September 1, 2011: Red Sox vs. Yankees

Karma seems to be catching up. After not getting to go to Fenway at all for five-ish years, I have now been four times in the last year. And they've all been GREAT times: The first one was Mother's Day in 2010, where my friend Jacob, whose father has season tickets, invited me to join them for the matinee, which just so happened to feature the arch-rival New York Yankees. The Red Sox won 9-3, and the seats were phenomenal. I had a great time. The second game was the anniversary of a game my family and I had attended in 2002. May 18, 2002 we saw Pedro Martinez hurl an eight inning, nine strikeout performance against the Seattle Mariners, a Sox win. On May 18, 2011, we saw Clay Buccholz throw seven innings of no-run ball, with seven strikeouts. After a slow start to the season, the Sox were now in the middle of an (at that point) five game winning streaking, pushing their record over .500 with a 22-20 record following the game. The next game was with my girlfriend and her temple on July 27 of this year. The Red Sox faced the Kansas City Royals and won 12-5. The hit parade was led by Big Papi, who hit a grand slam, pushing him beyond the 1,00 RBI mark with the Red Sox. It was very exciting to be part of history like that.

That brings me to yesterday's game against the Yankees. Last week I got contacted by my friend Sam asking if I'd like to join him, his twin brother and younger brother to go to the game. I have been good friends with Sam, Dom and Frank for a very long time but do not get to see them as much as I would like. Being with them alone made it a great time. Yeah, the Red Sox lost, but I find myself completely capable of enjoying myself at a baseball game, even if my team does not win. What could be more fun than a Red Sox-Yankees game at Fenway Park, with seats in the bleachers? That answer, technically, is the Red Sox winning that game, but that's beside the point. The bleachers are the most fun place to sit. Sure, you're about a half mile from the action, but you're not going to find fans that are any more 'real' than those who sit in the bleachers.

I had an interesting interaction with a young man seated in the row in front of us. Derek Jeter came up to bat, and I began jeering at him, calling him overrated. The man turned around and said, "How? He's got 3,000 hits!"
"I'm not questioning his offense. Of course he can hit. It's his fielding that I'm referring to."
"He's got like a million Gold Gloves!!"
"And he deserved maybe two of them!"

The conversation petered off after that, but the situation is still laughable to me. This guy was a Red Sox fan sitting in the bleachers in a game against the hated Yankees, supporting a man that is the epitome of Yankee-dom. It was baffling. Yes, yes, I know, Derek Jeter is known as a classy dude, and is absolutely a likable guy. If I had to pick a favorite (current) Yankee, he would be third, after Rivera and Granderson. However, I still have my beliefs, that are based on facts. Facts show that Derek Jeter has one of the worst ranges of major league shortstops; bottom of the league. Yes, he does regularly end up with a pretty good fielding percentage, but the truth is that it is only so high because of his lack of range; Jeter is unable to even attempt many plays that most other shortstops can get to. These more talented shortstops are sometimes unable to make these plays cleanly, resulting in errors and a lower fielding percentage. Shortstop is one of the most difficult positions to play, so I am in no way diminishing his athletic ability; he is way more athletic than I am, and can make plays I could never dream of making. However, most of the plays he makes are routine. As his age has advanced, so has range. I'm not sure of the exact statistic, but he ranks incredibly low UZR or WAR or one of those other advanced sabremetrics. Basically, if you wanted a good defensive shortstop, you would not want Derek Jeter. Please feel free to debate me on this issue in the comments, or in person.

I left for the game with the impression that Sox had a pretty good chance to win, with AJ "I am a terrible pitcher" Burnett on the mound for New York. But, of course, Burnett decides to pitch relatively acceptably and get the win. It was probably just to spite me. Jon Lester had a rocky 40+ pitch first inning and had one of his shortest pitching outings ever, taking the loss. The Red Sox had next to no offense, safe for Pedroia's Monster Shot that put the Sox up 2-1 at that point. They did not score again, and the Yankees did, so the Sox lost.

So, the Red Sox lead in the AL East went back to 0.5 over the Yankees. As I am writing this, the Red Sox are getting pummeled by the Texas Rangers 10-0, and and Yankees appear headed towards victory. If all remains as it is now, the Sox will be down a half game after tonight. Sure, we still clearly have control of the Wild Card, but we want the division! There is less than a month of the regular season, so it's crunch time. Our offense can't keep not producing like this. I have faith, but the Red Sox need more than just my faith; they need offense and at least decent pitching. It's go time!

Please leave any comments you have. I'll post again in a week!

7/24/11

Wow. So I haven't posted all season. I'll blame it on my not having cable at my apartment. I'm home this weekend, so I get to actually watch the game, and it's not just in a bar, so I feel comfortable blogging while watching. Yay! Today, the Sox take on RoTY candidate Michael Pineda and the struggling (dropped their last 14 games) Seattle Mariners. Timmy Wake is pitching for the Sox. I'm hoping for a bounce back start from him, because the Sox will need it against the fireballin' Pineda.

Top 1

Wow, Ichiro has kinda fallen off the face of the earth. Hitting .266, that's not the HOFer I've loved for years. His career may soon be over. He does have a 5 game hitting streak. He works a full count and bounces back to Wake for the first out. It's Maine Day today. Hooray for former Massachusetts territory! Brendan Ryan quickly went down 0-2 before getting hit in the back. Control of the knuckler may not be good today, especially with the weather. Ackley sends it back to the 379 mark, but Ellsbury runs it down, and Ryan has to retreat back to first. 2 outs. Monster shot for Miguel Olivo for his 14th of the season. 2-0 M's. Smoak doubles high off the monster. Wake's having a rough first. Chone Figgins was a late scratch, possibly involved in a trade? We'll see. Carp bounces one past Pedroia into right, Smoak tries to score from second and is out by a mile and a half. Inning over.

Bottom 1

119 K over 119.1 innings for Pineda. That's scary good. Ells lines on down the line, it bounces off the wall and into right. He ends up at second. 6-game hit streak now. WP on a slider from Pineda, Jacoby to 3rd. Pedey pops out to shallow center, 1 out. Gonzalez send it up the middle on a 1-0 count, scoring Elllsbury. 2-1 M's. Youk drives a 2-0 shot over the monster, 3-2 Sox! Maybe we shouldn't be afraid of Pineda, with this lineup. Ortiz slaps it off the monster, but it's a long single. ANOTHER hit off the monster, this time for Crawford. 2nd and 3rd for the Sox, still just one out. Reddick Ks, which is only to be expected with the guy who is 9th in the AL in that category. Salty loops one the right, scoring both Ortiz and Crawford. 5-2 Sox. Scutaro grounds to second to end the inning. 9 batters up for the Sox this inning. Good stuff.

Top 2

Adam Kennedy looked foolish on a few of the pitches, getting struck out by Wake to start the inning. Cust Ks too, but it gets away from Salty, but he throws him out anyway. 2 down. Guttierez golfs one to center. 1-2-3 inning for Wake. 5-2 Sox.

Bottom 2

This inning starts off the same way the first did; with Ellsbury up. Unlike the 1st, he strikes out. I'm expecting quite a few strikeouts, with Pineda on the hill. GREAT barehanded play by Brendan Ryan to get Pedroia. 2 out. Good defensive allignment for the M's gets A-Gon to end the inning. Still 5-2 Sox after 2.

Top 3

Ichrio flies to right for the first out. Brendan Ryan lines to Gonzalez for the second one. Dustin Ackley sends on down the 1B line, it bounces off the bag and skips into right. He ends up at 2nd. Olivo grounds to Youk, who throws him out to end the inning. 5-2 Sox.

Bottom 3

Good plays on both ends of the ball, from Ryan and Smoak to get Youk for the first out. Papi goes up 3-0 before striking out for the second out. Crawford, who has looked great since coming back from the DL, send one to left for a single. Stolen base for Crawford, who is only safe because Brendan Ryan dropped the ball. First bad play from him all game, as he's been spectacular. Apparently, it counts as a caught stealing with an error. I'm not quite sure how that works. Salty strikes out to the end the inning anyway, though. 5-2 Sox.

Top 4

Smoak flies to Ellsbury to start the inning. Leaping grab by Reddick makes it two outs. Kennedy bounces out to Pedey for another quick inning. 5-2 Sox.

Bottom 4

Salty dribbles on down the line to Smoak, 1 out. Scutaro grounds out to short. Ellsbury grounds to third to end the inning. 5-2 Sox.

Top 5

Wake's knuckleball has been dancing well today, striking out Cust for Wake's third K of the game. Gutierrez walks, and gets to third on a single by Ichiro. 1-3-4 pick-off to get Ichiro. Well done, Wake. Ryan sends one off the wall for a double. Good thing Ichiro was picked off. 5-3 Sox. Fly out to Crawford to end the inning, but not after a run scores for the Pilots, err, Mariners. 5-3 Sox.

Bottom 5

Just learned Wakefield is one strikeout away from 2000. And if he wins today, that'll be #199. I'm really rooting for this guy, and I hope he makes the hall. Pedroia grounds out to start the inning. He's 0-for-3 now and his 20-game hit streak is in jeopardy. He'll get at least one more AB today. Gonzalez sends one into the mini-shift and gets his second hit of the game. Youk walks. Pineda out. Aaron Laffey in. He inherits runners on first and second. Ortiz dribbles one down the 3B line, Laffey fields, but there's no play to make. All hands are safe. Sweet. Crawford RBI single scores Youk and Ortiz, both runs being charged to Pineda. This game has opened up again. 7-3 Sox. 7 runs in 4 1/3 for Pineda. Ugly. Reddick bounces one off the top of the scoreboard for an RBI double. 2nd and third now, 8-3 Sox. Salty sends on into right, scoring both Reddick and Crawford. That's his 2nd hit and 3rd and 4th RBI of the game. 10-3 Sox. Aaron Laffey out after 0+, Jamey Wright in. Scutaro takes the first pitch right to CF. Wright has done in one pitch what Laffey couldn't do against 4 batters; get an out. Ellsbury grounds out to finally end the inning. Poor Eric Wedge.

Top 6

10+ runs in 14 games for the Sox this year, which leads the majors. Our lineup might be kind of good...Olivo flies out to Reddick for the first out. Smoak grounds out for the second one. Mike Carp Ks for Wakefield's 2000th! A great, well deserved milestone. Congrats, Tim! 10-3 after five and a half.

Bottom 6

Wakefield got a curtain call, too. Only Clemens has more as a Red Sox than him. I still think he is a HOFer. Pedroia's hit streak is at 21-games now, with a double off the monster, which has taken quite the beating today. Gonzo past the shift AGAIN. He's owning it today. 3 hits now, and he picks up another RBI. 11-3 Sox as Pedey scores from second. K looking for Youk, who disagrees. Broken bat fly out for Papi, whose bat ends up way up in the stands. 2 out. Crawford strikes out to end the inning. 11-3 Sox.

Top 7

Yamaico Navvaro is in at third. Probably because we're up by 8 and Youk hurt his hand the other day. Cust singles to left, following 2 Ks earlier in the game. Gutierrez singles to center, moving Cust to second. Ichiro singles, loading up the bases. Aceves started warming before he came up, I'm sure we'll see him in soon. Brendan Ryan crushes it over the monster for a grand slam. This game is back to being a game. 11-7 Sox, Aceves coming in. Ackley flies out to center, one pitch into Aceves' outing. First time M's have scored 7 runs since June 12th. And they're still down by 4! Pathetic. Olivo pops out to Pedroia to end the inning.

Bottom 7

Josh Lueke pitching for the M's. He's got an ERA of 14.73. This could be interesting. Reddick gets it through the left side for a single. Salty singles to right, Reddick to third. That's his third hit, to go along with his 4 RBI. Good day from Salty. Scutaro pops out to shallow right. He's the only Red Sox without a hit today. Bloop single for Ells scores Reddick, 12-7 now. M's try to turn two, don't get Pedroia. Runners on the corners, 2 outs. Gonzalez hits it to Smoak, who steps on the bag to end the inning. 12-7 Sox after 7 full.

Top 8

Smoak grounds to Pedroia. Bloop single between Pedroia and Reddick gives Carp a hit. Aceves strikes out Kennedy after a relatively long at bat. Cust flies out deep to the warning track in left to end the inning. 12-7 Sox.

Bottom 8

Brandon League, Mariners closer, who is on my fantasy team, is in now. He has pitched one inning in the last 15 games. No saves, as is to be expected when your team is on a 14 game losing streak. He could pitch a scoreless inning and that'd be cool. He starts off the inning striking out Navarro looking. 3-1 for Papi. 2 out. Crawford walks. This won't help League's WHIP. Oh well. Reddick lines out to 2nd to end the inning. 12-7, half an inning left, if the M's don't score 5 runs here.

Top 9

Aceves still out there. Well done, Tito, this is how you're supposed to manage a bullpen. Gutierrez sends it back up the middle to lead off the inning. Just setting up the double play, I always say. Ichiro grounds to Pedroia, Gutierrez to 2nd, 1 out. Ground to short, 2 out. Ackley doubles Gutierrez in. This one's not done, yet. 12-8 Sox. Olivo pops out to Crawford to end the game. M's get swept, lose their 15th game in a row, a franchise record.

Good hitting from the Sox today, glad I saw it on the big, HD TV at my parents house in Springfield. Hopefully you'll see more blog posts here, but it really depends on my TV access. But, my other blog, http://markcyv.blogspot.com/ should be having regular posts starting this week. I'm getting back into blogging!