Random Stuff

A few things bouncing around my head as I wait for the first big Free Agent signings.

Zack Greinke was awarded the AL Cy Young award yesterday. It was an exciting example where the voters actually got it right. They didn’t go with the big guy with the big name on the big team. They went with the most dominant pitcher, even if he didn’t win as many games as others did. Every once in a while the voters get their stuff in order and make the right call. I remember a stretch when Dave Stewart was robbed of Cy Youngs because of this voter flip-flop. It seemed like whenever he had the most wins, the award would go to the better pitcher. If he was the better pitcher, the award went to the guy with the most wins. This year, the voters thought it over, and gave it to the guy who most deserved it. I wonder if that will carry over to the rest of the awards this year.

The Sox announced that they would be raising their ticket prices on some tickets this season. This was hardly a surprise. They didn’t raise the prices last season in a bow to public relations. You just knew they weren’t going to take a hit two years in a row. But, they made it a soft blow. Some tickets were raised a small amount. It wasn’t so bad. It’s especially not so bad if they use the extra income to sign a power hitting left fielder, or extend the contract of a newly acquired Cy Young runner up. When they raised ticket prices after signing Manny, I certainly didn’t complain.

It’s not exactly Red Sox related, but I had to toss out an opinion on the “Fourth and Two” call. Maybe I can wind it in to the Sox at the end, but we’ll see. I loved the call! I loved it when I saw the offense run back on the field. I loved it then. I still love it now. It showed confidence. It showed power. It showed that the Patriots were the ones calling the shots. It was what the Pats did on every play during the 2007 season. On that play, they had two options. Go for it, or punt it. If they punted it, they would have given Manning the ball needing to go, what, 70 yards in two minutes. After watching the game up to then, there has to have been at least a 50% chance that Manning would march right down the field for the score. So, the Pats went the other way. They figured that there was at least a 50% chance that they’d get the two yards. If they missed it, they game Manning two minutes to drive 30 yards. How come all the people pointing to the number of three and outs the Pats defense put up don’t think they could have done it there? So, there must have been a 25% chance that the Pats could stop Manning from scoring, even on the short field. So, looking at the decision…a punt gives Manning a 50% chance of scoring. Going for it, gives Manning a 37% chance of scoring. I’ll take those odds. Plus, the big thing that doesn’t get mentioned much...they made it! The Patriots got the two yards they needed. Only a criminal spot by the official stopped the Patriots from keeping the ball, and ending the game as planned. So, does it still count as risky, or a bad call when you think you can do it, and then do it? Which brings us to the replay I’m begging for baseball to use. Football does it wrong. They limit the number of challenges since it takes so long. They tie it to the number of time-outs a team has left. So, because the Patriots had no time outs left, they couldn’t call for an official to easily change the spot of the ball. Basically, the Patriots needed to save a time out just in case they got completely hosed on a crucial play in the game. How crazy is that? That’s why baseball needs the “guy in the booth” replay. An extra official needs to be watching on TV, so he can quickly, without being asked, check a replay and get the correct call. In the Pats case, the blunder was followed by a change of possession time-out. An official in the booth had all kinds of time to check out the play. The rules just wouldn’t let the Patriots ask. Sports need to make sure they get things right. Obvious errors can’t be affecting important games.

Just a thought.

Team Sets: 1986 Topps

Players Included: Red Sox leaders (Dwight Evans), Tony Armas, Marty Barrett, Wade Boggs, Dennis Boyd, Bill Buckner, Mark Clear, Roger Clemens, Steve Crawford, Mike Easler, Dwight Evans, Rich Gedman, Jackie Gutierrez, Glenn Hoffman, Bruce Hurst, Ed Jurak, Bruce Kison, Tim Lollar, Steve Lyons, Rick Miller, Al Nipper, Bob Ojeda, Jim Rice, Dave Sax, Bob Stanley, Dave Stapleton, Marc Sullivan, Mike Trujillo, John McNamara (mgr)

Best Picture: Steve Lyons. Lyons was nicknamed “Psycho.” I have to wonder if it’s because of this card. Lyons was obviously not ready to have his picture taken. I can’t believe that Topps didn’t have a better picture than this in the file somewhere. Anything would have to be better than making a player look as foolish as Lyons does on this card.

Hall of Famers: Wade Boggs, Jim Rice

Future Hall of Famers: Roger Clemens

Reason the buy the set: If you’re looking for value, it’s the hall of famers that will carry the set. It doesn’t contain a hotshot rookie. Minor stars like Bill Buckner or Dwight Evans would be nice to have. The main draw for the set is that it is the team set for the team that lost the ’86 World Series, and all the key players are there.

Overall Reaction: The team name on these cards is a little too prominent for me. The player selection is adequate. (The sets of this era usually contained most players on the team.) It’s a nice little set to have.

2009 Scavenger Hunt

Once again, we’ve reached the end of another baseball season. It’s more than three months before we can even talk about Spring Training. The Sox may have an interesting hot stove season, but that will be many more rumors than facts. How else can we all spend our time? Once again, I have the answer. I present the Second Annual Section 36 Scavenger Hunt! Last year, I tried using numbers as the items to find. This year, as promised, I’m trying pictures. So, here’s how it will work. Below, you’ll find a list of 36 items. When you find an item, take a picture of it and send it along to me in an e-mail. Whoever sends me pictures of the most items wins. We’ll make the end of the hunt be noon Eastern Time on the day Red Sox pitchers and catchers report to 2010 Spring Training. This both gives enough time to find the stuff, and fills all the time leading up to more baseball. Sound like fun? What do you win if you’re the best? Worldwide fame and adoration! I will post the winner’s name (and picture if one is provided) on this very site and hail them as the 2009 Scavenger Hunt Champion! I’m sure that Adam from Candia, NH has found his worldwide fame to be quite an honor this past year. This year, I’m also offering an official Section 36 scorebook to the winner. This book will use my custom scoresheet, and will be bound with enough sheets to score 20 games. Not too bad, eh? Here is this year’s list of items to get pictures of:

1. Hall of Fame Plaque of a player wearing a Red Sox cap

2. Ticket to World Series game played by the Red Sox

3. Statue honoring Red Sox player

4. Red Sox themed bumper sticker

5. Cereal box featuring Red Sox player

6. Red Sox bathing suit

7. Ticket from Red Sox game against the Yankees

8. Jon Lester baseball card

9. Kevin Youkilis t-shirt

10. Book authored by member of Red Sox (even if it’s “as told to”)

11. Autograph of member of 2004 World Series roster

12. DVD of movie with appearance by Red Sox player

13. Red Sox program

14. Red Sox media guide

15. Red Sox yearbook

16. Red Sox pocket schedule

17. Pink Red Sox hat

18. White Red Sox hat

19. Red Red Sox hat

20. Blue Red Sox hat

21. Red Sox socks

22. Completed scorecard from a Red Sox game

23. Newspaper with Red Sox related front-page headline

24. Magazine with a Red Sox player on the cover

25. Josh Beckett replica jersey

26. Red Sox player

27. Entrance to Gate C at Fenway Park

28. Official Program from 1999 MLB All-Star game

29. Official Program from 2003 ALCS

30. Red Sox calendar

31. McFarlane brand figurine of Red Sox player

32. Red Sox themed tattoo

33. Female Red Sox fan

34. Male Red Sox fan

35. Red Sox cup

36. Red Sox magnet

(As a quick clarification. Unless it says otherwise, “Red Sox Player” refers to anyone who ever played for the Boston Red Sox in a regular season game. That counts even if the player isn’t depicted as a Red Sox player in the picture. So, Johnny Damon wearing pinstripes would qualify.)

Now, since I once again want this to be a scavenger hunt, and not a google search, I’ll need a way to make sure you actually find these items yourself. So, in order to qualify any picture will need to have any one of the following three things in it.

1. You. This might be the easiest way. If you’re in the picture, I can be pretty sure you actually found the item. If you’re shy, I can block you out before using the picture if you ask. This has one advantage in that it doesn’t have to be a new picture. If you went to the Hall of Fame last summer and took a picture with Yaz’s plaque, that would work.

2. A copy of the official Section 36 scoresheet. Just print out a copy, and have it visible in the picture somewhere.

3. The address of this blog, “www.section-36.blogspot.com”, written somewhere in the picture. Either write it out on a piece of paper, on a sidewalk with chalk, on someone’s leg, whatever. (Just don’t vandalize anything). It has to be something in the picture, obviously, and not digitally added.

That make sense? So, send in your pictures to me, section36 at gmail dot com (I bet you know which parts to replace with symbols) It would be nice if you told me which items you thought were in each picture. To make it a little more interesting, if there’s a tie between people who have the same number of found items, the first tiebreaker will be the person who did it with the fewest number of pictures. So, if you get a picture of a Female Red Sox fan, wearing a pink hat and a Youkilis t-shirt while holding a 1999 All-Star game program, it would be 4 items in one picture. That’s a great start, although I’m sure you can do better. (In case you were wondering, the other tiebreaker will just be my judgment as to which pictures I like the best.)

As I’m sure you can imagine, if you send me a picture, you’re stating that you have the rights to send me the picture. You’re also telling me that I can use the picture on my blog in just about any way I see fit (other than the previously mentioned blacking out of faces, if requested).

I think that covers everything! It’s now up to you to start sending me your pictures. I’ll keep reminding you as the moths go by.

Good Luck!

Collecting the Sox: World Championships

World Championship collectables are a fairly new category for Red Sox collections. Prior to about five years ago, obviously, items were a little bit hard to come by. There was an occasional t-shirt or magnet celebrating the 1918 World Champions. I picked up replica banners from each of the five titles. But, that was really about it. That all changed in 2004. Most companies can smell two things. A buck, and a sucker. The 2004 Red Sox championship provided plenty of the latter with plenty of the former. Suddenly you couldn’t move three feet without tripping over something with a World Series logo on it. No trip to the gas station, grocery store or mall was safe from stores wanting your World Series cash. If you didn’t set some limits on yourself pretty quick, you wouldn’t have any money left to buy things from the next championship.

To help with the impulse, I tried to get some advice. I asked a Yankees fan (as painful as it was) if there was anything he was glad he had, or wished he had from the 1996 championship. The 1996 one was similar to the Sox win in 2004 in that they both broke droughts of some length. The two things he mentioned were a World Series hat, and a picture of the pig pile after the win. Those made sense to me. They were pretty classic items that captured the feeling of the championship. Obviously, no self-respecting Red Sox fan would stop the buying with only those two things. But, it was nice to have some help in steering me in the right direction. As with anything else, World Series collectables can be broken down into a few themes, to help refine any collection.

There are things “used” in the World Series. Luckily, in this case, the St Louis Cardinals were a huge help. They raffled off, or sold, many items from the World Series that can be found if you look enough. There are pieces of the bench from the visitor’s dugout from game four. There are Gatorade towels from the visitor’s dugout. Dirt from the pitchers mound. Champagne bottles from the locker room. Ticket stubs from the game used tickets to game four. The list really does go on and on. Heck, an occasional World Series ring shown up on the auction block. It a great way to get an actual piece of history.

Beyond that, there are several more official items, just a degree or two away from being part of the action. You can find official World Series baseballs. Official celebration t-shirts and hats. Official parade sweatshirts. Official World Series hats, or sweatshirts, or knit caps. Official patches. Newspapers followed the money and printed edition after edition of championship headlines. Just about every paper printed at least two headlines the day following the win. These items may not have been used in any of the games, but they’re close.

From there, there really is everything else…probably including the kitchen sink. The logo was on soda cans, hats, pens, coolers, backpacks, statues, flashlights, key chains, cereal, and on, and on, and on again. The advantage of all the choices is that it’s easy to find something in your price range. The downside, is that it’s pretty easy to get carried away and end up spending a fortune.

It’s all out there. Anything you want to collect to celebrate a World Championship is at your fingertips. You just need to know what you want. Whatever it is, I’m sure you can find it.

Anyone have a favorite World Championship item in their collection?

Buying a Championship

Yankee fans have done some complaining lately about the rest of baseball pointing out that they bought a championship. Surprisingly, those fans make a couple valid points. True, they didn’t break any rules. It’s also true that spending money doesn’t guarantee a championship. As for the first point, I’ve been saying they should do something about the salary rule to make it harder to spend. The second point needs a slightly longer response.

Let’s say, for the moment, that the Boston Marathon is about to begin. People are standing on the starting line, waiting for the gun to go off. At this point, a race official comes to the crowd and picks a runner. This runner, it is announced, will start the race 5 miles ahead of everyone else. What is the reaction from the rest of the runners to this announcement? Do any of them simply gloss over it, knowing that the runner still has to win? Would anyone think that it might have been unfair to give one runner a head-start? I’m betting there might be some complaining from the masses. From there, the race starts. Does the head-start help the runner? Maybe. If the organizers gave me a 5-mile head start, I’m pretty sure the elite runners would pass me by mile 6. The advantage would be wasted on me. But, what if the fifth best marathoner in the world was given the advantage? There’s a pretty good chance he’d be able to hold onto that lead. If he did, would you have to at least mention that he got the head start when you’re writing about the win? Now, what if the best marathoner in the world, hands down, was the one selected. Even if he probably would have won anyway, was it fair to get the advantage? Would it cheapen the win? I’d think it would. The rest of the runners would have to say that he won, but he should have won. That’s what MLB has done to baseball. It has selected teams to get advantages.

To carry the analogy further…MLB has allowed the Yankees to have a ten-mile head start. It let the Mets have a six-mile advantage, the Angels and Red Sox probably a five-mile edge. From there, teams were spaced out with different advantages until KC comes along five miles behind the starting line with a rock in their shoe. The Mets did nothing with their advantage this year. Whether it was injuries, or poor management, they we like me. The advantage still didn’t help. The Angles did a bit more with their slot. They almost took down the Yankees, but in the end, they couldn’t close the gap. After running the extra five miles, they were worn down at the finish line. But, imagine what they could have done if it was even from the start.

Yankee fans will also point out that they spent a lot the year before, but lowly Tampa Bay beat them to the finish. And, that’s true. Even with a five-mile disadvantage, there’s a chance that some other runner will run the race of his life, and win the thing. If the weather was perfect, he was healthy, had just the right amount of food the night before, if all the stars aligned, some bottom dweller could sneak to the top. But, when they got to the Chicago Marathon, the chances of making up that deficit again aren’t very good. So, for one race, or one year, things can happen. But, on the whole, the guy with the head-start is going to do very well for himself.

He should at least mention it on the trophy stand.