I'll say it... the Red Sox over babied Clay Buchholz

The Red Sox decided not to trade for Rich Harden.

Why? Because they already had an ace caliber pitcher who is always hurt!

Clay Buchholz has a stress fracture in his back. I don't think it is as bad as what Ralph Macchio had in The Outsiders, but just as destructive for the season.

Hasn't that been the mantra this season?

Get Lester and Buchholz healthy and the Sox could win the pennant.

Now what?

Lester is healthy and looks good and Beckett has been solid.

Lackey has been winning, but how long will THAT last?

Andrew Miller is not the ace that the Tigers and Marlins thought he was. He's a #5 pitcher.

Tim Wakefield is Russian Roulette.

And Eric Bedard will probably be in a full body cast by Labor Day.

The Red Sox pennant chances are no better than the Yankees, whose rotation we love to make fun of.

The Rangers pitching staff is miles ahead of the Red Sox and Yankees. I even put the Angels in front of us.

And I will say it. I can never rely on Clay Buchholz again.

I've been saying since 2007 that the Red Sox have been babying him.

They've been treating him with kid gloves to avoid injuries since he threw the no hitter. And what has he been since?

AN INJURY PRONE PITCHER!

Red Sox fans, ask yourself. If Buchholz were a Yankee, wouldn't you be throwing him in with Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain as pitchers with ability but whose bodies have betrayed them.

And here we have Clay Buchholz. It's his 5th big league season. He's 26. And he has pitched 100 innings a grand total of one time in his career.

All the while he has been treated with kid gloves and all of that love and care has put him on the shelf AGAIN!

He's another example of a babied pitcher. Instead of a reliable stud we have an injury prone frustration.

Any decent season the Sox get from Clay Buchholz MUST be considered a bonus from now on.

He is another pitcher ruined by kid gloves.

Giants... Better make a move sooner than later

The Giants offense, save for a grand slam by rookie Brandon Crawford, looks beyond dormant in the wake of the Buster Posey injury.

Suddenly this season that was filled with walk off hits and post World Series mania could take an ugly turn.

In fact it already has.
The DIAMONDBACKS are in first place as I type this.

Read that sentence again.
How did THAT happen that Arizona is in first?

(More on that later.)

Make a deal, Giants. Give the team a positive bolt. I already suggested Jose Reyes (I think it is a no brainer to bring bring in Reyes.)

But make SOME move now... Something to bring a little positivity back to China Basin.

Buster Posey is hurt. Naturally I see the glass half empty

I already talked about this today.
When I talked about Pedroia and the Red Sox, I said that I always expect the worst news.
And almost always the player comes right back.

So now I see Buster Posey, a player the Giants can't survive without, being carried off of the field.
And my first thought is "Man, such a promising career has been cut short."

He'll probably play on Friday.

So I take it Pedroia is OK

I am such a pessimist when it comes to injuries.

Whenever I see someone carried off the field, I automatically think "Oh no... their career might be over."

I know that was what I thought about Dustin Pedroia, especially after all the time he missed LAST year.

Well, I guess I was off. Instead of missing the rest of his career, he missed one game and homered in his first at bat back.

I guess people should be glad I am not in the medical field.

Either way, anytime my team can go into the home of the team with the best record in the league and take 2 of 3 (especially after losing the first one in teeth grinding fashion) I am fine with it.

And living in California made it especially sweet. With the Red Sox first inning explosion, I saw my team were up 7-0 before it was 9:15 AM. Not a bad cup of joe.

The Sox are 1 game back in the loss column from the Yankees.
Let's hope they can get into first by June.

And let's not have any more career threatening injuries.

Victor hurt again? Why not?

When it looked like Victor Martinez was going to be taken out of the game last night during that grotesque 10th inning, I thought "Why not?"

Seriously... after seeing the stat that among the 19 players put on the Red Sox DL, there were 6 players on the Red Sox opening day starting line up and 9 either former or current All Stars.

Victor Martinez was one of the 19, one of the 6 and one of the 9... and it was appropriate that as the Red Sox season slipped away that an injury was in the middle of it.

I hope Francona either sits him or gives him some first base time as the games in Chicago take a turn to Meaninglessville.

Of course that would mean Varitek would get the bulk of the catching duties (38 years old and has been injured most of the year) or maybe give Kevin Cash some more time (a man whose hitting I have compared to Elmo creator Kevin Clash.)

Someone pointed out that Jarrod Saltalamacchia is hurt and out for the year, making it #20.

Sadly we both forgot that when the rosters expand, there's no need to put someone on the disabled list.

Too bad.

20 would have been so symmetrical.

Hey look at that! the Red Sox won a game!

So the Sox didn't get swept by the Orioles. It's been that kind of stretch run where THAT is the branch I cling to so I can feel better.

A nice good old fashioned not close win. A few homers. Some nice pitching from Lackey. Boom! A win.

There are 10 games left including 6 with the Yankees that, barring one of the most staggering collapses in baseball history, will be meaningless.

Here's all I want from the Sox for the rest of the year.

6 wins.
If they go 6-4 I can feel OK.

Naturally I don't feel great about this season that has fallen short. But with all the injuries and disappointments and slumped shoulders and staying home in October... to end up with 90 wins will feel pretty good in terms of looking forward to 2011.

Ahhh how our expectations lower in a disappointing year.

Oh for Christsake, just shut Dustin Pedroia down for the year

Seriously... we all are impressed by how fast Pedroia came back. He's a gamer. We love him. He's our guy.

Now take away his spikes and say "See you in spring training."

He's back on the Disabled List after 2 games off of it.

And yes, it is because the same foot is hurt.

This is nuts. Why risk injuring our MVP any further?

2010 is a lost cause. Even if the Sox play better than their current pace and win 92 or 93 games, they are still playing golf on the first full week of October.

As I wrote before, 2011 looks promising provided Pedroia and Youk is healthy, Beckett pitches well and they let some of the kids play and fill some holes.

Let's see what this kid Yamaico Navarro can do in the infield. He's supposedly a dynamic fielder. Let's see his do his thing in the show.

He's already the greatest Red Sox player named Yamaico.

So Dustin... nobody is questioning your heart. We're questioning your foot.

And if the Red Sox don't shut him down, I'll be questioning their sanity!

"Hey Reggie... there's room in the Sox line up for you!"

Why not Reggie?

Have him suit up in a Sox uniform and DH a few times a week!

How is that any less likely than Darnell McDonald hitting a homer in his first Red Sox at bat?

Ryan! You don't get hurt AFTER the Trade Deadline!!

Seriously... if you are going to go on the DL, make sure it is on July 30th or before. What good does it do on August 1st?

Anytime between opening day and July 31st, the Phillies can easily make a deal and BOOM! They have another star first baseman.

But now the Phillies are without their big guy in the middle of their lineup and the immortal Ross Gload will be starting at first base.

If Howard had done this a few days earlier, maybe Lance Berkman would be there... or maybe the guy covering first base on the play that sidelined Howard, Adam Dunn.

But noooooo....

Just remember people: TIME YOUR INJURIES!

If the Red Sox have any more injuries, it might be time to thaw out Ted's head

I mean we have access to Ted's head, don't we?

He's a lifelong Red Sox and the Sox drafted his wacko son.

Seriously, Bill Hall can't play EVERY position. We could have a cloned Splendid Splinter out in right field.

(Keep in mind everything I know about cloning I learned from the Michael Keaton film Multiplicity.)

VIVA FABIO CASTRO!

When it looked like Clay Buchholz was going to go on the DL, the Red Sox summoned Fabio Castro from Pawtucket to help out the bullpen.

But when it was clear they needed more infield depth with Pedroia going down, Theo pulled off a deal with the A's to bring in utility man Eric Patterson and Castro was designated for assignment without appearing in a game.

How could you do it, Tito?
How could you NOT bring in Fabio Castro?

You have the ability to have the P.A. announcer say "Now pitching... FABIO CASTRO!"

And you passed that up?
For what? For Manny DelCarmen to get another appearance?

I hope nobody claims him... I have no idea if he sucks or not. I just want to hear the words "Fabio Castro gets the out."

And be honest with me... you do too.

We'll take the ugly wins

Oh the Red Sox bullpen WANTED to make this interesting. Oh they tried to let Tampa back in this one... but I can't call it a dodged bullet. Even when they brought in Papelbon, I never thought this game was in real danger of going in the L column.

It's a big one.

With all the injuries on this squad, they have to hold their own until everyone is done mending.
Win one of the next two games and we've got a series win against a top team with a depleted staff.

The thing that was most startling about this win was reading the box score. Lackey is 9-3? Doesn't it feel like he's been mediocre this year? And yet he'll wind up a 15-17 game winner by the time the year is done.

Go figure.
I'll take the W.

Hey Kendry Morales. Sometimes it is good to act like you've been there before

I probably shouldn’t tell players to NOT be emotional. I used to jump up and do a dance when I would a game using my Digital Diamond.

And I never hit a home run in any baseball game at any level save for whiffle ball… so I don’t know the sensation of a walk off extra inning grand slam like the one Kendry Morales hit today in Anaheim.

All I know is if you break a bone celebrating and you will probably miss 1/3 of the season and your team is trying to get back into the race and you are one of their best hitters… then maybe you need to tone down your celebrations.

I’m getting tired of the mass huddle and jumping up and down for a walk off homer. Yeah, celebrate and hug, but shouldn’t the wild celebrations be for pennant stretch homers? Back breaking homers? Post season walk off shots?

This was a match up between two underachieving sub .500 teams in May. This wasn’t Magglio Ordonez sending the Tigers to the World Series.

It’s kind of like the whole Gatorade on the coach in football. Yeah it was cool when the Giants were doing it in the mid 80s, but now it is a strange and tired obligation.

Just celebrate naturally, not in a choreographed way. I think Morales hurt himself doing all the proper steps. Throw the helmet and jump on first base… CRACK! WHOOPS!

Take a look at this celebration of a homer. This is Tommy Henrich being greeted at home plate by Yogi Berra, coach Bill Dickey and a bat boy. Do you know what he just did? He hit a walk off homer in the World Series! The first ever… and a player, a coach and a bat boy are there to greet him.

I’m not saying go to THAT extreme of no celebration… but celebrate according to the sincere moment of the game. There’s no mob at the pitchers mound with the catcher leaping into the closer’s arms after every save.

If Morales had a more sincere celebration, the Angels might have an every day first baseman for the next 2 months!

Just saying

The A’s signing Ben Sheets makes even LESS sense to me today!

OK, let’s say you are the Oakland A’s… you don’t often sign players to salaries higher than the milk shake guy at In and Out Burger… and the few times you do, the results aren’t pretty. (How’s that Eric Chavez signing looking?)

But for whatever reason you find $10 million to spend on the 2010 roster. (Perhaps you found a suit that had a $10 million bill in the breast pocket.

They need pitching depth and two pitchers are still hanging around, unsigned, in late January.

One just turned 30, has thrown 190 innings or more each of the last 8 seasons. Consistently gets double digit wins. Consistently starts 30+ games. And has experience in several pennant races including playing a big part in a World Series run where he threw a complete game playoff win. Last year he logged in 204 innings, made 33 starts and pitched well down the stretch drive for a playoff team.

The other one is a year older, has more health issues than Amy Winehouse and pitched in as many games as her last year… which would be zero. He hasn’t logged in 200 innings nor made 30 starts for the past 5 seasons. He has no post season experience and has played only two seasons for teams with a winning record. His talent is undeniable but so is his inability to stay on the roster. He is a “Placed on the 60 Day Disabled List” entry waiting to happen.

Which one of those two would you spend the money on? ESPECIALLY seeing that you can’t afford to have much payroll in the trainers room or on rehab assignment in Kane County.

Naturally the A’s picked the slightly older, more injury prone Ben Sheets to sign for $10 million… allowing the slightly younger, more durable, playoff tested Jon Garland to sign with San Diego.

And guess what? Garland signed for $4.7 million LESS. The Padres are all but guaranteed lots of innings, lots of starts and a stable veteran while the A’s will be paying for Ben Sheets to sit in the whirlpool.

How does this make ANY sense?

It’s not like the Padres are going to be a contender. They had the same record as the A’s did last year (75-87) and San Diego will probably be dumping high salary players at the deadline once again.

So why couldn’t the A’s offer… oh I don’t know… $6 million for Garland and have an extra $4 million to throw around.

The Yankees claim to be only offering $2 million to Damon. Offer him $3 million and suddenly everyone will be saying “Hey! The A’s out bid the Yankees! That’s good for baseball!”

And maybe kick the remaining $1 million into a scouting department… clearly the current scouting department who thought Garland was a risk but Sheets was the direction to go needs a payroll boost.

Are the A's Three Sheets To The Wind?

Seriously? The most frugal organization NOT called the Marlins opened up their wallets for a free agent and it was for Ben Sheets?

$10 million on a guy who didn't pitch a game last year?

Yes, he is a talented pitcher when healthy... but he's NEVER healthy!

Let me repeat... HE PITCHED ZERO GAMES LAST YEAR!

Do you know who tied him in EVERY SINGLE statistical category?

Professor Stephen Hawking!

If Sheets stays healthy then the A's would have stolen an ace...
And if Milton Bradley doesn't become more erratic than Joe Pesci in Casino, then the Mariners will do well.

And you don't have to be a genius like Professor Hawking to see those odds are astronomically small.

Show of hands if you think Sabathia's injury should make Yankee fans nervous

Granted it could be nothing...

It could just be the Yankees being overly cautious with their $161 million investment. Besides, CC was trying to convince Girardi to let him in.

And pitchers can get hurt and come back in the same year. Lest we forget, Pedro went on the DL during his brilliant 1999 season and it didn't seem to derail him.

But I am sure even the most optimistic Yankee fan is thinking "Oh please don't have the inevitable health problems arrive NOW! Not with 6 more years left in the deal!"

Oh Hank you are making it easy to hate the Yankees again

On the heels of the good will and goosebumps of the Yankee Stadium finale, the Boss’s son makes everyone remember why the Yankees are the easiest team to hate.

So Little Hank Steinbrenner… who first tried to write off the bad Yankees season to injuries (because Heaven knows no other teams had any injuries this season, just the Yankees) but now tries to brush aside Joe Torre’s success with Los Angeles based solely on the weaker division they played in.



Oh I see… so because the NL West isn’t as good, the fact that Torre is doing his job and winning said Division isn’t as impressive as finishing in third place.

I don’t seem to recall this logic working the other way. When the Yankees stumbled into the 2000 playoffs, they had lost their last 7 games, 15 of their last 17 games.

Their record was worse than the Indians who went 90-72, but failed to make the playoffs.

Did I hear anyone downgrading that accomplishment?
Nope, especially not after the Yankees righted the ship and beat Oakland, Seattle and the Mets for the World Series.

(Their last one I might add.)

And this coming off the heels of the closing ceremonies where Torre was snubbed.

I love it that some poor schlub named Jason Zillo was forced into the role of explaining that Torre's lack of recognition, even on the Jumbo Tron, was not a snubbing.

"A lot of great Yankees weren't mentioned," he reasoned.
Ah, so he slipped through the cracks.

Jesse Barfield gets a highlight clip, but the man who put together the greatest Yankee dynasty since Casey Stengel slipped your mind.

It couldn't have been because he turned down the Yankees lousy offer and the fact that his team is in first and the Yankees are playing out the string, could it?

Nahhhh.

Oh but keep talking Hank.
You are making your dad seem profound by comparison.