Wait, what?!?!

On Thursday, I was all ready to write a post about how a Rays/Phillies World Series would actually be exciting, albeit a ratings nightmare. I held off though, partly because I'm extremely lazy, but also because I remembered what happened last year. By all accounts, the Rays should have already been preparing to face the newest addition to the Grown Ass Man Club, Cole Hamels in Game One of the World Series. Instead, the Boston Red Sox staged yet another improbable comeback in Game Five of the ALCS to stay alive. And moments ago, Jonathan Papelbon shut the door against Tampa Bay solidifying a 4-2 victory, forcing a Game Seven. Holy Crap!!

Hold on there kids...

Yes, I am an admitted Chicago White Sox fan. Yes, the Red Sox have the second highest payroll in the league. Yes, the Rays have reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. But can you even root for them at this point? They have some awesome young players who are great to watch, but considering the whole Manny cluster-F, it is kind of amazing that Boston is where they're at. As previously discussed on this very website, the home grown talent of the Red Sox is astounding and was once again on display tonight. Youkilis, Masterson, Papelbon were the three main factors of the game. Of course, you can't ignore what Josh Beckett did tonight either. I mean, no one knows how hurt he actually is. But he gutted it out ala Curt Schilling and we are one game away from a Red Sox/Phillies showdown.

When all is said and done, everyone will look back and wonder what the hell Joel Madden was thinking having Kazmir pitch before Shields. His reasoning seemed sound at the time, but YIKES! I'm sure FOX wasn't too keen on a Tampa Bay/Philly matchup, but I still maintain it would be a fun series to watch. Harkening back to my previous post about being a desensitized sports fan only proves my point. I am absolutely not shocked in the slightest the Boston is on the verge of stealing this series but I'm stoked to tune into TBS tomorrow (assuming they actually carry the friggin' game from start to finish this time). Can Garza close the door or will Lester rebound from his poor performance in Game Four? Oh yeah, there's football on all day tomorrow too! October rules!

Trick Luuuu Da Kiids

As Nobel Laureate Maurice "Trick Daddy" Young once said... "Trick Luuuu Da Kiids." Maurice's words were never as true as they were in Wednesday night's ALDS game between the Red Sox and Angels, as the pride of the Boston farm system was in full gear. Let's take a look at some of the key contributers for the Sox:

Jon Lester: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 7 K's, 1R, 0 ER
Justin Masterson: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R
Jonathan Papelbon: 1 IP, 1 H, 3 K's, 0 R
Jacoby Ellsbury: 3/5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB
Kevin Youkilis: 1/4, 1 BB, 1 R
Jed Lowrie: 1/3, 1 R

I know what you're thinking... "Wow, the Sox sure love drafting players with J-names." That's true, but that's also 6 players who made big plays for Boston who were all drafted and brought up by the team. The fact that their home-grown MVP candidate Pedroia "The Destroyah" isn't even on that list makes it even more remarkable. Add in the defensive contributions of Ellsbury (sick diving catch) and Youkilis (Note to Vlad Guerrero: 1st to 3rd rule does not apply to you), and that every pitch in the game was thrown (and thrown effectively) by home-grown talent... and you've got to admit that's pretty damn impressive.

Yes, the home run by Jason Bay was definitely the big play of the game, and he continues to play as well as he needed to in filling Manny's old spot. It's just nice to see a team have a solid foundation to bring up key contributers when needed, and then see those players thrive. This is the point where Yankees fans slam their heads against their desks.

Seriously... Paul Byrd?

I mean... seriously? I know Wake is on the DL. And clearly, that Zink kid, the OTHER knuckler, isn't working out yet. But Paul Byrd? That's your answer to the rotation? I understand he's pitched very well since the All Star Break. Great for you Paul, congratulations on your success. But does anyone really believe he's the kind of guy to anchor the back end of your rotation in a pennant race? Does anyone trust him to slow down the mighty Tampa Bay Rays (god that still feels wrong) in September?

Alls I'm saying is if Beckett, Lester, and Dice-K don't all stay healthy... the Sox could be in some trouble. Buchholz and Masterson have proved they're going to need more time to mature, and Wake/Colon/Schilling are Old/Fat/Broken. I also want to point out that with the Sox current lineup, the headline "Red Sox get SP Byrd for cash" makes me worry we just traded our backup catcher. I think any deal like this from now on should read "Red Sox acquire player for cash moneys." Also, is it too late to start calling Kevin Cash, "Cash Moneys"? Yeah, you're right... it probably is.

I guess it could be worse. The rumors were they'd sign a different Cleveland pitcher... one with a 7.56 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, and 4 blown saves in 10 chances. Hey Paul, how would you feel about being on the same roster as that clown again?

Me too Paulie, me too.


PS: OMG, 19-17, OMG.

Yankees are F'd in the A and other baseball musings.

Joba Chamberlain is seeing Dr. James Andrews today to get his shoulder evaluated. Yankees fans are collectively pooping all up in their pants. With Chien-Ming Wang probably out the rest of the year and Phil Hughes (who has only started 6 games this year anyway) still rehabbing in Triple-A, the New York Yankees desperately needed Joba to be an ace for the rest of the year. Who would have thought that on August 6th, the only two Yankee pitchers who have started more than 20 games are Pettite and Mussina? Yikes. Darrell Rasner has flaked out, Ian Kennedy is mayor of Bust City and Sidney Ponson is actually on the mound every fifth day. (The other four days, that dude is rockin' the buffett in an ongoing eating competition with Andruw Jones.) In his games as a starter, Chamberlain has a 2.23 ERA and 69 K's in 60.2 IP. He will definitely miss his next start, but anytime an athlete is down in Birmingham visiting the Doc, things probably aren't good. Of course, I haven't even mentioned Posada and Matsui being out for the year. The Yankees are 3-7 in their last ten and are 6.5 games back behind the Rays in the East and 3.5 games back in the Wild Card race. If Chamberlain has to shut it down, the Yankees can start booking vacations for October.

Could the White Sox and the Twins both make the playoffs? After taking the above paragraph into account and with Boston only having an 8-9 record since the All Star break, it's perfectly conceivable that both Central teams could sneak into postseason play. I know you should never count Boston out and they do play Toronto and Baltimore in six more series combined, but Big Papi's health continues to be a concern and Jacoby Ellsbury still hasn't snapped out of his slump. They will need him back permanently in the leadoff spot to get the lineup going. Ortiz's wrist is bothering him again and he's not seeing the same pitches since the Manny trade.

Chicago had a HUGE comeback win last night in the 14th inning against the Tigers. They are still scoring all their runs by hitting the ball out of the park but Carlos Quentin shows no signs of slowing down. (Please, please don't make me regret typing that.) Granted, the pitching still looks pretty haggard but if the starters can right the ship, the bullpen looks to be a bit more solid especially when Linebrink comes back. The Twins finally called up Francisco Liriano and get better by subtraction with Livan Hernandez hitting the bricks. Liriano looked fantastic in his win the other day against the Indians. They've had to deal with some injuries as well but to be playing this well without Johan Santana and Torii Hunter is pretty amazing. Plus they have one of the best closers in baseball.


If the Arizona Diamondbacks make the playoffs, it will be a mirror image of their great 2001 run. I could legitimately see Webb and Haren start just about every game. Webb won his 16th game last night which accounts for more than a quarter of the teams total wins. They also resigned Haren through 2012 which is monumental. He is making my Cy Young prediction look good so far going 4-0 since the break. Arizona's only tough spots on the rest of their schedule are St. Louis, Florida and the Dodgers. They'll be fed a steady diet of San Fran, San Diego (man I feel sorry for Adrian Gonzalez being stuck on that team) and Colorado with a bit of the Reds and Astros thrown in for flavor. Their offense still blows but I sure as hell woudn't want to face them in the first round or any round for that matter.



How much of an impact will David Price have? Tampa Bay is on the verge of calling him up but some are saying that he'll be in the bullpen. Huh? I know he's only 22 but he's 6-0 with a 2.08 ERA in eight starts in Double-A, with 48 strikeouts and 12 walks in 52 innings. And for a team that didn't make any moves at the trade deadline, Price could be just the thing to put the Rays over the edge and win the AL East. He can bump Edwin Jackson or Andy Sonnanstine out of the rotation and get some big league experience in preparation for next year. Oh you mean when Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza and David Price will all be pitching on the same team for the whole season? Holy Crap! The Rays have the fourth best ERA in MLB right now. Oh yeah, he can throw almost 100 mph. Just like to mention that...





And finally, what year is it? Nope, you weren't seeing things if you looked at the box scores from last night. Mike Hampton actually pitched seven innings for the Atlanta Braves and won his first game since 2005. For a guy who only had one really dominant year (1999 22-4 record) he's certainly mad an ass ton of money. Here's his combined salary from 2006 and 2007 when he didn't pitch a single inning of major league ball: $29,950,370. How depressing is that? Almost as depressing as the fact that he'll make $20,000,000 in 2009. He's 35. John Smoltz and Tom Glavine are also still on the Braves. Tim Hudson is having season ending elbow surgery. Folks down in Atlanta better hope Jair Jurrjens and Jorge Campillo stick around for a while.

All divisions except the AL West are still up for grabs and the Wild Card in both leagues are going to come down to the final week of the season. Good times. Makes me wish I had spent the scrilla for the MLB Extra Innings package on cable...

That's Just Awesome!

Maybe it's because I'm not a Red Sox fan and am not emotionally invested in the situation, but you have to admit, that is hilarious. There are talks of a three way trade with Boston sending Manny to the Marlins for either Josh Willingham or Jeremy Hermida then flipping that dude to the Pirates for Jason Bay. Who knows where Manny will end up next year but even with all the bashing of the organization, I still think the Sox should hold onto him. I'm not sold on Jason Bay in the slightest. It's clear that most fans want Ramirez to stay at least for the remainder of the 2008 season but Epstein and Co.'s pride might be too bruised at this point. Either way, I'm fully enjoying this "saga" and am anxious to see what develops today.

I still have to break you all off with the Bonus Features from the Celtics DVD which I will get to shortly. Happy Trade Deadline everyone.

P.S. He even spelled Favre's name correctly!

UPDATE - The deal went down but instead of going to the Marlins, Manny is heading to Tinsletown. The Dodgers are sending a bunch of prospects who will end up in Pittsburgh, and Jason Bay will be roaming left field at Fenway. Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen are part of the trade as well. Joe Torre managing Manny Ramirez eh? I bet Arizona is kicking themselves for not grabbing Texiera. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. At least Manny's not in the American League anymore...

When in doubt, write a random notes column!

I know there's a ton of stuff going on in the sports world right now, but a lot of things have already been covered extensively both here and on other blogs (Favre, MLB second half, NBA players leaving to play in Europe, the Dark Knight rules the world) so I'm going to hit you with a few quick points and call it a day. Did I mention I get out of work at 2:00 on Fridays? Holla.




Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito will fight for the welterweight title tomorrow night. I have fairly limited boxing knowledge (shocking!), but have a group of friends who are super into the sport. When I watched the Pacquiao fight with them last month, they were all psyched for this fight. Besides the fact that both guys are really, really good, one is from Puerto Rico (Cotto) and the other is from Mexico (Margarito). Something you might not know: Puerto Ricans and Mexicans HATE each other. Okay, that might be a strong generalization, but both countries take their boxing very seriously. Lots of pride. There is a storied history between Puerto Rican fighters and Mexican fighters in brutal matches. Trinidad/De La Hoya comes to mind as the last one to have a huge impact. Margarito (right in photo) obviously has a height advantage, but experts say that Cotto's deliberate style and brutal body shots will prevail. I know in this age of youtube and such that paying to watch live boxing/MMA isn't as appealing as it used to be, but this will most likely be the best fight of the year.


Rooting for the White Sox and following the Red Sox because there really is no escaping them if you live in the Boston area, I noticed both teams have big weeks ahead. Boston has a huge series with the Yankees starting tonight at Fenway. David Ortiz makes his return tonight to try and keep the physically ailing Yankees from gaining any more ground in the East. Beckett vs. Joba, 7:05, catch it! Then on Monday, the Angels roll into town and the Sox get a chance to avenge that ugly sweep from last weekend.

• Just wanted to make a quick mention about how Dice-K (11-1) is having a fantastic second year. I still remember sitting in my car during a lunch break when it was announced that Boston posted the highest amount of any team (51.1 mil) to negotiate with Dice-K and the Seibu Lions. Most people were pretty skeptical about how well he would play, but his numbers this year are fantastic. He had one really awful game when he came back from the DL and although his WHIP is kinda gruesome, he has 83 Ks in 95 innings, his ERA is 2.63, and his BAA is .202.

As far as my ChiSox go, they are on the road in Detroit Fri-Sun, then in Minnesota Mon-Thu. They have a 2.5 game lead right now and could really make a statement by performing well and expanding that lead a bit. Rookie Clayton Richard made his debut in place of Jose Contreras yesterday and wasn't phenomenal, but Chicago pulled out a 10-8 win thanks to my man Carlos Quentin. While it may be a bit early to give Quentin a membership to the Grown Ass Man Club, he is first in the American League in game winning RBIs and first in HRs. The pitching staff has been giving up a lot of runs lately, so hopefully that will change.

Next member of the Grown Ass Man Club?

• You HAVE to watch this: http://withleather.uproxx.com/post.phtml?pk=6456. This is definitely a Web Gem of the Year nominee. The White Sox weren't even sure if Alexei Ramirez was going to make the team during Spring Training. Second base isn't even his natural position! And in addition to making plays like this, he is batting .307 and is the only guy with the last name Ramirez to hit a grand slam this year...

The Golden State Warriors just locked up 22 year old Monta Ellis with a 6 year, $66 million contract. I think this guy is legitimately the fastest player in the entire NBA but the team is shifting him over to point guard. Not sure if he's got the handle to run a team but he's a great scorer. He finished with 21 point and 4 assist averages this past season playing in 81 games. The Warriors also traded for Marcus Williams to back him up. I don't think Williams ever got a fair shake in New Jersey as I thought he was originally the heir apparent to Jason Kidd once he retired. Then, the Nets traded for Devin Harris and the former UConn Husky got pushed to the side. Golden State is now looking at a starting lineup of: Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, Al Harrington and Ronny Turiaf.

Lebron James will most likely miss the USA Olympic team's exhibition game tonight against Canada. Not a huge deal or anything, but the team can't really afford any more injuries. Lebron's ankle, Dwight Howard's chest, and now it looks like Tyson Chandler might not be the alternate due to an injured toe. Kevin Durant will most likely go in his place. Interesting... Anyway, this will be the only exhibition game that the USA team will play on American soil.

So there are some things to chew on heading into the weekend. I plan on writing a review of the Celtics' Championship DVD either Sunday or Monday. A special viewing might be in order and High Life may be prominently involved. Don't forget to see Step Brothers if the weather is lousy where you live. This will be the best Will Ferrell movie since Anchorman!

P.S. Have I mentioned they're making a sequel to Anchorman?!?!?!

Now things get interesting

Man did this weekend get away from me. Anywho, we are now firmly entrenched in the second half of the 2008 Major League Baseball season. Some major deals have already been made (Sabathia and Harden) with a few more surely to take place before the July 31st deadline. Certain teams are still trying to figure out if they are buyers or sellers while others know that they stink and have no chance at making the playoffs. When looking towards October, we can safely eliminate: Toronto, Baltimore, Kansas City, Cleveland, Seattle, Washington, Cincinnati, Houston, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and San Diego. I suppose I could rip off Bill Simmons (10 week vaca to finish his book, nice) and do some sort of Dark Knight awards type deal but I'm still trying to process everything and it's two and a half days later. So we'll stick with a more conventional approach. Enjoy.

AL East:Boston Red Sox

While it'd be great to break up the monotony and have the Rays win this division, the Sox just have too many weapons. They have multiple MVP candidates (more on that later) and that doesn't even count David Ortiz because he's missed so much time with the wrist injury. Papelbon has shown blips of inconsistency but I think he'll be fine down the stretch. The young guys continue to impress and I think they need to keep Lowrie up on the big league club for good. Catcher and the bullpen are their only two week spots in my opinion and you can be sure Theo Epstein will make some kind of move that hopefully won't turn into another Gagne debacle. Tampa Bay and New York will certainly make things interesting though.

AL Central:Chicago White Sox

So you knew this was coming. It'll be a three team race for the rest of the year with Detroit finally waking up. It seems that the Chisox and the Twins have done this with basically smoke and mirrors all year. Up until yesterday, Chicago had all five starters in their rotation make every single start. They have either been first or second in quality starts. That is huge in today's game. But now Contreras is on the 15 Day DL and Vazquez has been strangely inconsistent. Their bullpen is very solid but Jenks is still a little banged up. Quentin, Dye and Crede all need to keep their production up and it wouldn't hurt if Konerko did anything. Anything at all. A HUGE factor in the Central race will be when Francisco Liriano gets called back up and how effective he will be. Seemingly 100% healthy, he has been dominating AAA ball but the Twins have come up with some garbage line that their is no room in their rotation for him right now. What?!?! Hey, keep him down there. You won't hear Ozzie Guillen or Jim Leyland complaining...

AL West:California Angels

This is the only division in baseball that looks like it's a wrap already. (And yeah, I know they're not called the California Angels anymore but their name now is so dumb that I refuse to acknowledge it.) Top to bottom, a great baseball team. Their rotation is filthy and K-Rod is a man possessed. No seriously, I think he needs an exorcism. Someone get John Constatine on the horn because no one should be celebrating that much after a save in July. Their lineup doesn't exactly set the world on fire, but Mike Scioscia will get the most out of his players. Oakland continues to amaze by playing above .500 with a cast of unknowns and Texas has some great young offensive players, but the Angels are just too far ahead and know how to hold a divisional lead.

AL Wild Card:Tampa Bay Rays

Now you may have noticed that these "predictions" are just the current standings. I realize I'm not going out on any kind of limb here. The Rays won't be able to fend of Boston but will keep New York, Minnesota, Oakland and Texas at bay with their youth, their impressive 1-2-3 of Kazmir, Shields and Garza and an attitude to prove to everyone that they aren't a flash in the pan. Troy Percival is still a ginoromous question mark especially since the Twins have Nathan and the Yanks have Mariano. Still, the Rays would make the postseason for the first time in the club's history.

So that means we're looking at:

Angels vs. Rays

Boston vs. Chicago

I'll let you draw your own conclusions as to who will represent the American League in the World Series. It sure is looking like another Red Sox/Angels showdown. Gotta love that home field advantage though.

Of course we can't forget the four postseason awards.

Rookie of the Year:Evan Longoria, TB

It might be overstating it slightly to say that he could even be considered an MVP candidate, but Longoria currently leads the Rays in home runs and RBIs. He plays a solid third base with only 7 errors so far this season and is fifth in the entire league in fielding % for third basemen. He was an All-Star and will be the face of the franchise longer than Kevin Costner will continue to star in awful movies. (Okay, maybe not that long. Swing Vote? Really?) Just one of the many young Rays who have turned a team that has been a laughing stock for a decade, into a title contender. Which leads me to:

Manager of the Year:Joe Madden, TB

Not a lot of people expected the White Sox to be where they are but NO ONE expected the Rays to be in first place on July 21st. He's really instilled in his players that they really have a chance to win. He realizes that he's got a group of talented young kids and they have the tools to succeed now, rather than two or three years from now. If they don't end up making the playoffs, I could see the award going to Sciosia or maybe Gardenhire/Girardi depending on who wins the Wild Card.

Cy Young:Roy Halladay, Tor

This was a tough one. There are two pitchers at the top of almost every category in the AL right now, but I don't see either of them having the success they had in the first half. Justin Duchscherer and Cliff Lee have been essentially lights out so far, but Lee in particular I see fading fast. And Duchscherer isn't even in the top 30 in K's. Ervin Santana should be considered too as he is having an outstanding year. He's in the top five in wins, strikeouts and WHIP right now. But his ERA is too high and I don't know if he'll start coasting in August due to his team's large lead. Now the Cy Young is a bit different than MVP because it's based waaay more on stats than playing for a contender. That's why Halladay will ultimately win. Losses aren't a great indicater of a starter's skill, and while he will have a few more than the other top pitchers, his other stats will completely overshadow them. This is all assuming that he stays healthy mind you. And while it is a shame that he pitches for the Blue Jays, he is the one true dominant pitcher in the American League. Dude has seven complete games! James Shields is next with three. It'd be great to see "Doc" pitch in the playoffs some day.

Most Valuable Player:Manny Ramirez, Bos

Mainly because I don't want to give JD Drew any kind of credit. There are a bunch of guys in the upper echelon here and no one truly stands out. I don't know if Carlos Quentin and Josh Hamilton will be able to keep up their paces in their first full years as pros. Ian Kinsler's home run and RBI totals are too low even though the stolen bases make up for it. I love my man Youk but he's a notorious poor second half player. A-Rod is always in the discussion even though he missed some time due to injury. Jermaine Dye (top ten in .OPS, average and HRs) is someone I could see vying for the title if he stays healthy. Of course as I write this, I see he left yesterday's game after getting hit in the knee with a pitch. Damn it! So Manny has the same kind of numbers as these other guys but he's the most consistent. And, I think when Ortiz comes back, he'll be more protected in the lineup. Plus with all the contract/options talk, you know Manny will try and put up the best numbers possible. Also heavily factored into this decision were the catch/high five/double play and cell phone call from inside the Monster. Just awesome.

So there's the American League for ya. I admit I don't follow the NL quite as closely but I'll be back at some point today (read: tomorrow) to give my thoughts that may or may not deal with excluding any NL West teams from the playoffs...