The Ortiz Curse

This continues to be my favorite story of the short season. I know it was always the Yankees and their fans that played up the whole Bambino Curse thing. They were the ones hanging pictures of the Babe instead of K's, and trotting out "May the Curse be with you" signs every chance they got. Frankly, that's why the "curse" got so much play nationally. The huge New York market just ate it up. But this still kills me. That the Yankees themselves would waste so much money digging up a shirt they said wasn't even there is great. Were they afraid that they'd lose in their new building and have the shirt to blame? Did they really not want the mysterious curse hanging over their heads, or under their feet? I'd still like to know how burying a shirt curses a team anyway. Did it have to be Ortiz? Was it sprinkled with essential oils first? Did the whole construction crew dance around the hole in their underwear chanting "Greatest Comeback in the History of Baseball" before tossing the shirt in? I just don't get it.

I do, however, like that they donated the shirt to the Jimmy fund. At least people will be helped by Yankee stupidity. If you want to bid, or gawk, check here: Ortiz Jersey

See Ya Yanks

A few things I noticed about this weekend’s series with the Evil Empire:

It’s amazing how things have changed in Boston, especially with regards to the Yankees. The whole level of expectations had switched. I didn’t fret about losing the first game. I expect the Red Sox to win the division, and the bumps on the road don’t bother me. These April games no longer matter in the head to head. I don’t expect the head-to-head results to even come into play. Just like I don’t worry when the Celtics blow a game. I just assume that in the end, they’ll be on top. What the heck happened to Red Sox Nation as I knew it?

The Ortiz Jersey. Another example of how times have changed. Years ago, it was the Red Sox fans searching lakes for Babe’s piano in hopes of breaking a curse. Now, it’s not even Yankee fans, but the Yankees themselves. First Boss Jr calls for a Red Sox fan to be physically abused for attempting to curse the Yankees. Then, the Yankees authorize a construction crew to spend 5 hours of a Sunday digging up an Ortiz jersey buried in a concrete floor of the new stadium. I can’t think of any other example of just how much the roles have reversed. Is Cashman going to complain that the tentacles of Red Sox Nation extend even into the Bronx? Are Yankee fans going to be making offerings to the gods to lift the championship drought? It’s especially amusing considering all the superiority complexes the Yankee fans have had over the years. To think that the Yankee management would stoop to this is great.

Joe II won’t last long in New York if he keeps pitching to Manny Ramirez. I’m not a person who believes in the intentional walk as a rule. I do think that over the course of the season, the walk will hurt you at least as much as it helps you. But, in the case of Saturday’s game, one was definitely required. You can talk all you want about Mussina’s desire to go after Manny, or the guts it took to do so. The fact of the matter is that Manny owns Mussina. He already homered off him earlier in the game. Even the fact that Youkilis followed with and RBI hit of his own doesn’t excuse the boneheaded move. This isn’t Florida anymore.

Ortiz and the Shift

There's been some talk over the airways the last few days about what David Ortiz should do against the shift. Some people think he needs to start going the other way to try to break out of his slump. Others point out, rightly so, that he's not paid to hit singles the other way. Personally, I've always thought he should try to bunt it down the line every once n a while. It has nothing to do with his recent slump, and everything to do with opening up the field for himself. The important thing to remember during this discussion is the person hitting behind him. His protection is in the form of a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer who, even after an off year, is one of the most feared hitters in the AL. there's an argument out there that if Ortiz bunts for a hit, the other team wins. I say having a baserunner on in front of Manny Ramirez is a win. Now, I'm not saying Ortiz should bunt every time up. And I'm certainly not suggesting he poke it down the left field line looking for a double. I don't want him messing with his swing like that. What I suggest is that he make it a rule to slap a bunt down once every couple games. If he picks his spots, it could help in the long run. Say, if he's leading off an inning. Or, when the Sox are trailing by a couple runs, and baserunners are needed. If Ortiz represents the tying, or go-ahead runs then swing away. But, if the Sox are down four, take the chance to beat the shift. Now, if other teams knew that there was at least a chance that he'd drop a bunt and get on base in front of Manny, don't you think they'd start relaxing the shift? Would it really be limiting Ortiz to drop a bunt once every 10 at bats? It it worse to reach base via a bunt than to ground out to a short fielder? 

I say bunt once a series, at least, and the other at-bats will be all the easier.

Sox Ring in Season

A collection of thoughts about yesterday’s Home Opener festivities:

Daisuke looked great. He was spotting his pitches, and keeping a very potent line-up off balance. He’s put together quite a stretch of good pitching ever since the first couple innings in Japan. If he can pitch like that against Detroit, that should bode well for his starts against other teams.

Overall, the pregame show was well done. It was slightly disappointing to see so much carryover from the 2005 ceremony, right down to the big 2004 Championship flag on the monster. It is always nice to see Russell and Orr though.

They did a much better job with the ring presentation itself this time. Right away, they had all the non-players move along very quickly. As great a job as I’m sure the visiting clubhouse attendant did, I don’t need to cheer him as he gets his ring. They had the staffers move right along, which was nice. It was also nice that they introduced the players by position. Lat time, it was by years of service. That meant that there was a long stretch of players who had less than a year of service. Abe Alvarez pitched was great in his one start, but a string of one-and-dones got lengthy. This way, stars and scrubs were spaced out much better. It would have been nice if they vocally announced each player though, so we didn’t need to keep turning to the jumbotron.

I hope the song they used when Papelbon got his ring becomes his new entrance song. The beat starts right out, and will really get things pumping every time he strolls to the mound. I’ve really got to find out the name of that song.

It was nice to see Bill Buckner back, but I think it continues to make a bigger deal out of him than he deserves. He was never shunned from Fenway…he’s been back a few times since he retired. So, to ask us to show him that he’s always welcome was pointless. Any decent fan never actually blamed him for anything personally anyway. His play was a convenient video with a decent “call” that could be played at a moment’s notice. Frankly, Stanley and Gedman should send Buckner a steak dinner every time that video is played. If not for that, their wild pitch/past ball that actually blew the lead would have been shown for the last 20+ years. But, if Bucker’s OK making a spectacle of himself, then so am I.

Why did we boo Edgar Renteria? What exactly did he do to make us carry a grudge? He wasn’t nearly that bad as a member of the Sox, and he made the last out of the 2004 World Series. Shouldn’t he be a hero?

It was nice of the red tailed hawk to make an appearance. The round of applause was richly deserved.

Please tell me that the Neil Diamond video was a one time thing.

On the Bright Side...

The Red Sox are undefeated this year in the United States. That must bode well, since that's where most of their games are played this season.