Unshakable Catatonic State

So. The Boston Red Sox won the World Series last night. Yep. 2nd time in three years. Let me repeat that: 2nd time in THREE years. This team, the team who tried nearly every damn year for almost a century, has won 2 of the past 4 World Series. I know it seems like I'm really not that enthused but trust me, that has yet to be the case. It just hasn't hit me yet; it really hasn't. I didn't get to watch the game because I was on the road all last night. I even tried to turn to the sports station in my car, but it was trashy and staticy. I didn't get home until about 4am and didn't even have to see the highlights to know that the Sox won. My mouth dropped open and all I could tell myself was, "They didn't win. I don't believe that," while drinking my blue Gatorade. Honestly, the weird thing was that I accepted that they won in 2004 right off the bat. There were no feelings of, "Oh, my God! Did they really win? This must be a dream!" But that's how I feel now. Maybe it's because I've been constantly on the go as of late and haven't really had time to appreciate my team. If that's the case, I apologize. This makes me no less happy though; understand that. And as I look at their team website, I'm starting to tear up because I really have appreciated my team through everything they've been through. Not once did I turn my back on them throughout this journey. Not once did I waiver when they almost let the Yankees take the division, or when they almost got knocked out the ALCS by Cleveland. No because true fans, diehard fans, don't do that. True fans don't break out their 'nalia the day after a team wins a championship, when they haven't worn it all season. True fans don't say their favorite team is "so and so" only because they've been successful of late. Yes. I'm elated that the Sox won the Series again, but I'm more content knowing that I don't have to wear my emotions on my sleeve to show my joy.

Hmm, Well....I Dunno

(Tulowitzki and Braun, Top & Bottom)

Sigh. See, I've been having this dilemma, right? I'm trying to come up with my choice for Rookie of the Year, and I have no freakin' idea who to choose. AL is a cinch, has looooooong been decided (Dustin Pedroia, baby!). But the NL is really bothering me. If any has paid any sort of attention to this past baseball season, they would know that NL ROY is between two: Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki and Brewers 3B Ryan Braun. Both attractive young men, both excellent ballplayers. Wow. I'm mad at how I put the fact that they were attractive before their being good players. Need to get my priorities straight here. Anyhoo, yeah. At first, I was all over Tulowitzki because he was on my fantasy team and was doing pretty good. Don't really remember how I found out about Braun; I think I first saw his name on one of those forum things. For some reason, don't know why, I always wind up pulling for the underdog. The Rookie of the Year argument has been no exception, either. While everyone was dropping their panties over Braun, I, on the other hand, was still for Tulowitzki. I'm guessing it had a lot to do with Braun playing in Milwaukee, and that team leading their division for almost the entire season. When you think about it, no one really cares about the Rockies, and that's understandable. In my opinion, all that other shit is subjective. The most important factor in trying to figure out who should win this is the numbers. Numbers don't lie, people! And here are theirs:

Tulowitzki:

Games/ AB/ R/ H/ 2B/ 3B/ HR/ RBI/ TB/ BB/ SO/ SB/ CS/ OBP/ SLG/ AVG
155/ 609/ 104/ 177/ 33/ 5/ 24/ 99/ 292/ 57/ 130/ 7/ 6/ .359/ .479/ .291


Braun:

Games AB/ R/ H/ 2B/ 3B/ HR/ RBI/ TB/ BB/ SO/ SB/ CS/ OBP/ SLG/ AVG

113/ 451/ 91/ 146/ 26/ 6/ 34/ 97/ 286/ 29/ 112/ 15/ 5/ .370/ .634/ .324

So, according to your stats, Braun should be your NL ROY. But guess what else is measured? Fielding. Ah, yes! I'm not even about to copy and paste that shit up here because putting the offense up here took a long time, but I will say Tulowitzki's fielding % is .986 (11 errors), with Braun's being .895 (26 errors). And, also, Tulowitzki did turn an unassisted triple play the other month, only the 13th time that's been done in ML history.

So in conclusion, although the hitting stats point to Braun, I think I'm picking Tulowitzki still. After all, his team is in the playoffs, and the boy can field. AND he wears his hat like a G!

Thank You

I'd just like to give a quick "thank you" to all 30 ML teams and the hundreds of players who made this season one to remember. It's been quite a while since I could honestly say that I enjoyed the entire season from start to finish. From the three no-hitters, to the new home run record, to the thirty runs scored in a single game, the players never ceased to amaze me. It also helps that my team, my guys, shared the best record in all of baseball and ended up winning their division for the first time in twelve years. Hell, I could start bawling thinking about how happy I was during the regular season, and how excited I am for the post season. With that being said, let them play ball...and let me get back to my schoolwork :)

Twelve Years and Six Schools Later

And the Red Sox finally clinched the AL East. Thank ya, Jesus. Thank ya! The last time they won the division, I was a 3rd grader at Manassah E. Bradley Elementary School in East Boston, and didn't give two shits about them. Since their last division title in 1995, my parents had another kid, we moved to North Carolina, I've gone to six different schools, and I've grown from a child to a young woman. That's just crazy, man. It was a long time coming but hey, I'll take it. Shit. Dice-K pitched great last night, so kudos for him. I almost thought the Sox would have to wait another day to clinch, but thanks to the Baltimore Orioles' amazing and greatly appreciated comeback, the Yankees lost.

Okay, enough about the Sox. So, I'd gone to bed pretty late last night after starting a shitty paper on sociological theory that's due Monday (Yeah, I'm working on papers on Friday nights; I have no friends and no life :( ). But anyhoo, I just so happened to emerge out of my slumber and saw David Wright talking on "SportsCenter" or whatever. Damn, I felt so bad for the guy. He's still one of my baseball boyfriends or whatever I called him before, but it honestly pained me to watched that interview. He looked and sounded like he was about to cry, and for good reason, mind you. I don't know the stats off the top of my head and I'm too lazy to look them up, but the Mets have lost like, 11 of their last 15 games or something along those lines. They're currently in a series with the Marlins, a team to whom they've lost like 10 in a row. Ah, love that attempted use of good grammar, huh? I mean, this team (Mets) were leading the damn NL East division you might as well say since Spring Training ended and here they are, the last few days of the season, and they're not leading anything. No division, no Wild Card, nothing. If the season ended today, they'd be out. That's a tough pill to swallow, man. Like Buttermaker from "Bad News Bears" once said: "Baseball's hard. You can love it but, believe me, it don't always love you back". If I really really cared, I'd cry for them. Hey, if the Red Sox can muster up the greatest comeback in postseason history, maybe the Mets can win the next few games and hope the Phillies (who are leading the division) lose. **shrugs shoulders**

Just Pictures, Hardly Any Words

I know I've talked bad about him in previous posts, but he's still my baseball boyfriend...along with the rest of the world's. Even if he IS gay, so what? Still sexy as shit.

And His Sox Won't Be Red

I wanted Buerhle. God knows, I wanted him. Alright, so maybe that didn't sound right, but if you've been paying any kind of attention to sports news the past few days you probably know what I'm babbling about. White Sox are looking to unload Mark Buehrle, and according to the "grapvine" (yeah, the metaphorical gossip source), the Red Sox were looking to trade for him. When I first heard that, I nearly shat myself, no joke. At first, I didn't really pay attention to who the Sox would give up to get him; I was only concerned about seeing Buehrle, probably the most efficient pitcher in baseball, in a damn Red Sox uni. Then I got to thinking: who exactly would the Sox have given up in order to get the dude? Got question, huh? Yeah, probably. They already got rid of Hanley Ramirez and Freddy Sanchez in years past and look @ what they've become. Exactly. Jacoby Ellsbury, who's in the Sox system (Triple-A Pawtucket, I believe), is a very promising kid and had the Sox given him up to get Buerhle, dude would've probably gone on to win the fuckin' Triple Crown or something had he made it to the bigs. That's the kind of luck the Sox seem to have when it comes to giving up good prospects. But no need to ponder nor fret any further, for there won't be a trade...or will there be? Guess what? I have mosquito bites on my ankle and my diet SUCKS right now.

Whatever You Do, Don't F*ck With the Cubs, Son

And I'm Shakin' Right Now

Why? Because Justin Verlander just threw a no-hitter. I don't know why, but as I watched that final out, I got chills all over, man. A no-no is a wonderful thing to watch, but imagine how I'd feel if I were at the ballpark? Hell, imagine how I'd feel if I were Pudge, who caught Verlander, or Verlander himself? Dude was throwing 102 MPH IN THE NINTH INNING. Nasty. Just freakin' nasty. Like, it was just sad to watch the Brewers submit to him. I don't know what I did to my blog, but it's ugly as hell now. Need to fix that asap. As for some Verlander stats, he was drafted 2nd overall in 2004 behind Matt Bush (and where is Bush now?), he was the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year, his no-no was the 6th in Tigers history, 1st one at home by a Tiger since 1952 and 1st one overall by a Tiger since 1984, 3rd guy to be named ROY one season and throw a no-no the following, um....he's not on my fantasy team no, but he should damn well be. Oh yeah, and he's only 24. Let me repeat that: He's ONLY 24. That's ridiculous, damn. If Curt Schilling had actually pulled out his "almost no-no" a few days ago, I'd probably have shat myself, so serious. Damn, Wikipedia sure does update stuff fast. It already has all the info and stuff up there. Wowzer. After hugging everyone, Justin's wife/girlfriend/fiancee/lady friend went out there to hug him. Looks like someone's gettin' "fellated" tonight.

David Freakin Wright

For reasons unbeknownst to me, I Googled "David+ Wright+ Slump" and stumbled across this right here. I love D. Wright and everything, but I thought I was the only one feeling this way. Guess not:

"Though that will inevitably improve, his performance currently doesn't warrant the puke-fest that is David Wright's image or all those activities devoted toward painting it. If I see him on another morning tv show, MTV, some magazine cover/article, video game, or PR for image charity event, I might as well start rooting for Jeter. At least he has rings to accompany his lameness. Until Wright surpasses Spike Owen in HR totals for 2007, I don't want to see his plastic smile again.

I have no problem as a fan rooting for him; he's homebread and a good talent; that part is appreciated. But could we just chill a little bit with being Mr. America for a little while, at least until you start producing on the field? Its a shame to see a talent not reach potential because of a loss of focus."

And I totally concur.

(http://getsbybuckner.blogspot.com/2007/04/david-wright-mr-annoying.html)

The REAL Opening Day (To Me)

Opening Day's Lone Game
So it was deja vu all over again, the scene ever so reminiscent of last October's NLCS. Sunday's game wasn't so bad. Actually, it was a pretty good game for Opening Day/Night. But then again, I wouldn't expect anything less from Sunday Night Baseball. Redemption proved to be sweet for the Mets, who topped the Cards 6-1. Tom Glavine was nothing short of outstanding, and didn't even let Adam Kennedy's 3rd inning triple rattle his cage. Chris Carpenter looked alright, though his location was a bit off. Carpenter will have time to ponder his mistakes, as he will miss his next scheduled start with elbow inflammation.

Now, On To The Good Stuff...
The Red Sox lost on Opening Day, for about the third or fourth year in a row, to Gil Meche and the Royals. The Red Sox seem to always lose on Opening Day; that's really nothing new. Curt Schilling didn't even last 5 innings,which was quite surprising.

Zito, Oh Zito: IN 5 innings, Barry Zito gave up 4 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), and struck out and walked 2. Not as great as one who've thought for a Cy Young Award-winning pitcher, but it wasn't all his fault: His Giants gave him no defense or offense whatsoever. Only two runners got past 2nd base. But, as Giants 1st baseman Rich Aurilla put it, "Nice day, though."

Damn Yanks: Well, rumor has it I'm not a Yankees fan. In fact, I hate them what a passion. They did do something the BoSox failed to though...win. Yanks beat the Devil Rays 9-5, with Alex Rodriguez providing the go-ahead runs with his 465th career homer. Now you can say all you want about the Devil Rays, but they're a feisty little team, ha ha.

**Nothing else even matters at this point, and I'm extremely tired. I'll do better next time, promise!

Opening Day

So as I type this, there are seven hours, fifty-eight minutes, and thirty-one seconds until the official start of Opening Day. Can it really be called Opening Day though, since the kickoff game between the NY Mets and St. Louis Cardinals does not begin until 8 o'clock tonight? But, I digress. I have waited seven long, hard, dull, and boring months for this. I have suffered through the Red Sox failing to make the play-offs after a 2005 postseason that wasn't all that spectacular either. I have suffered through my beloved Tar Heels losing to Georgetown in the Elite Eight, our dreams of a Final Four berth crushed in those five excruciating overtime minutes. I watched Peyton Manning blow past the Pats on his way to an ever-so-elusive Super Bowl ring and MVP. I have suffered through economics exams, math lectures, and guest speakers on journalism. I have suffered through the most mediocre dining hall food ever, but guess what? All of that is null and void now, for the 2007 Major League Baseball season is here.

Things to Look For: When the ump signals for 2005 Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter to throw out the first pitch, don't expect everything to be handed to him. Emotions from last year's NLCS will still be running rampant, and both teams are going to give everything they have to win; the Cards will be trying to defend their World Series reign and the Mets will be trying to de-throne them, if only for a night. This is the only game on Opening Day, so I think a lot of viewers will be tuned in to ESPN2 when it airs. Ha, I know I will.