At ESPN.COM, Jerry Crasnick gives his latest edition of Starting 9.
Crasnick lists the top 9 players who have come to life after very slow starts. Red Sox SS Julio Lugo is on the list at #7. Mets OF Lastings Milledge comes in at #9.
Meanwhile, Phillies OF Pat Burrel comes in at #1. Yankees OF Bobby Abreu is on at #4.
Lugo has really improved over the course of the season. While his struggles in the field continue, his offense has improved a whole lot. He was once struggling to hit .190. Now he's keeping his average around .240. That is far from great, but he's been a lot more productive of late. Lugo has overall been more productive than Drew, but has suffered more heat. Hopefully, Lugo continues to produce. Before this season and through a part of it, I thought Milledge would be traded. His rap album info came out in May and he then got injured. Gomez proved he can play in the bigs and it was apparent that the Mets were not too thrilled with Lastings. However, they kept him and it appears that was an excellent move. Milledge has been very productive, and despite ridiculous criticizm against him, has added a ton of excitement to this team...a team that desperately needs excitement.
At ESPN.COM, Jonah Keri lists the 10 things he learned from the Angles-Red Sox 4-game series this past weekend. The teams split the series. Check it out.
So let's think back to the trade deadline. Time is about to expire. The big question is if the Sox will do anything to improve their team. Then the news comes in that the Sox beat out the Yanks and acquired Eric Gagne! Great, so one of the best bullpen guys available is added to the team that already had the best in baseball. Excellent! World Series here we come! Yanks, hah your done! WOOO!!! O wait, there's one problem: He hasn't pitched yet! Unfortunately, that has turned out to be a HUGE problem.
Gagne blew another game Friday Night against LAA. He entered the inning up a run and left down 2. This was the same game in which the Sox trailed 4-1 entering the 8th and made a great comeback to take a 5-4 lead into the 9th. Ortiz and Manny finally had huge clutch hits. Fenway was going crazy! And then, it all crashed thanks to the new guy. Gagne was terrible again...and I mean terrible. He got the first out and then fell apart. Sorry Gagne, I know I'm not a pitcher or anything, but I'm pretty sure the idea is to mix your pitches up to one batter! He threw like 12 fastballs in a row to the lead-off guy and then proceeded to throw 3 straight changeups out of the zone to the next batter. Have you forgotten how to pitch? Boston is not far away from Texas. It's the same baseball world and the idea is to mix pitches up to a batter...not throw him the same stuff over and over again and hope something magical happens! A horrible loss and a horrible start for Mr. Gagne.
So, the guy that was suppossed to help an already great bullpen has killed it. Gagne has blown not 1, not 2, but 3 games already and he's only been a Sox since July 31! He has alone cost the Sox 3 games that they would've won if he hadn't been here. How would an 8 game lead look right now? A lot better than 5...thats for sure. You can thank Mr. Gagne for that one! 2 pathetic blown losses to the Orioles and now this. A game in which the Sox were about to sweep LAA in a doubleheader. Unfortunately, Papelbon was used in Game 1, as well as Okajima. So, it was Gagne's time to shine. He had a shot to prove all his critics wrong and he blew it miserably! He had a shot to turn those boos into cheers. Well, guess what buddy. You're going to get booed a lot more now in Boston and next stop may be out of town at some point! You better get your act together quickly!
The way he's pitching right now, there is no chance he ever pitches the 8th again. That's Okajima's job. He's not even worthy of a 6th/7th inning role right now. He should be a mop up guy till he learns how to pitch again.
Gagne has made the team look bad, the front office look terrible, and more importantly has added 3 losses and a lot of added stress on this team. The psychology of this bullpen is shaken and again 5 games is not 8! 3 blown games in a week! Absolutely pathetic Gagne! The front office made the RIGHT decision to bring him here, but the way he has pitched it has looked horribly wrong. Maybe, it was best not to make a change at all. As Ian of Sox & Dawgs said, referencing the old maxim, "If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It."
It's such a shame that Gagne has actually made this team worse and it's a shame that he's making no progress. How many more games will he blow? How much more stress will he cause? Time will tell. Meanwhile, he could not have had a worse start in Boston. Welcome to the Big City man. I think you're far from ready!
Former Mets GM Steve Phillips continues to offer his unbelievable analysis for ESPN. What does that mean? It means more stupid things will fly out of his mouth. His latest stupid remark will not make any NY fan happy at all.
Steve Phillips has repeatedly said that both the Mets and Yanks will miss the postseason this year. This is coming from a guy who said in the beginning of the year that the Red Sox AND Mets would finish in 3rd place in their respective divisions. Steve Phillips has a better chance of being hired again as a GM than being right about that one or this new one.
The chances that the Mets and Yanks both miss the playoffs are not very good. The Mets have been the division leaders for almost everyday this summer. And with how hot the Yanks are of late, I'd expect the yankee-lover to predict that they would make the playoffs. I guess with his latest prediction, he has admitted he was wrong on this bold pre-season prediction:
A-Rod will be AL MVP, All-Star Game MVP, World Series MVP and then will opt out of his contract.
He's already lost the all-star game part and that world series MVP according to him aint looking any good.
Bottomline is Steve Phillips is not very good at what he does. Sorry Steve, but it's true. Ever since Harold Reynolds was fired, ESPN's baseball coverage has not been very good. Kruk is the best regular that they have and that's scary. Kurkjian, Olney and Gammons aren't really regulars, so I won't count them. Their newest acquisitions have not been very good. Their NFL team is excellent. They should look for ways to improve the MLB team.
The Red Sox took 2 out of 3 from the Devil Rays at Fenway Park these last 3 days. The Sox are 7-2 against Tampa Bay this year. The Sox offense struggled all series but they were able to come up with a couple of big wins and overall increased their lead to 5 games.
Game 1: Sox win 3-0. Wakefield was brilliant, the offense not so much, but they got it done.
Game 2: Sox win 2-1. What a game this was. Sox looked like they'd lose a 1-0 game to the D-rays before the bats came alive after the 25th out was recorded. Clutch HR by Lowell and huge hits by Varitek and Crisp. The Sox record improved to 2-61 after trailing after 8 innings (currently 2-62 after game 3) Eric Gagne got the win in relief.
Game 3: Sox Lose 6-5. D-Rays dominated the Sox for the majority of the game. Dice-K did not have it at all for some reason, giving up all 6 runs. Wakefield and Lester shut them down, but Dice-K couldn't. That doesn't make sense. The Sox offense came alive and they made a great comeback. But, Pedroia could not get the bunt down in the 9th and the Sox could not bring home Lugo who stood at 2nd with 0 out as the tying run. This was an extrememly disappointing loss.
I'm frustrated that the Sox could not pull off the sweep, especially after a great comeback win yesterday. However, they were able to pick up a game on the Yanks, who also lost 2 out of 3 to the O's. At the same time the Sox were making their comeback, the Yanks made one of their own. Shelly Duncan hit a 2-out 3 run HR to tie the game. Unbelievable! It looked like once again the Yanks wouldn't lose. But Rivera gave up 3 runs in the top of the 10th and the 0's won 6-3. So, it wasn't that bad of a day after all. Yanks now take on the Tigers, while the Sox face the Angels for 4. That's some damn good series. Should be very interesting to see what the standings look like come Monday.
According to the Miami Herald, the Marlins may shop D-Train in the offseason instead of paying him at least $7 million in arbitration. There has been rumors for a long time that the Marlins may eventually trade this guy. However, the Marlins have also said they want to build the team around him and Miguel Cabrera. There are plenty of young stars in their system that they will have to pay, like SS Hanley Ramirez. Willis has stuggled at times of late, so this may be the time to trade him. The Marlins will probably want pitching, a lot of pitching, in return.
Any time D-Train's name comes up, the Mets are involved. I would love to see him in a Met uniform, despite his recent troubles. The Mets have many old pitchers and Pelfrey has struggled. Willis's energy would be great for this team and he'd be so exciting to watch at Shea. If the Mets can get a deal done, they should. Go get em, Omar. After all, the Mets already have a ton of ex-Marlins on their team.
It appears SNY has picked up Tom Glavine's 300th victory against the Cubs from ESPN and will show the game as a "mets classic." The game aired a week ago today, under the brilliant commentating of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan.
The classic will air tomorrow night at 7 ET on SNY. A half-hour before that, SNY will televise "Tom Glavine: Road to 300". Enjoy!
Last night, Eric Gagne entered the 8th inning trying to preserve a 5-1 Red Sox lead over the Orioles. Then, the game fell apart. Gagne gave up 4 ER in 1/3 IP and blew the game. The bottomline is without Gagne, the Sox would've easily won yesterdays game, using the combo of Okajima and Papelbon. Gagne has had only 4 appearances for BOS. In 3 of them he's given up at least a run. He's given up a total of 6 ER in those 4 appearances....not good. Before he came to the Sox, Gagne's ERA was 2.16. The ERA has shot up since then to 3.44! So the question is should the Sox consider putting Okajima back in the 8th inning and push Gagne back to the 7th at least for now?
The one and only bad thing about bringing Gagne here was that it messed up the perfect 2007 combination of Okajima and Papelbon in the 8th and the 9th. It's kind of unfair to push Okajima and his near 1 ERA back to the 7th after such a successful season. Gagne seems to be pressing early and trying to impress his new team. He needs to relax. Pushing him back to the 7th for a while could help that, but maybe time will just help the Sox new set-up guy. Gagne has been far from effective so far, but he should get back to normal soon. I do feel a lot more confident with Okajima out there, however, so I wouldn't be opposed to moving Okajima back to the 8th inning spot. We'll have to wait and see what happens. The name Eric Gagne may keep him there over Okajima, but if it continues to hurt the Sox, then there could be a switch soon.
UPDATE:AUGUST 12, 2007: GAGNE BLOWS IT AGAIN!!!
What the heck is wrong with Gagne? Are the Yanks paying him to be this bad??? He blows his 2nd game in 3 days and is the ONLY reason why the Sox lost 2/3 this weekend. Without Gagne, the Sox would've easily swept the Orioles, because of the simple combination of Okajima and Papelbon. There would be no 4 game lead...it would be 6. I am now demanding that Francona take Gagne out of the set-up spot at least for now! We can't let him blow any more games. He should move back a spot to the 7th inning. This way the better combo goes back into action and Gagne will start pitching in less-stressful situations. Hopefully, that will allow him to relax and maybe get him somewhat back to normal. This trade is turning out to be awful! Here come the Yanks...thanks a lot Eric!!!!!
In the latest ESPN MLB Power Ratings, the Red Sox remain at #1, while the Mets remain at #3. In fact, the top 4 is exactly the same as last week, with the Indians rounding off the top 5.
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To view the complete rankings through August 9, click HERE
The rankings make sense, but I still believe the Indians and Tigers are much better teams...throw the Mariners into that discussion. Sox dropped 2/3 to the Angels but they remain on top of them, probably because their record is 2.5 games better.
The Yanks are now only 5 GB of the Red Sox for 1st in the AL East. As a Sox fan, I am beginning to feel a little concerned. But is it time to panic and watch a, as one Yankee fan yelled today, "collapse, collapse, collapse"? Here are the reasons why and why not you should panic as a Red Sox fan.
WHY PANIC: The Sox had a ridiculous 14.5 game lead in May, a 12 game lead 2 days before the all-star break, a 10 game lead at the all-star break, and a 9 game lead last week! The Yanks have picked up a total of 9.5 games since May and have picked up 4 games in a week. The Yanks have the best record in baseball since June and since the all-star break. They have been red hot and they can't stop hitting as their offensive outburst has been ridiculous. Based on the numbers, the Yanks are the best offensive team in baseball. The Yanks have also pitched well and have gotten back rookie phenom Phil Hughes. There seems to be a lot less problems in the clubhouse and the Yanks seem unbeatable lately.
The Red Sox meanwhile have struggled throughout the summer months at times. The Sox played under 500 for about a month from late May to late June. The major reason for this is they have struggled to score runs. Ortiz and Manny have had disappointing numbers, as they are in danger of even driving in 100 runs! Big Papi is only on pace for 98 RBI! Lowell and YOOK have quieted down and Lugo and Drew have turned out to be flat out terrible signings. The Sox pitching has been a little inconsistent, especially from Tim Wakefield and no one still knows what exactly to expect from Jon Lester down the stretch. The Sox have really struggled in one-run games, no matter what the score is and no matter who they face. The Sox still have 6 games left against the Yankees, including a 3-game set late August in New York. The Yanks have all the momentum, and the Sox have none. It may be time to panic.
WHY NOT TO PANIC: Ask yourself this question sox fans. If you were told at the beginning of the season that come August 8, you would have a 5 game lead in the AL East, how would you feel about that? You'd be thrilled. A 5 game lead is still very solid and actually being the team that everyones chasing, rather than chasing someone is a great feeling. The bottomline is their still in first place. Also, the Sox still have the BEST RECORD IN BASEBALL!!!! They have a 1.5 game lead on the Angels for that title. The Sox have heated up of late, winning 12 of 17 before losing 2 straight to LAA. They also took 2/3 from a good Seattle team on the road. With the addition of Eric Gagne, the Sox have put together an unbelievably good bullpen that is probably the best in all of baseball. Manny D, Okajima, Gagne, Papelbon is pretty damn good. Not to mention, the Sox also have Julian Tavarez as their long reliever, whom is better than most long relievers out there and veteran Mike Timlin. Curt Schilling is back and if healthy he becomes part of an excellent threesome at the head of the Sox rotation. Josh Beckett and Dice-K have had excellent seasons and this threesome is not matched by many teams throughout the league. And unlike many teams, the Sox do not need to get innings from their starters, because of their great depth in their bullpen. Despite their lack of scoring runs of late, they still have the most feared 3-4 in all of baseball in Big Papi and Manny. Ortiz is due for some walk-off/clutch hits and you have to expect both to get hot in the last few months. Pedroia and YOOK provide a solid 1-2 at the top of the lineup as well. The Sox defense is also still pretty solid. They have the 2nd best defensive team in the majors, including Coco Crisp, who has been amazing in CF. The Sox schedule will get a little bit easier over the next few weeks. They still have 12 more meetings against the awful Devil Rays. They are already 5-1 against TB and should be able to rack up many more easy wins against them.
Despite the Yankees ridiculously amazing play over the last few weeks, who have they played??? They have played all mediocre teams. They've beaten up on the likes of TB, BAL, KC, TOR (who is 500) and CHI (White Sox). It is still impressive that they've played so well, but they haven't played any team that is anywhere near elite in the American League. How will the Yanks play once they start facing the likes of the Angels, Indians, Tigers, and Red Sox again. Who knows? We'll have to wait and see. I can guarantee you that they'll at least have some trouble in some of the games. It definetely wont be this easy for the Yankees down the stretch. They can't stay this hot forever. Their offense will eventually cool down. Their offense was so awful for a period of 2.5 months or so and now its been the best in baseball. It's gotta come back down to earth a little bit. The Yanks rotation and bullpen still has some questions and is not as good as the Sox. What happens in September when that over-worked bullpen has to pitch in huge games? The Yanks will have to slow down soon and the Sox may be able to take advantage.
Thus, every Sox fan has to be concerned a little bit. It's the Sox and their endanger of blowing a huge lead to the damn Yanks. And every Sox fan knows that they've blown it in the past. But, I'm not sure it's time to go into a full panic just yet. The Sox are still overall a better team and they still have the 5-game edge. It's in their destiny to hold on to this lead. Maybe a closer pennant race will be better for the Sox and give them extra momentum heading into October. Remember, the Tigers collapsed last year and they still won the AL Pennant. The Sox should be able to still hold on to the lead and still should be able to go far in the playoffs. As frustrated as I am of late, I still believe the Sox will come out on top and I still have some small hope that maybe just maybe a miracle will occur and the Yanks wont make the playoffs.
Here's what others throughout Red Sox Nation are saying:
"Yes folks, it is time to start worrying just a little bit. The Yanks are getting too close for my liking."-Ian from Sox & Dawgs
"One word: FRUSTRATION."-Texas Gal from Center Field
"Am I starting to worry now you ask...Can I plead the fifth here? Of course I'm starting to get worried....." (More)-Sawxblog
"The Red Sox are not doing what they need to do...and yet the Yankees are. I am glad Barry hit his homer last night...it took the focus off what is becoming a little bit of a collapse in the AL East!"-Michael from The BoSox Buzz.
"I knew the Yankees would be in it," Wakefield said. "There was no way they were that kind of club earlier in the year. ... We've only been playing like .500 ball the last month and a half. We need to pick it up."-Hartford Courant
Over the last few days, there has been a big rumor circulating throughout baseball that through waivers Mike Piazza may be traded. The most likely destination for Piazza may be the Minnesota Twins. The Twins, who like the rest of the AL Central, didn't do anything to improve at the trade deadline, may be looking for a waiver trade before the end of August.
However, according to FOX Sports, Piazza only wants to play on either coast and the A's may not trade Piazza against his will. Twins insiders continue to say that Piazza would probably not accept a deal there. So, as of now it may look like the Twins is an unlikely destination, but don't rule out Piazza being traded somewhere else.
ESPN's Baseball Tonight started counting down the top 3 home runs from every Major League Team this Sunday. The first team: The New York Mets
Here are their top 3 Met Home Runs of All-Time as decided by ESPN.
3. Mike Piazza's September 21, 2001 Home Run to give Mets 3-2 lead over Braves. It was the first game after 9/11 and the Mets would hold on for the exciting victory.
2. Ray Knight's 1986 World Series Game 7 Home Run to give the Mets the lead against the Red Sox. They would not give that lead up and held on for the championship.
1.Todd Pratt's walkoff homer in the 10th inning of the 1999 Division Series to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks in game 4 and send the Mets to the NLCS.
I'm really interested to see what other people think about this. Personally, I think there were some other great home runs throughout the Mets history that could've made the list. But these 3 shots were definately huge. It's so great going back in time. Hopefully, we see some more important home runs like these in the future.
UPDATE (8/6/07) This has sparked some debate so please vote now in the poll on the upper left of this blog. There are 6 HR to choose from. I will leave it up for a while and eventually post the results.
In the latest ESPN Power Rankings, the Sox remain in the #1 spot. The sox 66-42 record is still the best in baseball. The Angels follow the Sox and then come the Mets...yes the Mets are 3rd. The Mets 61-47 mark is good for the 3rd best record in baseball and the best in the National League. The Yanks keep moving up, this time all the way to #4. The Cubs fill out the top 5 and the Brewers dropped all the way to #17.
#1#2#3#4#5
To view the complete list through August 2, click HERE
Again as usual the Sox deserve the #1 spot and with the addition of Gagne the Sox are the ML team to beat...world series here we come!!! Then again it should be an interesting challenge this week as the Sox play the Mariners and Angels on the road. Why the Mets are as high as 3rd I have no idea. They are playing well, however and look like they are once again the favorites to have the best record in the NL, despite the Braves (#12) acquisitions at the Deadline. Again the Yanks are OVERRATED....4th??? I dont think so. The Indians and Tigers (#7 & #6) are still way better than the Yanks.
Last night, Guillermo Mota came in the 8th with 2 men on and attempted to hold the lead for Glavine. All hope of that ended quickly as his first pitch was smacked into left field for a rbi double.
I say its time to get rid of Mota!!!!!!!
OK, so the steroid-using punk who has never EVER been good is brought in again by Willie who has tons of trust in him in big spots. Mota ends all hope on one pitch and ruins it for Glavine. Sure, it was not all Mota's fault, but it doesn't take away the fact that he stinks. Mota has never been that good of a pitcher. Let's go back to last year.
Mota comes here for nothing, so why not give him a shot? (besides the fact that he had a 6.21 era in 34 games for Cleveland)
In only 18 games, Mota produced a 1.00 ERA which was great. He strengthened an already strong bullpen, but the problem was Willie began to gain way too much trust from him...way too much. Then, came October and there was Mota (on steroids, which we didn't know yet). Mota continued to gain Willie's trust after a solid NLDS performance. Unfortunately, he set everyone up and the real mota came through just in time for game 2 of the NLCS when it really counted. Mota blew that game...a game that we had the lead. A game where we could've went up 2 games to 0...a game that would've helped lead to an NL Pennant and no game 7 would've occured. Game 6 would've been a game-clinching victory for the Mets and World Series here we come. So, good job Mota.
Then in the offseason, we find out Mota took steroids. That's great...so there's the reason his era dropped by over 5...and yet on steroids he couldn't even get the job done when it really counted. So there's no way the Mets re-sign him right, with a 50-game suspension and knowledge that his huge improvement was based on juice??? Well, guess what Omar and Willie decide, what the heck? Let's bring him back. Great move. Mota comes back 50 games later and is the same old crappy self. I'm sorry he's slightly better. His ERA is only 5.29 so far this season. Yet, Willie keeps trusting him in big situations, which brings me back to last night.
Poor glavine...his bullpen and offense can't come through for him on his big night. Again, you cant all blame Mota, but he shouldn't even be here....he's awful and he cheated to make himself somewhat better. Get rid of him now or at least stop using him in big situations Willie! Bring Mike Piazza back immediately to kick Mota's ass. He deserves it. A cheat is always a cheat...and if you cheat you should at least be able to come through when it really counts. A cheater who sucks...now that's a double whammy...and when the team brings him back what does that show? It shows they didn't care about his steroid use and completely forgot the fact that he's not that good and never will be!!! RELEASE HIM...DO ANYTHING!!! JUST GET HIM OFF THIS TEAM IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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