ghost of miles Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 Now that the godawful Super Bowl is over... the NHL season has been cancelled... and the NBA continues to be an endless snoozefest... can we hear it for BASEBALL 2005? Only eight days till pitchers and catchers report... time for me to dust off the VHS of IT HAPPENS EVERY SPRING and several of the baseball books I haven't read yet, ponder the inevitable clash of the Red Sox and the Yankees in the AL East, and generally savour the impending arrival of the best American sport ever. Quote
Dan Gould Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 For once, GoM and I agree! But one last note about the Super Bowl just past: This is the first time since '79-'80 that a city has won consecutive championships in different sports in back to back years. Let me explain: Steelers won the '79 Super Bowl. Pirates won the '79 World Series. Steelers won the '80 Super Bowl. So, with the Sox and Patriots now duplicating that feat, the Red Sox have an opportunity to make history if they can keep the streak going by defending their championship. And with Varitek back, Renteria at shortstop, and Wade Miller and Matt Clement joining the rotation (and benefiting from Tek and Schilling) I think we've got a pretty good shot. Can't wait for opening day (night): ESPN will broadcast the Sunday night game as the World Champion Red Sox return to Yankee Stadium for the first time since the amazing sweep! And with Randy Johnson on the mound for the Yanks, I don't think it really matters if Schilling is ready for Opening Day or not, because it will probably be just as exciting/intense to have David Wells on the mound wearing a Red Sox uniform in Yankee Stadium. The boos will be deafening! But not as deafening as the chants of "YEAR TWO-THOU-SAND" that will reverberate through Fenway for the home opener (and ring presentation!) the following weekend!!! Quote
ghost of miles Posted February 7, 2005 Author Report Posted February 7, 2005 Dan, No disrespect to the Patriots--my in-laws live in MA, and if somebody has to win, it's fine by me if it's New England--I just hate football culture in general. (Didn't use to--a sign that I'm getting old & crotchety? B-) ) Didn't realize the Bosox & Yanks were teeing off against each other on opening day. Fan-tastic! Just saw a news story, btw, that Schilling intends to play through 2007. Hoping Pavano comes up with a good year for the Yanks... and Tino's back at first, which has sentimental value for me (obviously he's past his prime, however). Should be a great season. Quote
Dan Gould Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 Should indeed be a great year. I expect: The Yanks will regret not going after Beltran. Pavano, Wright & Brown will be critical factors for the Yanks. The inability to get rid of Brown is not a good sign. Is there any reason to expect him to even equal the 10-6 record of last year? And can Pavano be successful against the tougher lineups of the AL? One reason I am glad that we got Clement is, he's had a strong record in interleague play, and he gets strikeouts. Pavano doesn't miss a lot of bats, and against the AL that can be dangerous. And with Wright & Brown with serious injury risks, plus Unit at 41 and with no cartilage left in his knees and Mussina coming off a season with time spent on the DL, the Yanks have a glaring need for a sixth or seventh starter, but there's no one to fill that role - the well is dry at Triple A, I believe. The Sox have some risky starters, too, with Wells and Wade Miller and possibly Schilling ... but Miller right now is the number six starter, and they have John Hallama in the bullpen, who's done a fair bit of starting in his career. So they have six guys for five spots plus a lefty spot starter in the pen. So long as they don't lose more than two starters at once, they're pretty well covered. Quote
Noj Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 Go Dodgers! Well, try at least. Go Angels! Quote
Ron S Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 (edited) I'm still reliving the '93 World Series when Schilling sat in the Phillies bull pen with a towel over his head, unable to watch as Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams threw the series away. Hmmmmm, sounds a lot like a painfully recent Super Bowl. Edited February 7, 2005 by Ron S Quote
Dan Gould Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 Almost forgot the best part of waiting til Spring Training starts: World Series Winter on NESN !!! The New England Sports Network has broadcast every Red Sox World Series Game from 1975 on, starting last month. Granted, there are some painful memories from '75 and '86 but also some great games and great wins that haven't been seen in a long, long time. And from now on, its nothin' but GRAVY! Tonite, Tuesday and Wednesday are Games 5-7 of the ALCS, and the week of the 21st, its the four World Series games! I plan to make a special trip to the safe deposit box with each VHS tape. Quote
ghost of miles Posted February 7, 2005 Author Report Posted February 7, 2005 Dan, Is anybody at work on a book about Boston's 2004 season? I'm assuming the Globe or somebody else did an insta-book... be nice for Bosox fans if a writer the caliber of Halberstam or Angell did one. Quote
Ron S Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 And from now on, its nothin' but GRAVY! It's not polite to gloat. Although, if things had gone just a little bit differently last night, I'd probably be doing it myself. Quote
ghost of miles Posted February 7, 2005 Author Report Posted February 7, 2005 And from now on, its nothin' but GRAVY! It's not polite to gloat. Although, if things had gone just a little bit differently last night, I'd probably be doing it myself. Aw, give him a break--he's a Red Sox fan! Quote
Dan Gould Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 Dan, Is anybody at work on a book about Boston's 2004 season? I'm assuming the Globe or somebody else did an insta-book... be nice for Bosox fans if a writer the caliber of Halberstam or Angell did one. Dan, Is anybody at work on a book about Boston's 2004 season? I'm assuming the Globe or somebody else did an insta-book... be nice for Bosox fans if a writer the caliber of Halberstam or Angell did one. The Globe did an insta-book that's pretty nice because it reprints the articles that covered each game, and there's some nice writing there. I'm virtually certain that Dan Shaugnesey has a book contract-since he's the one who coined the "Curse of the Bambino," and made lots of bucks off of it, he ought to write a book on the breaking of the "curse". But the first book that is on my radar is by a writer for the Herald and a writer for, I think, the Daily News. Its called a "A Tale of Two Cities" (lucky thing that titles can't be copyrighted!) and the two give an in depth look at the entire season, from the moment the ball left the yard in the 2003 ALCS to the World Series, in alternating chapters. Ought to be great: I can't link the image of the cover, but here's the website: http://www.soxyanksbook.com/ Like Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan, they must be thrilled that they got a book contract to write about the 2004 season before it happened! Quote
ghost of miles Posted February 7, 2005 Author Report Posted February 7, 2005 Hey, that does look great, Dan--thanks for the tip. It'll make for some good spring-training leisure-time reading. Quote
Ron S Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 And from now on, its nothin' but GRAVY! It's not polite to gloat. Although, if things had gone just a little bit differently last night, I'd probably be doing it myself. Aw, give him a break--he's a Red Sox fan! At this point, Philadelphia fans are in no mood to give ANYONE a break. Quote
Jazzdog Posted February 8, 2005 Report Posted February 8, 2005 If this thread is only gonna be about the Spanks and Sox, I am holding out until the All-Star break! Quote
GregK Posted February 8, 2005 Report Posted February 8, 2005 I too am glad football is over. That is one game I've never fully understood, and hence was never all that interested in it. But man oh man the Braves are looking mighty slim. I predict Smoltz will be out with a blown elbow by June, Mondesi and Jordan will be hitting about .220 or so each, and Andruw will be traded to the Yankees at the deadline. But the Tiggers got Magglio!!! And the all-star game is here this year. I hope I can at least get tickets to the HR derby (not that I like that event, but to get in to the game itself will be more than I can ever afford, and I gotta catch something during all-star week!!) Quote
BFrank Posted February 8, 2005 Report Posted February 8, 2005 The NL West should be pretty wild this year. - You've got the geriatric (but interesting) Giants - The "what's up with DePodesta's brain" Dodgers, that might be good (or crap) - The Pads are always threatening to do something. This year won't be any different. - As for the D-Backs & Rockies.......maybe NEXT year. Quote
Brad Posted February 8, 2005 Report Posted February 8, 2005 I'm sort of looking toward the season. The Mets should be competitive but that's about it. Unless there are some hitters out there, 3rd is the place but as long as they finish around .500, I can tolerate that. One step at a time. Quote
chris olivarez Posted February 8, 2005 Report Posted February 8, 2005 The Dodgers will be very interesting to watch. I have mixed feelings about letting Beltre get away after such a fantastic year but that was the only truly good year that he had. I think Kent and Valentin/Nakamura are just stopgap. I suspect that DePodesta is ultimately hanging his hat on Antonio Perez and Joel Guzman to be his 2nd and 3rd basemen of the future. The pitching staff is improved over last year. We shall see. Quote
Bol Posted February 10, 2005 Report Posted February 10, 2005 A very nice interview with Derek Lowe in the Globe today. I will miss him, and wish him the very best, depite the fact that he gave me so much heartburn over the years. He's obviously a very nice guy, and a very grownup person, unlike some other former Sox pitchers. I would like to see the Dodgers get Nomar at some point this year or next. That should make them my favorite NL team. Quote
catesta Posted February 10, 2005 Report Posted February 10, 2005 - As for the D-Backs & Rockies.......maybe NEXT year. I'm not sure what the Rockies did during the off season, but the D-Back's did plenty to improve their situation. You're probably right, they may not go far this season, but I would just be happy if they're half ass competitive. B-) Quote
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