-I avoided discussing the Ramirez/traveling secretary saga in this space. Because, I really don't care. The people that spend time discussing incidents like that do so, in my opinion, because they don't like the actually sports enough. They in turn need to discuss the external factors, and embellish them.
But, today Bob Lobel, formerly the sports director of WBZ-Boston (CBS) suggested that Ramirez intentionally stood in the batter's box and took three called strikes from Mariano Riviera on July 6th as a form of protest against the Red Sox management. This is the stuff that really matters. If Ramirez really carried his grievances against the team management onto the field, then in my mind, his legacy is permanently scarred.
Since July 6th, Ramirez and team owner John Henry famously sparred in the papers. I will just print Manny's remarks, because they don't often make 100% sense to me: "no more [expletive] where they tell you one thing and behind your back they do another thing." Henry shot back saying that he "find(s) remarks that we have been anything other than completely straightforward to be personally offensive." If this is Ramirez's last year with Boston, and I do not believe it is, but if it is, he is going out in Pedro-like fashion.
-James Posey signed a 4 year, 25 million dollar deal with the New Orleans Hornets. The Celtics will probably resign Tony Allen, and give him a greater role this coming season. Another example of years being more important than money. In addition to the Celtics being in luxury tax hell as it is, they are an incredibly old team as it is. Paul Pierce will be 31 in October. Ray Allen is 33 in two days. And Garnett is 32. With Posey at age 31, the team simply could not lock up another 30+ player in a lengthy contract.
Posey is a special player, maybe the most special 7ppg player on the planet. He cannot be fully replaced. But with Tony Allen back, and Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens on board, the Celtics have players that if they play up to their potential can give the team the energy, defense, toughness, athleticism and tenacity that Posey gave them in time. The Celtics are now more likely to give Eddie House a second year in a deal to resign him.
-Four series to check out this weekend in the MLB: NYM@CIN, BOS@ANA, PHI@FLA, and LAD@ARI.
The Mets have been rolling, winning their tenth straight game last night. They have been showing a ton of resilience lately. They have been playing with heart. This sounds cliche, and it is. But, I feel compelled to put it in writing because it is the Mets, the most lethargic, underwhelming, pathetic, under-performing team in league for the first 85 games of the season. Suddenly, they have come to life, I guess I have to give Jerry Manuel a lot of credit. He has changed the culture in the Mets' clubhouse, it might not even be anything he has done, it might just be that he is not Willie Randolph.
The Angels and the Red Sox are probably the two best teams in the American League, and they are going head-to-head this weekend. What else do I have to write? Do I have to hype it? Three serious statement games for both teams. In the first game of the series Clay Buchholz returns to the rotations, looking to bounce back from a disastrous first stint, where he garnered a 5.40 ERA.
The Phillies and the Marlins duel this weekend in Miami. Both teams are deeply flawed in terms of their starting rotations. The Phillies are 11th in the NL in starters' ERA at 4.48, and the Marlins are 14th with a 5.18 ERA. The Phillies' crappy old starting pitching versus the Marlins' youthful, inconsistent starting pitching. The two teams are #1 (Florida, 135) and #2 (Philadelphia, 132) in the National League in home runs. If you like offense and middling starting pitching, it should be an exciting series to check out this weekend.
I love the Marlins' closer Kevin Gregg. He is not a perfect, he has 20 saves, and 6 blown saves. What continues to impress me about Gregg is his ability to pitch out of trouble. He is not a great pitcher by any stretch of the imagination. He does not have the best stuff, but he has ice water in his veins. A lot of this, I think can be attributed to his previous job as a setup pitcher with Anaheim from 2003-2006. I love the inherited runners-to-inherited runners scored ratio, and Gregg has been consistently impressive in that regard. An 11/0 ration this season. A great 20/3 ratio last season, his first season as a full time closer. I'll also throw out a tidy 29/11 ratio from 2004.
I dedicated a healthy paragraph to fawning over Kevin Gregg. I have to at least acknowledge the amazing season Brad Lidge is having. He has not blown a save this season after blowing eight last season. His ERA has shrunk from 3.36 last season to 1.13 this season. Is he a rare closer who warrants consideration as a Cy Young candidate? I love Gregg, but advantage Phillies in the closer column.
Oh yeah, and the Dodgers and Arizona do battle this weekend. Who will the NL West? Who sucks the least? I feel like the NL West has sucked nine out of the last ten years. Pratt, wanna help me on this one?
-My mind has been scattered all day. I was up until 4am last night. I saw The Dark Knight at a midnight showing. It is a pretty special film. Probably the most impressive superhero film ever made. Heath Ledger was probably the most layered, interesting, maniacal, funny, enduring, genuine villain I have ever seen on film. Ledger will probably receive a posthumous Oscar nomination, if not an outright win. Ledger is now atop my all-time Joker rankings. Here's the list:
1. Heath LedgerApparently the film grossed over 18 million from midnight showings alone. Wow. Go see it, it's a bit long, at over 2.5 hours.
2. Cesar Romero
3. Jack Nicholson
Old School Rap Video of the Day:
Public Enemy- 911 Is A Joke
I have phased out the miscellaneous video of the day. I think and hope we can all agree that this feature is much more fun.
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