Friday’s Fast Walk Around the AL & NL West

Angels rookie Reggie Willits isn’t concerned with his hamstring issue.

Mark Kotsay’s rehab is going well for his back and is on target to return to the A’s next week.

The Big Unit will miss his next start for the Diamondbacks.

The Dodgers used their day off to host a golf tournament for charity.

Giants pitcher Barry Zito is doing good things for his country with his “Strikeouts for Troops” charity.

Ichiro played in his 1,000th game for the Mariners on Thursday.

Padres SS Khalil Greene practices that 360° spin and throw that he made on Tuesday.

Sammy Sosa hopes to spend more than one season in Texas.

Todd Helton has been one of the bright spots for the Rockies this season.

Josh Hancock’s Father To Sue

R.I.P Josh Hancock

Dean Hancock, father of the late Josh Hancock, has decided to file a lawsuit against Mike Shannon’s, a popular club where Josh had been on the night before his eventual death.

Mr. Hancock is suing the restaurant because they failed to stop serving drinks to Josh. Mr. Hancock is also suing Shannon’s daughter, who is the restaurant’s manager. He also named the tow truck company, the tow truck driver, and the driver of the broken down car.

Josh was found to be drunk at the time of his death. Hence the lawsuit.

I can understand suing the restaurant but why is he suing the tow truck company, tow truck driver and the driver of the car. If anything, I can see a counter-suit happening by those parties.

Hat tip to my buddy Shelto for the tip.

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US Air Guitar Championships

US Air Guitar Championships

I got an email from someone who had my blog pop up in his Google Alerts. This was due to the Jerry Remy air guitar video. He wanted to let me know that the US Air Guitar Championships are coming up and there are some regionals.

The one for Boston is on June 8th. It got me to thinking that maybe Remy should enter the contest after his performance on the NESN airwaves. Unfortunately though, Remy won’t be able to attend because the Red Sox will be out West that day as the Sox will be playing the Arizona Diamondbacks.

If your interested in seeing more about the US Air Guitar Championships, click here. And once again, here is our air guitar hero here in Boston.

[youtube WFEvN8SYaDU nolink]

 

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The National Lampoon Sports Minute (Or So)

The National Lampoon Sports Minute (Or So) Written by Steve Hofstetter, Adam Hofstetter, Cody Marley, Ryan Murphy, Rich Ragains, Elliot Steingart, and Chris Strait

Sammy Sosa is closing in on 600 home runs. To celebrate, he uncorked a new bat.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays played a three game series at Disney World in an attempt to increase their exposure in the Orlando area. Which makes sense, since they’ve always been a Mickey Mouse operation.

A recent survey of 464 Major League Baseball players named Barry Bonds the least friendly player in the game. On the positive side, it’s the first time Bonds has won anything without cheating. And his approval ratings are still higher than George Bush.

The Phillies scheduled Danny DeVito to throw out a first pitch. It’s the first time the mound dwarfs the man throwing off of it.

In football, Washington’s Clinton Portis defended Michael Vick, saying dog fighting was not nearly as criminal as selling Redskins season tickets.

Another Cincinnati Bengal was arrested. Why should this night be different from all others?

Turning to basketball, Greg Oden wants to try out for the U.S. Olympic team this summer, assuming summer school ends in time.

Speaking of summer school, Phoenix Suns star Amare Stoudemire will take classes at Arizona State this summer. Unfortunately, the classes will not be in anger management.

And Michelle Wie is looking for another chance to make the PGA Tour. Unfortunately, her parents took away her Play Station.

For more of the Sports Minute (Or So), visit minuteorso.com

Red Sox News & Notes

 

On a night where Curt Schilling wasn’t his best and the Yanks battered the Sox pitchers, let’s take a look at what the media is saying about the game.

Stupidly enough, I missed this Gordon Edes piece on Julian Tavarez’s wardrobe the other night. [Boston Globe]

Curt Schilling details his “craptastic” start over at his blog. [38pitches.com]

Gordon Edes tells us about Curt Schilling, J.D. Drew, Josh Beckett, Mike Timlin, Jon Lester, Frank Robinson and Terry Francona in his Red Sox notebook. [Boston Globe]

Nick Cafardo wants the truth about whether or not players have used steroids. [Boston Globe]

Dan Shaughnessy, AKA CHB, gives his take on the Pedroia/AROD incident. [Boston Globe]

Big Papi book author, Tony Massarotti says we should cut AROD some slack. [Boston Herald]

Rob Bradford tells us how a Red Sox top prospect outdueled his idol last night. [Boston Herald]

Jeff Horrigan says Dustin Pedroia’s plan has created quite a buzz. [Boston Herald]

Tony Massarotti details how long it had been between Coco Crisp homeruns. [Boston Herald]

Steve Buckley tells us about how Yankees’ fans changed their tunes after last night’s win. [Boston Herald]

This just some of the 100’s of stories. Head over to the Boston Herald, Boston Globe, NY Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, Providence Journal sites to see more.

And with the Red Sox off today, I am going to be taking a day off as well. So the posts today won’t be as numerous as normal.

Thursday’s Tiptoe Around the AL & NL Central

Brad Lidge is beginning to show signs of his oldself for the Astros.

The Brewers are in no rush to call up top prospect Ryan Braun.

Cardinals reliever Ryan Franklin is sidelined with streep throat right now.

Lou Pinella says his Cubs need to play with more consistency.

The Indians called up Mike Koplove to help out their bullpen.

Chris Duffy was dropped in the Pirates batting order due to his recent struggles.

Kameron Loe believes he can pitch a lot better for the Rangers.

Zack Greinke has helped solidify the Royals bullpen.

Reds uber utility guy Ryan Freel is working on his base stealing skills.

Tigers reliever Jason Grilli is considering talking to the ball like Mark Fidrych did.

Twins stud Johan Santana received his 2006 Warren Spahn award on Wednesday morning.

Nick Masset hopes he gets to start for the White Sox again.

Schill-Shocked; Yanks Batter Schilling & Red Sox

On a night when both teams have their aces on the mound, one would expect the game to be close. Well unfortunately for the Red Sox this game was really over after the first inning. The Yankees got to Curt Schilling for 3 runs in the first and never looked back as they smacked 16 hits off Red Sox pitchers to win 8-3 in front of 55,000 at Yankee Stadium.

Andy Pettitte was masterful on the mound for the Yankees. He didn’t allow a baserunner to get past second base until the sixth inning.

The Yankees got on the board in the first inning. Johnny Demon led off with a double and scored when Derek Jeter hit a single that went off a diving Dustin Pedroia’s glove. Hideki Matsui made Schilling pay for a fastball over the middle of the plate by putting it into the seats at Yankee Stadium. Just like that it was 3-0 Yanks.

This was the third night in a row that a first inning homer set the tone. AROD on Monday, Manny on Tuesday, and Godzilla on Wednesday.

The Sox threatened in the second inning. Manny flew out to Damon in center to lead off the inning. The red-hot Kevin Youkilis laced a double off of Pettitte putting himself in scoring position. But Pettitte got out of trouble by retiring Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek.

The Yanks got to Schilling for another run in the second inning. Robinson Cano started it off with a single after a Giambino strikeout. Schilling got Doug Mientkiewicz to strikeout then Damon reached on an infield single that Julio Lugo threw into the outfield allowing Cano to advance to third. Jeter’s infield single, his second hit in as many at-bats, brought in Cano with the 4th run of the night for the Yanks.

The third inning brought another run for the Yanks. AROD led off with a double and came home on a Hip Hip Jorge Posada single.

Another run came across the plate in the 4th inning for the Yankees. Mientkiewicz, who was 0 for 6 against Schilling, took a fastball and put it off the facade of the third deck in right field. This put the Evil Empire up 5-0.

The Sox finally got on the board in the 6th inning. Big Papi led off and grounded out. Manny followed him with a double. Pettitte then got Youk to strikeout. This brought up Lowell, who’s been pretty hot lately at the plate. He laced a double that brought in Manny and made the score 6-1 Yanks.

Schilling gave up two hits in the sixth but they didn’t come around to score. Schill wouldn’t come back out for the 7th inning as his pitch count was around 95 and he was absolutely stinking up the joint. He had no command on any of his pitches and it looked like his velocity wasn’t as high as normal. He went 6 innings, gave up 12 hits (8 were for extra bases), gave up 6 runs (5 earned). He didn’t walk anybody and struck out 3.

Brendan Donnelly came in for Schilling in the 7th and was greeted by a Derek Jeter triple. Jeter came around to score on a Matsui single making it 7-1 Yanks.

The Sox managed to get a run back in the 8th inning off of Kyle Farnsworth, who had come in for Pettitte. Coco welcomed Farnsworth to the game by hitting one into the right field seats. The homer was Coco’s first of the season and first in 180 at-bats. This got the Sox back within 5 runs at 7-2. Farnsworth than gave up a walk to Big Papi and with Manny at the plate, Farny balked Papi over to second base. Manny ended up flying out to Bobby Abreu in right. Youk would bring home Papi though on a single making it 7-3. Farnsworth would settle down as he got Lowell and Varitek out to end another threat.

Joel Piñero came on for Donnelly and retired the first two batters (Giambi and Cano). Mietkiewicz then hit a double and came around on a Damon single, providing the final margin of 8-3.

Mariano Rivera came on in the 9th for the Yanks in a non-save situation. Wily Mo Peña hit a cue ball double down the first base line but Rivera would recover. He struck out Pedroia, Lugo and Coco to end the game and give the Yanks a much needed victory.

The Sox are off til Friday as they traveled to Texas after the game for a 3 game set against the Rangers. Dice-K will be on the mound and look to get the Sox back on track.

2007 Rookie Card Competition: Mustache Edition

In a collaborative effort with Sooze from Babes Love Baseball, we are presenting to you the Rookie Card Playoffs. Check out these current players’ rookie cards and pick your favorite. The top vote-getter of each bracket will make it to Round Two and so on, until there is only one Rookie Card Champion of the World.

The heat is on. Rondell White’s 1991 card dominated the first set of the Rookie Card Playoffs with his seductive smile and bent knee – a 5-vote victory over runner-up Nomar Garciaparra and his innocent, pubescent face.

Third-place went to the scrappy Chipper Jones while fourth-place was held down by an already-ornery Barry Bonds. and Mike Mussina, who recieved only 6 tallies, placed dead last.

Considering Rondell’s victory, we thought it appropriate to dub this set the Mustache Round. So, choose your favorite – which can be based on absolutely anything, not just these players’ sweet ‘staches.

Voting for this set ends at midnight on Sunday.

 

view results

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‘The Hits Keep Coming’ – Episode Eleven Recap

‘The Hits Keep Coming’ internet radio show on Blog Talk Radio just had it’s eleventh episode on the air tonight. Thanks to Anthony and Jason for helping make everything go smoothly, as well as the conversation and taking out part of their evening to talk about the sport we love. The first was live and streaming; whereas, the second hour was just recorded after we got off the air.

Website: http://blogtalkradio.com/oriolepost

You can listen to the show in the BlogTalk Radio section on the sidebar. Look for The Hits Keep Coming… picture and there will be a media player for you to listen. Or you can download it to listen later on, down at the bottom of this post.

First Hour:

  • Jason Giambi
  • Elijah Dukes and News on Alleged Domestic Violence
  • Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds/the comments from former commissioner Fay Vincent
  • Owners approve new baseball network
  • Red Sox/Yankee Series – Are the Yanks done?
  • Roger one step from returning?
  • Managers on the Hot Seat…
  • Surprising Teams: The Brewers/Indians and Braves

Second Hour:

  • League and Divisional roundups

Downloads:

Windows Media

ITunes

MP3

The Statement Series: Game 9

Tonight’s a big game in the “Statement Series.” The Red Sox can put a huge cloud over New York as Curt Schilling takes to the mound. A big question lies in will there be any retaliation for what AROD did to Pedroia. I hope someone plunks him.

Here is a look at your lineups tonight courtesy of Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal.

RED SOX

  1. Julio Lugo ss
  2. Coco Crisp cf
  3. David Ortiz dh
  4. Manny Ramirez lf
  5. Kevin Youkilis 1b
  6. Mike Lowell 3b
  7. Jason Varitek c
  8. Wily Mo Pena rf
  9. Dustin Pedroia 2b


Curt Schilling p

YANKEES
————–

  1. Johnny Damon cf
  2. Derek Jeter ss
  3. Hideki Matsui lf
  4. Alex Rodriguez 3b
  5. Jorge Posada c
  6. Bobby Abreu rf
  7. Jason Giambi dh
  8. Robinson Cano 2b
  9. Doug Mientkiewicz 1b


Andy Pettitte p

Mike McDermott of the Providence Journal provides you with how each team has done against the opposing starting pitcher.

Red Sox vs. Andy Pettitte
-Kevin Youkilis, 3 for 4 (.750), 1 HR
-J.D. Drew, 6 for 14 (.429), 2 HR
-Manny Ramirez, 26 for 64 (.406), 3 HR
-Julio Lugo, 5 for 13 (.385)
-Wily Mo Pena, 3 for 8 (.375)
-Jason Varitek, 15 for 41 (.366), 1 HR
-David Ortiz, 10 for 28 (.357), 1 HR
-Coco Crisp, 2 for 9 (.222)
-Mike Lowell, 1 for 6 (.167)
-Eric Hinske, 1 for 7 (.143)
-Dustin Pedroia, 0 for 4
-Alex Cora, 0 for 2

Yankees vs. Curt Schilling
-Bobby Abreu, 11 for 31 (.355)
-Jorge Posada, 11 for 31 (.355), 1 HR
-Robinson Cano, 7 for 20 (.350), 1 HR
-Hideki Matsui, 7 for 21 (.333)
-Josh Phelps, 4 for 14 (.286)
-Jason Giambi, 8 for 30 (.267), 4 HR
-Derek Jeter, 10 for 42 (.238), 1 HR
-Alex Rodriguez, 8 for 34 (.235), 4 HR
-Johnny Damon, 5 for 22 (.227), 1 HR
-Melky Cabrera, 2 for 13 (.154)
-Doug Mientkiewicz, 0 for 5

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