Pedey was on the WEEI today as part of his weekly "Laser Show" segment and the Full Count blog pulled this snippit about Jacoby Ellsbury:
On the subject of Jacoby Ellsbury, who was criticized by fans in a 2010 season that was derailed by a rib injury, Pedroia said the outfielder is misunderstood and defended his quiet demeanor.
“He was hurt. Jacoby wants to win more than anybody,” Pedroia said. “Just because he doesn’t ·sit in front of his locker, answer questions and talk trash and act stupid like I do, he’s a great guy and wants to win.
“Jacoby goes out there and plays hard. Look at how he got hurt. He’s flying to a ball in foul territory, and he goes full-speed and lays out and Adrian Beltre’s knee goes through his ribs. I don’t think that’s a guy that wants to be traded and is playing for himself or holding out for the last dollar. ·That’s not that guy.”
I wanted to share this because a) I'm a big Ellsbury fan, and b) I think he got a bad rap in 2010, and apparently, so does Dustin.The Sox added Carl Crawford to the outfield this offseason, so I don't blame anyone for wondering if Ellsbury's days in Boston are numbered. Afterall, how many left-handed speedsters do you need in one lineup?
But let's give it a rest with the "Ellsbury's got no heart" crap. Okay?
The kid broke multiple ribs, tried to come back, and made it worse. Maybe he didn't handle the media all that well, but that has nothing to do with his heart.
Bottom Line: I expect Ellsbury to go toe-to-toe with Crawford in every offensive category, save for HRs, in 2011. And if that results in two guys with .300 averages, 90+ runs and 40+ steals... I doubt we'll hear much complaining from the peanut gallery.
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Fenway Park
America’s Most Beloved Ballpark
4 Yawkey Way
“A lyric little bandbox of a ball park”
Home of the Green Monster
The oldest ballpark in the major leagues
Whatever you want to call it, there is just something about the home of the Red Sox that warms the heart and sparks the imagination. Maybe it’s that peculiar shade of green, crazy wall, unique shape, or the legends that have played there. But whatever it is, Fenway Park is more than just the average place to play baseball. It is no coincidence that Fenway was featured in Field of Dreams, arguably one of the most emotionally stirring movies ever made. Is there any place on the planet that speaks to the timelessness of America’s pastime more than Fenway? I think not.
When I finally made my first pilgrimage to Fenway I was nervous, excited, and nearly speechless. On the morning of the game we took a tour. Much to my amazement we got to walk on the warning track in front of the Monster! It was all I could do not to cry like a Miss America contest winner. My mother suggested I steal some gravel and I did. At the game that night it rained lightly, but it didn’t bother me sitting in Grandstand 6 row 12 seat 2 since I was covered, not that I would have noticed anyway. Beckett pitched, Youkilis homered, Papelbon came in to save, and the Red Sox beat the Orioles 6-4. I sang “Sweet Caroline,” “Shipping Up to Boston,” and “Dirty Water” with more glee than I’d sung anything before.
After my trip I had time to reflect on what I’d learned about the ball park Bill Lee once called “a shrine.” The tour was great for teaching me many facts that I hadn’t known. The lone red seat in a sea of green marks the distance of the longest home run which was hit by Ted Williams. The man that got hit by the ball was a Yankee fan in town for business. (God’s way of knocking some sense into him perhaps?) If a ball were to get stuck in the ladder on the Green Monster (left over from the days before the Monster seats) it would be a ground-rule triple, the only such rule in the majors. The initials of Thomas A. Yawkey and his wife Jean are written in Morse code on the scoreboard.
Fenway’s 100th season (built in 1912, it is 99 years old) will begin on April 8. I hope to make it back again this season and discover more about the best ball park. Who knows what memorable moments will unfold and add the the park’s charm and history.
Play Ball! no comments
Our good friends at the Kevin Youkilis Hits For Kids organization are hosting a really cool event on February 3rd. It's called Not Your Average Idol.
The event will include live performances from local and national artists, comedians, and athletes, along with food and drinks provided by some of Boston's best.
Join us as we launch Youk's Kids new program, Athletes for Heroes which will support the children of fallen or injured heroes.
To purchase your tickets now, please visit www.youkskids.org or call 617-964-9685.
Auction Sneek Preview:
RV Trip with Youk to Harpoon Brewery in Vermont
Exclusive 5 day getaway to the Domincan
Four tickets to a three game Red Sox vs. Yankees series
and a weekend stay at Hotel Commonwealth
4th Row seats to the February 10th Celtics vs. Lakers game
A personal stylist for 6 months (restrictions apply)
An autographed, authentic Tom Brady jersey
An appearance of the World Series trophy at your child's birthday party
One of a kind experiences with some of Boston's most recognized athletes
Those are some sweet prizes, so I hope to see you guys at the event! My peeps on the inside tell me there will be plenty of shenanigans mixed in with the talent... here's hoping we see our own Boston-version of William Hung!
no commentsOutside of my window as I write the thermometer shows that we have no temperature in St. Paul. None. It is 0 degrees. The dog looked at me like I have a hole in my head when I asked her if she needs to go out. Kandi would rather buckle up holding it than venture outside in this craziness. And the sad thing is that it hasn’t really gotten cold yet…
One thing sure to warm hearts is the e-mail that millions of us across Red Sox Nation received this afternoon: Spring training tickets go on sale this Saturday! Sure, we can’t all take off and head down to Ft. Meyers but the point is that on Sunday, February 28 baseball is back (earlier if you count the game against BC)! The first three games of the pre-season will be against Spring training cross-town rival Minnesota Twins and will consist mostly of guys wearing goofy numbers that we’ll never see in June at Fenway, but it means that days will be getting longer, the sun will be getting higher in the sky and I’ll start having degrees again.
I’ve never made the pilgrimage to Ft. Meyers to see our boys shake off the rust and cobwebs. Growing up I would watch every inning of every game that Channel 38 would cover from Chain O’ Lakes Park in Winter Haven, FL. For you younger folks, that’s where the Sox set up training camp for years prior to the move to Ft. Meyers in 1992. An annual happening was what theme song was going to be used by the station for the coming season. The one that stuck with me:
Take your shoes off,
Put your feet up,
And relax with the Boston Red Sox…
I could go on, but that jingle and the American classic:
Schaeffer
Is the
One beer to have,
When you’re having more than one!
Scream Sox season to me.
There was no SportsCenter back in the 1970s. No 24-hour news cycle, Internet, Twitter or anything else. You watched the games on 38 and for interviews and analysis you watched the news at 6 and 11. Getting to a Globe or Herald in the morning to get Peter Gammons’ and Will McDonough’s thoughts on the coming season was imperative if you were going to hold you own discussing the season on the school bus. Rather than lament the loss of these days, as nostalgic as they are, I’m thrilled that they are gone! As a Nation ex-pat, ESPN, the Internet and the MLB App for iPhone are what keep me in touch with my beloved Red Sox. Thanks to the MLB App, I can listen to the Sox radio feed for every game of the season and for a couple of extra shekels I can dial up Jerry and Don and watch the game as well!
Until February 28th I’ll shudder and shiver away with Kandi and live vicariously through you all that will make the trip to Ft. Meyers and hopefully relay your stories to us here at The Bottom Line!
Please welcome Michele who will be writing for us from deep behind enemy lines in New York. She may live in New York, but don't hold it against her, she's a hardcore Sox fan like us, and besides... Western NY is practically Canada, so just be happy we saved her from becoming a Blue Jays fan.
I am beyond thrilled to be writing for The Bottom Line! This is a great opportunity and I hope I inform and entertain my fellow Red Sox fans.
I was born and raised (and still live) in Western New York, a.k.a. deep in the heart of the Evil Empire State. Neither of my parents were big baseball fans, but I was always aware of the fact that the Yankees were evil. Plain and simple.
I visited Boston as a kid and loved every minute of it. As I grew older my love for the game (and the Sox, of course) grew and grew. Now I make the trip down Interstate 90 whenever possible.
When I can’t make it to the Bay State, I catch the Sox any way I can. I love MLB.TV. I’ve also crossed the border to see the Sox play in Toronto. I never miss the Pawtucket Red Sox when they come to the area to play the Rochester Red Wings or Buffalo Bisons. I’ve bored my Twitter followers (@spellingqueen25) to death repeatedly recounting how I saw Darnel MacDonald play in Rochester (0-5 3K) the day before he had his awesome night in Fenway (2-run HR and walk-off RBI).
When I’m not watching the Sox, traveling to Boston, or reading about baseball, I write about life in general for my blog: Michele's Miscellaneous Musings and attempt to cook without burning down the house!
I’m looking forward to sharing my love for the Red Sox with all of my fellow fans. Feel free to get in touch (spellingqueen25 [at] yahoo.com). I can’t wait for the 2011 to begin!
Play ball!
According to multiple reports, the Rangers are closing in on a long-term deal with free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre. Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports (via twitter) said that a six-year deal could be completed as soon as today, while Jon Morosi of FoxSports.com (via twitter) said that the deal “will effectively be for five years with a vesting option for a sixth.” Meanwhile, Jon Heyman of SI.com reported (via twitter) that a deal would be in the $90-100 million range.
UPDATE: MLB.com reports that the deal would be a six-year, $96 million agreement, with the Rangers having the ability to opt out of the sixth year if certain playing time thresholds are not reached.
Now that it's all said and done, I'm happy with the moves the Red Sox made this offseason. In the beginning, I was not pleased to learn that Victor Martinez signed with Detroit, but it looked like they had a plan, so I waited...
And so did Adrian Beltre.
Then Theo finally got the Adrian Gonzalez deal done and added Carl Crawford for good measure. That certainly made it a lot easier to let go of Beltre and his 100 RBI, but poor Adrian was left sitting in the corner as we flipped the calendar into 2011.
But Like Matt Holiday, not too long ago, Beltre's patience paid off and the Rangers, desperate to hold onto the mojo they carried through 2010, dropped $96 million in his lap. I'm happy for him. I'm also happy that the Rangers gave it to him and not us.
Bottom Line: We probably overpaid for Crawford, but I'd much rather give $90 million to a player like A-Gon (29 this May) than give it to Beltre, who turns 32 in April and has underperformed his entire career, save for the seasons in which he played for a new contract (2004 and 2010).
That said... thanks for the memories Adrian. Especially these:
To go along with our fancy new look, we're bringing on two new writers to help out in 2011.
First up is Ted Grevelis. Teddy likes the horses, but he's also a big Sox fan and we're excited to have him joing the team. Below is Ted's introduction. Say hello in the comments section and see if you can get Ted to explain what the heck a "Tanner" is...
It looks like going forward I will be occupying this space a few days a week. Some posts may be stat and analysis driven, but many will be simply my feelings on what is going on in the cathedral on Yawkey Way. I figure to kick things off officially, I ought to introduce myself.
Born in raised in Peabody, Massachusetts, I am a proud Peabody Tanner lettering in football, indoor and outdoor track. Looking at me now you’d say “lineman and shot put” but you’d be wrong: running back/defensive back and hurdler/high jumper. I may have enjoyed a few too many hot dogs over the years…
The Sox of my youth were heartbreaking. When I was two they lost to Bob Gibson and the Cards in seven. When I was old enough to care it was 1975, Freddy Lynn was my hero (I was a little league centerfielder) and I cried when they lost in seven to the Big Red Machine. My twenty-first birthday was the night of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. I was celebrating in a bar in downtown Waterville, Maine where I was a senior at Colby College, standing on the dance floor singing “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye” to the Mets when it went to hell in a handbasket. In an ironic twist, I met the future ex-Mrs. Grevelis that night as well. Go figure.
They left me alone for the next 17 years. Through that period of time I kept busy in Washington, DC, Methuen, MA, Mangilao, Guam and Las Vegas, NV. I lost any hope of winning the father of the year award in 2003 when I let my seven year old fanatical Red Sox fan son (THAT is how you build Red Sox Nation) stay up to watch Aaron F. Boone clobber a Tim Wakefield offering into the left field bleachers at Yankee Stadium. He stormed upstairs to go to bed. When I went up to check on him he was brushing his teeth. I crouched down to next to him, put my hand on his shoulder and asked him if he was OK. He fell into my arms sobbing. What did I DO to him?, I thought to myself. Of course I was redeemed the next year and then again three years later, just for good measure.
Now living outside the Twin Cities of Minneapolis & St. Paul freezing my butt off, I am a freelance writer, blogger and managing partner of thoroughbred partnerships . My first two years here I went to five of the six games the Sox played in the Metrodome. The only game of the six they won was the game I didn’t go to. For the next two years I honored friends and family’s request to stay the heck away from the stadium when the Sox were in town. I resisted the siren call as long as I could until a friend called with seats for not only Opening Day but the opening of a new Stadium. That’s a once in a lifetime. I went. They lost. The joke up here is I was invited to guarantee a Twins win. Hilarious.
I look forward to writing in this space and I really look forward to interacting with all the Sox fans out there. We can even touch base on the Celts, Bruins and Pats from time to time, if the situation warrants. For those of you interested in horses, you can read my racing blog and we can discuss racing over there or at my Blog Talk Radio show.
I can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you want to drop me a line on anything.
Go Sox!
Photo: 3rd Coast Chick, Flickr
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Things have been hectic here at the Bottom Line headquarters and we fell behind on the 2010 Projections results.
With 2011 just days away, I figured I would just pump out the remaining reports in one big post so we can jump into the new year with a clean slate.
Here we go...
Before the 2010 baseball season began, we asked you guys to make your predictions for the expected starting roster. Mike Cameron, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia all missed significant time with injuries, so we're going to have to take those players off the board. With that out of the way, and Youk and V-Mart already posted, below are your projections for Marco Scutaro, Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz and JD Drew.
Marco Scutaro, SS
In March, we all expected Marco to hit 9th and do a good job of turning over the lineup with a solid OBP. But when Ellsbury went down, Scuatro became the leadoff man and ended up logging 581 at-bats at the top of the order. He wasn't able to duplicate the .282 BA/.789 OPS line he posted in his final year as a Blue Jay, but his .275/.721 stats got him on base enough to log 92 runs - which is pretty close to what Ellsbury had given us in 2009.
No one expected Marco to log 600+ at-bats and that resulted in zero yellow boxes on the chart below. redsoxtalk came close in 3 categories (blue), but I can't declare a clear winner in the Scutaro Projections. That said, he did a fine job as the leadoff man and his defense improved in the second half. I expect him to be a solid #9 healthy, but we may see him closer to 7th, depending on how Tito uses Carl Crawford and how he breaks up all the lefties...
* * * *
Adrian Beltre, 3B
When Beltre took a 1-year deal to play in Boston, we all knew that his plan was to post solid numbers and hit the 2011 market on a high note. Most of us expected a .280 average 20+ homers and 80+ RBI, but Beltre shocked us all, posting numbers the likes of which we haven't seen since his monstrous 2004 season in LA. Adrian signed a lucrative 4-year deal with Seattle after that, but despite his impressive 2010 season, he remains a free agent, with the Red Sox signing Adrian Gonzalez and moving Youk to third.
Beltre's 28 homers were right in line with what most of us predicted, but amazingly, no one nailed it on the head. His BA and OPS numbers were much better than expected,and only two player predicted 100+RBI, so again, we are left with out a clear winner. If I had pick, I'd give Larry S. the nod for coming closest.
* * * *
David Ortiz, DH
Once again, Big Papi struggled out of the gate, hitting .143 with a 1 HR and 4 RBI in April (43 at-bats)... but he finished strong and carried the offense with Beltre while the rest of our big guns landed on the DL. Ortiz finished with a .270/.899 split - his best numbers since 2006. David was hoping those stats would land him a multi-year extension this offseason, but the Red Sox opted to pick up his $12M option instead and my guess is they want him to take after Wakefield and Varitek and ride the 1-year contracts until he retires. We'll see how that works out...
We had two players come really close in a number of categories: Bill nailed the HR and RBI totals and posted 3 other blue boxes and Shane predicted the doubles total and posted 3 blue boxes of his own. Since Bill has won multiple prizes already, I'm going congratulate him here, but give the FREE SoxStickers.com prize pack to Shane.
Well done boys.
* * * *
J.D. Drew, RF
In 2010, J.D. did what he does best: post mediocre numbers that don't come close to reflecting his contract, while contributing just enough to stop Red Sox Nation from calling for his head on a stick. In 2006, Theo Epstein paid him on the notion that he could be a .275 BA, 20 HR, 90 RBI guy in the middle of our lineup, but instead, Drew has hovered around .260/18/65.
I, for one, am looking forward to his final year in Boston and the possible emergence of Ryan Kalish as the RF of the future.
Most of the Projection players knew enough about Drew to predict 400-something ABs and 60-70 RBI, but many of you predicted 20+ homers and (surprisingly) Drew delivered with 22 ding dongs on the season. That said, his 69 RBI and 68 runs, reminded us that those homers were pretty empty. Need more proof? Just look at his .793 OPS. Not a bad number, but 100+ points below what we're used to seeing from Drew.
When you're biggest asset is working the count and getting on base... you can't afford a 100-point drop off. I'll always remember those clutch home runs in Game 5 in the 2008 ALDS, but I'm ready to see other people...
Thanks to everyone that participated in the 2010 Projections game. We'll do it all over again for the 2011 season, which should be fun with new players like Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Bobby Jenks.
I'll announce two random winners from our list of participants to win FREE Bottom Line Apparel t-shirts over the weekend... so stay tuned.
The Red Sox added some serious fire power to the offense with A-Gon and Crawford... but the Philles snatched Cliff Lee away from the Yankees, giving them one of the best rotations in baseball - on paperanyway. With people already predicting a Philly v Boston World Series, guest writer Michele wonders if either team will live up to hype...
Let us know what you think of Michele's post in the comments and we may have her back for more!
Author: Michele Pettis
The Boston Red Sox is not a team that always makes a splash in the off season. They sign their free agents and make the necessary trades, but it doesn’t always make the lead on SportsCenter.
This season, however, they made two big splashes with the signing of Adrian Gonzalez (.284 AVG and .875 OPS) and Carl Crawford (.296 AVG and .781 OPS). And suddenly all eyes were on Beantown and the Red Sox were the team to beat.
That was until Cliff Lee (3.85 ERA and 1.26 WHIP) signed a 5-year $120 million contract with Philadelphia. Suddenly the Phillies became the team to beat with what is arguably the best rotation in baseball.
But where have we heard the phrase “best rotation in baseball” before?
At the start of the 2010 season the Red Sox had what many called one of the best rotations around. Before the season started many expected the Sox to grind out 1-0 wins as a defensive juggernaut. But as the months wore on, the strength of the team was clearly in offense. It just goes to show you have to play the games.
There is no greater example of this than the events of April 19-20. The Pawtucket Red Sox were playing the Rochester Red Wings. There was buzz that Josh Reddick and Darnell McDonald would be pulled up to Boston the next day to help the injury-riddled big league team. That night in Rochester, Josh Reddick had 3 RBI with a double and a triple. He looked great. Darnell MacDonald, on the other hand, went 0 for 5 with 3 strikeouts. The next night in Boston was a different story. While Reddick did not have a bad night with 2 RBI on 1 hit, Darnell stole the show with a game-tying 2-run home run and then the walk-off RBI to beat the Texas Rangers.
And isn’t this why we love sports? If every game were as predictable as a bad romantic comedy, we wouldn’t watch 150 minutes a night (200 minutes if the Sox are playing the Yankees), 162 nights a year (plus playoffs - fingers crossed). A Phillies vs. Red Sox World Series would be awesome (with the Sox winning in four, of course) but that is still months away. Baseball games are not won on paper. A team doesn’t get to add to the wins column based on statistics alone.
But hype or no hype, the Red Sox are preparing themselves (adding Bobby Jenks to the bullpen) for another great year on the diamond.
Is it Spring Training yet?
Is it Spring Training yet?
no commentsHappy Friday troops! The Red Sox were busy this week adding a number of RPs to the bullpen...
Bobby Jenks might be the most interesting acquisition of the bunch and we've brought in a new writer to discuss the signing. Read Ted's post below and leave your comments here or on Facebook.
If you guys like his stuff, we might just have to add him to The Bottom Line team!
~ Rob
Author: Ted Grevelis
The Red Sox have reportedly finalized a deal that would bring former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks to Boston pending the obligatory physical. Jenks is being brought in as a set-up man for closer Jonathan Papelbon. What of Daniel Bard you ask? The old adage is that you can’t have enough pitching. True enough – but is it all GOOD pitching?
Bard was breathtakingly brilliant at times (1.93 ERA; .176 BAA) with heat we haven’t seen at Fenway in long time. There were times, though, when that heat was flat seemingly at the most inappropriate times, as his seven blown saves attest. In addition to having me reach for the Rolaids, this had to give the front office some pause as to whether or not this was the guy to replace Papelbon either through trade or the latter’s ineffectiveness. As we know (again with the Rolaids), Pap had us all guessing at the end of each game as to which closer would show up: the manimal of 2009 (38 saves, 1.85 ERA, three blown saves) or the gee-I-hope-this-guy-can-finish-this pitcher with a 3.90 ERA and eight blown saves.
Jenks had been a lights out guy back in 2006 – 07 in Chicago. A look at his recent numbers show a pitcher in decline: in 2007 he had 40 saves, an ERA of 2.77 and batting average against of .198. Fast forward to 2010 and we see 27 saves in an injury shortened year, a bloated career worst ERA of 4.44 with a batting average against of .260. The trend line from 2007 – 2010 is decidedly downhill. Throw in missing the final 27 games of the season with ulnar neuritis in his right forearm and we haven’t acquired a closer-in-waiting… what we have is a bit of a reclamation project.
Bard is a proven set-up man and thrived in that role last year, but showed he needs more seasoning to take on the closer’s role. In Jenks and Papelbon the Sox have two closers that have a lot to prove this coming season. The back of the pen is far from complete.
IF Jenks can return to form and recover from injuries; IF Papelbon can recapture his manimalism; IF Bard is ready to step up to the closer role then we will have an embarrassment of riches and some real jewels to dangle at the trade deadline if necessary.
Until then we hang our hat on IF.
