Best non baseball Moment of the MLB season

Earlier this season I saw a video of one of the funniest things I have seen occur during a baseball game. I know there are plenty of Red Sox fans in this class but I don't know if you all have seen this video or not yet.

*Click the question mark where there should be a pic for the video.*

I will post the link to the video and just be sure to watch the entire thing. Listen to how the guys calling the game forget about the game for an entire inning and break down what has just happened in the stands. This is just great stuff. The announcers cannot keep themselves from laughing during the broadcast, enjoy.

If you didn't enjoy this video you quite possibly may have no soul.

Gagne's a Good Move for Sox

Yesterday was a good day in Boston professional sports. Not only did the Celtics get Kevin Garnett, but the Sox scored Eric Gagne, adding more depth to the majors best bullpen. We've already seen that money itself does not translate to wins. However, money well spent can go a long way. One may argue that the Sox didn't need anymore help in the bullpen, but let's see why that this trade is a smart one.

First, it is unlikely that Gagne will stay in Boston after the year is over, since he wants to close, and Jonathan Papelbon is still Boston's main man. Because Gagne is considered a Type A free agent, if he leaves at the end of the season, Boston will receive two draft picks within the first two rounds.

Secondly, Boston didn't give up much in the big picture to get Gagne. Gagne comes to Boston in exchange for Kason Gabbard, David Murphy, and Engel Beltre. Gabbard has pitched well in Curt Schilling's absence. However, he looked a bit shaky in his last start (5 runs in 4.2 innings). Overall, Gabbard looks good right now, but he hasn't had a full season in the majors, so Boston is taking a chance by selling him high, not to mention, there will be a log jam of starters once Schilling returns. Although Murphy was a good looking prospect in Pawtucket (Red Sox AAA affiliate), he was unlikely to see playing time because of Jacoby Ellsbury. It's hard to say what Beltre might do, as he was playing in A ball. That being said, Boston may be able to replace him with one of those early draft picks if Gagne decides to leave.

Lastly, the addition of Gagne will prevent the overuse of Boston's bullpen. Overall, Terry Francona has managed the use of the bullpen well. It helps to have starters who go deep into the game as well, but it never hurts to have a rested bullpen in the stretch run. With the Yankees starting to get it together, Boston will gladly take any help to make the final push towards the playoffs.

Hindsight being 20/20, only time will tell if this will pan out for Boston, but right now, I think Boston has a lot to be excited about.

Keep Spending Those Dollars, Boys

I was rudely awoken the other day when my phone rang sometime around 4:00 AM. A friend of mine still living in Boston who is apparently confused by the concept of time difference, decided that we needed talk. This would be fine if it was an emergency, but no, my friend had to call me to talk about a conversation he heard between a couple of Red Sox fans. Mildly irritated, I told him I would call back when it was not 4:00 AM. Besides, what Red Sox talk could be so important that you had to call someone that early in the morning?

The fans were ultimately questioning why the Red Sox spend so much money on players, and how it was stupid and imprudent to do so. If teams can win with less money, why can't the Red Sox? One might argue, they spend because they can. Well, just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. Perhaps the Red Sox actually have to. If John Henry (Red Sox principal owner) had his choice, I'm sure he'd rather spend less than more, but let's look at several reasons why the Sox have to spend so much money.

First, to have a chance at winning the World Series, a team must make the playoffs. In order to make the playoffs, a team must either win the division or the wild card. That being said, the Red Sox are competing with the Yankees for one playoff spot. Yes, they can win the wild card, but in recent years, there is no guarantee that the wild card is going to come from the AL East. Due to the unbalanced schedule, the Red Sox have to face the Yankees 18 times a year. With that many head to head games, the Red Sox need to try to have a lineup that can keep pace with that of the Yankees. This usually means, that they need to go out and spend their fair share of money.

I understand that the Red Sox could just refuse to spend that kind of money, and take a chance that they could win with a lower payroll. But, that brings me to my second point. The Red Sox can't take that chance, because their fans would never let them. The only way to truly understand Red Sox fans is to live amongst them. Red Sox Nation would be ripping management a new one if they decided to cut payroll AND subsequently if the Red Sox did not make the playoffs, or worse yet, came in behind the Yankees. Red Sox Nation expects a quality team that is in contention for the playoffs yearly. That expectation to its fans and customers means management has to spend the money to field a contending team. This expectation has become more prevalent since John Henry took over in 2002.

For now, it is what it is, and while they can, the Red Sox are going to spend the money to buy a good team, just as the Yankees do. Yes, the Yankees set the market, but the Red Sox aren't going to try to shift the market anytime soon. With the amount of fans coming through the gates, and the fact that they've become adept at "rebuilding" while still being competitive, it is unlikely that their payroll will decrease significantly anytime soon.

Prediction

By early September, the Red Sox won't be in first place.

Look, you know I don't want this to be true. But the pitching staff has completely overachieved to this point, the bullpen, especially, cannot keep this up, and I'm not sure that the underachievers on offense are going to even out. Manny is looking old (worst season since his rookie year), V-Tek is old, Ortiz is playing hurt (worst slugging percentage since he came to Boston), Julio Lugo was never good and I will never understand why they wanted him...I do think J.D. Drew will be a little better in the second half but as I've said before, the Yankees both underachieved and were unlucky in the first half.

Just trying to be objective...

(and reverse jinx the situation, of course)

Sox - Yankees, Part 1000

My Sox fan friend Brett just emailed me asking if I thought the Yankees were done। Since I'll surely be asked to address this in class anyway, I figured I may as well put my thoughts on e-paper here.

My vote is no. Here's why:

Besides A Rod, Posada and Jeter, all of the other six ex-All Stars in their lineup are completely underperforming. Johnny Damon, a lifetime .288 hitter, is at .251 (though he has a comparitively high OBP). Bobby Abreu is 40 points below his lifetime average and 50 points beneath his lifetime OBP. He's averaged 22 homers per year; so far he has four. Robinson Cano is 35 points below his lifetime average and a full 70 behind last year's.

The point? All of these guys are well under their lifetime numbers, and that doesn't even include Giambi, Matsui and the overwhelming number of injuries to the pitching staff. I suppose it's possible that all continues to go wrong in New York, but I doubt it. More likely? Jeter and Rodriguez continue to tear it up, Posada comes crashing down to earth -- he's 70 points above his lifetime average right now -- and all the other All Stars start performing again. If they can maintain even average pitching, that offense should carry them.

In short, the Yankees will probably make a run. If you look at the numbers, their record should be much better than it is. Their record has them at a game under .500, but they're outscoring opponents by an almost a run per game. According to baseball-reference.com, their record should be something like 42-31 right now, which would put them a more manageable six games behind the Red Sox instead of 11. Over the course of a season things tend to even out; therefore, EXPECT the Yankees to do well in the second half and don't act as surprised as John Kruk, Steve Phillips and the Baseball Tonight people will want you to.

Testing