Entries Tagged 'milestones' ↓

Last night, Josh Beckett did something he had never before done in the Majors: won his 17th game. And aside from the home run to Matt Stairs, his outing was absolutely incredible. As a matter of fact, before (and after) Stairs, there wasn’t a runner past second base last night.

Notes:

• The magic number is now 17. Not Becket’s win total. The magic number for the division.
• Seven games up with a couple of question marks: Will Wakefield be ok? Will the lineup keep hitting? Will Drew take the stick out of his… ?
• Ellsbury hit his second MLB home run. Nice job, dude. Suddenly you’re a power hitter? We saw his first-ever homer over this past weekend. Very cool to see him hitting it square.
• Clay Buchholz will move to the ‘pen. Can you imagine him taking a setup role into the post season? He’s definitely eligible since Clement is on the eternally unable to play list.
• Schilling goes tonight and I’m looking for a sweep.

Barry is the Home Run record holder. Not the King, just the person who holds the record.

There’s not going to be an asterisk either. The record watch is over. Please go back to whatever you were doing before and enjoy the fact that you aren’t anyone directly involved in this disaster. Let’s take a look at what lies ahead for these people:

Bud Selig

Bud was meeting with George Mitchell (we’ll get to him in a few) yesterday and out of the spectacle at AT&T Park. But his future is going to be stressful and will no doubt supersede his previous good and bad decisions in his role as Commissioner. How he chooses to handle the statements, press releases and public debate will, I’m sure, be centered around one thing: his investigation is ongoing and he’ll address it when he has all the facts. For now, he’ll recognize that Barry Bonds has broken the home run record; one of the most hallowed records in professional sports. Today is not the end of the story.

Barry Bonds

There you go, Barry. You got your wish. You should, however, be careful of what you wish for. This thing has brought you (in your own words) “rashes on my head and constant loss of sleep and endless days”. I think those things will continue now that the focus stops being about your home run chase and starts to focus on your “alleged” use of performance enhancing drugs. You’re about to go through a whole new level of hell. Not only that, but it may be all for nothing. Many, many people will be left disappointed when they realize that there probably isn’t much they can do to you. My personal opinion is that while I think you cheated, lied and did anything and everything to artificially collect a record, you didn’t have to. You had enough talent to get to the hall and you blew it. Idiot.

George Mitchell

Ok, George. Your turn to shine, and you better do it quick. The public is going to turn the focus to you and they’re waiting for an answer. You see, they’ve been waiting for an answer for over a year, but now they’ll REALLY be waiting. You had Barry to take 80% of the focus from you during that time and now you’ll have to answer some questions yourself. Let’s hope you have enough to feed the appetite of the American public. Otherwise, you’ll forever be titled as a lame duck.

Mike Bacsik (SP, Nationals) 

Someone was going to do it. Look at it this way: You can either take the fame and go with it or you can let it kill your career. Let’s see what you’re made of.

Matt Murphy (Fan)

Dude, do the right thing. Fame is fleeting. Money doesn’t last.

This is a vacation week at RedSoxSoul, but before I go:

• Tom Glavine joined the 300-win club (23rd member) and good luck to future pitchers trying to make the cut. There more than likely won’t be another one until our next generation of pitchers.
• Sox take the series! We need to take series to stay where we are.
• I’ll probably end up posting at least two or three more times this week.

With Bonds hitting his 755th home run and tying the record of Hank Aaron, Bu Selig is probably at the point of illness. You have to wonder if he’ll take any action on the Mitchell committee’s information before Bonds breaks the record. I’m sure there isn’t much he can do, but I’m also sure he’s pretty darned pissed.

Notes:

•  A-Rod finally hit his 500th home run. Yep. Same day as Barry hitting the tying ball. This would be the baseball equivalent of wearing the same dress to the wedding.
• Dice-K solved the Safeco issue. For now. It was another weird win for Dice-K, however, as he gives up 2 home runs surrounded by an otherwise great outing.
• My fantasy baseball league is officially decimated. I doubt I’ll pull out third place at this point. You go, Big Dog and Go Tribe, whomever you are.
• Cape Cod League is heading to divisional playoffs this week.

The last time we were in Seattle, the Sox walked in with a huge lead in the division and ended up having a very, very rough time. This time isn’t actually any better as of last night, as the Sox lost their 9th straight game at Safeco. However, this isn’t the only thing that’s troubling. The next team on this ridiculous road trip? The first-place Angels.

Notes:

• This was a so-so outing for Lester. Eight hits, four runs. It would have been enough to win if the bats were slightly hotter than they have been.
• Let’s face it: they knew Timlin was losing his edge and they knew they needed support. In comes Gagne to the ‘pen. Good idea.
• We actually lost this game in the first inning. Bases loaded, heart of the order. Base running mistake. Left three runs on the table.
• J.D. Drew, personal problems or not, has been a bust. We get a big, fat “I told ya’ so!” from a lot of people (a lot). I hope to hell his son will be o.k., but Hinske, Pena and Drew make up the worst right field platoon we’ve had in a while. ($70 Million for a platoon player?!)
• Johnny Damon has been feeling sorry for himself. He hasn’t been getting the attention he craves. He’s the polar opposite of Manny.
• Barry is stuck (754). A-Rod is stuck (499).
• Another hot one today. Go get some seedless watermelon and a couple gallons of Dunkin’ Donuts Ice Tea.