skipm Blog Posts

OK here we go Boston Red Sox look for second in a row

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:40:19 PDT

OK, so here we go. . playoff baseball. The Boston Red Sox start out in search of their second straight World Series title tonight in Anaheim and while they’ve won 9 straight post-season games against the Angels, including the three-game sweep last year, don’t expect that to have much of a bearing on the proceedings. Nor, for that matter, should one place too much emphasis on the fact that the A’s ran away with the AL West, finishing out there 22 games ahead of the Rangers. Bear in mind, as you look to ‘write in’ a series win for Boston, that the Angels have taken eight of the nine games they’ve played against them this year. Three more wouldn’t be a stretch for them. The

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Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in last pre-Instant Replay series

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:29:54 PDT

I can’t think of an endeavor on this earth more influenced by perception, than that of a major league baseball umpire.

A strike in baseball is a very clearly defined thing. The ball has to pass over the plate at a height between the knees and uniform letters. When a ball passes through that very precise set of parameters, a strike is a fact. The decision that goes up on the scoreboard, however, is based on the umpire’s opinion.

We’re usually subjected, whether through viewing the game or highlights, to instances in which they get it wrong. Proponents of instant replay will display these snippets of video as evidence for the need of electronics to invade the field

I’m not entirely opposed to the idea. I’ve often wondered, after viewing a lot of bad calls and a few

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Boston Red Sox in an almost embarrassing slugfest

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:26:12 PDT

I picked up on this one late; like into the 7th inning, and the Boston Red Sox were down 15-14. 15-14!???!!!. What the heck had I missed? Well, for one thing, a 10-run first inning for the Sox that included two homeruns by Ortiz, an 8-run 5th inning for Texas, followed by a 5-run 6th inning that put them ahead and set the stage for what could easily have been the most embarrasing Red Sox loss of the year. As it turned out, thanks to Kevin Youkilis, it was a 19-16 win that temporarily inched them one-half game closer to the Rays, who were in the process of a minor struggle versus Oakland when the Sox concluded their 4-hour marathon.

As it so happened, I was in attendance at the Minneapolis Metrodome on Monday night for the 4-0 Twins win that combined with the Red Sox victory over the White Sox gave the Twins a half-game edge in the American League Central. Interesting, the way these two games differed in character. I saw only the last couple of innings of the Sox-Rangers game and yet it packed more 'wallop' than the entire 9 innings of Twins-Yankees. On the other hand, both pitchers in the Twins-Yankees game pitched into the eighth inning and both would have had complete games had Twins' manager Ron Gardenhire not wisely brought in their closer, Joe Nathan to finish it in the top of the ninth. With the heart of the Yankee order up, which included A-Rod and the recently-acquired and hot-hitting Xavier Nady, Gardenhire took no chances. Nathan completed the shutout.

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Ding Dong the Boston Red Sox Witch is Dead

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:43:10 PDT

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. .

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The Boston Red Sox at mid-season - Please sir I want some more

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:02:29 PDT

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.

Watched them split with the Yankees last weekend. Nothing to say. All the talk about the ‘whys’ and the ‘wherefores’ and why so-and-so’s batting average was so abysmal, didn’t mean a thing to me. Well, at least not all of it (there was something clearly ‘up’ with Manny in this slump of his).

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The Boston Red Sox faltering in Toronto shiningwith their fans at home

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:02:50 PDT

Remember what I said in my last post about not getting too excited that the Boston Red Sox opened the season with a 3-1 winning series against the Oakland As? Well, they demonstrated why, over the weekend in Toronto, where they dropped all three games, essentialy limping home for the home opener on Tuesday.

First, a word about the opposition. It was interesting to see Toronto come back in the opening game of the weekend series and then go on to take the next two. They're something like 28-3 (an off-the-cuff guess) in home openers anyway, but if they have any hope of displacing either the Sox or the Yankees in the post-season, these were just the sort of games they want to win against these two clubs. Although, as Totonto centerfielder Vernon Wells noted in SI's baseball preview, it's not all about defeating just the Sox and the Yankees, against whom they are 37-36 over the past two years, but playing consistenly against other clubs.

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Dont get too excited but the Boston Red Sox open the season 3-1

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 09:35:37 PDT

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. . ).

That said, there’s a lot to cheer about regarding the way the Sox have opened their three-country, two-continent MLB 2008 season (Toronto coming up this weekend), particularly yesterday’s shutout win over the Oakland Athletics. If yesterday’s game had gone the other way, the Sox would be 2-2, Jon Lester would have an 0-2 in his W-L and there might be lingering questions about effects of the Japan trip.

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Prognostications the Boston Red Sox and Shakespeare again just kidding

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:06:22 PDT

Hard to know what to make of the flurry of predictions regarding the fortunes of the Boston Red Sox and all of the other teams which make up Major League Baseball. The predictions right here on this site are sort of mixed. You get a self-proclaimed Boston hater (all sports) predicting that the Sox won't even make the playoffs, which even on the face of it seems a little ridiculous. Even I wouldn't count the Yankees out. This guy figures the Yankees to win it all, beating the Indians, Mariners and then the D-Backs. Yeah, well good luck with that.

His brother figures Yankees and D-Backs in the World Series, but doesn't see the Bronx Bombers winning, which if nothing else should make for some interesting dinner conversation in that household 'round about October. Their Dad is the only one who figures the Sox for the playoffs, but predicts that the Mariners will beat them.

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As I watch the Boston Red Sox in Japan for the season opener

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:12:00 PDT

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!

Ok, so stifling my frustration, I get to watch the game around 8 p.m. this evening. The MLB TV archive function doesn't make the game available until then, but as soon as I see it posted, I'm there.

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An attack of the warm and fuzzies authored by the Boston Red Sox

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:16:55 PDT

It’s hard to assess the true nature of the events that transpired prior to the start of yesterday’s pre-season game against the Toronto Blue Jays, because we weren’t there. What we heard was that prior to the game, Boston Red Sox players voted unanimously not to play the game or board a plane to Japan for scheduled exhibition games against Japanese teams and two regular season games against the Oakland A’s, unless the team’s coaches were compensated for the trip.

As it was told in countless reports (Sports Illustrated and NESN, among others), it came across as a strong case of the ‘warm and fuzzies.’

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