Entries Tagged 'Pedroia' ↓

If you’re within the reach of any commercial ever produced by Sullivan Tire, get ye a stool and watch this year as the brain trust of this marketing marvel unveil it’s newest ruined acting career: Dustin Pedroia.

It looks like he’s signed on for 2008 and will no doubt be trying his hardest not to represent a paper cut out of himself.

Why do local advertisers control the creative so much? Are the egos that big? If I ever ran a commercial with Dustin Pedroia, maybe I’d do it, but only because he’s one of three total MLB players which I have a shot at being taller.

Congrats to the dynamic spark plug of the Boston infield who today won the ROY honors HANDS-DOWN. Nice, nice, nice job, Dustin. Next year… ? We’ll have to see if Ellsbury can follow him and do a back-t0-back celebration. Here’s a list of all past ROY winners:

PEDROIA AND BECKETT AND EVEN J.D. AND OMG.

The Sox aren’t headed anywhere. They have home field advantage to play the opening game Wednesday night at Fenway Park in the 2007 World Series.

The ALCS was all about the home crowd. If you succumb to the notion of visiting teams during any regular season game that the home crowd is nice, but “we don’t need it”, then you’re fooling yourself. The crowd may not be as electric as they are in the post season, but they’re behind the team; especially in good times.

Beckett is the MVP, deservedly so, but the rest of the team including J.D. Drew, Lugo and the defensive skills of  Coco Crisp were enough to go against the other team with the best record in baseball. The difference? Boston won one more game. That’s it. What separated the entire season is one game. How amazing is it, then, that the Red Sox found themselves in the World Series based on the fact that they won the season series against Cleveland. If it had been the other way around and Cleveland was working with home field advantage, would they be headed to the Fall Classic?

Dice-K had a gutsy first three innings. Unfortunately, that’s all I can say about that specific performance. What irks me and others is the perceived lack of intensity. I believe inside he’s intense and he’s serious about winning. How else do you accomplish the level of success he’s had? You don’t. Interestingly enough, J. D. Drew shows the same perceived lack of intensity. Yes. He wants to win. Yes. He plays hard when he’s trying. But, unlike Dice-K, Drew’s intensity is measured by his bat. A pitcher has the chance for 10 strikeouts or be shown on camera pumping their fist about 100 times during a game. A fielder gets to show off if  a) the ball is hit to them or b) they get into a position where they can perform at the plate in a meaningful situation. Go back and watch J. D. Drew on any tape of any game he’s been in and you’ll see that other than when he’s at the plate, the man is playing hard. It doesn’t make me any more of a fan, but it does make me take a breath and think about his season.

Ellsbury will be a star (if he isn’t already).

Pedroia made himself heard last night and shoved a big, fat “FACE” smackdown to anyone who doubted his ability. Good for him. I’m not the tallest guy either and I can certainly appreciate where he is and what he’s been able to do.

Papelbon got his first-ever six out save AND his first-ever post season save. That dude is really good. Wow. He can dance anytime, anyplace so long as he pitches like that for us until he’s lost the gas in his tank. He will be a Hall of Famer.

And now… we wait. They need the rest. They’re tired and they’re happy. They’ll actually relax a little before the media day and the onslaught of public scrutiny hits them one more time before they get a short off-season. Let’s just hope the World Series sends them off to that short rest with a big smile.

Alright! They’ve secured a post season slot and it’s time to think about Step 2: Win the Division.

I think the Sox can, as Julio said last night, relax a little. The pressure to make it to the post season was intense with the Yankees breathing down their necks. But now what? Winning with the best record would be sweet since it means they get to dictate the first playoff series. A couple of accolades for the Fenway Nine would be pretty well-deserved too. How about Youk for Gold Glove? How about Pedroia for Rookie of the Year? What about the Cy for Beckett? And, to be honest, Mike Lowell could be in line for a Comeback of the Year player award.

Notes:

• I find it fitting for Lugo that he hit the home run to punch the post season ticket in his old back yard.
• Varitek has suddenly found some power?
• Gagne is hittable and walks people, but, as Tito and Cap’n V said, “We need him.”
• By Lopez not striking out Pena, and worse yet, giving up a three-run homer, we are left without the Sox having a left-handed specialist.
• I think Okajima will do just fine once he comes back from the rest.
• I know I haven’t mentioned this yet, but I originally thought that it would be a mistake for Kapler to try to come back to the majors. That was until I read he’s only 32. Wow. He could have easily caught on somewhere else, couldn’t he? Odd.
• I’d like to quietly point out that two important pitchers for the Yankees: Ian Kennedy and Roger Clemens have been pushed back a day or two due to nagging injuries. That won’t bode well for them in October.
• I was watching last night’s game thinking: I’ve not seen a pitcher like Dice-K in a while who gives up a ton of walks but also has a ton of strikeouts. I wish I knew more about pitching mechanics in the Japanese system to see where the problem is. For the last two months, however, one thing is for sure: He throws too many fast balls.
• It would be a really good idea for the Sox to sweep the Rays today. Regardless of McGowan’s record (Blue Jays), I don’t think the Yankees will have too much winning.

The dynamic duo had their 45 minutes together last night for the first time in a couple of weeks and then Mirabelli strains his hammy coming across first after his only at bat. Great. Enter: Kevin Cash, the quiet, yet interestingly weak-hitting catcher who seems to be the only “other” person in MLB to employ the soft hands required to receive the knuckle ball.

If you keep your eyes on the next two years, we’ll see the emergence of George Kottaras as the starter and Cash as the Wakefield binky. Kottaras is a highly-regarded prospect and good catchers are becoming hard to find these days.

Notes:

• I will be seriously amazed if Youk doesn’t get the Gold Glove. He is ONE game away from breaking the AL record for most consecutive starts at first base without an error. He’s already shattered the club record.
• Dice-K thinks Pedroia should be the Rookie of the Year. So do I. But, then again, I’m biased at the moment. His play during the last few weeks has been nothing short of spectacular. The only problem is, aside from Jon Donovan of SI.com, he hasn’t gotten that much national attention.
• Papi hit his 200th home run with the Red Sox. Why didn’t we know about this kid when he was with Minnesota!? Wow. What an amazing free-agent find.
• Buchholz loves kicking the collective butts of the Orioles. He’s now held them scoreless in consecutive outings. Nice.
• Rick Ankiel, Cardinals phenom for the second time after converting from pitcher to hard-hitting outfielder, has his name on a list of people who purchased HGH in 2004. I can’t wait to hear all 45 names from this list. Expect to see Nomar and a couple of other former (and current?) Sox players.