Saturday, September 23, 2006
Saturday Morning Thoughts
* Everyone's been tiptoeing around the Manny issue, and Gordon Edes today finally takes a stand. I have to say I agree with Gordo. Nobody knows the extent of his knee injury, but it's safe to say that Manny is no warrior.
* The whole Doug Mirabelli-Kevin Towers thing this past week is highly amusing. Why wouldn't Mirabelli love it in Boston? What other town would give him a police escort from the airport to the park? Pretty ridiculous when you think about it.
* Mirabelli falls into that class of guys who act and behave like they're better than they really are. Mirabelli can't hit his way out of a wet paper bag, and yet he's the first one to bitch at an ump after he strikes out. Kevin Youkilis, to me, is a fringe player (more on this in my upcoming Sox post-mortem) and yet there he is last night cussing out the ump for a good 5 minutes after whiffing. He's always got this pained expression on his face, and he didn't do himself any favors when he called Sox fans irrational when the team was in their losing skid. We are irrational, but you have to build up your resume before you can say it. Another actor was Kevin Millar. He'd get a walk, and almost strut his way to first base like he had just done something special. Locker-room presence my ass. The guy shouldn't be starting in the major leagues (as evidenced by his crappy year in Baltimore) and he's the first one to mouth off at anything.
* What Sox fan in their right mind wouldn't give a historic home run ball back to Big Papi? Not to sound corny, but the big man has brought us much joy so it's the least we can do. And when you hear that he'd rather auction the balls off for charity rather than put them on his mantel in Wisconsin (yes, the Dominican slugger lives near Green Bay believe it or not), it's a no-brainer.
* It really blows not having any meaningful baseball games to watch. Makes for a looooong wait for Sundays.
* Nice moment at Fenway this week when Carlton Fisk helped commemorate Jason Varitek's record for most games played as catcher. Two good ones right there.
* New nickname for Johnny Damon surfaced this week, courtesy of a clever WEEI caller. Johnny Cash. Beautiful.
* My AL MVP ballot would look something like this: Johan Santana, David Ortiz, Justin Morneau, Derek Jeter. Santana, his start the other night against the Sox aside, has been unbelievable for the Twins in the second half, especially with Liriano out. As for the argument that a pitcher shouldn't win MVP, bull. It's Most Valuable Player, not Most Valuable Everyday Player. Ortiz finishes second just on the sheer numbers and clutch hits. The Red Sox would be in fourth or fifth place without him. Morneau is incredibly underrated. Check out these numbers: 33 HR, 125 RBI, .323 BA. We just don't know about him because he plays in Fargo-land. And finally, Jeets. Yes, he's a great player. Yes, I respect and admire his abilities, even though he wears pinstripes. But I've said it before and I'll say it again - if he goes down, the Yanks have the depth and money to withstand the loss. And Johnny Cash batting leadoff certainly hasn't hurt Jeter. MVP? No way. Just one man's opinion.
* And last, for all those husbands out there with long 'honey do' lists, remember this - be thankful you don't have Theo's 'to do' list. Man, does he have some work to do. No touring with Pearl Jam this offseason.
* The whole Doug Mirabelli-Kevin Towers thing this past week is highly amusing. Why wouldn't Mirabelli love it in Boston? What other town would give him a police escort from the airport to the park? Pretty ridiculous when you think about it.
* Mirabelli falls into that class of guys who act and behave like they're better than they really are. Mirabelli can't hit his way out of a wet paper bag, and yet he's the first one to bitch at an ump after he strikes out. Kevin Youkilis, to me, is a fringe player (more on this in my upcoming Sox post-mortem) and yet there he is last night cussing out the ump for a good 5 minutes after whiffing. He's always got this pained expression on his face, and he didn't do himself any favors when he called Sox fans irrational when the team was in their losing skid. We are irrational, but you have to build up your resume before you can say it. Another actor was Kevin Millar. He'd get a walk, and almost strut his way to first base like he had just done something special. Locker-room presence my ass. The guy shouldn't be starting in the major leagues (as evidenced by his crappy year in Baltimore) and he's the first one to mouth off at anything.
* What Sox fan in their right mind wouldn't give a historic home run ball back to Big Papi? Not to sound corny, but the big man has brought us much joy so it's the least we can do. And when you hear that he'd rather auction the balls off for charity rather than put them on his mantel in Wisconsin (yes, the Dominican slugger lives near Green Bay believe it or not), it's a no-brainer.
* It really blows not having any meaningful baseball games to watch. Makes for a looooong wait for Sundays.
* Nice moment at Fenway this week when Carlton Fisk helped commemorate Jason Varitek's record for most games played as catcher. Two good ones right there.
* New nickname for Johnny Damon surfaced this week, courtesy of a clever WEEI caller. Johnny Cash. Beautiful.
* My AL MVP ballot would look something like this: Johan Santana, David Ortiz, Justin Morneau, Derek Jeter. Santana, his start the other night against the Sox aside, has been unbelievable for the Twins in the second half, especially with Liriano out. As for the argument that a pitcher shouldn't win MVP, bull. It's Most Valuable Player, not Most Valuable Everyday Player. Ortiz finishes second just on the sheer numbers and clutch hits. The Red Sox would be in fourth or fifth place without him. Morneau is incredibly underrated. Check out these numbers: 33 HR, 125 RBI, .323 BA. We just don't know about him because he plays in Fargo-land. And finally, Jeets. Yes, he's a great player. Yes, I respect and admire his abilities, even though he wears pinstripes. But I've said it before and I'll say it again - if he goes down, the Yanks have the depth and money to withstand the loss. And Johnny Cash batting leadoff certainly hasn't hurt Jeter. MVP? No way. Just one man's opinion.
* And last, for all those husbands out there with long 'honey do' lists, remember this - be thankful you don't have Theo's 'to do' list. Man, does he have some work to do. No touring with Pearl Jam this offseason.
# posted by kampy : 10:01 AM
