Duet or Ménage À Trois? An AL East Prediction

April 3, 2010June 21, 2015 / Sara / Leave a comment

Last year the Yankees (ug) took home the ring, the year before, the Rays lost to the Phillies in the World Series, and three years ago, the Red Sox won. Needless to say the AL East is looking to have a repeat appearance this year, but who?

The Red Sox made some moves to shore up defense, the Yankees lost a few bats, and the Rays and Orioles reloaded with young prospects and solid trades. So who is going to win?

If the Yankees could get consistent starts from their three-four-five guys, they could win the division. Is that likely? No.

The Red Sox lost a big bat in Jason Bay but added John Lackey, who could be a number one starter but is starting number three, behind Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. He’ll be followed by the seemingly ageless Wakefield, Dick-K, and the young, talented Clay Buchholz. Now, Dice-Ki is injured and we’re not really sure how Buchholz is going to do, but if they all bounce back, the Sox could go for a six man rotation.

Not likely, but it could happen.

The Rays, as always, are the Dark Horse. They have iffy pitching and young guys just starting their careers, but they are faster th
an the Yankees and Red Sox and very talented. Of course that youth does lend itself to inconsistency, especially playing in Boston and New York where the fans can be pretty hostile. Taking that all into consideration, do they win over 90 games?

Eh. Maybe.

The Orioles are better. Not great, but certainly much better than last year. And Toronto…well, we’ll go ahead and label this a rebuilding year for them. They traded away Doc Halladay, it’s to be expected.

So with opening day just hours away ( hallelujah!), what else would we do but make predictions on what is going to happen six months from now? Bear in mind I am not using any sort of scientific formulas, stats, or anything on these predictions, which is contrary to the typical baseball fan’s thinking. (Admit it, we love stats!)

I’m doing something new this year, I’m going with my gut. I’ve watched these guys all spring, and this is what I came up with it.

First, my final division standings:

Red Sox
Rays*
Yankees
Orioles
Blue Jays

Call me a homer, but I really like this Red Sox team. They are a little faster, their defense is better, and the addition of John Lackey is a huge boost to the pitching staff. The bullpen is good, and Daniel Bard is waiting in the wings, so if Jonathan Papelbon struggles with closing, he can be replaced. I don’t see that happening, but I’m sure that, and his last game are in his mind, getting his competitive juices flowing.

Plus, who wants to face a weekend where your pitchers are Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and John Lackey? Yikes. And you’ve got Jacoby Ellsbury who is stellar and still not done developing. Victor Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, and Dustin Pedroia are great at the plate, and if Papi returns to form…double yikes.

If they all stay healthy and the pitchers stay on their form, there’s no reason this team can’t win the division.

Now to explain the asterisk on the Rays.

Like I said, the Rays are the Dark Horse. Even Longoria is a beast, and they have a few young guys like B.J. Upton who are due for a breakout year. A few good trades and young talent means this Rays team is a lot like the one that went to the World Series in 2008.

I just get a feeling about this team. But here’s a caveat. I think the Rays will get off to a big start, but if they start to falter around the All-Star break, I’m going to put them out of the playoffs. I just think that if they get too far behind or see themselves slipping, they might fold under the pressure. So that’s why I put the Rays as the Wild card*.

So on to Steinbrinner and his evil Minions.

Let’s start with the pitching staff. C.C. Sabathia is a beast. There’s no denying that, but after him gets a little…iffy. A.J. Burnett doesn’t like throwing to Jorge Posada, but Jose Molina is gone, so he has no choice. Andy Pettitte and Javier Vazquez are good innings eaters, but Pettitte’s age makes him a question mark.

And yes, Mark Teixeira, Jeter, A-Rod, they can all hit, but the Yankees bench isn’t exactly deep this year. The losses of Judas (I mean Johnny) Damon and Matsui hurts them in terms of power. The Yankees look good this year, but repeating is very difficult, and in a division this tough? Eh.

I have them (maybe) not making the playoffs. But that’s dependent on the Rays.

My prediction for the Yanks is third/ Wild card. They played like a team on a mission last year and I just don’t get that feeling from them now.

Now for the other teams in the AL East.

The Orioles really did a lot this year, and while they probably won’t make the playoffs, they will make life hard on everyone else in the East. They have a young staff that in a few years could really give the rest of the AL east headaches in a few years, and we could see flashes of that this season. My prediction, they finish in fourth place.

The Blue Jays…they won’t do much this year. They couldn’t make it to the playoffs when they had the one-two punch of Halladay and Burnett. They’ve got some good players, but it’s not enough to compete in a division that has the Yankees and Red Sox.

We’ll start to see things heat up in this division around the All-Star break, that’s when the good teams will separate from the bad and the ugly. Then we’ll know if we have a Red Sox-Yankees duet or a Red-Sox-Rays-Yankees Ménage À Trois.

Red Sox and Yankees: Rivals Go Head-To-Head For The First Time in 2009

April 24, 2009June 21, 2015 / Sara / 1 Comment

The Red Sox/Yankees rivalry
is the best in baseball, and possibly the best in professional sports.
I was raised to hate the Yankees, I mean, really, really hate them. I have a friend who was raised the same way, only opposite. She was raised to hate the Red Sox.

Why?

Who cares? It’s fun! It is certainly not a friendly rivalry, but it
is fun to have a “bad guy” to unite against. Its a showdown of good
versus evil, the Red Sox Nation vs. the Evil Empire, minor tweaks vs.
major, multi-million dollar overhaul.

A rivalry, yes, but most definitely a fun one.

Of course, with this rivalry, things can (and do) tend to go too
far. With Joba Chamberlain on the mound tonight, things might get a
little interesting.

If you recall from the previous two seasons, there is some bad blood
between Chamberlain and Youkilis. Why? Who knows. Fact of the matter
is, Joba’s thrown at Youkilis four times. Four.

So far, no brawls, but it is getting a little ridiculous. Buzzing a
player inside is one thing, its acceptable, its part of the game, but
throwing at hitters, at their heads, is unacceptable. When Josh Beckett
did it earlier this season, it was an accident and everyone knew it.
When Joba did it last season, it was no accident.

If he does it again, judging by the reactions last time, there will most likely be a brawl or an ejection, or both.

Tonight, Chamberlain, who went 4.2 innings with six hits, five
earned runs, five walks and four strikeouts in his last start, will
square off against Red Sox southpaw Jon Lester. Lester looked much
better in his start against Baltimore going 7 innings with only four
hits, zero earned runs, and nine strike-outs.

While Youkilis’s consecutive on-base streak was snapped Wednesday
night, he is still making American League pitchers look bad, hitting
.429 with an OBP of .522.

In other good news, the Red Sox starters are all now hitting above .200, with Lowell, Youkilis, and Green hitting above .310.

The Yankees and Red Sox kick off their three game series at Fenway
tonight at 7:10 PM, with Chamberlain taking the mound against Lester.

Saturday’s game will be at 4:10 PM on Fox with A.J. Burnett squaring
off against Josh Beckett, who’s original start was pushed back a day
due to his suspension.

Finally, Andy Pettite will face off with Justin Masterson in the Sunday Night Baseball game on ESPN at 8 PM.

CC Sabathia: Its Not His Fault

April 7, 2009June 21, 2015 / Sara / Leave a comment

Yesterday the Yankees trotted out their 140-million dollar ace to
wow the lowly likes of the Baltimore Orioles. CC Sabathia, the reason
the Brewers were in the playoffs last year, the work-horse who has
thrown more innings in the past two years than anyone, Goliath himself, had one really bad day.

But it wasn’t his fault.

It was windy, so the pitches weren’t going where he wanted.

The crushing weight of being the Yankee’s ace was way too tough, he’s not used to it yet.

No,
that’s not it. Those are excuses. The truth it the strike zone was the
size of a postage stamp. That’s why he didn’t have any strikeouts, if
he pitched in the minuscule zone, the Orioles would hit it. So he had no choice but to walk five batters.

Again,
that’s an excuse. It’s because there were too many Orioles fans at
Camden Yards. The usually Empire-filled stadium was full of too many
people rooting for the home team and that really threw him off.

No,
that sounds like another excuse. Here’s the real reason that Sabathia
had such a difficult time and didn’t get a single strike-out all game:
he doesn’t do well in April. If you look at his starts last April, he
was terrible.

Yes. He is not good in April. That’s why he
allowed 8 hits and six earned runs in just over four innings for an ERA
of 12.46. That is the answer. You see, it wasn’t Sabathia’s fault, it’s
April’s fault. April is just not his month, but don’t worry Yanks, come
May 1st, I’m sure he’ll do better.

While I respect
CC for all that he’s been able to do the past two years, now that he’s
a Yankee, he’s in the firing zone, so no mercy, and I look forward to a
great competitive year in the AL East.

The Beasts of the East: Who Wins Baseball’s Best Divisions?

March 16, 2009June 21, 2015 / Sara / Leave a comment

It seems like everyone is making their picks for who wins the AL East, I’m going to take it one step further and look at both the AL and NL East, arguably baseball’s best divisions.

Lets
start in the National League. The East is a powerful division, will the
defending World Champion Phillies again take the top spot? Will the
Mets suffer another late-season collapse? Can the Marlins overtake them both? Will the Nats actually look good this year? Barring major injuries and some fluky miracle season, here are my picks for the NL East:

New York Mets (2008: 89-73, 3 GB) Here’s why: K-Rod and JJ Putz should ease the Mets’ bullpen woes,
somewhat. It will at least keep them from hemorrhaging so much at the end
of games. They have a good offense anchored by Wright, Reyes, and
Beltran, the Mets should be able to make the playoffs this year. If
they don’t, I give up, they must be cursed.
Philadelphia Phillies (2008: 92-10, WS Champs) They kept most of their World Series winning team together, backed by a great offense with players like Utley, Howard, Victorino, and Rollins. However,
the injury bug tends to bite hard the year after winning it all (look
at the Red Sox from last year: same team, new injuries). Look for the Wildcard to come from the East this year.
Florida Marlins (2008: 84-77, 7 1/2 GB) The Marlin’s
are a good young team on a tight budget, and could surprise everyone
and take over the East this season. With Hanley Ramirez and excellent
pitching, the Marlins are a force to be reckoned with. Look for them to
hang around and make life miserable for the Mets and Phillies.
Atlanta Braves (2008: 72-90, 20 GB) Atlanta made some good moves in the off-season, with good pitching additions, but a weak offense will have them trailing the Mets, Phils, and Marlins this year. They are young, so look for the Braves to start contending more in a year or so.
Washington Nationals (2008: 59-102, 32 1/2 GB) The Nats
are young. I wouldn’t look for them to be great this year, but I would
expect a better season than 2008. They’ll still come in at the bottom
of the NL East, but with a much better record.

Now
on to baseball’s toughest division. The AL East has appeared in the
World Series 54 times out of 104 series. Of those 54 appearances, they
have won the World Series 38 times. That’s a pretty impressive
division, and its only getting tougher. Here are my (mostly) unbiased
picks.

Boston Red Sox (2008: 95-67, 2 GB, Wildcard) Boston made a few little moves in the offseason that will have a very big impact. “Bargain” additions of Smoltz, Penny, Saito, and Tazawa make a descent bull pen and good pitching staff into a phenomenal pitching staff with a lights-out ‘pen. They have a few young guys to watch, both on the field and on the mound, and have several key players returning from injury in Lowell, Ortiz, and Beckett. This
team came within one game of the World Series last year when they were
hurt, now that everyone’s back, look for them to retake the East.
Tampa Bay Rays (2008: 97-65, AL Champions) Everyone is still waiting to see if the Rays are “for real”. They are. The addition of Pat Burrell certainly helped the Rays, but they may have the same issue as the Phillies: health. In order for the Rays to compete, Troy Percival needs to stay healthy, and the pitching staff is a little lacking in depth.
The key cog in the Ray’s wheel is David Price. He came in and pitched
well late in the season, but once there’s a legitimate scouting report
out on him, major league hitters will figure him out. He has to stand
up to the pressure and eat up good innings. If not, the Yankees may
take back the second spot, and with it the AL Wildcard spot.
New York Yankees (2008: 89-73,
8 GB) Why, if they spend $400 million dollars on stellar players this
off-season, are the Yankees in third? Because they spent millions of
dollars on a very small number of players and neglected to give
themselves some depth.
CC Sabathia ate up a lot of innings last year, many times on short
rest. It takes longer than a few months to recover from that and puts
you at risk for injury. Burnett should do okay, and the addition of Teixeira will definitely help the Yanks, but without much of a bullpen and with
starters who don’t always eat up innings, the Yanks may find themselves
losing games late. Mariano Rivera, great closer that he is, is also
approaching 40, and will start to decline.The Yanks will keep things interesting, and be competitive, making things tough for the Rays and Red Sox.
Toronto Blue Jays (2008: 86-76, 11 GB) The Jays, in any other division, would be a playoff team every year. The loss of Burnett could hurt them, but they still have Halladay
and a great pitching staff. They are looking for some players to return
to form and some young guys to give them a lift, but probably not
enough to compete for a playoff spot because their division is so
tough.
Baltimore Orioles (2008: 68-93, 28 1/2 GB) Though the
Orioles have a young, good offense, their lack of pitching means they
will again be in last place in the division. Look for them to do a
little better than last year, but with a division this tough, where
they have to face the Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, and Jays in 72 games this
season, its going to be a difficult year.

News from the Weekend:

The Red Sox locked up LHP Jon Lester for 5 years, and ended talks (temporarily) with
OF Jason Bay. Because of his free agent status at the end of the 2009
season and the down economy, Bay decided to wait and see what the
market does. He would like to stay in Boston, but not at a cut rate
when he could get more elsewhere.

Dustin Pedroia
has a minor abdominal strain and will need a few days of rest before
resuming baseball activities. The injury is minor and should not effect
his opening day status.

The shortstop debate is over for the Red Sox, at least temporarily. Julio Lugo will have arthroscopic surgery on his knee tomorrow and will be out of opening day. Jed Lowrie will (most likely) start the season as the Red Sox shortstop.

Manny
Ramirez started his spring training by being pulled from a game due to
a hamstring injury. After trying to cut off a double in left field, he
felt tightness in his hamstring and was pinch hit for in the bottom of
the 4th inning.

Baseballs Best* Fans, Then And Now

February 25, 2009June 21, 2015 / Sara / 5 Comments

*sort of. Not an all-inclusive list, just a few of the best, then and now.

This is a list of a few of the most loyal, most interesting fans in the
Majors. It covers over 100 years of history, betrayal, and rivalries
that make baseball the dramatic, interesting sport that it is off the
field. Since today kicks off the first official game of Spring training
(yay!) it’s time we salute you, the fans, for being there every season.

The Royal Rooters

The Royal Rooters, led by Third Base Saloon owner Mike “Nuf Ced” McGreevey, were a rowdy group of Irish fans who cheered on the Red Sox from 1903, where they were instrumental in distracting the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series, until 1918. They would clank glasses and sing songs, most notably “Tessie”, and change the words to further torment opposing teams and inspire the Red Sox to victory.
The Rooters are a fascinating bunch, check them out if you get a chance.

Bleacher Creatures

Known for their “Roll-call” after the first pitch and their always amusing “(enter name here) sucks” chants, the Bleacher Creatures of Yankee stadium exemplify the essence of being a fan no matter how where your seats are.
They are loyal Yankees fans, and they will let you know it. The Bleacher Creatures are also master hecklers, and a staple at Yankees games for years.
In the Old Yankee Stadium, they occupied sections 39 & 37, and will move to their new home in section 203 when the new Yankee Stadium opens in April.

Damon’s Disciples

Now disbanded, Damon’s Disciples formed in 2004 when Johnny Damon, then a member of the Boston Red Sox, made the descision to not cut his hair or shave until the Red Sox had won it all. The leader of the “Idiots” of 2004, Damon’s antics kept the clubhouse loose and his teammates laughing. It also endeared him to the Red Sox rabid fan-base, and created a fan group known as Damon’s Disciples. Because the hair and beard made him look like Jesus, his followers donned wigs and beards and called themselves “disciples”.
While Red Sox Nation will always realize that Damon was a huge reason for ending the championship drought, he will unfortunately also be remembered like this: “looked like Jesus, threw like Mary, betrayed like Judas”.

Cubs Fans

While this isn’t a specific “group” like the previous three, we take a moment to salute baseballs most loveable losers. Most teams fans would jump ship after a century of no rings. Or at least after their team has lost 9 straight post-season games, most likely due to the pressure of said 100-year drought. Now, whether you believe in the curse of the goat or not, you have to respect the fans who come out, year after year, disappointment after dissapointment, and cheer on their team.

Cardinals Fans

Since we just talked about the Cubbies, might as well mention their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. Cards fans are present and loud, St. Louis, like Boston, is a baseball town. Even when the Rams were the “Greatest Show on Turf”, St. Louis maintained their love for the Cardinals.
So Cards fans, we salute you.

Giants Fans

Giants fans make this list because of their loyalty. As a Giants fan about Barry Bonds and you would get a defense better than the one at OJ Simpson’s trial. These guys are fiercely loyal, and really into their team. I have to respect that, and admire them for sticking by their guys no matter what.

Phillies Phans

The Phils Phans make the list because of the sheer meaness and rowdiness of the fan base. I mean, their old stadium had a prison in it just for disorderly conduct arrests.
We give them props for have the guts to boo Santa, and generally make life miserable for visiting fans and teams.

Red Sox Nation

We end our show with one of the most knowledgeable, and one of the best traveling fan bases in all of baseball: Red Sox Nation. The Nation is massive, though many are bandwagon fans who jumped on in 2004 or 2007. However, much of Red Sox Nation is made up of true fans. Even when the Patriots were having their dynastic run, they couldn’t replace the Sox in the hearts of Boston fans everywhere. There is no doubt about it, Boston is, and always has been, a baseball town.
Red Sox Nation gets props here because of their loyalty and their presence at away games. Its actually cheaper for most fans to fly somewhere and see the Red Sox then take in a game at Fenway, though those tickets are always coveted. When the Sox play the Orioles at Camden, I go, and Red Sox Nation far out numbers the birds fans there. They are always vocal, and always supportive of the team, no matter what.

That’s All Folks!

Like I said, this was not an inclusive list, and I’m sure I missed quite a few great fans, and I’d love to hear about them. Fans are the lifeblood of baseball, and the crazier they are, the more I love them. So to all the baseball fans out there who are counting down the days until April, I salute you. 🙂

Byrd and Boston Soar to Win, but Brady’s Knee is a Big Loss

September 7, 2008May 13, 2011 / Sara / Leave a comment

The Red Sox won. The Rays lost. The Patriots won. I should be jubilant and obnoxiously happy as a write this, but as it stands, I have almost no joy.

According to wire reports from Yahoo and another site (both citing anonymous sources “close” to the Patriots) say Tom Brady has a torn ACL and will be out for the season. However, this is not from the Patriots as of yet, and could be the same “sources” who told the Boston Herald about the Ram’s walk-through being taped, which we all now know was wrong and unsubstantiated. There is no need to panic. I, for one, will not trust a report until it is coming from Bill B or Tommy or someone who I actually can see who said it. How can they know? He doesn’t have an MRI until tomorrow! So unless you have MRI-vision, oh “sources” of Yahoo, then how can you possibly know? Or are you going on the expertise of the Jets players (who are in Miami currently), who watched the play on TV and said he had a torn ACL?

Too much speculation. I remain optimistic until the official word has come down.

Okay, on to baseball.

Papi ended a 19-game homer-less streak. Yay. Lots to smile about here.

David Ortiz after hitting a 2-run homer. Image found here

Varitek’s average has stayed in the high 220s for over two weeks now. That’s good news for him, it meas he’s probably closer to his old hitting self.

Ellsbury hit one and walked once (a totally clutch RBI hit with 2-out), Youk is back, Coco had an amazing night, and Byrd and co held the Rangers to 7 scoreless innings. The Rays, White Sox, Twins and Yankees all won, which does nothing but help the Sox in their wild card/AL east race.

PS…anyone notice that the Rays have dropped the past 3 games? They come to Fenway for a three game series, probable pitchers: Lester vs. Jackson. The Sox are hitting .308 against Jackson while the Rays are hitting just .250 against Lester. Should be an interesting game, especially with the AL East now squarely on the line and the Rays coming in having lost three, while the Sox come in having won the rubber match against Texas.

Bring on the Rays. God, if you can hear me, please, let Tommy be okay and let the Rays lose this next series.

Hey, God cares about sports too!

Out With A Bang

August 26, 2008May 13, 2011 / Sara / Leave a comment

The Red Sox opened the last series they will ever play at the House That Ruth Built. And they opened it with style.

Wake did more than I expected him to after coming back to the lineup, if you manage to scatter 8 hits over five innings with only three runs scoring means you’re either Dice-K or you’re doing pretty good.

All in all, Wake was solid. Manny, not so much, J-Mas (as we are starting to call him) was the beast of the bull pen that he has become. Can we discuss how perfect it was that both Wake and Masterson got the great and powerful A-Rod to hit into a double play? Wow. Did I mention he was 5-0 tonight? Not good for the #4 spot. Sorry, I can’t resist the chance to poke a little bit of fun at the Yankees. I’m a Sox fan, its in my genes.

I will say this, if only to kharmically balance out poking fun at A-Rod. Damon clearly still has Wake’s number. I guess he’s seen the knuckler in action enough to be able to hit off him. That’s my theory, anyways.

A couple of double-plays, a few good hits, and some good base-running later, we had a lead. Always good with the Sox, but with the Sox, doesn’t always mean much. The good news is this, in a game where we won 7-3, our big guys were having a little bit of an off night. We have no Mikey (who was struggling, but you can never count him out), we have no Drew, and Pedroia was a little off his game. That said, Papi had a Yankee-killing night, Bay and Bailey (yay new guy!) had a pair of RBIs each, Youk only had 1 hit, but it was an RBI. And Jacoby, back in the lead-off where he doesn’t do as well (lets face it, he has to grow into that spot) only had one hit, but it was a clutch 2-out RBI.

DP getting a little DP action.

And finally, we have this gem given to us by the ‘stash himself:

bay safe.jpg I can hear the New York fans screaming “Don’t worry about him! Throw the runner out at HOME!” Of course, probably with a few more explitives thrown in. A-Rod fields the ball, throws, but Bailey is too fast, he’s safe, all the Umps are doing that motion that looks like they’re flattening a sheet, you know, really emphatically to get all the wrinkles out, and Giambi isn’t looking. He’s not sure if Bailey is out or not. Of course, it didn’t help that the Sox runners were their faster ones (I love him, but I’m glad it was Coco not Big Papi running those bases)

Finally, lets talk injuries (and no, I don’t mean Brady’s mysterious bone-bruising that will magically disappear in September)
Beckett will be back in the line-up Friday, Mikey is working his way back in, JD wants to be back by the 2nd. Needless to say, once September comes a-knocking, its amazing how many players come off the DL, especially if their team is in or close to being in the post-season. Now, I’m not knocking the players and saying they’re faking it, I’m saying that Lowell will play through hip pain if it can secure him another shot at the World Series, and JD Drew will do everything in his power to make his back feel better in time to get to October. They will push and work hard and get their way through rehab as fast as they can because, hey, its September, where one series can be the difference between going golfing in October or playing on for all the marbles.

I’m gonna say this now, baseball gods, do not be angered, it is not a prediction, merely an observation. If they Yankees do not win this series against the Wild Card Race leading Sox, then their chances at October are looking pretty slim. Merely for the fact that they only go head-to-head with the Sox once more this year, and a 7 or 8 game deficit is hard to make up in one month. Because then not only do you have to win pretty much every game, you have to pray that the Sox will lose games. They both have a similar (and tough) schedule coming up, but the Yanks have some serious road-tripping, while Boston stays mostly at home. All I know is that I hope and pray that the Sox win, the Yankees lose, and if Tampa Bay starts tanking, I wouldn’t mind that much either.

(Transplanted) Nation

Just a New England girl living in a Southern world

New York