I'm no GM

Hey Red Sox fans…
You should be very happy that your friend Sully is NOT the GM of the Boston Red Sox.

That thought crossed my head when I saw Jacoby Ellsbury make a diving catch to preserve Jon Lester’s no hitter.

Had I been in charge, Ellsbury and Lester would be playing for the Minnesota Twins in the Johan Santana trade.

And I also thought back remembering that I would have signed Nomar Garciaparra to a long term deal…

Same with Pedro Martinez…

Same with Johnny Damon…

Same with Orlando Cabrera…

Now granted, I STILL think the Cabrera signing would have been solid.
Having him at short instead of Renteria in 2005, Alex Gonzalez in 2006 and Julio Lugo last year and this year would have been as good and less expensive… but I digress.

We’d be saddled with long term contracts with broken down untradable talent while sacrificing the future.

In other words, the Red Sox would look a lot like the Yankees wondering what the hell they are going to do with the Artists formerly known as Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon and Mike Mussina.

Thank God I only blog.

Why doesn't anyone love the White Sox?

My mom went on a business trip to Chicago in 1990 and when she was there she wanted to get me and my brother a sports related gift.

She noted that there were tons of Cubs shirts and hats (they were fresh off of the 1989 Division Title).

There were lots of Bear souvenirs. Michael Jordan Bulls jerseys were everywhere. There were even lots of Blackhawk sweaters and caps available.

Then my mom asked “Is there anything for the White Sox?”
The store clerk directed her to the back of the store. There was one rack of White Sox T-Shirts.

That was it.

The White Sox didn’t get love then and nearly two decades later they STILL can’t get love.

A month ago Ozzie Guillen went on a profanity laced tirade about how Cubs obsessed the Chicago media is… and he was right.

The White Sox are in the middle of an 8 game winning streak and are in first place. They are one of the best and most surprising stories in baseball this year.

Nobody is covering it. The White Sox are still pushed to the back of Sports Center.

Red Sox and Cubs fans were always mentioned as the longest suffering, with not even a charitable toss to the White Sox fans.

When the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series, it was treated as an event only slightly less significant than Columbus landing in the West Indies.

Graves were visited, tears were shed and your friend Sully got to make some HBO appearances.

When the White Sox won the 2005 World Series after an 88 year wait… nothing. They didn’t even get the cover of Sports Illustrated!

During the World Series there were reporters asking Cub fans how they felt. How about asking a few White Sox fans?

Why is this the case?
Why is a team that plays in one of the biggest markets in America, has a rich history and certainly has won more games than their counterpart in the North Side, and has delivered a World Championship to Chicago treated as a baseball after thought?

I guess the North Side of Chicago is a little safer and Wrigley Field is a little more cuddly than Old Comiskey or the sterile soul less New Comiskey (or whatever they are calling it now.)

I went to the New Comiskey the first year it was open. It couldn’t have had less charm if it were designed by Vulcans.

Of course it was the last baseball stadium built before the recent rash of fan friendly retro parks. The White Sox turned down a chance to have their new park designed by the firm that created Camden Yards. I wonder if the White Sox were the first out of the gate with a retro park if they would have a more loyal following.

I saw fair weather fans in the Bay Area shift from the A’s to the Giants once the Giants opened Pac Bell Park. And the shift stayed in San Francisco even when the A’s were putting a much better product on the field. Of course a lot of that has to do with Barry Bonds.

But it has to be more than that.

Is it their stars? Are Cubs stars more fun?
The Cubs had Ernie Banks, possibly the most lovable Hall of Famer of all time.
And look at how loved the Cub stars are when you mention Ryne Sandberg or Andre Dawson to a Cubs fan. My buddy Rob Paravonian, a big Cubs fan, rooted for the Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series because Mark Grace was on the team.

“I like to see a Cub win the World Series.” He said, knowing that was the only way a Cub could possibly get a World Series ring was on another team.

The White Sox had Frank Thomas, the Big Hurt, who always seemed a little pissed off.
Carlton Fisk, who was a White Sox longer than a Red Sox, never seemed to fit in.
Harold Baines seemed more respected than loved.
Lamar Hoyt wanted out of town before smuggling drugs into the country through his jock.

It can’t be because of 1919 is it?

Yeah the White Sox threw the 1919 World Series… but that was 89 years ago folks. And let’s face it, throwing that World Series not only removed the stigma of gambling from baseball until Pete Rose, but also gave us Eight Men Out and Field of Dreams… two of the best baseball movies ever made.

Is it the uniforms?

The White Sox have changed their look around while the Cubs have remained more or less the same over the years.

But honestly, while the White Sox have changed their look (until going back to the classic uniforms they wear now) they gave baseball fans some of the most spectacular bad uniforms in history!

Lapels!

The block SOX across the front.

The White Front of the cap.

The numbers on the leg.

The cursive C.

BERMUDA SHORTS!

That variety should be celebrated!

And also while the Cubs were promoting Ivy and getting drunk in the bleachers, Bill Veeck gave baseball exploding scoreboards and Disco Demolition night.

Give the White Sox some credit for TRYING!

So the White Sox may never get the love the Cubs get…
Even though they have delivered more World Series titles this decade than the Cubs have in the last 99 years.

And the bad wagon fans may not embrace a team managed by the most entertaining manager baseball has produced since Billy Martin.

But I wonder… do White Sox fans care?
Do they have a chip on their shoulder that their team doesn’t get Cub love or Red Sox attention?

Or do they own that slight as a badge of honor?

Do they ask “Why don’t we get mentioned as a great franchise? Our team didn’t move like the Dodgers did or the Giants!”

Or do White Sox fans say “Who cares about love from outsiders? It’s trendy to like the Cubs… but it takes a real fan to love the White Sox!”

And how delirious were you in 2005?
Is that your cell phone ring?
Did you visit your grandfather and grandmother’s graves?

I want to hear from you White Sox fans…

Hey everyone at South Side Sox... do you care you aren't getting the national press?

Do the folks at the hilarious Sox and the City tear up when they think of Bobby Jenks getting the final ground out in Houston?

How about you, Carl Skanberg? When you write your hilarious Pale Hose 8 comics, do you wish your team had the national love that the Cubs have?

Let me ask you, Jim at the Sox Machine... do you just not care?

I want to hear from you White Sox fans... including at Sox Talk

And while we are at it, are there more White Sox t shirts available ?

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.

A radio bit wherein I try to be a butler for Jamie Johnson of "Born Rich" documentary fame

LISTEN!



LISTEN!

Robbed of a post season MVP Part 1 - ALCS

There is no greater title in baseball than being a hero in the post season.
It can define your career and your legacy.

Some players never had the back of a baseball card that would catch your eye but they came up big in October and became the team's biggest hero.

Johnny Podres for the 1955 Dodgers, Gene Tenace for the 1972 A's, Bucky F---ing Dent for the 1978 Yankees etc.

But for every team that came back for an unlikely win and for every MVP crowned as an October immortal, there is another team that lost... and some poor guy gave the performance of their life but missed the chance to be their city's God.

We here at Sully Baseball want to give them their due.
Here are the players that would have won a post season MVP award if their team didn't wet the bed.

So before I start listing, let's set down the parameters:

First of all I am only including series when they actually handed out MVPs.

World Series MVPs were first awarded in 1955...
The NLCS didn't hand out MVPs until 1977
And for some reason the ALCS didn't see fit to award an MVP until 1980


1985
Royals defeat Blue Jays 4-3

Robbed MVP: TONY FERNANDEZ
Batted .333 including sparking a come from behind rally in game 2.

How close were the Blue Jays from winning?

Up 3 games to 1 but losing 2-0 in game 5, the Blue Jays loaded the bases
against Danny Jackson but failed to score. Jackson throws a complete game
shutout.

Trailing by 2 runs in game 6, the Jays put two runners on in the 7th and
9th but can not score.

Who was the goat?

Dave Steib lost his control in the 6th inning of game 7. A pair of walks
and a hit batter set up a bases clearing triple by Jim Sundberg that put
the game away.

Actual MVP: George Brett


1986
Red Sox defeat Angels, 4-3

Robbed MVP: MIKE WITT
Threw complete game win in game 1 and pitched 8 2/3 solid innings in game 5.

How close were the Angels from winning?

Angels lead the series 3-1 and had a 5-2 lead going into the 9th inning.
After Baylor homered to make it a 5-4 lead, manager Gene Mauch panicked
and removed dominating Mike Witt for Gary Lucas who hit the only batter he
faced. Then 1 strike from the pennant, Donnie Moore let up Dave
Henderson’s 2 run homer.

The Angels tied the game in the 9th and had the pennant winning run on
third with 1 out. Seldom used Red Sox reliever Steve Crawford got the next
batters out without letting up a run, then shut down in the 10th, working
around a walk.

Down 1, needing 2 to win the pennant, the Angels went down in order in the
12th.

The Angels took a 2-0 first inning lead in game 6, but were outscored 18-3
the rest of the series.

Who was the goat?

Donnie Moore is the obvious goat for letting up the Henderson homer and
then losing it in the 11th inning sac fly, again to Henderson.

Gene Mauch deserves a lot grief for removing Mike Witt in the fateful 9th
inning.

Actual MVP: Marty Barrett


1992

Blue Jays defeat A’s, 4-2

Robbed MVP: DAVE STEWART
Pitched into the 8th inning of game 1 and threw a complete game victory in
a potential elimination game 5.

How close were the A’s from winning?

Never close to winning, but seemed ready to tie the series at 2 with the
unbeatable Stewart ready for game 5. The A’s bombed Jack Morris and took a
5-1 3rd inning lead in game 4. The Blue Jays rallied off of Bob Welch but
Dennis Eckersley struck out Ed Sprague to end the 8th.

In the 9th, Robbie Alomar homered off of Eckersley to tie the game.
In the bottom of the 9th, the A’s got the winning run to third but
couldn’t score pinch runner Eric Fox.

The Blue Jays took the lead in the 11th and Tom Henke got Mark McGwire to
fly out with the tying run on first.

Who was the goat?
Dennis Eckersley did his finger pointing fist pumping an inning too early.
The A’s seemed ready to stampede to the World Series, but the Alomar home
run was a stunning blow that KOed the A’s championship run.


1997

Indians defeat Orioles 4-2

Robbed MVP: MIKE MUSSINA

No record but struck out 25 batters in 15 innings including a 15 strikeout
in 7 inning performance in game 4.

How close were the Orioles from winning?

Never played a clinching game, but all 4 losses were 1 run losses with two
in extra innings.

In game 6, with Mike Mussina throwing a 1 hit, 10 K 8 inning masterpiece
to try and force a game 7, the Orioles strand runners in 10 of the 11
innings. The Indians clinch the pennant in the top of the 11th on Tony
Fernandez’s home run.

Who was the goat?
Pick an Orioles hitter… but Robbie Alomar was frozen on a series clinching
called third strike.

Actual MVP: Marquis Grissom


2003

Yankees defeat Red Sox 4-3

Robbed MVP: TIM WAKEFIELD
Threw key wins for the Red Sox in games 1 and 4.

How close were the Red Sox from winning?

The Red Sox led game 7 in Yankee Stadium 5-2 going into the 8th inning.
Pedro Martinez, who usually tired after 7 innings, got the first batter
out but Trot Nixon misjudged Jeter’s drive to the wall.

The Yankees rallied with a series of two strike hits, climaxing in
Posada’s game tying double to center.

The Red Sox got runners in scoring position in the 9th and 10th but
couldn’t score off of Mariano Rivera. Wakefield then served up Aaron
Boone’s clinching home run, but the series should never have gotten that
far.

Who was the goat?
Grady Little who refused to use the relievers Williamson, Embree and
Timlin (who baffled the Yankees all series) when the Red Sox were 5 outs
from a startling pennant.

Actual MVP: Mariano Rivera


2004

Red Sox defeat Yankees 4-3

Robbed MVP: HIDEKI MATSUI
Batted .412 with 2 homers and 10 RBI… but that doesn’t even tell the whole
story. Had the series ended after 4 games, Matsui would have batted .550.

How closer were the Yankees from winning?

They were winning in the 9th with Rivera on the mound and a 3 games to 0
series lead. That’s pretty close!

They had base runners in the 10th, 11th and 12th of game 4… and couldn’t
score.

The Yankees had a 2 run lead in the 8th of game 5…
And then left runners in scoring position in the 9th, 12th and 13th innings.

Finally the Yankees had the pennant winning run at the plate when Keith
Foulke struck out Tony Clark to tie the series at 3-3

Who was the goat?
There were plenty of horns to go around. Kevin Brown lasted less than 2
innings of the game 7 show down, Mariano Rivera blew the save in game 4
and the bats went dead.

But Alex Rodriguez who didn’t drive in a run after the third inning of
game 4 and slapped the ball from Bronson Arroyo’s glove during a critical
rally was the goat everyone remembers.

Actual MVP: David Ortiz



2007

Red Sox defeat Indians 4-3

Robbed MVP: JHONNY PERALTA
Homered twice and got several big hits as the Indians ran up a 3-1 lead.

How close were the Indians to winning?

Down by 1 in the 7th inning in game 7, Kenny Lofton reached second on Julio Lugo's error and Franklin Guitierrez seemed to have tied the game with a 1 out single. Third base coach Joel Skinner inexplicably held Lofton at third base even though Manny Ramirez hadn't even touched the ball when Lofton rounded third. Casey Blake hit into an inning ending double play.

Down by 3 in the 8th inning, the Indians put the first two on with nobody out. With the tying run at the plate in the form of the heart of the lineup, Papelbon struck out Hafner, got Martinez to ground out and was driven to the wall by Garko to end the inning. The Red Sox scored six times in the 8th to put the game away.

Who was the goat?

The Indians coaching staff. Joel Skinner holding up Kenny Lofton at third killed the Indians momentum. Meanwhile manager Eric Wedge let Rafael Betancourt let up TWO late inning run scoring extra base hits to Dustin Pedroia. How was he still in the game after the first one?

Actual MVP: Josh Beckett


So there you have the AL.
Never up… poor bastards from the NLCS

And the best new baseball name of 2008 goes to...

Marlins rookie pitcher Burke Badenhop.

With a name like that, it's a good thing he's not a shortstop.

Not as good as Grant Balfour or Eric Plunk (both pitchers had control as bad as their names) but still pretty cool.

One Month In...

Well, at least my Red Sox are alone in first place at the end of the month.

But it is safe to say it has been a strange start to the season.
Two teams I picked to be dead last are either in first or tied for first.
(Nice start White Sox and Cardinals)

They are playing above .500 in Tampa Bay and Baltimore...
They are playing sub .500 in Toronto, Cleveland, Detroit, Seattle, Colorado, San Diego and in the Bronx.

I thought the A's and Marlins had more talent than people gave them credit for... but I didn't see the Marlins on top of their division at months end and the A's only a game out.

Of course there is a lot of baseball to play...
At this point last year the Yankees and the Rockies were in their respective basements and both played into October.

It usually takes 2 months to see which teams are contenders and which just had a good first month.

Pay attention White Sox, Cardinals, Marlins, A's, Orioles and Rays fans.
This next month may determine if you have a good team or just had a good streak.