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August 17, 2007
AWARD-WINNING DEBUT? Steven Krasner takes advantage of the off-day to look at the rookie season of Dustin Pedroia (above, Journal photo by Kris Craig), who could have a trophy with the engraving ''Rookie of the Year'' sitting on his mantle when it's over. (projo.com)
IMPRESSIVE COMPANY: If he wins it, he'll join a few pretty big names -- and one Hall of Famer -- who won the Rookie of the Year award as members of the Red Sox. (en.wikipedia.org)
IT WAS FORTY YEARS AGO TODAY . . . that Tony Conigliaro was hit in the eye by a pitch from the Angels' Jack Hamilton, derailing what could have been a Hall of Fame career. Conigliaro, of course, has passed away, but the Boston Herald's Steve Buckley talks to Hamilton, who now runs a restaurant in Bramson, Missouri. Hamilton says the pitch to Tony C. simply got away from him -- he wasn't throwing at Conigliaro -- and that he's sorry it happened. His wife asks Buck to ''please tell those people in Boston that what happened in 1967 was an accident, and that he’s a good guy.”
MIND GAMES: The Boston Herald's Rob Bradford talks to the Cleveland Indians' sports psychologist, who says Manny Ramirez ''is at an elite level in terms of being able to focus and go pitch to pitch. What he is able to do that separates him from other players is his ability to keep his mind in the moment . . He doesn’t get caught up in what is happening around him.”
SACRIFICIAL LAMB? Ervin Santana, who never pitches well at Fenway Park, will be the Angels' starter tonight against Josh Beckett. (Los Angeles Daily News) They'll throw their ace, John Lackey, against Clay Buchholz.
WE KNOW, JOE, WE KNOW: Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon always used the quirky 3-4 defense when David Ortiz was at the plate, but not anymore. ''He's just a different hitter," Maddon said. "It is just an entirely different chart than last year.'' (St. Petersburg Times)
FLAW IN THE ARGUMENT: Joe Posnanski says a ''brilliant reader and [Jim] Rice lobbyist [named] Paul White'' (who I believe was a regular on projo.com's old Off The Wall site years ago) has ''softened'' Posnanski's views on Rice's Hall of Fame candidacy, though he still doesn't think Rice belongs in. However, Posnanski says White's basic point -- that there are 20 left fielders in the Hall, Rice compares favorably to all of them, and therefore the writers are flaunting the standards that they've established by not electing Rice -- is incorrect, because 9 of the 20 were not voted in by the writers but put in by the Veterans Committee. ''If we as writers use our own standards set through the years,'' says Joe, ''we absolutely would not vote for Jim Rice.'' (thesoulofbaseball.blogspot.com)
PROBABLY NOT: The blog One More Dying Quail notes that Sporting News Radio's Dave Smith says the Red Sox' first-round playoff opponent will be either the Detroit Tigers or the Milwaukee Brewers.
THAT'S JUST SICK: The Yankees posted a sign in their clubhouse prior to last night's game: ''Do not interact with the Detroit Tigers players at any time. They are experiencing medical issues.'' But in the end it was the Yankees feeling ill as Detroit jumped out to a 4-0 lead off Mike Mussina in the first inning and cruised to an 8-3 win. (Detroit News)
BASEBALL'S A HUMBLING GAME: And the New York Post's Mike Vaccaro says the previously scorching Yankees have indeed been humbled these last five days, which include three straight losses and two other games they very easily could have lost.
IF YOU GO, YOU'RE GONE: Brian Cashman reiterated yesterday that the Yankees won't pursue Alex Rodriguez if he opts out of his contract at the end of the year. (Newark Star-Ledger)
TAKE YOUR PICK: SI.com's John Donovan lists five reasons why the Yankees will make the playoffs, and five reasons why they won't.
PILING ON: Gary Sheffield just can't stop talking about Joe Torre; now he's calling the Yankee manager a phony. (New York Post)
DANGER, DANGER! Seth Mnookin says Torre is abusing the now-fragile Mariano Rivera with the way he uses him and wonders why no one in the mainstream media has mentioned it. (sethmnookin.com) Purely coincidentally, I'm sure -- I seriously doubt Joe reads Seth's blog -- Torre said he's giving Rivera a couple of days off. (New York Post)
OFF THE HOOK: Jason Giambi won't face punishment from Bud Selig over his admission of steroid usage, thanks to both his cooperation with former Sen. George Mitchell's investigation and ''his public-service work.'' (New York Daily News)
WHAT'S THE DEAL? In a chat with readers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Bob Smizik says Roger Clemens' accomplishments after the age of 40 are just as impressive as Barry Bonds', making him wonder why Clemens has escaped steroids scrutiny. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
GET OVER IT: The brilliant Roger Angell defends Bonds -- ''the Lord Voldemort of baseball'' -- in a New Yorker essay: ''[Home]-run totals are determined not just by the batters but by different pitchers, in very different eras, and, most of all, by the outer dimensions of the major-league parks, which have always varied widely and have been deliberately reconfigured in the sixteen ballparks built since 1992, thus satisfying the owners’ financial interest in more and still more home runs. Bonds has been called a cheater, but the word should hardly come up in a sport whose proprietors, if they were in charge of the classic Olympic hundred-metre dash, would stage it variously at a hundred and six metres, ninety-four, a hundred and three, and so forth, and engrave the resulting times on a tablet.'' (newyorker.com)
THE REAL REASON: On his blog, Tim Kawakami says the A's don't need Barry Bonds because Jack Cust is better, and he tells you why. (www.mercextra.com/blogs/kawakami)
JUST A BALLPLAYER: Rick Ankiel says he's looking forward to the day when he's not such a big story for his transformation from pitcher to outfielder. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
NOT ON SPEAKING TERMS: The agent for troubled pitcher Scott Olsen says he'll never again talk to Marlins owner David Samson after Samson said Olsen would not be welcome on the team if he is convicted on July 21 charges of driving under the influence, resisting an officer with violence and fleeing and eluding a police officer. The agent, Matt Sosnick (who represents seven Marlins total), added that Samson was an "absolute joke" and a "totally hated guy." (Palm Beach Post)
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: Willie Randolph ripped into the Mets after they blew a 5-0 lead and lost to the Pirates. (New York Daily News)
QUICKLY: The Angels are hoping Bartolo Colon can rejoin them for the stretch run (Los Angeles Daily News) . . . Alfonso Soriano insists he'll be back playing for the Cubs before the Sept. 1 target date (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . Carlos Zambrano showed no signs of injury during his Thursday throw day (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . Nick Johnson, who's still recuperating from a broken leg suffered last September, won't be back this year (Washington Post) . . . Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson has cleared waivers, leaving open the possibility of a trade to Detroit (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) . . . The Rangers have placed Brandon McCarthy on the disabled list because of a fractured shoulder (mlb.com).
OLD FRIENDS: Derek Lowe pitched ''seven dazzing, shutout innings'' as the Dodgers beat the Astros (Los Angeles Daily News) . . . Tony Armas Jr. was nowhere near as dazzling for the Pirates, but, as noted, they still beat the Mets (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) . . . ESPN.com reports the Dodgers and Rockies are interested in David Wells . . . Pedro Martinez will make his third rehab start Monday (New York Daily News) . . . Edgar Renteria is recovering nicely from his high ankle sprain (Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
at 7:00 AM | Permalink
