Being a hopeful future broadcaster, the way a game is being called is sometimes just as important to me as the game itself. This March, I've found myself yelling at the TV much more than ever. Now I don't claim to know everything there is to know about the tournament, but the stupidity of some people announcing the games is really incomprehensible. This weekend, there were four different crews announcing at the four different regional sites. Here's my analysis.
Jim Nantz and Billy Packer- South Regional
This crew is CBS's number 1 crew, and they'll be in San Antonio for the Final Four. I have a few problems with this crew. First of all, Jim Nantz calls March Madness games like he's at Augusta calling a putt at the 13th hole by Notah Begay III. Cmon Jim, show some life... These are the biggest three weekends in all of sports. Billy Packer is probably the most knowledgeable of the analysts but is by far the most aggravating. In the Texas-Memphis game he said something to the effect of "Rick Barnes needs to get a team out there that has a clue how to handle this Memphis team." He is overly critical of any mistake any player makes. He needs to realize that these players are just college kids, and reminds me of an older, even more crotchety Coach Hock. All in all, though, if you're looking for a straightforward broadcast, and can handle Packer's negativity, this is a good crew.
Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery- West Regional
I'm a huge fan of Raftery's. It's always good to know that, off the tip, "UCLA is lining up... INTHEMANTAMAN!" By far the most energetic of the analysts, I would watch anything called by Raftery. I like him even better when he's doing Big East Basketball with Sean McDonough. Listen to Raftery after this dunk to see why he's the best. On the downside, with both Raftery and Lundquist being over 60, they occasionally have trouble seeing what is going on. Lundquist is a lot like Nantz in that he rarely gets excited, but he plays well off Raftery and makes for an enjoyable broadcast.
Gus Johnson and Len Elmore- Midwest Regional
By far, my favorite announcer in the entire world is Gus Johnson. He could make shaving interesting. In fact, I would pay a very large sum of money to have him narrate my life. He also does Knicks games on MSG, which is really a waste of his talent, because, in all honesty, I would rather watch someone shave than watch a Knicks game. There's honestly nothing I can say about him other than leave you clips of his fine, fine work. There was no one better than Gus to call Stephen Curry's lights out game in the Sweet 16. Here's Gus at his finest.
And a little bit of Gus doin the Knickerbockers.
Dick Enberg and Jay Bilas- East Region
Awful, just awful. How Dick Enberg has a job broadcasting sports is absolutely pathetic. He incorrectly called four consecutive possessions in the Louisville-UNC game. What's worse is that, after he makes a mistake, he refuses to correct himself. I don't know whether it's because he's too stubborn, or he honestly doesn't realize it. I think Hansbrough got called for 8 fouls in that game, and each team took 11 timeouts. But it's really a bad job by CBS to have him doing regional final games. I hadn't heard this much of him since he was the announcer for NFL Gameday 98, and that game was awful, too. That game pissed me off so much because if you tried to throw to your running back in the flat, the throw went right into the ground. Not only that, any field goal from within 60 yards was almost always good. Man, that pissed me off. At least I had that game longer than I had Head Coach, which I returned within 24 hours. The worst part was that the same person who rang me up when I bought the game was there the next day when I went to return it, which was quite embarrassing. And since it was out of the original packaging, I only got half price. Man, that was a bad investment.
Speaking of announcers, I'm launching an official online campaign to get the term, "quick blow", removed from all basketball telecasts. As in, "Quentin Thomas comes in to give Ty Lawson a quick blow." That has to stop. Granted, I notice any and all sexual innuendo in conversations, but this is out of control. You're telling me that there's no one who has figured out what this could possibly mean??
Moving on to the actual games, imagine this. This is the first time all four #1 seeds have advanced to the Final Four. It's kind of surprising that that's never happened. If there was going to be a year where it would happen, though, this was the year. On Selection Sunday, there was no question who the top 4 teams in the country were, and all four of them were easily much stronger than anyone else. That being said, I thought there was no way Memphis had a shot to beat Texas. I mean, what are the odds they all of a sudden decide to go 30-36 from the line.
After seeing the excitement of the first two days of the tournament this year, I'm making a bold prediction. In the next 10 years, a #1 seed will fall to a #16. It's never been done, but I will take bets from anyone that this will happen. The overall talent in the college game is more vast than it ever has been. And maybe if Quinnipiac can ever win the juggernaut conference that is the NEC, we can be the one to do it.
What can you say about Stephen Curry. The first shocker was that he goes with the STEH-fin pronunciation. Good choice I think, because if he wasn't going to go with the way it's spelled, going with Ste-PHON would have resulted in a Starbury tirade. I can't remember anyone being as hot as Curry was for 3 and a half games. He singlehandedly lead his team to the Elite 8, and was one shot away from San Antonio. Was there any doubt going into this weekend that he would have at least one more 30 pt game?
On the flipside, most disappointing honors goes to Roy Hibbert. I don't get it. He's 7'2", but plays softer than anyone his size in the nation. For the second year in a row, I picked the Hoyas to go the Final Four, and again he let me down. In his two tournament games, Big Roy played a combined 32 minutes, less than a full game. The more I watch him, the more I compare his performance in big games to the game Andrew Bynum had against East Brunswick in 2004. He towers over everyone on the court, looks stronger than everyone on the court, but doesn't play like any of this is true. Needless to say, Bynum has more than proved he belongs in the Association, but I'm definitely not sold on Hibbert. His inability to stay out of foul trouble should be a real concern for all NBA teams, and, regardless of his size, I'd have a hard time picking him in the first round this June.
The worst uniforms in the tournament are, by far, those of the Oregon Ducks. Keep in mind that the names on the back were printed in black, and hardly able to see. They have always been a joke when it comes to their unis. It's unbelievable how bad they are. But my favorite name of the tournament comes to us from Norman, Oklahoma, where the starting center for the Sooners is none other than Longar Longar, who hopefully one day can be drafted by me in the last round of a fantasy basketball draft with the likes of Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje.
I lost two of my final four teams in Georgetown and Texas, but my championship game of UCLA and UNC still remains. I still like the UCLA's strong, suffocating defense to keep Hansbrough and Co. in check, and I like UCLA in a classic, 71-69.
Non-Tournament Related News
The real opening day of the baseball season is tomorrow at 1 o'clock. Just like it should be... Ryan Zimmerman hits the first walk-off HR of the season tonight in the Nats opener against the Braves, what will turn out to be the high point in the Nats season... The Western Conference of the NBA continues to beat up on each other, where there are 5 teams within 1.5 games of the top spot, not counting the Jazz, who is the 4 seed but remain 3 games back of the Hornets. Then we have a 3-way tie for 7th place, which means it is very likely a team in the West will win 50 games and miss the playoffs, while in the East a team with 35 wins could make the playoffs. I hate the NBA... As Facebook continues to take over the world, my least favorite development has been the "People You May Know" section on the right of the main page. I don't need Facebook to tell me who I do and don't know. Dirty bastards... In Beat the Streak news, Papi's 0-fer against the A's in the second Japan game set me back to zero, but Chipper's home run Sunday night puts me back on the road to 57 in a row, and 1 million dollars in my pocket. Let the dream live on.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Off we go...
And so it begins... Another season of walk-offs, hit-and-runs, sac bunts (unless you're an A's fan), cups of coffee, west coast road trips, pitcher's duels, and extra inning affairs. And what better way to start the season off than with a running diary of the first game of the 2008 MLB Season.
Just for the record, I'm watching this bad boy on NESN over ESPN the Deuce because, well, I can. You can have Gary Thorne and Steve Phillips (no seriously, please), I'll take Don Orsillo and legendary chain smoker Jerry Remy any day of the week. And if Michael Kay ever goes national, I can guarantee you I will never watch an ESPN telecast again. Yet I digress...
A couple thoughts before gametime...
5:57- My mind is immediately put at ease as the Oakland lineups are announced. The A's trot out a 3-4-5 of Daric Barton, Jack Cust of the Mitchell Report, and Emil Brown. Not exactly Murderer's Row. Good ol' Jack Cust. I'll never forget him tripping over his own feet on the way to home plate when there was no one covering the rundown.
6:01- Why is it that every other country's National Anthem sounds so much cooler than ours? Honestly, for a country who claims to be the best in the world, I really wish we were more impressive in the anthem category.
6:04- "Welcome to Tokyo, Japan, where the Red Sox begin their title defense." Man, just hearing that brings chills down my spine.
6:06- You think Dice-K's feeling a little pressure? Not only does he have something to prove to Red Sox Nation this year, he's back pitching in front of a crowd who thinks of him as a God. Maybe he's used to it, but I'll tell you right now, I'd already be on my third pair of underwear if I was in his shoes.
6:10- First pitch of the 2008 season... a fastball strike to Dustin Pedroia, who promptly bounces a single up the middle on the next pitch.
6:12- Just learned that J.D. is out tonight with a lower back problem. Glad to see he's gonna stay healthy this year
6:15- After a fielder's choice, and a mammoth pop out by Ortiz. Manny looks to put me on my way to a million bucks with one on and two out. He flies out to right though, and takes about 5 steps towards first base in the process.
6:17- Hey!!! Look who's batting 6th for Oakland. It's perennial MVP candidate Bobby Crosby!!! Here's to another year of making Peter Gammons look like an idiot.
6:19- Mark Ellis takes Dice-K deep to left on a 1-0 fastball right down broadway. It's rare when someone like Mark Ellis hits a no doubter like that. Great start. Make that my fourth pair of underwear.
6:25- After a walk to Barton, Dice-K hits Cust in the foot on a 2-2 pitch. The season is 15 minutes old and I've pulled half my hair out already.
6:26- Make that all my hair, a wild pitch puts runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out. Maybe Travis Buck can lend me some of his.
6:30- A cheap little chopper to the mound by Crosby scores Barton. 2-0 A's.
6:32- Big strikeout of Jack Hannahan stops the bleeding and ends the inning. But that was a disgusting display of pitching by Dice-K. Sliders all over the place, and the fastballs that were on the plate were not hitting corners. Let's hope he turns it around. At least I can take solace in the fact that Jack Hannahan sounds like he belongs on the 1980 Miracle on Ice team.
6:39- About three years ago, I went to a Red Sox game at Fenway. The people I was sitting with had created a nickname for Jason Varitek, "4-6-3", due to his propensity of hitting into double plays. Well, guess what? A double play off the bat of Tek erases a lead-off single by Mikey Lowell and ends the top of the 2nd. That's two lead off men on, no runs.
6:49- My new favorite part of Japanese baseball, the ballboys who are stationed down the lines are wearing combat helmets. I can't think of a goofier look.
6:52- Dice-K walks Mark Ellis on a 3-2 pitch with one on and 2 out, and for the first time I can ever recall, shows some emotion on the mound. I don't like the looks of this at all.
6:58- After yet another walk to load the bases, Dice-K gets a questionable called strike 3 on steroid user and foot tripper over Jack Cust. In other news, we see our first Julian Tavarez sighting from the bullpen. Don't be surprised if Francona gives Dice-K just one baserunner before he makes the move.
7:07- After singles from Lugo and Youkillis, its 2 on, 2 out for David Ortiz. I know it's early, but this is really a pivotal at bat.
7:09- Ortiz rips one to right, but oh wait, there's the 2nd baseman. I forgot about that pesky shift. I don't know who invented the shift, but that has to rank right up with pulling your goalie and the blitz as the most ballsy sports innovations of their day.
7:17- Another walk from Dice-K, and more frustration being shown. I'd put odds at 2-1 that he falls on his sword in the clubhouse at the end of this outing. Meanwhile, Lugo's putting together a nice little game as his leap robs Kurt Suzuki of a two out base hit. At the end of 3, 2-0 Oakland. Dice-K's high pitch count (75 through 3) could force an early exit in this one.
7:26- The middle of the order goes down 1-2-3 in the top of the fourth for the Sox. It's the first 1-2-3 inning for either pitcher. Manny remains hitless as my quest for a million seems to be having trouble getting started.
7:28- Dice-K comes out to start the inning, with Kyle Snyder warming in the bullpen. Hey, note to MLB, why are the commercial breaks twice as long when games are in the States? I like this a lot.
7:30- Another thing I like a lot, a huge, 6 pitch, 1-2-3 inning for Dice-K. Tito said he would be capped at around 80 pitches, so that should be all for Matsuzaka. It certainly could have been much, much worse.
7:37- How ridiculous is this? Both teams will play in exhibition games back in the U.S. following their trips to Japan. The players and coaches deserve every penny of their $40,000 stipend. This trip is a major inconvenience to everyone involved.
7:40- The bottom of the order looks to be up to its old tricks as Varitek, Ellsbury, and Lugo go down in order in the top of the 5th.
7:42- Wrong again, as Dice-K takes the mound here in the 5th after looking much sharper in the last couple of innings.
7:46- After strikeouts to Barton and Cust, a resilient Dice-K gets Emil Brown to ground to 3rd. He's retired 7 in a row and you have to wonder how much nerves played a part in the first couple of innings. Regardless, he settled down and you couldn't ask for anything more if you're a Sox fan.
7:52- A double by Pedroia and a 4-pitch walk to Youkillis brings up the meat of the order with 2 on, nobody out. Fenway would be rocking right now. The Tokyo Dome seems depressingly indifferent.
7:56- Big out here by Blanton. A ballsy 3-2 changeup to Ortiz forces a pop-up to third.
7:58- Manny rips a fast ball down the left field line for two RBI's and puts me 1/57 of the way to 1 million dollars. Talk about the best of both worlds. We're tied up at 2.
8:01- Huge 2 out RBI single by Brandon Moss. J.D. Who? I never liked that guy. That chases Blanton from the game, and puts Dice-K in position to get a win here.
8:08- Ex-Red Sox lefty Alan Embree strikes out his former battery-mate Varitek to end the inning.
8:11- Kyle Snyder comes in from the bullpen for the Sox and gives a quick base-hit to Bobby Crosby. Always have to sweat it out here in Boston.
8:13- Right winger Jack Hannahan takes Snyder deep and gone to right to make it a 4-3 Oakland lead. Damn. A great example of what happens when you miss location. This begs the question... has anyone ever felt comfortable with a relief pitcher that your team brings in in the 6th inning?
8:17- Snyder promptly retires the next three batters fairly easily, but again, damage done. 4-3 A's. Just an aside, I can't wait for breakfast after the game... it's chocolate chip pancake day at the caf.
8:22- Embree gives up a lead-off hit single to Ellsbury but Julio Lugo hits into a tailor-made double play to erase him. That's more like the Lugo we got to know and love last year.
8:24- Dusty P swings from his shoes and hits the ball 43 feet back to Embree who retires him to end the top of the 7th.
8:27- Ellis makes a bid for his 2nd bomb of the game, but Ellsbury is there at the track to reel it in. That will be all for Snyder, who departs as the pitcher of record. It looks like the battle still rages on for that last spot in the bullpen. I hear a kid named Hersch has a fastball that tops out at around 75...
8:31- A look at the Oakland bullpen reveals none other than Red Sox hero turned goat Keith Foulke warming up!! Who knew? Jerry Remy informs me he's given up a run in every appearance so far this spring. Quality stuff.
8:33- Lefty specialist Javier "Don't call me Javy" Lopez comes in and retires both Barton and Cust. He does his job, something that the Red Sox are gonna need him to do this year in the 6th and 7th innings.
8:40- Foulke enters and Youkilis and Ortiz both hit lasers to the outfield that are caught. Apparently you're supposed to hit 'em where they ain't.
8:43- A great job of pitching by Foulke to retire Manny on strikes. He threw 2 off speed pitches down in the count 2-0 and 2-1 to get it back even, then painted the outside corner with a fastball to punch him out.
8:45- In an apparent concession of victory, NESN runs a graphic indicating that the Red Sox have lost 6 of the last 7 Opening Days. Awesome news. But not as awesome as the fact that the Tokyo Dome comes through in the clutch and plays Sweet Caroline in the middle of the eighth.
8:47- WOW!!!! Jacoby Ellsbury makes the first of what Sox fans hope to be many Gold Glove caliber plays to rob Emil Brown of extra bases.
8:50 Hannahan and Suzuki ground out to end a solid inning by Bryan Corey. Lowell, Moss, and Varitek to face Oakland closer Huston Street in the 9th.
8:56- J.D. WHO????????????????????????????????????? Brandon Moss comes up huge with a solo home run off a pretty good pitch by Street. Welcome to Tokyo, Brandon Moss.
8:59- Varitek strikes out for the third time today, picking up right where he left off offensively last year. Ellsbury lines out to left, but we'll at least play a bottom of the ninth.
9:02- Another big ovation, this one for Hideki Okajima, let's hope he isn't as rattled as Dice-K was at the start of this one.
9:04- Kurt Suzuki strikes out for out #1
9:08- Mike Sweeney pinch hits for Ryan Sweeney and works a 4-pitch walk.
9:10- Travis Buck juuuuuuuuuuuuuuust gets under one to center for the second out. That looked real dangerous.
9:14- Oki gets Ellis to tap one back to the mound to send it to extras. To be honest, I dont think anyone involved wanted this to happen. But they'll leave it all out on the field now. Lugo, Pedroia and Youkilis in the top of the 10th.
9:18- An infield hit for Lugo, Pedroia has to be bunting here.
9:19- He gets it down perfectly, and advances Lugo to second.
9:22- A good high fastball sits down Youkilis, leading to an intentional walk to Ortiz... 2 on 2 out for Manny.
9:26- Lugo breaks for third, and thank god Manny fouls it off, a truly bonehead move... you're scoring on any single. There's no need for a steal attempt there.
9:28- Manny absolutely rips a ball off the wall for a 2 RBI double. By my count, he was in the box for 6 mississippi's before starting to run... at any rate, its a 6-4 lead for the Red Sox.
9:33- An intentional walk to Lowell leads to a Brandon Moss fly out, but on comes Papelbon for the bottom of the 10th to face the heart of the A's order.
9:44- Wow, Sox dodge a huge bullet there. Emil Brown hits a double to make it 6-5, but inexplicably tries to get to third. Instead of the tying run in scoring position with one out, the A's have 2 out nobody on down a run.
9:46- Crosby singles to center, and if not for Emil Brown's baserunning blunder, we'd have a tie game. Nevertheless, the A's are really attacking the Papelbon fastball.
9:47- Hannahan singles to left to make it a two on, two out situation for Kurt Suzuki.
9:50- 3 hours and 45 minutes after a fastball strike to Dustin Pedroia kicked off the 2008 season, a Kurt Suzuki ground out to first ends a great first game of the year.
Jeez, I don't think I had mentally prepared myself for extra innings in game 1. But the dream of 162-0 is still alive, and I'll be watching every pitch.
Just for the record, I'm watching this bad boy on NESN over ESPN the Deuce because, well, I can. You can have Gary Thorne and Steve Phillips (no seriously, please), I'll take Don Orsillo and legendary chain smoker Jerry Remy any day of the week. And if Michael Kay ever goes national, I can guarantee you I will never watch an ESPN telecast again. Yet I digress...
A couple thoughts before gametime...
- I was a lot more confident in Boston's abilities to win baseball games when I thought Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling were starting these two games in Japan. Now we're lookin at Dice-K and Jon Lester. Not to mention that 2 months ago the battle for the 5th spot was between Lester and Clay Buchholz. Now it's between Buchholz, Julian Tavarez and Bartolo Colon? Bartolo Colon??? Is that serious? I feel like he gains 20 pounds every spring training. Can you believe that just 3 seasons ago he was a Cy Young winner? Now he's pushin at least 280. He's like Elvis in the 70s. People will keep giving him a shot because they know what he once was, but he's really just a fat guy who's a couple of peanut butter and banana sandwiches away from being face down in his bathroom. (By the way, I typed that whole paragraph while having a conversation with a couple of my boys on how ridiculously hot Jessica Simpson is. And what's even more ridiculous is that most women refuse to admit that she's attractive. I don't understand how that's possible. That's the thing with women, they always feel threatened by another woman of equal or better looks. Guys are very different. I'll be the first to admit that George Clooney is a very good looking man, no homo. But mention Mariah Carey's mind blowing chest region to a woman, and she'll go on about what a vile human Ms. Carey is. Go figure.)
- Former Sox middle reliever Craig Breslow was picked up on waivers by the Indians yesterday. This guy went to Yale (go Bulldogs!), graduated with a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry and said, "Fuck it, I'm gonna play ball instead." Some guys have all the luck. He might be the only professional athlete who could actually make more money outside the realm of sports.
- mlb.com is having its annual Beat the Streak contest. Basically, the goal is to pick a player each day who you think will get a hit. The goal is to accumulate the longest "hitting streak" possible. Highest streak at the end of the year wins 10 grand. Anyone who breaks Joe DiMaggio's streak of 56 games wins a cool million. Today, I've got Manny, a career .667 hitter against Oakland starter Joe Blanton. (Hey, remember when the A's big 3 of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito became the "new and improved big 3" of Danny Haren, Rich Harden, and Joe Blanton? What happened there, Billy Beane?)
5:57- My mind is immediately put at ease as the Oakland lineups are announced. The A's trot out a 3-4-5 of Daric Barton, Jack Cust of the Mitchell Report, and Emil Brown. Not exactly Murderer's Row. Good ol' Jack Cust. I'll never forget him tripping over his own feet on the way to home plate when there was no one covering the rundown.
6:01- Why is it that every other country's National Anthem sounds so much cooler than ours? Honestly, for a country who claims to be the best in the world, I really wish we were more impressive in the anthem category.
6:04- "Welcome to Tokyo, Japan, where the Red Sox begin their title defense." Man, just hearing that brings chills down my spine.
6:06- You think Dice-K's feeling a little pressure? Not only does he have something to prove to Red Sox Nation this year, he's back pitching in front of a crowd who thinks of him as a God. Maybe he's used to it, but I'll tell you right now, I'd already be on my third pair of underwear if I was in his shoes.
6:10- First pitch of the 2008 season... a fastball strike to Dustin Pedroia, who promptly bounces a single up the middle on the next pitch.
6:12- Just learned that J.D. is out tonight with a lower back problem. Glad to see he's gonna stay healthy this year
6:15- After a fielder's choice, and a mammoth pop out by Ortiz. Manny looks to put me on my way to a million bucks with one on and two out. He flies out to right though, and takes about 5 steps towards first base in the process.
6:17- Hey!!! Look who's batting 6th for Oakland. It's perennial MVP candidate Bobby Crosby!!! Here's to another year of making Peter Gammons look like an idiot.
6:19- Mark Ellis takes Dice-K deep to left on a 1-0 fastball right down broadway. It's rare when someone like Mark Ellis hits a no doubter like that. Great start. Make that my fourth pair of underwear.
6:25- After a walk to Barton, Dice-K hits Cust in the foot on a 2-2 pitch. The season is 15 minutes old and I've pulled half my hair out already.
6:26- Make that all my hair, a wild pitch puts runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out. Maybe Travis Buck can lend me some of his.
6:30- A cheap little chopper to the mound by Crosby scores Barton. 2-0 A's.
6:32- Big strikeout of Jack Hannahan stops the bleeding and ends the inning. But that was a disgusting display of pitching by Dice-K. Sliders all over the place, and the fastballs that were on the plate were not hitting corners. Let's hope he turns it around. At least I can take solace in the fact that Jack Hannahan sounds like he belongs on the 1980 Miracle on Ice team.
6:39- About three years ago, I went to a Red Sox game at Fenway. The people I was sitting with had created a nickname for Jason Varitek, "4-6-3", due to his propensity of hitting into double plays. Well, guess what? A double play off the bat of Tek erases a lead-off single by Mikey Lowell and ends the top of the 2nd. That's two lead off men on, no runs.
6:49- My new favorite part of Japanese baseball, the ballboys who are stationed down the lines are wearing combat helmets. I can't think of a goofier look.
6:52- Dice-K walks Mark Ellis on a 3-2 pitch with one on and 2 out, and for the first time I can ever recall, shows some emotion on the mound. I don't like the looks of this at all.
6:58- After yet another walk to load the bases, Dice-K gets a questionable called strike 3 on steroid user and foot tripper over Jack Cust. In other news, we see our first Julian Tavarez sighting from the bullpen. Don't be surprised if Francona gives Dice-K just one baserunner before he makes the move.
7:07- After singles from Lugo and Youkillis, its 2 on, 2 out for David Ortiz. I know it's early, but this is really a pivotal at bat.
7:09- Ortiz rips one to right, but oh wait, there's the 2nd baseman. I forgot about that pesky shift. I don't know who invented the shift, but that has to rank right up with pulling your goalie and the blitz as the most ballsy sports innovations of their day.
7:17- Another walk from Dice-K, and more frustration being shown. I'd put odds at 2-1 that he falls on his sword in the clubhouse at the end of this outing. Meanwhile, Lugo's putting together a nice little game as his leap robs Kurt Suzuki of a two out base hit. At the end of 3, 2-0 Oakland. Dice-K's high pitch count (75 through 3) could force an early exit in this one.
7:26- The middle of the order goes down 1-2-3 in the top of the fourth for the Sox. It's the first 1-2-3 inning for either pitcher. Manny remains hitless as my quest for a million seems to be having trouble getting started.
7:28- Dice-K comes out to start the inning, with Kyle Snyder warming in the bullpen. Hey, note to MLB, why are the commercial breaks twice as long when games are in the States? I like this a lot.
7:30- Another thing I like a lot, a huge, 6 pitch, 1-2-3 inning for Dice-K. Tito said he would be capped at around 80 pitches, so that should be all for Matsuzaka. It certainly could have been much, much worse.
7:37- How ridiculous is this? Both teams will play in exhibition games back in the U.S. following their trips to Japan. The players and coaches deserve every penny of their $40,000 stipend. This trip is a major inconvenience to everyone involved.
7:40- The bottom of the order looks to be up to its old tricks as Varitek, Ellsbury, and Lugo go down in order in the top of the 5th.
7:42- Wrong again, as Dice-K takes the mound here in the 5th after looking much sharper in the last couple of innings.
7:46- After strikeouts to Barton and Cust, a resilient Dice-K gets Emil Brown to ground to 3rd. He's retired 7 in a row and you have to wonder how much nerves played a part in the first couple of innings. Regardless, he settled down and you couldn't ask for anything more if you're a Sox fan.
7:52- A double by Pedroia and a 4-pitch walk to Youkillis brings up the meat of the order with 2 on, nobody out. Fenway would be rocking right now. The Tokyo Dome seems depressingly indifferent.
7:56- Big out here by Blanton. A ballsy 3-2 changeup to Ortiz forces a pop-up to third.
7:58- Manny rips a fast ball down the left field line for two RBI's and puts me 1/57 of the way to 1 million dollars. Talk about the best of both worlds. We're tied up at 2.
8:01- Huge 2 out RBI single by Brandon Moss. J.D. Who? I never liked that guy. That chases Blanton from the game, and puts Dice-K in position to get a win here.
8:08- Ex-Red Sox lefty Alan Embree strikes out his former battery-mate Varitek to end the inning.
8:11- Kyle Snyder comes in from the bullpen for the Sox and gives a quick base-hit to Bobby Crosby. Always have to sweat it out here in Boston.
8:13- Right winger Jack Hannahan takes Snyder deep and gone to right to make it a 4-3 Oakland lead. Damn. A great example of what happens when you miss location. This begs the question... has anyone ever felt comfortable with a relief pitcher that your team brings in in the 6th inning?
8:17- Snyder promptly retires the next three batters fairly easily, but again, damage done. 4-3 A's. Just an aside, I can't wait for breakfast after the game... it's chocolate chip pancake day at the caf.
8:22- Embree gives up a lead-off hit single to Ellsbury but Julio Lugo hits into a tailor-made double play to erase him. That's more like the Lugo we got to know and love last year.
8:24- Dusty P swings from his shoes and hits the ball 43 feet back to Embree who retires him to end the top of the 7th.
8:27- Ellis makes a bid for his 2nd bomb of the game, but Ellsbury is there at the track to reel it in. That will be all for Snyder, who departs as the pitcher of record. It looks like the battle still rages on for that last spot in the bullpen. I hear a kid named Hersch has a fastball that tops out at around 75...
8:31- A look at the Oakland bullpen reveals none other than Red Sox hero turned goat Keith Foulke warming up!! Who knew? Jerry Remy informs me he's given up a run in every appearance so far this spring. Quality stuff.
8:33- Lefty specialist Javier "Don't call me Javy" Lopez comes in and retires both Barton and Cust. He does his job, something that the Red Sox are gonna need him to do this year in the 6th and 7th innings.
8:40- Foulke enters and Youkilis and Ortiz both hit lasers to the outfield that are caught. Apparently you're supposed to hit 'em where they ain't.
8:43- A great job of pitching by Foulke to retire Manny on strikes. He threw 2 off speed pitches down in the count 2-0 and 2-1 to get it back even, then painted the outside corner with a fastball to punch him out.
8:45- In an apparent concession of victory, NESN runs a graphic indicating that the Red Sox have lost 6 of the last 7 Opening Days. Awesome news. But not as awesome as the fact that the Tokyo Dome comes through in the clutch and plays Sweet Caroline in the middle of the eighth.
8:47- WOW!!!! Jacoby Ellsbury makes the first of what Sox fans hope to be many Gold Glove caliber plays to rob Emil Brown of extra bases.
8:50 Hannahan and Suzuki ground out to end a solid inning by Bryan Corey. Lowell, Moss, and Varitek to face Oakland closer Huston Street in the 9th.
8:56- J.D. WHO????????????????????????????????????? Brandon Moss comes up huge with a solo home run off a pretty good pitch by Street. Welcome to Tokyo, Brandon Moss.
8:59- Varitek strikes out for the third time today, picking up right where he left off offensively last year. Ellsbury lines out to left, but we'll at least play a bottom of the ninth.
9:02- Another big ovation, this one for Hideki Okajima, let's hope he isn't as rattled as Dice-K was at the start of this one.
9:04- Kurt Suzuki strikes out for out #1
9:08- Mike Sweeney pinch hits for Ryan Sweeney and works a 4-pitch walk.
9:10- Travis Buck juuuuuuuuuuuuuuust gets under one to center for the second out. That looked real dangerous.
9:14- Oki gets Ellis to tap one back to the mound to send it to extras. To be honest, I dont think anyone involved wanted this to happen. But they'll leave it all out on the field now. Lugo, Pedroia and Youkilis in the top of the 10th.
9:18- An infield hit for Lugo, Pedroia has to be bunting here.
9:19- He gets it down perfectly, and advances Lugo to second.
9:22- A good high fastball sits down Youkilis, leading to an intentional walk to Ortiz... 2 on 2 out for Manny.
9:26- Lugo breaks for third, and thank god Manny fouls it off, a truly bonehead move... you're scoring on any single. There's no need for a steal attempt there.
9:28- Manny absolutely rips a ball off the wall for a 2 RBI double. By my count, he was in the box for 6 mississippi's before starting to run... at any rate, its a 6-4 lead for the Red Sox.
9:33- An intentional walk to Lowell leads to a Brandon Moss fly out, but on comes Papelbon for the bottom of the 10th to face the heart of the A's order.
9:44- Wow, Sox dodge a huge bullet there. Emil Brown hits a double to make it 6-5, but inexplicably tries to get to third. Instead of the tying run in scoring position with one out, the A's have 2 out nobody on down a run.
9:46- Crosby singles to center, and if not for Emil Brown's baserunning blunder, we'd have a tie game. Nevertheless, the A's are really attacking the Papelbon fastball.
9:47- Hannahan singles to left to make it a two on, two out situation for Kurt Suzuki.
9:50- 3 hours and 45 minutes after a fastball strike to Dustin Pedroia kicked off the 2008 season, a Kurt Suzuki ground out to first ends a great first game of the year.
Jeez, I don't think I had mentally prepared myself for extra innings in game 1. But the dream of 162-0 is still alive, and I'll be watching every pitch.
Pregame Ramblings
Welcome to Corey's blog... Where you'll get my rants on all things sports related, just like old times. And, because my mom isn't an uber bitch, this one might actually stay up as long as I don't get lazy.
What will the 2008 baseball season bring? In just 180 days, we'll have a World Series Champion. But between now and then, there are many storylines to watch for. Here's what I'm looking at...
Two fantasy seasons ago, I dropped Justin Verlander for supposed Phillie phenom Cole Hamels. Oops. With guys like Nate Robertson, 156 year old Kenny Rogers, and the aforementioned Willis, I think it's a pretty safe bet that they will coast to at least an AL Central Title.
2. What to do with Joba???
The Yankees have made it official. Joba Cahmberlain will be in the bullpen this season... At least to start. I know Joba has been bred to be a starter, I get that. But listen up Yankee fans, you will not, I repeat, WILL NOT, find a better heir to the Mariano Rivera throne than Joba Chamberlain. Sure, K-Rod's in a contract year, but over the last 4 years, his WHIP has increased from 1.00 in 2004 to 1.25 last year. Not to mention his lingering arm problems as well.
With Joba, you get a guy with two outstanding pitches as well as someone 5 years younger and (at least for now) at about 1/10 the cost of K-Rod. To me, this is a no-brainer. It takes a different breed of human being to close out games in Yankee Stadium, but provided he can get over the Attack of the Midges fiasco in Cleveland, he certainly seems like the one to do it. So while Joba might certainly become a top-line starter, he can be a lights-out bridge to Mo right now and slide seamlessly into his place when the time comes.
3. Will the addition of Johan Santana allow the Mets to get over the hump?
The knee-jerk reaction would be yes. After all, if it wasn't for that unspeakable collapse last September, the Mets would have been the prohibitive favorites in a very weak National League. But alas, it was not to be, and fans across the country were treated to Ubaldo Jimenez and Josh Fogg starting back-to-back games in the World Series.
But let's think a little closer. I see a lot of weaknesses in the Mets lineup. Once you get past David Wright in the 5 hole... the lineup rounds out with Endy Chavez, Ryan Church and Brian Schneider, followed by the pitcher's spot. The Mets are going to have to rely heavily on that top of the order to enough runs to keep them in games. Luis Castillo will have to be the same compliment in the 2-hole as he was to Juan Pierre in Florida.
4. What about the base coaches wearing helmets?
What happened to Minor League 1st base coach Mike Coolbaugh was a tragedy. There's no denying that. But I feel like Major League Baseball's decision to require all baseball coaches to don protective helmets is an overreaction. By all accounts, this is the first time in over 125 years of professional baseball that a base coach had been even seriously injured by a foul ball. The vast majority of base coaches were major leaguers as well, and I'm sure they still have the reaction times to get out of the way of a line drive from over 100 feet away.
Why not make the pitchers wear helmets as well? After all, they are almost half as close to the batter by the time the ball is released. And they've been hit by many more batted balls than a base coach. I hope it doesn't come off as callous, because I feel it is a nice gesture by MLB, but I really don't think making coaches wear helmets was necessary.
My Preseason Picks
Here you go everyone, my preseason picks for 2008... on record for all to see.
American League
East- Red Sox
Central - Tigers
West- Angels
Wild Card- Yankees
National League
East- Braves
Central- Cubs
West- Dodgers
Wild Card- Mets
Post #2 will be up about 12 hours from now, and it will be a running diary of the Red Sox first game of the season. Till then, I'm sure you'll all be having nightmares about Stephen Curry busting your bracket.
What will the 2008 baseball season bring? In just 180 days, we'll have a World Series Champion. But between now and then, there are many storylines to watch for. Here's what I'm looking at...
- Can the revamped Detroit Tigers live up to all the hype?
Two fantasy seasons ago, I dropped Justin Verlander for supposed Phillie phenom Cole Hamels. Oops. With guys like Nate Robertson, 156 year old Kenny Rogers, and the aforementioned Willis, I think it's a pretty safe bet that they will coast to at least an AL Central Title.
2. What to do with Joba???
The Yankees have made it official. Joba Cahmberlain will be in the bullpen this season... At least to start. I know Joba has been bred to be a starter, I get that. But listen up Yankee fans, you will not, I repeat, WILL NOT, find a better heir to the Mariano Rivera throne than Joba Chamberlain. Sure, K-Rod's in a contract year, but over the last 4 years, his WHIP has increased from 1.00 in 2004 to 1.25 last year. Not to mention his lingering arm problems as well.
With Joba, you get a guy with two outstanding pitches as well as someone 5 years younger and (at least for now) at about 1/10 the cost of K-Rod. To me, this is a no-brainer. It takes a different breed of human being to close out games in Yankee Stadium, but provided he can get over the Attack of the Midges fiasco in Cleveland, he certainly seems like the one to do it. So while Joba might certainly become a top-line starter, he can be a lights-out bridge to Mo right now and slide seamlessly into his place when the time comes.
3. Will the addition of Johan Santana allow the Mets to get over the hump?
The knee-jerk reaction would be yes. After all, if it wasn't for that unspeakable collapse last September, the Mets would have been the prohibitive favorites in a very weak National League. But alas, it was not to be, and fans across the country were treated to Ubaldo Jimenez and Josh Fogg starting back-to-back games in the World Series.
But let's think a little closer. I see a lot of weaknesses in the Mets lineup. Once you get past David Wright in the 5 hole... the lineup rounds out with Endy Chavez, Ryan Church and Brian Schneider, followed by the pitcher's spot. The Mets are going to have to rely heavily on that top of the order to enough runs to keep them in games. Luis Castillo will have to be the same compliment in the 2-hole as he was to Juan Pierre in Florida.
4. What about the base coaches wearing helmets?
What happened to Minor League 1st base coach Mike Coolbaugh was a tragedy. There's no denying that. But I feel like Major League Baseball's decision to require all baseball coaches to don protective helmets is an overreaction. By all accounts, this is the first time in over 125 years of professional baseball that a base coach had been even seriously injured by a foul ball. The vast majority of base coaches were major leaguers as well, and I'm sure they still have the reaction times to get out of the way of a line drive from over 100 feet away.
Why not make the pitchers wear helmets as well? After all, they are almost half as close to the batter by the time the ball is released. And they've been hit by many more batted balls than a base coach. I hope it doesn't come off as callous, because I feel it is a nice gesture by MLB, but I really don't think making coaches wear helmets was necessary.
My Preseason Picks
Here you go everyone, my preseason picks for 2008... on record for all to see.
American League
East- Red Sox
Central - Tigers
West- Angels
Wild Card- Yankees
National League
East- Braves
Central- Cubs
West- Dodgers
Wild Card- Mets
Post #2 will be up about 12 hours from now, and it will be a running diary of the Red Sox first game of the season. Till then, I'm sure you'll all be having nightmares about Stephen Curry busting your bracket.
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