tlee Blog Posts

Rays take the series but it wasnt so bad

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:22:06 PDT

I really don't think tonight's game was so bad. For once you can't blame the bullpen. Okajima with a shutout inning, Masterson with two shutout innings, Delcarmen with two shutout innings, Javier Lopez with two and a third shutout innings. They really did a great job. You have to give it up to them for keeping the Red Sox in the game that long. The bats just couldn't get it done tonight, but it happens. I'd rather lose 4-2 than 10-8, you know what I'm saying? Pitching is more important.

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I dont hate the Yankees

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:51:54 PDT

I remember one time back in June I was watching TV with my friend, and we saw on the news ticker that the Yankees had lost to the Reds. "Yes!" my friend cheered to himself. I said, "Why does it matter?" He replied that it's because that's one more loss in the Yankees' loss column. I think maybe most Red Sox fans automatically root for whatever team the Yankees are playing against. I'm more ambivalent about it. On one hand, I can't deny that it's fun to laugh at the Yankees lose. On the other hand, I like to see both the Red Sox and the Yankees win, because that fuels the rivalry. As interesting as it is to see the Rays on top for once, I kinda wish the Yankees were still in this race. It makes things more exciting. In general I like to see the AL East teams win. I like

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Red Sox Red Hot

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:21:24 PDT

I'll admit, the late July/early August Red Sox had my faith waivering a little. It was definitely demoralizing to see the Red Sox get swept twice in a row by the Angels. At and around the time of the trade deadline, the Red Sox seemed unable to get their act together. I thought, maybe they just don't have it this year. But the Red Sox have been turning around. They have been on fire for this entire recent road trip, with the exception of Buchholz's last start in the majors and Lester's loss in Toronto.

After first taking down the Orioles, the Red Sox took down the Blue Jays. This is significant because the Blue Jays have been giving the Red Sox trouble all season, and the two teams still have seven games against each other in September. It was important for the Red Sox to demonstrate their ability to win against Toronto because they'll have to do it again next month.

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USA softball takes silver

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:47:30 PDT

I didn't watch the softball gold medal match (it was on at 6:30 this morning), but when I woke up I was surprised to find that Japan had taken the gold. The USA softball team has been undefeated up until this point in the 2008 olympic games, and they were undefeated in Athens when they took the 2004 gold medal. With batting averages in the .400-.500 range, ERAs of 0.00, two no-hitters, one perfect game, six shutouts, and an 8-0 record, Team USA was only one game away from taking their fourth olympic gold medal. Kind of reminds you of the Patriots.

I really did not expect Japan to pull this one off. Their pitching ace, Yukiko Ueno, pitched three complete games over the course of two days to take this gold. I thought her arm would have fallen off by now. In the semifinals between the US and Japan, the game went into extra innings, tied 1-1 until the 9th when Crystl Bustos hit a homerun to give the USA a 4-1 win. In the bronze medal match between Japan and Australia, the game again went into extra innings. It was a long, back and forth game that finally ended 4-3 in the 12th, ending Australia's run with a bronze medal. And then today, in Japan's third and most important game against USA in Beijing, Japan took their first win against the Americans, taking the gold medal, and leaving USA with the silver. Yukiko Ueno pitched every single at bat in all three of these games. Unbelievable.

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Houdini Matsuzaka

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:48:52 PDT

I love Dice-K. Yeah he has given up the most walks, and pitched the least number of innings out of the starting pitchers. Why does everyone focus on that? He has also given up the least amount of hits, has the lowest ERA, most number of wins, and fewest number of losses. He's exciting to watch. He makes you worry, but never lets you down in the end. He lets way too many guys on base, and then suddenly the bases are loaded yet again, and you wonder, is tonight the night that Daisuke's luck runs out? Are those baserunners finally going to make him pay for letting them get on base? And you're worrying...worrying...and then he gets all the batters out, with the bases loaded! And then you laugh at yourself for doubting that Daisuke could get it done, because he always does. I wonder what it is about his pitching that causes this scenario to keep coming up. Of course I hope that eventually Daisuke can figure out how to get guys out

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Rangers Sox Aug 12 2008

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:25:14 PDT

I don't really know what to say about this game. When the Sox scored ten runs in the first inning I was excited, but expected the rest of the game to be boring so I turned the TV off and went to get some dinner. I came back and it was a two run game. I was like what...the...heck... A short while later the Sox were actually losing. The final score was Sox 19, Rangers 17. That's just ugly. Yet beautiful at the same time. It was really fun to watch though.

So we got pitcher Paul Byrd to add depth to our starting rotation. That's sudden and unexpected, but just what we needed. This is good news.

I just checked the Wild Card standings. I hadn't realized how close the Wild Card race was. The Twins and the White Sox are both actually only two games behind the Red Sox. The Yankees are five games behind. So the Red Sox are actually competing with four teams for a playoff spot. This is going to be tight.

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Which teams injuries hurt the most

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:39:26 PDT

Well it really sucks that Wakefield is on the DL, and with Buchholz struggling, the Sox rotation is really only three men deep right now. Colon is doing his rehab in Pawtucket, and is not quite ready to come back to Boston yet. Papi's wrist problems kept him out of the game today, but the Red Sox were able to come out on top of the White Sox 5-1 without him. Hopefully his wrist won't be too serious of a problem for the remainder of the season.

Meanwhile, our rivals have their own health problems. The Rays lost both Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria to the DL, and right now it's not clear whether Crawford will even be coming back this season. The Rays are said to have less depth than the Sox and the Yanks, so these key injuries are really bad news for them.

Earlier in the season the Yankees lost Matsui and Posada. Posada's gone for the season, and there's no timetable for Matsui's return. They made some good moves at the trade deadline for Xavier Nady and Ivan Rodriguez to fill in the holes created by these injuries. The biggest question is what's going to happen with Joba Chamberlain. I think that losing Chamberlain for the Yankees has to be worse than losing Wakefield for the Red Sox.

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Mismatch Sports

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:33:46 PDT

I have this fantasy... to see professional sports teams play each other in a different sport. The Red Sox vs. the Yankees in soccer. The Celtics vs. the Lakers in baseball. You know you want to see Kevin Garnett rob someone of a home run at the wall. That's assuming anyone on the Lakers could hit a home run. How about the Patriots vs. the Giants in hockey? Tom Brady getting sandwiched by linebackers on ice skates? You know that'd be funny.

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A good day for Red Sox ball clubs

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:36:15 PDT

It's been a good day. The Spinners and Pawsox won at Fenway, the Red Sox won in Chicago, last I checked the Sea Dogs are winning in Connecticut, and the Yankees lost in Anaheim.

My favorite Red Sox players of the day:

Ellsbury. Jacoby hit his seventh homerun of the season today. He's been hitting better in the 7,8,9 spots than he was hitting leadoff. It looks like his slump is over. Last week I dropped Ellsbury off my fantasy baseball team for A.J. Burnett. Should I be regretting this now?

Papi. Papi cleared the bases with a three-run double in the seventh. There's nothing more frustrating than seeing nothing happen with the bases loaded. There's nothing more awesome than seeing the loaded bases cleared. Hell yeah!

Dice-K! Dice-K pitched for eight complete innings, and only gave up one run. Wow! Has Dice-K ever made it to the eighth inning this season? Dice-K has put up good numbers all season, but his biggest problems have been pitching too few innings, and giving up too many walks. It seems that his innings are gradually increasing, and his walks are gradually decreasing. Seems like he's working on what he needs to work on. Dice-K is just going to get better. I love Dice-K.

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