The never-ending saga of Manny being Manny

Well, all of the boys reported to the first full day of workouts in Fort Myers today, except for... you guessed it... Manny Ramírez. Manny has been given special permission by the team to arrive whenever he damned well pleases, which is typical. Manny is probably my least favorite Red Sox player of all time, if you haven't figured that out yet. Last week, Ortiz told some reporter that he thought his Dominican amigo was off in Turin watching the Olympics. Faaantastic. The thing with Manny is that I almost believe David Ortiz wasn't kidding when he said that.

Manny is scheduled to arrive in Fort Myers on March 1. Knowing Manny, he may or may not show up. He probably doesn't even know what day of the week March 1 is. We're talking about a guy who was breastfed until he was five years old. He's a few bananas short of a bunch, as seen by his frequent trips inside the Green Monster while play is going on, and wearing an MP3 player on his sunglasses to listen to music during a game... etc., etc.

I have tickets to see the Dominican Republic play Australia in the World Baseball Classic on Friday March 10 in Orlando. I bought the tickets initially as something fun for George and me to do to kick off Spring Break. He loves Manny. I hate Manny. But we both love David Ortiz-- so that's pretty much why we bought the tickets-- to see Ortiz. Now that Manny is out, it kind of sucks for him. But the way I figure it, we'll still get to see Migui Tejada, Vlad Guerrero and a host of other cool players. It looks like we won't be seeing Pedro though, which is kind of a bummer. I haven't seen Pedro pitch live since August of 2004. Regardless, we'll be the two who don't speak Spanish out in the lawn waving the Dominican flags.

I guess deep down I'm glad Manny isn't playing. Since he's reporting a week late to Spring Training, I think his punishment should be to have to partake in all the stretching, fielding drills and batting practice while a lot of his teammates are off representing their countries in the World Baseball Classic. From the standpoint of a Red Sox fan, Manny needs to spend time in Fort Myers, reconciling with his teammates who aren't participating in the WBC. He alienated himself from the entire team this offseason by demanding a trade, and now that a trade involving ManRam couldn't get done, he's going to have to stick it out in Boston. (And as a sidenote, how could this guy possibly have come to play in Boston and not realize that a lack of privacy was going to be an issue? What a dumbass).

I still hope the Dominican Republic wins the WBC. I think they have a good shot, especially if Pedro pitches in Round 2. If I were the Mets, I wouldn't want him pitching. I'm very worried about my Sox players suffering injuries in this tournament. It would be just our luck to lose Jason Varitek for the season with a home-plate collision. Now that I've said something, watch it happen.

Well that's enough incoherent ramblings about baseball for tonight. I am in the middle of re-reading Moneyball for a trend story that I'm writing for JOU 4308 on sabermetrics, and I should get back to my reading. I'm excited because Bill James, Eric Van (Red Sox employee) and Rany Jazayerli (founder of Baseball Prospectus) have all agreed to talk to me. I'm calling Rany tomorrow to do a phone interview. I'm very nervous... mostly because I have no idea how to pronounce his name.

RIP Curt Gowdy

I wanted to devote an entry to the unknown whereabouts of Manny Ramirez, but the death of one of the greatest sports broadcasters of all time will have to postpone the annual "¿Dónde está Manny?" entry.

Curt Gowdy is a legend in Red Sox Nation, and a legend in the broadcasting community. He passed on today, at the age of 86. While he was way before my time, my father grew up listening to his play-by-play, and his impact on the sport of baseball (and all sports, really) is so profound that I feel like I should take a minute to commemorate his life.

Gowdy began broadcasting with the Sox in 1951, and was THE guy, along with announcers like Ned Martin, Art Gleason and Mel Parnell for almost two decades. He was "The Voice of the Red Sox" for most of the Baby Boomer generation, but even a young fan such as myself can appreciate what he brought to the Red Sox and broadcasting.

As versatile as they come, Gowdy went on to work for ABC, NBC and CBS. He could do just about any sport-- baseball, college basketball, football-- you name it. He covered 13 World Series, 16 MLB All Star games, 9 Super Bowls, 8 Olympic Games, 14 Rose Bowls, 24 NCAA Final Fours, and was also the host of the ABC American Sportsman show.

Gowdy won the first Foster Peabody award for outstanding journalistic achievement ever. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in the media wing (Ford Frick Award). He won four Emmy's, including a lifetime achievement Emmy, among numerous other honors. Gowdy is rightfully a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, as well the Basketball Hall of Fame (for broadcasting).

One fan on the online message boards summed up Gowdy well: "He was a broadcaster who made anything he called into a 'must-see.' "

Gowdy had the famous call on Ted Williams' last at bat ever-- the moment that John Updike immortalized in his "Hub fans bid kid adieu."

I may not believe in this stuff-- but I hope Curt Gowdy is up there somewhere, having a beer with Ted Williams and talking fishing. Thank God he lived to see 10-27-04. RIP.

Here's a blast from the past for all the old timers out there:

You're just in time
For the ballgame
You're just in time
For excitement and fun.
WHDH has reserved your place -
So glad you could make it
We know you'll have fun!
Here's Curt Gowdy standing by -
The voice of the Red Sox -
A real nice guy

Pitching & Defensive Improvements

"Pitching and defense, that's the whole name of the game. If somebody throws a shutout, all you need is one run to win a ball game. Plain and simple."
-Kevin Youkilis

I am really having a hard time comprehending how people can believe that this year's Red Sox team is worse off than last year's. With all pitchers and catchers reporting on the 18th, and some non-P&Cs in Fort Myers already, let's talk defense/pitching.

Curt Schilling looks absolutely fantastic. BostonDirtDogs.com had this telling "Before/After" pic.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/JKGator11/BDD_cs_compare-1.jpg

Francona had a great quip about Schilling's physical form:

“Schill’s never going to be a male model (but) he looks terrific. “I think he’s too good to allow what happened last year to happen again.”

If I were a betting woman, I'd put a lot of money on Curt putting up numbers like 2004 (32 GS, 21-6 3.26 ERA), and not 2005 (11 starts, 8-8, 5.69 ERA). He just appears to be driven to finish his career on a high note.

Adding Josh Beckett gives our rotation so much depth, and two TRUE aces-- very similar to the Martinez + Schilling 1-2 punch from the '04 team. As I mentioned in a previous entry, this team is currently featuring 7 starting pitchers, if you count Jonathan Papelbon. Papelbon expressed optimism about the pitching situation in a recent Boston Globe article:

"I think we're great," Papelbon said. "We've got a lot of veteran guys that have performed in the past and you can count on them day in and day out, and we've got a lot of young guys."

The young guys he is referring to are Craig Hansen and also RHP/Boston native Manny Delcarmen, who with a solid Spring Training showing could make the major league roster and be a factor in the bullpen.

Closer Keith Foulke's nagging knee injury seems to be in the past. Even if he does show some lingering problems, former St. Johns stud Craig Hansen looks like he could be a real threat to take the closer spot. Hansen has a slider and fastball that he can get up to 97 MPH, and he has spent this offseason working with pitching coach Dave Wallace on a changeup. According to a Boston Herald report, Hansen believes the velocity of his changeup could be low-to-mid 80's, giving him an arsenal of three pitches that he can blow away major leaguers with (*knock on wood*). He looked great in 17 major league appearances last season, and that was without any sign of a third pitch.

Defensively, the Sox are world's better this year. To this day, nobody knows what got into Edgar Renteria last year. But 30 errors was not cutting it, and I'm a firm believer in the fact that Renteria just didn't have the mental mindset to make it in Boston. The boos got to him, and he couldn't take the constant media barrages from WEEI callers and the fickle Boston Globe columnists. Do I think Edgar will play better in Atlanta? Absolutely. Mostly because fans in Atlanta blindly root for their team, and don't care half as much as Boston fans do. (Do any fans care as much as Boston fans do? That might be a better question.)

Needless to say, getting rid of Edgar was a good thing. Perhaps Tony LaRussa was right when he suggested that Edgar would never make it in Boston. "Renterror" is being replaced by former Marlin Alex Gonzalez, who had half as few errors as Renteria. His 2005 fielding percentage (.974) was 20 points better than Edgar's 2005 fielding %.

The switch from Bill Mueller to Mike Lowell at third base is interesting. Though I don't have the stats to back it up in front of me, I know that Bill Mueller was an absolute Yankee Killer. The Sox will miss his bat because Lowell's is a big question mark, and certainly there isn't much of a defensive upgrade there.

At first base, the Sox will probably rotate Kevin Youkilis and JT Snow, who has won six gold gloves. Anything is an improvement over Kevin Millar, who wasn't a particularly good fielder. As far as we fans can see, the only thing Millar was good at was coming up with catchy, team-unifying slogans ("Cowboy Up") and drinking Jack Daniels in excess. If you ask me, Millar was probably on steroids because there quite frankly is no better way to explain his pitiful 2005 season.

Loretta over Bellhorn at 2B is an upgrade as well. The veteran infielder has never made more than 10 errors in a single season. You would be hardpressed to find a more consistent defensive 2B than Mark Loretta in baseball.

Johnny "Noodle arm" Damon is being replaced by Coco Crisp-- another significant defensive upgrade for the 2005 Red Sox. I'm not sure how Damon believes he is going to cover that massive centerfield in Yankee Stadium. He's going to need 3 cut off men just to get the ball back to the infield. I can't wait to watch Coco Crisp in action. He is sure to be a fan favorite by the end of April... if anything because Boston fans love great nicknames (Spaceman, Monster, Oil Can and my personal favorite: El Guapo!)

There are at least four positions (1B, 2B, SS, CF) where the Red Sox have improved defensively. Only one position, 3B, could you make an argument that they've gotten worse. And you can't go wrong with seven quality starting pitchers and a revamped bullpen that couldn't possibly be worse than 2005's pen. While our offense probably won't be as good as last year's, I'll take the defensive/pitching upgrades any day.

Ozzie Guillen makes me smile.

Alex Rodriguez is yet again the target of some baseball bashing. The always outspoken Ozzie Guillen called A-Rod out in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2332682

The highlights of the interview:

"Alex was kissing Latino people's asses," Guillen, who's from Venezuela, said in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated. "He knew he wasn't going to play for the Dominicans; he's not a Dominican!"
"I hate hypocrites: He's full of [expletive]," Guillen told Sports Illustrated. "The Dominican team doesn't need his ass. It's the same with [Nomar] Garciaparra playing for Mexico. Garciaparra only knows Cancun because he went to visit."

Nomar Garciaparra diss aside, I think this shows how incredibly disliked that A-Rod is all around baseball. Guillen's 'more Latin than thou' tirade is borderline ridiculous, though it shows what people will stoop to in order to take a cheap shot at A-Rod.

I hate A-Rod as much as the next person, but to imply that Rodriguez isn't Dominican is ridiculous. I have a Cuban boss who has never even been to Cuba, but considers herself more Cuban than American. Garciaparra's father's name is Ramon, and Ramon Garciaparra was born in Mexico. Nomar speaks fluent Spanish, as does A-Rod. These guys should be able to play wherever they feel allegiance to playing. Just look at Lenny Dinardo and Mike Piazza-- neither of them have ever lived in Italy, but their parents are Italian and they consider themselves Italian enough to play for Team Italy. Nobody is criticizing them.

I think Ozzie has a point that A-Rod was trying to kiss some Dominican ass. His wishy-washy "I'm Dominican... no wait I'm American..." act was tiresome, and ultimately just a publicity stunt.

Still, I have to admit that his quotes were pretty funny. I like a guy like Ozzie Guillen who isn't afraid to tell you what he thinks. My favorite part of watching the White Sox is when they mic up Ozzie Guillen. I'm almost glad that the ChiSox won the World Series last year, because that means we get to hear more of him on Sunday Night Baseball. The guys over at Sons of Sam Horn made a great observation-- I'm sure ESPN is counting down the days until Guillen retires and they can put him on Baseball Tonight with other knuckleheads like John Kruk- who are all talk, but absolutely no substance.

A.L. East predictions

I've been perusing through predictions for how various writers think the A.L. East will pan out this year. As a rule of thumb, I think that most writers don't have a damned clue how anything will turn out. How can you? Sports are simply that unpredictable. Take a look at SI's feeble attempts at predicting how the March Madness tournament will go-- they're always dead wrong.

This year, I think the AL East is one of the toughest divisions to predict. You can go ahead and give the Braves their NL East title. I think Oakland should run away with the AL West. The ChiSox, barring no huge pitching injuries, will take the AL Central.

The AL East is a different story though. CNNSI.com's baseball guy, John Donovan, says that the Red Sox should finish THIRD in the AL East, behind New York and Toronto. The Boston Globe's online blogger guy, Eric Wilbur, thinks the Sox will take the division. Let's look a little closer at the new additions to the Yankees, Sox and Blue Jays. (At this point, I'm ruling out Baltimore and Tampa Bay having any shot of contending for the division. Those teams only tend to play the role of spoiler in late September division games).

The Yankees have gone out and solidified what will be hands-down the best lineup in baseball. I have no doubt in my mind that NYY will score runs in record amounts this year (probably challenging many of the 2003 Red Sox records). Here is a potential lineup for the Yankees. I mean, all hatred that I have for that team aside, this is a SICK lineup:

1. Damon (L)
2. Jeter (R)
3. A-Rod (R)
4. Matsui (L)
5. Sheffield (R)
6. Giambi (L)
7. Posada (S)
8. Williams (S)
9. Cano (L)

But what about pitching? Can the Yankees really expect Shawn Chacon and Aaron Small to put numbers up like they did last year post-All Star Break. Aaron Small finished the season on a 10-0 winning streak. You can bet that won't happen this year. Their pitching is old (Johnson, Mussina), and shaky at best (with the exception of Mariano, who is getting pretty old himself). And what about Kyle Farsworth? How is that going to work out? I don't follow the National League well, so the only thing I know about Kyle Farsworth is that I have a friend who is a diehard Cubs fan, and she used to call him Kyle Farsworth-less. As a Sox fan, I can only hope she is right. Farsworth is going to have to eat up the 89.2 innings that ole reliable Tom "Flash" Gordon gave the Yankees.

All of their pitching uncertainties aside, I don't feel there is any way this team doesn't win the AL East.

How about those pesky Blue Jays? Are they actually a legitimate threat to contend for the division title this year? Rob Bradford of The Eagle-Tribune is another writer who believes that the Blue Jays are the second best team in the AL East. The BJ's big 5 acquisitions this offseason were B.J. Ryan, Troy Glaus, Lyle Overbay, Bengie Molina and A.J Burnett. Color me crazy, but I don't think that those 5 guys take the Blue Jays from an 80-win team, to a 95-win team (approximately how many wins it is going to take to win the division). Burnett is an obvious improvement over David Bush. Burnett posted a respectable 3.68 ERA last year. I expect that ERA to shoot up at least a point with the league switch though. Overbay is also coming off a serious decling season, with his VORP down 20 points between '04 and '05.

What the Jays' real success hinges upon is Roy Halladay staying healthy (missed half of last season with broken leg), and Ted Lilly returning to form. A rotation of Halladay-Burnett-Lily-Towers-Chacin looks great on paper-- but predicting how it will really pan out is next to impossible.

In my opinion, the Blue Jays did NOT improve their team enough this season to warrant a second place finish in the division. If you want to look at a gaping hole that could impact them down the stretch and in close division games, their infield is incredibly weak.

Now on to my Sox. Again, it's incredibly difficult to predict this division-- each team is full of question marks. I simply feel like the Jays have more question marks than the Sox, so I predict them to finish below the Red Sox. I'm also quite biased. Last year, the Red Sox were 7-11 against the Blue Jays. This season, we play them 19 times. One thing's for sure: if the Red Sox cannot improve their record against weak teams like Baltimore and Toronto, they are going to find themselves in third place in the division.

However, I think this year's Sox team is actually better than last year's. The only significant loss in the lineup is Johnny Damon (good riddance, Mark Bellhorn). Filling Damon's hole as the leadoff batter will be tough. But the Sox have improved defensively with Crisp in CF. Their defense is actually substantially better this year, and I'm a firm believer that defense is key to winning championships (see the 2004 Sox, and what an impact defensive-minded players like OCab and Mientkiewicz had). The Sox currently have 7 starting pitchers-- Schilling, Wakefield, Wells, Clement, Arroyo, Pabelbon, and new arrival Josh Beckett. This probably won't be the case on Opening Day, as Wells still wants out, and rumors are flying all over the place that the Sox want to part with Clement. Their bullpen should be excellent, and I have no doubt that Keith Foulke will rebound from a disastrous 2005. He was, in fact, the first player to report to Spring Training yesterday.

The Sox lineup is going to hit-- how can a lineup with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez not score 800 runs?

Just the fact that there are less question marks in that team makes me believe that they will finish second in the division, with the Blue Jays getting squeezed out of a playoff spot, once again. Life is tough playing in arguably the best division in baseball.