White Suburban Punk

Jim Joyce is the latest with a colossal screw up, costing the Tigers’ Armando Galarraga a perfect game.  With two outs in the ninth.  Whatever happened to giving the guy the benefit of the doubt when he’s got something like this going on?  I remember watching the endings of a couple of Nolan Ryan’s no hitters and if a pitch was anywhere near the plate in the ninth inning, it would be called a strike.  Joyce apologized after the game, but it sure looked like he dogged it on the replays.  The commentators all say that he’s known as a  good ump, but how can this happen? 

This latest incident comes soon after Joe West with Mark Buehrle and after Roy Oswalt of the Astros got thrown out for saying, “I ain’t talking to you.”  Now, I keep hearing that today’s umpires are unquestionably better than they used to be and I guess I can buy that they’re under more pressure because of the extensive use of replay, but these incidents are the result of egos and laziness — really, really bad umpiring.  And it’s not just baseball.  The Celtics/Magic Game 5 was atrocious because of the individual referees, too.  The NBA ended up rescinding one of Kendrick Perkins’ technicals from that game, but that’s it, there was no more public action.  At least with these baseball incidents there has been extensive national attention, which hopefully puts pressure on umps to do their jobs competently. 

The 1985 World Series was arguably decided by a bad umpiring call on a play at first base in the ninth inning of game 6.  With the Cardinals leading the series, 3-2, and the game, 1-0, Don Denkinger missed a call at first base on the Royals’ first batter, calling him safe when replays clearly showed he was out.  Single, passed ball, intentional walk, and then a two run single by Dane Iorg, and the Royals won the game, 2-1, and then won game 7, 11-0.  There have also been recent contorversies in the NBA playoffs, such as Larry Johnson getting a phantom call on a 3-pointer in the playoffs and the Sacramento Kings getting jobbed for an entire game 7 against the Lakers.  In soccer, Thierry Henry’s obvious hand ball was missed and France advanced to this year’s World Cup instead of Ireland.

So bad officiating has at least helped decide some very big games.  I know it’s stupid to complain about umpires and officials, especially from a fan’s point of view, but we’re getting close to a bad call or a series of bad calls blatantly deciding a championship.  At the rate we’re going, it will happen very soon.

Vince Carter, an 84% free throw shooter on the season, misses two with 31 seconds left that would have brought Orlando within 1 point.  JJ Redick inexplicably tries to advance the ball before calling timeout on their last possession.  Orlando sure had an easy regular season and cruised through the first two rounds of the playoffs.  Just like Cleveland, they haven’t faced one iota of adversity all season and they don’t have the cajones to deal with it when they do.  Vince Carter is just like Lebron with his constant complaining to the officials.  It reminds me of Johnny Most on Kareem: “This guy has been in the league for twenty years and he has never committed a personal foul.”  In the one game that Orlando absolutely had to be tougher than their opponent, they failed.  Miserably.  I thought the Celtics played about the same or a little better than Game 1 overall, despite a mess of turnovers in the fourth quarter.  Paul Pierce is the truth and Orlando got Rondo’d.  Now the old legs get three full days off before resuming the series Saturday night.

Speaking of choke jobs, Joba and the yankees coughed up another five run lead last night, aided by an Arod error.  ESPN the Magazine recently had a poll of major leaguers in which one of the questions asked who was the most overrated player in baseball: Joba #1, Arod #2.  The yankees bizarrely played the game under protest, apparently believing that Josh Beckett wasn’t coming out of the game because of injury.  After a great comeback and then blowing the game Monday night, the Sox showed some heart and held on to the comeback win last night, even though Papelbon struggled again.  I’m still not ready to put a fork in the Sox.

Tottenham Hotspur clinched the final Champions League spot in the English Premier League with a 1-0 win over Manchester City, with the goal scored by Abigail Clancy’s fiancee, Peter Crouch.  Liverpool have clinched a Europa League spot as the seventh place team.  They can finish no higher than sixth.  Rafa Benitez has begun a series of meetings with Liverpool’s top brass, but there is still no word on transfer funds available or the sale of the team.  It does appear that Benitez will be staying with the club, however.

Hull City, Burnley, and Portsmouth will be relegated to the League Championship.  Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion have been promoted, and the playoffs begin Saturday for the final promotion spot.  Sixth place Blackpool will play a home and home with third place Nottingham Forest, and fifth place Leicester City will play fourth place Cardiff City.

Chelsea will clinch the Premiership title with a win at home against Wigan.  Manchester United plays at Stoke City trailing Chelsea by one point.  Everyone’s final game is at the same time Sunday, 11:00 Eastern in the US.

The Red Sox swept Orange County in a four game set and everything appears to finally be coming together, just in time for a visit from the yankees.  That game is actually third fiddle in the Boston area tonight, however, as the Bruins look to sweep the Flyers in Philly and the Celtics host the Cavs in game 3.  The loss of David Krejci could be devastating for the B’s, as he had been superb in the playoffs and the team really relies on his creativity in the offensive end.  If the Bruins can wrap it up tonight, they could get some significant time off, as Montreal tied up their series with Pittsburgh, 2-2.  Ole!

The pitching matchups for the Sox series are: Josh Beckett vs. Phil Hughes Friday night, Clay Buchholz vs. CC Sabathia 3:10 Saturday, and Jon Lester vs. AJ Burnett 8:00 Sunday.

The Bruins continue to captivate Boston sports fans as they took a 2-0 series lead on the Flyers last night.  This game wasn’t as non-stop breathtaking as game 1, but it was still plenty exciting.  The Bruins were so mediocre and downright boring all season, with a defensive orientation and an anemic offense.  They are a completely different team now.  They really don’t seem to play all that strong defensively anymore and they got caught making mistakes again last night.  Of course, Tuukka Rask has been incredible, and looks like the best goalie remaining in the playoffs.  But the startling thing has been the offense.  Even without Marco Sturm, these guys just click.  It mostly seems due to nothing but hard work.  In the Buffalo series and in the first two games of the Philadelphia series, the Bruins seem to win the majority of the battles along the boards.  They create chances, they muck in front of the net, and they throw it at the net a lot.  It’s also amazing how their strong stretch run helped them with seeding.  They were perilously close to the eighth seed for the last few weeks, but instead of getting Washington and then Pittsburgh, they got Buffalo and then Philadelphia.  And maybe Montreal can keep up their miraculous run so the B’s can get home ice for the conference finals.  But that’s a long way off.  Philly is going to be their typical brutal selves in game 3 at home, with an added dose of desperation.  Hopefully scumbag Dan Carcillo will try to stick his hands in Zdeno Chara’s mouth this time.

The Celtics shocked the NBA world by kicking the crap out of the Cavs in Cleveland last night.  After dominating the first half of game 1 and then falling apart, the C’s got a huge lead last night and then held off a late rally.  It seems that no one, either nationally or locally, gave the Celtics much of a chance in this series.  But they really do seem to be peaking at the right time.  Rajon Rondo has been by far the best player for either team.  Mo Williams had a good game 1, but he just doesn’t compare.  And all these supporting cast guys that we were supposed to be so worried about don’t impress me very much.  It also seems clear that Lebron is going to milk this “injury” for as long as the Cavs are still alive.  I would love to see him do his crybaby act again this year and walk off the court without congratulating the winners.  Again, that’s still a way’s off, but the Celtics have been the better team through two games, and the long layoffs between games can only help.

Ah, the Sox.  Big win last night and maybe that will help turn things around.  We still don’t really know this team’s identity, as they have not performed at all like anyone expected so far.  They just need to string together some good starting pitching performances and everything should start flowing from there.  That will make everything else look better.  JD Drew and Youk look like they’re coming around, and Cameron and Ellsbury can’t be out too much longer.  Adrian Beltre just needs to get games under him to freaking relax and start playing the third base that everyone expected. This is probably the best team he’s ever been on and he’s never played anywhere that demands winning like here.  I just wish the team had a little bit more personality.  Theo has gone the Patriots’ route with a group of professional, high character guys, which certainly makes life easier for Tito and the front office, but it’s not as fun to be a fan of a team like this.  Of course, comparing any team to the 2004 version will pale in every comparison, but, man that was fun.  The Sox get a pass until the end of the Bruins’ and Celtics’ seasons, anyway. 

Photo from Boston.com

The Red Sox managed to win two games with walkoffs against the Rangers before being shut out last night.  Clay Buchholz was excellent before tiring, however, so that’s a good sign.  New hero Darnell McDonald was finally kept hitless, although he did have a walk.  Tonight Jon Lester tries to straighten things out against Baltimore at Fenway.

The Bruins look to wrap up their surprising series with Buffalo tonight in Buffalo.  Where this team was all year, no one knows, but they have been an absolute joy to watch in this series.  Johnny Boychuk and Vladimir Sobotka are my new favorite players, and Tukka Rask has been fantastic.

The Celtics go on the road for game 3 of their series against the Heat after blowing them out in game 2.  Once again, I have no idea what will happen tonight, but it’s possible the C’s could put up another dominating performance.  They’ve been strong on the road all season, and now they have KG back.  Of course, with all signs pointing up, that probably means they’re due for a stinker.  Glen Davis has been awesome in the first two games of this series, while Rasheed Wallace only made the news for getting another fine by the league.

The Patriots ready for rounds 2 and 3 of the draft tonight, where they have three picks in the second and one in the third.  They went with a DB out of Rutgers in the first round, Devin McCourty, who Bill Belichick claims was who they wanted.  Today there are the usual overreactions from the media, stating that the secondary was the only area that didn’t need any help this offseason.  Belichick is apparently close with Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, which should provide him with added insight, but the experts in the Boston media know that Belichick hasn’t done anything here in New England to prove he has any idea what he’s doing, so they’re feeding off each other like maggots today.

The Bruins are off a surprising 2-1 series lead after last night’s 2-1 win at the Garden.  Last night’s game was awesome, with the Bruins fans at their chanting, singing, raucous best.  The play has been great, too, with tons of hitting and the usual playoff intensity.  This series so far has been a great example for the people who say that the NHL playoffs are the best in sports.  The Bruins have shown great heart, especially in game 2.  They were down 1-0 in the series and 2-0 in the game, in Buffalo, with their backs against the wall, and came back and won the game.  Heart has been something that appeared to be lacking from the Bruins this year, but they went 8-3-1 in their last 12 games and are undoubtedly playing their best hockey of the season right now.  And Marc Savard has been symptom-free for a week and skated on his own yesterday, so he could conceivably come back if the Bruins advance.

The NFL draft is a multiday event starting Thursday.  The Patriots need to have a good draft, but I’ll see what they did when they’re done.  The massive industry that has developed around the NFL draft is insane.

The Celtics lead Miami, 1-0, with game 2 tonight in Boston.  They will play without KG, who was suspended for allegedly throwing an elbow during an altercation at the end of game 1.  All the talking heads seem to agree with the suspension, even though I don’t really see it on the replays.  It was unquestionably stupid of KG to let himself get into that situation that late in a game you’re going to win anyway, and now all the people that this edition of the Celtics has pissed off can come out of the woodwork (Joakim Noah?) saying that KG is a dirty player and that Paul Pierce is some kind of flopper or something.  Never mind that Pierce’s game is to put himself into position to get knocked down either by driving the lane or keeping possession of the ball in a foul situation.  Whatever.  This Celtics team is definitely hated, and I have to admit that it’s far from my favorite Celtics team, too.  I have no idea how they’ll react to this.  No one can figure this team out.  Several times this season they have shown no motivation just when you expect them to want to make a statement and we were hoping the playoffs would wake them up.  They awoke enough in the second half of game 1, so now what will KG’s suspension do to them?  Motivate them to step it up or give them an excuse to lose?  I have no idea.

Ah, now your 4-9 Boston Red Sox.  Jason Varitek, Dustin Pedroia, and Adrian Beltre — fine.  Everyone else — not so good.  In the starting rotation, John Lackey had two good starts before yesterday’s disaster.  Everyone else has not been good enough.  It’s a team-wide slump, not a team-wide bad team with little talent.  Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about times like this in baseball, especially at the beginning of the year, although this is definitely the best time for something like this to happen.  Sure, there’s the worry that they’ll be in a big hole behind the Rays and yankees, but they’re going to end up where they belong after 162.  I don’t think Lester should be sent down to Pawtucket and I don’t think Jermaine Dye will turn this team into the ’04 Sox.  I am worried about David Ortiz, as it really does look like he’s done, and he’s certainly done as a huge force.  But the Sox have depth there, with Lowell and Jeremy Hermida.  JD Drew is not going to hit .132 this season, Youk won’t end up at .238, and Victor won’t end at .224, which is where they all are now.  Mike Cameron has been placed on the DL and may need surgery, but that doesn’t make it a bad signing.  You just gotta have faith that these are good players, they’re not bums, and they will start performing.  There’s literally nothing else to do.

Photo from Boston.com

Welcome back, baseball.  Pedro threw out the first pitch and Posada allowed the game winning run on a passed ball.  Hip, hip, Jorge!

It was somewhat understandable that Sunday’s game was at night, but Tuesday and Wednesday are, too.  So no traditional daytime home game the whole first week.  The Sox brass blamed MLB for the home opener being at night, but all three games certainly aren’t MLB’s decision.

The vaunted yankee lineup looks a bit more vulnerable this year.  Granderson, Swisher, and Gardner is the bottom third of the order.  Hopefully they really miss Damon and Matsui. 

The yankee bullpen went 2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 R, 1 WP.  Sox bullpen: 4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 2 R.

Photo from Boston.com

What a day.  Nomar signs a one day contract to retire as a Red Sox and 38 year old Corey Haim is found dead of an apparently accidental drug overdose.

“Nomar’s Better” is probably the most fun chant I ever participated in.  It propped up our player and disparaged a yankee with just two words.  But we really believed it, too.  And for several years, it was a legitimate argument.  Today, it seems that everyone just remembers the ugly end of his time in Boston, but he was an absolute icon and really the only good offensive player on Jimy Williams’ teams.  Nomar and Pedro led Jimy’s Sox to the playoffs in 1998 and 1999 and right now I can’t think of another team with two superstars and really no one else that had as much success as those teams did.

He had his OCD superstitions and his disparagement of the media, but the fans loved Nomar, especially kids.  It was legitimately sad when he was traded in 2004.  It certainly worked out for the team, but it seemed that Nomar never recovered.  He continued to have injury problems and his performance was never anything near what it was in his early heyday in Boston.  There have been suspicions about PED use, but they have only been based on the circumstantial evidence of his career path.  It went south really fast. 

Numbers: He played in at least 135 games from 1997 to 2000 and 156 each in 2002 and 2003.  2001 was lost to a wrist injury, I believe. He played in 81 games in 2004 (43 with the Cubs) and 62 in 2005 in Chicago.  Then he went to LA and played in 122, 121, and 55 from 2006 – 2008 and then had just 65 games last year for Oakland.  He hit over .300 just once after leaving Boston, while he never failed to hit .300 in a full season with the Sox.  He made the playoffs three times with the Sox, 1998, 1999, and 2003.  He played in all 25 playoff games in those years, going 31-96 (.323), with 16 runs scored, 6 doubles, 7 home runs, and 21 RBIs.

Anyway, he was the only good thing about the Red Sox for a number of years, and I was glad he got a ring from the 2004 team.  He deserved it.  So long, Nomar.

Still trying to digest the stunning news about Mark McGwire.  The thing is, why would this possibly improve his chances of getting into the Hall of Fame?  Doesn’t make any sense at all.  He had several pretty bad years, and also lost some to injury.  He also had some phenomenal years, but it looks like they were steroid-aided.  His admission that he used them shouldn’t have any impact whatsoever.  He had something like 23% of the vote this past year, and I don’t see how it should improve from there.  I say he’s out.

So now there’s news that Daisuke Matsuzaka hid an injury from the Red Sox last year.  Great news.  He apparently injured his leg training for the World Baseball Classic and that led him to alter his mechanics and injure his shoulder.  Obviously, the Sox were aware of the shoulder issue, but not the leg.  I don’t think the relationship between Daisuke and the Sox brass can really get any more strained over this, but I think the Sox just want to forget about last year as far as Daisuke is concerned.  Wipe the slate clean, and make sure he comes into camp in premium shape.  Unfortunately, it looks like this is yet another lesson that needs to be drilled into the pitcher’s head — don’t hide injuries!  He says he did it because he didn’t want to make excuses.  But he sucked and once he got sent down . . . Calm down, just forget last year.  He’s supposedly in good shape this offseason, working out in Arizona at the Athletes Performance Center or whatever it’s called.  I heard a radio interview with Dustin Pedroia where he said Daisuke looks good and they were planning to go out to dinner.

Aroldis Chapman signs with the Reds, which is somewhat surprising, but good for them.  According to the article I read about it, the yankees weren’t even in on the bidding.  Of course, the article also calls the Reds’ rotation “deep”, so that makes me suspicious about everything else.  Anyway, we’ll see how he does.  I saw another report somewhere, I can’t remember where, that called him the “John Rocker of Cuba.”  Handing $30 million to a guy who supposedly has maturity issues and is now in the US for the first time, without family or a support network, is an incredibly risky thing to do.

Jason Bay went to the Mets, too bad for him.  Looks to me like his agent really screwed this one up.  He bluffed, and Theo called him on it.  Then Seattle didn’t materialize for him, and he’s stuck in a dysfunctional organization and a huge ballpark, in a city he doesn’t seem that crazy about.  The Mets’ offer was on the table for at least a month before he signed it, after all.  Too bad, he seemed like a good guy.

I very much like the Adrian Beltre signing.  I was pretty skeptical until it happened, but the more I learn about the guy, the more I like him.  I really didn’t realize he was that good of a fielder, and he’s got a better bat than I thought.  He played through brutal injuries last year, including a shoulder injury where he couldn’t lift his arm above his head.  But he played.  So no wonder his offensive numbers were awful.  He seems to have a great swing for Fenway, and if he’s healthy, he should be able to hit 20-25 home runs.  And the fans should love him right off the bat just because of his defense.

I also liked the announcement that Jacoby Ellsbury will be playing LF, something I thought should happen when Mike Cameron was signed.  Hopefully it doesn’t bruise his ego too much, but it should really be better for both him and the team.  It minimizes his lack of arm strength and saves his legs.  He’s also been working out in Arizona and supposedly getting stronger, so maybe we’ll see him drive the ball a bit more next year.  He tends to get on streaks where he just slaps at everything and gets nothing but singles.

That’s all I got as we enter the netherworld between the premature end of the Patriots’ season and Spring Training.

The Patriots win an ugly one in Buffalo, but a win is a win at this point.  Especially on the road.  Randy Moss’ comments after the game were hilarious.  I wonder if there will be any talk that Wes Welker quit on the team after his quiet day.  Laurence Maroney continues to look good, really fighting for yards.  I had to admit I was worried after the Bills’ first drive, but then they reverted back to what they are, and the Patriots defense played well against an awful team.  Jacksonville is up next, and supposedly New England still has an outside shot at the #2 seed if San Diego loses its final two games.  I still can’t figure out the Patriots offense, though.  The same personnel as 2007, but it sure doesn’t look like it.  Is it all Brady?

Liverpool lost to last place Portsmouth, 2-0, over the weekend.  They now sit in seventh place.  Javier Mascherano got sent off for a bad tackle, and he managed to strain his MCL on the play, as well.  So he’s suspended and injured.  I don’t know if it can really get any worse for this team.  Wolverhampton is next in the Premiership on Saturday.  They drew a Romanian team in the Europa League, which will start in February.

The Champions League draw also took place, with Inter Milan getting Chelsea, The Chosen One’s current team and former team.  And AC Milan drew Manyoo, David Beckham’s current team and former team.  Should be interesting.

The Landon Donovan loan to Everton went through.

So Mike Lowell is back with the Sox.  Both player and team must be thrilled.  If he’s going to be ok by Spring Training, why didn’t the Rangers just go through with the trade?  They’d only be paying him $3 million.

The Cubs traded Milton Bradley to the Mariners for Carlos Silva.  So the M’s continue to improve, while all the Angels have done is sign Hideki Matsui.  That also means that Jason Bay will not be going to Seattle.  I’ve got to think that he’s not real psyched to play for the Mets, with the big ballpark and circus atmosphere.  I hope I’m wrong, but I still think the yankees are going to swoop in.  Speaking of, Brian Cashman claims that the yankees will “almost certainly add a starter by New Year’s,” according to the New York Post.  But no one seems to have any idea who that would be.

Coco Crisp is going to the A’s.

Bill James projects your Opening Day first baseman, Casey Kotchman, to hit .272 in 372 at bats (122 games), with 9 HR and 52 RBI in 2010.  His best year was 2007 with the Angels, when he played in 137 games, hit .296 with an OBP of .372 and slugged .467.  He finished that year with 11 HR and 68 RBI.  The next year he was traded (with a prospect) to the Braves for Mark Texeira and hit his career high 14 HR.  He was considered a top prospect by Baseball America for a number of years; in 2002 he was ranked 22nd, 2003 13th, 2004 15th, and 2005 6th.  He’ll be 27 years old in February.

Glen Davis will supposedly return to the Celtics in early January.

Everyone’s favorite whipping boy, the Big 10, has seven teams in bowl games.  Only two are favored to win, Minnesota by 2.5 over Iowa State, and Penn State by 2.5 over LSU.  The other five are underdogs.  Wisconsin is 3 point dogs to Miami, Ohio State 3.5 to Oregon, Iowa 4 to Georgia Tech, Northwestern 7 to Auburn, and Michigan State 8 to Texas Tech.  Does the fact that 5 of the teams are underdogs prove the conference sucks, or if they have another bad bowl year, can Big 10 fans say, “yeah, but 5 of the teams were underdogs?”