JethroTull

Wow, great list ! You jogged my memory with those. Pozo, Rapp, Hosey,.....it's funny, you get to reading these names, and I swear it takes me right back to games they played in years ago, or maybe just one obscure play. Here's a few more for good measure.(Sorry if there are repeats). Billy Rohr Mike Ryan Joe LaHoud Gary Waslewski Bob Moose Gary Peters John Kennedy Dalton Jones Todd Benzinger Marc Clear Phil Plantier Ken Brett Dick McAulif(I know I spelled this wrong) Ben Oglive Jerry Stephens Don Locke Russ Snyder Mike Paxton Reggie Cleveland and some guy named Tatum; came over in a trade with the Brewers

Luis Aparicio Luis Alvarado Luis Aponte Izzy Alcantrera, Joe Azcue Don Baylor Marty Barrett Jim Barton Rick Cerrone, Ted Cox Orlando Cepeda, Rob Deer Dennis Eckersley Rich Gale Dave Kingman, Sunny Kim Dick Pole Carlos Quintanna Bob Veale Bob Zupcic

Good thread goin' here.......fire up the rivalry for next week. A few thoughts to toss into the mix On Clemens......It would make for the storybook ending, and I like Clemens enough, but the Sox should pass. He's not going to match Schill & Beckett speed wise. Put these 3 in succession, and by the time Roger comes up, enough heat & splits will have passed. Putting him 4th after a Wake won't change his effect. He lost the elimination game for both the U.S. team and the Astros. He should stay retired, or remain in the NL with Houston if at all, but I don't blame him one bit if he comes to the rotation of the winner of a bidding war for 3 months/15 starts. If either Boston or New York are stupid enough to throw big money at him, might as well take it. Either way, Clemens doesn't win a post season game in the AL. On Damon(and by extension, Pedro).....Both wanted 5 years and settled for 4 in New York. Boston will look wrong for the first 2 years on both contracts, and smarter on the back end of both deals. If Pedro WAS in Boston this year, Beckett would not be. On ownerships.........Big Stein has done Yankee Nation proud. But his star is on the wane. In Boston, call them what you will, but John Henry & Co. have this franchise on the rise like never before. It is their attention to action and detail that stands out from 70 years of Yawkey rule. 3 trips to the post season, including a championship, fantastic upgrades to the ballyard, complete with one of the best groundskeepers in the game. An infusion of young talent, shifting the style from slow pitch softball to hardball with defense, pitching upgrades, and BUNTING & STEALING; two things that are most decidedly un-Boston-like. On the rivalry......Face it, Yankee fans, the tide is slowly turning in this tug of war. Full props are due for your stronghold on the AL East title these last 10 years. And world-wide, it is the Yankees that come to mind first when the talk turns to champions. Having said that, the franchise is looking long in the tooth, and Georgy Porgey isn't getting any younger. So far this millennium, he has consistantly outspent every team every year by a wide margin, only to come up short repeatedly. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. New York hasn't changed with the times, but the days of Lou "Nothin' doin'" Gorman are ovah ! Game on !

Joe Foy Jose Santiago Ray Culp Marty Patten Sonny Siebert Juan Benequez Tony Armas Creighton Gubanich Tom Poquette Rogilio Moret Lee Stange Kenny "Hawk" Harrelson Rollie Fingers(if only on paper) Joe Rudi Mike Nagy Elston Howard John Wyatt Rick Wise and Manager Walpole Joe Morgan

Thanks, Rivernator. I'm going to guess that 'god' was a typo for good. Having said that, I think it's a better quote with the 'god' reference, because most umps have a god complex, and replay will put an end to that ! Imagine umps horning in on Barry Bonds' domain?

Happy Birthday, Cape fan. Interesting contest; thanks. I'll ask for a waiver on the 100 post rule by promising to post regularly in the future. If granted, I'll go with 6 wins and 42 runs. If not, I'll sit in the corner and eat worms.(And, of course, post more often).

Good or bad,....who knows? My post summed up various points in the thread. Some reasons for not using replay were because it has never been done, and that it would damage the integrity of the game. That the changes made are seen as good or bad is irrelevent to the point being discussed. The point is, baseball changes all the time. Adding video review won't change the way the game is played at all, if done properly. A monitor at the top corner of the home dugout will give the home plate ump a clear view of any questionable call. This won't take any more time than a trip to the mound.(As an added note, league rules could be amended to display the defining video on the field video screen, giving fans in attendance the same view of the call the umps used. If there is no clear view available, the ruling on the field stands.) As for the steroids slant, how can replay been seen as damaging the integrity of a game already tainted by players cheating and owners turning a blind eye? As I pointed out earlier, getting the call exactly right is the best thing baseball can do towards restoring integrity to baseball. And for the record, I don't like the DH, but it is here to stay. Numbers/names on uniforms, and the advent of night baseball certainly changed baseball from a marketing standpoint, but that is beside the point. And all things considered, interleague play gives fans a chance to see the greats from the "other league" in person. The point of this thread remains; would replay positively affect the game, and is it time to impliment replay. I say yes to both. Modern technology will improve the product. How can getting the call exactly right be anything but good? Once some terrible calls are overturned, friends and foes alike will understand the value of instant replay. In short, video replay will render egotistical umpires obsolete.

Great thread, folks. Some grist for the mill........Having umped for about 10 years (once upon a time), the single most important aspect was getting the call exactly right, period. We all know and love to talk baseball; it is what keeps the game fresh in our hearts. Umpires are the same way. Umps love to talk baseball. Sooner or later, the talk leads to the integrity of the game. With the steroid mess blowing up, calls for baseball tradition finds fans split on this replay business. Just ask yourself this.......what is the real harm in adding modern technology to get the call right? Remembering the recently blown tag call on Varitek headed to 1st the other night,(help me out on this one.....against Tampa, maybe?), just picture a playoff or World Series contest turning on such a blatant mistake. I agree that balls & strikes are sacrosanct. But a missed tag, a dropped ball, a tag with the glove while the ball is in the bare hand, a ball hitting(or just missing) the fair line, a questionable home run, posession of the ball on a DP; tangible calls such as these deserve to be called correctly. What difference does it really make if the umps converge to get a call right, or the head ump reviews video a few feet from his position? I know, I know........it's never been done before. At one time, the DH wasn't "done before." Also, interleague play wasn't..."done before".....you get the idea. It seems a natural evolution. Since games weren't actually televised before the 50's, it COULDN'T have been done before anyways. And didn't all games take place during daylight hours, once upon a time? Numbers weren't on uniforms originally, never mind names. Hey, I love baseball as much as anyone, and have been around the game for over 40 years. But I am sorry to say, the integrity boat sailed quite some time ago. There is a reason untold thousands upon thousands never hit 62 homers a year, never mind reaching the 70's. Would replay ruin the integrity of the game? Naaaahhhhh. If anything, it will help restore it. As a longtime fan, I'd rather lose by the correct call than win it on a cheat. Winning a game on a blatantly blown call may not be cheating, but it puts you in the company of those that would, kinda like those that fudge their golf scores. Where's the integrity in that?

So how is the Yankee Savior doing? He gets to hook up with Morris this weekend. And two more years at 16 mil per? Like I said, a pig in a poke. Silly indeed !

Bellhorn gets the Unsung Hero Award. He's the guy nobody notices, or underappreciates when they do. When you see a rally against the opponent's bullpen, thank Mark. The guy typically sees about 25-30 pitches a night himself. He accepts the negatives that come with working the count. Bottom of the order guy doing the dirty work. He's not fast or powerful, but he always seems to be in the middle of things when it counts. He worked a key walk the other night. He killed the Yankees in Game 6, going the other way for that home run. For good measure he tacked on another one down the right field line in Game 7 to head off any Yankee comeback. Then he wins WS Game 1 with another shot down the line. You can't have an all star at every position, not even for $200 million. But who gives you more bang for your buck than Mark? I usually prefer defense and speed at 2nd. Mark isn't that player, but he does so many things to make up for that, he belongs out there every night. Never pops off. Goes about his job quietly and professionally. He is the little engine that could.

First trip out to the coast. Sox still in shakedown cruise mode. All things being equal, my guess is, so will the total be. Sox and opponents will finish tied in the hits/walks totals. Dead even...zero...zip. Ortiz will get 7 hits on the trip. Sell my poster to the highest bidder, and send the proceeds to the Red Sox Foundation, courtesy of TalkSox.com. Out.

When was the last time TWO lefties started a game in Fenway? Good to hear Billy will be back in the lineup. Maybe Payton will get the nod, and receive a nice hand for his granny. Didn't DLowe pitch his no-no around this date a few years back? Maybe Wells can follow suit.

Well, the Yankee caravan has finally pulled out of town, and now it's on to the boring business of playing out the rest of the schedule. Funny business, baseball. There is a beautiful painting/still photo of the Huntington Avenue Fairgrounds deep inside Fenway Park. It depicts the 1903 World Series featuring our own beloved Red Sox. Ropes pass as outfield fencing, and fans stand 20 and 30 deep along the outfield edges. A closer look reveals gentlemen dressed nattily in suit, tie, and the ever present chapeau. There are no women in the crowd, as they were not allowed. But despite the appearance of all things proper, let an opposing outfielder drift into the scrum and all bets are off. Forget coming out of the crowd with the ball. The fortunate fielder still had his teeth intact. Fast forward to last night at the Fens, where the women are plentiful and the ropes have long since been replaced with fences. But that's not all that has changed in 100 years. Now it seems, the home field edge has gone the way of the rope. In this backward politically correct world, it is now deemed improper to you know, act like a fan. A relatively innocent play along the right field fence involving Yankee outfielder Gary Sheffield and a ....gasp !.... drunken fan is turning into a major hissy fit amongst the fools rushing forward to display the "right amount" of proper etiquette. Now before you fall off your highchairs, a little explaination is in order. Baseball is a game of manliness disguised as sport, with a strong dose of intimidation thrown into the mix. The game was built on sharpened spikes, bulletballs to the brain, and hard tags that served to deter the runner from easy access to the bag. My, how far the game has fallen. When you go on the road, especially to the den of your fiercest rival, it is SUPPOSED to be difficult. There is an unwritten law that players own the field, and the fans rule the stands. Where the two intersect, anything goes. At least it used to be that way, before the Kumbaya Crowd took over. So this big star took a poke in the chops while angling for the ball. This is news? Turn the scenario around for a moment. High pop down the line, Sox down a run, Sheffield sees a fan reaching up with a glove, and he stiffarms said fan in the gut, clearing the way for the would be catch that ends the game.(I'm changing the scenario for a point). Does anyone cry for the fan? The ball is the object, and whatever it takes to get the ball is fair game. And don't hand me the Monica Seles bent, where the fan MIGHT have had a knife, and he MIGHT have been trying to harm the player. You MIGHT get killed walking back to your car after a night game. There won't likely be a Captain ARod there to pull you out of harm's way. I'm also not advocating the chair tossing nonsense we saw last year. What I am saying, is that baseball is a tough battle of wits where opponents scan the field of play looking for an edge. Stealing signs, sliding in hard, brushing back the batter; all these things are purposeful intimidation tactics. The fan lucky enough to score seats in the first row also has a job to do; deny the opponent the ball. To be clear, I'm not advocating unchecked mayhem, but an opponent should at the very least have to think twice before venturing into the masses. You think Gary is the first player to have a beer or a knuckle sandwich tossed his way? During a Sox/Yanks series I attended in the spring of '76, Mickey Rivers was dodging CHERRY BOMBS in center field. They did stop the game..........long enough to send a batting helmet out to Mick. So Gary caught a fist in the face. He still made the play, didn't he? I say that fan didn't swing hard enough ! Go ahead with your crocodile tears. Joe Torre had his skirt on with his preposterous inferences after the game. You want to wipe out the drunken lout at ball games? O.K. You want fans in the front row serving tea and crumpets? Fine. I understand this rant flies in the face of the P.C. crowd. But the game owes its roots to men getting together for some brews and some brawlin'. And it says here that each step taken to extinguish the roots of the game is one step closer to Major League Puffball, where steals are outlawed, and pitching inside brings a year's suspension. What's next? A runner charging the plate gets a free slide if he says excuse me? A foul pop atop the opponent's dugout merits a blowup pillowbed so the fielder doesn't hurt himself? The game is at an all time high, revenue wise. The players make more in one season than the stiff in the stands will haul down working 30 years. They are so regaled, it seems they too have forgotten the origins of the game. Go ahead and denounce the fool who might or might not have actually swung at Gary Sheffield. Display the "appropriate" amount of contempt for such loutish behavior. Decry men behaving badly at every turn. And pardon me for not joining you in the ladies section at Filene's.

The unbridled fascination with Randy Johnson by Yankee fans is amusing, distorted, and downright hysterical. Read through any thread concerning the upcoming season, and to a man, every Yankee fan looks to Johnson as the cure for what ails them. I've even seen some Sox fans get caught up in the hype. But numbers don't lie, if you only bother to read them. And when you do, the hype gives way to reality. Johnson spent nine and a half seasons in the AL. A pitchers' prime years are generally considered from his later 20's to his early 30's, which encompasses most of his time in the AL. During this span, Johnson had two seasons where his ERA came in under 3.00. Most of the rest were over 3.50. Also during that stretch, he never made 35 starts in any season, with 34 being his high mark in '93. Jumping leagues in '98 did wonders for his image. In 5 of 6 NL seasons,(and now pitching past his prime years), Johnson finished with ERA's under 3.00, and made 35 starts in each of those seasons. The '03 season saw his injuries limit his starts to 18, and his ERA climb over 4.00. Now Johnson is back in the AL, and will turn 42 in September. He signed a two year extension on a contract that will pay him roughly $16 million per season guaranteed for the next 3 years. All this for a man whose numbers are tainted with the ugly truth that he compiled these numbers pitching mostly in favorable weather conditions either indoors or in high heat regions. I love hearing Yankee fans tout Johnson and what he will bring to this season. For some $48 million, you should expect over 100 starts in the 3 year deal, 60 wins, and a sizzling era around 2.50. But this is where the rubber meets the road. If the man couldn't reach this level during his prime in the best conditions, to suggest he will now is just wishful thinking with no basis in reality. More likely, Johnson will finish the 3 years right around .500 in won/lost record, and will be lucky to have an ERA under 4.00 in any season. To top it off, there is no way the man will make 100 starts over this span. He will turn 44 during the '07 season, if he is still playing. The years, the wind & cold, and his own track record, all paint a much different picture than Yankee fans suggest. In tying up so much money for an aging star, New York has taken a page from the Red Sox past, and we all know how that works out. Johnson made his mark mostly in the NL. He will go into the Hall of Fame one day. But to suggest he will dominate this season and make 3 post season series starts is hot air. Earlier, I offered a 17-13 season, with a 3.85 era as likely numbers. That's a heckuva season for a 42 year old hurler, but hardly the stuff of champions. But don't take my word for it. Look it up. As I said, the numbers don't lie. And Johnson's numbers suggest the Yanks got a pig in a poke, all things considered.

Thanks yeszir, all the pieces are coming together. This will be a home opener for the ages. Between raising the banner, getting the rings, and hearing that long awaited introduction....."Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Fenway Park, home of your World Champion Boston Red Sox !", I'd better stock up on video tapes and get the VCR ready. It's been a long time coming. Looking forward to another great season. (Note to 2090)...No one questions RJ's Fame status, just his effect this year. Time will tell.