Tag Archives: Dice-K Matsuzaka

July 31, 2012 · 12:18 AM

Deadline Day

I think I’ve made my thoughts very clear on this incarnation of the Red Sox.

This is the most hated Red Sox club in recent memory. In essence they brought back the entire crew that failed last fall with a few minor roster tweaks.

The Sox should have dealt Dice-K for a bag of balls to the Dodgers, Mariners, or any other west coast team the day he came off the DL in June. Instead he got hurt again (shocker) and the team is stuck with him as he hopefully leaves for free agency after the season.

John Lackey the team is also stuck with. After Tommy John surgery shelved him for this season you figured you wouldn’t see that mouth breathing Sloth. Not so much. This asshole has still hung around the team. So the fact that alcohol is banned in the clubhouse, the alleged ringleader of the fried chicken crew is still hanging around the club and corrupting the staff.

Beckett should be dealt but likely won’t. The team owes him too much money. He doesn’t throw gas anymore and is trying to reinvent himself like Pedro did towards the end of his career. You sir are no Pedro Martinez. So the Sox are saddled with him unless they want to eat part of his contract. How about you listen to your fan base, eat part of the contract and get this bum out of town. Now.

Jon Lester should also be dealt. He’s actually a commodity. Other teams will pay. You’ll be able to restock your farm system by trading this guy and be stacked for the future. I pull the trigger on the right deal now.

I also would trade Jacoby Ellsbury. The Reds have called and asked. Like Lester, I think you can get a decent ransom for Ellsbury. He’s always hurt and you know he’s not going to sign here when his free agency hits. Get something for him while you can.

Controversial yes but I trade Pedroia. I’m sick of his slamming the helmet down and pouting. He’s slowly developing that Youk-ness. He’s on the block and I think you can get a decent return.

Bottom line is pretty much the whole roster is on the block with a few exceptions. If I’m the GM, I’m listening to offers on mostly anyone. If I could find a sucker to take on Crawford’s contract, bye. Same with Gonzales. Ortiz is on the DL but I’d move him too.

In case you can’t tell I have very little loyalty to this group. But I’m a Sox fan through and through. So instead of the minor deals where you send some of your bullpen guys away, you move an outfielder or two, or you move your back up catcher (Shoppach leaving is a foregone conclusion now), I say you be bold. Take that chance of addition by subtraction (Beckett). See how the clubhouse changes without some of the prima donna attitudes. Then see if that translates to wins. If nothing else it will bring back fans like me and your team will be likable.

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July 6, 2012 · 6:02 AM

Taking A C’s Break

With the C’s bringing back Brandon Bass I could go C’s yet again but I wanted to take a break from Celtics and go back to the Sox for a moment.

Remember back in 2006? The Sox were kind of in the hunt. They were only a game and a half behind the Yankees in the division, then the Yankees came to Boston for five. And the Red Sox went out and lost every one of those games. Their division deficit became 6.5 games and their season was all but over.

I bring this up since New York is coming into town this weekend for a four game set. The Yankees are already up 7.5 games over the Sox. The Sox currently sit in fourth place behind the Yankees, Orioles, and Rays. They’re clinging to a half game lead over the Jays.

If the Yankees come into town this weekend and the Sox lineup is hitting like it just did again the whipping boys of the AL West, the Mariners and A’s, it’s possible the Yankees can repeat their 2006 experience at Fenway. Sure it will only be a four game sweep in three days, but the affect would be the same.

If the Sox don’t wake up and get pushed around in their own house, they run the risk of heading into the All Star break two games below .500 and 11.5 games out of first place. A hole that surely the team could climb out of if they had an ounce of heart but we’re seeing more and more that they have no heart at all.

This is Cherington’s shot to get out from Uncle Larry. If they are they far out and this close to the trading deadline, he can try and trade pieces of this failure of a team. Beckett is still my #1 with a bullet. Throw Dice-K on there too. I’m sure they’d both waive their no trade clauses to go to the NL.

Know who else can go, Ortiz. Thanks for the memories but you want to run your mouth about how you’re embarrassed that you’re only making $14 million and change this year. Well, see what kind of reception you get in some other city when they ask you to do more than DH. You brought it upon yourself, see ya.

This is all speculation based on the Sox getting swept this weekend but let’s be honest, we know it can happen. We’ve seen it happen. And secretly we’re all wishing for it to happen.

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July 3, 2012 · 6:46 AM

Climbing Back In

Did you know the Red Sox weren’t in last place anymore? It’s true, I swear. In fact they’re in a tie for fourth place and a half game out of third. The currently sit behind Baltimore and New York 6.5 games out of first and four games over .500.

So the team managed to get over the .500 mark, finally. But then they split the series with the lowly Mariners after winning five straight series. Then sent the craptastic one to the hill last night again the other AL West whipping boys, the A’s. Dice-K continued to look Matzucrappa-esque.

Matzucrappa was apparently injured and had to leave the game. So for all that the local sports shows were talking about the team’s seven starters and how the rotation would work, injuries will certainly take care of it for them. So Dice-K leaves the game with “neck tightness” after giving up five runs in a typical craptastic start digging his team a whole for them to try and fight out of.

Add on to Dice-K’s injury the fact that rookie Will Middlebrooks has a hamstring that could possibly put him on the DL and all of a sudden you’re rethinking the Youkilis trade. Well, not quite, but who’s going to play third? Nick Punto? Great.

The team should be getting Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury back from injury soon but the productivity you’ve been getting from your outfield is better than anything that Crawford gave you last year. And Jacoby, if the team was smart, would be a deadline trade chip.

So for all that the team has climbed out of the cellar and gotten themselves over .500, they’re only two games ahead of the last place Blue Jays who sit at .500. They have players that still don’t care (Beckett, Buchholz), so I think the whole thing is still being held together with scotch tape. It could collapse at any moment. It’s nice to think they’re becoming likable like I said last week but I don’t think that they’re built for the long haul. I guess we’ll have to keep watching. Ugh.

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April 25, 2011 · 6:22 AM

Awesome Boston Weekend

I’ll start with the Celtics.

After a win Friday night in New York, Doc quickly came out and indicated that Shaq wouldn’t be available for Sunday’s game. Since he hasn’t played yet this postseason, I wasn’t shocked. But you really hoped that the Celtics would step on the Knicks’ throats and end it on Sunday.

Well, there was a few skips of the heart as the third quarter turned into the fourth but they held on and knocked New York out of the playoffs.

But I have to say, a team that lets a 23 point lead drop down to four doesn’t evoke a ton of confidence. Next up for the Celtics is the Heat. It’s not official as the Sixers stole a game yesterday against Miami but I think the Celtics and Heat is an inevitability in the next round. The Celtics can only hope that this extra time will get them a healthy Shaq for the next round.

Speaking of playoffs, there’s another Boston team playing right now in the postseason.

Your Boston Bruins played an intense playoff game on Saturday night. We had enjoyed a few hoppy, delicious beers and didn’t realize the game was on until the third period. We tuned in to see the Bruins up 1-0 but that lead didn’t stay as the Canadiens managed to tie the game with about seven minutes left in regulation.

What followed was a scoreless overtime period that had us on the edge of our seats. While there was an intermission we tuned over to NESN+ to see the Sox winning but more importantly seeing Dice-K pitch his second one hitter in his last two starts.

About nine minutes into the second overtime Nathan Horton scored to give the B’s the win 2-1 and the series lead 3-2. I had to feel bad for fans at the game. The beer is typically shut off an hour before the scheduled end time. So that means that the fans weren’t able to drink for almost two full periods of hockey (unless they kept the taps on, I wasn’t there to verify).

Finally as referenced before we tuned over to NESN+ on Saturday night and watched the Red Sox win their fourth straight game. Dice-K again didn’t look like Matzucrappa. He actually looked really good and as the local sports shows showed us on Sunday morning, it’s likely because Dice-K had Varitek behind the plate calling his game. His ERA is about two points higher when someone not named Varitek is calling his game.

The Sox split in Oakland and then yesterday completed the sweep of the Angels. The important thing to note in this stretch is that they’ve had awesome pitching. Following a 2-10 start they’ve won eight of nine and are only one game under .500. They’ve climbed out of the cellar and are only 3.5 games out of first.

Tonight the Sox and Bruins are off, but both get back at it tomorrow night. The B’s head to Montreal and the Sox are back on the east coast in Baltimore. Meanwhile the Celtics wait around for the Heat to finish off the 76ers. Here’s hoping it goes seven and the C’s will be nice and rested for their second round match-up.

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March 7, 2011 · 6:32 AM

Random Monday Thoughts

So the blog blew up over the weekend. I was getting crazy hits (relatively speaking with over 100 hits on both Saturday and Sunday). I didn’t think my post Friday about the pending NFL lockout was anything groundbreaking and it turns out that’s not where the hits were coming from.

If you Google “I hate Duke, Duke Sucks” guess what the fifth most popular web site is? You guessed it, jaylizotte.com. It’s funny that the post is over two years old yet everything in the article still rings true today. Glad to know that those folks seeking a dose of Duke sucks get it from my site. Also good to see Duke lose to UNC on Saturday. Hopefully that loss is a sign of more losses to come in the ACC and NCAA tournament.

I had a weird dream Saturday night that the Red Sox had an exhibition game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dice-K was shelled in the outing and the story on Sportscenter was that Dick-K was shelled and left in AZ as he was traded to the Diamondbacks during the game. That’s all I remember. I assume we got a used pitching machine and a bag of balls back in the trade. Hopefully Theo realizes my dream and dumps him prior to the start of the season.

Finally the Celtics rounded out their squad over the weekend confirming the signing of PG Carlos Arroyo. Arroyo was released by the Heat when they brought in Mike Bibby after the Wizards bought out Bibby’s contract.

The move was a much needed one as Delonte West has been slowed by an ankle injury. Meaning that All-Star PG Rajon Rondo was playing way too many minutes. Sure he’s young but that’s no reason to play 42 minutes a game. I don’t want Rondo limping to the finish and clearly neither do Danny or Doc.

Arroyo will be a good fit off the bench and will allow Rondo’s minutes to stay down as he’s a true PG that can run the offense. Don’t expect him to score a ton off the bench like Jeff Green but Arroyo will be an improvement over West and rookie Avery Bradley both of which are more of a two guard forced into playing the point.

A night off for the Celtics and Bruins tonight meaning tomorrow may be my first Red Sox column of the Spring Training season. We will see.

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