How Baseball Can Help the Socially Awkward

I know what you’re thinking.  Why is someone so witty and intelligent in print claiming to be socially awkward? Well, this may come as a shock to many of my readers (all 2 of you), but I do not thrive in social scenarios. If you’re like me, you meet someone and you spend more time staring at your feet and fidgeting than you do talking. And eye contact?  What eye contact?  You avoid it at all costs.  However, my one saving grace has always been baseball, and now it can be yours too!  Let me explain…

When I meet someone for the first time I immediately place him or her in one of two categories. The “I eat, breathe, dream about sports” fan or the “who is Derek Jeter? What are these sports you speak of?” non-fan.  How, you ask, can I label someone just by looking at them?  I can’t.  I make this determination by showing off my tattoo and then gauging each person’s reaction.

My Tattoo:

This man made Tim Wakefield cry.  He must be the devil.

OK, so I don’t have a “Devil Aaron Boone” tattoo, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t considered getting one.  Anyway, I usually drop a line about sports at the beginning of a conversation, and if my counterpart takes the bait we become best friends.

So what does all this have to do with being socially awkward?  Good question.  Basically, I'm not a great at making conversation, and I am especially bad with people I don’t know very well. Baseball (and sports in general) provides me with a continuing and ever-changing topic of conversation.  When it comes to sports, there is always something new to talk about and I am always thrilled to discuss it.  In fact, once I start talking sports I don’t shut up. Gone is the impulse to stare at my feet and suddenly I stop fidgeting. It’s almost as if discussing sports transforms me into a properly functioning member of society. While I am passionate about other things as well, there are only so many times I can ask why the shooter on the Star Destroyer didn’t blow up the Tantive IV escape pod carrying C-3P0 and R2-D2. So what if there were no life forms on board? Did he not realize that droids exist?  Blowing up the pod would have destroyed the Death Star blue prints and any chance the Rebellion had at defeating the Empire. But I digress…

My point is, while other topics of conversation can be discussed to the point of exhaustion, every day brings new sports headlines and gives fans something fresh to talk about over dinner or at a party. Without sports, you may run out of topics to discuss and may be reluctant to bring up, yet again, how upset you are that Tolkien sent Frodo off to the Grey Havens at the end of the Lord of the Rings. This will most likely lead to an unintentional lull in the conversation, which is where baseball can save the day. Right before the pause in dialogue grows to an awkwardly epic size you say "Hey, did you catch the game last night?" and voilà, crisis averted.  So my advice to anyone who considers him or herself an awkward conversationalist: start watching baseball (or any sport for that matter). You’ll be surprised how quickly you will emerge from your socially awkward shell.  

Happy 38th Birthday Mike Lowell!

Tomorrow, February 24, is Mike Lowell's birthday and although he has been out of baseball for over a year, I refuse to stop celebrating what should be a national holiday. Why do I love Mikey so much?  His story can warm the heart of even the most cold-blooded Yankees fan. He is a cancer survivor who hit rock bottom with the Marlins, rebounded in Boston, became a World Series MVP and won over the hearts of baseball’s most critical fans. Not to mention he is just a stand up guy. After the 2007 season, in which he won the World Series MVP award, he took less money to stay, and eventually finish his career, with the Red Sox. And let's not forget that he was a leader and positive influence in the clubhouse.  I mean, look what happened to the Red Sox the season after he left (I really need to stop bringing this up). I could go on, but I’d rather let Mike do the talking (and dancing). So feel free to take off work, sit back, relax and watch Mike Lowell at his best.

Let’s start with a recent video:  Mike Lowell was looking good on Dan LeBatard is Highly Questionable about a month ago and although I find Dan LeBatard slightly annoying, his father is hilarious and Mike Lowell makes anything worth watching. 

He is bilingual (his parents are Cuban and he was born in Puerto Rico)

He can dance!

Plus: Matt Damon’s nephews think Mike Lowell is George Clooney 

Please, George Clooney wishes...

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...

Good Morning Baltimore

Back in early March I applied for the MLB dream job, and part of the application process was an essay about what I thought would be the biggest storyline of the 2011 baseball season.  Well, I didn't get the job (no surprise there) but with the Orioles playing the way they are 9 games into the season, I am pretty happy with the essay I wrote.  Here is what I said on March 3rd:

"With every new baseball season, there is one standout team that defies expectations, makes headlines, and steals the show.  A few years ago that team was the Tampa Bay Rays, and last year it was the San Francisco Giants.  This year, I believe that team will be the Baltimore Orioles.  That’s right, not the Phillies, not the Red Sox, but the Orioles, and here are my reasons why: 

Last August the Orioles fired their skipper, and replaced interim manager Juan Samuel with experienced manager Buck Showalter.  Showalter is a two-time American League Manager of the Year winner who has made a career of fixing broken teams.  He managed the Yankees through disarray in the early 1990s and the team won the World Series the year after he left.  Showalter then went on to manage a new expansion team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and that team also went on to win the World Series the year after Buck left.  While Showalter was not physically present in the dugout for either team’s World Series win, it was his hard work and motivating managerial techniques that got the Yankees and the Diamondbacks their titles.  Just last year, when Showalter joined the Orioles on August 3rd, the team went from a losing record of 32-73, to finish off the season with a 34-23 stint.  The mere presence of Buck Showalter in the dugout improved the Orioles’ game dramatically.  This season Buck will be with the Orioles from the very beginning, and as a result we will see some exciting baseball played in Camden Yards for the first time in over a decade. 

Buck Showalter

While Showalter is a fantastic manager, he alone cannot make the Orioles stand out in 2011.  The team already had some talent in the likes of Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts, but the offseason signings of big bats like Vladimir Guerrero and Derrek Lee are going to help Baltimore offensively.  Furthermore, parting with Ty Wigginton at third base was an improvement in and of itself, but the addition of a hopefully healthy Mark Reynolds will help the Orioles both at the plate and in the field.  Lastly, a young pitching staff does not necessarily translate to a bad pitching staff, and with a rotation lead by Brian Matusz, the Orioles are not going down without a fight. 

Will the Baltimore Orioles be our 2011 World Series Champions?  Definitely not.  Will the team even make the playoffs?  Probably not.  However, with Buck Showalter at the helm combined with a balance of fresh young talent and skilled veterans, the Orioles will not only have their first winning season since 1997, but they will do so in a way that will catch the attention of the baseball community."  

Now I know the season is only two weeks old, but the Orioles are in first place in the AL East and delivered the undefeated Texas Rangers their first loss.  Like I said, I do not believe the Orioles are going to be our 2011 World Series Champions, and I highly doubt they will make the playoffs, but I am confident that for the first time since 1997, the Orioles will be a threat and a contender in the American League's loaded Eastern Division.

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.

Guess What Everyone? I'm Not Crazy...

For the past few years I have been arguing that Terry Francona, the Red Sox manager, looks like actor Shia LaBeouf.  My theory is that 25 years from now, Shia will look like Terry Francona looks at 50.  And the similarities do not stop at looks, both men have similar mannerisms and the same deep voice.  After trying and failing to prove my point, I decided to look up a picture of a young Terry Francona and compare it to one of Shia LaBeouf.  The results?

                                                                                         

As you can see, they could be brothers!  I was able to convince some of my friends that young Terry is Shia's doppelganger, and vice versa, but I still thought I was crazy until my friend Nicole posted the following link on my facebook page today:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0812/athlete.lookalikes.fan.submissions/content.8.html

It is a link to a Sports Illustrated look-a-like post that includes this picture:

The joy I felt in knowing that at least one other person on the planet can look at a 50 year old Terry Francona and see a 24 year old Shia LaBeouf is indescribable, and while the title of this post may be a bit of an exaggeration, at least I am a little less crazy than I was yesterday! 

Now, when a movie about the 2004 Red Sox is inevitably made, I say cast Shia as the Red Sox skipper.  Its the role he was born to play!

And while we're at it, let's pretend that age is not a factor and cast some other celebrities as 2004 Red Sox. 

Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez will be played by Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz

                                                                                 

Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon will be played by Bill and Ted actor Keanu Reeves



 Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar will be played by Matthew McConaughey, not so much because they look alike, but because if anyone can pull off Millar's crazy cowboy persona, its the man who lives in a trailer.                                                

                                                                                                                                                  

Well, that's all I've got for now.  Any casting suggestions?  Let me know!

Forget New Era, the Best Cap for Baseball is the Salary Cap

First and foremost I want to apologize for the lack of entries since last October.  I was so happy that my wish/prediction for a Rangers vs Giants World Series came true, and so depressed that baseball season was over, that I stopped writing.  But now, Spring Training is in full swing (the pun was completely intended, I’m not gonna lie) and I am ready to spew my thoughts on the 2011 season.  Before I do that, I would like to post a rant about salary caps in Major League Baseball, don’t all jump for joy at once.  I am getting this out of the way before the season officially starts because thinking about it takes some of the joy out of watching the game.  Having said that, it is also something I feel I need to write about, so here we go…

A salary cap for MLB is an idea whose time has come.  A cap would benefit small market teams and their fans by creating a more balanced level of talent and competition.  The Yankees and Red Sox are two of the big market teams that have seemingly unlimited financial resources which make it difficult for less wealthy franchises to compete in the free agent market.  Worse, these smaller clubs often lose their best players to free agency because they cannot compete with the salaries offered by wealthier teams.  MLB’s salary cap should place limits on how much a player can be paid and how high a team’s payroll can be.  Although the Boston fan in me would love to see Albert Pujols playing almost any position in a Red Sox uniform, the baseball fan in me wants to see the Cardinals and other teams keep their top players.

Over the past decade, salaries for Major League Baseball players have increased exponentially, all starting with Alex Rodriguez and the Texas Rangers signing a groundbreaking multi-million dollar deal in 2001.  Now athletes say “hey, player X was given this amount of money and since I am at least as good as him, I deserve to get paid at least as much.”  I am going to risk sounding trite, and quote Jerry Maguire…everyone is saying “SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!”  No one wants to play for small market teams anymore because that is not where the money is.  As a result, fans of teams like the Padres and the Royals are suffering, and getting turned off to baseball, as their players depart for clubs with fatter wallets.

The absence of a salary cap means more than just an upset in the balance of power around the Majors.  In a time where most baseball fans are unemployed, just scraping by financially, or starting to recover from the recession, Major League Baseball players are demanding multi-million dollar contracts.  This is AMERICA’S pastime, and the disconnect between average Americans and ballplayers is upsetting.  Higher salaries equal higher ticket prices, which in turn means that many fans will not be able to afford tickets to games.  If ballplayers really care about what is best for the game of baseball and its fans, they will not demand such high salaries.  Until that happens, I have to say that no matter how much I truly love baseball, I am a little disappointed in its players.  Having said all that, nothing can ruin the wonderful feeling I get every March when I heard those two fantastic words for the first time: Play Ball!

Humor(dor) the Skeptics, Bring in a Third Party

I have to apologize for the amount of time that has passed since my last post.  I went on vacation, I have been looking for a job, and quite frankly, I did not have that much to talk about.  Things were pretty uneventful in the world of Major League Baseball and everything was running smoothly.  However, while watching both the Red Sox vs Yankees and Giants vs Rockies on Friday night, two incidents occurred that gave me incentive to start blogging again. 

I will start with the near heart attack I suffered as Mike Lowell got hit in the face, and subsequently hit the dirt, while trying to field a ground ball that took a terrible hop.  The baseball gods need to give Lowell a break. The poor guy fought to get playing time the entire first half of the season, is only playing now because half the Red Sox starting lineup is on the DL, is retiring at the end of the year and is playing the last few games of his career.  Now he is sitting on the bench indefinitely along with the rest of the 2010 Red Sox, but hopefully he will be back in the starting lineup tonight or tomorrow.  Mike Lowell brings a lot to the table for the Red Sox.  He is definitely a better than average hitter and although his range in the field is not what it used to be, he gets the job done at first base.  The Red Sox need him right now.  Although it is unlikely that the Sox will be making the playoffs this year, they are not yet mathematically eliminated from securing the Wild Card, and I'm an optimist.  If this series with the Yankees is any indication, there is a slight pulse in the injury-ridden body that is the 2010 Boston Red Sox.  As the great (Yankee) catcher Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over till its over."

Moving on.  All season there has been an interesting rumor circulating throughout the Major Leagues concerning the Colorado Rockies.  A rumor started by Giant's broadcaster Jon Miller in this interview: http://www.knbr.com/portals/3/podcasts/murphmac/0708jonmiller.MP3.  Due to the high altitude and thin, dry air in Denver, baseballs dry up and shrink, allowing them to travel greater distances, which in turn increases the home run frequency at the Rockies' home park, Coors Field.  To combat this, the Rockies began storing baseballs in a humidor in 2002 to moisten them up and weigh them down.  According to USA Today, the number of home runs and runs scored at Coors Field has greatly decreased since the beginning of the humidor era.  However, a rumor that the Rockies are using non-humidor balls in opportune moments is now being disseminated by many in baseball, including the San Francisco Giants.  The rumor states that the Rockies will mix non-humidor or "juiced" baseballs in with the mandated humidor balls and then use those "juiced" baseballs when they need to score runs in the later innings of a game.  At first I thought the rumor to be completely ridiculous, but I did some research nonetheless.  While I do not believe this rumor to be 100% true, this is what I have discovered: There is no third party responsible for putting all the baseball's in the humidor and then making sure only those baseballs are used in the game.  It is up to the Rockies organization to be honest and only use humidor balls, meaning it is only too easy for them to cheat.  Furthermore, according to the Rockies official web site, the team has hit 167 home runs this season and 103 of them have been hit at Coors Field.  While home field advantage could be one explanation for why the Rockies have hit 103 home runs at home and only 64 on the road, hitting almost twice as many home runs at home is quite an advantage.
What really makes this rumor worth talking about after an entire season is Friday night's Giants vs. Rockies game, which took place at Coors Field.  Tim Lincecum was pitching a perfect game into the 6th inning, when he gave up a bloop double to Seth Smith.  The Rockies knew that this lead-off double was probably going to be their one scoring opportunity, and according to the Giants, the Rockies attempted to score that run from second by giving Lincecum a "juiced" ball.  When Lincecum was thrown the new ball, he could tell something was wrong with it right away.  Take a look at this video where he throws the new ball back to the umpire and makes a comment about juiced baseballs.  Unfortunately I cannot embed the video, but you can check it out at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StY_mGM-lU4

Lincecum is one of the most laid back guys in the game.  I have watched almost every single game he has ever pitched and, even on bad days, I have never seen him get visibly angry.  This is what convinced me, not that the Rockies are definitely cheating, but that Major League Baseball has to do something.  According to sportingnews.com, MLB umpires will be keeping a close eye on the all the balls that come in and out of the humidor, but is this solution enough?  To really eliminate the doubts people are having about the Rockies, a third party needs to take over the task of placing balls in the humidor and giving them to the umpires.  Until the Rockies have no control over the balls being used in their home park, speculation about whether or not they are cheating will continue.

Mike Lowell's Home Run and A-Rod's Lack Thereof

Hi, I'm the Baseball Girl, or Lori as some people like to call me.  Tonight, as I was watching the Red Sox / Indians game and yelling at my TV, I realized I have no one to talk to and no outlet to express my frustration, jubilation or any of the other myriad feelings I encounter on a daily basis while watching baseball.  So, I decided to start a blog.  Let's see what happens...

The subjects of this blog entry are Mike Lowell and Alex Rodriguez.  First, Mike Lowell made his return to the Red Sox lineup today, which made me a very happy camper.  Lowell is my favorite player in all of Major League Baseball (with Tim Lincecum a close second), if not for his playing ability, for his great personality and sportsmanship.  An injury to Kevin Youkilis, as well as injuries to the Sox entire Major League starting lineup (who are they, the 2009 Mets?), left Terry Francona with no choice but to start Lowell at first base only 2 days after Lowell's future with the Red Sox organization seemed unlikely (again).  As Mike approached home plate for his first at bat, the crowd gave him a standing ovation and what did Mikey do?  He hit the first pitch he saw over the Green Monster for a home run. 
This is what frustrates me.  Why is Lowell constantly on the chopping block?  Yes, I understand he has been injured and cannot really be an every day player, but he is still an above average hitter and not too bad in the field, so platoon him.  The Red Sox have so many injuries that they need someone like Lowell right now, and yet, they are still trying to get rid of him.  Hopefully that changed tonight.  He not only drove in what would turn out to be the game winning RBI, but he made some great defensive plays at first base.  Theo Epstein needs to keep this guy.  This is the last season of his contract and he already said he will most likely retire this year, so just let him play where he loves to play and where the fans clearly love to watch him play. 

Also, speaking of Epstein...really Theo?  Jarrod Saltalamacchia is the best you could do at the trade deadline?  The Red Sox needed a bullpen pitcher, not an injury plagued catcher...the team already has enough of those.  But I digress...

On to Alex Rodriguez.  He hit home run number 599 twelve days ago and now holds the record for the most time between home runs 599 and 600 (although the fact that he is even qualified to hold that record is impressive as only 6 other players in baseball history have hit more than 600 home runs).  So you know what I say?  Leave A-Rod alone.  Stop with this whole "Road to 600" BS and just let the guy play baseball.  Switching out balls before his at-bats and bringing up home run 599 over and over again is just distracting, not only for A-Rod, but for the entire Yankee team.  Now I am no Yankee fan, but I do like A-Rod and I have liked him since his days with Seattle.  I even have a theory about him that involves Star Wars, Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, redemption, Scott Boras, and the Evil Emperor, but that's for another blog entry.  The point is, we have to let the guy play baseball.  He will eventually hit home run number 600.  Whether he does it tomorrow, 20 days from now or Sunday night when I am at the Yankees / Red Sox game (hint, hint...A-Rod, if you're reading this, hit it Sunday) he will hit number 600, so everyone should just back off. 

Last, but not least, I was reading Bill Simmons' article on ESPN.com's Page 2 today and he was explaining why the New England Sports Network's (NESN) ratings for Red Sox games have gone down this season.  One reason he gave was the large number of injured Red Sox, which goes without saying.  Unless you are a really die-hard fan, you are not going to watch a bunch of minor leaguers lose to the Kansas City Royals when you could be watching some other fabulous TV show like, oh, I don't know, America's Got Talent (that was sarcasm by the way.  I feel like I need to explain sarcasm for a while, until we get to know each other better).  Two other reasons Simmons listed for the decline were:

1) games have grown way too long over the past few years (almost every game is over 3 hours)
and 2) you never see a good old-fashioned fight anymore. 

Well, I think Simmon's should list the reasons why there is world hunger, violence in the Middle East, and global warming, because tonight, the night after I read his column, the Red Sox won a game in under 3 hours (it was 2:31 or so) and had a benches clearing brawl...so exciting! 

Until next time,

The Baseball Girl