Hey Red Sox... sign Omar Vizquel

I am dead serious. Bring him on board. How much would he cost the Sox? $1 million? $2 million for one year?

The Red Sox have wisely stayed away from this year's free agent class with the exception of Nick Punto who isn't exactly a superstar. He's there to give the Red Sox some infield depth.

But why not bring in Omar Vizquel as well?

One of the last remaining players from the 1980s is still floating out there. Why not tack on a 24th year to his career?

And what would his main purpose on the team be?

To start some games at short and help break in Jose Iglesias. What better mentor could the Red Sox shortstop of the future have than possibly the best defensive shortstop of all time?

And one who literally can say "I've been in the major leagues longer than you've been alive!"

Vizquel played 143 games in 1989.

Iglesias was born in January 1990.

Having Vizquel as depth and an unofficial coach could only help the Red Sox as they build towards 2013. $2 million to help develop the shortstop of the future is a bargain.

Compare that to the $44 million spent on Edgar Renteria and Julio Lugo.

And with 2,841 hits, the Red Sox can watch him creep slowly to 3,000.

Combine that with Tim Wakefield needing 6 wins to tie and 7 to pass Roger Clemens and Cy Young for most ever wins by a Red Sox pitcher, you could have two of the slowest and most painful build ups to a baseball milestone ever happening at the same time!

And seeing that I don't think the Red Sox are winning squat in 2012, why not have THAT reason to go to the park?

Come on Sox! It's not like he's going to cost the Red Sox a draft pick or a long term deal. Bring him on board!

Besides, if he makes it to the Hall of Fame (which I think he will) then there will be another plaque with "Boston (A.L.)" on it. And that's not bad.

Something special happens around 0:59 of this video

7th inning of Game 5...

Lee and Lincecum are locking antlers in a pitchers duel...

Giant fans at the Public House watching.

For the first minute of this video, everyone is paying close attention, but know there are 2 outs, Cliff Lee is not the pinata he was in Game 1, and that a scoring opportunity may be squandered here.

I mean how many times can Edgar Renteria come through for the Giants.

Then the fly ball...

There is cautious optimism...

Then it completely clears the wall.

At around the 0:59 mark of this video, listen for that pause before the place erupts.

That pause was the very last moment that a Giant fan ever thought they were going to die without seeing their team win it all.

Then collective "YEAH!"

At that moment they knew the Giants were up 3-0 with Lincecum on the mound.

They knew that the World Series was theirs.

No more Finley grand slam.

No more J. T. Snow thrown out at the plate.

No more handing the game ball to Russ Ortiz.

No more Troy Glaus double or Scott Speizio homer.

No more Benny Agbayani walk off shot.

No more watching the Marlins get 3 walk off wins in two different series.

No more winning 103 games and missing the playoffs.

No more Earthquake series.

No more Jose Oquendo home run.

No more Maldonado losing it in the lights.

No more line drive by McCovey.

At that moment, all of that became prologue.

And the release of happiness was well earned.

I had a similar scream in 2004.

It felt good.

Enjoy it Giants fans.

Pitchers and catchers are reporting soon.

Happy New Year everyone

First post of the New Year... sitting in Palo Alto wondering who will be the Edgar Renteria, the Armando Gallaraga or the Jose Bautistas for 2011.

Right now, people seem to think that the Phillies and Red Sox are destined to meet in the World Series. I would love that of course, but how often do the consensus picks actually meet up in October.

I am saying right now on January 1, 2011 that neither the Phillies nor the Red Sox will be in the World Series. There will be some team that will sneak up on both of them and force Major League Baseball and Fox to actually use their imagination in terms of promoting the series (and they won't do it.)

Now keeping in mind that my predictions tend to be terrible, that is good news for Phillies and Red Sox fans... and for Fox for that matter.

So Happy New Year everyone. Get over that hangover. Let's get through football and have pitchers and catchers report already!!!

When winning 2 out of 3 just isn't enough

Usually Meat Loaf is right. (All blog posts should start with that sentence.)

But almost always, 2 out of 3 Ain't Bad.

And the Giants showed guts. They won the first two games against the Rockies convincingly. And they stage a gritty comeback in the 9th where a single would have tied the game and fell just short.

And it wasn't enough.

As I wrote earlier, they needed all three of these games. They needed to make it 1 game in the loss column. The chances of making up 3 in the loss column with no more head to head games will probably be too much to handle.

And poor Nate Schierholtz struck out and essentially dashed the hopes of the Giants AND the Marlins, who needed the Rockies loss to inch closer.

The real goat was Edgar Renteria who couldn't advance the runners with nobody out. But it is hard to dump on Renteria after his slam against the Rockies last month.

In essence, there is nobody to blame. The Giants have overachieved this year and have given their fans some magical moments. The sweep of Colorado at the end of August. Randy Johnson's 300th win. Lincecum's Cy Young-esque season. The rise of Pablo Sandoval. The Sanchez no hitter.

But is this really a playoff team?

Well... can we sleep on that?

This wasn't the biggest hit in Edgar Renteria's career

When someone hits a come from behind grand slam in late August that puts his team into a tie for a playoff spot... you'd think that would be the biggest hit in that guy's career.

Well Edgar Renteria got a bigger one than his blast today.

Remember he got a walk off single in the 11th inning to win Game 7 of the 1997 World Series for the Marlins.

And I bet you forgot he hit a walk off hit in Game 1 of the Division Series that year against the Giants.

But the Giants swept the Rockies and will go into September tied for a playoff spot... and they will have the best starting pitching of any of the Wild Card contenders.

That maybe be only the third biggest hit in Edgar Renteria's career... but Giants fans are more than happy with the Bronze!

Cain is not the Giants lineup's keeper

It must be nice for Matt Cain to get a run... or 4.

Edgar Renteria's grand slam tonight off of Jake Peavy was that very odd and rare occurrence in baseball:

Run support for Matt Cain.

The guy has posted sub 4.00 ERAs the last two seasons with 200 or more innings in both years.

Not saying that is Cy Young caliber, but in this day and age, that's pretty dang good.

Certainly better than his 7-16 record in 2007 and his 8-14 record last year would indicate.

He's 2-0 now. If the offense keeps hitting for him, who knows? He might turn that around.

I wouldn't hold your breath, but he should be happy today

I have a solution for Marlins fans!

Hey Marlins fans.
Do you love winning the World Series but hate having to see your favorite players leave?

Well we here at Sully Baseball have the solution:

Root for the Marlins when they have a shot to win, and every other year ROOT FOR THE TIGERS

Detroit seems to be the popular destination of former Marlins

You loved the 1997 team?
Well then your manager, Jim Leyland, is waiting for your cheers in Detroit.

And how about that great finish with Edgar Renteria's single up the middle to clinch the whole thing?






You want to cheer on Edgar and let him know how happy that made you?

Get up to Detroit and give him a standing o.

Who is that on the SI cover holding up Renteria?
Why its former Marlins slugger Gary Sheffield...

Hmmmmm. I wonder where you can see him play these days? I'll give you a hint. It's in Michigan.

The architect of that team was Dave Dombrowski... who is currently calling the shots for Detroit.

You more of a fan of the 2003 team?

Fair enough.


Remember how Pudge Rodriguez got the game winning hit in game 3 against the Giants, held onto the ball to end the series, drove a dagger into the hearts of Cubs fans and celebrated in a silent Yankee Stadium to win his ring?

Guess where HE went?
I'll give you a hint. RoboCop lived there.

Remember how Miguel Cabrera exploded onto the scene in the 2003 playoffs and World Series?

Remember how he looked like the next great MVP candidate?

Well if he is going to win one, it will be in Detroit!



And what about Dontrelle Willis?
Remember how he dazzled everyone, electrified the crowd and did everything the Marlins wanted in the 2003 post season... start, relieve and even hit.

Guess where he is?
Guess!

Actually he is in Lakeland Florida trying to get his act together... but that's not the point.

The point is that by rooting for the Marlins only when they are good and rooting for the Tigers the rest of the time, you can have the World Series experience to go along side with being loyal to your favorite players.

Hey, it's cheaper than building a new park!

Hey Tigers... SELL

When you are a team that desperately needs to win right out of the post All Star Game gate and you take a 6 run lead before the other team even comes to bat... here's what you should do: WIN THE GAME!

And if you blow that outrageous first inning lead but eventually take a lead into the 9th inning against a non contending team... here's what you should do: WIN THE GAME!

Alas the Tigers did not do that today and a lost to the mediocre Orioles 11-10 in 10.
When Luke Scott homered off of Freddy Dolsi, the Tigers did more than lose the game... they lost any chance of winning in 2008.

Can you imagine the condition of Jim Leyland's lungs?

Yeah I know there is more than 2 months of baseball to make up 8 games in the loss column and neither the first place White Sox nor the second place Twins are powerhouses... but teams that make up ground win games like today.

I admire the fact that the Tigers pushed all the chips to the center of the table with the Cabrera/Willis trade, but guess what? Not every team that pushes the chips to the center wins.

Ask the Mariners about that.

But the Tigers are a mess.
It's beyond the bad 0-7 start. It's beyond being 11 games under .500 in early June.
They've been a solid 24-13 since hitting the low point, yet are going into late July as a sub .500 third place team.

They aren't a playoff team. So take a page from the Billy Beane school of trading and SELL RIGHT NOW!!!!

Bite the bullet, be brave and wave the white flag.
I mean I know it is easy for me to sit in the Silicon Valley, rooting for the Red Sox, and say "Ah the season is done for the Tigers."

And I also know the refrain that will repeated ad nauseum will be "What about the Rockies last year?"

The Rockies run was a once in a lifetime fluke. There's a reason everyone remembers that... it's like the Kirk Gibson homer or the Red Sox beating the Yankees when down 3-0... or Richard Gere actually being good in Chicago.

You just can't count on it.

Take a look at this team.
I know Zumaya and Rodney are back... but can you count on their rotation? And their line up which in the off season looked like a Fantasy Team's dream isn't the consistent force everyone thought it was going to be.

So guess what? The trade deadline is looming and they have three veterans who could fit in with contending clubs.

Trade Edgar Renteria to the Dodgers.

The Dodgers have been playing Nomar Garciaparra at shortstop.
No, that's not a different Nomar Garciaparra.
It's the same dude.

He was great once, but the last time he was an effective shortstop was 2 Red Sox World Championships ago.

I grant you that is a smaller unit of measurement than it used to be, but it smacks of desperation. Maybe the Dodgers will unearth Bill Russell to play short. Either one.

Renteria hasn't been lighting it up in Detroit. Then again he didn't in Boston either. Maybe he's a National League guy.

He's an upgrade at short for a team that despite being 3 games under .500 is only 1 game out.

Trade Gary Sheffield to the Mets


Yeah Sheffield is having a lousy season this year... but he is still an imposing figure in the batters box. The injury to Sheffield's former teammate Moises Alou has led to a revolving door in left. Basically at this point playing left field for the Mets is like Jury Duty. Everyone will be called to do it.

The Mets have righted their ship to a degree but having Sheffield protecting Wright, Beltran and DelGado could go a long way to making Omar Minaya look super smart for firing Willie Randolph.

Besides, it will be fun to see how Sheffield accuses Minaya of racism.

Trade Pudge Rodriguez to the Marlins

Maybe today isn't the best time to propose this since Marlins catcher John Baker homered in today's Marlins win over the Phillies. But catcher is a weak spot... and Pudge has won in Miami before.

And the Marlins have their usual pattern of
- Build up team
- Win out of the blue World Series title
- Tear down team
- Build up team
- Win out of the blue World Series title
- Team down team

Later. Rinse. Repeat.

Maybe with first place within reach they think this could be a "Win out of the blue World Series title" year.

Might be worth a shot for them.


The Dodgers and the Mets are desperate to make a splash and might be able to pry a better prospect than expected from them.

Either way, a good young player for each would help replenish a farm system that took a hit after the Cabrera trade.

But what do Tiger fans think?

How about Ian at Bless You Boys? Do you think the season is dead?

Hey Bilfer at The Detroit Tigers Weblog... are these Tigers really capable of making up more than a week of games?

How about Todd Jones' biggest fans at Roar of the Tigers? Are you thinking that the White Sox and Twins are bound to fall to Earth?

Do the folks at the Mickey Tettleton Memorial Overpass think I am out of line?

Or are you all, along with the Mack Avenue Tigers, already thinking about the Red Wings?

Let me know what you think Tiger fans...
One of these years I'll make it to Comerica Park.
I went to Tiger Stadium back in 1991... may it rest in peace