My Offseason Musings

I realize it has been a while since my last post, but I took my out frustrations over last year's baseball season on this blog.  I was so unhappy with the Red Sox that I feared what I might write.  I thought, better just leave it alone until 2012.  Now here we are, mid-February, with the promise of a new season warming the hearts of baseball fans everywhere (unless they root for the Mets). This off-season saw a lot of changes throughout baseball, but I want to focus on my team, the Boston Red Sox.

So Long Tito

This one hurt.  Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about Terry Francona. And if you don't know me? I love Tito. I think he is a great manager and an even better person.  So yes, I was upset for a while after Tito resigned.  I may or may not have cried to Adele's Somone Like You throughout the entire month of November.  

Tito, we'll always have Spring Training 2010

where I stared at you all game and took 80 pictures just like the one posted above

And what made matters worse was the Red Sox hired Bobby Valentine.  Yes, he is a no-nonsense type of guy, which is exactly what the Red Sox need after last season's beer and fried chicken debacle.  But after listening to Valentine on Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball, I just don't agree with anything he says.  I was pushing for Dale Sveum for Red Sox manager, but former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein snatched him up for the Cubs.

Which leads me to my next topic...

Ben Cherington

Maybe I need to give him more of a chance, but I am not too thrilled about any of Ben Cherington's offseason moves.  I am happy he didn't even try to re-sign Jonathan Papelbon ($50 million is a ridiculous amount of money), but between signing Bobby Valentine and trading Josh Reddick, I just don't know what he is thinking.  Josh Reddick was the first prospect I ever "discovered."  Usually I become a fan of a player once he makes it to the Majors, but after going to Spring Training a few years ago and seeing Reddick play, I knew he was something special.  I followed him through the Minors, rooted for him (and his nerd goggles) when was called up to the Red Sox and truly thought he was the right fielder of the future.  

Josh Reddick and his nerd goggles

The worst part about the Reddick trade is that Cherington arranged it so he could acquire closer Andrew Bailey from the Oakland Athletics.  

Which leads me to my final point...

To Close or Not To Close, That Is The Question

Whether or not The Bard (Daniel Bard, that is) should be the Red Sox closer was a topic of hot debate this offseason.  Personally, I think the decision to put Bard in the starting rotation is the wrong one.  A set-up guy and a closer can get away with two pitches, but a starter?  No way.  

Does this guy look like a starting pitcher to you?  

Bard is going to need to develop a third pitch if he is going to be an effective starting pitcher.  He is also going to have to ease up on his fastball.  Throwing 98 MPH for an inning is one thing, but to throw that consistently and effectively over 7 innings is highly unlikely.  Besides, you need to do more than throw hard to be a starter.  Batters will time your pitches by their second or third at-bats, that's why movement and multiple pitches are more important for a starter than overall speed.  Also, Bard has no experience as a starting pitcher.  CJ Wilson was a reliever who made the transition to the starting rotation, but he was also a starter in the Minor Leagues and Bard was not.  I may eat my words come September, but if you ask me Bard should be in the bullpen, not the starting rotation.

So this is my rant about the Red Sox tumultuous offseason. Hopefully the 2012 season will prove to be a good one for the Sox, and baseball in general. 

Until next time...

Baseball's Back!

Opening weekend of the 2011 baseball season is drawing to a close and you know its early in the season because games are postponed due to snow!  


As a Red Sox fan, I am not exactly thrilled with the way this season has begun.  With all the hype surrounding the Red Sox offense throughout the offseason and spring training, I was not expecting my team to get swept by the defending American League Champion Texas Rangers.  However, run production was not the obstacle facing the Red Sox in their first series of 2011.  The Sox scored 11 runs in their first three games, but gave up 26 runs, including 11 home runs, to the Rangers.  Ian Kinsler, the Rangers' starting second baseman, and professional James Franco look-a-like, hit a home run in each game of the series, including one in his first at-bat of the season.       

Not James Franco

                                                        
The Red Sox pitchers need to step up, hit their spots, and not throw the ball right down the middle of the plate.  Also, if you ask me (and no one is, but when has that ever stopped me from voicing my opinion) the Red Sox rotation should be as follows: Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, and Daisuke Matsuzaka.  I don't care that Beckett and Lackey have more experience than Lester and Buccholz, at this point the veterans are not pitching well, and that needs to be reflected in the rotation.  Also, I am sick of Jonathan Papelbon.  I'm sorry, but I am.  At first I put up with his ridiculous stare down to home plate and the five hours (literally) he takes between pitches because he got the job done and ended the game.  Now, however, Papelbon seems incapable of ending a game without making it exciting.  Today, he gave up a run and loaded the bases before striking out the side and he does not seem to be as effective as he used to be.  Maybe this will correct itself as the season goes on, but if not, the Red Sox seriously need to consider using the hard-throwing Daniel Bard as their every day closer.  Lastly, Carl Crawford has been off to a not quite abysmal, but also not so great start, in his first year with the Sox.  This season he is 2-9 with one RBI, and went 0-7 in his first two games.  Crawford will not go through the entire season with a .200 batting average, and will no doubt step up to the plate (as usual, pun intended) and live up to everyone's expectations.  All in all, I am not too worried about the Red Sox, and have confidence that they will make the playoffs this season.  After all, its a long season and there are still 159 undoubtedly exciting games left to be played.


In other opening weekend news, I found the following three extremely different stories to be equally and incredibly intriguing.  


First, after the Dodgers home opener against the Giants, a Giants fan was beaten by two Dodgers fans and is now in a medically induced coma.  The man, a father of two, is said to be in critical condition.  Stories like this are incredibly disheartening.  While rivalries are fun (and the Dodgers and Giants have a great one) baseball is just a game and there is no reason for the violence that took place last Thursday.


Changing gears, while reading the sports section of the New York Times today, I spotted a story that caught my eye.  Everyone who knows me knows that I love mountain climbing, so when I saw that R.A. Dickey is planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro this offseason, my first thought was "COOL!" and my second thought was, "is he contractually allowed to do that?"  Well, Dickey scoured his contract and found that mountain climbing is a-okay, so he is going to climb the highest peak in Africa this January.  Part of me thinks this is awesome, but the other part thinks, if I work in the Mets' front office or root for the team, I don't want the man who is emerging as the Mets best pitcher to climb an almost 20,000 foot mountain just a month before pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.  It seems, however, that Dickey is going to climb the mountain, so one can only hope that he is accompanied by a team of people who can keep him free of the many illnesses that can plague a Kilimanjaro hiker.  


While we are on the topic of the New York Mets, an SportsNet New York (SNY) employee played this Family Guy clip over Gary Cohen on the Mets postgame show after the team lost on opening day.  Apparently SNY executives were not very happy, and you can see why:

All in all it has been an eventful start to the 2011 season and I cannot wait to see how it all unfolds.