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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Ken Rosenthal is an ass. Manny's OK by me (so far.)

PREVIOUSLY POSTED ON KEN ROSENTHAL WATCH

NOTE: I wrote this last year for FenwayWest.com about 2 weeks before Manny was traded. Reposting here because I don't like KR much, either.

Ken Rosenthal is an ass. That he opines for Fox is more proof of his mediocrity as a journalist or sportscaster. I'm sure the NY Daily Fish Wrap will snap him up once his tenure at Fox is over. This is not the first time I've read some of his garbage and said, 'wtf?'


That article of his serves absolutely no purpose at all other than to stir up shit in Boston. (Is he from NY?) There is no new information in that article, there are no new revelations about what Manny said or what could happen to him. Nothing. Nada. Zippo. Zilch. Zito.

Rosenthal writes, "It's mostly pointless to analyze the comments of a player who demonstrates the maturity and attention span of a 12-year-old." So why is he even writing this?

As for having "the maturity and attention span of a 12-year-old", we already know that Manny marches to the beat of a different drummer. Manny is one of those guys, to quote Jimmy Buffett, who is "growing older, but not up." I know. I'm also one of those guys. As for growing older, Manny is doing it, but at a much, much slower pace than the rest of us, that's for sure. Thirty-six is not that old anymore for a well-conditioned ball player. (At 36, I was still going on 30 mile, 2500' elevation gain mountain bike rides, and skiing down double black diamonds at Tahoe. At 46, I was still playing drums in 6 hour jam sessions.) His work ethic and conditioning have been well documented. His production at the plate has been well documented. His performance on the field is much better than most realize. He is virtually guaranteed a spot in Cooperstown. Yes, he is a clown and a buffoon at times, but ask me if there is a stronger 3-4 combination in MLB. He's had his transgressions, but he has also apologized and paid for them.


Baseball fans all over the country love to dump on Manny, as they did to Barry, but I know their feelings would be much different if either had been clubbing all those taters at their team's park.


As for his most recent comments that po'd John Henry, how about letting the dust settle so you can see exactly what is happening before starting to spew?

I read what Manny said, but I have not heard a recording of it. (Much can be lost or changed from spoken word to printed word.)

I think this could be another photo of Rosenthal when he was taking a break from writing that hit-piece.

Papelbon v. A-Rod: Classic Moment

Oh, How Sweet It Is!

Hey NY! How does it feel now? Your umpteen bazillion dollar man that you 'stole' from the Sox just went 0-5, including the final out of the game! BWAAHAAHAA!!! I can't wait for the NY covers tomorrow!

The Sox have now won all 8 games played against the Yankees this year, besting the previous mark of 7 set back in 1912, a year coincidentally that the Sox won the World Series.

Brad Penny turned in 6 strong innings, allowing 6 hits and 1 BB while notching 5 K's. Unfortunately for him, Sabfathia was just a bit stronger. He had a 4 hitter going into the 8th inning. Joe Girardi pulled a GL and left him in there 1 pitch too many, though, as the Sox put up 3 more runs that inning. Those 3 runs and the Papi tater in the 2nd were just enough. Yes, Papi hit another HR, so he's not quite dead yet! This is why slump or no, David Ortiz is Big Papi!



Manny Delcarmen had a rare blown save, his 1st of this season, but Saito came in and did his job and got the win while setting up for Papelbon in the 9th who had a 1-2-3 inning notching his 16th save.

Oh this feels so good right now!

Sox Win 4-3 BOX SCORE

Another Reason Why the Sox Will Stay With Papi

Just take a look at these statistics for a sample of Sox players vs. the Yankees so far this season, and see where Papi ranks:

Jason Bay, 11 for 21 with 2 doubles, a triple and 3 home runs -- .524 batting average, .655 on-base percentage, and 1.143 slugging percentage.

Kevin Youkilis, 7 for 17 with a double and a game-winning home run -- .412 batting average, .565 on-base and .647 slugging.

Dustin Pedroia, 8 for 23 with 2 doubles -- .348 batting average, .500 on-base and .435 slugging.

Mike Lowell, 9 for 26 with 2 doubles and 2 home runs -- .346 batting average, .414 on-base and .654 slugging.

David Ortiz, 7 for 23 with 4 doubles and a home run -- .304 batting average, .379 on-base and .609 slugging.

Wang's ERA

Chein-Ming Wang, ace of the Yankee staff, threw 69 pitches in 2.2 innings of work tonight, allowing 4 earned runs thereby shaving his ERA from 14.46 to a minuscule 14.34.

Where Are They Now: Keith Foulke


Keith Foulke was the Red Sox closer in 2004 when they won their 1st WS in 86 years. Foulke won 1 of those games and saved the final game as he tossed the ground ball he fielded to Doug Mientkiewicz. After allowing 1 little run in 11 postseason games that year, knee surgery the next year hastened his downfall. He retired before 2007 due to injuries, and came back to work the next year in the Oakland A’s bullpen, albeit just another arm rather than closer. His cell phone has been quiet ever since.

Foulke finds himself in Newark, NJ this year closing for the Newark Bears of the Atlantic League where he has a 2.41 ERA and 9 saves. He is 36 years old and looks across the river where the Yankees have an aging, yet still effective 40 yo closer and says that he doesn’t want to retire yet.

Fenway West wishes him good thoughts and good luck on his quest to hook up with a major league team as the trading deadline surfaces on yonder horizon. A tip of the cap to Star Ledger sports columnist Steve Politi for asking if Rivera is done, and pointing out that Foulke is pitching just 5 miles from Yankee Stadium.

Yankee Fans Are REALLY Getting Desperate

The LA Times reports that a Yankee fan from VT purchased some Yankee grass seeds, went to the Phish concert at Fenway Park on May 31st, put some water in the bag and dispersed the seeds while at the show.

Apparently, they do sell bags of Yankee grass seeds, but if the grass that sprouts from the seed was never in Yankee Stadium, I say it's not authentic and his effort was all for nought.

Also, the Yankee fan in question is a Phish fan, leading me to believe that he may well have gotten his Yankee grass seeds mixed up with his other grass seeds.