Not Quiiiiiiite What I Was Hoping For

Red Sox baseball is back!!!

And that's the best thing I can say about it at the moment.

The first week or so of the season is always wonky. Everyone's top pitchers all line up for basically the only time all season. At the same time, though, none of them are in physical condition to dominate. So you get a coin flip of which pitcher happens to get the feel of things at which time of the game.

On the other hand, all the hitters are still figuring things out. Maybe it's their timing. maybe it's a new role with the team. Maybe both. Line-ups are a bit weird as Cora tries to get everyone that "first at-bat" under their belts as soon as possible.

Schedules are also a mess with day games and night games tossed into a bowl and pulled out seemingly at random. 

Which is a way to say, whether a team starts 5-0 or 0-5, you can't read much into it. It's not an indication of who the team is. 

Although, I'd prefer to have gone 5-0. 

Thankfully they won that first one, or we'd have to hear all those annoying retellings of how often a team that starts 0-3 wins whatever. 

But, they didn't go 0-5. They started the season with that important victory. A solid pitching performance, and solid hitting. Exactly what you want from an opening game. And, despite the loss, they got more of the same in game two. If Crochet and Houck are going to be those pitchers all season, the Sox are going to win a lot of games. 

The next two games were one-run losses. Again, solid from both sides. Again, both sides of the ball you can assume will be better than that the rest of the year.

The fifth game in five days was a little more lopsided after making the cross country flight without a day off. Honestly, if you went though the schedule before the season, those are the types of games you'd probably circle as schedule losses. 

So, even at 1-4 the Sox are in a very good spot. Raffy will start crushing it soon, adding a needed element to the line-up. Looks like they have their ace for the foreseeable future. I'm definitely looking forward to October Baseball.

I can't wait.

Ready For My Fantasy?

Fantasy Baseball team, I mean. Yup. It’s time for your least favorite post of the year. The one where I discuss the fantasy team I drafted for this season! I know. The only thing worse than talking about fantasy teams is blogging about them. But, what better way to celebrate the start of the season? Plus, I apparently haven't done this in a while, so I gave you a break.

Just as a quick reminder, this is a nine team 5x5 league, with 30 roster spots. So, it's a big league. You have three keepers, and they take the place of your draft pick in whatever round you originally drafted the player. (I love that detail.) I had the seventh pick in a wraparound draft. Got that?
So, who did I get?

C - W. Contreras MIL

1B - B. Harper PHI

2B - C. Rafaela BOS

3B - R. Devers BOS

SS - O. Cruz PIT

CI - T. Casas BOS

MI - D. Swanson CHC

OF - M. Trout LAA

OF - I. Happ CHC

OF - J. Duran BOS

OF - T. Ward LAA

U - L Gurriel Je ARI

U - J. Young WSH

U - T. Story BOS

B - W. Abreu BOS
B - D. Moore SEA

SP - G. Crochet BOS

SP - L. Webb SF

SP - B. Miller SEA

RP - J. Hader HOU

RP - M. Miller ATH

P - T. Houck BOS

P - J. Steele CHC

P - W. Buehler BOS

P - M. Gore WSH

B - G. Jax MIN

B - J. Adam SD

B - G. Whitlock BOS

B - L. Erceg

B - B. Bello BOS

My three keepers were Rafael Devers (round ten), Contreras (round twelve) and Jarren Duran (round thirteen). So, nice set of reinforcements in the middle of the draft. I grabbed Harper in the first round.

From there, I was able to grab plenty of Red Sox players. I'm always actually surprised with how many I end up with. Obviously, Devers is a legit pick that you don't need to be a Sox fan to grab. Same with Duran. Especially in the double digit rounds. Crochet was my second round pick. Which might seem high, but remember most of the best players weren't available to draft. Casas I got in the eighth round. Maybe too high, but not that bad. Houck, for a reigning all star, was a steal in the 16th round. Rafaella I felt was a good grab in the 18th. Epecially since he can play infield and outfield. Story, Abreu, and Buehler were taken much to late in the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd rounds. Whitlock was a steal at 27 if he's the bullpen stud he can be. And, Bello at 28 was almost criminal. So, eleven Red Sox, but none of them seem crazy to me.

So, while I know you probably need to see the rest of my league to decide how my team will do, I welcome any comments on any of my selections. 

Think I got any good ones?

Revised List of 36: Best Players I’ve Seen Play In Person

OK. Before the season starts, it's time to take care of some housekeeping. I didn't update this list after the latest Hall of Fame class was announced.  

As I’ve said, I make this list based mostly on awards. After all, my grandkids are more likely to ask me if I’ve seen a former MVP than some player who played well for a while. I also assume a Hall of Fame probably automatically makes the list.

And, at this point, it's basically all Hall of Famers. Which is why I don't update it after the MVP awards are announced anymore.

Which of the 2025 class makes the cut? I'm glad you asked. Dick Allen and Dave parker were before my time, so they don't make it. Billy Wagner, I am amazed to say, I never saw play. Even thought he was with the Sox for a year, I guess he never pitched in a game I attended. CC Sabathia I saw play twice. I even recapped those games when I asked if he was any good. Ichiro I saw play live three times. I also recounted thos games in a previous post.

Thankfully, Ichiro was already on the list because of course he was. Sabathia, though, is a new addition. So, he has to bump someone off. Looking at the list, there are five slots held by people not in the HOF (now that Ichiro is in). Bonds, Clemens, Pujols, A-Rod, and Trout. I'll let Pujols and Trout keep their slots because they'll both make it back on the list eventually anyway. Bonds and Clemens probably won't make it, but they have too many awards to take off quite yet. A-Rod has fewer accomplishments and is, well, A-Rod. So, he gets the boot this time.

So, here’s the new list.

1. Roberto Alomar (HOF)

2. Adrian Beltre (HOF)

3. Wade Boggs (HOF)

4. Barry Bonds (MVP)

5. Roger Clemens (MVP, CYA)

6. Dennis Eckersley (HOF)

7. Tom Glavine (HOF)

8. Ken Griffey Jr (HOF, All-Century Team)

9. Vladimir Guerrero (HOF) 

10. Todd Helton (HOF)

11. Rickey Henderson (HOF)

12. Derek Jeter (HOF)

13. Randy Johnson (HOF)

14. Chipper Jones (HOF)

15. Greg Maddux (HOF)

16. Edgar Martinez (HOF)

17. Pedro Martinez (HOF)

18. Joe Mauer (HOF)

19. Fred McGriff (HOF)

20. Mike Mussina (HOF)

21. David Ortiz (HOF)

22. Mike Piazza (HOF)

23. Kirby Puckett (HOF)

24. Albert Pujols (MVP)

25. Jim Rice (HOF)

26. Cal Ripken (HOF)

27. Mariano Rivera (HOF)

28. Ivan Rodriguez (HOF)

29. Scott Rolen (ROY, HOF)

30. CC Sabathia (HOF)

31. John Smoltz (HOF)

32. Ichiro Suzuki (HOF)

33. Frank Thomas (HOF)

34. Jim Thome (HOF)

35. Mike Trout (MVP)

36. Larry Walker (HOF)

Who’s on your list?

Go Red! 2014 Topps Target Red Kelly Johnson

February is American Heart Month. As a nod to the Go Red for Women activities going on this month to help raise awareness, I thought I'd contribute several "red" themed posts sprinkled throughout the month.

Let's talk about this card...

Kelly Johnson played ten gmes for the Red Sox in 2014. He was acquired from the Yankees at the deadline for Stephen Drew. A month later, he was traded to the Orioles in a four players deal. So, obviously, not a lot to say about his Red Sox career. Glad he was able to get a card out of it, though.

It's a simple card. I'm guessing there weren't a ton of pictures to choose from. I don't actually remember the Red sox wearing the blue and red combo like that. That's nice to see. Otherwise, it's a rather non-descript card. Which I guess you get every once in a while.

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Photo: Jon Adams

I'm sure you all remember Mina Smith from her interview with us. Through her social impact initiative "Love Your Neighbor" she is fundraising for the American Heart Association. I highly recommend you support her efforts with a donation if you are able. You can find the link here.

Support her efforts, and Go Red!

Go Red! 2014 Topps Target Red David Ross

 February is American Heart Month. As a nod to the Go Red for Women activities going on this month to help raise awareness, I thought I'd contribute several "red" themed posts sprinkled throughout the month.

Let's talk about this card...

Hard to forget David Ross! Especially for me, since I was in the park as he caught the last strike of the 2013 World Series. He definitely earned that ring on his finger. While his stints in Boston weren't long, they made up for it with that championship.

The card itself...I'm not sure what Ross is doing with his fingers. Is he supposed to be showing "3" of something? Or is that the only way he could figure out to make his fingers work to show off the ring? The picture is fantastic though. Even cropped tight, you can see the giant championship banner behind him on the monster. What a great addition to the team collection.

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Photo: Jon Adams

I'm sure you all remember Mina Smith from her interview with us. Through her social impact initiative "Love Your Neighbor" she is fundraising for the American Heart Association. I highly recommend you support her efforts with a donation if you are able. You can find the link here.

Support her efforts, and Go Red!