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Manny Goes Hollywood

The Boston Red Sox finally gave Manny Ramirez what he has wanted for a few years now, they traded him. Last night they were trying to get a three-way deal going involving the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Florida Marlins. At one point it looked like talks were progressing nicely, but then teams decided they wanted more from the Sox, and the team didn’t like that. So most went to bed thinking yet another trade deadline would come and go without Manny going anywhere.

The Red Sox told some that they would do anything to get rid of Manny by the 4PM ET trade deadline earlier in the day. Indeed they were willing to give up a lot to give Manny a new zip code on his locker. The three-way deal wound up being between the Sox, Pirates, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Manny will now be wearing Dodger Blue and playing for former arch-enemy Joe Torre. The Sox get outfielder Jason Bay from Pittsburgh. The Pirates might wind up coming out best from the deal. They received OF Brandon Moss, and relief pitcher Craig Hansen from the Sox, as well as 3B Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris from the Dodgers.

As for the Dodgers adding Manny to their lineup should make them the favorite to win what is a mostly lackluster National League West Division. Joe Torre should be a good influence on him. I will be interested to see his batting average climb again as he now has Don Mattingly as a coach. Plus, in Hollywood, “Manny being Manny” shouldn’t stand out quite as much. Another plus for the Dodgers, Manny now has no contract for next season which means he should step his game up a couple notches for the final two months of the season.

Manny leaves the Red Sox fifth in team history with 274 home runs, sixth with 868 RBIs, and ninth in batting average at .312.

Jason Bay will have to learn to play in a “big game” situation now, as well as learn to play in front of the Green Monster during home games, something Manny had mastered in his seven and a half years in Beantown.

Third baseman Andy LaRoche will now be throwing the ball across the infield to a familiar face. . . his brother Adam is the first baseman for the Pirates.

As one of the guys on ESPN said, I just don’t see how the Red Sox are a better team without Manny. The Yankees have been closing in on them since the All-Star break, and this should just make it easier for them. Now the question is will the Yankees or the Rays win the division this year?

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A.L. Continues All Star Dominance 4-3 in 15 Inning Marathon

July 16th 2008 10:11

What makes the Major League Baseball All Star game different from all the others, and so great each year? The list is long. For me however it starts with the fact that I get chills when they start announcing the names. Just hearing the fans react to the players names. Seeing all the Hall of Famers standing together on the field. It just sends a sensation through the body that is different than anything else, and cannot be matched by any other sport’s All Star game. This year in Yankee Stadium makes it just that much more special for me. You see, I grew up in New Jersey, about an hour away from Yankee Stadium, and have been a life-long Yankees fan. Living so close I had many chances to sit and watch a game from in the stands. I just wish there would have been some way for me to be in attendance tonight at this special game.

I was amazed during the introductions of all the Hall of Famers and players in this year’s game the fans cheered for nearly everyone! Of course the current Red Sox got a chorus of boos(although I think some of them were Youks and Drews rather than boos), but the enemies of the past like Rollie Fingers, Robin Yount, and yes even George Brett got a round of applause. The only legend to get enough boos and jeers to be recognizable was Bill Mazeroski. Everyone was wearing the hat of the team they were inducted into the Hall of Fame wearing. It was a touching moment when we got to Dave Winfield who was wearing a San Diego Padres hat. He tipped his Padres cap, and then with his other hand raised a Yankee cap! Gary Carter would do the same when they got to the catchers. He tipped his Expos cap, and then raised his Mets cap with his other hand. The biggest ovations went to Reggie Jackson, and Yogi Berra who both had their names chanted by the fans.

It then came time to throw out the ceremonial first pitches. Again, being a Yankees fan I am probably a bit biased, but this will end up being one of my favorite memories of baseball ever. The Boss, George Steinbrenner was driven out from the bullpen to deliver the four balls for the pitches. The four players he was delivering the balls too were Yankee greats, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson, Yogi Berra, and Goose Gossage. After he handed over the balls he got a kiss on the cheek from three of the four, Gossage was more of a hug. These four legends would be throwing their pitches to four more Yankees. Reggie threw to Derek Jeter (Mr. October to Mr. November), Whitey Ford threw to Alex Rodriguez, Yogi Berra threw to Joe Girardi who was the one that got to line up right behind home plate, and in fitting manner Goose got to throw to Mariano Rivera. Again, I am biased, but WOW! I will remember it forever.

Now onto the actual game. Cliff Lee came out and started the game the way an All Star Game starting pitcher should. . . two strikeouts, followed by a bloop flyball out to right center that Josh Hamilton got under easily. The appropriate start to the All Star game at Yankee Stadium continued in the bottom of the first when Derek Jeter got the first hit of the game, and then stole second base. A-Rod also made the final out of the inning.

Lee and N.L. starter Ben Sheets got the job done, both pitching two scoreless innings. My prediction of a 9-7 final score wasn’t looking so good at this point. Also Josh Hamilton was 0-for-2 as I type this.

An interesting moment in the 4th inning happened when Carlos Zambrano threw his first pitch to Manny Ramirez. It was a slow breaking ball that came in high above Manny’s head. It got a smile out of Manny. In that same inning Milton Bradley, who by the way has three stolen bases this year, and stole second earlier in the game, was picked off at first base to end the inning.

The scoring started in the top of the fifth inning when Matt Holliday took a pitch from Ervin Santana of the Angels to deep right for a solo home run. Lance Berkman added to the Nationals lead with a sacrifice fly off Oakland’s Justin Duchsherer which scored Hanley Ramirez.

Boston outfielder J.D. Drew was named All Star MVP.

They took their 2-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh. That is when J.D. Drew hit a 2-run home run to right field off of Edinson Volquez that scored Justin Morneau. Drew became just the fifteenth player to homer in his first All Star at-bat. This also gave Volquez the first blown save of the night. This tie wouldn’t last long though. In the top of the eighth manager Terry Francona brought in Jonathan Papelbon, the crowd at Yankee Stadium greeted him with a loud chorus of boos, which led into them chanting Mariano, and Overrated to get under his skin. In retrospect this might not have been a smart idea, as Yankee crowds tend to do, they succeeded in getting to Papelbon. Adrian Gonzalez hit a sac fly to right that scored Miguel Tejada to put the senior circuit up again, 3-2. Thanks to the Mets Billy Wagner the American League tied the game right back up in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI double from rookie Evan Longoria that scored Grady Sizemore. This tied the game again at 3 a piece.

That would be the last of the scoring until the 15th inning. It turned into a four hour and fifty minute marathon that is now the longest All Star game on record. Home Run Derby winner Justin Morneau started off the 15th inning with a single, Dioner Navarro followed that with a single. With runners now on first and second the eventual losing pitcher walked J.D. Drew to load the bases and setup a force play at any base. Michael Young headed to the plate, someone obviously missed the highlight reel of Young getting the game-winning hit a couple years ago in the All Star game. Young popped out to Corey Hart and Morneau tagged up and headed home. Hart’s throw took two bounces and arrived to catcher Brian McCann on the first base side. McCann did everything he could to block the play and swing the tag over to Morneau’s foot. He came so close that me and about 4 other friends that were watching the game together thought he was out at first glance. The umpire called him safe, and after the replays we were all in agreeance, he was safe. The American League had now won the game 4-3. It was the A.L.’s 12th consecutive win. The last time they lost the All Star game was in 1996.

If the game had gone on any longer they may have had to end. I know that sounds like a ridiculous statement, but it is the truth. Both teams were out of pitchers. They already had to use Brandon Web b and Scott Kazmir, both were pitchers they did not want to use. So much so that Tampa Bay requested that Francona not use him. Kazmir had thrown 105 pitches in a game on Sunday, while Webb threw 107 pitches also on Sunday. They each threw one inning in the game, with Kazmir actually getting the win.

The game also included seven total stolen bases, six by the A.L., both records. In the end the oddest of pitchers had faced the most batters of the game. It seemed manager Clint Hurdle felt most comfortable using one of his own pitchers to go three innings when he needed it. Aaron Cook faced a total of 16 batters during his three innings of work in which he gave up four hits.

The game ended at 1:37 AM ET. Minutes later J.D. Drew was named the MVP of the game. He truly deserved the award. He went 2 for 4, with his 2-run home run, and a walk. Drew became just the fourth Boston Red Sox player to be named All Star MVP. The other three were Pedro Martinez in 1999, Roger Clemens in 1986, and Carl Yastrzemski in 1970.

R H E
National 3 13 4
American 4 14 1 Final in 15 innings

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2008 Baseball All Star Game Starting Lineups and Prediction

July 15th 2008 23:28

National League Starting Lineup

SS Hanley Ramirez, FLA
2B Chase Utley, PHI
1B Lance Berkman, HOU
DH Albert Pujols, STL
3B Chipper Jones, ATL
RF Matt Holliday, COL
LF Ryan Braun, MIL
CF Kosuke Fukudome, CHC
C Geovany Soto, CHC

Starting Pitcher

RHP Ben Sheets, MIL

The thing I like about this National League lineup that manager Clint Hurdle has set up is that he was smart enough to put Albert Pujols in as the starting designated hitter. He should be able to stay in for the entire game, which could be just what the N.L. needs to break a long streak of A.L. wins. With Ben Sheets as the starting pitcher and best rested N.L. pitcher it will be interesting to see if he comes out for the second inning or not. The MVP of the National's squad will be either Pujols, or the guy everyone criticized for being voted into the game, Kosuke Fukudome. All of that will not matter since the A.L. is going to win again.

American League Starting Lineup

RF Ichiro Suzuki, SEA
SS Derek Jeter, NYY
CF Josh Hamilton, TEX
3B Alex Rodriguez, NYY
LF Manny Ramirez, BOS
DH Milton Bradley, TEX
1B Kevin Youkilis, BOS
C Joe Mauer, MIN
2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS

Starting Pitcher

LHP Cliff Lee, CLE

Manager Terry Francona respects the game, and respects Yankee Stadium, and everything it stands for. To this end he put Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez in their regular spots in the lineup in their home park. There has also been some discussion as to who will come in for the ninth inning to finish out the game. Will it be Francona's closer, Jonathan Papelbon, or Yankees closer Mariano Rivera? Well, as I just said about Francona, he respects the Stadium, and everything it stands for, even as the Red Sox manager. I believe regardless of the score Mariano Rivera will be throwing the final pitch for the American League in this game, barring some odd extra inning scenario when Francona wouldn't know when to put him in. It might be sacrilege to have more Red Sox in the starting lineup than Yankees in the final All Star game in the House that Ruth Built, but we will have to live with that. I would like to say either of the starting Yankees will be named the MVP of the game, but I don't think it will happen. I think Josh Hamilton will continue his dream All Star break and have an outstanding game (adding to his home run total of 35). Hopefully they can leave him in for most of the game, and give him a chance to go 3 for 3 or more.

My prediction: A.L. 9 - N.L. 7

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Morneau Wins Home Run Derby, but it was Hamilton's Show

July 15th 2008 14:41

Morneau Wins, but Josh Hamilton Dominated

In a day when many big sluggers and baseball superstars sitout the All Star Home Run Derby, and even the All Star game at times this year’s display in the Derby was really refreshing.

This year’s Derby competitors were a list of some different names than most are used to seeing. A.L. Home Run leader Grady Sizemore, Marlins new star Dan Uggla, the Phillies Chase Utley, and Rays rookie Evan Longoria were all eliminated in the first round where just the top four home run totals move on to round two. Longoria is the first rookie to be in the Derby since 1997 when Nomar Garciaparra took some swings in Cleveland.

Justin Morneau outlasted Josh Hamilton to win the 2008 Home Run Derby. (Image: Jim McIsaac)

The four players that made it through to the second round were Brewers OF Ryan Braun, The Big Puma from Houston, Lance Berkman, Minnesota’s Justin Morneau, and the Rangers’s Josh Hamilton.

It was the first and only time that the Home Run Derby would ever take place at historic Yankee Stadium, so you knew it was going to be something special.

Most baseball fans, and even non fans have heard the stories about Josh Hamilton’s road to the Major Leagues. He was the #1 draft pick of the Tampa Bay (at the time Devil) Rays, straight out of high school. He got a $4 million signing bonus. While playing in the minors, and recovering from injuries he got in with the wrong crowd. This led to alcohol and drug addiction, and his eventual suspension from baseball. The suspension kept him out of the game for three years. During that three years he would eventually overcome his demons after going through multiple stints in rehab. He shared a story earlier in the day Monday about a dream he had some two years ago. He dreamt that he was being interviewed by a woman at Yankee Stadium after he had participated in the Home Run Derby. Welcome to your dream Josh Hamilton.

Whoever decided that Hamilton would be the last to bat in the first round was a genius, even if it was just a random draw. Everyone else put on a decent show, till he came to bat. When he did come up to bat he brought with him a 71 year old man named Clay (Cleigh?) Counsil to pitch to him. Counsil has been a volunteer batting practice pitcher for many years in North Carolina, and often threw BP to Hamilton when he was a teenager. Even though Hamilton is a Texas Ranger, a team not usually liked in Yankee Stadium, the fans took right to him. Once he started to put on a show for them they were chanting his name in unison, all 53,716 of them. It truly was amazing to watch. He was hitting home run after home run. The majority of which weren’t the type that just makes it over the fence, but instead the type that hits the middle rows of the upper deck in right field at the Stadium, and hit the sign and scoreboard in right-center field that only the likes of Reggie Jackson has hit to.

Three of his shots went further than 500 foot, the longest reached 518 foot, just short of the Derby record of 524 foot set by Sammy Sosa in 2002. Frank Thomas also had one that measured 519 foot in 1994. By the time he was done in round one Hamilton had hit 28 home runs, that is four more than the record 24 set by Bobby Abreu in 2005. He had a string of 13 consecutive shots on his way to that record. His 28 long balls totaled over 2 miles in distance, and averaged 445 foot each. His 71 year old pitcher Counsil threw 54 pitches in that round. The only sad thing about his 28 shots was that once a batter got to 9 outs they switched to a gold ball. Each home run that a hitter hit using the gold balls was worth $17,000 to the boys and girls club. Hamilton hit zero on the gold balls. The boys and girls clubs did get well over $100,000 on the night though.

Hamilton didn’t even need to bat in the second round, he was already assured of being in the finals. I felt knowing him he would come back out and bat anyway for the fans, and the fun of it. He did indeed come out for the second round, after hitting four over the fence, and getting four outs he did stop though. He and I am sure his pitcher were both getting a bit tired. I would have liked to see him get 9 outs on purpose and then hit on the gold balls to see how much he could have gotten for the B&G club.

His opponent going into the finals was Justin Morneau. At this point Hamilton had 32 total, and Morneau had just 17 total. The rules of the Derby however state that going into the final round all the totals are reset back to zero. In the final round Morneau hit 5 home runs, while Hamilton only got 3 over the fence. Morneau said afterward, “I was lucky that we got reset. This was his show. He deserved to win it. It does seem kind of unfair that he didn’t get to win the whole thing.”

It was indeed Josh Hamilton’s show at Yankee Stadium Monday night. It was remarkable to see people like Reggie Jackson, and David Ortiz watching someone else hitting home runs in total awe. Every player that was sitting on that field watching was having so much fun seeing this show that he was putting on. Hamilton could have easily broken Abreu’s record of 42 total home runs in a Derby had he taken all his at bats in round two, instead he finished with 35. His first round total of 28 had already moved Hamilton into second most all-time for an entire Derby behind Abreu’s total.

I was happy to see the only Home Run Derby to ever be held at Yankee Stadium turn into such a special show that included him hitting shots to a couple of places I had sat in at the legendary stadium before. I will miss the House that Ruth Built, I have had many memories there, some of which I will share in a later article about the hallowed halls of The Stadium. This is just an added memory.

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The Brewers get Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia

July 8th 2008 12:30

Brats and Beer for Everyone

The Brewers have put their playoff hopes on these two, umm, let's call them "hefty

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2008 National League All Star Roster

July 7th 2008 13:10

The Major League Baseball All Star team rosters were announced on Sunday. He they are.

After you read them we would like to know:
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2008 American League All Star Roster

July 7th 2008 12:32

The Major League Baseball All Star team rosters were announced on Sunday. He they are.

After you read them we would like to know:
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It's hard to understand managers

July 3rd 2008 18:03

Just when I think Ron Washington might not have been such a bad selection to be the manager of the Texas Rangers, he does something like this.

Rangers had won the first two games of the series at Yankee stadium, and after sixth-inning home runs by Milton Bradley and Chris Davis, the Rangers had a one-run lead, and control of the third game which had them set up for a sweep. And the Rangers never sweep the Yankees, so that would have been huge

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Did you hear the one about. . . 2

July 3rd 2008 08:02

Did you hear the one about. . .

Did you hear the one about the baseball player who has a fractured testicle? Yes, I said a fractured testicle!
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Did you hear the one about. . .

June 21st 2008 23:55

Did you hear the one about the switch-pitcher vs. the switch-hitter?

Thursday during a game between the Brooklyn Cyclones and the Class-A Staten Island Yankees something most fans, players, and even umps may have never seen before happened. Pat Venditte came out to pitch the ninth inning for the Staten Island. He was just drafted for the second time by the Yankees less than two weeks ago. This time he was taken in the 20th round, last year the Yankees drafted him in the 45th round, but he decided to play his senior year at Creighton. It started off like any other ninth inning of a game. He got two outs and gave up a single to start the inning.
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August 2008

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July 2008

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