The Ted Lilly Playoff Home Run Reaction Award goes to...

... Brewers pitcher Shaun Marcum.

Remember a few years ago in the 2007 Division Series, Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly let up a go ahead homer to Diamondbacks centerfielder Chris Young?

Lilly saw it was gone the second it left Young's bat. And he reacted by throwing his glove on the ground in disgust, a la Tanner.

Well last night Shaun Marcum let up a game breaking grand slam to Paul Goldschmidt.
Same mound as Lilly, Marcum threw his glove in the air in a gesture that said "Well THAT wasn't what I wanted to do."

Well done, Shaun Marcum. We need more unrepentant emotion on the mound.

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!

Thank you Miguel Olivo!

Mariners catcher Miguel Olivo hit the 8th inning Game winning homer to beat the Tampa Bay Rays today.

The Mariners were losing in the 8th and the rally, capped by Olivo's blast, put the Rays down and this Red Sox fan is happy about that.

My Sox are going to try and chase down the Yankees this weekend. I don't want Tampa sneaking up behind us.

Every win counts.

Thanks for the help.

It's the same old song in Motown

The Red Sox just keep on winning. And for the first game today, they brought back the oldies at Motown!

Big Papi may not be who he used to be (not injecting what he used to inject) but he can still come off the bench and crush a game winning 9th inning homer from time to time.

The Sox are playing with a little bit of house money in the second game of the double header. They know they took 3 of 4 from the Tigers. Taking 3 of 4 from ANY team on the road is an accomplishment, even against the Brownies.

And they know that they are going into Memorial Day in first place.

Not bad for a team that was dead in the water a few weeks ago.

Let's update the tally.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 15

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.)
May 15 - 7-5 win in the Bronx. (Sox fall behind 4-1 but come back as Youk, Papi and Salty all homer.)
May 16 - 8-7 win against the Orioles. (Down 6-0 after 6 innings, the Sox rally and win it with a 2 run walk off double by Adrian Gonzalez)
May 18 - 1-0 win against Detroit. (With 2 outs in the 8th, Salty doubles home Crawford from first for the only run. Papelbon gets himself in and out of 9th inning trouble.)
May 19 - 4-3 win against Detroit. (Bard blows Beckett's lead but Carl Crawford wins it with a walk off hit.)
May 24 - 4-2 win in Cleveland. (Varitek throws two runners out and homers as the Red Sox win their first game against the Indians.)
May 29 - 4-3 win in Detroit. (The Red Sox blow an early 3-0 lead but David Ortiz wins the game with a pinch 9th inning homer.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 14

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 picked off, 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 runners 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.)
May 21 - 9-3 loss to Cubs. (Up 3-1 in the 8th inning, the bullpen and defense implode. The Cubs score 8 runs while both teams wear their 1918 uniforms.)
May 23- 3-2 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox blow a 2-1 8th inning lead when the Indians rally with 2 outs. Crawford ends the game on a double play.)

+1

And the Red Sox and Beckett are playing tonight with house money.

Ortiz hitting in the clutch at Motown? It is indeed the same old song.

How mad were opponents of instant replay tonight?

They should be enraged!

Lance Berkman hit a home run! The umpires called it that way on the field... and another one confirmed it.

Umpires make calls and whether they are right or wrong and whether or not we have the technology to make calls correct and reward players for what they actually do and not for what they DON'T do... we should NEVER use that technology.

That's the HUMAN ELEMENT, right?

So I assume all of you who hate instant replay HATED the fact that the call was reversed, am I right?

You must have been saying "NO! Leave the call WRONG! Baseball is better when calls are wrong!"

(Seriously... someone please send me a logical reason to NOT have instant replay. I've been begging for an answer.)

Do you want it done now or do you want it done right?

Instant Replay works folks. I've been saying so since 2008... and there's no need to review it.
So yeah, it took a little bit of time to review Big Papi's homer. And do you know who will remember that time spent? NOBODY!

The right call was made and it turned out the Red Sox needed every last run.

Buchholz was great going into the 9th and Bard did the job with Papelbon getting a break... but when Jim Thome came up with the go ahead runs on first, I think every Red Sox fan in the world thought the same thing: He's going to park it.

Alas he didn't and a bullet is dodged!

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 16

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 - 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)
April 27 - 2-1 win at Toronto. (Buchholz holds the Jays down for 8 but it takes a bases loaded walk in the 8th to go ahead.)
April 28 - 2-0 win at Toronto. (Daniel Bard wiggles out of trouble in the 8th to help Lester shut down the Blue Jays and finish the sweep.)
May 4 - 5-1 win against the Angels. (Juan Rivera misplays Jeremy Hermedia's 2 out flyball into a 3 run game winning double)
May 5 - 3-1 win against the Angels. (Papi and Beltre homer and the Sox hang on despite squandering many potential rallies.)
May 6 - 11-6 win against the Angels. (Dice-K puts the Red Sox in a 4-0 hole before they even bat. The Sox bats respond.)
May 10 - 7-6 win against the Blue Jays. (Sox blow an early 2-0 lead, take advantage of some errors and hang on.)
May 18 - 7-5 win in New York. (Sox climb back from a 5-1 hole. A day after hitting a walk off homer, Marcus Thames drops a fly ball to start the winning rally for the Sox.)
May 19 - 3-2 win against the Twins. (The Twins 9th inning rally falls a run short with Thome ending the game with the tying and go ahead runs on board.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 12

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)
April 30 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (Tejada ties the game with a 2 out 8th inning homer and wins it with a bloop in the 10th)
May 1 - 12-9 loss in Baltimore. (Dice-K and Wakes get pounded, wasting 2 homers from Ortiz and an early 4-1 lead.)
May 2 - 3-2 loss in Baltimore. (Varitek is thrown at home trying to score with 2 outs in the 8th. Sox get swept in the 10th.
May 12 - 3-2 loss against the Blue Jays. (The Sox rally in the 9th comes up a run short and Kevin Gregg gets an ugly save.)
May 15 - 7-6 loss in Detroit. (The Sox blow a 6-1 lead and lose it on a 2 out bases loaded walk in the 12th.)
May 17 - 11-9 loss in New York. (The Sox come all the way back from a 5-0 first inning hole to take a 9-7 lead in the 9th... but Papelbon lets up a 2 run game tying shot to A-Rod and a 2 run walk off shot to Marcus Thames.)

Can you believe it is +4?

Lester tomorrow... let's make it a 3 game streak!

Johnny Damon... still not a Giant

When I saw Johnny Damon homer again today in the pitchers park that is Comerica (National) Park, I couldn't help but think of the Giants offensive woes.

I told the Giants to sign him back on New Year's Day... and I still think I was right.

Now to get the sparkplug they need to kick start the offense will cost them money AND players.

They never listen to wisdom

Make it 11 homers for Paul Konerko!

He is on a rampage.

And thankfully for me doing it against the Yankees today.

He was partially aided by a dude in right field whose jacket got in Nick Swisher's glove.
Trust me... watch the highlight... it will make sense when you see it.

Well now I KNOW he is having an awesome year... I didn't know that the other day.

Wait, Paul Konerko has 10 homers already?

Seriously… he’s in double digits already.

I didn’t know that.

Granted he just reached double digits a few hours ago. But still, I didn’t know he was so close to 10 that a pair of homers this afternoon in Arlington would do the trick.

Maybe I didn’t know because the White Sox haven’t exactly been hitting the cover off the ball… they have the lowest team batting average in all of baseball and have the second lowest team on base percentage in the American League.

Maybe their 8-13 start (they are 9-13 now) didn’t capture my imagination.

But here we are… the first home run hitter to double digits is Paul Konerko.

When you think of it, Konerko has had a pretty cool career. Not a Hall of Fame one, but certainly one that would earn him a spot on the U.S. Cellular Field outfield wall of retired numbers.

He may have been kicked around early in his career (he played for 3 big league teams in his first 4 seasons) but he has been an underrated fixture in Chicago. In a free agent era when people skip town constantly, he has spent 12 straight years in the South Side of Chicago. He was supposedly off to the Angels after the 2005 World Series… but decided to stick around with the Sox.

He’s been an All Star three times and finished 6th in the 2005 AL MVP vote. He has hit 20 or more homers in 10 of the past 11 seasons (and is halfway there already for 2010.) Four times he has driven in 100 runs.

Plus he has been a horse in the post season. He played for the 2000 and 2008 Division Champions… and of course was a big part of the 2005 World Champs run.

He crushed a key homer off of Tim Wakefield in Game 3 of the Division Series.
He hit first inning homers in Games 3 and 4 of the ALCS on his way to the Series MVP award.
And his grand slam off of Chad Qualls in Game 2 of the World Series turned a 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 lead.

Now here he is, leading the league in homers so far.
He’s had a cool and underrated career.

Like everyone on that White Sox team (including his currently unemployed former teammate Jermaine Dye) , there were no superstars (especially with Frank Thomas hurt). Just a bunch of guys who did their jobs well.

So I didn’t know Konerko had 10 homers already… and if nobody else in cyber space is going to salute him, I WILL!

Start packing your bags NOW, Jose Guillen

Seriously... he already has 5 homers in 9 games.

He hit 9 homers in 81 games last year. He's got his swing back.

He's got some serious right handed pop this year and he's doing it for a team that isn't going to do diddly this year.

He's as good as gone.

So live out of your suitcase, Jose. Buy travel size toothpaste.

And if there is a BBQ joint in Kansas City you want to try out... do it now!

Look out Barry... here comes Jason!

JASON HEYWARD HOME RUN TOTAL-
3

BARRY BONDS HOME RUN TOTAL -
762

Bonds was there… I wonder if Hank Aaron was there…
And Heyward was there.

The three greatest home run hitters of all time could have been in the same building.

I hope someone took a picture of that historic occasion

Jason Heyward's Chase of Barry Bonds continues

JASON HEYWARD HOME RUN TOTAL-
2

BARRY BONDS HOME RUN TOTAL -
762

Just 760 to tie and 761 to pass Bonds.
CAN HE DO IT?

TWICE THE LOBSTER GOODNESS!

Varitek homered AGAIN?

Are you kidding me?

Bust out the butt-ah! It's LOBSTAH TIME!

(I swear, I will make people call Varitek "The Lobster" if it is the last thing I ever do!

What if Garrett Jones is for real?

Last February, I suggested that the Pirates take a flier on veteran Jermaine Dye.

One of the reasons I felt that Pittsburgh would be a good fit was I thought the Pirates needed a power hitter.

At one point I said "Yeah, the Garrett Jones story last year was great... but are you really expecting a career minor leaguer to keep up his torrent second half pace?"

And why wouldn't I say that? Jones was a minor leaguer who hit 21 homers in 82 games... but I thought "Come on! I remember Sam Horn and Kevin Maas who launched homers left and right and then they throw him some curve balls and he'll show why he's a career minor leaguer."

Well guess what? He homered twice on opening day. And he homered already today.

What if he is for real? What if he is a Jake Taylor, Roy Hobbs or Crash Davis? A really talented guy who just never did get his shot!

What if suddenly the Pirates have a legit slugger in the middle of their lineup? And along with McCutchen and Milledge the Pirates might have a super outfield.

Can you imagine that?

I can.
And what does that mean?

That means that this trading deadline, Garret Jones will be traded by the Pirates for some minor leaguer you will never hear from again.

Ahhhh Pirates baseball.

This Albert Pujols fellow isn't bad

He's on pace to hit 324 homers this year.

I'm not saying he's going to keep up this pace, but I wouldn't put it past him.

It's as if Pujols is saying to Hanley Ramirez, Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder and any other NL MVP contender "It's your move!"

Poor Pedro Feliz

Seriously... Pedro Feliz was about to put his name permanently in the lore of Philadelphia sports.

2 out, 2 strike home run off of Joba Chamberlain suddenly tied the game.

Suddenly the game that looked lost seemed winnable.

Suddenly if the Phillies could keep the Yankees off the board and score a run in the 9th... they'd be tied in the series.

Cliff Lee would take the mound with a chance to give the Phillies a 3-2 series lead back to the Bronx!

And yes, we'd have ourselves a great World Series... all swung on the heroics of Pedro Feliz.

It wouldn't have been a game winning shot, just a series turning shot.

Like Jimmy Leyritz's blast in 1996... or Scott Speizio's in 2002.

But noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Lidge does a faceplant and now the outcome of this World Series is merely a formality.

And Feliz is reduced to a mere footnote in this series.

Don't believe me?

Remember in the 2005 World Series... the White Sox had a 2-0 series lead and were about to go up 3-0 in the Series? Then in the 8th inning of Game 3 with 2 outs, Jason Lane, who had already homered that game, laced a clutch game tying double... giving the Astros life.

Remember that?

OF COURSE YOU DON'T REMEMBER THAT!

I didn't remember that, and I am a lunatic who remembers EVERYTHING baseball!

Unless you are in the Lane family, his heroics have completely slipped your mind.

Why? Because the White Sox wound up winning that game! How the Astros tied it is irrelevant.

Sadly, just like Pedro Feliz's homer...

Sorry Vlad

I BURIED you the other day, and you come up with a 2 out, 2 run game tying and possible series changing home run.

I hope your pointing up is your way to say "Thank You God for blessing me with talent" and NOT meaning "Hey God, Sully trashed me on his Blog... go smite him a little!"

The Eye Drops Worked!

Big Papi went to get eye drops and launches an A. J. Burnett offering into the centerfield bleachers!

If he goes on a tear then Visine is NUTS if they don't sign Ortiz to an endorsement deal!

Not to throw a wet blanket on today but...

We're more than 25% of the way through the season and David Ortiz has one more home run than Sasha Obama.

He's on a pace to hit between 3 and 4 homers this year.

It's no longer THAT early.

A tip for souvenir hunters

Whenever I see a Marlins game (and I've watched waaaaaay too many so far this year), I inevitably see Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla or someone else park one into the left field seats at Dolphin Stadium.

And just as inevitably the seats in left field are as empty as the seats behind home plate and behind the dugouts at the New Yankee Stadium.

So if you've always wanted to catch a home run ball, here's a suggestion from your pal Sully:

Get a flight to Miami and go see a Marlins game. Park your butt out in left field and wait.

One will come your way, rattle about in the empty seats and you will walk away with a souvenir.

I may go just to get one for me, one for each of my two sons, one for my dad and one for good luck.