Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - March 5, 2013

It is the birthday of my twin boys, so what better way to celebrate my love for them than having them do a podcast with me?

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Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - March 5, 2013

Madison Bumgarner as interpreted by my son

My son Aidan heard the name Madison Bumgarner during Game 2.

He ran over and got a piece of paper.

He drew the back end of a wolf and a man watering the lawn.

Bum + Gardener.

He's my boy.

Watching the Mets game with my sons

Last night I was folding laundry with MLB Network on. They were doing MLB Tonight where they jump from game to game, or as I call it, heaven.

My boys were playing with their animals and kind of watching the TV.
They played little league this year and their team was the Mets. MLB Network cut to the Mets and Reds who were scoreless in the bottom of the 9th.

My son Matty got excited when he saw the real Mets were on the TV. My son Aidan looked up as well.

Aidan figured out how to read the score. Mets 0 and Reds 0.

"Who are you rooting for, daddy?" Aidan asked me.
"The Mets." I said, completely disappointing the 14 year old version of me angry about the 1986 World Series.

The boys started cheering. "Go Mets!"

Brandon Phillips singled starting a potential game ending rally.

I explain that if the Reds score a run, the game is over.

"Boo Reds!" They yelled.

We watched the game unfold. Matty asked me "When do the Mets bat?"

I replied "If the Reds score, they won't bat again. All the Reds need is one run and they win the game."

A look of urgency went across Matty's face. He figured out the scoreboard as well. Mets 0, Reds 0.

Jay Bruce got a hold of one and it went higher and higher until it cleared the fence for a walk off homer.

"That's it." I said. "The Mets lost."

Aidan looked angry. "But the Mets should get another chance to hit."

"Nope", I said. "They had their chance."

"That's not fair", Aidan pouted.

Matty kept looking at the TV screen. Something didn't make sense.

"Daddy" he asked. "Why did they get three runs?"

"He hit a home run" I explained. "So all three runners scored."

"But Daddy," Matty continued. "If they only needed one run, why did they get three?"

"Well, the home run was worth three runs." I said.

Matty kept looking at the TV. "That doesn't make sense."

He might be right.

Aidan then turned to me and said "When is hockey on?"

 

Some perspective from my son

I watched the end of the Yankees/Tigers game with my sons. My boy Matty, who is starting to figure out baseball, was rooting for the Tigers because "they have the strongest legs."

When the game ended with Alex Rodriguez striking out he saw how happy the Tigers were.

But he also saw how sad the Yankees were.

"Why are they so sad?" He asked.

"Because they lost and their season is over." I replied.

"Well the Yankees should know it isn't about winning but about having lots of fun!" Matty replied.

I nodded.

I wonder how that sentiment will go over in the Yankee front office.

My post season picks... and my mother in law's, son's and a coin flip

It's time to make my official post season picks... and as always I compare them to some other picks.

My mom will make her picks and so will my dad.

My mother in law will have her predictions.

My twin 6 year old boys will give it their best shot.

And I will toss a coin.

Usually, someone else is much more reliable than me.

SULLY'S POST SEASON PICKS

Division Series:

Tigers over Yankees in 5.

Rays over Rangers in 4.

Phillies over Cardinals in 3.

Diamondbacks over Brewers in 4.

LCS:

Rays over Tigers in 5.

Phillies over Diamondbacks in 6.

World Series:

Phillies over Rays in 7.

SULLY'S MOTHER IN LAW'S POST SEASON PICKS

Division Series:

Yankees def. Tigers

Rays def. Rangers

Phillies def. Cardinals

Brewers def. Diamondbacks

LCS:

Rays def. Yankees

Phillies def. Brewers

World Series:

Phillies def. Rays

SULLY'S SON MATTY'S POST SEASON PICKS

Division Series:

Tigers def. Yankees

Rangers def. Rays

Cardinals def. Phillies

Brewers def. Diamondbacks

LCS:

Tigers def. Rangers (Tigers have strong legs)

Brewers def. Cardinals

World Series:

Tigers def. Brewers

SULLY'S SON AIDAN'S POST SEASON PICKS

Division Series:
Rays def. Rangers
Tigers def. Yankees
Phillies def. Cardinals
Diamondbacks def. Brewers

LCS:
Tigers def. Rays
Phillies def. Diamondbacks

World Series:
Tigers def. Phillies

A COIN TOSS

Division Series:

Rays over Rangers in 3

Tigers over Yankees in 4

Phillies over Cardinals in 5

Brewers over Diamondbacks in 3

LCS:
Rays over Tigers in 6.
Brewers over Phillies in 7

World Series:
Rays over Brewers in 5

So our picks are in...
And if you are a betting man, ignore my picks.

Which Twins would put up a bigger fight against the Yankees?

The Minnesota Twins... or MY Twins?

Don't answer right away.
It's a tougher question than you think.

Why doesn't MLB want my money?

This past Labor Day weekend my family took a weekend trip to the lovely city of San Diego... and while I was there I ran smack dab against a Major League Baseball rule that didn't make a lick of sense to me.

Bear with me.

We were staying in a hotel right across the street from PetCo Park, a stadium I hadn't seen yet. Now the Padres were playing the Rockies Friday night, Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. Our Saturday and Sundays were packed and my wife and I were putting the boys to sleep around 8:30 that night.

When they were down, wifey saw how close we were to a big league game and I was starting to act like Gollum longing for the ring.

"Go watch the end of the game."

So off I went across the street. I knew it was late in the game, but I figure I'd get in. The Padres have had trouble drawing.

I went up to the Ticket window on Tony Gwynn Drive and asked the teenager working behind the counter "One please. Where do you have available?"

"Sorry. No tickets."

I was surprised. The Padres had sold out. Maybe the pennant race had finally caught on with San Diego fans.

"Wow," I said. "You guys sold out!"

"No sir. There are plenty of tickets."

Now you can see how there could be a disconnect here.

"OK, I would like to buy one of them" I said, not 100% sure why there was confusion.

"I can't sell you any tickets sir."

"Why not?"

"Major League Rules. No tickets sold after the 7th inning."

Now I understand no selling beer after the 7th inning because, well, people are probably smashed and they don't want them MORE smashed. But I had never been to a place of business where they were actually saying "Sorry... we won't let you be a paying customer."

I showed him my cash, maybe thinking he thought I was homeless or something.

"I have money and I want to spend it on your product."

"Sorry sir. I can not sell you a ticket."

Now I am no economics major, but I can tell you a surefire way to NOT make money is to turn away people who are saying "I want to spend my money on the product that you are having a hard time selling."

Buster's, the local ice cream shop and cafe in my town, is always selling day old bagels and Rice Krispy treats trying to squeeze and extra buck or two out of their product.

Not the Padres. They were saying "Sorry. We do not want your dough."

"What if I promise to buy a sundae in a plastic helmet?"

"Sorry sir. We have games on Saturday and Sunday."

"I'm seeing Shamu tomorrow. And besides, my kids are asleep, my wife is reading her book and there is a game on RIGHT NOW! THERE! BEHIND YOU!"

"Sorry sir."

It was surreal. It was reverse capitalism.

I walked up to one of the ushers who guard the gate to that great park just beyond center field.

I told him the story. He confirmed. "I am sorry. There is no selling of tickets after the 7th inning."

Hearing it again made it somehow make LESS sense.

Let's think of a not exactly outlandish scenario... Petco Park is located in the Gas Lamp Quarter where there are lots of bars and foot traffic. Let's say you didn't buy a ticket to the ballgame, but Mat Latos is throwing a no hitter and it is the 7th inning.

You find yourself at Rockin' Baha Lobster watching the game and you think "Oh man! He's throwing a no no! I should walk 2 blocks to the big ole half empty baseball stadium and be in the stands and cheer!"

Or you are at the Tipsy Crow and you see the Padres were down 8-1 but are coming back and rallying in the 7th inning.

And you think "Hey. Let me walk 5 blocks, buy a ticket and catch the end of the ballgame!"

Or you are AT the game, sitting in the empty upper deck, you get a text from a friend saying "Where R U?" You write back "At the Padres game."

Turns out they are a trolley stop away and they buy a ticket and join you in the 1/4 filled third deck.

None of those scenarios are crazy or out there.

And each of them throw some extra bucks into the Padres coffers.

And MLB has set up rules to prevent that.

I pleaded my case to the usher... whose gender, race and general description I will not divulge... and the usher nodded, reached into their pocket, gave me a ticket and said "Just go in."

So I got in for free.
The ticket was a $50 ticket. It cost me exactly gotch.

I was willing to spend $20. Instead I spent $0.

Lo and behold I went in and...


... the joint was damn near empty.

I already took the Padres fans to task for not supporting their team...

But man I found this rule to be peculiar.

I've never run a business before but I am sure that turning away customers isn't the way to do it.

I am sure if they an eager customer says "I want to pay $20" the correct bartering technique is NOT "I say $0."

The beautiful ballpark with character and charm is sitting 1/2 empty on a Friday night during a holiday weekend with the team in first place.

Shouldn't the goal be putting asses IN the seats?

Oh I am sure someone will write to me and explain why it is smart to turn customers away and why it hurts the business model.

But let me tell you... it won't be long before the Padres have to figure out what the hell to do about Adrian Gonzalez's contract.

And they'll be fretting that they can't afford to sign him.

They'd have at least an extra $20 to throw at him if it weren't for a silly MLB rule!

Sneaky Twins

Twins can be very sneaky.
Trust me... I am the father of two of them and they work in tandem sometimes to get what they want.

Well guess what? There are some sneaky Twins in Minnesota.

Now while we have all be looking at the Yankees and Rays and seeing who will get home field advantage and I've been hoping the White Sox make the AL Central another "decided via 1 game playoff" year for the third straight season, I noticed something.

The Twins are only 4 games back of the Yankees.

That's it.

As they take on the Royals, the Indians, the A's and the White Sox over the next few weeks, they have a pretty solid rotation and nobody is noticing them.

Meanwhile the Yankees are struggling with the Orioles and have 7 games against the Rays coming up.

Could the Twins catch the Yankees? Could the Minnesota Freaking Twins take the claim of "Best Regular Season Record" and home field advantage in the Division Series and possibly the ALCS?

Now I would pick the Rays or Yankees over the Twins in a short series... but then again, they ARE Twins.

They are sneaky.

Right now I wouldn't bet against them... whether it is to win the Division or steal another cookie.

Here's what I want to have happen this Labor Day weeekend

As we enter the last part of the season, there is a full slate of games for this weekend.

Here's what I hope happens in each series.

RED SOX vs. WHITE SOX

I want to see the White Sox win the division... but not at the expense of MY Sox. Look, I realize the Red Sox are probably going to fall short, but I want the Yankees and Rays to EARN their playoff spot. Obviously I want a sweep... but I wouldn't mind seeing Manny hit a garbage time home run either. Buchholz is going for win #16, Lackey for win #13 and Beckett win #...5? Let's pad some stats!

YANKEES vs. BLUE JAYS:
Duh... I want the Blue Jays to sweep them. And I don't want any game to be close. And I want someone in the Yankee dugout to be sobbing and questioning their role in the universe.

CUBS vs. METS:

I have no ill will towards either franchise, but I WOULD like to see the Mets finish above .500 this year. Plus I like R. A. Dickey and would like to see him get to double digits in wins. I hope the Mets take 2 out of 3.

ORIOLES vs. RAYS:

Another duh. I want the Orioles to dig deep into their bag of pride and sweep Tampa. If the Red Sox are going to have a miraculous come back, they will need some help.

BREWERS vs. PHILLIES

I actually like this Phillies team and wouldn't mind seeing Cole Hamels get a win seeing that he was denied a few wins due to poor hitting. And I want to see Roy Halladay get to 20 wins and a win this weekend will be #18. But the Phillies losing would mean the Giants would gain ground in the Wild Card race. And I would like to see the Brewers above .500 (they are 9 under now.) I will be pulling for the Brewers to win 2 of 3, but Halladay getting the win on Saturday.

NATIONALS vs. PIRATES

First of all, there had better be a give away this weekend in Pittsburgh. Like Steelers tickets. Two teams thinking draft pick going head to head... what can I say? I am a sucker for the Pirates. I hope they win the series 2-1.

And oh yeah, I want Nyjer Morgan to take on the whole city of Pittsburgh.

BRAVES vs. MARLINS

I never liked the Bobby Cox Braves and I am not going to start liking them now! I'd much rather see the Phillies win the Division. The match up tonight has Kawakami vs. Miller... two pitchers with a combined 1 victory. I want a Marlins sweep and have the Phillies inch closer.

RANGERS vs TWINS

A.K.A. the ALCS from Ratings Hell. Normally I would be pulling for 3 well played games and let the winner fall where it might. But because I am rooting for the Red Sox to sweep the White Sox, I need the Rangers to sweep the Twins to let Chicago keep pace.

REDS vs. CARDINALS

The Reds can essentially sweep the Cardinals playoff hopes away. A Reds sweep would give them an 11 game lead with 28 to play. And I WANT the Reds to win the Division. But they are going to anyway. So I want Cincy to win tonight and have Arroyo get his 15th win. And then I want the Cardinals to win the next two and get Carpenter HIS 15th win and Wainwright to get his 18th.

TIGERS vs. ROYALS

I hope the Royals win tonight... I'd like to see Zack Greinke get a few more W's. I'd like to see Armando Gallaraga get a perfect game on Sunday. As for Saturday? I want 28 innings.

ASTROS vs. DIAMONDBACKS

I literally couldn't care less about the outcome of this series that will not affect the pennant race in the slightest. So I want each game to go 30 innings, each team to hit a game tying home run down to their last strike and I want an outfielder to leap over the fence, catch a ball and land in the pool.

ANGELS vs. A's

Even when they aren't contenders, I don't like the Angels. Plus I'd like to see the A's get to .500 and Trevor Cahill get to 15 wins. I want an Oakland sweep.

ROCKIES vs. PADRES

No offense, San Diego. You have a lovely city and your team is a great story. But I want the Giants to win the Division and a nice big ole sweep by the Rockies will go a long long way for that.

MARINERS vs. INDIANS

I hope they get a Time Machine and go back to 1995 when this would have been a great match up. I hope Felix Hernandez gets a "W" and each other game is decided by a leaping catch into the stands.

GIANTS vs. DODGERS
Some day a Dodgers/Giants series will bring around a lot of tension in my house as I have one son who claims to be a Dodgers fan and another who calls the Giants his own. For now, they seem more interested in watching Toy Story. So to my son Matty, who likes the Dodgers, I'm sorry pal... I want the Giants to sweep them!

So let's see what I can get in terms of my wish list.
And let the great Red Sox comeback begin NOW!

Why didn't I listen to my instincts?

When Dice-K put the Sox in a 5-0 hole, there was a twisted part of me that was relieved.

I thought "Well, at least there is no reason to watch this monstrosity!"

I talked to my former boss, Daniel, about an upcoming TV gig of mine. He's a big Sox fan and he asked me "You watching the game? Papi just hit one out."

I replied "Someday they will lower me into the ground in a box and I don't want to spend my time on Earth watching the Sox get blown out in the Bronx."

Driving home, I didn't listen to the game on XM.
Pulling into my driveway, curiosity got the better of me. I checked the score. OF COURSE it was a 1 run game.

So now I am hooked. My mother in law and I are watching the game on my couch and I see Youk and Victor each launch homers to give the Sox the lead.

I do a little dance and think "Wow... this is the biggest Dodged bullet of them all."

And then the 9th... the second the Gardner double went into left field, I thought "Either A-Rod or Teixeira is tying this game with a homer."

And lo and behold he did.

When Marcus Thames hit the walk off shot, let's face it... it was merciful. The Sox were losing this game... might as well lose it in 9.

When the game was over, I went up stairs where my wife was reading to my kids. I hopped onto the bed and started reading. The game didn't even sting...

I knew it was over from the beginning.

I should have listened to my instincts.

Tally time

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 14

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 - 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)
April 27 - 2-1 win at Toronto. (Buchholz holds the Jays down for 8 but it takes a bases loaded walk in the 8th to go ahead.)
April 28 - 2-0 win at Toronto. (Daniel Bard wiggles out of trouble in the 8th to help Lester shut down the Blue Jays and finish the sweep.)
May 4 - 5-1 win against the Angels. (Juan Rivera misplays Jeremy Hermedia's 2 out flyball into a 3 run game winning double)
May 5 - 3-1 win against the Angels. (Papi and Beltre homer and the Sox hang on despite squandering many potential rallies.)
May 6 - 11-6 win against the Angels. (Dice-K puts the Red Sox in a 4-0 hole before they even bat. The Sox bats respond.)
May 10 - 7-6 win against the Blue Jays. (Sox blow an early 2-0 lead, take advantage of some errors and hang on.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 12

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)
April 30 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (Tejada ties the game with a 2 out 8th inning homer and wins it with a bloop in the 10th)
May 1 - 12-9 loss in Baltimore. (Dice-K and Wakes get pounded, wasting 2 homers from Ortiz and an early 4-1 lead.)
May 2 - 3-2 loss in Baltimore. (Varitek is thrown at home trying to score with 2 outs in the 8th. Sox get swept in the 10th.
May 12 - 3-2 loss against the Blue Jays. (The Sox rally in the 9th comes up a run short and Kevin Gregg gets an ugly save.)
May 15 - 7-6 loss in Detroit. (The Sox blow a 6-1 lead and lose it on a 2 out bases loaded walk in the 12th.)
May 17 - 11-9 loss in New York. (The Sox come all the way back from a 5-0 first inning hole to take a 9-7 lead in the 9th... but Papelbon lets up a 2 run game tying shot to A-Rod and a 2 run walk off shot to Marcus Thames.)

+2

It might be pointless to keep these up... but I will anyway

The Remote Won't Thwart Me THIS Year!!!!

I hate my remote control.

It is unnecessarily complex with more buttons and options than the cockpit of a plane.

And last year the insane construction of the remote caused me to miss the end of a Red Sox/Angels playoff game.

Well last night I had another run in with my remote that seems to have a chip on its shoulder, a la the HAL 9000.

I came home last night and watched an inning or two of the game before putting the boys in their bath. I had the radio on during the bath and was able to listen to Jon Miller instead of Joe Buck which is better anyway.

And my guys were able to wear themselves out splashing away in the bath and I got to hear the Phillies rally in the 8th inning.

It was time to go to put the boys to bed and I rushed over to the TV where my wife was watching Top Chef... a great show and tonight Natalie Portman was inexplicably one of the hosts this week.

I turn the channel to record the end of the ballgame. I see the game has spilled over to the next time slot on channel 11 in Los Angeles and the cable TV guide had "The Simpsons" on at this time spot.

I record the time slot and add the provision of an hour extra in case the game goes into extra innings.

Up we go to bed. I read the boys some Winnie the Pooh and Pamela Camel and then they were sound asleep.

I come back downstairs and listen to Queen Amidala tell some poor shmuck chef that leeks don't have enough protein.

And some cocky New York looking chef gets voted out even though all show he was saying "Hey... I'm not getting voted off! FUGEDDABOUTIT!"

And I wasn't antsy because I knew the 9th inning was being recorded and I was going to see the end of the game.

Then I looked at the cable box.
No red light.

It wasn't recording.

The extra hour I programmed didn't register. Maybe I didn't hit the right button. Why would I have? I mean I just hit "OK" when it asked me to confirm with enough strength to make blood shoot out of my thumb.

Clearly my remote wanted blood.

Now I was pissed.

Top Chef was over and I flipped on what the DVR had recorded.
It had recorded 15 minutes and it was starting at the top of the 9th with a runner on base.

If the game lasted for 16 minutes more, I would miss the end of it.

Ryan Howard hit an RBI double to make the score 6-0 and I thought "Oh man, this top of the 9th will last 15 minutes!" But then Shane Victorino tried to score and was tagged out by at least 348 feet. Going to the bottom of the 9th...

13 minutes to go.

And OF COURSE the Yankees started to rally.

They put a few men on... they score on an error... I know if Charlie Manuel goes to the pen, the warm up pitches and the commercial break would eat up the rest of the time!

He stays with Lee.

A-Rod strike outs... Lee faces Posada... only a few minutes left until the recording runs out.

Lee strikes out Posada... I get to see the end of the game.

And just as Carlos Ruiz runs up to shake Cliff Lee's hand, the screen goes blue and it asks "WOULD YOU LIKE TO DELETE THE SIMPSONS?"

If the game went on for another 5 seconds I would have missed the ending.

And I've seen enough Yankee games this year to know it is never over until that last out is made! Especially if Brad Lidge was coming out of the pen.

I exhaled and then looked at my remote... and laughed.

Not this year, overly complicated remote control... not this year!

My son could not see the future... but did my Mother In Law?

Well... my son Aidan was almost right.

He picked the Division Series perfectly.

And he picked the NLCS and when the Angels stayed alive, his ability to see the future even caught Alyssa Milano's attention.

But for the third time this series, the Angels defense collapsed in the Bronx and what looked like a potential Angels rally in the 8th was cut down by Robinson Cano's positioning on Torii Hunters grounder.

So there goes Aidan's prediction of the Angels eating the Phillies.

But wait a second!

When I put my picks up against my two 4 year old sons, a coin flip and my mother in law's picks, I noticed something.

My mother in law made some wrong picks... (she had the Red Sox and the Cardinals in the LCS... as did I).

But she DID pick both pennant winners correctly.

She had the Phillies and the Yankees in the World Series... and she had the Phillies winning it all.

Hmmm. Maybe there is hope for Phillies fans.

Breakfast with the Red Sox

The Red Sox are going to play at 9AM west coast time.

There is a certain beauty to that. Chances are before 12:30 PM tomorrow the
Red Sox season will be either over or extended... And I will know around the
time I am making my kids their lunch.

I'll still have the whole day to be a good attentive father all afternoon
without missing the game.

I will either have an extra bounce in my step or I'll be watching my kids
thinking "They are what matters."

It's a more effective use of my time.

Watch it go 20 innings!

The Joy of Poppy

Poppy is the name my kids gave to my dad... and right now I have the unique perspective of watching the Giants clawing for a post season spot next to Poppy.

I'm up in the Bay Area for Labor Day and if the Giants are playing, rest assured Poppy is watching them.

The Giants have played a bunch of tense 1 run games recently... and they've all been superbly pitched games. Ergo the Giants are being true to form and scoring about 3 runs a week.

And with each pitch, Poppy watches the game with a pessimism that would make Eeyore say "CHEER UP!"

The other day against Milwaukee, Aaron Rowand came to the plate with two outs and a runner on second.

"Oh man here's Roward. This is an automatic out. The Brewers should just walk off the field now!" Poppy would say.

Then Rowand laced a game tying single which made Poppy's jaw literally drop.

Next at bat for Roward, Poppy would be grinding his teeth.

"Here's Roward... he's terrible."

I'd remind Poppy that he tied the game with a single, but Poppy literally shooed me away. And when Rowand grounded out weakly to end the inning, Poppy pointed to the screen as if to say "See!"

And of course when the 9th inning comes around, Poppy leaves. Oh, he will want to have pitch by pitch updates, but he can't be in the same room with the Giants with only a one run lead.

They have won the past two games and are lingering 1 game back of Colorado... and Poppy's mood fluctuates between euphoria and utter despair (sometimes in the same at bat.)

One thing you can say about Poppy is that he is the antidote to the Northeast bias in baseball. If it doesn't happen in the NL West, it doesn't even pass through his radar.

We were talking the other night about other teams in baseball... and whenever the American League would come up, he'd just wave his hand. "I don't know anyone in the American League."

I pressed him and went down team by team.

Sure he knew the big players (Jeter, A-Rod, Ichiro, Vlad, Halladay, Big Papi.)

And he also knew Joe Mauer of the Twins who he thinks should be in the argument for best hitter in the game (and it would be hard to argue with that.)

And he kind of knew the identities of some other players.

The Red Sox have an MVP named Melloya (aka Dustin Pedroia.)

They also got a good player for Manny named Moss (Jason Bay.)

And the Red Sox have that guy Becker (I am assuming Josh Beckett.)

The Rays have that third baseman (I am assuming Evan Longoria.)

They also have the guy stealing all of the bases. (Carl Crawford.)

And the Royals have that guy who is going to win the Cy Young. (Pretty safe to say that meant Zack Grienkie.)

But Miguel Cabrera, who is batting .339 with 28 homers and 84 RBIs for the first place Tigers elicited a "Who?" from Poppy.

Curtis Granderson, the Tigers spark plug, got a "Never heard of him."

Six time All Star and former batting champion Michael Young got a shrug.

And Poppy did not believe that someone named Justin Morneau actually won the American League MVP. "Stop!" he said, as if this were all an elaborate prank.

Yet he rattled off a bunch of players from the Rockies and Diamondbacks and Padres... and of course knows the Giants and Dodgers left and right.

All baseball that is played 

a) East of Denver

and

b) with a Designated Hitter

simply doesn't register.

And Poppy's reasoning for not knowing the American League just shows how entrenched he is in West Coast baseball.

"Well if the A's were better, maybe more people will know about the American League."

That's right. If the team with the worst stadium, TV deal and radio contract I have ever seen got their act together, the AL would be in the nation's spotlight.

Folks, Poppy has passion! Poppy loves his Giants and his NL West ball.

So come on, Giants! Start scoring some runs! Keep winning these games!

Poppy will be there until the end (not that he'll be WATCHING the end, but you know what I mean!)

Victor Martinez gave me a heart attack... and tested my parenting skills

When I drove home to South Pasadena tonight, I was listening to the Red Sox on my beloved XM Radio. And it was clear that this was going to be yet another "dead from the neck up" night for the Red Sox offense.

Kevin Millwood was all but begging the Red Sox to get a big hit off of him... and they wouldn't oblige.

And Jon Lester who let up an early homer was going to be a tough luck loser.

So I came home and had dinner with my wife, my kids and my wife's friend was is staying over with HER two kids.

So now there are 4 kids in our home... one 9 year old, my two 4 year olds and a 1 year old.

We have dinner, take a walk... and check my phone and the Red Sox are still losing in the 9th. I am preparing my Sully Baseball entry in my head where I talk about how this is gut check time.

We get home and the kids are getting antsy and clearly need a bath, get their PJs on and have stories... and all of those are MY jobs.

The kids play with their toys for a minute as I see the Red Sox are rallying, so I flip on MLB.tv in time to see a mind bogglingly confusing play.

Literally I clicked on the view and I saw the Rangers left fielder jumping up. I couldn't see if he caught it or not. The scoreboard said 4-3 Rangers and there were two Red Sox players rounding third.

Wow... maybe the Red Sox were going to take the lead. Who was the skinny Red Sox player rounding third?

Please tell me Ellsbury.
Or at least Green.

I heard the announcer say Buchholz.

Buchholz? CLAY Buchholz? Does he even know how to run the bases?

Evidently not!

He was smoked at the plate.

Still confused by what the hell was going on (did the guy catch it? Why were there two guys rounding third? Why in the name of Dave Roberts was Clay Buchholz running?) I saw the score was now 4-4.

I guess someone scored earlier... yeah it is too bad to see the go ahead run shot down but at least the score was tied... RIGHT?

Nope.
Some dope at the Rangers TV network jumped the gun and gave the Sox the score.

So now I didn't even know what the score was.

It was still 4-3 Rangers... the Red Sox 1 out from losing and falling behind in the Wild Card race and two strikes quickly on Victor Martinez.

And I heard my wife saying "Shirts off pants off... time for baths." So I was in full "Come on Victor... get me a big hit so I can give my kids a bath!"

So naturally he kept fouling off pitch... 

After pitch...

And I could see I had to turn the game off at any second to give my kids a bath.

I started thinking "Oh please misbehave!" A quick "I'm NOT talking a bath" could sneak an extra few minutes here.

Finally my children were marching up the stairs naked to their bath and Martinez fouled one more off.

There was no avoiding it... but I couldn't think "Oh just make an out and end this game."

Karmically I couldn't root for a loss just so I can give my kids a guilt free bath.

Finally V-Mart (what an awful nickname) delivered a 2 run double down the line... giving me hope for the Red Sox... keeping the Sox in the playoff hunt... and most importantly allowing me to give my kids a good solid bath.

I needed a break from baseball

The 15 inning game the other day was a bit too much for me. I just needed to NOT watch baseball for a day.

While the Red Sox and Yankees played in the Bronx, I took my kids on the train to Memorial Park in Pasadena and played and spent time outside.

And later I ate dinner with my wife and cleaned up the house.

All the while having no clue what happened in the game.

This morning I found out the Red Sox lost 5-0.
They haven't scored in 24 innings.

And if I watched the game I would have been agitated and angry all day.
Instead I just shrugged when I saw the final score after having a nice day with my kids.

Today the insanity resumes... but a little distance was needed

I'm not putting that in the Dodged Bullet category

Yeah, I know the Red Sox came from behind late in the game... but I never got the sense that the game was 100% over.

OK, I'll level with you. I didn't watch the game.

I was in Palo Alto with my kids and I spent yesterday in a playground with them and their grandma (and my mom.)

So forgive me Sully Baseball readers... yesterday was daddy time.

But I confess, I did check my phone a couple of times for the score. When I saw they won, I gave my fist a little pump and went back to being a good dad.

One thing about the Red Sox in 2009 that is very heartening... they haven't been swept yet. Their pitching staff has been damn good obviously and the longest losing streak they've gone on is 3 games.

So even with a couple of back to back teeth grinders, I still feel confident with this crew. Confident enough to go play in the park with my kids.

Using my time constructively

When my wife realized today that her loving and caring and faithful husband was going to be spending the bulk of his Saturday afternoon watching the Red Sox and the Yankees... she decided to put the time to good use.

She gave me a box. Inside the box was a metal space saver she bought for the bathroom. Basically a shelf to put around the toilet.

Now anyone who knows me (and I would like to put my wife in this category) knows that my shelves get cluttered pretty quickly.

So naturally I want to have a shelf that if it gets cluttered and something falls off of it, it goes directly into the toilet.

But I am a dutiful husband. Besides, unlike last night's extra inning thriller when I was forced to be in the company of lovely people and eat good food in Arcadia, I would be watching this game.

My wife said "It will be easy to put together."

That's what they said to Alec Guinness when they started working on the Bridge over the River Kwai.

I emptied the contents out

It was a big pile of metal.

Now let me make something clear, dear readers. I HATE putting furniture together.

My friend, the wonderful comic, co creator of Breakup Girl and my one time boss Lynn Harris once said that "Ikea is Swedish for 'Wobbly.'"

I 100% agree with her. It never comes out the way you hoped. There is inevitably one step you missed or one screw you put in backwards.

I usually find out the mistake at the last step, which means tearing it apart.

Or else I just throw my hands up and say "The coffee table will lean to the side! Deal with it!"

When I try to build something, I basically turn into the dad from A Christmas Story, weaving a tapestry of profanity.

In fact I have a simple professional goal: I want to make enough money to buy furniture that is either already built or be able to pay some schmuck to do it.

So I begin to piece this metal sculpture that will wrap around my crapper together.


And of course the instructions are no help!

Instead of a series of clear step by step directions for a simian like me, they are a bunch of vague drawings and arrows.

They might as well have just put a Post-It note in the box saying "Good luck with your wobbly toilet shelf, sucker!"


Meanwhile I was watching the strangest, sloppiest and one of the longest regular season games I have ever witnessed.

First Beckett is awful and Burnett looks great.
Then suddenly Burnett stops throwing his curveball and Jason Varitek of all people hits a grand slam.

Back and forth... Ellsbury homers, Ortiz doubles, Bay singles. I'm in heaven.

The ghost of Grady Little inhabits Terry Francona and he leaves in Beckett long enough to tie the score.

Errors are made. Pitches are hung. Pedroia makes a base running mistake and is tagged out then lets a ball go through his legs.

Damon gets picked off.

And your pal Sully struggles with the new shelf. Of course I am half paying attention to what I am doing as the game has me transfixed.

I could have screwed one of the metal rods to my shin and not known until the 7th inning.

At one point I looked at the instructions and they called for me specifically to use rod "D".

And the directions had little drawings of which part was which.

There were four rods that were "C" and one that was "D." The drawings all looked exactly the same.

And of course the rods themselves weren't labeled.

So basically I had to reenact the Grail scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and hope that I don't hear "He chose poorly" when my wife's good towels fall into the John.

By the 8th inning and what seemed like the 46th lead change, I brought the pieces into the bathroom.

My sons were insistent on helping put it together and somehow by some miracle it didn't fall apart.

Equally amazingly, neither did the Red Sox.

But the Yankees, like many future towels in that bathroom, fell right into the toilet.

Wine... Cheese... Small talk... all while a classic Red Sox game is going on!

As I mentioned earlier, I was at a dinner party tonight for the wonderful pre school my kids attend.

The evening couldn't have been nicer. The wine was flowing. The house was lovely. There were lovely works of art being raffled off. Wonderful caring teachers there wanting to really get to know us parents.

The dinner was lovely and the mood was a sense of joy that our children can all take part in a warm environment.

All the while I was wandering around like Gollum searching for the ring.

My 2005 Samsung cell phone uploads internet info about 1 page every 15 minutes and I had poor reception as it was.

I found out that it was 4-2 in the 8th. Somewhere in my mind I conceded the game.

I then sat down and had a lovely conversation with the parents of my two boys' best friend.

Then I saw a guy walk in with a Red Sox uniform on. I reacted as if I were a castaway spotting a ship.

"Do you know what's happening in the game?" I asked him.

"Which game?" He replied.

I was now mistrusting him. "You a Sox fan?" I asked the man wearing a Red Sox uniform and cap.

"Oh no." He said. "I'm an Angels fan. I was coaching a little league team called the Red Sox."

DAMN YOU, REALISTIC BASEBALL UNIFORMS!

Unlike me, he had a cell phone that was made after Hurricane Katrina. He checked the score for me. It was 4-4 in the 9th.

Now I had no idea that Jason Bay cracked a two out, two run bottom of the 9th homer off of Mariano Rivera. All I knew is they somehow tied it...

And I also knew that a classic Red Sox - Yankees game was going on while I was scarfing down brie.

I sat back down with my amazingly patient wife and continued talking.

Suddenly there was official business. New officers for the school board needed to be voted upon and awards needed to be handed out.

I got the game on my miserable little phone. The Yankees had second and third with two outs in the 10th. Papelbon had a full count on Teixeira.

And it stayed full for the next 15 minutes.

The page wouldn't refresh. A new President and Treasurer for my kids school was being voted upon. For all I know an embezzler could have been elected in the role of overseeing the money.

And... the count... remained... FULL!

My wife saw I was basically turning into Crispin Glover when she asked the father we were sitting next to if HE had a device that was more up to date than my phone.

Perhaps a Simon.

He found the game. It was the 11th. There was 1 out. Youk was at the plate.

I stared at it... Youk versus Marte... one swing could end it. It was slow refreshing. I gave the phone back.

There was another vote. For all I know it was a vote to bring live tarantulas into the class room.

The Angels fan dressed as a Red Sox player came up behind me.

"Youkilis just homered. The Red Sox won." He said.

I stood up and gave a little fist pump.

Then I sat back down with a huge grin on my face. My wife smiled too. She doesn't care about baseball... but she likes to see her husband happy. She's funny that way.

There was a motion introduced that was approved. I have no idea what it was for. Perhaps to give each child a loaded hand gun and a vile of cocaine. It needed seconding.

I yelled out "I SECOND IT!"

The head of the school looked confused that a new voice was heard. "Who was the seconder?"

I said with pride "PAUL SULLIVAN!" and then finished my quiche like a man.

If I was going to miss a classic Red Sox / Yankees game, I at least wanted to be in the minutes!

I would like to apologize in advance to the people I am going to see tonight

I am going to a dinner thrown by the pre school my kids attend.

It's a great preschool. My kids love it. They've met a lot of terrific kids that they have become friendly with. The parents I've met have been great and under normal circumstances, I would be looking forward to this and getting to know lots of interesting people.

But let me apologize in advance to everyone.

I am going to be distracted.
I am going to be checking my phone a lot.

I am going to be antsy.

There is a Red Sox/Yankees game going on during the dinner.

I can't help it. I HAVE to know each pitch. So if in the middle of a discussion about your career and where the best school districts are I suddenly blurt out "FRANCONA! TAKE HIM OUT!" or scream "YOOOOUK!!!!" when you tell me something painful and personal, let me just say I am so sorry.

You've invited a werewolf to your dinner and its a full moon.

I can't be responsible for my actions.