away from home.  The place even had more Red Sox fan in it than Ray fans.

After going 1-8 there in 2008, the Red Sox have only won 2 (including last night) of their last 12 games.  Hopefully, today the SOx will make it 2 in a row.  However, I am not holding my breath since Boston is sending Brad Penny to the hill while the Rays will be sending James Shields.  Seems like a mismatch to me. 

Anyway, the Sox didn’t get a win last year in Tampa until September, so now that they’ve got it out of the way in May, maybe it will set the foundation for better success this season than last.

Go Sox!

PS. Can somebody make Evan Longoria a LITTLE uncomfortable at the plate today???  Penny plugged him, let’s see what happens in next ABs.

Opening Day & Eve

Wooooooohooooooooooooo!  FINALLY!!!!!!  OPENING DAY IS HERE.  However, the forecast is for rain, which is scheduled to begin around game time.  Doh!!!!!!!!  Let’s hope it can hold off for 3 or 4 hours.  How disappointing.

However, what wasn’t disappointing was yesterday’s beautiful day that I spent at the olde (really OLD) ball park.  I went to Fenway yesterday for 2 reasons. 

1)  Pick up my uniform:
sox uni.jpgOops.  That’s not my uniform.  I wish.

Loaded 2009-04-05 (Fenway) 047.jpgCheck.  Look for me on TV.  It’s funny though.  Whenever I am watching a game on TV, I am always trying to notice fellow vendor’s working in the stands.  The yellow shirts just stand out so much.

2) Try and meet up with Julia of Julia’s Rants and other bloggers she was trying to get to meet outside Fenway.  Unfortunately, I did not make it in time to meet up.  When I was finally finished picking up my uniform, I called Julia and she and Scott from I’m Not a Headline Guy were on top of the Prudential Building.  Here is a picture of them:

Loaded 2009-04-05 (Fenway) 025.jpg

No, really, they are up there.  I was on the phone with her exactly at that moment, as I was standing behind the Red Sox dugout. 

Since I was at the ballpark, I’d figure I might as well take in the Red Sox workout.  It was a gorgeous day for baseball; warm and not a cloud in the sky.  Since I brought my camera, I figured I might as well take a few (or 20 or 30) pictures.  Here are some of them:

The view from the RF boxes next to the visitor’s bullpen:

Loaded 2009-04-05 (Fenway) 005.jpg

Justin Masterson:

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Dice-K:

Loaded 2009-04-05 (Fenway) 007.jpgJohn Smoltz:

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Jonathan Papelbon:

Loaded 2009-04-05 (Fenway) 012.jpgBig Papi:

Loaded 2009-04-05 (Fenway) 020.jpgDustin Pedroia:

Loaded 2009-04-05 (Fenway) 021.jpgBig Papi & Kevin Youkilis: 

Loaded 2009-04-05 (Fenway) 032.jpgEvan Longoria: (thanks to Rays Renegade for the ID)

Loaded 2009-04-05 (Fenway) 035.jpgTheo Epstein (well, the back of his head, anyway):

Loaded 2009-04-05 (Fenway) 036.jpgMike Lowell (talking with Longoria (l.) and Pat Burrell (r.) thanks to Rays Renegade again on ID of Rays players)

Loaded 2009-04-05 (Fenway) 040.jpgJason Varitek:

Loaded 2009-04-05 (Fenway) 042.jpgFinally ~ View from the Budweiser section in upper RF:

Loaded 2009-04-05 (Fenway) 043.jpgIt was quite a blast.  It seemed like I had the whole park to myself.  There were a couple of tours going on.  Also, there were some other Red Sox employees who had their children there, but the greatest perk of working at the park is being able to be there without any fans.

EDIT:  I forgot to mention that I noticed the lower (field level) and upper box (red) seats seem to have brand new seats in there.  The actual seat parts have padding.  I sat in one, and it was pretty comfortable.  However, the only problem is that back rest seems to be the same height.  So, now with a cushion there, the
back rest is on the lower part of your back which probably won’t be as comfortable as the game goes on.  I think these new seats are only in the infield box seat sections. It looks like the RF boxes, grandstand (blue seats) and bleachers have the same crummy seats.

I talked to Boston Globe reporter, Tony Masserotti for a few minutes.  Mostly about how much he misses (note sarcasm) being on the Big Show on WEEI sports talk radio. 

As I was leaving, I almost walked right into a Tampa Bay Ray coming out of the Red Sox clubhouse.  I am not sure who it was though.  Maybe B.J. Upton, (did he travel up north with the team while being on the DL?) but I am not sure at all.  He was just wearing some shorts and a T-shirt and not a name tag. 

All and all, it was a great day.  Quite the opposite of what I am looking at through my window as I type this.  I better bring my galoshes with me, as I am on my way to the ball park just after I finish posting this.

Josh Beckett vs James Shield.  Should be a great game!

Go Sox!!!

Photos: 
Red Sox Jersey courtesy of MLB Stores
All others property of Red Sox Ramblings

Something fishy…

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 am sure this was just a simple mistake by some overworked accountant at Ernest & Young (you know the Oscar and other awards shows are coming up, and I’m sure there too busy prepping for those votes), BUT 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!

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.

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

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.

You won’t here any excuses from me.  The
better team won, definitely won this series. 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.

Young Guns

It is amazing the young talent we are seeing in this post-season. Evan Longoria hits home runs in his first 2 at-bats while going 3-3. Cole Hamels pitching 8 shut-out innings. Ellsbury doing it all in the field, at the plate, and on the base paths, just like last October. Lester going 7 strong innings. Ryan Braun putting the Brewers on his back to claim the Wild Card. Dustin Pedroia doing what he’s been doing. These 6 guys are all 25 or under.

Then you have Alexi Ramirez, Prince Fielder, James Shields and more I am not thinking of. There just seem like a bunch of young players who are not only on the verge of being the games next superstars, but who are basking in the spotlight of October baseball.
It should make for a great October, no matter if you have a team in it or not.
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