Could This Be The Beginning Of A Dynasty??!!

Posted on January 17, 2008
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Well, the boys from Bean Town did it again! For the second time in 4 years the Boston Red Sox are World Series Champions! This was the perfect end to their spectacular season. They were in first place for the majority of the ride, and certainly played like champions during the playoffs. Could this be the beginning of a dynasty for the once “cursed” Red Sox? I hope so - and this team definitely has the potential. During the off-season, they have managed to finalize a deal with gold-glove third basemen, Mike Lowell (who has more than proved he’s worth 3 more years), and held on to their entire class of magnificent rookies, which includes the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year, Dustin Pedroia, the incredibly impressive Jacoby Elsbury, and the “no-hit wonder” Clay Buchholz. As long as Manny and Big Papi can stay off the DL, the Red Sox should have no problem lining their trophy shelves for many years to come. Go Red Sox!!!

Red Sox Mount an Incredible Mother’s Day Comeback Against the O’s

Posted on May 17, 2007
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Red Sox ace, Josh Beckett, took the mound Sunday afternoon with his eye on joining the likes of Babe Ruth as only the 4th Boston pitcher in history to win his first 8 starts of the season. However, that vision soon faded when he left the game down 2-0 after only four innings with an avulsion on his right middle finger (I think that’s like a torn flap of skin or something). Beckett was quick to point out that the ailment was NOT a blister, this being a reference to problems he experienced earlier in his career. Despite giving up two earned runs on two hits, Beckett actually looked really good, striking out seven batters in his four innings of work. I guess now he will be trying to match Roger Clemons, who had 14 wins and a no decision in his first 15 starts back in 1986.

That was only the first disappointment in what was turning out to be a very long day for the Red Sox and for the sellout Mother’s Day crowd at Fenway Park. The Sox were held to just three hits through 8 1/3 innings by Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie, while the O’s tacked on three more runs to make the score 5-0 going into the 9th. In most cities, this would result in the home team fans heading for the gates in an effort to beat the post game traffic, but not in Boston. Red Sox fans have witnessed too many amazing comebacks at Fenway over the years, and they know how their boys can perform in the clutch. So, needless to say, nobody was leavin’ (and they were glad they didn’t).

With one out in the 9th inning, Coco Crisp reached first base on an error by Orioles catcher Ramon Hernandez, which for some reason prompted the Orioles manager to bring in Danys Baez from the bullpen to face David Ortiz (BIG mistake!). Big Papi got it started using the opposite field to drive in Crisp from first with a double off the Green Monster. The next batter, Wily Mo Peña, singled, and Baez was done. The O’s went to their closer, Chris Ray, but he wasn’t finding much success either. Ray gave up back to back walks to J.D. Drew and Kevin Youkilis, forcing Ortiz in from third to make the score 5-2 and leaving the bases loaded for, el Capitán, Jason Varitek. Tek came through with a double to right, bringing in Peña and Drew to make it a one run game. With first base open and one out, the Orioles gave Eric Hinske the intentional pass to load the bases and bring up Alex Cora who hit a ground ball to give the O’s their second out with a force play at home plate. So here’s the scenario that every kid dreams of; it’s the bottom of the ninth inning at Fenway Park, two outs, bases loaded, down by one run. Julio Lugo steps into the box and works the count to 3-2. As my Dad would say, the big one was certainly due. With the runners moving on the pitch, Lugo chops a ground ball to the first base side forcing Ray to cover the bag. All former Red Sox first baseman, Kevin Millar has to do it toss the ball to Ray and the game’s over. But Lugo wasn’t going to let it go down that easily. His tremendous speed made it a close play at first base, and as he slid into the bag, Ray couldn’t hold onto the throw and Lugo was safe – Varitek comes home, Hinske comes home and Boston Wins!! It truly was Boston baseball at its finest!

You see folks, that’s one of the reasons I love the game of baseball – there’s no time limit. You can’t get comfortable and start loafing around just because you have a big lead near the end of the game. There are no clock-management gimmicks. The game isn’t over until that last guy is out, no matter how long it takes, and you have to play hard for all 27 outs; or teams like the Boston Red Sox will most certainly take advantage of it.

The Boston Red Sox Pitching Staff: Can They Be Stopped?

Posted on May 11, 2007
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Boston’s pitching staff is looking nearly unstoppable, despite Daisuke Matsuzaka not quite living up to all the hype. Dice has pitched pretty well in most of his starts this season, but has lacked the run support in some of those games to come out victorious. His current record is 4-2 with a 4.80 ERA, but he has yet to display a clearly dominant pitching style that I think most Red Sox fans were expecting from such a highly touted recruit. I am trying not to sell him short just yet, however. I’m hoping he’s still a bit shell-shocked from moving to the US from Japan and being thrown head first into one of the most demanding baseball franchises in the world. That’s gotta be rough. Not to mention all the pressure on him to perform, given the ENORMOUS amount of money he is being paid. He should calm down once the media hype dies down a little bit, but he will have to start earning that $50 million dollar salary pretty soon, or the Boston press (along with the fans) will certainly have his head. To his credit, he did quietly pitch 7 innings of one-run baseball last Wednesday night, striking out 8 batters along the way. He still lacked the overpowering style I think most people are expecting, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction; and maybe that’s just his pitching style and we will all just have to get used to it.

Aside from Daisuke’s rough start, the rest of the Red Sox pitching staff are definitely earning their money. Josh Beckett has stolen the spotlight with a perfect 7-0 record to start the season (2.51 ERA). He currently leads the Major League in wins so far this season and if he can chalk up another one against the Orioles this Sunday, he will become only the fourth Red Sox pitcher in history to win his first 8 starts. This is exactly what Beckett needed to prove to Boston fans that he could be the Ace of their rotation, after last year’s rocky performance. The always reliable Curt Schilling is also off to a great start at 4-1 (3.28 ERA); his only loss coming on opening day to the Kansas City Royals. And that’s not all; the long tenured Tim Wakefield has begun his 13th season with the Red Sox with an incredible 1.79 ERA, but he too has lacked the run support needed in a few of his starts resulting in a 4-3 record. Wakefield had his most impressive start last night in Toronto, retiring 15 straight hitters at one point during his 7 inning shift, as the Red Sox shut out the Blue Jays 8 – 0 to sweep the series and hand the Jays their 9th straight loss. Even Julian Tavarez is starting to come around. He actually pitched rather well in his last start against the Twins, despite the 2-1 loss.

The Red Sox bullpen is also one of the best in the Majors. This is probably due to the fact that Boston’s starting pitchers have consistently pitched deep into the game and kept the pen fresh. Hideki Okajima (Boston’s other Japanese import) has been almost perfect through 17 innings this season posting a 0.53 ERA, and no discussion on the Boston Red Sox pitching staff would be complete without mention of the ever so popular closer, Jonathan Paplebon. With his trademark glare, he has saved 10 games this season and only blown one. The remainder of the bullpen has also looked pretty solid overall, but can be inconsistent at times. I think as long as the starting rotation can keep pitching the way they have been and everyone stays healthy, the Red Sox will continue to be a dominant force on the mound.

Red Sox Off to a Red Hot Start

Posted on May 9, 2007
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After a disappointing end to last year’s season, the Boston Red Sox are off to a red hot start to begin the ‘07 season. They have already swept the Yankees in their first series at Fenway Park, and taken 5 of the first 6 meetings on the year. Their most impressive victory came back on April 22nd when the Red Sox welcomed rookie Chase Wright to the major leagues by hitting 4 consecutive homeruns off of him to give Boston a 4-3 lead over the Yankees in the third inning. The Red Sox are only the fifth team in Major League history to accomplish this feat and Chase Wright became only the second pitcher to ever do it single-handedly. The four-homer-trouncing took only 10 pitches, beginning with Manny Ramirez, and continued with my favorite Red Sock, J.D. Drew (who just so happened to play his college ball at my alma mater – Florida State), Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek. The drama didn’t end there, however. The Yankees tied the game up in the fifth inning off of a Derek Jeter homerun, and regained the lead in the sixth inning, making the score 5-4. But apparently Mike Lowell wasn’t satisfied making history in the third inning with his solo shot, because he hammered a three run homerun over the Green Monster in the bottom of the seventh inning that proved to be the winning runs to complete the sweep of the Yankees. As always, Jonathan Papelbon came on in the ninth to work his magic and seal the deal by getting the scorching hot A-Rod to ground out with the tying run on base to end the ball game. The sweep felt like sweet revenge for the “Boston Massacre” of last year when the Yankees won five straight in the Bronx to essentially seal the AL East division title. For now, the shoe is definitely on the other foot with the Red Sox boasting the second best record in baseball, second only to the Milwaukee Brewers (who knew?), and holding on to a comfortable six game lead in their division over the Yankees who continue to struggle with their pitching staff and who have just recently climbed their way out of last place to take over the #2 spot. While things are looking right rosy in Bean Town right now, any long-time Red Sox fan will undoubtedly have the same thing to say – “It’s only the beginning of May, and there’s a lot more baseball left to play”.

- See video below of Fenway’s reaction after Varitek hits the 4th homerun.

Boston Red Sox Back to Back 4 Homers to Sweep Yankees

Posted on May 9, 2007
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The NEXTEL Cup Points Race is Starting To Heat Up

Posted on March 28, 2007
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With Mark Martin out, Jeff Gordon took the points lead after his third place finish at Bristol this past weekend, but Jeff Burton is only 3 points behind and Jimmie Johnson, currently in the 3rd position after coming off back to back wins at Las Vegas and Atlanta, is a constant threat. Out of the past 5 races at Martinsville, Gordon and Johnson both have two wins each. Can one of them make it three, or will Tony Stewart keep his car on the track and in one piece to take home his first checkered flag of the season? You can expect a heated battle between these three on Sunday, as long as they can stay out of trouble. You won’t want to miss this one!

BaseBall Batting Robot

Posted on March 19, 2007
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Baseball Batting Robot

Hopefully this isn’t the future of Major League Baseball. Is that Barry Bonds out there? I can’t tell!!

ACC Tourney Madness

Posted on March 9, 2007
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Yesterday was an incredible day in the ACC tournament. The biggest winner coming out of yesterdays games was clearly the Florida State Seminoles. After a tight (and somewhat controversial) win over Clemson, the Noles greatly improved their chances of getting into the NCAA tournament. They can almost solidify their efforts with a win today over 8th ranked North Carolina. Another big upset yesterday was Miami’s win over Maryland. Although it didn’t really shake up the either teams chances for the Big Dance (Maryland is still in and Miami is still out) it was an impressive win nonetheless. The defending ACC Champion Duke Blue Devils were also upset by their in-state rivals, NC State, in overtime yesterday. This marks the first time in years that the Blue Devils were knocked out in the first round; however this is also the first time since 1995 that they came in as low as the #7 seed. It just doesn’t look like it’s in the cards for Duke this year, but they will have their chance in the NCAA tournament later this month - where, as we all know, anything is possible, and Duke always seems to show up when they need to. Lastly, Wake Forest knocked out Georgia Tech in an exciting double overtime game that lasted into the early morning hours. This doesn’t help the Yellow Jackets chances, but their bubble hasn’t burst quite yet. I can only hope that today’s games are exciting as yesterday’s. — Go Noles!!