Jabin's Red Sox Diary

The (Don't Call Me Devil) Rays

2008-07-03T20:09:00.004-05:00

So the Sox were swept in a 3-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays this week.

FULL DISCLOSURE ALERT: I grew up in St. Petersburg, FL, about 6 miles from where the Rays play at Tropicana Field. Of course, this was before there was a baseball team, and when I lived there the "World's Largest Shuffleboard Court" (as the Trop was called in those days) was used as bait to get teams to relocate to Florida. All that happened when I lived there was the White Sox used St. Petersburg as the "other suitor " to get new Comiskey built, and the Giants used St. Petersburg as the "other suitor" to get PacBell or whatever they're calling the ballpark in San Francisco these days. But after I moved away, MLB gracioiusly awarded Tampa Bay an expansion ballclub, and the Devil Rays were born. It was such big news, my brother and I flew down to take our parents to the first game in franchise history (pictured here).

But since I never lived there while the Devil Rays existed, I never had much of a chance to root, root root for the home team. Besides, they have been nothing to write home about in their first decade of existence, finishing in last place in the AL East in nine of the last 10 years. Let's face it, the Devil Rays have been the laughing stock of baseball for the past decade.

This year, with some nice young players, really good team chemistry, decent pitching a fine manager, the Rays (they've now dropped the "Devil" from their name) are playing the best baseball in the league if you believe the records. Their three-game sweep of the Sox this week was a "statement" to the rest of the league that they are, indeed, for real.

So why am I not happy for my hometown team?

Well, there are a few reasons. The nasty rivalry with the Red Sox is a big reason. If my Red Sox don't get along with a team, I'm naturally not going to like them. But I'd have to say the biggest reason I can't stand the Rays is their announcer, Dwayne Staats. I find this gentleman to be -- hmm, how can I put this politely? -- an asshole.

How in the name of Dewon Brazelton can this guy be so arrogant when he announces for the Rays? It's the Rays!!! -- note above, nine last-place finishes in 10 years, and this guy sounds like they've been dominating baseballf for a decade. I just don't get the arrogance all of a sudden because they've pulled 1/2 of a season out of their collective you-know-whats??? These guys are gaining on the White Sox for the title of "Announcers who make you want to shoot your friggin' television."

As I've said before, I live outside of Philadelphia and watch my Sox on the MLB "Extra Innings" package, and they usually give you the home team's feed. Since the Sox were in St. Pete this week, I was stuck with two gut-wrenching games of listening to Dwayne talk about how Zeus almighty came down from Mt. Olympus and populated the Rays organization with baseball geniuses (or is that genia? geni?). I know the announcers work for the team, but he takes it to a new level. At least Don Orsillo and Rem Dog keep it real -- and if one of the Sox screws up, they'll talk about it. I admit my bias, but I feel like they call a nice, even-handed game, which is pretty much all you can ask out of an announcer.

Staats even committed to ultimate broadcaster's sin by making himself the story last week for his comments on MLB reducing Coco Crisp's suspension, saying that other baseball teams "served at the pleasure of the Red Sox." I don't even know what that means, but I don't know the meaning of most of the babblings from this man.

Thank goodness the Wednesday Game 3 was on ESPN, so I actually enjoyed the telecast -- though not the result on the field.

Sure, some of this is sour grapes. I don't like trailing the Rays in the standings, even though I secretly think it's a good thing for baseball to have someone besides the Red Sox or Yankees leading the AL East for a week or two. So let the Rays have their moment, as they are on a nice roll. Hell, I'll even give them July, and then it's back to reality! :-)

But while they are having their moment, can someone please throw a muzzle on that pompous jerk in the booth

Sox in Philly

2008-06-20T09:46:00.003-05:00

Had the rare treat of seeing the Sox in person twice this week as they were in town to play an inter-league game against the Phillies. My "Sox Curse" is officially over, as they split the two games I saw (they used to always lose when I went in person, but lately they've been winning a lot more games when I'm there -- probably because they've been winning a lot more games lately, period, but let me have my fantasies). I had the unbelievable privilege of seeing Jon Lester pitch on Tuesday night, and wow! He's just got unbelievable stuff. With the movement on his fastball, it's no wonder he pitched a no-hitter. He baffled the Phils for seven shutout innings, and then Okajima and Papelbon finished up (textbook stuff).

Sad news this morning that Schilling is going to have season-ending and possibly career-threatening shoulder surgery. I can't say as I'm surprised by this, as I never counted on him pitching this year. If it is truly the end of his career, he will go down in history as one of the most clutch postseason pitchers of all time (I'm including his work with the Phillies in '93 as well as his stint with the D-Backs). But his performance in 2004 and the 'bloody sock' is the stuff of legends, appropriately so in Red Sox nation. Sure, he can be a self-centered jerk, and it's all about him, but the guy could sure as heck pitch. Isn't that what it's all about for the fans? With apologies to Mitch Williams, I'll take the mouth and the personality as long as you can bring it like he did every fifth day.

Too good to be true?

2008-04-23T09:50:00.003-05:00

You might think after two titles in four years that a fan of the Red Sox would stop being paranoid and just enjoy the success, but after an 86-year drought, you'd be forgiven for holding on to feelings of anxiety about the Sox' chances.

But the way the team is playing, it's almost too good to be true. There have been a couple of instances this season where I thought a game was lost, but the Sox found a way to pull out a victory (two games in Cleveland come to mind), and a few escapes in the four-game sweep of Texas over the weekend also qualify, especially Sunday's comeback.

But last night's series opener against those Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim was the biggest example yet. On a night when Josh Beckett was scratched from his scheduled start with a neck problem, and both Jason Varitek and Manny Delcarmen were out with the flu, all signs pointed to a rough night at Fenway.

The Sox called up David Pauley from Pawtucket to take Beckett's start, and the Angels quickly figured out that if they wait for the sinker-baller to get a pitch up, they were in business. It didn't look good.

But Jacoby Ellsbury hit two home runs, and the Sox rallied for a 7-6 victory in a game they probably should have lost. Too good to be true? Maybe. But this team is so solid, words like "dynasty" are starting to creep into my mind. With Big Papi in an early-season slump and Mike Lowell on the DL -- not to mention the fact that Curt Schilling might not pitch an inning this year -- the Sox have found a way to grab first place in the loaded AL East. Will the other shoe ever drop? Should I even be thinking about that? The way this team is playing and the "embarrassment of riches" success tell me that I should not.

Championship rings, Buckner

2008-04-09T15:03:00.002-05:00

It was a great day at Fenway yesterday. Opening Day, the sun was shining, and the Sox picked up their championship rings from the '07 title.

But the big headline of the day, for me, was the long-overdue return of one Bill Buckner. The "goat" of the 1986 World Series threw out the first pitch (to my boyhood hero, Dwight Evans), and got a warm ovation from the Fenway crowd.

My reaction: it's about damn time!!!

It's easy to forgive and forget Buckner after the glory of two titles in the past four seasons, but I ask why it took two titles and 22 years for this to happen? I was as upset as anyone on that October night in 1986 when Mookie Wilson's grounder went through Buckner's legs to end Game 6, but ... THIS JUST IN ... Buckner did not cost the team the world series! The fact that he has been villified, ostracized, and (of his own doing) banished out west is just plain wrong. There is a long laundry list of things that cost the Sox Game 6 against the Mets, among them:

Clemens asking (depending on who you believe) to come out of the game becuase of a sore finger

Bob Stanley's wild pitch

The above-mentioned steamer not covering the bag, so they probably wouldn't have gotten the speedy Mookie Wilson anyway at first

This was Game 6 -- people forget they had a LEAD in Game 7

And last, but certainly not least, is the biggest one of all. Manager John McNamara not using Dave Stapleton as a defensive replacement at first base as he had done ALL SEASON. That's right, Buckner shouldn't have even been in the game at that point. His bad knees, and the fact that Stapes was just a better defensive player overall should have all contributed to McNamara sticking with his game plan and putting in Stapleton.

But alas, all that could have gone wrong did go wrong, and the title was lost, leaving us 18 more years of misery to suffer as a Nation. All that being said, it STILL wasn't Buckner's fault.

I'm so glad he returned to Fenway, and judging from his emotional news conference you can tell that the events of 1986 still haunt him. The guy was an unbelievable player, and you could argue that the Sox wouldn't have made the '86 series without him.

It's sad that it took all this success to welcome him back with open arms, but at least it's done. Welcome back, Billy Buck!

Spring Training 08

2008-03-14T08:38:00.002-05:00

I just can't wait for the season to start -- should be another good one. Sure, there are questions about pitching (the Sox just put Schilling on the 60-day DL, and I honestly don't expect him to pitch even one inning for the Sox in '08), but the lineup is basically unchanged since last year, and that's a good thing.

Saddened today to learn of the release of Doug Mirabelli. I loved his role with the team as Wake's catcher, but he just didn't put up any numbers last year.

And I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of this trip to Japan to start the season. I'm all for exhibition and for spreading the game throughout the world, but that's a LOOONG way to go to play two games that count. Oh well, I'm not too concerned about it. Perhaps its the sight of the Yankees feeling that they have to slide into second with their spikes up and then have a bench-clearing brawl with the Devil Rays that has me, hmm, shall we say, feeling good. Not cocky, mind you, but feeling good.

Nice timing

2007-11-18T09:43:00.000-05:00

I think it’s a terrific irony that this blog, dedicated to the Red Sox and their success, experienced technical difficulties around the time of the World Series. As a result, all my posts from the conclusion of the ALCS and throughout the World Series have been wiped out. Since I write these things directly within the Blogger software, I don’t have a record of these posts, and I don’t think it’s worth it to try to re-create them. Suffice it to say that I’m a pretty happy camper these days, what with two World Championships within a four-year span.

It’s a little weird, I must admit, this recent success. You don’t just throw off 86 years of misery like that (snapping fingers) and *expect* to start winning, do you? Well apparently, if you’re a member of Red Sox Nation, you should have. In hindsight, this 2007 team showed no signs of a letdown from the time spring training broke until the last Papelbon fastball for the clinching strikeout. But it’s funny how many times I thought to myself – “Oh sh*t, this is it,” or “Here come the Yankees.” In reality, the Yankees could be on the verge of imploding (and no Joe Torre to steady the ship), and the Sox won with a huge contribution from young talent like Papelbon, Pedroia, Lester, and the stone-cold-lock-future-all-star Jacoby Ellsbury. Sure, they need to sign Lowell, but this team is going to be solid for years to come. I think it’s a little early to use the “D” word (no, not donuts, dynasty), but let’s admit that it wouldn’t be surprising at this point to see multiple titles come from this crew. As Torre showed – and correctly said – it’s a crapshoot when you get to the postseason, so you never know, but this group will be heard from again, no question.

Go Sox!

Beckett!

2007-10-19T08:05:00.000-05:00

Just when they needed it, the Sox got a dominating (DOMINATING!) performance from Josh Beckett tonight in Game 5 vs. Cleveland. Beckett was absolutely masterful, and didn't allow the Indians even a whiff of a chance of success. He even got in Kenny Lofton's face when Lofton thought a strike was a ball and dropped his bat. Beckett wouldn't have any of it, and yelled something at Lofton after he popped up. Lofton then had a few words back to Beckett (I don't think they were trading recipes) as he headed for the dugout. Pretty soon the umpire was out, both benches emptied, and the bullpens came charging in from right field. But it was a typical baseball fight -- lots of testosterone, no punches thrown, and cooler heads prevail in the end.

The Fox broadcasters were livid with Manny Ramirez for not legging out what *he thought* was a home run - on a play where Papi scored all the way from first base, Manny ended up standing on first and calling for time out. They make a good point, but they also fail to realize that every citizen of Red Sox Nation will take this behavior from Manny. What we casually chalk up as "Manny Being Manny" is actually some pretty flaky and sometimes poor behavior that, by anyone else, would probably get you disciplined or fined by your coach. But with Manny, people just shake their heads and say, "That's Manny." Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the guy can hit the cover off the ball, consistently, and hardly ever comes up small when his team needs him. Just maybe.

No time to panic

2007-10-18T09:42:00.000-05:00

OK, so the boys are down 3-1 in the ALCS. I think they have proven, in their recent history, that just because the other team wins 3 games in a series doesn't mean anything is settled, by any means. Now I'll be the first to admit that this is note 2004, and this is not the group of "idiots." (For one thing, this team has a much more "professional" feel to it, and baseball seems like more of a job, and less of the fun that the '04 team had). But the manager is the same, and the core of the team is basically the same. They can do it. Keep the faith.

Gag Me!

2007-10-14T20:03:00.000-05:00

Let me be very clear about this -- ERIC GAGNE IS DONE for the ALCS. There's a bigger chance of seeing me take the mound for the Sox than seeing this guy again. Can we be grown-ups here? Not only did he almost single-handedly let the Yankees back in the division race with a few poorly-timed mound implosions down the stretch, but his 1/3 inning of (ahem) relieve in Game 2 of the ALCS let the Indians tie the series at 1-1 heading to Cleveland. Nothing to panic about yet, with Dice-K going on Monday, but I sure could have used a 2-0 lead leaving Fenway.

Meanwhile, in the National League, it's looking like a Rockies sweep. They just took a 1-0 lead in Game 3 in Denver, and the Diamondbacks are starting to look like a speedbump on the Rockies' race to the World Series. Oh well.

And they're off vs. Tribe

2007-10-12T21:29:00.001-05:00

A few thoughts from tonight's great start in Game 1 of the ALCS against Cleveland, as the Sox take a 1-0 series lead.

The announcers just said a stat that is simply amazing. In 36 plate appearances so far this postseason, Manny and Papi have reached base 29 times. That is nothing short of amazing, and that's an .806 on-base percentage for those of you scoring at home (or those of you alone). Good gravy!
Were my eyes deceiving me, or is Asdrubal Cabrera of the Indians wearing a pearl necklace with his uniform. Tell me that guy doesn't take a whole load of cr*p in the locker room for that!
Another great statistic. Manny walked twice tonight with the bases loaded to force in two runs, becoming just the second player in MLB postseason history to do so. The other? Jim Palmer (a pitcher, no less) in the 1971 World Series. Tim McCarver correctly pointed out that that will make a great trivia question in 5 years.
Schilling against Fausto Carmona Saturday night in Game 2. I'm not sure what to think of Carmona. I kept thinking this season that he would wake up one day and realize that he's actually Fausto Carmona and not Cy Young, but he hasn't. In fact, the 9 innings he pitched vs. the Yankees (you remember them, don't you? they used to play baseball this season) in Game 2 of the ALDS -- the Bug Game -- was downright scary. Hopefull the Sox can do to Fausto what they did to Sabathia in Game 1.
Can we call a halt to the term "filthy" when describing a pitcher with good stuff. The term is fine, and most likely accurate, but enough already! Any pitcher who has a ball break more than 3 inches has his stuff called filthy. I guess that's in vogue now, like "nasty" was in the early 90s -- when the Reds had the Nasty Boys -- but enough is enough.

Joe Torre

2007-10-09T08:08:00.000-05:00

Far be it from me to defend a Yankee, but I think it is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS for the Yankees to be talking about firing Joe Torre. As distasteful as it was for George Steinbrenner to issue a statement over the weekend (with his team down 2-0 in the series to Cleveland) that if the Yankees didn't win this series, Torre was gone. That was bad. Following through on the threat would be worse.

What exactly has Torre done wrong? The players love him. I defy you to point to one move he's made that is wrong (a rarity, trust me), and he seems like a classy guy. Now consider all that, and consider that it's coming from someone who HATES THE YANKEES with every fiber of my being. Hate the team -- respect the manager.

So actually, now that I think about it, I hope King George does let Torre go. I hope he hires a string of unsuccessful managers and reverts to the days of a revolving door at the helm of the Yankees. This 12 years of stability and success was getting old anyway.

Sweep in Anaheim

2007-10-07T22:01:00.000-05:00

Wow!

Just a great series against Anaheim, which the Sox wrapped up today with a 9-1 victory in Anaheim. I have to be honest and say that I thought this series would be tougher than it was, but the Sox pitching was just too strong, and it seems like Anaheim could never get its offense in gear.

A little confession -- I couldn't watch today's game because my daughter had an out-of-town soccer game. We were driving home and listening on the radio, and Manny and Papi had gone deep for a 2-0 lead. I lost the signal as Papi had a single, and couldn't get the game on any other station. About 20 minutes later I tried again and got ESPN radio, only to find out the Sox had a 9-0 lead! Well that about wraps that game up! Very nice.

On to the ALCS.

Manny! Manny! Manny!

2007-10-06T01:02:00.000-05:00

Great win tonight vs. the Angels in Game 2. It was close the whole way, but Manny Ramirez ended things in the 9th inning with a walk-off 3-run homer on a ball that is still going (I think) over the Monstah Seats and into the Boston night. Sox win, 6-3, and head to Anaheim (excuse me, Los Angeles at Aneheim) with a 2-0 series lead. Life is good.

The night was made even sweeter by the Yankees' extra-innings loss to Cleveland. And those bugs!?? What was that about? I can't wait for the Yankee fans to complain about those bugs, as if the Cleveland players didn't have to play under the same conditions. And poor Joba Chamberlain giving up the tying run. Maybe he'll start getting some media attention now, because I really feel bad for the poor guy and his "under the radar" baseball career thus far.

Remain Calm, All is Well

2007-09-19T11:38:00.000-05:00

OK, I just love the Animal House quote above, but I also think it is appropriate today for Red Sox Nation. Sure, the boys have blown a lead that swelled to as many as 14 1/2 games at one point over the Yankees, and now it's down to 2 1/2, but panicking can only make things worse.

That being said, this sucks. My Yankee fan friends are just loving this, and you know the Sox players are seeing the Yankees in their rearview mirrors. I still think the Sox will win the division, but who the heck needs this drama? And Eric Gagne is going to give me a frickin' stroke!

Donde esta el Manny?

Sweepless in Seattle

2007-06-29T20:48:00.000-05:00

Pretty crappy series in Seattle this week. Sox were swept, and the worst part as that my cable company's "MLB Extra Innings" feed was the home team (as it usually is), so I had to listen the crappy Mariners' announcers. Man, do those guys blow? They are the biggest homers this side of, well, the South Side of Chicago (you know who I mean), and if they used "we" one more time while referring to the team I was gonna shoot the television.

Luckily the boys are home at Fenway this weekend with the disappointing Texas Rangers in town. Wake on the mound tonight, so anything goes, but it's good to be home after that Mariners series.

Wily Mo

2007-04-26T20:33:00.000-05:00

I still think trading away Bronson Arroyo was a mistake, and having him on the pitching staff near the end of the 2006 season might have slowed down the collapse, but damn it's fun to watch Wily Mo Pena hit home runs! He just hit a grand slam against the Orioles in the eighth inning to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead just like that (snapped my fingers). And he didn't scrape any paint off the back of the fence, either. He absolutely crushed that ball, and it even made the Orioles announcers gasp a little bit. Would I like to have Arroyo still pitching for the Sox? Sure. But Pena's "upside" is fun to think about, especially after shots like that.

How Sweep It Is!!!

2007-04-23T16:34:00.000-05:00

A wise man once said "It's a long season," and I'm pretty sure he was talking about baseball, not winter. That's one reason I'm trying real hard (I said trying, not succeeding) not to get to excited about this weekend's sweep of the Yankees at Fenway. For starters, the Sox had their pitching lined up just perfectly for the series, as Schilling started Friday, Beckett on Saturday, and Dice-K making his debut against the Yankees on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. Despite all that good pitching, the Boys from Beantown had to come from behind in every game. But who cares how they did it; the important thing is that they DID IT. Swept the bastards, that is.

Yankee fans can make all the excuses they want about inexperienced pitching, injuries, etc., but those excuses fell on deaf ears when the Sox collapsed last year. No sale. You play with the team you have, and that's baseball.

The highlight of the weekend had to have been Sunday night's third inning, when the Sox hit FOUR HOME RUNS IN A ROW. Manny, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek all went yard off rookie Chase Wright, welcoming him to Fenway. And although A-Rod stayed hot all weekend (bombing two homers on Friday night), he ended Sunday's game with a wimpy groundout off a fired up Papelbon.

So as I say, I'm really trying hard not to get excited, but these Sox look good, and I think it's going to be a good year. I still fear and respect the Yankees, but I'm going to enjoy the hell out of this sweep. Next weekend, to the Bronx.

Dice K is the real deal!!!

2007-04-05T15:25:00.000-05:00

I know the guy has been under-publicized, but this Dice-K guy looks to be the real deal. He's heading to the 7th inning of an absolute gem over the Kansas City Royals in his Red Sox debut, and he looks terrific. Great command of the strike zone, and he seems to be getting the Royals to do exactly what he wants them to do -- the mark of a truly great pitcher. One mistake -- a solo home run by the Royals -- but otherwise a fantastic day. I just wish the press would give this guy some attention.

2007 Season Opener

2007-04-02T21:29:00.000-05:00

I’ve never been a big fan of the thinking that the season opener is a “barometer” of things to come for the season. And it’s a pretty darn good thing today, as the Sox dropped their season opener at Kansas City this afternoon, Curt Schilling getting touched up in the process. What the hell is it with Kansas City? The Sox got swept their last year in a sign of bad things to come, and then they start off the new season with a lopsided loss at KC. And then against the rest of the league, the Royals turn into the Bad News Bears. I just don’t get it.

Anyway, I am optimistic about this season. Dice-K looks to be the real deal, I like the acquisition of Lugo at SS, and some other pickups are pretty key. I could never understand why things went so bad so quickly last year, so maybe my optimism is misplaced, but there you go. Let the games begin, let’s play two, and all that stuff. Can’t wait for this season to get into full swing!

Domo arigato, Mr. Henry

2006-12-21T19:40:00.000-05:00

The Dice-Man cometh to Beantown. The Sox, after plunking down $51 million just to talk to Daisuke Matsuzaka (actually, it was $51 to talk to his agent, Scott Boras), the Sox came up with another $50 million to sign the Japanese phenom. But what’s $50 among friends. And if this guy lives up to his hype, it could be a good acquisition. He could be a mainstay in the Sox starting lineup for years to come, and I hope he is. But the whole situation is a little creepy. I mean, this is George Steinbrenner stuff, this shelling out of multi-million dollar contracts on guys who haven’t pitched in the bigs. I hope Dice-K (looks like that will be his nickname) lives up to his billing and wins 20 for the Sox for several years to come, but that is a ton of money. But hey, it’s not my money.

Nuts

2006-09-04T21:22:00.000-05:00

This season is starting to suck…

The incredible Papi show...

2006-08-01T20:11:00.000-05:00

OK, this is getting a little ridiculous. This is baseball, after all, where failure 7 times out of 10 over the course of your batting career can get you considered for the Hall of Fame. But David Ortiz, aka Big Papi, is now *expected* to hit a walkoff home run every time he gets the chance. It's really not fair, but it's also his fault. He keeps doing it, so what are we to expect.

Papi's latest blast came against the Cleveland Indians last night, a 3-run shot in the ninth that turned an 8-6 deficit into a 9-8 walkoff win. I was watching the game on ESPN because I could get high-def (and I couldn't get that on NESN, through MLB Extra Innings), and the ESPN broadcast started showing Papi as soon as they knew he would get an at-bat in the 9th. They showed him, and they talked about it. It was the perfect scenario for overhyping something and then it not coming true. But as he walked to the plate, I started thinking: "Oh shit, Papi can do it. Wait, I know he's going to do it." That kind of thinking is just wrong in baseball, where you get used to failing more often than succeeding. But he looked at two balls out of the strike zone, and the first pitch he saw in the strike zone -- BOOM -- over the fence in center. Game over. Celebration at home plate.

Dad calls on the phone and wakes the wife. My brother Emails with the subject line "Are you kidding me!"

Just another day in the life of Big Papi. The guy is an incredible, clutch-hitting machine, and we have absolutely no right to expect him to do it every time.

Except he does.

Beckett signs extension

2006-07-20T21:08:00.000-05:00

The Red Sox put a nice capper on a 3-game sweep of the Royals as they announced they had extended Josh Beckett's contact three years. A great move all around. For one thing, it's nice that he's locked up. For another (and I really don't care about this, because it's not my money), they got him for a lot less than they would have had to pay on the free agent market. It's one of those rare things in baseball when everyone wins (although you could argue Beckett left money on the table, nothing in life is guaranteed. And at these prices...?).

19 innings in Chicago

2006-07-09T20:56:00.000-05:00

So okay, the All-Star break came a bit later for the Red Sox and White Sox. On Sunday (or 3-days-off getaway day before the All-Star break), the Sox and Sox played 19 innings on Chicago's South Side. As brutal as this game was at the end, it was made much worse by the ridiculous White Sox announcers (I wish I could get the NESN feed on satellite, but on MLB Extra Innings you taketh the feed they give). I don't mind the one guy, but the only thing more annoying than listening to Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson is listening to Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson for 19 frickin' innings. Are these guys watching the same game? Their bias is unbelievable!!!

I know, I know, all broadcasters are biased, so grow up. But not this bad. I have no doubt in my mind that NESN's Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy are root root rooting for the Red Sox, but they still describe the game on the field. If one of the Red Sox players screws up, they get called on it. After all, their job is to *describe* the game and make comments on it. But these White Sox announcers are so ridiculously one-sided, it makes it not fun to watch if you're not rooting for the White Sox. I'm sure the club knows this, and they are entitled to have whoever they want broadcast the games. But this open cheering for the White Sox (even questioning balls and strikes, for heaven's sake!) is just too much. Makes me want to subscribe to MLB.tv just so I can get a different feed. If I never hear, "Put it on the board, yup!" again, it will be too soon.

Step right up and Sweep the Mets!!!

2006-06-29T21:05:00.000-05:00

So many highlights, so much to say.

I'm not sure what I enjoyed more, watching David Ortiz advance from second to third on a sac fly (you could almost hear Chris Berman yelling 'rumblin', stumblin', bumblin'), or Coco Crisp's sprawling catch to save the game? Clearly it was the catch -- they don't come much better.

If you throw in the circumstances that surrounded it (ie, the Mets probably would have tied the score and perhaps gone ahead had he not grabbed it), it might be the best catch of the year.

Schilling vs. Glavine started out as a pitchers' duel, and it *was* as they played to a 0-0 tie through six innings. But then Carlos Beltran got to Schilling with a 2-run shot for a 2-0 lead, and that lump in my throat appeared (I really wanted this sweep!). But Mark Loretta blasted a shot over the Monstah to cut the lead to 2-1, and then Papi played wall ball with a double to left-center. After advancing on the above-mentioned sac fly, he scored to tie the game. Coco Crisp then flashed some speed on the bases before scoring on a sac fly by Youk, and Big Papi added an insurance run with a homer to deep center. Papelbon comes on to save it in the 9th, and it's broom time for the Metropolitans!!!

But the catch. Just unbelievable!

And now the winning streak has reached 12 games, the longest for the Sox since 1995. And as Orel Hershiser (who has turned into a pretty darn good announcer, by the way) said during the call of the game tonight, the Sox won this won with a team approach and they executed in every aspect of the game. That's true. They showed:

offense: (seven hits and four earned runs against Tom Glavine and a pretty darn good bullpen)
defense: Coco, you the man!
pitching: Schilling looked mahvelous, and Papelbon was his usual solid self
baserunning: Papi even looked good on the basepaths, and Crisp was fantastic

All told, a rather pleasant night at the Fens. :-)