Tagged: Derek Jeter

August 3, 2010

The Big Puma Goes To The Big Apple

*Sorry I forgot to post this a few days ago.

After 1,648 hits, 326 home runs,
1,090 runs batted in, 1,592 games, and parts of twelve seasons, Lance “The Big
Puma” Berkman is leaving Houston to play with Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez,
Mariano Rivera and the rest of the New York Yankees in the Big Apple.

It’s a bittersweet day in Houston.
On one side, the team is starting over and getting younger. On the other side,
you are losing a franchise player who played his college career (with the Rice
Owls) and pro career in Houston. Berkman has given the city of Houston so many
memories, good ones and bad ones.

Personally, I have two distinct
memories about Lance Berkman. The first autographed baseball I ever got was
Lance Berkman’s on my ninth birthday. However, In spring training of 2008,
while I was trying to get autographs, he went off the field, in a golf cart,
into the clubhouse, (the Astros clubhouse at their spring training park,
Osceola County Stadium, is on the other side of the left field fence) totally
ignoring the fans.

That day, Miguel Tejada, Jose
Valverde, Hunter Pence, and Wesley Wright, among others came a signed for the
me and the rest of the fans. I understand that fans do get a little crazy
sometimes. Ex-Astro Roy Oswalt use to only sign to small groups of fans while
with the Astros but spring training is different. Which, I understand.

Anyway, it has been a gradual
decline in power since 2006 when “Fat Elvis” hit 45 home runs. Since then, he
has hit 34, 29, 25 and 13 (in 85 games this year). And with the exception of
2008 when he drove in 106 runs his RBI totals have gone done every year since
2006 when he had 136 of them.

Now, I expect his power numbers to
increase with the dimensions of Yankees stadium and not having to face Josh
Johnson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Roy Hallady, or Mat Latos (who has a 0.99 WHIP) along
with the rest of the National League pitchers. However, the one thing that
could make his disappointing season even more disappointing would be if he
can’t play ball in the spotlight of New York City.

Continue reading →

April 6, 2010

Nice Way To Start

The 2010 season has started! Adrian Beltre, Mike Cameron, and Marco Scutaro, all had nice games. Beltre has a sac fly and a total of two RBIs, Cameron had a walk, two hits, and a run, and Scutaro had two hits, a run, one RBI, and a walk. Youk had the first Red Sox hit of the decade with a double off the monster.

So here is a list of baseball “first of the decade.”

-First Play, Derek Jeter grounds out to shortstop Marco Scutaro.

-First Hit/Run/Home Run/RBI, Jorge Posada hit a home run off the Pesky Pole.

-First Reliever, Scott Schoeneweis

-First Sac Fly, Adrian Beltre

-First Single, Nick Swisher

-First Double, Kevin Youkilis

-First Strikeout, C.C. Sabathia strikes out Dustin Pedroia

-First Walk, Josh Beckett walks Nick Johnson

-First Double Play, Marco Scutaro, Dustin Pedroia, and Kevin Youkilis get Nick Johnson out at second and Alex Rodriguez at first.

-First Steal, Derek Jeter

-First Win, Boston Red Sox

-First Loss, New York Yankees

-First Winning Pitcher, Hideki Okajima

-First Loosing Pitcher, Chan Ho Park

-First Save, Jonathan Papelbon

Beckett though has not had a nice start to 2010. His command was terrible. Martinez is setting up low and he has thrown high and it has been very consistent. His velocity also has not been so good. He only threw about 95 MPH at his highest and not his regular velocity of about 98 MPH. Beckett through gave up five runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings. He struck out only one, Nick Johnson and walked three.

Youk is now 100 percent a beast if he was not earlier with a double, triple, two RBIs, and two runs. Pedroia was probably a little more clutch but for me Youk was player of the game.

Scott Schoeneweis and Hideki Okajima helped my fantasy team while Ramon Ramirez didn’t. Schoeneweis pitched an inning, not allowing a hit and striking out one. Okajima got the win, pitched one inning, and gave up a hit and one walk. However, Okajima allowed two of Ramon Ramirez’s runners to score.

Ramon Ramirez’s stats look like this: 0.1 innings pitched, two hits, two earned runs, and a walk. Not the best way to start 2010 but no need to worry because the Red Sox got the win.

Jacoby Ellsbury mishandled two balls now off the monster. I was not expecting that Ellsbury would play the balls off the Monster perfectly but I thought he could do better as Jacoby could win a gold glove.

J.D. Drew though had a very nice play on a ball that one hopped the wall. In most ball parks it would be a home run but Drew got it barehanded and held Robinson Cano to a single.

https://mlblogsbostonsports.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/jd20drew.jpg

Victor Martinez still is not a gold glove catcher and probably never will be. With Jeter on first and Brett Gardner on third Martinez threw to second then Gardner stole home.

Jacoby Ellsbury and Big Papi had an opening day to forget going a combined, zero for eight with a walk by Papi. I am not worried yet because it is only the first game. However, at this point I am more worried about Ellsbury because Papi is a second half hitter.

However, we couldn’t finish talking about the game without mentioning the little guy, Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia went two for four with a game tying home run off of Chan Ho Park in the seventh. Pedoria also had two runs, three RBIs, a walk, and a K.

After Pedroia tied it Youk came home on a pass ball making the lead 8-7. Then in the bottom of the eighth Pedroia added an insurance run driving in Mike Cameron.

Daniel Bard pitched a hitless eighth inning then Papelbon gave up a hit to Posada but got Granderson to ground out to end it as the Red Sox won nine to seven. So much for pitching and defense!

UPDATE: Now it is Tuesday and the game is just strarting

Photo Credits

1-http://thestartingfive.wordpress.com/2007/10/19/beckett-to-cleveland-not-yet/

2-http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/10/

3-http://oneseasontrader.com/features/dustin-pedroia-stock-trading/

February 9, 2009

Young Guns- Giants

Before I start I must say a few things, I never said that Adam Dunn would make the Hall of Fame. I said if he wants to make the Hall of Fame he must cut down on his strikeouts. Thanks Mark for putting me on the front of MLBlogs! Now I don’t feel like blogging about A-Rod so enjoy Tiny Tim.

Tim Lincecum

Tim Lincecum is 24 years old. Lincecum attended Washington State. Lincecum was drafted in the 48th round by the Chicago Cubs. He was the 1,408th pick in the draft. He decided to go to college and was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 42nd round, 1,261 overall. He has a carer record of twenty-five and ten with an ERA of 3.16, 415 strikeouts in just two major league seasons. He has never made an error at pitcher but has never won a Golden Glove. In 2006 he won the Golden Spikes Award. In 2007 he went seven and five with an ERA of 4.00 and 150 strikeouts in 24 games. 2008 was the first year he made the all-star game. He did not pitch in the game due to the flu. That season he won the National League Cy Young Award winning 18 games for a team that won just 72. He also lead the majors in strikeouts with 265 and had an ERA of 2.62. Lincecum has yet to pitch in the postseason but some people think the Giants could win the N.L. West. I think the D-Backs will with the Dodgers coming in at second by one or two games. All that could change if the Dodgers got Manny Ramirez though. Even though Tim has only been in the league for two seasons his nicknames consist of The Franchise, The Freak, and Tiny Tim. When Tim was a kid he told his dad he was a freak because he was so good. He got dubbed Tiny Tim for being only 5’11” and weighing only 170 pounds. The same day Lincecum won the Cy Young award he became cover athlete for MLB 2K9 replacing Jose Reyes. Lincecum is the first pitcher to be on the cover of the game. Derek Jeter was on it in 2005 and 2006. One thing is for sure his wind up is pretty weird, funny, cool, and interesting.

Photos

1-championshipblog.wordpress.com

2-wikipedia.com

3-baseballsnatcher.mlblogs.com

4-sjgiants.com

Honorable Mentions

2-Matt Cain

3-Brian Wilson

4-Fred Lewis

5-Jonathan Sanchez

February 8, 2009

A-Roid

That’s right Red Sox fans, Alex Rodriguez has a big, fat * next to his name. In 2003 he tested positive for steroids. 2003 was his last season with the Rangers where he lead the league in home runs(47), runs scored (124), and slugging percentage (.600). He also had 181 hits and 181 RBI’s. He won his first MVP and a golden glove. Following the 2003 season Rodriguez almost got traded to the Red Sox and I’m glad he didn’t. He ended up getting traded to the Yankees. Rodriguez has a carer average of .306 with 553 home runs, 2,404 hits, 1,606 RBI’s, and 283 stolen bases. Rodriguez is a twelve time all-star. He also has won ten silver sluggers, four Hank Aaron Awards, three MVP’s, and two golden gloves. A-Rod started out as a shortstop and then moved to third base when he joined the Yankees because Derek Jeter was already at shortstop. Before I hatted A-Rod. Now I hate and disrespect him. I will never respect a guy who took steroids unless they do what Andy Pettitte did. Pettitte came out and said, Hey look I did steroids and I’m sorry. I know how many Yankee fans feel. I used to look up to Roger Clemens, when he was an Astro. Then to his him get that * next to his name it was heartbreaking. Should we be surprised that A-Rod took steroids? No, his ego was bound to fall on him. Now the big problem in this is did the Rangers know that A-Rod tested positive so is that why they traded him? The whole Alex Rodriguez problem is the Rangers problem. The Yankees can do what ever they want but this is the Rangers fault. The Yankees didn’t have A-Rod on their team when he tested positive so they know as much as me, you, and Derek Jeter. A-Rod will not say anything. Yesterday he said, “I’m not saying anything . . . you’ll have to talk to the union.” The questions just pile on up, Did Scott Boras know? Will he make the Hall of Fame now? Should he lode his MVP? My answers are yes, yes, and no. When he gets jugged for the Baseball Hall of Fame voters will disregard the seasons he took steroids. If it turns out that A-Rod took steroids ten seasons there is know way he will make the hall of fame.

Note- Hey Mark, there are some good sentences up there. Maybe you could put one on MLB.com. 🙂

thejosevilson.com

frymax.typepad.com

mlb.com

January 19, 2009

World Baseball Classic- Red Sox Style

First- I’m sorry I didn’t blog yesterday I am taking this boring five day test over math, writing, reading comprehension, science, and tons more.

Second- The real news in baseball isn’t the World Baseball Classic, it is Barry Bonds! Click here to read this shocking story about him.

Third- Jeff Kent the legendary second baseman retired today. Kent has a pretty good shot at getting into the baseball hall of fame. More on that soon hopefully.

Forth- Jonathan Pabelbon avoided arbitration by signing a one year, $6.25 million dollar deal. Boston also signed Javier Lopez. Theo Epstein has yet to go in to arbitration with any player since becoming G.M. of the Red Sox. More on that soon.

Fifth- The Dodgers signed Jonathan Broxton and Russell Martin avoiding arbitration.

Sixth- The Red Sox traded David Aardsma to the Mariners for Fabian Williamson.

The Boston Red Sox have eleven major league players and five minor league players on the World Baseball Classic provisional rosters.

Jason Bay- Bay played for Canada in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. In three games Bay hit .455, with zero home runs, drove in none, and had five hits. Last season Bay hit .286, with 31 home runs, drove in 101, and had 165 hits. Bay will be a great move for team Canada. While he didn’t have great stats in 2006 I think he will have a good 2009 World Baseball Classic.

George Kottaras- Kottaras will join Jason Bay on team Canada. Kottaras didn’t play in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Last season in three games with the Red Sox he hit .200, had one hit, with no home runs, RBI’s, or stolen bases. The Red Sox will watch Kottaras carefully as a test to see how he does against major league talent.

Javier Lopez- Lopez will play for team Puerto Rico. Lopez did not participate in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Last season with Boston he had a two and zero record, with a 2.43 ERA, and 38 strikeouts. Lopez should help team Puerto Rico. He would give team Puerto Rico a pretty good relief pitcher.

Mike Lowell- Lowell will join Javier Lopez on team Puerto Rico. Lowell will play in the World Baseball Classic for his first time. Last year with Boston he hit .274, with 17 home runs, 73 RBI’s, and had 115 hits. The Red Sox will watch Lowell closely to see how his hip is. If it gets bad they may tell Lowell to sit out a game or sit on the bench for the rest of the tournament. I think his hip will be fine though.

Daisuke Matsuzaka- Dice-K will play for team Japan. Dice-K played in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He had three wins no losses, an ERA of 1.28, and ten strike outs. Dice-K was a vital part in helping Japan win in 2006. He also won MVP in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Last year with the Red Sox he had a record of 18-3, with 154 strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.90. I think Dice-K will do fine in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Hideki Okajima- Okajima will join Dice-K on team Japan. Okajima didn’t play in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Last season he had a three and two record, with an ERA of 2.61, 60 strikeouts, and one save. Okajima will be great playing for Japan. he could help them to win another title, but the USA will win.

David Ortiz- Ortiz will play for team Dominican Republic. In 2006 while playing in the 2006 World Baseball Classic he hit .150, with three home runs, five RBI’s, and three hits in twenty at bats. Having three hits and three home runs means that all of his hits were home runs. In 2008 with the Red Sox he hit .264, with 23 home runs, 89 RBI’s, and 110 hits. Ortiz has a hurt wrist so he might not be able to play. He also is listed on the list of Red Sox players in the classic but not on the list of players for team Dominican Republic on MLB.com which is strange.

Designated hitter David Ortiz of the Dominican Republic celebrated after hitting a home run in the second inning against Venezuela during the first round of the World Baseball Classic at The Ballpark at Disney on March 7 in Kissimmee, Fla.

Dustin Pedroia- Pedroia will play for my favorite team, team USA! Pedroia did not play in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Last season he hit .326, with 17 home runs, 83 RBI’s, and stole twenty bases. He also won a golden glove, a silver slugger, and a MVP. Pedroia should be a upgrade for team USA. In 2006 the USA had Chase Utley at second base.

Ramon Ramirez- Roman Ramirez will possibly join David Ortiz on team Dominican Republic. Ramirez didn’t play in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Ramirez was traded from Kansas City to Boston for Coco Crisp this offseason. While with the Royals last year he had a record of three and two, with a 2.64 ERA, one save, and 70 strikeouts. The Red Sox will look at him if David Ortiz plays to see if any chemistry forms between them. As we all know ( Well not the Y*****s) chemistry wins championships.

Kevin Youkilis- Youkilis will join Dustin Pedroia on team USA making the left side of the infield all Red Sox. Youkilis did not play in the 2006 World Baseball Cassic. Last season Youk hit .312, with 115 RBI’s, 29 home runs, and stole three bases. He also started at first base in the 2008 all star game at Yankee Stadium. Youk will be a great ascent to team USA in 2009.

The World Baseball Classic is a time where Cubs and White Sox, Dodgers and Angels, and even Red Sox and Y*****s (Hey I’m serious about not putting the Y word in my entries) unite and cheer for Pedroia, Jeter, Derrek Lee, Carlos Quentin, Joe Saunders, and Jonathan Broxton on team USA.

Ortiz watched his second inning home run clear the fence as his team faced Venezuela in their World Baseball Classic first round game. At left is Venezuela's catcher Ramon Hernandez.

Team USA shortstop Derek Jeter blew a bubble after throwing to first for a double play while forcing out Mexico's Luis Alfonso Garcia. Team USA won 2-0 on Tuesday.

January 19, 2009

Random Junk

Okay it is really not junk.

1. Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day everyone. I think it is fitting to have Barack Obama go in to office the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I must say I supported John McCain, but we must congratulate Mr. Obama on his historical achievement. We also must support him on being the next president of the U.S.A. So congrats Mr. Obama I hope you do well.

2. The teams for the Super Bowl are set. Yesterday the Arizona Cardinals upset the Philadelphia Eagles 32-25. The Cardinals were 9-7 in the regular season while the Eagles were 9-6-1. My Patriots were 11-5 and didn’t make the playoffs. The other team that got in was the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-14. A while back I said the Steelers would beat the Giants in the Super Bowl. I still think the Steelers will win it all. I can’t wait for the Super Bowl and the commercials!

3. The Chicago Cubs traded outfielder, Felix Pie to the Orioles. In exchange the Cubs got Garrett Olson and prospect Henry Williamson. I think the Orioles got the better of the deal. Last season Pie hit .241, with one home run, ten RBI’s, and stole three bases. Olson had a record of nine-ten, with a 6.65 ERA, and 83 strike outs. Williamson in A ball had a record of zero-one, an ERA of 3.72, with three saves, and 42 strikeouts. Olson could compete with Sean Marshall for the fifth spot in the rotation.

4. The World Baseball Classic Rosters will be announced this evening. Some players who will play for team U.S.A. are Dustin Pedroia, Derek Jeter, Roy Oswalt, Jake Peavy, Brad Hawpe, Grady Sizemore, Ryan Braun, and David Wright. For team Canada Justin Morneau will play. I think Jason Bay will play for team Canada too. For team Dominican Republic Alex Rodriguez will play and David Ortiz will try to play. For team Japan Dice-K and Ichiro will play. The classic looks like a good one. I think team U.S.A. will win though.

5. Today in the NBA America will find out who will be the forth dunker in the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk challenge. For the first time ever America got to vote for who should be the forth dunker, Joe Alexander, Rudy Fernandez, or Russell Westbrook. I voted for Russell Westbrook because I think Alexander needs to work on just being a better player than a better dunker. Fernandez plays on the Portland Trail Blazers and I don’t like the Trail Blazers that much. Another reason I voted for Westbrook is because the team he plays on, the Oklahoma City Thunder, as of January 19th has a record of eight-34. I think it could make the Oklahoma City Thunder feel a lot better. The winner will face off against Rudy Gay, Nate Robinson, and defending dunk champion “Superman” Dwight Howard.

January 16, 2009

Where Will Manny Go???

First- Derek Lowe is officially a Brave.

Second- Not a lot of news today.

Where will Manny Ramirez go! He is one of the best hitters ever and today. Manny wants at least 15 million a year and I think he should get 15 million. Manny may be a bad influence in the clubhouse but thats Manny. Some guys are just going to be like that. He is a great hitter and at 36 Manny still can slug the ball. Yes, he has terrible defense but his is better than Adam Dunn. Manny hasn’t signed for two reasons: the economy and his antics. If Manny had behaved and didn’t “force” the Red Sox to trade him Manny would be with someone. Manny hit 37 home runs, hit .332, and drove in 121 with the Red Sox and Dodgers. Manny has 527 carer home runs, with a .314 batting average, and has driven in 1,725. If Manny hadn’t refused to play, went inside the Green Monster, held up signs about trading him for Brett Favre (as shown) and said Derek Jeter was playing golf (also as shown) then he would probably resigned with Boston. Manny will probably end up with the Los Angeles Dodgers. If Scott Boras works his magic the deal will probably give him three years, club option for forth, twelve million dollars a year. If Boras can’t work his magic the deal will be three years ten million dollars. Manny wants to play till he is 40. So for his last year he could end up with the Yankees as a D.H. My baseball trainer Raffi, played minor league ball with Albert Pujols, Bartolo Colon, Willy Taveras, grew up with David Ortiz, and Manny. When I have my lessons guess who is there before me Willy Taveras! Raffi pitches to him and Willy hits. Raffi said that Manny wants to stay in Los Angeles and some other stuff. Click here to see his stats. While the Giants did show interest in Manny that idea kind of fell apart. One thing is will Manny sign before pitchers and catchers report to spring training? Or even before the end of spring training.

Manny Being Manny