Kuzul

The Texas Rangers have outscored their opponents 57-23 in the past eight days, and Endy Chavez has been the unsung hero of this recent hot streak. While players like Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz have been hitting balls out of the park, Chavez has been hitting .435 in 13 games while crossing the plate 11 times.

The emergence of this new hitting machine has surprised many in the Rangers fan base. Chavez began the year in AAA Round Rock hitting .305 in 30 games. He recently made his first major league appearance since 2009 where his season ended with a torn ACL. He was called up after Julio Borbon was placed on the disabled list but has remained on the roster despite Borbon being activated.

Chavez is putting up career high numbers in a lot of offensive categories and in many cases is outpacing the player he was sent to temporarily replace. Here’s a look at some figures comparing this year’s stats with his previous career-high stats.

It’s very telling that he’s seeing fewer fastballs and more secondary pitches yet his average is up over .100 on his career high. Even dropping pitches outside of the strike zone isn’t enough to keep him off the bases.

If Borbon wants to come back to the majors, he’s going to have to improve his plate discipline. He’s certainly more of an elite defender in the outfield than Chavez but the Rangers can’t afford to keep Endy’s hot bat on the bench. Don’t be surprised to see a trade involve David Murphy because the Rangers don’t really have a need for two outfielders to warm up the dugout during games, especially if the Rangers really want Borbon to come back.

Can he keep this hot streak alive through the rest of the season? Only time will tell.

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 To view the article this rant is based on, click here. 

Take a look at this video. Yankees fans should get a warm feeling inside; Sox fans, not so much.

I don’t mean to incite nostalgia, good or bad. Or maybe I do, but not in the way that you might think.

I’ve harped on this quite a bit, but I am going to continue to harp on it for quite a while. It may not be a fixable issue, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t constantly irritate me for the foreseeable future.

While you’re either basking or melting in the glory of this video, take a hard look at the stands whenever the camera pans away from the field. There’s hardly an empty seat in the house.

Yes, this is one of the most thrilling moments in the history of the sport. Not only that, but it took place in extra innings of perhaps the biggest game between the two franchises that constitute sports’ most tenuous rivalry—and at the apex of that rivalry, no less.

So no, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the stands are full.

But let’s think about this. This was a four hour playoff game, meaning it ended after midnight. I looked it up, and it turned out that this was a Thursday. I would think there would be plenty of people on hand that night who had work early the next morning. Or who had kids who had school that Friday. Or both.

But they all stayed. There might be a few who walked out that night, but there sure weren’t a lot.

Transport this moment to the new Yankee Stadium in 2011, and I would think it would have unfolded quite differently.

The crowd on hand would surely be delirious. There would be plenty of fans who remained. But there would also be plenty of fans who didn’t.

How do I know this? Well, I think anybody who’s spent enough time at either of the two venues would vouch, but let’s quickly jump in the DeLorean once more.

I attended Game 1 of the 2009 World Series at the Stadium, easily the biggest game in the Bronx since the Yanks collapsed in ’04 against the Sox. It was a close game, but a miserable one. Cliff Lee blanked the Yankees. They looked so hopeless offensively that Chase Utley’s solo home run in the first felt like a debilitating punch to the crotch. You didn’t even get hit that hard, but you also couldn’t manage to bring yourself to your feet after collapsing in a heap. When he homered off CC again in the sixth—another solo shot—it felt more like a visit to the guillotine than a punch in the groin. The Yankees simply weren’t recovering from that. At least on that night.

So yes, it was a bleak game, and the crowd’s mood was understandably somber. I was too. But if you looked around the stadium that night, there were clusters of empty seats everywhere. The stadium wasn’t even full when the game started, with visible vacancies in sections all around the ballpark (except the bleachers, naturally). But when Utley went deep that second time, people started leaving. In the World Series. In the sixth inning. Of a two run game, for christ’s sake.

Part of what made the Boone home run so special was that it served as the culmination of a massive comeback.

In that game, the Yankees trailed by four after three-and-a-half innings. After six innings, they had managed just three hits off a still effective Pedro Martinez. Yankees fans had no reason to think Grady Little’s bullpen phone didn’t work—those first 5 innings were as bleak as they could possibly be. Even after Little left Pedro in for the 8th, the right-hander managed to get Nick Johnson to pop out to lead off the inning. As Derek Jeter stepped into the batters’ box, baseball-reference’s win probability chart had the Red Sox having a 94% chance of winning the game, meaning the Yankees had just a six percent chance of survival.

When Chase Utley went deep for the second time in 2009, the Yankees still had a 25 percent chance of winning the game.

They were far from dead, and the thought of losing that game could not even compare to the dread Yankees fans would have experienced if Grady Little had even had a shred of sense in him.

You have two big games in October. Two playoff games in the Bronx where the opposing team had a knife to the collective throat of the Yankees and their fans.

In one game, the home team and their faithful spectators stuck around, standing and sweating for four hours with 50,000 compatriots, feeling defeated until their fears were vindicated as bedlam was unleashed in the Bronx.

In another, 35,000 sat in their seats, lamenting their favorite team’s fate long before it was sealed. Thousands more put the WCBS broadcast on their respective car radios, and turned the volume down as they drove home on the turnpike or highway of their choosing.

For a full-length and explanatory rant on this phenomenon, click here.


Jesse Golomb is the creator and writer of Soap Box Sports Byte. He currently works for Baseball Digest. If you enjoyed this article, or want takes on the rest of the Major Leagues, the NFL and more, you can read the rest of his work on soapboxsportsbyte or follow  @SoapBxSprtsByte

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Expectations can be a wonderful thing. Expectations can also be a yoke of crushing weight. 

This year’s version of the Red Sox had some of the heaviest weight to bear of any team in sports.  The regular season was just supposed to be an extended warmup for the postseason.  They were supposed to step on the field and waltz their way to 100 wins and a third ring in less than a decade. 

Then they started off with a record of 0-6. Put away the waltzing shoes. 

The first week, Boston’s starting pitching looked nothing like the force they were expected to be.  The offense looked even less like a team that was going to steamroll their way to some new finger bling.

More than one quarter of the season was in the books before they hit .500.  In their last 10 games, they are 8-2 with seven wins in a row, capped by a 15-5 shellacking of the Cubs.  The Red Sox sit at 24-20, a measly half-game behind the surprising Rays.

This is how they were supposed to look right out of the gate.

During their struggles, with guys like Carl Crawford going 0-for-everything, Kevin Youkilis struggling, the starting pitching tossing batting practice during games to all of a sudden winning seven in a row, one thing stayed the same: Terry Francona.

He never lost his cool, he never called anyone out and he never panicked. Right now, the Boston manager is one of the best in baseball.  He knows how to get the most from his superstars and his shiny new call-ups from Pawtucket. 

It’s supposed to be easy with a huge payroll, it’s supposed to be a cake walk all the way to October.  The 0-6 start should prove otherwise. 

During the train wreck that was the opening week of the season, he stayed with his starting nine. He knew better than to panic and make wholesale lineup changes.  He did jiggle the batting order a bit, and he started a bench player here and there, getting results is his job. 

He is as loyal to his players as any manager in baseball, but he also isn’t afraid to drop a new $142 million outfielder to the bottom of the order.  His players know he’s just looking for results.  That’s why the $142 million outfielder didn’t grouse or make an issue of batting at the bottom. 

Francona never pointed a finger during the horrid start to the season, except in general terms.  Even when he did have a comment on a bad outing he told us he believed his team was better than they were playing and that he knew they would play better. 

He was right. 

Let’s hope he is right for the Red Sox for many more years.

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David Price is going to have to win 20 games if the Tampa Bay Rays have any aspirations to repeat as AL East Champions.

In Friday night’s 8-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, he got put to the test and fell short…very short. It brought his record to 3-3.

“I didn’t play very well at all,” Price said in reference to his outing. “You know, our offense did a great job, gave me some runs early and that’s all I can ask for, and we played good defense. I just didn’t throw the ball very well and the mistakes I made, they hit them.”

“That’s why you get 33 starts. I didn’t beat myself, they beat me.”

It was Price’s worst outing since getting pulled after 1.1 innings against the Texas Rangers in 2009 when he allowed six earned runs and walked five batters.

Price threw 98 pitches and gave up five earned runs in 4.1 innings of work against Angels. His performance tied his shortest career outing at Tropicana Field.

He allowed a career-high 12 hits.  His previous career high for hits allowed was 10 on two occasions.

During the Rays‘ 13-3 run, starters threw for seven or more innings in 12 of the 16 games. They also held opponents to a .209 average during that stretch.

The weakest link by far for the 2011 Rays is the bullpen. The team has been able to compensate with losses at the other positions by having players like Sam Fuld step in and perform beyond expectation.

Cesar Ramos entered Friday night’s game with the Rays trailing by a run. He was quickly pulled after 0.1 innings, allowing two earned runs and increasing the deficit to three.

During the team’s five-game win streak, Rays relievers only threw 106 pitches. On Friday night, they threw 98 pitches in 4.2 innings.

“You won’t see David with that kind of performance very often,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said about Price’s performance. “David is such a professional and that’s the thing with a guy like that—he’s not a machine. Everybody expects him to be almost perfect on a nightly basis.”

“Overall, David just wasn’t on tonight and that’s a big part of our problem tonight.”

The Rays will have a big problem for the season if Price isn’t on enough to get 20 wins.

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Although baseball’s opening day is special in every city, Cincinnati’s has long been considered the creme-de-la-creme. Professional baseball’s first team is the only team to open each year at home and its fans celebrate the entire day like no other.

Sports Illustrated’s Frank Deford once said,”… the citizens celebrate with the same display of annual ardor that lapsed Christians save for Easter.”  And USA Today chimed in with, “Cincinnati has traditionally been the showcase season opener … nothing else has the glitz of the Reds and opening day. It’s sacred.”

Cincinnatians have always considered Opening Day an unofficial holiday, and now a father and son want to take away the “un,” and make it official.

For 30 years, Cincinnati architect Mike Schuster has shut his company’s doors on opening day and gone to the game.  At first it was just him—now he takes his 40 employees along. And this year, Schuster had an idea—Why not “Make if Official?”

It’s a long-time tradition for Cincinnatians of all ages to call in sick or skip school and head downtown on Opening Day to watch the Findlay Market Parade wind its way through the downtown streets and see baseball’s first professional team open the season. Schuster’s plan is to have Opening Day made an official city holiday, and this year he, his son David and about two dozen staffers were outside Great American Ballpark on Opening Day, collecting signatures for a petition that they hope will accumulate 15,000 names.

And three Reds’ Hall of Famers think it is a great idea.

Said long-time Reds radio voice Marty Brennaman, “Opening Day in this town is the most wonderful day of the year.  “If they put it on the ballot to make Opening Day an official holiday in Cincinnati,” Brennaman added, “it’ll be a slam dunk.”

Joe Morgan, this year’s Grand Marshall of the 92nd Findlay Market Parade, added, “The first game of the season was always a holiday when we were winning,” he said with a laugh. “Might as well make it a real holiday.”

Or, in the words of the late Reds skipper Sparky Anderson, “It’s a holiday—a baseball holiday!  Ain’t no other place in America got that!”

Do the citizens of Cincinnati agree?  In a recent poll on Cincinnati.com, “Make if Official” carried over 85 percent of the vote.

It would seem that if the Schusters can get “Make It Official” on this fall’s ballot, then Opening Day in Cincinnati will become what Reds’ fans have known it as all along—an official holiday.

This article originally appeared in Tom Walsh’s blog at The Ultimate Sports List.

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Overall, the upcoming MLB free agency class for the 2011 offseason is fairly weak.  Unlike 2010 when baseball fans anxiously watched to see where pitcher Cliff Lee and All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford would end up, 2011 will figure to be a quiet offseason.

Yet, among the 2011 free agents, one name stands out.  For the first time in his career, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols will be on the open market.  Given how he is only 31 years old and already has a career batting average of .330, 414 home runs and 1,242 RBI, he will surely command big money.

The Cardinals attempted to negotiate a new contract with Pujols this past offseason and into spring training.  Pujols actually set February 14 as the deadline for a new deal, otherwise negotiations would end.  No deal was reached, so it’s clear that Pujols’s next contract will set a new standard for free agents in future years.

Here are 11 potential free agents whose next contracts will be shaped by the conclusion of the Pujols saga.

Begin Slideshow

Is the thrill of the Majors already gone for the Cincinnati Reds’ young phenomenon Mike Leake?  Coming up, I’ll discuss this question and the ramifications for the Reds rotation.

He’s unrelated to Kelly Leak of The Bad News Bears fame, but he’s gaining the same bad boy image Leak had in the film.  Coach Morris Buttermaker (Walter Mathau) got Leak to join the Bears from off the streets.

As the best baseball player in the area, Leak was a chain-smoking, motorcycle boy who was also a loan shark.  I’m not sure how he was young enough to play on the team, but it’s Hollywood.

Mike Leake, 23, is living in the real world, and he’s probably the best baseball player ever from his hometown of Fallbrook, California.  The comparisons to Kelly Leak should stop there.  That’s unless we find out more information on Leake than the Reds want known.

They drafted him eighth overall in 2009 out of Arizona State.  ASU’s mascot is a Sun Devil.  I’m wondering what in the devil got into Leake over the weekend.

Once they found out who he was, Macy’s employees and security personnel themselves had to be wondering what the devil the wonder kid was on.  Whether or not he was on drugs, he’s brought Lindsay Lohan-type unwanted attention to the Majors.

If Leake has a drug or alcohol problem, then that’s major—all bets are off.  Knowing their future ace is fading in real life, not just baseball, the Reds starters could likely be thrown off.

Dusty Baker is one of the best managers in the game, but his pitching staff was suspect to begin with.  Now this.  He’s got the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals hitting better than they have in years—and now this.

Just what Baker needs.  Poor Dusty.  I just hope he didn’t swallow his toothpick when he heard the news.  Can you imagine him being on the field watching his pitchers throw and wondering where Leake was?  I can.

“Where’s Leake?” Dusty could have asked.  “Oh, Mike?” the bullpen coach might have replied.  “He’s downtown getting booked for theft.”  Gulp.  There goes the toothpick. 

Baker and general manager Walt Jocketty thought Leake was mature for his age.  He sure fooled them.  That’s why they brought him up to the Majors straight from college.  That and because he’s a pretty good pitcher, and they needed all the help they could get.

Being the first player to skip the minors for the Reds since 1957, Leake was obviously pegged for super duper stardom.  His star has fallen, though.  It’s gone careening through the sky and came crashing down to earth.

Once a big league player—or anyone—has a reputation like that, then it’s very, very hard to get rid of.  Counseling and the local community service tour—even jail—could be in his future, but what he’ll also need is a public relations genius.

Tiger Woods may have committed indiscretions, but he’s done nothing illegal that’s been reported.  Bet on this:

Like Woods, Leake will get an image guru in order to get his star back on stat tracker.  The voyage of the space ship Enterprise was nothing compared to what Leake’s ride back up the public image charts will be like.

Mark my word, we’ll see him giving the customary public service announcement and the pictures of him visiting kids either in the hospital or in a poverty stricken environment—or both.

We’ll hear how he’s performed community service and had a checkup from the neck up.  All this won’t mean a thing, though, if he doesn’t perform on the field.

And I don’t mean doing wheelies in the outfield on his bike while smoking a cigarette.  He’s got to be lights out—or at least lights dimmed—in his next few starts.

If not, then he could be heading to a place he skipped—the minors.  I bet he’s dreading that.  Like Jimmy King of the Fab Five Michigan Wolverines said in their ESPN documentary: “When you mess up, you can pay for it by being erased.”

What comes around usually goes around and humanity eventually gets in where we fit in.  Leake’s fitting in by thrilling fans on the mound for much of his upstart career.  Who knows what made him steal six shirts off the rack. 

He signed for over $2 million in bonus money and is making over $400,000 in cheese—enough to probably be part owner of a Macy’s store.  We’ll all be left wondering what he was thinking.

Maybe it was the thrill of being rebellious or the rush of seeing if he’d get caught.  It could’ve been a dare from someone he knew.  If so, someone needs to be out of his circle until further notice.

Maybe the power of being a major league starting pitcher was too much for him to contain, and this is what happens to an ego gone wild.  If this is the case, then more dangerous and questionable behavior has probably already taken place.

The bigger question for the organization—whether they say it or not—is how this will affect the Reds starting rotation going forward.  But that’s nibbles and bits compared to the real problem.

It sounds like the thrill is gone for Leake, like he’s so good he’s bored.

Whatever his problem is, though, if it’s bigger than what they’re saying, then the Reds had better nip it in the bud.  Never mind their rotation, this is a young man exhibiting signs of dangerous behavior and heading him off is the thing to do.

Athletes are supposed to teach life lessons.  Leake should take advantage of his opportunity to learn before he ends up another outcast in the Majors.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Going to a game at Wrigley Field in Chicago is an experience that every passionate baseball fan should aspire to at least once in their lives. The baseball game itself is in many instances secondary to what’s going on throughout the ballpark.

While the beloved Chicago Cubs haven’t won a World Series championship since 1908, it doesn’t deter fans from making the trek to Wrigley Field and participating in the overall experience.

The Cubs have always done a terrific job in ensuring that its fans receive a great experience as well, and despite their lack of success on the field, Wrigley Field is still of the most unique arenas in all of professional sports in terms of atmosphere.

Oftentimes fans from across the world will plan trips to Wrigley during the summer. It is not uncommon to see travel buses from all areas of the country, loaded with fans looking to take in the Wrigley experience for the very first time.

Many articles have been written about the ivied walls, the rooftop views outside the ballpark, and the unbelievable food available at Wrigley, but unless it is experienced first-hand, it’s hard to get an idea of what the atmosphere is really like.

One particular videographer decided to conduct an interview with one “ardent” fan this past Opening Day at Wrigley, and no doubt he is ruing that decision.

The woman in question was a little bit more than he had bargained for. She obviously spoke about the experience at Wrigley, but she had clearly been “preparing” for her Opening Day experience at Wrigley Field for far longer than was necessary.

Check out this interview, and you will get an idea of exactly what we’re talking about.

By the way, if you’re at Wrigley Field, and you happen to have an extra ticket, you might want to reconsider approaching this particular woman.

For continuing coverage of Major League Baseball, follow Doug on Twitter @Sports_A_Holic.

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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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When San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow was slammed to the ground and kicked repeatedly in the head in the parking lot at Dodgers Stadium during Opening Day last week, the news garnered national attention.

Today, the Dodgers have taken steps to address their overall stadium security.

In a statement released by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bill Bratton, former Los Angeles Police Chief and Chairman of Altegrity Risk International, has been hired by the Dodgers to evaluate and assess overall security at Dodger Stadium and its parking lots.

Here is the press release in its entirety:

LOS ANGELES – Earlier today, the Los Angeles Dodgers hired Kroll Chairman and former Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton to assess policies and procedures related to security and fan services at Dodger Stadium, and to work with the Dodger organization to develop a best practices security blueprint that extends to both the stadium and the parking lots. 

“Bill Bratton is widely credited with spearheading modern community policing in America,” said Los Angeles Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt.  “There is no one better to lead a top-to-bottom review of our current practices and make recommendations to be implemented now and into the future.”

Bratton and his team at Kroll will begin consulting immediately. 

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to return to Los Angeles to consult with the Dodger organization on the security posture at Dodger Stadium,” said Bratton. “We will take a full and comprehensive look at security procedures and processes, and make recommendations based on our findings.”

Mr. Bratton possesses extensive expertise in U.S. law enforcement that includes achieving major reductions in violent crimes when he led the New York City Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department.

The Dodgers enjoy a longtime working partnership with the LAPD, and see Bratton and Kroll’s role helping with internal procedures at the Dodgers. 

“We are committed to ensuring that Dodger Stadium remains a family-friendly environment for all baseball fans,” said McCourt. 

Stow remains in an induced coma at a Los Angeles area hospital, and part of his skull has been removed to alleviate swelling on the brain.

“Bryan is hanging in there. He is doing the best that he can. They are doing everything they can to stabilize him,” John Stow, 39, told AOL News.

“We talk to him about the old times, the good times we had together, and share stories with music and interact with him as if he were awake. We want to tap into any part of his brain that can hear us and try and keep him holding on.”

A reward of $100,000 has been raised and is being offered for anyone who has information that will lead to the capture and arrest of the two suspects involved in the horrific beating.

For continuing coverage of Major League Baseball, follow Doug on Twitter:

@Sports_A_Holic.

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