Instant Replay meets the Human Element in Kansas City

Last night in Kansas City we may have had the great compromise between people like me who are FOR Instant Replay (because we like to have calls be correct!) and the opponents of instant replay, who evidently think screwing up calls makes the game better and players shouldn't be rewarded for what they actually DO!



Billy Butler of the Royals hit a ball off the top of the wall against Yankees starter Bartolo Colon.



That's what he did.

We all saw it.



Now it may have looked like it went over the fence when it happened, but all the camera angles clearly showed it stayed in the park.



Even the Kansas City announcers were talking about how Butler should be on second base.



Joe Girardi asked the umpires to review it. They did. All the TV crews showed over and over again that it didn't clear the fence while they reviewed it.



The umpires returned... and ruled it a home run.



Even the Royals were laughing knowing that they got away with one.



So there you have it! The great compromise! Instant Replay in use, and the human element screws it up!



By finding the mid ground, the umpires for a perfect compromise that EVERYONE can hate.



Instant Replay opponents can complain about the game being slowed down and the over reliance on technology.



Instant Replay supporters can complain that the call was wrong.



EVERYONE LOSES! Which means everyone wins when you think about it.



My previous position still stands!

Phew

It was a group effort of lousy pitching tonight in Toronto... and good news for the Red Sox.

Bartolo Colon was really awful in the first. Yeah, 5 of the first inning runs were unearned, but 3 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning is nothing to brag about.

That would be a 40.50 ERA stretched out to a season.
I don't care which stat you use. That sucks.

The Yankees got 6 wins and a decent ERA out of Colon through the All Star break, which is more than anyone could have expected.

As the second half comes along, and his medical records are in, and the fact that he hasn't thrown 100 innings in a season since his Cy Young season 6 years ago is sitting in front of us, and the fact that he missed the entire season last year and at a fat 38, even stem cells might not keep him healthy... the carriage could be turning into a pumpkin.

He's let up 8 earned runs in his last 2 starts (6 1/3 innings pitched combined in those starts.)

Now the Yankees nearly came all the way back but fortunately for the Blue Jays, Red Sox fans and Yankee haters everywhere, the bullpen sucked almost as much as Colon did.

Seriously, if I told you the Yankees scored 7 runs on 14 hits including 2 Andruw Jones homers and saw Jose Bautista leave the game with an injury, you'd assume the Blue Jays got squashed.

Thanks to Ayala, Noesi, Logan and Mitre, it ended a Jays blow out.

A bad game?
Or the Yankees pitching depth starting to get exposed?

Well find out.

All I know for the Red Sox?
THE MAGIC NUMBERS IS 72!

The Yankee Illusion

The Red Sox are 3-1 against the Yankees this year and for some reason those wins seem to mask the fact that in mid May the Red Sox are STILL sub .500!

But man it feels good to win by one run against the Yankees.
Bartolo Colon has 2 losses this year and both were hard luck losses against the Sox.

Meanwhile Joba Chamberlain is the gift that keeps giving... if by giving you mean insurance runs.

Daniel Bard made me scream at the TV as it was clear that Jorge Posada can't catch up to a fastball yet he was throwing him curve balls. And of course Jonathan Papelbon had to make it interesting.

But Mark Teixeira popped up and I get to update the tally.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 9

April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

May 9 - 2-1 win against the Twins. (A bullpen breakdown cost Beckett the decision but Cark Crawford ended the game with an 11th inning walk off hit.)
May 13 - 5-4 win in the Bronx. (Youkilis homers off of Joba and Bard and Papelbon make it more interesting than it needed to be.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 12

April 1 - 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 - 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)
April 7 - 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)
April 12 - 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. (A solid Lester performance is wasted as Kyle Farnsworth of all people shuts down the Sox.)
April 15 - 7-6 loss to Toronto. (Bobby Jenks implodes with a 4 run seventh inning as the Red Sox waste Pedroia and Youkilis homers and a clutch RBI double by Scuatro.
April 19 - 5-0 loss in Oakland. (Pedroia gets picke doff, the Sox bats go dead and waste a solid Lackey start.)
April 26 - 4-1 loss in Baltimore. (Buchholz pitches tentatively and the Sox let Kevin Gregg of all people to close out the 9th.)
April 27 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (The Sox tie the game with a 3 run 8th only to have Bard lose it in the bottom of the 8th.)
April 29 - 5-4 loss to Mariners. (Bobby Jenks blows a 7th inning lead, wasting 2 Mike Cameron homers.)
April 30 - 2-0 loss to Mariners. (The Sox strand 11 runnerss and let Milton Bradley double home the go ahead run.)
May 4 - 5-3 loss to Angels. (7 hours with rain delays and stranded runners. Marco Scutaro was thrown out at the plate in the 12th)
May 10 - 7-6 loss in Toronto. (8th and 9th inning heroics, including a homer by Adrian Gonzalez, are undone by a walk off sacrifice fly by David Cooper.)

-3.

Win tomorrow and the Red Sox will have won their first two series with the Yankees.

That would make a hell of a birthday present.

Maybe the Yankees obsessing over 2005 wasn't so dumb

This off season I made fun of the Yankees and their obsession with players who were last good in 2005.

But with the way that Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia has pitched, maybe they were on to something.

If Andruw Jones becomes an elite slugger again, then I will declare Brian Cashman a genius.

Hey look at that! A WIN!

The strangest thing about the win today was that John Lackey got the W... and he was DREADFUL.

Meanwhile Yankees starter Phil Hughes was grotesque and Boone Logan was simply awful.

Tub of Goo Bartolo Colon had the best pitching performance of the day. Going 4 1/3 innings, letting up 2 hits and striking out 5.

NATURALLY Colon got the loss!

I think I speak for Red Sox fans when I say "I'LL TAKE IT!"

Let's gleefully update the tally.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 1

April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 3

April 1 - 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 - 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)
April 7 - 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)

Look at that. -2.
Not too shabby.

Before you know it the Sox will be back to .500.

And their offense might be getting back into a groove.

Who knows? Maybe the Red Sox are like Fast Eddie Felson in The Color of Money.
And (spoiler alert) maybe the Sox can mirror the last line of the movie!

I won't be able to stomach a Colon win

Phil Hughes does indeed stink, as predicted.
And then after only 2 innings, the Yankees bring in Tub A Goo Bartolo Colon... and he shuts the Sox down.

PLEASE don't have this be the story of the game!
The Sox scored 6 runs against the Yankees in the first 2 innings. They HAVE to win games like this!

Let's go Sox.

The Yankees are turning back the clock to 2005

Seriously, is it 2005 again?
Is Brokeback Mountain playing in the theaters?
Is Hollaback Girl popular again?
Is Lost a new show?

Because if you looked at the moves the Yankees have been making, you’d think the clock was turned back 6 years.

I know losing the 2005 Division Series to the Angels must have been painful, but the Yankees look like they haven't gotten over it!

The Yankees need pitching depth and maybe some outfield help.

So bring in Mark Prior… who actually pitched 166 2/3 innings in 2005 and was still an ace.

Bring in Justin Duchscherer… who made the 2005 All Star team

Bring in Andruw Jones…who hit 51 homers, won a Gold Glove and was the MVP runner up in 2005.

And, most impressively, bring in Bartolo Colon… who won the AL Cy Young in 2005.

Seriously, 6 years ago these moves would have made people scream “It isn’t fair! The Yankees get ALL the superstars.”

In 2011, these moves look like what the Pirates would do followed by the phrase “They are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle.”

Let’s review how they’ve looked since 2005.

Prior threw just 43 2/3 innings for the Cubs in 2006. He hasn’t thrown a pitch in a Major League game since. The Yankees are hoping the last 4 years of not pitching will make him stronger.

Duchscherer made the All Star team again in 2008, but has appeared in only 5 games in the last two seasons.

Jones has seen his stats deteriorate since 2005, hitting the low of his dreadful ’08 season with the Dodgers where he was cut after being a sub .160 hitter. The Yankees will be his fifth team in the last 5 seasons.

Colon hasn’t thrown 100 innings in a season since the 2005 campaign. He left the 2008 Red Sox somewhat unexpectedly to handle “personal matters.” He resurfaced in 2009 with the White Sox but missed the entire 2010 season. Fat, broken down and having personal matters is a great combination for New York.

Also turning back to 2005 is Brian Cashman not having control of the team. The bizarre public contract negotiations with Derek Jeter. The conflicting stories about the Cliff Lee pursuit. (Did he meet with him or what?) His not wanting Soriano and publicly trashing the signing in the press conference.

It all seems like the Yankee brass is making moves over Cashman’s head. And what other kind of move seems more Steinbrenner like than bringing in big names people have heard of, even if the move doesn’t really make sense of help the team.

The team is old and has injury issues. Better bring in a bunch of guys who have combined to miss 6 entire seasons recently!

Ironically do you know who was ALSO good in 2005?
Cliff Lee.

I’m just saying.

Cue up Hollaback Girl!

(I still don’t know what a Hollaback Girl is.)


CORRECTION:
Justin Duchscherer has been courted by the Yankees but not signed yet.
The point still stands

Oh well... can't win them all

Colon was due for a loss.

Sometimes a fat pitcher will pitch like a fat pitcher.
Besides, there is always a let down after the intensity of a Red Sox/Rays series

HOORAY FOR OUR FAT PITCHER!!!!

Seriously... how awesome is life when you can count on a really fat pitcher!

Bartolo Colon is now 3-0...

Keep Super Sizing your orders!
It's working!

I love having a fat pitcher win for us!

YES!
Two straight wins from our new fat pitcher!

Look, I’m not asking for a Cy Young performance from Colon… but before his body collapsed beneath his Dom DeLuise-esque frame, he was a consistent 15-20 game winner in the bigs.

And yeah, Rivera deserved the Cy Young in 2005… but if you are getting ANY votes for the Cy Young then you are pulling your weight. Which for Colon is saying something!

So many reasons to love the Red Sox's pitching

Well that was a pretty good home stand!
Nothing relieves the sting of a 4 games losing streak quite like a 7 game winning streak.

But holy crap these last 4 games gave me goose bumps if for no other reason than to see the sheer variety of the Defending World Champion Boston Red Sox starting staff and how awesome it could be.

JON LESTER

I mean what else is there to say?
He’s 23 years old and has beaten cancer, pitched the clinching game of the World Series and threw a no hitter!

When I was 23, I was fat, living in a messy apartment with my then girlfriend and another guy watching Price is Right in my underwear while eating McDonald’s every morning.

What I am saying is he’s off to a better start than me.

His no hitter was such a great story that even Chris DeLuca, a Yankee fan who loathes the Red Sox and their fans with the passion of a thousand suns, had to admit it was a good story.

I watched the last inning of his no hitter at a gym in Santa Monica. When he got the last out I high fived a woman who was also a Red Sox fan. We both agreed it was awesome and then I reminded her… “This guy is our #4 starter!”

Like any good Red Sox fan, when something positive happens to my team I also tried to think of how it affected the Yankees. I grinned when I thought “Our two stud young pitchers, Buchholz and Lester, have 2 more no hitters than the Yankees two stud young pitcjers, Hughes and Kennedy, have 2008 wins.”

Nothing gets a team going like a no hitter. Last year when it looked like the Yankees might be poised to overtake the Sox, Buchholz’s no hitter gave the Sox a big jolt.

As if this team needed a jolt, I’ll take Lester.


JUSTIN MASTERSON


In 2006, the Red Sox starting staff was so ravaged with injuries that it felt like they were letting the 15th caller on WEEI pitch every 5th day.

This year there has been an embarrassment of riches with young pitchers!
Unlike his first start, when I screamed at Francona to let the kid pitch seven, Masterson was stretched out. And while it is hard to get that excited about shutting down the Royals line up (he contained Ross Gload!) it’s hard not to get pumped about the idea of ANOTHER young stud in the rotation.

Like any greedy Red Sox fan, I started putting together the rotation of the future.

Neither Beckett nor Dice K are 30 yet… and Lester, Buchholz and Masterson round out the starting five!

“My God!” I thought quite greedily. “We could become like the Braves of the 1990s… only we’ve ALREADY won more World Series titles than those Braves teams and have a more stable bullpen!”

I might be getting ahead of myself, but keep in mind we’re asking Lester, Buchholz and Masterson to be the 3, 4 and 5 starters!


BARTOLO COLON

Now it is getting silly!

Lester beat cancer and it looks like Colon is trying to defeat gluttony.
Tell me he doesn’t look like Andre the Giant!

Christsake, El Guapo would look at this guy and say “Dude, order the small!”

If there is an uglier guy who looks worse in a uniform in the bigs than Colon, then I haven’t seen him. And if he pitches like that, who cares?

Seriously, his last full season he was a Cy Young winner and is buddies with Manny (keeping awkward looking pitchers who are friends with Manny is a phenomenon known as the Julian Tavarez Syndrome.)

And who doesn’t love a fat guy who plays well?
Why do you think David Wells is so loved in New York?
Or Fernando Valenzuela?
Or Tony Gwynn? Or Steve Bye Bye Balboni? Or John Kruk?

How’s about Babe Ruth?

Seeing a tubby guy kick butt is the inspiration for regular dudes with bellies who watch TV and say “Man! That could be me!”

I may have to get a Colon jersey… size XXXL.


DAISUKE MATSUSAKA

My friend Dan Cronin, the brilliant Emmy winning writer for Conan O’Brien, has bemoaned the Dice-K signing almost from the start and is convinced it was a giant waste of dough.

I haven’t heard a lot from him since Dice-K is now 8-0 with a 2.15 ERA.
Yeah he walks too many people, but he gets the outs when he needs them.

Also any game that features two grand slams and neither one was hit by Papi or Manny makes me feel happy for the line up.

But winning these last 4 games with those four pitchers and coming to Oakland tonight with Wakes ready to go shows how deep our staff is while Schilling and Buchholz mend.

And the other amazing about those 4 games and tonights is that none of them were pitched by the ace, Beckett.

Good times…
I will read this post if the Sox have a losing streak if for no other reason than to cheer me up.