Saturday, June 23, 2012

One Week Left!


That’s right everybody. There is only one more week remaining in my June contest. Seven more days are all that remain for you to send me pictures of yourself in Section 36 and have a chance to win a fabulous book! So, if you have a picture of yourself in Section 36, get off your duff and send it in. If you don’t have a picture of yourself in Section 36 yet, you have five more games at Fenway to go and take a picture. Otherwise you’ll have to find another Section 36 to take your picture in. Hop to it!

Time is winding down!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Red Sox Drop Magic Number to 100


That’s right. Thanks to their current win streak, the Sox have dropped their magic number to clinch at least a tie for the division title to 100. They’re on their way!

What’s the reason behind their recent good stretch? Nothing, and everything at the same time. They haven’t been shutting out the other team. They haven’t been scoring 15 runs every game. But, they’ve been doing what they need to do in order to win. They’ve battled. They’ve come from behind. They’ve capitalized on mistakes. They’ve put other teams away when they needed to.

And, that’s exactly what a team needs to do. They don’t need a pitching staff to throw a 1.20 ERA. They don’t need to score 6.8 runs a game. They just need to score one more than the other team. Some nights, that’s going to mean the pitchers have to account for a slow night at the plate. Sometimes the bats are going to need to make up for a pitcher who has lost his way. And things are going to get even better from here.

Adrian Gonzalez drew a big walk last night. Not big in that he walked in the winning run or anything. But, he was up in a relatively close game, relatively late, with a couple people on base. It’s the exact situation someone might try too hard in. They may go outside their game to try and drive in those runs. End their slump right in that at bat. It’s exactly what Gonzalez has been doing too much of lately. His trademark patience has gone away, and been replaced with flailing at pitches early in the count. But, in this case, he didn’t do too much. He waited the pitcher out, and drew the walk. That’s a wonderful sign.

Another good sign? The Sox are one day closer to the return of Beckett, Bailey, Ellsbury, and Crawford. That’s going to be a big boost. Sure, the replacements have been doing a wonderful job. They’ve done more than hold the fort. But, that balloon is going to pop. Having the cavalry back before that happens will be a big help. Everything is starting to shape up for a second half run.

I can’t wait.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Red Sox 1-36: 10 is for…

Red Sox and Major League record ten runs before making an out in the first inning

This record was set on June 27, 2003 against the Florida Marlins. I remember this game for a couple different reasons. The first was because Carl Pavano was the starting pitcher for the Marlins that night, and he happened to also be on my fantasy baseball team. So, I had a big decision to make. Do I start the opposing starting pitcher? Isn’t that like cheering against the Sox? Do I bench him? After all, if you remember, the 2003 Red Sox had a pretty decent offense. There was a good chance that Pavano wouldn’t have a great outing. I ended up starting him. I figured one of two things would happen. He could pitch great, and the Sox would lose. At least I would then have the consolation prize of having a better fantasy night. Or the Sox offense would drub him. I figured in that case, he wouldn’t throw many innings, so the damage to me team would be minimized. It ended up being option B. He gave up six runs over 0.0 innings. I didn’t mind one bit.

I also remember because the Red Sox ended up thumping the Marlins, and took a little grief for running up the score. I was at the game the following day. The Sox had a decent lead in that game, and then took their foot off the accelerator. The Marlins promptly came back to win the game. Figures.

Is there a significant difference between scoring ten runs before an out is made and simply scoring ten runs in an inning? Not really. In both cases you’re set up pretty well for a victory. Doing it before an out is made is a lot more fun, though. It almost became comical. You had players getting two hits before an out is made. Incredible. It’s also fun when they start flipping though the record books during a game. Even though this is more of a fluke than an accomplishment (like a 56-game hitting streak) it’s still fun to think you’re watching something that hasn’t happened before. As the number got higher, you hoped to make it to certain hurdles. Can they bat around without making an out? Can they get to double figures without making an out? Can they make the Marlins use a third pitcher without making an out? The game was basically over before the second inning, so it was just a lot of fun. And that’s really all I’m looking for in a game.

10 is for ten runs scored before making the first out of the game

Monday, June 18, 2012

I Usually Hate National Broadcasts

But then, Terry Francona isn't on most national broadcasts.

Last night's ESPN broadcast was a refreshing break from the doomsday slanted offerings from the local media. It was amazing. Aceves gave up three hits, and nobody mentioned that if he gave up back to back home runs, the Cubs would win.

They were talking about the Red Sox and their standing in the East, and said "if this score holds, they're only 4 back in the wild card." They didn't say, "If the Sox blow this lead, they'll drop to an amazing 5 games out of even the wild card."

None of the Red Sox pitchers were lucky to get a swinging strike. The Sox weren't lucky the Cubs made errors...they took advantage of miscues.

Ahh.

But, the best conversation of the night was about Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. they were discussing the powerhouse combination those two provided six or seven years ago. One of the other broadcasters asked Francona point blank how he decided who batted third, and who batted fourth. Francona admitted that they both, obviously, wanted to bat third. So, he called them both into his office at the same time. Told them he, obviously, couldn't bat them both third. It was going to be up to them to decide who bats where. Uh-oh. I smell conflict. So, Tito, what happened? "Manny said, bat me fourth." Francona said he quickly made out the card before Manny could change his mind.

So, Manny put his personal feelings aside, and volunteered to do what was best for the club. (Clearly, Manny was the right choice for fourth) As the best hitter on the team, he deserved the three-hole, but saw that it was better all around if he protected Ortiz. You don't hear many "unselfish Manny" stories.

I bet there are more of them though.


Sunday, June 17, 2012

What Does the 2012 Topps Archives Set Say About Me?


I know, wise guy. “Nothing. A box of cardboard can’t talk.” But, what does this set suggest about my collecting habits? That’s the question.

I read all the reviews from other bloggers on the Archives set. I read the good points, and the complaints. One of the more frequent criticisms is the thinness of the cards. At one point, I thought to myself, “I don’t care if the cards are a little thin. As long as…” And then I stopped. As long as what, exactly?

As long as there’s a picture of a Red Sox player on it? Is that my only qualification? Newspapers and magazines have pictures of Red Sox players on them. I don’t feel the need to have every copy of the newspaper with a Red Sox player on it that was printed in 2012. So, clearly I need more than just a picture. What else?

Do I need it to be printed on cardboard? Is that the magic feature that turns a random picture into something I need to have? That seems like an odd thing to me. After all, I just said to myself that I don’t care how thick this cardboard is.

Do I need a fancy border around the photo? At first offer, I’d say this is the most logical feature. After all, the border is what makes it a card instead of a picture. But, I run into a snag with that one as well. My favorite sets are the Stadium Club issues. Yup. No border. Damn. They don’t even have overblown graphics on the front.

Is it the stats on the back? That is also pretty distinctive when it comes to cards vs. other pictures. I can just flip the card over, and instantly get career stats for the player pictured on the front. That’s a great reason. Phew. I’ve got it. When I want to know how many hits Kevin Youkilis had in 2009, I run to his 2010 Topps card to look at the back. Ummm. Yeah, not so much. In fact, since my cards are stored back-to-back in pages, looking at the backs of the cards is actually pretty difficult. I can’t remember the last time I actually pulled out a Red Sox card to look at the back.

Is it the size? It certainly makes it easier to collect them as opposed to, say, 8x10 pictures. But, there are plenty of Red Sox collectable out there that measure less that 3 inches. I don’t scour the internet looking for every one of them.

I’m starting to run out of options here.

It gets even weirder when I go back in time.

I’ve been trying to add more vintage cards to my collection. If I want to get the really early stuff, I need to stay away from superstars like Babe Ruth and Cy Young. Their Sox cards are well out of my price range. But, what about Joe Wood? He’s more of a regional star. Maybe I can afford him. In looking at the bay, a card of his from the 1915 Polo Grounds Game set popped up. I dismissed it. That’s not even a card, I reasoned. What? What makes it not a card? It has a picture of Joe Wood on it. A border. It’s on cardboard. It’s even a “standard” size. But it’s not a card? What am I on?

The best I’ve been able to come up with is that I collect baseball cards because I collect baseball cards. The same way people collect teapots because they collect teapots, I guess. But, if I collect baseball cards because I collect baseball cards…maybe I don’t need to collect every baseball card because I collect baseball cards?

Don’t worry. This isn’t one of those, “I’ve lost all interest in the hobby” manifestos. I haven’t lost interest. I just want to be sure my collecting follows my interest. As I mentioned, I’ve already started to dream about more vintage. Maybe instead of five blasters of thin Topps Archives cards, I should consider a Carl Yastrzemski rookie? Or a Harry Hooper? Maybe it’s focusing more on fewer sets. Instead of Topps Opening Day blasters, get that David Ortiz bat card from Topps flagship. (If he has a bat card, that is.) I just need to figure out why I want what I want.

And then, just buy what I want.

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