Tag: Boston Red Sox

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MLB General

The Full Count: Guess who’s leading the NL West



Those ugly unis are working out

1. The best team you don’t know about: Many could tell you after the first week that the Braves have the best record in the majors (6-1 after a win over the Nats yesterday). But who has the second-best? Believe it or not it’s the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have won six straight games for a 7-2 record. Last night’s victory was an 11-inning contest against the Reds that featured five combined homers by both teams. The D-Backs got a key three-run shot by Chad Tracy in the first inning that answered Adam Dunn’s NL-leading 4th homer for the Reds. The teams traded homers until the 11th inning, when Scott Hariston doubled off David Weathers to provide the game-winning RBI. Arizona leads the division but San Diego and Los Angeles are looking good as well.

2. Welcome to Fenway: In their first home game this season, the Red Sox were completely dominant. They beat the Mariners 14-3, with seven of their runs coming in the first two innings. JD Drew hit his first homer as a member of the Red Sox, and was one of four players to have multiple RBIs in this contest. The most important performance was that of starting pitcher Josh Beckett, who is now 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA after striking out 8 in seven innings. The Sox are now 4-3 and tied with the Yankees and Blue Jays for the division lead.

3. No snow in Milwaukee: After getting snowed out for three straight days at Jacobs Field, the Indians were moved to Milwaukee for their current home series against the Angels. Surprisingly there were 19,000 people in the stands, about as much as the hometown Brewers usually draw. The Indians outlasted the Angels in this one 7-6, after a strong start by CC Sabathia was nearly ruined by the Tribe’s bullpen. The Angels scored a run in the ninth off Joe Borowski but their rally was ended after pinch-runner Erick Aybar was caught stealing. The Indians improved to 3-1, good enough for the division lead.

Player of the Day: Adrian Gonzalez, Padres: 3-5 with 2 homers and 4 RBIs in a loss to the Giants.

Stat of the Day: Alex Rodriguez has homered in 4 consecutive games, giving him 6 on the season. He has double the amount of homeruns of anyone else in the AL.

Quote of the Day: “I hope he arouses the fire that’s dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul. I plan to face him with the zeal of a challenger.” — Ichiro on tonight’s matchup with Dice-K.

Walk Off: The Cardinals starters look terrible on paper, but they are actually good enough to lead the team to a fourth consecutive division title. St. Louis has won 4 of their last 5 games despite only 21 runs during that stretch. If guys like Braden Looper and Adam Wainwright can continue their early success, this team will be dangerous in the playoffs once again.

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Boston Red Sox

Next thing you know, Budweiser will sponsor the basepads


Budweiser is launching their new Red Sox bottles today for the Boston home opener with the Red Sox logo is prominently displayed on new aluminum bottles of Budweiser and Bud Light. About 75,000 to 100,000 cases of the bottles are expected to be sold.

Anheuser-Busch, the brewer of Bud, is the official beer of Major League Baseball so they get to do almost anything they want even though MLB has strict standards for alcohol advertising. For example, players are not allowed to do sponsorship deals with beer companies. If the players association was smart, they’d look into repealing this rule as Dice-K already has a beer commercial for Asahi and it features the Red Sox logo in the ad.

Sam Kennedy, SVP of Sales and Marketing for the Red Sox, said that the promotion didn’t cross any lines: “What would be unacceptable would be any targeted advertising that is in an environment where there is a larger percentage of kids [than adults].” Sure. The Red Sox can do whatever they want to make money but let’s not pretend that beer advertisement isn’t also targeted towards teenagers. This isn’t nearly as bad as alcohol ads on Nascar vehicles but let’s just own up and call it a cash grab, ok?

Links:
[Boston Herald]: Bud’s latest pitch: Brewed for buffs

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MLB General

2007 MLB Payrolls


[ 2008 Payrolls are here ]

Another year, another summer of Yankees vs Red Sox in the accounting ledger. Once again, these two teams top Major League Baseball payroll rankings. The Yankees actually dropped a few million in payroll while the Red Sox added a staggering $23M to catch up to the Bronx Bombers. ($195.2 vs $143.5) For perspective, the entire Devil Rays payroll is only $24M this year. Next time any Red Sox fans start talking about the Yankees being the Evil Empire, tell them Boston is just Evil Empire North.

Outside of the Red Sox, the Orioles added the most in payroll this year with an additional $22.5M. Their $95M 2007 payroll puts the Orioles at #10 on the list. Total payroll for baseball is $2.5B with the top 10 teams accounting for nearly half of that number. The Nationals are expected to be the worst team in the majors this year and they trimmed a cool $23M off their payroll from 2006. They still are above the Devil Rays and Marlins though, the perennial K-marts of MLB.

The entire 2007 MLB payrolls after the jump.

Continue reading “2007 MLB Payrolls”

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MLB General

The Full Count: Slump Busters


1. One Man Show: When a stud like David Ortiz struggles the first week, you know he’s going to break out eventually. He did so yesterday as the Red Sox topped the Rangers 3-2 on Sunday Night Baseball. Ortiz hit his first two homeruns of the season, which drove in all three runs by the Sox. He got no help from his teammates in the win, as more than half their lineup went o-fer. At least Curt Schilling was able to return to his usual self after a poor first start. Schilling had one earned run in seven innings.

2. Return of the King: David Ortiz wasn’t the only star to break out of a slump yesterday. Albert Pujols had no RBIs, homeruns, or runs through five games and just one hit. But yesterday, he went 2-5 against the Astros with a homer and two RBIs. The rest of the Cardinals’ team performed too in a 10-1 rout. Scott Rolen drove in four runs, Yadier Molina had three hits and three RBIs, and starter Kip Wells allowed one hit in seven innings. The Astros are now 1-5, while the Cards aren’t much better at 2-4.

3. Losing to the Worst: The Yankees weren’t dealt the toughest opening schedule with the Devil Rays and Orioles. However, they have struggled with both teams in a 2-3 start. Yesterday, New York lost 6-4 to Baltimore despite A-Rod’s continued dominance. Rodriguez hit his fourth homerun of the season, but the O’s got round-trippers from Paul Bako and Kevin Millar. For Bako, it was his first homer since 2004. Erik Bedard rebounded from a poor first start to get the win for Baltimore.

Player of the Day: Johan Santana, Twins: 7 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 9 strikeouts in a win over the White Sox.

Stat of the Day: No Yankees starter has made it past the fifth inning this season.

Walk Off: Though the Mets were virtually handed the division in pre-season predictions, the Braves will prove once again to be a strong contender in the NL East. They just beat the Mets 2-1 in a series despite being outscored 16-7. That means the Braves’ pitching is back where it needs to be for them to be successful. Their relievers have been even better than expected, and Bob Wickman has three saves and a 0.00 ERA in the closer role.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Why isn’t there more coverage of Dice-K?


1. Dice-K’s Debut: In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past day, you would have likely heard how Daisuke Matsuzaka dominated in his debut. On a slow day for baseball, his dominant performance of the hopeless Royals was easily the most important occurrence. Dice-K struck out seven different Royals for a total of 10 K’s, just giving up a solo homerun to David DeJesus in the Red Sox’s 4-1 win. Jonathan Papelbon appeared in his first game of the year and was perfect for the save. The Royals wasted a good pitching performance of their own by Zack Greinke, who had one earned run and will be a breakout performer this season.

2. Piazza comes through: Oakland lost Frank Thomas in the offseason but was able to fill their DH role with Mike Piazza. It seemed like a good idea for the team and the former catcher, and it paid off last night. With the Angels-A’s game tied 3-3 in the ninth, Piazza hit a solo, game-winning shot off All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez. The homer was Piazza’s first of the season and gave the Angels their first loss of the year. His 3-5 performance lifted his broke him out of a 1-12 slump to start the season.

3. Six times the payroll, still a loss: The New York Yankees’ $185 million payroll dwarfs the $24 million of the Devil Rays. Still, the D-Rays managed to expose the Yanks’ biggest weakness–the bullpen. The registered six hits and three runs off Yankees relievers including the game-winner in the eighth off a wild pitch. Veteran reliever Al Reyes provided the save for Tampa, who is looking for any productivity out of their closer position.

Player of the Day: Mike Piazza, A’s: 3-5 with the game-winning HR to beat the Angels 4-3.

Walk Off: Though Dice-K’s debut was impressive, don’t get too excited about him yet. His first major league start came against the Royals, who have one of the worst lineups in baseball. Also, none of them had ever played against him before, which obviously made it harder to adjust to Matsuzaka’s unique array of pitches. I think he’ll be a solid pitcher, just not a Cy Young-worthy one.

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New York Yankees

March 12 in Sports History: Birth of the Yankees


In 1903: Fans of the Boston baseball franchise began printing “Huck the Fighlanders” shirts, as the New York Highlanders were officially approved as members of the American League. The rivalry between the two was truly born a month later. According to the book “Emperors and Idiots” by Mike Vaccaro, a Highlanders player named Dave Fultz intentionally ran over Pilgrims pitcher George Winter while he was covering first base and promptly shouted, “Tell your pitcher to pitch, or get him the hell off the field!” Ironically, the Highlanders could never beat the Pilgrims, as they finished second to Boston in the AL in their first two seasons. The Highlanders then officially changed their name to the Yankees (which they had been unofficially called as for years) on this same date in 1913. One dumb trade seven years later and the Yankees became the benchmark of baseball greatness. Then, on this same date in 2003, they launched their own YES Network, which became available to 3 million more fans who were unable to watch them on televison. (baseball almanac)

In 1987: David Robinson of the US Naval Academy scored 50 points in his final collegiate game, a loss to Michigan. The Admiral won the Naismith award that year as college basketball’s top player and was a consensus All-American (a little redundant, but it’s my favorite sports term). He was drafted number one overall by the San Antonio Spurs, although he didn’t join them until 1989 due to his miltary obligations.

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Boston Red Sox

Dice-K’s Japanese beer commercial and the Feds

We know that Dice-K mania is about to get underway real soon with pitchers and catchers reporting but this is a little ridiculous. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in Washington, D.C is looking into whether a Matsuzaka commercial for a Japanese beer aired in Japan might merit some punitive action.


Our jurisdiction runs to false and misleading ads,” said Resnick, who pointed to a 1995 ruling that says the bureau would consider unacceptable any ad “which depicts any individual (famous athlete or otherwise) consuming or about to consume an alcoholic beverage prior to or during an athletic activity or event,” or an ad that states that drinking alcohol “will enhance athletic prowess, performance at athletic activities or events, health or conditioning.

Did we mention that this ad only aired in Japan? MLB International said they sanctioned the spots and the use of the Red Sox trademark but are a little concerned. Maybe what they should be concerned about isn’t whether Dice-K is drinking a beer on camera (very impressively we might add) but whether drinking Asahi Super Dry is making him fat.

Here’s the commercial. As Tim Hardaway would say, there are more important things to worry about than Japanese beer commercials. We should be more concerned about President (George) Bush and all the people dying in Iraq.

Links:
[AdFreak]: U.S. looking at D-Mat’s beer commercials
[Reason.com]: Feds Continue to Assert World Jurisdiction

[Boston Herald]: Trouble brewing for Dice: Pitchman’s beer ad catches flak

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Boston Red Sox

Top 10 Dumbest in-game Injuries: #6 Clarence "Climax" Blethen

[Sportscolumn is running down the ten dumbest in-game injuries in sports.  Here’s #6.]

We’re going old school with this injury.  Clarence Blethen isn’t a name that most baseball fans know, but once you’ve heard his story he’s pretty hard to forget.  Blethen was a toothless 30 year old rookie pitcher for the Red Sox in 1923.  Climax felt that he appeared more intimidating on the mound when he removed his false teeth.  In order to keep his choppers safe while pitching he would keep them in his back pocket.  On September 21, it finally happened; he forgot to reinsert his dentures and while sliding into second base, he literally bit his own ass.

Back to #7 | Forward to #5

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Boston Red Sox

Bonds to Boston? Unlikely


In another spectacular example of sportswriter logic (i.e. make up some bs) Murray Chass in the New York Times is speculating that since both the JD Drew and Barry Bonds contracts, even though agreed to in terms, have not been signed, that Barry Bonds could end up in Boston. (We would like to speculate that since the Raiders have a head coaching vacancy and Rich Kotite used to be a head coach, that the Raiders might hire Kotite.)

OK, the Giants are definitely trying to backpedal on the Bonds deal because of the recent amphetamines news and the Red Sox are worried about Drew’s shoulder but putting Bonds in there doesn’t make any sense. First, do the Red Sox really need Barry Bonds? He just becomes a huge distraction. If the Giants are worried about his affect on the club house even in the only city where he is loved liked tolerated, what is going to happen in Beantown. Second, this is also the guy who called the entire city of Boston racist.


Boston is too racist for me. I couldn’t play there. That’s been going on ever since my dad (Bobby) was playing baseball. I can’t play like that. That’s not for me, brother.

We’d actually like to see Bonds in Boston. That would make those Red Sox trips to NYC even better. Although the east coast biased media coverage would be completely out of control.

Links:
[NY Times]: Unsigned Bonds Awaits Further Review

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Boston Red Sox

Jan 5 in Sports History: Ruth sold to the Yankees


In 1920 This was the day that the Boston Red Sox and their fans were given an 86-year excuse for losing pennants and World Series’ in unbelievable fashion. Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold George Herman Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 in cash. Some believe it was so Frazee could finance a Broadway play called “No No Nanette,” others believe it was because The Babe had become absolutely insufferable as a superstar for the Red Sox, and the huge amount of money at that time was too good to pass up (Frazee had intended to buy other players with the money, not finance the play, but was entangled with legal problems with the American League). Either way, the fortunes of two franchises completely reversed. Boston, which had won four titles in eight years, did not win for another 86, The Yankees, meanwhile, won 26 during that time.

In 1927: Public hearings began on the most forgotten scandal in sports history. Baseball hall of famers Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker, two of the greatest players of all time, were implicated in an alleged fixing of a game in 1919. Former Tigers’ pitcher Dutch Leonard made accusations that Speaker and Cobb, along with “Smokey” Joe Wood (another hall of fame pitcher), wrote letters to him that Cobb and Speaker planned to throw a Tigers-Athletics game at the end of the 1919 season. At first, Cobb and Wood admitted to the letters (Speaker denied everything) but claimed it was a horse racing bet and that Leonard was angry that Cobb (who was also a manager by then) had sent him to the minor leagues. Cobb and Speaker were to privately resign their managerial posts and accept a lifetime ban. In the end, however, Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis cleared all players because Leonard was unable to convince him (or the public) that the players actually threw the game.