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May 15, 2008
AP Photo
BUT FIRST . . . There are serious, disconcerting issues facing the Red Sox on this morning, but I don't know. When your left fielder makes a running catch with his momentum carrying him up onto the wall, high-fives a fan (above), comes down, and fires the ball into the infield to start a double play . . . well, how bad can things be? Check out Ian Bethune's Sox and Dawgs blog for a video clip of the play, which kicks off a three-minute reel of ESPN's favorite Manny being Manny moments, some of which (the sprawling cutoff of Johnny Damon's throw while he was in dead center field) I remember and others (calling Edgar Renteria off a pop up, then letting the ball drop and having it carom off his knee into right field) I'd forgotten.
We all laughed when Manny anointed himself as the best defensive left fielder in Red Sox history, but you ever see Yaz or Ted or Jim Rice do that?
AND NOW BACK TO OUR SHOW: All you can do is laugh, because the alternative is pretty grim. The Sox blew a 3-0 lead for the third consecutive game yesterday and their season-long Achilles heel -- the bullpen -- never looked worse than it does now. Steven Krasner has the details of a frustrating afternoon in Baltimore, where a lead that was down to 3-2 by the seventh inning evaporated in the span of four batters with two outs and nobody on. Craig Hansen poured the gasoline and Hideki Okajima lit the match, continuing a horrid stretch in which Krasner reports Okajima has allowed 11 of 14 inherited runners to score and blown four of his five save opportunities. So that makes it four losses in a row, and five in the last six games. As Krasner notes, today's off day couldn't come at a better time.
WHAT, US WORRY? Okajima had nothing to say about the game-losing grand slam he surrendered to Jay Payton, or anything else for that matter, leaving his teammates to do his talking for him. To a man, they say they're not concerned. (Boston Globe) Good, because Red Sox Nation is concerned enough for all of them . . . and then some.
MORE MANNY: You can read Ramirez', and his teammates', reaction to his one-for-the-ages catch in Krasner's notebook, which also tells us that J.D. Drew is feeling better, Coco Crisp and Julio Lugo aren't, Brandon Moss is working out in Florida as he recovers from his appendectomy, and that Jacoby Ellsbury is now 23-for-23 as a big-league base stealer.
FRIENDS TO THE END: Ramirez is this close to 500 home runs, and he asked four of his buddies to make a commemorative video that will be played at Fenway Park when he reaches the milestone. One of those buddies? Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod agreed to do it, but said he kept it short because he's aware of the savage booing that will erupt when his face pops up on the scoreboard. (New York Post)
ONE MAN'S FLOOR IS ANOTHER MAN'S CEILING: A torn fingernail sent Clay Buchholz to the disabled list, and if that sounds like a pretty flimsy reason to be disabled, well, it probably is. Fact is, with Drew and Crisp sidelined the Sox needed another outfielder toot sweet, so they used Buchholz' roster spot to summon Jonathan Van Every. Krasner has the details of Van Every's first day in the major leagues after eight years in the bushes, in which he also recorded his first big-league hit.
WHAT'S THERE TO TELL? Jim Rice gives a matter-of-fact accounting of going into the stands at Yankee Stadium in 1986 after a fan had stolen his hat. (ask14.sullivantire.com)
MORE OF THE SAME: It seems like the Orioles start out reasonably well every year, and they claim they have a new attitude every year. So why should this year be any different? (Washington Post)
SPRINGING AHEAD: As Sarasota begins formulating plans to convince the Red Sox to move their spring-training base there (mysuncoast.com), an editorial in the Fort Myers News Press urges its community leaders not to break the bank to keep the Sox.
'CONTENDER. SERIOUSLY': So says Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal about the Rays in a look at whether or not the early season surprise teams are contenders or pretenders.
RETURNING ORDER TO THE UNIVERSE: Maybe they are, but for one night things were back to normal as Mike Mussina pitched the Yankees to victory over the Tampa Bay upstarts. (New York Daily News) Since it came after a) Hank Steinbrenner had called them out and b) Joe Girardi held a closed-door meeting before the game, many will credit the brass for "motivating" the players out of their slump. But a postgame clubhouse poll by Peter Abraham indicates otherwise. (LoHud Yankees Blog)
THE HOT SEAT: It's where Brian Cashman is sitting these days. (New York Times) Don't believe it? Listen to Hank Steinbrenner for five minutes, even though he never mentions Cashman by name. (New York Daily News)
CAN'T LOSE IF THEY DON'T SCORE: No one's paying much attention -- not even in Cleveland, where folks are riveted on the Cavs and Celtics (projo.com) -- but the Indians recorded their fourth shutout in five games last night as C.C. Sabathia blanked the A's, 2-0. (Cleveland Plain Dealer) And, as Sheldon Ocker points out in the Akron Beacon-Journal, it's exactly what they needed since the Indians have scored only nine runs themselves over that span.
LOOK AT THE FACTS: I've become a big fan of Craig Calcaterra's blog ShysterBall for many reasons -- one of them being his daily roundup of games under the heading "And That Happened," in honor of John Mayer -- and today he lays out the reasons why Barry Bonds' continued unemployment isn't necessarily a case of collusion. It came in response to Dave Zirin of the blog The Starting Five calling the Bonds saga a "case of blackballing so obvious it would shame a Dartmouth frat house."
OH, NO! The blog Big League Stew has checked around and discovered that Cubs Nation isn't too thrilled about the impending acquisition of Jim Edmonds. Cubs GM Jim Hendry disagrees, but ace Carlos Zambrano sides with the fans . . . though probably not for the same reasons. (Both stories Chicago Tribune)
CHANGE AT THE TOP: The blog The Biz of Baseball reports Peter Magowan will step down as managing partner of the Giants.
HAIL FROM THE CHIEF: If President Bush could choose any player with which to start a baseball team, he says he'd pick the Phillies' Chase Utley. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
'PAUL FROM FAIRFAX, YOU'RE NEXT ON THE 'FAN: Ex-Met Paul Lo Duca, now with the Nationals, called WFAN yesterday just to chat, and discussed a number of topics . . . including his inclusion in the Mitchell Report. (New York Daily News)
ROCK ON, METS: The blog Mets By The Numbers has a fascinating interview with perhaps the world's unlikeliest Mets fan: George Thorogood. A Delaware native, he tells why he abandoned the Phillies for the Mets, and also has a fascinating theory -- and one I'd never thought of -- on how the Mets really won Game Six of the 1986 World Series against the Red Sox.
NO GOING BACK: The old-timers don't like it -- at all -- but they're all in sad agreement: On-field celebrations are here to stay. (espn.com)
ON SECOND THOUGHT . . . The blog Athletics Nation is wondering if picking up Frank Thomas was such a good idea, after all.
HERE AND THERE: Mark Prior says he cut off his latest rehab attempt after 10 or 15 pitches because he felt "a firecracker going off in [my] back" (espn.com) . . . Nick Johnson's wrist hurts and he may be lost to the Nationals for a while (Washington Times) . . . Tom Glavine won his first game as a Brave since 2002 last night (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . The Rays have signed Scott Kazmir to a long-term extension (St. Petersburg Times) . . . John Smoltz thinks he'll be back with the Braves in about 10 days (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . Both the Brewers (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) and the White Sox (Chicago Sun-Times) may be looking for help in the trade market soon . . . Gary Sheffield is back to being a DH because of a sore shoulder (mlb.com) . . . Jake Westbrook and Joe Borowski are ready to begin rehab stints for the Indians. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
OLD FRIENDS: We hate to keep harping on Eric Gagne, but he keeps making news. Now it appears his struggles -- at least partially -- were caused by his tipping his pitches, which he apparently has rectified. (mlb.com) The Brewers are in town this weekend, so we shall see . . . Pedro Martinez threw a 55-pitch simulated game in his recovery from a hamstring pull (New York Post) . . . David Riske has a hyperextended right elbow (rightfieldbleachers.com) . . . The suddenly hot Bronson Arroyo has allowed just one run in his last 15 innings. (rotoworld.com)
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
at 6:40 AM | Permalink
