The Baseball Thread 2007

[Tim McG]

Congratulations Dan!

The Red Sox are World Champions for the second time in four years!

[Big Al]

But I can't imagine ever reading a better headline in my life than

Red Sox Win World Series

A-Rod Opts Out

:g

As a Ranger fan, I heartily concur!!!!

Seriously, congratulations Dan! Watching the look on Papelbon's face after that last strikeout was very exciting!

Does this mean that Terry Fancona is the manager of the century? I would think this would cement his status as a legendary manager, doing what no other Boston manager had done for 84 years, and then repeating the same feat a mere four years later! He gets my vote, that's for sure.

[Noj]

Gotta love Papelbon's fire!

But, boy did he come close to serving up a homer on out #2!

[Dan Gould]

I should tell you guys two noteworthy things about these events:

Number 1, there was one critical factor at work during this seven game win streak: Tessie.

I'll explain. In 2004, I created a Flash movie to commemorate the team's accomplishment using a tune recorded by a Boston band called the Dropkick Murphys. It debuted at Fenway during the A-Rod-Varitek fight and from then on, the Sox had a winning percentage over .650 on their way to the title. So - what does it have to do with this post-season? Simple. When we were down 3-1, I decided we needed to change our luck and at 8 pm, I came upstairs and played the Tessie movie before settling in to watch the game. I kept doing that every night the rest of the way and we kept winning til it was over. So, I have to give credit where it is due: I played "Tessie" before the game, and we won.

The second thing I have to tell you is that Sunday afternoon I went out to get a bottle of champagne in anticipation of the championship - and I got carded!

Me - 42 years old, and I had two days growth of what is now a mostly gray beard - and this woman looked at me and said "are you old enough?" and I really had to show her my driver's license before she would ring it up. The funny thing is that for some people getting carded makes them feel younger but I still felt every bit as much of an old fart as I have since I broke the 40 barrier.

[Quincy]

Congrats BoSox fans! A damn good team, and I was glad to see Lowell get the MVP. And how 'bout the kid from Oregon, Ellsbury? That young punk now has a WS ring to add to his college World Series championship. Probably the most coverage of an east coast team I've seen out here because of the connection.

Now what the hell am I supposed to do tonight? Read? Hot Stove Thread, here we come!

[Soulstation1]

after the tribe lost, i couldn't watch anymore baseball.......

Edited October 29, 2007 by Soulstation1

[Dan Gould]

Great piece in the Onion about the "curse" the Sox have been dealing with

[Big Al]

Gotta love Papelbon's fire!

But, boy did he come close to serving up a homer on out #2!

You got that right, on both counts! When he was staring in to the plate, though, he looked like a man possessed.

[GA Russell]

I feel different about this Red Sox team than I have ever before. When I was a boy the Red Sox stunk, but they turned it around on a dime in '67. For the past forty years they have been consistently (remarkably so) good, so it really hasn't been the struggle to be a Red Sox fan that some would have you believe.

But each time they took the World Series to seven games, or for that matter when they lost to the Yankees in the playoff game that Bucky Dent hit a home run in, they failed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. They weren't really upset by an underdog.

But for the first time in my lifetime, the Red Sox were obviously the best team in the majors this year. (Of course in baseball anything can happen in a post-season short series. That is why before 1969 great respect was given to both league champions regardless of who won the World Series.) For almost the entire year they had the best record in the major leagues.

So their winning the World Series this time was for the first time in my life something that should have happened. In the past when the Red Sox would disappoint, they were never obviously the best. I never felt that they blew what was deservedly theirs. It looked like they would when they were down 3 games to 1 against Cleveland, but they pulled that out.

Because the Red Sox were obviously the best team this year, I find their winning the World Series to be very enjoyable of course, but not as thrilling as it would have been in '75 for example.

[BruceH]

It's still pretty nice.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

For Dan:

Nice piece on some musical origins at the old ballyard.

"Tessie, Sweet Caroline, Dirty Water" and Tony C.

[Dan Gould]

For Dan:

Nice piece on some musical origins at the old ballyard.

"Tessie, Sweet Caroline, Dirty Water" and Tony C.

thanks.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

eBay!

forgot to tell that that single is on eBay and ends Thursday. You NEED that!!

[alocispepraluger102]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BBM...-11-01-16-47-16

[alocispepraluger102]

baseball songs

Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?

by Woodrow Buddy Johnson & Count Basie (1949)

Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?

Did you see Jackie Robinson hit that ball?

It went zoomin cross the left field wall.

Yeah boy, yes, yes. Jackie hit that ball.

And when he swung his bat,

the crowd went wild,

because he knocked that ball a solid mile.

Yeah boy, yes, yes. Jackie hit that ball.

Satchel Paige is mellow,

so is Campanella,

Newcombe and Doby, too.

But it's a natural fact,

when Jackie comes to bat,

the other team is through.

Did you see Jackie Robinson hit that ball?

Did he hit it? Yeah, and that ain't all.

He stole home.

Yes, yes, Jackie's real gone.

Did you see Jackie Robinson hit that ball?

Did he hit it? Yeah, and that ain't all.

He stole home.

Yes, yes, Jackie's real gone.

Jackie's is a real gone guy.

Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?

http://www.baseballrelated.com/music.html

Edited November 1, 2007 by alocispepraluger102

[Quincy]

The Nats new park is coming along. Home plate and the infield grass in place.

Click "Time Lapse" near the top if you like that kind of thing.

[BERIGAN]

Saw this, hell of a way to get injured !

11/01/2007 2:08 PM ET

Zumaya underwent surgery on Wednesday

DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers today announced righthanded pitcher Joel Zumaya underwent surgery yesterday at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego. Zumaya had an AC joint reconstruction on his right shoulder, a procedure performed by Dr. Heinz Hoenecke and Dr. Jan Fronek. He was injured moving personal items during the California wildfires.

Zumaya will rest his shoulder for the next six weeks, before he will be able to begin an active rehabilitation program. He is expected to begin a strengthening program in three months and it is anticipated he will begin a throwing program in four months. The club is hopeful Zumaya will return to pitching at the mid-season point in 2008

[Tim McG]

Saw this, hell of a way to get injured !

11/01/2007 2:08 PM ET

Zumaya underwent surgery on Wednesday

DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers today announced righthanded pitcher Joel Zumaya underwent surgery yesterday at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego. Zumaya had an AC joint reconstruction on his right shoulder, a procedure performed by Dr. Heinz Hoenecke and Dr. Jan Fronek. He was injured moving personal items during the California wildfires.

Zumaya will rest his shoulder for the next six weeks, before he will be able to begin an active rehabilitation program. He is expected to begin a strengthening program in three months and it is anticipated he will begin a throwing program in four months. The club is hopeful Zumaya will return to pitching at the mid-season point in 2008

As if the fires weren't bad enough.

What a drag.

[Dan Gould]

I presumed that the Tigers were ready to set Todd Jones loose and make Zumaya the closer but this ends that plan. A really tough break for the Tigers and considering how they played without Zumaya last year, a gift to the Tribe and maybe the Twins too.

[Matthew]

Can't say I'm too surprised by the WS blowout, I over heard some fellow Americans talk about the Series Wednesday at a restaurant in Rome ( !) , they said it was close, but Boston way out classed the Rockies. I just read this morning that ARod didn't even talk to the Yankees before opting out, and the Yankee offer looked very good to me. What a money hungry player , if he doesn't take his new team to the WS fast, he's going to find out his credibility sinking fast.

[Dan Gould]

I just read this morning that ARod didn't even talk to the Yankees before opting out, and the Yankee offer looked very good to me. What a money hungry player , if he doesn't take his new team to the WS fast, he's going to find out his credibility sinking fast.

Its worse than that, when Boras was asked for a face-to-face with his client, he reportedly told them that to get that, they need to put a 350 million dollar offer on the table! :blink:

And the offer they wanted to propose as a basis for negotiation was something like 5 years for 150 on top of the the three years/90+ he had on the Texas deal. Was Boras actually asking for 350 in excess of what the Yankees already owed?

It already looks like A-Rod is regretting the decision since the Yanks look solid on the "don't let the door hit you in the ass" stand. After suckering one idiot for the original 10 year/252 million dollar contract, I believe its likely that Boras won't find another sucker this time. Ultimately I think A-Rod will settle for something under 30 mil/year (maybe even an average value of "only" 25 mil/year) and six to perhaps 8 years length. Forget the 30-35 a year and ten or twelve years.

It would really be funny though if A-Rod gets Manny money, 20-22, and six or eight years. He'll have a longer contract but at a lower salary, all because his agent told him to opt out of the largest contract in history.

It only convinces me that the Sox need to wrap up Lowell as soon as possible, because Boras will hold A-Rod out til Christmas and Lowell will be long gone by then.

[ghost of miles]

Anybody else read the profile of Boras in the New Yorker a week or so ago?

[Alexander]

I've been hearing a lot of criticism of Sox fans (of which I am one) for not being MORE excited by the WS win. I will admit that it was not the thrill that it was in '04, still I'm pretty damn pleased. I've heard it said that Sox fans are turning into Yankees fans, taking winning for granted. I personally don't see this happening. We've remained loyal through too many diappointments to suddenly start EXPECTING to win. Anything can happen in a good ball game.

[Dan Gould]

I've been hearing a lot of criticism of Sox fans (of which I am one) for not being MORE excited by the WS win. I will admit that it was not the thrill that it was in '04, still I'm pretty damn pleased. I've heard it said that Sox fans are turning into Yankees fans, taking winning for granted. I personally don't see this happening. We've remained loyal through too many diappointments to suddenly start EXPECTING to win. Anything can happen in a good ball game.

Well I can say for one that anyone reading my posts when the Sox were down 3-1 to the Indians, 2004 did nothing to change my expectation of heartbreak. Unfortunately, I think that there are now a lot of bandwagon fans who know nothing of the history of the team and because of that, they take winning for granted.

Its unfortunate but I don't prefer the alternative - no bandwagon fans and no championships.

[MartyJazz]

Some thoughts:

The idea raised by Alexander that some Sox fans might turn into Yankee fans is absolutely ridiculous.

As far as A-Rod is concerned, I can't for the life of me understand his thinking. While his numbers for the past season were stupendous, he still shanked the postseason as usual. Additionally, any of the "money" teams who would even consider what he's asking for would also have to pony up millions in luxury taxes. The Yanks were prepared to make him an offer most of the big money teams would be reluctant to make and that was with some $21 million coming from the Rangers under the old contract. WTF is he thinking?

I've never ever rooted for the Dodgers in my life having grown up in NYC when the Dodgers were still in town during my formative years. But now with Torre at the helm, I'd really like to see them at least win the NL West next season. As for Girardi, he's got his work cut out and if the Yanks don't even make the postseason - a definite possibility - after doing it 12 straight seasons under Torre, it will be quite embarrassing.

David Ortiz was quite entertaining on Conan O'Brian last night. When Conan asked him what he says to his teammates at the end of a game, he replied, "Go home and get some ass." Even Conan seemed to be taken aback by that.

Edited November 3, 2007 by MartyJazz