Ortiz to Yankees?.... oh why not?

It just keeps getting worse for a Red Sox fan.
Each day I wake up there is another factor to throw on to the "Winning 2 World Series should buffer the pain of this" pile.

You have the great collapse.
You have that agonizing last day.
You have the dismissal of Francona.
You have Theo jumping ship.
You have the disgusting character assassination of Francona.
You have the realization that the players remaining were gutless down the stretch.
You have to fear that the corporate stooges are going to turn the Red Sox into the Mets... expensive, old and non contending.

And today?
Ortiz says he might jump ship to the Yankees.

It's not going to happen. Not because of some team loyalty but because it makes sense for the Yankees to make Alex Rodriguez their full time DH.

But can anyone be stunned anymore?
Can anything else even rile us Red Sox fans up?

Right now, I am in full Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump mode, screaming at the rain and wind. "You Call This A Storm!"

I can take anything.

Phillies season ends with a metaphor

I picked the Phillies to win the World Series.
Chances are you did too.

Chances are you thought the Cardinals were a punching bag for the Phillies on their way to at the very least the National League pennant.

This was a Phillies team that won more games than any team in franchise history.
This was the team that kept Cliff Lee from the Yankees.
This was the team that had Halladay, Lee, Oswalt and Hamels in the best rotation since the Braves of the 1990s.

This was the team that was going to solidify itself as the greatest team in Philadelphia sports history.

The Cardinals were the nice story of a team that stumbled into the playoffs. But even that had as much to do with the Phillies beating the Braves at the end of the season.

So it came down to Ryan Howard at the plate. And I STILL didn't think the Phillies were losing. I thought he was going to park one.

And alas not only did he not park one, he collapsed out of the batters box.

This has to be one of the great upsets in Division Series history.
Right up there with the dual shockers in 2002 (the invincible Yankees and the winning streak A's getting knocked off by the Angels and Twins.)

This might even be bigger. This Phillies team was suppose to have no peer.
Now they have 2 big ones: The Red Sox and the Yankees.

The three big East Coast giants have been slain (not the mention the defending champion Giants).

If you can't win a playoff series where you start Halladay twice and Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt then there is something wrong.

There is no longer a prohibitive favorite to win the World Series.
They collapsed... figuratively and literally.

New Sully Baseball Video "It Wasn't Bill Buckner's Fault"

Maybe it is appropriate that I bring up the Bill Buckner play the day after the Red Sox did the Great Faceplant of 2011.

In the latest Sully Baseball video, I am starting a new series.

"Baseball Myths and Facts." And it turns out there are so many of them that I will do a few videos on this topic.

I tackle the Buckner error first because even really good baseball people get that one wrong.

Enjoy the video.

And as always, you can see all the videos at my ShortForm TV page.

The Red Sox look like the 1927 Yankees...

... in the current condition of the 1927 Yankees.

Keep in mind the last member of the 1927 Yankees, Mark Koenig, died in 1993.

The Red Sox look dead from the neck up but hey! At least they have John Lackey pitching tonight.

(Oh boy.)

A Nation Tested

There are all sorts of tests going on regarding the Red Sox.

The Red Sox themselves are having their resolve tested. They stumbled out of the gate, cruised through the summer and are now seeing what they are made of to make it into the October dance. I am positive that if they can make it into October, that this sucky September will be a positive thing for the team. A "Wow... we made it in. Now let's kick some butt moment" that helped the Cardinals and White Sox win the World Series last decade.

And as bad as last night was, I'd STILL rather be up 3 games even stumbling than down 3 games and charging with 13 left.

Let's say the Red Sox win just one game in the series.
They'd be up 2 games with 10 to play.
6 of those games are against Baltimore.

I'll take my chances with those odds.

As for us Red Sox fans, this is the latest test to see if our lives really have changed.

Since 2004 and 2007 we've seen the Red Sox lose an agonizing 7 game series in 2008, choke in the 2009 playoffs and watch the Yankees win it all and miss the playoffs altogether.

And now they have a chance for an all time collapse.

IF THAT HAPPENS, we'll see how the 2004 and 2007 blanket will protect us.

And IF THAT HAPPENS we can look and think about what our lives would be like had Dave Roberts not stolen a base... and had the Indians not collapsed in 2007.

We'd be losing our minds.
Let's see if we can keep them, dear Nation.

Baseball is the greatest game of all

Seriously, I can’t understand an argument for another sport that can be so emotionally draining and rewarding as baseball.

Think about it… the Red Sox had their most brutal loss of the season last night. I couldn’t even write about it.

Eddie Pepitone was merciless on me. I couldn’t even watch the highlight shows.

If it were football, I’d have to wait a week for the next game. The loss would literally ruin my week.

If it were basketball or hockey, my team would play again in a day or two, but it would be against a different opponent.

In baseball there is a chance for INSTANT REDEMPTION.

Less than 17 hours after shaking my head in disgust at the 11-10 bed wetting from last night, I was jumping up and down thrilled at a come from behind 4 in the 9th and 1 in the 11th victory.

I mean the Red Sox were down 5-1 and looked dead from the neck up. I was about to start a blog post saying the only good thing about this game was it was over before 1 PM Pacific Time and I didn’t have to think about them anymore.

Even after Youk’s 2 run shot, I thought the Sox were dead. They had 2 outs, nobody on and George Sherrill looking damn good. I almost stopped watching.

And the play that no box score will EVER show is ball four to Varitek. He checked his swing (or did he) they appealed to first. If the ump said “SWING”, the game was over and the Orioles would have taken 2 of 3.

He said “No swing” and the next hitter, Rocco Baldelli tied it.

It was a game where Julio Lugo was one of the heroes saving Jason Bay’s and Josh Beckett’s butt.

That is a very strange sentence to write.

But baseball remains the greatest because of that.

If you told me in the 9th, Sox down 5-1, that I would be singing the praises of Julio Lugo, I would ask you how you traveled through time.
The Sox took 2 out of 3… it was an odd 2 out of 3, but that’s still 2 out of 3.
Let’s update the board

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 10

April 17 - 10-8 win against Orioles. (Overcame 7-0 deficit.)

April 24 - 5-4 win against Yankees. (Bay homers off of Rivera in 9th to tie it.)

April 25 - 16-11 win against Yankees. (Overcame 6-0 deficit.)

April 29 - 6-5 win at Cleveland. (Overcame 5-0 deficit.)

May 12 - 4-3 win at Anaheim. (Down 3-1 in the 8th.)
June 11 - 4-3 win against Yankees. (Down 3-1 in the 8th. Rallied against Sabathia.)

June 12 - 5-2 win at Philadelphia. (Overcame Ryan Howard's 9th inning shot to win in 13)

June 21 - 6-5 win against Atlanta. (The wind turns Nick Green's fly ball into a walk off shot)

June 27 - 1-0 win at Atlanta. (Masterson and Papelbon wiggle out of late jams.)
July 1 - 6-5 win at Baltimore. (Sox score 4 in the 9th and Lugo wins in in the 11th)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 9

April 14 - 6-5 loss at Oakland. (Sox blow early 3-0 lead. Lose in 12)

April 28 - 9-8 loss at Cleveland. (Sox blow early 5-1 lead. Lopez drops 3rd out.)
May 14 - 5-4 loss at Anaheim. (Ortiz goes 0-7 stranding 12 runners.)
May 15 - 5-4 loss at Seattle. (Red Sox blow their second 4-0 lead in three days.)

May 17 - 3-2 loss at Seattle. (Red Sox strand two in the 9th. Lose in the bottom of the 9th.)

May 23 - 3-2 loss to the Mets. (Papelbon lets up a 2 out 2 run homer in the 9th to Omir Santos)

June 18 - 2-1 loss to the Marlins. (Rain washes out a tight game after 5+ innings.)

June 28 - 2-1 loss to the Braves. (Tying run on base in the 9th. Solid Penny outing wasted)
June 30 - 11-10 loss at Baltimore. (The Red Sox blow a late 10-1 to the lowly Orioles.)

Back up to +1.

A day off and then back for for the Mariners

Wow

Um... I'm supposed to write about this game?

Really?

The Red Sox blew a 10-1 lead late... to the Orioles. The above video is a wonderful representation of the game.

What is there to say? It was supreme suckage. The team should be embarrassed. It was grotesque.

And the beauty of baseball is that there is another game tomorrow. Win and this will be an unfortunate hiccup.

But man it sucked.

Let's update the board.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 9

April 17 - 10-8 win against Orioles. (Overcame 7-0 deficit.)

April 24 - 5-4 win against Yankees. (Bay homers off of Rivera in 9th to tie it.)

April 25 - 16-11 win against Yankees. (Overcame 6-0 deficit.)

April 29 - 6-5 win at Cleveland. (Overcame 5-0 deficit.)

May 12 - 4-3 win at Anaheim. (Down 3-1 in the 8th.)
June 11 - 4-3 win against Yankees. (Down 3-1 in the 8th. Rallied against Sabathia.)

June 12 - 5-2 win at Philadelphia. (Overcame Ryan Howard's 9th inning shot to win in 13)

June 21 - 6-5 win against Atlanta. (The wind turns Nick Green's fly ball into a walk off shot)

June 27 - 1-0 win at Atlanta. (Masterson and Papelbon wiggle out of late jams.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 9

April 14 - 6-5 loss at Oakland. (Sox blow early 3-0 lead. Lose in 12)

April 28 - 9-8 loss at Cleveland. (Sox blow early 5-1 lead. Lopez drops 3rd out.)
May 14 - 5-4 loss at Anaheim. (Ortiz goes 0-7 stranding 12 runners.)
May 15 - 5-4 loss at Seattle. (Red Sox blow their second 4-0 lead in three days.)

May 17 - 3-2 loss at Seattle. (Red Sox strand two in the 9th. Lose in the bottom of the 9th.)

May 23 - 3-2 loss to the Mets. (Papelbon lets up a 2 out 2 run homer in the 9th to Omir Santos)

June 18 - 2-1 loss to the Marlins. (Rain washes out a tight game after 5+ innings.)

June 28 - 2-1 loss to the Braves. (Tying run on base in the 9th. Solid Penny outing wasted)
June 30 - 11-10 loss at Baltimore. (The Red Sox blow a late 10-1 to the lowly Orioles.)

Going into July at EVEN.

Come on Beckett! Win tomorrow and the Sox win the series.

But essentially when I saw the final score of tonight's game, I reacted a lot like this guy when he saw the trailer for Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

The Devil is possessing the Rays

Remember how the Rays had shed the Devil from their name and suddenly became great contenders?

It seems like whenever they play the Red Sox, Tampa Bay looks like the most talented young team in the league.

Well, it looks like the Devil is back!

30% of the way through the season and the Rays are only a game ahead out of the basement.

It's early, but it isn't THAT early.

And let's take this series against the Indians... PLEASE!

If you are a team that has playoff aspirations (and I would assume the Defending American League Champs would fall into this category!!) how do you climb out of a sub .500 hole?

The best way is to beat up the bad teams.

You know, like the Indians, who were the worst team in the American League when Tampa wandered in.

And here's another tip... when you take a 10-0 lead in a game, try to hold it.

And if you should shockingly cough up a 10-0 lead and end the game with a ninth inning that featured 5 walks and 7 runs, make sure you don't cough up another big lead...

Like yesterday when the Rays took a 5 run lead in the first and lost 12-7.

It's not THAT early and if the Rays want to get back into the race, they can no longer lose games that look like laughers for them!

Unless they really ARE the Devil Rays again!

And so it goes for the Blue Jays

Remember when the Blue Jays went into Fenway Park 9 days ago?

They had a 3 1/2 game lead on the Red Sox and were riding a 4 game winning streak. They were about to embark on a 9 game road trip to show they were for real.

They were about to make a statement.

Oh, they made a statement alright. 

Nine days later they are the third place Blue Jays and they lost all nine games of the road trip.

They ran up an 8-3 lead today with Roy Halladay on the mound.

A 5 run 8th inning later it was in extra innings.

Then they had a 10-8 lead in the 11th... and someone named Nolan Reimold, a prospect even people who follow Orioles prospects forgot about, hit a walk off homer.

All of a sudden Cito Gaston's Manager of the Year award doesn't look as certain.

Either way, here's hoping their slide lasts just a few more games as the Red Sox come to town!

Gee Whiz, Mets

Nice four game losing streak. Think this will come back to haunt them?

Gee I wonder if this patchwork rotation will hold up until... May?

One way to avoid falling apart in September is to get out to a decent start... and right now the only hope the Mets are giving are to Marlins fans!

And nice to see Omar Minaya moving away from acquiring old broken down players. Livan Hernandez?

What, Gaylord Perry wasn't available?

Maybe someone will tell me how Omar Minaya still has a job. It didn't make sense to me last year and this year it seems like he has assembled yet another team with lots of parts that don't fit!

I wonder if Jerry Manuel will take the fall for this team if they don't pull it together. (And just wait until Frankie Rodriguez starts blowing saves!)

But don't worry... the Mets are playing the Nationals. That will turn things around for them.

They've NEVER had trouble beating the Nationals when they needed a win.

Oh wait.

My predictions are usually terrible but...

I remember something I wrote during my "predictions" post back in March.

I said that the Dodgers were going to beat the Cubs adding "And yes, I am predicting yet another heartbreak for the Cubs."

Then again, I also predicted them to get out of the Division Series and the heart break would be in the NLCS.

What happened tonight was positively grotesque.
To go from being the consensus pick to win the NL Pennant (breaking a 63 year drought there) and possibly winning their first title in a century to being the first eliminated is a fate that even Eli Roth would find too cruel to include in Hostel 3.

It could actually get worse for Cubs fans.

With the Brewers still alive with tonight's win, tomorrow's game is probably going to decide who the Dodgers will face.

Obviously if Philly wins, they move on.
But if Milwaukee wins at home, game 5 will have Sabathia on the mound.
Do you REALLY think he is going to stink twice?

Imagine the Cubs and their dream season dead and the Brewers with their panicking and terrible September still alive.

I warned of that possibility in July...
and frankly I feel guilty about that.

Who will fold the least?

There are three teams in the National League that are completely shellshocked and seeing their seasons coming to a crashing end.

The Brewers have won only 3 games this month, shocked the baseball world with a bizarre panic move of firing their manager with a dozen games left, and then lost to their division rival with the best pitcher in baseball losing for the first time since his trade to the NL… all the while knowing that free agency will devastate their pitching staff.

Speaking of devastation, the Astros had a hurricane derail their momentum, force them from their stadium where they were no hit one night, nearly no hit the next day and in the past three games have 1 run and 6 hits COMBINED.

And the Mets are in the middle of a gut wrenching free fall that is reminding everyone of their epic collapse one year ago… their bullpen can’t close games, their rotation is in shambles, their line up is old and banged up and teams like the Braves and Nationals are picking them apart,

There is nothing but panic, despair and resignation of failure in the eyes of those teams and the hearts of their fans.

All three teams resemble Alec Guinness at the end of The Bridge on the River Kwai… battered, about to die, suddenly realizing the mistakes he has made… and as he dies he destroys everything he has fought so hard to build.

Want to know the strange thing?

One of those teams are going to be playing in October.

The National League needs four teams… and one of them will be either the Mets, Brewers or Astros.

Like Rocky at the end of Rocky 2, if one of the teams can climb up that rope and be standing when the ref counts to ten, you win.

The Mets and Astros have 12 games left… the Brewers have 11.
Going on a winning streak over 12 games isn’t an outrageous request.

The Mets need to play the Nats and Braves… which has been a challenge as of late. And then the Cubs and Marlins at home.

The Brewers have 5 more games with the Cubs, plus 6 games with the Reds and Pirates.

The Astros have the easiest schedule… two more games in Miami and then the Pirates, Reds and Braves the rest of the way (with a possible make up game with the Cubbies.)

And if the Astros or Brewers win the Wild Card, chances are they would face either the beatable Phillies or maybe the Mets if they (David) right their ship.

I’d pick either the Astros or the Brewers over the NL East champ!

One of these three teams will be in it… and have that collective sigh of relief that comes over a team that struggles past the finish line.

Everyone remembers the Rockies sprinting past the Padres and Dodgers last year…
But how about the Cardinals in 2006?

They went on a 7 game losing streak in September. They had an 8 ½ game lead with 12 to play and the Astros cut it to ½ a game before the St. Louis finished the year with the third worst playoff record in baseball history.

And once they got in, there seemed to be a release of tension. “We didn’t blow it!” And they went on to win the World Series.

The Tigers that year also had a miserable September where they did blow the division lead and backed into the playoffs as the Wild Card.

They won the pennant.

The 2007 Red Sox and the 2005 White Sox saw their huge leads nearly evaporate in subpar Septembers… and both won the World Series.

So while these the three teams all resemble Mr. Orange bleeding to death in the warehouse… one could have a real shot at making their 2008 season have a happy ending.

At least happier than Mr. Orange’s ending.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Be A Mets Fan...

Remember in Jaws 2 how disbelieving everyone was of another shark attacking Amity Island to the point where they ignored then fired Chief Brody and allowed the shark to attack more people?

OK, probably not.

But that’s kind of what has been happening with the Mets.

Nobody thought another collapse would come about.
Not after Jerry Manuel had the clubhouse loose after Willie Randolph’s less than classy firing.

Not after they came from behind… down 7 ½ games in early June… down 5 ½ games in July to taking a 3 ½ game lead with 17 to play.

Surely they learned from last year when they were up by 7 with 17 to play and blew it.
Surely they knew to stay focused and not let leads slip away and to not get beaten by teams like the Nationals, who beat the Mets 5 out of 6 times last September.

Da duh… da duh… da duh…

There’s a fin in the water.

Da duh da duh da duh….

Losing 2 out of 3 to Philadelphia was bad enough…
Blowing that lead to Atlanta on Sunday was worse…
Last night being blown out by Washington makes it clear:

The Mets are going to need a bigger boat.

Oh it’s a combination of starting pitching (I love you Pedro, but you aren’t the same pitcher) and bullpen (anyone think saves are easy to get NOW?)

But I wonder how much of it is also the constant reminder of how they wet the bed last fall.

I always felt that the Curse of the Bambino was real. Not that I thought it was a hex or some spell cast by Gandalph. Rather I felt like the pressure of an entire region saying into your face “You are going to fail… you are going to fail…” would help cause someone to eventually fail.

Maybe the never ending reminder of the collapse of 2007 is getting to them.
Or maybe this is gut check time and they win this division and the pennant as well.

I throw the question out to the Mets fans of the world…

Faith and Fear in Flushing, are you in full panic mode at this point or do you see the ship straightening itself out.

How about you, Dana Brand? Are you going to be like my cousin Dave and concede the division to Philadelphia before they even pass you?


Let me ask you The Good The Bad The Ugly and the Mets. Does the spiral of the Brewers and the possibility of a Wild Card cushion soften the blow of this flop?

I bet you have some Yankee hatred in you, Eric at Amazin' Avenue. Does the fact that the Yankees are out of it make this tumble slightly more bearable?

Hey hilarious comedian Michael Reisman, is a big disappointment an appropriate send off to Shea Stadium?

Hey Liam McEneaney, brilliant comic and my friend. Is this just part of the burden of being a Mets fan?

How about you, Andres DuBouchet, possibly the funniest sketch performer I have ever met. Are you seeing the glass as half full and the Mets have a chance to say “Let’s prove to the world that we are winners” or are you seeing the glass as shattered on the ground?

Hey Poppi Kramer… GET OFF OF THE LEDGE!

Either way, if this keeps up all I can tell you is THIS WAS NOT A BOAT ACCIDENT.