Definitely take it, Chowdah. The wife needs to get there too - my trips to the stadium have all been boys nights out.

I probably will.

The Sox beat up the Orioles and the Rays are starting to look very 07ish again. It all comes down to today whether they hold first at the All Star break.

I am hoping that the Sox win and the Rays lose so that the world will continue to spin correctly on its axis. This tesseract has gone on long enough.

Sox are back in first place! Sorry Kid. Bound to happen eventually.

Yeah, yeah. By a half game.

I was confident I'd show someone my "O" face the other night, but that didn't happen either. Oh well.. c'est la vie.

Still a whole lot of summer left, and a whole lot of baseball, too.

nice late charge by the sox to grab 1st place at the break

Boston has 31 road games in the 2nd half; the Rays have 37 road games, and with a 19-25 road record are among the worst in the American League away from home.

Meanwhile, the Yankees got their butts handed to them by the second right-hander this weekend. Burnett shut the lineup down again. Pettite had a tough inning in the 2nd (gave up 4) after Scutaro failed to lay down a sacrifice, he ended up jacking a two strike curveball out of the park.

Yankees go into All Star festivities at the Stadium with a whimper.

you know, if David Stern were the commissioner of MLB, I'd just about guarantee that the yankees would grab the wildcard spot and make the playoffs (so ESPN and FOX could be happy)

quote:

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Boston has 31 road games in the 2nd half; the Rays have 37 road games, and with a 19-25 road record are among the worst in the American League away from home.

---

American League road records and winning percentage...
LAA: 31-18, 63%
Oak: 20-20, 50%
NYY: 23-23, 50%
Tex: 25-25, 50%
Min: 21-45, 47%
CWS: 22-49, 45%
TB: 19-25, 43%
KC: 21-29, 42%
Bos: 21-29, 42%
Tor: 20-28, 42%
Det: 19-27, 41%
Bal: 20-32, 38%
Sea: 18-31, 37%
Cle: 15-31, 33%

If the Rays are among the worst on the road, then at least they're in good company...

This morning's news included David Ortiz's rehab assignment in Portland. Glad we have season tix as all three games sold out when the box office opened this morning! This should be interesting.

On another note: 6 former Sea Dogs players are going to be in the All Star game (3 for the Sox).

[This message has been edited by Say Chowdah (edited 7/14/2008 9:34a).]

I always try to catch at least one game a year in Portland and a couple in Pawtucket. I even made it to one in Lowell last year. Great atmosphere at all three parks. Three great minor league venues to live near. I have a Sea Dogs hat I wear sometimes when I am in Texas.

Nice to see Manny showed up to watch the homerun derby. Now lets see if he shows up to the game tommorow!

JD Drew is the All Star MVP.

AL keeps its home field advantage for the World Series. Unfortunately that diminshes my chances of getting a ticket should the Sox make it.

Great game management by Tito! It was a class act to bring in Rivera in the 9th. You'd never see that in a regular game but seeing as it was the All Star game and there was a real possibility that there wouldn't be a bottom of the 10th so he brought him out for the 9th. That was good of him.

[This message has been edited by Say Chowdah (edited 7/16/2008 8:56a).]

What are your thoughts on Papelbon's comments in the Daily News?
Personally, the NY media took a lot of it out of context, but Papelbon seems to be an a$$klown anyway. To use a line from Bull Durham, Crash says to Nuke Laloosh "you need to learn your cliches. They are your friend."

I personally loved the booing of him. Call me classless, but I'm no more classless than that stupid comment and he has a few screws loose anyway. Francona bringing Mo in through the 9th of a tie game eased my hatred of the situation, though. That was the only thing to do.
For the record, I do not mind that JD Drew is the MVP of the game. There was really no one else that stood out other than Cliff Lee, but you're not going to give it to a starter that pitches two innings in a 15 inning game. Granted, I went to bed in the 12th. 12:30 is a long time to stay up. Glad I didn't stay up until 1:45.

[This message has been edited by Captain Insano (edited 7/16/2008 11:38a).]

burrito post

I accept Papelbon for what he is...

Million dollar arm, 10 cent brain (to use another Bull Durham quote). But, he is good and also amusing. And, let's never forget that the list of the biggest asses at the All Star game begins and ends with Steinbrenner.

Papelbon's strikeout did silence the "over rated" cheers! It wasn't his fault that a run crossed the plate. Everyone in my office said this morning that Navarro threw it away on purpose to make him look bad! I sincerely doubt it but hey, it is fun to think about.

Pap wanted to close. Tito was the manager. The Sox do have the "honor," if you will, by being the WS Champs. However, Rivera deserved the ball on the basis of his career and the game being in Yankee Stadium.

I think V-Tek or perhaps even Tito walked up to him afterward and had a little "chat" with him about showing some class.

Frankly, I don't see Papelbon shutting up anytime soon. Guys like that need some kind of negative reinforcement to change attitudes. And while he remains a closer in the AL, and while his talent continues to cash the checks his mouth writes (to paraphrase Top Gun), the only bad thing that can happen to him is getting fined. And how likely is that to happen?

Now, I understand that he is expecting a child. I know that oftentimes, people can change at least 90 to 120 degrees after having a baby (if a complete 180 is too much to expect). Who knows, that might help mature him a little bit.

Papelbon is a 25-26 year old kid who has a ton of confidence (someting you definitely want in your closer). He was asked if he wanted to close the game and he answered the question honestly. He has a competitve nature, of course it is logical that he would want the ball in that situation.

He went on to say in that same interview that he believed Rivera should get the call in the save situation, being that the game was in yankee stadium and rivera has obviously earned the right. That part was lost in the whole backpage story.

Papelbon's a good guy. It's one thing to boo him at the stadium or the parade, but to yell things at his pregnant wife that would ultimately make her feel unsafe. That was totally uncalled for by yankee fans.

[This message has been edited by I am Keith Hernandez (edited 7/16/2008 3:44p).]

Yankees defeat A's 7-1. Highlights include:
1. Mussina is pitching pretty darn well in his old age. Another strong 6 innings.
2. Sexson singles in his first AB.
3. The bullpen is looking salty. David Robertson and Edwar Ramirez have nasty stuff, and Hawkins sealed the deal in the 9th.
4. Girardi DH'd Posada tonight and went with Jose Molina behind the plate.
5. A-Rod goes three for four and Cano hits a 3 run bomb.

great game

Manny Ramirez celebrates the Red Sox' return to the top of the AL East by stretching out and taking a luxurious break Friday evening in Anaheim.


"Jacoby, did you bring my lemonade and sandwich?"


Edit--let's be honest, with the way Manny's positioned, and the angle of the camera, I could've said things that are much worse than something mentioning lemonade.

[This message has been edited by aggie kid (edited 7/19/2008 11:42a).]

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/58490

did manny strike out on purpose as payback for being fined?

the AL wildcard winner (probably from the AL East) is going to have their work cut out for them vs. the Angels in the 1st round. Winning the division title is definitely the easier way to go.

Thanks for the 2 whole batters in the All Star game, Francona.

Thank you Angels. Yankees sweep Oakland, and have Minnesota coming to town before heading 4 hours east to Boston this weekend.

Tampa Bay 57-40
Boston 57-43 1.5 GB
New York 53-45 4.5 GB

4-in-a-row for the yankees in the 2nd half. A-rod really heating up

LETS GO YANKEES!!!!!

WHO'S YO TEAM!!! *YANKEES* WE LIVIN IT *UPTOWN!!!!*

Been looking at tickets in August to get the wife to the Stadium before it's gone (she's a Cubs fan, but don't blame her...she lived on Addison in Chicago the whole time we dated)...anyway, Yankees, spend much time with the bleacher creatures out in right...roll call and all? I haven't sat out there, and they are the only seats going for less than 100, even on weekdays.

Getting psyched for this weekend in Fenway. We're close to striking distance now.

5-in-a-row for the bombers

i have never sat in the bleachers, our season tickets were in the upper deck of right field. However, i heard that they are a different breed, especially because more tourists tend to sit there. Many of them are very knowledgeable. you should be fine and have lots of fun.


by the way, what a win!

"An A-Bomb, From A-Rod"

Nice win tonight. Couple of thoughts:

Cano is on a tear right now. He always hits well after the break, so hopefully the slumps of May and June are behind him.

Kyle Farnsworth. Yep, the 99 mph fastball, incredible curve, and HRIP about 1 (Home Runs per innings pitched, being sarcastic)...he's actually panning out well as a set up man. Michael Kay says that it's due to comfort with Girardi...personally not sure, but he's not throwing everything down the middle, and (gasp) it's working out.

[This message has been edited by Captain Insano (edited 7/22/2008 9:45p).]

great win today! moose was killer

6 in a row for the Yankees. Mussina goes 8 shutout innings.

For some reason, I'm getting MLB Extra Innings for free right now, so I'm going to scout the Sox and hope the dreadful Mariners can do us a favor.

you are getting it for free for voting for the all star game player to get in on the last vote.

Sox/Yanks series starts tonight! Hopefully it won't get rained out. We've had one straight week of crap weather due to the hurricane.

I've been camping this week but decided to come home tonight due to the storms coming through. At least I'll get to see the game if I can get my GD cable working.

the series starts tomorrow chowdah, dont get too excited

"An A-Bomb, From A-Rod"