Umpires and Sweeps

Right now, at this time, are the Red Sox the worst team in a playoff spot?  Yeah, and it is not close.  6 in a row to Tampa and New York.  With 7 games against Detroit and Texas this week, if this team doesnt take at least 5 games...well its going to be another long second half for Sox fans everywhere. Now, onto the links...

 

This was big news. I woke up Saturday morning from a wonderful slumber, turned on my computer, and BOOM! Pictures of Josh Hamilton licking whipped cream off of, shall we say, busty women.  Apparently he was also in search of some coke (not the fizzy kind) and left to track some down.  After his 24 hour bender he called his wife (not seen in the pictures because she was not there) MLB, his GM, and his 'Mentor' who he apparently holds bible study sessions with when his teammates go out of town.  Yes, he is an addict. A full blown, almost ruined a potentially amazing baseball career by smoking crack, addict.  I have some problems with how his story is promoted.  Sometimes it is framed as an "overcoming adversity" story which is wrong because Hamilton only overcame something he brought on himself....a love of cocaine.  Yes, he should stand as a role model for recovering addicts, and this event may bring further credibility to case to help recovering addicts. It was nice to see a player address a news story head on, right away.  See, the story went away once he admitted the truth, effectively killing the media firestorm brewing because there was nothing else to report on. Sometimes people wait too long to handle certain matters and that almost never turns out well.

 

Once again, at my computer this weekend, just checking to see the updates for the sunday afternoon games and I read that Shane Victorino was thrown out for arguing balls and strikes from centerfield.  You read that last part right, from centerfield, when his team go hosed on a called ball that looked to be in the same location as a called strike on teammate Ryan Howard. I don't know what go into Victorino, being so riled up...oh wait, now I remember. 

 

What? You just beat Boston twice and yeah, took your lumps against a surprisingly good Seattle team, but you are far from being out of contention because of strikeouts.  The Rays are not even close to being out of the postseason, and to blame it on strikeouts is preposterous.  This is how close the AL East is in terms of talent...or at least based on runs scored and runs allowed. The Pythagorean standings look like this.

 

NYY 64-47

TBA 63-48

BOS 62-48

TOR 59-51

 

Oh, and don't forget about Baltimore who has a lineup that will embarrass any pitcher (imagine if Matt Wieters ends up being half as good expected to be...right now he is slightly above replacement level (.263/.310/.371)..)

 

Someone to Cheer for and I do mean cheer for.  Unless your dream is to be the next Jeffrey Dahmer or someone of equivalent value to society, you should always be supported in following your dream. This guy is, and I hope he makes it.

 

Proof positive that Adderall is not a Performance Enhancing Drug... I really do not even need to say more.  Nick Green filled in great but if the Sox open the 2010 season with him starting at shortstop I might not watch.

 

The Most Ridiculous Item Of The Day. Well, it's nice to know that this man has never heard of Barry Zito or Vernon Wells.  I'm pretty sure San Francisco will now be contacting the Cubs about a trade if Big Z really is a waste of money. Oh, Chicago doesnt want to trade him? I'm shocked.  By the way, nice analysis using only wins and Cy Young awards as measures of success. Awful...but I am going to assume that Dave Kaplan does not moonlight as a nuclear scientist at Los Alamos so I guess we can forgive him for his lack of critical thinking...or just thinking at all.