Finally

Next door over here is a picture of 3B Mike Lowell and LF Manny Ramirez celebrating Lowell’s second three run home run in two nights. This picture of Manny is dedicated to my friend over at TwinsTown, who is a huge fan of his. I’d love to provoke a fellow baseball blogger further, however I have some good news for Red Sox fans…

The Boston Red Sox finally swept the Toronto Blue Jays! This hasn't happened in Toronto since 2002. Last year sucked fat hairy monkey balls because the Jays to the Sox were what Kryptonite is to Superman. CF Vernon Wells hit 486 home runs and drove in four times as many runs and Roy Halladay looked like a Cy Young award contender. Early on this year (even though it’s still early anyway) almost looked to be more of the same. The first series between the two ball clubs ended with the Sox taking the series up in Toronto, however it could have just as easily gone the other way. Boston needed two runs in the eighth and ninth innings to win 5-3 in the rubber match. Less than a week later the Jays came to Fenway and hung 24 runs on the Sox in two days and I was breathing a sigh of disappointment, especially after sweeping the New York Yankees at home.

Since then it’s been a tale of two teams with Boston soaring to the best record in the American League (23-10) and Toronto ending up in the AL East cellar (13-21) and only a couple games ahead of the laughing stock of the AL, the Kansas City Royals. The Sox flexed both lineup and pitching staff muscles outscoring the Blue Jays 26 to 5. On top of sweeping the Jays, they also came away with two of three in the Metrodome against the Minnesota Twins and finishing their road trip with a record of 5 and 1.

2B Dustin Pedroia did his best to quell the media scrutiny he has faced with IF backup Alex Cora showing his stuff. Pedroia hit 9 for 14, drove in four runs, and hit his first home run on Tuesday night en route to a 9-3 rout in Toronto. Hopefully this was his wakeup call after having a very forgettable April. However when you’re a rookie it does take time to adjust.

The past seven days the Boston lineup hit 10 home runs, had 33 RBI’s, batted a combined .293 as a team, and maintained an on base percentage of .374. Boston has even managed to find themselves on pace to reach 80 stolen bases this year. I know it’s a pretty anemic number, however Manager Terry Francona is about as opposed to small ball as I am opposed to trading in my Johnny Damon Red Sox jersey for a Yankee’s Damon jersey.

Despite all the fireworks, the offense wasn’t the only thing clicking the past week. Boston’s pitching staff churned out 53 innings pitched, only allowed 10 runs, averaged 7.3 strike outs per nine innings (not huge, but notable), and finished up with an ERA of 1.70. In this fan’s humble opinion that’s pretty fucking good considering who they played the last week.

Being a Boston fan is all about taking things week to week and try to keep it all in perspective and not get ahead of yourself. It seems like the team in the past has always been one or two key injuries from completely derailing. This year seems a little different with even non day to day players stepping up and doing well and even some excellent outfield prospects down in Pawtucket coming along quite well. Of course in 2002 the Sox had an outstanding month and a half to open the season at 24-7 including taking three of four from the Yankees and squeezing in a nine game winning streak. They went on to miss the playoffs. So this fact coupled with the fact the last time the Sox swept the Jays at home was in the same year my superstitions are kicking into overdrive. What I’m saying is I’ll start getting happy if they have the same sort of separation from the pack in late August or early September.

Give Me a Break

Why do I have a picture of AJ Pierzynski on my blog? Because I think he’s a goofy looking dude and this picture makes me laugh. Ah, but there is a point. The point is this, which may or may not be news to you, professional athletes sometimes make asses out of themselves. For example:

I figured I’d write a little bit about the “controversy” regarding Boston Red Sox starter Curt Schilling’s comments on San Francisco Giant’s slugger Barry Bonds. Why? Because Boston played a boring (yet excellent) game last night. If you think I watch each game during the regular season like it’s the Goddamn playoffs you’re crazy. So to begin, do I hate the fact that the media will slam a magnifying glass up against crap like this? Yes. Do I hate the fact players slam each other through said media? Yes. Do I hate the fact that radio talk show hosts and Sports Center tell us it’s our fault because they know it’s what we want to hear? More than life itself. It’s the Terrell Owens defense the media uses for everything else. For the record, I fucking hate Owens despite playing for my favorite NFL team at one time.

Ok, so Schilling made a dumb comment while being interviewed on WEEI’s morning show the other day. For those of you that did not hear his comments Schilling basically said that Bonds cheated on his taxes, his wife, and the game. If you listened to the interview you can tell he just rolled out of bed or was still in it. I’ll say anything in the morning. For instance, “sure I’ll go shopping with you today.” Or “my you look beautiful in the morning.” Back to Schilling’s comments. You know what I have to say about it? Big fucking deal. That’s right, BFD. Did he go too far with the wife and taxes thing? Sure, that has nothing to do with baseball and maybe the outspoken veteran should have shut his yap when it comes to things having to do with Bonds outside of baseball. Schil is no stranger to the steroid controversy, so if I were him, I wouldn’t have answered the question anyway, or in the direct fashion that he did. It’s always a little dicey when one player decides to call out another. That being said, I hate Barry Bonds so it makes it a little easier to handle.

Why do I hate Bonds, do you ask? Because he seems like an total asshat and treats a majority of his teammates like shit because he has a problem with insecurity. Relax, Bar, you’re about to break the most sacred of records, have millions of dollars in the bank, and have a career most kids (and adults) would sell their mother for. I’m sick of being told that I should feel sorry for people in that position because no one understands them. Fuck that. Why don’t you come work my job for a six month period and see how much of a hassle it isn’t to play baseball for a living? That being said, I’m not a class warrior type, and I’m not jealous of his money. I have a good job and make decent bank myself. Why am I not envious of his dough? Well, you know a wise man once said mo’ money mo’ problems. Anyway, he just seems like he has no love for the game or the fans, I don't think he ever has. All the baseball cards I have of Bonds he just looks like an asshole. Even when his head was a normal size.

I’m cutting off this Bonds rant before it really gets going. Should Schilling apologize? Yeah, probably. If he called Bonds out on just the steroid thing? Hell no. If you think Bonds hasn’t used ‘roids or hasn't taken HGH, then you’re a giant douche. Stop giving him the benefit of the doubt. It’s fucking obvious. I love how national and local sports jockeys vilify Bonds then turn around and will stick up for him when someone calls him out on his shit that isn’t from their community. That’s why I hate sports talk radio some days.

The next month or so is going to be a clusterfuck of Biblical proportions with Bonds approaching Henry Aaron’s record of 755 career home runs. Which begs another question, do we take too much stock in our records? What’s the big deal anyway? At the end of the day it’s just a number. Even though numbers gets you into Cooperstown. That’s an entirely separate issue and another entry however. I’m just hoping he gets it over with ASAP, and with the Giants coming into town (Boston that is) in a little over a month it may very well happen at Fenway Park. I’m not sure how I’d feel about Bonds hitting his historical 756 at Fenway off Schilling. Wouldn’t that be a media field day? I’m getting queasy just thinking about it. Anyway, I hope he does it at home in San Fran and Boston sweeps the Giants when they come to town. Because that’s the shit that matters to me, winning ball games and championships. If you like what has happened the past few days, go watch fucking General Hospital or something.

Around The American League East

Week 6 in the MLB is in full swing and there are a few early season surprises, some things that are not so surprising, and are there some pre-season predictions on their way to fulfillment? We are about 20% through the 2007 season and for me personally, it comes in as a close second to my favorite time of the season. Teams are jocking for position within their divisions and hope is still alive for most them. I’m going to go ahead and grade these teams in the Boston Red Sox division like my elementary school teachers graded me, by effort (living up to potential/hype/preseason predictions) and achievement (raw wins and losses measured against preseason hype).

Boston Red Sox (21-10)

First place Boston, with their narrow margin as the team with the best record in the AL, looks stronger than last years team that started in first place for a number of reasons. The regulars are staying healthy and the pitching staff is looking very sharp from top to bottom. The only injury plagued staffer (so far) is reliever Mike Timlin. Bit players are filling their roles when called upon to win games or stretch leads, and while they might not make Sports Center, they make this team what they are. Is it enough to earn Boston their first division crown since 1995? Everyone outside of Red Sox Nation is thinking yes, however I’m a Sox fan and I know a thing or two about the ways of the Sox. There are lots of warm and fuzzies when you’re winning, however Manny started slow, JD Drew is slowing down, and Ortiz is not in full stride yet. Day five starter Julian Tavarez is making things difficult for me to give the starting ‘ro a hardy pat on the back, but the rest of them give me hope. With 2/5^th’s of the rotation starting to age I’ll just say this, if Boston wants to win another World Series with this team the time is now.

Achievement: A-

Effort: B+

New York Yankees (15-16)

The Yankees are lucky to be in second place in the AL East. A-Rod made a lot of noise and carried the team for much of April, but he does that every April and May so it was no big shock to me. I loved how everyone freaked out about his 14 home runs last month like it had never been done before. He only tied St. Louis Cardinal’s 1B Albert Pujols who did it last fucking year. Minor injuries to Damon, Giambi, and Posada are made it difficult for the Yanks lineup to get into a rhythm. Constant tinkering from manager Joe Torre didn’t help much either. At least team owner George Steinbrenner got to fire someone, their strength and conditioning coach. Yippy. Bobby Abreu not doing dick didn’t really help either and he was healthy. Once the bats wake up I’d expect the Yankees to start competing again, and not just beat up on the Texas Rangers. With all their firepower how could they not? The lack of offense just added to the real problem with the Bombers, and that’s pitching. Too many injuries and underachieving spelled the first losing April since Torre took over the team. With the addition of Roger Clemens it should add a few more wins, leadership quality, and experience. However, do the Yankees have too many chiefs and not enough Indians now? I know it’s been asked before, but is this the year it all falls apart?

Achievement: C+

Effort: B

Baltimore Orioles (15-18)

So here begins the cluster that is usually the middle of the pack in the AL East. For years it’s been the Red Sox and Yankees then everyone else. Last year saw a bit of change with the Toronto Blue Jays displacing the Red Sox in second place behind the Yankees for the first time since 1997. The O’s tried to go out and fix their big problem from last year when they came off the rails in the second half of 2006, and that was their bullpen. So far it really hasn’t helped that much. Erik Bedard and Daniel Cabrera are off to mediocre starts and the rest of the starting rotation has looked the same. Young hurler Adam Loewen is out for the next 8 weeks with a throwing elbow stress fracture. The bullpen they wanted to work on is doing a serviceable job while closer Chris Ray has blown a couple saves with an ERA of over 3.00, not exactly where you want your closer to be. Still the O’s are somehow in 3^rd and only 1 game behind the 2^nd place Yankees. The lineup has been below average with a division low 145 runs scored. That’s three less than usual AL East cellar dweller Tampa Bay. SS Miguel Tejada is hitting well at .344, but the top of lineup needs to find a way to get on base so he can start driving in some much needed runs.

Achievement: C

Effort: C-

Tampa Bay Devil Rays (14-18)

The Rays find themselves in unfamiliar territory, and that’s being in the month of May and not in last place. They’ve started to slip the past couple weeks, but western Florida is still abuzz with their better than usual April. Believe me, I was Florida just 50 miles south of Tampa and they are excited, still. The young lineup is batting .260 but still look fairly promising. Young rising hitters 2B BJ Upton, LF Carl Crawford, and 3B Akinori Iwamura are batting a combined .319 and have 44 runs batted in. Of course, having Iwamura on the DL isn’t helping them at the moment. Even most of the time hitter/sometimes bat tosser RF Delmon Young is showing the tendencies of a solid player. Starting pitching is nothing to write home about, their starters get a lot of no decisions which means the bullpen isn’t carrying their weight. The team as a whole is giving up more runs (198) than any other team in the AL, and the lineup just doesn’t have the bats to keep up. Starter James Shields is emerging as a bright spot in their rotation. Closer Al Reyes is looking as good as I thought he might provided the Rays could get him into some save situations. Currently he’s picked up 10 saves, one win, an ERA of 1.20, and batters only hitting once in about every ten tries when facing him. All in all, landing somewhere other than last place gives them a higher grade automatically.

Achievement: C

Effort: B-

Toronto Blue Jays (13-19)

Where to start? At least they still know how to beat the Red Sox. That’s about the only positive thing to say about the Jays after starting well the first couple weeks of April. They’ve fallen off in a major way losing seven in a row and eight of their last 10. Picking up DH Frank Thomas is a move I wouldn’t have made when offensive production wasn’t really a question many were asking in the off season. Pitching is where they needed to fill holes in the home run happy AL. Those holes are starting to become more apparent even in this early stage of the season. Games against the Devil Rays and Oriole’s at home and may solve some issues. The line up is not even close to producing what they were last season and it’s starting to show. Outside of Jay’s ace Roy Holladay the starters are looking atrocious. The bullpen actually looked kind of sharp against the Red Sox last night, but not so much over the course of their losing streak. Closer BJ Ryan is looking to be out past the All Star break, but with the team playing as is, does it really make that much of a difference?

Achievement: D

Effort: D+