ESPN's Rob Neyer has picked the Yankees to win the division. Rob, why in the world would you make such a statement? I mean New York only has a six-game lead in the standings.

Perhaps it was seeing one of the most pathetic games in the history of the rivalry. I too am starting to question the Red Sox chances. However, I have not given up.

I found Derek Lowe's attitude even worse than the errors and missed opportunities. I do not need to see Lowe visibly blaming Nomar on the field after an error. He displayed lousy sportsmanship. Who is he to get upset at Nomar? I didn't see his teammates blaming him for his poor performances earlier this season. Dave Wallace, the pitching coach, had to make a visit to the mound in order to calm Lowe down. Truly pathetic.

Continue reading "The Lowe-down: Pathetic."

Enough about the All Star game. We have a serious series beginning today. The Sox travel to New York, N.Y. for a bite of the Big Apple. According to the New York Post, the "Boss" says "it's payback time." The nerve. He bases his statements on the past seven games. Give me a break. I do not think you understand the meaning of payback. What about Bucky Dent? Aaron Boone? 1949? Boston hasn't even begun to pay you back.

While King George sits on his throne talking about payback, the Yankees official site says the team is not looking for payback. I'm confused. Which is it? MLB.com also says that A-Rod is looking forward to series. He must be looking for a little redemption. He only has one hit against the Sox so far this season.

I understand the desire for the series, however. Many people are looking forward to the continued rivalry. Baseball perspective's Fred Claire weighs in on the rivalry of rivalries. ESPN's Bob Klapisch writes about the
rivalry and the Yankees improvement since these teams last met. CBSsportline.com also writes about the "Big Apple Battle".

The Sox need to win this series. It's imperative. Boston's official site reports that the team can sense the urgency

If the players didn't feel the need for urgency the GM certainly does. Projo.com reports Epstein looking for Sox to raise standards. The Sox have scored more runs than the Yankees. They have allowed fewer runs against, yet the Sox trail New York by five games.

No matter how good the Yankees may look the owner is never happy. The New York Times reports that Steinbrenner is whining that no one wants to trade with the Yankees. Apparently, teams resent the Yankees for their success. I think it's called payback, George.

Reader comments: How important do you think this series is against the Yankees?

This weekend was exciting for sure. We saw some tremendous home-team pitching. As expected, the two Red Sox aces (yes we have two), Pedro and Curt Schilling, came up big. They are going to take us to the playoffs and hopefully to the World Series. Yes, I still believe.

Philadelphia simply did not have the pitching required to win the series. I knew Randy Wolf was going to be tough on Saturday, but having written that, the Phillies had no one else. Things may have been a little different had we seen Kevin Millwood and Eric Milton on the mound, but I doubt it.

We saw some explosive power from both teams. Each team had four home runs during the series. Led by Jim Thome and Boston's David Ortiz.

Continue reading "When talking about Philly, I have to be blunt"

This past series versus the Twins wasn't that much fun. I can already hear the boo-birds ready to comdemn Garciaparra. The Boston Herald reports that Nomar accepts blame for blunder. Don't get too down on yourself, Nomar. It's unfortunate. But let's remember it takes a team to win and a team to lose. There were other chances to stop the Twins. Blame can not fall on one man's shoulders. The loss put the Red Sox 5 1/2 behind the Yankees. We need to buckle down for Philadelphia.

This weekend should be fun.

Ever since I can remember, I've had a soft spot for the Philadelpia Phillies. It all started with Mike Schmidt, who I tried to emulate back in my Little League days. He, at least in my view, is the greatest third baseman to play the game. His offensive numbers are staggering. Learn more about the Hall of Famer at baseballlibrary.com.

This current Phillies team also has some offensive prowess. Jim Thome, Pat Burrell and Bobby Abreu make a scary trio. Thome, in fact, leads the National League in home runs with 24.

Continue reading "Soft spot for Phillies"

Everyone get on board for the ride of your life. If you thought 2003 was rough, 2004 is a thrill-ride. Win a game, lose a game; win a game, lose a game. Manny hits a home run; Manny goes 0 for 4. Tim Wakefield has one good outing, then one bad. Wakefield and the Red Sox need to start another accent today, with a win in the final game of the series against the Twins. MLB.com writes the Red Sox looking to bounce back. The veteran hurler, Brad Radke takes that mound for the Twins today. In the past, Red Sox hitters have owned him. Manny, Nomar, and Varitek hit a combined .361 with 10 home runs against Radke. I fully expect the Sox to get the needed second win of the series.

Much of Boston's struggles are due to injuries. In 2003, the Sox made a run at the championship using a healthy roster. This year Nixon, Garciaparra, Mueller, Kim, and Burks have all spent time of the DL. Pokey Reese is the latest to join the list of injured. MLB.com is calling the the injury and Wednesday's loss.

Continue reading "Virtual rollercoaster"

Although it has been only a week, the road trip seemed like a lifetime. The Boston Herald writes the Sox are seeking a lift.

The Red Sox have a small break from interleague play, a good thing. They face the Twins tonight, which may prove to be a bad thing.

Minnesota is a very deep team. Now that the team is almost completely healthy, opposing teams should be worried. Another worry for Twins' opposition, defense. Minnesota has only committed four errors in their last 15 games. The Pioneer Press reports the return to health has helped the Twins get back to the kind of defense they're known for. If defense wins games, as I'm sure it does, the Red Sox could be in trouble.

Playing in Fenway must be a thrill, even for the opposition. The amibiance, history and Green Monster are big draws. But does the park, make the team? Star Tribune's Jim Souhan asks "What can we make of Fenway Park?" He uses Fenway's features to analyze the Red Sox, past and present. I find it funny that a Minnesota reporter would use a park to make comparisons about a team when his home club plays on artificial turf with "trash bags" hanging on the walls. However, the Twins are working hard to get a new ballpark. You can see a virtual tour and read a status report at the Twins official site. I like the idea of adding more bathrooms. Can you imagine a place that holds 52,000 baseball fans only having 16 bathrooms?

Continue reading "But its great to be back home"

My father said it best as we watched the game Sunday, "An out is an out, unless you are playing in San Francisco." Although he was joking, he was right.

The Red Sox and Giants did not play with the excellence each is accustomed to. I was a little disappointed. During this series, I witnessed batters record strikeouts, yet make it to first. I saw a player called out at third, although he was clearly safe. I saw a bunch of bumbling outfielders struggle with routine flyballs.

Sundays game was the most disappointing. I'm not sure how the game would have ended, had the umpire made the correct call on the force play at third during the seventh inning, but I do know that Edgardo Alfonzo would not have had a grandslam. To me, that call completely ruined a great baseball game.

Manager Terry Francona finally showed some backbone and got ejected for arguing the call. His ejection didn't fire up his team as I hoped. Instead the call seemed to demoralize them and the grand slam, the nail in the coffin.

Of all the Giants hitters, I never thought Edgardo Alfonzo would be the one to afraid of. His two game-winning home runs were indeed the difference in the series. Barry Bonds was never a factor. Bonds only got one hit. The Sox intentially walked him twice however. Boston.com breaks down Bonds' at-bats. The site says the Red Sox are the only team to have retired Bonds seven times in a row. Go figure.

Continue reading "He was OUT!"

Glad to be out of the mountains. The altitude was giving me a headache. Leaving the Rockies after a rout, hopefully set a new tone.

The Red Sox travel to San Francisco today for the SFGate.com calls the hottest ticket in town.

The Giants vs. Red Sox. This matchup brings us to an earlier, simpler time. These two teams last faced each other in the 1912 World Series.

1912 was quite a year for the Red Sox, led by Hall of Famer Tris Speaker. Speaker's stats are astounding, especially when you consider 1912 was in the middle of a pitching era. He had 222 hits, 136 runs, 10 HR, .383 avg., 90 RBIs and 52 stolen bases. According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Speaker is the only major league ballplayer to have three batting streaks of 20 or more games in one season (1912). Look at any offensive stat and you'll see Speaker's name up there with Ty Cobb and Shoeless Joe Jackson. He led the league in home runs, doubles, extra-base hits and on-base percentage. He was in the top three in all other stats. Amazing! You can find out more about his life and career at his official site. Yes, even Tris Speaker has a Web site.

Continue reading "From the mountains...to the ocean white with foam"

Lackluster pitching and a couple of errors has the Denver Post and the Rockies thinking sweep. Unbelievable. The worst team in the National League, perhaps in all of baseball, is in position to knock the Red Sox down a couple of notches.

The Rocky Mountain News writes the Rockies glad to take two-for-won. I thought Arroyo and Schilling may struggle due to their pitching styles. Derek Lowe is our last hope at respectability. MLB.com's takes a look at tonight's game.

Curt Schilling just didn't look himself on the mound on Wednesday. Projo.com's writes Schilling blames himself. I expect nothing less from Schilling. Always willing to take it on the chin. It's true, he didn't have the command. He walked four batters and gave up five earned runs. But while he insists its not his ankle, I can't help but wonder.

Continue reading "This ship is on the rocks"

The Red Sox in the past haven't done so well in interleague play going 56-65 since 1997. However this club is beginning to turn it around. In 2003 the Sox went 11-7 and in 2004, the team is 4-2 so far against its NL rivals. This is great. While I don't think the NL West is the truest test, both the Padres and the Dodgers were tied for first place in that division at the start of the two series.

The team travels out west to face the Colorado Rockies tonight. This could be a lot of fun. Colorado is a wonderful place for hitters. The Red Sox offense should do extremely well in that thin air. Boston.com reports Ellis Burks has given the team advise on dealing with the high altitude. Burks had played five years for Colorado.

He didn't offer advise to the pitching staff, who may need most of the help. Derek Lowe is one guy who should not be affected. He pitches on Thursday. His sinker is ideal in this ball park. Opposing teams are 3.5 times more likely to hit a ground ball than a fly off of him.

It's a long way to Thursday. Bronson Arroyo will pitch tonight for the Sox. Arroyo and Curt Schilling, who goes Wednesday ankle permitting, may have some trouble. These two guys throw strikes and have the potential to give up the fly ball. That ball is sure to carry at Coors.

Continue reading "At a mile high, Sox should fly"

The Red Sox redeemed themselves Thursday with a victory over the Padres. Curt Schilling, although hampered with an ankle injury, pitched seven strong innings. Projo.com reports on Schilling's injury.

Boston's pitching proved to be stronger than San Diego's. After watching this series, I'm surprised the Padres are leading their division. They are in a virtual tie with the Dodgers. Can you believe they actually walked Manny Ramirez to get to Nomar? Wow! Nomar is a two-time AL batting champion with a career AVG. of .323. With these types of moves, I fully expect the Padres to fall from first place in the NL West fast.

So far the AL East is eating up the NL West. Toronto beat L.A. 2 of 3 and N.Y. swept Colorado. Even the Devil Rays beat the Giants twice. The only team that is struggling is Baltimore. In basketball the West may be best, but in baseball the East is a beast.

Continue reading "Time for a little dodgeball"

You could hear the cheers over the television speakers. "Nomah!," they roared. The crowd stood and applauded his every move. It's been too long for this once-familiar feeling. And although the game was a disappointment, the star shortstop was not.
MLB.com writes about Nomar Garciaparra's 2004 debut. Nomar went 1 for 2 and made a great defense play (although Andy Dominique failed to catch the throw). It was a most welcome sight. His presence is sure to improve the offense and defense. During the rain delay, I watched his pregame interview three times. He looked strong, confident, and ready to put the injury behind him. Boston.com's Dan Shaughnessy believes these are Nomar's last days in Boston, so enjoy it. As for me well, it's important for the Red Sox to have a star shortstop to compete with the likes of Jeter, Tejeda and yes, A-Rod. It's time to heal another wound and get Nomar a contract.

Continue reading "He's baaaack!"

During the last couple of weeks, I've thought of little else but my newborn baby girl. Watching her arrive was the most enjoyable experience I could ever imagine, at least from a father's point of view. It is however unfortunate that while my wife labored, so did the Sox. Now that I have returned perhaps I'll have time to catch-up on my favorite team. I couldn't have planned my return any better; interleague play begins tonight!

I never used to enjoy interleague play, thinking it devalued the World Series. After seeing the same teams over and over, my dislike increased. Now that Major League Baseball has changed the schedule, my feelings may be beginning to change.

In the first interleague series of the year, the Red Sox face the San Diego Padres. While the Padres and Red Sox haven't seen much of each other, the two teams have connections dating back to 1936. Two of the finest Red Sox players ever - Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr - both came from the Padres when it was a minor league team in the Pacific Coast League.

Continue reading "I'm baaaack!"