Kevin Youkilis will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn abductor muscle in his right thumb on Friday in Cleveland.
(Jeez, great news. Back in civilization (Oakland airport), before the redeye to JFK; then a few hours wait before a flight up to Buffalo, and the drive north and home. ... And then to get caught up on what I've missed.)
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I love what Bill James has brought to the game and share his philosophy that you can give yourself an edge (or handicap) by playing the game a certain way. But - as much as I love the statistical side of the game - I think there is still something to (use your own catch phrase here – Karma, Chemistry, Mojo, Fate, The Baseball gods, etc…).
When I heard the news about Youk, I crossed some point in my mind that now thinks the Sox won’t make it this year. I’ve battled it for a lot of the season as starter after starter went on the DL… but I always found a reason to stay optimistic about getting to the playoffs. I know that despite all of the injuries we have still won more than we have lost – by a lot… And I know there is still a lot of baseball to be played… And I know a lot of the guys on the DL are either back or will be back soon… But this puts me over the top.
Maybe it’s because he is the most “watchable” player on the team for me. I love his approach at the plate, his versatility and skill in the field but – most of all – I think I love his intensity. So – for me – he is the heart of the team… and when he went down, my spirit left with him.
I hope this is not taken as “jumping off the band wagon”. I will continue to root for the Sox until the last game of the season (whenever that is) and hope that the good fortunes that we are due (have we caught ONE break this year?) happen soon… but, Jeez, how many times do you have to have someone punch you in the gut before you figure out this just isn’t your day… and in this case, I just don’t think this is our year.
I hope I am wrong.
What you've missed - Believe it or not, there have been some injuries.
Quite a shock, I'm sure
There is a bandwagon? I thought we were all on the bus, win or lose, "our year" or someone else's.
I haven't thought we were going to make the playoffs for months. I'm still watching. The Sox don't care what I think, they'll still do what they do.
That is an interesting view of what James is about. He has said over and over for more than 30 years that he has very little interest in numbers. He asks questions and tries to find answers to those questions, if possible. Since it is baseball, numbers/stats are involved. (It is an ongoing mystery to me why 90+% of baseball fans -- not to single you out -- misunderstand James's fundamental work. Maybe not a mystery -- the mainstream sports media just reports it wrong.)
Sounds like I missed a brawl, too -- with four Sox on the DL getting fined!!!
I was trying to find a James quote about asking questions, but found this instead:
Pos:
"This is a part of Bill that people can miss. He has come up with so many baseball concepts ... that people tend to think of him as a slide-rule-in-the-front-pocket nerd. ...
But Bill doesn't love baseball statistics. ... No, it's just that Bill doesn't accept anything at face value. He believes every single thing should be questioned and then questioned again and then questioned again. ...
He figures baseball statistics because he would like to get a little closer to the truth.
****
I will miss Youk also. He and Beltre have been the most consistent performers all season, and now it is just Beltre left. He can't carry the whole team. I will continue to watch, but I am finding this the most painful, least enjoyable season that I have experienced in a long, long time. Obviously there have been lots of other difficult seasons, but somehow this one just sucks. At least for me.
Faux brawl, still exciting nonetheless.
Lowell HR was definitely one of the highlights. So was the Angels sweep. And Dice's performance yesterday.
9-1 drubbing and other shit loss to Cleveland, not so much.
Jeemer needs to be DFA'ed - pronto. Send up Manuel and/or Bowden. And Nava needs to learn 1B.
It was an almost-brawl. Just a little pushing and shoving, but the best part was when Terry Francona tried to go after Cleveland's 3B coach, Steve Smith. Francona was MAD. It was awesome.
It was short of a brawl, but it was great. Both benches cleared, a lot of pushing and shoving, and the coaches were getting into it too. The Cleveland third base coach Steve Smith said something to John Farrell in Terry Francona's hearing whereupon Francona goes after Smith like he's going to deck him. It was probably the maddest I've ever seen him. In the end, Smith was ejected and is serving a two-game suspension (along with the fines for all the Red Sox wounded, etc.)
HOME!
I gotta see the Tito clip!
The un-brawl sounds like great fun.
This is a tough season but I'm enjoying it anyway. It's up and down, the way baseball usually is, for most teams.
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