Cleveland fans... you had better not have been watching the NBA Finals!

Seriously... I hope none of you Cleveland fans were watching the Heat.

There was an Indians game on!
Grady Sizemore came off the DL and drove in 2, Carlos Santana went 3-3, the Indians won and are 12 games above .500, have the best record in the American League and are nipping at Philadelphia's heels for the best record in baseball... it will be JUNE tomorrow so this is more than "A fluke start"...

How could any of you watch basketball just to torture yourself?

What the hell is the matter with you?

I already made this point with a video, but let me link it again in case some of you are thinking of watching the NBA Finals game 2!!!

What will it take to get Bob Geren fired?

Bob Geren still is the A's manager. Isn't that incredible?

The A's are playing in a winnable division.
You don't believe me? The MARINERS are competing and I think I could crack their 25 man roster.

And the A's are the only team with a losing record. Yeah I know this team has had some injuries. Do you know what OTHER team has had injuries?

EVERY TEAM IN BASEBALL!!!!

Oakland was the trendy pick for the AL West (I had the Angels) and the team just looks dead from the neck up. Having Bartolo Colon throw a complete game shutout against you is a low point. I don't care how his DNA has been scrambled and how many Gamma Rays he has absorbed.

And they got blown out again tonight by the Yankees. (Thanks for the help!)

The A's always look a little bit off. And I know that Billy Beane thinks managers are disposable... but should he DISPOSE of this one?

I mean isn't there someone who might be able to squeeze a little bit out of this club. ESPECIALLY when it looks like 87 wins might be enough to win the West?

Geren isn't new to the job.
This is Geren's 5TH SEASON!

He's lasted longer than a Presidential term.
Think about it. We gave Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush 4 years and then kicked them off to the curb, and they were running the COUNTRY!

Geren has the A's and the greatest peak he has climbed in 4 1/3 seasons was a .500 season. This was after the A's went to the post season 5 out of 7 seasons!

I've been calling for his head since 2009.

I've seen no reason for him to stick around.

Has he REALLY merited more time than the President of the United States?

No teeth were ground tonight

So the month of May ends with a second straight blow out loss. So what? The Sox went 19-10 in May. Not shabby.

A month and a half ago, the Red Sox were 8 games under .500!

They were 5 games back 17 days ago.

And now going into June, the Red Sox are 1 game out of first place with the offense starting to come around.

April ended with the Red Sox in the cellar. Now we are frustrated that our stay in first place lasted only a day.

Dust off the unis.
The Sox have won nearly 2 out of every 3 games since falling to 2-10.

Bring on June. The Yankees can't survive the year on Colon, Garcia, Burnett and Nova pitching 80% of their games.

Hand the ball to Wakes tomorrow and let's go!

I am really not worried about Jon Lester

I know I should be terrified about Lester.
I know I should be breaking down his every start and wondering if this were the end.

I know 4 of his last 5 starts have stunk.

I know he is supposed to be our Cy Young contender.

But I just can't panic.
Let's say this is the 1/3 mark of the season...
Let's say Lester has the exact same result each of the next thirds of the season.

He'd be 21-6 with a 3.94 ERA. 210 innings pitched and 207 strikeouts.
I'd take that.

And yeah, I know he would benefit from a lot of offense and good closer.
So what?

Would you rather have a 20 game winner who was lucky or a 12-12 pitcher with great stats who was unlucky?

I'd rather have the 20 game winner. Do you know why? That means my team is WINNING.

I'm not worried.

The young owner who may have saved the Phillies - My latest for The Hardball Times

I often wondered why the historically superior Athletics left the city of Philadelphia to the hapless Phillies. Why did the team that gave us Jimmie Foxx and Rube Waddell and Connie Mack leave while the dreadful Phils stuck around.

My research on that question lead me to my latest for The Hardball Times. I stumbled across the beginning of the Phillies rise. For one strange season a young man named William D. Cox owned the Phillies. By the end of the year he was suspended for life, but set in motion the chain of events that kept the Phillies in town.

To read the article, CLICK HERE.

Nick Stevens joins The Sully Baseball Show

Nick Stevens, creator of Townie News and the real identity of Paul Fitzy Fitzgerald and current smart ass on MLB Network, joins the Sully Baseball Show to talk Red Sox and about the 1/3 mark of the season.

Listen to internet radio with Seamheads on Blog Talk Radio

What an approprate metaphor... fire at Dodger Stadium

The season is going up in smoke, so why not the team?

I was expecting a fire sale at Chavez Ravine involving players. I didn't expect it to be so literal!

I could say "Well, it couldn't get worse for the Dodgers" but who knows?
Dodger Stadium could be built on an Indian burial ground.

(And not the kind from Cleveland.)

Arizona fans... You don't know how good you have it

It's Memorial Day and yes, the Arizona Diamondbacks are in first place all by themselves. I've been looking up pre season predictions for the past few minutes. I couldn't find one expert who picked the D'Backs to win the west.

But here they are about 1/3 of the way through.

Is there a stranger franchise than Arizona?
They were an expansion team who won 100 games in their second year.
By year 4 they won the best World Series of the past 20 years.
3 years later they were a 100 loss team.
3 years later they were hosting the NLCS.
3 years later they nearly lost 100 games.

And now they are in first place again.

When they were reckless in their spending, they created their signature moment (the 2001 Championship.)

When they built the team responsibly, they tore it down almost instantly.

They've had four unique managers in Buck Showalter, Bob Brenly, Bob Melvin and Kirk Gibson.

And in 14 seasons they seem to average 3 or 4 different uniform combinations per year.

I took Diamondback fans to task in 2007 for not selling out their games and in 2008 for not supporting their team.

Of course I am a raging hypocrite. I am a transplant who won't root for the local team, but I am asking the good people of Phoenix to do just that.

As I understand there are a ton of Cubs fans who have somehow landed in Arizona. There could be happiness for Cub fans if they root for the local team. In the last 103 years, the Cubs have won a grand total of one post season series (the 2003 Division Series.)

The Diamondbacks have won 4 post season series, including one against the Cubs.

Seriously, I understand how hard it can be to change loyalties. But in less than 15 seasons the Diamondbacks have given their fans thrills and enough valleys to weed out the bandwagon fans.

They are 1/3 of the way to ANOTHER Division winner.
That would be the team's 5th in 14 years.

That's a 35% success rate.
For the Cubs if they made the post season 35% of the time they would have 37 Octobers as opposed to 16.

I'm just saying.

The D'Backs are fun.
Just try and keep up with the correct up to date hat.

Yeah it was house money... but I still wanted to win

OK. I had said that the Red Sox were playing with house money.
They had beaten the Tigers 3 times in their own building. They were facing Justin Verlander. There was NO REASON to expect them to win.

And when Beckett gave up 2 runs in the first, I thought "OK, this is a blow out."

But then Beckett shut them down. And the Red Sox kept almost rallying.
And I got REALLY greedy and wanted a 4 game sweep.

Alas, the Red Sox bats didn't match my greed.
And I can't lie. I ground my teeth.

So that means the tally needs to be updated.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 15

April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

May 9 - 2-1 win against the Twins. (A bullpen breakdown cost Beckett the decision but Cark Crawford ended the game with an 11th inning walk off hit.)
May 13 - 5-4 win in the Bronx. (Youkilis homers off of Joba and Bard and Papelbon make it more interesting than it needed to be.)
May 15 - 7-5 win in the Bronx. (Sox fall behind 4-1 but come back as Youk, Papi and Salty all homer.)
May 16 - 8-7 win against the Orioles. (Down 6-0 after 6 innings, the Sox rally and win it with a 2 run walk off double by Adrian Gonzalez)
May 18 - 1-0 win against Detroit. (With 2 outs in the 8th, Salty doubles home Crawford from first for the only run. Papelbon gets himself in and out of 9th inning trouble.)
May 19 - 4-3 win against Detroit. (Bard blows Beckett's lead but Carl Crawford wins it with a walk off hit.)
May 24 - 4-2 win in Cleveland. (Varitek throws two runners out and homers as the Red Sox win their first game against the Indians.)
May 29 - 4-3 win in Detroit. (The Red Sox blow an early 3-0 lead but David Ortiz wins the game with a pinch 9th inning homer.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 15

April 1 - 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 - 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)
April 7 - 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)
April 12 - 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. (A solid Lester performance is wasted as Kyle Farnsworth of all people shuts down the Sox.)
April 15 - 7-6 loss to Toronto. (Bobby Jenks implodes with a 4 run seventh inning as the Red Sox waste Pedroia and Youkilis homers and a clutch RBI double by Scuatro.
April 19 - 5-0 loss in Oakland. (Pedroia gets picked off, the Sox bats go dead and waste a solid Lackey start.)
April 26 - 4-1 loss in Baltimore. (Buchholz pitches tentatively and the Sox let Kevin Gregg of all people to close out the 9th.)
April 27 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (The Sox tie the game with a 3 run 8th only to have Bard lose it in the bottom of the 8th.)
April 29 - 5-4 loss to Mariners. (Bobby Jenks blows a 7th inning lead, wasting 2 Mike Cameron homers.)
April 30 - 2-0 loss to Mariners. (The Sox strand 11 runners and let Milton Bradley double home the go ahead run.)
May 4 - 5-3 loss to Angels. (7 hours with rain delays and stranded runners. Marco Scutaro was thrown out at the plate in the 12th)
May 10 - 7-6 loss in Toronto. (8th and 9th inning heroics, including a homer by Adrian Gonzalez, are undone by a walk off sacrifice fly by David Cooper.)
May 21 - 9-3 loss to Cubs. (Up 3-1 in the 8th inning, the bullpen and defense implode. The Cubs score 8 runs while both teams wear their 1918 uniforms.)
May 23- 3-2 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox blow a 2-1 8th inning lead when the Indians rally with 2 outs. Crawford ends the game on a double play.)
May 29 - 3-0 loss in Detroit. (Verlander keeps the Sox off base and prevents the sweep.)

Even

The Red Sox are still in first place by themselves... so let's hope the winning continues against the White Sox.

And maybe stop being so greedy.

It's the same old song in Motown

The Red Sox just keep on winning. And for the first game today, they brought back the oldies at Motown!

Big Papi may not be who he used to be (not injecting what he used to inject) but he can still come off the bench and crush a game winning 9th inning homer from time to time.

The Sox are playing with a little bit of house money in the second game of the double header. They know they took 3 of 4 from the Tigers. Taking 3 of 4 from ANY team on the road is an accomplishment, even against the Brownies.

And they know that they are going into Memorial Day in first place.

Not bad for a team that was dead in the water a few weeks ago.

Let's update the tally.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 15

April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

May 9 - 2-1 win against the Twins. (A bullpen breakdown cost Beckett the decision but Cark Crawford ended the game with an 11th inning walk off hit.)
May 13 - 5-4 win in the Bronx. (Youkilis homers off of Joba and Bard and Papelbon make it more interesting than it needed to be.)
May 15 - 7-5 win in the Bronx. (Sox fall behind 4-1 but come back as Youk, Papi and Salty all homer.)
May 16 - 8-7 win against the Orioles. (Down 6-0 after 6 innings, the Sox rally and win it with a 2 run walk off double by Adrian Gonzalez)
May 18 - 1-0 win against Detroit. (With 2 outs in the 8th, Salty doubles home Crawford from first for the only run. Papelbon gets himself in and out of 9th inning trouble.)
May 19 - 4-3 win against Detroit. (Bard blows Beckett's lead but Carl Crawford wins it with a walk off hit.)
May 24 - 4-2 win in Cleveland. (Varitek throws two runners out and homers as the Red Sox win their first game against the Indians.)
May 29 - 4-3 win in Detroit. (The Red Sox blow an early 3-0 lead but David Ortiz wins the game with a pinch 9th inning homer.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 14

April 1 - 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 - 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)
April 7 - 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)
April 12 - 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. (A solid Lester performance is wasted as Kyle Farnsworth of all people shuts down the Sox.)
April 15 - 7-6 loss to Toronto. (Bobby Jenks implodes with a 4 run seventh inning as the Red Sox waste Pedroia and Youkilis homers and a clutch RBI double by Scuatro.
April 19 - 5-0 loss in Oakland. (Pedroia gets picked off, the Sox bats go dead and waste a solid Lackey start.)
April 26 - 4-1 loss in Baltimore. (Buchholz pitches tentatively and the Sox let Kevin Gregg of all people to close out the 9th.)
April 27 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (The Sox tie the game with a 3 run 8th only to have Bard lose it in the bottom of the 8th.)
April 29 - 5-4 loss to Mariners. (Bobby Jenks blows a 7th inning lead, wasting 2 Mike Cameron homers.)
April 30 - 2-0 loss to Mariners. (The Sox strand 11 runners and let Milton Bradley double home the go ahead run.)
May 4 - 5-3 loss to Angels. (7 hours with rain delays and stranded runners. Marco Scutaro was thrown out at the plate in the 12th)
May 10 - 7-6 loss in Toronto. (8th and 9th inning heroics, including a homer by Adrian Gonzalez, are undone by a walk off sacrifice fly by David Cooper.)
May 21 - 9-3 loss to Cubs. (Up 3-1 in the 8th inning, the bullpen and defense implode. The Cubs score 8 runs while both teams wear their 1918 uniforms.)
May 23- 3-2 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox blow a 2-1 8th inning lead when the Indians rally with 2 outs. Crawford ends the game on a double play.)

+1

And the Red Sox and Beckett are playing tonight with house money.

Ortiz hitting in the clutch at Motown? It is indeed the same old song.

Giants... Better make a move sooner than later

The Giants offense, save for a grand slam by rookie Brandon Crawford, looks beyond dormant in the wake of the Buster Posey injury.

Suddenly this season that was filled with walk off hits and post World Series mania could take an ugly turn.

In fact it already has.
The DIAMONDBACKS are in first place as I type this.

Read that sentence again.
How did THAT happen that Arizona is in first?

(More on that later.)

Make a deal, Giants. Give the team a positive bolt. I already suggested Jose Reyes (I think it is a no brainer to bring bring in Reyes.)

But make SOME move now... Something to bring a little positivity back to China Basin.

A few Harmon Killebrew thoughts

A couple of people wrote to me in the last few weeks wondering why I haven’t written anything about Harmon Killebrew who recently passed away.

I gave a lengthy tribute to lesser players, like Jim Bibby and Cliff Dapper. Why not a Hall of Famer like Killebrew?

Well, I felt writers who saw him play and his former teammates all paid wonderful tributes to the great slugger. I didn’t have anything else to contribute.

But I will share a few thoughts that I had on the only Minnesota player to wear #3.


One of the great figures in Minnesota sports history almost never played there.

During the 1959 season, the lousy and cash strapped Washington Senators were offered $500,000 for their young phenom third baseman Killebrew. They were turned down. But if they caught Senators owner Calvin Griffith at a more vulnerable time, he might have made the deal.

Killebrew would have joined Frank Robinson, Gus Bell and Vada Pinson on the 1959 Redlegs squad. By the time Pete Rose would arrive in 1963, the Reds would have an all time great lineup with Killebrew protecting Robinson in the line up and driving in Pinson, Rose and Bell. He might have been a legend in Cincinnati!


The nickname was a total misnomer

The handle “Killer” was in many ways as lazy as the A-Rod, V-Mart nicknames I trashed in one of the Sully Baseball videos. Sure “Kill” was in his name, but he was as gentle a slugger as the game has ever seen.

Over his 22 seasons in the bigs, he was NEVER thrown out of a game. A hot head he was not, let alone a killer.




It took 4 ballots to get him into the Hall of Fame

Seriously? The man who when he retired was #5 on the All Time Home Run list and did so in a pitchers era couldn’t get elected?

Was this more insane “I won’t vote for the guy on the first ballot” BS?







His passing was sad but had one best case scenario

Of course his passing was tragic and a sad event in baseball. But part of me is happy that not only was he able to go on his own terms and have his wife by his side, but that the tributes to him were not all posthumous.

I'd like to hope that he saw at least one of the many montages and segments produced in his honor. Sometimes too much praising is done after someone is gone and not enough when they are still with us.

That wasn’t an issue with the Killer.

Rest in peace Mr. Killebrew.

The Yankee bullpen irony for tonight

The much maligned Yankee bullpen came up big tonight in Seattle.
Ivan Nova couldn't make it out of the 4th, giving the Mariners the lead with defending Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez on the mound. But then pen combined for 7 1/3 shut out innings and the Yankees crawled back in and forced it into extra innings.

And ironically the game was lost by Mariano Rivera, the ONE reliever people think they can count on.

The Yankees lost the series in Seattle and are now behind in the win AND loss column against the Red Sox.

Thanks for the help, Mariano.

Zach Duke kicked butt… look away Pirates fans

The Diamondbacks are somehow creeping up the NL West standings. In fact if the D’Backs win tomorrow and the Giants lost they will be in first place going into Memorial Day. And today they crept a little bit closer with the help of Zach Duke.

That’s right. Duke made his Arizona debut by throwing 7 innings of 3 hit shut out ball against Houston. So with Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson and someone named Joshua Collmenter, Duke could make for a nice rotation in the desert and manager Kirk Gibson.

And oh yeah... he hit a freaking home run too!

Remember Zach Duke? It wasn’t that long ago that he was an All Star for the Pirates. A young left handed starter. A good trade chip. And they hung on to him for too long.

And then he fell apart and dumped him to Arizona.

Much like how they dumped Matt Capps to Washington. The Nationals flipped Capps for young catcher Wilson Ramos while the Pirates didn’t even get a draft pick.

The Pirates didn’t walk away empty handed. They got a warm body named Cesar Valdez who is pitching decently in AAA as a 26 year old reliever.

The Diamondbacks are surprising in a pennant race with a potential left handed starter who was on the 2009 All Star Game and the Pirates have a minor league middle reliever.

I brought this up last winter.
I will bring it up again.
The Pirates inability to put even a .500 product on the field has less to do with payroll and more to do with jaw droppingly awful personnel decisions.

Watch Zach Duke make the All Star team this year… his second in three tries.

Don’t watch Pirate fans. It isn’t pretty.

Example #849,113 of why win loss records are misleading

Jared Weaver began the season 6-0 with a 0.99 ERA. One month into the season he looked like the Cy Young Award was his to lose.

Then he started losing. He hasn’t since April. He lost his next 4 starts and had a no decision today. So he has been dreadful since then, right?

Well take a look at his no decision today.
9 innings, zero runs, 2 hits, 2 walks.

Not bad.

Include that start and combine it with his other May starts and he is averaging 6 2/3 innings a start and has an ERA of 3.37. He struck out nearly 3 batters for each walk and as of this writing leads the league in innings pitched.

What a loser.

The Red Sox Magic Number Is 112

Yup.
The Red Sox who started the season 0-6 and 2-10 are in first place by themselves.

(Thank you A. J. Burnett's high pitch count and mediocre Yankee middle relief.)

So now any combination of Red Sox wins and Yankee losses that equal 112... and the Red Sox are the 2011 American League Eastern Division Champions.

And they got there BEFORE Memorial Day. They had a disappointing first third of the season and are STILL in first place by themselves.

Ain't no stopping us now!

What in the name of Steve Lombardozzi is going on in Minnesota?

Seriously, I get a little let down. But this is no longer THAT early in the season. They can’t hold a 5 run lead against the Angels? It is Memorial Day weekend and they are the worst team in baseball?

The same team that had home field advantage in the Division Series last year is thinking Draft Pick this year?

Even with the Indians having a little dip with their 3 game losing streak, the Twins can’t make up any ground. They are 15 games back in the loss column. That’s more than 2 weeks of games.

Seriously, if I flipped the AL Central standing upside down, you would think it was the pre season predictions!

If I said Twins in first, White Sox in second, Royals in third, Tigers in fourth and Cleveland in the cellar, the only thing that would have raised an eyebrow was putting KC in the #3 spot.

Seriously, a few more weeks of this and the Twins might have to start dealing some of their players.

I wonder if they could trade Carl Pavano back to the Yankees.

Maybe Brandon Crawford WILL be needed!

Yesterday I wrote about why the Giants should make a trade for Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. And I suggested in the trade package they include shortstop prospect Brandon Crawford because, and I quote, "slick fielding young shortstop Brandon Crawford won’t be needed."

Well today, Crawford made his big league debut and hit a go ahead grand slam that made a winner out of Tim Lincecum.

If he can keep hitting like that, maybe the Giants can save their prospects.
Then again a grand slam in your first game a star does not make.

Just ask Daniel Nava.

Either way, a nice "welcome to the big leagues" for Mr. Crawford. You will notice in this picture, Miguel Tejada looks really happy for Mr. Crawford.

Look out Miguel. He might have your job before long.

Wakefield… 11 to tie and 12 to clinch

Tim Wakefield can be the all time winningest pitcher in Red Sox history

Suddenly it doesn’t seem so crazy, does it?

He’s in the rotation now. He’s 2-1 with a decent 4.14 ERA. With about 2/3 of the season left and it looks like Dice-K isn't going to be pitching any time soon and the bats are cooking up, he could win a few more games this year, couldn't he?

If he wins 11 more, then he will have as many wins in a Red Sox uniform as Roger Clemens and Cy Young.

If he wins 12 more, he will pass them.

Once he gets it down to double digits, it will be almost a given that he will get it.

Is 14 wins this season an outrageous number?

Didn't think so.

Go Wakes.

Never has a .244 average seemed so fierce!

Carl Crawford entered today’s game with the Tigers batting .229 and still being mentioned as one of the biggest busts of the year.

After today’s 4-5 performance that included 2 triples and 3 RBI, he is up to .244. Again, below the mediocre mark of .250… but still.

A month ago he was battng .135.
He was below the Mendoza line as late as May 5. His OPS was sub .500 3 weeks ago.

Now after back to back 4 hit games, the OPS has soared about .600 and he is getting closer to being the hitter everyone thought the Sox were getting.

And oh yeah, have you noticed that since his bat has woken up, the Red Sox have been winning… a LOT?

In fact as I type this, the Red Sox are in a virtual tie for first place with the Yankees, 2 percentage points behind them and 1 game back in the loss column.

A lot has to do with MISTER TWO FORTY FOUR!

Jose Reyes should replace Buster Posey

The Giants lost their young budding superstar catcher Buster Posey to injuries for the rest of the season? Naturally the Mets shortstop should take his place.

I do not literally mean take Posey’s position of course. The Giants need to fill the catcher’s position but that is a short order. Eli Whiteside is a capable catcher and Bengie Molina, the man who Buster Posey made expendable, can be signed as a free agent. Both can split time behind the plate and call a good game. Maybe even Fresno’s Jackson Williams can catch a few games for the parent club.

Getting someone to squat and tell the pitchers what to throw is not an issue. His bat will be sorely missed. A team this offensively challenged can’t afford to simply remove Posey from the lineup. The combination of Molina, Whiteside and Williams can’t make up for his production.

But Jose Reyes can.

The Mets shortstop is healthy and contributing in the lineup. He leads the league in hits and triples. He has 17 steals and his OPS is in the .800s. And he is doing it in a miserable situation. If he could do that in the poisonous Mets culture, imagine how he could flourish in the positive environment of the defending World Champions!

The Mets are imploding, sinking in the standings, infighting with the management and selling off chunks of the team.

When a team is trying to find new investors (or maybe a new owner) and losing tens of millions of dollars, wouldn’t it behoove them to start cutting payroll? Especially when the team is a losing team in an empty stadium. Hell, Wilpon has already said his team stinks. Why not start dumping the bodies?

If the Mets can get two good prospects for Reyes, whose contract expires at the end of the season, then it makes sense for them. Getting two players who have already passed much of the minor league gauntlet might be a surer bet than the two draft picks the Mets would get after Reyes’ inevitable free agent departure. (Why would he want to come back to the Amazin’ Mess.)

The Giants are in a position to trade from strength. It is always risky to deal pitching, but with a rotation of Linecum, Cain, Bumgarner, Sanchez and even Vogelsong, the Giants have depth in the rotation. Wilson, Ramirez, Lopez, Romo and Mota give them the deep bullpen. If ANY team can trade a pitching prospect or two, it is the Giants.

Maybe dealing top prospect Zack Wheeler would be a stretch. And maybe lefty reliever Alex Hinshaw, who has some big league experience, might not be enticing. But first baseman prospect Brandon Belt could be intriguing for the Mets. 23 year old control artist Eric Surkamp could be spared. And slick fielding young shortstop Brandon Crawford won’t be needed. I am sure a package could be slapped together.

And it could even be easier if the Giants ever agreed to take on any more of the Mets payroll. Jason Bay is owed $35 million over the next two years. Johan Santana is owed $50 million. Send one of those contracts to China Basin and the accountants in Queens would be much obliged. Granted, the only stadium worse for Jason Bay’s talents than CitiField is AT&T Park. But imagine if Santana comes back to form? But I digress. This discussion is about Jose Reyes.

And the Giants have a spot waiting for him. Sorry, Miguel Tejada. The experiment to capture lightning in a bottle again after the post season success of Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe simply isn’t happening for the 2011 Giants infield. The bat speed is not there. The power is not there. The range is not there. He is aging the way 37 year olds USED to age.

Replace the lumbering Tejada with the spark plug of Reyes, rejuvenated after his parole from Queens and suddenly the Giants line up is a little more electric. He has gap to gap power and can stretch doubles into triples, making San Francisco the ideal park for his offense.

And playing for a potential post season run could not hurt his free agent prospects.

Deal a little of tomorrow for a chance to repeat today, Giants. You don’t need a catcher who can hit. You need a player who can hit.

Make the call. The Mets are DYING to shed some payroll.