Game 3 observations ...

• Daily Manny Moment -- interesting negotiating strategy. Bad mouth the owner and then say you'll play in Iraq next year if need be. I know this has been analyzed to death over the past week but the bottom line is the guy has been getting paid $20 million a year for the past 8 years. He owes it to his employer and the people that go to watch him perform to play.


• A No Rain Rain Delay --Super Doppler 5,000,000 predicted rain for the start of the game, the problem is it never rained after 7:30 PM last night in Boston. Granted it poured from about 6:00 PM to 7:15 PM but nothing after that


• Johnny B. Good -- Lester looks like he has put IT together. He is throwing strikes and challenging hitters. Beckett, Dice K and Lester have been very consistent this year. Too bad some imbecile fans wanted to trade Lester earlier ;)


• Papi's Swinging It -- The off time dealing with the wrist has helped that gimpy knee heal. That was an absolute laser he hit last night.


• My Most Hated T Shirt -- A recent article called for Sox fans to stop the "Yankees Suck" chant. I will not jump on that bandwagon just yet (30 years of "1918" chants still ring in my head). I will like to start a movement to halt the making on wearing of the T-shirts that say; "I root for two teams. The Red Sox and anyone who beats the Yankees." I get it, really I do. However, this is idiotic. Do I root against the Yankees? Yes and no, you know? I won't root for the Rays to beat the Yankees when the Sox are chasing the Rays. What member of Red Sox Nation would? The teams fans root against, other than there team's opponent or a team ahead of them in the standings, are the ones who win all the time. Like Notre Dame football back in the day, the Patriots, or Duke men's basketball. These shirts make no sense in this millennium.


• Bertucci's Comes Through -- My new favorite pregame meal is Bertucci's. My daughter and I went last night and it was outstanding. A little pricey but portions were generous. Good stuff.

Game 2 observations

All is still well. Tough one yesterday but here's what I got;

• Pettitte did not have good stuff to start the game. Home plate umpire was squeezing him pretty good. Sox could not capitalize during the first two innings. Jeter's play on Lowell's grounder in the hole proved to be a big time play.



• Manny's hustle? Manny did get down the line pretty good on his rbi ground out in the first.



• My semi-annual CoCo bashing. In the 2nd inning bunt situation and he squares and let's two strikes go by. Between him and Ellsbury, they have something like ten hits this entire month.



• MacCarver's Musings. #1 "The best way to catch, call and hit a knuckle ball is to wait on it." Okay, I am assuming he is talking about the umpire "calling" the pitch but isn't this true for all pitched balls? #2 Both him and Buck could not tell the difference between Wakefield's slow curve ball and his knuckle ball. How about watching on the slow motion whether the ball is spinning or not? #3 Ball hit off the Monster and Pedroia is deking the runner going from first. MacCarver said Pedroia was faking a fly ball when obviously he was trying to get the runner to slide as if it was a ground ball. #4 My personal favorite : "The biggest hit in Atlanta sports history" was the Francisco Cabrera pinch hit game winner in the 1993 ALCS that propelled the Braves to the World Series over the Pirates. How about Hank Aaron's 715th career home run? The most startling thing about all this is that neither he or Buck ever correct these statements. Buck treats them like they were never said.



• ARod takes one. I would like to think Hansen did that on purpose but I have seen him pitch enough to know otherwise.



• Game 3- A ticket opportunity. Taking my oldest daughter tonight because I won a dutch auction on MLB.com for standing room only Monster "seats". If you want to got to a Sox game this may be your best bet. There were 70 packages of two available up until Friday. MLB has other Sox game packages on auction right now. These SRO tickets are pretty good especially if you have never been up on the Monster. It can get a little pricey though. Let me know how you make out.

Cut and paste the following URL:

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/ticketing/green_monster_auctions.jsp?partnerId=etnbos07212008

Game 1 observations

Went out to watch last night's game. Did not hear any commentary, other than SportsCenter this morning.

• Manny, Manny, Manny -- Okay this is all officially out of control. Is anyone else having flashbacks to Nomar sitting out an important Yankee game in 2004? We all know how that ended. Dan Shaughnessy wrote a big time piece ( http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/07/26/now_hes_a_guaranteed_out/ in the Boston Globe today calling for Manny's exit. Manny says his knee is hurt and can't play after being in the original line up. Francona, Epstein, Henry all were / are dumbfounded. This will be the topic of discussion all morning on WEEI.

• Joba is filthy -- 98 mph fastball with a wicked (Boston accent please) slider -- very impressive. Personally, he was not trying to hit Youk. 2-0 count in a one run game. BTW, did anyone catch him singing a Luther Vandross hit on the ESPYs telecast last weekend? He sounded pretty good.

• Terry's Take -- Lowrie leads off the eighth with a single. Next three due up are Varitek, Crisp and Ellsbury. Farnsworth in the game, Mariano warming up. Hindsight is 20/20 but still was anyone else thinking of having Varitek sacrifice and giving Crisp and Ellsbury a chance to drive in the tying run? I mentioned early that the Sox were bunting more. I know you don't like to give up an out but sometimes you must scratch for a run.

• The Giambi Shift -- I guess if you are going to do it, you do it. The logic is that based on the "spray" charts, Giambi hits more balls to second base side of the field. However, Lowell would have been playing the shortstop position if there was no runner on third (or second for that matter). The runner at third scored the winning run but also was the cause for the winning hit. So much for advanced scouting

• McCarver's Musings -- Can't wait to hear the stupidity today.

Catching and batting eighth ...

Carlton Fisk (1969-1980)

7 time AL All Star

AL Gold Glove Winner 1972

AL Rookie of the Year 1972

Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame 2000

The most contested starting spot on my team. Fisk gets the nod over Jason Varitek. Pudge was simply the best American League catcher during his time with the Red Sox. He started four of the seven all star games he was selected to. Varitek and Fisk have similar home run and runs batted in numbers while with the Sox but Fisk was a dominant player. He totalled 162 home runs, 568 runs batted in and a batting average of .284.

Two plays concerning Fisk stand out in my mind. I am not claiming to be at either game nor am I even saying I saw them live on television. The obvious one is game six home run off of the left field foul pole during the 1975 World Series. Most likely the most dramatic home run in series history in my lifetime (Joe Carter you say? The series was already over). The second one was footage I saw of a play at the plate in which Fisk is "taken out" by rival Thurman Munson. Fisk after picking himself off of the ground did not hesitate to pummel Munson for his action. This to me epitomized the Sox - Yankee rivalry of the 1970's. Members of both teams simply did not like each other.

I am a big Varitek fan and he will occupy one of the reserve spots on my all time team but Fisk was simply better. I do remember the day when I found out the Red Sox had allowed Fisk to become a free agent because they failed to file the proper paperwork in time. Fisk flourished offensively with the White Sox and retired as the all time leader in career home runs as a catcher.

After some debate, the New England raised Fisk decided to wear a Red Sox cap upon his election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.

Justin Time

Justin Masterson looked like the guy we need in the bull pen yesterday. For 2 and 2/3 he dominated Seattle (I know it is Seattle) hitters. Lefties or righties it did not matter.

The Sox desperately need a reliable set up man to get the game to Jonathon Papelbon. Manny Delcarmen has recently looked like Calvin Schiraldi reincarnated. Craig Hansen was downright scary yesterday. In an interview the other day, Epstein said the team will not be a major player in the upcoming trade deadline. Brian Fuentes, Damaso Marte, Ron Mahay (remember him?) and whatever other reliever that is available will cost, in Theo's mind, too much. A report had the Rockies asking for Buchholz straight up for Fuentes. No thanks.

So we look within the organization. The first step was to convert Masterson from starter to reliever. He looked very comfortable yesterday. An Internet report said the team was going to do the same to highly thought of prospect Michael Bowden. Both Bowden and Masterson face an uphill battle staying in the starting rotation this year. Bartolo Colon has begun throwing again after hurting his back during an inter league game.

The In Theo We Trust Society likes this idea. Let's not overpay for something that we may already have in the minors.

Should he stay or should he go?

The (seemingly) yearly great Manny Ramirez debate is once again upon us. Should the Sox get rid of the guy?

Some questions to ponder (with my feelings):

Does there ever come a point where a player, regardless of how good they are, wears out their welcome? Yes! Think Ron Artest, Gary Sheffield and Carl Everett.

Should fans expect someone making a great deal of money ($20 million per year) to "act" like he actually cares? Absolutely. Whether you admit it or not how much money someone makes and their place in society does influence how you think they should act and present themselves.

Is "Manny being Manny" a good enough excuse for pushing down a 64 year old team employee because he failed to come up with your sixteen tickets for a game? No. If the reports of the incident are accurate, there is no excuse for such behavior.

If the team imposed fine was in the $10,000 - $15,000 range is that really acting as a deterrent to such behavior? No. A caller on WEEI said when figuring how much he makes that is like an average person getting a $25 fine.

Is Manny a "bad" guy? No. I've said it before he is aloof to what he does and says.

As a fan, would you rather have a guy that is marginal in talent but also a great teammate and human being playing or could you live with a player that has questionable character issues but gives you a .300 / 30 / 120 every year playing? I like to see the team win. I'll take Manny over Trot Nixon or the like. If you can get me Matt Holiday for the same money, I'd drop
Many in a second.

Should the club exercise its option in Manny's contract for next year? Yes. The back end of the contract is not that bad.

If the team had not won two World Series in the last four seasons would we even be talking about this? Nope, he'd be gone.

If you were the general manager and you believe a player took three straight strikes in a game winning pinch hit at bat just to show his displeasure in how he was being treated, what would you do? If it was Brandon Moss? -- send to the minors. If it was CoCo Crisp -- trade him. If it was Manny -- publicly shut my mouth and hope it blows over, privately, figure out a way I could live without him.

How much is truly enough? If what he has done in the past is bearable, what won't you put up with in the future? Not too much more. Things like leaving the All Star game early, going into the Green Monster during a pitching change or even an argument with a teammate are okay. I would have a hard time backing him if he is striking out on purpose. What message does that send to his teammates and other players in the organization?

Should he stay or should he go? Keep him until we can adequately replace him and his production.

In right field batting seventh ...

Dwight Evans (1972 - 1990)

Home Run champion 1981

8 time Gold Glove Winner

3 time AL All star

Dewey's offensive numbers with the Sox were solid; 379 home runs, 1346 runs batted in and 2373 hits. I always enjoyed watching games day to day and checking to see how often he would change his batting stance. Evans become a good offensive player as he got older. He was versatile enough to bat anywhere in the line up including lead off. Evans ranks second all time in Sox history with 2505 games played and 8726 at bats. His home run, rbi and hit numbers are all fourth best in team history.

Let's not kid ourselves though, Dwight Evans is considered to be the franchise's greatest right fielder ever because of his defensive prowess. He is still the prototypical defensive corner outfielder that possesses great range and a rifle for an arm. Evans' reputation in the outfield kept many runners and third base coaches from attempting to take an extra base.

Batting 6th at shortstop ...

Nomar Garciaparra (1996-2004)

1997 AL Rookie of the Year

2 time AL Batting Champ (1999,2000)

5 time AL All Star

Let's get this out of the way, Nomar was my favorite Red Sox player during his tenure in Boston. Roger Clemens left at the end of 1996 and Nomar took his place as the player that was the most beloved in my eyes. This selection may be quite biased but after researching the candidates for the shortstop position only two other players that are worthy of even mentioning are Joe Cronin and Johnny Pesky. Nomar was (yes, I used past tense on purpose) better than both.

Nomar led the league in batting in 1999 (.357) and 2000 (.372) and was a five time All Star. His career numbers in what amounts to seven seasons with Boston are outstanding; 1281 hits, 178 home runs, 709 runs scored, 690 runs batted in and a batting average of .323 which is fourth best all time in Sox history. Defensively, Nomar was very athletic at shortstop getting to many balls that others did not. His defensive numbers compare favorably to both Cronin and Pesky. Nomar (named after his dad Ramon) was electric.

It was not that long ago when one of the great debates in these parts was who was the better shortstop Jeter or Nomar. My opinion was always that Alex Rodriguez was better than both of them but that Nomar had Jeter's number regardless of the rings that Jeter got seemingly every year. (Wow, that must seem like eons ago for Yankee fans. BTW -- Jeter isn't even the best shortstop on the Yankees right now.) That all changed in early July 2004.

Nomar started the season on the DL and was in a contract dispute with management. By July, he was back playing and hitting above three hundred. With the Red Sox needing to win a game at Yankee Stadium, Nomar for whatever reason was not in the line up. This is the one game I will watch on "Yankee Classics" because it was an all out battle. As the game wore on Nomar did not leave his spot on the bench. Meanwhile, Jeter made a catch I will never forget on Trot Nixon's flare down the left field line. Jeter caught the ball in full stride and went face first into the stands. He was removed from the game with a bruised face that was also bloodied. Moments later the camera showed Nomar still sitting in his spot. The Yankees went on to win the tense extra inning game and Nomar was traded two weeks later.

We all remember how that season ended. The time was right to get rid of Nomar and change the "culture" of the club. This did not diminish my memory of the best shortstop the Red Sox have ever had.

All Star Break Down

Here we are at the All Star break. The Sox chances of making the playoffs boil down to two key points. But first let's look at what is going right in Red Soxland.

• Quality and depth of the starting pitching. Beckett, Dice K, Lester, and Wakefield collectively had a solid first half. With Buchholz and Colon added to the mix, the team's starting pitching (with apologies to the Angels) is the best in the league.
• Closer. Papelbon is one of the three best closers in all of baseball. There is definitely something special about his stuff. Although he is not automatic, he is pretty darn close.
• Ability to manufacture runs. The team's new found, in Johnny Damon's words, athleticism allows them to score runs without having to put three hits together. Ellsbury, Crisp and Lugo (when he returns) gives the Sox three guys that can steal a base. How great is it when Ellsbury leads off with a walk, steals second, Predroia hits behind the runner advancing him to third and Ellsbury scores on a hit, ground out or sacrifice fly? Francona also seems to be bunting more (18 sac bunts) than he has in the past (33 last year, 22 in 2006).
• Team defense. With Ellsbury, Drew, Crisp and Moss roaming the outfield, the Sox boast four above average defenders. Lowell, Predroia, Youkillis and Varitek are all solid defensive infielders also. Shortstop is another story.
• Offensive balance. As a whole the Sox have been pretty good offensively during the first half. Drew, Predroia and Youkillis have all had excellent starts. Lowell, Crisp, Manny and Ellsbury have given the team about what was expected.
• Dominance at home. The Sox are quite simply a different team at Fenway. Right now the team is eight games below .500 (21-29) on the road but 36-11 at home. We can only hope the struggles on the road, especially in one run games, turns around.

Two big question marks;

• Middle relief. Who will get the key outs in the seventh and eighth innings? The World Series runs in 2004 and 2007 had a common strength in this department. Oki's inconsistencies have been well documented. Delcarmen has also looked good in some spots but has struggled too. Hansen and Lopez will get their chances. What does Timlin have left? He was great for us in 2004 and did his job in the playoffs last year but has not shown too much this year. Masterson may be our best shot. That power sinker and slider gets right handers out consistently. He has not been as effective versus left handers though. Would love to see Colorado's Brian Fuentes with the Sox but I'm afraid the cost is going to be too high. Remember Eric Gagne?
• David Oritz. His minor league rehab begins after the break with July 25th targeted as his return date. Undoubtedly, the Sox miss his presence in the line up and it is a testament to the organization (Theo's J.D. Drew signing never looked so good) that the team has survived Ortiz's injury. If Ortiz cannot come back and be 100% healthy (this is significantly more troublesome than his knee last year), the team may not be able to keep pace. Also problematic is the upcoming trade deadline of July 31st. In 2005, Varitek was lost for the year around the deadline and the Sox were unable to trade for a reliable replacement (Javier Lopez!). Let's say Ortiz has a major setback on August 2nd, the management's ability to trade for a left handed DH (Griffey, Dunn, etc.) is greatly diminished.

Overall, the first half of the season went well for the Sox. They survived a brutal schedule and will now enjoy the same amount of off days (9) over the next sixty-five games than they had over the first ninety-seven. Red Sox Nation can expect to be in the middle of a playoff chase come September.

Hitting 5th at 1B ...

Jimmie Foxx (1936 - 1942)

Home run champ 1939

Batting and RBI Champ 1938

AL MVP 1938

Baseball Hall of Fame 1951

Probably my most difficult decision to make was first base. Yaz (in 2 of his 23 seasons he played over 100 games at 1B) and Ortiz both played games there but not enough. When considering Red Sox careers, Mo Vaughn did have the numbers to match Foxx. The nod goes to Foxx because he was simply the better player.

Jimmie Foxx came to the Sox after playing for the Philadelphia A's for 11 years (2 AL MVP awards and a triple crown season in 1933). In six Beantown seasons he hit 222 homers, drove in 788 runs and batted .320. In his MVP season of 1938 he hit 50 homers, drove in 175 runs and batted .349. Foxx barely missed his second triple crown that year (Detroit's Hank Greenberg hit 58 homers).

Obviously, I never watched a game that Foxx played. His overall numbers dominate those of Mo Vaughn's. Foxx went on to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951. This is a honor that Mo will never receive.

Batting clean up at DH ...

Manny Ramirez (2001 - present)

8 time AL All Star

2004 World Series MVP

2002 Batting Champ

6 Silver Slugger Awards

Many were considered for this spot but Manny wins out. In 7 1/2 seasons Manny has 271 home runs (5th best in team history), 859 runs batted in (6th) and has hit .311 (9th). This guy is the best right handed hitter of his era. His overall numbers (over 500 hr's and 1600 rbi) will eventually place him in the Hall of Fame.

While I will not condone some his on field and off field behaviors, Manny deserves this spot on my all time Red Sox team. I truly do not think he is a bad guy. He is still just a big kid. But what player would you rather have up in a game winning spot over the last seven years? Admittedly, Papi makes a good argument but Manny's numbers over a 7 year period trumps Ortiz's numbers over five years.

So here's the lineup so far;

3B Boggs

CF Speaker

LF Williams

DH Ramirez

Things get real interesting after these four. No clear cut choices at shortstop, catcher, first base, right field and in the bull pen.

Hitting third and playing leftfield ...

Ted Williams (1939-1942, 1946-1960)

2 time AL MVP 16 time AL All Star

6 time AL batting champ and 4 time AL rbi and home run champ

elected to the Hall of Fame in 1966

Although I admit that in the history of the franchise there are some great players at this position, there is no one as great as Ted Williams. 521 career home runs, 1839 rbi's (13th best in the history of the game), 2019 walks (4th best), .634 slugging percentage (2nd best) and a career batting average of .344 (5th best). "The Kid" was arguably the greatest hitter who ever lived. There are two great biographies that were written about Williams' life. Both delve into the complexities of his personality. Regardless of his character flaws, most notably his brashness, Teddy Ballgame was simply the best.

Like no other sport, baseball's history and the comparing of players is driven by statistics. Williams' stats as a hitter for average, power and driving in runs are better than anyone in the history of the game (Babe Ruth is the only other one in the discussion). When you take into account that Williams did not play in 1943-1945 and missed virtually all of the 1952 and 1953 seasons due to his commitment to the U.S. Navy as a pilot, it is easy to see his place in baseball history. That was five years in the prime of his career that he did not accumulate hits, runs, rbi or home runs. It is possible he could have been the all time leader in home runs and runs batted in when he retired.

Who makes out better?

Waking up this morning we find the Sox (with my boy Jon Lester) breathing a little easier after last night's win and fans with a smile on their faces.

Why the smiles? Not just from the impressive win.

Following the game the Yanks had a closed door meeting to "iron" somethings out. Joe Girardi got testy with the media when asked about the meeting. Dissension on the opposing side is always a good thing.

A new Quinnipac University poll says for the first time in five years Connecticut is a red state. No politics here. According to the poll, 41% of state residents are Sox fans as opposed to 40% Yankee fans and 9% Met fans. The tide is turning.

Best of all, NY newspapers are reporting a love quadrangle. Seems ARod has been getting cozy with another fake blonde. The ageless Madonna. The big shocker is that the Mrs. Cynthia Rodriguez has been returning the favor by hooking up with musician Lenny Kravitz. The question is who made out better? ARod or Cynthia? Let's see Madonna versus Lenny Kravitz.

Madonna has tons of money and fame. But didn't she date Jose Canseco back when both of them were really popular? Since then he has come out and admitted to using needles to increase his performance. While Madonna married a needle of an Englishman and continues to be a lackluster performer.

Lenny Kravitz has has less fame and money. But he did have a cool mother in Roxi Roker (Helen Willis from The Jeffersons) and Ricky Williams gave up playing for the Dolphins just to follow him on tour.

I'll let you decide but a man crush from Ricky Williams is pretty powerful. Plus if she becomes the former Mrs. Rodriguez, the alimony from $240 million won't be too bad. Looks like ARod is a loser again.

Where's the Panic Button?

The lack of offense is starting to become a worry. A big difference between successful teams and unsuccessful teams is timely hitting. The Sox just cannot seem to get the big hit when they need it. Leaving runners in scoring position especially with two outs is demoralizing. Getting a two out rbi is uplifting to a team.

Last night, Lowell leaves the bases loaded in the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, Navarro gets a two out single off of Delcarlman to give the Rays a two run lead. Game over!

A couple of "By The Way's";

• When did the Rays' fans become so rowdy?
• Cowbells are annoying
• Varitek had absolutely no shot last night in the ninth
• I would have ruined the plasma if Cora got thrown out last night in the ninth trying to stretch a single into a double down two runs
• Evan Longoria is really good
• The featured BTW is something I have thought about in the past -- Clubhouse unity is a little overrated so why not bring in Barry Bonds? He's an OBP machine and would be a huge presence in the middle of the line up. Some fans are calling for the Sox to trade for Griffey but he has nothing left. The answer is Bonds. I know the chances of this actually happening is little to none but from a purely baseball performance perspective it does make sense. Free agent that would cost approx. $4 million for the rest of the season.