Talk About Getting Owned

So I had my first fantasy auction draft the other day, and it was undoubtedly one of the best times I've had sitting at a table and talking smack about obscure baseball factoids. Of course, I was also there for eight hours, and my draft went pretty shitty (compared to everyone else). First of all, let me say that this was my first auction, not to mention the first auction of 95% of the league, so we really had no idea to budget. Second, I think I was just so pumped the auction worked that all my planning went to shit. Seriously, the only things that went right for me were that I managed to grab Brad Wilkerson and Aaron Rowand because of my deep-seeded belief that they're giong to have great years in their new homes. I also managed to get some decent youth in the bench and minor league portions of the draft. Here we go:

Catcher 1: K. Johjima
Catcher 2: Y. Torrealba (dropped for J. Willingham)

1B: A. Pujols
2B: J. Cantu
3B: M. Cabrera
SS: D. Jeter

Corner Infielder: K. Youkilis
Middle Infielder: D. Eckstein

OF: W. Taveras
OF: B. Wilkerson
OF: A. Rowand
OF: C. Patterson (dropped for R. Ibanez)
OF: B. Anderson

UTIL: J. Gomes

P: R. Oswalt
P: D. Turnbow
P: C. Capuano
P: J. Beckett
P: J. Papelbon
P: J. Crain
P: O. Perez
P: J. Patterson
P: S. Shields

Bench: B. Hall
Bench: M. Murton
Bench: J. Verlander
Bench: R. Cedeno
Bench: M. Delcarmen (dropped for Rafael Soriano)

Minor Leaguer 1: Justin Upton
Minor Leaguer 2: Dustin Pedroia

A couple things. First, I had a couple total fanboy moments (see: Papelbon, Delcarmen, Youkilis, and Pedroia). Second, I'm in the process of trading away Jeter, as my policy is "No Yankees." No exceptions made. I was trying to drive the price of Jeter up when the token Yankee fan decided he could pay $41 for Rivera, but couldn't pay $24 for Pvt. Intangibles. I only really overpaid for one player, that being $50 bucks for Albert Pujols (don't forget this is a keeper league), and it's something I'm ok with. Otherwise, I simply found myself running out of money in the later rounds, leading me to shout random names at the top of my lungs followed by a $1 price tag, hoping I would be able to expedite the process and get to the bench round.

While I don't see myself really competing this year, I am excited about the future, as a number of these guys are slated to become legit ballplayers over the next 12 months or so. Or at least, that's what I tell myself.

In any case, this was really freakin' fun. More fun than watching Julian Tavarez cage fight Joey Gathright, or Tony Graffanino waive his way back to KC.

Just repeat after me: Opening Day is only 5 days away."

Corny, Wily, and Sory

Been a little bit since my last post, but we all know what's happened. Bronson "Hometown" Arroyo got shipped to that oldest of baseball towns with a last place team, Cincinnatti, for Dominican uruk-kai (see: Saruman, Orcs, Ricky Williams) Wily Mo Peña. Everybody was upset, we lost one of our boys, one of the 25, the rail-thin rockstar. As sad as it was to see someone I liked as much as Arroyo, I was also thrilled about the ability to turn a pitcher with base-jumping peripherals into a player with the potential for 40 home runs. At least Bronson had the class to not say he was 'disrespected' (cough, Johnny, cough).

After seeing last night's game against the Yankees, it really is true what they say. Wily's bat is a freaking CANNON. Every ball he hit last night looked like it was shot out of a gun. It could've just been my imagination, but with some plate discipline (which he looks to be aiming to gain), Peña could be hauling around some serious lumber in the Red Sox lineup.

On a completely non-Sox note, there has been a lot of discussion and controversy surrounding Alfonso Soriano these days. On Monday, Friend of the Hot Corner Frank Robinson penciled Fonsie's name in at left field, but when game time arrived he was sitting in the dugout doing his best Nomar impression. The Nats announced they would give Fonsie until Thursday to play the outfield, at which point they would file an official motion to place him on the disqualified list, depriving him of his money and his upcoming free agency. Fonsie played left on Wednesday, showing that he's not too proud to refuse a hefty paycheck. You could hear the sigh of relief flying out of DC from all the way up here.

Still, does Alfonso Soriano make the Nationals better? The prevalent opinion on talk radio is that it does, but really, I'm not sure. I'm so unsure that I spent 50 minutes on hold while waiting to call into XM's Baseball This Morning show to enlighten them, but eventually the bell to first period rang and I had to hang up. They're a fun bunch, but the best they seem to offer as far as insight is "Well, he sure does look good, and he's got a fastball that will surprise a lot of hitters. This could really be t he year he turns it around. His experience as a veteran makes him valuable" (speaking of Al Leiter before the WBC).

Here's the thing about Fonsie: he's been riding a sweet statistical slide for the last number of years, having peaked with the Yankees in 2002 (.300/.338/.525). He's known as being a power threat, which is a relative truth since he's been at second base most of his career, but now as a LF he's little more than average. We know he's the Error King at second, and his short stint in LF with New York (so short most don't remember it) was terrible. But that's ok, because he's a legit hitter isn't he.

No. He's not.

To the likelihood of Soriano hitting his wait in DC, look no further than his home/road splits from last year:

HOME: .315/.355/.656
AWAY: .224/.265/.374

Yikes. Even with a good-hitting lineup like Texas' Soriano was absolutely rank in his away appearance. And with him, K's are the name of the game (125 Ks vs 33 BBs in '05). Aside from some empty power and some stolen bases, Soriano is just going to continue to get worse. The Nationals can't provide him with protection of any sort beyond Nick Johnson, so you can bet he'll see a lot of breaking balls low and away. This whole fiasco, the questionable logic, all of it brings us back to a question I've asked several times before:

Why is Jim Bowden still allowed to be a general manager?

Is Wily Mo The Next Big Thing?

Bronson had to be one of my personal favorite players, and was one of "The Twenty Five." He'll be remembered for having guts, stuff, and one of the best attitudes we've seen. The Jason Varitek/Alex Rodriguez fight? Started by Bronson. Pitched a bit in Game 4 of the World Series. Today, Bronson was traded. It's a good thing Theo knows what he's doing. Wily Mo Pena comes to Boston in return for Bronson and cash in Theo's latest deal. What Wily Mo can bring to the team is intriguing--he's always been a good power stick, and is right handed. His immediate future, more than likely, is as Trot Nixon's platoon partner. Career, he's had much more success against left handers (.276 average, .347 on base percentage, 18 homers, 11 doubles in 250 at bats as opposed to a .237 average, .286 OBP, 32 home runs, 22 doubles in 562 AB right handed split). He's dominican and has spent lots of time with David Ortiz at the World Baseball Classic. He'll no doubt he able to learn from one of the best right handed sluggers in the business in Manny Ramirez.

There is no question that Wily Mo fits in.

But what about Bronson?

His Boston career totalled 401.3 innings, posting 24 wins. He was one of our most consistant and relilable guys and was one heck of a guy to have in that clubhouse.

But everything has to come to an end. Theo knows what he's doing and just netted a guy who could end up being a 30-40 home run middle-of-the-order threat for a middle reliever. Sure, we may have all liked the middle reliever, but if Wily works out, none of us will mind this deal. Dustin Mohr is likely to be traded, to Philadelphia some say. Trot is likely seeing his last days in Boston, as his contract is up and if Wily does his job and develops, theres no reason for the organization not to let Wily take over. Juan Gonzalez--WHY DO WE HAVE JUAN GONZALEZ IN CAMP?!

...In Theo We Trust.

Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

Did I just quote Semisonic? Did it get your attention? Good.

Well, it's over. The USA did what it really should've done in the first round: folded. Mexico was not going to play the part of a South African patsy just their to round out the number of contestant countries. They were there to win, and win they did in a close game.

Is this a sad thing? Yes, of course it is. As an American, I was definitely pulling for the team. It's nice to be able to root for you country, club allegiances be damned.

Is it a bad thing? No, not really. This means that the WBC is going to do what it was meant to do: attract global attention to the sport. Can you imagine a final with Korea playing Cuba? It would be amazing! This may just be what baseball needs, this kick in the ass to get it started again. Maybe next time we won't have players complaining about being out of shape. Maybe next time we can go in and just play ball to win, not to promote things (we all know that's why Martinez was the manager.) Why not get Joe Torre to skipper the next one? Chances are he'll be retired anyways. Next time we can use our brains and not our marketing execs to pick the 60-man provisional roster. Dontrelle Willis? Great guy, fun to watch, but not good out of the gate without some serious practice. Three days of team practice before the first game? Not really a good idea, is it?

Now Uncle George can stop bitching and moaning about his poor players, and we can go back to baseball the way we know it. But just think of the things we know now:

1. Yulieski Gourriel (CUBA): SICK. He's got the tools, all five of them. Should we start the jumper pool now, or later?

2. Seung Yeop Lee (KOREA): Youngest player EVER, ANYWHERE to hit 300 home runs... he's 27. When I'm 27 I'll be lucky if I can get hits of the super-fast pitch batting cages.

3. Jorge Cantu (MEXICO), and David Ortiz (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC): They really are as good as we thought they were. It's not Fenway, folks. It's his bat.

So sure, cry a litte, have a few beers, get yourself ready for St. Patrick's Day. Get ready for World Cup Soccer, where we're the underdogs and the big guns look ripe for the picking (just ask Clint Dempsey). In the WBC, the Americans will be back, and 2009 will be a whole new ballgame.

(Geez, worst ending ever to an article headed by Semisonic. It's time for bed.)

October in April

The WBC has shaped up to be a great tournament, getting fans worldwide primed for a good MLB season. Countries not normally associated with great baseball have come out and shown their true stripes.

It really should be called October in April.

The US, however, has done nothing but put forth one rusty performance after another. While the big leaguers are really in the middle of their spring training, the basic construction of the team has demonstrated a shallow perspective on the realm of international baseball. A bullpen built on 1 inning guys has struggled to cover for a flailing Dontrelle Willis, meaning that USA has twice been required to become fans of other teams in order to maintain their hopes of advancing. Last night, the stars and stripes got solidly behind the flawless and as yet undefeated Korean team. Luckily, we got the win we needed, and tonight's game against Mexico becomes the clincher.

Buck Martinez, who is seemingly more a victim of MLB politics than anything else, sends Rocket Roger Clemens to the mound against Mexico tonight at 7:30 ET. A win pushed USA to the semis, a loss into either nit-picky tiebreaker rules or back to the training camp showers.

Mexico has proven a legit opponent to a number of teams and most certainly cannot be underrated. Let's hope that we'll be getting ready for Jake Peavy on Saturday and not looking forward to a split-squad game to tide us over until Opening Day.

Go USA.

They Don't Mean Anything, But They Sure Are Fun to Look At

Yea, I know. These stats are completely worthless. But who is to say that Dustan Mohr isn't going to put up a 1.550 OPS in the regular season? Nobody, that's who. If I were a bettin' man, and one ignorant of all types of statistical and forecasting developments, I'd say we're looking at breakout seasons for Coco, Trot, Mohr, Loretta, and Adam Stern. Actually, with the Stern thing, I'm pretty sure most of Canada would argue that, regardless of logic or statistics, Adam Stern should be a lock for a great year...

My 2006 BP is in, so we'll take a look at the PECOTA ratings for these players in the next few days if I can manage to stay healthy and not become a complete narcoleptic. Enjoy the useless information!

HITTERS:
TEAM POS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
1. C Crisp BOS OF 8 22 4 10 2 1 0 2 14 2 2 3 0 .500 .636 .455
2. M Lowell BOS 3B 8 21 1 3 3 0 0 1 6 3 1 0 0 .250 .286 .143
3. T Nixon BOS OF 8 21 4 9 2 0 1 6 14 3 3 0 0 .500 .667 .429
4. D Mohr BOS OF 7 17 4 8 0 0 3 4 17 3 5 0 0 .550 1.000 .471
5. J Snow BOS 1B 6 16 1 5 1 0 0 6 6 1 5 0 0 .389 .375 .313
6. K Youkilis BOS 1B 7 16 5 3 1 0 2 4 10 3 4 2 0 .350 .625 .188
7. A Gonzalez BOS SS 6 15 2 2 1 0 1 2 6 1 4 0 0 .188 .400 .133
8. W Harris BOS OF 6 15 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 0 1 .235 .133 .133
9. M Loretta BOS 2B 6 14 2 8 1 0 0 0 9 1 2 0 0 .600 .643 .571
10. J Bard BOS C 6 13 0 2 1 0 0 2 3 3 1 1 0 .313 .231 .154
11. M Ramirez BOS OF 5 11 2 5 0 0 0 4 5 2 0 0 0 .500 .455 .455
12. A Stern BOS OF 3 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 0 0 .400 .500 .500

PITCHERS
TEAM W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV SVO IP H R ER HR HBP BB SO
1. J Papelbon BOS 0 2 10.13 3 3 0 0 0 0 8.0 14 9 9 2 0 2 5
2. B Arroyo BOS 0 2 17.55 3 3 0 0 0 0 6.2 13 13 13 3 2 6 3
3. D Riske BOS 0 1 9.00 5 0 0 0 0 0 6.0 10 7 6 1 0 2 1
4. T Wakefield BOS 1 0 0.00 2 2 0 0 0 0 6.0 2 0 0 0 1 5 4
5. M Delcarmen BOS 0 0 3.60 5 0 0 0 0 0 5.0 4 3 2 0 0 4 5
6. C Hansen BOS 1 0 0.00 5 0 0 0 0 0 5.0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2
7. R Seanez BOS 0 0 12.60 5 0 0 0 0 0 5.0 10 8 7 3 0 4 2
8. M Clement BOS 0 0 0.00 1 1 0 0 0 0 4.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3
9. C Schilling BOS 0 0 9.00 1 1 0 0 0 0 4.0 4 4 4 0 1 0 5
10. J Beckett BOS 0 0 15.00 1 1 0 0 0 0 3.0 5 5 5 2 0 1 2
11. J Lester BOS 0 1 18.00 1 0 0 0 0 1 2.0 3 4 4 1 0 2 2
12. L DiNardo BOS 0 0 10.80 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.2 3 2 2 1 0 2 1

This n' That

David Wells can't stay out of the news. This time, it had nothing to do with a trade demand, Barry Bonds, Bud Selig, frosted mini donuts, or the "I'll take that back" over his trade demand...it was about his spot on the team.

Oh, how I wish it was about his spot on the roster itself (lets face it, RedSox Nation would rather see Bronson Arroyo or Jonathan Papelbon every fifth day), but instead we are talking about his place in the rotation.

It appears that David wants to be, or expect(ed?) to be the second pitcher in the rotation. This led to a confrontation during a meeting between the pitchers and Terry.

"He's going to have to be able to be a little flexible," Francona said. "That's all he has to do, just be a little flexible and we'll make this work. But again, if there's not flexibility on his part, too, we're probably going to bump heads a little bit."

For the record, it appears that Terry is looking to use Wakefield as the second starter between Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett--hoping that the knuckleball in between two power pitchers can maximize the abilities of all parties involved. He tried a similar thing with Pedro and Curt in 2004, but it didn't stick.

Terry Francona recieved a contract extension today that will run through the 2008 season. Alright, alright. I'll admit it...when he was hired, I thought it was nothing more than the front office trying to lure Curt Schilling to Boston by hiring a manager who he is good pals with--and hey, maybe he'll listen to Theo, too!

I was wrong. Props to Terry. A World Championship, a calming influence in the clubhouse and the ability to handle the pressure of Boston...good job. This is money well earned.

Anybody who missed one of the sickest "bat-flips after a home run" in history, try to catch the highlight of Papi going deep last night. It's worth it.

I'm not one to rag on other people's writing, but Dayn Perry really dropped the ball. Perry, a FoxSports.com regular, released his official "Power Rankings" for the pre-season. There are several questionable calls on this list, among them the Detroit Tigers ranked above the Cleveland Indians, the L.A. DodgerSox at 14, and the granddaddy of them all: THE BOSTON REDSOX AT #1.

I am a RedSox fan. Love the team, always have and always will. Being a RedSox fan has taught me to be realistic and conservative when making predictions, especially this early in the year but I think it can be said with a good amount of certianty that the Boston RedSox will not be the best team in baseball next year.

Are they good? Of course. Will they contend? Yes. Will they have the best team in baseball taking the field at Fenway every night all summer? I hope so...but no.

Nëderlands No-Hitter

Although this happened just prior to the start of the weekend, it merits a mention. Netherlands pitcher Shairon Martis tossed a no-hitter through 7 innings on Friday, shutting down a Panama team that had put together two very interesting games against Puerto Rico and Cuba. The game ended after 7 innings due to the 10 run mercy rule in the first round of pool play. Somehow, after creating nailbiters in it's first two games, Panama decided to roll over and die.

Seriously, the WBC not good for baseball? This is some hot shit.

Sparse Notes

The United States dropped an important game to Korea last night, 7 to 3, and it all started when Dontrelle Willis couldn't find the strike zone. Interestingly, it was Willis who said he was the most prepared coming into the tournament, having started throwing bullpens several weeks before even the beginning of Spring Training.

Alex Gonzalez continues to impress Terry Francona with his defensive wizardry after having made several dazzling plays in yesterday's game against the Blue Sox/Dodgers.

What do these players have in common: Tony Graffanino, Matt Clement, David Wells, and Bronson Arroyo? They're all in line to be traded, as the surplus of second sackers and starting pitchers allows the FO a little bit of flexibility.

Happenings

In case you missed it, Mexico beat Canada 9-1 last night at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, pushing both teams to the 2-1 mark and giving the Uniited States that chance to advance to Round 2 with a win this afternoon against South Africa. The lackluster play on display in the loss to Canada will likely be nowhere near the field at 3pm today when Rocket takes the mound. You suffer one embarassing loss, you're not likely to let it happen again when you have the kind of firepower as Team USA. Let's hope Buck Martinez doesn't fuck it up by pinch-hitting Brian Schneider for someone who can actually swing a bat, or by throwing a Leiter on the fire...
Back in Spring Training, the 2003 Blue Sox-I mean Red Sox-I mean 2006 Dodgers took advantage of Bronson Arroyo's poor adjustment to commando jeep riding. Sure, Spring Training games don't meann anything, but has anyone noticed that the Sox have sucked about as bad as they could've in ST this year? It's more than a little embarassing. You gotta figure that a good ST, though not crucial, does allow for some momentum going into the season. Hopefully Bronson will remember to maintain his leg kick when he pitches for real. Without that quirky delivery I think he loses his effectiveness.
Oh yea, and we miss Bill Mueller.

Could this be the nail in Bonds' coffin?

With new contributor AJ Chapin prepping a more comprehensive article on Barry Bonds, I won't say much, other than there is an interesting link on Boston Dirt Dogs today. One of the biggest claims by Bonds apologists is that steroids were not against the rules of Major League Baseball at the time Barry is accused of taking them. These papers would negate that claim. Have a look (thanks to ESPN.com and ESPN: The Magazine for these images):

Oh, Captain, my Cap--Holy crap it's Adam Stern!

So what have we learned from the World Baseball Classic tonight? Several things:

1. Adam Stern deserves a shot at the 4th outfielder spot.

2. Jason Varitek is as good as we think he is.

3. The Canadian pitching coach either can't read, or is dyslexic, because he's the only one on the planet that doesn't know that 'Tek is a better power threat from the right side. The splits?

VS Avg. AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO OBP SLG
L .320 122 39 5 0 9 27 22 24 .418 .582
R .267 348 93 25 1 13 43 40 93 .347 .457

There are home runs, and then there are home runs... 'Tek know's what its about.

4. Buck Martinez is retarded.

5. Al Leiter is washed up.

6. It was a good day for the Red Sox.

7. ARod is still a bad postseason player (I'm calling this the postseason, since it's win or go home.)

8. The US losing is probably one of the best things that could happen in this tournament.

I'm bummed the US lost, but this was still a good game, and the WBC is going to need games like this to generate the international attention. I just wish most of America would stop viewing this like spring training...

Old School, New School

Pick up any baseball book written within the last 4 years and you'd be hard-pressed to avoid encountering a mention of the current war raging inside baseball. In an overly simplified statement, its the scouts versus the nerds, and the battle is being fought inside and outside the baseball's inner circles.

One of the leading faces of the numbers-driven Nouvelle Vague is Baseball Prospectus, publishers of an annual league review and preview. They recently released a book entitled Baseball Between The Numbers, which I picked up in an effort to gain a better understanding of the work and formulae that go into the numbers and ridiculous acronyms these guys spit out. (LMLVW anyone?)

Up to this point, I've been leaning towards traditional, visceral assessments of players while using the new numbers when needed. OBP (on-base percentage), SLG (slugging percentage), and OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) are fantastic stats, and really provide a more complete picture of a batter's success than the traditional AVG alone. Though I haven't quite finished the book, it is incredibly interesting. Want to know who's really the best player of all times? There are numbers to help you with that. Clutch hitting? Yea, we can quantify that. The things that one can do with numbers are amazing.

Unfortunately, what also stands out in this book (and in much of these techniques d'avant garde being used to evaluate players) is that there are things that can't be quantified. Sure you can come up with the numbers, but in the end, the numbers can be ruled as completely arbitrary. A true scientist will readily admit that in reality, we don't know anything. We have suspicions, we have good ideas, heck, even pretty good ideas, but we really don't know. Too often you find the extreme statistician, the guy who can cut the numbers away and view them as the only source of accuracy. In much the same manner, you find baseball men who couldn't say the word "polysyllabic" if their lives depended on it, much less calculate OPS or VORP.

The problem in baseball is that people too often go too far to one side or the other, when in fact, the best and most reasonable course of action would be to use the styles of the Old and New School equally. There is no question that the advances by SABR and independent number-crunchers are necessary and innovative, but at the same time there are things you can't quantify, or that become arbitrary upon any attempt to quantify them. If you're curious about the use of these numbers, or just want to be able to back up your barroom arguments, this is a great place to start. Just don't forget that not all of it is in the numbers.

John Flaherty Retires

Recent Red Sox signee and one-time draft choice John Flaherty has announced his retirement from the game of baseball. Flaherty, who played the last few seasons with the New York Yankees, signed with the Sox in the offseason as a potential replacement for Doug Mirabelli. He caught Wakefield a few days ago in a spring training game and had a hard time of it. With his retirement, Josh Bard becomes the primary catcher over the next couple days, as well as the leading candidate to start the season in Boston, over journeyman Ken Huckaby.


Flaherty's retirement is a good and bad thing. It's good because it means that a younger catcher, Bard, will be able to give Varitek the time off he'll need. A younger set of legs will be able to do more than a vet like Flaherty.

The downside, however, is that Flaherty's intelligence as a catcher will no longer be available to the Sox. Catching a knuckleball is a difficult task (remember Tek's "chopsticks" quote?). Flaherty is known for his malleability as a battery mate and for his ability to handle a staff. Recall that Randy Johnson used Flaherty as his personal catcher, which was less a commentary of the shortcomings of Jorge Posada than on the abilities of Flaherty.

It'll be nice to see a younger face behind the plate from time to time, and Bard's age has to, by default, increase his upside, limited though it may be.

Though his career was far short of the Hall of Fame, John Flaherty was widely respected in the baseball world. Hopefully he'll show up someplace as a coach or manager, and keep his knowledge about being a backstop in the game.

Lost Comments?

In speaking with a few friends who read the site, apparently reader comments have started to disappear from the site before I or anyone else can even see them. I think the problem was somewhere with my domain hosting service, and I think I ironed it out, so if you posted and your comments were lost, please feel free to post again, so we can get some sweet discussion rolling on the blog. Thanks,

THC

World. Class.

Ok, that's it. I can't hide behind the doubts anymore. I can't pretend to be only casually interested. I know there are injuries. I know that the fortunes of thirty major league clubs are hinging on the healthy return of their players. I know in the end the skeptics will call them nothing more than glorified exhibition games, but I'm sold.

The World Baseball Classic is a great idea.

I'm a teacher, and when I walked into my last period class today I knew that I couldn't stay hidden inside the shell of my language classroom. I quieted the students and turned on the television. With the Dominican Republic playing against Venezuela, Miguel Tejada, Albert Pujols and David Ortiz stepped in against Johan Santana.

Baseball, meaningful baseball, is here in the spring.

There really is more to this whole tournament than money. Of course MLB and the various international baseball federations are going to stand to profit from all of this, but I'm going to go with the softer, less rational part of my psyche and say that deep down, this is just making baseball what it deserves to be: global. It has a long way to go before it gets into the same solar system as soccer, but the WBC is a step in the right direction.

And if you're a fan, how can you be against it? So what if you won't see Derek Jeter or David Ortiz in a spring training game? If you want to see them that badly, go to one of the first round games. Heck, you're gonna be in either Florida or Arizona anyways, what's a little but of a drive? This is about national pride, about bragging rights. The Carribbean and Asian countries know this, and they know that they have more than a good shot at winning, and despite all the media claiming to the contrary, the American players do seem to be excited about this. You slap on the red white and blue on your chest, and you're damn right you're gonna wanna go out there and win.

So just one more thing: Go USA.

Of Manny and Motormouth

Manny Ramirez arrived in Red Sox camp yesterday morning at 9:02 am, sporting a Raiders jersey and looking considerably slimmer, lending legitimacy to the reports he was finishing a workout regimen with one of the toughest personal trainers around. When asked about the trade rumors and whether or not he was happy to be back in Boston, Manny just gave ambiguous responses or deferred to his agent, Greg Genske. The fact that Ramirez is so vague about his happiness in Boston says a lot, but the fact that he showed up on time and when he said he would says even more. As a fan, you'd like for Manny to be happy to be where he is, but we all know that to most of the players (save the Arroyos and Ortizes) this is just a job, and as long as you can go out, play, compete, and get paid, it really doesn't matter all too much where you are. Manny knows he signed a contract and knows he is obliged to play, and so he will. It's good to see him in such great shape, and hopefully it'll be a nice, full season of the #24 v. 2 in left field.

Elsewhere in the baseball world, specifically up the road from City of Palms Park, a man is digging a hole. A very. Big. Hole. Johnny Damon continues to spout off to the media about the death of "The Idiots" and the decline of the Red Sox franchise.

Christ, Johnny, get over it for God's sake.

His latest remarks are about Manny and his desire to leave Beantown, and Johnny just continues to tell anyone with a set of ears that he's sure everybody he liked on the Sox would just love to play in pinstripes. Personally, I was ok when Damon left. It was a surprise to be sure, especially after he stated on May 5 that he could never play for the Yankees and that top dollar wasn't the most important thing for him. But I was ok. He did what he needed to do, and the FO at that point in time was in such seeming disarray that nobody could really argue with the claims of disrespect.

But then, Damon started talking about "we" and "us" and "the Yankee Way"... and that was before he had even had his physical. More and more, Johnny sounds like a jaded girlfriend, one that keeps trying to tell everyone around her that she's better off without the guy who dumped her. He's talking so much that it's getting under the skin of even the Yankee fans. Yap, yap, yap, all he's doing is making himself sound like a dumber version of Gary Sheffield. I wonder how he's going to fare once the season starts and those runners score easily from second on the base hit to center field.

Johnny, in the words of the ever-entertaining Mike and Mike: Just shut up.

NOTE: MLB '06: The Show is without a doubt the absolute best baseball game I've ever played. It combines the minor league/organizational depth of MVP Baseball with the best graphics I've ever seen on a PS2. I'll never play MVP again.

I Am Theo Epstein

Yet another off the field post, this time concerning the release of MLB '06: The Show on PS2 and PSP. If you're a videogame dweeb like me, this holds a lot of promise. Summer 2005 was the last stand for EA Sports' MVP franchise, as MLB signed an exclusive agreement with Take Two Entertainment, the company that produces the stunningly unimpressive 2K series. I've had The Show on reserve for some time now, and I've been playing the demo to keep myself jazzed up for it's arrival, and all I can say is that it promises to make up for what I've been missing and more.

MVP Baseball 2005, the crown prince of baseball games, was outstanding in it's ability to mimic the depth and detail of running a baseball franchise, from every minor league filler signing to the retention of my minor league hitting instructor. I saw players I drafted go from Single A All-Star to MLB superstar. It's downside, however, was the presentation. The graphics were OK, acceptable only because of the game depth, but the presentation was terrible. The announcers, who will go unnamed because of their awfulness, did nothing but add "Look at the stellar diagonal patterns on the grass!" to their repetoire between 2003 and 2005. It got old REAL fast.

2k% is the inverse of that. The team of John Miller and Joe Morgan from ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball are just as classy and engaging as they are in TV, making playing every game far more believable and ejoyable. ESPN's graphics, which will not be with 06 version due to ESPN's signing with EA, make it look just like Sunday Night Baseball too. The game graphics, however, were terrible.

The Show looks to combine the two. Rex Hudler, Dave Campbell, and Max Vasgersian provide life-like commentary to run the play-by-play, and the graphics are probably some of the most realistic I've seen, definitely the best I've seen on PS2. Anyways, I can't wait to get out of work and hunker down in front of the TV and get into the season.