ALL GROWN UP NOW: Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal says the Sox' success without David Ortiz is proof that they're no longer dependent on the Ortiz-Ramirez axis and are instead a deep and multitalented team that can beat you many ways.
Q AND A WITH . . . Justin Masterson, conducted by SI.com's Holden Kushner.
NEVER MIND: The Chicago Sun-Times shoots down a report that the Cubs have a renewed interest in Coco Crisp, quoting one insider as saying Chicago hasn't talked to the Sox about Crisp since spring training.
READY TO SHOP: Even though he says they don't need much -- right-handed middle reliever, veteran bat off the bench -- Yahoo.com's Steve Henson lists the Sox as "buyers" in his look at who'll be buying and who'll be selling come the trade deadline.
DOUBLE FEATURE: Joe McDonald reports the PawSox are both developing players and winning games this year. Usually, they can only do one or the other.
SWEPT AWAY: The St. Petersburg Times' John Romano says the Rays have "evolved from curiosity to phenomenon. They have reached the point where a pennant race is not just a possibility, but an expectation." The Tampa Tribune's Martin Fennelly concurs, asserting the Rays are "no fluke. They show no signs of wilting under pressure . . . They're dreaming big." And what prompted all this? An 8-3 comeback win over the Cubs that completed a three-game sweep of the team with the best record in baseball, in front of another 30,000-plus crowd at The Trop, no less. (Tampa Tribune) The blog DRaysBay lists all the records the team set last night, including "most facetime . . . on Baseball Tonight." Get used to it; with each passing day this Rays team reminds me more and more of the 1967 Red Sox, a young and talented group with no history of success that gradually found its footing and discovered -- to its delight -- that it could, indeed, stand toe to toe with the big boys.
THE DOWNSIDE OF SUCCESS: Another sign the Rays have arrived: Their fans complain strenuously about the umpires. (Outs Per Swing blog)
CAN'T BLAME THE STAT GEEKS FOR THIS ONE: Analysts have never seen Derek Jeter as being bathed in the same golden hue as some fans, and criticism -- any criticism -- of Our Captain has drawn quick and angry rebuke from the Mystique and Aura crowd. (Their take is pretty accurately summed up on the blog Blogging The Bombers.) But now it's fellow major-leaguers saying Jeter is the most overrated player in baseball. (New York Daily News)
The best take is provided by Josh Alper of AOL's Fanhouse: "He's never been as good or as bad as either side would have you believe. And if he didn't play in New York no one would care half as much."
THE RIGHT MOVE: Joba Chamberlain still doesn't have a win as a starter, but that doesn't mean his move to the rotation is going poorly. He kept the Yankees in yesterday's game with 5 2/3 strong innings before reaching the 100-pitch limit, enabling them to go on and defeat the Padres, 2-1. (New York Post) Just another example, says the Post's Kevin Kernan, of why "Yankees Universe is so much more of a respectable place than the Bizarro World of the Mets."
WHAT'S THAT YOU WERE SAYING THERE, HANK? The Daily News' Bill Madden looks back with amusement at Hank Steinbrenner's rant about interleague play, noting that the Yanks' current hot streak is the direct result of the Yanks' feasting on some National League cupcakes.
LOOKING (WAY) AHEAD: Newsday's Johnette Howard says the Yankee resurgence has added some juice to their upcoming series with the Red Sox, even though it's two weeks away.
MY TURN: Willie Randolph writes -- or had someone ghost-write -- his take on his firing by the Mets for the Daily News. "I won't lie to you," he says. "I don't like the way the Mets handled my firing. I think it was pretty weak. I think I would've deserved better if my record had been 0-555, not 302-253." Still, he absolves Omar Minaya of any malicious intent. And in one of the more amusing sidenotes, he cites Brian McNamee -- and not Bill Belichick -- as the source of the saying "it is what it is."
OUR TURN: With the Mets off yesterday, it gave the media one last chance to go over the Randolph firing. The Post's Phil Musnick says Randolph's indulgence of the team's lazy play cost him his job. And colleague Jay Greenberg thinks the combination of a paranoid man (Randolph) and a paranoid organization (Mets) was a doomed match.
ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO: Tony Bernazard is emerging as the hidden villain in all this, at least in media accounts of how it all went down. And now the Daily News is reporting Bernazard may be in line to replace Minaya if the GM doesn't survive . . . which apparently is possible.
BUT STILL . . . The Post's Mike Vaccaro thinks the division title is still there for the taking if the Mets can regroup.
NUMBER TWO: Joining Randolph on the unemployment line is John McLaren, fired yesterday by the Mariners. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) David Pinto of Baseball Musings normally blames the general manager "for putting a terrible team on the field," but concedes that "[as] far as I can tell, however, McLaren did nothing to get the most out of a weak squad."
BACK UP THE TRUCK: Former Seattle Times journalist Bob Sherwin, now writing for examiner.com, makes a bunch of recommendations to the Mariners, which include releasing Richie Sexson ("not a leader") and trading Erik Bedard ("a flake and a bit of a fake . . . his act is tired . . . a fraud").
NEXT! With the first two managerial casualties of the season recorded, the Toronto Star's Richard Griffin makes his recommendation for the third: John Gibbons of the Blue Jays.
SORRY DON'T FEED THE BULLDOG: J.P. Ricciardi has apologized for disparaging comments he made about the Reds' Adam Dunn on his radio show Wednesday night. (Vancouver Sun) But that didn't stop Dunn -- the "affable" Dunn, according to the Columbus Dispatch -- from firing back at the Blue Jays' GM, calling him a "clown."
OH, SO THAT'S WHAT THAT MEANS! Joe Posnanski says the J.P. in Ricciardi's name stands for "Judging People."
BUT WOULDN'T THAT BE H.D. RICCIARDI? Pinto thinks Ricciardi has been a huge disappointment.
CODE YELLOW: The Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs' season "could hinge on the outcome" of Carlos Zambrano's MRI today. Zambrano was 2-2 with a 4.67 ERA in the seven starts he made after developing stiffness in his neck that radiated into his shoulder, and on Wednesday against the Rays he said he "couldn't go back over the top with my arm" because of the pain.
PULL THE PLUG: The Cleveland Plain-Dealer's Terry Pluto declares the Indians' season to be "over."
OH, WELL: Chipper Jones' average has dropped below .400. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) And that doesn't surprise Tracy Ringolsby. (foxsports.com)
BREAKING IT DOWN: The blog Baseball-Intellect has analysis and visual evidence of "the gradual decline and sudden collapse of Dontrelle Willis."
WHISPERS: Now that Rhode Island's Chris Iannetta has taken over as the Rockies' starting catcher, Colorado may trade Yorvit Torrealba. (Denver Post)
OLD FRIENDS: Eric Gagne tabs June 27 as the day he'll be back with the Brewers (mlb.com) . . . In order to activate David Riske -- who made an inauspicious return to action yesterday (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) -- the Brewers designated Julian Tavarez for assignment. (mlb.com) But they hope Tavarez will accept a demotion to Triple-A Nashville, because they say he needs innings to work his arm back in shape and that they'll make him a starter in the minors to build up his strength . . . The Nationals appear to be the latest team to reach the end of their rope with Wily Mo Pena. He's been benched by manager Manny Acta after his batting average dropped to .205 and his slugging percentage to a shocking .265 (Washington Post) . . . Adam Everett, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, is a long way from returning to the Twins . . . Dave Roberts is about two weeks away from beginning rehab and could return to the Giants by the third week in July. (San Francisco Chronicle)
AND FINALLY . . . Click the link to see how Frank From Gloucester dressed for the Celtics' victory parade. It's amazing he survived. (Boston Dirt Dogs)
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
at 6:59 AM | Permalink
Matt | June 21, 2008 3:11 PM link
Hey nice Blog. Thanks for the recognition!