Entries Tagged 'Manny' ↓

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My computer died this morning. Twice. It’s only 9:51 as I start this post.

In the hour or so that I was working on it peacefully, I put a tremendous amount of effort into what I was doing, only to lose it all when the temporary cache bit the big one for reasons unknown. All I know, after contacting Apple for the third time in six days, is that even though my computer is under warranty and has been replaced already, I’m stuck with an issue they don’t know how to fix.

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HOF NOMS

ok - So I’ve had a few years of discussions with friends about whether or not Jim Ed Rice belongs in the Hall of Fame. My take, still, is that he does not. Pre-steroid era, threatening and incredibly powerful as he was, Jim Rice is not a hall of fame player.

My recent feeling about the voting process for the BBWA is that even though we don’t like it, it’s still probably the most fair personal recognition system around. If you want to put up a case for changing the system, doing only statistical analysis on a Bill James-induced computer model, then go for it. It won’t give you a fair and accurate picture. Do you know why? Because the game of baseball is not only played with physical prowess; it’s played mentally, just like any other strategy-laden game.

I wish Jim Rice the best of luck tomorrow. The deal is, if he gets a phone call in the morning from the HOF (around 8 AM, I’m told), then he’ll be in. If he is still sitting around at lunch waiting for the caller id to show him some love, he’s out of luck.

MANNY Retardirez

If I were in a situation where I had a guaranteed deal for roughly 22.5 Million per year for two years, plus a team option of even more money… I’d … well, I’d shit myself.

Manny has twice rejected a salary of above $20Million dollars this year, most likely thanks to his inability to understand the financial components of a down economy, and otherwise thanks to his ridiculous wanna-be baseball player agent, West-Side Scottie B.

Manny Ramirez will not have a problem getting a job, and Scott will look like a genius when all is said and done. He’ll either go back to LA or go up north to put some fans into the seats of the incredibly beautiful SF Giants stadium (name withheld due to my frustration with name-sponsoring company).

RECLAMATION NATION

Is it Duquette-ish to have as many retreads coming into Boston on those “high-risk, high-reward” deals? I believe so. Even though many would not doubt the leadership in the front office to previous success (see: 2004, 2007), I can’t stand loading up on the one-year, injury crew. I see the team starting out a little weak and JUST missing the wild card by 3 games. I’ll bring this back into the fold at the end of the year if I’m right. If I’m not, I’ll be happy to ignore it. Please feel free to join me in my blissful ignorance.

Happy Sunday. I’m going out to clear 7.5″ of freshly-fallen snow. I can’t wait! (This is me being positive about the record number of times I have to shovel before the calendar hits January 15).

I look at the standings and I keep my cool. The Rays are a legitimate contender until someone kicks them in the private parts. The best part about this? I AM SO HAPPY IT’S NOT THE TYPICAL YANKEE RIVALRY. I yell because I care.

Clay Feet

The Clay Buchholz experiment is simply not working out so far this year. The kid is having a hell of a time adjusting to his first year in the Bigs and it looks like his confidence takes a hit each time out of the gate. I can’t help wonder if maybe a flip-flop between Masterson and Buchholz (starter vs. ‘pen) would have been a better decision; recognizing the no-hitter and the length of service.

It might be time to speed up the progress for Colon and see if he can jump in there for a couple starts.

Manny Being a #$(%$* ?

Listen, Manny can do whatever he wants and the club won’t do much about it. Whatever happens to his contract from here on out is anyone’s guess. Is he worth $20 million per year? Is he only worth that if he’s protected by Ortiz? His mischief does not bug me, but having an all-out fight with a 60-something year-old man wasn’t obviously very bright. He’ll still be here next year, I’m sure. It seems that he’s a necessary evil when things aren’t going his way and it’s a guaranteed hall of fame player when things are. Where’s Schilling in all of this? I’m surprised he hasn’t spoken up about the situation.

Manny stood at the plate and took a massive but fluid swing at the first pitch from former Sox pitcher Chad Bradford and hit the ball about 410 yards to the opposite field. It was, without question, his nicest home run this year.

Ramirez will never win a gold glove, but he is one of the best natural hitters the game has ever seen.

Alright. The Rays couldn’t handle the Cardinals, and the Brewers couldn’t get anything out of the Sox, so the Fenway Faithful get to see their boys back in the top slot of the AL East.

Interestingly enough, I didn’t think the Sox would fare as well as they did (even with all the errors this weekend) against the Brewers. In fact, I had my mental prediction the other way around. If I were to pick a group of National League players to follow, I’d follow J.J. Hardy, Braun, Fielder and Gwynn. They all have a massive amount of talent and the Brewers will definitely do some major damage once their pitching is settled.

Speaking of pitching, Justin Masterson will make his second MLB start tomorrow (Tuesday) against the Royals and … drum roll… is that the smell of “Colon”? Why, yes… it’s Bartolo Colon, who will make his first Red Sox start on Wednesday. Personally, I think this is going to be a HUGE difference maker to the season. Bartolo is currently throwing in the upper 90s and seems to have his head back in the game. It’s like picking up a #4 free agent for nothing.

Other thoughts:

• Ellsbury got caught for the first time in his career. 25 straight without being tagged. That’s two shy of Tim Raines’ record.
• Varitek is such a great catcher, but he looks so weak at the plate sometimes.
• BOOM, Papi. Boom.
• Pedroia takes every opportunity he can find, doesn’t he?
• Beckett found his long ball pitch. Let’s put that back in the locker and hide it again, shall we?
• Craig Hansen is nowhere near the prospect he was when he pitched at Saint John’s. It may be one contract and out for that kid.
• The Yankees don’t have a chance this year unless they find a way to hit out of the cellar; pitching is not going to do it for them.
• Manny is deeply mired in a lack of power; no doubt putting pressure on himself over the next 2 homers.
• The Sox need to keep it going against the Royals. Losing this series will hurt them in the long run.
• The Celtics game was WAY too close. Par for the course on their season. Hopefully they won’t end up with the same destiny as the Pats (all this way for nothing).

Again, it’s a roller coaster of walks and biting the nails sometimes with Dice-K, but he was saved by the numbers 8 (Crisp) and 9 (Lowrie) and Paps to remain unbelievably undefeated. He has a Jon Lester record this year; squeaking out wins despite weird and sometimes erratic pitching.

Congratulations to Jed Lowrie, who will no doubt be a big-leaguer someday, who hit his first MLB home run. He golfed it out of the park just in to the third row, but that’s a huge deal for the kid. He explained to the reporters that the person gave him the ball from the stands if he received a Beckett-autographed baseball (which Beckett did… but probably tainted with chawjuice just to show he’s not a pansy when he signs balls and dates your sister).

Manny went 0-5… Not the quickest way to hitting 500.

Ortiz went 0-4. Expect him to be taken out of the lineup this year for his knee again. If not only for the DL rest, then possibly for another trip under the arthroscope.

Mr. Greg Maddux, please come forward to accept your award. Future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, holder of four Cy Young awards, a World Series ring and 17 Gold Gloves has finally reached a hell of a milestone: he’s the 9th pitcher in MLB history to record 350 wins. Simply, totally amazing. A career that, so far, spans 23 years in which only ONE season was not above 15 wins… this guy is one of the best pitchers of our generation and it’s been a pleasure to follow his career.

Finally, Happy Mother’s Day to all you Moms out there. Children: do something nice, but do it yourself.