Category: MLB (Page 309 of 448)

      Experience pays off for Sox in Game 1 win over Rays

      October 10, 2008 /

      Boston Red SoxAs play-by-play announcer Chip Caray said during the final inning of Boston’s 2-0 win over Tampa in Game 1 of the ALCS Friday night, “Experience trumped exuberance tonight.” (I can’t believe I’m quoting Chip Caray, but the comment was spot on.)

      For six innings, Boston ace Daisuke Matsuzaka was un-hittable. Literally.

      The Rays didn’t record their first hit until Carl Crawford singled to lead off the top of the seventh. But once Crawford reached, Cliff Floyd followed with a single of his own, moving Crawford to third and all of a sudden Tampa was in business despite trailing 1-0 since the top of the fifth.

      This is the situation where good teams – World Series contender or other – score that runner from third with less than two outs. But the Rays failed to do so as Dice-K got Dioner Navarro to fly out to left, then struck out Gabe Gross before finishing off Jason Bartlett with a fielder’s choice to the shortstop.

      Inning over.

      Again the Rays struck in the bottom of the eighth after the first two batters reached safely to start the inning. Yet once again they came away with nothing as the Boston bullpen got Carlos Pena to fly out to right and Evan Longoria to ground into a double play.

      In nine innings Friday night, the Sox showed what it takes to be a champion. They’ve still got a long way to go in their chase to defend their title, especially with how good Tampa is. But great teams separate themselves in these types of games and the performances by Matsuzaka, Dustin Pedroia and the BoSox bullpen were outstanding.

      That said, Rays’ starter James Shields was phenomenal and on a normal night when the Rays’ bats are on, he walks away from such a masterful performance with a victory. And Tampa will learn a lot from a game like this and it’ll be interesting to see how they respond in Game 2 on Saturday night.

      MLB

      Astros pitcher among 10 arrested in wedding reception melee

      October 10, 2008 /

      Sometimes, a wedding reception can get out of hand and Brandon Backe can testify to that. The Houston Astro pitcher was among 10 people arrested during a brawl with police last weekend at a reception in Galveston, Texas. According to the Houston Chronicle, he ignored police orders to back away from a hotel barfight involving members of the wedding party.

      Backe struggled with officers. One officer stated in the report that he hit Backe twice in the face before handcuffing him. The officer also reported that Backe smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes. Both the officer and Backe sustained minor injuries during the fight, according to the police report.

      Backe was charged with interfering with a police officer and resisting arrest. The Galveston County district attorney office announced that both charges are misdemeanors and he was released on a $1500 bond.

      MLB

      Silencing Tim McCarver

      October 10, 2008 /

      Tim McCarverTwo days before the Dodgers and the Phillies kick-start the NLDS, Fox broadcaster Tim McCarver told the Philadephia Inquier that Manny Ramirez was “despicable” in Boston. It’s been over two months since Manny’s trade and it appears as if the slugger’s being criticized now more than ever. Leave it to the confounding McCarver to give his two cents to a major Philadephia newspaper right before the Championship Series. His comments have been getting a good deal of attention, but Joe Sheehan over at BaseballProspectus.com has come to Manny’s defense.

      In July, when Ramirez was supposedly “refusing to play,” the Red Sox played 24 games. Ramirez played in 22 of them. This was tied for fourth on the team with J.D. Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury. He was sixth on the team in plate appearances (AB+BB) in July. Not quite Lou Gehrig’s numbers, but he helped out a bit more than David Ortiz (six games), and was in the lineup somewhat more often than peers such as Moises Alou (one game). Oh, he didn’t get three days off in the middle of the month-Ramirez played in the All-Star Game.

      When he played, Ramirez killed the league. He hit .347/.473/.587 in July. His OBP led the team, and his SLG led all Red Sox with at least 25 AB. The Sox, somewhat famously, went 11-13 in July. Lots of people want you to believe that was because Manny Ramirez is a bad guy. I’ll throw out the wildly implausible idea that the Sox went 11-13 because Ortiz played in six games and because veterans Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek has sub-600 OPSs for the month.

      Four days before he was traded, Manny Ramirez just about single-handedly saved the Red Sox from getting swept by the Yankees, with doubles in the first and third innings that helped the Sox get out to a 5-0 lead in a game they had to win to stay ahead of the Yankees in the wild-card race.
      If all of the above is “refusing to play,” I would sincerely like to see what “trying” looks like. It would be entertaining to see a player post a .600 OBP or .800 SLG.

      The entire article is worth reading, whether you can’t stand the beating Manny’s taken or if you just can’t get enough of bashing Tim McCarver. It’s funny how prominent Boston and Philadelphia publications are augmenting their unfavorable portrayal of Ramirez right as the Dodgers make their push towards the World Series. If Manny had floundered after his signing with Los Angeles, keeping the Dodgers out of the playoffs, this cruel opposition would have stopped a long time ago. I never heard the media give Manny anything but love when he was in Boston. Manny gave Bean Town seven great years and two World Series championships. Yet, in two weeks their relationship turned sour and he’s subsequently been blacklisted by a good chunk of sports analysts.

      Be that as it may, no athlete’s career is without its gaffes. It seems to me like the pundits are criticizing the same behavior and play they used to adore. Sheehan backs up this statement with statistics and a well-researched opinion.

      The Phillies played a great game yesterday, and I think it’s a fair assessment that both series will be neck and neck. Even so, Bud Selig is hoping the Dodgers meet the Red Sox in the World Series. If this happens, Manny will likely perform as he always has—phenomenally—regardless of the uniform he’s wearing.

      MLB

      Couch Potato Alert: 10/10

      October 10, 2008 /

      Oklahoma vs. Texas
      This year’s Red River Rivalry battle at the Cotton Bowl has more marquee value than in past years; as for the first time since 2004 both teams will enter the game ranked in the top five. Heading into this season, the Longhorns offense was thought to be their biggest strength. But it has been the Texas defense that has provided most of the swagger. The Longhorns are ranked fourth nationally in total defense and that is a big jump since the 2007 unit set a school record for most yards allowed in a season. They will get stiff competition come Saturday against top-ranked Oklahoma. The Sooners are in the top five nationally in all offensive scoring categories, led by the nation’s second-rated passer Sam Bradford. National coverage begins Saturday at 12 PM ET on ABC. Click here for the official Oklahoma-Texas smack thread.

      LSU vs. Florida
      “The Showdown at the Swamp” marks the first time the last two national champions have faced each other since Notre Dame defeated Miami, 29-20, in 1990. The stakes are high for both schools; Florida must win to maintain any realistic hope of staying in the hunt for a berth in the BCS championship game, while LSU needs the win to stay on course to repeat as National Champions. And the matchup got even more intense after Tigers defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois promised that the LSU defense will try to knock Gator quarterback Tim Tebow out of the game. Later in the week, Jean-Francois said his comments were misinterpreted by the press. National coverage begins Saturday at 8 PM ET on CBS.

      Major League Baseball LCS Series
      The animosity between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox is not ready to approach the level of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, but their contempt for each other is a good undercard. Back on June 5th, the Rays’ Game One starter, James Shields, hit Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp with a pitch that triggered a bench-clearing brawl between the two teams. Has this issue been resolved? Stay tuned for the answer. Meanwhile, the National League Championship series boils down to how well the Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed pitchers throw to the Philadelphia Phillies lethal left-handed hitting. The Phillies led the NL with 214 homeruns, with Ryan Howard leading the way with 48 followed by Chase Utley with 33, and both players bat left-handed. The top of the Phillies’ lineup also includes switch-hitting Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino, who both have outstanding on-base percentages. NLCS Game Two is Friday at 4:30 PM ET and Game Three is on Sunday at 8 PM ET; all NLCS games are on Fox. ALCS Game One is on Friday at 8:30 PM ET and Game Two is on Saturday at 8 PM ET. All ALCS games can be seen on TBS.

      New England Patriots vs. San Diego Chargers
      Their franchise quarterback is out for the season, and somehow the Patriots have still put together a successful start to their 2008 season. On the other side of the field, the Chargers have been one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL. To avoid falling further back in the AFC standings, the Chargers must try to defeat a Patriots team that has eliminated them from the past two post-seasons. Inconsistent play on both sides of the ball has plagued the Chargers all season; they have lost three games by a total of 10 points. Coverage begins at 8:15 PM ET on NBC

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, College Football, Couch Potato Alert, General Sports, MLB, NFL, Television

      The pitch that turned around the Rays’ season

      October 10, 2008 /

      When people look back at the June brawl between the Red Sox and Rays, they’ll remember the James Shield’s punch that Coco Crisp so eloquently dodged out of the way of. But as John Romano of the St. Petersburg Times writes, it wasn’t Shield’s punch that affected the Rays’ season – it was his message pitch.

      Red Sox-Rays brawlIn case you have forgotten, the underlying cause of Tampa Bay’s brawl with the Red Sox in early June was Crisp’s cheap shot on Aki Iwamura at second base the night before. Crisp was annoyed that Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett had blocked the base earlier in the game, and he took his frustrations out on Iwamura.

      Obviously, there is no manual on how to deal with such a transgression. And there is no one in charge of dispensing justice. It is simply expected that someone hold Crisp accountable.
      And, at times, that had been a problem in the Rays clubhouse.

      Over the years, Rays hitters have not always felt protected by Tampa Bay pitchers. The point was driven home most publicly in the spring of 2007 when Ty Wigginton yelled at his own dugout after being hit by a pitch.

      And so it was that Shields, 26, took the mound on June 5. The Rays had lost two in a row, had fallen out of first place the night before, and Shields had not won a game in nearly a month. And, at that moment, none of it mattered.

      On his second pitch to Crisp in the second inning, Shields drilled him in the hip.

      In a lot of ways, this fight was costly to Tampa Bay. Shields was suspended for six games, Gomes for five, Edwin Jackson for five, Carl Crawford for four and Iwamura for three.
      But for all the Rays lost, they say they gained far more.

      Much like the brawl with the Yanks in spring training, the Rays believe the fight with the Red Sox was a statement, both in their dugout and the opposite dugout.

      You could argue whether Shields chose the right moment. Yes, maybe he could have waited until later in the game, so he wouldn’t have put such a burden on the bullpen. But loyalty doesn’t work on such strict timetables.

      The brotherhood in baseball is part of what makes the game so great. Players in other sports obviously come to their teammates’ defense, but in baseball it’s different – it’s an unwritten rule. When 25 guys are together virtually every day from March until late fall, there’s going to be a bond that’s forced. And it’s kind of cool to see that bond unfold like it did in the Rays-Sox brawl, although obviously I don’t advocate teams fight nightly to show their unity.

      MLB

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