Life on the Wagon

Keep Papi, No Matter the Cost

2012-02-10T15:22:00.000-05:00

David Ortiz looks like the Cookie Monster. Does this make him a good DH? Not necessarily. But among baseball players who resemble Sesame Street characters, he's almost certainly the best of the bunch. And that's got to be worth something.

Why does any of this matter? Aside from indicating that I've been spending entirely too much time with my 3-year old daughter, Mr. Ortiz is up for an extremely rare arbitration hearing this Monday in Florida--a situation which is summed up nicely here by WEEI.com's Alex Speier. He writes:

"The $3.85 million difference between the salary that Ortiz is requesting ($16.5 million) and the one that the team is offering ($12.65 million) could, in theory, represent the cost of acquiring a player like Matt Garza near the trade deadline."

Clearly, money spent now is money they won't have in July. Obviously Ben Cherington does not want to burn all of his resources immediately and hang himself out to dry at the trading deadline.

Yet.

What would they do at DH should Ortiz win the hearing and the team choose not to sign him? One possibility would be to give Papi's spot to Kevin Youkilis (which could help some of his injury issues) and hand third base to top prospect Will Middlebrooks. An exciting thought, but Middlebrooks isn't ready just yet, though Soxprospects.com compares his career track to Scott Rolen's.

Rumors are abound that a settlement will be reached, but if Ortiz gets his $16.5 million asking price (as opposed to Boston's $12.65), the team should take it and move on. Sure, he abuses the cookie dough from time to time, but no one's been better than he has at designated hitting over the past few years, despite fan perception that he is falling off.

A quick look at the numbers easily demonstrates this. Last year, of the 11 hitters who had at least 500 at-bats at the position, Ortiz was by far the best. Fangraphs has number 34 sitting atop the fWAR leaders with a total of 4.2, followed by Michael Young of the Rangers at 3.8 and Chicago's Paul Konerko at 3.1. No one else even topped three.

Papi put up a slash line of .309/.398/.554 with 29 homers and 98 RBIs in 2011. Those number would be stunningly hard to replace at this point in the offseason, even with a Youkilis--who is engaged to Tom Brady's sister oh by the way--slash Middlebrooks shift.

From 2009 (a season in which his power stroke, and therefore his career, was considered done) through last year, Ortiz is third in fWAR with 7.0. That's just behind free agent Johnny Damon's 7.3 and Detroit's Victor Martinez's 10.6. The difference being Papi is primarily a DH while Damon added slightly to his value by playing the outfield and ditto Martinez at catcher.

In any case, David Ortiz still has tremendous value on and off the field and Boston will be better with him in the lineup whether they lose the hearing or not.

Oil Can Boyd Used Cocaine During Games

2012-02-09T20:11:00.001-05:00

Oil Can Boyd won 60 games while wearing the uniform of the Boston Red Sox. He apparently consumed mountains of cocaine and rarely slept while doing so. The veteran of 10 major league seasons admitted as much in a radio interview from Fort Myers today with WBZ NewsRadio 1030.

Bruce Hurst don't have nothin' on me

"There wasn't one ballpark that I probably...didn't stay up all night, [until] 4-5 in the morning," Boyd stated while indicating the drugs would be in his system from the night before while pitching. He'd even used during games occasionally. The now 52-year old went on to say that he'd been engaged "in a demonic activity. [It was] a very very cold scary world I was living in when I was younger."

I'm a patsy for baseball tell-all books, interviews, etc. Behind the scenes shenanigans get me every time. Which is why this story has two things going for it: it gives me a chance to write the words Oil-Can-Boyd in succession for the first time in my career, and it also burns a quick flashback of 1987, the first year I can remember watching the sport. Anything that can cause those two things to instantaneously occur is okay by me.

Boyd, who picked up the nickname in Mississippi due to his penchant for downing beers (or Oil Cans), is releasing an autobiography titled They Call Me Oil Can later this year, in which he will no doubt recount just how many cans of oil earns one such a title.

As for the admission, he was a very matter-of-fact about the whole situation. He's not looking for sympathy, and he's certainly not bragging about it, this is a man merely telling it like it was. In light of the recent Josh Hamilton situation, it's pretty clear where I come down on most of these things. Don't judge lest ye be judged and all that jazz.

I will say this though, it seems as if Mr. Boyd was pitching for the wrong team back in '86.

Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

2004: The Remaining Idiots

2012-02-08T12:30:00.001-05:00

For the first time since, well since before Scott Hatteberg's catching career threw its arm out and sent itself headlong into the Billy Beane Moneyball machine, Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield will not be members of the Boston Red Sox.

1998 to be exact.

Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images

With truck day on the near horizon, the Sox roster is undergoing an out-of-body experience of sorts without the two veterans. Heading into spring with an enigmatic and disjointed team following an offseason which addressed major issues with answers along the lines of "umm" and "kind of," the departure of Varitek and Wakefield has largely flown under the radar.

Though I wouldn't rule out the possibility of either of the vets returning--especially Varitek--in the face of the very real possibility that Josh Beckett starts the season 0-3 causing the Texas Tough Guy to send his spittle flying in the face of Jarrod Saltalamacchia in a tidal wave of greasy rage.

Just sayin'.

But the impending baseball demise of these two franchise icons brings another fact to mind: this has not been a good offseason for the 2004 World Series champions. Or what's left of them.

Here's a quick rundown of the players from that squad who are still in baseball as of today:

The Holdovers
David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis
And then there were two. With Wake and Tek gone, David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis are the only remaining pair who held roster spots during the '04 season. Clearly, Papi's late inning heroics during those epic battles with Mariano Rivera are surpassed only by the Bloody Sock, while Youkilis was in his rookie year in '04. Youk saw limited playoff action in just a single game versus the Angels in the ALDS with only two plate appearances.

The Departed
Bronson Arroyo
An integral part of Terry Francona's inaugural pitching staff, Arroyo is still sporting his silly haircut in Cincinnati. Despite a down year in 2011 (5.07 ERA,) Bronson has been good for 200 innings and at least four harrumph inducing imitations of Eddie Vedder per year.

Orlando Cabrera
Some thought Cabrera would give Pedro Martinez and Andre Dawson fits in the competition for best afro in Expos history. Clearly he did not.

But what he did do was play for 15 seasons with a respectable .272/.317./.390 career slash-line. Alas, according to this tweet from Enrique Rojas of ESPNdeportes in January, Cabrera plans to call it quits.

Currently, he's still a free agent and is able to hook on with any team for 2012 so I've included him on this list.

Johnny Damon
Not much to say about baseball Jesus. He's 17 years into his career, and was one of the ringleaders of The Idiots along with Kevin Millar. You all know him, some of you still love him, harbor ire towards him for bolting to New York, or simply adore noodle-armed baseball players. Today he is beardless and searching for a new contract after finishing up last year with Tampa Bay.

Lenny DiNardo
Shocking, but the lefty reliever you probably don't remember is still kicking around. Just 24 years old in '04, DiNardo did not see any playoff action that season and last pitched in the majors in 2009 with the Royals. Yet he was throwing in the A's minor league system in 2011 and a return to the major league club is not impossible.

You can now all hold your collective breath.

Derek Lowe
Can one mention Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek in the same article without bringing up the Heathcliff Slocumb trade? Probably not. I think it's a rule somewhere.

After leaving Boston in '05 to sign a four-year deal with the Dodgers, Lowe has enjoyed the most post-Red Sox success out of this group aside from Johnny Damon. While he never matched the success he had for Boston, his best season after leaving was 2006 when he posted a 4.7 fWAR for Los Angeles.

The 39-year old righty had a rough go of it last year, putting up a 9-19 record with a 5.05 ERA. This is likely to be his last season as his contract is up ad the end of the year.

Manny Ramirez
Yes he's still facing a 50 game suspension. Yes, he officially retired after failing yet another drug test last season, this time with the Rays. And yes, he should probably stay exactly where he is in lieu of picking up another bat.

But the one thing we always knew about Manny that he was a baseball savant. As nonchalant as his attitude seemed, baseball was and is his life. Not in the Michael Jordan sense of the idea of competitiveness, but in the way that baseball can permeate the very soul of a person.

If Manny gets his way, we'll all get to witness him being himself for one more year.

On Clay Buchholz

2012-02-04T11:00:00.001-05:00

Clay Buchholz's back--it was at least as much a part of last season's collapse as beer, Popeye's, and apathy. But the only talk about the starting rotation these days has been the status of Roy Oswalt and a slew of not so spry arms from the lost and found bin.

After a stress fracture which kept him out for most of the second half of last year, the status of the expected number two starter has flown under the radar this offseason. I don't think I need to mention why.

After throwing bullpen sessions in Fort Myers following the season and seeing a specialist over the winter, there has been...silence.

Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports that "Buchholz is healthy, but after all the time he missed last year, he’s hardly a lock to pitch 200 innings. (Asked about Beckett and Buchholz, Cherington said, 'They’ve both had really good off-seasons, and we don’t expect any issues with either of them going into camp. They’re both motivated to have a good year.')"

While that's seemingly positive--a healthy Buchholz is a happy fanbase--this is not entirely good news. Boston needs him find his guts and toss up something close to 200 innings. An expectation which is ridiculous and unrealistic I realize.

The 26-year old has been within shouting distance of that mark just once, throwing 173.2 innings in 2010. That's it. He hasn't topped 100 frames in any other season. So to be reasonable, barring any major injury, we might be looking at a 150 inning season at best from the number two starter. Yikes.

Where are all of these innings going to come from? Alfredo Aceves?

We've all seen the results of taking a flier on a talented retreads, a strategy the budget-conscious Cherington is employing this offseason. Bret Saberhagen, Ramon Martinez, and Steve Avery are a few that come to mind. But while they might show flashes of past brilliance, those cases rarely work in the long term. So hopes are not high in that area. Sorry Carlos Silva and Rich Harden.

In addition Daniel Bard is not going to last a month in the rotation, a case which I'll look at more in-depth before the season. Also, as much as Aceves was bullpen-Jesus for Terry Francona last year, his innings load was heavy, and the team would be lucky to get a repeat performance from the 29 year-old (though, according to baseball-reference.com, his nickname is "Ace" which is oddly encouraging,) nevermind expecting him to carry a significant load in the rotation.

So in early February, a grab bag of question marks that would make the Riddler jealous is what we're left with. Let's just hope Bobby Valentine and Co. can count on Buchholz's back in 2012.

In Defense of Josh Hamilton

2012-02-03T14:43:00.001-05:00

I'm a sucker for redemption stories. Read my reaction to Josh Hamilton's slip-up here.

Compensation For Theo

2012-02-02T10:38:00.000-05:00

It's Groundhog day. So in the spirit of Bill Murray, it's time to review things again and again and again. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Theo Epstein compensation saga!

Listen, Matt Garza is not coming to Boston, and never was. So who, or what, is? The precedent for these things isn't exactly promising, as Baseball Nation's Al Yellon points out:

"In 1994, when the Cubs hired Twins executive Andy MacPhail as their general manager, they sent minor-league pitcher Hector Trinidad — a top prospect at the time — as compensation. Trinidad never pitched in the major leagues."

So the Cubs are the one's stealing everyone's women! I never did trust that little blue bumbling bear. But in a baseball sense, the likelihood that Boston ends up with anything of significance out of this entire process is extremely small.

Peter Gammons tweeted yesterday that Uncle Bud Selig is still waiting on "written arguments in Cubs-Red Sox compensation case," but the hall of fame writer expects Chicago to send over "an A level prospect." Whom shall that prospect-to-be named eventually be? I won't pretend to have any insight into Uncle Bud's mind, but here's a list of the Cubs' top-20 prospects of 2012 for those of you who are interested.

Here's a list of homegrown Cubs that have done much of anything in the last 20 years: Starlin Castro, Kerry Wood, and Harry Caray's corpse. That's it. Three.

In any case, after a tumultuous but ultimately lackluster offseason, comedian Jim Norton summed up the situation nicely earlier this morning on Twitter: "It's Groundhog Day! Punxsutawney Phil poked his head out and saw the business end of a shotgun."

I simply wonder if there's any room in front of those barrels for a worn out Red Sox fan.

Roy Oswalt: Master Negotiator

2012-02-01T13:46:00.001-05:00

As anyone who watches shows like Pawn Stars and other public haggling matches can attest, declaring your intentions before the deal is concluded is terrible form. Almost as bad as stealing Jobu's rum.

Which is exactly why Roy Oswalt has put himself in a terrible position, seemingly sticking by his declaration that he will pitch only for the Rangers or Cardinals this upcoming season. This is starting to resemble one of those slit-eyed retirees who stumble into the shop and simply must sell that Colt .45 under orders from their fire-breathing hag of a wife. Well, it does to me anyway.

The problem is, it's a tight squeeze for both teams. Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal reports that "the Cardinals, perhaps trying to exert their leverage, have not made Oswalt a financial offer that the pitcher deems anywhere close to sufficient, according to one major-league source." Which means Boston still might have a chance if they swoop in with a big offer, especially considering the Rangers don't have a spot in their rotation for him.

Roy Oswalt can still pitch. Roy Oswalt also has a giant head. These are both facts. Yet aside from that, no one, not even the 34-year old righty knows which color the the size nine cap he sports will encircle his head in 2012.

Stupid Sexy Talent

2012-01-30T13:24:00.001-05:00

The likelihood of Ben Cherington splurging on a multi-year deal for Cardinals free-agent starter Edwin Jackson is next to nothing, what with the money tree at Fenway finally ceasing to sprout leaves this winter. Yet the idea of a one-year deal for the Boras client remains intriguing, although probably not feasible at this point, as Peter Gammons tweeted earlier that "Jackson claims 3-4 multi-year offers," with the Sox not likely to be one of those doing the offering.

Hypothetically, would a multi-year deal be worth it? My gut tells me no. Why would Boston splurge on a starter who they would clearly have to overpay to bring in, simply to replace John Lackey's innings and bloated contract? I'm having nightmares of Jackson eating his way to an 8-14 record for the third straight season while gravity pulls his growing waistline closer and closer to the infield dirt.

A closer look at the projections backs this up (well, maybe not the weight thing, but numbers-wise.) Bill James predicts an 11-12 record, and an ERA north of 4.00 with just over 200 innings thrown for the 28-year old this upcoming season. Good numbers for a guy who would slot in as the fourth starter, but not the sort that should have gobs of cash thrown at them. Haven't there been enough recent examples for teams to learn this?

Luckily, with the Dice-K and Lackey disasters staring them in the face, the Sox brass seems to be making the smart play here. But it remains to be seen if the market will force Jackson into a 1-year deal, possibly putting Boston back in the running. Again, this looking impossible now with Ken Rosenthal and Gammons stating Jackson has received several multi-year offers.

Prediction? Someone will give him a 3 or 4 year deal. He's only 28, shows signs that he is finally "getting it," and still rocks that no-hit stuff he's had since the Dodgers drafted him in the sixth-round back in '01. As we have seen time and time again, that sort of talent will always seduce someone.

Jose Iglesias: Here's Hoping

2012-01-28T13:20:00.001-05:00

Shortstop. It's been a bit of a sore spot since 2004. You remember, the moment Theo made the trade, shipping Nomar to the Cubs and acquiring postseason stalwart Orlando Cabrera, jump-starting the team in the process and propelling them to the title.

Take a moment...bask in it. There you go.

The turnstile has been a-spinnin' from that point on.

So to ask the fanbase to endure a wildly unexciting amalgamation of Mike Aviles and Nick Punto--or, Mick Apuntoviles as I like to call them--for a season is not exactly out of the ordinary. As unconventional as a shortstop platoon is, they can probably keep the position afloat until something better comes along.

Punto, a lumpy approximation of a middle infielder, is flashy with the glove--a notion which probably marks the first time the words flashy and Punto have found themselves in the same vicinity of one another. The former Cardinal split time at third, the outfield, yet saw just eight games as short last season. In any case, Bobby Valentine will probably see above average defense out of Lumps...err, Punto.

Aviles is an average utility man at best, slightly below palatable with both the glove and bat. Not much more to say than that. These two will not be seen posing with pornstars and lighting up the talk radio airwaves in 2012. The best case scenario for these two is that they go completely unnoticed--which would mean they're doing their jobs without screwing up too badly.

But. There is hope on the horizon. Fresh, doe-eyed hope, and it comes in the form of 22-year old prospect Jose Iglesias. So much hope that soxprospects.com describes him as "a future perrenial gold-glove shortstop." The kid is a whiz at short. He's got the ability to step on the field opening day.

The future with the latest Mr. Prospect is well, lumpier than many think. As a public service, I'm cautioning everyone to hold off on their excitement about Iglesias before it even really begins, which it probably will sometime in 2012.

Specifically, he needs to make some serious adjustments at the plate.

For a quick and dirty comparison, Dustin Pedroia posted an OPS of .810 during his final full season in the minors ('06), while Iglesias put up a paltry .554 last year with Pawtucket. Yeesh. That would put him right around .100 points below Punto's career average of .652 in 11 seasons. Nobody expects Iglesias to step in and remind people of the plucky second baseman, but those numbers won't put him much higher than a defensive replacement on a major league roster.

Iglesias likely make an appearance in spring training, season himself in Pawtucket, and be recalled when Valentine and everyone else gets fed up with Mr. Lumps and his sidekick.

But while this beacon of hope will probably be on the minds of many fans this summer as the public begins screaming for shortstop options following the surprising exit of Marco Scutaro, don't look for Iglesias to become a major league star--this season or any time after that.

Yoenis Cespedes: The Showcase

2012-01-27T12:55:00.003-05:00

Cuban Defector. High jump master. Core strength enthusiast. Mother lover. Baseball wizard. Soon to be major-league outfielder.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Yoenis Cespedes' workout video:

If you didn't make it to the end, you clearly weren't interested in witnessing an unsettling shot of a pig spit-roasting, as well as a rather fattish man dancing awkwardly with a pair of females.

Because in a video that references Star Wars, employs the services of Jay-Z along with theme music akin to Kenny G's dream soundtrack, but manages to reveal next to nothing about the actual baseball player, one simply must include horrible salsa dancing.

After being officially declared a free-agent this week by MLB, "El Talento" is currently making the rounds, working out for the usual suspects--the Yankees, Red Sox, etc.

But my question is this: how can this sideshow sign with anyone but the ultimate circus that is the Miami Marlins? Ozzie Guillen, Carlos Zambrano, the new stadium, brand spanking new unis, and El Talento.

This brings to mind a certain phrase involving icing being applied to baked goods.

Yep. It's exactly like that.

I'm back

2012-01-27T11:45:00.001-05:00

I took a hiatus to finish up my degree in English, surf internet porn, and incessantly watch Dr. Steve Brule instructional videos. Of course during my time of "hard work" and "introspection," the organization ends up having the most news-worthy and interesting stretch since October 2007.

So it goes.

Verlander: Sox Potential Playoff Nightmare?

2011-09-03T15:44:00.003-04:00

The dreaded phrase: "If The Season Ended Today" crossed my mind last night for one very specific, fear inducing reason: Justin Verlander. When media-types are uttering phrases like "Pedro '99" in regards to an opposing pitcher, you probably don't want to see that guy on the mound, especially I.T.S.E.T.

Verlander: product of Goochland, VA

The popular consensus seems to have overcome the pitcher-bias for many and has shifted favorite status to the Tigers starter in the AL MVP race. At least for today. Following yesterday's win over the White Sox, even mlb.com tweeted this morning: "Justin Verlander's win total is old enough to drink..." No matter how one describes it, this is Verlander's summer, and he & both his 100MPH fastballs will be remembered years from now. That said, things could shift back in the direction of Curtis Granderson or Jacoby Ellsbury if the Tigers fall too far out of contention.

A quick check of the standings shows that the 10-0 bludgeoning at the hands of the Rangers last night dropped Boston a half game behind the Yankees, which means that New York would draw Detroit as of this writing. Clearly, Texas can match up with either East power, so missing Verlander wouldn't exactly leave Bostonians dancing in the streets. But whether or not the Red Sox are in line to face Verlander's Tigers on September 3rd is not entirely the issue.

The question on the table here is: can Verlander (essentially) win a playoff series by himself?

The quick answer is yes. Of course he can get hot and take over the division series, and if things line up right in the LCS, he can conceivably dominate the next round too. But how many times has it actually happened? Has a pitcher, with essentially soft-serv ice cream machines lining up behind him in the rotation, ever been able to pull something like that off?

The obvious comparison that springs to mind is Pedro Martinez in 1999. Robbed of the Cy Young-MVP sweep that season (with Ivan Rodriguez taking the MVP trophy for the Rangers), Pedro was in a rotation that saw Kent Mercker start game 1 of the LCS. So you can pretty much imagine the quality of the other starters on that squad. Verlander is in a similar situation this year.

Of course, the reason Pedro didn't pitch the first game against the Yankees that year, was that he was too busy putting on one of the greatest pitching performances playoff baseball has ever seen, tossing six no-hit innings in relief the previous game to clinch the LDS over the Indians.

Like no. 45 did for the Red Sox that year, Verlander has a chance at the AL pitching triple-crown (wins, ERA, strikeouts). He's got a big lead in wins and strikeouts, and his 2.34 ERA is just a tick behind LA's Jered Weaver (2.34) at this point.

For comparison's sake, here's a list of all the pitching triple-crown winners since 1995 (the inception of the Division Series):

Year  Lg   Player                 Team                    ERA   W      K
1997   AL   Roger Clemens    Blue Jays             2.05 21   292
1998   AL   Roger Clemens    Blue Jays              2.65 20   271
1999   AL   Pedro Martinez   Red Sox               2.07 23   313
2002 NL Randy Johnson   Diamondbacks   2.32 24   334
2006 AL   Johan Santana     Twins                     2.45   19   277
2007  NL   Jake Peavy           Padres                    2.54 19   240

The only guys on this list to make the playoffs in their triple-crown years were Pedro in '99, Johnson in '02, and Santana in '06. How did they fare? Martinez had the aforementioned legendary relief appearance, but he bowed out of game 1 in the fourth inning due to injury, his only other outing.

In '02 the Big Unit still had Curt Schilling by his side, but he took the loss in game 1 as the Dbacks were swept 3-0 by St. Louis. Ditto Santana in '06, as the Twins ace took the mound and the L in the opener en route to an Oakland sweep. Aside from Pedro in '03, no triple-crown winner has even made a significant contribution to his team winning a game under the current playoff structure, let alone single-handedly locking down the entire series.

What about MVP pitchers you say? Glad you asked. There have been exactly four guys to win most valuable player in since 1980, and only one of them was a starter: Roger Clemens in 1986. Clemens went 21-7 with a 2.05 ERA and 292 Ks during the regular season. The Rocket was mediocre during those playoffs, dominating neither series and posting a 3.97 ERA. The Sox won 2 out of the 5 games he started. You get the point: he didn't hold ultimate sway over the series.

So, is it possible Justin Verlander can single-handedly win a playoff round? It's possible. But not probable, as we see from the above lists. Sure, there have been guys to do so in the past (see: Orel Hershiser, 1988) but they usually aren't the people we expect to do it by applying how the regular season played out to the postseason model. Knowing this, any fan of the Red Sox should welcome the opportunity to beat up on Verlander's staff-mates over another tousle with Mike Napoli and the Rangers.
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In case you were wondering, here's how Verlander's numbers look against current playoff teams:

Split      W L  ERA GS CG   IP  H R ER HR BB SO BF  WHIP SO/9 SO/BB

Boston     1 0 1.72  2  0 15.2 10 3  3  2  2 12 58 0.766  6.9  6.00

New York   0 0 4.50  2  0 12.0 11 6  6  1  8 16 53 1.583 12.0  2.00

Texas      0 1 2.00  1  1  9.0  6 2  2  0  1  4 33 0.778  4.0  4.00

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/3/2011.

5 Random Observations: Yankees Series

2011-09-02T11:08:00.000-04:00

I'm sure most of you were sleeping through this series, what with meaningless games dragging on over the four-hour mark mid-week in September and whatnot. Even the players are complaining at this point. In any case, the Sox held a 1.5 game lead coming into the series, and a half-game margin going out, leaving New York up 8.5 games over Tampa in the Wild Card race. Without further adieu, here's a few notes about the last three days:

1. Long, Long, Long: We all know these rivalry games are as long as John Lackey's face after a trip to a Mensa meeting, but Jon Lester's first inning in last night's 4-2 loss was brutal. It took the Boston ace 43 pitches to strike out the side, which sent me on one of my many empty stat searches. I tried in vane to find the record for the highest amount of pitches thrown while striking out the side, but came up with nothing. My guess is this inning has to be close. Somebody needs to get on this so I can sleep at night.

2. MVP Watch: I'm probably overly obsessed with this award, but with four AL candidates showcasing their talents in this one series alone, the individual race was more in the forefront than the chase for the pennant. That said, in 15 games against Boston, Curtis Granderson has hit just .218/.377/.436, and he didn't fare much better over this last three-game set. He did, however, make this run-saving grab off the bat of Jed Lowrie in the 6th inning last night:


Granderson: "These grass stains will be hell to remove."

Granderson, who seemed to be the favorite to take the award coming into the series, did nothing to push the needle in either direction, while Jacoby Ellsbury continued to make his case, hitting .364 with a 1.264 OPS over the past three days.

3. Rocco Cervelli: The boisterous New York catcher has been dubbed by many "The Yankee Clapper" following his antics during the past week, which is okay by me. Endearing to New York fans and rage-inducing to Boston rooters, Cervelli and his new moniker simultaneously prove puns can still be hilarious and that this rivalry hasn't lost its punch. Anything that stirs things up like that among playoff contenders this late in the season is a welcome sight.

4. On Second Thought: This incident deserves a closer look. Here are the four stages of emotion, as occurred in Tuesday's scuffle:

Anger.

Confusion.

Revenge (Sabathia)/Dementia (Posada).

Penis Envy.

5. Adrian Gonzalez/David Ortiz: You may have noticed the Boston firstbaseman's torrid pace was slowed down considerably by Yankee pitching. He posted just a .167/.286/.250 slash line, with 0 RBI this time around. Meanwhile, Big Papi is as hot as he's ever been. Since returning from a 10-day hiatus on August 24th, he's hit .500/.559/1.067, with 4 HRs and 9 RBI over eight games. Yikes.

Do Not Boo This Man

2011-09-01T12:01:00.000-04:00

I'm assuming if you're reading this, you're not a major leaguer. I'm also going to take for granted that if you've played baseball in the outfield, you've made an error similar to this one Josh Reddick committed last night:

Walk of Shame: Not a reference to your typical Sunday Morning.

The ball scoots by you on the outfield grass, and you have to go chasing it like CC Sabathia after a Little Debbie's truck. It's a squirm inducing situation for both the player and whomever's witnessing the red-faced march--a play I like to call the outfielder's walk of shame. Well, maybe scramble of shame. Hot embarrassment combined with zealous urgency to recover your position as your baseball life flashes before your eyes. Whatever you dub it, it's not fun for anyone.

Okay, so maybe that was just me as a little-leaguer.

It's certainly a bloodbath in that right field corner sometimes, and that play off of Eric Chavez's bat is probably one most outfielders would've flubbed. Same thing happened to Carlos Gonzalez in Arizona last night. Reddick immediately dropped his head after the ball caromed off the wall, and the walk began.

So, if you find yourself snickering at a play like this, remember: you did it too. Admit it. Just a public service announcement from Life on the Wagon. On a side note, Reddick qualified, his UZR of 8.1 would put him sixth defensively among AL outfielders. So there.

Sox Acquire Conor Jackson

2011-09-01T09:06:00.001-04:00

On the eve of baseball's "we're serious this time" trading deadline, Boston acquired 1B/OF Conor Jackson from Oakland for nothing-prospect Jason Rice, according to the Globe's Peter Abraham. The move is meant to bolster the Sox depth against lefties, giving them a right-handed hitting option off the bench not named Darnell McDonald (see: his embarrassing whiff against Boone Logan Tuesday night with the bases loaded).

Before injuries began to plague Jackson in 2009, he was about a .285, 15-HR guy over the span of three seasons for the Diamondbacks.

An Appeal To Fans, by John Lackey

2011-08-31T10:07:00.001-04:00

Dear Red Sox Nation,

Guys--come on. Am I really that bad? Do I deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Matt Clement, Steve Avery, and Matt Young? Blarghararghargh argh. I think not ladies and gentlemen. How many times did those guys shut down the Yankees this late in the season? That's what I thought.

Sure, my ERA is as hefty as my lower jaw, but just look at what else I bring to the mound. Blargharargharghargh.Who else will give you guys the riveting interviews that I can? Blargh. Who else will stand there and bulldog Rocco Cervelli as he claps in Salty's face. No one but me baby. I'm the Roy Hobbs of hitting people between the numbers. The spittle running down my chin alone strikes fear in the hearts of men.

Bllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh.

Some people make the assumption that my IQ is a tad low, hurling epithets such as "Professor Lackey" my way. That's fine, I can handle the pressure. But I ask you, is my diminutive mental capacity such a bad thing? I can barely remember the last hitter once he steps out of the box. Seriously, I don't know who that guy was that I drilled last night, or even what the fight was all about. I just remember closing my eyes really hard like I do at night when the lights go out, and throwing the ball as fast I could to make the scary ghosts fly away.

Boy, they can get really frightening sometimes. Just like that guy on my cereal box Count Chocula. He scares me every morning with his devious laugh, constantly staring at me with those bug eyes. But my wife just tells me to close my eyes and count to ten. Most of the time it calms me down. Sometimes, Jason has me do the same thing on the mound, but I just end up imagining him as my wife, and I get confused. Sexually.

Blargharghargh...uh, where was I? Oh right, someone told me that I was a World Series hero once. I don't know about all that. All I know is that I thought I was signing in Milwaukee and I ended up here. Mr. Henry promised me they were hiring Soce to manage out here and that was good enough for me--I signed right up. I was hoping to experience all of the fine beer and cheeses in Wisconsin, but Mr. Henry keeps me stocked up with Count Chocula, so that's good too.

Sometimes they let me watch my cartoons on the giant scoreboard in the bleachers, which is pretty cool. I invited my friends Jered and Torii over to watch Phineas and Ferb with me someday, but they're always too busy to come. I guess I'll just have to play this giant XBox by myself for now.

Anyway, you guys sure are loud out there, and a little scary too. Could you tone it down a little bit? I'm tired of imagining you all naked to calm my nerves, I need all the brain power I can muster out there.

Thanks, John Lackey

Boston Red Sox

Biz Markie, Comedic Gold?

2011-08-30T19:12:00.004-04:00

Anyone who's caught the Red Sox on NESN lately, has undoubtedly witnessed this Herb Chambers commercial:

Now, far be it from me to criticize the whimsical genius that is Biz Markie, but hasn't using this song become a comedic crutch at this point? It's the equivalent of a chef who throws bacon into every dish because he doesn't know what else to do. Bacon tastes good with everything! Toss it in!

Mmmmm, bacon.

Where was I? Ah yes, Biz Markie and Kevin Youkilis, two names I'd never thought I'd utter in the same breath. Looks like someone needs to get back to playing third base. On the plus side, the Sox could sweep this series or get swept, and both of these clubs will be going to the playoffs. It's great that baseball down the stretch still matters (takes deep breath).

Granderson Grabbing Lead In MVP Race?

2011-08-29T10:29:00.003-04:00

With New York coming into town, 2 games back of the division lead and 6.5 games up on the Rays for the Wild Card, the upcoming three game set is significant, but probably won't decide anything in the long run. Which allows me to focus on the individual awards, things we all know are far more important and entertaining than any team accomplishments.

Lately, the focus of the AL MVP race has been focused with laser-like intensity on Yankees centerfielder Curtis Granderson. Between his participation in the tri-headed grand slam extravaganza last week against the A's, and mashing his 37th and 38th homers yesterday in Baltimore, it seems as if he's grabbing this thing by the face.

Since I love arbitrary statistical splits, let's take a look at his numbers from the last 18 games. His batting line is an impressive .304/.435/.797, which works out to a...wait for it...1.232 OPS during that stretch. The man is carrying the Yanks right now. Add in his 10 home runs and 18 RBI over the 18 games, and it's no wonder Granderson's staring at me over my morning coffee, monopolizing the baseball highlights. Aside from personal issues of baseball players watching me through television screens, the Yankee outfielder is giving the rest of the league major fits as well.

So, how is his competition playing out? A quick look:

(league leaders in bold ital)

Player	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	RBI	fWAR	rWAR
Bautista	.312	.452	*.640*	1.092	37	83	7.8	7.9
Ellsbury	.312	.369	.521	.889	23	82	7.4	6.4
Pedroia	.308	.398	.474	.872	17	71	7.2	6.6
Granderson	.278	.376	.595	.971	38	107	6.8	5.4
Gonzalez	.345	.406	.559	.965	23	103	5.8	6.0

Clearly, these stats do a bit of a disservice to players like Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia, as a good portion of their value comes in base running and defense, but they're more than holding their own in the offensive categories as well. Jose Bautista, despite falling back to the pack a little lately, is still having the best year statistically, while Adrian Gonzalez is making a charge over the last week, clawing his way back into the discussion.

Having said all that, it's looking good for Granderson, because the assumption is that voters will split on the Red Sox candidates, and Bautista won't get the support on a non-playoff contender. Which leaves the Yankees outfielder. My guess is that he takes it, unless one of the guys from Boston gets red hot the rest of the way and his teammates fall off. Stay tuned.

Papi Platoon?

2011-08-27T22:01:00.000-04:00

I'm sure this gets mentioned every time David Ortiz hits any sort of milestone with the Red Sox, but after seeing him launch his 27th homer in Game 2 of this agonizing double-header with Oakland, it occured to me that this was a man they brought in to platoon with Jeremy Giambi.

Juuuuuust thought I'd remind everyone. You're welcome.

Lavarnway Sent Down

2011-08-27T08:28:00.007-04:00

With David Ortiz returning to the lineup, rookie DH/C Ryan Lavarnway was sent back to Pawtucket (Scott Atchison being recalled). In seven games with Boston, he held his own with a .304/.407/.391 line. Not bad for his first go-around.

Physically, he reminds me of a young Travis Hafner, with a little less talent than Pronk (sorry, it's a personal rule to never miss a Pronk reference). Simply because I wonder about things like this, here's a comparison between Hafner's last real season in the minors (2002) and Lavarnway's combined numbers between Portland and Pawtucket this year:

Lavarnway

Year   Age    Lg   G  AB  R   H HR RBI   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS

2011   23 AAA/AA 110 417 71 122 30  85 .293 .372 .559 .931

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/27/2011.

Hafner
Year Age Lg G AB R H HR RBI BA OBP SLG OPS

2002    25 AAA 110 401 79 137 21  77 .342 .463 .559 1.022

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Generated 8/27/2011.

As you can see, Hafner posted monster numbers in his age 25 season, with a 1.022 OPS. But Lavarnway's season has been above average in it's own right, and the splits between AA/AAA (sorry, too lazy to post those), show improvement as he moves up the ranks. He was tearing up AAA pitching before being called up. Also, Lavarnway is still only 23, whereas Hafner didn't see significant playing time with the Indians until he was 26. That said, it would be something of a minor miracle if he matches Hafner's 2006 season (a year in which he lead the league with an 1.097 OPS). But with continued improvement, it's easy to see him as a decent option to replace Ortiz in a season or two, or as tantalizing trade-bait over the next couple of years. Stay tuned.

------------------------------------------
UPDATE:
Scott Atchison lasted all of five innings this time around, with the Sox recalling Michael Bowden Saturday morning, according to a report by mlb.com.

Five Observations On Series With Texas

2011-08-26T10:45:00.001-04:00

We were warned coming into this series: the Rangers are a supremely talented club. One that, while perhaps not superior to Boston or New York in any of the four major areas (lineup, starters, bullpen, defense), is more consistent across the board than their eastern rivals. Nobody was paying attention to them. East Coast bias and all that.

While it may be true that Texas belongs in the American League power-triumvirate with Boston and New York, the Red Sox decisive 3-1 series win reminded everyone why they are the AL favorite to go to the World Series. Here's a quick roundup of how that happened:

1. Adrian Gonzalez: Take a look at this completely unscientific, but wholly awesome split...

July 31-Aug 22: .274/.337/.369, .706 OPS, O HR, 5 RBI
Last 3 Games: .583/.643/1.833, 2.476, 5 HR, 8 RBI

Apparently, he misplaced his cape for a month, when Dustin Pedroia was discovered to have it balled up in the bottom of his locker as a practical joke. Gonzalez now has his trusty cape, and superhero status back. Last night, he told mlb.com's Ian Browne:

"I hit them in spurts. Everybody knows that. When I have a good swing, it's just a feeling I have, and you hit them in bunches. It's a time right now when I feel good. Hopefully I can continue swinging like that tomorrow."

2. Professor Lackey's Wild Ride: I will continue to maintain that John Lackey makes me nervous, and demonstrated why in the 11-5 win on Tuesday, as he was bailed out by the offense gorging itself on the souls of innocent Ranger pitching. The fact that the words "nervous" and "John Lackey" appear in the same sentence isn't exactly a Jamesian observation, but it's worth pointing out since Lackey is a deceptive 7-1 over his last nine starts. Beware the Ides of Lackey!

3. Andrew Miller: Last night, Miller pitched 6 and 1/3 innings of scoreless ball in his best start of the season. Which sort of makes me mad. Every time he pitches well, we're reminded of his tantalizing abilities. From his high draft pedigree (6th overall by the Tigers), to his tearing up the college ranks (Golden Spikes finalist at UNC), to being named Cape league MVP, his left arm donates talent by osmosis to anyone within a five foot radius. Will he ever truly put it together and become a front of the line starter? Probably not. But the building blocks are there, and it's frustrating. I hate guys like that. Grrrr.

On a side note, The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham twote during last night's game: "Andrew Miller leaves in the 7th inning up 6-0 and Texas is playing 'Hit the Road, Jack.' Um ...." Hilarious.

4. Jacoby Ellsbury/David Ortiz Return: Neither player skipped a beat offensively, but just as important, Ellsbury was back playing golden glove caliber centerfield. Also, Papi needed to rest his aching bones for the playoff run. Well done by both the front office and the player in each case.

5. Must be the blue eyes: Aside from a home run at the expense of Professor Lackey on Tuesday, reigning MVP Josh Hamilton was held in check, hitting just .167 in the series. Hamilton's woes contributed to the Rangers being outscored 30-11 in the four game set.

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AND ANOTHER THING:

More surprising (to me at least), than the fact that the Yankees hit three grand slams in a single game for the first time in baseball history (in a 22-9 win over Oakland), was that Jorge Posada played second base. I wasn't so sure if his knees were still considered joints or just pegs at this point, but Joe Girardi apparently thought it was a good idea to put him in the field. More surprising than that, I saw a graphic on SportsCenter this morning under a shot of Posada fielding a routine ground ball, saying that the C/DH was playing second for the first time since 1991.

Wait a minute, he's done this before? We all know that I am a liar and an idiot, but missing that one is surprising even for me. I blame the air pressure changes from Irene racing up the east coast.

Time For a Name Change?

2011-08-25T11:53:00.005-04:00

Tom Yawkey's racism is well known at this point in the 21st Century. It is no secret the Red Sox were the last team in Major League Baseball to sign a black player. But the issue came to mind again recently when Malcolm Gladwell mentioned the subject on Grantland.com. He states:

"The Boston Red Sox signed their first black player in 1959, a utility infielder named "Pumpsie" Green. This was 12 years after the Brooklyn Dodgers broke the color line with Jackie Robinson...It wasn't until 1965, in fact — 18 years after Robinson started at second base for the Dodgers — that Boston had its first full-time black player. Why? The simple answer — that the Red Sox owner at the time, Tom Yawkey, was a racist — is not terribly satisfying…There was a lot of money to be made by raiding the Negro Leagues in the 1940s. The talent pool was extraordinary: Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, and Willie Mays, among others. The Sox were well aware of this. They tried out Mays and Robinson — both of whom they could have used in the lean years of the 1950s, when the team was known as "Ted Williams and the Seven Dwarfs."

These charges are completely founded, researched thoroughly, and posited by an extremely intelligent and talented, best-selling author. Many people feel the way Gladwell does. In other words--this story is now part of the accepted public record. He goes on to say:

"In a recent academic paper, the economist Jonathan Lanning has also shown that almost without exception integration in the 1940s and 1950s had an immediate and significant positive impact on a team's attendance — even in cities where you might not think the fan base would be enthusiastic. Lanning calculates, in fact, that almost no team in baseball had as much to gain financially from bringing in black players as the Red Sox, particularly since they were losing money in the 1940s. Yawkey's bigotry left millions of dollars on the table. Yawkey was not just a racist, in other words. He was a racist who put his hatred of black people ahead of his desire to make money. Economists have a special term they use to describe this kind of attitude. They would say that Yawkey owned the Red Sox not to maximize his financial benefits, but, rather, his psychic benefits. Psychic benefits describe the pleasure that someone gets from owning something — over and above economic returns — and clearly some part of the pleasure Yawkey got from the Red Sox came from not having to look at black people when he walked through the Fenway Park dugout."

Gladwell's point, that Yawkey's hatred was so extreme that he didn't sign Negro League players at the expense of his own wallet, was leading into a story about the NBA lockout. But it also illustrates not only how bigoted Mr. Yawkey was, but also how his attitude permeated the whole club. While a good portion of the people who worked for the Red Sox at the time were likely not racist, it must have been tough to be in an environment such as that. Racism begets racism, especially when it comes from the top down.

The question on the table here is: why is there still a street running alongside Fenway Park named Yawkey Way? It's an affront to civil rights in America. The former owner's name needs to be removed from anything to do with the current club. I realize his wife, Jean, was an amazing philanthropist, working charitable wonders for the city of Boston. I also know that this is a very provincial town, and is a place full of people who like their traditions. So Yawkey Way probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon. But, as a compromise, shouldn't the name at least be changed to Jean Yawkey Way, to remove any and all racist connotations?

The Red Sox can't erase their racist past, and this is by no means an attempt to cover that up. But I feel that a misanthrope such as Tom Yawkey should not continue to be honored in the 21st century, and the city should step in and do something about it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE:

I recently stumbled across this story, which comments on the John Henry ownership group's handling of the situation. Here's an excerpt from Delores Handy's article, posted on Blackstonian.com:

"Dennis Wilson, who was born and raised in Roxbury, taught history for 30 years and still coaches sports teams at Madison Park High School. He also hosted a sports show for Boston cable TV. 'There’s many African-Americans who love baseball, who love baseball, who played baseball, who know baseball, and they would the attend the games and they were really hostilely treated,' Wilson said. 'A lot of racism took place, a lot of name-calling and trash-throwing at individuals. It was really a scary and uncomfortable and dangerous situation.'

Wilson has seen a change in the past 10 years with the new ownership.

'Over the years, thank goodness, things have gotten much better with the likes of owner John Henry, Larry Lucchino and Tom Werner,' Wilson said. 'They now have changed the atmosphere, where now people of color feel a lot more comfortable going to games. I know I’ve gone to games and the atmosphere has changed drastically. They’re not staring at us like we have four heads and six eyes and that we’re aliens, or anything.'"

As you can see, to the Red Sox credit, they have made a concerted effort to change the atmosphere of Yawkey Way. Nearly a decade ago, I remember speaking to a group of young black college students, all of whom were sporting Yankees caps. Of course, with my over obsession with baseball, I asked them where they were from, hoping to start a debate. To my surprise they replied they were all from Boston. Naively, I was sort of shocked that I would find a group of kids that grew up in Massachusetts that were Yankees fans (and they were fans--they weren't wearing the hats simply because they were cool or liked they way they looked).

Naturally, I asked them why. I basically got the same response that coach Wilson gave above--they were looked at like they had "four heads and six eyes and [were] aliens." The atmosphere was entirely too hostile to spend three hours in, nevermind to then turn around and root for a team that was essentially condoning all of this through inaction. I was so disheartened by this, I really didn't know what to say afterwards. Couldn't argue with that. I felt like an idiot. Clearly, this conversation has stuck with me for over ten years now, and I've always wondered since, if anything had changed.

Well, it looks like things are starting to, and it's nice to see that someone's at least making an effort. Hopefully, things continue to improve (and don't regress).

Theo Epstein, Cubs GM

2011-08-25T10:33:00.001-04:00

Thanks to an ESPN report yesterday, Boston talk TV and radio is all 'a-twitter about Theo Epstein jumping ship for the vacant Chicago Cubs GM job, following the firing of the hated Jim Hendry. There are many opinions on this subject, and since baseball makes me flashback to my childhood days, I'd like to collect those views here for you in summary, book report style. Here goes:

The argument for?
-Everyone likes a challenge. Things have gone so smoothly since 2004, when he shipped out Nomar Garciaparra (to the Cubs no less) en route to the World Series title, there's been a hole burning inside little Theo. What better place to move to than the Windy City, a town that is home to the perfect cork for the hole in Epstein's heart--Carlos Zambrano? His first move in Chicago can be to butt heads with the fire-breathing anger monster and set his roster straight. Make a big splash. Then face down the dead contract that is Aramis Ramirez.

-The would have to pay him "F-you" money to jump from Boston, which Epstein would probably enjoy. Everyone likes money. He'd probably get a sweeter deal than he ever dreamed of by going to Chicago. Then again, John Henry would likely top any bid and keep his Golden Boy--and with good reason. Not only is he good at general-managering, there's a school of thought that a good chunk of the front office would go with Theo if he left (Ben Cherington promoted from within to GM?).

-Sure, he's a graduate of Brookline High School, but he's already become a legend in the New England area--you know, 1918 and all that--why not go to the Cubs and become the man who broke both the Curse of the Bambino and the Curse of the Billy Goat? Hot damn.

...And Against?
-It's the Cubs.

The Lesson? Is Very Bad to Steal Jobu's Rum

2011-08-23T21:29:00.003-04:00

Well. Don't I feel silly.

Approximately 24 hours after my Adrian Gonzalez bash-fest, #28 ended his streak of 95 plate appearances with his 19th and 20th homers of the year. According to both baseball-reference and fangraphs.com, I am an idiot. Then again, maybe I should spew nonsense more often, if only to attribute events on the field to the wildly inaccurate claims I make on this blog.

A-Gone

2011-08-22T19:48:00.006-04:00

As mentioned before, Adrian Gonzalez has just one homerun since the all-star break. But upon further review, it's a tad worse than that. Since June 18, Gonzalez has stood in the batter's box 254 times. He has exactly three homeruns. To be fair, he's hit .330/.398/.442, with an OPS of .840 in those 55 games. In a different world, this would be more than satisfactory. But here's the thing--the Sox lineup has hit the dog days with three all-stars out, and Mike Aviles isn't gonna carry the offense. The power outage is going to continue to put a damper on things, and Gonzalez needs to step up. The sad thing is, though the Boston will likely survive the drought, he's hitting himself out of the MVP race.

Here's a look at the MLB leaders in fWAR as of today:

WAR:
Jose Bautista 7.7
Dustin Pedroia 6.9
Jacoby Ellsbury 6.6
Ben Zobrist 6.4
Justin Upton 6.2
(www.fangraphs.com)

Notice that four out of the top five are AL hitters, and two of those are teammates. At least Gonzalez's mini-slide will help Ellsbury's and Pedroia's MVP cases. Obviously, WAR isn't the be-all and end-all of stats, but it is a pretty decent measuring stick of a player's worth. Gonzalez is sitting at 5.0 fWAR at the moment.

Also worth noting, is the fact that Gonzalez has driven in Carl Crawford just three times all season. Granted, the pricey outfielder hasn't hit in front of the former Padre much, but if Theo Epstein was told about this before the season started (among other things), he might have thought twice about Crawford's deal. Just sayin'.

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AND ANOTHER THING:

I won't go on and on about Starlin Castro and what's wrong with today's athlete, plenty of others have done that today already. But I recently read RZA's autobiography The Tao of Wu, and couldn't help but think of the parallels with the hip-hop mega group circa 1997. As anyone who went to see Wu-Tang in those days can attest, you were lucky if you saw three or four out of the nine members at any given show on any given night. With guys as talented as that, it was sad to see them waste it at their peak by pissing off their fans. All they had to do was show up and do their thing. Castro hasn't hit his peak yet (probably), but his spaceout on national TV last night brought that to mind, and made me a little sad. Freakin' entertainers.

Jon Lester: Cy Young Any Time Soon?

2011-08-21T16:05:00.004-04:00

After sifting through Josh Beckett's numbers following a Red Sox loss, I clearly had to come up with Lester's totals as well. This time, Boston's ace doesn't inspire as much confidence, as his record in games after a Boston loss stands at 4-4. Yet, he is 3-1 in his last four decisions in such games, with a chance to add another W in today's series finale with the Royals.

Just for a quick reference, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the most similar pitchers to Lester through age 26 (which would be through the end of last season for Lester), to see what kind of company he keeps and what we might expect from him in the future. Here's the list:

1. Tim Hudson
2. Johan Santana (2)
3. Cole Hamels
4. Jack McDowell (1)
5. John Smiley
6. Andy Pettitte
7. Bobby Shantz
8. Roy Halladay (2)
9. Steve Busby
10. Roy Oswalt
Comparison thanks to baseball-reference.com
Numbers in parenthesis indicate # of Cy Young Awards

The trophy cases of the men on that list hold five Cy Youngs (so far), along with a slew of all-star appearances. Lester won't get there this year the way Jered Weaver and Justin Verlander are going, but #31 is clearly heading in that direction. The curious thing about the guys on this list, is that Halladay had the highest ERA through age 26 at 3.84. His adjusted ERA+ has him faring a little better, while his current teammate Roy Oswalt is the leader of the group with a 141 ERA+. The former Astro also had the best traditional ERA through this point, at 3.11. As you might imagine, Lester falls somewhere in the middle of each category, with only Oswalt, Tim Hudson, and Johan Santana topping him in ERA+.

Also. The caveat here with Lester, as always, is that the man survived cancer--which makes his appearance on the above list that much more impressive. It's a testament to his skill that in 2011, the C-word barely gets a mention, and rightfully so. He's on the verge of becoming a great pitcher, and the focus should be on what he does, not on what might have gone wrong. But still, in any overview of a player's career, something like this has to get mentioned--to his credit.

Going by his stuff, and his spot atop a perpetually competitive squad, Lester looks like he's trending towards the likes of Halladay, Santana, and Black Jack McDowell, as opposed to the failed comedy stylings of Shantz & Busby.

----------------------------------------------------------------
This Week's Most Encouraging Sign: Sox pull first triple play since 1994; A.J. Burnett pulls a Kevin Brown in Yankees clubhouse; Ryan Lavarnway picks up his first hit, RBI.

The Week's Worst: Alex Rodriguez returns to the Yankees lineup, while Boston is without Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz, and Kevin Youkilis; Adrian Gonzalez still has just one homer since the break. Ouch.

Josh Beckett, Stopper

2011-08-19T13:48:00.005-04:00

Granted, the Red Sox haven't done a whole lot of losing this year. But with the team's recent struggles (2-5 in their last 7 before yesterday), Beckett's performance in Kansas City last night was refreshing, and much needed. It got me thinking about Beckett's numbers after a Sox loss, and whether he was living up to his reputation as a big-game pitcher (this being an alternate year where we get the "good" Josh Beckett). Here's a quick look at the numbers. As always, the stats are thanks to baseball-reference.com, I just sift through 'em:

                                                                    

Date       Tm Opp Rslt Inngs     Dec  IP H R ER BB SO HR BF Pit    WPA

Apr5      BOS CLE L1-3  GS-5  L(0-1) 5.0 5 3  3  4  4  0 24 106 -0.148

Apr10     BOS NYY W4-0  GS-8  W(1-1) 8.0 2 0  0  1 10  0 27 103  0.508

Apr16     BOS TOR W4-1  GS-7  W(2-1) 7.0 3 1  1  2  9  0 26 101  0.241

May24     BOS CLE W4-2  GS-7  W(4-1) 6.2 5 1  1  3  6  0 25 111  0.257

Jun15     BOS TBR W3-0   SHO  W(6-2) 9.0 1 0  0  0  6  0 28  97  0.469

Aug18     BOS KCR W4-3  GS-7 W(10-5) 7.0 7 3  3  0  4  1 28 110  0.131

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/19/2011.

That's right - #19 is 5-1 after a Boston loss (in games which he figures in the decision), throwing 42.2 innings (for an average of 7 per game). He's only allowed 8 earned runs, which puts him at an 1.69 ERA in those six starts. Also, take note that three of those wins came in April, one of the worst stretches in recent memory. Not bad for a guy who many were ready to run out of town just one year ago.

Note: A quick definition of WPA in the above chart, according to The Hardball Times - "Win Probability Added. A system in which each player is given credit toward helping his team win, based on play-by-play data and the impact each specific play has on the team's probability of winning. You can read more about WPA in "The One About Win Probability."

Youkilis to DL

2011-08-18T16:54:00.005-04:00

The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo tweeted today that the Red Sox will place Youk on the 15-day DL due to his back issues. In his place, they will call up one of their top-prospects, C/DH Ryan Lavarnway.

Despite the loss of Youkilis, this is good news on two fronts: the first obviously being, Boston can rest Youkilis while they have the chance. Even with David Ortiz ailing, the Sox lineup can take the hit for a few weeks. But I'm excited to see what Lavarnway can do on the major league level. We probably would have seen him anyway during September call-ups, but this gives us an early glimpse. Lavarnway was recently tearing up AAA pitching for Pawtucket, and his cumulative line between AA Portland and the PawSox is an impressive .293/.372/.559 with 30 homers and 85 RBI.

Hooray for prospects!

UPDATE: Yep, so Lavarnway came up blank last night, going 0-for-4 in a 4-3 win over the Royals. Not exactly the shining debut he was looking for. Oh well.

Five Observations On Series With Rays

2011-08-18T12:55:00.005-04:00

What just happened? Three games in a 24-hour period, and a pair of losses to the third place Rays? Ouch. Boston was tied with New York on Tuesday morning for first place in the AL East, and now find themselves a half game back due to Joe Maddon and company. Not a disaster, but that's a couple of tough series in a row. Here's five quick notes on the three game set:

1. Desmond Jennings is good: We finally get a our first real look at the man who makes B.J. Upton expendable on the Rays' roster. Jennings had a pair of at-bats in two games last year against Boston, but he clearly wasn't ready at that point. This year, he's carrying a 1.056 OPS, an is 9th in the league in fWAR (1.1) among rookies, with only 24 games played. Incidentally, Josh Reddick is fourth with a 1.6 fWAR, with Dustin Ackley leading the league at 2.3.

2. The Rays' starters were historic over the last two days: According to Jack Edwards during the post game show on NESN, this is the first time in Boston's history that they gathered three or fewer hits in three consecutive games.

3. More WAR!!!: Both David Price, and James Shields, with identical 11-10 records, find themselves in the top 10 in fWAR among American League starters. This should come as no surprise to anyone who witnessed their domination over a Boston offense which leads the world in just about every category.

4. Upton: Clearly, the Rays got the worst of the deal in the Upton brothers sweepstakes (with younger brother Justin among the leading candidates for NL MVP). But, B.J.'s blast off of John Lackey yesterday gave everyone in the vicinity horrendous flashbacks to the '08 ALCS when Upton pulled his best impression of Mr. October in knocking off the Red Sox in seven games. The Rays outfielder hit .324/.394/.786, with 4 homers and 11 RBI. Yeesh.

5. Ray Attack: Literally, there was an attack by an electric ray off the coast of Rockport over the weekend. An evil portend if I've ever witnessed one.

On Jim Thome's 600th

2011-08-16T10:40:00.005-04:00

In case you haven't heard, live under a rock, hate baseball, etc., etc., Jim Thome blasted two home runs against the Tigers last night, giving him 600 total for his career. He is the 8th man in a sea of thousands to pull this off. In the baseball world, the number 600 carries shock-and-awe status with it.

Yet.

Let's not kid ourselves. Thome is not one of the top 10 players of his era (as a matter of fact FanGraphs has him 11th in WAR from 1991-2011, with 71.0). He wasn't the most feared hitter on the Indians (Belle, Ramirez), Phillies (Howard, Utley), or Twins (Mauer, Morneau), and he shared the spotlight with Paul Konerko in Chicago. Still, the numbers don't lie. I might, but the numbers do not, and 600 is a hard one to overlook. He will absolutely get into Cooperstown.

But one of the questions on the table, put nicely today on ESPN.com's homepage, is the following:

"How much is Jim Thome's accomplishment in hitting 600 home runs diminished by the era in which he played?"

Clearly, the implications here are with steroids. Not with Thome specifically, but with the time period in general. And the answer is: a lot. In any other era, this would be the crowning achievement on one of the greatest careers in baseball history. But now? Thome, even though his name never appeared on a positive PED list, was just a little better at doing what everyone else was able to do during which the time he played. It's terrible, but it's the truth. As silly as it may be, as long as we have reports and rumors of players using deer antler spray and other substances, no one will believe the game is played on the same level it once was, and the numbers will not mean anything.

So, congratulations Jim, you're a hall-of-famer, and deservedly so, but I just can't get that excited anymore.

Harden Placed On Waivers

2011-08-15T21:17:00.019-04:00

Sometimes, the world is a funny place. While doing research on the fate of Rich Harden since the Red Sox backed out on a deal for the A's righty just before the trade deadline, I stumbled across reports that the ~~walking injury~~ hard-throwing starter had been placed on waivers by Oakland, and this report from NESN.com:

"There is nothing to indicate that the Sox are still interested in Harden, especially considering their acquisition of Bedard shortly thereafter, but Oakland has placed the 29-year-old starter on waivers, according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal."

Harden has gone 1-1 in three starts since the ill-fated deal, throwing 16.2 innings with 9 earned runs, good for a 4.82 ERA during that stretch. It would make sense that Theo Epstein would leave this one alone, especially since Wakefield is such an innings eater (6+ innings in three starts since the deadline), and they feel Bedard's arm is healthier (which is a scary thought.)

With John Lackey putting up a healthy 6-0 record over his last seven starts, the $15 million-dollar man can safely remove his dunce cap for the time being (warning: .349 BABIP!!), and the Red Sox don't have to give up anyone else from their farm system.

Looks like it's pray for rain and that Clay Buchholz's back heals. Zoiks.
--------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: Peter Gammons tweeted on Saturday, August 21 -

Longtime Rich Harden observer:"Friday was best stuff and arm slot he's had in years." Too bad Harden and Breslow didn't get through waivers

Indeed Mr. Gammons, indeed.

Furbush Mows Down Sox

2011-08-14T18:58:00.004-04:00

Right. So the Red Sox dropped 2 out of 3 to the Mariners. Wily Mo Pena continues to rake. But I'm going to ignore that for now, as the results of this series is not particularly interesting or even worrisome to me (Charlie Furbush jokes notwithstanding). Instead, as promised, I'm going to hit you over the head with Tim Wakefield related stats and facts each start until he picks up his 200th win. Today's entry? MLB's oldest pitchers.

At 45 years old, Wake is currently tied for 13th on the list of oldest pitchers to throw in a major league game (in terms of years, not breaking it down by birthday, sorry). Technically, the oldest was Satchel Paige, at a whopping 59 years of age. But in reality his career ended when he was 47 with the St. Louis Browns, in 1953. The ever promotional-minded Kansas City A's owner Charlie Finley signed Paige to play for one day in '65, a game which, incidentally, was played against the Red Sox.

Paige's one-off aside, a robo-armed man by the name of Jack Quinn threw his final pitch at the age of 50 in 1933. Quinn pitched with both the Yankees and Red Sox before retiring with the Reds. He also pitched with the White Sox the year before they threw the series to Cincinnati (in 1918, ahem...)

A quick look through the stats shows that power pitchers aren't particularly valuable at their age 45 seasons and beyond. Nolan Ryan at that age? He went 5-9 with a 3.72 ERA in '92 with the Rangers. Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson were slightly worse. Paige himself went 12-10 for the Browns, posting a 3.07 ERA (not that he was really ever a power guy). That season was good for a 3.1 rWAR and an all-star appearance in his age 45 season.

Phil Neikro had a couple of 16 win years for the Yankees in the '80s (4.3 rWAR in '84), which is probably the best of the bunch. Charlie Hough and Tommy John weren't bad either, but I guess the knuckleball and or revolutionary surgery will do that for a guy. In any case, Wakefield stacks up well with his age group.

Don't Blame Josh Beckett

2011-08-14T13:23:00.002-04:00

Place the blame elsewhere for last night's 5-4 loss to the Mariners. One and a half words can sum up the problem:

Wily-Mo.

Genius.

The return of Wily Mo Pena from the depths of AAA would scare any opposing pitcher. Thanks to Justin Smoak's amazing face-stop on Friday night, M's general manager Jack Zduriencik pulled the trigger and called up the most feared hitter in minor league history. Clearly, this is a man who knows baseball.

The mere presence of the 6-3, 265lb tactician set up mashers such as Ichiro Suzuki, Franklin Gutierrez and Mike Carp in an offensive phalanx for which Beckett was no match.

Granted, Wily Mo is carrying a hefty .000 average, but his 0-4 night was all about the little things. American League pitching be warned.With the man who was once traded straight up for Bronson Arroyo slotted in the 5th slot in Seattle's lineup, the M's are now a force to be reckoned with.

Dustin Ackley

2011-08-12T21:19:00.001-04:00

I know, I know. It's tough to get excited about a Friday night game on the west coast against a last place Seattle squad, who find themselves 15 games out of first. The last time the Marines rolled through Boston a few weeks ago, they were swept pretty easily out of Fenway in a three game set. But something a bit more significant happened--for M's fans anyway. Much ballyhooed prospect Dustin Ackley held his own, hitting .400 in the series. The top prospect was clearly a prospect no more. Now 45 games into his major league career, his 2.1 rWAR has given Seattle another bright spot aside from King Felix and an aging Ichiro. I'm not saying the transition from prospect to big-leaguer occurred during his trip to Boston, but it was nice to witness the process first hand. So if you need a reason, any reason, to take an interest about tonight's game, Ackley's it.

For a little bit more info on the rising star, Fangraphs Dave Cameron did an interesting piece comparing Stephen Strasburg and Ackley, the No.'s 1 and 2 picks in the 2009 draft, and how their careers stack up so far.

Rivera and Papelbon Compared

2011-08-12T14:59:00.001-04:00

Or, Riveralbon as I like to call them.

Lot's of talk lately about closer Jonathan Papelbon's contract, as it is up at the end of the season. With Daniel Bard waiting in the wings, many are ready to dump Pap and hand the job over to his wingman. Just for comparison's sake, I messed about on baseball-reference today and came up with a chart matching up Papelbon's six seasons as Boston's full-time closer, alongside Mariano Rivera's first six after taking over his job from John Wetteland in '97 for New York.

Rivera

Year   Age W L  ERA  G GF SV   IP  H  R ER HR BB SO ERA+  WHIP SO/9 SO/BB

1997    27 6 4 1.88 66 56 43 71.2 65 17 15  5 20 68  239 1.186  8.5  3.40

1998    28 3 0 1.91 54 49 36 61.1 48 13 13  3 17 36  233 1.060  5.3  2.12

1999    29 4 3 1.83 66 63 45 69.0 43 15 14  2 18 52  260 0.884  6.8  2.89

2000    30 7 4 2.85 66 61 36 75.2 58 26 24  4 25 58  170 1.097  6.9  2.32

2001    31 4 6 2.34 71 66 50 80.2 61 24 21  5 12 83  192 0.905  9.3  6.92

2002    32 1 4 2.74 45 37 28 46.0 35 16 14  3 11 41  163 1.000  8.0  3.73

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/12/2011.

Papelbon

Year   Age W L  ERA  G GF SV   IP  H  R ER HR BB SO ERA+  WHIP SO/9 SO/BB

2006    25 4 2 0.92 59 49 35 68.1 40  8  7  3 13 75  517 0.776  9.9  5.77

2007    26 1 3 1.85 59 53 37 58.1 30 12 12  5 15 84  257 0.771 13.0  5.60

2008    27 5 4 2.34 67 62 41 69.1 58 24 18  4  8 77  199 0.952 10.0  9.63

2009    28 1 1 1.85 66 59 38 68.0 54 15 14  5 24 76  254 1.147 10.1  3.17

2010    29 5 7 3.90 65 53 37 67.0 57 34 29  7 28 76  111 1.269 10.2  2.71

2011    30 4 0 3.14 49 44 26 48.2 40 18 17  3  8 64  132 0.986 11.8  8.00

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/12/2011.

Papelbon became the full time closer at age 25 (Keith Foulke was on the outs at the time), while Rivera was 27 (having to wait his turn on a team with an established finisher that had already won a World Series title). Each had at least 35 saves their first five years in the role (238 total for Rivera, 214 so far for Pap), but the thing that jumps out at me is Papelbon's ERA. Last year's 3.90 is certainly higher than one would like it to be, and while this year's 3.14 is respectable, it certainly doesn't match his ungodly numbers from his first four years. Rivera on the other hand never topped 3.00. Yet, looking at the adjusted ERA+, the numbers suggest that Papelbon pitched better than his traditional ERA shows. Pap's strikeouts per nine are much better as well.

Obviously, Rivera is superhuman and the greatest closer of all time (even though chinks in the armor are starting to show over the last three games). But the numbers show that maybe the Red Sox should think twice about letting Papelbon walk off into the sunset this offseason.

P.S. I admit I screamed for Pap's head on numerous occasions last seasons. It's the nature of the job.

Keep An Eye On Millwood

2011-08-10T22:04:00.000-04:00

Kevin Millwood was released by Pawtucket over the weekend, and was quickly snapped up by the Rockies, who he made his first start for tonight. Millwood took the loss (0-1), but he went seven strong innings, giving up just three earned. I'm not sure that the former Braves/Phillies/Indians/Rangers/Orioles starter has much left in the tank, but it's something to think about as resident-dunce John Lackey and glass-armed Erik Bedard battle it out for the third spot in the rotation in Clay Buchholz's absence.

Apparently, Theo Epstein & Co. didn't see Millwood competing for a job on the major league level, so he asked for his release. The 15-year veteran was 6-2 with a 4.68 ERA in 15 starts with the PawSox.

Salty Dog

2011-08-10T11:53:00.000-04:00

Jarrod Saltalamacchia wasn't behind the plate last night in Erik Bedard's second start for Boston, a 4-3 win over Minnesota. But his play of late has made him an integral part of the squad, and so I decided make a quick comparision of Salty and the the one that got away. Here's a quick look at how Saltalamacchia stacks up against Victor Martinez, whom the Sox let walk last offseason:

Player	Salary	G	AVG	HR	RBI	OBP	OPS	OPS+	rWAR	fWAR	CS%
VMart	$12,000,000	99	.325	6	64	.376	.818	129	1.9	1.8	22%
Salty	$750,000	72	.257	11	38	.323	.800	115	1.3	2.4	30%

Going by the traditional stats, Martinez has the advantage hands down. But there are several things in the Sox favor when considering to go with Salty as their (mostly) everyday catcher this year. A deeper look reveals that Martinez has caught just 26 games behind the plate, making him slightly less valuable as a DH/1B option (which clearly the Red Sox are not in need of). This explains why Fangraphs has Salty rated higher with a 2.4 WAR over VMart's 1.7. Add that to his improving defense, and it's looking like the Sox have found their catcher for the next half decade. The money saved on Martinez to sign Gonzalez and (ahem...) Crawford doesn't hurt either. In any case, we'll keep an eye on this as the season moves into October.

M&M Boys

2011-08-08T21:35:00.000-04:00

Twins in town tonight...a quick look at past lineups yields this: the last time Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer were in the same lineup was on April 12th. Yikes. Not that this is anything new, as Morneau hasn't seen the postseason since his MVP season in '06 (missing two series against New York), and Mauer's missed 58 games this year alone. At least Minnesota fans can take some solace in the fact that the Twins have some of the best home uniforms in baseball.

On another note: Tim Wakefield goes for his 200th win again tonight. I'm just gonna start dropping random Wakefield facts until he gets it. So, here goes: not only did he throw two complete game wins the last time the Pirates were in the playoffs ('92 NLCS against Atlanta), but he was third in the rookie of the year voting that year, losing to the Dodgers' Eric Karros (with Moises Alou second). Let's take stock of that for a second--Karros has been a television commentator for eight years now, and Alou, who played for 17 god-damned years (starting with a franchise that no longer exists), has been retired for three. Not Wakefield, he's still standing out there throwing junk start after start.

UPDATE: Looks like Alfredo Aceves just blew it for Wake, so you'll have to deal with more knuckleball rants for at least one more start.

Phil Hughes

2011-08-08T14:01:00.000-04:00

After Joe Girardi brought in Hughes in extras last night to bail out his bullpen, I'm wondering about the success rate of starters in similar situations to Hughes. The best example that comes to mind is Pedro Martinez in the '99 playoffs, tossing 8 scoreless against the Indians. Ironically, I'm assuming starters in this situation aren't as successful as position players.

MIDDLE RELIEF!!!!!

2011-08-07T17:47:00.000-04:00

I admit it, getting excited about setup men is about as appealing as hearing about an encounter between Jim Norton and a Brazilian hooker in some back alley. Unsettling at best. Yet, the parallels between Boston's Daniel Bard and NY's David Robertson are there, and well, about as intriguing as Jim Norton and a Brazilian hooker. A quick look at the ace relievers:

	Age	Salary	W	L	G	IP	ERA	K/9	BABIP	fWAR	rWAR
Robertson	26	$460,450	3	0	47	43.2	1.44	14.0	.315	1.8	2.1
Bard	26	$505,000	1	5	51	52.1	2.41	8.6	.212	1.0	1.6

Robertson has clearly been the more valuable pitcher this year, but Bard has been no slouch. A number to keep an eye on is BABIP, where Robertson is over .100 points higher than Bard, suggesting that he could come crashing back to Earth very soon.

Jacoby Ellsbury's MVP Chances

2011-08-07T13:34:00.000-04:00

On the heels of back-to-back walk-offs last week against Cleveland, the Jacoby Ellsbury-for-MVP-campaign picked up a full head of steam on the sports talk circuit in Boston over the past few days. Along with teammates Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez, the Red Sox are currently fielding three of the top five horses in the race. Which is great for Boston, but his own lineup will make it extremely hard for the centerfielder to distinguish himself.

Yet, after knocking in a career-high six runs yesterday against CC Sabathia and the Yanks, Ellsbury seems to have further injected himself into the national spotlight. Contrast his play with the Carl Crawford debacle (up to this point), a player with essentially the same skill set, and many are fearing Ellsbury and Scott Boras will walk in a few years when free agency comes up.

Having said that, I need a baseball fix in anticipation of tonight's Boston-NY rubber-match, and I got to wondering about the recent history of leadoff hitters in MVP voting. The line of demarcation for me is usually 1980, since that's the year I was born and it seems as good as any as it gives us a good sample of 30 seasons prior to this one. Since then, there have been 3 players who were slotted at the top of the lineup for the majority of their games to win the award: Rickey Henderson for the A's in 1990, Ichiro in 2001 for the Mariners, Jimmy Rollins in 2007 for the Phillies. That's it. Three. The only other players who even dabbled in the leadoff spot were Barry Larkin for the Reds in 1995 and Pedroia in '08, but barely enough to warrant consideration. Just for comparison's sake here are those three MVP seasons, and Ellsbury's current numbers:

(#'s in bold = league leader)

Player	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	rWAR	fWAR
Henderson	31	136	489	119	159	33	3	28	61	65	10	97	.325	.439	.577	1.016	188	10.0	10.5
Ichiro	27	157	692	127	242	34	8	8	69	56	14	30	.350	.381	.457	.838	126	7.6	6.1
Rollins	28	162	716	139	212	38	20	30	94	41	6	49	.296	.344	.531	.875	119	6.1	6.9
Ellsbury	27	111	458	84	147	31	2	19	72	31	10	38	.321	.377	.522	.899	142	5.6	6.0

As you can see, Henderson had an absolute monster season in ’90, leading the league in both WAR categories as well as OPS and OPS+. If that wasn’t the greatest season ever by a leadoff hitter, then it was certainly among the top two or three. As for Ichiro in ’01, it was a relatively weak year for MVP candidates, and he was the best story on the league’s best team (many still think teammate Bret Boone had a better case). Rollins seems to have grabbed the award due to the Phillies’ success as well as putting up power numbers unexpectedly in another weak year. As we all know, many voters simply refuse to vote for players on non-playoff squads. And that’s fine--another debate for another day.

Ellsbury stacks up well so far with Ichiro and Rollins in their MVP seasons (extremely close in age), while Henderson was in another galaxy. My guess is that by the time it’s all said and done, either Gonzalez, Pedroia, or Toronto’s Jose Bautista will take the trophy home, with Ellsbury figuring in somewhere in the top six (along with New York’s Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson.)

UPDATE: Looks like the Globe's Bob Ryan had the same idea, albeit with more depth. He goes back with a look at all of the leadoff hitters ever to win the trophy.