Results tagged ‘ Boston Red Sox ’
Meet The Mets
“Sh*tty team!” That is how New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon described his team while they were playing a series against the Houston Astros earlier in the season. In an interview with Jeff Toobin of The New Yorker, an interview that had to be a way for the Mets owner to save his reputation and team, Wilpon had less flattering things to say about the players that make up his “sh*tty” club. Wilpon believes that Mets’ shortstop Jose Reyes isn’t worth the money that Carl Crawford of the Boston Red Sox is getting:
“He thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford money,” Wilpon said, referring to the Red Sox’ signing of the former Tampa Bay player to a seven-year, $142-million contract. “He’s had everything wrong with him,” Wilpon said of Reyes. “He won’t get it.”
Of David Wright, Wilpon said: “He’s a very good player but not a superstar.” And of Carlos Beltran, Wilpon, referring to himself, said: “We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series(2004 NLCS)….He’s sixty-five to seventy per cent of what he was.” With that very honest and strange assessment of his team, the question that should now be posed to Fred Wilpon is: “Why should Mets fans go out to Citi Field and spend their hard earn money to watch a ‘Sh*tty’ team?”
In many ways, I have to feel sorry for Fred Wilpon, who, from all accounts that I have heard of him, is really a nice man and was probably driven to do this interview as a way to defend himself against the charges being made against him in a lawsuit brought by Irving Picard, an attorney who is in charge of collecting funds for the victims of Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme. A self made man from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Wilpon grew up to become a successful real estate developer. Along with his brother in law, Wilpon started Sterling Equities, a major real estate firm in New York City, which owns several properties in and around the city, including the Mets new home Citi Field. It was through his business that Wilpon met another Brooklyn self made man, Bernie Madoff. In the 1980′s, Madoff urge Wilpon to invest his money with Madoff’s investment operations; investments which were not lucrative, but were consistent. Over the years Wilpon had good returns for the investments he made with Madoff, which is why Wilpon (along with the rest of Madoff’s victims) didn’t suspect that the whole investment scheme was a big lie. But when Madoff’s ponzi scheme went belly up, investors like Wilpon, lost everything. Wilpon himself however, made a profit from the investments, which is why he is being accused of being a participant in the Ponzi scheme. In all, there is no doubt that Wilpon is a successful businessman. Probably a naive one at that, but successful nontheless. And the fact that he knows business has to make a fan of the Mets wonder why in the world the owner of the club would refer to it as ”sh*tty” on the one hand, and on the other urge, if not beg, Mets fans to show up at Citi Field this season and spend their money?
So far 2011 hasn’t been a good year for Wilpon. On top of the lawsuit and financial worries, the ballclub itself is not a very good one. The assessment of Mets as being ”sh*tty” by Wilpon was taking things a bit too far, but the Mets are in a tough spot. The club has been ravaged by injuries in the past few years, injuries that have bitten the club’s best players, including pitching ace Johan Santana; and the fact that the Mets are in the same division with the Philadelphia Phillies, a ballclub that is improving every year–thanks to a deep farm system and new found spendthrift ways–have placed the Mets in a no win situation. The Mets can’t go out and sign top free agents anymore; moreover, they don’t have the farm system to trade for top players. When the Mets failed to bid for the services of Roy Halladay two years ago and instead settled for Jason Bay (a deal which is looking worse and worse) that was a sure sign that there was something wrong with the team’s finances after the Madoff ponzi scheme was uncovered. In many ways, Wilpon found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place, and he probably saw this interview with Toobin as a way to save his reputation and team, and explain himself better to the fans and critics. Unfortunately for Wilpon, he struck out.
Manny being Manny…..
I never understood what the phrase “Manny being Manny” meant, or why people used that phrase to describe the antics of Manny Ramirez. But after the news yesterday that Ramirez had another issue with MLB’s drug policy, and instead of accepting a 100 game suspension in favor of retirement from the game, I think I now have a pretty good idea what the phrase means. What it means is this: A player that lacks respect not only for himself, his teammates (regardless of what his teammates might say about him now), the organizations he played for, and the league he represented. In short, “Manny being Manny” means that a CHEAT was a member of Major League Baseball for the past 19 years.
How stupid and disrespectful can a person be? Less than two years ago Manny tested positive for PED’s and was suspended for 50 games. A person would think that Manny, after that suspension and substantial loss of salary would think twice about using PED’s again, but apparently Manny didn’t think so. Coming into Spring Training it seems that this cheat decided that he needed to use PED’s in order to play. What a disgrace.
I don’t write these harsh words about Manny Ramirez because I’m a Yankees fan. That has nothing to do with it. My words are the result of the disappointment I feel about a player who grew up in nearby Washington Heights, New York, and made that community proud when he finally came up to the big leagues as a member of the Cleveland Indians. As a member of the Indians, all that was talked about was just how good and talented this young Manny Ramirez this guy is, and how great of a player he is going to be. And for the most part it turned out that way. Ramirez had big seasons in Cleveland and then in Boston as a member of the Red Sox, validating the predictions many scouts made about him coming out of high school.
But in the end, Manny turned out to be a cheat and a disgrace to the game of baseball. Even though I’ve never played the game (I’m not an athletic), if I had the opportunity to do so, I would have treated the league, my teammates, and the fans of this sport with more respect than Manny showed in his 19 year “career”.
One more thing…
Some of my fellow Yankee fans believe that Manny’s cheating along with that of David Ortiz takes away from what the Boston Red Sox accomplished in 2004 and 2007. In response to that let me just say this: Manny’s actions in no way takes away the accomplishments of those two World Series Championship teams. There were players, like Curt Schilling, who didn’t cheat!
Adrian Gonzales debut…..
So far everything has gone according to plan for the Boston Red Sox as Adrian Gonzales is 2-for-2 with 3 RBI’s, batting in the fifth spot of Boston’s lineup. Not a bad debut for a player that will no doubt have another monster season. This time, Gonzales is in a hitter friendly ballpark. For a player of his caliber to play in Boston, after putting up ridiculous numbers in Petco Park, this Red Sox lineup and team will score a lot of runs this year and as always will be tough to beat in Fenway Park.
Jonathan Papelbon…………..
I’d like to send my heart felt congratulations to Boston Red Sox closer for blowing yet another lead and save opportunity this season. After John Lackey gave the Red Sox his best performance on the mound this season, the Red Sox pen, including Papelbon, easily give up a 5 run lead costing Lackey a much deserved win.
However, I’m going to give the Red Sox credit. After blowing a 5 run lead in the bottom of the 9th against one of the worst hitting teams in baseball, they rallied and score two runs in the 13th inning and won the game. For all the injuries, blown saves, etc, the Red Sox have not faded and continue to win. To put it simply, the Red Sox aren’t going anywhere and that makes them a very dangerous team.
From Hero to Goat in just 24 hours
What an interesting 24 hours Marcus Thames has had! He was the hero Monday night when he deposited a Jonathan Papelbon fastball to the left field seats to give the Yankees an 11-9 walk off win. During the post game field interview, after the serving of whip cream pie, he was “welcomed back” to the Yankees by Kim Jones. In just 24 hours, I think Jones and the rest of the Yankee fans should take back their “welcome greeting”, as Thames made a critical error that put two Red Sox in scoring position, which ultimately scored to give Boston the victory.
Text Messaging in Boston.
With two outs in the bottom of the 9th in the long Yankees/Red Sox game this afternoon, Mark Teixeira has come out of his April hibernation and has blasted three homeruns in Fenway. (The game has now ended). Teixeira is the first player since Lou Gehrig to hit three homeruns against the Boston Red Sox, and I have to guess that this is the first time he has hit two homeruns batting left handed and one batting right handed.
Thanks to his efforts tonight, the Yankees have now routed the Red Sox on two consecutive days. In the first two games of this series, the Yankees have outscored the Red Sox 24 runs to 6 as the struggles for Boston continue. Not only have the Yankees busted out offensively, their starting pitching has gotten the job done in another season series win. Last night, Phil Hughes gave the Yankees a good quality start, as he finally gets off the schneid against Boston. Today, CC Sabathia pitched 4.2 innings and was a strike away from pitching full 5 innings before the skies in New England opened up.
What has does this mean for the Yankees..
The fact that the Yankees have not missed a beat with all the injuries that have amounted over the past week, gives me the impression that a fully healthy Yankee team is no doubt one of the best teams in baseball. I don’t believe the Yankees are as talented as the Tampa Bay Rays, but I think they are good enough to beat Tampa for the division title. In the end, it will come down to pitching and both the Rays and Yankees have not lacked pitching so far this season.
The decade that was.
Now that we’re than 30 hours away from the end of the 2000′s, I guess this is the right time to write about the decade that was in Major League Baseball. This decade witness baseball at its best. It saw an underdog team from south Florida travel to the House that Ruth Built and shock the heavily favored Yankees in the 2003 World Series. In that series and clinching game, we saw the birth of a pitcher that has proven his worth in the post season. Decade witness the end of a curse and at the same time the prolonging of a another because of a fan’s desire to catch a foul ball. We also witness a franchise exercise the demons of 1919 and win a championship for the city of Chicago. In between, the Angels, Cardinals, and Phillies won a championship after years of wait. And in the end of the decade, the Yankees christen their new home with another World Series championship. Baseball also saw the bad. A potential strike was averted at the last moment in 2002, saving the game from the shame it received in 1994. At the same time, the game was rocked by a steroid scandal that has brought scrutiny to the records all baseball fans cherish and spend time debating with friends. This decade also saw the ugly. From Mark McGwire’s failure to take responsibility for his actions in front of Congress, to Rafael Palmeiro 500th homerun, and his lies to Congress and the nation.
A list of the top moments?
I’m not going to have a list of the top moments like everyone does, instead, I’m going to write about the moments I feel were great during this decade. The first top moment for me, obviously would be the middle three games of the 2001 World Series. As our nation healed from the attacks of September 11th, baseball helped this country forget about that tragedy. And the three games of that series that was played in the Bronx were just incredible games. What I remember best from that series is Tino Martinez’s tying two run homerun off Byung-Hyun Kim, with the Yankees down by 2 runs, and down in the series to the Diamondbacks 2 games to 1. Tino’s blast to tie the game not only seemed to give the Yankees a new lease in life, but everyone thought, including myself, that the Yankees were on their way to winning a 4th straight World Series title. When Scott Brosius repeated the feat against Kim the next night, and Derek Jeter ended the game, I found myself making plans for another championship parade. But when the series shifted back to Arizona, I and Yankee fans everywhere saw the beginning of the end of the Yankee dynasty. Louis Gonzales fluke single off Rivera was the start of a decade that saw more downs for the Yankees than ups.
Another great moment, not for me necessarily, but for baseball fans in general was the Red Sox reversing the curse. In game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, the Red Sox were dead, but a nobody (and I say that because I love him) named Kevin Millar had the temerity to work out a lead off walk against Mariano Rivera. That walk set a chain of events that would culminate with the Red Sox celebrating an American League championship on Yankee Stadium ground. And as everyone knows, the Red Sox went on to win the World Series and break the curse once and for all. If the curse of the Bambino had to end, what the 2004 Boston Red Sox accomplished was the only fitting way for the Curse to end.
Unfortunately for Chicago Cubs fans, it was one of their own that prolonged their own team’s curse. Leading by 3 runs, with 1 out in the top of the 8th, former Cub Juan Pierre hit a double that, like the Millar walk in 2004, would set a chain of events that resulted in another Marlins championship. When Louis Castillo hit a foul ball to left field, long time Cub fan Steve Bartman interfere’s with the ball and the rest is history. The Marlins put up an 8 spot and in the process broke the collective hearts of Cub fans everywhere. After that game and Game 7, Steve Bartman became public enemy #1 in Chicago. Even though it is unfair to blame Bartman for the Cubs collapse in that series, the Steve Bartman incident will forever live in baseball lore and is one of the most unforgettable moments of the decade.
One last top moment of the decade for me of course has to be Johnny Damon’s walk in Game 4 of this year’s World Series. His tough at-bat against a resurgent Brad Lidge, who seemed to had recover from his problems, resulted in a walk that led to the most amazing play in the World Series. When the Phillies shifted the infield to the right, to guard against Mark Teixeira, Damon’s steal of second and heads up steal of third led to a game winning 3 run rally by the Yankees. And the rest is history. The Yankees ended the decade the way it started, by winning a World Series title.
What do you remember from the decade?
High Payroll doesn’t mean you have to beat teams above .500
A lot has been made this year over the fact that the Yankees spent over $400 million on 3 players yet they are unable to beat “good teams.” Of course this year, the Yankees have a 24-29 record against teams playing over .500 and to make it worse, they have yet to beat the hated Boston Roid Sox. So how in the world can the Yankees be successful and win a championship this year if they can’t beat the competition that is playing above a .500? The answer is, the Yankees don’t have to beat them. As Darren Everson notes in the Wall Street Journal, championship teams, especially championship teams with a high payroll, do not need to beat the teams playing above .500 to win order to be successful. In 2000 the Yankees were 42-43 against teams playing above .500. Last year the Phillies were 43-46 against the ”good teams” and yet they were successful and won their first World Series Championship in 28 years. Championship teams are measured on how they perform in October, not on how many “good teams” they beat during the regular season since–as baseball fans know–the season is a long marathon and anything could happen.
Yankees/Red Sox round 6.
And this round, like the previous 5 rounds will be won once again by the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox are up 6 runs and Josh Beckett was nothing but absolutely brilliant tonight. For the Yankees on the other hand, A.J Burnett had a bad start. It seems Burnett had control and location problems all night, falling behind most of the hitters he faced tonight. Contrast that with Beckett, he was in front of Yankee batters all night, just allowing one hit. As bad a loss as this would be tonight, I don’t think the Yankees have much to worry about, they will still be in first place in the division, but more importantly, they still have a chance at taking the next two games. However, let there be no doubt, as of now, the Red Sox are a much better team than the Yankees. If if the first five games didn’t prove that, this game tonight sure did. Offensively, both teams are evenly matched. Both team starters are quality pitchers, but the Red Sox have a considerable advantage in their bullpen. If the Yankees keep falling behind the Red Sox, and if their starters keep shutting down the Yankee offense, we might see another sweep in Boston. Hopefully, it will not come to that and the Yanks will get a win tomorrow.
David Veloz
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