David Ortiz

David Ortiz is the latest in a fearsome lineup of would-be hall of famers to be dragged under the worn tarmac of performance-enhancing drug speculation. In keeping with the overall theme from my previous, related posts, I would advocate for the lifetime ban of this once-proud slugger (if proven guilty), as I would for any player caught cheating the national pastime. One day, when the smoke finally clears (whenever that day may be), Major League Baseball could be faced with a cold reality: maybe 90% of ballplayers juiced. Maybe Cal Ripken, Ken Griffey Jr., Albert Pujols, Greg Maddux, Rickey Henderson-maybe they all were cheaters.

Continue reading "Initial Reaction to Ortiz Story"

What do you do with David Ortiz? Here's a guy who has bled Red Sox red (note to self: this doesn’t work) for the better part of his career. He is arguably the greatest clutch hitter in team history. Would the Sox have won two World Series rings without him? Surely not.

Continue reading "What to do with David Ortiz?"

Steroids has officially gone postal.

The list of all-star players who have been revealed to be using steroids: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, Alex Rodriguez, now.......MANNY RAMIREZ.

Continue reading "Manny being Manny: The Latest twist ..."

The Yankees have gotten their holiday gifts early this year with starting pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. I could rant and rave about how Stienbrennerclaus had to spend oodles of cash in order to bring New York some holiday cheer but the fact remains; the Yanks just hauled in the top two free agent pitchers on the market. Now that the Bronx Bombers aren't using Sidney Ponson as their number three man in the rotation we can expect them to once again be pushing towards playoff glory in the dominate A.L. East. As a Red Sox fan I can't help but be upset in losing both these arms so let's look towards the bright side. 

Continue reading "The Death Star was Rebuilt and so ..."

I don't know if it's just me, but the playoffs never seem to officially start until the Sox play a game at Friendly Fenway. I mean, I watched the games in LA - or LA of Anaheim, or Anaheim in LA, or Anaheim in LA of California, United States - and came away psyched that the Sox were up 2-0, but it didn't have that playoff feel. It just felt like a road trip to the west coast. Maybe it was the fact that the glamorous LA fans were eating sushi off of asian-influenced rectangle plates instead of toting a steamed dog in one hand and a $7 Coors Light in the other. I don't know.

Continue reading "Feeling Fenway"

w, chap!). 

As dominant as the Red Sox were tonight (the icing on the cake was a David Ortiz RBI single), the Angels were equally bad, making some costly errors and coming up short every time they had a chance to catch a break.  The Angels’ breakdown was also reminiscent of series past, as Vladimir Guerrero’s postseason woes continued.  Although the Dominican slugger had two singles tonight, he made a critical blunder on the base paths that killed any momentum the Angels had. 

Continue reading "Same as it Ever Was"

I went to Fenway for the first time in a dog's age the other night and watched the Sox lose to Cleveland on a series of Jed Lowrie missed-opportunities. While the outcome was unfavorable, Fenway has not lost any of its charms or ambiance. Allow me to paint a quick sketch, if you will..

Continue reading "Thoughts on Fenway..."

The first relates to David Ortiz, and his uncanny ability to produce the most when times are most desparate. The Sox are about to enter the postseason with JD Drew having four more at-bats than me since mid-August and with Mike Lowell looking like he needs a walker to get around, not to mention with Josh Beckett battling what can become one of the most nagging and lingering injuries in sports (the dreaded oblique). And yet my feelings of doom are assuaged slightly by the fact that the big man has been tearing the cover off the ball lately.

Continue reading "After my bedtime"

Lost in the shuffle of Matt Cassel beating Brett Favre in the most hyped Week 2 game in years around these parts on Sunday afternoon, Jon Lester continued his march toward becoming a truly elite pitcher by outdueling a man largely respected as perhaps the best hurler in the AL, in a game the Sox needed to have. Any question marks that surrounded Lester at the All-Star break have been officially converted into exclamation points. In fact, pencil him in for Game 2 right now - it doesn't matter who we are playing or what Daisuke's record ends up being ... Lester's earned the spot right behind Beckett in the playoff rotation.

Continue reading "Q & A ... well, at least some Qs"

: The Red Sox lineup, circa April 2008
CF - Jacoby Ellsbury
2B - Dustin Pedroia
DH - David Ortiz
LF - Manny Ramirez
3B - Mike Lowell
RF - JD Drew
1B - Kevin Youkilis

Continue reading "Law and Order"

struggling to hit .220, that Kevin Youkilis would be the team's most feared power hitter, and that David Ortiz would miss the bulk of the first half with an injury - I'd probably have predicted that the Sox would finish fourth in the American League East.

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are not functioning properly, the result would be a precipitous drop in your batting average (think David Ortiz and his knee, circa last year) and a resulting drop in your stolen bases.

It's just a theory, obviously. Mine eyes have seen no evidence that Ellsbury is ailing other than his statistical struggles. But we've seen players - and teams - hide injuries to keep from letting the media put more pressure on a young player. It wouldn't be the first time. Maybe his hamstring is sore, maybe his quad is tight, maybe his ankle is tweaked ... who knows. But the Red Sox wouldn't be reinventing the wheel by keeping it quiet.

Continue reading "Stop Sign"

y Ramirez is one of the most dedicated and studious hitters in the game today.

Like his teammate, David Ortiz, Manny meticulously studies his every at bat and is constantly researching his opponents to gain the biggest possible edge against them for game day.  Manny works hard on refining his swing, and he's always putting in extra work to keep his picture perfect stroke as refined as possible.  Nobody sees Manny's constant study or his unending search to perfect his own swing, but a seasoned observer with a keen eye can tell you that Manny couldn't possibly have come as far as he has without a considerable amount of hard work.  If you really think about Manny, his swing, and his style as a hitter, it becomes plain to see that he got where he is as a hitter through hard work and practice, not by simply relying on his natural talents.  Manny is so disciplined compared to some of the raw hitting talents in this league (for instance, Vlad Guerrero), that he couldn't possibly have been so blessed with natural hitting abilities. 

Continue reading "Just Hit"

He plucked David Ortiz from the Twins, filled third base with Bill Mueller and Mike Lowell (two of the classiest dudes ever to wear a Sox uniform), and stocked the pitching staff with young arms. He also traded for Curt Schilling and built two World Series winners. But for whatever reason Epstein keeps coming up with an E-6.

Continue reading "No short answer"

At the mid-point of the '08 season, when many players are being lauded for their first-half accomplishments, I think it would be a disservice to the deserving fumblers around the league not to recognize their remarkable level of ineptitude.

Continue reading "Baseball's All-Underachieving Squad"

So can we please talk about Jason Giambi's mustache for a second? First the guy admits to wearing a gold thong when he needs to break out of a slump (it's hard to imagine that's all he's "breaking out of" in that kind of attire). And now he goes ahead and grows a full-out, mid-80s, Magnum PI mustache. Add these two nuggets to the fact that he's one of the 3 sweatiest humans on the planet, and that he's a New York Yankee, and you have the grossest person in America. Ever. Period.

Continue reading "Now playing first base for the New ..."

So there I was, lounging on the couch with my dog, half-way paying attention to Kevin Cash's eighth-inning at-bat Wednesday night. Half-way paying attention, you see, because Cash's last 40 or so trips to the plate have resulted in something of a similar outcome - ugliness. Obviously nobody is expecting a 40-40 season from a back-up catcher, and he continues to do what he was brought here to do - catch Wake - but his swing hasn't exactly been drawing comparisons to Griffey, Jr. of late.

Continue reading "Catching A Break"

p;and are on a losing streak. It is still April and the Sox have been the walking wounded with David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, and Daisuke Matsuzaka out with injuries. These injuries will pass just like the Old Towne Team's losing streak. Let's be patient and not worry just yet

Continue reading "Injury-Riddled Red Sox lose again"

p;and are on a losing streak. It is still April and the Sox have been the walking wounded with David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, and Daisuke Matsuzaka out with injuries. These injuries will pass just like the Old Towne Team's losing streak.

Continue reading "Injury Ridden Red Sox lose again"

p;     The Associated Press has just reported that the Boston Red Sox jersey of David Ortiz buried under Yankee Stadium earlier this month has sold for $175,100 in

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