Two Quotes: Baseball And Writing

Two quotes from books I recently read:

Baseball is the slow creation of something beautiful. It is the almost boringly paced accumulation of what seems slight or incidental into an opera of bracing suspense. The game will threaten never to end, until suddenly it forces you to marvel at how it came to be where it is and to wonder at how far it might go. It's the drowsy metamorphosis of the dull into the indescribable.

Joshua Ferris, To Rise Again At A Decent Hour

Writing was great, he thought. You suffered and you agonized and you were beset by doubts and fears, and then you finished a book and left absolutely ecstatic, convinced that you were great and your book was great and your future was coming up roses.

That lasted for about a week, and then you realized that you were washed up, that you'd never do anything decent again, and look at you, you indolent slug, why were you just sitting around doing nothing? Why weren't you writing something?

Lawrence Block, Small Town

On April 10, Cleveland's Danny Salazar became the first pitcher in the modern era to record 10 strikeouts in fewer than four innings.

Same Old Story ("Jackie Bradley Jr. may be the best argument against making too much of small samples we've seen in some time.") (Howard Megdal, Sports on Earth)

My Life As A Cleveland Indian: The Enduring Disgrace Of Racist Sports Mascots (Jacqueline Keller, Salon)

Sins Of The Preacher: How Chad Curtis Went From Hero To Convict For Sexual Misconduct (Greg Hanlon, Sports on Earth)

Pat Tillman, The Boston Marathon And The Tale Of Two Anniversaries (Dave Zirin, The Nation)

"Computers Have Ruined Baseball"

That's the first sentence of a baseball column written by Scott DeSmit.

In 2014.

It gets better. Oh, yes, it does. DeSmit's ignorance is like quicksand. Once you start reading, you won't be able to tear yourself away.

Hat tip to Deadspin.

Good News On Pedroia's Wrist And Uehara's Shoulder

Peter Abraham and Nick Cafardo, Globe:

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia does not have a serious injury to his left wrist, and he told the Globe that he received "great news" after being examined by team doctors on Monday.

Further tests are being done in Boston today, but Pedroia should be fine based on the preliminary results, according to a major league source, and he will not be placed on the disabled list. ...

The Red Sox also sent closer Koji Uehara to Boston for an exam on his right shoulder. Uehara had a successful throwing session in New York on Monday and is expected to rejoin the team in time for Tuesday's game.

Guest Post: military propaganda at sports events reaches new extremes: continuous recruitment ads at baseball games

A guest post from my partner, Laura Kaminker, wmtc:

I've recently returned from a lovely trip to Boston, filled with so many of my favourite things: friends, family, books, and baseball.

I love Fenway Park, and I'm always happy to be there. On this trip, we saw three great games, two of them wins, so I was thrilled. The games were marred by only one thing: nearly constant propaganda for the US military. This is not an exaggeration.

Throughout Fenway Park, as in many sports venues, there are monitors showing a TV feed of the action on the field. Right now, between innings, the Fenway Park monitors show a continuous feed of advertising for the United States Army. During the game, the ads continue on a sidebar beside the action.

Let that sink in a moment. The constant advertising crammed into every moment of the ballgame, and the constant linking of sports and the military, are now joined in this doubly offensive development.

There is something particularly Orwellian about watching a baseball game while a constant stream of silent images of war and military run in your peripheral vision.

I gathered from the brief branding displays that the ad feed is supplied by Access Sports Media. According to its website, Access Sports Media

provides advertisers cross-platform solutions engaging passionate fans in sports venues nationwide through digital out of home, social media, mobile, and in-venue sponsorships. Access Sports reaches more than 110 million viewers annually through a national footprint of 200 sports properties and a digital network of over 20,000 screens across professional, minor league and college sports.

Its list of clients includes many major corporations, a few specific products, and - listed first - the US Army.

The Army ads themselves stem from a campaign written about here in The New York Times, called a "reality" theme without a trace of irony. Of course, it bears little resemblance to reality. There are no bombings, no destroyed villages, no torture prisons. No amputations, no traumatic brain injury, no alcoholism, no domestic violence, no suicides.

The ads are built around the slogan "Army Strong": "There's strong, then there's Army Strong". This is a particularly good sell for a Boston-area audience: after the Boston Marathon bombing, the city rallied to a cry of "Boston Strong". The Times article notes that the ads are

an example of what is known on Madison Avenue as a program-length commercial or infomercial. Once the province of gadgets peddled with hard-sales entreaties like, "But wait, there's more," such longer spiels have been embraced by well-known brands like AT&T, Bing, Chase and Teleflora, along with a number of automakers.

Program-length commercials are becoming more popular as part of a trend known as content marketing, sponsored content or branded entertainment. The trend is meant to counter the growing habit — particularly among younger consumers, like the target audience for the Army, ages 18 to 24 — of ignoring traditional forms of advertising.

The "Army Strong" ads at Fenway are a barrage of quick-cut images emphasizing camaraderie and bonding, toughness and strength, dirt and grit, and stirring patriotism. Men (I saw no female soldiers in the ads, although there might be one somewhere) worked hard and played hard, always together, often dirty, but always serious and strong. In a world where career choices often involve life behind a desk or tethered to a computer, the men in these ads were running across rugby fields, rappelling down snow-covered mountainsides, parachuting out of airplanes, and using lots of exciting-looking equipment.

Only two quick images gave any hint as to why so many men are running, rappelling, shooting, and seeing the world through night-vision goggles. In one image, a woman in a hijab slides a slip of paper in a ballot box. In another, a group of soldiers sit in a circle in a tent, listening to a traditionally-dressed Afghan man (or, I should say, an actor dressed as one). What's the caption here? "How many weddings did we bomb today?" "You take the oil, we'll keep the heroin"? Or maybe just "Me smokem peace pipe."

As both Allan and I have written about before (here, here, and here, for example), there is already a huge amount of military propaganda inappropriately linked to sports events. The Boston Red Sox and the many other teams that contract with Access Sports Media - a list is here - now take the trend to new extremes.

I wrote this to the Boston Red Sox. If you are a sports fan who finds this advertising offensive, I hope you will speak up to your team's management, too.

I am a Red Sox fan who lives out of town. I am able to enjoy games at Fenway about every-other year, at best. I love Fenway Park, and thus, when I attended three games against the Texas Rangers last week, I was extremely disheartened to be subjected to continuous military recruitment advertisements.

Many young people, especially those from low-income families, believe what they see in the United States Army's ads and enlist, only to find the reality gravely different. Of course, who would ever sign up if the ads showed the truth? Amputations, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder; rampant alcoholism and domestic violence, skyrocketing suicide rates.

By partnering with Access Sports Media to show these deceptive ads at Fenway Park, the Red Sox are complicit in that deception.

The Red Sox Foundation promotes the "Run to Home Base," which raises money to "provide much needed services to local veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan . . . with combat stress disorders and/or traumatic brain injuries". At the same time, the Red Sox are helping to ensure that more healthy young men and women will eventually need those services.

The constant showing of military propaganda during a baseball game is inappropriate and offensive. I hope the Boston Red Sox will reconsider the decision to run Access Sports Media's US Army recruitment ads during games.

G13: Yankees 3, Red Sox 2

Red Sox - 010 001 000 - 2  9  0
Yankees - 002 100 00x - 3  8  0

Felix Doubront / Ivan Nova

Sizemore, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Nava, RF
Pierzynski, C
Roberts, 3B
Bradley, CF
Herrera, 2B

Dustin Pedroia was in the original lineup, but was then scratched. Gordon Edes (ESPNBoston) tweets: "Sore left wrist for Pedroia, carryover from Carlos Gomez taking him out hard last week"

John Farrell's challenge to a tag play at second base in the eighth inning yesterday was denied, but after the game, confronted with broadcast stills that showed Yankees runner Dean Anna stepping off the base while Xander Bogaerts was applying the tag, MLB officials admitted that the initial call should have been reversed.

Farrell:

We had probably five angles that confirmed his foot was off the base, and when the safe call came back - it certainly raises questions, if they're getting the same feed we are, the consistency of the system. So it makes you scratch your head a little bit on why he was called safe.

Koji Uehara has been unavailable for two games because of tightness in his right shoulder. He is expected to resume his daily throwing program today, including long toss from up to 200 feet.

Boston has used four players in the leadoff spot this season - Daniel Nava (5 games), Jonny Gomes (4), Grady Sizemore (2), Dustin Pedroia (1) - with a combined batting line of .188/.304/.292. Only the #2 and #6 spots have a worse on-base percentage. Having so few runners on base ahead of David Ortiz and Mike Napoli is one big reason the Red Sox have scored an average of only 3.67 runs per game, 11th among the 15 AL teams (44 runs in 12 games).

According to two reports, the Red Sox have offered free agent-to-be Jon Lester a 4/70 contract.

ESPN says: "The last time the Red Sox made the playoffs after having a losing record through 12 games was 1915."

G12: Yankees 7, Red Sox 4

Red Sox - 020 000 200 - 4  7  0
Yankees - 200 202 01x - 7 14  1

John Lackey (5.2-10-6-0-6, 95) gave up four home runs in a game for the first time in his career, as Boston's record dropped to 5-7. Brian McCann hit two of New York's five dongs.

After the Red Sox stranded two men on base in the top of the first, the Yankees pounced. Jacoby Ellsbury bunted for a two-out hit and Carlos Beltran homered to right-center. Boston quickly tied the game at 2-2 when Xander Bogaerts singled to open the second and A.J. Pierzynski golfed a low pitch into the second deck in right.

But McCann and Alfonso Soriano went back-to-back in the fourth, and in the sixth, McCann followed Beltran's double with his second long ball of the afternoon.

John Farrell:

[Lackey] paid for some pitches that were up in the strike zone. A couple of fastballs, one that was to Beltran that he pulled back to the middle, the other to McCann where he hits another out of the ballpark. Warmer weather, the ball was really carrying here today, but still, there were some mistakes up in the strike zone.

Lackey:

I'd say about half and half. The fastball to Beltran, I obviously wish I could have back. McCann's was a slider that didn't do anything. The other two? Playing here.

The Red Sox made some noise in the seventh. Hiroki Kuroda (6.1-6-4-3-5, 97) walked Jackie Bradley on four pitches and, after Dustin Pedroia struck out, he walked Daniel Nava. Former Boston reliever Matt Thornton came in and struck out David Ortiz looking (the deciding pitch was questionable).

With Mike Napoli batting, Bradley and Nava pulled a double steal. Napoli's shirt was then grazed by a pitch, and the bases were loaded. Mike Carp singled to left field for two runs, making it 6-4. With Bogaerts batting (as the potential go-ahead run), Carp was gunned down trying to steal.

Boston went down in order in both the eighth and ninth innings.

Kelly Johnson homered off Burke Badenhop in the eighth to complete the scoring.

John Lackey / Hiroki Kuroda

Pedroia, 2B
Nava, RF
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Carp, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Pierzynski, C
Herrera, 3B
Bradley, CF

Mike Schmidt Is Pro-Robot Ump!

Mike Schmidt:

I think the umpire at home plate should not call balls and strikes. I think they should have a force field over home plate and if the pitcher throws and the ball touches the force field a little bell goes off and it's a strike. That would expand the strike zone to the point where the hitters would now have to swing the ball, which would shorten the game.

The umpire needs to be at home plate for the safe and out calls at home plate and foul balls and fair balls and basically to run the game but we're going to see at some time – my guess is within the next 10 years – that you'll see the balls and strikes just like the line calls in tennis.

You'd think it would be something very easy to do with what they can do electronically in our world today.

Uehara Feeling Tightness In Right Shoulder, Unavailable Last Night

Relax. Breath deeply. It's likely not serious, right?

John Farrell:

Before the game [Friday] Koji felt a little stiffness in his throwing program, so we felt it best to stay away from him. Precautionary. This will be a day-to-day type of thing. We'll check with him tomorrow. ... Based on what Koji's expressed, as far as the stiffness, this doesn't seem to be a one-pitch injury type thing.

Koji Uehara:

Just tightness before the game playing catch. It's difficult to explain, but just tightness. Two years ago, when I was with Texas, I felt the same kind of tightness. ... I can't tell for sure [when I will pitch]. I'd like to be back as soon as possible.

Gordon Edes, ESPNBoston:

That injury [in June 2012] was described as a strained latissimus dorsi, a muscle in his upper back, and he missed 66 games.

Uehara:

It's not something I feel all the time. It's not pain. It's tightness when I throw. I feel it.

Minihane: "A Bold Idea" That Ignores Some Timely Facts

Kirk Minihane of WEEI has offered a bold idea to the chronic problem of overly-long baseball games. Shorten games to seven innings, instead of the traditional nine.

There are too many options on TV, iPad, and phone to expect a kid to be able to sit down and watch a 3½-hour baseball game 162 times a year. P.S.: It's not realistic to expect adults to do the same.

Raise your hand if you've watched a full Red Sox game this season, soup to nuts. My guess is 75 percent of you haven't. Again, that's not a criticism - I don't blame you. Watching a baseball game in 2014 is an investment, it can absolutely feel like work. And that's not how it should be.

If there are other options to watch on TV - and our stereotypical kid decides to watch one of them - then it doesn't matter if a baseball game lasts three innings or 15 innings. He's busy with something else. ... Also, most Red Sox games begin at 7 PM (or earlier). Do baseball-watching kids go to bed before 10:30 PM?

As bolded above, Minihane presents a 3½-hour game as the norm. The Red Sox - with their pitch-taking ways of running up the opposing starter's pitch count - are considered prime offenders of the let's-get-this-over-with-as-soon-as-possible crowd. But how often do Red Sox games go 3:30+?

In 2013, Boston played only 40 games longer than 3:30 - less than one-quarter of the regular season. And 12 of those 40 games went into extra innings. Therefore, the Red Sox played only 28 games during the 2013 season that exceeded Minihane's onerous benchmark of 3½ hours. (Add roughly 30 seconds to each half-inning - bumping the time to 3:40 - and the number of regular season nine-inning games drops to only 11, an average of one every two weeks.)

How many nine-inning games of 3:30+ have the Red Sox played this year? None.

G11: Red Sox 4, Yankees 2

Red Sox - 000 004 000 - 4  7  0
Yankees - 010 000 100 - 2  7  0

Two home runs in the sixth inning - a solo shot by Jonny Gomes and a three-run blast from Grady Sizemore - gave Jon Lester (6.2-6-2-2-6, 113) some rare run support and lifted Boston past CC Sabathia (7-6-4-2-9, 111) and the Yankees.

Sabathia had been cruising along, having little difficulty protecting a 1-0 lead, thanks to a solo dong from Alfonso Soriano. CC needed only seven pitches to set down the Red Sox in the third inning and just six more in the fourth, but then Xander Bogaerts saw eight pitches all by himself to start the fifth. XB walked, but was stranded at second, as Sabathia was forced to throw 24 pitches in the frame.

In the sixth, Gomes drove CC's 1-0 pitch - an 89 mph fastball - to deep left to tie the game at 1-1. After Dustin Pedroia struck out, David Ortiz reached safely when he checked his swing on 0-2 and tapped the ball towards third base. With the New York infield in a shift, there was no one around to field the ball. Mike Napoli grounded a single up the middle (on a 3-0 count), setting the stage for Sabathia's former teammate Sizemore, who hit a bomb to right-center.

Lester gave up a run with two outs in the seventh, after throwing what he (and pitch/fx) thought was an inning-ending strike three to Brian Roberts. Umpire James Hoye called it a ball and Lester ended up walking Roberts (which sent Ichiro Suzuki, who had singled, to second). Kelly Johnson singled Ichiro home, putting the potential tying runs on base. Junichi Tazawa came in and easily retired Mr. Clutch, Derek Jeter, on a fly to right.

Tazawa breezed through the eighth, ending the inning by striking out Brian McCann with a man on first. Edward Mujica pitched a perfect ninth, fanning pinch-hitter Brett Gardner to end the game.

Both the Red Sox and Yankees are 5-6.

Jon Lester / CC Sabathia

Gomes, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Sizemore, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Roberts, 3B
Ross, C
Bradley, CF

DLUWT: The Daily Beast, Book Store Appearances

Robert Birnbaum, The Daily Beast:

Historic pennant races make for compelling narratives, none more fantastic than the fairy tale 2004 Red Sox season. Don't Let Us Win Tonight: An Oral History of the 2004 Boston Red Sox's Impossible Playoff Run by Allan Wood and Bill Nowlin is sure to please the members of the heavily monetizing branding commodity "Red Sox Nation." Memories of David Ortiz's slugging heroics, bourbon fueled pregame rituals, Dave Roberts's stolen base, Curt Shilling's blood stained sock, and Kevin Millar's manic enthusiasm all recall the first and perhaps most profound championship by the long benighted Red Sox.

(Of course, 2004 was the Red Sox 6th World Series title, not their first.)

DLUWT co-author Bill Nowlin will make three Boston-area book store appearances this weekend:

Saturday, April 12, 2014: 4-6 PM
Barnes & Noble
210 Andover Street, Peabody MA
978-573-3261

Sunday, April 13, 2014: 11 AM – 1 PM
Barnes & Noble
82 Providence Highway, Walpole, MA
508-668-1303

Sunday, April 13, 2014: 2:30 PM
Barnes & Noble
96 Derby Street, Hingham, MA
781-749-3319

And if you are anywhere near Mississauga, Ontario, tomorrow, stop by the Spring Literary Festival. I will be there from 1:00 to 4:30 PM.

G10: Yankees 4, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 000 000 100 - 1  4  1
Yankees - 000 220 00x - 4  7  0

Boston managed just four hits for the second consecutive game. Daniel Nava's first home run of the season, leading off the seventh, was the Red Sox's only run. Xander Bogaerts had two singles and David Ortiz doubled. (According to the Red Sox's stat department, Ortiz has now reached base safely in all 23 games he's played against the Yankees since the start of 2012.)

Buchholz (6-7-4-0-6, 94) fared better than his first start - that would not have been difficult to do - but he was still shaky, giving up several loud outs. Only two of the Yankees' four runs were earned.

Third baseman Jonathan Herrera muffed Jacoby Ellsbury's easy ground ball on the infield grass to start the bottom of the fourth. Carlos Beltran found a hole in the shift, singling to right. Brian McCann ripped a hard single down the right field line, scoring Ellsbury. Beltran scored when Alfonzo Soriano grounded into a double play.

Dean Anna hit his first career home run with one out in the sixth. With two down, Derek Jeter drove an ground rule double to right and scored on Ellsbury's opposite field single.

Pineda (6-4-1-2-7, 94) stifled the Red Sox, not allowing a hit until the fifth inning. He struck out two batters in each of the second, third, and fifth innings. David Phelps pitched the final 2.1 innings, retiring all seven batters he faced for the save.

At 5-5, the Yankees moved into a three-way tie (with the Jays and Rays) for first place in the East. The Red Sox are 4-6.

Clay Buchholz / Michael Pineda

Sizemore, LF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Nava, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Pierzynski, C
Bradley, CF
Herrera, 3B

The Red Sox are in the Bronx, for a four-game weekend series against Jacoby Ellsbury and the Yankees. Buchholz hopes to bounce back from a shitty first start of the season, in which he allowed a career-high 13 hits and six runs over 4.1 innings to Milwaukee.

After nine games, Jackie Bradley leads the team in both batting average (.400; 8-for-20) and on-base percentage (.478). ... Bradley is tied with Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia for the team lead in runs (5). ... Pedroia and Mike Napoli lead the Sox with 12 hits. ... Napoli and David Ortiz have each driven in eight runs.

Pineda missed both the 2012 and 2013 seasons because of injury and his recovery therefrom; in his first outing of 2014, he held the Blue Jays to five hits and one run over six innings.

Ellsbury and third baseman Yangervis Solarte lead the MFY with 12 hits. ... Solarte also leads the team in doubles, RBI, OBP, and OPS, and is tied for the team lead in runs. ... Derek Jeter is batting .259 and slugging .296.

            W   L    GB
Blue Jays   5   4   ---
Rays        5   5   0.5
Red Sox     4   5   1.0
Orioles     4   5   1.0
Yankees     4   5   1.0

G9: Red Sox 4, Rangers 2

Rangers - 000 000 110 - 2  5  1
Red Sox - 001 000 03x - 4  4  0

And the Red Sox win two of three during our trip to Boston, thanks to some solid pitching from Peavy (6.2-3-1-4-8, 109) and a big late-inning bomb from David Ortiz.

And one night after hearing some classic Replacements at Fenway, the park's music man (or woman) drops some fuckin Minutemen on the crowd ("Love Dance") during a break in Jonny Gomes's third inning at-bat. Amazing! Who is this mystery Red Sox employee with such fine taste in '80s rock?

Robert Ross / Jake Peavy

G8: Rangers 10, Red Sox 7

Rangers - 005 310 001 - 10 13  0
Red Sox - 000 100 303 -  7 14  0

Highlight of the game: Hearing "Kiss Me On The Bus" while Burke Badenhop was warming up in the third.

Less enjoyable: Watching the Red Sox hit into 17 double plays.

Martin Perez / Felix Doubront

G7: Red Sox 5, Rangers 1

Rangers - 000 100 000 - 1  8  2
Red Sox - 010 100 03x - 5 14  1

Tanner Scheppers / John Lackey

I'm taping an interview with Joe Castiglione at 5:45 this evening and it may air before tonight's game. You can listen to the pre-game here or (I think) MLB audio.

David Ortiz Bobblehead Night!

G6: Brewers 4, Red Sox 0

Brewers - 020 000 110 - 4  9  1
Red Sox - 000 000 000 - 0  9  2

Yovani Gollardo / Jon Lester

G5: Brewers 7, Red Sox 6 (11)

Brewers - 123 000 000 01 - 7 19  2
Red Sox - 023 001 000 00 - 6  7  2

Despite a horrible performance from Clay Buchholz (4.1-13-6-0-3, 72) in his first start of the season - the 13 hits were the most he has ever allowed in one game - the Red Sox were able to match the Brewers run for run over the first ten innings.

But with one out in the 11th, Khris Davis and Logan Schafer hit back-to-back doubles off Burke Badenhop - a ground rule line drive down the right field line and a high fly off the center field wall - to give Milwaukee its margin of victory. Francisco Rodriguez struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning, setting up Mike Napoli, Xander Bogaerts, and Jonny Gomes with his fastball before finishing each hitter off with a changeup.

Milwaukee treated Buchholz like a batting practice pitcher from the very start of the game, with eight of the first 14 batters hitting safely. ... Napoli struck a big blow in the third when he hit a three-run homer to dead center with two outs, cutting the Brewers' lead from 6-2 to 6-5. .... Bogaerts singled, doubled, walked, and scored twice.

This was the first game in Red Sox history in which five different pitchers recorded three or more strikeouts: Buchholz 3, Chris Capuano 4, Brandon Workman 3, Koji Uehara 3, and Junichi Tazawa 3.

Wily Peralta / Clay Buchholz

Sizemore, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Nava, LF
Napoli, DH
Carp, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Pierzynski, C
Middlebrooks, 3B
Bradley, RF

The Scouting Of Xander Bogaerts. What Is Mike Trout's Ceiling?

Xander Bogaerts. From Jorge Arangure, Jr., Sports On Earth:

By the time he became a teenager, Bogaerts had begun to overshadow some of the other players on the island. He played on select teams and participated in tournaments in places like St. Thomas, St Croix, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. Although he always considered his brother to be better, few on the island shared that opinion.

Yet Bogaerts was virtually unknown in the scouting world.

He didn't get noticed by a major league team until he was discovered by a shaggy-haired, unkempt, beach-loving hippie who had spent the day unimpressed at a tryout in Aruba, and then asked one simple question, the defining question in Boston's signing of Bogaerts. It spoke of the inquisitive mind and persistence of the person whom the Red Sox had entrusted to scout faraway destinations in search of hidden gems.

"So," the man asked, after hours of tryouts on a dusty field, "have I seen everybody on the island I need to see?"

Mike Trout. From Tony Blengino, Fangraphs:

The start to Trout’s career is almost unparalleled in modern baseball history. He ranks fourth on the all-time list of players with the most cumulative standard deviations above league average OBP and SLG in their first two years as a regular, behind Babe Ruth, Joe Jackson and Frank Thomas – who were all three years older and more physically mature than Trout when they completed their second seasons as regulars. ...

Where might Trout go from here? ... If he hits his ceiling ... that would put him in the mix with the top three of Barry Bonds, Ted Williams and Babe Ruth for best hitter of all time honors. If he hits the midpoint of those two tracks, he would rank seventh on the all-time list, behind those three plus Cobb, Stan Musial and Rogers Hornsby.

A Banner Decade

G4: Brewers 6, Red Sox 2

Brewers - 020 000 004 - 6 12  1
Red Sox - 011 000 000 - 2  5  1

Marco Estrada / Jake Peavy

Nava, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Carp, LF
Sizemore, CF
Bogaerts, SS
Pierzynski, C
Middlebrooks, 3B

The Red Sox sit alone atop the AL East standings today - at 2-1, they are on pace for 108 wins! - and they come home to receive their 2013 World Series rings.

If you have the MLB Network, check out "High Heat with Chris Russo" at 1 PM. Bill Nowlin, my co-author on "Don't Let Us Win Tonight", will be talking about the book and other good things relating to 2004.

Boston Globe: A Rave Review Of "Don't Let Us Win Tonight"

Colin Fleming, Boston Globe:

Baseball is well suited to the talking head approach to literature, with composite voices crafting a narrative that seems peopled with the very spirits — past and present — that make the game the most rewarding of our sports to discuss. In that regard, "Don't Let Us Win Tonight" by Allan Wood and Bill Nowlin is a modern-day, single-team cousin to the classic 1966 omnibus work "The Glory of Their Times," the key literary effort of the first half of baseball's history. ...

And now [the 2004 Red Sox] have the first important book to document their achievement, efficacy, and, really, folklore. ...

Read this book in some downtown café, then pop out onto the street and encounter a couple of Yankees fans coming your way and you're apt to lower your shoulder and think, "Let's do this!" The sports brigade will be suitably "pumped," in the vernacular, and more than a little surprised. Reading along to testimony of one sports miracle after another, you become dubious that all of this actually could have happened.

G3: Red Sox 4, Orioles 3

Red Sox - 011 101 000 - 4 14  0
Orioles - 000 201 000 - 3  9  0

Eight of the nine Red Sox starters hit safely, with Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz each collecting three hits. Bogaerts also scored two runs. Jackie Bradley and Will Middlebrooks had two hits apiece.

Felix Doubront (5.1-6-3-1-4, 76) was somewhat shaky. Koji Uehara needed only seven pitches to finish the Orioles off in the ninth.

Felix Doubront / Wei-Yin Chen

Gomes, LF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Nava, RF
Middlebrooks, 3B
Ross, C
Bradley Jr., CF

Doubront:

This is a big year for me. I know that and I went into the offseason thinking that I have to be strong mentally and physically and try to be healthy the whole year.

In 19 spring innings, Doubront allowed 30 hits, seven walks, and 15 runs (7.11 ERA).

Lefty Craig Breslow - on the DL with a mild shoulder strain - will pitch for Pawtucket tomorrow and Friday and could be activated by the end of the weekend.

Schadenfreude 175 (A Continuing Series)

Mark Feinsand, Daily News:

Following a half-billion dollar face-lift, the 2014 Yankees were supposed to look much different than the version from a year ago. So far, it's hard to tell the two apart. ...

The Bombers went 0-for-10 with men in scoring position, giving them a meager .111 mark (2-for-18) in their first two games. They struck out 10 times, stranding eight runners for the second night in a row. ...

It's hard to call the third game of a 162-game season a must-win, but getting swept by an Astros team that lost 111 games last season would make for a very long flight to Toronto Thursday night. ...

It looked as though Kuroda picked up right where he left off last season, when he finished with an 0-6 record and 6.56 ERA in his final eight starts.

Joel Sherman, Post:

Where have you gone, David Adams and Ben Francisco?

For all the concentration on the signing of Masahiro Tanaka and the first-game collapse of CC Sabathia, most of the money spent in the offseason and most of the problems through two games are on a Yankees offense that has managed three runs. ...

There have been many culprits in this 0-2 stinker. No one, though, has looked as bad as Alfonso Soriano. He is hitless in eight at-bats, five of which have come with men on base, four with runners in scoring position. He has struck out four times and managed to get just one ball out of the infield.

George A. King III, Post:

Looking at last years' club led the Yankees to spend $283 million this past winter on free agents Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Beltran. They are a combined 5-for-23 (.217) with one extra base hit ...

John Harper, Daily News:

It's only two games, but it's two games against the Astros, the worst team in baseball the last three seasons, and the Yankees have exactly two extra-base hits. ...

Didn't the Yankees spend nearly half a billion dollars over the winter to guarantee a dynamic offense — and assure their fans it wasn't a mistake to let Robinson Cano to flee to Seattle? ...

[I]t was beyond startling to watch Matt Albers, a 31-year-old journeyman righthander come on in the seventh ... and blow away the middle of their lineup as if he were Roger Clemens in his prime. Albers struck out Derek Jeter to end the inning with a runner at second base. Then after allowing a leadoff double to Carlos Beltran, he mowed down Brian McCann, Teixeira and Alfonso Soriano, all of them swinging. ...

Look, there still 160 games to play, but put it this way: if this is the new normal, better brace yourselves.

G2: Red Sox 6, Orioles 2

Red Sox - 002 020 200 - 6 10  1
Orioles - 000 200 000 - 2  6  1

Boston's Big Boppers Bash Birds. Mike Napoli and David Ortiz both hit two-run home runs to power the Red Sox to their first win of the year. Napoli finished the night with four RBI, Dustin Pedroia collected four singles, and John Lackey (6-3-2-1-6, 90) was excellent and economical with his pitches (with the exception of one inning).

Pedroia (6-for-10 in two games) also scored two runs. He was on first with one out in the third inning when Ortiz crushed an inside fastball to deep right field, giving Boston a 2-0 lead.

Lackey was touched for a bloop single to his first batter of the game, but then he retired 11 in a row, throwing only 35 pitches in the first three innings. With two outs in the fourth, Lackey hit his only rough patch of the night, walking Chris Davis on four pitches and surrendering an opposite-field dong to Nelson Cruz. (After Matt Wieters singled, Lackey retired the next seven Orioles. His pitches-by-inning: 8-11-16 35-13-7 16.)

Ubaldo Jimenez (6-5-4-3-6, 96) hit Daniel Nava with a pitch to open the fifth. Jimenez got the next two hitters, and then Napoli cracked a 0-2 pitch over the wall in dead center, putting the Red Sox back on top, 4-2. In the seventh, Nava and Pedroia each singled with one out; a throwing error on FY's hit put runners on second and third. After Ortiz was walked intentionally, Napoli grounded a two-run single into left field

Edward Mujica made his Red Sox debut in the seventh, striking out Cruz on three pitches and allowing a two-out single to J.J. Hardy. Junichi Tazawa gave up a leadoff single in the eighth before setting down the next three men. Koji Uehara was as sharp as ever in the ninth, throwing 14 strikes in 18 pitches. Davis reached on a Napoli error to start the frame. Uehara recorded two quick outs (on five pitches) before Hardy reached on an infield hit to shortstop. Koji got Ryan Flaherty to ground out 3-1 to end the game.

John Lackey / Ubaldo Jimenez

Nava, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Gomes, LF
Sizemore, CF
Bogaerts, SS
Pierzynski, C
Middlebrooks, 3B

Schadenfreude 174 (A Continuing Series)

George A. King III, Post:

And you thought ObamaCare got off to a miserable start.

From CC Sabathia getting spanked by the light-hitting Astros, to the ball being carelessly thrown away by Brian McCann and Mark Teixeira, to Carlos Beltran committing a fielding error and third baseman Kelly Johnson screening Derek Jeter on a ground ball, the Yankees laid a rotten Opening Day egg Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park. ...

Sabathia gave up four runs in the first and two in the second when Jesus Guzman and L.J. Hoes homered to power perhaps the worst team in the majors to a 6-2 victory before 42,117. ...

Scott Feldman, a journeyman right-hander, toyed with the revamped Yankees lineup that Jacoby Ellsbury, McCann and Beltran are supposed to breathe life into and help reduce the sting of Robinson Cano leaving The Bronx for Seattle.

The trio went 2-for-12 and the hits were singles.

Mark Feinsand, Daily News:

At least Derek Jeter never has to experience one of CC Sabathia's Opening Day starts again.

Sabathia continued his trend of sloppy season debuts, getting rocked in the first two innings as the Astros cruised to a 6-2 win over the Yankees to kick off the Captain's final season. ...

In six career Opening Day starts with the Yankees, he's now 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA.

Andrew Marchand, ESPNNewYork:

In one of the uglier Opening Days in franchise history, slim CC Sabathia pitched awfully, while Derek Jeter, in his final season, took a fastball off his wrist in the first inning. ...

Sabathia showed some worrisome signs right from the start. He could barely touch 90 mph, which makes being precise a priority. He was not accurate enough. ...

After two innings, Sabathia and the Yankees were down 6-0. Former Yankees catcher and current YES analyst John Flaherty went to Twitter to describe what everyone was thinking.

Cc has nothing!!
— John Flaherty (@flash17yes) April 1, 2014

Mike Vaccaro, Post:

[T]he Astros used CC for BP, teeing off on fastballs that struggled to hit 88 on the gun, clobbering changeups that checked in at 83, all of them belt-high and inviting, most of the baseballs hit with a lot more velocity than they were thrown. ...

[A]n unsettling 6-2 loss to a team that lost 111 games last year (including their last 15 straight) and has dropped 324 games the last three years.

Note Re "Don't Let Us Win Tonight"

If you are curious about reviews of "Don't Let Us Win Tonight" or possible author appearances or anything to do with the book, really, you should follow the Twitter feed and Facebook page. While I will certainly post news about the book here, it may not be everything.

On Friday, April 4, my co-author, Bill Nowlin, will be on Chris Russo's "High Heat" (MLB Network). Considering the Mad Dog's epic reaction the day after the Red Sox clinched the 2004 pennant, I'm hoping for at least a little Yankee schadenfreude. High Heat is on at 1 PM; the Red Sox's home opener against the Brewers begins at 2 PM.

Both Bill and I will be at the first BoSox Club luncheon of the season on Tuesday, April 8, at the Dedham Hilton. Check here for ticket availability.

"Jeter Month"

Wish Fire Joe Morgan was still around to comment on various articles pertaining to the upcoming retirement of Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter? ... (Oh, you hadn't heard that Jeter was retiring at the end of this season? Well, he is.)

Then click on over to Fire Jay Mariotti, where "Jeter Month" has just (sadly) ended:

February 25, 2014
Derek Jeter Derek Jeter Derek Jeter Derek Jeter Derek Jeter

March 3, 2014
THE PEOPLE DEMAND MORE JETER COVERAGE

March 6, 2014
This Jeter post goes out to all the STATS NERDS and HATERS out there

March 11, 2014
Local sports journalism is the worst

March 16, 2014
Jeter Month Continues

March 26, 2014
Jeter Month: In Defense of Jeter

March 30, 2014
The Swan Song of Jeter Month: A Paean to The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived

G1: Orioles 2, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 000 100 000 - 1  9  0
Orioles - 010 000 10x - 2  6  0

Nelson Cruz lined Jon Lester's first pitch of the seventh inning - and the lefty's 93rd of the afternoon - into the left field seats, snapping a 1-1 tie. And although the Red Sox put two runners on base in both the eighth and ninth innings, they dropped the season's first game. (Cruz also walked and scored the Orioles' first run.)

Mike Napoli walked to begin the Boston eighth inning against Evan Meek. Napoli took second on Mike Carp's groundout to first and then was pulled for pinch-runner Jackie Bradley. Grady Sizemore - who singled in the second and homered to right in the fourth in his first major league game since September 2011 - struck out. Xander Bogaerts walked. Reliever Brian Matusz got ahead of A.J. Pierzynski 0-2 and got the Red Sox catcher to ground back to the mound.

Tommy Hunter, newly anointed closer for the Orioles, began the ninth inning by plunking Will Middlebrooks with a 1-1 pitch. After Daniel Nava popped to third (ending an 0-for-5 day at the top of the lineup), Dustin Pedroia lined a single to center. With the potential tying run at second, David Ortiz flied to left and Bradley was called out on strikes.

Boston left 12 men on base and was 0-for-10 with RATS.

Despite the score looking like a pitchers' duel, Lester (7-6-2-1-8, 104) and Chris Tillman (5-7-1-1-4, 104) spent a lot of time working out of the stretch. In the 12 half-innings pitched by the starters, there was only one 1-2-3 inning (Lester's fifth).

Boston pushed Tillman around a bit in the second, as Carp and Sizemore led off with singles. But Bogaerts flied to deep left, Pierzynski flied to deep center, and Middlebrooks was caught looking. With two outs in the third, Ortiz singled and Napoli doubled, but Carp ended the threat by striking out.

Lester got ahead of Cruz 0-2 to start the Baltimore second, but ended up walking him on eight pitches. Cruz took third on Matt Wieters's flare over shortstop, and scored on an unusual 4-3-6 double play. After that, Lester did not allow an Orioles runner past first base until Cruz's dong to kick off the seventh. Cruz improved his career average against Lester to .458 (11-for-24).

Pedroia's two singles meant that FY has hit in his first eight consecutive Opening Day games, something no Red Sox player has done for at least 100 years.

The Red Sox are off tomorrow. John Lackey gets the start on Wednesday night.

Jon Lester / Chris Tillman

Nava, LF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Carp, LF
Sizemore, CF
Bogaerts, SS
Pierzynski, C
Middlebrooks, 3B

Consecutive Red Sox Opening Day Starts

Pedro Martinez     7  (1998-2004)
Roger Clemens      7  (1988-1994)
Dennis Eckersley   5  (1979-1983)
Cy Young           5  (1904-1908)
Jon Lester         4  (2011-2014)
Six tied with 3, including Babe Ruth

Dustin Pedroia has hit safely in all seven of his career openers (2007-13): .393, 11-for-28. In the last 100 years, no Red Sox player has hit safely in his first eight career Opening Day games. (Which seems to indicate that it has been done before, but the Red Sox Game Notes give no additional information.)

Will Middlebrooks is getting used to wearing contact lenses on the field. ... Shane Victorino had an MRI on his right hamstring yesterday and has been placed on the disabled list; Jackie Bradley, Jr. was called up. ... The 2004 Red Sox also began the season in Baltimore. They lost their first game, 7-2.

A journey of 162+ games begins with a single pitch...

2014 W-L Contest Entries

Entries in the 2014 W-L contest.

                 W-L        XB OPS
  
Laura K        103-59        .700
  
Tim L           98-64        .794
  
Paul R          96-66        .796
Dan C           96-66        .777
  
Bryan C         95-67        .781
James           95-67        .773
John Q          95-67        .742
  
Rick F          94-68        .940
Sean M          94-68        .900
Matthew K       94-68        .831
Jeff R          94-68        .809
Tom D           94-68        .797
Patrick K       94-68        .781
Ian R           94-68        .745
David F         94-68        .743
Rich G          94-68        .721
  
Franco B        93-69        .9369
Hillel G        93-69        .862
Brett H         93-69        .850
Philip H        93-69        .844
Chuck C         93-69        .7777
Jeffrey C       93-69        .684
  
Jeffrey M       92-70        .840
Jacob L         92-70        .799 
Mike K          92-70        .780
Nick R          92-70        .729
Kathryn L       92-70        .702
  
M Berry         91-71        .751
  
Brad R          90-72        .865
Timothy C       90-72        .828
Brian G         90-72        .790
Jeffrey Am      90-72        .750
  
Ron W           89-73        .898
Drew B          89-73        .845
Tim R           89-73        .791
Jeffrey Ab      89-73        .773
Andrew B        89-73        .721
  
Paul H          88-74        .888
Alan C          88-74        .699

Jared T         82-80        .799

My entry: 93-69, .800.

ESPN: 30 of 44 Experts Pick NL To Win World Series

ESPN's 44 experts have posted their picks:

AL East

Rays        25
Red Sox     14
Yankees      3
Orioles      2
Blue Jays    0

AL Pennant

Tigers      16
Rays        15
Red Sox      5
Rangers      2
Yankees      2
Orioles      1
A's          1
Cleveland    1
Royals       1

World Series

Nationals   12
Dodgers     11
Cardinals    7
Rays         6
Tigers       5
Red Sox      2
Cleveland    1

Picking Red Sox to win AL Pennant: Bill Baer, Marty Bernoski, Mark Simon, Joe McDonald, Peter Pascarelli

Picking Red Sox to win World Series: Joe McDonald, Peter Pascarelli

AL MVP

Trout       29
Cabrera      6
Longoria     2
Beltre       2
Pedroia      1
Davis        1
Hosmer       1

AL Cy Young

Darvish     21
Price        5
Verlander    5
Hernandez    3
Lester       2
Sanchez      2
Masterson    1
Sale         1
Moore        1
Cobb         1

AL Rookie

Masahiro Tanaka   14
Xander Bogaerts   13
Jose Abreu        11
Yordano Ventura    2
Francisco Lindor   1
Taijuan Walker     1

Umpires Call 1 Out Of Every 7 Non-Swinging Pitches Incorrectly

Brayden King, New York Times:

After analyzing more than 700,000 pitches thrown during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, we found that umpires frequently made errors behind the plate — about 14 percent of non-swinging pitches were called erroneously.

Some of those errors occurred in fairly predictable ways. We found, for example, that umpires tended to favor the home team by expanding the strike zone, calling a strike when the pitch was actually a ball 13.3 percent of the time for home team pitchers versus 12.7 percent of the time for visitors.

Other errors were more surprising. Contrary to the expectation (or hope) that umpires would be more accurate in important situations, we found that they were, in fact, more likely to make mistakes when the game was on the line. For example, our analyses suggest that umpires were 13 percent more likely to miss an actual strike in the bottom of the ninth inning of a tie game than in the top of the first inning, on the first pitch.

We also found that the pitch count had an influence over the umpire's perception of a pitch. When the count was 3-0, and another ball would end the at-bat, the umpires mistakenly called a strike 18.6 percent of the time, compared with a 14.7 percent error rate when the count was 0-0. But when the count was 0-2, with another strike yielding a strikeout, the umpires expanded the strike zone only 7.3 percent of the time, half the error rate for 0-0. The umpires, in other words, appeared biased against ending an at-bat. ...

Baseball insiders have long suspected what our research confirms: that umpires tend to make errors in ways that favor players who have established themselves at the top of the game's status hierarchy. ...

Technologically, Major League Baseball is in a position, thanks to its high-speed camera system, to enforce a completely accurate, uniform strike zone. The question is whether we, as fans, want our games to be fair and just, or whether we are compelled to watch the game because it mimics the real world, warts and all.

Robots! Now!

More Predictions: Fangraphs, SB Nation, Schoenfield, NY Times

Fangraphs:

AL Division Winners
East: Boston (16), Tampa Bay (12), Baltimore (2), New York (1), Toronto (0)
Central: Detroit (21), Cleveland (8), Kansas City (2), Minnesota (0), Chicago (0)
West: Oakland (19), Anaheim (8), Texas (4), Seattle (0), Houston (0)

Number of Fangraphs authors who voted for each team to make the postseason, either through the division or the wild card:

Boston:     29 of 31
Oakland:    26
Detroit:    26
Tampa Bay:  24
Anaheim:    12
Cleveland:  11
Texas:       8
New York:    8
Kansas City: 6
Baltimore:   4
Seattle:     1
Toronto:     0
Minnesota:   0
Chicago:     0
Houston:     0

The National League predictions are here.

SB Nation:

AL East
Rays
Red Sox
Orioles
Yankees
Blue Jays

AL MVP: Mike Trout
AL Cy Young: Yu Darvish
AL Rookie: Jose Dariel Abreu
AL WC: A's over Red Sox
ALCS: Rays over A's
NLCS: Cardinals over Dodgers
World Series: Cardinals over Rays

David Schoenfield, ESPN:

AL East

Rays       93-69 
Red Sox    91-71 
Orioles    84-78
Yankees    84-78
Blue Jays  78-84

AL MVP: Mike Trout (Pedroia 5th)
AL Cy Young: David Price
AL Rookie: Masahiro Tanaka (Bogaerts 2nd)

World Series: Rays over Dodgers in 7.

Tyler Kepner, New York Times:

AL East
Orioles
Rays*
Yankees
Red Sox
Blue Jays

MVP: Mike Trout
Cy Young: Chris Sale
Rookie: Masahiro Tanaka
ALCS: Orioles over Rays
World Series: Cardinals over Orioles

The Bullpen - And Roster - Is Set

The Opening Day bullpen:

Koji Uehara
Junichi Tazawa
Andrew Miller
Edward Mujica
Burke Badenhop
Chris Capuano
Brandon Workman

(Craig Breslow and Steven Wright begin the season on the disabled list.)

The rest of the roster:

SP: Jon Lester, John Lackey, Felix Doubront, Jake Peavy, Clay Buchholz

DH: David Ortiz

C: A.J. Pierzynski, David Ross

INF: Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts, Will Middlebrooks, Jonathan Herrera

OF: Daniel Nava, Grady Sizemore, Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, Mike Carp

Fun Fact: Bogaerts is the youngest Red Sox Opening Day shortstop (21 years, 181 days) since Everett Scott (21 years, 146 days) in 1914.

The Red Sox finish their spring training schedule today with a game against the Twins. They are off tomorrow and begin the season on Monday afternoon in Baltimore.

2014 W-L Contest Reminder

Opening Day is only two days away, so here's a reminder to enter this year's Red Sox W-L Contest.

Correctly guess Boston's 2014 regular season record and win a few prizes, including a copy of Don't Let Us Win Tonight, autographed by both authors.

Contest entries must be emailed to me and include the following two items:

1. Predicted 2014 W-L record
2. Tiebreaker: Xander Bogaerts's OPS (OBP+SLG)

W-L guesses must be exact. Tiebreaker winner will be the closest guess, either over or under.

Slightly Extended Deadline: Monday, March 31, 9:00 AM.

Tigers' Miguel Cabrera Signs 8/248 Extension

Good lord.

Add in the remaining two seasons on Cabrera's current deal with the eight-year extension, and it qualifies for the largest contract in baseball history, reportedly $292 million for the next 10 seasons. The deal includes vesting options for 2024 and '25 at $30 million each, which would be triggered if Cabrera finishes in the top 10 in American League MVP Award voting the previous seasons.

It is hard to truly fathom how mind-numbingly horrible that deal is for the Tigers. Cabrera turns 31 on April 18.

***

And on the heels of that comes news that Anaheim's Mike Trout has signed a 6/145 deal, buying out three years of arbitration and three years of free agency. And Trout will be only 29 when that deal runs out.

Sizemore Is Center Fielder, Bradley Optioned To Pawtucket

Grady Sizemore was named the Red Sox's Opening Day center fielder - and Jackie Bradley, Jr. was optioned to Pawtucket.

Sizemore was a pleasant surprise in camp this spring, hitting .333 and looking sharp in the outfield. John Farrell said that when the season begins, Sizemore would bat either fifth or sixth, not in the leadoff spot.

Sizemore:

After going through what I've gone through (seven surgeries since 2009), all the negative things that have happened, it's a long time since I've had positive news, a long time since I've been able to play, to feel this good in this setting, to look forward to coming to the ballpark ...

Bradley batted only .158 and struck out a team-high 17 times.

Back to work. Back to work. ... It's humbling. I've always known that, though. I don't really get too caught up in the highs, I don't get too caught up in the lows. I try to stay in the happy medium.

Farrell says Daniel Nava will be the team's primary leadoff man. ... In an announcement that took no one by surprise, Jon Lester was named the Opening Day starter. It's Lester's fourth straight OD start.

ESPN Picks Red Sox To Win AL East

ESPN's MLB Preview is here.

AL East

Red Sox    90-72  ---
Rays       89-73    1
Yankees    85-77    5
Orioles    82-80    8
Blue Jays  77-85   13

On the Red Sox:

Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN: Turning the page on Boston's 2013 championship and refocusing for 2014 seems completely reflexive for the Red Sox players, given that a strength of Dustin Pedroia, Mike Napoli et al is to focus on each pitch in each at-bat in each game. They're ready for the next challenge.

David Schoenfield @dschoenfield: The Red Sox led the majors in runs scored in 2013, scoring 57 more runs than the Tigers, but you have to wonder if they will have that caliber of attack again. They must replace Jacoby Ellsbury's offense in center field, whether from Jackie Bradley Jr. or Grady Sizemore, who hasn't played a full season since 2008, and hope that 38-year-old David Ortiz can have another big season and that rookie Xander Bogaerts lives up to the hype. In the rotation, Clay Buchholz was stellar when on the mound and John Lackey had his best season in years. Can they be that effective again? Closer Koji Uehara had one of the most dominant relief seasons ever but has never had completely healthy back-to-back seasons in the majors. Still, Boston's depth in the lineup, bullpen and rotation makes it a solid favorite to return to the postseason.

AL Central: Tigers by 8 over Royals
AL West: A's and Rangers tied, 2 ahead of Angels
NL East: Nationals by 5 over Atlanta
NL Central: Cardinals by 7 over Pirates
NL West: Dodgers by 9 over Giants

ESPN is posting its individual predictions on Sunday.

SI 2014: Red Sox (92 Wins) Behind Rays (95)

Sports Illustrated's 2014 Baseball Issue is out:

AL East

Rays       95-67  ---
Red Sox    92-70    3
Yankees    82-80   13
Orioles    78-84   17
Blue Jays  73-89   22

AL Central: Tigers by 4 over Royals
AL West: A's by 4 over Rangers
NL East: Nationals by 12 over Atlanta
NL Central: Cardinals by 5 over Reds
NL West: Dodgers by 7 over Giants

MVPs: Mike Trout; Bryce Harper
Cy Youngs: Yu Darvish; Clayton Kershaw
Rookies: Xander Bogaerts; Billy Hamilton

AL WC: Red Sox over Rangers
ALDS: Rays over Red Sox; A's over Tigers
ALCS: A's over Rays
World Series: Nationals over A's

SI says the Red Sox are baseball's 6th-best team, 3rd-best in the AL.

Fortune: Jeter Is 11th Greatest Leader In The World

It's real.

Utica Observer-Dispatch: "Relive The Baseball Party Of A Generation"

Don't Let Us Win Tonight has received its first review!

Don Laible of the Utica Observer-Dispatch spoke with both Bill and me and posted his story today:

What makes Don't Let Us Win Tonight so captivating is how meticulously Wood and Nowlin walk readers through the divisional series, league championship series, the Series, and of course, the celebration. The playmakers and those associated with the Red Sox are telling the story. ...

Think of a SportsCenter program, loaded from commercial break to commercial break with quotes and game updates from the divisional series to the World Series four-game sweep of St. Louis, now you know what you're getting with Don't Let Us Win Tonight. ...

You're invited to relive the baseball party of a generation, all over again, in the pages of Don't Let Us Win Tonight.

Ortiz Agrees To Extension For 2015, Club Options For 2016-17

David Ortiz has very likely signed the final contract of his remarkable career.

John Farrell:

It looks like he's going to finish his career with the Red Sox. It's amazing to me that he performs at the level he does. He's critical to our offense nightly. ... You walk by and he's got a group around him. When he speaks, people listen. He's had so much success and a set of experiences that players look for him as a sounding board and to gain confidence. He walks in and all eyes go to him.

John Henry:

It is difficult to describe David's contributions to our city both on the field and off the field, and we are so proud to have this ambassador of our game with us as he continues on this road to Cooperstown.

Gordon Edes posted the details on the contract extension:

2015: $16 million

2016: A $10m club option vests at:
425 PAs: $11m
475 PAs: $12m
525 PAs: $13m
550 PAs: $14m
575 PAs: $15m
600 PAs: $16m

2017: Straight club option (no vest) at $10m that escalates at the same levels as 2016.

Possible Game Thread? Yankees at Red Sox, 7 PM

If anyone is watching tonight's Red Sox-Yankees game and wants to thread, come back here at 7 PM.

Tony Blengino of Fangraphs calls the Red Sox the "most interesting" AL contender:

The major league club is talented throughout, with young talent sprinkled around a core of proven but ever-motivated veterans. ... When the inevitable roadblocks present themselves after the season begins, their combination of minor league strength and financial power and flexibility should still give them the ability to be squarely in the conversation for the AL pennant. They aren't going away anytime soon.

Eno Sarris tells some incredibly uncomfortable stories about finding his way as an interviewer in a major league clubhouse. ... Tom Ruane of Retrosheet recaps some of the highlights from the 1914-1919 seasons. ... Joe Posnanski examines the myth of Louis Sockalexis and the naming of Cleveland's baseball team.

Former pitcher Jack McDowell plays the guitar - and likes R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck:

When I really started getting into guitar seriously and learning song structure, the early R.E.M. records were a great basis because there wasn't a lot of overdubbing - it was just one guitar part and him playing the song. You could really tune in on what he was doing, His arpeggio style filled out the songs, and that was really how I learned a lot of what I do. ... If I had to rank [their albums], I would go "Lifes Rich Pageant," "Murmur," and then the rest.

Same here. With "Fables of the Reconstruction", "New Adventures in Hi-Fi" and "Reckoning" (or "Chronic Town") rounding out the Top 5.

So ... Spring Training

The Red Sox are in spring training - ready to defend their third World Series title in 10 years - and I have posted next to nothing about it.

While I've read random articles about what is going on in the last month, I have not been following all that closely. (Here is a look at the likely roster.)

What this lack of interest means for the regular season, if anything, I have no idea. I'm pretty sure that once the games begin, I'll be back in the blogging groove (such as it is).

Xander says Opening Day is two weeks away!

Keri, On Red Sox: "Moneyball ... But With Money"

Jonah Keri, Grantland:

If almost everything went wrong for Boston in 2012, then almost everything went right in 2013. The Red Sox can hope physical therapy turns this team into baseball's version of the Steve Nash–Grant Hill Phoenix Suns, who enjoyed extraordinary team health despite carrying multiple injury-prone players. They can hope the bench keeps producing, the next generation of young power pitchers clicks, and the position prospects fulfill their potential. But it’s no sure thing.

What is a sure thing, however, is that even if Boston fails to repeat this year, the franchise is in good hands. Instead of settling for a stars-and-scrubs roster, this team is putting thought into every little detail that goes into building a winner. The Red Sox are winning with money, and with Moneyball.

Joel Sherman, Post:

In the here and now, Mark Teixeira, Brian Roberts and Derek Jeter are red-flag injury risks and Kelly Johnson is a neophyte third baseman. There is arguably no greater risk-reward infield in the whole sport than the Yankees'. They can have a high-production unit or a high-wire disaster.

No matter the result, the Yankees are looking at a renovation for next season. ... [But] the Yankees simply have no answers coming.

"Call The Count": A Horrible Idea

At the Red Sox spring training game yesterday, the public address man announced each pitch as either a ball or a strike, and then announced the updated count. After. Every. Pitch. Could the team have come up with a worse idea than "Call The Count"?

The Globe reported that team president Larry Lucchino first raised the idea more than a year ago.

Charles Steinberg, executive vice president of the Red Sox:

It's an idea that people have been debating about at Fenway Park for more than a year. We figured, instead of continuing to debate about it in the abstract, let's use our spring training testing ground to put it into practice. ... The premise of the idea is the count is so germane to the outcome of the at-bat, and there's a greater emphasis on that right now by fans than there used to be. The unintended benefit that we saw today is that in our iPhone world, where your eyes are focusing on e-mails and texts, hearing the pitch and the count keep you posted and maybe your eyes go back up to the game when you hear it's a full count. The worry we had going into it was whether an announcer would be intrusive into the ambiance that you like to have.

Anyone at the ball park who is curious about the count only has to look at one of several scoreboards around the park. Or, you know, simply pay attention to the game. Perhaps reading and sending emails and texts can wait until the half-inning is over. If not, then perhaps you don't really care all that deeply about the progress of the game.

John Lackey, who made his first appearance of the spring in the game, was not distracted by the additional noise, but added:

That's a bad idea.

John Farrell:

Certainly different in the atmosphere of the ballpark. Other than that, I really don't have any comment.

Torey Lovullo:

I'm very traditional and it was a little bit different from what we're used to.

Peter Abraham, Globe:

People can decide what they care about and if they care about the count, they can turn their heads an inch and look at the scoreboard. Games are too noisy as it is. We need fewer distractions at the ballpark, not more.

Michael Silverman, Herald:

It was fair to say that players, who did not want to speak publicly about it, did not consider the experiment a success.

The Red Sox should be cutting out distractions and unnecessary noise from games, not adding to the irritating cacophony. Stop the commercials between innings. Stop the excessive music (which, to cite only one example, has completely ruined the joy of watching batting practice). Pare the intrusions down to the absolutely essential. We come to the park to watch the game. Let us focus on the game.

Everyone Loves A Contest #15

With Opening Day exactly three weeks away (March 31), it's time for this year's Red Sox W-L Contest!

Correctly guess Boston's 2014 regular season record and win a copy of Don't Let Us Win Tonight, autographed by both authors. (Of course, you should be buying a copy of the book this spring, so I'll come up with a second prize, too.)

Contest entries must be emailed to me and include the following two items:

1. Predicted 2014 W-L record
2. Tiebreaker: Xander Bogaerts's OPS (OBP+SLG)

W-L guesses must be exact. Tiebreaker winner will be the closest guess, either over or under.

Deadline: Sunday, March 30, 11:59 PM.

Henry To Marlins: Drop Dead

Red Sox President John Henry responded this afternoon to the Marlins' spring training lineup 'outrage':

Grantland: Red Sox Now In The "Post-Nonsense Era"

Charles Pierce, Grantland:

If the 2004 championship was the end to 86 years of frustration, heartbreak, and noxious self-regard, and the 2007 championship was a validation of the new era, the 2013 championship was a nice little semi-fluky lagniappe that laid to rest forever all the cosmic talk of cosmic curses ...

What is left is pure normality. That will be the lasting legacy of the 2013 champions: Boston was a well-constructed baseball team ... unburdened by history. It did not have the deadweight of decades hanging around its neck. It was as loose as the 2004 team was and, when it had to be, it was as coldly efficient as the 2007 bunch. ...

[2013] was the first Red Sox championship of the Post-Nonsense Era.

"Don't Let Us Win Tonight" - Back Cover

At least one person received her copy of Don't Let Us Win Tonight this afternoon!

For everyone else, here's the book's back cover: