Tag: David Ortiz

Boston Red Sox Fans Should Have a Vested Interest in the 2011 All-Star Game

Surprise, surprise. The Boston Red Sox are exactly where the preseason pundits thought they would be in mid-June: sitting comfortably atop the AL East with the second best record (42-27, .609) in all of Major League Baseball.

The strength of the teams play over the last month and a half has been quite remarkable, actually. After averaging around 5.05 runs per game last season, good for second best in the majors, they’ve upped their offensive output to around 5.32 runs per game, the best mark in the league.

The Red Sox have always been a strong offensive team, but their surge at the plate this year has been evident. By just looking at some of the lopsided final scores the Red Sox have put up over the last week and a half––10 to four, 14 to one, 16 to four, 11 to 6––it’s easy to see the explosive potential the Red Sox enter each and every game with.

But what does this all have to do with the All-Star Game? Well, quite a lot actually.

As we all know, the All-Star Game is used to determine home field advantage in the World Series. It might be big-headed of this Red Sox fan to start thinking about the World Series this early, but for obvious reasons, the World Series is the ultimate end-goal for this team. Considering the talent on the team, anything less would be a disappointment to Red Sox fans.

And, besides the obvious home field advantage that an American League All-Star victory would ensure, it would also give the Red Sox an extra game to use the designated hitter.

The start of interleague play has uncovered quite a conundrum for the Red Sox. Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz, easily the teams two best hitters this year, both can’t play in the field at the same time.

Ortiz––whose position in the field is first base––is one of the few full-time DH’s left, and he’s easily the most productive of the bunch. Gonzalez is an above average fielding first baseman with no real ability to play another position.

So, when the Red Sox make the trip to play in National League stadiums, they’re going to have to make the tough decision of who to sit. There is no right answer; logically, it would be detrimental to leave either man’s bat on the bench, or to play them both in the field at the same time. It’s a lose-lose situation.

The Red Sox can juggle this problem comfortably enough for the nine road games they will play during the interleague period.

But, come October, if the Red Sox continue their strong play and make a successful run at the fall-classic, they’re going to have a serious problem on their hands.

The best thing Red Sox fans can do is pull up a chair and root, root, root for the American League come July 12th. Home field advantage is important, but nowhere near as important as being at full strength for four games, as opposed to three, in the World Series.

In years past, it was easy to feign mild interest in the All-Star game without caring too much about the final result. But, if you have any hope for the Red Sox returning to postseason glory in 2011, you’ll be vehemently glued to your television set late on a Tuesday night in July, willing to put up with Joe Buck’s dry commentary, and maybe even willing to silently root for a couple of Yankees to get a hit.

Dan is a Boston Red Sox featured columnist. Follow him on twitter @dantheman_06

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Ortiz and Gonzalez: Baseball’s Top 1-2 Batting Combination Zaps Yankees

A few seasons ago, the Boston Red Sox had the most dangerous one-two batting punch in the majors with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. With the addition of Adrian Gonzalez and the resurgence of the 35-year-old Ortiz, the Red Sox, once again, have the most potent one-two batting combination of any team.

Ortiz is batting .320 with 15 home runs and 36 RBIs. Gonzalez is doing even better, hitting .338 with 12 home runs and 57 RBIs.

The Red Sox have just completed their second consecutive sweep of New York’s other team, the New York Yankees, at that team’s new home. Three-game Boston sweeps didn’t happen too often in the real Yankee Stadium.

Adrian Gonzalez tripled home one run and Ortiz blasted a two-run home run to help the Red Sox to a 6-4 win in the first game of the series. After hitting the mammoth blast, Ortiz flipped his bat, which angered Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

Perhaps Mr.. Girardi prefers that a hitter only flips his bat after striking out, as the great Alex Rodriguez did in the seventh inning of a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 6, 2009.

The next night, the Yankees held Ortiz and Gonzalez to one hit in eight at-bats, but the one hit was another Ortiz two-run home run, this one in the first inning, coming off former nemesis A.J. Burnett. It helped Boston to a three-run first inning.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman demonstrated his baseball acumen when he signed Burnett for five years at $16.5 million a year. The fact that Allan James almost always beat the Red Sox was a major factor in the signing.

Much to Cashman’s chagrin, the former farmhand of New York’s most beloved team, the New York Mets, has not won in his last nine starts against the Red Sox, the last eight with the Yankees.

Burnett is 0-4 with an obscene 8.01 ERA over that span.

Brian Hock of Major League Baseball reported that, after the game, Joe Girardi provided the media with his usual sagacious comments.

“It’s not what you want,” Girardi said. “The book is not closed on A.J. here and what’s ahead of us, that’s for sure. He struggled tonight, but that book is not closed—that book is wide open—and he’s going to have another opportunity.”

The final game of the series was delayed for about three hours by rain, but the Yankees management, always putting the fans’ interests first, realized that the reason fans paid to get into the ball park was to see a game, even if it didn’t start until about 11 PM.

C.C. Sabathia started against Yankees nemesis Josh Beckett. The Yankees hadn’t scored a run off Beckett in either of his first two starts against them, but this time, they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. They wouldn’t score again until the ninth inning, when it was much too late.

Sabathia cracked in the seventh inning. Who got it started? Why, David Ortiz of course.

Ortiz singled to right field. Jed Lowrie tripled him home with the first Boston run. After Carl Crawford grounded out, former Met Mike Cameron doubled home Lowrie with the tying run, but the Sox were far from finished.

Jason Varitek, an old catcher who still gets a hit once in a while, singled Cameron to third. Jacoby Ellsbury, who is the kind of player that Brett Gardner would like to be, singled home the lead run.

With two outs, Gonzalez singled home Varitek, and before the inning ended, Boston had scored seven runs.

Ortiz had two hits in four at bats, while Gonzalez had two hits in five at bats.

For the three games, Mark Teixeira had one hit in eight at bats and the great A-Rod had a hit in 12 at-bats.

The Red Sox have the top one-two punch in baseball despite the protestations of the St Louis Cardinals fans, who prefer Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. By the end of the season, they may be proven correct, but Yankees fans should remain silent.

A-Rod and Teixeira won’t top either.

References:

Baseball Reference

Red Sox Beat Yankees 11-6

A-Rod Flips Bat

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David Ortiz Video: Watch Boston Red Sox’s Big Papi Give Yankees Fans Some Love

David Ortiz Goes Looking for Hugs from Yankees Fans

Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is no stranger to the New York Yankees. He’s a career .305 hitter against the Pinstripers, and he has also torched them for 31 career home runs.

Plus we all know what Ortiz did to the Yanks in the 2004 ALCS.

This is why the legions of Yankees faithful are not exactly big fans of Big Papi. He gets mercilessly booed every time he steps into the batter’s box at Yankee Stadium, and that’s not likely to cease any time soon. With the Red Sox in town for a three-game series, that means Papi is in for a long weekend.

Then again, maybe not. In a new video from Major League Baseball, Big Papi took to the streets of New York in an attempt to show some love to his haters. With a bit of luck, he’d get some back too.

That was the mission, but what about the method?

Why, by going out and hugging every single New Yorker he came across, of course.

Papi’s quest for hugs got off to a bit of a slow start, but they soon started coming fast and furious. At least that’s how the editor fixed it, anyway.

Either way, there you have it, New York: video evidence that Ortiz can no longer be booed in Yankee Stadium.

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Beckett’s New Unwritten Rule: Don’t Watch Your Deep Homer Leave the Ballpark

In the middle game of a three game set between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards earlier this week, a rubber match was taking place between Boston’s Josh Beckett and Baltimore‘s Jeremy Guthrie.

That is, until O’s outfielder Luke Scott smashed a 425-foot two-run homer onto Eutaw Street in the bottom of the fourth to break the scoreless tie.

Understandably, Scott admired his ball as it carried off into the night. Who wouldn’t? If you hit a ball that far, you’re going to want to see it go.

Unless your name is Josh Beckett.

The Red Sox‘ pitcher didn’t appreciate Scott watching his hit fly, and appeared to be yelling at Scott as he stared him down multiple times as he rounded the bases, and even after he reached the inside of the dugout. The game’s plate umpire, Fieldin Culbreth, had to calm Beckett down.

In Scott’s next at-bat in the game against Beckett, the pitcher didn’t retaliate, though that could be due to the teams being caught in a close ball game, as well as a sure-fire ejection had Beckett drilled Scott.

After the game, Beckett told reporters on the subject that “Those things have a way of working themselves out.”

So is Beckett planning on drilling Scott the next time the two teams meet? Or will he have a fellow pitcher do so?

On the flip side, this is what Scott had to offer to reporters when asked about it after the ballgame: “When I got into the dugout, the guys said he was yelling or something like that. I’ve got all the respect in the world for Josh Beckett. He’s one of the best pitchers in the game. I respect every pitcher who takes the mound against me. He is a tremendous competitor, and there are emotions. I’m an emotional person, so I can understand people getting emotional.”

What’s so bad about one admiring a lengthy home run they hit? Personally, I’m not exactly sure. If I were a pitcher and someone beat me in that fashion, I would understand them wanting to give it an extended look.

That’s baseball, as well as life. People naturally want to take a look at their accomplishments, and for Beckett to get upset over it further proves that he has the emotions of a pre-teen going through puberty.

Beckett is well known for being one of baseball’s most notorious cry-babies, and though there have been all too many examples proving as much, one sticks in my head.

I can’t remember what season it was, but my guess is between three to five years ago. It was, again, a game at Camden Yards between the Sox and the Birds with Beckett on the bump.

Melvin Mora, a longtime Oriole during the last decade, was on second, taking his lead, when all of a sudden, Beckett turned around and started walking towards Mora, shouting at him the whole time.

I don’t remember specifics, such as if the benches cleared or if Beckett was stopped by umpires/teammates before he reached Mora, but I do remember that no punches were thrown. It was a rather controlled incident, in terms of a baseball altercation.

I also remember why Beckett suddenly became incredibly pissed off.

He claimed that Mora was stealing his catcher’s signs, something that Mora denied post-game, was very obviously not doing, and that happens in baseball all the time by the players. It’s part of the game, just like how New York Yankees‘ captain Derek Jeter faked being hit by a pitch in a game late last year between his team and the Tampa Bay Rays. Teams find any way they can, within the rules of the game, to get a leg-up on the competition.

Again, that’s baseball. For Beckett to react the way he did was simply childish.

God only knows why Beckett feels that he needs to be the unwritten rule police on the diamond. If he decides to retaliate against Scott the next time the two meet, it’ll just be another example of the man’s immaturity.

The time to unnecessarily retaliate was in Scott’s next at-bat, which as I said, he failed to do. But a better alternative would be for him to grow up and play the game of baseball, not throw a fit over it. He should try to put a K next to Scott’s name the next time he faces him, instead of a HBP.

Apparently, Beckett can’t handle getting beaten in a game very well, and if I were a part of the Red Sox’ management, I would have looked into getting him help for that a long time ago.

And just for the record, did he ever have a problem with Manny Ramirez and/or David Ortiz for doing the exact same thing so many times over the past decade? Didn’t think so.

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Daisuke Matsuzaka: 10 Things I’d Have Bought Instead of $103,111,111 Man

To make life easier, let’s just say that Dice-K cost a clean $100 million. I mean, that extra $3,111,111.11 really isn’t anything to write home about anyway. I can easily make that much money in three, maybe four lifetimes.

With that absurd amount of Benjamin’s, I’d buy Roy Halladay. Halladay was signed through 2013 with a 3year/$60 million contract. I’d rather have spent my money on three years of Halladay instead of six years of Daisuke Matsuzaka.

With the remaining (approximately) $40 million, I’d have taken the Boston Red Sox, the entire AL East, the rest of the American League and their counterparts in the National League out to Sizzler for an all-you-can-eat steak dinner. And if anything is left over, maybe some Pink (read: crack) Berry afterward.

If anyone has too much to drink, Dice-K will be available as the designated driver to ferry people home free of charge. After all, he doesn’t really need the money now, does he?

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Boston Red Sox and Josh Beckett Find a Coffee Grinder

I have made a decision: The 2011 major league baseball season began on April 8th.

I don’t need to hear you tell me that I’m crazy, or stupid, or ugly, or a pervert; the voices in my head tell me that all the time (especially Paul; he’s such a jerk!) This is not about logic, this is about survival. And we all know that the most important thing any organism can do, after eating deep-dish pizza, of course, is to survive. Don’t argue with me, I didn’t make the rules.

I have some solid, scientific evidence to back up my claim, too:

1. It was revealed that the Red Sox were not given a coffee grinder in either Texas or Cleveland and have been living off only store-bought Red Bull for a week. Some could argue that this is in direct violation of the Geneva Convention, making both the Rangers and Indians guilty of war crimes. But above all, it most certainly nullifies the first six games.

2. The Red Sox were also only given a draft copy of the 2011 season that had an additional six preseason games listed, and were never mailed the updated copy. They clearly weren’t really trying against Texas or Cleveland, they were still tuning up! Therefore, the early season losses were the fault of the commissioner, and possible Jerry Remy, not the team.

3. Also, Cleveland sets its rivers on fire every few years, which offers them a clear unfair psychological advantage that the league should investigate immediately (send in the UN).

4. Texas doesn’t really exist.

Given the irrefutable proof listed above, combined with an eloquent, beautiful and spectacular 2-1 series massacre against the arch-rival New York Yankees over the weekend that was in no way only a mediocre performance, I can only conclude that this team is back in shape and ready to show what they are truly made of (meat).

Of course, there are still concerns. The Red Sox did get rather poor pitching performances out of both John Lackey and Clay Buchholz, both of which failed to get out of the fifth with even a shred of dignity. Also, the Sox offense managed to strand 32 base runners. They seemed to get a dozen hits every inning but somehow almost never scored a run, a feat only accomplished by a team with an intimate knowledge of physics and a desire to lose spectacularly.

But the signs of life were unmistakable. Pedroia racked up an astounding nine hits to raise his season average to .400 (is it too early to compare him to Ted Williams?) and David Ortiz had four hits (all while looking fabulous!) while Youkilis seemed to walk more times than he had legal plate appearances (I suspect evil was somehow involved). And the main event, Josh Beckett, pitched a stellar, lights-out performance on Sunday, throwing 11 innings of shutout baseball, allowing only -1 walks and amassing 29 strikeouts en-route to a two-win outing. He was so good that the President called him to congratulate him on his effort, but he hung up because he’s from Texas.

Also, Jason Varitek looked annoyingly comfortable at the plate, something he has no business doing, as I had him all but written off as a ludicrously expensive bench coach for the remainder of 2011.

Carl Crawford still sucks, though.

Up next, the Red Sox welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to Fenway. This is a team so ungodly awful that they managed to become the one shining beacon of hope during the Red Sox’ 0-6 season start, similar to the emotion of seeing a haggard homeless person just a few minutes after being dumped by your girlfriend. If the Sox can take at least two games in the series and face Toronto with a 4-8 record or better, then I’d say the team is back on track and ready to make some noise (with a vuvuzela).

Until our next meet-up, stock pile your nachos and get ready to ride out an assuredly pleasant stretch of Red Sox victories; the 2011 season has just began, and I can quite clearly recall the media being certain that this team would manage to win 100 games, the World Series and cure cancer. It should be a lot of fun to watch…

…Unless they start to suck again…

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Boston Red Sox Need Charlie Sheen To Save Their Season

The 2011 Boston Red Sox were supposed to bring balance to the Force, not destroy it. Sadly after a 0-5 start, people are beginning to doubt whether or not this team is the powerhouse that ESPN spent all winter screaming about. Luckily it’s only April, there is still a lot of baseball left to be played. The Sox need help though, help that only one man can provide.

Charlie Sheen

That’s right. When you are losing, who better to turn to than a man who knows all about winning? Duh.

Charlie Sheen is bi winning. He wins here and he wins there. Where do the Red Sox win? Currently nowhere.

Critics call Charlie Sheen an addict. Many may doubt an addict’s ability to help a professional ballclub. But all Charlie Sheen is addicted to winning. The Sox seem to have gone cold turkey on winning.

Last time I checked, tiger blood was not on Major League Baseball’s list of banned substances. Even if it was, there won’t be a Mitchell Report to expose the Sox. George Mitchell had the Sox back the last go around, there’s no doubt he’ll turn a blind eye again.

Give Lester some tiger blood and he’ll be throwing no hitters every fifth day. I dare Ian Kinsler to try and swing at Lester’s fastball after he’s got some winning injected into him. The only bombs he’ll be dropping will be f-bombs in the locker room. Duh.

Tiger blood might help Jason Varitek remember the rules of baseball.

You’re either in Charlie Sheen’s corner or you’re with the trolls. Where do the Sox stand right now? 0-5. Looks like they’re with the trolls right now. The Baltimore Orioles are 4-1, looking much more Sheenish than the Sox. Is Red Sox Nation okay with that?

It is not too late for the Sox to get out of the troll’s corner. As Charlie Sheen said, “I’m so tired of pretending my life isn’t perfect and bitching and just winning every second and I’m not perfect and bitchin’.” I for one am tired of pretending the Red Sox aren’t perfect and winning every game. Enough’s enough.

Let the Red Sox and Charlie Sheen sit at the same dinner table and together embrace and feast on the bones of trolls.

One word can save the Sox and their savior Sheen has been saying it for weeks. Winning.

Duh. 

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2011 Boston Red Sox: 5 Keys for the Sox to Win the American League East

Although the Red Sox began the 2011 season with an embarrassing three-game sweep at the hands of the Texas Rangers, the Sox still have plenty of time to validate the media’s enormous expectations and secure a playoff spot.

However, in order to emerge victorious from a competitive American League East, the Sox must step back from the spotlight and focus on winning each individual game.

With a healthy and rejuvenated group of veterans, two superstar free agents acquisitions in Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, and a newly bolstered bullpen, the Sox are loaded with talent and can compete with any team in the league.

Nonetheless, it remains to be seen if the Sox can combine their enormous talent with the camaraderie and focus it takes to win the division. 

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MLB Power Rankings: David Ortiz and the 15 Slowest Starters in Baseball

If you’ve ever tried working out on a regular basis, you know that if you stop for over five months, you don’t start the same way you finished.

This is exactly like baseball.  If you haven’t seen a pitcher’s best slider or 12-6 curve in over five months, you won’t adjust to it very quickly.

Sure, spring training is supposed to help out both the pitchers and hitters, but the pitchers usually save their best stuff for simulated games and the regular season.

A combination of this and the fact that the weather can be cold and make it very hard for fly balls to become home runs leads to some hitters having very bad starts to the season.

Likewise with pitchers, if you haven’t been pitching your breaking balls and getting command of your fastballs down for a long time, you are not in peak performance.

Many exercise science doctors agree that it takes at least 30 days to get into the best shape possible, and only three to become out of shape.  This still holds true for professional athletes, and this can lead to terrible starts to the season.

These 15 guys are the slowest starters to the beginning of the season, and they also have the biggest drop-offs from their regular season stats in April.

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Baseball Season Is Around the Corner, Ladies Are You Ready?

That’s right the Boys of Summer are back!

Baseball season kicks off this week and ladies, you have got to be prepared. The days of just knowing that A-Rod is a hottie, or that someone hit a home run, or who’s dating who are over.

Ladies, I need you to know a little bit more about what’s going on in the game, and if your guy is into baseball, these terms can definitely help you hit a “glam slam” in the relationship department.

So get out your pen and pad. Take notes because class is in session.

ACE

He is the best pitcher for the team; he’s the one that the team knows can get the job done. Think of this like your best friend or the guy that you are currently dating. Knowing what you bring to the table, these people will help you score ever time.

AROUND THE HORN

No, I’m not talking about the show on ESPN.

This is when one team hits a ground ball to the third baseman, who then throws to second base, and who then throws to first base to complete a double play.

SWEET SPOT

Okay, this can be taken so many different ways, so get your mind out the gutter: We’re talking about baseball here.

Focus! A sweet spot is the best part of the bat where the hitter knows the ball will travel the furthest. See, I told you to get your mind out of the gutter.

ERROR

I’m not talking about when you spilled coffee on your favorite white shirt on your way to work yesterday.

This baseball casualty is a defensive mistake that allows a batter to stay at the plate or reach first base, or that advances a base runner. If the other team scores off this error, trust me it’s going to be hell to pay when the team returns to the dugout.

INNING

Now, if you don’t understand any other term, you’re going to want to at least walk away knowing what an inning is.

The inning is the time played during the game. There are nine innings in a regulation game. Each team bats in an inning until they record three outs.

The visiting team always bats in the top half (beginning) of an inning. If the home team has a higher total after their opponents bat in the top half of the last schedule inning, the bottom half of the inning is not played and the score is final. A tie at the end of regulation play forces extra innings.

The game continues until an inning is complete and the visitors have a higher score, or until the home team breaks the tie. Then they don’t complete the three outs.

If you need to read this again for complete understanding, do so! You need to at least know and understand what an inning is.

DIAMOND

Ahhh…yes, every girl’s dream…a diamond. Mine actually comes from Tiffany’s with a cushion cut set in platinum with a carat weight of about 3.5.

In baseball, however, a diamond is referred to as the infield playing surface. Not as exciting or sparkly, but nonetheless just as important.

RBI

Every man needs a measuring stick to show how helpful he’s being (or not being!).

So in baseball that measuring stick is done with the RBI. This is the stat which shows how often a player has made it possible for his/her teammates to score while at bat.

A player who has 30 RBIs has caused 30 runs to be scored. A batter is not credited with an RBI if he hits into a double play or if the run is scored because of an error.

UNCLE CHARLIE

No, this is not your drunk uncle who always has too much at the family cookouts, but just a cute term for a curve ball. Nothing too significant, I just really liked the name.

TRIPLE

Any other time I would tell you to stay away from the triple scoop of ice cream, but in baseball this is a good thing.

This is a hit enabling the batter to safely reach third base. See, getting to third base is a good place to be.

SHORTSTOP

This is not the short man who’s trying to buy you a drink at the bar, but he’s the defensive player positioned between second and third bases.

And so you don’t embarrass yourself, he’s not short.

GRAND SLAM

This is the one that will definitely get you a highlight on ESPN. This is when a home run is hit with a runner on every base, which scores four runs. You get fireworks, your teammates lift you up, and essentially you are the man, at least for the night.

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