Hello Joe

Joe Torre is out and Joe Girardi is in as the manager of the Yankees. The deal is reportedly worth $7.5 million a year- 50% more than what they offered the guy who took them to the playoffs 12 years in a row and won 4 World Series titles.

Somebody asked me today if I thought the Yankees would make the playoffs and at this point it's really hard to know because we don't know where free agents like Alex Rodriguez, Torii Hunter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Barry Bonds, Mariano Rivera, Curt Schilling (or so it seems), and others will end up.

Pitching help, which the playoffs clearly showed us they desperately need, is just not there this offseason. So if they lose Pettitte and if Clemens retires for good, Wang will be about the only sure thing in their starting rotation. Phil Hughes certainly shows signs that he is ready to be a productive big leaguer, but it will still be his first full season, so counting on him for much more than 14 wins is a stretch. And let's not forget about how difficult it will be to replace A-Rod and (potentially) Jorge Posada.

So basically they're looking at question marks at catcher, first, third, starting pitchers 3, 4, and 5, plus they need to find a closer (is Joba Chamberlain ready now?), all with a brand new manager. And it's not like Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, LA, or Seattle will be getting significantly worse.

That's why my answer was no.

One Busy Day

For the first day of the offseason, there sure is a whole heck of a lot going on. We'll start with the Red Sox, who are scheduled to have their victory parade today and it's certainly well-deserved. Their 29-10 margin of victory in the World Series was the biggest ever for the fall classic.

Next, it seems (and rightly so) that Major League Baseball is not particularly thrilled with Alex Rodriguez or his agent, Scott Boras, for upstaging the Sox Sunday night with his "opt out" announcement. And yet he wonders why some people don't like him (this could apply to A-Rod or Boras, frankly).

A-Rod's former team, the New York Yankees, are said to be close to signing Joe Girardi to be his manager after making him an offer yesterday (and in doing so, losing bench coach Don Mattingly, who also interviewed for the job). It's so premature to speculate about whether Girardi will get the Yanks in the playoffs next year, it's silly. We don't know who is going to end up on this team, come opening day.

The man how used to manage the Yankees, Joe Torre, could be in line to succeed Grady Little as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. As if Game 7 of the '03 ALCS wasn't punishment enough for Little, now the man who clearly outmanaged him from the opposing dugout could be taking his job. Repeat after me..."WHO'S YOUR DADDY?!?! clap, clap, clap-clap-clap."

And oh, by the way, Torii Hunter and Barry Bonds are officially free agents, along with A-Rod. And the Braves dealt Edgar Renteria to the Detroit Tigers for a couple of minor league prospects.

All this, and the winter meetings are still weeks away!

My BWSC's Understudy On Game 2, Now That The Season Is Over

The story of Game 2 starts in Maryland at 8 in the morning when I picked up BWSC's dad (Mr. P for the sake of brevity throughout this post). From the time I picked him up, through the rest of the trip, one of the two of us would periodically comment how we couldn’t believe we were doing this. We stayed outside of Boston in Waltham in what was probably the last hotel room available in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I’m not kidding… our room didn’t even have heat.

We took "The T." I believe it stands for “Transit.” Buses and commuter trains also go by “The T.” Why they chose to further abbreviate MBTA to "T" is beyond me. It’s sort of like referring to a strike out as a “K,” but I digress. We went to Fenway to meet Brian and (not Joe) Morgan for lunch and do some souvenir shopping. And for the record, they stayed at their friend, Monica's (not Geller) place. She went to high school with the Baseblogger and the BWSC.

Anyway, when we got there at 2, there were already fans milling around the streets and shops and the buzz only built from there. There was a line of fans waiting for the game-day release of tickets that stretched all the way down Lansdowne Street. We’re talking thousands of people taking part in what was probably a futile exercise unless you were in the first 100 feet of the line, if that. From this point on, my excitement started to skyrocket. BWSC did a pretty good job of describing the scene around Fenway so I’ll just jump to 6 pm, when we entered the stadium. Here are the highlights:

They opened the gates early enough for us to see the Sox take BP. It’s a rare treat to get to watch the home team hit and it leads me to my first real baseball observation of the post. As BWSC mentioned, the Rockies put on quite a show. The Sox, however, probably disappointed a few casual fans. Sure Big Papi put a couple in the seats, but I don’t remember anybody else hitting one out, even Manny. The hitters were working on going the other way and hitting solid line drives. Guess which approach translated to a World Series title (actually it was a 2-1 game with very little action so this will probably be my only real baseball observation)?

The media frenzy is outrageous. Pretty much every inch of foul territory was taken up by some sort of news set-up. I have never seen anything like it and I spent most of BP waiting for somebody to hit a frozen rope off of Leyritz’s stupid leather golf cap. He was far enough down the right field line that it was a distinct possibility. Nobody did. It also gave me a chance to see some of my favorite baseball personalities up close including Gammons, Kurkjian, and Harold Reynolds (who, despite my "moobs," did not hit on me). Also Mr. P walked headlong right into Buck Martinez in the concourse behind home plate (we found this funny, but we were pretty giddy by this point).

I grew up going to Fenway, but I haven’t been in a few years due to the fact that I moved halfway down the east coast. I sort of forgot what it was like to go to a game there. BWSC touched on the fans and how they live and die with every pitch, but I think it is worth repeating. When the Rockies scored first you could hear a pin drop, it was almost scary (as opposed to, say, Camden Yards, where unless the place is filled with Yanks or Sox fans you can always hear a pin drop...sorry, had to). On the flip side, if things are going the Sox way it can be deafening in there, without any prompting from the scoreboard. Maybe the Nation has become diluted by bandwagon jumpers, but for a guy like me it was refreshing to be part of the crowd in Game 2. There was one guy who, despite being obviously pumped to take in a World Series game, was not particularly interested in the outcome and was actually playing Tetris on his Blackberry while Papi was batting with 2 guys on in a tie ball game. Mr. P and I considered lobbing his BB over the back wall of the stadium. We refrained, but the more I think about how many people would kill for that seat and it was occupied by that effer… man, it fires me up.

Finally, late in the game I started to get a little tense because of the close score, but instead of dreading them blowing the game (which I would have been doing pre-2004) I was thinking of what they need to do to win it. As a Sox fan, realizing this change in thought was very liberating.

There is a lot more that I can write about (Okajima’s warm up song, how loud the bullpen band was, what it was like to have “Shipping up to Boston” playing while Paps warmed up, watching what was probably Schill’s last game with the Sox), but this thing is long enough (that's what she said). Combine that with the fact that I’m pretty sure words can’t accurately describe the experience I had on Thursday night or what it meant to me (literally, a lifelong dream come true) and I think I need to stop here. Congrats to the Sox and my fellow fans on another championship. Here’s to many more (preferably without A-Rod).

One Bad Night For The Yankees

I hereby proclaim Monday, October 29th, 2007 "Hug a Yankee Fan" Day.

Let's face it, it's the right thing to do.

Not only did the Bronx bombers and their faithful have to watch their arch rivals sweep the Colorado Rockies in the World Series, but then they learned their best player, Alex Rodriguez (in the minds of some, another arch-rival) is leaving.

I think most people saw these things coming, but c'mon- both on the same night?! That's just mean!

First, to the Red Sox. Back of another strong showing by rookies Jacoby Ellsbury and Jon Lester, they held off the Rockies last night, 4-3. Mike Lowell was named World Series MVP after hitting .400 with a homerun (in the 7th inning of Game 4, no less), and 6 runs scored. Personally, I think Jonathan Papelbon should have earned the honor for his 3 saves, 0.00 ERA over 4 1/3 critical innings pitched, 3 K's and just 2 baserunners allowed. If it had gone to a 5th game and Josh Beckett dominated again, it would have been his honor. Either way, the Sox played some of their best baseball this October and look locked and loaded for 2008. For the record, Colorado hit just .218 in the World Series as a team, and scored a meager 10 runs in the 4 games.

Now to the whole Alex Rodriguez thing. Much to the delight of the Texas Rangers who no longer have to pay him, agent Scott Boras says A-Rod is going "A-Way Rod" (clever nickname copyright 2007, Baseblogger) because he's not sure how good the Yankees are going to be next year. We already know Joe Torre's not coming back. Now, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada may leave as well. It's funny to think A-Rod's leaving because of them, and now they may leave because of him.

I'm proud to say I saw this coming back in February, and I'm still inclined to think the Chicago Cubs are the front-runners to sign him. A-Rod would be the man, the Cubs offense would be the best in the league, and he and Lou Piniella are boys. I don't see how he'd fit in as a New York Met because they already have David Wright and Jose Reyes on the left side of the infield. The LA Angels would be interesting though- they could certainly use the offensive help and protection for Vlad. And what about A-Rod to the Red Sox?

Theo Epstein: "Thanks for winning the World Series MVP, Mike Lowell, but we're going to go in another direction at third next year."

Mike Lowell: "Isn't A-Rod hitless in his last 18 October at-bats with men on base?"

Theo: "..........."

Mike: "Theo, you there? Theo?"

I suppose they could flip him back to shortstop and part with Julio Lugo's .295 on base percentage, but I just don't see Red Sox nation welcoming this guy with open arms- something A-Rod clearly wants and needs.

The worst news of all for Yankee fans is, most bad things happen in threes, meaning (a) A-Rod is going to sign with Boston (b) Derek Jeter is about to be indicted on federal catfighting charges, or (c) New York is set to introduce John Rocker as their new manager.

So if you see a Yankee fan, give them a hug or a heartfelt clap on the shoulder because it's shaping up to be a long winter.

Will Baseball Season End Tonight?

It's sure looking that way.

The Boston Red Sox have found just about every way to win so far in the 2007 World Series. They've had great pitching, great hitting, and even great hitting pitchers. Their superstars have played well, and their role players have played well. Their veterans have come through in the clutch, and so have their rookies. They've handed the Colorado Rockies more losses in the last 4 days than they'd had in the previous 39. And in case you're keeping track, the Sox haven't lost a World Series game in 21 years.

If the Rockies have any saving grace at this point, it's that rookie Jon Lester is trying to close out the series for the Sox against veteran Aaron Cook, at Coors Field. But if the World Series play of rookies Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Daisuke Matsuzaka is any indicator, it won't matter that Lester is still a freshman.

Let me be, not the first, to say this Boston team is going to be awfully good for an awfully long time.

Take Your Pick

About the only thing that might be able to slow down the Boston Red Sox at this point is something the Cleveland Indians weren't able to force in any of the final 3 games of the ALCS- a lineup change.

Game 3 tonight will be played in Colorado. That means no DH. And that means no Kevin Youkilis for Boston, as David Ortiz will get the start at first base. It seems like a no-brainer of a move, but is it? Well, take a look at this.

During the Sox current 5-game winning streak, Kevin Youkilis has hit .476 with 9 runs scored, 7 RBI, and an OBP of .577. David Ortiz? .263, 5, 4, and .364. And during the entire '07 postseason, Youkilis has more hits, extra base hits, homeruns, runs, RBI, and a slightly higher batting average than Big Papi (although his numbers are fantastic as well).

I admit, I'd probably do the same thing right now if I was Terry Francona, but it will be interesting to see how Boston's offense changes (if at all) without one of their key table-setters. After all, the Rockies are used to playing with 8 hitters and a pitcher and at this point, need all the help they can get.

BWSC On Game 1

We arrived at the ballpark around 5:00 and there was a noticeable feeling of excitement all around. I had been to Fenway a bunch of times before but this occasion was unique. Getting off "The T" (that's what they call the subway...does it stand for "train?" I felt like if I asked, it would be insulting if the answer was "yes") a guy joked how jealous he was that we were going to the game. He told me he seriously considered buying tickets but that they were more than his rent. To compensate, he said he would have moved out and lived with a friend for a few months.

Why is this important you may ask?

Because he wasn't lying.

He certainly wasn't joking or seeking laughter in response to his comment. It's also funny how your average Boston guy a) loves sports and b) talks exactly like Ben Affleck (I thought I saw him 3 times on our way to Fenway.)

Anyway, as we walked around the stadium there were all kind of handouts from local media stations- signs, posters, fliers, etc. and almost an equal amount of guys trying to buy tickets. There certainly were a lot of guys asking for tickets, but I didn't see one person selling tickets. I wondered if these guys who were trying to buy tickets were holding tons of cash. On Stubhub the cheapest seats I saw were close to $1000. Did that mean those guys had nearly that much in their pocket, possibly more if they want to buy mulitple seats? Also if I were going to sell my tickets, I would have performed the transaction online, to avoid confronting possibly a shady guy and having to exchange thousands of dollars in cash. Maybe I am crazy for thinking this, but this could explain why there were no sellers.

Oh, also another reason for the lack of sellers could be because it was a freaking World Series game at Fenway Park...

It was during this time that we met Joe Morgan. He was just walking around outside the stadium and seemed to be a pretty nice guy. If he was playing, America would have gotten a free taco, because he could have easliy stolen a base off Francis. He told us this in "past, future tense." I dont know if that exists, but he was telling us what he could, and pretty much did do, in a situation that hadn't happened yet. So anyway, despite the fact that previously I wasn't a huge fan, overall Mr. Morgan seemed like a pretty good guy. Even though he initially declined, he couldn't resist my smile and agreed to snap a quick picture with me, which in hindsight (too bad I didn't tell him in "past, future tense" that he was setting a dangerous precedent) forced him to take pics with other fans.

After checking out all the gear at the shops around the stadium, we wanted to get something to eat. Because all the bars immediately outside the stadium were jammed with waiting lines of easily more than 50 people, we walked a block and a half and found a bar that was only sort-of crowded. This had to be the most prepared bar I had ever been in, as our burgers arrived in seriously less than 4 minutes (this may have bothered me if I got something other than a burger.)

We watched some pregame coverage and probably 45 minutes later we left. The walk out was at least 5 times more difficult than the walk in, because at this point, the place was packed- something we didn't realize from our table in the very back. The same had happened outside the bar. It was crowded earlier, but now it was jam-packed. It was like your favorite college bar at 2:30 in the morning, when you can't move without squeezing through the crowd, but this was a city street. Morgan (my wife, not Joe) picked up a free Red Bull from the Red Bull truck and we walked around the stadium to our entrance at Gate C.

We waited in line for about 10 minutes and then we were in. I couldn't resist the temptation and we immediately went out to watch the Rockies hit batting practice. We were in the row behind the Red Sox bullpen while the first group of Colorado hitters took some swings. I was mostly distracted by the staduim (even though I have been there many times) and felt like a tourist as I snapped pictures of everything.

After settling in, we moved around to the right field corner to get even closer to the field. It was at this time that Matt Holliday starting hitting. What a treat. This guy was UN-believable. I am fairly certain (it was hard to keep track exactly) that on 2 separate occasions he hit 5 balls out in a row. And these weren't just home runs. They easily cleared the Green Monster, peppering the Coke bottles and Volvo sign...and those were the ones that didn't leave the stadium all together.

At this point we gravitated even further around the field, ending up behind the Red Sox bullpen. We were a few rows from the FOX pregame cast, and snapped some good pictures of Chris Myers and Harold Reynolds. Iam not scared to judge guys, and Chris Myers looks much better on TV than he does in person. The opposite might be true for HR. Both seemed to be enjoying themselves. A few minutes later, some other TV guys, headlined by Chris Berman, stopped by.

At this time I noticed the guy who was hitting...one Troy Tulowitzki. His performance was very much like Holliday in that he was hitting bombs. It was borderline absurd. Maybe it was because other Rockies hitters are easy to overlook, but when both of these guys hit (side note they probably got like 3 or 4 full rounds, which seemed much more than a normal game) it was really obvious how locked-in they were.

As BP was winding down we made our way back to our seats, located in deep right center field- row 29 to be exact (the same secion as those guys with the B-E-C-K-K-K-E-T-T guys, just a few rows in front of them and towards right field a little bit...maybe 10 or so seats). As we found our seats and met our neighbors, my eyes were mostly on the Jumbotron. It played a video about the Red Sox postseason history and included the good and the bad, and helped remind me how lucky I was to be at Fenway Park for a World Series game. There is so much history and you could just feel how much it meant to all the fans.

As the game got closer, they played another video and this one was even better. This went through all the Red Sox post season success. It was sort of Pulp Fiction style in that the chronology was a bit out of order and it was cut up into a lot of snippets. Of course the main theme (or baseline if you will) was the '04 postseason and it was all played to music, apparently with music composed or written by the guy from the Boston Pops. Iguess he has written some memorable scores, all of which were used during this video. I was pretty sure my eyes were a tiny, tiny bit watery when they showed Dave Roberts stealing second and then scoring to keep the Red Sox alive in Game 5. Anyway, there's no sense in retelling the '04 playoffs, but the point is I thought the video was very well made and had the desired affect on the crowd of 36,000 plus, all of whom were now in their seats and ready for the game.

After a giant American flag fell over the Monster and the national anthem was played, some jets did a fly-by. Unlike other pregame fly-bys I had witnessed, it was very, very loud and easily seen by all. After this, a lucky 10-year-old got on the mic and said the two words that everyone had been waiting for, "play ball!"

Beckett took the mound and made short work of the Rockies. I guess hitting the Rockies coach in BP was nothing like hitting Beckett in the playoffs. Everyone in the stadium was excited to see that Beckett had his electric and nearly unhittable stuff working. The only question was if the Red Sox hitters would bring their bats.

That question was quickly answered as Pedroia went deep on the second pitch from the Rockies' "ace" Francis. That started an historic evening at the plate for the Sox, who I think, scored every other run with two outs. I won't get too into the details of what all happened, but there is one other thing worth noting that may not have been covered by FOX, and that was the intensity of the crowd.

Every time there was two strikes, everyone stood....no exceptions. And it wasn't because everyone else was doing it, or because anyone said to do it. I honestly felt like everyone in the stands was rooting, pulling, actually needing, a third strike. Luckily for them, on this night, more often than not, they got it. Any time a Bo Sox batter had 3 balls, the same thing happened. This is not to say they weren't enthusiastic the entire time, because they were. I am just saying it was different than most other baseball games.

I remember the first hit the Rockies got off Beckett. After pretty much whiffing everyone he faced, he gave up a double to Troy T (not surprising based on his round in the batting cage before the game). After the double, Morgan (again, my wife, not Joe) turned to me and asked what happened. I told her he doubled and she said she asked because she didn't know why everyone got really quiet, as if something else had happened. That was it, just a double, and this same thing happened any time the Rockies did anything. It was almost an uncomfortable silence. There were 36K+ fans screaming their heads off a majority of the time, but any time the Rockies did something, it was alsoutely slient. It was a pleasant treat to be at a sporting event where everyone was actually watching the game.

The other thing I noticed fans doing that showed that they 'get it' was the respect for others. Any time a person left to get refreshments, treats, or to use the bathroom, they were courteous to their neighbors. Many fans waited at the bottom of the section (at the tunnel to the concourse) for the end of the inning. And those who made their way back to their seats sat in the aisle. They would sit on the dirty wet concrete steps and wait for the inning to end before disrupting the fans in their row I can't say that every single person followed this rule, but it was certainly the case for the majority of fans.

The only real evidence suggesting otherwise was the guy who was sitting next to me. It seemed like he was ripping a beer every time there was an extra base hit. He told me in the first inning he didn't know many Rockies players, but he wished he did. The only thing he did that was actually annoying was call Kaz Matsui "Kenny Lofton." His justification was a fairly fast left handed hitter who wore number 7. I assume that Lofton wears number 7 for the indians, but I am not even certain. In any case it was 5% comical that he stuck to it the entire game. And i guess the only reason it was semi-funny was because he wasn't doing it to be funny. He, himself didn't think it was funny, and wouldn't have even understood why it might be funny if I told him.

Anyway, that was my experience at Game 1. I hope to get my pictures onto the Baseblogg soon.

-BWSC

Okay, Maybe The Rockies Won't Win 2 Games

If you're like me, you're watching last night's game on TV and you're not too surprised that Josh Beckett struck out the side in the top of the first. But then after a Dustin Pedroia homerun just over the monster, a Kevin Youkilis double, and a Manny Ramirez single made it 2-0 in the bottom of the first, you started to get the feeling it was going to be a long night for the boys in black.

And was it ever.

13 runs, 17 hits, 9 of which went for extra bases, and another ho-hum performance by Beckett (7 IP, 1 earned, 9 K's) and Colorado's 10-game win streak and 21 out of 22 streak were history. They even went a combined 0-6 against Timlin in the 8th and Gagne in the 9th.

For the record, Beckett now owns the third lowest ERA is postseason history (1.73) among pitchers who've tossed at least 70 innings. Mariano Rivera is number one, Chrisy Mathewson is number two.

For me, Colorado's miserable Game 1 loss makes Game 2 tonight (Ubaldo Jiminez vs. Curt Schilling) exceptionally important. If they allow another 10+ runs to the Sox (Boston's already the first team ever to score 10+ in 3 straight October games) and fall behind 2-0, I wouldn't be surprised if this series ends in the mountains. But if the Rockies, like the Indians, can overcome a Game 1 Joshing and even the series at a game apiece heading home, they'll instantly regain momentum.

Hopefully, BWSC will share his thoughts later today.

It's Already Started

I just received this text message from my Boston World Series correspondent, who shall be known from here on out as BWSC.

"Listen to see if Joe Morgan mentions us since we just met him."

This is going to be nothing short of a treat.

P.S. I have nothing upon which to base this, however I'd be willing to bet Morgan managed to mention he could probably hit .260 and be an above second baseman if he was still playing today.

P.P.S My BWSC is there with his new wife, Morgan. I wonder if introductions went something like this:

Morgan...Joe Morgan. Joe Morgan...Morgan.

P.P.P.S This blog is funny. Appropriately enough, it's about Joe Morgan.

He's Bringing Blogging Back (Yeah!)

No, I'm not talking about Justin Timberlake.

Let's just put it this way, though. It's not wrong, is about to be right again as the Baseblogg's official, exclusive World Series correspondent (at least our Boston correspondent). The man behind such humorous posts as the Mustache Day chronicles, and the later-revealed-to-have-been-staged bride wigging out video has managed to finagle tickets to all the games at Fenway and has promised to do a morning-after recap for us, complete with pictures.

For the record, these will be his first posts since late May and I have a sneaking suspicion he's been saving up some (in a Larry David voice) pretty good...prettaaaay, prettaaaay good material for us.

Stay tuned