Posts Tagged ‘MVP’
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Ramirez, Sox End Volatile Relationship: Latest “Manny Being Manny” Antics Swelled Into Selfish Discontent, Forcing Boston To Make A MoveAugust 4th, 2008
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And just like that, he’s gone.
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. Read more
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Happy May Day!May 2nd, 2008
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Happy May Day! In all honesty, I have no idea what May Day is really about. It has something to do with a pole, maybe? Regardless, I am celebrating all the same. You see, there’s something happening in Philadelphia today that baseball fans haven’t seen in quite some time. The Philies –wait for it- have actually managed to finish an April with a wining record. In the immortal words of Dizzy Dean, “Who’d have thunk it?”
You might ask why I’m excited over a team posting a 16-13 record in one month of a marathon season. I’ll give you that, on paper, 16-13 is not the most impressive baseball a team can play. However, in light of seasons past and a plethora of injuries, question marks, and slow starts, the Phillies have accomplished something here, if only psychologically, that could reverberate through the entire season.
As it stands of this writing, the Phillies are a half-game ahead of the second place Florida Marlins. Considering the Marlins are in fact the Marlins and will certainly fall off the pace at some point, lets celebrate the Philies sole possession of first-place in the NL East. They are a full game up on the Mets and three ahead of Atlanta. While both teams still pose serious threats, a lead is a lead is a lead. Perhaps most impressive of all though, the Phillies have managed all this despite both predictive and situational odds.
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Don’t Tread On Me!April 25th, 2008
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There are certain sworn enemies, rivalries born of bloodlust, that must persist in order for our fragile planet to continue spinning on its axis: cats and dogs, the Hatfields and the McCoys, Domingo Montoya and the six-fingered man, Willie Nelson and sobriety. Anyone in Philadelphia knows the contentious relationship between Phillies’ fans and management should surely be added to the list.
In what will surely feed the flames of this ever-persistent battle of wills is the troubling report published on “Off The Record”, a sports-oriented blog, yesterday that Jimmy Rollins’ sprained ankle is really a broken bone.
Let’s dismiss the debacle that landed Jimmy Rollins on the disabled list after missing essentially 10 games prior to his 15-day shelving. True baseball is still managed by an innate feeling and I’m sure there was much debate and hope spread among J-Roll, the coaches, trainers, and management as to when the MVP shortstop would be ready. Still, what’s done is done and Eric Bruntlett is a two-week pill that we all must swallow.