Bobby Valentine: "I hate the Yankees."

I didn't know a whole lot about Bobby V., so when I read on ESPN that he said, "I hate the Yankees," I thought that he's going to be media darling, but can he manage? So I checked in with a long-time Mets fan friend of mine, and this is what he had to say about Bobby V.:

I am not a Bobby Valentine fan.  He came up short with the under achieving Mets of the late 90s.  He has too big an ego, loves the spotlight as much as winning.  He knows the game well, but comes across as an entitled stuck up asshOle whose feces has no foul odor.  He was once a top prospect out of southern california who was ushered to the MLB with silver spoon as a future superstar, only to never achieve potential as a player.  He was a brat as a youngster, and now he is a 60 year old brat.  Expect some major ups and downs with Bobby V at the helm, and a rocky road in Boston.  

Hmmm... Not a rosy outlook from my friend Stew, but I'm not passing any judgement on him just yet. Remember, Tito didn't have a sparkling managerial track record before he came to Boston.

Box Score From the Past (09.10.99)

Pedro Martinez has just announced his retirement. He is arguably the best pitcher that ever donned red hose, and to honor him this week, BSFTP goes back to a great day in history (for more than 1 reason) to the day he fanned 17 Yankees and allowing only 1 hit, no walks, no balks, no WPs.

Red Sox 3 Yankees 1 BOX SCORE
September 10, 1999

Yankee Stadium would be an airport

I'm not so hard on Yankee fans these days. I mean, my father is one, and I'm in a couple of bands with another, so they all can't be bad. Besides, I just don't have the time or energy to be wastin' on hatin' Yankee fans. Yet, when I saw this photo on Facebook, I just had to chuckle a little. OK, a lot LOT.

Box Score From the Past (08.01.1962)

 

Bill Monboquette tossed a no-hiiter for the Red Sox on August 1, 1962 against the Chicago White Sox. The Red Sox line-up in 1962 included Yaz LF (.291 BA, .844 OPS), Jim Pagliaroni C, (.292, .892), Pete Runnels 1B (.333, .903), and Lou Clinton RF (.295, .928) in the heart of the order. With a line-up like that, you would think that they might have scored more runs than that, but Early Winn had it goin' on himself that day, scattering 8 singles.

Red Sox 1 White Sox 0

August 1, 1962

As always, if there is a specific Red Sox game that you would like to see in BSFTP, let me know in the comments. If you don't know the exact date, write as much info as possible about the game and I will research it for you.

Box Score From The Past (07.27.65)

BSFTP goes back to 1965 when Jim 'Catfish' Hunter won his 1st MLB game at Fenway Park. Hunter was signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1964 and made his MLB debut the next season. He spent 15 years in the bigs, winning 18+ games 6 seasons in a row. In 2 of those seasons, he pitched over 300 innings! He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1999, he died in his hometown of Hertford, NC at 53 years of age.

Jim Lonborg was the losing pitcher that day and entered the game with absolutley nothing in his tank. He faced 5 batters in the 1st inning, all 5 got hits, all 5 scored. Others in the Red Sox line-up that day included Yaz, Petrocelli, Conigliaro, and Radatz.

The manager for the A's that year was Haywood Sullivan who played 1 year for the Red Sox and later returned to the Red Sox front office eventually working his way to General Manager. Ken Harrelson, John Wyatt and Jose Tartabull all were playing for the A's that day and all were on the 1967 'Impossible Dream' team.

Box Score From The Past (09.28.11)

This off season's inaugural edition of BSFTP doesn't delve too far into the past. I'm going right to the heart of disappointment. I want to get this one out of the way ASAP- September 28, 2011. To describe this one as the 'heart of disappointment' might be a bit of an understatement. The Red Sox were supposed to go all the way in 2011, win >100 games and go 11-0 in the post-season. This is a reminder to players and media to cool it with the outrageous 2012 predictions lest ye be served up another bowlful yummy hubris.

Boston 3 Baltimore 4
September 28, 2011

Box Scores From The Past 2011-2012

"Box Scores From The Past" will be returning soon this off season. Due to equal parts shock, protesting Wall Street, old age, therapy, and conditioning; yeah, that's it- conditioning; I was totally unprepared to resume posting BSFTP this early. Be watching starting around the 1st Monday of November. If there is a particular game that you would like to have highlighted in BSFTP, even if you don't have the exact date, let me know in the comments of this post, and I will research and post it for you.

Besides BSFTP, I'll be writing book reviews, my take on Tito and the 2011 season, the 2nd Annual Benefit for The Jimmy Fund review, and my interview with Ed Achorn, author of "59 in '84" (all w-a-y overdue, yes, I know.)

In the meantime, I'm posting for your amusement a jpeg that I found while working on another project.