On Wednesday night, the Red Sox did the little things right, which is usually all it takes when the big things go your way. A botched pickoff here and fortunate double play there made all the difference for Boston as they beat the Oakland A’s 5-4 to take the series and maintain a one-game lead over the Yankees.

Oakland DH Jack Cust plated Jerry Hairston with a single in the second, and, early on, the Sox never looked like answering. Kevin Youkilis snagged a line drive at third, and alertly pegged to first to double off Mark Ellis in the fourth to keep Boston close. Newly-minted All-Star Tim Wakefield got several clutch strikeouts early to deny Oakland further scoring opportunities.

The Boston bats were quiet early, but they came to life in the decisive sixth inning, as J.D. Drew tied the game with a solo shot to right before David Ortiz scored Pedroia, Youkilis and his own big self with a three-run blast over the bullpens. The Sox would put a key fifth run on the board in the seventh on a fielder’s choice by Ortiz after the A’s had brought it to within one just a half-inning earlier.

Oakland made it even more tense, scoring off Papelbon via a sac fly in the ninth to make it 5-4, but the comeback was not to be. After a shaky start to the ninth, Paps blew Jack Cust away with a fastball inside to earn his 22nd save of the year. Oakland certainly didn’t play like AL West cellar-dwellers, but the Red Sox’ quality pitching and sporadically brilliant bats made the difference as Boston took the series 2-1.

Sox Stud of the Game: Who’s your Papi? He’s your Papi.

David Ortiz knocked in four of the five Red Sox runs. His three-run shot in the sixth must have felt especially sweet after squandering a similar opportunity a couple innings earlier.

Sox Dud of the Game: Nick Green

His error, coupled with his 0-4 at the plate is enough to earn him this doubtful distinction. Where’s Jed Lowrie again?

That’s what he said

“To save a run there, in the seventh, that’s why he’s an MVP.” — Eleven-game winner Tim Wakefield, referring to Dustin Pedroia’s diving stop.

Game Notes

• Tim Wakefield won his 11th game of the year.
• Big Papi rocks your face off.
• Jason Giambi is still a monumental tool, even when he doesn’t play.

© Jon for Sports of Boston, 2009. | Permalink | One comment
Filed under: Featured, Red Sox, Top Story.

The former Red Sox All-Star shortstop went 1-4 with a home run against Sox lefty Jon Lester, who was not very impressive for the second straight start. Lester allowed six runs on 10 hits in 6.0 innings, bringing his season ERA to a putrid 9.00. Most of the damage was done in the second inning, when Lester allowed five runs on five hits and a hit batter.

Sox Stud of the Game

Kevin Youkilis, 1B: What a surprise! Kevin Youkilis has become a mainstay as the Sox Stud of the Game, and for good reason. He was the only man with two hits, going 2-4 with a double and a HR, dropping his batting average to .519.

Sox Dud of the Game

Jon Lester, SP: What more can I say? Lester was battered around in the second inning, and that led to the majority of the A’s offense. One bad inning can kill a pitcher. But hey, look a the bright side: Lester didn’t walk anyone so he was all over the strike zone, which is good except for the fact he was very hittable…

Game Notes

• Former Yankees 1B Jason Giambi went 2-3 with a double and two RBIs.
• Matt Holliday went 3-4 with two RBIs.
• Nomar got the start at third base for the A’s.
• Dallas Braden allowed two runs on six hits in 6.0 IP for the win.

© KC Downey for Sports of Boston, 2009. | Permalink | One comment
Filed under: Featured, Red Sox.

Alex Rodriguez

First off, I would like to actually say that we should take a moment to reflect and realize that Alex is the very first active ball player to come out and admit to steroid usage. Yes, his stories have not all added up so nicely, but he is the first to say “I did steroids.” A lot of people will point to Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte, however, both of them never used the word steroids and instead just tip-toed around the issue. 

Now that I’ve established that, boy is A-Rod stupid for knowing that a baseline test was coming and taking a drug with a known cycle period and not cycling off of it. But, I suppose at the time it seemed like there would be no consequences at all since the test was supposed to be a baseline to determine if there would need be testing or not.

What he did was wrong. However, that we villify him is the same reason we villified Barry Bonds. He doesn’t have the most likeable of personalities (although he’s nowhere near Bonds in terms of being unlikeable, either) and he’s that top figure in the game. Due to the ingrained David vs. Goliath story in our society we take to A-Rod as our Goliath because of his personality and contract and status and hope to see him fail.

Do I believe that A-Rod wanted to take steroids for whatever reason? Yes. Do I believe that he didn’t know the effects of primobolan before taking it? Yes. And here’s the funny reason for that. Primobolan does nothing for building bulk. Although that article does mention it having the effects Ripped Fuel was supposed to have and A-Rod admitted that he took Ripped Fuel before ephedra was banned, I truly think that he was just looking for a supplement to help and turned to his cousin for advice.

That brings me to Angel Presinal. Why is this a big deal? ESPN reported that A-Rod trained with him back in 2007. This is not news, folks. We’ve since found out that pretty much every Dominican baseball player is associated with him.

Bud Selig

This brings me to the second item that must be discussed: Bud Selig, international man of stupidity, of All-Star-tied-game fame. He’s the man who signed a contract with Fox that allows for Buck and McCarver to announce. He’s the former car salesman and owner who ran the Brewers into the ground. The list continues on, but more important is that I discuss his variety of reactions after the A-Rod news broke.

First Bud talked about potentially suspending A-Rod. What?!? This makes no sense whatsoever. There is no contractual precedent for banning someone for failing a baseline test that was supposed to remain anonymous.

Then, Bud talked about wiping A-Rod’s numbers from the books. What happened to all of those other steroid users? Their numbers can still count? And really, baseball does not ever have a baseline of numbers that are clean. The game first started with pitchers throwing underhand and it was seen as bad sport to throw overhand. Then there were items like spitballs, scuffing the ball, applying pine tar to bats, to the ball and so on.

Plus, you had a separate Negro Leagues for a while, meaning not all of the top talent was in the league. The mound height has changed numerous times. Bat and ball technology have both changed. The playing fields have gotten smaller. Greenies were used in the 70s and 80s.

Once you start with one player, the public will call for everyone’s numbers to be reviewed. The best thing Bud Selig could’ve done was to point out the strong testing MLB currently has in place and to say that they will continue to aim for the most stringent testing. He could’ve pointed out how the NFL does not receive nearly as much flak nor scrutiny for the physiques of its players, despite defensive linemen growing and getting faster at the same time, for example. But, by suggesting such silly and petty ideas, he has yet again given himself a stage to be criticized on.

Where do we go from here?

Well there’s no going back at this rate and there’s no stopping at the current point. Any smart player is probably on HGH, as it can’t be detected by urine tests currently. We’ve also got a future of something much more intense, and much harder to detect than even HGH: gene doping. Just imagine being able to take the best of Ted Williams’ DNA and splicing it into your own to improve yourself as a baseball player. That may very well be possible within the next 10 years. That’s why I don’t worry about players using these substances. I don’t idolize them. I enjoy watching their performances.

Yes, probably half the league is on some sort of substance. Hitters and pitchers, to help recover from injury or build muscle or to regain lost velocity. These are just players doing whatever they can to be the very best. In some ways, that’s kind of respectable. It just happens to be that it’s in their nature to do it, that’s how many of them rose to their current level of fame. I say sit back and enjoy the game and the sport and know that at least we’ve still got humans playing them and not robots. When that comes, we won’t even get to enjoy the personalities.

© Adam for Sports of Boston, 2009. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Featured, Opinion, Top Story.

What Joe Torre decided to do with the book is to air out all of the laundry from his time as Yankees manager. However, what Joe has done is prove that he is no less petty than any other player in baseball, that he is not the classy leader we thought he was, and that as his time with the Yankees went on, he clearly wasn’t able to adjust with the times for managing the game.

The first example of this is seen in Jack Curry’s overview of the book, where Torre clearly had no idea of what the Yankees got in Randy Johnson. Joe was surprised by how easily rattled Randy was? He clearly didn’t see Randy shove the camera guy before his first press conference with the team. And Torre seems to think that Randy would’ve been easy to rattle in 2001, when Johnson was still physically pitching at the top of his game. Part of what made Randy easy to rattle when he was with the Yankees was his physical limitations that developed from age and his back and knee.

Another example of Joe Torre not being that classy leader figure is demonstrated in the Carl Pavano saga. Now, Pavano did miss an extraordinary amount of time from injuries and even as a fan I was frustrated by it. But the correct reaction is not to try and have his teammates harass him.

We also see Torre as sometimes contradicting himself, where in one of the excerpts the press has talked about, he was unhappy with the Yankees for bringing in Jason Giambi, since Giambi did not play good first base defense. Yet, later, when the Yankees tried to take care of it by shifting Giambi to DH in 2007, Torre got upset for a variety of reasons. The first of these was that this meant Bernie Williams, a favorite of his, would not have a guaranteed roster spot. The other was that the Yankees were taking a chance on a platoon combo of Josh Phelps and Doug Mientkiewicz to produce reasonable output. Now, Phelps failed, but didn’t Mientkiewicz provide the defense Torre found to be sorely missing from Giambi’s game? Torre sure played him as if he did. And here, Torre is unable to acknowledge that in prior years he had shown signs of favoritism to “proven veterans” even when it was time to move on. That is why Cashman felt the need to only offer Bernie an invitation to spring training and a minor league contract.

It is also what we have heard about Torre’s interactions with Cashman that have revealed Torre’s inability to admit to his own faults. Torre was unhappy about Cashman wanting to keep track of Ron Guidry’s progress as pitching coach and Cashman’s further reliance on statistics. Now, Guidry had never coached at all and I think Cashman was correct to keep an eye and make sure that the pitching coach, a pretty important position to hold, was doing his job effectively. Maybe Cashman took it to too intense of a level, but we cannot verify that without having been with the team for the 2007 season.

As for Cashman’s increasing reliance on statistics, while we don’t know whether the suggested lineups were provided often, or just for lefty/righty platoon advantages, we do know that the game has had an increasingly statistical reliance since Joe Torre’s first year managing the Yankees, in 1995. Torre refused to want to evolve his managerial style despite the game having evolved around him. We know this to be true as well from his bullpen management.

After Jeff Nelson and Mike Stanton departed/stopped being effective, Torre was always searching for guys to put in the hard cast role of set up guy, lefty specialist and other roles. This led to the tiring of arms such as Steve Karsay, Paul Quantrill, Tom Gordon, Scott Proctor and Luis Vizcaino amongst others.

When rookies came up for the bullpen Torre lost confidence in them (unlike with veterans) after their first bad appearance even if they had minor league success. This was evidenced by Edwar Ramirez’s season where he had a great debut in July, then gave up a run in his next appearance. Joe Torre then waited FOURTEEN DAYS to next bring him in to a game, which was setting a short reliever up for failure. Sure enough, Edwar gave up three earned runs and allowed a runner he inherited to score. It’s not as if there were not games decided by more than three runs in this period. There were three chances, a 12-0 game, a 7-3 game and a 6-1 game, all of which would have been good opportunities to give Ramirez a confidence booster. For those doubting my story, check out the July 6th to July 20th stretch of the Yankees schedule of 2007.

Finally, the excerpt about the contract negotiations that was leaked to the press proves Torre’s greed and desire to control his public image. Joe refused to take a one-year contract, he knew that would give the Yankees incentive to fire him when he showed he was the same old manager and a bullpen arm injury could be pinned on him again, or a young player not playing enough could be pinned on him. So, Torre wanted to be able to either go out in the offseason, where it would put the Yankees under more scrutiny for firing him, or if he went out during the regular season, to at least get more money out of it. Of course for the Yankees, this made no sense. In writing this book, Torre once again showed a desire to profit off of the Yankees by airing everyone else’s faults, but not his own.

Joe Torre managed to find a good way to have the public opinion of him in his old town turned around. He managed to show that he is just as egotistical and greedy as the players he had to handle. It’s quite ironic to read the following excerpt about Alex Rodriguez:

Torre added that he could relate to Rodriguez because, like Rodriguez, he was the type of player who tied his self-esteem to what he did on the field.

“It feels like that’s what’s going on with him,” Torre said. “He could never walk away from this game and, all of a sudden, have people talk about somebody else.”

Torre, in releasing this book, had to make sure that people were still talking about him. He’s just hoping that having Tom Verducci’s name on the cover and the supposed third person story-telling will deflect the blame.

© Adam for Sports of Boston, 2009. | Permalink | One comment
Filed under: Featured, Opinion, Red Sox.

Pat Burrell (LF), Tampa Bay Rays

After nine seasons in Philadelphia, Burrell has decided for a change of scenery right after he collected his World Series championship. His new home is that of the young and talented Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa Bay shocked the baseball world last season by winning the A.L. East and look to do the same after changing almost nothing about their team.

Last year in Philly, Burrell yielded a .250 avg, 33 HR, and 86 RBI. It was Burrell’s fourth career 30-HR season and his third in the last four years. Not known for great defense, Burrell will be the everyday DH in Tampa, which will ease the minds of those who are worried about his durability (played in career high 157 games in 2008). He also has a knack for getting on base with at least 98 walks in three of the past four seasons and a career .367 OBP.

I can’t see his production slipping too much since he will be surrounded in the lineup by the likes of: Carl Crawford, B.J.Upton, Carlos Pena, and, A.L. Rookie of the Year, Evan Longoria. Just like in Philadelphia when he hit behind Rollins, Utley, and Howard, Burrell will get the chance to drive in plenty of runs. 

Milton Bradley (RF), Chicago Cubs

OK, so it isn’t 100% done yet, but all Bradley has to do is pass a physical…*gulp*. Yeah, durability and health aren’t exactly Bradley’s game. However, when healthy, he is a solid contributor. The 2008 A.L. All-Star looks to join a great Cubs offense and get them back to the playoffs.

In 126 games last season, Bradley hit .321 with 22 HR and 77 RBI (all career highs). He lead the A.L. with a .436 OBP. Let’s just say he plays in the same amount of games in 2009 as he did in 2008. If he does, then Bradley will enjoy the hitter-friendly Wrigley Field and the lineup support of Alfonso Soriano, Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and N.L. Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto. He has all of the variables to succeed, but it is up to him to stay healthy and out of trouble.

Jason Giambi (1B), Oakland A’s

Welcome home! After already acquiring LF Matt Holliday from Colorado, Oakland is trying to further improve the A.L.’s worst offense by bringing back former A.L. MVP Jason Giambi. Giambi has spent the past seven seasons with the New York Yankees and signed with Oakland after the rumors and eventual signing of free agent Mark Teixeira.

2008 saw Giambi hit 32 HR with 96 RBI and a .247 avg. Although he is getting up there in age (will be 37 at start of season), Giambi still maintains some pop to his bat and his veteran presence is ideal for an up and coming group of youngsters in the Oakland clubhouse.

How much pop? Even though Giambi’s career has been polluted with steroids that helped him win the 2000 A.L. MVP award, a closer look at the numbers shows us that he has topped 30 HR in three of the past four seasons, all of which were clean of any performance enhancing drugs. Yes, the short porch in Yankee Stadium did help and his old stomping ground of McAfee Stadium in Oakland is a pitcher’s park, but maybe now being out of the media spotlight of New York can ease his mind. Being teamed with the pure talent of Matt Holliday, the raw power of Jack Cust, and a young and talented Oakland lineup will show us the old Jason Giambi.

Special Bonus: Adam Dunn (1B,LF), Unsigned

Will hit 40 HR no matter where he plays. Count on It!

More players will switch teams so keep a look out for more analysis.

© Pete Rampino for Sports of Boston, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments
Filed under: Fantasy, Featured.

As if the Red Sox losing 3-2 to the Yankees Thursday afternoon wasn’t bad enough, there’s new information about the right elbow of Josh Beckett…and if it involves Dr. James Andrews, we know it’s not good.

Beckett will miss his next scheduled start (Friday), which has already been pushed back twice, because he’s continuing to experience discomfort in his right arm. The righty will visit with Dr. James Andrews in Alabama to be examined. The move is seen as cautionary (the Sox are in good position to make the playoffs), but it has to cause some concern in Red Sox Nation.

Terry Francona is not as concerned.

“I think the best word I can use is we’re just trying to get some closure. We never want to send anyone out there that’s not 100 percent. We’re no more pessimistic about him today than we were, but when he goes out there [again] we want him to be able to pitch with peace of mind.”

Meanwhile, the Red Sox played their final regular season game at Yankee Stadium and failed to put the Yankees out of their misery, losing 3-2. The Yankees can thank Jason Giambi for bailing them out (again). The former steroid slugger launched a game-tying two-run shot off Hideki Okajima and added a game-winning RBI single in the ninth for the victory.

© KC Downey for Sports of Boston, 2008. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Featured, Red Sox, Top Story.

BEST FANTASY ROOKIE

Oh simple youth. Not every rookie can make an impact. Those who do can pay off big when they are drafted late or if they are picked up in your free agent pool for no additional cost. The nominees are:

-Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
-Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds
-Kosuke Fukudome, Chicago Cubs
-Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
-Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees

And the winner is…Geovany Soto!

Soto has come into 2008 on a rampage. After a brief stint with the Cubs in 2007 where he hit .389 in 18 games, Soto picked up where he left off. He leads all catchers with 56 RBI. Soto also has 16 HR on the season and a great eye at the plate with 42 walks. He is currently batting .288 and just came from the All-Star game where he was the first NL rookie in history to start at catcher. If he keeps this up, he will be the NL rookie of the year.

BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

We could call this the “Wal-Mart Award”. Why? Because we are giving it to the player who was the best bargain on draft day silly. Who gave us great numbers at discount prices? The nominees are:

-George Sherrill, Baltimore Orioles
-Milton Bradley, Texas Rangers
-Rick Ankiel, St. Louis Cardinals
-Jason Giambi, New York Yankees
-Rich Harden, Chicago Cubs

And the winner is…Rich Harden!

A tough choice here. Everybody passed on Harden due to his history of injuries and notoriety of breaking down. Those who have taken the risk have been rewarded. Harden has put up Cy Young-esque numbers with 2.19 ERA and a 5-1 record in 14 starts. The wins didn’t come due to a shallow Oakland offense but now a move to Chicago looks to finally give him some W’s. Harden has 102 K’s in just 82.1 IP for a staggering 11.15 K/9. Stop worrying about if we will get injured and just bask in your glory.

BEST PLAYER WHO PROBABLY WENT UNDRAFTED

These are the men nobody wants. You’d rather be stripped naked and paraded around in front of family and friends while they hurl raw vegetables at you. There is a reason they go undrafted. That is until they have a great game and you rush to add them for their current hot streak. Then before you know it, this player has been a permanent fixture in your everyday roster. The nominees are:

-Nate McClouth, Pittsburgh Pirates
-Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds
-Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis Cardinals
-Jorge Cantu, Florida Marlins
-Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox

And the winner is…Edinson Volquez

The man traded for Josh Hamilton was basically unknown until 2008. Teammate Johnny Cueto was the name coming out of Spring Training but Volquez quickly outshined him. Volquez has made 19 starts and has given up three runs or less in all but one. His 2.29 ERA is tops in the NL and his 126 K’s are good enough for 3rd best in the NL. He is currently at 12-3 and has impressively only surrendered 5 home runs this season.

WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY

You could have bought a corvette with the money you wasted on these players. This award is given to the player who we thought would give us big production but instead decided to be a bigger disappointment than the Patriots going 18-1. The nominees are:

-Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies
-Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians
-Alex Rios, Toronto Blue Jays
-Erik Bedard, Seattle Mariners
-Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers

And the winner is…Victor Martinez!

Oh the humanity! Martinez was ranked as the best catcher in all of fantasy baseball coming into to 2008. As a catcher, he already had two 100+ RBI season and three 20+ HR seasons under his belt. He also qualifies as a 1B, so clearly he he was depended on to deliver similar numbers. Currently, Martinez is on the DL after undergoing elbow surgery. Before the DL stint, Martinez stunk up the batters box with a .279 avg and just 21 RBI in 54 games. As for that 20 HR power, Martinez did his home run trot only in his mind. He has hit zero longballs in 2008. That’s right, ZERO! No power, no average, no offense. Victor Martinez is one of the biggest flops of 2008.

THE ADRIAN BELTRE AWARD

In 2004, an infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers was relatively unknown outside of the Dodger fanbase. Then, this player decided to explode offensively for the biggest year of his career. This was coincidentally his contract year. That man was Adrian Beltre. In 2004, Beltre’s line was: .334, 48 HR, 121 RBI. These numbers are nowhere near what he has done in the rest of his career and he won’t do it again until the next time his contract is about to expire. Many feel a player is driven to put up big numbers solely because he is playing for a big money payoff when the offseason comes a knockin’. The following are players who are in contract years and look like they are playing for that cash money. The nominees are:

-Pat Burrell, Philadelphia Phillies
-Adam Dunn, Cincinnati Reds
-Milton Bradley, Texas Rangers
-Ryan Dempster, Chicago Cubs
-Ben Sheets, Milwaukee Brewers

And the winner is…Ben Sheets!

Another close one to call but in the end, Sheets gets the trophy. It’s not like Sheets has not shown flashes of brilliance in the past. However, during his contract season he has all of a sudden decided to stay healthy and become the dominant man he was a few short years ago. Sheets has a 10-3 record with a minuscule ERA of 2.85 and 108 K’s. He is on pace to surpass his innings pitched total from 2005, 2006, and 2007 while at the same time having a much better ERA than any of those seasons.

OH YOU TEASE!

Every season we draft players or we spend high waiver priorities on them in the hopes that they will help us. At first they show us they are worth it and then as quickly as they arrive, they quickly let us down. We give this award to the player who teased us with a hot start and the fizzled away. The nominees are:

-Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds
-Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds
-Miguel Tejada, Houston Astros
-Aaron Harang, Cincinnati Reds
-Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks

And the winner is…Jay Bruce

What an entrance! In his first week in the majors, Bruce annihilated NL pitching with a .577 avg, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R, 6 BB, and 2 SB. Clearly he wasn’t going to keep this pace up the whole year but, it seemed that the uber prospect had arrived and this year’s Ryan Braun was upon us. Since then, he has hit .212 with 3 HR and 14 RBI. He has been up and down in the batting order which has just added to his inconsistent hitting at the plate. Congrats to Jay Bruce, the biggest tease of 2008.

BEST FANTASY PLAYER

Ah yes, the Best Picture award of fantasy baseball. Many have come this season but only one man stands alone atop the mountain of fake baseball teams and fantasy GM’s. The nominees are:

-Lance Berkman, Houston Astros
-Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves
-Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
-Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
-Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

The envelope please. Drum roll: and the winner is……….IAN KINSLER!

Wow, what an upset. Every award show needs some controversy people, that’s how we maintain an audience. Ian Kinsler has been nothing short of phenomenal. As the leadoff man in Texas, Kinsler leads the AL with a.337 batting average and has 14 HR, 58 RBI, and 23 SB (only been caught stealing once). In addition, he also has 84 runs and a .397 OBP. Kinsler’s value of also being a 2B added to his victory seeing as 2B is widely regarded as the shallowest position in fantasy baseball. For those of you crying Berkman, he only lost out on this award because although he has had an amazing year (.347, 22 HR, 73 RBI), he has dipped a bit in July by hitting only .211 with zero homers and 5 RBI. Kinsler’s July has been his best month where he is hitting .447 with a homer, 8 RBI and 3 SB. It was close but, Kinsler has hit .300 or better in every month and during the final leg of the first half, Berkman just couldn’t keep up in July. Give it up for Ian Kinsler, the best fantasy player of the first half!

I know you all won’t agree with me. But hey, life can’t exist without a little conflict now can it? Well, I am spent. See you Tuesday morning for the wrap-up.

© Pete Rampino for Sports of Boston, 2008. | Permalink | One comment
Filed under: Fantasy, Featured, Top Story.

OFFENSE

Brandon Phillips (2B), Cincinnati Reds: 10 hits, 4 HR, 8 RBI for last year’s 30/30 second baseman. Those 4 HR account for his 5 on the season, so to say this was a big week is an understatement. However, the talent is real and it looks like he will be close to 2007′s form.

Jason Giambi (1B), New York Yankees: Fantasy’s forgotten slugger was 6 for 16 (.375) last week with 3 long balls. His batting average is still a pathetic .167 after 21 games. Giambi’s best days are far behind him. No steroids equals no talent.

Emil Brown (LF, RF), Oakland A’s: Yeah, did you know that Emil Brown is tied for 2nd in the majors in RBI with 25? Brown knocked in 8 of those last week. He only has 3 HR, but he keeps getting the opportunity to drive them in. Be cautious though. It is said that he will platoon with Jack Cust after the signing of Frank Thomas. But with Cust hitting .169, don’t expect Brown to be benched too often.

Josh Hamilton (CF, RF), Texas Rangers: I was very high on this man before the season started and it looks like he is proving me right. His past weeks totals include 9 hits, 8 RBI, and 4 doubles. Hamilton leads the majors in RBI with 27 and is on pace for at least 30 HR. Oh baby, if you listened to me before the season started, then you have been happily rewarded.

Carl Crawford (LF), Tampa Bay Rays: Long seen as one of the most overrated fantasy players, Crawford had a big week by racking up 11 hits which included 3 triples. He also stole 4 bases and crossed the plate 6 times. He’ll never be a power threat and hit 20 homers, but he is as consistent with speed and average as you can get.

Carlos Quentin (LF, RF), Chicago White Sox: Bet you probably haven’t heard of this guy unless you’re from the South Side. Well take a good look at this stud, if you’re in a remotely competitive league he’s already gone. Why? In the past week, he was ranked the 4th overall fantasy hitter. He put up some gaudy numbers: .407 AVG and .613 OBP with 11 hits including 3 doubles, 2 homers AND 2 stolen bases. This Johnny Damon look-alike brings a hitter’s eye along with that pop and speed, walking 5 times this past week. What are you waiting for? Get him on your roster now.

PITCHING

Paul Maholm (SP), Pittsburgh Pirates: Who does this guy think he is? He is supposed to lose and be happy with it. Maholm, clearly trying to regain his 2005 form, got 2 wins bringing his season total to…2. The wins included a complete game two-hitter against the Phillies. He has shown flashes of brilliance in the past, but don’t expect it to last.

Edinson Volquez (SP), Cincinnati Reds: Remember Johnny Cueto and what a big deal he was? Yeah, me neither. The other young gun on the Reds brought his record to 4-0 by getting two wins and striking out 17 batters in 14 innings of work. Every start he is going longer and every start he is striking out more batters. Cueto who?

James Shields (SP), Tampa Bay Rays: Shields absolutely dominated the Red Sox by tossing a complete game shutout en route to his 3rd win on the season. He also won his other start against Toronto by going 7 strong and striking out 5. With an ERA of 2.54, Shields is out to prove he is not a one year wonder.

Brandon Lyon (RP), Arizona Diamondbacks: It’s been a while before we saw a closer in the wrap-up. Lyon got 4 saves while striking out 5 and not allowing one run or issuing a single walk. He lowered his ERA to 2.77 after a shaky start to the season and in fact hasn’t allowed a run since April 6th.

John Lannan (SP), Washington Nationals: The lefty pitched two gems this past week and picked up 2 wins in the process. He didn’t allow a run in 14 innings of work. He is still a free agent in a lot of leagues so clearly nobody is jumping on the bandwagon just yet. I say give it one more start and then make your decision.

Sports of Boston Friends and Family League

• I still sit in 11th place and this time it is not Ted Lilly’s fault. Lilly actually had a good week by giving me 12 innings and only 3 ER. Hopefully he has turned a corner. My offense wasn’t bad, neither was my pitching. On the plus side, I lead the league in walks with 141. I am also 2nd in HR’s and doubles and 4th in RBI. My team will come around, I am not worried.
• Sports of Boston’s Dev is in first. If your team had Derrek Lee, B.J. Upton, and Hanley Ramirez, then you wouldn’t be doing too bad either. Not to mention that Dev has the pick up of the season so far in Nate McLouth. If that wasn’t good enough, Dev just got Curtis Granderson back after a stint on the DL. The rich are clearly getting richer.
• Rounding out the top three are Sports of Boston’s Jeff and Sports of Boston’s KC.
• Actually now that I think about it, since we have a manager that doesn’t pay attention, then we are technically an 11 team league and that makes me in dead last. Damn it!
• Recent pick ups in the league include: Scott Olsen, Jorge Cantu, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Jayson Werth, and Ryan Theriot.
• As I am writing this, Nate McLouth has just hit another home run. Wow, simply wow.

© Pete Rampino for Sports of Boston, 2008. | Permalink | One comment
Filed under: Fantasy, Featured.

Wang allowed a fifth inning solo homer to J.D. Drew which tied the game at 1-1. Wang would retire every Red Sox hitter from there until Coco Crisp reached on a bunt with two out in the ninth, but he would be stranded and Wang scored his third win of the young season.

Jason Giambi would account for the winning run as he hit a solo homer to dead center field off Mike Timlin in the seventh to give the Yanks a 2-1 lead. Melky Cabrera would add a sac fly in the seventh and Bobby Abreu also had an RBI for the final scoreline.

Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz pitched well in a rain fall which was steady at times. The young righty pitched six innings, allowing one run on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

Wang struck out just three batters and didn’t keep the ball on the ground as much as he usually does but he was able to keep his fastball consistently in the mid 90s and the Sox couldn’t catch up to it. The early season slump for David Ortiz continued as Big Papi went 0 for 3 and is now just 3 for 39 on the season, good for a .077 batting average.

The teams next square off tomorrow at 4pm on Fox.

My Take: Some nights it just doesn’t work for you. Wang really impressed at Fenway tonight as he was able to keep his velocity consistently in the low to mid 90s and the Sox hitters just couldn’t adjust. Despite the damn weather being pitcher friendly, Buchholz did look better than in his previous outing, though the walk total still needs to come down.

It was a tough return for Mike Timlin, who allowed Giambi’s homer to center and a hit to Jose Molina, who eventually scored the third run of the game.

Wang was just too good tonight, throwing just 93 pitches in nine innings and faced two batters over the minimum for his third win of the season. Yankee fans have to be pleased with his performance in 2008 yet it makes his abysmal performance in the 2007 playoffs a little more perplexing.

Tomorrow afternoon’s game (weather permitting) will see Josh Beckett square off against the ageless Mike Mussina.

© Jeff Christenbury for Sports of Boston, 2008. | Permalink | One comment
Filed under: Red Sox.