Breaking News -- Sox-leaning Site Says Rays Don't Deserve World Series

Shockingly, there's a Sox site out there that says the Rays don't deserve their trip to the World Series and that's why you should root for the Phillies. I love this kind of stuff after a team loses. Nothing brings out the true class of a fan base like this.

From the post:

The Rays? Let's just say they haven't exactly earned this as yet. That shiny new team merchandise you saw those 15 year old kids and 70 year old Grandparents wearing at 'the Trop' (can you believe they are going to hold series games at that monstrosity?) will be on show again. Endless shots of spotty faced Tampa teens sporting brand new Rays caps with the silver MLB merchandise label still shining bright on them, yeah that's a fan base alright.

Ah, yes, because nobody bought shiny new Red Sox caps after they won in 2004, right? And why do the Rays not deserve to win even if you think their fans aren't legit?

Oh, there's more:

At the end of the day, when all is said and done, I am not prepared to live in a world where people like BJ Upton, Jamie Navarro, Matt Garza or the arrogant, ignorant Aussie Grant Balfour are king. Maddon, Pena and Crawford certainly come across as classy guys, however those mentioned initially have a little bit of learning to do before they come across as anything but punk, spoilt, brash NBA star types.

For starters, "at the end of the day" and "when all is said and done" are hoary, cliches used by mouth-breathers. You used both meaningless space-fillers to start your sentance because you think it made your sound more worldly. You're a shitty writer. Now, as to your assertion in that paragraph... well, seriously? You're "not prepared" to live in that world? Well, you might want to get prepared.

And a Sox fan -- a fan of guys like Jonathan Papelbon -- claming the Rays players are "arrogant" is kind of laughable. And they have "a little bit of learning to do"? They won the division from your precious Sox this season, took 10 of 18 against the Sox in the regular season, held off the two regular winners of the AL East all season and then just beat the Sox in seven games, under intense pressure at the end... to get there. What more do they have to do to gain your respect?

Thing is, I imagine this kind of Sox blogger is the exception rather than the norm. From the short perusing I've done, most of them seem like you'd expect a vanquished team's fans to be -- disappointed, but not upset at their team or at losing to a good club like the Rays. So I don't think this guy is the norm or represents all Sox fans -- I just noticed the link to him on Deadspin and thought it was worth pointing out how pouty he was being.

[UPDATE: Yikes, just read this one, too.

Oh and as for the World Series, I'm throwing my support behind the Phillies... here's hoping the Phils give the Rays some unholy hell. Especially that punk-ass Carl Crawford, who you know is just an injury away from boosting car stereos.

Wow, that's not racist or anything.]

I'm Glad The Rays Won

Obviously, I'm glad the Rays won... because I don't like the Sawx, their fans, their players, etc. But more than that, seeing the joy exhibited by the Rays players after they won last night was just one of those really cool things in sports. They were thrilled, relieved, joyful.... and many of these guys were part of the worst team in baseball last season.... and to be part of that journey has got to be just amazing.

And as much as I hate the Red Sox, I do have a grudging respect for them. Bill Simmons, who jumped the shark a long time ago in most peoples' eyes, wrote a column after the 2001 World Series, when the Yankees lost in seven games to the Diamondbacks on a bottom-of-the-ninth rally. Simmons wrote about how much he respected the Yankees and that you can tell the mettle of a champion not only when they win, but in how they are toppled. Like when a dynasty ends, the mark of a champion is in how hard they fight to the bitter end. Those Yankees struggled to push that series to seven games and almost pulled it out in the end... and they fought to the last second.

The same can be said of the 2008 Red Sox. Through the Manny disaster and trade, Ortiz slumping badly this season, Lowell not even being on the ALCS roster, injuries all over the places, etc... this team still played hard to the end and did not give the Rays anything. Down 7-0 in the 7th inning of Game 5, with TBS and everyone else already talking about the Rays versus the Phillies, and with Sox fans (who likely became Sox fans in about October 2004) the Sox players had to be the only ones who still believed they could do it. And they almost freaking did. Incredible.

Back in October of 2004, on my old site, when the Yankees were initiating their collapse to the Sox, I wrote that you couldn't ever take your boot off the Sox throat. Here's what I said on October 18, 2004:

"The Sox are a team I just don't feel comfortable around until they're gone.You need to run them over with the bus, then back over them, then run over them again. And then get out and hit them with the tire iron. Repeatedly. And then back over them again."

And they're still that team. They're still hungry, they still believe they can win no matter what the situation. And last night, if a few things had bounced their way... or if Drew wasn't called out on strikes on a pitch a foot outside that even the pitcher said he thought was a ball in the postgame.

I still don't like them or a lot of their players, but they refused to give up their throne easily and I respect them for that.

"Dude! I know! We was rahbbed! I can't believe the Sawx lost! I'm gonna go home and beat my girlfriend now... should cheeah me up."

You Can StickItUpYourAaaaaaaaaaaaaass...YES!

While Boilerdowd reveled in the Cubs flaming out, I rather enjoy the fact that the ChiSox also lost, giving the combined Chicago teams a stellar 1-6 postseason record (conversely, New York teams are hovering right at .500 this postseas -- 0-0).

I actually don't have too many problems with the White Sox -- well, except for Ozzie Guillen, who I do think is an idiot. And, as my headline references, perhaps no homer broadcasters out there incite hate the way Hawk Harrelson does.

But really, it's more that I'm happy to see the Rays move on, as I think they're probably the only team that can beat the Red Sox, who continued to totally own the Angels.

LCS matchup predictions coming soon. (Hey, I went 2-2 in the first round.)

Yankees Continue to Corner the Market on Aging Stars

The Yankees agrees to trade Kyle Farnsworth back to one of his previous teams, the Tigers, in exchange for another player who used to be really good, Pudge Rodriguez.

Okay, maybe that's not entirely fair. IRod is hitting .295 this year and clearly isn't washed up. And with Posada done for the season, the Yanks do need a decent catcher and there really aren't many good ones out there, and even fewer who are available. I heard this morning that Pudge wasn't happy in Detroit and that's really surprising to me. This is a guy who signed his deal with them when they were absolutely terrible and I remember people wondering why he'd do such a thing. Then they made it to the World Series and he looked a little less crazy. And now somehow he's not happy.

Regardless, even though I poke fun, this is a good move for the Yanks. Pudge's contract is up at the end of the season and if he's anywhere near the leader/spark he's been for the '03 Marlins World Series team or the '06 Tigers run, then he's more than worth Kyle Farnsworth, a guy the Yankees couldn't have given away last season. Farny has been a lot better this year and Cashman traded him at what's likely his peak value. Sure, the Yankees now need someone to pitch the 8th inning, but hey, nobody entirely trusted Farnsworth still anyway.

This is kind of a disturbing trend, though. While I like the Pudge deal, I don't like the Richie Sexson pickup. Sure, he's not costing them much of anything, but he's kind of a malcontent and he's just no good anymore. When you're 6'8" and you develop holes in your swing, well, they're pretty big holes. Plus, I think the Yanks have enough DH/1B-type guys.

A co-worker of mine said this "isn't the Yankees anymore, not with guys like Sexson and Ponson." Well, whatever that means, it's kind of on point.... the Yankees, while still not trading away their prospects and mortgaging their future, are starting to look kind of desperate. Maybe it's warranted, with the pitching staff having issues... but is it worth a noted clubhouse problem like Sidney Ponson? Can Barry Bonds be far behind?

Elsewhere in MLB

Today is the MLB trade deadline and Ken Griffey, Jr. appears to be on the move to the White Sox, even though the Sox reporters I heard on the Dan Patrick Show this morning don't seem to have any idea where Griffey will play. He's too immobile to play center field anymore, and they've got Dye and Quinten in the corner outfield spots. You could move Swisher to first and play Griff in center but then you're downgrading defensively in the outfield and taking ABs away from Paul Konerko. Of course, Konerko kind of sucks now, so maybe that's okay. If I were managing that bunch, I'd DH Griffey, play Thome at first and leave the outfield as-is. Konerko can sit his .214-hitting ass. Of course, this all might be moot because, really, does Ken Griffey at age 38 make the difference for the ChiSox? They can barely hold off a mediocre Twins team and if the Tigers hadn't completely bumblef-cked the start of their season, the Sox wouldn't be in first anyway. We'll see how it plays out.

In Boston, the growing tide of "Manny is about to be traded" has continued to swell. It's hard to believe it's possible and last week a lot of people were pointing out that this happens almost every year now... and then Manny's still a member of the Red Sox. It's true that Manny's a doofus and lollygags sometimes and clearly doesn't take the game as seriously as some people would like. He also has mad jazz hands:



However, and bear in mind that I hate the guy, he's fricking amazing. He's an incredible hitter and perhaps the most impressive RBI machine we'll ever see. Look at his career numbers -- as well as what he's doing this year -- and tell me how the Sox could possibly be better without him. His career 162-game average is .312/40/132 and his OPS+ this season is 140. That's ridonkulous.

Hell, I love the idea of them trading him, because there's no possible way they'll get fair value for him and it will only weaken the Boston lineup. Ortiz won't see as many good pitches and the Sox simply won't have as productive of an offense. And besides, they've put up with Manny being an imbecile for 7 1/2 seasons -- what's another two months?

Classy Sox Fans "Welcome" Buckner

The Boston Red Sox had their home opener today and deservedly had their fun. They got their World Series rings and had a nice day for the cermony. Classy touches included a ginormous American flag covering the green monster.

But then they did this...



Wow. That... that might be the most vomit-inducing, contrived bullspit I've ever seen.

So let me get this straight.... Red Sox fans are "forgiving" a guy who gave his heart and soul to the franchise and then made one critical error in an inning where the manager and the bullpen all conspired to yank Red Sox fans hearts out? Somehow Buckner, as we all know, got blamed for the Sox '86 collapse, but it was far from his fault. Wild pitches, giving up three hits in a row with two outs, etc... all more at fault than Buckner's error. And yet he was positively vilified and his name spit out by Boston fans like he was pure dirt. To the point where his family -- and he -- couldn't take it and decided to move to freaking Idaho. I think he should have walked out there and given the finger, then walked away.

Yet now, after two titles and 22 years, all is forgiven and you're "welcomed" back, Bill. Classy, Boston fans. Of course, about half of you began watching baseball in 2004 and don't even know who this guy is.

From this story...

“This is the reward for all the stuff I did last year,” said Sam MacSay, a 17-year-old from Brighton wearing a blue and red wig who ditched class at Fenway High School and bought a ticket on e-Bay for today’s game.

See?

MacSay did not say how much he paid, but argued that it was worth the inflated price because he attended or watched all 162 regular season games in 2007.

Or at least checked the box score. Wow, you're a fan. Whoop-dee-doo.

Add the playoff and the World Series and, he said, “it took over my life.”

Yes, your life. Such as it is.

“I should be getting a ring too,” MacSay said.

No, loser. You shouldn't.

Oh, and what was that I saw with guys in Celtics and Bruins uniforms? What are they trying to point out? That their other sports franchises once won titles, too? What's the matter, could you guys not find your indoor lacrosse team to honor, too? How ridiculous.

Wow, the Celtics last won a title in 1986, the same year the Sawx choked one away! Awesome! And the Bruins, well, they won the Stanley Cup most recently in 1972! Sweet! What does any of this have to do with baseball? I think if the Yankees win it all, they should have the 1973 Knicks at their ring ceremony as well as the 1983 Islanders. That would make about as much sense.

Yes, I'm biased and yes, I hate the Red Sox. But come on, they're making it easier and easier.

October is Different, Part IV: World Series Edition

Colorado Rockies versus Boston Red Sox

I was going to post a nice picture above of Denver and then a crappy picture of Boston but I'm much bigger than that. Just because I hate the Sox doesn't mean I can't be a good guy and evaluate them fairly. Okay, maybe it might seem that way, but the truth is, I picked them to win their first round series and then I picked them to lose in 7 to Cleveland and, had Cleveland not lost a 3-1 lead, I would have looked pretty bright. As it stands, though, I look about as dumb as usual. So let's just get to my breakdown of the World Series.

For starters, I'm just happy there's going to be a game tonight, so we can stop seeing Rockies players being asked what the 8-day layoff is going to mean. They don't know, guys. They've never even been to the World Series, so how can they tell you? Of course they're going to say they enjoy the time off and resting up and OF COURSE we all know they'd rather get right into it. Might they be "rusty"? I guess it's possible, but if Todd Helton sees a Josh Beckett fastball really well and puts it into the seats in the first inning, does all that "rust" talk simply vanish? Probably. And if Beckett shuts them down, like he's done to the Angels and Indians, will people comment on Colorado's rust? Of course they will. It's kind of dumb. But it's hard to think a week off is helpful when you've played baseball pretty much every day since March.

Why The Rockies Might Win: Basically, because they've looked unstoppable for the past month. And with this 8-day layoff, they've now lost one game in the last 38 days. How ridiculous is that? 22-1 in their last 23 games. Supreme confidence. Outstanding hitting. They have the comeback kids kind of mentality that has helped the Red Sox in '04 and '07; that is, simply believing you're going to come back and win no matter what happens. The Rox were down two runs in extra innings of their one-game playoff against San Diego and they came back and won. They were 7+ games out in mid-September and they got in. They haven't lost a game in the postseason yet. (Even those vaunted, always-talked-about Yankees teams from the late-90s didn't sweep their way through the playoffs, so consider that.) The Rockies pitching has been excellent and their bullpen has been lights-out.

Why The Rockies Might Lose: Well, they're the Rockies. Can you imagine the Rockies being the World Series champs? And just like the Phillies that they ousted in the first round, could the Rockies eventually run out of gas? I mean, consider all they've had to do to get here and how much winning baseball they've had to play the past month. They've been in do-or-die playoff mode since about September 15. Teams that have to overcome such deficits often peter out just a bit too early. But hey, you could have made that argument about the Red Sox comeback in '04 over the Yankees and it didn't turn out to hurt them. They just kept plowing along. And so might the Rockies. Another reason they might lose is because they haven't faced a team like the Red Sox yet. The Rockies beat the overrated Phillies (a second-place team only in the playoffs because of an historic collapse by the Mets) and then the overrated Diamondbacks (a team that got outscored on the season and happened to buck statistical trends and eek out 90+ victories). The Red Sox are far, far better than either of those opponents.

Why The Red Sox Might Win: As I just said, on paper they're a better team than the Rockies. Colorado was a fourth-place team for much of the season, trailing the D-Backs, Padres and Dodgers almost all year. Read that again. The Rox were worse than the D-Backs, Padres and Dodgers all year long... until the last two weeks of September. So no matter how hot they are, if you look at things equally, they're not as good as the first-place-all-year Sox. The Sox have the best starter in the series, and among the best in baseball, in Josh Beckett. They have Bloody Sock Schilling, who is good for at least one "heroic" performance each series. And then they have a pretty good stable of pitchers in the bullpen, leading up to Riverdancer Jonathan Papelbon. The Sox also have David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, who both hit over .400 in the ALCS. These guys are fantastic hitters, plain and simple. They're not the concern for Colorado. I think the Rockies will pitch around these guys if they have to, so the question becomes can JD Drew, Dustin Pedroia, Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek, et al, come to play and cash in when they get up there with guys on base.

Why The Red Sox Might Lose: This team has been awfully streaky this season. They came flying out of the gate for two months and then played mediocre baseball for about three months, almost letting the Yankees catch them. Then they played well again right into the playoffs and then, against the Indians, looked awful in falling behind 3-1. Then they seemingly turned it on again and plowed through the Indians. If this team doesn't come out focused against a Rockies team that is sweeping teams out of the playoffs, it could be another 3-1 deficit before they know it. Sure, they've shown they can come back from that, but you see where I'm going with this. In addition, if Schilling or Matsuzaka aren't in top form in Games 2 and 3 (with Matsuzaka tentatively pitching in Coors -- wheee!) the Rockies could get themselves a series lead and even more confidence. Oh, and if Eric Gagne has to pitch, the Sox might as well say goodnight. Man, has he been awful.

Factor Being Talked About That Might Mean Something or Might Mean Nothing: The Rockies came to Fenway in mid-June and took two of three from the Sox, even beating Josh Beckett, who only lost seven games all season. While one might think this could get into Beckett's head, I think it's more likely that he's aware of what he did wrong in that game and is even more focused to take them down. After all, that was a mid-June series when the Sox had a huge division lead and this is the World Series. Hard to compare. But it's good for the Rockies that they know they can win in that challenging venue.

Other Miscellaneous Things I'm Watching For:

Will Manny pose and strut after any home runs? If so, will the Rockies finally be the team willing to knock him down for it? I doubt it, but it's fun to think about.

Will we see significant snow for the first time in a World Series? Quite possible, since it was really snowy in Denver over the weekend. It's not looking to be too bad in the upcoming days but it came show up quickly there. Wouldn't MLB look stupid then if the World Series is postponed by snow. Of course, maybe they never expected the Rockies to ever make a World Series.

Will Eric Gagne be allowed to share in the postgame celebration if the Sox win the World Series?

How many times will we be reminded of the Rockies playing for Mike Coolbaugh? It's definitely awesome that they voted Coolbaugh a playoff share so his family gets it, but I have a feeling we might get hit over the head with it by Fox.

Speaking of Fox, how many crappy sitcom actors will they plant in the stands in Denver or Boston?

How many times will Tim McCarver screw up Troy Tulowitzki's name?

Prognostication: Well, it's about that time. I've gotten the winner right in four of the six series played so far this postseason so I'm doing okay. This is a tough series, as most are, because you just don't know how the teams are going to react. Would anyone have thought the Tigers would look so lifeless and sloppy against the weak Cardinals last season? I mean, isn't it possible to imagine the Rockies continuing their unconscious streak of masterful baseball and getting through the Red Sox to complete their magical season? (Well, okay, magical month.) Sure it is. And isn't it just as easy to imagine the Red Sox simply shutting down the storybook Rockies, simply because they have a more complete, dominant team?

The Rockies have some terrific hitters in Tulowitzki, Helton, Hawpe and Atkins. The Sox have an equally impressive group that includes Ortiz, Manny, Lowell (who led the team in RBIs, betcha didn't know that) and Drew. The Rockies pitching, while outstanding in the playoffs, is not quite the caliber at the top that the Red Sox is. Beyond the top pitchers, though, I think the Rox are a lot closer to the Sox level.

All that said, and as much as I detest the Red Sox, I don't think I can bring myself to actually predict a Rockies win. I'd love to see it happen -- and not just because I don't like Boston. I think the fans of Colorado have seen a mediocre-to-terrible baseball product for most of the time the Rockies have existed. Now, they're finally doing things right and they've gone on an impressive run and seem to have the parts in place to at least remain competitve in the NL West. So I think it'd be great to see a city like Denver, which has won in in the past in hockey and football, get to see a championship-winning baseball team. But I just don't think it's going to happen.

Red Sox in 6.

Post-implosion dissection

The news of the day started ominously with Paul Byrd and HGH the talk of the day. My first thoughts were in conspiracy theory mode. Why wait until the morning of game 7 to bring these out? Did MLB prefer Boston the World Series (of course) and did someone want to distract the Indians? We'll probably never know, but the timing is certaily coincidental. It would be the same thing if David Ortiz was found to be using steroids and the media held onto that information until the most important game of the season.

Anyway, that ultimately had nothing to do with the Indians losing - distraction or not.

Game 7 of the ALCS ended when Joel Skinner stopped Kenny Lofton at third base. While replays clearly showed that Lofton would've scored easily, the brakes were put on not just Kenny, but any momentum the Indians would've gained.

Had Lofton scored, the game would've at least been tied at 3-3 and the Indians would've had the momentum from scoring the last 3 runs of the game. Who knows how the next half-inning would've went. Maybe the Red Sox still would've homered and taken a 2 run lead. I suspect the entire Indians team would've been energized though, and it really would've been a good game.

Instead, Lofton was stopped at third, Blake hit into an inning ending double play, I was really really really not happy, and the game was essentially over. The Indians were completely deflated. It really sucked. A lot.

You can argue that the terrible pitching of Sabathia and Carmona doomed the Indians, but I don't think so. I think a bad call by a usually aggressive third base coach doomed them last night. Granted, CC and Fausto sucked and sucked bad, but even after their horrible performances, the Indians still could've won.

Such is life as a fan of Cleveland sports. They will occasionally take you to the brink of something really spectacular before deciding to stab you in the eye.

Still Idiots

I had a conversation with J on Friday about why I thought the Red Sox would win games 6 & 7- because many of them seem to not be human in the way they handle pressure. Much like the group that found a way to fight back versus the Yankees a few seasons back, this Red Sox team is just odd the way they approach pressure situations.

During game 5, there was a camera shot of the Red Sox dugout that showed a few players having what looked like a sesame seed shell-spitting contest. Alright, you're down 3-1, whattya do? Act like a 10-year old playing a little league game. I don't think the Indians really acted like they were feeling pressure until game 7...understandably so. Some will say pitching killed the Indians, I'd argue that the Sox bats and demeanor killed the Indians. If one guy got cold another seemed to step up each time almost seemlessly.

So onto the World Series we go. I predict the Red Sox in 6.

This guy's the out you've been waiting your whole life for.

It's Tribe Time Now!

Yeah, it's a stupid slogan, but whatever. Suck it Boston!

The Indians will win tonight. C.C. Sabathia will pitch like he is capable of. It will be a hard fought close game, but the Indians will prevail.

On to the lowest rated World Series in history! I'll be loving every minute of it. Maybe we can get a few games snowed out and end up playing into December. Not to take for granted that the Indians have to win one more game, but I'm taking that for granted.

People around here have finally stopped talking about the Browns, but I'm fairly certain that's only because they have a bye this week. In the mean time, the Indians have certainly succeeded in capturing the town. They are hitting ridiculously well in the clutch. The bullpen is pitching great. The Eddie Harris' of the team (Westbrook and Byrd) are handling the Red Sox lineup. ESPN has finally recognized that it just might be possible that neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees will make the World Series. What could be better?

Now a side note: what exactly is Papelbon doing with Manny's junk?