Papi in a brief interview talks about playing for Boston and more, as he heads to the HOF. It’s a fluff piece for the most part, but it’s a nice piece of nostalgia about my MFRS. The incredible series authored by Paul SF, 50 Greatest Sox Seasons, has Ortiz’ 2006 campaign at #30.
h/t insidehook.com
We know that the ‘Stros are cheaters who cheat a lot. But so are the Sox. I’ve been watching baseball for more than 45 years, and I don’t remember people not cheating at baseball. I think the Sox have better hitters, and the Stros have better pitchers, but it is best of seven, and that makes everything fragile.
After playing through the entire season with an injured thumb on his catching hand, Dustin Pedroia finally got his hitchin’ digit fixed up. He may miss some of spring training.
A look back into Sox legend along with the increase in Boston’s probability of winning the game as a result of the play. Ortiz’s grand slam tonight ranks second, and he’s also ranked fourth, sixth and ninth. #therealmisteroctober
• Dave Henderson’s game-tying, two-run home run with two outs in the ninth, Game 5, 1986 ALCS: 73 percent.
• David Ortiz’s game-tying grand slam with two outs in the eighth, Game 2, 2013 ALCS: 45 percent.
• Bernie Carbo’s game-tying, three-run home run with two outs in the eighth, Game 6, 1975 World Series: 44 percent.
• David Ortiz’s series-winning, 10th-inning home run, Game 3, 2004 ALDS: 43 percent.
• J.D. Drew’s game-winning, ninth-inning hit to cap a rally from 7-0 down in the seventh inning, Game 5, 2008 ALCS: 38 percent.
• David Ortiz’s game-winning, 14th-inning hit, Game 5, 2004 ALCS: 38 percent.
• Carlton Fisk’s game-winning, 12th-inning home run, Game 6, 1975 World Series: 36 percent.
• Mark Bellhorn’s go-ahead, two-run home run in the eighth inning, Game 1, 2004 World Series: 31 percent.
• David Ortiz’s game-winning, 12th-inning home run, Game 4, 2004 ALCS: 27 percent.
• J.D. Drew’s first-inning grand slam, Game 6, 2007 ALCS: 26 percent.
• Bill Mueller’s game-tying hit, scoring Dave Roberts in the bottom of the ninth off Mariano Rivera, Game 4, 2004 ALCS: 25 percent.
editor’s note: I am a thief and I stole this from Paul SF to post here. He is listed as the author, but I totally burgled his writing from elsewhere — ag
The Sox have acquired Jake Peavy in a complicated three-way with the ChiSox and the Tigers. Shortest story I can figure is that Peavy went to the RedSox while Avisail Garcia goes to Chicago from the Tigers along with RedSox prospects Cleuluis Rondon and pitchers Francelis Montas and Jeffrey Wendelken. Jose Iglesias goes to Detroit from the Red Sox, who acquire pitcher Brayan Villarreal from Detroit.
I think I just ruptured my spleen.
Dan Shaughnessy gets eviscerated by Rob Neyer over the recent Globe article wherein the CHB basically asks Ortiz when he stopped beating his wife.
Never seen this angle on “The Steal” in ’04 ALCS Game 4. Roberts’s hand appears to be on the bag with Jeter’s glove mere inches from his arm/side. Ump made the right call, but it would be hard to blame him if he’d gotten it wrong.
In Francona’s recent book, it is noted that this was perhaps Posada’s best throw on an attempted steal up to that point in time (the “pop” time–or time from ball hitting catcher’s glove to infielder’s glove on an attempted steal–was less than 1.8 seconds…excellent for any catcher, let alone the defensively maligned Posada). His aim was perfect. Roberts just had him and Rivera beat…by a whisker.
H/T: Joy of Sox
Also, Ortiz is likely to start the season on the DL, so forgive a Sox fan whose upcoming season is likely to be lackluster for celebrating bygone good days.
Jacoby Ellsbury accepted $9M from the Red Sox to avoid arbitration according to Pete Abe, a 1M raise, while the Yankees inked Boone Logan for $3.15M. That’s a ~1.3M bump for the Yankee’s leader in appearances last season.
Terry Francona dishes on Sox ownership’s desire to start “winning in more exciting fashion”. Perhaps most revelatory is the notion that Dustin Pedroia is a sex symbol, proving once and for all that size really doesn’t matter. Darn. On the other hand, neither do receding hairlines. Yippee!!
The Sox finalized the trade to bring Joel Hanrahan over from the Pirates, parting with Mark Melancon and a few others.
Here’s my chance to make a Reggie Dunlop joke and I got nuttin. Oh wait…
“Scouts?”
Heee. Go Chiefs.
The Jays laundered money for Loria, Tigers hunted Toriis, and all is quiet – for now – at two significant stops nearby I95. I don’t see much reason to get worked up at this point. The stove’s barely warm, and what wood that has been tossed in is mostly spent.
John Farrell, ex-Cleveland pitcher, recent Toronto manager and former Red Sox pitching coach (2007-2010) took the Red Sox manager job. What’s the over/under on how many games he’s expected to win this coming season? Mike Aviles went to Toronto as part of the negotiation for Farrell’s services, making it likely the Sox will be looking to pick up a free-agent shortstop – Scutaro? – or would they give rookie Jose Iglesias a shot at the starting job?
In the least surprising development anywhere since the dawn of time, Bobby V. can apply all his efforts to learn how to not fall off a bike.
When I was in college my friends and I played a game in which we would each get a turn coming up with a question for the group along the lines of “would you rather _____ or _____?”. Depending on sobriety levels, the general depravity-levels of the participants on any given evening, and the level of trust in the group, the kinds of actions that would fill those blanks would range from the near-unimaginable to the stomach-turningly grotesque. We’d informally grade each other on the imagination reflected in the question and in the justifications each responder gave for why he chose one disgusting act over another.
It’s with this in mind that I ask: Would you – standing here on September 4, 2012 looking forward to both one more month of the 2012 regular season as well as to the 2013 season and beyond – rather be a Yankee fan or a Red Sox fan?
Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky has passed away at age 92.