Manny Ramirez

Cousins decided that Ellsbury would have to leave the game. 

Earlier this week, good old Manny Ramirez also got ejected for tossing his arm guard near home plate umpire John Hirschbeck.  The only difference here was that Ramirez had been arguing with Hirschbeck earlier in the evening (although apologized for it in his next at bat).  Other than that it was a very similar scenario – Manny got called out on a terrible strike call, after which he tossed his arm guard up in the air in disgust.  Hirschbeck had his back turned to Ramirez, but heard the arm guard land at home plate, very close to where he was standing.  Hirschbeck tossed him on the spot. 

Continue reading "What Is It With All These Ejections??"

Papelbon recorded the final strikeout to win the game, and the series. 

Then they showed Manny Ramirez running across the field.  That almost put a damper on my mood – almost.  Not because of how he treated the Red Sox and us fans the following year (although that certainly didn’t help), but because of the news about Ramirez using steroids.  No, you can’t take away our World Series titles.  But it sure would be great to win another one without Manny. 

Continue reading "Why 2009 is a Special Year"

3 rank in K's/9. 

We can't overlook his No. 14 rank in wins, either. 

29. Manny Ramirez-LF

The first of the active players, Manny's in the top 20 in both homers and RBI. His totals will increase in those cumulative statistics as his career crawls to its end, and he's a superstar in one non-cumulative stat...

Continue reading "The Top 30 Players in MLB History"

Call me soft but I am really getting tired of the all-forgiving, Mannywood-worshiping, sissymary “baseball realists” infecting the airwaves and newspapers of late. Earlier today, Jon Heyman of si.com published an article measuring the merits, Hall of Fame credentials and perspective eligibility of such noted sleazebags as ARoid, Manny, Barry and (God-help-us-all) Roger Clemens. He created his own convenient and self-righteous gauge, judging players on the extent and longevity of actualized or alleged sleaziness. Luckily, I wasn’t the only reader with a “what the deuce!?” reaction. As mole57 from New Jersey points out, it shouldn't matter when or for how long a player used steroids:

Continue reading "Rumblings on Steroids, Sissymary's and Moles..."

Steroids has officially gone postal.

The list of all-star players who have been revealed to be using steroids: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, Alex Rodriguez, now.......MANNY RAMIREZ.

Continue reading "Manny being Manny: The Latest twist ..."

Keep that in mind as you read on.

Also, when I originally wrote this piece, Manny Ramirez had not yet been signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers' new outfield of Manny, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier could be good enough for the top spot on this list. Manny's quite an upgrade over Juan Pierre...

Continue reading "MLB's Top Five Outfields"

Dear Readers (all five of you):

I've been active on my other blog at www.fannation.com, under the username JFro, but I continually forget to publish those posts here. That said, the next five posts should be considered my belated MLB preseason predictions -- a preview, of sorts. There's the top five infields, outfields, bullpens, and starting rotations, and of course The Big Kahuna:

Continue reading "Note about forthcoming posts"

I beg for forgiveness from those who checked in with any regularity this last week only to find the cupboard was left barren of fresh and delicious trinkets of wisdom, and all that remained was the discarded old, moldy and previously read blogs. The monotony of life reigned this past seven days along with additional hours at work which left me without the proper amount of time to coherently compose a posting and now even today’s blog is late, very late. Dismay no more, in a football-centric version of The Sports Don’s Sunday Musings, I have returned to writing incessantly and without any recognition of a word limit. I appreciate your patience.

Continue reading "The Sports Don's Sunday Musings: Volume IV"

Okay, Man Ram, you are a superstar MLB player. You are entitled a nice paycheck. It is obvious, why you would be looking for a long term deal. Let's look at why you deserve a long term deal.

Continue reading "What in the World is Manny Ramirez thinking?"

 

           Why do people read books or watch movies? What is it that they find intriguing? It’s the story. If it’s a great story that you are looking for than you need only look to professional sports.

Continue reading "For Love of the Game"

iculties or the intended direction of the club.

Why have we taken such measures to steer clear of Manny Ramirez? What, it's not worth investing in one of the top five players in the world, a player who, offensively, is either or second or third best? We're talking about one of the greatest run producers in the history of the game, and a guy who showed absolutely no signs of slowing down after being traded to the Dodgers last season. 

Continue reading "Does anyone know what the Mets are thinking?"

As a baseball fanatic, how refreshing is it that on an NFL sunday, baseball is center stage as the Boston Red Sox attempt to complete an amazing return from the dead, again.  The team with a history of choking is now on the edge of becoming one of the greatest comeback teams in history.

Continue reading "Sunday Morning"

For the last few day the Red Sox looked like a mirror image of the Dodgers.  Dying and quickly being pushed out of post season play.  A finally, a kid from Woodland, Ca battles his way to a two out RBI single and the Red Sox wake up.  Ortiz temporarly breaks out of his slump at the right moment and breathes life back into Red Sox nation.  JD Drew has found a home in Boston and calmly belted one over the right field fence to get the Sox back to within one run.  Drew looked very comfortable at the plate while working Howell to a 3-1 count.  You knew he was going to hit the ball hard somewhere. And he did and Boston will go back to Tampa.

Continue reading "Wow"

Some playoff thoughts to chew on as we wait for the playoffs to start late enough on Wednesday that it's almost Thursday ...

I am hoping I can keep my eyelids open to the final pitch, but given the way playoff baseball goes - you know, with the commercials and the pitching changes and the commercials and the mound meetings and the commercials and the stategy and the commercials - I'm not so confident I'll make it through. Besides, I'm reminded of the last time I stuck out a 10 p.m. start to the finish. It was the first game of the ALDS in Oakland in 2003, and I fought sleepiness and ruined any chance of being productive the following day only to see Derek Lowe give up a walk-off bunt single in extras. I'm not sure I can take that again.

Continue reading "After my bedtime"

s non-booing of former Red Sox policy may fly out the window the next time the Red Sox play against Manny Ramirez.  I bought into the idea of "Manny being Manny" more times than I would care to admit.  I laughed at some of his antics, and cried when he didn't run hard to first base.  I accepted with a wink and a nod when Manny did something stupid; he could hit the ball, and hit it well.  So long as he keeps doing that, we can put up with the rest.

Continue reading "Finally...the Playoffs!!!"

Can I stop listening to Curt Schilling now? Please?

Is it alright with Red Sox Nation if we all stop listening to Big Schill? Does anything he says really matter anymore? I mean, the guy has sounded off on Barry Bonds, Kobe Bryant, steroids, Roger Clemens ... and during that time he's thrown exactly zero pitches. So why are we paying attention?

Continue reading "Is there a public appearance DL?"

circa April 2008
CF - Jacoby Ellsbury
2B - Dustin Pedroia
DH - David Ortiz
LF - Manny Ramirez
3B - Mike Lowell
RF - JD Drew
1B - Kevin Youkilis
C - Jason Varitek

Continue reading "Law and Order"

If you told me the following facts before the season began - that Jon Lester would be the Red Sox' best pitcher, that the starting staff would receive critical contributions from Bartolo Colon and Paul Byrd (potentially two of the ugliest pitchers ever to don a Sox uniform, as an aside), that Jed Lowrie would have more RBI than Julio Lugo, that Manny would take his Manny show to the left coast, that Jason Varitek would be struggling to hit .220, that Kevin Youkilis would be the team's most feared power hitter, and that David Ortiz would miss the bulk of the first half with an injury - I'd probably have predicted that the Sox would finish fourth in the American League East.

Continue reading "Not Exactly How They Drew It Up - ..."

Last night's ninth inning was almost an afterthought, what with the ejection of both Dustin Pedroia and an irate Orioles fan within about 10 minutes of each other. In fact, the eighth featured the home plate umpire barking into the Sox dugout, Pedroia chirping at both the first base and home umpire, Pedroia getting tossed and the Orioles fan jabbing back and forth with Coco Crisp before battles with two ushers and a pair of Red Sox fans on the way out of the stadium.

Continue reading "The Manny we still have"

e walking thrice and striking out three times.  The former left-fielder for the Boston Red Sox Manny Ramirez, has played equally well by hitting at least twice in each of his last four games in a Dodgers uniform and raising his batting average to an overwhelming .312.

Continue reading "A New Bay Era"

As the ever-observant KC fans reminded us tonight, Jason Bay is not Manny Ramirez. But he's a very good hitter and he plays the game the right way. Manny Ramirez is 36 and is on the downside of a Hall of Fame career. Unless he starts taking Barry Bonds Rejuvenation Cream (TM), he's not going to get any better than he is right now. While he's still a dangerous hitter, he's not worth the headache he's inevitably going to provide teams in the offseason. On the other hand, Bay is 29, making considerably less money, and in a talent-laden lineup, has his best years ahead of him. The Sox can sign him for reasonable money and he will continue to produce for several years. Consider me a Jason Bay fan.

Continue reading "Thoughts while watching the game..."

Over the three game series against the Oakland A's there were a lot of posters and signs welcoming Jason Bay to Fenway.  But my favorite had to be "The Manny Show Cancelled for Baywatch.&quo

Continue reading "Bay Helps the Sox Sweep"

Everybody has there own opinion about Manny being traded, especially people here in Boston. The bottom line is he is gone, and I for one am happy. Forget about the fact he was a great hitter, a pain in the neck, and that he was basicly dumped and not traded. Lets look at the rest of the season for the sox.

Continue reading "Enough About Manny !"

It was disheartening. But it was time. And finally, citing irreconcilable differences, Manny Ramirez and the Boston Red Sox officially separated July 31, 2008.

  It was your classic on-again, off-again relationship. There were moments were it looked all but over – the Joe Kerrigan era, trading deadline ’05, the last few weeks of the 2006 season. But just when one of them was about to pack their bags and leave a tearful note on the kitchen table, peace was miraculously found and tender hugs smoothed things over for a little while.

Continue reading "The Break Up"

The Manny Ramirez era in Boston officially ended Thursday, July 31st, less than an hour before the trade deadline.  Manny was part of a three team deal, which sent the 2004 World Series MVP to the Dodgers. The Red Sox  also traded prospects Chris Hansen, and Brandon Moss to Pittsburgh for the Pirates outfield Jason Bay. The question is does this trade make the Red Sox a better team?  No one doubts that Jason Bay is a talented player.  He was the 2004 National League Rookie Of The Year, and is a guy that can hit as well as play the field. However he has basically played his whole career in Pittsburgh, that hasn’t made the playoffs since Bay was a freshman in high School. Can bay deal with the everyday pressures of playing baseball for the Boston Red Sox, and come through in the clutch we will see. What we do know is no matter how well Bay plays, he will never be as clutch and effective as

Continue reading "In the End it was Too Much Manny being Manny"

used to fancy, separated us from the heart-less Yankees; all this came as the result of exchanging Manny Ramirez for Jason Bay. 

The Sox are no longer a collection of talented ballplay

Continue reading "Manny Trade Restores Team Concept"

Last week I droned on about the mind-numbing dullness of baseball’s mid-season. This week I’m eating my words.

Lets break down the two biggest deals:

Teixeira to the Halos: Braves trade Teixeira, who will become a free agent after this season, for Casey Kotchman (he of the .280 batting average, 12 dingers and 55 RBI). How did the Braves get fleeced here? They get a legitimate, starting first baseman who is excited about playing in Atlanta and who should hang round for a while. In return, they surrender a three-month rental player. Immediate advantage: Halos. Long-term advantage: Braves.

Continue reading "Trade Notes"

y, millions of dollars in worker unproductivity were lost yesterday as we all monitored the ongoing Manny Ramirez saga.

It was one of those days where you had an open document on your computer - maybe a PowerPoint presentation, a prospectus, an advertisement, or something else to give the impression that you were doing work. You knew you weren't fooling anybody. You were on boston.com, ESPN.com, SI.com, or some other sports site, waiting with baited breath to see where our enigmatic slugger was headed.

Continue reading "Manny feeling blue: The end of an era"

Four years ago today, I was driving home from a weekend in New York City and I was raving.  What is Theo thinking?  Who the heck are these guys?  How do you give up Nomar, after trying to extend his contract, and get basically nothing in return.

Continue reading "Manny We Hardly Knew Ye"

           Ye Gods, they traded Manny. I, for one, didn’t think it was going to happen. Manny’s rant on ESPN Desportes, notwithstanding, my money was on him staying. Though now that he’s gone and Joe Torre’s problem, I’m not as surprised as I thought I’d be or as disappointed, either. Ok, let’s face it. . first ballot Hall of Famer, who worked hard at his primary objective – hitting baseballs. Can’t fault his work ethic there. It was the other stuff that was a little troublesome. Doggin’ it to first base. Getting’ a big kick out of failing to toss a ball in from left field? We all chimed the mantra – Manny being Manny, but you know what? I’m not at all sure if I were his boss instead of a relatively (and I stress, relatively) devoted fan, I wouldn’t have just fired him. Sorry, boyo, you may think it’s funny that a guy advanced a base ‘cause you were too full of yourself to hustle, but I don’t find it amusing. Nor do I think bad-mouthing management was all that amusing either. . . Later. .

Continue reading "Ding Dong, the (Boston Red Sox) Witch is Dead"

Everyone will be writing about Manny over the next few days, introducing you to Jason Bay and sounding off on how much this sounds like the Nomar trade.  I promise to share my thoughts on Manny soon, once the dust has settled, but first, allow me to tell you about my afternoon.

Continue reading "Manny Media Timeline"

ng the Sox for the second time in two weeks.  I'd much rather talk about my shock and awe over Manny Ramirez being traded.You might be surprised that I'm shocked, but can you blame me

Continue reading "Angels Sweep Silenced by Manny Trade"

m watching the Trade Deadline Special on NESN and they JUST said that theres been a trade involving Manny Ramirez.  Still waiting for details.  I'll keep you all posted. 

Continue reading "NESN Reports a trade HAS been made ..."

Imagine my surprise when it was revealed during one recent Red Sox telecast that the Sox are in the top 10 in the Major Leagues in stolen bases. Wait, what? I nearly demanded a recount. For a moment I thought they meant bases that had literally been stolen, as in removed from the premises. I figured the Sox were so abysmal on the road they were leaving other team's stadiums with whatever they could stuff in their gym bags, just to prove they had indeed shown up.

Continue reading "Stop Sign"

I certainly do not think so.  Manny Ramirez is getting on years (36?) and supposedly the Red Sox management like to keep their team young and do not like to keep re-signing guys who are older than 33 (Mike Lowell was the exception).  The Red Sox could get a lot of great prospects and some relievers for the left-fielder.  The only thing that could possibly go wrong with the trade is if the only teams interested in the slugger is an American League opponent (I.E. Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, etc.). 

Continue reading "Is it a bad thing to trade Mr. Ramirez?"

As any card-carrying member of Red Sox Nation will tell you, it's not summer until Manny Ramirez finds a way to feel slighted by the team's ever-tolerant ownership and management and demand a trade.

Continue reading "The obligatory Manny Ramirez apology..."

ame these days without getting a hit? Or the fact that in the middle of the press maelstrom that is Manny Ramirez, he still managed to get two doubles and two RBI's?

There's just too much. It was all a wonderful spectacle. But I will say watching our DH hit the long ball after being out for almost 8 weeks was the most awesome. And while the the Fenway Faithful were thrilled by his show of strength, no one was happier with the outcome than Ortiz himself. All that time on the DL and the slow recovery at Pawtucket paid off. Our Big Papi is back!

Continue reading "Whew!"

We all saw Coco Crisp soar through the air and crash into the centerfield wall in Anaheim the other day. We were all in awe of the catch he made - the latest in a long line of remarkable highlights - and we all shouted out loud in our living room even though nobody but family members and perhaps a dog or two were present. (It's OK to admit it. You know you did it).

Continue reading "Serving Coco at The Trading Deadline"

to retire before the next Sunday Night Baseball game.  Best quote from Morgan on a replay of a Manny Ramirez at bat:  "Manny knew he was going to get a fastball there, and he hit the slider for a base hit."  Really?  Knew he was getting a fastball so he hit the slider? 

Continue reading "Don't Blame the Starting Pitchers ..."

Much has been written in the past 24 hours about Manny Ramirez.  How much was he fined for tossing Jack McCormick to the floor like a bag of baseballs?  Did he purposely strike out when pinch hitting against the Yankees after he was fined?  (Can we remember that the ESPN "K Zone" showed at least one of those pitches called for a strike was actually outside?)

Continue reading "Bob Lobel Makes His Own Move"

unity, so here it goes...

I'd like to ramble, if I could (please do!), for a few paragraphs about Manny Ramirez.  Since joining the Red Sox in 2001, there has not been a more controversial or utterly bizarre sports figure in Boston.  Not Pedro, not Schilling, not Pierce, Belichick, Randy Moss or anyone else can even come close to Manny.  If you don't believe me, you just don't learn (I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you all, especially Benny, that it is a tall order to argue with me about Boston sports teams, figures or events that have happened within my lifetime).

Continue reading "Just Hit"

Most of them are selected by the fans, with the expected popularity-contest results. Manny Ramirez is starting in left field, instead of Carlos Quentin (who is younger, a better defender and having a season that's as good as, if not better, than Manny's). Josh Hamilton (with superior offensive numbers) is in center, over the better defender (Grady Sizemore, with only slightly inferior offensive numbers). Jeter’s the starter at short, in spite of being as poor a defender as ever, with Mike Young (better on both sides of the ball) on the bench. Would you take Kevin Youlikis at first over Justin Morneau? Perhaps, or perhaps not—but Terry Francona must, because The Fans Said So.

Continue reading "Gimme A Break!"

Manny Ramirez’s shenanigans, I have recently determined, have lost their cheekiness. They have, to quote Super Troopers, become “cruel and tragic”, which, to continue quoting, “makes them not shenanigans at all, really.”

Continue reading "Manny's Shenanigans No Longer Cheeky"

           Hey, Sox Fans, how’s it been goin’? Been a while. . .

            I’ll be honest with you, following the Red Sox on a daily basis can turn into a full-time job, and this doesn’t even include the other teams you tend to watch as they jockey with the Sox for position. Just got out of the habit of writing about them.

Continue reading "The Boston Red Sox at mid-season ..."

At the mid-point of the '08 season, when many players are being lauded for their first-half accomplishments, I think it would be a disservice to the deserving fumblers around the league not to recognize their remarkable level of ineptitude.

Continue reading "Baseball's All-Underachieving Squad"

So can we please talk about Jason Giambi's mustache for a second? First the guy admits to wearing a gold thong when he needs to break out of a slump (it's hard to imagine that's all he's "breaking out of" in that kind of attire). And now he goes ahead and grows a full-out, mid-80s, Magnum PI mustache. Add these two nuggets to the fact that he's one of the 3 sweatiest humans on the planet, and that he's a New York Yankee, and you have the grossest person in America. Ever. Period.

Continue reading "Now playing first base for the New ..."

Drew moved both over with a groundout, and Manny Ramirez walked to load the bases. After Lowell drove in Ellsbury with a sac fly to short left, the Yankees looked like they might escape without further damage, if they could only get one more out.

Continue reading "More Bad Yankee Luck"

    I am beginning to grow nauseous hearing and reading about the attacks on Manny Ramirez due to his latest "incidents."  Bloggers who seemingly have nothing better to write about than to attack the slugger for his antics are doing just that.  I have read blogs calling him a "thug" and complaints on ESPN that the "rules" must also apply to Manny.  Well I am here to defend my boy, and I will do just that.                                                                                                                                Manny's assault on Kevin Youkilis should by no means be condoned, but these are incidents that need to be dealt with and reconciled internally, rather than be turned into a public crusade against Ramirez.  One aspect of baseball that has always reigned supreme in my reasons for loving the sport is the clubs' camaraderie and preference to deal with each other over creating media exploits.  In the NFL, players such as Chad Johnson and Terrel Owens appear to have closer relationships with cameras and microphones than they do with their teammates and coaches.  This is lesser the case in baseball, and has never been the case with the Boston Red Sox.  A few players were irritated when their ritual of downing a cup of Jack Daniels between the team prior to games in the 2004 playoff runs was made public.  Allegedly Trot Nixon doubled on a 3-0 count, on a pitch he should have taken because he was a little to tipsy to read the sign from third.  (If that's not comrodery I don't know what is).     

Continue reading "Lay off Manny"

Continuing through the American League outfield we meet the curious case of Manny Ramirez. When not swatting teammates or traveling secretaries, Ramirez has put together another solid, Manny-being-Manny kind of season. He’s batting .286 with 16 homeruns and 52 RBI. But Manny’s seen his share of all-star games (he’s bootlegged his share as well, but that’s a story for another time). Why not give Manny’s teammate JD Drew his spot in the sun? Drew has been an offensive catalyst for the Sox this year, batting .303 with 16 homers and a .577 slugging percentage. Let Manny attend to his ailing grandmother and let Drew patrol the outer pastures at Yankee Stadium on July 15th.

Continue reading "All-Star foppery"

So apparently leaving Houston wasn't the cure for what's ailing the Red Sox. All that's happened since they headed to Tampa is back-to-back silent offensive showings (at least through eight innings tonight). In fact, the biggest hit in the series is the one Manny delivered to a club official. Baseball is a funny game. You're going to have stumbles like this during the season, but as a fan they become downright maddening. It's hard to keep perspective that these are just four games out of 162 when JD Drew takes three straight pitches for strikes with a key runner on base in the eighth inning. Swing, JD, swing!

Continue reading "When do we finish Intraleague play?"

OK, show of hands - who hasn't enjoyed the Kevin-Youkilis-in-goggles era? Manning first behind those fancy specs while sporting a monster shiner, he looks like he's getting ready to play Laser Tag. Since it gives him something of a tough appearance, we don't have to tell anyone it's all because he couldn't handle a warm-up throw. Maybe he can make the goggles a signature thing, like Rip Hamilton of the Pistons and his goofy plastic mask. Hey, if Youk can make the Chia pet goatee work, he can certainly pull off a pair of glasses. It made me start thinking of former players who wore the glasses. Chris Sabo was the first that came to mind. But how about Luis Rivera, former light-hitting shortstop in Beantown, he of the tiny, whispy mustache and glasses complete with that thing that connects around your neck to keep them on. Classic.

Continue reading "Channeling Chris Sabo"

p being the team leader in home runs.  Something no Red Sox fan would've ever considered since Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are also in the lineup.But while JD may have added another home

Continue reading "JD Back with a Bang"

The old 4-6-3 double play returned to haunt Manny Ramirez in the bottom of the 7th as he came to the late with the bases loaded and nobody out.

My man Jacoby Ellsbury has 34 stolen bases as o

Continue reading "Dice-K returns!!"

il on his right middle finger on 5/31 & is pitching in AAA  Pawtucket.

Good news is that Manny Ramirez, Kevin Youkilis and Coco Crisp should all be available for tonight's start.

Continue reading "THe Cards are here!"

Manny helped return normal to Fenway Park this afternoon following the Devil Rays madness & Bartolo Colon's inability to handle the ball Friday night. The Devil Rays are the Sox first AL o

Continue reading "Manny returns Fenway to normal."

 But I'd like to say kudos to Manny Ramirez for hitting his 500th dinger the other day against the Orioles, this landmark is just another reminder that Manny is among the top right handed hitters of this or any other generation of baseball players.  Do what you do, Manny boy!

Continue reading "Get Psyched!!!!!!!"

there, I'm going to commit the ultimate fan heresy and argue against ARod, and in favor of Boston's Manny Ramirez, as the greatest hitter in the game today. He doesn't have anywhere near the defensive value that ARod does, and he's more of a clubhouse canker (I won't say "cancer" as he's more annoying than destructive) but he gets my nod for a consistently good eye, consistent power, and postseason performance. 

Continue reading "Manny Ramirez: Baseball's Best Active Hitter"

The defending world champs have 5 players leading their positions: Youkilis, Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Pedroia & Varitek plus the likihood of Dice-K starting the game. It'll be a sea of Red at Yankee Stadium!! Rah....

Continue reading "500 & More!!!"

he Sox offense slump with a 2-out ground rule double in the 8th inning followed by single from both Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell.

The Red Sox now find themselves with the 3rd best record in baseball, trailing behind the Tampa Bay Devil Rays & the Florida Marlins, respectively. Since when did the sunshine state start producing not one but two good baseball teams??

Continue reading "End to the road trip skid..."

e inning without any more damage.  But then Kansas City did something surprising - they walked Manny Ramirez - intentionally.  So, the bases are loaded and Mike Lowell steps to the pl

Continue reading "Somehow Dice-K Goes 8-0"

The first of only 3 remaining weekday games at Fenway this afternoon, Dice-K goes for AL leading 8th win as he inches closer to snatching the ERA AL leader spot from the Indian's lefty Cliff Lee.  The Sox are looking for their 7th consecutive victory and a series sweep before heading out to the doldrums of10 PM EST starts-- otherwise known as a road trip to the AL West.

Continue reading "Dice-K Preview!"

aking down the club maybe we can find the chink in the chain.Offense: When the two main sluggers of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are not performing others like Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Lowell and yes, even sometimes J.D. Drew, can perform. Just the other night J.D. Drew was clutch against the Minnesota Twins by knocking a RBI double center field.  Offense is not the problem.

Continue reading "What else can the Red Sox do?"

uding one last night where he moved into scoring position with two outs in the ninth inning, giving Manny Ramirez the opportunity to tie the game up with a mere single. Julio Lugo also has 5 steals and even the self-proclaimed lead footed Dustin Pedroia has contributed 4 steals. In total, 7 different Boston players have successfully swiped a base so far this season.

Continue reading "The Go Go . . . Red Sox?"

-His battery mate Manny Ramirez continues to pound Yankee pitching.  I still don’t understand how any Red Sox fan could not see that this man is double the player Ortiz is and WAY more valuable to this team.  Manny is a machine, just ask the Yankees.  Why didn’t Joe Girardi walk him on Saturday?

Continue reading "Early Season Observations of Yanks and Sox"

rfield job and now Boston seems content to hold onto him until it gets blown away by a trade offer. Manny Ramirez, who has started slowly the last couple of seasons, is also on fire and leading the team in RBI’s and coming through with a big hit almost every time the Red Sox need one, none bigger than his ninth inning home run last night in Cleveland to put the Red Sox ahead 6-4. Dustin Pedroia is also beginning to sting the ball around the field with more authority and sooner or later Mike Lowell will come off the disabled list and David Ortiz will snap out of his funk and the offense will be back to hitting on all cylinders.

Continue reading "Red Sox Should Feel Good About The Season So Far"

n the Major Leagues where pitchers are supremely adept at keeping hitters off balance and guessing. Manny Ramirez does not just roll out of bed and hit .300. He spends hours hitting in the cages, taking soft toss, and hitting off a tee to get his rhythm down and fine tune his swing. Batters constantly watch video looking for the slightest glitch that could be the difference between a week ground out to second base or a frozen rope hit into the gap. So when players are taken out of their routine and not given a chance to find their rhythm at the plate, even the best will struggle to get hits.

Continue reading "Red Sox Hitters Just Need to Find Their Rhythm"

           If you’re a baseball fan (any team), you know better than to get excited about the results of any single series of games. If you’ve been a Boston Red Sox fan for longer than (say) 10 years, you know better than to get excited about almost anything until (say) mid-September (and even then. . ).

Continue reading "Don't get too excited. . .but the ..."

I was so looking forward to watching the Boston Red Sox battle the Oakland As in Japan in what is the earliest opening season game in MLB history and figured that down here in North Carolina, I'd be less apt to hear about the score before I was able to watch a replay later in the day (I'm a fan, but 6 a.m. is just insane). Anyway, I stepped in to talk to my significant other around 9 a.m. and first thing, she tells me that according to Regis Philbin, the score is 4-4. Less than two hours later, I get an e-mail from a Sox fan down here, who tells me that they won, 6-5 in 10 innings. . . Grrrrrrr!

Continue reading "As I watch. . .the Boston Red Sox ..."

If your going to wait nearly 5 months for opening day, and have to get up at 6am to watch Dice K turn into Nuke LaLoosh, you better win the game. Well, thanks to the Manny/Moss combo, the Boston Red sox eked out a 6-5 win over the Oakland Athletics. 

Continue reading "Breakfast With The Bo Sox"

The recent induction of "The Spaceman" Bill Lee to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame brought on a flood of memories, which, in addition to putting a smile on my face, brought to mind a rather cogent fact of Red Sox Nation life: We have always LOVED our characters; the stranger the better, it would seem, and Lee would have to rank up there among the strangest.

Continue reading "The Spaceman, Manny being Manny and ..."

arrived at camp on time (fact) and he showed up looking to be in great shape (figure). I love Manny Ramirez for many reasons, aside from that dreadlock tangled mane thing that he somehow stuffs under his hat.  But other than that, there's nothing else about

Continue reading "Manny May Be Out in Left Field...But ..."

With all indications that the Boston Red Sox will hit the field in 2008 with the exact same lineup as they did last October, I thought I'd take a look at that 2007 team and see just what the package consisted of.

Continue reading "If the Boston Red Sox were a 'single' ..."

Sean Casey, who helped the Tigers win their title in '06, is now a member of the Boston Red Sox, so I went fishing for a performance 'snapshot' of him to see what we were getting for our $800,000.

Continue reading "Casey at the Bat"

Before I start any major contributions geared toward a dialogue among fans of this major league baseball team, I consider it appropriate to define the word 'fan,' particularly as it relates to me and the Red Sox.

Continue reading "Boston Red Sox Fan - Defined"