SawxBlog

Jimmy Fund Fantasy Day, Red Sox Stumbling, John Smoltz Sucking, and Jawa's Taking Over All-Star Game

The Good

Derek announcing at Fenway Park during Jimmy Fund's Fantasy Day. (SawxBlog Photo - K. Chandler)

SawxBlog was lucky enough this past weekend to participate in the Jimmy Fund’s Fantasy Day at Fenway Park. Kris and I represented SawxBlog and were given the duty of announcing the batters and fielders as they lived out their dreams below on the field. The weather was absolutely perfect as the sun smiled down on this sunny Sunday morning. Hearing your voice booming over the Fenway PA system was a fairly surreal experience to say the least, and we definitely made the most of our time in the booth. However, what truly made this a worthwhile and memorable experience was the cause we were helping to support.

Since its inception in 1992, Fantasy Day has raised more than $6 million in support of cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Seeing the kids take their swings and run around the bases truly was a heart softening moment. Cancer is something that unfortunately touches all families and baseball denominations, and causes like the Jimmy Fund are an easy one to get behind. Helping out kids with cancer seems to be a no-brainer, and SawxBlog will hopefully be doing a lot more volunteer work in the future for them, and I urge you to donate some of your time and money as well.

For more on the Jimmy Fund please visit here: http://www.jimmyfund.org/abo/default.html

Many thanks again to Sarah, Dana, and Joe from Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund who allowed us to be a part of this special day in such a fun and rewarding way. Below is some video of the event.

The Bad
The second half of the baseball season is now officially upon us with the All-Star Game quickly receding in the rear view, and the Red Sox appear to be stumbling out of the blocks. The Sox are now 1-3 since the All-Star break and their offense still seems to be on vacation. They have been outscored at a 16-10 pace, and are averaging a little under three runs a game, which isn’t going to get the job done. This is not the result you would expect to see with the returns of both Jed Lowrie and Mike Lowell, but they're the results we're getting.

With Beckett on the mound tonight you hope the Sox can rebound from last nights awful game (more on that in the ugly). However the three game lead we seemed to have ballooned at the last minute before the All-Star break has now disappeared in...well, a NY minute. After the Sox get out of Texas we have seven games in a row against the Orioles and Athletics which should be a good chunk of wins. The true test, however, for the entire year will be the month of August, where we’ll face the Rays, Yanks, Tigers, and Rangers all in a row, and with three of those tough series being on the road.

The Ugly
Don’t get me wrong here, I appreciate everything John Smoltz has done for his career, however I’m not appreciating this continued “experiment” the Sox are pulling with him. He’s a 40+ year old guy coming of surgery who the Red Sox are trying to will back into his old form. I hate to break to you Red Sox Nation, but Smoltz is far from the answer here. John is now 1-3 since joining the Sox and has an atrocious ERA of 6.31. His only win where he looked even remotely good was against the AAAA Orioles and opponents are hitting .303 off of him. Screw the work in progress talks too, he’s on a one year contract and this time just seems wasted with him. I say file him under the Wade Miller file, and cut your losses.

Meanwhile the only win the Red Sox have received in the second half was via Clay Buchholz spot start, where he only gave up 1 ER and got out of some pretty tough jams. All Clay’s been doing is pitching his ass off while wasting his efforts and innings for Pawtucket when he clearly should be with the Sox. He's the future not Smoltz, and the future is now. All the talk is about trading Penny or Clay, but why not Smoltz? The honest answer there is no other team wants him, or would give up NOTHING of true value for him. What does that tell you? I don’t see Smoltz winning any pitching duel for us this year, and if he really wants to revive his career he should go back to the bullpen, because when lineups are seeing him a second/third time through it’s lights out for him and the Sox.

The Weird

The Jawa and new camera are eerily similar. (EJ Flex Illustration)

While the American League extended their winning streak against the National League to 13 games, a critical observation went undetected.

Who invited the Jawa to sit behind home-plate during the game?

My good friend Erik texted me about this during the game and the resemblance is uncanny. As you can clearly see from his above comparison this dances past the verge of weird, and into the land of the unexplained, taking its rightful place next to Shoeless Joe’s involvement in the Black Sox Scandal, and Bud Selig shrugging of his shoulders in a tied up indifference. Well, maybe not that bad, but none-the-less, freaking weird.

Krazy Kris: Study Your History

The more I read, the more pissed off I get. And I'm not even sure why. Manny Ramirez was already dead to me, as he was to many in Red Sox Nation. But, like a bad hangover, he just won't go away. The tumultuous years spent here in Boston were overlooked due to that sweet, effortless swing, and the swagger he brought out onto the field. In a town that is at times consumed with baseball, he played the game like a 12-year-old, simply for the fun of it. And, when he chose to cut his ties with the Red Sox, when he gave up on the game he purported to love, I gave up him. End of story...

Or so I thought. As I read article after article speculating on the what, why, and when of his use of illegal substances, my blood pressure rises and my mind begins calculating the different ways in which, as a fan, I feel duped. Do I really think the World Series win in 2004 is now forever tainted? I can't say. I don't want it to be. It was and still is one of the most magnificent things I have ever witnessed. But the fact remains that one of the two greatest hitters to ever don a Red Sox uniform may have been cheating the whole time...

Cheating. It's a hard thing to define. Most people look at the modern era of baseball and assume the  worst. They assume that everyone cheated, no matter what they did or what they took or where they got it from. Even the generation of players before the modern era looks at the league today and says "well shit, we were all hopped up on amphetamines back in the 70's and 80's, so what's the big deal?" Sadly, the big deal is that Major League Baseball has rewritten the rules, and the rules still aren't being followed. And maybe we as fans deserve this. Maybe we looked at the change in policy and turned a blind eye to the fact that, just because the rules changed, doesn't mean the players changed. I know a lot of this is my heart being suddenly laden with doubt and anger. Which to me is strange. Manny Ramirez already betrayed me. He betrayed his teammates, his fans, and most of all, the game he plays so goddamned well. So why the hell is this at all surprising to me?

Despite this, I refuse to give up on baseball. I refuse to let another player, let alone a selfish piece of shit like Manny Ramirez change the way I feel about the game I've watched since I was 4 years old. I look at players like Dustin Pedroia, Grady Sizemore, and Hanley Ramirez, and I see a new generation. One committed to keeping the game true, honest, and respectable. Players who can train their bodies and minds to accomplish all the things we as fans want to see. Homeruns. Stolen bases. No-hitters. 6-4-3 double-plays. Unfortunately, as more of these players come into the league, and the taint of the past begins to wear off, and real baseball is played again in cities all over the country, we as fans will have to continue to watch the mistakes of the past come to light. And accepting that these indiscretions have been happening under our noses the whole time will be no small challenge...

RIP Dom Dimaggio - An All-Time Red Sox Great

Dom lived a full and good life and will go down as one of the best in Red Sox history.

Sad news this morning as Red Sox Nation woke up to the disheartening news that one of it's living legends, Dom Dimaggio, had passed away. Dom was one of the better CF in Red Sox history and will forever be linked to a golden time in baseball, where he shared locker rooms and friendships with the likes of Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, and Bobby Doerr.

These were a different breed of ballplayers and men, who would leave the game they loved to serve the country they loved even more. Such a stark contract when placed in light of today's ballplayer, and this hold especially true as the baseball world is still bouncing in the wake of the Manny Ramirez bomb. These guys fought in a war that seemed justified, and honorable. Where as today our wars seem convoluted and corrupt. Life was different then, and by different I don't mean better (i.e. - See segregation), it just seemed to be a more defined time.

But politics aside, this is a sad day for the Red Sox family, and all thoughts and prayers are with the Dimaggio family. Rest in peace Dom, I'm wearing my 1946 Sox hat today in honor of you.

• Boston Globe Tribute
• SawxBlog Book Review - Summer of '49
• SawxBlog Book Review - The Teammates
• Dom Dimaggio Wikipedia
• Boston Herald Article

Reaction to Bill Simmons Article on Manny Ramirez

I have never written to Bill Simmons on any of his articles even though I've read a great many of them, and for obvious reasons, have admired the guy for quite some time. He's the OB - The Original Blogger - And if you can't credit him than you can't credit anybody. I met Simmons back in 2006 at a book signing for "Now I Can Die in Peace...", and thought he was a great guy. All that said, I have some bones right now to pick with Bill Simmons, and these bones finally got me to write him.

The piece he has up right now at ESPN.com is an absolute disgrace. It's written very well like everything he does, however the content and story concept is complete and utter horse sh!%. It riled me up so much that I finally decided to write him, and below is the result.

Read the Simmons article here

My response below:

Dear Bill,

I hope you realize that you just gave MFY fans all over the world the right to discount our two World Series titles. Great job there guy. Boston sports is in its heyday right NOW, and not in 90's when you were actually living here. I love you to death man, but Jesus, you've been in LA too long.

 

- Derek Hixon

 

Yankee Fan:
"C'Mon brah, even your boy Simmons thinks those World Series title are bogus. The Curse LIVES! 1918! From Buckner to Boone to the moon! Boston Sucks!"

 

Red Sox Fan:
"Jesus Christ. When are people going to realize that Bill Simmons is not the voice and ultimate authority on Boston Sports. Freaking guy lives in LA, I mean how can you feel the pulse of a city if you're not in it everyday? Shoot, I have to ride to Green Line home EVERYDAY past Fenway. 80% of his columns are stuck in the past tense anyways, I mean that's all he knows anymore, unless he's visiting."

 

Yankee Fan:
"Look at our 26 rings bro, all 100% juice free. You can't deny it, even Mr. Bill Simmons thinks so, c'mon man, you HAVE to admit it. I'm sooooo glad I didn't throw-out my 1918 shirt. 91 years and counting for the Red Sucks! The world is back in order!"

 

Red Sox Fan:
"Do you even listen? Are you so dumb that life is that literal for you? Is it all that black & white? Simmons even eluded to how it was an even playing field. Think about it, the Yankees cheated their hardest and couldn't win so what does that say?"

 

Yankee Fan:
"Nah bro, that was all fixed, we know that. People are just jealous because we're the classiest organization ever and because of our 26 World Championships. 1918 bro! 19 mother effin' 18!"

 

Red Sox Fan:
"Really? Is it back to this now? Thanks Bill, thanks, thanks a lot."

Manny Ramirez suspended 50 games for positive drug test

Looks like after all of this Manny really is a Bad Man. (SawxBlog Illustration

I will be commenting more fully on this in the near future, mark my words on that. But am I surprised? No, not in the very least. Manny Ramirez is a snake, always has been, I even wrote about it earlier this season here.

 All I'm saying is this is karma biting this asshole right back in the ass. Eff him, and eff the modern day baseball ballplayer. If you were good in the past 15 years you're suspect (just like what I wrote about Ortiz), the players made this bed themselves, and it makes me sick. It's so sad that all the best players of my generation are liars, cheats, and a bunch of juiced up greed heads who in the end are after more and more money and not rings or the love of the game.

This is what America is though isn't it? It's money, and not love or family, that's the true American Dream. You gotta get yours no matter who you step on, or what measures are taken to get there. Honor may very well have been killed by the greenback. We're a corporate America run by large companies. Soon enough the America flag will look like a NASCAR race, with Coca-Cola sponsorship instead of stripes, and GM logos instead of stars.

Signing off for now, as I sit disgusted on Thursday afternoon, contemplating the "great" American pastime.

*Graveyard illustration courtesy of the great Zac Trainor.

La Quinta de pérdida en una fila: Red Sox Sweep Yankees (again) -- SawxBlog Thoughts on the New Yankee Stadium

Takashi Saito celebrates a perfect 9th in the barren & desolate Yankee Stadium. (AP Photo)

The Boston Red Sox gained their second sweep of the young season over their blood rivals, and fittingly their fifth win in a row against the Yankees came on 5/5, Cinco de Mayo. However, instead of commenting on the game or sweep, I feel compelled to speak on the funeral parlor that is the new Yankee Stadium.

• Soul. There is absolutely none in the place. All old the ghosts that their fans loved, and made the old Yankee Stadium fun and terrifying to play in are long gone. It's noticeably visible
• The pricing situation on the seats must be worse then I originally imagined. For both of the games the stadium looked virtually empty (I understand there was an issue with the fist). I've seen larger Red Sox/Yankee crowds for Spring Training games, let alone the first ever series between the two in their new "jewel" of a stadium. This is most noticeable with the seats close to the field, where there's a constant spattering of fans and no consistency. I guess the ultra-rich can't stand a few raindrops, aside from Spike Lee that is, who I actually gained a lot of respect for.
• The blue of the new Yankee Stadium just isn't as bright as it once was anymore. The hope of mine that this reflects on the Yankees dismal future may be wishful thinking on my part, but still. The blue is dark, muted, and like most things seem to lack the character of the old stadium.
• This may be just because it has that "new ballpark smell" to hitters, but the place is an absolute launching pad for homeruns, even in the porr weather of the past few days. It's a joke. I still can't believe that with all the taxpayer money they've pumped into the place that their engineers didn't recognize they created a monster of a wind tunnel that make the balls leave the stadium in a NY minute. The Yankees may hit a lot of HR's and score tons of runs, but their pitching staff in going to get beaten worse then a Grand Canyon mule. With them having to pitch half of their games in this mostrosity they'll look like roman candles standing on the mound and in the box score. Lit up, and buring with rage. Trust me on this, opposing teams (and fans) can't wait to play here now, which is a stark contrast to the dreaded old stadium.
• Corporate. The new stadium just reeks of capitalism. People always state things like "baseball is a business" but usually they place a little bit of wool between the fans and that fact. The stadium has the appearance and feel of a swanky new hotel bar and not a place where baseball should be played. It just doesn't live up to the hype of the collesium it's supposed to be in my eyes.....even slightly.
• In a 6-3 ballgame last night there was like 2,000 people at the game. That speaks louder then any words I can type.
• In the end it just seems like a desperate and sad imitation of its former self. Like a an aging model who got plastic surgery and botox to appear to be something it isn't, and that's just what it is. Plastic, Bland, and pretty damn ugly, and I can't wait for the Sox to play there again.

Click here to read SawxBlog's tribute to the Old Stadium

A Tale of Two Different Stars - Big Papi & A-Rod

Watching Josh Hamilton in the first round of last nights Homerun Derby ranks right up there in the emotional headline department along with what Jon Lester accomplished earlier in the year. His story is amazing and it helped, for sometime at least, shield an obvious glare that was on the Derby last night, there was no Yankees in it. And not just any Yankee's, but the Yankee who's supposed to eventually go down as the greatest homerun hitter of all time, Mr. Alex Rodriguez. It's no secret now that A-Rod's one of the most despised players by both the fans and players, and he continually seems to make it easier and easier to dislike him.

Jason Stark (who hates the Yankees more then most Sox fans) wrote a good article over at ESPN.com on this topic yesterday and it really got me thinking about the whole A-Rod Derby scenario. Basically A-Rod was recently re-signed by the Yankees for three reasons I believe:

1. Even though I do loathe him, he is the best player in baseball statistically today, and maybe ever. (I think I may have just thrown up in my mouth)
2. The Yankees wanted him to be in pinstripes when/if he breaks the all-time homerun record.
3. Like him or not, he's a polarizing figure who in the end sells tickets, and that's something you need when opening a new stadium.

The fact that A-Rod denied being in the HR Derby not once but twice is pretty bushleague and cowardly if you ask me. I think the NY Faithful deserved to see the "best HR hitter of all-time" send Yankee Stadium out in style. Ya' know, close out the House that Ruth Built and open the House that A-Rod Built. This now brings me to Big Papi.

According to Stark's article Ortiz was slated to be in the contest and he would have embraced it, and probably won. That has to be blasphemy to Yankee fans, and the fact that A-Rod wouldn't step up for the better of the game to entertain the fans just shows the difference between him and Big Papi. Yeah A-Rod is phenomenally more talented as a baseball player, but as a man he's the biggest d-bag this side of Barry Bonds.

Last night, with Oritz still on the DL he was in his uniform and cheered on his fellow compatriarts. A-Rod? How many shots of him did you see? How often did you see him fratenizing, cheering people on, being there for the fans? That's all I'm saying... Ortiz may have been booed last night in the Bronx, but the Yankee fans should be saving their lustful boos for A-Fraud.

The fact that he was insanely close to being a Boston Red Sox is terrifying. I would hate to have to fool myself for a decade plus that I wanted to cheer for that guy, it's like being a bi-polar fan. Yeah Manny can be infuriating at times, but he still works hard, and he is his own unique personality for sure. Can you imagine A-Rod high fiving a fan? No way. A-Rod cares about money and A-Rod, it's all he's ever shown, and his lack of heart is more then noticable. Maybe he'll win it all some day, but I for one sure hope not, he doesn't deserve it.

2008 A.L. East Predictions

Andy Pettitte apologizes for his HGH use but......

Andy Pettitte apologizes to the media yesterday - (SawxBlog Illustration / Junkees Logo - Ji Lee)

Andy Pettitte Apologizes for his HGH use but...I don't know, I'm haven't 100% bought into this whole "Andy's such a great guy" story that everybody seems to be spinning. Andy Pettitte's a million times more of a better guy then Roger Clemens, but seriously, how much is that actually saying? That's like saying someone's more credible then Brian McNamee, may be true, but doesn't say much for the person.

First off, Pettitte saying he didn't use HGH to gain a competitive advantage is such a large load of horse crap that it make me gag, especially because of his being on the the Yankees, and seeing the backlash of such high profile steroid users such as Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield. He knew better then anyone the public outrage that results from the use of HGH, and well, that using HGH was wrong, there's really no way around that. By trying to recover faster from an injury aren't you trying to get your competitive advantage back? That's like me being really hungover and playing scrabble awhile using a dictionary to get my words, I'm not trying to get an advantage, it's just my brain hurts so I'm only going to use it to get to the exact level that I'd be at if I wasn't hungover. OK, I'm sure I lost some of you there, but you get my point.

Also, Pettitte isn't the Honest Abe he's being made to look like either. It took something like three times for the government to get the complete and true story out of him, so "nice guy" Andy wasn't really being all that honest or upfront. The fact that he came clean doesn't justify him getting a medal or any accolades either, it's just what he should have done from the very start.

I think Pettitte's use of HGH (and honesty) is being overlooked because of the absurdity Clemens is bringing down upon himself. I mean anything will look more appealing when it's sitting next to a steaming pile of shit. And this is not any Red Sox bias coming from me, if this were a Sox player (say that clown Gagme) I still wouldn't be happy, and I'd expect them to come clean, be honest, and move on. That's why although I think Giambi's a tool bag, I respect that when the crap hit the fan he played ball and was honest, and it's the route Pettitte's now taking, it just kills me how people feel the need to pre-face a sentance about Andy Pettitte by saying he's a nice guy. Your past makes up who you are today, and nice or not, HGH is forever a part of Andy Pettitte.

Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Miguel Tejada, and Andy Pettitte = Steroid Users.

If you dig the "Junkees" logo above please visit Ji Lee's site and get yourself a T-Shirt.

Roger Clemens / Brian McNamee Congressional Hearings Re-Cap

There was no Valentines love between Clemens & McNamee in the courtroom yesterday. (SawxBlog Illustration)

OK, so I guess I'm obligated to throw my two cents into the nonsense that was yesterdays hearings. I worked from home yesterday so that I was able to watch this, and unfortunately that's what I did, and it's four hours and 40 minutes of my life I'll never get back. My first initial reaction to this whole debacle is disappointment, and my disappointment isn't aimed at either Clemens or McNamee, it's with the House. I can't believe that even on the issue of a steroid baseball case, both the Democratic and Republican parties were split. Pathetic and may show you some of the real reasons we see our country where it is.

Clemens obviously is lying to an almost unprecedented level now, and the testimony of Andy Pettite is very damning to him, oh wait, that's right, Andy "misremembered" their conversation, and so did his wife. Riiiigggghhhhhttttt. Pettite's one of the most respected and honest people in the game, and he has NOTHING to gain from lying here. But aside from the Andy's testimony being revealed there really wasn't anything new or worthwhile with these hearings.

It was obvious that the Republican side was very pro Clemens here, and the fact that they focused so hard on the Canseco party and who or who wasn't there was so far away from the actual issue at hand, did Roger Clemens use steroids, that is just seemed like a bunch of filibusting to me. The only other  interesting thing that occurred aside from Pettite, was the whole Nanny situation. The fact that the Clemens side held out on giving her information to authorities, and met with her before giving them her contact information raises a lot of red flags. Everything on Clemens side just stinks of crookedness.

I think Brian McNamee handled himself as best he could, even though there were numerous unwarranted attacks on him and his character, when in reality, it's Roger Clemens who's the true disgrace here. But Clemens has money, and he met with over 1/2 of the members and signed autographs for them, and lets be honest, he's part of their club, and McNamee is just a "drug dealer". It is what it is I guess.

So let's re-cap in the shortest of ways what we know about this:

• Brian McNamee said he injected HGH into Andy Pettite & Chuck Knoblauch and they both confirmed this.
• Brian McNamee said he injected HGH into Roger Clemens WIFE and that's also been confirmed.
• Brian McNamee said he injected HGH (among other steroids) into Roger Clemens, and Clemens denies this.
• Andy Pettite & his wife swore to oath that Roger Clemens said he used HGH to Pettite.

With the above four points I find it almost impossible for an individual to actually believe Clemens. His arrogance is infuriating, and next steps have to be made to give closure to the Clemens fiasco, not the steroid issue. Clemens always had his own special rules. Go to Toronto instead of Boston to be closer to Texas. Not having to fly with his teams the past few seasons. Showing no loyalty but to himself while always going to the highest bidder (including last year).

End of the line fact here is that somebody lied under oath yesterday, and either Roger Clemens or Brian McNamee have to be charged with purgery or yesterday was 100% absolutely pointless. Clemens is becoming this generations Pete Rose, he's going to lie for decades and eventually start admitting the truth, but between you and me, this clown's no man, he's a punk, and he can't own up to this his past.

Check below for "highlights" from yesterday: