The goal is to build something that can be sustained -- to not just have success, but sustained success over a long period of time. It's hard to do because you have to win at the Major League level while also cultivating a future through the Minor League system. That's our toughest challenge year in and year out.Opening Day is on the schedule (5:05 AM!):
Greg Rybarczyk, whose Hit Tracker calculates the precise trajectory of every major league home run, is the main subject of Gordon Edes's Notes column. Three quick snips from the 2007 data:Mike Lowell hit his 21 home runs last season in only four AL East parks: Fenway (14), Skydome (4), Tropicana Field (2) and Yankee Stadium (1).Edes also has 10 questions for Mike Wallace's 60 Minutes interview with Roger Clemens and he explains why the World Series trophy will be in Nova Scotia on January 7.
Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz combined for only two homers at Tropicana Field, after hitting a total of 11 there in both 2005 and 2006.
Ten of the 21 home runs allowed by Curt Schilling were hit by the Yankees.
The Herald's Rob Bradford praises five "sites that saved sports writers' bacon on a daily basis in 2007 (and maybe can help your inner baseball fan in '08": Baseball Musings, Baseball Reference, Baseball Think Factory, MLB Trade Rumors and MLB's Gameday.
Jose Canseco's sequel to his 2005 book "Juiced" will be on shelves by Opening Day.
Opening Day is on the schedule (5:05 AM!):
ReplyDeleteThat should make for an interesting gamethread!!
That should make for an interesting gamethread!!
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
Guess I'll set the alarm for 4:30 to get lineups posted?!?!? Yikes.
5 AM in New England, 2 AM on the West Coast.
Lord Lynch will be happy -- it'll be 11 AM for him, I think.
NESN usually has a "Breakfast With the Sox" replay the morning after West Coast games... I'm sure they'll broadcast this live, in which case we'll have Breakfast With the Sox, live edition! That'll be interesting. I'll certainly be awake for it.
ReplyDeleteI got up early for the Yanks-Rays games in Japan in '04. So I have no excuse not to get up for these.
ReplyDeleteAny word on whether they're gonna try to put corporate logos on our unis like they did with those Yankee games? Please say they won't do that.
I also remember the Yanks getting to wear their home uniforms despite being the road team, because supposedly the Japanese people really wanted to see the pinstripes. And somehow the Rays believed that and let them.
Cool - I've already marked it on my calender book.
ReplyDeleteRe: the preview
In SI a few weeks ago they had a short blurb near the front where they asked a rep (mostly the GMs) from each team for a one-word description of how they felt at the end of the winter meetings. The responses ranged from "hopeful", "rebuilding" and "improving" to the Indians and Tigers, who both answered "contenders"
The Sox rep (it wasn't Theo) said simply "stable" :)
Cashman said "unfinished"
Guess I'll set the alarm for 4:30 to get lineups posted?!?!? Yikes.
ReplyDeletenot for sure if its the reaching 50 plateau or if it is just my body rejecting more than 4 hours of sleep, but I expect to be up by 4:00 with out the alarm going off. Fortunately, that will allow me to have a pot of coffee before the game starts! Of course I will have to take some time off so that I can watch the whole game ;).