Posts Tagged ‘Mike Cameron’
Ryan Kalish made his MLB debut this weekend and was involved in two walk-offs. I'm guessing HE doesn't think this team is boring. Photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission.
I visit other blogs occasionally, but there are a few storylines in Red Sox baseball right now that have been causing me to avoid them because I’m so sick of people doing nothing but complain about the team.
Mike Lowell: I dig Mike and I don’t blame any of this on him. His situation is frustrating and disheartening for him, I’m sure. While I don’t feel “sorry” for him (the reality is he’s making a boatload of money for sitting on the bench while I sit here trying to figure out how my bills are going to get paid and while I realize the comparison is a weak one, right now it’s tough to garner sympathy for that situation) I appreciate that he’s frustrated and feeling a bit useless. Having written that, I think the Red Sox organization as a whole would be crazy to just let him go (although there’s a buzz that exactly that might happen today). There being no spot for him on the starting roster doesn’t equate his not having value to them (Youk being taken out of the game last night with an injured thumb is a reminder of that) so I’m not ready to call the Red Sox evil for holding on to him. In my opinion, the Sox are doing what is best for the team and, unfortunately, in this situation that doesn’t totally mesh with what is best for the player. It sucks but that’s what it is. There’s a reason Lowell hasn’t been traded and I sense it’s more about the reasons he hasn’t been playing full-time than it is some evil plot by the Red Sox to keep him on the bench until he retires.
Jacoby Ellsbury: He broke his ribs. Many of them. Someone out there needs to explain to me what the purpose would be for him to not go back to playing with the team. So many seem to think he’s dogging it by staying on the disabled list. Mike Lowell is collecting his paycheck and itching to get back on the field but people think Jacoby is happy just cashing his paycheck and hanging out watching baseball being played without him? What sense does that make? How many people out there believe someone would do all the work required to become a professional baseball player just so they could get injured and still get paid? If the kid is still hurting, he’s still hurting. I’ll say it again: Let me break a few of your ribs and then see how quickly you go back to effortlessly doing your desk job. If your argument is that he’s “soft” I encourage you to take those broken ribs I just gave you and do real physical work and tell me how easy you think it is. I’d rather get Jacoby back when he’s 100% then get him as a loaner until he tweaks his injury again.
Mike Cameron: He’s injured. He probably needs surgery. Neither of these things means it was a bad idea to pick him up. Maybe Theo should hire a medium who can talk to Haywood Sullivan and find out when everyone will get injured so he won’t sign the ones on the “going to get injured this season” list up in the sky?
This team isn’t exciting or fun: Ratings for Sox games have gone down. Bill Simmons (and, honestly, many others) thinks they’re boring. Who knew Jason Bay was such a compelling character? Seriously, if you can’t find some joy in this team, even when they’re losing, you aren’t paying attention. Heck, the “Will Victor Martinez try to rub Adrian Beltre’s head?” question after each of Beltre’s home runs is entertaining enough to stick around for on it’s own. So there’s no Manny doing the wave in the outfield and the bullpen band seems to have died off…that doesn’t mean this team isn’t fun. Even the new guys are exciting! In his first MLB at-bat, Daniel Nava hit a grand slam and them went on a tear. Darnell McDonald introduced himself to the Fenway Faithful by being involved in a few dramatic wins, including a walk-off. Speaking of which, in the last four games the Red Sox had two walk-off wins and two late-inning surges that were thisclose to being wins. THAT, my friends, is exciting and fun baseball.
I get that things are rough right now standings-wise. Exactly a month ago, the Red Sox were a half a game out of first place and today they’re 6.5 out. While it’s still not insurmountable, when they lose games like last night, it sure does feel like it is. I get that. (On Twitter this morning, Daigo Fujiwara points out: “Red Sox are 14-14 vs. Indians, Orioles, Royals, & Mariners, the bottom 4 teams in AL. Yankees: 23-8, Rays: 21-7.” ) These numbers certainly don’t inspire confidence. Even so, I’m not ready to throw in the towel on August 3rd. Which is probably why all the negative stories are making me stabby. Is it so difficult to try and focus on something good once in a while?
At some point, I promise, the live chats will be back if people are still looking for them. Right now, I have to put it off for another week. Josh Beckett will have to find a way to get through this Tuesday night without us!
Bill Hall and Darnell McDonald greeting the fans yesterday (the rest of my photos from the day are over at my Flickr account - accessible using the button at the top right of the blog!)
First things first:
Lights on the field so the teams can play night games
Artificial turf
The designated hitter
Interleague play
The All Star Game’s outcome having meaning
(Many others)
None of these things were in the original game that was major league baseball but they all are now because things change and MLB needed to grow with the times. (You’ll notice I didn’t include minorities playing. To me that goes way beyond MLB having to change with the times and gets into the ugliness of the world back then and is a separate subject for another entry.) We have the technology available to make sure the correct calls get made and we should be using it. Don’t give me the “purity of the game” crap or the “human element is what makes it fun” stuff. I don’t care if it means longer games, what’s more important to me is that it would mean games that were actually called correctly. Maybe we don’t need robot umpires just yet but instant replay on close calls or maybe more specifically calls that affect the outcome of the game (like, say oh the last out of the game). If you don’t want to allow it for every play or call make specific rules but expand those rules to the entire game not just home runs. Why is it such a big deal? Just use the damn replay and get the call right.
Okay, I’m done for now.
Yesterday was a great day at the park and I have the sunburn to prove it! Sure it didn’t end the way we wanted but it was still a really good game and a lot of fun to watch. Since that three-game losing streak that ended with that horrible extra innings game in New York, the Sox have split a series with New York, won each series against Minnesota and Philadelphia, swept Tampa Bay, split with Kansas City and won the series against Oakland. They won 12 out of those 17 games with half of those wins being on the road. So, sure, it was a little disappointing that they didn’t sweep the A’s but I’ll take the series win any day.
It was the last day of the Red Sox fan appreciation homestand and the Sox ended it on a high note with “picture day”. Some of the players, coaches and Tito walked around the field shaking hands, posing for pictures and interacting with the fans. John Lackey seemed genuinely excited to get to meet folks and talk. Darnell McDonald, Bill Hall and Adrian Beltre posed with, I’m guessing, every person in the park. Mike Cameron not only posed for photos but was taking them for folks as well.
A digression: I wanted a hug from Mike Cameron. I didn’t know this until I saw him across the field. There is something genuinely dynamic about his personality and I asked Kelly if it was odd that I didn’t want a picture with him, I just wanted a hug. He ended up being the last player on the field and security was rushing him away but he was trying to get photos in with those fans who were left. As he turned to finally walk away Kelly called out to him and asked if “we could get a hug”. He came bounding over to us and gave me a big hug and I got to wish him well. It was teenage fun for a few minutes and I really appreciate the Red Sox doing it.
I know many other teams do stuff like this a lot, but the Sox don’t so it was pretty special. I also got a picture with JD Drew which made for a nice start to the day. Drew was great. Engaging the kids in conversation, posing for everyone, talking to folks. I know I favor him but yesterday proved that favoritism well-placed. It really was a great way to begin the day and I hope they consider making it an annual event (this is the second year they’ve done such a thing at Fenway).
Wanting to be at another weekday afternoon game, I bought the ticket for yesterday’s game last week and did something I never do – I bought a standing room only ticket. Cost me $8. I figured that, at the very least, I’d be in the park and I could worry about where I might possibly sit later. I ended up sitting on the aisle in the first row of the grandstand behind the visitor’s dugout. Good seat and, aside from the woman who had a two year-old she let play in the middle of the aisle so people walking the stairs had to step over or around the kid, had a good crowd around me. By the fifth inning, I was sitting in what was an empty seat in one of the field boxes thanks to a text from Kelly alerting me to the open seating. It never rained until well after the game, the team was doing it’s best to come back and win, I had a good seat and friends all around the park…a win would have made the day perfect but it was damn well close to perfect anyway.
Now the Sox are on the road and can hopefully build on their good record. In spite of the absolutely obnoxious and embarrassing promo on NESN calling the Orioles the “doormats of the AL East”, playing the Orioles is always tough for the Sox, so I don’t automatically assume anything, I just hope for a good series! Sadly, at 9:30 this morning, the Orioles are scheduled to announce the firing of their manager Dave Trembley. Along with my hating to see folks lose their jobs, I hate seeing a team lose their manager mid-season, regardless of the state of the club. This wrinkle will certainly make this weekend in Baltimore a bit more interesting. Juan Samuel, Baltimore’s third base coach, will be the interim manager. In the time that Peter Angelos has become the principal owner of the team, the O’s have gone through eight managers. Samuel will be the 9th in 17 years. I wonder if it has occurred to Mr. Angelos that maybe the managers aren’t the problem with this team?
I leave you with this: Do you know what the JD in JD Drew’s name stands for? If you didn’t, would you pretend you did and yell it at him when you were in field box seats and close enough for him to possibly hear you? I’ll give you a hint before you Google, it isn’t Jason David. Hell, his initials aren’t even JD. I thought this was, relatively speaking, common knowledge among baseball fans. The guy didn’t even sound like he was being ironic or funny. That coupled with the guy behind me calling him and Fred Lynn over-rated and soft (”Fred Lynn wouldn’t play if he had a hangnail”) AFTER he complemented them both on how fluidly they run/ran through the outfield, proved that even sitting in the good seats brings out some, let’s say “interesting” folks.
Ooh, wait, one more JD story! During the pre-game fan photo thing, some guy kept yelling to Drew “Ruben Amaro is waiting for your call!” He said it at least 3 times. Made a point of addressing JD and getting his attention so he could make sure JD heard him. JD responded by telling him that he didn’t know who “Ruben Amaro” was and the guy scoffed (I swear he really scoffed), said “Of course you do, he’s the GM for the Phillies!”, laughed and walked away. I need it explained to me why you would waste such a unique opportunity to taunt one of the players.
Beat B’More! (Seems more appropriate than chanting “Beat LA” at a Sox/A’s game.)
And ye shall be tackled by our first baseman for your accomplishments! Photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission. Good luck, Darnell!
Missed last night’s game so I’m just happy that it all ended well! Everything seems to be clicking for the Sox and tonight we get back Mike Cameron to close that circle. Really looking forward to seeing him back in the lineup!
But with Mike Cameron back, we knew we’d have to say goodbye to someone and, as Gordon Edes tells us, this time it’s Darnell McDonald.
In the brief time McDonald wore a Sox uniform, he made an impact. Dramatically, at first, with a game-tying, pinch-run homer in his first at-bat for the Sox, followed by a game-winning single in his first game, then a home run in his second. Then, mostly dependably, especially at the plate, where in 30 games he batted a respectable .263, with three home runs and 11 RBIs. Defensively, he was exposed as time went on, but the 31-year-old filled a breach when called upon.
“There was nothing else to do,” manager Terry Francona said. “I hope for his sake somebody claims him. I’m very appreciative for what he did for us.”
I don’t know if I ever remember a manager saying that he hoped another team claimed a player. If he doesn’t get claimed, he can accept the assignment back to Pawtucket and still be in the organization, right? I think it’s pretty cool of Tito to publicly say he’d rather him go to another club where he gets a chance to probably play in the bigs. Thank you, Darnell. Thank you for helping make a relatively painful time not so horrible.
Clay Buchholz doing his thang again and the Sox offense going off on Rays pitching, including another home run by the Large Father, brought the team another “W”. Tonight Jon Lester goes up against James Shields (I hesitate to call him “Big Lame” James just yet even though the name, suggested by Kelly O’Connor in the comments here not too long ago, cracks me up to no end…no need to piss off the baseball gods) and we will be here live chatting for anyone interested!
We’re five for five on Tuesday nights, so far, so stop on by to help add to the “magic”!
Mike Cameron gets another start in Portland today. Come back soon, Mike! Photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission.
I started with a couple of tweets just before the game began last night, and as it began I had to go offline for a while. Come around the fourth inning and I decide to go online when I realized that Daisuke Matsuzaka hadn’t given up a hit yet. That’s when I made the decision to keep doing what I was doing and not go online. Why mess with the mojo? 
It was about the 7th inning that I got this nagging feeling that he wouldn’t get his no-hitter. Something just didn’t feel right (and none of that was his pitching or the defense behind him). Maybe it was being in Philadelphia? Or that the national broadcasters were calling the game not our Jerry and Don? Whatever it was, when he lost the no-hit bid in the 8th, I was still disappointed but also still so proud. Over the past four games, three of our pitches threw 8 complete innings. For any team this is great but it’s especially important and impressive for the way the Red Sox pitching staff has been going. Daisuke, someone who gets the wrath of many Red Sox fans and is the topic of many nasty emails sent my way from opposing fans, really came through and showed everyone what he was capable of. He might not have gotten his no-hitter, just yet, but he definitely made folks in and around MLB stand up and take notice.
I had a discussion online not too long ago with someone who said that the Sox got hosed when the picked up Daisuke and he wasn’t worth his money. When I countered that, in my opinion, his first two seasons alone with the Sox were definitely worth the money (one of those seasons was the championship 2007 season and the other was 2008 when he had 18 wins), the person still disagreed with me. I’ll say it again, in terms of “baseball” money (read: money I don’t have and can pretend to spend any way I like) and for what he has contributed, I still think Daisuke was worth it. Doesn’t mean that I don’t sometimes get fits when he’s on the mound, but I think the fits, at times, can defitely be worth it as well to see the end result. Injured in 2009 and off to a late start in 2010 – we still haven’t seen everything he’ capable of. Also, he pitched this one-hit game against possibly the best hitting team in baseball. That is pretty damned impressive, no?
Also, props need to go to all the defense last night, but especially David Ortiz if for no other reason than he made a couple of really good plays that finally got the Fox broadcasters to shut up about how he was going to fail at first because he never plays the position.
With Josh Beckett on the dl, today Tim Wakefield pitches the rubber game against Roy Halladay at 1:35pm. Both NESN and TBS are carrying the game because TBS, unlike Fox, doesn’t screw up everyone else’s baseball viewing pleasure just for their own greedy selves. Last night was a travesty in that there were actually people in MASSACHUSETTS who couldn’t watch the Sox play because their local Fox station decided to show the Mets/Yanks game. Absolutely ridiculous Fox. Good God when is that horrendous contract over?
Some folks have been using the new message board to in-game chat either in threads or in the built-in chat room so go on over if you’re so inclined! Tuesday night live chats (and at some point maybe more) will still be held here – can’t mess with that magic yet!
Welcome back to the rotation, Wake. (Photo taken by me in 2005)
I really enjoy these mornings when watching “Breakfast with the Sox” is something I go out of my way to do. (When the Sox lose, I don’t watch the replays, hell I usually don’t even watch the post-game show!)
As an aside before I start bragging on Clay, Based on feedback I’ve been receiving the past few weeks after each live chat, I’m banging around the idea of a message board connected to the blog as a place where folks can talk baseball (or just random daytime talk before games!) and have game day discussions (with a chat room attached as well). Folks seem a little reticent to use the comments for chatting and some suggestions have come in about having a discussion board to visit. Not sure what the response would be from the masses, though, so I thought I’d throw the idea out there and see what you all think. Shoot me an email or leave a note in the comments section and let me know what you think (emails would be great since then I’d have YOUR email address and could send out invites for the board if folks are so inclined). What say you, folks?
Mike Cameron - coming soon to an outfield near you! Photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission.
Weekend is over, no sense dwelling on it. Now we are witness to one of the oddest things in MLB scheduling: The two-day series. Not only do the Sox play one in New York but then they play another one in Boston against the Twins. I don’t normally like the two-day series but anything that gets the Sox out of the Bronx sooner rather than later is all right with me.
Daisuke Matsuzaka goes up against Phil Hughes tonight. Hughes is 5-0 with an ERA of 1.38. Would be nice if tonight they got his ERA up past four. Daisuke is coming off a tremendous start and though having to follow it up against the Yankees doesn’t give me all kinds of warm feelings, at least I don’t feel the impending doom that I once might have felt. Anything could happen tonight so I’m staying positive!
Genuine good news is that Mike Cameron will most likely be activated for the Yankees series either today or tomorrow and Jacoby Ellsbury is starting his rehab assignments this week – this afternoon at Pawtucket and starting tomorrow (because the PawSox go on the road) in Portland. I’m looking forward to the team getting all of it’s pieces back together (not that Darnell McDonald hasn’t been a little slice of heaven because he has) and making that big run. The Sox are 5-5 in their last ten games. Not stellar (they were 6-4 in the ten games previous) but also not as horrible as it feels.
So the fun begins at 7:05 tonight (on both NESN and ESPN). Could be fun.
Tomorrow the Sox are, as of right now, putting TBA up against CC Sabathia for first Yankees live chat of the year. The Sox are four for four when we live chat so join us! Would be nice if we were live chatting a two game sweep!
Enjoy the day folks! For, regardless of which way the score goes, the night will most likely be filled with much cursing and the reaching of the Tums.
