Sully Baseball Daily Podcasts for August 14 (and 13) 2013

Today is a strange episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast!

 I talk about the subconscious, the Pirates, Roger Clemens, a stool for a catcher and an odd orangutan reference.

Ryan Dempster, Paul Goldschmidt, Alfonso Soriano and Jose Fernandez all owned baseball on August 13, 2013.

And I forgot to post yesterday's podcast to the blog...



To see the up to date tally of "Who Owns Baseball?," click HERE.

Subscribe on iTunes HERE.

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast- August 12, 2013

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - April 12, 2013

I recorded today's episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast in the parking lot of Trader Joe's. Don't ask.

I hate bean ball wars and brawls in baseball. And I let me feelings known to all the shoppers today.


Meanwhile Manny Machado, A. J. Griffin, Bryce Harper and Sergio Romo owned baseball on April 11, 2013.

 Subscribe on iTunes HERE.

Players who owned baseball for a Day

Bryce Harper – 2
Clayton Kershaw – 2
Cliff Lee - 2

Clay Buchholz – 1

Madison Bumgarner – 1 
Miguel Cabrera - 1
Robinson Cano - 1
Shin-Soo Choo - 1
Alex Cobb - 1 
Zack Cozart - 1 
Yu Darvish - 1 
Chris Davis - 1 
Jacoby Ellsbury – 1 
Prince Fielder - 1 
Adrian Gonzalez - 1
Carlos Gonzalez – 1 
Gio Gonzalez – 1 
A. J. Griffin - 1
Matt Harvey - 1
Felix Hernandez – 1
Derek Holland - 1
 Adam Jones - 1 
Jed Lowrie – 1 
Manny Machado - 1
Justin Maxwell - 1 
Will Middlebrooks - 1
Brandon Moss - 1
Bud Norris – 1
Gerardo Parra – 1 
Andy Pettitte - 1 
Brandon Phillips - 1
Buster Posey - 1
Albert Pujols - 1
Sergio Romo - 1
CC Sabathia - 1
Ervin Santana - 1
Drew Smyly - 1 
Nick Tepesch - 1
Justin Upton - 1
Will Venable - 1
Adam Wainwright - 1
Jake Westbrook - 1
Barry Zito - 1

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - April 12, 2013

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - January 11, 2013

On today's podcast, I wonder if 26% of voters can really leave Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens off of the Hall of Fame ballot every year until 2027.

I also compare myself to a glass of Egg Nog in July.

Trust me, it makes sense.

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - January 11, 2013

 

Red Sox should try to sign Roger Clemens - A Bleacher Report Article

Seriously. Why shouldn't the Red Sox bring back Clemens for a month?
Afraid it will ruin a season?
Afraid it will upset chemistry?

Have you SEEN this team?

In my latest for Bleacher Report, I argue that there is no real reason to at least offer a return to the Rocket.

After all the fried chicken and beer consumed by Red Sox pitching, it would be nice to see a starter putting a substance in his body with the intention of improving his performance.

You can read the whole article HERE.

 

Astros Should Sign Roger Clemens...and Bonds, Palmeiro and McGwire Too - A Bleacher Report Article

Roger Clemens is attempting a come back that could lead him all the way back to the Houston Astros.

Is that good for baseball?
In my latest for Bleacher Report, I argue that not only is Clemens return good, but that the Astros should sign EVERYONE that the PED scandal has touched.

Why?

Better read the whole article HERE.


 

Jack Morris Was the Real Winner of the Roger Clemens Verdict - My latest for Bleacher Report

People wrote that there were no winners in the Roger Clemens trial.
Nonsense. The winner was Jack Morris who should take a wave of anti Clemens sentiment into Cooperstown.

Confused?
Well then read what I wrote for Bleacher Report.

The article can be found here.

The best part of yesterday...

May 2, 2012 was as great a regular season day that you will ever see.

3 walk off homers and another extra inning game winner by the Marlins.

The Royals won in the 9th inning, and two MVPs from a decade ago launched walk off shots (Giambi and Chipper.)

The Rays came back to make James Shields a 5 game winner. And Jeff Suppan came out of nowhere to get a win.

And oh yeah, Jered Weaver threw a no hitter.

Do you know what all of that did?
It took ALL the attention from the stupid Roger Clemens trial and, as Subway Squawkers called it, Andy Pettitte's Frankie Pentangelli moment.

I begged Roger to settle last July.
He didn't and the trial is going on.

And I couldn't care less. There's too much great baseball being played.

Roger took juice and Andy wants to have his friendship back. End of story. Let's play ball.


 

The 1990s had the best run of Cy Young winners ever

The 1990s were the peak of the steroid era. But while we all experienced gaudy offensive numbers during the decade, we may have witnessed the best Cy Young era in baseball history. Let me explain.

The current run of Cy Young winners include some great young aces and one who I think is already Hall of Fame bound.

Justin Verlander, Tim Lincecum, Clayton Kershaw and Felix Hernandez are all off to amazing starts to their careers. But as I wrote last night, Brandon Webb and Jake Peavy got off to amazing starts too.

CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay are, I think, either Hall of Fame bound or damn close to it. (Cliff Lee and Zack Greinke will need to pile up some more ace seasons to get Cooperstown talk.)

If Verlander, Lincecum, Kershaw and King Felix keep up their great careers, then we could be in the middle of one of the great stretches of Cy Young winners ever.

Or it could be like the 1980s, where pitchers like Fernando Valenzuela, Bret Saberhagen, Frank Viola, Doc Gooden and Orel Hershiser put together great starts to their career but couldn't translate them into Cooperstown.

I started thinking about when was the best era of Cy Young winners. And I don't mean best stats but rather the most straight years of future Hall of Famers.

I figured it would have been the first few years of the Cy Young (1956-1966) when they gave out only one award for both leagues. And indeed there were Warren Spahn, Early Wynn, Whitey Ford, Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax winning awards.

But Don Newcombe, Bob Turley, Vern Law and Dean Chance also won as well.

1968 to 1973 saw 6 straight years of future Hall of Famers winning the National League Cy Young Award. (Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver, Fergie Jenkins and Steve Carlton.) In that same stretch the American League had Jim Lonborg, Denny McLain, Mike Cuellar and Jim Perry, none of whom are in the Hall.

Between 1972 and 1976, Hall of Famers Gaylord Perry, Catfish Hunter and Jim Palmer won the American League Cy Young Award while Randy Jones and Mike Marshall broke up the Hall of Fame streak in the National League.

The National League started a future Hall of Fame streak between 1977 and 1980 with Steve Carlton, Gaylord Perry and Bruce Sutter winning. The late Mike Flanagan won in the American League as well as non Hall of Famers Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry and Steve Stone.

Then between 1981 and 1990 came a run where Rollie Fingers and Steve Carlton were the only future Hall of Famers to win (although steroids or not, I think Clemens will eventually get in.)

Then comes the run that should catch all of our eyes.

From 1991 to 2001 the American League Cy Young Award winners were Roger Clemens, Dennis Eckersley, Jack McDowell, David Cone, Randy Johnson, Pat Hentgen and Pedro Martinez.

The National League Cy Young Award winners in that stretch were Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson.

Assuming Roger Clemens gets in EVENTUALLY, then only Jack McDowell, Pat Hentgen and David Cone are NOT Hall of Famers in the bunch.

That's 19 out of 22 Cy Young Awards handed out to Hall of Fame pitchers (Eckersley is already in.)

Seriously, Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson should get 100% of the Hall of Fame or some writers should get their credentials revoked. Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz all deserve to get in as well.

And someday Roger Clemens (and Barry Bonds for that matter) will get in.

Did we realize it when we saw it what a great run we were watching?
Did we note how great the PITCHING was in the steroid era? Or at least what star power there was?

Let's root for Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, Zack Grienke, Tim Lincecum, CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay to continue to put up ace numbers. It would be cool to see ANOTHER great Hall of Famers winning the Cy Young era.

The calm before the Hall of Fame storm

I hope you enjoyed the Hall of Fame ceremony yesterday. Pat Gillick, Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven all deserved to be voted in. I have supported Tim Raines, Jack Morris, Barry Larkin and Dave Parker in the past.

With the Cobra off of the ballot, there is good news for Raines, Morris and Larkin:
Next year's first time Hall of Fame ballot stinks.

I'm not kidding.
My dad and I went down the list of all the players who will be on the ballot for the very first time.

Heads and shoulders above all the other first time candidates is Bernie Williams.

Look, Bernie was a terrific player and a Red Sox killer. He was a champion who wore the pinstripes with honor and had clutch post season moments in the 1990s and the 2000s.

Nobody is denying that his #51 deserves to be retired at Yankee Stadium and he should get standing ovations in the Bronx for the rest of his life.

The only reason he should be at the Hall of Fame induction is if he is hired to be the musical act.

And he's BY FAR the best new candidate.

The other new candidates?
Vinny Castilla
Javy Lopez
Ruben Sierra
Jeff Nelson
Jeromy Burnitz
Tim Salmon
Mike Matheny
Edgardo Alfonzo
Danny Graves
Scott Erickson
Tony Womack
Jeff Fassero
Phil Nevin
Carl Everett
Brian Jordan
Eric Young
Tim Worrell
Bill Mueller
Joe Randa
Jose Lima
Matt Lawton
Terry Mulholland
Brad Radke
Rick Helling
Mike Remlinger
Felix Rodriguez

Wow.
Not a valid argument for one of them. Other than Bernie Williams, what player deserves 5% of the vote to keep them on the ballot a second year?

Williams is the only person on that list that I think has a prayer of being on the ballot in 2013, and that will probably be because a lot of sports writers think he is a nice guy.

So with writers feeling like they should put SOMEONE on their ballots, Larkin, Morris, Raines and maybe even Lee Smith will get some more love than usual. Maybe 1 or 2 of them will be pushed over the top.

And I hope they do because next year will be the last normal voting year before the dreaded 2013 ballot.

Sure there were juicers on last year's ballot and Mark McGwire, Juan Gonzalez and Rafael Palmeiro will return for more (or less) votes next January. (So will Jeff Bagwell, a slender hitter with limited power who packed on muscle fast, hung out with Ken Caminiti and became a Hall of Famer. Not saying anything except facts.)

But the two big fish are eligible in 2013.

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

(Throw in Sammy Sosa too for good measure.)

2013 will be the LEAST FUN Hall of Fame vote in history. The feats of Bonds and Clemens will be staring at us all in the face... and nobody will know what to do.


It's great news for Craig Biggio, whose 3,000 hits will get him in automatically (just ask Rafael Palmeiro and Pete Rose.)

And it will probably be great news for Mike Piazza (although there have been louder whispers about Piazza's physique than for Bagwell.)

Voters won't know what the hell to do. So the borderline cases might ALL get in as a way to procrastinate or put off the inevitable.

All I know is this:

The next few years of Hall of Fame voting will be so NOT fun that you will become nostalgic for debating over Robbie Alomar spitting in an umpire's face.

8 more wins for Wakefield?

Oh it wasn't pretty today. But when is it EVER pretty with Tim Wakefield?
Today was a no brainer for the Sox, even after Wakes spotting Seattle 2 runs in the first. A nice 17 hit, 12 run attack. A solid sweep of Seattle before the Royals come to town.

A nice 3 game lead over the Yankees and a 16-3 July record (including 7 out of 9 since the All Star Break.)

Meanwhile Wakefield is now just 7 wins behind Roger Clemens and Cy Young. He could get 2 wins in August and 2 in September... that's not exactly outlandish.

Then he would need just 4 wins in all of 2012 to have more wins than any pitcher in Red Sox history.

Odd. Maybe THAT's what the Mayans foresaw!

Hey Roger... Settle

If Roger Clemens gets another trial, and I am using my intense and knowledgeable legal mind to say that he will, it will be in the fall.

You know, when the pennant races are going on and leading up to the playoffs.


Won't that make Bud Selig happy?

Now usually I am in favor of anything that angers Bud Selig (I'm not Bud's biggest fan.)

But I for one don't want to see this trial.

What is to gain by it?

Did Clemens lie?

Of course he did. Everyone on the planet Earth knows it.

Is it bad to lie to Congress? Sure, but they lie enough to US in return.

Does Congress have bigger fish to fry?

Sure. I'd like to see them talk to people who helped bankrupt the country, destroy the housing market and allow fecal matter to be served in fast food.

And I don't care how much you hate Clemens (I'm actually not a Clemens hater... I grew up a huge Clemens fan.) Do you REALLY want to see him in jail?

Is that the latest chapter you want written in baseball? Clemens in an orange jump suit?

Clemens' punishment is going to be banishment from the Hall of Fame. He's not getting in. I'd vote for him, but I'm a big softy. They'll be enough writers who will take him to the woodshed.

The Steroid Era is almost over. The remaining big juicers in the league are winding down (even A-Rod is breaking down now.) A new era and new stars are emerging.

You can end all of this Roger.

You got lucky. The prosecution was dumber than Grady Little and let you walk.

And the judge reminded everyone that jail time was on the line.

Take your good luck and strike a deal.

A plea bargain and all this will go away.

No trial.

No dragging ugliness into the court.

No public discussions of shooting lord knows what into your Hall of Fame ass.

We all know you are a tough competitor. But show some dignity.

Settle.

End this.

Bonds' trial ended and that will fade into oblivion.

Strike a deal.

Nobody wants this. And guess what? If you strike a deal now, it will go a long way to your rehabilitation.

If Pete Rose came clean in 1989, he'd be in the Hall of Fame right now. The whole gambling thing would be an embarrassing footnote to a great career.

Instead he dragged it out and made it worse by confessing only after he turned it into a pay day.

Settle now and maybe in 5, 6 or 7 years it will blow over.

People will realize you were a great player before you mysteriously ballooned up while hanging out with steroid distributors and Jose Canseco. People won't mind as much that Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch confirmed Brian McNamee's version of the story.

Settle now and by 2020 you will be a Hall of Famer. Sure you will dangle in the voting for a few years. Ask your old teammate Jim Rice how that felt. I bet he forgot, do you know why? BECAUSE HE'S IN THE HALL OF FAME!!!! He's an immortal. He's a Greek God now.

Settle... do the right thing for baseball and eventually your legacy.

Settle because this will only end badly if you don't.

Maybe I should have been a lawyer

Look, most of what I know about being a lawyer I know from watching Jack McCoy in Law and Order.

But I do know one thing... if something has been declared inadmissible as evidence, you don't bring it up at trial.

The judge in the Clemens case said a First Year Law Student would know that.
Screw that. I'm a Film School graduate and I know that!

Between the Casey Anthony trial and the Roger Clemens trial WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH PROSECUTORS?

Seriously, you think you are going to go after a high profile client in a public case, you'd make sure you'd cross all your T's and dot all your I's before you go in there.

This was over so fast that the sketch artist could barely finish one picture.

What does this mean?

It can't be double jeopardy, can it?

We didn't even get to hear how Clemens was going to blame everyone but himself for the use of steroids and HGH... including blaming his wife!

Nice job prosecutors. You think a slick guy like Rusty Hardin was going to be taking a nap when you played that tape?

Now, I have no idea how this trial will resume or if there will be a new one.
But we all know what happened.... and like when I talked about Barry Bonds at a barbecue, the burden of proof is obviously very low here.

Roger Clemens wanted to prove to the world (and by "the world" I mean "Dan Duquette") that he wasn't done when his Red Sox career ended.

And while he had one year that he basically willed himself to greatness, reality and physics trumped willpower and 35 year old pitchers tend to slip.

Enter old teammate Jose Canseco and trainer Brian McNamee and suddenly willpower could be injected.

Seriously, why would McNamee be telling the truth about Pettitte and Knoblauch (both who confirmed it) but not Clemens who was the big Alpha Dog?

Sure McNamee saved the needles. He was a former cop and he knew something like this could help him if he were in trouble.

Sure he lied early on. These trainer/'roids distributors are hangers on who look to be taken care of by their rich clients for their loyalty.
Don't believe me? How long does Greg Anderson have to sit in jail before you realize how much loyalty means to these guys.

McNamee even took the bullet in that sketchy "was it a sexual assault? Was it not?" night in Florida in 2001 that is being brought up. Why? To protect the Yankees player or coach who had relations with the woman earlier that night.

It's all consistent.
And he lied right up until the point where he realized he might go to jail for lying.

Anderson did. McNamee didn't.

And that's why the Bonds thing ended and the Clemens case is going on. (That and the fact that Bonds knew when to keep his mouth shut and Clemens is too bull headed to do so.)

Clemens side doesn't make any sense.

A trainer gave him B12 shots... and that caused an abscess that B12 doesn't cause but steroids do?

He works out and trains with a guy who is on his payroll who gave Pettitte, Knoblauch AND Clemens' wife juice but NOT Clemens?

Clemens body just HAPPENS to balloon up and he just HAPPENS to increase velocity in his late 30s around the time that he is in Toronto with a steroid distributing trainer who he swears by and Jose Canseco who has injected everything except Windex into his ass?

None of it makes sense.

All I know is everything I read in the book American Icon makes 100% sense to me.

Then again, the burden of proof at Barnes and Nobles is pretty low as well.

I can't prove it in a court of law.
That's not my job.
Maybe it should have been.

Knuckling Ever So Closer...

Is Knuckle a verb?
It is NOW.

So Wakefield is now 8 wins behind Cy Young and Roger Clemens for the most ever wins by a Red Sox pitcher. He needs 9 more wins in his Red Sox career to take the title all by himself.

With all the injuries to the Sox staff, it's clear that Wakefield will get his share of starts. So could he win 9 more? Could he finish with 14 wins this year?

If he pitches like he did today (which was no cheap win) and the bats can support him and the bullpen picks him, then he could indeed do it.

Either way, let's update the tally.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 27

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.)
June 3 - 8-6 win against Oakland. (Buchholz lets up 4 runs in the first but the Sox come back thanks to Carl Crawford's 2 run single.)
June 4 - 9-8 win against Oakland. (Red Sox blow a 4 run 9th inning lead and trail in the 11th before Ellsbury ties it and Drew wins it in 14.)
June 7 - 6-4 win in the Bronx. (Papelbon strikes out A-Rod to end the game with a runner on base.)
June 9 - 8-3 win in the Bronx. (Down 2-0 to Sabathia in the 7th, the Sox score 7 runs as Papi exacts revenge after getting plunked. A 3+ hour rain delay pushed the game past 1:30 AM)

June 15 - 3-0 win in Tampa Bay. (Youkilis homers in the 7th for the only runs in Beckett's 1 hit masterpiece.)
June 16 - 4-2 win in Tampa Bay. (Papelbon wiggles out of a 2 on, nobody out jam in the 9th thanks to Youk's diving catch.)
June 26 - 4-2 win in Pittsburgh. (The Pirates make 4 errors and the Red Sox score 2 in the 7th to avoid a sweep by the Bucs.
June 30 - 5-2 win in Philadelphia.(An injury to Cole Hamels leads to the Red Sox bats waking up.)
July 1 - 7-5 win in Houston. (The Sox score 6 in the 7th inning to come back and win.)
July 3 - 2-1 win in Houston. (The Red Sox score a run in the top of the 9th on a walk to break a tie.)
July 5 - 3-2 win against Toronto. (Lester gets hurt but Darnel McDonald throws out the tying run at the plate to end the game.)
July 6 - 6-4 win against Toronto. (The Sox score 4 in the 4th to take the lead and Wakefield and company hang on for dear life.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 23

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.)
June 1 - 7-4 loss to White Sox. (Konerko drives in three, spoiling a game tying Ortiz homer.)

June 14 - 4-0 loss in Tampa Bay. (Wakefield's solid outing is spoiled. Longoria scores on a passed ball.)
June 18 - 4-2 loss to Milwaukee. (The Brewers hit three homers early off of Lester and hang on.)
June 21 - 5-4 loss to San Diego. (Ortiz hits a double play in the 9th to stifle a potential winning rally.)

June 24 - 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh. (The Red Sox strand 7 runners in scoring position.)
June 25 - 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh. (The Red Sox fall out of first as Pedroia's error leads to a Pirates run.)
June 29 - 2-1 loss in Philadelphia. (Vance Worley duels John Lackey and slumping Raul Ibanez drives in both runs.)
July 4 - 9-7 loss to Toronto. (John Lackey's miserable start puts the Sox in too big a hole to climb out of.)

Now it is +4.
Series won.
Game picked up on the Yankees.

Bring on the Orioles.

Does Wakes have 10 more wins in him?

Is winning 10 games this year out of the question?
I mean he's going to start every 5 days now... and with the Sox playing at this high level, he might win a bunch of games he has no business winning.

Not today. He was terrific today and helped make the whole Papelbon suspension thing moot.

But is it insane to think he could win 14 games this year?
And then he would pass Roger Clemens and Cy Young as the all time Red Sox leader in wins.

It's going to happen.
It's kind of strange isn't it?

Keep winning, Sox. Before you know it, #49 will be retired.

Draft day parallel universes - My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest article for The Hardball Times, I got to combine three of my passions...

Baseball
"What if?" alternate scenarios
And lame 1980s sci fi concepts like alternate universes.

If teams made slightly different choices on draft day, how would baseball history had turned out?

Would Reggie Jackson rule New York... as a Met?
Would Roger Clemens help make the strangest 1-2-3 starting pitcher combination in baseball history for the Twins?
Would Alex Rodriguez become a Dodger legend?

I spin a few alternate realities... and trust me, every single detail has been well thought out. So hard core Sci Fi fans can relax. Nobody understands the space/time continuum better than me!

To read the article CLICK HERE.

Who said Roger Clemens isn't clean?

Here's the video proof! That guy is ZESTfully clean!

(I have a feeling that isn't Clemens singing. I know I know... another scandal.)

Thanks to my friend Eli for sending me this clip.
I think I pulled an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and erased this ad from my mind.

Is there an East Coast Bias in Awards voting?

I've been supporting Felix Hernandez as the Cy Young winner even though I think voters will vote for C. C. Sabathia and his 20 wins (even though King Felix has him beat in every other category.)

But some people, including the good folks at Emerald City Diamond Gems, think that the fact that Sabathia plays in New York will tip the scales his way.

I've heard this before... the votes ALWAYS slant towards New York and Boston and to a degree Philadelphia... and stars in the west tend to get ignored come award time.

This is a terrific theory. It sounds correct.
And it is repeated each year by some writer in the west as if it is a fact.

Here's the problem with that theory:
It's not true.

Let's take a large sample of recent awards...

The Joe Torre era in New York.
1996-2007. A 12 year span where the Yankees dominated media coverage, made the playoffs all 12 seasons, won 6 pennants and 4 World Series titles and seemed to have every star in the galaxy.

How many MVPs do you think they had in those 12 years?

2. Both by Alex Rodriguez in years the Yankees did NOT even win the Division Series. (2005 and 2007.)

Do you know what team had as many MVPs as the Yankees during the Torre years?
The Mariners.

In fact what division do you think DOMINATED the AL MVP category during the Joe Torre Yankee years?

I'll give you a hint... none of the teams played in the Eastern Time Zone.

That would be the AL West, winning 9 straight MVPs from 1996 to 2004.

In those 12 Torre Yankee years, the Texas Rangers won 4 MVPs (Juan Gonzalez in 1996 and 1998, Pudge Rodriguez in 1999 and Alex Rodriguez in 2003.)

The Mariners won a pair (Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997 and Ichiro Suzuki in 2001).

The A's also won a pair (Jason Giambi in 2000 and Miguel Tejada in 2002.)

And the Angels won one (Vlad Guerrero in 2004.)

In fact it is interesting when you break those awards down how the East Coast bias did NOT work.

When the great shortstop era was played out in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it wasn't New York's Derek Jeter nor Boston's Nomar Garciaparra who won an MVP despite putting up the best numbers of their careers.

A-Rod won his with Texas and Miguel Tejada, arguably the least known of the big shortstops of that era, won his.

And there have been two instances in the past few years where players from the Minnesota Twins, not exactly a media hub for anyone except Ted Baxter, won close MVPs votes over Derek Jeter.

I am going out on a limb to say that Derek Jeter gets more media attention than Justin Morneau or Joe Mauer.

Let's take a look at the Cy Young voting since the divisions expanded from 4 to 6 (1994 to present.)

With all the great Yankee pitching over the years, how many Cy Youngs do you think have gone the Yankees way?

Out of 16 Cy Youngs handed out, a grand total of one was given to a Yankee in that time.
Roger Clemens in 2001.

Actually Clemens Cy Young was the only Yankee Cy Young since Ron Guidry's dominating 1978 season.

Yup. The Yankees went through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s with a grand total of ONE Cy Young Award.

Compare that to Kansas City, who has had 2 Cy Youngs since 1994...
Minnesota has 2...
Cleveland has 2...



Which team has won the most Cy Young Awards in the AL since 1994?

That would be the Toronto Blue Jays with 4...

1 for Pat Hentgen... 1 for Doc Halladay... 2 for Clemens.

And remember Hentgen beat out the Yankees ace Andy Pettitte and Clemens beat out David Wells when he was lights out for the World Champs in 1998?


Now of course there IS an East Bias in coverage.
I wrote about that earlier.

And there's a reason for that... the most popular teams are on the East Coast and there are more transplanted New Englanders, New Yorkers and Philadelphians than there are transplants from California and Arizona.

I'm a case in point. I live in California and am a rabid Red Sox fan... even though I haven't lived in Massachusetts since Ronald Reagan was President.

Oh yeah, also the teams in the Northeast have won the last 3 World Series.

But that is media coverage... not awards bias.

So yes... Sabathia could indeed win the Cy Young for an irrational reason.
But that reason is numerical (20 wins) NOT geographical.

There's just nothing to write about the Clemens case

I got a bunch of e mails asking what my take was on Clemens pleading not guilty today.

Here's what it is:

It's sad and EVERYONE on the planet Earth knows how this is going to end except Roger Clemens.

When Pete Rose comes across as a beacon of wisdom, you know we are heading towards a sad ending to... let's face it... a wonderful career.

What else can you say about this?

He's a big stubborn S.O.B.
That's what made him great and that's what's going to bring him down.

How is this going to end?
Christ, just watch Raging Bull.

(Spoiler alert!)

It isn't a happy movie.

(Although I would like to see Fat Rocket doing the speech into the mirror at the end.)

The Twittering Rocket

Roger Clemens is facing perjury charges and not only is his reputation in shambles but he might soon be sent to prison.

I am not sure what his legal counsel told him to do, but I have a feeling they DIDN'T say "Get into pissing contests with people on Twitter."

I could write more but the great Lisa Swan of The Faster Times covered it beautifully.

Read her recap HERE.

Oh boy... this can't end well.

#FormerHallOfFameCandidateMakingABuffoonOfHimself

I guess Big Mac is smarter than the Rocket

Remember how we all made fun of Big Mac's "I'm not here to talk about the past" line that he kept saying over and over to Congress?

He looked like a big dumb jock who was trying to weasel his way out of trouble, didn't he? And he looked even worse with his cringe worthy pathetic and half baked apology interview he gave last January that I couldn't even finish.

Well McGwire is no Mensa candidate, but man he was smarter than Roger Clemens.
Here's something Clemens should have written on his hand as a reminder:

You are better off looking stupid than lying.

And another thing:

Your drug dealer has nothing to lose by telling the truth.

You should have taken my advice and learn the two words "No Comment."

This story makes me sad... I think more sad than most Red Sox fans. Clemens was always my favorite Red Sox when he was on the team, and I wore a Blue Jays cap the days he pitched.

Yeah I rooted against him as a Yankee, but I would have rooted against Jesus Christ if he played for the Yankees.

Clemens, like Bonds, was a Hall of Famer before he mysteriously got bigger and stronger in his late 30s. McGwire wasn't. McGwire was a Dave Kingman, slugger with a low batting average whose career would have been over around 1993 or 1994. Then he got healthy and BOOM! Became the Charles Van Doren of baseball.

Clemens being indicted doesn't mean he is convicted. But it gives the vote AGAINST him more weight.

Roger... Roger... Roger... Why couldn't you have been content with fame, fortune and immortality?