Hi, my name is Theo. I am a huuuuge U2 fan, but I can't seem to get any tickets. You know it's bad when I can't get tickets. Anyways, David Wells was probably the biggest mistake I have made this season, so I am looking to off-load him. I will trade Wells and $100 for a single U2 ticket... Or a bucket of baseballs.
I hope you read this Dave, you bum.
this is in or around FENWAY AREA
no -- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
yes -- ok to transmit this posting into outer space
So. You think the PBRSVPH is bad? Yeh. It is. But you know what's almost as bad? PBRSSTRW. That's what. Post Boston Red Sox Seattle Trip Recovery Week. Last night I returned from my road trip to Seattle. I was sent there by the good folks at Drunken Bleachers to cover the Sox games. Here is a list of the top ten things I learned on my travels:
10.) It's nearly cheaper to fly to Seattle from Boston, stay at a reasonable hotel, and purchase tickets to see the Sox play at SafeCo field, than it is to simply see the Sox play at Fenway.
9.) There are almost as many Sox fans on the west coast as there are on the east coast.
8.) If you plan on talking to anyone or anything in the week following the baseball game...No, if you plan on BREATHING in the week following the game, do not eat the Garlic Fries. Oh my god.
7.)Seattle has plenty of grassy knolls which are ideal for resting.
There are a few things that worry me right now. One of them is that I think the senate is going to go nuclear when the democrats filibuster in order to block the republicans’ selections for the Federal Appeals Court. Another is that I am missing one of my favorite socks. More so than either of these however, is the fact that Keith Foulke is the MVP of the Yankees right now. He is keeping the Red Sox from opening up an enormous lead on the hated Yanks, and he tried to do it again yesterday.
Last year, Foulke was solid. He was the Go-To guy that every championship team needs. This year, he is a steaming pile of cat poop. What prompted this complete reversal in skill? Good question. I’ll tell you what. It’s the final remnants of the curse of the Bambino. It’s not dead! Think about it: Before the final pitch of last year’s World Series, the home-plate Ump tossed Foulke a new ball. At this point, it became The Ball. Foulke dealt The Ball to Edgar Renteria who was playing for the Cards at the time. He grounded The Ball back to Foulke, who tossed The Ball to Doug Mientkiewicz who held onto it until he saw his wife on the way to the lockerroom celebration. His wife took it the next day to a bank and put it into a safety deposit box. When the dispute over the ball was finally settled. She took it out, and put it directly into the glass case where it resides now.
It’s obvious isn’t it?? The ball is cursed! The Ump who gave it to Foulke lost his leg during a kite flying class the next week; Foulke obviously can’t pitch anymore; Renteria can’t hit OR field, and Mientkiewicz got traded and is on the rocks with his wife! Thank god the Ump didn’t hand the ball to Varitek first!
Anyway, I think the only thing to do in this situation is to trade Foulke and Renteria to Anaheim..ahem..I’m sorry..to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in return for Cabrera. You’ll be able to visit my new website in a few weeks…It’s called www.cabrerawouldahadit.com.
Note to the Seattle Mariners: Bat Ichiro third (please!) So, say you have a guy on your team who led the AL in hitting last year with runners in scoring position (.372), batted .472 with RISP with 2 outs and .583 with the bases loaded, of course, for the good of your team, you position him in your lineup where he will hit with runners on base, right?
Wrong. With Ichiro in the leadoff spot of the Mariners batting order, he hardly ever strolls to the plate with runners on base. Consider the on base percentages of the batters usually in the 8-9 spots of order: Miguel Olivo (.182), Wilson Valdez (.225) and Willie Bloomquist (.179). Thus far in 2005, 91 of Ichiro's 131 at bats have been with the bases empty.
In 2004, when Ichiro broke George Sisler's hits in a single season record with 262, he had only 60 RBI's. This makes absolutely no sense. Moreover, many baseball writers discredited the hit record because Ichiro "hit too many singles." The fact is that you don't have to be a homerun hitter to drive in runs. If there is a runner on second and Ichiro hits a single, more often than not, the runner will score. In Japan, for example, playing for the Blue Wave, Ichiro did not bat leadoff and in only 135 games in 1997, Ichiro had 91 RBIs.
I am not saying that Ichiro isn't a good leadoff batter -- he is, but in order to make the most of say 262 hits, he needs to bat third. Pencil in Randy Winn at the top of the order. Winn's on base percentage is actually better than Ichiro's so far this season (.394 vs. .389) then sit back and watch the runs come home.
Why do I care? -- well 1) The Mariners are playing the Yankees right now and 2) I recently moved to Seattle so the Mariners are on TV all the time and it's getting painful to watch them lose (13-20). http://www.drunkenbleachers.com
"...Pierce has to be macho. He lashes out with his left arm and is hit with a technical foul. No, seriously. He is thinking about Paul Pierce instead of the team..." Read the full Boston Globe article
"Not only did some Red Sox players verbally throw in the towel before Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, they actually told a few Yankees." Read the full NY Daily News article
What? Strangely enough, the "congratulating" and "congratulated" players were not identified.
"One week into his comeback attempt, John Rocker doesn't look anything like the pitcher he used to be. Off the mound, however, he's just how your remember him. The controversial ex-Braves closer had an ugly verbal exchange with a fan yesterday after being yanked from his latest (and worst) outing with the Long Island Ducks. As Rocker left the mound to jeers from the tiny crowd of roughly 50, a fan near the Ducks' dugout cracked, "Long way from Atlanta, isn't it?" According to the fan and two others present, Rocker replied, "I'm still a millionaire, and you're a piece of ----."
Okay, so there is no "feel good" story associated with the Red Sox 8-3 loss last night in Detroit and the anticipation for John Halama's start tonight can only be described as "quiet dread," but at least the Yankees are 11-15 and the first member of the New York media has jumped ship predicting: "The Yankees will not make the 2005 postseason."
Here are a few items to cheer you up on John Halama Start Day:
..."Jeter singled home a run in the third, but it barely made a dent in the Red Sox lead. From first base, he turned, his face twisted, and shouted at Rodriguez, much in the same way Bulls guard Michael Jordan used to yell at backup center Will Perdue: C'mon, let's get it done. But Rodriguez grounded out to the pitcher, and as the Red Sox went on to a 10-3 rout, a crowd of Boston fans seemed to emerge from the darkest corners of Yankee Stadium and take over the place. The Yankees' collapse had been the worst in postseason history..." Read the full excerpt on ESPN.com, or even better, buy the book
"You Yankee fans who have given up your vacations, for those four games in July and August when you're 22 games out, enjoy. The Yankees are dead....The Yankees will not make the 2005 postseason." Read the NY Daily News Article
"An angry Alex Rodriguez ended his relationship with a memorabilia company called Arod Authenticated on Friday, saying it was selling autographed baseballs without his permission. The company was hocking balls commemorating Rodriguez's big game Tuesday night, when he had three home runs an 10 RBI against the Los Angeles Angels. For $399 each, the balls featured A-Rod's signature and his stat line from the game -- and only 113 were available, the Daily News reported Friday." Read the AP article
If you are not cheered up yet, try this (it always works for me).
"For fans spoiled by eight years of watching Nomar Garciaparra's excellence and three months of Orlando Cabrera's circus act, Rentaria's introduction to the Sox has been jarring. The early returns suggest that his manager in St. Louis, Tony LaRussa, was prescient in suggesting that high-intensity Boston might not be a comfortable fit for a low-key player like Rentaria." Read the full article
"He's been on television with David Letterman and Regis and Kelly, plus the MTV show "Cribs" has a bit part in the movie, "Fever Pitch." He can be seen in Puma commercials. But at the height of his career, the 31 year old Damon may be ready to retire, like running back Ricky Williams with the Dolphins last year. "Not that drastic," Damon said. "Ill just disappear." Read the full article by Alan Eskew
