Categories
MLB General

July 13 in Sports History: the saga of Carl Mays

In 1919: Pitcher Carl Mays of the Boston Red Sox abruptly left the field during a game at Chicago in protest of what he thought was a lack of support in the field from his teammates. He refused to pitch again for the Red Sox. This caused a major controversy in baseball and would set off a course of history that would change the game. First, Mays was traded to the Yankees (right before another famous Boston player), but league president Ban Johnson would not let him play. The Yankees were able to get a court order allowing him to play, thus eroding Johnson’s power. This would be a main reason (along with the Black Sox scandal) for the need for a commissioner the following season. As a member of the Yankees the following year, Mays – a known spitballer and very unpopular player – would throw a pitch that would hit Cleveland’s Ray Chapman, which Chapman would die from. The spitball, although not directly blamed for Chapman’s death, would be outlawed the following year.

In 1999: Ted Williams is honored before the Fenway Park faithful in a touching ceremony before the All-Star Game in Boston. Teddy Ballgame was carted around the field and doffed his cap (finally) to the adoring fans before meeting with the All-Stars from both leagues. Williams, always known as surly with the Boston crowd, is moved to tears by the tribute and thoroughly enjoyed talking hitting with the players. The spontaneous and poignant moment delayed the game’s start by 15 minutes. In the game, Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez struck out the first four batters and five of the six he faced in a 4-1 AL victory. He would become only the second player in All-Star history to win MVP honors in his home park (Sandy Alomar did it in Cleveland in 1997).

Categories
Boston Red Sox

Red Sox 2004 World Series ring on ebay

For the die-hard Sox fan, you can have your very own 2004 World Series championship ring. A former employee of the Boston Red Sox front office is selling his ring on ebay. The starting bid is $100,000 and the Buy It Now price is $500k. That’s a hell of a bonus for a front office employee. We’re guessing it’s not being sold by one of the head honchos who make millions a year.

The seller says that he is not a big Red Sox fan and he’d rather have the money to pay off some student loans and set up a college fund for his kids.

Many will be angered to hear someone is selling off a piece of the Red Sox history and I do not wish to hear from the thousands of fans who think I am doing something wrong, when I am simply doing the right thing by my family.

We gotta say that this sounds a lot more reasonable than the guy who will pony up six figures for a ring valued at around $16k. Unless you’re Stephen King and you got money to burn.

As of press time, there are no bids and the auction ends on Friday.

Links:
[Boston Herald]: Do I hear $500G? Ex-Sox employee auctioning off Series ring

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Marathon baseball

1. The never ending game: The longest game of the year was played right when the two teams involved didn’t want it–the day before the All Star break. The Red Sox and the White Sox battled for a total of 19 innings–the longest game since April 2003. The Red Sox should have had it won it the ninth–Jonathan Papelbon was in and they were leading by one. But then Jermaine Dye homered, his 25th of the year and third in the last two days. That sent the game into extras, and in the 11th, both teams scored two runs. Then it was scoreless again until the 19th inning, when Tadahito Iguchi hit a game-winning RBI single. The White Sox’s win avoided a sweep, and they are only two back of Detroit now. Boston has kept their three-game lead. This was the longest game of the year at 6 hours and 19 minutes. Boston’s Trot Nixon became the first player to go 0-9 since 1991. Teammate Jason Varitek wasn’t much better at 0-8.

2. Another long game: The battle of the Sox wasn’t the only game to go into extras last night. The Astros-Cardinals matchup went into 12 innings–on Sunday Night Baseball. The Astros were down 2 runs in the eighth but battled back with a Chris Burke two-run homer and a Craig Biggio sac fly. So the game went into extras and was scorless until the 12th, when pinch-hitter Aaron Miles hit a two-run single off Houston closer Brad Lidge, whose struggles this year have yet to stop. The Cardinals now have a four-game division lead going into the break. Houston is six games out.

3. AL’s best pitcher?: Roy Halladay has just dominated this season. He picked up his 12th win yesterday against the Royals, becoming the first pitcher in the majors to reach that mark. His solid 7 inning, 1 earned run start lowered his ERA to 2.92 and his WHIP to 1.03. Halladay has now won four starts in a row, and 7 of his last 8 decisions have been victories. His excellent performance this year has earned him a trip to Pittsburgh for the All Star game and has helped out the Blue Jays’ somewhat inconsistent rotation.

4. They’ll welcome the break: The Pittsburgh Pirates are certainly glad the All Star break is here. They have fallen to 30-60 on the year, the worse record in the majors. Their 8-3 loss to the Phillies yesterday gave Philly their first series win in a month. The Pirates have gone 4-20 in their last 24 games and are even worse than the Chicago Cubs. They are five games behind the Cubs and 19.5 games behind the division-leading Cardinals.

5. Leading at the break: The first half of the season is now in the books, and here are some interesting notes from the statistical leaders. David Ortiz, who wasn’t on the leaderboard until recently, is now first in the majors in RBI (87) and homeruns (31). Also, Albert Pujols, despite missing 15 games, is first in homers (29) and second in RBIs (76) in the NL. Adam Dunn (28), Jason Giambi (27), and Travis Hafner (25) rank in the top 10 in homers but won’t be going to the All Star game. Now to the pitchers. Jason Isringhausen is first in the NL in saves (26) despite an underwhelming 3.35 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. Meanwhile, two rookies (Francisco Liriano and Justin Verlander) are in the AL’s top five in ERA, but neither will be going to Pittsburgh for the All Star game.

Categories
Boston Red Sox

Odds and Ends (07.07.06): Manny Ramirez called owners "White Devils"

From the new book by Seth Mnookin called Feeding the Monster, comes this little nugget:


stat analyst Bill James did a study in the 2003 season in which Rami rez was cited for half of the 60 instances in which Sox players did not hustle, and this spring, after the Sox did not trade him yet again after he’d asked to be dealt, Rami rez directed a rant at the owners in which he referred to them as “[expletive] white devils.

Man, that’s just Manny being Manny racist. (Story via Drunken Bleachers Blog)

In other news…

[Cincinnati Enquirer]: Shackelford out of jail, in minors

[NY Daily News]: Isiah’s already eyeing playoffs

[SI.com]: Minor-leaguer killed just after release

[USA Today]: Damn, even punters are cheating

[Seattle Times]: Bland ESPN has lost its way

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: We’re going streaking!

1. Make it a dozen: The Red Sox just keep on winning, and even a series against the NL’s best team didn’t produce an Interleague loss. The Sox completed a sweep of the Mets on Thursday in a heavily anticipated Glavine vs. Shilling matchup. Each pitcher held the opposing team scoreless through five innings, but they ended up allowing two earned runs each. Shilling pitched seven innings to earn the victory, his only mistake a two-run shot allowed to Carlos Beltran in the 6th inning. Coco Crisp used a bunt single, a steal, and a sacrifice fly to score and break the 2-2 tie in the 7th. David Ortiz hit his 23rd homer to seal the deal, and Jon Papelbon collected his 24th save. The Red Sox are now up by a season-high 4 games in the AL East, while the Mets still hold an 11-game lead in the NL East.

2. It’s over: The Pirates losing streak finally ended last night despite facing the best pitcher one of the AL’s best teams. The Bucs defeated the White Sox 7-6, and Jose Contreras had his worst outing of the year but was spared of the loss. Contreras allowed 6 runs in five innings, but his undeafeated streak still stands at 16 games. That’s because Jim Thome tied up the game at 6-6 in the eighth with a pinch-hit homerun, his AL-leading 25th on the year. For the Pirates, Freddy Sanchez went 4-5 and hit a game-winning walk-off homer in the ninth. His batting average increased to an NL-leading .363. This game means little more than an ended streak for the Pirates however. They are still 17.5 games back of the Cardinals in their division.

3. Streaking Seattle: One of the many AL teams taking advantage of a weakened National League is the Seattle Mariners, whose 10-2 record in Interleague play has left them only two games back in the AL West. They currently have a 5-game winning streak going after completing a sweep of the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks. Yesterday they won 3-2 after a strong start by Gil Meche, who is 3-0 in his last five starts and has dropped his ERA over a point. JJ Putz picked up his 14th save for Seattle, and he has only blown one save all season. Raul Ibanez is having one of the quietest yet effective seasons of any player, and last night he hit his 17th homer and 63rd RBI. Even Adrian Beltre has raised his average from under .200 to .262 over the past month or so.

4. They like their homers in Cincy: After hitting four homers against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, the Reds were at it again on Thursday. They hit three homeruns, one each by Ken Griffey Jr., Felipe Lopez, and Adam Dunn. Griffey’s shot marked his fourth game in a row going yard, while Dunn’s blast gave him 25 on the year. Dunn also hit a double in the eighth inning that drove in the game-winning run. The win for Cincinnati left them just one game back of the Cardinals, and it appears they are for real. Bronson Arroyo, who left after seven innings and received a no-decision, allowed two runs to keep his ERA at an NL-leading 2.58. The Royals, meanwhile, once again have the majors’ worst record after their loss and the Pirates’ win.

5. Bringing juice to the Golden Baseball League: Jose Canseco is back in a professional uniform, as he agreed to a contract with the San Diego Surf Dawgs. Canseco will play DH and even pitch for the team, which plays in the independent Golden Baseball League. He will make the league maximum salary, which is just $2,500 per month. We’re waiting to see if a steroid scandal will soon rock this independent league.

Categories
Boston Red Sox

12 year old kid heckles the Red Sox

You know what’s great about Boston? They teach their kids at a young age how to be as much of a masshole as possible. According to Terry Francona, the kid who yelled something at Keith Foulke is the same 12 year old who has been yelling at him for 2 years.


That guy yelling at Foulke is the same one who’s been yelling at me for two years. He said something inappropriate.

Where’s Timlin, you dumb-ass?. He’s 12. If I had been his dad, I’d have smacked the $#^@ out of him.

Sure he’s 12 but he’s got the heckling skills of at least a 16 year old.

A note on the kid pictured here. He is the most photoshopped fan on the planet. He’s been giving the finger as a Steelers fan, a Browns fan, a Yankees fan, a Red Sox fan… the list goes on and on. Who is this Golden Child of Anger?

Links:
[Boston Herald]: Foulke holds back

Categories
New York Yankees

A-Rod doesn’t pimp his balls

We’re as sick of the media East Coast bias and the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry as anyone but you gotta admit that it’s pretty funny when two teams start arguing about hitters staring at home run balls too long. After Manny Ramirez admired his homer off Scott Proctor (he did show him up by the way), A-Rod has been accused of doing the same thing to Tim Wakefield.

A-Rod denies that he would ever do something like that.


First of all, I’d never want to embarrass myself, so I wouldn’t pretend to embarrass myself by saying I didn’t see it if I had. Especially with someone like (Tim) Wakefield on the mound, who I respect as much as any pitcher in the game.

I’ve hit a lot of homers and I’ve never pimped one or tried to embarrass myself, my team or a guy like Wakefield or the Red Sox, who I respect so much. I don’t celebrate homers, it’s not my thing. All you have to do is look at my track record.

Meanwhile, Joe Torre said, “There’s a lot of things that go on today that the old-time pitchers wouldn’t put up with. The game has changed a lot. It’s not only Manny Ramirez.” Sounds like Torre wants a beanball at the head of Manny to clear a few things up. We’ll root for anything that results in a bench clearing brawl. And, if somehow, AJ Pierzynski could get socked in the jaw in the deal, that’d be even better.

Links:
[NY Daily News]: A-Rod sez charge an injustice

Categories
Boston Red Sox

David Wells is a blowhard

How is it that the Boston Red Sox have two of the biggest blowhards in the game? Curt Schilling is the biggest media whore this side of T.O. and David Wells will open his big trap to comment on anything.

Last year, Wells blasted Selig on the steroid issue and now he’s dragging ex-teammates through the mud.

You see a little, bitty guy hitting 30 home runs… what, Dellucci, I guess? How many home runs did he hit last year? Twenty-nine. Has he ever done that in his career? How many has he hit this year? So, the numbers have gone down tremendously since all this has come up… I know Dave, I’ve never suspected him of doing them.

Delucci responded that his home run numbers are down because he’s now a bench player. David Wells is such an ass that Red Sox manager Terry Francona and Curt Schilling (there he is again) had to apologize to Delucci on behalf of the entire Red Sox organization.

Today, Wells attempted to sweep the issue under the rug by claiming he was just “making conversation”.


I’ve known David for a long time. I’ve been a teammate. The guy busts his [expletive] in the gym, and he works out hard. We were just making conversation.

I wasn’t accusing him or anything of the sort. So the [expletive] who did it, or the [expletives] who did it, I think they need to [expletive]. And you can quote me on that. [Expletives].

Hey, and you know, when we accused David Wells of being a fat blowhar, we were just making small talk.

Links:
[Philly.com Remarks prompt apology to Dellucci
[Boston.com]: Wells attempts to clear the air

Categories
General Sports

Odds and Ends for Fri Apr 28 2006: Bush house scandal getting hairier

(What? It’s Friday. We can’t make a bad joke in the headline?)

It seems that Reggie’s parents were supposed to pay $4,500 a month in rent but never paid because they didn’t have the money. Of course, no one seemed to worry about it because they knew that the $54,000 in back rent was chump change for the future #1 pick’s family. The lawyer for Michael Michaels, one of the founders of the failed New Era Sports & Entertainment has said he plans on filing a $3.2 million fraud lawsuit against Bush and his family. Concidentally, the NFLPA is investigating and extortion charge against David Caravantes, another shady figure in the whole scandal.

Meanwhile, Reggie Bush said that his family moved out not because of the Yahoo story hitting the wires but because they simply found a better place to live. We’re sure they have.

In other news…

[James Mirtle]: It’s not a cool a recreation as Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, but James Mirtle recreates Saku Koivu’s eye injury. Poor taste? Maybe. Pretty damn funny? Yes.

[Boston.com]: Keith Foulke thinks he should have the ball from the final out in the 2004 World Series. And he wants his damn shoes back too.

[AP]: Olympic gold medalist Tim Montgomery was arrested in connection with a mutlimillion-dollar bank fraud and money laundering scheme. Run Timmy run.

[USA Today]: Sometimes we wish the Sixers would do the same thing.

This isn’t real right? Right?

Real Odd of the day: 50-1 that Rafael Palmeiro confesses to using other drugs.