A Spark for the Season?

I'm going to keep this brief, because I've been delving into sports, specifically the Sox, a little too much here lately. Haven't been getting many comments on the serious posts, so maybe people aren't feeling em anymore.

Plus it's pretty late in the day day. Sorry about that. Busy day. Luckily we had Kate post and a surprise appearance form Wolfie, whose comp has been getting blapped by a fat virus. Jake, meanwhile, is suffering from a different virus and hasn't even been online today. Let's wish him a big Get Well just like the kids in camp today, who all wrote him fire get well cards. Enjoy, buddy.

Actually, Jake's brother sent me over a clip of Jake from earlier today:



Meanwhile, back to the original point of this post. Could last night's Tigers-Sox "brawl" be the spark that the Sox needed to save their season?

I think it could be to be honest. I was talking about it with Jared and this team was as dead as they come. I even questioned the heart of the club in Monday's morbid post.

They needed something to give them a jump start and help them come together.

This isn't as epic as the 2004 Yankees-Sox brawl that saw Jason Varitek shove his mitt into A-Rod's grill followed by a huge comeback capped by a Bill Mueller walkoff of Rivera....but it could serve a similar purpose.

In 2004, the team used that came to come together and go on a historic August run. I think they won something like 20 of 22 games or something (too lazy to look it up right now).

After Youk charged the mound last night, I had a good feeling. I looked over at Jared and told him that this could be the spark we needed. A single and a monstrous Jason Bay homerun later, the feeling was confirmed.

That feeling grew once Terry Francona was ejected a batter later for arguing a really unimportant out call on a JD Drew steal attempt. Very unusual for Francona. He screams at umps and crossed the line about as often as...well about as often as Youk charges the mound - never.

Do I think they each did it on purpose? Eh, maybe. I think Youk was extremely fed up. Between his constant beanings from the Yankees, the fact that he was hit the night before and the total wear of a team-leading 10 HBPs this season, he just snapped. He was a little embarrassed after, but he knew he had to do something. As I wrote on Monday, this team was getting pushed around a bit lately. Not to get all macho, but someone had to stand up, here.

Francona, meanwhile, kept the ball rolling with his ejection right after. The players love seeing that fire from their skipper. Especially when they are not used to it. Again, I'm not saying he got tossed on purpose, but don't you think everybody in that home dugout got a sense how important this game was after that? I do.

It was a must win. Detroit is a good team. A first place team. They haven't won two straight in a week. They were playing at home, down 3-0 early and they just got their top hitter ejected with a suspension looming. It was as big of a game as it gets in August.

Youk's five game suspension was probably worth it. Actually, as I'm typing this, Mikey Lowell just went deep again. DO NOT pitch to him. Lowell will play third, VMart and Kotchman will play first and the Sox overall depth will shine through.

Meanwhile, as Youk chills these next five days, he can rest easy. He may have lit a match under a club that desperately needed a spark.

--Nick

Rumbled in the Bronx

Eek. Ugh. Fack. Good God. Eww. Icky. Gay. What theee...Coool. Shitty. Gross. Just completely and utterly horrendous (in the Simon Cowell voice).

These are just a few of the words that venture into my mind when I hear the words 'Boston Red Sox.'

The Boston 9 returned to Massachusetts in the wee hours of the morning, just in time to catch the early editions of the local papers, which predictably have begun to draw comparison between this edition of Sox to the 2006 crew, which was in first place for the beginning of the year before a 5-game massacre at the hands of the Yankees caused a cataclysmic second-half flameout.

But instead of just clamoring for Theo's head or jumping off the Tobin, let's try to identify just what has gone wrong here:

1) Cheapskates. First and foremost, this problem originated long before the games were even played. Only unidentifiable to the non-Kool-Aid drinkers and plain blue-hatted fans, the die hard recognized this team was acting different than most. Instead of making sincere efforts for game changing pitchers C.C. Sabathia and A.J Burnett and middle-of-the-lineup thumper Mark Texeira, what we got instead was a thinly veiled guise of contract negotiations which ended in the Plan B, Cs and Ds of the world in Brad Penny, John Smoltz and Rocco Baldelli. With Smoltz designated for assignment, Penny pitching as poorly as ever and Baldelli on his second DL stint, this plan has worked out as well as the Big Dig.

The smackdown New York laid in the Bronx this weekend was Exhibit A of the teams' varying off season strategies. As Burnett and Sabathia combined to shut the Sox out for two straight games, and Mark Texeira blasted a game-winning home run on Sunday, we had Smoltz released DURING the series, the rotation altered to avoid a Brad Penny sighting and Rocco Baldelli somewhere in an ice bath. True, you don't need to spend money to win. You know, unless you're in the same divisions and the Yankees and Tampa Bay. In which case, you most certainly do.

2) Shortstop. Sound familiar? Since Orlando Cabrera and his murky off the field issues went unpursued after the 2004 season, management has since struggled to find even an adequate solution at one of the game's most important positions. Edgar Renteria, Alex Gonzalez, Julio Lugo and Nick Green either couldn't hack it at the field or at the plate. Jed Lowrie is running out of excused too, although he can't seem to stay on the field long enough to prove anyone wrong or right.

What we are left with is a team so desperate to find consistency up the middle that they are considering making a play for the Nationals' Christian Guzman, who is hitting .315 this year after hitting .316 last season. Guzman is a good player, albeit a pricey one at 2-years, $16-million. Contrary to early reports yesterday, the Sox did NOT make a waiver claim for him. Instead if he clears waivers, look for the club to make a play for him then. I actually think this would be a terrific move, considering Guzman is good defensive player and would provide the Sox -- with Victor in the lineup at catcher -- with a deep and dynamic lineup (your 8 and 9 guys would probably be Drew and Guzman; not too shabby).

3. Heart. Do these Sox hav heart? It's tough to tell yet. One of the primary reasons why Billy Beane's Moneyball teams of the early 2000s never won anything was because they never had that swagger, that leadership, that mojo, that it that championship clubs have. The Sox of 2004 had it. Hell, they were swigging Jack before games doing high five dances and threatening to bean you if you touched on of their guys.

The squad I saw in New York got thrown at, smack talked and beaten into submission. Any team that doesn't score a run for 30+ innings has problems that run deeper than a lineup full of hurt or slumping players. I mean, to not be able to manufacture just one run is absurd.

Is the karma of being the only team in MLB without an African-American biting them back? Is the business0like approach too boring? No and No. The bigger problem? Teams are not assembled on paper. As much as strike-throwing pitchers high-OBP batters look good on paper, winning a championship is more than fine tuning some ideal machine. You need characters who will come through in the clutch or pick up the squad in moments of despair. Manny Ramirez did that. Derek Lowe did that better than anyone. David Ortiz used to do that. Can anyone on this team??

4. Middle of the Order. Has blogfather Jared pointed out to me last night: "What does it say about the Red Sox when you pick up Victor Martinez and he's immediately your 3 hitter? Guy would have hit fifth a few years ago."

Fewer truer words have been spoken. I love the Victor acquisition, especially considering that the Sox offer the moon and the stars for Adrien Gonzalez but were turned down. But the fact that an outsider comes in and is automatically your best hitter...just doesn't bode well for your chances at making a solid run.

The only parallels I'll accept between this team and the miserable team from 2006 is the absence of Ramirez. Manny wasn't here the last time the Sox failed to make the postseason. He quit that year. Three years later, with the Sox on the precipice of falling apart again, Manny is 3,000 miles away, this time after forcing his way out of town. Jason Bay was the solution for 2+ months last year. But with nagging injuries, a slumping bat and perhaps a, unsigned contract weighing over his head, he's been a shell of himself since mid-June.

This has been compounded by the recent news -- broken by a New York paper, no less -- that David Ortiz was on the list of players who failed a drug test in 2003. Not only has Ortiz hit under .200 since the story broke, he's been noticeably somber and sullen, his face more lifeless than Bill Compton. When the Sox were smashing bombs and winning titles, it was with Ortiz and Manny doing their impression of Ruth and DiMaggio. Looking across the dugout this weekend, as Texeira and A-Rod pumped bombs and smacked double high fives, one couldn't help but be jealous at what the Yanks now have -- the best 3-4 combo in all of baseball.

After dropping 6 games against Tampa and New York this weekend, we should know a lot more about these 4 issues by this time next week. C'mon, Sox. NFL is too far away for this...

---Nick

Is There Anyone Left?

Another day, another legend down the tubes.

This is the environment we've all been conditioned to live in. It's not a great time to be a baseball fan. It's not a great time to be a sports fan. As face after face of America's pastime gets associated with cheating and lack of organic numbers, there's only one clear loser here: the fans.

You could argue, as I might, that Barry Bonds is one of the "winners" today. This guy has born the brunt of the steroids discussion for so long it's just absurd. It was the to the point where I think the majority of people actually believed that outside of BALCO, there wasn't much steroid use in baseball.

As we can see now, that was simply not true.

I know there are a lot of Red Sox fans who will be on the defense for the next few weeks trying to defend the '04 championship. And realistically, it's going to be a tough argument. But it's not just the Sox; it's every team in the Major Leagues. You just happened to win the World Series; just like Bonds happened to hit 73 home runs.

It's not the Sox' fault. I personally don't believe they cultivated a steroids culture to obtain success. However, you could argue that without performance enhancing drugs, the Sox never win the World Series, never recreate Red Sox Nation and never ultimately receive the ultimate fandom that gives them so much money and power in the MLB.

Look, the Red Sox and the Yankees have the most money. When you have the most money, you can sign the players that put up the biggest numbers. The Sox got Manny and the Yankees had Giambi. Whether Manny turned Ortiz on to roids or whether it was someone in the Twins' organization, we don't know yet. I'm sure Selena Roberts can do some digging and find out (As a Twins fan, I really hope he wasn't on roids when we had him because his numbers suckkkkked).

And to be fair, the Sox and Yankees and Dodgers and all the other big market teams went out and signed the biggest players with the best numbers. It's what anyone would have done. We didn't know the extent of steroids use in 2003 (and for argument and sanity's sake, let's assume GMs and owners didn't either) and therefore, it's not unreasonable to assume they thought these players were putting up gigantic numbers legitimately. When the Yankees signed Giambi, they didn't sign him with a caveat suggesting he needed to continue taking steroids and HGH and the Clear while he was on the team. The numbers were just expected to show up.

When the Red Sox signed Manny to his deal and when the Yankees signed A-Rod to his deal, it was likely not expected these players would continue to pump their bodies full of chemicals to continue putting up big numbers and putting asses in the seats. Presumably, their teams are as shocked by the testing results as much as us.

But here's the point: you should be angry. It's not an excuse to say that everyone was doing it. You should be angry that we were all duped. We all watched the long balls fly out of ballparks all across the country and we were all too stupid to realize what was going on. When Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa went bananas, we all watched. We didn't ask questions. We just loved Big Mac Land and the Sosa Hop.

When David Ortiz started "pulling the ball for the first time," we didn't ask questions. When A-Rod put up season after season of incredible numbers, we didn't ask questions. Even when relief pitchers were throwing 98-99 and reviving their careers at age 33, we didn't ask questions.

The difference? There's no victory for us as fans. We didn't get to make the millions of dollars that all the other players did. Look -- I'm not blaming Ortiz or Manny or Sheffield or Giambi or Bonds or Benito f***ing Santiago for taking 'roids. They were available, they made you better and, more importantly, they made them a ton of money. But it's ridiculous. Think about it logically.

Let's assume, for argument's sake, that some people didn't take HGH. If that's actually true, then how unfair were the contracts everyone else got? I will personally never believe a player when they say they're clean. If you're putting up big numbers (and we're all staring at you, Albert Pujols), you're on something. Plain and simple.

Because here's the truth of the matter: What they've done is just not possible. The astronomical numbers. The record breaking seasons. It's not true. None of it is true. The numbers we know -- 755, 56, .406, 61 -- there's a reason why those numbers are records. Obviously, .406 and 56 haven't been broken yet. But what this has proven to me is these numbers are actually untouchable or close to it. Bonds broke Maris's record, McGwire's record and Aaron's record. And only because he cheated.

The Sox and Yankees scoring 900 runs a season. Joe Nathan becoming a dominating closer after an injury-riddled history. Did Nathan get there because of HGH or the Twins' "velocity development program"? I don't know for sure.

I've always made a joke out of steroids because I argued it was so fun to watch the players. You think about Sosa, Bonds, Manny, A Rod, McGwire, Sheffield; these are some of the most exciting swings and athletes in the major leagues. I loved watching Clemens throw heat at age 44. It was really cool in a way.

But now, as more of the list tumbles out, I'm beginning to realize our generation doesn't have a Ted Williams or a Joe DiMaggio. I was devastated to read the other day that Bill James is convinced Kirby Puckett and Gary Gaettti (two key cogs in the Twins' first World Series title in 1987) were on steroids. But they probably did. Puckett's numbers were incredible and he died young.

What we're getting at here is the ugly truth: it's not BALCO. It's not just Bonds and the Giambi brothers and Ortiz and Randy Velarde and Ken Caminiti. It's everyone.

All the players from your generation. The ones who graced the walls of your room and received the largest contracts in the history of the sport cheated their way to the top. And the worst part of it all is the ones who aren't implicated are probably just not guilty yet.

You think Jeter was clean? We don't know for sure. He put up some huge numbers in 1999. Nomar? Probably on steroids. Tony Gwynn? Cal Ripken Jr.? Go up and down the list and you can make a case for almost anyone.

Hell, Rickey probably juiced.

Baseball is supposed to be pure and I think we all recognize that. With everything in this world that's stupid and unfair, we should at least have some semblance of fair play in between the baselines. But what we've realized over the past couple years is it's not an even playing field.

The majority of players get ahead and get rich in sports by cheating. And that sucks.

-Anthony "Balla"

BREAKING NEWS: Sox Acquire LaRoche

Cleary influenced by yesterday's WKFTB post below, Theo Epstein and the Red Sox brass swung a deal for Pittsburgh first baseman Adam LaRoche -- the ill one -- today.

It's being reported by multiple outlets, all citing the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

LaRoche is in the final year of his contract, which pays him $7 million this season. It's not clear if he'll play first with Lowell going back to the DL or just fill in. Probably a little bit of first against RHP I'm guessing, maybe DH when Ortiz needs a rest.

Sox reportedly are sending two prospects, believed to be shortstop Argenis Diaz and pitcher Hunter Strickland. Who? Exactly. I've heard of Diaz actually but he's nothing special. Basically we got him for free for the next few months.

LaRoche is currently hitting .247 with 12 homers and 40 RBI.

Note: I love this trade. Didn't have to give up much and we take a flier on a player who notoriously heats up in the second half (career second-half OPS: .901). He can spell Youk and Lowell by playing first and can even DH for Papi. He's a dece power bat who is patient and sees a lot of pitches. I can't stress to you how happy I am. we now have insurance outside of Mark Kotsay.

Another Note: This just cements the fact that when you need a player, just phone Pittsburgh dude. Oh you need someone for the stretch run but don't wanna give up anyone good? Pirates got your covered. We snagged JBay last year, Braves needed an OF this year so pwned for McClouth. Just get whoever you want.

---Nick

Demanding Change

As the trade deadline approaches, you can now break Sox fans down into two distinct groups.

The yahoo fans want Roy Halladay. The impatient and worry-wart fans want another bat. I’m definitely in the latter group.

An argument can always – and will probably – be made that the Sox bats will come around. But that argument is getting tougher to make. Even for the yahoos.

Here are some of the facts:

-The Sox have scored 10 runs in four games since the All-Star break.

-The Red Sox team OPS has declined each and every month since the start of the season.

-They are hitting .227 in August with an OBP of .319.

Again, these are facts here. They cannot be refuted so save your breath with some sort of circular argument about how the offense will be fine. There are too many aging parts (Ortiz, Lowell, Vartiek) and no solution at shortstop. The numbers look OK actually: fourth in the AL in runs, third in OBP, fourth in slugging, third in OPS and fourth in home runs.

But anyone who watches all the games knows that the majority of the time, when the Red Sox lose, they lose because they couldn’t score five or six times. Losses of the 4-1, 5-2, and 3-1 variety have become very common. In past years, we’ve grown accustomed (spoiled) to the Sox always being a threat to put up 7-8 runs a game, usually averaging close to 6 runs per contest.

Of course this team does have better pitching and better pitching lessens the need to score. But why not have both? Why not go the extra mile and secure a solid bat to take the club to the next level? Like Barak Obama, I’m demanding change.

This is a big market team with an annual goal to win championships. This isn’t the Pirates or Marlins. Don’t make excuses for a franchise that charges the second highest ticket prices in the game. You’re paying top dollar for tickets. You sit next to fake fans with pink hats and business clients on their cell phones while waiting in “lotteries” for playoff tickets and being asked to pay a few to join Red Sox Nation all because of ownership’s constant quest to expand the fanbase and squeeze out every last dollar from your pocket.

It is your right to demand a championship squad. What’s a few more million? One or two prospects gone? You can’t play all these prospects when they’re ready. Eventually you’ll get a Clay Buchholtz. A major league ready pitcher throwing seeds in the minors, forced into limbo as a result of an organization both too nervous to trade him, yet too stubborn to trade the veteran blocking him. In economic terms, this is called wasting valuable assets.

And don’t talk to me about the money. This isn’t your money. Or mine. Or maybe it is, since we shell out $30 for hats and $7.50 for beers? Still, don’t feel bad for the Sox or John Henry. You should WANT them to spend money. Stop being a team apologist and accepting your too-white, no flash, little thump team as is. Real fans want more. New York fans know this. Fans of the premiership certainly know this. Man U fans don’t laud the club owners for making money by giving up Ronaldo. Instead they ask: Who the F are you getting to replace him?

You should do this too! We can get good players. We have an abundance of pitching and plenty of money. Remember the scuffling offense in the ALCS against Tampa Bay last year? I do. Failing to make a move for another bat last year may have cost us the World Series. That shouldn’t happen. We need to go above and beyond. I’m not saying do anything stupid or irrational.

But let’s not just settle on Mark Kotsay as an insurance policy. How about Garrett Atkins? Or better yet, Victor Martinez? Would they be nice in uniform? JD Drew has been struggling. How’s Brad Hawpe look to you? All these players are available at the right price.

And if you’re the Red Sox, at some point you have to be willing to pay it.

--Nick

Jonathan Papel...gone?

I was planning this post for a long time, somewhat forgot about it, then had my interest in the subject perked by a report last week that Jonathan Papelbon said he was open to singing with the Yankees when we becomes a free agent in 2011.

Here is exactly what caused the big stir; Papelbon when asked in A Sirius Radio interview if he would consider going to the Yankees, answered affirmatively and then followed it up with this:

"Not only the Bronx, but anywhere, I think anywhere is a possibility," he said. "You always have to keep that in the back of your mind because you can't just be one-sided and think that, 'Oh I'm going to be in a Red Sox uniform my entire career.' Because nowadays that is very, very rare."

Predictably, the Sox closer has backed off those comments since in interviews with the Globe and Herald, but the bigger point is that for some time now, there was been subtle indications that the outspoken flamethrower’s days in Boston could be numbered.

From Papelbon’s first major contract negation after the 2007 season, it was apparent this was going to be a unique case. Papelbon was not yet even arbitration eligible then, the Red Sox under no obligation to give him more than the major league minimum, which was $390,000 at the time.

Still, the Sox ponied up $775,000, a record amount for a reliever not eligible for arbitration, topping Mariano Rivera’s 1998 contract by $25,000. At the time, Papelbon had told anyone who would listen that he was trying to “set the bar” for relievers to come, comparing himself to the legendary Rivera and expressing a desire to play year to year on 1-year deals to maximize earning potential, rather than lock up a multiyear pact.

Here’s what we said after that deal in 2008:

"I'm pleased because I feel like I was able to somewhat set a precedent for pitchers to come," Papelbon said before Friday's game against the Minnesota Twins, one day after the deal was announced. "That was definitely one of my goals. I felt like the Red Sox were on board with me to do that. Now it's something I don't have to worry about and we can just move forward.

"Unless it's something that is very inviting, I don't think that I'll really take anything into consideration," Papelbon said about the prospect of signing a multiyear deal. "I'm going to go out and play this year. More than likely, we'll figure that out at the end of the year."

That same year, when taking about the Sox upcoming renewal situations with Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedoria and Clay Buchholtz, Paps had this little nugget:

“We need to take a stand and not let them take advantage of us just because they can.”

Fast forward to this past January. Papelbon, after another lights out campaign in 2008, was finally eligible for arbitration. Fearing he would ask for anywhere from $7-$10 million – and maybe get something close to that – Boston avoided going to the courts and settled with Paps for another 1-year deal, this one for $6.25 million.

The deal marked the largest pact in history for a closer who was eligible for arbitration for the first time and the third highest in history by any first-time arbitration-eligible player behind Miggy Cabrera and Ryan Howard.

He certainly deserves to be paid like one of the best because frankly he is one of the best. This is now attack on Jonathan Papelbon. But just by looking at the history of hi negotiations with the club, at his comments and his admitted desire to set the bar not only for himself but for all relievers, don’t you find the winter of 2011 a bit concerning?

I say there is an 85% chance that 2011 is his last year in the club. That would be two more seasons after this, plenty of time for Manny Delcarlmen, Daniel Bard, Justin Masterson or another one of the Sox bounty of young live arms to establish themselves as a dominating late-inning presence.

But after affectionately stepping in as the face of the Boston franchise after the ’07 World Series and even moreso after the departure of Manny Ramirez, it would be a bit odd to see Papelbon pitching for any organization other than Boston.

That doesn’t mean I’m staunchly opposed to it. You can’t be considering the fleeting lifespan of closers and the Sox plethora of young pitching. But it is something to look out for, something I think you’ll see become an issue each and every winter and subsequent contract negotiation – for two more years at least.

Typical Yankees Fans

This is what happens when Yankee fans go anywhere. Here they are all interupting a nice peaceful (c'mon how can 4,000 fans NOT be peaceful) Marlins-Yanks game down in Miami.

They start brawls, talk shit to women, even make their own kids cry. It's typical behavior for a New Yorker. This video is sweet.

Couple things first:

-Where is security? Imagine this happening at Fenway? You have huge Murph and Sullys in yellow shirts there in two seconds. Oh wait, Fenway is all kids and pink hat women now. Hard to start a fight.
-The camera dude is caring less that he's so close to mayham. Just straight video taping it loving it. I respect that.
-Love at the 0:04 mark when the lil kid gets a shot in. It's quick so you might have to rewind it.
-Marlins fan porlly woulda got bundled if he didn't have the seats to push the guy over.
-I rlol'd at the 1:14 mark when Rick Gonzalez (Coach Carter, War of the Worlds, see pic tothe right) looks into the camera.



--Nick

MLB Network

If you like baseball, or if you have a fantasy team, you gotta start watching the new MLB Network. Its channel 269 on Comcast. Harold Reynolds and Hazel Mae work for them which is a nice little bonus. This clip is pretty incredible. Hey give them a break, its brand new.

"No...Dude....Dude...Whats wrong with you?"



-JW

Don't Pitch to Manny

Please, please, don't ever pitch to Manny Ramirez, 'cause he might take you out of the stadium. Because MLB doesn't allow clips on YouTube, this viral vid was the only one I can embed. Peep it below or check out the way better quality one here on the Dodgers' site.



Also, just for fun, while searching for video of that titantic blast, I stumbled about this gem chooch who is dying to host his own Dodgers show. I think he's one of Perk's boys from the Bent:



---Nick

Organic King? Pondering A Favorite, Junior Griffey

There is no proof he was clean. Perkins actually thinks its 50/50 (Williams and myself put it at about 5% chance). But he never failed a test that we know of and hes never been connected to it. And the perception, which is the important thing here, is now going to be that the best natural player of our era is or was Ken Griffey Jr. The dominating public opinion put A-Rod as the best and Griffey sat at number two. But now with A-Rod coming clean the crown will get put on King Griffey Jr. I just wanted to reflect on an old favorite. I wanted to remember how good he was, think if he could have ever been dirty, and pretty much just hope that he wasn't. I think a little part inside of us serious baseball fans needs him to be clean right now.

I admit that I enjoy Junior getting some extra positive press. It makes me feel good remembering how ill Griffey was. Noone was cooler than Junior when we were kids. All of us 80's babies grew up trying to imitate his stance. And even today, noone pimps a home run like Ken Griffey Jr. In the 90's he won a gold glove every year and hit 40+ home runs 7 times, incredible. He was the face of the game during that decade. One of the most popular players of all time.



He could hang it up this year, we don't know yet. Last year was the first year Griffey wasn't a great hitter. Imagine if this cat didn't lose his legs? In 1999 he swiped 24 bags. In the years since he stole 17 combined. You gotta give him credit though. His greatness left when his defense and legs did, but he could still swing the bat a little, even up until recently. Griff hit 30 HR two seasons ago and 35 in 2005. Its not that often you see a guy with an injury plagued career hit over 600 home runs.



In his prime Griffey's game was speed, finesse, flexibility. He had all five tools and was as smooth as a ballet dancer. He wasn't the strongest hitter but he could generate some great bat speed. He couldn't have roided right? To say such a thing is baseball sacrilege. Yea, he hit 56HR in back to back years, but even then we didn't love him because of the power. We loved his attitude, his smile, and his squeaky clean swagger. As fans we loved seeing Griffey rob a home run as much as we loved seeing him hit one. We loved seeing the smile after a catch and the pimp walk after he golfed one 400 feet. Noone was smoother than junior. We wouldn't do well with it if anything ever came out.

Griff also got the benefit of the doubt in the public eye because he didn't have the steroid body. What does that prove though? As we found out with Palmeiro, who looks like a latino college professor, body type isn't a definitive indicator. You can juice and take all different kinds of cocktails of roids that will give you all different effects. Some are more mild than others, some are add bulk, some endurance, or strength. Roids like Primo, Winny, Deca etc are pretty mild compared to the HGH and Test stacks Victor Conte was prescribing. Just labeling someone as a steroid user is extremely vague in itself, so looking at a body type to clear or implicate a person is irresponsible.

We don't know, but we do hope. Only Griffey knows the truth. If he did juice, it would be a heavy burden to carry as the new Roy Hobbs. Baseball fans want it to be true. They, want someone to point to for an example of the last great one before steroids came in and messed with our heads. Its funny how haywire baseball goes when we have to rationalize a new big name testing positive. It really throws us off. Baseball is a numbers game, and thats not just a cliche. We judge everything and everyone on the numbers. Contracts, home runs, steals, 714, 61, 90 feet, etc. And when we find out someone messed with the legitimacy of our holy numbers, all hell breaks loose.

God, please let nothing ever come out about Junior Griffey. A-Rod pained me and I don't even like the man. I need Griffey to have been clean for my sanity as a baseball fan.

And if he decides to hang it up this year, he'll be missed by a whole generation of fans who look at him as one of the best to ever do it. Stay gold, Ponyboy...Stay gold.

(Do you think Griff was natural? Post in the comments section.)

-J.Wolfe

Jared From Bridgewater

I was on Dale and Holley today at about 1:45 today talking about Michael Young, anyone catch it?

I was looking at Michael Youngs stats last night to prepare for a blog post so the numbers and info were fresh on my mind.

What I found was Young has declined a ton from his peak in 2005. He had a great run for a few years in his late 20's but since then his SLG% (power) has dropped 70, 40, and 20 points to the point where he was literally a league average hitter last season.

Young's OPS (on base + slg) was the same as Lowrie's. And his line of 285avg, 402slg, and 12hr was pretty much the same as Ellsburys line but with 3 more HR and 35 less steals.

So everyone that called Dale and Holley today was saying we should upgrade our power and defense by getting Young. Noone was really against it. So I decided to call in and give my take.

My point as a caller was that people haven't payed attention to Youngs decline. They are still thinking of him as the guy who in 2005 had a 900 OPS, 24 HR, and a line that looked like Nomar's from 2002. And the current Young is not even worth the 5 yrs at 80mill he is going to be paid. Nevermind Boston having to trade Buchholz in order to have the opportunity to overpay for him. Holley agreed with me and we both thought the difference between Lowrie and Young in the field wasn't that significant but Dale had an issue with it.

Last night I found that Young does very bad on most defensive metrics because of bad range to his right. He does have soft hands though and a good arm that helped him win the gold glove. So his defense is overrated to me but I said to Dale that regardless if he is great in the field, it doesn't make up for paying an avg hitter 16mill and giving up Buchholz.

Oh yea, at one point I said that people have a hard time believing that Ellsbury and Young had a similar line last season. Dale goes OK I've seen the numbers but I think last year was more of an abberation. And I said well his slugging went from 528 to 460 to 420 to 402 last season since 2005 so that sounds like a trend to me. Holley was like Man I'm enjoying this keep preaching, haha.

Calling in was kinda sick, never done it before. Might start trying to call Dale and Holley once a week or something. Wow imagine the hits we would get if I could plug the blog? Actually if any of you can get on the air and say the name of the site before they cut you off I'll give you some dough. 888-525-0850

-Wolfie on the blackberry

Michael Young to Boston?

In the wake of this morning’s news that Rangers’ shortstop Michael Young wants out of Texas, a fan of a team with a gaping hole at shortstop can only wonder: What are the chances he could come to Boston?

It’s an interesting thought and there were reports shortly after the Sox failed to sign Mark Teixeira and were rebuffed in their efforts to pursue Hanley Ramirez that they inquired about Young. Those reports were later deemed false.

But now that it’s public that Young wants a trade (he doesn’t want to move to third base, which Texas wants to make room for Super SS Elvis Andrus) you must hope Theo Epstein does his due diligence here.

Boston has already been in talks with Texas since the winter meetings back in early December. While those talks centered on bringing one of two highly regarded catching prospects to Boston (either Tayler Teagarden or Jarrod Saltalamacchia) it would make sense to not only revisit those talks, but include Young in the discussion in some type of blockbuster.

The Sox still need a catcher. Texas still wants top prospects, some sort of package centered around Clay Buchholz. This deal can get done.

Look, I like Bucholtz as much as the next guy. And I realize the value of holding onto young pitching, But between the Penny and Smoltz signings as well as the surplus of arms in the bullpen, paving the way for a possible return to the rotation for Justin Masterson, it would seem the Sox are well-equipped to head into the season without Buchholz. This is no accident.

How this deal could probably work would be Bucholtz, Daniel Bard and Jed Lowrie/Julio Lugo for Young and Teagarden/Saltalamacchia. Lugo goes in the deal if you’d like to offset some of Young’s salary (he’s entering the first year of a 5-year, $80 million extension), although the Rangers may want Lowrie to come in and either play third, allowing them to have Andrus at shortstop, or just be some sort of supersub, like the Sox would use him if he stays.

You may also need to include Jacoby Ellsbury in this deal, a notion – sorry, ladies -- I’m completely fine with.

With Young, the Sox lineup would look something like this:

1. Ellsbury
2. Pedroia
3. Young
4. Ortiz
5. Youk
6. Lowell
7. Drew
8. Bay
9. Saltalamacchia/Tegarden/Josh Bard

That’s pretty crispy. If Ellsbury were included in the deal then you probably platoon Baldelli and Kotsay in center, Kotsay against righties and Baldelli vs. lefties and most likely let either of them lead off. Or you could just have Young lead off and have one of them hit eighth. It really doesn’t matter.

Plus, if you want to get really crazy with this, you could pitch Texas Buchholz, Bard, and Mike Lowell. This would give Texas the third baseman they need, while effectively replacing the bat of Young. They could pay a higher per year salary with Lowell, but only for this year and next – instead of the five years they would have been on the hook for with Young, with much of the money back loaded.

So outside of monetary reasons, why would the Sox trade a bat to get a bat? Easy. Three words. Sign Adam Dunn. Take a look:

1. Ellsbury
2. Pedroia
3. Ortiz
4. Youk
5. Dunn
6. Young
7. Drew
8. Bay
9. Catcher

Oh my, I think I just creamed myself.

---Nick