Goodbye Manny
I’ve said it many times. I’m a baseball fan first and foremost. I have never once tried to hide my Red Sox bias on this page, and I won’t try to do it here.
The Manny Ramirez trade had to be done. No question about it, Manny needed to be out of Boston, and he needed to be out ASAP. But the way everything went down in the past couple of weeks might have damaged baseball more than anything else.
What we saw today was just the latest and most high-profile example of a petulant, crybaby superstar who never wanted to be in the city he was in. And once again, the athletes have all of the power in these situations. Especially in baseball where the contracts are guaranteed, and a player can simply sit down if he no longer wants to play for his team.
Sure, Manny might get branded as a quitter, or a clubhouse cancer. But Manny’s reputation around the majors already precedes him. Teams know what they’re getting in Manny when he signs his next $80M contract in November – they’ll get a .290 hitter with 25-35 homeruns and somewhere around 95+ RBIs, and probably about 135 games played and at least three to five legitimate “sit down” games where Manny just doesn’t feel like doing his job.
It’s a sad state when an athlete can shoot his way out of town and get rewarded four months later with a massive contract, but it’s not the first time we’ve seen it, and it’s probably not going to be the last. I don’t know why I’m even surprised anymore.
As for the trade itself, let me be very up front about this. I like Jason Bay. When I lived in Pittsburgh, I had the opportunity to watch him play a lot. I think he’ll do very well in Boston. But I hate how much Boston sacrificed for what is essentially a lateral move.
Maybe Manny was such a headache in the clubhouse that everyone will perk up just with his absence. Maybe Brandon Moss & Craig Hansen will never pan out. Maybe the two draft picks that the Dodgers are now going to get when Manny walks away next year will never even get a cup of coffee in the majors. And obviously the Red Sox aren’t against paying other teams to take players off their hands (see Renteria, Edgar). But to give all that up just to get rid of a problem child seems a little ridiculous.
Of course, the Red Sox weren’t going anywhere with Manny this year. He would have continued to be a problem, perhaps even leading to a situation like the Angels had with Jose Guillen a few years back when they simply told him to stay home and collect a paycheck. So if getting rid of Manny was the ultimate goal, then so be it.
Personally, Manny lost me a few years back when he refused to come into a game in Tampa Bay after Trot Nixon was injured and unable to play, simply because Terry Francona had promised Manny the day off. The same game in which Matt Clement took a line drive off his head and people wondered if he was alive or dead. Manny couldn’t be bothered to get off his ass and help his teammates out by playing a couple of innings in the field. That one game summed up Manny’s time here for me – his teammates were doing everything they could do to help the team get through the game, and Manny sat in the dugout with his feet propped up spitting seeds.
For me, I say goodbye with no regrets.
Labels: Dodgers, Good Riddance, Manny, MLB, Pirates, Ramirez, Red Sox, Trade
2007 ALCS Wrap-Up
That's the only way it could have ended. Honestly. Nothing is a more perfect ending for this 2007 Red Sox team. The only way these Red Sox know how to win is slamming into a wall at 100 miles per hour, going full out for an "ohmygodhowthehelldidhedothatIdon'tcarewe'regoingtotheWorldFreakingSeries!" type of play, forcing willing themselves to comeback against any type of odds. Down 3-0 in ’04? No problem. 3-1 in ’07? Pfff… been there, done that.
Listen to the loosest player on the team (if that’s even quantifiable with this group of guys), Manny Ramirez in the post-game interview. They never worried about being behind, all they did was play three one-game series.
I can’t believe I didn’t live-blog this game. Mostly because I was too nervous – in my short life as a Red Sox fan, I’ve dealt with both 1986 & 2003. Now I have ’04 & ’07 under my belt too – maybe I can watch the playoffs without a defibrillator handy in the future.
A couple other notes before I go pass out for the night, in the form of text messages sent and received since Game 6:
From my buddy Ronnie, with Eric Gagne heading into the 9th inning of Game 6 with the Red Sox leading 12-2: “Gee, I’ve never been nervous about a 10-run lead in the 9th before…”
From me to just about everybody in my contacts list towards the end of Game 7: “Dustin Pedroia could murder a school bus full of elementary school kids and kittens in Boston tonight and he’d still get away with it.”
And my buddy Jay’s response: “Ha – I think you just called the Cleveland Indians a bunch of elementary school kids”
Good point by you.
I need sleep. Back tomorrow or Tuesday.
Lata.
Labels: 2007, ALCS, MLB, Red Sox, World Series
Pseudo-Live Blog: Big sports day
So, I'm gonna give the whole live blog another shot. It seems like everytime the Patriots play the Chargers, I'm in the mood to keep a live blog. Anyway, check back here throughout the day for updates - I doubt I'll be updating every three minutes or so as
I've done in the past, but maybe 10-15 updates between the early games, the late games, the National Pats/Chargers game, and the Red Sox / Yankees , Schilling / Clemens mega-tilt tonight. Just a
big sports day for me...
11:23PM: Goddamnit. That's it, I'm going to bed, trying to erase the memory of Derek Jeter hitting a bomb, btu even moreso the image of him pumping his fist recording the final out. I'll be back in a couple days - have to be in New York until Wednesday night for work, but the laptop is coming with me, so I might update from the road. Lata.
11:21PM: I am way too emotionally attached to this team... the Pats won, the Red Sox are at 2-2 with 2 outs, and my heart is beating about 180...
11:19PM: AAAHAHAHA! Forget Manny pinch hitting - it's David Ortiz vs. Mo Rivera, 9th inning, 2 outs, bases loaded after a walk to Pedroia, and Joe Torre is walking to the mound! What could he possibly say here? "Throw Strikes?"
11:16PM: INTERESTING?! Are you kidding? The first pitch hits Ellsbury right off the kneecap on the back knee... Please tell me Manny is available to pinch hit tonight...
11:15PM: Holy crap. Julio Lugo just woke me up with a frozen rope double to score Varitek and make it a 1-run game. Now we get the kid, Ellsbury. Someone who's got no fear of Mo Rivera. This could be interesting...
11:05PM: You think the Patriots weren't trying to send a message with this game? 4th and 1, 3-yard line, 3 minutes to go in a 31-14 game after a 10+ minute drive, and the Patriots go for it and get the touchdown. That one had to be personal, although the same could be said about holding LdT to 25 yards rushing (so far)...
10:55PM: JD Drew - really earning that $14M salary. Takes strike three on a nasty hook from Joba Chamberlain to kill any potential rally after Mike Lowell brings the Sox back within 2. On the other front, Tom Brady just did a great job drawing the Chargers offsides. Nice graphic from NBC showing the "Most wins for a QB in first 100 starts". Brady has 71 wins in 95 regular season starts. That's ridiculous in the NFL. Also, I am really starting to enjoy watching Laurence Maroney run as a full-time starting runningback. Does anybody else realize that Corey Dillon
asked for his outright release this past offseason because he wanted to still be a featured back, and has yet to sign on with any other team?
10:36PM: One batter late. I picked up the phone to text Tim about Brady to Moss for a 31-7 Pats lead, and immediately as I turned the phone on, Derek Jeter did what Derek Jeter does - makes every resident of a six-state region (and millions of others around the country) hate him eternally. Truthfully, as much as Tito has managed this team very well all season long, and although Schilling was only at 90 pitches, he needed to be out when it was first & second with 1 out. That's the spot to bring in the lights out bullpen - get a fresh arm in the game to blow batters away. No matter what happens, the Sox can't be behind by more than 4.5 games, but this still sucks. At least the Pats are dominant.
10:16PM: Well crap. The Chargers scored the touchdown,
and Ellsbury grounded out, to Doug Mientkiwicz of all people. Damnit. 24-7 and 1-1... this might be a long night.
10:15PM: Damnit I need Picture-in-Picture! 4th & Goal for the Chargers on the 1, and at the same time Jacoby Ellsbury is batting with 2 out in the 7th and the go ahead run on third... Flip, flip, flip, flip...
9:52PM: Pats up 24-0 @ the half (with Bob Kraft live in-studio, trying to look both contrite to the league and supportive of his coach... nice tightrope walk), though it probably should be more. A tipped ball led to a red zone INT on the Pats' final drive of the first half. Sox/Yanks are in a positive pitchers duel, which considering the first two games of the series, is not what anyone was expecting. For the halftime show, I'm going to finish packing and just relax for awhile, watching the Sox game. Back for the second half. (By the way - anyone who says Mike Lowell is not the offensive MVP of the Red Sox this season is an idiot. And anyone who says that JD Drew is any higher than about 50th on that list, just behind David Murphy, is also an idiot.)
9:30PM: Far be it for me to criticize a network for their programming decisions, but I'm getting a little tired of NBC's coverage of all the cameras in Gillette Stadium, the radio frequency monitors, etc. Though the choice of "Secret Agent Man" as exit music at a commercial break was pretty funny.
9:20PM: Should have seen this one coming... playing in my tournament, picking up Aces in the blind, making a massive raise to eliminate the 5 callers... and the phone rings. It's my mother. Those of you who read regularly know the uncanniness with which my monther brings bad luck upon my poker game. Needless to say, I was eliminated with an inside straight on the river. On the plus side, the Patriots just held on a big 3rd and 1, and the Sox continue to hold to their 1-0 lead... well, not anymore. As I was typing, Robbie Cano hit a bomb over the Monster. Surprisingly, my mother was no longer on the phone. And just when I thought this game might end before 1AM...
9:15PM: Anyone who says the Pats sold their soul to Satan for this team and the chance to win another Super Bowl... well here's your proof. NBC just flashed a graphic showing "R. Moss: 6 catches, 66 yards, TD" (6 points)... Personally, I'm fine with this. Meanwhile, in flipping to the Sox game for the commercial break, Joe Morgan is breaking down the horribly complex "Joba rules..." you know, the ones that say "If Joba Chamberlain pitches on Day X, he can't pitch on Day Y..." Not sure which is tougher - the Joba rules, or negotiating peace in the Middle East.
9:05PM: Pats up 14-0, Sox up 1-0, I'm down in a poker tournament. Well, 2 outta 3 ain't bad. Seems like a good time to mention that although the Pats are absolutely carving the Chargers' defense right now, I can't take too much joy in it. I'm looking for a close game, something in the area of Chargers losing by 3 or less...
8:20PM: Within one minute of each other, John Madden says "Well, he shouldn't have done that" on the Belichick scandal, and Joe Morgan tries to figure out wht pitch Curt Schilling just threw, finally deciding on a "slidepiece". I'm in hell.
7:45PM: I just got a text message from my buddy Tim. No note, just a picture:
Apparantely, sitting in the bleachers for the Sox/Yanks game. Just one more reason for me to dislike him. I offered to send Patriots' score updates, but the more I think about it, the more likely it is that I send him some bad information... "LdT - 200yd, 4TD"... "#12 - OUT: broken hand"... "Coach BB killed by sniper"... stuff like that. Wonder if he'll believe me.
7:30PM: Correct me if I'm wrong here, but didn't Tiki Barber say that when he retired, he absolutely
did not want to go into the booth and have anything to do with football commentary, that if he got into television he wanted to do something substantive? Any yet there he sits, in his pinstripes, breaking down the Giants' game with The Bus and Collinsworth. And,
shockingly, he's talking about how the Giants' look depressed, like they're not properly motiviated by the coaches... wow, Tiki ripping the New York coaches. I'm stunned.
7:05PM: I probably should have mentioned in
my picks post for this week that I absolutely HATE picking games in Week 2 of the season. Oddsmakers skew the lines way too much to balance out for Week 1 performances - how else do you explain things like Denver giving 10 points to Oakland, or the Texans
getting in Carolina? Makes it very, very difficult to pick things accurately, and even harder to actually make money betting on it.
6:45PM: It really says something about the quality of the afternoon matchups when the three most interesting games involve Oakland, Detroit & Arizona. Seriously. This is just a lousy afternoon, and I'm not just saying that because I'm still pissed at the Colts & Titans...
5:30PM: You want to know fear? Try making a panic bet on the Lions (1st mistake), then hearing "Jon Kitna has left the game with a concussion". My hopes now rest on somebody named J.T. O'Sullivan, who sounds like he should be tending bar in Boston's South End instead of playing quarterback in the NFL. Other than that, I have lost all interest in the afternoon games, mostly because my choices for watching them are Cowboys/Dolphins or Jets/Ravens. Not exactly two barn-burners there. At this point in the day, I think I'm going to go take a shower and pack for my flight tomorrow night. Back sometime around the end of these disgusting games, and just before the Sunday Night Doubleheader.
4:55PM: Not that anybody cares, but a quick Fantasy football update for the day. I'm getting my ass handed to me in one league, and dominating the other two. In the one, I
voluntarily started Alex Smith over Matt Leinart, and the Bengals defense over the Vikings. Not looking too good. However, in my other two leagues, I have Carson Palmer, so after his 400 yards, and
6 freaking touchdowns (gee,
anybody see that coming?), it doesn't really matter what the rest of my team does - I think I win by default. Also, on a completely un-football-related note,
this news made my stomach turn today.
4:10PM: Wow. Pretty good ending to the Colts/Titans game, as there always seems to be when Indy & Tennessee match up. Of course, the 2-point Colts win completely screwed me - The Titans didn't cover the moneyline, and the Colts didn't cover the 7.5 points. It might have been fun to watch, but it was about the worst possible scenario for gambling purposes. In other news, the Bengals' D is terrible, meaning I have even
less faith in the Ravens' offense after last week's stinkbomb. Baltimore turned the ball over 6 times against a defense that has allowed 50+ points
to the Browns today. Also, the Saints might be in a little bit of trouble. Allowing 40+ to the Colts in Week 1 is not exactly shocking. Allowing 30+ to the Bucs this week, after having an extra three days to prepare, is wholly inexcusable. Can you say "letdown year"?
3:25PM: It's official,
this might be the most poorly played defensive game of the season. 41-31...
with 6 minutes to go in the third quarter! This seems like a good time to mention that I picked up the Bengals' defense for a one-game start against the "anemic" Browns' offense this week in my money fantasy football league. My other option was the Vikings' D against the Lions. You know - the Vikings D that had 2 touchdowns and allower approximately 8 yards of total offense last week. Hmmm...
2:25PM: I'm stuck watching the, uh, defensive struggle between Buffalo and Pittsburgh. "Defensive Struggle" being a nice way to say "Affront to the offensive side of the ball". It's 12-0 at the half - Buffalo has about 16 total yards of offense, Pittsburgh has 4 field goals. Yawn. I might just go play computer games for the second half. In other news, the Bucs are leading the Saints 21-0 at the half, meaning you can expect a full article on SI.com tomorrow from Peter King talking about how Drew Brees is too good for this to be the way he plays all year, and "don't count out the Saints just yet".
Labels: Damn my thumbs hurt, Live Blog, NFL, Patriots, Red Sox
Early Thoughts on Red Sox' Spring Training
It's going to be awful tough to accurately read this Red Sox team this year. They might have the best rotation in baseball, or they might have an overpriced, over-the-hill rotation that could collapse at any moment. I don't know about any of you guys, but I've got a real hard time putting complete faith in a rotation that consists of some five man combination of the following:
- A 40-year old starter carping about his upcoming contract situation...
- A 26-year old starter in his second year in the AL East, after a year when he had 16 wins, but a 5+ ERA...
- A 26-year old starter in his first season in this country, jumping to the most pressure filled city, in the toughest division in the Major Leagues...
- A 26-year old starter moving from closer to the rotation in order to help his sore pitching shoulder (yipes!)...
- A 40-year old starter who relies on the most uncontrollable pitch in baseball...
- A 32-year old starter that has been a complete bust so far, and is recovering from shoulder surgery after the orthopedic surgeon said his shoulder "looked like a bomb exploded" after doing an arthroscopy...
- And a 23-year old starter recovering from cancer.
Sorry - nothing about the above situation instills the utmost confidence in me, and I am almost always on the sunny side of the Red Sox situation.
Now, I know this may surprise some of you, but this year, Manny Ramirez & Curt Schilling have been generating the most (US) headlines. It certainly came as a surprise to me that the most enigmatic MLB superstar (Manny) and the most, um, media-friendly pitcher of his generation would be the ones getting the most press, or at least the most press in this country, but somehow they managed to do it.
Of course, the new star in town, Daisuke Matsuzaka, has been generating about five times as many headlines back in his native Japan. When the guy sneezes, the front page of the Japan Times reports the snot's size, color, texture and which garbage bin it got tossed into (hopefully, there's no information on the taste...). Matsuzaka will be under a microscope for the next five years, and never more than in the next three to six months. His transition to the big league in the US will be front page news in most newspapers in Japan, and probably a few major papers and webpages back in this country.
The other big pitching storyline coming out of the beginning of Spring Training is the most obvious question surrounding the team - who's closing games? Jonathon Papelbon was a revelation at the end of games, and an unbelievable weapon for Terry Francona to have at his disposal. Papelbon's presence basically shortened every game where the Red Sox had a lead to a seven or eight inning affair - opposing teams just weren't going to score on him.
But now, Papelbon's back in the rotation because his shoulder couldn't handle the strain of pitching every day or two, or at least being asked to warm up in the bullpen. Ironic - last year, 2/3 of the yahoo Red Sox fans on the radio were clamoring for the team to take Papelbon out of the bullpen to provide rotation help, but now that he's being turned back into a starter, those same fans are screaming that he needs to be the closer. This is why it's tough to be a Major League GM - you can never win.
The most obvious choice to take over the closers' role (for now) is either Mike Timlin or Craig Hansen, both of whom have closing experience, both of whom have the stuff to close out games. Problem is, Timlin almost has a mental block about coming in to a game with runners on base, and Hansen hasn't proven that he can handle big time situations since coming to the Major Leagues. That leaves a pu-pu platter of possible closers or, ugh, closers by committee. Suddenly, those yahoo fans are starting to make some sense.
On the offensive side, the two biggest questions involve both corner outfielders - can J.D. Drew hack it in Boston (and earn his ridiculous 5 yr/$70M contract), and how long will Manny last before shooting his way out of town?
There was a report about a week ago that the Red Sox might actually consider picking up one or both or Manny's $20M options for '09 and '10, considering the price of high-production outfielders this off-season (Vernon Wells - 7yr/$126M, Alfonso Soriano - 8yr/$136M, Carlos Lee 6yr/$100M... and we won't even talk about Drew, Gary Matthews or Juan Pierre). Financially, picking up the options makes perfect sense. Manny is still a better hitter than any of the six guys just listed, and only Wells could truly be called a better all around player. So two more years of Manny, guaranteed, at $20M per season suddenly seems like a reasonable number. The question then becomes - where will he be playing for those two seasons?
I like Manny. I'm OK with most of his antics (see my two posts on the situation: Post 1, Post 2) although his blatant quitting on the team last season was completely inexcusable. But even I am starting to think that he's finally worn out his welcome in Boston. He clearly doesn't want to be here (although he did grace the team with his presence this morning, three days ahead of his personal scheduled arrival date of March 1st). So why not move him? His contract numbers are at least palatable, if not wonderful. He's a Hall-of-Fame hitter who just needs to play somewhere less crushing. There's a lot of rumblings about a Manny for Todd Helton swap with the Rockies, but that's been tossed around for the past three seasons, with nothing coming out of it yet.
Given the choice, I'd like to see Manny end his career in Boston. Obviously. But I just don't see it happening. He wants out, the management seems to be done with him, and even the fans have finally shifted to a majority on the "ship him" side of the fence. It's time.
As for J.D. Drew... There is nothing I can say here. You will never convince me that he is worth $14 Million a season (by contrast... David Ortiz makes $12.5M this season. Curt Schilling makes $13M). The Red Sox were, by all accounts, bidding against themselves for Drew. His opt-out from the 3yr/$33M remaining on his Dodgers contract shocked the entire baseball world, mostly because everyone thought he was already overpaid. Then the Red Sox went out and gave him $70 Million. Amazing.
So that's the early breakdown of the Red Sox, at least from me. I'll be back with the full team-by-team breakdown sooner or later, and will probably be back next week with some NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament breakdowns.
Lata.
Labels: 2007, Baseball, Manny, Red Sox, Spring Training
