A string of August or September victories might not mean much now except to slap a bit of polish upon a dismal year, but they could provide a young team a necessary confidence boost for 2009.

The arrival of the Los Angeles Dodgers in San Francisco with new slugger Manny Ramirez for a weekend set gave the Giants a chance to strike a blow against a rival in pursuit of the pennant. At home, against the Dodgers — the three games were playoff-like baseball and the best it would get for a team playing out the string.

After dumping the first game in depressing fashion, San Francisco won Saturday and Sunday in their final at-bat to sting the Dodgers and send a mob of jubilant Giants out onto the field at AT&T Park. The two victories gave the Giants their first winning series against Los Angeles and homestand of the year.

In a season of too many losses and not enough success, these games against the Dodgers had the feel of meaningful baseball, which has been absent for months. And while the Giants haven’t played each game as if they mattered, they played these with a sense of urgency, grittiness and character.

This will have to be the blueprint of the future for a team low on talent, but with plenty of youth. Saturday and Sunday provided perfect examples. On Saturday night, the Giants battled back from a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the 10th after Jeff Kent had given the Dodgers the lead in the top of the inning. Aaron Rowand singled home the winning run for a 3-2 Giants win. On Sunday, late game heroics ruled once more. A two-out Eugenio Velez infield single in the bottom of the ninth gave San Francisco a 4-3 victory.

For the Dodgers, the losses revealed an inconsistent bullpen unable to maintain one-run advantages in two consecutive games. If Los Angeles is to edge the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West, they’ll need a solid relief core to preserve slim leads down the stretch. The Giants and Dodgers play six more times this year, which means more intense playoff-like baseball. But, next time, the playoffs might actually be on the line for Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, the Giants’ winning high crashed with four straight losses to the Astros.

Barry Zito’s (6-15) roller-coaster of a season took another bump in Houston on Wednesday. Zito threw shutout ball for five innings, but couldn’t escape the sixth. His final line score was ugly - 5 2/3 innings pitched, six runs and five walks. He’s on the cusp of a twenty-loss season.

The Giants shuffled their roster on Wednesday by releasing third baseman Jose Castillo, while demoting first baseman John Bowker and catcher Steve Holm. Signed after he’d been cut by the Florida Marlins in spring training, Castillo merely existed as a bridge from the present to the future. The Giants received almost an entire year of decent play from him, but the future called. Rookie call-up Ryan Rohlinger should take most of the starts at third. Bowker showed promise early, but fell into a deep funk as of late. He hadn’t hit a homer in over a month.

So, three depart and three arrive for the Giants as their quest to determine who to keep for 2009 marches on.

If you’re still oblivious to the topic du jour, or maybe more appropriately, de la saison, who most greatly deserves the designation “biggest disappointment” in Detroit this year? Here are your candidates:

Edgar Renteria

Jair Jurrjens showed promise last year in seven games with Detroit, but was made expendable after Tigers management realized Carlos “Holes in the Knees” Guillen could no longer man shortstop. The logical resolution to fill the gaping hole up the middle was to trade for the best available middle man. GM Dave Dombrowski plucked Edgar Renteria out of Atlanta in exchange for Jurrjens and outfield prospect Gorkys Hernandez. At the time it looked like a steroid injection, adding a .332 hitter to the AL’s second best hitting club. Two-thirds of a season later, Dombrowski regrets exporting The Great Dutch Hope to the Braves for the equivalent of a pallet of oranges.

Gary Sheffield

It’s surprising we don’t see smatterings of Gary Sheffield’s shoulder strewn about on the path from home to first, the only sector of the diamond he visits at work. His shoulder is clearly limiting–no, inhibiting, just as it was last year when he batted a paltry .178 in August and September. Who is more to blame for his severe decrease in production, him or Jim Leyland for trotting him out there game after game? .228, 9 HR, 32 RBI are what we expect from Mike Lamb, Paul Bako, and Donnie Murphy. Do you see them in the lineup everyday? Loyalty has it’s limits Mr. Leyland.

Dontrelle Willis

Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis for Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, and fluff? What a steal! Well, at least the Cabrera half of the deal has worked nicely for the Tigers. In just a handful of games, Willis has proven his 3-year, $29 million contract easily ranks among the worst signings not only of this year, but this decade. Yes, we are aware Chan Ho Park, Carl Pavano, Mike Hampton, and Barry Zito committed exorbitant acts of extortion, but at least they played more than five games before being banished to the minors. Speculators suggested the Florida Marlins would refuse any transaction involving Miguel Cabrera unless the suitor also took Willis off their hands. Left out of these reports, Florida management also coerced Dombrowski into a game of 52-card pickup.

Nate Robertson

Quick, name one pitcher who has given up more earned runs than Robertson this year. Having trouble? Keep working on it, you’ll get there. No pitcher has blown away the opposition less than “Nasty Nate”. His statistics are the only nasty thing about him (6-8, 6.11) and he last picked up a win for Detroit on June 21st. Playoff contenders typically don’t pack this weak of a link into the back end of their starting rotation, that’s why few consider the Tigers a post season candidate. With no potential replacement in sight, Robertson may shatter career worsts in ERA, WHIP, and batting average against. On August 7th, he sits just four earned runs short of last year’s total (2007- 94 ER, 2008- 90 ER). That’s what, an inning-and-a-third’s worth of work for Nate?

Kenny Rogers

Avoiding any predictable old man jokes, 43-year-old Kenny Rogers has flat out run out of gas. Despite an impressive five-game stretch from late-May to mid-June, the 2008 edition of Rogers is reminiscent of Steve Carlton, circa 1987-88. With decreased velocity and decreased command, he has hung on embarrassingly past his prime (8-8, 4.98). The opposition rakes at a .301 clip against him and this may be the first time in his 20 seasons he issues more free passes than punchouts (53 BB, 58 K). Rogers obviously knows his abilities have deteriorated, but Dombrowski gave him 8 million reasons to come back. As with Willis, perhaps the blame doesn’t lie within Rogers….

Todd Jones

And finally we reach the most polarizing performer on the Tigers. The “Roller Coaster” has been cursed for years by Detroit fans, and often not so rightfully. The all-time franchise saves leader (235) had closed 18 of 21 games successfully before Leyland’s demotion, then DL stint. Well, Jones actually deserved the flak this time. In only 16 of his 44 appearances has he escaped without allowing a base runner, and three of those outings were shorter than an inning. Back on June 22, Justin Verlander almost struck out as many San Diego Padres in 5.1 innings (10) as Jones has in 41 innings (14). Void of an electric fastball, this is almost certain to be Jones’ final year in a Tigers uniform. Emergency rooms be on high alert! Cardiac Jones will attempt return sometime this week.

Fernando Rodney

In the post-Jason Grilli Era, there may not be a more hated non-closer in Detroit’s bullpen than Rodney. His signature once spotted on a petition to change the official walk rule from four to five balls, Rodney’s struggles with the free pass have cost Detroit multiple games. The most notable blowup occurred in his season debut; Rodney lobbed a changeup to famed slugger John Bowker who launched it an incalculable distance. After not retiring a batter and picking up a loss his next outing, he calmed down for a few games before blowing a save. Since then, he has been as reliable out of the pen as Chuck Knoblauch at second base. His last five appearances have netted the opposition nine bonus base runners, eight of which came in a 4.1 inning span. Bravo Fernando, bravo.

Maybe the 2008 Detroit Tigers are setting us up for one of the most storied comebacks in history. Perhaps they are tanking it, only to engage in a Rockies-esque surge of a year ago, launching themselves into the playoffs. Until they stop losing six games in a row and blowing consecutive games in the later innings, we must assume this edition of the Tigers is unworthy of a playoff spot. When the season runs it’s course, the two teams predicted to battle it out for the AL Central (Tigers and Indians) will likely be identified most disappointing.

The baseball trade deadline expired last Thursday without a peep from the San Francisco Giants (48-65). Sure, second baseman Ray Durham departed for Milwaukee, but the Giants failed to find a home for any of their other veterans. So, what remains will remain unless a waiver deal can be arranged, which is a possibility. In some ways, the lack of trade news is deflating, but with the deadline now in the distance, the Giants have found courage in not feeling obliged to audition older players and can finally proceed with the future.

Friday night in San Diego marked the beginning. San Francisco trotted out a line-up of kids, which delighted many who have clamored for this moment for months. Shortstop Emmanuel Burriss and second baseman Ivan Ochoa formed the Giants’ new double-play combination, which added a much needed dose of excitement and athleticism. Ironically, the Giants won Friday and Saturday with the kids and lost Sunday with the vets. To end Saturday night’s game, Ochoa displayed a bit of fancy footwork as he fielded a ball behind second base, stepped on the bag before a sliding Padre could take him out and zipped a throw to first for the double-play. The game-ending play exhibited a type of dazzling quickness and youth, missing around the diamond.

Now, the Giants will find out about the hand they’ve been dealt instead of wondering and evaluating their youth with an incomplete instead of hard letter grades. They’ll discover if right fielder Fred Lewis can produce in the third spot or if the tandem of Burriss and Ochoa can hit enough to balance out their stout defensive abilities. Or, if John Bowker, is the answer at first base. And more importantly, the Giants will find out if any of these players are keepers for 2009 or merely bodies to plug a spot until more talented reserves arrive down the road.

The news of Manny Ramirez bound for Los Angeles stirred thoughts of the left fielder in orange and black. At 36, Ramirez has his sites set on one last big contact. After his two-homer weekend, the slugger clearly has a lot left and would offer the Giants the power they desperately crave. San Francisco remained one of the most impotent teams in baseball, lacking a player with at least 10 home runs until Aaron Rowand hit his tenth homer of the season on Wednesday against Atlanta.

On the outside, Ramirez doesn’t appear to be the best fit for a San Francisco team set on rebuilding with youth around the diamond and in the outfield. But, the Giants offer a strong starting staff, a solid closer in Brian Wilson and a team with a few solid pieces in Rowand, Bengie Molina and Randy Winn. One can only wonder what type of domino effect Ramirez would have on the Giants’ lineup?

Missing out on Ramirez isn’t the problem, but San Francisco’s conservative approach over the past several years is confounding. The Giants are on the cusp of a fourth-straight losing season and until this past Friday have appeared satisfied with the status quo and a roster filled with journeyman ballplayers. The ingenuity displayed in signing Barry Bonds away from Pittsburgh, trading fan favorite Matt Williams to Cleveland for Jeff Kent and building a privately funded ballpark has all but vanished. The Giants have turned boring and unimaginative.

Yet, the Giants’ architect, general manager Brian Sabean continues on and bumbles along, while the rest of the NL West stocks up on young talent. San Francisco’s best prospect is sixteen and probably three to four years away. The Giants’ top draft pick, Buster Posey, is still unsigned.

Barry Zito’s (6-13) unpredictable season took another twist on Saturday as the lefty threw eight innings of shutout ball and maintained high 80’s velocity throughout. A thoughtful pitcher, Zito is best when throwing free and easy and not inside his own head too much. His ability hasn’t eroded as much as once thought, but he’s yet to leave his inconsistency behind and become a consistent contributor.

But, the theme of this season has been about the Giants’ youth movement and a stubborn unwillingness to change flawed ways, which has seemingly ended. As the trade deadline closed, maybe the Giants decided to shut the door on their old ways and finally ran out of reasons to not play the youth.

After 1,083 regular season games played, 274 home runs launched into the ether, and 868 runs driven in, Manny Ramirez will no longer stand before the Monster in left field wearing home whites with red embroidery. No longer will he bat behind David Ortiz, forming one of the most prolific offensive combos in the history of the game. And no longer will he stir that fickle cauldron mixed with absolute indignation and pure jubilation.

Just like that. Like so many of the baseballs that effortlessly smacked off the barrel of his bat. Gone. Long gone, in fact.

With just minutes, if not seconds, to go before the clock struck four on Thursday afternoon, the Red Sox sent the disgruntled Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers via the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-way deal that landed All-Star outfielder Jason Bay—quite fittingly—in the Bay State.

In a move similar to the Nomar Garciaparra trade of 2004—and for largely the same reasons and under eerily equal circumstances—the player, teammates, manager, and front office all agreed: a point of no return had been reached, and Ramirez had to go; and what better place than Frank McCourt’s SoCal Red Sox Retirement Home.

But despite the turmoil he created leading up to his departure—and all the turbulence he caused throughout his volatile tenure in Boston—Ramirez also leaves behind an unforgettable Red Sox legacy—less a career and more so a never-dull-for-a-moment adventure.

For seven and a half seasons, the unpredictable left fielder gave Red Sox fans and two regimes—the one that signed him to an epic $160 million deal in the winter of 2000, and the one that ultimately dealt him away this summer—its share of thrills, controversies, and enough intriguing plot turns to render an Agatha Christie whodunit as prosaic child’s play.

But, above all else, the enigmatic talent, with his trademark dreadlocks and angelic swing, helped the Red Sox capture two World Series titles—a repeated feat the organization simply would not have achieved without Ramirez.

A first-ballot Hall of Famer with 512 home runs (and counting) to his name, Ramirez always did straddle that fine line between having a carefree mind-set—laughing, giggling, and man-hugging his way around the clubhouse, yet as focused as The Terminator eyeing John Connor from the batters’ box—and oblivious ignorance—when his blithe attitude decidedly descended into damaging indifference, from refusing to pinch-hit in Philadelphia during a playoff push, to allegedly faking knee injuries in both 2006 and this year, to shoving a 62-year-old front office member to the ground last month in Houston.

Never truly malicious in his actions, yet entirely lacking in self-awareness during his worst of times, Ramirez remains an unexplainable oddity. So much so that the term “Manny Being Manny” entered the New England sports lexicon years ago only to become as tired of a cliché as the oldest of idioms in the English language.

But for all the distractions he may have caused off and, sometimes, on the field, Ramirez’ disruptive presence at the plate often overshadowed the negatives—which, for the longest time, equated to nothing more than speeding tickets in the real world, a light slap on the wrist from his enablers: agents, managers, ownerships, and the like.

In the end, baseball is a results-based business with high-stakes investments, not your typical nine-to-five office job. Simply put: Ramirez produced; in turn, the Red Sox put up with the escapades that accompanied him—ranging from the humorous to the embarrassingly absurd. And while both parties desired separation from each other at several different junctures during their marriage, Manny always boomeranged back to Boston—like two destined lovebirds, they smoothed out the rough edges to their relationship, moved on, and enjoyed success until the next untimely family feud.

However, as Ramirez’ performance on the field slightly declined, as his contract became less of a burden for prospective trading partners, and as his erratic behavior broadened to selfish discontent—bordering on insubordination—and physical outbursts—from the aforementioned bullying of long-time traveling secretary Jack McCormick to throwing an elbow at Kevin Youkilis in a dugout tiff—general manager Theo Epstein’s decision to trade the Boston clean-up hitter, smack-dab in the middle of a pennant race, wasn’t a move made to improve the club on paper, as most transactions intend to do, but rather a necessity in rectifying a disordered clubhouse, easing Terry Francona’s growingly embattled psyche, and salvaging a sinking ship known as the U.S.S. Red Sox.

Of course, like most elements within the Manny saga, nothing was ever simple—there’s no linear storytelling to be told, here. In fact, two months ago, it not only looked as if Ramirez—who openly stated to the press during the spring about his professional contentment (his state of achieved mental peace, if you will)—would finish out his eighth season with the Red Sox, but, perhaps, even extend his stay as two $20 million team option years hung in the balance.

And so, that was the rub: those lingering option years, which, in reality, no one actually wanted, yet stood in the offing like a threatening volcano set to erupt. And, in a way, it most certainly did go all Mt. Vesuvius over the Commonwealth.

In the case of the Red Sox upper management, the option years were undesirable due to Ramirez’ descent over the past two seasons from elite hitter status to just an extremely good hitter, which, when combined with his increasingly limited range in the outfield, made the $20 million annual salary an exorbitant overpay for a declining player.

For Manny, the option years were unattractive as they prevented the wallet-driven superstar from hitting the open market, where he remains convinced that he will receive a four-year, $100 million deal. And he likely believes that such a contract will be available come free agent time from listening to his new agent—yes, you guessed it—the obdurate and hardnosed Scott Boras, who has even more motivation in all this: his current advisement to the left fielder amounts to nothing more than pro bono work and would remain so upon each option year picked up.

But if all the partakers agreed with the exit strategy, then why the major blowup? Why not let the season play out, with Ramirez riding off into the sunset for his next big contract elsewhere?

Honestly? Nobody really knows except for those directly involved in all the drama.

But something did trigger this all.

Perhaps it was some disingenuous promises on Epstein’s behalf—such as guaranteeing that the options wouldn’t be picked up only to renege midway through the season.

Or, perhaps, it was just another passing Manny mood swing—according to the reliable Gordon Edes, Ramirez, through Boras, attempted to dissuade the Red Sox from completing the Dodgers-Pirates deal at the very last moment, instead opting for a little hug-it-out therapy and an assurance that the eccentric masher would be on his best behavior the rest of the way.

Or maybe it was the $1 million relocation bonus in Ramirez’ contract that McCourt dished out upon his arrival in La-La Land—you know, Manny just being about the money.

Whatever the reason, the end point certainly had been reached, if not surpassed. Bridges long torched, remaining ashes smoldered and squalled away at the impetus of an East Coast sea breeze, taking Ramirez along with it.

Somewhat amazingly, in the aftermath of it all, Epstein still managed to pull off a dollar-for-dollar trade (in this writer’s opinion, at least), despite having his hand so severely forced.

When factoring in defense and aptitude on the base paths, Bay’s overall value ranks comparably to Ramirez’ on-field worth, yet he’s also cheaper and now under Red Sox control in 2009 for a cool $7.5 million. Remember, the Sox didn’t trade Hall of Famer Manny Ramirez in his prime; they dealt away decline-phase Manny Ramirez as he entered his late 30s—let alone that, if he stayed on the roster, the threat of Operation Shutdown, a la Derek Bell, loomed in the not too far distance, if it wasn’t already on semi-display following his 5.7 second effort down the first base line on Monday night against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Studies were immediately conducted following the game: Cecil Fielder, with a grand piano and Kevin Mitchell strapped upon his back, could have made it faster.

As for the nuts and bolts of the deal, tossing cash LA’s way to cover Manny’s expenses and handing over soon-to-be 25-year-old outfielder Brandon Moss and maddeningly inconsistent reliever Craig Hansen to sweeten the deal for the Pirates works as no huge loss, either.

And the side benefit of acquiring Bay?

It kept him away from the first place Tampa Bay Rays, who jumped into the fray late in order to acquire the right-handed hitting Canadian, whose father, as it turns out, is a lifelong Red Sox fan.

And while the intangible factors at play remain unquantifiable, it is clear, from both public and private statements echoed by some of Ramirez’ teammates, that he had become a clubhouse distraction and, even worse, an excuse for the team’s recent malaise. Well, that exemption is now null and void; it’s put up or shut up time for the veterans who came to Epstein and voiced their displeasure with the sulking slugger.

But whether Ramirez’ removal from the roster translates into improved play on the field as well as more wins than losses remains entirely unknowable. Even if a correlation surfaces, Manny’s exodus wouldn’t be the undisputed cause. After all, the Red Sox—owners of the best run differential in the American League—continue to lag behind their Pythagorean record, suggesting that the team has underperformed thus far this season, especially in June and July; and one player’s temper tantrum should not be the root of a two-month-long issue—otherwise, the makeup of this particular group just may be softer than Charmin.

So, as a result, two months from now, the Ramirez move will be seen as either a reshuffling of the deck chairs before the U.S.S. Red Sox sank to the depths of the AL East standings, or as The Nomar Trade 2.0 that plugged the holes, righted the ship, and provided safe harbor into the playoffs.

It’s shame, really. With a bit more pragmatic thinking on Manny’s part (or, at least, from Boras), and, perhaps, a bit more upfront honesty from the Boston front office to go along with corking up the multitude of Ramirez-related leaks to a forming media storm cloud, the frustrating but undeniably awesome hitter could have amicably moved on at season’s end. But like the Red Sox superstars that preceded him, it wasn’t to be; the id always consumes the ego.

Still, while the whole Manny narrative took a twist for the worst—a resolution filled with “phantom” knee injuries, irreparable ultimatums, and enough internal strife to make Bear Stearns investors feel relieved in comparison—the little over seven and a half year roller coaster ride was fun and fruitful, with far more ups than downs over the, albeit, bumpy duration.

But the sharp, screeching halt to its conclusion—leaving those riding along the tracks with a bad case of whiplash—capped Ramirez’ remarkable Red Sox career in disappointing fashion.

As Ramirez famously said after being awarded the 2004 World Series MVP trophy, a person makes his or her own destination. While he meant destiny at the time, he certainly proved his inadvertent personal adage true over these past few weeks.

And, at this point, it so happens that Manny’s act may be more suitable for Hollywood than just about anyplace else.

The Offense: Texas is #1, period. #1 in OPS (On Base plus Slugging) which I consider the composite offensive statistic. #1 in Extra Base Hits. #1 in Batting Average at .282. #1 in Runs Scored with 610, 30 full runs over the 2nd place Cubs. #1 in Hits, #1 in Doubles, #1 in RBI. True, they are only 5th in HRs, and 6th in walks…..but this offense is the best in baseball. The offense is led by Josh Hamilton, of course. His incredible league-leading 104 RBI put him on pace for 156 by season’s end…..the second highest total in club history (Juan Gonzalez had 158 in 1998). While it’s hard to say that Josh Hamilton is NOT the MVP…..he is not doing this alone. He’s only knocked himself in 25 times (Ken, those are the home runs….stop scratching your head). Milton Bradley actually leads the team in OPS at over 1.000. The catalyst of the offense is clearly Ian Kinsler with 91 runs scored, 21 more than the next Ranger and 16 more than anyone else in the American League. Oh, and Kinsler also leads the majors in HITS, and is 2nd in Doubles.

STAT OF THE MONTH: Ian Kinsler is on pace to score 136 runs this season. How many is that? All Time Career Runs scored leader in MLB history, Rickey Henderson, only eclipsed that total ONCE in all his years. Ty Cobb had 136 or more only TWICE…..and all time hits leader Pete Rose NEVER hit the number that Kinsler is closing in on this year.

The Pitching Staff: The Rangers are 29th out of 30 teams in ERA. The Starting Staff ranks 29th…the Relievers are 29th as well. They are 29th in Walks allowed…..29th in Strikeouts….and 29th in Wild Pitches. Simply put, the bases are pretty much a coin operated ride against Rangers. It’s SO easy to circle the bases against Texas, I’m surprised there’s not a “burm” around in the dirt like a Motocross track. Dale Earnhardt Jr doesn’t turn left as many times as batters in a Ranger game. 3 times in the past week, the Rangers have allowed over 10 runs……and they actually WON one of those games.

The Defense: 29th in Defensive Efficiency and 30th in errors committed. Need I say more?

Conclusion: The Rangers are about as one dimensional as a team can possibly be. Historically, teams like this go down in history as “fun to watch” but never get over the hump. Through July, the Rangers are living up to that. But, 5 games out of the wild card was enough to keep them from trading anyone……so put a coin in the turnstile…..and let’s see what happens!

19^th in runs scored. 19^th in hits. 22^nd in home runs. 19^th in RBIs. 24^th in total bases. 22^nd in on base percentage. And 22^nd in slugging.

On paper, this doesn’t really sound like a division contending team, let alone the best team in baseball by a fair margin.  But when you factor in 8^th in ERA, 7^th in shutouts, 1^st in saves (by ten saves, between first and second), 25^th in earned runs against (yes, that’s a good thing), a winning starting rotation, a solid bullpen, a slid defense, a consistent running game, and you get the Angels. 

Up until last night at about 5-something eastern time, the Angels were not the media’s favorite team to look at.  In fact, the Angels crept slowly into first place without so much as a sneeze.  It wasn’t until about three weeks after the Angels took first place that ESPN even took notice on their power rankings.  The Angels were clearly the underdogs of 2008, who’s game was so much more old-school than any other teams, besides maybe the Minnesota Twins and a more distant example in the Baltimore Orioles. 

This is exactly why I love the Angels.  They defy convention.  Just take a look at the stats for a second.  Even with the pitching stats, there is no way, on paper, that the team should be anything resembling the word “good.”  But baseball isn’t all about numbers, like most sports analysts would love for you to believe.  Yes, the stats have some importance; they tell a lot about where a team is doing well, where they can improve, and what good “deals” are (I’ll get to this, eventually – I know anyone that cares to read about the Angels wouldn’t mind another take on the recent happenings).  But if you’ve never seen an Angels game, you have no idea from just looking at the stats what kind of game they play.  They play a game of movement, of fundamentals, and they do it all while looking like they’re having a great time, like they’re out in a sandlot somewhere playing on passion and drive and the sheer desire to destroy the guys on the other side.  It doesn’t look like a game for money, at least in a general sense, nor does it look like a team whose players are seeking to become the biggest names in the sport.

On the contrary – many of these players go overlooked.  Aside from Vlad, maybe Rodriguez, and maybe Garret Anderson (and Torii Hunter, but only for guys who watch AL teams fairly consistently), there aren’t many names that average joe-shmoe on the outside world of sports would know too readily.  No A-Rod, no Jeter, no Griffey.  Nothing like that.  Just Maicer Izturis, Chone Figgins, Howie Kendrick, and good ol’ Casey Kotchman.  Every one of them reliable (aside from Kendrick, who I’m still finding debatable. Sorry guys – consistency is key, and I’d rather be batting .178 like Mathis and hit in the clutch, with a .350 avg with men in scoring position, than bat .330 overall and strike out when it actually counts), and they all contribute 100% to the team.  You couldn’t ask for more – no disruption, no attitude, no temper, no Ramirez-“esque” antics that draw negative media attention for all the wrong reasons.  No.  Just a solid, down-to-earth, down home feel.

I would imagine that this is what draws so many people to their games, and draws them to the fan base.  It breeds such a family atmosphere, both at the park, and at home.  I revel in the fact that they are an overlooked team, and while it frustrates me when the media says that the reason the Angels swept Boston was because of the absence of Ortiz, I know that the Angels are doing something right.  You don’t go 7-1 on the season as a fluke.  It just doesn’t work that way.

So on to the real business.  Southern California got a few shake-ups yesterday.  I find it funny that things all happen at once.  The Inland Empire, as we “coastal” and “metropolis” people call it – ie. Riverside, Chino, San Bernardino, Ontario, etc – got rocked pretty good with a 5.4 earthquake.  To put that in perspective, for those of you who haven’t experienced an earthquake, the Whittier earthquake of 1987 (I was just about two at the time, and Whittier is literally about 5-10 miles from my hometown) was a 5.9 and caused about $358 million in damages, and a few years ago the Northridge earthquake (which more people will remember) rocked the LA area at 6.7, killing over 60 people and injuring about 3,000, while causing billions of dollars worth of damage to buildings, homes, and major LA freeways. So 5.4 isn’t exactly huge, but it isn’t exactly minor either. 

Not but a few hours later, just before Lackey almost had himself the first no-hitter an Angels pitcher has ever thrown against the Red Sox at Fenway, things were getting shaken up at Fenway during Angels’ batting practice.  Not too many people really saw this coming.  For the last few days the reports have rumored the possibility, but there couldn’t have been too many people that thought it would materialize.  All you have to do is look back at the history of the team at the deadline.  This same deal was in the works last year, and never made it through.  But this Reagins guy, mover and shaker all by his lonesome.  I don’t think Stoneman would have flinched on this one.  No deal. I really think.

So let’s break it down.  Mark Teixeira has hit .283 with 20 home runs this season.  He is a career Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All-Star, and his season averages are pretty much insane.  He hits over 30 home runs a season, on the average, and claims about 120 RBIs as well.  He’s good. There’s no doubt about that.  I remember watching him play with Texas, when the Angels saw him quite frequently, and I hated him every time we saw him, because there was never a game that went by where that guy wasn’t getting a hit and being a general pest. 

On the flip side, Casey Kotchman is definitely having a career year.  He’s only been healthy for an entire season let’s see… this time.  He’s got himself 12 home runs, three in the last four games he’s played, he’s hitting .287 currently, and has been more effective against left-handed pitching than any lefty in the Angels lineup.  Not to mention, he’s been hitting in the clutch, batting very effectively in the two spot, taking pitches, working the counts, and he is easily the best defensive first-baseman playing the game.  I don’t care what you Youkilis fans think. You’re wrong.  Casey is a jewel.  He is subtle, hard working, respectful, and an all around asset on the field and in the dugout. 

The deal itself, taken at face value, looks like a steal for the Angels.  Teixeira was worth five players to the Braves when they traded for him last year at about the same time, and yet because of the strains on the market, the Angels got him back for only two, an almost even one-to-one trade, first baseman for first baseman, plus a minor league reliever Stephen Marek.  But you can’t just look at it that way.  There is so much more than just today involved in this deal, and that is where I start to doubt the move completely.

For one, I think the Angels got where they are largely in part because of the contributions of Kotchman, and I feel bad that he has to get taken out of a possible World Series run to sit with a team that has no chance in hell of making it period.  That just sucks on any ethical level, and he better get something for his contribution.  Two, I’m a big proponent of the idea “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  I think everyone’s statements about the fact that the Angels are 7-1 right now against Boston means nothing in the post season, because they’ve been wipped by them the last few times in the division series.  However, I think this is totally irrelevant at this point.  The Angels had losing seasons during the regular season against Boston those years they were swept in the post season.  And I think that saying the post-season is different is totally ridiculous.  You have the same team, the same players, same parks, and with the Angels’ philosophy of one day at a time, I don’t think that has any relevance at all.  7-1 over the season should indicate that the Angels can take Boston anywhere anytime, especially with the best road-record by a VAST majority.  Bring it, is what they should have been saying.  But instead, they fell to the stupid media hype about the dumb big bat, and caved in.

I lost respect for the team’s management a bit yesterday.  Being a fan of faith, I know – not think, but know – the Angels could’ve done it as it was.  They’ve been doing it thus far, even with bad offense, and now with good offense.  Good pitching trumps good hitting. ALWAYS.  Now, we lose a bit of the luster for the old game by bringing in a media-approved “big bat.”

But my biggest concern is not for this season, but for the future.  Mark Teixeira becomes a free agent at the end of 2008.  Scott Boras is his agent.  Enough said.  It has been rumored that Teixeira and Boras will look for $230 million over a 10 year deal.  To put that in perspective, A-Rod, who is arguably the best talent in baseball (at least offensively, he’s unrivaled), is currently signed with the Yankees for $252 million over 10 years (with perks for hitting marks that he makes that could put him over $300 million in that span).  I don’t think Teixeira is worth nearly that much.  Truthfully, I don’t think anyone should be worth that much. It’s just ridiculous.  But if the Angels don’t sign him after this season, it puts a huge hole in a place that Kotchman would have been filling for the next three years, at least, easily.  And there is every reason to believe that Kotchman will get better and better and better with every season. 

I don’t know that the Angels will be able to land him for that kind of cash.  They’re already paying a decent sum to both Hunter and Matthews, and will be stuck with a lot of work to do at the end of this season in terms of all the free agencies and arbitrations with Frankie Rodriguez, Chone Figgins, Darren Oliver, John Lackey, Vlad Guerrero, Garrett Anderson, Jon Garland, Juan Rivera, etc etc etc.  The list goes on.  Plus Teixeira in the mix; that’s a lot of work in the off-season for a two or three month rental player.  And I don’t know how much more Arte Moreno will be willing to stretch his wallet and the payroll. 

I just fear the future of this team because of this one move.  It leaves too many questions, and takes away that whole underdog appeal.  I just don’t know if it’ll be worth it in the long run, or if it was even worth it to begin with.  I guess we’ll just have to watch and find out.  I just know that I’m definitely not jumping up and down at this one, like everyone else in my generation of young home-run watching fans, I’ll stick to the traditional view and say I think we just lost a bit of magic, whether on the field, or in my perception.

The Braves organization needs to look to their future.  Pending a monumental turnaround, the chances that they will make the postseason in 2008 is slim to none.  That’s why they have to make the right decision and trade gold glove first baseman Mark Teixeira by Thursday.  Under the grim circumstances of this disappointing season, it’s the only logical move to make.  It’s not that Teixeira isn’t a very good player.  It’s that the Braves gave up way too much collateral out of their farm system to acquire Teixeira, and they don’t want to see all that potential talent wasted on the fat, free agent contract that he’ll command on the open market this offseason. 

One year ago, the Braves were lucky enough to land Teixeira and southpaw reliever Ron Mahay from the Texas Rangers.  The idea at the time was that both additions could do the Braves tremendous good; Teixeira would bolster the middle of a lineup that was ailing offensively and Mahay would help to sure up a shaky bullpen that had lost lefty Mike Gonzalez to season-ending “Tommy John” surgery.  When then GM John Scheurholz pulled the trigger on the trade, giving up top prospects Jarrod Saltalmacchia, Elvis Andrus and three other lesser prospects, he knew that he was sacrificing the future for the present.  Win now.  If not in 2007, the Braves definitely looked poised to make a playoff run in 2008. 

That hope obviously never had a chance to flourish.  An unmerciful amount of injuries to key players has this year’s Braves on their way to their third straight season with no postseason.  Even though they could keep Teixeira for the rest of this year, it would be a grave mistake.  The morale in Braves Nation has vanished.  The reality has started to sink in that 2008 is not our year.  It would be great if the Braves’ payroll was deep enough to re-sign Teixeira, but the fact of the matter is that they can’t come close to matching the absurd numbers that Teixeira’s hard-nosed agent – Scott Boras – will demand once negotiations start this winter. 

The fact that Teixeira turned down an eight-year, $130 million dollar contract offer from the Rangers just goes to show you how Scott Boras likes to operate.  Always a fierce negotiator, Boras loves to test the free agent market.  He has an impressive list of clients, including Alex Rodriguez and Andruw Jones.  They all receive incredibly lucrative deals that far exceed the norm.  Teixeira won’t be an exception.  That’s why the Braves have got to send him on his way, while there’s still time to lockdown some quality players in return. 

In a perfect world, the Braves would be looking to acquire at least two outstanding pitching prospects in the mold of Jair Jurrjens for Teixeira.  However, the current market isn’t booming with that kind of starting pitching, even if it’s unproven.  The market also isn’t laced with contending teams that need a power-hitting first baseman.  The teams that are being tossed around the rumor mill include the Red Sox, Diamondbacks, Angels, Dodgers and Pirates.  Each of these teams could offer a player in return that the Braves could use at first base to avoid a platoon situation.  This may not be the best scenario for the Braves, but they need to take the best offer they can get and run with it.  Losing a gold glove caliber switch-hitting behemoth is never easy for any team.  But if the Braves don’t trade Teixeira now, they’ll be losing a lot more.

Pudge in pinstripes?  That doesn’t just look wrong.  That looks “Ramon Vazquez moustache” wrong.  That looks “Solid Gold Brett Favre Commemorative Retirement Coin” wrong.  That looks “Rosanne-Barr-in-a-thong” wrong. 

Like Julio Franco, Pudge is one of our guys, even if the Hall of Fame plaque has a Tigers or a Marlins cap on the man.  He grew up here, he was our hero, and he was a main cog on the best teams the Rangers ever trotted out there.  For a little while, we were all sure that he was going to stay with Texas, finding a way to finish his career here, ending up with what the purists call a “clean” baseball card, only one team listed on the back.

Of course, we also believed the writers and knowledgeable baseball people who talked endlessly about how Pudge was going to be heading out to second base to extend his career and how catchers faced a serious decline when they hit a certain number of games caught.  But Pudge certainly didn’t buy into any of that, and he took his about-to-decline knees to Florida for a World Series ring and then on to Detroit for another World Series appearance. 

And we still cheered for him when he came through town with the opposing team.  Despite the season that his on-the-scoreboard photo made small children cry (the famous “floating lipsticked Pudge head”), Ivan Rodriguez was still a fan favorite.  And now he’s going to be here with the Yankees?  Pinstripes?  Our Pudge?  The Yankees????

So what do we do next week?  Do we boo him?  It’s the Yankees, for cryin’ out loud.  Can you cheer for a Yankee?  I have traditionally only held real and honest contempt for three baseball teams:  The White Sox, the Mariners, and the Yankees.  Family obligations have forced me to revisit and revise my dislike of the first two.  But New York?  I like Pudge, and he’s baseball family, isn’t he?  Well, he was.  He’s the bad guy now.

Couldn’t they have just found Pudge sniffing glue while stealing money from orphans?  Couldn’t he have been caught injecting salmonella into jalapenos across the southwestern United States?  Why couldn’t Pudge Rodriguez have been busted for steroids, HGH, and betting on baseball while winning the Tour de France?  Why did it have to be the Yankees?

With the trade of second baseman Ray Durham to Milwaukee on July 20, San Francisco parted ways with a player who held the longest tenure on the team and officially started a new chapter. Whether the Giants can unload remaining veterans such as Rich Aurilia, Omar Vizquel or Randy Winn before the July 31 trade deadline remains to be seen. In dispatching Durham to the Brewers, the Giants answered the question of whether they would send away their veterans with a resounding yes.

In return, the Giants received low-level prospects in outfielder Darren Ford and left-hander Steve Hammond, two players who might or might not factor in the team’s future plans. The trade of Durham was more about creating a vacancy at second base rather than the players headed the Giants’ way.

Shortstop turned second baseman Emmanuel Burriss, can now be plugged into Durham’s old spot on a full-time basis without the threat of controversy or hurt feelings. Not that Durham ever had the label of a complainer, but the Giants simply have a hard time letting go and constantly feel the need to satisfy older players at the expense of younger ones.

Desperate for a roster makeover for the past few years, the Giants’ sluggish approach is similar to pulling off a bandage a bit at a time instead of tugging the entire thing off in one grand stroke. Maybe they’re more comfortable with this measured and conservative plan. Possibly, to act with abandon would be too much to handle and would reveal how far the Giants have to climb to reach the top again.

At least the trade of Durham along with the introduction of several youthful players this season provides hope that the turnover has begun, though at a painstakingly slow pace. For the Brewers, Durham provides insurance at second base in case Rickie Weeks continues to struggle as well as a left-handed bat off the bench.

After a weekend sweep by the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks, the Giants (43-61) dropped to 10 games back and face a trying final two months of the season. Barry Zito (5-13) became the major league’s first 13-game loser this year on Sunday and reverted back to his maddening ways. Zito threw 103 pitches in five innings of work, while giving up six runs and five walks.

Zito struck out 10 Dodgers on July 5 appearing to conjure up the magic of his old ways and seemingly had regained solid form, but regressed against Arizona with another bout of wildness. Though Zito has discovered another two to three miles per hour on his fastball, his control is lacking and limits him from pitching deep into a game. Whether Zito’s problem is physical or mental isn’t clear, but the left-hander has a penchant for over-thinking and being too cerebral when on the mound. Lucky for Zito, the Giants haven’t a shot to win anything this year, but if they did, the pitcher would become a permanent member of the Giants’ bullpen and not just as a visitor, which he did a few months back.

It appears the Giants will take a conservative approach to Tim Lincecum’s work-load in the second-half. On Saturday against Arizona, Lincecum exited with a 3-2 lead after seven innings and 13 strikeouts. Set-up man, Tyler Walker entered and blew the Giants’ slim advantage for a 5-3 loss.

No matter how dominant, the Giants are set on protecting their future ace and use his pitch count to guide them. The right-hander threw 111 pitches against Arizona, which the Giants believed to be enough. The problem is San Francisco features a weak bullpen with closer Brian Wilson the lone exception. For Lincecum to leave his outstanding performance is hard enough, but to place control of the game in the abilities of a mediocre bullpen is even tougher to understand.

With Lincecum, baseball logic fails to apply, which is why many assume he’s fragile instead of durable. But, as pointed out in a Sports Illustrated article, Lincecum’s mechanics were designed by his father Chris to alleviate the pressure and stress of throwing a baseball from his arm to his lower half. His legs, hips and torso do all the work, while his arm goes along for the ride. At 5-10, Lincecum might not have the prototypical baseball build, which confuses some who view him as an injury in waiting and prefer a pitcher the height of Mark Prior, who at 6-5 has had a career riddled with arm problems.

Back on the trade front, the Giants seem unwilling to part with Winn, which makes one wonder how bright they view the future of minor league outfielder Nate Schierholtz. The right fielder is headed to Beijing with the U.S. Olympic baseball team, which means he won’t reach San Francisco until September.

For right now, baby steps on the path towards progress might be enough, but if San Francisco doesn’t make another move before Thursday and continues to play the veterans well into the summer, this season’s downward spiral will continue into next year.

Hitting .297 with a .376 on-base and .475 slugging percentage at Fenway as a team, the Boston lineup scores an average of 5.8 runs per home game.

But, then, take that same crew away from Fenway: the team average drops; the accumulative OBP dips; and a power sap follows suit. As a result, the offense—prior to the club’s three-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field—has produced 4.3 runs per road game, ranking them towards the middle of the pack in the AL in terms of road run production.

Now, it’s no strange occurrence that an offense produces more at home than they do on the road. Various reasons, ranging from ballpark factors to simple creature comforts, play a role in the splits. Yet, despite the seemingly stark contrast between Boston’s home and road offensive splits, the Sox—with a .762 OPS away from Fenway—lead the AL in road average (.266), road on-base (.336), and road slugging (.425) through July 20.

This begs the question: based on the above, just how many runs should the Sox be averaging on the road?

It’s such a pity that there isn’t a way to calculate such things. Oh, wait. There is!

Introduced in a previous post, a statistic called Base Runs (BsR) does just that by estimating the numbers of runs a team should have scored given their component offensive statistics (as well as the number of runs a pitcher should have allowed).

Here’s the *basic formula for hitters: BsR = A x B / (B + C) + D, where A equals baserunners (H + BB + HBP - HR), B equals **advancement ([1.4 x TB - .6 x H - 3 x HR + .1 x (BB + HBP)] x 1.02), C equals outs (PA - H), and D equals home runs.

*More detailed and precise versions of BsR will include in the equation stolen bases, caught stealing numbers, and double plays.

**Component B, or the “advancement” portion of the equation, has pre-established linear weights, or coefficients, tailored for the run expectancy of certain offensive events.

After plugging in the Sox road numbers through July 20 , we get:

A = (496 + 179 + 27 - 62) = 640

B = ([1.4 x 783 - .6 x 496 - 3 x 62 + .1 x (179 + 27)] x 1.02) = 646

C = (2099 - 496) = 1603

D = 62

BsR = 640 x 646 / (646 + 1368) + 62 = 246 Base Runs

So, after all that, what do we have? Well, the Sox have scored 229 runs on the road and allowed 241. A simple win-loss expectancy calculation based on run differential has Boston’s Pythagorean road record at 25-28—or four games below their actual road record.

But by figuring out how many runs the Sox should have scored via BsR, we can now calibrate the Pythagorean formula by replacing the 229 actual road runs scored with the 246 expected road runs scored. In doing so, Boston’s Pythagorean road record improves to 27-26—or six games below their actual road record.

Unfortunately for the Sox, and as you may have long ago surmised, games aren’t decided by Base Runs; otherwise, the team would be in fair shape on the road.

The larger point to all this mathematical madness is quite simple: the Boston offense, based on the numbers, has been inefficient on the road through 53 games.

But why?

As always, luck does play a major factor. There’s very little rhyme or reason to the fact that the Sox thrive with runners in scoring position at home yet collapse in the same hitting situations on the road. In both cases, the offense is getting runners on base at a higher than league average rate, but in only one case are they delivering runs across the plate at an inefficient pace. Wait, that did kind of rhyme!

However, the old luck card has its limitations in the blame pie. Digging deeper, the Fenway Effect can’t be ignored.

A notorious extra-base haven due to unique field dimensions, Fenway has always aided the Sox offense in the doubles department. It’s been no different this season as Boston averages nearly one more double per home game than the team does on the road. A small variance, for sure, but it, combined with a dip in walks drawn, partly explains the offensive inefficiency as the team becomes more reliant on a singles and wait-for-a-homer approach on the road while being a far more diversified attack at home.

But there’s more cause to this road effect. A good chunk of the Boston offense simply performs far worse on the road than they do at home.

While the middle portion of the Sox batting order—Dustin Pedroia, J.D. Drew, Manny Ramirez, Mike Lowell, and Kevin Youkilis—have displayed no discernible home/road split, the balance of the lineup—Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Varitek, Coco Crisp, and Julio Lugo—has been abysmal away from Fenway.

The now injured Lugo—a .305 hitter this season at home—had hit .233/.327/.271 on the road before tearing his left quadriceps, leaving the rest of his season in doubt. Crisp—another .300 hitter at Fenway—has an equally miserable line of .211/.281/.366 in away games. And Varitek, in the midst of an already dire season, has managed to post an even more unsightly road line of .188/.308/.318 in 48 contests.

In the case of Ellsbury, the problem is far more glaring given his status as the Sox lead-off hitter. Disregarding his overall slump since June, the team’s supposed table-setter has been anything but on the road. Getting on-base at a sub-.300 clip in away games, Ellsbury’s lack of appearances on the base paths has been a fundamental reason why the lineup has underperformed on the road.

Once you account for the fact that these four hitters have typically made up the 7-8-9-1 batters in the lineup, the foursome forms a type of—what I like to call—black hole of ineptitude that affects the sandwiched hitters. In theory, the 2-3 hitters have few and far between RBI opportunities due to the batters in front of them while the 5-6 hitters remain dependent on the bottom order batters to drive them in.

In sum, it’s a cyclical vortex of futility.

The solution?

More home games, for one—something the Sox will receive 35 more times this season.

With an astounding .766 winning percentage at Fenway, the Sox can’t afford to stumble in their backyard now—not after tunneling themselves into a road hole deeper than the Big Dig.

More production from the catcher or shortstop positions wouldn’t hurt, either—two season-long troublesome spots that will have to improve from within the organization.

The Sox don’t need great production from the catcher and shortstop positions, merely league average—in fact, given the strength of the lineup, the team can even carry one offensive black hole, just not two or three. At his age and current rate of decline, a complete or even quasi Varitek rebound may not be in the forecast, but rookie shortstop Jed Lowrie, in place of Lugo, could lengthen the lineup if his minor league hitting equivalencies hold true.

And, finally, more David Ortiz—with the thunderclap of his bat once again echoing throughout New England, he’s coming. And soon.

Showing no ill effects from a left wrist injury that rendered the slugger disabled for nearly two months, a self-described pain-free Ortiz launched home runs in each of his first three rehab games with Triple-A Pawtucket over the weekend.

Expected to return to the Sox lineup when the New York Yankees hit Fenway this Friday night, the league’s most feared designated hitter will not only provide a big bopper boost, but also allow manager Terry Francona to platoon Ellsbury and Crisp in center field as well as potentially drop the scuffling Ellsbury from the lead-off spot in favor of Drew’s .400-plus OBP or Pedroia’s scorching-hot bat.

Of course, an inefficient road offense is just one side to the team’s home and road disparities. In the third and final part to Boston’s homesick blues, the fire-starters in the Sox bullpen take the brunt of the heat.