This team is so much better than they are playing. So much better. But you have to question their ability to mold dominant pitchers for this frail staff.

Think about it: Under John Hart or Mark Shapiro, when have major league baseball teams ever been scared of this team’s rotation?

Although very dominant in the late 90’s, could you really feel overwhelmed against a pitching staff with Charles Nagy and Jared Wright? Is there a future core of your rotation when you rotate mid-30’s post-nasty pitchers through the revolving doors of Jacobs Field.

Chuck Finley? Dwight Gooden? Orel Hershisher?

The point I want to make is that the evolution of Mark Shapiro’s Indians replicate the same team setup as with the dominant Indians’ teams of the last decade of the 20th century. A lot of hitting, a solid defensive infield, 3-4-5 power, and the 5-tool face of the franchise ( currently injured ).

Something is Missing!

Two key things are missing from this Indians team from the one ten years back. One thing is two bullpen automatics. When Manny was at the plate in Cleveland, any lead the lineup around him produced was mightily protected by Jose Mesa and Mike Jackson. Even other notable relievers like Eric Plunk and Paul Assenmacher had good stuff to shut teams down after the 6th inning.

Although the Indians have added Kerry Wood to supplement Betancourt and the rest of the bullpen, the history of the post-Hart Indians could be summed up in 5 words:

Joe Borowski & Bob Wickman

This team never really tried to get just one good reliever to glue this bullpen together, and the truly talented pieces ( Like Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez) have been pitched so many innings that one has to wonder if their struggles the last 365 days could be due to fatigue.

The 2nd thing that Shapiro is doing differently is that he has not brought in the right veteran role players around their young players.

Veterans

Julio Franco, Dennis Martinez, Orel Hershiser, Tony Pena Sr., Alvaro Espinosa. From 1996-2000, these guys played a great role for helping the Indians win, and bringing a veteran influence into the clubhouse. These guys have won, and these guys were very professional.

Matt Lawton, Lou Merloni ( sorry to pick on you buddy ), Paul Byrd, Jose Hernandez, Kenny Lofton. Other than Quickie Kenny, their role players didn’t have the same grit, the same history, the Hall of Fame sweat that some of the other veterans on the Hart teams.

When their young talent gets injured, have development issues, or get overwhelmed, you need those solid veterans to pick up the slack ( and be somewhat still productive ). You can’t just add veterans because they have major league service. Getting Trot Nixon and Aaron Boone at the midnight of their careers doesn’t help, especially considering they didn’t produce over 20 homeruns and 90 RBI’s COMBINED during their tenure ( and that was over 200 games played ).

The current team is talented. But like the sheltered intellectual kid who goes off to college, gets too wild, and ends up in their own puke, the Cleveland Indians find themselves in a putrid mess.

The End of the Beginning of the End

In the end, they can save themselves for next year. Hell, they probably can make a mini-run this year. They have the talent. But they need management to hold on to this core, and add some arm depth and gritty vets to bring this team back to dominance.

Are you kidding me! Yes, latter sentence has to end with an exclamation point. I am freakin’ psyched!

In the last 48 and 2/3 innings, Jon Lester has given up only 35 hits and eight earned runs.  If it wasn’t for his somewhat sluggish game against the Natinals, he would already have Gammons and Phillips giving him the crown before the All-Star break.

If you haven’t seen him pitch, do so. He has that type of pitcher’s dominance who’s aura I can only relate to the likes of Greg Maddux, Kevin Brown, Orel Hershiser,  Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana, and others of that mold.

People try to equate him as the Cole Hamels of the American League. Ha! Fuck Cole Hamels. He is a great pitcher, but even his talent pales in comparison to Lester’s makeup an precise gameplan.

When he is on his game, none of his pitches are hittable ( and he has proven this ). When he is off his game, all of his pitches are hittable, but extremely goddamn hard to hit.

Since last August, he has upped the ante on his fastball. Where he had pitched pretty well hitting corners with 91-94 mph fastballs in 2008, he now commands both sides of the plate with a heater that runs up to 96 mph regularly.

Along with changing his speeds, and running the cutter into the left-hander’s jam spots, the only thing a batter could sit on at the plate is his lack of confidence.

Jon Lester will win the Cy Young. He keeps his head in the game, he might run up one of the best 2nd-half performance of all-time.

Don’t get too good, kid. We gotta sign you in 2k12.

Ps: Jon, get your first half in order. People never get to see the best pitcher at the All-Star game, know what I be sayin?

Do you think this is the type of music that football fans want to hear during the halftime of a football game during Thanksgiving?

Well, CBS answered the question by having Jesse sing at the mid-point between the Lions-Titans game on Turkey Day. Already hampered by a shattering economy, rampant unemployment, crime, and a winless Lions team, the Detroit faithful are tortured even more as they listen to a teeny-bopper sensation after a 35-10 shellacking in the 1st half.

Probably one of the worst quarters I have ever witnessed in the history of football, but the Lions did redeem themselves by getting a touchdown off a turnover late in the 2nd quarter. But the misery for Michigan, and for the national audience, was only exacerbated by listening to music that has little to do with the gridiron.

Hell, this music has little to do with sports at all. I understand that the dominance of content of ABC/ESPN, along with the trend of marketing to other demographics by combining different forms of entertainment within sports ( did anyone see the “Who Knows Reggie Bush More” segment on the MNF pre-game show?), forces media outlets to come up with eccentric partnerships to gain a bigger audience.

I’ll finish this post later. Its Turkey Day; I need to eat:)

U n t i l   N e x t   T i m e   O l d   F r i e n d . . .

It was to come to pass. Coco Crisp, having the gold glove talent with two slow-pokes on each side of a big outfield, having the pesky bat to get key base hits and a little bit of pop, having the speed to keep the pitcher’s left eye occupied, needs to be a starter.

He made incredible plays in the outfield, he handled the bat and the bags well when healthy, and he put his best out for the Red Sox Nation. He asked that for his accolades, he should be the primary center fielder. And the Red Sox couldn’t do it, with their young stud Jacoby Ellsbury in the wings.

And so another great piece of the Red Sox dynasty moves on to different pastures, freeing the spot for ( hopefully ) a greater piece to get us back to the promise land. Along with Manny Ramirez, Alan Embree, Julian Tavarez, Bartolo Colon, and Dave Roberts, Crisp is the last of the remnants of the dominant late-90’s early 21st century Cleveland Indian teams. Those were the days…

Covelli Loyce Crisp, have fun in Kansas City, and make Red Sox Nation proud. Get healthy, and get some more pop in your bat. Make us feel sorry that we let you go. Because many of us Red Sox fans are going to bed tonight with a little bit of something in our eyes. Many of us will go to sleep knowing that there will be something missing when spring trainings begins anew. It won’t be Manny Ramirez, although his departure has been highly detailed by the media.

Many of us Red Sox fans will be rooting for you. Our eyes and minds will deceive us as we go into a confused daze seeing you on an opposing team. We will give you a standing ovation when you return to Fenway Park. You will smile, and probably gesture to the crowd. We will forget, just for a few seconds, that you are no longer hitting the homeruns for the Nation, and dream that your timely hit will start-up our sluggish offense.

As we sit back down from the frenzied welcome, we will remember where the lines are drawn, and we will hope that you don’t beat us with a slice in the left-center gap. Okay, maybe just one. But we have the Yankees, The Rays, and The Blue Jays to confront in the coming weeks. Try not to be hard on us on your heroic return to Landsdowne St.

Red Sox fans tonight will dream of the past, and the future will come soon enough. Baseball always seems to come around early. So let us celebrate now in the cold dark Massachusetts winter, and give tribute to one hell of a baseball player. Coco, we wish you the best. The morning of November 20th, 2008, I give this time for you. Paz.

“Ramirez hit .396 with 17 homers, 53 RBIs, 36 runs scored, 74 hits and 35 walks in 53 regular-season games with Los Angeles, leading the Dodgers to the NL West title.

He was even more potent in the postseason, hitting .520 with four homers, 10 RBIs, nine runs scored and 11 walks in eight playoff games.”

-ESPN Report on Boras shopping Manny Ramirez

I am the biggest Manny defender you will find on the East Coast, but I don’t believe he is worth 3 years and $60 million. I think the best contract ( since he has clearly shown he will find a way to control a team option ) would be four years at $72 million with a $13 million buyout in the 4th year if the team decides to let him go.

They could then average out his first three season at 16 million ( 14,16,18 = defer as his contract progresses ) and if there is any craziness and/or loss of production, they buy out the other $20+ million with a $12 million dollar buyout. And you would have two scenarios:

Manny full four season: $18 million a year, most money deferred till last season.

Manny three seasons: $16 million + $13 million buyout: $20 million per year.

What kills with the 1st scenario is that he could lose production in his final year, or his output just won’t be as great at that age ( especially playing for a non-DH team such as the Dodgers ).

What kills with the second scenario is that something occurs, either with Ramirez or the financial opportunities & risks down the road, and you have to give him money to get rid of him.

My belief is that he will do really well as he gets older, but one thing was very apparent while playing for both the Red Sox and the Dodgers: The inside fastball was getting by him a little more than usual. A lot of pitchers paid the price for getting inside on him, but he doesn’t have the insane dominance of controlling that inside corner he did five years ago.

The plus side is that he is out of the frying pan that is Red Sox Nation, and maybe he will continue to produce and play intelligent against good pitching elsewhere. His quick-swing and ability to play the pitcher will keep him in this league for another decade. Lets hope that the weakness of the inside 92 MPH fastball above the belt doesn’t prove to be his Achilles heel after he puts some ink onto a hefty multi-million I.O.U.

]]> http://redsoxmaniac.com/2008/11/18/is-manny-worth-20-million/feed/ 0 http://redsoxmaniac.com/2008/10/09/how-dodgers-and-phillies-match-up-nlcs-preview-espn/ http://redsoxmaniac.com/2008/10/09/how-dodgers-and-phillies-match-up-nlcs-preview-espn/#comments Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:16:30 +0000 maniac http://redsoxmaniac.com/?p=106 http://redsoxmaniac.com/2008/10/09/how-dodgers-and-phillies-match-up-nlcs-preview-espn/feed/ 0 http://redsoxmaniac.com/2008/08/21/the-al-east-the-road-ahead/ http://redsoxmaniac.com/2008/08/21/the-al-east-the-road-ahead/#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:40:49 +0000 maniac http://redsoxmaniac.com/?p=33

It was alleged that during the All-Star game, A-Rod told Manny it was “stupid” to have given leverage to any team in terms of an option.

The analysis piece was placed in the middle of the last article. Read Here.

Here is the ESPN recap of the game ( w/ video ):

Read Below for the “AL East Teams: The Road Ahead”

Analysis:

Buchholz: NOOOOOOOO!!!

Clay Buchholz’s struggles could not continue into September if the Red Sox want a chance to catch up with the Rays. Now that there are questions lingering around Josh Beckett’s arm, and that there is no assurance of Bartolo Colon’s health or consistency once ( of if ) he returns, the Red Sox cannot afford to run through September with only three legitimate starters ( Wakefield, Lester, Dice-K).

Although Tim Wakefield is expected to hit the mound against the Yankees series next week, there is no absolute that he will be 100% down the road, either. Paul Byrd’s pickup is a godsend seeing how our pitching staff has been shaky lately. It only seems as though everything is OK because every starter ( save Buchholz ) has been really good up until this point, and our record indicates we are scoring the required runs to supplement it.

But another injury to our starting staff could mean ruin for our World Series hopes. Although Buchholz is a 5th starter, his issues are just too great to keep him around to work on his adjustments in the heat of a pennant race.

Alex Cora: What A Utility Guy!

In the 8th inning, cameras were focusing on a very unique sight in the bullpen.

Alex Cora was warming up to come into the game. One would think this was a little absurd, considering that they have two days off before they face the Yankees ( one is today ), and that they have 5-6 days off before the end of the season.

At the same time, their bullpen has been pushing a lot of innings, and the game was pretty much out of hand before the 5th. It would’ve been great to Cora come in there to show he is the ULTIMATE UTILITY MAN. It looked like he was zipping them down in the bullpen, so I’m guessing he isn’t half bad.

The Road Ahead

the Red Sox Nation pretty much thinks its a cakewalk since most of our games are going to be at home, and most of the Rays and Yankees games will be on the road. But none of any of the three big teams in the American League East has a piece-of-cake voyage ahead of them.

The Yankees have a lot of games on the road, and have only three days off until the end of the season. They are 24-23 against the AL East, and play the Seattle Mariners in September, for whom that have not lost to yet in six games this season.

The Devil Rays have the toughest schedule, playing a lot of games on the road, and finishing off their season with eight games at Baltimore and at Detroit. Their injuries have not seemed to slow them down, and whether they can get Crawford and Longoria back for the heavy stretch is their biggest wild card. One thing ( even though the injuries are big ) that one should think about during their September run: They are 36-23 against the teams they will be facing. And they don’t have the pitching staff injury woes like the Yankees or the Red Sox.

The Red Sox have some easy games with Texas, Cleveland, and the Orioles on the board for the Fall. But the teams has always had problems playing well at Arlington Stadium, and Cleveland is starting to get a “spoilers” groove and don’t seem like the pushover they were earlier in the season. Also, they don’t seem to have an advantage over teams like the Yankees, Toronto, and Tampa Bay, in terms of collecting a lot of wins to move far ahead ( of the Yankees and Toronto ) or close to ( Tampa Bay ) other contending teams.

Analyzing the schedule ahead for all three teams, I would have to call it a “push”. The Devil Rays, sorry to say, seem to actually have the best schedule. They have consistently beat their opponents within their division, and if they can keep that record just one or two games above .500 against the Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays, they will pretty much hold onto their spot for the October Classic.

The Red Sox need to start stacking up wins, and get the staff ready for the intense Yankee battles. The war this year with the Bronx Bombers is now more important than ever, as both sides are now in need to scratch and claw mercilessly over the next 30 days, or risk a horrific witch-hunt over a missed playoff berth in the off-season ( Cashman’s job is at stake, but Epstein’s Manny trade will be intensely scrutinized. )

Vin Scully, the hall-of-fame broadcaster for the Los Angeles Dodgers, had attributed Jeff Kent’s recent hitting success to batting 3rd in front of newly acquired Manny Ramirez. TJ Simers of the LA Times had approached Kent to ask him about Scully remarks ( and pretty much everyone else’s remarks ), and he had replied with a very comical response. Its even funnier that his same response allegedly inflicted laughter by some 200 women at a Dodgers function as well.

I can’t go into it, because it is probably one of the funniest interviews I’ve read in a long time. And also, he apologizes in TJ Simers next article, but don’t expect the run-of-the-mill I’m sorry article.

Speaking of Manny hitting behind Kent, without looking at the career homeruns ( which Manny kills Kent in that category ), lets take a glance at the stats ( As of August 19th, 2008 ):

Man-Ram – 7486 AB, 1419 Runs, 2344 Hits, 1693 RBI, .313 AVR.

Jeff Kent – 8454 AB, 1319 Runs, 2450 Hits, 1515 RBI, .290 AVR.

Its amazing that he is only 150+ RBIs behind Ramirez. Understood that he has been in the majors longer, but would anyone think that his stats are remotely comparable to Ramirez’s? He did get to hit in front of another great hitter ( Bonds ), but he was hitting in a very pitching-friendly ballpark for nearly half of his career.

The guy is a jerk, and even has had teammates pick Barry Bonds’ side when they got into a dugout fighting match. But this guy is a great hitter, and understand ( very little; I am trying to be empathetic ) that he’s a little upset that he isn’t as good without Manny. But I digress.

Read the f&%king interview. For any baseball fan, it will make your day.