Atlanta Braves Lose 1-0 to the Boston Red Sox

Earlier in the week, I begged for this team to be more consistent, and they have been. The problem is that their consistency has garnered four losses in a row, which means they have lost 12 of their last 17 games and are losing proximity to that .500 line.

Now, I know .500 means a team is just treading water, but, in the NL East this year, treading water seems good enough to keep a team in the race. Philadelphia leads the division, and they're pretty much dog paddling through the season; they've also lost 12 of their last 17 games. The Mets have lost 10 of their last 17. The Marlins are actually the only team in the division playing well right now, having won 11 of their last 17 games, and they trail the Phillies by 1.5 games, which is a testament to how poorly Florida was playing earlier in the season. The NL East is like a swimming pool full of kids learning how to swim, but, instead of focusing on the butterfly or the backstroke, these teams are treading water.

Treading water for long periods of time is one of the most mentally tedious and physically tiring experiences one can have. The only objective is to keep one's head above water. One just pedals their legs over and over as if they were on a stationary bike. It wears on one mentally. At swim practice, we used to do this, and it became one of those 24 dance offs, with kids just staying in the place, hands in the air, not going anywhere; it became a war of attrition, a practice in being stubborn, which is exactly what this NL East race has become.

In most races, one moves forward, and one judges their progress based on how far in front or behind their opponent they are, so what happens when everyone just stays in one place? The team that wins the NL East may not be the most talented team, but the team with the strongest will.

I thought the Braves' struggles to win consistently were because of the ever changing weather patterns, the sudden thunderstorms that sneak up and devour blue skies. I thought that with a little less rain there would be a few more wins. Well, it's been sunny and in the 90s the last few days, and the Braves still lost. Maybe it's too hot to stay poolside, and the reason for packing up the towels, goggles, and cooler are because of the sun and not the storm clouds. Maybe this team can't take the heat, which is why Kelly Johnson and Jeff Francoeur's bats are as cold as pool side beers.

Some guys are not meant to endure the pressures of an entire season, and it makes me sad to say so. I like Kelly and Jeff, but their hitting .219 and .246 isn't going to cut it. It's time to start asking are they legitimate everyday players because the Braves can't win the division without these two guys hitting like they belong in the lineup.

The Braves have given up the least amount of runs in the NL East, but they've only outscored four other teams in the National League, San Diego, San Francisco, Houston and Chicago. This team can't afford to keep wasting pitching performances like the one Javier Vazquez threw today, giving up one run and six hits in 7 and two thirds innings.

Earlier in the week, I called for sunshine, but now I wish it would rain "cause rain drops will hide my tear drops and no one will ever know that I'm crying when I go outside." This team's performance is coming dangerously close to making this a long, unbearable summer, rain or shine.

So here's a song never fails to make me feel better. It's a song I associate with going swimming in the summer because my Mom would always play Fox 97, an Oldies station, on the way to the Green Hills Country Club pool in Athens. I give you The Temptations:

The number of the day is:

7, as in down 7 runs in the bottom of the seventh. 7-0 was the score when the Red Sox caught fire, in what would become one of the more miraculous come backs in recent history. The runs came in bunches and started with a single to right by Dustin Pedroia that scored Jed Lowrie and moved Coco to third. David Ortiz knocked the two to them in along with himself on a home run to deep right field. After the 7th, the score was a much more manageable 7-4. In the eighth the scoing continued, J.D. Drew knocked himself and Jason Bay in with a home run to deep right. Coco added another by singling to right to score Mark Kotsay. Then in the ninth, Kevin Youkilis grounded to Evan Longoria with two outs, and wound up at second when the throw bounced in front of first baseman Carlos Pena. Jason Bay was intentionally walked and Drew lined a single to right off J.P. Howell over the outstretched glove of Gabe Gross to score the game-winner. Tampa Bay still has the advantage with a 3-2 lead, with the last two games to be played at Tropicana.

Major League Baseball Playoffs (ramblings)

When your team finishes 72-90, the Major League Playoffs can feel more like a reminder of how bad your team is than a display of the game's best teams going against each other. One can grow jealous, frustrated, and indifferent, watching teams that stayed healthier, developed their farm systems better, and managed their money better than the team one dedicated a whole summer to supporting. One can begin to feel like the kid who missed the first word in the spelling bee and now has to watch the rest of it.

If one's own team is not in the playoffs, then one has to find other plot lines to follow; other cars to bark at and chase down the street. Here are the shiny objects that have me barking this fall:

AL Divisional Rounds
ANGELS vs. RED SOX

People keep telling me the Yankees missed the playoffs, but I swear I saw Dice K slated to pitch on Friday. Wait, what? He pitches for Boston, not New York? Those are different franchises? I thought the Rays beat the New Boston Yank Sox for the division title? Seriously, the histories of New York and Boston are so intertwined they should be contracted into one franchise. Also, that would open up a lot more games on ESPN and FOX's TV schedules.

The Angels, on the other hand, have always been a favorite of mine. I didn't like the Rally Monkey, but I love Angels in the Outfield, a film starring the most underrated actor of his generation, Tony Danza, and Adrian Brody, in a performance that trumps his Oscar-winning one in The Pianist.  Matthew McConaughey has never been this good again either.  In fact, if not for this film, I doubt the Angels even exist.  Plus, they feature Vladimir Guerrero, the Tony Danza of baseball.  Seriously, Who's the Boss should never have been green-lighted, but Tony's charisma made it happen.  Guerrero should not be a career .323 hitter, considering the pitches he chases, but somehow he does it, just like Danza somehow kept the house clean with an effortless, "Heeey!!!" 


I'm pulling for the Angels because this is their chance to show why they deserve more attention from the baseball world; it's their chance to show the baseball world "who's the boss." (insert cheesy Tony Danza grin here)

RAYS VS. WHITE SOX

A tin man would root for the Rays. Afterall, they are the underdog, and they have heart, according to Lil Wayne, who describes their blood pumping organ as amazingly unexplainable. He also adds a wow, a great, and a list of his top 15 favorite teams in every sport, all like 85 of them. I would agree with Lil' Wayne, except he has ESPN tattooed on his right arm. I still question his dedication to his picks, until he gets ESPN2 tattooed on his left arm. Let's just say I'm skeptical and pulling for the White Sox because I went to Tampa this summer, and it's filled with Yankees and Red Sox fans. The city cares more about spring training than it does its own team.

The White Sox, on the other hand, have a group of true fans, who are treated like 3/5 of a human being in their own city. Carl Sandburg once described Chicago as "the city of the broad shoulders," and the black and white uniforms of the White Sox look like they were designed for the working class. This team hits home runs like they've been lifting crates in the rail yard. The Rays may have heart, but this team has sweat, spit, and muscle. This team can't afford to have heart because their own city broke it a long time ago. The fact that there are still White Sox fans today is a testament to a minority group's perseverance in midst of an enthusiastic majority, like punk vs. disco.

Yes, the White Sox's main competition is not the team they face on the field, but the team across town they fight for headlines with. The White Sox and the Cubs is like the truth versus the fiction. In real life, players bet on games, cheat, and lose their careers. In fairy tales, gypsies cast spells because they love their goats, like Shrek loves donkey. I, for one, never understood how the gypsy and the goat got to Wrigley in the first place. Does the L pass through Transylvania?

I'm pulling for the White Sox. I'm pulling for the real life madness that is Ozzie Guillen. I'm pulling for the real life pain that is the unravelling of Ken Griffey's greatness. I'm pulling for Jim Thome. I'm pulling for the story that isn't a fairy tale because midnight comes everyday of our lives.

Who didn't imitate this swing as a kid?


NL Divisional Rounds
CUBS VS. DODGERS

Okay, I went hard on the Cubs in that bit about the White Sox, but I've never understood how the popularity of these two teams became so one-sided. Both teams have had good and bad years. Both teams have had bad luck. Both teams have had charismatic and talented players, who usually did not deliver in the clutch. 2005 was an exception, so I don't get the disparity.

Is it that the White Sox's uniforms make them look like Darth Vader, while the Cubs and their stadium make America think of chewing gum? Is it Harry Cary's voice that caused this? Is it the inability to forgive a franchise for sins committed in 1919? What was it? What is it? Does anyone know? I'd like an answer.

Anyway, I'm pulling for the Cubs to beat the Dodgers. I can't pull for a team that's from L.A. I just can't.

PHILLIES VS. BREWERS

The Phillies will win this series. The Brewers lost their chance at postseason success when Ben Sheets got hurt, but I'm pulling for the Brewers because the '93 Phillies still give me nightmares, and I wake up in a cold tobacco sweat.

________

ALCS
ANGELS VS. WHITE SOX

This series comes down to one conflict. What's been more important to America: Tony Danza or trains? It's a tough call, but "Who's the Boss?" is rarely, if ever, seen in syndication these days. I saw a train last weekend, and it was moving. Trains win, which means I'll be pulling for Jermaine Dye, Griffey, Thome, and others to keep lifting crates in the rail yard.


NLCS
CUBS VS. BREWERS

This series I hope happens. Milwaukee is like the little brother to Chicago. I don't even think Chicago worries about its little brother ever even being a serious threat on the field, and I'm not sure they should; but Chicago should worry about losing its Charlie Brown factor. Charlie Brown is always lovable. Charlie Brown never wins, and that makes us like him even more because he still plays the game no matter what. The one time he was winning, the game got rained out. The Cubs losing keeps Charlie Brown alive in Chicago. I'd hate to see Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Zambrano take Charlie Brown out in the middle of the night and tie him to the rails of the L, to get run over by a train powering its way back from Transylvania full of gypsies and goats.

Keep Charlie Brown alive!

Keep throwing the high straight ball, Cubs. We love it. Some things are more important than trophies.

My second reason for hoping the Brewers make the Series is linked to Marty McFly. McFly travelled back in time to the 1950's. I would like to travel back to the 1970's. Milwaukee is trapped in the 1970's. Brewers fans still tailgate to Led Zeppelin, using tapes, not CDs. If they win, then I think somehow that will result in all of us being transported back to the 1970's, to a time when mascots were still allowed to slide into a barrel full of beer, people lived off of sausages and cheese, and mustaches did not signify a career in pornography.  It sounds magical.  It sounds like a fairy tale, until one remembers they had lines for gas in the '70s, political corruption, and disco. Then the fairy tale becomes all too real and uncomfortably familiar, like kissing your mother, or Sarah Palin running for Vice President, or ringtones being passed off as pop songs, or... standing in line for gas. Hey, Marty, we're stuck in a time warp.



WORLD SERIES

WHITE SOX VS. BREWERS

The working class vs. time travel, that's the World Series I want.  I feel like I'm already watching it in the Presidential race.  Baseball is more poetic than politics.  Give me poetry over debates. Give me something that truly wipes the slate clean because, Atlanta, next year is our year to take on the Bourgeoisie.

The number of the day is:

6, for the six home runs the Boston Red Sox hit against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays last night. The six bombs carried the Sox to a 13-5 win over the Rays. David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, Jason Bay, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury homered for the Red Sox, who jumped on Kazmir for four runs in the first inning and never let up. With the win, Boston moved into a tie with Tampa Bay for the division lead.

The number of the day is:

3, as in 3 different 3-run home runs for the Angels against the Yankees. Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero and Juan Rivera each hit a three-run homer, and the Angels added to their East Coast romp with a 12-6 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday night.

The Yankees and Red Sox made moves, but the Yankees depleted their bullpen and the Red Sox traded away Ortiz's security blanket. The Rays couldn't manage to find a suitable deal, but they are a young hungry team. I am going to go with the Rays. So who do you think will win the AL East?

Ramirez to the Dodgers and Bay to Boston

Manny Ramirez has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Red Sox will pay remaining $7 million of Ramirez's contract. The Dodgers also canceled Ramirez's options for the next two year. Jason Bay is going to Boston as part of the deal, and the Pittsburgh Pirates get four minor leaguers as part of the three-way deal.

Third baseman Andy LaRoche and right-handed pitcher Bryan Morris will go to the Pirates from the Dodgers. Outfielder Brandon Moss and right-handed pitcher Craig Hansen will leave the Red Sox for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh officially has cornered the market on LaRoches.

Alright I am trying to digest this trade, and the more I think about it the less I know. What are the Dodgers going to do with 5 outfielders? This trade only works for the Dodgers if Ethier, Kemp, and Manny start while Pierre and Andru take a permanent seat on the bench. Manny, Ethier, and Kemp will supply the power, Martin and Kemp will supply the speed on the bases. Only time will tell what Torre will do.

AL East All-Stars

In a season where the Rays have emerged as a title contender, relegating the once-powerful Yankees to third place, the Red Sox have the division lead at the break. It should be a tight race, as New York probably will not go away quietly. Boston should get Ortiz back soon, and the major question will be can Tampa stay in the race? Toronto and Baltimore have looked good in stretches, but look for both of them to fold in the second half.....Without further ado, the AL East All-Stars.

Starters:

C- Dionar Navarro, Tampa Bay. (.310, 4 HR, 35 RBI, 76 Hits, 25 R)
1B- Kevin Youkilis, Boston ( .314, 15 HR, 63 RBI, 103 Hits, 56 R)
2B- Dustin Pedroia, Boston (.314, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 124 Hits, 67 R, 9 SB)
3B- Alex Rodriquez, New York (.312, 19 HR, 53 RBI, 87 Hits, 53 R, 13 SB)
SS- Derek Jeter, New York ( .284, 5 HR, 42 RBI, 100 Hits, 52 R, 5 SB)
OF- Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay ( .270, 8 HR, 47 RBI, 99 Hits, 62 R, 23 SB)
OF- Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston ( .269, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 87 Hits, 60 R, 35 SB)
OF- J.D.Drew, Boston( .302, 17 HR, 55 RBI, 84 Hits, 63 R)
DH- Aubrey Huff, Baltimore( .284, 18 HR, 59 RBI, 99 Hits, 53 R)

Six of the nine position players made the actual Mid-Season classic. Navarro has hit over .300 all season, seemingly coming out of nowhere. Youkilis and Pedroia have been hit machines for the BoSox. Arod has still hit 19 HR's despite injuries, as he barely gets the nod over potential rookie of the year Evan Longoria. Jeter has had sort of a down year, but the other SS's in the division are pretty weak. Ellsbury leads the league in steals, while Drew has been huge with Ortiz out with an injury. Carl Crawford finally gets to play for a winning team, and if he hits for a higher average in the second half, Tampa Bay will be dangerous. One suprise here is Huffzilla, who has been a steady run producer in Bmore.

SP- Roy Halladay, Toronto (11-6, 2.71 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 121 K's, 7 CG)
SP- Jon Lester, Boston ( 7-3, 3.38 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 82 K's, 2 SHO)
SP- James Shields, Tampa Bay( 7-6, 3.83 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 100 K's, 3 CG)
SP- Mike Mussina, New York ( 11-6, 3.61 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 68 K's)
SP- Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay (7-5, 3.04 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 91 K's)
RP- Mariano Rivera, New York ( 4 Wins, 23 Saves, 50 K's, 1.06 ERA, 0.64 WHIP)
RP- Jonathan Papelbon, Boston ( 3 Wins, 28 Saves, 51 K's, 2.43 ERA, 0.96 WHIP)
RP- George Sherril, Baltimore ( 2 Wins, 28 Saves, 43 K's, 4.08 ERA, 1.41 WHIP)

Halladay is a warrior, and is truly a throwback with 7 complete games in an era where pitchers simply do not go deep into games anymore. Lester pitched a classic no-hitter against the Royals, and apparently I'm pretty stupid for dropping him from my fantasy team. Mussina has been a suprise in the Big Apple, and Kazmir and Shields have been studs for Tampa Bay. Shields pitches a lot better than he fights, as evidenced by this clip:

There are some very good closers in the division, as Rivera and Papelbon are among baseball's best. Sherrill has faded a little, but still is at the top of the league in saves.

Bench:
Ramon Hernandez, C, Baltimore
Jason Giambi, 1B, New York
Brian Roberts, 2B, Baltimore
Jason Bartlett,SS, Tampa Bay
Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay
B.J. Upton, OF, Tampa Bay
Johnny Damon, OF, New York
Manny Ramirez, OF, Boston
Daisuke Matzuzaka, SP, Boston
Josh Beckett, SP, Boston
Dan Wheeler, RP, Tampa Bay
B.J.Ryan, RP, Toronto
Shaun Marcum, SP, Toronto
Jesse Litsch, SP, Toronto
Scott Downs, RP, Toronto

This is where it gets a little difficult, specificly with the quotas of each team getting a certain number of team members. All of Toronto's East all-stars are pitchers, as they have generated little to no offense. Litsch and Marcum have had solid years behind Halladay in the rotation. Beckett has not been as good as last year, but should pick it up in the second half. Wheeler has been very good for the Rays as the main set-up man.

Up next, the AL Central All-Stars, where I will try to table my hatred for the White Sox and be as objective as possible.

Mid-season Baseball Extravaganza

Buster Olney I'm not, but it's time to post a first-half recap of the baseball season. As a diehard Cub fan, the season has been a promising one, and with trade deadline rapidly approaching, I hope to handicap where each team stands at this point in terms of their hopes for the playoffs. I will also be picking the Berndon4 All-Star squads with a slight twist. I'm going to be picking 32 man teams for each division. In my little league days, when all-star teams were picked, teams that were in 1st got to have the most people in the All-Star game, while those that sucked only got to have one or two token kids on the rosters. This is the format that I will be using. The first one I'm going to do is the AL East, so Boston and Tampa Bay fans rejoice. Look for this either later on today, (I have to go coach my summer league bball team to a victory in the semifinals of the tourney, and watch the actual All-Star game, so I have to prioritize) or sometime tomorrow morning or afternoon.

Boston fans here is your closer

Its a Monday and I am about to hit you with our third straight music video that has to do with baseball. Remember people its the dead period. So during the rain delay on Saturday in the Red Sox-Cardinals game, NESN aired a video they have been showing at Fenway for the fans during their rain delays. It features Manny Delcarmen and Johnathan Papelpon as Milli Vanilli, and the song, you guessed it Blame It On The Rain:

If I had to show two videos on why I love baseball, it would be this one and the Kirk Gibson home run. Only in baseball will you see the players make a video like this for the fans. I couldn't really see Shawne Merriman doing this video with LT.

Thanks to Sox and Dawgs

Dems Fightin' Words

As you may or may not have heard, KG and the Celtics delivered a dagger last night with a game one win. It was over after Pierce's miraculous melodramatic return, Kobe had an off night (he will be on a rampage on Sunday). Well there was more going on in Boston other than this game, the Rays and Red Sox decided to have an old fashioned donnybrook melee free-for-all. Here is the tale of tape .
Fighting out Los Angeles, California. Standing at 6'0, weighing in at 180 pounds, Covelli "Coco" Crisp.
Now his opponent, fighting out of Newhall, California. Standing at 6'5, weighing in at 215, James "The Greater" Shields. Fighters ready, lets get it on.







The Sox weren't done brawling yet, ManRam attacked Youk in the dugout. They have the video over at Sox and Dawgs. I guess retaliation is not just for your opponents anymore. Coco, a word of advice, next time walk a little down the baseline before you go after the pitcher. That way you are not in arms reach of the catcher.