Oh Captain, My Captain

Matt Stone, Boston Herald
Jason Varitek hits a solo home run in the sixth inning.

One more game. One more win.

Last night was a great win for the Red Sox, but it was not fun. It was tense. And it started out with a cable disaster, as TBS didn't have the game on. They were showing a rerun of some not-funny show. We were in full panic mode. Checked Fox, the nets, ESPN, no game. Ran to computer, no video. My friend is on the floor trying to find a radio station -- we are lost in the wilds of Central Mass., lousy radio. Then after about 10 minutes TBS finally runs the technical difficulties crawl. Finally find the game at 1280 AM and THEY STARTED WITHOUT US! They couldn't postpone the game until the fans could see it? We hear that Upton has hit a home run, but don't know if anyone was on and the score.

Finally, picture and we learn that it is only 1-0. Much cursing of TBS. If our curses work, Ted Turner is going to hell. Go and take your lousy announcers with you. (OK, you can leave Ron Darling behind.)

The game itself was tight. We were tight. Beckett was pitching like a pitcher, not a young fireball, not trying (probably unable) to blow by hitters with his diminished fastball. Most of the scoring came from one run homers that landed in the front row. We kept leaving men on base, 12 in total, which made everything all the more ominous. Wasted opportunities, leaving the door open for the Rays.

When Varitek got up with two outs in the 6th I (dramatically) announced, oh, just call the inning and take the field; the guy's 0-for-the-series. And Varitek promptly hit the homer! I took full credit. And Crisp gets on, Bartlett commits an error (which ends up wiping out his HR) and The Large Father singles in an insurance rune. But even with a lead we were still quiet. Could this really be happening? Yes, it is. Okajima looked like 2007 Okajima. Masterson put on one runner but settled down after John Farrell came out to the mound and talked to him. And Pap was Pap, Mr. I Do Not Give Up Postseason Runs. Ever. shut down the Rays and lifted his index finger as Youkilis caught the final out. One more win. One more game.

The Red Sox are 9-1 in elimination games, including 9-0 in ALCS elimination games, with Terry Francona as manager. Let's make it 10-1 tonight.

Boston Globe Photo Gallery: Game 6 ALCS

Boston Globe Photo Gallery: The scene in St. Pete

Boston Herald Photo Gallery: Game 6 ALCS

Boston Globe: For Varitek, 'C' stands for clutch
Captain hits crucial blow

Bob Ryan, Boston Globe: Captain deserves a big salute

Boston Herald: Homer is good sign for Sox
’Tek adds to crazy run

But on those occasions when Varitek produced anything even remotely above average on offense, the Red Sox were nearly unbeatable. They went 9-0 when he recorded a two-out RBI with runners in scoring position, 11-0 when he recorded a two-out RBI of any kind, and 29-5 (.853) when he drove in a run, period.

Boston Herald: Storybook ending
Time to write off the Rays

Nancy Lane, Boston Herald
Jonathan Papelbon celebrates the Red Sox win.

One more game for all the marbles, baby. One more game.

Video Lasts Forever

Comcast New England: Jonathan Papelbon: The High School Years

Click on the link to see three videos of Jonathan Papelbon, the intimidating closer of the Red Sox, dancing in a high school talent show. (He's actually quite good!) The videos were supplied by his mother to the Red Sox, so the first video is of the Red Sox team showing them in the lockerroom before last night's game. Hilarious.

I'm With Papi

David Ortiz paid tribute to Manny Ramírez by wearing No. 24 on his wristbands last night. The Red Sox DH went 0 for 5. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

Boston Globe: Ortiz tries to make best of it

Asked if he's heard how happy the Yankees were that Ramírez was no longer in the American League East, Ortiz smiled wearily in acknowledgement of the fear and loathing Ramírez's presence had caused the Bronx Bombers in his 7 1/2 seasons with Boston. "Well, we would be, too," he said. "I guess."

While general manager Theo Epstein said the trade seemed to improve the atmosphere in the clubhouse, it didn't seem to have the desired effect on Ortiz, who clearly was feeling Ramírez's absence. Ortiz, sitting in front of his locker, took a long draw from his energy drink.

"I need to calm myself down now," he said. With that, he waved off any more queries.

Happy Father's Day, David Ortiz, Citizen

Or as Jonathan Papelbon calls him, "The Large Father". As of last week, he is "Citizen Papi".

Boston Globe Photo Gallery: David Ortiz becomes a US citizen

ProJo: David Ortiz a new U.S. citizen

Bad News

Boston Globe: David Ortiz goes on DL

BALTIMORE - The Red Sox will place designated hitter David Ortiz on the 15-day disabled list today with a partially torn sheath surrounding a tendon in his left wrist. Ortiz is expected to miss up to a month, according to a team source.

His wrist will be immobilized in a cast for two weeks, and if it is healed by then, it should take about two weeks for Ortiz to get back into playing shape.

Big Papi to Play "The Babe" at Yankee Stadium

Left, National Baseball Archives via Associated Press; Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
In a nod to Babe Ruth’s famed called home run, the All-Star home run derby at Yankee Stadium is planning a contest in which a fan will try to call a shot for David Ortiz.
NYTimes: Who’s Calling the Shots, the Yankees or Ortiz?

The Yankees were upset when they found out about a promotion that would cast David Ortiz of the Red Sox as a modern-day Babe Ruth at Yankee Stadium during the All-Star Game festivities.

Who better to play the rotund home run hitter with a giant personality? Who would the Yankees have play the Babe? Jason Giambi, the juicer? (Maybe before he calls his shot, he could reenact his grand jury testimony and show the boys and girls how he shot his testosterone "in the ass". That would be heart-warming.) A-Rod, the pretty loser? (A-Rod's unfortunate habit of caving under pressure might affect the TV schedule; it could take him days to hit a home run on command).

No, Ortiz as the Babe is perfect. Babe did start off as a Red Sock, after all. And like Ortiz, Babe was renowned for his larger-than-life personality. While Babe did not own a Bedazzler and is not known for rhinestine-studded sportcoats, you can imagine him wearing one with Ortiz in some Red Sox-Yankees promotion for MLB.

More Red Sox Videos

Manny Ramirez on Jay Leno:



David Ortiz (The Bedazzler) on Conan O'Brien:



Manny's walk-off home run that ended Game 2 of the ALCS:

Wait 'Til Next Year

Listen to the Captain - Re-Sign Lowell. (Actually the sign says "RESIGN LOWELL", kind of like "SURRENDER DOROTHY", but I know what it means.)
Boston Globe
The baseball season is officially over. The rallying cry in Red Sox Nation used to be "Wait 'Til Next Year". Doesn't really seem appropriate any more. How 'bout "Let's Go 3 For 5!" It's so....positive...and so unlike the old Red Sox mentality.

Some final Red Sox goodness:

Tom Verducci's great article summarizing the Sox season, with this prize nugget:

Or maybe, just maybe, they won it when a very large, angry man cleared the clubhouse of everybody but Red Sox players after Game 3 of the American League Championship Series in Cleveland, which Boston had lost to the Indians to go down 2-1.

"Listen," designated hitter David Ortiz began, "we're not just a good team. We're a great team. And don't you f------ forget that. And let's go play one at a time and go prove that. Because let me tell you something...."

Ortiz pulled on the sides of his gray road jersey. "There's a reason why you wear this Red Sox uniform...."

Ortiz paused for a beat, letting the suspenseful silence fill the rapt room.

"Because you're a bad mother------."

Now I ask you, who among us does not love Big Papi?

Boston Globe photo galleries:

Papelbon (that boy is crazy); Rolling Rally; the plane ride home.

Nice piece from Basegirl about the joys of watching the Sox win it all, with family; and another one from Sawxblog about taking his dad to Game 1 of the World Series.

Opening Day

"People will come."
Boston Red Sox at Kansas City Royals, ESPN, 4:00 p.m. EST

Chickenhawk George W. Bush, our vaunted Coward in Chief, too scared (of being booed) to throw out first ball at opening day games for the second year in a row. Should make all those Rethugs wearing "W" caps at Washington Nationals games proud.

The CHB (Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe) sez the Red Sawx have become international rock stars. I wonder if he talked to Tony Massarotti at the Herald before he filed it? Because Tony wrote the exact same story in the Herald. Having the Herald and the Globe agreeing is like the planets colliding.

Everybody loves Big Papi. (Boston Herald version.)

WWJDD?

What would Johnny Damon do? It's one of my favorite Red Sox t-shirts from the World Championship season.

Guess I'll have to retire it, because Damon has just become a MFY*.

Apparently, the answer to the question is, he'd go anywhere for money.

Damon jumps to Yankees
Deal with New York worth $52m

Into the trash heap my WWJDD t-shirt will go, along with "Get Foulked" and "Cowboy Up". Maybe I can bear to take them out some day far in the future. Right now this is painful.

Favorite Damon diatribe so far, from A Red Sox Fan in Pinstripe Territory:

F This/Where Have You Gone, Bill Lee?

None of these shithead macho jocks cares about anything except the money that's waved under their noses. David Ortiz aside, of course. What's the point in rooting for any of these people? What if Steinbrenner said he's changing the yankees logo to an Old English red "B"? Would yankee fans still root for the yankees? Why should I choose a side in a game where all the sides are the same?

*Mother Fucking Yankees

How People Get Here

I installed a site meter a few months ago, and it's fascinating.

For example, would you have suspected that if you search 'President Dumbass' on google, I'm the #1 result? On yahoo, if you searched 'john murtha wackenhut', again, #1. On cnn.com, someone searched '"death toll in gulf coast"', #1.

I get a lot of hits from people searching for info on David Ortiz, or people who must be wondering if he got named American League MVP (as he should have been). Sorry, hate to have to say this again, but the Baseball Writers gave it to the pretty loser, Alex Rodriguez (Slappy McBluelips).

I see Wackenhut a lot on my results. I ended up on the blogroll of the "Eye on Wackenhut" site, a watchdog organization maintained by SEIU, because I included them in one of my "The Incompetence, The Corruption, and the Cronyism" posts in October. Wackenhut is one of those shadowy outfits raking in the money hand over fist from Bushco for poorly performed "security" services. They're mucking up security at the Statue of Liberty, for example.

Finally, Jabar Gibson, the kid who commandeered the bus in Houston and drove 80 people to the Astrodome from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (recently busted for drugs) continues to generate a lot of traffic. That's in part because Steve Gilliard posted my post on his site, The News Blog, which generated and still generates a lot of traffic. He's one of those Top 250 bloggers, so there you go.

Pretty Loser Wins AL MVP

Alex Rodriguez Wins AL MVP Award

A-Rod is the Anna Kournikova, the Pavel Bure, of baseball: pretty loser. He's got the numbers, all right, if only you don't look at one crucial component: his numbers in the clutch. Clutch (close-and-late) hits, a statistic in which David Ortiz lead the majors; A-Fraud wasn't even in the top 50.

Stats Inc. describes close-and-late situations as ones that occur from the seventh inning on, with the batting team ahead by a run or tied or the tying run on base, at bat or on deck. Ortiz leads the majors with 33 close-and-late RBIs. Rodriguez is not even in the top 50.

Need I remind you that David Ortiz has a World Series ring, and Slappy McBluelips has none?

This award is a travesty. David Ortiz is the true MVP.

I wonder if the repulsive one, the CHB, voted for David Ortiz?

David Ortiz Is MVP

According to the players, that is. Not F-Rod. Ortiz, the true MVP.

Big Papi was voted American League Outstanding Player in the 2005 Players Choice Awards, as voted by his fellow players.

Let's hope the baseball writers do the right thing. Dan Shaughnessy, the cowardly writer/steno who helped run Theo out of town, gets to vote. That makes me sick.

Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox, the latest curse-breaking team!

A Fraud Helps Yankees Out Of Playoffs

Smarting as I am over the Red Sox drubbing by the Pale Hose, the only consolation for me is if the Yankees lose. Hurray, tonight I get my wish. Angels-White Sox for the American League title.

A-Rod, Mr. "MVP" in the minds of Yankees fans, gets up in the 9th, the Yankees down by 2, Jeter on first, no outs. What does he do, Mr. MVP? He of the 2 for 14 hitting "streak" in this series? He of the .321 season average, 48 homers, 130 RBIs? He does what A Fraud does best. Nothing. No, worse than nothing. He hits into a double play, wiping Jeter off the board too.

David Ortiz is the American League MVP, and A-Rod is just a fraud.

Well, there will be no gloating at the family picnic year, by either me or my Yankee-loving relatives.

David Ortiz is the American League MVP

MVP! MVP! MVP!

My brother tells me David Ortiz will NEVER win the AL MVP award because he's a DH.

He gives it to Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez (known in these parts as "Slappy McBlueLips").

Besides me, all these folks (many of whom actually vote for the award) disagree:

Ray McNulty, Knoxville News Sentinal: (registration required; use bugmenot.com)
Saluting baseball's best

MVP: David Ortiz, Boston.

I know, he's a DH. And doesn't play defense. And his team didn't win its division. But nobody in baseball got more big hits this season, nobody was more valuable to his team, nobody is more deserving of this award.

Jeff Passan, The Kansas City Star: Red Sox’s David Ortiz the true AL MVP

Tom Hanson, Naples (FL) Daily News: Big Papi deserves MVP

Kevin Hench, FOXSports: Ortiz, not A-Rod, is the AL MVP

Jim Salisbury, Philadelphia Inquirer: Award voters face some tough calls

American League MVP. People like to point out that a designated hitter has never won the MVP, as if defense has carried a lot of weight with voters in recent years. (Witness Barry Bonds. He long ago stopped playing left field the way he once did, yet powered his way to the last four NL MVP awards.)

This might be the year that the prejudice against DHs ends. That's how big David Ortiz has come up for the Red Sox.

Alex Rodriguez has had a huge offensive season for the Yankees, and he has done it while playing brilliant third base. But Ortiz has become baseball's most intimidating hitter with the game on the line.

Take Thursday night, for example. Ortiz tied a game the Red Sox could not afford to lose with his 47th homer in the eighth, then won it with a single in the ninth.

Twenty of Ortiz's homers have tied games or put the Sox ahead. Of those 20, 10 have come from the seventh inning on, with eight of those after the all-star break.

Stats Inc. describes close-and-late situations as ones that occur from the seventh inning on, with the batting team ahead by a run or tied or the tying run on base, at bat or on deck. Ortiz leads the majors with 33 close-and-late RBIs. Rodriguez is not even in the top 50.

The picks: 1, Ortiz; 2, Rodriguez; 3. Travis Hafner, Cleveland.

Jack Todd, Montreal (Can.) Gazette: Gainey makes right call

Oh, yeah, AL MVP? Split it between Manny Ramirez and Papi Ortiz and tell Alex Rodriguez to shove it in his, uh, wallet.

Dennis Deitch, Delaware County Times (Philadelphia): In final voting, here are the award winners

[T]he Red Sox would have been nothing without Ortiz hammering his team through the pitching woes it had all season.

David Borges, Journal Register News Service: Big Papi is at his best when game is on the line

For reasons that extend far beyond the stat sheet and render his status as the Sox DH moot, Ortiz for MVP is a slam dunk - or, as David Wells puts it, "a no-brainer."

He is, as the plaque presented to him by owner John Henry a few weeks ago attested, the "Greatest Clutch Hitter in Red Sox History." He is the straw that stirs the drink in the middle of the Sox’ lineup, flip-flopped with Manny Ramirez from cleanup to the third hole back in May and putting up record-breaking numbers ever since.

He is a magnanimous figure in the Sox’ diverse clubhouse, a jovial presence who unites players from all backgrounds.

Alex Rodriguez might be baseball’s Player of the Year, if such an award existed. But he’s not even the MVP of his own team - that honor belongs to closer nonpareil Mariano Rivera.

David Ortiz is the American League’s MVP.

Salt Lake Tribune: [G]ive the MVP to David Ortiz, who produced a superhuman number of game-changing hits.

Dan Connolly, Baltimore Sun: In tight MVP races, go with your heart

David Ortiz, Boston. I've flip-flopped on this hair-puller three times now. New York's Alex Rodriguez has had the best all-around season -- he has even stolen 18 bases -- while Ortiz leads the league in RBI and dramatic moments. Ortiz probably is more important to his team than any other player in baseball, and that's the difference. However, A-Rod has helped carry the Yankees and he plays a great third base, while Ortiz, a designated hitter, sits throughout most games. That's a compelling argument, Yankee fans. But, simply put, the stats-driven mind says Rodriguez, and the unrelenting baseball heart screams for the never-give-up Ortiz.

David Del Grande, InsideBayArea.com: Ortiz has big edge as MVP in AL

Carl Steward, The Argus, CA:

-Forget the DH argument, there's absolutely no way David Ortiz isn't the AL MVP over Alex Rodriguez, regardless of how the weekend turns out between the Yanks and Sox.

Dave Roloff, OnMilwaukee.com: Roloff doles out baseball honors

Winner: David Ortiz -- despite my feeling about A-Rod dominating both sides of the game, nobody has been more clutch over the past months than Ortiz.

Bob Matthews, Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle: 'Big Papi' deserves MVP honors for sure

Ray Hamill, Eureka (CA) Times-Standard: A great time of the year

[G]ive David Ortiz a deserved MVP award over A-Rod.

And finally, from the home of the d**m Yankees:

Mike Lupica, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS (Yes, you heard that right, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS): No one tops this Papi
DH or not, he's MVP

Mike Vaccaro, NEW YORK POST (Yes, you heard that right, NEW YORK POST!): PAPI PULLS AWAY IN MVP BATTLE

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case. David Ortiz is the MVP of the American League.