Red Dirt, Navy Cap

Big Money, Big Disappointment, Big Mouth

2009-07-28T20:00:00.002-05:00

The $103 million gamble by the name of Daisuke Matsuzaka is now blaming the Red Sox workout program for his recent pitching struggles. Dice-K, who makes insane money thanks to the 2006 bidding war and pissing contest with the Yankees, has for his three seasons in the Majors been an often over-rated player. He had a season in 2008 that, by the numbers, was spectacular as he earned 18 wins and had a 2.90 ERA. Throughout the season, however, I expressed fear of his pitching to anyone who would listen; he was getting it done, but I couldn't figure out how. He rarely made it out of the sixth inning and always had runners on base. He seemed afraid to pitch from the stretch and looked very uncomfortable with men on base, and he was often, rightly I think, criticized for being too fine; he was simply afraid to pitch for contact. But he kept getting the job done (though not without taxing the bullpen) so my criticisms seemed, even to me, unfair.

This year, on the other hand, he has posted an abysmal 8.23 ERA and was 1-5 before being placed on the DL with shoulder soreness, a condition which he apparently blames on the Red Sox. According to WEEI, who translated a Japanese newspaper interview with Dice-K, the pitcher thinks that the Red Sox workout program is hindering his performance. He told the paper,

"If I’m forced to continue to train in this environment, I may no longer be able
to pitch like I did in Japan,” Matsuzaka said. “The only reason why I managed to
win games during the first and second years (in the U.S.) was because I used the
savings of the shoulder I built up in Japan" (Boston Herald)

Really? The only reason he doesn't pitch here like he did in Japan is because the Sox strengthening program is deficient? I'm not so sure. Let's look at some other reasons that Dice-K may be having problems here.

1) Uh, duh, this isn't Japan. Dice-K got a lot of criticism in the Japanese media when he first came to the states because he wasn't pitching complete games like he did in Japan. This was of course unfair to Dice-K, for the same reason that Dice-K may be having a hard time getting batters out here. Hitters are better in the Major Leagues than they are in Japan. This may seem like an obvious point, superfluous for this discussion, but Dice-K seems to be forgetting, or neglecting, this truth in his Japanese interviews. Without a doubt, the Japanese leagues are gaining legitimacy, but they are not the Major Leagues. After all, Japan is where players go when they realize they are never going to make it above AAA in the states and they want the bigger contracts that the Japanese Leagues can offer compared to the minors over here.

2) Here, Dice-K must pitch every five days. In Japan, where games are never played on Sunday and most teams work on a six man rotation, pitchers will generally pitch only once a week. With this type of schedule, it is clear how Dice-K would be able to pitch complete games. More time to heal after each start + mediocre hitters = pitching dominance.

3) The final reason is, imagine the audacity, his own pitching. When Dice-K first came to the states, many hitters were perplexed by him. His style was curious (though not as curious as his countryman who was brought with him, Hedeki Okajima), he was deceptive, he had a lot of different pitches, and there were rumors that he threw a version of the screw-ball, a mythical pitch with unearthly, physics defying movement that may or may not actually exist, and which no one can actually explain how to throw. But it only takes big league pitchers so long to scout a pitcher, learn how he pitches in certain situation, and begin to see his pitches better. In this case, it seems to have taken two years. Dice-K blames "ethnic, racial, and physiological differences" that require different conditioning for causing Japanese pitchers to fade after a couple of seasons in the states. Here again, he seems to forget about big league hitters. Japanese pitchers' problems must be because Japanese are built differently, not because their stuff isn't nearly as dominant against big league hitters as it was against Japanese hitters. Furthermore, Dice-K has shown an intense fear of throwing strikes. He tries to paint the corners and throw out of the strike zone in an attempt to get batters to chase. the problem is, he has not shown that he has dominant stuff inside the the strike zone so hitters have learned not to swing at his junk and wait for a pitch in the zone. If a pitcher can't throw strikes, hitters always have the advantage.

So, Dice-K's problem is likely less about the way he's being conditioned (by a program that has developed Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, and Clay Buchholz) and more about his ability to pitch in the Major Leagues. I'm convinced that the Red Sox mistake was not in the way that they have developed him, but in the amount they were willing to pay - $103 million for a mediocre number three starter.

"This One Counts"

2009-07-13T19:17:00.002-05:00

In 2003, after watching ratings for the All Star Game drop steadily, and after receiving criticism for allowing a tie in the 2002 All Star Game, Major League Baseball decided to spice the game up by awarding the winning league with home field advantage in the World Series. So, for six years now, we've been subjected to commercials that feature the tag line "This one counts," a now tired (and inaccurate - since it is the sixth to count, not the "one") phrase. After these six years, there have been no shortage of people who decry MLB's system of awarding home field advantage based on this game. It is, therefore, perhaps redundant for me to add mine, but I cannot help myself.

To me, this move by MLB is yet another example of baseball selling its soul (or at least its integrity) in order to win fair weather fans. The problems making the game count and forcing the leagues to play players from every team, and not just the best players of the league, have already been beat to death. Many writers like the idea of making the game count, but conclude that each league should be able to put the best team on the field, regardless of whether each team is represented. I, on the other hand, like the idea of each team being represented, since the teams are to represent each league as a whole. Each team should be able to send its best player as a reward to that player. That's the whole point.

The All Star Game is designed to be an honor to the best players in the game. It is extraneous to the season, and so it ought to be inconsequential to the season. The idea of the game is to bring together the game's elite and allow them to play with and against each other in front of fans who are getting to watch their dream team. It doesn't have to (and the beauty is that it shouldn't) "count." It's supposed to be a showcase - a laid-back, back yard style game (but with the best players on Earth) that takes place during the only break in the pressure cooked grind of the Major League season. And, to me, putting false importance in it ruins what makes the game great, and fun.

So let the ratings drop. If they're so bad, put the game on ESPN2 and let it become an event for the die-hard fan. After all, in the end, its crazy fans like me and my wife that are going to follow the game no matter how low the ratings get. And fans like us care about the tradition, the honor, and the integrity of the game.

Hiatus

2009-07-02T09:16:00.002-05:00

My twin boys were born last week but they are early and not able to leave the hospital yet. So I have little time to pay attention to baseball until I get them home (at which time I will have only slighly more time). I am slowly reading the S.L Price book "Heart of the Game" about the career and the death of minor league coach Mike Coolbaugh. I will report ASAP.

Walk Off!

2009-06-20T22:55:00.002-05:00

Redhawks vs. Nashville Sounds 6/20/09

After an atrocious display of pitching by the Redhawks, it was a different story tonight. Bryan Corey, the ex-Red Sox reliever who the Redhawks are converting to starter has been getting better and better in his new role and has been going deeper into games. Tonight saw him go 7 innings, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits and he struck out 4. Mike Burn had an extremely similar line of 7.1 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 10 H, 2 BB, 4 K. So the night after a 14-3 blow-out, Corey and Burns put up a nice pitching duel.

But neither of them would figure in the decision as the Sounds would take a 4-3 lead into the ninth after Willie Eyre would begin a major league rehab assignment withe the Hawks by pitching one scoreless inning, followed by a scoreless inning by Brian Gordon. R. J. Swindle relieved Burns for the Sounds, coming into the game with one on and one out in the eighth. He got two quick outs to end the eighth.

But in the ninth, he gave up a one out base hit to Joaquin Arias, who went 4 for 5 with two infield hits. he then struck out Esteban German, bringing 0 for 4 Max Ramirez to the plate. Max had not hit a home run since May. But he would play the hero tonight, hitting a long home run to right center.

The Redhawks have taken a 2-1 advantage in this series against Nashville who they play again tomorrow and they are 3-3 on the home stand.

Go, Cubs, Go.

2009-06-20T17:05:00.002-05:00

I feel sorry for Cubs fans, and it has little to do with their underwhelming record. My empathy is that they have to sing this at Wrigley. Sweet Caroline never seemed so good.

Horrible, Awful, Terrible

2009-06-20T14:01:00.002-05:00

6/20/09 Redhawks vs. Nashville Sounds

Because the Redhawks have been so bad defensively this year, when Julio Borbon made a diving catch on a line drive from Jason Bourgeois in the first play of the game, I took that as a good omen and I thought surely I would be watching a good game. Instead of putting my faith in omens like a pagan, I should have thought scientifically. The starting pitcher, Elizardo Ramirez, came into the game with a modest ERA in the low 4.0's but he had been relieving a lot lately and, as a reliever, he had an ERA of 11.05. Plus, though Borbon had made a great play, Bourgeois had hit the ball on a hard line in front of the outfielder, who just happened to make a great play. And this happened on the first pitch of the game. So I might have taken this first play (a hard hit ball caught by a quick center fielder) as a bad sign rather than a good omen.

In fact, Ramirez would hit the next batter (one of three batters hit by Redhawks pitchers in the game) and go on to allow five runs on five hits in a first inning that saw all nine Nashville batters. Ramirez would ultimately go 4+, allowing 9 runs (all earned) on 10 hits (2BB, 1HB, 1K).

And the horrible pitching didn't end there. OKC native Mike Hinkley allowed no runs of his own but allowed the final two on Ramirez's line to score when he gave up a double to Cole Gillespie that scored both his inherited runners.

The streaky Luis Mendoza would then come in and allow five runs of his own on five hits in an eighth inning in which he faced ten hitters. (Note: the official scorer and I are in disagreement on one of Mendoza's runs. Brendan Katin scored in the eighth after reaching base on a broken bat, grounder to SS Joaquin Arias that Arias dropped. It was initially scored an error but changed later in the game, I assume because the scorer decided to give Arias the benefit of the doubt and thought he was distracted by the shard of bat flying through the infield. I kept the error in my score book).

Before all was said and done, every single Nashville hitter had at least one hit. Three (or four according to the official score keepers stats) had three hits games. Another three (or two) had two hit games. Redhawk pitching allowed ten extra base hits - 7 doubles, 2 triples, and a home run. By contrast, Redhawks hitters hit only one extra base hit, a double by Greg Golson in the second inning. Sounds pitching scattered eight hits across the game, allowing three runs, two of which came in a rainy ninth inning. Chris Cody, the Sounds starter, went 8+, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and now has a 1.69 ERA with Nashville.

It may have been the worst pitching I have ever seen in person. And things get tougher today as Bryan Corey (3-2 4.75) faces Mike Burns (7-2 2.69). But I am holding out hope because Corey has been getting better over the season, as he is in the middle of being converted from a reliever to starter. His outing have been getting longer and cleaner as the season has progressed. He has allowed only four runs in three starts this season. In his last outing, he beat Cubs superstar prospect Jeff Samardzija, pitching seven scoreless innings in which he surrendered five hits and struck out four while walking only one.

What Ron Washington Proves About Managing

2009-06-08T19:13:00.006-05:00

The Rangers picked up Ron Washington's option for next year today. His contract was for three years plus a team option for a fourth, an option that the team has taken. John Daniels, the Rangers GM, is apparently happy with Washington, fans seem to be saying nice things about him for the first time ever, and three days ago Howard Bryant wrote a glowing story about him on espn.com.

The last three years, I have spent many nights in Rangers Ballpark listening to fans heckle in frustration with Washington's managing, but now, as the Ranger sit in first place, all that seems to have been forgotten. Suddenly, we are hearing about how old fashioned, and pleasantly apolitical Washington is. Writers and fans alike are touting his virtues and forgetting what a ridiculously stupid manager he can be. Washington is notorious for bringing in the wrong pitcher at the wrong time, making strange substitutions, and making all around goofy managing decisions.

But the Rangers are winning this year. And those that suddenly find themselves wanting to give Ron credit have begun talking about how players are finally buying into his fundamentals first, defensive mindset et cetera, et cetera. But to me, the Rangers success thus far proves one thing about managers in baseball: they just don't matter that much. If the general manager can put together a good enough lineup and a good enough pitching staff, there is little that a manager can do to mess things up. And a good team can make a mediocre manager look pretty good (Joe Torre managed the cardinals to a 20-27 record before being fired the year before he "managed" the 1996 Yankees to a World Series championship).

Of course, a manager can blow some games when he makes stupid decisions with pitchers, or screws up a line-up royally. But baseball is a game about individuals. One pitcher pitches to one batter who hit the ball toward one player. If each of these men is the best at doing what their role requires them to do, not much team-wide strategy is necessary, save for which pitches to throw (a decision usually made by the catcher and pitcher-though some managers control pitches more than others), how to line up outfielders and whether or not to steal a base. Except for decisions of which pitches to throw to which hitters, these are, frankly, usually small decisions of little consequence.

So good managing, in reality, has little to do with good decision making. If it did, no manager could expect to be anything but inconsistent. After all, as any Red Sox fan knows, when Francona makes some of his bizarre decisions, our view of his managing has much to do with whether or not the gamble works. If it works, he is a freaky baseball genius. When it doesn't, we yell, "Ohmagod Tito, what are you doing?!"

Instead, the best thing a manager can do is manage his players' personalities well. If a manager can take heat from the media, heat from umpires, and heat from other players in the clubhouse off of his guys, he can keep a clubhouse that trusts him and wants to play for him. If he can get a team to buy into a team concept so that players, instead of thinking entirely of individual interests, instead sacrifice for each other, and play hard together, he has done his job. This ability is what separates good managers from bad ones. What managers like Terry Francona, Tony La Russa, and Ron Washington have in common is that they are able to build a trust with their players who often see these managers as father figures who they want to please and are willing to play for. So if you give a man like these some good players, he can make a lot of silly decisions and still put together a successful season. After all, if your manager brings in Eric Gange, it helps if you like him enough to risk injury crashing into the wall to rob the home run Gange is giving up. So, the one thing I really like about Ron Washington is probably what he does best as a manager; he is a nice guy.

Update:

I'm going to insert for you here a conversation I just had with my wife over facebook because it speaks to this conversation:

Jeffery:
Not an hour after I wrote about the mediocre managing of Ron Washington, he
calls for a suicide squeeze with a man on third and one out with a rookie at
bat. Andrus misses bunt, runner picked of, then Andrus hits a fly ball to right.
. .which would have been a sacrifice fly but was out number three instead

Charissa:
Cruz was SAFE, might I add...

Jeffery:
That doesn't make the play less stupid. As a sabermatrician, you know that
it doesn't make statistical sense to try this play because it fails so often.
The chances are much better that Andrus hits a fly ball (which scores the tying
run) than that he gets down the bunt AND Cruz gets a good enough jump to beat
the pitcher to the ball. Read Moneyball already!

Charissa:
I'm not saying the suicide squeeze was a good call, just that my boy Nelly
got hosed. And anyway, I can't read moneyball, you loaned it out to
someone!

Offense! . . .And Defense!

2009-06-04T22:43:00.002-05:00

In the three games I saw this week leading up to tonight, I saw the Redhawks score in only three innings. In game 1 of the May 3oth double header, the Hawks won 1-0. In the second game, they, again, could only manage one run. But they gave up two runs in the seventh inning (of a seven inning game - double header games are shortened in AAA) to lose 2-1, and the Hawks one run came in an inning in which the Hawks did not get a hit. On May 31, they managed three runs (one in the fifth, two in the sixth), and on June first, the Hawks scored two runs in the seventh. On June 2, things looked like they were off to a good start when the Hawks scored four runs in the first inning, three on a home run by Emerson Frostad. But that would be the last inning in which they would score and they would ultimately lose 8-4.

So, in five games, the Redhawks scored in only six innings. Just as the Redhawks had begun to clean up their defense, it seemed that they had totally forgotten how to score runs. Then yesterday, the Hawks put on a slug fest (while I was passing out fliers for a church event) and won 10-4.

And that brings us to today. Tonight's game might be the best that they have played so far this year. The Hawks defense continues to improve. Esteban German, especially, flashed some leather tonight, stealing a bloop base hit with a Willy Mays catch in short right from Greene in the first at bat of the game. He dove for catches and turned double plays all night. The Redhawks are improving all around defensively, turning a couple double plays on an error-less night.

More impressively, they are finally beginning to scatter hits. Redhawks hitters hit safely in six of the eight innings in which they came to bat tonight. Frostad went three for three with two RBIs and scored a run. Three of their ten hits were for extra bases. The Hawks are learning to play pepper, stringing together hits (the four runs in the fourth came on four straight hits - three of them singles).

. . . . . . . . .

I read something in the game notes that puts this all in perspective. This season, the Redhawks have had eleven players make their AAA debut. This is a completely different type of team than the team that won the division last year. That team played most of the season with Nelson Cruz, Marlon Byrd, Jerrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden, Chris Davis, and Brandon Boggs - all of which are now playing with the Rangers who sit in first place in the AL West. Last year's team was a team full of players who were ready for the big show. This year's team, on the other hand, is a team of young prospects who still need a good deal of developing. So this will be a year, not to count wins and think of the playoffs, but to watch a team of young players grow. This will be a year to watch Bobby Jones coach, and watch players as they learn to play solid and consistent defense, and as they learn to hit when the hits count.

So buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Pitchers are Hungry

2009-05-23T20:27:00.002-05:00

Since Dennis Eckersly has been filling in for Jerry Remy on NESN, we have listened to one food reference after another. His use of the word "cheese" to describe a pitch is like a drinking game. In baseball parlance, "Cheese" usually means a fastball, especially one with movement that is, thus, hard to hit, but Eckersly uses it for everything. That is until tonight, when he finally threw in "salad" (an easily hit pitch) to describe the danger of pounding the strikezone. His actual quote was something like, "pounding the strikezone is great, unless you're throwing salad." At this point, Charissa blurted out, "pitchers sure are hungry!" That got us thinking about how many references there are to food in baseball slang.

Here is our list of gatronomical nuggets:

First off, the pitcher throws to the plate (popular slang once called it a "platter"). If he is throwing hard fast balls, he is throwing cheese or mustard, but if his fastball has no movement or is too slow, he is throwing salad. In this situation, the ball is easy to hit and so it's called a meatball, or a grapefruit, or a cookie. If you throw a meatball with the bases loaded, the hitter may hit a salami (grand slam). This would give you four ribeyes or steaks (RBI's or runs batted in). You've been able to do this because the hitters before you are table setters, meaning they tend to get on base. Even if the bases aren't loaded, you could trot the bases slowly, having hit a tater (homerun). This will probably lead to a tea party on the mound, which is a coaching visit involving other players, usually infielders. The pitcher may be able to avoid this if a Ken Griffery jr. type outfielder can jump and catch the ball above the wall, robbing you of your tater. If he catches this in the very top of the web of the glove, he has caught an ice cream cone.

Of course, if a pitcher keeps it high in the zone, he may induce a lazy, easy to catch pop fly, or a can of corn. If the batter has just been called up to the majors and hits too many of these, he will only have a cup of coffee (meaning, he will spend very little time in the majors. . .just enough time to drink a cup of coffee). But maybe that batter will make the team for good next year, if he can prove himself in Grapefruit League play (spring training for the east coast team which takes place in Florida).

If all this food talk is giving you a headache, take an aspirin (a pitched ball to a slumping hitter - because the ball looks small). Perhaps next time, we'll move on to animal slang, mainly because I want to talk about worm-burners.

Busy Night

2009-05-19T18:02:00.003-05:00

We have much to follow tonight:

The Red Sox take on Toronto tonight. The Sox are 3.5 back of Toronto in the East, so this is an important series. 6:05 my time. Tallet (2-1) against Wakefield (4-2)

The first place Rangers go for their eigth straight against Detroit.

The NBA lottery is on ESPN tonight. The hometown Thunder have an 11.9% chance of landing the number one pick which they would surely use to take the hometown boy Blake Griffin (as will whoever gets the number 1 pick).

Another Peeve

2009-05-19T15:06:00.002-05:00

I know, I know, I'm behind on my reporting. It's just that when I have to work, it's hard to blog right after a game because I am having to get ready for my real job. And so, here I am, sitting in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, writing about a Sunday afternoon game that happened in Texas. Since the game itself is old news (I keep using the word "tidy" but this one fits that description as well. 3-0 over the Angels after Feldman goes 6.0 without giving up a run.), I am instead going to take the opportunity to complain about another of my Big League pet peeves.

In the seventh inning of Sunday's game, Angel Howie Kendrick stood in against Rangers picther Jason Jennings. Jennings, who was pitching from the stretch, began his pitching motion just before Kendrick asked for, and was granted, time out. Jennings, who was half way through completing his arm motion, threw in a week throw to his catcher.

Last month, after a game also involving the Angels, Josh Beckett was suspended for six games after he threw above the head of Bobby Abreu after Abreu asked for, and was granted, time out in the middle of Beckett's wind up. Beckett sailed in the pitch above Abreu's head, Bobby (a famous baseball chicken, afraid if the outfield wall and, apparently, pitches too) thought it was on purpose, the benches cleared, and Beckett was suspended.

Of course, Beckett insists that he did not throw above Abreu on purpose and, in this case at least, Beckett deserves the benefit of the doubt. Any picther will tell you that it is extremely hard to stop a pitch once he has started his motion. After all, this is a motion that produces a big league fast-ball. For this reason, we are seeing more and more pitchers finish the motion and throw the pitch in, albeit weekly, just to keep from being injured.

Of course, even this doesn't totally protect the pitcher. He still slows the throw way down and drastically changes his arm motion mid-throw. If nothing else, the quick motion of the batter moving out of the box, coupled with the umpire yelling "time" is going to startle many pitchers and cause him to flinch in the middle of a pitch. During his pitching motion, a pitcher's muscles are stretched like a sling shot and any sudden change is motion can injure the muscle just as one could snap an elastic string.

If Beckett did throw above Abreu's head on purpose, more power to him. If umpires aren't going to protect pitchers by refusing to allow time once a pitcher starts his wind-up, then pitchers will protect themselves by sending the message, "if you endanger me, I'll endanger you." Instead of suspending Beckett, the MLB should come down on umpires who continue to give time, endangering major league pitchers. If a batter's timing is messed up, so be it. Let him take a strike. This is much less costly than a picther's career.

Tidy Series

2009-05-17T10:10:00.004-05:00

This post is now out of date, as the Redhawks lost last night. But it is, nevertheless, important to point out the bright spots coming out of the Redhawks series sweep of the Portland Beavers (San Diego).

First of all, it was the Hawks first bona fide win streak of the year. Last years division champs had yet to manage more that two wins in a row until the May 14th game, their third straight. This, I think has been in large part to the Hawks extremely poor defense this year, which had never managed two error free games in a row until they finally did so on May 12 and 13. They then went 8 and two thirds without an error on May 15th until Chad Huffman reached first on an error by the recent call-up Jose Vallejo, who had come in to replace the injured German Duran in the sixth. This error also cost a run as Venable scored from second after leading off the inning with a double.

Hawks pitching is also beginning to look alive. on May 13, Doug Mathis, who looked terrible in his last outing, went 5.2 without allowing a run and registering eight K's. The bullpen then got it done as Banister, Vaughan, and Murray closed it out, allowing one run (Huffman on a single by Kazmar off of Vaughan in the 8th). On May 14, Feliz looked great in 5.0, allowing one run and striking out seven. Fans complained that he should not have been taken out when Ramirez looked rough, giving up two base hits to his first two batters, but he got the next three, then had a one-two-three inning in the seventh (his line is 2.0IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 3K). Then Gordon closed it out, allowing one un-earned run (Venable who doubled, then scored on the aforementioned E4).

All-in-all, they finally looked like a professional baseball team, albeit against last-placed Portland. They ultimately managed a four game winning streak that ended with yesterday's lost.

Next up:

I'm in Arlington for today's Rangers game, the only one I'll see in person this year. Story coming.

Bad Defense; Worse Fans

2009-05-07T22:16:00.003-05:00

Tonight's game was classically awful, so I will put off talking about the game itself for long enough to rant about bad fans and my fan pet peeves. When games are going well, the type of fans that baseball people hate are less noticeable. It seems likely that this is because, when teams are doing well, good fans and bad fans alike are happy and so their cheering sounds similar. But when the team is playing poorly, as they were tonight, the bad and the ignorant (usually the same people) stand out at a game.

It is when a team is struggling and they begin either heckling or encouraging the team that these people commit what seem to be the most awful atrocities. Most of the horrible things that these people do seems to come from ignorance of the way professional baseball is played. Their experience with baseball does not extend beyond their own years in little league or a few seasons as a little league parent. They attend one or two minor league games a year and they suddenly think they are experts who feel the need to tout their experiences playing or watching "hardball."

Now, I know that in any park, whether minor league or major league, there are many fans (most fans actually) who know very little about baseball outside of the basic rules of the game. If it weren't for fans who come to a game here and there because they like to be outdoors, or because it's fun to come to the park and eat a hot dog, baseball could not survive. So I don't disparage the casual fan. But, when fans who don't know crap decide that they know something and they start yelling nonsense at the players, coaches, or at no one in general, I begin to feel homicidal. So, in order to save lives, I offer a few pointers to would-be uneducated hecklers by way of pointing out things you should NOT yell at a professional baseball game.

1) "Come on guys, you gotta hustle!" Common offenders using this phrase are generally the type of little league educated fan to which I referred earlier. These people assume that baseball players can and should get to any ball they run after or beat out any infield play they've hit into if only they will run hard enough. They think this because, in little league play, coaches are always admonishing their players to "hustle" and it seems to have an effect. But these people clearly have no concept of how huge a full-sized baseball field really is. So here's something these fans need to know. Players who make it as high as AAA are very good players, and, because they would like to make it all the way to the big show, they will never be caught not "hustling." You should assume that, if it was possible to get to that ball/base, the player in question would have. They do not need to hear "hustle" from a fat guy who couldn't run 90 feet in ten minutes, much less in the few seconds it takes for a short stop to pick up a ball and throw it to the first baseman.

2) "You gotta swing at that!" This sentence is shouted at any batter who takes [doesn't swing at] a strike. Yelling this may be appropriate if a player strikes out swinging, but here's what fans need to know with regard to hitters and pitch selection. Little league players are taught to swing at everything they think is a strike because they need to learn to distinguish between a ball and a strike. Professional hitters, on the other hand, are taught to be very picky with regard to hit-able pitches. This is because professional pitchers have extraordinary command. They can throw pitches, not just to the strike zone, but to particular parts of the strike zone. A good pitcher can throw pitches that will be a strike, but will be in part of the strike zone that will force a hitter to hit it where the pitcher wants it. For instance, if a pitcher can keep a pitch low and on the outside corner, the hitter can only beat the ball into the ground toward the first baseman. If he can keep it on the inside corner, the hitter can only foul it or pop it up. For this reason, good hitters will choose which pitches they can actually do something with. A professional hitter knows that he has three strikes to play with, so he will take a strike (maybe even two) in order to wait on a pitch that he can hit in the way HE wants to, instead of doing exactly what the pitcher is trying to get him to do.
*A note: A pitcher will have his version of this same approach. He knows he has four balls to work with. If he is ahead in the count, he will begin to throw out of the strike zone, trying to get the batter to chase a pitch that he cannot hit. If you watch a Red Sox game, you will notice that in every 0-2 count, Jason Varitek stands up behind the plate in order to tell the pitcher to throw the pitch high out of the strike zone because hitters will often swing at the high pitch because it is hard to tell if it is a strike or a ball.

And here is the worst taunt of all:

3) "That's why your not in [name major league city]!" This is a stupid fan trademark. They shout this as if playing AAA baseball us somehow shameful. News flash: AAA players are EXTREMELY good players. Many of them will spend several seasons going up and down from the major leagues to AAA until they stay for good or retire with a minor league pension (which they can now earn if they play four seasons in the minor leagues). The difference between a major league player and a AAA player is very minor. Every AAA player is talented enough to be in the major leagues. That's why they are in AAA! The difference between the major leagues and AAA is player consistency. The major league player is consistently excellent and rarely imperfect. The AAA player is less consistent because they are only usually perfect. In any case, these are men who are good enough to play the sport for a living, and for a good living at that. They are infinitely better than you ever were or than your snot-nosed, dandelion picking little leaguer ever will be.

Finally: A Note on Tonight's Game:

Isotopes 7, Redhawks 0
Tonight's game was not worth breaking down. If you want box scores, follow the link from the title of this blog. The only thing about which I would like to remark is the Redhawks atrocious defense so far this season. Through the first 25 games, the Redhawks have played only five (5) error-free games. They tied their season high with three errors in tonight game, leading to three un-earned runs. Tommy Hunter was horrible in his first start in AAA this season, but the defense behind him mad him look way worse than he was. He managed five strike outs while giving up only one walk - a serviceable night if he can get some offensive production and if his fielders don't give the other team extra outs. The Hawks need to fix their defensive play. Right now, Arias is the only infielder who has anything close to major league defensive skills, and even he hasn't been as sharp this season as he has been in the past. It's hard to work on fundamentals after spring training gives way to the daily grind of the regular season, but they have GOT to do something!

Sweep!

2009-04-26T22:24:00.003-05:00

Now that the sweep of the Yankees in round one of the season series, lets look at what we've learned.

1) Jacoby is every bit as fast as we thought he was. In case you missed it, Ellsbury stole home in the fifth inning of tonight's game against Andy Petite. Petite wasn't checking Ellsbury on third and Angel Barroa was playing way off third allowing Ellsbury to take a huge lead. Petite threw a breaking pitch, keeping Posada in a low squat, which made it very hard for him to make a play on Jacoby. Of course, I doubt that Francona was happy to see the steal, as it was a pretty silly risk (evidenced by the fact that J.D. drew hit a double the very next pitch). But all's well that ends well, and perhaps it helped the Sox put a foot on the neck of the squiffy Yanks.

2) It's just as fun to beat the Yankees when A-Rod is gone as it is when he is there.

3) Red Sox pitching is deep! We have seen in the last five years that, as the bullpen goes, so go the Red Sox. In 2003, the Sox had good starting pitching but a shallow bullpen. They lost to the Yanks in the ALCS after having to bring in Wakefield (a starter) in game seven. In 2004, the bullpen was fixed and the Sox won their first World Series in 86 years. In '07, great bullpen, World Series win. Last year, shallow pen, loss in game seven of the ALCS.

So, this series has given us much to be excited about. Tonight's game features three Red Sox minor league prospects. Masterson got the start and allowed only one run in 5.1. Then Hunter Jones made his second ever major league appearance, followed by Michael Bowden's major league debut (he pitched two innings, one of which featured Teixeira, Swisher, and Cano who went out one-two-three). These two pitchers retired eleven Yankee batters in a row. Saito, who closed for the Dodgers for three seasons, finished the game out, allowing one hit in the Sox's tidy 4-1 win. In a night that featured three minor league call-ups (jersey numbers: 63,62, and 64), Sox pitching was dominant! This is happening in a year in which the Yankee bullpen is thin as Amy Winehouse.

It's important to keep in mind that the Yankees WILL make moves as they always do. If they can't get their bullpen in order, they will buy a new one. But the strength and depth of the Sox pen, and the tight market for pitching, which will make it hard for anyone, even the Yanks, to buy a bullpen in mid season, should make us cautiously but truly optimistic.

Now, if we can just keep the Jays from becoming the new Rays. . .

Re-Opening Red Dirt, Navy Cap

2009-04-24T22:30:00.004-05:00

Three years ago, I opened this blog because I thought I needed a Baseball blog. the problem was, I missed too much baseball to really keep it going. I didn't have extra innings to watch the Sox, nor did I have season tickets to my local Redhawks. So I listened to the radio via the Internet for my Red Sox games and saw about one game per week at the Brick. This was hardly enough to keep a blog alive, no matter how much I wanted to talk baseball.

All that has changed. This is our second season sitting in the first row above the visitors' dugout at the Brick and (after having MLB.tv last year) we have finally spent the money on honest-to-God Extra Innings on digital cable this season.

Add to these factors the fact that Grad school is over and, very soon, teaching will be over too as I ma stepping out of teaching for a while to raise my twin boys. Thus, this is the perfect time to re-open Red Dirt, Navy cap and maybe I can even get some readers.

So, let's start with tonight. I just watch Youklis hit a walk-off home run WAY over the Monster to win the first game of the season series against the hated Yankees!

This makes me feel a bit better about what I watched at the brick tonight. Former Red Sox, current Omaha Royal, Lenny DiNardo pitched a beauty against the Redhawks tonight. In six innings, he allowed only one hit - a harmless, two out single by Esteban German in the first inning. The Redhawks went one, two, three against him in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. In the sixth, he hit Scott Thorman who led off for the Hawks, but retired the next three.

Jared Hyatt allowed one run off a sac-fly by ex-Redhawk Travis Metcalf to score J.R. House in a rough 4th inning. Ex-Red Sox Bryan Corey (who looks strangely like a piranha) was hit hard by the Royals, even when he was getting outs. He ultimately allowed two runs off of four hits. Though he looked ridiculous, his two runs would not matter, since Royals pitching shut the Redhawks out 3-0.

I'll try to include box scores as soon as I can find a quick and easy way to make them look good in this format. in the meantime, I plan to continue to give game results of Redhawks games (except when I occasionally miss and when they're on the road) and to rant on whatever baseball related material I feel like. This is, after all, a blog.

Oh, and a shout out to my buddy Shawn Byrne who caught a Mets game in the new Citi Park and watched Santana pitch an absolute beauty.

Jeff and Charissa

2006-01-11T11:48:00.000-06:00

Good Bye...Idiot

2005-12-22T14:11:00.000-06:00

Picture from RedSox.com

I'm really not that sad to see him go. His average seems like it's dropping. His throws don't make it into second. He's really not that great.

He was a Boston favorite because he was a character and a famous Yankee Hatah and now he is a Yankee. I really can't understand why anyone is surprised. If Damon wasn't as greedy as any of us would be, he wouldn't have waited sooooo painfully long to sign.

I know I'm ranting but it's the offseason so I'm not going to spend the time rounding up data; I'm just gonna speak from the heart here. My wife was very upset that Johnny is leaving. My response was, "Don't be upset. Just hate him."

Glad I didn't buy his book. I'm not sure I could have stood looking at a big picture of him in a Sox home jersey.

KeepManny.com

2005-12-02T12:30:00.000-06:00

I signed the petition today.

And just cause Someone's Gotta Kill me During the Winter Too!

2005-11-30T23:41:00.000-06:00

Why would the Bruin's do it?

The Exile Plans His Trip!

2005-11-29T22:17:00.000-06:00

Just looking forward to the new season. We are already planning our Sox dates. We will be going Texas on April 4th to see the Sox/Rangers. Then, we're making our pilgrimage to bean town for the Mets June 26-29. Hopefully, we'll actually be able to get tickets. My uncle has some connections and has been known to dig up great seats. I'll let you know.

For my diatribe on recent events: thank god for pitching.

Halloween Extra Scary in Red Sox Nation

2005-10-31T23:00:00.000-06:00

Well, Theo Eptein announced today that he would not re-sign as the Sox General Manager.

Prodded by Allan Wood's take on the matter, (Allan blames Larry Lucchino for giving too much info to the Globe) I would also like to blame Dan Shaughnessy whose stupid article used Lucky's bullcrap.

Let's take a look:

Larry taught Theo too well and now he is looking in the mirror as he tries to hammer out a deal with the GM he made in his own image. Both are merely doing what they are trained to do. In Theo's case, he's doing what Larry trained him to do.

What is alarming -- for the future of the Sox franchise -- is Theo's sudden need to distance himself from those who helped him rise to his position of power....

Okay, so Theo is Greedy and power hungry. Larry Lucchino has created a monster. Here's some more:

Let's start with Theo being a ''baseball guy" while Larry is a lawyer with a lofty title (CEO). Granted, Epstein is a student of the game, but it's a mistake to say he knows more about baseball than Lucchino or anyone else in the Red Sox baseball operation. Theo is 31 years old and did not play baseball past high school. He spent four years at Yale and three years at law school. That hardly leaves time for much more than rotisserie league scouting. He can read the data and has a horde of trusty, like-minded minions, but we're not talking about a lifetime of beating the bushes and scouting prospects.

Okay, so Theo is unqualified and yet doesn't seem to know his place...Below Lucchino. Also, he surrounds himself with "yes men," for what reason, Shaughnessy does not explain.

It was charged last week that Sox management conducted a ''smear campaign" against Epstein. How? Where's the campaign? It was correctly reported that Theo turned down a three-year deal at $1.2 million per year. That's a smear campaign?

Hmmmmmm...Could maybe this be it Dan?

There have been no quotes from Sox management on the negotiations.

And why should they, when you do the negative press for them?

The real kicker to this article, is that it was written in full expectations that Theo would be on TV today to announce his re-signing with the Sox.

The news conference should be at Fenway tomorrow afternoon. Halloween. No tricks. No boos. Look for the traditional handshake and jack-o-lantern smiles from Theo Epstein and Larry Lucchino. They'll say they look forward to many more years working together to bring championship baseball to Boston.

It's too bad it went this far. Too bad it took this long. Theo's old contract expires at midnight tomorrow, and there were a few hours last week when it felt like he might actually leave the Sox.

Oops! I mean geez, why would Theo even think about leaving the Sox. Look at all the respect he gets...

New Look to the Blog and to the Office

2005-10-31T22:38:00.000-06:00

My office is undergoing a re-model... Now, colors that look good with my framed News Paper articles.

The Year's Predictions and When I was Right.

2005-10-20T10:29:00.000-05:00

Well, not bad for an arm chair baseball fan who got cut from his High School Team. (I didn't even get to play Junior Varsity!) Well, here's how my big predictions have broken down.

1) My beloved Sox will be plagued by pitching troubles this year.

I addressed it back in March 14, before the season started. At that time, my biggest concern was Curt Schilling, who was rehabbing from surgery at the time and David Wells, who has had lots of injuries in recent history.

These two were slated to be the aces of the team. As we saw, Curt Schilling never regained his form and missed much of the season before spending a short stint as closer then a mostly unsuccessful return to the rotation to finish 8-8 for the year.

The starting rotation and the bullpen struggled all year. In each half of the year, one pitcher pitched pretty well. In the first half it was Matt Clement until he got hit with a comebacker and never quite recovered. He said that he would change his mechanics in the offseason to prevent a repeated incident but I have a felling that his mechanics were on his mind the rest of the season. In the second half, Wells was pretty good but he struggled in the fist half. The Sox never had more than one consistent pitcher and the bullpen got tore up all year. And let's not even talk about Keith Foulke!

Prediction one: Dead on!

2) "This could be the Cardinals' year"

On June 9, I said that "this may be the Cardinals year" and called them "the team to beat this year." That was one of the few entries that anyone read and commented on at my Sox blog, mainly angry Cards fans commenting on other stuff I said.

Well, the cards did become the team to beat in the NL but it wasn't their year as we now know. Because the Astros climbed from 15 back into the wildcard slot, then beat the cards in the NLCS.

Prediction 2: Not quite. Dare I say...Wrong.

3) A White Sox/ Astros World Series

This prediction doesn't carry any real weight because I made it at the beginning of the playoffs when I knew who all the teams were. I also never wrote it down. So there. When people asked me who I thought would be there I said, "White Sox and Astros."

I temper the prediction by saying that the Astros were my "hopeful prediction." I wanted them there, thought they could be there but fully expected the Cardinals to be there. But hey, I said it so it looks like I'm not bad luck and also that I was right.

Prediction three: reluctantly correct

4) White Sox Win the Series Four Games to One.

I'm making this prediction now. This is going to be a sweeeeeeet pitcher's duel with each team having the best pitchers in the respective leagues. But the Astros have had problems with offensive production all year. I think the Astros squeak out a game against the White Sox but against the Sox good pitching, the Astros lumbering offense gets beat in five games.

Coming soon!

2005-10-18T01:34:00.000-05:00

This blog is under construction. I'll have it up and running shortly.