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April 16, 2007
Dodging the rain and the wind as travel through the baseball world . . .
'SOMETIMES I THINK IT'S MANNY'S WORLD, AND WE ALL JUST EXIST IN IT': So says minor-league catcher Greg Brown in a comprehensive profile of Manny Ramirez in the latest edition of The New Yorker. It may be the most revealing look we've ever gotten -- and the most revealing look we'll ever get -- at Ramirez, whom David Ortiz describes (in the piece) as being "in his own world, on his own planet. Totally different human being than everyone else.” Seth Mnookin has a mini-review on his blog.
GOOD POINT: The Red Sox racial history was back under the microscope this weekend as baseball in general, and the team in particular, remembered and honored Jackie Robinson. (Providence Journal) In that light, the Herald's Steve Buckley questions why former Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey is in the Hall of Fame. (Boston Herald)
YOU SEE, THIS IS WHY 2004 WAS SO IMPORTANT: Because prior to then, Bucky would have put a Red Sox cap on Satchel. (comics.com) Although, now that I think of it, maybe not; Darby Conley is, after all, a Massachusetts native and a Red Sox fan. But, having lived through it, I think it's all the more reason not to rag on another team's misfortune.
WELL, ALL RIGHT, JUST THIS ONCE: Except, of course, for a certain team that blows a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth when -- after getting the first two men out -- Mariano Rivera surrenders a three-run, walkoff home run to an .050 hitter. (New York Daily News)
BACK TO THE CUBS: Ignoring the franchise's history would be a lot easier if the manager didn't refer to it after an aggravating loss. (Chicago Sun Times)
AND BACK TO THE YANKEES: Since Yankee fans were uniformly unsympathetic last year when the Red Sox lost, in no particular order, Jason Varitek and Trot Nixon and David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez and Curt Schilling and Jonathan Papelbon and Jon Lester down the stretch -- after having already lost Matt Clement and David Wells, and missing Wily Mo Pena and Coco Crisp for extended stretches -- you'll forgive us if we're not crying a river over the state of their pitching these days. (New York Post)
YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH: Johnny Damon is annoyed that A's rookie Travis Buck was impolite enough to mention Damon's arm. (San Francisco Chronicle)
UH OH: The Blue Jays see themselves as the A.L. East darkhorse, but not if the injury to BJ Ryan is serious (The Chronicle Herald)
G38: Curt Schilling breaks down Saturday's eight shutout innings. Even if you're not into the pitch-by-pitch descriptions, he always provides some interesting tidbits for more casual fans. On this day, he 1) talks frankly about the work of home-plate umpire Tim Timmons, and how one call probably cost him a chance for a complete game, in the midst of a frank and fascinating discussion about umpires, and 2) well, in his own words:
"The fans in NY and Boston are always very in tune with the starting pitchers and pitch counts. Walking off the mound -- when the fans know you've probably pitched your last inning -- as the home guy with those fans on their feet is a rush you just can’t understand . . . April 14th in Fenway and 35,000+ people are on their feet, and LOUD. It’s a rush, an incredible rush. I know it will absolutely be one of the things I’ll miss when I am done but man it’s pretty frickin’ unreal to experience."
Pretty good stuff (38pitches.com)
ENDING ON A SAD NOTE: The seven-month old son of former Sox shortstop Alex Gonzalez reportedly is critically ill. (Dayton Daily News)
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
at 7:56 AM | Permalink
