Category Archives: General

Should we hate the Devil Rays more than the Yankees?

Any writer worth their [insert metaphor here: salt, poop, ascot, whatever] writes their introduction after they’re finished with the body of their piece. This column ended up being long. The topic is whether we should hate the Devil Rays more than the Yankees, and that’s enough of a description to let you feel the tenor of my piece before diving in. So this introductory paragraph has served its purpose.

The Yankees have a history of stealing the best talent from the Red Sox, beginning with Harry Frazee selling Babe Ruth to New York in 1919 – subsequently selling the soul of the Red Sox away for nearly a century. Perhaps it’s not coincidental that the Red Sox started winning championships again when another larger than life – and large around the waist – slugger anchored their lineup.

More recently, the Yankees had the services of former Boston favorites like Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Johnny Damon, and Kevin Youkilis. Jacoby Ellsbury threw away his soul, and a chance at Cooperstown, when New York gave him $153 million to play there right now. Even King of the Bearded Homeless Dude look Andrew Miller shaved off his face mane to look like the tallest 12 year old in the Yankees’ bullpen.

Couple this with the Alex Rodriguez trade clusterbleep in 2003 – where for months the then shortstop and now disgraced player was rumored to be coming to the Red Sox only to have the Yankees take him from us – and we remember how strong this rivalry has been. Back then, who could have predicted that Boston would benefit from not acquiring A-Roid? All we understood then is that the Yankees stole the best player in baseball from us, and it ruined Nomar Garciaparra’s faith in Boston’s front office management.

The cut throat, business-like, professional mentality of the Yankees make the Bronx Bombers the proper representatives of that borough which lies to the south of Yankee Stadium; the borough that contains the blood-sucking leeches on Wall Street who would slit our throats if it meant getting an extra percentage point return on their commodities portfolio.

If you think about it, the Yankees truly represent the city they play for. This fact is an oddity in an era when the NFL has overtaken MLB as America’s primary professional sport. This fact might even make you smile when you consider that NFL franchises stand for nothing. New York’s two football teams play in the same stadium in New Jersey, for bleep’s sake. As far as teams representing the character of a city goes, the NFL is a joke.

Ironically, that cut-throat professionalism of New York City also makes the Yankees an admirable foe. To the Yankees, baseball is just business. It’s not life or death, it’s just a job. Cut your hair, shave your beard, put your head down, don’t express much emotion, and just get the job done. No excuses. “Keep Calm and Chive On” if all you speak is bro. We may consider the way the Yankees play to be boring, but it isn’t offensive.

Afterward, George Steinbrenner would put the politics on the field aside to make an annual $10,000 contribution to the Jimmy Fund.

While we hate to see the Yankees win, all of that makes it tough to hate the Yankees themselves.

Contrast this with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who truly are the antithesis of Boston.

I will always call them the “Devil Rays,” but the reason why they changed their name to the “Rays” makes this team, like the Yankees, representative of the area they play for. There’s nothing refreshing about the Devil Rays representing crazy, paranoid, born again Bible thumping fundies who made the team remove “Devil” from their name because it was too evvvviiiiiillllll!

Boston has a strong Catholic tradition, but we don’t have the Bible thumpers on this level. And thank God. Or beer. Or bourbon. Or D-cups. Or whatever else you choose to worship. (I’ll stick with the latter three, thanks.)

It gets worse, because the Devil Rays represent not just a bi-city area, but a whole state full of crazy people that feels fake. People who move to Florida are wusses who are allergic to touching a shovel during the winter; and those who are born in Florida seem to be the stupidest people on the planet.

Florida is where anything obscenely fake is harvested. Their cash crop is plastic, which grows into gimmicks that no intelligent person can stand for longer than a vacation. So it’s little wonder that, in the land of Disney, Joe Maddon spread like a weed which the populace regarded as a flower.

The irony of Joe Maddon being weaned in an Angels organization that was formerly owned by Disney isn’t lost on astute observers like myself. Maddon is the gimmick that Devil Rays’ “fans” needed, and he titillated their simple minds just like a trip to Disney World might give an eight year old boy his first erection.

What’s the first stupid Maddon gimmick you can think of? The first one I think of is the defensive shift he employed against David Ortiz, which every stupid baseball “journalist” claims is one reason why Maddon is a super-bleepin-genius. Maddon’s defensive shifts worked so well that it led to Ortiz having a horrible career line against the Devil Rays: .281 BA, .397 OBP, 44 HR, 152 RBI, and… Well, actually, those are some pretty damn awesome stats. Guess the defensive shift Maddon employed didn’t do bleep. The shift didn’t help the Devil Rays in the 2013 ALDS either, when Ortiz had a .556 OBP with two homers. But hey, who needs success when you have the gimmick?

Another stupid Maddon gimmick is having pitchers take as much time as possible between pitches. Every stupid baseball journalist claims that the Devil Rays develop the best pitchers in baseball, but MLB Rule 8.04 says that, when there’s no one on base, pitchers must deliver the ball to the plate no more than 12 seconds after receiving the ball from the catcher. So how long did David Price take between pitches in 2014? Only [ahem] 26.6 seconds – the most in the majors. How about Chris Archer, another venerable stalwart of the Devil Rays supposed juggernaut? Archer took 25.2 second between pitches.

Starting to see a pattern here? Additionally, do you know how tough it is to throw a pitch? When a pitcher gets to take an extra couple of breaths before throwing to the plate again, they aren’t feeling as much pressure as other pitchers who play by the rules. This may explain why David Price has a career ERA of 3.16, yet when he’s in the high pressure situations of the postseason, his ERA spikes to 4.50. So much for that gimmick.

What’s worse than the Devil Rays’ on-field gimmicks, though, is their off-field gimmicks. The hockey-style fog horn blared through the speakers of their worst stadium in baseball whenever a Devil Rays player hit a home run, and their fans blowing vuvuzelas during game, is enough to make Ignatius J. Reilly shout “Who’s responsible for this abortion?”

Speaking of abortions:

What the bleep is this?

And what the bleep is this? Does baseball need a team whose main gimmick is [fill in the blank with the flavor of the month] roadtrip themed weekends?

To Tampa Bay, baseball isn’t a businees like it is in New York City; and it’s not a religion like is in Boston. No. To Tampa Bay, baseball is just another bleepin’ gimmick that needs glitter, a tight skirt and a vajazzle just to keep their interest because their minds aren’t advanced enough to enjoy the beautiful simplicity of the game.

What else do you need to hate the Devil Rays? Well, let’s do a comparison of real and fake stuff.

We have Dustin Pedroia, they have* Ben Zobrist. Zobrist is purported to be a spectacular baseball player, but he has two gimmicks: being overrated for playing multiple positions, and being a crazy Christian Fundie. Zobrist co-authored a book with his wife about their “We must home school our children with Jay-sus against the EVIL AMERICAN (ie: Northeast Urban) LIFESTYLE!” Don’t believe me? Here’s the description of their book on Amazon:

Ben and Julianna Zobrist are standout talents, both using their gifts to glorify God. Ben is an All Star Major League baseball player and helped lead the Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series. Ben represented the United States in the World Baseball Classic and also leads Bible studies with his teammates. Julianna is a recognized Christian music artist whose music has affected the culture for Christ nationally. Julianna has performed on both the mainstream and Christian platforms and is actively involved in film and radio. Both Ben and Julianna speak about their faith at events nationwide.

‘Nuf ced.

We have Big Papi, they had Luke Scott. I trust that, after years of #LukeScottFacts, I feel that I don’t need to expound on this.

We play real baseball, they have Joe Maddon.

They’re cheap, which is why they don’t steal our players.

Due to our sense of irony, there are even instances when our fake things are more real than their reality. For example, regarding fake Twitter accounts, Red Sox fans have, well… Me! And Devil Rays fans have “RaysFanGio,” who is nominally a real person but, since everything about Florida is fake, I don’t think his lame existence actually exists.

Boston is erudite city whose populace is enlightened to science. Florida has a governor who forbids state officials from mentioning “global warming” while Miami makes plans to deal with flooding…

But I digress. All of this strays away from the question of whether we, as Red Sox fans, should hate the Devil Rays more than the Yankees. Essentially, the fact that I even ask this means it is a rhetorical question. Given the attitude of both teams and the traditions of the geographic areas that they represent, the answer is obvious.

In fact, the only fake thing missing from Tampa Bay is Dan Shaughnessy. And they can bleepin’ take him.

* – I struggled with using present or past tense here. Zobrist now plays for the A’s, so should I use “had” or have”? Ultimately, I opted for the present tense because, even though Zobrist is no longer in Tampa Bay, he represented the patheticness of this organization for so long that he might as well still be a member of this band of ingrates.

Video: Red Sox C David Ross Featured in Concussion PSA As Part of ReThinkConcussions.com Launch

At a time when the national concussion conversation instills fear and uncertainty among parents and athletes at all levels, the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program is working to change the current discussion where two powerful messages are lost: Concussions can be treated, and there are evidence-based therapies that result in full recoveries every day.

In striving to shift the national discussion to one based in fact and research, UPMC and the Concussion Program are unveiling the online destination ReThinkConcussions.com as part of an initiative to raise awareness about scientifically proven treatments currently available.

The Concussion Program, the first in the world when it opened its doors in 2000, treats more sports-related concussions than any other program nationally with 17,000 patient visits per year. UPMC’s program consistently contributes to innovations in the field with nearly 20 published, peer-reviewed research studies annually.

“An important reality is this: Concussion is treatable if managed properly,” said Michael “Micky” Collins, Ph.D., clinical and executive director of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program. “With all the new research we’ve done and the nearly 200 papers we’ve helped to publish in the past decade or so, we now are able to provide proven treatments and evidence-based rehabilitation therapies. That should be the conversation now instead of the near-hysteria.”

“People should think of concussions as a treatable injury in the right hands, not some untreatable condition that causes you to retreat to a dark room. The individualized approach to this injury, the ability to use a multidisciplinary team to return patients to normal lives, has changed the course of the injury here – and our successes could be repeated across the world, too,” added Dr. Collins.

RethinkConcussions.com offers an interactive guide to understanding concussions and how UPMC approaches this complex but unseen injury. The website features information on concussion therapies and prevalent myths. It explains UPMC’s multidisciplinary approach to treating six different types of concussions – each carrying its own symptoms and outcomes. Additionally, the site provides insight into patients’ treatment experiences and emotional journeys through some of their stories.

As part of this important initiative, professional athletes and former UPMC patients such as NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Major League catcher David Ross tell their powerful tales in separate videos that will air on television regionally (Ross) and nationally (Earnhardt Jr.), in addition to being found at the new website. Each participated in the spots without compensation, wanting to help spread awareness and education about concussions and their successful rehabilitations.

“We went through activities with results that made sense,” Earnhardt says in his video. He visited the clinic and consulted with Dr. Collins regularly following multiple crashes in fall 2012, keeping him out of consecutive races for the first time in his career. “The best decision I made was to go to UPMC.”

Ross similarly turned to Dr. Collins following two injuries that removed him from behind the plate in 2013. He credits UPMC and its experts with developing an individualized program that allowed him to return to starting at catcher in time for a dramatic post-season run to a championship. As Ross says, “Without UPMC, I would not be a baseball player anymore. They saved my career.”

Other pro athletes who are or will be featured in the ReThinkConcussions.com initiative include former NFL quarterback Brady Quinn, Major League second baseman Brian Roberts and Tyler Hansbrough of the NBA, among others. Athletes of all ages and levels of play – from recreational to amateur to high school and beyond – also will participate in the effort, demonstrating how concussions strike every sport and walk of life.

Dr. Collins and the UPMC Concussion Program have been at the forefront of the national concussion community for years. He is a co-developer of the ImPACT neurocognitive test, a co-author of the Centers for Disease Control’s “Concussion Tool Kit for Physicians,” a consultant to a variety of professional and collegiate leagues, and a frequent presenter nationally and internationally helping to train thousands of health care professionals in concussion management and evaluation.

Dr. Collins leads a team of more than 30 clinicians and researchers, comprised of neuropsychologists, primary care sports medicine physicians, physiatrists, otoneurologists, physical therapists, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists and orthopaedic surgeons, all devoted to concussion evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation.

“Concussion isn’t something you can detect on a CT scan or an MRI, or with a standard neurologic examination. To ‘see’ this injury you have to know what questions to ask, and our research has shown us this,” Dr. Collins said. “By asking the right questions and looking at the right systems in the right way with the right tools, we can put together a very coherent approach to understanding the injury and determining active treatment strategies. That’s the important message for people to know now.”

The Game Hidden Between Buchholz’s Pitches

 Clay Buchholz #11of the Boston Red Sox reacts after getting taken out in the third inning after giving up six runs against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park April 21, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts.

When two teams play baseball, two games are being played simultaneously: the pitching, hitting, and fielding game that fans see, and the hidden (don’t call it “cheating”) game where players try to get gain a competitive edge on the opposition.

Fans usually hear about the hidden game after the fact – like when Joe Mauer stole signs in a game against Detroit in 2009. Mauer was on second base and had a clear view of every sign the catcher dropped down. When Mauer figured out whether a fastball or breaking ball was coming, he would either touch his helmet or do nothing before the pitch to relay that information to the batter. Occasionally, play-by-play announcers will catch onto the hidden game and report it during a game. The most recent example of that is Don and Jerry ranting about the pine tar on Michael Pineda‘s hand during a recent Red Sox v. Yankees game.

But whether or not we, as fans, are lucky enough to hear about it, the hidden game is always being played inside of a baseball game.

So when Clay Buchholz gave up seven hits and six runs in the third inning of yesterday’s Red Sox game with the Orioles, was the hidden game being played? Absolutely. And I wish I could tell you the details of that game.

One complaint I’ve had about NESN over the years is their lack of focus on the game itself. Frequently during games, a player will get a hit and NESN will spend time panning the camera on the player while he’s standing on base, then switch to the next pitch being thrown while the pitcher is in mid-windup. Then there are other diversions: like a fan throwing pizza at another fan, or Heidi Watney choking on a corn dog (which became metaphor nobody needs to think too deeply about to grasp)… There’s a million little diversions to point out, and I don’t mean to be a killjoy, but they all distract from both baseball games that are being played.

In the case of Buchholz’s disastrous third inning, I watched it over again a couple of times. Only once did NESN allow me to see some signs that David Ross dropped to Buchholz to decide on which pitch to throw. At barely any time did NESN have a camera on the Orioles’ baserunners, so I couldn’t tell if they made any telltale body motions that tipped off Buchholz’s next pitch to the batter.

But, despite NESN’s distractions that don’t allow us to keep our attention on the game; and despite the implication that the other team must be cheating, an explanation for the Orioles hammering Buchholz may be more mundane: they may have picked up on where Ross set himself up to receive Buchholz’s pitches, and they were able to relay that information to the batter.

I don’t consider this cheating because, quite frankly, if Buchholz didn’t take forever and a day to make a pitch when runners are on base, baserunners probably wouldn’t have time to relay information about where Ross has set up to the batter.

There’s a few examples where Buchholz’s extended delay between pitches gave Orioles’ baserunners enough time to relay information about the upcoming pitch to the batter. I’m not saying the Orioles baserunners did relay this information since, as I mentioned, I couldn’t tell what the baserunners were doing because of the way NESN broadcasts their games. I’m just saying that Orioles’ baserunners had time to relay information about the next pitch, and this is mostly due to Buchholz’s long delay between pitches when runners are on base.

Example 1: The first batter of the inning, Steve Lombardozzi, hits a single. Next batter is David Lough. Ross immediately sets up outside, then Buchholz steps off the rubber. Delay. Buchholz prepares to pitch again, but throws a pick off attempt to first base. Another delay. After the pick off attempt, Ross sets up outside again – so they never changed what pitch was next up – and Lough gets a first pitch single. It took Buchholz around a minute to get through that charade and deliver a pitch to the plate, and anyone paying attention to where Ross setup would have known what was coming. Lough certainly did.

Example 2: After Lough, Nick Markakis came to the plate. This is the only time NESN allowed the viewer to see what signs Ross dropped to Buchholz between one of the pitches, the 2-2 pitch. Ross’s sequence ended with two fingers, Buchholz appeared to throw a two seam fastball, and Markakis smacked it for a single. It’s worth noting that in this at bat, and throughout the inning, Ross sometimes tried to deliberately slow down the time it took him to set up to receive the pitch – waiting until Buchholz was in his windup. So, in this instance, the Orioles may have stolen a sign. Also worth noting that Buchholz’s pitch was a meatball down the center of the plate, so maybe the Orioles didn’t even need to steal a sign.

Example 3: Nelson Cruz bats after Nick Markakis. Ross sets up outside way before Buchholz starts to deliver his pitch, and Cruz swings like he knows an outside fastball is coming – but Buchholz misses his target by a foot, it becomes an inside fastball that Cruz fouls off. Ross again sets up early on the 0-1 pitch, and it’s the outside fastball Buchholz tried pitching the first time. Cruz smacks it for a single.

Afterwards, Buchholz induced a fielder’s choice ground ball from Adam Jones (albeit with a run scored), but Steve Clevenger gets a hit with a ball deep to right field. Jonathan Schoop, the last batter Buchholz faces, has a seven pitch at bat that ends when he hits a curveball off the Green Monster. Buchholz’s first pitch to Schoop was a curveball off the plate, so Schoop already knew what Buchholz’s curveball looked like. Unfortunately, Buchholz’s second curveball was over the plate. Schoop’s hit was probably totally legit.

As I mentioned previously: Do I know if Orioles’ baserunners were relaying information about Buchholz’s pitches to batters? Nope. Absolutely not. Due to the way NESN broadcasts these games, I don’t have a clue regarding what the Orioles’ baserunners were doing. But it’s quite feasible that, because of Buchholz’s intentional laboring between pitches, he gave the Orioles time to execute the hidden game against him.

All it took was Lombardozzi’s single at the top of the inning to give the Orioles a baserunner with a chance to relay Ross’s placement to receive Buchholz’s pitches to batters, and the Orioles certainly executed after that. Buchholz gave up seven hits – including 5 hits in a row – and six runs.

After the game, John Farrell said that nothing is physically wrong with Buchholz. Comments were made about Buchholz needing to increase his arm strength, which would explain why his fastball barely tops 90 mph. His pitches also lack movement, and 88-90 mph straight fastballs can easily become batting practice pitches. So maybe Buchholz just sucked. Or maybe he’s hiding an injury and he should go on the DL.

But, if you’re able to catch a replay of the game, watch that third inning again. Don’t you think that something hidden, that we didn’t see the first time we watched the game, could be going on?

photo credit: getty images

Fantasy Life

Watching sports is a way to escape reality if only for a short time. In those blissful few hours, we get to imagine ourselves pitching a no-hitter, hitting a grand slam, or stealing home in a tie game. We ourselves may not have the strength to arm-wrestle a kitten, but we can appreciate a great throw from the outfield. We may not be able to sprint 60.5 inches, let alone feet, but we applaud when the runner beats the throw to first.

But when the lights are off at the stadium and the tarp is on the field, we are forced to return to our regular lives until the next game starts. At least we were, until the advent of Fantasy Baseball. Now, when our favorite club is idle in reality, we can make up our own team of the best players available. We can bench the guy who got the golden sombrero in the big game yesterday. We can pick up some no-name free agent who hit the walk-off grand slam off an acclaimed closer. We sit in our cubicles while pretending there’s a sign that reads “General Manager” on our door.

To select a Fantasy Baseball team, some people put in hours of careful research. Others just go with their guts when draft time rolls around. I myself do a little research but mostly go by feel. I only have one rule: I never draft Yankees or Rays and rarely draft Angels. (Ok, maybe that’s three rules.) I don’t draft players from “enemy” teams because it just doesn’t feel right to benefit from their success. As if losing to the Yankees on Saturday night weren’t bad enough, gaining ground in my fantasy league because Teixeira hit three home runs would be like lemon juice in a paper cut.

When drafting, I debate long and hard with myself before selecting a Red Sox player. I hesitate to pick Sox because if they are struggling in “real life” it is like rubbing salt in the wound to have to bench or drop them. Owners of Ortiz and Beckett have a tough decision ahead of them.

 

When your favorite baseball team is not hitting it out of the park in real life, managing your fantasy team is at least a small distraction. And if you’re fortunate enough to be in a league with some friends, a nice round of smack talk can also take your mind off the standings.

Following a sports team is fantasy as it is. Following a Fantasy team is like fantasizing about a fantasy. We can all use a little more fantasy in our lives.

Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grill Officially Opens Doors

Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grill Officially Opens Doors
The RemDawg’s New Hotspot Opens Behind Fenway Park

BOSTON, MA (March 15, 2010) Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grill, named after former All-Star Boston Red Sox second baseman and current NESN color analyst Jerry Remy,  will officially open their doors for full service this afternoon. The bar was open limited hours over the weekend, and debuts their restaurant menu today. The new Boston restaurant will offer area diners, passionate sports fans and nightlife aficionados an unmatched experience. A major part of that experience will derive from a culinary team and program designed to be a homerun for patrons and food lovers.

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