Red Sox Keep Rollin'

Now I know it was the KC Royals and they have been in the comfort of Fenway, but the Sox have quietly earned the best record in the majors. The pitching has fed off the Lester no-no. Everyone has been solid (I know Dice-K walked six but he got out of trouble when he needed to) and the bats have been heating up.

Now as promised, I would like to take a trip back to 2005, when the Red Sox acquired Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell (a throw-in to dump salary) for shortstop Hanley Ramirez and some other prospects. Now I will never say this is a bad trade. The Red Sox got an Ace and a quality 3rd baseman for a couple of prospects, but it wasn't cheap. My thought is maybe they could have given up another quality prospect, perhaps even Ellsbury or Pedroia and kept Ramirez. (Think of the headline possibilities with the Ramirez twins) I don't know if Red Sox fans realize how good Hanley Ramirez is and how good he could be when all is said and done. Obviously, Florida is never on TV so I doubt anyone reading this has ever really see him play, but his numbers are sick. Think Nomar in his prime only better at the plate and a better arm at short. He makes Jose Reyes look like Mark Belhorn.

Let's take a look at last season: .332, 81, 29 and he was 23 and making the league minimum. Let me say it again, your boy is sick. Think of it this way; Ramirez is A-rod if he got lazy and stopped going to the gym 10 hours a day in the off -season. Again, the Red Sox got two great players and there is no way they win the world series last year without those two guys. But in 10 years when Ramirez has three or four MVPs Red Sox fans should remember he could have been hitting the ball off the Monster all those years.

Sports or Politics?

The other day I was listening to John Kincade fill in for Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio and he purposed a very interesting question to his audience. If you could pick any of the three remaining presidential candidates to win the election this fall, but your favorite sports teams would be terrible for as long as they're in office. Would rather have the president of your choice or the good sports teams?

The response on the show was pretty much in favor of sacrificing the presidency for the good sports teams. There were a few patriots out there who would want their candidate in office but most felt the success of their favorite team would bring them greater joy and almost everyone had an excuse to justify their choice.

I would pick my teams to be honest. I just think that the success of the Yankees or the Eagles brings me greater joy on a day to day basis than any changes a president make. I know it isn't the "right" choice but hey Philly has never won a Super Bowl and the Yankees haven't won in seven years which is a Cub-like long time for Yankee fans. Plus, I couldn't stand seeing the Sox go unopposed for a four year, possible eight year period. It would just make me sick.

Kennedy remembers how to pitch; Cano how to hit

Look out, here come the Yankees. Two in a row is a move in the right direction; not to mention that IPK finally had a solid start. He walked a few to many but he gave them six solid innings keeping them in the game, and that is all the Yankees need from him right now. It's also nice to see the Yankees coming back on a team and having a little late inning life. They've lacked that late inning magic all season.

With the Mariners coming to town you would think the Yankees will keep this momentum going especially since they beat both Bedard and Hernandez earlier in the year when they swept Seattle at the Stadium at the start of May. Personally, I don't like it when a team is playing poorly and they come in to play the Yankees. The Mariners have to win sometime and the odds are getting better that they'll run in to one soon, especially with their two aces on the mound.

I haven't weighed in on the Joba move yet either, but my stance is pretty simple: he belongs in the rotation. Period. You don't sacrifice 200+ good innings for 70+ great ones. Now Joba is in no position to give them that many innings this season or even next season, but with Pettitte struggling, Kennedy having an ERA north of seven and Mussina being such an uncertainty they have to give Joba a spot.

Anyone who argues otherwise just doesn't understand the dynamics of pitching in baseball today or who Joba Chamberlain is as a pitcher. First an foremost the Yankees have Rivera signed two more years after this year. Those who want Joba to close will not have the opportunity to see the benefits of him holding that position for a long time. You can find someone to pitch the eighth inning anywhere. All you have to do is play the hot hand and the Yankees have about three guys who could all fill the Joba role this season or next depending on how quickly they push the likes of Mark Melancon or J.B. Cox.

Radio personalities in New York seemed to be obsessed with keeping him in the set up role(most notably Mike and the Mad Dog). Everyone needs to understand that Joba is a starter. He was a starter in college and a dominate starter in the minors. He wasn't just a mediocre starter he was a filthy starter. He only went to the bullpen because the Yankees had a need and he had reached his innings limit. He was always going to be a top of the rotation guy.

If Detroit can go to the World Series with Todd Jones as their closer and the Indians can get one game away with Joe Borowski shutting the door then I'll take my chances in the eighth with the Yank's motley middle relief.

The Bartolo Colon Project

No, it's not a prog rock band from the 70's. It's Boston's low risk, high reward gamble on the former Angel's Cy Young winner. He looked solid last night, inducing ground balls and not laboring too much. The more arms, the better, I say. Even if he only ends up pitching around 100 innings this season, as long as his starts are decent, I think he will be well worth the investment. Who cares if he resembles a manatee and has his sideburns shaved off a la Don Mattingly on The Simpsons.

Jacoby Ellsbury had a monster game going 3-for-4. He led off the first with a home run and scored three runs. He is well on his way to becoming the premiere lead off hitter in the majors. Manny on the other hand has been ice cold after his torrid start. So much for MVP and triple crown talk. After going 0-for-3 last night, his average has fallen to .287. There is nothing wrong with that if that's where he ends up for the year, but his average has dropped about 70 points in the past month. Could the pressure of trying to reach 500 home runs be getting to Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky? Manny's game is predicated on being the most relaxed guy on the field. He looks really stiff in the batter's box at the moment.

I finally have cable and internet in the house and can rejoin the civilized world. I can at last make posts during my off hours and not on company time. But what fun would that be?

Arod to the rescue; sort of

Well at least one good thing came out of last night's game. Arod is back and his swing looked pretty good and he made all the routine plays at third. But of course the Captain's error and Mussina's inability to put away any of the five hitters that got two strike hits off him made Arod's homecoming a nightmare.

I still have faith that the Yanks will play better than they have and hopefully Darrel Rasner will be able to produce another solid start and maybe save the bullpen some innings.

What hurts the most is that when the Yanks were floundering initially the Red Sox were slow to get on a roll, but now they have found their stride if the Yanks don't right the ship soon then they will be in the same predicament they were last year.

Lester is a Stud

Well, everyone in Minnesota ate two Red Sox for dinner last night when John Lester got his no-no. As I am sure you all remember, the Red Sox were offering John Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jed Lowrie for Johan Santana this past winter. So, the Twins could have had a solid #2 or 3 in Lester, and two potential all-stars in Lowrie and Ellsbury. I thank the baseball gods everyday that the Red Sox didn't make that move. I knew I liked Ellsbury. I thought Lester had the potential to be a stud, (I didn't think he had a no-no in him) and Jed Lowrie is just waiting in Triple AAA for Julio Lugo to start throwing the ball into the right field stands. Could you ever justify giving up those three guys for Santana? Now, Santana is an ace, but the Sox would have had to pay him a lot, like $25 million/six years. So, I am glad they stood by their young guys and didn't sell the farm for one guy.

Check out a post later this week when I will examine if Hanley Ramirez was worth Josh Beckett.

Lester's No-No

I guess the baseball gods read my last post and decided to punish me for having no cable. I watched the first three innings or so of the game at my parents' place and went back to my TV-less house. I fell asleep with a 5-0 Sox lead dancing in my head. It was so early in the game I didn't even notice that Lester had a no hitter working. It's the second time in 12 months I missed a no hitter since I fell asleep before the end of the Buchholz no-no. I, of course, got to see the end of Curt Schilling's game when he allowed his first hit with two out in the ninth inning.

In the sports world where everything is drenched in hyperbole, Jon Lester's no hitter is a story so sappy it would've been rejected by most Hollywood studios. In the two years since receiving treatment for cancer, Lester has pitched a World Series clincher and a no hitter. When I watch him I think of my late cousin, Louie, who battled Hodgkin's Disease and was an avid baseball fan and coach. But even if you don't have a personal connection to Lester's situation, you would have to be made of stone not to feel ecstatic for the guy.