Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - February 15, 2013

 

Red Sox using pain killers... Youk gives a stupid quote... Trevor Bauer raps... lame controversies  are swirling around in early Spring Training.

It's the topic of today's podcast.

  Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - February 15, 2013




 

A's Strangely Did Not Trade for Kevin Youkilis - A Bleacher Report Article

The A's have been coveting Kevin Youkilis since at least 2002. And in my latest for Bleacher Report, I write about how odd it was that Oakland didn't make much of a play for him. Especially when the Red Sox were asking for so little and paying much of his contract.

You can read the entire article HERE.

 

MLB.com still needs to pander to Petty fans

Last night Kevin Youkilis came back to Fenway and crushed a back breaking three run shot off of Jon Lester.

Manager Bobby Valentine, who basically ran Youk out of town, elected to pitch to him with a base open and lost big time.

They had that clip available on MLB.com for those of us who didn't see it live.
But it is of the White Sox feed. We get to hear Hawk Harrleson do his "Put it on the board, YES" and "Mercy" routine.

But I wanted to hear Don and Jerry from the Red Sox booth call it. I wanted to hear the bitter sarcasm from Jerry Remy and the Red Sox voices acknowledging what happened.

And I'm sure Yankee fans and Youk haters would love to have hear that as well.

I mentioned this before. Baseball fans love to hear pain and misery more than happiness.
Get with it baseball. There is Schadenfreude out there.

 

Youkilis with the White Sox... it looks strange

 It's always an awkward moment... that first time you see one of your favorite players wearing another uniform.

It makes the whole "your guy was traded" concept so much more real.

Good luck in Chicago, Youk.
At least he still plays for the Sox!

Sully Baseball Salutes Kevin Youkilis

 The Red Sox championships of 2004 and 2007 just got a little more distant today.

Kevin Youkilis is gone. He was traded to the White Sox shortly after the Red Sox defeated the Braves. He was given a hero's salute by the Sox fans when he left the game via a pinch runner.

Good.
He deserved that send off.

He never looked like an athlete. But he played hard. He played well. He was the Greek God of Walks. He batted .500 in the 2007 ALCS and matched all sorts of single series marks.

He didn't complain when Francona started Lowell and Ortiz over him in Games 3 and 4 of the 2007 World Series.

Like Nomar Garciaparra, his name became almost a rallying cry.
And also like Nomar, he was dealt to Chicago in mid season because it was time for a change in scenery.

Who know what Zach Stewart and Brent Lillibridge will bring to the Red Sox. Not much probably.

I for one am hoping that the White Sox do well and no doubt the fans in Chicago will embrace him at least for this season.

But since that last awful day in Baltimore last September, the Red Sox have said good bye to Francona, Epstein, Papelbon, Varitek, Wakefield and now Youkilis.

Consider my hat tipped, Mr. Youkilis. You were a great Red Sox champion.

The Yankees have a DH... his name is Alex Rodriguez

The A. J. Burnett deal has opened up the chance that Raul Ibanez will be a New York Yankee soon.

If they want him to give the team outfield depth, it makes sense. Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Andruw Jones and Nick Swisher could make a good combination. But you never know, especially with the unpredictable Jones.

But if they want Ibanez to be the fulltime DH, I must submit that would be a mistake for the Yankees. They have a DH on the roster. It is A-Rod.

Let me make my case by asking 5 questions.

ARE THE YANKEES BETTER WITH ALEX RODRIGUEZ IN THE LINEUP EVERY DAY?

That's obviously a big yes. Even if he isn't an MVP candidate anymore (he isn't) he still is a dangerous hitter and helps the hitters right behind him and in front of him by playing every day.

IS ALEX RODRIGUEZ GOING TO PLAY 150 GAMES AT THIRD BASE?

Probably not. In fact he hasn't played 150 games at third base since 2007, when he was 31 and before I knew about what his cousin was shooting in his butt. He is going to be 36 this season and he only played 87 last year at third. When relatively healthy he has yet to play 140 games a season since resigning. So in a best case scenario, someone other than A-Rod will be playing third base 20-30 times.
IS ALEX RODRIGUEZ'S HEALTH GOING TO IMPROVE IN 2012?

Well the days of players suddenly getting stronger in their mid to late 30s has mysteriously ended. And even A-Rod isn't dumb enough to get caught again.

How does he feel health wise? The fact that he's running all over the world, including blood treatments in Germany, makes me thinking that maybe he has some real concerns going into the new season.

WOULD PLAYING AT THIRD BASE BE RISKIER HEALTHWISE THAN BEING THE DESIGNATED HITTER?

What do you think?

IS THERE A LONG TERM BENEFIT TO A-ROD BEING THE DH?

He has 6 more years to this amazing deal.
Last year he was 35 years old and breaking down. At age 41, he will be paid as an elite player.
Shouldn't the Yankees do everything they can to have him NOT totally break down in his mid 30s so they can squeeze something out of him in his early 40s?


So keeping these five questions in mind, why not put him at Designated Hitter?
Why risk having a player who is already a health risk and put him in the infield where he's probably only going to play 110-120 games at most anyway.

Wouldn't it help the Yankees to have A-Rod in the line up for an additional 25-40 games?

Have him play third maybe once a week or in the Interleague Games. Or maybe not.
But resign Eric Chavez and have Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez play third in a rotation. Maybe at the trade deadline swing a deal when a team is dumping salaries. (If the Nationals fall out of contention, Mark Teahen is a pending free agent. Maybe stick him at third.)

Mind you, I think the same thing should be done for three other big leaguers.

Kevin Youkilis? He should be the Red Sox DH. After this year when we all say good bye to Ortiz, put Youk in at DH. He's not valuable for his glove. He needs to get on base and smack balls off the wall.

Miguel Cabrera? His job is to jack balls out of the park and make sure Prince Fielder sees a lot of fastballs.

Albert Pujols? His job is to launch homers into that strange Thunder Mountain Railroad thingee in centerfield and sell jerseys.

It all makes sense to me.
Which is why it probably won't happen.

The Youkilis - Brady Bunch

So Kevin Youkilis is going to become Tom Brady's brother in law.

No doubt this is part of an elaborate mixing of bloodlines to create a child that can be hated by every single sports fan in New York.

Wait... They Make Lego Baseball Players?

When I was a kid I obsessed over Star Wars, Batman, Lego and baseball.
My brother and I played all 4 constantly, but there wasn't any cross over.

Chewbacca never showed up in Gotham City. There was no Lego baseball stadium.

And we had space advantures in Lego, but they were always the cool Lego spacemen with the helmet, airtank and the spaceship zooming around the moon logo on their chest and spaceships.

We played with them whenever we weren't also playing Star Wars, Batman or baseball.

There was an order to the universe.

Well this Christmas something changed in the fabric of the universe.


A friend of the family gave my boys these Lego figures of baseball players.

Specifically Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz. They came with a Red Sox cap, the correct facial hair, a bat and also a glove. (Very interesting to see Big Papi with a glove.)

But consider the fact that there is Lego Batman now... and Lego Star Wars is everywhere, I wonder if I would have been able to deal with all of this childhood fun overlapping.

Oh who am I kidding? It would have been awesome.

I didn't think it would come to this

It's a critical series.

The Red Sox are playing a critical regular season series.

When Beckett beat the Yankees on the last day of August, the Red Sox had a 1 1/2 game lead over the Yankees and a 9 game cushion over Tampa Bay.

With 27 games left, the post season was a formality. The only question remaining was would they be Division Champs or the Wild Card team.

Since then?

The Red Sox are 2-6 and up by only 6 games in the loss column against Tampa Bay.

Beckett is hurt. Youkilis is hurt. Lackey is pitching tonight... AGAINST Tampa Bay.

If the Rays sweep, they will be down by 3 games in the loss column to Tampa.

AND they have 4 games against Tampa later in the season.

If this slump continues... we may have a tense September. Which I wanted in any other race EXCEPT with the Red Sox!

Win tonight.

Lower the playoff magic number to 12.

Make me relax.

PLEASE!

The Ryan Lavarnway Era Begins!

Here's what I know about Ryan Lavarnway:

He is a catcher who has been destroying pitching in the Eastern League and the International League.

He plays a lot of DH which makes me wonder if his future is NOT behind the plate.

He's a right handed home grown slugger who is coming into a Red Sox line up in desperate need for a jolt, especially with the injuries to Youk and Papi.

I've never seen him play.
I don't know anyone who has seen him play.

He joins the Sox today.
Mark today down.

We will be living in the Ryan Lavarnway era!

WILLIAMS!
YAZ!
RICE!
FISK!
BOGGS!

The next great Hall of Fame hitter for the Red Sox?
Make room on the wall and mark my words!

IT WILL BE LAVARNWAY!

(No Pressure.)

Questions for panicking Red Sox fans

1. With 156 games left, do you think the Red Sox have enough time to close the 4 game gap with the Yankees?

2. Do you think Kevin Youkilis will finish the season batting .105?

3. Will the Red Sox home record improve from 0-0?

4. Do you think that Blue Jays infielder Yunel Escobar is going to win the batting title? He currently leads the AL with a .474 average.

5. While the Red Sox are slumping, the Orioles are in first place in the East, the Indians and Royals are tied for first in the Central (with the Royals playing the most exciting baseball in the majors) and the Pirates are a 1 1/2 games out of first in the NL Central. Should those teams be printing playoff tickets?


CALM DOWN!!!!!!!

Responding to Adam Felber

I've been good friends with Emmy nominated writer, NPR personality and author Adam Felber for well over a decade now.

We've worked on projects together, done comedy together, our wives have become friends, our kids play together and our siblings are all friends as well.

We get along about as well as any friend I have... with one exception. Our lone true tensions have arisen during Red Sox/Yankees match ups.

As you all know, I am an obnoxious Red Sox fan.
And Adam is a cocky Yankees fan.

While I have preached goodwill between Sox and Yankee fans, I can't claim I've always PRACTICED what I preached.

And when we both lived in New York, no matter how good our will was, it sometimes caused some tension, apologetic e mails after nasty passive aggressive taunts and some moments where we both wished the match up would just be over with.

Adam is a lifelong Yankee fan who went to college in the Boston area... and lived among Red Sox fans and saw us at our worst.

I am a lifelong Red Sox fan who went to college and lived 15 years in Manhattan... and I have always wondered why Yankee fans consider themselves to be classy.

In a recent e mail exchange, Mr. Felber tried to get me fired up about the upcoming clash between the Red Sox and Yankees.

I couldn't take the bait. Earlier in the year, I compared a lifeless Red Sox/Yankees series with Superman IV.

All the players were there, but it just seemed tired.

Well with the decimation of the Red Sox this season, I have a hard time getting pumped for this series. No Youk, No Pedroia, possibly no Lester and nearly a week behind in the standings...

It's worse than Superman IV.

It's like Caddyshack II.

There are too many replacement Red Sox to give me any real hope for making up six games in the loss column.

I wrote to Adam "This Year is Lost for the Sox."

I guess this was NOT what Adam had in mind.


"What are you talking about? With a sweep the Red Sox could be 2.5 games behind the best record in baseball. There are 4 teams in all of baseball with more wins than the Sox right now. And the Yankees have been kind of sucking this week. If the Sox win a couple this weekend, talk sh*t and rub it in! Make me hate Boston fans all over again. What's the matter with you?"

He then tried needling me comparing the Sox with the 1980s era Yankees and talking about how if this were a small market team this close, people would be pumped.

But alas in order for the Sox to really make any headroom, they would have to sweep. And in case you missed it, they couldn't even WIN a series against Seattle nor Cleveland, 2 of the 4 worst teams in the American League.

I'd love to see them back in it and when they slapped around the Angels and the
Tigers I thought "Oooo, maybe they're making a run at it."

However Youk's injury and Lester looking hurt may just be the final white flag.

But hey, the morons who said we Red Sox fans were going to miss "The Curse" are
proven wrong again. If I were still waiting for the Series win, this year would
be agonizing. After seeing them win a few titles, I can be a little less frantic and more practical.

That being said... there is one constant to the world of Red Sox and Yankees... the pleasure felt by seeing our team win can only be rivaled by the sick joy of watching the other team squirm.

That's why Yankee fans were so happy all those years.
That's why we Sox fans were so nuts in 2004.

In 2009, I had to sit through the Lakers and the Yankees each winning a title.
This year I had the gut punch of the Lakers beating the Celtics... I can't deal with a Yankee repeat.

Chances are the Yankees and the Rays are both going to the post season. And one of them will probably have to face Cliff Lee and the Rangers in a Best of Five series.

And with the Yankees shaky starting staff, uncertain bullpen and the implosion of Joba Chamberlain, a team like the Rangers could certainly steal a game from the Yankees and throw Cliff Lee at them in games 1 and 5.

And if the Yankees are the Wild Card team, they'd be facing Lee on the road.

And if that is the case, there would be a damn good chance that the Yankees would lose, Derek Jeter would have his 1,000 yard stare and Yankee fans would be sad.

And that's a GOOD thing!

So one way to help set up that match up that would NOT favor the Yankees is to WIN THE SERIES!

That's it!
I got all the motivation I need to get pumped for this series!

Schadenfreude is a powerful muse.

OK, Felber... it is ON!

My Red Sox may not win this year, but I'll be damned if YOU feel any joy this October!

Let's Go Sox!
Suck on it Felber!

(And we should get out families together soon.)

Sully

Now THAT was fun

I knew I was going to write a blog post about this game... but it kept changing.

At first it was a good one about how Lackey stepped up and gave the Sox a great game when they needed it.

But then it turned into a bad post about how do you walk Vlad Guerrero to kickstart a rally? Vlad swings at stuff over his eyes and 4 feet UNDER ground. How can he POSSIBLY walk.

Then it turned into the frustration of a wasted Lackey outing and the fact that Cliff Lee was going to stampede to another Cy Young Award.

Then it turned into the Kevin Youkilis show with a 2 out RBI game tying hit...

Then it turned back into a teeth grinder with Mike Cameron's walk off shot caught. Finally Youk made it all worthwhile.

And time to update the tally.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 27

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.)
May 18 - 7-5 win in New York. (Sox climb back from a 5-1 hole. A day after hitting a walk off homer, Marcus Thames drops a fly ball to start the winning rally for the Sox.)
May 25 - 2-0 win in Tampa. (Big Papi supplies all the offense as Papelbon wiggles out of a 9th inning jam.)
May 29 - 1-0 win against Kansas City. (Zack Greinke holds the Sox to one run, but they make it stick)

June 1 - 9-4 win against Oakland. (Lackey puts the Sox in a 4-0 hole but Victor Martinez goes 5-5 and the Sox score 9 runs late.)
June 2 - 6-4 win against Oakland. (Dice-K puts the Sox in a 3-0 hole before they come to bat, but come back thanks to Papi's homer.)

June 8 - 3-2 win at Cleveland. (With Papelbon unavailable, Okajima, Ramirez and Bard hang on to make a winner out of Wakefield.)

June 19 - 5-4 win against the Dodgers. (Sox make 4 errors, blow a late lead and let Manny homer, but they win it in the bottom of the 9th on a Pedroia single.)
June 20 - 2-0 win against the Dodgers. (Dodgers blow an early bases loaded scoring opportunity and allow Buchholz to settle down for the win.)

June 24 - 13-11 win in Colorado. (The bullpen lets up 9 runs in 5 innings, but Pedroia homers 3 times including with 2 outs in the 10th to win a wild and stupid game.)
June 26 - 4-2 win in San Francisco. (An injury running the bases takes Buchholz out in the second, but the bullpen and Mike Cameron's bat and glove win the game.)
July 2 - 3-2 win against the Orioles. (Wakefield gets the win and J.D. Drew homers twice, but it is Nava's 2 out 8th inning bloop that landed between three fielders that breaks the tie.)

July 11 - 3-2 win in Toronto. (Jesse Litch took a no hitter into the 6th but back to back homers by McDonald and Big Papi win the game.)
July 17 - 3-2 win against Texas. (Youk ties the game in the 9th off of Cliff Lee and wins it in the 11th with a sacrifuce fly)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 26

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.)
May 21 - 5-1 loss in Philadelphia. (Big Papi's bid for a game tying 9th inning grand slam is caught at the warning track.)
May 27 - 4-3 loss to Kansas City. (Dice-K walks the go ahead run in and lets another score on a wild pitch as the Royals no name bullpen shut down the Hot Sox.)
May 28 - 12-5 loss to Kansas City. (Sox blow a 3-0 first inning lead to be blown out in Fenway.)
June 3 - 9-8 loss to Oakland. (Sox lose a slugfest where two Boston runners are thrown out at home.)

June 6 - 4-3 loss in Baltimore. (Sox rally to tie the game in the 9th only to lose it on a small ball rally in the 11th.)
June 10 - 8-7 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow an early 5-0 lead and then after rallying in the 9th to take the lead coughed it up with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th)
June 13 - 5-3 loss to Philadelphia. (Sox 9th inning rally comes up short)
June 22 - 2-1 loss in Colorado. (The Sox waste a solid Lester start and twice leave the bases loaded.)
June 23 - 8-6 loss in Colorado. (The Sox batter Ubaldo Jimenez around but Papelbon lets up 2 homers in the 9th to lose it.)
June 25 - 5-4 loss in San Francisco. (The Sox strand 11 runners in the last 4 innings wasting a solid Wakefield performance.)
July 5 - 6-5 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox spoil a 5-1 lead and 2 homers by Eric Patterson when Dice-K and the bullpen couldn't hold down the Rays.)
July 6 - 3-2 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox bats go dead and Kevin Youkilis goes down to injury.)
July 7 - 6-4 loss in Tampa Bay. (Matt Garza comes out of the pen, shuts down a late rally as the Rays sweep the Sox.)
July 10 - 9-5 loss in Toronto. (The Sox give Lackey an early 5-3 lead that he couldn't hold.)

+1

With all the injuries and blown games and heart break of this season, they have stolen more games than they have blown.

And they are only 4 games out in the loss column for a playoff spot... and are on pace to win 92 games.

And this is a LOST year.

OF COURSE I missed the comeback!

I sometimes have terrible timing with Red Sox regular season games.

I missed the Varitek brawl/Bill Mueller homer game in 2004.

I missed the last inning of the 2007 Mother's Day Massacre.

And today I watched all of the bad innings of the Orioles/Red Sox game and missed all of the home runs, the come from behind rally and the nervous 9th inning.

I had written this off as a loss, which means by definition, it is a dodged bullet (one I missed!)

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 7

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.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 5

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)

Plus 2.

I think I am going to miss the game tomorrow... which is good luck for the Sox!

Um... hooray?

The Red Sox clinched a playoff spot last night... so I should be celebrating, right?

Maybe that is a bad way to phrase it.

The Rangers were eliminated by the Angels.

That's more like it.

The Red Sox didn't win ANYTHING last night.

They haven't won a game in nearly a week.

I know that in the end it doesn't matter. They did what I wanted them to do. 

They have a playoff spot with nearly a week to go. They can line up their rotation anyway they want. They can have their bullpen rested and ready and give anyone in their lineup  a day to catch their breath.

But it's hard to fist pump in the middle of a 5 game losing streak.

It's hard to say "Woo Hoo!" when the team seems to be going through the motions.

I wanted a clinching game. Was that too much to ask for?

Well, I am going to call this the last teeth grinder of the year... because the rest of the games of the regular season are literally meaningless.

The Sox are the Wild Card team. 

The Yankees are the top seed in the AL but they can't play each other in the Division Series.

The Angels will have the second best record, ergo play the Red Sox for the 83rd year in a row.

If the Sox win all of their games or lose all of their games, nothing will change that scenario.

The only games that matter are the Twins and Tigers games... and figuring out which one has a better shot against the Yankees.

So here we go... the final Dodged Bullet/Teeth Grinder tally.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 26

April 17 - 10-8 win against Orioles. (Overcame 7-0 deficit.)

April 24 - 5-4 win against Yankees. (Bay homers off of Rivera in 9th to tie it.)

April 25 - 16-11 win against Yankees. (Overcame 6-0 deficit.)

April 29 - 6-5 win at Cleveland. (Overcame 5-0 deficit.)

May 12 - 4-3 win at Anaheim. (Down 3-1 in the 8th.)
June 11 - 4-3 win against Yankees. (Down 3-1 in the 8th. Rallied against Sabathia.)

June 12 - 5-2 win at Philadelphia. (Overcame Ryan Howard's 9th inning shot to win in 13)

June 21 - 6-5 win against Atlanta. (The wind turns Nick Green's fly ball into a walk off shot)

June 27 - 1-0 win at Atlanta. (Masterson and Papelbon wiggle out of late jams.)
July 1 - 6-5 win at Baltimore. (Sox score 4 in the 9th and Lugo wins in in the 11th)

July 8 - 5-4 win against Oakland. (Wind keeps Hairston's 9th inning go ahead homer in the ballpark)

July 10 - 1-0 win against Kansas City. (Pedroia drives in the only run with 2 outs in the 8th.)

July 30 - 8-5 win against Oakland. (Ortiz tests postive then hits a 2 out 3 run go ahead homer.)

July 31 - 6-5 win at Baltimore. (Youk's 2 run homer saves Smoltz from another bad start.)

August 10 - 6-5 win against Detroit. (Sox snap 6 game losing streak with 7th inning rally.)

August 14 - 8-4 win at Texas. (Victor Martinez hits a 2 run 2 strike 2 out double to take the lead and make up for Buchholz's baserunning mishap.)

August 18 - 10-9 win at Toronto. (Ortiz homers and the Jays defense collapses, saving Beckett from a bad start.)
August 24 - 12-8 win against White Sox. (Red Sox overcome early 4-1 lead and a bad Buchholz start.)

August 25 - 6-3 win against White Sox. (Red Sox win with 4 unanswered runs despite some sloppy defense.)

August 26 - 3-2 win against White Sox. (Wakes pitches 7 strong and Papi homers twice including a walk off)

August 28 - 6-5 win against Toronto. (Sox come back from early 3-0 hole and Paps wiggles out of a bases loaded jam in the 9th.)

August 29 - 3-2 win against Toronto. (Buchholz dominates but needs help from Paps to finish the 9th)

September 1 - 8-4 win at Tampa Bay. (Papelbon enters the game with the bases loaded, nobody out and go ahead run at the plate... and gets a 2 innings save.)

September 9 - 7-5 win against Baltimore. (Martinez's double gives the Sox the lead and Papelbon wiggles out of two jams.)

September 13 - 3-1 win against Tampa Bay. (Pedroia's 8th inning homer off of Matt Garza breaks a 1-1 tie)

September 16 - 9-8 win against the Angels. (Red Sox make three comebacks including a rally with 2 outs and nobody on in the 9th.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 28

April 14 - 6-5 loss at Oakland. (Sox blow early 3-0 lead. Lose in 12)

April 28 - 9-8 loss at Cleveland. (Sox blow early 5-1 lead. Lopez drops 3rd out.)
May 14 - 5-4 loss at Anaheim. (Ortiz goes 0-7 stranding 12 runners.)
May 15 - 5-4 loss at Seattle. (Red Sox blow their second 4-0 lead in three days.)

May 17 - 3-2 loss at Seattle. (Red Sox strand two in the 9th. Lose in the bottom of the 9th.)

May 23 - 3-2 loss to the Mets. (Papelbon lets up a 2 out 2 run homer in the 9th to Omir Santos)

June 18 - 2-1 loss to the Marlins. (Rain washes out a tight game after 5+ innings.)

June 28 - 2-1 loss to the Braves. (Tying run on base in the 9th. Solid Penny outing wasted)
June 30 - 11-10 loss at Baltimore. (The Red Sox blow a late 10-1 to the lowly Orioles.)
July 3 - 7-6 loss to Seattle. (Red Sox comeback in the 8th only to lose in the 11th.)

July 4 - 3-2 loss to Seattle. (Saito walks three in the 9th as the Mariners rally to win)

July 9 - 8-6 loss to the Royals. (Bullpen blows early 4-0 lead.)

July 21 - 4-2 loss at Texas. (Beckett loses a complete game and the Yankees take over first.)

July 22 - 3-1 loss at Texas. (Sox are swept for the first time all season.)

July 28 - 9-8 loss to Oakland. (Sox blow 3 run lead in 9th. A's rally with 2 outs in 9th and 11th.)

July 29 - 8-6 loss to Oakland. (Down 5-0 in the first, Sox comeback falls short)

August 4 - 4-2 loss in Tampa Bay. (Longoria hits 13th inning walk off with first base open.)

August 5 - 6-4 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox gets swept in a 2 game series with the tying run at the plate).

August 7 - 2-0 loss in New York. (A-Rod's walk off with 2 outs in the 15 ends a teeth grinding marathon.)

August 9 - 5-2 loss in New York. (4 outs from avoiding a sweep, Bard lets up back to back homers to Damon and Teixeira.)

August 13 - 2-0 loss to Detroit. (Verlander wiggles out of early and late jams.)

August 16 - 4-3 loss at Texas. (Red Sox can't rally and fall behind the Rangers in the Wild Card race)

Setpember 2 - 8-5 loss at Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox recover from a bad Beckett outing to tie the game in the 8th, only to give back the lead the next inning.)
September 17 - 4-3 loss to Angels. (Tek allows tying run to score on a wild third strike. Sox lose in the ninth.)

September 21 - 12-9 loss in Kansas City. (Sox blow an 8-2 lead in the rain.)

September 26 - 3-0 loss in New York. (Sox waste terrific 7 inning performance by Dice-K)

Setpember 27 - 4-2 loss in New York. (Yankees rally to clinch division and Sox fail to win the season series.)

Setpember 29 - 8-7 loss to Blue Jays. (Youk strikes out with the winning runs on base, spoiling the chance of an on field celebration.)

So it finishes up at -2.

Which means of the 91 regular season wins, 26 of them were games they pulled out of the fire and 65 of them were not exactly suspenseful.

And of the 66 losses, 28 were games they should have won and 38 of them were no brainers.

I wonder if other teams have a similar ratio.

Something to ponder in 2010.

Red Sox show some fight!

I called my dad last night during the Giants - Dodgers game last night and my dad couldn't resist giving my Red Sox a little dig.

"You root for thugs! Hooligans! The Giants are role models!"

He might be right. But I can tell you one thing... this is NOT a repeat of 2006.

The Red Sox got smacked around in a 5 game sweep by the Yankees in '06 and suddenly the team went limp. Either everyone got hurt or they quit.

This team got swept by the Yankees and are coming out swinging, in EVERY way!

The team is showing some fire, some guts and can even survive and ejection or two.

Youk gets tossed?

Fine, Lowell will come off the bench and hit a pair of bombs.

Seeing Lowell and Bay hit homers was more than heartening.

And the kid Junichi Tazawa let up 3 runs but guess what? It wasn't a do or die inning like the bottom of the 15th in New York!

Just keep winning games, Red Sox.

The Magic Number to make the playoffs is 50.

Oh let us play one more inning!!!

Thanks God.

Really... thanks a bunch.

You couldn't let the rain ease up for ONE inning!

The Sox were down 2-1 in the top of the 6th... and safe to say there was more than enough time to score one run.

Lester was settling in! Youk could have homered again!

There was more than enough time to complete the sweep of the Marlins! Don't get me wrong, I am fine with 2 out of 3 against anyone... but still!

Why start the game if it looked like it was going to get washed out?!!!


Look at me.
I'm grinding my teeth!

I guess by definition this was a teeth grinder. And it is no fault of the Red Sox, but if they miss the playoffs by a game, I'll be thinking of this game!

OK, better add it to the tally.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 7

April 17 - 10-8 win against Orioles. (Overcame 7-0 deficit.)

April 24 - 5-4 win against Yankees. (Bay homers off of Rivera in 9th to tie it.)

April 25 - 16-11 win against Yankees. (Overcame 6-0 deficit.)

April 29 - 6-5 win at Cleveland. (Overcame 5-0 deficit.)

May 12 - 4-3 win at Anaheim. (Down 3-1 in the 8th.)
June 11 - 4-3 win against Yankees. (Down 3-1 in the 8th. Rallied against Sabathia.)

June 12 - 5-2 win at Philadelphia. (Overcame Ryan Howard's 9th inning shot to win in 13)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 7

April 14 - 6-5 loss at Oakland. (Sox blow early 3-0 lead. Lose in 12)

April 28 - 9-8 loss at Cleveland. (Sox blow early 5-1 lead. Lopez drops 3rd out.)
May 14 - 5-4 loss at Anaheim. (Ortiz goes 0-7 stranding 12 runners.)
May 15 - 5-4 loss at Seattle. (Red Sox blow their second 4-0 lead in three days.)

May 17 - 3-2 loss at Seattle. (Red Sox strand two in the 9th. Lose in the bottom of the 9th.)

May 23 - 3-2 loss to the Mets. (Papelbon lets up a 2 out 2 run homer in the 9th to Omir Santos)

June 18 - 2-1 loss to the Marlins. (Rain washes out a tight game after 5+ innings.)

Back to even. Yeah it isn't fair, but the regular season has no pity!

Onto Atlanta... try to win our 5 series out of 6.

Just have "Dodge More Bullets" games than "I'm Pissed Off" games

Well that was horrible.

Brad Penny was worth less than his name, the Red Sox blew an early 5-1 and 7-3 lead and "SURPRISE!" Javier Lopez found a way to lose the game!

I suppose it is appropriate that Lopez lost the game just before the 11 game streak and then lost the game that ended the streak.

But I suppose I can't get too upset, even though my feelings for Lopez and his worth remain the same as before.

(I give bonus points for Lopez in finding a new and unique way for losing the game. Dropping a 3rd out in the 9th inning? BEAUTIFUL!)

Yes it was another "I'm Pissed Off Game."

But the Red Sox have also had a few "Dodged a Bullet" games in the 11 game stretch.

The game on April 17th against Baltimore... the Red Sox were down 7-0 in the second. The Red Sox had no business winning that game.

The first game against the Yankees, on April 24th... the Red Sox had no business winning a game with two outs, down by two and Rivera on the mound.

And the next day, April 25... the Red Sox were down 6-0 and lifeless and won the game.

So this year, the staff at Sully Baseball is going to keep a running tally of "I'm Pissed Off" games and "Dodged a Bullet" games.

We feel that if the Red Sox dodge more bullets than p*ssing me off, they will have a solid shot at the Division.

Plus it will help temper any anger if the dodging out weighs the p*ssing.

This is getting strange in terms of the wording.

So, here's the tally thus far:

"DODGED A BULLET" GAMES - 3

"I'M PISSED OFF" GAMES - 2

Not bad. 

This tally will be kept up all season long.

And if you think I won't keep it going all season long, then you don't know Sully Baseball!

Man... the Yankees really showed Youkilis, didn't they?

My Yankee fan friends were calling and writing me all day and focusing on Youkilis.

"We are going to teach him a lesson!"

"He's going down!"

One person on my favorite Yankee blog was talking how the Red Sox had no fight in them and Youkilis will be put in his place.

He saw no inside pitches and hit a walk off home run.

THAT WILL TEACH HIM!

How will he ever recover?

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!